What classics did you see last week ? (27 Oct - 02 Nov 2019)
Nov 4, 2019 3:41:16 GMT
teleadm, wmcclain, and 1 more like this
Post by morrisondylanfan on Nov 4, 2019 3:41:16 GMT
Hi all,I hope everyone had a good weekend,and I finally did a Noir triple bill I've been looking forward to (I now need to get the book!)
The origins:
The original- A Bibi Andersson Nordic Noir which had no IMDb review,& hardly any pics online!
Think of a Number (1969) 10
Calculating from learning of a bank heist to take place on how he can steal a Christmas bonus for himself, writer/ director Palle Kjærulff-Schmidt & cinematographer Claus Loof bank on a meticulous Film Noir atmosphere, sliding the camera under the table towards Borck folding notes for himself whilst pretending to give the robber the full amount.
Spreading X-Mas cheer decorations across the walls of the bank,Kjærulff- Schmidt wraps Borck in crisp winter blues and early dark nights,which crackles with paranoia from long tracking shots of the robber wanting to collect Borck's bonus, that Borck finds himself unable to escape in a blistering evil under the sun lingering doubt final. Realising a robbery is to take place later in the day as the bank opens up, Palle Kjærulff- Schmidt's adaptation of Anders Bodelsen's novel brilliantly dissects Borck using the professional image he's built to take a layer of the soon to be stolen cash, off for himself, tensely checked in clipped dialogue of Borck attempting to keep his fellow staff out of the loop on the exchange.
Merrily leaving the bank with a bonus in his back pocket, Kjærulff-Schmidt's thrillingly unveils to Noir loner Borck that someone's got his number, whose ringing to the home/workplace sets Borck off the dial with a Femme Fatale for a jet-set life, which Kjærulff-Schmidt's tightens the screws to a sharp open ending. Getting his number down from their first encounter, Bibi Andersson gives a excellent, mysteriously alluring turn as Jane Merrild / Alice Badram, whose motives Andersson holds in a vagueness which hook Borck in with a seductive Femme Fatale sting. Scuttling round being polite to fellow staff whilst his hand is in the till, Henning Moritzen gives a outstanding performance as Borck, thanks to Moritzen's chipping away at his meekness to primal Film Noir fear, leaving Borck with no other choice but to think of a number.
The remake:
The Silent Partner (1978) 8
The second adaptation of Anders Bodelsen's novel Think of a Number, directors Daryl Duke and un- credited Curtis Hanson, (who replaced the sacked Duke to film more violent scenes demanded by the producers) & cinematographer Billy Williams bank on the strict sterile world of high-street banking, reflecting the Christmas lights from the outdoors onto the windows of the isolated cubicles. The lone film he scored, Oscar Peterson unrolls a rich Jazzy Blues Film Noir score, bringing out a jagged edge to Duke/Hanson's long hanging shadows tracking shots on Cullen attempting to pass a note by Reikle's sight.
Originally hoping to direct it but being told no by the producers (who ended up hiring him to direct later!) Curtis Hanson's playful adaptation spends the first hour close to the lively pace and cynical Film Noir dialogue of Anders Bodelsen's novel, but wisely expands the base, giving Cullen more time to lace his under the table plan. Curling Cullen's relationship with Elaine as a divide in going off the page, linking Cullen and Reikle in a relationship of outplaying each other for the cash, until the tense opening of a final bank statement, containing a sadly misjudged up-beat coda.
Fidgeting at his desk whilst attempting to take a chunk of the soon to be stolen cash for himself, Elliott Gould gives a amazing turn as Cullen, who uses the concentration of his banking mind-set to stay cool under pressure to hand his share back. Rolling into a bank robbery dressed as Santa,Christopher Plummer gives a blistering turn as Reikle, whose limited words are punched by Plummer with a Noir menace making sure everyone knows who the silent partner is.
