by Sam Juliano
I just now, before publishing read a very sad e mail sent on to me by Tony d’Ambra. The beloved actor and American institution Mickey Rooney has passed on at age 93. His life and legacy will hopefully be included and/or well represented in today’s comment section.
The erstwhile adage April showers brings May flowers could not have been any more apt than the manner it has been applied for the first week of the month when Spring will first make its official appearance. Several days of some serious drenching has linked up with the first days of the pollen season and the result for some of us has been sore throats, itchy eyes, incessant coughing and various other allergy-related discomfort.
The romantic countdown polling stage is now complete, with the Tuesday, April 1st deadline long gone, and final results will soon be released to the e mail chain of voters and prospective writers. WitD readers of course will see the countdown unfold in reverse order starting on Thursday, May 7th, and running well into September. This will mark the first non-autumn roll-out for one of our genre festivals, but it was done purposely to wed Spring and Summer with the romantic theme. Between 20 and 25 films have been “reserved” by eager writers, but even if those claims were to stand (some probably won’t for a number of reasons) that would still leave 75 to 80 essays to be covered, so we will definitely need a lot of help. A lot. But all that bartering will be done behind close doors. Ha! I do anticipate sending out the results later tonight, as I have spoken at length with Angelo. One thing that is certain is that we have decided to do a full Top 101 for the countdown, much as we did for the comedy countdown (100), largely because we received a whopping 30 ballots, and because Angelo tabulated the full hundred. This is obviously one of the most popular pollings, and we should at least match the comedy countdown. Somehow, 101 is a distinguished number that stands apart from an ordinary 100, and because of a tabulation error Angelo has tabulated 101, so 101 it will be.
Lucille, Sammy and I (and Jeremy for the Sunday Film Forum Jr.) attended several features in the ongoing Tout Truffaut Festival, one new release and the Sunday Film Forum Jr. offering:
Under the Skin **** 1/2 (Saturday night) AMC Cinemas
Oliver! (1968) ***** (Sunday) Film Forum
Jules and Jim (1961) ***** (Tuesday) Tout Truffaut
Close Encounters of Third Kind (1977) ****1/2 (Wed) Tout Truffaut
The Woman Next Door (1981) *** 1/2 (Thursday) Tout Truffaut
The Bride Wore Black (1968) **** (Friday) Tout Truffaut
Mississippi Mermaid (1969) **** 1/2 (Sunday) Tout Truffaut
UNDER THE SKIN is one of the most visually arresting and creative films I have seen in years, and I’d conclude it is a near-masterpiece. I would have liked if it were as intellectually evocative as it is visually brilliant, but I understand on the other hand that everyone will bring something different to the table in assessing what is less of a film than an experience. As most already know the film is about an alien who meets up with men of all sorts in Scotland at a time not clearly delineated to ultimately kill them off after seducing and dehumanizing them. Jonathan Glazer is a master stylist, (seemingly indebted to David Lynch, and as many also mention-Nicolas Roeg) and from the opening minutes you know you are in the hands of a cinematic maestro, who has brought forth a new language that even reduces the avante garde to narrative plausibility. A stunning achievement, with an unforgettable Scarlet Johansson. I might mention here that this film is divisive and both my wife Lucille and Broadway Bob Eagleson thought it was one of the worst films they have ever seen in their lives. A number of the professional critics like Richard Corliss have trashed it as well. I will say, however, that anyone who comes in with a negative verdict should not be derided by intellectual superiority talk that they disliked the film because it disavowed narrative elements. Many other artists (Malick and Von Trier included) have strayed from narrative underpinnings too, and there are a number of people who have embraced such works and rejected Glazer. Each film brings its own experience, and isn’t reached because of stylistic or genre aversion.
This week’s Sunday morning Film Forum Jr. offering was the fabulously delightful Oscar winning musical OLIVER!, and Lucille and I brought Sammy and Jeremy to join in all the fun for this pristine roadhouse version print with entrance music and intermission of this musical version of Dickens’ classic novel. The review I wrote for it a few years ago for the musical countdown might be the one I more fun writing than any other I ever wrote at this site:
Steven Spielberg’s magical CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND was shown in its complete running time as part of the TOUT TRUFFAUT Festival. Of course everyone knows Truffaut was one of the acting leads, and the Film Forum organizers had decided a while back to include any film that Truffaut was connected with as actor, writer or producer. Maurice Pialat’s first film and Godard’s BREATHLESS (for which Truffaut wrote the story) are also featured in the line-up, though I am taking a pass on both due to the overload. I certainly like both quite a bit. And I like CLOSE ENCOUNTERS quite a bit as well (those final 20 minutes were magnificent) and was thrilled to turn young Sammy on to the film for the first time, and on the big screen to boot.
