After doing time in
jail for murdering a man in defence of another one, Matt Carkner (Robert Mitchum) takes his son Mark (Tommy Rettig) and wants to live with
him in the country of hunting, fishing , and cultivating. The woman, Kay Weston
(Marilyn Monroe), who was taking
care of Mark is a singer/dancer that just married with Harry (Rory Calhoun), a one of a kind man
embarks her on a trip that will unfortunately involve Matt and Mark.
The Barefoot Contessa (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1954)
Starring Ava Gardner as the contessa and Humphrey Bogart as the has been movie director, this story was known as based on Rita Hayworth’s life but as some Film historian recalled it is more probably based on Anne Chevalier’s (actress of F.W. Murnau’s Tabu). The Barefoot Contessa recalls the story of a sex symbol who got the Hollywood fame but wasn’t satisfied with it until she met a man with whom she felt deeply in love.
A poor village under attack by
bandits recruits seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.
The
most popular and known Kurosawa film of all time has just been named the seventeenth
best film of all time by the latest Sight and Sound
poll (2012). Easily making my top 10 list since I ever saw the damn thing
circa ten years ago or so, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven
Samurai is the film that set the bar of the action genre. Blending the
period drama, the action genre, and the study on human condition, Kurosawa
impressed more than one director over the six decades that the movie is old.
Following the impression and the writing of my recent review of the soon to be
released on Blu-Ray by Criterion CollectionRashômon, I wanted to give to the great
Japanese director the recognition this blog should do to him. There are not
that many Kurosawa films reviewed here on Le
Mot du Cinephiliaque, in the upcoming weeks I’ll try to correct it and give
it a spin it deserve.
A
village of rice farmers wants to get rid of the looters that come and steal
their crops. To achieve that, they hire a band of seven swordsmen to defend
themselves. With a length of three and a half hours the placing and the pacing
of the story is pitch perfect. This epic length is used by the Japanese master
with great efficiency. There is nothing wasted or overused here, Kurosawa tells
his story with a flow that is rarely seen and inserts sheer moments of human
relationships.
The
whole battle sequence shot in the rain and involving so much action and
movement is a real “tour de force”. You have to see it to believe it.
There
is a lot going on about the outstanding talent of Toshiro Mifune, but the man to observe here is Takashi Shimura as the leader of the magnificent seven. As a father
figure and leading presence, Shimura delivers a delightful performance. Even if
Japanese acting is an expression of intensity, the entire cast gives a natural
aspect to the film.
On
a funnier note, the Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Martin Short feature of Three
Amigos is a reference to Kurosawa’s masterpiece. Listing the
films that were influenced by Seven
Samurai would be an impossible task just to say how it is a cornerstone of
Cinema.
Being my favorite Kurosawa since almost a decade, the
brilliance and the qualities of Seven
Samurai never stop to amaze me. It is a must see and I highly recommend to
watch it.
Defined as a cult classic, and often cited as one of the greatest films of one of the most recognized auteurs in the minds of the greats of the French New Wave, read here Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut, Nicholas Ray’s Johnny Guitar stands as a superb and innovative Western. The directors you can look for when you are listing the best Western genre filmmakers are of course John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Anthony Mann. Often forgotten, is Nicholas Ray with his Freudian approach to the genre and a redefining “mise en scène”. The “classic” Western used to be a very macho thing and the women’s roles often were characterized by their simplicity and their somewhat absence. However, here in Johnny Guitar the presence of Joan Crawford as Vienna is central and essential.
The context in which the film was created was McCarthyism in the United States and the subtext of Johnny Guitar is all about how the mass perceives the outsiders and how those outsiders are excluded. The script, written by Ben Maddow but credited to Philipp Yordan, was the work of a man (Maddow) blacklisted at the time because of leftist involvement. As the true auteur, Ray was also an outcast all his life, with auto-destructive manners and strong rumours of his bisexuality, Johnny Guitar reads like one of the most personal films ever made. It involves the struggle of everyone between good and evil and how the characters cannot be all black or all white. They are portrayed as humans and nobody’s a hero or a complete antagonist devoid of feelings. The inner struggles of its creators are reflected in a controlled yet magnificent creation that is Johnny Guitar.
