Reviews (2)

* * * PURE INSANITY * * *
This is a crazy dumb exciting mind-blowing amazing movie. I've never seen anything like this before... This movie has many turns in the plot that make the story really interesting. I have all SC's movies and this is one of my fav (along with "God of cookery" "From Beijing with love" "Royal tramp" and "Shaolin soccer"). I especially liked the Pulp Fiction parody. Stephen Chow is always the best!

Stephen Chow Rises Again
After flirting with the crime boss's daughter (Gigi Leung), the boss has Stephen Chow as student's body parts rearranged. Helped by a mad scientists, the student's is placed back to some normality. However, now his body is a living Inspector Gadget. THe rest of the movie lies in his hilarious attempt to take revenge. The movie itself is a typical Stephen CHow movie and great for those familiar with his comedic style. Expect to laugh hard. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

VHS & DVD
why cannot I find Sacco & Vanzetti in DVD format?

GREAT TALE, BUT A CRIME IT'S SO POORLY TOLD
"It happened before ... it can happen again!" Or so says the copy on the box. Gee, we hope not. The story of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzaetti -- avowed anarchists who could not prove their whereabouts the day a shoe factory was robbed in South Braintree in which two men were murder and so were charged, tried and convicted -- has inspired (almost) as much copy as Monica and Bill's "crimes." Great tale, tepid flick. But we love Joan Baez warbling the title track.

A GOOD REMINDER
Anyone with a true interest in what makes America tick should have more than just a passing awareness of the Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti case. Edmund Wilson was quite accurate when he said in 1928 that the case "raised almost every fundamental question of our political and social system." And this movie is a good place to start picking up that knowledge. And the more informed may welcome the chance to see the famous events played out.

Here is the skeleton of the story, all taking place a few miles south of Boston: As a result of some bad luck, the two Italian anarchists are picked up, May 5, 1920, for questioning about one of their comrades, Mike Boda. Boda is a suspect in a double murder and robbery at South Braintree on April 15, 1920 and an attempted robbery at Bridgewater on December 24, 1919. Upon their arrest, Sacco and Vanzetti lie to the police and generally act guilty, thereby presenting themselves as suspects. Both are tried and convicted of the capital crime in the summer of 1921. World-wide protests gradually build, engineered at first by defense attorney Fred H. Moore and later by the Communists, until the marches and embassy attacks reach a crescendo with the tragic execution of two on August 23, 1927.

I believe this movie is too close to a documentary to be compelling drama and too one-sided and with a few too many errors to be a satisfying documentary. After all, we know at the outset the two will end up in the chair, so why the many minutes of courtroom action? It seems as if it is to discredit Moore, for he is shown antagonizing Judge Thayer over and over. Some of this did occur early in the actual trial and Thayer did hate Moore, but Moore soon turned over most of the examining to his co-counsel. Also, the movie shows several intemperate outbursts by Moore. They never happened but again serve to make him the patsy and to blame for the conviction. This isue with Moore has been a long standing party line. The truth is Sacco and Vanzetti were convicted ninety percent because the jury and especially the judge had their minds made up before the trial, and ten percent because the attorneys did not have the time or money early on to mount a really good defense.

I believe a better treatment would be to present the tragic case through the eyes of one of the minor characters, such as Sacco's wife Rosina, and so dig more into the personal lives of the players. The story needs the John Sayles touch. By the way, Rosina is shown as sympathetic to Moore, which could not be further from the truth.

Since actual transcripts are used for some dialogue, it is surprising how many errors of fact creep in for no good reason. The moviemakers seem just too intent upon propaganda. For example, there were two men on a motorcycle with S & V the night they were arrested, not three. They were Boda and Orciani. And they did not see Mrs Johnson on the telephone at her neighbor's; they only saw the telephone wires. These boo-boos do not serve any purpose. But one that does is the oft-repeated falsehood about Vanzetti's speech at his sentencing - "good shoemaker and poor fish peddler, etc." The truth is easily found in the literature.

The movie is quite effective in showing the horrors of capital punishment, though not as good as THE MONSTERS BALL.

Personally, I believe Sacco and Vanzetti were both innocent, and there is still a movie to be made to dramatize that fact and more closely to relate their tragedy to the current day's injustices, using only the truth.

Turn about is fair play
SACCO AND VANZETTI is not a terribly good movie, but it provides an interesting object lesson for American viewers. Although Hollywood has never had any compunction about turning the whole world's history into a highly Americanized struggle between good and evil, foreign films about America's past are pretty rare. If for no other reason than to see how another society views us, films like S&V are worth watching. The fact that the film dramatizes one of our less enlightened moments makes it that much more interesting.

I don't know enough about the Sacco and Vanzetti trial to assess the film's treatment of it, but the filmmakers certainly make no effort to conceal their prejudices. Given when it was made (1971), at the height of Radical Chic, it is hardly surprising that they indict the system that condemned the two Italian-American anarchists. Both are portrayed as helpless innocents. Riccardo Cucciolla's Sacco particularly exudes the saintly aura of all New Left victims. The director, Guiliano Montaldo, is no Pontecorvo or Bertolucci or Rosi. He doesn't have the gift of making leftist politics ravishingly beautiful, but he's a competent hypester who knows how to keep things jumping. He's helped considerably by Gian Maria Volonte's powerful presence as Vanzetti. (Volonte is probably best known to American audiences for his villainous performances in the first two Leone/Eastwood spaghetti westerns, first as Ramón, Eastwood's chief antagonist in FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, then as Indio, the psychopathic bank robber in FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE. He was also the lead in Elio Petri's INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION.)

I don't know where S&V was shot. At a guess, probably Italy and England. With one or two exceptions, there isn't a location in it that feels remotely like Massachusetts, but that's what makes the film fascinating. It may be wildly inaccurate--but what does that say about American movies set in other countries? If we assume that the people who made this are serious, talented individuals (and why doubt it?), then we have to conclude that the distortions we pick up in an American subject merely reflect similar distortions Hollywood imposes on the rest of the world. Or, to put it differently, there is no reason to believe that Italians have a monopoly on short-sighted, provincial visions of other countries. Remember that the next time you watch an American movie about World War II and all the Germans speak English with German accents.

Strictly for Seattle radicals (all others need not apply).
This movie is in black and white (better still, in black and red!) and I don't mean colorwise. It's your standard politically-correct hagiography where good guys ooze beatitude, bad guys reek evil, and if you don't root for the former, you belong with the latter. Like history told this way? If so, then you're gonna love it; if not, at least you'll get some laughs.

Mind you, it's not that I object the fake look, dubbed dialogue, hammy overacting or holier-than-thou attitude of everyone concerned in this dated political flick from the sixties; I mean, we were all pretty much ridiculous ourselves back then. But Joan Baez's awful lyrics and worst wailing tear apart the movie's only redeeming asset: Ennio Morricone's beautiful music score. Now that's a true crime!

So you've been warned! ... Read more

Description

Named one of the 100 Greatest British Films of the 20th century in a recent poll, Billy Liar is a landmark of the early 60s "New Wave" of British Cinema.In one of his most memorable performances, Tom Courtenay (Doctor Zhivago, The Dresser) plays Billy Fisher, a Walter Mitty-like daydreamer stuck in a dead end job in a funeral parlor, but in his rich fantasy life he's everything from a best-selling author to dictator of "Ambrosia."Stringing along two fiancées and spinning lie after lie, Billy's wish to escape his small town life becomes a possibility when he meets Liz, a free-spirited icon of rebellion, played by the dazzling Julie Christie (Doctor Zhivago, Darling in the role that catapulted her to stardom. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The first cinematic slacker, maybe?
A surreal comedy set during England’s swinging sixties. Tom Courtney is unbelievably funny as a working class boy unable to leave the safety of his family home and venture out on his own. He creates a fantastic world he retreats to when his daily encounters and unconventional actions get out of hand. Not even Julie Christie can drag him out into reality.
One of the most entertaining films in cinema history, Billy Liar is a universal character that has surely set the bases for many slacker characters in film since then.
The Criterion version of the DVD offers extras as opposed to the English version.

