The Great Silence

The Great Silence (Il Grande Silenzio) (1968)

Runtime: 105 minutes

Directed by: Sergio Corbucci

Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Klaus Kinski, Frank Wolff, Luigi Pistilli, Vonetta McGee

From: A few different French and Italian companies

I’ve been neglecting this snowy Western for far too long. As sometimes occurs, a highly-regarded movie was discovered years ago yet despite the high praise, the trigger isn’t pulled. Its showing on Turner Classic Movies last night + having free time meant there was no excuse in this instance.

There is a smattering of Westerns set in a snowy climate instead of a desert but this Sergio Corbucci effort is one of the most famous. Jean-Louis Trintignant is Silence, a mute gunslinger who helps a band of outlaws against bounty hunters and a corrupt banker. The film has high aspirations; after all, Corbucci was inspired by the deaths of Che Guevara and Malcolm X; a revisionist Western, this was. This protagonist had an antagonist in equal measure: Loco, as portrayed by real-life villain Klaus Kinski. 

Just as an important character as Silence and Loco is the wintry, bitterly cold weather in the Utah territory-filmed in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy. The stunning locations and the snowy landscape affect all the characters; the blizzard has caused many to steal and allowed for the evil banker Pollicut to concoct a scheme to steal land. There are quality performances all around: the Italian setting, Jean-Louis-he didn’t need speech to express emotion or be a commanding presence-Kinski, Luigi Pistilli, Frank Wolff, Vonetta McGee in her debut, etc.

Another key component: the Morricone score. It was dynamic, encompassing everything from the electric guitar to the sitar. The Great Silence is as austere and stark as its setting. This is a great movie no matter which genre or genres you prefer the most. I only have viewed The Hateful Eight once but it has to pair with this like peanut butter & jelly. If you love atypical Westerns in particular, this picture (many say it’s Corbucci’s magnum opus) is a must. I missed out on not pulling the trigger years earlier.

 

All Gummed Up

(Short # 103 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Not top-tier Stooges yet still amusing. They operate a drugstore (which offers even more than at a modern Walgreens; for example, fishing poles are available) and much to my amazement, they were portrayed as more competent than usual. After a few throwaway gags, the main plot thread begins. Emil Sitka and Christine McIntyre are a couple in elderly makeup who move around like senior citizens; not only is he the drugstore landlord and wishes to kick them out for a better deal, he is also a cantankerous old man who is mad at his decrepit wife solely for her age.

The wacky premise is that they successfully concoct a Fountain of Youth potion w/ the ingredients & drugs they have in store (mixed in a boot, as they’ve done before) so McIntyre becomes a beautiful woman again. There are some solid laughs, although it’s not the strongest or most memorable Shemp short.

Those curious about the title: it references the main gag in the final few minutes, which does seem oddly-placed. The conclusion is of the non-sequitor type: at least in this universe-who knows about the 1940’s-giant marshmallows and huge pieces of bubblegum look exactly the same. Christine bakes a cake but wants marshmallows on top; apparently this used to be a thing. A mix-up happens, which does produce some funny visuals. Still, a rather peculiar conclusion.

The Karate Kid Part II

The Karate Kid Part II (1986)

Runtime: 113 minutes

Directed by: John G. Avildsen

Starring: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Nobu McCarthy, Tamlyn Tomita, Danny Kamekona, Yuji Okumoto

From: Columbia

Yes, Karate Kid: Legends is a reason why I viewed this sequel. No, I won’t be viewing the upcoming Legends and who knows how much more in the franchise will be viewed. After all, not a single episode of Cobra Kai has been witnessed and I didn’t see the Jackie Chan picture that should have been called The Kung-Fu Kid. At least the iconic original movie has been reviewed here, albeit 6 years ago. It happened to be a revival screening & the movie is still a lot of fun. Incidentally, the last Mission: Impossible picture is the big picture for me in May; if I revisit the franchise beforehand, it likely won’t be mentioned on Letterboxd.

As for Part II in the adventures of Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi, the opening credits helpfully show some highlights of the original. As we see the aftermath of the Under 18 All-Valley Karate Championship-where ultimate heel John Kreese receives a nice comeuppance-the highlights made sense. They also hinted at the direction the story would take. Miyagi returns to Okinawa as his father is on his deathbed; Daniel tags along at the last minute. Yeah, that was silly by today’s standard how he had his passport ready and used his college savings to make this sudden sojourn halfway round the world. That may have been silly even in the mid 80’s.

