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Shanghai Express (1932)
Brilliant
Combine the visual design of Josef von Sternberg with the craftsmanship of DP Lee Garmes and the explosive results are visible here in this astonishing story of a passionate woman (Marlene Dietrich), with a thick veneer of studied indifference, prepared to make any sacrifice for the man she loves (Clive Brook). Two years after their sensational collaboration on "The Blue Angel," Sternberg and Dietrich present an entirely different character, a fallen woman of great modesty, honor and virtue. Dressed by Travis Banton, she appears much slimmer than in the earlier German film in this, the fourth of five consecutive collaborations. Will Brook ever know of the extent of her love? Wisely, it is left to the audience's imagination.
Red-Headed Woman (1932)
Class Warfare, No Holds Barred
Released at the depth of the Great Depression, the story of an ebullient young wanton from the lower orders, who ruins men of means from handsome young Chester Morris to elderly, befuddled Henry Stephenson, starred Jean Harlow, one of Hollywood's greatest sexpots. In one of the top hits of the year, this determined temptress, who wears no brassiere or underwear of any kind, offered enraptured audiences tantalizing glimpses of "la dolce vita." The batting of her eyelashes and affected innocence could pop the buttons of any stuffed shirt at a glance. Her primary conquest is the first and forces Morris to wallow in shame at his betrayal of lovely, classy Leila Hyams. Anita Loos's screenplay amuses without offending. But this pre-code picture helped bury the pre-code era.
The Lady Eve (1941)
Brilliant
A generation after women's suffrage was achieved in the USA, this film made the point very cleverly that women have always wielded enormous power with their ability to grant or deny sexual intimacy. Barbara Stanwyck and her father, Charles Coburn, are card sharps, making their living on ocean liners, when they spot their next mark, an heir to a fortune, but very naive Henry Fonda, completely lacking in, what used to be called, common horse sense. Much of the humor depends heavily on old comic mechanisms, like slapstick, repetition, and mistaken identity. The lunkhead never gets it. Grappling skillfully with Hollywood censors, Preston Sturges wrote and directed one of the greatest romantic comedies ever made. It was a major hit and, at a swift 94 minutes, can be enjoyed on multiple viewings.
All Fall Down (1962)
"Nerves...they can't help themselves"
Warren Beatty stars as the improbably named "Berry-Berry" in this William Inge adaptation of James Leo Herlihy's beautifully written 1960 debut novel. Brandon De Wilde is his kid brother, who makes his way from Cleveland to Key West to bail him out of jail. The handsome duo are besieged on the way home by women, who veer from grasping to manipulative (Constance Ford, Barbara Baxley, Evans Evans, Colette Jackson, etc.). Back home in Ohio, there is Mom (Angela Lansbury) who drapes herself over her older boy in a display of "smother love," while Dad (Karl Malden) bolts for his basement retreat and hidden whiskey bottles. More female trouble arrives in the person of houseguest "Echo" (Eva Marie Saint), who, after shamelessly flirting with the 16 year old, then makes a beeline for the older brother. The fuse is lit, by the gay authors, for a tragic explosion. The dynamic of censorious, innocent De Wilde and his older, dissolute relative got a repeat--and more complex, more valid--treatment, the following year in "Hud," but Director John Frankenheimer does a good job handling this odd story and these sympathetic characters.
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Good Workmanship
After John Huston showed how it should be done with his 1941 film noir, "The Maltese Falcon," based on Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel, Edward Dmytryk came aboard in this 1944 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's 1940 novel. WW II taught the value of toughness: you take a licking, but "keep on ticking." Dick Powell, tired of playing boyish charm doing musicals, wanted to play a man. The strong box office results changed Powell's career arc; he went all the way to becoming a producer. It was Ann Shirley's final appearance, choosing retirement at age 26. It includes good work by DP Harry Wild, some fine effects and an excellent dream sequence. The plot is complex and involving; Raymond Chandler's witty dialogue amuses. This was the middle of three adaptations., the others being "The Falcon Takes Over" (1942) and "Farewell, My Lovely" (1975).
