FilmFanatic.org

Synopsis:
In 19th century Britain, Charlotte (Marie-France Pisier), Emily (Isabelle Adjani), Anne (Isabelle Huppert), and Branwell Bronte (Pascal Greggory) live with their father (Patrick Magee) and aunt (Alice Sapritch) while writing novels (under male pen names) that would soon become famous.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Biopics
• Feminism and Women’s Issues
• French Films
• Historical Drama
• Isabelle Huppert Films
• Siblings
• Writers

Review:
Although I’ve read both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, I went into this French biopic about Charlotte and Emily Bronte — and their two surviving siblings, Anne and Branwell — knowing nothing at all about their circumstances or life trajectories. This allowed me to simply immerse myself in the tale on display, which is atmospherically filmed (by DP Bruno Nuytten) and shows fine attention to period detail.

After doing a little reading, I realized that the screenplay actually offers a reasonably accurate overview of how things seemed to play out for them. We see Branwell working on a self-portrait with his family (he later rubbed his own image out):

… Emily dressing in men’s clothing and heading out onto the windswept moors:

… Anne serving as a faithful companion:

… and Charlotte eventually heading (with Emily) to study French in Brussels, where she falls for her older teacher (Xavier Depraz).

Interestingly, with just a couple of exceptions, we see surprisingly little writing being done — I wonder why? (In the clip below, Charlotte is doing that annoying kind of movie-writing where she’s not actually looking at her paper, instead making doleful faces at the camera — and she’s writing a letter, not one of her novels)

At any rate, we also see Branwell’s ill-fated romance with an older (married) woman (Hélène Surgère):

… and how quickly illness overtakes various members of the family, killing off three siblings within eight months.

Much of this is undeniably bleak, so viewers should be forewarned — though it’s likely that fans of the Brontes will already know this, and simply be grateful for this visual glimpse into what their existence may have looked like.

Note: Patrick Magee as the Reverend Bronte barely registers on screen; I suspect this was due to significant cuts being made to bring the film down from three to two hours.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Isabelle Adjani as Emily Bronte
  
• Isabelle Huppert as Anne Bronte
  
• Bruno Nuytten’s cinematography
  
  

Must See?
No, but it’s worth a one time look for its visuals alone. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Slant Magazine Review
• Blu-Ray.com Review

Synopsis:
When a boorish business magnate (Jack Lemmon) arrives in Ischia to collect his deceased father’s body, he encounters a young woman (Juliet Mills) also there to collect her mother’s body — at which point he learns that their parents were having annual trysts on the island. Will Lemmon — with help from a solicitous hotel manager (Clive Revill) — be able to get his father’s body back to Baltimore in time for a massive memorial service, or will Mills somehow get in the way?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Billy Wilder Films
• Death and Dying
• Grown Children
• Infidelity
• Jack Lemmon Films
• Romantic Comedy

Review:
Billy Wilder’s fourth-to-last film — made just after The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) — was this romantic comedy collaboration with his longtime writing partner I.A.L. Diamond, based on a 1968 play by Samuel L. Taylor. While it’s beloved (or at least appreciated) by all four of the (male) reviewers I cite below, I found this film pretty hard to take, at least at first — especially given what a flaming a**hole Lemmon is when we first meet him (and for quite a while thereafter):

… as well as how frequently the screenplay refers to Mills as some variation of fat (!). (She’s her own worst critic around this topic, but it doesn’t help that Lemmon is quick to agree time and again.) While Mills is quite charming (what does she see in him?):

… and the storyline (and Lemmon) eventually become more tolerable, I was fully soured by this point, and had trouble appreciating either the sporadic humor (some of which works) or the extra-marital romance that eventually blooms (with flagrant disregard, naturally, for Lemmon’s wife and kids back home). The film’s best feature is its fine location shooting, which certainly makes Ischia look like a tremendously appealing get-away.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Juliet Mills as Pamela Piggott
  
• Clive Revill as Carlo Carlucci
  
• Fine location shooting in Italy
  
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• DVD Savant Review
• DVD Talk Review
• Spinning Image Review

