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Category: Original Reviews

Responses to Peary’s “must see” movie reviews, as well as my own “must see” movie reviews up to and after 1986 (when Peary’s book was published).

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

“I dislike failure.”

Synopsis:
When a seaman (Richard Harris) on a breadfruit-seeking excursion to Tahiti accuses harsh Captain Bligh (Trevor Howard) of stealing cheese and is severely beaten, morale begins to wane, and First Lieutenant Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando) soon leads a mutiny against Bligh.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • At Sea
  • Hugh Griffith Films
  • Lewis Milestone Films
  • Marlon Brando Films
  • Mutiny
  • Richard Harris Films
  • Richard Haydn Films
  • Ruthless Leaders
  • South Sea Islands
  • Trevor Howard Films

Review:
This notorious big-budget adaptation of Charles Nordhoff’s 1932 novel — the second American iteration after Frank Lloyd’s Oscar-winning 1935 version co-starring Clark Gable and Charles Laughton — is, thankfully and perhaps surprisingly, better than its storied reputation would lead you to believe. While Brando’s heavily improvised, arguably “foppish” performance as Fletcher Christian tends to be polarizing, I happen to be a fan:

… and was reminded, for better or for worse, that I’m a film lover who can fairly easily dissociate movies (the end product) from their makers and constituents. To that end, Brando’s childish behavior during the filming of this movie (see also here and here) was intolerable enough to essentially demote him from Hollywood’s elite — until his resurgence with The Godfather. (So it goes with divas of all genders.) At least it likely helped fuel Howard’s rage as boorish Bligh.

The film’s most eye-rolling sequences are those taking place on Tahiti, as the uniformly beautiful women make themselves available to the men, and island living is viewed as nothing short of paradise.

With that enormous caveat aside, the rest of the script works quite well as a tale of moralistic concern. What does it mean to go against the orders of the person in charge of everyone’s livelihood out on the open sea? What constitutes torture, versus “merely” a heavy hand? What happens to a person’s sense of self when they’ve given up the status they’ve worked for throughout their entire existence?

To the film’s credit, we are curious to see how things end for all involved. Watch for Richard Haydn as the ship’s breadfruit-focused botanist:

… and Hugh Griffith (drunk for the majority of the production) as seaman Alexander Smith.

Note: This movie began life under the direction of Carol Reed, but fairly quickly shifted over to Lewis Milestone; this was his final feature.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Marlon Brando as Fletcher Christian
  • Trevor Howard as Captain Bligh
  • Richard Harris as Seaman Mills
  • Robert Surtees’ cinematography

Must See?
Yes, for its historical relevance, its notorious controversy (and box-office failure), and Brando’s performance.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant
  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

Harakiri (1962)

Harakiri (1962)

“Even the famous samurai is a mere human being. He cannot live on air alone.”

Synopsis:
When a down-on-his-luck former samurai (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the estate of a clan run by daimyō Saitō Kageyu (Rentarô Mikuni), and requests safe harbor to commit seppuku, he is told the story of a younger rōnin (Akira Ishihama) who made the same request several months earlier — and deeper connections between the two men are soon revealed.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Flashback Films
  • Historical Dramas
  • Japanese Films
  • Samurai

Review:
As I’m finishing up all films from 1962 listed in Peary’s book, I stumbled upon this unexpectedly gripping jidaigeki (i.e., period) tale by director Masaki Kobayashi, who I hadn’t heard of (this is his only GFTFF-listed title). Tatsuya Nakadai — easily recognizable to film fanatics from Kon Ichikawa’s Odd Obsession (1959), Mikio Naruse’s When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) (a Missing Title), and Ikira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962), High and Low (1963), Kagemusha (1980), and Ran (1985) — turns in a masterful performance here as a rōnin (i.e, a masterless former-samurai) with a secret.

The flashback-filled script by Shinobu Hashimoto steadily builds tension as our initial assumption — that the film will focus on Nakadai’s own honor-fueled desire to commit seppuku (a.k.a. harakiri) — becomes more of a cat-and-mouse tale of Nakadai ensuring that arrogant Mikuni understands his connection with the previous rōnin (Ishihama) at their household, and how decisions made at that time were both uninformed and ill-advised.