The renowned critic David Thomson, who has published some of the most acclaimed film dictionaries, has astoundingly included the once-panned but since re-evaluated MISSISSIPPI MERMAID as among his Ten Greatest Films of All-Time in the ballot he submitted to SIGHT AND SOUND for their 2012 decade polling. A complete print of the film is hard to find, but one very fine one was screened Sunday afternoon (in fact four times for the day) at the Film Forum, and while Lucille and the two boys strolled downtown-Sammy needed a break from Truffaut after seeing OLIVER! and other Truffauts this past week- I was conquered by this 1969 vastly underrated Truffaut film that for me is a near-masterpiece. A young and beautiful Catherine Deneuve stars with Jean-Paul Belmondo is a film that features some alluring settings on the French controlled Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean and in France, and an enveloping story of a tobacco plantation owner who married the wrong woman after she comes in place of the one intended, and through the rest of the story this unlikely relationship is strengthened by undying love from the male who goes as far as to commit murder to keep it thriving. One immediately notices the parallels to Hitchcock’s MARNIE in a number of telling ways, but this should hardly be seen as a surprise in view of Truffaut’s long-held veneration of Hitch. Great ending too in the snow setting. As this was the first time I saw this film, I regret now not voting for it for the romantic countdown.
Raoul Coutard’s lyrical romantic panning and the tender and wistful music by Georges Delerue bring the cinema’s most unforgettable love triangle in JULES AND JIM to the world of Truffaut, one in which the women unceasingly choose the less romantic man when there is a choice. The somber ending is practically as stunning as the one seen in THE 400 BLOWS, and by any barometer of measurement this is one of the director’s supreme masterpieces, and a sure choice to make any romantic films list. Jeanne Moreau’s extraordinary performance is one of the most famous ever committed to film, and the film traces innocence to resignation.
THE BRIDE WORE BLACK is perhaps the most Hitchcockian of all Truffaut’s films, in fact its a homage. A woman gets revenge on a group of men, and one by one dispatches them. Some wry humor and stylistic flourishes this is certainly an exceedingly entertaining film.
THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR is not top tier Truffaut, but this story of a dormant love affair that spills over into a renewed fling is better than I remember it to be with very fine acting by Gerard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant.
Mickey Rooney had a long and productive career, but for me he will always be Andy Hardy. In the early 60s when I was growing into my teens the Andy Hardy movies were shown on Saturday afternoon television in Sydney, and they were a window into a magic world that was so exotic it may as well have been set on the moon. A blissful escape into a world where everyone belonged, boys drove jalopies, and girls just wanted to have fun. Families were, if not well-off, comfortable. The whole picket fence oasis of young dreams. Everything was – jeepers – just swell!
From what I have learnt many others fell under the same spell, and Rooney’s passing will be felt in a special way. Cynics will tell us that we were being sold a pup, a soporific. Like those banal movies Elvis made in the 60s. True, and we know better now, but as you get older you go back to those dreams and they bring a kind of solace, not so much nostalgia but an existential ache for innocence lost and for the years that – while they will never return – still inform who we are.
On the weekend I read a newspaper article on the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death. The writer explored just why we build myths about our youth and the heroes we made. Of course Cobain died young, along with James Dean, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and others, but the ideas explored I think can be related to the heroes who, though living a full life, are held in aspic in a youthful time warp. The writer of the Cobain piece quoted an Australian academic researching death and mourning, Dr Margaret Gibson, at Griffith University and author of Objects of the Dead, who believes that a relic “of a preserved youth… who was a figure in the construction of your own memory of youth, becomes idealised. The fact that you are no longer leading a parallel life with that person, that kind of disjuncture between who you are now, growing older, in middle age, and this person who is part of your life who is somewhere in your history that you cannot recover, reminds us of what we can’t get back… it’s a double reminder that not only do they not come back but youth never really comes back. And those two things get fused together, death and youth.” No matter that when I discovered Andy Hardy, Rooney was well into middle age. It’s what is inside the frame that counts.
Tony——
Thanks so much for launching this thread with such an utterly spectacular comment! No doubt he was and will always be Andy Hardy for many, and your framing of the mind-set of the impressionable teenager looking for escape back in Sydney in the early 60’s is simply magnificent. Heck I’m right behind you, and do have some Andy Hardy affinity as well. I love that “everything was jeepers–just swell!!!” Shows like that can never be erased from the memory, as they are the nostalgic foundation of what we once valued some much in our lives. Bravo to you for this lovely recollection! The yearning for innocence too is the basis for the lasting affinity no doubt! it may well be defined as an “existential ache.” The answer to anyone who doesn’t understand could also be simply: “That was our childhood!” Your expansion of the discussion is fascinating. Cobain was another who cast a spell on music loving teenagers, who like literary mavens who tearfully asked “why” when Hemingway committed suicide, couldn’t understand the nature of Cobain’s demons and why he needed to end such a superstar career, when he had tuned the corner to pull ahead of just about everyone else. How true what you say about the fleeting nature of idolization of a fallen hero and the passing of time will never let us return to the kind of bliss and contentment that preceded the pain. Gibson is quite persuasive there. It is absolutely what is in the inside that counts. Absolutely.
Thanks as ever my friend. have a great week!
Cobain suffered from severe depression and stomach pain and addiction . His superstardom didn’t keep him immune to suffering as was very clear.This was the anniversary of when we found out 20 years ago today.
Sam, Hollywood historian Neal Gabler, has written a great appreciation of Rooney on CNN, which I have just read, and which harkens to what I was trying to say here, but much more eloquently, and from a perspective that I cannot take, that of an American. I have provided a link to the article at bottom, and these quotes give a flavour of what Gabler said:
“He was best known as Andy Hardy in a series of films at MGM: the quintessential young man in the quintessential small town with the quintessential family and honoring quintessential American values. About the only things he vanquished in these movies were his own doubts or his own lovesickness or his own moral quandaries. Andy was eager, loving, decent, thoughtful — not the qualities we ascribe to movie heroes but the very qualities Americans, particularly as they emerged from the Great Depression — liked to ascribe to themselves.”
“His death is a reminder of an earlier time when Americans had a more innocent vision of themselves. Rooney’s persona may not have worn well over time — it was a young man’s persona — but in the ’30s and ’40s he was the personification of that innocence, and a vestige of it has passed with him.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/07/opinion/gabler-mickey-rooney/index.html
Great to know that a whopping 101 films will feature in the Romantic Countdown, as this (presumably) means that my submission (which too was a Top 100) would have been of use in its entirity – unless of course only the Top 50 or 60 or 75 were used to draw up the list of 101 films. Though it would be an easy guess as regards a number of films, I’m sure the final list would throw its fair share of surprises – so awaiting the revelation of the same!
Here’s what I managed to watch last week:
– the Czech New Wave anthology film Pearls of the Deep (its review will be up at my site by tonight)
– Bullitt, the gritty crime thriller with one of the most scintillating car chase sequences ever filmed
– Akerman’s landmark arthouse classic, the daunting but masterful Jeanne Dielman…
In the meanwhile I’m also planning to watch the 12-part Soviet miniseries 17 Moments of Spring.
Aye Shubhajit! We did go with 101, even though Angelo tabulated up to 75 on each ballot. So your own ballot was tabulated up to No. 75. By now of course you have seen the list, and will of course be writing a few essays for it, as per our connections. This will no doubt be a fun project, and a long one at that! I will be checking up at CINEMASCOPE for your review of PEARLS OF THE DEEP. BULLITT does have what is generally acknowledged as the most famous car chase ever filmed. And JEANNE DIELMAN is indeed a beloved film that is Ackerman’s masterpiece. You got me on 17 MOMENTS OF SPRING, which I am unfamiliar with, but I will not investigate. Thanks as always my friend! have a great week!
Wow 101 film countdown for the romance! Can’t wait. This gives ample opportunity for some of the lesser known films to get their day in the sun. I’m hoping I can contribute several essays Sam to this cause and will be willing to support overtime. Can’t wait to see Under the Skin. It looks like a divisive film but those are some of the most fun to dissect and discuss. Micky Rooney had a long and full life and career. My first exposure to him was in The Black Stallion, watching that as a child. I liked his overall energy and charisma he brought to the screen. He was also really good in Requiem for a Heavyweight.
So I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel. I liked it, but wouldn’t place it near my favorites of Anderson’s, and I liked it less than Moonrise Kingdom. I appreciate the farce-like atmosphere as it recalled To Be or Not to Be. There are also homages to other films from that era as well. But the character development wasn’t quite there to the degree that would have made it memorable for me. It was a nice trifle. For me the tops is still Rushmore.
Last night I had a tremendous viewing of one of my favorite of all films: Persona. Seeing it in Blu-Ray and being overwhelmed by the images again was just what I needed. I haven’t seen a viewing of a film lately that I’ve been in love with, so this was most welcomed. I am looking forward to viewing the extras on the film and will be doing a write-up of it shortly. It struck me this time just how close the camera is to Bibi and Liv’s faces for most of the movie. It is a film that overwhelms you with close-ups and the details of their faces. One recalls The Passion of Joan of Arc.
Well hope that you have a great week Sam!
