Track the Films You Watch (2009)

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Drama Day #3:


01/27/09: THE TARNISHED ANGELS (Douglas Sirk, 1958)

Though exchanging his usual glossy urban surroundings for a rough open-air environment – dealing as it does with vagrant members of an air show/race (which is perhaps why it was shot in black-and-white) – this typical Sirk effort is particularly redolent of his Teutonic background: powerful (indeed often histrionic), moodily-lit and with performances to match (allowing Rock Hudson one of his finest dramatic showcases, most effective towards the end when he gives his newspaper editor boss a piece of his mind). Incidentally, its three stars – Hudson, Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone – had just come off the same director’s WRITTEN ON THE WIND (1956); Malone is the woman admired by virtually the entire male cast including her egocentric spouse (ace flyer Stack), his long-suffering mechanic (Jack Carson), hated entrepreneur (Robert Middleton) and, the latest recruit, honest (read alcoholic) reporter Hudson. Also on hand is a young boy, picked on over his doubtful parentage, whom Hudson befriends and offers hospitality to his whole family (eventually tagging along himself after being fired from his job). Malone opens her heart to him one night and he decides to help when Stack has no qualms about his wife ingratiating herself with Middleton for his sake over the acquisition of a new plane (Stack’s original vehicle had been destroyed in a crash which also killed Middleton’s protégé, Troy Donahue!). After Stack himself perishes in another race and a gloomy luncheon is thrown in his honor, Hudson arranges for Malone and her son to start a new life elsewhere.


01/27/09: GOLDEN BOY (Rouben Mamoulian, 1939)

Notable for being William Holden’s debut (he was just 21 and looks almost like a schoolboy!), this dated melodrama was adapted from a popular play by Clifford Odets dealing with a young man conflicted about which path to take in his life: a respected artistic career playing the violin and the more alluring celebrity (which also reaps instant monetary rewards) as a prizefighter. His Italian immigrant father (Lee J. Cobb, whose mannered performance has been especially criticized) obviously wants the boy to follow his musical instincts, but the pull of the ring is too great – more so because through it he meets and falls for Barbara Stanwyck, actually his manager (Adolphe Menjou)’s fiancée. Though initially acting under the latter’s instructions, she eventually tries to dissuade him from fighting, particularly when gangster Joseph Calleia (another fine showcase for the Maltese character actor) takes Holden under his wing. The climax sees the hero winning the championship bout but at the cost of his black opponent’s life and his own left hand; with the help of Stanwyck (realizing she really loves the boxer, Menjou relinquishes her) the “Golden Boy” stands up to his new boss – interestingly, Calleia lets him off rather too easily here when compared to similar films of later vintage! The film is pretty good (with equally solid support from Sam Levene as Holden’s struggling cab driver brother-in-law) though betraying its stage origins by relegating the boxing matches to only a brief montage until the not very imaginatively handled finale; in hindsight, it’s curious to find this cinematically lacking given the involvement of Mamoulian and his reputation as one of the most creative directors of the early Talkie era!

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Epic Day #3:


01/28/09: FOUR FRIGHTENED PEOPLE [Edited Re-Release Version] (Cecil B. DeMille, 1934)

Good-looking but rather disappointing film for a DeMille in exotic vein although, to be fair, the version I watched was pared down from the original 95 minutes to 78. Still, a few Pre-Code touches remain (notably Claudette Colbert’s nude bathing scene), along with the standard action of jungle adventure fare and a genuinely cringe-inducing encounter with a cobra. Handling is typically stilted for a product from the early Talkie era, and the cast interesting yet variable: Colbert, initially dowdy as a geography teacher(!) but gradually “blossoming” into womanhood to the initial consternation – and eventual rivalry – of rugged newspaperman William Gargan and middle-aged but essentially decent Herbert Marshall (stifled by his high-society marriage). The last member of the titular group is Mary Boland in an unlikely role as an expert on indigenous culture, and also on hand is Leo Carrillo as an affable native guide. Incidentally, this is one of a handful of films by the larger-than-life director I’ll be watching in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death (which actually fell on January 21st).


01/28/09: SIGN OF THE PAGAN (Douglas Sirk, 1954)

Before settling down to being almost exclusively the purveyor of glossy melodramas, Douglas Sirk tried his hand at the historical spectacle with this – dealing with the exploits of legendary warrior Attila The Hun (vigorously played here by Jack Palance) – and CAPTAIN LIGHTFOOT (1955), which I had watched as a child and also tried to acquire not too long ago (but it didn’t pan out). Incidentally, I had some trouble with this one too at first but then got hold of a copy – of surprisingly passable quality, despite an almost-constant reddish hue – culled from a local TV screening dating from the 1980s (which print is owned by the former sexton film-buff who occasionally invites me and a few other friends over to partake of his extensive private collection)! The plot sees the Barbarian hordes joining forces (under the leadership of Attila) to attack the divided Roman Empire; the film starts with Attila releasing a Roman centurion (Jeff Chandler) in order to alert his rival Emperors of their coming: this proves an unwise decision because, with the help of the sister (Ludmilla Tcherina) of one of them, he manage to unite the Roman legions to face the impending onslaught. Other important figures in the intrigue-laden narrative are: a Roman General (Jeff Morrow) who assists Chandler in his task; Attila’s sturdy daughter (Rita Gam) who, smitten with the Roman and drawn towards Christianity, begins to find her father’s savage ways deplorable; and the Empress of a nation conquered by the Huns and taken for wife by Attila, but who takes her ultimate revenge by murdering him during the climactic battle. Chandler doesn’t look too bad in Roman garb, while Palance predictably chews the scenery (his Attila is something of a neurotic who organizes his campaigns on the basis of his astrologer’s advice!); on the other hand, Tcherina is saddled with a rather underwritten part but Gam does well in her mix of tomboy and ingénue. While Sirk’s handling cannot be called impersonal, it was not exactly inspired either; that said, the film is not as pious – and, consequently, dull – as many of its ilk, the scope reasonably sprawling and the action highlights more than just adequate. By the way, for Palance this was a sort of precursor to Andre` De Toth’s similarly interesting THE MONGOLS (1961), which was actually an Italian production; from that same country and contemporaneously with SIGN OF THE PAGAN came another outing about the bloodthirsty Hun, ATTILA (1954), with Anthony Quinn in the lead (my father had rented the English-language version back in the day but, having recently taped the original on late-night Italian TV, I’ll be re-acquainting myself with it presently as a companion piece to Sirk’s epic).

