Comes a Horseman (1978)

Comes a Horseman (1978)

“She was tough in the old days — but the two of ya is just plum awful.”

Synopsis:
Near the end of World War II, a female rancher (Jane Fonda) and her cowhand (Richard Farnsworth) hire a war veteran (James Caan) to help them with their land — which includes staving off increasingly threatening attempts by local baron J.W. Ewing (Jason Robards) to buy it from them at any cost.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Alan J. Pakula Films
  • James Caan Films
  • Jane Fonda Films
  • Jason Robards, Jr. Films
  • Ranchers
  • Strong Females
  • Westerns

Review:
A year after co-starring as real-life lovers Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett in Julia (1977), Jane Fonda and Jason Robards, Jr. paired up once again — as adversaries — in this slow-paced, beautifully photographed (by Gordon Willis) western from director Alan J. Pakula. Fonda is fully deglamorized as a woman purely focused on her work and her land:

… who is slow (very slow) to take to Caan; but they suit one another well enough that eventually they make a powerful team.

Richard Farnsworth earned an Academy Award nomination as a grizzled cowhand who has stayed by Fonda’s side for years, at risk of his own well-being:

… and Robards, Jr. is appropriately menacing as a man accustomed to getting what he wants, at any cost.

Other than showing the nitty-gritty toil of ranching, this neo-western is focused on the age-old western trope of competition for land use, with oil prospecting coming into play in the form of George Grizzard’s Neil Atkinson, whose family was a financial backer for the Ewings.

Corruption abounds — and things most certainly turn dark (then even darker). Apparently most critics weren’t too fond of this film when it was released, but I think it’s held up well for those who don’t mind the slightly slower pace (and the surprisingly dramatic ending).

Note: Watch for young Mark Harmon in a brief early role as Caan’s ill-fated partner.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Jane Fonda as Ella
  • James Caan as Frank
  • Jason Robards as Ewing
  • Richard Farnsworth as Dodger
  • Gordon Willis’s cinematography

Must See?
No, but it’s definitely worth a look. Listed as a Sleeper in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Starting Over (1979)

Starting Over (1979)

“I am no one-nighter — I’m a teacher!”

Synopsis:
When a writer (Burt Reynolds) is divorced by his aspiring-songwriter wife (Candice Bergen), he begins an affair with a preschool teacher (Jill Clayburgh) — but are Reynolds and Bergen really over each other?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Alan J. Pakula Films
  • Burt Reynolds Films
  • Candice Bergen Films
  • Divorce
  • Jill Clayburgh Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Romantic Comedy

Review:
Alan J. Pakula directed this adaptation of Dan Wakefield’s 1973 novel about the challenges of dating after a divorce. As the film opens, we can see that Reynolds is none too happy about divorcing his beautiful (albeit tone-deaf) wife, Bergen, who is initiating the break.

Thankfully, Reynolds receives loving support from his brother (Charles Durning) and sister-in-law (Frances Sternhagen):

… who quickly set him up with a friend (Clayburgh) (though their “meet-cute” turns out to be embarrassingly awkward).

Naturally, things progress from there — and the entire film is spent showing how Reynolds and Clayburgh (who seems to be building on momentum from her quirky character in An Unmarried Woman) navigate both their mixed emotions and their strong attraction to one another.

While played for laughs at times, the overall tone of James L. Brooks’s screenplay rings realistic — at least until Bergen comes back into the picture and, inevitably, messes with their happiness.

We’ve been primed for this turn of events by others in the support group Reynolds is attending, whose members warn about the dangers of reconciliation with your ex-wife.

It’s really distressing to see Clayburgh hurt — and the remainder of the story plays out pretty painfully. While realistic about the vagaries of the human heart, Starting Over isn’t an easy ride; however, it’s worth a look for the strong lead performances (Reynolds is especially impressive in an off-type role).

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Burt Reynolds as Phil
  • Jill Clayburgh as Marilyn
  • Candice Bergen as Jessica

Must See?
No, but it’s worth a look.

Links:

Unmarried Woman, An (1978)

Unmarried Woman, An (1978)

“You are a very complicated woman.”

