I was surprised at how gripping this documentary was. Directors Elena Gaby and Taryn Southern relay some complex ideas and technologies with clarity, and never lose focus on the audience's emotional connection to the people who are being helped by this technology. We come to love these characters and care about them even as our minds are being stimulated by the cutting-edge and mindblowing techniques. It's a really interesting and inspiring film.
Reviews
29 Reviews
The Prisoner
(2009)
painful
19 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I tried to like this, I really did. I sat through all six hours, somehow... though after the first hour or two it was really more out of curiosity than any real engagement. I consider the original series to be the best TV show ever produced. By comparison, this one is indeed terrible, but I would like to point out that even taken on its own terms, it is still a failure. Others have articulated all the reasons very well on this board, but the most obvious fault is that it is simply extremely dull.
Even when one figures out that the "flashbacks" or "flashforwards" are actually taking place at the same time as all the stuff in the village, the show is pieced together in such a fragmentary manner as to have no emotional or visceral impact/meaning for the audience. I have read posts here by people who liked the show, and I understand their interpretations of it, but they sound as if they are discussing someone's written academic thesis, not a screen drama with living, breathing actors. This miniseries has not one ounce of humor, irony, wit, or exciting verbal sparring (not to mention an almost complete lack of physical action). The original had all these things and was still able to deliver intensely intellectual and stimulating ideas in episode after episode.
Six sure is a dreary fellow here. Number Six by comparison had a defiance and strong will which really made us align with him. As written and performed here, we just don't care.
I rather liked the concept of putting the village in the desert, and the village itself was rather striking, but the director was simply not talented or imaginative enough to use the landscape of the village in as meaningful a way as Portmeirion was used in the original.
The references scattered throughout to the original show -- certain shots here and there -- ultimately carried little meaning. Even Rover was a disappointment. I liked how big he was here, but he didn't get used enough or become an important element. If you're gonna use him, USE him. Otherwise, forget it.
It really is too bad, for THE PRISONER lends itself extremely well to a modern-day remake/revamp. This isn't it, and has probably killed any chance of a real one. I will look forward instead to LOST returning in February, for that is a modern show which truly follows in THE PRISONER's footsteps.
Even when one figures out that the "flashbacks" or "flashforwards" are actually taking place at the same time as all the stuff in the village, the show is pieced together in such a fragmentary manner as to have no emotional or visceral impact/meaning for the audience. I have read posts here by people who liked the show, and I understand their interpretations of it, but they sound as if they are discussing someone's written academic thesis, not a screen drama with living, breathing actors. This miniseries has not one ounce of humor, irony, wit, or exciting verbal sparring (not to mention an almost complete lack of physical action). The original had all these things and was still able to deliver intensely intellectual and stimulating ideas in episode after episode.
Six sure is a dreary fellow here. Number Six by comparison had a defiance and strong will which really made us align with him. As written and performed here, we just don't care.
I rather liked the concept of putting the village in the desert, and the village itself was rather striking, but the director was simply not talented or imaginative enough to use the landscape of the village in as meaningful a way as Portmeirion was used in the original.
The references scattered throughout to the original show -- certain shots here and there -- ultimately carried little meaning. Even Rover was a disappointment. I liked how big he was here, but he didn't get used enough or become an important element. If you're gonna use him, USE him. Otherwise, forget it.
It really is too bad, for THE PRISONER lends itself extremely well to a modern-day remake/revamp. This isn't it, and has probably killed any chance of a real one. I will look forward instead to LOST returning in February, for that is a modern show which truly follows in THE PRISONER's footsteps.
The New World
(2005)
Has its moments, but...
10 December 2005
I loved "The Thin Red Line" as well as Terrence Malick's earlier movies, and "The New World," which I saw tonight at a guild screening, is very similar in style to "The Thin Red Line." It is intensely visual, with many wordless sequences, and uses interior monologues/voice-over from several characters. Also like "The Thin Red Line," it creates a tapestry of nature and the elements to define its characters. The landscape, rivers, fields and forests are very much prominent characters here. The film is at times utterly mesmerizing and captivating on a visual level. However, it saddens me to say that overall, "The New World" just isn't THAT emotionally involving. At 2.5 hours, it's long. And what's worse, it feels it.
The cast does a fine job, and Q'orianka Kilcher is especially talented (and lovely), but the script isn't as strong or as focused as it needed to be. Still, I admired several sequences of powerfully visual storytelling, especially those depicting the lives of the native Americans, so in the end I would have to call my opinion mixed.
The cast does a fine job, and Q'orianka Kilcher is especially talented (and lovely), but the script isn't as strong or as focused as it needed to be. Still, I admired several sequences of powerfully visual storytelling, especially those depicting the lives of the native Americans, so in the end I would have to call my opinion mixed.
I Heart Huckabees
(2004)
torture
23 September 2004
Saw this film tonight at a guild screening. It was tortuously slow, talky, pretentious, and banal.
There's no real story. There's no emotional involvement.
And with no emotional involvement, it's very hard to care about anything these characters do, think or say... And what they say is meant to be everything -- so why didn't Russell make this as a play, or a television show? Movies must move. Russell has made one very good movie called "Three Kings." It was intellectually provocative but not at the expense of a compelling, involving story. This one felt like a total waste of time.
There's no real story. There's no emotional involvement.
And with no emotional involvement, it's very hard to care about anything these characters do, think or say... And what they say is meant to be everything -- so why didn't Russell make this as a play, or a television show? Movies must move. Russell has made one very good movie called "Three Kings." It was intellectually provocative but not at the expense of a compelling, involving story. This one felt like a total waste of time.
Moonlight Mile
(2002)
heartfelt, compelling, wonderful
25 September 2002
This is the best movie so far of 2002. A very realistic view of what it's like after someone close to you dies, but also filled with humor and a good love story. It's not the downer of a movie you might expect, though it does contain serious drama and scenes of grief. The cast is amazing, and several Oscar nominations should be in store. Newcomer Ellen Pompeo is beautiful and like a breath of fresh air in this movie. It is also a really well-made film, with heartfelt writing that respects the characters and the audience, and visual storytelling that uses pictures more than words to express emotion. I was really impressed.
Windtalkers
(2002)
lousy
23 May 2002
Saw an advance screening of this movie a few days ago. I love war movies and I was looking forward to this one, but unfortunately it is simply lousy in all regards. This is basically a "Rambo" movie set in WWII, complete with glorified combat sequences (so glorified that they are almost offensive). There are spectacular fireballs and endless, absurd images of Nick Cage machine gunning dozens of soldiers without getting a scratch. The windtalking (codebreaking) should have been the central focus of the story and this could have been fascinating; as it turns out, we barely understand the significance of the work the Navajos did, and the Navajo characters are for the most part banal, dumbly grinning shells of characters. You will learn a lot more about the windtalkers from reading articles about this film than you will from the film itself. That is pathetic. This movie does nothing to honor the Navajo codebreakers. A good script, good acting, and involving storytelling might have been a decent honor, but they are nowhere to be found here.
Legally Blonde
(2001)
Breezy, enjoyable comedy
30 July 2001
Anyone who criticizes this picture on the basis of a "dumb" plot is missing the point entirely. As another IMDB user pointed out below, the movie knows it is ridiculous and actually revels in it. This works very well.
The movie has more wit than it could have gotten away with, it's genuinely funny (as opposed to just having funny surface schtick like so many contemporary comedies), and it has a star-making performance by Reese Witherspoon, who proves herself to be Hollywood's newest comedienne.
This is no masterpiece -- just a smart, funny, eye-pleasing little movie which successfully immerses you in its world.
Which makes it the best movie of the summer so far.
The movie has more wit than it could have gotten away with, it's genuinely funny (as opposed to just having funny surface schtick like so many contemporary comedies), and it has a star-making performance by Reese Witherspoon, who proves herself to be Hollywood's newest comedienne.
This is no masterpiece -- just a smart, funny, eye-pleasing little movie which successfully immerses you in its world.
Which makes it the best movie of the summer so far.
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
(1968)
Sensitive, emotional, beautifully acted
28 July 2001
This is a sensitively-made picture by all involved, with especially moving performances by Arkin and Locke, both of whom were Oscar-nominated. I saw it recently at a screening which was attended by Locke, McCann, Keach, and director Robert Ellis Miller. (The widow of cinematographer James Wong Howe was there, too, as the screening was part of a tribute to the great cameraman.)
After the screening, Keach told Miller that the movie had aged "like a fine wine." I think that's true. While the music and some aspects of the shooting style have dated (e.g., there are several zooms), the emotions of the story have not. This is a quite absorbing and affecting movie, and Arkin is simply astonishing in the way he is able to emote so much without uttering a word.
However, this movie overall feels good more in the way that a novel feels good, rather than the way that an originally-written movie does. I believe it has to do with the structure of the story, which is episodic and delves into several characters' points of view without a truly unifying visual thread. In other words, it feels literary. (This is analagous to movie adaptations of plays suffering from "staginess," which they almost always do. The problem is not as common with novel adaptations, but it still happens. Even "To Kill a Mockingbird" suffers somewhat from this problem.)
Still, the film is beautifully shot by the great James Wong Howe, and again, the performances overcome the inherent script problems to make this a satisfying experience.
After the screening, Keach told Miller that the movie had aged "like a fine wine." I think that's true. While the music and some aspects of the shooting style have dated (e.g., there are several zooms), the emotions of the story have not. This is a quite absorbing and affecting movie, and Arkin is simply astonishing in the way he is able to emote so much without uttering a word.
However, this movie overall feels good more in the way that a novel feels good, rather than the way that an originally-written movie does. I believe it has to do with the structure of the story, which is episodic and delves into several characters' points of view without a truly unifying visual thread. In other words, it feels literary. (This is analagous to movie adaptations of plays suffering from "staginess," which they almost always do. The problem is not as common with novel adaptations, but it still happens. Even "To Kill a Mockingbird" suffers somewhat from this problem.)
Still, the film is beautifully shot by the great James Wong Howe, and again, the performances overcome the inherent script problems to make this a satisfying experience.
