Film Reviews
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Take the Money and Run (Woody Allen, 1969)
Comedy with Woody Allen & Janet Margolin.
Allen's directorial debut is a joy from beginning to end. By
no means does it have the depth and sophistication of his later work, but it's
consistently funny, with one gag running into the next, and there are teasing
moments of that blur between fantasy and reality that characterized his films.
The story concerns one Virgil Starkwell, a bespectacled failure who resorts to
crime for a living, and can't even be a success at that. He tries to stage a
bank robbery, but it flops when the tellers start arguing over whether his
handwritten note says "I have a gub" or "I have a gun". It's told partly in a
spoof-documentary style that foreshadows Allen's later full-blown mockumentary,
Zelig (1983).
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Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The (Joseph Sargent,
1974)
Thriller with Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam &
Hector Elizondo.
With such an impressive cast-list, this could never be less
than worth watching, and yet The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is not as
great as it could have been. The necessary suspense and tension is lacking in
the first half, and opportunities are missed that might have made us feel more
attached to the characters. Having said that, the suspense does pick up about
halfway through, and in the end it turns out to be a fairly solid piece of
entertainment.
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Taste of Fear aka Scream of
Fear (Seth Holt, 1964)
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Taste the Blood of Dracula (Peter Sasdy, 1969)
Horror with Christopher Lee, Ralph Bates, Geoffrey Keen, Linda
Hayden & John Carson.
In Taste the Blood of Dracula, Sasdy gives us the best Hammer Dracula since
Fisher's Dracula, Prince of Darkness
(1965), and certainly the last one of any real merit. The finale of Freddie
Francis's
Dracula Has Risen From
the Grave (1968) provides the leaping-off point for the story, in
which a peddler, in the form of British acting stalwart Roy Kinnear, stumbles
across Dracula's remains, and later sells his finds to a dashing young
nobleman (Bates) to use as relics in an elaborate satanic ritual. The upshot
is that Dracula finds himself resurrected, and sets about Victorian England on
a murderous rampage. Thematically, the film's mainstay is middle-class
hypocrisy, and the events that unfold put Dracula in the curious position of
being as much the villain as the agent of justice and retribution, destroying
the oppressors of Victorian society. Other than that, Lee is rather wasted,
and the character of Dracula himself is dispensable, as other reviewers have
noted. The ending, contrary to the opinion of many, is one of Hammer's finest,
with composer James Bernard at his best, and great flair from director Sasdy.
The plot itself is unusually contrived, and the script borders on crass at
times, but what do we expect from such horror hokum? It is certainly worth
viewing, due largely to the hints of Hammer's glory days, flashes of which can
be seen here and there in Sasdy's direction.
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (Tobe Hooper, 1974)
Slasher with Marilyn Burns.
I write this review with a certain amount of reluctance, for I fear that if
I upset any die-hard fans of Tobe Hooper's seminal, controversial cult horror
film, I might wind up being butchered with a carving knife, my bones and
severed limbs arranged as a kind of semi-pagan work of art in a graveyard
somewhere. But what the hell: Fans of cult films usually know damn well how
awful they really are; that's all part of the appeal. I suppose fans of Texas
Chainsaw Massacre have found something delightful in this low-budget schlocker:
Fair enough.
If I tell you that of the entire cast, the chainsaw gave marginally the
best performance, you will get an idea for the kind of talent involved. Most
of them couldn't act their way out of a sack; which feat, ironically, one of
them is actually called upon to perform at one point. It is not hard to see
why this movie was banned for some twenty or so years: Its content is
singularly unpleasant, and it seems useless to pretend that the intention was
anything other than to shock and revolt its audience. Hooper exploits our very
worst nightmares, the classic scenario in which you're chased by a madman with
a scary face, and there's no getting away. He plays on this fear at the
expense of believability and depth (surprise, surprise), though it must be
said, he does it well on occasion: There are one or two truly terrifying
images, including the main monster's hauntingly balletic pursuit of his
victims, that manage to lift the film momentarily out of its general
artlessness.
