THE BEST OF BOGART COLLECTION (The Maltese Falcon/ Casablanca/ The Treasure of the Sierra Madre/ The African Queen) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 3/28/14

 

When I made a list of my top 100 favorite actors a few years ago, the first three positions were pretty much a lock.  Number one, of course, was John Wayne.  Two--well, I'm a Bruce Willis fan from all the way back to "Moonlighting", and I even liked "Armageddon." 

But as for number three, there's only one actor who could knock either of them out of their slots at my slightest whim, and that's Bogart.  He invented cool, refined it, and perfected it to such a degree that nobody else could ever be quite that cool again. 

Now, Warner Home Video has brought four of Bogart's greatest and most varied performances together on Blu-ray with THE BEST OF BOGART COLLECTION, a four-disc set which contains "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "Casablanca" (1942), "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948), and "The African Queen" (1951). 

Humphrey DeForest Bogart looked like he'd been around the block a few times and could take care of himself in a tough scrape, unlike a lot of the pretty-boy leading men who populated movie marquees then and now.  Which is ironic, since he started out as a male ingenue in film roles that were pure fluff. 

This prompted him to keep returning to his native New York and the stage, where he eventually landed the role of escaped killer Duke Mantee in the play "The Petrified Forest."  When this was slated to become a film, star Leslie Howard insisted that Bogart be cast as Mantee, and his chilling, tough-as-nails performance made him a movie star in the Warner Brothers gangster vein.

Bogart's screen persona wavered between no-nonsense good guy and fearsome bad guy, with sometimes a little of both.  If need be, he could also portray either a frightening psycho or a pathetic failure.  As an actor with a much broader range than one might first suspect, he could make any of these personas both convincing and compelling, with a nuance and intensity that few actors can ever achieve.  And there was something about that unforgettable face which seemed to express everything his character was thinking and feeling. 

One of the finest actors in the history of the medium, Humphrey Bogart's filmography contains several of the greatest movies ever made.  The best of these comprise quite a selection of Hollywood filmmaking at its peak as both an art form and a means of pure escapist entertainment.  


THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

The first great "film noir" set the standard both storywise and in its impeccably exquisite visuals.  First-time director John Huston does a masterful job orchestrating his actors and crew to create a visual experience which is consistently involving and often dazzling. 

The film, shot mostly on interior sets, was brought in on budget and ahead of schedule despite Huston requesting an extra day of rehearsal for the film's climactic sequence, which takes place entirely within a single hotel room with almost all members of the main cast.  The complex character interactions and the way the tangled plot is meticulously resolved during this scene makes for some of the most breathlessly riveting cinema ever filmed.

Huston uses clever direction and camera movements to keep things from getting claustrophobic, and never once lets the pace drag.  His screenplay follows Dashiell Hammett's novel almost to the letter (the two earlier, inferior adaptations, 1931's "Dangerous Female" and the comedic "Satan Met a Lady" in 1936, didn't), and crackles with scintillating dialogue, intriguing plot twists, and relentlessly building suspense. 

Hammett's celebrated anti-hero Sam Spade is the perfect noir detective--brash, resourceful, self-assured, keenly intelligent, streetwise, tough but not infallible, and opportunistic.  He does have a moral code, one not easily compromised, and a motto that is rigidly enforced: "Never play the sap for anyone." 

The first person to try and use him is quintessential femme fatale Brigid O'Shaughnessy (exquisitely  played by Mary Astor), who hires San Francisco private detective Spade and his partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) to locate her missing sister along with a mystery man named Floyd Thursby.  When both Archer and Thursby turn up dead, it appears there's more to Brigid's story than she's letting on. 

Before long Spade discovers that she's after a priceless treasure known as the Maltese Falcon, for which she's in fierce competition against  "the Fat Man" Kaspar Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) and the wily, effeminate Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre).  Spade must spar with these conniving characters while fending off police detectives Dundy and Polhaus (Barton MacLane, Ward Bond), who suspect him in the murders although the more genial Polhaus tends to side with Sam.  All in all, these actors comprise one of the finest casts ever assembled for a film.  (Look for John Huston's father Walter in a quick cameo as a fatally wounded ship's captain.)

Huston delights in working with these masterful performers as any artist deftly employs his chosen medium.  The dialogue scenes between Bogart and Greenstreet are a verbal delight (Gutman constantly admits his glowing admiration for the crafty Spade), while the utter dishonesty underlying Spade's love affair with Brigid gives it an air of perversion. 

Lorre's Joel Cairo, both dangerously scheming and amusingly fussy, is always fun to watch.  I love the scene in which Spade disarms and manhandles Cairo, whose main concern is expressed with the heated accusation "Look what you did to my shirt!"

Even young character actor Elisha Cook, Jr. gets to shine in the plum role of Gutman's "gunsel" Wilmer Cook, a callow trench-coated hood hiding his cowardice behind guns and tough talk.  (Dwight Frye played the part in the 1931 version.)  The ever-sharper Spade delights in yanking Wilmer's chain, and in one incredible closeup we see fat, glistening tears suspended in each of the young killer's eyes as he's overcome with burning frustration and impotent rage (another bravura touch by Huston).

But it's Bogart's show, and his performance is a pure delight.  We know Spade's a stand-up guy, yet the moment his partner's murdered he has the signs around the office changed from "Spade and Archer" to "Samuel Spade."  He's even having an affair with Archer's wife, Iva (Gladys George), but loses interest once he meets Miss O'Shaughnessy.  Yet we know he's an okay guy as long as his faithful gal Friday, Effie (Lee Patrick), still secretly loves him. 

In one delightful moment, after storming out of a tense encounter with Gutman and Wilmer in the Fat Man's swanky hotel room, Spade smiles when he realizes that his hand is shaking and his palms sweating.  Spade may be brave, but he still gets scared, a fact which both amuses and excites him.

This vintage detective yarn sizzles with suspense and excitement for viewers who are able to plug themselves into its high-voltage current.  For me, it took several viewings before I finally began to appreciate just what a finely-rendered thing of beauty it truly is.  Others (as some IMDb comments would indicate) seem to take a strange kind of pride in remaining immune to its charms, believing that such classics are revered by many simply because they're "old." 

But if it doesn't hit you right away, just keep watching and remain open to it.  Sooner or later, hopefully, THE MALTESE FALCON will weave its magic spell over you.  Like the rare and unique artifact of the title, it's "the stuff dreams are made of.

1080p High Definition 1.33:1, DTS-HD Master Audio: English 1.0, Dolby Digital: Espanol 1.0
Subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Special Features:

·         Commentary by Bogart Biographer Eric Lax
·         Featurette The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird
·         Breakdowns of 1941: Studio Blooper Reel
·         Makeup Tests
·         Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart
·         Warner Night at the Movies
·         1941 Short Subjects Gallery
·         Audio-Only Bonus: 3 Radio Show Adaptions
·         Vintage art card


CASABLANCA (1942)

This is one of those films which we can now look back on as an undisputed classic in which everything seems to come together perfectly.  At the time, however, it was regarded by the studio as just another production, whose script, based on the unproduced play "Everyone Comes to Rick's", was being written on the fly and didn't even have a proper ending worked out until shortly before it was shot.

