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B.J.
Reviews
Casbah (1948)
Film Noir with songs
Pepe Le Moko is a great film role. Jean Gabin introduced the character to screen in the same named French Flick in 1937.
Charles Boyer brought the moody mobster to Hollywood's ALGIERS in 1938.
But in 1948, Tony Martin and director John Berry collaborated to create the most dramatic and entertaining version of the downfall of the exiled jewel thief in CASBAH.
Casbah is a film very alive with energy, style, suspense and romance. Brilliant casting; Tony Martin plays the suave thief with easy conviction and delivers the Harold Arlen songs skill, charm and gusto.
Marta Toren was arguably the most beautiful woman in films, prior to the arrival of Audrey Hepburn.
Peter Lorre...I can't believe how powerful his complex performance is as the dedicated policeman, committed to the capture of the thief who became also his friend.
Yvonne De Carlo, Douglas Dick, Katherine Dunham, acting, singing, dancing, love, passion, treachery...where is this great film on DVD? John Berry and Jules Dassin were contemporary artists and spirits. Their films even show a similarity of style and influence, possibly each upon the other.
They were also fingered as American Pinko Fellow Travelers right about this time and both moved to England. Dassin prevailed and prospered, probably with some initial support from Darryl F. Zanuck. Berry also prevailed, but without achieving anything like Dassin's level of success or recognition. Still, CASBAH, for my money is, value for value, the most under-acknowledged film out of Hollywood.
Es geschah am hellichten Tag (1958)
Powerful suspense drama, unappreciated by its own author.
This Swiss movie, originally made for TV, was dismissed by Durrenmatt because he felt it didn't probe deeply enough into the driven character of the Inspector. I totally disagree with him. This version is powerfully realized and stunningly acted. Durrenmatt's literary version, The Pledge, undercuts the power of the theme and registers the Inspector's commitment as hollow and pointless. The American movie version of the Pledge was a conceptual, execution and box-office disaster.
What Durrenmatt does in The Pledge is to book-end this satisfying story with a narrative overlay that only revokes all the drama and suspense of the central story. This is as pointless and destructive as book-end CASABLANCA with a narrator that claims that Rick was really a scoundrel working for the Nazis the whole time.
Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
A view into the abyss
What can be said about the most emotionally wrenching, tear jerking, armrest gripping movie in reasonable memory? CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS is not for everybody. It is too rich, powerful and complex an experience for everybody. I don't know to whom I would recommend this movie. Not to persons who are members of a family. Maybe just to police and judicial authorities. Some good, at least, might come of that.
American Splendor (2003)
Just a little warning
12/18/03
It is said that every life has a story. Harvey Pekar's life is the exception that proves the rule (whatever that dumb homily means). AMERICAN SPLENDOR is a truly tedious and boring 101 minute movie about a guy, his wife and his friends, none of whom I would want to spend ten minutes with outside of the movie theater. Okay, I've said enough already.
Sexy Beast (2000)
Befuddled
Sexy Beast is a relatively short film about relatively little matter. I don't know what the title refers to, or what the film is about.
Ben Kingsley is getting all the reviews for a performance that is nothing more than a laughable imitation of either a Robert DeNiro or Joe Pesci mobster. Maybe he is an out-take from Scary Movie 2.
The rest of the performances are good enough for the old-fashioned, obvious story, cliche caper plot and predictable resolution of the genre. But not good enough to keep me from being bored and checking my watch frequently and impatiently during its 88 minute running time.
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Boo hoo wu hu
This is a prettily photographed comic book story about two sets of lovers, one somewhat oldish, the other rather youngish, of which I couldn't care even a little bitish.
Every now-and-then, the love stories are interrupted by some fantastical fighting/flying/action choreography. These action interludes begin and end with little or no reason in themselves, and have no purpose whatsoever in advancing and story or plot. In the tradition of these Hong Kong style exercises in martial arts, there is much fierce striking and slamming of body parts with no apparent harm done to the participants, except on the rare occassion when a character has to die for story purposes.
Admittedly, the photography and choreography are not hard to watch throughout; but even before its two-hour running time expired, I found myself hungry for a real action film.
Sole Survivor (1970)
A movie to be long remembered, and sorely missed.
This early Made-for-TV movie is a good example of cinematic story-telling at its best. It combines a suspenseful mystery and a strong clash of believable characters with a rueful ending that, while emotionally satisfying, will haunt you for years.
The revival cable channels are missing a strong programming opportunity by not screening SOLE SURVIVOR and other excellent, early TV productions.