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Reviews
The Howlin' Wolf Story (2003)
The Secret Vendetta Of McGlynn And Lauro?
I watched this documentary right after finishing the Howlin' Wolf biography "Moanin' At Midnight" written by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman, so I have to start by saying that the book is a masterpiece in Blues literature. It reads like a biography should, and not just the compilation of random facts and educated guesses that most Blues biographies are. It ranges from comical to moving (a rarity in Blues Bio's)and tells a great story in the process. This DVD was a real letdown in comparison. There were some high spots. Sam's Lay's silent home movies were cool (seeing the Wolf and Sumlin on stage with Sonny Boy and Little Watler in the audience), as well as parts of the documentary throughout, but I was confused as to why they relied so heavily on the footage from the makeshift juke joint at the Newport Festival. There's a lot of better Wolf performance footage out there, like the remainder of the European tour footage that wasn't used here. I've never seen footage where Wolf's own performance wasn't top notch, but the other players were out of tune and at their sloppiest here. Besides that, way too much effort was put into showing how badly Son House had deteriorated. They came back to the subject several times and I thought it was cruelly unnecessary. We all know he was a pitiful drunk at the end, and a disappointment to Wolf who had idolized him, but this point could have been made in one short statement. Did they bother to showcase how great he was in his prime (or could still be when sober)? No, because this movie wasn't about Son House (although I wondered at one point and had to check the title on the box). The juke footage was shot within a few years of the Son House footage that Yazoo Records released in their "Masters Of The Country Blues" series. It's a wonderful performance. Even though he was old and things weren't working the way they had 30 years earlier, there was still a lot of power and passion in the performances and a quiet dignity in the man. It's just too bad that the producer (Joe Lauro) and director (Don McGlynn) of the Wolf documentary seemed determined not to leave him any. Aside from that, it was an OK film. Hubert Sumlin's spots were entertaining as well as the interviews with Hubert's ex and Wolf's stepdaughters. I would like to rate this DVD higher, but if you want a great story, read the book. As a biography this movie only touches on spots and leaves so much out. If you want to see the best Wolf footage, you'll only see some of it here.
One from the Heart (1981)
What was once a masterpiece is now a massacre
This film has always been a favorite. My wife and I have worn out two video versions over the years, as well as a copy of the soundtrack LP (being big Tom Waits fans also). Needless to say, we were thrilled to see it finally come out on DVD. What a joke. Somewhere along the line Coppola must have decided that it could be improved upon, and managed to destroy it in the process. From the opening scenes it's a mess. The music has even been relocated. In the original version there's very little dialog needed in the beginning because the song lyrics perfectly describe what's going on. Not any more. Not only do the lyrics no longer match what's happening on the screen, but there's even dialog on top of the lyrics in spots. Scenes were added that actually take away from the film while a few favorite spots have been cut out. One truly bad judgment call is where there was a love scene with Teri Garr and Raul Julia followed by one with Fredric Forrest and Nastassja Kinski. In the new "improved" version it cuts back and forth between the two scenes like the viewers attention span must not be long enough to remember what happened last. There are also some harsh scene cuts now in the film that weren't there in the original (including one extra bad one where the music is abruptly cut off). One of the most impressive things about the original release was the way the film flowed from beginning to end much like a stage play. That's gone. One thing I can't figure out is the other reviewers of this film that are watching the DVD copy after seeing it on video, yet none of them seem to notice the difference. How is that possible? If the DVD version had been the original release back in 1982, I wouldn't be writing this now. I would have only seen the film once, and would have forgotten it immediately. In spite of the unfair rap this film got in the beginning, I've always defended it as one of Coppola's best works. He gambled and lost everything on this film including his studio complex in the process. It took many years and films to pay back the debts, but the end result was a cinematic beauty that stood on it's own merits. Sadly, what's left of it can't even do that now. I give the original release a rating of 10, but the new version isn't worth rating at all.
La cité des enfants perdus (1995)
Waterworld meets Disney
Although this could have been an excellent film, I was rather disappointed. The main characters were wonderful, but the script leaves you with a "what?" most of the time. However, I enjoy this director, and highly recommend Amelie and Delicatessen.