Beach Red
(1967)
Masterpiece
2 April 2001
This masterful, beautiful picture by the underknown and underrated Cornel Wilde is a haunting look at the combat experience. Depending on one's point of view, Terrence Malick either paid tribute to it or blatantly copied it in THE THIN RED LINE (1998). The movies are amazingly similar in the way they use flashbacks and voiceover narration (as characters' thoughts spoken aloud) to immerse the audience in the characters as they fight. I love both movies -- Malick's has things going for it that Wilde's doesn't, such as a physical beauty and a superb score -- but BEACH RED is in some ways the more powerful of the two. It's even more immediate. The voiceovers are less forced and don't really go into the philosophizing that the voiceovers in THIN RED LINE do. The effect is to keep the audience more focused on the combat itself. In short, BEACH RED is more emotional (whereas THIN RED LINE is emotional AND philosophical/metaphorical).
The way this movie opens with 30 minutes of pure combat on a beach is also similar to SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. In fact, BEACH RED is something of a combination of that movie and THIN RED LINE. Spielberg and Malick surely must both have studied this picture carefully. The last 5 minutes of BEACH RED comprise one of the most haunting and powerful statements on combat I have ever seen. This is a movie that will leave you thinking for a long time.
The way this movie opens with 30 minutes of pure combat on a beach is also similar to SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. In fact, BEACH RED is something of a combination of that movie and THIN RED LINE. Spielberg and Malick surely must both have studied this picture carefully. The last 5 minutes of BEACH RED comprise one of the most haunting and powerful statements on combat I have ever seen. This is a movie that will leave you thinking for a long time.
Diplomatic Courier
(1952)
Not bad
14 March 2001
Solid little movie of Cold War espionage. It was filmed on location by the great cinematographer Lucien Ballard, and the crisp black-and-white photography is one of the best things about the picture. There are lots of night exteriors which look gorgeous.
The story is reasonably appealing and is well-told, capturing the paranoia of the Cold War -- or at least of classic Cold War fiction -- in its prime. It's suspenseful even though it's predictable, and it contains some nice comic moments, especially from Karl Malden. Tyrone Power is a little past his prime here but does an OK job.
The story is reasonably appealing and is well-told, capturing the paranoia of the Cold War -- or at least of classic Cold War fiction -- in its prime. It's suspenseful even though it's predictable, and it contains some nice comic moments, especially from Karl Malden. Tyrone Power is a little past his prime here but does an OK job.
The Prisoner
(1967–1968)
Best TV show ever made
13 March 2001
"The Prisoner" is by far the best TV show of all time. It is intelligent, provocative, stimulating, exciting, funny, and gripping -- on more levels than I could possibly list. Most importantly, it respects the audience's intelligence and asks the audience to work -- to figure things out, to watch and listen carefully, in short, to think.
How many other TV shows have ever done this? There are a few good ones, but not like "The Prisoner." I won't go into the storyline -- that is already described elsewhere on this site -- but I will say that the issues of politics, philosophy, science, human nature and even religion that the series raises are fascinating, and it manages to raise them while still keeping the surface story very exciting. It is not a ponderous or academic show. It is not solely "about" those issues I just listed. Instead, they are there, underneath the action, for one to think about if one chooses to. (And it's hard not to!)
Even if you aren't interested in all the subtext, the metaphors, or the symbolism, you can still enjoy an exciting, very well-made story. On a purely aesthetic level, "The Prisoner" is extremely imaginative. The sets, costumes, use of color and music, and innovative camera angles and editing are all intelligently thought-out and employed. It's a great-looking show.
Finally, re: Patrick McGoohan.... The man is a genius. His acting is first-rate, and furthermore he created the show, and wrote and directed several episodes, including the mind-blowing finale, "Fall Out," the strangest and most surreal hour of network television ever shown! The strength and presence of his character, No. 6, drive each episode, and surely McGoohan's own strength drove the series. TV is a collaborative medium, to be sure, but "The Prisoner" is clearly the result of one bizarre genius' drive and imagination.
How many other TV shows have ever done this? There are a few good ones, but not like "The Prisoner." I won't go into the storyline -- that is already described elsewhere on this site -- but I will say that the issues of politics, philosophy, science, human nature and even religion that the series raises are fascinating, and it manages to raise them while still keeping the surface story very exciting. It is not a ponderous or academic show. It is not solely "about" those issues I just listed. Instead, they are there, underneath the action, for one to think about if one chooses to. (And it's hard not to!)
Even if you aren't interested in all the subtext, the metaphors, or the symbolism, you can still enjoy an exciting, very well-made story. On a purely aesthetic level, "The Prisoner" is extremely imaginative. The sets, costumes, use of color and music, and innovative camera angles and editing are all intelligently thought-out and employed. It's a great-looking show.
Finally, re: Patrick McGoohan.... The man is a genius. His acting is first-rate, and furthermore he created the show, and wrote and directed several episodes, including the mind-blowing finale, "Fall Out," the strangest and most surreal hour of network television ever shown! The strength and presence of his character, No. 6, drive each episode, and surely McGoohan's own strength drove the series. TV is a collaborative medium, to be sure, but "The Prisoner" is clearly the result of one bizarre genius' drive and imagination.
