Written and directed by John Carpenter, Prince of Darkness is the story of a priest who hires a professor and his students to investigate a canister where he believes that inside this large canister is the spawn of Satan. The film is an exploration into the concept of the underworld and whether a group of people can prove that Satan exists. Starring Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, and Lisa Blount. Prince of Darkness is a riveting and chilling film from John Carpenter.
The film explores the idea of Satan if he exists as strange things happen where a priest asks a professor and his students to study this mysterious canister which he believes has the spawn of Satan inside. Along the way, the professor and his students not only uncover some of the mysteries inside the canister but also the strange behavior of inhabitants outside of this church who seemed to be entranced by the powers of this canister. Eventually, characters get either killed off or become part of this emerging cult due to their encounter with this canister forcing those to survive and fight off this mysterious thing that is happening.
John Carpenter’s screenplay, under the Martin Quartermass alias, doesn’t really go for any kind of traditional narrative structure but rather build up the sense of mystery as things start to unravel while most of the students and people inside the church are either dead or under the control of this mysterious substance. Even as fear begins to emerge in the priest (Donald Pleasence) who starts to gain doubt about his role while the professor Howard Birack (Victor Wong) tries to make sense of everything. Yet, the priest and Birack do agree that whatever is in that canister is evil where the two and the remaining survivors try to deal with this awful situation. Even as a few of these students in Brian Marsh (Jameson Parker), Walter (Dennis Dun), and Catherine Danforth (Lisa Blount) each try to figure things out as well as observe what is going on around them.
Carpenter’s direction is pretty straightforward in terms of compositions and the atmosphere he creates as it largely takes place in an old church in Los Angeles. Much of Carpenter’s direction is about mood as the opening credits sequence plays into establishing the key characters and what they’re about to get into as the priest deals with the secret he now has to carry. Yet, Carpenter would include a few things of what to expect as they do come in head-on by the time the story takes place in and outside of the church where a lot of strange things happen.
Among them involve ants, beetles, and worms as they would add the sense of terror that would emerge. Even as little things become a big deal where characters who would encounter the mysterious canister start to act strangely as it involves characters being killed in the most gruesome ways. Even in a few scenes as it plays to a chilling climax involving the arrival of Satan’s spawn where the survivors have to take action or else be killed. Overall, Carpenter creates a very eerie yet engrossing film about a group of people trying to see if evil does exist.
Cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the way he creates some lighting schemes and mood for much of the film‘s interior setting on day and night as well as the grainy video footage that many of the characters would dream about. Editor Steve Mirkovich does amazing work with the editing to create some unique rhythmic cuts to play into the film‘s suspense and terror. Production designer Daniel A. Lomino and set decorator Rick Gentz do brilliant work with the look of the church with a lot of crosses inside of the place as well as the design of the canister.
Special effects makeup artist Mark Shostrom does fantastic work with some of the makeup effects including the look of the seed of Satan. Visual effects supervisor Robert Grasmere does superb work with the visual effects that includes some minimal moments that plays into the world of the supernatural. Sound editors Michael Hilkene and Val Kulkowsky do terrific work with the sound effects as well as some of the mixing and sound texture to play into its suspense. The film’s music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth is wonderful for its eerie, electronic-based score that plays into the film’s suspense as the soundtrack also includes a song from Alice Cooper heard from a character’s walkman.
The casting by Linda Francis is phenomenal as it features some notable small roles from Alice Cooper as a street schizophrenic, Peter Jason as Birack’s colleague Dr. Leahy, Susan Blanchard as Catherine’s friend Kelly, Anne Howard as the radiologist Susan who would start the chain of events that occur in the film, Ann Yen as the Latin translator Lisa, Dirk Blocker and Ken Wright as a couple of students, Jesse Lawrence Ferguson as the student Calder who becomes troubled by his encounters with those who had previously encountered the canister, and Robert Gasmere as a student who tries to leave only to find himself in serious trouble. Dennis Dun is amazing as Walter as he is the film’s comic relief who is upset that he is forced to cancel a date to take part in this project as he says some of the film’s funniest lines.
Lisa Blount is fantastic as Catherine Danforth as a student who deals with the chaos that goes on as she is also a math theorist who becomes befuddled by the theories she’s presented. Jameson Parker is superb as Brian Marsh as a student who has a crush on Danforth while trying to make sense of what is happening as he is also a theorist in his own way. Donald Pleasance is excellent as the priest who invites Professor Birack to investigate the phenomenon with great reluctance and regret as he becomes to feel doubt over what might happen. Finally, there’s Victor Wong in a marvelous performance as Professor Howard Birack as this unconventional professor who tries to make sense of the phenomenon while dealing with the fact that it could be pure evil.
Prince of Darkness is a remarkable film from John Carpenter. Featuring a great cast as well as captivating stories about the idea of evil, the film is definitely one of Carpenter’s more underrated films in terms of what is expected in horror as well as what evil could do. In the end, Prince of Darkness is an extraordinarily scary film from John Carpenter.
John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - Body Bags - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward
The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2014
Based on the novel by Robert Daley, Year of the Dragon is the story of a troubled New York City police captain who goes on a personal war against the organized world of Chinese triad gangs. Directed by Michael Cimino and screenplay by Cimino and Oliver Stone, the film is a look into the world of gangs and culture clash as a former Vietnam War veteran turned police captain deals with his own prejudices and the rise of a Chinese crime lord. Starring Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane Koizumi, and Raymond J. Barry. Year of the Dragon is a hard-hitting yet wild film from Michael Cimino.
Set in the Chinatown section in New York City, the film is about a police captain who goes to war with the Chinese triad gang in the hope he can end the chaos that is emerging in the section following the death of a revered triad leader. Yet, Captain Stanley White (Mickey Rourke) is a former Vietnam veteran with some very racist attitudes towards Asians as he wants to hit triads very hard as he also deals with the rising triad boss Joey Tai (John Lone). Tai wants to change things in the way the triads deal with other business ventures as he finds a formidable opponent in Captain White. Tai’s ambitions would eventually alienate the triad elders while Captain White’s determination would also drive away those he cared for such as his wife Connie (Caroline Kava) where he would engage into an affair with the Chinese-American news reporter Tracy Tzu (Ariane Koizumi). It’s not just a film about ambition as well as a new world order taking out the old rules but it’s also a film where a man’s obsession has him lose sight of the good things in the world.
The film’s screenplay by Michael Cimino and Oliver Stone isn’t afraid to be controversial as some of its dialogue includes some very racist words about Asians and other races. Particularly as it Captain White is a man who is a very flawed individual as he often neglects his wife in a marriage that becomes very rocky while he is also very arrogant and confrontational towards his superiors. In some ways, White is a guy that seems to have a death wish about stopping every bad Chinese triad member and everyone till there is no more only to drive away the people who care about him. Once he is confronted by people who work for him or those who care about him, there is a side of White that is very sensitive as he tries to come to terms with his flaws and wants to do what is right. It’s part of the script’s brilliance to showcase this conflict in White as he wants to hold on to those he cares but he also wants to fight the never-ending battle against corruption and evil.
Then there’s Joey Tai as he is a young man with ambition as he realizes that the old ways of the Chinese triads are becoming dated as he wants to expand and evolve much to the dismay of his uncles who have become overwhelmed with the emerging chaos in Chinatown as young gang members kill with no remorse. For Tai, it’s a chance to have the Chinese be the new leaders of the crime underworld and no longer take a backseat to the Italians who often treated the triads as second-class citizens. There is a bit of mutual respect between Tai and White as they’re two men who are very uncompromising in everything they do. They don’t care for rules or what it takes to get things done yet they both stand for different ideas as White is a man of the law and Tai is on the other side where a collision is going to happen. It’s a film that moves back-and-forth into these two men where neither would budge forcing those who had been at their side to watch from the sidelines. Even as those that White had often criticized would fight back with some strong words about not what the Chinese brought to the world but also how they’ve managed to survive no matter what troubles they’ve encountered including prejudice.
Cimino’s direction is truly mesmerizing not just for the use of the 2:35:1 widescreen aspect ratio to capture every attention to detail in the frame. It’s also a film that doesn’t pull punches in terms of its violence and action as it has elements of gangster films and crime dramas of the past. Particularly in the look of its main characters as White sort of models himself as a detective of the 1940s but with the ruggedness of the 1970s while Tai is a man that recalls a more classical look but with a more modern attitude. While it is set largely in New York City, much of the film is shot in Wilmington, North Carolina as it dresses the Chinatown section as a colorful yet troubled world that is teetering on the edge of collapse. Much of Cimino’s compositions includes a lot of medium shots yet he manages to fill in a lot of coverage with the aspect ratio to play into the action and drama.
Some of which include some gazing tracking shot and some dolly shots to play into the drama such as this hypnotic scene where Tracy looks at New York City from her window as she walking slowly to look at the morning view. Some of the scenes set in Thailand has Cimino employ some wide shots that recall some of the epic-scale filmmaking of the 1960s to display Tai’s ambition. The direction gets more intense in the third act when White and Tai go head on as it includes this very gripping climax where the two men finally go to war as it recalls bits of the western and the gangster film all rolled into one. Overall, Cimino crafts a very visceral yet unflinching film about a cop’s ruthless obsession to stop an ambitious man’s rise to the top of the world.
Cinematographer Alex Thomson does excellent work with the film‘s colorful cinematography from the lush look of red in some of the interior scenes set in Chinatown along with exotic lights for the scenes in Tracy‘s apartment while a lot of the exterior scenes set in New York are grimy as Thomson‘s work is among one of the film‘s highlights. Editor Francoise Bonnot, with additional work from Noelle Boisson, does brilliant work with the editing with its unpredictable rhythms to play into some of the film‘s action and violent scenes while keeping things more simple for its dramatic moments. Production designer Wolf Kroeger and art director Victoria Paul do amazing work with the set pieces from some of the look of Chinatown as well as Tracy’s apartment plus some of the places like a restaurant and other places in the film.
Costume designer Marietta Ciriello does fantastic work with the costumes from the clothes the men wear along with the stylish look of Tracy to showcase her somewhat-posh persona. Sound editor James J. Klinger does superb work with the sound from the way some of the crowd scenes are captured to the sound effects of gunplay and such that occurs in the film. The film’s music by David Mansfield is incredible for its eerie orchestral pieces along with some plaintive and somber themes that also include some intense, Asian-based score cuts while the music soundtrack includes a few classical pieces and some Chinese pop songs.
The casting by Joanna Merlin is phenomenal as it features some notable small roles from Eddie Jones as the police captain that White replaces, Leonard Termo as White’s associate during the investigation, Mark Hammer as the police commissioner, Paul Scaglione as an aging Mafia boss, Mei Sheng Fan as a Thai crime boss that Tai meets, Ming C. Lee as the triad boss that is assassinated early in the film, and Joey Chin as the wild assassin Ronnie Yung. Victor Wong is terrific as Tai’s uncle Harry who becomes the new leader only to step down out for Joey as he becomes overwhelmed with the chaos that is emerging. Dennis Dun is excellent as the Chinese rookie cop Herbert Kwong as this young man who reluctantly works for White while having this great monologue about the Chinese and their contributions to the world as a way to put White in his place. Caroline Kava is wonderful as White’s long-suffering wife Connie who becomes frustrated with being neglected as well as his obsession to fight as she ponders about the state of their marriage.
Raymond J. Barry is superb as White’s superior/friend Bukowski as he tries to maintain some peace between the police and the triad as well as to get White to see some sense over the chaos he’s created. Ariane Koizumi is pretty good as news reporter Tracy Tzu as this ambitious woman that covers the chaos of what is happening as she engages into an affair with White while being frustrated over his attitude. John Lone is brilliant as Joey Tai as this ambitious and ruthless young triad boss who wants to create a new world order for the Chinese triad while doing what it takes to survive. Finally, there’s Mickey Rourke in a tremendous performance as Captain Stanley White as this flawed yet determined man who wants to take down the crime underworld at any cost as it’s a performance that is full of charm, wit, and humor as well as be extremely intense and terrifying as Rourke’s scenes with Lone are just exciting to watch.
Year of the Dragon is a remarkable film from Michael Cimino. Thanks to the top-notch performances of Mickey Rourke and John Lone as well as Alex Thomson’s fluid camera work and the hypnotic score of David Mansfield. The film is definitely one of Cimino’s finest films in his otherwise troubled career as it includes a smart and unflinching script co-written with Oliver Stone. It’s also a film that explores the world of prejudices, ambition, and obsession as it isn’t afraid to get down and dirty. In the end, Year of the Dragon is an incredible film from Michael Cimino.
Michael Cimino Films: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot - The Deer Hunter - Heaven’s Gate - The Sicilian - Desperate Hours (1990 film) - The Sunchaser - To Each His Own Cinema-No Translation Needed - The Auteurs #35: Michael Cimino
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by John Carpenter and screenplay by W.D. Richter from an original story by Gary Goldman and David Z. Weinstein, Big Trouble in Little China is about a trucker who helps his friend save his friend’s fiancee from a gang of mysterious Chinese bandits led by an ancient sorcerer. The film is a blend of fantasy and horror with a mix of comedy as it revels in mysticism, martial arts, and the absurd. Starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, Victor Wong, and James Hong. Big Trouble in Little China is a funny yet extremely-exciting film from John Carpenter.
Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) decides to help out his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) to help pick up Chi’s fiancee Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) at the airport so he can collect money he just won at a bet. An encounter with a Chinese street gang leads to Yin’s capture as Burton and Chi try to save her where they drive towards the San Franciscan area of Chinatown as they find themselves in a middle of a gang war that would later include three magicians and a sorcerer named Lo Pan (James Hong). Burton and Chi escape with the surviving members of the Chang Sing group as they hide out at a restaurant owned by Chi’s uncle as an American lawyer named Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) wants to help out along with Chi’s friend Eddie Lee (Donald Li) and the magician Egg Shen (Victor Wong) to see why Lo Pan is here.
Burton infiltrates a brothel to find Yin only to see her be captured by the three magicians under Lo Pan’s service Shen and Chi believes it’s all part of Lo Pan’s plan to regain his strength as a man of flesh as he continues to roam the Earth as a ghost only to stop the curse by marrying a woman with green eyes. Burton decides to join the plot to stop Lo Pan as he and Chi try to retrieve the captured Gracie and her journalist friend Margo (Kate Burton) as they infiltrate one of Lo Pan’s work shops where they meet Lo Pan as an aging, crippled man. Finally able to escape, things seem fine with Shen’s help until they realized that Gracie was captured by one of Lo Pan’s monster where Lo Pan notices that Gracie also sport green eyes. Shen, Chi, Burton, and the remaining members of the Chang Sing gang decide to battle Lo Pan and his army to save Gracie and Yin in an all-out war during Lo Pan’s wedding ceremony.
The film is essentially a story about a guy helping his friend to save his fiancee only to encounter all sorts of trouble in a violent street gang, three evil magicians, and a sorcerer who is trying to gain immortality by marrying a woman with green eyes and later sacrifice her. While the plot maybe simple, the screenplay makes it more than what the plot suggests since it is an adventure film mixed in with fantasy, martial arts, comedy, and bits of the western. Leading all of this is the film’s protagonist Jack Burton who is this street-tough kind of guy who may not have a lot of brains but does have enough guts to take on anything as all he wants is to get his truck back. Helping him is Wang Chi as he is essentially much smarter and far more skilled than Burton in terms of kicking ass and such where he also knows about the world that Burton is about to enter. The script also creates some intriguing ideas into the world of Chinese mysticism where it is essentially about good vs. evil.
John Carpenter’s direction is definitely a marvel to watch in the way he creates a film that essentially blends all sorts of genres though it largely takes place in San Francisco and its Chinatown area. Carpenter creates some amazing imagery in the film such as the scenes in the underground of Chinatown that is filled with strange monsters, eerie surroundings, and all of this mysticism that adds an element of horror to the story. Still, Carpenter manages to make the film be about a battle between good and evil where he creates these dazzling action sequences filled with sword fights and martial arts battle that is energetic while adding bits of humor to these moments. Overall, Carpenter creates a truly witty and fun film that refuses to take itself seriously and just let the audience have a good time.
Cinematographer Dean Cundey does amazing work with the film‘s photography from the more straightforward look of the locations in San Francisco to the more colorful look of Lo Pan‘s underground lair. Editors Steve Mirkovich, Mark Warner, and Edward A. Warschilka do fantastic work with the editing to utilize stylistic, rhythmic cuts for the film‘s action scenes while slowing things down in some of the film‘s suspenseful moments. Production designer John J. Lloyd, along with set decorator George R. Nelson and art director Les Gobruegge, does superb work with the set pieces from the places in Chinatown to the lair of Lo Pan that is filled with ancient Chinese artifacts and other dark places.
Costume designer April Ferry does nice work with the costumes from the more rugged look of Jack Burton to the more stylish clothes of Lo Pan and the bridal gowns that Gracie and Lin have to wear. Special effects makeup designer Steve Johnson and special effects supervisor Greg C. Jensen do terrific work with the film‘s special effects from the look of the monsters to some of the stranger moments involving those monsters. Sound recorder Robert Renga does wonderful work with the sound to capture atmosphere of the battle scenes as well as the more intimate moments involving the characters. The music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth is brilliant for its electronic-driven score to play up the dark mood of the film as well as more playful pieces to convey its humor.
The casting by Joanna Merlin is great for the ensemble that is created where it features some noteworthy small roles from Chao-Li Chi as Wang Chi’s uncle, Suzee Pai as Wang Chi’s fiancee Miao Yin, Kate Burton as the journalist Margo, Donald Li as Wang Chi’s friend Eddie Lee, Al Leong as one of Lo Pan’s man with a hatchet, and as the trio of the evil magicians, Carter Wong as Thunder, Peter Kwong as Rain, and James Pax as Lightning. James Hong is excellent as the villainous Lo Pan with his eerie makeup work and chilling presence while Victor Wong is wonderful as the more eccentric magician Egg Shen who adds a bit of humor the role. Dennis Dun is superb as Wang Chi as the guy who is more in control of everything he does as he’s determined to get his fiancee back. Kim Cattrall is wonderful as Gracie Law as Cattrall provides a woman who isn’t a pushover as she tries to help out Burton and Wang into defeating Lo Pan.
Finally, there’s Kurt Russell in a magnificent performance as Jack Burton. Russell displays a great sense of wit to the role where he adds a bit of a John Wayne drawl to the role while isn’t afraid to make a fool of himself. It’s a role that has Russell being very funny as well as being badass as it’s definitely one of his great performances.
Big Trouble in Little China is a marvelous film from John Carpenter that features an incredible performance from Kurt Russell. It’s a film that doesn’t take itself so seriously while giving audiences something to cheer for and have fun. It’s filled with lots of actions, comedy, and terror that provides enough entertainment for its audience. In the end, Big Trouble in Little China is a remarkable film from John Carpenter.
John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Prince of Darkness - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - Body Bags - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned (1995 film) - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward
The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2012
