The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) 50th Academy Awards 1978 2/5 Stars Nominated for 3 awards. Nominated for Art Direction (Ken Adam, Peter Lamont, Hugh Scaife), Music-Original Score (Marvin Hamlisch), and Music-Original Song "Nobody Does It Better" (Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager). Watched November 4, 2012
The reviews are positive, but my views are different. Granted I have not paid much attention to the 007 franchise prior to Daniel Craig and thus my opinions will be incredibly jaded, I was not a huge fan of The Spy Who Loved Me. I find that I am having trouble looking past the dated 70s styles. However, it has been pointed out by many reviewers that the film did exactly what it was supposed to--it was never created to be film noir but a mindless entertaining film that all one must do to enjoy it is sit back and relax while James Bond does all of the hard work. I will admit that, for the most part, The Spy Who Loved Me does that successfully.
This generation's Bond is played by Roger Moore, whose following of Sean Connery seems a tough blow, but he apparently does much better in this film than the previous Bond flicks he had starred in. He is smarmy, with a classically good looking smirk, and a hidden pain of lost love that makes him attractive. Not to mention his mad skiing skills that are said to be one of the best openings to a Bond film--ever.
In this storyline, the bad guy, Karl Stromberg (Curt Jürgens) has been tracking and trapping nuclear submarines from all sides, which is why 007 and the Russian Agent XXX (Barbara Bach) suddenly find themselves working together. Bond and Major Anya Amasova have significantly different feelings about working with one another. Bond is of course attracted to the feisty female agent, while she resents his typical pig headed manliness and pushes against him in an attempt to not be overshadowed by a man. Through their adventures she begins to soften toward him, until she finds out that he killed her love just weeks before, which of course means that she has to kill him once they save the world from nuclear destruction.
Complete with excessive explosions and gunfire, underwater cities, and women in bikinis, it is a true Bond film. In comparison with today's franchise, the cinematography has zero creativity. There is a serious lack of angles. The editing is a bit slow, and the sound design was perplexing. The lack of a sound track fails to disguise the terrible foley art during the fight scenes, not to mention how very choreographed every punch felt. Somehow, Amasova did not come off as intelligently as she was supposed to be, probably because she kept making dumb decisions and relying on Bond to save her.
The acclaimed villain who everyone loves--Jaws (Richard Kiel)--would have been a lot more intimidating had the editor not had a preoccupation with dwelling on his metal-mouth grimace.
All in all, I would consider it another TV movie entertainment date, but not necessarily for the main Friday night event. In my mother's words, it's quite "campy" and outdated, but I did enjoy the last half hour that is spent completely devoted on freeing the submarine crews and saving the world. Many reviewers disliked this part, but to me it was my favourite because it embodies Bond so well. There is very little attempt at serious story telling and just straight, entertaining, unrealistic action. Perfect.
Hugo (2011) 84th Academy Awards 2012 4/5 Stars Nominated for 11 awards, of which it won 5. Nominated for Best Picture (Graham King, Martin Scorsese), Costume Design (Sandy Powell), Directing (Martin Scorsese), Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), Music-Original Score (Howard Shore), and Writing-Adapted Screenplay (John Logan). Won Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Best Art Direction (Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo), Best Sound Editing (Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty), Best Sound Mixing (Tom Fleischman, John Midgley), and Best Visual Effects (Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman, Alex Henning). Watched January 4, 2013.
Hugo is a family movie, despite its length, that brings humor and reality to a world of magic. The plot seems to begin in one place, but before you know it you are headed in almost a completely different direction.
It is a film about Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) who lives in a train station in France. He once lived with his father (Jude Law), a clockmaker who passes away in a museum fire. Hugo is then taken to the train station, where his Uncle Claude (Ray Winstone) takes care of the clocks. Once Hugo knows how to do his Uncle's job, his Uncle disappears and he is left to somehow survive on his own. He steals food and maintains the clocks so that no one suspects his Uncle has gone. The Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen), the almost childish comic relief, is notorious for catching boys and sending them to the orphanage, therefore Hugo must always watch his step.
Hugo is in possession of an automation that he and his father were repairing. While trying to pilfer supplies for the repair from the station's toy merchant (Ben Kingsley), he is caught and his notebook with is father's drawings of the automation is taken. This throws him into an adventure, one which he doesn't really care for until the merchant's goddaughter Isabelle (Cloë Grace Moretz) gets involved. She reintroduces him to books, he introduces her to movies, and together they seek out the notebook while fooling the Station Inspector left and right.