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036) 01/27/2009 Rocky (1976) 1/2 (out of four)

Rocky is the ultimate feel-good movie of the 1970s. A variation on the traditional rags-to-riches story, it is about a loan shark enforcer and part-time boxer who gets his chance at the heavyweight title. That Rocky Balboa is such a loveable chap is the main reason we want to see him prevail. But Rocky also taps into something that seems to be in all of us: we love to root for the underdog.

Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) makes his living by collecting debts for Philadelphia hood Gazzo (Joe Spinell). Rocky has a soft heart though, as demonstrated when he can’t bring himself to break the thumb of someone who’s fallen behind in his payments. Occasionally he’ll make some money in the boxing ring. Rocky likes his friend Paulie’s (Burt Young) extremely shy sister Adrian (Talia Shire), and he finally gets a date with her. But Rocky’s life is about change. Heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) is looking for an unknown boxer to compete with for a New Year’s Day match. He likes Rocky’s looks and his moniker: the Italian Stallion. Accepting a management offer from Mickey (Burgess Meredith), the owner of the gym at which he works out, Rocky begins his training so he can go the full fifteen rounds with Creed, a feat that has yet to be accomplished by any other opponent.

Rocky is an old-fashioned story about the self-deprecating “loser” who seizes the chance to make something of his life. As a person, Rocky is known all over his neighborhood and well liked. He has a great sense of humor, good intentions, and no ego. Believing he’s just a dumb guy, Rocky uses his muscle to collect debts. But this isn’t what he really wants to do. The film spends most of its first hour following Rocky about his routine. It’s a very unglamorous life. But there is much sweetness in his courtship of Adrian, who hides behind birdcages while Rocky tries to charm her. It’s Paulie who ultimately has to force the date, by tossing out the Thanksgiving turkey. An unorthodox method it may be, but it gets the right result. Meanwhile Creed is smiling for the cameras, not taking Rocky seriously. Not exactly a villain, Creed’s arrogance rubs us the wrong way. We want Rocky to teach this guy some manners.

Director John G. Avildsen stages some rousing sequences in Rocky. Rocky begins his training not able to climb the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Later, accompanied by Bill Conti’s now-classic music, Rocky triumphantly surmounts the steps, raising his arms in victory. The montage set pieces covering Rocky’s training would become a standard part of the Rocky sequels. And the climatic fight never fails to get the blood pumping.

Sylvester Stallone is the true hero, however, of Rocky as the star and writer. He delivers a, ahem, knock-out performance as the “bum from the neighborhood.” There’s not a false note to be found. Stallone’s script is filled with great character bits, charm, and heart. How can you not like Rocky? Whether he’s trying to give advice to a neighborhood girl, or talking to his two pet turtles, Cuff and Link. While Shire, Meredith, and Young contribute strong work, it’s Stallone who grabs our attention. He brings sensitivity and understanding to the role that indicated a great acting future for the actor-writer. It is unfortunate he found himself relegated to action hero parts, albeit successful ones, which rarely required much of him other than to look imposing. Stallone, as an artist, has never topped Rocky.

While it may be formula, Rocky emerges as a totally engrossing and satisfying story about a man who thought his chance at a better life had already passed by him. It does not matter how many times we have seen this story played out. When it’s told well, it works. And Rocky delivers.



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037) 01/27/2009 Annie Hall (1977) (out of four)

In 1977 there was the little film called Star Wars that seemingly came out of nowhere to be the film everyone was talking about. It wasn’t a movie, it was an event. To a nine-soon-to-be-ten year old, this is what movie magic was all about. This was probably the year I learned about the Oscars, because I knew Star Wars was nominated for Best Picture. I remember hearing the day after the awards that Star Wars lost to a film called Annie Hall. Annie Hall? What the hell was that? Years would go by before I finally saw Annie Hall and understood. What a great film this is. It made me an instant Woody Allen fan, a description that still holds true today.

Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) directly addresses the audience as the film opens. He makes two things clear: life is miserable and all too short, and he cannot have a successful relationship with a woman who thinks Alvy is worth having a relationship with. Alvy and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) have just broken up, and the film is Alvy’s take on life events that brought them together, and ultimately broke them apart.

Annie Hall is, too say the least, unconventional storytelling. The movie zigzags between past and present, from childhood to adulthood and back. Alvy frequently addresses the audience, sometimes right in the middle of a scene, such as when he leaves a movie theater ticket line to complain about the pretentious clown behind him. A grown up Annie and Alvy might be present at a childhood recollection, sort of like the Ghost of Christmas Past. When Alvy visits Annie’s family, he imagines being viewed by Annie’s grandmother in full rabbi regalia, complete with bushy beard and curly locks. Subtitles will suddenly appear to tell the audience what the characters are thinking while they chatter on trying to express themselves. At one point, the film becomes animated, with a cartoon Alvy seeing Annie as the evil queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A split screen has each of them talking to their respective therapist about the relationship. They both agree they have sex three times a week. But they do not have the same opinion on whether that’s too much or not enough. Alvy stops people on the street to ask their views on relationship. The result is a stylistically unpredictable but totally endearing comedy about a failed relationship.

Annie Hall thankfully presents neither one at fault for the romance not working. Each is imperfect, with Alvy the more anal one and Annie the more neurotic. Annie frequently stumbles for words, while Alvy, a stand-up comedian, constantly makes jokes (he describes masturbation as sex “with someone I love.”). They are lovable in their own way, but we can understand why friction develops. Amongst the plentiful laughs is a fascinating adult look at the rise and fall of a modern relationship. The film never, however, becomes pretentious, and often features humor for humor’s sake, such as when Annie’s brother (Christopher Walken) tells Alvy about his automobile fantasy, and then ends up driving the lovers to the airport. Alvy’s expression is priceless.

Allen and Keaton make for one of the great romantic couples. Multi-faceted, intelligent, and verbose, they converse in numerous delightful exchanges. Annie may appear something of a scatterbrain, but she has a big heart. Alvy may at times be overly critical, but he means well. The relationship in the film feels genuine, and this makes jokes funnier and the characters endearing.

Annie Hall is frequently cited as Woody Allen’s best film and this may be true, although Hannah and Her Sisters has just as much joy, even though it is much more conventional in its telling. Annie Hall still ranks high on the list of cinema’s finest romantic comedies. Not that Alvy would care, since any such list that would include Annie Hall must not be worthy of attention.