Synopsis:
When Erica (Jill Clayburgh) is told by her husband (Michael Murphy) that he’s leaving her for a younger woman, she and her daughter (Lisa Lucas) both experience shock and anger — but once Erica begins seeing a therapist (Penelope Russianoff) and ventures out to have affairs of her own, she starts to view her new life in a different light.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Alan Bates Films
  • Divorce
  • Feminism and Women’s Issues
  • Jill Clayburgh Films
  • Michael Murphy Films
  • Paul Mazursky Films
  • Sexuality
  • Strong Females

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that “Paul Mazursky’s seriocomedy about a woman in her thirties… who must put her life back together after her husband… suddenly dumps her” was “hailed as a ground-breaking feminist film, but, considering that the women’s movement had been going strong for a good eight years, it was long overdue and daring only by Hollywood standards.”

He adds that “nevertheless, it is an interesting film, sensitively made by a male director-screenwriter who obviously feels compassion for his female lead and disappointment in the man who let her down.” He asserts that “Clayburgh should have won an Oscar playing Erica” — and in Alternate Oscars, he gives her this award, noting that Clayburgh “makes us feel [Erica’s] confusion and humiliation; her initial hatred for and distrust of all men”:

… “her jealousy toward her teenage daughter for having a boyfriend, and her worry that her ‘baby’ is getting too involved with someone of the heartless gender; her desperate need to pull herself out of the dark abyss when she sees a psychiatrist”:

… “her timidity around new men, curiosity about them and how she’ll respond toward them sexually, and her improved self-image when she does herself proud during a one-night stand (with Cliff Gorman).”

We also see “her realization that she is a desirable woman because of my mutually satisfying relationship with a friendly, handsome artist, Saul (Alan Bates)”:

SPOILER ALERT

… “and her final delighted discovery that she has gained control of her life for the first time and that being alone and single is scary but exciting.” He adds that “many viewers couldn’t understand why Erica wouldn’t marry Saul, when he (as played by Bates) seems like the man of most women’s dreams” — but “we agree with her decision to be independent because we see she has blossomed while alone.”

Peary argues that “while this film may have gotten its landmark status by default, it is a perceptive portrait of a woman who becomes more interesting by the moment” — and for the most part, I would agree. Mazursky’s film has held up well, and continues to offer a compelling look at the turmoil and triumph that emerge from something as awful as being duped and dumped by your life partner. (To that end, Murphy’s character is truly despicable — so it’s especially gratifying to see Clayburgh staying strong around him.)

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Jill Clayburgh as Erica
  • Good use of New York City location shooting

Must See?
Yes, for Clayburgh’s performance.

Categories

  • Noteworthy Performance(s)
  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)

Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)

“I’m a grown man — I’m not a little boy anymore!”

Synopsis:
In 1950s New York, aspiring actor Larry Lapinsky (Lenny Baker) leaves his father (Mike Kellin) and overbearing mother (Shelley Winters) to go live in Greenwich Village, where he works for a deli owner (Lou Jacobi) and spends time with his girlfriend (Ellen Greene) and circle of bohemian friends — including Connie (Dori Brenner), Bernstein (Antonio Fargas), Anita (Lois Smith), and Robert (Chrisopher Walken).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Actors and Actresses
  • Aspiring Stars
  • Christopher Walken Films
  • Coming of Age
  • Historical Dramas
  • Jeff Goldblum Films
  • Lois Smith Films
  • New York City
  • Paul Mazursky Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary writes, in this “seriocomic autobiographical piece” “writer-director Paul Mazursky takes us back to 1953,” where we follow the travails of a young man hoping “to make it as an actor in Greenwich Village.” Larry “has troubles with his girlfriend”:

… “falls in with a group of young eccentrics”:

… “and tries repeatedly “to break free from his grasping, often hysterical Jewish mother (Shelley Winters), whose goals in life seem to be to stock her son’s refrigerator and make him feel guilty.”

Peary points out that “not everything works” in this film — for instance, “talented Baker is not always appealing”:

… “but Mazursky beautifully creates a fifties ambience, populates his film with real characters, effectively blends humor and tragic elements,” and “has included several stunning scenes.”

He notes that his “favorite moment has Winters, who has been hysterical throughout, sitting in her son’s apartment and, like a sweet schoolgirl with a crush on a singer, tearfully listening to an opera record” — at which “point we can perceive the beauty and depth of emotion in this woman.”

