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duminică, 17 noiembrie 2024

Gladiator (2000)

 INTO THE ARENA*

Alin Ludu Dumbrava / Art & Roll, 2000.  Pus acum aici pentru comparatie cu Gladiator II. 

Filme de acest gen nu se mai fac de 35 de ani incoace. Costul unor asemenea superproductii (numite de italieni Peplum si de americani Toga and Sandals movies) era imens -figuranti, costume, decoruri, staruri, cai, pirotehnie. Lovitura de gratie a dat-o Cleopatra (1963), un urias esec de public, cel mai scump film al vremii sale, cel care si-a falimentat producatorii in asa hal incit Hollyood-ul a pus definitiv sub cheie genul. Cele mai bune mostre ale acestui gen de spectacol cinematografic sunt Ben-Hur (William Wyler, 1959), Caderea imperiului roman (Anthony Mann, 1964)si Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 1960). Asta pina la Gladiator. Pentru ca filmul lui Ridley Scott este mai mult decit un simplu peplum si se ridica net peste ele.


"Are you not entertained? "

Scott este un regizor baroc, acuzat mereu de detractorii sai pentru simtul sau acut vizual in detrimentul actorilor si al naratiunii. Dupa o cariera furtunoasa, plina de esecuri de public si certuri cu producatori lipsiti de viziune, Scott revine in forta cu un film care incheie mileniul in ideea ca de doua mii de ani incoace nu s-a schimbat mai nimic pe pamint. Colosseum-ul lui Scott este arena eterna, cea in care publicul spectator vrea senzatii tari, adrenalina, piine si circ. Este si ceea ce a ajuns cinematograful azi, o disfunctie intre arta si industrie, menita sa recupereze cu orice pret banii investiti si sa scoata din amorteala si rutina zilnica rontaitorii de popcorn. Lectia lui Scott din 2000 A.D. este ca se poate face un film pe care sa-l aclame publicul mic si mijlociu dar si criticii si cinefilii impatimiti. Pentru ca Gladiator este spectacolul pur, epic, maiestuos, cinema 100 %. Si mai mult, o sarja mascata a artistului impotriva unui sistem de mercenariat, in care intri in arena, te umpli de glorie si apoi multimea te uita imediat. La fel ca in Hollywood, unde esti vedeta pina la urmatorul film. Daca acesta e un esec, esti deja o glorie trecuta. Intreaga cariera a lui Scott a stat sub acest semn, fara premii, fara elogii, fara libertatea de a crea liber. Ridley Scott este Russell Crowe, gladiatorul care sta in arena si urla multimii insetate de singe, “acum sunteti multumiti?”. In arena realizezi ca poftele umane sunt mereu aceleasi de la prima caverna la primul pas in cosmos, sex si violenta, cit mai mult sex si cit mai multa violenta. Lumea in care traim a uitat definitiv maximele lui Marcus Aurelius (un Richard Harris in amurg), visele, nobletea. “Ce e Roma? -Un vis…” Replicile din film l-ar face invidios si pe Shakespeare. “Ceea ce facem in aceasta viata dainuie in eternitate”. Asta e si menirea artistului, a creatorului de cinema adevarat, ce va rezista mai mult decit o vara in box-office-uri. Oliver Reed primeste un ultim rol extraordinar, simbolic- Proximo, simbolul actorului care stie care e pretul gloriei. El stie cum poti sa-ti cumperi libertatea-trebuie sa cistigi multimea. In arena. Orice fel de arena, fie ea o scena de concert rock, un miting electoral, un ecran de cinema. Gladiator este o meditatie asupra a ceea ce se numeste showbusiness, punind accent pe mirajul pe care il exercita orice scena luminata asupra multimii.

Daca in martie 2001 Gladiator va lua sau nu cel putin cinci Oscaruri, (NA: si a luat exact 5, dar Scott nu, si asta eramarea lui sansa, da, as always, some movies direct themselves..) aceasta se va datora nu mesajului filmului si nici calitatilor sale cinematografice, ci faptului ca a fost un succes extraordinar, de public si apreciere generala. That’s showbiz, and there’s no business like showbusiness. Odata in viata Ridley Scott a iesit cistigator. In arena. Pe acordurile cele mai simfonice pe care le-a compus vreodata Hans Zimmer. Lights, camera, action: Give’em Hell! Pina la urmatoarea lupta: Cut!

ALD

*titlul vine de la o piesa de Michael Shenker, which I love(d).

5 stele din 5 !  (azi, NA, 2024 m-as duce la 9, pentru tot mambojambo-ul cu acel complot debil)

DVD director's cut, nu merita pentru ce in plus. More like deleted scenes. 171 mins vs. originalul la 155. L-am dat la Cinemateca Patria in 2014. 

vineri, 5 ianuarie 2024

Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

Starting this year with a question ;):

Why is the poster of Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia on the wall in True Detective season 2, episode 8, Omega Station, in still photographer Leonard/Lenny's room? Are there supposed to be influences on Nic Pizziolatto's work from the (then) infamous one-of-a-kind Peckinpah master work? At least is noticed on the wikipedia page of the film. 

                                                                          "Do I get paid?" 


Weird occurences made me to get to finally rewatch and revisit what is considered to be Sam Peckinpah's most personal film (and I agree with 'em). Oh, how I was looking for this in the 90's and it finally broadcasted on a shittiest copy on Acasa TV (!!!!), and we copied it on vhs. Then some muddy DVD came out. Now it's all restored beautifully in 4K. And available!!! Also on Critterion Collection. You can even watch the whole film on youtube here.



"NOBODY LOSES ALL THE TIME"

Warren Oates as washed-up piano player Bennie plays basically Bloody Sam, sunglasses included.
Also it's a great film about "that " Mexico, with shades of Los Olvidados, The Treasure of Sierra Madre and Under the Volcano.

******
During a career that was blighted by studio interference, Peckinpah would later say that Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia was the only which ended up exactly as he wanted: “I did it exactly the way I wanted to. Good or bad, like it or not, that was my film.” And it was. This is as close to ‘Pure Peckinpah’ as it gets – beautiful, violent, troubling, heartbreaking, astonishing.
(Arrow Video on their restored DVD)


marți, 15 august 2023

Sympathy for the Devil (2023)

The great contender for The Nicolas Cage Award of 2023 is this thriller in which The Cage eats and chews scenery more than Gary Oldman in the 2003 Tony Scott BMW film Beat the Devil with James Brown. I mean Cage is great as Dracula in Renfield but that movie sucked :( bigtime also. 

The only bummer with Sympathy for the Devil (2023)is it features no Rolling Stones song. Not even a cover. Well, the director, Yuval Adler, said it would've cost more than is post production budget...It has a great song and a great moment in Fat City by Alan Vega, Alex Chilton and Ben Vaughn from their Cubist Blues Sessions that reminded me of the vibe and the score in Wild at Heart (1990) though.


Cage opposite restrained Joel Kinnaman

Definetly a real summer (& winter) treat ! 
TBC






vineri, 27 ianuarie 2023

Au hasard Balthasar (1966)

One of cinema's top masterpieces is on HBO Max (wtf, together with Romanian Netflix these must be the most Arthouse streaming services in the world!!!). Au hasard Balthasar (1966) is Robert Bresson tragic story of a donkey and the girl who befriends him (Anne Wiazemsky in her film debut, she later encountered -and married- Godard and that story is told in in Le Redoutable, she also wrote a book about her experience on this film, 'Petite fille')


It's Dostoievski's The Idiot put on Schubert's music (Piano Sonata no. 20 in A Major, II Andantino) , in pure black and white. One of the saddest films ever made but also one of the most beautiful. And if you don't love a donkey... (Colin Farrell knows, see The Banshees of Inisherin and weep...) 
And I can't wait to see Jerzy Skolimowski take on the donkey tale in EO (2022) !!!

Also on Romanian HBO Max there are other 3 films by Bresson (courtesy of Argos Films), all classics and voted masterpieces by the film lovers of the world 60 years ago....so, do yourself a service if you are true film buff and watch them.

Pickpocket (1959)

The Trial of Jeanne D'Arc/Procès de Jeanne d'Arc (1962)

Mouchette (1967)


I remember (and will never forget) the days (& nights) we were hunting those from Criterion Collection....The world was purer when everything was not at a touch of a button on your remote, when you had to walk for miles to catch on a good film, book or album...I know, I'm just old ;)                      ...but trust me on what Bresson pointed with this film, 'We are all Balthasars'...sooner or later, you're IT...

miercuri, 23 noiembrie 2022

Ruben Östlund talks about his favorite films

 Ruben Östlund talks here (or direct link below) about his favorite films, etc. With the occasion of French release of Triangle of Sadness (my review here), named en francais 'Sans filtre'.

He also names as one of his favorite films Godard's Sympathy for the Devil (One+One), of which I recently wrote on the Godard tribute here. Intersting to see he apreciates Annette (on my top of 2021 here),as well as Parasite and Roy Andersson, and that made ski films before he went to film school.

This is a great programme that takes directors into a video (DVD) shop in Paris. Konbini Video club.

You can also check other episodes, Cronenberg, Argento or Brad Pitt )



marți, 1 noiembrie 2022

The Eagle Has Landed (1976)

¬This never happened.It dit not occur¬

TEHL/ The Eagle Has Landed (1976) is the last film directed by the Magificent Seven's John Sturges, as a fare to get more fishing money. That's what I've read now and I am sad about this-he didn't care about the post production at all, but the film still stands up, and it's a joyride!

The plot to kidnap Winston Churchill by a band of condamned German paratroopers in England in 1943...wow! Solid script by Tom Mankiewicz, based on a novel by Brtish writer Jack Higgins. 

It is one of my guilty pleasures:  faved ww tales of what if (Where Eagles Dare, Eye of the Needle,  Kelly's Heroes)  and the multi million studio bound all star cast  A Bridge too Far was made at the same time)

Rober Duvall pulls a lookalike heavy Stauftenberg, how the F*** the got him?, grand accent), reddish Donald Sutherland as Devlin, an Irish IRA member seems to have much fuun,

It stars also Donlad Pleasence as Himmler, and Anthony Quayle has a cameo as adimral Canaris, we dont get the fuhrer but we get his signature :)

and Jenny Agutter, yes:)

Michael Caine as colonel  Karl Steiner, the same Steiner that shows up in The Iron Cross and Steiner Iron Cross Part 2, played by James Coburn (great in Peckinph's only war movie), and Richard Burton in a gimme gin gig, how the heck the only German name is Steiner for all these?


and Larry Hagman, well J.r. as a commaning American officer with a moustache...

