I first saw this film when it came out and recently revisited it, 25 years later. I am awed by the sheer power of its spiritual vision, and its dedicated portrayal of a more innocent age when shallow narcissism took a back seat to honor, friendship, family, and above all, dedication to a higher goal. Although young, handsome, famous, and sometimes egotistical, the athletes are bound not by the desire for money, but by personal commitments to their families, beliefs, and societies. Even the most neurotic runner, Harold Abrahams, is a model of maturity and dignity compared to modern celebrity athletes, and the character of Eric Liddell is beyond inspirational. "Where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within." Magnificent.
Reviews
13 Reviews
The Legend of Zorro
(2005)
Solid family adventure film
3 November 2005
If you don't like Saturday morning cartoons, children's adventure movies, and silly fun, then don't bother seeing this film. Otherwise, you'll have a good time.
The filmmakers take major liberties with history, human behavior, and the laws of physics, but it really doesn't matter. They're not going for realism. They wanted to make a flamboyant PG-rated kids' movie and succeeded. The characters all behave pretty much the way they do in kids' movies, and the cast is obviously having far too much fun.
Adults expecting a grown-up swashbuckler will be disappointed, but the adventurous kid in me really enjoyed it.
The filmmakers take major liberties with history, human behavior, and the laws of physics, but it really doesn't matter. They're not going for realism. They wanted to make a flamboyant PG-rated kids' movie and succeeded. The characters all behave pretty much the way they do in kids' movies, and the cast is obviously having far too much fun.
Adults expecting a grown-up swashbuckler will be disappointed, but the adventurous kid in me really enjoyed it.
The Prisoner of Zenda
(1952)
Old mythology that works, for a change
12 September 2002
The old swashbuckling mythology in capital letters: King, Country, Duty, Courage, and Honor, featuring a handsome, fearless Hero; a beautiful and perfectly behaved Princess; a stalwart Elderly Advisor; a grasping Villain; his insinuating Right Hand; and so on. It's so stereotyped that it could take up a whole chapter of Carl Jung.
So it's amazing that this production manages to pull it off so well. Maybe it's the unusually effective screenplay, which doesn't waste a line, and somehow manages not to rehash creaky dialogue. Maybe it's the actors, who carry their roles with as much dignity as if this is the first time anyone's ever done them. Or maybe it's James Mason as the only recognizable human in the story, a charming and calculating psychopath with razor-sharp wit and stunning powers of manipulation.
However they did it, the results are a joy. Swordplay, love affairs, grand balls, royalty, and political intrigue - it all works. Put your brain in low gear, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
So it's amazing that this production manages to pull it off so well. Maybe it's the unusually effective screenplay, which doesn't waste a line, and somehow manages not to rehash creaky dialogue. Maybe it's the actors, who carry their roles with as much dignity as if this is the first time anyone's ever done them. Or maybe it's James Mason as the only recognizable human in the story, a charming and calculating psychopath with razor-sharp wit and stunning powers of manipulation.
However they did it, the results are a joy. Swordplay, love affairs, grand balls, royalty, and political intrigue - it all works. Put your brain in low gear, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
For Your Eyes Only
(1981)
Real human skill on display, finally!
28 August 2002
If you can't sit through a Bond film without a dozen wild gadgets, a brain-dead Playboy centerfold, and a villain from a Batman comic, then this one isn't for you. But if you thought "From Russia With Love" was one of the best, you'll love this one.
Bond gets a chance to show what he can do with almost no fancy gimmicks at all, and it works wonderfully. He finally resembles a resourceful agent instead of a cartoon character. A highly inventive and colorful car chase with a battered Citroen instead of a tech-heavy Lotus, a ski/motorcycle chase filled with incredible stuntwork, a breathtaking rock climbing sequence (but bring jummars next time, fella)...the humans are the special effects in this one. And they've kept me watching it more than any other Bond flick.
The elegant and pensive Bond girl, Carole Bouquet, carries out her role with understated panache and is tremendously attractive and sympathetic. She even saves a few lives instead of screaming for help. If only the producers could always figure out the benefits of a Bond girl who's a real human being. As a Greek smuggler, Topol plants his tongue firmly in cheek the whole time and almost goes over the top, but he gets a great sequence assaulting an Albanian warehouse.
The plot is touch-and-go (mostly go), the disco score is dated, and the figure skating character played by Lynn-Holly Johnson is a waste of time. But the reliance on actual characters and human skill instead of shallow computerized action sequences can't be beat, and the cinematography team had a field day.
A flawed but delightful film with a lot to teach future Bond productions. Let's hope they learn from it.