Visually delightful comedy with a twist¿
A young dreamer, Billy Fisher, lives a boring life in a small town of England. When he does not have to do anything he dreams of being someone in his fantasy world, Ambrosia. In the real world he has committed some petty misdemeanors and these are now about to catch up with him. In order to stay afloat, Billy has been forced to lie, but the lies have begun to accumulate and could slap him in the face at any moment. Thus, he is patching up his lies with other lies until he is so deep that there is no return. Billy also dreams of being a script writer for a famous comedian in London, but no one really believes him because he has been caught in his lies too many times. One day when an opportunity surfaces where his dream of script writing can become reality, he is put on a crossroads. Will he have the courage to see through it, or will he remain a dreamer? Billy Liar is an exceptionally fascinating story that is depicted with clever thoughtfulness, which leaves the audience with an extraordinary cinematic happening.

The Kitchen Sink Comedy That Still Makes You Laugh
"Billy Liar" was made in 1963 three years after my birth and I can just remember Britian being like this; but it is not just a nostalgia trip. This is a beautifully executed piece of film making works from the opening, when we see a nation's homemakers brought together by the BBC's "Housewife's Choice", to the end when the battered and degected Billy walks up the hill to his parents semi-detached house at the head of his make believe army.

In between we get to witness Billy's fantastic imagination at work vividly brought to life in mock news-reel form and the chaos of his real life as his past mistakes catch up and eventually overwelm him.

The central problem Billy faces is one that most if not all young people experience at some time; the desire to do something great and become important and the feeling that they are being constrained and inhibited by the older generation's lack of vision.

It is not easy to distinguish who is responsible for what. The writers Wallis Hall and Keith Waterhouse obviously deserve a great deal of credit as they also wrote the novel and stage play but John Schlesenger's direction and the superb cast bring the film to life.

Schlesenger came from a BBC television background and the opening sequence as well as the Danny Boon character seem very authentic. Danny Boon, played by Leslie Randall, is the type of British comedian that used to and in some cases still does, present game shows on television in the UK complete with irritating catch phrases and over fimiliarity with middle aged women. Intrestingly Wilfred Pickels, who plays Billy's father, was previously best known for his radio quiz show "Have a Go" but he is now best remembered for his roll here.

The great dicovery of the film has to be Julie Christie who breezes in and sweeps all before her checking her make-up in a C&A mirror (their last store closed in the UK this year) and swinging her handbag as she walks down the street. But it is her scenes with Tom Courtney's Billy where she comes alive. Although the makers regard her as fantacy figure in fact she is the only one who accepts him for what he is and offeres him a means of escape. The fact that he can't quite go through with it tells us so much about the diffidence that is at the centre of Billy's personality.

Criterion have given us an eccellant quality DVD with a superb director and leading actors commentry as well as a BBC documentary that puts the film in it's context of the British Kitchen Sink dramas that started in the late 1950's and echoes of which are still present in films like "The Full Monty" and Billy Elliot. Watch and enjoy.

Engaging, Entertaining, Thoughtful, Cinematic
I am full of admiration for Schlesinger's film. It stands in a tradition of many great British movies that managed to make something truly cinematic out of stage material (another outstanding example would be David Lean's 1945 'Brief Encounter').

The film follows a young man of 19 by the name of Billy Fisher. In the small Yorkshire town of Stradhoughton (fictional I am sure), Billy copes with the mundanity of everyday life by creating for himself an inner world of fantasy to which he retreats continually. Courtenay is superb as the perpetual liar and daydreamer, and the supporting cast is equally excellent. Denys Coop's photography. Is reminiscent of the French New Wave, particularly the opening scenes which echo the opening of Truffaut's 'Les 400 Coups,' the beautiful scenes of Julie Christie as she skips her way through the streets, and the final shots of Billy's street which have a 'cinema verite' look. The editing, especially in the fantasy sequences, brings a uniquely cinematic dimension to what could have easily been done in a more cliched style.

Schlesinger presents a very moving, and very human, fable. Towards the end, as Billy marches through the empty streets, humming the last post, following the death of his grandmother, there is a real air of pathos. Similarly, we get interesting insights into the character of Billy as, waiting to board the train to London, he clutches two cartons of milk to his chest, a touching maternal symbol. Again, there are clear echoes of the scene in Truffaut's 'Les 400 Coups' in which the young Antoine Doinel steals, having run away from home, steals a bottle of milk from a doorway.

This is not to say that the film is an incredibly sophisticated look into characters and personalities, but it touches upon some very human and profound moments. This is also a tremendously witty film, not losing on iota of the humour and irony of the original book by Keith Waterhouse (and subsequent stage play co-authored by Willis Hall). There are scenes of laugh-out-loud hilarity, and many of Billy's fantasies will strike a chord with many of the more imaginative of us, perhaps making us uncomfortable as we see a reflection of ourselves, albeit on a bigger scale.

CINDERELLA
John Schlesinger's BILLY LIAR has just entered the DVD market thanks to Criterion. A superb widescreen copy, english subtitles, a commentary by John Schlesinger and Julie Christie (not very interesting), a theatrical trailer and a 15 minutes excerpt from a BBC serie about british cinema (very interesting) are offered as bonus features.

Tom Courtenay is William Fisher, a young man with problems. He doesn't like his job as a funeral furnishings employee, he still lives at his parents's home and spends a lot of time lying to his two girlfriends. In order to quit for a while his everyday life, he has created an imaginary world - Ambrosia - that has got some resemblance with the South or Central America bananas republics of the sixties. He is the leader of this country and people adore him. In short, he is an escapist.

BILLY LIAR has been shot partly on location, partly in studio and I often had the feeling to watch two different movies on the screen. Like Billy. The destructions of buildings shown throughout the movie add to the strange impression that a world is collapsing. When Billy meets Liz, played by a terrific Julie Christie, he has the opportunity of his life to give some reality to his dreams because Liz is so real. Let's admire how John Schlesinger, in a french New Wave style, films her strolling in the streets. A great moment of cinema.

Comedy, social study or metaphor on the Cinema, BILLY LIAR can easily be seen at different levels and is, in my opinion, a valuable addition to your library.

A DVD zone Hillary. ... Read more

Reviews (799)

A motion picture of unparalleled quality.
Terence Malick's 'Thin Red Line' is quite possibly the finest work of cinematic art that has ever graced our screens. Indeed, it casts quite a shadow over other war movie classics like Apocalypse Now- leaving it in it's wake. And as for 'Saving Private Ryan'...well it doesn't come close to 'TTRL'.

Malick's direction is simply genius; utilising the tranquil scenery to great effect whilst, at the same time, creating some of the most breathtaking action-sequences to be put on 35mm. Editing is top-notch- bearing in mind that Malick apparently filmed around 1,000,000 feet of footage! And, indeed, the acting itself is remarkable. Nolte, Penn and Chaplin are pure class as is Elias Koteas but Jim Caviezel steals the show with his perception of the spiritual Private Witt; someone who we feel 'at one' with throughout the film.

The use of multi voice-overs from numerous characters awards the picture with a great sense of dimension that crosses the proverbial board of mixed emotions. In doing so, it also goes against the notion of the classic Hollywood narrative; forming it's own unique structure that one has never before witnessed on screen.

The 170 minutes quite literally fly by. Certainly, one would be hard-pressed to come across a finer motion picture of the 90's and, one feels, the history of cinema.

This epic masterpiece deserves to be placed on a par with 'Citizen Kane' and 'The Third Man' and the very least you could do is to invest in your very own copy and behold in the pure splendour that is 'The Thin Red Line'. It's a difficult task describing such a film; it really does have to be seen to be believed...very few words would do it justice.

The thin red line
Boasting an ensemble cast including veteran Nick Nolte, Sean Penn and John Travolta (in a minor role) to name a few, The thin red line endeavours to portray yet another rendition of the gritty reality of war.

Set in the second world war it deals with a group of American soldiers whose mission it is to win a sub-war in the South Pacific, their first front being the jungles of Malaysia where they must be prepared for the distress of futile human sacrifice - in so doing they must also be prepared for the imminence of their own death or maiming.

Sean Penn plays his usual cockiness well; however his role doesn't ever allow him to display the criminal roguishness at which he truly excels, for example the character Meserve portrayed in the Vietnam flick Casualties of War. Incidentally two other thin red line cast members also appeared in the above film (John C. Reilly and Don Harvey).

