The film is about a cat-and-mouse chase between a LAPD police detective and a career thief with a loyal heist crew who take part in a major heist following another theft that involved bonds belonging to a money-laundering insurance owner. It is a film that explore two men who only know what to do as they’re set to collide but there is a mutual respect in the fact that they’re men who both have a code and know what to do if they meet face-to-face. Michael Mann’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative yet it is more about the men involved in this cat-and-mouse game where the LAPD detective in Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and the criminal Neil McCauley (Robert de Niro) are trying to outwit one another but they’re also dealing with issues outside of their line of work with Hanna’s third marriage to Justine (Diane Venora) is crumbling as her daughter Lauren (Natalie Portman) is becoming emotionally-unstable. McCauley is just trying to do more work as it is all he knows while he meets and falls for a graphic designer in Eady (Amy Brenneman).
The film isn’t just about Hannah and McCauley dealing with each other and their own lives but the film also showcase that McCauley’s right-hand man in Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) is going through issues with his wife Charlene (Ashley Judd) who is having an affair with a businessman in Alan Marciano (Hank Azaria). The script also play into the fact that McCauley, Shiherlis, Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore), and Trejo (Danny Trejo) are a crew who pride themselves in being professional and not kill anyone unless they have to as they bring in a wildcard in Waingro (Kevin Gage) who ends up becoming problematic as McCauley tries to kill him only for him to escape as he would end up being a problem for everyone including Hanna as it relates to the murders and raping of young women. Waingro would also play a role in the film’s second act as it relates to the bonds that McCauley and his crew stole as it belonged to the rich insurance salesman Roger Van Zant (William Fichtner). Mann doesn’t really create any heroes and villains but rather people are complicated with Van Zant and Waingro being the real villains in the film as they’re immoral and don’t care for anyone but themselves.
Mann’s direction definitely has an air of style in the presentation as it is shot on location in and around Los Angeles as the city itself is a character in the film. Mann uses these locations to not just play into the world that McCauley wants despite its lack of fulfillment but also a world that is simple as McCauley’s crew are diverse as it would later include a former prison-mate of his in Don Breedan (Dennis Haysbert) as they also have a simple life. There are wide and medium shots to play into the scope of the locations as well as banks, hotel rooms, and other places as there is a lot of attention to detail in these rooms and places that Mann is filming as it adds to the large scope of the film. Notably in a scene where Hanna and his team are at a docking area where McCauley and his team are having a conversation as Hanna and his team go to that location where Hanna realizes what is going on. It adds to this air of intrigue and suspense that occurs throughout the film that includes this meeting between McCauley and Hanna at a diner.
It’s a scene in the middle of the film in this meeting of the two men where it serves as a meeting of the minds before these two men go to war as it is clear through its close-ups and simple reverse shots as these are just two complicated men who could be friends in another world and have a lot of similarities but are on opposite sides of the law. The heist sequence that comes in late in the second act is an intense moment where there is a lot of quick shots that play into the frenetic energy as there is a lot at stake including lives where McCauley and his crew don’t want to kill anyone but they’re pinned down. The third act isn’t just about who ratted McCauley out but also Hanna wanting to find out who snitched to them as well yet both men and Shiherlis would deal their own personal issues. There is also a lot of drama that Mann explore where it is clear that McCauley and Hanna are men of certain extremes but at least are honest to admit with the latter having to realize what he means to his family despite not being there as much. The climatic showdown of the two is one that is filled with an immense visual style in its scope but it also owes a lot to the western. Overall, Mann crafts a ravishing yet gripping film about a LAPD detective and a career-criminal going head-to-head in an upcoming heist.
Cinematographer Dante Spinotti does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of low-key lights and bluish colors for some of scenes in the day and night as well as using available light in some scenes to enhance some of the drama. Editors Don Hoenig, Pasquale Buba, William Goldenberg, and Tom Rolf do amazing work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts, fast-cuts, and other stylish cuts to play into the suspense and drama including the heist sequence. Production designer Neil Spisak, with set decorator Anne H. Ahrens and art director Margie Stone McShirley, does excellent work with the look of the homes that some of the characters live in as well as the offices that Hanna and his team work at and some of the diners that the characters go to. Costume designer Deborah Lynn Scott does fantastic work with the costumes from some of the stylish and posh clothing that both Charlene and Justine wear to the more casual and looser look of Eady with a lot of the suits that the men wear.
Makeup artist John Caglione Jr. and hair stylist Vera Mitchell, with tattoo designer Ken Diaz, do terrific work with the look of a few characters from the long-haired look of Shiherlis as well as the tattoos of Trejo. Visual effects supervisor Neil Krepela does nice work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects such as a scene of McCauley and Eady looking at the L.A. skyline at night. Sound editors Per Hallberg and Larry Kemp, along with sound designer Peter Michael Sullivan, do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as how guns sound when they fire as it is a highlight of the film. The film’s music by Elliot Goldenthal is wonderful for its somber yet moody score that mixes orchestral bits with some ambient electronic pieces while music supervisor Budd Carr creates a hypnotic soundtrack that features pieces by Moby, Einsturzende Neubauten, Terje Rypal & the Chasers, the Kronos Quartet, the Passengers (U2 & Brian Eno), B.B. King, and Lisa Gerrard.
The casting by Bonnie Timmerman is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Bud Cort as a diner owner that Breedan works for, Farrah Forke as a news reporter, Hazelle Goodman as a dead prostitute’s mother, Paul Herman as a police sergeant, Jeremy Piven as a surgeon, the trio of Rick Avery, Bill McIntosh, and Thomas Rosales Jr. as armored truck guards, Patricia Healy as Bosko’s date, Cindy Katz as a forensics investigator, Xander Berkeley as a friend of Justine named Ralph, Tom Noonan as a former criminal/guide in Kelso, Tone Loc and Ricky Harris as a couple of informant brothers who talk to Hanna about the word on the street, Jerry Trimble as one of Hanna’s detectives in Danny Schwartz, Henry Rollins as Van Zant’s assistant, Kim Statton as Breedan’s wife, Susan Traylor as Cherrito’s wife, Yvonne Zima as a young girl Cherrito reluctantly takes hostage, and Hank Azaria as Charlene’s lover Alan Marciano who is also involved in his own criminal activities until Hanna uses him as bait.
The performances of Ted Levine, Wes Studi, and Mykelti T. Williamson in their respective roles as Detective Mike Bosko, Lieutenant Sammy Casals, and Sergeant Bobby Drucker are terrific as members of Hanna’s team who all provide some insight into their mission with Sgt. Drucker being the one who deals with Charlene while not taking shit from Marciano. Natalie Portman is wonderful in her small role as Justine’s troubled teenage daughter Lauren who is dealing with an absentee father and other mental issues that raises concern from Hanna. Dennis Haysbert is superb as Don Breedan as a former prison mate of McCauley who is not happy with his parole assignment until he meets McCauley and agrees to help him while Danny Trejo is fantastic as McCauley’s friend Trejo who often serves as the driver in the heists until he is tailed by the police. Kevin Gage and William Fichtner are excellent in their respective villainous roles as Waingro and Roger Van Zant with the former being this deviant wildcard who has no remorse in who he kills while the latter is just a greedy insurance salesman who only cares about money and control.
The trio of Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, and Diane Venora are brilliant in their respective roles as Eady, Charlene Shiherlis, and Justine Hanna as the women in the lives of these three men with Brenneman providing a sense of warmth and hope to McCauley while Judd serves as a frustrated wife who is upset over her husband’s gambling issues and Venora as Hanna’s wife who is often upset by his frequent absences and her troubled daughter. Tom Sizemore and Jon Voight are amazing in their respective roles as the thief Michael Cherrito and the fence Nate with the former being someone who is eager for one more score while the latter helps McCauley in finding new jobs but is aware that something about Van Zant isn’t right. Val Kilmer is incredible as Chris Shiherlis as McCauley’s right-hand man who is a great marksman but also has gambling issues and feels like he’s not good enough for his wife and kid where he deals with the dangers of his work and being caught.
Finally, there’s Al Pacino and Robert de Niro in tremendous performances in their respective roles as Lieutenant Vincent Hanna and Neil McCauley. Pacino’s performance is a bit reserved while he also has some wild moments in a scene where he confronts Marciano as there are also moments where he is sensitive and does what he can to be helpful. The performance from de Niro is also low-key as someone who is meticulous in what he wants to do as he is also a man with a code while is eager to have a life outside of crime. Pacino and de Niro’s few scenes together are a joy to watch where it is two men displaying a mastery in their craft as these two extremes who have a lot of similarity but also know they have a code to live by.
Heat is a magnificent film from Michael Mann. Featuring a phenomenal ensemble cast, rapturous visuals, gripping action sequences, fascinating studies of characters and ideals, and an intoxicating music score. The film is definitely a crime drama that diverts the idea of heroes and villains in favor of studying morals as well as what two men would to maintain their own ideals. In the end, Heat is an outstanding film from Michael Mann.
Michael Mann Films: The Jericho Mile – Thief (1981 film) - The Keep – Manhunter - L.A. Takedown – The Last of the Mohicans - The Insider – Ali - Collateral - Miami Vice - Public Enemies - Blackhat - Blackhat - Ferrari – (Heat 2) - The Auteurs #73: Michael Mann Pt.1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2021
Based on the novel by Joe Connelly, Bringing Out the Dead is the story of a paramedic who copes with the lives he’s lost while working the graveyard shift of his job where he later sees ghosts. Directed by Martin Scorsese and screenplay by Paul Schrader, the film is an exploration of a man dealing with the severity of his work as well as his own faults where he would in the worst possible time with different partners. Starring Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Marc Anthony, Mary Beth Hurt, and Tom Sizemore. Bringing Out the Dead is a dark yet evocative film from Martin Scorsese.
Set in the span of three days in the early 1990s, the film revolves around the manic life of a paramedic who works the graveyard shift as he deals with the lives he wasn’t able to save and the emergence of ghosts that he sees including a young woman he wasn’t able to save. Along the way, he would work with three different partners as the craziness of three days would eventually take his toll while he would also encounter the daughter of a man he had just brought in who goes into a coma. Paul Schrader’s script isn’t just the study of a man that is just burned out as he is haunted by the ghost of a young woman whose life he couldn’t save. It’s also in the fact that he’s done this job for five years with mixed results but he past several months haven’t been good.
The script follows the three days in the life of Frank Pierce (Nicolas Cage) who would work with three different partners as well as encounter a strange group of people with only a patient’s daughter that he meets often as the only sense of normalcy he would have. The script also features a voice-over narration from Pierce as it expresses his sense of guilt and loneliness where he doesn’t get a lot of sleep and is numbing himself with alcohol and medication. Since it is set in early 1990s Manhattan in its most seedy and dark, the film also play into a world that is falling apart where a new drug has emerged and society is in chaos. A world that is starting to overwhelm Pierce as he becomes less confident in the lives he is trying to save while the different partners he work with don’t help matters either.
Martin Scorsese’s direction is very atmospheric for the way he presents early 1990s New York City as a world that is teetering on the edge where much of it is shot at night and in the early mornings. It’s a film that has Scorsese not only create something where there is a sense of danger and unpredictability in the course of three days but it’s also in showing a man that is about to fall apart. While Scorsese does include some wide shots and intricate camera angles in much of the shots with the city as its backdrop. Much of the film include mostly medium shots and close-ups to play into the sense of urgency that includes inside the ambulances and in the hospitals were doctors are struggling to save patients. Most notably this old man of a heart attack who keeps going back and forth into life and death as Pierce hears the old man who really just wants to die. Another person that frequently appears in the film is this brain-damaged man named Noel (Marc Anthony) who keeps asking for water as Pierce does whatever he can to help him.
The craziness in some of the moments in and out of the hospital has Scorsese using tracking shots to capture the action in a single take such as what goes on in ICU or what doctors had to do for one patient while several others are waiting. Scorsese does know when to slow things down as it relates to a key sequence in the second half where Pierce hangs out with the former junkie Mary Burke (Patricia Arquette) whose father is fighting for his life. The sequence would also serve as a wake-up call to Pierce as he is about to embark into his third night as it plays into his own revelations about himself and the guilt that consumes him. The film’s third act that includes a lot of manic shots and sequences that play into the craziness of the graveyard shift would say a lot into Pierce’s own views on death but also a chance that he could redeem himself. In the end, Scorsese creates a very eerie yet somber film about a paramedic coping with the insanity and darkness of his work in the span of three crazy nights.
Cinematographer Robert Richardson does phenomenal work with the film‘s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key lights and bits of brightness for many of the exterior scenes at night as well as the more bright look in the hospital scenes as Richardson‘s work is a major highlight of the film. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker does incredible work with the editing where it does rely a lot on style to play up the sense of the craziness of working in the graveyard shift with its jump-cuts, speedy montages, and dissolves. Production designer Dante Ferretti, with set decorator William F. Reynolds and art director Robert Guerra, does excellent work with the look of the hospital wards and ICU rooms to play into the craziness and chaos that occurs as well as that stench of death that looms throughout the film. Costume designer Rita Ryack does nice work with the costumes as it is largely casual that includes the uniforms that Pierce and his team wears.
Special makeup effects artist Manilo Rocchetti does fantastic work with the look of the Noel character with his dreadlocks and ragged look as well as the look of some of the patients Pierce would encounter. Visual effects supervisor Michael Owens does brilliant work with the visual effects as it relates to the manic hallucinations that Pierce sees including the ghosts as it relates to those whose lives he couldn‘t save. Sound editor Philip Stockton does superb work with the sound in creating some unique sound textures to play into the craziness of the streets and locations as well as the way the ambulance sounds when it is on the road. The film’s music by Elmer Bernstein is excellent as it is mostly low-key to play into the drama with its orchestral-based score as it also helps set the dark mood into the film. The film’s music soundtrack largely consists a diverse array of music from Van Morrison, Johnny Thunders, R.E.M., UB40, the Marvelettes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Big Brother & the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, the Who, and the Clash.
The casting by Ellen Lewis is great as it features notable small roles from Michael K. Williams as a drug dealer who is dying over this mysterious drug, Cullen O. Johnson as the dying man Mr. Burke, Afemo Omilami as the hospital police guard Griss, Arthur J. Nascarella as Pierce’s boss Captain Barney, Julyana Soelistyo as Sister Fetus, Cynthia Roman as the ghostly young woman named Rose who is stalking Pierce, Phyllis Sommerville as Mary’s mother, Harper Simon as a rock star who had overdosed on this new drug, Judy Reyes as a ICU nurse, Sonja Sohn as a friend of Mary in Kanita, and as two different dispatchers that Pierce would listen to in Queen Latifah and Martin Scorsese. Other notable small roles include Aida Turturro as a nurse who is trying to keep up with the chaos of patients coming in, Nestor Serrano as the doctor who is looking after one patient after another, Mary Beth Hurt as a nurse who talks to patients in a very cynical yet comical manner, and Cliff Curtis as a drug dealer friend of Mary who gives Pierce a drug in an attempt to help him.
Marc Anthony is excellent as the troubled Noel as a brain-damaged man who constantly asks for water while being a danger to himself where Pierce is one of the few who actually tries to help him. John Goodman is fantastic as Pierce’s first partner Larry who is good at job though can be unreliable but is also the most level-headed guy that Pierce works with as he is aiming to become a captain. Ving Rhames is superb as Pierce’s second partner Marcus as stoic but cynical man that likes to preach Bible quotes as he is aware of Pierce’s depression and weariness only to not really make things any better. Tom Sizemore is brilliant as Pierce’s former partner Tom Wolls who would become his partner in the third act who is just as crazy in his thirst for blood while being the one guy who is more about the ride and chaos rather than saving lives.
Patricia Arquette is amazing as Mary Burke as a former junkie who deals with her father who might be dying or not as well as her own guilt about her relationship with her father where she befriends Pierce as the two both embark into their own journey into guilt and coping with death. Finally, there’s Nicolas Cage in a marvelous performance as Frank Pierce as this paramedic who is burned out, depressed, and guilt-ridden where he tries to deal with his work for three crazy nights in the graveyard shift where it is Cage being manic and somber as well as displaying a vulnerability to a man that is just about to crack.
Bringing Out the Dead is a remarkable film from Martin Scorsese. Featuring an eerie script by Paul Schrader, haunting visuals, a killer soundtrack, and a great ensemble cast led by Nicolas Cage. The film is dark yet intense film about a man teetering on the edge as he tries to save lives in the very late nights where he also deals with the specter of death. In the end, Bringing Out the Dead is a phenomenal film from Martin Scorsese.
Martin Scorsese Films: (Who’s That Knocking on My Door?) - (Street Scenes) - Boxcar Bertha - (Mean Streets) - Italianamerican - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Taxi Driver - New York, New York - American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince - (The Last Waltz) - Raging Bull - The King of Comedy - After Hours - The Color of Money - The Last Temptation of Christ - New York Stories-Life Lesson - Goodfellas - Cape Fear (1991 film) - The Age of Innocence - (A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies) - (Casino) - (Kundun) - (My Voyage to Italy) - (The Blues-Feel Like Going Home) - Gangs of New York - (The Aviator) - No Direction Home - The Departed - Shine a Light - Shutter Island - (A Letter to Elia) - (Public Speaking) - George Harrison: Living in the Material World - Hugo - The Wolf of Wall Street - (The 50 Year Argument) - Silence (2016 film) - (The Irishman) - Killers of the Flower Moon - (An Afternoon with SCTV)
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat, Saving Private Ryan is the story of an Army captain and his squad who trek through World War II-era France to find a lost paratrooper as he is the last-surviving brother of a group of servicemen. The film is a World War II story where a man and his team trek through treacherous battlefields and events to get a young man back home during a very tense moment during the war. Starring Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel, Jeremy Davies, Giovanni Ribisi, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, and Matt Damon as Private James Ryan. Saving Private Ryan is a thrilling yet visceral film from Steven Spielberg.
The film is a simple story set in World War II in France in the aftermath of D-Day where an Army captain is assigned to retrieve a young private whose brothers had already been killed as he is to return home. Joined by his squad, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) treks through war-torn France to find Private James Ryan as they travel by foot. During this treacherous journey, the men endure many chilling events as well as false discoveries where they would eventually find Private Ryan who is bewildered into why he has to go home and not everyone else. Robert Rodat’s screenplay definitely plays into the scary themes of war and the sacrifices men make as Captain Miller and his men are just normal men that also want to go home but know they have a duty to their country. Even as not everyone is on board to sacrifice their lives to bring one man home as does Captain Miller but knows he has a duty to get Private Ryan home.
The film’s screenplay doesn’t start off with the actual story but opens with a present-day scene of an old man (Harrison Young) in modern-day France as he looks into the Normandy American Cemetery Memorial as it would then shift to the actual battle that Captain Miller and his squad were fighting in. The main story comes in when Captain Miller is asked by his superior in Lt. Col. Anderson (Dennis Farina) to retrieve Pvt. Ryan after three of his older brothers had been killed in different parts of the war as the orders are from General George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell). Though it’s a big deal, Captain Miller takes the mission with his small squad as it would include a newcomer in Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies) who is an accomplished interpreter but lacks combat experience as he is treated with some disdain by the squad he joins in because of his inexperience. Still, they all have to work together as they would encounter some horrible moments in battle as they would fight Germans through dark parts of France where not everyone is able to cope with.
Steven Spielberg’s direction is definitely intense in terms of his depiction of the battles and war scenes. Though it does start off in a somber manner, it then shifts into what is truly one of the most visceral sequences ever that is the battle at Omaha Beach in Normandy where Captain Miller and various soldiers go into battle. It’s 23 minutes that is definitely uneasy to watch as it is war at its most horrific as Spielberg definitely makes no qualms into how gruesome it is in terms of the impact of its violence. One of the aspects of the film that is interesting is how he is able to shift tones into one sequence into another yet maintain a balance as he does shoot many scenes in very different ways. The scenes of war and engagement are shot with hand-held cameras and frenetic cuts to play into its sense of terror and uncertainty. Spielberg’s usage of close-ups and wide shots into that sequence and other moments of battles with some slanted camera angles definitely add something that feels real where it does imply that war is indeed hell. While much of the film is shot partially in Normandy, much of the battle scenes including the Omaha Beach sequence were shot in Ireland yet Spielberg does manage to make it feel like it’s the actual battle.
While it is a war film, Spielberg does balance that aspect of war’s horror with elements of sentimentality as it plays to what is at stake in Captain Miller’s mission. Notably as Spielberg isn’t afraid to create something intimate whether it’s scenes set in the U.S. involving Private Ryan and his family to the moments where Captain Miller and his squad are walking through France. Spielberg’s approach to close-ups, medium shots, and wide shots definitely add to this feeling that it’s a film about brothers but men who are willing to put their lives for one another. Even as that bond becomes intense in its third act where the men eventually find Private Ryan who is also trying to do his own duty in this band of brothers as he and Captain Miller would have to work together to fight against the German in a climatic battle. Overall, Spielberg creates a very exhilarating yet rapturous film about war and a man trying to fight for his life to bring a young man back home.
Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski does incredible work with the film‘s cinematography as Kaminski brings a desaturated look to its colors from its very harrowing Omaha Beach sequence to some striking lighting for some nighttime interior scenes where the men rest during their journey to find Private Ryan. Editor Michael Kahn does phenomenal work with the film‘s editing with its frenetic approach to cutting for some of the battle scenes including the Omaha sequence as well as some more methodical and straightforward cuts for the dramatic moments including a montage which plays into the decision to bring Private Ryan home. Production designer Thomas E. Sanders, with set decorator Lisa Dean and supervising art director Daniel Dorrance, does brilliant work with the look of destroyed buildings in France as well as the battle trenches for the Omaha Beach sequence. Costume designer Joanna Johnston does excellent work with the costumes from the design of the uniforms as well as the officer uniforms for the scenes in the U.S.
Makeup work by Lois Burwell, Conor O’Sullivan, and Daniel C. Striepeke do amazing work with the look of war in terms of its chaos where soldiers would lose limbs or have major wounds to play into its horror. Visual effects supervisors Stefen Fangmeier and Roger Guyett do fantastic work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects in terms of the battle sequences including the very gruesome look of the Omaha Beach sequence. Sound designer Gary Rydstrom and sound editor Richard Hymns do spectacular work with the film‘s sound to create that horrific atmosphere of war from the sound of gunfire, cannons, and grenades to play into its chaos while going for more low-key sound effects in the non-battle scenes. The film’s music by John Williams is superb for its triumphant yet melancholic score as it features some lush string arrangements as well as drum cadences to play into the sense of war and duty as it’s one of his finest scores.
The casting by Denise Chamain is wonderful as it features notable small roles from Amanda Boxer as Pvt. Ryan’s mother, Dale Dye and Bryan Cranston as two officers from the war department, Harve Presnell as General George C. Marshall, Joerg Stadler as a German soldier the men would capture whom Cpl. Upham would converse with, Leland Orser as a glider pilot Miller meets during his journey, and Nathan Fillion as a young soldier who also has the same surname in Ryan. Other noteworthy small roles include Dennis Farina as Captain Miller’s superior in Lt. Col. Anderson and Ted Danson as a captain whom Captain Miller meets during a battle as two men who understands the severity of what Captain Miller has to endure, Max Martini is terrific as a corporal in Ramelle that Pvt. Ryan fights with while Paul Giamatti in a funny performance as a staff sergeant who also fights in a battle as he complains about his feet. Harrison Young is excellent as the old man in the beginning of the film and Kathleen Byron is radiant as that old man’s wife.
Giovanni Ribisi is fantastic as the medic Wade who is trying to make sure all of his band of brothers stay alive as he has a great scene involving a mother he meets in a church. Vin Diesel is superb as Pvt. FC Carpazo as an Italian-American rifleman who looks tough and is quite funny but also display some sensitivity as he is someone that is loyal to his squad. Adam Goldberg is amazing as Jewish rifleman Private Mellish who takes Corporal Upham under his wing to show him what to do in battle as he also has some very big reasons to keep on fighting. Barry Pepper is brilliant as the sharpshooter Private Jackson who is a man of faith as he always prays before he shoots as he’s a skilled marksman that does whatever it takes to protect his band of brothers. Edward Burns is great as the cynical Pvt FC Reiben as he is a BAR gunner that isn’t happy about taking on the mission as he definitely gets the ire of Captain Miller yet does have some valid reasons into why they shouldn’t do the mission.
Tom Sizemore is incredible as Sergeant Horvath as Captain Miller’s second-in-command as someone who had been through all sorts of battle with a massive collection of dirt as he is seen by the squad as the older brother. Jeremy Davies is phenomenal as Cpl. Upham as an interpreter/cartographer who may outrank most of the squad but his inexperience in combat showcases someone who is scared of fighting as he copes with the horrors of being in the battlefield as it’s a really chilling performance of someone who displays the sense of fear in war. Matt Damon is marvelous as Private James Ryan as the young man Captain Miller and his squad had to retrieve as Damon displays some charm as well as a stubbornness as someone that wants to keep on fighting and do his duty as a soldier. Finally, there’s Tom Hanks in an outstanding performance as Captain Miller as this man who is tasked to bring a young private home as he copes with the severity of his mission and wonders if he will get to go home. Hanks also displays a sense of leadership in his role where he manages to be the big guy but also one that carries respect and cares for those in his squad as it’s one of his most iconic performances.
Saving Private Ryan is a magnificent film from Steven Spielberg. Armed with a great ensemble cast as well as some amazing technical achievements, the film is undoubtedly one of the finest war films ever created in terms of displaying its sense of duty and the fear of being in a war. It’s also a film that displays the concept of brotherhood as soldiers do whatever to fight for each other in a war. In the end, Saving Private Ryan is a triumphantly powerful and riveting film from Steven Spielberg.
Steven Spielberg Films: (Duel (1971 film)) - (The Sugarland Express) - (Jaws) - (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) - (1941) - (Raiders of the Lost Ark) - (E.T. the Extraterrestrial) - (Twilight Zone: the Movie-Kick the Can) - (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) - (The Color Purple) - (Empire of the Sun) - (Always) - (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) - (Hook) - (Jurassic Park) - Schindler’s List - (The Lost World: Jurassic Park) - (Amistad) - (A.I. Artificial Intelligence) - (Minority Report) - Catch Me If You Can - (The Terminal) - (War of the Worlds (2005 film)) - (Munich) - (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) - (The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn) - (War Horse) - (Lincoln) - (Bridge of Spies) - (The BFG)
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and screenplay by James Cameron and Jay Cocks from a story by James Cameron, Strange Days is the story of a former cop turned black marketer who finds himself in trouble due to a device that records memories where a user had witnessed a killing by two corrupt cops. Set in 1999 Los Angeles just two days before the millennium, the film is a cyberpunk thriller that explores the world of technologies and memories as a man deals with his past as well as his friendship with a female bodyguard. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Vincent D’Onofrio, William Fichtner, and Michael Wincott. Strange Days is a phenomenal yet gripping film from Kathryn Bigelow.
It’s 1999 just two days before the new millennium as the film is about these last two days where a black marketer discovers about a conspiracy involving two police officers in the death of a renowned rapper through a recorded memory from a hooker. With the help of a female bodyguard and a private investigator, Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) tries to find out what these cops are doing as well as who has been killing not just the witness of these murders but also who has been stalking Lenny’s former girlfriend in rock singer Faith (Juliette Lewis). It’s a film that has a lot of elements of suspense and intrigue as it’s set in futuristic 1999 where Los Angeles is in chaos over tension between the people and the police. Even as it also features a man struggling with his past over his lost love while the only true friend he has is this no-nonsense bodyguard named Mace (Angela Bassett) who doesn’t like his work as she always bails him out.
The film’s screenplay by James Cameron and Jay Cocks is very intriguing not for its mystery but also in the drama where Lenny is still pining for Faith. Even as he watches old tapes in his head of the good times they had before she left him for the music impresario Philo Grant (Michael Wincott) who also manages the controversial rapper Jeriko One (Glenn Plummer) who has become a voice of the people. One’s murder by these two corrupt cops in Steckler (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Engelman (William Fichtner) that was witnessed by a friend of Lenny in the hooker Iris (Brigitte Bako) through her SQUID memory recorder that she wears on her head would trigger the events in the film. The film does become this suspense-thriller through its script yet there’s much more to it as it concerns the relationship between Lenny and Mace.
Mace is easily one of the film’s most interesting characters as she was this former waitress who met Lenny when he was just a cop comforting her son following an incident. Their friendship has Mace being not just a mother of sorts for Lenny but one where she tries to maintain some control as she has no interest in seeing other people’s memories through his device nor does she approve Lenny’s line of work. Once she realize what is going on and the trouble that Lenny is in, she reluctantly helps out as she is this commanding presence that is really unlike a lot of characters in film. There’s no bullshit about her which makes Mace so intriguing in comparison to Faith as she is this rock singer yearning to make her break but hangs out with the wrong people. The characterization of Lenny and Mace isn’t just the highlight of the script but also some of the dialogue where it’s very direct but also has some moments of humor.
Kathryn Bigelow’s direction is definitely intoxicating from the first moment of the film which explores a gang trying to rob a restaurant and evade the cops in a chase as it’s mostly shown in two takes all from the perspective of a robber. All of it is shot in a shaky steadicam as if someone is watching this moment as if they’re that person. It’s among these elements of style that Bigelow would incorporate as it does play into this idea of the future where people put on a headgear and be near a recorder in their hand so they can record these memories. It’s not just these steadicam shots that are among the finer moments of the film but also the presentation that Bigelow has in the way she explores Los Angeles in this period of turmoil and tension in the last days of the 20th Century.
The direction also has Bigelow use her slow-motion visual trademark to not just play into the action and suspense but also some of the drama in order to explore some of the tension and stakes in the film. Even as it plays into that world of reality and memories where it’s all about someone re-living an old memory or looking into someone else’s memory. The action scenes which involve a few fights and such are very engaging as it includes the film’s climax where Mace deals with the corrupt cops and Lenny dealing with the mysterious killer. Overall, Bigelow crafts a very fluid and enthralling film about a man uncovering a mysterious murder that could spell doom for the world.
Cinematographer Matthew F. Leonetti does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography where it mostly takes place at night with a few scenes set in the day as it has an air of style in its lighting as well as the way it presents Los Angeles in its most chaotic. Editor Howard E Smith, with additional work from James Cameron, does excellent work with the editing in not just creating a feel in the steadicam shots where it feels like it is presented in one take but also in its use of jump-cuts and rhythmic cuts to play with some of the film‘s action. Production designer Lily Kilvert, along with set decorator Kara Lindstrom and art director John Warnke, does fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of the New Year‘s Eve party in the middle of Los Angeles to the clubs and hotels that the characters go to. Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick does nice work with some of the film‘s costumes from the suits that Lenny wears as well as the clothes that Mace wears the slinky, revealing dresses that Faith wears.
Visual effects supervisor James Lima does terrific work with some of the film‘s visual effects such as the fuzzy visuals that a person wears when wearing the SQUID device. Sound editor Gloria S. Borders and sound designer Brian Williams do brilliant work with the film‘s sound from the atmospheres of the parties to the way some of the flashback memories and such sound like as they‘re recorded. The film’s music by Graeme Revell is superb for its ambient-based score with elements of rock and electronic music while music supervisor Randy Gerston brings in a sprawling soundtrack filled with all sorts of music ranging from metal/hard rock, alt-rock, electronic music, world music, and hip-hop from acts like Marilyn Manson, Skunk Anansie, Lords of Acid, Bob Marley, Deep Forest w/ Peter Gabriel, Me Phi Me w/ Glenn Plummer, Tricky, Prong and the Doors’ Ray Manzarek, and Juliette Lewis doing two covers of songs by PJ Harvey.
The casting by Sharon Baily, Debi Manwiller, Richard Pagano, and Melissa M. Thomas is incredible for the ensemble that is used which includes some notable small performances from Louise LeCavalier, Joe Urla, and Nicky Katt as a trio of Philo’s bodyguards, Michael Jace as a former pro footballer who becomes a bodyguard of Philo, Richard Edson as Lenny’s supplier Tick, and Josef Sommer as LAPD deputy commissioner Palmer Strickland who Lenny knows is the most incorruptible person on the force despite his issues with him. Brigitte Bako is wonderful as Lenny’s hooker friend Iris who witnesses Jeriko’s murder while Glenn Plummer is terrific as the outspoken rapper Jeriko. William Fichtner and Vincent D’Onofrio are excellent in their respective roles as the corrupt cops Engelman and Steckler as two loose cannons who take the laws into their own hands.
Michael Wincott is superb as Faith’s manager Philo who is a slimy individual that likes to take control of everything while being addicted to watching people’s memories. Tom Sizemore is amazing as Lenny’s private investigator friend Max who is this very eccentric guy who doesn’t do things conventionally while helping Lenny and Mace figure out the murders and such. Juliette Lewis is fantastic as Faith as Lenny’s former lover who is trying to make it as a rock singer who cares about Lenny but doesn’t love him anymore as she is trying to hide something that Lenny doesn’t want to know.
Ralph Fiennes is brilliant as Lenny Nero as this former cop turned black marketer who finds himself in trouble when one of his machines has uncovered a major conspiracy as he also deals with his feelings for Faith and clinging to the past as it’s one of Fiennes’ more underrated performances. Finally, there’s Angela Bassett in an outstanding performance as Mace as she is this no-bullshit bodyguard/chauffer who just wants to get paid and do what is right for her son while dealing with Lenny’s troubles. Bassett also proves to be a formidable badass as she is one woman not to fuck with while she has some amazing chemistry with Fiennes as they become this very unlikely yet engaging pair that is fun to watch.
Strange Days is a remarkable film from Kathryn Bigelow that is highlighted by the spectacular performances of Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett. The film is definitely not just a fascinating cyberpunk, dystopian film but also a thriller that is very captivating and adventurous. Even as it’s armed with a cool soundtrack and some pretty funny dialogue. In the end, Strange Days is a kick-ass yet tremendous film from Kathryn Bigelow.
Kathryn Bigelow Films: The Loveless - Near Dark - Blue Steel - Point Break - The Weight of Water - K-19: The Widowmaker - The Hurt Locker - Zero Dark Thirty - The Auteurs #29: Kathryn Bigelow
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Bigelow and Eric Red, Blue Steel is the story about a rookie police officer who falls for a man who she thinks might be her stalker. The film is an exploration of a woman who finds herself in a strange love affair while investigating a series of gruesome murders by someone with .44 Magnum. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Pena, Kevin Dunn, Richard Jenkins, Philip Bosco, and Louise Fletcher. Blue Steel is a chilling yet mesmerizing film from Kathryn Bigelow.
The film is about a rookie New York police officer who loses her badge following a robbery in which she kills a robber who had a gun pointed at her as the robber’s weapon wasn’t found in the crime scene. During her suspension, she meets a commodities broker where they have a relationship as she is unaware that he has the gun from the robbery and is a psychopath who has been killing people all over the city. When one of the bullet shells features her name, Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) is re-instated as a detective where she aids in the investigation where she makes some chilling discoveries about her new boyfriend Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver). Particularly as she discovers about his troubled state of mind as he continues to evade the police in this strange cat-and-mouse game.
It’s a film that is definitely a thriller of sorts but with an antagonist who could be mentally ill but also has this strange obsession towards Megan and the robbery she was in as he becomes entranced by the power of killing someone. The film’s screenplay does play into some of the aspects that is expected in a suspense film. Notably in Megan becoming involved in the investigation of these murders as she is baffled by why a bullet shell has her name. Though she is new to her role as a cop, she is still determined to do what is right though her encounter with the robber early in the film showcases not just her inexperience but also how dangerous she could be. She also has to deal with the fact that her father (Philip Bosco) isn’t fond of her being a cop while Megan is often very cagey about why she wanted to be one.
The character of Eugene isn’t a conventional antagonist as he is someone who seems like a nice guy but there’s something about him that is off. Since he witnessed the robbery that Megan was involved in and became entranced by the 44. Magnum. He is this man who is amazed by the power of killing someone as he shoots random people for kicks as he would struggle with his identity which could play to the fact that he is mentally ill. After his encounters with Megan and their relationship suddenly takes on a creepy turn, it becomes clear that Eugene is much smarter and more dangerous than Megan and the police force realize as he is unpredictable in his movements. Even as he would go to places that would play into Megan’s emotions as she is someone with a lot of emotional and mental scars forcing Megan to deal with Eugene at the risk of breaking the law.
Kathryn Bigelow’s direction is truly hypnotic in not just the way she presents late 80s New York City where it is still this unpredictable city but also from the perspective of a police officer and the man she would later deal with. Much of the dramatic compositions that Bigelow would create are very simple with its use of close-ups and medium shots as well as infusing some humor into a few scenes. Yet, she is still emphasizing on its suspense to build up some of the terror that occurs such as the film’s robbery scene where it is all about Megan confronting the robber and the impact that it would have where Eugene would see the gun and later hide it. The usage of montages and dream-like sequences would play into some of the emotional state of Megan as it would also add some suspense into the hideous actions that Eugene would use.
While some of the violence that Bigelow presents are quite gruesome including the scenes of Eugene just killing someone. It’s the intimate moments such as Eugene’s surprise appearance at the home of Megan’s parents that is just uncomfortable to watch. It’s a scene in the third act where Megan is already aware of how dangerous and unpredictable Eugene is as he is there to watch TV with the parents about the killings where Megan knows that one wrong move and everything can go to shit. It’s one of these moments where Bigelow can infuse a sense of psychological wits and play with the rhythms of the suspense where its climax is similar to a Western shootout. Overall, Bigelow crafts a very powerful and rapturous suspense film about a cop going after a psychotic killer.
Cinematographer Amir Mokri does excellent work with the film‘s stylish cinematography with its use of lights and shades for some of the film‘s interior settings while giving some of its exterior scenes a look ranging from grimy to chilling in some of its scenes at night. Editor Lee Percy does brilliant work with the editing with its use of montages, rhythmic cuts, and some slow-motion moments to play up some of the film‘s action and suspense. Production designer Toby Corbett and set decorator Susan Kaufman do nice work with some of the set pieces such as the precinct building that Megan works at to the restaurants and such where she and Eugene go to in the film‘s first half.
Costume designer Richard Shissler does terrific work with the costumes where much of it is pretty casual. Sound editor Richard King does amazing work with the film‘s sound to play into some of the tension that occurs in the suspenseful moments as well as the moments of violence. The film’s music by Brad Fiedel is fantastic for its largely ambient score to play into some of the drama and suspense.
The casting by Risa Bramon Garcia and Billy Hopkins is great as it includes some notable small yet memorable performances from Tom Sizemore as the robber that Megan confronts early in the film and Richard Jenkins as Eugene’s lawyer who tries to stop the investigation. Elizabeth Pena is terrific as Megan’s friend Tracy who tries to assure Megan over her issues as a cop while Kevin Dunn is superb as Megan’s superior who is a hard-ass authority figure but becomes aware that Megan might be right about Eugene. Philip Bosco and Louise Fletcher are excellent as Megan’s parents with Bosco as the disapproving father and Fletcher as the more supportive mother who Megan knows is being abused by her husband which adds to Megan’s emotional issues. Clancy Brown is brilliant as Detective Nick Mann who leads the investigation over the mysterious murders where he would also believe Megan about Eugene as he would later become a target.
Ron Silver is fantastic as Eugene Hunt as this very disturbing individual who has a charming and nice side when he’s with Megan early in the film but is matched by this very dark and unpredictable side of him that allows him to kill people while doing things that he might be unaware of what he’s doing as it’s a very chilling performance from Silver. Finally, there’s Jamie Lee Curtis in an astonishing performance as Megan Turner. Curtis brings a lot of intensity and emotional weight to her role as a rookie cop dealing with her inexperience while realizing that the man she’s dating is a killer as it’s one where Curtis allows herself to be a badass as well as being someone who can navigate this strange cat-and-mouse game.
Blue Steel is a remarkable film from Kathryn Bigelow that features an incredible leading performance from Jamie Lee Curtis. Along with a strong supporting cast and a captivating take on the idea of stalkers and a look into the mind of a killer. The film is definitely one of Bigelow’s finest work to showcase her knack for suspense and action. In the end, Blue Steel is a spectacular film from Kathryn Bigelow.
Kathryn Bigelow Films: The Loveless - Near Dark - Point Break - Strange Days - The Weight of Water - K-19: The Widowmaker - The Hurt Locker - Zero Dark Thirty - The Auteurs #29: Kathryn Bigelow
© thevoid99 2013
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and screenplay by W. Peter Iliff from a story by Iliff and Rick King, Point Break is the story of a rookie FBI agent who goes undercover as a surfer where he suspects that the group of surfers he befriends are the notorious bank robbers he’s after. The film is an exploration into loyalty and one man’s fascination with the surfing culture as he is intrigued by this group’s ideals. Starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, James LeGros, and John C. McGinley. Point Break is a wild yet thrilling film from Kathryn Bigelow.
The film is a simple story about a former college football star who has become a FBI agent as he investigates a series of bank robberies held by four men wearing masks of former U.S. presidents. Taking on a theory about his partner who claims that the robbers are surfers, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes into the surfing scene where he learns to surf as he befriends some surfers while trying to find out who are the bank robbers. It’s a film where this young agent becomes a surfer to find some bank robbers where one of them in this free-spirited man named Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) could be one of those men. Eventually, there comes this conflict between the two men not just towards each other but also internal conflict as they have this respect for each other but are also men who could be something else.
W. Peter Iliff’s screenplay explores this complexity between these two different men where Utah is this straight-laced young man who was once a top quarterback for Ohio State whose knee injury has him doing something else by becoming a FBI agent. Teaming with the eccentric veteran Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) who is convinced the robbers are surfers, Utah uses his youth to infiltrate the surfer scene despite his inexperience where he is aided by Tyler (Lori Petty) who teaches him the basics as they later become lovers. Though Utah’s inexperience in the field including a raid that seemed to go well until some truths emerge where Pappas has to defend him against their hard-ass superior Ben Harp (John C. McGinley). When Utah befriends Bodhi, he sees someone who lives on the fringes of the world as he is this outsider who lives by his own rules while he is extremely free on the wave with his fellow surfers.
Bodhi is a very complex individual where he is a man that lives a certain lifestyle while there’s also something about him that raises Utah’s suspicions. Even as Utah learns more about these bank robbers who only do their jobs in the summer and only take money out of the cash registers instead of the vaults while throwing the dye-pack money into the air. Among these theories that Pappas presented to Utah has him thinking that Bodhi could be one of the robbers where an encounter with one of the robbers wearing a Ronald Reagan mask creates this internal conflict in not just Utah but also the man in the mask. The third act does play into Utah finally meeting the robbers who are proven to be these thrill-seekers who aren’t robbing banks for money but to fight against the system that Utah stands for prompting him to prove that he isn’t some typical FBI agent.
Kathryn Bigelow’s direction is very high-octane in not just the scenes involving surfing and sky diving but also in some of the moments involving the robberies and raids. Much of it is presented with a sense of style as the robberies are shown with some hand-held cameras and a frenetic energy that makes the audience aware of what is going on and how they’re doing it in the span of just 90 seconds. Though it is an action film, Bigelow knows when to slow things down for the dramatic moments where it’s mostly low-key and to the point so that the characters can get to know one another as it includes this amazing tracking shot of Utah’s arrival into the FBI building where he is being briefed by Harp which last about a few minutes.
The surfing scenes are just truly exhilarating to look at in not just its use of slow-motion but also the atmosphere it is presented to showcase a sense of thrill and peacefulness that occurs when one is riding on a wave. The direction has Bigelow be on the water and at the waves to showcase the intensity of the surfing where Utah finds some freedom there but also that sense of danger. Even in the skydiving scene where Utah has to take part of it as the camera is right on the air where there is that sense of the unknown. Especially in the way Utah and Bodhi sort of bond through these adventures as Bigelow isn’t afraid to hint an air of homoeroticism that is lurking towards these two men which adds that complexity to the film. Overall, Bigelow creates a very exciting and fun film about a young FBI agent who befriends a free-spirited thrill-seeker.
Cinematographer Donald Peterman does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography with its sunny look of the exterior scenes in the beaches and locations in Los Angeles to some of the scenes set at night including the nighttime surfing sequence. Editor Howard L. Smith does brilliant work with the film‘s stylized editing with its jump-cuts for some of the film‘s action scenes to its usage of slow-motion for much of the film‘s surfing scenes. Production designer Peter Jamison, along with art directors Pamela Marcotte and John Huke and set decorator Linda Spheeris, does fantastic work with the look of the homes that Bodhi lives in as well as the FBI building that Utah and Pappas work at.
The sound work of Michael “Gonzo” Gandsey is superb for its mixing and layering of sounds from the way waves sound to the moments in the robberies and shootouts. The film’s music by Mark Isham is wonderful for its mixture of rock and ambient music to play into some of the excitement of the surf as well as some of the film‘s action scenes while music supervisors Sharon Boyle, Gary Goetzman, and Kathy Nelson create a wild mix of music ranging from rock and hip-hop with music from acts like Ice-T, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Concrete Blonde, Ratt, Sheryl Crow, Love, Public Image Ltd., L.A. Guns, and several others.
The casting by Sharon Bialy and Richard Pagano is amazing for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small appearances from Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Keidis, Chris Pedersen, Dave Olson, and Vincent Klyn as a surfer group that Utah suspects whom Bohdi also dislikes, Julian Reyes and Daniel Beer as a couple of fellow FBI agents, Lee Tergesen as a non-surfing friend of Bodhi in the mysterious Rosie, and Tom Sizemore in a cameo appearance as an undercover DEA agent. The trio of Bojesse Christopher, John Philbin, and James LeGros as Bodhi’s fellow surfer friends are terrific with LeGros as the real standout as the more reserved member of the group in Roach. John C. McGinley is fantastic as Utah and Pappa’s head Ben Harp as this very by-the-books leader who is also a fucking asshole who doesn’t really like Utah and Pappa over their unconventional tactics.
Lori Petty is wonderful as Tyler as an experienced surfer who is a friend of Bodhi who falls for Utah as she starts to question into what he really does. Gary Busey is marvelous as Angelo Pappas as this old-school yet eccentric FBI agent who is very unconventional in his tactics while not wanting to take shit from anyone. Keanu Reeves is brilliant as Johnny Utah as this very smart and determined FBI agent who finds himself intrigued by the world of surfing as he is unsure whether to stop a free-spirit like Bodhi or do his job where Reeves has a sense of charisma and humor to his role that makes it very engaging to watch. Finally, there’s Patrick Swayze in a remarkable performance as Bodhi as this very cool and wild man who likes to live on the edge whether it’s in surfing or doing some skydiving. It’s really one of his most iconic performances that has Swayze be the guy you can’t help but like no matter how dark he can be.
Point Break is a phenomenal film from Kathryn Bigelow that features incredible performances from Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. The film is definitely one of the most fun and thrilling films about surfing and action while not being afraid to infuse a bit of cheese in terms of the bromance between Swayze and Reeves. In the end, Point Break is a sensational film from Kathryn Bigelow.
Kathryn Bigelow Films: The Loveless - Near Dark - Blue Steel - Strange Days - The Weight of Water - K-19: The Widowmaker - The Hurt Locker - Zero Dark Thirty - The Auteurs #29: Kathryn Bigelow
© thevoid99 2013
Directed by Oliver Stone, Natural Born Killers is the story of a two lovers who become mass murderers as they are glorified by the mass media as a TV show host hopes to exploit them during their prison stay. Screenplay from Stone, Dave Veloz, and Richard Rutowski from an original story by Quentin Tarantino, the film is an exploration into the world of violence showcased through a media hungry for violence in a culture obsessed with serial killers and mass murders. Starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Sizemore, and Tommy Lee Jones. Natural Born Killers is an insane yet exhilarating film from Oliver Stone.
Serial killers Mickey and Mallory Knox (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis) are on a trip around the American Southwest as they’re on a killing spree. Spurred by traumatic childhood events and living in troubled homes, the two meet one day as they fall in love and later kill Mallory’s parents. Following them in their road of terror is TV journalist Wayne Gale whose TV show American Maniacs has made them cult heroes. Also after them is a psychopathic detective named Jack Scagnetti (Tom Sizemore) who has been obsessed with Mallory. While lost in the desert, Mickey and Mallory meet up with a Navajo Indian named Warren Red Cloud (Russell Means) and his grandson (Jeremiah Bitsui) who is aware of the demons the two carries.
During a ceremony where Mickey and Mallory are asleep, Mickey has a nightmare where he wakes up and accidentally kills Red Cloud. Guilty over what happened and bitten by snakes, Mickey and Mallory try to get some snakebite antidote where they’re suddenly captured by Scagnetti and police officers as it’s captured by a Japanese news crew. One year later, Mickey and Mallory at Batonga Penitentiary run by Warden Dwight McClusky (Tommy Lee Jones) who had put them in different cells as they’re both set to be transferred to a mental hospital. Wayne Gale is also at the prison to set up a TV interview with Mickey for his show while McClusky and Scagnetti are conspiring to kill them during the transfer.
On the night of Wayne Gale’s interview with Mickey Knox where Mickey reveals his reasons for being a killer as a riot is incited and all hell breaks loose. Gale and his crew capture the riots as Mickey hopes to retrieve Mallory who is being visited by Scagnetti as lots of mayhem occur. With McClusky trying to subdue control, it all leads to a showdown between Mickey, Mallory, and Wayne Gale against McClusky and his guards as it’s presented live on TV.
The film is essentially the story of a young couple who become serial killers as they’re being exploited by a TV journalist who wants to give the public an appetite for chaos and mayhem. Eventually, things come to ahead in prison where the couple deal with a psychotic detective, a crazed warden, and the TV journalist as it leads to all sorts of things in a prison riot. The film is really more of an exploration into how the media is willing to exploit death just for the sake of ratings with no sense of remorse for anyone including the killers themselves. It is a satirical reflection of what was happening in the 1990s when sensational TV became part of the norm as the public become obsessed with serial killers and courtroom television.
The screenplay by Oliver Stone, Dave Veloz, and Richard Rutowski is essentially multi-layered as it doesn’t exactly play to a conventional narrative structure. The film opens with Mickey and Mallory at a diner and later killing a few people in the process just to establish what kind of people they are. While they maybe killers who are deeply in love with each other, they do have some sense of compassion and will always leave someone alive to tell the story. Plus, they’re people who come from very unhappy homes as Mickey is abused by his father and watched his father die. Mallory comes from a family where her father (Rodney Dangerfield) molests her and a mother (Edie McClurg) who doesn’t really do anything. Both Mickey and Mallory kill as they’re both trying to deal with ill of the world as they’re also carrying demons around them.
The moment they meet Warren Red Cloud becomes a key plot point where they meet someone who knows what they’re about as he offers them shelter and a chance to be free from their demons but an accident will have them carry the guilt of killing someone who was really a good person. This moment would become the catalyst for their downfall as the film is sort of told in a non-linear fashion where the reports about their killings are shown through Wayne Gale’s TV show. Wayne Gale is a very important character to the film as he’s a man that represents the media as a whole. Here is someone who is willing to exploit the world of serial killing on his TV show as he finds Mickey and Mallory Knox as the perfect patsies for what he needs in his quest for big ratings. Gale is a character that is slightly over-the-top as he definitely becomes a lot crazier in the third act.
Then there’s characters like Jack Scagnetti and Dwight McClusky who are men who definitely despise serial killers. Scagnetti is a detective whose mother was killed by Charles Whitman as he has a very sick obsession towards Mallory. McClusky is a man that simply likes to maintain control in his prison and doesn’t really care who he has in his prison as he treats them like animals with no sense of remorse or compassion. For Mickey and Mallory, McClusky and Scagnetti are just people that represent true evil while Wayne Gale is also another manifestation of evil in something that isn’t even manmade.
Stone’s direction is definitely hyper-stylized and extravagant as he goes all-out with the film. The overall presentation isn’t meant to be realistic but rather surrealistic as it features scenes with film screen backdrops to create a road movie of sorts that is far removed from reality. There’s also lots of moments in locations set in Southwest America where they are in a real world but it feels very abstract as Stone would often create moments where the camera work is off and he puts in strange visual tricks. The sequence where Mickey meets Mallory for the first time is presented in a farcical TV sitcom as it would also include bits of strange hand-drawn animated sequences. Since the film is also a satire on the media’s sensational reporting on killing, Stone would create scenes that is presented in a documentary-like fashion where TV is king as people often celebrate the antics of Mickey and Mallory.
While Stone does manage to keep things a bit straightforward in the third act, he definitely goes all-out and more for the film’s climatic riot. Particularly as he aims for a cinema verite style where he uses TV cameras and such to capture what is going on. The violence throughout the film is graphic and unsettling (much more so in its unrated director’s cut) as Stone amps it up in the riot where there’s more people killed and the violence is almost uncontrollable. The film’s ending definitely reveals how much the world was obsessed with violence and chaos as it’s a moment where Stone taking a shot at the exploitation of violence. Overall, Stone creates a truly dazzling yet provocative film that explores the world of media and its fascination with serial killers.
Cinematographer Robert Richardson does incredible work with the cinematography where he infuses all sorts of visual styles from grainy camera work, flashy lighting schemes, black-and-white, and other array of lighting styles to play up the surreal world that Stone wanted. Editors Hank Corwin and Brian Berdan do amazing work with the editing by going into an array of various cutting styles from jump-cuts, dissolves, and other methods to maintain something that is unconventional in its approach to pacing. Production designer Victor Kempster, along with art directors Alan Tomkins and Margery Zweizig and set decorator Merideth Boswell, does brilliant work with the sets from the backdrops that are created to some of the sets such as the supermarket that Mickey and Mallory go to find some snake antidote.
Costume designer Richard Hornhung does terrific work with the costumes from the stylish clothes that Mickey and Mallory wear in their road trip to the bloody convict suits they wear during the riot. Sound editors Wylie Stateman and Michael D. Wilhoit, along with sound designers Scott Michael Gershin and David Kneupper, do superb work with the sound to capture the chaos of the prison as well as the moments in the locations the characters encounter.
Music supervisor Budd Carr creates a truly dazzling music soundtrack in collaboration with its producer Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Along with some music from NIN including the song Burn, the soundtrack features an array of music from Leonard Cohen, L7, Patti Smith, Jane’s Addiction, Dr. Dre, Tha Dogg Pound, Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan, Cowboy Junkies, Duane Eddy, Peter Gabriel and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lard, and other artists in a collage of pieces. Additional contributions that isn’t in the album soundtrack includes Marilyn Manson, Rage Against the Machine, the Specials, the Shangri-Las, and a few others as it’s definitely one of the great film soundtracks of the 1990s.
The casting by Risa Bramon Garcia, Billy Hopkins, and Heidi Levitt is fantastic for the ensemble that is created. In some small but notable appearances, there’s Adrien Brody as a cameraman, Arliss Howard as a mysterious convict, James Gammon as a redneck at the diner, Mark Harmon and Corey Everson as TV actors playing Mickey and Mallory, O-Lan Jones as a diner waitress, Steven Wright as a criminal psychiatrist that Gale interviews, and Balthazar Getty as a gas station attendant who has sex with Mallory. Other noteworthy small roles include Pruitt Taylor Vince, Joe Grifasi, and Louis Lombardi as prison guards, Sean Stone as Mallory’s little brother Kevin, Jeremiah Bitsui as the Indian’s grandson, Edie McClurg as Mallory’s mother, and Rodney Dangerfield in a shocking performance as Mallory’s abusive father.
Russell Means is excellent in a small but crucial role as the Navajo Indian that Mickey and Mallory meet who would become the one person that they see is the personification of everything that is good. Tom Sizemore is great as the psychotic detective Jack Scagnetti who has a sick obsession with killers as he hopes to become a legend in killing Mickey and Mallory. Tommy Lee Jones is superb as the cartoonish Warden Dwight McClusky where Jones brings an intensity to a madman who hates Mickey and Mallory where he tries to be this terrifying authority figure. Robert Downey Jr. is amazing as Wayne Gale where Downey sports an Australian accent as a man just hell-bent on getting the story of a lifetime where he gets more than he bargains for.
Finally, there’s the duo of Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in their respective roles as Mickey and Mallory Knox. Harrelson provides a cool yet darkly-humor approach to his character as well as a charisma that is just intoxicating to watch. Lewis is more angelic in her persona but also far more aggressive as she too brings some humor to her character. Together, they make one hell of a combo as they radiate chemistry when they’re in love or when they’re fighting as they make Mickey and Mallory Knox some of the coolest characters on film.
Natural Born Killers is a sick, twisted, extravagant, and ugly film from Oliver Stone yet it’s a whole lot of fun to watch. Thanks to some amazing technical work, a kick-ass soundtrack, and outstanding performances from Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. It’s truly a film that really captures the insanity of 1990s-media obsession with murder. It’s also a film that isn’t for the faint of heart as well as something that shouldn’t be taken seriously. In the end, Natural Born Killers is a fucked-up yet sensational wild ride from Oliver Stone.
Oliver Stone Films: (Seizure) - (The Hand) - (Salvador) - (Platoon) - (Wall Street) - (Talk Radio) - (Born on the 4th of July) - (The Doors) - (JFK) - (Heaven & Earth) - (Nixon) - (U Turn) - (Any Given Sunday) - (Persona Non Grata) - (Comandante) - (Looking for Fidel) - (Alexander) - (World Trade Center) - (W.) - (South of the Border) - (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) - (Savages (2012 film)) - (Snowden)
Related: Natural Born Killers OST
© thevoid99 2012
Directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino, True Romance is the story of a couple who travel to California with a luggage of cocaine that they hope to sell for a good life. Yet, they find themselves in trouble with the mob who are after them as well as cops who learn what they’re going to do. The film is a love story mixed in with a bit of violence as it explores a couple trying to seek a good life for themselves. Starring Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Michael Rapaport, Dennis Hopper, Bronson Pinchot, Gary Oldman, Tom Sizemore, Saul Rubinek, Val Kilmer, Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Chris Penn, and Christopher Walken. True Romance is a glorious yet spectacular film from Tony Scott.
A call-girl named Alabama (Patricia Arquette) meets a comic book store clerk named Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) at Sonny Chiba triple-feature where they fall in love and get married after a one-day courtship. When Clarence learns that Alabama’s pimp is a crazed madman named Drexl (Gary Oldman), Clarence decides to confront Drexl leading to a fight where Clarence kills Drexl and gets a luggage that he thought belonged to Alabama. When the two realize that the luggage isn’t Alabama but an entire stash of cocaine, the two make a plan to sell it in Hollywood so they can use the money to live the good life. After Clarence decides to tell his security cop father Clifford (Dennis Hopper) to see if anyone is looking for any suspects about who killed Drexl. Clifford helps Clarence out as he learns what his son and new daughter-in-law plan to do as he bids them goodbye.
After arriving to California to meet their friend Dick Ritchie (Michael Rapaport), Clarence and Alabama meet Dick’s acting class friend Elliot Blitzer who is an associated of famed film producer Lee Donowitz (Saul Rubinek) that is interested in buying cocaine. Blitzer calls Donowitz where Clarence talks to Donowitz about making a deal as it’s going to happen. With everything seemingly in place, a gangster named Vincent Coccotti (Christopher Walken) learns about Clarence and Alabama’s whereabouts where he sends his henchman Virgil to track them down. After Virgil confronts Alabama about where the drugs are, the two get into a fight where Clarence realizes the trouble they’re facing.
Even worse is that Blitzer got arrested for speeding and possession where he makes a deal with two detectives in Nicholson (Tom Sizemore) and Dimes (Chris Penn) about the drug deal. Just as Clarence and Alabama are to set to make their deal with Donowitz, both the police and the mob come in leading to a bloody standoff.
The film is essentially a love story between an Elvis-obsessed film buff who also loves comic books and a call girl who also shares his passion for kung fu movies where they get a suitcase of cocaine and hope to sell it big to start a life of their own. Yet, it would eventually lead to all sorts of trouble when the stolen suitcase of cocaine really belonged to the mafia as they go on the search for this couple while a couple of crooked detectives would eventually get involved in this shady deal. It’s a film that blends all sorts of genres where it’s a crime film, a love story, and has a bit of humor where it features an element of fantasy. A lot of it is told from the perspective of this call girl who has big dreams for something good to come into her life.
Quentin Tarantino’s screenplay, with contributions from Roger Avary, is definitely filled with a lot of his trademarks in terms of pop culture references, witty dialogue, and graphic depiction of violence. Yet, he is focused solely on these two very unique people in Clarence and Alabama as they’re just this young couple who are in love with each other and want something that can be theirs. Clarence is a guy who loves Elvis Presley, movies, comic books, and burgers while Alabama is just a girl who wants to have fun and eat a pie after seeing a movie. Neither of them really know about how to deal drugs or know anything about the criminal underworld as all they want is some money and get out of the way. Still, complications would arise due to the fact that the man Clarence kills is really an associate of the mafia led by this sadistic man who is really a quiet yet no holds barred kind of man.
One aspect of the script that is noticeable is its schematic of sorts as the story is definitely similar to Terrence Malick’s 1973 debut film Badlands which is about two lovers going on a road trip during a killing spree that was largely inspired by the Starkweather-Fugate killings of the late 1950s. Though Clarence and Alabama aren’t killers, they do kill a few people who are essentially bad people. One notable scene is Alabama’s fight with Virgil as Virgil has this great monologue about what happens when one kills someone for the very first time. It’s part of the atmosphere that Tarantino writes with his dialogue that includes that very intense yet chilling meeting between Coccotti and Clifford Worley that is truly one of the greatest exchanges in film.
Tony Scott’s direction is purely thrilling in the way he creates the film’s intense moments of violence as well as some of its non-violent moments where he manages to keep the love story just as interesting. Scott does infuse a lot of footage from other films in the background to showcase this unique world where Clarence and Alabama will watch any kind of movie to establish who they are as he also finds a way to create unique shots of this relationship. Particularly in the scenes set in Detroit such as Clarence and Alabama’s visit to see Clarence’s dad where Scott isn’t afraid to put some light humor into the scene. Scott would also use these moments to let the story take a break from the dark moments of violence to ensure that it’s still a love story at heart.
In the film’s more intense moments, the violence is definitely stylized but also has an air of brutality. The famed Coccotti and Clifford Worley scene is presented with an intimacy and an air of suspense that is unsettling where both men try to push each other’s buttons in these very quiet exchanges. It’s among one of Scott’s greatest moments as a filmmaker as is the Alabama-Virgil fight where the violence is definitely visceral in the way it’s edited and presented. It’s no holds barred as there’s also an element of dark humor to keep things more intense where its climax is bloody in its emotional impact. The comes the climatic showdown where although its presentation is definitely more Tarantino, Scott does manage to keep his own approach by displaying the operatic cascade of violence. Overall, Tony Scott creates a dazzling yet stylish film that explores true love at its most craziest that is armed by Quentin Tarantino’s powerful screenplay.
Cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball does excellent work with the film‘s stylized photography from the grayish look of the Detroit locations to some colorful shots of its interiors as well as the more vibrant look of the Californian exteriors with its sunlight as well as the lighting schemes in the film‘s climatic standoff. Editors Michael Tronick and Christian Wagner do amazing work with the editing by utilizing stylish cuts for the film’s frenetic rollercoaster scenes along with some of it’s violent moments to slower, methodical cuts in the film’s romantic moments. Production designer Benjamin Fernandez, along with set decorator Thomas L. Roysden and art director James J. Murakami, does superb work with the set pieces from the honeymoon room that Clarence and Alabama stay at to the hotel suite that Donowitz lives in.
Costume designer Susan Becker does terrific work with the costumes from the outfits that Alabama wear to the more Elvis-inspired clothing that Clarence wears. Makeup artist Ellen Wong does nice work with the look of Drexl with his scar and eye. Sound editor Robert G. Henderson does wonderful work with the sound from the atmosphere of Clarence‘s meeting with Donowitz to the more intense moments in the film‘s violent scenes. The film’s music by Hans Zimmer is brilliant for its vibraphone driven score which is directly inspired by Carl Orff‘s Gaussenhauer theme which was the music used in Terrence Malick‘s Badlands. Music supervisor Maureen Crowe creates a fantastic soundtrack that features a wide range of music from acts like Aerosmith, Soundgarden, Charlie Sexton, Jon Waite, Billy Idol, the Skinny Boys, Shelby Lynne, the Big Bopper, the Shirelles, Robert Palmer, and Chris Isaak..
The casting by Risa Bramon Garcia and Billy Hopkins is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Eric Allan Kramer as Donowitz’s bodyguard Boris, Paul Bates as Drexl’s associate Marty, Maria Pitillo as Elliot’s date, Ed Lauter as Nicholson and Dimes’ superior, Anna Levine as a woman Clarence talks to in the film’s opening scene, and Conchata Ferrell as a casting director Dick auditions for. Other memorable small roles includes Samuel L. Jackson as a criminal Drexl cheats in Big Don, Val Kilmer as Clarence’s imaginary mentor in the form of Elvis, and Brad Pitt in a hilarious performance as Dick’s stoner friend Floyd. Gary Oldman is great as the white Rastafarian pimp Drexl while James Gandolfini is superb as the vicious henchman Virgil.
Chris Penn and Tom Sizemore are amazing in their respective roles as determined detectives Dimes and Nicholson while Saul Rubinek is excellent as the charismatic film producer Lee Donowitz. Bronson Pinchot is very good as the reluctant Elliot Blitzer while Michael Rapaport is terrific as the reluctant but more willing friend Dick. Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken are outstanding in their respective roles as Clifford Worley and Vincenzo Coccotti where their scene together is truly a master class in the art of acting.
Patricia Arquette is brilliant as Alabama as a woman who is truly a call girl with a good heart and is full of joy but also someone who isn’t afraid to throw down. Christian Slater is fantastic as Clarence Worley with his charismatic persona and being engaging in conversations while also isn’t afraid to do what’s right. Slater and Arquette are the heart and soul of the film as they radiate chemistry while providing every moment for the audience to care about them.
True Romance is an incredible film from Tony Scott and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino. Armed with amazing dialogue, brutal violence, a wonderful soundtrack, and a great cast led by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette. The film is truly one of the most exciting and entertaining films of the 1990s. Not only is the film one of Tony Scott’s great films but also one of Quentin Tarantino’s great work where both men display their talents in this film. In the end, True Romance is an ass-kicking and thrilling film from Tony Scott and Quentin Tarantino.
Tony Scott Films: (One of the Missing) - (Loving Memory) - The Hunger - (Top Gun) - (Beverly Hills Cop II) - (Revenge) - (Days of Thunder) - (The Last Boy Scout) - (Crimson Tide) - (The Fan) - (Enemy of the State) - (Spy Game) - (Man on Fire) - (Domino) - (Déjà Vu) - (The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009 film)) - (Unstoppable)
© thevoid99 2012
