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Reviews
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
This is a seriously good film.
If you are used to slow, panoramic films, consider a seat-belt-equipped chair.
If you expect original music or pure covers, leave your expectations in the kitchen.
If you want linearity in exposition, watch out.
This film will make you work very hard but it is worth it.
Presentational entertainment is often classified - e.g tragedy, comedy, sometimes terms like 'romantic comedy' or 'screwball comedy'.
Moulin Rouge borrows from many of the standard classifications - I would call it romantic tragicomedy but that does not do the film justice. The spectacle, pace, eye candy, sheer entertainment make it hard to classify.
As important as the plot is, this film upholds the best traditions of 'American Musical' - just enough story to hold together the music and show numbers.
But I digress. Moulin Rouge needs to be seen to be believed.
It is a seriously good film.
La Belle et la Bête (1946)
Romantic Fantasy Masterpiece
They say that this is a drug-enhanced vision. I am not sure I care much what the inspiration is, but I do think 'La Belle et la bête' is inspired.
The atmosphere is ethereal, hazy, ripe with magic. There is a quality to the pace, visuals, dialogue and blocking that just feels otherworldly. Perfect for this tale.
The use of human and other life forms in unusual ways is most imaginative. Especially so are the faces in the mantel and the torch sconces. I mention them as inspired and labeled this review for spoilers because I still remember the pleasure of the surprise of those images when I first saw this film.
I do not speak french but I think that the actual dialogue matters less than in any film I have seen. This one can be enjoyed by yielding to the image and the rhythm.
Blade Runner (1982)
Just weighing in...
I read some of the previous comments.
I agree that Blade Runner is very very good.
I agree that it demands discussion.
The thing that makes this file so good for me is the atmosphere/environment/background/ambiance. I have noticed that I favor these production values - I like other films with similar values. 'Batman Begins' comes to mind. As does Cocteau's masterpiece, 'La Belle et la bête'.
From toy children more human than people to replicants more beautiful than anything, from mighty conflict about things that matter to petty nothings, this is a significant great film.
Da uomo a uomo (1967)
He don't say very much...
Lee Van Cleef is known for not saying much.
In 'High Noon' he actually says absolutely nothing. I guess they put him in to be the pretty face.
In 'Death' he doesn't say much either. Juat a few lines. Very effectively written. Very pithy. Very appropriate. He is much more than just a pretty face.
This is as spaghetti-like a western as you're likely to see without the services of Leone. Clearly the lessons of the master were learned.
If you liked Sergio's stuff, you will definitely like this one - it is just about perfect.
The music, the pacing, the violence (plenty of that) are all superb. Even the unsynched English dialogue over Italian mouth-movements lends something to the atmosphere. Here we are clearly in the presence of classic high art.
Although there are no spoilers here, I promise, if you know the genre, you'll guess most, if not all, of the plot twists. And that will not reduce your enjoyment one bit.
Get it and watch it - you will not regret it.
Pot o' Gold (1941)
Odd but thoroughly enjoyable
Jimmy Stewart is Jimmy Stewart, in this film as much as in any. The hoofers, musicians, dancers and others are very typical and very good.
Because of our impressions and biases, we expect something very different in a Jimmy Stewart film. This one is way beyond 'Philadelphia Story', on a scale that runs from that to, say, 'Rear Window'.
This, however, is a very lightweight musical, to be considered closer to the 'Follies' films and shorts like the one about Catalina Island than such heavyweights as 'Carousel', 'L'il Abner' or 'Showboat'.
It actually reads more like a cartoon script than any coherent, literary film such as 'Golden Caddillac', 'Animal Crackers' or 'Bringing Up Baby'. Speaking of the last, it is a pity that JS and KH did not work together more.
The pace is frenetic ala Marx Brothers, the dance and musical numbers done very well and the emphasis is on having the minimum story necessary to string together the music.
