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Scott Weinberg

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Great review there, Steve-O. I just saw Targets for the first time a few weeks ago, and I share your opnion of the film.
Some solid extras on that DVD, too! :emoji_thumbsup:
 

SteveGon

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Titanic (1953)
Directed by Jean Negulesco.
"That's the problem, Richard, there's been too much love lost between us."
The Titanic tragedy has inspired countless books, documentaries, and at least three good movies. This 1953 Hollywood version is lean on spectacle and instead spins the story of one Julia Sturges (Barbara Stanwyck)...
Julia hails from a middle class background and has grown weary of her husband Richard's aristocratic posturing. Her wealthy spouse is determined to live his life as some sort of idealized upper class gentleman. To that end he's dragged Julia and their two children around Europe for years, basking in the company of the rich and famous. When Julia can no longer stomach this, she books passage for herself and the children on the Titanic, intent on returning to her hometown in Michigan. Richard (Clifton Webb) naturally goes after them but first class bookings on the ship are sold out. Thus he's forced to bribe his way into steerage. His snide treatment of the man he replaces gives one the impression that maybe Julia is doing the right thing. Richard's snobbery seems to have rubbed off on his beloved daughter Annette (Audrey Dalton) as evidenced by the way she blows off smitten college boy Gifford Rogers (Robert Wagner). The Sturges' young son Norman (Harper Carter) isn't so bad though he's a bit too proper for someone his age. He idolizes his father and is delighted when he shows up on the Titanic.
Though technically a steerage passenger, Richard uses his money to weasel his way into first class accommodations. There he continues his pursuit of Julia. Richard is appalled that his wife would leave him: think of the scandal! Despite this he manages to keep his cool, being ever the gentleman. But when Julia blindsides him with a shocking revelation, a cruel streak emerges. And doting Norman is destined to pay the price.
As the Titanic cruises the icy Atlantic:
An unfazed Gifford Rogers (the "P" is for Perdue, not Princeton) continues to chase after Annette. Eventually his good-natured charm wins her over - hey, ya just gotta love a guy who can do the Navajo Rug! Their budding love reminds us of what Julia and Richard once had...and lost.
Julia has an encounter with alcoholic ex-priest George Headley (Richard Basehart). Turns out George's slum parish drove him to drink and it was this boozing that got him fired. Nothing happens between Julia and George though the two lost souls feel a kinship. Will either of them find what they're looking for?
An embittered Richard enscounces himself in an endless game of bridge, ignoring the plans he'd made with Norman. After curtly dismissing the boy, he begins to question his actions. Is he to blame for the breaking up of his family?
All of these stories will take an unexpected turn when the Titanic meets its destiny...
Titanic is a solid film in its own right though it comes up a bit short when compared to A Night to Remember. It also lacks the grandeur of James Cameron's version. Still, there are things to like about it. The captain and officers of the Titanic are portrayed as competent and intelligent. There's no sense of hubris in their actions before the disaster and they don't kid themselves after striking the iceberg: their "unsinkable" ship is going down and they immediately take appropriate action. There are other good scenes here: the film opens with an ominous shot of a calving iceberg; Richard reflects on his actions while shaving; an exultant Gifford wings his cap overboard and watches it drift off in the current along with bits and pieces of ice. And I find it interesting how the theme of class struggle is explored using the Titanic - for as we all know, the ship itself encapsulated the disparity between the rich and the poor...
This is a must-have for Titanic aficionados and worth a look for the rest of you. Check it out!
:star: :star: :star:
 

Lew Crippen

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Interesting review Steve. I’ve not seen this film for a very long time and I liked being reminded of it. I agree that A Night to Remember sets the standard.
 

SteveGon

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Thanks, Lew. The Titanic DVD comes out next week (though I got mine early :D) and features some nice extras.
 

SteveGon

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Miami Blues (1990)
Directed by George Armitage.
"My name's Ravindra. What's yours?"
"Trouble."

Sociopathic thief Junior Frenger (Alec Baldwin) is fresh out of prison and looking to make a new life in Miami. But old habits die hard and the first thing he does after getting off the plane is steal a suitcase. Then he snaps the finger of an unlucky Krishna who tries to enlighten him. That's Junior's way of saying "fuck off." Checking into a nearby hotel, he sends for a hooker. Hey, it's been awhile since he's had a woman...
"Your turn to notify the next of kin?"
"No way. I did the fat lady that sat on the kid. That's good for two."