In a machine, there are no extra parts, and as Hugo Cabret sees it, if the world is a machine, then he must be there for a purpose, and so must Isabelle. They soon discover that maybe, for now, their purpose is to give a man back his life. Once Isabelle is introduced to the magic of movies, the plot turns and the two adventurers discover a secret about her Godfather.
The performances in this film are pretty standard. Many reviewers rave over Moretz but are a little wavy on Butterfield's performance in comparison. On the contrary, I thought Moretz fell a bit short of her past appearances but this is perhaps more because of the story and the intention of being a family movie. Her enthusiasm often felt a bit unreal, but then again, isn't the magic of movies a bit unreal itself? Butterfield did an adequate job for a family movie, on the same level as Moretz. I loved the supporting cast and fell quite in love with Ben Kingsley's on screen wife, Helen McCrory. Sacha Baron Cohen, also, was much different from what you might remember him as in his past roles, and I found that it fit him quite well. His story was a bit unnecessary to the rest of the plot, but again, it is a children's film and therefore requires a little bit of unnecessary humor to maintain everyone's attention for two hours.
The cinematography, art direction, sound, and visual effects were all absolute magic. Everything combined beautifully to create such a visual feast that even in 2D format it was incredible. I have heard that nothing can touch the original 3D format and it is said that although there is a lot of shoddy 3D work happening in the industry right now, Scorsese has the sense to respect the viewers and understand that if you are going to do something, you must do it right. He also brings his own passion for maintaining film history to the story and perhaps wishes to help the younger generation understand the magic of film so that they too can respect it and pursue it, whether in career or simply pastime.
Hugo might not be for everyone, but if you are looking for a family film with a bit more depth than usual, and an incredible visual display, I would definitely suggest you sit everyone down to enjoy this Scorsese masterpiece.
Save 2012, I have read the Harry Potter books every summer since my fifteenth birthday. I am one of those people who reads all of the books before the next movie comes out, dresses up as Hermione, and goes to stand in line for the midnight premier before most people get off work. I own the first four books in paperback and all of their bindings are taped and glued and will soon require rubber bands. I own the remaining three books in hard back because I picked them up at midnight the day they were released.
What can I say about a film and a series that has been so near and dear to my heart for almost a decade? I didn't quite grow up with it--I think I didn't see the first film until I was fifteen because there had previously been a lot of stigma about reading a book about witches and wizards in my community. I didn't even know who Harry Potter was until the fourth book came out and it was on the news. How could such a famous book have three before it and I had never heard of it before? After watching the first film, however, I was hooked and never went back.
I am a fan.
However, I have always felt as if the films were a let down. Such is the curse of knowing the books too well. When something as "small" as the color of Harry's eyes is done incorrectly, the whole world shatters and one loses faith in the filmmakers. When the actors that have been chosen to play the three main characters are pretty near hopeless in front of the camera, there is something wrong.
Despite their flaws, the Harry Potter films are always worth watching in my opinion. In fact, because I haven't read the books in a longer time than usual, I might appreciate them more. One of the biggest things that endears them to me still is the fact that we watched Harry, Ron, and Hermione grow up on screen. Just as they grew into the people J.K. Rowling intended them to be right before our eyes, the actors who played them grew in their skills and understanding of the characters so much that they are acted as if they are one in the same. By the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, I can hardly think of Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Daniel Radcliffe, because they don't exist any more. They have embodied their characters so well that no one else in the world could ever be Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
The two Deathly Hallows installments are on a completely different level from the films before them. From an artsy, character study, true to the book sort of aspect, I preferred the first installment. However, from an action, well adapted, very visually cinematic sort of aspect, I thought that part two did the book extreme justice and am incredibly pleased with it as the last film. For the first time out of all eight films, all loose ends are tied, all plot lines are closed, and Voldemort is finally finished. There is no cliffhanger or promise of more adventures next year. There is promise that life and love will go on, but we are given a glimpse of that life and then our Harry Potter journey is complete. Though bitter sweet, I can't believe that it could have been done much better.
The beginning of the film is slightly abrupt due to the fact that we jump right in after part one. The initial conversations to establish the rest of the film are a bit slow, quiet, and tedious, and for those who haven't read the books they are a bit confusing. Once the trio gets up and begins searching for horcuxes again, however, the pace picks up immediately and it is a non-stop ride until the end of the film.
