Sir Sean Connery has passed away at age 90. One of the few remaining genuine legends of the film industry, Connery's passing will seem surrealistic to his legions of international fans, as he somehow seemed immortal. Connery overcame a humble upbringing in Edinburgh, Scotland to emerge as a cinematic icon. As young man, he entered the Royal Navy but his stint was short-lived, as he was released from service due to health issues. He later dabbled in weight lifting and was Scotland's candidate in the Mr. Universe contest. Connery drifted into acting quite by chance after someone suggested he audition for a chorus role in a London stage production of "South Pacific". He got the part and the acting bug got the better of him and he became determined to make it his profession. Connery secured bit roles in low-budget British films without making much of an impact, though one of the films, "Hell Drivers" managed to assemble a remarkable cast that included two other future stars who would make their marks by playing secret agents, Patrick McGoohan and David McCallum. Connery seemed poised for stardom when was signed under contract by 20th Century Fox. However, what was to be his first major film, Another Time, Another Place opposite Lana Turner, flopped.
Fox saw no potential in the young actor but two enterprising producers, Albert R. ("Cubby") Broccoli and Harry Saltzman did. The pair had recently formed Eon Productions for the express purpose of bringing Ian Fleming's James Bond novels to the big screen, having secured funding from United Artists' head of production David V. Picker, who was a fan of the books. The producers considered many young actors for the pivotal role of 007, knowing that securing the right man would be essential for ensuring sequels to their first production, Dr. No. There have been countless variations of how Broccoli and Saltzman agreed to hire Sean Connery, who had enough hubris to refuse to film a formal screen test. However, Broccoli once told this writer that it was his wife Dana who suggested Connery, having seen him in the 1959 Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Connery suitably impressed the producers and Dr.No was brought to the screen in 1962 (it premiered in America the following year.) While the film wasn't a blockbuster, it was considered to be a sizable hit and, most importantly, Connery truly "clicked" with critics and audiences. The following film, From Russia with Love was released in 1963 to great acclaim and much higher boxoffice grosses on a worldwide basis. The films pushed the envelope in terms of sex and violence and Bond rapidly became male role model for the Playboy magazine era. Broccoli and Saltzman wisely decided to make each successive film more expensive and grander in terms of production values. With the 1964 release of Goldfinger, the fan movement had evolved into worldwide Bondmania. Connery had attributed much of his success in the role of 007 to Terence Young, the dapper director of the first two films, who took the 'rough-around-the-edges' young Scot to a level of refinement, teaching him how to dress, eat and drink properly.
Despite the Bond films bringing Connery wealth, acclaim and fame, there was already the seeds of trouble in Paradise. He could perceive that the Bond films would have a much longer history than anyone initially anticipated. Consequently, he became afraid of being typecast. He sought other roles in high profile films. In the 1964 thriller, Woman of Straw, he gave a strong performance as a manipulative womanizer and schemer. Although the film is a gem, it flopped on its release. Connery had high hopes for working with Alfred Hitchcock as the male lead in Marnie the same year. Hitchcock had been riding high with a wave of acclaimed, high profile films but to Connery's disappointment, Marnie was a critical and boxoffice failure. By the time Connery went into production on the fourth Bond film, Thunderball, he was feuding with the producers, who, in turn, were feuding with each other. The unexpected popularity of the Bond franchise had put enormous pressure on everyone. Connery, an intensely private man, found himself the reluctant idol of millions around the globe. His marriage to actress Diane Cilento was suffering as a consequence. Prior to the release of Thunderball in 1965, Connery won acclaim for his lead role in The Hill, an intense prison drama that teamed him with director Sidney Lumet for the first time. The movie was widely praised but sank at the boxoffice. Connery became frustrated that fans only wanted to see him as Bond, a theory proven by the blockbuster grosses for Thunderball. Connery's attempt at a madcap comedy, A Fine Madness, also flopped in 1966, the year he was going into production on the fifth Bond movie You Only Live Twice. Filmed in Japan under enormous logistical pressures, Connery had made it known he was fed up with playing 007. Although contractually obligated to star in the next film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the producers released Connery from the movie and hired novice actor George Lazenby to play Bond.
Eager to reshape his image, Connery teamed with producer Euan Lloyd for the European Western Shalako, which boasted an international high profile cast. While not a flop, the movie also didn't indicate that there was a major acceptance of Connery in a non-Bond role. The Russian/Italian co-production of The Red Tent in which Connery played doomed Norwegian Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen, was a boxoffice disaster. He had high hopes for director Martin Ritt's The Molly Maguires, but that failed commercially, too. Perhaps for this reason, Connery agreed to return to the role of James Bond one more time in Diamonds are Forever. After George Lazenby had quit the series after only one film, producers and United Artists had signed American actor John Gavin for the role of Bond. However, David Picker wanted to ensure the stability of the lucrative series and offered Connery the highest salary ever paid to an actor: $1.25 million plus a percentage of the gross. Connery agreed with the promise of using the windfall to establish a charity in his native Scotland. Ironically, Connery's latest non-Bond film, The Anderson Tapes, proved to be a critical and commercial success even as he was filming his return to the role of 007. Predictably, Diamonds Are Forever was a smash hit, despite the fact that a weak script had left some diehard fans somewhat disappointed. After all, Connery was back and the world press rejoiced. Nevertheless, Connery resisted offers to appear as Bond again in Live and Let Die and Roger Moore inherited the role, finding equal success over a twelve year period.
Some of Connery's post-Bond films fared well, despite the high profile failure of director John Boorman's sci-fi film Zardoz and The Offence, a grim police drama in which Connery gave an Oscar-caliber performance. However, the movie, which reunited him with Sidney Lumet, was barely released theatrically and played briefly in only a handful of venues. Connery finally began to earn praise from critics for his performances in films such as The Man Who Would Be King, The Wind and the Lion, Murder on the Orient Express, The Great Train Robbery and Robin and Marian. By this point in his personal life, he and Diane Cilento had divorced. Connery would then marry the artist Michelene Roquebrune in 1975. They remained married until his death. Professionally, many of his films still failed at the boxoffice, though by this point he was enjoying status as an icon of international cinema. In 1983, he returned to the role of James Bond in Never Say Never Again, a loose remake of Thunderball that was produced outside of the Eon franchise films. The movie was a financial success and earned good reviews, though Bond purists widely consider it to have fallen short of its potential.
In 1988, Connery was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his impressive performance as an aging Irish cop on the trail of Al Capone in The Untouchables. Even as he aged, he was regarded as a sex symbol. Upon being told that he had been voted "The Sexiest Man Alive", Connery characteristically quipped that there weren't many sexy dead men. In 1989, he co-starred with Harrison Ford in the blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, directed by Steven Spielberg. Connery would later say it was one of his most enjoyable experiences as an actor. The following year, he scored another hit with The Hunt for Red October, a Cold War thriller that benefited from the recent collapse of the Soviet Union. However, it wouldn't be until 1996 when he starred in another blockbuster release with the prison adventure film The Rock. His 1999 crime caper Entrapment was also a major hit but Connery was publicly griping that the filmmaking process and the quality of scripts presented to him were becoming matters of concern. After the ill-fated super hero movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003, he announced he was retiring from acting. Despite overtures from the industry, Connery refused all offers, including another Indiana Jones film.
In his post-retirement years, Connery kept a low public profile, rarely appearing at events or granting interviews. This led to rumors that he was ill or even at death's door. However, in 2010, his brother Neil told this writer that people simply didn't understand that Connery was enjoying a laid-back retirement lifestyle, having traveled and worked so extensively for decades. Politically, Connery remained steadfastly nationalistic in terms of Scottish independence and would occasionally March in the Tartan Day parade in New York City, attired in a kilt.
Sir Sean Connery's legacy was not only as an icon of international cinema, but also as a man of dignity and honor who made it to the top without compromising his principles. He had lived to see many of his films become regarded as classics and he enjoyed the respect of his peers as well as audiences around the world. Not bad for a Scottish lad who started out driving lorries and polishing coffins.
Critic J. Hoberman reflects on the cinematic and societal impact of George Romero's seminal indie horror classic "Night of the Living Dead", which was released in that tumultuous year of 1968. (Yes, folks there actually was a more tumultuous year than the crazed election era of 2020.). The Vietnam War was raging, protests were ongoing, cities were burning and two of the most important men of the era- Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy- were assassinated within a span of two months. Fittingly, Romero's groundbreaking horror flick tossed aside all conventions. There was no happy ending, a black man was the hero and we were all made aware of how fragile the solidity of civilized society actually was. We survived all that and we may well survive the calamity of our era of Coronvirus, crazed political leaders and the rise of fringe hate groups. But now, more than ever, Romero's cheapo horror masterpiece seems to speak to our era in way we haven't experienced since the year it was released. Click here to read. - Lee Pfeiffer
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Shirley Jackson's famed ghost story novel "The Haunting of Hill House" was originally made into an MGM film by director Robert Wise in 1963. Jan de Bont's 1999 remake was poorly received and most recently, there is a hit Netflix series inspired by Jackson's book. However, for pure brilliance, Wise's interpretation of the story still stands as a masterpiece of the horror film genre in which ambiguity and unexplained events prove to be more chilling than most films that employ over-the-top special effects. For all of respect accorded the film today, it was not particularly well-received by critics when it originally opened. One of the more positive and insightful reviews was written by James Powers for The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to read.
Don't Read This on a
Plane is
Stuart McBratney's third feature film. Based in Newcastle, Australia he is a
veteran director of over 500 commercials, several music videos and a TV series.
He is also a lecturer and an academic at the University of Newcastle's School
of Creative Industries, where he teaches Media Production.
He has a PhD in Design and if that isn't
enough, this writer/director also composed the music for the film.But enough about him. Impressive as his
accomplishments may be this review is about this film and especially this
film's lead actress.
Sophie Desmarais is
Jovanna Fey. (Merriam-Webster defines "Fey" not only as: 2) a: able to see into the future,
visionaryb: marked by an otherworldly air or attitude -
but also 1) chiefly Scotland: fated to die, doomed. An apt surname for
our heroine.
The film opens in
Paris with Jovanna packing for a tour to promote her new book. She is going off
on a 21-day jaunt through Europe that will take her to some of the most famous
and beautiful bookshops on the continent.
Landing in Venice,
she discovers her hotel reservation has been cancelled. When she calls her book
publisher, located in Newcastle, Australia, she discovers he's gone bankrupt.
An inefficient assistant failed to notify her of that fact. While all of her
hotel reservations have been cancelled, the airfare for the entire journey is
paid in full. So, if she wants to continue "You must cover the tax, food,
accommodations, promotions, insurance, communications, and miscellaneous
expenses. The Greeks did insist on upfront payment for your driver. Nothing
like a collapsed economy to spar the bit of entrepreneurial spirit," Alec,
the publisher informs her. He also signs over to her all the rights to the
book; "Maybe this is all for the best?" "I'm stranded and penniless,
Alec. So, how can this be for the best?" she replies. But she decides to
carry on.
Her husband can't
help her. He works as a cook on an off-shore oil rig, gone for 28 days at a
clip, and is difficult to get a hold of since there's no cell service. She
checks into a youth hostel for a night of very little sleep but she learns of
the MOAF network - Mattress on a Floor. A real, world-wide network where people
let strangers stay in their home on anything from a yoga mat to a bed. Jovanna meets many colorful, interesting and occasionally
dangerous people this way.
Don't
Read This on a Plane takes
us through eight stops as Jovanna hitchhikes and roughs it traveling to and
from airports to bookshops and MOAF homes. Through it all she tries to maintain
a façade of success to the bookshops' owners. We get to visit such gorgeous
bookshops as the Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice, the Livaria Lello in Porto, the
Book Barge, a floating "bookshop" in Burgandy (one of the funniest
scenes in the film), Der Jakob und Wilhelm Grimm Zentrum in Berlin, the Antal
Szerb University in Budapest, Atlantis Books in Santorini, the Boekhandel
Dominicanen in Maastricht and finally in Oradea, Romania where Jovanna reads in
front of a large crowd at the Oradea State Theatre.
Don't Read This on a
Plane was filmed in all the places mentioned. Ten different cities in all. And
we do find out why we shouldn't read THIS on a plane. Sophie Desmarais charms
the viewer throughout as Jovanna Fey. There is a touch of pixie to go along
with the pluck and courage she brings to the role. Among the smaller character
roles that stand out are Eugene Gilfedder as Alec, the publisher, Hildegard Schroedter as Maria, the
truck driver, Dorotheea Petre as Ksenia Allen C. Gardner as
Theo and Marie Bray as Olga, the sole attendee on the Book Barge.
Addendum: "The
coin was wrong. But I had to flip it to find out." - Jovanna Fey.
The film is available
for streaming on Amazon and numerous services. Click here for info.
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Kino
Lorber Studio Classics has released “Against All Flags,†a 1952 pirate movie
from Universal-International, in a new Blu-ray edition.In the opening scene, British naval Lt. Brian
Hawke (Errol Flynn) endures a shipboard flogging in front of a stern-faced
audience of enlisted men and fellow officers.It isn’t clear what crime he’s charged with.Cowardice?Disobeying orders?Breaking into
the admiral’s rum supply?Not that it
matters, because as we quickly learn, the whipping is only a cover story.Publicly, Hawke is a disgraced man.Privately, he’s assigned to infiltrate a
troublesome pirate stronghold on Madagascar.There, posing as disgruntled turncoats, he and two loyal subordinates
will covertly locate and disable the camouflaged batteries of cannon that
protect the island.This will clear the
way for a British warship to safely swoop in and get rid of the
miscreants.One of Hawke’s assistants is
played by busy 1950s character actor John “Basher†Alderson.You may be excused if you mistake Alderson
for the equally prolific Bruce Glover from “Diamonds Are Forever†(1971) and
“Chinatown†(1974).The two actors
looked remarkably alike.
