FilmFanatic.org

Synopsis:
Two misfits (Karen Black and Michael Emil) find love in New York City.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Character Studies
• Misfits
• New York City
• Romantic Comedy

Review:
Not a whole lot happens in Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?, an unusual, character-driven love story by independent filmmaker Henry Jaglom. Yet we can’t help getting caught up in the lives of Zee (Black) and Eli (Emil), who personify every misfit we’ve ever known — indeed, there’s something immensely satisfying about watching even these strangest of folks finding someone to love. Jaglom makes good use of New York City locales, and there are several unexpectedly fine moments — including one with a pigeon, and one in which Black (who has a lovely voice) sings the blues.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Karen Black as the abandoned wife who finds love unexpectedly
  
• Michael Emil as Black’s love interest
  
• Black singing the blues
  

Must See?
Yes. This quirky Henry Jaglom film — while not for every taste — is an excellent introduction to his early work. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

• Important Director

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Fulvue Drive-In Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
Two rival pianists (Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving) fall in love while rehearsing for a competition in San Francisco.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Amy Irving Films
• Aspiring Stars
• Lee Remick Films
• Mentors
• Musicians
• Richard Dreyfuss Films<
• Rivalry
• Romance

Review:
The Competition tackles an interesting and provocative question: is it possible for rivals to carry out a successful romance? As someone who studied classical music for several years, I can vouch for the authenticity of the dilemma facing these two young musical hopefuls, who find themselves torn between mutual admiration, genuine attraction, and intense rivalry. Director Joel Oliansky doesn’t try to provide pat answers to this dilemma; and while Dreyfuss’s petulant behavior towards Irving may be difficult to watch, it’s realistic. Unfortunately, however, the film is marred by constant forays into the lives of the other competitors — most notably a Russian student who must deal with her teacher defecting to the West (surely included for its political timeliness rather than any other reason). These subplots distract us from the film’s primary characters, who should have remained the sole focus.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Richard Dreyfuss as Paul
  
• Amy Irving as Heidi
  
• Lee Remick as Irving’s piano teacher
  
• Plenty of beautiful piano music, well “performed” by Dreyfuss and Irving (who trained for four months for their roles)
  

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended for classical music fans.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
Two American surfers (Michael Hynson and Robert August) travel the world in search of the “perfect wave”.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Documentary
• Sports
• Surfers

Review:
Bruce Brown’s 16 mm documentary about surfing the world’s waves is, as noted in TCM’s article, little more than a glorified home video. Nonetheless, it received reasonable reviews upon its release, and, despite the hokey narration by Brown, has developed a nostalgic cult following over the years. Naturally, there’s lots of footage of the surfers out on the waves, which can get tedious if you’re not a fan — but if you’re going to see one documentary about this hugely popular sport, this should be it.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• An often amusing time-capsule glimpse at one of the world’s most popular water sports
  
• Brown’s unintentionally campy narration

Must See?
Yes. This cult documentary should be seen by all film fanatics.

Categories

• Cult Movie
• Historically Relevant

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TCM Article

Synopsis:
When soldiers return home after World War II, women doing vital work in factories are asked to leave.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Documentary
• Feminism and Women’s Issues
• Propaganda
• World War II

Review:
Countless documentaries have been made about World War II — especially since the debut of the History Channel on cable — but Connie Field’s The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter remains unique. Filmed at a time when many former “Rosies” were still alive and able to remember their experiences during the war, Riveter showcases first-hand interviews with women who experienced both a unique opportunity to learn “men’s work”, and a devastating loss of empowerment soon thereafter. Field is especially adept at showing how the American propaganda machine churned out rhetoric meant to make women feel guilty during the war if they didn’t contribute to the workforce, and guilty afterwards if they hoped to keep the jobs they’d grown to enjoy.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Judicious use of both archival footage and contemporary interviews
  
  
  

Must See?
Yes, simply for its importance as a valuable cultural document.

Categories

• Historically Relevant

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Time Out Capsule Review
• Official Movie Site

Synopsis:
Thor Heyerdahl and his crew sail across the Pacific Ocean on a wooden raft, hoping to prove that Peruvian Indians may once have settled in the Polynesian Islands.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• At Sea
• Documentary
• Scientists

Review:
This Oscar-winning documentary — constructed primarily from 16 mm footage shot during Heyerdahl’s historic trans-Pacific voyage — remains surprisingly powerful viewing. Other than its “voice of God” narration and an opening sequence showing maps of the trip, this film tells it like it is: we feel like we’re right there on the boat with these brave men as they carry out one of the most audacious “experiments” in the history of the social sciences. Click here to read more about the expedition.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• A fascinating glimpse at the Kon-Tiki crew’s trials and triumphs
  
• The climactic final moments of the crew’s journey
  
• Flying fish landing on the deck of the raft each morning, providing convenient “fast food” for the sailors

Must See?
Yes. This documentary remains a fascinating look at one of the most famous sea voyages ever made. Listed in the back of Peary’s book as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation.

