Noon Wine (1966 TV Film)

Based on the short novel by Katherine Anne Porter, Noon Wine is the story of a farmer who takes a man into his home to help revive their dairy farm only for its fortunes to end in tragedy. Written for television and directed by Sam Peckinpah as part of ABC‘s Stage 67 TV movies, the TV film is a look into a man trying to do what he thinks is right only to be caught up in secrets and lies. Starring Jason Robards, Olivia de Haviland, and Theodore Bikel. Noon Wine is a chilling yet evocative TV movie from Sam Peckinpah.

Set in the late 1800s in Texas, the film revolves around a dairy farmer who meets a Swedish immigrant from North Dakota and hires him to work in his farm. For three years, things seem to go well for the farmer and his family until a man comes in asking questions which leads to a tragic outcome. It’s a TV film that explores a man trying to protect his own fortunes as well as another man unaware of the latter’s past as it creates all sorts of trouble. Sam Peckinpah’s script doesn’t just explore the world that Royal Earle Thompson (Jason Robards) live in but also what he is trying to protect despite the fact that he doesn’t do much for his farm letting this immigrant named Olaf Eric Helton (Per Oscarsson) to do much of the work with Thompson’s sons. With an ailing but able wife in Ellie (Olivia de Haviland) questioning what her husband is doing, it would eventually lead to some tragic outcomes as it relates to Helton and a man trying to find him.

Peckinpah’s direction is very simple although it is very typical of the TV films made in the 1960s. Especially as it doesn’t go for anything visually-astonishing for something that is more intimate where there is a lot of medium shots and close-ups to play into the world of farm life in the late 19th Century. While it is shot on tape, which was the norm for the times, Peckinpah is still able to create some images as well as moments that play into the suspense and drama. Especially for the moment right around half of the film where Thompson meets Homer T. Hatch (Theodore Bikel) as it would be a meeting that would undo everything Thompson is trying to create and protect. It would set a change of tone of sorts for the film but it would also some realities that Thompson and his family are forced to face as the outcome is tragic. Overall, Peckinpah creates a riveting yet haunting film about a family’s fortune undone by tragedy.

Cinematographer Lucien Ballard does excellent work with the black-and-white photography where despite its grainy look and low-key lighting does help play into the period of the times. Editor Arthur Schneider does nice work with the editing as it is straightforward with a few stylish dissolve montages to play into the progress of the farm and Thompson‘s fall late in the film. Production designer Walter Scott Herndon does terrific work with the look of the farm Thompson and his family live in as well as the courthouse late in the film. Costume designer Joe Markham does brilliant work with the costumes as it has looks that are ragged as it play into the look of Helton and the Thompson boys as well as the more revered look late in the film of Thompson and his wife. The sound work of John Pawley is superb for its sound to play into some of its natural elements as well as a few effects for dramatic purposes. The TV film’s music by Jerry Fielding is wonderful as it is this mixture of orchestral and country-folk music to play into the times with the former providing some element of dramatic tension.

The TV film’s brilliant cast include some notable small roles from Steve Sanders and Peter Robbins in their respective roles as Thompson’s sons Arthur and Herbert, L.Q. Jones as a deputy, and Ben Johnson as a local sheriff trying to deal with the chaos that happened late in the film. Per Oscarsson is terrific as the quiet Helton as a Swedish immigrant who does his work and tend to himself while rarely socializing with the family whose respect he slowly gains. Theodore Bikel is fantastic as Homer T. Hatch as this man trying to find Helton for reasons he wouldn’t divulge as he would later antagonize Thompson in a way that would cause trouble. Olivia de Havilland is amazing as Ellie Thompson as an ailing wife trying to make sense of all of the chaos as well as some of the moral implications over what had happened. Finally, there’s Jason Robards in a marvelous performance as Royal Earle Thompson as this farmer that is trying to control things as he sees Helton as a chance to succeed only to be undone by himself as it’s a performance filled with bravado and power as it is one of Robards’ great performances.

Noon Wine is an excellent TV film from Sam Peckinpah that features great performances from Jason Robards and Olivia de Havilland. While it’s a TV movie that isn’t easy to find and rarely shown anywhere. It is still a gem that is worth seeking out as well as something fans of Peckinpah’s work must see. In the end, Noon Wine is a brilliant TV film from Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Ride the High Country - Major Dundee - The Wild Bunch - The Ballad of Cable Hogue - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2016

The Ballad of Cable Hogue

Directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by John Crawford and Edmund Penney, The Ballad of Cable Hogue is the story of a prospector trying to make a life for himself in the Arizona desert with the aid of a prostitute as he deals with the West starting to change in the final years of the frontier. The film marks a change of pace for Peckinpah in the western genre as he goes for a character study into a man trying to salvage an element of the Wild West in its final moments. Starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, L.Q. Jones, Strother Martin, and David Warner. The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a witty yet touching film from Sam Peckinpah.

Set in the late 19th Century, the film is about a man who finds water in an Arizona desert after being left for dead by criminals who betrayed him as he would create a watering hole between two towns as a way to make money but also live his life that he would share briefly with a prostitute. It’s a film that is about a man who would become a prospector where he hopes to succeed despite his lack of education while being something that matters for the West where he would find this watering hole by accident and do something for travelers. Along the way, he would later encounter the modern world and changing times as he and those who were part of the Wild West would be taken aback by. The film’s screenplay doesn’t just explore the journey that Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) would take but also the man himself. Hogue is quite stubborn in his ways as he is someone that is from the Wild West and has old ideas about the ways of the world.

The script also has Hogue falling for this prostitute in Hildy (Stella Stevens) who also lives by her own code yet wants to become rich to go to San Francisco and live the good life. While Hogue understands what Hildy wants, he is reluctant to let her go once she would stay at his watering hole for a while where the two have this very unique relationship. Another friendship that Hogue would have is with a preacher in Joshua (David Warner) whom he meets early in the film as Joshua is a very unconventional character that has a thirst for emotionally-vulnerable women but is also a man that is willing to help despite his quirks. The script does have a structure as it relates to Hogue’s attempt to create a watering hole between towns as much of the first half is about that where he would succeed. In the third act where it has been a few years since he had founded the watering hole, there is that air of revenge as it relates to the men that left him for dead but also an encounter with the modern world that he as well as those he know are baffled by.

Sam Peckinpah’s direction has an air of style where it has a few violent moments but it is mostly restrained as he goes for something that is more intimate not just visually but also tonally. While it opens with this stylish sequence of Hogue being betrayed and stranded all alone in a desert, it is among some of the moments in the film where Peckinpah would go into style as well as some of the funny moments with some fast-motion sequences that is about humor. Peckinpah’s usage of the wide shots to capture much of the scenery shot on location in Nevada with the town scenes shot in Arizona. Peckinpah’s usage of medium shots and close-ups as it plays into some of the people that Hogue befriends as well as some of these moments that play into the world that he is creating. Even in a moment where Joshua would comfort a young woman in a very sexual way as Peckinpah makes no qualms about how women are treated where he would shoot Hogue staring at Hildy’s cleavage. It’s all part of Peckinpah’s sense of fun while balancing it with moments that are serious such as some of the events in the third act as it relates to the modern world that Hogue would encounter. It’s ending isn’t about loss but the end of an era that these characters hold so dearly about as the 20th Century and everything else about it would emerge. Overall, Peckinpah creates a light-hearted yet compelling film about a prospector’s life and his attempt to do something in the Wild West.

Cinematographer Lucien Ballard does excellent work with the cinematography from the naturalistic look of many of the scenes set in the day as well as some lighting for scenes set in the interior and exterior at night. Editors Lou Lombardo and Frank Santillo do amazing as it has some stylish cutting with its fast-motion and a few slow-motion cuts as well as some jump-cuts and stylish usage of dissolves. Art director Leroy Coleman and set decorator Jack Mills do brilliant work with the set design from the look of the home and stop that Hogue would live and run as well as the look of the town. The sound work of Don Rush is terrific as it play into some of the natural elements of the location along with scenes that are quite playful in its usage of sound effects. The film’s music by Jerry Goldsmith and lyricist Richard Gillis is wonderful for its mixture of orchestral textures with folk-based instruments to play into the feel of the West with some songs that would be themes for its three central characters as they are catchy but also helped tell the story.

The film’s marvelous cast includes some notable small roles from James Anderson as a local preacher, Susan O’Connell as a grieving woman that Joshua would comfort, Peter Whitney as a bank president who would give Hogue money for the business, R.G. Armstrong as a land prospector who turns down Hogue over the land that Hogue had bought, and Gene Evans as a husband who is angry over Joshua and his antics. Slim Pickens is superb as the stagecoach driver Ben Fairchild as someone who does business with Hogue as well as be a friend of him as he would often stop at his home. Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones are fantastic as Hogue’s former crime partners in Bowen and Taggart, respectively, with Martin as the more cowardly of the two and Jones as the one who is conniving and greedy.

David Warner is excellent as Reverend Joshua as a preacher who would help Hogue build his home and business as well as be this eccentric man of God who has a weakness for vulnerable women as it’s a very complex yet witty performance. Stella Stevens is amazing as Hildy as this prostitute who takes a liking to Hogue for who he is while helping him run his business briefly as she would fall for him but also deal with his stubbornness. Finally, there’s Jason Robards in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as this man who is left for dead in the desert as he would discover an oasis where he would use to become a prospector as he does whatever he can to make it succeed as it’s Robards in one of his finest performances.

The Ballad of Cable Hogue is an incredible film from Sam Peckinpah that features great performances from Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, and David Warner. While it’s a different kind of western of sorts from Peckinpah, the film is still an engaging as well as entertaining that plays into Peckinpah’s ideas of the West as well as creating something that is sensitive and funny. In the end, The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a spectacular film from Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Ride the High Country - Major Dundee - Noon Wine - The Wild Bunch - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2016

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

Directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Rudy Wurlitzer, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is the story of an aging Pat Garrett who is hired by wealthy cattle barons to hunt and kill his friend Billy the Kid. The film is an exploration of friendship and betrayal in the Old West as well as the final days of the West as James Coburn plays Pat Garrett and Kris Kristofferson stars as Billy the Kid. Also starring Jason Robards, Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado, Richard Jaeckel, Chill Willis, and Bob Dylan. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a wondrous and evocative film from Sam Peckinpah.

Set in 1881 in New Mexico, the film is about Pat Garrett being asked by forces with political ties to hunt down and kill his friend Billy the Kid. While it is a simple story, the film is more about a sense of change that looms in the American West where Billy the Kid is a representation of someone that doesn’t play by the rules as he spends much of the film trying to live his life and find ways to play under his own rules. Pat Garrett meanwhile is a man that is conflicted about hunting the Kid down as just wants him to go to Mexico or deal with him by himself instead of letting others kill him. Even as he meets with individuals who are part of a secret ring of cattle barons who not only want the Kid dead but want to do things their way to the world that is the West.

Rudy Wurlitzer’s screenplay opens with Garrett’s death as he is gunned down by a group of mysterious men as it adds some ambiguity into why he is killed. It plays into not just the sense of change that Garrett didn’t want to be a part of but a change that already happened as it inter-cuts with a time where Garrett had just become a sheriff where he meets the Kid as they shoot down the heads of chickens. It plays into a moment where things were simple as Garrett and the Kid are friends though Garrett knows he is now the law and he is instructed to capture the Kid. Yet, Garrett tells the Kid on what he has to do where he wants him to be safe and not be killed in the hands of the law. However, the Kid is a freebird that just refuses to do what anyone tells him as there is someone who admits to killing some people whether they were good or bad.

The script also plays into that sense of changing times where Garrett is forced to uphold the law as he struggles to do things his way but finds himself coping with these changes. Especially as he would be forced to work with men who are part of this secret ring as they do things in ways that not only disgusts Garrett but also the Kid who would encounter some of these things on his way to Mexico which would force him to seek refuge in the place in Old Fort Sumner. It is in that moment where both the Garrett and the Kid are forced to realize that the ideas of the Old West is coming to an end where Garrett would have to make a decision to either adapt or die. A decision that the Kid wouldn’t stand for as the inevitable is to come.

Sam Peckinpah’s direction is very entrancing for not just the way he pictures the American West but also into how its sense of mythology and codes are being pushed aside in favor of greed. The film is very stylized in not just the way Peckinpah shoots some of the violence but also in the way people lived in those times. There is a looseness to the direction where Peckinpah puts in some humor over some of the situations the Kid would get into but also play into someone that would kill someone when he didn’t want to but had no choice. With its usage of wide and medium shots along with some close-ups, Peckinpah takes great stock into the world that surrounds these characters but also plays into a sense of change that is looming. Most notably a scene where Garrett and an aging sheriff in Colin Baker (Slim Pickens) try to confront a gang only for things to go wrong as it plays into a world that is changing.

The direction has these tense moments in the drama such as a meeting Garrett would have with New Mexico’s leader in Governor Lew Wallace (Jason Robards) who would introduce Garrett to this group of cattle barons who are part of a secret ring in New Mexico. Most notably as it plays into the sense of change that would emerge that the Kid would later see when he encounters a group of men killing a friend and raping his wife to show an ugliness in a new world that he doesn’t want to be a part of. It would all play to the inevitable as the climax where Garrett would do what has to be done since it plays into a new world that neither he nor the Kid could be a part of. Overall, Peckinpah creates a mesmerizing film about two friends who are both forced to go against each other in an ever-changing world.

Cinematographer John Coquillon does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography from the usage of lights for some of its nighttime interior/exterior scenes along with some gorgeous and naturalistic images for the scenes in the day including a shootout involving Sheriff Baker. Editors Roger Spottiswoode, David Berlatsky, Garth Craven, Tony de Zarraga, Richard Halsey, and Robert L. Wolfe, with additional editing by Paul Seydor for the 2005 special edition, do amazing work with the editing in creating some unique slow-motion cuts for some of the action along with rhythmic cutting for some of the drama and suspense. Art director Ted Haworth and set decorator Ray Moyer do excellent work with the design of the sets from hideout that is Fort Sumner as well as the look of Lincoln where the Kid was supposed to be hanged until his escape.

The sound work of Harry W. Tetrick and Charles M. Wilborn is superb for the naturalistic sound it captures along with some sound effects in the sound of gunfire and knives that are thrown. The film’s music by Bob Dylan is fantastic as the soundtrack album features some country-folk instrumentals and a few songs including one of Dylan’s greatest songs in Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door that is played in one of the film’s most poignant moments.

The casting by Patricia Mock is great as it features notable appearances from such noted Western character actors like L.Q. Jones as a bandit Garrett confronts in a shootout with Sheriff Baker, Jack Elam as Garrett’s ragged deputy Alamosa Bill Kermit, Emilio Fernandez as the Kid’s Mexican friend Paco, Chill Wills as a saloon owner named Lemuel Jones who knows Garrett, screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer as a friend of the Kid in Tom O’Folliard, Luke Askew as a cattle baron that is part of a secret ring in Santa Fe, Richard Bright as a member of the Kid’s gang, Rutanya Alda as a prostitute who lives in Fort Sumner with the Kid and his gang, Charles Martin Smith as an early member of the Kid’s gang who encounters a horrifying shootout, and Aurora Clavel as Garrett’s wife Ida who appears in the film’s 2005 reconstructed special-edition version. Other notable small roles include Harry Dean Stanton as a member of the Kid’s gang in Luke, Matt Clark as a deputy sheriff the Kid befriends, R.G. Armstrong as a sheriff who despises the Kid, and John Beck as a hired gun for the secret Santa Fe ring who is eager to kill the Kid.

Barry Sullivan is terrific as a cattle baron named Chisum that the Kid used to work for as the Kid learns what Chisum’s men would do that would disgust the Kid. Slim Pickens is fantastic as the aging sheriff Colin Baker who aids Garrett in trying to find the Kid while Katy Jurado is wonderful as Baker’s wife who helps them both while being great with a shotgun. Richard Jaeckel is superb as a friend of Garrett in Sheriff McKinney who helps Garrett late in the film to capture the Kid while Jason Robards is amazing in a brief but memorable performance as Governor Lew Wallace who tells Garrett what is at stake in capturing the Kid as he is part of a new world order. Bob Dylan is excellent as a young bandit named Alias who joins the Kid during the film’s second act as he proves to be very handy with a knife.

Finally, there’s the duo of James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson in phenomenal performance in their respective roles as Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Coburn brings a rugged yet weary role to Garrett as a man who is now part of the law as he deals with the new rules of his role as well as times that are changing which adds to the conflict in capturing the Kid. Kristofferson brings this sense energy and joy into the role of the Kid as someone who is a total free spirit that doesn’t believe in rules as he copes with a world that is very difficult and troubling. Coburn and Kristofferson have great rapport together in how they both share similar views towards the world as they’re both being pulled into different directions.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a remarkable film from Sam Peckinpah that features exhilarating performances from James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. The film is definitely one of Peckinpah’s finest films (whether in its preferred 1988 122-minute preview version or the 115-minute special edition version) as it plays into the myth of the American West and how it would change. Especially as it features an incredible soundtrack from Bob Dylan that plays into the mythological elements of those times. In the end, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a riveting film from Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Ride the High Country - Major Dundee - Noon Wine - The Wild Bunch - The Ballad of Cable Hogue - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2015

Once Upon a Time in the West

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 5/8/06 w/ Additional Edits & Extensive Revisions.

Directed by Sergio Leone and screenplay by Leone and Sergio Donati, with English translation by Mickey Knox, from a story by Leone, Dario Argento, and Bernardo Bertolucci, Once Upon a Time in The West is the story about an outlaw and a mysterious man protecting a woman from hired killer who is trying to attain a piece of land for a railroad baron. The film serves as Leone's first part of a trilogy about the changes of American life as well as an exploration into revenge and gain. Starring Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, and Gabriele Ferzetti. Once Upon a Time in the West is a grand yet operatic western from Sergio Leone.

At a desert far from the town of Flagstone, Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) prepares for a feast as he's set to pick up his new wife Jill (Claudia Cardinale). Suddenly, a gang of gunslingers arrive to kill the McBain family as its led by its leader in Frank (Henry Fonda). Jill arrives at the town of Flagstone via train from New Orleans as she waits for the arrival of McBain as she ends up taking a ride from a local named Sam (Paola Stoppa) where they stop at a bar where she hears a mysterious man (Charles Bronson) playing the harmonica as another man named Cheyenne (Jason Robards) arrives with his gang. Jill watches Cheyenne confront the mysterious man known as Harmonica as she continues to ride with Sam to the McBain home where she learns about what happened. After the local sheriff finds evidence believing that Cheyenne is the killer, Jill decides to stay at the McBain home.

After news spread about the McBain massacre, Harmonica tortures a man named Wobbles (Marco Zuanelli) who reveals information about who killed the McBain family as it relates to the involvement of a paralyzed railroad baron named Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti). Morton isn't happy about what Frank and his gang did as they conspire to own the entire railroad system so that Morton can have a legacy to hold on to as they learn that Jill has arrived. After hearing Harmonica's playing, Jill attempts to leave only for Cheyenne to arrive at his home with his gang where they talk about her life in New Orleans as Jill realizes that Cheyenne isn't the killer. Harmonica later arrives after Cheyenne's departure as he reveals some information about what happened to McBain. Harmonica and Cheyenne decide to work together to figure out what Frank and Morton are up to while Jill makes a discovery of her own about the land her late husband had bought.

Frank kidnaps Jill for his own reasons as he tries to convince her to sell the McBain land at an auction that is held until Harmonica arrives with a tied-up Cheyenne to get the reward money so he can buy the McBain land. Jill realizes there is a connection between Frank and Harmonica as Frank's alliance with Morton falters as Frank discovers about the plans McBain had fro the land. This would eventually lead to a showdown between Frank and Harmonica as Cheyenne watches from afar realizing that the days of the West is about to end.

In Leone's past trilogy of Westerns with Clint Eastwood, he wanted to reveal what was great about the genre while giving it a fresh coat of European sensibility in terms of its violence. For this particular film, Leone clearly wanted it to be not just his best Western but a tribute to the genre itself. Leone aimed for an operatic end of the genre by making the film play as a background where it's the time where the railroad starts to emerge where it's the start of modernization and the end of the West. In some ways, the film is considered to be a political film by Leone since the railroad is where the power is. In many ways, it's Leone's most complex film among his Westerns while the structure and plot is a bit more simple.

The script's structure and timing might seem slow to some viewers but its pacing and observation is deliberate to the way Leone tells his story. The credit for hashing out Leone's script is his co-writers in Sergio Donati and Mickey Knox plus contributions from Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento. What the script reveals is Leone's transition from action-driven, stylized Westerns to more dramatic elements that helped evolve his unique ability as a storyteller. While there's only a few main characters of the film, they're all wonderfully developed and fully realized in their intentions and in the presence they bring. Particularly the way heroes and villains are portrayed as multi-dimensional characters. Cheyenne and Harmonica aren't true good guys since Cheyenne is a fugitive who does bad things but at least has his own morals while Harmonica is a bit more vicious since he's here for far more personal reasons in a vendetta.

Part of Harmonica's story is told in flashback since his objective is to find Frank where it eventually reveals itself in a flashback and how he got the name. The main villain of Frank is truly one of the most chilling villains in the history of cinema. Notably for his lack of remorse as he is willing to kill anyone including women and children without no pretenses and morals. He is a sadist and he doesn't have a care in the world except for money and pride. While another villainous character in Morton is in the story, he's not that much of a villain since he has his own morals and his desire to dream of a legacy. Plus, he’s the brunt of abuse in his already tumultuous business relationship with Frank where all Frank cares for is money and power. The real hero of the film is the most unlikely hero of any of Leone's film and that is in the part of a woman.

In the films prior to this one, the women Leone had were often portrayed as hookers or mothers trying to take care of their children. For this film, his main protagonist is a woman where she ends up becoming an unlikely heroine. Not with shooting or playing cowboy but a woman who isn't playing a just a former hooker, but someone who ends up helping create a lost dream while maintaining her dignity. It's in not just the script of Leone but his wandering direction that allows the characters to connect while making them their own as characters that audiences can care about or totally dislike. In his epic vision, Leone aims for a scope where all the tricks he used in previous films work for him where he goes from a close-up of a house and then have the camera move to show an entire town in one long shot.

Leone's love for conventional Western cliches, notably the shootouts are done with great style while making them unconventional at the same time. He starts off with a near-ten minute opening where for a while, nothing happens until Harmonica arrives playing this haunting, harmonica melody. Then, the film immediately opens with a shootout. Even the final shootout between Harmonica and Frank is done with great complexity about the history that reveals a key point to the film's plot in Harmonica's hatred for Frank. Its his presentation that gives voice to the Western while declaring it dead at the same time. While his love for many Westerns including the ones by John Ford are mentioned, he also breaks them to give the genre a great send-off where we understand some of Frank's motives for not wanting the McBain dream to stay alive. In many ways, what Leone would do for ending the West with Once Upon a Time in the West. Sam Peckinpah would confirm it even more in its ideology a year later for his 1969 film, The Wild Bunch.

Helping Leone out in his epic, visual-scope is his longtime cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli. Colli's widescreen photography is not very good when its shown on a fullscreen format but on widescreen, the presentation is beautiful. Taking advantage of the light from the sun in many of the film's exterior settings and giving the interior a grungy yet true atmosphere to the genre. The photography in the film is wonderfully authentic in every frame. Two more of Leone's longtime collaborators also do great work in their respective trade. Longtime art director/costume designer Carlo Simi whose presentation of the Western towns and bars is wonderful in its detail while his creation of the Flagstaff town is rumored to be worth more than the entire budget of Leone's first Western in A Fistful of Dollars. Simi's costume work is great while giving Henry Fonda a great look to his villainous persona and doing great work on the clothing of Claudia Cardinale.

Editor Nino Baragli whose iconic cutting style in The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly is used to great form as he does great work in dissolves and transitional cuts to create a wonderful atmosphere and pacing to the film. Helping with the film's sound work are Fausto Ancillai and Claudio Maielli who help create the atmosphere of the West. Notably, the film's first scene where the sound is amazing from its windmills, creaking chairs, and the noise of a fly. The makeup team of Alberto and Giannetto de Rossi do great work in getting the tanning look to help create the heat of the West along with the red sand of the American West.

The final key collaborator of all of Leone's great films is the work of music composer Ennio Morricone. The score of Morricone is divided into four themes to be played for its main characters. The first is a sweeping, operatic arrangement of strings for the character of Jill while Cheyenne gets a rhythmic, banjo-like guitar accompaniment that plays to the film's humor. The character of Harmonica has a theme to the tune of a haunting harmonica melody while Frank gets a droning, dorbo-like guitar riff when his character arrives. Each arrangement and note Morricone would put would often mix into some of the greatest score work ever assembled which he wrote just before the film was even made. Morricone aims for the same tone of opera and tension, notably in the film's final shootout where the arrangements are sweeping to convey the sense of momentum. In the end, it's one of the best film scores ever composed by the always brilliant Ennio Morricone.

Now we come to the film's amazing, large ensemble cast. While there's some nice, memorable roles from Claudio Mancini as Harmonica's brother and Dino Mele as the young Harmonica in a flashback sequence along with Marilu Carteny and Enzo Santaniello as the McBain children. There's some great performances from veteran Western character actors Jack Elam, Woody Strode, and Al Mulock in the film's opening sequence. Notable small roles like Paola Stoppa, Keenan Wynn, Lionel Stander, and Marco Zuanelli are memorable as is Frank Wolff as the ill-fated McBain. The most memorable supporting role is the role of Morton by Gabriele Ferzetti. Playing a cripple, Ferzetti brings a complexity to his role of a villain who wants to hold on to a final dream as he keeps on hearing and looking at images of the sea. Ferzetti holds his own in many scenes, especially with Henry Fonda as its really two actors just acting with each other while being very comfortable. While he may not be known to Americans, Ferzetti holds a lasting impression.

Claudia Cardinale gives an amazing performance as the hooker with dignity known as Jill. While most of her dialogue was dubbed to cover up her heavy Italian accent, Cardinale still maintains a presence that is matched by her beauty while most of her performance is in reaction shots and observance. It's truly one of the best performances in any Western while she becomes an unlikely heroine despite her past as a hooker. Cardinale has great chemistry with her co-stars but its with Jason Robards that has the greatest impact of sensitivity. The late Jason Robards gives a great performance as the sensitive but dirty Cheyenne whose knowledge of morals and codes of the West brings a man with a lot of integrity despite his criminal background. Robards also plays the moral conscience in the film of sorts despite his deeds while he is the only one to calm someone like Harmonica and bring some good company to Jill. It's a great role from the late actor who also had a great performance in another Western, the often-underrated Sam Peckinpah film, The Ballad of Cable Hogue.

The late Charles Bronson is great in his role as the mysterious Harmonica. Bronson brings a dark, quiet presence to the film where the audience is aware that he's dangerous and he's got something up on his sleeve. His face also carries a sense of pain and mystery as he uses his body language to maintain a performance that is minimalist in its lack of emotions. It's truly an iconic performance from the late actor, who has been an icon in being a badass. The film's most shocking performance goes to none other than the late but legendary Henry Fonda. Throughout his career, especially in films like The Grapes of Wrath and 12 Angry Men, Fonda has played men of struggle and men who just wants to do and do the right thing. In this film, he does the exact opposite. Fonda uses the right look and tone to play a character that is pure evil from every of his intentions for his own gain. Fonda truly captures everything that a villain is needed to the point that he's a villain some can like despite his actions. It's truly one of his many iconic performances.

The 2003, 2-disc Special Edition Region 1 DVD from Paramount is truly one of the best packages of any DVD. Particularly since it's the uncut version of the film where the American release cut 25 minutes from the film in 1968 where in later releases, the scenes that got cut were restored. Presenting the film in the preferred widescreen format that is the only true way to watch a Leone epic. The film looks wonderful in all of its glory while its 16x9 aspect ratio is perfect for TV. With 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound plus restored mono audio in English and French along with English subtitles. The 2-disc set features the first disc presenting the entire film in all of its glory with its only special feature is a huge audio commentary track. The second disc is filled with several documentary shorts plus cast profiles, theatrical trailers, and photo galleries.

The first disc features a full-on audio commentary track with excerpts recorded separately from different places. On the commentary are film historians Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr. Sheldon Hall, film directors John Carpenter, Alex Cox, and John Milius, and from the actual movie, co-writer Bernardo Bertolucci and the film's star Claudia Cardinale. While John Milius and Claudia Cardinale had brief commentary tracks, they're wonderfully informative as Milius talks about his friendship with Sergio Leone. Claudia Cardinale comments on her love scene with Henry Fonda which she thought was a terrible day since she and Fonda were shooting the scene in front of journalists and Fonda's wife at the time. The shooting made things tense as Cardinale recalled though she had a good time with the legendary actor. She also talks about how Leone is compared to the great directors she worked with like Federico Fellini in 8 1/2 and Luchino Visconti.

Alex Cox and John Carpenter provide the more enjoyable commentaries as Cox talks about some of the scenes that got cut in the heavily-edited American version. Carpenter talks in a couple of scenes from a technical standpoint and his enjoyment of Leone's tracking and crane shots along with the editing and pacing style that was inspired the Japanese films of Kurosawa and Ozu. Bernardo Bertolucci also had a couple of cuts where he talked about the writing of the film and how pleased he was with the film's final cut while talking about his love for the Western genre as a kid and how Leone got him to regain his love for the genre after being enamored with the French New Wave. The more informative commentaries come from Dr. Sheldon Hall and most of all, Sir Christopher Frayling where they talk about the scenes that got cut while Frayling describes a lot of the mythology of the film. Plus, the noted references into the many movies of John Ford whom Leone loved among all Western directors while the harmonica playing is a reference to Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar.

The second disc of the DVD features several little documentaries relating to the movie. Three of them is about the film with interviews from Cardinale, Bertolucci, Cox, Carpenter, Milius, and Frayling along with late cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli and Gabriele Ferzetti. The first of the three-part documentary is a 30-minute segment called An Opera of Violence where Frayling discusses Leone's film background where his father was a silent film director and mother was an actress that did the first ever Italian Western. Leone would eventually become an assistant director for Mario Soldati in many Roman-like epics while doing some camera work in other movies like Cleopatra and Ben-Hur where Leone was part of the crew shooting the chariot scene. When Soldati died during production of a film, Leone took over to finish where he got to do his first ever film entitled Colossus of Rhodes in 1961.

Then in the early 60s, the Italian film industry went bust after the era of Roman epics were gone, Cleopatra just bombed while Luchino Visconti's Il Gatopardo also failed commercially. Frayling discusses that the Italian industry was at the time, an industry that will go on one trend and then make films of that same style. While there were films by Visconti, Federico Fellini, Michaelangelo Antonioni, Roberto Rosellini and Vittorio de Sica at the time, they weren't big commercial films. Then came Leone with the trilogy of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. The Italian industry went up and running again while Leone was becoming a hero. During the premiere for The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly in December 1966, Leone met with a then-new filmmaker named Bernardo Bertolucci and a local film critic from Rome named Dario Argento. Though Leone had planned to do an epic mob movie that would eventually become Once Upon a Time in America, he didn't want to do another Western.

Paramount from the U.S. convinced Leone thanks to the international buzz of his Western trilogy as he decided to do one more Western with help from Bertolucci and Argento. Bertolucci talked about how he came up with the idea of getting a female protagonist for the film which Leone resisted at first only to be won over by the idea. Claudia Cardinale discusses how she got contacted and how she wanted the part to be more complex and it helped the writing more. The documentary also features rare interview clips from Leone in 1984 when he was finishing Once Upon a Time in America and an old 1975 interview with Henry Fonda talking about taking the role for Once Upon a Time in the West. Part of a trilogy of the events that touched America, Leone wanted to pay homage to the West but also attack the American ideology while Alex Cox talked about the opening scene where there's a legendary story about the stars of The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly playing the part of the three men only to be killed in the first five minutes.

The second doc short for The Wages of Sin is a 20-minute segment where the discussion is on Leone's working style. John Carpenter, Cox, and Delli Colli discusses his precise detail for everything right. They discuss the photography style of Delli Colli as well as the work of the late art director/costume designer Carlo Simi. Frayling talks about while most of the film was shot in Spain with some interiors in Cinecetta studios in Rome. The famous shot of Jill with Sam riding through Monument Valley was one of the few scenes in America. Before shooting, Leone and Delli Colli went to America for a tour group to look at Monument Valley where Leone acted like a kid in a candy store since that's where John Ford shot some of his Westerns. Leone and his crew even went up to get the red sand from Monument Valley to use for the film. The segment also discusses the Leone close-ups and his canvas where Carpenter, Cardinale, and Frayling all feel it's the key to being a great storyteller.

The third and final part of the documentary is an 18-minute segment called Something to Do with Death where they discuss the music of Morricone where in this film, it was the first time he wrote an entire score just before the film was even shot. They discuss the themes he wrote and how Leone got inspired by them. The opening scene of the film originally was supposed to have music but the themes Morricone and Leone tried to use didn't work until Morricone went to a performance art show about a guy making sounds with ladders. There, it gave the idea for the film's opening scene with its array of amplified sounds. This leads to the discussion of the film's release where in Europe, it was a success but in the U.K. and U.S., it wasn't. Especially in America where they cut 20 minutes of the film for length reason, which would be the case for the remainder of his films in the years to come where they would get chopped up in the editing room.

The short six-minute featurette entitled Railroad-Revolutionizing the West is a short doc about the evolution of the railroad and its impact that it had on the West. Especially in its influence on the cinema where Alex Cox reveals that it talks about the process of industrialization where machines came and the beginning of the end of man. Two galleries appear for the DVD. First is a locations gallery to compare and contrast the locations of the film where many of the railway locations from Spain show no railroad but more grass. The McBain house looks more colorful while keeping the wood that was actually taken from a film by Orson Welles. The look of Monument Valley remains insatiable in its red look while the trail don't exist only as a path of sorts. The film photo gallery features black-and-white stills of the cast and crew working including a deleted scene that never made the final cut of Harmonica being assaulted by the town's sheriff.

Also included are the cast bios of the five main actors, French and English subtitles, and the original theatrical trailer for the film. Overall, this is a fantastic DVD though the only flaw is its packaging where both discs are on top of another and if anyone is trying to get the second disc. Get the first one out or you'll cause some scratches.

Once Upon a Time in the West is a majestic and outstanding film from Sergio Leone. Featuring incredible performances from Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, and Gabriele Ferzetti. It is truly one of the great films that transcends the western genre as it also serves as a worthy introduction for anyone new to the western. The film also features amazing technical work as well as an awesome score by Ennio Morricone that is truly one of the great film scores ever composed. In the end, Once Upon a Time in the West is a remarkable film from Sergio Leone.

Sergio Leone Films: The Last Days of Pompeii (1959 film) - The Colossus of Rhodes - A Fistful of Dollars - For a Few Dollars More - The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly - Duck, You Sucker! - Once Upon a Time in America

Related: Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone - The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone

(C) thevoid99 2012

Magnolia

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/8/05 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Magnolia is a multi-layered story that chronicles a day in the life of various people in Los Angeles. Among them is a loser salesman, a cop, a gold-digging wife who realizes her love for her husband while his estranged son is a conflicted self-help guru. Other stories include a child in a game show while its host is dealing with personal problems that include his daughter's self-destructive behavior. The film explores the world of coincidences, chance, redemption, and failure that connects these characters in this very fascinating drama. With an all-star cast that includes P.T. Anderson regulars like Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Jay, Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Melora Walters, William H. Macy, Luis Guzman, and Alfred Molina plus Jason Robards, Felicity Huffman, Melinda Dillon, Michael Bowen, April Grace, Michael Murphy, Jeremy Blackman, and Tom Cruise. Magnolia is an ambitious yet engrossing drama from P.T. Anderson.

Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall) is a TV game show host who is about to reach 12,000 hours of broadcasting while his daughter Claudia (Melora Walters) is binging on sex and drugs in another part of Los Angeles. Set to be on Gator's TV show is a kid named Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman) who is intent to study while his father Rick (Michael Bowen) is doing auditions. A man named Donnie Smith (William H. Macy) is about to get corrective teeth surgery as he reflects on his time back in 1968 when he won Gator's show back in 1968 at the age of 10. Meanwhile, Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) is dying as he's in the care of nurse named Phil (Philip Seymour Hoffman) while Earl's wife Linda (Julianne Moore) run errands. Jim (John C. Reilly) is a police officer whose day starts off strange due to a disturbance by a woman named Marcie (Cleo King) over a dead body as he later meets a young rapping boy named Dixon (Emmanuel Johnson).

With Earl on his deathbed, he ponders about his life as he asks Phil to find his estranged son Frank (Tom Cruise), who has re-invented himself as seminar guru Frank T.J. Mackey as he's being interviewed by a reporter named Gwenovier (April Grace). Jimmy makes an unexpected visit to Claudia's apartment to reveal some startling news as the meeting doesn't go well as he hoped to be as he later calls his wife Rose (Melinda Dillon) about what happened. Claudia would react badly to the news as she causes a disturbance where she attracts the attention of Jim as the two fall for each other where they later see each other for a date. After visiting a doctor and her lawyer Alan Kligman Esq., Linda would make a confession of her own as she asks to be removed from Earl's will. After being fired by his boss Solomon (Alfred Molina) over lateness and incompetence, Donnie goes to a bar to cope with failure where he reveals some stories of his own as he tries to profess his love to the bartender Brad (Craig Kvinsland) while talking to a man named Thurston Howell (Henry Gibson).

Later that night on Jimmy's show, Stanley shows up to the studio nearly late as he gets ready to play the game. Yet, Jimmy starts to feel sick during the show while Stanley also succumbs to pressure leaving the show in trouble. Frank's meeting with Gwenovier starts off fine until she starts to press questions about his past as he gets a call from his assistant about Phil. Frank reluctantly talks to Phil as he hears the news while Linda comes home to learn that Phil contacted Frank. Just before his date with Claudia, Jim has a run-in with a supposed killer as he loses his gun as it would be a horrible moment for him as he later talks to Claudia about it during their date. After the show, Jimmy makes a confession to rose about a dark family secret while Donnie decides to do something about his job as everyone starts to face their own conscious in one big moment.

While the film and its overlapping storylines might include many influences from Robert Altman, P.T. Anderson definitely goes for that style to bring something that is very ambitious while using that to make a film about one simple theme, love. Some might call this an existential film of sorts or a psychological drama or an epic drama or anything yet it's definitely one of the most original films of the decade. Particularly the way the film carries so many stories without losing track of its theme and major characters. Every character in that film is connected to another, one way or later on.

What makes the film so interesting is its epic-length structure where none of the subplots lose itself or becomes a distraction. Anderson carefully constructs each scene and each act into what the film's theme is about. The first six minutes has an eerie prologue that returns later on in the third act with a narrator (the voice of Ricky Jay) talking about coincidences. Then, eight minutes go by into the first act where Anderson introduces all of the major characters in the film. The first act is really about all of those characters, their troubles, and what kind of people they are. The second act is them exposing themselves, trying to hide from reality or deal with simple problems like Stanley wanting to go to the bathroom or Phil trying to reach Frank. The dialogue throughout the film, though stylized is very real once it comes to an emotional breaking point which leads to the film's third act.

The third act of the film is those characters dealing with confrontation, guilt, failure, and desperation while the emotions and situations become more complex. With the rain being a part of the second act of the film, the rain dies down and we see every character stripped-down to their real selves no matter what the audience thinks of them, it's the payoff that matters in the end. This would lead to one of these moments that can be described as What the fuck? There, the film shifts into something that is really mind boggling and then talking about it afterwards into an understanding, particularly with the film's prologue.

If Anderson's ambitions as a writer reaches new heights, so does his directing as he continues to create long, running steadicam shots that would go on for a few minutes in one take. His presentation is very linear though it shifts back and forth into one story and into another where in the second act, it creates all sorts of tension that definitely sets up a classic moment in terms of its emotions. Even in the some scenes, he creates tense atmosphere for the characters that would lead to them reaching some emotional breaking point. It's some of the finest directing that has been captured onto a film.

Helping Anderson in his vision is longtime cinematographer Robert Elswit. Elswit's cinematography is filled with amazing lighting, notably in the exterior night sequences that is filled with a lot of atmosphere with a bit of grainy yet dreamy imagery that complements Los Angeles in its beauty. In interior scenes, the film is well-lit which helps create the tension of the film. Editor Dylan Tichenor helps create the multiple storyline of Anderson's script, notably the second act where the film is cut very swiftly but is given enough time for each character to tell their story. Production designers William Arnold and Mark Bridges help create atmosphere in the film's look including the bar scene that is filled with an intimacy and tension to the film. Mark Bridges also brings in some great costume, notably the loser clothing for William H. Macy, and the posh clothing of Julianne Moore.

The film's soundtrack even helps to tell the story whether its Emmanuel Johnson rapping or Gabrielle playing in Donnie Smith's car. Even Supertramp appears in a couple of songs in the bar that Donnie goes to. Yet the score is dominated by the score of Jon Brion that brings a lot of atmosphere and tension to the film with additional contributions from P.T. Anderson's then-girlfriend Fiona Apple who adds a lot of piano flourishes to Brion's score. Then there's the music of Aimee Mann who dominates many of the film's music including a cover of Harry Nilsson's One as well as a few cuts including the Oscar-nominated Save Me and the song Wise Up where each major character gets to sing a verse in one of the film's most emotional scene.

Then there's the film's amazingly glorious ensemble cast that includes great small performances from Anderson regulars like Luis Guzman, Alfred Molina, and Ricky Jay who also does a fine job in the narration of the prologue. Also noted for small performances are the kids Emmanuel Johnson, Natalie Marston and Bobby Brewer as Stanley's partners in the game, plus pre-Desperate Housewife maiden Felicity Huffman in a small role as a production assistant, Henry Gibson as a rival for Donnie for the affections of a bartender, Michael Bowen as Stanley's greedy father, and Michael Murphy as Linda's attorney. In smaller but very important roles, April Grace does an excellent job in her performance as Frank Mackey's interviewer who doesn't get herself intimidated by Mackey's presence. Cleo King is also wonderful as Marcie, the woman who is suspected of a murder in the film's first major scene. Melinda Dillon is amazing as Jimmy Gator's wife who has her moment in the scene when Jimmy confesses about his secrets as she brings her best dramatic moment.

Phillip Baker Hall gives a great performance as the dying, regret-filled Jimmy Gator who starts off with an iconic status but his exterior is stripped down as Hall brings a performance that is nothing short of brilliance. Another veteran actor who shines in one of his final performances is Jason Robards as the dying Earl Partridge who is filled with regret and anger in a way that only Robards can do as he gives a performance that goes out in a graceful, masterful way. Melora Walters is also excellent as the troubled, lonely Claudia with her desire to self-destruct and not be with anyone until John C. Reilly comes and gives her a bit of hope as Walters shines in her performance. Reilly is also amazing as the lonely cop Jim who tries to do the right thing but one mental mistake brings him to an emotional breakdown as he leans to Claudia for support. William H. Macy gives another great performance in playing another loser as Macy brings a lot of angst and heartbreak into his performance as a lonely man who is filled with a lot of conflict and his desire to bring love.

Jeremy Blackman gives a riveting performance as Stanley who is smart but once the pressure to continue comes in, all he wants to do is go to the bathroom. Blackman brings a lot of sympathy and angst to his role as a kid whose simple desire is ignored as he realizes that he's become a puppet of sorts with only one man sympathizing with him. Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives a great supporting performance as Phil who nurses Earl and is always at his side. Hoffman has great scenes with Robards as he desperately takes care of him, no matter how bad he is as Hoffman brings a character who doesn't go into a change but it's his heart and role that shows a true example of a true supporting character.

Julianne Moore gives another amazing performance in a P.T. Anderson film as a guilt-ridden woman who is desperately realizing her sins. Moore brings a lot of theatrics to her role as well as a lot of emotions as she plays a character whose actions are unforgivable as she asks to be punished for her sins. It's truly one of her more remarkable performances that leads to a troubling aftermath as Moore's desperation truly gives her character something that she really needed in the film's theme. Tom Cruise gives one of the best performances of his career as Frank T.J. Mackey. Cruise early brings in a lot of intensity with a winning personality and presence with one great line. "Respect the cock and tame the cunt!" Cruise goes for intimidation and fire early on but once his true character is revealed, he brings a lot of restraint to his role until the third act when he gives out some great, fiery emotions in his scene with Jason Robards.

Magnolia is a sprawling yet magnificent film from Paul Thomas Anderson. Armed with an outstanding ensemble cast, great technical work, and a captivating story, the film is definitely unlike anything out there in terms of the themes it presents and what it wanted to say. It's a very smart and ambitious ensemble-driven film with multiple storylines that manages to not lose sight of what it wants to say while giving characters that audiences can be engaged by. In the end, Magnolia is a phenomenal film from Paul Thomas Anderson.

Paul Thomas Anderson Films: Sydney/Hard Eight - Boogie Nights - Punch-Drunk Love - There Will Be Blood - The Master - Inherent Vice - Junun - Phantom Thread - Licorice Pizza - One Battle After Another

The Short Films & Videos of P.T. Anderson - The Auteurs #15: Paul Thomas Anderson

© thevoid99 2012

Burden of Dreams

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/17/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

1982's Fitzcarraldo by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski and Claudia Cardinale was considered to be one of the most ambitious films ever made. Largely due to its plot of an opera-loving baron who seeks to exploit an unclaimed part of land while getting his steamboat dragged by Amazon natives on top of a mountain. Despite the film's international acclaim and success, the film was years in the making with cast changes and production problems that the story behind the making of the film was even more interesting. It was there that documentary film director Les Blank released a film about the making of Fitzcarraldo called Burden of Dreams. Starring Herzog, Kinski, Cardinale, along with Mick Jagger, and Jason Robards. Burden of Dreams is a superb, intriguing documentary about all the troubles that goes on behind the world of filmmaking.

After a year of pre-production, Werner Herzog and his film crew travel to the Amazon for locations scouting for his film entitled Fitzcarraldo. Part of the film's story would involve dragging a steamship on top of a mountain as Herzog and his team found the location they needed. The only problem is that they encounter a border dispute between Indian tribes and the government forcing Herzog to postpone the shoot for a year. Finally in 1981, Herzog was able to shoot in Iquitos, Peru for the film as he got his cast ready as it would star Jason Robards as the titular character and rock singer as his assistant Mick Jagger. With 40% of the film shot and things seemed fine, Robards became ill as he had to return to the U.S. for medical reasons as he never came back to Peru due to his illness. The production was halted for six weeks as Jagger had to leave production due to his touring commitments with the Rolling Stones. In April of 1981, Herzog brought in Klaus Kinski, whom he had already collaborated in three films by this time, to replace Robards while Jagger's character was cut out of the film. Re-shooting all of the scenes in Iquitos, Herzog found the steamboat he needed as he as he also rented two steamboats to make them identical as filming continued with Kinski and Claudia Cardinale.

Herzog also found a new group of Indian tribes to work with while doubling their wages to continue doing their other work. Still, the shoot dealt with problems due the end of rain season where Herzog and crew had to shoot in the mildly dangerous currents of the Pachitea river while the other boat was in the Ucayala Falls. Things were still troubling over tension between differing tribe members while the planning for the steamboat dragging sequence proved to be daunting. Even as a rented bulldozer couldn't help create the slope Herzog needed as he's running out of time and money as the production got longer than he anticipated. While also dealing with restless natives as a missionary priest tries to ease the tension, Herzog and his team tried to stay away at another camp as Kinski complained about the boredom that is happening. With the slope finally completed, a Brazilian engineer is asked to figure how to drag a ship on top of a mountain as he later quit over its problems. After a first attempt where the cable breaks, Herzog reveals his love/hate relationship towards nature believing that nature is winning. Though filming is able to continue despite the on-going trouble in the production that included the treacherous rapids sequences. Herzog contemplates about making another film as the shooting of Fitzcarraldo finally finishes in November of 1981.

While many people will know that making a film isn't easy but what Les Blank and his co-director Maureen Gosling revealed is how far a director will go to achieve his dream and how far he's willing to take himself. Though Herzog isn't entirely portrayed as an egomaniac, he is willing to himself to reveal his personality, flaws and all. There's parts of him that is caring and sensitive and there's another side of him that can be insensitive and delusional at times. Still, Blank and Gosling reveal all the troubles in which Herzog had to go through. From the border disputes between tribes and the Peruvian government to the battle with nature on trying to get the steamboat on top of a mountain as well as trekking through the Amazon. It's more than the typical, behind-the-scenes kind of mini-film that would often be seen on TV specials or as extra features on a DVD. What Blank unveils is what could go wrong in a movie definitely goes wrong and how Herzog persevered through the challenges.

While the entire film isn't perfect since there's a few parts that drag, the documentary is sobering in how the tribes and local react to being apart of this project. The reaction was indeed mixed where though they like the money and being apart of something grand, they didn't expect it to be that hard or to come into a situation that is tense. With Blank serving as the cinematographer, he goes deep into the contrasting world of the camps that the tribes lived in and where the cast and crew lived since Herzog didn't want to impose the culture of his camp onto theirs. The interviews with Herzog, Kinski, Paul Hittscher, Thomas Mauch, Miguel Angel Fuentes, Jose Lewgoy, various crew members plus locals reveal the atmosphere and the culture of the Amazon. While Herzog doesn't want to maintain or exploit their culture, he does his best to get the tribe into getting their land where by the end of the film, the final credits revealed that the tribe is still struggling to get their land.

Then there's the narration written by Michael Goodwin as it reveals the troubles of the film and what was going on during the months of filming. It's a wonderful narration in its insightful, sobering effects of how weather, locations, and politics can cause problems during filming. Then there's the role of Maureen Gosling whose editing and sound work reveal the tense atmosphere of the areas while her editing, revealing several amounts of footage shows the complexity of the Amazon as well as everything that goes in the film. It's superbly edited while it reveals the two lost scenes with Jagger and Robards including a scene of the two actors calling out wanting an opera on top of a church. Those two scenes reveal what was left since the remaining footage was lost. Other footage in the documentary, particularly between Herzog and Kinski is revealed more in Herzog's 1999 documentary about his collaboration with Kinski called My Best Fiend.

Burden of Dreams is marvelous documentary from Les Blank that chronicles the production of Fitzcarraldo. Fans of Herzog's film will no doubt want to check this film out to see how far Herzog was able to reach the impossible for this film. Particularly as it gets very close to the filmmaking process and how ambitious production can lead to trouble. It's a very engaging and hypnotic documentary to see what had to be done to do the impossible as Burden of Dreams is a truly intoxicating documentary from Les Blank

Fitzcarraldo

(C) thevoid99 2012