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To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962)
Drama with Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Philip Alford, Brook
Peters, Robert Duvall, James Anderson, Collin Wilcox.
Robert Mulligan hardly directed any films of note, which makes To Kill a
Mockingbird a pleasant surprise. It is a stunning film, a fable of fear and
prejudice and transformation told with striking visual flair. The haunting
shadows and eerie hues of Russell Harlan's camerawork evoke the myths and
nocturnal fears of childhood, and Elmer Bernstein's quintessentially American
score supplements the imagery well, creating a film laden with atmosphere.
Harper Lee's story follows a lawyer who puts himself on the line to defend a
black man accused of rape in the 1930s deep south, seen through the eyes of
his two children (Badham and Alford), who are on a journey to overcome some
lesser prejudices of their own. The subject matter is bold for the time, and
there is little evidence of the kind of bowdlerization that plagued many other
films of the same, and an earlier, era.
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Toy Story (John Lasseter, 1995)
Animation with the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles
& John Ratzenberger.
On a technical level, Toy Story was a pioneer. It is much more than an
impressive piece of animation, however. It's an exquisitely crafted tale that
deals simply, yet brilliantly, with deeply human themes. The cloth-and-plastic
inhabitants of Andy's room are forced by circumstance to deal with all the
complexities of love and friendship -- jealousy, fear, forgiveness, rejection,
acceptance -- and they do so in a charming way that will warm the hearts of
children and grown-ups alike. There is something authentic about cowboy doll,
Woody, whose toy-child relationship with Andy becomes threatened when new kid
on the block Buzz Lightyear suddenly replaces him as favourite. And there is
something down-to-earth and believable about the vulnerability we see in the
characters, and a beautiful realism about the way these issues become
resolved.
Of course, this is also a very funny and exciting movie that entertains and
delights. Toy Story effectively integrates first-class storytelling --
storytelling as it should be, that speaks to us, and resonates with us as
human beings -- with breathtakingly riotous fun and adventure.
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Triplettes de Belleville, Les aka Belleville Rendezvous
(Sylvain Chomet, 2003)
Animation.
A charming animated adventure not to be missed. In its celebration of
parochial French life and simple pleasures, and its disdain for crass
Americanization, it pays homage to Jacques Tati, whose films -- in particular
Jour de Fete -- are given nods here and there. This is a joint
French-Belgian-Canadian-British effort (forgive me if I missed anyone out),
and there is a calculated appeal to an international audience -- little
dialogue, and some English in there (perhaps specially recorded alongside a
French soundtrack, another homage to Tati?). The animation is impressive, full
of ingenious touches. It is a delight to see this type of old-fashioned
cartoonery again in this post-Toy Story cinematic era.
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12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1958)
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12 Angry Men (William Friedkin, 1997)
Courtroom drama with George C Scott, Jack Lemmon, James Gandolfini, Hume
Cronyn & Edward James Olmos.
It is almost always a bad idea to remake as classic a movie as
12 Angry Men. It is nigh guaranteed to result in
disappointment. So it is with William Friedkin's remake of Sidney Lumet's 1957
film. Because it sticks closely to the original script, and has a few welcome
veterans in the cast, it is saved from being totally unenjoyable. But still,
even George C Scott and Jack Lemmon are no match for Lee J Cobb and Henry
Fonda. The original cast had a certain presence that is not even neared by the
lineup of familiar faces on show here.
The production also suffers from a lack of believability. Back in 1957, a
few logical holes and incredulities were more easily overlooked, and in any
case were abundantly compensated for by the drama and tension. Set in the
1990s, however, it is simply anachronistic. Technical advances in the forensic
science seem to be unknown to the characters in this transplant to modern-day.
It loses credibility. The occasional changes in the dialogue are arbitrary and
unnecessary at best; banal and inexplicable at worst. Overall, the Friedkin
version lacks the atmosphere and tension of the original. Lumet's film was
brilliantly edited and photographed so as to maximize the claustrophobic
atmosphere and lend mood and ambience to the interplay of the characters.