Bond gets a chance to show what he can do with almost no fancy gimmicks at all, and it works wonderfully. He finally resembles a resourceful agent instead of a cartoon character. A highly inventive and colorful car chase with a battered Citroen instead of a tech-heavy Lotus, a ski/motorcycle chase filled with incredible stuntwork, a breathtaking rock climbing sequence (but bring jummars next time, fella)...the humans are the special effects in this one. And they've kept me watching it more than any other Bond flick.
The elegant and pensive Bond girl, Carole Bouquet, carries out her role with understated panache and is tremendously attractive and sympathetic. She even saves a few lives instead of screaming for help. If only the producers could always figure out the benefits of a Bond girl who's a real human being. As a Greek smuggler, Topol plants his tongue firmly in cheek the whole time and almost goes over the top, but he gets a great sequence assaulting an Albanian warehouse.
The plot is touch-and-go (mostly go), the disco score is dated, and the figure skating character played by Lynn-Holly Johnson is a waste of time. But the reliance on actual characters and human skill instead of shallow computerized action sequences can't be beat, and the cinematography team had a field day.
A flawed but delightful film with a lot to teach future Bond productions. Let's hope they learn from it.
Manos: The Hands of Fate
(1966)
Everything you need to know...
20 January 2002
...about how not to make a movie. Seriously. Don't write it, direct it, edit it, block it, or cast it like this. Don't use similar sets, costumes, or props. Don't use this type of camera, sound recording, or film stock. In fact, this movie is so educational, I consider it a classic. Should be shown the first week of film school to make students feel better about their initial efforts. I know that I hope and pray no one will ever see my first film, and it was still better than this.
Even the MST3K guys had a hard time coming up with wisecracks. At least Plan 9 looked as though one or two adults held a camera. This one looks like some fifth graders went out and shot random footage, then cobbled it all together in an order that was meant to be coherent, but wasn't. Thank God I was born after this dreck was filmed, so my generation can't be held morally responsible.
Even the MST3K guys had a hard time coming up with wisecracks. At least Plan 9 looked as though one or two adults held a camera. This one looks like some fifth graders went out and shot random footage, then cobbled it all together in an order that was meant to be coherent, but wasn't. Thank God I was born after this dreck was filmed, so my generation can't be held morally responsible.
Cutthroat Island
(1995)
35 swashbuckling fans say "Forget it!"
3 January 2002
As a female fencing coach, I am one of the biggest swashbuckling movie fans anywhere. I watched this movie in a room full of 35 other fencers, many of whom love to dress up as pirates and do sword demonstrations at history fairs. These are people who have seen every swashbuckler ever made, and relish even mediocre fantasy and sword movies just for the action.
And we all hated Cutthroat Island, if you can say "hated" when we were laughing so hard we thought our sides would burst. To top off the nonexistent script and lifeless acting, the film appears to have been directed and edited by untrained ten year olds.
This one was given the real MST3K treatment at our annual fencers' Xmas party, and none of us are snobby critics. We love a good pirate story well told. This wasn't it.
And we all hated Cutthroat Island, if you can say "hated" when we were laughing so hard we thought our sides would burst. To top off the nonexistent script and lifeless acting, the film appears to have been directed and edited by untrained ten year olds.
This one was given the real MST3K treatment at our annual fencers' Xmas party, and none of us are snobby critics. We love a good pirate story well told. This wasn't it.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
(1988 TV Movie)
Disappointing
28 December 2001
A very disappointing entry in the usually superb Granada TV series of Sherlock Holmes stories starring Jeremy Brett. The script bypasses or underplays the most suspenseful elements in the story, the directing and editing are awkward and slow, and the actors seem uncharacteristically wooden. It almost seems as if Brett's illness caused the rest of the production team to feel exhausted by osmosis. Too bad, as this was just the right group of people to pull it off.
Seven Dials Mystery
(1981 TV Movie)
Charming bit of fluff
17 December 2001
I saw this version of one of Agatha Christie's earliest, and fluffiest, stories when it was first broadcast in 1982, and remembered it so well as an adult that I was delighted to find it in a video store.
The plot doesn't recount well - basically, several outrageously wealthy young aristocrats amuse themselves by chasing after a secret society called the Seven Dials. But the pace moves right along, and the oh-so-British styling is wonderful, including discreet foreign policy dealings amid cards and cocktails at country house parties (populated by perfectly-coiffed young ladies in flapper dresses, of course).
Not for everyone, but British mystery buffs will eat it up. 1920's obsessives will also want to see this one just for the gorgeous costuming and a series of stunning vintage cars that look as though someone raided a Concours d'Elegance just for this film.