The story takes place in 1942 in the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca, which overflows with refugees desperately struggling to gain passage to America and elsewhere in the free world to escape Nazi encroachment in Europe .  Exiled American (and ex-freedom fighter) Rick Blaine, played to perfection by Bogart , runs a nightclub called "Rick's Café Américain" in which many of these people meet to buy and sell the hope for freedom. 

Also on hand is Rick's friend, Captain Louis Renault (THE INVISIBLE MAN's Claude Rains in one of his best performances), the head of the local police and an opportunist of the first order whose greatest pleasure is accepting bribes both monetary and sexual.  Renault openly admires Rick's similarly self-serving qualities and even displays a platonic crush on him ("If I were a woman, and I were not around, I should be in love with Rick," he admits). 

We wonder how Renault would react if Rick started reverting back to his old, noble self, especially in the presence of the vile German officer Major Heinrich Strasser (Conrad Veidt, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI,  THE MAN WHO LAUGHS), newly-arrived and on the trail of famed Czech resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henried). 

While Rick starts out as an anti-hero, he gradually and without really meaning to becomes more heroic as the story progresses.  Early on, Peter Lorre's oily Ugarte--who recently killed some German soldiers to attain two letters of transit to sell in Casablanca--begs Rick for help before he's captured ("Hide me, Rick!  Hide me!").  Rick's terse response: "I stick my neck out for nobody." 

And indeed, Rick seems grudgingly content to sit out the current world war as manager of his bustling nightclub until one night, when an old flame named Ilsa (the utterly radiant Ingrid Bergman) comes through the front door with her husband, none other than Victor Laszlo.  Rick, once an idealistic crusader himself but now cynical and disillusioned, has never forgiven Ilsa for inexplicably running out on him during the fall of Paris, at the height of their love affair--not knowing that Laszlo, whom they both thought dead, had turned up alive.

When Rick obtains the two letters of transit from Ugarte, he has the means of whisking Ilsa back to America with him and resuming their love affair while leaving Laszlo behind to carry on alone and devastated.  But will he do something so selfish and immoral?  Or regain his soul and commit the supreme act of sacrifice for the sake not only of Ilsa and her husband but of the free world itself?

This is the dilemma which gives CASABLANCA much of its power to effect us emotionally while simmering with a growing suspense.  As a film, everything clicks-- Michael Curtiz' sharp direction, the gorgeous black-and-white photography, great performances by a stellar cast, a powerful musical score by Max Steiner, and a story that's always totally engaging. 

Action and romance are perfectly balanced and compliment each other, while comedic touches abound, especially from the delightfully corruptible Renault,  the antics of Rick's eccentric staff (including S.Z. Sakall), and a fez-topped Sydney Greenstreet (again) as a competing club owner who wants to acquire Rick's place along with his loyal piano-playing band leader Sam (Dooley Wilson, who croons the classic "As Time Goes By"). 

But when Laszlo exhorts Sam and his band to strike up a stirring rendition of "La Marseillaise" in response to Strasser and his fellow German officers belting out "Die Wacht am Rhein", the move (which Rick okays with a subtle nod of his head) not only stirs the patriotic fervor of everyone else in the club but may bring the viewer to tears as well.  (Steiner uses this same anthem as a fanfare for his own musical credit during the main titles.)

The climax of the film takes place at the airport, a focal point for dreams of freedom throughout the story.  Rick now literally holds the ticket to a new life with Ilsa, who will join him if he asks her to.  Yet his newly reawakened sense of duty to humanity now fights for precedence.  Meanwhile Renault, his own duty to Strasser  putting him at odds with his friend, awaits Rick's decision. 

When the plane fires up its engines, Steiner's music swells, and there comes a stunning, perfectly-edited series of  closeups of Bogart,  Bergman, and Henried which generate a dramatic tension few films could ever attain.  It's pure, undiluted Hollywood magic at its most sublime, and the resolution which follows couldn't be more perfect.  CASABLANCA is an intricate jigsaw puzzle of seemingly disparate pieces which fit together to form a beautiful picture.

1080p High Definition 1.33:1, Dolby Digital: English 1.0, Francais 1.0 & Espanol 1.0
Subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Special Features:

·         Commentary by Roger Ebert
·         Commentary by Historian Rudy Behlmer
·         Introduction by Lauren Bacall
·         Additional Scenes & Outtakes
·         Scoring Session Outtakes
·         Bacall on Bogart
·         You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca
·         Featurette As Time Goes By: The Children Remember
·         Production Research Gallery
·         Homage Cartoon Carrotblanca
·         Who Hold Tomorrow? : Premiere Episode From 1955 Warner Bros. Presents TV Series Adaptation of Casablanca
·         Audio-Only Bonus: Radio Production with the Movie’s 3 Key Stars
·         Theatrical Trailers
·         Vintage art card


THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)

With this epic outdoor action-drama, based on a novel by enigmatic writer B. Traven,  Bogart once again joined with director John Huston and his father Walter for a grueling tale of the devastating effects of greed on average men.  During the film's arduous shoot in the wilds of Mexico, any hint of Hollywood glamour would soon become a distant memory. 

As Fred C. Dobbs, Bogart loses himself in one of his grittiest and least sympathetic roles.  Dobbs is an American stuck in a small Mexican town with no job or money, wandering the streets and begging for pesos.  (The younger Huston has a funny cameo as a well-to-do man Dobbs keeps hitting up for change.)  Dobbs will fling water in the face of a small boy (Robert Blake) pestering him to buy a lottery ticket, yet we sense a modicum of decency somewhere beneath his gruff exterior. 

This early sequence of him trudging his way through life, getting bad haircuts, chasing after prostitutes, etc. lets us sit back and watch Bogart at work creating one of his finest characters.  Dobbs hooks up with a fellow American named Curtin (Tim Holt) for a job in which they're cheated out of their pay by a crooked foreman (Barton MacLane of THE MALTESE FALCON) whom they beat senseless after he attacks them in a bar.  (This well-choreographed fight scene is brutally effective.)  Then, after meeting grizzled old prospector Howard (Walter Huston) in a flophouse, they take his advice and set out to find gold in the mountains of the Mexican desert. 

Walter Huston enjoyed recounting the story of how he told his son John that if he ever became a filmmaker to "write me a good part."   The old gold-hunter Howard is that part, a role the elder Huston,  sans dentures, inhabits so fully that he almost manages to steal the picture right out from under Bogart.  (He would go on to win an Oscar for it.)  Howard is a goodnatured, level-headed old man, and we believe him when he warns of the evil effects gold can have on weak-willed men.  

Dobbs blusters against such talk, thinking himself above any negative influences.  Yet without missing a beat, he will fulfill each of Howard's admonitions one by one as the lure of gold transforms him into a paranoid,  resentful,  and ultimately dangerous man.  By the time he's gone over the deep end, he's a frightening character, convinced in his mindless desperation that everyone's out to get him and that he's justified in whatever heinous act he may commit to protect himself and his newfound fortune.

