"We don't take kindly to strangers"

BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK

Year: 1955
Country: USA
Language: English
Number: 287
Director: John Sturges
Starring: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Anne Francis

Picture this: A western noir, which John Sturges' Bad Day at Black Rock happened to be. Seeing my first so called "western noir" It's simply one of the best and most suspense films I've seen until now in the western genre. Featuring great performances that we already know from this genre such as Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin that all fits right into the film and makes the whole setting believable.

The movie is set in the year 1945. A town called Black Rock lies in the middle of the desert where the Southern Pacific Railroad train always pass by. But one day, the first time in four years the train actually stops there. But there's only one passenger that goes of the train. A war veteran named John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) who has only one functional arm. Most of the inhabitants, who mostly are workers who spend most of the day just sitting rocking' in their chairs out in the hot sun, is very suspicious of this new stranger and wondering what is he doing here. They find out that he's looking for an old man named Komoko. But every where he ask about him, all the people of the little town are scared that he might stick his nose into something that shouldn't be any of his business.



Bad Day at Black Rock is a very well made western film, set in modern day where it doesn't seemed to have changed at all since the wild west. The crooks are pretty much the same and there's also no law at all. Robert Ryan does an excellent performance as the unofficial leader, Reno Smith who does every thing to get rid of the man who might reveal the towns darkest secret. The rest of the western cast is just superb, their appearance have the kind of "We don't take kindly to strangers" kind of feeling that really makes this film so exciting and thrilling to watch. I don't want to give away the ending, but I promise this movie doesn't ever drag.


Grade: A+


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"Everything other than sweet"

TURKISH DELIGHT

Original title: Turks fruit

Year: 1973

Country: Netherlands

Language: Dutch

Number: 572

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Starring: Monique van de Ven, Rutger Hauer, Tonny Huurdeman, Wim van den Brink

Before Paul Verhoeven made a career in Hollywood as one of the most infamous director with such controversial films as Total Recall and Basic Instincts, he made even more daring films in his native Netherlands. And it's Turkish Delight that clearly stands out as his greatest one, with Rutger Hauer in the leading role, another Dutchman who later became international famous. And also the cinematographer Jan de Bont who later made such great action films as Speed and Twister. Turkish Delight have many times been ranked as the best Dutch film of all time, and was a big box-office hit in Netherlands.

Turkish Delight is the story about the hyper sexual sculptor, Eric (Rutger Hauer) who one day hitchhike with a girl named Olga (Monique van de Ven) whom he develops a sexual desire for, but is later evolved into what they think is real love. Eric is a restless and egocentric person, who don't like to be bossed around, he's more or less a real anarchist. Olga seems to be more and more repulsed by his wild pranks, but there's also the problem that every one around him seems to be effected in a negative way. Nobody, specially Olga's family can't stand him, he's seems to not get along with any one.

Turkish Delight is a very dark and perverse, but at the same time kind of liberating film. I think that has very much to do with the fact that Eric is an artist. This is truly an amazing performance by Rutger Hauer, a man we either love to hate or love. There are also a lot of shocking scenes (thought I can't understand why they actually censored people's private parts) many shocking sex scene which is either to daring or embarrassing to watch. There's also a pretty violent scene, a dream sequence where Eric brutally kills Olga and another man whom she have slept with. My overall opinion is that this is a wonderful but grotesque love story.

Grade: A-

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"Samurai Jef"

THE GODSON

Original title: Le Samouraï
Year: 1967
Country: France
Language: French
Number: 466
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring: Alain Delon, François Périer, Cathy Rosier, Nathalie Delon

There is no greater solitude than that of the samurai unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle... Perhaps... A sentence that is viewed on the screen in the beginning of Jean-Pierre Melville's masterpiece of a neo-noir which is absolutely true about the plot and it's characters. We get a pretty solid performance from Alain Delon as the cold-blooded hitman Jef Costello. A pretty clever criminal, but what I like even more is the intelligent police force that is actually doing their job and don't sit around and eating donuts.

Le Samouraï is the story about Jef Costello who's living is as an assassin for the mafia. He lives in an empty apartment where the only significant thing is a little canary bird in a small cage. The purpose of this bird isn't only to keep Jef company but also to alert the owner that there been some strangers in his apartment. And it might getting handy because of one hit that might have gone wrong.



This film is simply a joy to watch because most of the suspense lies in Alain Delon straight ice cold face, as it get warmer and warmer of the on going heat. But we also get to see how effective a police organisation really is. It's a better alternative to most american movie where the police is paralyzed and doesn't have any idea of how to do their job, or their just to scared or just lazy. It's the perfect film noir that hit the right strings and knows how to get up the right amount of suspense in the characters and the plot.