On
Madagascar, Hawke insinuates himself into the pirate brotherhood even though
one of the senior captains, Roc Brasiliano (Anthony Quinn), continues to
question his motives.Roc’s distrust of
the newcomer is further fueled by jealousy.Red-haired lady pirate Spitfire Stevens (Maureen O’ Hara) has resisted
the buccaneer’s heavy-handed advances, but she’s reluctantly attracted to
Hawke, and the chemistry is mutual.Then
Spitfire’s temper flares when the lieutenant takes an interest in a young
princess (Alice Kelley) captured during a raid on a treasure ship.Hawke tries to keep the situation platonic --
he watches over the girl to make sure she isn’t abused by the pirates --but Spitfire interprets his motives as
sexual.The sheltered Princess Patma
wishes they were, dreamily insisting “Again,†after she coaxes a kiss from
Hawke.The lieutenant’s dilemma is
played for laughs, with an obvious wink-wink-nudge-nudge for viewers aware of
Errol Flynn’s offscreen reputation in the bedroom.In 1952, that would have been everybody in
the movie theater.Hollywood is a lot
more skittish about such things today, justifiably so.Hawke enlists the aid of the princess’ tutor
(Mildred Natwick) to hide Patma’s identity, lest the pirates use her as a royal
hostage.Thus, the lieutenant has to
juggle several tricky tasks at once as Spitfire fumes and Roc watches for an
excuse to tie Hawke to a stake at low tide to be eaten by crabs.(Did Ian Fleming take notes for “Doctor
No�)
The
Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray edition of “Against All Flags†restores the
movie’s ravishing Technicolor in a notable upgrade over previous home-video
releases, not to mention decades of inferior TV prints.As film historian Stephen Vagg notes in his
audio commentary, Technicolor and the A-list casting of Flynn, O’Hara, and
Quinn are the production’s distinguishing virtues.Otherwise, at the standard screen aspect of
1.37:1 and a thrifty running time of 84 minutes, it doesn’t particularly stand
out from the dozens of other pirate adventures that emerged from
Universal-International, Columbia, 20th Century Fox, and RKO in the late 1940s
and early 1950s.At that, O’Hara’s flaming
tresses had already been on Technicolor display in “The Black Swan†(1942) and
“The Spanish Main†(1945).Vagg’s
engaging commentary covers a wide range of topics, including the careers of the
three stars, the history of pirate movies, and the real-life buccaneers
represented in the picture, including a Black pirate captain portrayed by
Emmett Smith.A Black character as a
peer among white equals would be unremarkable casting now, but it was a
progressive statement on racial equality for its time.Fans will be pleased that Vagg gives a shout-out
to “Swordsmen of the Screen,†Jeffrey Richards’ rousing 1977 study of
swashbuckling cinema.The Kino Lorber
release also includes the movie’s theatrical trailer.
I’m
a sucker for black and white horror films and thrillers. Hold That Ghost!
(1941) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) are the closest
I ever got to an actual horror film when I was a child. The latter actually
frightened me and gave me more than a handful of nightmares while in kindergarten.
As I got older, I thrilled to the suspense-filled Psycho (1960) by
Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963), and George A.
Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) on network television viewings.
I picked up a VHS copy of John Llewelyn Moxey’s masterful The City of the
Dead under the insipid title of Horror Hotel and discovered a
classic that I love to this day. There is an overall spookiness that I
associate with black and white that I wish contemporary horror film directors
would go back to. It’s not all blood and guts – mood and atmosphere go a very long
way.
Following
my discovery of Dario Argento’s work after a theatrical screening of Creepers
in 1985, I began to read about Mario Bava’s work and how it influenced Signor
Argento’s style. Black Sunday, alternately known as The Mask of Satan
and Revenge of the Vampire, is a highly stylized gothic horror film that
is considered to be Mario Bava’s directorial debut despite him having come in
at the eleventh hour to finish up several films in the late 1950’s credited to
other directors: I Vampiri (1957), The Day the Sky Exploded (1958),
Caltiki – The Immortal Monster (1959) and The Giant of Marathon
(1959). Shot in 1960 and released on Thursday, March 9, 1961 in New York City, Black
Sunday is a creepy tale starring the luminous Barbara Steele in dual roles
as both a condemned witch in 17th Century Moldavia named Asa Vajda
and as a melancholic townswoman named Katja Vajda some 200 years later – quite
a coincidence! Asa condemns her persecutors to death for her fate which finds
her body placed into a mausoleum and found by chance two centuries later by a
doctor (Andrea Checci) and his assistant (John Richardson) who are enroot to a convention
and accidentally free Asa from her eternal sleep, giving her the opportunity to
enact evil upon the heads of those unlucky enough to be related to those
responsible for her death. While the plot is similar in theme to Mr. Moxey’s
classic The City of the Dead – I could hear the immortal words of the
villagers “Bring me Elizabeth Selwyn†in that film as I watched Black Sunday
– the time and place is much different and the film benefits enormously from
Signor Bava’s experience as a cinematographer even from the film’s opening
frames. The imagery that permeates much of Black Sunday are the stuff of
childhood nightmares: cobwebs, creepy cemeteries, eerie sounds in the
night…there is even a scene wherein a character fights off a vampire bat in a
fashion that obviously provided the inspiration for Jessica Harper’s Suzy Bannion
to do the same in Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977), albeit in dazzling
Technicolor.
Howard
Hawks’ biopic of American war hero Alvin C. York, Sergeant York, was the
highest grossing film of 1941. It received many accolades, including a Best
Actor Oscar for star Gary Cooper and a trophy for Film Editing. It was also nominated
for Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay (John Huston was one of four
writers involved), Supporting Actor (Walter Brennan), Supporting Actress (Margaret
Wycherly), Cinematography, Art Direction, Music Score (by Max Steiner), and
Sound Recording. The film was released in the summer of ’41 and did very well
at the box office. By the time it was playing in rural America later in the
year, though, the attack on Pearl Harbor had occurred. The mobilization to
prepare for war helped give Sergeant York a second wave of financial
success and it continued to play on U.S. screens into 1942.
“Biopicâ€
may be too broad of a description of the movie because it covers only two years
of York’s life. The year is 1916 and York is already a grown man. York (Cooper)
lives in an extremely rural area of Tennessee, near the Kentucky border (one of
the bars he frequents with his best friends, played by Ward Bond and Noah
Beery, Jr., is divided by the state line on the floor—and Tennessee residents
must go to the Kentucky side of the place to purchase their liquor, and then
walk back across the room to the Tennessee side to sit and drink it). York is an
uneducated farmer (he can read, but an entire book is daunting for him) and
poor. He lives with his wise but stern mother (Wycherly) and two younger
siblings (the sister is played by a teen June Lockhart). The town—such as it
is—has an unofficial patriarch in the form of the pastor and general store
proprietor, Rosier Pile (Brennan). York is sweet on Gracie (Joan Leslie), and
she has reciprocal feelings for him, but he worries that he has no land of his
own or anything else he can offer.
One
stormy night, York is on his way on horseback to perhaps kill a man whom he
feels stole a land purchase from him. York is struck by lightning and he
survives. He suddenly finds religion after the incident. This dovetails with
America’s entering World War I, and York is drafted. He enters the army but
insists that he is a conscientious objector. The last act of the film becomes
an engaging war movie in Europe, and it depicts how York overcomes his
objection to perform a significant heroic act that solidifies his place in
American history.
While
Sergeant York is perhaps a little lengthy at 134 minutes, under the
direction of Howard Hawks it moves from one entertaining set piece to the next.
The characterizations are expertly rendered by the entire cast. Brennan is
always good during this period of his career (he won three Supporting Actor
Oscars between 1936 and 1940), and George Tobias, as a fellow soldier from New
York who teaches York about “subways,†is also winning. The movie, however,
belongs to Cooper, who displays charm, humility, and integrity throughout the
picture.
(Note from the Warner Archive: Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) presents a "Before & After" video comparing the previous master of Sergeant York (1941) with our brand-new master featured on our new Warner Archive Blu-ray.)
Warner
Archive’s Blu-ray is a port-over from Warner’s original DVD release. The
restored transfer is gorgeous and clean, and it comes with an audio commentary by film
historian Jeanine Basinger. Supplements include a “night at the moviesâ€
selection of shorts (a semi-comic documentary called Lions for Sale, and
a Porky Pig cartoon). Of special interest is the 38-minute making-of
featurette, Sergeant York: Of God and Country.
For
fans of Sergeant York, Gary Cooper, Howard Hawks, or depictions of Americana,
the new Warner Archive edition of the picture is worth the upgrade.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE
Universal released The Groundstar Conspiracy starring George Peppard in 1972 and it died
a swift death at the box-office. It is based on the 1968 novel The Alien by L. P. Davies, a British
author whose novels were known for merging the various genres of horror,
science fiction, mystery, adventure and fantasy. The Alien combines mystery and science fiction for an intriguing
plot that takes place in England fifty years in the future and involves
unidentified flying objects, an amnesiac patient who may be from another planet,
espionage, murder and regenerative surgery. The
Groundstar Conspiracy retains the basic premise of the novel but changes
virtually everything else. The screenplay by Mathew Howard (a pseudonym for
Douglas Heyes) transfers the setting to 1972 California, focuses primarily on
the espionage storyline and eliminates the novel’s plot of a possible invasion
from another planet. (In the novel, the UFO landing and alien visitors are
eventually revealed to be fraudulent.)
The film begins with a series of explosions
at Groundstar, a top-secret research government laboratory. Six people are
killed but one man survives, though his face is burned beyond recognition. Despite
his suffering, the severely wounded man finds his way to a nearby cottage
occupied by Nicole Devon who immediately calls authorities. The man’s security
card identifies him as computer technician John Welles. Additional material in
his possession indicates that he set the explosions to conceal his theft of classified
documents. Further investigation reveals that his credentials were forged and
his identity fabricated. All evidence implicates Welles as a saboteur and
murderer. However, he will require medical treatment including extensive
plastic surgery before he can be interrogated.
The
Groundstar Conspiracy
is an ingenious thriller with surprising twists and turns. Due to the film’s
intricate narrative, what appears to be obvious may not be what is actual. Also,
Tuxan may be more deceitful than the suspects that he interrogates. Furthermore,
the abuse that John Welles suffers may be the result of his own actions, of
which he may be totally unaware. If this sounds byzantine, it is intended to
be. The film contains an extremely convoluted plot that is quite clever as well
as challenging. It also raises some troubling questions, including the
recurrent one of whether the good guys have to be more unscrupulous than the
bad guys to achieve victory. In view of Tuxan’s accomplishment, this movie
suggests that the answer is a definite affirmative. However, one of the movie’s
many assets is that the exposure of the principal traitor is only a prelude to
the solution of the story’s central mystery, which is the identity of the man
known as John Welles.
One indisputable fact is that Tuxan is a ruthless
piece of work. He is tenacious about his mission and uses any means, legal or
illegal, to preserve national security. He treats all personnel connected to Groundstar
as suspects, including scientists, military personnel and politicians. He manipulates
people like puppets on a string and equates Welles with cheese used to trap
rats. He torments Welles physically and mentally regardless of his possible innocence.
He believes that the end justifies the means and the end for him is the disclosure
of the spy ring. The fact that he does uncover the traitors validates for him
his brutal treatment of the innocent people that had the misfortune to fall
under his suspicion. Yes, he is a genuine bastard but the key to his
personality is that he is quite proud of this designation.
Lamont Johnson’s confident direction
alternates the swift pace of the action and interrogation scenes with the more
serene interludes of the developing relationship between Welles and Nicole. Johnson
exercises restraint in the torture scenes and doesn’t exploit the grisly
activities. In contrast, he accentuates the suffering of both Welles and Nicole
which suggests sympathy for the lovers. Johnson filmed the entire movie in the
vicinity of Vancouver, British Columbia. With the aid of Michael Reed’s
splendid Panavision and Technicolor cinematography, he highlights British
Columbia’s marvelous coastal locations that substitute for California’s Pacific
Coast; the modernist Groundstar complex is actually Simon Fraser University. Johnson
only directed a dozen theatrical films during his 45-year career and worked
mostly in television, for which he received several Emmy and DGA (Directors
Guild of America) nominations and awards. But this film, along with 1970’s The Mackenzie Break clearly shows that
he excelled in both arenas, especially when he worked with skillful actors.
George Peppard’s forceful performance as
Tuxan is particularly impressive because he doesn’t try to make his character
even faintly likeable. Due to Tuxan’s consistent nastiness and persistence,
Peppard must necessarily give a one-note portrayal. But he does it with admirable
proficiency. His interpretation of Tuxan doesn’t convey a trace of suppressed
softness beneath his merciless surface. He doesn’t suggest even a smidgen of compassion
for the amnesiac which makes his character especially loathsome in view of the
climactic revelation. Even more despicable, the actor suggests a hint of satisfaction
during the torture sequences because of the message his action is sending to
the enemy, whomever they may be. At the finale, when Tuxan is flushed with
success, Peppard still doesn’t allow his character to display any warmth toward
his primary victim. Indeed, he proudly exhibits additional egotism. It is an
audacious performance because it is designed to deliberately alienate audiences.
Nevertheless, Peppard’s innate appeal
makes Tuxan fascinating and persuades those same audiences that people like him
are necessary.
If you're a Cinema Retro reader, you probably don't have to be told how impressive director John Boorman's 1972 adaptation of James Dickey's bestseller "Deliverance" is, but here's a reminder.
Mike Fleming of the Deadline website adds some context to a recent report from Bloomberg News that the next James Bond film, "No Time to Die", might "premiere" on a major streaming service. Deadline says that although some discussions and consideration were given to this option, Bond producers have decided to hold out for a theatrical premiere in April, 2021. The report goes into the financial stakes that effect the film and the franchise in general. If recent history is any indication, "No Time to Die" could gross over a billion dollars from international theatrical exhibition. The movie was originally slated to premiere in London last March but considerations of the virus led producers to announce it would be delayed until this November. With the world still reeling from the effects of the virus, Eon Productions announced that April, 2021 would be the new target date. However, much will depend on world conditions at that time. As experts predicted, the world is still grappling with the virus and a new surge is expected to get only worse with the arrival of colder weather. While great progress is being made in the development of vaccines, the earliest one might be approved seems to be late this year. By the time it could begin to be administered to general populations worldwide, experts cite next spring or summer as the most likely timetable. This calls into question whether the marketplace would be any more favorable to release a major movie. "No Time to Die" is said to have cost about $250 million. The producers have acknowledged they want to premiere the film in theaters. However, the only thing anyone knows for sure regarding the effect of the virus is that no one knows anything for sure. For more click here.
With
the publication of Jeremy Arnold’s new lavishly illustrated and intelligently
written TCM (Turner Classic Movies) coffee-table paperback, The Essentials,
Volume 2: 52 More Must-See Movies and Why They Matter, I find myself going
back to my review of the original Volume 1 of The Essentials and am
tempted to repeat much of what was said there.
“The
Essentials†is a weekly Saturday night event on TCM in which a guest host
introduces a picture he or she believes is an Essential, i.e., a title “film
lovers need to know,†as film historian Ben Mankiewicz explains in the forward.
The number 52 is used because there are 52 weeks in a year. Unlike in Volume
One, the new book contains an Appendix listing all the Essentials that
TCM has aired, indicating the ones chosen for both Volumes 1 and 2 (and there
are still plenty left over, leaving open the possibility of a Volume 3 and 4!).
It must be stated that TCM’s choice of movies depend entirely on what is
available to the network to broadcast. For example, The Godfather,
surely an “Essential,†is not on the list because TCM has never had the rights
to show it. The Wizard of Oz is not there, either. Therefore, TCM’s list
of Essentials, while containing all fabulous, important, and indeed must-see
titles, does unfortunately omit some obvious pictures, albeit through no
fault of their own.
