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The Incident (1967)
Greatest Subway Movie Ever
I'm a subway buff. Love underground/elevated trains, stations, etc., and am especially fond of the NYC subway. This is the best subway movie ever made.
(I know - some folks will reference "The Taking Of Pelham 123", in one or another of its versions, as being better, and it certainly is fine, but this is better. Just my opinion.) What truly blows me away about the making of this film is that NYC Transit would not allow the filmmakers to shoot, but they did, anyway. The hid cameras in bags and just went ahead and shot without permission. Then they had a NYC subway car interior built for them by the original manufacturer, for the interior scenes. So, perfect realism in all aspects of the scenery.
OK, the plot. Marvelous. Two punks terrorize a train full of passengers during the late night/early morning hours. This continues until one of the passengers (I won't tell you which one) finally stands up to them. While the punks are basically abhorrent, they occasionally do something to one or another of the passengers that perhaps makes you believe that they might begin to behave reasonably. Then they don't go in the direction you might wish. They do something even more reprehensible, and that's how the tension is kept razor sharp.
Acting? Superb all around. Tony Musante is especially good as one of the punks, as menacing as any character in the history of motion pictures. Hell, just his look is enough to make most of the passengers back off. Martin Sheen, as his buddy, looks more reasonable, but is actually pretty much as vicious. Among the passengers, Beau Bridges is great as a soldier on leave. Another great performance comes from Mike Kellin as the henpecked husband of Jan Sterling. Very surprisingly good dramatic performance from Ed McMahon (!) as parent of a young girl.
The ending is both satisfying and sad. We see the punks get some payback, but the hero is never thanked, never given anything even close to what he deserves. Lives have been changed - some irrevocably - but one is also left with the feeling that some of these characters are so into self-denial that they will be just fine with everything in a few days.
Fine time capsule of the time period - the 1960's - and of the subway at that time.
Highly recommended, even if you're NOT a subway buff.
Kes (1969)
Unrelenting Misery
This is a tremendously well-made film, but there is no let up to the misery. If you want to go to bed happy, go elsewhere for your late night TV viewing.
(MY WIFE and I started watching this about two or three minutes into the movie, past the credits, on a local TV station. We stayed up until fifteen minutes past midnight, engrossed in the story, but having no idea what the title was. I just found out by coming here!) The cast is superb. Huge applause for the lead (Billy, played by David Bradley) who was pitch perfect as the boy who trains the hawk. All other cast members are believable as his antagonists, and the English teacher - just about the only nice person in the boy's life - comes across as caring, but not in a sugar-coated or unreal way considering the setting.
As others have said, the dialogue is a problem for folks unfamiliar with the accents. We had true difficulty understanding much of what was said, but the emotions were clear and the situations the same.
I would not call this an uplifting film, by any means. It is unrelenting in its portrayal of a miserable life, despite the scenes wherein the boy finds happiness with the bird. I suspect it will haunt us for a while. We hoped that the ending might bring some relief, but...
I'm Dickens, He's Fenster (1962)
Will Be Available On DVD Soon, Supposedly
Supposedly, all the masters for all 32 episodes were found and are being transferred to DVD. The question is when?
I loved this show when I was young. Great slapstick, but not the mindless variety. Clever sight gags and some real heart displayed by the writers.
Leonard Stern was the mastermind behind it, and he deserves credit for putting together a great cast.
Oddly, the show appears to have been canceled despite good reviews and rising ratings at the end of its one-season run.
http://imdickenshesfenster.com/index.html
Davey and Goliath (1960)
Marvelous Show
It aired as a segment of the children's show "Boomtown" in the Boston area. Boomtown was hosted by Rex Trailer, and he sang (and played guitar) for his own special intro to Davey And Goliath. I still remember the words:
This is the story of The Lord This is the story of The Lord The way they tell it may be new But every word is true This is the story of The Lord
Imagine a children's show host getting away with that in today's world!
I'm happy to report that those of you who subscribe to Comcast Cable in the Boston area can find the show playing occasionally on the Boston Catholic Television Channel, which is also known as the Religious Channel, usually Channel 56 on the listings.