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038) 01/28/2009 The Deer Hunter (1978) (out of four)

After making The Godfather Part II (1974) director Francis Ford Coppola started preparations on his epic Vietnam film, Apocalypse Now. The filming was such an ordeal that Apocalypse Now would not be released until 1979, by which time two other releases about the war, Coming Home and The Deer Hunter, had beaten it to the screen. The Deer Hunter took the best picture prize for 1978, so that when Coppola’s film finally made it to theaters audiences had already been cinematically exposed to the physical and emotional brutalities of war.

The Deer Hunter focuses on three friends who work in a steel mill near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Michael (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage), and Nick (Christopher Walken). The three are days away from enlisting to fight in Vietnam. Before they leave, Steven gets married and Nick proposes to his girlfriend Linda (Meryl Streep), with whom Michael is also in love. In Vietnam the three find themselves prisoners in the same camp, and are forced, for the amusement of their captors, to participate in challenges of Russian roulette. The three manage to survive the contests, but the ordeal will have life changing consequences for the close-knit trio.

The Deer Hunter spends the first hour or so establishing the characters and their emotional make up. Michael is the serious one, Steven the emotional one, and Nick the one who internalizes everything. There will be a wedding, a deer hunt, and several visits to the local bar. They are regular guys who seem perfectly content. Then they are suddenly prisoners of war. At the camp, it will be Michael who insists the friends keep it together, Steven who openly breaks down, and Nick who remains stoic and silent. After their service, Michael appears to be least affected, Steven can’t bear to face his wife, and Nick has mysteriously vanished. The characters remain consistent with the respective emotions established in the film’s first third. Since we learn what hunting means to Michael and what marriage means to Steven, we comprehend on some level the devastating toll the war has taken on them upon their return. Nick’s fate is even more tragic, as he is so shattered by the experience that he is emotionally lost and totally disconnected.

Because America had been so successful in previous wars, very few war films had dwelt negatively on life subsequent to the battlefield, a notable exception being 1946’s Best Picture victor The Best Years of Our Lives. But now America was in the aftermath of what is considered its first loss, and filmmakers wanted to show the horrors of war. The Deer Hunter spends less than a third of its time on the actual war, because its main focus is on how these three cheerful fellows with bright futures were forever altered by what they experienced. This intention is foreshadowed early in the film when a Green Beret sits at the bar for a drink. The future soldiers want to buy him a drink and shake his hand. He does not want anything to do with them, preferring to be left alone. Thus when Michael returns, he avoids a welcome-home party as he now understands his experience has left him an outsider. No one, except those who shared his ordeal, can possibly understand his feelings. The war has distanced Michael from his friends. It is a sad reality that The Deer Hunter examines unflinchingly.

The Deer Hunter marked a return to the serious side of things for the Academy after awarding the top prize to the feel-good Rocky and humorous Annie Hall. It is a sad but honest look at the ripple effects of battle. The film ends at a wake where the gatherers start singing God Bless America as a reminder that this country had weathered wars before and survived. But this is cold comfort for someone who must bury their loved one. For those personally touched by war, the battle is never truly over.



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01/27/09

Double Harness (1933) Dir: John Cromwell
Production: RKO Radio Pictures

A woman (Ann Harding) worried about her future sets her mind to ensnaring a shipping heir (William Powell) she doesn't love into marrying her, by any means necessary. Joan Colby's venal approach to marriage is challenged however when she falls in love with the heir, John Fletcher. But John, a perpetual and contented bachelor, isn't playing along. So, like most women, she goes about remaking him into something he isn't while attempting to win his love (on false pretenses) and save the marriage.

An interesting pre-code with good performances, but the story is built on these dumb ideas and it makes the characters unsympathetic (might have been better as a pure screwball farce). Joan has a monstrous younger sister, an egoist who spends money she doesn't have without much consequence. Oh, except that when a particular bill comes due she decides to prostitute herself to her husband's friend to cover it. The other pre-code bit is that Joan and John, when first dating, are obviously partaking in pre-marital sex (although that is the device used to force John to get married--an example of early Hollywood moralizing). Some surprisingly fluid camerawork is a plus. But ultimately this is the kind of picture where a character undergoes a seismic change of heart--off camera. It's so compact it forgot a few things.

Note: Long tied up in a rights dispute between producer Merian Cooper and a business associate of his before TCM rescued this, and five other films, last year.

out of 4
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JOHN CROMWELL - "Lightly Likable"
Double Harness (1933)


01/28/09

Across the Wide Missouri (1951) Dir: William Wellman
Production: MGM

In the 1830's Rockies, fur trapper Flint Mitchell (Clark Gable) attempts to gain access to beaver-rich but hostile Blackfoot Indian territory by marrying the daughter of a Blackfoot chief. But alas, a marriage based on healthy commerce isn't romantic enough, so Flint and his bride fall in love.

Typical Wellman story in which men of character test themselves in trying conditions (war, rugged unsettled land, etc.). Bit of a quickie at 78 minutes, but even at that there is a tad too much spent on lame comedic pieces, like the camp erupting in a drunken brawl or the wedding night hijinks (Flint is drunk, he smells, she throws pots and pans at him). Fairly enlightened view of Natives. Flint begins to see them "as people with homes, traditions, ways of their own. Suddenly they were no longer savages, they were people who laughed and dreamed." Although you can only be so enlightened with J. Carrol Naish and Jack Holt playing chiefs. Alan Napier and Adolphe Menjou play trappers while John Hodiak is a Scotsman who lives among the Blackfoot. Ricardo Montalban plays the head of a Blackfoot war party who is intent on driving Flint and his men out of the territory. Howard Keel provides the intrusive narration that was added after the filming. Stunning vistas and photography from actual Rocky Mountain location work is must see.

out of 4
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WILLIAM WELLMAN - "Less Than Meets The Eye"
Across the Wide Missouri (1951)


01/28/09

The Company She Keeps (1951) Dir: John Cromwell
Production: RKO Radio Pictures

Hardbitten convict Mildred Lynch (Jane Greer) connives her way into a parole sentence, then makes a play for her parole officer's (Lizabeth Scott) man, a columnist named Larry Collins (Dennis O'Keefe).