To say more would be to spoil the adventure, so I will stop here — except to say that while things move somewhat leisurely at first, everything builds to a highly atmospheric conclusion which is well-worth the slow-burn. I’ll be watching more of Kobayashi’s films once I’m done with this project.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Tatsuya Nakadai as Hanshiro Tsugumo
  • Highly effective direction and cinematography
  • Numerous heartbreaking sequences
  • The beautifully shot late-film duel
  • Shinobu Hashimoto’s screenplay

Must See?
Yes, as an unsung masterpiece of Japanese cinema.

Categories

  • Foreign Gem

Links:

America America (1963)

America America (1963)

“I believe that in America, I will be washed clean.”

Synopsis:
When a young Greek (Stathi Giallelis) in 1890s Turkey begins his journey towards Constantinople and then America, he encounters seemingly endless obstacles to success.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Elia Kazan Films
  • Immigrants and Immigration

Review:
Elia Kazan wrote and directed this highly personal film (based on his own book) about the obsessive determination of a young man striving toward America. Life for Stavros (Giallelis) and his family and village at the turn of the century in Turkey is rough, hard-scrabble, and marked by ethnic strife and violence:


… making it easy to see why an alternative subsistence is so highly valued. Indeed, the initial portions of the film masterfully show the relentless determination needed to strive towards a better existence, with Stavros given all the family’s assets as he sets out to seek his fortunes. We get a strong sense of how urgent Stavros’s desire is to make a path for himself — and how quickly he’s taken advantage of again and again, first by a roving con-artist (Louis Antonio):

… and later by a prostitute (Joanna Frank) who has few choices herself for survival.

For better and for worse, Kazan used a mostly unprofessional cast to tell his story — and while Giallelis seems reasonably well-cast in the lead role, his lack of range and one dominant expression of stoic determination ultimately becomes wearying over the three-hour run-time.

As a notable contrast, a young man he meets on a mountain road early in the film (Gregory Rozakis) — and who plays a pivotal role later on — engenders much more pathos.

Also distracting is the obvious dubbing throughout the entire film, with Estelle Helmsley’s voice as Grandmother Topouzoglou particularly grating.

Meanwhile, the entire middle hour or so of this film — in which Stavros (Giallelis) is introduced to the daughter (Joanna Frank) of a wealthy merchant (Paul Mann) who is incredibly eager to marry her off — extends the movie far beyond its ideal length and narrative thrust. While I understand that it’s meant to show the life of comfort, certainty, and male domination Stavros must deliberate upon and possibly reject as he continues his impulse towards America, there isn’t enough dramatic action to warrant the time or emotional energy spent on this section.

Regardless of its flaws, however, film fanatics will likely want to check this unique film out once simply for its historical relevance.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Fine period details and sets
  • Good use of location shooting in Turkey and Greece
  • Haskell Wexler’s cinematography
  • Manos Hadjidakis’s score

Must See?
No — though I went back and forth on my vote for this one, and it’s certainly worth a look for its historical significance as an intriguing outing by a master director. Selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2001 as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

Links:

High and Low (1963)

High and Low (1963)

“You’re a fool to pay, but pay you must.”

Synopsis:
When an unknown criminal (Tsutomu Yamazaki) accidentally kidnaps the son (Masahiko Shimizu) of the chauffeur (Yutaka Sada) working for a wealthy shoe company businessman Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) — rather than Gondo’s son, as intended — Gondo must decide whether to pay the ransom and risk everything he owns; meanwhile, the local police — led by Inspector Tokura (Tatsuya Nakadai) — do everything they can to identify and then capture the kidnapper.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Akira Kurosawa Films
  • Class Relations
  • Japanese Films
  • Kidnapping
  • Police

Review:
Akira Kurosawa’s 23rd film was this modern-day police procedural centering on complex moral dilemmas and toxic disparities between “high” and “low” status individuals in Japanese society. As the film opens, we see Mifune negotiating unsuccessfully with his business partners on behalf of producing only high-quality women’s shoes:

… and then clarifying with his wife (Kyōko Kagawa) and assistant (Tatsuya Mihashi) that he plans to leverage every bit of his assets in order to buy out the company for creative control. After this set-up, the storyline shifts to the trauma of Shimizu being kidnapped, and the ethical dilemma Mifune is instantly faced with, despite immense relief at his own son being safe.

