Reviews

This film is a match for Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. A very tightly controlled drama with richly vivid characters and the casting is excellent. Robin Willimas has never done anything better and without all of that comedy schtick that he is so famous for. Joseph Wiseman is an absolute monster and that 'hotel' they live in might as well be hell. It is even depicted as hell with those scenes in the steam room/spa with all those walking corpses wondering around. I read the novel this was based on nearly thirty years ago, and my feeling then as now, seeing the film, is that there is no resolution. Wilkie has no exit from his situation. One thing for sure, he needs to get away from those people (his girlfriend seems to be in love w/him, regardless of the money, so that's something). I give this a very strong recommendation.

Cimino has created an epic, this is a very ambitious film, which unfortunately went exactly nowhere. Christopher Lambert plays Giuliano, a Sicilian bandit/revolutionary in post WW2 Sicily. Cimino effectively balances all of the powers that be --the church, the mafia, the nobility-- and presents a complex picture of the forces that were at work. Giuliano was a peasant hero, a kind of Robin Hood, whose heart was right but whose head lacked the smarts or the wisdom and ended up being destroyed. Watching this film, I thought of Visconti's The Leopard, it has the sweep of that earlier film, starring Burt Lancaster. Cimino has been in disfavor since Heaven's Gate, but with the Sicilian, he proves that he knows how to direct a film, even if no one ever sees it. BTW, this is one of the few films produced by the late David Begelman, who unfortunately blew his brains out, since he was in over his head legally and financially in 1995. Rent the Sicilian, it is on DVD.

This is as slight a story as it gets, basically a sappy love story (lovers break up, have affairs, get back together). However, the way that Coppola presented it is extraordinarily unique. He presents two realities at once -- Teri Garr's and Fred Forrest's stories. It is very stagey, but we do not lose track or in any way get disoriented. Also, most of all, is the kinetic/electric quality of the film, the sets, the lighting is all art-deco and god knows what else. Coppola recreates Las Vegas on his sound stages and it actually works once you accept the unreal reality of it all. One From the Heart is now in a short, too short, rerelease and I have seen it in the big screen of San Francisco's Castro Theater (1/3/04) and it is well worth the effort and a priceless artifact of Zoetrope at its best.

This is a slight film, but one greatly strengthened by the leading players. Jean Simmons and Joss Ackland are both at the top of their game playing characters probably close to their actual ages. While it lags a bit and is kind of hokey, you sense the real affection between the two and Ackland delivers a speech declaring his love that is just magnificent. Great film and worth the effort.

Interesting film, made for tv in Europe originally. The DVD version is significantly longer than the video version. Many scenes are extended as well as new scenes. Nice historical soap opera with much tragedy. Hopkins as usual is great as is Sarandon and Hoskins. The dubbing is kinda obvious, but so what, it works.

This may be the single finest thing HBO has done, a two hour plus bio pic of the Russian dictator. Others are good --James Woods as Citizen Cohn, James Garner in Barbarians at the Gate-- but this one exudes much more raw power. Maybe its all that location stuff. Duval absolutely nails Stalin. He is a power driven monster but entirely attractive no matter how big a prick he is. His cynicism is spot on when he describes his foreign minister (Molotov?) as an 'idiot' who would be an ideal statesman. This guy is a first class, world class bastard, but irresistible!

This was originally broadcast in the early 1970s, by ABC Circle Films, I think, and it was a great drama for its time and it still holds up well today. Dan Curtis, who directed this also has a big collection of the Dark Shadows series and he has a good feel for the gothic aspects of the 19th century story. Nigel Davenport really steals the show as Dorian's older mentor/corrupting influence. Also, the homosexual aspects are handled extraordinarily well, by saying what they need to say, without saying anything, just a look, or a suggestion, nothing overt. Altho it follows the old MGM story, this one has a lot sharper edge to it and is more realistic, especially about Dorian's depravity. Davenport does really carry the show with his all-knowing, cynical observations that lead the way for Dorian's destruction and doom . . . but it is Dorian who makes the decisions, not Davenport.

This movie was on TCM the other nite and it was great to watch, even tho I had never heard of it before. For the longest amount of time Sanders & Co. were shot in front of a bunch of static sets supposedly city streets, including one that I guess in France, all pretty cheap, but really got the job done. Sanders did not have to stretch very much to be a bastard and he is responsible for ruining a bunch of people's lives as well as causing a number of deaths . . . but hey, this is why we watch Mr. Addison DeWitt! The movie is rife with coincidence and a good melodrama, and you will find yourself hoping that more suckers will fall for George's con games.

