1948: Part 2

The Bicycle Thief. Directed by Vittorio De Sica. One of the jewels in the crown of Italian cinema and possibly the greatest example of Italian Neorealism, this tender tale tells the story of one man’s day with his son and a crime that turns the father’s life upside down. The father, played expertly by the expressive Lamberto Maggiorani, relies on a bicycle he needs in order to do his job, putting posters up on the streets of postwar Rome. His son (Enzo Staiola) accompanies him during the work but when a young thief steals the bike, their family’s livelihood and the father’s honor are tested. The heartbreaking final scene and last few shots are testaments to De Sica’s ability to craft emotional films about familial connection, as in the later masterpiece Two Women starring Sophia Loren as a mother struggling during WWII. The Bicycle Thief won a much-deserved Honorary Oscar for best foreign film and also received a nomination for the excellent screenplay by Cesare Zavattini, although in actuality there were five other writers credited in the film (including De Sica himself).

Cry of the City. Directed by Robert Siodmak. This film noir is not as well known as many of its contemporaries, but it’s worth the watch. Victor Mature was probably never better than here, playing Lt. Candella with a mix of hard-bitten toughness and sympathy for the cop killer he’s hunting, the always-reliable Richard Conte. Mature and Conte are ably supported by Fred Clark, Shelley Winters in one of her earliest credited roles, Betty Garde, a teenage Debra Paget in her film debut and the physically menacing character actress Hope Emerson. Paget is far too young to be playing Conte’s girlfriend – Paget was born in 14-15 and Conte was 38 – but I don’t recall the characters even kissing. As for the film’s technical elements, the score by Alfred Newman is as wonderful as his usual output and the crisp black-and-white cinematography by Lloyd Ahern makes the most of the characters’ urban surroundings. Filming crucial scenes on the streets of New York gives the movie an authentic flavor.

The Fallen Idol. Directed by Carol Reed. I know there are a number of more famous Reed films, including Odd Man Out, The Third Man and Oliver!, but this memorable drama ought to be thought of as one of the finest works in all of British cinema. Bobby Henrey is unforgettable as Phillipe, the little boy who witnesses more than he should and soon learns the difficulty of mixing truth and lies. Henrey is one of the finest child actors I have ever seen, capable of conveying amusing sweetness and frightened bewilderment. His emotions are especially affecting via the lens of cinematographer Georges Périnal. The other main actors give terrific performances as well, especially Ralph Richardson and Sonia Dresdel as Baines and Mrs. Baines respectively. Michèle Morgan is good too, but she does not outshine the other leads. The film is based a story by Graham Greene, who wrote the screenplay and received an Oscar nomination for his efforts. Thanks to the Criterion Collection, we all have access to this subtly and uniquely haunting film.

Key Largo. Directed by John Huston. I first saw Key Largo when I was a little kid and it made a strong impression on me. Humphrey Bogart, visiting friend Lionel Barrymore’s hotel in the Florida Keys, meets Barrymore’s daughter (Lauren Bacall) and they have their usual perfect chemistry – naturally, one would assume, since they had been been married for a few years. Bacall’s character is more of a normal woman than a femme fatale à la The Big Sleep. The big bad villain is Edward G. Robinson, a gangster with a moll in tow (Claire Trevor, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her boozy performance). As a massive hurricane approaches the island, the tensions in the hotel, which Robinson and his cronies have commandeered as a hideout, reach the breaking point. This noir-esque drama is exciting and definitely keeps you on your toes until the end.

The Search. Directed by Fred Zinnemann. Standing alongside The Bicycle Thief and The Fallen Idol, The Search stars another extremely talented young actor: Ivan Jandl, who won a Juvenile Oscar for his touching performance of a boy searching for his mother in the aftermath of WWII. Jarmila Novotna is equally moving as the mother. Most interestingly of all, however, is Montgomery Clift in his film debut. Clift plays the GI who finds Jandl and helps him find Novotna, along with the aid of Aline MacMahon. I’ve been a fan of Clift for years but seeing The Search – for which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination – solidified my admiration for him. He is thoroughly likeable here, playing a regular Joe with the occasional comic tone. Certain moments of the film feel more like a documentary than a fiction film, adding to the sense of urgency. If you get a chance, check this film out; you will undoubtedly be bawling long before the end.

Great Moments in Movies: Isaac Mizrahi’s Film and TV References in Unzipped

I recently watched the 1995 documentary Unzipped, which chronicles Isaac Mizrahi’s attempt to create a new fashion collection. I loved all the references he made to movies and TV shows he loves and how they have shaped his views. (There was also a scene in which Mizrahi mentions his love for Anton Walbrook’s style and demeanor in The Red Shoes, but I can’t find that clip.)

Nanook of the North as an inspiration for the upcoming collection:

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? as another kind of inspiration:

The influences of Loretta Young in The Call of the Wild and Mary Tyler Moore:

Great Moments in Movies: Grace Kelly in Rear Window

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved the outfits that Grace Kelly wears in Rear Window. I can’t think of a more beautiful, sophisticated actress in any Hitchcock film. Grace was a princess before she was actually Princess Grace of Monaco; her elegant style and fine acting talent make her one of the definitive Hitchcock blondes.

Priceless Photos of the Day: Jeremy Irons at BAM Fisher

Apparently there was some kind of shindig a couple of weeks ago, celebrating the opening of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s new venue, the Richard B. Fisher Building. I find it inordinately weird that Jeremy Irons is a) standing next to my city’s unfortunately neckless mayor and b) standing on a street I’ve walked down a million times. Wonders never cease to exist.

My Top 10 Favorite Songs from James Bond Films

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movies as well as the upcoming 23rd film, Skyfall, here are my top 10 favorite songs to appear in Bond movies (including links to those songs):

1. Shirley Bassey, “Goldfinger” (film of the same title, 1964): From the moment the song starts, you know it’s going to be brilliant, epic, awesome and every other adjective. By the time you get to 2:08 in the song, you’re excited to hear the instrumental Bond theme again.
2. Nancy Sinatra, “You Only Live Twice” (film of the same title, 1967): I love the string part of the melody, then morphing into electric guitar. Hearing the strings come back at the end is a nice touch.
3. Louis Armstrong, “We Have All the Time in the World” (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969): This song, slower than some other Bond songs, has a certain poignancy because Armstrong died only two years later, in 1971. The song is really sweet, with a message of love that I often associate with Armstrong.
4. Shirley Bassey, “Diamonds Are Forever” (film of the same title, 1971): The first ten seconds always give me chills. I love how the song gets more uptempo as it goes on but the orchestration, especially the horns, keeps it grounded. Given that Bassey recorded three Bond songs – this one, the earlier “Goldfinger” and later “Moonraker” in 1979 – it’s obvious that she is the premiere interpreter of James Bond through songs.
5. Paul McCartney & Wings, “Live and Let Die” (film of the same title, 1973): It took me a while to get used to this song. The shifts in style and tempo confused me during my first listen to the song. After a while, though, the song grew on me and now I love it. It’s weird, over-the-top and exciting.
6. Carly Simon, “Nobody Does It Better” (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977): Thom Yorke once referred to this song as “the sexiest song ever written.” The song was in fact composed by the late, great Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager.
7. Duran Duran, “A View to a Kill” (film of the same title, 1985): I suppose that after that top 6 of established Bond song classics, this particular choice seems off-kilter. Truth be told, I’m very much looking forward to seeing the film since Christopher Walken is the villain. Also, I’m a fan of Duran Duran and the song is pretty catchy.
8. Gladys Knight, “Licence to Kill” (film of the same title, 1989): R&B is not generally associated with the music of James Bond, but in this case it works well.
9. Garbage, “The World Is Not Enough” (film of the same title, 1999): Even though I’m not a fan of Garbage or its lead singer, Shirley Manson, this seductive track is tied with Chris Cornell’s “You Know My Name” as my second-favorite Bond song after Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger.”
10. Chris Cornell, “You Know My Name” (Casino Royale, 2006): The usage of “You Know My Name” in the film’s opening credits is, as you would hope, definitely effective. The viewer/listener’s adrenaline is amped up to get ready for the supreme action and coolness of a James Bond movie.

What I Think the Prometheus Sequel Should Be About

The Adventures of Dr. Shaw and David’s Head in Space

2012: Part 2

The Dark Knight Rises. Directed by Christopher Nolan. How do you sum up the final third of Nolan’s epic Batman trilogy? I don’t think you can. There are two possible mindsets to have before watching TDKR: a) it’s going to be better than its predecessor, The Dark Knight or b) The Dark Knight can’t be beat so you might as well enjoy TDKR for what it is. I came prepared with the latter idea and that way I wasn’t as disappointed as I could have been. Considering how big a deal it was among fanboys and fangirls that Bane would be the villain, I found the character – and Tom Hardy – underwhelming. You barely learn any of Bane’s backstory and his exit from the film is not particularly fulfilling either. Michael Caine’s Alfred is the true MVP, making me tear up two or three times. (Would it be ridiculous to campaign for him to get a third Best Supporting Actor Oscar?) This is not to say that Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and company are not good; it’s just that Caine gave a performance that is far and away the best in the film. It was nice, however, to see Ben Mendelsohn and Burn Gorman, two of my favorite Australian and British actors (respectively), playing baddies with such abandon. I don’t really want to dissect the TDKR plot, so I will simply say that my biggest complaint was that there were a few too many unnecessary characters and subplots. (Most glaringly, Juno Temple’s character was 100% pointless.) You should see TDKR because Christopher Nolan is clearly one of the best directors working today. Don’t expect a miracle, though. (Also, try not to think of the Aurora shooting – it came to mind when I was watching and made me feel a bit ill at ease.)

Premium Rush. Directed by David Koepp. It’s pretty obvious that Premium Rush is not based upon the most original movie concept ever thought up (the similarity to Quicksilver has been pointed out by many reviewers), but it was entertaining nonetheless. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been building up the leading man phase of his career over the last few years, showing his willingness to explore more physical roles in Inception and The Dark Knight Rises. His commitment to this project is commendable; all of that leg-pumping must have been exhausting! (The stunt work must have been tough too.) The other actor holding up his end of the movie bargain is Michael Shannon. As Manohla Dargis wrote in her New York Times review of Premium Rush, Shannon has “grabbed the Crazy Man baton from Christopher Walken,” making his Bobby Monday character memorably nutty by playing him with real gusto. Shannon is more than worth the price of admission, although Gordon-Levitt is a very likeable star and the biking scenes give the movie plenty of excitement.

Prometheus. Directed by Ridley Scott. One of the more overhyped films of the past summer, Prometheus suffers from a predictable screenplay and mediocre dialogue. The film’s main saving grace is the casting of the two main characters. Michael Fassbender is fascinating as David, a robot whose motives are, to put it mildly, not totally kosher. I quite liked Noomi Rapace as protagonist Elizabeth Shaw, a supposedly Scottish character who still retains Rapace’s Swedish accent (from what I could tell, anyway). Rapace gets through her do-it-yourself C-section with as much dignity as possible, so for that scene alone she would earn my respect. The rest of the cast isn’t nearly as interesting: Charlize Theron and Idris Elba have stock authority-figure personalities; Guy Pearce has too few scenes in which to show off his old-age makeup; Logan Marshall-Green is just plain boring; none of the other actors have enough time to develop. I wish I had been able to see Prometheus in IMAX, since I would have been able to appreciate the cinematography and special effects to a greater degree.

Ruby Sparks. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. I feel like I’m one of the few people who didn’t like Ruby Sparks. I imagine most fans’ responses to me would be that I “didn’t get it.” Similar to how I felt about another recent film I saw, Blue Velvet, I “got” Ruby Sparks but I didn’t like what I got. Paul Dano can be a terrific supporting actor – see The Ballad of Jack and Rose, Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood – but he doesn’t cut it as a leading man, at least not with this material. Zoe Kazan, his real-life girlfriend, plays Ruby but also wrote the screenplay; grandfather Elia she is certainly not. Ruby is an incredibly annoying creation and I have little sympathy for her or Dano’s beleaguered character Calvin. I never got a feeling of “romance” out of them or the film. Even with some vaguely charming performances by Chris Messina, Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas, I could not get over how much I disliked Dano and Kazan. They are supposed to be the beating heart of the movie but all I could feel were dull thuds. The end of the film is intended to provide some kind of sweet closure and sense of renewal, but I thought to myself, Why should I care?

Snow White and the Huntsman. Directed by Rupert Sanders. Perhaps I should have seen it sooner than I did, which was at the end of July. When I was on vacation in upstate New York, I went to a small-town theater that unfortunately showed Snow White out of focus and with the volume too low until halfway through the movie. Consequently, the plot and characters were hard to follow and/or recognize. It’s an especial shame since I would have liked to see Charlize Theron’s beautiful Colleen Atwood costumes and Chris Hemsworth’s handsome face with sharp clarity. Performance-wise, Theron and Hemsworth were decent and I suppose Kristen Stewart wasn’t terrible, although I realize that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement. I saw the film after the Stewart-Sanders affair came to light, so I couldn’t completely remove that real-life connection from my viewing experience. I guess whenever the movie is on HBO or Starz, I’ll check it out again and see if it improves when seen the normal way. (P.S. The song that plays in the ending credits, “Breath of Life” by Florence + The Machine, is fantastic.)

On Knowing Stuff (and Other True Life Stories)

The film class I am currently taking in college is Practical Film Analysis. According to my professor’s syllabus, the course “will be devoted to close analysis of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.” (We will also watch Rear Window, Halloween, North by Northwest, Dressed to Kill and the Gus Van Sant remake of Psycho.) The class meets every Thursday. Last week, on the first day that the class met, we watched Psycho. I was one of only a handful of students who had already seen the film. My professor asked me how old I was when I saw it (did he mean when I first saw it or does he think I’ve only seen it once?). I said, “I guess I was about 13 or 14. I saw it on VHS when I borrowed it from the library.”

Now, let’s be honest. I can’t remember how I first saw Psycho. My memory is good, but it’s not THAT good. I probably first saw Psycho on TCM, if anything. I think I was correct about the age I guessed, although ages 14-15 may be closer to the truth. I know that by the time I was 15 I was deep in the throes of my great fascination with Anthony Perkins. I remember being in my 10th grade global studies class with this biography on my desk. I was surprised when Jeannie, a girl I had had many classes with since freshman and who had never before expressed any interest in older movie actors, saw the book cover and said, “Hey! That’s the guy from Psycho.” (I was, of course, very pleased by her recognition.) Besides the biography, I also watched a ton of other Anthony Perkins movies as a result of my fascination: The Actress, Friendly Persuasion, Fear Strikes Out, The Tin Star, Desire Under the Elms, Green Mansions, Goodbye Again, Phaedra, Five Miles to Midnight, The Trial, Pretty Poison, Murder on the Orient Express and, yes, Psycho II.

Despite a desire to the contrary, I did not tell my professor why I saw Psycho. From an early age I was a fan of Hitchcock, especially North by Northwest. I had seen a number of his films by the time I started high school but what really got me interested was when I read Janet Leigh’s memoir of making the film. In retrospect, it probably was not a great idea to read a book that gave away every plot point of a film I had never seen. True, like everyone else in the world, I already knew about the shower scene. But because reading about a film is nothing like actually seeing it, watching Psycho was better than I ever could have imagined. I felt, however, that telling my film class any of those details would make me sound like a show-off or a know-it-all. I suppose I’m quite self-conscious about things like that.

Since I can’t brag in my class, I’ll brag here. Allow me to list the 23 Hitchcock films I have seen, in chronological order: The 39 Steps, Young and Innocent, The Lady Vanishes, Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, Foreign Correspondent, Suspicion, Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Lifeboat, Notorious, Rope, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Wrong Man, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds and Marnie. There! Now I feel a bazillion times better. Actually, I watched Marnie just this past Saturday night; I have a Hitchcock box set at home with a few more films I have not yet seen, namely The Trouble with Harry, Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy and Family Plot. I think I can safely say that I have seen enough from Hitchcock’s oeuvre for me to have qualified opinions of his career.

In the film class I took back in spring, I would not have minded showing off a little knowledge of film history. My whole childhood was all about reading books about movies, actors, screenwriters and the like: The Marx Brothers, Clara Bow, Mary Astor, Mary Pickford, the Pre-Code era, etc. Nobody had to tell me to read those books; I found them on my mother’s bookshelves and read them on my own. I only wish I had a class where I could talk freely about some of the movies I love, especially from the 1920s and 30s.

A few months ago, in the aforementioned spring film class – a course on Asian film studies – my class watched the Ming-liang Tsai film The Hole. Afterward I asked my professor if Tsai could have been influenced by the musical scenes in Pennies from Heaven, which has been one of my favorite films for years. My professor said it was possible and I asked if I could bring in my DVD of Pennies from Heaven. Cut to me running to class two days later, breathless because I had had train delays, the DVD in my hand. If I may say so, one of the greatest joys of my college career so far has been sitting with that film class and watching Christopher Walken do a striptease to “Let’s Misbehave.” Trust me when I say you haven’t lived until you’ve experienced seeing that, especially on a decent-sized screen.

Do I dare take a chance on appearing slightly snobbish in my Thursday film analysis class? I don’t mean to be a film snob or to come off as pretentious. I genuinely love Psycho and I want to be able to talk about it and Hitchcock in general. I’ll be damned if I can’t somehow find a way to mention my favorite bit of symbolism: Janet Leigh’s underwear changing from white (pre-theft) to black (ready to hit the highway… and meet her maker at the Bates Motel).

My problem in class, unlike in Psycho, is not a “crime of passion” – it’s that passion itself has become a crime.

I always enjoyed his appearances on “The Late Late Show” with Craig Ferguson, including the show’s recent trip to Scotland.

Clint and the Chair

I have only seen two Clint Eastwood movies in their entirety: Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). Actually, I didn’t really see Thunderbolt and Lightfoot in its original form since it was an edited-for-TV version on PBS. Still, I basically like Clint Eastwood. I only wish that his RNC appearance could have been more dignified. Or would that have even been possible at that event?

Oh, that chair. The Old Man and the Seat, as Jon Stewart referred to the debacle.

I think Roger Ebert’s tweet best sums up the conundrum of Eastwood’s chair-centric speech: “Clint, my hero, is coming across as sad and pathetic. He didn’t need to do this to himself. It’s unworthy of him.”

I’m just hoping that the DNC can trot out a different 82-year-old male celebrity. Maybe Ed Asner, John McMartin, Christopher Plummer, Tommy Rall, Robert Loggia, Rod Taylor, Gene Hackman, Robert Wagner, John Astin, Bradford Dillman, Clive Revill, Paul Mazursky, Robert Evans, Burt Kwouk and Sean Connery can clear their schedules.