That
said, the new Volume 2 handsomely complements Volume 1 design-wise and sits
neatly on the shelf beside its older brother. Author Jeremy Arnold does a
superb job presenting the reasons why a particular film matters and provides
interesting sidebar trivia for each entry. The book is gorgeously illustrated
with many stills, both color and black-and-white.
The
new tome includes such classics as Sunrise, Freaks, Top Hat,
Stagecoach, Sullivan’s Travels, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Notorious,
Rashomon, High Noon, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The
Apartment, Psycho, The Producers, Hannah and Her Sisters,
and I was particularly pleased to see 2001: A Space Odyssey (an omission
I noted from Volume 1!).
It
is always too easy when judging a book of “bests†to complain about what’s
missing. That won’t happen here except to say that it’s unfortunate that TCM
does not incorporate more foreign-language titles that are indeed must-see
“essentialsâ€â€”for example, there’s not a single film by Ingmar Bergman, Federico
Fellini, or Francois Truffaut on the full list. While there are a few, such as
Godard’s Breathless (included in Volume 1) and Ray’s Pather Panchali
(here in Volume 2), so many are missing. One must conclude that this is because
TCM concentrates more on purely American/Hollywood fare.
But
this is quibbling. All told, like Volume 1 before it, The Essentials Volume
2 is another good starting point “bucket list†of must-see movies, especially
for younger aficionados who might want to get a jump start on their film
history class.
“Directing is so much more than staging
scenes or moving the camera,†explains John Badham in the new edition of his
last book. “It is how to make the impossible possible. It is storytelling,
imagination, people managing, resource skills, physical stamina, so many things
a director is called upon to be good at. Including accepting the blame for
everything: the script, the performances, the camerawork etc., etc., etc. And
yet, in spite of all those limitations, obstacles, and endless politics, we
charge forward trying to make the very best of what we have to work with. Who
else would do such a crazy thing? But how can we not?â€
In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s,
John Badham enjoyed something of the Midas Touch. A former actor - and brother
of To Kill a Mockingbird actress Mary Badham - he had graduated at the
same movie academy of hard knocks as contemporary directors like Steven
Spielberg and Richard Donner: namely directing 1970s TV shows, in his case ‘The
Streets of San Francisco’, ‘Kung Fu’ and ‘Night Gallery’.
He struck box office gold with his second
feature, Saturday Night Fever which became a worldwide phenomenon in
1977, capturing the disco era at the zenith of its popularity and transforming
John Travolta into an icon in white polyester. He demonstrated his versatility
straight away with his next movie, a luscious, romantic Dracula starring
Frank Langella, with the Transylvanian Count retooled as a swoon-inducing
Gothic romancer.
Into the 1980s, Badham alternated kid-centric
thrillers like WarGames and Short Circuit with more mature action
pictures like Blue Thunder, Stakeout and Bird on a Wire, all of which resonated with audiences.
A sure-footed, no-nonsense director, Badham’s
work was characterised by his affinity with actors and his ability to coax
naturalistic performances from his cast that won over audiences time after
time. Even in high concept mainstream studio blockbusters, his cast were always
given room to breathe and play off each other, giving his work a charm and
longevity absent from a lot of other hits from the time.
Following hits like The Hard Way and
his underrated remake of La Femme Nikita, Point of No Return,
Badham’s career went full circle in the new millennium as he returned to
television, directing episodes of some of the most successful shows of the past
twenty years like ‘Supernatural’, ‘Heroes’, ‘Arrow’ and ‘Psych’, though the
difference in working methods on TV made for an often jarring gear-change, or
as he puts it, “The parallel universe takes a hard-right fork here and spears
you on a sharply pointed tine.â€
In 2006 he published his first book, ‘I’ll Be
In My Trailer’ (co-written with Craig Modderno), a juicy and highly
entertaining memoir that dealt with the often strained relationship between
director and actor. In his quest to pass on his hard-won skills at ameliorating
tensions, Badham was joined by fellow-travellers including Oliver Stone,
Richard Donner, John Frankenheimer and Michael Mann, and passing insightful
tips from the actors’s corner of the ring, such luminaries as Martin Sheen,
Eriq LaSalle, Mel Gibson, Richard Dreyfuss, and the “always exciting, never
dull scatological actor†James Woods.
The central theme of resolving the potential
conflict between actors and directors carries through to ‘John Badham on
Directing’ (2nd Edition). The first half of the book is a ‘How To…’ guide on
saying the right things, not saying the wrong things, creating the right
atmosphere and tips, learned the hard way, on the best ways to get your actors
to overcome their innate distrust of you.
Once again, Badham is joined by a gang of
learned pals offering their own advice, which is more often than not a sage reduction
like Steven Soderbergh’s simple edict, “Don’t tell actors what to think. Tell
them what to do.†Badham recalls once doing precisely the opposite,
gabbing on at considerable length trying to explain the internal machinations
of Bill Bixby’s character, until Bixby stopped him and said, “I have no idea
what you just said.†It is typical of Badham’s understated style to make
himself the butt of most of the jokes and the source of most (but by no means
all) of the screw-ups that he’s spent fifty years learning from.
He’s still working today at the cutting edge
of mainstream television but as a graduate of the old-school he still has a
fondness for the more analogue-era techniques. He decries the post-digital
tendency to print everything, knowing that the poor editor will be drowning in
mostly useless footage.
He also has little time for new innovations
like video playback, preferring to deal with the actors the old way, standing
off camera. “The video monitor became the watercooler of the set,†he groans. “Anyone
with nothing better to do scammed a pair of headphones and sat in a forest of
director’s chairs crowded around the video monitor, Monday morning
quarterbacking every second.â€
Despite being called ‘…On Directing’ the book
is not a manual for wannabe directors looking to learn how to create dolly-zoom
shots, block scenes or choose camera lenses correctly - though Badham is
generous in his recommendation of other writers’ works that offer further
reading in that area. In Badham’s experience, new directors flush with all the
benefits of modern technology, tend to already know everything about the
mechanical side of making movies. It’s having to deal with other human beings
on the set that often proves to be the Achilles heel.
Instead, anyone hoping to pick up a bullhorn
and recline into the director’s chair for the first time will benefit from the
many anecdotal lessons learned by Badham and his collaborators about vitally
important but untaught skills like how to praise a performance, or how not to
give advice notes, and deceptively simple guidance, like always show up to work
forty-five minutes early.
His tales of the brutally intense world of
directing television shows are particularly compelling. Often, books on
directors tend to concentrate on the almost mythical figure of the grand
Hollywood auteur, but the advice and reminiscences of TV directors like
Michelle MacLaren (‘Breaking Bad’), Allan Arkush (‘Nashville’) and Romeo Tirone
(‘Dexter’) feel especially vital given television’s seemingly unstoppable
cultural dominance.
It’s also an invaluable read for
scriptwriters who get a rare sense of what a director will do with their magnum
opus after it’s had the go-ahead to be turned into a movie. The first thing I
did after reading this was to return to my own script and strike a red pen
through any adverbs in the personal directions!
‘John Badham on Directing’ is a warm, honest,
amusing, direct and informative collection of hard-earned wisdom that anybody
with even a passing interest in film-making would enjoy. For anyone actively
planning on becoming a professional film-maker, it is absolutely essential. The
summaries at the end of each chapter should be cut out and stuck to the walls
of anyone hoping to become the next Christopher Nolan…or John Badham, for that
matter. Heed his advice: he knows whereof he speaks.
"Hearts of the West" is a somewhat sentimental, generally amusing tale that displays affection for the early sound era of cinema. Written by Rob Thompson and directed by Howard Zieff, the film barely registered at the boxoffice when released in 1975, despite having received very positive reviews. The story is another familiar "fish-out-of-water" tale with young Jeff Bridges as Lewis Tater, an Iowan who is obsessed with the Western novels of Zane Gray. He's eager to get to the real West to find inspiration for his own plans to become a screenwriter for the horse operas that were all the rage in the 1930s. First, he plans to attend a university in Nevada where he hopes to hone his writing skills. Upon arriving in Nevada, however, he finds that the "university" doesn't exist beyond a post office box where gullible applicants have sent their tuition fees. While still licking his wounds, Lewis checks in to a local boarding house and coincidentally ends up confronting the two men behind the scam (Richard B. Shull and Anthony James.) A brawl ensues and Lewis escapes in their car, while also taking a box that contains a pistol. The con men chase after him to no avail, as Lewis escapes into the desert. What he doesn't know is that the box he has taken has a secret compartment containing thousands of dollars in ill-gotten gains from the tuition applicants. Lewis is saved from dying of thirst when he stumbles on to a low budget movie company that is filming a Western. He befriends veteran stuntman Howard Pike (Andy Griffith), who takes him under his wing and gets him a job as a stunt man despite the fact the Lewis has no experience. Still, his willingness to place himself in danger favorably impresses the director, Kessler (Alan Arkin). Lewis also strikes up a romantic relationship with the script girl, Miss Trout (Blythe Danner), who gets him a job as a busboy in a local diner to help him add to his skimpy wages on the film set. Lewis discovers the hidden money and uses it to try to buy an audience with eccentric film producer A.J. Nietz (a very quirky and funny Donald Pleasence), who he hopes to convince to buy his script for a Western. Things go awry, however, when the two con men track him down and threaten his life.
"Hearts of the West" provides gentle comedy, as director Zieff favors mild chuckles over belly laughs. What enriches the film is the vast assortment of interesting characters. Bridges, then 24 years old, shows star power as the likeable but gullible protagonist and Andy Griffith steals the show as the shopworn, cynical stuntman who never realized fulfillment of his dreams. All of the supporting actors give yeoman performances and there are brief appearances from beloved character actors such as Frank Cady, Dub Taylor, Alex Rocco, Herb Edelman, Marie Windsor, Thayer David and William Christopher, among others. The film is an homage to a bygone era of filmmaking. Ironically, the same can now be said about "Hearts of the West", which is available as a region-free DVD from the Warner Archive. The only bonus extra is the original trailer.
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(RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST ARTICLES FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVE.)
BY TODD GARBARINI
I’m a sucker for car chases. Not the
perfunctory, last-minute “Hey, this movie needs a car chase!†variety, but the
kind that comes as a result of a particular plot point wherein someone or some group has to get away from some other
group. While most new car chases such as TheFast and the Furious sort are usually
accomplished through CGI, I find that this sleight-of-hand fakery virtually
abolishes all tension. The best ones that I have seen all did it for real
through innovative and unprecedented filming techniques and excellent editing: Grand Prix (1966), Vanishing Point (1967), Bullitt
(1968), The Seven-Ups (1973), The Blues Brothers (1980), The Road Warrior (1981), The Terminator (1984), F/X (1986), Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), and The Town (2010) all have action sequences that put the full wonder
of film editing on display.
There are two major car chases in the
late John Frankenheimer’s Ronin, which opened on Friday, September 25, 1998, and
it’s the second and longer one that ranks up there in the pantheon of The Greatest
Car Chases Ever Filmed. The French
Connection (1971) and To Live and Die
in L.A. (1985) are the granddaddies of car chases in my humble opinion and Ronin’s is certainly in the top ten,
with a stupendous wrong-way-driving-against-incoming-traffic sequence through a
tunnel in France to composer Elia
Cmiral’s exciting score.
The title of “Ronin†is originally a
reference to the feudal period of Japan relating to a samurai who has become
masterless following his master’s death as a result of the samurai’s failure to
protect him. To earn a living, the samurai wanders from place to place
attempting to gain work from others. For the uninitiated, title cards prior to
the film’s opening credits inform us of this. This name relates to the film as
several mercenaries meet for the purpose of stealing an important silver case.
Sam (Robert DeNiro), Vincent (Jean Reno), Gregor (Stellan Skarsgard), and Spence
(Sean Bean) and several others are the persons for hire. Deirdre (Natascha
McElhorne) is the one who called them all together but she offers little in the
way of an explanation as to what the contents are. Like in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992), they don’t know
one another and work under the assumption that all involved are trustworthy
which eventually will be their undoing. Now ya see, if they has listened to the
James Poe episode “Blood Bath†on the old time radio show Escape!, none of this would have ever happened! Yeah…
Sam used to work for the CIA, Vincent
is a “fixerâ€, Spence is a former Special Air Service expert in weaponry, Gregor
is an expert in electronics, and Larry (Skipp
Sudduth) is one of the drivers. Sam is the most inquisitive and probably has
the most to lose. They don’t discuss their past and are eager to get paid. Sam almost
acts like the ringleader, but he has some serious competition after they secure
their objective and are double-crossed. It then becomes a game of who can trust
who (naturally, the answer is no one). There are some really good supporting
performances by Michael Lonsdale (I hadn’t seen him in a theater since Moonraker!) and Jonathan Pryce and the
action always keeps moving forward but unlike today’s films, the action
sequences are well-staged and edited and have depth to them. A terrific
addition to Mr. Frankenheimer’s filmography.
Kino-Lorber
has unleashed the Blu-ray edition of 1979’s World War II thriller The Passage
starring Anthony Quinn, James Mason, Kay Lenz and Malcolm McDowell.This is a grim story concerning the efforts
of a Basque shepherd to lead an escaped scientist and his family across the
Pyrenees to safety in Switzerland.
Anthony
Quinn plays the reluctant shepherd, known only as the Basque, who has a violent
history and is no stranger to guerilla warfare.The Basque has 72 hours to make the
dangerous journey with German scientist John Bergson (Mason), his sickly wife
(Patricia Neal) and two grown children (Lenz and Paul Clemens).Every effort has been made by the Underground
to keep this mission a secret, but it soon becomes apparent that SS officer Von
Berkow (McDowell) is hot on their trail.
Malcolm
McDowell at this time was best known for his chilling role as Alex DeLarge in
Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.He
had been attempting to soften his maniacal image with roles in Royal Flash and
Nicholas Meyer’s excellent Time After Time.1979, however, would send him back to ultimate villain status with the
release of Caligula and this film.
McDowell
pulls out all the stops with his over the top performance of a sadistic SS
Captain who has a total fixation with Hitler.He will stop at nothing at thwarting the escape of Bergson and his
family with no regard to who he has to hurt or kill.During an extremely unpleasant rape scene,
Von Berkow displays his undergarments that include a swastika on the crotch.Nice guy.
Patricia
Neal, who herself was not well during filming, plays the ailing but stoic wife
of Bergson.She wants nothing more than
to see her children escape over the mountains even if it means sacrificing her
own life. James Mason is in fine form as the scientist who initially resents
the Basque’s cold efficiency in leading the expedition.He reluctantly comes to understand the
importance of pushing on to stay ahead of his pursuers and the two men reach a
state of detente.