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Enough Already!
Released right after "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003), this movie picks up right where the other left off. The characters are all back and the story of the cassock-clad savior, Neo (Keanu Reeves), continues. The Special Effects, a novelty in "The Matrix" (1999), start to wear thin. Will love conquer all? Will Neo and Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) live happily ever after? The diabolical laughter of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and The Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) is a new element that demonstrates that this is clearly a celluloid comic book for kiddies. Good vs Evil is the simple contest and the simple-minded are free to think of it as deep.
Ballada o soldate (1959)
Masterpiece
Arguably the greatest, most truthful, most powerful war film ever made, all the more so because it offers minimal violence. The theme of Tolstoy's classic, "War and Peace," is well articulated: war is futile and tragic. There is no upside; it effects and damages the lives of everyone, both soldiers and non-combatants. The simplicity and elegance of Gregory Chukhray's scenario and direction leads to one of the stronger endings in film history, as the camera tilts slightly upward as if in prayer. If you are not moved by this film, you are dead. Another fitting literary summary is Konstantin Simonov's great poem, "Wait For Me." Its finest translation was presented in the "World At War" TV series and read by Laurence Olivier. His reading is available online. This movie will help any thinking person to understand modern Russia. Don't miss it.
The Way We Were (1973)
The Way They Weren't
From the middle-aged actors playing undergraduate college students to the outdoor, open Communist Party meetings, to the roomy, well-appointed off campus apartment of the heroine, to her well manicured communist fingernails to her well pedicured communist toenails, to the college dance where the young men wear tuxedos, to the red and white New York Packard taxicab, to the writing of a best-selling novel in a college creative writing class, too much of this movie seems unbelievable. The lead actors (Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford) command an audience, accompanied by the score of Marvin Hamlisch, which ranges from Mickey Mouse to whiny schmaltz. The script by Arthur Laurents was apparently worked over by five other good writers, but not even Dalton Trumbo could fix it. Evidently, clarifying scenes had to be dropped for political reasons. Although it was a big hit, a more valid account of college lefties during the Great Depression, "Soak the Rich" (1936), is still best.
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
More and More
Of course, the novelty of the original film has worn off, but The Wachowskis are most resourceful in keeping the pot on a full boil. Early on, a new character is introduced, played by Anthony Zerbe. His slight smile--in contrast to the straight faces of all the other very serious, impassive players--betrays a touch of embarrassment, perhaps, at appearing in this melange of mid-20th century stuff, "Superman," "Flash Gordon," and "Captain Video." After a half billion dollar gross for the first movie, this sequel pulled in three quarters of a billion. Still, it's more of the same. The audience is required to wade into the weeds of the plot and youngsters may master all the tiresome details.
The Matrix (1999)
Brilliant
Paraphrasing historian Richard Hofstadter's November 1963 Harper's essay, this inventive, unique film may be said to represent the paranoid style in American cinema. Using special effects the way writers use pen and paper, the amazing Wachowskis depict an ordinary computer programmer, Neo (Keanu Reeves) and place him in "the blessed arms" of Morpheus, the ancient god of sleep/dreams (Laurence Fishburne), who offers the choice of red pill, the nightmare, or the blue pill (oblivion). Taking the first choice, Neo is immersed in The Matrix, where he meets strikingly handsome, Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss), and is pursued by Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), the endlessly resourceful, persistent arm of state power. Never a dull moment seems the cliche that applies to this thoroughly original visual feast. Its points are well taken.