Sgt. Hoke Moseley (Fred Ward) thinks he's seen it all. Then he gets called to the airport to investigate a murder. Turns out one of the resident Krishnas has been killed. Apparently the poor bastard died from shock after having his finger snapped. Hoke and his soon-to-be-retired partner Bill (Charles Napier) think this is just hilarious, never mind the dead man's grieving friend!
Back at the hotel, Junior's hooker has arrived. "Call me Pepper." she says. Actually her real name is Susie Waggoner - Junior is smart enough to check her driver's license. Susie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a bit dense and her wide-eyed innocence awakens a soft spot in Junior. Maybe she's someone he could have a real life with?
"Do you know any married people today? They're a team. They pull together and they get rich. They got it all."
Junior's criminal antics soon net him a nice little nest egg. Then he starts playing at having a normal life. He and Susie get married and move into an apartment. She plays housewife while he robs the neighbors! This is when he makes his big score: pork chops and a really...big...gun! Then Hoke shows up. Junior was spotted getting on a shuttle shortly after the Krishna was killed and Hoke has some questions to ask him. Susie asks Hoke to stay for dinner during which the cop seems to delight in prying into Junior's past. Not a smart thing to do...
"He got your gun... your badge... and your teeth? You are a disgrace to the police force."
The next morning Junior tracks Hoke down at his apartment and waylays him. To add insult to injury, he takes the unfortunate cop's badge and gun (not to mention his false teeth). The badge and gun come in handy as Junior gets a kick out of playing cop - what better way to give potential victims a false sense of security? The money starts rolling in and Junior and Susie are soon enscounced in a nice little suburban house with a white picket fence...
Still licking his wounds, Hoke makes busting Junior into a personal vendetta. It's bad enough that Junior got his badge and gun, but it'd be damn expensive to replace those false teeth!
Meanwhile Susie is getting suspicious of Junior. He promised her he'd go straight. So if he has, how's he able to afford their fancy new digs? Speaking of Junior, he's finding out that being a "cop" has its own unique pressures. Combine that with his constant need for cash and he's slowly but surely starting to lose it...
It isn't long before Hoke catches up to Junior and when they collide, everyone had better duck for cover!
Miami Blues is a seedy little crime thriller seasoned with liberal doses of black humor and grisly violence. George Armitage (Grosse Pointe Blank) directs with laid-back restraint and a wry eye for detail - he wrote the screenplay from Charles Willeford's novel. Alec Baldwin is especially good here: we can't help but like Junior despite the nasty things he does. Jennifer Jason Leigh is pitch-perfect (when isn't she?) as Susie, the slightly-addled beauty to Junior's beast. And Fred Ward is simply a hoot as the hapless Hoke Moseley. Even Nora Dunn puts in a good turn as a fellow detective who helps Hoke when he's down and out. This is a solid piece of pulp fiction. Check it out!
"I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. He always ate everything I ever gave him and he never hit me."
:star: :star: :star:
 

SteveGon

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Just a heads-up: two films I talked about earlier in this thread, Andrzej Wajda's Kanal and Ashes and Diamonds (the latter two films in the director's War Trilogy), hit DVD on 11/04. (Naturally, seeing as how I picked up the VHS editions a few months ago. :rolleyes:) For some odd reason, A Generation, the first film in the trilogy, ISN'T being released. Not sure why.
Also: Wajda's excellent Man of Marble will be out on DVD come 10/28.
 

