FilmFanatic.org

Synopsis:
A graduate student (Penny Patterson) teaches a female gorilla (Koko) to communicate using American Sign Language.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Barbet Schroeder Films
• Documentary
• Friendship
• Talking Animals
• Teachers

Review:
It’s impossible to watch Barbet Schroeder’s “accidental” documentary (he originally meant to use the footage to secure funding for a feature film) without reflecting on the past 30 years of research into both evolution and linguistic theory. First, looking for a “missing language link” between gorillas and humans is a meaningless endeavor, since homo sapiens took off on a separate branch of the primatology tree long ago; as Steven Pinker points out in his book The Language Instinct, “evolution did not make a ladder; it made a bush.” Second, Pinker further notes (and many others have agreed with him) that “people who spend a lot of time with animals are prone to developing indulgent attitudes about their powers of communication”, a fact which it’s difficult to miss when watching this film. Just as parents do with their toddlers, Penny indulges her beloved Koko’s “speech”, extrapolating wildly and projecting decidedly human emotions onto her.

But is this such a bad thing? After all, Penny and her associates had a noble goal in mind, one well in tune with the general sensibility of the 1970s — to move beyond human chauvanism, and be open to the possibility that homo sapiens aren’t the only “people” on Earth. Unfortunately, however, such notions were sorely misguided — as Pinker puts it, “Is it really ‘humility’ for us to save species from extinction because we think they are like us?” Ultimately, Penny’s project (which continues to this day) smacks of fanaticism; I’m all for protecting gorillas, but don’t think we need to teach them human language in order to justify this.

Ultimately, then, I found watching Koko to be more disturbing than enjoyable — though I’m sure it made for fascinating viewing back in the time of its release, when the project was fresh and we were much more naive about its potential outcome. Children may also relate to watching Koko (whose equivalence in human intelligence, if one forces the issue, is roughly that of a toddler) reading a book with Penny, rejecting a yellow sweater in place of her favorite red one, and selecting her lunch items out of the refrigerator. For my part, however, the only scenes which I can look back on with genuine delight are those in which Koko interacts with her gorilla-friend Michael (see stills below); this is when she finally seems to be in her element, rather than forced to perform according to human expectations.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Koko waiting with eager anticipation for her friend Michael to come through the gate
  
• Koko playing “hide and seek” with Michael
  

Must See?
Yes, simply for its historical relevance.

Categories

• Historically Relevant

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• DVD Savant Review

Synopsis:
An aspiring journalist (Diana Rigg) hires the underground Assassination Bureau to kill its own chairperson (Oliver Reed).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Black Comedy
• Curt Jurgens Films
• Diana Rigg Films
• Journalists
• Oliver Reed Films
• Plot to Murder
• Telly Savalas Films

Review:
Although it’s based on a clever premise, this British farce is a disappointment on every count. Things go wrong from the very beginning of the story, when Rigg hires Reed to kill himself, and he willingly agrees — only to fob the job off onto his colleagues as a taunting excuse to murder them first. Such blatant narrative illogic kills the entire enterprise of this not-very-amusing black comedy, which ultimately has no real point. Adding insult to injury, even fans of Rigg or Reed will be disappointed: they lack any chemistry at all together:

… and Rigg’s transformation from an independent young feminist to a corset-wearing lovebird is unwelcome. Only recommended for those who enjoy fast-paced, high-color historical action flicks without much substance.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Nicely done set designs depicting turn-of-the-century Europe
  

Must See?
No. Though Peary lists it as a cult movie in the back of his book, I doubt it still has much of a following.