The Tall T
(1957)
Superb western!
11 March 2001
One of the best of the seven collaborations between director Budd Boetticher and star Randolph Scott, this was also written by Burt Kennedy, who wrote all the best in the series. They're all simple, spare stories, and that's what makes them powerful. The interplay between Scott and Richard Boone as the villain is tremendously enjoyable and razor-sharp. As in most of the movies in this series, the hero and the villain see themselves in each other. The difference between them is thin as ice. The villain, one senses, really wishes he were Randolph Scott.
These movies are set almost entirely out in the landscape. The empty, beautiful, rocky landscape of Lone Pine, CA, functions as an arena in which these characters play out their roles. And they all know what their roles are -- it's even reflected in the dialogue, as when Boone tells Scott he's gotta kill him and Scott replies, "You know I can't let you do that." It's as if they're all aware of their roles in the western genre. It's fascinating, humorous, and really enjoyable to watch.
These movies are set almost entirely out in the landscape. The empty, beautiful, rocky landscape of Lone Pine, CA, functions as an arena in which these characters play out their roles. And they all know what their roles are -- it's even reflected in the dialogue, as when Boone tells Scott he's gotta kill him and Scott replies, "You know I can't let you do that." It's as if they're all aware of their roles in the western genre. It's fascinating, humorous, and really enjoyable to watch.
Beauty and the Boss
(1932)
Effervescent
11 March 2001
Warning: Spoilers
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS GENERAL SPOILERS
A wonderful pre-Code comedy, this is the kind of movie you can't help but watch with a delighted smile the whole way through. The under-known Warren William as usual plays the head of a large corporation, this time in Vienna. Also as usual, he is demanding, domineering, aggressive, and chauvanistic. He's an operator, and his success in charming women would make James Bond envious! The problem is, his secretary is so attractive he is unable to concentrate on his work. So he fires her and hires a plain-Jane to be his secretary instead (Marian Marsh). But the ploy backfires when Marsh blossoms into a beautiful, desirable woman.
Her transformation and William's softening make up the bulk of the picture, and it is just a delight to behold. At one point the action shifts to Paris, and even though we stay in studio sets, the idea of Paris -- its feel, its magic, its charm -- has a palpable emotional effect on Marian Marsh, and on us. It's amazing how much you can feel Paris in this movie even though we never really see it! It comes through in the performances -- the way they talk about being there, the expressions of their faces in their reaction shots.
BEAUTY AND THE BOSS (one of the great movie titles!) is based on a play yet feels cinematic and flowing. The story is very much an old-world story yet it hasn't really dated because the actors are so genuine. All in all, it's an excellent romantic comedy that will make you laugh out loud.
A wonderful pre-Code comedy, this is the kind of movie you can't help but watch with a delighted smile the whole way through. The under-known Warren William as usual plays the head of a large corporation, this time in Vienna. Also as usual, he is demanding, domineering, aggressive, and chauvanistic. He's an operator, and his success in charming women would make James Bond envious! The problem is, his secretary is so attractive he is unable to concentrate on his work. So he fires her and hires a plain-Jane to be his secretary instead (Marian Marsh). But the ploy backfires when Marsh blossoms into a beautiful, desirable woman.
Her transformation and William's softening make up the bulk of the picture, and it is just a delight to behold. At one point the action shifts to Paris, and even though we stay in studio sets, the idea of Paris -- its feel, its magic, its charm -- has a palpable emotional effect on Marian Marsh, and on us. It's amazing how much you can feel Paris in this movie even though we never really see it! It comes through in the performances -- the way they talk about being there, the expressions of their faces in their reaction shots.
BEAUTY AND THE BOSS (one of the great movie titles!) is based on a play yet feels cinematic and flowing. The story is very much an old-world story yet it hasn't really dated because the actors are so genuine. All in all, it's an excellent romantic comedy that will make you laugh out loud.
The Thin Red Line
(1998)
Mesmerizing
8 March 2001
Superb film, made with a dreamlike quality, which contains intense combat. The film emphasizes the utter fear of combat very, very well. Before the soldiers even land at Guadalcanal, there is much screen time devoted simply to capturing the fear in their faces. This carries over to when they're on the battlefield, too. And you really feel like you are experiencing combat. It's terrifying.
In the meantime, the film presents voiceovers of several characters, representing their interior thoughts and emotions about what they're doing and what they're thinking. It's remarkable that a film of such great scale (hundreds of soldiers in the frame at once; huge battle scenes) could at the same time have such an interior, meditative quality.
The film is also strong in presenting combat as a part of nature, as part of the natural cycles of life and death. We are all living things on this planet, the film seems to say, and even though war is a man-made event, it nonetheless happens, and we live and die like other creatures.
On the one hand, this is the most expensive art movie ever made! On the other, it is a beautiful poem of a movie which presents gripping combat sequences while managing to stay true to its powerful, antiwar feeling. Try to see this on the big screen if at all possible. It really loses a lot on TV.
I also must commend Hans Zimmer on his excellent score. It perfectly captures the strange, dreamlike quality of the movie as a whole. It is one of the most haunting and beautiful scores I've ever heard. (And it was used in a PEARL HARBOR trailer.)
In the meantime, the film presents voiceovers of several characters, representing their interior thoughts and emotions about what they're doing and what they're thinking. It's remarkable that a film of such great scale (hundreds of soldiers in the frame at once; huge battle scenes) could at the same time have such an interior, meditative quality.
The film is also strong in presenting combat as a part of nature, as part of the natural cycles of life and death. We are all living things on this planet, the film seems to say, and even though war is a man-made event, it nonetheless happens, and we live and die like other creatures.
On the one hand, this is the most expensive art movie ever made! On the other, it is a beautiful poem of a movie which presents gripping combat sequences while managing to stay true to its powerful, antiwar feeling. Try to see this on the big screen if at all possible. It really loses a lot on TV.
I also must commend Hans Zimmer on his excellent score. It perfectly captures the strange, dreamlike quality of the movie as a whole. It is one of the most haunting and beautiful scores I've ever heard. (And it was used in a PEARL HARBOR trailer.)
A Midnight Clear
(1992)
Superb antiwar picture
8 March 2001
Warning: Spoilers
WARNING: THIS COMMENT INCLUDES SPOILERS, ALTHOUGH IT DOES NOT GIVE AWAY THE ENDING.
This is a powerful, excellent movie, made with intelligence and care, and full of very good performances. (Ethan Hawke's performance is probably his best.)
Beginning its story under the traditions of the World War II combat film genre, A MIDNIGHT CLEAR takes the usual group of soldiers out on patrol and places them in an abandoned mansion in the middle of the Ardennes Forest, France, near the end of the war. They are young and relatively inexperienced, picked for the platoon because of their high IQs. It's an intelligence mission, so their commander wants highly intelligent soldiers -- a purposefully absurd logic.
They discover a group of German soldiers nearby and after several surreal encounters (a snowball fight; singing Christmas carols together; etc) it becomes clear the Germans want to surrender, but only after a fake skirmish, so it will appear to the oncoming German army that they fought bravely. Another surreal situation -- and it fits into the world of this movie perfectly, for this is a world about the madness and absurdity of war and of the combat experience.
Eventually, the real horror, pain, and confusion of combat takes over, and the result is stunning. Throughout, the film is beautifully shot with crisp, color photography of the snowy forest, somewhat recalling the black-and-white BATTLEGROUND (1949).
This is a little gem of the movie.
This is a powerful, excellent movie, made with intelligence and care, and full of very good performances. (Ethan Hawke's performance is probably his best.)
Beginning its story under the traditions of the World War II combat film genre, A MIDNIGHT CLEAR takes the usual group of soldiers out on patrol and places them in an abandoned mansion in the middle of the Ardennes Forest, France, near the end of the war. They are young and relatively inexperienced, picked for the platoon because of their high IQs. It's an intelligence mission, so their commander wants highly intelligent soldiers -- a purposefully absurd logic.
They discover a group of German soldiers nearby and after several surreal encounters (a snowball fight; singing Christmas carols together; etc) it becomes clear the Germans want to surrender, but only after a fake skirmish, so it will appear to the oncoming German army that they fought bravely. Another surreal situation -- and it fits into the world of this movie perfectly, for this is a world about the madness and absurdity of war and of the combat experience.
Eventually, the real horror, pain, and confusion of combat takes over, and the result is stunning. Throughout, the film is beautifully shot with crisp, color photography of the snowy forest, somewhat recalling the black-and-white BATTLEGROUND (1949).
This is a little gem of the movie.
Wagon Master
(1950)
Film-as-poetry
8 March 2001
One of the most poetic narrative films ever made, WAGONMASTER is nonetheless a difficult film to immediately like. I love this movie, but I recommend seeing some of John Ford's other westerns before taking a look at this one. The first time I saw it I was 18 years old and I hadn't seen too many other westerns, and I hated it. I thought it was incredibly boring. I kept waiting for something to happen. It took several years for me to love this picture. First, I fell in love with westerns in general -- the traditions, characters, landscapes, ways of talking, etc -- and that made me realize when I saw WAGONMASTER again that a lot is happening in it after all.
I also was simply a more experienced moviegoer at that point and had learned to appreciate visual storytelling, and to listen to what each image was telling me. WAGONMASTER is a very visual movie by one of the most visual of directors working near the peak of his career.
The movie is a celebration of a way of life, and its subject matter is more emotional and interior than other Ford westerns. Actually, that's not really as accurate as saying that, rather, it has a lot less exterior action than the other westerns. (The other westerns have exterior action AND interior emotion.) It quite beautifully places its Mormon pioneers in the context of nature. There are many shots of animals and children -- not for any surface, narrative purpose, but for illustrating this idea. That is why the movie can be called a poem. It isn't about the surface story (which barely exists) nearly as much as it is about an emotional idea, and it gets this idea across through composition, editing, sound and music. In fact, one could argue that this is a purer form of filmmaking because the images directly express the emotional idea of the film, rather than having to first service a "story."