There is a subtle but very special scene, near the end, when Paulette Goddard goes to Jimmy's place to rouse him out and get him to the studio for the climactic radio show. It is not a musical number though there is a great deal of physical comedy in the scene. What makes it special special part is, without rhythm or music, that it is very clear that Paulette Goddard is dancing. The blocking, direction and her own talent shine. This one scene is worth the price of admission.
With a story in the best tradition of American Musical Tradition, more talent per actor than many better known and better thought-of films, this is a very enjoyable diversion. I was constantly impressed with the tight writing and talent. Did I mention that the folks are good?
It ain't 'Grapes of Wrath' but 'Pot 'O Gold' is well worth the watching.
Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Texas Cowgirl (1954)
Fun and Games, Clichés and Bad Accents
It is always fun to hear the Brits do accents - they have a long tradition of 'dialect jokes'. It is especially fun when they are doing 'Americans'.
It is special fun (and funny) when the accents are done badly.
This episode features a fabulously politically incorrect 'Red Indian', complete with a tee-pee pitched in the hotel room as well as the title character - a Texas Cowgirl with an accent that includes Georgia, Texas, Sussex and, I believe, several other jurisdictions. An international cast for the price of one performer.
This one has the usual thin plot and emphasis on cleverness. It also has the girl roping Watson for some kinky (PG) fun and Holmes pulling a peace-pipe/murder weapon switcheroo.
This is not great literature of great TV but we enjoyed it! On a per episode basis, it cost us 33 cents and that was most definitely a bargain.
Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Pennsylvania Gun (1954)
Too clever by half
This is one of a very light weight series of Sherlock Holmes stories produced by the BBC in the 1950s. It is played for comedy and cleverness, rather than mystery and genius.
The story is thin, the settings atmospheric and the players know they are not playing for posterity.
The dialog emphasizes cleverness, with everybody having an opportunity to be the witty one.
The writers, through Ronald Howard clearly provide the role model for John Steed in the Original Avengers with his waaay witty delivery.
Watson (Crawford) is suitably buffoonish and, as is often the case, has the last of a scene with some sort of puffing expression, signaling to us that he is exasperated, having been the butt of yet another gag.
For the discerning eye, there is a clear familial connection to British Film (especially The Ealing Studios style) and we detect connections to such shows as Follow That Man.
An interesting, if minor, chapter in the history of the television detective show, and the various Sherlock Homles projects.
The Twilight Zone: The Lonely (1959)
A curiously romantic Episode
Many TZ episodes rely on a twist in the end to provide the entertainment. Many of the best know do this - "5 Characters', 'To Serve Man', 'Time Enough At Last' all come to mind.
The kind of thing that allows a 1 sentence total spoiler.
But there is another substantial body of episodes that do not have a twist at the end. Most have a cataclysmic event (I do not do spoilers) but they seem to be juggernauts, proceeding to their doom as surely as anything can.
This one is like that. Jean Marsh is wonderful in her earlier roles, as the robot companion smuggled to the intergalactic exile's bare asteroid/prison.
Typical of the Fatalist Serling's stories, this one will satisfy you if you are a Twilight Zone fan, but the ambush comes from the cold slap of reality.
That is what Romantic Tragedy is all about.
I think this is one of the best.
The Twilight Zone: Five Characters in Search of an Exit (1961)
One of the best episodes
While researching Susan Harrison (The Ballerina) in reference to a Bonanza Episode, I was reminded of this gem.
This episode is the inspiration for Dylan's "All Along the Watch Tower" (Hendrix's cover is probably as well know and is one of his best) which is one of HIS best.
Thus this episode is responsible for several 'bests' - not bad for approximately 22 minutes of television.
But this is "The Twilight Zone". Further comment of the series is unnecessary.
'5 Characters' is typical Serling. Intense, dramatic, barreling toward an end that is as inevitable in hindsight as it is surprising the first time you see it.
This episode is spoiled in one sentence and is too good to spoil for any who have not seen it.
But you will feel ambushed. And you will never listen to Hendrix with the same ears again.