I bet Tarantino loves this...

Sir Micharel Caine said it and I was shattered..BS

In his autobiography, Sir Michael Caine confessed to being somewhat disappointed with the end product: "The picture was being directed by the Hollywood old-timer John Sturges, and we were all very pleased that this illustrious veteran had agreed to direct our film. That is, until one day when I was talking to him between set-ups and he informed me that, now that he was older, he only ever worked to get the money to go fishing, which was his passion. Deep-sea fishing off Baja, California, he added, which was very expensive. The moment the picture finished, he took the money and went. Producer Jack S. Wiener later told me that he never came back for the editing nor for any of the other post-production sessions that are where a director does some of his most important work. The picture wasn't bad, but I still get angry when I think of what it could have been with the right director. We had committed the old European sin of being impressed by someone, just because he came from Hollywood."
I was too, to find out this in 2022 :(

so Anne Coates (the editor) did the movie...

I also love the Lalo Schifrin score and

this gets better every time i revisit it.

It's now on you tube , you can watch it here -until it vanishes :)


Why the plot failed? 

¬I thought my plot failed cos' one of my man died saving the little girl over there¬

Steiner

I still think it's a great fun film and they don't do them like that anymore :( Caine, Duvall,Sutherland, Lalo, Sturges all in one, you gotta treasure that, it was 44 years ago...The Eagle had landed all right (remember the Saxon live album cover as well).

7 out ot 10, 3 1/2 out of five (would be a six but, hey :)




marți, 23 iunie 2020

The Double Man (1967)



Dan Slater (Brynner): May I ski with you?

Gina Ericson (Eklund): No.

Dan Slater: Why?

Gina Ericson: Because I prefer to ski alone.

Dan Slater: But, it's safer to ski with someone. It says so in the book.

Gina Ericson: I'm afraid we don't read the same books.



Another one to Catch-up, this one for Franklyn J. Schaffner, whose films I”ve been revisiting lately (Lionheart, The Boys from Brazil, Sphynx). The Double Man is a dark gritty spy thriller that precedes the skiing adventures of James Bond !  It was shot and came out one year before On Her Majesty”s Secret Service (1969). The (aerial) cameraman John Jordan worked on both of them and died tragically during the shoot of Catch 22 in 1969. He was just 44. The skiing is just beautiful and is a major part in the plot, cable car and night skiing and chases, shot of course some on day-for-night.
The Double Man (1967)
Filmed in location in Tyrol in Austria, specifically in the St. Anton resort.
Yul Brynner (CIA”s Dan Slater) plays a double part as in title, the effects are well done, they stand even today.
It's Sweed beauty Brit Ekland”s 1st part in an international important studio film (WB), after After the Fox on which she was put by her hubby, Peter Sellers. Her character is also named Gina, this time not Romantica :), but Ericson.
Clive Revill has a nice a secondary straight part and Anton Diffring is the German antagonist working for the Russians.
Also good atmospheric score by Ernie Freeman, unknown composer to me.
7 ******* out of 10 !
3 1/2 out of FIVE !

marți, 16 iunie 2020

Les Aventuriers (1967)

LES AVENURIERS (1967)  is one of my favourite films, at least French films or Alain Delon flicks, even though I haven't seen it in my childhood, Only in the late 90's !!!
It puts together with great effect Alain Delon with Lino Ventura, as they were reuntited as opposites in Le Clan des siciliens  two years later, another masterwork which I yearned all my childhood to see and only saw in my twenties. 
Alain Delon and Lino Ventura in Les aventuriers (1967)

Based on a novel by the great Jose Giovanni (Le Trou, Le deuxieme Souffle as screenwiter, later on a directror on its own ramge), from which Enrico used only the 1st part (Giovanni used the second part as his directorial debut, next year, La Loi du Survivant).
A young woman encounters two excentric friends, Manu and Roland, one an aviator, another one a car enthusiast. After many (mis)adventures, they stumble into a plot of a loot, a lost plane, submerged somewhere near Congo, with a treasure in it, diamonds and gold. 
So, in brief, it's a one of a kind, and one of the greatest films no one got to see. In English it was called The Last Adventure and was released in the US by Universal as a double bill, so it went totally unnoticed.
Les aventuriers (1967)
I saw it has 10 critic reviews on imdb, so this would be the 11th cos I nee to write about this, especailly with the love for the director, Robert Enrico, whose son, Jerome, also a director I meeet many years ago (well, no so many, in 2012 or 2013 in Cluj, at Comedy Cluj festival, and we spent an entire night tight to the bar discussing the films of his father, also The Old Gun/Le Vieux Fusil, which I saw as a kind on Romanian communist Television, Great and tough war movie and revenge film, And Le Boulevard du Rhum, also with Lino Venura. And Les Grandes Gueules, with Lino Ventura :) and Bourvil !
Alain Delon, Joanna Shimkus, and Lino Ventura in Les aventuriers (1967)

greatness, found the Romanian posters of the film, Robert Enrico is billed Roberto on both of them !