Soap opera-ish plot in which everything is done in the name of love, yes, even -choke!- letting go. Be prepared to suspend disbelief from the get go, like when O'Keefe has to act irritated by Jane Greer throwing herself at him, a role even Franklin Pangborn couldn't make convincing. Judging by the number of times someone mentions that parolees "have no civil rights", I think we are supposed to empathize with their plight and difficulty in rejoining society, but Mildred isn't played as a very sympathetic character, which is an interesting choice. I think most people would probably throw their hands up and tell her 'just be glad you're not back in prison'. The last third gets pretty silly, alternately a screed against the penal system and a series of unlikely plot turns. Interesting as a film featuring two of the crime genre's leading lights, Greer and Scott. Mother and two sons in Union Station near the end are real life mom Dorothy Dean and sons Beau and Jeff Bridges (the baby).

out of 4
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JOHN CROMWELL - "Lightly Likable"
Double Harness (1933) , The Company She Keeps (1951)

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The Gravedancers

After the initial scene's action the story slowed down quite a bit till the scene in the graveyard where they dance on the graves. But once that scene was done the movie definitely picked up! I feel that this is a very good ghost story. I wouldn't say the best I ever seen... but definitely enjoyable. There was even a couple things that I really didn't see coming... which is always a good thing! The release has a nice collection of extras including trailers for other releases from the After Dark Horrorfest, Deleted Scenes, Featurettes, Storyboard Comparison, and a commentary. This is one that I feel comfortable recommending to any horror fan.

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The Sixth Sense

I am fully prepared to take some slack on this one... as I know there is several people out there that does not like this movie at all. But this is one I enjoyed every minute of. I first saw this movie with my sister-in-law and niece at the movie theater... and I am a little ashamed to admit this but... I did not see the end twist of this movie coming. It actually did catch me completely off guard. One thing I really liked about this movie is all the hints that was there through-out the whole movie that if you were paying attention you should have seen the twist coming. Which makes it fun to watch for in additional viewings. Once you know what the twist is... and see all the hints in the movie before it... you wonder just how stupid you are for not seeing it the first time.

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I think THE SIXTH SENSE is an exceptional 'modern' horror film.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

I bought the new SE for this slasher pic and must say it was more enjoyable than the first time I saw it, since the new release is the original unedited version with all the elaborate gore kills intact. For this particular movie I thought the uncut inserts made a difference, though the story itself is still basically typical stalk-and-slice fare, which is fine when that's what you're looking for. But there was one female character, at least, who we felt kind of sorry for in the way her death was handled near the end. I must say I liked the folky closing credits song that plays up the killer and his prowlings on Valentine's Day. Speaking of the holiday, it's almost bordering on the silly to see how many pink and red hearts and banners are decorated throughout almost every frame of the movie to drum home the point that it's February 14th! Now I'm going to consider the original equal to its recent 2D remake, though I gave an extra edge to the new movie when seen in its 3D print.



Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

I'm pretty positive I saw this in the theater, but if I did then I was let down at the time because it wasn't much of a "comedy" from Woody Allen (sheesh!). Just goes to show you how much more appreciation you can gain for a great piece of soul-searching filmmaking when you're 20 years older.

Martin Landau is excellent as an aging wealthy ophthalmologist with a loving wife, a family, and every material thing he could desire. He is faced with a debilitating dilemma ... he has been having an affair with a younger woman for the past couple of years, and now he is wanting to end the relationship, but the devastated woman will have none of it and constantly threatens to tell his wife and botch up the perfect lifestyle Landau has made for himself. He has a crooked brother (Jerry Orbach) who is in the business of taking cash to arrange "quick solutions" to such situations, and Landau has to decide whether or not he can resort to having his lover murdered to get himself out of a jam.

There is a second parallel story featuring Woody Allen as a filmmaker who's stuck in a meaningless marriage, and who is pushed by his wife into making a cheesy documentary about his self-serving brother-in-law (Alan Alda), who happens to be a successful and stuck-up jerk that Allen cannot stomach. Mia Farrow plays an assistant on the project who Woody falls in love with and would like to leave his wife for, but Alda's wealth and fame also threatens to sway Farrow away from him.

Without hesitation I consider this one of the greatest movies Woody Allen has made. Martin Landau takes chief acting honors, but all the other players are also good in their parts, and Allen himself is less of a paranoid nerd than we're accustomed to, which also works well. There isn't that much comedy in this film, but what little there is of it works well and is funny (Allen's repulsed reaction to what happens to his sister, and some funny lines from Woody which are among his better ones). Both stories hold our interest throughout, though it's a compliment in this viewer's eyes to say that the Landau story is even more interesting than the Allen one, though both sort of come together in a satisfactory end. This is a deeply themed examination of people's faiths, their religious convictions, and what type of sins a person can live with and still look at himself in the mirror the next morning. I really loved this.

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01/29/09

Battle Circus (1953) Dir: Richard Brooks
Production: MGM

Covered earlier by Mr. Elliott, here. I think we arrived at the same conclusion at more or less the same way.

A "story about the indomitable human spirit" set amongst a MASH unit during the Korean War. The arrival of impossibly green nurse, Ruth McGara (June Allyson), sets gruff Major Jed Webbe's (Humphrey Bogart) heart aflutter. To win her affections, Jed employs the timeless art of Hollywood seduction: aggressive, sexual harassment until you turn that 'no' into a 'yes!'. I hereby resolve to try this on the hot girl in the office, as I've never seen it not work. I expect big results. Anyway, despite the Major's unctuous personality, Ruth eventually is won over by his prowess on an operating table. Seems like a good basis for a relationship.

The film is curiously flat. Curious because it does a lot of things well. It's well acted. Allyson has a good scene after they lose a patient where she breaks down in exhaustion. And handsomely shot by John Alton (Allyson is certainly treated well, shot practically through burlap on some of her close-ups). There is a nice montage of the camp being broken down and moved. In that vein, it was also interesting to see how many things reappeared in both MASH (1970) and M*A*S*H (TV). But the pairing of Bogart and Allyson didn't much work for me. And except for a few blips (a scene with a Korean soldier loose in the operating room with a grenade), the story was arid and almost boring. The most excited I got was spotting the guy who played Trelane in 'The Squire of Gothos' episode of STAR TREK here playing a chopper pilot.

out of 4
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RICHARD BROOKS - "Strained Seriousness"
Battle Circus (1953)

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Euro-Cult Day #3:


01/29/09: ATTILA (Pietro Francisci, 1954)

