cstotlar Reviews

The Big Heat (1953)

Lang at his best

[10 September 2008]

I saw this film years ago at the cinematheque in Paris and was wowed. I just bought a copy for myself and it is still a wonderful trip.

This is a revenge film, pure and simple, and if it appears somewhat dated from all the copycats that followed, it still packs a wallop. This sort of Old Testament revenge can be found in Lang's work all the way back to "Kriemhilde's Revenge" in the silents. Some things can be figured out - Lang isn't much of a "surprise" director, but we have to savor his vocabulary with the camera set-ups, the lovely symmetry and impeccable timing. Actually the plot devises are rather complex considering who does what to whom, but the film is completely clear and lucid. Gloria Grahame had her moment in the sun - and what a moment! This is a fine, fine noir picture that needs to have more attention. It's Lang at his American best and that's saying something.

Curtis Stotlar

Bus Stop (1956)

The play's the thing

[30 July 2008]

When I first saw this I roared with laughter. The performances were impeccable, the pacing seemed right and the premise was fodder for a film of the first rank.

Upon reviewing it many years later, some points jolted me back to reality. This was a play - a glorious one - that perhaps should been left as is. The celebrated presence of Marilyn Monrow is electric as it so often is but the film itself was turgid and stage-bound. When I think of Joshua Logan I think of Joe Mankiewicz (minus his verbal wit) - filmed photoplays with no kind of cinematic skill to speak of. The characters sink quickly into stereotypes and stereotypical behavior. Any sort of character development is basic and predictable. In this way, it is one-dimensional. It would survive beautifully on the stage with the excitement of live action, but on the screen, it gets frozen and static and worse than that, just plain stale.

I Drink Your Blood (1971)

Bone appetit!

[24 July 2008]

I actually rather enjoyed this film. It's a slasher - let there be no question about that - but unlike most films of this genre, this one was really rather well made.

The camera-work was tidy and effective, the angles for the shots were well prepared and the traveling shots were fluent.

The acting wasn't much - the script called more for reacting than acting "per se", but the actors did adequate jobs.

The musical score by Clay Pitts was outstanding. Except for a few sections of rock guitar, composed of pure clichés we'd all expect, the electronic part was exceptionally good. The cutting of the score was clumsy, however, and could have been improved with a minimum of effort.

There are elements of just about everything plus the kitchen sink taken from other films. You can find "Night of the Living Dead", "Psycho", "Rabid" - you name it - but it was fun to watch, unlike the others, because the "fun" was intentional but not overstated. The literal "fear of water" misconception about rabies and the shaving foam-at-the-mouth parts were hysterically funny. The film was gross but it was amusing and not boring at all, where so many slashers fail. I wouldn't recommend either before or after meal though.

The Tall T (1957)

Another Boetticher Marvel

[19 July 2008]

This is an example of a western made with not much money and very much punch. Boetticher delivers again and this is one of his best, with But Kennedy on hand to craft an excellent script.

Critics wax eloquent about Anthony Mann's use of scenery (as if he had nothing to say or do beyond that) but never mention Boetticher's use of the physical world and its geometry, but there is definitely something to speak of them in this film. The rocks and the rocks behind the rocks are beautifully used here and their iconography (an unadorned rock-solid shoot-out) work wonderfully well.

Scott is occasionally sappy during the beginning, admitted, but confronted with unspeakable crimes, never explicit or explained in full, are avenged with cool efficiency and nothing sentimental whatsoever from then on. The O'Hara-Scott relation is absolutely fascinating. This is a western for people who take westerns straight.

Curtis Stotlar

Point of Order! (1964)

A virtuoso film

[15 July 2008]

"Point of Order" is an example of a modern-day Eisenstein. It took material from the recesses of American history, recombined and made a film with complete sense, albeit weighted against McCarthy. It is an excellent piece of work but then it shows quite well how evidence reassembled can make someone seem guilty. That is the virtuosity of the filmmaker.

Unlike one of the reviewers, I think that McCarthy was a monster, a publicity-seeking man out of control who thought absolutely nothing about the lives he ruined or attempted to ruin, however, falsely but I'm begging the issue here. The film is marvelously well put together and de Antonio possesses remarkable technique to make things seem "alive". Again it's easy to see things in black and white ideologically but the film within itself is impeccable.

The Last Hurrah (1958)

Wee bit too much Irish in this stew

[11 July 2008]

I'd been looking forward to this for a long time. I'm a fan of John Ford and he's given me some of my favorite films.

I'll have to confess that "The Last Hurrah" disappointed me in many ways. The acting, particularly Spenser Tracy's was wonderful throughout. Ford's stable of stalwarts made the film glisten with their bit roles and backup. It was Tracy's film, though, and he's a virtuoso whichever way you view it.

It's very much a black and white film - and I'm not referring to the color. There are the could guys and then the bad guys, with absolutely no subtlety at all. The good guys were the Irish who made it up the ladder through honest (?) hard work while the bad guys had English accents and inherited their wealth. Just think Basil Rathbone or John Carradine and you get the picture.

The rival candidate to Tracy is an undisguised idiot with a hilarious but ridiculous "interview" on television including a barking dog and a wife who can't read. These are very, very broad lines.

I can't help thinking about Frank Capra's descriptions of the other side, the "baddies" in such films as "Mr. Deeds" or "It's a Wonderful Life" There is absolutely no subtlety whatsoever. These people were educated and reared in wealthy families and should be punished. This is a very rural and dangerous flaw in the American personality that found its way in this film. But this time, they have English ACCENTS. John Ford has never been at ease with the English people in general. Sometimes, it borders on intense dislike or even hatred, and it's everywhere to be seen in this film.

The protracted death-bed scene was so over-done and over-long it was embarrassing to watch. Just a-tuggin' at the old heartstrings. Cardiac arrest might be a more appropriate term. Ford didn't know when to stop. It's as plain and simple as that.

Curtis Stotlar

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

An excellent film in almost every way

[9 July 2008]

When I think of Joseph Mankiewicz, he brings to mind someone who directs a talkathon of film, roughly translated from stage or script to screen verbatim. His dialog is always impeccable but removing the words renders most of his films rather useless.

In this case, he was helped out immeasurably by the musical score, some lovely photography and some wonderful performances. The direction was pedestrian as it always is with Mankiewicz but the film sizzles despite his heavy-handedness. It's a glorious love story, romantically told with no apologies and succeeds in an other-worldly way. The television copycat was beyond Hope but this one makes life worth living.

Curtis Stotlar

Anatahan (1953)

The perfect end to a brilliant career

[3 July 2008]

This film actually had a run in Paris outside the Cinematheque and it attracted considerable attention. It's an audacious,in-your-face sort of quirky film that works on many levels. Sterberg's autobiography "Fun in a Chinese Laundry" spells out some of techniques he employed but the film needs to be experienced beyond a mere description. It was shot in an airplane hangar to begin with, with all the tinsel and tin foil representing an island jungle. The limited number of players (all non-professional) and space (on an island) make this more of a chamber work rather than the Hollywood cast of thousands and its subdued drama will disappoint some who want things to be more explicit. It's purely artificial and looks that way deliberately. The film is in Japanese without subtitles and the narrator in English is none other than Sternberg himself. He warns the audience of what will happen BEFORE it happens, thus leaving us free to discover the camera-work, the scenery and the atmosphere minus the drama. Drama there is, of course, but detached from what's happening on screen. Everything in the film - minus the very last shot, alas - is artificial, dream-like and absolutely fascinating. What a remarkable end to a remarkable career. I highly recommend it although I wouldn't know how to find it. Good luck!

Curtis Stotlar

Bloodlust! (1961)

Imitation is flattering

[13 June 2008]

This film isn't really as despicable as it's been described. For those who haven't seen "The Most Dangerous Game" it has a charm of its own. The jungle scenes, so remarkable in the source film are so much better - breath-taking at times - and the actors don't begin to touch the original ones, granted. The budget must have been incredibly small. Nevertheless the film gets by rather well given the meager resources. It's amusing but sometimes irritating to watch people in their twenties acting like and calling themselves teenagers, though. I didn't mind watching this film. It came in a box with many other horror films I'll probably never see but it was a pleasant surprise.

Curtis Stotlar

Family Plot (1976)

Comic Masterpiece

[31 May 2008]

This film doesn't have any "meaning" beyond the obvious. As in "39 Steps" it is fun all the way through. There are no dark hues as in the remarkable "Vertigo", "Rear Window". "Psycho" or similar films during Hitch's great period. This one is as light as a soufflé and wonderfully amusing. The episode in the runaway car is one of the funniest on record and a joy to behold over and over. The musical score is sparkling and the actors are perfect in their roles. With so many heavy-handed, belabored comedies made at the time it's amazing this one got passed up. I suppose the people who continually think of Hitchcock as "The Master of Suspense" or, to the other extreme, the "Searchers of Meaning" it might fall a bit short, but it's not aiming in that direction at all. How can there be a pint to miss at all if there never was one in the first place? It's top-rate entertainment, period.

The Pirate (1948)

The Pirate slips

[5 November 2007]

I really wish I liked this film more than I do. It has an impeccable team of technicians, stars and a great director working at full speed. Still, so many elements didn't mesh, and even with its plot and premise it still seems too contrived. I am taking the suspension of disbelief into full consideration here.

The Cole Porter songs, to begin with, seemed dull here. With only one exception, I can't remember a line of any tune or a word of the lyrics - except, of course, Nina, which was hammered home disagreeably."Be a Clown" is the one exception, I'm happy to report, but that was used later in "Singin' in the Rain" to much, much better effect with Donald O'Connor.

Again, the fire sequence was put to better, more comical use in "Bandwagon" and I would vote for Judy Garland any time in the director's own "Meet Me in St Louis", where the songs and plot are so beautifully wed. In "The Pirate" they seem to be tacked on and the dance sequences seem disconnected and long. If Gene Kelly could only have taken a hint from Fred Astaire about when and how much to sing...neither had much of a voice, but Astaire dealt with it intelligently.

The films mentioned above were all made at later dates, though, and maybe that's why I feel unhappy about my reaction.

Curtis Stotlar

Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

A Road Movie Worth the Trip

[30 October 2007]

This film was a perennial favorite in Paris when I studied there back in the 70's. It played constantly at one theater or another but I never got around to seeing it. Flash forward many years...

I was delighted and quite surprised by "Two-Lane Blacktop". I'm not a car nut (I don't even drive) and I dislike indiscriminate pop music in the background of any film (I'm a professional classical musician) but all the elements of this film came together so beautifully here and I'm not quite sure I can say why.

The dialog is minimal and the plot,if you could call it that, doesn't really concern cars at all. Nothing much happens and the characters themselves could be transplanted to another time and place under different circumstances and the film would still be riveting.

The little we see of the countryside is nevertheless beautiful if extremely brief and the shots of Americana all ring absolutely true for those of us who grew up in small towns. We don't attach ourselves specifically to any of the people in the film, nor are we concerned about who will "win" at all. Winning turns out to be the film's McGuffin. So are the cars. So are the actors.

What's left is a study in existentialism-made-palatable and an extremely successful motion picture that keeps the audience glued to the screen. Again, I'm not quite sure how the magic is done but I like to sit back and enjoy the show anyway.

Curtis Stotlar

Van Gogh (1991)

Understated, Underrated Masterpiece

[30 October 2007]

I loved every golden minute of this film. It was honest, sensitive and respectful of the artist and anyone who loves Van Gogh's paintings and wants the fly-on-the-wall glimpse of his last days on earth will be in for a wonderful experience.

Unlike such films as "Lust for Life" with the Academy Awards so visibly in mind, this one doesn't offer any mad scenes, or pulpitizing or self-mutilation. In other words, if you are looking for Kirk Douglas chewing up the scenery or Stanley Kramer, bullhorn in hand, preaching one of his messages, or, heaven forbid, "Mondo Cane", this will be a disappointment. Unlike so many biopics of artists' lives, this one doesn't sell out to the mass audience with cheap histrionics. It dares to respect its subject and treat it humanely and humbly.