Shichinin no samurai (1954)
Brilliant
It August of 1945, just nine years before this film's release, Japanese masculinity received two sharp slaps in the face. The humiliation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were shocking. After all the strutting and preening, the Rape of Nanking, the Bataan Death March, and the occupation of the Philippines ended only in profound shame. How could this possibly happen? Could morale be recovered? The Japanese learned the occupier's game of baseball, which relied on concepts of egalitarianism and fair play. Kurosawa studied the American cowboy movie. Was there any corollary in Japanese history that could revive national pride? In "Seven Samurai," a defeated people languish in injustice, until they manage to assemble a small army, led by a great, wise commander, Shimada (Takashi Shimura), who assumes responsibility when he finds a sober, capable associate, Shichiroji (Daisuke Kato). They are joined by Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune), who encapsulates the irrepressible vigor and determination of the Japanese soldier. The people, besieged by an army of bandits (imperialists) fight back! The astonishingly brilliant staging by Kurosawa is matched by the beautiful cinematography by Nakai to make this picture great. The irony of war's ultimate futility, refers back to the initial meeting of the two main warriors, Shimada and Shichiroji, and is a fitting coda to a movie, primarily focused on physical rather than dramatic action. At 207 minutes, it seems too long, but the inventive, original look of this movie merits much praise and helped to revive confidence in Japanese enterprise.
La battaglia di Algeri (1966)
Brilliant
This revolutionary film about a revolution has deserved much of the praise that it has received: Pontecorvo has succeeded in putting the audience in the streets of the casbah, where people are shot and buildings are blown up. And he puts us into the torture chambers, where victims are gently urged to speak, so their torturers don't have to put them through another round. The crowd scenes are managed perfectly and the score by Pontecorvo and Ennio Morricone works very well. The movie shows how governments are representative of the governed, so long as the colonized resist accepting the colonizers.
Baby Face (1933)
What's A Girl To Do?
The women's liberation movement can be more accurately dated to the 1920s than the 1960s, but when the Great Depression started in 1929, women could not be said to have hit the ground running. Abused by her father, Lily Powers (Barbara Stanwyck), a student of Nietzsche, is poor, but clever and ambitious. She has learnt to use her sexual power to get whatever she wants from men. And she goes through them, one after another. Can she be redeemed? Despite censorship problems, this story by Darryl F. Zanuck, nearly as famous for his casting couch exploits as his movies, was a hit. John Wayne makes an early appearance as a nice young man.
The Luzhin Defence (2000)
Mom and Dad (Queen and King)
Based on Vladimir Nabokov's 1929 novel, translated into English and published in 1964, following the success of "Lolita," this remarkable love story is fresh and original. Luzhin (John Turturro) lost his mother in his boyhood and, after his father's remarriage, is assigned to a mentor, on whom he is completely dependent, who sees to his care and the development his great talent for chess. Luzhin's single-minded devotion has separated him from the world and as a young man, he is distinctly unworldly. His innocence and need attracts the attention of a young woman (Emily Watson) at a resort, where he is to challenge a grandmaster, and she takes up with him over the vigorous objections of her parents. Nabokov's novel moves back and forth in time and the movie may be burdened by trying to keep up with these complex maneuverings, but the young couple are engaging and the actors serve their characters very well. Although some of the chess moves may be questionable, the fealty to the mood, decor and costumes of the period are not. The gentle score of Alexandre Desplat is very welcome.
No Questions Asked (1951)
B- Cops & Robbers
Barry Sullivan is an insurance company lawyer, who pays off crooks for stolen goods "no questions asked," so his employers do not have to make clients whole with cash. His finder's fee should impress his greedy fiancee Arlene Dahl, who's beauty he can't quite afford. Sweet Jean Hagen loves him more truly; will he ever see it? Meanwhile, Detective George Murphy is on to him and Sullivan is caught between hardhearted gangsters and hardboiled coppers. Who cares? Sidney Sheldon's "hard bitten" cynical dialogue can't quite keep me awake. This is the second of three undistinguished pictures directed by Harold Kress in 1951-52 and a weak example of the noir style, night scenes and damp sidewalks notwithstanding.
Trial (1955)
Message Undelivered
In the telling of Don M. Mankiewicz, there were two major political parties in the 1950s, well-financed and extremely popular, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans, but rather the Communist Party and the Ku Klux Klan. The former could fill Madison Square Garden with thousands of cheering supporters; the latter could excite mob hatred sufficient to excite supporters to use a tree trunk as a battering ram to break into a prison for a lynching. When college law professor Glenn Ford seeks trial experience to keep his job, he applies to Arthur Kennedy. When Kennedy introduces Ford to his Gal Friday, lovely Dorothy McGuire, with a remark that they should get to know each other later, we realize that there's something fishy about him. Sure enough, he's a stinking Commie! This is one of the worst of the anti-Communist genre pictures of the period, with preposterous, histrionic courtroom scenes that simply beggar belief and raucous music by Daniele Amfitheatrof, which tries to create suspense. Nothing helps.