When Dobbs and Curtin finally find themselves locked in a life-or-death battle of wills in the middle of the desert, the film almost takes on the eerie inevitability of a horror movie.  The only thing that undercuts it, along with much of the rest of the film, is one of Max Steiner's worst musical themes--a loping, folksy motif that  I find jarringly out of place.

In addition to being a fascinating character study,  TREASURE is a terrific action-adventure.  Alfonso Bedoya is unforgettable as the ruthless Mexican bandit Gold Hat,  whose gang attacks our heroes' train during their trip into the mountains and then later stumbles upon their mining camp, leading to a blazing gunfight.  Gold Hat may be a monster, but Bedoya manages to make him funny, especially with his immortal response to Dobbs' question "If you're federales, where are your badges?"

"Badges? We ain’t got no badges...we don’t need no badges...I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!"

Tim Holt is solid in the less flashy role  of sturdy, dependable Curtin, who shares Howard's dismay at Dobbs' growing instability.  Walter Huston is a delight in a truly wonderful performance--he even gets to break the fourth wall and give us a sly look during one sequence in which he's being given the royal treatment by a tribe of Indians after doing them a good turn.  We don't even hold it against Howard when he votes along with the others to execute another man, Cody (Bruce Bennett), who tries to horn in on their find. 

But it's Bogart, as a man susceptible to bouts of pure, wild-eyed insanity, who makes the film as truly memorable as it is.  No matter how low he sinks and what horrible things he does, we always remember the relatively decent guy he was before gold changed him, and feel some remorse for what he's become.  And just like Dobbs, I'd like to think gold wouldn't make me act that way--but who knows?

1080p High Definition 1.33:1, DTS-HD Master Audio: English 1.0, Dolby Digital: Francais 1.0 & Espanol 1.0 (Both Castilian and Latin)
Subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Special Features:

·         Commentary by Bogart Biographer Eric Lax
·         Discovering Treasure: The Story of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
·         Documentary Profile John Huston
·         Warner Night at the Movies
·         1948 Short Subjects Gallery: Leonard Maltin Introduction, Newsreel, 2 Classic Cartoons, Comedy Short, Theatrical Trailers.
·         Audio-Only Bonus: Radio Show with the Movie’s Original Stars
·         Vintage art card


THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)

Here's the story of two people you'll want to get  to know very much--Humphrey Bogart as Charlie Allnut, a goodnaturedly uncouth little man who runs a tiny supply boat up and down the river in German East Africa in 1914,  and Katharine Hepburn as Miss Rose Sayer, a Christian missionary who, along with her brother Reverend Samuel Sayer (Robert Morley), brings God's word to the natives until German soldiers burn down the church and village, kill her brother,and leave her all alone in the jungle.

Director John Huston deftly blends comedy with tragedy in the opening scenes.  Shortly before their horrific encounter with the German military, the Sayers invite Charlie to tea during a supply stop.  He hasn't eaten in awhile, so his stomach starts making the most impolite growling noises to which Rose and her brother react with growing dismay until finally Charlie explains brightly, "Ain't a thing I can do about it!" 

Charlie returns later to bury the brother and take Rose away in his boat, the "African Queen".  But her first thought is to somehow aid in her country's war effort by whatever means available.  Hearing of a German gunboat, the "Louisa", which is terrorizing the countryside from a large lake somewhere downriver, she hatches a scheme in which Charlie will devise a couple of torpedos out of compressed gas bottles and they will then ram the Louisa with the torpedos sticking out of the African Queen's bow. 

Humoring her for the time being--and not realizing that he has begun something he won't be able to back out of--he later mocks Miss Sayer's request in a grumbling approximation of her prim accent: "Can you make a torpedo?  Then do so, Mr. Allnut." 

This belly-laugh moment, courtesy of Bogart's irresistibly natural, likable performance as the ragtag river rat, is just the beginning of what will be a rip-roaring adventure, a tender romance, and a gut-busting comedy.  The independent production, filmed mostly on location in Africa in lush Technicolor, is one of John Huston's warmest and most heartfelt films.  This is due in large part to the chemistry between the two stars and Huston's ability as a master director to showcase them at their best.

Miss Rose Sayer is naturally brave and resourceful, which helps make up for her naivete' and inexperience with life in general.  She adapts quickly and becomes instantly addicted to the thrill of adventure as a substitute for sexual intimacy (her first excursion down the rapids leaves her as though she'd just had her first sexual release).  Learning to handle Allnut's boat is symbolic of her growing familiarity with the man himself  while he, in turn, finds himself suddenly yearning to bring out the inner woman behind the straight-laced exterior. 

Allnut is one of Bogart's funniest and most uninhibited characters--his emotional honesty and expressiveness are at their peak here.  Often a single look on his face will convey more thought and emotion than many actors can manage with an entire speech.  Hepburn is ideally cast as the initially very proper, timid spinster who gradually lets her hair down (literally) and begins to appreciate the more sensual and even carnal aspects of life as her love for Charlie Allnut blossoms toward fruition.

Their journey down the river is a series of funny and romantic vignettes interspersed with moments of harrowing danger which are excitingly staged.  The rapids are a major obstacle, as are mosquitoes, leeches, and, in one suspenseful sequence, German bullets.  Through it all, Rose's indefatigable attitude brings out the best in Charlie, and together they give each other something to live for even when things are at their worst.

Huston's technical skills are dazzling throughout the film.  The location photography is not only stunning but often amazing as well, as when we see a number of large alligators diving off the bank into the water right after Bogart has moved out of the frame--all in a single shot.   The process shots are as well integrated into the action as possible for the time and, for me at least, proved little distraction.  Allan Gray's musical score is another of the film's many pleasures. 

The story reaches its triumphant conclusion aboard the German gunboat, where our unlikely hero and heroine reach the end of their journey in fine style.  Like SHANE, which is tied with KING KONG (1933) as my favorite movie of all time, there are scenes throughout THE AFRICAN QUEEN which bring me to the verge of tears.   Not because these scenes are particularly sad, or particularly happy, but simply because they're quite disarmingly beautiful. 

1080p High Definition, Dolby Digital: English 1.0, Francais 1.0 & Espanol 1.0.
Subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Special Features:

·         Embracing Chaos: Making The African Queen
·         Vintage art card


Own it on Blu-ray:

Official WB Shop Link
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Official You Tube Videos

Images shown are not stills from the actual Blu-ray discs
Street Date: March 25, 2014

THE BEST OF BOGART COLLECTION (The Maltese Falcon/ Casablanca/ The Treasure of the Sierra Madre/ The African Queen) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

VETERAN -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 3/23/16

 

Korean writer-director Ryoo Seung-wan's VETERAN (2015) is one seriously good cop flick.  Action, drama, comedy, thrills, suspense--it's all there and there's lots of it.

