Cinema Retro
Entries from Saturday, June 9. 2012
By Lee Pfeiffer
Twilight Time has released Fritz Lang's classic 1953 film noir The Big Heat as a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray. The movie ranks among the top films in the noir genre and time has only increased its appeal. Glenn Ford is Dave Bannion, a dedicated police detective who begins to suspect that the apparent suicide of a fellow cop might be linked to department-wide corruption. His hunch proves correct as it becomes evident that virtually the entire police department, right up to the commissioner, is controlled by local crime kingpin Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby). When Bannion receives warnings to lay off the investigation, he ignores them and continues to pursue leads. Before long, not only he but his beloved wife (Jocelyn Brando) and daughter are targeted for death. Lang's penchant for creating a dark, foreboding atmosphere is on display here. Most of the scenes are interiors or dank, dangerous locations. The film's central plot is mesmerizing from the shocking opening frames. As a leading man, Ford could usually be described as handsome, affable and reliable but "dynamic" would hardly be associated with his screen persona. In The Big Heat, however, Ford gives what is arguably the best performance of his career. As the gangsters take their toll on him, he becomes a man obsessed, menacing men and women alike. His only ally is Debby Marsh (wonderfully played by Gloria Grahame), a ditzy but lovable gun moll who suffers terribly from her attempts to aid Bannion. Director Lang brings real pathos to the proceedings. Bannion is the ultimate family man-- and he has a sexually playful relationship with his wife, something refreshing for a film from this period. When his wife and kid are menaced, Bannion's rage brings him to the brink of committing murder himself. Supporting characters are tortured, scalded, and even children are threatened.
There are many memorable scenes in the film and most feature an impressive array of terrific supporting actors including Lee Marvin outstanding as a charismatic, but vicious thug who squares off with Bannion in the action-packed finale. Lang loved his adopted country, America, ever since he had fled Nazi Germany rather than serve as one of their propagandists. However, he was always dismayed by instances of injustice and often reflected these concerns in his films. The Big Heat might well have been the most daring expose of police corruption seen in any film until that time. The film remains a mini-masterpiece of its kind and all retro movie buffs should have it in their movie libraries.
The Twilight Time Blu-ray presents a terrific transfer that does full justice to the outstanding camerawork of Charles Lang. The package includes the usual informative collector's booklet written by Julie Kirgo, but don't read it before watching the film as it is filled with spoilers. A re-release trailer is also included.
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By David Savage
NYC’s
Film Society of Lincoln Center Screening a Whole Summer’s Worth of Midnight
Movies
Midnight movies have been, in effect, the homeless
orphans of filmdom for the past 20 years.
Since the demise of their theatrical homes -- second or third-run movie houses
and drive-ins -- back in the 1980s, they've been regarded as too niche for corporate cable channels like IFC or TCM.
With no local-channel late shows in
existence to air them, their only home has been the home video market and the
art-house repertory circuit in cities like the New Beverly Cinema and
Cinefamily in Los Angeles, NYC's Anthology Film Archives, and a handful of
other venues around the country. In these politically sensitive times, there
are only so many places that will host a screening of Torso (1973).
This is strange, because midnight movies are not, in fact, unloved orphans.
They are obsessively loved, collected, talked about, fetishized, blogged,
tweeted and traded by a huge swath of filmgoers, basically anyone old enough to
remember attending one in their heyday of the early 60s--late 80s. But their
theatrical outlet remains severely limited due to a number of factors, mostly
due to the shortage of amenable venues, screenable prints (their fan base is
slow to warm to digital projections) and difficulty in marketing to younger
generations. But their influence
continues to be felt in everything from fashion and advertising to more
mainstream feature films, particularly those of Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino
-- both of whom owe their careers to the recreation of the midnight movie
phenomenon and aesthetic. (It was through Tarantino's enormous generosity that
the New Beverly Cinema was rescued from closure when he quietly bought it from
the owners in 2010 but allowed them to continue running it as they saw fit.)
This is one reason why museums and cultural institutions around the country are
taking notice and
programming midnight movies into their film calendars, in effect, giving these
genre films a second home in the 21st century, and in so doing elevating their
stature through the critical lens of the museum imprimatur.
Another reason is that these same museums and cultural
institutions contain millennial-generation
staff, for who anything from the 1980s is sacred. That is a less a scientific
observation than
an anecdotal one, but I'm standing by it.