Coming Home (1978)
Mea Culpa Time
Born in 1947, I have had trouble feeling sympathy for people who invested faith in the intellectual acumen and moral probity of individuals like Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. So those who wanted to "kill for my country" in those years were foreign to me. This movie focuses on life functions like fornication, urination, ingestion, digestion, and locomotion, subjects of little interest to this moviegoer, no matter how much groovy pop music they stick on the sound track. But it did furnish screenwriter Waldo Salt, blacklisted during the McCarthy Period, the opportunity to show concern and so too for the prime mover of the project, star Jane Fonda, who was caught with her pants down by Vietnamese photographers, when she tried to accommodate her hosts, foolishly. The time to "see reason" is before the fact, not afterwards. But this picture was a huge hit for many Americans, who needed a way out of the I-was-only-following-orders excuse popularized at Nuremberg.
The Fastest Gun Alive (1956)
Masterpiece
This is one of the ten greatest westerns ever made. Frank D. Gilroy must have drawn inspiration from the greatest, "High Noon" (1952). It begins with three outlaws, riding into town from the prairie, led by Vinnie Harold (Broderick Crawford), a vain, psychopathic gunfighter. The vigorous, portentous music by Andre Previn underscores the mythological nature of the unfolding plot. Nearby, in Cross Creek, a town of decent, law abiding, Christian folk, a town "too small for a sheriff," George Temple a/k/a Kelby (Glenn Ford) and his sweet, loyal, beautiful wife (Jeanne Crain) are tending their little store (as Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly had planned on), but George is edgy, stressed with the petty details of waiting on customers and is practicing his draw outside town: maintaining his identity as a man. When the time comes, George tells his wife, in one of the simplest but greatest lines in film history, "They've got to know who I am, Dora." What man has never felt that way when challenged? The cast includes a who's who of notable character actors and the amazing twists and turns of the brilliant plot carry all the way through to the shock ending. Masterpiece.
Tunes of Glory (1960)
The Loneliness of Command
This story of the peace time Scotch army gains much legitimacy from the personal experience of novelist/screenwriter James Kennaway, but its contrivances are a limitation. Under Ronald Neame's steady, unpretentious direction, the cast headed by Alec Guinness, playing a boisterous, boozing bully, and John Mills, as the sedate, stressed battalion commander, is superb. Dennis Price, Gordon Jackson, and Duncan Macrae excel in subordinate roles, but beautiful, gifted Susannah York is especially distinguished as the daughter of Guinness. The film has very often the feel of a stage play, with managed crises and an emphasis on plot structure, that does not always seem organic to the characters--what ought to happen rather than what would happen--but it is always engrossing nonetheless.
Journey Into Fear (1943)
Mediocre Then Looks Masterful Now
This is not what one might have expected from Mercury Productions and RKO, after previous collaborations offered "Citizen Kane" (1941) and "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942), but it did conform more closely to the studios B movie library. A slapdash collaborative effort, it provided American audiences with exotic locales and reasons not to travel abroad. The story is based on a novel by Eric Ambler, a pioneer of the espionage/international intrigue genre. DP Karl Struss does a fine job in black and white. Bespectacled, porcine Jack Moss, in a trench coat and porkpie hat, is a very menacing hitman. Mercury players (Welles, Cotten, Sloane, Warwick, Moorhead, Readick, Moss, Bennett) are kept employed. The car racing through narrow streets and the action on the ledge in a rainstorm is suspenseful. At 68 minutes, it moves along with brio.