Synopsis:
Shortly after a widow (Katina Paxinou) from southern Italy migrates to Milan with her four younger sons — Simone (Renato Salvatori), Rocco (Alain Delon), Ciro (Max Cartier), and Luca (Rocco Vidolazzi) — to be near their older brother Vincenzo (Spiros Focas) and his fiancee (Claudia Cardinale), the siblings find themselves at odds with one another’s choices in life and love, particularly given the presence of an alluring prostitute (Annie Girardot).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Alain Delon Films
• Boxing
• Claudia Cardinale Films
• Immigrants and Immigration
• Italian Films
• Love Triangle
• Luchino Visconti Films
• Prostitutes and Gigolos
• Siblings

Review:
This fourth title by Luchino Visconti listed in Peary’s GFTFF — after Ossessione (1943), La Terra Trema (1948), and Senso (1954) — tells the dramatic, nearly Shakespearian tale of a fatherless family navigating a new life in the big city. Paxinou is feisty, passionate, and opinionated as the matriarch who initially disapproves of her oldest son’s engagement:

… but our attention quickly turns to Salvatori, who looks the part of the boxer he soon becomes:

… and whose infatuation with Girardot sparks his downfall.

Meanwhile, Delon (“Rocco” of the title) becomes the primary focus of the storyline once he takes up boxing himself — and also falls for Girardot.

However, it’s Delon’s hardcore family loyalty which ultimately drives his actions to a fault, serving as an unwavering narrative throughline. While we learn a bit about Cartier and Vidolazzi (the youngest two sons), primary tensions continue to circulate around Salvatori, Delon, and Girardot:

… as well as Salvatori’s mounting debts. The film is beautifully photographed (by DP Giuseppe Rotunno) — with effective location shooting throughout Milan — and features fine acting by the leads. Although it’s a bit of a long haul at nearly three hours, it’s worth the investment.

Note: This was the film that introduced Francis Ford Coppola to composer Nino Roti, who scored his Godfather movies (among others).

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Alain Delon as Rocco
  
• Renato Salvatori as Simone
  
• Annie Girardot as Nadia
  
• Giuseppe Rotunno’s cinematography
  
  
  
• Nino Rota’s score

Must See?
Yes, as a powerful Italian classic. Listed as a film with Historical Relevance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

• Important Director

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

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TCM Article
• DVD Savant Review
• DVD Talk Review

Synopsis:
When a tech-savvy Texan beer distributor (Meatloaf) spies a wannabe groupie (Kaki Hunter) in a stranded R.V., he immediately falls in love and decides to follow her as she and her team support various bands.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Alan Rudolph Films
• Art Carney Films
• Comedy
• Musicians
• Road Trip
• Rock ‘n Roll

Review:
Meatloaf’s first starring cinematic role was in this oddball indie flick (directed by Alan Rudolph) covering plenty of territory, including nonchalant rock stars:

… virginal groupies:

… redneck Texans:

… and a steampunk-adjacent “we’ll fix anything” salvage company run by Meatloaf’s dad (Art Carney). Meatloaf doesn’t sing, but he is subjected to various random “brainlock” episodes which make no sense whatsoever (until, possibly, the very final scene).

The film’s most notable presence is kooky Hunter, who is determined to meet and sleep with her idol, Alice (in Chains).

Carney doesn’t have much to do, but seems perfectly fine embodying his character’s can-do, don’t-give-a-damn attitude.