Knowing of director Francisci’s subsequent contribution to the peplum genre, I fully expected this to be a low-rent version of SIGN OF THE PAGAN (1954) – which I watched the previous day – but the film ultimately proved fairly interesting in its own right. For one thing, the narrative has at least as many differences as similarities vis-a`-vis the Douglas Sirk epic and, once again, we have an imposing Hollywood star (Anthony Quinn) in the lead. Sophia Loren, then, stands in for Ludmilla Tcherina (though her character is ambitious and deceitful) while Henri Vidal – from the best Italian-made spectacular, FABIOLA (1948) – replaces Jeff Chandler (bafflingly, he dies here while Attila is allowed to live!). Another reversal has the Huns fighting amongst themselves – more specifically, Attila and his peace-craving brother: just as Jack Palance in SIGN OF THE PAGAN was forced to kill his daughter for what he deemed treacherous behavior, so does Quinn in this case with his sibling. In support of them, we have: Claude Laydu (from Robert Bresson’s DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST [1951]), a most surprising choice to play the typically wimpish Emperor; Irene Papas, who takes on the role of Attila’s sole wife (and, conveniently, his astrologer as well); and Eduardo Ciannelli, appearing as a wise old Hun. While Sirk tried – with some measure of success – to put his distinctive mark upon the material, Francisci was content to imitate the Hollywood model (and QUO VADIS [1951] in particular). Consequently, the film features intermittent ponderous narration, gratuitous exotic touches (in the form of a dance sequence and Laydu keeping a pet leopard) and an unlikely – if still effective – spiritual conclusion wherein the Huns are finally driven away thanks to the intervention of Pope Leo and his ‘army’ of cross-wielding supporters. Otherwise, the picture has a handsome look (i.e. bearing soft colors), compelling enough confrontation scenes (within both camps), and a long-in-coming but satisfactory climactic skirmish. The main downside is that the version broadcast on late-night Italian TV is the shorter U.K. cut (running a mere 76 minutes in PAL mode), albeit in its native language, as opposed to the official 100-minute print (which probably explains the references to a couple of minor plot points that are not actually shown)! Incidentally, reading through the credits one recognizes the names of several crew members who would later become directors in their own right: Luciano Ercoli, Christian Marquand, Flavio Mogherini, Luigi Scattini and Primo Zeglio...not to mention some heavyweights in the international film industry like Dino De Laurentiis, Carlo Ponti, Giuseppe Rotunno, Karl Struss and Aldo Tonti!


01/29/09: MONDO BALORDO (Roberto Bianchi Montero, 1964)

The so-called “Mondo” exploitation documentaries weren’t the sole province of Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi who made the first such film, MONDO CANE (1961), and several more thereafter. This is one of their imitations and it’s actually the first I’ve watched of the latter: while I can’t say that the ‘originals’ were exactly good to begin with, or even enticing to the undersigned, the films made by other hands (at least, judging by this title) are downright mediocre. Though each entry in the genre purported to tackle specific themes, they were mostly interchangeable, so much so that some of the idiosyncrasies dealt with here (say, the 'phenomenon' of transvestism or the dubious assertion that camel waste possesses beautifying properties) were also featured in WOMEN OF THE WORLD (1963), which I watched a fortnight or so ago! Among the wackier episodes here involves a midget pop-star; otherwise, the accent is on titillation (censorship hadn’t completely relaxed as yet) and, needless to say, there are the usual insensitive depictions of animal cruelty. Frankly, however, the single most notable thing about this particular effort is the fact that the narration for the English-language edition was provided by none other than horror icon Boris Karloff (clearly making for one of the lowest points in his generally respectable filmography).

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

House on Haunted Hill (1999)

I remember when I first heard they were making this movie. All I could say at the time was WHY!?!?! But after watching it I decided that even though a remake wasn't needed... they did a pretty good job on it. I did (and still do) enjoy it. That is not to say it is as good as the original... because there is no way it could be. In the original Vincent Price was perfect in the role... and Geoffrey Rush just didn't cut it in my opinion. I do like how they changed the role name to Stephen Price.... a little homage to Vincent Price there? But other then that it is a decent horror movie.... I would even say above average.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

mods = please delete this duplicate post, thanks!

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

LEGEND
First time viewings are in BOLD
Theatrical Viewings are ITALICIZED

= Outstanding
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
= Wait for it on FREE TV

January
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Fireproof
Inkheart

February
Madagascar 2
Pink Panther 2
Coraline 3D

March
Taken
Watchment
Race to Witch Mountain

April
Marley and Me
I Love You, Man
Bolt

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Return to House on Haunted Hill

After watching the last film I decided to check out this direct to video sequel. I would have to say I enjoyed this movie. Sure it is a turn your brain off... popcorn type horror movie. Being an unrated DVD it is no surprise this movie has it's share of gore. These two movies makes an enjoyable double feature.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Landscape After Battle - Wajda certainly knows what to do with a camera, and this film contains cinematography almost as fine as Kanal. But the main character is a smug twit, the acting is rather dreadful and the script is overwritten. I also gotta say these are the healthiest looking holocaust survivors I've ever seen. The extended opening scene of their chaotic liberation is spellbinding, but they do look like they've just been from after-school detention rather than a concentration camp. There could be a great movie here, as some interesting post-war themes are explored, but the overblown speeches and poor performances pretty much ruin it. Rating: 5


Sympathy for the Underdog - I'm in that mode where I've got so many movies to watch that I don't want to watch any of them. Instead I've been wasting my time doing a lot of useless crap (like playing Bejeweled, of all things, for hours on end). But I finally set aside some time for a DVD. It's another Fukasaku yakuza flick, with editing and movement as brassy and bold as its jazzy soundtrack (which is excellent, almost Morricone-like). It's an exciting, dynamic picture. The thing is that I really don't get off on yakuza movies. The plots and characters are all very same-y to me, and I never care about the characters. Yes, there's "sympathy for the underdog", but only because he's the center of the movie and the odds are against him. I didn't much give a shit about him as a person, nor any of the other guys. But for a yakuza movie, it's definitely one of the better ones I've seen. Rating: 8

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

The Frighteners

This is one I haven't watched in a while... but is one I always enjoyed. They mixed the comedy in with this ghost story very well. I think everyone done a great job in this movie... but I have to give an extra thumbs up to the job Jeffrey Combs did in this movie. He was just plain hilarious as the FBI Agent. I couldn't help but to laugh how he reacted every time a woman raised her voice to him. If you want a good laugh I definitely recommend this movie!

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

The Haunting (1999)

This, in my opinion, is a good... and fun haunted house movie to watch. But at the same time I think it is a bit CGI heavy as well. Something I think ghost stories forgot somewhere along the way is what you do not see is always scarier then what you see. I did like Catherine Zeta-Jones as Theo... she was probably my favorite character in the movie. Until recently (this past Halloween) I never seen the original of this movie so was never able to compare the two. But now that I have I can say that I do prefer the original... but this one is good for a "Check you brain at the door... Pop-corn movie."