If you don't know what a horcrux is, it is an object that contains a bit of someone's soul and therefore the person to whom the soul belongs is unable to die. Voldemort believes that seven is the most powerful number and has made himself as many horcuxes, which means it has taken Harry, Ron, and Hermione exactly two and a half movies to track all of them down.
Through the heavy complexity of J.K. Rowling's last book, this film is lighter in its story and is drawn much more to the visual action sequences. I appreciated the wordless communication of much of this film, and indeed the most powerfully moving sequence involving Snape's past needed little narration to be so brilliant. The acting is superb and all of the adult supporting cast is at their best, again mentioning Alan Rickman, but also Maggie Smith whose line "I've always wanted to use that spell!" was my favourite in the film.
What was adapted so well and true to the book in part one was done equally well in the second. Many might disagree because the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort was quite altered, but I actually believe that the added elements were, one, more cinematic, and two, more realistic. I actually found that part of the book a bit of a let down, and was pleased that movie-Voldemort puts up such a good fight. After all, he is a brilliant wizard, despite how he has misused his genius.
All in all, I would count both parts one and two of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to be among my favourite movies, and although I would not quite as readily vouch for the six movies preceding them, I would recommend movies seven and eight to anyone. Please see them, buy them, own them, and love them! The end has come, but for the next generation it has yet to begin!
War Horse (2011) 84th Academy Awards 2012 3/5 Stars Nominated for 6 awards. Nominated for Best Picture (Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy), Cinematography (Janusz Kiminski), Art Direction (Rick Carter, Lee Sandales), Music - Original (John Williams), Sound Editing (Richard Hymns, Gary Rudstrom), and Sound Mixing (Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Stuart Wilson). Watched December 29, 2012.
What can I say about you, War Horse? It is a technical genius and a simplistic, clichéd display of love and devotion that leaves half of the critics baffled and the other half in adoration.
Steven Spielberg will forever be a cinematic genius whose technicality in the art is boundless. However, I have grown so accustomed to his polished cinematography and overall composition that I was less impressed with the technical aspect and therefore more distracted by the unlikely plot line. It is simple in almost a bad way. There was very little character depth and the actions of all but the horse (Joey) were extremely predictable.
Despite its shortcomings in story, I still enjoyed it, partially because I am a huge horse lover. It is a war movie without the gore of today's films. Spielberg did not feel the need to show every battle field in detail and to draw out the exchange. Instead, he took a much more simple, abstract approach that lets the audience know what has occurred but does not necessarily show the act itself. This was one of my more favourite aspects of the film, which leads me to my viewing advice.
If you have the ability to suspend reality (something that most movie-goers should be well versed in) and accept the fact that War Horse is going to test you, then you should certainly see it. It is a walking cliché--a tale of innocents on all sides, despite the gruesome war surrounding it, and the joy that is found despite the death, destruction, and separation.
Joey begins his life as a playful, half-thoroughbred who is bought at auction at a young age by a farmer who needs a plow horse. Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan) was tempted by the astounding beauty of the horse, his landlord's clear desire for the animal, and his drink. His wife Rose (Emily Watson) is furious when he brings the young, small, untrained horse home, but his son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) is ecstatic. He takes the horse on himself, names him, and trains him, and in one of the more unlikely bits of the film, plows an entire field with him in order to save his family's farm.
Despite their efforts, the farm is still in jeopardy. When World War I finally breaks upon them, Mr. Narracott sells the horse to a Captain James Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston). Heartbroken, Albert vows to Joey that he will find him again one day.
It is soon after this that the most brilliant scene of the film occurs. The Captain and his company are led to believe that a German camp lays close by, unsuspecting, and thus their calvary rides into it. They ride through the camp at full gallop but once they reach the woods at the other side, they are cut down thoroughly by machine guns. Instead of watching the horses and their riders fall at extreme length, we instead see one shot of the riders charging at full gallop and in the next the horses are leaping over the guns--riderless.
Joey finds himself in German hands, and along with his gorgeous black stallion friend, jumps from master to master and from England to Germany to France and back again, much in the same way that Black Beauty would share his tale of owners. He spends time on a French farm, pulling guns in the war, and even brings the entrenched British and German soldiers to a temporary truce as they try to free him from barbed wire.