SteveGon

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Little Odessa (1994)
Directed by James Gray.
The body of Joshua Shapira's latest victim isn't even cold before he's ordered to make another hit. There's one problem: the job will take him back to Little Odessa. That Brooklyn neighborhood may be his home but he's not welcome there. Not only is he in dutch with local gangster boss Boris Volkoff, but his father has disowned him. Joshua (Tim Roth) can deal with his dad but Volkoff would just as soon shoot him as look at him. But Joshua knows better than to refuse orders.
Though he wants to keep a low profile, Joshua can't resist a look at the apartment building where his family lives - a family that he is no longer part of. It is here that he is spotted by Sasha (David Vadim), an old acquaintance. The next day Sasha relays the news to Joshua's younger brother Reuben (Edward Furlong). Reuben is excited at the prospect of seeing his errant brother again. Anything to break up the monotony of his daily life would be welcome. Not only that, but no one ever really told him why Joshua had to leave.
The two brothers are soon reunited though Joshua is hesitant to even talk with Reuben. His enemies could be anywhere and would just as likely shoot both of them. Still, it's hard to let go of the past and Joshua is starting to feel the isolation that comes with his job. It'd be nice to just hang out with his kid brother again. But Joshua isn't the only one with heavy thoughts: Reuben informs him that their mother is terminally ill. The news of his mother's impending death puts a face on mortality for the cold-blooded Joshua. Slowly but surely, his old life is slipping irrevocably away.
Reflecting on his past, Joshua is compelled to visit his old girlfriend Alla (Moira Kelly). Alla seems to know what he has become and her first instinct is to run. It is her own dreary life that betrays her better judgment when she later seeks Joshua out. There are stirrings of hope in their budding relationship but Joshua's demons will forever keep them at bay. Sometimes love isn't enough.
Joshua is also determined to see his mother one final time. His father stands in his way. Arkady Shapira (Maximilian Schell) is a man nearly defeated by life. His wife is dying a terrible death. One son is lost to him and the other gets more distant every day. The only thing he's sure of anymore is that he doesn't want his elder son around. It's easy to see that Joshua is a powerful and deadly influence on his younger brother. But will Arkady's stern measures end up driving Reuben away? Or will Reuben see Joshua for what he truly is?
Joshua is inevitably recognized: walking down a street one day he bumps into Boris Volkoff's son. As usual he solves the problem with his gun and it is with this act that he seals his fate...
Little Odessa is one of those small gems that has gone largely unheralded and it's easy to see why: it is a bleak and fatalistic film. None of the characters are happy. The climax is unbearably grim and depressing. Still, I find it to be an enthralling experience. It is a film exquisitely shot and directed with James Gray's compositions taking full advantage of the wintry Brooklyn locales. Adding immeasurably to the mood is a terrific soundtrack comprised of Russian choral and instrumental works. And the cast is superb. Maximilian Schell embues Arkady Shapira with a pathos that humanizes what could easily have been a despicable character. Vanessa Redgrave is very good in her small role as the dying Irina Shapira. Edward Furlong gives one of his better performances as the impressionable Reuben. Moira Kelly is fine as Alla; she's a cute and likeable actress whose career has seemingly stalled and that's too bad. But it is Tim Roth who commands this movie. He's played the villain before, but never one like Joshua.
:star: :star: :star: 1/2
 

SteveGon

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round midnight (1986)
Directed by Bertrand Tavernier.
"You know who's going to be waiting for you at the airfield in Paris, don't you?.....You."
Paris, 1959. Jazzman Dale Turner (Dexter Gordon) is on his last legs. He can still play a mean tenor sax, but a lifetime of drinking has taken its toll. He's gone through three or four wives and hardly knows his only daughter. His music is the only thing keeping him going. Now he's in Paris playing the Blue Note nightclub, where his friends must keep a constant eye on him lest he grab the nearest bottle. But that's a losing battle as for Dale, the booze and the inspiration go hand in hand.
Outside the Blue Note, oblivious to a pouring rain, huddles Francis Borler. He has no money to get him inside the club but he so loves jazz that he's content to listen through a window, never mind the weather. Now Francis (Francois Cluzet) has his own problems. He's an artist who designs movie posters for a living and he hasn't had much success since his wife took off on him. She left their daughter Berangere in his care. "You'd be lost without her." he is told.
Francis haunts the nightclub and it isn't long before he runs into Dale on the street. Sensing an opportunity, Dale talks the awestruck Francis into buying him a beer...or two. As the drinks flow, so does the talk. These two men, from wildly different backgrounds, find that they have something in common. They're soon fast friends.
But being friends with the great jazzman is no easy task as Francis soon finds out. He takes over responsibility for Dale and quickly realizes what a job it is. Then something begins to happen. Living with this earnest man and his pretty young daughter inspires Dale to quit drinking and start composing again. Meanwhile Francis begins to have more success with his art.
"Francis, who is that playing?"
"Who is playing? It's you. You just made a record."
"Not bad."