The plot doesn't recount well - basically, several outrageously wealthy young aristocrats amuse themselves by chasing after a secret society called the Seven Dials. But the pace moves right along, and the oh-so-British styling is wonderful, including discreet foreign policy dealings amid cards and cocktails at country house parties (populated by perfectly-coiffed young ladies in flapper dresses, of course).
Not for everyone, but British mystery buffs will eat it up. 1920's obsessives will also want to see this one just for the gorgeous costuming and a series of stunning vintage cars that look as though someone raided a Concours d'Elegance just for this film.
Topsy-Turvy
(1999)
Delightful!
4 December 2001
A delightful and wholly original approach to both biography and the exploration of the creative process, focusing on Gilbert and Sullivan's rocky road to "The Mikado." Director Mike Leigh's usual technique is to have his actors create their dialogue during rehearsals, and here the result is more a series of vignettes than a straight narrative. Most of these moments are illuminating - pay close attention to the costume fitting scenes - but others stray rather far from the point and drag out the length without adding much. (One of the earliest of these, a scene involving topless women, was probably responsible for the film's R rating, which is a shame.)
Overall, however, the combination of long, leisurely takes and meticulous costuming and art direction is totally involving. This is the first film I've seen which truly made me feel that I was standing in the characters' living room while they conversed.
Not for fans of MTV - Leigh is not afraid of holding the camera in place for five minutes - but worth seeing just for the six different degrees of "Ah HA!" on Gilbert's face moments after inspiration literally hits.
Overall, however, the combination of long, leisurely takes and meticulous costuming and art direction is totally involving. This is the first film I've seen which truly made me feel that I was standing in the characters' living room while they conversed.
Not for fans of MTV - Leigh is not afraid of holding the camera in place for five minutes - but worth seeing just for the six different degrees of "Ah HA!" on Gilbert's face moments after inspiration literally hits.
Heat of the Sun
(1998)
Wonderful idea, uneven execution
23 November 2001
What a wonderful series concept! A streetwise, professional Scotland Yard detective is exiled to decadent Nairobi colonial society in 1931, and charged with enforcing rules among people who have fled England specifically to avoid them. Before he's even started his first day, the tough but idealistic Superintendent Tyburn has managed to subdue three abusive, upper class drunks and haul them to jail on the back of his luggage wagon, only to find that one of them is the nephew of the governor. And that's just the beginning...
Heat of the Sun displays the wonderful British acting and production values that make public television viewers so spoiled. The art direction and costuming are excellent, truly capturing a sense of Kenya in the 1930's, and the actors nail their parts down, especially Trevor Eve as Superintendent Tyburn and Susannah Harker as the independent bush pilot Emma Fitzgerald.
Unfortunately, the production is hobbled by uneven writing and directing, which may help account for why the series never continued beyond three 2-hour stories. The writers introduce far too much plot and not enough character. People talk about themselves instead of showing who they are. In a glorious atmosphere like this one, I want to know more about these people and how they came here - the flaming homosexual, the literate African constable, the Jewish doctor and the Sikh forensics expert - but the script rarely gives more than a shallow glimpse before bolting on to the next plot twist. As a result, the stories often feel flat, like cardboard characters are marching through a mystery novel.
Some of the directors need to go back to film school. The first episode shows no sense of shot size or angle; people are framed way too tightly and the camera often swirls around Tyburn even when someone else is speaking. Shots don't flow together because actors are looking at slightly different angles to the camera. And so on.
But on the whole, the great sense of atmosphere manages to carry this series far above the mundane. I really hope to see a sequel; just nail down the details next time, and this series could be a classic.
Heat of the Sun displays the wonderful British acting and production values that make public television viewers so spoiled. The art direction and costuming are excellent, truly capturing a sense of Kenya in the 1930's, and the actors nail their parts down, especially Trevor Eve as Superintendent Tyburn and Susannah Harker as the independent bush pilot Emma Fitzgerald.
Unfortunately, the production is hobbled by uneven writing and directing, which may help account for why the series never continued beyond three 2-hour stories. The writers introduce far too much plot and not enough character. People talk about themselves instead of showing who they are. In a glorious atmosphere like this one, I want to know more about these people and how they came here - the flaming homosexual, the literate African constable, the Jewish doctor and the Sikh forensics expert - but the script rarely gives more than a shallow glimpse before bolting on to the next plot twist. As a result, the stories often feel flat, like cardboard characters are marching through a mystery novel.
Some of the directors need to go back to film school. The first episode shows no sense of shot size or angle; people are framed way too tightly and the camera often swirls around Tyburn even when someone else is speaking. Shots don't flow together because actors are looking at slightly different angles to the camera. And so on.
But on the whole, the great sense of atmosphere manages to carry this series far above the mundane. I really hope to see a sequel; just nail down the details next time, and this series could be a classic.
