{"id":93387,"date":"2023-11-30T16:23:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T23:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=93387"},"modified":"2023-11-30T16:23:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T23:23:05","slug":"fixer-the-1968","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=93387","title":{"rendered":"Fixer, The (1968)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Confessing to lies takes a talent I haven&#8217;t got.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Poster-203x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-93388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Poster-203x300.png 203w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Poster-86x128.png 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Poster-182x270.png 182w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Poster.png 634w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen an apolitical, non-religious Jewish handyman (Alan Bates) in Ukraine is wrongly accused of egregious murder, he finds some support from a sympathetic lawyer (Dirk Bogarde) but must face the harsh bigotry of an antisemitic investigator (Ian Holm).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alan Bates Films<\/li>\n<li>Character Arc<\/li>\n<li>David Warner Films<\/li>\n<li>Dirk Bogarde Films<\/li>\n<li>Elizabeth Hartman Films<\/li>\n<li>Falsely Accused<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Hugh Griffith Films<\/li>\n<li>Ian Holm Films<\/li>\n<li>Jews<\/li>\n<li>John Frankenheimer Films<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Prisoners<\/li>\n<li>Racism and Race Relations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nA year before starring in Ken Russell&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=76991\"><em>Women in Love<\/em> (1969)<\/a>, Alan Bates played the title role in this relentlessly depressing &#8212; perhaps it could only be so &#8212; adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Fixer_(novel)\">Bernard Malamud&#8217;s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel<\/a> (directed by John Frankenheimer, with a script by Dalton Trumbo), based on the unjust imprisonment of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Menahem_Mendel_Beilis\">Menahem Mendel Beilis in early-20th-century Russia<\/a>. It was bold of the filmmakers to directly address antisemitism &#8212; and specifically the issue of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blood_libel\">blood libel<\/a> &#8212; so clearly in their film, which doesn&#8217;t shy away from showing how challenging it was to be a Jew (practicing or not) at this time. From the brutal opening pogrom:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Pogrom-Horses.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Pogrom-Horses.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"977\" height=\"723\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-93593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Pogrom-Horses.png 977w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Pogrom-Horses-300x222.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Pogrom-Horses-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Pogrom-Horses-768x568.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Pogrom-Horses-365x270.png 365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 977px) 100vw, 977px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; to Bates being falsely accused of rape by the entitled daughter (Elizabeth Hartman) of his employer: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Hartman.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Hartman.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"975\" height=\"715\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-93594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Hartman.png 975w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Hartman-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Hartman-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Hartman-768x563.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Hartman-368x270.png 368w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; to his imprisonment and torture for a crime he had nothing to do with, we gradually see him developing a stronger sense of political agency and identity. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Later.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Later.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"981\" height=\"727\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-93595\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Later.png 981w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Later-300x222.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Later-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Later-768x569.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Later-364x270.png 364w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 981px) 100vw, 981px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a grueling 2 hours and 20 minutes to sit through, however &#8212; and chances are only fans of Bates (excellent), Bogarde, or the original novel will want to seek it out. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alan Bates as Yakov Bok<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Shackles.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Shackles.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"971\" height=\"713\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-93591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Shackles.png 971w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Shackles-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Shackles-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Shackles-768x564.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bates-Shackles-368x270.png 368w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 971px) 100vw, 971px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Dirk Bogarde as Bibikov<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bogarde.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bogarde.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"997\" height=\"715\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-93590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bogarde.png 997w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bogarde-300x215.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bogarde-128x92.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bogarde-768x551.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Bogarde-376x270.png 376w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 997px) 100vw, 997px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Marcel Grignon&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1023\" height=\"711\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-93592\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Cinematography.png 1023w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Cinematography-300x209.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Cinematography-128x89.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Cinematography-768x534.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fixer-Cinematography-388x270.png 388w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1023px) 100vw, 1023px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s worth a one-time look if you&#8217;re curious. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0062977\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1968\/12\/09\/archives\/screen-the-fixer-put-through-hollywood-millfrankenheimer-directs.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-fixer\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Confessing to lies takes a talent I haven&#8217;t got.&#8221; Synopsis: When an apolitical, non-religious Jewish handyman (Alan Bates) in Ukraine is wrongly accused of egregious murder, he finds some support from a sympathetic lawyer (Dirk Bogarde) but must face the harsh bigotry of an antisemitic investigator (Ian Holm). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Alan Bates Films Character Arc David Warner Films Dirk Bogarde Films Elizabeth Hartman Films Falsely Accused Historical Drama Hugh Griffith Films Ian Holm Films Jews John Frankenheimer&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=93387\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93387"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93599,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93387\/revisions\/93599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}