Having found his muse, Dale stuns Francis by announcing that it's time for him to go home to New York. Maybe there he can get his old life back. But in New York it's also far too easy for Dale to return to his self-destructive habits...
round midnight is a beautifully nuanced and atmospheric film. It's as if the very celluloid it was shot on was steeped in essence of jazz. It is arguably, Bertrand Tavernier's finest film. Like his contemporaries Clint Eastwood and Woody Allen, he has a passion for jazz. All three have made similar films on the subject (Eastwood's Bird and Allen's Sweet and Lowdown), but Tavernier's round midnight is the best. His superb craftsmanship aside, two things give it the edge: one is Dexter Gordon. A jazzman himself, he brings a knowing realism to Dale Turner that no actor could hope to match. His gravelly voice (makes Nick Nolte sound like Laurence Olivier) and towering presence are unforgettable. Second is Herbie Hancock's superb, Oscar-winning score. I know very little about jazz, but this is great stuff.
"I hope, Lady Francis, that we live long enough to see an avenue named after Charlie Parker, a Lester Young Park, a Duke Ellington Square. And even, a street named Dale Turner."
:star: :star: :star: :star:
 

SteveGon

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"Take a deep breath,
prepare for the worst!
the ugliest man
in the universe!"

The Tall Guy (1989)
Un film de Mel Smith.
Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) came to England six years ago to seek his fame on the London stage. He has yet to find it. He does have a job: he's the straight man to Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson, very funny as a meaner Mr. Bean), the headliner and producer of a popular comedy revue. The job is easy - consisting of pratfalls and a little tapdancing - but the pay is poor and Ron is an insufferable ass. Dexter's personal life isn't any better. He shares a flat with his nymphomaniac landlady and her lovers are constantly strolling around naked. Six years worth of failed romances have left him feeling lonely and aimless. His answering machine is on the fritz. And now it's hay fever season...
Dexter hates injections. Why? Because they hurt! But his hay fever is making him miserable so it's off to the doctor for shots. He's overjoyed when he finds that pills are available as an alternative. Until he spies the woman of his dreams: a pretty nurse! Hey, maybe getting those shots wouldn't be so bad...
"Listen, Dexter, is there something troubling you? Something that you would like to talk to someone about?"
"Well, yes, as a matter of fact there is..."
"Then for fuck's sake talk to someone about it, will you? And sort it out before I sack you and hire a lobotomized monkey to play your role. Okay?"

Weeks pass and Dexter is depressed. He can't work up enough nerve to ask the nurse out on a date. His depression is affecting his work and Ron is his usual understanding self. Further prompted by a dream in which surgeons discover that he has no spine, he decides to go for it. But first he has to come up with an excuse to get more shots!
Her name is Kate Lemmon (Emma Thompson) and yes, she'll go out with him. Her favorite color is orange and she prefers to get sex out of the way. After all, why spend money on expensive dinners and such if you already know you like someone? Dexter isn't gonna argue with that! They're soon making love so passionately that they all but destroy Kate's flat. Then Dexter realizes he's missed his show...
"Remember dearest, everyone thought Jesus Christ Superstar was a stupid idea."
"Jesus Christ Superstar WAS a stupid idea."
"True."

Fired by Ron, Dexter heads off to see his agent. There was never much work for tall American actors and the pickings are slim. One disastrous tryout follows another. Then his agent suggests that he audition for a role in a new musical that's under production. A musical called Elephant based on the life of the Elephant Man! Dexter isn't keen on the idea but work is work. Surprisingly he scores the part of the title character! Better yet, his leading lady is a coy little vixen who falls in love with him. Dexter tries his best to fend off her advances but man, is she a hottie! Needless to say...
"The pig was from me."
Unfortunately Kate doesn't fool so easily. After a successful opening night for Elephant, she announces to Dexter that she's leaving him. Dexter is despondent. The love of his life is gone. He hates playing the Elephant Man. Then, when things just couldn't get any worse, they do: Dexter sees Kate with the much-despised Ron. Okay, that is the last straw...
The Tall Guy is a small gem of a comedy, directed with a whimsical flair by Mel Smith (Bean and um, The Radioland Murders). Elephant is the funniest musical-within-a-movie since Springtime for Hitler wowed audiences in The Producers. But writer Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill) also throws in some keen observations on the ins and outs of the acting game. And then there are the more personal touches that we can all identify with: a post-breakup Dexter turns on the radio and every station is playing a song about love lost. Been there! Throw in a few oddball characters (a blind man who's allergic to his guide dog!), spice it up with some yummy Emma Thompson nakedness, and you've got a real winner in The Tall Guy.
"Somewhere,
up in Heaven,
there's an angel with big ears..."