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

01/30/09

College Coach (1933) Dir: William Wellman
Production: Warner Bros.

Ah, the age old dilemma facing the bastions of higher education: a respected chemistry program hoovers up cash while a great football program pays out like a one-armed bandit, subsidizing all the other departments that loathe football. What is the Calvert University board of trustees to do? Compromise their principles and hire the best coach in the business or go bankrupt? Duhhhh. So in comes coach Jim Gore (Pat O'Brien), an unscrupulous mercenary whose first order of business is to go out and get himself the best backfield money can buy. Ultimately, everyone's greed and avarice is rewarded with fabulous wealth and success. A truly happy ending.

Amusing if you're a football fan, particularly since we can look down from our lofty perch in 2009 with the knowledge that no school today would ever recruit academically ineligible players or resort to paying its student-athletes like they did in 1933. O'Brien is perfect doing a send-up of the stereotypical football coach. He'd take this performance out for a spin again a few years later as Knute Rockne. Ann Dvorak is his neglected wife, Claire. For once she's not hysterically overplaying. Lyle Talbot plays a star back, an egotistical lunkhead with eyes for the coach's wife. Dick Powell is the team's other star, more interested in his chemistry work than being another 'tramp' player. Ward Bond and John Wayne make brief appearances. Hilarious ending, after 70 minutes of teeth-gnashing and moralizing about the corrupting influence of big time athletics, that's not exactly an endorsement for doing things the honorable way.

out of 4
----------------------------------------------
WILLIAM WELLMAN - "Less Than Meets The Eye"
College Coach (1933) , Across the Wide Missouri (1951)


01/30/09

Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) Dir: John Cromwell
Production: Selznick International

Another in the line of Selznick literary adaptations, this about a fancy 1880's Brooklyn boy named Ceddie (Freddie Batholomew) who, after the death of his English-born father, is summoned to England by his grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt (C. Aubrey Smith), to be raised as a lord and eventually assume the title of Earl himself. Ceddie reluctantly leaves his friends behind, the grocer Hobbs (Guy Kibbee) and a shoeshine boy named Dick (Mickey Rooney), only to find that when he gets to England he must also live apart from his beloved mother (Dolores Costello), as required by his grandfather, a cold and unfeeling man who disowned his son (Ceddie's dad) for marrying an American woman. Eventually the Earl's stern facade will be broken down by Fauntleroy's childhood innocence and wisdom. But will a dark secret from the past come between the Earl and the Lord?

This type of excessively genteel production is not necessarily my cup of tea, but I did admire how well it was done. An attractive production, as you might expect from Selznick. Freddie Bartholomew is well cast as Ceddie/Fauntleroy, but again, the kind of sentimentality inherent in a story where a young boy calls his mother 'Dearest' because that's the nickname his deceased father had for her is not for everybody. Mickey Rooney's funny with his Brooklyneese "Oils", "woild" and "poils" (Earls, world, pearls). Dolores Costello has to do a lot of silent suffering, but she's quite beautiful doing it. C. Aubrey Smith dominated this type of role throughout the 30's and he is very good here.

out of 4
---------------------------------
JOHN CROMWELL - "Lightly Likable"
Double Harness (1933) , Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) , The Company She Keeps (1951)



01/31/09

Latin Lovers (1953) Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Production: MGM

Multi-millionaire corporate head Nora Taylor (Lana Turner) struggles with relationships in this dud romantic comedy. Nora and current beau, Paul Chevron (John Lund), seem like the perfect power couple, ready to get married. But they are also both in analysis and each one 'psyches' the other out by over-thinking their moves and going against their instincts. Paul gives Nora a lukewarm proposal (she's looking for a forceful demand) and tells her to think about it while he flys down to Brazil with his polo team. Instead Nora decides to follow him, hoping the exotic Latin atmosphere (the phrase "something in the air" is repeated several times) will spur him to decisive action. When Paul doesn't get the hint, Nora's eye starts to wander, eventually catching smoldering Brazilian rancher Roberto Santos (Ricardo Montalban). The stable, reliable business tycoon or the hot-blooded South American--who will Nora pick????????

Any laughs here (and there are none) are mostly at the expense of things that were either new or in vogue in the 50's, like psychoanalysis or the wonder of foreign cultures. In other words, it doesn't work. A more interesting story would have been about Nora in the male-dominated business world and whatever challenges she faced to get to or stay at the top. There is a tiny exploration of gender roles when Nora's vast wealth is presumed to be a problem for her potential mates, but it's not very serious. In a couple of musical numbers, Montalban is ludicrously dubbed with a voice that does not match. Fine actresses like Jean Hagen and Beulah Bondi are wasted in their roles. The ending is also insulting by modern tastes. At least it looks good, shot in Technicolor but no location work.

out of 4
--------------------------------
MERVYN LEROY - "Lightly Likable"
Latin Lovers (1953)

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Goddamn it, I had all these big plans to watch a ton of movies today, and I ended up watching other stuff and then napping for most of the evening.


The Enforcer - Random Bogart flick from my Netflix queue. It's a not-very-original crime drama noir, with Bogie as a detective trying to bring down a ring of hit men. Besides the flashbacks-within-flashbacks, the most interesting thing about it that it was apparently made at a time before "contract" and "hit" became part of the common lexicon, since the baddies use these terms to confound the cops. Either that or the writer just underestimated his audience. They treat the very idea of a hit man as a shocking new concept, so I dunno. Overall, the film is entertaining with a few excellent shots, if not terribly fresh. There's a minor plot hole at the end that bugs me, but I don't want to spoil anything. Rating: 7

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

JANUARY RECAP:

40 new viewings (including 9 shorts, 1 mini-series)
3 revisits

Best new discovery: My Love Has Been Burning (short: Lucifer Rising)
Worst new discovery: Landscape After Battle (short: The Man We Want to Hang)


Overall, a very average month for me. I expected to watch more, but back problems have made it difficult for me to spend a lot of time on the couch. Hopefully February will be more fruitful.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

The Messengers

When I first bought this in August of '07 I was excited about watching it... the trailer looked good... the back of the box reaffirmed that I would enjoy it. And I watched it as soon as I got home. But I came out of it a little disappointed. I think I went into it with more expectations then I should have. Now today... on the second viewing I did enjoy it more then I did the first time... but still is far from one of the best. I won't say it is a bad movie... just average for the genre. Maybe slightly above average at the most. I will say that I did like Kristen Stewart as the teenage girl. She is the same girl that played Jodie Foster's teen in the movie Panic Room five years earlier. It was also pretty cool to see an appearance by William B. Davis (Smoking Man on X-Files) in this one as well.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Fantasy Day #3:


