dtidball

I first watched the Bridge at Remagen on TV about 30 years ago, and quite happily watched it again this evening for about the fourth time. It is a well written film that does a commendable job of getting the setting right, starting with the sweeping opening shot of the bridge at the center of the action. There are nice touches throughout the film. In one early series, the German commander receives orders to blow up the bridge which he knows will trap his troops on the wrong side of the river; meanwhile the American commander tells his staff not to even worry about the bridge because he assumes that either the Germans or Allied bombers will destroy it anyway. This provides a subtle statement about the futility of war where two armies will fight a battle over control of a bridge which apparently nobody wants.

The battle sequences are well staged, and the main characters are given sufficient depth to make the film work as a human drama. One quibble I have about the film is the age of the actors. On average, American GI's in the second world war would have been in their mid-twenties, yet almost every actor playing an American soldier in this film appears to be in his mid to late thirties (Bo Hopkns being a notable exception). Ben Gazzara and George Segal were both closing in on forty when this film was made and they look it - Gazzara in particular. It detracts from an otherwise strong film when the impression is given that the US soldiers were fighting off middle age as well as the Germans.

It is astonishing how good SouthPark can be when its creators abandon some of their more vulgar tendencies. I have long been a fan of the TV show. At its best, several viewings have been required, because I have missed parts while being busy laughing. With the Trapped In The Closet episode, Trey Parker, Matt Stone and company have dropped the poop jokes and set their focus on satire. The result is a show as vicious and funny as any satire going back to Jonathan Swift.

In debates, an effective means of attack is to use an opponent's words against them. The boys do this to great effect with Scientology. Much has been made of this programme's mockery of Tom Cruise and the ongoing tabloid rumours of Mr. Cruise's sexuality. However, Mr. Cruise's own public behaviour in recent years has done far more damage to his image than anything in this show. The true target of this episode is the Church of Scientology, an institution for which SouthPark's creators obviously have little use. In this, Trapped In The Closet hits its mark repeatedly. If you disagree with Messrs. Parker and Stone, be advised that this programme ends with as blunt a challenge as you are going to find on TV.

Funny, nasty and fearless....this episode should be considered a classic.

F For Fake is reasonably entertaining, but hardly a classic effort. I first saw this as part of a series of Welles films in a university level film course. The course instructor used Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, MacBeth and F For Fake - screened in that order - in an effort to show how Welles relationship with Hollywood powers changed the way he made films. Certainly, by the time Mr. Welles made this film, he was well past having big studio resources available for his efforts. The result is a documentary that seems slapped together in places, and whose central idea concerning perceptions of what is real comes off as an elaborate, if witty, joke. While entertaining, there is none of the emotional impact that marked his great early works. By the end of the film, the viewer is all too aware that they have been watching Orson Welles - noted film maker, magician and one time star - having a bit of fun. It is a bit of fun for the viewer, but hardly memorable.