The clear major inspiration for both versions:
Cash on Demand (1962) 9
Setting the watch from the moment Hepburn enters the bank, director Quentin Lawrence & cinematographer Arthur Grant click a real-time Film Noir with masterful procession,drilling Hepburn's detailed outline of the heist plan he tells Fordyce with match cuts to Hepburn following a section of the plan,(such as Hepburn giving Fordyce orders to enact a part of it in 5 minutes, which then plays out 5 minutes later into the run-time.) Not even offering humbugs to staff as a X-Mas gift, Lawrence superbly uses snow on the windows and winter clothes to enhance the icy Hammer Noir atmosphere, snowing it down in graceful long panning shots from the frosty window of Fordyce's "Chamber Piece" office to close-ups on Hepburn sitting in a chair keeping Fordyce walking on thin ice.
Banking on Jacques Gillies's original play, David T. Chantler and Lewis Greifer's adaptation wonderfully pays out to A Christmas Carol, as Fordyce tuts at each staff member getting into the holiday season, until he discovers the Christmas spirit himself, when it's all too late. Giving his lone warm greeting to Hepburn due to how redefined he looks, the writers brilliantly turn Fordyce's beliefs inside out with cracking slow-burn Film Noir dialogue tearing the towering power he displays in front of his workers strip by strip, into the hands of the quietly confident, calculating Hepburn.
Spending the whole film with just one other person, Morell gives a incredibly layered turn as Hepburn. Rumbling in as a puffed-up little Colonel, Morell bursts the bubble with a striking underlying menaced, carried in Morell having Hepburn hand out orders and threats to Fordyce with a strict master thief professionalism. Spending almost the whole movie just with Morell, Peter Cushing gives a exceptional, measured turn as Fordyce, whose Scrooge complexities Cushing delicately unwinds to icy fear from Hepburn asking for cash on demand.
Cinema of Latin America:
Ratas de la ciudad (1986) 7
Tearing dad Pedro and his son Pedrolito apart in the first scene, co-writer/(with Gilberto de Anda)director/ lead actor Valentin Trujillo & cinematographer Antonio de Anda go down to the real late night side streets and bustling roads of Mexico to track the years lost for this family in a gritty, earthy atmosphere of long tracking shots running along with Pedrolito and his fellow street kids gang stealing in dark alleyways, curving to Pedro scrambling on the streets to find his son. Linking dad and son up with ultra-stylised zoom-in dissolves on their faces,which burn down on explosive action and a eyeful of skin, Trujillo attempts to roll in a odd comedic Melodrama side during Pedro's early days of freedom, that utterly stands out in being at odds with the tone.
Desperate to find his son, the screenplay by Trujillo and Anda tear the care-free mind of Pedro into toughened state, whose fists strike those who ruined his family. Whilst straying into Grindhouse thrills via the vicious beat downs, killings and car burning of the street gang, Anda and Trujillo (who gives a terrific, passionate turn as Pedro) keenly weigh this up equally, with a thoughtful message on how Pedrolito and other homeless child gang members lose their childhood innocence brutally, in the city of rats.
My intro to the "pornochachadas" genre (sooo classy!) Violence & Flesh (1981) 8
Delivering the one-two punch of robbers setting a car on fire which the camera lingers a little too long on, (gotta get every penny out of it!) cutting to a lesbian couple having softcore sex due to one of them being troubled by a dream. "Composer"/writer/ director Alfredo Sternheim gleefully lays the sleaze on thick, heightened by a fantastical telenovela soap opera atmosphere, spray-painted on Sternheim stealing music pieces from other movies (such as Bernard Herrmann's theme for Obsession (1976-also reviewed) played as a back drop to the steamy, boobage galore sex scenes, (which includes straight, lesbian,and gay sequences) that grind to the Grindhouse shots of dusty beat-downs and blunt killings.
Storming in on a cabin with filled with aspiring Adult lads and ladies, the screenplay by Sternheim cheerfully hits every morally wrong, utterly odd note possible,thanks to the robbers raiding the cabin of the sex-crazed residences with plans to hold them all hostage and commit rapes, which become laced with peculiar dialogue which jumps from "pornochachadas" drama, to Kafka being casually referenced in conversations, all done without a attempt for the changes in dialogue to spread evenly! Possessing a touch of Edwige Fenech glamour, Helena Ramos gives a enticing, raunchy turn as Jesse, who finds herself in the middle of violence and flesh.