Thankfully, we’re not left too long with this discomfort, given that …

SPOILER ALERT

… he makes the only morally viable choice (to pay for his chauffeur’s son to be returned), thus leading to an excitingly filmed sequence (shot in real time) taking place on a moving train, where the exchange takes place.

This all occurs within the first third of the story, which then shifts to a search to determine who the kidnapper is — and, during this portion, we see the tremendous efforts put forth by the (unrealistically) highly organized and committed police force of Yokohama, who systematically and effectively follow one lead after another, culminating in successful identification.

The final portion of the film shows what happens as the police home in on Yamazaki — clearly a deeply disturbed individual who thinks nothing of killing innocent people on behalf of his grudge towards those with more assets and possibilities (i.e., Mifune and his ilk).

There are quite a few ways in which this film — loosely based on an Ed McBain novel, and co-scripted by Kurosawa and three others — effectively explores the central theme of “high and low” (the Japanese title more accurately translates to “Heaven and Hell”). Physically, Mifune’s family is targeted specifically because of the highly visible location of his luxurious home:

… which literally stands in stark contrast with the working class, at times seedy environs where Yamazaki lives and works. However, two more dominant explorations of this theme also emerge: first between high-privilege Mifune and his lower-class chauffeur (Sada), as we see the extreme disparities in options available to each of them:

… and second, between Mifune and his lackey-associate (Mihashi), whose loyalties vacillate with the changing tides of fortune, while Mifune simply becomes more entrenched in his understanding that acting morally is of primary importance above all else. Effective use is made of location shooting through Yokohama:

… and, despite its 142 minute running time, the film holds our attention throughout. This remains one of Kurosawa’s most gripping films, and is well worth a look.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Toshiro Mifune as Kingo Gondo
  • Highly effective blocking and direction
  • Atmospheric cinematography

Must See?
Yes, as a still-powerful Kurosawa flick. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

  • Foreign Gem
  • Important Director

Links:

Kanchenjunga (1962)

Kanchenjunga (1962)

“It’s rare for a couple to be equally talented and share interests.”

Synopsis:
While on vacation in the Himalayas, the younger daughter (Alokananda Roy) of an industrialist (Chhabi Biswas) and his wife (Karuna Banerjee) ponders an offer of marriage from a wealthy suitor (Pahadi Sanyal) while engaging in conversation with a poor but intriguing young man from Calcultta (Arun Mukherjee); meanwhile, her older sister (Anubha Gupta) talks with her husband (Anil Chatterjee) about whether to stay in their marriage on behalf of their young daughter.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Class Relations
  • Feminism and Women’s Issues
  • Indian Films
  • Love Triangle

Review:
Satyajit Ray’s ninth feature film (his first in color) was this contemplative, conversation-filled drama about love and marriage, set in the foothills of the Himalayas (specifically the hill station of Darjeeling). The synopsis above covers the basics of what we see and hear from the three couples (or would-be couples) — aging Biswas and Banerjee:

… unhappily married Gupta and Chatterjee:

… and the undecided future-coupling of either Roy and Sanyal:

… or Roy and Mukherjee.

Not much else is available to read about this film, but according to Wikipedia:

In 1962, Ray directed Kanchenjungha. Based on his first original screenplay, it was also his first colour film. It tells the story of an upper-class family spending an afternoon in Darjeeling, a picturesque hill town in West Bengal. They try to arrange the engagement of their youngest daughter to a highly paid engineer educated in London.

Ray had first conceived shooting the film in a large mansion, but later decided to film it in the famous town. He used many shades of light and mist to reflect the tension in the drama. Ray noted that while his script allowed shooting to be possible under any lighting conditions, a commercial film crew in Darjeeling failed to shoot a single scene, as they only wanted to do so in sunshine.

As Ray’s first venture into original screenwriting rather than adapting someone else’s work, it will certainly be of interest to fans of the director — and it remains a thoughtful treatise on gender norms and marital challenges in mid-century India. But it’s not must-see for all film fanatics.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Good use of locale shooting to highlight interpersonal tensions and possibilities

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a one-time look if you’re a fan of Ray’s work.

Links:

Cartouche (1962)

Cartouche (1962)

“They obey me from one end of Paris to the other.”

