Reviews

George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid(1969) has long been one of my favorite films. The combination of great photography of amazing landscapes, a brilliantly witty and charming script by William Goldman and outstanding performances by two of the great leading men in the history of American cinema make the film one of the most watchable and most enjoyable pictures I'm sure I will ever see. I had watched the film at least half a dozen times but upon learning that the film would be screened in Albany's Palace Theatre as part of SEFCU's Classic Movie Series I leapt at the chance to see Butch, Sundance and Etta on the big screen in a beautifully designed local landmark. It was an amazing experience, complete with the old fashioned "Let's go out to the lobby" cartoons and scratches and blotches on the over 40 year old film stock this was the genuine article and it felt as if I had traveled back in time for two hours. A great film and a great experience and I'd encourage anyone to see Butch Cassidy or any other classic film on the silver screen.

Enigmatic director Stanley Kubrick's The Killing(1956) was ahead of it's time in terms of structure and content. One of the first American heist films, it's low budget, B-movie status allowed it to escape the attention of Hays Code enforcers and create a model for many films that would follow it's lead still more than half a century later. The film moves crisply through the scenes and the ensemble cast keeps the pace moving with steady and believable performances. The tone of the film is very dark and the audience has a sense throughout that the heist is not going to end well. Kubrick's filmmaking skills are on display in spades but the script and the story fall short of his later more meaningful films but how much meaning do you really want in a heist film anyway?

The greatest virtue of Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider(1969) are the iconic traveling montages with stunning photography of the American West supported by great rock and roll tracks, chief among them being The Band's song The Weight. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper are modern day outlaws in the great western tradition but instead of horses, they ride hogs. Part western, part road film, part buddy picture and part rebellion against establishment, Easy Rider wears many hats but it's most fitting one is that of ambassador for the greatness of America. Wear Woody Allen films make you love the clutter and clamor or New York City, Easy Rider makes you love the unending openness of the west and the freedom and liberty that the openness represents. The film's message is a bit heavy handed and the narrative drags at times but Easy Rider is a film that every American should see so that they can truly understand the majesty of this great nation.

Mike Nichols' The Graduate(1967) has all of the elements that make for a truly great film and Nichols deftly handles all of the elements in creating one of the most iconic films in the history of cinema. The acting, photography, writing, music and tone are all flawless. As a comedy or a drama alone it would shine but the film's ability to combine the two is what makes it historic. Dustin Hoffman's Benjamin Braddock represents a generation of young people who see the world far differently than their parents and grandparents and believes that the meaning of life is not found through climbing a corporate ladder or following the path that is set before you by others but by making your own way and enjoying life at every turn. This was something of a revolutionary philosophy in the 1960s and the social significance of The Graduate was just as great as it's comedy and drama.

If you love New York City and you love comedy then you must love Woody Allen's Annie Hall(1977). Allen's presentation of the Big Apple captures everything that makes it the greatest city in the world and Allen's sense of humor ranks with the greatest comedic minds in cinematic history. The way that Allen is able to incorporate so many jokes into what is basically an existential examination of romantic relationships is revolutionary and has influenced a generation of comedians to explore deeper issues through the use of comedy but none have been able to match the genius of Allen and his work in Annie Hall. Woody Allen's comedy is something of an acquired taste but I have a hard time believing that anyone who watches Annie Hall and doesn't enjoy it isn't an anti-Semite.

Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing(1989) announced the arrival of a new and provocative filmmaker to the American Cinema landscape. Spike Lee knew the "rules" of filmmaking but decided to break many of them. The avant garde style of Do The Right Thing and the occasional breaking of the 4th wall reveal's Lee's willingness to take chances in filmmaking and truly engage the audience in the film's message of the powder-keg that is race relations in the inner city. The performances of the film were highlighted by Ossie Davis' fabulous portrayal of Da Mayor in a role that provided laughs and heartbreak. There were no weak links in a cast that failed to capture true verisimilitude but captured the complex relationships and emotions of a neighborhood on the edge.

Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen's Singin' in the Rain(1952) is very nearly flawless. Great performances from Kelly, Reynolds and O'Connor entertain and impress throughout. The pacing of the film is absolutely spot on with jokes, emotional moments, entertaining musical numbers, impressive achievements in dance that all combine to create perhaps the greatest "feel-good" film ever made. I hate to focus on the negative as there are so many positives but I feel that the only thing keeping it from being a perfect film was the extended sequence of the musical within the musical with the "Gotta Dance" routine. The interactions between Kelly, Reynolds and O'Connor absolutely made the picture and as Kelly goes off on his own the film loses it's plot and it's heart. As an audience member I had fallen in love with Reynolds' and O'Connor's characters and being without them for such a lengthy period just felt wrong. Despite the departure, the film stands as one of the most enjoyable and entertaining works of all-time, I'll just have fast forward through that sequence in the future.