The
Basque is not pleased with being asked by the Underground to take on this
mission and becomes more upset when he learns that the scientist’s family is
included.He maintains a smoldering rage
throughout the journey, which he finally directs towards the enemy and away
from Bergson.
Kay
Lenz, best known at the time for Clint Eastwood’s Breezy and the action film
White Line Fever, has a thankless role here.She is the vulnerable daughter who must endure being smacked around and
finally assaulted by the despicable Von Berkow as the family hides among a
group of Gypsies.
Also
included in the cast are two former James Bond villains, Christopher Lee and
Michael Lonsdale.Lee is the leader of the
Gypsy troupe that shelters the Bergson family along their way.Lonsdale, a member of the Underground, is
taken captive by Von Berkow and faces a horrendous fate.
Another
James Bond connection to The Passage is that the associate producer is Maurice
Binder, the designer of so many memorable main title sequences for the 007
series.No, he did not create the rather
ordinary titles for this production.As
indicated in the disc’s interview with Malcolm McDowell, he never produced
another film.
Director
J. Lee Thompson, who is best known for the classic thrillers The Guns of
Navarone and Cape Fear, brings his talent for staging action scenes to The
Passage.The nasty scene in which a key
character is dispensed with in a gruesome manner in the kitchen is remarkable
in that the ugly maiming is implied, not actually shown.Viewers may be reminded of the same technique
used by Hitchcock in Psycho’s infamous shower murder.
The
Panavision cinematography by Michael Reed is one of the film’s highlights with
the beautiful mountain backdrops of the Pyrenees providing a fresh, cold look
to the location shots.James Mason
reportedly told Kay Lenz that this film would not be successful because the
cold weather scenes would make audiences uncomfortable.Whether this was true or not is open to
debate, but the picture only grossed around $71,000 in the U.S. during a very
limited release.
The
extras on Kino-Lorber’s release include a fascinating interview with actor
Malcolm McDowell where he claims: “That movie contains some of the best work
I’ve ever done.â€He goes on to detail
how he and director Thompson agreed that Von Berkow should be played to the extreme.One of their ideas featured a scene where
McDowell looks at himself in a mirror and holds up a comb to imitate Hitler’s
moustache.It was was also their idea to
have Von Berkow wear the jockstrap with the swastika.Reportedly, Christopher Lee thought this was
in extremely poor taste.
McDowell’s
interview is quite self-deprecating and he gives high marks to his fellow cast
members.He particularly enjoyed his
time with James Mason and their conversations over dinner.He tells a funny anecdote about Christopher
Lee insisting that his raggedy Gypsy clothing had to fit perfectly.You will also learn how the Arab oil embargo
played a part in McDowell accepting his role in The Passage.
Also
included on the disc is an alternate ending that features Von Berkow
hallucinating during his final confrontation with the Basque.These scenes contained some shockingly
graphic violence that was toned down for the theatrical release.So often we read about elements being cut
from movies to ease potential controversy.Here we’re allowed to see and judge for ourselves.
The
Passage was almost unseen in the U.S. as it played one week in selected
cities.European audiences were more
receptive to the film which allowed it to make back most of the production
costs.There was a VHS release during
the 80s and some showings on Cinemax, but this is a mostly unknown film on this
side of the pond.I always appreciate
that Kino-Lorber includes trailers for additional films on their Blu-rays, which
is how I became aware of this movie.
All
in all, I would say The Passage is an interesting film considering the cast and
director, and the extra features alone are worth the cost.
Remember when it was exciting to see your favorite movies premiere on prime time television? Most of the time, they were edited for time or content and, of course, you had to suffer through commercials in the pre-streaming and home video era. Still, they generally garnered high ratings. Here's a vintage 1972 intro for the popular "NBC Saturday Night at the Movies" program, this week showing the top-notch 1967 Western "The War Wagon".
The
Duke teams up with Robert Ryan as Marine pilots fighting the Japanese in the
Pacific during WWII in “Flying Leathernecks,†just released on Blu-ray via the
Warner Archive Collection. The story picks up in Hawaii in the middle of 1942
as Major Daniel Kirby (John Wayne) takes command of a Marine Corps aviation
squadron about to ship out for combat in the Pacific. A veteran of the Battle
of Midway, Kirby meets the men in his unit along with his executive officer,
Captain Carl “Griff†Griffin (Robert Ryan), who is a bit ruffled after being
passed over to take command. While a great pilot, Griff is not good at making
difficult life and death decisions regarding the other pilots and has become
their friend.
On
Guadalcanal, the squadron pilots become experts at close air support which is precision
aerial strafing against enemy ground troops within yards of American soldiers.
The men grumble because they want to become flying aces and take out Japanese
Zeros in dog fights. This results in pilot deaths as they break from missions
to go out on their own in search of Zeros. It’s no safer on the ground as the
airfield is routinely attacked by enemy strafing and bombing.
Between
missions, Jay C. Flippen offers comic relief as Master Sergeant Clancy, the
flight line chief. He’s not only the chief mechanic, but also their “don’t ask
me any questions†scrounger. Everything from tents and cake to captured
Japanese sake. Flippen is likable and steals every scene he’s in. Actor and director
Don Taylor plays Lieutenant Vern “Cowboy†Blithe, Griff’s brother-in-law. He
sports a pair of brightly colored cowboy boots while in his flight suit
claiming military boots hurt his feat. William Harrigan is on hand as the Navy
doctor, Lt. Commander Joe Curran who shows up to offer advice to Major Kirby.
The
efforts of the squadron in close air support are successful and Kirby is
reassigned and promoted. He returns to his wife Joan (Janis Carter) and their
son Tommy (Gordon Gebert) who refers to his father as major and later colonel.
The squadron returns to combat on Okinawa and continue their close air support
of the ground troops. The movie comes to a satisfying conclusion with Kirby and
Griff putting old grudges aside.
The
film makes use of color air combat footage from the Korean War which was waging
as the movie was in production, and inter mixes that footage with shots of the
pilots on their cockpits and the troops on the ground. WWII era Grumman F6F
Hellcats were still in use during the Korean War, but nitpickers will note the
Wildcats used during the Battle of Guadalcanal were Grumman F4Fs. I doubt most
people noticed then or will notice now.
You
may be wondering what a leatherneck is. The name dates back to 18th century
when American and British Marines and soldiers wore a leather collar around their
neck, often sewn into the cloth collar to improve posture and military bearing.
The leather collar continued to be used as part of the U.S. Marine uniform
until it was discontinued in 1872. An alternative legend to the origin of the
term states the leather collar was worn to protect against saber blades when
Marines boarded enemy ships. It can also be used as a derogatory reference. Whatever
the truth, Marine pilots would be Flying Leathernecks. The reference is less
common today and I’ve never heard any of my Marine friends use the name.
Produced
by Edmund Grainger and directed by Nicholas Ray, the movie is presented by
Howard Hughes and released by RKO in August 1951. The music score by Roy Webb
is serviceable, utilizing the Marine Corps song as the title track and
variations of the Marine song used throughout the movie.Not every John Wayne
movie can be a classic but this is an enjoyable WWII aviation movie and
certainly can be seen by the more cynical as pro- war propaganda. The Korean
War was waging and the Duke’s politics were well known.
The
movie has a 102 minute running time filled with aerial combat and drama on the
ground. The Warner Archive Blu-ray and sounds slightly better than the previous
two DVD releases, but you will have to decide if this it’s worth the upgrade.
For me, the Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray is a welcome addition to my John
Wayne home video collection. The only supplements are subtitles and the
re-issue trailer.
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Thanks
to cable and digital TV channels, Yvonne de Carlo (1922-2007) is probably best
known today, even and maybe especially among youngsters, from endless reruns of
“The Munsters.â€As Lily Munster, it’s a
safe bet that de Carlo will outlive all the rest of us for decades to come, if
not centuries.But long before Lily, de
Carlo was a sultry, exotic leading lady in dozens of costume epics, film noirs,
and Westerns from the late 1940s through the 1950s.One such vehicle, the 1950
Universal-International picture “Buccaneer’s Girl,†is now available on Blu-ray
from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.De
Carlo plays Deborah McCoy, a singer and dancer who stows away in boy’s clothing
on a ship out of Boston, owned by a wealthy New Orleans businessman, Narbonne
(Robert Douglas).Narbonne’s archenemy
is the pirate Baptiste (Philip Friend), whom she meets when the buccaneer
attacks and seizes the ship.Debbie
presently slips away from the pirates and makes her way to New Orleans, where
she’s given room, board, and job leads at a “School for Genteel Young Ladiesâ€
run by Madam Brizar (Elsa Lancaster).Entertaining at a soiree, Debbie again encounters Baptiste, this time in
his respectable secret identity as the dashing Captain Robert Kingston, who has
been commissioned to capture Baptiste.It’s been a long chase.“He’s
always one step ahead of me,†Kingston says wryly.“Maybe you should try standing still,†Debbie
rejoins.As Baptiste, Kingston’s motives
are pure in the honored tradition of Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel.To avenge his late father, who was bankrupted
by Narbonne, he preys only on Narbonne’s ships.The stolen booty is laundered into a fund to support unemployed mariners
who were forced out of their jobs by the ruthless businessman when he bought
their ships and installed his own crews.Thanks to his weaselly spy Patout (Norman Lloyd), Narbonne secures
evidence to identify and arrest Kingston as Baptiste.In the meantime, Debbie’s fledgling romance
with the pirate metaphorically hits rough waters when she learns that Kingston
is engaged to the socially prominent and snooty Arlene (Andrea King), the
governor’s daughter.
Directed
by Frederick de Cordova, who later became Johnny Carson’s longtime confidant
and producer, “Buccaneer’s Girl†is the sort of harmless, old-time escapism
that Johnny and his Mighty Carson Art Players would eventually lampoon on the
“Tonight Show.â€Today, in a similar
set-up, you’d wait to see when or if the woman, once discovered, will avoid
rape.But Debby is befriended by
Baptiste’s salty crew much like the new kid on the block who wanders over to
the playground and gets accepted into the other 10-year-olds’ softball
team.The leader of the crew is first
mate Jared- no relation to Kushner-played by Jay C. Flippen, who’s given to exclamations like “Well, lower me
jib!â€Jared’s last name might be but
probably isn’t Kushner.The movie is so
family-friendly that nobody is killed in the brawls and sword fights, and Madam
Brizar’s business seems to be a combination finishing school and talent agency
for real, and not a euphemism for . . . well, you know . . . as we might expect
in our more cynical era.As film
historian Lee Gambin remarks on his audio commentary for the KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray, de Carlo invests her role with “great gusto and flair.â€She’s equally adept at taking pratfalls,
romancing Kingston, bopping bad guys on the head, and exercising her claws in a
catfight when Debbie finally puts up with enough from Arlene.Action fans may wish her three musical
numbers had been reduced to one to make more room for pirate-type stuff,
especially since the old-school FX for the battles between Baptiste’s ship and
Narbonne’s are nicely done, but then again, the movie is designed as a showcase
for de Carlo, and the title is ‘Buccaneer’s Girl†and not “Buccaneer.â€As Baptiste, Philip Friend engagingly looks
and sounds a lot like Rex Harrison at a fraction of Harrison’s going rate, even
in 1950.
The Kino Lorber
Studio Classics disc frames the movie at its proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio and
delivers Russell Metty’s Technicolor cinematography with gorgeous clarity and
richness.Besides Lee Gambin’s
informative commentary, extras include a theatrical trailer and clear SDH
subtitles.
From the Paramount archives: enjoy this scene from John Ford's classic "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962) and relish the amazing array of great actors: John Wayne, James Stewart, Lee Marvin, Strother Martin, Woody Strode, Vera Miles, Edmond O'Brien and Lee Van Cleef.
In
1943, Hollywood churned out dozens of war films in support of the U.S.
involvement in the global conflict raging at the time. Many were cheaply made
rush jobs, others were good “B†pictures, and a select group were “A†level, excellent
pieces of celluloid that are now classics. All were essentially propaganda
pictures made to lift the spirits of the American people and the troops who
were able to see them. Rah Rah, Let’s Go Get ‘Em!
Billy
Wilder, an Austrian Jew who had fled Germany as the Nazis gained power, settled
in Hollywood in 1933 after a brief stint in France. He immediately found work
as a talented screenwriter, ultimately earning his first Oscar nomination for
co-writing Ninotchka (1939). As war heated up in the 1940s, Wilder then
became, after the likes of Preston Sturges, a rare Hollywood double threat—a
writer/director. Five Graves to Cairo is only his second picture as a
director, and it’s one of those propaganda war films that could be classified
as an “A†classic.
In
the flavor of Casablanca, Five Graves is also a spy movie in a
way. The plot involves British tank corporal John Bramble (Franchot Tone), who,
after his crew is wiped out in the North African desert, makes his way to Sidi
Halfaya in a delirium. He stumbles into a hotel, the “Empress of Britain,†run
by an Egyptian, Farid (Akim Tamiroff). Also present in the desolated hotel is
the French maid, Mouche (Anne Baxter). The Germans, led by Field Marshal Erwin
Rommel (Erich von Stroheim, of course) are on their way to town, and they’ll be
staying at the hotel. The British had recently been run out of town and are
regrouping at El Alamein. Lieutenant Schwegler (Peter van Eyck) arrives with
men ahead of Rommel to fix up security and make arrangements for his commanding
officer. In a pinch, Bramble must impersonate the dead “waiter,†of the hotel,
a man called Davos. It turns out that Davos, who had a peg leg, was a German
spy who had made regular reports on British movements before he was killed.
This gives Bramble the opportunity to play double agent and ferret out Rommel’s
secret of hidden supply dumps in Egypt known as the “five graves to Cairo.†Throw
in a love/hate conflict between Bramble and Mouche, and you’ve got the makings
of a terrific war thriller.
Five
Graves to Cairo is
well-made, tightly written (by Wilder, with longtime scribe partner Charles
Brackett), and superbly acted. Tone, while not being an A-level star per se,
carries the movie well. Baxter, speaking with a European accent that isn’t quite
French, is suitable enough and certainly exudes screen chemistry. Erich von
Stroheim almost steals the picture as Rommel, doing his typical German officer
routine we’ve seen before; he makes a terrific heavy for the tale. Tamiroff’s
purpose is primarily comic relief, and he always fulfills that duty with skill.
Kino
Lorber’s impressive high definition restoration looks sharp and clear. It comes
with an audio commentary by film historian Joseph McBride, as well as the
theatrical trailer for this and other Billy Wilder releases by Kino.
Five
Graves to Cairo is
a time capsule of its day, a potent look at a filmmaker early in his
extraordinary career, and a marvelous entertainment.
