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Month: February 2007

Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976)

Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976)

“The holes prophets make to see the future are the same ones historians use to look at the past.”

Synopsis:
Former revolutionaries in Switzerland — including a high school teacher (Jacques Denis), a cashier (Miou-Miou), a typesetter-turned-gardener (Jean-Luc Bideau), and a secretary (Myriam Mezieres) — struggle to find meaning in their post-1960s lives.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Comedy
  • Ensemble Films
  • Revolutionaries
  • Swiss Films

Review:
Full of intelligent dialogue, quirky characters, and countless memorable moments, this European forerunner to John Sayles’ The Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980) remains one of Swiss director Alain Tanner’s most enjoyable and accessible films. By the end of the movie, we learn how these diverse characters are all (perhaps inevitably) connected to one another — but the finale seems natural rather than contrived, and takes nothing away from our genuine interest in their personal struggles up till then.

Indeed, one can’t help rooting for these all-too-human characters as they struggle to reconcile their socialist ideals with the reality of life in a capitalist society. Ultimately, Tanner succeeds in portraying the passion and zeal of former revolutionaries without patronizing them — not an easy task.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Denis’ unorthodox yet fascinating high school teaching methods
  • Miou-Miou’s early performance as a subversive cashier who steals food for her elderly neighbor
  • Mezieres as a secretary unabashedly into tantric sex

Must See?
Yes. This remains Tanner’s most enjoyable film, and is recommended.

Categories

  • Important Director

Links:

Black Cat, The (1934)

Black Cat, The (1934)

“The black cat is deathless — deathless as evil!”

Synopsis:>
While honeymooning in Prague, Americans Joan and Peter Allison (David Manners and Julie Bishop) meet strange Dr. Verdegast (Bela Lugosi), who brings them to the home of Satanic architect Hjamlar Poelzig (Boris Karloff). Eventually, the couple realizes that Verdegast and Poelzig are old rivals out to kill each other, and that their own lives are in grave danger as well.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Bela Lugosi Films
  • Black Comedy
  • Boris Karloff Films
  • Cat-and-Mouse
  • Edgar G. Ulmer Films
  • Newlyweds
  • Horror
  • Old Dark House
  • Revenge
  • Satanists

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this “high-camp horror film” — based in name only on Edgar Allan Poe’s short story — features a “delightfully preposterous storyline”, “witty dialogue, fine performances, amusing characters, bizarre sets, inventive direction, and some of the most peculiar scenes in horror-movie history.”

At only 65 minutes long, the story moves quickly, yet is often incoherent — most likely as a result of Universal Studios cutting the film drastically. Nonetheless, the film is so oddly conceived and visually compelling that it’s hard not to watch even when you’re not quite sure what’s going on.

While reviewers at the time of its release were dismissive, today The Black Cat is regarded as pulp director Edgar Ulmer’s masterpiece — and for all its fans (though I’ll admit I’m not one of them), it remains “morbid, tasteless, and lots of fun.”

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Bela Lugosi — in what is considered by many to be his finest role — as Dr. Vitus Werdegast
  • Boris Karloff’s firmly tongue-in-cheek performance as the lisping, strangely coiffed Hjalmar Poelzig (modeled after famed Satanist Aleister Crowley)
  • Spooky, atmospheric cinematography
  • Truly baroque set designs

  • Effective use of classical music in the score

Must See?
Yes. This odd cult film remains B-level director Edgar Ulmer’s finest achievement. Discussed at length in Peary’s Cult Movies 3 (1988).

Categories

  • Cult Movie
  • Important Director

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

Links:

Pumping Iron (1977)

Pumping Iron (1977)

“I was always dreaming about very powerful people — dictators and things like that.”

Synopsis:
After training intensively all year long, bodybuilders Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno battle for the title of Mr. Olympia.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Documentary
  • Masculinity
  • Sports

Response to Peary’s Review:
In his review, Peary is fairly dismissive of this documentary, noting that it was “largely responsible for the growth in body building in this country — reason enough for it to be banned.” These days, of course, the film holds special interest as an early look at California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; it’s genuinely freaky hearing him talk about his dreams of power and “dictatorship”, knowing that he would eventually ascend to one of the most powerful positions in the country. Even more disturbing is witnessing him offering false advice to his competitors simply to give himself more of an edge; yet he’s so charismatic and intelligent we can’t help but root for him. Ultimately, it’s hard not to be fascinated by this inside look at a sports industry which holds dubious appeal but continues to flourish.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • An intriguing glimpse at an earlier era of competitive bodybuilding

Must See?
Yes, as a unique, in-depth look at both the little-understood subculture of bodybuilding, and Schwarzenegger’s pre-Terminator days.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant

Links:

File on Thelma Jordon, The (1950)

File on Thelma Jordon, The (1950)

“Maybe I’m just a dame and didn’t know it!”

