Burt Lancaster apparently didn't learn his lesson in The Killers. This time he's getting involved with his no good exwife Yvonne DeCarlo, now married to hoodlum Dan Duryea. Directed by Robert Siodmak.
You're immediately dropped into the middle of the story, then in pure film noir style you're told what has happened so far in flashbacks and voice over. The heist is once again a bravura sequence, DeCarlo is dreamy and Duryea can do this sort of bad guy in his sleep. The story takes place in Los Angeles, and part of the fun of of the film is that you get to see some of Raymond Chandler's city, things he wrote about in his books, like Bunker Hill and the Angel's Flight funicular railway. John Fante's Ask The Dust took place in the same neighborhood. This film has also been remade, as The Underneath, by Steven Soderbergh, which I've never seen, but that could be interesting to watch. I doubt it will surpass the original, though.
jeudi 6 janvier 2011
mercredi 5 janvier 2011
Burt Lancaster
Watching the remake of The Killers made me want to rewatch the original. Charles McGraw and William Conrad are the two killers, Burt Lancaster is the victim, Ava Gardner the femme fatale. Also starring Edmond O'Brien, directed by Robert Siodmak.
Now this is how you light a film noir! - it's a lot darker and moodier than The Big Heat. The first 12 minutes is a pretty faithful retelling of Ernest Hemingway's short story. Then we follow the insurance investigator trying to find out what happened, and the reason Lancaster didn't try to run is told in flashbacks. It was because of a girl, of course. In this film it's Ava Gardner, and it's totally understandable that she made a sucker out of Lancaster. Ah, those doublecrossing dames, I tell ya, what would film noir be without them. The film is still great, not as dated as the remake. There is particularly one remarkable shot of the heist and the getaway, all done in one take, in one sweeping camera move, that wouldn't look out of place in any film made today.
lundi 3 janvier 2011
The Big Heat
Glenn Ford is investigating the suicide of another policeman, discovering the corruption of the police force. Lee Marvin, in one of his earliest films, plays a gangster henchman, Gloria Grahame his girlfriend. Directed by Fritz Lang
I like how married couples are portrayed in movies from the 40s and 50s. They always talk to each other in this chirpy tone. And people sure wore hats in those days. When did that stop? The film itself is a bit disappointing, I had expected something better from Lang. There isn't the desperation that you find in the best film noirs. And it's a bit too black and white. The hero is heroic and the bad guy throws scalding coffee in the face of his girlfriend. Some shades of gray would have been nice. Ford is too much of a prettyboy. Even the death of his wife, for which he is partly to blame, doesn't seem to affect him too much. He doesn't have the haunted quality someone like Bogart could have given the part. Visually, the film isn't that noir and rather seems too brightly lit.
I like how married couples are portrayed in movies from the 40s and 50s. They always talk to each other in this chirpy tone. And people sure wore hats in those days. When did that stop? The film itself is a bit disappointing, I had expected something better from Lang. There isn't the desperation that you find in the best film noirs. And it's a bit too black and white. The hero is heroic and the bad guy throws scalding coffee in the face of his girlfriend. Some shades of gray would have been nice. Ford is too much of a prettyboy. Even the death of his wife, for which he is partly to blame, doesn't seem to affect him too much. He doesn't have the haunted quality someone like Bogart could have given the part. Visually, the film isn't that noir and rather seems too brightly lit.
The Professionals
Ralph Bellamy's wife Claudia Cardinale has been kidnapped by Mexican Jack Palance. Lee Marvin leads a group of men paid to bring her back. Also starring Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan and Woody Strode, directed by Richard Brooks.
It's a good western, following in the footsteps of The Magnificent Seven. It's a well-written script. The film looks great. So does Claudia Cardinale. Lancaster steals the show. Ryan is underused.
It's a good western, following in the footsteps of The Magnificent Seven. It's a well-written script. The film looks great. So does Claudia Cardinale. Lancaster steals the show. Ryan is underused.
dimanche 2 janvier 2011
Emperor of The North
1933, The Depression. Lee Marvin is a veteran hobo, Keith Carradine is a tenderfoot. Ernest Borgnine is the sadistic railroad man who doesn't want them riding for free on his train. Directed by Robert Aldrich.
This film is the opposite of Point Blank. Aldrich is an old school, classic Hollywood director - there's none of that arty stuff. It's a good film, but not great. There's a kind of father and son relationship building between Marvin and Carradine, to be torn by the ending. There is however no emotional release when the endcredits start, more of a That's it? It feels a bit unsatisfying after almost two hours. Borgnine is very good in his role. The music is pretty terrible, more 60s than 30s. The fake blood looks really fake.
This film is the opposite of Point Blank. Aldrich is an old school, classic Hollywood director - there's none of that arty stuff. It's a good film, but not great. There's a kind of father and son relationship building between Marvin and Carradine, to be torn by the ending. There is however no emotional release when the endcredits start, more of a That's it? It feels a bit unsatisfying after almost two hours. Borgnine is very good in his role. The music is pretty terrible, more 60s than 30s. The fake blood looks really fake.
samedi 1 janvier 2011
Point Blank
Lee Marvin is Walker, a man participating in a heist who is shot and left for dead by his partner and wife. He survives and returns, wanting his cut of the money. Also starring Angie Dickinson, directed by John Boorman.
The film is some sort of masterpiece, I guess, a revisionist noir heavily influenced by the nouvelle vague and European art cinema. It's an interesting film, a document of it's era in the same way as Blow Up and Don't Look Now, the time when the director was king. I still have some mixed feelings about it. You get the impression that Boorman doesn't really care that much about the book the film was based on, seeing the film more as an exercise, an opportunity to show off. While watching, I was a bit curious about how Marvin felt about doing such an arty film - I imagined him to be more old school, but there is a commentary track by Boorman and Steven Soderbergh, and it turns out Marvin helped in shaping the script. Boorman also talks about how he uses colour in the film.
Lee Marvin is, of course, very good in his part, looking like the definition of iconic. Dickinson is also solid in the girl-part, and there is a very funny scene in the film of her hitting him with all she's got and Marvin taking it, never changing expression. The film was later remade as Payback, with Mel Gibson in the Marvin part. I've never seen the whole of that film, but it makes you forgive Boorman for a certain artiness in the original.
The film is some sort of masterpiece, I guess, a revisionist noir heavily influenced by the nouvelle vague and European art cinema. It's an interesting film, a document of it's era in the same way as Blow Up and Don't Look Now, the time when the director was king. I still have some mixed feelings about it. You get the impression that Boorman doesn't really care that much about the book the film was based on, seeing the film more as an exercise, an opportunity to show off. While watching, I was a bit curious about how Marvin felt about doing such an arty film - I imagined him to be more old school, but there is a commentary track by Boorman and Steven Soderbergh, and it turns out Marvin helped in shaping the script. Boorman also talks about how he uses colour in the film.
Lee Marvin is, of course, very good in his part, looking like the definition of iconic. Dickinson is also solid in the girl-part, and there is a very funny scene in the film of her hitting him with all she's got and Marvin taking it, never changing expression. The film was later remade as Payback, with Mel Gibson in the Marvin part. I've never seen the whole of that film, but it makes you forgive Boorman for a certain artiness in the original.
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