:star: :star: :star:
 

SteveGon

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Men With Guns (1997)
Directed by John Sayles.
War is always hardest on the innocents.
Dr. Fuentes (Federico Luppi from Cronos) has had a long and successful career as a doctor, practicing on army generals and the wealthy. He's had a privileged life and has earned the respect of his peers. Though his country has long been plagued by civil war, he is only dimly aware of the fighting - it's always far away in the mountains, like a constant drone in the background one learns to ignore. Safe in the big city, the good doctor hasn't a clue as to how bad things really are for the less fortunate.
Fuentes is aware that the indigenous tribes of his country live in poverty, scratching out a living growing corn and picking coffee beans. He thinks he's done his duty to them by training a group of medical students and sending them out to remote villages where they could administer aid to the needy. Now in his twilight years and suffering from a weak heart, Fuentes wonders what has become of those young doctors, for they are his legacy.
Shopping in an open-air market one day, Fuentes happens to glimpse one of his proteges on the street. He follows the man and confronts him. "Why have you left your post?" he asks. "Do you even know what is going on out there? replies his former student, "How can you be so blind?" Fuentes is then instructed to go out into the countryside, to look up his other students. There he will find the truth.
Against the wishes of his children, Fuentes sets out on his journey. His first stop is a pitiful excuse of a village, hidden in fields of sugar cane. He asks for the doctor but none of the villagers will talk to him. What are they afraid of? Finally an old blind woman with nothing to lose gives him an answer: the doctor is dead. Soaked with gasoline and burned to death. "Who would do such a thing?" he asks, "And why?" It was the men with guns he is told, and they don't need reasons. Fuentes figures it had to have been either the army or the guerillas, but why would either group murder a doctor? Someone who was only trying to help?
Continuing on his quest, Fuentes next stops at a village perched precariously on the side of a steep hill. Here the people are starving and their resident doctor is nowhere to be seen. A young boy named Conejo informs him that the doctor was taken away by the army. Sensing an opportunity, the youth offers to show Fuentes where the missing man was taken. Fuentes is horrified when he's shown a killing field. His student is there, his bones intermingled with the remains of other victims. Victims of the men with guns.
Fuentes is determined to see if any of his other students are still alive. With Conejo tagging along, he moves on. It isn't long before more bad luck catches up with them: the tires are stolen from Fuentes' car. Then they are robbed at gunpoint by an army deserter. Soon after, the deserter returns. He's stolen a car and is bleeding from a gunshot wound. Fuentes is obligated to treat the man - his name is Domingo - and soon the three are traveling together. The wary trio is then joined by a defrocked priest named Portilla. He refers to himself as a ghost, walking the roads with nowhere to go. The story of his fall from grace is a sad one indeed.
Despair sets in as Fuentes discovers that more and more of his students were killed. Then Portilla is arrested at an army checkpoint. Fuentes, Domingo, and Conejo are taken to a refugee camp. There, among the destitute, they meet a mute girl traumatized by rape and hers is only one horror story among many. Fuentes hopes to find at the camp Dr. Montoya - the last of his students and the only female of that group. But she has moved on he is told, she has escaped the men with guns. However, there is still work to be done as many of the refugees are in need of medical care. It is here that the taciturn Domingo, a medic in the army, begins to redeems himself.
They don't stay long in the camp for Fuentes insists on leaving. He's heard that Dr. Montoya went to Cerca del Cielo, a fabled village hidden in the mountains. A place beyond the reach of the men with guns. And so he goes, with Domingo, Conejo, and Graciela the mute girl in tow. But is Cerca del Cielo real or only a hopeful dream?
Men With Guns is one of John Sayles' least-mentioned films. Made between Lone Star and Limbo, it seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. It is however, the equal of those two films. Few American directors would make a movie like this and that's why Sayles has earned my respect. Men With Guns explores a subject rarely covered in cinema (Alsino and the Condor comes to mind as one of the few others that does): that of the incessant civil wars in Central and South America and the effect they have on the civilian population. But there's more to it than that, for it seems that buisness interests are also to blame for the violence and oppression. Coffee magnates in collusion with the military oust poor villagers from their homes and force them to work the coffee fields for a pittance. It's a vicious cycle with no end in sight.
Men With Guns is, like most of John Sayles' films, focused more on dialogue and human relations than action. It's a long film, deliberately paced and engrossing. It's a road movie like no other. The cast is uniformly superb, including Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody in small roles as Americans hiking Fuentes' war-torn country. They're intelligent people and yet they remain oblivious to the tragedies unfolding around them. Nothing bad will happen to them of course (Sayles calls them "teflon tourists" in the DVD commentary), for they represent America as a whole, distanced from the violence of the world. Well, I guess that's changed, hasn't it?
:star: :star: :star: 1/2
 

Brook K

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I didn't buy this cause I didn't think it had a commentary and was too expensive to purchase featureless. Thanks for the report Steveo, I'll have to pick it up now.
 

