Un-like the highly romantic American films "Fat Man and Little Boy" and "Enola Gay" or the Truncated "Day One" or the well-made "Hiroshima" this is a detailed re-telling of the Manhattan Project with a lot of fascinating side bars. I saw this one first and it really got me going on the subject! All of the above mentioned are recommended for those interested in the subject, but this one is head and shoulders above the rest.
Reviews
27 Reviews
90 Days
(1985)
Terrific
11 June 2003
A Wonderful little piece of Canadian cinema was a transitional film between the docu-drama The "Masculine Mystique" and the below average farce they made later. This is the best of the three films. Sam Grana's dry, dead-pan delivery and Wodolovsky's enthusiastic sincerity give the film heart and soul. The film's highlight is Sam\Alex' confrontation with the fertility clinic nurse.
The Masculine Mystique
(1984)
Not half bad for what it is...
11 June 2003
Placed in context this was an interesting little examination of the Canadian male psyche in the 80's.
This was a period in history when the National Film Board's famous Studio D was winning acclaim and attention left and right. The work by Women Canadian film makers seemed to be the only justification for all those millions of tax dollars disappearing down a black hole of the NFB.
This film was put together by a group of male producers at the NFB seemingly as an answer to their female counterparts. It is half documentary, with a group of men from different backgrounds, sitting in a dark studio discussing their attitudes and problems with women and their roles as men. It is half dramatic re-creation with documentary crews capturing those men at home and with their spouses and kids in candid moments. The film did so well it spawned two fictional sequels: 90 Days and The Last Straw.
This was a period in history when the National Film Board's famous Studio D was winning acclaim and attention left and right. The work by Women Canadian film makers seemed to be the only justification for all those millions of tax dollars disappearing down a black hole of the NFB.
This film was put together by a group of male producers at the NFB seemingly as an answer to their female counterparts. It is half documentary, with a group of men from different backgrounds, sitting in a dark studio discussing their attitudes and problems with women and their roles as men. It is half dramatic re-creation with documentary crews capturing those men at home and with their spouses and kids in candid moments. The film did so well it spawned two fictional sequels: 90 Days and The Last Straw.
The Moderns
(1988)
A quirky little movie about fakery
9 August 2002
This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it has a genuine, unpretentious charm to it that I found appealing.
Alan Rudolph made this delightful little ode to lies, trickery and delusion on a shoestring budget. The story of a failed painter down on his luck in Paris in the 1920's who accepts a comission to forge a famous impressionist painting. The film questions what is real versus what is perceived or subjective. In a series of criss-crossing subplots and seemingly random encounters Rudolph has fun playing with the trickery of film to made some sly points about the art forms we hold dear.
The film was shot in Montreal, Canada, standing in for Paris and New York in the 1920's, with French-Canadian actors playing Parisians... The plot twists include a millionaire art collector publicly slashing a priceless painting, thinking it a forgery, while the fake painting is sent to hang in a New York museum. A Dadaist poet fakes his own death in order to attend his funeral to hear the things people will say about him. Same character, named L'Oiseau is actually an American ex-patriate named Fagelman! In a toungue-in-cheek hommage to people's perception of the period, Rudolph has Papa Hemmingway hanging-out in all the cafe's and at all the parties... He is seemingly everywhere, sipping scotch and mouthing tough-guy cliches...
But the viewer must beware of what he is watching. In a scene where Bujold's character rides in a taxi with Carradine's we are treated to lovely rear projection shots through the cab's back window of impressionist paintings of Paris at night! In another dimly lit cafe scene Rudolph chose to end the scene by panning away from the action to the bar where among the extras in period costume, two punk rockers are watching a hockey game on t.v.
Alan Rudolph made this delightful little ode to lies, trickery and delusion on a shoestring budget. The story of a failed painter down on his luck in Paris in the 1920's who accepts a comission to forge a famous impressionist painting. The film questions what is real versus what is perceived or subjective. In a series of criss-crossing subplots and seemingly random encounters Rudolph has fun playing with the trickery of film to made some sly points about the art forms we hold dear.
