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Month: September 2023

Negatives (1968)

Negatives (1968)

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“You’re as perverted as she is.”

Synopsis:
When a meek antiques shop owner (Peter McEnery) and his shrewish wife (Glenda Jackson) meet a bold German photographer (Diane Cilento), their odd marriage gets even stranger.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Glenda Jackson Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Marital Problems
  • S&M

Review:
Just before her breakthrough role in Women in Love (1969), Glenda Jackson co-starred in this directorial debut by Peter Medak, an odd marital thriller based on a 1961 novel by Peter Everett. Jackson’s screen-husband (McEnery) is likely most recognizable to GFTFF fans as the titular character in Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970), while odd Cilento is best known for her Oscar-nominated supporting performance in Tom Jones (1963), as a boarding house manager in Hombre (1967), and as a librarian in The Wicker Man (1973). From the opening scenes, we can tell that Jackson and McEnery’s marriage is a decidedly unusual one: he dresses up as the Edwardian wife-killer Hawley Harvey Crippen (who I’ll admit to not having heard of before):

… though it turns out his wife is really the driving force behind this kink.

Suddenly another woman (Cilento) comes into the picture, seemingly as a sexual distraction for McEnery:

… though that’s ultimately debatable, as are most of the twists and turns along the way. By the times get undeniably weird:

… we’ve almost stopped wondering what logic lies behind any of it. To the film’s credit, it held my attention throughout — but that doesn’t necessarily mean it coheres.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Ken Hodges’ cinematography

Must See?
No, but it’s worth a one-time look if you’re curious. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Custer of the West (1967)

Custer of the West (1967)

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“Dead men make better legends.”

Synopsis:
After the end of the Civil War, General Sheridan (Lawrence Tierney) sends General Custer (Robert Shaw) to take over the Western Cavalary, where he eventually becomes involved in a fight-to-the-death against Indian warrior Dull Knife (Kieron Moore).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Biopics
  • Historical Drama
  • Lawrence Tierney Films
  • Military
  • Native Americans
  • Robert Ryan Films
  • Robert Shaw Films
  • Robert Siodmak Films
  • Westerns

Review:
Robert Siodmak directed and Philip Yordan produced this highly fictionalized western — shot entirely in Spain on 70mm film, with British actor Shaw in the lead — about General George Armstrong Custer.

Unfortunately, Shaw can’t seem to keep his accent under control; it’s distracting hearing him shift in and out of sounding reasonably American. Even worse, most of the storyline is a mess: we don’t really get a sense of who Custer was (from this cinematic depiction) other than that he was a teetotaler (until suddenly he… wasn’t?), a commander with no compunction about driving his soldiers to the ground from exhaustion:

… and generally disliked by his top men, Major Marcus Reno (Ty Hardin) and Captain Benteen (Jeffrey Hunter). Benteen is meant to be the voice of reason about how badly the Native Americans have been treated:

… but then at one point Shaw suddenly stands up for them in front of Congress (who we don’t see; apparently none of the $4 million budget was spent on this scene).

To that end, random parts of the script are refreshingly progressive: “There is not an Indian problem; there is only a White problem,” Custer tells Congress, calling out the corruption he knows exists (and ultimately paying dearly for this). His relationship with his loyal wife (Ure) is sweet:

… though she’s barely given anything to do other than literally serve him; and Tierney is fine as General Sheridan, a military figure who I didn’t know much about until reading up on him, but who had quite the storied career.

Meanwhile, as DVD Savant writes:

The most embarrassing part of the movie are the “Cinerama” episodes confected to show off the widescreen dynamics of the Ultra-Wide Super Technirama 70 format. Railroad cars are set rolling by themselves, a wagon runs wild down a road without any brakes, and a lumberjack escapes down an endless wooden water logging chute. Whenever these scenes hit, the story stops dead for minutes at at time, to allow for repetitive POV shots of blurry scenery whizzing past.

The film’s most impressive feature by far is the often-effective use of a widescreen landscape to show off the vastness of the West.

Note: Robert Ryan has an extended cameo in an entirely unnecessary bit about a gold seeking deserter.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Fine cinematography

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

Links:

Big Wednesday (1978)

Big Wednesday (1978)

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“Nobody surfs forever.”

Synopsis:
Three surfing buddies — Matt (Jan-Michael Vincent), Leroy the Masochist (Gary Busey), and Jack (William Katt) — reflect back on their idyllic teen years, dodging (or entering) the draft, and growing into young adulthood.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Barbara Hale Films
  • Coming of Age
  • Friendship
  • Gary Busey Films
  • Surfers

Review:
Writer-director John Milius — perhaps best known as screenwriter for Apocalypse Now (1979) and director of Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Red Dawn (1984) — helmed this semi-autobiographical paean to surfing and White-male coming-of-age during the 1960s. Apparently George Lucas and Steven Spielberg thought this flick would be “the American Graffiti of surfing films”:

… but it was a box office flop; indeed, I was interested but not surprised to read this bit of trivia on IMDb:

Warner Bros. initially budgeted $5,000,000 for this film, but production costs went way over that figure, finally costing the studio $11,000,000. Anthea Sylbert, an executive at Warner Bros. at the time, in an interview in the 30 August 1981 edition of the Boston Globe newspaper, said the film was “…a classic example of an egomaniacal man going over budget and not listening to anyone.”

Watching it now, it’s easy to see why only some viewers — i.e., surfing lovers — would find it appealing, since these scenes are (minimally) what keep it afloat, so to speak.

The only half-way interesting sequences are those set in the draft office, which presumably represent how chaotic this scene was.

Otherwise, there is really nothing to enjoy or appreciate about these boring characters and the exceedingly lame dialogue: “Who knows where the wind comes from; is it the breath of God?”

Note: Barbara Hale had the dubious notoriety of appearing here in her final film role, playing mother to her own (real-life) son.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Bruce Surtees’ cinematography

Must See?
Nope; this one is strictly must-see for surfing enthusiasts. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Comes a Horseman (1978)

Comes a Horseman (1978)

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“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)

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“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)

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“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 her 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)

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“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)

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“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)

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“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:

  • Art Carney Films
  • 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)

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“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 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: