233484.0

Ball of Fire

This broad, farcical burlesque on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs features Barbara Stanwyck (in a part originally considered for Ginger Rogers) as a stripper who hides out with a group of professors when she's being chased by gangsters. The professors are compiling a dictionary, and she helps them with slang and other matters. Gary Cooper as a dorky professor is something of a stretch, but the entire movie specializes in absurdity. This slapstick comedy was co-written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, based on a story that Wilder had co-written much earlier, in Germany. Producer Samuel Goldwyn wanted Wilder to do the screenplay, a request that set off a fascinating sequence of events. Wilder and his writing partner Charles Brackett were under contract to Paramount Pictures, and when he requested to borrow them, the studio replied that they didn't loan out writers, only actors and occasionally directors. Samuel Goldwyn, however, had Gary Cooper under contract, and Paramount had been trying to come up with a leading man for its planned adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's book For Whom The Bell Tolls; Cooper seemed perfect for the role. A deal was worked out by which Goldwyn got the services of Wilder and Brackett, and Paramount got Gary Cooper. Ball of Fire, directed by Howard Hawks, turned out to be a huge box-office and critical hit, garnering three Oscar nominations, including one for Wilder. A year later, he began his Hollywood directorial career, in which he would gain fame for such witty comedies as Some Like It Hot. Hawks was only at the midpoint of a directorial career that ran from 1926 to 1970.

734

1204863.0

The Great Waltz

Schmaltzy and at times silly it may be, but The Great Waltz is still fine entertainment. The culprit, as is so often the case, especially with biopics, is the screenplay. The life of Strauss it envisions is fanciful, created really only so that there would be an excuse for showing off the composer's gorgeous, swirling music. Thus, Waltz tends to mark time in between numbers, which would be a serious liability were it not for the engaging performances of its trio of stars. As Strauss, Fernand Gravet turns in a good, solid performance and demonstrates a very decent singing voice. Luise Rainer uses her considerable dramatic talent to good effect in a part that could have easily been walked through, and Milza Korjus portrays Rainer's rival with flair and a wonderful vocal prowess. There's also fine comedic support from Hugh Herbert and the other players in general are a plus. Julien Duvivier directs with the intention of giving the eye its money's worth, and he takes full advantage of the gorgeous sets and costumes, as well as of Joseph Ruttenberg's lively yet dreamy camerawork. It's all as corny as can be, but it's hard to resist.

1996

62464.0

The Divorcee

Recently The Divorc����e, in general, and Norma Shearer's performance, in particular, have garnered quite a bit of attention from an ever-increasing group of pre-Code devotees. But in order to find anything worthwhile in what, to all extent and purposes, is a rather stolid, and stolidly acted, marital drama, you will have to contend with all the trappings of early talkies -- including rather lah-di-dah "upper class" accents and a soundtrack that tends to drown out the more intimate details. Shearer is alternately delightfully wry and silly but her leading men, with the exception perhaps of a very young Robert Montgomery, make for less than exiting company, especially the charisma-deficient Conrad Nagel, who seems to have popped up in every other Hollywood drama of 1930.

1972

1220244.0

Back to the Future Part II

Although it was filmed at the same time as (and released only months before) Back to the Future Part III, the second installment of the series seems more like it should have been filmed alongside the first. That's because the most interesting aspect of the middle film is that it returns to the events of that fateful Saturday night in 1955, adding an additional Marty to the one who attended the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, requiring perfect re-creations of original scenes (from different angles), and further heaping on the conundrums. Unfortunately, this brilliant extension of the hit first film's logic is muted by director Robert Zemeckis' garish vision of the altered future. A successful sequel duplicates the characteristics that drew audiences to the original, but Zemeckis saps the buoyant spirit from the series by presenting a world dominated by the pimp-like, unimaginably wealthy and vulgar Biff (Thomas F. Wilson). The existence of a functioning time machine begged a voyage to the future, and the end of Back to the Future previewed such, but it wasn't necessary to make it such a queasy trip. The film gets back on track when it jumps into the climax of the original, but the ending is unresolved and wanting, making the audience hunger for the next installment, but also leaving them scratching their heads, unfulfilled. Zemeckis gets points for innovation and narrative daring, and the familiar cast duplicates its earnest effort, but the spirit of the series only comes back to life in Back to the Future Part III, the admittedly hokey Western that concludes the series.

2028

162880.0

The Man in the Glass Booth

Although people tend to be in two camps about the ultimate quality of The Man in the Glass Booth, it's hard to deny that the film packs a very powerful punch. Although Robert Shaw decried Edward Anhalt's adaptation of his stage play, the fact is that it's a respectful version of the original; the problem is that, as part of the American Film Theatre series, the film by design and intent has been opened up only minimally. Those who prefer their films to be cinematic will likely find Booth somewhat claustrophobic, but director Arthur Hiller actually deserves a great deal of credit for using his camera in such a way as to make the film feel like it's moving even when it's not. Some will have a bigger problem with the screenplay, feeling that it is too manipulative, achieving effects that shock without really digging into deeper moral and dramatic issues. While there is some validity to this, it's also true that this manipulation is enormously effective. Audiences will also be about two minds concerning Maximilian Schell's Oscar-nominated performance. Detractors will complain that he hits one note too often and for too long, and that furthermore that note is shrill. But there's such intensity, power, conviction, and sheer showmanship in his performance that others will be inclined to overlook these complaints. There should be general agreement, however, that Lois Nettleton turns in a subtly nuanced yet surprisingly strong supporting performance and that Lawrence Pressman provides a nicely shaded Charlie. The Man in the Glass Booth's screenplay and central performance have their flaws, but those flaws are inextricable from and add to the film's ultimate impact.

1073

15422170.0

The Killers

Adapted (and expanded) by Anthony Veiller and an uncredited John Huston from Ernest Hemingway's story, Robert Siodmak's The Killers (1946) weaves a complex <i>film noir</i> tale of obsessive love and multiple double-crosses. Shrouded in shadows as he awaits and accepts his fate in the opening scenes, Burt Lancaster's ex-prizefighter Swede is already a mystery. Fragmentary flashbacks within flashbacks relate Swede's story to Edmond O' Brien's intrepid insurance investigator from multiple points of view, but they never entirely get inside his head even if they illuminate his fate. Ava Gardner's satiny Kitty Collins is equally, and more dangerously, enigmatic, as her actions become as unpredictably complex as the film's byzantine narrative structure. Stylishly shot, particularly in the opening night-for-night and sustained heist sequences, the film builds suspense through the deliberate accretion of details about a foregone conclusion. Lancaster's film debut as the physically imposing but psychologically devastated Swede made him a star, while Gardner's poisonously beautiful siren turned her into a love goddess on a par with Rita Hayworth. A critical and box office success, The Killers received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay.

255

37872.0

Ladyhawke

Richard Donner's stab at the world of romantic fantasy is resoundingly realized in the underappreciated gem Ladyhawke. With Matthew Broderick channeling his splendid young comic timing, the film has a wit that nicely balances out the yearning love story, played to the hilt by a striking Michelle Pfeiffer and in one of his most powerful roles, Rutger Hauer. Ironically, Hauer only was given the part after Kurt Russell dropped out of the production, thereby giving the thespian the role that he was denied almost a year before when originally approached by Donner to play the main villain. For that, the steel-eyed actor should be eternally grateful, for the character busted him out of the string of memorable villain pieces that broke him in the industry (Blade Runner, Nighthawks). Ladyhawke as a film exists in its own place and time, with stylized armor set against authentic locales that paint a picture of a singular medieval world unlike any other. While the romantic tale fares strong with the female audience, the males will undoubtedly be drawn to its action, though that's not to say that the pic does not have its downsides. First off, the pulsating synth score by Andrew Powell has aged terribly and consistently feels out of step with the rest of the picture. Then there's the issue of Broderick's accent, which switches from British to American at the drop of a dime and shines through no matter how charming he may be. Still, with a juicy supporting cast, delicious villains, and a bravura finale, Ladyhawke stands as a shining example of pure escapist fantasy.

277

525765.0

Quest for Fire

A curiously involving effort from noted French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud, Quest for Fire is highlighted by some effective performances and intriguing depictions of early man as well as an interesting approach that can be appreciated across language barriers. Convincingly offering one of man's earliest power struggles, Annaud's sometimes hypnotically visual film presents a language instantly recognizable to viewers because it is driven by the most primitive of instincts: survival. While it would have been easy for the actors to look silly grunting their way through a similar film, leads Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, and Rae Dawn Chong instill true emotion into their primitive language that helps viewers to identify with their struggle and draw them into the film. As the titular quest leads the protagonists into contact with another tribe, the tentative interaction takes the quest for survival beyond simple procreation by tastefully showcasing the pleasurable aspects of sex as well. This is also a form of communication, albeit on a profoundly more personable level, and as the protagonists begin to discover the richness of other cultures, their vocabulary, both vocally and physiologically, continues to expand. This is an ambitious film that does, at times, fall victim to a few hokey moments, though for the most part Annaud's film rings true in its sincerity.

625

55106.0

The Candidate

A dryly funny and pungent satire of the gamesmanship of contemporary politics, The Candidate suggests that the desire for power, no matter how well-intentioned, is the first step down the primrose path to purgatory. While Robert Redford (in a fine, understated performance), director Michael Ritchie, and screenwriter (and former Eugene McCarthy speechwriter) Jeremy Larner almost always suggest that McKay's intentions are pure, they make clear that, the more McKay turns himself into a smooth-talking, blow-dried congressional candidate, the more he betrays his original intentions; the transformation is so gradual that McKay doesn't always seem aware of it, though the audience is, and, when McKay quizzically asks "What do we do now?" in the film's famous conclusion, it's the ultimate sign of how far he's strayed from his original intentions. Ritchie's sharp but subtle style and cinematographer Victor J. Kemper's clean, pin-sharp framings give The Candidate a smart and incisive feel that's never too obvious, and its satire is all the more effective as a result.

427

15755290.0

Stolen Kisses

The most lighthearted entry in the saga of Antoine Doniel, the low-key romantic comedy Stolen Kisses marks the feature debut of Claude Jade as the lovely music student Christine Darbon. The story follows an absurd trajectory as Antoine works an array of ridiculous jobs and responds with his endearing boyish charm when he fails at each one. Jean-Pierre L����aud is adorably harmless in his exploits, as this is his last film appearance as a technical bachelor. One of the film's best attributes is the performance of Delphine Seyrig as the fashionable and experienced seductress Fabienne Tabard. Their scenes together are touching and funny, a sweet reflection of the film's American contemporary, The Graduate. The deadpan dialogue is full of quirks and spontaneous comedy, while the cynical romance is just comfortable and friendly. The city of Paris is well photographed, and there's plenty of '60s style to soak up, including a whole store of women's shoes. Truffaut seems to be enjoying himself capturing his trademark subtleties and comic moments. Overall, Stolen Kisses is a totally enjoyable experience, strangely filmed during the 1968 Paris riots.

2510