“It’s like I’m always walking around with a full cup of anger, trying not to spill it.”
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Review: Note: According to TCM’s article, “Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’s manager, insisted that the studio insert several songs into the film or it wouldn’t be an Elvis Presley picture”; the songs aren’t bad but don’t quite seem to fit. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Come on, Micki – just one child? A small one?”
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Review: With that enormous (and critical) caveat aside, the screenplay is delightfully wacky and clever. It’s to Edwards’ and screenwriter Jonathan Reynolds’ credit that we maintain an interest and investment in these characters, all of whom are well-written and sympathetic. Meanwhile, fans of farcical comedy sketches will surely enjoy the extended sequences in which Moore must deftly shift between caring for one woman, then the other (in the OB-GYN’s office, and then at the hospital).
The ending is reasonable, if a bit of a let-down — but then again, what other way could this type of situation be resolved? Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Maybe you were adopted.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Peary’s review is an interesting one to read so many years later, after two sequels have been released (the trilogy is now firmly entrenched as a cult favorite) and we’re living in yet another era that would feel somewhat foreign to inhabitants of just a few decades ago. As a time travel flick, Back to the Future holds up really well, despite Peary’s concerns: as many questions as we may have about the ethics and viability of changing our current reality by retroactively impacting the past, it’s easy enough to accept the film on its own narrative terms and simply enjoy the ride. I don’t quite agree with Peary that Glover is merely “the definitive nerd”; in fact, he’s quite convincing and sympathetic as a smart, talented, geeky young sci-fi fan who simply wants to be left alone. And while Lloyd does make “all previous wild-eyed, wild-haired wacko scientists look second-rate”, his over-the-top enthusiasm actually serves as a critical reminder that he’s co-existing in multiple time-spaces and has a different take on the entire situation. Note: I was pleasantly surprised to find and enjoy About Time (2013), a more recent time travel flick that handles its logistics and narrative threads with equal aplomb. It’s well worth a look as well. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“One of these days they’ll be coming for me with a straight jacket.”
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It’s not very hard to look “past director Karel Reisz’s deceptively charming veneer” and “see that Morgan’s fantasies and wild antics are symptomatic of impending personal disaster” — and I’m not someone who will simply “cheer Morgan’s devil-may-care behavior”, or “laugh when Morgan threatens Charles”, or “ignore Leonie’s protests”. As Peary writes, “the most important aspect of this film is not how Morgan tries to win back the woman he loved and lost, but how Leonie deals with the often pathetic advances of a man she loves but can’t be with without destroying herself.” Peary goes on to state that the “picture has lost much of its following because stylistically it is extremely dated”; he argues we’ve “long overdosed on freeze frames, fast-speed photography, insertions of old movies, and juxtaposition of images signifying ‘illusion’ and ‘reality’.” I’m not sure that still holds true; but the repeated insertion of clips from Tarzan Triumphs (1943) and King Kong (1933) — as well as Morgan’s imagining the world around him as a jungle — feel forced. By the time things get fully (and tragically) ridiculous near the end of the movie, and Morgan puts on his full-body gorilla suit, it’s clear the film has gone in directions that will either resonate with viewers or not.
It’s possible that this all played much fresher in the 1960s; but nowadays, one simply feels sad about Morgan’s untreated illness and frustrated at Redgrave for giving him such a long leash. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“It starts to get tense about this time…”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Unless we agree to these terms, the monsters will destroy all of us… Why, this is just like — blackmail!”
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“I’ve tried to stop, but I can’t — I don’t want to!”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Aren’t we able to do anything to save ourselves?”
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… a huge, chicken-like bird that tries to peck away at Rogan (and is similarly roasted and eaten):
… a gigantic bee that seals Rogan and Brown inside a honeycomb cell:
… and more. Indeed, it’s these animated creatures — crafted by Ray Harryhausen — that make the film memorable and beloved by many viewers, but unfortunately, they don’t make much sense within the narrative, and weren’t part of the original novel. With that said, it’s refreshing to see the inclusion of a black actor and character (Jackson) who’s given a reasonably equitable role (at least up until the women arrive):
… and the opening escape sequence — as the prisoners leave their jail in a storm and sail high into the air — is genuinely exciting (see still below). Harryhausen fans will want to check this one out. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“If you’re not tough enough, you’re never going to make it.”
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and goes in narrative directions that must be seen to be believed. However, it’s all convincing enough if you’re willing to get drawn into the lure of its fairy tale charm. Indeed, this remains a sufficiently enduring story that it was remade by the same director (Donald Wrye) in 2010 — a version I haven’t seen. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“The same thing keeps happening in all these towns.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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