Double feature of the week: When Nature Strikes Back

Man Vs. Nature is a very popular literary conflict that has always translated very well into the film genre. Sometimes these films are about man surviving hostel element, such as in “The Perfect Storm” or “Alive”. Other films are about man fighting against wild beast like “Jaws” or the much underrated “The Breed”. This week’s set of films similarly deal with that conflict. But more specifically, we are looking at what happens when nature says enough is enough and puts all of us in our place.

The first film of the week is a great South Korean creature feature. Joon-ho Bong’s “The Host” (2006) is about a giant crazy looking monster that is terrorizing the Han River area. The monster is a genetic mutation caused by a bunch of embalming fluids being dumped in the river. A young girl is snatched up by the monster and presumably eaten in front of her father and grandfather. Convinced that she’s still alive, her family then organizes a renegade mission to get her back and save the city. I fall in love with this film a little bit more every time I watch it. The execution of the monster scenes is flawless. Specifically, the first monster scene in the park is shot so brilliantly that I tend to skip back and rewatch it a few times. The characters are very well played and beautifully developed, each one with their own voice and quirks. And it’s surprising how much humor is fit into this film for as dark as it gets. If you haven’t seen it, I can’t suggest it enough.

I don’t think any director has explored humankind’s relationship with nature as much as Werner Herzog. His fictional films like “Fitzcarraldo” and “Aguirre: The Wrath of God” both take place deep in the South American jungle during different periods of European settlement. He has also directed quite a few documentaries on the subject like “Encounters at the End of the World” and his newest film, “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”. This week’s second film is one of his documentaries. “Grizzly Man” (2005) is the story of the life and death of Timothy Treadwell, an outdoorsman who spent a large part of his life living with and studying grizzly bears in Alaska. His gruesome death is also covered in this film. At some point, one of the bears decided that he didn’t want Timothy around anymore. This film is less about the bears and much more about the man. But that’s not to say that it’s a puff piece either. You will spend much of this film questioning (if not outright denying) the sanity of Treadwell. He seems to be borderline paranoid schizophrenic and definitely more than a little delusional. I suppose this film works just as well as a portrait of the human psyche after a very long a steady diet of zero human contact.

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: One Crazy Night (A Tom Noonan Extravaganza)

This week’s double feature is kind of like a double double feature. No, it’s not a quadruple feature. There are only two movies…. But they’re both connected in two separate ways. First off, they both tell the story of a single night. This is actually something you find somewhat often in cinema, especially in the horror genre. Both Spanish horror films, “REC” and “REC 2” take place in the same night. And Romero’s classic, “Night of the Living Dead” is a simple story of one hellish night. There is definitely something to be said for a story that can establish, develop and complete a character arc over the course of twelve or so hours. Some comedies have had success in this as well: “Dazed and Confused”, “Superbad” and “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle” to name a few.

The other way that these two films are connected is by a common actor. Both of these films contain the stylings of a performer that I’ve grown to enjoy more and more over the years. His name is Tom Noonan and I think he’s about twelve feet tall. You may know him as the Francis Dollarhyde (The Tooth Fairy killer) in Michael Mann’s “Manhunter”. Or you may know him as Frankenstein’s monster in Fred Dekker’s “Monster Squad”… or maybe even as Cain in “Robocop 2”. Either way, he’s one of those guys… with one of those faces…. And those guys never get enough credit.

The first feature this week is Jim Jarmusch’s “Mystery Train” (1989). This film tells three separate stories from beginning to end, one at a time, all revolving around a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis. Musical greats, Scremin’ Jay Hawkins, Joe Strummer and Tom Waits all have parts in this film. Steve Buscemi, Cinqué Lee (brother of Spike Lee), Nicoletta Braschi and the adorable Yuoki Kudoh also have parts. Tom Noonan shows up for a small but pivotal part in the “Ghost” segment of this film. “Mystery Train” is a fantastic film and one of my favorites from Jarmusch’s filmography. He does a great job of making three small intertwining stories come together as an homage to the home of Sun Studios, Graceland, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley.