Links:

• IMDB entry
• NY Times Original Review
• DVD Savant Review
• Digitally Obsessed Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
Four prisoners (Clint Eastwood, Jack Thibeau, Fred Ward, and Larry Hankin) plot their escape from the island of Alcatraz.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Clint Eastwood Films
• Don Siegel Films
• Escape
• Prisoners

Review:
As noted in Vincent Canby’s review for the New York Times, Don Siegel’s Escape From Alcatraz “is not a great film or an especially memorable one.” There’s little character development and even less background exposition — everything we see and hear is either meant to show us why Eastwood is so eager to get out of this notorious hell hole (who wouldn’t be?), or how he goes about doing so. Plus, since the movie is based on a real story, there aren’t many surprises: we already know that three of the four men will successfully escape, and that their bodies will never be found. Although Escape From Alcatraz is guaranteed to appeal to hardcore prison-break film fans, I’ll admit I found it to be a disappointment. It features all the classic tropes we’re already so familiar with in prison movies — the sadistic warden; the beloved elderly prisoner with an innocuous hobby; the aggressive sexual predator — without providing any new insights. You’re better off watching a more recent classic on the same theme: Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption (1994).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• On-location footage in what is possibly the world’s most famous prison
  
• Some genuinely tense moments
  

Must See?
Yes, simply for its status as a seminal prison-break flick.

Categories

• Historically Relevant

Links:

• IMDB entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
A journalist (Rudiger Vogler) with writer’s block tries to help an abandoned girl (Yella Rottlander) find her grandmother’s home in Germany.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Friendship
• German Films
• Road Trip
• Search
• Writers
• Wim Wenders Films

Review:
A cross-Atlantic road trip with metaphorical underpinnings, Wim Wenders’ Alice in the Cities is a remarkable gem of a movie. It features excellent performances by both young Yella Rottlander (whose face clearly registers her shifts in emotions) and Vogler; their characters mature and grow throughout the course of the film, but without great fanfare or insistence. This is an independent film of the highest caliber, a story told exactly how it may very well have happened rather than with artificial resolutions. It’s a treat to watch Alice and Phil’s journey — and their unusual friendship, which never smacks of anything unsavory — unfolding.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Rudiger Vogler as the free-spirited yet soul-searching journalist
  
• Yella Rottlander’s remarkably natural performance as the nine-year-old “orphan”
  
• The gradually emerging friendship between Phil and Alice
  
• Beautiful, contemplative black-and-white cinematography of America, Amsterdam, and Germany
  

Must See?
Yes, as an enjoyable foreign classic.

Categories

• Foreign Gem
• Important Director

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review

Synopsis:
Blonde gunslinger Bonnie Parker (Dorothy Provine) goes on a shooting spree across the nation with her boyfriend, Guy Darrow (Jack Hogan).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Biopics
• Criminal Couples On the Run
• Fugitives
• Heists
• Strong Females

Review:
AIP’s exploitation flick about notorious fugitive Bonnie Parker features one of the strongest females in 1950s cinema. As portrayed by voluptuous Dorothy Provine, Parker is a beautiful woman who, tired of being let down by the men who desire her, discovers the addictive power of guns, and doesn’t stop shooting until her rounds (and her luck) are finally exhausted.

She’s smart, sassy, and single-minded — a “cigar smoking hellcat”, according to the movie’s tagline. While the movie doesn’t strive for authenticity or accuracy — its characters dress in modern garb despite the 1930s setting, for instance — it’s nonetheless a surprisingly fun ride while it lasts.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Dorothy Provine’s strong, sexy performance as Parker
  
• Plenty of zingy one-liners and retorts, as when Bonnie states drolly:

  “I didn’t lose my nerve; I know right where I left it.”

Must See?
Yes. This little-seen precursor to Arthur Penn’s highly acclaimed Bonnie and Clyde (1969) remains an effective B-budget biopic.