Nick Nolte's gravelly voice gives credibility to his authoritarian role - Furthermore the portrayal of his disaffected, uncompromising Lt. Col. Tall are well realised.

Adrien Brody adds a touch of peacefulness and melancholy as Corporal Fife.

Overall this is a well balanced cast whose solid teamwork effectively conveys the mood of the collective war experience. Nevertheless, familiarity of plot and setting and the string of well known faces numb the intended impact of the film to drive home the violence of war that was so well done in Saving Private Ryan.

A profound spiritual experience like few films of the '90's
A lot of people were surprised when Line racked up seven Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture, the year that Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan raked in the bucks and the critical acclaim. Watching Terence Malick's long-awaited followup to Days of Heaven yesterday, I thought a lot about how boldly contemplative, achingly beautiful, and curiously flawed it was and came to a realization: I'd watch this one again before I did Ryan. In an age where modern films have the license to be as complex or manipulative as they want, here comes Terence Malick ready to make a 'war' movie: except, this one carries little logistics, plot, or superficial character development. What Line has in spades, though, is the ability to create a beating heart and soul for those young, scared men who braved the deadly shores of Guadalcanal. There is little dialogue, big-name stars have less, and the movie has the same gorgeous fascination with the natural world as Heaven.

What makes Line an arguably more fascinating journey than its same-year WWII flick is that dive deep into the soul that it attempts, and usually succeeds, to make; for proof, look into Jim Caviezel's eyes at any time during the movie. Yes, being a movie that reaches high for metaphors and philosophical musings, it does veer dangerously close to pretention (the voice-overs being the shakiest issue). Not to mention that the movie is three hours long and many characters never advance beyond a faintly recognizable face. I view pretention, though, as a flashy device used to disguise emptiness...and there isn't really any empty moment in the film. The Thin Red Line is far from perfect, but it's as close to capturing the spiritual and philosophical side of war than any movie I've seen. GRADE: A-

Wildly uneven
1998 was certainly a stand-out year for war films. With Steven Spielberg's phenomenal "Saving Private Ryan" being robbed of a Best Picture Oscar, most people forget that "The Thin Red Line" was also nominated.
Directed by Terrence Malick, whose recluseness is so extreme that his last movie ("Days of Heaven") was released in 1978, "The Thin Red Line" is a unique and sometimes fascinating war epic. With a story revolving around a company of soldiers attempting to take a Japanese stronghold in World War II, this is just Malick's excuse for jaw-dropping cinematography, courtesy of John Toll. If nothing else, this movie should be seen for its cinematography. Every shot was perfect. It was that good. The movie's unforgettable imagery had an astounding impact on me. And the battle scenes were excellent, powered by a gorgeous--yet subtle--score by Hans Zimmer.
Even so, the movie is nearly three hours in length, and quite boring in some parts. There were so many actors in so many roles that no one stood out, no matter how realistic the acting was. I suppose Sean Penn and Jim Cavieziel were the most notable. I also noticed that George Clooney and John Travolta got high billings, even if they only had cameos.
The film's biggest flaw is that I honestly had no idea what was going on. There was no plot to speak of. I got a feeling that Malick filmed a bunch of acotrs speaking, nature shots, and battles, and simply mashed them all together to make a movie.
Which ever way you look at it, "The Thin Red Line" is a movie worth seeing. I was amazed by the war scenes and the photography, but bored by everything else. This is the kind of film that makes me question its Best Picture nomination. I don't really know what to think about it, other than it partially fascinated me. I guess that's a good thing

The masterpiece of Terence Malik
This movie is great. The depicted character of the human being , his inner thoughts, his fears in the battlefield , the sense of no sense proportions of the general inmediatly reminds us to Paths of Glory , where the order to advance is just a suicide as wisely the captain answers by radio.
The Guadalcanal is now part of the story ; but Malick made much more than a war film . The camera shows you the different characters and points of view without tearful manipulation as Platoon , for instance.
Who's the good guy and who's the bad?
Nolte and Penn are magnificent in their respective roles and Harrelson played a very believable role.
Superb photograph and dazzling direction!
A real winner film! ... Read more

Reviews (320)

Manhunter is a treat....
especially for fans of Michael Mann, and his stylish, intense film presentation. If you absolutely must have your movies true to the book, or if you are watching Manhunter to try to get an early view of Hannibal Lecter (pre-Silence of the Lambs), you may be disappointed.

Mann gives us William Petersen, a little younger and thinner, but much the same as his current role in the television feature "CSI". He has nearly destroyed himself and his family life with his ability to profile serial killers, and his inability to stay out of harm's way. The villain of this setting (and the book, "Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris) is called the "Tooth Fairy" and his slaughter of two families is particularly grisly; how and why he chose his victims will surprise you. Mann's use of rock classics for the score, and his choice of actors for the parts of both villians are brilliant. Although I prefer Anthony Hopkins, the Lecter role is played with brilliant understatement by Cox, an actor who can "ooze" madness and evil, and does so in this film. Like many of the reviewers, I found only the original widescreen DVD, and not the 2 part Director's cut to demonstrate the excellence in this film. BRAVO, Michael Mann!

A little slow at times, but done with great style!
True to the book, with a great sense of the somewhat cheesy 80's style Mann himself invented. Love the Inna Gadda Da Vida scene. It is, to me, one of the greatest marriages of music and video ever put on film, and it saved the movie for me. Also enjoyed the eerie lack of music in the 'burning wheelchair' scene. Mann has the unique ability to create an unforgettable 'moment' in a film which etches itself forever into the viewer's mind (For another prime example of this ability, see the seemingly endless 'shooting to escape capture' scene in the beginning of Mann's HEAT. Excellent!). Performances were good, if not exactly captivating, especially if judged in comparison to those in Silence Of The Lambs. But comparing any movie to a 5-time Academy Award winner is probably unfair. The biggest problem with Manhunter, I found, was Mann's (Or, perhaps, William Peterson's) inability to convincingly portray the overwhelming mental anguish that the Will Graham character goes through in this story. All in all, a good, entertaining film with some truly memorable moments.

Dream Much, Will?
Don't miss this original, the first of the Hannibal Lechtor series. The score, the filmography, (Lighting), is still so vividly used in the best of today's suspence/thrill sequences.
Will Graham, (William Peterson), is the "Manhunter" hunting down "Frances Dolarhyde", and also the man responsible for imprisoning Dr Lechtor, at great phsycial, and emotional harm to himself.
Don't be fooled by Dino's latest grab at a buck, the rediculous "Red Dragon". (Which is odd, since Dino owns "Manhunter" as well..)
So, Red Dragon is only a remake of this great film.
It's ultimately embaressing to watch Lechtor and Chilton's charachter's re-acted, only "made up" to look 20 some years younger! (Red Dragon).
This is the Real McCoy, and Brian Cox, IMHO, should have stayed Hannibal Lechtor.
If you want another good performance by Anthony Hopkins, see "Meet Joe Black".
BTW, as far as I can tell, Barney's character, (Frankie Faison), is the only actor to play in all "Four movies of the Trilogy"..
If you want the original psychological thriller in this series, you found it..

Pete

Michael Mann's controversial crime-thriller ...
MANHUNTER is the 1986 crime-thriller that began Michael Mann's career as a respected filmmaker. Adapted from the novel "Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris, this film will be remembered as "the film with the OTHER Hannibal Lecter" and will dismissed by many as a good first try, but nothing special. CSI's William Petersen stars as Will Graham, a gifted FBI agent who is working to track down a mysterious killer nicknamed the "Tooth Fairy" before the next full moon. Aiding him in his hunt is the (curiously mispelled) criminal genius Hannibal Lecktor, played by Brian Cox. Being a huge fan of the Hannibal Lecter film series and Harris' novels, I have more to work with than some other people. MANHUNTER was adapted and directed by Michael Mann, who also produced "Miami Vice" - and it shows on the glittering design and stunning soundtrack. The acting is okay, but is great only in the cases of Petersen and Dennis Farina (who also featured on "Miami Vice", as well as certain other people who appear in the film). Mann's direction is the greatest part of the film. Brian Cox's performance as "Lecktor" works fine, but is completely incomparable to that of Anthony Hopkins, who played him in the later films. MANHUNTER has been unfairly dismissed as a piece of crap. It's no masterpiece, I'll grant you that, but the fact that the film is so dated, and the work that people like Mann and Petersen have done, make it a wonderful, "Miami Vice"-esque thriller.