Friedkin's second-best begins with an annoying shaky camera technique and goes
on to a flat cinematography style that does little to enhance the drama.
At least there is the treat of rehearing Kenyon Hopkins' original theme
(however briefly it is heard in both versions) rearranged for jazz quartet. It
is poor recompense, however, for the disappointment of seeing a masterwork
reproduced in a manner that results in a pale and unsatisfying imitation of a
brilliant original.
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Two for the Road (Stanley Donen, 1967)
Romantic comedy with Albert Finney, Audrey Hepburn, Eleanor Bron & William
Daniels.
An experiment in teaming up the long-established (and ever-charming) Audrey
Hepburn with up-and-coming British star Albert Finney, who never did quite go
on to become the matinee idol some had hoped, despite getting a good headstart
with Tom Jones (1965). Here, however, the match is awkward, and not helped by
a fairly witless script and an overall lack of coherence. The thin plot is
terribly structured, meandering here and there at a deathly pace, and ending
up nowhere in particular. The combination seemed great: Donen directing
Hepburn with a snazzy score by easy listening giant Henry Mancini; it was
never meant to be, however. This reviewer was left sorely disappointed,
wondering to where the last two hours of his life had vanished.
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Uprising (Jon Avnet, 2001)
Epic Holocaust drama with Leelee Sobieski, Hank Azaria, David
Schwimmer, Jon Voigt & Donald Sutherland.
Director Avnet sets out to dispel the myth that the Jewish
people were passive in the face of suffering during the Holocaust, and he is
successful in doing that. Indeed, he presents a compelling picture of the
Warsaw Ghetto in the 1940s that eschews many Jewish stereotypes and cliches.
It certainly belongs alongside Spielberg's
Schindler's List, and insofar as it
is absent Spielberg's cloying sentimentality, it surpasses it.
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Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
Thriller with James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes &
Tom Helmore.
A typical first reaction to this film is disappointment. I, too, was
somewhat deflated when, having been introduced to Hitchcock through
Psycho and
North by Northwest, I saw
Vertigo and wondered what the fuss was about. On subsequent viewings, however,
the film has become to me the masterpiece I expected it to be in the first
place. Its success cannot be pinned down to the plot or the thrills, because
purely as a suspense thriller it is only adequate. The dialogue is not
breathtaking, and if we expect a taut, credible storyline, we will not be
satisfied; but that is hardly the point, for Vertigo's power lies in the
emotions it conveys. Hitchcock's colours, Burks's ethereal lensing of San
Francisco, Herrmann's score and the fittingly passionate performances of James
Stewart and Kim Novak bring vitality to a story that could otherwise have been
pedestrian.
The more I watch this film the more I allow myself to be swept away in its
tide of emotion: The sense of yearning for lost memories; the desire to
recreate the past; the frustration of being trapped in time; the mythic quest
for beauty. These themes are at the heart of the story, of course, but more
than that, they are revealed in the film's entire ambience: The dreamy
settings entrance you and pull you into their spell; the key images haunt you
long after the film is over. It is hard to describe the power Vertigo
contains: It ought simply to be experienced; let its themes and images and
sounds wash over you. When I am drawn back to the film, it is precisely
because of that sense of yearning for something lost. I want to let it affect
me all over again. I want to relive the experience. In that sense of nostalgia
lies the heart of Hitchcock's greatest film.
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Victim (Basil Dearden, 1961)
Crime thriller with Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Syms, Dennis Price, Peter McEnery
& Derren Nesbitt.
Victim stands firmly in the crime-thriller category, but the conventions of
the genre are merely the occasion for a political plea to legalize
homosexuality. It is a plea passionately and effectively delivered, albeit
grounded in contemporary misguided assumptions, i.e. that homosexuality is a
perversion that is nevertheless incurable and ought to be tolerated as a
compassionate concession to a tragic inevitability. As a thriller it is
interesting enough, though the characters tend to be shallow, since their
development is clearly subordinated to the the film's socio-political message
the film is trying to get across. This is compensated for by excellent
production values, the style of which clearly belongs to the new wave of
British realism in the mid-'50s to '60s.
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