095 - Macbeth

Synopsis: The Scottish Play - power and paranoia 

Director: Roman Polanski

Actors: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw

Date: 1971

How viewed: You tube

Rating: 2/5

David Meyer says:
Polanski's gift to this genre is to take the Royal Shakespeare Company out of their cloistered sets and into the damp, dirty and foreboding Welsh countryside. His revolutionary use of hand-held cameras frees his actors from the constipated Englishness of their training. 

I say:

One would need to know the play, and various versions, to know what Polanski adds - and I don't! Reviews suggest that Polanski makes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth younger/sexier (bizarrely it was financed by Hugh Hefner and Playboy) and makes the film more violent (including showing some deaths that normally happen off-stage). I'm sure even an amateur psychiatrist could diagnose Macbeth's problem - it all seems to stem from the prophecies of the 3 witches - you will become king (he makes sure that happens) but it will be Banquo's children that will reign thereafter (which he tries to prevent). As a result all around him either die or realise he's lost the plot. I watched this on Youtube (thank you!) - though both the sound and picture were a bit blurry but the story is pretty straightforward and I guess you either know the words off by heart or will recognise many of the famous speeches. Did I like it? Not really. 

094 - In a lonely place

Synopsis: A murder suspect falls for the neighbour who gives him an alibi

Director: Nicholas Ray

Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy

Date: 1950

How viewed: films.org

Rating: 2/5

David Meyer says:
Bogart underplays to perfection, and his rages spring to the surface with a terrifying and entirely believable energy. Grahame seems completely insane. 

I say:

This is another film that doesn't quite hit the mark. It's not suspenseful enough to be a murder mystery, it scratches the surface of the pressures of the film-business, and the love story is actually about a controlling violent relationship. So, Humphrey Bogart is a well-respected screen-writer (probably with writer's block) who becomes a suspect in a murder, but (possibly) is alibied by his blonde neighbour (Grahame). He becomes obsessed with her, she is interested, they fall in love, and everything is hunky-dory for a while (he writes, she makes breakfast) but then his violent side emerges as soon as anything negative happens. The police and her masseuse still have suspicions about his guilt and sow seeds of doubt in Laura's mind. She begins to see the light and tries to get away. Bogart is Bogart, Grahame is cool, his agent and best friend actor are the comic turns, and while things are going well, there's lots of banter - but overall it's a rather unpleasant film (particularly viewed from this day and age of equality). PS the book (by Dorothy Hughes) on which the film is based, is supposed to be rather good, and very different from the film!! PPS don't really understand that statement by David Meyer that Grahame seems completely insane - I didn't think she was at all!

093 - A fistful of dynamite

Synopsis: A Mexican bandit and an Irish terrorist find themselves involved with the revolution

Director: Sergio Leone

Actors: Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli

Date: 1971

How viewed: Lovefilm

Rating: 2/5

David Meyer says:
Leone opts for a light opera of noise and laughter, featuring his usual slapstick violence, goopy sentimentality, outrageous humour, and atrocious dubbing. 

I say:

Blimey, this is a real dog's dinner of a film - a family of Mexican bandits (headed by Rod Steiger - completely mis-cast - with little idea of what a Mexican accent is) join forces with an Irish Terrorist on the run (James Coburn - even more totally mis-cast - with no idea at all of what an Irish accent is)  with the aim of robbing a bank - only to find themselves caught up in the middle of a Mexican revolution (Pancho Villa, Zapata, et al). For an 'action' movie, the film is soooooooo slow, with lots of long close-ups of the protagonists faces, and (most of the time) a completely inappropriate soundtrack. The only saving graces are a couple of explosions / crashes - and a short period when they are in the bank releasing prisoners when the soundtrack suddenly kicks in in full force. The film is composed of numerous set scenes - but it's like every other chapter is omitted - suddenly we're in a different location with no idea why or what's gone on since the last episode. Surprisingly disappointing. 

092 Gates of Heaven

Synopsis: Documentary about pet cemeteries

Director: Errol Morris

Actors: n/a

Date: 1978

How viewed: Lovefilm

Rating: 2/5

David Meyer says:
A quirky film, slow, hilarious and rewarding

I say:

Again (see 078 Vernon. Florida) I benefitted from the introduction by Nick Broomfield who likened this film (ostensibly about pet cemeteries) as an insight to the American dream. The film falls into 3 sections - the first regarding the ultimate failure of one cemetery (despite the best intentions of the owner), and the 3rd regarding the (relative) success of another - the one (I think) where the pets were re-buried after the failure of the first - but the most haunting section is in the middle where one woman sits in her doorway and talks about her life - in fact of course all of the interviewees (who talk directly to the camera - you never see or hear Errol Morris's voice or know what questions were asked) talk about their lives rather than the subject in hand (pet cemeteries). All the interviewees are extraordinary and reveal so much - but it's hard just watching endless monologues (I fell asleep at one point). Here's the middle section - just enjoy that - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P1pTey4rpI

091 - Beyond the valley of the dolls

Synopsis: Parody on the evils of the the 60's Hollywood rock scene

Director: Russ Meyer

Actors: Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Michael Blodgett

Date: 1970

How viewed: Found on Archive.org

Rating: 2/5

David Meyer says:

When the realisation strikes that no movie could be this moronic on purpose, the sophisticated viewer will discover a knowing lampoon of the Hollywood party scene and the latter days of hippie excess.

