Outlandish story of the imprisonment and escape of Frenchman Henri Charriere. The consensus among journalists is that he took elements of his story (his biography) from other prisoners, and even another book. But the essential conditions of the French prisons on Devil's Islands is accurate-- up to 40% of the prisoner's died in their first year of incarceration. He lived long enough to consult on the film, in Venezuela, and was eventually pardoned by the French government. [2426]
Dustin Hoffman, Dustin Hoffman, Dustin Hoffman, Steve McQueen, Anthony Zerbe
Saw this when I was very young. Amusing and well-acted farce about mild-mannered bank clerk who plots theft of gold from British Bank, melting it down into little Eiffel Towers which are mistakenly sold to British school girls on tour of Paris. Every bit-part is well-played. Well-written and directed. [716]
Guinness Alec, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James, Martin Edie, Hepburn Audrey, Alfie Bass, Fielding Majorie
I don't recall enough details for sound evaluation. Vague promise of hipness though. [619]
Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli
Good thriller with Hepburn as blind woman terrorized by Arkin, Crenna, et al, who are looking for valuable heroin hidden in souvenir doll. Arkin is memorable, as is Hepburn. [589]
Decent if somewhat old-fashioned war adventure, with Gazzara as strong general sent in to straighten up weak division in France under Eddie Albert. [569]
Dumb Knotts comedy. [545]
Pretty good, pretty authentic. It's been a long time. Great theme song. [462]
Absorbing, interesting drama about racing cars and drivers, superbly filmed with long action sequences. The men are adults, a typically Europoean innovation, as opposed to American adolescent attitudes. Good acting as well. [387]
Allegedly brilliant film featuring Fonda as cold-blooded killer. I can't remember it that vividly but I remember the Fonda character and wonder if the director saw Warlock at sometime or another before this film. [365]
We saw this in high school, with some explaining by teachers. Really a disastrous showing: way over our heads at the time. I believe I saw part of it later as well. [320]
Weird little American musical poking fun at the fathers of the republic. Enjoyable cultural junkfood on one level; pure idiocy on another. [310]
Goldie Hawn is marvelous in this confection, and Bergman surprisingly effective in what must be, for her, whipped cream. Matthau is Matthau. [296]
Authentic look at the struggles of young, newly married couple, living with his parents. Husband is impotent, wife patient. Murray Head, who sang the part of Judas on the first Jesus Christ Superstar recording, plays the brother, who is probably more attracted to Jenny, the bride, than he should be. Funny but with a dark edge-- this couple really is in trouble after a while-- but the resolution is a bit glib. Upon re-watching in 2018-05, I upped the rating by .5. This is a remarkably, superbly well-written play, with a rather dark view of society. Secondary characters are uniformly nosy and vulgar, especially contrasted with the lovely young couple. This is a very well-developed story, with an authentic feel to it: the couple is forced to live with his parents because of a housing shortage, and their honeymoon is ruined by a dishonest travel agent. Frustrations at work and home, and in his relationship with his father, sap Arthur of the will or the ability to perform his marital duties. His wife, Jenny, is a peach: patient and kind and supportive, but she does break a promise to not tell anyone. His father, Ezra, is haunted by the disappearance of his best friend, Billy, the year Arthur was born. He's rather dense and his wife has had enough of it. "Family Way" is brutally honest and cynical at times, but the darkness is ameliorated by Mill's delicate and winning portrayal of the frustrated wife. [273]
Interesting Western yarn about Wayne trying to tame his rebellious wife. Probably quite sexist. I can't remember details, only that I saw it, and there was an element of prurient sexual interest in the way Wayne would spank O'Hara, if I recall correctly. [258]
Riveting chase between car and transport truck. Unpretentious and direct. [226]
Fairly good as film; absolute dismal as morality. [200]
Trite sex comedy with Karen Valentine. [180]
Off-beat drama about troops trying to hold a German Castle long enough for reinforcements to arrive. [165]
Comedy about a husband and wife who team up with a local judge to get in on the biggest stakes poker came in the state. [119]
An aging Robin Hood returns to Sherwood Forest-- and a disappointed maid Marian-- to try to recapture some of his former glory. But his merry men are dispersed, or aged, or pathetic, and Marian herself, a nun, has no confidence in the aging hero. The Sherriff turns out to be a fairly decent guy-- a pragmatist-- who isn't all that excited about knocking off a legend. This is the very model of de-mythologization, a very unromantic, unsentimental view of a popular legend. Good performances, lovely cinematography, and a wistful, bittersweet ending. [69]
SEAN CONNERY, AUDREY HEPBURN, ROBERT SHAW
Interesting, off-beat story, with sinister edge to it. Interesting relationship between cop (Robertson) and clairvoyant (Grey) who becomes a suspect in the killings he "sees". [68]
All Contents Copyright © Bill Van Dyk 1985 All Rights Reserved
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