To
say that George Roy Hill’s “The Sting†(1973) was a hit is like calling Amazon
a successful little internet business.Starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, “The Sting†placed second in
ticket sales for its year of release ($159.6 million), surpassed only by “The
Exorcist.â€In the Academy Awards
ceremonies on April 2, 1974, it earned seven Oscars, notably honors for Best
Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.The Best Picture award sparked a brief
controversy as to whether the stylish but relatively lightweight film about an
elaborate confidence scheme deserved the accolade.The pot was further stirred during the awards
broadcast, when the screenwriter, David S. Ward, flashed a gesture on stage
after picking up his statuette.It was
the same signal used by real-life con artists to declare victory over unwary
dupes, some observers asserted.Whatever
the merits of the argument, the awards gave the picture a further nudge at the
box office.In Hollywood, such success
traditionally demands a sequel.In 1975,
“Daily Variety†first reported the news that “The Sting, Part II†was slated
for production.That announcement was
followed by a long gestation in which several producers, writers, scripts, and
proposed stars followed one after another on the project at Universal Picture.At times, various drafts were titled “The
Next Sting,†‘Two Guys from Milwaukee,†and a real head-scratcher, “The Sting
II: That’s Why the Lady is a Tramp.â€Apparently at no point did anyone propose pulling the plug, even after
the years went on and one iteration was scrapped for the next.
When
the sequel was finally released on February 18, 1983, it was simply titled “The
Sting II.â€The original and the sequel
shared David S. Ward as the screenwriter.Both movies were premised around two enterprising grifters who pull a
Big Con on a shady character against a period backdrop of the Great
Depression.Both had opening credits
illustrated by title cards in 1930s Norman Rockwell style.But everything else had changed.Jennings Lang had replaced Richard Zanuck
and David Brown as producer, Jeremy Kagan had moved into the director’s seat
(as Jeremy Paul Kagan), and Lalo Schifrin was credited with the musical
score.Like Marvin Hamlisch’s in the
original, it leaned heavily and anachronistically on Scott Joplin’s jaunty,
early 1900s ragtime compositions. The
most conspicuous change was the absence of Newman and Redford from the starring
roles.The actors had signaled early on
that they had no interest in a sequel.Universal should have taken that as an omen.Ultimately, perhaps it did.February is a notorious time of the year for
dumping movies in theaters after studio executives have lost interest or
confidence in them.“The Sting IIâ€
opened to anaemic box office ($6.3 million) and strongly negative reviews at a
level of indignation usually reserved for political attack ads.
Did
“The Sting II†deserve its fate?A new
release of the picture on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics offers
present-day viewers the opportunity to decide for themselves.People age 30 and under are most likely to
regard it as a curiosity from a time before Hollywood began to cater to kids
and teens with superhero spectacles and the like.In the film, racketeer Doyle decides to get
even with (as in, kill) the team of con artists who soaked him for $500,000 in
the earlier film.He starts by
kidnapping, torturing, and murdering Kid Colors (Bert Remsen), and diverting
suspicion onto a rival hoodlum, Macilinski (Karl Malden).The ruse is plausible because Macilinski is
known for his crude, ruthless methods.Gondorff and Hooker, the ringleaders of the previous sting, decide to
retaliate against Macilinski by scamming him out of $400,000 in an elaborate
hoax involving bets on a boxing match.As they proceed, unaware that they’ve targeted the wrong man, Lonnegan
waits patiently to lower the final boom, enjoying his apparent success in
fooling the two professionals at their own game.Malden’s Macilinski and a slick lady grifter
played by Teri Garr were new characters, and the three leads might as well have
been, too. Newman’s Henry Gondorff was
renamed Fargo Gondorff and played by Jackie Gleason, and Redford’s Johnny
Hooker was renamed Jake Hooker, played by Mac Davis.Oliver Reed assumed the part of Doyle
Lonnegan, originally played by Robert Shaw.Why Ward and Kagan thought to rename two of the primary characters but
not the third, when all three were recast but were all supposed to be the same
ones played by Newman, Redford, and Shaw, is a puzzler.Maybe remnants of previous, contradictory
drafts had found their way into the final shooting script.
Critics
took a dim view of the recastings, as if suspecting Universal of a
bait-and-switch scam of its own against fans of Newman and Redford.Mac Davis, who passed away at age 78 in
September 2020, came in for particularly negative press, although he had
received good notices for two previous movies, “North Dallas Forty†(1979) and
“Cheaper to Keep Her†(1981), and performed capably as Hooker.Davis brought name value as an enormously
successful and well-liked singer and songwriter, and more importantly for
audience demographics, he had a devoted female fan base.A greater disappointment was Oliver Reed,
whose Lonnegan lacked the steely menace of Shaw’s, although that may have been
as much the script’s fault as Reed’s.“The Sting II†isn’t the complete wreck that you would guess from the
old reviews, but it isn’t particularly distinguished either, covering as it
does much the same ground as its predecessor with less energy, inspiration,
polish, and surprise.Still, fans of
Gleason, Davis, and caper pictures will give kudos to KL Studio Classics for
granting it new visibility on Blu-ray.Films like this one risk sliding completely into limbo, now that they no
longer play widely on HBO, Cinemax, and your local TV affiliate’s Afternoon
Money Movie as they once did.
The KL Studio
Classics Blu-ray at least looks gorgeous in hi-def, 1.85:1 color.Special features include the theatrical
trailer and audio commentary by Jeremy Kagan.The director speaks fondly about various aspects of the film, including
the question of whether someone can change a bet on a prizefight after the
match has already started -- a key element in the plot.
Vinegar
Syndrome is the name of a phenomenon that occurs in motion picture film when
reels of film are poorly stored in hot and humid conditions. The hallmarks of
this unfortunate and inevitable fate to motion picture film consist of physical
degradation of celluloid precipitated by the film development process and
indifferent/poor film storage – such as film stored on rusted metal reels – all
resulting in film bearing the faint or strong smell of vinegar. The film can
become very brittle, suffer from shrinkage and/or take on a contorted shape
making it nearly impossible to run through a projector. In short, the only way
to arrest the process is to make pristine duplicates of the film’s original
camera negative following the developing stage and store them in
climate-controlled conditions. As one can well imagine, however, this type of
care was rarely if ever instituted by low budget movie studios who saw their
assets (i.e. a finished motion picture feature film) as having a limited shelf
life apart from ancillary markets that rarely included life beyond cable and television
broadcasts and foreign cinema exhibition Alternately, they simply didn’t have
the money or space to store the negatives.
Vinegar
Syndrome is also the name of one of the best film preservation companies
working today, located in Connecticut. Their enormous efforts have rescued many
foreign films and drive-in fan favorites from certain death, offering up a
smorgasbord of primarily obscure titles long forgotten from the age of home
video when feature films were released as-is on videocassette (VHS/Beta) and
videodisc (RCA Capacitance Electronic Disc and Pioneer LaserDisc). With
advances made in digital video restoration, films that have never even seen the
light of day outside of a grindhouse theater on 42nd Street in New
York City or a drive-in theater are now available on DVD/Blu-ray/4K Ultra High
Definition Blu-ray thanks to this amazing company.
Zombie
5: Killing Birds,
originally given the equally strange title of Killing Birds: Raptors, begins
promisingly enough before it slows to a craw (sorry, crawl) and interminably
meanders to a sudden and abrupt ending. Filmed in Thibodaux, LA in August 1987,
the plot is schematic and uninspired, light years from the best examples offered
from other Italian thrillers, most notably the giallo genre which the
film seems to be influenced by: Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal
Plumage (1970), Profondo Rosso (1975) and Tenebre (1982) are
among the finest examples to date. However, Killing Birds is by no means
a giallo thriller, and its lack of an interesting cinematic visual style
makes it suffer in the end. Birds concerns a cuckolded Vietnam veteran (Robert
Vaughn, if you can believe it) who murders his wife and her lover upon
returning from the war in 1967, and spares his infant son only to be blinded by
one of the property’s birds. Twenty years later, a group of college students
who study rare birds aim to put another feather in their cap so-to-speak by studying
the rare birds on display in the vast home. It’s the perfect set up for some
crazy though uninspired mayhem. The best thing about Birds is Lara
Wendel, an actress genre fans will recall as the ill-fated Maria who
unwittingly roams into the killer’s house following an attack by a Doberman
pinscher in Tenebre, among many other Italian thrillers. In actuality,
the film is directed by longtime genre favorite Aristide Massaccesi, known
alternately by the much easier-to-pronounce pseudonym of Joe D’Amato (I love
that name), who had his name removed as he had made multiple films in a short
period of time, a maneuver instituted by industry rules. The new Blu-ray from
Vinegar Syndrome includes the following extras:
The
transfer is done in 2K from the film’s original 35mm negative and looks
beautiful.
The
audio includes both the English language track and the Italian dubbed track.
Talons is the name of the video interview with
director Claudio Lattanzi. In December 1985 he began working with Michele Soavi
on the documentary Dario Argento’s World of Horror which is still, as of
this writing, the best documentary on him yet made. In 1986 he also worked with
director Soavi on StageFright and was introduced to Aristide Massaccesi,
aka Joe D’Amato, and the company of Filmirage. He then discusses the writing
process of the film. This is an unusually in-depth interview which runs nearly
50 minutes.
There is a video interview with sound man
Larry Revene who also has worked as a director of photography that runs about
15 minutes and he provides some interesting tidbits on the making of the film
and how the Italian crew was very particular and had their own food catered.
The
real reason to buy this disc is for the package’s standout audio commentary
with film historian and author Samm Deighan who provides a wealth of knowledge and
information on not just the film but the genre and the people involved in the
making of the film. She knows what she’s talking about and she speaks slowly,
authoritatively and is fascinating to listen to. I have heard some other
commentaries with lots of information that the speakers blow through very
quickly, so it was a pleasure to listen to this commentary which is done at a
much slower pace. Ms. Deighan also provides the commentary to the upcoming
Vinegar Syndrome title I Start Counting – I would recommend buying that
Blu-ray sight-unseen just for her commentary alone. I cannot wait to listen to
that one and I haven’t even seen the movie yet!
There
is also reversible cover artwork and newly translated English subtitles.
There
are also the English and Italian trailers included.
If
you’re a fan of Zombie 5: Killing Birds, this is the edition to own. If
you haven’t seen it and are a fan of the horror genre, pick up this disc for
Samm Deighan’s commentary alone. It’s chock full of great info.
By 1959 Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas were at the peak of the popularity with movie audiences. Genuine superstars, the larger-than-life actors were among the first to exert their independence from the major studios by forming their own production companies and becoming masters of their own destinies. Between them they produced and sometime starred in some excellent films. Among the most underrated of their numerous on-screen team-ups was their joint production of "The Devil's Disciple", based on George Bernard Shaw's scathing satire based in New England during the American Revolution. The film was criticized in some quarters (including the New York Times) for taking some severe liberties with Shaw's original work in order to elaborate the action sequences that audiences would expect to see in a Lancaster/Douglas film. Still, the movie retains the requisite wit that would have to be apparent in any adaptation of a Shaw story. The film had a troubled production history. It was in the works to be made as early as 1939. Over the years, names like Marlon Brando, Rex Harrison, Montgomery Clift and Carroll Baker had been attached to various announcements about production schedules that never materialized.When Lancaster got the film rights to the story it was announced it would go into production in 1955. By the time it all came together, Lancaster had teamed with Kirk Douglas for a joint production with Laurence Olivier now the third lead. The film was originally to be directed by Alexander Mackendrick who had recently worked with Lancaster on "Sweet Smell of Success". Shortly after filming began, Mackendrick was summarily fired. The director claimed it was because of his objection to revisions in the screenplay that emphasized action and sex over the elements that were pure Shaw. Lancaster and Douglas maintained that his release was due to their dissatisfaction with the pace of filming. In any event, Mackendrick's dismissal was good news for Guy Hamilton, the up-and-coming young British director who would go on to make four James Bond movies. As a replacement for Mackendrick, Hamilton's light touch and ability to mingle action with humor and romance made him a suitable director for this particular film.
Among the more significant changes between the play and screenplay is that the character of Rev. Anthony Anderson, played by Lancaster, has been elevated in importance to match that of Richard Dudgeon, played by Douglas. The film opens in New Hampshire village during the final days of the American Revolution. Anderson is a kindly, gentle man with a pretty young wife, Judith (Janette Scott), who tries to remain apolitical despite the momentous events taking place around him. The British under General Burgoyne (Laurence Olivier) have occupied the surrounding areas and taken harsh measures to eliminate rebel resistance. This is achieved by publicly hanging suspected rebels, sometimes on the basis of slim or mistaken evidence. When Burgoyne's men string up the father of notorious rebel Richard Dudgeon, it sets in motion a series of events that make it impossible for Rev. Anderson to remain on the political sidelines. Dudgeon, a wanted man, breaks the law by cutting down his father's body from the public square and bringing the deceased to Rev. Anderson's home. Anderson takes an instant dislike to Dudgeon because of his cynical sense of humor but agrees to bury his father with dignity in his church's graveyard. This results in tumultuous goings-on. Burgoyne orders Anderson arrested for treason but when the troops arrive at his house, Anderson is gone and Dudgeon, who is visiting, adopts his identity and is arrested in his place. This act of gallantry impresses Judith, who is already smitten by Dudgeon, as he represents the kind of dynamic man of action she secretly craves. (The fact that he looks like Kirk Douglas doesn't hurt matters.) Meanwhile, Anderson, has indeed turned into a man of action himself, engaging the British in battle. When he learns of Dudgeon's deception he begins to formulate a strategy that will ensure that Burgoyne is left with no choice but to spare Dudgeon from execution.
We won't make the case that "The Devil's Disciple" is an underrated classic but suffice it to say it has many merits and deserved a better fate from both critics and the public. Burt Lancaster may get top billing but he's saddled with a quiet, understated character throughout most of the film who comes across as a bit of a bore- at least until he takes up arms. Consequently, Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier get the lion's share of good dialogue and amusing scenes and both actors make the most of it. Douglas's interpretation of Dudgeon is as a man who scoffs at death and has a cock-sure determination that somehow he'll survive any situation. He also boasts a gallows humor that is more than matched by Olivier, who admires his intended victim and extends him every courtesy even as he prepares the gallows for his hanging. Olivier's bon mots are priceless, whether it's deploring the aristocrats in London who have botched British military operations in the colonies or simply chastising his lunkhead officers (Harry Andrews gets most of the abuse). Olivier's performance is all the more impressive given the fact that in his personal life he was coping with the mental breakdown of his wife, actress Vivien Leigh. He was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actor.
The film also boasts some creative special effects with toy soldiers used to illustrate the military situation. Helping matters along is a lush score by Richard Rodney Bennett and some impressive B&W cinematography by Jack Hildyard. While "The Devil's Disciple" isn't the best of the Lancaster/Douglas screen collaborations (for that, see "Seven Days in May"), it's a highly enjoyable romp with much to recommend about it.
