085 - The Thief of Bagdad

Synopsis: Impressive telling of the Arabian Nights tale

Directors: Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan, Zoltan Korda

Actors: Conrad Veidt, Sabu, John Justin, June Duprez

Date: 1940

How viewed: Bought on Amazon

Rating: 4/5

David Meyer says:

The story lags, the transitions are clumsy, and the dialogue is occasionally campy, but the intent - to combine available technology, unlimited imagination, and a substantial budget to create a captivating dream for adults and children - is fully realised.

I say:

This is the stuff of fairy tales, featuring, of course, the evil wizard (with the power to summon up storms, and turn a boy into a dog) and the young King, who are both in love with the beautiful princess (who falls into a Sleeping Beauty type coma).  It also comes with the obligatory sword fights (surprisingly gory in places), impressive beards, moustaches and indeed eyebrows (!!), a flying carpet, man-eating spider, killer robot, huge genie who is released from a bottle and grants 3 wishes, a rose (whose scent erases memory, what??) and of course, being saved from execution at the last moment (though does beheading really count as the threatened 'death by a thousand cuts'). I expected the film to be a bit clanky, and of course it is in some places, but, give over, it was released in 1940, and so the special effects aren't that special - but it's still a technicolour dream with plenty to enjoy. 

  

084 - The King of Comedy

Synopsis: Talentless comedian stalks his hero to try and kickstart his career

Director: Martin Scorsese

Actors: Jerry Lewis, Robert de Niro, Sandra Bernhard, Diahnne Abbott

Date: 1982

How viewed: Bought on Amazon

Rating: 3/5

David Meyer says:

By turns it's funny, unsettling, surreal, and unbearable. Consider it an exercise in truth through exaggeration. 

I say:

This feels like quite a disturbing films on a number of levels. Robert de Niro plays Rupert Pupkin a sad, lonely, budding comedian with enormous self-belief and no talent, who stalks and harasses his hero (Jerry Lewis playing a top talk-show host) for a slot on his show - and not taking 'no' for an answer, resorts ultimately to kidnap to achieve his dream (and he believes, his right). It feels like the precursor for all the current reality shows - people with no talent being able to achieve fame and fortune just by being pushy. So, this is one of those films that I'm sure some people find extremely funny, but others (including me) find just a little bit sad, and creepy, and irritating. I'm still not convinced de Niro does comedy (maybe in this film that's the point), but Jerry Lewis is sensational as the successful but world-weary talkshow host (such a contrast to his previous incarnation playing the stupid partner of Dean Martin) and Sandra Bernhard is manically brilliant in one scene. So, what else to report - the musical score is by Robbie Robertson (mainly music by Ray Charles which can't be bad), I liked the way the scenes switched between reality and Pupkin's daydreams, and there's plenty of cameos to look our for (including Martin Scorsese himself). The ending suggests that indeed infamy trumps real talent (but alternatively that may simply have been another of Pupkin's daydreams).  

083 - Big Wednesday

Synopsis: Coming of age of 3 surfing buddies in LA in the 1960's and 1970's

Director: John Milius

Actors: Gary Busey, Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, Patti D'Abanville

Date: 1978

How viewed: Lovefilm watch list

Rating: 2/5

David Meyer says:
Sacrificing anything resembling subtext, Milius creates an enduring vision of the surfer-as-samurai and of the surf movie as Western.  

I say:

So, this is a coming of age tale of 3 Californian surfers - looking at their lives and loves around the time of each of 4 big ocean swells, starting in 1962 with The South Swell, then The West Swell 1965. then The North Swell in 1968 and finally the Great Swell of 1974. That must have looked good on the story-board but it's actually all very pedestrian - not much happens - even the diversion of the Vietnam war is not told with any real impact, and indeed a huge amount of time is spent on shots of bare-chested surfers posing with their boards gazing out into the distance. Maybe that echoes surfing - a lot of hanging around waiting for the right wave. Also, off-hand, I don't think I can recall a film where the orchestral theme music has so flattened a movie - it's so ponderous - it should have been Dick Dale!! That said, there's a lot of good music in the first (1962) segment - Green Onions, Lucille, Money, Will you still love me tomorrow, The Locomotion, etc - but then they seem to forget it thereafter. One of thing of note were the station-wagons (with the surf boards on top) they drove - as a big fan of VW vans I was almost won over! But I suppose most noteworthy are the final surfing scene with huge waves - obviously filmed with professional surfers (rather than the actors) which must have looked fantastic in wide-screen cinema.