It is not the most brilliant nominated film this year, but it is certainly deserving. Although the end shots are certainly a sort of sentimental pride with Spielberg, as is evidenced by their drawn out screen time, the majority of his execution is so flawless that I longed for a dirtier edit and a more experimental cinematographer. If you have missed War Horse somehow, I would certainly suggest watching it, especially if you are in a good mood and are willing to set aside your firm grasp on reality for some more innocent fun.
I have heard tales of these films, the popular series that began with a study of the chaos at airports and gradually made its way to basic blockbuster adventure stories involving airplanes. If any of you have seen the popular comedy Airplane and did not know, it is a parody of the Airportmovies of the seventies. After watching Airport '77, I want to watch the rest, not because it was a brilliant feat, but because of the hilarious parodies of Airplane that I noticed while watching the film.
Airport '77 is about a group of privileged people who are taking the first flight ever on a new luxury 747. The owner has invited them all to his place in Florida to view his art collection. Among the passengers are his daughter and grandson, whom he has not seen in years. The adventure and suspense in this film starts from almost the very beginning, when we are introduced to men wearing disguises and sneaking suspiciously through the airplane. Really what they are doing is hijacking the plane.
The copilot and his fellow theifs are stealing the art pieces in the cargo. They knock everyone out with gas and are intending on getting the pieces off the plane before anyone knows what has gone down, but inevitably, during the copilot's maneuvers to stay below the radar in the Bermuda Triangle, they hit an oil rig and crash land in the ocean, sinking beneath the surface and landing on top of a ledge. There is plenty of panic, death, and cut away shots to the Navy's control room where they orchestrate the search and rescue. There is, of course, a doctor on board the plane (isn't there always in the movies?), but they at least add a little twist in that he is a veterinarian. The film even ends in an epic attempt to raise the plane in the same manner that the Navy would raise a distressed submarine.
Apparently they had a stacked cast for this film, among them Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, Olivia de Havilland, and Christopher Lee to name a few. Despite their talent pool, the demand of the characters was limited and there was very little study of how individuals might react if they suddenly awoke to find their plane at the bottom of the ocean. The storytelling was typical and predictable. How many times can you show water leaking into the plane and expect the suspense to build? There are a few sequences that are exciting and interesting, although it reminded me drastically of other unlikely stories such as Poseidon.
To be honest I am curious how the film earned itself its nominations. Looking at the art direction and costume design by themselves I am thoroughly unimpressed by their mediocrity. This may be a matter of societal distance, as the criteria of films in the 70s and films in the 21st century are quite different.
Airport '77 has become one of those bad movies you might watch part of on TV, but beyond that it is nothing impressive. If you like unrealistic disaster movies like Poseidon you might want to look up this film, but otherwise it is not something I would advise for your list.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, like Star Wars, is another sci-fi film released in 1977 that was nominated and won awards for its achievements. It was also the second-highest grossing film of the year and held records for a good while. This is, of course, thanks to Steven Spielberg, his incredible understanding of the craft, and his abilities as a story teller. I, for one, will forever be a fan of Spielberg, not necessarily for his out-of-this-world artistic abilities, but for his all encompassing domination of filmmaking as a whole. Although certain aspects of Close Encounters are dated, the majority of it withstands the test of time far more than its counterpart, Star Wars.
If you have guessed correctly, like I did, Close Encounters is a film about aliens. Similarly to other such films where extra terrestrial life visits Earth, you don't actually see the aliens themselves until the end of the film, although you see a good amount of their ships. Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) is your average blue collar worker with a wife Ronnie (Teri Garr) and three children. When there is a huge power outage one night, he is called into the field, but once he has a unique encounter with one of the ships, he turns off his radio and decides to chase down the aliens. He is completely obsessed, even once they have gone, preoccupied with a pyramid shape that he can't place. A woman he met the same night, Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) is just as preoccupied, but when her son Barry (Cary Guffey) is taken, her terror leads her to chase down her visions of the mountain. Roy's obsession eventually makes him so crazy that his wife leaves with the children.
Meanwhile, a group of scientists have been tracking and communicating with the aliens and have discovered that the lifeforms have been sending them direct coordinates to Devils Tower in Wyoming. They immediately evacuate the area, and it is the television coverage of the panic that clues Roy and Jillian in on what their visions have been of. They both rush to the area, of course meeting up and driving recklessly into the military protected national park.