The film manages to be alternately gritty and funny in its opening minutes as a crack team of Korean cops go after a Korean-Russian automobile smuggling ring. This sequence starts things off with a bang as we're introduced to seasoned detective Seo Do-cheo (a rich performance by Hwang Jung-min), who enjoys scrapping with the guys he's arresting, and his down-to-earth team leader Oh (Oh Dal-su), who gets in on the action himself and always has Seo's back. 

The rest of the team, including everyone's favorite, the lovely and capable Miss Bong (Jang Yoon-ju), are a quirky bunch whose continuing exploits would be ideal fodder for a TV series. 

After the exciting opening, the story proper focuses on Seo's friend Bae, a lowly freight driver for the monolithic Sin Jin corporation, being beaten to a pulp in one of the executive offices after a contract complaint and then apparently attempting suicide in shame by taking a high dive down a flight of stairs. 

When the matter is hushed up, Seo oversteps his jurisdictional bounds and steps on several toes, including those of his department supervisor and members of Internal Affairs, in an attempt to get to the bottom of his friend's fate. 

Yoo Ah-in is brilliant as handsome but evil young Jo Tae-oh, eventual heir to the presidency of Sin Jin despite being a spoiled, dangerously impulsive narcissist with a severe anger management problem. Jo delights in humiliating and abusing his employees, a fact the shocked Seo observes firsthand during a party for the "super rich" which he attends after serving as technical advisor for a TV cop show.
  

As both the Bae situation and Jo Tae-oh's sinister schemes to cover it up intensify, so do Seo's efforts to overcome political red tape and other obstacles in his quest for justice.  One attempt on his life during this time leads to a furious knife fight inside a cramped apartment, resulting in the team's "newbie" getting seriously stabbed ("You stabbed our newbie!" the other team members indignantly remind a prisoner later). 

Finally the stage is set for a violent confrontation between the cops vs. Jo Tae-oh and his Sin Jin goons which will include a spectacular vehicle chase through the heart of the city that's filled with bent fenders and shattered glass, not to mention a few flying bodies.

Ryoo Seung-wan's solidly self-assured script crackles with great hardboiled dialogue, humor, and riveting drama, moving smoothly from one to the other without missing a beat. His direction is eye-pleasing and slick while still keeping its edge, particularly the fight action which is briskly done without looking overly choreographed.
 

The cast is uniformly fine, with the three leads--Hwang Jung-min, Yoo Ah-in, and Oh Dal-su--particularly effective, as is Yoo Hae-jin as Jo's pathetic toady Choi. Amidst all the sound and fury, Ryoo Seung-wan (THE BERLIN FILE, THE CITY OF VIOLENCE) finds time for plenty of engaging character interplay that makes the film all the more satisfying.

The DVD from CJ Entertainment is in 16 x 9 widescreen with both English (dubbed) and Korean 5.1 Dolby digital soundtracks and English subtitles.  Extras consist of trailers for this and other CJ Entertainment releases. 

I liked VETERAN so much that I immediately wanted to watch it again, which was great because the second time I could really relax and enjoy it without having to figure out the sometimes complicated plot.  And with this sizzling firecracker of a cop flick, there's an awful lot to enjoy.

VETERAN -- DVD Review by Porfle

PRIME SUSPECT: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 9/07/10

 

Sometimes a TV series comes along which transcends the "cop show" genre, and in fact just about anything else you could classify it as, reaching a level of excellence that makes it more of a life experience than a simple entertainment.  "Prime Suspect" with Helen Mirren is just such a show.  Like a glutton wolfing down a seven-course meal, I went through Acorn Media's PRIME SUSPECT: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION with voracious speed while not wanting it to end.

Mirren's "Jane Tennison" is a fascinating, complex character whom we follow from her early days as a Detective Chief Inspector for London's Metropolitan Police, through her promotion to Detective Superintendent in charge of multiple units, and finally to her final turbulent days on the force.  Brilliant and strong-willed, Tennison is also subject to various foibles and human weaknesses that complicate both her personal and professional lives.  Often she wonders if she's chosen the right path, especially when plagued by loneliness, self-doubt, and regret. 

Series 1, which debuted in 1991 and consists of two feature-length parts, finds Tennison knee-deep in sexist resentment and derision while heading her first major murder investigation.  Scripter Lynda La Plante based much of the character's difficulty in winning over her skeptical male team members on the real-life experiences of technical advisor Jackie Malton, one of the first female DCIs, and the dramatic tension never fails to ring true.  Only after proving herself worthy does Tennison begin to gradually gain the respect of her male colleagues.

This story sets the dark, gritty tone for the series and raises the bar for all the other forensics-based cop shows to follow.  Character conflicts crackle with tension, as when Tennison butts heads with patronizing superiors who hamper her efforts or old-school detectives such as DS Bill Otley (Tom Bell).  The pressure of trying to track down a brutal serial killer devastates her home life with both her live-in fiance' (Tom Wilkinson) and her immediate family.  Time after time Tennison is forced to question her decision to sacrifice everything for her career. 

The camera stays close to the actors' faces and keeps up right in the middle of things at all times.  Without the usual quick editing, throbbing music, or adrenaline-charged action, the sober and languidly-paced story is given plenty of room to stretch out and develop its dramatic potential to the fullest.  Just when you think the plot is headed for the most likely conclusion, the script explores unexpected avenues that are consistently surprising and often shocking. 

Series 2 is another two-parter with racial overtones stemming from the discovery of a body buried in the garden of a house in a neighborhood filled with Jamaican immigrants.  Colin Salmon ("Tanner" of the Brosnan 007 films) guest stars as a black detective placed on Tennison's team after an unfortunate sexual encounter between the two.  Tensions rise when a teenage boy held in custody commits suicide in his cell and Tennison is blamed. 

Series 3 delves into the world of child prostitution with the murder of a "rent boy" and charges of long-term sexual abuse by a trusted social services director (Ciaran Hinds).  Tom Bell returns as Otley, and Jonny Lee Miller guests as one of the young victims.  Series 4 consists of three shorter episodes, and while the first two are more conventional stories that lack the depth of the previous shows, the third, "Scent of Darkness", is one of the series' finest.  Here, a new rash of serial murders similar to those in the first episode raise the question of whether or not Tennison may have imprisoned the wrong man in the original investigation. 

Series 5, "Errors of Judgment", finds Tennison locking horns with a cocky young drug dealer who rules the streets through terror and may have a powerful ally on the police force.  Of particular interest here is her prickly relationship with a new team dubious of her abilities, including a nice turn by David O'Hara (BRAVEHEART) as a seemingly slow-witted detective who turns out to be smarter than he looks.
 


After a six-year production gap (1997-2003), Series 6 finds Mirren playing an older and increasingly disillusioned character under pressure to retire.  The murder of a Bosnian woman thrusts Tennison into one of her most emotionally trying cases yet, as victims of war hiding out in London are stalked by a devilish figure from the past. This later episode is just as effective as earlier ones, but looks slicker and more streamlined.  With a faster pace and more emphasis on thriller elements, some sequences bristle with nerve-wracking suspense.