Give this movie a chance, and allow it to exist on its own terms, not the terms of other westerns or other movies.
I also was simply a more experienced moviegoer at that point and had learned to appreciate visual storytelling, and to listen to what each image was telling me. WAGONMASTER is a very visual movie by one of the most visual of directors working near the peak of his career.
The movie is a celebration of a way of life, and its subject matter is more emotional and interior than other Ford westerns. Actually, that's not really as accurate as saying that, rather, it has a lot less exterior action than the other westerns. (The other westerns have exterior action AND interior emotion.) It quite beautifully places its Mormon pioneers in the context of nature. There are many shots of animals and children -- not for any surface, narrative purpose, but for illustrating this idea. That is why the movie can be called a poem. It isn't about the surface story (which barely exists) nearly as much as it is about an emotional idea, and it gets this idea across through composition, editing, sound and music. In fact, one could argue that this is a purer form of filmmaking because the images directly express the emotional idea of the film, rather than having to first service a "story."
Give this movie a chance, and allow it to exist on its own terms, not the terms of other westerns or other movies.
Memento
(2000)
Original and intellectually stimulating
7 March 2001
Very few if any modern movies can justifiably be called "film noir." MEMENTO is one of them.
It chronicles a man's search for his wife's killer. However, the man has a memory condition by which he cannot remember anything for longer than 15 minutes, so he constantly takes Polaroids, writes notes, and even gets tattoos to remember important information. To place the audience inside this man's head, the filmmakers tell the story backwards so that we, too, never know what just happened. It is a brilliant use of this device, for it's not just a gimmick -- it's the main way the movie achieves subjectivity with its main character. And in doing so, we share his paranoia and displacement, and that is a key element of "film noir."
It's purposefully ambiguous even to the end. You will be thinking and talking about it long afterwards. Very good film, well worth seeing.
It chronicles a man's search for his wife's killer. However, the man has a memory condition by which he cannot remember anything for longer than 15 minutes, so he constantly takes Polaroids, writes notes, and even gets tattoos to remember important information. To place the audience inside this man's head, the filmmakers tell the story backwards so that we, too, never know what just happened. It is a brilliant use of this device, for it's not just a gimmick -- it's the main way the movie achieves subjectivity with its main character. And in doing so, we share his paranoia and displacement, and that is a key element of "film noir."
It's purposefully ambiguous even to the end. You will be thinking and talking about it long afterwards. Very good film, well worth seeing.
High Noon
(1952)
Overrated
7 March 2001
HIGH NOON is one of the most overrated movies of all time. It is an anti-western for anti-moviegoers, to paraphrase Andrew Sarris. It is the kind of western people who don't see westerns tend to like. Aesthetically, it is slow and talky and for the most part without tension. Narratively, it is frustrating and laughable to see a western "hero" act so spineless. (Howard Hawks made RIO BRAVO as a direct response to this picture, telling the same story but in reverse: everyone wants to help John Wayne but he won't let them!)
The "real-time" gimmick is just that -- a gimmick. And it results in showing many scenes which in and of themselves are dull and talky -- not what you want in a western. Furthermore, if you watch the film carefully, you will see that it "cheats" -- it in fact is not told 100% in real time. But that really doesn't matter, as it's a totally arbitrary device anyway. Ironically, the one scene in the picture that really does work is the "clock montage" towards the end, which builds tension through cutting. The rest of the time, Zinneman follows around Cooper listlessly. And Cooper gives another wooden performance. He was a movie star but never a great actor.
It's easy to spend time watching this movie thinking, "Why doesn't Cooper just get ON with it? Why run around crying for help? Why doesn't the movie itself get on with it?"
There are dozens of better westerns. Here are a few. I defy anyone to see these movies and think HIGH NOON is more enjoyable, exciting, or involving: WINCHESTER '73, THE NAKED SPUR, BEND OF THE RIVER, THE MAN FROM LARAMIE, THE TALL T, RIDE LONESOME, SEVEN MEN FROM NOW, COMANCHE STATION, THE SEARCHERS, THE WILD BUNCH, MAN OF THE WEST (and this one stars Cooper!), RUN OF THE ARROW, SHANE, SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON..... etc etc.
The "real-time" gimmick is just that -- a gimmick. And it results in showing many scenes which in and of themselves are dull and talky -- not what you want in a western. Furthermore, if you watch the film carefully, you will see that it "cheats" -- it in fact is not told 100% in real time. But that really doesn't matter, as it's a totally arbitrary device anyway. Ironically, the one scene in the picture that really does work is the "clock montage" towards the end, which builds tension through cutting. The rest of the time, Zinneman follows around Cooper listlessly. And Cooper gives another wooden performance. He was a movie star but never a great actor.
It's easy to spend time watching this movie thinking, "Why doesn't Cooper just get ON with it? Why run around crying for help? Why doesn't the movie itself get on with it?"
There are dozens of better westerns. Here are a few. I defy anyone to see these movies and think HIGH NOON is more enjoyable, exciting, or involving: WINCHESTER '73, THE NAKED SPUR, BEND OF THE RIVER, THE MAN FROM LARAMIE, THE TALL T, RIDE LONESOME, SEVEN MEN FROM NOW, COMANCHE STATION, THE SEARCHERS, THE WILD BUNCH, MAN OF THE WEST (and this one stars Cooper!), RUN OF THE ARROW, SHANE, SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON..... etc etc.