The film was shot in Montreal, Canada, standing in for Paris and New York in the 1920's, with French-Canadian actors playing Parisians... The plot twists include a millionaire art collector publicly slashing a priceless painting, thinking it a forgery, while the fake painting is sent to hang in a New York museum. A Dadaist poet fakes his own death in order to attend his funeral to hear the things people will say about him. Same character, named L'Oiseau is actually an American ex-patriate named Fagelman! In a toungue-in-cheek hommage to people's perception of the period, Rudolph has Papa Hemmingway hanging-out in all the cafe's and at all the parties... He is seemingly everywhere, sipping scotch and mouthing tough-guy cliches...
But the viewer must beware of what he is watching. In a scene where Bujold's character rides in a taxi with Carradine's we are treated to lovely rear projection shots through the cab's back window of impressionist paintings of Paris at night! In another dimly lit cafe scene Rudolph chose to end the scene by panning away from the action to the bar where among the extras in period costume, two punk rockers are watching a hockey game on t.v.
The Coffin Affair
(1980)
beautiful film
25 April 2002
True story of the last man sentenced to death in Quebec in the 1950's who may or may not have committed a multiple homicide.
Documentarian filmmaker and cameraman Claude Labrecque shot this as a scathing endictment of capital punishment. Gabriel Arcand is superb as the young advocate appointed to the no-win case for political reasons. August Schellengerg (later seen in Black Robe) as Coffin brings ambiguity and feeling to the poor condemned man.
Documentarian filmmaker and cameraman Claude Labrecque shot this as a scathing endictment of capital punishment. Gabriel Arcand is superb as the young advocate appointed to the no-win case for political reasons. August Schellengerg (later seen in Black Robe) as Coffin brings ambiguity and feeling to the poor condemned man.
The Three Musketeers
(1993)
The Horror, the Horror...
28 February 2002
A certain license is automatically given to anyone who wishes to adapt a classic from one medium to another- but to turn one of the great historical adventures into a pile of Americanized crap is not only offensive, but dangerous. David Loughery, responsible not only for this, but for the infamous Star Trek V - the Final Frontier, should be held accountable for every horrid word of this script.
Ask yourself this: Would I want my child learning history from this? Would I want my child to have such an oversimplistic view of European monarchy?
This film would have young Americans believe that Cardinal Richelieu (a great catholic leader and french patriot) conducted black satanist masses in some (imaginary) underground river vault directly under the castle of Versailles while plotting to overthrow his king and have himself crowned king of France.
Every country that ever supported a monarchy should blacklist this film for the insulting drivel that it is.
Ask yourself this: Would I want my child learning history from this? Would I want my child to have such an oversimplistic view of European monarchy?
This film would have young Americans believe that Cardinal Richelieu (a great catholic leader and french patriot) conducted black satanist masses in some (imaginary) underground river vault directly under the castle of Versailles while plotting to overthrow his king and have himself crowned king of France.
Every country that ever supported a monarchy should blacklist this film for the insulting drivel that it is.
Fun and accurate
28 February 2002
One of the opening scenes depicts the musketeers having a pic-nic in the middle of a battlefield and under fire for the sheer bravado of the act. This is taken straight from the novel and is one of my favorite scenes from Dumas.
It shows the frivolous attitude that men at this time had towards the likelyhood of their death. The only chance of advancement, fortune and glory most younger sons had was to hang it all out and prove their worthiness in battle.
Please note that this is the only Musketeer film that ever showed Athos, Aramis, D'Artagnan and Porthos exercising their trade as soldiers. These are not superheroes. They are men serving their country, caught up in politically charged situations.
It shows the frivolous attitude that men at this time had towards the likelyhood of their death. The only chance of advancement, fortune and glory most younger sons had was to hang it all out and prove their worthiness in battle.
Please note that this is the only Musketeer film that ever showed Athos, Aramis, D'Artagnan and Porthos exercising their trade as soldiers. These are not superheroes. They are men serving their country, caught up in politically charged situations.
The Three Musketeers
(1973)
Best of all
28 February 2002
Every subsequent version of the Dumas tale make this one seem better and better and best of all.
With its companion piece, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, it depicts its own period (the revisionist seventies with all its questioning of authority, its humour, its openness to sex, its sense of deconstructionalism and fun, its topsy-turvy-ness...) while managing to be one of the most faithfull to the general plot of the book.
