Post by hitchcockthelegend on Mar 19, 2020 18:45:18 GMT
Pressure Point (1962)--On the other hand, here was another film that takes place in a prison which deserves a lot more attention, yet seems forgotten.
1962 was a good year for films, and this is one that should be on the list of the best. It stars Sidney Poitier as a psychiatrist assigned to a federal prison
in the early 1940s (thanks to the head of the prison hospital, who's very proud of himself for his "noble experiment" of hiring an African-American for the job), who
is put in the position of having to counsel a virulent racist inmate with insomnia. Over the course of more than a year, the patient, a member of the American Nazi party who was convicted of trying to overthrow the US government, discusses his childhood and younger years with the doctor in order to explain how he became what he is now, as the doctor listens with growing trepidation. The inmate is played by singer Bobby Darin in an impressively jarring performance; he's frighteningly believable as the dead-eyed, repugnant psychopath Poitier is determined to treat despite his growing realization that he is untreatable.
The film is simultaneously dated and timely, which makes it somehow more compelling. The flashbacks to the patient's childhood have the eerie quality of scenes from episodes of The Twilight Zone. Barry Gordon, a child actor who could be alternately cute or creepy, plays Darin as a boy; the scenes of his youth come off as overwrought and cliched--clinging, needy mother is overly affectionate with him, while dad is hateful to the mother and abusive to the boy (Dad is played by James Anderson, in his second role of 1962 as a vicious dad--he also played the abusive father in To Kill a Mockingbird. No Father's Day cards for him that year). At one point he brings home his girlfriend and they both roll around drunkenly in Mom's bed--on top of Mom. In another scene, he attacks the boy with a slab of liver. The boy develops an imaginary friend (played by a pre-Eddie Munster Butch Patrick) on whom he takes out his brutality. As a grown man, there's a flashback to his one potential romantic relationship, which is quickly quashed by the girl's father, who happens to be Jewish. All of this is presented as a facile, pop-psychology explanation for his sadistic tendencies and vicious anti-Semitism. Stanley Kramer only produced most of the film, but it often displays his signature heavy-handedness.
At the same time, the real strength of the movie comes from the tension between Patient and Doctor (neither character is named in the film). Poitier
tries to be calm, professionally detached, yet dedicated to his aim to help his patient, but as his distaste for Darin grows, he fears he's losing his bearings. The Patient may be twisted and paranoid, but unfortunately, some of his sick logic is all too accurate, even today--when he tells the Doctor,
"You're going to make it easier for us"--wasn't this reflected in the way so many secret bigots willingly embraced Trump because they never got over Obama attaining the presidency? The Doctor does his best to deny the Patient's claims and wants to continue to have faith that the world is changing for the better, but he has to struggle to believe it, especially when he senses that the other prison board members are beginning to doubt him--or was he set up to fail? This movie is worth watching mainly for its two-character drama.
Everybody's Fine (2009)--Robert De Niro in a nice change of pace--a quiet, understated performance in which he doesn't portray a gangster or an angry lout. Reminiscent of Harry and Tonto (but sans cat), De Niro plays a widowed father who travels across the country to try to connect with his troubled adult children, whom he never really got to know. Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, and Kate Beckinsale play the children. No big surprises, but
a somewhat somber family drama with good performances.
Hunted (1952)--Little boy does something naughty at home and runs away to hide in an empty basement, where he is discovered by Dirk Bogarde,
who's just killed a man in the same basement. Awkward...but the little boy quickly bonds with him, since he seems like a decent chap, besides that murder thing. Suspenseful and touching at the same time; shot in a postwar England that emphasizes the trapped, no place to call home feeling of the two lead characters --Jon Whitely as the forlorn little boy, and Dirk Bogarde as the fugitive who's not really the movie's villain. Bogarde gives a wonderful and sympathetic performance. The ending seems disappointingly abrupt, but otherwise it's a bleak but beautiful film.
Parasite (2019)--One of the few Best Picture Oscar winners in recent years which actually deserved the award. A poverty-stricken family cons its way into working for an affluent family. At first the situation seems like a dark comedy, until it becomes darker and darker. The question of which level of society--the underclass or the upperclass--is the "parasite" is the central theme of the movie, and it's for the viewer to figure it out (unless each feeds off the other). Ugly and shocking, and highly recommended.
Jojo Rabbit (2019)--So far, the only real competition I've seen for the Best Picture Oscar. Also a dark comedy, but the comedy is more in a Monty Python kind of vein. Taika Waititi's films have a certain style of their own, the way Wes Anderson's films do (except without Anderson's soullessness).
A naive, impressionable young boy in Germany joins the Hitler Youth because...all the other kids are doing it and he wants to be part of the club.
(The Beatlemania-type fervor for Hitler, accompanied by the singing of the Beatles themselves, may be used as a bit of comedy here, but it was, sadly, all too accurate). Jojo, a boy who doesn't have the innate sadism necessary to be a good little Nazi, conjures up Hitler himself (Waititi) as an imaginary friend to guide him. Those who might object to seeing Hitler as a comic figure might not enjoy the film, but if you can handle the "Springtime for Hitler" number from the original The Producers, you'll probably enjoy this. The film strikes a great balance between absurdist comedy and disturbing tragedy.
Also highly recommended.
The Shawshank Redemption. Well for every dissenter for it there is a lover for it as well, it's just one of those pics that can induce awe and bafflement on both sides of the fences. Where you see mawkish, I see hope, where you say predictable plot twists I say they are King pieces of devilish genius. I'll print my review, one of my published ones as it happens, but not to try and win you around, I'd expect you to stand your ground and stick by your opinion. But I have to post my review to give the other side of the coin for anyone who has yet to see it.