Our next film this week is writer/director Ti West’s horror throwback “The House of the Devil” (2009). Mr. Noonan plays a much larger role in this one. I suspect that the part was actually written for him. The film is about a young college student who is hired for the night to babysit for an elderly couple on the night of a lunar eclipse. She spends the first part of the film dancing around to her walkman, watching TV and eating pizza. Soon she begins to suspect something is very wrong in the house. I would say that one of the true stars of this film actually is the location and how it was shot. This house makes the perfect creepy spot for an 80’s splatter film to take place. You spend about the first half of the movie just wandering around, opening doors and exploring the layout. I’ve actually heard a lot of complaints about this. Some say that this film just takes too long to get going. I disagree. I think the long build up is perfect. It’s shot on 16mm and the costumes and props make this film a very authentic look at the early 80’s. No cell phones or ipods, I even noticed the old style twenty dollar bill that she uses to pay for the pizza. This film even brings Mary Woronov out of retirement and has a cameo by Dee Wallace. I dig this movie a lot. It’s rare to find a slow burn horror film nowadays and this one comes together geniously.

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: Post Apocalyptic Funtime II

So, here we go. It’s my first double feature sequel. I did the first ‘Post Apocalyptic Funtime’ back in April. I liked it so much; I decided to do it again. As I said before, a post-apocalyptic world is a backdrop that I will always be interested in. The story being told very often takes a back seat to the world it exists in. It could be a heartfelt drama, fantastical sci-fi or undead horror. I’ll be into it either way. What I tend to be most interested in are things such as set and costume design. If the story takes place 20 years after the apocalypse, does the present world look as though it’s been lived in for the past 20 years? Likewise, if the apocalypse was more recent, do you still see traces of modern technology and architecture?

This week’s first feature comes to us from one of the most critically acclaimed directors of all time. His acclaim comes for good reason. Andrey Tarkovsky’s “Stalker” (1979) is about a man, a ‘stalker’, who’s mental gifts enable him to lead people into the Zone, a restricted area that contains a room that your most secret desires will come true. We follow him as he guides an alcoholic, washed up writer and a quiet scientist searching for answers. This film takes it’s time to say the least. It clocks in at 163 minutes, many of which are spent watching long shots of scenery and people doing next to nothing. It’s a very patient film and requires a very patient audience. But for those of you willing to take the journey, Tarkovsky delivers one of the most beautiful pieces of cinema ever created…… again.

And in this corner…. Our next film is a little less critically acclaimed. Donald G. Jackson and R.J. Kizer directed “Hell Comes To Frogtown” (1987) starring “Rowdy” Roddy Piper as the titular Sam Hell. Sam is one of the very last fertile men in the nuclear wasteland the world has become. So, as one would guess, he is kidnapped by a group of beautiful women in an attempt to repopulate the Earth. It’s kinda like that game you and your cousin used to play in your Dad’s makeshift bomb shelter (a.k.a. root cellar). Only this time, the mutants are already here and not the result of inbreeding. Before he can spread his seed, Sam must rescue the fertile women from the grips of the gigantic mutant frog like things that now rule the world.

This film came out a year before Roddy Piper would star in John Carpenter’s classic Book of Mormon adaptation, “They Live” as an unemployed loser who finds a pair of magic glasses that allow him to see the world as it truly is. Unfortunately, the Academy wasn’t quite ready to award a man that jumps from the top ropes wearing a skirt….. If they only would have written his character a little more autistic….

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: A Nasty Case of Stockholm Syndrome!

This should be a good topic. Even beloved animated features about a young woman falling in love with her captor (instinctual defense mechanism to avoid the bi-polar rage of a dangerous monster) have explored this topic. Beast did such a good job of crippling Belle with fear that she eventually took even the smallest pleasantry (like not killing her) as a grand romantic gesture.

We’ll kick this week of with a great performance from Terence Stamp in William Wyler’s “The Collector” (1965). In this film, Stamp plays a socially awkward bank teller whose hobbies include: nature walks, dousing rags with chloroform, collecting butterflies and locking beautiful art students in his basement/dungeon. Ok, so his collection of art students isn’t very extensive… he actually only has one, but she’s pretty special. The Stockholm Syndrome doesn’t take right away though. Sometimes she has to fake her affection at first. But as the film progresses, tension and melodrama seem to constantly take turns in the driver’s seat.

The second film of our double feature has, over the years, become one of my favorites. It also did wonders to reaffirm my crush on Christina Ricci. Vincent Gallo writes, directs and stars in “Buffalo ‘66” (1998). Gallo plays Billy Brown a man fresh out of prison in upstate New York. He does what most of us would do right after a five year lockup. He kidnaps a ballerina (Ricci), makes her pose as his wife and sets out to find and kill the Buffalo Bills placekicker that he blames for ruining his life. The plot is far from the only thing about this film that is unique. His technique of shooting this film seems as though he went to film school simply to learn which rules to break. Most notably, he has absolutely no regard for the 180 degrees rule. As a result, some of the scenes are confusing and disorienting. The end result of this film as a whole however shows how much fun you can have when an original story is told by a visionary storyteller.