Battleground
(1949)
Gritty and realistic
7 March 2001
Very good WWII combat drama. It was made a few years after the war, when studios generally tried to infuse their combat films with more "realism" because they knew their audience now included millions of veterans. Also, they were able to use experienced soldiers as technical advisers.
"Battleground" is especially adept at showing the little details of an infantryman's existence. I feel I should explain one scene which might leave you perplexed: When the enemy drops hundreds of propaganda leaflets to the ground for the GIs to read, one of the GIs gathers a bunch of them up very carefully and walks out of frame. We then dissolve to a new scene. Why was he picking them up? TOILET PAPER!! It was little things like that which gave this picture the label of "realistic" and helped make it such a huge success critically and commercially.
Beautiful black-and-white photography in the snowy forest landscape won an Oscar.
"Battleground" is especially adept at showing the little details of an infantryman's existence. I feel I should explain one scene which might leave you perplexed: When the enemy drops hundreds of propaganda leaflets to the ground for the GIs to read, one of the GIs gathers a bunch of them up very carefully and walks out of frame. We then dissolve to a new scene. Why was he picking them up? TOILET PAPER!! It was little things like that which gave this picture the label of "realistic" and helped make it such a huge success critically and commercially.
Beautiful black-and-white photography in the snowy forest landscape won an Oscar.
One of the greatest
7 March 2001
"Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is a great movie with brilliant performances from Humphrey Bogart, Tim Holt, and Walter Huston, director John Huston's father. The story concerns three American bums down on their luck in 1920's Tampico. After winning a lottery, they decide to go in search of gold in the Mexican mountains. What follows are varying degrees of luck, hard work, and eventual deep distrust of one another. Throughout all this Huston directs masterfully. He shows a bum's life and how a bum sees the world; he presents Mexico and Mexican life convincingly and beautifully; and he presents a striking portrait of male camaraderie, human nature, and greed.
Bogart contributes an excellent performance as the distrusting Fred C. Dobbs, one of the great movie characters of all time. Walter Huston reached the pinnacle of his career here; his portrayal of a grizzled prospector is one of the finest pieces of acting anywhere.
John Huston is not one of my favorite directors -- I often find him overrated -- but this is one hell of a great movie. No one could possibly be disappointed; it's exciting, humorous, intelligent, engaging, believable, and incredibly entertaining. (Great score, too!)
Bogart contributes an excellent performance as the distrusting Fred C. Dobbs, one of the great movie characters of all time. Walter Huston reached the pinnacle of his career here; his portrayal of a grizzled prospector is one of the finest pieces of acting anywhere.
John Huston is not one of my favorite directors -- I often find him overrated -- but this is one hell of a great movie. No one could possibly be disappointed; it's exciting, humorous, intelligent, engaging, believable, and incredibly entertaining. (Great score, too!)
Beyond Rangoon
(1995)
Underrated picture
6 March 2001
This is one of the most underrated movies of the 1990s. If you allow yourself to identify with the Patricia Arquette character, you will find it to be a very moving story of a woman regaining a sense of purpose to her life, and finding a new will to live.
Arquette's performance is brave because it is purposefully "wooden" -- it's a way of defining her character's spiritual death, her complete lack of a desire to be alive. She moves through life like a zombie because her family has been murdered and she can't see the point of living. What is moving is how in the course of the story, she is reawakened -- by the Burmese landscape, by the beautiful quality of its people and landscapes, and by the primal choices she is forced to confront.
Boorman supports this visually (and Hans Zimmer supports it with one of his most gorgeous, haunting scores) with an often static camera and with a propensity to shoot through glass, windows, windshields, etc. We are on the outside looking in, just like Arquette.... until she finds herself deep in the jungle and is forced to choose whether or not to fight for her life.
I recommend the 1954 movie THE PURPLE PLAIN as well. It's a similar story in a similar setting, and makes for a fascinating comparison.
Arquette's performance is brave because it is purposefully "wooden" -- it's a way of defining her character's spiritual death, her complete lack of a desire to be alive. She moves through life like a zombie because her family has been murdered and she can't see the point of living. What is moving is how in the course of the story, she is reawakened -- by the Burmese landscape, by the beautiful quality of its people and landscapes, and by the primal choices she is forced to confront.
Boorman supports this visually (and Hans Zimmer supports it with one of his most gorgeous, haunting scores) with an often static camera and with a propensity to shoot through glass, windows, windshields, etc. We are on the outside looking in, just like Arquette.... until she finds herself deep in the jungle and is forced to choose whether or not to fight for her life.
I recommend the 1954 movie THE PURPLE PLAIN as well. It's a similar story in a similar setting, and makes for a fascinating comparison.
I Know Where I'm Going!