There are a few “hey, wait a minute” moments; that said, it was nice that Miyagi was the focus of the story and there was a compelling backstory to why he ran away from Okinawa, along with why his rival Sato is generally a despicable person. So is Sato’s nephew Chozen, who is a natural rival to Daniel. At times the movie does feel like it’s spinning its wheels and should get on with it. Even so, Oahu as Okinawa was at least scenic and it was nice to learn some new aspects of Japanese culture. The action beats were fine and the Bill Conti score was good, if possibly a “stereotypical Oriental” score in some people’s eyes.

The Karate Kid Part II is of course not as good as the original. That doesn’t mean there were regrets in spending the time to view then review the movie. Chozen’s loud period clothing and the spectacular 80’s ballad Glory of Love from Peter Cetera alone were amusing at least to me.

A Pair of Great Public Domain Shemp Shorts

Brideless Groom

(Short # 101 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Hold hands, you lovebirds! As one of the four public domain Three Stooges shorts, it is one that is one of the most popular among the general public and movie fans. This is why the moment featuring Emil Sitka’s most famous line was shown in Pulp Fiction as Eric Stoltz watches it in bed. Recently, 1989’s Intruder was tackled. Sitka has a cameo where he says the line.

I love Groom, regardless of how familiar I’ve been w/ it since childhood as it and Disorder in the Court was on a VHS my parents bought for me, leading to many viewings. The plot was rather reminiscent of the 1925 Buster Keaton movie Seven Chances-Shemp has to be married in time to collect his late uncle’s half a million dollar inheritance.

Brideless is riotous from the opening scene, which is singing instructor Shemp, piano-playing Larry, and Dee Green as the hysterically-named Fanny Dinkelmeyer, who caterwauls as a singer even worse than the people who go to American Idol auditions-she is loud and putrid to a comical degree. As she loves Shemp, you can guess what happens…
Moe doesn’t appear into a few minutes in.

All the main players were tremendous. Shemp attempts to phone previous dates from a phone booth, with no success. When he and Moe are stuck in the booth: legendary. So was Shemp’s one scene w/ Christine McIntyre. Due to a misunderstanding, her character lays a walloping on him. IRL, after a few takes went awry, he told her to “lay it in.” She did, to the point that she broke his nose! Rather than anger due to the mishap, he was glad that the take went well-and it looked great.

Sitka appeared as the justice of the peace, and when he attempts to marry Shemp, his old flames discover he’ll be filthy rich so they rush the room. While an old stereotype, the fracas involving the women, the Stooges, and Sitka was a classic comedic scene. As Brideless Groom was amazing from beginning to end & there is acres of notable dialogue, this is one of the best shorts the Stooges ever made, and by sometime in the summer I’ll discover if Shemp was ever in one better.

Sing a Song of Six Pants

(Short # 102 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Another Stooge public domain short-and another memorable early Shemp effort. Having only recently taken his place in the trio, his distinct mannerisms, noises, puns, and wacky faces already created an exciting dynamic that have made me love the Shemp run so far. Of course those good times don’t last until he passes away in 1955 but it’s more than a month until that starts to become a concern.

The blue-collar jobs they have this time: tailors. They run & operate Pip Boys; yes, Pep Boys was a thing even in the 40’s. They are in debt to Skin & Flint; Shemp has the idea-after listening to the radio-that they capture safe robber Terry Hargen for the reward. Naturally, Moe thinks it impossible that he’d literally walk into their shop—but he does. They and Terry were “victims of soicemstances,” Terry loses his clothes (long story), and the trio discovered a combination to a safe.

Six Pants (yes, the name is a spoof of the English nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence) is great. The pace is fast, acres of funny dialogue are uttered, there are funny pratfalls, some sight gags are delightful, the accoutrements you’d expect in a tailor’s shop are used to riotous effect-Shemp’s struggles w/ an ironing board and a rolled-up pair of pants is classic-they fight the villain & his henchmen in the climax, and even the final stinger gag was… tailor-made to punctuate what may have been one of Shemp’s best.

As Larry made something as silly as “mistaking a sunspot for a spot in someone’s pants” classic, this is another example of why I am glad this is an easy short to track down for those that want to see the Shemp era & like in Brideless Groom, is a grand showcase for Moe & Larry along w/ Shemp.

Pickup on South Street

Pickup on South Street (1953)

Runtime: 80 minutes

Directed by: Samuel Fuller

Starring: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Murvyn Vye, Richard Kiley

From: 20^th Century Fox

There hardly has been any film noir viewed by me in recent months; selecting a famous effort from Samuel Fuller starring Richard Widmark seemed like a swell idea… and it was. 

Widmark was our lead; you may not want to refer to him as a “hero”-after all, in the opening scene we discover he is a pickpocket. What misfortune for him then that the purse he pilfers contains microfilm containing government secrets that (gasp) a Communist spy ring is also after. A number of people are now after Skip McCoy: the alluring Jean Peters-the one who was robbed-the cops, a government agent, and the ex of Peters, who was the one that convinced her to courier that envelope.

It was a very good noir that mixes in spy espionage elements, featuring a nice cast, solid direction, memorable characters, the seedier areas of New York City presented well, along w/ a quality score from Leigh Harline. My favorite character was the stoolie portrayed by Thelma Ritter; she was as hysterical yet serious at the same time, comparable to her character in Rear Window. She was part of the film’s best scene.

As this had the standard noir hallmarks (light + shadow, the locations, the close-ups, the hardboiled dialogue), Pickup on South Street is one of the many efforts that should be viewed by genre fans.

Demon Pond

Demon Pond (Yasha-Ga-Ike) (1979)

Runtime: 124 minutes

Directed by: Masahiro Shinoda (RIP)

Starring: Tamasaburo Bano, Go Kato, Tsutomi Yamazaki, Hisashi Igawa, Fujio Tokita

From: Shochiku

A belated RIP to director Masahiro Shinoda. A few years ago, I saw his 1964 Pale Flower, a very good Yakuza film which played on Turner Classic Movies. I did not do a subsequent deeper dive into his filmography. Late March of this year, Shinoda passed away at the age of 94. The presumption is that he is a director who deserves more attention on the world stage. This film in particular has a backstory that will be elaborated upon at the end.

Demon Pond was a rather intriguing tale. In 1913, a teacher is on vacation and wants to visit the titular pond, a place w/ supernatural lore of a dragon residing at the bottom. It is located at a remote village currently suffering from a drought. There’s an old friend & a lady (Yuri) who acts peculiar. That seems normal enough… then the pond spirits appear. Yes, guys who are dressed like crabs, a carp, a catfish, etc. Tamasaburo Bano appears as both Yuri and “The Dragon Princess” at the bottom of the lake, the latter in kabuki makeup. Note that IRL, Bano is a male actor.

Yes, Demon Pond was also weird at times, although in comparison to something like Hausu or really WTF material like Funky Forest that only clips have been viewed of—normal in comparison. Pond is still a methodically-paced dream-like experience; don’t rush the trip and you might become enveloped in this kooky world also, filled w/ stunning sets. A big asset there was what I called during the film “trippy 70’s music.” More on once I thought, “hmmm, this sounds like Isao Tomita,” the Japanese electronic music pioneer. Afterwards, I saw on Wiki that the composer was… Isao Tomita. No wonder it was a rippin' score.

The presumption is that the movie won’t be for all tastes. Me, the finale made the journey well worthwhile. After the movie released to cinemas, it was only played once on television. The efforts of Shinoda and Bano several years ago were required to restore the movie for television & physical media. Just half a year ago, Criterion released Demon Pond on disc. In the future, I’d like to do a deeper dive into the filmography of the late Masahiro Shinoda.

Hell Up in Harlem

Hell Up in Harlem (1973)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: Larry Cohen

Starring: Fred Williamson, Julius Harris, Gloria Hendry, Margaret Avery, D’Urville Martin

From: AIP

A review done via request. Regrettably, I don’t have a definitive list of what’s been asked to me to review here on Letterboxd and elsewhere. However, from now on that’ll change and soon I’ll get to the few pictures I've been called to check out. It was elsewhere that someone wanted me to view Black Caesar’s sequel Hell Up in Harlem after I gave a positive review to Caesar less than 3 months ago. Instead of waiting ages to fulfill that request-like I typically do-might as well fulfill it now, while I still recalled the original picture rather well.

Larry Cohen’s Black Caesar was a pretty good blaxploitation version of a 30’s gangster movie where Fred Williamson rises in power to become an underworld success-although he wasn’t someone you should root for, nevermind the sexual assault against his lady Gloria Hendry. The film was a bigger success than expected-so much so that this sequel was rushed into production for the purpose of having the actors return without wanting more money, so Cohen more or less made up the story as they went along-no kidding.

This does retcon the first’s conclusion and at times does seem like they were making it up as they went along. Be that as it may, Harlem was still a good time. Besides The Hammer & Hendry, it was nice to see returning faces Julius Harris & D’Urville Martin reprising their roles. There was still some inspired filmmaking from Cohen along w/ a groovy score from Fonce Mizell & Freddie Perren, featuring awesome songs from Edwin Starr.

The person who recommended Harlem to me noted that there was a sequence “straight out of James Bond.” I discovered this was a raid on a compound “on an island in the Florida Keys” where Hammer and his confederates killed many SOB’s. Blaxploitation pictures sometimes had these big sequences-I was reminded of a similar raid in the final act of Black Belt Jones-but the one in Hell concluded the opening act.

As there are some crackin’ action scenes and many people who are gunned down throughout, this is an asset in making a rushed cash-in watchable instead of a disaster.