He argues that this “film would work double-billed with Carl Reiner’s 1967 memory piece Enter Laughing, in which Winters played a Jewish mother to another aspiring actor” — but I recommend this film over that one. Particularly noteworthy in Mazursky’s screenplay is the complexity of Larry’s relationship with his lover, played with depth and zest by Greene (of Little Shop of Horrors fame). Film lovers will also appreciate seeing a few well-known actors in supporting roles — including Christopher Walken as a seamy lothario:

… Jeff Goldblum as a fellow aspiring actor:

… Antonio Vargas as a Black gay friend with a Jewish name:

… and Lois Smith as a young bipolar woman the group regularly cares for.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Ellen Greene as Sarah
  • Lenny Baker as Larry Lapinsky
  • Shelley Winters as Larry’s mom
  • Fine period sets and costumes
  • Arthur Ornitz’s cinematography
  • Bill Conti’s jazzy score

Must See?
Yes, as a good show, and for Greene’s performance.

Categories

  • Good Show
  • Noteworthy Performance

Links:

Blume in Love (1973)

Blume in Love (1973)

“Who was I kidding? Being with one woman and constantly thinking of another was using.”

Synopsis:
After cheating on his wife (Susan Anspach), a divorce lawyer (George Segal) realizes what a huge mistake he’s made and tries everything to win her back, including befriending her new lover (Kris Kristofferson).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Divorce
  • Flashback Films
  • George Segal Films
  • Infidelity
  • Kris Kristofferson Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Marital Problems
  • Marsha Mason Films
  • Obsessive Love
  • Paul Mazursky Films
  • Shelley Winters Films
  • Winning Him or Her Back

Review:
Writer-director Paul Mazursky’s third feature — after Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) and Alex in Wonderland (1970), and just before Harry and Tonto (1974) — was this non-linear flashback film about a man who only realizes what he’s lost once he’s blown it. It’s hard to sympathize with Segal’s Stephen Blume given his egregious behavior (i.e., cheating with his secretary) near the beginning of the movie:

… though it’s refreshing to see Anspach so instantly resolute about leaving him, and staying in control of her own life from then on. Indeed, the film’s entire focus is on Blume eating crow, which holds a certain type of morbid fascination for anyone who’s ever been deceived. Could this movie be considered a lengthy paean to the strength and tenacity of survivors?

Perhaps so — at least until a crucial sequence later in the film when our sensibilities are once again shattered, and we wonder how (or if) we can forgive the perpetrator in question. The culminating sequence (echoing the opening honeymoon flashback) is an impossibly romantic elegy, set in a Roman plaza while “Tristan and Isolde” is being performed, which gives a hint about Mazursky’s frame of mind with this entire story: he is looking for toeholds in the messiness of life and love.

The lead actors are both excellent, as are supporting players Kristofferson (playing laid-back Elmo):

… Marsha Mason as Segal’s understanding new lover:

… and Shelley Winters as one of Blume’s distraught clients.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • George Segal as Stephen Blume
  • Susan Anspach as Nina
  • Bruce Surtees’ cinematography

Must See?
No, but it’s worth a look. Listed as a Cult Movie and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Harry and Tonto (1974)

Harry and Tonto (1974)

“I will not leave without my cat.”

Synopsis:
A widower (Art Carney) whose New York City apartment is being torn down embarks on a cross-country trip with his cat Tonto, staying briefly with each of his grown kids — Burt (Philip Bruns), Shirley (Ellen Burstyn), and Eddie (Larry Hagman) — while also meeting a variety of new friends and acquaintances.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Ellen Burstyn Films
  • Elderly People
  • Geraldine Fitzgerald Films
  • Grown Children
  • Paul Mazursky Films
  • Pets
  • Road Trip

Review:
Peary doesn’t review this Paul Makursky-directed film in his GFTFF, but he does briefly mention it in Alternate Oscars given Carney’s surprise win that year as Best Actor. He refers to it as “the sweetest road movie to come down the pike,” noting that Carney “gave a fine performance, revealing unsuspected dramatic skills and proving that he could command our attention on the big screen as a leading man just as surely as when he charmed us as Ed Norton on the small screen’s The Honeymooners.” However, “in hindsight [Carney’s Oscar] victory is of little satisfaction for movie fans because with the exception of The Late Show, opposite Lily Tomlin, Carney’s later contributions to movies were negligible” and “he remains a television star.”

I would agree — but meanwhile, this does remain a surprisingly affecting slice-of-life from the mid-1970s, showcasing numerous cities and roadscapes across the nation, and always authentically holding our attention. While Harry raises a ruckus near the beginning by refusing to leave his home:

… we quickly see evidence of his shift towards going with the flow, as he makes his way across various settings and pays attention to the state and wishes of others around him. He understands, for instance, that staying with his oldest son Burt (Bruns) isn’t a long-term solution:

… so he gets going from there sooner rather than later (it’s refreshing to see that their father-son relationship is rooted in authentic care). An early scene at an airport luggage checkpoint provides a quaint reminder of how such things used to go (Harry refuses to let Tonto’s bag be looked at):

… and we see further evidence of Harry’s concern for his cat on his next mode of transportation (which ultimately doesn’t work because Tonto needs to pee and bus schedules can’t wait).

Harry otherwise gets around by purchasing a used car (and picking up a couple of hitchhikers), then hitching rides himself until he’s finally on the west coast. Along the way, he befriends young Melanie Mayron:

… who is on her way to a commune in Boulder and ends up accompanied by Harry’s nephew Norman (Josh Mostel, Zero’s son). Harry very briefly visits his daughter (Burstyn) in Chicago, but their relationship clearly has some tensions given that she refers to him by his name (rather than Dad) and there is no consideration of him staying long.

Geraldine Fitzgerald has a nice little cameo as a former lover with dementia:

… and Oscar-nominated Chief Dan George is fine in a small bit as a fellow prisoner who bonds with Harry over his purchase of a blender, sold to them both by a traveling natural foods salesman (Arthur Hunnicutt).

Be forewarned that the ending may have you choked up a bit.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Art Carney as Harry
  • Good performances by the supporting cast

  • Excellent use of location shooting across the nation

Must See?
Yes, for Carney’s performance and as a Good Show. Listed as a Cult Movie and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

  • Good Show
  • Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links:

Hired Hand, The (1971)

Hired Hand, The (1971)

“Most people who work for the Widow Collings get paid in more than cash and keep.”

Synopsis:
When three men — Harry (Peter Fonda), Arch (Warren Oates) and Dan (Robert Pratt) — stop in a small town on their way west, unexpected tragedy violence occurs with one of its citizens (Severn Darden), leading to ongoing repurcussions once Harry and Arch arrive back at the homestead of Harry’s abandoned wife (Verna Bloom) and daughter (Megan Denver).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Friendship
  • Marital Problems
  • Peter Fonda Films
  • Revenge
  • Strong Females
  • Verna Bloom Films
  • Warren Oates Films
  • Westerns

Review:
Peter Fonda’s studio-financed follow-up to Easy Rider (1969) was helming and starring in this highly artsy, slow-paced western with a haunting score and dreamy cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond. It’s difficult to know where things are going (literally) at first, as the film opens on three men wandering (we don’t know how they met or where they’ve been), and we learn that the youngest (Pratt) is interested in finally seeing the Pacific Ocean (though Fonda wants to head back home to his wife).

On their way, after an ominous experience while fishing (their line snags on something they don’t want to reel in), they have the misfortune of stopping by a small town run by bespectacled Darden, who appears innocuous but most certainly isn’t (looks are deceiving in this West).

From there, the bulk of the story focuses on Fonda’s tentative reuniting with Bloom, who has adapted over her years of solitude and isn’t exactly thrilled to welcome her roaming husband back, but is willing to give both him and Oates a try.

There are a couple of unexpectedly violent and bloody sequences, and revenge definitely plays a huge role in this western tale — but even more notable are the look of the film (plenty of slo-mo and double exposure are used throughout):

… and folk musician Bruce Langhorne’s highly eclectic score (utilizing sitar, fiddle, and banjo), which impresses and intrigues from the opening moments; I liked it enough that I’ll be giving it another listen on its own.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Verna Bloom as Hannah Collings
  • Warren Oates as Arch Harris
  • Creative direction by Fonda and editing by Frank Mazzola
  • Vilmos Zsigmond’s cinematography
  • A highly unique (if overly varied) score by Bruce Langhorne

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

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

Links:

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

“You make it with some of these chicks, they think you gotta dance with them.”