Kino Lorber has released the film on Blu-ray and it's a crisp, impressive transfer. There is a bonus trailer gallery of other Lancaster and Douglas titles available from the company: "The Train", "The Scalphunters", "Cast a Giant Shadow" and "Run Silent, Run Deep" along with the theatrical trailer for "The Devil's Disciple".
By
the time he directed Breezy in November and December 1972, Clint
Eastwood had already proven himself a capable actor with fifteen years of
experience under his belt. He took up the role of director with his debut 1971 film
Play Misty for Me and his follow up, 1973’s High Plains Drifter,
both titles in which he also starred. His third outing is different in that he
set aside his acting hat this time to reside firmly behind the camera of what
is more or less the unlikely tale of a May/December romance between Frank
Harmon (William Holden), a cynical and divorced 54 year-old Los Angeles realtor
and a free spirited teen-aged hippy (Kay Lenz in a wonderful performance) whose
itinerant lifestyle, clearly leftover from the Sixties, lands her in his car one
morning prior to driving to work. Her method of dress, carefree ideals and circle
of friends go against everything he has known and stands for. Breezy (her
nickname suits her as she tends to breeze into and out of Frank’s house) is
imbued with charm, innocence and some worldly experience following a failed
relationship. Frank, conversely, is older – much older – and is tired.
He has achieved success and lives alone in a very nice abode in a respectable
neighborhood overlooking the City of Angels and is unwilling to play the field,
or the fool if you will, when it comes to matters of the heart. Breezy
champions the notion of living life to the fullest and spends a lot of time
lecturing Frank on a variety of subjects. Frank half listens while attempting
to concentrate on his work and their platonic friendship begins to deepen when
Breezy confesses her love for him.
Things come to a head when Breezy is mistaken for Frank’s daughter and the
behind-the-back comments and the looks askance from peers at a High Plains
Drifter (a nice shoutout!) screening prove to be more than Frank can handle
and Breezy is forced to leave in tears.
Onscreen
romances between an older man and a significantly younger woman are nothing new
in cinema. Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita (1962) was controversial for its
time and Woody Allen has made a career out of casting attractive young females
opposite himself (as in 1979’s Manhattan) many times to initially
comedic effect, though now in the midst of the #MeToo Movement it’s downright unnerving,
especially in light of the controversies that have ensued in his personal life.
Richard Burton, of all people, gave this storyline a whirl at the age of 60 and
raised the ick factor up to eleven in Jules Dassin’s final film Circle
of Two (1980) where he gets with a 16-year-old Tatum O’Neal who was fresh
off of Little Darlings. Then again, American Beauty (1999) won
the Best Picture Oscar, so who knows what audiences will accept? As William
Goldman famously wrote, “Nobody knows anything.†What sets Breezy, which
opened in New York City on Sunday, November 18, 1973 at the Columbia II, apart
is that it was written by a woman, the late Jo Heims who tragically succumbed
to breast cancer in 1978. The brief nudity is handled matter-of-factly without
licentiousness and as the film progresses Frank begins to open up to Breezy,
though there is a bit of reluctance that is detectable.
The
late Mr. Holden gives his customary excellent performance. Frank is nuanced and
deliberate. His face speaks volumes with no dialog. He is a man weathered and
battered by life. We have an idea of what sort of person Frank is and even he
slowly begins to acknowledge that Breezy has impacted his life in a positive
way. A decrepit dog lying in the street would have gone unnoticed by Frank in
the past; Breezy’s influence compels him to transport the pooch to a
veterinarian and thus save his life. Ms. Lenz, who got her start at the
Pasadena Playhouse at age 13 and also appeared as a student in George Lucas’s American
Graffiti (1973) around the same time, is always appealing and by the end of
the film we really feel for her, though the uncharacteristically “happy†ending
during a decade mired in Vietnam, Watergate and general overall disillusionment
with the country may seem trite and even perfunctory today. (Recall the unusual
freeze-frame ending of Tony Richardson’s
The
Border (1982) with Jack Nicholson), it almost screams “TV
movie-of-the-weekâ€, but ultimately, I was happy to see them end up together –
for how long, who knows?
The
supporting cast is also quite good. The late Marj Dusay co-stars as someone
Frank could easily see himself with, Joan Hotchkis is notable as Paula, Frank’s
bitter ex-wife who regards Breezy with disdain, and the late Roger C. Carmel is
comical as a friend of Frank’s who bickers with his wife at parties. It also
has a score by the late Michael Legrand who won the Oscar for his lush theme to
Robert Mulligan’s Summer of ’42 (1971). There is a romantic interlude
with a song just like in Play Misty for Me, that film’s sole glaring
misstep.
Kino
Lorber presents Breezy with a beautiful high definition transfer. There
is also a spirited feature-length audio commentary by film historian Howard S.
Berger and author/screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner who discuss the making of the
film and where it fits into the director’s career. It also includes the theatrical
trailer for the film.
Look
fast for Mr. Eastwood in a white jacket and blue pants looking over a metal
fence as Frank and Breezy pass him while walking the dog.
Actress Margaret Nolan has passed away at age 76. She was best known for her association with the 1964 James Bond blockbuster "Goldfinger", in which she appeared in a small role as the character of Dink, who is lavishing her attentions on Sean Connery's 007 at the Fontainebleau Hotel pool in Miami Beach. It was her work behind the scenes on the film that made her a fan favorite. While Shirley Eaton played the character who was famously gilded to death in gold paint, it was Nolan who appeared in the film's iconic opening credits sequence in which scenes from the movie were projected on her body. This was sensational and provocative stuff in 1964 and Nolan's attachment to the film saw her appearing at Bond fan events in front of appreciative audiences for decades to come. For more about her life and career, click here.
Every
so often I come across a movie from years ago that I simply overlooked or
didn’t have the opportunity to see.After viewing the Kino-Lorber Blu-ray release of Caravans, I have to say
I’m rather sorry I missed this one.
Caravans,
directed by James Fargo, had a brief release from Universal in 1978, after
which it disappeared with only an ABC-TV airing and sporadic appearances on
cable to mark its existence.The trailer
promises that Caravans is the greatest desert adventure since Lawrence of
Arabia, which clearly it is not.However, there is much to enjoy with this new video release.
The
year is 1948 and American diplomat Mark Miller (Michael Sarrazin) is sent to
the fictional Middle Eastern country of Zakharstan to search for Ellen
Jasper(Jennifer O’ Neill), the daughter of a U.S. senator.Ellen has left her husband, Colonel Nazrullah
(Behrouz Vossughi), and joined a nomadic tribe led by Zulffiqar (Anthony
Quinn).After a difficult search Miller
learns that Ellen has no intention of returning to the states or her polygamist
husband.Miller decides to travel with
Zulffiqar’s caravan in an effort to persuade Ellen to change her mind and
return to her parents.
Ellen
and Mark develop a friendship that doesn’t quite cross the line to romance, and
Zulffiqar begins to respect the young agent as he becomes an asset to the tribe
during their travels.An inevitable
confrontation is on the horizon as the vengeful Nazrullah will stop at nothing
to retrieve his wife, whom he considers a possession.
Sarrazin
(The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?) as the
impossibly handsome Mark Miller has a strong moral center and reacts badly to
some of the more brutal traditions he observes during his travels with the
tribe.Jennifer O’ Neill (Scanners,
Summer of ‘42) is absolutely beautiful even in the harsh desert climate,
although her portrayal of Ellen is somewhat stiff, a criticism that has
followed her in most of her films.
Anthony
Quinn delivers another exceptional performance as the somewhat understated
tribal leader Zulffiqar.You may be
reminded of Quinn’s role in Lawrence of Arabia as he is in some regards the
same character, leading his people in their nomadic lifestyle and worrying about
his ability to provide for them.Two
years later Quinn would play the real life leader Omar Mukthar in Lion of the
Desert.
Many
fine actors and technicians participated in this multinational production
including Christopher Lee, Jeremy Kemp, Joseph Cotten and Barry Sullivan.While it is fantastic to have a cast of this
magnitude, their parts are all basically cameo appearances.Benrouz Vossughi, who plays the villainous
Nazrullah, is one of the top actors working in Middle Eastern films.The producers wisely utilized many cast
members and crew from Iran, where filming took place in 1977, just ahead of the
seizure of the American embassy in Tehran.An interesting bit of casting was having Duncan Quinn, son of Anthony,
play the son of Zulffiqar.The
resemblance and similar voices of the two men are unmistakable.A screen credit is given to the actual
Qashqai tribe who portrayed the members of the caravan.
Director
James Fargo is best known for his work on the Clint Eastwood films The Enforcer
and Every Which Way But Loose as well as the Chuck Norris action hit Forced
Vengeance. The script is by Nancy Voyles Crawford, Thomas Mahon and Lorraine
Williams and is based upon the epic novel by James Michener.The film represents a bare bones treatment of
Michener’s work and, needless to say, he was not pleased with the result.Michener’s novels were of a length that
better suited adaptations for television miniseries such as Centennial.
Aside
from a few negative aspects, this film would play nicely on a rainy Saturday
afternoon.Douglas Slocombe’s Panavision
photography is magnificent, as you would expect from the cinematographer of the
first three Indiana Jones installments as well as The Lion in Winter and Never
Say Never Again.Filmed entirely on location
in Iran, the sweeping panoramas of the surprisingly beautiful landscapes look
tremendous on a large screen.I viewed
this Blu-ray on my outdoor video screen and was very impressed with the look of
the movie.
The
costume design by Renie Conley is fabulous as there is much color and sparkle
among the members of the caravan tribe.This is a welcome change from the usual browns and grays we see in
movies set in this part of the world.Conley was rewarded with an Oscar nomination for her work on Caravans.
In
general, it is refreshing to see landscape and villages that are attractive to
the eye and demonstrate that the Middle East is not entirely made up of
lifeless deserts. Efforts were made to keep this film from looking like a
stereotyped, backward rendition of the region.Shooting took place in Iran with the permission of the Shah shortly
before the revolution, and it is reported that much of the $14 million production cost came directly from the Iranian
government.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
A pop culture touchstone that
helped define a generation, TOP GUN will be released in a limited-edition
4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Steelbook on December 1, 2020 from Paramount Home
Entertainment.
This highly collectible release
makes an ideal gift and includes an exploration of the film’s legacy and
enduring popularity through interviews with Tom Cruise, producer Jerry
Bruckheimer and members of the cast of the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, including John Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell,
and more.
Fans can also enjoy a
retrospective segment from 2016 looking back at 30 years of Top Gun.Additional previously released bonus content includes commentary by
producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott, co-screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr.
and naval experts; Danger Zone: The Making of Top Gun; a look inside the real Top Gun; original theatrical
promotional material; music videos, and more.
The story of an elite group of pilots competing to earn the title
of “Top Gun†captured the imagination of moviegoers upon its release,
ultimately earning a worldwide box office of over $350 million.Tom Cruise is superb as the talented pilot Pete
‘Maverick’ Mitchell, a daring young flyer who's out to become the best of the
best.Featuring a sensational soundtrack
with unforgettable songs including Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away,†which won the
Academy Award® for Best Music, Original Song, and Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zoneâ€,
the film also stars Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan.
Special
features on 4K Ultra HD Disc:
·Commentary by producer Jerry Bruckheimer,
director Tony Scott, co-screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr., and naval experts
·The Legacy of Top Gun (UHD)
·On Your Six – Thirty Years of Top Gun (HD)
Special
features on Blu-ray Discâ„¢:
·Commentary by producer Jerry Bruckheimer,
director Tony Scott, co-screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr., and naval experts
·The Legacy of Top Gun (HD)
·On Your Six – Thirty Years of Top Gun (HD)
·Danger Zone: The Making of Top Gun
·Multi-Angle Storyboards with Optional
Commentary by director Tony Scott
Here
we go again! Another entry in the “Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the
Exploitation Picture†series, this time it’s Volume 7. Presented by Kino Lorber
in association with Something Weird Video, we have for your shocking pleasure
the double-bill of Test Tube Babies (1948) and Guilty Parents (1934),
and what a hoot these pictures are.
There
have always been what have been termed in the motion picture industry
“exploitation films,†even back in the silent days. The late 1930s and much of
the 1940s, however, saw a deluge of cheap, not-even-“B†pictures made, usually
independently of Hollywood and marketed in guerilla fashion as “educationalâ€
adult fare. You know the type. Reefer Madness. Child Bride. Mom
and Dad.
Kino
Lorber and Something Weird have been doing a bang-up job on releasing a series
of some of the best (i.e., infamous) of these jaw-dropping pieces of celluloid.
One wonders how the movies ever got distributed. They’re so bad that they’re
hilariously entertaining, and they especially elicit eye-rolling because they
often portend to be “instructive†in nature.
Test
Tube Babies was
produced by the notorious George Weiss, who was responsible for many
exploitation pictures of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, including Ed Wood’s Glen or
Glenda. Featuring a slate of no-name actors in an amateurishly put-together
film (it feels like a student project), the movie ironically has a sound
message behind all the sensationalism. Artificial insemination was just
becoming a “thing†in the late 1940s, and the movie attempts to convince an
audience that, if the male partner of a marital union is sterile, then it’s
perfectly acceptable for the wife to undergo artificial insemination by a sperm
donor. Cathy and George (Dorothy Duke and William Thomason) are an attractive
newlywed couple who want to start a family. When, after a year, Cathy is unable
to become pregnant, a doctor (played by Weiss film stalwart Timothy Farrell,
usually always in the role of a physician) tests George and delivers the bad
news. He then proceeds to sell the couple on raising a “test tube baby.†The
exploitation aspect of the movie is the lead-up to all this, as the couple
experiments with swinger parties among their friends. Thus, much of the movie
consists of tawdry softcore skin flashes, frank talk, and even a girl-fight on
the floor of a living room. It’s all designed to titillate. Naturally, Test
Tube Babies would never have passed the Production Code’s guidelines, and it
was thus released independently for adults only.
Guilty
Parents
is surprisingly the better film, albeit much more primitive in production
values. Jean Lacy plays innocent Helen Mason, whose mother (Isabel La Mal) is
frighteningly puritanical and protective of her daughter, refusing to teach
Helen any of the rudiments of the facts of life. Of course, Helen meets a young
man who corrupts her, and the couple commits a robbery. The boyfriend dies from
a gunshot wound, so Helen goes on the run, changes her name, and falls deeper
into a hole of depravity and prostitution. She eventually kills the pimp who is
exploiting her, and she goes to trial. Her defense attorney makes the argument
that it’s all her mother’s fault—that she’s the guilty one—for not
educating Helen in the ways of the world. Oh, and there’s a surprise ending.
