Topic: The Movies from Within My Lifetime

[Tom]

Though in the beginning there was a lot of laughter when Kevin Bacon spoke German. I didn't find at that bad. But it sounded like he had a touch of Swiss German in it.

It's good you point ghat out. Whole I appreciate the effort to speak German, it did sound rather fake. But I guess that is only a problem for native German speakers

I wonder how French people perceive the French in this movie, for example. Maybe it's a similar case.

[Achim]

I wonder how French people perceive the French in this movie, for example. Maybe it's a similar case.

Oh, most certainly, they are very sensitive about that... They don't like speaking English, but they'd rather do that than listen to a foreigner rape their language.

[Jimmy]

I wonder how French people perceive the French in this movie, for example. Maybe it's a similar case.

Oh, most certainly, they are very sensitive about that... They don't like speaking English, but they'd rather do that than listen to a foreigner rape their language.

Only the French from France, us French Canadian have no problem speaking in english when necessary. In fact most of us are proud to be bilingual or even trilingual (I was at some point, but forgot most of my spanish since I never used it).

The funny part is that the France Frenchmen for a nation so proud of his language speak one of the most ugliest french in the world... They don't talk french they talk an hybrid french/english language, good thing the ancient colonies do a better job at saving the french language.

[Achim]

if.... (The Criterion Collection) (1968/United Kingdom) (United States) Director: Lindsay Anderson Writing: David Sherwin (Screenwriter), David Sherwin (Writer), John Howlett (Writer) Length: 112 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.66:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: English

Stars:
Malcolm McDowell as Mick
David Wood as Johnny
Richard Warwick as Wallace
Christine Noonan as The Girl
Rupert Webster as Bobby Phillips

Plot:
Lindsay Anderson's If.... is a daringly anarchic vision of British society, set in a boarding school in late-sixties England. Before Kubrick made Malcom McDowell's mischief iconic in A Clockwork Orange, the actor made a hell of an impression as insouciant Mick Travis, who, along with his school chums, trumps authority at every turn, finally emerging as violent savior against the draconian games of one-upmanship played by both students and the powers-that-be. Mixing color and black and white as audaciously as it mixes fantasy and reality, If.... remains one of cinema's most unforgettable rebel yells.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Featurettes
• Interviews

My Thoughts:

My personal guess is, that this is actually a fairly accurate portrayal of life at a boarding school in 1968. With a class system firmly in place, things can get pretty rough for those on the lower levels being oppressed by "the upper class".

Travis' transformation from small rebellious behaviour to revolution is very well performed by Malcolm MacDowell and it's easy to see why Kubrick found his Alex for Clockwork Orange in this. The acting in general is good, including the younger cast members playing the "freshmen". It was a bit strange that in the beginning to other characters are set up very prominently, new student Jute and a new teacher, yet nothing really comes from this and the film only shows them on occasion during the second half

The obvious political subtext is mostly lost on me, as it is apparently very British, maybe more relevant for the time it plays in, and I have never been interested in politics much. I am not sure what you'd call it (farce, satire...?) but especially at the end they completely go over the top with the final confrontation of the film (in a good way ). Beyond this the film also shows latent homosexuality as being present (it's an all-boy boarding school...) and at one point a teacher clearly touches one of the boys in a slightly inappropriate way; these topics are touched on but not made topic.

I could never quite figure out what the use of black and white represents. It seems a bit inconsistent to me, as every time I thought I figured it out another scene would come up that "should have been" black and white but wasn't. Unless somebody can tell me, I may have to try the commentary for this.

Here is the link to Wikipedia for further information. It was here that I saw that apparently two sequels were made:
O Lucky Man! (1973)
Britannia Hospital (1982)

Rating:


EDIT:
As commented by Dave and also mentioned in the special features of the DVD, the use of black and white was actually rather random and initially based on an economic decision (the lighting of the church was cheaper for black and white than it would have been for color).