Read the novel AND see this film!
I first rented this movie in the late '80s, and I really only did so to see Chris Elliot's cameo -- give me a break, I was really bored that weekend! Years later, when I saw Silence of the Lambs in the theater, I recognized the name of the doctor and realized that these two works were somehow related, and eventually ended up reading all four of Thomas Harris' novels and seeing all five film adaptations, of which Manhunter is my personal favorite.

Upon reflection, I initially found the film's ending a bit stereotypically Hollywood, and not quite up to the same high level of quality found in the rest of the film. As I later read the novel, I at first found myself liking the book's ending better, but understood how it might have been much harder to film -- that is, until I got past the red herring to the novel's REAL ending, which made Manhunter's ending seem positively inspired by comparison. (Okay, so maybe I'm being a bit too hard on Harris, and giving Michael Mann a bit too much of a pass on this point....)

If you don't like Michael Mann's directorial style, or if you're one of those pseudo-intellectuals who can't look at a film made in another decade without calling it "dated" -- or if you think Anthony Hopkins is the only actor who should ever be legally allowed to play the character of Hannibal Lector --then you might not like this film. Though it often strays from the novel a little bit, and leaves almost all of the exposition regarding the Tooth Fairy's origins out, it all still works. Noonan gives an excellent and economic performance, as does Nancy Allen (and their love scene is one of the more tasteful and romantic in recent memory).

Brian Cox also has a different take on the Lector character than Hopkins, but it is ultimately A) closer to the novel's depiction and B) more realistic and believable. Sorry, Tony, but you have to admit, as great as your performance was in Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal comes off much better when the actor playing him resists the urge to chew scenery -- no pun intended....

But it is William Petersen's portrayal of Investigator Graham that really carries the film, and rightly so. As I said before, the novel gives us much, much more background on the Tooth Fairy than the movie does, but the main focus of the story is on Graham and his own internal struggles. I was especially impressed with one scene in particular that Petersen and Mann really pulled off well, as far as taking a great moment from the novel and translating it into a great movie moment. It's the scene in the middle of the film when Graham is seated at a diner, staring out into the rainy night, playing the answering machine message of one of the victims in his head: "Hi, this is Valerie Leads; I'm sorry I can't come to the phone right now..." because she's been murdered, of course. Absentmindedly, Graham says aloud, "Me too." The waitress passing by asks if he was asking for more coffee, and he tells her no. Turning back to the window, having now made up his mind to throw himself completely into the investigation and see it through to the end, Graham says out loud, as if the Tooth Fairy could hear him, "It's just you and me now, sport." This was a great emotional moment in the novel, and Mann and Petersen (and the music score) also manage to make it a great emotional moment in the movie as well, losing nothing in the translation.

I give the same number of stars to Jonathan Demme's Silence of the Lambs, but let's face it -- Mann's asylum for the criminally insane is much more realistic and believable than Demme's, for instance. Two different directorial styles, two different approaches to Lector, etc., but each quite good in its own right. The "re-imagining" of 2002 on the other hand is another story, and a sad one at that....

If you're in the mood for the original modern police procedural on investigating serial killers, or for a good psycholgical character study about the effects of such work on the investigators themselves, then give this film a try!

PS: Why is it that when most people review books and films on Amazon, A) they seem not to notice that most of what they say has already been said in the hundreds of other reviews previously posted, and B) they seem to feel obligated to recount the entire plot, point by point, spoiler by spoiler, in excruciating detail, instead of just giving the rest of us a simple idea of why we might like or dislike the book or film in question?! ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Something 'Worthwhile' has this way come
Excellent film adaptation to Mr. Bradbury's whimsical book by the same title.

The film is cast in the autumn (the autumn of life?) and a small town around turn of the century America (our dream of what America should be?). Two boys, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade are excited to hear of a carnival coming to town (remember our youth when autumn always brought some sort of carnival to your town?). However, this carnival is no ordinary one. It's proprieter, Mr. Dark, offers people what they desire most -- at a fearsome price.

Jim and Will discover the underlying nature of Mr. Dark, his menions and the carnival and end up as quarry for the mysterious, sinister man. Will's father, Charles Halloway - the town librarian - is an unlikely hero who faces his own fears and temptations to protect the two youths from Mr. Dark.

Not really bloody or scary, I'd say the theme of this movie (that of facing the realities of life) creates uneasiness because of the familiar setting and its dealing with normal everyday people and their dreams/wishes.

The movie is well done and entertaining. Certainly worth a look. You might consider before allowing younger children to view it - it would probably give them dreams.

~P~

Love Bradbury! ...not so much love for film adaptation -
Director, Jack Clayton, The Innocents, [an excellent film...] Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) -- Staring Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce. This screenplay adaptation (1983), by the author, of his own novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, is good only during scenes with Robards and Pryce (these scenes are VERY good) yet, the plot is motivated by the actions of the characters of the two boys, Will Holloway and Jim Nightshade who, were inadequately cast (it's hard to find good child actors). Along with not being shot very well (Director of Photography, Stephen H. Burrum [the writer of this review simply can't tolerate the day-for-night scenes.]), it also seems that, 10 to 18 pages of the original script are missing from the final cut (the whole Tom Fury, B-Story), and much of the special effects scenes are cut in such a way as to reveal they didn't work and had to be cut out &/or around; how sad. The story simply falls apart! Somehow, a BEAUTIFUL script ended up as a film that, "had to be saved." Such, is the way of Hollywood.

Something Wicked This Way Comes, is available in paperback, ISBN: 0380729407 based on the screenplay, Dark Carnival by Ray Bradbury, based on the short story, The Black Ferris (1948), by Ray Bradbury available in ISBN 0-394-51335-5

Genuine Horror from Disney via Anchor Bay Comes
Based on the best-selling 1962 novel by venerable SF and horror writer Ray Bradbury--who also penned this cinematic adaptation--1983's SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES is the unabashedly nostalgic story of two young boys, Will Halloway (Vidal Peterson) and Jim Nightshade (Shawn Carson), who engage in a battle of wills with Mr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce), the nefarious proprietor of a preternatural carnival that that literally blows into the boys' hometown one brisk October night (circa 1940). When Will and Jim discover that Dark and his troupe of midway miscreants are hiding some evil secret that might endanger the town, the boys take it upon themselves to uncover the truth and protect their friends and neighbors.

Some viewers are surprised to learn that this somber film is a product of the Walt Disney Company. Though there are the lovable small-town characters that one expects from Disney, it is admittedly rare to find a Disney flick with an incorrigibly evil character such as Mr. Dark (obviously the Devil in all but name). It is also unusual for a Disney film to have such a grim atmosphere, at least one that is not regularly punctured with puerile comedic relief, but SOMETHING THIS WAY COMES has a consistently spooky ambiance and an earnestly frightening plot, both of which elevate it to the level of a genuine horror film DESPITE its Disney label.

The performances in SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES are top-notch. Jonathan Pryce is deliciously wicked as the enigmatic Mr. Dark--genre fans might recognize Pryce as the actor playing Governor Swann in the 2003 blockbuster PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL--and Jason Robards does a fine turn as the wise librarian father of young Will. Vidal Peterson and Shawn Carson, the two young actors portraying Will and Jim, are relative newcomers whose lack of substantial experience is an asset rather than a liability, as it actually adds to the realism of their characters' youthful innocence. Some of the seasoned actors that fill supporting and background parts also contribute greatly to the quality of the film. The gorgeous Pam Grier, star of several popular "blaxploitation" flicks in the 1970s, plays the carnival's witch-like fortune-teller; Diane Ladd plays Jim Nightshade's mother, a woman who is raising her son alone after both were abandoned by the boy's father; and Ellen Geer, daughter of the late Will Geer of TV's THE WALTONS, portrays the mother of Will Halloway. Horror fans might recognize the late Royal Dano in the role of Tom Fury, the lightning-rod salesman. During his lengthy career, the ubiquitous Dano appeared in such genre favorites as Hitchcock's THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955), 7 FACES OF DR. LAO (1964), and KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1988); and also in episodes of genre TV shows like LOST IN SPACE, NIGHT GALLERY, AMAZING STORIES, and TWIN PEAKS.

Although the script does not have the same scope and attention to detail found in the novel, Bradbury has still done an exceptional job of translating to screenplay the novel's eerie essence and moral subtext. And director Jack Clayton does almost as well in visually interpreting Bradbury's script. He generates the perfect atmosphere for some genuinely creepy moments, and he is also quite adept at evoking Bradbury's primary theme of innocence lost.

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES generates most of its chills and scares the old-fashioned way--through atmosphere, suggestion, good plotting, and great characterization. Unfortunately, the flick was originally released during the peak of the first big wave of slasher films in the early 1980s, and it was therefore unfairly ignored by moviegoers and panned by critics. But thanks to the cool folks at Anchor Bay, this little beauty has a new lease on life via DVD.

Anchor Bay's disc is short on extras, offering only the theatrical trailer and the option of viewing in either pan-and-scan or 1.66:1 Letterbox formats. But the digital transfer looks nearly pristine--even when viewed on a widescreen HDTV-- with only a few minor defects from the source print noticeable. In keeping with the subject matter, the film was shot with dark tones and subtle hues, and these come through wonderfully on the DVD. Serious collectors of horror films on DVD won't want to let this genre gem slip away.

More Than it Appears - Worthy of The Twilight Zone
I've read through several reviews and find myself in agreement with fans of this film. It is truly one of the most underrated films in Disney's library. Whether Disney has disowned it is questionable and I suspect there is a connection behind the scenes with Anchor Bay, just as there is (or was?) with Miramax Films.

The key to this film is that Bradbury captured the tone and flavor of his book perfectly. While nowhere near as complete as the book and the story told therein, it is, nonetheless, complete in and of itself. There's nothing missing for those who haven't read the book. But, if you liked the movie, go find a copy of his book and read it one dark and stormy night.

If you've seen some of the weird science before in other films, most likely it was because Bradbury wrote about it first. He is and was the Stephen King of his generation with such strange tales as The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles (both are actually linked anthologies of his short stories).

If you haven't read the description of the film, it is a story about Middle America early in the first half of the Twentieth Century and two boys sharing their childhood. One comes from a respected, if unexciting family and the other from a less than honorable setting. Yet they live beyond their differences and hold on to their own special fantasies and memories in a Norman Rockwell sort of way. Life was simpler then than it is now, and yet it has its dark side, as the boys soon find out. Mr. Dark's Carnival has come to town in as mysterious way as it did in another time, many decades before, affecting all who became involved.

The film is deliciously handled with a flare that defies description, probably because Bradbury graced it with his retelling through the screenplay. Coupled with the compelling music that adds flavor and color to the outstanding cinematography, the film draws us into a Twilight Zone of the familiar and macabre.

The film is treated as one for children. It decidedly is not one for little ones who are half-awake, and yet the story is more disturbing to those who will think upon the hidden messages that are as old as time itself and what every parent dreads... What is to become of us? What is to become of our children? This is the very heart of the fear that is so omnipresent once the carnival arrives that dreadful night.

Don't just watch this story once. See it twice, but not on the same night. Give it some time to develop in your subconscious, and then, one autumn night, when the leaves are turning color, give it another look, ignoring the cliches it has spawned in other, later and lesser stories.

Disney does horror... really!
No need to repeat the plot you can read about that plenty below. This review is for parents.

Something Wicked This Way Comes is very scary. Not only have the censors totally misjudged this film but it is still classed as a children's movie! What rubbish! This is horror through and through, although albeit it can still be watched by kids but most adults will think twice about what they have just shown to them.

PARENTS SHOULD WATCH THIS BEFORE SHOWING IT TO THEIR KIDS.

This is not your average "darker" childern's flick like the Dark Crystal or the Black Caldron. It is much darker than that. I also remember a very graphic hand crushing scene. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

YOU'LL LAUGH, YOU'LL CRY, AND YOU'LL LIKE IT!
In the tradition of RAINMAN comes this french jewel called THE EIGTH DAY. I admit that at first I thought it was a rip-off of RAINMAN, but when you see the whole movie you know it is not. This is the story of an overworked exec-Harry- who's life is hectic and lonley.He finds George- a likeable kid who has Down Syndrome-and inmediately his life changes.As Harry helps George to find his way home, George teaches him a lesson he'll never forget. The movie touches real life issues like neglect,the search for affection, the loss of loved ones, society's idiocy, friendship,and family relationships. It's well directed from begining to end, the dialogue is great, and the story will leave you feeling good. The movie works because George is presented as a smart, and witty fun loving, full of life person, which contrasts with the executive who befriends him, who is the opposite; dull and drained of life. The director shows how some of us don't value the truly important things that make life what it is, while others seem to live life enjoying every simple moment, without pondering much on what they don't have.You don't need to know french, beacuse scenes "speak" for themselves, and even a child can follow the plot just by watching. Believe me when I say,"you'll cry, you'll laugh... I think that Mr. Matlin should review each movie- like THE EIGTH DAY-in it's own context, like a professional, based on the facts, and not only on his personal opinion. If the Eight day had been done by Steven Spielberg with Mel Gibson as Harry and Leonardo Di Caprio as George, I'm sure Mr Matlin would have had something better to say in his review.

"On the eighth day, He made Georges."
I just watched the most wonderful movie, and I must tell youabout it. It's called THE EIGHTH DAY (Ale Huitieme Jour). It's Frenchwith English subtitles. But, don't let that stop you, if you're one of those who dislikes having to read the dialogue. The dialogue is easy to follow, and it's mostly a visual film, and stunning at that. The cinematography is remarkable. But, let me get back to the story, because it's important. There are two men. -- Georges (played superbly by Pascal Duquenne), a man with Down's Syndrome, living in an institution, and missing his mother (she died). He has recurring visions of her, along with visions of his favorite crooner singing his favorite song. He switches gears back and forth from being erratically boisterous and playful at times, to being somber and contemplative at other times. One day, he just walks away from the home, taking along a dog (that may or may not be his pet). Then, there's Harry (played perfectly by Daniel Auteuil). Harry is a salesman. He's very good at his job, but fails in life. He's recently divorced, and has one last chance to see his children, before his ex-wife denies him the right. But,... One night as he's driving in the rain,... He hits a dog, then meets Georges. He takes Georges (and the dog) to the police station. But, they don't help. Unwittingly, he becomes the guardian of Georges, but in the process of trying to take him home, they become friends. Georges teaches Harry about the simpler pleasures in life. And, Harry helps Georges find a home. (His mother is dead, his sister doesn't want him.) Well... I could go on and on, but I don't want to give away the whole story. This is not just another buddy-buddy story, or another road-trip movie. It's more than that. It's about friendship, family, love, life, everything. It's sad. It's funny. It's heart-warming. It's everything that life is. I laughed and cried, sometimes at the same time. It's a truly wonderful movie. Too bad I can only rate it five stars, it deserves ten. END LocalWords: Huitieme Jour

french fries
Incredibly pleased that the French got stuffed in the Football World Cup 2002 and were sufficently embarrased by my compatriots in The Rugby World Cup of 2003 and looking forward to their impending defeat in EURO 2004. The fact that they are taking are taking a jolly good drubbing in the field of sports should not detract from their superb filmaking abilities. This movie- made following their rather bizarre rise to the pinnacle of the football world in 1998-is a truly gifted piece of cinematography. Watch it, or I'll make you watch cricket with the commentary. Enjoy.

The sadness of our world thrue the eyes of George...
The real happiness of our world thrue the eyes of George ...
The real value of our happiness thrue the eyes of George ...
Who is George ? Just a kid with a Down Sindrome. He sees his happiness in his mom's home , that is why he escapes " the home " to find her . Harry ( Daniel Auteuil ) , just a sailsman , picked him up on the side of the road ... We glad , he did . Same as Harry , we learn how to se the clouds...how to feel the Earth thrue the grass ... how to let go the pain ... how to let it go ...
So many thouts in this film ... it takes so much time to understand them ...
Who is George ? ..." And on the eights day ... HE made George ... so everything will make sence..."

