Who'll Stop the Rain

Who’ll Stop the Rain(1978)

Runtime: 126 minutes

Directed by: Karel Reisz

Starring: Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld, Michael Moriarty, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Masur

From: United Artists

Viewing another downbeat 70’s thriller wasn’t in the cards… but I’ve known of this movie for awhile and when someone in a messageboard thread mentioned their viewing of the movie yesterday-they were a fan-and opined if anyone else had seen it, no better time to cross this off the list. I gave positive thoughts in my subsequent post, mentioning the positives I’ll list below. 

Turns out, running drugs for Michael Moriarty was a poor idea. He and Nick Nolte are in Vietnam for the war; Moriarty convinces Nolte to run a large shipment of smack to his wife Tuesday Weld back in California. Of course, when drugs are involved, what should have been simple turned out quite complicated & the duo of Nolte/Weld go into hiding as he attempts to get themselves out of that quagmire. If you’re reminded of True Romance, you’d be like me; I’ll just presume that Tarantino is a big fan of Who’ll Stop the Rain.

I won’t reveal much more of the plot-case anyone wants to be as surprised as I was by the events that transpired. The movie is downbeat even by 70’s standards & has a pace that may be seen as “too laconic” by some. Myself, I was riveted by the journey, the score, the cinematography-sections of the film take place outdoors, featuring stunning vistas-the characters… Weld’s Marge is addicted to pain pills, a sadly relevant plot point.

I was also happy to see other familiar faces (e.g. Richard Masur, Ray Sharkey, Anthony Zerbe). The main players did a swell job-Moriarty is a real-life lunatic but boy could he act. Nolte in the 70’s was quality, and like many, I wish Weld acted more often. In addition, the title does reference the Creedence Clearwater Revival song; the source material was a novel titled Dog Soldiers but that was changed for its United States release. Appropriately, that haunting song was heard on a few occasions-setting the proper mood for the film-along with two others from CCR, and random tunes from other genres. Turns out, country artist Hank Snow’s Golden Rocket is a rad tune.

There is an exciting action scene in the third act; otherwise, much of the movie’s a serious drama which might be too depressing, too laid-back for some. Myself, 70’s cinema can be quite intoxicating, its dark themes sometimes enveloping me. I wouldn’t want a steady diet of serious, somber pictures-especially if they had gut-punch endings like this did-yet once in awhile is quite satisfying.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (The Remake)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Runtime: 120 minutes

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda de Banzie, Bernard Miles, Ralph Truman

From: Paramount

Que Sera, Sera

My second review of the day (after revisiting the original Man) is finally seeing the 50’s remake for the first time. I have the film on physical media & it’s been too long since any Hitchcock’s been tackled by me. I don’t even have to ask—some will be dismayed that this is my first Doris Day movie. Shame on me-in the far-flung future, more of her work will be seen.

The general plot is the same as in the 1934 movie: the young child of a married couple is kidnapped in a foreign country, the villains want to keep them quiet so an assassination plot isn’t revealed, etc. This time, James Stewart, Day, and their young boy Hank is in Marrakech, Morocco. That provided scenery unique even by 2026 standards. The other 60 or so percent of the movie is in London as Ol’ Jimmy attempts to crack the case.

If I was the insufferable CinemaSins type, some aspects could be nitpicked. However, I am not a turd so I’ll state that those nitpicks didn’t ruin the film. This is not the best from Hitch-mainly because he’s an all-timer who directed at least 6 films I’d put in the “great” category. No shame in this “just” being a very good cinematic experience. The villains here aren’t as memorable as Peter Lorre in ’34—otherwise, this was a nice improvement on that. The direction, the score from Bernard Herrmann, the setting, the cinematography, the VistaVision, the climactic scene featuring the attempted assassination-that was all aces.

Sure, there’s no hysterical chair-throwing brouhaha like in ’34 but there is a great, long scene without dialogue that features an operatic tune. Of course, Timothee Chalamet wouldn’t appreciate that song-in contrast, I did!

I was delighted to see something else from Hitchcock, see Doris Day for the first time, see a new delightful Jimmy Stewart performance, and develop an even further appreciation for what an incredible run Sir Alfred had from 1954 through 1963.

 

Drunken Angel

Drunken Angel (1948)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Reizaburo Yamamoto, Michiyo Kogure, Chieko Nakakita

From: Toho  

Shamefully, I hadn’t seen any Akira Kurosawa new to me in about 2 ½ years; this was a major oversight so when Turner Classic Movies played this movie late last night, the choice was obvious. Not only was this the director’s breakout hit, it was the first collaboration w/ Toshiro Mifune & the other lead was Takashi Shimura.

The tale isn’t upbeat: the setting is a slum with an open cesspool shown often. Shimura is talented doctor Sanada, crippled by a severe case of alcoholism; this is why he is stuck treating patients like Yakuza member Mifune (Matsunaga), who he first treated for a hand injury. He then discovers that Matsunaga has a bad case of TB; the doctor attempts to change the self-destructive nature of his patient-or even have him believe the illness is legitimate-but that might be an impossible task.

Despite the flawed lead duo-along with other troubled characters like Sanada’s nurse Miyo (whose abusive ex is a Yakuza member about to release from prison), there are moments of optimism throughout, including a young high school lady who is having her TB treated by the doctor. Sanada’s bedside manner is rather gruff yet he does care about his patients, even bad actors like Matsunaga. This relationship also allows Sanada to examine his own flaws.

I don’t need to explain how well Kurosawa did in the director’s chair or that the cast did a swell job-and not just the famous names. Worthy of mention is that the cesspool is a metaphor representing Japan struggling in its attempts to recover from World War II, a lingering theme throughout Drunken Angel. The film is mature yet thankfully not overwhelming in its grim nature. After all, Matsunaga is fatalistic, believing he’ll eventually die anyway… props to the makeup that augment Mifune’s performance, representing the deterioration of his body. I will also give props to Shimura for his role that wasn’t the good-hearted pleasantness I’m used to him embody in his typical parts, whether it be in Kurosawa or multiple Godzilla films.

I will not be a fool that waits this long before viewing then reviewing another Kurosawa picture.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (The Original), Revisited

I was glad to have revisited this film; despite an irritating opening, the movie is still better than I gave it credit for when first viewed almost 9 (!) years ago. I’m happy this randomly played on the Criterion Channel’s 24/7 service last night. Besides writing a brand-new (& better) review, this will be the first of two reviews I post today; the second will be in fact the 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much.

It’s been far too long since checking out any Hitchcock. Regarding this motion picture, a murder occurs at a bucolic little Swiss ski resort. Despite being French, Louis keeps a stiff upper lip like he was a Brit as he explains to the leading lady friend where a MacGuffin is located that is related to a major crime-before dropping dead from a rifle shot. It’s a MacGuffin as it’s not important to us why a European Head of State would be assassinated-aside of a hint that they want to start another World War. The lead couple’s young teen daughter Betty is kidnapped in an attempt to silence the lead couple.

The movie was better than I recalled. This had quite the duo of lead guy Bob Lawrence paired w/ detective Clive as they attempt to find Betty. Their trek includes a visit to the dentist (reminding me of Marathon Man) and a sun-worshiping cult; are those even around now, almost a century later? The assassination attempt is at a famous London location still in existence today, quite the juxtaposition that a death is planned at such an establishment.

My carping at the opening aside, it still established key points that would be relevant in the final act. The film isn’t without flaws yet had enough shootouts, suspense, intrigue, well-timed moments of humor to offer a brief respite, and quality editing to make this version of The Man Who Knew Too Much a pretty good time. The cast was fine although Peter Lorre as the villain was the highlight-impressive, as he had just left German and barely knew any English at the time, speaking most of his lines phonetically. 

I’m excited to check out the 1956 remake, generally regarded as an improvement.

An Update

Tomorrow, I will post FOUR reviews. After then, I'll finally be caught up here.