Unlike many alien movies of our day, Steven Spielberg's aliens are friendly and curious. Although they have taken many people over the years, as well as accepted voluntary travelers, they seem like they too are merely scientists wishing to understand, explore, and experience. This also differs from the films in the 70s and before. The typical storyline is, of course, that their world is dying, they are feeding, or they simply want to terrorize the planet. Spielberg's creation, although also suspenseful, is much different with much better special effects, which are perhaps two of its best traits.
As far as performances and characters, I thought everyone was phenomenal. Dreyfuss is very convincing--his crazy is very realistic and because we know his experience was legitimate it is probably less weird to the audience than his wife, although at the climax of his meltdown it is easy to understand and sympathize with Ronnie. She begins as very loving and supportive, although clearly worried. At first I was surprised that she might actually be so loving that she completely upholds her "in sickness and in health" vows without question, but she eventually cracks and opts to protect her children by removing them from the situation.
I would definitely recommend this film. It is more lighthearted than recently viewed films, but certainly has more depth than Star Wars. Even if you have seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind before, it would definitely be a good choice for this Halloween evening!
Tempest (1928) 1st Academy Awards 1929 1/5 Stars Nominated for 1 award, which it won. Won Art Direction (William C. Menzies). Watched October 17, 2012.
The sun is setting on silent films, but is also setting on John Barrymore's illustrious acting career. In a performance that is reportedly more mellow and controlled than his norm, which is something that flies well in today's audiences, he once again plays in a romantic film. He is a sergeant in the Russian army and is studying to become an officer, something that has not happened in years. To a society that had World War I fresh in its memory, a film about Russia and the fall of its aristocrats was common, although in Tempest, it is easier to feel sympathy toward the Czar.
Sergeant Ivan Markov, although he is socially a peasant, has somehow gained the favor of the General (George Fawcett) and is therefore granted a review. Despite the Captain (Ullrich Haupt) being very anti-Markov, Markov is impressively promoted to Lieutenant and, in an incredible display of affection, the General gives Markov his old epaulettes. In a recurring role, a greasy, wide-eyed peddler (Boris de Fast) discourages Markov constantly throughout the film, telling him that Russia will soon belong to the people and that the aristocrats will never truly accept him.
Here we introduce Princess Tamara (Camilla Horn), daughter of the General, and an extremely proud woman. Our first glance of her is during Markov's review, when she asks her father if a man could be more perfect. This implies that she is a fun-loving, kind woman, but this opinion is quickly corrected. Prior to Markov's official promotions, his fellow Sergeant Bulba (Louis Wolheim) steals the clothing of two bathing women from another soldier and upon intending to "return" them, Markov reprimands him and takes the clothes back himself. Inevitably, it is Tamara bathing and her fury is very evident. Markov, however, is a little dense and suddenly thinking himself in love, he kisses the princess. This leads to his persistent (and incredibly creepy) chasing of the princess, even at her birthday party. After being rejected, Markov drinks too much, and in search of the wash room, finds himself in Tamara's bedroom, where he falls asleep on her bed next to the flowers he intends to give her. When the princess finds him, she rings for help, and the General arrests him in fury.
Markov is stripped of rank and sentenced to five years hard labor, which is quickly increased to solitary confinement. The princess suddenly feels remorse and affection. When the aristocracy finally falls, the peddler is revealed as a heartless leader. He breaks Markov from prison with Bulba at his right, gives him a fur coat, and lets him sit at his left while dolling out death sentences to anyone who supported the Czar, literally ripping children from the arms of their mothers and throwing them in front of a firing squad.
Many movie critics often talk about the suspension of reality, which I generally find very annoying because unless it is a documentary, it is always just a representation of an idea and therefore is not reality. However, when it comes to Tempest, I will wholeheartedly say that in order to enjoy this film or think it remotely romantic, you will probably have to accept that it would never happen in real life. Markov was very creepy in his initial affections and I don't blame the princess for not encouraging him whatsoever--too much positive reinforcement and you create a stalker. She doesn't show him any kindness until the end of the film and therefore it is a wonder Markov can think his affections are love.
The artistic qualities of the film are hard to see, due to damaged film, and the end of the film is very fragmented because it is so severely irreparable. There are a lot of scratches, bubbles, and dirt that cloud up the picture, but if you can look beyond it to the elaborate sets, you might be able to see why Tempest won the award for Art Direction. William Menzies was in competition with such films as Sunrise, therefore his achievements must have been well appreciated at the time to conquer such a running mate.