The first time I watched Orson Welles' Citizen Kane(1941) I had some trouble with following the film because of the unusual story telling structure. Upon watching it for a second time I was able to follow the story and the character development and it certainly improved my enjoyment of the film. I can certainly understand why so many rank it as the greatest film ever made, the groundbreakingly inventive visual style of the film is incredibly impressive and with the knowledge that this was Welles' first film it was an amazing achievement. But for my own personal enjoyment of a work of fiction I need to feel a personal connection to the characters. Charles Foster Kane is necessarily a character that the audience cannot connect with as his enigmatic and distant nature is the whole point of the film but I found it difficult to connect to any of the characters on any level, they all left me feeling cold. I think that perhaps with more repeat viewings I'll be able to penetrate the extreme density of the film further and may in time come to truly appreciate it but for the moment I'll have to remain incredibly impressed but not quite entertained.

Action, romance, comedy, political intrigue...Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent(1940) has got it all. The film deals with very serious subject matter, the run up to the disastrous World War II in Europe, but Hitchcock's comedic treatment of the life and death circumstances make the film infinitely more watchable. Joel McRae is an outstanding leading man and the rest of the great international ensemble cast doesn't miss a dramatic or comedic note at any point in the film. The characteristic hitchcockian suspense is present throughout but it's the comedic moments that really make the film shine. In only his second Hollywood film, Hitchcock was in top form in showing the unique style of storytelling that would change the medium and influence film makers for 70 years and counting.

There is nothing I can say about Michael Curtiz's masterwork Casablanca(1942)that hasn't already been said by thousands, perhaps millions, of cinema lovers over the past 70 years. There aren't enough superlatives in the dictionary to describe just how perfectly the story, the characters, the images, the music, the sounds and all elements of the film's production are presented. The thing that sets Casablanca apart from the other films universally considered as being among the greatest of all time including Citizen Kane(1941) and The Godfather Part I(1972)and Part II(1974), among others, is the comedy of the piece. To balance the heart wrenching and soul shattering effects of war, occupation, fascism, betrayal and lost love with so much high quality comedy and so many great jokes is just stunning. Importantly, the comic elements disarm the audience without distracting from the life and death tension of the surroundings of the film. The emotions of the piece all feel very real and genuine and the audience is allowed into the lives of these characters in a way that very few films allow. Bogart's Rick is just about the coolest guy in the history of the world and Bergman's Ilsa it just about the most beautiful and charming woman in the history of the world. Claude Rains contributes a masterfully enigmatic performance as the police Captain Louis Renault and the entire cast of characters makes the place and the era come bursting to life. Curtiz's use of light and shadows sets the perfect tone for this perfect film and all elements of production are perfectly on point. I can't say for certain that Casablanca is the greatest film that has ever been made as I haven't seen them all but there's a pretty damn good chance that it is.

Preston Sturges' The Palm Beach Story(1942) explodes from the gate with a strange but funny overture montage and the main film quickly hits it's stride with the brilliantly funny performances in scenes between Robert Dudley as the Wienie King and Claudette Colbert as Gerry. Gerry's epiphany that while she and her husband(McCrea)share a great deal of love and affection for one another, they just don't make sense as a married couple. The comedic play between Colbert and McCrea is fantastic in their early scenes as Tom struggles with come to grips with Gerry's zany ideas on what a marriage should be and why they'd both be better off with other partners. Unfortunately the film loses a good deal of steam when Gerry escapes on the train to Florida and Colbert and McCrea are kept separate for large chunks of the film. The Ale and Quail Club members provide some good laughs but after sometime their antics become a bit stale. Rudy Vallee's uptight millionaire lacks the wit and the charm of McCrea's Tom and just doesn't provide a solid enough comedic foil to Gerry. The Princess' comedic mistreatment of Toto and Sig Arno's physical comedy provides some good laughs but it all seems a just bit out of place in the tone of the movie. The great chemistry between Colbert and McCrea saves the film but I would have much rather watched a film about Gerry, Tom and the Wienie King as neighbors.

William Powell and Carole Lombard shine brilliantly in director Gregory La Cava's screwball comedy, My Man Godfrey(1936). The terrific performances by the leads are matched across-the-board by an equally brilliant ensemble cast that never misses a beat throughout the entire picture. In addition to the great comic writing and performances the family's mansion set provides the perfect playground for the diverse cast of characters, the costumes brilliantly express the incongruity between the luxury the family lives in and the devastation of the depression around them and the filming and lighting of the piece sets a lovely and occasionally complex tone. The only drawback of the film was it's expression of the important social message of homelessness and poverty. I felt that the film had succeeded in making the point without the use of the heavy-handed tagline "The only difference between a derelict and a man is a job." The film did such a wonderful job of incorporating the social message of the piece with the comedy to that point that it seemed terribly out of place for the film to get serious all of a sudden. With that said, My Man Godfrey(1936) is truly a great pure comedy that is absolutely full of laughs.