A Powerful Film
This movie was wonderful. Part of the story is a father/child relationship similar to but more powerful than in Mrs. Doubtfire. Parts of the movie are quite sad, but the joy of Georges (a man with Down syndrome) shines through. The film gently touches on uncomfortable subjects such as the close friendship of two men, and ends up as a hilarious, heart-warming experience. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

One of the Greatest Films Ever...I Was Stunned
It shocks me that I had never even HEARD of "Fitzcarraldo" a week ago (nor did I know who Werner Herzog was), and now that I've seen it I consider it to be one of the 10 best films I've ever seen in my life, right up there with "Vertigo," "Once Upon A Time In The West," and "Rashomon."

The pacing of this film is slow, languid, and dreamlike, and allows the viewer to really immerse him/herself in the brooding jungle atmosphere. I never realized how contrived most American movies felt, until I experienced the stark reality of Werner Herzog's documentary-like style. "Fitzcarraldo" blurs the line between reality and drama, utilizing actual natives in conjunction with his character-actors (including the brilliant and intense Klaus Kinski), who subject themselves to real hardships in order to lend the film legitimacy. The result feels like a cross between a surreal daydream and something out of National Geographic.

The transfer to DVD is virtually perfect. I was awestruck at the quality of the video and audio on this disc. The picture is gorgeous, in sweeping, flawless widescreen, and the sound is bright and alive. There are few extras on this disc, but the film itself was so satisfying that I didn't care.

I highly recommend the boxed set entitled "The Herzog/Kinski Collection," as it contains excellent DVD versions of all 5 of their collaborations, as well as Herzog's tribute to Kinski entitled "My Best Fiend," a fascinating portrait of their bizarre, yet intensely creative, working relationship. It will add to your appreciation of "Fitzcarraldo" and all of their films.

" Life without music would be a mistake"---Nietsche.
Documentaries have been made about the love/hate relationship between the greatest German director and the greatest German actor of the twentieth century. Kinski claimed that he kicked Herzog during the making of this film and that "Herzog groveled." For his part Herzog claimed that when Kinski threatened to walk off the set, Herzog took a high powered rifle and swore to Kinski that he would shoot him as his motorboat passed around the bend.( They were filming in the The Amazon ) Kinski stayed.

Only these two superbly talented megalomaniacs could have pulled off this tour de force of directing and acting.

Fitzcarraldo is, quite simply , one of the greatest films of all time. No other actor could have played the lead as well as Klaus Kinski, and no other director could have conceived eschewing props and actually hauling a 300 ton steamship over a mountain, or, for that matter, hiring warring tribes of headhunters as extras.

It works.

The story is set in the late 19th century when rubber (and robber!) barons created great wealth in the remote jungles of South America, built on the monopoly of the rubber plant. We moderns know that this artificially created civilisation will soon collapse, when the plant is smuggled out; so what better setting than these ephemeral cities of gold and palaces of opulence to tell this tale of man's capacity to dream?

Here is a world where elegance mingles with crudity. In one scene, a millionare, proud of his collection of rare carps, tosses them them large bills, while he jokes in front of an impoverished Fitzcarraldo about how fond the fish are of the taste of money.

Fitzcarraldo has a passion for opera. If the viewer does not share this, the film can still makes sense, provided the viewer has a passion for SOMETHING. If not, forget it. It'll be incomprehensible to anyone without blood in his veins. Just the story of a nut.

Not that Fitzcarraldo is not er . . .speculative in his business schemes. When he announces to his lover, a successful brothel keeper, (Claudia Cardinale) " I have an idea! " She responds with: " Oh, no! Not another one! "

But she bankrolls him, nevertheless. Now all he has to do is--well, as Einstein once eloquently said, to achieve the impossible, we must attempt the absurd.

Caruso on the Amazon!
It seems almost ridiculous to add yet another praise-filled review to the heaps already expressed here, but such a consummate piece of art like, 'Fitzcarraldo,' deserves the most it can get. Since others have brilliantly summarized the plot, I'll concentrate instead on why one should 'treasure' the three perfect hours of this film.

Rare is the film nowadays that says so much with so little. Dialogue is used very sparingly throughout Fitzcarraldo, but that's all the better, for Kinski's Fitzcarraldo doesn't need words to express his dream. Every close-up of that intense face tells more than two hours of annoying chatter ever could. With his sharp features, searing gaze and untamed mane, Kinski is indeed Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald. A man possessed by his dream, by his mission to bring one of the most delectable of human creations, opera, to the 'wilds.' I agree most wholeheartedly with that reviewer who mentionned the role of Kinski's hair. It indeed has a life of its own and it mesmerizes the viewer. Like the antennae of Fitz's spirit, it stiffens in determination to see his passion come to bear, and then flys off his head, when the dream is realized. Every single second of this masterpiece is artfully necessary. Every stony gaze from the Indians, every sweeping shot of the misty jungle fits perfectly into place, creating a mosaic of colossal proportions. The scenes of the boat being painfully nudged over the hill mirror the struggle of creation itself. Or my favorite: when the Indians board the boat and meet Fitz for the first time. Herzog closes-up on how the chief gently touches, then rubs Fitz's palm. Two minutes that cast us into eternity. What could it mean? A symbol of our underlying brotherhood, a first 'clash' between 'the civilized' and 'the wild?' I don't even pretend to know, nor do I particularly care, for the soothing, almost sensual warmth of the scene brings that inner peace that all great art should.

Ponderous? Deliberate? Yes and rightly so. Good things, great things, whether they be an exquisite meal, passionate lovemaking or the creation of a masterpiece, take their own time, irregardless of the frantic chaos that surrounds them. Fitzcarraldo is one such 'time-less' experience. Dive in and revel in its every breathtaking second!

Not only does this film enrichen our senses, it strengthens our hearts. Fitz instructs us on we should pursue our dreams. With relentless faith. Believe and yes, we can move mountains! And move our weighty burdens over them as well. Yes, they are painstaking and for every inch gained, we lose two more. Yes, there are casualties. For ourselves and for others. And yes, nobody believes you can really pull it off, but in the end, you shall have your vindication as did Fitz. Caruso on the Amazon? Watch and believe!

Towering!!
What can one say about this unique film experience. Herzog takes the viewer along for the great "ride" and we must pay attention.

The love of opera here is manifest in a way that is so compulsive and thereby so compelling that we have to take breaths often during this film.

All you F(x) experts can stay home and ponder your next bit of software on your bland and insufferable computers which dole out dreams as emotional as Hexadecimal!! Everything you see here is real and the passion of the vision is evident with Mr Kinski giving one of his Dr. Pretarious performances.

Hollywood bean counters and executives beware..This is a real film, this is cinema not the pap you have been shoveling the last 24 years. Finally, I would like to quote a,line by Paul Scofield in " The Train" to Burt Lancaster...and transpose the thought to those same hollywood bean counters " Letting you look at this film is like showing a " String of Pearls to an Ape"!

Fitzcarraldo a Rare film experience

Obscure history, writ large
Among the things that distinguish Werner Herzog as a film-maker are two qualities that he shares with William Shakespeare: he knows the human heart better than most dramatists, and he never lets the facts get in the way of telling a good story.

Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (called "Fitzcarraldo" by the natives) was a real guy, who really loved opera, and really did drag a ship over a piece of land to get it from one part of a South American river to another. He did it to bring opera to middle of the jungle. That's history. What drove this guy to do such a frankly outrageous thing in the name of art? What kind of fever siezes a visionary and brings him to the brink of insanity to attempt such a thing? That's the stuff of drama. Herzog knows the difference, and his choices in bringing the story to the screen were flawless.

Fitzcarraldo, like all of Herzong's films (even Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht), uses the theme of cultural clash as a macrocosm of the conflicted human mind. So what if the real boat was much smaller than the one in the film? Who cares if the real act of dragging it across land - though arduous - was not nearly so grand as the film depicts? The resultant images are what count, and they would not have the stunning effect Herzog pulls off in this film were it more "historically accurate".

All film directors do things for effect. What separates the good ones from the great is their reason. The once-great Frances Ford Coppola seems to be aiming for empty aesthetics with his last few films; Herzog wants nothing less than to illuminate the soul. It's a grand, quixotic goal; prone to failure - much like dragging a boat through the jungle. But he seems to pull it off time and time again. You remember the images, yes - they're hard to forget. But you also remember the passion of the characters - their desparate dreams, wild fantasies, great achievements, and devastating failures.