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Rooms for Tourists (2004) 6
Dropping the five women off in the middle of nowhere in the countryside, co-writer/(with Ramiro Garcia Bogliano) director Adrian Garcia Bogliano treats all the pals to a warm Southern Gothic hospitality greeting in thick black and white, giving the flick a rough dirt under the fingernails mood when catching lingering glances from the local, who soon hand out killings dripping in treacle blood. Filmed over 4 years, the screenplay by the Bogliano's bares the marks of the stop/start filming, darting from suspicions of outsiders, to Slasher killing and a left-field twist ending, at a speed which leaves them all half-bake, due to each thread being just randomly dropped, instead of being built up to make rooms for tourists.
36 Steps (2006) 2
Made on a micro budget of $5000 (leading to the crew having to also act in the film) co-writer/(with Ramiro Garcia Bogliano and Honorio Galarza) director Adrian Garcia Bogliano & cinematographer Sergio Fleischer step towards the fittie ladies with washed out, bone dry,low-res digital video, which jabs at the viewer in shaky hand-held camera moves, that also leave potentially interesting detours (such as into animation and gory chops) to be ruined by blending in to the same flat appearance as the rest of the movie. Matching the look of the flick, the sparks for indie creativity in the revelation that appearances can be deceiving in the laid-back lives of the ladies,is sadly left untouched by plodding dialogue which gives little to distinguish any of the cast,and causes every twist to land with a tied whimper on each of the 36 steps.
Horror duo:
Jean Rollin's The Night of the Hunted (1980) 10.
Taking his distinctive dream-logic into the future, writer/directing auteur Jean Rollin & cinematographer Jean-Claude Couty weave Rollin's Gothic Horror motifs with a superbly clinical Sci-Fi edge, landing in long, icy shots down metallic high-rise buildings surrounded by sparse sign of humanity on the ground.
Filmed in just 2 weeks, Rollin skilfully keeps signs of production limitations off-screen when looking into the unblinking eyes of Elysabeth in ravishing close-ups, melting to Rollin's and Couty's beautifully composed wide-shots drawing a rich melancholy atmosphere from the white gown wearing (but in a rare case, vampire free) Elysabeth walking silently towards a misty, fading horizon. Somehow taking just one day to write (!) the screenplay by Rollin displays little sign of its short creation, with a impeccable character study of Elysabeth. Introducing Elysabeth being on the run from mysterious figures, Rollin continues his major theme of women being the leads, in this case taking a delicate approach to studying Elysabeth's fragile mental state.
Gradually revealing a government cover-up powered by a haunting industrial hum, Rollin lays out the horrifying state of Elysabeth's mind, whose encounter with lover Robert when on the run, and even reuniting with her long-term "flatmate" Veronique, being memories which neither of them can hold, due to the memory loss-illness that they have no control over (similar to Catherine having no control on her blood lust in Rollin's The Living Dead Girl (1982-also reviewed.) Enchanted with a excellent Dominique Journet as broken eggshell Veronique,Rollin regular Brigitte Lahaie gives a hypnotic performance as Elysabeth, whose clipped dialogue is given depth by Lahaie's brittle, daydream body language and wide started eyes looking out into the night of the hunted.
Norman J. Warren's Terror (1978) 7
Backed by new interviews with the cast/crew, Indicator present a outstanding new 2K transfer, where the audio remains crisps, and unlike the old VHS days, the vibrant colours shimmer on the print. Teasing the audience with a fake film within a film opening lit with the spirit of Hammer Horror, directing auteur Norman J. Warren continues to build on his themes of bringing the Gothic of Hammer Horror into modern settings, crossed with the ultra-stylisation of Italian Horror.
Hypnotising some pretty young things at a post-screening party, Warren & cinematographer Les Young (who also co-wrote the script) underline the Horror shocks with a raw, grounded atmosphere of long panning shots delving into the cramped locations where the supernatural happenings awaken. While inspired by Dario Argento, Warren and Young bring out enough of their own style to make their own creation stand out, including a dazzling pane glass set-pieces Argento himself appears to have been inspired by, along with sawn- off tracking shots of the mysterious killer clouded in colours striking their next victim, backed by Ivor Slaney's brooding dark synch score. Working with Warren again, David McGillivray is here joined by Les and Moira Young in conjuring a neat script spell casting dream-logic on the foggy family history of the Garrick's to the terror.