Enjoy bitches....

Double feature of the week: Stranger in a Strange Land

The stranger’s story has been a staple for westerns for a long time. Films like “Shane” (1953) and “The Ox-Bow Incident” (1943) have used this trope very well. Clint Eastwood made a career out of playing this character and this year’s “Rango” has done it better than I would have ever expected from an animated feature about a lizard. But this type of character is not limited to the Wild West. So, this double feature is include a couple films that show that while the time a place change, some things stay the same.

The first film to check out is a classic among classics. That is to say that it is one of the greatest films from one of the absolute greatest filmmakers of all time. Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo” (1961) is about wandering masterless samurai, Sanjuro Kuwabatake (Toshiro Mifune). He finds himself in a small town ripped apart by two warring factions. Being the savvy business samurai he is, he decides it would best serve himself to scam each side into hiring him as protection against the other. Spaghetti western fans will probably find this plot pretty familiar. That’s because it is the basis for Sergio Leone’s “Fistful of Dollars” (1964). It was so similar in fact that the “Yojimbo” producers filed for and won a lawsuit because of those similarities.

Next up we have a much newer film that I’m sure will someday be seen as a classic in its own right. Jason Eisener’s “Hobo With A Shotgun” (2011) stars Rutger Hauer as the titular character who rides into a new town on the railroad, only to find that it is disgustingly overrun with criminal activity. Aghast by the state of the world he has found himself in, he does what any Good Samaritan would do. He befriends a local prostitute, buys a shotgun at the nearest pawn shop and begins the very delicate process of cleansing the criminal element from streets he calls home. This movie is a hell of a lot of fun. It comes complete with copious amounts of gore, cartoonish violence and characters and a monologue that can’t help but bring a tear to your eye.

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: Shadow Play

Cinematographer, Conrad Hall said: “Manipulating shadows and tonality is like writing music or a poem.” Conrad Hall shot “In Cold Blood” (1967) so I think we should listen to him. I have always loved films that feature great black and white cinematography. The beauty resides just as much in what remains hidden as in what is shown. So this week, I decided to showcase a double feature of films that don’t just use shadows for tone or atmosphere. In the case of these films, much of the story is actually told in the shadows.

I wouldn’t say that Carl Theodor Dreyer was a filmmaker that was ahead of his time 80+ years ago. I am more inclined to say that 80+ years ago, Carl Theodor Dreyer was a filmmaker that was ahead of our time now. His “Vampyr” (1932) is only one example of his technical and artistic genius. It was his first ‘talkie’ and he used dialogue sparingly. What he used brilliantly however was light and shadows. This was a time when special effects were actually special. Everything was done practically and much of it was actually shot outside. This was his first film after my favorite silent film, “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) and the last film he would direct for ten years.

Our next film is Carol Reed’s “The Third Man” (1950). Written by Graham Green and photographed beautifully by Robert Krasker. Joseph Cotten plays Holly Martins, an American arriving in Vienna to work for his longtime friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). He arrives just in time to find that his host has died and nobody seems to know how or why. The story of his friend’s checkered past unfolds as he searches through the underbelly of the city, revealing more questions than answers. The shadow play aspect of this film is at 11, culminating with a foot chase through a lantern lit sewer. This is one of those films that made me start looking at black and white cinematography differently. This film is all about the unknown and it quite frankly would never have worked without the dark corners and dim crevices and what may or may not be lurking in the shadows.

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: Ode To Serial Killers

Today marks the 80^th anniversary of the premier of the mother of all serial killer films. Fritz Lang’s “M” is one of my all time favorites. If you haven’t seen it, stop what you are doing right now, get on your Netflix queue or hit up your local library and get it done. This film is one of the first classic foreign films I watched and I’ve loved it ever since. So, this week’s double feature is in its honor.

Up first is a film I’m sure we’ve all seen. However, I think David Fincher’s “Se7en” (1995) is one of those that probably deserves a second and closer look. As far as I’m concerned, this film is one of the finest to come out of the 1990’s all together. I watched it in the theaters and thought it was cool but never really gave it much of a second chance as I became a more experienced cinematic connoisseur. I had seen it a few more times on cable over the years so again; I never really felt the need to re-watch it. A couple years ago, I picked up the dvd and decided to revisit it. I was amazed at how haunting this film was to me. About two-thirds of the way through the film, I found myself alone in the dark, completely dreading the ending of this film. I was taken aback at how much affect this movie had on me. That is the mark of a great storyteller. How engaged the audience is, even when they know how the story ends. Some people give this film’s “What’s in the box?!?!?” ending a lot of flack. But, I maintain that this is still my favorite David Fincher movie.

