What classics did you see last week ? (28 Apr - 4 May 2019)

Starting to round up pics from 1947 that I have yet to view. Two this week.




Tombstone (1993) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0108358/reference

Indeed, sir. The last charge of Wyatt Earp and his immortals.

Tombstone is written by Kevin Jarre and directed by its star Kurt Russell, with credited director George P. Cosmatos ghost-directing. It also features a large ensemble cast that includes Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn & Powers Boothe. The movie is loosely based on historic incidents occurring in 1881-1882. The plot follows newly retired peace officer Wyatt Earp (Russell) as he and his two brothers, Virgil (Elliott) & Morgan (Paxton), arrive in the Tuscon town of Tombstone. Here they plan to make their fortune and gain themselves a share in a farrow game at the local saloon. Wyatt's long time friend, Doc Holliday (Kilmer), also joins the Earp's in town and it's not long before they encounter trouble in the form of The Cowboys - a ruthless bunch of outlaws led by Curly Bill Brocious (Boothe).

The back story to Tombstone is rather interesting, so without waffling on and boring the spurs off of any readers I'll try & keep this paragraph short! Willem Dafoe was slated to star as Doc Holliday but Buena Vista (Disney company) said no way on account of his appearance in the frowned upon The Last Temptation Of Christ. Since Buena Vista were the only company willing to distribute Tombstone, on account of Kevin Costner pulling rank and influence due to his own Wyatt Earp movie being on the go, they had the big say in things. Then when the screenplay was turned in by Jarre it was shot down by both Russell and the now on board Kilmer because it was deemed excessively too long. Jarre was then fired as director for refusing to cut down the characterisations. Enter Cosmatos to ghost-direct for Russell. Then Robert Mitchum (who narrates in the film) had to drop out of playing Old Man Clanton (subsequently dropped from the story) due to a riding accident. While genre legend Glenn Ford bailed out of playing Marshall White to pave the way for Harry Carey Junior to fill those boots.

In spite of all the problems getting harmony and cohesion to the screen, Tombstone ends up being a thoroughly entertaining genre piece. A love letter to the genre and boasting one of the best ever portrayals of an (in)famous Western character (Kilmer's take on Holliday is sexy, dangerous and utterly beguiling). Comparing it to Costner's movie is folly, for that movie (and I'm a big fan of it) is a telling of Earp's life and doesn't Hollywoodise things, this is about a short period in Earp's life, with bells on. There's some inaccuracies, but in the main the makers do a good job of covering the events leading up to the famous gunfight that occurred at the O.K. Corall - and the aftermath of said confrontation. Pic manages to have its cake and to eat it for a modern age made Western. It does all in all what old fans of the genre expect whilst having enough savvy dialogue and rah rah sequences to engage the more youthful viewers. There's not much art to speak of (for instance you wont go searching out for the cinematographer's name) and the sheer volume of characters at times threatens to bulge the piece over the belt buckle. Yet it always manages to keep us entertained with a high energy action sequence or a sharp quip delivered by the irrepressible Kilmer. Even the standardised romantic angle involving the beautiful, but superfluous Dana Delaney as Josephine manages to have its engaging moments. Sure we ache for the next scene of Kilmer being cool or Biehn being a cocky bastard, but the love blossoming between Wyatt & Josephine, and the inner conflict that it causes Earp, really fleshes out where Earp was emotionally at a time when he was trying to settle down for peace in his world.

Ultimately it's probably with the story of Kilmer & Russell insisting on a trimming of the story that Tombstone makes the most telling point. Critically it was recognised as being too bloated and that wasn't what was needed. For crying out loud the Western fan had had Eastwood's sublime Unforgiven the previous year, so who in their right mind would try and follow that? Tombstone thankfully doesn't take itself too seriously, but still it has enough nous to keep the beans cooking on high and the splendid moustache's a twirling. All that Whilst simultaneously providing some of the most quotable lines delivered in the most splendid of film genres. Kilmer's Doc is our Huckleberry, and so is Tombstone the film. 8/10



Done!

A terrific review of Tombstone,Spike. I was wondering if it was the Directors Cut you viewed? Which contains some extra footage:

A "Vista Series" director's cut was released in February 2002. Just under five minutes of never-before-seen footage were restored. The most noticeable are:

a scene showing the depths of Mattie's addiction to laudanum and her jealousy over Josephine;

a somber soliloquy by Doc quoting Kublai Khan;

a scene explaining Kate's sudden disappearance from the film, with Doc stressing the importance of friendship;

a scene with McMasters and the Cowboys meeting one last time. A small scene showing the graphic result of that meeting has been re-inserted, with the line "They got McMasters!" being moved into this small insert.