The origins:
The original- A Bibi Andersson Nordic Noir which had no IMDb review,& hardly any pics online!
Think of a Number (1969) 10
Calculating from learning of a bank heist to take place on how he can steal a Christmas bonus for himself, writer/ director Palle Kjærulff-Schmidt & cinematographer Claus Loof bank on a meticulous Film Noir atmosphere, sliding the camera under the table towards Borck folding notes for himself whilst pretending to give the robber the full amount.
Spreading X-Mas cheer decorations across the walls of the bank,Kjærulff- Schmidt wraps Borck in crisp winter blues and early dark nights,which crackles with paranoia from long tracking shots of the robber wanting to collect Borck's bonus, that Borck finds himself unable to escape in a blistering evil under the sun lingering doubt final. Realising a robbery is to take place later in the day as the bank opens up, Palle Kjærulff- Schmidt's adaptation of Anders Bodelsen's novel brilliantly dissects Borck using the professional image he's built to take a layer of the soon to be stolen cash, off for himself, tensely checked in clipped dialogue of Borck attempting to keep his fellow staff out of the loop on the exchange.
Merrily leaving the bank with a bonus in his back pocket, Kjærulff-Schmidt's thrillingly unveils to Noir loner Borck that someone's got his number, whose ringing to the home/workplace sets Borck off the dial with a Femme Fatale for a jet-set life, which Kjærulff-Schmidt's tightens the screws to a sharp open ending. Getting his number down from their first encounter, Bibi Andersson gives a excellent, mysteriously alluring turn as Jane Merrild / Alice Badram, whose motives Andersson holds in a vagueness which hook Borck in with a seductive Femme Fatale sting. Scuttling round being polite to fellow staff whilst his hand is in the till, Henning Moritzen gives a outstanding performance as Borck, thanks to Moritzen's chipping away at his meekness to primal Film Noir fear, leaving Borck with no other choice but to think of a number.
The remake:
The Silent Partner (1978) 8
The second adaptation of Anders Bodelsen's novel Think of a Number, directors Daryl Duke and un- credited Curtis Hanson, (who replaced the sacked Duke to film more violent scenes demanded by the producers) & cinematographer Billy Williams bank on the strict sterile world of high-street banking, reflecting the Christmas lights from the outdoors onto the windows of the isolated cubicles. The lone film he scored, Oscar Peterson unrolls a rich Jazzy Blues Film Noir score, bringing out a jagged edge to Duke/Hanson's long hanging shadows tracking shots on Cullen attempting to pass a note by Reikle's sight.
Originally hoping to direct it but being told no by the producers (who ended up hiring him to direct later!) Curtis Hanson's playful adaptation spends the first hour close to the lively pace and cynical Film Noir dialogue of Anders Bodelsen's novel, but wisely expands the base, giving Cullen more time to lace his under the table plan. Curling Cullen's relationship with Elaine as a divide in going off the page, linking Cullen and Reikle in a relationship of outplaying each other for the cash, until the tense opening of a final bank statement, containing a sadly misjudged up-beat coda.
Fidgeting at his desk whilst attempting to take a chunk of the soon to be stolen cash for himself, Elliott Gould gives a amazing turn as Cullen, who uses the concentration of his banking mind-set to stay cool under pressure to hand his share back. Rolling into a bank robbery dressed as Santa,Christopher Plummer gives a blistering turn as Reikle, whose limited words are punched by Plummer with a Noir menace making sure everyone knows who the silent partner is.
The clear major inspiration for both versions:
Cash on Demand (1962) 9
Setting the watch from the moment Hepburn enters the bank, director Quentin Lawrence & cinematographer Arthur Grant click a real-time Film Noir with masterful procession,drilling Hepburn's detailed outline of the heist plan he tells Fordyce with match cuts to Hepburn following a section of the plan,(such as Hepburn giving Fordyce orders to enact a part of it in 5 minutes, which then plays out 5 minutes later into the run-time.) Not even offering humbugs to staff as a X-Mas gift, Lawrence superbly uses snow on the windows and winter clothes to enhance the icy Hammer Noir atmosphere, snowing it down in graceful long panning shots from the frosty window of Fordyce's "Chamber Piece" office to close-ups on Hepburn sitting in a chair keeping Fordyce walking on thin ice.