Man on the Roof

Man on the Roof (Mannen Pa Taket) (1976)

Runtime: 108 minutes

Directed by: Bo Widerberg

Starring: Carl Gustaf-Linstedt,  Sven Wolter, Thomas Hellberg, Hakan Serner, Ingvar Hirdwell

From: SF Studios

The task of fulfilling all movie requests: the task of Sisyphus! Still, I never mind receiving them.

A little more than two years ago, I tracked down a copy of 1973’s The Laughing Policeman, a cop drama starring Walter Matthau & Bruce Dern set in San Francisco & loosely based on a novel in the series of Martin Beck books, written by Swedish authors Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo. I found the movie pretty good; a mutual left a comment referencing this film, made by Swedish filmmakers & adapting another book in the franchise. I’d known of it before; despite tracking down a copy w/ English subtitles, it took this long to finally pull the trigger; my apologies to that mutual.

The opening: a police Lieutenant (Nyman) is murdered while in the hospital; the crime was far bloodier than expected. Martin Beck is a Detective in the homicide squad; he and his colleague-including one that vaguely resembles Giovanni Ribisi-investigate the crime, using logic and reasoning to narrow down the list of suspects. Note that Nyman was soon revealed as a dirty, abusive cop… insert your own comments if you wish.

The first half has a laconic, methodical pace—I was still riveted due to the characters and plot, along with the Swedish/European flavor, which includes “random male full frontal nudity” in one scene. Eventually, the tenor changes in the second half, when the titular man on the roof appears, w/ automatic weaponry and firing at any & all police officers. This and the protagonist’s attempt to neutralize this threat was edge-of-your-seat gripping.

The minimalist jazzy score, the cold, austere setting, the matter-of-fact investigation, the bold narrative choices, the solid performance of the cast (especially the older, fleshy Carl-Gustaf Linstedt as Beck, a world-weary cop increasingly downtrodden due to revelations made throughout) … shame on me for not firing the shot and viewing Man on the Roof much sooner.

Thankfully, Radiance Film has a region-free Blu of the film-perhaps this will be a future purchase.

Fuze

Fuze (2025)

73% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 88 reviews)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: David Mackenzie

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Sam Worthington, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Saffron Hocking

From: A number of different British companies

This fuse did not light a large bomb-at least the movie wasn’t a bomb. Last fall I gave a shot to the then-newest film of David Mackenzie (of Hell or High Water fame): Relay. That was a lot of fun, a wise decision to check out theatrically as there should be more modest genre efforts on the big screen. When I learned he had a new film out this week, there was no reason for me not to grant it the same courtesy.

In the Paddington area of London-I’m a Yankee, so Wiki was needed to give the exact location-an unexploded World War II bomb was found at a dig site; in came the bomb squad, led by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Concurrently, in the same area now cordoned off is a heist of a bank led by Theo James and Sam Worthington. Meanwhile, Gugu Mbatha-Raw is the Chief Superintendent officer in charge of this scenario.

The first act was quite exciting as Fuze cut between the police station, the bomb site, and the robbers committing the heist underground. The rest of the movie… the scenarios are more standard in the field of “crime drama” and the movie did not feel as unique as is beginning. In addition, what I feared would happen in this British crime drama did occur: a certain overused swear word (especially in that country’s cinema) was heard only a few times in Act 1 but was much more frequent the rest of the picture, much to my dismay. Then, there was the conclusion—this did not nail the landing, for more than one reason that won’t be elaborated upon.

I’m always down for modestly-budgeted adult movies being released into cinemas-more should be viewed by me. It’d be better if the characters didn’t curse like they were John Davidson, but… Fuze was fine & competent, whether it was the acting, the characters, the score, the setting, the scenarios, the action beats, etc. I don’t regret the theatrical viewing; in fact, that may have made me rate the movie a bit higher than if this had been saved later for home viewing—it’s just that Relay is more my style, more my style of entertainment.

However, those that wish to see a bare-assed Taylor-Johnson taking a shower…