A Fistful of Dollars
(1964)
Interesting first try
11 November 2001
Unfortunately, I saw Yojimbo before seeing this Western remake, so comparisons are inevitable. Yojimbo is one of the most tightly constructed films ever made; not a frame or word of dialogue is included unless it has a specific purpose.
Fistful of Dollars is not so tight. Obvious points get re-established too many times; some scenes and verbal exchanges don't accomplish anything; some camera angles look like the director was guessing. Also, the extreme closeups get monotonous after a while, and too many shots don't flow together in the final cut.
But as an early effort, this is remarkable, especially in the bold determination to create a different type of Western than what had come before. Worth seeing in tandem with Yojimbo to see directors' different visions.
Fistful of Dollars is not so tight. Obvious points get re-established too many times; some scenes and verbal exchanges don't accomplish anything; some camera angles look like the director was guessing. Also, the extreme closeups get monotonous after a while, and too many shots don't flow together in the final cut.
But as an early effort, this is remarkable, especially in the bold determination to create a different type of Western than what had come before. Worth seeing in tandem with Yojimbo to see directors' different visions.
Yojimbo
(1961)
Sensational!
11 November 2001
If I had to choose only one movie for film students to learn from, this would be it. Other films may be more profound, or their imagery more groundbreaking, but this one is so tightly constructed that nothing - not a frame, word, or gesture - is extraneous.
Toshiro Mifune, one of the world's most charismatic actors, is perfection as a tough loner of a samurai who takes it upon himself to clean up a town corrupted by two gambling clans. Swirling through and around him is a story that is both technically flawless and profoundly moving.
Kurosawa meticulously infuses every detail with meaning; there's a purpose behind every shot, and aspiring directors should pay close attention (why is the camera slightly tilted? why are there concubines in the background?). His economy of style was never more amazing; watch as the samurai rides into town, and the director establishes the atmosphere with exactly one jaw-dropping shot. And the story is equally well-crafted, with no plot holes and no inconsistencies.
A wonderful tale that rolls beautifully from start to finish. See it, see it, see it!!
Toshiro Mifune, one of the world's most charismatic actors, is perfection as a tough loner of a samurai who takes it upon himself to clean up a town corrupted by two gambling clans. Swirling through and around him is a story that is both technically flawless and profoundly moving.
Kurosawa meticulously infuses every detail with meaning; there's a purpose behind every shot, and aspiring directors should pay close attention (why is the camera slightly tilted? why are there concubines in the background?). His economy of style was never more amazing; watch as the samurai rides into town, and the director establishes the atmosphere with exactly one jaw-dropping shot. And the story is equally well-crafted, with no plot holes and no inconsistencies.
A wonderful tale that rolls beautifully from start to finish. See it, see it, see it!!
Octopussy
(1983)
Everything and the kitchen sink!
8 November 2001
The only Bond film with such a loopy plot that I watched it twice and still couldn't figure out what was happening - but the fact that I watched it twice shows you that it was entertaining anyway.
Winner of the "everything and the kitchen sink" award for the widest variety of crazy events ever to occur in a single Bond film, this one throws everything at you - Faberge eggs, Indian marketplaces, old fashioned circus performers, nuclear weapons, boats disguised as crocodiles, manhunts using elephants, and dozens of gorgeous women dressed as acrobats and belly dancers. It's utterly nuts. The plot makes absolutely no sense and the acting is hit or miss, but it has enough high spirits to carry it past defects.
My main criticisms would be that it's at least 20 minutes too long, it gets slow in spots, and it tends to go over the top in ways that lose the audience. There's also a crucial plot twist about 3/4 of the way through which is underlit and badly edited, so you can't tell what's happening and get lost for the rest of the film (if you aren't already).
But if you have lots of practice in suspending major disbelief, then invite your friends, make plenty of popcorn, and have fun.
Winner of the "everything and the kitchen sink" award for the widest variety of crazy events ever to occur in a single Bond film, this one throws everything at you - Faberge eggs, Indian marketplaces, old fashioned circus performers, nuclear weapons, boats disguised as crocodiles, manhunts using elephants, and dozens of gorgeous women dressed as acrobats and belly dancers. It's utterly nuts. The plot makes absolutely no sense and the acting is hit or miss, but it has enough high spirits to carry it past defects.
My main criticisms would be that it's at least 20 minutes too long, it gets slow in spots, and it tends to go over the top in ways that lose the audience. There's also a crucial plot twist about 3/4 of the way through which is underlit and badly edited, so you can't tell what's happening and get lost for the rest of the film (if you aren't already).
But if you have lots of practice in suspending major disbelief, then invite your friends, make plenty of popcorn, and have fun.
Tell Your Friends