Brilliant silent comedy by Chaplin. [472]
Surprisingly powerful drama, deceptive because of fundamentally simple plot: Quinn plays a brute who takes simple-minded girl with him on tour, meets a poor, but gentle acrobat: tragedy results. Massina has unbelievable range of facial expressions. Dazzling. [468]
Sid and I finally had to go see this since it played in Calgary for about six months. About as bad as you would expect. [437]
Sellers is hilarious as usual and Lom as overblown. [434]
Saw this for Cinema class with Diephouse. A sort of strange comedy of errors that never made much sense to me then. [372]
Study of political, moral corruption; more ambitious than, say, the Graduate, but less effective. Written by Robert Towne. [355]
Brilliant film, based on Arthur Bremer (tried to assassinate George Wallace) diaries. DeNiro is brilliant, as is Jody Foster, Peter Boyle. Fascinating. [354]
Fairly interesting futuristic drama about York trying to escape from society in which everyone over 30, after a life of hedonism, must die. Agutter is lovely. [334]
Interesting but uneven demythology. I don't remember this one nearly as vividly as McCabe and Mrs. Miller which I saw about the same time. In any case, it was a commercial failure and is never spoken of in the same breath with "Nashville" or "M*A*S*H". [268]
Brilliant film, demythologizes the old west by converting glamourous image of individualistic gun-fighters into pawns of ruthless competing commercial interests... which is like saying "Cabaret" is about an actress. Defines the word lyrical. An extremely poetic, romantic film, filled with the raw mystery and beauty of life. The drunken, cowardly townfolk, the whores, pathetically impoverished women with no other place to go, who help put out the fire in the church, the opium sedated Mrs. Miller, the crass but likeable McCabe, up against the big guys, the ruthless corporation with dissatisfied shareholders. Obviously some metaphorical intent, but it is overwhelmed by the startling faces of real personalities, disfigurement, death. A great film, enhanced by music from Leonard Cohen. Some reservations: the relationship of Mrs. Miller to her whores is romanticized a little. She acknowledges their birthdays, looks after their health. The film omits observation of the financial terms of this relationship. These women usually saw very little of the money. [257]
Very good, superbly written film savagely attacks television and the ratings system. Dunaway plays network exec who will stop at nothing to win ratings war with the news. What's scary is that most of the absurdities of this parody have now become realized in fact. On reviewing in 2011, a trifle pompous and righteous at times: and tacky, in trying to pin the moral decline on the young, of course, when it's the old who taught them that material success was everything. [240]
Interesting, partly because of some nudity, but also because of Altman's intriguing film style. I remember it being savagely critiqued by someone because it had the actors write their own country music songs, as if country music were so trashy that it could really be done like that. But that really wasn't Altman's point. No one disputes that any form of music, including country, can be well-written. The question is, is there something about the trashier forms of country that is peculiarly representative of U.S. culture as a whole? Aside from that, there are about twenty plots weaving in and out of each other, including a political campaign, moon-eyed naive singers and songwriters trying to "make it", adultery, and Geraldine Chaplin's insufferable BBC reporter waxing grandiloquently about the fate of junked cars. [237]
Silly but engaging musical staged with kids instead of adults, shooting pastry at each other instead of bullets. Has an oddball charm to it. Hurt by Paul Williams' insipid musical numbers. Jodie Foster, though, is charming! [150]
Very good thriller. Jaws II was the worst film I ever saw. [78]
Based on true story of child discovered in the wilds and the challenge of trying to "civilize" him; causing the good doctor to question the value of civilization. [76]
Parody of the great Russian novels, with Allen\'s usual asides about love and life. In retrospect, Bananas and Sleeper come off as superior Allen, though this one has something going for it. It just didn\'t hang together as a movie as well as his other films-- the parody seemed less innate to the characters, and more connected to a sketch-like distillation of the great Russian novels it is based upon. [58]
Tremendously thoughtful, searing drama about the meaning of life. A knight, returned from the crusades, travels ravaged Europe seeking proof of God's existence while playing a game of chess with Death. At one point, he encounters the burning of a witch and obtains permission to talk to her, hoping for proof the devil exists, and therefore, so does God. The witch claims her beloved demon will rescue her from the flames, but when her feet begin to feel the effects of the fire, doubt and then panic cross her face, and the Knight departs in disgust. [55]
Rather bleak emotional landscape of post modern European existentialist beauties. [52]
Exciting, off-beat story of British seaman, lone survivor of a torpedo attack, trying to sink a German U-Boat hiding in an island river in anticipation of imminent end of war. Note: Sian Philips (I, Claudius) plays missionary's daughter. Noiret is brilliant as loyal, bemused, and finally disillusioned Frenchman. [45]
One of the very best films on music ever made. An intimate behind the scenes look at performers performing: craftsmen doing their work. Robbie Robertson occasionally dips into self-aggrandizing pretentiousness, but everything about this film is marvelous. [39]
One of the most brilliant films ever made, which is astonishing considering its daring subject and tone. Made serious film on same subject, FAIL SAFE, into a commercial disaster by parodying its subject to death. Fonda is said to have had trouble keeping a straight face after seeing Strangelove during filming of FAIL SAFE. This sounds suspiciously like Hollywood myth but its appeal is understandable. Scott is mesmerizingly funny as General "Buck" Turgidson, Sellers is brilliant in three roles, as President Muffley-- clumsily apologizing to Soviet Premier "Kissov" for launching World War III--British attache Mandrake, and Dr. Strangelove himself, an ex-Nazi scientist now employed by the Pentagon to assess consequences of nuclear war and said to have been based on Wehrner Von Braun, the former Nazi scientist who came to head up the space program in the U.S. Supporting cast, especially Slim Pickens, is also superb and the script, by Buck Henry, outstanding. Wonderful sense of the absurdity of modern warfare, as when General Turdgidson takes a phone-call from his air-head mistress in the war room, and Colonel Bat Guano hesitates before shooting up a Coke machine for some change so Colonel Mandrake can save the world with a phone call to the White House. Few films from the early 1960's stand the test of time as well as this one does. Considering the later exploits of General Westmoreland, Alex Haig, Oliver North, et. al., this film is a timeless revelation of the massive, idiotic, egocentric stupidity of war. After the crisis is thought to have passed, General Buck Turgidson leads the assembled generals and officials in prayer and there is a palpable sense of dramatized embarrassment-- these powerful lunatics know the correct formulary, but you know that they are all too aware of how disjointed the concept of a moral law is with the realpolitik of nuclear war. [20]
SLIM PICKENS, KEENAN WYNN, JAMES EARL JONES
French film which beautifully renders the fable about a man who is turned into a beast by a cruel recluse and can only become "beautiful" by winning the love of a beautiful maid. Does the ending compromise the point? He turns into a fop, beautifully vacant. Isn't that the point, the image of beauty connected to the inner reality? Yeah... [14]
All Contents Copyright © Bill Van Dyk 1985 All Rights Reserved
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