Banking on Jacques Gillies's original play, David T. Chantler and Lewis Greifer's adaptation wonderfully pays out to A Christmas Carol, as Fordyce tuts at each staff member getting into the holiday season, until he discovers the Christmas spirit himself, when it's all too late. Giving his lone warm greeting to Hepburn due to how redefined he looks, the writers brilliantly turn Fordyce's beliefs inside out with cracking slow-burn Film Noir dialogue tearing the towering power he displays in front of his workers strip by strip, into the hands of the quietly confident, calculating Hepburn.
Spending the whole film with just one other person, Morell gives a incredibly layered turn as Hepburn. Rumbling in as a puffed-up little Colonel, Morell bursts the bubble with a striking underlying menaced, carried in Morell having Hepburn hand out orders and threats to Fordyce with a strict master thief professionalism. Spending almost the whole movie just with Morell, Peter Cushing gives a exceptional, measured turn as Fordyce, whose Scrooge complexities Cushing delicately unwinds to icy fear from Hepburn asking for cash on demand.
Cinema of Latin America:
Ratas de la ciudad (1986) 7
Tearing dad Pedro and his son Pedrolito apart in the first scene, co-writer/(with Gilberto de Anda)director/ lead actor Valentin Trujillo & cinematographer Antonio de Anda go down to the real late night side streets and bustling roads of Mexico to track the years lost for this family in a gritty, earthy atmosphere of long tracking shots running along with Pedrolito and his fellow street kids gang stealing in dark alleyways, curving to Pedro scrambling on the streets to find his son. Linking dad and son up with ultra-stylised zoom-in dissolves on their faces,which burn down on explosive action and a eyeful of skin, Trujillo attempts to roll in a odd comedic Melodrama side during Pedro's early days of freedom, that utterly stands out in being at odds with the tone.
Desperate to find his son, the screenplay by Trujillo and Anda tear the care-free mind of Pedro into toughened state, whose fists strike those who ruined his family. Whilst straying into Grindhouse thrills via the vicious beat downs, killings and car burning of the street gang, Anda and Trujillo (who gives a terrific, passionate turn as Pedro) keenly weigh this up equally, with a thoughtful message on how Pedrolito and other homeless child gang members lose their childhood innocence brutally, in the city of rats.
My intro to the "pornochachadas" genre (sooo classy!) Violence & Flesh (1981) 8
Delivering the one-two punch of robbers setting a car on fire which the camera lingers a little too long on, (gotta get every penny out of it!) cutting to a lesbian couple having softcore sex due to one of them being troubled by a dream. "Composer"/writer/ director Alfredo Sternheim gleefully lays the sleaze on thick, heightened by a fantastical telenovela soap opera atmosphere, spray-painted on Sternheim stealing music pieces from other movies (such as Bernard Herrmann's theme for Obsession (1976-also reviewed) played as a back drop to the steamy, boobage galore sex scenes, (which includes straight, lesbian,and gay sequences) that grind to the Grindhouse shots of dusty beat-downs and blunt killings.
Storming in on a cabin with filled with aspiring Adult lads and ladies, the screenplay by Sternheim cheerfully hits every morally wrong, utterly odd note possible,thanks to the robbers raiding the cabin of the sex-crazed residences with plans to hold them all hostage and commit rapes, which become laced with peculiar dialogue which jumps from "pornochachadas" drama, to Kafka being casually referenced in conversations, all done without a attempt for the changes in dialogue to spread evenly! Possessing a touch of Edwige Fenech glamour, Helena Ramos gives a enticing, raunchy turn as Jesse, who finds herself in the middle of violence and flesh.