01/30/09: RACE WITH THE DEVIL (Jack Starrett, 1975)

In the Summer of 1989, a major Italian TV channel used to have a Friday Horror night at prime time and again on Saturday nights around midnight, hosted by a cadaverous ghoul called “Uncle Tibia” and his pet monster “Golem”; I recall them showing this shocker but back then (being only 13), I was not into trashy exploitation fare as yet and, consequently, missed out on it. Eventually, I caught up with the film via Anchor Bay’s Special Edition DVD and, although there is virtually no touch of originality or imagination at all evident anywhere, the action-packed last third manages to redeem the lackadaisical hour that had preceded it. Typically, Peter Fonda and Warren Oates are motor vehicle enthusiasts who decide to take a vacation with their wives in a luxury trailer out in the Texan desert. Out drinking one moonlit night, the men are drawn by nearby chanting into witnessing a ritualistic murder of a nubile Satanic Cult member; predictably, the sudden appearance of the wife calling them to bed gives away their presence to the clandestine revelers…and the deadly pursuit across country is on. Sheriff R. G. Armstrong takes their claims of devil worship in his county with a pinch of salt, the girls go to a public library and sneak out the usual tell-all Occult tomes, their pet mutt is murdered and appended to the trailer while fellow vacationers are treating them to the local delicacies at a Country & Western bar, etc. The incident of two rattlesnakes found in the trailer compartments is creepy to be sure but it goes on far too long. As I said earlier, however, the last half-hour is satisfactorily intense as virtually everybody that had crossed their path before comes together to trap our unfortunate quartet into becoming the ultimate diabolical sacrifice – but not before giving them a chance to hastily blast a few diabolists off to Hades!


01/30/09: GHOST STORY (John Irvin, 1981)

This is another film I missed out on Italian TV as a kid: notable for its quintet of ageing stars, most of whom had never made a horror film in their life (Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Houseman and Patricia Neal), it deals with the men’s long-concealed past crime coming back to haunt them. It takes the form of a ghostly dead-ringer for the girl they all loved (Alice Krige) but whom they were forced to dispose of after an unfortunate incident when she humiliated their egos! Fairbanks, who was the one responsible for the deed, has twin sons (Craig Wasson) and so Krige directs her revenge upon them as well. Soon one of the latter, Fairbanks himself and even Douglas and Houseman all wind up dead. Therefore, the remaining Wasson and Astaire decide to confront the ghost at the scene of the crime where they also have to contend with a couple of sinister tramps who somehow do Krige’s bidding! I was looking forward to seeing these veterans on their last legs (Douglas died before the film had even premiered though, by that time, he had already completed another role, while it proved Astaire’s own inauspicious swan-song) but GHOST STORY went through too many changes of mood – while maintaining a sluggish pace throughout and emerging overlong into the bargain – to be anything but a failed curio. Having dollops of sex (including full-frontal nudity from Wasson!) and gruesome make-up effects muddled the waters all the more and marred the old-fashioned elegance inherent in Jack Cardiff’s (another notable of long-standing) cinematography.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Unrest

This is my third time watching this movie since I got it back in July '07. It is more of a slow paced movie... which I don't usually care for as much... but for this it works very well! I enjoyed it very much! I tell you one thing... I can see why they call that class "Gross Anatomy"... to think of doing something like that for real! Makes me glad I never wanted to be a doctor! I really enjoyed the performance of Corri English as Allison Blanchard...



... a very attractive young lady I haven't seen in much of anything. I do have her in this plus an episode of NCIS. But looking into her I see she has done quite a bit more. Mostly in taking parts in TV Series... but a few movies as well. This is definitely a movie I would recommend to any horror fan.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Boo

This is a movie I got for my Birthday back in '05. My daughter Brittany got it for me knowing how much I enjoyed ghost stories. And that is what Boo is... a good ghost story. Definitely not the best I ever seen... but not bad either. I felt the story started out slow and feeling like a low budget horror. But then as the movie went on it became more of a serious ghost movie. I wouldn't call Boo scary... even though it does try to be. The atmosphere of the movie was there from the very beginning but I feel it tried to hard instead of letting it come naturally from the story... especially in the beginning. The atmosphere was there and felt right once they got into the hospital... but in my opinion... they shouldn't of felt the need to try to make the movie feel scary in the first few scenes when all they had to do was set up the story and introduce the characters. A horror movie does not need to be scary from beginning to end to be good... unfortunately that is just what Boo tried to do... and for me at least.... that really made the beginning of the movie almost laughable. For the first few scenes I thought I just wasn't going to make it through this movie. But as I said... Boo did turn out to be a pretty good movie. I did enjoy it... and I am glad I have it added to my collection. As for my recommendation... I would Cautiously Recommend this one. Even though I enjoyed it quite a bit... I can see the first part of the movie putting people off. So it really isn't one I would recommend to everyone. I would say if you are curious about this movie... Rent it first.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

January Recap Total Seen: 53

Theatrical Viewing in RED

Best 1st Time Viewing: Revolutionary Road, The Bank Job, The Red Balloon

Also Notables: In Bruges, The Virgin Spring, Empire of Passion

2009 Films

My Bloody Valentine (Patrick Lussier) (Cinema) 3/5


2008 Films Viewed in '09
The Bank Job (Roger Donaldson) (DVD, Library loan) 5/5
Brideshead Revisited (Julian Jarrold) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
In Bruges (Martin McDonagh) (DVD, Library loan) 4/5
Max Payne (John Moore) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Revolutionary Road (Sam Mendes) (Cinema) 5/5
Vantage Point (Pete Travis) (Cable) 1/5