All things considered, I would not recommend Tempest. I found it intriguing how I rooted for the Czar and the aristocrats so much, but it is possible because none of their characters were creepy, but instead genuine and believable. Beyond that and the sets, there is little to recommend the film.
The Dove is another film held in the vaults at the Library of Congress, but it is an incomplete version. Please find below an excerpt from a review written January 3, 1928 by Mordaunt Hall. I found the article here, on the New York Times site.
"The Dove (1927)
"Although there is fully one adventure too many in the screen version of Willard Mack's play "The Dove," it is, up to the last sequence, an excellent picture. Courage and imagination have entered into its direction and it is a pity, indeed that the producer, Roland West, should have been so prodigal with Johnny Powell's experiences.
"While Norma Talmadgc supplies the necessary beauty and actual raison d'étre to this agreeable yarn, the player who comes out with flying colors is Noah Beery, largely because a part has fallen to his lot that is suited to his vigorous but flexible face. It is the rôle that Holbrook Blinn acted on the stage, that of Don José Maria y Sandoval, "the bes' dam caballero in Costa Roja." Plots may mean, little to picture producers, but the geography of a yarn means even less. Hence, it has been decided to pluck forth Mexicana from Mr. Mack's original effort, call it Costa Roja and then fling it over into the blue Mediterranean, where it will stay, so far as the film conception of "The Dove" is concerned.
"Taking it by and large, José is perhaps a screen character to which the Mexican Government might have objected, for he is greedy, sensuous, boastful, cold-blooded, irritable, and quite a wine-bibber, but he does dress well. His top boots are always like a mirror, his riding breeches are spotless and he is a good figure of a man. He hates to have his luncheon spoiled by a noisy victim of his shooting squad. He adores beauty, but is inconstant.
"It is a pleasure to see Miss Talmadge in this film after the frightfully poor picturization of "Camille," which her grace and talent could not save. Here she is the guitar girl, who emphasizes her utterances with "You betcha my life." For some strange reason she speaks in broken English when conversing with José, who, one gathers, is one of her own people. There are a goodly share of close-ups of Miss Talmadge, and many of them are much too blurred.
"In the introduction to this series of adventures, Mr. West has the temerity to keep his camera going without a soul on the horizon. It is a fine idea, for it creates quite a nice illusion, that of the audience being taken over the byways of Costa Roja to where the story is laid. You fly along the rough roads, over a mountain or two and then come to a place which has been smoothed over by José's minions or some other caballero's sons of toil.
"Mr. West is brave enough to tell his story without asking Miss Talmadge to put in an appearance before she ought to. This in itself creates a neat suspense, and the suspense would be sustained if Mr. West had not insisted on Gilbert Roland, as Johnny Powell, trying to outdo Fairbanks. Those who want to save themselves this series of spilled exploits can close their eyes once Johnny Powell grips a rope and swings to the roof of a building opposite.
"The story—caramba! It is just one of those affairs with a don who loves a beautiful girl in his own way and a young American with whiskers who adores the same maiden. It is strength versus skill, and skill wins out.
"There is a touch of gambling in this picture, and at the end Don José strikes one as a half-brother of "The Bad Man," for he guffaws his departure by informing you of his further appreciation of himself, which is:
"Dios, what a man I am!"
"Mr. Beery does occasionally make Don José just a bit too deliberate and one might also say demonstrative. The portrait, however, is a good one, nothing you would probably see in less than a hundred years of life, but nevertheless an interesting person. Mr. Roland is quiet, looking more like a Don Zalva than a Johnny Powell. There are too many close-ups of him mumbling affectionate phrases to Dolores, the "Dove." Harry Myers, the actor who triumphed in the picturization of "A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur," is remarkably fine as the owner of a gambling saloon. To fill the rôle he shaved the sides of his head so that it looks as if he were wearing a toupee.
"Hope Hampton appears charming and graceful as the wearer of many fashions, the costumes being all the more interesting because this subject has been filmed by the Technicolor process.
"Dios, What a Man!"
"THE DOVE, with Noah Beery, Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland, Eddie Borden, Harry Myers, Michael Vavitch, Brinsley Shaw, Kalla Pasha, Charles Darvas, Mlchael Dark and Walter Daniels, adapted from Willard Mack's play of the same name, directed by Roland West; "A Fashion Revue," in Technicolor, with Hope Hampton; "Ko-Ko's Earth Control," an Inkwell cartoon. At the Rialto Theatre."