Synopsis:
When a teen (John Travolta) in Brooklyn falls for a beautiful dancer (Karen Lynn Gorney) he sees in a local discotheque, he begins pursuing her both as a dance partner and a romantic partner.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Class Relations
  • Dancers
  • John Travolta Films
  • New York City
  • Social Climbers
  • Womanizers

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary writes, “John Travolta danced the disco beat to instant superstardom in this smash hit” in which he “plays 19-year-old Tony, who lives in a lower-middle-class Catholic neighborhood in Brooklyn” and on “Saturday nights” is “top dog at the local disco.”

Indeed, “dancing gives him his only fulfillment” — though “he senses that it can’t last forever,” and “across the bridge is Manhattan — the promised land.”

Peary asserts that the movie’s theme “is that every person has the talent to ‘make it,’ to escape the neighborhood where there are no opportunities; all anyone needs is drive and opportunities” — and for “Travolta and Gorney, opposites who get serious about each other,” the “disco’s upcoming dance context [is] their springboard to the big time.”

Unfortunately, the “film is shallow,” but Peary argues that “Travolta is electrifying, whether getting dressed in his room, wiggling down the street:

… trying desperately to express himself in conversation, making love, or, of course, putting on an amazing display on the dance floor.” He adds that the “disco score, featuring popular Bee Gees songs, is super,” and points out that the film is “stylishly, feverishly directed by John Badham, who isn’t ashamed to explore Travolta’s sexual appeal.”

Peary elaborates on Travolta’s breakthrough big-screen performance in Alternate Oscars, where he names him Best Actor of the Year and writes: “There was doubt that Travolta could make the transition from television, where he’d built up a following as Vinnie Barbarino in the high school comedy Welcome Back, Kotter.” However, “in his first movie lead (he’d been funny in a secondary role in Carrie) he became the sensation of the year, a magazine cover boy and sex symbol.” He points out that Travolta — who is “captivating” — is “great out on the dance floor, making sexual moves to the Bee Gees that have the females in the 2001 [Club] sighing:

… but he’s just as much fun to watch while strutting down the street as if he knows everyone is watching, or gazing at himself in the mirror — a moment of narcissism for a young boy without much self-esteem.”

He highlights how Travolta “has sweet, puppy-dog eyes, a sheepish face, and a delivery that starts out aggressive but ends up sounding hurt or defensive, as if he expects to be put down”; and he smiles “appreciatively if he gets a compliment, as when his boss gives him a raise:

… and when Stephanie [Gorley] admits he’s interesting and even intelligent.”

In his review for DVD Talk, Stuart Galbraith IV argues that:

The movie benefits from an almost classical script rich in characterizations. I was impressed by how in the movie tells us so much about Tony in just the first two minutes. Before the end of the first reel the audience learns Tony: likes to chase women, is a kind and thoughtful brother, is trusting and kind-hearted to strangers, thinks fast on his feet, and is popular in his neighborhood. The posters in his bedroom say it all — on the walls are Bruce Lee, Farrah-Fawcett, Rocky, and Al Pacino (as Serpico).

Interestingly, in the original magazine article upon which this script was based — later acknowledged by the author to be made up — the lead character (here named Vincent) daydreams explicitly of disturbing violence.

… Whenever he gazed into the mirror, it was always Pacino who gazed back. A killer, and a star. Heroic in reflection. Then Vincent would take another breath, the deepest he could manage; would make his face, his whole body, go still; would blink three times to free his imagination, and he would start to count.

Silently, as slowly as possible, he would go from one to a hundred. It was now, while he counted, that he thought about death.

Mostly he thought about guns. On certain occasions, if he felt that he was getting stale, he might also dwell on knives, on karate chops and flying kung fu kicks, even on laser beams. But always, in the last resort, he came back to bullets.

Fortunately, this isn’t how Tony is portrayed on-screen — though his buddies’ crude and immature behavior is often challenging to watch, as is Tony’s rejection of his original dance partner (Donna Pescow), who is eventually subjected to highly disturbing treatment.