Filmmaker Michael Powell was one half of the great Powell/Pressburger team of co-directors that brought us films in the in the 40’s and 50’s like “The Red Shoes”, “Black Narcissus” and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp”. “Peeping Tom” (1960) was one of Powell’s earliest films as a solo director. It’s about a young sexually repressed man that’s obsessed with fear. He uses his camera to record himself terrorizing and killing women. I think the only reason this film is not more well known is that it was released in the same year as Hitchcock’s “Psycho”. I would contend though, that this movie is more disturbing and put together better. The cinematography is fantastic, at times showing the point of view of the killer, through his 16mm camera. One of the most interesting things about this flick is that, it is pretty clear that we are meant to empathize with the killer. The fact that he is not just some archetypical psychopath on a rampage gives this film an edge that you can’t soon forget.

Double feature of the week: WTF

Don’t you ever just want to watch a movie that makes no sense whatsoever? I do…. a lot actually. Last year I was treated to a 35mm screening of the ultimate ‘WTF’ film, “Hausu” (1977) at Madcap Theatres in Tempe. This film is now available on dvd and Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection and it’s a must for any cult film fanatic. That being said, I really can’t recommend this film to those who haven’t much experience with weird cult films. Call this double feature a “Hausu” prerequisite. It’s not that these films have anything to do with each other. It’s just that, if you see “Hausu” first, it will probably ruin everything you could ever think is weird in the future.

Alejandro Jodorowski’s “El Topo” (1970) is only one of several ‘WTF’ films from this filmmaker. It may not even be his weirdest. It’s essentially a Spaghetti Western about a gunslinger who takes his son on a spiritual journey of revenge and sexual maturation…….. er something, I really have no clue. What’s interesting about this film is actually how technically good it is. The cinematography, score, costume and set design are all very well done. By virtue of its extremely violent eccentricity, this film has become known as the ultimate ‘Midnight Movie’. I’ve never really thought that was fair. I usually refer to this film as an arthouse film disguised as a grindhouse flick.

I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve mentioned a Suzuki Seijun film in my blog. He’s among my absolute favorite directors and his Nikkatsu films from the late 50’s to the mid 60’s are fantastic. “Zigeunerweisen” (1980) however, is not one of those films. It’s actually very interesting to see this film in the context of his career. His Nikkatsu films were always supposed to be strait forward gangster, melodrama or sometimes erotica B-flicks. He would constantly add more and more surrealisms, dream logic and general oddities. It’s what eventually got him fired from the studio. Flash forward a few years and he’s not working for the studio and his former films have given him the clout that allow him to take a giant swan dive into the realm of bizarre. This film is definitely the most bizarre of his that I’ve seen. I couldn’t even come close to telling you what it’s about. I think it had something to do with this one guy who ummm…. and the other guy…. they had wives…… something about peaches and bones and German orchestral music. I’d love it if someone else would watch this and tell me.

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: Post Apocalyptic Funtime

I’ll admit it. This is one of those things that I am quite frankly a sucker for. I’ve always been in love with these settings. Sometimes they’re nuclear wastelands. Sometimes the world was washed away by a natural disaster. And in other films, the origin of the apocalypse is left a mystery. In any case, I will always tend to gravitate towards these films. I think it has something to do with the anarchy of it all. On second thought, I’m sure that’s what it is. If we are truly left to our own devices and really have to fend for ourselves, who would survive? Would we naturally build a new hierarchy or digress further into lawlessness? Rest assured one thing we can all count on: I will be eating people.

Hey remember when Mel Gibson wasn’t spouting drunken racial slurs and verbally abusing his wife’s breast implants? Well, the year was 1981 and the film was Mad Max’s sequel: “The Road Warrior”, directed by George Miller. We’ve probably all seen this one a few times but regardless, it deserves another look. This film contains a lot of action scenes that have proven themselves to stand the test of time. You have and undoubtedly will continue to see homage paid to this film’s chase sequences all over action flicks. It’s more than just a dumb action flick though. It’s a dumb post apocalyptic action flick that’s totally awesome.

