Sure, the other SUBURRA entries (and the champion, for my money the best TV series ever made, GOMORRA) were stronger. A few situations could have been written and / or directed better, but even a series that delivers "only" 80-90% from that group of film makers delivers more quality, better acting and less artificial storytelling than the usual stuff from the US with all those terrible dialogues. Great atmosphere, as usual very fine visuals and belivable acting makes this series another winner from Italia. Especially the way they dealt with the church I liked a lot, quite brave. (The new series' only minus, for me anyway, is the last episode. Can't wait for the next season!)
Reviews
7 Reviews
Perfect
(1985)
Much better than I thought it was.
23 January 2020
I saw it today - for the very first time. I missed it in the 80s and since I have that set of 80 color transparencies from that film in my archive (Jamie!), I always wanted to see it. For starters, I feel that the 80s is the least interesting decade in filmmaking. I'm into 60s/70s filmmaking and think that the feel-good glossies of the mid/late 80s killed off cinema as an art form in LA. But that's OK, I'm from Europe anyway and I lived through the 80s - it was a superb time to be young - no need for TAXI DRIVER in 1986 :). PERFECT is one of the ultimate 80s films and not nearly as bad as I thought it was. Travolta is quite good and Jamie is adorable - I am not subjective here, I guess that crush still holds on! The script is formular but quite good. The Laraine Newman sequence (a bit much), may be a few minutes to long, as is the whole film (almost 2 hrs.), the last three or four scenes are edited TV style (as though they HAD to cut, to avoid a 130 minute version). But I feel one of the major reasons people had or have problems with the film is its set up, dealing with the health club scene. Which is nice to look at (minus certain fashion), but never as cool as other "everyday life" subjects of 80s filmmaking, like "tending bar" (COCKTAIL, certainly not a better film, just box office-wise). Anyway, I liked it a lot. Especially Jamie :).
A very important film - a must see for cinephiles
30 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
1968/69 was a tragic year for the arts in England. Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett (1946-2006) lost it, but (barely) survived, Brian Jones lost it and didn't survive. Just like the 25-year old self-taught filmmaker Michael Reeves who had directed only three feature films, yet among them the all-time classic and groundbreaking WITCHFINDER GENERAL.
Others would probably dedicate a short documentary to him, therefore I was more than happy to see his story being the subject of a feature-length one instead. A very well-done film, with friends and co-workers talking very open and honestly about him. It is well photographed and also contains rare clips from Reeves' early work. It is a fascinating story - finally told on camera.
I can't find much to criticize. During the first half the filmmakers maybe didn't trust their own skills enough as there is too much ongoing distracting background music, which rather takes away mood then adding some. The very best documentaries don't rely on a constant sound carpet but grap the attention of the audience through the right pacing. I liked the photo-collages very much, although a bit repetitive. There is not much material available on Reeves, but a few more stills are known and could have been found. A bit strange I find the fact that Susan George is not mentioned with one single word, while later in the film it is said that Sam Peckinpah was sort of influenced by WITCHFINDER GENERAL since he hired DP John Coquillon for his 1971 film STRAW DOGS. I wouldn't go that far. If Peckinpah would have been that "influenced" by WITCHFINDER, he would have hired Coquillon during pre-production. But Coquillon joined the DOGS crew very late: the first DP couldn't handle the job because his wife had just died, the second DP (Arthur Ibbetson) quit after a few days because of the nature of the film (!) and THEN Coquillon stepped in, the 3rd (!) DP hired for the film... However, he and Sam got along great and they made three more films together...
Just some of my thoughts. As stated before, this is a very important and well-done film. Every great artist needs his (good!) feature-length documentary and although Reeves was just starting out, he left a big mark! (What I can't understand is certain people here rathing a wonderful film like this with ONE STAR! What is this? I have the same thing happening to my films here. One doesn't have to applaude or even like our work, but ONE STAR? There must be something involved here, jealousy, meanness or something... I'll give it 10 stars to get a little even with those ONE STAR losers. But 9 anyway)
I can't find much to criticize. During the first half the filmmakers maybe didn't trust their own skills enough as there is too much ongoing distracting background music, which rather takes away mood then adding some. The very best documentaries don't rely on a constant sound carpet but grap the attention of the audience through the right pacing. I liked the photo-collages very much, although a bit repetitive. There is not much material available on Reeves, but a few more stills are known and could have been found. A bit strange I find the fact that Susan George is not mentioned with one single word, while later in the film it is said that Sam Peckinpah was sort of influenced by WITCHFINDER GENERAL since he hired DP John Coquillon for his 1971 film STRAW DOGS. I wouldn't go that far. If Peckinpah would have been that "influenced" by WITCHFINDER, he would have hired Coquillon during pre-production. But Coquillon joined the DOGS crew very late: the first DP couldn't handle the job because his wife had just died, the second DP (Arthur Ibbetson) quit after a few days because of the nature of the film (!) and THEN Coquillon stepped in, the 3rd (!) DP hired for the film... However, he and Sam got along great and they made three more films together...
Just some of my thoughts. As stated before, this is a very important and well-done film. Every great artist needs his (good!) feature-length documentary and although Reeves was just starting out, he left a big mark! (What I can't understand is certain people here rathing a wonderful film like this with ONE STAR! What is this? I have the same thing happening to my films here. One doesn't have to applaude or even like our work, but ONE STAR? There must be something involved here, jealousy, meanness or something... I'll give it 10 stars to get a little even with those ONE STAR losers. But 9 anyway)
Important film with ALL the ingredients - and terrible sound carpet.