Tod Browning's Dracula(1931) is another visually arresting Universal monster picture with very little story and character depth. Like Frankenstein(1931) the lighting and the settings of Dracula(1931) create a great tone and mood but the story, the characters and the performances don't live up to the quality of the images. Again, I can certainly understand why Dracula(1931) was a commercially successful film in the early days of sound films but commercial success does not equate to quality. The countless cutaways to Dracula's creepy eyes and the image of a the huge stationary bat flapping it's wings in the window became quite comical after a while as it became quite obvious that the filmmakers had zero trust in the audiences ability to infer anything about the story and needed to be told over and over again the the monster was scary and that he liked to watch people from windows. The scariest of scary movies tap into real human fears and emotions and a film like Dracula(1931) is so other-worldly and unrealistic that it seems impossible to me that audiences could be genuinely scared or frightened by this film.

I realize that a film can never totally live up to the depth and detail of it's source novel but as a fan of Mary Shelley's masterpiece Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus, John Whale's film Frankenstein(1931) was a great disappointment from a story perspective. The novel is populated by rich and deep characters and emotions while the film lacks all of the complexity and humanity of the novel and replaces it with flat cartoon characters. I can certainly see how the over-the-top performances and easy to understand story are easily accessible to audiences but I just have a hard time giving a favorable rating to such a shallow film. It is indeed a visually arresting picture with very striking style of lighting and incredibly interesting and evocative sets and locations but without a compelling and meaningful story the wonderful mise en scène of the film is wasted.

Buster Keaton's The General(1926) would not be made in this day and age, at least not with the use of a real moving locomotive. Keaton risked life and limb performing many amazing and dangerous practical stunts on and around the moving train that provided for a great spectacle but without a strong story and strong characters the film becomes little more than a series of spectacular but meaningless stunts. The real love affair of the picture is between Johnny Gray and his beloved locomotive, The General. The Annabelle character is so shallow and empty that it becomes impossible to believe that Johnny would care at all about winning back her affections. Indeed, Johnny cares far more about getting his train back from the Union Army than he does about winning back Annabelle but the human love story just left this reviewer feeling cold.

It was rather surprising to see the film portray the Confederate Army as noble and righteous while portraying the Union Army as bumbling and clueless but the point of view lacked gravity and meaning as the grave circumstances behind the US Civil War were totally ignored. The simplistic "us vs. them" view of this momentous and tragic chapter of American History does a great disservice to the men, women and children on all sides who lost their homes and lives in the war. There is certainly a place for comedy in the horrors of war, as Chaplin brilliantly demonstrated in The Great Dictator(1940), but Keaton's failure to show any of the depth of the historic events of the time left me unsatisfied and a bit annoyed by the treatment of the US Civil War. I have a hard time understanding the near universal praise for The General(1926), to me the picture is akin to a modern film that has incredible action scenes but zero story.

Scarface(1932) falls victim to its filmmakers mixed motivations. On one hand the film's stated goal was to reveal the scourge of organized crime to the American audience and encourage further government action against gangsters. The other goal was to produce an exciting and entertaining film that would be commercially successful. In this reviewer's opinion the film totally fails in both respects.

First, the film fails in its goal to bring the harsh realities of organized crime to the audience as there is nothing about the film that feels real or genuine. Aside from a strong performance by George Raft as Little Boy, there isn't a single believable character in the film, only caricatures. Paul Muni's Tony seemed to drift in and out of a bizarre Italian accent throughout the film. Clearly the character was meant to be a psychopath, perhaps his inability to decide if he had an accent or not was a symptom of his psychosis? The sniveling and weaselly mob boss Lovo had absolutely no credibility making it impossible to believe that any mobster would respect or fear him enough to work under him for any period of time. Ann Dvorak's Cesca character has emotions and motives that seem to have little basis in the real world, we could see the trouble was going to cause coming from a mile away. Vince Barnett's Angelo was also unbelievable but at least the character was at times genuinely funny. But, again, the lack of subtlety hurts the comedy as the audience is hammered over the head with Angelo's antics. The very strong, unnatural looking lighting style of the films also adds to the unnatural feeling of the film and the cartoon violence of indiscriminate gun fire and one-punch knockouts cement the fact that no one could mistake this film for real life.

The film also failed in being a pure entertainment piece as the judgmental tone and the sense of Tony's impending comeuppance weighed heavily throughout the film. The through-line of the story was so clear and the ending was so telegraphed that I found it impossible to get lost in the enjoyment of the action and the occasional comedy.

If Scarface had attempted to just be a cautionary tale about the dangers of organized crime or just a cartoonishly violent and over-the-top depiction of mobster life it may well have worked. But because it attempted to be both, it totally failed.