"The Final Act", which aired in 2006, brings "Prime Suspect" and the career of Jane Tennison to a close with the murder of a 14-year-old girl, the impending death of Jane's father (Frank Finlay), and the aging detective's battle with alcoholism.  Mirren is at peak form here as her character struggles to solve one last murder while her life is falling apart.  Tom Bell makes his final appearance as DS Otley, re-entering Jane's life in a surprising way.  Young actress Laura Greenwood gives an amazingly good performance as the murdered girl's troubled friend. 

The boxed set from Acorn Media contains nine discs in seven keepcases.  Series 1-5 are in 4:3 full screen while 6-7 are in 16:9 widescreen, all with Dolby Digital sound.  Each episode is subtitled except for Series 7, which is closed-captioned.  Series 6 contains a 23-minute featurette, while Series 7 extras include a 50-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, photo gallery, and cast filmographies.  Beside the actors already mentioned, familiar faces such as Ralph Fiennes and Kelly Reilly (EDEN LAKE) can be seen making early guest appearances in various episodes.

The great Helen Mirren is a neverending fount of awesome as Jane Tennison, always riveting to watch whenever she's onscreen.  Her character's arc binds this collection of engrossing police procedurals together.  Tennison is a great cop but hardly perfect, and we're not even sure she'll get through her last case without self-destructing.  A small grace note from an unexpected source comes at the very end, and we're left to wonder whether or not it makes her feel as though her life on the force has been worth the sacrifice.  One thing's for sure--PRIME SUSPECT: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION is some of the most worthwhile viewing that cop show fans could possibly hope for. 


 

PRIME SUSPECT: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION -- DVD Review by Porfle

DEAD PIGEON ON BEETHOVEN STREET -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 4/11/16

 

When legendary director Samuel Fuller (THE BIG RED ONE, SHOCK CORRIDOR, THE NAKED KISS) was offered the chance to direct a feature-length episode of the popular German police procedural "Tatort" (or, "scene of the crime"), he took full advantage of it by making one of his most interesting and experimental films.

DEAD PIGEON ON BEETHOVEN STREET (1972)--a nice, pulpy title befitting the work of a noir director--may have the look and budget of a television episode (albeit a deluxe one), but Fuller's use of camera and editing amidst some of Germany's most exciting landmarks is both striking and delightfully eccentric.

The same can also be said of Fuller's script, which dispenses with the show's lead character Kressin (Sieghardt Rupp) early on in order to feature Glenn Corbett as an American private detective who has come to Germany to avenge the death of his partner who was killed while trying to infiltrate an international blackmail and extortion ring. 

While avenging one's partner is a tradition of private eyes going back at least as far as Sam Spade, Corbett's character both embraces cliche' and amusingly weaves in and out of it.  His attitude, similarly, is hard as nails one moment and playful the next.  He doesn't even have a cool name like Spade or Marlowe--his name is "Sandy", and we never find out what comes after that. 

Needless to say, Sandy isn't the usual super-suave detective--in fact, if he weren't sorta cool, he'd come close to being a schlub.  He even has to cajole a coolly skeptical Kressin just to keep being allowed to continue on his mission instead of getting kicked out of the country. 

The plot is complicated and involved, and the film's pace is pretty much as lazy as a Sunday afternoon.  But as soon as Corbett is joined by Fuller's real-life wife Christa Lang (WHAT'S UP, DOC?, AT LONG LAST LOVE) as "Christa" and the great Anton Diffring (WHERE EAGLES DARE, FAHRENHEIT 451) as Mensur, the big cheese of the blackmailers, the plot begins to matter less than the simple joy of watching these actors interact, so to speak, with each other.  

Sandy pretends to be a blackmailer himself in order to get accepted into the organization by Mensur, and does so by collaborating with the lovely Christa as she ingratiates herself with prominent politicians, drugs them, and photographs them in compromising positions with her. 

Along the way, however, things begin to heat up romantically between Sandy and Christa, with her allegiance in question when she discovers that her new partner isn't what he seems.  During this time the scenes of intrigue and the occasional burst of pulse-quickening action take place against some of Germany's most scenic backdrops, including a colorful street carnival in Cologne which Fuller uses to its fullest effect.

Eric P. Caspar plays the eccentrically-named Charlie Umlaut, the smack-addicted killer who put the actual lethal bullet into Sandy's partner on Mensur's behalf and whom Sandy wants to capture in the worst way.  He's the classic second-banana bad guy who's even more entertaining and sinister than his boss (think Taylor Negron's "Mr. Milo" in THE LAST BOY SCOUT). 

Christa Lang's unusual beauty and quirky acting style make her interesting to watch (her performance grows more captivating as the film progresses) both with Glenn Corbett and in her crackling scenes with Diffring, who, of course, is impeccable as the suave criminal mastermind.

As for Corbett--with those electric blue eyes and world-class 'stache--it's nice seeing him playing a less stiff character than usual ("Route 66", "Star Trek", CHISUM, BIG JAKE).  I always liked him despite never finding him especially exciting until just now, in a role that allows him more depth, variety, and sheer likability than pretty much the rest of his whole career put together (or at least the parts that I've seen).

The final confrontation between Mensur and Sandy turns into a wild free-for-all of swishing blades, smashing furniture, and the distinct sensation of Sam Fuller's elbow being poked into our ribs.  It's this impression that he was having fun with this and not taking it particularly seriously that gives the whole film a sort of casual appeal.

The 2-disc DVD set from Olive Films is in 1.33.1 widescreen with optional English subtitles.  Disc one is the restored version of Fuller's original long cut of the film (127 minutes) along with a trailer.

Disc two contains a fascinating documentary on the making of the film, "Return to Beethoven Street: Sam Fuller in Germany", which features Christa Lang-Fuller, Sam's daughter Samantha, Eric P. Caspar, Wim Wenders, and other persons of interest, in addition to two text essays on the film by authors Lisa Dombrowski ("The Films of Samuel Fuller") and Samuel B. Prime.  These essays are also found in the attractive 8-page illustrated booklet that comes with the set.

Even if DEAD PIGEON ON BEETHOVEN STREET weren't an interesting and fun movie it would be buoyed by the sheer novelty that runs through the entire project.  While on the sunny side of "noir", the final punchline is pure film-noir irony and is very well-played by all involved, putting a satisfying capper on the whole thing. 

DEAD PIGEON ON BEETHOVEN STREET -- DVD Review by Porfle

"BULLITT" (1968): A Surfeit of Green Volkswagens

"Bullitt" features Steve McQueen in one of cinema's greatest car chases.

It also features more shots of a green Volkswagen than any other car chase before or since. (Watch the video to see them all.)

"Help us! We can't get away from that green Volkswagen!" 

"Well, that's Beetlemania for you."


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

"BULLITT" (1968): A Surfeit of Green Volkswagens

EDGE OF DARKNESS: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 1/28/10

 

 

A resounding critical and popular success upon its BBC debut in 1985, the six-part serial EDGE OF DARKNESS is an intelligent thriller that will bore those looking for superficial sensation while offering more patient viewers a richly rewarding experience.