(1945)
One of the best pictures of all time
6 March 2001
Whenever I am asked what my favorite movie of all time is, I laugh and say it's an impossible question, but if pressed, I usually say it's I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING. I never, ever tire of watching this movie. It is a beautiful picture in every way. On the one hand, it is perfectly crafted with extraordinary visuals ("a new visual trick every minute," said Powell), and on the other, the story is a gem of romanticism.
The movie is ultimately about Wendy Hiller's character coming to terms with her emotions, with her romanticism, with the idea that love is something one cannot and should not control, and that the greatest thing about love is allowing it to wash over you and transform you. Hiller is transformed, and the process is a miraculous sight to behold. You will be transformed, too. The movie gets you to experience the process of falling in love, and it does so through a magnificent story and acting, and directing choices which especially use the Hebrides landscape to sort of cast a spell on the characters and on you. The landscape is one of the most special elements of this picture. See how carefully Hiller's train journey is presented..... it's like she's being transported to another world, a powerful world of romanticism and emotion.
On the surface, there is not much "plot" to this picture. But underneath, there is so much going on that the movie is tremendously engaging on an emotional level. It also contains what I think is the greatest, most joyous movie wedding of all time!
The movie is ultimately about Wendy Hiller's character coming to terms with her emotions, with her romanticism, with the idea that love is something one cannot and should not control, and that the greatest thing about love is allowing it to wash over you and transform you. Hiller is transformed, and the process is a miraculous sight to behold. You will be transformed, too. The movie gets you to experience the process of falling in love, and it does so through a magnificent story and acting, and directing choices which especially use the Hebrides landscape to sort of cast a spell on the characters and on you. The landscape is one of the most special elements of this picture. See how carefully Hiller's train journey is presented..... it's like she's being transported to another world, a powerful world of romanticism and emotion.
On the surface, there is not much "plot" to this picture. But underneath, there is so much going on that the movie is tremendously engaging on an emotional level. It also contains what I think is the greatest, most joyous movie wedding of all time!
Ride Lonesome
(1959)
A great western!
4 March 2001
This is an excellent movie, but beware seeing it unless it's shown in its proper CinemaScope aspect ratio. One of the best in a series of westerns starring Randolph Scott, directed by Budd Boetticher, and written by Burt Kennedy, this is a taut, actionful, and humorous motion picture. The stories are all pretty much the same in these movies: Scott is seeking revenge for the murder of his wife, or some such variation. He meets up with a very likable villain who runs around with a couple of young guns, and eventually they shoot it out. The villains were usually played by future stars and their rapport with the Scott character is always entertaining.
Boetticher is one of the great directors of westerns, employing a spare style that stresses the beautiful emptiness of the landscape, making it into an arena for the shifting alliances among his characters. And Kennedy is one of the great writers of western dialogue. I wasn't around in the 1870s, but hey, it FEELS and SOUNDS real! See this movie, even if you think you hate westerns and think they're all the same!
They're not. And this is one of the best.
Boetticher is one of the great directors of westerns, employing a spare style that stresses the beautiful emptiness of the landscape, making it into an arena for the shifting alliances among his characters. And Kennedy is one of the great writers of western dialogue. I wasn't around in the 1870s, but hey, it FEELS and SOUNDS real! See this movie, even if you think you hate westerns and think they're all the same!
They're not. And this is one of the best.
Torpedo Run
(1958)
only fair
4 March 2001
This is not such a successful movie. Glenn Ford is solid as always and Ernest Borgnine delivers a serviceable performance, but the problem is the script and direction. The story is on the sluggish side and after the midway point you don't have a sense of enough really at stake. The flashbacks to civilian life also take the audience out of the war story in a way that releases any built-up tension. Then the movie has to start all over.
The effects are also not terribly good, even by 1958 standards. Too many model shots of ships, and the interior of the sub really does feel like a studio set, especially due to the lighting design.
One thing that is especially interesting about TORPEDO RUN is a sub evacuation sequence in which the seamen exit the submarine at the floor of the ocean using Momsen-lungs, special breathing devices. These devices are very rarely shown in submarine movies.
A much, much better sub movie was released a few months before this one: RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP.
The effects are also not terribly good, even by 1958 standards. Too many model shots of ships, and the interior of the sub really does feel like a studio set, especially due to the lighting design.
One thing that is especially interesting about TORPEDO RUN is a sub evacuation sequence in which the seamen exit the submarine at the floor of the ocean using Momsen-lungs, special breathing devices. These devices are very rarely shown in submarine movies.
A much, much better sub movie was released a few months before this one: RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP.
Two Family House
(2000)
First-rate moviemaking and a wonderful story.
18 December 2000
Certainly one of the best movies of 2000, if not THE best, in an otherwise horrendous year for movies. Extremely visual storytelling combined with an affecting romance and warm humor, beautifully acted by all involved. Too often in romances -- or any movie for that matter -- one doesn't get a sense of anything real or important at stake. Not so in TWO FAMILY HOUSE. It's precisely because the two main characters have so much at stake, and are willing to take enormous risks, that they are attracted to one another and we desperately want them to be together.
An excellent little movie -- the kind of picture which Hollywood should be turning out regularly but which is all too rare.
An excellent little movie -- the kind of picture which Hollywood should be turning out regularly but which is all too rare.
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