Categories

• Historically Relevant
• Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review

Synopsis:
After announcing he wants a divorce from his wife (Lynn Carlin), an unhappily married businessman (John Marley) spends the night with a call girl (Gena Rowlands); meanwhile, his wife goes to a club with her friends and hooks up with a much younger man (Seymour Cassel).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Bourgeois Society
• Character Studies
• Gena Rowlands Films
• John Cassavetes Films
• Marital Problems
• May-December Romance
• Midlife Crisis
• Seymour Cassel Films

Review:
John Cassavetes’ first “signature” movie — after his experimental debut film, Shadows (1959), and two additional studio pictures — was this utterly bleak yet cinematically groundbreaking look at a bourgeois marriage in decay. Faces features fine, natural performances by everyone involved, and provides a daringly unfiltered look at class and gender relations in 1960s America. Indeed, “unfiltered” is the operative word here: Cassavetes’ first cut of the film (culled from 115 hours of cinema verite footage) was something on the order of six hours long; he eventually edited it down to 130 minutes; but, truth be told, it’s still a long haul to get through. As admirable as Cassavetes’ unconventional, no-holds-barred approach is here, the story is incredibly difficult to watch: emotions are raw and exposed, women are treated abominably, and (in typical Cassavetes fashion) there’s sporadic physical violence and an emotional breakdown. Seymour Cassel’s “Chet” — a hippie living for the moment — brings the only blast of hope into this quagmire of unhappiness; but even he eventually vanishes, leaving these characters to deal, once again, with the oppression of their stultifying lives.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• John Marley as the successful businessman experiencing a mid-life crisis
  
• Luminous Gena Rowlands as the call girl who states, “I’m too old to be lovely — and I haven’t got a heart of gold.”
  
• Lynn Carlin (simply wonderful in her first role) as Marley’s unhappy wife
  
• Seymour Cassel as the free-spirit who brings romance into Carlin’s life for one brief night
  
• A painfully honest look at a marriage on the brinks
  
• Effective, groundbreaking use of natural lighting, cinema verite camera angles, and improvised dialogue

Must See?
Yes. As difficult as it is to watch, all film fanatics should see this important movie at least once.

Categories

• Historically Relevant
• Important Director
• Oscar Winner or Nominee

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

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• TCM Article
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
Underground director Jack Smith presents tableaux of orgiastic sensuality, lipstick application, rape, and dance over an eclectic soundtrack, culminating in a plaster-shaking earthquake.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Experimental Films
• Sexuality
• Surrealism

Review:
Jack Smith’s infamous 43-minute underground classic — shot on partially destroyed film stock, lacking any cohesive narrative, and meant to be “a comedy set in a haunted music studio” — is admired by at least one critic (Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader) as a “jubilant, celebratory film” which possesses “the collective force of a delirious apocalypse”. For my money, however, I find the film devilishly difficult to grasp, and probably more hype than substance. Nonetheless, it remains an undisputed icon of experimental film, and should be seen (endured?) by every film fanatic at least once.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• A groundbreaking example of anarchistic filmmaking
  

Must See?
Yes, simply for its place in cinematic history. Listed in the back of Peary’s book as a film with historical importance and a Cult Movie.

Categories

• Controversial Film
• Historically Relevant

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

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
In a dystopic near-future, the Earth has been paved over, and the remaining gardens exist inside orbiting satellites manned by astronauts on a spaceship. When the ship receives order to destroy the satellites, an environmentally-conscious crewmate named Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) commits mutiny, and does what he can to protect his precious plants.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Astronauts
• Bruce Dern Films
• Dystopia
• Mental Breakdown
• Mutiny
• Non-Conformists
• Robots
• Science Fiction

Review:
Douglas Trumbull (who created the special effects for both 2001 and The Andromeda Strain) made his directorial debut with this unusual science fiction flick. Silent Running features an impressive lead performance by Bruce Dern, and poses a provocative dilemma: what if you were asked to destroy the only remaining vegetation in existence? Would you blindly follow orders (as do the rest of Freeman’s crewmates), or take a stand and risk your life to “save the plants” at any cost? The bulk of the film follows Freeman’s gradual mental deterioration as he deals with profound loneliness, and tries to prevent his superiors from learning the truth about what’s happened. His interactions with three “friendly” robots on board the ship — Huey, Dewey, and Louie — are campy, but we actually start to care for these metallic creatures after a while, and can relate to Freeman’s fondness for them. The film’s ending generates true pathos: as Freeman makes the ultimate sacrifice in favor of his beliefs, we realize we’ve become just as invested in the outcome as our wacky yet noble protagonist.