Categories

• Historically Relevant
• Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• DVD Reviewer

Synopsis:
The mother (Nancy Kelly) of a psychopathic child (Patty McCormack) is horrified to learn that her daughter feels no remorse about having killed her classmate.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Evil Kids
• Mervyn LeRoy Films
• Play Adaptations
• Psychological Horror
• Psychopaths

Review:
Although it’s undeniably campy and somewhat dated, The Bad Seed maintains its status as the most notorious movie ever made about “evil children”, and thus holds a special place in cinematic history. Moviegoers may be inured to watching cold-blooded murders committed by hardened criminals, but it’s something different altogether to contemplate them carried out blithely by a young girl (not a teen) in blonde pigtails and a pinafore — someone who is deeply loved by her family, and given every possible privilege. It is this disparity which remains the primary seduction of the controversial story (originally a novel, then a hit Broadway play), about the unpredictably hideous effects of heredity.

When I first watched The Bad Seed years ago, I remember being deeply disturbed by the character of Rhoda, and unable to reconcile her spooky amorality with my rather idealized notion of childhood. Watching it again recently, however, I was primarily affected by the film’s true protagonist: not Rhoda, but her mother, a sympathetic character struggling to come to terms with what is essentially an impossible truth about her child. While many find Nancy Kelly’s performance to be campy and overblown, I was genuinely moved by her dilemma.

It’s impossible to review The Bad Seed without briefly discussing Patty McCormack, who pioneered the title role on Broadway before immortalizing it in celluloid. While her performance is uneven — she uses too many broad facial expressions which are more appropriate for the stage than cinematic close-ups — she nonetheless has a strong presence on-screen, and shows far more talent than we’ve come to expect from most child actors. Her portrayal as Rhoda is not easily forgotten, and will most likely remain this character’s definitive incarnation.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Patty McCormack’s impressive (albeit unevenly directed) performance as pigtailed Rhoda
  
• Nancy Kelly’s heartbreaking portrayal as Rhoda’s distraught, conflicted mother
  
• Eileen Heckart as an alcoholic mother mourning for her dead son
  
• A marvelous skewering of the “ideal” 1950s family life
  
• Some highly memorable, ultra-campy lines:
  

  “What would you give me for a basket of kisses?” “A basket of hugs!”

Must See?
Yes. This camp classic should be seen at least once by all film fanatics.

Categories

• Cult Movie
• Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Reel.com Review

Synopsis:
A group of bumbling thieves unsuccessfully try to kill an elderly woman (Katie Johnson) who has learned about their latest heist.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Alexander Mackendrick Films
• Black Comedy
• Elderly People
• Heists
• Peter Sellers Films
• Plot to Murder
• Thieves and Criminals

Review:
This classic heist-gone-wrong flick showcases the inimitable Alec Guinness — nearly disguised by a shock wig, false teeth, and sunken-eye makeup — at the height of his comedic powers:

It’s also notable for the presence of a chubby, uncharacteristically subdued Peter Sellers in one of his earliest movie roles.

Most of the film’s humor is derived from the interactions between the befuddled thieves (who find themselves increasingly unable to follow through with their plans) and Mrs. Wilberforce, a true force of nature. As played by Katie Johnson, Mrs. Wilberforce is the epitome of proper British standing: she trusts until she has good reason not to, and maintains firm resolve even in the face of potential danger to her life.

Interestingly, The Ladykillers can be read on another level entirely: as a post-war political commentary about diverse interests (represented by the sundry thugs) struggling to co-exist with older British mores (as epitomized by Mrs. Wilberforce). But I prefer to watch it simply as an engagingly humorous slapstick farce, one in which incompetent thieves get what’s coming to them, and good can’t help but triumph in the end.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• The always delightful Alec Guinness, nearly unrecognizable here as the sly, shaggy-haired, toothy gang leader
  
• Katie Johnson as the unflappable landlady who insists on doing the “right thing”
  
• Many moments of outright hilarity, as the thieves and Mrs. Wilberforce interact at cross-purposes with each other
  

Must See?
Yes. This classic British comedy (recently remade by the Coen Brothers) is must-see viewing for all film fanatics.

Categories

• Genuine Classic
• Noteworthy Performance(s)

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Movie Diva Review
• New York Times Original Review