It's Alive (1974)
The Little Monster
So after the monster is born at the end of "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), what next? This is the question that writer/director/producer Larry Cohen shrewdly grappled with in this show. And it spawned two sequels and a remake. John Ryan and Sharon Farrell do a fine job of parenting and get support from some prominent actors, including Michael Ansara, who, as a police captain, articulates the theme: "People without children don't realize how lucky they are." After working so well for Welles and Hitchcock, Bernard Hermann ended his career elevating low budget horror/suspense pictures to near A status with great scores. Creepy, funny and fascinating, this is a well-crafted film on a modest budget. A hit!
Attack the Block (2011)
Spooky Stuff
A young woman (Jodie Whittaker) is accosted on the street one night by a street gang led by Moses (John Boyega), but they are soon menaced by extra-terrestrials (ETs). This visually elegant movie had trouble finding an audience, but it is topnotch Sci-Fi by writer/director Joe Cornish. The ETs are frightening and the Special Effects are excellent. It moves along at a good pace and it includes occasional, muted humor. Steve Price's music and the Sound Effects are wonderful. It is difficult to tell at times which is more sympathetic, the ETs or the teenaged gangsters. This is much better work than "A Quiet Place" (2018) and its big insects; it is odd that it did not do better at the box office.
Gun Crazy (1950)
Thrill Crazy...Kill Crazy...Gun Crazy
"Deadly is the Female," a story by MacKinley Kantor, was adapted by blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, fronted by a fine writer, Millard Kaufman. Excellent, imaginative direction by Joseph H. Lewis brings to life this story of a boy (Russ Tamblyn), fascinated by guns, who as an adult (John Dall) partners with a sharp-shooting psychopath (Peggy Cummins), who shares his enthusiasm, but lacks any conscience. After the war, women seemed as toughened as men and the deprivations of the Great Depression were not easily forgotten. DP Russell Harlan's black and white cinematography and a fine score by Victor Young make this a much admired film noir, an early example of a genre that reached its peak with "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) and "Badlands" (1973). The King Bros, who would choose talent from the blacklist, bravely included Morris Carnovsky and Nedrick Young in the cast. The car chase scenes are well executed and the ending is memorable.
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Masterpiece
Although largely ignored by the Academy, this was the best picture of 1967, a year in which authority was being strongly questioned: Why are we in Vietnam? Who killed JFK? Are all Americans treated equally? This period of oppression was treated with studied indifference by America's "Bosses," who did not consider themselves answerable to the American underclass that Marx referred to as "wage-slaves." Their best response was pseudo-intellectual gobbledygook from the Captain ("What we have here is failure to communicate.") The film suggests a Higher Authority, who is the repository of truth and who Luke addresses as "Old Man;" it is filled with Christian imagery and references. Luke is Prisoner #37. The movie's theme is given in Luke 1:37: "For with God nothing shall be impossible." Luckily, establishment heroine Bette Davis declined the brief role of Luke's mother, leaving the great Jo Van Fleet the opportunity to illustrate Stanislavski's famous aphorism. "Remember: there are no small parts, only small actors." With an accompanying hymn sung by Harry Dean Stanton, the Madonna speaks to the Savior about his unpredictable, playful Father and explains why she will leave her earthly property to his brother, leaving him to his fate. Not only was this picture perfectly topical, but its powerful, enduring themes, powerfully expressed, rendered it an instant classic.
The Bikeriders (2023)
The Waning of the White Working Class
A half century ago, some bikers liked to hang out, belt down brews, bang broads, and hang out some more. Danny Lyon (Mike Faist) is a college boy writing a book about a midwestern gang, which slowly evolves into a criminal enterprise like the Mafia. Most of his interviews are with Kathy (Jodie Comer), who marries Bennie (Austin Butler). Johnny (Tom Hardy) is the careworn leader of the club, who sees Benny as a worthy successor; Michael Shannon offers solid support as well. This is a long way from from the "peace, love, good vibes" in "Easy Rider" (1969); here we get the lower orders who wanted bombs, not Brahms. Writer/director Jeff Nichols does a fine job bringing Danny Lyon's book to the screen. I sense an Oscar nomination in Comer's near future.