Synopsis:
An unhappily married assistant D.A. (Wendell Corey) falls in love with a mysterious woman (Barbara Stanwyck) who shows up in his office one night. When Thelma Jordon (Stanwyck) is put on trial for killing her wealthy aunt (Gertrude Hoffman), Corey does everything he can to save her — but is she really worth the effort?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Barbara Stanwyck Films
  • Courtroom Drama
  • Femmes Fatales
  • Infidelity
  • Mistaken Identities
  • Murder Mystery
  • Robert Siodmak Films
  • Wendell Corey Films

Review:
In a variation on her most famous role (blonde Phyllis Dietrichson in 1944’s Double Indemnity), Barbara Stanwyck stars as a wily femme fatale leading a love-struck nudnik down a thorn-lined path. Yet Jordon is not nearly as duplicitous or evil as Dietrichson; her motives are gray rather than black, and we don’t get the sense that she is a true sociopath. Ironically, it’s this very lack of understanding about what makes Jordon tick that ultimately undoes the film, given that we don’t sympathize with either her dilemma or Corey’s. In addition, we must suffer through several unbearably dated scenes in which Marshall’s sympathetic, beautiful 1950s wife (well-played by Joan Tetzel) forgives her husband for his indiscretions, and basically implies that it wasn’t his fault for straying from their marriage. Nonetheless, while Thelma Jordon isn’t among director Robert Siodmak’s best work, it remains a reasonably enjoyable noir thriller — thanks in large part to the fine performances and atmospheric direction.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Wendell Corey as the love-struck Assistant D.A.
  • Barbara Stanwyck’s strong performance as the deceitful Thelma Jordon
  • Atmospheric direction by noir master Robert Siodmak

Must See?
No, though any fans of noir, Barbara Stanwyck, and/or Robert Siodmak will undoubtedly want to check it out.

Links:

Lost One, The / Der Verlorene (1951)

Lost One, The / Der Verlorene (1951)

“Debts must be paid.”

Synopsis:
A German scientist (Peter Lorre) during WWII murders his fiancee (Renate Mannhardt) when he finds out she has slept with his colleague (Karl John) and leaked information about their work to the Allied forces. He soon finds himself unable to resist killing again, and vows to hunt down John, in order to end the cycle of violence.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Character Studies
  • Flashback Films
  • German Films
  • Nazis
  • Peter Lorre Films
  • Revenge
  • Scientists
  • Serial Killers
  • World War II

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this “very peculiar” movie — Peter Lorre’s sole directorial effort, filmed in Germany — “takes a while to get started” but makes for interesting and provocative viewing. Lorre “combines realism… and expressionism” in what amounts to an “extremely impressive” visual style — evidence of his sadly underused talent. As pointed out by Peary and other reviewers, Lorre’s chain-smoking Dr. Rothe:

— a variation on the many other murderous, neurotic characters he played over the years — could be seen as symbolizing “Germany’s collective guilt during the postwar era”. Just as Hitler brainwashed most Germans into believing they had the moral right to abuse their non-gentile neighbors (eventually culminating in their complicit acceptance of mass genocide), it is the Gestapo’s convenient cover-up of Rothe’s initial impulse-murder which leads him down the slippery slope of increasingly frequent homicidal urges: if one was so easy, why not commit more?

Unfortunately, we never really learn why Rothe feels such impulses to kill; he doesn’t appear to be psychopathic (he’s too guilt-ridden for this), and any “issues” he may hold with women (who are inexplicably drawn to him, again and again) aren’t sufficiently explored. In addition, the film suffers from a rambling narrative which “takes some unnecessary turns” — at one point Rothe “stumbles on the collaborators of a Hitler-assassination plot”, which has nothing to do with the primary story, and simply confuses viewers. Despite these flaws, however, Der Verlorene — unreleased in the United States until 1985 — remains fascinating viewing.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Peter Lorre’s understated yet masterful performance as the guilt-ridden doctor
  • Fine performances by each of the supporting actresses in the cast

  • Karl John as Hosch, Lorre’s dangerously arrogant colleague
  • Atmospheric direction and cinematography

Must See?
Yes. While it’s not a perfect film, The Lost One is evidence of Lorre’s sadly underused talent as a director.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant

Links:

Harp of Burma (1956)

Harp of Burma (1956)

“I cannot leave the bones lying scattered on the hills.”

