What classics did you see last week, Sept 12 to Sept 18?
Sept 18, 2021 17:56:25 GMT
Fox in the Snow, teleadm, and 8 more like this
Post by mikef6 on Sept 18, 2021 17:56:25 GMT
Der Amerikanische Freund (The American Friend) / Wim Wenders (1977). This was the second film based on one of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley novels (the third, Ripley’s Game). Ripley (Dennis Hopper) is in Berlin selling forged art works allegedly from a deceased painter. At an auction where one of Ripley’s painting is being sold, he receives a slight (refusal to shake hands) from Jonathon Zimmermann (Bruno Ganz), a noted craftsman of picture frames. Ripley cannot let this pass. Learning that Jonathon as a serious disease which is in remission, Ripley suggests to a mob boss that Jonathon be approached to be a hit man because he would be unknown to the police and could earn a lot of money for his wife and son after his death. Later though, Ripley comes to like Jonathon and has second thoughts about his revenge. This German made film with the German title (even though most of the dialog is in English) is in many ways a perfect neo-noir: An innocent man is sucked into a crime scheme where anything could go wrong, but does, and there is no way out. Even though Ripley gets out of character a little by being conflicted over Jonathon’s situation, he proves by end to be the sociopath and ruthless killer that we all love. Classic film director Samuel Fuller cameos as the art forger who may just be the supposedly dead artist. A second feature film based on “Ripley’s Game” (which retained the novel’s title) was released in 2002 with John Malkovich as Our Hero and Dougray Scott as Jonathan.
Magic / Richard Attenborough (1978). Young Corky (Anthony Hopkins) has trained under a mentor to become a master at slight-of-hand, but at his first engagement at a nightclub, he bombs terribly. Jump ahead a few years to find him a big hit playing to sold out audience. We soon find out why. In addition to his magic act, he has added a ventriloquist dummy named Fats who insults Corky non-stop is the saltiest of language. “The first x-rated dummy,” say Corky’s agent, Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith). On the fringe of filming a series pilot, Corky freaks when told he must have a medical examination before signing a contract. He runs away (with Fats) to a remote part of New York state where he grew up. There, he reconnect with Peggy Snow (Ann-Margret) his high school crush. Although she is unhappily married, they start up an affair which Fats opposes. Fats, you see, has in Corky’s mind assumed true consciousness and personality. Ben shows up unexpectedly to find Corky and Fats in a big argument. He insists that Corky get psychiatric help. Then the chills begin. There is just something creepy about ventriloquist’s dummies, at least in movies. They can seem unnaturally menacing. It is a little that way about clowns: non-threatening in person but can be something sinister on screen. Fats (voiced by Hopkins) is a scary dude even if his head is made of wood.
Blade Runner / Ridley Scott (1982). I am having a tough time finding something new to say about this sci-fi “instant” classic – at least to science fiction fans. Critics for the most part were mixed, swinging from praise to some sort of knock within a sentence. Roger Ebert was ahead of the curve with 3 stars of 4. In 2007 he upgraded to 4 stars for an essay in his Great Movies series. For fans raised on 21st century “action” films with a chase, fight, or cliffhanger situation arriving every 10 minutes, seeing “Blade Runner” for the first time now might elicit the reaction that it is “too slow.” And, yes, it will seem slow when put side by side with “The Dark Knight” and “action” is your only criteria. Ebert himself walked back a complaint from 1982 that while the set design, cinematography, and world building was fantastic, the story itself was thin. He saw, after a quarter of a century, that an important theme of “what makes us human” runs through the film.
Harrison Ford, riding high after Star Wars and “Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” was important in getting funding and for hiring Ridley Scott to direct. Ford plays Deckard, a Blade Runner, in the way-in-the-future year of 2019. The setting is a changed Los Angeles. Sunny California is replaced by a drab city that is always being rained on and the sun never shines. The city is so crowded that residents are urged to move “off-world” to a colony on another planet. To do the dangerous work in space, artificial humans – replicants – have been created. To keep them from thinking they are real people, an irreversible 4-year only life span has been programmed into them. If replicants do go rogue, a Blade Runner is sent to kill them. Dutch actor Rutger Hauer is very, very strong in an early English language appearance as the leader of four escaped replicants who have come to Los Angeles. Sean Young plays Rachael who Deckard falls in love with but who may be a replicant. But, then, is Deckard himself a true human? This is a must-see.