Valhalla Rising (2009)
Shockingly violent story set in 1000 A.D. with Mads Mikkelsen as a mute warrior slave gladiator-type guy. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.




Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Zac Efron looks a lot like Bundy, which supplies much of the creep-factor, and he basically nails the part acting wise too.

The movie has its moments, but events are sped through or avoided entirely. This is because it's more from the point of view of Bundy's girlfriend, Liz, and how it affected her life. I'm glad I watched Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes first, which really fills in many blanks made by this movie.

The Awakening (1980) - Suprisingly atmospheric Charlton Heston horror film. This film seems to have been hit hard by negative reviews since it first came out but I found it very intriguing and enveloping. The storyline is right up my alley with Egyptologists searching for the tomb of a very evil queen that was written out of history by the her contemporaries. Charlton Heston and his assistant Susannah York find the grave while Heston ignores his very pregnant wife. Heston attempts to break into the tomb, and every blow of his hammer causes his wife (left at the base camp) to go into painful contractions. Heston takes his wife to the hospital and leaves her there (!) while she is unconscious. The baby is still born, but while Heston breaches the inner tomb of the long since dead queen, the curse put on her grave causes Heston's baby to come to life. Fast forward 18 years and Heston is living in England while his wife and teenaged daughter live in America. The daughter decides that she needs to visit her father and events transpire that lead Heston to attempt to resurrect the dead queen.... but at what cost? I found the movie greatly entertaining and wondering why so many critics hated it? The score is top notch and the film itself appears to have had a pretty large budget for the era. The Egyptian tomb sets in particular are very well done and much of the film was shot on location in Egypt. Loosely based on Bram Stoker's Jewel of the Seven Stars the film had a lot of creepiness but not many outright jump scares. However, as mentioned earlier, it's very atmospheric and the circa 1980 look goes a long way.

Hi all,I hope everyone had a good weekend,and along with finally seeing every French film from 1932 on disc or download that currently has Eng Subs,I last week attended a screening at the oldest working cinema in the UK (The Electric) as part of Birmingham's "Flat Pack Festival",of Louis Malle's Black Moon (1975). The film was introduced by US singer Josephine Foster (whose gig later that night I sadly had to miss due to needing to get train home.) 



Watching it on the big screen highlighted to me the care Malle had put into making the soundtrack of the title,esp the dialogue-free opening 15 minutes. Whilst in Birmingham,I found out one of my most anticipated 2019 movies was going to be screened at The Mac,which I visited for the first time to see:



National Theatre Live: All About Eve (2019) 9

Spending ages trying to get the rights, writer/director Ivo van Hove proves that it was worth the wait,with a remarkable blurring of the lines between cinema and theatre (all backed by PJ Harvey’s simmering score.) Separating the stage layout into several sets,Hove attaches a large protector screen to the back of the set, and films (in real-time) private exchanges between characters in corridors,which are shown at the same time as with on-stage events (such as round a dining table) continue to unfold, creating a striking yin/yang between the sparkling glamour shown to the public, with the rotting obsessiveness to remain a “big name”,that goes on behind closed doors. Setting a make-up table in the centre of the stage, Hove peels into the psychological obsession Eve and Margo have over the other nabbing their spot, with the back screen being used for chilling practical special effects displaying the poisonous effect this obsession has on their very souls.

Breaking the fourth wall with Addison DeWitt’s opening introduction, Hove’s adaptation of Mary Orr’s short story and Joseph L. Mankiewicz screenplay brilliantly threads them into a shimmering stage version,via the bitter Margo’s viper exchanges with up and coming Eve over keeping a grip of fame on the stage,taking place against a stage backdrop itself. Continuing the fourth wall breaks from Margo and Eve’s entourage, Hove gradual sows Eve losing her Eden innocence and transforming into Margo, leading to an unsettling final note of this being a transferable venom.Far from being a fading star, Gillian Anderson gives a mesmerising performance as Margo,whose sharp dialogue Anderson cuts through with a New York ice-pick, Anderson undresses Margo’s psychological nuances in withering body language slumped against a piano singing out to stars falling out of her curled lip. Waiting fresh-faced at the stage door,Lily James gives a fantastic turn as Eve,whose growing manipulative edge on Margo, James subtly matches with a growing transformation into the reflection of her idol.

