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Reviews
Cold Turkey (1971)
Funniest film I've ever seen
I think this is the funniest film I've ever seen. I might vote it as the most under rated film of all time. Only seen it once - about 20 years ago - so I can't be sure. Extremely funny, satirical but also building to a very tense climax. Dick Van Dyke is a great light comedy performer. Script is superb. Satirises an important issue and the central premise is simple and powerful.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
My favorite film of all time
I enjoyed this more than any other film I have ever seen on first cinematic viewing. I also think it is the greatest film of all time. I also think it is the moment when cinema came of age, grew up, escaped from the grey stultifying fog of censorship and modern cinema was born. There followed a golden era between 67 and 79 of adult, intelligent, relatively uncensored movies. By 1980 those accountants won out and things dumbed down and commercialised.
There are three elements to the film Violence, Love and Humour add to that great Realism. Faye Dunnaway lights up the screen as possibly the most beautiful woman in the world at the time.
On re-viewing it is also exceptionally funny but in a way that has a wonderful actuality to it, never detracting from the gripping realism and tension. This is very, very difficult to achieve. In terms of violence it set new standards and has a magnificent climactic ending that is a perfect resolution to the story. If they had been strapped into the electric chair or had escaped from martyrdom it would have too gruelling, too grim, too unjust. As it is, the ending seems mercifully quick, both just and appropriate.
A script minded person reading the original true-life story of Bonnie and Clyde would see it instantly as Classic film material - great characters, great action, great resolution. Two virtually forgotten 1930's outlaws were hereby made famous forever. By comparison the even better 1930's gangster tale of Dillinger has never been remotely well served by cinema.
I think the film should be in the top ten but the sociopathic violence, the murders of the heros ( I think they killed about 13 people) seem to be taken literally by a significant number of viewers and weigh against it.
So many good and ground breaking decisions were made in the making of this movie - how that turned out to be the case should be a case study for other movie makers. Why is it that this particular glorification of sociopathic violence has such poetry and charisma?
Finally 1967 was the year of years in decadent, hedonistic western culture - the year of years in pop music and arguably film making and this movie seems to crown it all.