I saw a screening of
Zardoz (1974) at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art last March in a Mystery Science 3000-inspired format,
including a hilarious trailer reel as an intro, before an audience of mostly
twenty-somethings. And NYC’s Museum of Art and Design in 2010 devoted an entire
week to Italian zombie films, which they called Zombo Italiano. The trend is picking up heat elsewhere.
Which leads me to my main point: The Film Society of Lincoln Center is
presenting a new series of Midnight Movies every Friday night, all summer long!
Now through August 31st.
In total contradiction to my above thesis, Film Comment Editor-in-Chief
series co-programmer Gavin Smith says: "Sometimes I sit in my office and
wonder why Béla Tarr couldn’t have filmed a live-action version of the game
Sodoku. Because if he had, we would program it in a second. But since he hasn’t
(at least so far, anything’s possible), we might as well throw The Texas
Chain Saw Massacre and Fritz the Cat on the screen and see what
happens."
Among the rarely screened gems in the series are: Logan's Run (June 15);
Lost Highway (July 6); The Evil Deada nd The Evil Dead II
(July 13 and 20, respectively); and The House by the Cemetery (August
3).
Films and showtimes: http://www.filmlinc.com/films/series/midnight-movies
By Lee Pfeiffer
Fox has released the 2011 film adaptation of the classic children's tale Mr. Popper's Penguins as a Blu-ray special edition that also contains a standard DVD version. The original 1938 book by Richard and Florence Atwater has been updated to contemporary times and is set in New York City. Jim Carrey, who has regained his comedy mojo, is in top form as the titular character. As a boy, young Tom Popper idolized his father, who was an intrepid explorer. Although the two rarely saw each other, Poppa Popper used to stay in touch every night on ham radio from exotic ports of call and transfix his young son with tales of his adventures. Cut to decades later. Young Popper is now a middle-aged real estate hot shot living in a posh Manhattan penthouse. His obsession with his career has led to his wife Amanda (Carla Gugino) leaving him and taking custody of their teenage daughter Janie (Madeline Carroll) and young son Billy (Maxwell Perry Cotton). Although Tom is lovable and possesses a goofy sense of humor, his relationship with his children is strained because he is irresponsible and unreliable when it comes to promises he's made to them. Shortly after the death of his beloved father, Tom receives an unusual inheritance: six live penguins, a token of his father's esteem. At first, Popper is understandably frazzled, as coping with penguins in a Manhattan apartment, no matter how spacious, is a recipe for disaster. Through a misunderstanding, his children believe the penguins are pets for them. Having finally earned the gratitude of his children, Popper can't bring himself to donate the animals to a zoo so he concocts elaborate schemes to house them and care for them secretly, 'lest the board of the apartment building evicts all the inhabitants of Popper's penthouse.
Much of the fun from this smartly written and well-directed film is the sheer joyfulness of watching the penguins "perform". Although CGI was indeed used in key sequences, amazingly, most of the sequences relied upon trained penguins to perform some astonishing stunts. Director Mark Waters deftly weaves the human elements of the story in with the mayhem caused by the animals. Tom Popper's career nosedives when he becomes obsessed with caring for his frisky pets. Consequently, he seems unable to land a deal to convince a wealthy woman (Angela Lansbury) to allow him to broker a deal to buy the legendary Tavern on the Green in Central Park. (Tragically, the happy ending in the film was not mirrored in real life: the restaurant closed.) Popper keeps up a maddening pace, trying to keep his hard-nosed, demanding bosses happy as well as attempting to win back the affection of his wife and kids. The film is delightful throughout and Carrey has never been funnier. There are many memorable sequences, one of which involves the penguins disrupting a posh black tie gathering at the Guggenheim in much the same way the Three Stooges used to upstage champagne-drinking snobs. The supporting cast is also very winning, with both Carroll and Cotton giving admirable performances as Popper's kids, Gugino both sexy and sympathetic as his long-suffering wife and Lansbury, impressive in her most memorable role in years. There are also gems of cameos by Philip Baker Hall as Popper's grumpy boss and the always impressive Lee Moore in a fine bit as Popper's attorney.
The Blu-ray/DVD package is loaded with extras including some very interesting "making of" featurettes, a gag reel and deleted scenes (some of which should have remained in the film).
Mr. Popper's Penguins wasn't a blockbuster at the box-office, but it will undoubtedly become a family favorite that will perennially delighted generations to come.
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