Music lovers might also get a kick out of how Meatloaf solves various sound tech challenges along the way (one involving literal b.s.); however, this isn’t must-see viewing except for diehard fans of Meatloaf, Rudolph, or one of the rock stars featured here.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• A resolutely quirky air throughout
  
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re curious.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Spinning Image Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
When the fiancee (Gail Hire) of a very recently deceased NASCAR racer (Anthony Rogers) shows up at the Daytona 500, she soon finds herself romanced by a fellow driver (Skip Ward) whose French soon-to-be-former-girlfriend (Marianna Hill) has arrived with him but ends up falling for Mike (James Caan), a hot-headed driver who can’t stand the idea of Hill having formally been with Ward. Meanwhile, the younger sister (Laura Devon) of the team manager (Norman Alden) becomes smitten with an ambitious farmer-turned-driver (John Robert Crawford).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Car Racing
• Howard Hawks Films
• James Caan Films
• Jealousy
• Love Triangle

Review:
Love triangles, fast driving, and car crashes abound in this fluffy later-life Howard Hawks film, which apparently he himself was disappointed by. According to Stuart Galbraith IV in his review for DVD Talk:

Hawks confessed he thought his own movie was a pretty worthless pile of cow dung. Conversely, Quentin Tarantino sings its praises, and French film critic director Francois Truffaut so loved it that, a dozen years later when he appeared as an actor in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he instantly recognized Teri Garr, not for her ‘70s comedies but for her unbilled extra role as one of four dancing waitresses in Red Line 7000, so well did Truffaut know Hawks’s film.

Of all the then-unknowns, the only actor to become a star was Caan, whose character is — frankly — creepy.

Indeed, the gender and sexual politics at play here are ridiculous (we regularly hear lines like, “C,mon Julie — cut it out; you’re acting like a female.”), leaving one practically sighing at how out-of-date Hawks’s conception of such things was by the mid-’60s. With that said, Hill has good energy:

… and it’s fascinating seeing how much deep-voiced Hire looks like Paula Prentiss (though she literally can’t — and doesn’t — sing worth a lick).

Naturally, most will be interested to watch the (secondary) footage of actual car racing.

Note: Look for George Takei in a small role as a pit technician.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Colorful costumes and sets
  

Must See?
No, unless you’re a Hawks completist.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Time Out Capsule Review
• TV Guide Review
• Village Voice Review
• DVD Talk Review

Synopsis:
In early 20th century Mississippi, a hired hand (Steve McQueen) “borrows” a brand new Winton Flyer automobile from his employer to go on an illicit road trip with his distant cousin (Rupert Crosse) and his employer’s grandson (Mitch Vogel).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Burgess Meredith Films
• Coming of Age
• Deep South
• Diane Ladd Films
• Historical Drama
• Juano Hernandez Films
• Road Trip
• Steve McQueen Films

Review:
Mark Rydell directed this adaptation of William Faulkner’s final novel (awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction), made in part to bank upon the popularity of McQueen, who was fresh from success in Bullitt (1968) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) [not listed in GFTFF]. Unfortunately, their collaboration soured pretty quickly, and the resulting film is far from satisfying. I haven’t read Faulkner’s novel, but it’s difficult to tell from this film what its primary themes are, other than presenting a “picaresque” rascal (McQueen) as a protagonist and showing a kid coming-of-age.

Perhaps this film held more appeal to viewers at the time who were familiar with the source material, and/or were simply eager to see McQueen. Crosse (in his final cinematic role) was nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar, but his character doesn’t have much depth, either.

Meanwhile, poor Juano Hernandez — given a meaty starring role in an earlier Faulkner adaptation, 1949’s Intruder in the Dust — is relegated to a brief appearance here as “Uncle Possum”, with his most significant scene showing him getting undressed for bed and lying down chastely next to Vogel, after reminding him to say his prayers. (Why was this important enough to take up screentime? And what’s with the earlier sequence of naked boys jumping into a lake?)

Speaking of racial tensions, they’re mostly glossed over here in a blatantly revisionist fashion, as though Blacks and Whites in turn-of-the-century South — with the exception of a few bigots, naturally — played and worked together just fine. (“We didn’t fear death, in those days, because we believed that your outside was just what you lived in and slept in, and had no connection to what you were,” Burgess Meredith reassures us in the narration.)

