frankwiener

If I were a self-respecting whore, I would have left Big Whiskey, Wyoming a long time ago. What in God's name kept them in a place where they were so unappreciated as human beings? Surely, if they were any good at their trade, they would have fled Big Whiskey for bigger prospects in Cheyenne or, for sure, Denver. Did they owe Skinny, the owner of the Big Whiskey saloon and whore house some type of debt? If so, I missed that. By the way, I immediately recognized Anthony James, who played Skinny, for his unforgettable role as Ralph, the creepy counter man in the original film version of "In the Heat of the Night" (1967). James has a face and persona that one would not forget easily. He was made for a place like Big Whiskey, Wyoming. For those who remember the 1967 classic, it's too bad that his special rubber band skills didn't serve him at all in Big Whiskey.

As to Skinny's employees, if Delilah had any standards as a true professional, she would never have ridiculed the size of a client's penis, no matter how microscopic in proportions. That sort of behavior has no place in her particular line of work. She should have been focused on the quality of her services and not the physical shortcomings of her patrons. She paid dearly for her mistake.

While the entire cast worked exceptionally well together, probably due to the skill of the director, Clint Eastwood, three members especially impressed me. The first was Richard Harris as the British gunslinger, English Bob, who was mercilessly kicked and run out of town when he arrived to earn the bounty on Delilah's abusers. The second was Gene Hackman as Little Bill, the shockingly sadistic town sheriff who took great pleasure in kicking and whipping bounty hunters, to whom he referred as assassins, when they dared to enter his jurisdiction. While Little Bill viewed himself as an upstanding citizen who tried to uphold the law in his frontier town and who incompetently pursued carpentry as a hobby, I saw him as a cruel and vicious tyrant who beat and kicked his victims just for the pleasure of it. What impresses me about Hackman is his success at portraying a wide range of characters, and this was among the best roles I've ever seen him play, deservedly winning him an Oscar for it. The third stand-out here, of course, was the director/producer himself, Clint Eastwood, as the central character, Bill Munny, the retired gunman who struggled desperately to live the proper life of which his deceased wife would have approved, providing for their two children as a Kansas farmer. It was never meant to be, but I'll save the rest for you to see yourselves. If you are Clint Eastwood fans, as I am, you will love this film in spite of its sometimes excruciating violence. Justifiably, he won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director here. Not recommended for those who are uncomfortable with very graphic, sexual language that never once beats around the bush.

Having read several user reviews of this film, this is one of those rare occasions when I am very happy not to have read the book. Although the film is based on a novella by Thomas Mann, it must be seen for its own sake. As a work of art, it stands alone, independent from the literary work from which it was inspired.

I was also annoyed by those who disliked the film because "it had no plot" or because "not enough happens". I wonder why these critics came here in the first place when they have "Fight Club" or "The Departed" easily at their fingertips. One way or another, something is always happening in those movies, and there is no shortage of them. On the other hand,films like "Death in Venice" appear once in a lifetime.

This film is a work of beauty as it combines Gustav Mahler's haunting Adagietto of his Fifth Symphony, the stunning cinematography of Pasqualino De Santis ("Romeo and Juliet" (1968) among others), the unforgettable costuming by Piero Tosi (those hats!), the outstanding acting by Dirk Bogarde, and the overall direction of Luchino Visconti. Plague or no plague, we will never experience the world of Venice in 1910 as it was delivered to us by this film. I visited the city in 1971 and then again in the 1990's after the floodgates of the former Iron Curtain were opened, and I could not believe the difference that two decades could make. On my second visit, I was smothered not by plague but by an overwhelming mass of humanity. I literally could not breathe from the mobs of people who choked Venice to death.

As far as I can determine, although Visconti somehow chose the central character to be a composer, this is a story that is founded on the personal experience of the writer Thomas Mann. While others see the central character as a pedophile or a sexual pervert, I rather see his view of Tadzio, the boy, as the culmination of his pursuit of perfection, which is referenced several times during the film. The statues of Michelangelo apparently were not enough for Gustave. He needed them to breathe and move. He risked his very life remaining in plague-infested Venice to fulfill his dream. The grotesque image of the lead minstrel musician, as well as Gustave's eventual, pathetic demeanor, starkly contrasted against that of Tadzio, which symbolized the ideal for which Gustave strived. That juxtaposition alone made the outcome even more tragic.

Ironically, the film reminded me of another one in which Dirk Bogarde was featured, "Meet Me at the Fair" with a lovely Jean Simmons as his co-star. I don't want to spoil that one, so I won't say any more about it.