From Here to Eternity

Based on the novel by James Jones, From Here to Eternity is the story of three U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Pearl Harbor months before the attack as they deal with tribulations of their environment as well as the women in their lives. Directed by Fred Zinneman and screenplay by Daniel Taradash, the film is a look into the lives of soldiers as they deal with some of the cruelty of their work as a couple of men find themselves wanting a life outside of war. Starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden, Mickey Shaughnessy, Claude Akins, George Reeves, and Frank Sinatra. From Here to Eternity is a ravishing yet compelling film from Fred Zinneman.

Set months before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the film revolves around a tough but fair sergeant who watches over a company that includes a new transfer and a fellow soldier who find themselves at odds with non-commissioned officers. It’s a film that play into the lives of three different men who are part of the same company as they deal with hazing and all sorts of things while two of them would find love during their time. Daniel Taradash’s screenplay does have a straightforward narrative that follows the lives of these three men as they deal with their duties at the Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Leading the company is First Sergeant Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) who is the second in command to a rifle company that is mainly run by Captain Dana “Dynamite” Holmes (Philip Ober).

New to the company is Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) who was a bugler but is transferred hoping to do something else though Captain Holmes is aware that Private Prewitt is a boxer and hopes he can box for the company so he would get a promotion. For Private Prewitt, he isn’t interested in boxing due to actions that he committed as he’s consumed with guilt where Captain Holmes want to get other non-commissioned officers to make things tough for him to get him to box. Private Prewitt does get sympathy from another rebel of sorts in Private Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra) who is urging Private Prewitt to stay out of trouble but knows that Prewitt is being pushed. During the days where they would get day-leaves from service where Maggio is a member of an exclusive club, Prewitt meets a paid dancer in Lorene (Donna Reed whom he falls for and would have a relationship with. For Warden, he would engage into an affair with Captain Holmes’ wife Karen (Deborah Kerr) as she is known for a having a seedy reputation as Warden discovers that it’s actually much more complicated.

Fred Zinneman’s direction is largely straightforward in terms of the compositions yet it does play into this moment in time just before war is to happen in America. Shot on location in Honolulu and other parts of Hawaii, the film does play into a world of military service where it is set in this lovely and vibrant island but it’s not exactly what it seems. While Zinneman would use some wide shots to establish bits of the location as well as a few places the characters go to. Much of his direction is more based on medium shots and close-ups to play into the drama and the interaction between characters. Particularly a scene between Warden and Karen during a night out as it would lead to one of the most iconic moments in film as it play into this emerging romance and passion these two have for each other despite the complications that both of them have to carry in their secret affair. Zinneman’s direction also play into soldiers and the tension they have with their non-commissioned superiors such as Maggio towards the brutal Staff Sgt. James R. Judson (Ernest Borgnine) who runs the stockade.

Even as Prewitt is being pushed to try and submit to Captain Holmes’ wishes to box for his company with others making him do things as Zinneman doesn’t shy away from the awful treatment Prewitt is given. The third act isn’t just about the mistreatment of Prewitt and Maggio but also Warden realizing it’s gone far enough though he would try to persuade the former to just give in and save face while knowing that Prewitt is stubborn. It also play into the decisions Warden and Prewitt have about their possible life outside of duty as it relates to their respective relationships with Karen and Lorene. Even as the two women have ideas of what they should do but also what they want for themselves as there is this conflict that Zinneman would convey into a world that is full of love and safety or the world of duty. Overall, Zinneman crafts a captivating and evocative film about three soldiers dealing with their world just before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Cinematographer Burnett Guffey, with additional work from Floyd Crosby, does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white cinematography as it play into the beauty of the daytime exteriors of Hawaii as well as the usage of low-key lights for the exterior scenes at night. Editor William A. Lyon does excellent work with the editing as it is feature some rhythmic cuts to play into some of the drama as well as these intense moments of confrontation between the protagonists and the non-commissioned officers. Art director Cary Odell and set decorator Frank Tuttle do fantastic work with the look of the nightclub that Maggio is a member of as well as the bars at the city and the interior of the barracks.

Costume designer Jean Louis does amazing work with the design of the dresses and gowns that Lorene and Karen wear as well as the casual clothes they would wear at home. The sound work of John P. Livadary is terrific for its sound in capturing the sound of soldiers marching as well as air sirens and bugles being heard from afar. The film’s music by George Duning is wonderful for its serene and sweeping orchestral score that play into some of the romantic elements of the film while providing some more rhythmic pieces for some of the suspense and scenes at the military station.

The casting by Maxwell Arnow is superb as it feature some notable small roles from Claude Akins as Warden’s friend Sgt. “Baldy” Dohm, Robert J. Wilke as Sgt. Henderson, George Reeves as Warden’s assistant Sgt. Maylon Stark, Jack Warden as Corporal Buckley who is trying to help Prewitt in not get anymore hazing, Harry Bellaver as Private 1st Class Mazzioli, Mickey Shaughnessy as Sgt. Leva who always carries a guitar, John Dennis as the brutish Sgt. Galovitch who tries to push Prewitt, and Ernest Borgnine in a terrific performance as the brutal Staff Sgt. James R. “Fatso” Judson who has issues with Maggio where he also runs the stockade as he is this sadistic figure that likes to push people around including Maggio in the worst way. Philip Ober is fantastic as Captain Dana “Dynamite” Holmes as an officer that wants to haze Prewitt so harshly so that Prewitt would give in and box for him as he’s a man that wants glory but is also flawed for being neglectful in his home life in favor of other activities.

Frank Sinatra is excellent as Private Angelo Maggio as a soldier who is in training for combat while doing other duties such as clean-ups and such as he’s also a man that likes to have fun but doesn’t like being pushed around as it is Sinatra in great form. Donna Reed is brilliant as Lorene as a woman at an exclusive club who is paid to dance with other men as she embarks on a relationship with Prewitt while admitting to having her own ideas of what she wants to do with her life as it’s a performance that is filled with layers and complexities on a role that could’ve been one-dimensional as Reed just manages to hit every note that is needed for that character. Deborah Kerr is amazing as Karen Holmes as the neglected wife of Captain Holmes as a woman that is aware of what others said about her as she has her reasons while is eager to leave her husband for something much better though she has a hard time understanding Warden’s reluctance in the idea of being an officer.

Montgomery Clift is incredible as Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt as a new transfer who endures a brutal hazing from non-commissioned officers so he can give and become Captain Holmes’ top boxer as he displays someone who is stubborn in refusing to give in while having valid reasons for not wanting to fight as it’s a riveting and complex performance from Clift. Finally, there’s Burt Lancaster in a phenomenal performance as 1st Sgt. Milton Warden as a man who runs the infantry company for Captain Holmes as he is tough but fair as he doesn’t like what others are doing to Prewitt and Maggio while he also copes with his love for Karen whom he wants to help but struggles with his devotion to his work as a soldier as it’s an iconic performance from Lancaster.

From Here to Eternity is a tremendous film from Fred Zinneman. Featuring a great ensemble cast, a compelling premise, gorgeous visuals, and a sublime music score, the film is definitely a riveting war drama that play into men dealing with the conflict of duty and love just before World War II was to come onto their turf. It’s also an unconventional war drama in some respects as it play into what men will not do to answer to those that want to break their spirit. In the end, From Here to Eternity is a spectacular film from Fred Zinneman.

Fred Zinneman Films: (Redes) - (That Mothers Might Live) - (Stuffie) - (Forbidden Passage) - (Kid Glove Killer) - (Eyes in the Night) - (The Seventh Cross) - (My Brother Talks to Horses) - (The Search) - (Act of Violence) - (The Men (1950 film)) - (Benjy) - (Teresa) – High Noon - (Oklahoma!) - (A Hatful of Rain) - (The Nun’s Story) - (The Sundowners) - (Behold a Pale Horse) - (A Man For All Seasons) - (The Day of the Jackal) - (Julia) - (Five Days One Summer)

© thevoid99 2018

Convoy (1978 film)

Directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Bill L. Norton, Convoy is the story of a group of truckers who band together to do a convoy and deal with a corrupt sheriff. Based on C.W. McCall song of the same name and the CB radio-fad of the 1970s, the film is an action-adventure film that revolves around the craze into a road-like adventure. Starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Burt Young, Madge Sinclair, Franklyn Ajaye, Burt Young, Seymour Cassel, and Ernest Borgnine. Convoy is a silly and uninteresting film from Sam Peckinpah.

The film follows around a trucker whose encounters with a corrupt sheriff forces him to create a convoy from Arizona to Texas in order to avoid persecution during a brawl at a restaurant. It’s a film with a simple story but it never makes sense into what is going on into why these truckers are doing a convoy across the American Southwest while trying to avoid the authorities. The film’s screenplay has a lot that is happening but it often feels very derivative of the car chase films of the 1970s. Most notably Smokey and the Bandit but with lots of trucks and a more devious antagonist as it never really provides any idea of what these truckers are doing a convoy for as its protagonist Rubber Duck (Kris Kristofferson) becomes some unlikely folk hero. Though Rubber Duck is definitely the most interesting character of the film along with a few fellow truckers, they’re not given much to do or be fleshed out more while Duck’s traveling companion in a photographer Melissa (Ali MacGraw) is just some love interest.

While there are elements in Sam Peckinpah’s direction that bear some of his visual trademark in terms of his elaborate action set pieces and slow-motion approach to action. Yet, it feels quite derivative as it goes overboard and doesn’t really do much to help tell the story while it is clear that there was some tampering into what Peckinpah was trying to do. While there are some wide shots of the locations with some second unit direction provided by James Coburn. The direction is often focused on close-ups and medium shots to capture what goes on inside a truck as well as the world of the truck stops and camps where they go into. Yet, they don’t really do much visually where Peckinpah wanted to balance not just some of the action but also the humor as the latter feels forced. When it reaches it climax in this showdown between Rubber Duck and the sheriff known as Cottonmouth (Ernest Borgnine), it does feel quite derivative as it is overly stylized and it is followed by something that is quite lame as it pertains to its ending which is definitely something Peckinpah doesn’t do. Overall, Peckinpah creates a messy and ridiculous film about a trucker leading a convoy against a vile sheriff.

Cinematographer Harry Stradling Jr. does nice work with the film’s cinematography as it play into the gorgeous sunny locations of the American Southwest in the day along with some lighting for the scenes set at night. Editors Garth Craven and John Wright do OK work with the editing where it does showcase what is happening yet its approach in the slow-motion cuts and some of the fast-cutting is just downright terrible. Production designer Fernando Carrere, with set decorator Frank Lombardo and art director J. Dennis Washington, does nice work with some of the interior of the trucks and truck stops as well as the truckers‘ camp in the film‘s second half. Sound mixer William Randall does some fine work with the sound as it play into the way the horns sound as well as the truck engines and other moments involving the action. The film’s music by Chip Davis is pretty good for its mixture of orchestral music with bits of country to play into the world of the American Southwest while music supervisor Bill Fries creates a soundtrack filled with music from Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Crystal Gayle, Kenny Rogers, Doc Watson, Anne Murray, and a new version of the titular song by C.W. McCall.

The casting by Lynn Stalmaster is superb for the ensemble that is created despite its lackluster script as it feature some notable small roles from Jorge Russek as a brutal sheriff from Texas, Tommy Bush as a sheriff trying to help Cottonmouth, Donnie Fritts as the Reverend Sloane who rides a bus and joins the convoy with his band of hippie churchgoers, Cassie Yates as Rubber Duck’s waitress girlfriend Violet, and Seymour Cassel as New Mexico governor Jerry Haskins who wants to use Rubber Duck for his own political campaign for the senate. Franklyn Ajaye and Madge Sinclair are good in their respective roles as the African-American truckers Spider Mike and Widow Woman with the former wanting to get home to his wife for the birth of his child and the latter being this quirky, Rastafarian-type of gal.

Burt Young is terrific as Bobby aka Pig Pen/Love Machine as the comic relief who is also a realist as he is this trucker that knows what is going on and can smell bullshit from miles away. Ernest Borgnine is terrible as the sheriff Cottonmouth as a sheriff that is quite dark yet is often seen as a comic foil as Borgnine is unfortunately put into some very humiliating moments. Ali MacGraw is uninspired as Melissa as a photographer with a bad haircut who is just there as a reluctant love interest that is trying to understand what Rubber Duck is doing as it’s just a badly written character. Finally, there’s Kris Kristofferson in a wonderful performance as Rubber Duck as a truck driver who has had enough of Cottonmouth’s abusive attitude as he decides to go on the run unaware that he’s created a convoy even though it’s a role that isn’t well-written either.

Convoy is a pretty bad film from Sam Peckinpah that bear little of his oeuvre as well as the fact that it’s just a film based on a fucking novelty song. It’s a film for anyone interested in the CB craze of the 70s might want to take an interest in but this is definitely an inessential film from Peckinpah as it shows a director not in total control. In the end, Convoy is just a terrible 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 - Cross of Iron - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2016

Escape from New York

Directed by John Carpenter and written by Carpenter and Nick Castle, Escape from New York is the story of a former soldier who is tasked to rescue the President of the United States of America in a crime-ridden world in 22 hours. Set in a futuristic and dystopian New York City, the film is an exploration into the world of terror and chaos where a man named Snake Plissken has to save the day as he’s played by Kurt Russell. Also starring Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau, Harry Dean Stanton, and Donald Pleasance as the President. Escape from New York is a riveting and exciting film from John Carpenter.

After a massive rise in crime in America which led a mass evacuation of Manhattan Island in New York City where the island has become a prison. The film revolves around a former soldier who is asked to rescue the President of the United States of America whose plan has crashed in Manhattan Island after it was hijacked by a terrorist group. It’s a film that isn’t just a rescue movie but also a dystopian film of sorts as it plays into this renegade named Snake Plissken who has 22 hours to save the President who is supposed to give a speech in the hopes of ending a conflict with China and the Soviet Union. Upon arriving to Manhattan where he is also carrying a virus that would kill him if he doesn’t bring the President in time, Plissken also has to endure the many things that goes on in Manhattan including a prison leader known as the Duke (Isaac Hayes).

The film’s screenplay by John Carpenter and Nick Castle play into the stakes of what is going on as it is clear how troubled the United States is where everything outside of Manhattan Island is surrounded by a wall. Attempts to escape the island means certain death as anyone who is in the island is stuck no matter who that person is. This would add a lot to what is happening in the film as retrieving the President in an island full of criminals as he’s not the only one that isn’t safe but anyone else who tries to help him is safe. This prompts the country’s top police chief in Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) to bring in Plissken who was a former soldier that was just convicted for a robbery attempt on a Federal Reserves building. Plissken however is reluctant to do the job which plays into the complexity of his character as he is essentially a loner that is very distrustful of government and authority.

Once the second act is set in the island, it is clear that Plissken is in a world that is very different but is able to deal with the situation. It’s just that he’s dealing with people who are essentially nutcases as well as someone like the Duke who runs the city though there are a few such as a cab driver (Ernest Borgnine), an old friend of his named Brain (Harry Dean Stanton) who is the Duke’s advisor, and Brain’s girlfriend Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau). There, Plissken would have to survive with their help to save the President but it’s not just the life of the President that is at stake but also what he is carrying his briefcase which would play to the fate of the world.

Carpenter’s direction is very entrancing from the way he opens the film to the moment he reveals what goes on when a couple of men try to escape the island. It sets the tone for what is to come as there is this element of suspense once it becomes clear that the President is in the island and being held hostage. While much of the film is actually shot on locations in St. Louis and Los Angeles plus a few moments in New York City and Atlanta with additional scenes set in soundstages. It would play into the sense of despair that is in Manhattan where it looks like a city in complete ruins and being out on the street at night is very dangerous where no one is safe. Carpenter’s usage of wide and medium shots help play into that sense of danger while he also knows how to build suspense into what Plissken is saying.

While the film may be a futuristic sci-fi dystopian film, it has elements of the western since it involves some showdowns and a man’s instinct to survive. At the same time, Carpenter creates these moments where the violence is disconcerting but not really graphic as it’s more about what could happen and how far some are willing to go. The film’s climax where Plissken and the President are escaping is quite thrilling as it plays to not just the sense of danger of the island itself but what will happen there are those who will try to find a way to try and reach the wall. It does lead into an aftermath that plays into not what Plissken was doing but also into the fact that he realizes that there is a bigger picture which doesn’t really involve him. Instead, it plays into his own cynicism and how he would contend with that. Overall, Carpenter creates a gripping yet adventurous film about a renegade who goes to Manhattan to save the President from a bunch of crazed thugs.

Cinematographer Dean Cundey does excellent work with the film‘s very dark yet eerie cinematography which plays into many of the interior/exterior scenes where a lot of it is set at night with some more vibrant colors for some of the daytime sequences. Editor Todd Ramsay does amazing work with the editing as much of it is straightforward to help build up the film‘s suspense along with some fast-paced rhythmic cuts for the action sequences. Production designer Joe Alves and set decorator Cloudia Rebar do fantastic work with the look of New York City as well as the scenes set in the prison base.

Costume designer Stephen Loomis does nice work with the costumes as it‘s quite stylish in the ragged looks of Plissken and the characters at the island. Special effects supervisor Roy Arbogast and the visual effects work of William L. Arcane do terrific work with some of the effects for some of the film‘s action scenes as well as some computer-based images that includes some contributions by James Cameron on the special effects. Sound editor Warren Hamilton Jr does superb work with the sound to play into some of the sound effects and eerie tone for the scenes set in the island to play up its suspense. The film’s music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth is brilliant as it is largely an electronic-based score with low-key yet brooding synthesizers to play into the mood of the film while the soundtrack features the swing classic Bandstand Boogie which the cab driver likes to play.

The film’s cast is incredible as it features some notable small roles from wrestler Ox Baker as a man Plissken must fight in the island, Frank Doubleday as the Duke’s assistant Romero, Tom Atkins as Hauk’s assistant Rehme, Charles Cypher as the Secretary of State, Season Hubley as young woman Plissken meets at the island, and voice appearances from producer Debra Hill as a computer and Jamie Lee Curtis as the film’s opening narrator. Adrienne Barbeau is fantastic as Maggie as Brain’s girlfriend who aids Plissken in getting the President while Harry Dean Stanton is superb as Plissken’s old friend Brain who also helps as he realize what is at stake while being one of the few that knows how to get out of the island. Ernest Borgnine is excellent as an old cab driver Plissken encounters as he knows where to go and such as he would also provide some key things in the rescue.

Lee Van Cleef is brilliant as Bob Hauk as the prison supervisor who asks for Plissken’s help knowing that he’s the only one that can do the job right as he also deals with the situation that is at hand. Isaac Hayes is amazing as the Duke of New York as a gang leader who holds the President hostage as he uses him as bait so he can get amnesty for himself and the other prisoners. Donald Pleasance is marvelous as the President as the leader who becomes a hostage as he tries to hold on to the contents of the briefcase which plays into what he really wants to do to end a worldwide conflict. Finally, there’s Kurt Russell in a phenomenal performance as Snake Plissken as this former soldier turned criminal who reluctantly takes the job to save the President for a pardon as he deals with his situation as well as what is at stake as he also carries a virus that will kill him. It’s a performance from Russell that is full of restraint but also a sense of cool as it is one of his most iconic performances of his career.

Escape from New York is a spectacular film from John Carpenter that features a tremendous performance from Kurt Russell. The film isn’t just one of the most intriguing rescue/dystopian films ever made but also one of the most exciting in terms of its action and suspense. Even as it features one of the greatest anti-heroes to be presented in cinema in the character of Snake Plissken. In the end, Escape from New York is a rapturous film from John Carpenter.

John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - 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 2015

Gattaca

Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, Gattaca is the story of a young man who hopes to travel to outer space despite dealing with prejudice as he hides his genetic imperfections in a futuristic world where science determines who can succeed or not. The film is a mixture of sci-fi with elements of drama and mystery as it also relates to this young man who pretends to be another as he becomes a murder suspect. Starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Loren Dean, Alan Arkin, Ernest Borgnine, Blair Underwood, Xander Berkley, Tony Shalhoub, Elias Koteas, and Gore Vidal. Gattaca is a riveting and evocative film from Andrew Niccol.

Set in a futuristic world where science determines one’s fate and when will that person die, the film revolves a young man who was conceived with genetic imperfections as he pretends to be another man in the hopes that he can travel to outer space. At the same time, he becomes a suspect over the death of mission control director as he learns that his younger brother is the detective leading the case. It’s a film that plays into this man who tries to prove that anything is possible in a world where one’s blood-type, urine sample, and such don’t determine one’s outcome. Yet, it is told from this man whose real name is Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) who would take the guise of another man in Jerome Morrow (Jude Law) who would aid Vincent in achieving his dream.

Andrew Niccol’s screenplay is told largely from Vincent’s perspective as it begins with him learning that is one week away from actually achieving his dream to go into outer space. Yet, a simple eyelash found during the murder of the mission control director would be the one thing that might stop him as its first act reveals not just Vincent’s conception but also how he was already determined by science into when he will die and what ailments he will have. Once his younger brother Anton (Loren Dean) is born and is promised all of the things that Vincent will never have because Anton was conceived through genetic selection instead of the natural conception that brought Vincent into the world. Yet, it would be a simple swimming game of chicken where Vincent realizes that anything is possible as he would meet the paralyzed Jerome who was once a swimming star and take on Jerome’s identity while the real Jerome would provide the urine and blood samples Vincent would need.

Once Vincent’s story into how he became Jerome takes up much of the film’s first act, the second act does have a shift in tone where it becomes a mystery as Vincent not only deals with being a suspect but also falls in love with a co-worker in Irene Cassini (Uma Thurman) who is a valid but is unable to travel due to her own heart issues. Yet, she would learn firsthand about who Vincent really is just as Anton suspects that his own brother is the killer due to the loose eyelash from Vincent though Anton isn’t sure since he believes his brother had already died. Especially as his partner Hugo (Alan Arkin) looks into other possibilities as it relates to the prejudices that is hinged upon society where even Jerome was affected by it as he had all of the potential in the world to succeed but failure only made him bitter and depressed. Even as he copes with the pressure that was put upon him making him and Vincent equal of sorts.

Niccol’s direction is truly mesmerizing in terms of not just the compositions but also in presenting a futuristic sci-fi film without the need to make it totally futuristic. Much of it has Niccol shooting on various locations in California through some amazing architectural designs that does give the film a somewhat futuristic look. Niccol’s rich compositions and the way he places some of the wide shots definitely add something that a look that sort of makes it futuristic while he also goes for these kind of intricate crowd shots of exactly what Vincent does when he’s at work as it sort of plays into something that feels bureaucratic in some respects. Especially as Vincent would get a glimpse of how those with perfect genes would live and how he as an invalid would have to live and work where he would start off cleaning windows and then find his way to be part of this space program.

Niccol’s approach to close-up and medium shots are also entrancing as it also includes a few handheld moments such as a chase scene involving Vincent, Irene, and Anton. It plays into not just some of the mystery but also the drama and romance as well as Niccol’s approach to framing the actors where the flashback scenes involving a young Vincent and Anton where Vincent is in the foreground while Anton and their parents are in the background. It establishes how disconnected Vincent is with his own family as well as the world he lives in as the third act showcases him not only trying to reveal some truth to those close to him. Especially as it revealed exactly how he managed to defy the odds in a world that prevents him from achieving his dreams. Overall, Niccol creates a compelling and ravishing film about a young man prejudiced in a futuristic world where science determines one’s fate.

Cinematographer Slawomir Idziak does phenomenal work with the film’s very colorful cinematography with its usage of filters and lighting schemes for some of the film’s interiors while maintaining something that is quite ethereal in its images as it’s among one of the film’s major highlights. Editor Lisa Zeno Churgin does excellent work with the editing as it is quite stylish with some of its rhythmic cuts and usage of dissolves to play into the drama and suspense. Production designer Jan Roefls, with set decorator Nancy Nye and art director Sarah Knowles, does amazing work with the set design from the look of Jerome‘s home as well as the building where Vincent would work as Jerome along with the nightclubs and such the two would go to. Costume designer Colleen Atwood does fantastic work with the costumes from the suits that Vincent and Jerome would wear as well as the trench coat/fedora look of Anton‘s partner Hugo and the dresses that Irene would wear.

Makeup supervisor Ve Neill and key hair stylist Bette Iverson do terrific work with the look of Vincent prior to meeting Jerome and how they would have the same haircut. Visual effects supervisor Jerry Pooler does nice work with some of the minimal visual effects as it relates to spaceship that Vincent wants to board into. Sound editor Richard King does superb work with the sound to play into some of the chaotic elements of the film along with some of the textures that Vincent would endure in his training. The film’s music by Michael Nyman is incredible for its lush orchestral score with elements of minimalist and soft piano textures as it plays into the drama

The casting by Francine Maisler is marvelous as it features notable small roles from Dean Norris as a beat cop, Ken Marino as a sequencing technician, Maya Rudolph as a delivery nurse, Gabrielle Reece as a trainer where Vincent works at, Vincent Nielson and William Lee Scott in respective versions of the adolescent and teenage Anton, Mason Gamble and Chad Christ in the respective version of the adolescent and teenage Vincent, Blair Underwood as a geneticist, Jayne Brook as Vincent and Anton’s mother who loves both sons as she ponders what Vincent will do, and Elias Koteas as Vincent and Anton’s father who seems to favor Anton more than Vincent as he wants his eldest to be more realistic in his dreams. Tony Shalhoub is terrific in a small role as a mysterious man who would help Vincent attain the look and genetics to be Vincent.

Ernest Borgnine is superb as an invalid named Caesar who leads the clean-up crew as he tells Vincent not to clean too well as he would later provide evidence into who might be the killer not knowing that Jerome is really Vincent. Gore Vidal is excellent as the mission flight director Josef who tries to deal with the murder in his building while aiding the detectives. Xander Berkley is amazing as Dr. Lamar who would interview Vincent for the job as he looks into many background checks as it’s a very low-key yet mesmerizing performance. Alan Arkin is fantastic as Detective Hugo as an old-school detective who aids Anton into finding the killer as he initially suspects the invalid Vincent while he goes into looking for other clues. Loren Dean is brilliant as Anton as Vincent’s younger brother who has become a detective as he realizes Vincent is a suspect while wondering if his brother is really alive when he was supposed to.

Jude Law is incredible as Jerome as a former swimming star who has become paralyzed as he aids Vincent in achieving his dream while revealing what happened when he became paralyzed as it showcased how much he and Vincent have in common. Uma Thurman is remarkable as Irene as a woman who works with Vincent as she falls for him unaware of who he really is as she would also make some major discoveries of her own while revealing her own flaws in her genes despite being valid. Finally, there’s Ethan Hawke in a phenomenal performance as Vincent Freeman as a man who was conceived naturally with genetic flaws as he is determined to buck an unjust system while coping with his own ailments as well as what he had to do to overcome them.

Gattaca is a spectacular from Andrew Niccol that features great performances from Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. It’s a film that isn’t just a compelling and provocative sci-fi drama but also a film that explores the ideas of what happens if science determines one’s fate. In the end, Gattaca is an enchantingly rich and tremendous film from Andrew Niccol.

© thevoid99 2015

2014 Cannes Marathon: Marty

(Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Delbert Mann and written by Paddy Chayefsky, Marty is the story about a lonely butcher whose life changes when he falls in love with a woman much to the dismay of his family and friends. The film is an exploration into a man trying to make changes in his life as he is played by Ernest Borgnine. Also starring Betsy Blair, Joe Mantell, Karen Steele, and Jerry Paris. Marty is an extraordinary film from Delbert Mann.

Told in the span of 48 hours, the film explores the life of a lonely butcher who is in his mid-30s and is convinced that he will never marry as he still lives with his mother (Esther Minciotti) while his younger siblings have already married. On one night where he reluctantly goes out, he meets a 29-year old schoolteacher named Clara (Betsy Blair) who came to the dancehall on a blind date as she and Marty would spend much of the night talking as friends wonder where he is while Marty’s mother would briefly meet Clara as it would play to all of her doubts about this young woman. It’s a film that plays into a man and a woman who both seem to have given up on the idea of a future until they meet and become comfortable with one another.

While Paddy Chayefsky’s script doesn’t have much of a plot, it makes up for it with its very strong dialogue as it explores Marty’s reluctance to go out as he been rejected numerous of times. At the urging of his mother and cousin Tommy (Jerry Paris), Marty would go to the Stardust dancehall with his friend Angie (Joe Mantell) as it’s another night of being rejected and such. Clara would arrive on a blind date as her date would leave her for another woman as the guy had earlier asked Marty to take her home for $5 which Marty refused. Marty would look at Clara as she left to go outside as he asked her to dance. While Marty nor Clara are the most attractive people in the room, they do manage to have personality as well as share their own anxieties about leaving their parents and move on to do something as adults.

There is also a subplot in the film as it relates to Tommy’s mother Catherine (Augusta Ciolli) who doesn’t get along with her daughter-in-law Virginia (Karen Steele) as Tommy asks Marty and his mother if his Catherine can stay with them. It would play into the idea about what if Marty did find someone as Catherine would put some thoughts into her sister’s head. Just as Marty seemed to have the best night of his life and a hopeful future, his mother and his friends would try to put doubts into his head.

Delbert Mann’s direction is pretty simple as it doesn’t play to any sense of style in favor of something more engaging in its approach to drama. Particularly as he shoots the film entirely on location in the Bronx while adding something that felt like audiences can relate to. Most of the compositions include a lot of medium shots and close-ups as Mann maintains that sense of intimacy in the direction as well as create some melodrama that isn’t too over-the-top. There are bits of humor such as Marty constantly talking and apologizing for talking so much as it is this nice mix of humor and light drama. Yet, the drama would become prevalent in the final moments as family and friends try to put doubt into Marty’s newfound happiness as it’s ending is a powerful one. Overall, Mann creates a very rich and captivating film about a lonely man finding hope in a woman who shares his own idea on loneliness.

Cinematographer Joseph LaShelle does excellent work with the black-and-white cinematography to play into the look of the interior and exterior scenes at night with its array of stylish lighting. Editor Alan Crosland Jr. does nice work with the editing as it’s mostly straightforward yet effective in its approach to drama while using a few transitional wipes for stylistic reasons. Art directors Ted Haworth and Walter M. Simonds, with set decorator Robert Priestly, do fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of the house Marty and his mother live in to the dancehall where he meets Clara.

Costume designer Norma Koch does terrific work with the costumes from the suit that Marty wears to the plain dress that Clara wears. Sound recorders Roger Heman Sr. and John K. Kean do superb work with the sound from the way the dancehall sounds to the quieter moments in the streets of the Bronx. The film’s music by Roy Webb is wonderful for its somber orchestral music to play into some of the drama as well as some upbeat pieces for the humor as it also features some jazz pieces in the film.

The film’s marvelous cast includes some notable performances from Augusta Ciolli as Marty’s very annoyed aunt Catherine, Esther Minciotti as his mother who ponders about being alone as she would briefly meet Clara, Jerry Paris as Marty’s accountant cousin Tommy who is a mama’s boy, Karen Steele as Tommy’s wife Virginia who wants to have her own life with Tommy and their newborn son, and Joe Mantell as Marty’s friend Angie who always try to set up him with girls only to find himself all alone when Marty meets Clara. Betsy Blair is amazing as Clara as this shy, plain schoolteacher who reluctantly accepts a blind date while finding someone in Marty that she can be comfortable with as it gives her some hope. Finally, there’s Ernest Borgnine in a remarkable performance as the titular character as this man who had been through enough rejection and heartache as he finally meets his soul mate in one unlikely night as it gives him hope and also ideas of what he wants to do with his future as it’s Borgnine at his best.

Marty is an excellent film from Delbert Mann that features an incredible performance from Ernest Borgnine in the titular role. Along with a wonderful supporting performance from Betsy Blair and Paddy Chayefsky’s screenplay, it’s a film that explores loneliness and the fear of adulthood while also being a hopeful film. In the end, Marty is a superb film from Delbert Mann.

© thevoid99 2014

Johnny Guitar

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 4/12/09 w/ Additional Edits.

Though beloved by Europeans and other film directors in the U.S., Nicholas Ray is considered by some an outsider of Hollywood. Even after his peak in the 1950s, he tried to get projects going but without Hollywood's support. It would be those in the French and German New Wave that would help bring attention to Ray's work throughout the years to a new generation of film buffs. Though Ray's death in 1979 was a huge loss, his legacy was still insatiable to film buffs and aspiring film directors. In 1954, Ray made a western that some considered to be one of his greatest films before the popularity of his 1955 film A Rebel Without A Cause.

Directed by Nicholas Ray based on Roy Chanslor's novel, Johnny Guitar tells the story of changing times in the Arizona cattle community in the Old West. With a screenplay by Phillip Yordan (and an un-credited Ben Maddow due to the blacklist of the 1950s), the film features a female protagonist, an oddity in the Western genre, as she fights authority against those threatening her saloon and town with help from an old lover. Starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Ernest Borgnine, Royal Dano, Scott Brady, Ben Cooper, Ward Bond, and Mercedes McCambridge. Johnny Guitar is a thrilling, melodramatic masterpiece from Nicholas Ray.

It's a windy day in an Arizona desert as a man named Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) arrives to a saloon outside of a cattle town. Inside the saloon, Johnny asks for whiskey and the saloon's boss who turns out to be a woman name Vienna (Joan Crawford). Vienna is currently in a meeting with Mr. Andrews (Rhys Williams) about the railroad building nearby her saloon. She is aware that with the railroad, her saloon will be booming with business along with a town set to be built that she'll share with the people working at her saloon. Then comes the arrival of Marshall Williams (Frank Ferguson) and cattle baron John McIvers (Ward Bond) as they bring the body of a dead man. The body is the brother of a woman named Emma (Mercedes McCambridge) who has deep hatred for Vienna.

Claiming that an associate of Vienna in the Dancin' Kid (Scott Brady) and his gang of hooligans were responsible for the death of Emma's brother. The Dancin' Kid and his gang arrive denying the whole affair as they ask Johnny Guitar who reveals that it couldn't be true. McIvers decided to ban gambling outside of the town as he gives Vienna a day to leave town. Vienna refuses as Johnny helps smooth things though he gets into a fight with one of the Dancin' Kid's men in Bart (Ernest Borgnine). When Johnny is revealed to be a master gunslinger after a duel of sorts with another of the Kid's men in Turkey (Ben Cooper). It's clear that Johnny has a past with Vienna as they were once lovers as he is hired to add protection from the angry cattlemen wanting to get rid of her. With the Dancin' Kid and his gang blamed for the death of Emma's brother, they decide to leave town but rob the bank first in order to get attention.

At the day of the robbery, Vienna is there getting her money out as they arrive minutes after her arrival. Yet, Vienna tries to get the Kid to not rob the bank but he and the gang leave to try to go to California. Instead, things go wrong due to explosions at the mountains that leaves Turkey wounded as the Kid is forced to leave Turkey behind. After paying off several of her employees to leave, Johnny reluctantly leaves as Emma, McIver, and the Marshall with their posse arrive to find the wounded Turkey under a table. After Vienna's employee Tom (John Carradine) tried to save her, Vienna and Turkey are taken where they're to be hanged. Johnny saves Vienna as the two hide out at the Kid's hiding place where the Kid, Bart, and Corey (Royal Dano) are hiding as well. With Johnny's real identity is revealed, things go wrong when Emma finds the hideout as she challenges Vienna to a duel.

While having a female lead instead of a male for the western genre in the 1950s seems radical. Yet, screenwriters Phillip Yordan and Ben Maddow, and director Nicholas Ray creates a western that is unique while playing around with its structure. Notably the ideas of conflict, bank robberies, and of course, a climatic duel at the end. What Yordan, Maddow, and Ray went for to make this film seem unconventional is the sense of melodrama as well as some political commentary that was going on in the McCarthy era. The story is simple. A woman runs a saloon by herself hoping to make some big money once the railroad comes in near her saloon. Yet, the nearby town where she has her money in a bank account seems threatened by it since they won't get a share of the money.

While the script delves into its political commentary through stylish dialogue and conflict between Vienna and the cattlemen. It's the direction of Nicholas Ray that is unique as it's told through melodrama. In the westerns, men are often the dominant figures in that genre. What Ray does is have the women take charge and they're not likeable women. Vienna is first scene where pants and shirt with a gun belt around her waist where she's often shown with a scowl on her face. She rarely displays any kind of emotions except when she's dealing with her past with Johnny. Then there's Emma, a woman who is mean as a bull as her hatred of Emma is more personal than anything. For all the men around her, they are shocked by her anger and can't really comprehend anything.

The film's unconventional approach towards its idea of protagonist and antagonist with its title character really being a supporting role is quite startling. At the same time, it's not a western but rather a melodrama that revolves around Johnny's return to Vienna's life as well as the Kid's feelings for Vienna. It's later revealed that Emma has a thing for the Kid but doesn't want to admit it. In many ways, what Nicholas Ray does is a real deconstruction of what is known traditionally as the western. It's lack of realism in place of melodrama is what makes the film so entrancing to watch as if they're all doing theater while the men have more talents than just being gunslingers. Overall, it's fantastic work from Nicholas Ray.

Cinematographer Harry Stradling does fantastic work with the film's colorful, Trucolor photography style. Awash with amazing colors in its exterior settings of the day and night to the interior shots of the saloon where it's wonderfully lit. Even in a shot where Joan Crawford is where white against a yellowish backdrop to represent the good girl with Mercedes McCambridge in black. Another great shot revolves a scene in the cave that awash with red that matches the shirt that Crawford was wearing. Stradling's photography, notably a shot of the Arizona skyline is truly rich in its elegance and ode to melodrama. Editor Richard L. Van Enger does excellent work with the smooth transitions, dissolves, and fade-outs to help play with the structure and movement of the film. Even for the film's suspenseful and climatic duel between Vienna and Emma as it plays to a rhythm. The editing is really masterfully crafted.

The art direction by James W. Sullivan with set decoration by Edward G. Boyle and John McCarthy Jr. is great in the look of the saloon as there's a sophistication and ruggedness to its look. Even as it features a mountain/cave-like wall where it adds an authenticity to its look and feel. Costume designer Sheila O'Brien does great work in the look of the clothes, notably the women where the character of Emma wears dark dresses throughout the entirety of the film while Vienna wears jeans and pants half the time for her mean persona. Then when she has to play lady, she wears this wonderful, flowing white dress to represent her good girl persona, though she is a bitch at times. The sound work by T.A. Carman and Howard Wilson is excellent for its sound locations, gunshots, horse calls, and runs to play up to the energy of the western. The music by Victor Young is brilliant for its sweeping arrangements of its energetic, suspenseful music while going somber into its more melodramatic scenes. The title song at the end by Young and Peggy Lee is great in playing up to the romanticism of the film.

The cast is excellent as it includes a then-unknown Dennis Hopper making his film debut (though un-credited). In the roles of Vienna's men which include Paul Fix as roulette spinner Eddie, John Carradine as saloon manager Tom, and Rhys Williams as businessman Mr. Andrews are all excellent in their small roles. Royal Dano is excellent as the sickly Corey while Ben Cooper is really good as the young, naive Turkey. Ward Bond is great as Mr. McIvers, the cattle baron who wants to get rid of Vienna from his town while Frank Ferguson is good as the more sympathetic Marshall who is trying to keep the peace. Ernest Borgnine is superb as the greedy, rugged Bart, a man who is more concerned with money and survival than teamwork. Scott Brady is very good as the Dancin' Kid, a man who loves Vienna while deciding to lead a robbery to get attention only to land himself in trouble and face betrayal.

Mercedes McCambridge is brilliant as the tough, angry Emma, a woman who has deep hatred for Vienna as she takes charge in leading a revolt towards the saloon owner. McCambridge's performance truly embodies the role of a villain as she can be brutal and so evil that only she can match Joan Crawford in a bitch fight. Though the truth is that both McCambridge and Crawford really hated each other on and off the set. Sterling Hayden is great as the title character Johnny Guitar, a man who is hired to protect Vienna though is dealing with his own past and love for Vienna. Hayden is very restrained yet compassionate in his role as he has great scenes with Crawford though off the set, he wasn't saying kind things towards Crawford. Finally, there's the brilliant though infamous Joan Crawford. Playing a character that is sexually ambiguous where she acts like a lady and at times, dresses like a man. She is a woman who is tough both in business and as a person. Yet, she displays a vulnerability in dealing with her feelings for Johnny while dealing with the Dancin' Kid's feeling for her. It's a brilliant role for the actress who is known more for her personal life than her acting though it's clear that this is one of her great film roles.

When it was released in 1954, the film received mixed reviews from critics in the U.S. A release later on in Europe, notably France, drew rave reviews with critics and aspiring filmmakers. The film proved to be influential to the French New Wave as well as other directors including Italy's Sergio Leone. In 1988, famed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar made references to the film for his international breakthrough hit Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) both as a plot device and as a conflict between its protagonist and antagonist. The film would later be considered a classic of American cinema as in 2008, the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry.

Johnny Guitar is an exciting, stylish, and melodramatic masterpiece from Nicholas Ray. Featuring superb performances from Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Ernest Borgnine. It's a film that definitely lives up to its reputation of heightened drama as well as its deconstruction of the western genre itself. While Rebel Without a Cause might be Ray's most well-known film, it's Johnny Guitar that is the film that gives Ray the cinematic reputation he received among film buffs. In the end, for a western that is unconventional and with a dramatic flair that is unique. Johnny Guitar is the film to see from the late, great Nicholas Ray.

Nicholas Ray Films: (They Live By Night) - (Knock on Any Door) - (A Woman's Secret) - In a Lonely Place - (Born to Be Bad) - (Flying Leathernecks) - (On Dangerous Ground) - (The Lusty Men) - (Run for Cover) - Rebel Without a Cause - (Hot Blood) - (Bigger Than Life) - (The True Story of Jesse James) - (Bitter Victory) - (Wind Across the Everglades) - (Party Girl) - (The Savage Innocents) - (King of Kings) - (55 Days at Peking) - (We Can't Go Home Again) - (Lightning Over Water)

© thevoid99 2011

The Wild Bunch

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/16/06 w/ Additional Edits.

Throughout the history of the Western genre, the formula of a Western film is often filled with a duel between a sheriff and a cowboy, whether either one is good or bad. Before the 1960s, the genre was dominated by the likes of John Ford and the films he made with John Wayne. Other Western directors like Anthony Mann, Howard Hawks, and Budd Boetticher were giving the genre some great visual scope and storylines that harkened to the traditional style. When the American Western started to decline in the early 60s thanks to the advent of television, the genre was being reinvented in Europe thanks to Italian directors, notably Sergio Leone. Around that same time, an American film director whose love for the Western was also trying to keep the genre alive. His name was Sam Peckinpah where by 1965, he had already created three films within the genre, 1961's The Deadly Companions, 1962's Ride the High Country, and 1965's Major Dundee. Then in 1969, Peckinpah released a film that not only reinvigorated the genre but also marked the beginning of the end of the West with his violent epic film, The Wild Bunch.

Story by Walon Green and Roy N. Sickner with a script by Green and Peckinpah, The Wild Bunch is a story of pride, honor, and ageism about two ageing thieves with three young men in the early 1900s hoping to make one last score before retirement in Mexico. Trying to capture them is one of their former comrades as the gang make way for Mexico where an offer to make more money is upon them leaving way for betrayal and loss. Taking the Western to newer and bloodier heights, Sam Peckinpah strays away from the myths and ideology by going into a world where the West is dying in its surroundings but not to its major characters. Starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Warren Oates, Jaime Sanchez, Ben Johnson, and Alfonso Arau. Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch is a bloody, uncompromising, no-holds-barred violent film that kicks the Western with a bang.

It's a nice day in a little quaint town where a funeral is held while children are watching ants kill a scorpion. Then comes a group of men wearing calvary uniform who are there for one reason once they arrive in a bank, to score some big money for their last heist. Leading the pack is the aging Pike (William Holden) with his longtime friend Dutch (Ernest Borgnine) along with some younger recruits in the brothers Lyle (Warren Oates) and Tector Gorch (Ben Johnson), Mexican friend Angel (Jaime Sanchez), and a crazy newcomer in Clarence Lee (Bo Hopkins). Taking hostages in the bank, Pike proclaims "If they move, kill 'em" while outside of the bank, a group of bounty hunters led by Pike's former comrade Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan) looks on to capture Pike and his men. Realizing they're trapped and by Thornton of all people, Pike and his bunch leave the bank to a wild, bloody battle that claims the life of some towns people and Clarence as they flee to Mexico.

Thornton's plan failed thanks to a couple of guncrazy hunters in Coffer (Strother Martin) and T.C. (L.Q. Jones) as they're all working for a railroad baron named Harrigan (Albert Dekker). Thornton is more conflicted since he wishes he could join Pike's bunch for one more wild ride. After nearing the border in an empty town to meet with their old friend Freddie Sykes (Edmond O'Brien), the bunch realizes the money they stole wasn't there at all as they've been set up to steal washers. Despite the disappointment, Pike hopes to go to Mexico while he and Dutch reminisce the old days as Pike flashes back about Thornton's capture that he felt is a reason for his betrayal. Going further into Mexico, they stop at the village where Angel once lived as they meet an old man named Don Jose (Chano Urueta) who is trying to protect his village from General Mapache (Emilio Fernandez) who is currently at war with anyone in league with Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution. Angel wants to lead the fight as he learns that his old love Teresa (Sonia Amelio) is with Mapache as Pike figures that they go to Mapache for something.

The bunch goes to the town to meet Mapache and his men including Major Zamorra (Jorge Russek), Lieutenant Herrera (Alfonso Arau), and a German advisor named Mohr (Fernando Wagner). Angel nearly gets them in trouble when he violently confronts Teresa as Pike makes a deal with Mapache to go back to the U.S. to steal guns and ammunition for Mapache's army. The bunch gets a break as the Gorch brothers go into debauchery with some Mexican women while Angel makes a deal with Pike to get a case of guns for his village in exchange for the share of gold the bunch will get. Thornton, meanwhile plans to capture the bunch in the U.S. by trying to protect the latest shipment of guns for Harrigan.

The bunch returns to the U.S. where they manage to succeed in their mission as Thornton and his gang try to chase them in Mexico along with a U.S. calvary. The bunch almost get into trouble when they meet Mexican Indians only to get protection since they know Angel. After hiding from Thornton, the bunch meets with Herrera as they show them the guns and a lot more including a machine gun. They make a deal with Herrera to give them the shipments through a few meetings so the individual members of the bunch can get their share of the gold. When Dutch and Angel deliver the last shipment to Mapache, it all goes wrong when Angel is taken prisoner as Dutch is forced to leave him. Things get worse when Sykes is wounded on his way back from Mapache's fort when he's spotted by Thornton's men. Pike is forced to make some decisions as they hope to retrieve Angel as the four men make way for a violent, bloody showdown.

Westerns have always lived by a code of honor, especially when it comes to loyalty. In the case for The Wild Bunch, Peckinpah takes that code right to heart. Especially at a time when honor has been in question during the late 1960s at the Vietnam War. In Peckinpah's world, the West starts to die in this film as things like cars and airplanes start to arrive. That becomes real hard for men like Pike, Dutch, Sykes, and even Thornton as the world changes, even in a more loose world like Mexico where there's a car for the General. The car reveals Pike's hatred for the new, modern world as he even reminisces the old days of the West when he wanted everything, even a family with a woman named Aurora (Aurora Clavel). In many ways, the characters and Peckinpah share that sentiment of the old world and its order as the film really represents about a group of men wanting one last taste of the old ways before they die.

Still, despite all the bloodshed and style that Peckinpah presents. He is still a storyteller since the film is really about old men wanting one last chance of excitement by robbing things and stuff yet don't want to kill people unless they have to. While the action does keep the film exciting in every way whether it's against the Mexicans or Thornton's men, Peckinpah balances his love of bloodshed for moments of regret and joy. The script by Peckinpah and Walon Green reveal the kind of camaraderie the men have despite their own individual flaws. Plus, the dialogue between the men range from mean-spirited to just pure hilarity when in one scene just as the bunch are about to cross the border, Angel says "Mexico lindo" and Lyle says "I don't see anything so lindo about it". Even the sense of debauchery when the Gorch brothers swim in a pool of wine with Mexico women is all in good fun to reveal Peckinpah's sense of comedy.

That balance of violence, humor, drama, and sentimentality presents a complex, endearing vision of Peckinpah's perspective of the West. In a genre that is dying from its old model, Peckinpah, like Sergio Leone and the Italian Spaghetti Westerns before him, chose to reinvent the genre. Even to the point that they have to kill it in what became known as the Revisionist Western. For Peckinpah, the Western becomes a brutal allegory of sorts to what was going on in the late 1960s in the age of Vietnam as he decides to let it all out with the film's violence. The violence in the film is very brutal and today, it's still is but not by much in today's violence. Peckinpah's vision of violence is very uncompromising and not for the faint of heart.

Helping Peckinpah in this take of violence are two of his best collaborators in cinematographer Lucien Ballard and editor Lou Lombardo. Ballard's photography captures the tense atmosphere of the West from its sunny, hot deserts to the quaint, blue-green colors of Angel's village with only the moon and fires as the source of light. For some of the action scenes, Ballard's camera work goes from wonderful pans to excellent zooming and close-up shots that reveal his brilliance as a camera man and photographer. His work in the film's final shootout is even great. Lombardo's editing is also genius for its slow-motion editing of bodies falling down, men getting shot, and everything to give the film a sense of style. Lombardo's cutting from sequence to sequence with the use of dissolves, jump-cuts, and perspective cutting gives the film a wonderful rhythm where it moves very leisurely and not too fast as his work is filled with brilliance.

Art director Edward Carrere and wardrobe supervisor Gordon T. Dawson go great work in giving out the film's look from the decaying world of the Mexican fort to the modernization of the cars and guns as well as the look from cowboy gears to the business suit that the German men wear. The sound work of Robert J. Miller is also great for its sense of chaos in the film's violent sequences where the layers of screams, gunplay, bullets hitting bodies, and everything else brings the film to a world that is just crashing down. Jerry Fielding gives a great film score that is filled with amazing orchestral arrangements to play to the film's intensity of its violence and sentimentality while he creates a great drum cadence piece to build momentum for some of the film's violent sequences. The soundtrack is a mix of Fielding's score and Mexican folk music that plays well to the atmosphere that is Mexico.

The film's cast couldn't have been assembled any better as Peckinpah assembled a great cast filled with actors he loved along with great character actors. While actresses Aurora Clavel and Sonia Amelio didn't get much to do, they both bring in a different presence to their film as Clavel is great as Pike's love and Amelio as Angel's indifferent lover. Fernando Wagner as German advisor Mohr and Jorge Russek as Major Zamorra are great in their small roles as the villains while noted Mexican actor/director Alfonso Arau is very memorable as the charming Lt. Herrera. Chano Urueta is great as the aging Don Jose who shares the same ideals of the aging Pike and Dutch as his wiseness brings a great, memorable performance.

Notable Western character actors L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin bring the film's funniest performance as Thornton’s guncrazy, wild bounty hunters who both manage to steal every moment whenever they're on screen. Albert Dekker is great as the greedy Harrigan whose desire is to have money while Bo Hopkins is memorable as the crazy Clarence whose antics and naivete of the world of heist leads to his demise. Emilio Fernandez is great as the power-hungry, funny General Mapache whose love for the battlefield and great weapons, including torture, reveal a fun villain that everyone can remember as Fernandez brings all kinds of fun and sleaziness to a great role.

Jaime Sanchez is great as the lone Mexican of the bunch as Angel who serves not just as the conscience of the group but the one who is as less greedy of them. Sanchez is great in his role for standing among his American actors though in reality, he's Puerto Rican. Ben Johnson is excellent as Tector Gorch with his love for debauchery while equally as good is the late, great character actor Warren Oates who plays the more crazed brother of the bunch. Edmond O'Brien is also excellent as the old yet comical Sykes whose ideology and pride is shared among the older members of the bunch as he stands out for his comical presence.

Robert Ryan is brilliant as Deke Thornton, a man of conflict in his role as a hunter working for a railroad while wishing he could join the bunch as his character is really one of the more complex individuals of the film. Ernest Borgnine is amazing in the role of Dutch as the man who keeps the bunch together whenever they’re fragmented or wanting to break apart. Borgnine is really the group's moral reminder of the code of honor as he stands out for his knowledge and sentimentality for the old ways. William Holden gives probably one of his best performances of his career that ranged to many genres including the Western. Holden is just exhilarating as a man who is starting to feel his age while trying not to be humiliated by the younger members of the bunch. Holden brings a lot of depth to a man filled with pride and honor but also guilt and regret as Holden's face, notably his eyes tells the story of a man with a lot of history. Yet when Holden holds a gun and goes for the kill, he immediately transform into a cool badass.

The Region 1 2006 2-disc Special Edition of the Original Director's Cut of The Wild Bunch from Warner Brothers is truly a DVD that fans of the film will enjoy. The first disc presents the film with a new digital transfer where the entire film, in its director's cut print gives the film the same look when it was originally presented back in 1969. The film is shown on the widescreen, letterbox format of 16x9, 2:4:1 theatrical aspect ratio, which is the only way to see this film in all of its glory to enhance Lucien Ballard's wondrous cinematography. The first disc of the DVD also the 5.1 Dolby Digital audio format while its special features includes several trailers including a film collection of the work of James Dean and trailers to the films of Sam Peckinpah including Ride the High Country, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, The Getaway, and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

The audio commentary feature of the director's cut is by several of Peckinpah biographers, documentarians, and scholars of his work like Nick Redman, Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons, and David Weddle. The commentary from the four men are wonderful to hear since they're having a lot of fun watching the film as they also recall the way Peckinpah worked and his collaboration with screenwriter Walon Green. They also go into detail on the technical aspects as well as many of the interpretations of the scenes in the film. A lot of Peckinpah trivia is there while they reveal what got cut from Peckinpah's original cut which included several flashback sequences and a very important scene involving Mapache fighting against Pancho Villa's men which were all cut for length reasons to Peckinpah's dismay. Overall, it's one of the more enjoyable commentaries of a Western film.

The second disc of the 2-DVD disc set features more special features starting with a nine-minute feature of outtakes of scenes from the film like extended takes and alternate angles of scenes like the desert scene, river border scene, the bridge scene, and the train robbery sequence. Three documentaries are the big features for this 2-DVD disc set starting with the 1996 Oscar nominated documentary short, The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage. The 33-minute doc short by Paul Seydor reveals black-and-white footage of the film behind the scenes as its being made with producer Nick Redman serving as narrator. The footage reveals the making of the film as well as two important sequences like the final battle and the bridge scene with several people including screenwriter Walon Green and the late Edmond O'Brien commenting on the making of the film through their voices as well as Peckinpah's daughter Sharon.

Actors do the voices of the other actors through interview excerpts with Ed Harris playing the role of Peckinpah reading his interviews and excerpts from his journal. The documentary overall is brilliant for its sheer look into Peckinpah's personality and work ethics while showing some great footage including a short of Ernest Borgnine doing extra work as a safety man helping out the stunt man for the bridge scene.

The second documentary feature is an excerpt of Nick Redman’s documentary A Simple Adventure Story: Sam Peckinpah, Mexico, and The Wild Bunch. The 24-minute doc is really a locations doc as Redman plus Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons, and David Weddle join Peckinpah family friend Jesse Graham and Peckinpah's Mexican daughter Lupita on a journey through the film's locations where most of it was shot in a little town in the middle of Mexico. The doc covers the journey as they reach the little town and explore the abandoned, aging ruins that was the hacienda for General Mapache and see all of its areas in its desolated yet beautiful glory. A few miles away from that location is the camp where the bunch reunite with Sykes while nearby is the location of the town in the opening scene.

With the film's wardrobe supervisor Gordon T. Dawson interviewed about the locations and look of the film, the people in the doc realize that not much has changed except that some places are either looked a bit newer while others are just on the brink of extinction. It's an excellent documentary that reveals the locations from the men who loved Peckinpah's work and the daughter who never really knew her father.

The final documentary is from Starz/Encore movie channels called Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade. Featuring interviews with Peckinpah’s people like his biographers, family members, collaborators, actors including Kris Kristofferson, Stella Stevens, L.Q. Jones, and the late James Coburn. Also interviewed are several admirers like actors Billy Bob Thornton and Benicio del Toro plus film director Paul Schrader and critics like Elvis Mitchell, David Thomson, and Roger Ebert. Directed and produced by Tom Thurman with narration by Kris Kristofferson, the one-hour, 23-minute doc revealed the difficulties and excess of Peckinpah on and off the set which pertains to his legend.

The doc reveals his work in the Westerns which he loved since he was a kid as he started his career as a director working on Western TV shows before helming his feature, 1961's Western The Deadly Companions. Then in 1962, Peckinpah scored his first hit with Ride the High Country which revealed Peckinpah's love for heterosexual male bonding and old Western morals that starred aging Western actors Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott. 1965's Major Dundee proved to be difficult due to fight with studio people and producers and got into squabbles over the final cut as he was dissatisfied with the final result of the film. Then in 1969, he hit pay dirt with The Wild Bunch where once it was first screened during a press screening for new films by Warner Brothers, the film received a lot of controversy.

Roger Ebert recalled that screening and the press conference where Peckinpah and William Holden came to the conference hung over as a woman from The Reader's Digest asked why this film was made. Ebert was there and defended the film by proclaiming it to be a masterpiece while the film divided critics and audiences over its violent content. The film made Peckinpah a big time director while he had certain expectations on what to expect from him. 1970's Western drama The Ballad of Cable Hogue starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, and David Warner was well-received and is considered to be Peckinpah's favorite film that he did though it was criticized for its lack of violence. 1972's Junior Bonner also suffered the same criticism in a family drama starring Steve McQueen in a contemporary setting of the West where Peckinpah felt that whenever he brings violence to his films, he gets criticized and when he doesn't put violence, no one will see them.

The doc had brief mentions of the films Peckinpah made between 1969-1974 like Straw Dogs and The Getaway which weren't Westerns but had all of the elements of a Peckinpah film. 1973's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid in what some say to many of Peckinpah's biographers and collaborators to be the beginning of the end for him. Peckinpah was notorious for his drinking at the time. Thornton and del Toro talked about some favorite scenes as del Toro thought it was cool seeing Bob Dylan throw a knife while Kris Kristofferson talked about his fond memories of making that film. 1974's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia was another contemporary Western set in the present where Elvis Mitchell said the film was really called Bring Me the Diseased Soul of Sam Peckinpah with longtime character actor Warren Oates playing the lead role. The film was panned by critics as Roger Ebert recalled who gave the film a four-star review and put in his best films list. The documentary winds down to Peckinpah's decline as his own children don't have anything bad to say about him even though he wasn't around them all the time yet he was there for them. Overall, it's a great doc.

More than 35 years since its release, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch is a quintessential, no-holds-barred, bloody, in-your-face film. Thanks to Peckinpah's wielding, uncompromising vision, and a superb cast, this film is no doubt one of the best movies ever as well as one of the great Westerns. Anyone who isn't into violent imagery or crass language and behaviors should stay away from this because they don't have the guts or cajones to watch this masterpiece. In many ways, this is a guy's movie since it has everything a guy wants. Lots of violence, sexy ladies, great codes of honor, some laughs, and realistic heterosexual male bonding. So in the end, if there's a film that delivers all of those things and gets an audience all riled up, it's The Wild Bunch by the legendary Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Ride the High Country - Major Dundee - Noon Wine - The Ballad of Cable Hogue - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Pat Garrett & 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 2011