Post by petrolino on Oct 7, 2017 0:40:19 GMT
In the comic book western 'Captain Apache', native American Captain Apache (Lee Van Cleef) investigates a high profile murder where the final words spoken were "April morning". Apache encounters prejudice at every turn but remains determined to crack the mystery.
'Captain Apache' is an entertaining acid western filmed in Spain by Alexander Singer who began his cinematic career in the 1950s as one of Stanley Kubrick's disciplined camera company. It's built around chance encounters and elliptical exchanges which may or may not be manipulated by Apache and his suspects. In building a psychedelic mosaic, Singer uses sepia tone imagery for flashbacks and introduces sudden psychedelic flourishes.
Lee Van Cleef is dynamic in the title role and sings two songs on the soundtrack, 'Captain Apache' and 'April Morning'. Elsewhere, Dolores Claman's arresting musical backdrop includes several variations of the melody of soul standard 'My Girl' using different instruments. There are boisterous performances from Carroll Baker as highly qualified historian Maude, Stuart Whitman as crafty gunrunner Griffin, Elisa Montes as professional widow Rosita, Charly Bravo as counterfeit soldier Sanchez, Faith Clift as stolen landowner Abigail, Hugh McDermott as slippery Cavalry commander General Ryland and Elsa Zabala as spell-casting guerrilla fighter The Witch. 'Captain Apache' is a fun western in which colourful characters frequently cross paths in a lawless land littered with dusty corpses.
The road movie 'Stroszek' offers an abstract modern reworking of a classic western template. Street performer Bruno Stroszek (Bruno S) exits his state of incarceration and finds himself humiliated and displaced. Stroszek leaves Berlin, Germany behind him and seeks redemption on the open road, having forged a degree of companionship with prostitute Eva (Eva Mattes) and his elderly neighbour Scheitz (Clemens Scheitz). If forced to return to a life of crime his only option may be to embrace a new kind of solace in America's empty plains.
'Stroszek' is a wandering character portrait that explores the dark mythos of the American midwest's notorious serial killers and the frayed relationship between heavy industry and agriculture. There are large Germanic populations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa; also, Wisconsin, so writer-director Werner Herzog decided to shoot in Nekoosa, Plainfield and Madison. The musical soundtrack to 'Stroszek' is by Chet Atkins and Sonny Terry. Herzog expresses thanks to documentary filmmakers Les Blank, Lutz Eisholz and Errol Morris in realising this project.
"They nicknamed him Angel Eyes. “Being born with a beady-eyed sneer was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Lee Van Cleef smiled as only he could. Tall and lean, pointed nose, high cheekbones, cruel mouth, balding head—and those cold-steel squinty eyes, these physical attributes served to make Van Cleef one of the major heavies of screen westerns."
- Boyd Magers, Western Clippings
- Boyd Magers, Western Clippings
'Stay All Night' - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
'Captain Apache' is an entertaining acid western filmed in Spain by Alexander Singer who began his cinematic career in the 1950s as one of Stanley Kubrick's disciplined camera company. It's built around chance encounters and elliptical exchanges which may or may not be manipulated by Apache and his suspects. In building a psychedelic mosaic, Singer uses sepia tone imagery for flashbacks and introduces sudden psychedelic flourishes.
"Ooo, I shoot like a jealous wife. First shot, right through the heart."
Carroll Baker
Lee Van Cleef is dynamic in the title role and sings two songs on the soundtrack, 'Captain Apache' and 'April Morning'. Elsewhere, Dolores Claman's arresting musical backdrop includes several variations of the melody of soul standard 'My Girl' using different instruments. There are boisterous performances from Carroll Baker as highly qualified historian Maude, Stuart Whitman as crafty gunrunner Griffin, Elisa Montes as professional widow Rosita, Charly Bravo as counterfeit soldier Sanchez, Faith Clift as stolen landowner Abigail, Hugh McDermott as slippery Cavalry commander General Ryland and Elsa Zabala as spell-casting guerrilla fighter The Witch. 'Captain Apache' is a fun western in which colourful characters frequently cross paths in a lawless land littered with dusty corpses.
'Early Morning Breeze' - Dolly Parton
The road movie 'Stroszek' offers an abstract modern reworking of a classic western template. Street performer Bruno Stroszek (Bruno S) exits his state of incarceration and finds himself humiliated and displaced. Stroszek leaves Berlin, Germany behind him and seeks redemption on the open road, having forged a degree of companionship with prostitute Eva (Eva Mattes) and his elderly neighbour Scheitz (Clemens Scheitz). If forced to return to a life of crime his only option may be to embrace a new kind of solace in America's empty plains.
"Werner Herzog, who with Wim Wenders and Rainer Werner Fassbinder brought forth the New German Cinema in the late 1960s and 1970s, saw Bruno in a documentary about street musicians. He cast him in the extraordinary film "Every Man for Himself and God Against All" (1974), also known as "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser." It told the story of an 18th century man locked in a cellar until he was an adult, and then set loose on the streets to make what sense he could of the world. Bruno was uncannily right for the role, and right, too, for "Stroszek," which Herzog wrote in four days. Ah, but there is a reason why the screenplay came quickly. Herzog had the location already in mind. He and the American documentarian Errol Morris had become fascinated by the story of Ed Gein, who dug up all of the corpses in a circle around his mother's grave. Did he also dig up his mother? They decided they had to open the grave to see for themselves. In Q&As we had during tributes at Facets in Chicago and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Herzog told me the story: Morris did not turn up as scheduled in Plainfield, Wis., the grave was never opened, but Herzog's car broke down there and he met the mechanic whose shop provides a key location and character for the film. With the destination in mind, Herzog found the story writing itself."
- Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times
- Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times
Errol Morris & Werner Herzog
'Stroszek' is a wandering character portrait that explores the dark mythos of the American midwest's notorious serial killers and the frayed relationship between heavy industry and agriculture. There are large Germanic populations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa; also, Wisconsin, so writer-director Werner Herzog decided to shoot in Nekoosa, Plainfield and Madison. The musical soundtrack to 'Stroszek' is by Chet Atkins and Sonny Terry. Herzog expresses thanks to documentary filmmakers Les Blank, Lutz Eisholz and Errol Morris in realising this project.