Despite its flaws, and yes it has some, I would like to cite my colleague Kevyn Knox that himself quoted François Truffaut “we don’t like those films even with their flaws, we like them for those flaws”. I would like to add to this the fact that as critics we always like to praise perfect films with great directing, amazing acting, superb editing etc. But as a cinephile I tend to prefer the lesser or not the masterpiece films of a director. In example, my favourite Howard Hawks picture is Hatari!. I know that this is far from being his Rio Bravo, His Girl Friday, or Bringing Up Baby, but I will prefer a great film to a flawless picture. This is why Johnny Guitar is often categorized as overrated by its detractors for its many flaws and lesser contribution to the seventh Art. However, since it’s my review and my rating I will mete Johnny Guitar a 5 star rating.
This wonderful adventure movie starring Charlton Heston as Christopher Leiningen, a wealthy self-made man living on his cocoa plantation in Amazonia, diserves much praise than it actually received. Christopher has built his fortune with his own hands and bought everything he owns himself. He took great care in his choices choosing only new, never touched, furnitures for his immaculate white house. Even his piano is new from the factory, but as you learn studying music and in The Naked Jungle, a piano always sounds better when it's been played before. The story is set in the beginning of the twentieth century.
Leiningen has many Amerindian workers and in all his kindness he doesn't beat them or tie them to keep them working for him. He also understands their culture and laws. Christopher is a good master and a good diplomat. However, there's one thing he can't quite understand and master: women. When Joana (Eleanor Parker) arrives he'll have to handle this strong woman who by the way can play the pianoand confront Christopher with strong arguments. Even after their wedding Leiningen still have problems to understand his wife and her secret.
Meanwhile, a great menace will change their lives. Ants. Leiningen will have to sacrifice everything he'll have to save his workers and his wife from this danger.
The Naked Jungle is a film filled with symbolism on humanity, virtue, and how sacrifice is mandatory in the fight for their lives. The invasion of ants symbolizes how Leiningen has to struggle and forget everything he knows and owns to become a real man and open his heart to his wife. There is also the symbolism of purification with the deliberate fire of the furnitures to protect the villa from the ants. The morning after, we discover Joanna in her white dress in bed with white sheets like if she was born again from this purification. Shortly after, Leiningen will open the dam that was keeping the river's water from flooding the plantation. The water washes the last ants away and finalizes the purification. It also represents how Leiningen must open his mind and his heart to love and recognize his love to his wife.
Byron Haskins mostly made Noirs that I'll try to catch sometime soon because The Naked Jungle is a very interesting film that showed real mastery from its filmmaker. I highly recommend this very enjoyable Adventure film.
TSPDT Greatest Films #907 The Far Country (Anthony Mann, 1954)
"James Stewart and Walter Brennan are Jeff Webster and Ben Tatum, a loner and his sidekick, who figure to get rich quick by selling a herd of cattle at a fancy price in this tale set in the wild gold rush days of Dawson."
The coloured Westerns of Anthony Mann are sublime achievements of wilderness moviemaking and true heart Americans. James Stewart as Jeff Webster portrays a man who will learn to think outside of himself and his best friend. His greed of wanting to make easy money will play against him and make him change to become a better human being. He will learn how to help, love and care for other people.
Only for the shots of the landscapes The Far Country is worth the looking for . The themes are classic to Westerns, but the vast offer of this genre makes it a Highly recommended picture. Mann treats of themes like loyalty and openess on the world, themes that the great John Ford exploited in his Westerns too. However, Mann reinterpreted those themes and gave to them his own taste. He gives to the landscape all the rude wintery looks that the Jasper National Park could give him. I would categorize Anthony Mann as a director of locations, maybe one of the best from his generation. He his one of the few American directors of his time to let the environment and the context of creation become a whole character in the movie. Far from using improvisations Mann got probably inspired from the grey rocks and the white glaciers.
While watching The Far Country you have the feeling that you are with the characters bringing the goods to the miners at Dawson. You actually care for them and want them to succeed at their task. I have read lots of praised about Anthony Mann's underapreciated career not only in the Western genre with the wonderful Winchester 73', Bend of the River, Man of the West, The Man From Laramie, The Naked Spur but also for his excellent Noirs.He will be one of the many directors you probably will read more about in the future here on Le Mot du Cinephiliaque.