I say:

The film follows the progress of the 3 girls in a rock band, who venture to LA to find fame and fortune - which they sort of do, and it all goes along fairly predictably, with endless parties, evolving relationships, psychedelic colours, sex and drugs - and the eventual redemption for the pure of heart - BUT the film goes completely off the rails when one of the main characters suddenly goes on a gory killing spree - and there's a bizarre epilogue preaching the dangers of sex drugs and rock 'n' roll. In many ways its a confusing film - Meyer is quoted as saying his intention 'was for the film to simultaneously be a satire, a serious melodrama, a rock musical, a comedy, a violent exploitation picture, a skin flick and a moralistic expose' - and it certainly comes across as a bit of a mess! However, it was actually better than I was expecting - so bad it was good (though good is a relative term). Much of the music is OK, there's a brilliant fast-scene shot when the girls first go to LA, and Dolly Read was eminently watchable. 

090 - Dogs of War

Synopsis: Mercenaries overthrow West African dictator

Director: John Irvin

Actors: Christopher Walken, Tom Berenger, Jobeth Williams, Colin Blakely

Date: 1980

How viewed: Lovefilm

Rating: 3/5

David Meyer says:
An intelligent, hard-boiled, unapologetic war movie, based on an unapologetic best-seller [by Frederick Forsyth]

I say:

Well, this is certainly better than I expected it to be. Despite an all-action first 5 minutes, with the gang of mercenaries forcing their way onto the last plane out of some war zone, the film follows Christopher Walken apparently settling back into life in San Fransisco. However, he's soon tracked down by a guy who wants to invest in some West African state, but needs the current dictator out of the way. Walker initially goes on a reconnaissance mission (the best bit of the film), and then is persuaded (for a bucket load of money) to reform his gang of mercenaries, go back, and take out the dictator - which they do, of course, in the final 15 minutes. So, there's actually not much violence, rather there a lot about getting the necessary weapons, getting them across borders, and planning the attack. Interestingly there's no subtitles - so when people speak French, or Italian or Fanti (??) there's a real sense of not quite knowing whats going on. What else to report?  Walken looks proper scary all the way through the film, but that's a given! Slightly bizarre to see Kenny Ireland and Jim Broadbent in very minor roles (as cameraman/soundman) trying to make a documentary about the goings on in the West African state! 

089 - Out of the Past

Synopsis: Classic 1940's film noir

Director: Jacques Tourneur

Actors: Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Jane Greer, Rhonda Fleming

Date: 1947

How viewed: Lovefilm

Rating: 4/5

David Meyer says: 
Director Tourneur's sense of hopelessness and existential dread find expression in a desolate compendium of noir characteristics: violence, sexual obsession, alienation, betrayal, and (justified) paranoia, all presented in eerie, shadow-laden lighting, and dreamlike camera work.

I say:

Blimey, this is such a convoluted story - it starts out OK (in flashback) private detective (Mitchum) hired (by Douglas) to track down missing girlfriend (Greer), finds her, falls for her, they run off together, but are found and she disappears. Years later the guy who hired him contacts him again. His girl has returned to him, and he wants Mitchum to retrieve some documents that show he (Douglas) has been avoiding tax. it's a set-up of course (to revenge the fact that Mitchum and Greer ran off together), but from then on everyone is betraying everyone and eventually everyone gets their comeuppance (i guess). Some of the reviews reckon that this is THE classic noir film with the classic femme fatale (Greer), and that the confused storyline doesn't matter (and is par for the course for noir), and maybe I just haven't seen enough of the genre to judge, but it certainly is enjoyable. Interesting to see a relatively early Robert Mitchum film - one sort of thinks of him as old and grizzled - but here he's younger (30) but you can already see the classic traits. Jane Greer is extraordinary as well - wildly switching from innocent girl to cold blooded killer. And there's some great dialogue - Mitchum saying 'If I'm going to die, I want to be the last'. A couple of points about the review in Robert Meyer's book (the first time I've noticed glitches) - he calls Mitchum's character a hoodlum (no, he's a private detective), and also lists Jack Elam as one of the starts (but he's not in the film at all), sadly, because Jack Elam is one of my all time favourite actors - and here's a photo, just to make up (or compound!) for the error.