Jim_K

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A little something for all tastes
The Third Man - My first viewing was a few years ago & while I admired the filmmaking style, the story didn't resonate with me. :star: :star: :star:
Flash forward to 1 month ago: If a film thats highly acclaimed doesn't click with me the first time I make it a habit to revisit the film at a later time. Many of my favorite films took 2 viewings for me to truly appreciate them. I won't attempt a full fledged review as many better writers have covered the same territory. I'll refer you to one of my favorite on-line reviewers Glenn Erickson a.k.a. DVDSavant or check out Eberts Great Movies section.
Needless to say I now rank this as the greatest Noir film I've seen & in the top 3 British films ever made. :star: :star: :star: :star:
Evil Dead II - My first viewing was many years ago upon a friends nagging. I went in expecting to be scarred out of my wits and was ultimately let down by what amounted to the 3 Stooges meet the Exorcist. :star: 1/2
Flash forward: I wanted to give this film another chance as this film has a huge cult following and I hate being left out in the cold. I geared up for a Comedy this time & again was let down. I now know that splatter-comedies aren't my thing so I can avoid this genre in the future. I just don't get it but hey that's why they call 'em Cult films. :star: 1/2
 

SteveGon

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Needless to say I now rank this as the greatest Noir film I've seen & in the top 3 British films ever made.
Welcome to the fold. :)
(BTW, it's nice to see someone else besides myself posting here for a change)
 

SteveGon

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Fat City (1972)
Directed by John Huston.
Tully once had a pretty good career as a boxer. Then he got married and it all went to hell. When things turned sour, his wife left him. Figures. Now his money and fame are gone and he exists in a world of seedy bars, transient jobs, and busted dreams.
Ernie is a wide-eyed kid, an aspiring boxer who spars with Tully one day. Tully is impressed. This kid has the stuff. He could be champ.
Oma is a hopeless alcoholic, a shrill floozy who spins tales of fanciful ex-husbands. When she's not drunk, she's sleeping one off.
Ernie takes Tully's advice and begins training as a fighter. His illusions are shattered when he finds that the road to victory is paved more with pain than anything else. Then he gets his girlfriend pregnant. Meanwhile, Tully has hooked up with Oma. Tully likes to drink but he's simply outclassed by Oma, whose alcohol-fueled moodswings quickly wear him down. He's also breaking his back working the fields and for the pittance he makes, he may as well get back in the ring. When he's pitted against an opponent as weary as himself - the two old lions pummel each other senseless, with neither wanting to admit defeat - he realizes that he's simply too old to claw his way to the top again. And so it goes...
John Huston returned to form with Fat City, an elegiac ode to the losers of the world - the kind of people whose existence is justified only by their dreams. Some are the type who'd rather take a drink than take a chance. The rest are like Tully, living on memories of past glories. There are no startling revelations in Fat City; it's a "slice of life on the other side of the tracks" story, simply told, with honesty and poignancy.
The underrated Stacy Keach is Tully. Normally radiating a forceful presence, Keach submerges that image and plays Tully as the kind of man you only half-listen to out of pity. Jeff Bridges is suitably cocky as Ernie - he's the kid you know is in for a rude awakening. Susan Tyrrell is Oma. She's the type of girl you hope won't hit on you at the bar.
Leonard Gardner wrote the telling screenplay from his novel while John Huston and cinematographer Conrad Hall beautifully capture the dingy hues of his down and out world. Fat City is one of the best films of the seventies.
"Do you think he was ever young?"
"No."