Synopsis:
In 18th century France, a swashbuckling thief (Jean-Paul Belmondo) travels with his accomplices and his new wife Venus (Claudia Cardinale) to Paris, where they begin robbing from the rich and distributing to the poor — but things get much more complicated when “Cartouche” (Belmondo) falls for a beautiful noblewoman (Odile Versois).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Claudia Cardinale Films
  • French Films
  • Historical Drama
  • Jean-Paul Belmondo Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Royalty and Nobility
  • Thieves and Criminals

Review:
Philippe de Broca — perhaps best known for helming cult favorite King of Hearts (1966) — directed this high-spirited historical adventure flick, described by the New York Times reviewer as offering up “colorful, illustrating legendary footnotes to French history that should keep action fans, romantics and comedy connoisseurs happy even if it confuses the historians.” Indeed, one shouldn’t look for historical accuracy of any kind here — but the production design is appropriately lush, and one feels plopped directly into the era.

A year before starring in Fellini’s 8 1/2 (1963), Cardinale played luscious Venus, a gypsy whose willingness to overlook her partner’s openly roving eye strains credulity yet somehow works anyway; thankfully, her character is given an appropriately satisfying arc.

Belmondo, meanwhile — who seems to have participated in a remarkable number of films during the early 1960s — is able to put his rascally Godardian persona to good use (and did all his own stunts).

While it’s easy to see why he would fall for beautiful Versois:

… it does get complicated keeping our loyalties straight. Regardless, fans of this type of fare will likely not be disappointed (though viewers should be forewarned that there’s a highly distressing, lengthy waterboarding sequence included at one point).

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Jean-Paul Belmondo and Claudia Cardinale as Cartouche and Venus
  • Lovely cinematography and production design

Must See?
No, but it’s worth a look if you enjoy this kind of drama and/or Belmondo or Cardinale.

Links:

Derby (1970)

Derby (1970)

“You’ve gotta earn what you make.”

Synopsis:
Aspiring roller derby players in Ohio dream about the big time.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Documentary
  • Sports

Review:
This disappointing documentary about the roller derby scene of the early 1970s offers little hope about the state of humanity. Granted, that shouldn’t necessarily be the prerogative of a sports documentary, which arguably should focus on: 1) what the sport entails, and 2) why people choose it.

In this case, however, while the action is plenty raw — these roller derby athletes play fast, rough, and theatrically — the aspiring athletes interviewed here (along with their wives and girlfriends) are such an uninteresting bunch that it’s hard to care whatsoever about their travails or their outcomes.


The biggest “star” of the show is Roller Derby Hall of Fame inductee Charlie O’Connell, shown here enjoying retirement by his poolside home in California.

Unfortunately, he’s utterly lacking in charisma or meaningful insights. The trailer for a later documentary called This is Roller Derby (2007) — which I haven’t yet seen, but plan to check out — offered me a lot more info in just three minutes.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Occasional snippets of drama on the skating track

Must See?
No; skip this one.

Links:

Red Desert (1964)

Red Desert (1964)

“You wonder what to look at; I wonder how to live. Same thing.”

Synopsis:
The traumatized wife (Monica Vitti) of a petro-chemical industrialist (Carlo Chionetti) begins an affair with a visiting associate (Richard Harris).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Infidelity
  • Italian Films
  • Mental Breakdown
  • Michelangelo Antonioni Films
  • Monica Vitti Films
  • Richard Harris Films

Review:
Michelangelo Antonioni’s fourth and final film made with Monica Vitti was his first in color, and in many ways feels like a fourth addition to their original b&w trilogy — L’Avventura (1960), La Notte (1961), and L’Eclisse (1962) — given that once again, Vitti plays a dissatisfied woman who seems to be aimlessly drifting through life. However, in this case she’s simultaneously recovering from and continuing to experience an ongoing mental breakdown much more overtly than what her previous characters went through.

Indeed, Vitti’s Giuliana is visibly disoriented and deeply distressed. At one point she states, “There’s something terrible about reality, and I don’t know what it is. No one will tell me.” Her performance is believable, and especially challenging to watch knowing that she lived so many of her final years suffering from Alzheimer’s. It’s hard not to sympathize with her sense of disorientation given how stupidly and/or mindlessly so many people around her act, as epitomized in the film’s odd party sequence taking place in a crowded riverside shack.

