Altered States (1980)

Altered States (1980)

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“There’s a physiological pathway to our earlier consciousnesses. There has to be.”

Synopsis:
In search of the Ultimate Truth, a determined psychiatrist (William Hurt) takes hallucinatory drugs and undergoes sensory deprivation — but when he starts experiencing physiological changes, his wife (Blair Brown) and colleagues (Bob Balaban and Charles Haid) begin to fear for his safety.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Ken Russell Films
  • Mad Doctors and Scientists
  • Marital Problems
  • Multiple Personalities
  • Science Fiction
  • William Hurt Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary accurately labels this surreal, mind-bending cult favorite by director Ken Russell — based on a novel by Paddy Chayefsky — a “Jekyll-and-Hyde variation” which “takes viewers on [an] ambitious, if hokey, exploration of man’s origins” and “advances [the] intriguing theory that there can be genetic change if one’s consciousness is manipulated”. Through foolhardy experimentation with hallucinatory drugs and sensory deprivation — Chayefsky’s story was purportedly inspired by “John Lilly’s mind-expansion experiments in the mid-sixties” — Hurt’s Dr. Jessup actually turns into a primitive apeman (played by dancer Miguel Godreau) and eventually regresses into an “embryonic state”. Given this fascinating sci-fi/horror premise, it’s too bad that “towards the end, the storyline drops several intellectual planes” and is content with making “simplistic points” about the nature of Truth and Life. Without giving away spoilers (like Peary does), suffice it to say that the film “unfortunately avoids controversy” with an overly pat ending that is perhaps meant to appeal to mass audiences, but will likely alienate the type of viewers most drawn towards this type of heady material.

Peary does point out, however, that “there is much that is noteworthy” in the film — including its “blasting soundtrack” (which “won the picture an Oscar”), special effects by Bran Ferren (which Peary argues are “often ill-chosen but dynamic”, though I found them appropriately surreal throughout), and the “remarkable make-up work” of “the legendary Dick Smith” (who worked on, among many other titles, The Exorcist and Scanners — click here for his website). Peary notes that Russell “keeps things under surprising control for a change”, and does wonders with Chayefsky’s “overwritten script”; in his more detailed analysis of the film for his Cult Movies 2 book, Peary explains that Russell “solved much of [Chayefsky’s] overwritten dialogue problem by having his actors talk so quickly that lines that would make no sense to the average viewer anyway are lost” — a technique which works remarkably well, and actually helps to impress upon us the essential fact that “the characters are loquacious about erudite subjects”. As Peary notes, the fine ensemble cast “are all believable, and smooth, as they deliver intellectual diatribes” (with Blair particularly noteworthy in what could have been a somewhat thankless role). Despite its flaws, then, film fanatics will surely want to check out this audacious, visually evocative, finely acted headtrip at least once.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • William Hurt as Eddie Jessup
  • Blair Brown as Emily Jessup
  • Bob Balaban and Charles Haid as Eddie’s colleagues
  • Memorable hallucinatory imagery
  • Dick Smith’s makeup
  • John Corigliani’s Oscar-nominated score

Must See?
Yes, as a cult favorite by a famed director.

Categories

  • Cult Movie
  • Important Director

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Hans Christian Andersen (1952)

Hans Christian Andersen (1952)

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“That’s the nice thing about the world, my friend: people.”

Synopsis:
A storytelling cobbler named Hans Christian Andersen (Danny Kaye) falls in love with a ballerina (Jeanmarie) he believes is being abused by her domineering husband (Farley Granger).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Ballet
  • Biopics
  • Danny Kaye Films
  • Farley Granger Films
  • John Qualen Films
  • Musicals
  • Obsessive Love

Review:
I was pleasantly surprised to find that this popular Danny Kaye vehicle — one of three titles (along with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Court Jester) he’s most closely associated with today — has retained much of its charm. Kaye is remarkably convincing playing the famed “pied piper” of storytelling, a dream-filled cobbler with the ability to lure children and adults alike (including us) into his fantasy realm. He brings just the right level of childlike whimsy and romantic yearning to the proceedings — which, we’re immediately informed, are “not the story of [Andersen’s] life, but a fairy tale about the great spinner of fairy tales.” Indeed, the first half hour of the film is its most magical, as we witness (courtesy of Moss Hart’s clever screenplay) Andersen’s incomparable gift with turning the merest morsel of an idea into a touching fable — with music, no less! To that end, Frank Loesser’s score is delightful, full of many catchy tunes. My favorite is probably “The King’s New Clothes” (a tongue-twisting marvel which Kaye handles with his typical finesse), but “Thumbelina”, “Inchworm”, and “Ugly Duckling” are equally memorable — and I challenge you not to find yourself humming “I’m Hans Christian Andersen” before the film is through.

Unfortunately, the film becomes somewhat notoriously bogged down by its central subplot, in which Andersen — presumably a romantic neophyte — develops an obsessive crush on a beautiful ballerina (Jeanmarie) who he believes is being sorely mistreated by her ruthless manager/husband (played by Farley Granger, who apparently hated being forced to do this role).

The key scene Andersen witnesses — in which Granger mercilessly chastises Jeanmarie’s performance, and the two actually exchange physical blows — smacks weirdly of sado-masochism, given that the two clearly have an “understanding” with one another, and are still just as much in love as ever after their “encounter” (something Andersen fails to learn until much later on, naturally). With that said, it makes sense that Andersen would fall for a fairy-tale version of a woman rather than the complex adult herself — so perhaps this subplot isn’t quite as egregious as many critics have claimed.

Note: It’s distressing and a bit of a let-down to know that Kaye himself was very un-Andersen-like on the set of the film. According to TCM’s article, he was “repeatedly frustrated” with Jeanmarie’s “struggling grasp of English”, ran hot and cold in his friendliness towards Granger, and “became so petulant about the costumes that he wailed to Granger, ‘How come you get to wear all these beautiful clothes and I have to wear rags?'”

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Danny Kaye as Hans Christian Andersen
  • Many delightful songs
  • Fine sets and costumes
  • Moss Hart’s often-clever screenplay:

    “You’d be surprised how many kings are only a queen with a mustache.”

Must See?
No, though it’s recommended, and certainly must-see for Kaye fans.

Links:

Kid From Brooklyn, The (1946)

Kid From Brooklyn, The (1946)

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“What a wit, what a clown — what a fighter!”

Synopsis:
When a bumbling milkman (Danny Kaye) accidentally knocks out a prize fighter (Steve Cochran), he becomes an overnight media sensation, and soon finds himself taken advantage of by an unscrupulous manager (Walter Abel).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Boxing
  • Corruption
  • Danny Kaye Films
  • Musicals
  • Virginia Mayo Films

Review:
This remake of Harold Lloyd’s classic talkie The Milky Way (1936) was clearly designed as a prime vehicle for Danny Kaye — and as such, fans of his are sure to enjoy it. Kaye acquits himself well, showing off plenty of humorously deft “boxing” maneuvers, and making the most of his character’s transformation from mild-mannered milkman to arrogant would-be boxing champion. But director Norman McLeod doesn’t possess quite the same gift for comedic timing as The Milky Way‘s Leo McCarey; watching the two films neck-to-neck (as I did) makes this disparity abundantly clear. The Kid From Brooklyn does possess one infamous “claim to fame”: in a bit of near-tragic cinema lore, Goldwyn ordered all copies of Lloyd’s original film to be destroyed (presumably because the two films are almost identical). Fortunately, Lloyd had his own preserved copy, so it survived — and film fanatics now have the opportunity to choose between the two.

Note: Despite her best efforts, Virginia Mayo — playing Kaye’s unassuming romantic interest, Polly Pringle — simply isn’t as believable in this role as her earlier counterpart (Dorothy Wilson). She does get to wear some lovely gowns, though, so watch for those.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Danny Kaye’s nimble “boxing” maneuvers
  • The surreal opening musical sequence
  • Miles White’s lovely gowns

Must See?
No; this one is only must-see viewing for Danny Kaye fans. Check out the original instead.

Links:

Milky Way, The (1936)

Milky Way, The (1936)

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“I’m just as surprised as you are — I could swear I missed him!”

Synopsis:
When a timid milkman (Harold Lloyd) accidentally knocks out a prize fighter (William Gargan), a corrupt manager (Adolph Menjou) hires him for a series of fixed fights, and he soon develops an enormous ego — much to the distress of his new girlfriend (Dorothy Wilson) and his sister (Helen Mack).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Adolph Menjou Films
  • Boxing
  • Corruption
  • Harold Lloyd Films
  • Leo McCarey Films
  • Play Adaptations

Review:
Widely considered the best of Harold Lloyd’s talkies, this enjoyable adaptation of Lynn Root and Harry Clork’s Broadway play offers Lloyd a plum opportunity to further milk (sorry) his iconic comedic persona as a bespectacled, “resourceful, success-seeking go-getter”. The storyline is rather silly, but it does allow us to watch Lloyd engaging in plenty of delightful pseudo-boxing — including a classic scene in which he teaches said moves to an enthused society woman (Marjorie Gateson). Dorothy Wilson is appropriately sweet and unassuming as Lloyd’s new girlfriend, and Adolph Menjou is perfectly cast as Lloyd’s sleazy new manager. Somewhat notoriously, The Milky Way almost didn’t survive for modern audiences to enjoy: when producer Samuel Goldwyn decided to remake the film with Danny Kaye in 1946 (as The Kid From Brooklyn), he ordered all negatives of the original to be burned; fortunately, Lloyd had his own pristine copy squirreled away, and the rest is history.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Harold Lloyd as Burleigh Sullivan
  • Burleigh teaching a society woman how to “dance” in the ring

Must See?
No, but it’s certainly recommended, and a definite must for Lloyd fans.

Links:

Landlord, The (1970)

Landlord, The (1970)

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“I just don’t understand your sudden interest in those kind of people.”

Synopsis:
A wealthy white man (Beau Bridges) purchases a rundown tenement in Brooklyn, intending to convert it into a ritzy apartment — but soon he finds himself deeply enmeshed in the lives of his black tenants, and his plans begin to shift.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • African-Americans
  • Beau Bridges Films
  • Class Relations
  • Coming of Age
  • Cross-Cultural Romance
  • Hal Ashby Films
  • Lee Grant Films
  • Race Relations
  • Satires and Spoofs

Review:
Before being asked to helm the cult hit Harold and Maude (1971), Hal Ashby made his directorial debut with this irreverent, hard-hitting satire about race and class relations in New York City. Centering on its titular protagonist’s belated “coming of age” at 29 years old (and his growing social consciousness), it boldly explores the tensions inherent in gentrification. Much like Bud Cort’s Harold, Bridges’ Elgar Enders is a baby-faced, overly protected man-boy from a wealthy family who longs for independence from his domineering mother — played here by Lee Grant, giving a fearless performance as a bigoted shrew (she was rightfully nominated as Best Supporting Actress). Subplots involve Elgar’s romance with a light-skinned dancer (Marki Bey), and his drunken one-night-stand with a tenant (Diana Sands), which propels the film towards its increasingly dark denouement. While Ashby can’t quite seem to figure out the right tone for the film — it veers wildly from satire to drama and back again — he should be applauded for daring to tackle such challenging issues his first time behind the camera.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Beau Bridges as Elgar Enders
  • Lee Grant as Elgar’s mom
  • Diana Sands as Francine
  • A refreshingly blunt look at racial tensions
  • Creative editing

Must See?
No, but it’s strongly recommended.

Links:

Harold and Maude (1971)

Harold and Maude (1971)

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“Tell me about yourself. What do you do when you aren’t visiting funerals?”

Synopsis:
The depressed grown son (Bud Cort) of an overbearing mother (Vivian Pickles) meets a vivacious older woman (Ruth Gordon) and falls in love.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Black Comedy
  • Bud Cort Films
  • Death and Dying
  • Hal Ashby Films
  • May-December Romance
  • Misfits
  • Nonconformists
  • Ruth Gordon Films
  • Suicide

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this black comedy by director Hal Ashby remains “one of the most popular of all cult movies” — one which, unlike King of Hearts (another counter-culture hit of the era), actually “holds up quite well today”. Peary argues that it possesses an “uplifting quality, a breeziness, a spark, [and] a wonderful sense of successful rebellion that more than compensates for first-time screenwriter Colin Higgins’s self-indulgences, puerile moments, and misdirected flights of fancy”. When I first saw Harold and Maude as a teenager, it hit me in just the right way: I could relate (along with so many others) to Harold’s sense of repression, and was truly taken with the film’s uniquely perverse sense of black humor; each of Harold’s infamous “faux suicide” attempts — and his mother’s utterly nonchalant responses to them — took me by giddy surprise. Meanwhile, I remember being genuinely inspired by the “simple things” Maude teaches Harold: “not to back away from life, to be an individual, to experiment, to take chances, and to sing and dance and play music”.

Watching it again years later, I’m much more aware of the script’s heavy-handed faults, yet there’s still much here to take delight in. Cort and Gordon are perfectly cast as cinema’s most enduring odd couple, epitomizing a “May-December romance” taken to chronological extremes (Gordon’s 80-year-old character could actually be 20-year-old Cort’s great-grandmother — just chew on that one for a while). The suicide attempts remain clever and often laugh-out-loud funny; my particular favorite has Harold committing elaborate hara-kiri in front of his third blind date, an aspiring actress named Sunshine (Ellen Geer) who — rather than reacting with horror like her predecessors — shrieks with delight and proceeds to join Harold in his dramatics (though I wish the scene went on for a bit longer — I’d like to know what happened next!). And it’s true, as Peary notes, that there are “touching glimpses” throughout the film which reveal the shadow-side of Maude’s exuberance for life — though along with many others, I find the film’s surprising ending a bit “infuriating”, and am not quite sure I agree with Peary that it “makes sense”.

P.S. In both his GFTFF and Cult Movies reviews of the film, Peary makes an interesting comparison between Harold and Maude and Val Lewton’s Curse of the Cat People, noting the parallels between Ruth Gordon and Simone Simon, who becomes “an unhappy little girl’s imaginary playmate, her one friend, until the girl can turn elsewhere”.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Bud Cort as Harold
  • Ruth Gordon as Maude (Peary nominates her as best actress of the year in his Alternate Oscars)
  • Vivian Pickles as Harold’s mom
  • Harold’s faux suicide attempts
  • Cat Stevens’ “terrific, cheery” score

Must See?
Yes, as a genuine cult favorite.

Categories

  • Cult Movie

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

Links:

Heartbreak Kid, The (1972)

Heartbreak Kid, The (1972)

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“I married a grouch!”

Synopsis:
A newlywed (Charles Grodin) falls in love with a gorgeous blonde (Cybill Shepherd) he meets on his honeymoon, and suddenly realizes he should never have married his wife (Jeannie Berlin).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Black Comedy
  • Cross-Class Romance
  • Cybill Shepherd Films
  • Eddie Albert Films
  • Elaine May Films
  • Marital Problems
  • Neil Simon Films
  • Newlyweds

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary begins his review of The Heartbreak Kid — director Elaine May’s second feature film — by noting the “interesting phenomenon” of “Jewish boys from the East [who] may end up marrying Jewish girls from the East” but “invariably get wild crushes on blond Midwest WASPs” — exactly the scenario played out in this wickedly funny black comedy, scripted by Neil Simon and based on the short story “A Change of Plan” by Bruce Jay Friedman. As we watch this “series of short skits strung together, in which Grodin somehow manages again and again to talk, through prime BS, a bad situation into his favor”, we do indeed “shake our heads because we can’t believe he has the gall to say what we’re hearing, or [to be] so tactless and insensitive, or… to get away with what he does”.

Indeed, it’s deeply discomfiting to find oneself laughing at Grodin’s bald-faced deceit towards his hapless wife, who becomes trapped in the ultimate living nightmare during what should be the happiest time of her life. Nonetheless, the film is so full of “hilarious, sharply satirical scenes” — Berlin irritating Grodin by drawing circles on his chest; Berlin smearing egg salad all over her face; Grodin waxing enthusiastic about the humble pleasures of midwestern food — that we can’t help remaining glued to the screen, curious to know what will happen next to our determined anti-hero. Deftly directed by May, and wonderfully acted by the “superb cast” — including Jeannie Berlin in what should have been a career-defining role (what happened?), Eddie Albert in a priceless performance as Kelly’s WASPy father (who solemnly asserts he wouldn’t approve of Grodin “if you tied me to a horse and dragged me forty miles by my tongue”), and Audra Lindley as Kelly’s “easily impressed mother” (watch her quietly hilarious silent reactions).

Note: The parallels between this and May’s feature debut, A New Leaf (1971), are startlingly clear: Grodin’s Lenny Cantrow and Walter Matthau’s Henry Graham are both arrogant, self-centered men who make life miserable for their new wives (Jeannie Berlin and Elaine May, respectively) — both of whom are sloppy, mildly irritating, but ultimately utterly endearing to audiences. Knowing Berlin is May’s real-life daughter makes the parallels even eerier.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Charles Grodin as Lenny
  • Jeannie Berlin as Lila
  • Eddie Albert as Kelly’s disapproving father
  • Audra Lindley as Kelly’s mother
  • Many humorously memorable scenes

  • Neil Simon’s dark but often hilarious screenplay:

    “There is no deceit in the cauliflower.”

Must See?
Yes, as a disturbingly provocative dark comedy.

Categories

  • Good Show

Links:

Zazie / Zazie dans le Metro (1960)

Zazie / Zazie dans le Metro (1960)

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“All Paris is a dream; Zazie is a reverie.”

Synopsis:
A young girl (Catherine Demongeot) visiting her aunt (Carla Marlier) and uncle (Philippe Noiret) in Paris runs away to explore the city.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Black Comedy
  • French Films
  • Louis Malle Films
  • Runaways

Review:
It’s difficult to describe just how uniquely surreal Louis Malle’s adaptation of Raymond Queneau’s 1959 novel really is. Dubbed “an elaborate French exercise in cinematic Dadaism” by Bosley Crowther of the New York Times, it’s both deliciously mindbending and seemingly random; if it weren’t based on a novel, one would accuse Malle of relying on (possibly drug-induced) free association as the basis for his script. Indeed, it’s literally impossible to absorb every moment of this story in one viewing — and you may very well feel giddily exhausted by the end of your attempt to keep up with both Zazie and Malle (whose other films give little indication of the radical parameters he sets for himself here). Malle’s cinematic bag of tricks seemingly knows no boundaries, as he speeds up his camera and then slows down again, utilizes jump-cuts, and generally messes as much as he can with the viewer’s sense of continuity and rationality.

To provide an example: in just one 25-second section of a delightfully lengthy chase scene between Zazie and a policeman named Trouscaillon (Vittorio Caprioli), Zazie pours a glass of water over Trouscaillon’s head, which he promptly spouts out of his mouth like a fish. Zazie then jumps down the stairs and hides in a metal pail, which Trouscaillon sits down on. He hears rattling inside, and when he opens the lid, he sees that Zazie has transformed into a black cat. He leaps up in surprise and is suddenly found standing on the banister of a marble stairway, reeling Zazie in with a fishing pole. When Zazie reappears on-screen, she’s played by an elderly woman wearing the same orange shirt and gray skirt. This “older Zazie” slaps Trouscaillon, and their chase continues, with the original Zazie now back on-screen. And so it goes.

Zazie herself is an incomparably precocious and delightfully salty protagonist. As played by Demongeot (who apparently never pursued an adult acting career), she’s fearless in her encounters with the lewd and/or sexually confused adults she’s surrounded by — including her uncle (the always wonderful Philippe Noiret) and creepy Caprioli (who reminds me of Stanley Tucci). Meanwhile, another of the many delights offered by the film is its time-capsule view of Paris: made the same year as Godard’s Breathless, it provides a heady visual counterpart to that fabled vision of the city, shown here in vibrant colors rather than in stark b&w. Though Zazie is repeatedly foiled in her attempts to see the Metro (whose employees are on strike), her experiences in the rest of the city — including, naturally, the Eiffel Tower — are a treat to partake in.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Catherine Demongeot as Zazie
  • Philippe Noiret as Uncle Gabriel
  • Simple but effective special effects
  • Wonderful use of authentic Paris locales
  • Creative direction
  • Countless surreal moments

  • Amusing word play, very creatively translated into English: “Damngodit!”

Must See?
Yes, as an entirely unique New Wave masterpiece. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

  • Foreign Gem
  • Historically Relevant
  • Important Director

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I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

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“She had youth, looks, a good figure. What more do you want?

Synopsis:
When an aspiring model (Carole Landis) is killed, her sister (Betty Grable) and her agent (Victor Mature) are questioned by a menacing police detective (Laird Cregar); meanwhile, they try to solve the murder mystery, and find themselves falling in love.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Amateur Sleuths
  • Aspiring Stars
  • Betty Grable Films
  • Carole Landis Films
  • Detectives and Private Eyes
  • Elisha Cook Jr. Films
  • Flashback Films
  • Laird Cregar Films
  • Murder Mystery
  • Obsessive Love
  • Victor Mature Films

Review:
I Wake Up Screaming remains a minor but intriguing mid-century American noir for two central reasons. First and most importantly, it’s a truly stunning visual treat: director H. Bruce Humberstone and cinematographer Edward Cronjager effectively transform a rather “prosaic melodrama into a highly influential exercise in sculpted lighting”, one so full of strategic contrasts and stylized imagery that its atmosphere is practically palpable. See stills below for just a few representative examples.

Second, the film is memorable for a creepy supporting performance by the solid (literally) character actor Laird Cregar:

— perfectly cast here as a menacing police detective who lurks around every street corner, shows up unannounced in suspects’ apartments, and mutters with deadpan certainty in response to Grable’s rhetorical question:

Grable: “What’s the good of living without hope?”
Cregar: “It can be done.”

We believe him instantly. Meanwhile, Mature and Grable are solid romantic sleuthing leads:

and Landis (check IMDb for more on her tragic personal story) is effective as the aspiring starlet who propels the entire story into motion.

Listen for interesting use of “Over the Rainbow” as Grable’s theme song (!).

Note: The film’s original title — until close to its release — was Hot Spot, hence the alternate title on the movie poster included in this review. The last-minute switch in names is unfortunate, since no character ever “wakes up screaming” in the film, and this title leads one to believe it’s a horror film rather than noir.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Laird Cregar as Detective Cornell
  • Stunning noir cinematography


  • Plenty of enjoyable one-liners:

    “Why should I go on slinging hash when I can sling other things?”
    “I wouldn’t be in your shoes for all the gold in Kentucky.”
    “Must be a great life — like a garbage man, only with people.”

Must See?
Yes, simply for its stunning noir visuals and for Cregar’s performance.

Categories

  • Noteworthy Performance(s)
  • Representative Film

Links:

Mixed Blood (1984)

Mixed Blood (1984)

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“You must always do what your mother tells you, you hear? Always.”

Synopsis:
The leader (Marilia Pera) of a Brazilian drug gang is disturbed when her dim-witted son (Richard Ulacia) falls for the girlfriend (Linda Kerridge) of her supplier (Ulrich Berr); meanwhile, tensions with a rival Latino gang continue to escalate.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Drug Dealers
  • Gangs
  • Grown Children
  • New York City
  • Paul Morrissey Films
  • Rivalry

Response to Peary’s Review:
In his review of this darkly satirical gangland drama by writer/director Paul Morrissey — which he refers to as “unusual, to say the least” — Peary analyzes it as a “weird variation on The Godfather,” and conducts a point-by-point comparison of the two films. He notes, for instance, that “again we have a territorial war between crime ‘families’; again the warriors sleep on mattresses on the floor”, etc. It’s an interesting set of associations — but the obvious difference between the two films is that The Godfather endures as an iconic classic of cinema, while Mixed Blood will likely only be of interest to fans of Morrissey’s eclectic oeuvre — or those curious to see Marilia Pera (so effective as a prostitute in 1981’s Pixote) in a truly unique lead performance. Playing a “middle-aged, eccentric gypsy… who sings Carmen Miranda songs”, her presence is never anything other than intriguing; listen to her strange line delivery, for instance, as she talks about how many funerals she’s had to endure over the years.

As Peary notes, while the “extreme violence” of the film can be off-putting, the “exaggerated gore and bizarre situations” help to mediate this somewhat. Indeed, Mixed Blood is an odd mixture of time-capsule realism — one scene actually takes place in a store dedicated exclusively to Menudo memorabilia! — and satire (note the drug-dealing scene, which shows purchases being made at a the equivalent of a lemonade stand). Peary argues that while the film “doesn’t always work”, it’s “exciting and funny, in unusual ways” — a sentiment I can’t quite agree with, though I’ll agree it’s worth a one-time look for Pera alone.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Marilia Pera as Rita La Puenta
  • Effectively seedy location shooting throughout “Alphabet City”
  • An interesting time-capsule glimpse of 1980s New York

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look simply for Pera’s performance.

Links: