Westworld

Written and directed by Michael Crichton, Westworld is the story revolving around an amusement park for adults where they pretend to be in the American West and have fun until some androids malfunction and kill off some guests. It’s a film about the dangers of technology and what happens when the fantasy turns against the individual trying to live that fantasy. Starring Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, and Yul Brenner. Westworld is an intriguing and thrilling film from Michael Crichton.

The film is the story of a couple of guys who go to this theme park for adults where they can delve into any fantasy world they want to be a part in whether it’s the age of the Romans, medieval times, or the American West where they can do whatever they want with the androids they encounter. Yet, something goes wrong during this vacation where guests pay $1000 a day for their own desires to be fulfilled where the androids suddenly go rogue due to some malfunction. Michael Crichton’s screenplay has a very simple structure yet it slowly plays into the moments everything goes wrong where it also shows what is happening behind the scenes as the people who created the androids suddenly have no control of what is happening. Though the objective of the park is giving people a chance to play fantasy and be unharmed, that fantasy becomes reality once everything else goes to shit.

Crichton’s direction is very simple as it starts off with this ad about this amusement park and the people who have returned as the announcer says “Boy, have we got a vacation waiting for you”. Then it cuts from being a small TV aspect ratio ad into a full-on widescreen experience as it play into what these two men are about to go into as one of them had been to the park. Many of Crichton’s compositions are simple as it pays homage to films set in the American West and medieval times with some stylistic elements that includes some slow-motion action for the former. There are also some chilling and suspenseful moments once it reaches the second half involving the character of the gunslinger (Yul Brenner) where Crichton shows exactly what he sees as it is one of the very first moments in film that uses digital image processing as it adds to the film’s climax where a protagonist has to deal with the gunslinger without any tricks. Overall, Crichton creates an engaging and whimsical film about a theme park for adults that goes horribly wrong.

Cinematographer Gene Polito does excellent work with the cinematography as it is very straightforward with its gorgeous lighting and moods for some of the interior scenes at night as well as in the rooms where the scientists work at. Editor David Bretherton does terrific work with the editing as it has some elements of style in some slow-motion cutting as well as some jump-cuts. Art director Herman A. Blumenthal and set decorator John P. Austin do fantastic work with the set design as it play into the different areas of the park such as the look of the castle interiors in the medieval times area and the look of the American west in the western area. The special effects work of Charles Schulthies is wonderful for the look of what the androids see from their perspective as well as in some of the look of the androids in what they look like from the inside. The sound work of Richard S. Church and Harry W. Tetrick is superb for the sounds of gunfire and other objects that play into the worlds that the characters are in as well as the technological sounds in the computer rooms. The film’s music by Fred Karlin is wonderful for its mixture of musical styles that play into the different worlds with some orchestral pieces to play into its suspenseful moments.

The casting by Leonard Murphy is great as it include some notable small roles from Anne Randall as a medieval servant named Daphne, Terry Wilson as a sheriff, Victoria Shaw as the medieval queen, Linda Scott as a French prostitute, Michael Mikler as the black knight, Majel Barrett as a brothel madam, Norman Bartold as a man pretending to be a medieval knight for his fantasy, and Alan Oppenheimer as the supervisor watching over everything in the park as he tries to figure out what is going on with androids. Dick Van Patten is superb as a banker who goes into the west in the hopes he can become a cowboy where he is quite funny in his attempts to become a sheriff.

James Brolin is excellent as John Blane as a guest who had visited the park as he guides his friend into what goes on while becoming aware that something isn’t right. Richard Benjamin is brilliant as Peter Martin as John’s friend who is new to the experience at the park where he would have fun until he too becomes aware that something isn’t right. Finally, there’s Yul Brenner in an amazing performance as the gunslinger as it’s a variation of the character he played in The Magnificent Seven where even though it is a supporting role. It’s a performance that is just unforgettable in how menacing his presence is as he becomes the one android that goes completely rogue.

Westworld is a remarkable film from Michael Crichton. Featuring a great cast and a fascinating premise that blends all sorts of genres. It’s a film that definitely showcases what happens when a theme park for adults become a nightmare when the robots suddenly go rogue. In the end, Westworld is a marvelous film from Michael Crichton.

© thevoid99 2017

The Magnificent Seven

Based on the 1954 samurai film The Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa, The Magnificent Seven is the story of seven gunmen hired by small Mexican village to protect them a group of bandits. Directed by John Sturges with a screenplay by William Roberts, with additional work from Walter Newnan and Walter Bernstein, the film is an ensemble piece that revolves around seven different men who are fighting off a bandit trying to wreak havoc in a small town. Starring Yul Brenner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, Horst Buchholz, and Eli Wallach. The Magnificent Seven is an extraordinary western from John Sturges.

After a group of bandits led by Calvera (Eli Wallach) has managed to take everything from a small farming village leaving little food for the village. A trio of farmers want to fight back as they decide to go to the border to buy guns. Instead, they come across a couple of gunfights led by Chris (Yul Brenner) and Vin (Steve McQueen) who managed to fight off a few gunfighters at a funeral service. Impressed, the farmers ask Chris about buying guns where Chris suggests that it’s best to hire gunmen to fight off Calvera as he decides to recruit a group. With Vin joining along, they bring in two veteran gunslingers in Harry (Brad Dexter) and Lee (Robert Vaughn), an Irish-Mexican named Bernardo O’Reilly (Charles Bronson), and a switchblade-wielding cowpuncher named Britt (James Coburn). Joining them is an inexperienced gunslinger named Chico (Horst Buchholz) who Chris reluctantly lets him be part of the posse.

Arriving at the village, Chris and his men meet with the village and teach the farmers how to defend themselves after encountering a few of Calvera’s men. During this time, the villages and gunmen bond as O’Reilly becomes an idol to a few of the boys while Chico falls for a village girl named Petra (Rosenda Monteros). The gunmen also share the food with the villagers as they eventually meet Calvera who is surprised by what the villagers brought in as a battle ensues. Though Calvera and his group of bandits were forced to flee, things still remain uneasy for the farmers as its leader Sotero (Rico Alaniz) thinks they should stop fighting. Notably as Chico learns what Calvera wants to do as they’re running out of food, the gunmen decides to make a surprise raid only to return to the village where Calvera has taken control. Forcing to flee town, Chris and the gunmen figure out what to do as they eventually decide to fight Calvera and his men for the honor of the villagers.

The film is essentially the story of a group of gunmen who hired by villagers to fight off against a group of bandits and help the villagers defend themselves. It’s a premise that is very simple where the gunmen bond with the farmers but also deal with their own issues as they’re just men that are hired to do a job and try not to get attached. The screenplay by William Roberts is quite faithful to Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai in terms of the psychological aspects of the story as well as the characters. Roberts does make some changes by making it into a western while creating a lead villain in Calvera that is complex in his idea of taking everything for himself and his men while making sure the villagers still get a piece in return. It’s something Chris and the men don’t agree with as they feel there’s a lot of reason to fight for these villagers.

John Sturges’ direction is superb for its wide-open scenery as it’s shot on location in Mexico. While there’s a lot of great scenes involving the action and shootouts that occur that is engaging to watch. It’s the scenes where the men try to plan out everything while they each deal with their own feelings about what they’re doing. The way Sturges frames these intimate moments with medium shots and multi-character shots is to establish that it’s a group that is placing the fates of the farmers in their hands. While some of the film’s melodrama is a bit overdone at times for scenes that involve Chico and his naiveté, Sturges does manage to create a very solid and entertaining western that is very faithful to Akira Kurosawa’s much-lauded 1954 film The Seven Samurai.

Cinematographer Charles Lang does fantastic work with the film‘s photography by providing some vibrant settings for the film‘s exteriors while maintaining an intimate lighting scheme for some of the film‘s interior scenes. Editor Ferris Webster does a nice job with the editing to maintain a leisured pace for the film along with some rhythmic cuts for the film‘s shootout scenes. Art director Edward Fitzgerald and set decorator Rafael Suarez do superb work with the set pieces such as the Texas town that the villagers come across to the more rural but wonderful village that the gunmen start to be entranced by. The sound work of Rafael Ruiz Esparza and Jack Solomon is terrific for the way it plays up the suspense as well as the tense, chaotic atmosphere for the film’s battle scenes.

The film’s score by Elmer Bernstein is brilliant for its swelling yet triumphant orchestral score. Filled with dazzling arrangements and pieces that plays up the suspense, action, and drama, it’s truly the film’s highlight as it’s another of Bernstein’s great scores.

The film’s cast is excellent for the ensemble that is created as it includes notable small roles from Rico Alaniz as village head Sotero, Vladimir Sokoloff as the old village man, and Rosenda Monteros as the young woman Chico falls for in Petra. Eli Wallach is brilliant as the slimy yet complex Calvera who displays a great sense of intelligence who can manipulate anyone into seeing what he’s about as it’s definitely one of Wallach’s best roles. For the roles of the Magnificent Seven, there’s notable standout performances from Brad Dexter as the veteran Harry Luck who is looking for a big payday while Robert Vaughn is superb as the troubled Lee who is dealing with demons from the many gunfights he has. Horst Buchholz is pretty good as the young Chico who is a very determined gunfighter that wants to prove something although when it comes to heavy drama, it’s a bit overdone and quite unbelievable at times.

James Coburn is great as the cool yet switchblade knife-wielding Britt who is very laid-back but also a very cunning and dangerous character that anyone would want in their gang. Charles Bronson is phenomenal as the very resilient yet skilled gunfighter O’Reilly who becomes a reluctant idol to young boys in the village while is just trying to show them that what he’s doing isn’t bravery but survival. Steve McQueen is awesome as the very cool Vin who acts as Chris’ right-hand man who teaches the villagers how to fight while being the most reluctant to help them out as he wonders why should they fight for them. Finally, there’s Yul Brenner in an incredible performance as the leader Chris who sports nothing but black while being the one guy who can take care of things and lead a group to revolt.

The Magnificent Seven is an engaging yet adventurous western from John Sturges. Featuring top-notch performances from Yul Brenner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, and Eli Wallach. It’s a film that bears a lot of hallmarks and attributes that fans of the genre can love as well as a story that works to play up the motivations for its lead characters. While it may not have the more complexity and drama of The Seven Samurai, it is still a film that is quite faithful to the Akira Kurosawa classic. In the end, The Magnificent Seven is a superb western from John Sturges.

 

Related: (The Seven Samurai) - The Great Escape

© thevoid99 2012

The Ten Commandments (1956 film)

Based on the books Pillar of Fire by Joseph Holt Ingraham, On Eagle’s Wings by A.E. Southon, and Prince of Egypt by Dorothy Clarke Wilson, The Ten Commandments is the story of how the Hebrew-born Moses who is raised by Egyptian royals as he would become the leader of the Hebrews as he leads them to the Promised Land. Directed and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille and screenplay by Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse J. Lasky Jr., Jack Garris, and Fredric M. Frank. The film is a dramatic take on the story of Moses as he would become the leader of the Hebrews and defy the Pharaoh. Playing Moses is Charlton Heston in one of his most iconic performances. With an all-star cast that includes Yul Brenner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne de Carlo, Debra Paget, and John Derek. The Ten Commandments is a sprawling yet engrossing epic from Cecil B. DeMille.

After the Pharaoh Seti I (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) orders the death of first-born Hebrew boys based on a prophecy, a woman named Yoshebel (Martha Scott) takes a baby to the Nile as her young daughter Miriam watches to see as the baby named Moses is given to the arms of Pharaoh’s sister Bithiah (Nina Foch) who will raise the child. Many years later, Moses becomes the Pharaoh’s pride and joy after leading a victory against Ethiopia and later build a city with the princess Nefretiri (Anne Baxter) in awe of Moses though Pharoah’s son Rameses (Yul Brenner) is filled with jealousy towards Moses as he seeks to find the Hebrew who would lead the slaves to rebel. Still, Moses is content with his life until Nefretiri learns from the maid Memnet (Judith Anderson) the truth about who Moses is as he asks Bithiah if it’s true. Notably as he would follow her to the home of Yoshebel as he recognized as the woman whose life he had just saved.

After learning about his true roots, Moses decides to become a slave to see how they live where he learns about their struggle. After master builder Baka (Vincent Price) takes the beautiful slave girl Liliah (Debra Paget) for his own where her lover Joshua (John Derek) tries to reclaim her. Moses come to their aid where the corrupt Hebrew overseer Dathan (Edward G. Robinson) learns the truth about Moses. After telling the news to Rameses who would reward Dathan, Moses is captured as he’s brought forth by Seti who is heartbroken over what Moses is as he denies him. Rameses has Moses be banished to the desert as Moses eventually finds shelter in a Bedouin sheik named Jethro (Eduard Franz) whose daughter Sephora (Yvonne de Carlo) becomes Moses’ new love. After a life of herding sheep and gaining a son in Gershom (Tommy Duran), Moses still seeks answers about his life when Joshua appears prompting Moses to climb Mount Sinai where he returns with a new role.

Deciding to return to Egypt with his family and Joshua, he learns that Rameses is the new Pharaoh as he asks Rameses to release the Hebrews. Rameses refuses as a series of plagues occur while Nefretiri tries to renew their relationship but Moses spurns her. Even as she would later plead to his wife to flee Egypt to save her child only to learn that next plague will kill all Egyptian first-born men and boys. Rameses gives in as all of the Hebrews leave including Dathan while Bithiah also joins Moses on their way to the promised land. Yet, the grief-stricken Nefretiri would tell Rameses to attack the Hebrews as they reach towards the Red Sea where Moses would make a miracle that will lead to him gaining God’s laws about the way to live.

The film is essentially the tale of Moses of how he was this prince of Egypt who was adored by many including the Hebrew slaves. Then once his true background is revealed, he is shunned only to return to live up to the prophecy that his adopted uncle feared only to deal with the man he once called brother. All of it told in a grand storyline that lives up to the epic films of the 20th Century as Cecil B. DeMille and his screenwriters explore the life of Moses. Particularly in the key moments of his life such as the Exodus to the Promise Land, telling Rameses to let his people go, and the presentation of the Ten Commandments. Still, it also explores Moses as a man unsure of the role he played as well as the fact that he is a Hebrew raised as a prince with two different mothers.

Cecil B. DeMille’s direction is truly a marvel to watch from the way he creates a film that is ambitious in its set pieces while utilizing wide depth-of-field shots to capture the large crowd shots for the film. Shooting on location in parts of Egypt along with studio shots set in Los Angeles for some of the film’s interior set pieces. DeMille is able to create scenes where he utilizes the wide shots that often accompanied by sweeping crane shots that move back to see how big the crowds are. There’s also shots that is quite intimate to display the drama that occurs between a few characters to express the situation that occurs in the film. Particularly as DeMille wants to maintain the situation that occurs which includes the haunting Angel of Death scene as Moses and his family watches a mist appear.

For some scenes that requires visual effects including background scenes due to inability of what DeMille wasn’t able to do. Using superimposed shots for the background as well as a few visual effects moments. The look of it is quite primitive since it was made of the 1950s. Notably the visual effects moments that involve the parting of the Red Sea or some of the visual tricks that Moses try to display to deal with Rameses. Still, there is something quite engaging to the way it looks as it’s meant to look otherworldly. Overall, DeMille creates a film that is all about spectacle to tell this amazing story about Moses and the Hebrews in their search for the Promised Land.

Cinematographer Loyal Griggs does brilliant work with the film‘s lush, Technicolor look of the film to capture the vibrant colors of some of the film‘s interior settings including Nile River along with some wonderful exterior shots for some of the film‘s landscape scenes. Editor Anne Bauchens does excellent work with the film‘s editing by creating wonderful transitional dissolves as well as utilizing straight rhythmic cuts to play up the film‘s action and dramatic moments to maintain its tight, methodical pacing. Art directors Albert Noziak, Hal Pereira, and Walter H. Tyler, with set decorators Sam Comer and Ray Moyer, do amazing work with the set pieces such as interior palace designs that the Egyptian royals live in to the lavish tents where Moses meets Jethro. Sound recorders Gene Garvin and Harry Lindgren do wonderful work in the sound to capture the crowds as well as the intimate moments in some of the film‘s set pieces.

The film’s score by Elmer Bernstein is magnificent for the soaring yet sweeping score that he provides filled with bombastic string and brass orchestral arrangements. Notably in creating themes that play up to the grandeur of the film while slowing things down to serene pieces to play up some of the drama and romance in the film. It is truly one of Bernstein’s most essential film scores of his glorious career.

The casting by Bert McKay is superb for the ensemble that is created as it would feature appearances from Woody Strode as the Ethiopian king, Fraser Heston as the baby Moses, John Miljan as the blind man in the Exodus to the Promised Land sequence, Julia Faye as Aaron’s wife Elisheba, Eduard Franz as Sephora’s father Jethro, Tommy Duran as Moses’ son Gershom, Eugene Mazzola as Rameses’ son, Oliver Deering as Moses’ sister Miriam, Babette Bain as the young Miriam, Judith Anderson as Bithiah’s maid Memnet, John Carradine as Moses’ brother Aaron, Vincent Price as the brutish master builder Baka, and Martha Scott as Moses’ real mother Yoshebel. Other notable supporting roles include Nina Foch as Moses’ foster mother Bithiah and Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Pharaoh Seti I who adores Moses only to be heartbroken over Moses’ true persona.

Debra Paget is pretty good as the beautiful slave girl Liliah who deals with her role as being a slave for Dathan while maintaining her love for Joshua. John Derek is excellent as the courageous slave Joshua who impresses Moses for his determination as he would become Moses’ right-hand man in aiding the Exodus to the Promised Land. Yvonne De Carlo is wonderful as Moses’ wife Sephora who teaches him how to herd sheep while aiding him in his new role as God’s messenger. Anne Baxter is great in the role of Nefretiri who loves Moses only to feel spurned where Baxter gets to chew up the scenery when she goads Rameses to seek vengeance. Edward G. Robinson is brilliant as the corrupt Dathan who tries to weasel his way into anything situation and defy Moses in any way he can.

Yul Brenner is terrific as Rameses for the way he maintains an intimidating presence while displaying a sense of jealousy towards Moses for taking away what should’ve been total love from his father. Finally, there’s Charlton Heston in what is definitely the performance that will be the performance of his career as Moses. It’s a role where Heston really gets to play a man that is lost about his destiny and true persona while later become this commanding presence as he asks Rameses to let his people go.

The Ten Commandments is an extraordinary epic from Cecil B. DeMille that features a towering performance from Charlton Heston. Along with an amazing ensemble that includes Yul Brenner, Anne Baxter, Yvonne De Carlo, and Edward G. Robinson and fantastic technical work. The film is truly a textbook of how epics are supposed to be made for its ambition and storytelling. Particularly for a story as universal that provides many discussions about faith and power. In the end, Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 version of The Ten Commandments is a marvel of a film that is accessible and engaging.

© thevoid99 2012