Very civilly I say that I'm in the last 45 minutes of Romeo Must Die. and that it will end after midnight March 1st here.

Also, just a suggestion for the future use of the search feature: When you do "What Have You Seen In April?" could you add "2003?" That way in the future we could search on the topic for the year. Just a suggestion dude.

Caught Melville's Le Cercle Rouge in 35mm on a big screen. I'll be showing it in March as part of the Sunday series of Melville films I've been doing but it's been making the rounds in 35mm and I saw it in Ann Arbor.

LCR begins with a quote: people who are destined to meet, meet in the red circle. So this is a film about destiny and about connections between people. Melville's job and his skill has to relate to getting these idea across through cinema. One element is that everyone of the 3 key men in the robbery knows at least one person on the outside of the circle who is connected to how the situation evolves and concludes. In this web of connections and associations that links everyone it's a very small world indeed.

So, the prison guard who sets up the robbery knows Delon and Delon's former boss. Delon meets up with Volante and Volante knows both the Bourvil and Montand. Bourvil and Montand know each other. Delon knows the fence who knows Delon's former boss as well. And both Volante and Delon know the owner of the nightclub. Bourvil knows the nightclub owner too. And it's because of all these connections that the 3 robbers meet "in the red circle."

3 is a motif. Not just the robbery with the two bookends before and after. Not just the 3 key men. There are the 3 pool balls that show up when Delon goes to play pool at the pool hall but there are also 3 balls on the pool table at the house at the end. There are the 3 kinds of metals that are used in the alloy to make the bullet. There are the 3 guys who work for Delon's ex-boss who are killed. There are the inspectors 3 cats. There are 3 dance numbers at the nightclub. The police pick up the nightclub owner's son and two others. And those are the 3s that are easy to catch.

But it's not just that life conforms to pattern in this one respect, the entire structure of the film, really the organization of shots is a better way of putting it, reflects it. The shots are assembled to increase suspense, one event starts then is cut away from in mid-action to another event and then brought back. This cross-cutting doesn't just develop suspense, it develops the idea of connection, of all these events taking place at the same time in relation to each other and accumulating, really evolving, into the web of destiny covering the whole.

This is the language and landscape of Bresson and of Jacques Becker's Le Trou, only Melville has made them completely his own now. The masterliness I talked about in Le Doulos is here complete: this is Melville's finest film.

Also, this is Melville's strongest statement against the police. It's not that Bourvil as the inspector loses his man. It's not that the police are weak. It's completely the opposite. It's that in order to get Volante back, Bourvil uses strong arm tactics on the nightclub owner. But he, with his 3 cats, is "a pussycat" in comparison with the boss at Internal Affairs. I love that line describing Internal Affairs: "The police that police the police." Even the police are corrupt and need to be policed, this is the attitude of the police. The head of IA trusts no man, everyone free out in society is really guilty, everyone is corrupt, "All men," he says. And, after meeting Bourvil, he looks up his file, he trusts no one. Later, one cop pushes the nightclub owner's son too hard in interrogation and the son confesses but then tries suicide. Bourvil rebukes the cop who doesn't seem to care at all: "I was only trying to help you." And, after they've caused this suicide attempt, the cops still use it for their benefit. Bourvil even becomes more convinced that all people are corrupt as the IA boss says because he didn't think the son was doing what they claimed he was when they picked him up. In constrast, the 3 robbers all seem to trust and aid each other and come to each other's defense risking themselves even when it isn't necessary. The cynicism of the police is countered by the honor among thieves. Also, the shots of Volante running through the woods alone while entire fields are covered with cops and german shepards and helicoptors hunting him, or, at the finale, where the robbers are running and the woods are just full of cops, present the robbers in a good light as underdogs being tracked by unfair and overwhelming numbers.

Melville might agree with his police that all men are corrupt but the audience's own hope that this isn't true leans your sympathys towards the robbers.

The house at the end is the same one at the end of Le Doulos. Both Reggiani and Belmondo approached it in the rain at the end of Le Doulos and this happens again in LCR as just another in-reference to destiny.

LCR is a straightforward thriller. It's not trying to transcend the genre or be more than it is. If it has a greater statement about things, that statement is inherent in the events rather than tacked on to them.

I would never ever recommend these movies to anyone to watch unless you were around the first time they came out and can enjoy them for nostalgic reasons. Personally, I love them. I love the over-acting Mike Raven trying to impress us with his Christopher Lee impersonation...I love the KITSCH sounding pop song "STRANGE LOVE" and Harry Robinson's evocative score but most of all I love the absolutely astounding Yutte Stensgaard. Who cares if she can or cant act (and she can!!) She has more allure, mystery, beauty and natural screen presence than many of todays top actresses earning more in one movie than she ever earnt in her whole career. How times have changed. The same can be said for Ursula Andress. What an absolutely stunningly beautiful woman. After nearly 20 years I still enjoyed watching the film SHE. Its great to see Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing together in the same movie and John Richardson (undeservedly criticised for his acting skills) does a fine job as Ayesha's lost love. Add to this some great big budget(for Hammer)imaginative sets, some genuinely eerie scenes (the slaves thrown into the inferno/Ayesha turning old) and a fantastic James Bernard score and you have nearly two hours of enjoyable hokum. Incidentally, its pretty obvious that the look and sound of "SHE" inspired several of the temple scenes for "INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM". Its HAMMER'S incredible "LOOK" and "STYLE" that have made them the Legendary studios that they are.
One small anecdote about the commentary for "LUST FOR A VAMPIRE" which made me giggle. The commentary was by the Director Jimmy Sangster (apparently born in North Wales near where I live) Suzanna Leigh and Hammer Film Historian Marcus Hearns.
Jimmy Sangster was brought in last minute to replace Terence Fisher who had broken his leg. Anyway, he considered himself little more than a "Traffic cop" throughout the filming as all the cast and crew were already chosen etc. Its pretty clear that Jimmy Sangster has nothing but disdain for the movie now, which is a shame because its great fun. As the credits are rolling on the DVD Marcus Hearns asks Jimmy Sangster "Any last thoughts on "LUST FOR A VAMPIRE" to which Sangster replies immediately with a resounding "NO"... Suzanna Leigh can be heard giggling in the background!!

Gae

Truffaut considers it a great flawed film. You summed it up as not great but with great things in it. I've gone back and forth over this one myself. When I was younger, it struck a chord with me, because I saw it as a film which said no matter how out-of-sorts, how alienated, you feel in the world, you can be cured of this and return to a normal life. Now that I'm older, I see there is no "normal" life, just an adjustment to what the world is.

I've seen this film with audiences that have laughed it off the screen as ridiculous. And I've seen it with small groups that become engrossed in it completely. One critic said that the film was like going through a therapy session. If you get into it at that level, it can be intense. Robin Wood is the film's biggest defender in his book on Hitchcock. There was an essay by someone in a collection on Hitchcock who saw Marnie as the tragedy of a free-spirit who is reigned into an establishment life. Janine Basinger taught the film to her students saying that the rape is a thing which helps Marnie by bringing her out of her shell, showing her she can have sex without her anxiety over it killing her. [This is better than the Twinkies defense: "Judge, I was only bringing the girl out of her shell. My penis was only helping her get over her frigidity and resistance. Instead of indicting me, you should be paying me money."]

What's interesting is that Marnie suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive disorder which manifests through anxiety attacks. Today they would put her on Prozac and she'd be all right but at the time there were no really good talking cures for what she has. No matter what Connery did for her, she'd still have trouble of a kind.

The thing I like about the film is that it's not really a mystery or a thriller, it tries to conform to one for the sake of the audience or for the sake of being a Hitchcock film, but it's really just a film about a troubled girl. There is all the great stuff between Marnie and her mother, how Marnie feels unloved and jealous of the next-door-neighbor's kid, how cold the mother is, how the Mom gets down on Marnie for not being religious, and then the stuff at the end where the Mom confesses and it turns out she really is loving but hasn't communicated it properly.

One of the really great "Hitchcock" things is how he visualizes the anxiety attacks with those red flashes and the Herrmann motif. You can literally see this fearful emotion overwhelm her.

As much as I love Diane Baker and she's really great in this film and I agree she's the normal one that Connery should go for, especially since Marnie gives him such a hard time, the Hitchcock idea is that he's attracted to her because she's a thief (though this doesn't come off in the film as he wanted it to). He acts paternally, but he isn't a true therapist, as someone really trying to help her wouldn't rape her (I can't agree with Janine on this point). But that means he's twisted and likes her because he sees her as twisted too. The film should end with him joining her on robberies instead of the other way around where they go off to live a stuffy life together. But I guess it can't, can it?

In any case, whether to see Connery as hero or as another psych case has been part of the debate on this as I said. Whether there ever really develops a love between these two is difficult to say but there are two great moments in this regard. One is when Connery brings Marnie her horse. Another is when he straightens her hair after her Mom has told her to get off her hurting leg. In those instances, he is taking care of her with deep affection and consideration (or as deep as a rapist and a jailer can be I suppose).

Hitchcock was trying to make another Rebecca here with Hedren as Fontaine and Connery as Olivier and even Baker as Judith Anderson but there's no real suspense or terror in the house, this is a different kind of story.

Trying to make it into a Hitchcock film both helps and hurts it. The red flashes help. There are set pieces like the safe robbery and the cleaning lady which come off great (as does the whole sequence with Marnie waiting in the bathroom stall for all the co-workers to leave. But there are moments which fail: the montage of the horse falling at the end of the hunt sequence (though that shot of Marnie's hat coming off, the blonde hair coming out, and the camera pulling back on helicopter is just great). But as much as Hitch tries to inject cinema into it, he would have done better to play it straight--the hunt sequence doesn't require the same kind of montage that the Psycho shower scene does.

But despite these excesses, I think the story is interesting and I can follow it without getting bored by it (others claim the opposite). It also helps to have the Herrmann there: Herrmann didn't like the film but he gave it a score which really captures all the subtext and emotion of what's on screen perfectly. His approach is romantic. In fact, one could argue that the film isn't a romance without the score, but with the score you have no choice but to say that Hitchcock is presenting this male domination of the girl in a positive romantic light.

Gae, ah yes, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE! I saw that one. Probably the weakest of Hammer's lezzie vampire trilogy, but the girls are good, as is Harry Robinson's music. Terrible Mike Raven performance, as you say. I think Hammer was trying to groom him into being the next Christopher Lee, but Raven (a lisping DJ in real life) just didn't have the weight. I think I'm right in saying that in LUST, when you see those close-ups of Raven's eyes going all hypnotic, they're actually Chris Lee's eyes!

SHE I remember as a rather spiffing adventure for youngsters (and oldsters whose heads are shaped like mallets). Apparently Lee wrote words set to James Bernard's processional fanfare theme, to be used in a pagan ritual scene, with Lee singing. According to the composer, this was actually rehearsed with Philip Martell, though the scene ended up never being shot when production fell behind schedule. Great score. I think James Bernard himself liked this one because it gave him a chance to be epic, romantic and horrific all at the same time. Anyone seen the old 30s Hollywood version (set in the Arctic!)? It hasn't got that great a reputation, but I'd be interested to catch it as a curiosity.

Directed by Charles McDougall
Screenplay by Jimmy McGovern
Photography by Julian Court
Music by Stephen Warbeck

Main Cast: Christopher Eccleston, Saskia Reeves, Kate Hardie, Rhys Ifans, Bill Patterson, Anna Chancellor

North of England. Man gets heart transplant. Donor's mother gets obsessed and comes between him and his unfaithful wife.

Modestly "realistic" looking, but ambitious in its ideas (some of them half-baked), HEART does keep threatening to go completely off the rails. I mean, is this a revenge thriller, a FATAL ATTRACTION-like study of obsession, or a HANDS OF ORLAC-type horror thingy? It may go in all directions, but I liked it a lot.

Intriguing to say the least, there's a particularly British sordidness to it all which reminded me of the compulsively unwholesome works of Scottish writer Iain Banks. And with plenty of gratuitous sex and nastiness it's extremely watchable, brisk, and not a minute too long (in fact when the end titles appeared I went "Eh, is that it?").

Songs dominate the soundtrack. When not used as source, they are sometimes intrusive, and terribly heavy-handed in their irony. The actual score, by Stephen Warbeck, is discreet in the extreme. There's an appropriately heart-beaty pulse to some of it, but its presence is never more than subdued.

It's been a while since I've posted here. Lets see if I can recall the movies I've viewed recently.

I bought Fellini's "Intervista" on VHS (before I found out a DVD was available, but this was cheaper anyway). Not a great film, but the 20 minute spread with Marcello Mastroianni, including the La Dolce Vita reunion, was well worth the price alone. Probably a film only for big Fellini nuts, as it will no doubt be garbage to most others. The "La Dolce Vita" reunion scene was very cool and touching...I haven't seen the film, but I've read so much about it, and have enjoyed Rota's score, that it's one of those films that I'm in love with even though I haven't seen it yet (I'm very much looking forward to the experiance when I do, I'm waiting for the opportunity to see a copy in 2.35:1...they have boots off of ebay, I guess unless I want to wait for 5 years for Criterion and Artisan {who owns the rights} to make out a deal, that's how I'm going to see it). The music arranged by Nicola Piovani was entertaining, using Rota's themes from "La Dolce Vita," "I Clowns" and others in conjunction with some original score (that unmistakable also sounds like Rota).

Lets see, what else? I know that since I got my new TV and VCR (along with Turner Classic Movies) I've been watching a ton off of that channel. I hadn't seen "American Graffiti" for at least 6 years (and never in letterboxed, which is how it needs to be seen), and watching that was absolutely marvelous, it's certainly George Lucas' greatest film, and one of my favorites now. I was moved by how well Lucas captured the era. I taped "The Lost Horizon," "The Fountainhead," and "La Strada"- all of which I have seen before and have wanted copies of since...haven't watched them again yet. "A Patch of Blue" was another, and I was immensely moved by that. I've always thought that the theme was Goldsmith's finest composition, but this was the first time I heard the entire score, and I must say that I think it's his greatest. Beautiful, charming, and waltzy. And excellent photography by Robert Burks, and an excellent performance from Poitier. It's another film that's now one of my favorites. I taped "Paisan" Sunday night and had time to watch the first half of it last night. The stories are very nice, but their over-all pacing is very rough as is the editing between stories. It's certainly a good movie, and I look forward to the last half.

Then there's Conrad Hall's gorgeous and extraordinary "Road to Perdition," which was a dream to watch after not having seen it since the summer. This is the greatest recent film I've seen for years.

I also watched an amazingly cleaned and restored version of the 1987 cult film "The Gate" which I beleive has some of the finest visual effects ever put on film (all stop-motion and traditional photographic effects, I'm immensely sick of this CGI and it's hostile tackover of the animation industry, but that's something I'm not getting into hear). Randy Cook, who did the visual effects, is a true artist; the demon lord is beautifully designed, sculpted, and animated, and with this new print, I've never seen it look better. The film itself is fun for a movie of it's type, and has some likeable characters and an enjoyable corny script...I loved it when I was little.

I saw "Blue Velvet" in widescreen on the new DVD. I love David Lynch (and this movie is yet another one of my favorites), and seeing such a meticulously photographed work for the first time in letterboxed was like watching the film for the first time. The Dolby 5.1 surround mix certainly gave justice to Angelo Badalamenti's excellent score. When I listened to the score, I got the same feeling that I always get when I listen to Nino Rota, and indeed there is a Rota-esc. feel emanating from this score. I'll pick up the score one of these days.

I taped "Rebel Without a Cause" on Saturday, but haven't watched it yet. Gee whiz, I guess I went through Feb. and early March...oh well, always fun to recap what I've watched. It's been a good month, and TCM has a lot of gems coming up (including one of my all-time favorite films, "In Cold Blood," on the tenth....also: Crossfire, The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, Ed Wood {letterboxed}, Rebecca, Lolita, etc.).

Best Regards,
Dylan

NP: Spirits of the Dead (Nino Rota)

Saw two films since the last time, neither of which I'm sure about. First up was THE SIXTH SENSE, which I'd seen before. Interesting to re-watch it knowing the ending, because your whole perspective changes. What was still evident was Shamalamadingdong's expertise in maintaining the atmosphere (just this side of boring), and the performances are fine. And yet, even second time around, I'm not wholly convinced that its brilliance goes beyond that. I've seen some pretty contrived justifications for what may simply be potholes, but apart from that, I never really got what the film was trying to say. What are the underlying themes and the film's point of view? Or is it all just a carefully shot gimmick?

JNH's music contributes perfectly to the overall tone of things, but I'm not buying it unless I see it going really cheap.

THE SIXTH SENSE (USA 1999)

Directed by M. Night Shamalamadingdong
Screenplay by M. Night Shamalamadingdong
Photography by Tak Fujimoto
Music by James Newton Howard

But of course, this is Jack Nicholson's film, and the main reason people are going to see it. He's good, but not THAT good. I always felt he was doing an impersonation, helped immeasurably by the unstylish clothes and comb-over hair. For me, there's something vaguely insincere in his performance, and I couldn't help thinking of two actors who could really have got to the truth of Schmidt - Robert Duvall (but he's too old) and William Hurt (but he's too young).

And the film certainly didn't need that quirkily buffonish music. This sounds like a Jerry Goldsmith comedy, or maybe CHOCOLAT (which sounded like LINK anyway).

ABOUT SCHMIDT (USA 2002)

Directed by Alexander Payne
Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, from the novel by Louis Begley
Photography by James Glennon
Music by Rolfe Kent

Since I know the movie, I first wenbt for the commentary track with Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. While it gives a few insights to the making of the film, it's nonetheless a great listen to as these two old comrades discuss the film and other things related to it.

One thing I found funny was when - at the end - Shatner talks about his doing ST5, and Nimoy says that it will be great (or words to that effect).

Also, after hearing them, my big wish for the SE DVD of ST6 is to get all the surviving cast together for a group commentary. Since it was the "Generations' Final Journey" it would be nice to hear from all of them (sans DeForest Kelley, unfortunately).

Having Charlie Chaplin's daughter as the dance teacher, plus the fact that the former jobs of both girlfriends involved non-verbal expression, I'd say that the title is only part of the advice. I think the film is really a plea for communication at all levels, perhaps even the purest of love stories (though some will undoubtedly interpret as advocating "rape therapy").

I've never really liked Almodóvar's films. Too few "normal" people in them. But I quite liked this one, once the sketchy first part was over and the narrative settled down. It also took me a while to get used to the deadpan approach to extreme situations, and I could have done without the musical interludes, but I must admit that it's an interesting movie, imaginative (the silent film within the film, about an "Incredible Shrinking Lover", is a hoot), provocative certainly,... and just a shade irritating.

The music, by Alberto Iglesias, is string-based and classical sounding, lending a sombrely dignified quality.

HABLE CON ELLA (Spain 2002)

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Screenplay by Pedro Almodóvar
Photography by Javier Aguirresarobe
Music by Alberto Iglesias

Directed by John Cromwell
Screenplay by Jo Swerling
Photography by Leon Shamroy
Music Direction by Lou Forbes

Main Cast: Carole Lombard, James Stewart, Charles Coburn, Lucile Watson

Domestic drama about the struggles of a couple of young newlyweds.

How refreshing to see an old film again! I'd never heard of this before, and, what with my ignorance plus a real thirst for something ancient, I really enjoyed it. I really was most pleasantly surprised, and I'd recommend this to all lovers of Golden Oldies. It starts off as a comedy, but slowly and expertly winds up the drama to fever pitch, with a race against time to get a serum for the dying baby.

Some scenes look ahead almost uncannily to IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Christmas, "Auld Lang Syne", Jimmy Stewart slowly and excellently going off his rocker with feelings of failure), and, like the Capra movie, MADE FOR EACH OTHER is supremely compassionate at heart - even the grumpiest of characters rally round in the end (it's just that things have been difficult for them, what with loneliness and grumpiness etc). Moral: be nice to people, look after the small details in your relationships, appreciate what you've got, but don't allow yourself to be trod on by the boss.

Directed by Gordon Hessler
Screenplay by Lawrence Huntington and Christopher Wicking
Photography by John Coquillon
Music by Harry Robinson

Main Cast: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Alastair Williamson, Hilary Dwyer, Peter Arne, Maxwell Shaw, Rupert Davies

Africans put a curse on Vincent Price's brother, who becomes so hideously deformed and mad that he has to be chained up in the room upstairs. However, he hatches a cunning escape plan which backfires on all concerned.

Although director Gordon Hessler only came into the project after Michael Reeves died, and Christopher Wicking's contribution is limited to "additional dialogue", THE OBLONG BOX bears all the unsatisfactory signs of their other teamings (SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN; CRY OF THE BANSHEE)- once again, interesting ideas are botched by fragmentary treatment. Very nominally based on Poe, it actually ends up being a mishmash of everything from Jack The Ripper to The Phantom Of The Opera. Very ordinary, and the villain is simply not hideous or mad enough. Unexciting makeup too for the final unmasking - bad acne and a nose spread over half his face does not in itself make for a memorable movie monster.

Gae NP Thunderball(expanded) ***** out of ***** (of course)

Gae

Here's something really good I re-saw:

THE BEGUILED (USA 1970)

Directed by Don Siegel
Screenplay by John B. Sherry and Grimes Grice, from the novel by Thomas Cullinan
Photography by Bruce Surtees
Music by Lalo Schifrin

Main Cast: Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris

Injured Yankee soldier hunk is given shelter at a girls school, which causes them all to get their knickers in a twist.

This reminded me of a Dracula film (of course), with the seductive vampire infiltrating the household and destroying the status quo from the inside out. But Drac didn't reckon with the hellish fury of a woman scorned. When the manipulative, jealous females begin to turn the tables on Eastwood, the ensuing sexual power play is gripping.

I really liked THE BEGUILED. It's a bizarre film, heavy with symolism and religious motifs, which could easily have become overheated, but Siegel keeps it contained. In fact, its subtlety may well be its main strength.

I love that theme too, very much. That theme was part of the original score Frontiere composed for the Outer Limits episode "The Human Factor" (it was the episode's love theme). It very nicely tracked in at the end of "A Feasibility Study" (as mentioned), as well as the episode "Architects of Fear." Very little of Frontiere's music for the Outer Limits has been released on cd, and none of my favorite scores from the series have seen the light of day (including "The Human Factor," and my favorite, "The Forms of Things Unknown," a marvelous, beautiful, and odd score which I beleive is Frontiere's finest work in any medium). There is a cd available that includes scores for three episodes, and a fun little section with some of the creative sound effects they used for the show.

Dylan, that's interesting info about the theme Joan liked. I seem to recall two main love themes used throughout the series, but the music which underscores the actual self-contamination scene was neither one of them. I didn't recognize it at all from other episodes, so it must have been used sparingly. The CD you mention does include one of Frontiere's more re-used love themes. Good CD, 'bout time we had another.

What did you all think of FAR FROM HEAVEN? I'd be particularly interested to here Joan's slant on this, because it seems to be attracting large audiences of ladies. I'm not a woman, but I enjoyed the film quite a lot. It maybe falls short of greatness, but it is good. I don't think it's either a parody or a mere exercise in style, though it's almost both. On occasions, the poker-faced approach to the situations, coupled with the very direct Elmer music, reminded me of AIRPLANE (a case in point being the scene where Julianne Moore catches Dennis Quaid in a gay clinch). But the film survives all those dodgy moments, and it is amazing looking - all those sumptuous colours.

As I mentioned, the score is very direct, and may even be too much for a 2002 film set in 1957 (but not for a 1957 film - ah!). Got a thrill though seeing Elmer's name come up during those splendidly old-fashioned titles.

FAR FROM HEAVEN (USA 2002)

Directed by Todd Haynes
Screenplay by Todd Haynes
Photography by Ed Lachman
Music by Elmer Bernstein

I think Hayes wanted to do an old fashioned “Sirk” soap opera replete with almost
exaggerated colors in his cinematography and a lushly scored Bernstein composition. I
thought the music was wonderful and perfectly suited to this type of movie. Elmer, I
think, had a great time composing the music.

I have mixed feelings about the film. I think most of what we saw was true about the
supposedly “idyllic” life of a housewife in the l950’s. Put on a big facade that all is like
“Leave It To Beaver” in the home. Moore, trotting around in her high heels and satin
house dresses and having a full time African American maid, was really not an accurate
example of the typical” 50’s housewife. She was more representative of the very wealthy.
The values of those times, the rampant racism and homophobia, were pretty accurate I
think. Interesting that Moore’s girlfriend could accept the husband being gay more than
she could accept a friendship with a black man. That was pretty ugly. Also, the psycho
therapy of the time shows we’ve come a long ways. Moore thinking that Quaid’s few
visits to a psychiatrist would cure his homosexuality was pathetic and tragic.
Watching a child get into trouble for saying “geez” was rather humorous.

THE WAGES OF FEAR (France/ Italy 1953)

Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Screenplay by Henri-Georges Clouzot, from the novel by Georges Arnaud
Photography by Armand Thirard
Music by Georges Auric

Main Cast: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter Van Eyck, Folco Lulli, Vera Clouzot, William Tubbs

In a nameless Latin American country, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, so four of them set out on a nightmare journey, transporting truckloads of nytro-glycerine.

And nobility doesn't get a look in. Clouzot's classic has some amazing visuals. The first hour of exposition with the painstaking introduction to the less than heroic characters had my eyelids drooping, but the squalor of the setting is magnificently depicted.

Amazing treatment of the woman in this lengthy preamble too - Vera Clouzet submits to two unpleasant and sweaty lovers, yet cheerily (and very noticably bra-lessly) still scrubs the floor for them with a delightful smile. Interestingly, Vera Clouzot was the director's wife. I wonder if she was like that at home.

Once the journey is underway, the suspense is toe-curling, though as contrived as an episode of THUNDERBIRDS - will the rickety bridge hold up under the weight of the big lorry, etc.

Extremely impressive but not exactly enjoyable, and the ending "goes over the edge" (hee hee) with such downbeat irony that it's almost comical.

Directed by Gordon Hessler
Screenplay by Christopher Wicking and Henry Slesar, "from the story by Edgar Allan Poe"
Photography by Manuel Berengier
Music by Waldo de los Rios

Main Cast: Jason Robards, Christine Kaufman, Herbert Lom, Adolfo Celi, Michael Dunn, Lilli Palmer

I put "from the story by Edgar Allan Poe" in inverted commas, because, although the credit appears as such on screen, it's really only the basis for the play being performed by a Grand Guignol theatre group within the film.

Another Hessler/Wicking experiment, it once more juggles parallel narratives and fragments of ideas, this time supposedly blurring the line between fiction (theatre) and reality, with dreams somewhere in the middle. Some critics have praised this film, but I thought it was terrible, certainly the most somnambulistic of the ones this uneven team brought us. Really bad dialogues too. And really badly staged (those fights! - obviously nobody wanted to hurt themselves). And atrociously acted (Robards looks merely uninterested, but some of the supporting players are truly abominable).

The most interesting thing about MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is how the film itself is almost as bad as the deliberately corny play the theatre group puts on. Ah! So that was the idea? Okay, so maybe Hessler and Wicking were geniuses after all.

This week I caught 3 films by Ousmane Sembene, a filmmaker from Senegal. Each was absolutely wonderful, real surprises. Guelwaar was the best. It is about this bizzare situation of a Christian mistakenly buried in a Muslim cemetary and the conflict that results. The two groups are ready to beat and kill each other in a no-win situation over exhuming the body, when one character sits down and says: "Our ancestors knew how to deal with such things. What is happening to our people?" And I teared up. Totally unexpected moment and emotional response but it hit the right chord. All these people refusing to act with decency when they should know better but have lost track. And this one bit applies to every conflict that goes on between people everywhere.

I also caught The Quiet American with Caine and Fraser, but I was emotionally detached from the whole thing. Some films have it, others just don't.