Star Wars (1977) 50th Academy Awards 1978 5/5 Stars Nominated for 11 awards, of which it won 7. Nominated for Supporting Actor (Alec Guinness), Directing (George Lucas), Best Picture (Gary Kurtz), and Writing-Original (George Lucas). Won Art Direction (John Barry, Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Roger Christian), Costume Design (John Mollo), Film Editing (Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas, Richard Chew), Music-Original Score (John Williams), Sound (Don MacDougall, Ray West, Bob Minkler, Derek Ball), Visual Effects (John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune, Robert Blalack), and a Special Achievement Award (to Benjamin Burtt, Jr. for the creation of the alien, creature and robot voices featured in the film). Watched October 5, 2012.
The first science fiction film to be nominated for an Academy Award, the cult classic, the household names, and the instant launch into stardom all began at one unbelievable place on the set of a film with a tiny budget comprised of a crew who didn't believe in the project. Star Wars came into our lives at the precise moment that our culture was able see its greatness and make it such a huge success.
The original owners of the movie studios were all retiring and selling them to inexperienced corporations. At a time when our American heroes and leaders were a part of the Watergate scandal or engaged in the Vietnam War, George Lucas was exploring mythology and religion, trying to piece them together into a simple coming of age story where good and evil are clearly defined. Only because of the technology of the time, the simple story turned into a monumental, nearly impossible task.
The science fiction culture, as well as the other genres of the time, were preoccupied with death and destruction, taking lead from the world that surrounded it. In the end, it took a very special man at 20th Century Fox, Alan Ladd, Jr., who believed in the man but not in the project, to get Lucas his 8.25 million dollar budget and launch the film. Lucas, an independent filmmaker who had recently stepped away from experimental films and was still determined to stay out of Hollywood, wanted to do everything his way without the studio's suffocating tampering he had experienced in his other projects. He took six months to cast the film and did his best to choose no-names for the three key characters. While he was still elbow deep in preproduction, his big hit American Graffiti was finally released and the studio gained a little confidence in him.
The story line is simple. A young farm boy named Luke who longs for adventure outside of his home crosses paths with two wanted droids that lead him to the doorstep of Obi-Wan Kenobi, an old Jedi Master. The Jedi are apart of a religion almost forgotten to the past. One of the droids contains important information for the rebellion against the evil Empire, and seeing that they are the only hope, Luke and Obi-Wan enlist the help of the smuggler Han Solo to fly them to the rebel base. It doesn't take long before they are caught up in something much bigger than they had anticipated--rescuing a princess and piloting X-Wing fighters among them. As the story progresses, Luke slowly begins to discover his skills with The Force, and ultimately uses them to deal the Empire a crushing blow.
Initially, Lucas refused to consider Harrison Ford for the role of Han Solo because he had worked with him before (remember his goal of casting no-names), but recognizing his talent, Lucas asked Ford to help him in casting by reading with the auditions. Eventually, inevitably, Ford's connection to the character and spot-on interpretation of his mannerisms won him the role, and he was joined by recent TV phenomenon Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker (originally named Luke Skykiller), and the not so common damsel in distress Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.
The shooting of the film was plagued with misfortunes, mostly with unpredictable desert weather, malfunctioning robots, and differing styles between director and cinematographer. No one on set really understood Lucas' vision or the story and therefore there was not a lot of belief in its success. The studio was constantly breathing down his neck, and when the shoot went over schedule by three weeks, there was the threat of pulling the plug.
Meanwhile, the special effects department had been working for a year, spent half their budget, and had only filmed four shots, none of which Lucas liked. His stress level reached an all time high and he had to go the hospital with complaints of chest pains. Immediately, he stepped in and took control of the special effects department, setting deadlines and making regular trips to visit, insisting that they do a year’s worth of work in six months. Their hippy mentality finally got into gear, and although Lucas was never truly satisfied with the results, the immense progress they made completely changed the department and the art of filmmaking from then on out.
It wasn't until Lucas made some drastic changes and brought in some brilliant artisans that his film finally began to come together as he wanted it. His initial editor completely lost his vision and he brought in two men for whom winning an Oscar was the last thing on their minds, Paul Hirsch and Richard Chew. He was also lucky enough to enlist the help of composer John Williams, who already had an Oscar under his belt and was well known for his work on Steven Spielberg's ‘Jaws.’