Yorkshire detective and widower Ronald Craven (Ben Peck) has just arrived home one rainy night with his political activist daughter Emma (Joanne Whalley, WILLOW) when a gunman steps out of the shadows with a shotgun and opens fire. Emma leaps in front of her father and is killed before the gunman escapes. Heartbroken, Craven journeys to London on a quest to track down what he and his boss believe to be one of his old enemies. But the deeper he digs, the more he begins to believe that his daughter was the prime target due to the efforts of her group, GAIA, to expose a nearby nuclear waste facility called Northmoor which has been illegally storing plutonium.

I honestly thought this was going to be one of those violent "father's revenge" stories and was pleasantly surprised to find how wrong I was at every turn. Rather than turning into an inhuman killing machine wiping out easy targets left and right (not that there's anything wrong with that), Craven's humanity comes increasingly to the fore as his daughter's cause begins to resonate with him and his main goal becomes a desire to finish what she started. This involves duplicating an ill-fated raid by her anti-nuclear group GAIA on Northmoor's subterranean storage facility and successfully recovering the plutonium, at the risk of his own life.

To this end, Craven begins to receive help from a couple of government insiders with similar interests, Pendleton (Charles Kay) and Harcourt (Ian McNeice, ACE VENTURE: WHEN NATURE CALLS), whose prissy characters supply some of the story's droll comic touches. His main ally, however, is CIA agent Darius Jedburgh (Joe Don Baker), a brash Texan who loves the cloak-and-dagger stuff almost as much as a good game of golf. Representing Washington's interests in the matter, Jedburgh accompanies Craven on the daring underground search for Northmoor's plutonium "hot cell" (still littered with the corpses of irradiated workers and GAIA members murdered by the plant's security) which takes up most of episode five and gives the series some of its most riveting moments.

Bob Peck, who played the steely-eyed game warden in JURASSIC PARK, is fascinating to watch because his performance as Ronald Craven is so subtle and intense. Rarely demonstrative in demeanor, there's always a lot going on in his deceptively placid face and wary eyes, making even the slightest emotional outburst all the more effective. His character is allowed much screen time after his daughter's death to actually deal with his grief in a believable way, and it's through that perspective that we view all subsequent events.

As a lead character, Craven's an intriguingly odd duck. While going through Emma's things after her death, he comes across her "personal vibrator" and wistfully kisses it. For him, questioning a suspect is a slow process which includes holding his hand in a loving manner and forming an almost affectionate bond that helps to facilitate a willing candor. His mental state is in question as well, particularly when he begins to see and converse with Emma on a regular basis. His growing fanaticism as the story unfolds--or "greening", one might say--makes him more and more unpredictable in his quest to bring down the rich, power-hungry despoilers of the earth responsible for Emma's death.

Troy Kennedy Martin's screenplay is filled with interesting characters, witty dialogue, and political intrigue, with occasional bursts of suspenseful action. Future "Bond" director Martin Campbell's direction is good--a bit claustrophobic at times, though likely intentionally so--and early signs of his later style are evident here. It's easy to see why, ten years later, Campbell would cast Joe Don Baker as CIA agent Jake Wade in GOLDENEYE. Baker gives perhaps the finest performance of his career as Darius Jedburgh--as often as I've seen him in various things over the years, I still had no idea he was capable of being this good.

Most impressive is a later scene in which he addresses a gathering of business and military bigwigs during a conference on nuclear energy, working himself into a blustering, bellowing frenzy with a block of plutonium in each hand and turning the event into a panic-stricken stampede. Baker also relishes delivering some of the film's headiest dialogue such as the following:

"You ever been to Dallas, Craven?"

"No, sir."

"It's where we shoot our presidents. The Jews got their Calvary, but we got Dealey Plaza!"

The rest of the cast is dotted with familiar faces and fine performances. I recognized Jack Watson and Allan Cuthbertson from British shows such as "The Avengers" and "Fawlty Towers", and Zoe Wanamaker, who plays Jedburgh's associate and Craven's fleeting love interest Clementine, has recently appeared in the "Harry Potter" films. Fans of AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON will instantly recognize white-haired actor John Woodvine as Craven's boss. I was especially pleased to see Kenneth Nelson, so effective as the star of William Friedkin's classic BOYS IN THE BAND, as the evil corporate executive Grogan.

The two-disc DVD set from BBC Warner in in 4.3 full-screen with an English mono soundtrack and English subtitles. Extras include: a slightly-different alternate ending; a music-only track to highlight the fine score by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen; a photo gallery; a lengthy featurette with cast and crew interviews; and some dry but informative British TV segments featuring interviews, reviews, and scenes from the BAFTA and Broadcasting Press Guild award shows where EDGE OF DARKNESS was a big winner.

Slow doesn't always mean boring, especially when a story has the substance this one has, and the deliberate pace with which EDGE OF DARKNESS unfolds is highly satisfying. I'll admit, I had trouble following some of the intricacies of the plot, but as Steward Lane of the Broadcasting Press Guild puts it in one of the DVD extras, "It was so marvelous 'cause you didn't really know what was going on most of the time...which made it most compulsive viewing." And although it didn't leave me with as strong a fadeout as I'd hoped, I was still thinking about those black flowers for quite awhile afterward.

EDGE OF DARKNESS: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE KILLER -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 3/24/10

 

I wasn't that impressed with THE KILLER (1989) the first time I saw it back in the 90s. Then again, I was watching a choppy pan-and-scan VHS copy that was badly-dubbed and looked awful. Plus, I'd just been blown away by HARD BOILED (still my favorite John Woo film), and THE KILLER seemed rather tame in comparison with that insanely action-packed epic. But with the new 2-disc Ultimate Edition of THE KILLER on the Dragon Dynasty label, I'm finally getting to see it in all its uncut pictorial glory and appreciate it as one of the finest action films ever made.

I think it was an episode of the great TV series "The Incredibly Strange Film Show" that first got me interested in the films of John Woo, Tsui Hark, and other hot Hong Kong directors. I found the innovative and extremely rapid-fire editing in the film clips to be a new and exhilarating visual experience. Just as the Beatles interpreted American rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues and played it back to us in exciting new ways, Hong Kong cinema was assimilating the methods of Sam Peckinpah and others and using this as a starting point for creating a super-charged cinematic style that would, in turn, have an overwhelming effect on the future of American action cinema.

Woo himself credits many influences, among them French director Jean-Pierre Melville, certain Japanese films, and classical American cinema. Unsurprisingly, Sam Peckinpah and Martin Scorcese are key figures in the development of his film style, in addition to the old Hollywood musicals. Woo calls THE KILLER an "action-musical", and it's easy to see how his shoot-em-up sequences are often inspired by the spirit of that genre's more dazzling and dynamic production numbers. (I'm guessing Woo is an admirer of Gene Kelly and films such as SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and ON THE TOWN.)


