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Reviews
Cold Case: The Boy in the Box (2004)
lipstick nuns
I like this series a lot. Most episodes have a good feel for period and many of the stories have genuine feelings and an underlying sense of sorrow and regret. Sometimes I've even found myself quite moved by some of the stories. This particular episode had one of those quite touching stories, excellent B&W photography and the ever reliable Samantha Eggar going for it. Yet I just couldn't get over the sight of young nuns wearing full make up, lipstick gloss and mascara - supposedly back in the '50s!!! Even Samantha Eggar, as the older Sister Vivian, back in the present, was wearing an admittedly more discreet make up for her final scenes. Do nuns really wear make up in the States? What on earth was the make up department thinking about?????
Fear Strikes Out (1957)
Who cares about baseball when you get actors like these? Unmissable!!!
Astonishing how obsessive some people can get when it comes to their favourite sports. Thankfully in Europe baseball is hardly known, which allows us to get beyond appearances and enjoy one of the most honest, emotionally raw acting ever recorded on film. This is one of Anthony Perkins' best performances ever - the fact that it was only his third movie makes it even more amazing, but obviously Academy voters in that year had too much baseball in their minds to appreciate such a wonderful, unique actor. The first time I saw this film I was a 9 year old with some father issues. This film was a huge shock and got me interested in psychotherapy at a very early age. Many scenes stayed embedded in my mind for years: Tony in the baseball field alone at night, his breakdown in the field, his fear of his father when he has an accident, all his exchanges with his father.... It's not just a tremendous acting turn, though. It's a beautiful, mature, realistic movie, the kind they used to make at that time in Hollywood (influenced by TV drama and Italian neo-realism) and they seemed to have forgotten how to make in this Lords of the Star Wars of Narnia age of childish entertainment. It could be used as an exhibit in the case for the regression to childhood of the American consciousness. I've read Tab Hunter's enormously entertaining book - which I recommend to any lover of Hollywood's golden age - and even he admits he couldn't have made a better job than Tony did. Once in a while the right part goes to the actor who deserves it most. Fear Strikes Out is a true classic and Anthony Perkins' acting is a masterclass of the first order, with as much fire and urgency as anything by Brando and Dean. In fact, as a film director, I'm showing this film to the young leading man in my next movie as reference and inspiration. Wish me luck!
The Fool Killer (1965)
beautiful and haunting images
As a child, this film had an enormous impact on me. It's a wonderful piece of Americana, a folks tale enriched by beautiful and haunting images thanks to the great B&W photography, and though it is not on the same level as Night of the Hunter, it still has an interesting way of dealing with psychological archetypes. I would go as far as saying that in the portrayal of the way reality is transfigured by a child's imagination, this film is just as good - if not better - than this year's Pan's Labyrinth.
And then there is the immense Anthony Perkins. How sad and annoying that people to this day still use his Norman Bates as a milestone against which they measure the rest of his haunting work. They seem to forget that he had played some seriously tormented characters long before that one and just as well: Josh Birdwell in "Friendly Persuasion", Jim Piersall in "Fear Strikes Out" etc... His unique talents have often been wasted, but here he shines. I never saw any resemblance in his way of playing Milo to that other more celebrated character. Rather, it's a variation on his work in Friendly Persuasion, as if his Josh had gone terribly wrong - a portrait of broken youth, broken dreams, broken beauty. The scene by the river still haunts me to this day. As a child I envied Edward Albert Jr and thought he was very lucky, I wished I had an older brother like him.
I have seen it again when I was finally able to get my hands on a VHS copy. I had to concede that the screenwriters should have worked a lot harder, but I still found it haunting and beautiful, just like its unique star.
WUSA (1970)
Devastatingly moving trio of great actors
It's one of the best examples of the kind of American films that they don't know how to make anymore in the US. It made a huge impression on me when I was 15 and again 10 years later. Newman might not be at his best but he conveys exactly what's needed - moral corruption and self-disgust. Joanne Woodward's turn is a masterclass, such raw intensity it's almost unbearable to watch. Anthony Perkins is touching and vulnerable, his performance is so emotionally honest it's devastating to witness and his character would be at home in any of the best of Tennessee Williams' works - once more he proves that he deserves to be remembered for much more than just his masterpiece - that N.B. - It's a perennial shame on the Academy that he was not even nominated for such work as in this film as well as in "Play as it Lays", "Fear Strikes Out", "The Trial" and, of course, "Psycho" and "Psycho II" - one of the greatest talents ever to be wasted by Hollywood. A masterpiece from an unforgettable era in movie-making history.
A Matter of Time (1976)
Beautiful and haunting music score by Nino Oliviero
Nina, as it is known in Italy, is probably not a masterpiece, but it is full of enchanting and affecting moments, mostly involving Bergman's grand countess. There's a number of concessions to the fashionable cinematic effects of the time (the '70s weren't the best of times for period recreation unless you were Visconti or Kubrick) but this is a film with a genuine and generous heart - best expressed by the beautiful, moving and haunting score composed by the great Nino Oliviero (of MORE fame). It's one of the best music scores for a film ever and a particular favourite of mine: it will stay in your heart and memory long after you have seen NINA.