Grade: A-

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"They say Pat Garrett is got your number"

PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID

Year: 1973
Country: United States
Language: English
Number: 577
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Starring: James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Katy Jurado

Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is an amazingly lyrical and melancholy western. It's one of many goodbye letter to the western genre, which was declining throughout the 70s. This was Peckinpah's last western film, before he went into an even greater depression. This picture is his tombstone, his legacy and his goodbye. For those of you who don't know the story about Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. It's based on real events and is probably the most famous western tale of them all. It takes place in New Mexico in the early 1880s. It's about two best friends, Pat (James Coburn) and Billy (Kris Kristofferson) both outlaws. But one day a twist of fate occurs when Pat is elected Sheriff of Lincoln County. He's first assignment is to catch Billy the Kid, dead or alive. How will he find the strength to kill his best friend? How could he sell himself to the greater capitalistic powers?

Even though the actors in the film is way older than the characters they portraying where in real life. In reality Billy the Kid was only 21 at the time of his death. He is played by the 37-years-old Krisrofferson. And Pat Garrett who was just 30 at that time, is portrayed by 45-years-old Coburn with gray hair. Probably is the whole cast least over 35. Why did Peckinpah cast such an old cast. I tell you why. Because of the time this movie is made in the 70s where the western genre was nearly extinct and it began to be old. The movie portrays a society where the old outlaw west is declining. but there still some old foxes who tries to hold on to the past (Peckinpah was one of them). What better way of showing this then show old people who have lived the life and thinks it's time to grow up. And who in our society is still children? Rock singers. Like most rappers today is fit to play any form of gangsters, is rock singers the most suited to play outlaws because of their hate towards the society and their short but troubled journey through life.



Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid feels very authentically inset of characters of the old west, the locations, the sets, the landscape and the fading wallpapers. You can almost feel the dust coming at you, just like in The Wild Bunch. There also a lot of the good all western character actors, such as Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, R.G. Armstrong, Slim Pickens, L.Q. Jones and Harry Dean Stanton. Their present makes this a secure film. I feel happy, all saying a last farewell, and one by one is taken down in western style.

I know that I defended Kristofferson's performance, but Bob Dylan's by the way is far more difficult. He playing one of Billy's closest outlaw friends who goes under the named Alias, alias anything you like. This is a pretty unstable performance by Dylan. He has no spirit in his voice, he doesn't try to act. Today this could might as well been a Razzie award worthy performance. But I can give one good argument of why I think this is a good performance. It's simple, he is a character without no spirit. He used to be a black smith and when he finally saw Billy escaping from prison Alias decides he should escape from his boring life as well. He was in reality a shy person that never stood up for anything until that moment. And don't tell me shy people doesn't exist. So why not expose them to the pictures? It takes time of a shy person to shake of his shyness.

I almost forget the main character in this film. James Coburn as Pat Garrett is simply his best performance in his entire career. His character goes through a rough transformation from being a free outlaw to become the law which is cold and inhuman. His transformation starts when he decides to grow his famous mustache. He begin as a healthy man, always happy. But as the pressure on catching Billy grows stronger, makes him want to forget the whole state of mind by drinking his problem away. One scene that is interesting is when Pat walks into a bar and force every one in the bar to act violent toward each other as they use to before. There's no problem for Pat to catch the Kid, but for how long can he postpone his destiny. The ending is just so emotional loaded and I can't remember the last time I was so moved by a film.

My conclusion about Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is that it's a very emotional touching film. I've seen it four times. This film has a strange grip upon me. I just coming back to it at one point or the other. It's not a perfect film, mostly because of the poor construction and the terrible acting by Bob Dylan. But I actually look at it different and finds more new interesting details every time I watch it. It's my Citizen Kane. I categorize as one of my favorite movies of all time, or rather more of a love hate relationship. sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it, but I can't live without it. But the soundtrack by Bob Dylan is quiet good and brings the perfect melancholy to this film, It's from this movie the famous rock anthem "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" first appears.

Grade: B+


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"Bridge Over Troubled Water"

THE CRANES ARE FLYING

Original Title: Летят журавли (Letyat zhuravli)
Year: 1957
Country: Soviet Union
Language: Russian
Number: 326
Director: Mikhail Kalatozov
Starring: Tatiana Samoilova, Aleksey Batalov, Aleksandr Shvorin, Vasili Merkuryev


Joseph Stalin's terror regime put an end to all creative groundbreaking movie making in the Soviet Union. All the films was purely propaganda, that only showed Lenin and Stalin's greatness, and during World War II this was used to sends millions of troops to the front, even more brutal than the Tsar Nicholas III did in the previous war. It was first after Stalin's death and Khrushchev's famous speech which criticized the Stalinism that the Russian cinema started to grown once more. And the subject that was brought up was the over twenty million soldiers and civilian that was killed during the war. This brought many director to make anti-war films, so that the soviet people finally got to morn over their loved ones.

The first film to do so was Mikhail Kalatozov's The Cranes are Flying in 1957. It tells the story about a young couple, who's barely in their twenties. Veronika and Boris are made for each other. But the war burst out, and Boris is enlisted, and have no time to say goodbye to his girlfriend. While he is away, his cousin Mark falls for Veronika, and since Boris is away she thinks it's her duty to marry Mark, because she hasn't heard from Boris and even assume the worst, and through the whole war she thinks of nothing but her lost love of her life Boris, whom no one knows is alive or dead. She volunteers as a nurse in Siberia, in hopes to find Boris among the wounded.