But before the music was complete, Lucas showed one of his first cuts to a group of friends, almost all of whom gave him fairly negative reviews. Only Steven Spielberg recognized it for the genius that it was. To Lucas' astonishment, the studio loved it, and several of them actually left in tears, knowing they would always remember the day they had witnessed such a film.
When the film was released on May 25, 1977, it was pandemonium. Only around 40 theaters had agreed to show the film and in its first weekend it made over 35 million dollars, breaking all sorts of records, and not just for science fiction films. It became one of Fox's highest grossing films at the time. And the real kicker is that they had no interest in merchandising when they created Lucas' contract, which means that he was set up to make an incredible amount of money from the inevitable cult following that began even before the film was released, thanks in part to the marketing department and their use of the famed Comic Con convention in San Diego and their release of a novel just six months prior to the film's release.
The film itself was a great feat for the time of its release. The acting is not the best, and the special effects certainly aren't up to today's standards, but its incredible and genius utilization of story, characterization, and imagination, are what help it stand the test of time. George Lucas' vision was much too grand for the time in which he was born, but it is because of this that he pushed the boundaries of cinema and created the first ever science fiction blockbuster, thus changing the whole idea of film.
If you have somehow never seen Star Wars (you know who you are), drop what you are doing right now and please enjoy this incredible film that changed the tides of filmmaking for the better.
Sources: The Rush, Movies and Mayhem, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, A look inside of the Star Wars Trilogy (A New Hope / The Empire Strikes Back / Return of the Jedi) (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc) DVD
The Turning Point (1977) 50th Academy Awards 1978 3/5 Stars Nominated for 11 awards. Nominated for Supporting Actor (Mikhail Baryshnikov), Best Actress (Anne Bancroft), Best Actress (Shirley MacLaine), Best Supporting Actress (Leslie Browne), Art Direction (Albert Brenner, Marvin March), Cinematography (Robert Surtees), Directing (Herbert Ross), Film Editing (William Reynolds), Best Picture (Herbert Ross, Arthur Laurents), Sound (Theodore Soderberg, Paul Wells, Douglas O. Williams, Jerry Jost), and Writing--Original (Arthur Laurents). Watched September 28, 2012.
The Turning Point would today be considered a Lifetime movie, Oscars-style. To have been nominated for eleven Oscars and win none of them has only happened twice in the Academy's history. To be honest, a few of the nominations seemed a bit excessive--namely the supporting cast. The film was apparently a big hit when it came out, and should certainly be on the favorite list of today's dancers, but it is another prime example of a film not standing the test of time.
Despite its flaws, this film is very relatable. For anyone who once had a dream, and ended up taking a different path, or outgrew it, the story line will strike a chord with you. It is about a woman named Deedee (Shirley MacLaine) who gave up the opportunity of being a prima ballerina to get married and have a family. One day when her old company comes into town, her oldest daughter is invited to join. Deedee accompanies Emilia (Leslie Browne) to New York, just for the summer, and immediately feels out of place. It is not her time anymore, and it seems the light is dimming on her old friend and rival, Emma (Anne Bancroft), who might just be nearing her last dance.
To see the ins and outs of a dance company is something we are familiar with in films these days, but to see such exquisite dancing, we are not as accustomed. Granted, as the Step Up films certainly highlight their genres very well, The Turning Point does the same with ballet. Its consistency with the story is a bit lacking, but unlike many critics I enjoyed this. I found it more realistic and consistent than, say, a musical. The characters themselves are in fact dancers, and when they practice and perform the dance consumes them, but in their outside lives they are not as likely to break into song and dance.
Considering the fact that neither MacLaine or Bancroft were dancers, they did a very good job assimilating themselves into their environment. Their relationship is strained, almost fake, because of long-harbored resentment toward each other. They both long after the life the other person has and are filled with regrets. The film is preoccupied by the life decision between career and family, which doesn't give the actors too much range to work with. The climactic confrontation between the two main characters inevitably comes, and after a lot of harsh words and a drink thrown in MacLaine's face (which was unplanned and thus her reaction is of genuine surprise), turns into a full-out cat fight that was quite hilarious.
Overall, unless you are a lover of dance or a fan of Lifetime movies, I would not recommend this movie for you. However, if you have any appreciation for ballet, I suspect this is already one of your favourite films!
Recent Comments