02/15/06: THE NARROW MARGIN (Richard Fleischer, 1952) ****
Another milestone in the
noir genre and undoubtedly among the best B-movies of all time, this masterpiece remains also director Richard Fleischer's finest work. He excelled in the genre in this early phase of his career and, in fact, I plan to watch three of his other
noirs - BODYGUARD (1948), THE CLAY PIGEON (1949) and FOLLOW ME QUIETLY (1949), all of which I own on VHS - for the first time in the coming days
. The film, set for the most part on a speeding train (but filmed entirely on the RKO backlot!) is a lean but mean 71 minutes of gripping drama and non-stop thrills; it is brimming with hard-boiled dialogue (my favorite has to be when ungrateful 'gangster's moll' Marie Windsor, in reply to obsessive L.A. cop Charles McGraw's disgusted remark "You make me sick to my stomach", nonchalantly quips: "Use your own sink!"
), extremely well-defined characters (especially for such a low-budget film) and brilliant chiaroscuro lighting, which so defines this most durable of Hollywood genres.
Director William Friedkin, who contributes an enthusiastic Audio Commentary to Warner's excellent DVD edition (interestingly, the theatrical trailer included on the disc contains a few brief snippets of dialogue which are not found in the main feature!), while freely admitting the film's - and the genre's - influence on his own work (particularly THE FRENCH CONNECTION [1971]), waxes lyrical on the qualities of these two actors (saying that there were none better in the B-movie stakes) and, watching their brilliant work here, I can't say that I disagree; actually, among the
noir titles I have set up for first-time viewing is another notable McGraw vehicle, THE THREAT (1949)
. Furthermore, the film also features a memorable gallery of villains (albeit played by unfamiliar character actors), an incredible fist-fight sequence which anticipates the one in FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE (1963) and ends with a marvelous, unexpected twist - which demonstrates the care and talent which went into the making of even a second-feature during the Golden Age of American cinema! Needless to say, the innocuous 1990 remake of THE NARROW MARGIN (directed by Peter Hyams and starring Friedkin
alumnus Gene Hackman) was an unnecessary update - so much so that it's already faded out of everyone's memory (mine included
)...which certainly can't be said of the superb original!
02/17/06:
I CRUDELI (Sergio Corbucci, 1967) **1/2
Watchable Italian Western set in the aftermath of the Civil War; humorless and rather downcast (the only notable here being a visibly tired Joseph Cotten) but with an interesting plot, both incident-packed (involving as it does the Cavalry, Mexican bandits and renegade Indians!) and twist-laden - although it's relatively short on the violent action typical of Spaghetti Westerns - a surprise coming from one of the genre's key figures! As usual, the poor dubbing and full-frame presentation get in the way of one's full enjoyment of the film, but it's certainly a harmless diversion as is (if, clearly, nowhere near the best we've seen from Corbucci or the Spaghetti Western sub-genre
).
02/18/06:
THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR (Ronny Yu, 1993) **1/2
Colorful Asian fantasy with the emphasis on romance and fanciful action; enjoyable enough in itself but not particularly compelling. The plot and look of the film reminded me of the "Chinese Ghost Story" Trilogy (1987-91), which I watched - and loved - only a few years back, while the gravity-defying stunts looked forward to Ang Lee's (obviously more accomplished) CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000). As is the norm for this sort of film, the characters are all stock types (the nasty Siamese-twin villains being a particular liability) - which means that, for all the pseudo-philosophy which gets spouted (usually by elders) from time to time, the tale follows a rigid, rather simplistic and all-too-familiar path which doesn't allow for much depth or surprise...though "The Bride With White Hair" herself (when she belatedly appears) is a memorable creation - and I wouldn't mind catching up eventually with this film's sequel (from the same year and director).
02/18/06:
THE BROTHERS GRIMM (Terry Gilliam, 2005) ***
A typically elaborate and imaginative undertaking by Terry Gilliam to present, in his idiosyncratic fashion, the perennial German folk-tales - or rather the 'story' behind a few of them; here, though, the tone is decidedly tongue-in-cheek - if appropriately ominous when the situation dictates. As visually striking as one would expect from this director, but characterization (courtesy of scriptwriter Ehren Kruger) is certainly given its due: both Matt Damon and Heath Ledger are surprisingly engaging as the adventurous, tale-spinning brothers; Jonathan Pryce and Peter Stormare make for larger-than-life (if annoyingly hammy) villains; while Lena Headey and Monica Bellucci provide more than mere eye candy. A triumph of production design, make-up (particularly effective is the Witch's 'shattering' demise) and trick work...though the CGI-created werewolf, unfortunately, is an eyesore!
02/19/06:
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE (Scott Derrickson, 2005) ***
A very effective and surprisingly compelling 'horror' film with a unique 'courtroom-drama' framework, in which the uniformly excellent performances propel somewhat familiar (if still frightening) events. While THE EXORCIST (1973) remains the ultimate in 'possession' films, this entry (little publicized when it emerged) certainly gives it a run for its money by providing a balancing act of solid scares (some of which, admittedly, are not very subtle) and spirituality. Perhaps the most disturbing element of this fact-based story is that, unlike THE EXORCIST, the victim is conscious of the possession and is even allowed to lapse, momentarily, into her normal self - but equally disquieting is the fact that the female attorney defending the Priest (accused of the possessed girl's death shortly after the exorcism rite failed!) is herself 'attacked' by the Forces of Evil during the course of the trial!! Among the most effective scenes in the film are the first manifestation of Evil in the girl's dormitory room (in which she manages to fight the 'demons'), the girl escaping the benign influence of the Priest by flying through the window in the initial stages of the exorcism, and the intense sequence detailing the failed rite itself (set inside a barn!).
P.S. By the way, Joe, here are my thoughts on ILSA, THE WICKED WARDEN (1977) culled from the IMDB
:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076112/usercomments-19
out of