There's even a little bit of Charlie Chaplin's CITY LIGHTS, I think, in the relationship between ace hitman Ah Jong (the great Chow Yun-Fat) and Jennie (Sally Yeh), the pretty young cabaret singer who was blinded during one of his hits. The guilt-ridden Ah Jong befriends Jennie with the hope of helping her regain her eyesight with a cornea transplant, but to pay for the operation he will have to postpone his plans to retire and perform one last hit. Complicating matters is the fact that the evil Triad boss for whom he works has just put out the order for Ah Jong himself to be eliminated.

Meanwhile, Inspector Li Ying (Danny Lee), a renegade cop who has the same "hate-hate" relationship with his boss as countless other renegade cops before him, is hot on Ah Jong's trail and has traced him to Jennie. In a strange turn of events, cop and hitman become grudging allies as Li Ying sympathizes with Ah Jong's desire to help Jennie and decides to back him up when the Triad kill squad comes a-callin'. This leads to a blazing shoot-out in a church with the fate of our unlikely heroes in the balance.

Unlike the usual stoic, repressed action figure, Chow Yun Fat's character is a man of deep feelings whose code of killing only bad guys is compromised not only by Jennie's injury but by the shooting of a little girl during an exciting escape from the police. Ah Jong risks his freedom to race the girl to a hospital, where he and Li Ying have one of many Mexican standoffs (Woo really loves these) just a few feet away from where doctors are struggling to save the girl's life.

Here, and in Ah Jong's scenes with Jennie, Woo's penchant for melodrama and sentimentality come to the fore. Such unrestrained romanticism may be off-putting to more hardcore action fans who prefer their mayhem untainted by mush. Although it gets a little thick at times, I think this gives an interesting added dimension to Woo's passages of gun-blazing carnage, as does the underlying religious tone (Woo describes himself as a Christian) which makes Ah Jong such a conflicted character seeking redemption.


Also interesting is the fact that Li Ying begins to identify with and even admire him for his honorable qualities--Woo points out their similarities in a nice parallel-image sequence--as their mutual concern for Jennie has them pretending to be and eventually becoming friends. Woo's humor comes to the fore when they initially hold each other at gunpoint while assuring the blind Jenny that all is well, even giving each other affectionate nicknames "Small B" and "Shrimp Head" (or "Mickey Mouse" and "Dumbo" in the English dub). By the end of the movie, they're as close as brothers and willing to die for each other.

More than anything else, however, THE KILLER is a feast for action connoisseurs as Woo stages one astounding shoot-out after another. His trademarks are all here, from the rapid-fire two-gun approach (his heroes never seem to run out of bullets) which has since been adopted by, well, everybody, to the sliding-backward-on-the-floor-while firing method, to everything else in-between. Innovations abound, with Woo's distinctive use of slow-motion and freeze-frames mixed with the regular action as his artistic sensibility sees fit, all creatively edited into a barrage of explosive images that bombard the viewer in waves of kinetic visual sensation.

Some of the action borders on the surreal, with scores of bad guys swarming non-stop into the line of fire only to be mowed down in twisting, jerking, blood-spewing (yet strangely balletic) death throes. Echoes of the famous shoot-outs from Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH pervade the climactic battle in the church, while the melodrama of the story weaves its way through the hail of bullets and fiery explosions toward a starkly emotional conclusion. It bears noting that Woo improvised much of the story and dialogue on-set, shooting from a treatment rather than a finished script, yet considers this to be one of his most "complete" films.


The Dragon Dynasty DVD is in the original widescreen with Dolby Digital sound. Languages are Cantonese and dubbed English, both mono, with English and Spanish subtitles. The second disc includes an intimate interview with John Woo, two audience Q & A's with Woo which accompanied screenings of THE KILLER and HARD BOILED, a look at the locations of THE KILLER then and now, and a John Woo trailer gallery. Missing in action is a commentary track.

Whether you're a long-time fan or just seeing it for the first time, Dragon Dynasty's Ultimate Edition of THE KILLER is a great way to experience this dazzling Hong Kong action classic.

THE KILLER -- DVD Review by Porfle

STREETS OF BLOOD -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/30/09

 

"Are we even cops anymore?"
"We're past that, brother."

Val Kilmer's character, Det. Andy Devereaux, is referring to the fact that he and his fellow cops in STREETS OF BLOOD (2009) have ventured far beyond the bounds of acceptable police procedure in their quest to stem the rising tide of drug-related crime in the hurricane-ravaged Big Easy. 

 But seeing that Kilmer, Sharon Stone, and Michael Biehn are appearing in this tacky, low-grade potboiler, the question he's answering might as well have been "Are we even movie stars anymore?"

Somehow, though, once I got past the possibility that this was going to be a classy, top-notch movie and lowered my expectations accordingly, I actually started to enjoy it. It's fast-moving, action-packed, and rather colorful in its depiction of the dark underbelly of New Orleans, with plenty of sleazy sex and violence to give it that neo-grindhouse appeal. Big names aside, it's not all that different from the cheap, direct-to-video action flicks I used to rent from hole-in-the-wall video stores back in the 80s.

Val Kilmer is an actor I like in just about anything, so I cut him some slack here even though he isn't all that successful at making me think he's from anywhere near Louisiana. As Andy Devereaux, a hardboiled narc trying to live up to his hero-cop father's legacy, he's a true blue cop even though he'll bend the hell out of the rules to make a bust.  

Curtis "Fifty Cent" Jackson plays his partner, Stan, a family man having trouble making ends meet and feeling the temptation to pocket some of the stacks of drug money they come across. Jackson seems more comfortable playing gangstas than cops, but he does a pretty good job here even though he could still use a few more acting lessons.

Andy and Stan often butt heads with Pepe (Jose Pablo Cantillo) and Barney (Brian Presley), two really out-of-control cops who like to kill bad guys, take their cash, do their drugs, and screw their girlfriends. But the two disparate duos find themselves working together when FBI agent Brown (Michael Biehn) launches an investigation that threatens to bring them all down just as they're starting to close in on the biggest drug gang in the city, the Latin Kings, run by a stone cold killer named Chamorro (Luis Rolon).

While all this is going on, a police psychologist named Nina (Sharon Stone) is conducting interviews with the main cops in order to find out why they have such a penchant for extreme violence, including Andy's four lethal shootings in three years ("I'm a good shot," he tells her). Stone comes off like a cross between Daisy Duke on 'ludes and a slow-drawlin' Mae West, with one of the worst southern accents in film history--I live about sixty miles from where this was filmed, and I don't think I've ever met anyone who talks like her. What, did she base her entire performance on a "Deputy Dawg" cartoon she saw when she was a kid? Anyway, she's just plain awful here, but it's kinda funny so that might actually be a plus.

The action scenes are somewhat artlessly staged, the photography looks like the cameramen were hopping around barefoot on a hot sidewalk, and the editing is less than exquisite. Those minor quibbles aside, however, the movie still manages to be exciting and fun to watch. Some scenes even generate a certain raw power, such as Kilmer's blow-up during an interrogation scene with Biehn and a trigger-happy exchange between Pepe and Barney and a pimpin' lowlife named Ray Delacroix (Davi Jay) who turns out to be working with the DEA. Several of the snappy dialogue scenes crackle with tension. Jose Pablo Cantillo is a standout as Pepe, and Biehn, as usual, turns in a solid performance. The post-Katrina flood sequence is atmospheric, while good use is made of locations in and around the city of Shreveport.