Noteworthy: Charleton Heston brings depth and humanity to Richelieu, elevating him above the role of stock villain. Same for Christopher Lee.
William Hobbes does a masterful job in making each sword fight contextual and different from the others while giving each of the principal characters his own style of fighting. Athos, the classically trained, very loyal fighter, D'Artagnan, the slickest, most accomplished and creative fighter, Porthos, the least talented sswordfighter of the group who overpowers his adversaries by brute force, or when necessary by using whatever props happen to be handy, and Aramis, the impulsive, emotional, dirty little street fighter.
With its companion piece, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, it depicts its own period (the revisionist seventies with all its questioning of authority, its humour, its openness to sex, its sense of deconstructionalism and fun, its topsy-turvy-ness...) while managing to be one of the most faithfull to the general plot of the book.
Noteworthy: Charleton Heston brings depth and humanity to Richelieu, elevating him above the role of stock villain. Same for Christopher Lee.
William Hobbes does a masterful job in making each sword fight contextual and different from the others while giving each of the principal characters his own style of fighting. Athos, the classically trained, very loyal fighter, D'Artagnan, the slickest, most accomplished and creative fighter, Porthos, the least talented sswordfighter of the group who overpowers his adversaries by brute force, or when necessary by using whatever props happen to be handy, and Aramis, the impulsive, emotional, dirty little street fighter.
The Three Musketeers
(1953)
Verbose, slow moving and sometimes corny...
28 February 2002
But worth seeing if you are a Dumas fan. The only version I've seen where Planchet plays a more important role than D'Artagnan. French star Bourvil probably forced the director to expand the nothing part into something more significant. That aside, if you speak and understand french you will find this a rewarding version of the Dumas classic. Its main qualities are a masterful use of language in the service of wit and above all, the expression of D'Artagnan's Gascon pride.
Best scene: D'Artagnan jealously follows Constance on her covert mission to meet Buckingham and bring him to meet the queen, thinking she has gone to meet another lover. Upon finding out the secret he throws himself to his knees at the englishman's feet and offers his life-
No other version comes close to showing D'Artagnan's reckless nobility...
Best scene: D'Artagnan jealously follows Constance on her covert mission to meet Buckingham and bring him to meet the queen, thinking she has gone to meet another lover. Upon finding out the secret he throws himself to his knees at the englishman's feet and offers his life-
No other version comes close to showing D'Artagnan's reckless nobility...
The Three Musketeers
(1948)
A Classic Tale Done Justice
28 February 2002
The Hollywood of the classic studio system is not known for its kindness in adapting great literary works. Often overwrought or oversimplified, cut down or bastardized, the movie versions rarely capture the essence or the form of the books they pretend to adapt.
This one is exceptional. Both the pathos and the verve of the Dumas novel (itself a roman-feuilleton - a serial- which it is rumored Dumas didn't actually write) are wonderfully captured, and Kelly is the dream D'Artagnan. Every bit of physicality and fun that he brought to his choreographies in the musicals is used beautifully to bring grace and energy to the duels. The humor of the star is used quite brilliantly. Compare the toungue-in-cheek pastiche THE DUELLING CAVALIER in SINGING IN THE RAIN with this earlier work. Look up a few of his directorial efforts (The Cheyenne Social Club) with the humor here.
Each fan of Dumas will have his favorite version of THE THREE MUSKETEERS, but we all must agree this is a noble and (overall) successful effort.
This one is exceptional. Both the pathos and the verve of the Dumas novel (itself a roman-feuilleton - a serial- which it is rumored Dumas didn't actually write) are wonderfully captured, and Kelly is the dream D'Artagnan. Every bit of physicality and fun that he brought to his choreographies in the musicals is used beautifully to bring grace and energy to the duels. The humor of the star is used quite brilliantly. Compare the toungue-in-cheek pastiche THE DUELLING CAVALIER in SINGING IN THE RAIN with this earlier work. Look up a few of his directorial efforts (The Cheyenne Social Club) with the humor here.
Each fan of Dumas will have his favorite version of THE THREE MUSKETEERS, but we all must agree this is a noble and (overall) successful effort.
