Written and directed by Samuel Fuller, The Big Red One is the story of a platoon dealing with war during their campaign in Europe and North Africa during World War II. Based on aspects of Fuller’s own experiences as a soldier, the film is an in-depth look of what goes on in the battlefield where a young platoon follows its leader to survival as they deal with the horrors of war. Starring Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco, Kelly Ward, Siegfried Rauch, Marthe Villalonga, and Stephane Audran. The Big Red One is an intense and gripping film from Samuel Fuller.
The film follows the 1st Infantry Division during World War II from their campaign in North Africa in November of 1942 to the liberation of the Falkenau concentration camp in May of 1945 led by its sergeant (Lee Marvin). The film follows a sergeant and four men from his platoon as they deal with their many campaigns in the span of nearly three years as it’s largely told by a wannabe-novelist in Private Zab (Robert Carradine) who is the film’s narrator as he is joined by the sharpshooter Private Griff (Mark Hamill), the Italian-American Private Vinci (Bobby Di Cicco), and the medic Private Johnson (Kelly Ward). Samuel Fuller’s screenplay begins with the sergeant fighting in World War I as he would learn the war just ended after killing someone at a place in France which he would revisit years later.
Fuller’s screenplay doesn’t really have much of a plot as it would delve into an episodic narrative of sorts as it follows the sergeant and his platoon into different adventures in the course of their time in Europe and North Africa. Yet, Fuller is more interested in the comradery between the sergeant and his four privates where the sergeant doesn’t really act like some leader who barks orders but rather a soldier who knows what to do and make sure his men aren’t killed. At the same time, he’s kind of a father to them as he would let them get away with a few things but always keep them in check. Especially Pvt. Griff who has a hard time coping with the idea of killing someone as the sergeant reveal some of the dark and cynical aspects of war that is quite true. The script also has a subplot relating to a German officer named Schroeder (Siegfried Rauch) who is a counterpart of sorts for the sergeant as they would encounter each other from time to time during battles yet never meet each other directly. Schroeder is an interesting antagonist who has an undying sense of loyalty to Hitler and the Nazis but has a hard time accepting criticism of their ideals.
Fuller’s direction is definitely intense in terms of some of the battle scenes and action though Fuller doesn’t make it gratuitous nor overblown as it’s often the case with a lot of war films. Shot largely in Ireland with the North African locations shot in Israel as well as some of it shot in California, Fuller explores the different kind of obstacles the sergeant and his men would endure throughout the course of the film. While Fuller would use a lot of wide shots, along with some medium shots, to capture the scope of the locations. It’s in the close-ups and extreme close-ups is where Fuller captures the human aspects of war whether it’s a soldier looking at some of the horror or scenes of them observing their surroundings. Even if it’s moment of fun such as a scene late in the film where Pvt. Zab has a party for the platoon at a house in Belgium as it’s a moment of joy and fun. Fuller would create scenes that are odd as it help give the film a different tone that is often synonymous with war films.
The sequence at an insane asylum where the sergeant and his men meet a woman who is part of the French Resistance would be this mixture of dark humor and suspense that show what the 1st Infantry Division had to do. It’s among some of the offbeat moments in the film as well as what some soldiers have to use to protect their rifles in the water. Yet, Fuller does maintain some realism as it relates to the horrors of war as well as some of the humanity as it relates to the people the sergeant and his platoon encounter. Though some of it is dark, Fuller does show moments of compassion such as a little moment where a young girl puts flowers on the sergeant’s helmet or the film’s climax at the concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Overall, Fuller crafts a chilling yet captivating film about the 1st Infantry Division’s adventure during World War II.
Cinematographer Adam Greenberg does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as its usage of soft-lights and naturalistic photography for some of the daytime exteriors help give the film a beautiful look including some chilling moments involving some of the violence in the film. Editor Morton Tubor, with Bryan McKenzie for the 2004 reconstruction, does brilliant work with the editing as it is largely straightforward without emphasizing too much on style. Art director Peter Jamison does fantastic work with the look of some of the sets including a big cross that the sergeant would see reminding him of his time in World War I as well as the interiors at the asylum.
Sound editor Jack A. Finlay, with sound designers Mark Linden, Tara A. Paul, and Harry E. Snodgrass for the 2004 reconstruction, does superb work with the sound in capturing some of the horrors of war including the sounds of bombs and gunfire. The film’s music by Dana Kaproff is wonderful for its orchestral-based score as it play into some of the dramatic moments of suspense as well as some offbeat moments in the film in some light-hearted pieces.
The film’s marvelous cast include some notable small roles from Christa Lang as a German countess Schroeder sleeps with, Pascal Bruer as a Hitler Youth member, Galit Rotman as a pregnant Frenchwoman, Matteo Zoffoli as a Sicilian boy who helps the platoon in exchange for them to help bury his mother, Perry Lang as a young private named Kaiser, Doug Werner as a Polish-American soldier, and Marthe Villalonga as a madam at a Belgium house where the platoon briefly stay at. Stephane Audran is terrific as a French spy pretending to be a patient at an insane asylum as she helps the sergeant and his platoon while befriending Pvt. Griff. Siegfried Rauch is superb as Schroeder as a German officer who is kind of the counterpart for the sergeant as they share similar views on war yet he is someone that is truly devoted to Hitler as he will kill those who says something bad about him.
Kelly Ward is excellent as Pvt. Johnson as a farm boy who has experience in being a doctor as he tries to cope with the chaos of war as well as be someone who is very loyal to his platoon. Bobby Di Cicco is fantastic as Private Vinci as an Italian-American who says some of the film’s funniest things while being quite tough in dealing with the enemy. Robert Carradine is brilliant as Private Zab as the film’s narrator as someone who provides some humor as well as witty commentary on things as he’s using his experiences for a book. Mark Hamill is amazing as Private Griff as a sharpshooter who has a hard time with the idea of killing someone as he would display some humility and weariness as someone who would see a lot as he copes with some of the darkest aspects of war. Finally, there’s Lee Marvin in an incredible performance as the sergeant as a man who has been through a lot of wars as he tries to maintain some sense of morale as well as be someone who knows what not to do as it is really one of Marvin’s career-defining performances.
The Big Red One is a phenomenal film from Samuel Fuller. Featuring a great cast, an engaging story about what men go through in war, dazzling technical work, and a fantastic music score. It’s a war film that doesn’t exactly play by the rules while displaying elements of humanity and comradery that is often missed in war films. In the end, The Big Red One is a spectacular film from Samuel Fuller.
Samuel Fuller Films: I Shot Jesse James - The Baron of Arizona - Steel Helmet - Fixed Bayonets! - Park Row - Pickup on South Street - (Hell and High Water) - House of Bamboo - (China Gate) - Run of the Arrow - Forty Guns - Verboten! - The Crimson Kimono - Underworld U.S.A. - Merrill's Marauders - Shock Corridor - The Naked Kiss - (Shark!) - (Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street) - White Dog - (Thieves After Dark) - (Street of No Return) - (The Madonna and the Dragon)
© thevoid99 2017
Directed and co-scored by John Carpenter and written by Carpenter and Larry Sulkin, Ghosts of Mars is the story of an intergalactic police officer and her team traveling to Mars for a prison transport where things go wrong in the planet. Set in the 22nd century, the film is a sci-fi horror thriller where space cops and a criminal team up to battle monsters on Mars. Starring Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Clea Duvall, Pam Grier, and Joanna Cassidy. Ghosts of Mars is a stylish but messy film from John Carpenter.
It’s the 22nd Century where Mars has been colonized and the planet is now breathable to humanity yet towns are ravaged where the intergalactic police make an unsettling discovery just as they were to transport a prisoner. That is pretty much what the film is about where cops is forced to work with a convicted murderer to fight these monsters as they were once human who are now possessed by ghosts from Mars. Yet, it is told in a reflective manner by Lt. Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) who reports what happened during a simple prison transfer job to her superiors as it reveals a much larger story. The film’s screenplay is quite simple yet it has a lot of expositions and perspective from other characters in what they saw including Dr. Arlene Whitlock (Joanna Cassidy) who revealed how these ghosts emerge. The multiple perspectives and expositions do create a script that is very messy as well as be over-explained and not allow the audience to create their interpretations into what happened.
John Carpenter’s direction is definitely stylish as it plays into a futuristic setting as much of the film is set at night. Shot on location at a gypsum mine in New Mexico, the film plays into this world that is emerging in its colonization state but is becoming undone by these monsters. While Carpenter would use some wide shots to establish some of the locations, he maintains an intimacy with the medium shots and close-ups as it plays to the severity of what Lt. Ballard and her fellow officers are facing. There are some moments that are exciting in the action but the suspense is kind of lacking as well as uninspired due to the fact that it feels derivative from other kind of films that Carpenter has made. Even as some of the moments involving the visual effects seem to be lacking as it’s probably due to the limitations in the budget. Despite these shortcomings, the film is still entertaining while not taking itself seriously as it does have some humor. Overall, Carpenter creates a thrilling though flawed film about space cops and criminals fighting evil ghosts on Mars.
Cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe does excellent work with the cinematography from the usage of lights and distorted images for some of the scenes involving the ghosts to the interiors as it‘s mostly straightforward. Editor Paul C. Warschilka does some fine work in the editing though it‘s over stylized with its transition wipes and dissolves as it goes a little overboard. Production designer William A. Elliot, with set decorator Ronald R. Reiss and art directors William Hiney and Mark W. Mansbridge, does fantastic work with the look of places on Mars as well as the interior for the prisons and such. Costume designer Robin Michel Bush does nice work with the costumes as it‘s mostly low-key while it‘s more creative for the look of the creatures the cops and criminals have to deal with.
The special effects makeup work of Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman, and Greg Nicotero is brilliant for the look of the possessed humans who have become enraged Martians as they all have something unique in their look. Visual effects supervisor Lance Wilhoite does some OK work with the visual effects for some of the scenes involving the trains though the effects in the battle scenes look unfinished and awkward. Sound editor Joe Dorn and sound designer David Bartlett do terrific work with the sound as it play into the way the Martians sound as well as some of the gunfire and such. The film’s music by John Carpenter is superb for its electronic-based score filled with synthesizers as the music also feature contributions from the thrash metal band Anthrax as well as some contributions from Elliot Easton of the Cars, Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails/Guns N’ Roses, Steve Vai, and Buckethead.
The casting by Reuben Cannon is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Robert Carradine as a train engineer, Wanda de Jesus as a criminal who fights the Martians, the trio of Duane Davis, Lobo Sebastian, and Rodney A. Grant as a trio of thugs trying to break out Desolation Williams, Liam Waite as the space cop Descanso, and Richard Cetrone as the Martians leader. Joanna Cassidy is terrific as Dr. Arlene Whitlock as a scientist who saw the chaos that unleashed the ghost Martians while Pam Grier is alright in her small role as the police leader Commander Braddock. Clea Duvall is superb as the rookie cop Bashira Kincaid as a young woman new to the field as she is in shock in what she’s seeing as she would eventually grow to kick some ass.
Jason Statham is fantastic as Sgt. Jericho Butler as the comic relief of the film who is a smooth talker and says the funniest lines while being this full-on badass as only someone like Statham could play that role to the fullest. Ice Cube is excellent as James “Desolation” Williams as a wanted murderer who is supposed to be transferred to a prison as he is a cunning and skilled fighter that is aware of what is going as well as reveal some truths into the murders he’s been accused of. Finally, there’s Natasha Henstridge in a brilliant performance as Lt. Melanie Ballard as this no-nonsense cop with a weakness for hallucinogenic drugs that is eager to do her job while knowing what is out there as she tries to help her fellow cops and such fight off against the Martians.
Despite some clunky visual effects and an overwritten yet messy script, Ghosts of Mars is still a worthwhile film from John Carpenter. Thanks in part to a nice soundtrack and fun performances from Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, and Jason Statham. It’s a film that has some style as well as moments where it doesn’t take itself so seriously. In the end, Ghosts of Mars is a good film from John Carpenter.
John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - 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 - The Ward
The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Part 1 - Part 2
© thevoid99 2016
Directed and starring John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper and written by Dan Angel and Billy Brown, Body Bags is an anthology film where a coroner and two morgue attendees tell three different stories relating to the bodies they’re analyzing. The first entitled The Gas Station is about a serial killer stalking a gas station attendee while the second entitled The Hair is about a botched hair transplant involving an alien parasite as both segments are directed by John Carpenter. The third entitled Eye is about a baseball player who receives an eye transplant unaware that it belonged to a killer that is trying to possess him as it is helmed by Tobe Hooper. Also starring Robert Carradine, Stacy Keach, David Warner, Twiggy, Sheena Easton, Mark Hamill, Tom Arnold, and Debbie Harry. Body Bags is a riveting and enjoyable film from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper.
The film is essentially a trilogy of tales told by a coroner (John Carpenter) as it play to the bodies he is examining in one scary night. The first entitled The Gas Station is about a college student who works on her very first night as a gas station attendee as she deals with strange customers as well as the presence of a serial killer on the loose. The second story entitled The Hair is about a middle-aged man dealing with baldness as he goes to a mysterious doctor about a hair transplant where everything seems to go well until he discover alien parasites in his hair. The third and final story entitled Eye is about a baseball player who loses his right eye in a car accident where he goes into surgery to get a new one as he starts to see strange things involving dead bodies and such. All of it is told in different styles where screenwriters Dan Angel and Billy Brown play up some of the suspense where The Gas Station is about an unusual first day at work while Hair is about insecurities and vanities that eventually catches up to a man. Eye is about a man desperate to go back to baseball unaware of the horror he is seeing with his new eye.
Since the first two segments and inserts are directed by John Carpenter and Eye is helmed by Tobe Hooper with Larry Sulkin providing additional work on the insert scenes. Each segment is given a different feel as both Carpenter and Hooper both provide their own idea to their segments while the inserts where Carpenter plays the coroner are presented in a comedic manner. For The Gas Station, Carpenter creates something that is more of a suspense film as it is about a college student’s first day as a gas station attendant where there are bits of humor but also moments where Carpenter plays with the suspense. Much of his compositions in that segment and The Hair are quite simple where the latter is a bit more playful as Carpenter goes for something straightforward rather than make it a big-time horror piece. The scariest segment is definitely Eye where Hooper creates something that is more conventional in terms of the horror genre but prefers to play it out slowly as it also has some more stylistic compositions including surreal moments that play into the terror. Overall, Carpenter and Hooper create a fun and thrilling anthology film about terror.
Cinematographer Gary Kibbe does excellent work with the cinematography from the colorful look of the interiors at the morgue as well as the nighttime exterior scenes for The Gas Station and Eye. Editor Edward A. Warschilka does nice work with the editing as it is stylish with its rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense for all of the segments. Production designer Daniel A. Lomino and set decorator Cloudia Rebar do fantastic work with the look of the morgue as well as the gas station interiors for The Gas Station as well as the more straightforward look of the other segments.
The makeup work of Rick Baker and Greg LaCava, with hair stylist Carolyn Elias, do amazing work for the look of the mortician as well as the look of the new eye in Eye as well as the hair in The Hair. The special effects work of Howard Jensen is terrific as it play into the look of the parasites for The Hair. Sound editor Anthony Milch does superb work with the sound as it help create some of the chilling moments of suspense in The Gas Station and Eye. The film’s music by John Carpenter and Jim Lang is wonderful with Carpenter providing some unique electronic-based pieces for The Gas Station while going for kitsch-based jazz in The Hair while Lang provides a more symphonic score for Eye.
The film’s cast is great as it features an array of cameos from horror film icons as well as pop culture icons. For the scenes set in the morgue, John Carpenter is hilarious as the mortician while Tobe Hooper and Tom Arnold are terrific in their brief roles as the morgue attendees. In The Gas Station, the cameo appearances from Wes Craven as a customer, George Buck Flower as a homeless guy, and Sam Raimi as a dead guy are fun yet the short is largely focused on Robert Carradine in a superb role as the gas station attendant who shows the new girl what to do while Alex Datcher is wonderful as the new girl Anne who is stalked by a crazed serial killer. In The Hair, the appearances of model Kim Alexis and special makeup effects creator Gregory Nicotero as people with good hair are fun to watch while Debbie Harry is a hoot as a nurse trying to help the protagonist find the right look.
David Warner is excellent as Dr. Lock as the man who can help the character Richard find new hair while Sheena Easton is fantastic as Richard’s girlfriend Megan who tries to assure him that he looks fine. Stacy Keach is brilliant as Richard as a man who becomes insecure over his bald hair as he is eager to have a new look and feel happy only for things to go wrong. In Eye, the cameo appearances of Charles Napier as a baseball coach, Roger Corman as a doctor, and John Agar as the surgeon are just amazing to watch while Twiggy is terrific as Brent’s wife Cathy who becomes worried about her husband’s troubled behavior. Mark Hamill is marvelous as Brent Matthews as baseball player who loses his eye in a car accident as he gets a new eye but becomes unhinged by what he is seeing as Hamill definitely camps it up for the performance.
Body Bags is a remarkable film from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper. It’s a fun anthology film that feature a trilogy of stories created by two masters of horror as it’s a film that is about terror at its most chilling. In the end, Body Bags is an exhilarating and fun film from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper.
Tobe Hooper Films: (Eggshells) - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - (Eaten Alive) - (Salem’s Lot) - (The Funhouse) - (Poltergeist) - Lifeforce - (Invaders from Mars) - (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) - (Spontaneous Combustion) - (I’m Dangerous Tonight) - (Night Terrors) - (The Mangler) - (The Apartment Complex) - (Crocodile (2000 film)) - (Toolbox Murders) - (Mortuary) - (Djinn)
John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Someone's Watching Me! - Halloween - Elvis - The Fog
- Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward
The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Part 1 - Part 2
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by Jeff Kanew and screenplay by Jeff Buhai, Miguel Tejada-Flores, and Steve Zacharias from a story by Tim Metcalfe, Revenge of the Nerds is the story about a group of misfit and oddball freshmen who decide to fight back against a jock fraternity with their intelligence in the hope that they can enjoy collegiate life. It’s a film that plays into the world of the underdog mentality as a group of young men deal with not just prejudice for being very different and weird but also realize that they can’t back down for who they are. Starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Curtis Armstrong, Timothy Busfield, Larry B. Scott, Andrew Cassese, Michelle Meyrink, Brian Tochi, Ted McGinley, Donald Gibb, Julia Montgomery, David Wohl, Bernie Casey, James Cromwell, and John Goodman. Revenge of the Nerds is a wild and rapturous film from Jeff Kanew.
The film is a simple story about a group of newly-arrived freshmen students who arrive to Adams College as they’re being harassed and ridiculed by a jock fraternity forcing these group of geeky and brainy men to fight back with their intelligence. It’s a film that doesn’t just explore the social politics of college but also how this group of odd and diverse misfits who don’t really fit into any kind of clique come together and stand up for themselves. Along the way, hilarity ensues involving panty raids, a party with an equally-odd band of sorority sisters, and other antics. Especially as they find ways to humiliate the jocks in their own unique way and win over people who have dealt with prejudice or have a hard time with conformity.
The film’s screenplay not only bring in a lot of humor to the film as it plays into many of the antics that occur but also portray many of the characters as real people. Leading the pack are Lewis Skolnick (Robert Carradine) and Gilbert Lowe (Anthony Edwards) who are just a couple of freshmen that want to study computer science and have some fun. Yet, because of the carelessness of the jock fraternity in the Alpha Betas when they burned their house down during a party. The freshmen including Skolnick and Lowe are forced to live in the gym with other outcasts including a near-sighted geek named Poindexter (Timothy Busfield), a Japanese student in Takashi (Brian Tochi), a 12-year old aerodynamics expert named Wormser (Andrew Cassese), the openly-gay Lamar (Larry B. Scott), and a perverted slob named Booger (Curtis Armstrong). There, the band of outcasts eventually find a house to live in and apply into a fraternity where they’re given a tryout by a fraternity president in U.N. Jefferson (Bernie Casey) to be part of his all-black fraternity known as Lambda Lambda Lambda.
The script also plays into this back-and-forth conflict between the nerds and the Alpha Betas as the jock themselves in star quarterback Stan Gable (Ted McGinley), Danny Burke (Matt Salinger), and Ogre (Donald Gibb) try to intimidate them physically and pull off these very mean pranks. At the same time, they would abuse their own power as leaders of the school’s Greek council to get things their way which only drive the nerds to fight back with the aid of the equally-nerdy and oddball sorority in the Omega Mus against the Alpha Betas and the Pi Delta Pi sorority in an annual competition. The script doesn’t just showcase these Nerds trying to prove that anyone can do it by being themselves but also be proud of who they are. Even as they manage to be a threat to the Alpha Betas and their idea of conformity and power.
Jeff Kanew’s direction is very simple as it doesn’t go for anything stylistic as it’s more concerned with creating a film that is consistently funny. Shot on location near Tucson, Arizona, the film plays into the world of college life outside of academics as it focuses on a world that is changing. One of which involves a group of jocks and party animals who often get in their way and not think about what is ahead of them. Then you have the nerds who arrive not only to expand their own intelligence but also find a place where they can have fun and also think of a future for themselves. Kanew’s approach to compositions often involve a lot of medium shots and close-ups as he’s more concerned with maintaining a sense of energy that is happening during the antics that occur such as the panty-raid sequence and the party scene with the Omega Mus where the nerds get very high on marijuana provided by Booger.
The film also features these very offbeat moments in the humor such as some of the scenes at the annual fraternity-sorority competition as it reveals exactly what the nerds would do if they’re forced to take part in physical competitions. There’s also moments where some of the humor is quite crass as it involves some of Booger’s own gross antics where he is able to challenge Ogre into a belching contest. It all plays into the wild world of college as it proves that nerds can party to but also not be afraid to say who they are. Especially in the film’s ending where one of them has finally had enough of the abuse in the hands of the jocks and felt that something needs to be said. Overall, Kanew creates a wild yet enjoyable film about a bunch of nerds taking a stand against a bunch of idiotic jocks.
Cinematographer King Baggot does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography to play into the sunny look of the locations along with some unique lighting schemes for some scenes set at night. Editor Alan Balsam does fantastic work with the editing with its stylish cuts from the sequence of the nerds cleaning up the house they would live in to some slow-motion cuts for some of the competitive moments. Production designer James L. Schoppe and set decorator Frank Lombardo do terrific work with the look of the gym and the home the nerds would live in as well as the hall of the Greek council.
Sound editor Michael O’Corrigan does nice work with some of the sound effects as well as some of the craziness that occurs in some of the parties and collegiate activities. The film’s music by Thomas Newman is brilliant for its mixture electronic-based music with some orchestral elements while music supervisor Martin Schwartz creates a fun soundtrack that features music from Michael Jackson, Queen, Gleaming Spires, Ya Ya, Andrea & Hot Mink, Bone Symphony, The Rubinoos, Jill Michaels and Pat Robinson, and Revenge (not the U.K. 90s group of the same name).
The casting by Susan Arnold and Paula Herold is great as it features some notable small roles from James Cromwell as Lewis’ dad, Alice Hirson as Gilbert’s mother, Matt Salinger as the Alpha Beta Danny Burke, Donald Gibb as the caveman-like Alpha Beta named Ogre, and David Wohl in a terrific performance as the college’s dean who sympathizes with the nerds as he is often bullied by the football coach. John Goodman is fantastic as the college’s football coach Harris who doesn’t like the nerds as he would encourage his players to humiliate them. Ted McGinley is superb as the star quarterback Stan Gable who sees nerds as inferior as he often cares more about himself than his girlfriend. Julia Montgomery is wonderful as Stan’s girlfriend Betty who is often pursued by Lewis as she deals with Stan’s selfishness.
Michelle Meyrink is brilliant as the nerdy Judy who befriends Gilbert as she would help him and the nerds meet her sorority in the Omega Mus who are total party animals. Bernie Casey is phenomenal as Lambda Lambda Lambda leader U.N. Jefferson who is reluctant to have the nerds join his fraternity until he realizes what they’re capable of in being able to stand up for themselves. Brian Tochi and Timothy Busfield are excellent in their respective roles as Takashi and Poindexter as two very different nerds with Tochi as a Japanese exchange student and Busfield as a near-sighted nerd with thick glasses.
Andrew Cassese is amazing as the 12-year old genius Wormser who becomes very interested in women while Larry B. Scott is fabulous as the openly-gay Lamar who is quite smart but also has great fashion sense. Curtis Armstrong is incredible as Booger as a slob who doesn’t fit in anywhere as he parties with the nerds and gets them to have fun. Anthony Edwards is remarkable as Gilbert Lowe as the more sensitive nerd who is able to find a girl but is also the one guy that refuses to be intimidated as he rallies the nerds into standing up for themselves. Finally, there’s Robert Carradine in a marvelous performance as Lewis Skolnick as a nerd with a distinctive laugh that is eager to have a good time and be smart while is also someone that just wants to be accepted.
Revenge of the Nerds is a tremendous film from Jeff Kanew. It’s a film that manages to not only explore the social world of college cliques but also manages to find some heart and laughs into a bunch of people who don’t fit in while being able to be proud of who they are. In the end, Revenge of the Nerds is a spectacular film from Jeff Kanew.
Related: (Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise) - (Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation) - (Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love)
© thevoid99 2015
Based on the novel by George Davis, Coming Home is the story about a the wife of a Marine captain who falls for a paralyzed soldier while her husband away fighting at the Vietnam War. Directed by Hal Ashby and screenplay by Robert C. Jones and Waldo Salt, with additional work by Rudy Wurlitzer, from a screen story by Nancy Dowd, the film explores the world of life at home as a woman deals with the Vietnam War as she meets a paraplegic soldier who is still scarred by the events of the war itself. Starring Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, and Robert Carradine. Coming Home is a powerful yet captivating drama from Hal Ashby.
Sally Hyde (Jane Fonda) is the wife of Marine Captain Bob Hyde (Bruce Dern) as he is set to leave for service in Vietnam which he believes will help things despite some of the events that happened including the Tet Offensive. After Bob’s departure, Sally deals with her loneliness as she befriends the bohemian Vi Hudson (Penelope Milford) who helps her get an apartment off the base and near the beach. Sally decides to volunteer at a nearby military hospital where she meets various soldiers who have been injured or paralyzed by the war including a man named Luke Martin (Jon Voight) who had been an old classmate of hers years ago. Luke has become paraplegic as he’s angry over what happened to him as Sally tries to figure out what to do with him.
The two become friends where they slowly open up to each other just as the events of 1968 were happening. With Luke finally in a wheelchair and starting to leave the hospital to be on his own, their friendship blossoms as Luke also tries to help out Vi’s troubled younger brother Billy (Robert Carradine) who is suffering from the traumas of the war. Sally’s life starts to change as she gets a letter from Bob to visit her in Hong Kong for a week as she arrives to find Bob becoming detached. Upon returning home, Sally learns some devastating news that has Luke chaining himself to a Marines recruiting building in order to not have young men being sent to war. Sally bails him out as the two begin to fall in love though the two try to figure out how to tell Bob about their relationship once he returns home. Bob eventually returns home with a wounded leg as he starts to become more unhinged as he learn about Sally’s affair with Luke.
Films about the Vietnam War is often about the horror that happens in combat as well as a lot of the political issues that occur. With this film, it is about war from the perspective of three different people as it’s set outside of the battlefield in 1968 where a lot is happening. Yet, it’s more about a woman dealing with her husband going out in war while meeting a paraplegic soldier who had been to war. She starts out as an officer’s wife that has only known that kind of life. When she’s alone, she figures out what to do as she only knows that military life and the only way to be close to that world is to volunteer at a military hospital. Once she volunteers and meets this paraplegic man, her outlook in life changes as does her lifestyle.
The screenplay by Robert C. Jones and Waldo Salt definitely does a lot of work into exploring the dynamics of its three central protagonists without trying to involve any kind of political rhetoric about the Vietnam War. Instead, it is about these three people caught up in the chaos of war as they deal with war and its aftermath. For Sally, she starts to learn a lot of what Luke went through in the war as well as other veterans as she eventually asks for other officer wives to help out but they’re more concerned about doing other things. She eventually does things herself with help from Vi as she becomes someone the veterans at the hospital love to have around including Luke.
Luke starts out as this very disillusioned man who felt angry over what happened to him as he isn’t treated well at the hospital and upset at what is happening in the war. Once he meets Sally and the two get reacquainted after not seeing each other for years, Luke becomes a much friendlier person as he starts to rebuild his own life and find meaning again. The two eventually have a romance where Sally would experience things she didn’t have with her husband yet becomes conflicted about her loyalty to Bob. Luke understands this as he doesn’t want to cause anymore trouble yet they would be unveiled by something outside of them. Bob is a man that starts out as someone with a sense of idealism about his role as an officer but he starts to slowly unravel due to his experience of the war and comes home a wounded man not just in a literal sense but also emotional.
What Luke and Sally do to Bob isn’t the worst thing as they both wanted to be honest but it is what has already happened to Bob that just adds to what he is going through. Whereas Luke had started off as a man paralyzed by war and ends up regaining the will to live as he doesn’t let his paralysis affect him. Bob becomes a man that is paralyzed where he doesn’t know what or who to believe as he ends up being lost. For Sally, she is caught in the middle as she is in love with Luke but also loves Bob as she doesn’t want to cause more trouble though she is not the same woman that she was in the beginning of the film.
Hal Ashby’s direction is very engaging for the way he explores the after effects of war and how people try to change themselves in the wake of these events. Particularly as he opens the film with men playing pool as they talk about the war where it is established that this won’t be a typical film about war but rather the aftermath as everyone in that room is outspoken. Then it cuts to an opening credits scene where it shows Bob running around a military base to establish who this man is. Ashby’s direction is filled with a lot of imagery that revolves around war that is prevalent on the televisions and radio that also tells a world that is coming undone. Yet, he is more interested in the human drama that occurs where Ashby uses the camera to capture the chaos of the hospital that slowly becomes more peaceful.
The direction becomes more playful and much more open as it’s shot largely nearby San Diego and some bits in Hong Kong where it shows a lot of contrast to the world that Sally encounters with the two different men in her life. In Hong Kong, things are tense and chaotic where it’s also very crowded. In California, things are much freer as Ashby’s direction does contain an element of intense drama but also looseness in the scenes between Sally and Luke. Ashby also creates some compositions and moments where it is about the drama as it the film intensifies to some huge climaxes. Particularly when it involves the three protagonists as it’s followed by an ending that reveals how far these three individuals have gone to in the beginning. The ending does have a message but it’s not a heavy-handed one as Ashby tells it with a lot of simplicity and that is it. Overall, Ashby creates a truly mesmerizing and heartfelt drama about the after effects of war.
Cinematographer Haskell Wexler does brilliant work with the film‘s photography from the colorful yet lush look of the daytime exteriors to the more stylish approach to lighting for some of the interiors including the clubs that Sally go to. Editor Don Zimmerman does amazing work with the editing to play out the drama as well as some parallel montages to contrast the lives of the characters. Production designer Michael D. Haller and set decorator George Gaines do wonderful work with the sets from the look of Sally‘s home to the more chaotic look of the military hospital.
Costume designer Ann Roth does nice work with the costumes to play up the period from the more ragged look of Luke to the stylish clothes that Sally and Vi wear. Makeup artist Bernadine M. Anderson and hair stylist Lola “Skip” McNalley do terrific work for the look of Sally from her hairdo and makeup to showcase her transformation. Sound editor Frank E. Warner does superb work with the sound from the atmosphere of the clubs to the more quieter moments in the scenes between Luke and Sally. The film’s soundtrack is truly a delight to hear as it features effective use of music from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Buffalo Springfield, Simon & Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, Tim Buckley, Bob Dylan, the Chambers Brothers, Steppenwolf, Richie Havens, Big Brother Holding Company with Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The casting by Lynn Stalmaster is definitely a major highlight of the film as it features some notable small roles from Robert Ginty as Vi’s sometimes lover Sgt. Mobley and Robert Carradine as Vi’s troubled Vietnam veteran brother Billy. Penelope Milford is great as Vi who helps Sally deal with her loneliness while dealing with her own issues as she becomes a friend for Sally and Luke. Bruce Dern is brilliant as Captain Bob Hyde who is a man that has this idea of war is only to face the realities of what he’s facing as he becomes undone by these realities as he finds himself out of sorts with the world including his wife.
Finally, there’s the duo of Jane Fonda and Jon Voight as the two give very incredible performances in their respective roles as Sally and Luke. Voight displays a complexity to his character as a man wracked with the horror of war and feeling mistreated as he later finds a reason to live where he starts to take control of his own life and finally give his own perspective on war in a great finale. Fonda is radiant as this woman lost in her role as an officer’s wife as she tries to find a way to fill her time only to go through changes by what she encounters and deal with the harsh reality of war. Fonda and Voight have amazing chemistry together in the way they deal with each as well as the fact that neither character wants to cause more pain to Bob in the film’s third act.
Coming Home is an extraordinary film from Hal Ashby that features outstanding performances from Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern. The film is definitely one of the best films about the Vietnam War in terms of the troubling aftermath soldiers faces as well as what wives deal with as they’re at home wondering what will happen to their husbands. It’s also an engrossing drama that explores the world of loneliness as well as trying to find an identity in the wake of loneliness. In the end, Coming Home is a remarkable film from Hal Ashby.
Hal Ashby Films: The Landlord - Harold and Maude - The Last Detail - Shampoo - Bound for Glory - Being There - Second-Hand Hearts - (Lookin’ to Get Out) - (Let’s Spend the Night Together) - (Solo Trans) - (The Slugger’s Wife) - 8 Million Ways to Die
© thevoid99 2012