Jon—-
Yep, Jon, as you now have viewed the goods, you know there is quite a diverse line-up set to run from May till September! hence, a good number of the lesser-known films will get their day in the sun! And it is wonderful that you will indeed be contributing a nice number of essays, as your prose and enthusiasm are first-rate!!!! UNDER THE SKIN is indeed divisive, and it is tough to make a call as to what you will ultimately think of it. I also loved Rooney in THE BLACK STALLION, which turned out to be one of his most famous roles. Mick did have a long and celebrated career, and he was quite memorable in REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT indeed. Your estimation of THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL is fair enough. I also thought that the settings were particularly captivating. I loved both MOONRISE and BUDAPEST myself. You are not alone with that sentiment on RUSHMORE. I did not yet pick up that PERSONA blu-ray, figuring it for the summer Barnes & Noble sale. But wow! You are really tempting me now!!! It is also one of my one (and one of Allan’s) favorite all-time films as well, and I am looking forward to your upcoming FILMS WORTH WATCHING review! Good comparison point there too with the Dreyer. Thanks so much my friend, and thanks too for being the biggest cheerleader all along for the romantic countdown, which you basically made happen! I wish you all a great week!
Haha well glad to support in any way I can! I also failed to mention that my kids and I took in The Ten Commandments with Charleton Heston over the last week. They loved it! All 4 hours of it! haha. I remember really liking that as a kid and catching it on tv around this time of year. It was a family tradition to watch that one. They’re already asking me when we can watch it again. oh my.
Yeah I think for most Catholics/Christians The Ten Commandments is a Easter tradition (along with Ben Hur) Jon. I see parts of it every year when I go over my parents/aunt’s house. I say parts because I usually try to ignore the movie during the general family din occurring all around me. In fact, I probably haven’t watched the film from start to finish since I was about 12 years old. Yet that faint traditional side of me likes having the movie on as additional background noise to everything else going on….
Yeah Maurizio I know what you mean. I haven’t actually watched it all the way through in many a year. Funny it’s a tradition for Christians and Catholics (and I’m aware of that too), considering the story in the film is actually more relevant to Passover than Easter.
I envy you the Truffauts, especially La Mariee etait en Noir and La Sirene de Mississippi! Here there’s yet again been not much time for watching, but I did manage my weekly fix of Cosmos plus:
You Have to Run Fast (1961) – A surprisingly lackluster noirish offering (dir Edward L. Cahn, of It! The Terror from Beyond Space fame).
The Words (2012) – I gather the critics largely disliked this, but we both loved it — on the edge of our seats, sort of thing — and will certainly watch it again. It seems to be misleadingly classified everywhere as a mystery/thriller/psychological thriller, which may be part of the problem: it’s actually a (for us) very moving romantic drama. It’s also very novelistic; I scoured the credits expecting to find it was based on a book by one of the Europeans — Arturo Pérez-Reverte, perhaps.
Blood (2012) – Although I watched this last week, I was too busy/tired at the time to write it up for Noirish, and by the time I made the time to do the writing up, yesterday, I realized I’d have to rewatch it if I was to do it justice. So I did, and I’m glad. The first time, I found it a bit flat; rewatching, I was much more impressed. It still doesn’t quite leave the launchpad, but . . . The movie as a whole owes something to Sidney Lumet’s The Offence (1972), and Ben Crompton’s performance here reminded me a lot of Ian Bannen’s in the earlier movie — both points in Blood‘s favor!
I was too busy/tired at the time to write it up for Noirish, and by the time I made the time to
Aargh! Too many “times”! I’m still half-asleep this morning . . .
John—-
It was indeed a wonderful experience to see both on the big screen. In the case of the latter it was a first viewing, and it pretty much bowled me over! Ah, yes, Edward L. Cahn! I am a big fan of IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, having grown up with it on Chiller Theater here in the NYC area. As everyone knows ALIEN is indebted to it. He also directed a number of the OUR GANG comedies! That said I never did see YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST, which you have made no strong case for here. Alas, I never saw THE WORDS as I was scared off by the bad reviews, but what you and Pam have attested to has convinced me to add it to my netflix queue right now! Oh there have been many times when I have liked films the critics didn’t like, and disliked some that they did like. I find it ironic and welcome that the romantic element was what worked best in it!!!! Nice. And based on a well-regarded European novel as well. And I also have not watched BLOOD to this point, but your glowing appraisal goes quite a ways with me!!! I will look forward to your full review at NOIRISH!!!
Thanks as ever my friend! have a great week!
Have a good week yourself, after all the frenzy of setting up 101 romances . . .
And based on a well-regarded European novel as well.
Sorry: I was unclear. The Words isn’t actually based on a European novel: it just reads that way, and I was surprised to discover it was in fact an original screenplay.
Oh no John, I just re-read and realized I read it wrong. Yeah, what you say makes a lot of sense. And now I can say onwards with the romantic countdown!!!!
Sam –
OLIVER stands extremely tall among my favorite musicals. I remember seeing it on the big screen for the first time; I fell in love with Oliver. In fact, I wanted to BE Oliver Twist! I’ll probably have the songs “Consider Yourself,” and “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two” running through my head for the rest of the day.
Make it a shiny penny kind of week!