Les aventuriers (1967)
and the alternative poster too, still Roberto !!!
One of the major ingredients in the film is the wonderful music by Francois de Roubaix, a marvelous French composer who died very young, in a diving accident in 1975 when he was only 36 years old. The coincidence with the diving scenes in this film, they were done by his father, here credited with special effects (his only credit of this sort, as he did the underwater scenes), short educational film director (and producer) Paul De Roubainx, who survived him and died at 90 in 2004 !
***
Les Aventuriers has a very curious and particular pace, sort of a Nouvelle Vague rhythm, and a triangle relationship between Delon, Ventura and a very young Joanna Shimkus,  a la Jules and Jim, maybe lifted from there and here by William Goldman for the script of Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid-always thought that Kathrine Ross' character is a lift from the French films. 
Canadian Joanna Shimkus, who went to become Sidney Poitier's wife, was cast as the title character Zita in the next Enrico film, in 1968, Tante Zita. 
Also the film features Serge Regianni as the pilot and Euro-character actor Hans Meyer as the mercenary. The final and climatic act is shot in the now famous Fort Boyard (due to the TV show), which I always wanted to see just because of this movie !
It;s one of Joe Dante's favourite films and he recalls about it in the Trailers from hell section, about cult movies, calling it  a Hidden gem. Which is what it is.
10 out of 10, 5 stars out of FIVE
**********
Alain Delon, Joanna Shimkus, and Lino Ventura in Les aventuriers (1967)

*
I heard this was remade in Japan in 1974 as The Homeless/Yadonashi, though Giovanni is not credited. Also in Russia in 2014 as The Adventurers/ Avantyuristi.  But like that it was lifted also for Into the Blue (2005), another sunken cargo /airplane film.  
**
It also has a sort of sequel, in Le Ruffian, made by Jose Giovanni in 1983, also with Lino Ventura, about a sunken treasure, this time in Canada. 

vineri, 22 februarie 2019

Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)

The Black Belly of the Tarantula (La tarantola dal ventre nero) is considered one of the superior giallos. And it\s been staying in my Giallo B collection for at least ten years since I saw it now. And now I can concur. It is.
A film by Paulo Cavara who might be unknown now but he worked on the Mondo Cane movies.
Music by Ennio Morricone, conducted by Bruno Nicolai
Uncommon for the giallos of the perios the protagonist is a police inspector, played by an "unual suspect" of giallo genre, a very young Giancarlo Giannini.
The very hot blonde Barabara Bouchet is killed in the very beginning and the also very hot future Bond girl and mrs. Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach is killed later, and she shows up just a few minutes, enough to undress and..be of course stabbed to death...The real two female protagonists of the film are Claudine Auger, a deja Bond girl -in Thunderball- and Stefania Sandrelli (Il Conformista).
Shot with plenty of zooms by Marcello Gatti, who filmed Battle of Algiers, Quiemada/Burn and Ogro fpr Pontecuorvo, A\L'anonimo Veneziano, The Salamander and la Piovra for TV !
a great chase on the rooftops is the highlight except the MO of the murders which remind a Tarantula being killed by a black WASP !
format -1.85 :1
Barbara Bach, Barbara Bouchet, and Giancarlo Giannini in La tarantola dal ventre nero (1971)
3 1/2 -7 out of 10 !

vineri, 16 februarie 2018

Images (1972)

Nu stiu cum de mi-a scapat acest film obscur si singular al lui Robert Altman, IMAGES.
Credeam ca l-am vazut dsi tin minte ca a fost considerat pierdut negativul si am ajuns acum la el dupa ce am recuperat The Killing of Sister George via Susannah York. Ea a scris cartea pentru copii din care citeaza in film, un psychothriller despre o scriitoare schizofrena-York, care a luat pentru rol premiul pentru cea mai buna actrita la festivalul de la Cannes in 1972.
Colaboratorii sai la film sunt impecabili, Vilmos Zsigmond la imagine (in Panavision superb) , Graeme Cifford -montaj,  scenograful lui Altman, Leon Ericksen si John Williams compozitorul muzicii (nominalizata la Oscar). Rezulta un film cel putin ciudat cu un sound design strident facut de percutionistul japonez Stomu Yamashta (care a facut score-ul la The Man Who Fell to Earth). Muzica si sound designul, creepy (o gasiti aici) plus zoom-urile lui Zsigmond, locatia irlandeza, creaza atmosfera suficienta pentru un curio film cult in cinci personaje-actorii au numele reale in film dar incurcate intre ele la fel ca si Cathryn/Susannah-Cathryn Harrison, alter-ego si barbatii--Marcel Bozzuffi -Rene, Rene Auberjonois-Hugh, Hugh Miliais-Marcel.
pt clues v. si puzzle-ul cu uniconi din cartea cu povesti. Inspiaratia majora a lui Altman la film este Persona (1966) lui Bergman.
cred ca filmul creste in vizionari repetate si sigur pe ecran mare !
3 stele din 5 6  din 10 !
Images (1972)
dvd din 2003 la MGM cu extras- documentar Imagining 'Images' de 25 de min despre productie.
Intreg filmul se gaseste pe youtube aici
Images apare pe dvd blu ray pe 30 martie 2018 (arrow academy), cu un nou transfer 4K, comentariu audio, comentariu de scena cu Altman si interviu cu el.