Film noir is one of my favorite genre, some will say it's not even a genre because their creators were not aware of making them at the time. They were making thriller/cop/betrayal and mostly B-Movies.
Suddenly directed by Lewis Allen with Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden. The story is, Tod (Hayden) a cop is in love with the single mother widow Ellen Benson (Nancy Gates) living with the father of her later husband. They live in the town called Suddenly aka Anytown USA, where the President is supposed to stop with the five o'clock train. In the history of the Town it's the most important event it never happened. A visit by the President includes strong security measures and many precautions. The CIA is there and prepares the "secret" coming of the President. But veteran John Baron (Sinatra), has other plans...
The synopsys of Suddenly won't be detailed muchmore because there are many twists in the plot. The tension is palpable and the action is well executed. Sometimes the acting is way too far but from a film of the 1950's we can forget this flaw and adjust to it. It keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat and it makes Suddenly a very good effort from a good but not great director. Meanwhile, Lewis Allen was a Key Noir filmmaker and his other films are worth a look. Suddenly is far from being a masterpiece but it has its strenght and it delivers!
To many critics, Viaggio in Italia is the culmination of Roberto Rossellini's oeuvre. Well, far from being his worst film it's his most personal offering and maybe his best collaboration with Ingrid Bergman. Katherine (Ingrid Bergman) and Alex (George Sanders) Joyce are a British couple on a trip to Italy to sell Alex's late uncle house. Beside being a business or pleasant trip they are on a journey into the core of their relationship. The film is a reflexion of the Rossellini-Bergman couple. It will be their final collaboration together and they split up at about that time. Rossellini's camera becomes a microscope on the relationship of every couple that last long enough to feel that it is ending or stagnant. They are at a point where the failure of their marriage is only mentioned by cynical remarks to each other. They both know that their couple is drowning and they don't do anything to keep it from falling apart. They both feel jealous to each other and their incomfort when they are alone with on another reflects their failure and their lack of will. Ingrid Bergman is once again the best actress of her time as Katherine Joyce. The husband, Alex, portrayed by George Sanders who I think is a perfect alter-ego to Roberto Rossellini for his physical appearance to his tired expression. Their delivery is so real that we feel like we are entering in their intimacy... Rossellini's style evolved from his first Neorealist films to a more personal approach to cinema, he uses more editing and shorter takes. He seems to master better the narrative elements of his story and the impact of his dramatic elements. In Viaggio in Italia we see the true or the real Roberto Rossellini, this is why this film is considered by many as his masterpiece.
TSPDT Greatest Films #954 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Stanley Donen, 1954)
Set around 1850, somewhere in the USA, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a romanced musical (is there a musical without romance?) tainted with a little bit of drama. From the co-director of On The Town (reviewed here) and Singin' in the Rain and the director of Funny Face, Stanley Donen. Whose other films were made with big stars and big names like Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Audrey Hepburn.
In SBfSB Donen used the dancers of the New York City ballet. The story is quite simple, seven brothers live on the mountain and they want women to live with them. The older brother gets married and the six others want to meet each a bride... Well, the rest is pretty simple, naive, and very conservative (well it's an american musical of the 50's set in 1850 what do you expect???).
The musical performances are classic and under the quality of Donen's previous films he co-directed with Gene Kelly. Funny Face that followed SBfSB three years after is far better for its story and its style. On some level I think Stanley Donen needed a big star like Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire to juice up a bit his musical numbers and inject more personality in his films. But it's more than just the cast or the director in this case, the story is so thin and simple that it felt like anyone could have directed this script. Some musical numbers, like the part when then go to a dance in the village to build a barn is very entertaining and the choregraphy is very well executed. However, the story doesn't seem to keep the momentum and the rythm the dances bring to the film.
Even with all the criticism I bragged about SBfSB I had a good time watching it and it's far from a complete failure. I just think that when I can compare the previous work of a director to SBfSB it should be at least as good as he did if not better. For fans of Donen and/or fans of american classic musicals.