Every object, every face, every scene evokes what Van Gogh would have witnessed himself before his death. Just walking through a field evokes the thrill of recognizing the scene from one of his paintings! As undramatic as it may seem to some, it's really quite exciting for those of us who revere the artist and his work. In fact, I was actually angry at the end of the film that the beauty finally had to stop.

I would recommend this with all my heart to those viewers who love Van Gogh's paintings and are in search of a film that respects the artist in his dying days. It is moving and honest.

Curtis Stotlar

Jason X (2001)

Trip Down Memory Lane

[16 October 2007]

No, this isn't the scariest movie ever made. It isn't even the scariest in the never-ending series of "Jason Films". I think some of the critics of this film must belong to the category of viewers who still think of Alfred Hitchcock - for example - as the "Master of Suspense" and get no farther than their tags and self-imposed limitations.

This is a glorious mish-mash of everything in sight: there's the obvious tie to the Jason films and to "Alien", to begin with. Then, of course, there are other links to "Aliens" with its female warrior, "The Thing From Another World" with the scientist trying to understand the monster,"It!The Terror from Beyond Space" with the room-by-room pursuit, a shack that seems to have escaped from "The Bride of Frankenstein" and, of course, the virtual young women at camp from numerous proto-movies. What's NOT to enjoy? This film is good, clean fun all the way through.

The beginning is terrific, the editing is razor-sharp, the colors and sets are imaginative, the music is riveting (too many minor chords on the organ near the end, though) and the characters, thankfully, are not fleshed out to much. Uh-oh. Perhaps I used the wrong verb. What we need now is a spoof. How about "Jason Goes to College" or "Jason Versus Francis the Talking Mule"?

Curtis Stotlar

No Greater Glory (1934)

A Truly Moving Film

[30 September 2007]

Frank Borzage's films puzzle me in many respects. I can't figure out how he manages to move us but he does. I've seen all the often-quoted films - "Three Comrades", "Mortal Storm", "Man's Castle", "Seventh Heaven" - on more than one occasion and yet each time I am truly moved.

I first caught "No Greater Glory" at the Cinematheque in Paris with a friend when we were studying film. The audience was actually moved to tears! We're talking here about a French audience, a foreign language film not particularly well dubbed on film, an era never experienced by the young audience present at the time and performances by child actors unknown for the most part. Yes, the context in the film was European as were the names and places but the situation was Depression-era America, let there be no doubt about that, as were the actors and production staff. I'm still amazed why and how it worked its magic.

The young actors are never "cute", the lines in the film are more adult than child-like, the performances quite adequate but with no pulling-out-all-the-stops Academy Award-winning emoting. In short, it doesn't "feel" like a manipulative movie in any traditional sense of the word, yet we are manipulated by Borzage's hatred of war in general and his remarkable compassion and sincerity in translating his feelings onto the screen. This film is an absolute must!

Curtis Stotlar

Anthony Adverse (1936)

Hollywood politics as usual

[1 August 2007]

I rented a tape of Anthony Adverse mainly to see what kind of performance the Academy was looking for in the first-awarded "best supporting actress" category. Gale Sondergaard's time on camera was actually quite brief and her villainous role required a strictly one-dimensional reading. There were no subtleties whatsoever, nor was there any need in the film for them. Ordinarily, it might seem surprising that her part would receive any attention at all, not to mention a prestigious award, but keeping in mind that Oscars in those days were to a large extent self-congratulatory spectacles passed around from studio to studio year by year, it really isn't surprising.

The film was long and episodic, as was the novel, and not particularly good at that. There was the glitz we've come to expect of course with the duels and chases thrown in for good measure. I kept wondering if the novel was written with Hollywood in mind. It's hardly readable nowadays. As far as directorial touches are concerned, it's no wonder that Mervyn LeRoy has long disappeared from anyone's pantheon. The kiddie-car version of France must have excited the Depression audiences. The film is very long and very expensive so perhaps there's something to say about that.