Marty (1955) on MGM-HD for the first time. It's a sad commentary about Hollywood today that the most dated aspect of this 1955 Best Picture winner isn't the Brooklyn slang, mannerisms, fashions, habits and/or behavior of its characters during the weekend we get to spend with them. The focus on the plight of the common man (and woman) for normalcy in an intimate relation as he/she fears aging and loneliness feels so alien and detached from contemporary American movies that "Marty's" old fashioned simple storytelling/acting feels like a breath of fresh air 54 years later. Ernest Borgnine is both sympathetic and lovable (though a bit too old-looking) in the title role but it's a shame Betsy Blair's Clara is constantly referred to as a 'dog' (perpetuating the 'ugly' pretty girl stereotype that pop culture will simply not let go of) because, in a low-key way, she's every bit as good as Borgnine. Esther Minciotti and Augusta Ciolli are hilarious as the 'old' women contemplating their future, but the real star of "Marty" (all versions) is Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay. Chayefsky's dialogue crackles with humanity and humor (Marty's friend constantly praising the writing of Mickey Spillane as a roadmap to understanding women had me laughing out loud) for the most unlikely subject a Best Picture winner could ever focus on: someone like you or me. Picture/sound were only adequate in high-def though, barely a step-up from the DVD version.
Michael Mann's Thief (1981) on Showtime-HD Extreme for the first time. Holy crap, it's Michael Mann (with a young Jerry Bruckheimer producing) basically getting a tune-up run at "Heat" with a slant toward the criminal underworld. James Caan is excellent as Frank, a jewel thief that sells his soul to the devil (personified against type by the benign sight of David Prosky) in order to gain the legitimacy and protection from the police he needs to win the affection of Tuesday Weld's Jessie character. The scene in the cafeteria where Frank opens up to Jessie about who he really is (also reminiscent of a similar scene between DeNiro and Pacino in "Heat") might be the finest acting I've ever seen out of James Caan. The movie's threat of violence feels a lot scarier than the actual shootouts (which are plenty bloody and kinetic when the s*** detonates) and Dream Tangerine's etheral score perfectly suits Mann's slick eye for visual compositions when characters engage in their own ambiguous justice. Blink and you'll miss future Mann leading men like William Petersen ("Manhunter") and Dennis Farina ("Crime Stories") in small supporting roles. Nobody does crime capers like Michael Mann and "Thief" was a road sign of great things to come...
... of which the American remake of
Breathless (1983), on MGM-HD for the first time, isn't one of them. Even if Mann bailed out of the project early (his name isn't on the credits) his early influence on the script is too obvious. The attempt to transplant Godard's original set-up to California was in desperate need of a director with an eye for slick visuals that could at least attempt to present Venice Beach as a passable visual equivalent to Champs Elysees. Instead director Jim McBride ("Great Balls of Fire") is happy to point his camera at Richard Gere and Valérie Kaprisky hoping the romantic sparks between the leads (who look good when undressed, particularly the weak-in-the-acting-department Kaprisky) will distract the audience from thinking of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg talking in that crammed hotel room for 20 minutes. Didn't happen, and the ending of the new "Breathless" (complete with song) feels like the cheap cop-out Godard rightfully railed against the Hollywood machine in his open-ended conclusion to the original "Breathless." I'd venture to say it's impossible for anyone that liked Godard's movie to like the '83 remake, but damn if the young Richard Gere wasn't a ripped and handsome leading man back in his prime... that last sentence was the result of Joyce brain-jacking my brain for a second, sorry!
Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987) on Criterion Blu-ray for the first time. I'm going to need to watch this again because, on first viewing, Bertolucci's bio epic about the life of Pu Yi felt extremely disjointed and confusing. I have to admit that most of the characters speaking in English really threw me off for a loop (except for Peter O'Toole of course
) and became such an unpleasant distraction I just couldn't get past the language barrier to enjoy "The Last Emperor." I'm so used to international movies featuring foreigners speaking in their native tongues (with English subtitles for me to follow along) that this throwback to the old Hollywood style of storytelling just became an obstacle I couldn't overcome. And I don't care what Criterion and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro say, the movie's framing feels 'OFF' at 2:00:1 (narrowed from the original 2:35:1 aspect ratio at Stotaro's request) which isn't helped by a very soft and undetailed HD remaster that makes the Blu-ray or "Last Emperor" a Pu Yi-sized baby step from the DVD version. To be continued.
Original Sin (2001) on MGM-HD. Saw the unrated DVD version of this movie back in 2002. Recently (and purely out of boredom) I rewatched it in high-def but it was the censored 'R' version which does away with 90% of the steamy sex scenes between Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie. This is an instance in which I believe the removal of the more erotic material actually hurt the movie's narrative, weak and predictable as it would have been regardless. You see, Banderas' character goes nuts and overacts a storm as his search for Jolie's duplicitous 'femme fatale' gets further and further along. By the time we reach the final reel Antonio is a dangerous loon possessed by grief and anger over his pursuit of the woman he lusts after. In the 'R' version you get a glimpse of the couple's sexual trists but in the unrated version (going by memory) the sex scenes were passionate and intense, clearly giving the audience a taste of the fuel that propelled Banderas to chase after Jolie past the point most persistent Casanova's would have given up. Without that 'fuel' Banderas comes across like an even bigger fool than the movie already makes him out to be. Morale of the story? Don't chase after "Original Sin" (it's not that good and a lot of good character actors are trampled by Banderas' scene-chewing) but, if you have to watch it, make sure it's the unrated version.
Take the Lead (2006) on DVD for the first time. Of the many Y2K decade movies about dancing (a mini-trend that we'll look back at in 2030 the same way we look at 80's musicals today) "Take the Lead" is among the least harmless and one with good intentions. These positives still doesn't save it from being formulaic 'feel good' junk food you struggle to remember afterwards. Antonio Banderas' Broadway skills and star power carries the many dancing scenes he's in as he teaches inner-city youths in NYC to dance their way out of a life of crime and self-destructive behavior. The mix of dancing styles (hip-hop, tango, ballroom, etc.) and OK performances by actors too old to be teenagers is a match that could never be destined for greatness, especially with director Liz Friedlander's penchant for OTT camera angles. This isn't "Moulin Rouge" Liz, dial down the pretty jib shots! As perfectly servicable motion picture fodder to waste an afternoon without having anything to show for it "Take the Lead" is just OK.
) but as a whole "Deranged" uses its minimal resources to create a horror flick that derives most of its scares by being closer to the truth than most Ed Gein-inspired media.
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