amanunte aici !


si un soi de trailer:

miercuri, 14 februarie 2018

Don't Turn the Other Cheek (1971)

¡Viva la muerte... tua! (original title) sau titlul american cu double entendeur
Don't Turn the Other Cheek (1971)
Franco Nero, Eli Wallach, Lynn Redgrave si revolutia mexicana ~~o comedie western de Duccio Tessari (Zorro), in care regalul este Eli Wallach, bandistul mexican Max Oyola, un riff direct la rolul lui Tuco dn The Good The Bad and the Ugly !¡Viva la muerte... tua! (1971)

miercuri, 31 ianuarie 2018

Twelve plus One (1969)

12 + 1 (1969)
O comedie a l'ítalienne absolut inegala s-a dovedit a fi ultimul film al superbei si tragicei blonde Sharon Tate, care avea 26 de ani atunci cind a fost omorita, pe 9 august 1969. Pina la filmul lui Tarantino (unde se pare ca o va juca Margot Robbie) si pina ce nu il dau afara pe Roman Polanski din AMPAS  :( am recuperat (catch-up) un curio absolut, filmul lui Nicolas Gessner (si Luciano Lucignani necreditat), 12+1, (sau Una su 13 in italiano), titlul original fiind Thirteen (si schimbat din cauza premonitiei funeste, filmul a iesit in octombrie 1969, dupa moartea ei), este adaptarea neortodoxa a romanului-cult de Ilf si Petrov (a cita?, si facuta cam in acelasi timp cu proiectul lui Mel Brooks, Twelve Chairs-1970), aici in swingin London, New York si prin Italia, cu un Vittorio Gassman in rolul lui Mario, un Gassman viril si fermecator la 47 de ani, mostenitorul turbat sa gaseasca comoara lasata de matusa sa in scaunele cu pricina, care se asociaza cu Sharon Tate+pat, care are lista cumparatorilot.
Tulburator e faptul ca Sharon Tate era in luna a treia gravida la inceputul filmarilor (martie 1969, Cinecitta, Roma) si apare topless in 2 secvente, o frintura de cadru, asa ca aceste scene au fost filmete primele. Si mai tulbuator e ultimul cadru (care intr-unele versiuni a fost scos cu totul), in care Gassman cu barba si parul vilvoi,  seamana cu Charles Manson !
Participa Orson Welles intr-unul din neumaratele sale roluri by the numbres, pentru trabucuri si vin,  aici actorul Maurice Markau intr-o piesa unde este Dr. Jeckyl si Mr. Hyde, certamente highlight-ul filmului !
Plus Terry-Thomas (5 minute, sofer de camion), Vittorio De Sica (un aristocrat italian), Ottavia Piccolo (nepoata sa) John Steiner (custode englez), si blonda Mylene Demogeot (de la part de Fantomas).
Muzica vesela de Carlo Rustichelli.
vazut versiunea italiana, dublata,.
**1/2 din 5, 5 din 10

duminică, 28 ianuarie 2018

Dreamscape (1984)

cum de am ratat acest film, noroc ca am dat peste dvd intr-un vraf si l-am pus la verificat...
Dreamscape e un soi de Pre-Inception very eighties, si in mod surprinzator regizat de Jospeh Ruben, ale carui filme sunt in cel mai bun caz neinteresante, aici in good taste si full mode (urmarirea cu motocicileta pe hipodrom, set-upul visului -cosmar post-atomic). Reminiscent de un alt produs al epocii, Dead Zone, si de genul psychic/telekinetic explosion -Scanners, Carrie, The Fury, Spontanious Combustion, Firestarter, si conotatii cu Brainstorm si chiar cu seria Nightmare on Elm Street, dar in mod interesant, dupa un senariu original-David Loughery, Chuck Russell si Ruben.
Muzica popsynth (ciudatel pentru compozitor dar alegere buna) de Maurice Jarre.
Distributie, Dennis Quiad in his prime -smart, a la Harrison Ford, un savant Max Von Sydow, un evil Christopher Plummer, Eddie Albert ca presedintele Americii si o sexy Kate Capshaw inca pre-Mrs. Spielberg. Si mai ales baddie influentat de Bruce Lee, David Patrick Kelly of the Warriors fame.
Third bananas: George Wendt, Peter Jason si Chris Mulkey.
efecte cool si psihedelice.
associate producer -Chuck Russell, care s-a inspirat din el in seria Freddy Kruger.
premii-Golden Raven la BIFF in 1985 si premiul Saturn -Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA.
*** din 5,  6 din 10
DVD extras-comentariu audio cu regizorul, un featurette de efecte speciale.
Dreamscape (1984)

vineri, 26 ianuarie 2018

Killing Ground (2016)

tot catch up -recuperari, datorita faptului ca aparea in anumite topuri de filme horror din 2017, si datorita faptului ca e australian !
Killing Ground e un film de debut dur, scris si regizat de Damien Power, un alt soi de Long Weekend, dar cu un twist de time-lapse si montaj temporal in paralel, care il vrea mai smart decit e, dar forta sta in cei doi rednecksi -German-Aaron Pedersen (v. Goldstone) si Chook-Aaron Glenane, acesta aduce cumva cu un Graham Chapman ars de speed, si mai ales copilasul Ollie care pare sa fi suferit cu adevarat la filmari :) destul de dur, deci nu penru cei salabi de inger-i...
cine incepe cu dar toate aceste filme se trag din Wake in Fright !!! Chiar si romanescul Ciini !
da, nu prea te faces sa mai vrei sa mergi cu cortul (aviz, Tomi !:)
7 din 10, 3 1/2 din 5 !

