Monday, February 18, 2019
I Talk Dune: The Complete Saga
As I mentioned in my last review, last night I watched a fan edit that Michael Warren did called Dune: The Complete Saga; it's 3 hours long and besides the theatrical footage, the infamous 3 hour extended cut that David Lynch wanted nothing to do with, AND deleted scenes, resulting in a 183 minute piece of work. Some things were cleared up (such as the fate of a supporting character) but other questions were raised which I can't answer because I did not read the novel... plus, the cut was more concerned about including everything than having it flow together. The footage looking wildly different I can deal with, but this has both the original and deleted opening, and early on you get to see several characters enter a room twice. At least this does confirm that the theatrical version should have been longer as that would have been beneficial.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Dune
Dune (1984)
Runtime: 137 minutes
Directed by: David Lynch
Starring: A great cast, including Kyle MacLachlan, Jurgen Prochnow, Dean Stockwell, Everett McGill and Francesca Annis
From: Universal
I finally saw this cult classic, and it having that status now is no surprise to me:
I now need not wonder what Lynch's version of the Sarlacc Pit would have been like.
As sometimes happens, a conversation online inspired me to watch this film. Naturally, this has been discussed as of late alongside all the news of Denis Villeneuve's upcoming adaptation-tentatively coming out Thanksgiving weekend of next year with a murderer's row of a cast-and several people mentioned that I should see it. I have not read Frank Herbert's novel before so that was a reason why I have only watched this for the first time now, along with how the movie was deemed to be so impenetrable to those unfamiliar with the source material that some screenings passed out cheat sheets that explained certain parts of the plot and the world's vocabulary... that did leave me wary but I might as well give this a shot, right? I mean, look at the director and what was a murderer's row of a cast for the time. Plus, even on Letterboxd opinions are all over the map so that does spark curiosity.
Virginia Madsen provides quite the infodump to start off the movie; then again, Star Wars has its opening crawls so I can't really complain. For not really being familiar with the plot beforehand, most of this was not too difficult to follow, and the director kept things linear instead of going all crazy. Still, there were times that I wish I had read the book before... why did one major character float? Did the novel have someone need to milk a CAT to survive? Anyhow, several groups of people are looking to control “the spice”, as he who controls it controls the universe... it allows for space travel and precognition, so that's why it is so important. One clan overthrows another (in part due to a betrayal) to regain control of a planet, but they did not count on Kyle MacLachlan being The Chosen One.
I do not to presume that all the internalized monologue stuff was at the insistence of the producers and Lynch was against it, but for me those moments were too often and while sometimes it did help fill in the blanks, other times it explained things that were patently obvious and should have been even for the most dim-witted viewer. I do know that this was the only time Lynch did not have Final Cut and he will forever be bitter at how this turned out... and how the length was solely determined as anything longer would have meant one less screening per day. I imagine I would have rated this higher had he not been hamstrung the entire way and he could have more control over the finished product.
For something not in his wheelhouse, Old David did a fine job with a big budget production that included several action scenes. The world looked great (full of imagination) and was convincing due to the effects, only some of which look dated by modern standards. Famously, he turned out the request of Lucas to direct Return of the Jedi; he may have been great as the leader of that film, although it would have had to have been at least a little stranger than what we got. As for Dune, a quality cast was assembled, delivering performances that were at least fine. The combination of Toto and Brian Eno sounds bizarre (especially for a film soundtrack) and yet it manages to be a success. If only this could have been longer and wouldn't have rushed certain things-especially in the final act-as that would have been an improvement. I guess there's always the 2000 miniseries...
But at least I now know why this became a cult favorite and what I know of the new adaptation, the old sins shouldn't be repeated... unless it totally bombs, there will be a series of films and the story will be further expanded upon. At least what I saw I can say was good overall, even with its flaws. I have heard the book is great and is greatly complex, which I know a film or series of films will never fully capture, for obvious reasons. And who knows what Jodorowsky's version of the story would have been; apparently he wanted to make numerous, critical changes that Herbert was against so fans of the book may not have liked the aborted movie.
One final note: tomorrow night I won't be posting any reviews: instead, I will watch a 3 hour version of this film that a fan compiled which has footage from the longer TV version that Lynch disowned, along with a few deleted scenes. This is despite it not being 100% legal... it is not too terribly hard to find. Anyway, I will talk about that here in a separate post.
Runtime: 137 minutes
Directed by: David Lynch
Starring: A great cast, including Kyle MacLachlan, Jurgen Prochnow, Dean Stockwell, Everett McGill and Francesca Annis
From: Universal
I finally saw this cult classic, and it having that status now is no surprise to me:
I now need not wonder what Lynch's version of the Sarlacc Pit would have been like.