Indeed, women aren’t exactly portrayed in the best light in this film. While Gorney — who Peary claims “can’t act” — refreshingly stands up for herself time and again, she’s referred to repeatedly as “practicing to be a bitch” and is given a hard time for being a “social climber.” Other young women (i.e., Denny Dillon’s “Doreen”) clamor to dance with, sleep with, or simply be nearby Tony:

… while the women back at home (Tony’s mother and grandmother) merely fuss over food or show deep distress when Tony’s priestly brother (Martin Shakar) has a career crisis.

Another subplot — involving neurotic Bobby (Barry Miller), who has gotten his girlfriend pregnant and is seeking advice from everyone around him on what to do — is intentionally meant to mirror James Dean and Sal Mineo’s relationship in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), though in a less nuanced and more distributed way.

Ultimately, Saturday Night Live is a film to watch for Travolta’s dynamic performance and as a snapshot of a certain era — not because of any particularly profound insights it offers into the human condition. Be forewarned that you will get “Night Fever” stuck in your head for hours (if not days) after watching this flick.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • John Travolta as Tony
  • Excellent use of location shooting across the city
  • The Bee Gees’ iconic score

Must See?
Yes, for Travolta’s performance and its historical significance.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant
  • Noteworthy Performance(s)

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

Links:

Valley, The / Vallee, La (1972)

Valley, The / Vallee, La (1972)

“I can’t hide the fact that I’m interested in these feathers.”

Synopsis:
When the bored wife (Bulle Ogier) of a French diplomat meets a young man (Michael Gothard) in possession of some fine exotic feathers, she joins his group — including a male leader (Jean-Pierre Kalfon), two female followers (Valerie Lagrange and Monique Giraudy), and a child — through the jungles of Papua New Guinea in search of a paradisical valley.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Barbet Schroeder Films
  • Character Arc
  • Counterculture
  • Explorers
  • French Films
  • Native Peoples

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that this “most unusual” film by Barbet Schroeder was “released when young people all over the world were searching for alternative lifestyles.” He points out that “in addition to being a fascinating adventure” of “a group of French [sic] men and women who journey through uncharted regions of New Guinea in search of a ‘mythical’ valley, supposedly an Eden,” it “has ethnographic interest because of scenes in which the professional actors interact with primitive Mapuga tribesmen who know nothing about films or cameras” (or so Peary assumes).

He marvels that “some of the stars even participated in tribal rituals that required them to strip and don ornamental bracelets, beaded necklaces, and weird hats” (the horrors!):

… and argues that “one always feels that the expedition is for real, and that if the valley is not found, the actors, Schroeder, and cameraman Nestor Almendros are doomed” (I didn’t sense this, but maybe I’m naive or jaded). Finally, Peary points out that “the picture is beautifully, hauntingly photographed” (true) and notes that the “original music is by Pink Floyd.”

I have mixed feelings about this cult film, which at first seems to be pushing a typically countercultural agenda that an authentic and meaningful life is to be found in breaking free from society’s dominant norms around sex and clothing and overall purpose for being.

By the end, however, the storyline has taken a reasonably nuanced arc, thus leaving one less certain.

When the film opens, we’re appropriately annoyed by Ogier’s spoiled White rich woman, who lives such a pampered life she spends her hours attemping to obtain and then sell illegally gotten plumage.

Upon arrival at Gothard’s campground, we can tell she’s intrigued by the “alternative lifestyle” on display, though most likely simply from voyeurism and excitement-seeking. Once she begins her actual trek with the motley troupe, however, we can see her opening up, both physically and spiritually:

… and while there are tensions, clearly Ogier’s character seems “meant” for this quest. (She’s never forced to come along, and in fact is advised against it.) Once they arrive deep within the jungles and interact with the Mapuga, she is eager to share her many insights — at which point we hear a refreshing counterbalance to her naive giddiness.

Viviane (Ogier): Olivier, isn’t it wonderful? We’ve become so close to them. We’re practically like them… I’m happy. We’ve found truth, you know.

Olivier (Gothard): It’s just the opposite… We’re lying. Whatever Gaetan [Kalfon] says, we’re tourists here.