Note: The incredibly dated soundtrack (sung by Joan Baez) quickly becomes insufferable, but is all part of the experience of this uniquely-’70s cult favorite.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Bruce Dern as the dedicated gardener who will stop at nothing to protect his plants
  
• Impressive early special effects and set designs
  
• An amusing yet eerie glimpse — a la Cast Away (2000) — at how loneliness can lead to increasingly wacky interactions with non-human objects
  

Must See?
Yes. This cult movie — while certainly hokey in many ways — remains a surprisingly effective cautionary tale.

Categories

• Cult Movie

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• TCM Review
• Stomp Tokyo Review

Synopsis:
A debt-ridden womanizer (Ron Leibman) convinces his engaged friend Charlie (Beau Bridges) to take a credit-card-paid road trip with him before he skips out of town.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Beau Bridges Films
• Comedy
• Con-Artists
• Friendship
• Janet Margolin Films
• Road Trip

Review:
This little-seen 1970s “buddy road flick” bears an uncanny resemblance to Alexander Payne’s Sideways (2004): both tell the story of radically different male friends (one staid and depressed, the other a flamboyant womanizer) taking a California road trip together; and in both movies, the depressed friend is obsessed with making phone calls to his (ex)girlfriend/wife, while the latter tries to convince him to loosen up and have a good time.

Although Your Three Minutes Are Up doesn’t come close to the brilliance of Payne’s celebrated comedy, it does possess some surprisingly humorous moments, as Mike (Leibman) eventually convinces Charlie to join him in a series of small cons; I especially like the scene in which Mike and Charlie ditch two mooching girls at an expensive restaurant. Even the thoroughly obnoxious Mike soon becomes fun to watch, thanks in no small part to Leibman’s energetic performance.

The film’s title — referring to the days of pay phones, operators, and limited time to talk — is an indication of its place in history; indeed, one of the movie’s unintentional strengths is the naturalistic time capsule glimpse it affords. But the story itself is flawed: Janet Margolin is wasted in a supporting role as Charlie’s nagging fiancee (she gives us no reason to root for her — no wonder Charlie wants to get away), and the film’s comedic tone is marred by both a confusing beginning and an inexplicably negative ending.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Ron Leibman as the irrepressible con-artist
  
• Leibman and Bridges leaving two girls to pick up the tab at an expensive restaurant
  
• A spot-on look at the streets and highways of 1970s California
  

Must See?
No. While mildly amusing, this low-budget buddy flick (listed by Peary in the back of his book as a Sleeper) isn’t must-see viewing.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Four Word Film Reviews

Synopsis:
A television producer (David Wayne) tries to convince an unorthodox doctor (Paul Muni) in Brooklyn to star in a reality T.V. show.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Betsy Palmer Films
• Do-Gooders
• Doctors
• Folk Heroes
• Nonconformists
• Paul Muni Films
• Television

Review:
In his final film, 63-year-old Paul Muni once again proved his mettle as one of Hollywood’s finest chameleon-like actors; indeed, it’s remarkably easy to forget that there’s an actor behind this bespectacled doctor’s visage. Muni plays Dr. Abelman as a nonconformist extraordinaire, a stubborn idealist who refuses to deviate from his values even an inch.

When he finds out he’s being offered a house in exchange for appearing on T.V., for instance, Abelman is offended rather than grateful; and nothing — not even a house full of crew members ready to film — will stop him from visiting a patient in need. Unfortunately, while Muni’s performance makes us believe in and care about this iconoclastic doctor, the film itself is undone by its simplistic morality. In addition, the final sequences — while heartfelt — are interminable, and insult our intelligence by relying on cliched deathbed pathos rather than the intrinsic power of Abelman’s story. Ultimately, then, The Last Angry Man only remains must-see viewing because of Muni.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Paul Muni’s powerhouse performance as Dr. Abelman; as noted by the New York Times, Muni “knows all the bold and subtle ways of bringing an interesting, robust character to glowing theatrical life”
  
• David Wayne as the television producer who experiences a change of heart
  
• Luther Adler as Dr. Abelman’s prosperous best friend (and symbolic counterpart)
  

Must See?
Yes, simply to see Muni in his final, Oscar-nominated performance.

Categories

• Noteworthy Performance(s)
• Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Article