duminică, 3 decembrie 2017

Let Me Make You a Martyr (2016)

acu'daca tot am vazut filmu'cu Iggy a trebuit sa recuperez si filmul cu Marilyn Manson ! dupa cum cred ca v/ati dat deja seama, am intrat la recuperiele de anul acesta, filme mai mult sau mai putin obscure, pe care nu le veti vedea in vreun cinema.
adica:
Image result for Let Me Make You a Martyr

titlul ultra-pretentios, Let me Make You a Martyr. 
Martyr Manson :)-just a pun !
Filmul e produs de casa de productie  Iscariot  (shortul lor din 2014 se numea Judas'Chariot)!
Scris si regiat de duo-ul Corey Asraf & John Swab, cu crowdfounding. Manson e si co-.producator.
Let Me Make You a Martyr PosterImage result for Let Me Make You a Martyr
noh. ce sa zic, cam ultraboring, pina la pointul final, acest artsy neo-noir, dar Manson e cool as Pope, un killer singuratic cu principii filosofice. Existentialist. povestit intr-un soi de flashback in interogatoriu, purgatoriu, lui Charon (Michael Potts), de catre fiul risipitor, Drew (Niko Nicotera) care vrea sa isi omoare tatal, de fapt taica-su, Larry (Mark Boone jr./si co/producator) vrea sa il omoare pe el. Familia se numeste Glass, probabil penru ca e atit de fragila, perisabila ca sticla, mai e si o sora pe nume June (Sam Quartin).
O discutie despre lupii din cap, e memorabila. am si gasit-o pe youtube:

ca si soundtrackul, care mi-a facut cunostinta cu DEMON FUZZ, o trupa engleza de prog rock, cu albumul lor din 1970 Afreaka !, cu piesa Hymn for Mother Earth-de 2 ori, si coverul lor la I Put a Spell on You.
Dupa momene lungi de asteptare  la sfirsit filmul devine psihedelic total.
muzica insa, f . chul, atmosferica, piano & keyboard based, de Gingerr Shankar.
si Versete Domnului de RAHMANINOV.
LMMYAM incepe cu piesa War, Slippin; Into Darkness. Nu intimplator.
2 1/2 din 5, 5 din 10 !


sâmbătă, 2 decembrie 2017

Blood Orange (2016)

a lesser bigger splash...Blood Orange.
an English version of La Piscine meets the beginning of the Sexy Beast (thesetting of the Spanish villa, the pool)
the only worthy ingredient: The Igg, Mr. Iggy Pop. Iggy is Bill, a rock star who is half-blind and chases rabbits. His young and almost always naked wife (whose great talent is how she swims), Kasey Clarke, is a little promiscuous and screws with the boy who cleans the pool - Antonio Magro / another cliché. The former boyfriend Ben Lamb also appears. Iggy can not act too much, and he does not have much to do with what he got. As the Guardian says, "Unfortunately, it also demonstrates his pronounced limitations as an actor, even when playing a variant on himself." Toby Tobias's movie (a podcast with him here) is mediocre at best, and if you want to see a rock star on an island and a pool, you see A Bigger Splash, one of my favorites from last year. 2 out of 5, 4 out of 10.
blood-orange-poster
a lesser bigger splash...Blood Orange.
o versiune engleza la La Piscine meets inceputul la Sexy Beast (mai mult settingul vilei spaniole)
singurul ingredient meritoriu: The Igg, mr. Iggy Pop. Iggy este Bill, un rock star apoape orb, care vineaza iepuri . Nevasta sa tinara si mereu goala (are carei talent major e cum inoata), Kasey Clarke, e cam promiscua si si-o trage cu baiatul care curata piscina -Antonio Magro/ alt cliseu. Apare si fostul iubit-Ben Lamb. Iggy nu prea poate sa joace, si nici nu prea are cu ce.de ce. Dupa cum zice The Guardian,
 Unfortunately, it also demonstrates his pronounced limitations as an actor, even when playing a variant on himself.
Filmul lui Toby Tobias (un podcast cu el aici) e medicocru at best, si daca vreti sa vedeti un rock star pe o insula si o piscina, vedeti A Bigger Splash, unul din favoritele mele de anul trecut.
2 din 5, 4 din 10.
             

on the end credits, Tim Arnold's song Money Kills Love, its credited neither to Iggy but found a version on youtube that says so. my shazam and soundhound says it's Tim Arnold, whose other song is The Devil's Interval -theme of Blood Orange-with sax and piano, a cool one but instrumental, using the musical interval that Lygeti used and Kubrick put it in Eyes Wide Shut.



vineri, 1 decembrie 2017

Most Beautiful Island (2017)

Most Beautiful Island (2017) is one of the interesting films of this year which you won't seee in a cinema near you. Presented in festivals, awarded at SXSW & distributed by Orion (which came back i see) & Samuel Goldwyn films.
Ana Asenio is a director whose debut is very powerful. She is also a courageous actress. She is Spanish but the film is shot in New York, on the mean streets. She is Luciana, a struggling immigrant who finds a job at a mystery party.
A realistically shot thriller, which reminded me a a bit of  13 Tzameti (the original), but in colors, and with feminity and feminism.
3 1/2 or 7 out of 10 !

