Reviews

1951 seemed to be a year for films depicting rescue of an individual in peril; there were three such films - ACE IN THE HOLE, THE WELL and of course, FOURTEEN HOURS. All three were very good films but I like the last mentioned best. The camera-work from several different perspectives is superb, the involvement of the onlookers just right and the rescue efforts looked quite realistic. I disagree with comments that some situations and characters were clichéd; many major cities did have beefy Irish-American beat cops in the early 50s and so Paul Douglas' character is perfectly acceptable. Likewise, the 'good ending' is not necessarily traditional; after all, the rescue attempt would have been in progress for hours and the police were pulling out all stops. The odd thing is that although the film is available on DVD, it remains relatively unknown even among connoisseurs of Film Noir.

I saw this film again last night after a very long time and could not help comparing it to the similarly themed British film 'State Secret', which was also released in 1950. Whereas State Secret was a fast moving classic full of snappy dialogue and dark wit, CRISIS let itself down by a plodding script, wooden acting and heavy moralising. Grant is unconvincing as the American surgeon caught up in political intrigue while vacationing with his wife in a South American country. The cinematography is poor, making the sequence of events hard to follow and the ending extremely melodramatic. Overall, it is a missed opportunity with such a good storyline to start with and I'd describe it as a badly made rather than a bad film.

Not many people know that the basic plot of this film is based on a real life event that took place during the 1889 Great Exhibition in Paris. There are major differences of course; for a start, the young woman arrived with her mother and not brother as depicted in the film. Secondly, they arrived directly from India and not Italy. Ironically, the 1955 TV Episode 'Into Thin Air' - part of Alfred Hitchcock presents - is far closer to the truth than the 1950 feature film.

But I agree to the change of plot because casting the missing person as the brother gives the story more flexibility. That said, the script should have been far more exciting than the rather bland fare that the director had to cope with. There was plenty of scope for a brilliant thriller with plenty of red herrings, something which Hitchcock would have exploited with glee - as he already had done in his 'The Lady Vanishes' and would do so again in the aforementioned TV episode.

I started to see ANURANAN almost as an afterthought on a Saturday night because I had nothing else to do and it was the first DVD that came to hand. It turned out to be a marvellous and moving experience, beautifully crafted and deeply explored. Although I don't speak a word of Bengali, it seemed more natural to watch it in that language with English subtitles rather than the poor Hindi dubbing.

What made the movie specially interesting is that all four main characters are explored both collectively and individually, mostly though expressions and body language. The interchange between the two women, though limited to a few scenes, is the crux of the entire story and one gets the idea that they are somehow emotionally dependent on each other. Their rather ambiguous and mysterious dialogue leaves some questions unanswered.....perhaps the director deliberately intended it to be so. Rahul's contemplation of his own dreams and desires are also superbly depicted, particularly when he is on his own in the Himalayas.

The ending did come as a shock and while it was completely unexpected, I resisted the knee-jerk reaction to denounce it. On contemplation, I felt that it was so designed not simply to show Preeti's emotional frailty but once again the strange bond that existed between the two women through their men. Rahul's final recording seems to suggest that he had finally understood where his wife Nandita came from due to his relationship with Preeti. That emotional link was why Nandita was finally only able to grieve when she met Preeti at the hospital.

The editing needs special mention for being so crisp and never allowing any scene to drag, something that can easily happen in this kind of film. The musical score is delicate and harmonious, superbly complementing the storyline. But it is the awe-inspiring and unbelievably imaginative camera-work that is really the icing on an already beautiful cake, not just in the Himalayan scenes, but throughout the film.

This was the third English movie that I saw as a kid, after "Jungle Cat" and "Absent Minded Professor". I thought that it was an excellent action adventure film at the time. Yul Brynner is always good to watch and Sal Mineo's death particularly upset me since he looked so young. Although I could see the holes in the plot line when I saw it again as an adult, I still think that it is better than a lot of other movies of the genre, with some good photography and sound effects. The climactic scenes were particularly well done and the acting overall was quite good. Pity that it is still not available as DVD. I hope that Paramount Pictures take note.

This is one of Amitabh's very early films, released when he was not even a familiar star, let alone a superstar that he is today. It did not exactly fit in with the 'masala' films of 70s Bollywood and flopped at the box-office. Yet, despite being an almost unknown piece, the film has a strong central storyline and features by far the best acting performance form Amitabh Bachchan to date. In fact, I doubt very much if he will ever be able to match his role as Jaishankar Rai in this film.

Basically, it is based on the Shirley MacLaine-Jack Lemmon masterpiece, "The Apartment". While "Raaste ka Patthar" does not match its Hollywood inspiration, it is a very good movie in its own right. Amitabh's atypical role as a shy and timid clerk regularly manipulated and exploited by everyone around him is heartrendingly brilliant, as is his fantasy 'revenge' against his tormentors as the gun-slinging cowboy in his dreams. His co-stars also give better-than-average performances, notably Prem Chopra as Amitabh's manipulative boss and the almost unknown Nita Kahani as the heroine. I hope that I can get a DVD of this film someday.

"Red Eye" is a sort of movie that one can watch and enjoy on DVD at home on a lazy winter evening with nothing else to do. The plot is simplicity itself, but the acting is adequate and there is enough action to keep one interested throughout. It will not strain anyone's grey cells, but neither do several other movies of the genre.

Some of the scenes on the plane are far-fetched. It is highly unlikely that in this post 9/11 ear none of the other passengers (except the little girl, of course) or crew notice the heroine's predicament - even when the nasty guy physically assaults her. By the same token, hardly anyone understands what happened when she manages to turn tables on him by stabbing him with a biro(!) and hurries off the plane. But despite these glitches, it is an OK film and worth watching once.