The DVD from Anchor Bay is bonus-less except for the film's trailer and English subtitles for the hard-of-hearing. The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen image and Dolby Surround 5.1 are good.

Technically, STREETS OF BLOOD is a pretty slapdash affair, but that didn't keep me from enjoying it. I even watched it again and liked it better the second time because I knew what to expect and what not to expect. Even when the surprise ending was entirely unbelievable, I just accepted it as part of the film's cheapo charm. And when it was over, I almost felt like I needed to rewind the tape, pop it out of the VCR, and get it back to the mom-and-pop video store where I rented it in time to avoid a late fee. After dubbing a copy, of course.

STREETS OF BLOOD -- DVD Review by Porfle

DRAGNET (1954) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

(Originally posted on 7/1/21)

 

 

Currently re-watching: DRAGNET (1954), the feature-length theatrical version of the classic 1950s TV series in its original incarnation.

It's all the stuff I love about the TV show, but grittier and more hardboiled and violent. (A dark-haired Dub Taylor gets two blasts from a double-barrelled shotgun in the first scene! "They killed him twice," Joe Friday remarks later.) There's a very downbeat, melancholy ending too.

Jack Webb stars as the iconic Sgt. Joe Friday, a dedicated, no-nonsense cop who's still fairly young yet made prematurely sober and even somewhat cynical by his experiences. Ben Alexander is Friday's dependable partner and friend, Frank Smith. 

 

 

In addition to his beautifully measured performance, I love the way Webb's often innovative direction combines some imaginative touches with extreme economy and a briskly efficient shooting style.

As usual, dialogue delivery is very terse. I wonder if the actors are reading their lines from cue cards and/or teleprompters (did they have those then?) as they did on the TV series, or if the longer schedule gave them time to actually memorize their lines. (I suspect the former.)

Ann Robinson (WAR OF THE WORLDS) plays an undercover police woman and Richard Boone is the captain in charge of the case. The movie also features Virginia Gregg, Dennis Weaver, Vic Perrin (the "Outer Limits" control voice), Olan Soule, James Griffith, and Virginia Christine.

Friday is tougher and more doggedly relentless than ever as he and Frank try to wear down an arrogant, seemingly untouchable suspect (Stacy Harris as "Max Troy") and pin the murder on him and his thug cohorts. 

 

 

One scene even erupts in a rare fistfight that's full of action and leaves the two detectives bandaged and bloodied.

Friday gets his usual allotment of sharply-delivered cutdowns, telling one punk "Unless you're growing, sit down!" and countering an insult against his mother with "I'll bet your mother had a loud bark."

DRAGNET the movie is as sharply-folded and tightly-wound as the TV series, yet somehow there's just more of everything and it all has an irresistible noirish quality that blends in a very satisfying way with the show's inherent realism.

And as the laconic Joe Friday, lanky in his rumpled suit and observing it all from beneath the wide brim of his fedora, Jack Webb is better than ever.

 

DRAGNET (1954) -- Movie Review by Porfle

QUANTUM OF SOLACE -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 6/4/16

 

First things first--much of the editing in QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008) is horrible.  I mean, it's shockingly bad.  Sometimes damn near incomprehensible, in fact.

If you're going to stage elaborate and expensive action setpieces, you don't chop the footage into confetti and blast it at the audience with a salad shooter.  Imagine the best scenes in CASINO ROYALE done in this style.  It would've been a jumbled mess, too, instead of a generally recognized success.

I'd love to see the raw footage of this film given over to someone who knows what to do with it. Imagine it in the hands of original Bond editor Peter Hunt, who helped create the series' style.

 

Fun stuff like Bond's womanizing and sexual innuendos have been toned down.  (At the time I feared this was because everyone was afraid of offending Barbara Broccoli.) He doesn't even score with the main "Bond girl" of the film, Camille, well played by Olga Kurylenko ("Magic City") as an emotionally-damaged survivor out for revenge.

Bond does have a quick fling with MI6 field agent Miss Fields (Gemma Arterton, THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED).  We never learn her first name, but being that she's a redhead and this is a Bond film, it isn't hard to imagine. 

At any rate, subsequent viewings of QUANTUM OF SOLACE, during which I no longer have to spend all my time figuring out what's going on, have caused me to grow increasingly fond of it.

 

Not only is there a whole lot of action, but the continuation of the previous film's storyline relating to Vesper Lind and the mysterious "Quantum" organization is quite satisfying to me, as is its resolution, which is like something right out of a bonafide spy thriller. (Shades of DR. NO and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE.)

Some sequences, such as the airplane setpiece, the various hotel scenes, and the explosive desert finale, are quite well done.  There's a nice scene between Bond and his CIA friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) in a seedy bar, and a reunion with Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini, HANNIBAL) from CASINO ROYALE which is sublime.

We get what may be the first "breaking the fourth wall" moment in an Eon Bond film [not counting the one in the pre-titles sequence for ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE] when 007 is pulled over by Bolivian cops and ordered to open his trunk.  Bond glances right at us for half a tick and mutters aloud, "Now why would he want me to do that?"

 

The evil megalomaniac Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) isn't the best Bond bad guy of all time, but this neurotic, narcissistic flake isn't the worst either. And his scheme to control all the precious water rights in an entire South American country is plausible enough, even if it isn't all that exciting.  (It's just a McGuffin anyway.)
    
Plus, we finally get to see what all the hostility between Bond and M (Judi Dench) has been leading up to.  With her faith in everyone else around her eroding, and the supposed good guys making Faustian deals with the bad guys left and right (this is the most politically pessimistic of all the Bond films), M realizes that Bond is the one person she can depend on because he's the only one who doggedly insists on actually trying to do the right thing.

"He's my agent," she tells her aide Tanner, "and I trust him."  And Bond proves that he's been worthy of this trust all along. It's a cathartic moment, one of the most important of the entire Daniel Craig era.

But best of all...we finally get to see the return of NUDE SILHOUETTE BABES in the title sequence!

Not all that crazy about the theme song, though.  Here's one I came up with, which I think is much more Bond-like:

GREENE FINGER (to the tune of "Goldfinger" by John Barry, Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley)

Greene Finger
He's the man, the man with Polanski's puss
An evil wuss

Thus, a mean finger
Buying up, the stuff that's worth more than gold
His water's cold

H2O he will pour up your nose
And no telling what else, I suppose
For an oily girl, knows when he's dipped her
It's the dip of death, from mister

Greene Finger
Beckons you to jump in his lake of sin
But don't dive in

Stay away from his desert abode
If you go there, you just might explode
When he catches you, trying to sneak out
He will grab an axe, and freak out

Greene Finger
Pretty girls, you're not what excites him so
It's H2O

He loves H2O, H2O
He loves H2O, H2O
H2 OOOOOOOOOOOOOH

QUANTUM OF SOLACE -- Movie Review by Porfle