Run of the Arrow

Written and directed by Samuel Fuller, Run of the Arrow is the story of a former Confederate war veteran who leaves his family to move to the West where he joins the Sioux Indian Nation. The film is a western that explores a man dealing with his honor while helping the Indians fight off against the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars of the late 19th Century. Starring Rod Steiger, Sara Montiel, Brian Keith, and Charles Bronson. Run of the Arrow is a compelling and thrilling film from Samuel Fuller.

The film is the story of a Confederate soldier who decides to leave his home of Virginia and his family following Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Ulysses S. Grant to end the Civil War as he tries to find something to fight for when he moves West and becomes part of the Sioux Indian Nation. It’s a film that really more of an exploration of a man who felt like his service in the Civil War had all been for nothing as he was forced to bury his own brothers as he seeks to find meaning in the West where his encounter with Sioux Indians have him wanting to find a role where he can be useful and also gain whatever honor is lost. Along the way, he would deal with a cavalry that wants to build a fort nearby their territory causing tension as O’Meara (Rod Steiger) tries to ensure nothing goes wrong as he does gain the trust of cavalry leader Captain Clark (Brian Keith) but trouble brews due to a rebellious Sioux and a lieutenant whom O’Meara had met in the last days of the Civil War.

Samuel Fuller’s screenplay showcases a man who has become lost in his idea of duty and honor as he refuses to accept the surrender of the Confederacy despite the fact that he knows that the war was lost. That loss forces O’Meara to find a place where he doesn’t have to bow down to the Union where his meeting with an aging Sioux renegade in Walking Coyote (Jay C. Flippen) who takes a liking to O’Meara. Their encounter with the rebellious Crazy Wolf (H.M. Wynant) would show O’Meara’s resilience as he is accepted by the tribe as he would marry a Sioux woman in Yellow Moccasin (Sara Montiel) and gain a sense of peace. Yet, the arrival of the cavalry forces O’Meara to deal with his past in Lt. Driscoll (Ralph Meeker) who distrusts the Sioux. Especially as its third act would have O’Meara try to make Lt. Driscoll see reason and not start a war as well as confront his own demons about his own experiences with the Civil War.

Fuller’s direction is quite grand as he shoots the film on a widescreen format to display that broad stroke of the American West. The use of the wide and medium shots allow Fuller to play into that vast look of the West while doing some very unique ideas to display this game of death known as Run of the Arrow where O’Meara and Walking Coyote would have to run barefoot to survive from being killed by the Sioux. What Fuller did in that sequence was instead of doing wide or medium shots of an entire person in the frame, he just focuses on the feet instead to play into that sense of action. Fuller’s use of close-ups also play into the drama as it relates to O’Meara’s own personal struggle while a few of them are presented awkwardly which suggests that there was some tampering to what Fuller wanted and what the studio wanted. Yet, Fuller is able to keep things lively and also infuse some commentary about the themes of honor and what the Sioux were fighting for as it would help O’Meara regain a sense of identity and honor. Overall, Fuller creates a very exhilarating film about a lost man trying to find himself in the American West.

Cinematographer Joseph Biroc does excellent work with the film‘s colorful cinematography from the vast look of the American desert to the more low-key lights for the scenes at night. Editor Gene Fowler Jr. does amazing work with the editing with its use of dissolves and rhythmic cuts to play into the film’s action and suspense. Art directors Albert S. D’Agostino and Jack Okey, along with set decorator Bertram C. Granger, do brilliant work with the set pieces from the look of the teepees that the Sioux lived to the fort that the cavalry would build. The sound work of Terry Kellum and Virgil Smith is terrific for its sound work from the way arrows are shot into the air to the sounds of gunfire. The film’s music by Sidney Cutner is wonderful for its bombastic orchestral score that includes some somber themes to play into the drama.

The film’s superb cast includes some notable small roles from Billy Miller as the mute Sioux Silent Tongue, Olive Carey as O’Meara’s mother, and Charles Bronson in one of his early roles as a Sioux chief in Blue Buffalo as it’s a true standout performance from the legendary actor. H.M. Wynant is terrific as the rebellious Sioux Crazy Wolf while Jay C. Flippen is excellent as the aging Sioux scout Walking Coyote who would introduce O’Meara the ideas of the Sioux. Ralph Meeker is fantastic as Lt. Driscoll as a young man who had been shot by O’Meara during the Civil War as he is eager to make a name for himself and start a war with the Sioux.

Brian Keith is great as Captain Clark as a cavalry leader who knows what is at stake while understanding O’Meara’s anger towards the Union as he would provide O’Meara some ideas into what he should do. Sara Montiel is wonderful as Yellow Moccasin as a woman who helps O’Meara find peace though her voice work is dubbed by Angie Dickinson who manages to bring that sense of warmth to the character’s voice. Finally, there’s Rod Steiger in a phenomenal performance as O’Meara as this man who lost so much in the Civil War as he tries to find meaning again by being part of the Sioux tribe as it’s a performance full of humility and determination as it’s one of his finest roles.

Run of the Arrow is a fantastic film from Samuel Fuller that features a brilliant performance from Rod Steiger. It’s a film that doesn’t just explore a man trying to regain a sense of honor but also find peace from the troubled world he had just left. In the end, Run of the Arrow is a superb film from Samuel Fuller.

Samuel Fuller Films: I Shot Jesse James - The Baron of Arizona - The Steel Helmet - Fixed Bayonets! - Park Row - Pickup on South Street - (Hell and High Water) - House of Bamboo - (China Gate) - Forty Guns - Verboten! - The Crimson Kimono - Underworld U.S.A. - Merrill's Marauders - Shock Corridor - The Naked Kiss - (Shark!) - (Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street) - The Big Red One - White Dog - (Thieves After Dark) - (Street of No Return) - (The Madonna and the Dragon)

© thevoid99 2014

Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone

Written and directed by Howard Hill, Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone is a documentary about the life and career of one of cinema’s great filmmakers in Sergio Leone. The documentary explores the evolution of his career from his days making sword-and-sandal films in Italy to how he reinvented the western with his Dollars trilogy. The result is a fascinating story about one of the world’s most beloved filmmakers.

The documentary reveals the life of Sergio Leone through his widow Carla (whom the film was dedicated to) as well as biographer Sir Christopher Frayling where the two unveil a lot about Leone’s personal life. Also interviewed are those who worked with Leone like Eli Wallach, Rod Steiger, Jason Robards, James Woods, Claudia Cardinale, James Coburn, music composer Ennio Morricone, and some of men who co-wrote some of his films. Clint Eastwood appears in an archived piece where he talks about his admiration for Leone.

The documentary also reveals a lot about his importance to the world of cinema though not much is revealed about his pre-Western work like The Last Days of Pompeii and The Colossus of Rhodes as well as the films he supposedly had done additional direction like My Name is Nobody and A Genius, Two Partners, and a Dope. What is shown that Leone fans will love are the commercials he made during the 1970s that definitely bears a lot of the Leone trademarks. Still, the documentary takes it time to reveal a lot about the great films he made such as the Dollars trilogy and Once Upon a Time in America where there’s a lot of stories regarding to the latter and how it was badly mishandled in its re-cut form by the American distributors.

James Coburn recalls how heartbreaking it was for Leone after the film had been badly butchered by the American distributors while James Woods revealed that the re-cut version was voted the worst film of 1984 by Sheila Benson of the L.A. Times while she later saw the uncut version which she named it as one of the best films of the 1980s. Quentin Tarantino reveals a lot about how Leone influenced his work including the close-ups he does which is often a tribute to Leone. Through some rare still photos and other rare footage, Howard Hill makes something is truly a delight for Leone fans.

Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone is an excellent documentary from Howard Hill that explores the life and works of Sergio Leone. It’s a documentary that fans will definitely enjoy despite some its flaws in not unveiling a lot of information about his films. In the end, Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone is a superb film from Howard Hill.

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 - Once Upon a Time in the West - Duck, You Sucker! - Once Upon a Time in America

Related: The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone

© thevoid99 2012

Duck, You Sucker!

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/19/09 w/ Additional Edit.

Directed by Sergio Leone and screenplay by Leone, Sergio Donati, and Luciano Vincenzon from a story by Leone and Donati, Duck, You Sucker! or in the more well-known title, A Fistful of Dynamite tells the story of a Mexican outlaw who meets an ex-IRA revolutionary in 1910 Mexico. When they set out to rob a bank, they discover some political turmoil in Mexico that prompts the two men to be involved in the Mexican Revolution. Part-western and part-political drama, the film marks a transitional period for Leone as he would stray away from the west into something much broader for what was to come in his later work. Also starring Romolo Valli, Franco Graziosi, Antoine Saint-John, and David Warbeck. Duck, You Sucker! is a thrilling, powerful, stylish film from Sergio Leone and company.

After robbing a stagecoach with his six sons and father, Juan Miranda (Rod Steiger) has done another successful robbery when a man in a motorcycle rides past him. Juan shoots at the motorcycle where the man in the motorcycle decides to shoot a hole in the stolen stagecoach with explosives. He is revealed to be a former IRA terrorist named John Mallory (James Coburn). Impressed by his collection of dynamite and liquid explosives, Miranda asks Mallory if he could join them which Mallory declines. When Miranda mentions the Mesa Verde bank that he wants to rob, Mallory becomes interested though the two butt heads over who should run things. When Mallory takes a job to destroy a mine run by a German, he gets unexpected help from Miranda and his gang.

On their way to Mesa Verde as Mallory, Miranda, and their entourage are on horseback, they encounter a train that Mallory takes. Miranda and his team take the next train where they meet a man in glasses reading a book who quietly helps them in dealing with train conductors. Upon their arrival to Mesa Verde, Miranda is surprised to see that the town has changed as it's surrounded by soldiers under the orders of Governor Jaime (Franco Graziosi). Miranda finally founds Mallory at a restaurant where in the back is a revolutionary led by the man Miranda met at the train in Dr. Villega (Romolo Valli). Villega makes plans about organizing an attack on the troops in Mesa Verde while he wants Miranda and Mallory to lead an attack at the Mesa Verde bank. After Mallory sets up plans for explosives, Miranda goes into the bank where he makes a shocking discovery that would make him an unlikely hero in the Mexican Revolution.

Miranda, who had been through a previous revolution, becomes reluctant in taking part as he feels screwed by Mallory. Though the revolution could mean great things for his family, he isn't so sure since it often favors the rich. When an army led by Colonel Gunther Reza (Antoine Saint-John) is coming to the hills where a large group of revolutionaries are hiding. Mallory and Miranda stay put with machine guns where they succeed in blocking an entire battalion but return to their hideout at the caves with a shocking discovery. Miranda gets captured forcing Mallory to make another discover that recalls an event involving an old friend (David Warbeck) back in Ireland. After successfully freeing Miranda from Reza and his men, Miranda and Mallory hide in a train where they would encounter not just the Govenor. They also get an encounter from Pancho Villa's troops as they ask for the help of Miranda and Mallory where Mallory makes a drastic move.

A mixture of Leone's westerns but also political films and drama, the film marks as a transitional film for Leone as he moves away from the Western for something more ambitious. Leone, who had never delve into politics with his previous films shows his leanings towards Socialism. Though Leone doesn't dwell too much into his views, the film does reveal the fallacy of revolutions from the viewpoint of a man like Miranda who is poor and felt revolutions hasn't done much for the poor. For Mallory, it's a chance to make himself feel useful while dealing with guilt over what happened in his past in Ireland that involved his best friend.

The script definitely has Leone's trademark of playful dialogue, banter between characters, and set pieces. Yet, at the heart of the film is the love-hate relationship between the two Johns. Juan Miranda and John Mallory. Two different men from different backgrounds and intellects. Yet, they bring the best in each other for a revolution they're both reluctant to take part in. The film begins with a quote from Mao Zedong about class struggles and revolutions where the opening 20 minute sequence that involves a stagecoach robbery with rich people reveals rich people's view on peasants the poor with Miranda listening in as an observer before he robs them all. While Miranda is this ragged Robin Hood of sorts with little ambition. Mallory is a man who believes that explosives can change the world and hopes to get Miranda involved fully in the revolution. What neither expect is a friendship that would change their perspective on the world.

The script Leone co-wrote with his collaborators definitely show some ambition in the storytelling. Yet, it's Leone's direction that shows the man doing what he does best. While a lot of the compositions recall some of the ambitious set pieces and camera movements of his previous film Once Upon a Time in the West. Leone's visual approach is broader with its wide landscape of the Spanish mountains pretending to be Mexico while flashback scenes shot in Dublin which are more intimate and dream-like. With action sequences filled with grand explosions, battles, and gunfights. It looks like a Leone western but the difference is the time, setting, and event that is occurring throughout the film.

Some of the scenery Leone creates which involves moments of chaos has a strange beauty to its movement. Notably a crane shot that moves to emphasize the struggle between the poor and adversaries at the Mexican Revolution. Compositions include scenes of executions that are inspired the paintings of Francisco Goya. Part of Leone's grand visual styles include great close-ups that are prominent throughout, notably the first 20 minutes with all of these shots of rich people eating with their mouths full and talking. Plus the shot of eyes with these amazing close-ups that are a trademark of Leone. The grand visual style, depth of field and Leone's camera movements with fast-paced action shows the director still at the top of his game as a director.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Ruzzolini does an excellent job with the film's cinematography with amazing, broad shots of desert exterior of Spain that is a great mixture of rugged landscape and sunlight. The interiors for some of the scenes in the caves and trains are wonderfully lit to convey a sense of intimacy for the film while some of the best work comes in a battle sequence shot at night. With its mixture of fire and moonlight, it's got some beautiful compositions with movements by Ruzzolini's camera that is truly spectacular. Leone's longtime editor Nino Baragli does some brilliant cutting with rhythmic edits and fast-cuts to convey the sense of action and energy that happens. Baragli's stylish cutting for the close-ups has an amazing sense of rhythm and timing as it maintains the energy and pacing of the film without being too slow or too fast. Baragli's work is phenomenal as he is one of the most overlooked editors in cinema.

Art director Andrea Cristani and set decorator Dario Micheli does some fantastic work with the set design of the stagecoach, interior train sets, banks, and basements that reveal the idea of a new modern world against the old West that the main characters still live in. Costume designer Franco Caretti does some nice work with the lavish clothes of the woman in the stagecoach mixed in with the rugged look of the main characters and the clean look of Dr. Villega. The sound work by sound mixer Fausto Ancillai and editor Michael Billingsley is brilliant for its layering of sounds of explosions, gunshots, and everything else. Notably the climatic battle scene where the mixture of explosions, gunshots, and machine gun battery is amazing in its layering.

One of the film's technical highlights and often in a Sergio Leone film is the music score by the Maestro, Ennio Morricone. The themes Morricone brings from the comical score to accompany Juan Miranda to the opening, clavinet keyboard introduction of John Mallory. Yet, the score also has a mixture of intense action pieces with broad orchestral arrangements to the dream-like theme with the word "Sean" sung repeatedly for an operatic piece featuring an operatic vocal. While it may not be as memorable as some of his other score pieces, the music that Morricone does create works as it's one of his finest music scores of his career.

The cast is overall excellent with appearances from Franco Collace and Goffredo Pistoni as two of Miranda's kids plus Antonio Casale as a notary in the stagecoach, and Maria Monti as a woman in the stagecoach. Other notable small roles include David Warbeck as John's old friend Sean in a flashback scene along with Vivienne Chandler as the woman in the flashback. Franco Graziosi is excellent in his small role as the power-hungry governor while Antoine Saint-John is really good as the villainous Col. Reza. Romolo Valli is excellent as Revolution organizer Dr. Villega who is a man of great intelligence yet he isn't what he seems to Mallory as Valli does a fantastic job in underplaying his character with charm and humor.

The film's best performances definitely go to the duo of Rod Steiger and James Coburn as the two have an amazing rapport with each other as well as a sense of humor to their roles. Though Steiger's role is more comical than Coburn's, Steiger brings a lot of joy to the character of Juan Miranda with bravado and Old World values. While having to sport a tan and an accent to play a Mexican, Steiger manages to be great in his character while often being the guy who is deceived. James Coburn is great in the straight-man role of the two as he sports an Irish accent while having some deadpan humor of his own in his performance. Yet, Coburn is the most tortured performance of the two while Steiger gets to show his own mastery of drama as the two men are the heart and soul of the film.

The 2007 Region 1 2-Disc DVD from United Artists is part of the Sergio Leone Anthology Box Set with remastered 2-disc versions of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. Presented in the widescreen format for the 2:35:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound in English plus mono in English and Spanish while French is presented with Stereo with English & Spanish subtitles. The DVD set presents the film with a dual layer disc for the film while the special features disc is presented in a single layer disc. The first disc features the restored and remastered version of Duck, You Sucker! with footage not shown originally to U.S. theaters until 2007 for a brief theatrical run in art house theaters.

The big special feature in the first disc is an audio commentary track from film historian Sir Christopher Frayling. Frayling's insight, informative commentary recalls on the film and how it is linked to its predecessor Once Upon a Time in the West and the next film, Once Upon a Time in America. Notably in the film's original title as well as the idea of immigrants coming to America where they would make an impact on American society and help lay the groundwork for the gangster era. Frayling also recalled Leone's reluctance to direct the film when he originally wrote the project for other people to do with him in minimal involvement. The reason things between Leone and Peter Bogdanovich didn't work out due to their love of the Western. Whereas Bogdanovich came from the world of Howard Hawks and John Ford, Leone was something different.

The film also recalled the early tension between Leone and Rod Steiger due to Leone's directing style and Steiger's method acting approach. Though things didn't work out at first, Steiger immediately got into Leone's approach while did agree to do little post-production work for the sound which Steiger never liked to do. With James Coburn, it was easier as Coburn chose to work on the film due to the suggestion of Henry Fonda, who worked with Leone on Once Upon a Time in the West. Coburn, like Clint Eastwood, wanted less lines which Leone was gracious to do. Frayling also recalled on Leone's politics which got him in trouble with left-wing film critics because Leone was apolitical. Leone used the Mao Zedong quote to reveal the fallacies of revolutions and how characters become either disillusioned by it or are forced into it against their will.

Frayling also revealed the scenes that got cut of the film in its various versions for this restored, completed version. Among them was a scene where Miranda catches up with John as they blew a church where the entire sequence was cut. Explicit language was cut along with the Mao quote, the opening shot of the film, some flashback sequences, and some violent scenes. Often for length or the extreme nature of the film. Frayling also revealed Leone's relationship with some fellow Italian directors, notably Luchino Visconti whom he shared similar ideas of directing while Pier Paolo Pasolini said that Leone has never made an uninteresting film. Duck, You Sucker! Pasolini says, is Leone's most interesting to the very Socialist director who agreed with Leone's political commentary in relation to the state of Italy and its films. Frayling's commentary is overall superb and most insightful while never being boring at all.

The second disc is filled with loads of special features. First is the 22-minute featurette The Myth of Revolution in which Christopher Frayling discusses a lot of the things discussed in the audio commentary. Yet, he also divulges more about Leone's dissolution with Italian politics and his ambitions for the film. The segment also revealed some of the original casting for the John Nelson character that included Jason Robards, Malcolm McDowell, and Clint Eastwood, the last of which had never heard about. For Juan Miranda, Eli Wallach was originally cast but the studio wanted a bigger name that eventually led to a falling out between Wallach and Sergio Leone. The film also revealed that one of the reasons Eastwood and Leone fell out because of Leone's ambitions to make bigger films. At the same, Leone was becoming clearer about what he wanted as his improvisational approach in early films were traded for something more planned.

The seven-minute segment Sergio Donati Remembers Duck, You Sucker! features the film's co-screenwriter and longtime Leone collaborator as he discusses the film. He talked about writing a treatment for the script when Once Upon a Time in the West was in production. He also talked about Peter Bogdanovich's involvement and how it fell apart along with tension between Leone and himself. Donati likes the film though he wished Sergio made more films because he was alienated a bit by Leone's ambitions. The six-minute Once Upon a Time in Italy (The Autry Exhibition) is about a 2005 museum exhibition at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles dedicated to Sergio Leone. Headed by Christopher Frayling with people at the museum, the exhibition is more about posters and artifacts from the films of Leone as the team is creating a fascinating exhibition that Leone fans will love while getting as many people involved from Leone's film to talk about the man and those films.

The 11 ½ minute Sorting Out The Versions featurette is an analysis of what got cut from the film and the different versions of it. Featuring still pictures of deleted scenes involving Mallory dehydrated from a walk in the desert before the church blow-up scene and a torture scene involving Dr. Villega. The film also reveals scenes that were trimmed for international releases where in France, it was called Once Upon a Time... the Revolution and in the U.S., A Fistful of Dynamite where the U.S. version cut a lot of the political context of the film. The six-minute segment Restoration Italian Style featuring MGM Technical Operations Director John Kirk on the restoration of the film based on the 1996 Italian restored version. Kirk reveals one of the big problems in the restoration was the various versions of the film as it took years for a complete restoration of Duck, You Sucker! that Kirk feels is one of his best works in restoration.

The nine-and-a-half minute Location Comparisons Then & Now is basically a look into all of the locations from Ireland, Italy, and Spain from the scene where the film was shot to what it looks like in 2007. Some of which are now filled with grass and in ruins in the deserts while the train station looks great with its modern settings. The Ireland locations still look beautiful while the tree in the flashback scene is still there. The second disc also includes four minutes of 6 radio spots for the film back in 1972 along with its and several trailers. The trailers include the original theatrical trailer under the A Fistful of Dynamite title. Other trailers include DVD releases for The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly Collector's edition DVD, The Great Escape, Hoosiers, Raging Bull, and the Rocky anthology. Included in the DVD is a booklet about the film and DVD release.

Duck, You Sucker! is an exhilarating, entertaining, and exciting film by Sergio Leone featuring top-notch performances from James Coburn and Rod Steiger. Fans of Leone will no doubt see this film as essential while be overjoyed that it's finally shown in its completed version. While it may not live up to the brilliance of other Leone films like The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Once Upon a Time in America. It's definitely a film that lives up to Leone's brilliance while serving as a great transitional film between West and America. It's also a film that reveals Leone finally taking on something that was modern but still relevant in the political sense about the fallacies of revolutions. In the end, Duck, You Sucker! is a mesmerizing, sprawling film from the late, great 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 - Once Upon a Time in the West - Once Upon a Time in America

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

(C) thevoid99 2012

On the Waterfront

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/5/09 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg, On the Waterfront tells the story of a former boxer working for a mob-controlled dock until he decides to rebel with the help of a young woman and a priest. In this fight against the corruption, the boxer faces his demons and his past where he finds himself in more trouble with the mob. A film that rallies against authority, it is considered to be one of Kazan's greatest films as well as one of his best collaborations with Marlon Brando. Also starring Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, and in her film debut, Eva Marie Saint. On the Waterfront is a powerful, engrossing drama from Elia Kazan and company.

A series of murders near the docks over resistance against a mob-connected union boss led by Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). Working for Friendly is a former boxer named Terry (Marlon Brando) and his older brother Charley (Rod Steiger) as Friendly's lawyer. Terry does duties for Friendly but is unaware of what is the consequences when a young man named Joey Doyle was pushed off the top of a building to his death. While the police tries to investigate, the locals and those who work at the dock remain silent in order to not say anything against Friendly. Not wanting to be silent is Joey's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) as she turns to local priest Father Barry (Karl Malden) for help. Barry reluctantly decides to help the dock workers to speak out while Terry becomes smitten by Edie who he had a scuffle with over some tabs that she needed for her father.

Charley hears about a meeting held by Father Barry as Friendly wants Terry to attend the meeting. Barry reveals what he hopes to do as members of the mob storm in as Terry saves Edie from a beating. While Edie's father avoids a beating, Terry and Edie become close as she reveals that she wants to be a teacher. After learning that Terry has the same love for pigeons like Joey, she gets to know him more while asking questions about what he knew about Joey's death which he evades in order to give her a good time at a bar. When a couple of Friendly's men ask Terry to meet him, Terry reluctantly meets with Friendly and Charley as they know what Terry is doing with Edie. Especially as a man named K.O. Dugan is about testify until a supposed accident at a ship happened where Father Barry pleads his case to the people about standing up to Friendly. At the ship where Barry was talking about all that is going on were Edie and Terry who becomes tormented where he finally tells Barry what happened with Joey.

After finally confessing to Edie about the night of Joey's death, Terry is now targeted by Friendly as Charley decides to get Terry to stop talking. In hoping that Terry wouldn't talk anymore and get into trouble, he bribes Terry into taking a job where he wouldn't do anything but get paid. Terry refuses where he reveals all the potential he could've had as a prize fighter making Charley feel guilty as he decides to handle things with Friendly. Unfortunately, trouble comes ahead where Terry turns to Edie for help where something tragic would force Terry to stand up against Friendly but at a huge price until he decides to make a move that would please all of the dockworkers around him.

The film is a tale about a man who is forced to do things for his boss unaware of the consequences. Yet, around those who know what he is doing. He's been called a bum to the community for just taking money to lose fights or do things that he would be unaware of. Thus comes the world that Terry Malloy is surrounded by where his only moment of peace and comfort is to feed pigeons up on the roof where nearby is a pigeon coop that belongs to Joey Doyle. When Joey is killed because he was about to stand up against Johnny Friendly and his goons. Terry becomes tormented as it would take Doyle's beautiful sister and a hardened local priest that would be the people to say enough is enough.

In many ways, it's a film about redemption and standing up against the wrongs with the world. At the center of this story is Terry Malloy. A man who was forced to do things and then be tormented by all that's around him. Once he meets Edie, he tries to tell her about the way the world works but Edie isn't so easily swayed as she is determined to find justice for her brother's death. Even a man like Father Barry wants justice so there won't be any wrongs in the world as he approaches this resistance with a powerful presence where he would smoke a cigarette and get his hands dirty when it comes to confrontations. Yet, he's a man of great morals while he has a great monologue where talks about a man's death and how it impacts an entire community and those who work at the dock.

The screenplay by Budd Schulberg which is based from a series of articles by Malcolm Johnson about the dirty corruption that is going on in the docks from mob-controlled unions. The screenplay is filled with great dialogue, amazing development, and lots of heavy drama that goes on throughout the film. Yet, it's Elia Kazan's direction that really shapes the story into something far more powerful with its imagery and grittiness. Shot on location in Hoboken, New Jersey, there's a beauty and ugliness to the location as Kazan doesn't sugarcoat it one bit. At the same time, the camera is engaging with its close-up of characters and the locations they're in. With striking compositions that are memorable, Kazan's direction is definitely top-notch. Even as he brings intensity to some heightened moments of action and drama, there's a theatricality to it that is quite intimate in some scenes as if the actors are performing in a theater. What Kazan does overall is create a film that is engrossing in every scene and performance that goes on as he makes a film that is truly solid.

Cinematographer Boris Kaufman is truly amazing in its black-and-white photography. Kaufman's photography is striking in some nighttime exteriors where everything is black and grey with white lights in the background to convey some kind of dark, eerie tone for those scenes. The daytime exteriors have a mixture of beauty and grittiness while it has amazing shots of the Hoboken docks. The interiors, notably the bar is filled with a brightness that is beautiful though something doesn't seem right once it's near the pool hall where it's dark. Kaufman's work is truly exquisite as it has some of the best photography work captured on film at that time. Editor Gene Milford does brilliant work in the editing with the use of fade-outs, fade-to-black, and rhythmic cuts to help capture the dramatic intensity of the scenes and moments of intense action. Milford's cuts are stylized but also straight-forward in its presentation as Milford's work is truly stellar.

Art director Richard Day does excellent work with the look of the film from the bars, the church, and the outside locations including the pigeon coops as the production of the film has a grittiness while making it look real for its Hoboken locations. The sound work of Jim Shields is wonderful for its location sounds including the clangs that goes on in the docks and all sorts of noises as it captures that gritty world of the Hoboken docks. The film's score by Leonard Bernstein is phenomenal from its somber yet swooning pieces in the romantic moments involving Terry and Edie to the more intense, sprawling arrangements of the action scenes that goes on. With a wonderful orchestra, Bernstein's score is definitely one of the film's highlights as it is truly memorable and one of the best scores ever made.

The casting is brilliant with small roles from Pat Hingle as a dock worker named Jocko, Thomas Handley as a boy named Tommy who helps Terry with the pigeons, Tami Mauriello as a thug of Friendly's, James Westerfeld as the dock supervisor Mack, Pat Henning as K.O. Dugan, and John F. Hamilton as Edie's father. Rod Steiger is excellent as Charley, Terry's older brother and Friendly's right hand man. Steiger has this presence where he could be the guy to get Terry to get his act together. Yet, underneath all of his tough guy exterior is a man wracked with guilt over the fact that he put Terry into this world of crime. Lee J. Cobb is phenomenal as Johnny Friendly, the no-holds-barred, hard-talking mob boss who wants to have total control of everything. Cobb's performance is just magnificent in his tough guy demeanor and that sense of authority as he's perfect in just being a hard-*ss who thinks he's the boss.

Karl Malden is brilliant as the tough but sympathetic Father Barry. A priest who likes to smoke and drink beer while being someone in the community that's not willing to be quiet. Malden's performance is just amazing in every scenes where he's soft-spoken but a man with a conscience and that can guide someone to do the right thing. His best scene is in the ship where he talks about a man's death and the monologue he brings with such authority and passion is definitely Malden's finest moment. In her film debut, Eva Marie Saint is great as Edie Doyle. A determined young woman seeking justice for her brother's death while finding the soft, caring side of Terry Malloy underneath his quick-talking, street-wise demeanor. Saint's performance is dazzling as a woman who is a bit tough but also who doesn't know much about the dark world of the streets as she has a lot going for her as Saint truly exemplify the complexity and warmth of Edie Doyle.

Finally, there's Marlon Brando in one of his iconic performances of his career. In the role of the tormented Terry Malloy. Brando exudes all of the charm, wit, and struggle of that character along with someone who is troubled by demons and the fact that people call him a bum. Brando's performance is filled with a tough guy attitude who can talk fast, be tough, and not be someone to messed with. Yet, there's a softness in him as he deals with guilt and the fact that there's someone like Edie who he wants to connect with. Brando has great rapport with all of his co-stars while he manages to make Terry Malloy an unlikely hero. What Brando brings to the screen is charisma and a vulnerability that makes him connect with the audience as he has one of the film's most famous lines in cinema about what he could've been. It's truly one of the most marvelous performances captured in cinema.

On the Waterfront is truly an amazing, engaging, and sprawling film from Elia Kazan featuring an iconic, sympathetic performance from Marlon Brando. Along with a great supporting cast including Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, and Rod Steiger. It's a film that is a must-see for those new to Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando as well as anyone looking for great cinema of the 1950s and American cinema itself. With some great dialogue, an amazing story, and characters that people can relate to. It's a film that is truly timeless as it still manages to hold up more than 50 years since its release. In the end, On the Waterfront is a brilliant and heroic film from Elia Kazan and star Marlon Brando.

Elia Kazan Films: (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) - (The Sea of Grass) - (Boomerang!) - (Gentleman's Agreement) - (Pinky) - A Streetcar Named Desire - (Viva Zapata!) - (Man on a Tightrope) - East of Eden - (Baby Doll) - (A Face in the Crowd) - (Wild River) - Splendor in the Grass - (America America) - (The Arrangement) - (The Visitors) - (The Last Tycoon)

© thevoid99 2012

Doctor Zhivago

Based on Boris Pasternak’s novel, Doctor Zhivago tells the story of a Russian doctor/poet whose life is changed when he has an affair with a political activist during the Russian Revolution. Directed by David Lean and script adaptation by Robert Bolt, the film is among one of Lean’s great epics as he explores a man’s relationship with his wife and lover in a tumultuous period. Starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Tom Courtenay, Klaus Kinski, and Alec Guinness. Doctor Zhivago is an exhilarating yet sprawling film from David Lean and company.

Yuri Andreyevich Zhivago (Omar Sharif) is a young doctor/poet living in Moscow with his adoptive parents Alexander (Ralph Richardson) and Anna Gromeko (Siobhan McKenna) along with their daughter Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin) who is returning from Paris. In another part of Moscow, a 17-year old dressmaker named Lara (Julie Christie) works with her mother (Adrienne Corri) as they deal with their corrupt advisor Victor (Rod Steiger). With Lara in love with the politically-driven Pasha (Tom Courtenay), Victor disapproves as he tries to seduce Lara. When Lara’s mother attempts suicide, Victor calls for Alexander and Yuri for help where Yuri sees Lara for the first time.

Humiliated by Victor, Lara borrows Pasha’s gun as she shoots Victor at a Christmas party held by the Gromekos. Yuri wouldn’t see Lara until years later during World War I where he is a doctor while she’s a volunteer trying to Pasha who has gone missing. The two becomes friends only to part again with the news of the Czar’s overthrow as Yuri returns to Moscow to find his famiy home inhabited by people. With he, Tonya, their son Sasha (Jeffrey Rockland), and Alexander trapped, they’re saved by a Bolshevik official named Yevgraf (Alec Guinness), who is Yuri’s older half-brother. Yevgraf arranged for Yuri and his family to travel to Yuriatin at the old Gromeko estate where they travel by train with various people and soldiers including a raspy intellectual named Amoursky (Klaus Kinski). During the trip, a train carrying a revolutionary named Strelnikov passes them as Yuri meets the mysterious man realizing who he really is.

Arriving at the Gromeko estate they realize the place is closed as they live in the cottage that is close to the estate. At the nearby town of Yuriatin, Yuri sees Lara for the first time in years as the two begin an affair. Torn with his love for Lara and Tonya, Yuri is more unsure when Tonya is pregnant as he seeks to end the affair. He’s then later captured by Communist troops under the command of Liberius (Gerard Tichy) where he serves as a doctor for two years. After deserting the army and returning to Yuriatin, he meets Lara again who takes care of him while learning that Tonya and their children along with Alexander has left for Paris. Living with Lara and her daughter Katya (Lucy Westmore) by taking them to the abandoned Gromeko estate, they live quietly until a man from their past returns with a warning about Lara as he gives them an ultimatum to save their lives. This would prompt Yuri to make the biggest sacrifice of his life.

Spanning from the early 1910s to post-Stalin Soviet Union, the film is told from the perspective of Yevgraf to a young woman (Rita Tushingham) whom he believes is the illegitimate daughter of half-brother. There, Yevgraf through brief moments of narration tells the story of his brother from his childhood to the last time he would see him. What happens is that the story takes place into a love triangle amidst the chaos of the Russian Revolution where characters go through various changes and such. Yet, the film begins and ends with scenes in the 1950s with Yevgraf and this young woman who could be his grand-niece.

Robert Bolt’s script is very engaging not just for its time span but also for the development of characters and situations that happens. Among them is its titular protagonist whose life starts off tragically with the death of his mother as all he inherited is a balalaika whom he would carry throughout the entirety of the film. Yet, Yuri Zhivago is a man that always uses poetry as an outlet to express his feelings amidst the chaos of political changes where his writing is considered subversive. During the course of the film, he is often surrounded by Tonya who is clearly devoted to him though feels a bit threatened by Lara where she only meets her briefly from afar with the exception of an unseen meeting mentioned in a letter.

Lara is a woman who is very different from Tonya as far as social orders and struggles are concerned. Still, both women provide a sense of warmth and energy that Yuri is attracted to. The fact that he loves both of them tears him up inside where he doesn’t want to hurt either of them while both women seems to know about what is going on. The love story aspect truly balances a lot of the political elements of the film where in the scene where Yuri and his family come home to the Gromeko estate. Alexander realizes it’s closed up because of the revolution where he has a hard time living without the things he’s worked so hard for. Characters like Victor and Pasha are two different men from different ideals as they progress into different figures.

Bolt’s script is great for its development of characters and settings while not using a lot of exposition to advance the story. Instead, he lets action and emotions drive everything as well as the political situations to motivate characters. It is truly a captivating screenplay that doesn’t do too much while keeping things a bit simple in some places as well as complex in other places.

David Lean’s direction is truly phenomenal in the way he creates a world that is oppressive but also evocative for its large story. Shot on location in Spain throughout the film with parts of it show in Canada and Finland since it was impossible to shoot in the Soviet Union at the time. Lean creates a world that progresses as Moscow starts out and ends as a world where things are in order and open despite its different periods while progressing it to a place ravaged by chaos. When the film moves to a different location, the feel becomes grittier and darker while there is still an element of beauty to these locations despite the harsh political tone of the film.

Lean’s striking compositions filled with wide shots of landscapes and intimate close-up shots truly presents a film that is stylized but also engrossing for its look of the film. Lean, like a lot of big epic films of 1960s, opens the film with an overture and adds an intermission for a film that is more than three hours long. Yet, Lean keeps the film very methodical in its pacing without moving things too fast. Instead, he gets the audience be engaged by all that is happening from scenes where Yuri is walking home through treacherous snow or the brief moment of innocence when he’s walking around the forest before meeting Strelnikov. Lean creates what is truly a dazzling yet glorious film that is truly romantic and epic in its story and in its presentation.

Cinematographer Freddie Young, with additional work from Nicolas Roeg, does an incredible job with the film‘s colorful, lush photography as he captures many of the snowy scenes with great beauty and a harsh realism for some of the film‘s darker scenes. Young also creates some amazing shots for scenes in the forest and landscapes along with the wonderful use of red to capture the political tone of the film. Editor Norman Savage does excellent work with the editing as he maintains a very straightforward approach to the cutting while using transitional dissolves and fade-outs to maintain the film’s leisured pace.

Production designer John Box, with set decorator Dario Simoni and art director Terence Marsh, does a great job with the set pieces created such as the Moscow home of the Gromekos and other posh places to empty places that the characters frequent throughout the film. The art direction and set design are truly spectacular in scope and to help create a place in time that was a long time ago. Costume designer Phyllis Dalton does a superb job with the costumes from the dresses the women wear to the suits the men along with the fur and ragged clothing during the war and other harrowing scenes. Sound editor A.W. Watkins does very good work with the sound from the way gunshots sound from afar to the roar of crowds in the protest scenes and chaos with soldiers attacking officers.

The film’s magnificent score by Maurice Jarre is definitely one of the film’s big highlights as his sweeping orchestral arrangements mixed in with Russian string instruments and choir-driven vocals. Jarre also provides lush themes such as Lara’s Theme with its brimming balalaikas and soothing strings to help convey the romantic aspects of the film. There is also big bombastic pieces that help drives the film in its more intense, action scenes as Jarre’s work is truly outstanding.

The casting by Irene Howard is fantastic for the ensemble that is assembled for this massive film. Notable appearances include Tarek Sharif as the young Yuri, Mercedes Ruiz as the young Tonya, Lucy Westmore as Lara’s daughter Katya, Geoffrey Keen as Yuri’s professor, Bernard Kay as a Bolshevik agent, Jack MacGowran as the Gromeko’s old groundskeeper, Gerard Tischy as an army leader, Siobhan McKenna as Tonya’s mother, Adrienne Corri as Lara’s mother, and Rita Tushingham as the young woman Yevgraf talks to in the beginning and ending of the film. Other notable small roles includes the legendary Klaus Kinski in standout performance as a smarmy intellectual who worships Strelnikov along with Ralph Richardson as Alexander Gromeko who is dismayed the changes as he loses nearly all of the things he worked for.

Rod Steiger is superb as Victor, the corrupt lawyer whom Yuri dislikes for personal reasons as Steiger brings in a brash, charismatic performance as a brutish man who loves Lara but for all the wrong reasons. Tom Courtenay is great as Pasha, an idealistic man who loves Lara as he hopes to win her only to be changed drastically by the politics of the time. Alec Guinness is wonderful as Yevgraf, the film’s narrator and Yuri’s half-brother as he is a calm authority figure who helps out Yuri while telling the young girl about him and everything he sees in a very understated performance. Geraldine Chaplin is radiant as Tonya, Yuri’s wife who tries to deal with his absence and the presence of Lara. While it’s not fully-realized character, Chaplin does Tonya a captivating figure who provides a sense of warmth and motivation for Yuri.

Julie Christie is amazing as Lara, a woman who tries to find her own way in the world as she falls for Yuri while dealing with the fact that they’re both married. Christie also plays things quietly while being a woman who starts out as a victim to Victor’s advance only to become someone very strong and defiant as it’s one of Christie’s best performances. Omar Sharif is excellent as Yuri Zhivago, a man who dreams of great things only to be hit by the revolution as he is torn with the two women he loves. While it may not be as great as the performance he gave in Lawrence of Arabia, Sharif does manage to be a very compelling lead as he has great chemistry with Julie Christie and Geraldine Chaplin.

Doctor Zhivago is a towering yet evocative film from David Lean that features top-notch performances from Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, and Geraldine Chaplin. While it may not be as exciting as Lawrence of Arabia, it is among one of Lean’s finest films as well as one of the great romantic films of the 1960s. It’s a film that is very ambitious and allows its audience to be engaged by the scenery and events that happens in the film. It may not be perfect but the ambition that Lean goes for with this is film is something that is missed in a lot of films of the 2010s. In the end, Doctor Zhivago is a brilliant romantic epic from the always revered David Lean.

David Lean Films: In Which We Serve - This Happy Breed - Blithe Spirit - Brief Encounter - Great Expectations (1946 film) - Oliver Twist (1948 film) - The Passionate Friends - Madeleine (1950 film) - The Sound Barrier - Hobson’s Choice - Summertime (1955 film) - The Bridge on the River Kwai - Lawrence of Arabia - Ryan’s Daughter - (Lost and Found: The Story of Cook’s Anchor) - A Passage to India - (The Auteurs #74: David Lean)

© thevoid99 2011