Most Beautiful Island (2017) e unul din filmele interesante de anul acesta pe care nu le puteti vedea in cinema. Prezentat in festivaluri, premiat la SXSW si distribuit de Orion (care vad ca au revenit !)
Ana Asenio e o regizoare debutanta de mare forta, si o actrita si mai si. Ea este spaniola dar filmul e filmat in New York, on the mean streets, despre Luciana (Asenio), o emigranta cu probleme financiare care isi gaseste o slauba la o petrecere misterioasa.
Un thriller filmat realist, care aduce un pic cu 13 Tzameti (originalul), dar in culori, cu femininatae si feminism.
3 1/2 din 5, 7 din 10 !












joi, 15 decembrie 2016

Mississippi Grind (2015)

as far as buddy gambling movies go, Mississippi Grind it's not a new thing but a fresh one....
a Scarecrow (the 1973 Jerry Schatzberg film) with poker. and some racetrack bets and with A rate performances from Ben Mendelhson and Ryan Reynolds.
Directed by the team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (It's Kind of A Funny Story, Half Nelson) 
I watched this because i wanted to catch-up with a grand Ben Mendelsohn performance, cos I've just saw his big break in Rogue One, the new Star Wars toy of the (not so) Far Away Galaxy franchise.
Wrote about him in films like  Animal KingdomStarred UpTDKR.
Mississippi Grind Poster
coming up from the tradition of gambling movies, drifters, The Hustler to its sequel, The Color of Money, to poker films, from The Cincinnati Kid to Rounders, The Gambler and its remake-James Toback has even a cameo in it !
great blues soundtrack !
3 out of five / 6 out of ten !

luni, 12 decembrie 2016

Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010)

Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010)  comes for me from the list of 25 films to see (no one talks about) from Taste of Cinema. Caught up also with  Alois Nebel and Attila Marcel -though they have nothing in common it has the ring of a nice Pair :).
but this I wanted to see because the director, Panos Cosmatos is the son of one of the names of directors I knew as a child, italo-greek George Pan  Cosmatos, the late director of Cassandra Crossing, Escape from Athens, and allegedly stand-in /ghost director for guild credits reasons in Cobra, Rambo and Tombstone.
And this is Panos' debut, and it's inspired, as he says from his blurry memories of imagining watching films *that he was not allowed to*like 2001-A Space Odyssey, THX 1138, Altered States, Scanners, on VHS as a child. Images, feelings, more than normal narrative, cryptic storytelling in the Freudian way.
BtBR is dedicated to his mother, Birgitta Ljungberd, who was a surrealist sculptor.
The film is set in an alternative 1983, in Arboria, a a medical experimental facility where Elena (Eva Bourne) is kept prisoner by doctor Nyle (Michael Rodgers). The flashbacks of the foundation of the Institute go back into 1966 and deep into the drug culture gone wrong.
I can see traces of this going also into the hit series of the years, Stranger Things. 
Beyond the Black Rainbow Posterthis poster it's a bit tricky...

So, Beyond the BR is a one-of-a kind film, psychotronic, hypnotic, etheric, spellbinding, trippy, with the rhythm of a dreamscape /nightmare, and it brings in structures and triangle and prism shaped neons, from, well, The Neon Demon

Firstshowing net on The Neon Demon:
"Like some kind of wicked mix of Beyond the Black Rainbow and Suspiria with a dash of Elle Fanning."
The soundtrack, score and sound design. definetly could be an influence on Refn, even the sound of Drive. Its high time late seventies and 80’s analog synth with shades of Carpenter (again ?), and trippy electronica of Popol Vuh, Tangerine Dream,  -another influence of the director is Michael Mann's The Keep).
BTBR-chasing-the-rainbow
The music is by Jeremy Schmidt as Sinoia Caves, with an SSQ end track, Anonymous, and a splash of Angel Dust from... Venom !
A third act more explicit, logical and with a spped up narrative, ends with a dry finale, almost like a joke, and a final quote from Buckaroo Banzai (which is a classic and an old-all time favorite of mine), "No matter where you go…There you are”
Overlong at 1h50, but fascinating, one-of-a kind opus, that remains with you long after you saw it, with a better vine actually than during the screening.
3 1/2 out of Five, 7 out of TEN.
A great radiography of the film as a neo-retro piece can be watched here:
and a very good review here



marți, 5 mai 2015

Sorcerer (1977) asta seara la Cinemateca Patria !