:star: :star: :star: 1/2
 

SteveGon

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The Southerner (1945)
Directed by Jean Renoir.
Sam Tucker: Zachary Scott
Nona Tucker: Betty Field
Granny Tucker: Beulah Bondi
Tim: Charles Kemper
Devers: J. Carrol Naish
Harmie: Percy Kilbride
When his Uncle Pete dies in a cotton field, Sam Tucker comes to the realization that there has to be something better. He doesn't want to end up like Uncle Pete: penniless and without a proper tombstone to mark his grave. A better life must be made for his family. He even has a plan.
Sam's boss agrees to rent him a plot of disused land. The fields have lain fallow for years so Sam knows the soil is rich; it's just waiting for those seeds. So he packs up his plucky wife Nona, their two children, the cantankerous Granny Tucker, and Uncle Pete's faithful dog. As Sam predicted, the farm is a good piece of land. Unfortunately, calling the farmhouse ramshackle would be doing it a favor. Granny refuses to go inside and that's just the start of Sam's problems.
Sam loves being a farmer but he's soon put to the test. His neighbor Devers is a mean-spirited sort who makes no bones about what he thinks of Sam's plans. A life of hard knocks has instilled in Devers a desire to see others fail. His son Harmie is dangerously addled and will do anything his father asks. Especially if it entails taking Sam down a peg or two.
With no money, Sam must feed his family a subsistence diet of possum and more possum (it'd be nice if he could catch that ornery ol' catfish known as Leadpencil). Fruit and vegetables are a luxury for the Tuckers. They're also a necessity as Sam finds out when his son is stricken with life-threatening malnutrition. The kindly doctor who examines the boy refuses to charge Nona for his services, but informs her that her son must have among other things, milk. But where can they get milk? Devers has a cow but he'd rather feed any excess to his pigs. Will Sam resort to desperate measures?
So it's one setback after another. Eventually Sam must make a decision: will he take that primo factory job his best friend Tim has been offering, or will he tough it out?
Jean Renoir considered The Southerner his favorite of his American films. It's a deft blend of Americana, neo-realism, and the great director's own abiding humanism. A top-notch cast and fine photography make this a must-see. Despite its pedigree, The Southerner seems to have been mostly forgotten. That's too bad as I consider it on par with The Grapes of Wrath. Perhaps it's because the film lacks a more charismatic lead (Zachary Scott is good, but he's no Henry Fonda), or perhaps it's because by 1945, audiences were ready for happier times and happier movies. No matter, for The Southerner is still a classic.
:star: :star: :star: :star:
 

SteveGon

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Seven Beauties (1976)
Directed by Lina Wertmuller.
Pasqualino 'Seven Beauties' Frafuso: Giancarlo Giannini
The Commandant: Shirley Stoler
Francesco: Piero Di lorio
Pedro the Anarchist: Fernando Rey
Concettina: Elena Fiore
Pasqualino Frafuso is a small-time crook saddled with the responsibility of upholding the honor of his seven sisters - the titular seven beauties who, as irony would have it, are all quite ugly. Pasqualino is a braggart and swaggers around in his best clothes, sweet-talking the ladies. He also packs a revolver because he thinks it'll bring him respect. Instead, it may just be the instrument of his destruction.
When his sister Concettina falls under the spell of a local pimp, Pasqualino is enraged and shoots the man dead. He is tried for murder and sentenced to a mental hospital. Then Italy goes to war. The doctors know Pasqualino isn't crazy and insist that he sign up. It's a way out, he figures.
Some time later Pasqualino has deserted. He barely escapes with his life when the train he's hitched a ride on is bombed. He meets up with Francesco, another deserter, and the two of them begin the long walk home. Then the Germans catch up to them.
Arrested as deserters, Pasqualino and Francesco are taken to a stygian concentration camp seemingly constructed from the imaginations of Dante, Fellini, and Conrad. (Their entry into the camp brings to mind Willard's approach to Colonel Kurtz's compound in Apocalypse Now.) Both of them are horrified by what they see. but Pasqualino is determined to survive. When he spies the Commandant, a grotesque woman with a penchant for whips, he thinks he sees an out. Hey, everyone needs love.
We've seen stories of concentration camp survival before, but never one quite like Seven Beauties. It's as much black comedy as it is drama. Pasqualino is more than willing to debase himself in order to survive and his actions are alternately hilarious, disgusting, and sad. He might survive, but he may damn himself in the process.
Seven Beauties boasts a stunning opening sequence: a montage of archival war footage is overlaid with an anachronistic funk tune and a stream of conciousness voice-over that muses on human nature and warped political ideologies. "The ones who should have been shot in the cradle. Pow! Oh yeah." There are other great scenes as when a supplicating Pasqualino kneels on the image of a swastika, we sense that he is about to commit a most grievous sin. And that final shot stays with you...
This is bravura filmmaking, not to be missed.
:star: :star: :star: :star:
 

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