Also known as Hitch Hike to Hell, the pre-Code Guilty Parents features
a silhouetted nude sequence and a lot of scantily-clad ladies, gangster-type
men, and material that would never pass the Hays Office once the Code kicked in
later in 1934. Sure, it’s a terrible movie, really, but it’s entertaining in
its time capsule, exploitative way, and Jean Lacy is actually quite winning in
the lead role.
The
high definition restorations look as well as they can, considering the
sources—certainly better than the cheap public domain DVDs and VHS copies of
these films from yesteryear. Supplements include an audio commentary on Test
Tube Babies by Eric Schaefer, author of Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!: A
History of Exploitation Films; a 1951 “marital education†short, Sex and
Romance; an alternate title sequence for Guilty Parents (with the Hitch
Hike to Hell title); and a collection of other exploitation film trailers.
For
cinephiles interested in this wacky genre of so-bad-it’s-good Forbidden Fruit,
the double bill of Test Tube Babies and Guilty Parents will,
oddly, scandalize you and make you laugh at the same time.
“The Hot Rock†(1972), starring Robert Redford and George
Segal, a Twilight Time Blu-Ray release, is a comedy crime caper about an inept but
lovable (they’re always lovable) gang of thieves trying to steal a huge African
diamond, the Sahara Stone, from The Brooklyn Museum. It was adapted for the
screen by William Goldman (“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid†) from one of a
series of books written by novelist Donald E. Westlake featuring John
Dortmunder, a thief who’s a genius at planning heists, but who seems to be
plagued with nothing but bad luck. Something always goes wrong on his jobs,
leading to increasingly comical complications.
On this operation, Dortmunder is assisted by his
brother-in-law Andy Kelp (George Segal), who puts the heist together; Alan Greenberg
(Paul Sand), who’s good at making bombs; and Stan Murch (Ron Leibman), the
wheel man who can drive or fly anything from getaway cars to 16 wheelers to
choppers. He knows every shortcut in downtown Manhattan (depending on the time
of day), and spends his off hours tinkering in his garage, while listening to
the stereo-recorded sounds of car races.
The job goes wrong from the start when Dortmunder, Kelp and
Greenberg break into the museum at night and realize too late the floor-length
glass display case protecting the stone is too heavy for three men to lift.
Greenberg gets trapped inside it and despite a diversion set up by Murch to
distract the cops, they are forced to run for it, leaving Greenberg trapped in
the case with the stone. He swallows the gem, and from that point it’s all
about the gang trying to get Greenberg and the stone out of police custody. The
plot becomes a bit repetitious, as Dortmunder and company keep losing the rock
and have to “steal†it all over again four times. But what makes the movie fun
is the Looney Tunes Road Runner-like dedication Dortmunder and gang display in
the pursuit of their goal.
While the quartet’s antics are amusing (not Marx Bros.
funny, but funny enough), “The Hot Rock†really comes alive in an odd way in
the second act. The movie becomes something special, not because of anything in
the script or the performances of the lead actors. It’s more due to history and
fate. There is a sequence in which Murch flies Dortmunder and company in a
chopper over downtown Manhattan trying to find the police station where they
believe the stone is now located. Director Peter Yates (“Bullittâ€), and
cinematographer Ed Brown shot the chopper flying low over the city’s sky
scrapers and up close to the two World Trade Center Towers, then still under
construction. This footage, viewed today, can’t help but provoke a twinge of
nostalgia. Certainly no cinematographer or director today could get permits to
fly that low and close over the skyline and the streets of The Naked City. The
nostalgia is quickly dissipated, however, when Murch lands the chopper on the
roof of the wrong building. A couple of alter
cockers sunning themselves on the roof give them directions to the police
station. A nice touch.
“The Hot Rock†is a New York movie all the way. The cast
includes New York Actors Charlotte Rae, as Murch’s mother, and William Redfield
as Captain of the police precinct where Greenberg was incarcerated. Harry
Bellaver, who played Detective Arcaro on “The Naked Cityâ€TV series, is seen
here as a bartender in the bar where Dortmunder and his buddies hang out. Also
in the cast are Moses Gunn as Dr. Amusa, the African ambassador who hires the
gang to steal the jewel for his government, which claims to be the rightful
original owner of the stone, and Zero Mostel as Greenberg’s shyster lawyer
father, Abe, who knows where the Sahara Stone is located but won’t tell
Dortmunder or the others even when they threaten to throw his son down an
elevator shaft.
Perhaps the craziest sequence in the film comes when
hypnotist Miasmo (Lynne Gordon) is brought in to hypnotize the bank security
guard in charge of the safety deposit box where the Sahara Stone eventually
ends up. She gets into an elevator with him and tells him to look at the
numbers of the floors lighting up as they ascend. Once he’s under her spell,
she utters the trigger phrase “Afghanistan Bananastan.†Later Dortmunder enters
the bank’s safety deposit room and tells the guard “Afghanistan Bananastan.†By
the way, for those who like their movie trivia on the really obscure side,
there is a video on You Tube by the Stretchheads called “Afghanistan Bananastan.â€
Whether there is any connection with the movie I have no idea, as the lyrics in
the video are made indecipherable by loud drums and electric guitar. But it
can’t be just a coincidence.
Twilight Time’s limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-Ray presents
“The Hot Rock†in a 1080p High Definition transfer in its theatrical aspect ratio
2.35:1. The picture is good, considering the age of the film. The disc comes
with two terrific extras. The first is the audio commentary by the late Nick
Redman, Julie Kirgo, and screenwriter Lem Dobbs. Their discussion of the film
is worth hearing, especially their comments about the location filming around
the World Trade Center. The other bonus feature is the isolated music
soundtrack, which was composed and conducted by Quincy Jones, and features a
band of all stars, including Clark Terry, Jerry Mulligan, Grady Tate, Ray
Brown, and others.
“The Hot Rock†on
Blu-Ray is definitely worth having in your collection. It’s a lot of fun.
“Afghanistan Bananastan.â€
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
"Essential
viewing for all Sellers fans."
--
British Film Institute
"Mr.
Sellers is in fine form here, and in the first half he displays some of the
physical comedic traits that defined his Inspector Jacques Couseau in the 'Pink
Panther' series a couple of years later."
-David Ferguson, Red Carpet Crash
"Its
abiding bittersweetness [is] what has become this 'lost' curio's chief
preservative. What stands out, unsurprisingly, is Sellers himself..."
-Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
FILM MOVEMENT CLASSICS UNVEILS PETER SELLERS'
LONG LOST 1961 DIRECTORIAL DEBUT, NEWLY-RESTORED
IN 2K FROM THE LONE SURVIVING 35MM PRINT
MR. TOPAZE
Street
Date: October 27, 2020
Blu-ray/DVD/Digital
Available
for the First Time Ever in North America,
the Classic Comedy, Co-Starring Herbert Lom, Leo McKern and
Nadia Gray,
Arrives with the Madcap Seller Short Film "Let's Go
Crazy", a Video Essay on Auteur Marcel Pagnol, the Topaze
Playwright, a 24-page Booklet with a New Essay by Roger Lewis, Author of
"The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" and More!
SYNOPSIS
Albert
Topaze (Peter Sellers), a poor but proud French schoolmaster, loses his job
after he refuses to alter the failing grades of one of his students. Seizing
the opportunity to exploit his honesty, actress Suzy Courtois (Nadia Gray)
convinces her lover, the corrupt city council member Castel Benac (Herbert
Lom), to hire Topaze as a managing director for one of his shady businesses.
Sellers'
lone directorial effort, MR. TOPAZE displays the British comic genius at the
peak of his powers alongside his future Pink Panther nemesis Herbert Lom
and a stellar supporting cast that includes Leo McKern, Billie Whitelaw and
Michael Gough. Long considered a "lost" classic, MR. TOPAZE was
digitally restored in 2K from the last surviving 35mm prints held in the BFI
National Archive.
In
his newly-written MR. TOPAZE essay included in the Film Movement Classics
release, Roger Lewis, author of "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"
writes "In my opinion we are only now beginning to wake up to Sellers'
unique qualities as a performer, and the rediscovery of Mr. Topaze will
aid this reassessment. It is a film of which Jacques Tati might be proud. It is
as good as any of the later Chaplin efforts, Limelight or A Countess
from Hong Kong. It is a scandal that it was lost for so long."
CAST
Peter Sellers (Being There, The Pink Panther series,
Dr. Strangelove)
Herbert Lom (The Pink Panther series, The Dead
Zone, Spartacus)
Nadia Gray (La Dolce Vita)
Leo McKern ("Rumpole of the Bailey", Ryan's
Daugher, The Mouse That Roared)
Billie Whitelaw (The Krays, Hot Fuzz, The Omen)
Michael Gough (Batman, Sleepy Hollow, The Age of Innocence)
BONUS
FEATURES
Let's Go Crazy (1951) - a madcap short film starring Peter
Sellers and his Goon Show co-star Spike Milligan
The Poetry of Realism (2019) - Kat Ellinger video essay on
auteur Marcel Pagnol, the playwright of Topaze
Abigail McKern Interview (2019) - Leo McKern's daughter
discusses her father's life and career
24-page booklet with notes on the film's rediscovery by BFI
curator Vic Pratt and a new essay by Roger Lewis, author of The Life and
Death of Peter Sellers
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type:
Blu-ray/DVD/Digital
(New 2K Digital Restoration)
In 1969, there wasn't a category to honor achievement in Makeup at the annual Oscars telecast. However, so impressive was John Chambers' work on "Planet of the Apes", that the Academy honored him with a special Oscar- and it was presented by Walter Matthau and an appropriate surprise guest star!
I
first saw Fellini Satyricon four or
five years after its initial release in the USA (1970; originally released in
Italy in 1969) on my college campus. It wasn’t a very good print and all I
remember was that the film was weird, confusing, and not as good as some other
Fellini pictures I had seen. Over forty years later, I sat down to view the new
Criterion Blu-ray release, and... wow.
I couldn’t believe it was the same movie I’d seen as a freshman in college. For
one thing, I’m older and more appreciative of what Fellini did with his films, Satyricon notwithstanding. Secondly,
Criterion’s new 4K digital restoration, supervised by director of photography
Giuseppe Rotunno, is absolutely gorgeous. The colors are vivid and the focus is
sharp. The new subtitles are readable and clear. It is an entirely different
film from what I remembered.
Fellini Satyricon is loosely adapted
from an ancient satirical “novel†by Petronius, and we learn from the extra
documentary interviews with classicists Luca Canalli (a consultant on the film)
and Joanna Paul, that only fragments of Petronius’ work survived. Roughly three
“chapters†of the original novel is all Fellini had to work with, and therefore
he fashioned the film as if we are looking only at scraps of a story. This is
why the film seems to cut inexplicably from one situation to the middle of
another. The final tableau of ancient ruins, upon which the main characters are
frescoed, sums up the this theme very well—the picture consists of glimpses into Petronius’ tale of three
students/vagabonds/thieves who travel through a bizarre and barbaric universe
that is ancient Rome. Once this concept is understood, then the film makes a
lot more sense.
Additionally,
Fellini chose to envision this special world within the sensibilities of 1969;
therefore, the picture is incredibly psychedelic. This is ancient Rome on an acid
trip. The grotesquery on display is meant to shock, of course, but it’s also
strangely beautiful. The colors of the settings, costumes, flesh, and blood
assault the senses, rendering the audience into a state of hallucinatory
hypnosis. This is Fellini’s most imaginative and mesmerizing film. Oddly, the
only Oscar nomination it received in 1970 was for Best Director; it most
definitely should have been honored in the technical and design categories.
The
episodic story is told in vignettes as Encolpius (Martin Potter), Ascyltus
(Hiram Keller), and Giton (Max Born)—three Adonis-like bi-sexual
lovers/friends—move from one fantastic set piece to another, the most
fascinating being the feast/party of a rich man where decadence and debauchery
abounds. For 1969, this was powerful, out-of-the-box stuff.
Other
extras on the disc include a fascinating hour-long vintage documentary, Ciao, Federico!, shot on the set during
the making of the film. Audio commentary of the film itself features an
adaptation of Eileen Lanouette Hughes’ memoir On the Set of ‘Fellini Satyricon’—a Behind the Scenes Diary.
There’s a new interview with Giuseppe Rotunno, archival interviews with
Fellini, and a new interview with still photographer Mary Ellen Mark. Felliniana is a presentation of numerous
Satyricon ephemera. The booklet
contains an essay by Michael Wood.
If
any Fellini film deserved “the Criterion treatment,†it is Fellini Satyricon. Do yourself a favor and pick up this magnificent
edition and behold its wonders. You’ll never think of ancient Rome in the same
way.
Still going strong: Eastwood in "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964).
Clint Eastwood isn't about to let a worldwide pandemic interfere with his filmmaking plans. Eastwood is collaborating with Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy ("The Godfather") to bring the novel "Cry Macho" to the screen. The story is set in 1978 and finds Eastwood playing a washed up former rodeo star who takes a road trip with a troubled young man. Warner Brothers hasn't confirmed the film officially, but according to Deadline, Eastwood is already scouting locations, though the production schedule will depend upon factors dictated by the pandemic. The goal would be to have the film in theaters by next winter. Eastwood's last film "The Mule" was well received by audiences and critics and was deemed a boxoffice hit. For more, click here.
Throughout the history of the Academy
Awards, several foreign language (i.e., non-English) films have been nominated
for the top honor, Best Picture. The first was Jean Renoir’s Grand Illusion (1937,
released in the U.S. in 1938). Recently, Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma had a
good shot at the award in 2018. Most of the time these same pictures are also
up for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, and because there is usually no
chance of the title winning Best Picture, getting the Foreign Language trophy
is the consolation prize.
In 2020, however, for the movies
released in 2019, South Korea’s Parasite won Best Picture, marking the
first time ever that a non-English language movie won the award. (2011’s The
Artist, a French production, doesn’t count because it was silent.) Parasite
also picked up Oscars for director Bong Joon-ho, for its original screenplay
(by Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-wan), and, for good measure, Foreign Language Film!
History was made that night. Oh, and earlier in 2019, Parasite was the
first South Korean film to pick up the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
That said, Parasite happens to be
undoubtedly worthy of every honor it received. It’s the type of movie that one
should hopefully know nothing about before going in because there is a surprise
at every turn. Just when you think the film is about one thing, it goes in a
different direction and becomes something else. Parasite is a surreal
black comedy that is also a horror film, a domestic drama, and an examination
of the social classes in South Korea. It’s funny as heck, as weird as any
nightmare, and aesthetically beautiful to watch. With Parasite,the
talented Bong Joon-ho (The Host, Mother, Snowpiercer)
solidified his position as one of the reigning filmmakers working today.
While the picture has been released on
Blu-ray previously, The Criterion Collection has reissued this 2-disk special
edition which not only contains a new 4K digital master of the theatrical
release (approved by Bong and director of photography Hong Kyung Pyo) with a
Dolby Atmos soundtrack, but Criterion has also included on the second disk the black-and-white
version of the picture with the same soundtrack and an introduction by
Bong.