Viviane: It’s disgusting, hearing you talk like that!

Olivier: Dancing’s easy. Could you work with them?

Viviane: Yes, absolutely!

Olivier: Women are even more exploited here. You know, Viviane, among [this tribe], society is bound by very strict rules.

Viviane: Same with ours!

Olivier: It’s not the same thing… We’re trying to break ours. When they dance, it’s not just for the pleasure of it, it’s to obey something… We seek after pleasure, and maybe peace. They couldn’t care less about that.

While it’s most certainly not Olivier’s place to assert what the tribe’s true motivations and feelings are, his cautionary words are an important antidote, leading the film towards its appropriately ambivalent ending.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Intriguing anthropological footage
  • Néstor Almendros’s cinematography
  • Pink Floyd’s fragmentary score

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a one-time look for its cult appeal.

Links:

Patton (1970)

Patton (1970)

“They’ll lose their fear of the Germans; I hope to God they’ll never lose their fear of me.”

Synopsis:
During World War II, controversial General George S. Patton (George C. Scott) puts his career in jeopardy by refusing to tone down his strong beliefs and provocative behavior.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Biopics
  • George C. Scott Films
  • Karl Malden Films
  • Military
  • Nonconformists
  • Ruthless Leaders
  • World War II

Review:
Peary doesn’t review 1970’s Best Picture Winner in GFTFF, but he does discuss it in Alternate Oscars, where he notes that it “was geared to be, politically speaking, a middle-of-the-road film that wouldn’t offend anyone, and it was rewarded with across-the-board popularity.” Indeed, it became “a favorite movie of the hawkish presidents and military men, who jotted down every quote the aggressive general uttered about the nature of war and the responsibilities of the officers and soldiers who fought it.” He adds that “those who insisted the Vietnam War was being lost because sound military strategy was being compromised by diplomacy, discovered in this film the historical figure they wanted our generals to emulate.”

Peary asserts that “Patton was appealingly presented as a nonconformist within the military, a poet and historian who often speaks his mind against authority figures” — and he points out that “any time Patton says something that might have raised the ire of college-age viewers, [co-screenwriters Francis Ford] Coppola and Edmund H. North wisely have Karl Malden’s Omar Bradley counter with a more reasoned statement, as if he and not Patton represented the thinking of the filmmakers.”

Peary concedes that “Patton contains a great performance by Scott and holds up fairly well as a biography and as a war movie” — but he points out that:

“Under close scrutiny you’ll notice that this film has a flimsy structure with five or six basic scenes that are repeated over and over in different settings, as the war progresses. Repeatedly, Patton startles officers with his idiosyncracies, frightens soldiers with his discipline, shows (when his guard is down) that he really cares about the men who serve under him, gets into trouble for being outspoken, and so on.”

He asserts it’s “also annoying… that every time Coppola and North want us to know what a military genius Patton is, we cut to German headquarters, where we hear their top brass exalting him.”

I’m not as irritated by the structure of the film as Peary is, given that it shows the actual — albeit inevitably fictionalized — arc of this real-life general’s career, which likely did flow somewhat like this; and it feels relevant to highlight how highly German enemies thought of him given his rocky reception back at home.

In terms of Scott, Peary points out that his “tour-de-force performance… overwhelmed everyone in 1970” and “his blunt, imposing opening speech in front of a huge American flag became an instant classic — he could have stopped right then and won the Oscar.”

He adds, “It leads me to believe Scott would have been even more effective in a one-man show about Patton, because the other characters and repetitive scenes and conversations got in the actor’s way. Still, for giving one of the cinema’s most forceful and memorable characterizations of an historical figure, he certainly was worthy of the award the Academy wanted to give him.” However, Peary himself gives the Alternate Oscar to Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces (1970), which he also names as the Best Picture of the Year.

Note: An interesting bit of trivia is that “this was one of the few Oscar-nominated major films without a single female actor listed in the credits. There are only 3 lines of female dialogue in the film (during Patton’s PR appearances in England.)” Ouch.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • George C. Scott as Patton
  • Fine cinematography

  • Jerry Goldsmith’s score

Must See?
Yes, for Scott’s bravura performance and as an Oscar winner.

Categories

  • Noteworthy Performance(s)
  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

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

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