Thanks so much Laurie! OLIVER! is a huge favorite in this house, and it is really a treat to see it in this manner with the big screen and roadhouse print! Yes the songs you say you probably revisited today had me going yesterday coming home in the car! The two great ones you mention, and “Who Will Buy?” and “Food Glorious Food” as well. Always a treat! Have a great week my friend! Many thanks as always!
So Mickey departs. So few left now from the 1930s.
Olivia De Havilland (98 this year)
British starlet Nova Pilbeam (95 this year)
Danielle Darrieux (97 this year)
Michèle Morgan (94 this year)
Setsuko Hara (94 this year)
Micheline Presle (92 this year), pretty much it. All women.
To see Mick at his best, forget the film work, however good. It’s his venal egomaniac in the title role of Frankenheimer’s TV play classic THE COMEDIAN (1957).
And Luise Rainer at 104 and counting. I would have thought the kids would go last but now Rooney and Temple are gone. Winning two Oscars apparently does wonders for an actress’s longevity. Interesting that there are surviving male stars of comparable age (K Douglas, E Wallach) but they got their starts much later.
Aye, you beat me to the punch Samuel.
http://www.metro.us/newyork/entertainment/movies-entertainment/2014/01/12/happy-104th-birthday-to-two-time-oscar-winning-actress-luise-rainer/
Rainer is incredible, as is de Havilland–good point too about Wallach and Douglas!!!
There is one kid left, Margaret O’Brien, but I didn’t count her as I don’t think she made an appearance until 1941 or 42. She’s 77 this year.
I believe Dickie Moore, who played Marlene Dietrich’s young son in Blonde Venus in 1932 and was in other 1930s films as a young child, is still alive – looking up his potted biography at the imdb, he actually made his screen debut as a baby in 1927 alongside John Barrymore in ‘The Beloved Rogue’, and retired from acting in the 1950s. He’ll be 89 this year. But yeah, not many left.
Indeed Judy. Moore was a mainstay in the OUR GANG comedies, appearing in nearly all the episodes made in 1932-33.
I just got my romantic results through the email Sam. My lips are sealed. So many great films, and a bunch that I voted for. Looking forward to the start of the countdown and all the excellent work that will be featured. Great job seeing Oliver and all those Truffauts!
You got the results, Frank!? Oh my I don’t see it yet.
Jon, I received it hours ago.
Aye Frank, keep what you know under wraps! Ha! All the writers and voters know now, but readers will learn on a day to day basis starting on May 12th. Thanks for the very kind words. We have Tribeca following Truffaut next week, and that will be even more insane!
Have a great week my friend. Many thanks as always!
Oh and I was very sad to hear about Mickey Rooney.
Aye Frank, a very sad day.
Yes, I agree, ‘Mississippi Mermaid’ is indeed wonderful. ‘The Bride Wore Black’ is not.
What on earth did Ava Gardner see in Mickey Rooney? Enlighten me, Sam, I know nothing about the personal lives of either.
I was going to comment on ‘The Bling Ring’ but have no time now because the dog has a vet appointment I will say briefly that Sofia Coppola’s films are becoming increasingly specialized and alienating to the celebrity culture ignoscenti (like me — who the hell is Rachel Bilson?). Later, my friends.
Well Mark I will agree that MISSISSIPPI MERMAID is absolutely the better film, but THE BRIDE WORE BLACK did entertain to a fair degree, and contained some effective black humor. But not everyone likes the film, I will agree with that. Ava must have been infatuated. Rooney did have some issues with women for sure, as it is hard to believe that all eight were problematic. His last marriage lasted the longest but ended in an ugly court case that contended abuse. When Rooney was at the peak of his game he was magnetic, and had many women admiring him, including Ava. i am NO fan of Sophia Coppola, so be rest assured I am on the same page with you here!
Have a great week my friend. Many thanks as always!
It has stopped raining here – finally and right now the sun is shining Whoo Hoo!
I am trying to catch up on my blog reading and writing today, as my next book to review is only 68 pages. I just read 5 books in 7 days two being over 500 pages each – I think I have reached a limit
I got to sing OLIVER when I was in High School in Cleveland and the star’s voice changed – I was back stage watching a tv monitor…FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD What is there more handsome.
Our local postal worker knock every dead this weekend singing Les Mis. at local theater group….I could not get in to see it as it was sold out all 7 days – Facebook filled up with praise for this fellows portrayal.
I just heard the mailbox (New mailbox – old one rotted out) click shut…Season 2 THE GOOD WIFE is there.
I add to my list
I grew up on Mickey Rooney, so sad when humor leaves our earth boundness – we could certainly use more laughter.
My book review today about Keith Ellison’s autobiography, has now gotten 15K spam comments about ab***t*on and his Muslim status in congress….all that anger Glad I have a good sorter. Wow…
Patricia—-
I am happy to hear that the sun has found its way through all the recent gloomy weather by you! I am heading over to PATRICIA’S WISDOM as soon as I complete this response to you. Your reading over the past months has been an inspiration, and you’ve obviously written about some fabulous works that have even attracted some of the authors. Bravo! But you are an amazing reader to complete those kind of numbers! You have me very intrigued with the review on the Ellison autobiography. Great to hear you had such a wonderful experience with OLIVER! during your high school years! And I am always delighted to hear of another successful staging of LES MISERABLES, and kudos to that postal worker for doing such a fabulous job. I haven’t yet seen any of the episodes of THE GOOD WIFE but really would like to. Yes, Mickey Rooney gave us so much entertainment over the years, and like you I grew up with him. I wish you a great week Patricia and continued good weather! Many thanks as always!
Hello Sam and Everyone!
So, it’s nice to see how the romantic poll is coming and many will enjoy what’s coming! I also have seen “Close Encounters” (duh) and I rate it the same as you, it’s a really great movie with the amazing participation of Truffaut.
So, the movies I saw last week:
– Accattone (1961, Pier Paolo Pasolini) ****1/2 Incredible. There’s some kind of mysterious aura sorrounding this movie, as if it was made with the intention of passing as neorrealism, but actually achieving something different, due to the amount of fantasies and dream sequences, the movie is something more poetic, like the work of Pasolini at that time. The character of Accattone is maybe one of the most dreadful and still likeable creations ever, its characteristics of pity and shame make it complex and not just a simple caricature, that some other neorrealism characters were at that time.
– Babylon (2014, Jon S. Baird, Danny Boyle) ***1/2 A pilot co-directed by Danny Boyle that mixes comedy and drama, only to find that the comedic elements are unnecesary to the most interesting elements and moments of this hour of television. The drama is strong and has good performances, while the comedy elements regarding the street cops is mostly annoying or barely chuckle worthy. The serious elements put forward here regarding the crimes of shooting and other stuff is not something that requires comic relief, as it would’ve stayed more suspenseful if they didn’t exist. Nevertheless, a good pilot that requires more to be great, and with no hint of Boyle’s style, sadly.
– Witching & Bitching (2013, Alex de la Iglesia) ****1/2 This film is just nuts, non-stop comedy-horror-action with some stupendous references to popular and historical culture (the monster at the end, for those who know, was a special treat), that its only disadvantage is not having a good ending, not finding a firmer ground in which to expand after almost destroying the world as we know it, as there was no actual saving off it, but it was as if they couldn’t end like in the Cabin in the Woods, so they had to tackle a happier ending that feels completely out of tone when compared to the rest of this fantastic film, that features many references and great acting from every player. Seeing this with an audience also helps, this movie is a blast from start to finish, one to laugh and enjoy in its horrific bits.
– The Driller Killer (1979, Abel Ferrara) *** This movie gets a better rating than I hoped it would, as I just decided that it was deeper than what I thought in an initial reflection. Besides anything I could say now about how it’s a character study about an artist that just can’t take anymore after the stress overbears him and makes him go insane, I can’t deny that the film is kinda dull and uninteresting through large stretches of time, and only when the killings start happening, and when the rampage of killing becomes more hypnotic and visually interesting in the way that the special effects work, the way that the acting becomes over the top in a nicer way than in the rest of the film, I guess that there’s praise to be had here, as it manages to do and conjure something special about itself, as well as making a reputation as one of the strangest proto-slashers that ever came out in that era, but yeah, the film could be seen as a disaster, as one of the worst in fact, but it’s really not that bad once you think about it.
– Gangs of New York (2002, Martin Scorsese) ***1/2 The overall scope and craft present in this movie is something to applaud and marvel at, but I think there are some elements here that irk me more than anything. The film seems to drag when it gets to the hour mark, and how the plan of Priest’s son seems to be clear for all of us, as well as the way that it just wanders around showing nastyness instead of advancing the plot in any way, something that Scorsese amended in later films (not The Departed though). There’s also the fact that at times it feels like a history lesson, and at times more like fake history lesson, or something akin to a history channel revisitation. The whole Draft riot seems to be rushed and has no real fixation, sense or reason besides the few scenes that preceded it, not enough for the amount of action and blood shown, as well as serving no purpose to the main story besides showing a historical element (that doesn’t even comply with the figure of the butcher, who died years before the riot). But everything else, including Cameron Diaz, is mighty fine.
– The Living Dead Girl (1982, Jean Rollin) **** This is a slow burner in the highest sense of the word, and I love how it starts with a jolt of horror only to then calm down, then to start and jump again, revive some kind of lost homoerotic love, then scattering possible scenarios for a finale, and then burning the bridges, giving a big fuck you to the audience and having the cake and eating it too, almost literally. I loved the boldness and how the movie didn’t care if the people felt dissapointed, the only thing that lacked, in a way, was how they left a survivor, it would’ve been a perfect movie if that survivor died as well. Anyway, the film features gorgeous milky cinematography and some crazy zooms, and all the Rollin goodness you can expect from one of his films that vampires aren’t protagonists, but the monster still drinks (some) blood.
– Noah (2014, Darren Aronofsky) ****1/2 Well, I liked this. A lot. But I think that Darren Aronofsky works better when the epic is restricted to one element of the film, inside all the movies that he seems to be making inside of his bigger film. I mean, in “The Fountain” the action was restricted to the past, and it was also contrasted with the final scene of the tree growing out of the protagonist and the scenes with the queen. Here, the film craves the epicness of the battle and then the flood at all times, and while tense and greatly done as it is in the final sequences in the boat, it still doesn’t manage to bring the calmness and beautiful imagery that comes with that at every moment (unlike in “The Fountain”, where the battle sequences were gorgeous, and similar to some elements in the fight sequences here). So, yeah, this is a great movie, the best of the year so far, but it’s maybe my least favorite feature length work by Aronofsky.
– Propaganda (2014, Various Directors) **** A documentary about the political propaganda in the last presidential election in Chile, I’ll write more about it in my blog soon.
– The Raid: Redemption (2011, Gareth Evans) **** An intense action film, that as progresses turns you numb to the violence and even the amazing choreographies turn repetitive after a while. Nevertheless, what’s here is good, an intense and well shot action choreography that maintains some kind of realism and at the same time enough fun for it to be watchable and understandable.
That’s all, have a great week Sam!
Jaimie—-
Yes today was quite a day with all the essays being scooped up so quickly! That really speaks well for the enthusiastic of all the writers! And of course you will do your usual great job with your own assignments. I do remember you are a big fan of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS indeed. My son Sammy was spellbound by it all. Great capsule there of Pasolini’s ACCETTONE, which I also like quite a bit!
Nice to hear you really liked NOAH a lot. There have been a few bloggers we admire and respect who have trashed it, but I just can’t understand all this hate. Aronofsky as you know is a creative force, and some of the ideas (like the watchers) were inspired. Definitely a darker interpretation of the characters, but to the film’s credit methinks. In any case, the film did very well critically. Wow, you say it is your least favorite Aronofsky while at the same time saying it is the best film of the year so far. What that tells me is that you really love Aronofsky!!! I like GANGS OF NEW YORK quite a bit, and apparently so to you to a degree, but I understand the issues you bring here. No doubt this is a very long film for one. Thanks for the great capsule on the Rollin film. I’ve seen others by him, but not this one.HE DRILLER KILLER is one Ferrara I have not seen, but you really do a great job describing it’s prime appeal/power here. I would definitely be interested in PROPAGANDA, and would like to see a review up at OVERLOOK’S CORRIDOR! Sounds like a mixed assessment of that Danny Boyle TV film. Thanks for the typically superlative wrap and remarkable week of watching!!!! Have a nice one ahead too my friend!
Sad to read about Mickey Rooney. He certainly had an incredible career and worked through the major transitions in cinema, tv, from the silent era until current times.
I have been waiting to see UNDER THE SKIN since I read diverse views after its TIFF screening. A film that could polarize people to such an extent felt worth seeing. Nice to see such a high rating from you Sam. That comes after Allan’s recent stellar review of it.
101 is certainly a worthy decision. Quite the final turnout for the ballot. Looking forward to the reviews so I can start catching up with some of those films.
Aye Sachin. An American institution for many decades who touched so many people, while engaging in his own personal turbulence. UNDER THE SKIN will no doubt alienate as many as it ravishes, but it is indeed interesting that Allan and I are basically on the same page. I don’t consider it as he does as the masterpiece of the new millennium, but it certainly is unique and one of the most remarkable works of 2014. Still, I understand why some will go the full nine yards with it. Looking forward to sharing views with you. Like you I am thrilled at the amazing response to the romantic countdown, and am anticipated some really great stuff. have a great week my friend! Many thanks as always. I am now taking at a hard look at the Tribeca schedule, which includes Roman Polanski’s new film, and Marion Vernoux’s BRIGHT DAYS AHEAD, and planning a 12 day siege. Ha!
I heard the score is mindbogglingly great. High on my radar…
The score is absolutely brilliant Maurizio!!! I am certain you will love it!!!!
No Truffaut tonight–ha, I am at home. But tomorrow it will be THE WILD CHILD, Friday TWO ENGLISH GIRLS, Saturday-THE STORY OF ADELE H. and Sunday DAY FOR NIGHT.
English language masterpiece of the new millennium. I’d put it on a level with Love Exposure and Melancholia (Diaz) at the very apex of films post 2000.
And unlike Diaz’s film, UNDER THE SKIN should be much more accessible legally. I am looking forward to it
Sam,
I was always an admirer of MISSISSPPI MERMAID even when most were panning it. Probably has to do, at least in part, that it was based on a Cornell Woolrich novel. Like you, I wish I had included it in my countdown! The Andy Hardy films were a constant on TV back in the days of my youth, one or another was always on “The Early Show.” His later career I truthfully found erratic and uneven. One film I remember well, liked and wish it would show up on TCM or DVD is Don Siegel’s “Baby Face Nelson” which seems to be in limbo. BTW speaking of Don Siegel, another rare film, his “Riot in Cell Block 11” is coming to DVD thanks to Criterion later this year.
Caught two films this past week..
The Grand Budapest Hotel (*****) The first great film of the year. The film is original, charming, funny , thoughtful and visually stunning with some wonderful performances headed by Ralph Fiennes. A grand hotel indeed!
At the Circus (***) Proof positive that MGM was slowly killing the Marx Brothers brand. The film would be a waste of time were it not the occasional burst of brilliance from Groucho, Harpo and Chico interrupting the bland storyline and the even duller music interludes, that is, except for Groucho’s classic “Lydia, the Tattooed Lady.”
Have a great week!!!
John—Great to hear you were an original fan of MISSISSIPPI MERMAID, which got taken over the coals upon its original release. Yes, the Woolrich source material should have convinced the skeptics. It would have indeed been a natural for the countdown. I completely agree with you and Tony and the timelessness of the Andy Hardy shows, which for many is Rooney’s major legacy. Agreed that his later work was erratic. I also would love to see the Siegel and look forward to that Criterion DVD! Fantastic response to BUDAPEST. I completely agree!!!! And true on that particular Marx!!! Have a great week my friend!!! Thank you as always!!!
Sam,
I continue to be amazed by your cinematic adventures, all of Hitchcock and now the best of Truffaut, a perfect combination. I am especially intrigued by your evaluation of Mississippi Mermaid. This is one I have never made much of an effort to see, strangely enough, given how much I adore Catherine Deneuve. Your esteem should give me the motivation to finally check it out.
I did see The Grand Budapest Hotel last week. An intriguing, often charming, Russian doll of a movie. I am going to have to enjoy it a time or two more to attempt to sort out all it’s nooks and crannies. (****1/2)
Other recent viewings include:
The Blood of a Poet, Cocteau, 1930 – (****)
Vampyr, Dreyer, 1932 – (****)
Au Bonheur Des Dames, Duvivier, 1930 – (****)
Shadow of a Doubt, Hitchcock, 1943 – (****)
Waterloo Bridge, LeRoy, 1940 – (***1/2)
I still have to wait a couple of weeks to see Under the Skin. In light of Allen declaring it to be among the major masterpieces of the new millennium, the anticipation is nearly unbearable.
Thanks so very much Duane!!!!
Yes, Hitch and Truffaut are a perfect match, and for a host of reasons of course. As much as I have revered Truffaut over my life (his THE 400 BLOWS was the very first foreign language film I ever saw) I have come these last two weeks to embrace a new-found love for him, and in so doing have “discovered” two films that have eluded me over the years -MISSISSIPPI MERMAID and THE GREEN ROOM. I saw THE WILD CHILD last night with Lucille and young Sammy, and will be seeing TWO ENGLISH GIRLS, THE STORY OF ADELE H. and DAY FOR NIGHT over the weekend. I just reserved four library volumes on Truffaut–typical for me when I go on my obsessions, and have been delighted to turn on some family members. I must strongly urge you to see MISSISSIPPI MERMAID, which David Thomson considers among the ten greatest films ever made. Deneurve is indeed ravishing in it as always. I am absolutely thrilled to hear you loved THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, which is surely one of the very best films of 2014 so far. I do adore SHADOW OF A DOUBT, VAMPYR and BLOOD OF A POET (the first two would get my top rating) and the Duvivier is exceptional. WATERLOO BRIDGE is decent enough for sure. Yes I greatly look forward to your assessment of UNDER THE SKIN, which I also rate highly at 4.5 of 5.
Have a great week my friend. Many thanks as always!
Sam, what a week you had here! I would have been alongside you for all of the Truffaut, and probably all of the rest as well. I looked up the Truffaut retrospective and was really excited to see they were doing that.
Still a little quiet here in terms of moviegoing, unfortunately. But I did manage to take one step closer to completing the Mark Cousins’ Story of Film doc. This week I saw episode twelve focused on international cinema in the 80s. I particularly liked his handling of Chinese and Russian cinema as well his interview with John Sayles.
Hope you had a great week. Thanks so much, Sam!
Jeffrey—-
I have long known of your love for Truffaut and the French New Wave directors, and for French film in general. I was thrilled to hear you love THE GREEN ROOM. I am planning on making two more appearances at the Festival this week, before it ends on Thursday, which is the same day Tribeca starts–SMALL CHANGE and THE LAST METRO, both very good films as you well know. Ah yes, the Cousins landmark documentary–great that you are moving forward with that, and I do well remember and endorse that particular segment.
Thanks again my friend! Your commentary is deeply cherished. have a great week!