Next up we travel to post apocalyptic France. Jean Pierre Juenet and Marc Caro’s Delicatessen (1991) is a black comedy that takes place in a small apartment building above a delicatessen. The residents of the apartment make up a quirky microcosm that uses food for currency and people for food. The main character is a clown that comes to work for the landlord as a handyman, unaware that he is intended as the resident’s next meal. The landlord/butcher’s daughter falls in love with him and has to figure out a way to foil her father’s plan. I absolutely love this film and it turned me on to one of my favorite European filmmakers, Jean Pierre Juenet. He would later collaborate again with Caro on “The City of Lost Children.”

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: Macbeth

Shakespeare has had many cinematic adaptations. Kenneth Branagh has directed several literal adaptations of various works. Baz Luhrmann’s ”Romeo + Juliet” was a modern day retelling that used the original dialogue and Julie Taymore’s “Titus (Andonicus)” was sort of a semi-modern meta retelling of the classic play. And if you really look at it, “The Taming of the Shrew” is the primary basis for a huge percentage of romantic comedies we see today. So this week, I wanted to take a look at a couple of retellings of one of my favorite plays: Macbeth.

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing."

--Macbeth, Act V, scene v

Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa is your favorite director’s favorite director. He was very influenced by Shakespeare’s work and has done a couple of adaptations. Probably his best film, “Ran” (1985) is based on “King Lear.” But, I’m actually more of a fan of his Macbeth adaptation titled “Throne of Blood” (1957). Like “Ran”, he transfers the story to medieval Japan. The story follows Lord Washizu’s rise to power after being foretold his fortune by a mysterious old woman he meets in the Cobweb forest. The lead is played perfectly by Kurosawa’s favorite actor, Toshiro Mifune. And his Lady Washizu, played by Isuzu Yamada was quite frankly haunting. I think just behind “High and Low”, this is my 2^nd favorite from the truly legendary director. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a huge favor.

Next up we have a truly modern retelling of the same story. This one just happens to be much more on the lighter side. “Scotland, PA” (2001) stars James LeGros, Maura Tierney and Christopher Walken in the early 70’s Scotland, Pennsylvania (Shakespeare’s source for the story was the 11^th century King Macbeth of Scotland). Bad Company provides the soundtrack and the tragic tale is used to tell the story of the invention of the drive-through restaurant. I really love this film. Christopher Walken is fantastic as Lieutenant McDuff and Maura Tierney plays the Lady McBeth part very impressively. It’s fun to see how essentially the same story of a rise to power and subsequent fall can be told with a comedic ambiance that Shakespeare was also so well known for. It hits all of the same plot point as the source material, just hilariously.

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: Small Town Murder

This is the week of the 11^th Annual Phoenix Film Festival. One of the films I got to catch was a very good Canadian film starring Peter Stormare (Fargo) called “Small Town Murder Songs.” It had a great mood, established and maintained throughout by some amazing music from the band Bruce Peninsula. So I would suggest you keep a lookout for this one. I believe it has already secured distribution and we should see a DVD release at some point. Well in reference to that film, I decided this week would be a good week for a double feature of small town murder films.


'Where is pancake house?'

Our first film is from South Korea’s most famous director, Joon-ho Bong. “Memories of Murder” (2003) is about a small Korean village’s first and only serial killer. The two local detectives are using primarily backwoods techniques and getting no result. A new detective is brought in from Seoul to help but the case proves to be much tougher than anyone had predicted. Joon-ho’s tense direction gives this film a tone of suspense that we have grown accustomed to doing without from Hollywood. At times this film is humorous, even downright silly, but it never fails to come back to its most basic feeling of neo-noir murder mystery.

Our next film is truly a modern classic. Edgar Wright’s “Hot Fuzz” (2007) actually is still my favorite of his three features. “Sean of the Dead” is great and I really enjoyed “Scott Pilgrim” but this one still takes the cake for me. I feel like with any great satire, the humor works best when the author of the joke has respect for what he’s making fun of. This is clearly the case with this film. Make no mistake, “Bad Boys 2” and “Point Break” are poked fun at plenty here. But as we discover in the end, the filmmaker wanted nothing more than to pay homage to the films he has probably watched hundreds of times. If anything, this film proves that over the top, ridiculous action can be intentionally funny….. Not just ironically (Michael Bay) funny.

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: Dancin' Fools

My favorite movie of last year, Black Swan came out on DVD/Blu-Ray today. If I can find the time, I will be posting my full, spoiler filled review of that film later so make sure you watch it check it out. In the meantime, I thought I could whet your appetite for with a double feature of a couple of different dancing movies.

Last year’s Black Swan shares some similarities with the Michael Powell/ Emeric Pressburger Technicolor masterpiece “The Red Shoes” (1948) based on a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. Moira Shearer stars as ballerina Victoria Page, a very ambitious dancer, destined for stardom. Her disciplinarian director Boris Lermentov demands total devotion to the dance and gets great results from his borderline tyrannical methods. Then Page falls in love with the composer of the ballet that was to seal her destiny for fame and prominence. Making her bed is easy. Finding comfort and solace in it proves to be the real challenge.

Quit acting like you don’t love Herbert Ross’ fancy free classic “Footloose” (1984). Nobody’s that cool…. Not even me. Kevin Bacon (awesome) John Lithgow (way cool) and Chris Penn (brother of cool) star in a small town story that may very well be the greatest analogy of the American Revolution ever told. This film is about religious repression, freedom, love and denim. The main character’s name is Ren. That red squiggly line from the spell-checker proves his irrefutable coolness. If that’s not what the founding fathers were fighting for, we all might as well start bowing to the Queen of England, caring about soccer and watching “Doctor Who.” So pop this VHS in and ‘Let’s Hear It For The Boy.’

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: Just Like Clockwork

This week’s double feature should, if nothing else, illustrate the fact that I’m probably running out of ideas for double features. So let’s talk about a couple of movies that feature big-ass clocks… Great Scott!!! That’s a fantastic idea….. Or at least it’s a new idea.

Our first film this week is the lesser known Orson Welles classic, “The Stranger.” (1946) This film stars Edward G. Robinson as a special investigator searching the nation for Nazi officers that have slipped through the cracks. He has tracked the notorious Franz Kindler to a small town in Connecticut where he believes he is hiding his identity. Orson Welles plays Professor Charles Rankin and Loretta Young plays his new bride. If you haven’t seen any Orson Welles directed films, this is actually a pretty good one to start with. It’s a pretty simple story that he manages to pull the maximum amount of tension out of.

Next up, we have one of my least favorite films by the Coen Brothers. Just to be clear, my least favorite Coen Brother’s film is kind of like my least favorite day off, or cake… or midget…. It’s still pretty damn awesome. Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Paul Newman star in “The Hudsucker Proxy” (1994), a comedy about a naïve business graduate and the countless unsuccessful forces out to get him. He has an idea, “..you know… for the kids..” and nothing will stop him. The board’s sabotage attempt, an investigative reporter and some scary guy that likes to scratch names off of office doors all try. It’s a really fun movie that provides a great ‘Coenesque’ ending.

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: A Touch Of Class Warfare

Bicycle Thieves and Gosford Park

Our double feature this week will explore the use of class warfare in film. Again, there is nothing new about this as a literary device. Dostoevsky, Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens were masters of this theme. So it goes, as film became it’s own art form, common literary devices and themes began to manifest themselves onto celluloid. This happened very early as a matter of fact. 1925’s “Battleship Potemkin” by Sergei Eisenstein was a propaganda tool used to unite the proletariat. And of course there have been many film incarnations of “Robin Hood” and “Pride and Prejudice”….. probably a few too many.

Post-WWII ravaged Rome is the setting for our first film this week. Vittorio De Sica’s “Bicycle Thieves” (1948) tells the story of a young father who finally finds work pasting Rita Hayworth posters on buildings. This new employment represents the only glimmer of hope the family has seen in a very long time. The job requires a bicycle, which is promptly stolen on his first day. The rest of the film, we follow the man and his son in heart breaking desperation attempting to get the bicycle back. This film marked the beginning of the Italian Neo-realism movement. Everything is shot on location with a lot of untrained actors and extras. This gives the film a feeling of authenticity that had been completely unseen at the time, especially from Hollywood. The plot may sound familiar, but I guarantee you, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” has nothing on this foreign classic.

Flash forward a little over fifty years and we find that the theme is still very much intact. My favorite of all of Robert Altman’s films is his period drama/comedy “Gosford Park” (2001). Several different story lines unfold from as many narrators in this English mansion on a weekend shooting party. The two classes, the servants and the served are separated physically by a staircase. The audience is a fly on the wall, both upstairs and downstairs as we uncover the mystery behind both scandal and murder. I love the way this film is made. Many times, we are simply listening in to several conversations at once, all of which hold pertinent information to the plot at hand.

Enjoy.