The main star of the film was the fictional Winton Flyer vehicle that shows up in town during the opening sequence, and is the fulcrum around which all major plot devices hinge. After filming, McQueen kept it in his own personal car collection, and it’s now available for viewing at the Petersen Automotive Museum in L.A.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Mitch Vogel as Lucius
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TCM Article
• Village Voice Review

Synopsis:
After his murdered companion (Richard B. Shull) tells him about a stash of embezzled money, a just-released ex-con (James Caan) hits the road and encounters a variety of kooky individuals — including pill-popping Kitty (Sally Kellerman) and a couple (Peter Boyle and Louise Lasser) travelling around in their brand new Airstream R.V.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Comedy
• Ex-Cons
• James Caan Films
• Peter Boyle Films
• Road Trips
• Sally Kellerman Films

Review:
It’s challenging to know quite what to make of this unconventional road-trip comedy — directed by Howard Zieff, and scripted by W.D. Richter — in which each scene seems designed for maximum “What will come next?” randomness. From the opening sequence in which Shull is fatally gunned down but manages to tell Caan about hidden dirty money:

… to Caan’s encounters with a peculiar hippie (Kellerman) who is ready for adventures of many kinds:

… to Caan’s interactions with a quirky RV-loving couple (Boyle and Lasser):

… and then meeting back up again with Kellerman (all while being followed by a bizarrely angular black van accompanied by menacing music on the soundtrack):

… we know there is not a lot of point in trying to predict where things will go. If you’re up for this type of comedic experience, by all means check it out; but it’s not must-see viewing unless you’re curious to see Lasser in one of her very few post-Woody Allen cinematic roles (she’s great).

And no — the title doesn’t seem to make any sense, and is never explained. The filmmakers have only themselves to blame that viewers will forever confuse this with a later movie about an alien plague.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Fine performances by the primary cast
  
• Numerous surreally absurd moments
  
• László Kovács’s cinematography
  

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a one-time look if you’re curious.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Time Out Capsule Review
• Village Voice Review

Synopsis:
In 1920s San Francisco, former-detective-turned-writer (Frederic Forrest) is lured by his friend (Peter Boyle) into exploring a case involving a mysterious Chinese prostitute (Lydia Lei), receiving help from both his neighbor (Marilu Henner) and a cabbie (Elisha Cook, Jr.).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Detectives and Private Eyes
• Elisha Cook, Jr. Films
• Frederic Forrest Films
• Peter Boyle Films
• Prostitutes and Gigolos
• Sylvia Sidney Films
• Wim Wenders Films
• Writers

Review:
Francis Ford Coppola executive-produced this neo-noir by German director Wim Wenders — fairly fresh off of his success with helming The American Friend (1977) — whose production history was legendarily challenging, with the entire first draft (co-starring a couple of different key actors) scrapped in favor of this version. As noted by Vincent Canby in his review for The New York Times:

Hammett, the first major American movie by Wim Wenders, the sometimes excellent German director… isn’t quite the mess one might expect, considering the length of time it’s been in production and the number of people who seem to have contributed to it. It’s not ever boring, but heaven only knows what it’s supposed to be about or why it was made.

Indeed, this is a good question. The film — based on a 1975 novel of the same name by Joe Gores — is beautifully produced, and one definitely feels the filmmakers’ devotion to recreating an overall ambience meant to be evocative of Hammett’s detective novels.

We’re clearly meant to understand that Hammett took inspiration from his earlier work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency to fuel his own narratives:

… and there are obvious parallels in the story told here with The Maltese Falcon, including motifs like the falcon itself serving as the base of his writing-desk lamp:

… as well as the inclusion of a portly older Englishman (Roy Kinnear) playing a crucial role later in the story:

… and a significant cameo by Elisha Cook, Jr. (in his final role) playing a cabbie named Eli.

Meanwhile, there is nearly non-stop drinking and smoking (Hammett was an alcoholic):

… a hard-boiled, sexy dame (Henner):

… and plenty of back-stabbing intrigue (alongside blatant Orientalizing).