While it’s a little strange seeing red-headed Harris playing a dubbed Italian:

… it works well enough, and his inherent gravitas is welcomed. Story-wise, however, there is as little here to hold onto as in Antonioni’s earlier films. As Andrew Sarris wrote somewhat impatiently in his review for The Village Voice: “Antonioni’s first color film after eight black-and-white features in 15 years… is more a series of paintings unfurled in time than the kind of dramatic spectacle we have been calling a movie for the past half-century.” Indeed, it’s the visuals here — a combination of natural landscapes:

… and harsh mechanical wastelands:

… that most linger in one’s memory, rather than anything about the narrative or characters themselves.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Monica Vitti as Giuliana
  • Carlo Di Palma’s cinematography

Must See?
No, though most film fanatics will likely be curious to see it as part of Antonioni’s quartet of Vitti films. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

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

Links:

Eclisse, L’ / Eclipse, The (1962)

Eclisse, L’ / Eclipse, The (1962)

“All those billions, lost — where do they end up?”

Synopsis:
A young woman (Monica Vitti) who has just broken up with her lover (Francisco Rabal) finds new romance with the earnings-focused stock broker (Alain Delon) of her mother (Lilla Brignone).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Alain Delon Films
  • Italian Films
  • Michelangelo Antonioni Films
  • Monica Vitti Films

Review:
This third entry in Antonioni’s informal “trilogy of alienation” — following L’Avventura (1960) and La Notte (1961) — once again features his muse and lover, Monica Vitti, in a central role; and, similar to the two earlier titles, its storyline — this time taking place in the EUR of Rome — isn’t exactly jam-packed. As DVD Savant writes in his synopsis of the film: “The camera simply observes a series of events in a young woman’s life that show her responses — or more accurately, her difficulty in finding responses — to what seems a random and soul-less existence.”

Indeed. Of course, there is a lot more going on thematically for those interested in digging deeper; as Professor Richard Read notes in his analysis of the film:

“It is widely recognized that Michelangelo Antonioni’s film L’Eclisse is a late Italian Neo-Realist critique of the alienating effects of capitalist reification, mass society, mechanization, dysfunctional gender roles and urban living in Cold War Rome.”

Yep. All that, for sure — though as a straightforward movie-watching experience, the film remains less than compelling. However, Vitti and Delon are a beautiful couple to look at:

… and Gianni Di Venanzo’s cinematography is top-notch. Especially noteworthy are the energetic stock trading scenes, filmed with real brokers as extras to add to the verisimilitude.

Note: If you’d like to geek out on the role of architecture in this film, be sure to watch James Macgillvray’s talk.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Fine cinematography


Must See?
No, though most film fanatics will probably be curious to check it out.

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

Links:

La Notte (1961)

La Notte (1961)

“You two have really worn me out tonight.”

Synopsis:
A novelist (Marcello Mastroianni) and his wife (Jeanne Moreau) spend a challenging evening together, including attending a party where Mastroianni flirts with a beautiful young woman (Monica Vitti) and a playboy (Giorgio Negro) pursues Moreau.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Italian Films
  • Jeanne Moreau Films
  • Marcello Mastroianni Films
  • Marital Problems
  • Michelangelo Antonioni Films
  • Monica Vitti Films

Review:
The second of Michelangelo Antonioni’s so-called “alienation trilogy” — after L’Avventura (1960) and before L’Eclisse (1962) — was this similarly (slowly) paced film showing us a day and a night in the lives of a well-to-do couple whose relationship has clearly reached a point of impasse. After visiting their dying friend (Bernard Wicki) in the hospital:

… Mastroianni is briefly seduced by a disturbed young woman (Maria Pia Luzi) down the hall:

… while nonchalant Moreau wanders the streets of Milan, observing life and landscapes around her.

That night, the couple head first to a nightclub, where they watch an erotic dance:

… and then to a party, which takes up the entire second half of the film.


Mastroianni is attracted to the daughter (Vitti) of the party host (Vincenzo Corbella):

… while Moreau allows herself to be distracted by a man (Giorgio Negro) who’s shown interest in her.

As with most other Antonioni films of the period, that just about sums up the narrative. While it’s beautifully shot, this one is only must-see for fans of his work.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Gianni Di Venanzo’s cinematography

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

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

Links: