The Adventures of Robin Hood

Note : this review is a contribution to the Swashathon : a blogathon of swashbuckling Adventure hosted by Movies Silently.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz & William Keighley, 1938)

When Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army.

The Goonies

The Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985)

A band of young boys find a treasure map and embark on a magical adventure.

Strong from the succes of E.T. : the Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg who is credited as executive producer and for the story of The Goonies, went on to produce Gremlins, Poltergeist and Back to the Future. Family movies that each had different levels of success. As The Goonies director, Richard Donner (original Superman franchise) was nice fit for the children play of no harm and full adventure. In fact, The Goonies is more like a play on Raiders of the Lost Ark for children without the edge that the Harrison Ford vehicule would carry.

It is also a case of film that targets a certain age and may speak to them. The targeted audience in this case is young preteen boys. Or if I want to be a bad mouth, the mental age of some of the comic book guy you would find in a comic book store. And by that, I think of an enthusiast Steven Spielberg’s towards this second class entertainment.

Second class, indeed, because everything is fake, the sets, the blue water, the acting, the blend of « cool » characters and annoying brats, the Asian Inspector Gadget and the over the top bold bad guys. The exterior scenes are those who have the best potential and give a break to the rest of the production. We are thousands of miles away from Raiders of the Lost Ark and still it feels like The Goonies wants so bad to be as good. However, it is too thin as a story and too impossible. As a kid, I know, I would have bored to death by this. Spielberg’s work as a producer has never been as interesting as his work as a director. Except for Back to the Future.

By saying all this I know I would hurt many people who vow a cult to this and I’m not casting my contempt on them, well a little. But, I can understand how a childhood memory can be hard to get criticized. Let’s call a cow a cow.

To me, The Goonies is a product made to appeal to kids and especially little boys who like to be taken into fantastic stories. Lately, I’ve watched The Princess Bride and reviewed it quite favorably but with a certain hold. With The Goonies I’m sure it is clear that I didn’t liked the film and felt it was too long, annoying, and took children for simple minded individuals. And I really hate when I feel a movie or the moviemakers take me for an idiot.

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)

Archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.

Just like any young boy, I was fascinated with Steven Spielberg when growing up. It was the first director I ever knew he was making films but he was not in front of the camera like the actors. My opinion of this director has been changing with the years. As much as I loved Jurassic Park, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Indiana Jones trilogy, I've been struggling with his more serious films. With time, I learned to put aside the fact that he he is the kind of director with multiple personalities. The naive charm of his adventure/action films will compensate for his lack of talent at handling more serious subject matters. His subjectivity may or may not have tarnished his reputation but his talent will always be there.

With Raiders of the Lost Ark, a collaboration between George Lucas and Spielberg with the help of screenwriter Philip Kaufman, will lead to one of the most iconic films of all time. This without mentioning John Williams' legendary score for the thing. Add to that a friend of the Lucas/Spielberg family, Harrison Ford as the stellar character that will become Indiana Jones. 

Mr. Ford's ability to be the intellectual Prof. Jones but also the action hero of calm and courage, except for his fear of snakes, is now a pattern for many actors. He is the all American man, with a brain, wit, whip, and he doesn't fear to get his hands in the dirt. And he sure knows how to fight. 

One aspect of Raiders I often like to discuss is the opening sequence that is in itself a complete short film that presents the character of Indiana Jones. It is also very iconic, even The Simpsons have parodied it. 

As I already mentioned, Indiana Jones is an American hero. He fights Nazis and works for the US government to bring back the lost Ark that belongs now in the United States of America where no maligned or ill-intentioned nation will use it. There's all this symbolism with the Ancient Testament that is evoked in Raiders and it demonstrates how the success of this film is clearly linked with the American myth of the foundation of the USA but also how this country is the culmination or the end of the world. In fact, just like the Jews were running out of Egypt to find their promised land. Well, this promised land in Raiders is the USA.

As an archivist, the final shot of the film makes me laugh in its comment on how things are sheltered and relegated to the past when archived. So much is in the final minutes of Raiders that a short essay wouldn't summarizes it. 
I cannot say enough how I like this film and overly praising it would not be fair to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. But I highly recommend this yet entertaining and fun film.

The Tiger of Eschnapur

The Tiger of Eschnapur (Fritz Lang, 1959)

Fritz Lang returned to Germany to direct two films The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb, which together tell the story of a German architect (Paul Hubschmid), the Indian maharaja (Walter Reyer) for whom he is supposed to build schools and hospitals, and the Eurasian dancer (Debra Paget) who comes between them.

The African Queen

The African Queen (John Huston, 1951)

This namesake adaptation of C.S. Forester’s novel of 1935 is an adventure movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Robert Morley and Katharine Hepburn play Samuel and Rose Sayer, brother and sister British Methodist missionaries in the village of Kungdu in German East Africa at the beginning of World War I in August/September 1914. Their mail and supplies are delivered by the rough-and-ready Canadian boat captain Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart) of the African Queen, whose coarse behaviour they tolerate in a rather stiff manner. When Charlie warns them that war has broken out between Germany and Britain, the Sayers choose to stay on, only to witness the Germans burning down the mission village and herding the villagers away. When Samuel protests, he is beaten by a German soldier. After the Germans leave, Samuel becomes delirious with fever and soon dies. Charlie returns shortly afterward. He helps Rose bury her brother, and they set off in the African Queen.

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993)

This article is a part of a series of imposed movie reviews in the participation of this films critic to the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Club. It is an attempt at catching up the reviews that I’ve missed in my recent period of inactivity in the blogosphere.

Back in 1993, I was 10 years old and the movie Jurassic Park was on the lips of everyone. It was the Star Wars, the E.T., or the Avatar of my childhood. I vividly remember when my father bought the VHS and we would sit in front of the television to watch the film. It is one of the films I’ve seen the most times in my life. TO illustrate that : in 2006, I was in Italy with my wife and I watched the film in Italian and I could cite every line in French with the right intonation. I can play the movie in my head and I remember every frame and camera movement. Lately it has been announced that the movie that made 900 millions of dollars, when it came out, will be re-released in 3D for its 20th anniversary. This mean two things : the fact that this movie could have easily came out this year and that it passed through time and that I’ll be thirty years old this summer.