Klaus Kinski perfectly embodies the obsessive madness of the title character - albeit in a far less sinister way than in Aguirre: The Wrath of God. His performance is no less brilliant. Claudia Cardinale plays his love interest, the kind of woman whose heart every visionary dreams of winning.

In most treatments of this kind of story, one would expect things to end badly. They do for Fitz, but somehow it does not matter. He finds grace and dignity in the struggle, rather than the outcome. He is a brighter vision of Don Quixote, and the feeling of surviving his ordeal is, miraculously, more like that of triumph than defeat. Fitzcarraldo ends in exuberance rather than despair. How can a man lose everything and still raise his head so high, as Kinski does in the last scene?

Without a hint of sappy, artificial feel-good-ism, Herzog has pulled off one of the most authentically moving surprise happy endings in recent cinema.

Failure never looked so good! ... Read more

Reviews (70)

Color me gone, baby!
I've just made my fourth trip down the two-lane blacktop, having recently caught this film on the Big Screen. (Do not--repeat, DO NOT--miss a chance to see this in a theatre.) This film gets better ever time I see it. Part road movie, part travelogue of America circa 1970, part existentialist tragedy, it's a strange, fascinating hodgepodge with no real precedent--not even "Easy Rider"--that I'm aware of. "Two-Lane Blacktop" is what it is; if you're expecting just another car chase movie, you will likely be disappointed. It's a movie for anyone fascinated by the mystique of lonely gas stations in the middle of nowhere, of long, quiet rides down the highway with nary another soul in sight.... I've never seen a movie that has so effectively communicated the extraordinary vastness of America. It manages to be sad, pathetic, funny, and haunting all at once. You can criticize it for its sometimes shaky acting (Warren Oates, at least, is fabulous), but I think the sum effect of the movie precludes serious complaint. And what an amazing ending....

Existential Road Trip
Less dated than Easy Rider, this early 70's time capsule is an existential masterpiece. What the hell does that mean? It means the film is full of space. It's about absolute nothing, or everything, or somewhere in between. It's a poem that doesn't deliver what an audience expects but is utterly faithful to it's idea. It doesn't have an emotional pay-off, but instead finds a stylish way to cinematically burn rubber and fade away. It's characters are called Driver, Mechanic, GTO and Girl. Its stars are James Taylor (yeah the pop singer), Dennis Wilson (yeah the late Beach Boy), Warren Oates (in perhaps his finest performances) and Laura Bird (most won't know her, she's good).

Driver and Mechanic are the original slackers. They love racing, and hustling people to keep racing and their supercharged '55 Chevy. They are not hippies, but car junkies. The meet a loud mouth middle aged guy driving a newer sportier GTO who wants to race them for pink slips. Eventually they agree to what amounts to a gentlemen's type race from New Mexico to the East Coast. There's not a lot of suspense to the race, and the film is about. . . well whatever you want it to be about. GTO pretends to be someone else everytime he picks up a new hitch-hiker. He's amusing himself with his creative imagination and re-inventing himself to escape the middle age blues. Eventually there's a little bit of a competition over a young female hitchhiker.

The film was filmed on location as cast and crew drove across the country. The bare-bones script is by Rudolph Wurlitzer and Will Curry.

The film becomes more and more abstract as it moves along. The story matters less and less. A circle eventually forms and we realize we've been riding along on a very unique, one of a kind film. There's a wonderful example of an utterly open ended final shot.

Some are going to find this film very dull and wonder what there is to admire and respect about it. Others are going to 'discover' all sorts of things that are of course not actually present in the film itself, but are thoughts and reactions the film has sparked and triggered within them as they watched the film. Other's will enjoy the muscle cars, and late 60's cars that make sporadic appearances or rev up their engines on occassion.

It's a film you watch many times and find different subtexts, moods, ideas and space within. It's a film that requires the viewer to both observe, accept and participate in, like one would a living sculpture.

It's the kind of art film you would never expect from a director who made two quirky Westerns for Roger Corman in the mid 60's (The Shooting and Ride the Whirlwind --with Nicholson right before Jack became a star with Easy Rider). Hellman also went on to make the very interesting Cockfigher with Warren Oates. He's appreciated by a small, growing cult of afficianado's and you'll find Hellman's name more recently as executive producer of Reservoir Dogs.

For something really unique I suggest you find a way to watch the DVD of Two-Lane Blacktop.

The film was long out of circulation because of disputes over music rights. They were resolved and the film has been beautifully transferred to DVD and actually looks better than it ever did since the contrasts in light were carefully boosted during the DVD transfer.

Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder - A steamy cyber thriller available January 2001. Please order it today. Thank You

A RESPONSE TO REVIEWER "CORREIA"
Hey Correia,
Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but you're in the minority here. Two-Lane Blacktop is worshipped by film-lovers around the world and is regularly cited as one of the best pop-art flicks of the 70's, one of the most exciting periods in American cinema.

The reviewer's two complaints (little dialogue, couldn't understand what it was about) reveal the shortcomings of the reviewer, not the film. I mean really: "no dialogue?" Is he serious? Has he never seen a Western? A film noir? Charlie Chaplin? Keaton? Bresson? Wong Kar Wai?

In order to get Reservoir Dogs made, Quentin Tarantino got Two-Lane Blacktop director Monte Hellman to co-produce. I'm not a big Tarantino fan, but he DOES have great taste in other people's movies [his film company A Band Aparte is named after a Jean-Luc Godard film (paucity of dialogue, anyone?), he helped get Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express distributed, and idolizes Monte Hellman as one of the great American directors].

Based on the fact that Correia would critique a movie because it has little dialogue, it is no surprise that he "had absolutely no idea what the movie is about." Surely he can't mean the plot? Two muscle-car drivers race across country for their cars' pink slips? Most Schwarzenegger movies are less "high concept" (i.e. easy to sum up in a sentence).

Or is Correia admitting that he couldn't identify any Grand Themes or Social Issues? It's true, Hellman doesn't hit his viewers over the head with Deep Meanings. Like most of the greatest works of art, Hellman allows the meaning to be porous, letting each viewer read a certain amount of their own lives and themes into the characters.

TLB bears analysis, and is in fact deeply philosophical, but it is first a riveting aesthetic and emotional experience. Like a great landscape painting (or a David Lynch film?), it is primarily meditative, spiritual, and even deeply religious, rather than intellectual.

While watching it one re-experiences and understands many of the best things 'about' America-- the Road, movement, freedom-- and some of the worst-- rootlessness, restlessness, alienation. It can be read as a portrait of the modern, secularist, existential journey through life; in the lack of dialogue one could feel alienation and aloneness, or a comfortable silence expressing the deep bond between the driver and mechanic (we never hear the character's names, nor do the credits give them any).

TLB traffics in pop iconography, in quintessentially American images. We travel with the perfect embodiment of the Self-Reliant American Male, through rugged, iconic American landscapes, until the landscape and the travellers (and the audience?) become one.

Have these two men achieved a level of self-reliance that has freed them from the constraints of civilization? Or has their laconic independence imprisoned them, dooming them to ride alone, ala John Wayne in The Searchers? Hurtling through a Godless universe with only the most ill-defined of goals to guide them, and so on? Undergrad term paper, anyone?

The value of any creative expression is in the effort you expend, the distance you travel, to explore its meaning. Movies and books should pull us out of what we know, force us to expand to incorporate new ways of seeing and thinking. It ain't always easy but it's almost always rewarding. I applaud Correia for trying, but just because TLB isn't immediately easy to 'get' doesn't mean it isn't a great work of art.

Two Lane Dead End
I watched the movie after purchasing it for a freind who is a big James Taylor music fan. I was disapointed in the character writing, as J.T. (The Driver)and Dennis Wilson (The Mechanic) both play the "straight" role, and it causes the scenes to drag. Upon more in depth analysis, Wilson's character is supposed to be aloof, and J.T.'s intense. Unfortunately, bad acting and poor character developement defused this combination.
Warren Oates does contribute to some of the best scenes in the film, as the mixed-up "GTO". A chameleon-like persona, ever-changing to adapt to and impress each hitch-hiker he picks up.
The scene with Harry Dean Stanton is particularly amusing in its context.
In all, "Two Lane Blacktop" was interesting, easy to watch, but the ending, if you can call it that (I find it hard to believe that the original theatrical ending is what I viewed on DVD) left me cold and wanting.