French flicks of '32:



Tavaszi zápor (1932) 5

Shot by the same team along with a Hungarian version,and the same year the director did the excellent Fantomas (1932-also reviewed), co-writer/(with Ilona Fulop) director Pal Fejos leans the title towards Silent Melodrama, via the dialogue kept minimal, and a majority of scenes being carried by the score. Gracefully raising Marie to a heavenly final set-piece, Fejos spends the rest of the title grinding Marie down,with swift tracking shots following Marie get thrown out by the locals. Owning a heart of gold, the screenplay by Fejos and Fulop send Marie (played by an wonderfully expressive " Annabella") into a biblical fall from grace, as brisk Melodrama unfolds where every branch in life Marie tries to grip snaps,and she finds herself in the wilderness,under a Spring shower.



Wooden Crosses 10

One of two titles they have put out (up to now) from the film maker,Masters of Cinema present a superb transfer, with the image retaining the original grain, whilst remaining smooth during more rapid camera moves,and the layered soundtrack being kept in tact.

Holding a bond with Pathe studio head Bernard Natan over examining war on film "In such a way to get people to hate and despise it." Co-writer/(with André Lang) directing auteur Raymond Bernard & cinematographers René Ribault and Jules Kruger (who'd reunite with Bernard on Les Miserables (1934)) go to the front line with ground-breaking techniques. Filmed at real No Mans Land locations (Bernard said in an interview that bodies of WWI soldiers were found as they dug trenches for the production) Bernard makes the heavy cameras of the era move with an astonishing fluidness,in Bernard targeting an atmosphere of documentary rawness,from the scatter-gun whip-pans and tracking shots treading along the unfolding horror on the battle fields.

Continuing to build on his recurring visual theme of shots drenched in long,imposing shadows, (which would continue being explored in his titles such as the Film Noir Maya (1949-also reviewed) Bernard crawls the viewer over ever inch fought for on No Man's Land with a breathtaking battle set entirely at night time,lit by the lone flares cast across the sky and the flickering of flames from the pounding guns. Blowing out countless microphones over attempts to get "The real sound of war" , Bernard finally hit his target via lining the microphones in various levels of distances from the fired weapons, create a distinctive wave sound design, where the reverberating jolt of gun fires ring out from the battlefields,and shakes the walls of the trenches. Attempting to find shelter in a grave yard, Bernard and Lang's adaptation of Roland Dorgeles takes a deeply thoughtful, humanist touch to the screenplay, with all the classes deep in the trenches being treated as equals, all held together by the loss of hope and humanity that sings out across the No Man's Land of wooden crosses.



Tumultes 8

One of four films he made in 1932, (the others being Quick,and alternative language versions of Quick and Tumultes) auteur director Robert Siodmak & cinematographers Gunther "Metropolis" Rittau and Otto Baecker eye up the effect of being locked in the big house has had on Schwarz, via Siodmak and the cinematographers stylishly obscuring the view with objects placed at the front of shots,and Siodmak darting the camera across the flats where people look out and see Schwarz's fist fights,reflecting the blinded vision of Schwarz to all the changes from his friends and lover. Wonderfully cross-cutting between circling fireworks and a circling death of a relationship, Siodmak grinds a brittle Film Noir atmosphere, as refined tracking shots follow the grubby Schwarz down charcoal side-streets,leading to the glamour and glitz surrounding Schwarz's old dame Ania, which he is unable to fit back into.

Released from jail expecting society to have stood still, the screenplay by Robert Liebmann/ Yves Mirande and Hans Muller keep everyone on-edge over igniting Schwarz's short-fuse in discovering that he is now an outcast of high society. Stealing items in an attempt to blend back in, the writers give Schwarz's love for Ania a seeping decay, rung from Ania desiring her current lover, but living in fear over Schwarz's response. Given a set in stone image by Schwarz,"Florelle" gives a great turn as Ania, whose glamour is used by Florelle as a mask to hide the fears and desires she now holds against her former lover.Wishing to roll back the years, Charles Boyer gives a cracking turn as Schwarz, whose dreams of getting back with the old gang Boyer tightly screws into finding that the real jail is the outside world.

Cool! How did you find The MAC? I haven't been there for years.