059 - Rancho Deluxe

Synopsis: Young rustlers against old style rancher in modern day Western 

Director: Frank Perry

Actors: Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterston, Slim Pickens, Elizabeth Ashley, Harry Dean Stanton 

Date: 1975

How viewed: Lovefilm rental

Rating: 3/5

David Meyer says:

The truest, funniest tale of the modern West ever told. It's a longtime cult favourite, the kind of witty, well-written evocative picture that would never get produced today. 

I say:

What a disappointment! Billed by one critic as 'an often hilarious look at how the vast societal upheaval of the 60's and the creeping industrialisation which began at the turn of the century were changing the face of the 'old west', this falls between 2 (or more) stools. It could have been another Blazing Saddles (which surprisingly came out the year before, one might have guessed it would have been the other way around), or it could have been a more serious look at the way modern technology changed the face of ranching I can't decide whether the script is good and the direction is poor, or the direction is good and the script is poor, but it just seemed like a missed opportunity. Nevertheless there are some good one-liners, and I like the way none of the characters are not what they seem (e.g. the ranchers previously owned a beauty parlour) and the likes of Jeff Bridges, Harry Dean Stanton, and Slim Pickens (who I have to admit is great!), are always worth watching, but the story is more 'Dukes of Hazard' than anything else. Ho hum...   

058 - The Passenger

Synopsis: Journalist takes on new identity but can't escape his past 

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni

Actors: Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre, Ian Hendry

Date: 1975

How viewed: Already in my collection

Rating: 4/5

David Meyer says:

Antonioni shows his hero no more pity than he shows the rest of the cast - that is none - and yet the result remains uplifting, almost religious, and unforgettable.

I say:

A long slow road trip - that starts somewhere in Africa, as a journalist (Nicholson) frustratingly fails to track down a guerilla group, comes back to his hotel, and finds the chap in the next room, with whom he spoke briefly, dead. Their similar appearance persuades him to swap identities, and he then uses  his airline tickets and diary to continue the fraud. Unfortunately he discovers that the man was an illegal arms dealer, and his wife (Nicholson's wife) is unconvinced and on his trail - so rather than escaping, he ends up being pursued by old and new connections. Great location scenes in London. Munich, Barcelona and Andalucia, and famous for a long continuous shot at the end where the camera appears to go through the bars on the window. Probably very existential, telling us that we can't escape from ourselves, but actually just great to sit back and watch!

057 - The spy who came in from the cold

Synopsis: Classic Le Carre double double cross spy thriller 

Director: Martin Ritt

Actors: Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner

Date: 1965

How viewed: Lovefilm rental

Rating: 5/5

David Meyer says:

Director Martin Ritt is no visual stylist; he frames the action simply and lets it happen. Ritt obtains fine, quiet performances from his predominantly English cast, something few American directors have accomplished.   

I say: 

This follows the Le Carre novel closely, but despite the complex wheeling and dealing, and double crossing, is surprisingly easy to follow - even the twist at the end makes sense. Made in 1965 in black and white, London comes over as grey, bleak, and decidedly old fashioned, not at all like the swinging 60's I recall! The story involves Leamas (Richard Burton - just right!) being taken off active duty in Berlin, given a boring office job, turning to drink, and being persuaded by the Russians to defect and spill the beans. It's not clear how much he knows about what's going on, and how much he's kept in the dark, but, despite all the (planned??) twists, it all works out well for the those in control, and badly for Leamas - the drawback of being a secret agent - wonder if there's any good things!! One of joys of watching these old (relatively old!) films is seeing familiar faces from TV at the time - Rupert Davies (Maigret!!) turns up as Smiley, and well as the likes of Cyril Cusack, Michael Hordern, Robert Hardy, Bernard Lee, Esmond Knight et all! God, that shows how old I am! Anyway, this is the antidote to James Bond films and well worth watching.

056 - Cutter's Way

Synopsis: Vietnam vet and friends try to track down killer

Director: Ivan Passer

Actors: Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn

Date: 1981

How viewed: Lovefilm rental

Rating: 5/5

David Meyer says:

Everything in the film .. is soaked in ambiguity. Credit the many simultaneous moods of the screenplay, which manages to be spellbinding, funny, bitter, hopeful, and tragic without ever becoming self-important or manipulative. 

I say:
Yet another film of which I had little expectations. Another film I recall seeing around the time it came out, which had not lodged in my brain as anything noteworthy. Another film that arrived from Lovefilm and sat around for a week or more. And yet, and yet, another film which turned out to be a minor (perhaps even a major) classic. On the surface it's about 2 friends (Bone, a Californian drifter, and Cutter, his disfigured (1-eye, 1-arm, 1-leg) Vietnam veteran) obsessively tracking down and trying to prove the guilt of the local bigwig oilman who they suspect has killed a girl. On a deeper level I think it's about the post Vietnam, post hippy, post equality era, where the rich have taken over and can do what they want, and the poor are looking for someone to blame. It seems remarkably modern (apart from Bridges' moustache!), the performances are great (especially Heard's), the dialogue fizzes, and the tension builds. Possibly the best film I've seen in this trawl through 101 films. However looking at the reviews people either love it or hate it - when it was re-released a couple of years ago, the Guardian's John Patterson admitted he'd watched it around 30 times, that it might be his favourite American film, and called it a masterpiece. Not sure about that, but it's certainly up there!