Nightside
(1980 TV Movie)
Enjoyable action comedy
13 December 2001
This busted t.v. pilot was carefully crafted and slickly scripted.
We follow different groups of cops, competing ambulance companies (pre-Scorcese's Bringing Out The Dead) and assorted floatsam from L.A.'s busy Night streets as they cross and collide with each other.
McClure keeps the tone of his character light as he disguises his voice to flirt anonymously with his lady dispatcher (the one with the sexy voice) and initiate his new partner to the crazyness of the Nightside.
Anyone who has ever worked nights will get it.
We follow different groups of cops, competing ambulance companies (pre-Scorcese's Bringing Out The Dead) and assorted floatsam from L.A.'s busy Night streets as they cross and collide with each other.
McClure keeps the tone of his character light as he disguises his voice to flirt anonymously with his lady dispatcher (the one with the sexy voice) and initiate his new partner to the crazyness of the Nightside.
Anyone who has ever worked nights will get it.
Rough Riders
(1997)
Milius is back...
20 August 2001
Love him or hate him, you have to admit that John Milius has returned in force to make this wonderfully epic movie. He only made two other films (barely) worthy of note: the underrated Flight Of The Intruder and the equally under-rated Farewell To The King. Though directed for television, Rough Riders has all the qualities of a great war epic from the sixties.
What helps Milius is his love of the subject matter. With The Wind And The Lion, Rough Riders feels as though Milius has a deep and abiding love for Theodore Roosevelt. Every frame of this movie gives you the feeling that Milius is working from the heart. His passion and respect for his subject matter illicited the greatest performance of Tom Berenger's career.
If you liked this, do see The Wind And The Lion.
What helps Milius is his love of the subject matter. With The Wind And The Lion, Rough Riders feels as though Milius has a deep and abiding love for Theodore Roosevelt. Every frame of this movie gives you the feeling that Milius is working from the heart. His passion and respect for his subject matter illicited the greatest performance of Tom Berenger's career.
If you liked this, do see The Wind And The Lion.
Royal Deceit
(1994)
Not American...
20 August 2001
If you have seen Babette's Feast and can appreciate the difference between a more European, understated style of film making and the slam-bang, in-your-face style the Yanks dish out year in and year out... Then this may be a movie for you.
Here is a small film by a director working in a language that is not his own. An experiment in story telling that succeeds on its own terms. Here is a film that is scored by one of the more highly rated, avant-guard classical composers in Europe. It re-tells a well beloved story by going at it by the roots in order to give it a fresh spin. The wonderful cast of British (and Irish) stars can be applauded for endorsing what must have been a modestly budgeted film.
Of course it is not Shakespeare. But it sheds new light on the Hamlet play by exploring the legend that inspired the bard to choose it as story material. For fans of history and drama.
Here is a small film by a director working in a language that is not his own. An experiment in story telling that succeeds on its own terms. Here is a film that is scored by one of the more highly rated, avant-guard classical composers in Europe. It re-tells a well beloved story by going at it by the roots in order to give it a fresh spin. The wonderful cast of British (and Irish) stars can be applauded for endorsing what must have been a modestly budgeted film.
Of course it is not Shakespeare. But it sheds new light on the Hamlet play by exploring the legend that inspired the bard to choose it as story material. For fans of history and drama.
Next: A Film Maker's Apolaypse REDUX...
20 August 2001
When one sees Coppola saying what a disastrous movie he is making, or sitting on the set and telling the actors (with absolute belief) that the french plantation scene is not at all what he imagined and that it would never never never find its way into the finished film...
One wonders at how MONEY changes a man's values. The lesson here is that you do not tamper with a thing after you've put it aside. EVER. Get on with the rest of your life Francis and leave your masterpieces alone. You only succeed in devaluating them for posterity.
The documentary film makers should go back and add two or three minutes on how, after a lackluster decade as a has-been film maker in the 90's, Coppola needed major studio backing for his up-coming MEGALOPOLIS, and so enthusiastically went back to pee on Apocalypse Now to curry favor.