Rooms for Tourists (2004) 6
Dropping the five women off in the middle of nowhere in the countryside, co-writer/(with Ramiro Garcia Bogliano) director Adrian Garcia Bogliano treats all the pals to a warm Southern Gothic hospitality greeting in thick black and white, giving the flick a rough dirt under the fingernails mood when catching lingering glances from the local, who soon hand out killings dripping in treacle blood. Filmed over 4 years, the screenplay by the Bogliano's bares the marks of the stop/start filming, darting from suspicions of outsiders, to Slasher killing and a left-field twist ending, at a speed which leaves them all half-bake, due to each thread being just randomly dropped, instead of being built up to make rooms for tourists.
36 Steps (2006) 2
Made on a micro budget of $5000 (leading to the crew having to also act in the film) co-writer/(with Ramiro Garcia Bogliano and Honorio Galarza) director Adrian Garcia Bogliano & cinematographer Sergio Fleischer step towards the fittie ladies with washed out, bone dry,low-res digital video, which jabs at the viewer in shaky hand-held camera moves, that also leave potentially interesting detours (such as into animation and gory chops) to be ruined by blending in to the same flat appearance as the rest of the movie. Matching the look of the flick, the sparks for indie creativity in the revelation that appearances can be deceiving in the laid-back lives of the ladies,is sadly left untouched by plodding dialogue which gives little to distinguish any of the cast,and causes every twist to land with a tied whimper on each of the 36 steps.
Horror duo:
Jean Rollin's The Night of the Hunted (1980) 10.
Taking his distinctive dream-logic into the future, writer/directing auteur Jean Rollin & cinematographer Jean-Claude Couty weave Rollin's Gothic Horror motifs with a superbly clinical Sci-Fi edge, landing in long, icy shots down metallic high-rise buildings surrounded by sparse sign of humanity on the ground.
Filmed in just 2 weeks, Rollin skilfully keeps signs of production limitations off-screen when looking into the unblinking eyes of Elysabeth in ravishing close-ups, melting to Rollin's and Couty's beautifully composed wide-shots drawing a rich melancholy atmosphere from the white gown wearing (but in a rare case, vampire free) Elysabeth walking silently towards a misty, fading horizon. Somehow taking just one day to write (!) the screenplay by Rollin displays little sign of its short creation, with a impeccable character study of Elysabeth. Introducing Elysabeth being on the run from mysterious figures, Rollin continues his major theme of women being the leads, in this case taking a delicate approach to studying Elysabeth's fragile mental state.
Gradually revealing a government cover-up powered by a haunting industrial hum, Rollin lays out the horrifying state of Elysabeth's mind, whose encounter with lover Robert when on the run, and even reuniting with her long-term "flatmate" Veronique, being memories which neither of them can hold, due to the memory loss-illness that they have no control over (similar to Catherine having no control on her blood lust in Rollin's The Living Dead Girl (1982-also reviewed.) Enchanted with a excellent Dominique Journet as broken eggshell Veronique,Rollin regular Brigitte Lahaie gives a hypnotic performance as Elysabeth, whose clipped dialogue is given depth by Lahaie's brittle, daydream body language and wide started eyes looking out into the night of the hunted.
Norman J. Warren's Terror (1978) 7
Backed by new interviews with the cast/crew, Indicator present a outstanding new 2K transfer, where the audio remains crisps, and unlike the old VHS days, the vibrant colours shimmer on the print. Teasing the audience with a fake film within a film opening lit with the spirit of Hammer Horror, directing auteur Norman J. Warren continues to build on his themes of bringing the Gothic of Hammer Horror into modern settings, crossed with the ultra-stylisation of Italian Horror.
Hypnotising some pretty young things at a post-screening party, Warren & cinematographer Les Young (who also co-wrote the script) underline the Horror shocks with a raw, grounded atmosphere of long panning shots delving into the cramped locations where the supernatural happenings awaken. While inspired by Dario Argento, Warren and Young bring out enough of their own style to make their own creation stand out, including a dazzling pane glass set-pieces Argento himself appears to have been inspired by, along with sawn- off tracking shots of the mysterious killer clouded in colours striking their next victim, backed by Ivor Slaney's brooding dark synch score. Working with Warren again, David McGillivray is here joined by Les and Moira Young in conjuring a neat script spell casting dream-logic on the foggy family history of the Garrick's to the terror.