Pre-2008 Films Seen for the 1st Time

51 Birch Street (2005|Doug Block) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Amazing Grace (2006|Michael Apted) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Bonneville (2006|Christopher N. Rowley) (Cable) 3/5
Empire of Passion (Ai No Borei) (1978|Nagisa Oshima) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Feast of Love (2007|Robert Benton) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Flicka (2006|Michael Mayer) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Four Sheets to the Wind (2007|Sterlin Harjo) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007|Rory Kennedy) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Hoot (2006|Wil Shriner) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Hot Rod (2007|Akiva Schaffer) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
The Hunting Party (2007|Richard Shepard) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
I Am Curious (A Blue Film) (Jag är Nyfiken - en Film i Blått) (1968|Vilgot Sjöman) (DVD, Own) 3/5
I Am Curious (A Yellow Film) (Jag är Nyfiken - en Film i Gult) (1967|Vilgot Sjöman) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Infernal Affairs II (Mou Gaan Dou II) (2003|Andrew Lau, Alan Mak) (DVD Rent) 3/5
Liberation of Auschwitz (Die Befreiung von Auschwitz) (1985|Irmgard von zur Mühlen) (DVD Rent) 4/5
Look Both Ways (2005|Sarah Watt) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Parasite (1982|Charles Band) (DVD, Own) 2/5
Poor Boy's Game (2007|Clément Virgo) (Cable) 2/5
The Prisoner: or, How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair (2006|Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
The Red Balloon (Le Ballon Rouge) (1956|Albert Lamorisse) (DVD, Own) 5/5
The Simpsons Movie (2007|David Silverman) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Vince Vaughan's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights -Hollywood to the Heartland (2006|Ari Sandel) (Cable) 3/5
The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukällan) (1960|Ingmar Bergman) (DVD, Own) 4/5

Re-Visits

Barbarella (1968|Roger Vadim) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007|Sidney Lumet) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Camera (2000|David Cronenberg) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Corpse Bride (2005|Mike Johnson, Tim Burton) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Cries and Whispers (Viskningar och Rop) (1972|Ingmar Bergman) (DVD, Own) 3/5
The Family Way (1966|John & Roy Boulting) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Fat Girl (À Ma Soeur!) (2001|Catherine Breillat) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Fiend Without a Face (1958|Arthur Crabtree) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Fear No Evil (1981|Frank LaLoggia) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Frontière(s) (2007|Xavier Gens) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Inserts (1975|John Byrum) (DVD, Own) 3/5
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004|Wes Anderson) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Magnificent Obsession (1954|Douglas Sirk) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Mame (1974|Gene Saks) (DVD, Own) 3/5
A Matter of Life and Death (1946|Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger) (DVD, Own) 5/5
A Mighty Wind (2003|Christopher Guest) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Peter Pan (2003|P.J. Hogan) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Videodrome (1983|David Cronenberg) (DVD, Own) 4/5
White Dog (1982|Samuel Fuller) (DVD, Own) 4/5
The Willow Tree (Beed-e Majnoon) (2005|Majid Majidi) (DVD, Library loan) 4/5
Yi Yi (2000|Edward Yang) (DVD, Own) 5/5

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

I finally got my power back after five days thanks to a little 12-inch snow storm that came threw. This hick town I'm staying in shuts down with a dusting so this really kicked people's ass around here. Ended up staying in a Hilton after the first night but I look forward to reading the posts here (as well as trying to post my hand notes that I took for what I could watch).

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

A revisit of this one via DVD and under better conditions really made me appreciate it more than I previosuly had. As I get older I find I'm beginning to prefer these more complex offerings on relationships and human morals by Woody Allen over his earlier all-out comedies (not to say they aren't a lot of fun themselves).

Hannah (Mia Farrow) is a lovely level-headed woman who used to be married to obsessive hypochondriac Mickey (Woody Allen), but things never worked out so they split. Hannah is now married to Elliot (Michael Caine) who lately has been yearning to strike up a side romance with Hannah's sister Lee (Barbara Hershey). Since Lee herself is shacked up with a closeted and unadventurous older artist (Max Von Sydow) she finds herself susceptible to her brother-in-law's advances.

Meanwhile, the paranoid Mickey discovers he may have a dangerous brain tumor during one of his routine pilgrimages to his doctor, and starts having second thoughts on life and death, seeking to change from his own Jewish religion to Catholicism, or possibly even an Eastern faith. He has had a bad history of dating Holly (Dianne Wiest) who is another of Hannah's sisters, but has her own past drug history to contend with, as well as a constant struggle to be accepted as a serious performer or writer.

There is a lot going on in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, but it's mostly interesting and perhaps self-revealing for the viewer. That meaning there may be one or more characters who are experiencing something any of us might be able to identify with. It's an enjoyable blend of romance, self-awareness, passion, confronting one's own mortality, and ultimately trying just to enjoy life. It also makes us laugh, mainly through some of Allen's observations.


Beyond the Door (1974)

I will consider this DVD viewing a first-time watch for me, because I saw the unedited edition now released on disc by Code Red, under the European title THE DEVIL WITHIN HER (not to be confused with the Joan Collins film of the same name). Indeed, this Italian horror movie has gone through several title changes -- from CHI SEI? in its own country, to its most recognizable American name, BEYOND THE DOOR. But the only way to see it is under the complete DEVIL WITHIN HER form, since the U.S. version -- which I did see on a crappy videotape 20+ years back -- is a much more incomprehensible mess. Two directors tackled this (Ovidio G. Assonitis and Roberto D'Ettore Piazzoli), which is obviously a ripoff of THE EXORCIST with hints of ROSEMARY'S BABY. Director Ovidio states he got the idea from seeing the Polanski film, and from only reading the Exorcist novel.

Juliet Mills (of TV's NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR) stars as a British woman named Jessica living in San Francisco with her husband Robert (Gabriele Lavia) and her two small children. She becomes impregnated with what may be a spawn of the devil himself, and as a result she goes through a series of disturbing trends: smashing her hubby's favorite fish tank, eating a raw banana peel from the street, kissing her sleeping little boy lustfully on his lips, spewing blood and vomit, and rotating her head and levitating. A strange bearded man (Richard Johnson) who has had ties with her from the past, follows her husband around and introduces himself as Dimitri, a cultist who is now trying to help Jessica and to also release his own soul.

I don't think this is a good movie, but it's servicable horror fare with enough shocks and eerie optical effects considering it's an EXORCIST copycat made on a limited budget. Some of the photography is hauntingly done, and Juliet Mills is quite good in her part as the possessed mom. The participation of Richard Johnson also lends something of class to such horrific goings-on. I think this film gets too harshly judged, though I am not surprised if most of those reviewers only got to see the inferior common U.S. Theatrical Cut.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer

I absolutely loved the miniseries Rose Red when I got the DVD (missed original airing)... It is one of my favorite's of Stephen King's work. I was thrilled when I found out there would be a TV Movie prequel to Rose Red... but as luck would have it I missed the original airing if this too. Thankfully it was released on DVD. Now... I don't think this is as good as Rose Red... but I still enjoyed every minute of it! It definitely makes a great companion piece to Rose Red! Hopefully the next time I get in the mood to watch some ghost stories I will watch this and Rose Red back to back.