The Cranes are Flying isn't that we can call an original film in sense of plot, compared to the Americans they are twenty-thirty years behind. But the cinematography and use of hand-held camera is so superb. But it's also thanks to the good acting and the realistic art directions, which makes it more authentic then most of the anti-war films of it's time. And all the sad feelings, Veronikas grief and longings is so emotionally touching. It is indeed a very good anti-war film, that we can feel with our whole body. And it was the first in line of other russian anti-war films such as: Tarkovsky's Ivan's Childhood, Chukhrai's Ballad of a Soldier and Bondarchuk's War and Peace. All of them perfect anti-war films in any way, with no heroism nor any victory, just loss.


Grade: B+


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"Unpleasant Realism"

A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Year: 1974

Country: United States

Language: English

Number: 582

Director: John Cassavetes

Starring: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands

John Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence is an amazingly realistic movie, to realistic, that one can be truly emotionally engaged and shocked, and scared of the out come of the characters themselves. Richard Dreyfuss have stated that he throw up during the film. This is a picture made from Cassavetes own soul, he spend his own money producing the film, and got some help from our leading man Peter Falk, who plays it's excellent along with Cassavetes' first lady Gena Rowlands who is even twice as good as Falk. They both really are those mentally ill people they are portraying.

A Woman Under the Influence is the story about the married couple Mabel (Rowlands) and Nick Longhetti (Falk) who is both what we can call mentally ill, though Nick is also insane, in are less harmful and more reliable way then Mabel is. Mabel seems to live in a different world than her husband which is not the real one. The only thing that holds their marriage together is their love for each other.

A Woman Under the Influence is one of those movies I like to call "unpleasant realism". It's a harrowing story, with real people and real issues, Insanity, and how it's effects the families, friends and specially the children which really horrified me, it was so terrible that If I had the power to really interact in a movie, it would have been this one, and the thing I would have done was called child services right away. Gene Rowlands delivers her sole greatest performance in her whole career.

Grade: A+


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"A real underground film"

UNDERGROUND  




Original Title: Подземље (Podzemlje)
Year: 1995
Country: Serbia and Montenegro/France/Germany
Language: Serbian, German, English
Number: 901
Director: Emir Kusturica
Starring: Miki Manojlović, Lazar Ristovski, Mirjana Joković, Slavko Štimac 


Emir Kusturica's Underground is one of those movies you never thought you where gonna see again. It's reminds me actually very much about The Tin Drum in that sense that it's more like a fantasy fairytale than the usual war drama film. Instead of a ungrownable boy, we have an intelligent chimpanzee. We have a orchestra that follow our main protagonist around every where they go. Due to all this, the story is amazing, and the subtext is just a wonderful and sad portrayal about the repressing conflicts between all the ethic groups in Yugoslavia.

Underground takes place in Belgrade in Yugoslavia durring world war II. we follow two best friends, Marko and Blacky who both works for the resistance, and they also are in love with the same girl, the actress Natalija who's at the beginning is in love with a nazi officer. But she eventually falls for Marko, and not Blacky who seems to bought the rights for her. Marko and Blacky's family and friends is hidden in Marko's basement, where they eventually starts manufacture weapons. He knows that he can't have the women he loves as long as his friend is around. So he come up with a plan of hiding them in the basement, and be sure to role the siren on a regular basis so all the people in the basement know it's not safe. He continue to do this even a long time after the war is over. The people down there thinks the war is still going on. While Marko has become one of the most powerful communist leader, while he makes his "deceased" friend Blacky a hero by raising statues of him and even gives permission to make a film about his life. How long will this charade go on?



I think I give a shot and try to tell you what's the symbolism is. The concept of hiding people in the basement, is to hide the truth of what really happened. Compared to the yugoslavian conflicts, not between yugoslavians and the germans, but rather croats against serbs and other ethic groups that isn't meant to live side by side in the beginning. The only reason that yugoslavia was united, was because of the lies. But it was immediately broken when the only thing that kept them together was gone; yugoslavia's president Tito. After that, all the old scar went back, like the humiliations after the war, when the serbs massacring thousands of croats as revenge for supporting germany after the war. But no one except the croats knew about it. It was first after the war that the anger of being pulled under the carpet or underground really had reached the topp. Lies puls all people together no matter what differences, but lies will not last for ever, and when it does people starts to remember their disagreement. The only thing that can pull them together is a common enemy.

Underground is simply a joy to watch. It's both funny and sad. It's funny to see the two best friends Marko and Blacky run around in Belgrade underground like Paul Newman and Robert Redford in The Sting. I also like the passionate love affair between Marko and Natalija. The whole movie is pretty much like a Fellini film, in that sense it feels like a circus and where everything is possible. It also has a great message about war, and never have I seen such effective scenes of how horrifying a bombing is, as much as there are some funny situations. I really enjoyed this movie, and I really hope to see it again soon.


Grade: A


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