Hammett is an entertaining film noir. Mixing up the real Hammett with his various creations as well as their cinematic renditions, this film tells a neat little mystery tale in late '20s San Francisco. Freddy Forrest does a good job as Hammett (which he would reprise in the 1992 HBO biopic Citizen Cohn). The music by John Williams has just the right moodiness and romanticism that he also infused to a more acute degree in Body Heat. Even if some of Hammett does not make any sense and the characters seem too outrageous to be believed, what of it? Good film noir is sinister melodrama anyway and this is what is delivered in this fine movie. (The Peter Boyle character was originally played by the actor Brian Keith, but because of the start and stop production, Keith was replaced by Boyle. In the finished film, certain long shots actually have footage featuring Keith. That big overcoat and hat, shot from behind make it next to impossible to tell the difference.)

This movie worked great when it first came out. I was a kid and it scared the living hell out of me. When I see it on tv today, it does not scare me, but it is endlessly entertaining because it is so predictable and gives Price a chance to really ham it up --along the same lines as the Tingler, that is of the same vintage. What can you say about a group of people that are dumb enough to stay in a house whose caretaker is Elijah Cook of all people. (The same goes for Rosemary's Baby. Weren't John Cassavettes and Mia Farrow just a bit suspicious when the guy that showed them the apt. was the same Elijah Cook?) Both films were produced by Castle, who also has a cameo in the latter film. House on Haunted Hill, with very few special effects, except maybe emergo and the ridiculous hangman's rope trick, presents a preposterous melodrama-soap opera where everyone gets exactly what they deserve -- including the audience!

This crazy movie was just on TCM. What idiotic melodrama; it is never quite explained why ann sheridan wants to stay with dr.talbot when she has the long suffering robert alda waiting in the wings. If logic were necessary for good drama, then most of what is produced would never see the light of day .. . so, when this nutcase film comes down the cable again, be sure and catch it . . . and it includes some nice scenery of san francisco, circa 1947.

This little film plays like a documentary, about a single mom and her adolescent daughter in Santa Barbara. Theirs is a gypsy life going from eviction to living in their car. A tough life and not one to be desired. I understand the guy who made it did it all on a computer. You won't mistake this for Titantic, but the in your face realism makes this a diamond in the rough and leaves you wondering about the fate of this desperate mom and her touching little girl.

'Hammett' is an excellent case of Zoetrope Studios, utilizing Coppola's unusual electronic-soundstage method of production (which would be further refined in his seldom-seen 'One From the Heart,' also with Frederick Forrest). In certain respects the film is like Paul Schrader's 'Mishima,' also based on a literary figure, with a seamless interweaving with the author's fictional characters along with thw writer's real life. Watch 'Hammett' and try to sort out the various strains that pop up in different films based on his work, notably the 'Maltese Falcon.' Elijah Cooke is one of the stars of the 1982 Wenders film. Don't forget the music, the soundstage decor with the recreation of late 1920's San Francisco, and the general mood that makes 'Hammett' a worthy entry to anyone list of must-see noir films.

True Confessions is a film wherein all of the players are at the top of their game. Altho starring Robert Duval and Robert DeNiro, the depth of field among the character actors is extraordinary, and this is why a movie that's seems to have so little going on is really so overwhelmingly powerful. Both Duval and DeNiro seem to communicate without speaking; almost as tho their thoughts are being sub-titled on the screen. Whenever they do begin talking with each other, the weight of their shared past has the force of a sledge hammer. I have a vhs copy of True Confessions, have watched it plenty of times and still find fresh nuances whenever I look at it. You have to see this movie.

Fall of Eagles is one of the best mini series i have seen. I would like to see it again but unfortunately it seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. It was originally on the bbc around 1974 and it ran on the US Brave network about 1990 or thereabout. Since then it is gone. If anyone out there knows where I can find a video copy of this one of a kind utterly extraordinary series, please let me know. Thanks

Heart Beat is an excellent little film. All of the actors manage to capture their characters. Subtle dynamic between cassidy and kerouac without a lot of 'acting'. Altho ray sharkey is a bit nuts, i suspect his ginsberg is not far off the mark. a good film & one i recommend.