One wonders at how MONEY changes a man's values. The lesson here is that you do not tamper with a thing after you've put it aside. EVER. Get on with the rest of your life Francis and leave your masterpieces alone. You only succeed in devaluating them for posterity.
The documentary film makers should go back and add two or three minutes on how, after a lackluster decade as a has-been film maker in the 90's, Coppola needed major studio backing for his up-coming MEGALOPOLIS, and so enthusiastically went back to pee on Apocalypse Now to curry favor.
Apocalypse Now
(1979)
Conscientious Objector...
16 August 2001
So we have reached the point where films have been stripped bare of any redeeming artistic social value.
There never will be again a final cut of a movie. No two moviegoers will be able to discuss a film without one asking the other WHICH VERSION?
Thanks to George Lucas and his Special Edition Star Wars movies... Thanks to Steven Spielberg with his Special edition Close Encounters... Thanks to Ridley Scott's Director's Cut of Bladerunner or others... And now Francis Ford Coppola gives us Apocalypse Now Redux. At least Coppola is frank about needing the money for his aptly titled Megalopolis project. His re-release of ANR is transparent and his sincerity (he is always sincere in what he does) is above reproach. What is more objectionable is George Lucas' craven quest to improve his personal fortune and power. Mixing CGI to traditional fx techniques in the Star Wars movies and re-shooting scenes reduces their historic importance to naught. To add insult to injury, Lucas promised to make the original Star Wars movies available for movie goers forever alongside the new edition prints. Last year he re-released all three films + the Phantom Menace in a special package without aknowledging that these were in fact the bastardized CGI-ed prints.
Here Coppola uses only the materials he had access to in 1978, which is a sort of integrity, I guess.
By putting back most of the Willard voice overs and intros to scenes, REDUX loses the disorienting surrealism of the original version. This version becomes far more the traditional war movie with an obvious narrative structure, recurring characters, etc. We are no longer just dropped into the middle of the crazy jungle. Every major sequence is set up carefully in the expanded dialogue, with character motivations becoming clear. The obscurity of the original set it appart in the cannon of the genre as a weird psychedelic trip through war. It's 2001 counterpart, however, has the virtue of humanizing all of its characters and making the viewer care about the fate of each one. The older Coppola has obviously lost the passion and daring of youth (see his pathetic Dracula if you have any doubts) but has gained a sort of wisdom.
There never will be again a final cut of a movie. No two moviegoers will be able to discuss a film without one asking the other WHICH VERSION?
Thanks to George Lucas and his Special Edition Star Wars movies... Thanks to Steven Spielberg with his Special edition Close Encounters... Thanks to Ridley Scott's Director's Cut of Bladerunner or others... And now Francis Ford Coppola gives us Apocalypse Now Redux. At least Coppola is frank about needing the money for his aptly titled Megalopolis project. His re-release of ANR is transparent and his sincerity (he is always sincere in what he does) is above reproach. What is more objectionable is George Lucas' craven quest to improve his personal fortune and power. Mixing CGI to traditional fx techniques in the Star Wars movies and re-shooting scenes reduces their historic importance to naught. To add insult to injury, Lucas promised to make the original Star Wars movies available for movie goers forever alongside the new edition prints. Last year he re-released all three films + the Phantom Menace in a special package without aknowledging that these were in fact the bastardized CGI-ed prints.
Here Coppola uses only the materials he had access to in 1978, which is a sort of integrity, I guess.
By putting back most of the Willard voice overs and intros to scenes, REDUX loses the disorienting surrealism of the original version. This version becomes far more the traditional war movie with an obvious narrative structure, recurring characters, etc. We are no longer just dropped into the middle of the crazy jungle. Every major sequence is set up carefully in the expanded dialogue, with character motivations becoming clear. The obscurity of the original set it appart in the cannon of the genre as a weird psychedelic trip through war. It's 2001 counterpart, however, has the virtue of humanizing all of its characters and making the viewer care about the fate of each one. The older Coppola has obviously lost the passion and daring of youth (see his pathetic Dracula if you have any doubts) but has gained a sort of wisdom.
Attila
(2001)
Gibbons would be delighted
3 August 2001
to see how closely this mini-series stayed to history. The producers managed to strike a balance between the characters of Atius and Attila, giving both humanity and ruthlessness. The final tag line sums up beautifully the role both played in the histories of their respective empires.
Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula
(2000 TV Movie)
Interesting meld of history and myth-
3 August 2001
The "true" story is burried somewhere in there, no doubt. One shouldn't quibble too much when this is the closest we've ever gotten to a real biopic for this truly awesome historical figure.
Vlad lived in an epoch of utter barbarity and religious fanaticism in which he was forced to surpass any possible rivals for cruelty and psychotic behavious. This does not excuse him, mind you, but I think it allows us to understand him a little better. Both he and Adolphe Hitler got the trains running on time (as Stephen King would say).
For those of you who blindly adore the Francis Ford Coppola travesty... rent the Richard Matheson scripted 1972 telefilm based on Stoker's novel starring Jack Palance. Matheson was the guy who originally brought the historical Dracula myth together with the Mina reicarnated idea. Or better yet, if you can lay your hands on a copy, the Louis Jourdain version produced by the BBC which is absolutely faithful to the Stoker novel.
Vlad lived in an epoch of utter barbarity and religious fanaticism in which he was forced to surpass any possible rivals for cruelty and psychotic behavious. This does not excuse him, mind you, but I think it allows us to understand him a little better. Both he and Adolphe Hitler got the trains running on time (as Stephen King would say).
For those of you who blindly adore the Francis Ford Coppola travesty... rent the Richard Matheson scripted 1972 telefilm based on Stoker's novel starring Jack Palance. Matheson was the guy who originally brought the historical Dracula myth together with the Mina reicarnated idea. Or better yet, if you can lay your hands on a copy, the Louis Jourdain version produced by the BBC which is absolutely faithful to the Stoker novel.
Surviving Desire
(1992)
Proof that less can be better...
3 August 2001
As Hartley goes through and destroys most of the cliches of traditional love stories, from Shakespeare (with the drunken KATE scene, ref. The Taming of the Shrew) to the musically challenged dance number by Donovan and two extras (a gem which turns all those Hollywood musical numbers on their head. What happens when you're in a funk about a frustrating and failing relationship and you don't feel like singing in the rain?)
Treasure Island
(1990 TV Movie)
Fond memories
3 August 2001
Cudoes to all those involved. The Hestons (father and son) for daring to risk a lot (in terms of reputation) on so well known a project. A superb and faithfull re-telling that still manages to surprise (the cannon scene was a beautiful coup de theatre).
This loving adaptation is the only one I remember that includes the haunting image of Israel Hands slowly sinking out of sight in the water... A description I will always remember from the novel and echoed at the very end of Benchley's JAWS.
This television version of Stevenson's book brought back fond memories of a teen-age summer on Prince edward Island, reading the adventures of Jim Hawkins striding the razor's edge between the honest Captain Smolett, and that band of ruffians that follow Long John Silver.
This loving adaptation is the only one I remember that includes the haunting image of Israel Hands slowly sinking out of sight in the water... A description I will always remember from the novel and echoed at the very end of Benchley's JAWS.
This television version of Stevenson's book brought back fond memories of a teen-age summer on Prince edward Island, reading the adventures of Jim Hawkins striding the razor's edge between the honest Captain Smolett, and that band of ruffians that follow Long John Silver.
a heartfelt film about growing up
3 August 2001
Scenes just jump out at you. The three friends going down the steps as one of them describes Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin and another breaks down and cries. The fantastic re-enactment of Felini's most famous scene. The game show in which the nerdy film teacher gets a film-related answer wrong on a technicality (shades of John Turturo in Quiz Show). The three friends looking over a fence in a freeze frame at the end... Their expression stuck in one final disapointment.
Les Misérables
(1995)
Filmmaker plays off the novel
24 May 2001
It is wonderful to see Claude Lelouch's personal essay on Victor Hugo's themes. It can sometimes be misleading for people who have not read the book and are looking for a way around the hefty 1000 + pages... I can just imagine some high school student trying to write an essay after slouching through the semester without doing the reading assingment and renting this version. Lelouch's nods to Hugo are varried and playful - he even includes allusions to the chapter on street language (argot). He gives character to the normally colorless Cosette and he and Belmondo manage to communicate the sweet, un-educated simplicity of Valjean/*Fortin in scenes like the one in which he rides a truck across France and asks passengers to read the book to him and explain passages for him. Great stuff, but for enhanced pleasure, read the book or at least see one straight version before this one.