27 November 2019
A must-see for everybody who's interested in racing history. It seems like everybody who survived those years is in it, even Ken Miles' son. Fantastic archival material (great footage, superb stills, vintage interview bits) make for a great documentary about Shelby / Cobra / the GT 40 etc. It would have been a total winner if the filmmakers would have trusted their own skills and the content more - most of the running time the film is spoiled by a terrible, noisy, never ending musical sound carpet. TV guys do this all the time, fearing that the audience suffering from attention deficit disorder might switch the channel if there's a second or two without noise. Which is very unfortunate - I had to stop the film every 20-30 mintes, I got headaches from trying to follow the narration / interviews (no pauses there as well unfortunately, no "mood scenes") buried under 2 hrs of music. A good documentary needs to live and breath as any feature film. But the film is a great treasure regarding all the ingredients and effort behind it !!
I Am Your Father
(2015)
Nicely filmed, yet 30 minutes lengthened out to 80 minutes
26 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The film looks very good, well shot. Come to think of it, the budget is stated here with 250,000 Euros ?? What for?? (the "forbidden" scene?) Anyway, it was nice to look at - altough I may have screened it with a different approach, having known Dave in the 1990s.
Well, the basic idea surrounding the final Darth-scene in JEDI... At first the idea seemed corny to me. Then I thought, hell, why not!! But minutes later again it seemed pointless - not being able to show it don't make sense at all (you get permission BEFORE you write your script, be it a feature film or doc.). Not even reactions from him or the audience (?). Boy...
If I'd make a documentary about someone else that is depicting me hopping around all the time I'd be so embarrassed (although I try to stay in shape and wear nice shirts) I wouldn't find the strength to edit the thing or ever look at it again. Different approach I guess, fair enough. I hope Dave liked the film, some nice shots of him. I can only speak for myself, but I would have rather screened a "real" documentary about Dave and not a film maker's quest for a "lost scene". Under the right circumstances Dave can be a really warm and funny guy, I missed that. The film is very sullen and sincere (and the ever-present, always dramatic soundtrack). My memories hanging out with him in filthy tea bars, nice restaurants include a more witty and entertaining guy I'm sure the audience would have loved to experience. I still recall the hilarious anecdotes he told us, none of such stuff in this, his own, documentary, that's a missed opportunity. Also his film career besides SW was covered in about 3 or 5 minutes or so, not nearly enough! But the film looks good, I need bigger budgets, I see :).
Well, the basic idea surrounding the final Darth-scene in JEDI... At first the idea seemed corny to me. Then I thought, hell, why not!! But minutes later again it seemed pointless - not being able to show it don't make sense at all (you get permission BEFORE you write your script, be it a feature film or doc.). Not even reactions from him or the audience (?). Boy...
If I'd make a documentary about someone else that is depicting me hopping around all the time I'd be so embarrassed (although I try to stay in shape and wear nice shirts) I wouldn't find the strength to edit the thing or ever look at it again. Different approach I guess, fair enough. I hope Dave liked the film, some nice shots of him. I can only speak for myself, but I would have rather screened a "real" documentary about Dave and not a film maker's quest for a "lost scene". Under the right circumstances Dave can be a really warm and funny guy, I missed that. The film is very sullen and sincere (and the ever-present, always dramatic soundtrack). My memories hanging out with him in filthy tea bars, nice restaurants include a more witty and entertaining guy I'm sure the audience would have loved to experience. I still recall the hilarious anecdotes he told us, none of such stuff in this, his own, documentary, that's a missed opportunity. Also his film career besides SW was covered in about 3 or 5 minutes or so, not nearly enough! But the film looks good, I need bigger budgets, I see :).
Shock Troops
(1967)
Finally restored !!!
14 March 2017
Being a Costa-Gavras fan this was the last film of him I never saw before. I only had my set of 24 lobby cards that really made me want to see it for almost 30 years. Exceptional cast, wonderful film. The camera work is outstanding and the "Gavras touch" is all over the film, he followed it with Z, L'AVEU and STATE OF SIEGE - all classics. UN HOMME DE TROP looks like a practice ground for those highly political films, and a very good one indeed.
Love on a Pillow
(1962)
Far ahead for its time
3 April 2016
One of the few mainstream films I ever saw dealing with a manic-depressive. Which is a disease, the guy is not "just crazy" or "abusive". Anybody who knows about depressions (clinical) will appreciate the film. Of course it is not perfect, her falling in love with him could have been done a bit more believable, Vadim is no Antonioni, but still I like it a lot.
In the USA Easy Rider was one of the first films where people smoked pot ("without raping a nurse" as Dennis Hopper stated), Vadim showed it almost 6 years earlier! He was quite hip and brave to make the film, dealing with a mental disease which is still under the carpet 50+ years later, in the first place. Not many people care for depressive persons. His ex-wife BB had some understanding as well of course, she tried to kill herself a year before the film was made.
In the USA Easy Rider was one of the first films where people smoked pot ("without raping a nurse" as Dennis Hopper stated), Vadim showed it almost 6 years earlier! He was quite hip and brave to make the film, dealing with a mental disease which is still under the carpet 50+ years later, in the first place. Not many people care for depressive persons. His ex-wife BB had some understanding as well of course, she tried to kill herself a year before the film was made.
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