Intacto / Jaun Carlos Fresnadillo (2001). Samuel (Max von Sydow), a Nazi concentration camp survivor as a child and now a rich middle aged casino owner, is the luckiest man in the world. He also has the power to steal other’s luck and make it his own. People who have his gift are rare but they seek him out for his high-stakes but deadly contest in which other lucky people, who have proved their luck in many ingenious ways (my favorite: having to run blindfolded with hands tied behind the back through a wooded area without smashing their face into a tree), compete for a shot (literally) at Samuel. But Samuel is being sought by a vengeful adopted son (Eusebio Poncela) with his new protégé Tomás (Leonardo Sbaraglia) as well as Sara (Mónica López), a grieving cop who might be one of the Lucky, herself. This film can be confusing at first because the situation is not explained to the audience. Explanations come as the drama plays out. It is worth the wait.
Magic / Richard Attenborough (1978). Young Corky (Anthony Hopkins) has trained under a mentor to become a master at slight-of-hand, but at his first engagement at a nightclub, he bombs terribly. Jump ahead a few years to find him a big hit playing to sold out audience. We soon find out why. In addition to his magic act, he has added a ventriloquist dummy named Fats who insults Corky non-stop is the saltiest of language. “The first x-rated dummy,” say Corky’s agent, Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith). On the fringe of filming a series pilot, Corky freaks when told he must have a medical examination before signing a contract. He runs away (with Fats) to a remote part of New York state where he grew up. There, he reconnect with Peggy Snow (Ann-Margret) his high school crush. Although she is unhappily married, they start up an affair which Fats opposes. Fats, you see, has in Corky’s mind assumed true consciousness and personality. Ben shows up unexpectedly to find Corky and Fats in a big argument. He insists that Corky get psychiatric help. Then the chills begin. There is just something creepy about ventriloquist’s dummies, at least in movies. They can seem unnaturally menacing. It is a little that way about clowns: non-threatening in person but can be something sinister on screen. Fats (voiced by Hopkins) is a scary dude even if his head is made of wood.
Blade Runner / Ridley Scott (1982). I am having a tough time finding something new to say about this sci-fi “instant” classic – at least to science fiction fans. Critics for the most part were mixed, swinging from praise to some sort of knock within a sentence. Roger Ebert was ahead of the curve with 3 stars of 4. In 2007 he upgraded to 4 stars for an essay in his Great Movies series. For fans raised on 21st century “action” films with a chase, fight, or cliffhanger situation arriving every 10 minutes, seeing “Blade Runner” for the first time now might elicit the reaction that it is “too slow.” And, yes, it will seem slow when put side by side with “The Dark Knight” and “action” is your only criteria. Ebert himself walked back a complaint from 1982 that while the set design, cinematography, and world building was fantastic, the story itself was thin. He saw, after a quarter of a century, that an important theme of “what makes us human” runs through the film.
Harrison Ford, riding high after Star Wars and “Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” was important in getting funding and for hiring Ridley Scott to direct. Ford plays Deckard, a Blade Runner, in the way-in-the-future year of 2019. The setting is a changed Los Angeles. Sunny California is replaced by a drab city that is always being rained on and the sun never shines. The city is so crowded that residents are urged to move “off-world” to a colony on another planet. To do the dangerous work in space, artificial humans – replicants – have been created. To keep them from thinking they are real people, an irreversible 4-year only life span has been programmed into them. If replicants do go rogue, a Blade Runner is sent to kill them. Dutch actor Rutger Hauer is very, very strong in an early English language appearance as the leader of four escaped replicants who have come to Los Angeles. Sean Young plays Rachael who Deckard falls in love with but who may be a replicant. But, then, is Deckard himself a true human? This is a must-see.
Intacto / Jaun Carlos Fresnadillo (2001). Samuel (Max von Sydow), a Nazi concentration camp survivor as a child and now a rich middle aged casino owner, is the luckiest man in the world. He also has the power to steal other’s luck and make it his own. People who have his gift are rare but they seek him out for his high-stakes but deadly contest in which other lucky people, who have proved their luck in many ingenious ways (my favorite: having to run blindfolded with hands tied behind the back through a wooded area without smashing their face into a tree), compete for a shot (literally) at Samuel. But Samuel is being sought by a vengeful adopted son (Eusebio Poncela) with his new protégé Tomás (Leonardo Sbaraglia) as well as Sara (Mónica López), a grieving cop who might be one of the Lucky, herself. This film can be confusing at first because the situation is not explained to the audience. Explanations come as the drama plays out. It is worth the wait.