03/10/08:
MARTIN LUTHER (Irving Pichel, 1953) 
This was included in a budget 3-Disc Set comprising ten religious-themed efforts which have fallen into the Public Domain; indeed, it was the most desirable title of the lot and it turned out to be pretty good. Incidentally, four other small-scale films found on this collection were produced by various evangelical groups and, in fact, so was this biopic. Though compromised in this edition by the softness (and slight damage) of the available print, the handsome production afforded the film itself resulted in two Academy Award nominations (uncommon for an independently-made effort) – best cinematography and best black-and-white art direction/set decoration.
MARTIN LUTHER is a curious collaboration between three countries – the U.S., Germany (from where Martin Luther himself emanated) and the U.K.; in fact, while the director (and bit-part actor) Irving Pichel is an American, the lead here is played – superbly, I might add – by the Irish character actor Niall MacGinnis (perhaps best-known for his chilling portrayal of Karswell, the occult-practicing villain of Jacques Tourneur’s CURSE OF THE DEMON [1957]). His thoughtful performance is very effective in illustrating the various facets of Luther’s personality: his initial inner conflicts, the laying-down of (and firm conviction in) his own beliefs, as well as the strength necessary for opposing the power of the Church (facing disrepute from both his peers and his congregation, not to mention an eventual excommunication). Furthermore, we’re also shown the build-up of support to his particular credo where it attracts people from all walks of life…and even lands him a wife!
The script does quite well in delineating the essential difference between the doctrine of the Catholic Church (in its most oppressive state, back when it was still a political force to be reckoned with) and Luther’s pragmatic but no less steadfast approach to religion: the latter favors a strict adherence to Scriptures in the face of the Church’s fire-and-brimstone teachings (resorting to the deception of ignorant parishioners by proposing the worship of worthless holy relics and the offer of money in order to obtain indulgencies in the afterlife, or the callous bestowing of titles upon non-clerical albeit aristocratic subjects).
When I was in Hollywood in 2005, I had caught LUTHER (1974) on TV: directed by Guy Green from a stage rendition by John Osborne and featuring Stacy Keach in the title role, it’s been released on DVD by Kino as part of “The American Film Theater Collection”. While that version, too, was undeniably interesting and effective, the earlier cinematic i.e. less stagey treatment was perhaps the more satisfactory; by the way, there’s been an even more recent biopic of the famous religious figure starring Joseph Fiennes, which is readily available from my local DVD rental outlet.
03/19/08: CALIGULA [Unrated Edition] (Tinto Brass, Giancarlo Lui and Bob Guccione, 1979)
I had watched this on late-night TV while on a visit to London in September 2002; it transpired to have not been the full-length version, since I don’t recall the hardcore footage found here. Anyway, the film is still perhaps mainstream cinema’s biggest folly: while Gore Vidal’s original screenplay may have been interesting, the end result lumbers on for 2˝ hours for no particular reason except to wallow in its repellent excesses but proves to be extremely dull, even annoying, into the bargain!
Despite some imposing credentials, it’s little more than an extended home movie from the people at “Penthouse” magazine: director Brass was only credited with “Principal Photography” since he objected to Lui and Guccione’s “additional footage” – which, apparently, boils down to little more than six minutes of no-holds-barred hardcore stuff! Danilo Donati (famed for his equally garish and overblown collaborations with Federico Fellini) serves as art director/costume designer – the film itself recalls the vilified later work of Pier Paolo Pasolini (with editing by Nino Baragli, no less) and, of course, anticipates the recent controversy caused by the ultra-realistic ROME TV series. The music, at least, includes judicious excerpts from the classical work of Aram Khachaturyan and Sergei Prokofiev; incidentally, according to the IMDB, the Paul Clemente listed as the film’s composer is a pseudonym for Bruno Nicolai…which is a quite fitting credit, given that he often worked for another notorious purveyor of sex – Jesus Franco!
As for the cast, Malcolm McDowell re-affirms his tendency towards hamminess when not guided by master film-makers such as Lindsay Anderson and Stanley Kubrick (another notorious contemporaneous effort I had watched and should re-acquaint myself with in the near-future is the star-studded war drama THE PASSAGE [1979]) – he’s got the right intensity for the title role but is visibly ill-at-ease with the sex scenes (intending to stress the era’s utter decadence, more often than not these prove a distraction from the main plot) and particularly embarrassing when breaking into an inane dance routine. Perhaps mercifully, the thespian skills of Peter O’Toole (as a demented and sore-riddled Tiberius, appearing much older than his 47 years) and John Gielgud (as the latter’s counselor who opts for the easy way out rather than serve Caligula) are on display for only the first 40 minutes or so of this debacle. Also on hand are a number of notable regulars of Italian cinema – namely Leopoldo Trieste, Paolo Bonacelli (another Pasolini
alumnus) and a campy bald-headed John Steiner. The ladies – led by Teresa Ann Savoy (sharing an incestuous relationship with her brother the Emperor) and Helen Mirren (as Caligula’s wife, dubbed “the most promiscuous woman in Rome”) and including several “Penthouse” starlets doing their thing – provide the expected glamor and titillation, though male nudity is just as much in continual evidence.
Another sensationalistic aspect to the film is its level of gore, occasionally demonstrated in inventive fashion – none more so than in the solitary arena sequence where prisoners are buried in sand apart from their head, which is summarily lopped off by a cumbersome machine fitted with deadly blades! Following the bloodthirsty assassination of Caligula and his entire family by his closest associates, his obese and effeminate uncle Claudius is made Emperor; incidentally, I should be acquiring the celebrated I, CLAUDIUS (1976) TV series – with Derek Jacobi in the title role and John Hurt as Caligula – soon enough…and, eventually, I’ll presently be getting to Peter O’Toole’s other epic about the Roman Empire – MASADA (1981), itself a TV mini-series!
03/19/08:
JOHANNA (Kornel Mundruczo`, 2005)
A pretentious eccentricity: a virtually unrecognizable modernization of the Joan Of Arc tale (with the heroine now a drug addict-turned-nurse-turned-whorish miracle maker!) which, of all things, is also an opera sung in Hungarian! I only included it in the “Epic” challenge for this reason and had, in fact, intended to watch Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 masterpiece THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC as part of a marathon to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his death…but had to abandon the whole idea and, in the process, considerably streamline the schedule for the rest of the month following a death in the family which turned into a national tragedy!
Incidentally, Roberto Rossellini had already made a film out of Arthur Honnegger’s opera JOAN OF ARC AT THE STAKE (1954; which has, thankfully, just been released as a SE DVD in Italy) featuring the director’s then-wife Ingrid Bergman; I haven’t watched this yet but did recently acquire the latter’s earlier 1948 film about the famous inspirational but misunderstood warrior-saint. The film under review, then, is original to be sure and mercifully short – but also rather pointless…to say nothing of dismal-looking, dreary and thoroughly depressing! Having said that, some of the music – particularly the children’s choruses – is quite pleasing, though…