As for the political subtext, I was apparently spot on in that it was a comment on the British class system. The film also happened to coincide with the student revolts in France and other countries, which gave it an eerie actuality at the time.

[dfmorgan]

I could never quite figure out what the use of black and white represents. It seems a bit inconsistent to me, as every time I thought I figured it out another scene would come up that "should have been" black and white but wasn't. Unless somebody can tell me, I may have to try the commentary for this.

My understanding has always been that Lindsay Anderson had a fixed limited budget with which to make this film. He shot as much as he could afford in colour but to keep within the budget he had to finish on the cheaper B/W stock. Apparently B/W works out cheaper in two ways 1) the actual cost of the film stock and processing is less and 2) setting up lighting is also easier and cheaper.


ETA: This review reawoke my interest and I looked up Sanctus from Missa Luba as featured in this film and because of that I have now just ordered the CD Missa Luba by Troubadours Du Roi Baudouin who perform the relevant song.

[Achim]

My understanding has always been that Lindsay Anderson had a fixed limited budget with which to make this film. He shot as much as he could afford in colour but to keep within the budget he had to finish on the cheaper B/W stock. Apparently B/W works out cheaper in two ways 1) the actual cost of the film stock and processing is less and 2) setting up lighting is also easier and cheaper.

This was confirmed by the special features I watched last night. The trigger were apparently the scenes in the church, which would have been too expensive to light for color, so they used black and white. From that point on they made more scenes in black and white, whenever Anderson or the DoP thought it was emotionally right (quote from the DoP!).

[Achim]

Screamers (1995/United States) Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Christian Duguay Writing: Philip K. Dick (Original Material By), Dan O'Bannon (Screenwriter), Miguel Tejada-Flores (Screenwriter) Length: 104 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, German: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian

Stars:
Peter Weller as Hendricksson
Roy Dupuis as Becker
Jennifer Rubin as Jessica
Andy Lauer as Ace
Charles Powell as Ross

Plot:
After 10 years of devastating warfare on Planet Sirius 6B, a distant mining planet, Commander Joseph Hendricksson (Peter Weller) is assigned to protect his outpost from the New Economic Block. His scientists have created a perfect weapon, designed to destroy all enemy life - a blade wielding, self-replicating race of killing devices known as Screamers.

But something has gone wrong - the Screamers continue to evolve without any human guidance, cloning themselves into human form and obliterating all forms of human life.

Betrayed by his own political leaders and disgusted by the atrocities of the endless war, Hendricksson decides he must negotiate peace with the enemy. But to do so, he must first destroy the very weapon he helped to create...
Screamers!

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Production Notes

My Thoughts:

More of a B-movie from the mid-90s. I believe it was overshadowed by some other bigger release that year, which I can't remember what it was (maybe Species...?). However, this film is great on DVD. Good production values (they used an abandoned industrial area which gives it a great look), good acting by Peter Weller (he is very cool in this one!, to bad he never really got very far) and a solid B-movie (read: people we never really heard of) supporting cast. The special effects hold up very well, with only some minor use of CGI, and there is some gore, but not much of it. With only a few rather obvious continuity slips and mostly congruous writing this is good science fiction entertainment.

Rating:

[samuelrichardscott]

I have two different releases in my to watch pile. May have to bump iut up the queue. Good review Achim, thanks.

[Achim]

Relentless (1989/United States) (United States) Director: William Lustig Writing: Phil Alden Robinson (Writer) Length: 92 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Judd Nelson as Arthur 'Buck' Taylor
Robert Loggia as Bill Malloy
Leo Rossi as Sam Dietz
Meg Foster as Carol Dietz
Patrick O'Bryan as Todd Arthur

Plot:
A sadistic serial killer holds Los Angeles in the grip of unspeakable fear in this hard-hitting action-thriller.

Rejected from the police force on psychological grounds, Buck Taylor (Judd Nelson) exacts revenge by committing a string of brutal murders and taunting the LAPD. The only clues are pages torn from a telephone book and victims who appear to have somehow participated in their own deaths. But when a brash rookie detective (Leo Rossi) pairs up with a cynical veteran (Robert Loggia) to track down the killer, the cat-and-mouse game ends in a deadly fight to the finish.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Probably the most mainstream film by William Lustig that I know. While not a masterpiece, this is a solid thriller but with some turns in the story line that sets it apart from similar films of the same era. I was surprised by the amount of well known actors (mostly by face not necessarily by name) this movie had to offer. Besides Nelson, Loggia, Rossi and Foster (she is such strange eyes...) there is also Edward Bunker, Roy Brocksmith and George 'Buck' Flower.

A buddy cop movie, a serial killer movie and eventually a revenge movie, Lustig does a great job balancing the elements so they don't get in the way of each other. Sure, the motivation of the killer is rather stock standard, but otherwise this film offers some solid entertainment.

Rating:

[Achim]

Brick (Spotlight Series) (2005/United States) Universal Studios Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Rian Johnson Writing: Rian Johnson (Writer) Length: 110 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan
Nora Zehetner as Laura
Lukas Haas as The Pin
Noah Fleiss as Tugger
Matt O'Leary as The Brain

Plot:
Brendan Frye is a loner, someone who knows all the angles but has chosen to stay on the outside. When the girl he loves turns up dead, he is determined to find the "who" and "why" and plunges into the dark and dangerous social strata of rich girl Laura, intimidating Tug, drug-addled Dode, seductive Kara, and the ominous Pin. But who can he really trust? These are the ingredients of Brick, a gritty and provocative thriller that critics describe as "a clever, twist-filled whodunit!" (Claudia Puig, USA Today)

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Bonus Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes

My Thoughts:

It had been a while since I read the reviews by Matthias and Jon. So I was just going by the synopsis on the cover when I sat down to watch this film. I am not really sure4 what I was expecting, but I certainly didn't get it (again, going by the cover ). Instead I got this awesome Film Noir, where I occasionally had to remind myself that it is actually playing out with high school kids! (I know, had I a better memory I should have known this from the other reviews .)

While parts of the ending let me down a little bit (the reason for the murder and the retelling of the motives at the end, although the latter is clearly typical film noir tropes), I was engaged by the story with all its twists and turns all the way through. In big parts this was due to the acting and the greatly written characters (Brendan, Tugger and Laura).

Rating:

[addicted2dvd]

This is one of the ones that is in my huge unwatched pile! Will have to try to keep this one in mind.

[Najemikon]

Another winner for Brick!  I'm not sure if Matthias has seen it and has a different perspective, but how good Brick was meant I was doubly disappointed by Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom. In truth, it's fun, well played and looks great, but has fundamental flaws that mean it never quite works and there are several moments to cause a groan and a sad shake of the head. If Brick was his Noir, it seems he was trying to do a 50s caper, but he misunderstood it unfortunately. Still worth a look...

[Achim]

I have seen the Bloom Brothers, was not really aware it was the same director. Indeed, while it has its moments, it was unfortunately rather underwhelming overall; the trailer sold it quite well.

[goodguy]

While The Brothers Bloom wasn't on the same level as Brick, I enjoyed it a lot. Not sure what Jon is getting at by saying Johnson misunderstood something about those kind of movies, because the con/caper clearly is more of a pretext. Maybe that was too obvious? Pretentious?  Even so I can hardly think of any better ones (Remember that I'm the guy who thinks Ocean's 12 was the best of Soderbergh's three).

Johnson's new sci-fi, time travel thingie Looper is due in September btw. With Emily Blunt, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.

[Achim]

Johnson's new sci-fi, time travel thingie Looper is due in September btw. With Emily Blunt, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.

Sounds intriguing... Too bad it's only September 2012...