Some birds aren't meant to be caged.
The Shawshank Redemption is written and directed by Frank Darabont. It is an adaptation of the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, the film portrays the story of Andy Dufresne (Robbins), a banker who is sentenced to two life sentences at Shawshank State Prison for apparently murdering his wife and her lover. Andy finds it tough going but finds solace in the friendship he forms with fellow inmate Ellis "Red" Redding (Freeman). While things start to pick up when the warden finds Andy a prison job more befitting his talents as a banker. However, the arrival of another inmate is going to vastly change things for all of them.
There was no fanfare or bunting put out for the release of the film back in 94, with a title that didn't give much inkling to anyone about what it was about, and with Columbia Pictures unsure how to market it, Shawshank Redemption barely registered at the box office. However, come Academy Award time the film received several nominations, and although it won none, it stirred up interest in the film for its home entertainment release. The rest, as they say, is history. For the film finally found an audience that saw the film propelled to almost mythical proportions as an endearing modern day classic. Something that has delighted its fans, whilst simultaneously baffling its detractors. One thing is for sure, though, is that which ever side of the Shawshank fence you sit on, the film continues to gather new fans and simply will never go away or loose that mythical status.
It's possibly the simplicity of it all that sends some haters of the film into cinematic spasms. The implausible plot and an apparent sentimental edge that makes a nonsense of prison life, are but two chief complaints from those that dislike the film with a passion. Yet when characters are this richly drawn, and so movingly performed, it strikes me as churlish to do down a human drama that's dealing in hope, friendship and faith. The sentimental aspect is indeed there, but that acts as a counterpoint to the suffering, degradation and shattering of the soul involving our protagonist. Cosy prison life you say? No chance. The need for human connection is never more needed than during incarceration, surely? And given the quite terrific performances of Robbins (never better) & Freeman (sublimely making it easy), it's the easiest thing in the world to warm to Andy and Red.
Those in support aren't faring too bad either. Bob Gunton is coiled spring smarm as Warden Norton, James Whitmore is heart achingly great as the "Birdman Of Shawshank," Clancy Brown is menacing as antagonist Capt. Byron Hadley, William Sadler amusing as Heywood & Mark Rolston is impressively vile as Bogs Diamond. Then there's Roger Deakins' lush cinematography as the camera gracefully glides in and out of the prison offering almost ethereal hope to our characters (yes, they are ours). The music pings in conjunction with the emotional flow of the movie too. Thomas Newman's score is mostly piano based, dovetailing neatly with Andy's state of mind, while the excellently selected soundtrack ranges from the likes of Hank Williams to the gorgeous Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart.
If you love Shawshank then it's a love that lasts a lifetime. Every viewing brings the same array of emotions - anger - revilement - happiness - sadness - inspiration and a warmth that can reduce the most hardened into misty eyed wonderment. Above all else, though, Shawshank offers hope - not just for characters in a movie - but for a better life and a better world for all of us. 10/10
Hunted. Well here my good lady we do have an accord, in fact it always gladdens me greatly when I see someone discovers it and it hits the mark. Hopefully we can between us encourage at least one more person to give it a whirl.
What do you think girls marry sailors for?
Hunted (AKA: The Stranger In Between) is directed by Charles Crichton and co-written by Jack Whittingham and Michael McCarthy. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Jon Whiteley, Elizabeth Sellars and Kay Walsh. Music is by Hubert Clifford and cinematography by Eric Cross.
Story finds Bogarde and Whiteley as man and boy on the run for differing reasons. Bogarde's Chris Lloyd is a fugitive, Whiteley's Robbie a orphan being mistreated in his adoptive home. The odd couple, fleeing authority, but heading where?
Haunting yet beautiful, firm but tender, Hunted is a terrific piece of Brit film noir that holds you in its grip from beginning to end. Film unfolds as being about two lost souls traversing the British lands, from a ravaged London in the beginning to a Scottish harbour at the end. Initially suspicious of each other, with the adult inconvenienced by his child companion, the relationship will develop as their respective demons surface. Who is the more frightened of the two? What hope is there for them? Fate has brought them together, but fate can often deal a deadly hand, what hand has been dealt Chris and Robbie? It's this question that hangs heavy in the tense story, ensuring our attention at all times.
As the journey takes them out of the city, into the country and finally out to the sea shore, we are treated to no end of visual smarts. Imagery is a big part of Hunted's worth to the film noir enthusiast, be it monuments or various building structures, Crichton (Dead of Night) and Cross (The Mystery of the Marie Celeste) ensure that the simmering narrative is well served by locations and items that surround our two protagonists. Shadowed balustrade, spiral staircase, murky street lights, dingy basement, low lighted farm houses, barns, haystacks, railway sidings, medieval relic structure, and on it goes, all given a forbidding sheen by the makers, backed significantly, too, by Clifford's music swells and low rumble peters.
Some means and motivations are purposely left grey, which means we get more dramatic/emotional impact for certain passages of dialogue, such as a bedtime story sequence that grips the heart considerably. The acting is first rate from Bogarde (Victim) and Whiteley (Moonfleet), very believable is their relationship (they would also make The Spanish Gardner together in 56), with Bogarde never better as he shifts seamlessly from a man of fiery rage and panic, to a tender soul reaching out in the shadows, desperately searching for redemption.
Now available on DVD with a very good print, Hunted is yearning to be seen by more people. It deserves it, a real treat, both thematically and visually, one of the best new discoveries for me in 2012. 9/10