As sometimes happens, a conversation online inspired me to watch this film. Naturally, this has been discussed as of late alongside all the news of Denis Villeneuve's upcoming adaptation-tentatively coming out Thanksgiving weekend of next year with a murderer's row of a cast-and several people mentioned that I should see it. I have not read Frank Herbert's novel before so that was a reason why I have only watched this for the first time now, along with how the movie was deemed to be so impenetrable to those unfamiliar with the source material that some screenings passed out cheat sheets that explained certain parts of the plot and the world's vocabulary... that did leave me wary but I might as well give this a shot, right? I mean, look at the director and what was a murderer's row of a cast for the time. Plus, even on Letterboxd opinions are all over the map so that does spark curiosity.
Virginia Madsen provides quite the infodump to start off the movie; then again, Star Wars has its opening crawls so I can't really complain. For not really being familiar with the plot beforehand, most of this was not too difficult to follow, and the director kept things linear instead of going all crazy. Still, there were times that I wish I had read the book before... why did one major character float? Did the novel have someone need to milk a CAT to survive? Anyhow, several groups of people are looking to control “the spice”, as he who controls it controls the universe... it allows for space travel and precognition, so that's why it is so important. One clan overthrows another (in part due to a betrayal) to regain control of a planet, but they did not count on Kyle MacLachlan being The Chosen One.
I do not to presume that all the internalized monologue stuff was at the insistence of the producers and Lynch was against it, but for me those moments were too often and while sometimes it did help fill in the blanks, other times it explained things that were patently obvious and should have been even for the most dim-witted viewer. I do know that this was the only time Lynch did not have Final Cut and he will forever be bitter at how this turned out... and how the length was solely determined as anything longer would have meant one less screening per day. I imagine I would have rated this higher had he not been hamstrung the entire way and he could have more control over the finished product.
For something not in his wheelhouse, Old David did a fine job with a big budget production that included several action scenes. The world looked great (full of imagination) and was convincing due to the effects, only some of which look dated by modern standards. Famously, he turned out the request of Lucas to direct Return of the Jedi; he may have been great as the leader of that film, although it would have had to have been at least a little stranger than what we got. As for Dune, a quality cast was assembled, delivering performances that were at least fine. The combination of Toto and Brian Eno sounds bizarre (especially for a film soundtrack) and yet it manages to be a success. If only this could have been longer and wouldn't have rushed certain things-especially in the final act-as that would have been an improvement. I guess there's always the 2000 miniseries...
But at least I now know why this became a cult favorite and what I know of the new adaptation, the old sins shouldn't be repeated... unless it totally bombs, there will be a series of films and the story will be further expanded upon. At least what I saw I can say was good overall, even with its flaws. I have heard the book is great and is greatly complex, which I know a film or series of films will never fully capture, for obvious reasons. And who knows what Jodorowsky's version of the story would have been; apparently he wanted to make numerous, critical changes that Herbert was against so fans of the book may not have liked the aborted movie.
One final note: tomorrow night I won't be posting any reviews: instead, I will watch a 3 hour version of this film that a fan compiled which has footage from the longer TV version that Lynch disowned, along with a few deleted scenes. This is despite it not being 100% legal... it is not too terribly hard to find. Anyway, I will talk about that here in a separate post.
From Beyond
From Beyond (1986)
Runtime: 85 minutes
Directed by: Stuart Gordon
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ted Sorrel, Ken Foree, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon
From: Empire Pictures
Runtime: 85 minutes
Directed by: Stuart Gordon
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ted Sorrel, Ken Foree, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon
From: Empire Pictures
An incredibly erotic movie... including the sight of Ken Foree in tiny red bikini briefs.
There is a melancholy reason as to why I saw this film last night; John Carl Buechler was one of the people responsible for making the effects here look great for the small budget. He did that for many B movies in the 80's and 90's and also directed the likes of the 7th Friday the 13th (that being disappointing is more due to the MPAA than him) and Troll, which is much better than Troll 2. Well, a few days ago news broke that he has stage IV prostate cancer and well, the United States health care system being the way it is, his family is broke so they've had to use Go Fund Me to try and offset the massive costs. The horror community was affected by this sad news so already many thousands of dollars have been reached. From what little I've seen and heard from him on the likes of horror documentaries, he seems like a cool and nice dude so this happening to him is pretty awful.
From Beyond (based upon an H.P. Lovecraft tale) is pretty wild. Two brilliant scientists create a “Resonator” that engages the pineal gland to experience a sixth sense but that causes a crossover with a parallel dimension filled with grotesque sights. One of them dies so the other is accused of murder and locked up in a mental hospital. A young lady doctor starts to believe him so those two plus police officer Ken Foree try to duplicate the experiment, but things go REAL bad and there is body horror; what a year 1986 was for that, between this film and The Fly.
This was filmed in Italy at a studio Charles Band acquired (it did belong to Dino DeLaurentiis) and for only a few million bucks the movie still looks like a quality production and the only thing that looks dated is some of the optical effects. Like in The Thing, horrifying mangled creations are seen and they are terrifying. Credit goes to Buechler and the rest of that crew for making those creatures with limited resources. I also have to acknowledge the nice job that director Stuart Gordon did, along with the cinematography from Mac Ahlberg (at times the movie is bathed in neon colors) and the main cast of cult actors Foree, Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs were the perfect level of over the top for this insane tale.
As I mentioned, this is pretty sexual as the film connected that gland with a person's sex drive; this includes some S&M, which I'll presume was involved in situations that were more loving and caring than the 50 Shades saga...
Thursday, February 14, 2019
My Neighbor Totoro
My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari No Totoro) (1988)
Runtime: 88 minutes
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Well, I watched the original Japanese language version and not the Disney dubbed version that featured both Dakota and Elle Fanning
From: Studio Ghibli
This is simply a nice and sweet movie.
That was the main impression I got from this tale, which is set in late 50's Japan but could be set anywhere, the setting is so timeless. It is a loving family that has to move to the countryside to be closer to the mom, who is in the hospital with an illness never mentioned in the film (as I understand, the novelization says it is tuberculous; Miyazaki himself experienced the same scenario with his mom when he was a kid). A few months is spent with the dad and two young daughters, Satsuki and Mei. They are typical all around in how they act and interact with each other. The siblings have their disagreements but they ultimately do love each other.
The movie is about more than just the two girls meeting all those magical creatures of the forest (including the titular Totoro); it is about seeing the two girls acclimate themselves to a new world. Of course it's sad their mom isn't around but they try to make do and the area does look like a lovely place to be. They get to meet some new humans too-including a boy that likes Satsuki-and it is heartwarming seeing them in that world and be a loving family. Describing the plot may make this seem mundane... and indeed this is filled with routine events yet at the same time it is so magical. As others have mentioned, you just might reminisce about when you were a kid and summers were carefree and fun.
No surprise this is beloved by so many between the gentle yet deep story, the characters, the beautiful animation and the delightful score. This movie did not need an antagonist or any other contrived-for this story, anyhow-moments to be engaging and it is a world I wish I could have experienced when I was young; at least further visits to this universe will be charming and pleasant journeys.
Runtime: 88 minutes
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Well, I watched the original Japanese language version and not the Disney dubbed version that featured both Dakota and Elle Fanning
From: Studio Ghibli
This is simply a nice and sweet movie.
That was the main impression I got from this tale, which is set in late 50's Japan but could be set anywhere, the setting is so timeless. It is a loving family that has to move to the countryside to be closer to the mom, who is in the hospital with an illness never mentioned in the film (as I understand, the novelization says it is tuberculous; Miyazaki himself experienced the same scenario with his mom when he was a kid). A few months is spent with the dad and two young daughters, Satsuki and Mei. They are typical all around in how they act and interact with each other. The siblings have their disagreements but they ultimately do love each other.
The movie is about more than just the two girls meeting all those magical creatures of the forest (including the titular Totoro); it is about seeing the two girls acclimate themselves to a new world. Of course it's sad their mom isn't around but they try to make do and the area does look like a lovely place to be. They get to meet some new humans too-including a boy that likes Satsuki-and it is heartwarming seeing them in that world and be a loving family. Describing the plot may make this seem mundane... and indeed this is filled with routine events yet at the same time it is so magical. As others have mentioned, you just might reminisce about when you were a kid and summers were carefree and fun.
No surprise this is beloved by so many between the gentle yet deep story, the characters, the beautiful animation and the delightful score. This movie did not need an antagonist or any other contrived-for this story, anyhow-moments to be engaging and it is a world I wish I could have experienced when I was young; at least further visits to this universe will be charming and pleasant journeys.
3:10 To Yuma
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Runtime: 92 minutes
Directed by: Delmer Daves
Starring: Glenn Ford, Van Heflin, Felicia Farr, Leora Dana, Henry Jones
From: Columbia
I saw this a few days ago but I am just now posting the review of it here:
(A few days ago) I realized it had been far too long since I had viewed a Western; I went with one more allegorical and psychological than most in the genre but this is still worthy of viewing if you dig stories revolving around the Wild West.
Based-yet greatly expanded upon-a story by Elmore Leonard, poor down on his luck cattle farmer Dan Evans (Van Heflin) has to transport intelligent criminal and gang leader Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) to jail in Yuma, Arizona-back then the Arizona Territory-before the outlaw's posse tracks them down. It is more complex than the brief plot synopsis would suggest; Wade is not a standard blackhat villain and he's a charmer with the ladies. Evans only does this task for the money and to salve what he feels is wounded pride as the opening scene has Wade humble Evans in front of his two young sons. Pride and honor are two key components to the story.
Both Ford and Heflin are tremendous in their roles... Heflin as someone who doubts himself but tries to act tough, while Ford is oh so cool and unflappable, yet also talks a lot of trash & is also desperate and sleazy enough to offer Dan a large sum of money to let him walk away instead of completing the job and run a good risk of being killed by his bandit pals. I also have to give credit for Felicia Farr (as a dame who you find out has a melancholy backstory) and Leora Dana as the wife of Evans; they have far less screentime but they still manage to leave their mark.
The movie is framed so well throughout (especially in the conversations between the two leads) and is is quite suspenseful as you wait and see what choice Dan Evans will make. The scenery of Arizona and California provides a lovely backdrop and there are other supporting characters who are interesting and their moral turpitude and courage can certainly be questioned. I cannot compare this with the 2007 remake but maybe one day...
Runtime: 92 minutes
Directed by: Delmer Daves
Starring: Glenn Ford, Van Heflin, Felicia Farr, Leora Dana, Henry Jones
From: Columbia
I saw this a few days ago but I am just now posting the review of it here:
(A few days ago) I realized it had been far too long since I had viewed a Western; I went with one more allegorical and psychological than most in the genre but this is still worthy of viewing if you dig stories revolving around the Wild West.
Based-yet greatly expanded upon-a story by Elmore Leonard, poor down on his luck cattle farmer Dan Evans (Van Heflin) has to transport intelligent criminal and gang leader Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) to jail in Yuma, Arizona-back then the Arizona Territory-before the outlaw's posse tracks them down. It is more complex than the brief plot synopsis would suggest; Wade is not a standard blackhat villain and he's a charmer with the ladies. Evans only does this task for the money and to salve what he feels is wounded pride as the opening scene has Wade humble Evans in front of his two young sons. Pride and honor are two key components to the story.
Both Ford and Heflin are tremendous in their roles... Heflin as someone who doubts himself but tries to act tough, while Ford is oh so cool and unflappable, yet also talks a lot of trash & is also desperate and sleazy enough to offer Dan a large sum of money to let him walk away instead of completing the job and run a good risk of being killed by his bandit pals. I also have to give credit for Felicia Farr (as a dame who you find out has a melancholy backstory) and Leora Dana as the wife of Evans; they have far less screentime but they still manage to leave their mark.
The movie is framed so well throughout (especially in the conversations between the two leads) and is is quite suspenseful as you wait and see what choice Dan Evans will make. The scenery of Arizona and California provides a lovely backdrop and there are other supporting characters who are interesting and their moral turpitude and courage can certainly be questioned. I cannot compare this with the 2007 remake but maybe one day...
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
The Poppy Is Also A Flower
Runtime: The copy on
Amazon is 96 minutes long
Directed by: Terence Young
Starring: An all-star
cast. The leads are E.G. Marshall, Trevor Howard, Marcello
Mastroianni, Angie Dickinson, and Gilbert Roland
From: Several entities...
including the United Nations!
This is also sometimes
known as Poppies Are Also Flowers; whatever you want to call this,
the film is just plain odd:
This
is a unique film I have known of for awhile now and last night I
finally sat down to watch it, as a version is on Prime for free. That
print has the credits and all intertitles in French yet the cast speaks
English, so go figure. Anyhow, this was one of a few films that the
United Nations (!) were involved with back in the 60's. This was an 80
minute feature that debuted on American network TV but after the fact
was turned into a 100 minute (if you include the Princess Grace
prologue, where she talks about how terrible it is that the poppy is
used to make heroin; that print is on YouTube, albeit in not so good
quality) film where the story came from Ian Fleming (!!), Terence Young
was the director, and Harold Sakata was one of the many famous faces in
the all-star cast.
In short, E.G. Marshall and Trevor Howard play mis-matched UN agents who start off in Iran trying to intercept a large shipment of opium; there is a scheme where it's impregnated with radiation (!) as a means to track it via Geiger counter. Then it's off to Italy and France, as the bad guys outsmart the heroes, but the good guys still discover where it's at. The other famous faces that participated included everyone from Marcello Mastroianni, Angie Dickinson, and Gilbert Roland to Rita Hayworth, Eli Wallach, Anthony Quayle, Yul Brynner, Senta Berger and Omar Sharif, who plays someone named DR. RAD. Trini Lopez even has a scene as himself where he sings some of his hit songs. No, I was not kidding either when I said that a few times, Marshall and Howard make important decisions-such as who goes where-by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. What an interesting quirk.
With all the talent involved this could have been great but does not rise about being fine. I suppose you can't complain too much considering it was anti-drug propaganda from the United Nations and there are some pretty preachy points... the main impression I got from this is how weird the whole thing is considering the different actors, the opening act being set and filmed in Iran-back when they were friendly to the West-and how this could have been better with more money put into the production... maybe Xerox should have given more cash; again, I am not joking... Xerox gave this an undisclosed sum of money.
What does help is that this never drags or becomes dull; in addition, Marshall and Howard make for a heck of a team and believe it or not, Marshall actually does some Judo in fights he has with Sakata and another character. Not surprisingly for a Terence Young picture, some action takes place on a train... overall, the action is not noteworthy but at times it can be good. This is best viewed as a curio due to all the different elements involved.
In short, E.G. Marshall and Trevor Howard play mis-matched UN agents who start off in Iran trying to intercept a large shipment of opium; there is a scheme where it's impregnated with radiation (!) as a means to track it via Geiger counter. Then it's off to Italy and France, as the bad guys outsmart the heroes, but the good guys still discover where it's at. The other famous faces that participated included everyone from Marcello Mastroianni, Angie Dickinson, and Gilbert Roland to Rita Hayworth, Eli Wallach, Anthony Quayle, Yul Brynner, Senta Berger and Omar Sharif, who plays someone named DR. RAD. Trini Lopez even has a scene as himself where he sings some of his hit songs. No, I was not kidding either when I said that a few times, Marshall and Howard make important decisions-such as who goes where-by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. What an interesting quirk.
With all the talent involved this could have been great but does not rise about being fine. I suppose you can't complain too much considering it was anti-drug propaganda from the United Nations and there are some pretty preachy points... the main impression I got from this is how weird the whole thing is considering the different actors, the opening act being set and filmed in Iran-back when they were friendly to the West-and how this could have been better with more money put into the production... maybe Xerox should have given more cash; again, I am not joking... Xerox gave this an undisclosed sum of money.
What does help is that this never drags or becomes dull; in addition, Marshall and Howard make for a heck of a team and believe it or not, Marshall actually does some Judo in fights he has with Sakata and another character. Not surprisingly for a Terence Young picture, some action takes place on a train... overall, the action is not noteworthy but at times it can be good. This is best viewed as a curio due to all the different elements involved.
Monday, February 11, 2019
The Conversation
The Conversation (1974)
Runtime: 113 minutes
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest, Cindy Williams
From: Paramount
Runtime: 113 minutes
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest, Cindy Williams
From: Paramount
What a run Francis Ford Coppola had in the 70's:
Surveillance experts sure know how to party.
Lead Harry Caul (Gene Hackman, who was truly never better than he was here... no small feat) and his love of jazz happens to create an important analogy when it comes to describing the pace of this film. I know some don't care for the movie due to its languid pace, but that works for me. The movie takes its time to unravel the story and reveal more about its lead and why he's such a guarded, private person; like with jazz, you should relax and enjoy the journey as it should be pretty rewarding.
Caul and his fellow surveillance expert associates (including John Cazale) capture a conversation held between two people-a man and a woman-that are walking around a park in San Francisco. Someone-only known as The Director and played by a big name who I won't reveal here as his role was uncredited in the movie-wants to pay a lot of money for it and Harry starts to wonder why; you see, in the past a family was brutally killed as a result of what he recorded. He starts to read between the lines and becomes fearful for that couple. Meanwhile, his personality causes problems with both his love life (if you keep your distance and hardly say anything about yourself to a woman...) and friends/rivals.
The movie takes its time to tell the story and overall I will say this is great; what an amazing performance from Hackman. He's had no shortage of quality roles but this has to be the best he ever was. He said a lot without doing much in the way of speaking. It should be no surprise that it was well-directed by Coppola and had a quality jazz score, or that the others in the cast did a swell job, but Old Gene was the true highlight here. There are some magnificent moments, especially the finale.
I won't reveal more about the movie as I wouldn't want to ruin anything for anyone who wishes to go on this journey in the future. If you have Prime then it's for free; this is one of many examples of why I have been a Prime member for a few years straight now while I only subscribe to Netflix on rare occasions and always for a month at a time.
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