Written and directed by Drew Goddard, Bad Times at the El Royale is the story of seven strangers who stay at a hotel at the California-Nevada border in 1969 where strange things occur as it all lead to their own secrets. The film is a neo-noir thriller that explore a single night in this mysterious hotel as it also involved a major incident that occurred a decade earlier. Starring Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, Cynthia Erivo, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, and Chris Hemsworth. Bad Times at the El Royale is a gripping and haunting film from Drew Goddard.
Set in one day at the El Royale hotel on the California-Nevada border in 1969, the film revolves around a group of people who arrive at the hotel as they each carry a secret as they stay for the night where things would get stranger and terrifying as it goes on. It’s a film with a simple premise that play into these visitors and why they’re in this hotel as Drew Goddard’s script showcases the life of these inhabitants in small sections of the film. Among these visitors includes a Catholic priest in Father Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a singer in Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo), a hippie in Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson), and a salesman in Laramie Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm). The hotel’s lone employee in Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman) is also a mysterious figure as he seeks to have a conversation with Father Flynn unaware of Father Flynn’s intentions at the hotel nor the intentions of the other guests. Emily has a hostage named Rose (Cailee Spaeny) while Father Flynn is trying to find something in one of the rooms in the Nevada section of the hotel. Darlene is on her way to Reno for a job while Sullivan is at the hotel for reasons that doesn’t involve sales.
Goddard’s script would give the four principle characters a segment of their own with everyone but Sullivan having their stories told in flashbacks as it relates to their motivations and why they’re at the hotel while Miles himself is someone that is troubled as his own story isn’t unveiled until its third act. Emily’s story does involve a reason why she kidnapped Rose as it relates to this charismatic cult figure in Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth) who would become a prominent figure for the film’s third act. Especially as it play into secrets of the hotel as well as the inhabitants who all have something to hide.
Goddard’s direction does bear elements of style as it play into this air of intrigue into this hotel on the California-Nevada border as if it was a place of style and glamour but there’s something about it that is off. Shot mainly in Burnaby near Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada with additional locations shot in Vancouver, the film play into this world in the middle of this state border as the hotel itself is a character with its stylish rooms and a lobby that features a bar on the California side and a casino on the Nevada side. Goddard’s usage of the wide and medium shots does take great coverage of the interiors of the hotel lobby as well as the secret hallways that feature a two-way mirror for each apartment that inhabitants aren’t aware of. The usage of close-ups and medium shots would play into some of the conversations between characters as well as long takes for a conversation to happen as it is Goddard breaking away from some of the conventional elements of scenes where he lets the camera just linger and capture the moment.
Goddard’s direction also play up this air of intrigue but also this growing air of tension that is to emerge where the secrets of the El Royale starts to emerge with its two-way mirrors as well as what happened a decade earlier where a man (Nick Offerman) had hidden something in a room as it would relate to what Father Flynn is trying to find. Yet, he is hampered by the fact that he is already showing signs of dementia as the second act has him and Darlene learn about each other as well as the former’s involvement what happened a decade ago. The film’s third act that involves Billy Lee definitely adds to the suspense and drama where Goddard maintains this uneasy atmosphere that emerges where it has elements of dark comedy where Lee bears a lot of the characteristics of someone like Charles Manson. Goddard has the camera maintain Lee’s presence but also the inhabitants who realize that this is someone of a greater evil yet Lee believes there is no such thing as right and wrong as it just adds to the tension throughout the film. Overall, Goddard crafts an unsettling yet riveting film about a dark night in 1969 at a hotel on the California-Nevada border.
Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of lights for the rainy exterior scenes at night as well as the way the hotel rooms are lit from the inside and in the secret hallway as well as the look of the lobby. Editor Lisa Lassek does excellent work with the editing with its emphasis on rhythmic cuts to help build up the suspense as well as knowing when not to cut during a monologue or a conversation. Production designer Martin Whist, with set decorator Hamish Purdy and supervising art director Michael Diner, does amazing work with the look of the hotel rooms and the hotel itself as it is a character in the film with its major differences depending on what state the characters are on. Costume designer Danny Glicker does fantastic work with the costumes as it each play into the personalities of the characters and where they come from during a turbulent time in 1969.
Special makeup effects designer Toby Lindala does terrific work with the makeup in the look of Miles upon a troubling encounter as well as the look of a few characters to play into the times. Special effects supervisor Joel Whist, along with visual effects supervisors David W. Allen and Oliver Atherton, does some nice work with the visual effects as it is mainly bits of set dressing for the 1959 flashback scene as well as a few bits inside the hotel. Sound designers Casey Genton and Julian Slater do superb work with the sound in the way rooms sound as well as scenes of Darlene singing in her room and the way music is presented in the lobby. The film’s music by Michael Giacchino is incredible for its low-key yet eerie orchestral score that help play into the suspense and drama with its string arrangements and emphasis on building up the suspense with low yet heavy strings. The film’s music soundtrack features songs sung by Cynthia Erivo as well as music from the Box Tops, Deep Purple, the Four Preps, Edwin Starr, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the Crystals, the Four Tops, the Mamas & the Papas, and the American Bread to play into the period of the late 1960s.
The casting by Carmen Cuba is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Charles Halford as a convict that Father Flynn knew, Mark O’Brien as a bank robber, Shea Whigham as a prison doctor, Xavier Dolan as a record producer Darlene refuses to sleep with, and Nick Offerman as a bank robber in 1959 who hides the money. Cailee Spaeny is terrific as Rose as a young girl infatuated with Billy Lee as she seems to be entranced by his teachings much to the dismay of Emily. Lewis Pullman is superb as Miles as the hotel clerk who is harboring secrets of his own as he tries to run the hotel while wanting some guidance from Father Flynn. Jon Hamm is excellent as Laramie Seymour Sullivan as a salesman who is in town yet has other motives as it relates to things in the hotel. Dakota Johnson is fantastic as Emily Summerspring as a hippie who has taken a young girl as a hostage as it relates to a cult leader she dislikes as she presents herself as someone who doesn’t like anyone as it’s a front for why she kidnapped this young girl whom she’s concerned about.
Cynthia Erivo is brilliant as Darlene Sweet as a soul singer whose career to be a solo singer goes wrong as she is on her way to Reno for a job as she contends with the chaos at the hotel as well as trying to figure out what Father Flynn is doing. Jeff Bridges is amazing as Father Daniel Flynn as a Catholic priest who has arrived to this hotel on his way back home where he is ambiguous in his motives for being at the hotel yet he is revealed to be someone that is trying to find something but also is dealing with memory loss as well as other issues that makes him an ambiguous but a person with good intentions. Finally, there’s Chris Hemsworth in a phenomenal performance as Billy Lee as this Charles Manson-like cult leader who doesn’t appear often in the film as he would play a big role in its third act where he has this presence that is discomforting yet entrancing while is filled with so much charisma that he just completely steals the film from everyone as the sight of him dancing to Deep Purple’s cover of Hush is probably one of the sexiest moments captured on film.
Bad Times at the El Royale is a tremendous film from Drew Goddard. Featuring an incredible ensemble cast, a chilling premise set in a remote location, interesting character studies, gorgeous visuals, a mesmerizing music score by Michael Giacchino, and a killer music soundtrack. The film is definitely a neo-noir inspired suspense-drama that explore a group of people in a hotel on the California-Nevada border who endure a hellish rainy night that would bring a lot of trouble and terror with the latter in the form of a Charles Manson-like cult leader. In the end, Bad Times at the El Royale is an outstanding film from Drew Goddard.
Drew Goddard Films: The Cabin in the Woods
© thevoid99 2019
Directed by David Mackenzie and written by Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water is the story of two brothers who decide to rob banks to save their family ranch as they are being pursued by two Texas Rangers. The film is a crime thriller set in West Texas as it play into a battle between brothers and the two men trying to go after them. Starring Ben Foster, Chris Pine, Gil Birmingham, Marin Ireland, Katy Mixon, Dale Dickey, and Jeff Bridges. Hell or High Water is a rapturous yet gripping film from David Mackenzie.
A series of robberies in West Texas prompts an aging Texas Ranger and his new partner to investigate these robberies as they’re unaware that the two robbers are brothers trying to save their family ranch by robbing the banks that is taking away the ranch. It’s a film that play into a world that has two brothers becoming desperate over a reverse mortgage as the family ranch is about to foreclosed as the timing of it is bad since their mother had passed three weeks earlier. They would rob banks and go to Indian casinos to use the money to gamble and then use that money as a check to the banks they stole the money from. Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay is definitely play into the motivations of Toby Howard (Chris Pine) and his older ex-con brother Tanner (Ben Foster) as the latter wants to help his younger brother save the ranch as Toby is aware of how rich the land is and wants to pass it on to his sons.
While Tanner is definitely more experienced in robberies as he would do all of the yelling and intimidation tactics, it is Toby that remains quiet and makes sure things go quietly as he knows what he has to do for his sons and his ex-wife Debbie (Marin Ireland). Being aware of these robberies is Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) who is days away from retirement as he is joined by his new partner Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) as they drive around various small town in Texas wondering where the next bank will hit. Sheridan’s dialogue and portrayal of characters is key to the film in the way he portrays the Howard brothers as well as Hamilton as men who carry old ideas of the west where Hamilton does say politically-incorrect things toward his half-Native American/half-Mexican partner as well as the fact that he believes these robbers are robbing these specific banks for a reason. Especially as Parker says something about what is happening as there is a hint of irony into what the brothers are doing as it relates to how the Native Americans lost their homes except that things are much darker and more complicated.
David Mackenzie’s direction is definitely ravishing in the way he captures this feel of the American West in not just its vast beauty but also for being this area that is disconnected by the major cities of America where many of these small towns become stricken with poverty and almost become some short of ghost town. Shot on various locations in New Mexico as West Texas, the film does play as this idea of the West in a modern setting where Mackenzie would use wide shots to capture the beauty of these locations from the shots of the deserts and mountains. The locations don’t just play to this decline of the West due to modernism but also for the fact that the old ways are gone as it’s something the Howard brothers seem to fight for as it relates to their ranch. Mackenzie would use some close-up and medium shots to play into the characters interacting with each other as well as some long shots to capture the action as it plays out.
Even as Mackenzie would create elements of tension and dark humor in the film as some of the violent moments are restrained until the third act. Notably as there is an element of suspense and terror that looms throughout the film as Hamilton and the Howard brothers never interact or see each other. It just adds to this air of suspense as a showdown is inevitable but also play into the idea of what had been lost in the West prompting these two forces to finally meet and see what it’s all about. Overall, Mackenzie creates a gripping yet haunting film about a Texas Ranger trying to capture two brothers who are robbing banks to save their family ranch.
Cinematographer Giles Nuttgens does brilliant work with the film’s gorgeous cinematography to play into the sunny and dream-like look of the Texan skylines as well as the usage of unique lighting for some of the interiors including some of the scenes in the casinos and natural lighting for a restaurant Hamilton and Parker go to. Editor Jake Roberts does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense. Production designer Tom Duffield, with set decorator Wilhelm Pfau and art director Steve Cooper, does fantastic work with the look of Howard family ranch as well as some of the places that the characters go to.
Costume designer Malgosia Turzanska does nice work with the costumes from the cowboy-like clothes of the Howard brothers to the Texas Ranger uniform that Hamilton and Parker wear. Sound designer Frank Gaeta does amazing work with the film’s sound as it play into the suspense and some of the natural elements of the locations. The film’s music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis is incredible as its mixture of eerie strings and keyboard music play into the drama and decline of the West as it is a major highlight of the film while director David Mackenzie and editor Jake Roberts supervise the film’s soundtrack that mainly features a mixture of country, rock, and blues.
The casting by Jo Edna Boldin and Richard Hicks is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from screenwriter Taylor Sheridan as a cowboy getting his herd of cows out of a field fire, John Paul Howard and Christopher W. Garcia as Toby’s sons, Amber Midthunder as a young bank clerk, Melanie Paplia as a hooker trying to flirt with Toby, Alma Sisneros as a hotel clerk that Tanner woos, Dale Dickey as a bank employee who is taken hostage in the film’s opening sequence, Katy Mixon as a restaurant waitress that tries to woo Toby, and Marin Ireland as Toby’s ex-wife Debbie. Gil Birmingham is fantastic as Alberto Parker as Hamilton’s new partner who bears the insults that Hamilton gives him while dealing with the severity of the case as well as bringing his own insights about the ways of the world. Ben Foster is brilliant as Tanner Howard as the eldest of the two brothers who has been convicted for robberies and such as he knows how to rob banks as he’s a little unhinged but is also someone that is vulnerable as it relates to his own troubled relationship with his parents.
Chris Pine is amazing as Toby Howard as the younger of the two brothers who is also a father as someone who is levelheaded as he laments over the situation he’s in as well as making sure his sons don’t go through the struggles he went through as a child. Finally, there’s Jeff Bridges in a phenomenal performance as Marcus Hamilton as a Texas Ranger who is about to retire that takes on this case as he doesn’t just deal with the area he’s in but also the changes of the landscape that haunts him as well as his own ideas of why these robberies are happening.
Hell or High Water is a tremendous film from David Mackenzie that features great performances from Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and Ben Foster. Along with its brilliant ensemble cast, Taylor Sheridan’s riveting script, the chilling score of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, dazzling visuals, and top-notch suspense. The film is definitely an unconventional yet evocative suspense-thriller that also acts as a true western. In the end, Hell or High Water is a spectacular film from David Mackenzie.
David Mackenzie Films: (The Last Great Wilderness) – (Young Adam) – (Asylum (2005 film)) – (Hallam Foe) – (Spread) – (Perfect Sense) – (You Instead) – (Starred Up) – (Outlaw King)
© thevoid99 2017
Directed by John Carpenter and written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, Starman is the story of an alien who arrives to Earth as he is presented in the form of a widow’s recently-deceased husband. The film is a genre-bending film in which an alien encounters humanity and the world around him with a woman who shows him the world as they try to go to Arizona so he can go back home. Starring Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, and Richard Jaeckel. Starman is a compelling yet heartfelt film from John Carpenter.
The film revolves an alien from a distant planet who receives a message from the Voyager 2 as he crash lands on Earth where he meets a recently-widowed woman whom he asks to take her to Arizona so he can go home. It’s a film that plays into a woman helping this alien, who takes in the form of her recently-deceased husband, while evading all sorts of things including government agents who want the alien believing he is hostile. Yet, there are those including a scientist who just wants to know about the alien for the right reasons as he has to deal with the tactics of a national security supervisor.
The film’s screenplay by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, with additional and un-credited work by Dean Riesner, plays into the journey of this alien (Jeff Bridges) and the widow Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen) as she reluctantly takes him to Arizona from Wisconsin as she isn’t sure about his motives. During the course of their road trip, Jenny sees the alien do things that are otherworldly due to the seven small silver spheres he carries which allows him to perform a few miracles. It would spur Jenny to do what she thinks is right while evading the authorities from state troopers and government agents while the only character in that group that is sympathetic is the scientist Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith). Even as he makes a discovery about the Voyager 2 probe as he realizes that the alien is there for something else.
John Carpenter’s direction is unique for the fact that he’s going for something that is sort of straightforward in terms of compositions and the fact that it’s a road film of sorts. With its usage of close-ups and medium shots for the intimate moments and wide shots for the many location established shots, Carpenter plays into the development relationship between Jenny and the alien as well as the many things they would encounter. Some of which involve some comical moments and heartfelt moments as it plays into what an alien would encounter with the world of humanity. While some of the sci-fi elements don’t look so great, it does help create something that is otherworldly where some in humanity don’t understand what the alien is trying to do while there are those like Shermin who believe that the alien is here with good intentions. Even as its climax would play into what the alien wanted but also the gift he would give to Jenny as well as what humanity would learn from him. Overall, Carpenter creates a very touching and magical film about a woman who helps an alien return to his home.
Cinematographer Donald M. Morgan does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography with its naturalistic yet colorful look of many of the locations in the day along with some unique lighting set-ups for the scenes set at night. Editor Marion Rothman does superb work with the editing as it‘s very straightforward with a few jump-cuts for some action scenes and a few dramatic moments. Production designer Daniel A. Lomino and set decorator Robert R. Benton do fantastic work with the look of Jenny’s cabin as well as some of the government military bases that is looking for the alien.
Special effects makeup designer Rick Baker does brilliant work with the sequence of the alien taking the form of Jenny‘s husband. Special effects supervisor Bruce Nicholson does nice work with some of the visual effects though some of it looks a little cheesy considering how primitive the technology was in those times. Sound editor Tom McCarthy Jr. does terrific work with the sound in creating some sound effects of the spheres and some of the other elements in the film including a few of its action scenes. The film’s music by Jack Nitzsche is wonderful as it’s mostly a low-key electronic score that plays into some of the film’s sci-fi elements while the soundtrack includes different kinds of music from the likes of Frank Sinatra and the Rolling Stones.
The casting by Jennifer Shull is brilliant as it features some notable small roles from George Buck Flower as a cook who gives the alien a ride, Lu Leonard as a roadhouse waitress, Dirk Blocker and M.C. Gainey as a couple of cops who try to cause trouble, Tony Edwards as an army sergeant helping out Shermin, and Ted White as a deer hunter who is annoyed by the alien. Richard Jaeckel is superb as national security leader George Fox who wants to capture the alien as he thinks the alien is hostile. Charles Martin Smith is fantastic as the scientist Mark Shermin who is tasked to find the alien where he believes that the alien isn’t hostile but just receiving a message as he is looking for answers from the alien.
Karen Allen is amazing as Jenny Hayden as a recently-widowed woman still dealing with the loss of her husband as she is shocked by the appearance of the alien who would look like her husband as she guides him about the ways of the world and such as it’s a very engaging performance from Allen. Finally, there’s Jeff Bridges in a remarkable performance as Jenny’s husband Scott and the alien where Bridges brings a sense of restraint to his performance as the alien who doesn’t know much English or anything that relates to humanity. It’s one that allows Bridges to be quiet but also display some low-key ideas to humor while he is more lively in the home movie footage as Jenny’s husband as it is one of Bridges’ finest performances.
Starman is a sensational film from John Carpenter that features great performances from Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. While it’s a very different film from what Carpenter is known for. It is still a fascinating and engaging one due to its romantic elements as well as the fact that it bends all sorts of genres. In the end, Starman is a phenomenal 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 - 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
Based on the novel by Mitch Cullen, Tideland is the story of a young girl who goes to her grandmother's house with her father following her mother’s death as she embarks into a fantasy world to escape her dreary life. Directed by Terry Gilliam and screenplay by Gilliam and Tony Grisoni, the film is an exploration into the life of a young girl as she seeks to create a fantasy world amidst the chaos of her troubled family life. Starring Jodelle Ferland, Brendan Fletcher, Janet McTeer, Jennifer Tilly, and Jeff Bridges. Tideland is an enchanting but very flawed film from Terry Gilliam.
The film follows the life of a young girl who goes to Texas with her drug-addict musician father following her mother’s death as she retreats into a world of fantasy with her doll heads. It’s a film that plays into this world of death as this young woman named Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) is someone with a vivid approach to imagination as she surrounds herself with doll heads while meeting eccentric characters during her stay in this house in the middle of the Texan fields. Especially as her imagination finds her drifting further away from reality as well as what is really happening to her father and who the people she meets really are. The film’s screenplay follows much the life of Jeliza-Rose as she lives with her drug addict parents where her father Noah (Jeff Bridges) was a once famous musician whose career is all but washed up as they both have to tend to Jeliza-Rose’s lazy mother (Jennifer Tilly) until she dies of an overdose.
Upon going to Texas where Jeliza-Rose retreats to her fantasy world, she meets a mentally-challenged young man named Dickens (Brendan Fletcher) and his strange taxidermist sister Dell (Janet McTeer). The story becomes weirder where it would meander at times as it often follows Jeliza-Rose’s world of imagination and her time with Dickens as it sometimes go on for a little too long. Especially as the story becomes less plot-driven and much looser as it would slow the story down though there are moments where Terry Gilliam and Tony Grisoni try to infuse a lot of humor. While the relationship between Jeliza-Rose and Dickens is quite creepy and discomforting, it plays into the weird aspects of the film as it showcases how removed Jeliza-Rose is with the real world.
Gilliam’s direction is very stylish in the way he creates a film that is a fantasy but from a much smaller scale. Shot largely in Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada as Texas, the film does have this sense of beauty in its location where Jeliza-Rose can roam around by herself. Even as the location has a bit of fantasy where it feels very removed from the dark world that Jeliza-Rose lives in as her grandmother’s house is a place of ruin and abandonment. Much of Gilliam’s compositions involve a lot of slanted angles to play into the weird tone of the film with his use of close-ups, medium shots, and wide shots. While there are some fantasy sequences that occur, Gilliam is unable to really keep things going due to the looseness of the story where some of the moments in the film tend to drag on for too long. Even in the actions of Dell and Dickens as it sometimes get too weird for its own good. Overall, Gilliam creates a worthwhile but troubled film about a young girl escaping into her world of fantasy.
Cinematographer Nicola Percorini does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the naturalistic look of the exterior locations to the usage of stylish lighting schemes for the interior scenes in day and night. Editor Lesley Walker does superb work in the editing in creating a few montages while playing to the film‘s offbeat tone with some stylish cuts. Production designer Jasna Stefanovic, with set decorator Sara McCudden and art director Anastasia Marano, does fantastic work with the look of the home that Jeliza-Rose and her father lives in as well as the house that Dickens and Dell live in.
Costume designers Mario Davignon and Delphine White do amazing work with the stylish clothes of the characters including the costumes that Dell wears. Visual effects supervisor Richard Bain does nice work with the visual effects such as a few fantasy scenes involving Dickens‘ submarine and the doll heads of Jeliza-Rose. Sound editor James Mather does terrific work with the sound work from the sound of the squirrel to other sound effects that play outside of the house where reality would creep in. The film’s music by Jeff and Mychael Danna is wonderful for its orchestral-driven score as it feature some somber, piano-based pieces to more offbeat cuts to play into the film’s humor.
The casting by Deirdre Bowen is brilliant as it features a few notable small roles from Dylan Taylor as a farm boy who brings food to Dell, Wendy Anderson as the voice of the squirrel that Jeliza-Rose encounters, and Jennifer Tilly in a very wild performance as Jeliza-Rose’s trashy, chocolate-eating mother. Brendan Fletcher is terrific as Dickens as this mentally-impaired young man who intrigues Jeliza-Rose in their love of imagination as he fears a monster that often lurks around. Janet McTeer is fantastic as Dell as this woman who is blind in one eye as she is a very eccentric figure who dresses like a witch as it’s a role that is both comical and terrifying.
Jeff Bridges is excellent as Jeliza-Rose’s father Noah as this musician whose time has come and gone as he resigns himself into his addiction to heroin while helping Jeliza-Rose in any way he can. Finally, there’s Jodelle Ferland in a remarkable performance as Jeliza-Rose as this girl with a great sense of imagination as she tries to retreat into her fantasy world while dealing with some of the dark encounters of reality as Ferland also voices the doll head friends she has.
Tideland is a pretty good though flawed film from Terry Gilliam. While it has a great cast and some amazing technical work, it’s a film that tries to be a lot of things but ends up being a bit flat in its approach to being weird. Still, there’s moments in the film that showcases Gilliam’s fascination with imagination and its battle with reality. In the end, Tideland is a terrific but messy film from Terry Gilliam.
Terry Gilliam Films: Jabberwocky - Time Bandits - Brazil - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - The Fisher King - 12 Monkeys - Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas - The Brothers Grimm - The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - The Zero Theorem - The Auteurs #38: Terry Gilliam
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Richard LaGravenese, The Fisher King is the story of a once famous radio shock-jock who seeks to find redemption when he meets a man whose life he ruined and tries to help him. The film is the first of an unofficial trilogy set in America from Gilliam as it explores not just the world of fantasy but also in finding hope in the bleakest forms of reality. Starring Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, and Michael Jeter. The Fisher King is a dazzling yet heartfelt film from Terry Gilliam.
Three years after being responsible for the deaths of a group of people by a madman who later killed himself, a radio shock jock meets a strange man whose wife was killed at that restaurant who seeks the Holy Grail and the love of a shy woman as the shock jock decides to help him in an act of redemption. While it is a simple tale of redemption, the film is also a mixture of adventure, fantasy, and romance as it would play into the world of Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) who lost so much through his own actions as his encounter with this homeless man named Parry (Robin Williams) would play into the chance to become a better person while help this lost man regain something that he had lost following his wife’s death. In the process, Jack would also reluctantly help Parry in his quest to find the Holy Grail in the home of a rich architect as Parry believes in this legend of the Grail.
Richard LaGravenese’s screenplay definitely has this air of fantasy and romance but it is also balanced by this world of cynicism as the film opens with Jack as this very arrogant and snide radio shock-jock who talks a lot of shit and has everything until he is responsible for prompting a man to go after a waitress that unfortunately led to a killing spree where Parry’s wife was among the people who were killed. Jack loses his fame as he is wracked with guilt where he would live with a video store owner in Anne (Mercedes Ruehl) who would prompt Jack to do something as she would also help him to Parry back on track. Especially as it relates to Parry’s attraction to this shy publishing accountant in Lydia (Amanda Plummer) through the craziest means.
One aspect of the script that definitely succeeds isn’t just the stories but how fully-realized the characters are as Parry was also a man who had everything only to lose it because of a tragedy as those reminders would come to him in the form of a red knight that only he can see. Especially as it would prompt Jack to realize the greater task that he needs to retrieve the Grail with Parry as well as getting the chance to prove that he can be redeemed no matter how many times he says that he is a fuck-up. The unlikely teaming of Jack and Parry isn’t just one aspect of the story that is so compelling but it’s also one where a man tries to help another and vice versa as they both would try to deal with the demons that had been haunting them.
Terry Gilliam’s direction is truly astonishing not just in its sense of style but also in the fact that he is able to mix a sense of realism with fantasy as it’s set entirely in New York City. The film has Gilliam infusing a lot of unique camera angles including some slanted shots and elaborate crane shots. Even in some of the intimate moments where the sense of style is very evident but not very distracting. Gilliam does go for something simple in the way he presents the drama as it relates to Jack’s own life as he struggles with his guilt and what his life has become despite the support of Anne. There are scenes that do feel quite unsettling and real such as the homeless places near the Brooklyn Bridge as well as some very exhilarating scenes at Central Park where Parry tries to convince Jack to lie naked in the middle of the park to watch the moonlight.
The direction also has Gilliam play with the world of fantasy though it’s more restrained in comparison to his other films such as this lavish waltz scene in the middle of Grand Central Terminal as it plays to Parry’s own sense of fantasy. The scenes involving the Red Knight also play into that sense of fantasy but as a form of reality that Parry wants to avoid as Gilliam would go for something that feels very dizzying. Even as some of the wide shots and compositions would have something that feels like a world that is very different. All of which would play into this climax in this very odd journey to get the Holy Grail as it seems like this strange task but one that would help Jack and Parry find hope in their troubled lives. Overall, Gilliam creates a sensational yet touching film about a man finding redemption in helping another man who was destroyed by tragedy.
Cinematographer Roger Pratt does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography as it is very straightforward but also stylish in some of the lighting schemes that Pratt creates for some of the nighttime exteriors as well as some of the interior scenes. Editor Lesley Walker does incredible work with the editing as it‘s very stylized with some jump-cuts, montages, and a stylish use of transition wipes for a dinner scene with the four principle characters. Production designer Mel Bourne, with set decorator Cindy Carr and art director P. Michael Johnston, does amazing work with the set pieces from the video store that Anne runs to the accounting firm and hospital rooms as well as the castle where the Grail is.
Costume designer Beatrix Aruna Pasztor does terrific work with the costumes from the ragged look of Parry in his homeless clothes to the white suit he would wear in his date with Lydia. The visual effects work of William Cruse and Kent Houston do nice work with some of the effects as it’s very minimal including the design of the Red Knight. Sound editor Peter Pennell and sound designer Bill Kates do superb work with the film‘s sound in some of the sound textures to play into the sense of terror that Parry would endure as well as the sounds of radio broadcasts that Jack used to do. The film’s music by George Fenton is excellent for its broad and operatic score as it has some very lush orchestral themes to play into the sense of romance as well as bombastic pieces for the adventurous moments. The film’s music soundtrack includes a mix of music ranging from pop standards and modern music like Ray Charles, Chill Rob G, and Harry Nilsson.
The casting by Howard Feuer is great as it features notable small roles from Kathy Najimy as a crazed video store customer, Tom Waits as a disabled veteran, Harry Shearer as a TV star that Jack despises, Lara Harris as Jack’s girlfriend when he was famous, and David Hyde Pierce as Jack’s agent Lou. Michael Jeter is fantastic as a homeless cabaret singer Jack and Parry would meet as they would help him to reach a message to Lydia. Amanda Plummer is amazing as the very shy and socially-awkward Lydia who has her own quirks and insecurities where her date with Parry would bring her hope about her own life. Mercedes Ruehl is phenomenal as Anne as this no-nonsense woman who hopes to be more than a friend to Jack as she would also help Lydia and Parry as it’s a truly touching and powerful supporting performance.
Jeff Bridges is brilliant as Jack Lucas as this man who had it all only to be undone by a tragedy that he unknowingly caused as he tries to find redemption where it’s Bridges showing some humility as well as an ugliness but also a role that has him be sympathetic as he wants to right the wrongs in his life. Finally, there’s Robin Williams in a magnificent performance as Parry as this very troubled man who has lost himself as he becomes homeless and seeks the Holy Grail as Williams brings a sense of energy in his humor as well as sense of warmth and vulnerability. Especially in his moving monologue to Lydia about what he wants to do as it showcases Williams’ power as an actor where he can blend comedy and drama and do it so easily.
The Fisher King is a remarkable film from Terry Gilliam that features great performances from Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, and Mercedes Ruehl. The film is definitely Gilliam’s most accessible work in its blend of romance and fantasy as well as a compelling story on redemption. Even as it features moments that are quite crazy that is balanced with stories about characters trying to find hope again. In the end, The Fisher King is an outstanding film from Terry Gilliam.
Terry Gilliam Films: Jabberwocky - Time Bandits - Brazil - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - 12 Monkeys - Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas - The Brothers Grimm - Tideland - The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - The Zero Theorem - The Auteurs #38: Terry Gilliam
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Michael Cimino, Heaven’s Gate is the story of a Harvard-educated marshal who finds himself in the middle of a conflict between rich and established cattle barons who wage war on a group of poor, European-based immigrants over claims of stealing cattle. A fictional account of the Johnson County War of 1892, the film is scathing look into the world of American Imperialism and the myth of the American dream as a man finds himself battling a friend as they’re both in love with a prostitute who is among the many that cattle barons want killed. Starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, Sam Waterston, John Hurt, Jeff Bridges, Brad Dourif, and Joseph Cotten. Heaven’s Gate is a visually-stunning and enthralling film from Michael Cimino.
Based on the real-life events of the Johnson County War in 1892, the film explores a piece of American history where a group of established cattle barons battled against small settling ranchers where these more established men hired killers with the backing of the American government. Yet, the film is a re-interpretation about these events as the cattle barons are portrayed as rich men who want to kill these poor European immigrants for stealing their cattle as they think of them as thieves and anarchists. On the other side is a group of European immigrants who only steal because they’re hungry as they just want to live in America and live the American dream. In the middle of this is the marshal of Johnson County in James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) who wants to smooth out the conflict before it gets more troubling yet he is a man full of complications and contradictions. Especially as he’s in a love-triangle with a bordello madam in Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert) who is in love with an enforcer in Nate Champion (Christopher Walken) who is a friend of Averill.
The film’s screenplay is quite vast as it starts in 1870 where Averill graduates from Harvard with his friend William Irvine (John Hurt) and ends with an epilogue set in 1903 in Newport, Rhode Island. Yet, much of the story is set in 1890 Wyoming where Averill tries to use his wealth and education to help the people of Johnson County that is full of European immigrants that is this mix of German, Russian, Slavic, Dutch, and other ethnicities who are just trying to live good lives. Averill is inspired by the ideas that is instilled upon him from his Harvard graduation when its speaker the Reverend Doctor (Joseph Cotten) urges the graduates to use their knowledge to help those in need. That moment is mocked by Irvine who later finds himself as a man lost in his role as he becomes a rambling, poetic drunk who has no clue on what to do as he would regret those actions. Irvine is part of this faction known as the Stock Growers Association led by Frank Canton (Sam Waterston) who is a rich cattle baron that has a lot of government connections while being very arrogant about what he does.
It is all part of something that is very complex as well as containing lots of ambiguities as Champion is an enforcer of the Association as he just enforces the law where he does kill an immigrant and later threatening another from stealing as he is just a lawman. He’s also in love with Ella who doesn’t mind being paid either in cash or cattle for prostitution as she is this woman who is in love with both Champion and Averill. Averill wants to take her out of the world of prostitution and protect her from what is coming once he learns about what is going to happen. Yet, she prefers a life that is simpler which is something Champion is offering as he would later question what Canton and the Stock Growers Association is doing. Especially when Ella’s name is in a death list that features many immigrants where Averill tries to figure out what to do as he becomes troubled by his own personal issues and the longing for a life that isn’t complicated. It’s part of that sense of conflict he’s in because of Ella where he would eventually take part in this brutal battle between the Stock Growers Association and the immigrants with very bloody results.
The script does have flaws in some of the characterization as the William Irvine character is an ambiguous figure as he is this rambling, poetic drunk that had the power to make a difference with his wealth and education. Yet, he’s a lost figure who has no clue what he’s doing or why he’s still in the Stock Growers Association as there’s a scene where a character asks why is he even here. Another flaw is its politics where it’s clear that it is one-sided in the way Canton is portrayed as this snobbish and arrogant antagonist while the poor is treated more fairly though there’s aspects of them that are just as flawed where one of them would try to make a bargain only to get his ear shot off. Still, it is a commentary on the idea of American Imperialism where Americans try to infuse their own ideas and such all for something as childish as money.
Michael Cimino’s direction definitely recalls a lot of the visual traits of the western as well as his own fascination with American landscapes as he shoots with such a wide canvas that covers so much of the landscape as it’s largely shot in Montana. There are aspects of the film where Cimino definitely wants to create something that has the attribute of an epic with these massive wide shots that includes this terrifying shot of a large group of horsemen on top of a mountain about to kill someone. Cimino’s approach to the widescreen in its 2:40:1 aspect ratio would showcase some of the lavishness of the film such as the Harvard dance sequence where Averill and Irvine waltz around a tree with a bevy of beautiful women. The Harvard prologue serves as a place where Averill and Irvine are being tasked as men who have the power to make change and help those who are less fortunate. It’s something that would drive Averill to do what is right in Johnson County as he feels the need to do with the power and responsibility he’s given.
The direction is also quite excessive in terms of its attention to detail in the way 1890s Wyoming is portrayed in its buildings and such that would also include this beautiful sequence of people in a roller skating rink to showcase what it was like to have fun in those times. It is in contrast to the sense of terror that would happen as much of the violence is quite graphic and bloody where it would culminate into this very spectacular battle scene that is frenetic at times but also very direct with the cameras being on wagons and such as well as shooting it from multiple perspectives. There’s also some unique ideas in camera angles and crane shots that Cimino uses while he also creates some intimate moments that plays into this love triangle where there’s some humor but also a sense of longing as both Averill and Champion want to have a better future with Ella. Its climax in the battle and its aftermath would lead to not just this understanding over how things are but also the question into what difference Averill made. Especially as he tries to come to terms with his own identity and the responsibilities he has as the film ends with this somber epilogue in 1903 Rhode Island. Overall, Cimino has created a grand yet very visceral film about a dark piece of American history seen through the eyes of a marshal trying to make some kind of difference.
Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond does absolutely incredible work with the film‘s rich and evocative cinematography with its approach to sepia lighting for some of the film‘s interiors with its shading and such as well as the colorful exterior settings of Montana in the day time as well as some low-key yet beautiful lighting for some of the film‘s interior scenes. Editors Tom Rolf, William Reynolds, Lisa Fruchtman, and Gerald Greenberg do brilliant work with the editing with its unique approach to rhythms in some of the film‘s dramatic moments along with its frenetic cutting in the battle scenes. Production designer Tambi Larsen, along with set decorators James L. Berkey and Josie MacAvin and art directors Spencer Deverell and Maurice Fowler, does phenomenal work with the set design from the look of the small town of Sweetwater with its cabins and roller skating hall as well as the home of the Stock Growers Association.
Costume designers Allen Highfill does excellent work with the costumes from the suits that the men wear to the period dresses that the women along with the more lavish look in the Harvard dance sequence. Sound editor James J. Klinger does fantastic work with the soundtrack from the way gunfire is presented to the sound of cannons as well as some of the intimate moments as it is quite sprawling in its mixing and editing. The film’s music by David Mansfield is just sublime for its mixture of eerie string arrangements with these rich arrangements of acoustic guitars, mandolins, and balalaikas to play into the film’s Eastern European tone as it features some amazing themes plus reinterpretations of classical pieces and traditional themes as Mansfield’s score is one of the film’s major highlights.
The casting by Cis Corman, Tony Gaznick, and Jane Halloran is amazing for the ensemble that is created as it features some appearances from composer David Mansfield plus T-Bone Burnett and Huey Lewis & the News keyboardist Sean Hopper as the live band in the skating rink, Willem Dafoe as a bar waiter, Anna Levine and Caroline Kava as a couple of young prostitutes, Mary C. Wright as the fiery prostitute Nell, Tom Noonan as an Association hitman who tries to rape Ella, Mickey Rourke as Nate’s friend Nick Ray, Waldemar Kalinkowski as the immigrant photographer, Terry O’Quinn as cavalry leader Captain Minardi, and Roseanne Vela as a beautiful girl that Averill eyed on at the Harvard graduation. Other notable small roles include Geoffrey Lewis as a trapper friend of Nate’s, Ronnie Hawkins as a military leader working with Canton, Paul Koslo role as the town’s cowardly mayor, and Richard Masur as the train station manager Cully who is friends with Averill. Brad Dourif is terrific as the town commerce head Mr. Eggleston who would have this great monologue about what it means to be poor and from another country as he would inspire his fellow immigrants to fight back.
In a small yet crucial role at the Harvard graduation scene, Joseph Cotten is superb as the Reverend Doctor who speaks to the graduates to ensure the weight of responsibility they have for the future of America. John Hurt is wonderful as Averill’s old Harvard classmate William Irvine as this rambling drunk who often spouts poetry though his role is one of most flawed elements of the film. Jeff Bridges is excellent as the town proprietor John L. Bridges who runs the bar and skating rink as he is a friend of the immigrants and becomes one of their leaders in the battlefield. Sam Waterston is brilliant as the smarmy and arrogant Stock Growers Association leader Frank Canton who is a man that is driven by greed as he is someone that is full of himself as Waterston brings this smarmy quality to a character that everyone loves to hate.
Isabelle Huppert is fantastic as Ella Watson as this bordello madam who is caught in a love triangle with two men as she wants to maintain a life that she built for herself while dealing with the reality of what she is facing as her name is on a death list. Christopher Walken is marvelous as Nate Champion as an Association enforcer who is quite prejudiced towards immigrants as he would eventually question his bosses once Ella is targeted as he realizes that they’re breaking the law. Finally, there’s Kris Kristofferson in a remarkable performance as James Averill as a marshal with a very posh and educated background who tries to mediate a deadly situation as he deals with his own personal feelings for Ella while dealing with who he is and what he tries to do to make a difference.
The 2-disc Region 1 DVD/Region A Blu-Ray from the Criterion Collection presents the film in a 2:40:1 theatrical aspect ratio in a widescreen format with 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound in a newly-restored transfer supervised by Michael Cimino in a new 216-minute cut where the only scene removed is the film’s intermission scene plus a few slightly-trimmed shots in some sequences. The first disc of the Blu-Ray is the film in its entirety as it is given a much richer transfer while on the DVD version, the film is split into two parts where the split occurs just after James Averill receives the death list.
The film’s second disc features many extras relating to the film and its notorious production starting with a 31-minute illustrated audio interview with Michael Cimino and producer Joann Carelli (which appears as an extra in the DVD‘s first disc). Through various still photos of the film and its production, Cimino and Carelli talk about the film where Cimino dominates much of commentary as he revealed that the version on the Criterion DVD/Blu-Ray is his final version. Cimino and Carelli talked about the research they went through about the actual Johnson County War as Carelli talked about Cimino’s approach to writing and how she discovered David Mansfield during the production. Cimino admits to not using monitors or watch dailies in his approach to directing while commenting on a lot of the things about the film as it’s a very compelling piece that showcased Cimino feeling validated that the film is being given a second chance.
The extras include new interviews with three people involved the film as the first is a nine-minute, twenty-three second interview with actor Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson talks about what made him do the film as he was interested in the subject matter and working with Cimino. He felt it was a story that needed to be told as he admitted that Cimino was difficult and excessive but only because he wanted to get things right. Kristofferson admitted to being hurt over the film’s reception yet he doesn’t regret doing the film which he is still proud of while he also talks about the political aspects of the film where he felt that it was probably too controversial for audiences to handle.
The nine-minute interview with music composer David Mansfield has him talking about the music and his background as he had been proficient in a lot of string instruments. He was discovered by Joann Carelli who had seen him play with Bob Dylan in the mid-1970s as he was among several real musicians including T-Bone Burnett that were hired to play a band that actually played live music. Through his work and what he was able to do on the set, Cimino hired Mansfield to do the score as Mansfield talked about his approach to the score as well as infusing a lot of Eastern European influences into the music since his father is from a Eastern European background.
The eight-minute interview with second assistant director Michael Stevenson who talked about making the film as he knew what Cimino wanted in terms of scenery and in its attention to detail. Having worked with David Lean, Anthony Mann, and Richard Brooks, Stevenson knew that Cimino had that sense of wanting to get things right where Stevenson also talks about some technical moments in the film. Especially in how close Cimino was with his actors in making sure they would get their performances right as they trusted him as Stevenson would work with Cimino in his next two films. Other minor extras include a two-and-a-half minute restoration demonstration that showcases what had to be done as the film was drenched in sepia as a lot of work through digital scanning had to be made to restore its original color. The extras include a teaser and a TV spot for the film where the latter displayed the sense of controversy about the film.
The DVD/Blu-Ray set includes a booklet that features two pieces of text relating to the film. The first is an essay entitled Western Promises by the New York-based film writer and programmer Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan about the film. Vallan discusses much of what Cimino wanted to say in the film as well as its disastrous screening in November of 1980. Vallan also talks about the film’s politics and some of the aspects of the production as she feels like it is a film that got attacked over what was going on in its production and its cost rather than it was about. Even as it was well-received in Europe who were looking for the kind of films that old masters like John Ford and Howard Hawks used to make while it was getting trashed by American critics just as the film industry was in a state of transition in the age of the blockbuster as it’s a very engaging essay about the film.
The second piece of text is an interview with Michal Cimino for the November 1980 issue of American Cinematographer entitled The Film That Took On a Life of Its Own by the magazine editor Herb Lightman who was a guest camera operator on the film. Cimino talks about what he wanted to say and do with the film as well as his meticulous approach as he needed people who were able to recreate things from the past as he felt it was something that was lost at the time. Cimino also talked about wanting to shoot in certain locations where he said that if he ever found the right location, he would go ahead and shoot somewhere just to capture something that is just magical. Even as he would capture something that was just accidental yet felt right for the story as it is a compelling piece that showcased his perspective on the making of the film before it would have its notorious premiere.
Heaven’s Gate is a tremendously rich and harrowing film from Michael Cimino. Armed with a great ensemble cast plus major technical achievements in its art direction, Vilmos Zsigmond’s photography, and David Mansfield’s score. It’s a film that showcases a man trying to make a difference in a conflict driven by greed and class differences set to a dark piece of American history. While it is a film that is flawed, it has aspects that are thematically provocative as well as visuals that really defines the concept of epic filmmaking. In the end, Heaven’s Gate is a remarkable film from Michael Cimino.
Michael Cimino Films: Thunderbolt & Lightfoot - The Deer Hunter - Year of the Dragon - The Sicilian - Desperate Hours (1990 film) - The Sunchaser - To Each His Own Cinema-No Translation Needed - The Auteurs #35: Michael Cimino
© thevoid99 2014
Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry, The Last Picture Show is the story of a group of teens who deal with their lonely surroundings as they also meet aging souls as they would contemplate their own future. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich and screenplay by Bogdanovich and McMurtry, the film is a look into a world where the old values of America starts to fall apart as it’s set into a small town in the middle of Texas circa 1951. Starring Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Timothy Bottoms, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Eileen Brennan, Ben Johnson, Randy Quaid, and Clu Gulager. The Last Picture Show is an entrancing yet somber film from Peter Bogdanovich.
Set in this small yet lonely Texas town in the early 1950s in the span of nearly a year, the film explores the lives of three teenagers as well as various adult figures dealing with their environment in a world that is changing around them. Leading the pack is a high school senior in Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) who is unsure of what to do after high school as he spends much of his time hanging out at a pool hall, a diner, and other places in his small town with nothing to do. With his friend Duane (Jeff Bridges) and Duane’s rich girlfriend Jacy (Cybill Shepherd), Sonny spends nearly a year trying to figure things out where he has an affair with his coach’s lonely wife Ruth Popper (Cloris Leachman) while Jacy is eager to lose her virginity to Duane while her mother Lois (Ellen Burstyn) warns her about being with someone like Duane. All of which plays into a world of uncertainty in this small town that is just dying.
The film’s screenplay by Peter Bogdanovich and Larry McMurtry explore this world where even though it is set in nearly a year from October of 1951 to September of 1952. It feels like a film that is set into a very different time period where much of the loose morality of the 1960s and early 1970s come into play as Sonny, Duane, and Jacy would all deal with growing pains as they’re eager to leave the small town they’re in. Especially as there’s a world that is filled with so much change that these three want to be a part of but Sonny is still attached to the small town as he is guided by the town’s local figure Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson) who owns the diner, the pool hall, and movie theater that the people often go to. With Duane in tow, Sonny would often get into mischief as it showcases their lack of direction where their friendship would get complicated to do Duane’s immaturity which eventually played into his break-up with Jacy who wanted more.
The script also plays into the role of peer pressure as Jacy is eager to be with the crowd as she would skinny-dip while wanting to lose her virginity so that she can be with a popular boy in school. It would play into her own development as a young woman as she is guided by her mother Lois about the trappings of love affairs and such as well as being with someone like Duane. Yet, Lois is a woman that is lost in her own marriage and affair as it reveals that she did love someone and has regretted leaving that man while Ruth is a woman in an unhappy marriage as she deals with loneliness where Sonny helps her out and lead to their affair. Ruth, Lois, and Jacy are three of four women who play into Sonny’s life as the other is the diner waitress Genevieve (Eileen Brennan) who is a weary observer, like Lois and Sam, that has seen a lot in the small town and knows what is going on as she would also guide Sonny into finding his way. Even if it means leaving the small town that he has lived for all of his young life.
Bogdanovich’s direction opens and ends with this eerie image of the small Texan town where it feels like a ghost town with hard winds being heard and tumbleweeds passing by. It sets the tone of a film where it has this feel of aimlessness but also something that is quite entrancing where it is set in a crucial moment in time where everything is black-and-white with little contact of the world outside of this small town. Bogdanovich creates some unique shots to play into this emergence of a new world of sexuality that is emerging where Jacy is quite hesitant in some parts of the film but is also eager to fit in with the crowd such as the skinny dipping sequence. There’s also some very chilling scenes where Sonny, Duane, and their friends try to get the mute boy Billy (Sam Bottoms) to lose his virginity to a prostitute as it starts off comically but ends up being very somber where Sonny and his friends feel bad about what happened with Duane not owning up to his mistake.
Much of the direction is shot with some unique wide shots and some medium shots plus a few close-ups to play into the drama that is unfolding as Sonny deals with growing pains and temptation as it concerns Jacy. Especially as things become much grimmer in its third act as parts of this small town is starting to die while the sense of uncertainty starts to loom. Much of it would include some revelations about the town and the people that Sonny has known where he isn’t sure if he has to escape or just be part of it for good. Overall, Bogdanovich creates a very haunting yet intoxicating film about a group of people living in a desolate town in the middle of Texas.
Cinematographer Robert Surtees does brilliant work with the film‘s black-and-white photography as it has this very timeless look to the film where it plays into that sense of a ghost town in its location in Texas as well as some unique lighting schemes and such to play into the mood of the drama. Editor Don Cambern does excellent work with the editing as it features bits of stylistic uses of jump-cuts and dissolves to play into the sense of dramatic energy in the film as well as the sense of aimlessness.
Production/costume designer Polly Platt and art director Walter Scott Herndon do amazing work with the set pieces from the look of the town in its desolate setting as well as the pool hall and movie theater while the costumes are terrific to play into the personality of the characters. Sound editor James M. Falkinburg does superb work with the sound from the way wind sounds to some of the moments in the film’s locations along with the film’s music as much of it is played on location as it features pieces by Hank Williams and other artists in country and pop music of the times.
The casting by Ross Brown is fantastic as it features some notable small roles from Sharon Taggart as Sonny’s girlfriend Charlene early in the film, Bill Thurman as Ruth’s husband, Gary Brockette as the popular senior Bobby that Jacy wants to be with, Sam Bottoms as the mute boy Billy that always hung around Sonny and Sam the Lion, Clu Gulager as Lois’ lover Aibilene who would later meet Jacy in a very haunting moment, and Randy Quaid as a rich kid named Lester who would take Jacy to the skinny-dipping party. Eileen Brennan is excellent as the kind-hearted waitress Genevieve who often serves Sonny and the other locals as she would help Sonny around and give him some guidance and food. Ellen Burstyn is superb as Jacy’s mother Lois who tries to warn her daughter about dating someone like Duane as she is embroiled in an empty affair of her own as she comes to term with her own regrets and what she doesn’t want her daughter to do.
Ben Johnson is amazing as the town leader Sam the Lion as this old man that had seen everything as he also displays some sentimentality about how simple things were in the past as he is aware of changing times as he guides Sonny into doing what is right. Cloris Leachman is radiant as the lonely housewife Ruth Popper as this middle-aged woman who has been neglected and depressed as she finds solace in the company of Sonny as there is a moment at the end of the film that is just astonishing as she is just riveting to watch. Cybill Shepherd is brilliant as Jacy Farrow as this young woman who is eager to fit in with the rest of her classmates as she is in love with Duane while becoming frustrated with her lack of prospects as she tries to come to terms with what she wants to do with her life.
Jeff Bridges is superb as Duane as an aloof young man who likes to party and such as he has very little idea into what Jacy wants while being forced to grow up and think about his own future. Finally, there’s Timothy Bottoms in an incredible performance as Sonny Crawford where Bottoms brings a boyish quality to a young man unsure of what to do as he begins an affair with a middle-aged woman while dealing with the tasks he’s given as well as temptation as it’s a truly mesmerizing performance from Bottoms.
The Last Picture Show is a tremendous film from Peter Bogdanovich. Featuring a brilliant ensemble cast as well as an astonishing look and presentation, it’s a film that explores a world that is truly American but cut-off from the rest of the country. Especially in a world that is changing where the youth of this small town is forced to make decisions about what to do with this new world that is emerging. In the end, The Last Picture Show is a phenomenal film from Peter Bogdanovich.
Peter Bogdanovich Films: Targets - (Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women) - (Directed by John Ford) - (What’s Up Doc?) - Paper Moon - (Daisy Miller) - (At Long Last Love) - (Nickelodeon) - (Saint Jack) - (They All Laughed) - (Mask (1985 film)) - (Illegally Yours) - (Texasville) - (Noises Off) - (The Thing Called Love) - (To Sir, with Love II) - (The Price of Heaven) - (Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Women) - (Naked City: A Killer Christmas) - (A Saintly Switch) - (The Cat’s Meow) - (The Mystery of Natalie Wood) - (Hustle (2004 film)) - (Runnin’ Down a Dream) - (She’s Funny That Way) - The Great Buster: A Celebration
© thevoid99 2014
Based on the novel by Lawrence Block, 8 Million Ways to Die is the story of a guilt-reddened sheriff who tries to save a hooker from a drug dealer who killed one of her friends. Directed by Hal Ashby and screenplay by Oliver Stone and Robert Towne (in his David Henry Lee pseudonym), the film is a detective thriller that explores the world of high-stakes drug-dealing while a detective deals with his alcoholism and other issues. Starring Jeff Bridges, Rosanna Arquette, Alexandra Paul, Randy Brooks, and Andy Garcia. 8 Million Ways to Die is a gripping though somewhat very conventional film from Hal Ashby.
The film is an exploration of a troubled sheriff who struggles with alcoholism following a botched raid as he goes to a party with a hooker who asks for his protection from a drug dealer only for things to go wrong as he asks one of her friends to help him. In some aspects, the film is about a man trying to find redemption as well as do the right thing where he wants to take down a drug lord’s empire. The film’s screenplay by Oliver Stone and Robert Towne does take its time to explore the struggles of its protagonist Matthew Scudder (Jeff Bridges) as he deals with his sins as the mistakes he makes would cause him to drink as he already lost his family and his job as a sheriff in Los Angeles. Upon going into a blind date with a hooker named Sunny (Alexandra Paul), Scudder gets himself into trouble where he learns that Sunny is being targeted by the drug dealer Angel Moldonado (Andy Garcia) who is dating Sunny’s friend Sarah (Rosanna Arquette) who would later help Scudder to bring down Moldonado whose ambition would eventually cause trouble.
Hal Ashby’s direction does have a lot of interesting compositions which includes a lot of wide shots and medium compositions as well as some interesting angle to play into the film’s suspense and drama. Yet, it lacks the quirky sense of humor and realistic drama that Ashby is known for though he does manage to create some very interesting scenes such as Scudder and Moldonado talking trash to each other outside of Dodgers Stadium. Some of the action is quite intense as well as the way Ashby plays into Scudder’s struggles where he would black out from his drinking. The film would have some unique climax where even though it does play to the convention of crime dramas and suspense films, they do manage to keep things engaging. Especially with the script’s attempts to make things more gripping though it ends on a very conventional note despite the fact that it does play into Scudder’s desire for redemption. Overall, Ashby creates a good though somewhat pedestrian film about a former sheriff trying to take down a drug lord.
Cinematographer Stephen H. Burum does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography with some grainy film stock to play into the film‘s grimy look with some unique lighting schemes for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editors Robert Lawrence and Stuart H. Pappe does nice work with the editing where it plays into some of the rhythm of the film‘s suspense and action along with its dramatic moments. Production designer Michael D. Haller, with art director Mark W. Mansbridge and set decorators Barbara Kreiger and John T. Walker, does terrific work with the set pieces from the Gaudi-inspired home that Moldonado live in to more drab home of Scudder. Costume designer Gloria Gersham does fantastic work with the costumes from the dresses the women wear to the suits that Moldonado wears. Sound editor Samuel C. Crutcher does superb work with the sound from some of the voice montages that plays into Scudder‘s head as well as some of the effects that play into the film‘s climatic showdown scenes. The film’s music by James Newton Howard is brilliant for its electronic-heavy score to play into the film’s suspense and drama as
The casting by Lynn Stalmaster is amazing as it features some notable small roles from Lisa Sloan and Christa Denton in their respective roles as Scudder’s ex-wife and daughter, Wilfredo Hernandez as a drug dealer Scudder would kill early in the film to his own regret, James Avery as a deputy D.A., Vance Valencia as Moldonado’s right-hand man, Vyto Ruginis as Scudder’s former partner, and Tommy “Tiny” Lister as the right-hand man of club owner Chance. Randy Brooks is terrific as a criminal turned gambling club owner/pimp Chance who is trying to become legitimate despite Scudder’s presence as he would later team up with him once he learns what Moldonado wants from him. Alexandra Paul is okay as Sunny as this young hooker who finds herself the target of Moldonado over what she discovers as it’s a character that is often flighty as she would also try to seduce Scudder.
Andy Garcia is brilliant as Angel Moldonado as this very fiery and ambitious drug lord who wants to make it to the top as Garcia manages to do more with a character that could’ve been very conventional yet has a lot of charisma to make him into a very slimy yet cool antagonist. Rosanna Arquette is wonderful as Sarah as this hooker who is also Moldonado’s girlfriend as she struggles with her own vices while helping Scudder take down Moldonado. Finally, there’s Jeff Bridges in an excellent performance as Matt Scudder as this troubled ex-sheriff trying to redeem himself for his actions and fuck-ups by helping a hooker only to find himself in a dangerous world where he has to save some good people and face off against someone like Moldonado.
8 Million Ways to Die is a pretty good film from Hal Ashby thanks in part to the performances of Jeff Bridges, Rosanna Arquette, and Andy Garcia. While it may not have been the way Ashby would’ve ended his feature-film career, it is at least an engaging crime film despite a lot of its conventional elements due to the post-production tinkering of studio executives. In the end, 8 Million Ways to Die is a solid and enjoyable film from Hal Ashby.
Hal Ashby Films: The Landlord - Harold & Maude - The Last Detail - Shampoo - Bound for Glory - Coming Home - Being There - Second-Hand Hearts - (Lookin’ to Get Out) - (Let’s Spend the Night Together) - (Solo Trans) - (The Slugger’s Wife)
© thevoid99 2014
