Based on the novel The Willing Flesh by Willi Heinrich, Cross of Iron is the story of an aristocratic Nazi officer who heads the army as he deals with non-commissioned officers who don’t agree with his methods. Directed by Sam Peckinpah and screenplay by Julius J. Epstein, James Hamilton, and Walter Kelley, the film is a World War II film set during the Battle of the Caucasus in 1943 as it is an exploration of class and duty. Starring James Coburn, Maximillian Schell, James Mason, Senta Berger, and David Warner. Cross of Iron is a gripping yet rapturous film from Sam Peckinpah.
Set during the 1943 Caucasus campaign at the Taman Peninsula, the film revolves a newly-arrived officer who leads a campaign hoping to get the prestigious Iron Cross as he has to contend with a cynical platoon leader whose main concern is to survive in the battlefield with his men. It is a war film that play into not just what is happening in the battlefield but also behind the scenes as those who fight are struggling to survive yet there are officers with aristocratic backgrounds who doesn’t just crave some form of validity into the fact that they fought a war but also return home as some hero while others did the dirty work for that officer. For Sgt. Rolf Steiner (James Coburn) who already earned an Iron Cross, it’s a medal that doesn’t mean anything as he’s survived many battles with a platoon he sees as brothers as they’re trying to fight for another day despite his own disdain towards Adolf Hitler.
The film’s screenplay is quite complex into not just Sgt. Steiner and his views on war and honor but also is someone who see things for what they are as there are officers he does respect like Colonel Brandt (James Mason) and Captain Kiesel (David Warner) who share his views on war. When Captain Stransky (Maximillian Schell) enters the picture with aristocratic background dating back to the days of Prussia. Cpt. Stransky would become Sgt. Steiner’s new leader as he hopes to lead soldiers into battle and push the Soviets back into Moscow without having to be on the battlefield. Instead, a bloody battle that left several dead including an officer that Sgt. Steiner’s platoon admires where the issue about whether Captain Stransky deserves this Iron Cross come into question. When Sgt. Steiner makes his report to Col. Brandt about what happened, things become complicated where Sgt. Steiner and his platoon are forced to fend for themselves during an evacuation as they didn’t receive the order. All of which would play into Sgt. Steiner’s own view on war and survival.
Sam Peckinpah’s direction is definitely intense not just for the graphic depiction of violence that occurs on the battlefield but also for the tension that is looming behind the scenes. With many of the film’s exterior locations shot on location in former parts of Yugoslavia in Slovenia and Croatia with some interiors shot at Pinewood Studios in Britain. Peckinpah does use a lot of wide and medium shots to capture the vast locations as well as that sense of terror that looms in the battlefield. Even as he would use close-ups and medium shots to play into the suspense such as an opening sequence where Sgt. Steiner and his platoon attack Soviet soldiers as they would later find a young Soviet soldier-boy whom they would take as a POW yet would treat him kindly as he would stay in their camp. It is among these little moments of sentimentality in the film that includes a birthday celebration for a respected officer as it shows a group of men trying to find some semblance of humanity during this chaotic period of war. Those moments are presented with an intimacy as it shows some of the good that is in war as opposed to the scenes where Cpt. Stransky is telling his own officer about his own plans as well as show that air of arrogance and entitlement that Sgt. Steiner would despise. The scenes of war and battle are quite extravagant as well as having a sense of style yet it’s the non-battle scenes such as a sequence of Sgt. Steiner at a hospital in the second act is a very surreal one where he isn’t sure what is going on.
It play into not just his disdain for officers and their lack of disconnect with the realities of war but also wounded soldiers with scars and amputated body parts being part of this air of decadence. There is also a scene towards the third act where Sgt. Steiner and his platoon try to return to their base through Soviet territory where they encounter Soviet women soldiers as one of them would try to have his way only to get a rude awakening. It’s a moment that shows Sgt. Steiner being aware of the inhumanity that he sees as well as what he doesn’t want to do. The dramatic moments that Peckinpah create are quite fascinating such as a meeting into the decision into whether Cpt. Stransky deserves the Iron Cross as it play more into not just an air of cynicism towards war but also the de-value of what honor means. Overall, Peckinpah creates a harrowing yet confrontational film about a class warfare from within between German officers and soldiers during World War II.
Cinematographer John Coquillon does brilliant work with the film‘s grimy yet intoxicating cinematography from the way many of the daytime exteriors are presented as well as the lighting for the scenes inside the bunkers as well as the sense of artificiality in the hospital sequence. Editors Michael Ellis, Murray Jordan, Tony Lawson, and Herbert Taschner do amazing work with the editing with its usage of slow-motion cuts, stylish transitional dissolves, jump-cuts, and other stylish cuts to play into the action as well as the drama. Production designers Brian Ackland-Snow and Ted Haworth, with art director Veljko Despotovic, do excellent work with the look of the bunkers and trenches as well as the look of the hospital and some of the ruined buildings where the Nazi officers do their politicking behind the scenes.
Makeup supervisor Colin Arthur does terrific work with the look of some of the wounded soldiers in the hospital sequence as it play into some of the surreal elements Sgt. Steiner encounters. Sound editor Rodney Holland and sound mixer David Hildyard do superb work with the layer of sounds in the film as it play into the chaos of the battlefield as well as the sense of fear in how shells and gunfire sound from inside the bunkers. The film’s music by Ernest Gold is fantastic for its bombastic orchestral score with some cadence-like drumming in the background as it play into the horrors of war while the soundtrack also includes some German folk pieces from those times.
The film’s marvelous cast include some notable small roles from Slavko Stimac as a Russian boy Sgt. Steiner and his platoon capture and let him become a loyal servant that they would care for, Veronique Vendell as a Soviet soldier whom Sgt. Steiner and his platoon would deal with as they would make a bargain with her after one of his soldiers would do something wrong, Michael Nowka as the young Private Dietz who is new to the platoon as he would gain their respect through his determination, Arthur Brauss as another newcomer in Private Zoll who is brought into the platoon by Captain Stransky as he raises many of the platoon’s suspicions, and Igor Galo as Lieutenant Meyer as an officer Sgt. Steiner and his platoon admire and respect as they would give him a birthday celebration. Other notable small roles include Burkhard Dreist, Vadim Glowna, and Dieter Schidor as a trio of privates that are part of Sgt. Steiner’s platoon who are all men of great skill.
Fred Stillkrauth is terrific as Corporal Karl “Schnurrbart” Reisenauer as the second-in-command of Sgt. Steiner’s platoon whom Steiner goes to for suggestions while Klaus Lowitsch is superb as Cpl. Kruger as a wildcard solider who wears a Soviet cap as he despises the Soviets while knowing how to bullshit them. Roger Fritz is fantastic as Lt. Triebig as a closeted homosexual officer who is blackmailed by Captain Stransky to do his bidding as he would also make decisions that would impact the entire squad. Senta Berger is wonderful as Eva as a nurse who would watch over Sgt. Steiner during his time at the hospital as well as be a lover of him during that time. David Warner is excellent as Captain Kiesel as a hardened officer who has been in and out of the battlefield as he despises Captain Stransky while becoming quite cynical about war though still be loyal to Colonel Brandt.
James Mason is brilliant as Colonel Brandt as an officer who is upper class but understands the role he has to play in war as he is sympathetic to Sgt. Steiner’s views but is more hopeful about the future of life after war. Maximillian Schell is amazing as Captain Stransky as aristocratic Prussian officer who craves glory and prestige as he uses his influence and class status to get what he wants while dealing with the more grounded Sgt. Steiner whom he sees as an opponent as Schell definitely display that utter arrogance into a man that cares more about a fucking medal than the respect of his soldiers. Finally, there’s James Coburn in an incredible performance as Sgt. Rolf Steiner as a soldier who has fought a lot of wars and has gained a lot of respect where he copes with the many reasons to fight and the lack of honor that is emerging as it’s one of Coburn’s finest performances in his career.
Cross of Iron is a tremendous film from Sam Peckinpah that features great performances from James Coburn, Maximillian Schell, and James Mason. Along with a fantastic supporting cast, evocative visuals, a chilling score, and captivating themes on war, honor, and class. It’s a war movie that showcases what is happening behind the scenes as what some are willing to do and what they won’t do in and out of the battlefield. In the end, Cross of Iron is a phenomenal 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 - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah
© thevoid99 2016
Directed and starring John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper and written by Dan Angel and Billy Brown, Body Bags is an anthology film where a coroner and two morgue attendees tell three different stories relating to the bodies they’re analyzing. The first entitled The Gas Station is about a serial killer stalking a gas station attendee while the second entitled The Hair is about a botched hair transplant involving an alien parasite as both segments are directed by John Carpenter. The third entitled Eye is about a baseball player who receives an eye transplant unaware that it belonged to a killer that is trying to possess him as it is helmed by Tobe Hooper. Also starring Robert Carradine, Stacy Keach, David Warner, Twiggy, Sheena Easton, Mark Hamill, Tom Arnold, and Debbie Harry. Body Bags is a riveting and enjoyable film from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper.
The film is essentially a trilogy of tales told by a coroner (John Carpenter) as it play to the bodies he is examining in one scary night. The first entitled The Gas Station is about a college student who works on her very first night as a gas station attendee as she deals with strange customers as well as the presence of a serial killer on the loose. The second story entitled The Hair is about a middle-aged man dealing with baldness as he goes to a mysterious doctor about a hair transplant where everything seems to go well until he discover alien parasites in his hair. The third and final story entitled Eye is about a baseball player who loses his right eye in a car accident where he goes into surgery to get a new one as he starts to see strange things involving dead bodies and such. All of it is told in different styles where screenwriters Dan Angel and Billy Brown play up some of the suspense where The Gas Station is about an unusual first day at work while Hair is about insecurities and vanities that eventually catches up to a man. Eye is about a man desperate to go back to baseball unaware of the horror he is seeing with his new eye.
Since the first two segments and inserts are directed by John Carpenter and Eye is helmed by Tobe Hooper with Larry Sulkin providing additional work on the insert scenes. Each segment is given a different feel as both Carpenter and Hooper both provide their own idea to their segments while the inserts where Carpenter plays the coroner are presented in a comedic manner. For The Gas Station, Carpenter creates something that is more of a suspense film as it is about a college student’s first day as a gas station attendant where there are bits of humor but also moments where Carpenter plays with the suspense. Much of his compositions in that segment and The Hair are quite simple where the latter is a bit more playful as Carpenter goes for something straightforward rather than make it a big-time horror piece. The scariest segment is definitely Eye where Hooper creates something that is more conventional in terms of the horror genre but prefers to play it out slowly as it also has some more stylistic compositions including surreal moments that play into the terror. Overall, Carpenter and Hooper create a fun and thrilling anthology film about terror.
Cinematographer Gary Kibbe does excellent work with the cinematography from the colorful look of the interiors at the morgue as well as the nighttime exterior scenes for The Gas Station and Eye. Editor Edward A. Warschilka does nice work with the editing as it is stylish with its rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense for all of the segments. Production designer Daniel A. Lomino and set decorator Cloudia Rebar do fantastic work with the look of the morgue as well as the gas station interiors for The Gas Station as well as the more straightforward look of the other segments.
The makeup work of Rick Baker and Greg LaCava, with hair stylist Carolyn Elias, do amazing work for the look of the mortician as well as the look of the new eye in Eye as well as the hair in The Hair. The special effects work of Howard Jensen is terrific as it play into the look of the parasites for The Hair. Sound editor Anthony Milch does superb work with the sound as it help create some of the chilling moments of suspense in The Gas Station and Eye. The film’s music by John Carpenter and Jim Lang is wonderful with Carpenter providing some unique electronic-based pieces for The Gas Station while going for kitsch-based jazz in The Hair while Lang provides a more symphonic score for Eye.
The film’s cast is great as it features an array of cameos from horror film icons as well as pop culture icons. For the scenes set in the morgue, John Carpenter is hilarious as the mortician while Tobe Hooper and Tom Arnold are terrific in their brief roles as the morgue attendees. In The Gas Station, the cameo appearances from Wes Craven as a customer, George Buck Flower as a homeless guy, and Sam Raimi as a dead guy are fun yet the short is largely focused on Robert Carradine in a superb role as the gas station attendant who shows the new girl what to do while Alex Datcher is wonderful as the new girl Anne who is stalked by a crazed serial killer. In The Hair, the appearances of model Kim Alexis and special makeup effects creator Gregory Nicotero as people with good hair are fun to watch while Debbie Harry is a hoot as a nurse trying to help the protagonist find the right look.
David Warner is excellent as Dr. Lock as the man who can help the character Richard find new hair while Sheena Easton is fantastic as Richard’s girlfriend Megan who tries to assure him that he looks fine. Stacy Keach is brilliant as Richard as a man who becomes insecure over his bald hair as he is eager to have a new look and feel happy only for things to go wrong. In Eye, the cameo appearances of Charles Napier as a baseball coach, Roger Corman as a doctor, and John Agar as the surgeon are just amazing to watch while Twiggy is terrific as Brent’s wife Cathy who becomes worried about her husband’s troubled behavior. Mark Hamill is marvelous as Brent Matthews as baseball player who loses his eye in a car accident as he gets a new eye but becomes unhinged by what he is seeing as Hamill definitely camps it up for the performance.
Body Bags is a remarkable film from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper. It’s a fun anthology film that feature a trilogy of stories created by two masters of horror as it’s a film that is about terror at its most chilling. In the end, Body Bags is an exhilarating and fun film from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper.
Tobe Hooper Films: (Eggshells) - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - (Eaten Alive) - (Salem’s Lot) - (The Funhouse) - (Poltergeist) - Lifeforce - (Invaders from Mars) - (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) - (Spontaneous Combustion) - (I’m Dangerous Tonight) - (Night Terrors) - (The Mangler) - (The Apartment Complex) - (Crocodile (2000 film)) - (Toolbox Murders) - (Mortuary) - (Djinn)
John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Someone's Watching Me! - Halloween - Elvis - The Fog
- Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward
The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Part 1 - Part 2
© thevoid99 2016
Based on the novel The Siege of Trencher’s Farm by Gordon M. Williams, Straw Dogs is the story of an American mathematician who moves to a small English town with his wife where they’re later terrorized by locals that includes a former flame of his wife as it leads to trouble. Directed by Sam Peckinpah and screenplay by Peckinpah and David Zelag Goodman, the film is a study of a man trying to live a peaceful life only to be confronted by the darkest aspects of humanity in a world he has very little clue about. Starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George. Straw Dogs is a harrowing yet visceral film from Sam Peckinpah.
Set in this small town in England, the film revolves around a couple who move into the place where it’s the hometown of the wife as she and her American husband become terrorized by some of its locals that would include a former flame of hers. It’s a film that isn’t just about a home invasion but a man being tested to do whatever it takes to protect himself and his wife as the former is seen as an outsider who has managed to rub the locals the wrong way without intending to. Especially as he’s just this mild-mannered mathematician that is more concerned with living a quiet life and writing a book. Yet, his attempts to socialize and befriend these locals only cause troubles in his marriage as the reappearance of his wife’s old flame would be the catalyst for chaos. The screenplay by Sam Peckinpah and David Zelag Goodman isn’t just an exploration of what a man will do to fight back but also deal with being a total outsider in this strange world. The protagonist David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) is this intellect that is trying to escape from the world of conventional society for something that is simple and with very little distraction.
By going to the hometown of his wife Amy (Susan George), Sumner thinks he’s made the right choice but a series of small incidents would come into play as the men he’s hired to build his garage and do things around his home would be troubling as one of them is Amy’s former boyfriend Charlie Venner (Del Henney). While Sumner would gain a few friends in a former officer and a mentally-handicapped villager in Henry Niles (David Warner). His encounters with some of the locals that include the local drunkard Tom Hedden (Peter Vaughan) is suspicious about Sumner because he’s an outsider. The Sumner character is also someone that isn’t keen on being confrontational while he does get frustrated with what is happening around him as he and Amy start to bicker. Even as things start to happen towards the course of the story where it is clear Amy is hiding something from him that eventually leads to this home invasion led by Venner and Hedden over an incident that doesn‘t relate to the Sumners.
Peckinpah’s direction is restrained at first for the most part though it does have shots of blatant sexuality as it relates to Amy’s beauty and the fact that she often never wears a bra. Peckinpah makes no qualms in how he would present women as sexual beings even though he doesn’t see Amy as just that but a full-fledge character who is just attractive and manages to get men to look at her. Still, Peckinpah is more about that sense of this outsider arriving into a world that he has very little clue about where he uses some wide and medium shots to play into that sense of disconnect as well as Sumner’s attempt to be part of it no matter how awkwardly he tries to socialize with the locals. Peckinpah’s approach to the drama is very simple while he also would play into the suspense as it relates to a series of small events that would shake up the Sumners. One notable sequence in the film’s second act that involves an encounter between Amy and Venner as well as a friend of Venner while Sumner is at the countryside for a hunt. It’s a moment that marks a major plot-point for the film where a lot has changed as the tone of the film would get darker.
Notably in this harrowing climax as it relates to the home invasion that the Sumners would endure as well as what Sumner would learn about what happened to his wife that would eventually drive him to the edge. It is definitely one of the scariest and most violent climaxes Peckinpah has created with its array of camera angles and compositions that play into that sense of terror. Overall, Peckinpah creates a riveting and terrifying film about a mild-mannered man being forced to the edge to protect his wife.
Cinematographer John Coquillon does brilliant work with the film‘s low-key yet hazy cinematography with its usage of the fog for some of the scenes at night as well as the grayness in some of the locations set in England as it help sets the eerie tone of the film in its interior/exterior settings. Editors Paul Davies, Tony Lawson, and Roger Spottiswoode do amazing work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts, slow-motion cuts, superimposed dissolves, and montages to play into the sense of memory and violence that the Sumners would encounter. Production Ray Simm and art director Ken Bridgeman do excellent work with the look of the Sumners home as well as the pub where many of the locals socialize at.
Sound editors Garth Craven and Norman Savage do superb work with the sound from the quieter moments in the film as well as some of the tense moments involving guns and breaking glass. The film’s music by Jerry Fielding is wonderful for its low-key orchestral score that play into the drama and suspenseful moments while some of the music is mainly traditional as well as a Scottish record that Sumner owns.
The casting by Miriam Brickman is fantastic as it include some small roles from Colin Welland as the local bishop, Peter Arne as Niles’ brother John, Cherina Schaer as the bishop’s wife, Len Jones as Hedden’s son Bobby, Sally Thomsett as Hedden’s daughter in the flirtatious Janice, T.P. McKenna as Major John Scott who befriends Sumner, and David Warner in an un-credited performance as Henry Niles as a mentally-handicapped man whom Sumner befriends and would later try to protect. Ken Hutchison, Donald Webster, and Jim Norton are terrific in their roles as three men who would work for Sumner only to do some very bad things as they would later try and terrorize the Sumner home as one of them is a friend of Venner. Del Henney is excellent as Charlie Venner as an old flame of Amy who wants to rekindle their love only to cause some trouble and later take part in the home invasion.
Peter Vaughan is brilliant as Tom Hedden as a local drunkard who doesn’t really like Sumner as he thinks Sumner is better than everyone while also have some disdain towards Henry Niles because he’s different. Susan George is amazing as Amy Sumner as this woman who is trying to make sense of what her husband wants as well as do things to antagonize some of the locals where she would eventually put herself in serious trouble. Finally, there’s Dustin Hoffman in an incredible performance as David Sumner as this mild-mannered mathematician that isn’t keen on confrontation as he tries to conduct his life without bothering anyone until he is being pushed to the edge where he is forced to act and defend himself and his wife anyway he can.
Straw Dogs is a phenomenal film from Sam Peckinpah that features a great performance from Dustin Hoffman. Along with a great supporting cast, eerie visuals, and some intense moments that isn’t for everyone. It’s a film that explores not just some of the dark aspects of humanity but also what it would take for a man to venture into that world. In the end, Straw Dogs is a spectacular 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 - 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
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
Directed by John Carpenter and written by Michael De Luca, In the Mouth of Madness is the story of an insurance investigator who tries to find a mysterious horror writer who has disappeared as he deals with the phenomenon of his work. Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the film is an exploration into the world of books and its power where a man deals with the chaos that surrounds him. Starring Sam Neill, Jurgen Prochnow, Julie Carmen, David Warner, and Charlton Heston. In the Mouth of Madness is a strange yet thrilling film from John Carpenter.
The film revolves an insurance investigator who is asked by a publishing company to find a popular horror writer and the manuscript of his new book as the writer itself had disappeared. The film plays into a man who went through a hellacious journey as he would tell his story to a doctor at a mental institution about what happened where his attempt to disprove a writer’s power would only have him question the world he is in. It’s a film that also explores the power of fiction where the investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) is trying to believe that the small town he is in isn’t real but there’s too many things that have him question what is real and what is fiction.
Michael De Luca’s screenplay begins with Trent being taken to a mental asylum as he claims he’s not crazy though Dr. Wrenn (David Warner) wants to disprove that as Trent tells him his story. Trent is a very unique character as someone who is good at disproving many insurance claims as he thinks his search for the popular horror writer Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow) is nothing more than another easy assignment as he’s joined by Cane’s editor Linda Styles (Julie Carmen). Styles is more in tune with Cane’s work though Trent is very dismissive but once they believe where Cane is, things become very strange where they arrive into a town that is named after one of Cane’s books. Styles would see things as she admits to try to fool Trent in getting the insurance money but what she and Trent would see wasn’t part of the plan where it becomes clear how dangerous the book is as well as Cane’s influence.
John Carpenter’s direction is very stylish not just in his approach to some of the compositions he creates but also in the strange world that is presented which plays into the works that Cane has created. While it is set largely in New York and New Hampshire, the film is actually shot in parts of Toronto and small town areas in Toronto play up this look of a world where it seems very innocent and quiet. Instead, Carpenter goes for something that is odd in terms of the compositions he creates in its close-ups, medium shots, and wide shots to display a world where it could be real, fictional, or both. It’s these kind of ambiguities that adds to the tone of the film where its second and third act is about the journey Trent and Styles would go to and the things they encounter. Plus, it is also clear that any chance for any of them to get out would be impossible as it adds to this blur of reality and fiction.
By the time the Crane character is formally introduced as well as the world he is in, the influence of H.P. Lovecraft does come into play as far what Crane has written over the years as it starts to become real. Even in its third act where Styles’ encounter with Crane would have some serious repercussions on Trent who has no idea what is real and fiction. Some of it plays into the kind of creatures that Lovecraft is known for such as Cthulhu where it added to some of the elements of horror and dark fantasy that emerges where it would have a far more troubling aftermath once the film returns to the mental asylum where Trent tells his story to Dr. Warren. Even as the aftermath would not only play elements of the Apocalypse but also an ending that is very weird where it also breaks the fourth wall about the impact of the book. Overall, Carpenter creates a very eerie yet riveting film about an insurance agent who encounters the strange world of a horror novelist.
Cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the colorful look of the small town exteriors in the day to the usage of lights for the scenes set at night as well as the scenes in the church where Crane lives. Editor Edward A. Warschilka does brilliant work with the film‘s editing with its stylish usage of fast-cut montages as well as rhythmic cuts to play into its suspense and terror. Production designer Jeff Ginn, with set decorator Elinor Rose Galbraith and art director Peter Grundy, does fantastic work with the look of the hotel Trent and Styles live in to some of the design of the place that Crane lives and works at which adds to the sense of horror and Lovecraft visual style. Costume designer Robin Michel Bush does nice work with the costumes from the casual clothes that Trent wears to the stylish clothes that Styles wear.
Special makeup effects designers Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman, and Greg Nicotero do amazing work with the design of some of the creatures as well as some of the makeup and such in some of the characters who follow Crane and his work along with the look Trent would give to himself early in the film. Visual effects supervisor Bruce Nicholson does terrific work with the visual effects from the look of some of the backgrounds in the realm between the real world and fantasy as well as a few scenes involving the monsters. Sound editor John Dunn and sound designer John Pospisil do superb work with the sound to create some sound effects as well as some of the moments in the violence and terror. The film’s music by John Carpenter and Jim Lang is wonderful for its mixture of haunting electronic textures with some metal-based guitar music as it plays into the sense of darkness that looms in the film.
The film’s incredible cast includes some notable small roles from a young Hayden Christensen as a paperboy, Wilhelm von Homburg as a local from the small town named Simon, Frances Bay as a hotel owner named Mrs. Pickman, Bernie Casey as a friend of Trent early in the film named Robinson, and John Glover as the mental asylum director Saperstein. Charlton Heston is fantastic as the publisher Jackson Harglow who hires Trent for the insurance investigation claim as he wonders what is going on with Cane. David Warner is superb as Dr. Wrenn as the man who interrogates Trent at the asylum as he tries to figure out if Trent is really insane. Julie Carmen is brilliant as Linda Styles as an editor who joins Trent in the trip as she tries to comprehend what she is seeing while being the one person who knows Cane’s books as she tries to hold on to her humanity. Jurgen Prochnow is amazing as the writer Sutter Cane as a man whose imagination comes to life as he believes in the power of his work where he would unleash the Apocalypse. Finally, there’s Sam Neill in a remarkable performance as John Trent as an insurance investigator who is good at disproving things where he is challenged by what he sees as he tries to make sense of the chaos as there’s elements of humor in his performance that makes it one of his best.
In the Mouth of Madness is a phenomenal film from John Carpenter. Armed with a great cast, an intriguing premise, and engrossing elements of horror and suspense. The film is truly an off-the-wall horror/suspense film that plays into the world of reality vs. fiction as well as the power of what fiction can do. In the end, In the Mouth of Madness is an exhilarating and evocative film from John Carpenter.
John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault from Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - Body Bags - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward
The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2015
Directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Michael Palin, Time Bandits is the story of a boy who goes on an adventure with a group of time-traveling dwarves where he travels to different periods in time. The film is an exploration into the world of fantasy and man trying to fight the impossible as it is the first part of a trilogy of films about dreamers. Starring John Cleese, Sean Connery, Michael Palin, Shelley Duvall, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, Katherine Helmond, Peter Vaughn, and David Warner. Time Bandits is a funny yet enjoyable fantasy film from Terry Gilliam.
A young boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock) enjoys reading adventures about all sorts of things while his parents (David Daker and Sheila Fearn) are more obsessed with household appliances and TV shows. One day, a gang of time traveling dwarf bandits come out of his closet looking for a time hole as they carry a map that get them through each time hole in order to steal riches from different periods of time. Leading the pack is Randall (David Rappaport) as he admits to stealing the map from the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson and the voice of Tony Jay) as Kevin finds himself being part of the adventure. There, Kevin and the bandits land in the Napoleonic wars where the bandits find themselves having to entertain Napoleon Bonaparte (Ian Holm) where they successfully steal some treasure.
After finding themselves in the Middle Ages where they meet Robin Hood (John Cleese) where they end up having their take being given to the poor, Randall and the bandits ponder where to go next. Unaware that a sorcerer known as Evil (David Warner) is watching them, the bandits continue their journey where they’re being chased by the Supreme Being as Kevin finds himself in Mycenaean Greece where he saved the life of King Agamemnon (Sean Connery). Being happy around King Agamemnon, Kevin hopes to stay there until the bandits finally appear to steal more riches and take Kevin where they find themselves in the 20th Century on a ship. Randall believes that through the map that there’s a place into the unknown that can lead them to something that is considered to be the most fantastic object of the world. Kevin reluctantly joins them where they encounter more trouble where Kevin realizes what is going on forcing he and the bandits to fight Evil.
The film is essentially the story about a young boy who joins a group of time-traveling dwarves into an adventure into different periods of time where they steal riches while going after something that is to be even better than riches unaware that they’re watched by an evil sorcerer. That’s pretty much what the story is about though it is a film that is about a boy trying to find a place where he belongs as he feels out of place with the modern world as his parents are just obsessed with the technologies of the times. Throughout this adventure with this gang of dwarves that likes to steal and do things, this young boy would encounter worlds that are very different from the modern world as he feels like he belongs there.
The screenplay by Terry Gilliam and his Monty Python cohort Michael Palin does have a traditional structure into the motivations of how young Kevin sees things throughout his journey. Notably as the journeys he takes would play into his development and understanding of the world itself. He enjoys going back in time but he doesn’t like what the dwarves do as things get more complicated in the third act when the dwarves begin to doubt Randall over his obsession with going into this mysterious world. Particularly as they’re all unaware that they’re being watched by this evil sorcerer who wants the map they can carry to spread evil into the world. While the script is essentially a fantasy story, it’s also very comical since a lot of the situations are absurd and things do very silly such as the fact that the characters often drop in on a couple (Michael Palin and Shelley Duvall) and ruining their moment.
Terry Gilliam’s direction is definitely big in terms of its presentation where it is all about these elaborate set pieces, different locations, and all sorts of hi-jinks the characters encounter. Through some amazing compositions where Gilliam puts a lot into the frame in order to establish the world the characters encounter. He also makes sure that it’s about this group of dwarves and this young boy while he does take his time to establish what the evil sorcerer wants to do. The direction also includes some vast wide shots of some of these elaborate set pieces where things often feel offbeat such as the climatic world in the third act. Still, Gilliam manages to find a way to keep things offbeat in its humor and intentions while creating something that can appeal to a young audience. Overall, Gilliam creates a fantastic film that plays up to world of imagination and the yearn to escape from the doldrums of the modern world.
Cinematographer Peter Bizou does excellent work with the film’s cinematography from the very sunny and vast look of the King Agamemnon sequence to the more dreary look of the dark world that the sorcerer lives in. Editor Julian Doyle does wonderful work with the editing by creating some unique rhythms for the film’s action scenes along with some stylish slow-motion cuts for some of its intense moments. Production designer Milly Burns and art director Norman Garwood do amazing work with the vast set design that is created from the look of King Agamemnon’s palace, the castle where Napoleon is being entertained, and the dark underworld where the sorcerer lives in.
Costume designer James Acheson, with additional work from Hazel Cote, does terrific work with the costumes to capture the many different periods from the robes of King Agamemnon, the look of Robin Hood, and uniform worn by Napoleon. Hair and makeup work by Maggie Weston and Elaine Carew is superb for the look of some of the characters including the evil sorcerer that is over the top. The sound work of Allen Hurd is very good for the atmosphere that is created in parts of the films including the party scene at King Agamemnon’s hall. The music by Mike Moran is a delight to hear not just for its bombastic orchestral score but also for its playfulness as it serves as a great accompaniment to the film’s humorous moments. The music also includes a song by one of the film’s executives producers in George Harrison that plays up to the film’s whimsical charm.
The film’s cast is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features some noteworthy small roles from Jim Broadbent as a game show host, Peter Vaughn as an ogre named Winston, Katherine Helmond as the ogre’s wife, David Daker and Sheila Fearn as Kevin’s parents, and Michael Palin and Shelley Duvall as a loving couple often interrupted by the appearances of the dwarves. Other appearances that are definitely played for laughs include Ian Holm as Napoleon Bonaparte and John Cleese as a somewhat dim-witted Robin Hood. Sean Connery is superb as King Agamemnon where he displays a great sense of prestige in his role. David Warner is terrific as the sorcerer Evil who is very over-the-top while Ralph Richardson is wonderful as the very witty Supreme Being.
The performances by the dwarves in Tiny Ross, Mike Edmonds, Jack Purvis, Malcolm Dixon, and Kenny Baker are definitely amazing to watch as well as Jack Rappaport as the conniving leader of the gang in Randall. Finally, there’s Craig Warnock in a marvelous performance as Kevin who is intrigued by the world of adventure and imagination as he deals with his journey as well as the evil forces that he later has to fight.
Time Bandits is an extraordinary yet witty film from Terry Gilliam. Armed with a great ensemble cast and amazing set pieces, the film is definitely among one of Gilliam’s best films. Notably as it’s also a very accessible film that offers something more to a wide audience including children. In the end, Time Bandits is a whimsical yet adventurous film from Terry Gilliam.
Terry Gilliam Films: Jabberwocky - Brazil - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - The Fisher King - 12 Monkeys - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - The Brothers Grimm - Tideland - The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - The Zero Theorem - The Auteurs #38: Terry Gilliam
© thevoid99 2013