DENNIS WILSON IN HIS ONE AND ONLY
THE REASON I GOT THIS MOVIE WAS BECAUSE OF DENNIS IT DID NOT HAVE A BIG BUGET BUT IT HAD FAST CARS AND THE ACTING WAS COOL PLUS THEY HAD A DOORS SONG IN IT SO YOU CANT GO WRONG WITH THAT SO FOR ALL THAT STUFF I GIVE IT 5 STARS BUY WHY YOU STILL CAN. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Brutal Truth
This movie, created by Tibetans in exile, accurately portrayes the modern Tibet. This picks up 40 years after 7 Years in Tibet and Kundun leave off.

This story, based on true events in Tibet tells the tales of three children, Dorjee, Pema and Dolkar, who grow apart after witnessing the murder of their grandfather. Dorjee becomes a bum, Dolkar a Chinese pop singer, and Pema a nun.

Dolkar enjoys her life as a singer with her Chinese boyfriend and often sings pro-chinese anthems for the money it brings her (much to Dorjee's obvious dismay.) When she is offered a chance at a televised concert shown all over China, she is thrilled, however when her cousin Pema is released into her care after suffering Chinese brutality in prison, she must re-think all of her ideals.

Dorjee befriends a young american tourist named Amy, who has learnt Tibetan in school. After initially teasing her, he shows her the REAL Lhasa, and enlists her help in recording and smuggling out information about the abuse Pema has suffered.

Pema is haunted by the memories of her grandfather's murder and while walking in Lhasa one day, starts to protest the Chinese occupation, whereupon she is sent into political prison. There she must use all of her will power and faith to keep her and her roommate from the convent alive.

The story keeps you on the edge of your seat, tugs at your heartstrings, and will leave you shocked, if not in tears.

One of the Few Movies with Realities of Brutality in China
Truly one of the most shocking but remarkable and authentic films I have ever seen in my whole life. As I watched "Windhorse," I could easily feel how the Tibetans, along with other minorities in China, such as Uygurs, were brutally maltreated by the Chinese Communists who determined to forcefully assimilate the Tibetans and other non-Chinese people into the Chinese mainstream society, which cause resentment and sometimes rage from these minorities.

This film began in a small, peaceful village in western Tibet in three years after the Cultural Revolution ended where Dorjee, Dolkar and Pema as the children lived and played happily in carefree matter. One afternoon, two police officers went into this village while the three children played cheerfully. Both then went into the children's home and shot the children's grandfather who displayed a poster in protest against the ruthless Chinese Communists and telling the Chinese to leave Tibet. This incident struck into the hearts of the three children forever. Eighteen years later after the death of their grandfather, all three of them were grown up and took the different paths. Dolkar, a lovely and gorgeous Tibetan woman who was fluent in both Chinese and Tibetan and had a Chinese boyfriend Duan-Ping from Chengdu, was a famous singer in the nightclub in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. She successfully signed a contract with the Chinese manager that would make her a national pop singer in China. She vowed that she would heed the "law and order" from the manager and the Communist Party so she could get huge salaries to support her family. Her older brother Dorjee, who also lived in Lhasa with her family, was a drunkard who was unemployed because he resented the Chinese people and had very little knowledge of Chinese language. Pema, the cousin of Dolkar and Dorjee, was in a monastery in western Tibet as one of the nuns. One day, the Chinese Communist government had issued a strict order to all parts of China, including Tibet, that would banned the portrait of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in any institution to strengthen the Chinese control of Tibet, to determined to further "unite the thought of each individual" and to promote the "love of the motherland (China)." Later one of the nuns was arrested for the violation of this law and refusal to renounce the Dalai Lama. Angry of the Chinese, Pema and her friend shouted for Tibetan independence in the middle of the crowded market in Lhasa and were arrested by the plainclothesmen. Brutally tortured by the merciless and inclement police, Pema fell unconscious until she was picked up by Dorjee and his father after his father signed the confession paper. Meanwhile, an American tourist named Amy met Dorjee and later became friends prior to Pema's arrest. He asked his friend Lobsang, who was responsible for secretly sending the information of people arrested simply for freedom expression to India, and Amy for help. Dolkar, who was once loyal to the Chinese, was again haunted by the murder of her grandfather and decided to joined with Dorjee and his helpers to smuggle the sensitive information on Pema's arrest and brutality. They all risked their lives to do so to get the world's attention before the police were catching them.

It specifically depicts the brutally and maltreatment at the Tibetans from the hard-hearted Chinese Communists who considered the Tibetan as inferior in race and ethnicity, especially the prison, which gives us the impression that the Chinese Communists was treating the Tibetan prisoners and suspects in a very inhumane way. Jack Wagner did a marvelous job in filming this not only in Nepal but also in Tibet, where it is now part of China and the Communists do not permit anyone filming that would offend the Communists. It was a highly risky job; at least, however, he and the other crew members did create this film with the cooperation from the Tibetans who want to be safe and/or continue the political activities in Tibet and other asylum nations. Unfortunately, in present time, the Chinese Communist government prohibits this film because the Communists think it would hurt a nation's feeling and promote the secession of Tibet from the motherland (China). It will not be allowed to be viewed by 1.2 billion citizens of People's Republic of China until the Communists loses the power to hold China and becomes a truly democratic republic of the civilians, by the civilians and for the civilians. (This reminds me of Sun Yat-Sen's Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy and social well-being.)

I really wish there are more films about the brutality in China on other minorities, such as Uygurs. I would also like to look forward to see the film about the Baren County uprising by the righteous Uygurs who had the determination to gain independence for Uyghuristan (or East Turkistan) but ended in a victory for the Chinese Communists. (If you know the name of the movie that matches my descriptions regarding the Uygurs, please inform me by posting your suggestion in the review of "Windhorse" so I can read it, since I concealed my identity to protect myself from danger.)

Anyway, I will recommend this film to anyone who appreciates humanities and human rights around the world. Go watch "Windhorse" as soon as possible even if you are sick or tired.

If you want to understand China, Ask a Tibetan
The government of China is America's latest trading partner. The most recent allegation is that Chinese police have resorted to torturing Tibetan Children in their obsession for control. This movie presents a vision that matches histories such as those told in the books "Tears of Blood/A Cry For Tibet" by Mary Craig and "In Exile From the Land Of Snows" by John Avedon. If you want to Understand the true Nature of the Government of China before you do business or purchase the "Made In China Label" ask a Tibetan. The latest news on Tibet can be found at ......

heart breakingly accurate
Windhorse is a starkly accurate portrayal of life in occupied Tibet. The story, seen through the eyes of a young western backpacker, ends in the death of a Tibetan nun who has been released from the Chinese prison so that she will not die in prison from the torture. Shot illegally in Tibet, the names of much of the cast and crew is not revealed to protect the people and their families. ... Read more

Description

Growing up in the palace at a time when female servants are expected to be sexually available to the men they serve. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Movie Making At Its Best
Silences of the Palace is one of the most powerful movies I have seen in the last decade, and film that has great story, excellent acting, a beautiful score and a revelation of a director,Moufida Tlatli.
The fact that this film comes from Tunisia should not be a surprise to anyone, for Tunisian films have over the years, even with little output made their mark on world cinema, and are considered to be the best in Africa and the Arab world, and with Iranian cinema, in the Middle East too.
What is the secret of such a success? Well it is not by chance, for there are many elements that makes Tunisian cinema, a true work of art.
1-The style of the films, the directing and cinematography are heavily influenced by European cinema, and most specifically French, although the subject matter has always been deeply rooted in the local culture and society.
2-There are many themes discussed in Tunisian cinema, but one thread that ties most of the films, is the subject of women. Most of the films discuss the problems of women, their role in the male dominated society,their quest for independence, their fears, aspirations, sexuality, and freedom.(Season of Men, Halfauoine, Silences, Habiba Mysaka, Bent Familia, Satin Rouge etc..) All the female characters are very powerfully written, roles than any Hollywood actress would jump at in a second! The fact that women directors are prominent in Tunisian cinema gives the treatment of women in the films a sympathetic and supportive voice. Having said that, even male directors like Nouri Bouzid, an excellent talent tackles the problems of women with equal sympathy in films like the masterpiece Bent Familia, a thoughtful insight into the lives of three women seeking independence, one divorced, one single and the