Most film fanatics will know — simply from watching Julia (1977), if for no other reason — that Hammett had a years-long affair with playwright Lillian Hellman and helped her with her work; and his later-life involvement in Leftist politics — chronicled in the 1999 TV drama Dash and Lilly (co-starring Sam Shepard and Judy Davis) — is likewise not touched upon here at all. This is strictly, as noted in the opening title card:

“… an entirely imaginary story about the writer Samuel Dashiell Hammett who… in the words of one of his most gifted contemporaries [Raymond Chandler]… helped get murder out of the Vicar’s rose garden and back to the people who are really good at it. The detective story has not been the same since.”

Watch for brief appearances by Sylvia Sidney:

… Royal Dano:

… and Sam Fuller.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Joseph Biroc’s highly atmospheric cinematography
  
  
• John Barry’s jazzy score

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

Links:

• IMDb entry
• DVD Savant Review
• NY Times Original Review
• Spinning Image Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
When an apolitical, non-religious Jewish handyman (Alan Bates) in Ukraine is wrongly accused of egregious murder, he finds some support from a sympathetic lawyer (Dirk Bogarde) but must face the harsh bigotry of an antisemitic investigator (Ian Holm).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Alan Bates Films
• Character Arc
• David Warner Films
• Dirk Bogarde Films
• Elizabeth Hartman Films
• Falsely Accused
• Historical Drama
• Hugh Griffith Films
• Ian Holm Films
• Jews
• John Frankenheimer Films
• Living Nightmare
• Prisoners
• Racism and Race Relations

Review:
A year before starring in Ken Russell’s Women in Love (1969), Alan Bates played the title role in this relentlessly depressing — perhaps it could only be so — adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (directed by John Frankenheimer, with a script by Dalton Trumbo), based on the unjust imprisonment of Menahem Mendel Beilis in early-20th-century Russia. It was bold of the filmmakers to directly address antisemitism — and specifically the issue of blood libel — so clearly in their film, which doesn’t shy away from showing how challenging it was to be a Jew (practicing or not) at this time. From the brutal opening pogrom:

… to Bates being falsely accused of rape by the entitled daughter (Elizabeth Hartman) of his employer:

… to his imprisonment and torture for a crime he had nothing to do with, we gradually see him developing a stronger sense of political agency and identity.

It’s a grueling 2 hours and 20 minutes to sit through, however — and chances are only fans of Bates (excellent), Bogarde, or the original novel will want to seek it out.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Alan Bates as Yakov Bok
  
• Dirk Bogarde as Bibikov
  
• Marcel Grignon’s cinematography
  

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a one-time look if you’re curious.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
When a liberal lawyer (Robert Redford) — the son of a former governor (Melvyn Douglas) — is convinced by a persuasive campaign manager (Peter Boyle) to run a seemingly unwinnable race for senator, he quickly finds himself much more invested than he anticipated.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Allen Garfield Films
• Melvyn Douglas Films
• Michael Ritchie Films
• Peter Boyle Films
• Political Corruption
• Robert Redford Films

Review:
Director Michael Ritchie’s follow-up to Downhill Racer (1969) and Prime Cut (1972) was this incisive, documentary-style political satire based on an Oscar-winning original screenplay by Jeremy Larner (who once wrote speeches for 1968 presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy). Redford is perfectly cast as a well-meaning liberal who seems to be genuinely questioning the entire process happening around him as he quickly climbs the polls, and whose wife (Karen Carlson) is almost eerily ready to jump right into a life of politics with him.

Bearded Boyle is menacing as a campaign manager who promises Redford he’s guaranteed to lose, yet seems to be doing everything he can to push him forward:

… while Douglas is convincing as an aging politician who’s lost none of his savvy or clout:

… and Gidget’s dad — er, Don Porter — is note-perfect as the incumbent Redford is running against.

Watch for a cameo by Natalie Wood, Redford’s real-life friend and former co-star from Inside Daisy Clover and This Property is Condemned.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Robert Redford as Bill McKay
  
• Peter Boyle as Marvin Lucas
  
• Fine cinematography and production design
  

Must See?
Yes, as a powerful political satire. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

• Good Show

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TCM Article
• NY Times Original Review
• Spinning Image Review