Black-and-white version, you ask? Yes,
Bong had the desire to create a black-and-white presentation of the film
because of his love of classic black-and-white pictures by Hitchcock and others.
There is a precedent. Frank Darabont originally intended his 2007 horror flick of
Stephen King’s The Mist to be black-and-white to mimic the 1950s horror
and sci-fi fare it resembles, but the studio wouldn’t allow it. So, after the movie’s
theatrical release Darabont turned the color version into black-and-white, exhibited
the new picture in select theaters, and released it as part of the Blu-ray
package. The same has occurred here in the fabulous new Criterion offering of Parasite.
So how is Parasite in
black-and-white? For this reviewer, it doesn’t pack the punch that the color
edition does. The theatrical release is jaw-dropping gorgeous with its
vibrant color scheme. The dichotomy between the Kim family’s surroundings and
the Park’s exquisite home and the design schemes used for each is vitally
important to the themes in the picture. Go with the color edition, although for
a novelty, the black-and-white presentation is interesting enough.
If you haven’t seen Parasite,
this reviewer is loath to reveal much. Let’s just say the story concerns the
Kims, a poor family in Seoul (we presume) that lives in a tawdry basement
apartment—father (Song Kang-ho), mother (Jang Hye-jin), son (Choi Woo-shik),
and daughter (Park So-dam). However, they are deviously ambitious. The son,
Ki-woo, finagles a job as a tutor for the daughter (Jung Ji-so) of the very
wealthy Park family. The Park father (Lee Sun-kyun) and mother (Cho Yeo-jeong)
are oblivious to how privileged they are and don’t notice when the entire Kim
family infiltrates the household in other jobs (chauffeur, housekeeper, and
tutor for the young son). In other words, the Kims become the parasites of the
Parks. But wait—what lurks in the basement? Who steals food from the kitchen in
the middle of the night? What other secrets are held by each member of the two
families? You’ll have to see this twisting, turning extravaganza of bravura
filmmaking to find out.
In addition to the two excellent
presentations of the feature film, Criterion includes some exemplary
supplements. There are all new interviews with Bong, DP Hong, production
designer Lee Ha Jun, and editor Yang Jimmo. Each of these are lessons for any
filmmaking student. Especially instructive is the approximately hour-and-a-half
master class conducted by Bong from the 2019 Lumière Festival in Lyon. There’s
also a new featurette on the New Korean Cinema with Bong and director Park
Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden), the Cannes Film Festival
press conference with Bong and the cast, a storyboard comparison, and trailers.
The essay in the booklet is by critic Inkoo Kang.
The Criterion Collection never fails to
deliver a first-class product. With a masterpiece like Parasite as its
subject, you can’t go wrong. Highly recommended.
“DANGER,
DARKNESS, AND DAMES IN HIGH DEFINTIONâ€
By
Raymond Benson
Ding
ding ding! Attention all lovers of film noir! The Warner Archive has released
an outstanding 4-film Blu-ray collection of some of the best titles in
this cinematic movement that ran from (approximately) 1941 to 1958. While
author James Ellroy states in the included supplemental documentary, Film
Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light, that noir began in “1945,†this is
obviously incorrect. It would leave out such classics as one of the titles in
the collection (Murder, My Sweet), as well as Double Indemnity
and Laura. Film noir is generally accepted by most film scholars as
beginning in 1941 with High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon.
Much
debate and discussion proliferate among film historians and scholars about what
film noir is. Foremost, it is NOT a genre! It is mostly a style,
along with thematic elements that define a group of American motion pictures
that were made throughout the 1940s and 50s that share these qualities. They
are most always crime movies, although there are some instances of other
genres—westerns, science fiction, horror—that were made in a style associated
with film noir.
Generally,
these crime pictures are in black and white, shot in a style akin to German
Expressionism (highly contrasting dark and light, with lots of shadows); are
usually told from the point of view of the criminals; feature cynical,
hard-boiled protagonists; include the presence of a femme fatale (a bad
woman who causes the downfall of “good†man); and are shot in urban locations,
among them seedy bars, shabby motels and hotels, alleys, and streets. There may
be many scenes at night and/or in the rain. Characters smoke and drink as if their
lives depend on it. There are betrayals and double-crosses, and a heavy focus
on past events (lots of flashbacks). Voiceover narration is a common attribute.
Because the plots often deal with taboo subjects (according to the Production
Code), the filmmakers had to be clever with the dialogue—thus, the movies
contain witty, crisp dialogue with innuendoes and quotable one-liners. A “pureâ€
film noir has no happy ending. There is more, but you get the idea.
The
Warner Archive’s new collection combines four titles that are also available
separately. In chronological order (according to when they were originally
released), these gems are in the package.
Murder,
My Sweet
(1944) is based on Raymond Chandler’s 1940 novel, Farewell, My Lovely
and is the first appearance of the Philip Marlowe character. Here, though, he’s
not portrayed by Humphrey Bogart, but is embodied by Dick Powell. This casting
was controversial at the time because Powell was known mostly as a
singer/dancer in musicals. Powell surprised everyone with his tough, sardonic
performance. He’s terrific and certainly gives Bogart a run for his money in
the part. The plot is confusing and all over the place, which is typical of
most of the films adapted from Chandler, but it’s still entertaining to boot.
Claire Trevor is the femme fatale of the piece and delivers a fine, heightened
characterization. It’s violent (for the era), tough, and hard-boiled. It’s a
worthy example of film noir. The high definition transfer is gorgeous with its
natural grain appearance—assuredly a step up from Warner’s original DVD
release. There are no supplements on the disk aside from an audio commentary by
author and film noir expert Alain Silver. Oddly, there is no mention of
Silver’s name on the packaging or the disk menu!
Out
of the Past (1947)
is easily one of the better film noir entries and is often cited as a favorite
among aficionados. Based on the novel Raise My Gallows High by Daniel
Mainwaring, the picture features Robert Mitchum as a man who is haunted by his
past, of course, and beautiful femme fatale Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas
(as the villain!) are instruments of his affliction. Beautifully shot by
Nicholas Musaraca, and moodily directed by Jacques Tourneur (Cat People),
Past also has a complex plot, but it is much easier to follow than the
previous title’s tale. It’s a landmark picture that probably could be dropped
in a bucket containing the “five most important films noir.†The high
definition transfer is breathtakingly good. Again, there are no supplements
except for an audio commentary, this time by author and film noir authority
James Ursini. Yet again, the Warner Archive dropped the ball and does not list
Ursini’s name on the packaging or on the Blu-ray disk menu.
The
Set-Up (1949)
is directed by the versatile Robert Wise, who was a master craftsman in every
genre. Another milestone in the film noir catalog, the movie is based on a poem
by Joseph M. March. It stars Robert Ryan as Stoker, a washed-up boxer who is
hoping to win big in one last fight. His wife, played by Audrey Totter, has
wanted him to give it up for a long time. However, the boxer’s crooked manager
has arranged a “dive†with the mob without Stoker knowing it. Surprising the
manager and the mob, Stoker gives the fight his all. To reveal more would be a
spoiler. Hard-hitting and cynical as hell, The Set-Up apparently was a
big influence on Scorsese’s Raging Bull; in fact, Scorsese himself
appears as an audio commentator on the disk along with director Wise! This audio
commentary is the only supplement, but at least this time both Scorsese and
Wise are listed on the packaging and on the disk menu.
Gun
Crazy (1950)
is based on a short story by MacKinlay Kantor, who co-wrote the screenplay with
none other than master movie scribe Dalton Trumbo, who, because of being
blacklisted at the time, was forced to use a pseudonym in the credits. It’s a
picture in the film noir sub-genre known as “lovers on the run.†Peggy Cummins
and John Dall star as Annie and Bart, gun enthusiasts who begin to commit armed
robberies. Their affection for each other drives the movie, and in many ways Gun
Crazy could also be called a great romance picture. For a low-budget
effort, though, Crazy is also one of the essential films noir—well-written,
acted, and directed. The audio commentary here is by author and film noir
historian Glenn Erickson. An additional supplement on the disk is the
previously mentioned 2006 documentary, Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light,
which features many talking heads and film clips. It’s quite good. Erickson’s
name doesn’t appear on the packaging, but this time his name is on the Blu-ray
disk menu.
The
Warner Archive has done a slam-bang job on the presentation of these four
upgrades to Blu-ray from their original DVD releases. The transfers are
fantastic and the movies themselves belong in any cinephile’s collection. Aside
from the oversights of leaving off documentation of the first two audio
commentators’ names, this is a superb package… and buying the collection is less
expensive than buying the four titles in their separate Blu-ray editions.
Highly recommended.
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The release of the eagerly-awaited James Bond film "No Time to Die" has been delayed once again. Producers announced the November release has been scrubbed and the film is now anticipated to open next April. Originally, the movie was to have opened last March but the emergence of the virus caused MGM and Eon Productions to postpone release, making the film the first movie to have its premiere pushed back due to the epidemic. Producers were criticized at the time but they proved to be prescient, given how rapidly the virus spread. There had been speculation that Eon would push the film back to next year but a new round of marketing seemed to indicate that "No Time to Die" would indeed open in November. However, it became clear that the boxoffice would suffer, given the fact that theaters are still either closed or operating under limited capacity rules in key international territories, even as the virus is now worsening once again. The film's title reflects the current philosophy of movie-goers who have proven to be reluctant to patronize movie theaters, which are still considered by health experts to be high risk environments. For more, click here.
(This trailer is not is widescreen format, but the film itself is.)
BY LEE PFEIFFER
A decade before the release of the teenage vampire sensation "Twilight" in 2008, there was another film with the same title that couldn't be more different in tone and style. While the horror flick helped launch the careers of up-and-coming actors, the 1998 film was gently acknowledging that its already legendary stars were coming to the end of theirs. This is evidenced by the title, which has a dual meaning: the time of day as well as the stage of life its central characters find themselves in. "Twilight" was written and directed by Robert Benton and stars Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman and James Garner. Benton and Newman had found considerable acclaim and success with their previous collaboration, "Nobody's Fool", but "Twilight" received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the boxoffice. Therefore, there's probably a good chance you never saw it. The failure of movie is puzzling, given the public's affection for the film noir genre. Purists may argue that true film noir requires that a movie be made on a modest budget and shot in black and white. "Twilight" doesn't apply to either of these rules. It has a high-priced cast and gorgeous color cinematography by Piotr Sobocinski, but in many ways it evokes the very best of the noir genre, in a way that director Dick Richards' 1975 detective flick "Farewell My Lovely" also succeeded in doing. It has all the central elements: the protagonist is a down-and-out private eye (are there any other kind in noir films?), a deceptive man who sends him out on a mission to make some fast money, a sultry femme fatale and an abundance of supporting characters who are as eccentric as they are threatening. Oh, and most of the action takes place in the dead of night.
The film is set in contemporary L.A. Newman plays Harry Ross, a one-time cop who was fired for alcoholism, an affliction that saw his career as a private dick also fail. In the process, he lost his wife and kids and remains alienated from them. Harry survives due to the generosity of his benefactors, old friend Jack Ames (Gene Hackman) and his wife Catherine (Susan Sarandon), both of whom were once prominent and popular actors whose careers and finances are on a downward trend. Harry is allowed to live rent-free at their lavish home, where he earns a few bucks here and there by acting as a Man Friday for Jack, running errands for him that often involve people of dubious backgrounds. Jack has just learned that his cancer has been determined to be terminal and he's given about six months to live. He takes it in stride but resents having to spend much of his time in bed. Catherine seems to be devoted to him but even Jack knows that she and Harry have long had eyes for each other. Also sharing the residence is Jack and Catherine's precocious teenage daughter Mel (Reese Witherspoon), who Harry had to to fly to Mexico to retrieve from the arms of an older paramour, Jeff Willis (Liev Schrieiber), who accidentally shot Harry in the leg during an altercation. Now Jack has another mission for Harry; a seemingly easy one: deliver an envelope stuffed with money to a man named Lester Ivar (M. Emmett Walsh) with no questions asked. Needless to say, things go awry from the start and Harry finds himself being shot at, beaten up and framed for murder, all due to a blackmail plot against Jack and Catherine, who were long suspected of murdering her first husband so they could be together. As with any noir or noir-like film, it doesn't pay to go into much detail about the plot, as it would compromise all the twists and turns in Robert Benton's screenplay, which, in true genre form, is complex but thoroughly compelling.
"Twilight" is the kind of film that celebrates the kinds of characters that existed in crime movies of the 1940s and 1950s. Everyone speaks the same lingo, dishing out insults and wisecracks with abandon. It's the kind of film where a cuckolded husband learns his best friend has been sleeping with his wife and deals with it by simply telling him to knock it off. The performances are uniformly excellent, with Newman at age 73 displaying the same cynical wit that made "Harper" such a pleasure to watch. He's also still drop-dead handsome, even though his character acknowledges his advanced years. (A running gag in the film is that Harry is unaware that the rumor mill has it that his "pecker had been shot off" in the incident in Mexico.) Sarandon burns up the screen as the diva-like object of both Harry and Jack's affections and Reese Witherspoon displays the talents that would see her rise to stardom. Hackman is very good, but his screen time is limited, though the dialogue he shares with Newman is terrific. There's also a standout turn in a supporting role by James Garner, as a friend of both men who is a retired cop who serves as a "Mr. Fix-It" on the L.A. crime scene. There is also an excellent performance by Stockard Channing as a tough-as-nails LAPD lieutenant and former flame of Harry's. Liev Schrieber and Margo Martindale fill out the ranks as a team of murderous blackmailers who are as eccentric as any characters to be found in an old John Huston movie and there is an amusing turn by Giancarlo Esposito as an aspiring private eye who idolizes Harry. The film is also complimented by an impressive score by the legendary Elmer Bernstein.
The critical and boxoffice failure of "Twilight" shouldn't distract from the fact that this is a first-rate detective film well worth checking out. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, free for Prime members and available for rental by non-members.
Mark Gordon Pictures has announced it has acquired remake rights to the 1964 Sergio Leone Western classic "A Fistful of Dollars", the film which launched the character of The Man with No Name and elevated Clint Eastwood to international movie star status. The company simultaneously acquired the rights to Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo", the film on which it was based, which Leone had not bothered to do. Consequently, he was sued by Kurosawa and the ensuing litigation delayed the release of the movie to English language markets for several years. The script will call upon elements of both versions of the story and will be used in a contemporary setting. The production is being made as a TV series, though no network has been announced. This is not the first time a contemporary version of the tale has been brought to the screen. In 1996, Bruce Willis starred in the feature film remake "Last Man Standing", which was set during the Prohibition era. For more, click here.