Synopsis:
At the end of World War II, a Japanese soldier (Shoji Yasui) in Burma is sent to inform another unit that Japan has surrendered; however, the unit refuses to stop fighting, and everyone but Yasui is killed. Devastated, Yasui pretends to be a Buddhist monk and wanders the countryside, burying and paying honor to the dead. In the meantime, his platoon leader (Rentaro Mikuni) conducts an intensive search for the missing soldier.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Character Studies
  • Japanese Films
  • Kon Ichikawa Films
  • Mistaken or Hidden Identities
  • Search
  • Soldiers
  • World War II

Review:
Harp of Burma (also known as The Burmese Harp) was Japanese director Kon Ichikawa’s first successful film in America, and remains one of his most accessible movies to date. After a somewhat hokey beginning — in which we are introduced to a Japanese platoon in the final stages of WWII which sings to keep its spirits up — the story quickly becomes more interesting, as Yasui is plunged into an existential crisis and begins his spiritual journey. At this point, Harp of Burma turns into a character study, with Yasui symbolizing veterans everywhere who must find a way to cope with the impossible reality of random death all around them. Rather than retreating into anger, denial, or masochistic behavior, Yasui chooses a path of healing and reflection; in the meantime, his loyal platoon leader (Mikuni) is obsessed with finding the missing soldier, who has become nearly a mythical figure to his fellow soldiers. Ichikawa thus shows us two divergent, yet equally relevant, approaches to dealing with the chaos and loss of war: Yasui honors the dead (who deserve attention and respect), while Mikuni focuses on preserving the living — who will ultimately be responsible for creating a new, post-war Japan.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Yasui as the harp-playing soldier struggling to make sense of the devastation around him
  • Beautiful cinematography of the war-torn Burmese landscape

  • A powerful and unique depiction of post-war trauma leading to spiritual awakening

Must See?
Yes. Along with Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain (1959), this remains one of the best cinematic reflections on post-war devastation.

Categories

  • Foreign Gem
  • Important Director

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

Links:

Man’s Favorite Sport? (1964)

Man’s Favorite Sport? (1964)

“I’m wondering what it would be like if I kissed you.”

Synopsis:
Bestselling fishing expert Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson) is asked by publicist Abigail Page (Paula Prentiss) to participate in a fishing contest. When Abigail discovers that Roger has never actually been fishing, she gives him private lessons, and finds herself falling hopelessly in love.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Battle of the Sexes
  • Howard Hawks Films
  • Mistaken or Hidden Identities
  • Paula Prentiss Films
  • Rock Hudson Films
  • Romantic Comedy
  • Sports

Review:
Howard Hawks’ final screwball comedy met with tepid reviews upon its release, and remains one of his lesser efforts: the premise is silly, the humor is inconsistent, and there isn’t much chemistry between Hudson and Prentiss. With that said, however, the movie benefits greatly from Prentiss’s energetic performance; indeed, although Peary doesn’t review Man’s Favorite Sport? in GFTFF, he gives it special attention in his Alternate Oscars book, where he votes for Prentiss’s performance as the best by any actress in 1964. Peary notes that Abigail “covers her insecurities by acting aggressively,” and that she “is her own worst enemy” — much like Geena Davis’s Muriel Pritchett in The Accidental Tourist (1988). Indeed, the two tall, lanky brunettes bear more than a passing resemblance to each other, given that Davis has suffered from a similar dearth of appropriate roles. Prentiss unfortunately never really found her niche in Hollywood, but this film remains one her finest on-screen triumphs, and is worth watching for this reason alone.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Prentiss’s performance — she’s always great fun to watch
  • Hudson’s inflatable “waders” exploding underwater
  • Some hilarious overlapping dialogue (Hawks’s trademark)

Must See?
Yes. While it’s uneven, this cult film is redeemed by Prentiss’s stand-out performance, and improves upon repeat viewings.

Categories

  • Cult Movie
  • Important Director
  • Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links:

Chienne, La (1931)

Chienne, La (1931)

“You’re no woman. You’re a bitch. You lick the hand that feeds you — and the hand that beats you, too!”

