Reviews

If a movie should be judged against other films of its genre, then this is one of the best. If you like "new agey" fantasy stories along the lines of "What Dreams May Come" and "Somewhere in Times," you really need to see "Milo".

Finney plays the role he was born to play--in fact he's been playing this role all his life. He's the aging rogue, this time with an Archie Bunker New York accent. He's rather over-the-top, but that's a good thing in this context. Briget Fonda's character is also over-the-top, but oddly believable in this very unbelievable fantasy.

Although low-budget, the film is masterfully acted and edited. The music (simple guitar work mostly) is perfect for the sentimentality evoked.

It's strange to say that this very grim movie is one of my all-time favorites. "The Pawnbroker" might make you suicidal in it's deep cynicism of the human condition, but I think there is a positive side to the film. The main character, a deeply-wounded Holocaust survivor, initial has no feelings for anyone or anything--he's just going through the motions of life. But by the end of the film he learns that people are not all bad--and maybe that's the most shocking revelation of them all!

Certainly Rod Steiger's greatest role. Do see it.

If you're a fan of John LeCarre spy novels, you'll love this film. If you're a fan of James Bond, you'll also love this film, because it's a perfect anti-spy caper starring none other than Pierce Brosnan--the man born to play Bond. Brosnan is absolutely convincing as a womanizing, exploitative opportunist, who uses his postion as a MI-6 operative to pull a scam on both U.S. and British intelligence. Where Bond is a likeable rake, this fellow is a despicable, sex-addicted, SOB. Kudos to Brosnan for pulling this off. And double kudos to Rush who should get an Oscar nomination.

The "Bedford Incident" depicts the inherent insanity of The Cold War and nuclear oneupsmanship. It does this in microcasm: one destroyer against one submarine, but the allegory is clear. This same game of "chicken" is being played out by the two superpowers.

In this respect, the film falls into the category of other doomsday films, such as "Dr. Strangelove," "On the Beach," "Fail Safe." But the film also harkens back to great naval war pictures such as "Sink the Bismark," "Run Silent, Run Deep," and "The Enemy Below"--the latter two being submarine dramas. "Bedford" is really a cynical mirror of those earlier, romanticized war movies.

Although dated, "Bedford" is worth seeing because of strong performances by Whitmark and Poitier. Whitmark deftly plays the creepy, insane captain in the tradition of "The Caine Mutiny."