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Gulliver's Travels (1939)
30s animation conventions - plus and minus
When I watched this, I understood how my college-age students sometimes feel when we show them a film from before the 1970s - the conventions are so different that it's hard to maintain patience in some places. My DVD - Marathon Music&Video - is not top quality, so the restoration doesn't do much to unfade original colors - but even with this taken into consideration, some parts are just too slow or pointless to me.
I do like some of the conventions - the Capraesque use of individual faces in crowds - the more stylized, less natural drawing style, the plasticity of the bodies. I tell my students that good movies teach you how to watch them, if they don't resist too much. But I don't ask them to ignore that resistance either. You can't reach across a barrier if you don't acknowledge its presence. So if you're going to watch this, don't expect to be moved in the same way that "The Lion King," say, moves you. Try to relax, and accept the occasional doldrums. There's enough here to satisfy some aesthetic needs.
House of Bamboo (1955)
Fuller in Japan, with Hitchcockian flourishes
I haven't yet seen 'Street w No Name,' but will soon - can't imagine that it holds a candle to this film though. I really love the Hitchcockian elements, esp. the bullet-riddled climax in a very public place. Some really exquisite shots, sometimes tracking back with a character, revealing more and more background. A beautiful overhead shot, also Hitchcock-inspired, when Robert Ryan's gang boss discovers the truth about one of his gang, and then immediately a really interesting entrance by him into the billiards room where rest of his gang is waiting for orders. He could really compose effective wide-screen images. The development of Ryan's character is thoroughly satisfying in its psychological detail - Fuller takes full advantage of Ryan's intimidating persona, as well as his intelligence and charisma. I also really appreciated the respect Fuller had for Japanese culture, not at all colonialist. And his dealing with 'inter-racial' romance has just the right subtlety of touch. I've been a Wenders-inspired fan of Sam Fuller for quite a few years now, and this will surely become one of my favorite Fuller movies.