Am scris pe FB pe 21 aprilie a.c., cind am dat SORCERER si nu eram in Brasov:
Peste o ora la Cinemateca_Patria, la Brasov. de neclasat, de nescapat, mai ales in acest remaster supervizat de Friedkin acum, si care este filmul sau preferat din ale sale (si al meu la fel). De ce am insa senzatia ca vor veni doar citiva curiosi :( ?
Ok, au venit 5 persoane :(!
Astazi e o zi speciala, il reiau, pentru ca sa il revad si eu cum trebuie in acesata copie noua, si vine si prietenul Relu de la Bucuresti, special pentru ca sa vada Sorcerer pe ecran !
Si fac aceasta vizionare in onoarea lui William Friedkin, care anul acesta implineste 80 de ani si al carui film maudit si preferat este ! Si cu care am vorbit despre asta la Cannes, in 2006 !!!
Friedkin insusi a supervizat transferul nou acum 2 ani, dupa ce a dat studiourile producatoare (Paramount si Universal) in judecata pentru ca acestia au ingropat filmul de la premiera si pina acum !
Faceti-va un serviciu si veniti sa il vedeti !!!
Este un film extrem de rar si nu a fost vazut in conditiile astea de la premiera din 1977 !
*In plus, inainte de film am sa povestesc intrega odisee a productiei, care este la fel de fascinanta ca Sorcerer insusi !!!!*

Cu acest tilu ciudat si criptic, filmul este un remake la Le Salaire de la peur / Salariul Groazei (1953) de Henri Georges Clouzot, si parerea mea, si nu numai) este ca se ridica deasupra originanului. Sau daca considerati aceast lucru o blasfemie, atunci e un remake atipic, care aduce ceva in plus, un remake creativ, poate cel mai creativ remake din istoria cinematografului ! Friedkin a extins filmul intr-o acceptie proprie, personala, psihedelica, si i-a dat o alta dimensiune, lunara, existentiala, mitica.

Iata ce am scris despre film intr-un top mai vechi de soferi extremi facut pentru hbo, unde l-am pus (fireste) pe pozitia 1:

In Le Salaire de la Peur/ Salariul groazei (1953, regia Henri-Georges Clouzot) doua echipaje rivale (Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli, Peter van Eyck) transporta nitroglicerina prin jungla sud-americana, in camioane, in conditii extrem de periculoase. Dupa romanul lui Georges Arnaud, aparut si la noi in colectia Delfin. Never beaten. Ursul de Aur la Berlin, Marele premiu la Cannes si BAFTA pentru cel mai bun film in 1955. In mod incredibil Clouzot (Les diaboliques), a filmat in Franta, intr-un decor natural, care a fost amenajat de la zero. Primul cadru e acelasi cu referentialul musuroi de furnici si scorpioni din The Wild Bunch/Hoarda salbatica (1969) al lui Sam Peckinpah ! Remake de William Friedkin in 1977 sub titlul:

William Friedkin este considerat “le maitre absolut de la pursuite infernale”, de la French Connection si To Live and Die in L.A. la Jade si The Hunted. In 1975 Friedkin, insurat pe atunci cu Jeanne Moreau si mare fan al filmului din 1953 de Henri-Georges Clouzot se regaseste cu acesta la masa in Franta. Ii cere drepturile de remake, acesta ii da binecuvintarea, mai tirziu Friedkin afla ca Clouzot nu are nici un drept asupra filmului sau si ca trebuie sa cumpere drepturile sursei originale, romanul lui Georges Arnaud. Cu toate acestea se lanseaza intr-o cruciada nebuna, care a angajat doua studiouri (Paramount si Universal), un titlu obscur si misterios, si o productie costisitoare in Republica Dominicana (plus secvente in inca 4 tari: Israel, Mexic, Franta la Paris si SUA-New Jersey!) cu un buget si deadline depasit.

Un timing de premiera ghinionist, in vara lui 1977, cu doua saptamini dupa un filmulet numit...Star Wars ! Esec rasunator (si de critica care l-a desfiintat), care avea in cele din urma sa-i deraieze cariera. Muzica de TANGERINE DREAM, in primul lor score, adusi de Friedkin din Germania.

In rolul principal Roy Scheider, dar alegerea initiala fusese McQueen. Din pacate cu Steve McQueen ar fi avut alta soarta de box-office si cult following, dar McQueen n-a vrut sa paraseasca America si a vrut un rol si pentru nevasta-sa (Ali MacGraw), iar Friedkin a fost extrem de vehement sa filmeze in locatie. Paul Newman a refuzat si el rolul. Scenariul lui Walon Green (The Wild Bunch), introduce povestea originii personajelor care au esuat in satucul sud-american, si un final mai sadic decit cel original (daca e posibil !). Soferii sunt Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal si Amidou, un casting atit de eclectic incit ar meritat un premiu.

Friedkin despre Sorcerer: " My favorite of all the films that I have made. It's one of my only films I can watch because it came out almost exactly as I intended.
(Preferatul meu din toate filmele pe care le-am facut. E unul din putinele pe care pot sa le vad, pentru ca a iesit exact asa cum vroiam sa fie).
Grand film maudit si unul din filmele mele preferate.

interviu audio cu Friedkin despre film aici din timpul litigiului (2012)

5 din 5/10 din 10 !

un eseu aprofundat despre Sorcerer, No Way To Managua, here !