Les Misérables
(1982)
Compelling version of the novel
24 May 2001
A compelling version of the Victor Hugo novel that should be sought out and viewed by fans of other versions and the novel. This theatrical release is not as complete as the longer television version broadcast in 1985, but nonetheless gets you hooked. Hossein is as faithful to the novel as possible. Film features a wonderful and human portrayal by Ventura as Valjean and does not betray the ending of the novel the way American and British versions have.
Les Misérables
(1935)
Worth seeing for fans of the novel only
24 May 2001
Two or three superb moments are worth seeing for fans of the novel. March gripping the candle holders and in the throws of doubt. This is the only version that shows that goodness does not always come easily to this man. He is constantly locked in a struggle with his own selfishness or desires. Montage of Valjean and Cosette eating soup and sharing other affectionate moments together as she grows up. These are vital transitional scenes that are sorely missing from the novel and go a long way towards making the girl likeable. Javert's moment of realisation that he cannot bring Valjean in after all. Laughton plays it to the hilt in typical Hollywood 1930's style, but it is the defining moment for this character. These scenes add and embellish on the novel's themes and make this version worth a trip to the video rental store. I mean this is an adaptation, people. You want to be a purist? Go read the book.
Romeo + Juliet
(1996)
If you were a fourteen year old boy...
14 November 1999
My fourteen year old nephew saw this film and loved it! He bought the soundtrack albums, he bought the video cassette. He bought the play. He then rented the Zeffirelli version and rented West Side Story. He then rented a couple of other movies based on other Shakespearean plays. He is now reading Hamlet.
It is so easy to forget that the passions described by Shakespeare are those of teen-agers. It is perhaps equally easy to forget that this is a film adaptation, not the play.
Film has its own rules. The filmmaker has a responsibility not to Shakespeare purists (Orson Welles, Olivier and Kurosawa understood this perfectly) but to the medium and the emotions of the text.
Sure Baz Luhrman's version of this classic play is loud and often obnoxious. Certainly he uses effects that are considered ludicrous outside of a music video (and even then...)-pixilation, freeze frames, undercranking the camera, jump cuts that haven't been around since Jean-Luc Goddard was a young punk... But the point is exactly that! The kids love it! It is wild!
Before you knock it, remember that it can also be a door in to the world of literacy and culture.
It is so easy to forget that the passions described by Shakespeare are those of teen-agers. It is perhaps equally easy to forget that this is a film adaptation, not the play.
Film has its own rules. The filmmaker has a responsibility not to Shakespeare purists (Orson Welles, Olivier and Kurosawa understood this perfectly) but to the medium and the emotions of the text.
Sure Baz Luhrman's version of this classic play is loud and often obnoxious. Certainly he uses effects that are considered ludicrous outside of a music video (and even then...)-pixilation, freeze frames, undercranking the camera, jump cuts that haven't been around since Jean-Luc Goddard was a young punk... But the point is exactly that! The kids love it! It is wild!
Before you knock it, remember that it can also be a door in to the world of literacy and culture.
Shakespeare in Love
(1998)
Standards Vary
22 May 1999
At the moment of this writing there are 234 user comments racked up for and against this film. Many, many of them refer to the fact that Shakespeare in Love won an Oscar (undeservedly). No surprise there. Oscar rarely has anything to do with merit. Get a life folks!
It is a good little independent movie that was made without any Oscar ambitions, for the fun of it... It is a sly homage by British actors and technicians about the twisted, funny world of theater... It deals with the vulnerability of these artists in the face of poverty and censure... It does succeed in entertaining, if you do not walk in with expectations bloated by the hype surrounding the Oscar.
It is a good little independent movie that was made without any Oscar ambitions, for the fun of it... It is a sly homage by British actors and technicians about the twisted, funny world of theater... It deals with the vulnerability of these artists in the face of poverty and censure... It does succeed in entertaining, if you do not walk in with expectations bloated by the hype surrounding the Oscar.
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