Synopsis:
A henpecked husband (Michel Simon) falls in love with a deceptive prostitute (Janie Marese) who milks him for money, sells his amateur paintings under her own name, and maintains a clandestine relationship with her pimp boyfriend (Georges Flamant).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Femmes Fatales
  • French Films
  • Henpecked Husbands
  • Infidelity
  • Jean Renoir Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Prostitutes

Review:
Jean Renoir’s second “talkie” film — remade by Fritz Lang in 1945 as Scarlet Street — marked the leading-role debut of jowly Michel Simon. Simon is simply brilliant here, playing a man who can’t seem to win: he’s henpecked by his insufferable wife on one side, cuckolded and plagiarized by his duplicitous lover on the other. Yet despite the fact that Simon seems to be headed straight from the frying pan into the fire — and must ultimately pay dearly for his brief foray into misguided adultery — at least he’s taking control of his life for the first time; we can’t help but watch his downfall with both fascination and pity.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Michel Simon’s memorable performance as the cuckolded, love-struck painter
  • Janie Marese as the duplicitous prostitute who causes Simon’s downfall
  • Creative camera work

Must See?
Yes. This early French version of Scarlet Street is arguably Jean Renoir’s first masterpiece, and remains must-see viewing. Peary lists it in the back of his book as both a Personal Recommendation and a film with historical significance.

Categories

  • Foreign Gem
  • Important Director

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

Links:

Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors (1964)

Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors (1964)

“What love has done to him!”

Synopsis:
After the death of his childhood sweetheart (Larissa Katochnikova), a young peasant in the Carpathian Mountains (Ivan Nikolaichuk) finds it difficult to love his new wife (Tatyana Bestayeva).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Eastern Europe
  • Folk and Fairy Tales
  • Love Triangle
  • Star-Crossed Lovers
  • Village Life

Review:
Armenian director Sergei Paradjanov only made four films in a span of nearly 30 years, yet remains one of the most acclaimed Soviet directors of all time. Based on Ukranian folklore, Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors — Paradjanov’s feature debut — is a rare film which demands repeat viewing in order to appreciate its relentless stream of colorful imagery; scene after scene is dazzling in its cinematic innovation. Known as the “Carpathian ‘Romeo and Juliet’,” Shadows transcends cultural boundaries with its universal trope of tragic romantic loss, yet simultaneously remains firmly grounded within the fascinating minutiae of Eastern European village life. Paradjanov’s later films (such as The Color of Pomegranates, 1968) are equally colorful and evocative, yet ultimately too abstract, and don’t carry nearly as much emotional resonance as Shadows… But if you fall in love with Paradjanov’s visual style, you’re sure to want to see his entire — albeit tragically limited — oeuvre. Click here to read more about his tempestuous life, which included five years in a hard labor camp.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Gorgeous cinematography

  • Ivan’s brother being crushed to death by an enormous tree
  • Ivan’s wedding to Palagna, in which they are ceremonially blindfolded and yoked together
  • The kaleidoscopically-filmed village dance
  • A haunting, evocative soundtrack

Must See?
Yes. This is Paradjanov’s finest, most accessible, movie, and should be seen by all film fanatics at least once.

Categories

  • Foreign Gem
  • Important Director

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

Links:

Docks of New York, The (1928)

Docks of New York, The (1928)

“You coulda saved yourself the trouble an’ let me die.”

Synopsis:
A ship stoker (George Bancroft) saves a depressed prostitute (Betty Compson) from suicide, then marries her on a drunken lark.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • George Bancroft Films
  • Josef Von Sternberg Films
  • New York
  • Prostitutes
  • Romance
  • Sailors
  • Silent Films
  • Suicide
  • Waterfront

Review:
Josef von Sternberg’s whirlwind romantic fable manages to pack an enormous amount of genuine pathos into a story taking place literally overnight. Thanks to sensitive acting by all involved, we quickly grow to care for these characters — particularly the world-weary Compson — and are disappointed when the film ends after only 76 minutes. There’s a refreshing lack of moralizing, thus affording us a much more authentic glimpse of these characters’ lives than would be possible just a few years later during the Hays Code era. Harold Rosson’s atmospheric cinematography of the New York waterfront is a wonder to behold, and adds to the film’s overall appeal.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • George Bancroft as the well-meaning yet fiercely independent sailor (nominated by Peary for an Alternate Oscar as best actor of the year)
  • Olga Baclanova as Compson’s helpful friend
  • Gorgeous black-and-white cinematography

Must See?
Yes. This is a rare silent film which transcends the limitations of its format, and emerges as a surprisingly effective romance.

Categories

  • Important Director

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

Links: