Gsc films e-m the Eagle
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СодержаниеThe Last Samurai The Last Station The Last Temptation of Christ The Last Time I Saw Paris The Last Tycoon Laurel and Hardy Roughest Africa |
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The Last Samurai 2004 3.0 Ed. Zwick Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Koyuki. Rather annoying epic/samurai movie about guilty American (he has killed Indians) who hires self out to organize Japan’s emperor’s army, and then goes over to opposing samurai resisters. Lots of excellent battle scenes, and beautiful photography. Cruise good, although annoying in usual way as he works his way toward maturity and redemption. Watanabe complex and fairly interesting character. Koyuki beautiful, quiet, submissive, and noble. Historical aspect annoying. Idolizes the samurai tradition, implying that if Japan had just remained loyal to it (where the emperor was free and powerful!), then Japan would have been better. Modernizers in Japan are evil and venal and selfish. Emperor follows redemption path similar to Tom, implication being that he will assert self and have dignity. Narrative has certain tragic dignity, but 1) awfully predictable in usual Hollywood fashion, and 2) ending has Tom survive despite trillions of machine gun bullets, and he ends up getting the girl, the widow of the man he had killed in battle!
The Last Seduction 1994 John Dahl 3.5 Linda Fiorentino center stage as the nastiest, most manipulative, and consummately conscienceless femme fatale in the history of the movies; Bill Pullman good as her husband who gives it back to her almost as good as he gets it; Peter Berg a little annoying as the chump she picks up after she flees with Pullman’s money from New York to the Buffalo suburb of Beston; J.T. Walsh as Fiorentino’s sleazy lawyer with great one-liners and cynical advice for her over the telephone. Excellent noir-style thriller focusing on the most brazenly evil, man-hating and man-using woman in the movies since Barbara Stanwyck (although Kathleen Turner in ‘Body Heat’ was just as conscienceless, she was not as steely mean). Bridget/Wendy is completely ruthless; she treats her men worse than a female preying mantis. Tall, thin, attractive, and brazenly aggressive, she practically rapes Berg when she meets him in a bar in Beston: when she unzips his fly under the table, every man in the audience knows his goose is cooked. While she parries her husband’s attempts to get his money back, she hatches a (somewhat confusing and incredible) plot to bamboozle Berg into killing her husband. The film ends with a couple of sudden satisfying twists: Berg cannot bring himself to murder Pullman (Fiorentino is watching outside the window of his New York apartment), so Fiorentino has to do it herself by prying open the mouth of the handcuffed Pullman and in a protracted shot spraying a large amount of mace directly into his mouth. And when Berg, who has been framed for the murder, remembers that Fiorentino had put a false name on her husband’s door, we cut to her driving through New York in a big limo, and then she burns the exculpatory name card with a lighter: Berg will have to take the rap! Like Kathleen Turner, she takes the money and heads off to a new life. The script has some great lines: the best ones are about Bridget: Walsh – "Anyone check you for a heartbeat lately?" and Berg – "I love you... I'm sure you feel the same way - I'm sure you love you, too" – or from her -- "Spare me your brainless, countrified morality."
The Last Station 2009 Michael Hoffman (Britain) 3.0 Christopher Plummer with lots of long facial hair and a hearty joie de vivre as the elderly Leo Tolstoy; Helen Mirren as his beautiful, expressive, and outspoken wife, Sofia; James McElroy as the callow, open-ended secretary Valentin; Paul Giamatti as the fanatical director of the Tolstoyan movement – a man entirely devoted to the master; Kerry Condon looking for love in Tolstoy’s camp. Well-financed, lush Euro film about the last days of Tolstoy in 1910. The narrative involves the life-and-death conflict between Giamatti, who wants Tolstoy to leave his literary inheritance “to the Russian people” (whatever that means), and Sofia, who fights tooth-and-nail to preserve the heritage for herself and her children (she gave birth to 13). Valentin is the fellow caught in the middle: he is sent by Giamatti to spy on the wife, but he soon finds out that Tolstoy is not as ascetic and priggish as he thought and that he sympathizes more with Sofia than with Giamatti. Meanwhile, Condon seduces Valentin, and as he hesitates in his life choice (priggish Tolstoyan or embracer of life?), she pulls him away from the community. Photography dwells on lush interiors and exteriors of Tolstoy’s mansion, intriguing shots of Russian trains at the turn of the century; soaring strings of the orchestra reinforce the deep feelings aroused in the audience by the story. The heart of the film is the thunderous performances of the two principals. Tolstoy is a hearty lover of life, bigger than life with his outbursts of laughter, anger, and rooster-like crowing to seduce his wife. Sofia is a dynamic font of emotion: charming, elegant, seductive, personable, a tower of strength, a tiger when aroused to defend her rights and those of her children, bellowing hysterical rage when she and her husband descend into the pit. Their relationship is stormily ambiguous: they have been together for almost 50 years and constantly profess love for one another, and yet their fights are epic in their violence and emotion. Tolstoy is finally driven out of the house by the conflict and suffering, but he gets no farther than “the Last Station” before he takes ill and then dies. All are chastened; Valentin and Masha are married, Giamatti continues his campaign, and Sofia prevails in the end, as indicated in the postscript normal for historically oriented films. Film is lushly entertaining with two blockbuster performances by dramatic cinematic lions. One has often the feeling that the performances overwhelm the genuineness of the story.
The Last Temptation of Christ 1987 Martin Scorsese 3.5 Willem Dafoe as Jesus, Barbara Hershey as wild, intense, even scary Mary Magdalen, Harvey Keitel as fiery New-Yorkese talking conscience of Jesus, David Bowie as urbane, flat Pontius Pilate, Harry Dean Stanton as inspired, faith-filled, strong-willed Paul. Scorsese’s passionate meditation on the relation between body and spirit, the world and grace, comfort/happiness and duty/mission, in the person of Jesus. He starts off as a Roman collaborator despised by all the Jews around him, including Mary Magdalen but especially the fiery Judas (associated with the Zealots). Jesus resists the will of God that he preach and die for mankind – sacrifice and atone; he resists his messianic destiny. Impressive Devil-inspired scenes of visions in the desert – where snakes (woman) and lion (Judas) and fire – that tempt him with pleasure, possessions and power. He resists, is transformed, and goes on to perform miracles and exorcisms, the most impressive and moving of which was the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus warms to his mission under the lash of Judas (although unclear whether he wants to emphasize a gospel of love or to be more political), although he still pleads with God (Father) in the Garden to spare him the agony of crucifixion; Jesus finally gets Judas to betray him to the Romans so that he will have to fulfill his destiny. On the cross, though, he is brought down, spared, by an angel (reminds one of a Botticelli cherub) that might have been sent by the Devil (the angel tells Jesus that God “killed” his wife). He then lives as an ordinary man in a fertile oasis with wives (the first of which was Mary Magdalene) and children, and he is happy as a man and enjoys life. This phase is ended when his disciples come to him and reproach him – Judas being of course the angriest – for having abandoned his destiny, for fleeing the sacrifice that God intended for him. Jesus then returns to the cross and dies in agony and has the right to cry out “It is accomplished.” According to this version, about which Scorsese says in the beginning that it is not based on the gospel, Jesus was a weak man, tempted to be just a man and be happy, and only with a great struggle did he overcome his reluctance and submit himself to the will of his father. Obviously comes out of the author’s own struggles between the blandishments of the world and the attraction of grace. Few special effects. Very veristic textures – dusty, reddish, earthy environment with poor, ragged, gritty characters. The score is exotic and draws a lot of Arab music. The prevalence of flat New York accents (especially Keitel; the exceptions are Pilate and the last tempting angel who speak British) is sometimes off-putting, especially in such a realistic seeming environment. Certainly one of the most challenging film treatments of Jesus; it makes you experience the ambiguities and agonies of being both God and man.
The Last Time I Saw Paris 1954 Richard Brooks (MGM) 2.5 Elizabeth Taylor as beautiful, free-living daughter of, Walter Pidgeon as eccentric free-spirited father who loves his two daughters, Donna Reed as the other more straight-laced daughter who loves the guy but loses him to the more glamorous Liz Taylor, Van Johnson as the American newspaper reporter, pretty free-wheeling himself, who marries Liz Taylor, Eva Gabor as the other woman that (apparently) seduces Van Johnson, a young, callow Roger Moore as the tennis pro who makes a play for Taylor. Based on Fitzgerald novel ‘Babylon Revisited,’ soap opera/melodramatic romance about the relationship of Johnson and Taylor, their problems and infidelities, and finally Taylor’s death. Takes place against the backdrop of post-World War II Paris, most of it shot on good studio sets. Tenor of movie is a bit annoying – infidelities occurring but with no details (presumably because of Hayes Code), and we are always looking for something really dramatic. All the principals do a pretty good job. Movie is watchable mainly for its stars (a beautiful 22-year-old Liz Taylor, especially before she cuts her hair short, Donna Reed as the more conformist daughter whose hair and gowns are always just prim and perfect, etc.) and for fabulous women’s wardrobe – the height of 50s women’s fashions, especially Taylor who appears in one stunner after another, including a vivid red gown that is photographed against the white of the Paris snow (?). The theme song wears a little thin after the 25th repetition.
The Last Tycoon 1976 Elia Kazan (wr. Harold Pinter) 3.0 An exquisite ‘A’ film about a big Hollywood studio in the 1930s sound era, obviously modeled on MGM (Monroe Stahr in place of Boy Wonder Irving Thalberg). John Carridine spectral as tour guide (50s) in the beginning; Robert DeNiro handsome, serious, elegant (always wears a coat and tie), svelte, arrogant, confident, often scowling, enormously successful and profitable as Monroe Stahr as production chief; Robert Mitchum as a studio head; Jeanne Moreau as temperamental and prima donna actress; Tony Curtis very fit, ego-rich star performer with mustache who is having sexual problems with his wife; Donald Pleasance in cameo role (two short scenes) as difficult disgruntled alcoholic writer; Ray Milland as a passive executive in the background; Dana Andrews looking grizzled in the beginning as a director who has to deal with a temperamental star (Moreau); Theresa Russell as Cecilia, cute, glamorous, spoiled daughter of Mitchum – she however is overly coiffed and not an expressive actress; Angelica Huston in tiny cameo as aspiring actress; Ingrid Boulting ethereally beautiful, broad-faced (with bad teeth but a pretty nude body manifested in her nude scenes), and very low-key as DeNiro’s romantic obsession; Jack Nicholson in calmer than usual role slicked up in cool suit with mustache, apparently a Communist representing writers in the studio. Much information on how movies were made: the studio system; the studio people have to keep their eye on the bean counters in New York; DeNiro at the center of everything, he even reads all the scripts, and reviews all the rushes telling the editor how much to take out of a shot; he objects strenuously to a couple of lines in a scene ("Nor I you." Monroe – "Have you ever heard anyone talk like that?") and requires it to be reshot despite the cost; he takes a script from a writer and farms it out to other writers for modification and polishing; he fires director Andrews at the drop of a hat and without warning; has a conference with discontented writer Pleasance (Fitzgerald, Chandler?) and teaches him how to write for films (the nickel = the visual emphasis of films); but later he has to intervene when Pleasance is roaring drunk; writers are making a bid to unionize and increase their income and standing, but Monroe resists mightily; in the end Monroe is fired by New York because of his stance on the writers' union. Drama focuses on Stahr: in bad health and yet working himself to death; he is a lonely man after the death of his beloved Mina Davis, who was an actress, and he embarks on a stubborn romantic pursuit of the elusive Boulting; he exercises a sort of sensual spell over her, and when they are together she is a sexual and romantic tiger. Boulting is obviously presented as his escape from isolation and loneliness. Film increasingly focuses on Monroe's isolation, ill temper, and autocratic character, as Boulting moves away from him and marries another man; he gets drunk, provokes the union representative, and throws up. Film ends in loss: Boulting sends Monroe a telegram telling him that she is married, and DeNiro is fired from the studio. He says he "doesn't want to lose you", but he walks down an empty studio street and then disappears into the darkness of a soundstage. The strong point of the film is an astounding set of experienced stars. Gorgeous production – sumptuous costumes, jewels, and sets, although writers work in virtual hovels. Monroe drives a fabulous vintage red convertible. Nice cuts between the rushes of black and white movies and the color-soaked present.
The Last Wave 1977 (Australia) Peter Weir 3.0 Richard Chamberlain as David, a lawyer, Gulpilil as Chris, an Aboriginal inhabitant of Sydney. Foreboding film about sort of environmental crisis happening to Sydney (lots of rain, water dripping down stairs and out of the car radio, mud falling from the sky, frogs doing the same, and in the finale a large wave [rather unimpressively depicted] that presumably carries away the protagonist), its relation to an Aboriginal tribe that turns out is still living in Sydney with its sacred places deep in under-city caves (you have to pass through sewers to get to them), and how a corporate lawyer is drawn into the events. Chamberlain is hired to defend five Aboriginal Sydneyites accused of murder (the victim was actually killed by Aboriginal medicine since he had committed some offense against the tribe); he ends up losing the case. It turns out that Chamberlain is somehow related to the local tribe, that he participates in their dream time (dreams are proclaimed to be somehow more real than waking thoughts and actions), and that he has been receiving dream apparitions from Chris. Movie is more creepy (the incessant rain, the branches always brushing against the windows, the unexpected appearances of Chris and the elder Charlie in David’s house, the playing of the didgeridoo in tense moments) and foreboding (What is going to happen to Sydney? Is this the end of the world?) than it is scary. Film suffers somewhat from a vague story line (What exactly is David’s relation to the Aborigines? How explain the coincidence that David, who is vaguely one of the Aborigines, is drawn into the defense of the accused? Why is he killed by the wave in the end?); and the climactic scene in the under-sewer cave is anti-climactic – even with the painted Aborigines jumping out from behind rocks, the scene lacks panache. After ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock,’ this is another Weir contribution to the encounter between urbanized, rational modern civilization and the primeval/primitive that unbeknownst to us, lurks in the middle of our cities.
Laura 1944 Otto Preminger (20cFox) 4.0 Gene Tierney as ethereally beautiful and mysterious Laura whom we are led to believe is dead until halfway through the film; Dana Andrews as low-key detective investigating her murder – he falls in love with Laura while still believing she is dead; Clifton Webb as venom-soaked gossip columnist who, although apparently homosexual, loves Laura with ultimate possessiveness; Vincent Price as decadent, self-indulgent gigolo type of guy, incapable of any courageous act, who latches on to women for support; Judith Anderson as unattractive middle aged woman who pays men to pay attention to her. Although often contrived and artificial, an outstanding semi-film noir about apparent murder of Laura, although in classic scene she comes back to her apartment and then becomes a murder suspect. Much of the languid, haunted, nostalgic romantic atmosphere of the film comes from the famous song by Johnny Mercer. First half of film wonderful as Andrews investigates murder, compiles list of suspects, and then as he gazes at her ethereal portrait over the fireplace in her living room (what kind of woman would display a portrait of herself in her own home?) imperceptibly falls in love with the dead Laura himself. Wonderful halfway scene as Andrews cruises alone through Laura’s empty apartment, rummages through her underwear drawer, gazes longingly at the large portrait, and takes a couple of drinks – so far this is like a date with a dead woman; falls asleep, camera tracks in and out slightly (passage of time), then with camera on his face we hear the apartment door open and close (who would enter the apartment without a key?), then camera switches to Laura from the back as she closes the door, she turns around and voilà! Laura is alive! (I wish the revelation could be handled to generate even more surprise.) Clifton Webb priceless as the real guilty man, sarcastic, venomously verbal wit that he uses in his gossip column, highly conscious of his superiority to anyone around him, particularly toward the Scots working class police detective McPherson, whom he insults continuously; Andrews pulls out his baseball puzzle almost every time they meet to heighten the class hostility between them. Waldo comes across as kind of Nietzchean overman, who because of his presumed superiority is not bound by the usual moral and social rules of the run-of-the-mill guy. He is probably gay (although it is understandably [1944] not made explicit in the film) – note Andrews’ amused glance when Webb steps out of his tub toward the beginning of the film; he jealously blackens the reputation of any man who gets close to Laura; his murderous passion may come partly from his own conflicted feelings about his sexuality. Webb’s persona is particularly vivid since he narrates the film. Tierney is beautiful and mysterious; her beauty is used to great effect by Preminger. Although she is held in high esteem by everyone who knew her (particularly her maid Bessie, who worships her), Laura is implicitly presented as a manipulator who likes to fool around with men (the first boyfriend spent time in the evening in her apartment) and use them for her own purposes; her using of Waldo almost backfires on her (she is saved only by luck), but her growing attachment to Mark at the end makes us wonder where that relationship will be going. Do we really think that Laura is going to settle down with Mark? Nice final scene when after Waldo is shot by the police, camera focuses on the clock shattered by the shotgun blast – the social order is blasted and what is in store for Andrews in the future with Laura? Although somewhat hidden, the whole movie is perverse – a homosexual man is driven to murder, the mainstream detective “falls in love with a corpse” (Waldo), a woman (Anderson) is determined to pair up with a Shelby, even though she knows he is a worthless wastrel; the whole society is decadent and even rather perverted. Not quite a film noir – the cinematography is high key, the femme fatale is ambiguous, the protagonist does not move inevitably to destruction – but relation to trend is obvious. Quite a few implausible points in the plot; and Andrews’ crime investigation is often routine and even clichéd. Great movie that could have been a little bit better; but who cares.
Laurel and Hardy
Angora Love 1929 4.0 Laurel and Hardy. Truly hilarious silent L&H. Plot gets going with goat following them home to hotel room. Two are a domesticated pair sleeping in same bed together. Hardy with his patient slow burn, exasperation, incredulous gaze into the camera, and Laurel with his smug look of superiority, his weeping and whining, his clueless look, blinking his eyes, scratching his head. A lot of little indignities (stepping on nails in the floor, catching finger in the door, bumping heads against the headboard, glass lamp shades crashing to the floor), but ends with donnybrook slow revenge drama as several characters retreat from room to come back and throw water on one of the others; ends with water accidentally thrown on the cop.
Oranges and Lemons 1923 Hal Roach Studios 3.0 Stan Laurel by himself. Set in orange packing factory in an orange grove, Laurel makes chaos of the whole operation, making a pest of himself no matter where; just a fool he creates anarchy. Very little indication of his eventual persona; here he is acrobatic and clueless, and quite annoying. A lot of petty violence – hitting people over the head with empty packing crates. Some inventive writing, e.g., how to raise empty crates to the next level.
Roughest Africa 1923 Hal Roach 3.0 Laurel alone in his first two-reel comedy for Hal Roach. Mocks travelogue films to Africa. He encounters ostrich, lion, bear(?), porcupine, elephant. Nothing particularly funny, although some wonder at his being in same frame as lions and elephants. Particularly true for the end of the lion sequence that has him being chased by 8-10 lions apparently in the same frame! His routines seem an awful like Buster Keaton. His embarrassed expression is compelling.
Busy Bodies 193x 4.0 Laurel, Hardy. One of the best, since mayhem begins with an original smaller problem (the nail in the water pipe), which then escalates into bigger ones from Hardy caught in the window to punches exchanged with the victim worker, and on to a very violent and extreme conclusion as Hardy is expelled through a large pipe to the outside. Final gag is that the boys’ car is sawed in two by a band saw. Ironic that the guys, who are of course dressed in ties and bowler hats, happily go to work in their job in the blue collar lumber mill.