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Friday, May 9, 2008Appleseed At some point, I told myself I would be reviewing Appleseed: Ex-Machina as part of the Netflix Diaries, but I felt like before doing that, I should refresh my memory regarding the first two movies. So here we are at the 1988 OVA, the first attempt of three to adapt Masamune Shirow’s manga into anime. Subsequent efforts were bizarre hybrids of CGI and cel animation, all full of the gray and black battle armor that has become so predictable in today’s futuristic paramilitary forces. But back in the 80s, the future was being defended by towering cyborgs in frilly pink silk smoking jackets and hot-headed tough girls in baggy, tapered, pleated acid washed jeans.The story is pretty rote for sci-fi anime: in the future, Earth has suffered some sort of terrible apocalypse, and the survivors now live in paradise-esque cities controlled entirely by computers -- because anyone who has ever used a computer knows that they never get anything wrong. While life in general seems OK, an underground resistance feels that humans are nothing more than songbirds in a gilded cage, and that a nice prison is still a prison. Amid this turmoil we meet officers Deunan Knute and her cyborg partner Briareos, who become involved in a case that includes the kidnapping of a robot chick (the controllers of the city are robots designed to look like sexy humans) who proves to be the key to shutting down the city so a group of rebels can commandeer a high-tech flying spider tank thing and blow stuff up. Appleseed was one of the first anime titles I saw, as it was one of the handful of things available on VHS in the early 1990s. It was one of the best of the bunch, and I hadn’t watched it since around 1992 or so. I still found it to be hugely entertaining, if for no other reason that a giant cyborg struts around in frilly robes and ruffled tuxedos and other outfits chosen from the International Cyborg Male catalog. But even without that, there’s plenty of action, a decent plot, quality old school animation, and fine voice acting talent. Labels: Anime and Animation, Country: Japan, Creator: Masamune Shirow posted by Keith at 4:05 PM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella notte)Directed by Mario Bava Brett Halsey, Daniela Giordano, Dick Randall, Pacal Petit, Calisto Calisti Music by Coriolano Gori Four Times That Night is another Italian sex comedy. I know what your thinking – why do I keep going back. The answer is simple – it’s the people in front and behind the camera who are of interest to me. For Love In Four Easy Lessons and The Sensuous Nurse, obviously Ursula Andress was the main drawcard. For Four Times That Night it is director Mario Bava that draws me to this production. Bava hardly needs any introduction for most visitors to Teleport City. But for those who may have joined us late, check out Keith’s reviews of Bay Of Blood and Danger: Diabolik. Four Times that Night is a fairly simple concept film – the concept (borrowed from Rashomon) being that the same story is told from four different points of view. The basic heart of all four versions is that beautiful Tina Brandt (Daniela Giordano) and John Price (Brett Halsey) meet at a park one afternoon and decide to go on a date that evening. Price picks Tina up from her home and takes her out for a spot of dancing. Later he takes her back to his place, and somehow she ends up with a ripped dress and he ends up with scratch marks on his forehead. Each of the four stories differs in how Tina’s dress happened to get ripped and how Price’s forehead was scratched. The first telling of the story is from Tina’s point of view, and it is probably the most unsettling of the four. In this version Tina implies that Price tried to rape her. In the struggle her dress was torn, and Price’s face was scratched as she tried to fight him off. The second version is from Price’s point of view, and he paints Tina as a wild nymphomaniac. This is followed by a version told by the voyeuristic doorman at Price’s apartment block. His version of events paints all the tenants of the apartment block as gay. The fourth retelling comes from a psychiatrist (Calisto Calisti ) who informs us that we all see the same story through different eyes. I once read (I can’t recall where) that Bava once said that all Italian directors in the early 1970’s had to make a sex comedy to prove that they weren’t homosexuals. It’s a strange little comment considering that the film is not homophobic at all. One of the four segments in the film presents us with homosexual and lesbian characters. It appears that certain sections of the industry at that time were more homophobic in real life, than the stories they were quite happy to present on the screen. Four Times That Night is a strange little film. For a sex comedy, there doesn’t seem to be many comedic moments in the film – then again, I don’t think there ever was meant to be. As far as sex goes, there’s not to much going on here, and when there is, body parts are discretely hidden through clever camera angles, or even a light reflection on a glass shower wall. But that leads to another point – as you’d expect from Bava, the film is beautifully shot. The colours are all pumped to maximum levels, and the film features some fantastic mod sets and fashion design. On the whole, Four Times that Night is a curiosity. I can’t call it a bad film, but it doesn’t really work as a sex comedy. Maybe if the rape and gay scenes were presented in a more controversial manner, then maybe the film would have worked as a study of social mores. Then again, maybe Bava’s heart wasn’t really in this film. Peer pressure may have forced him to make a sex comedy. But really there were other film genres that held more appeal for him.  Labels: Director: Mario Bava posted by David at 5:32 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Thursday, May 8, 2008Assassin AKA: Point Of No Return Directed by John Badham Bridget Fonda, Dermott Mulroney, Gabriel Byrne, Harvey Keitel, Anne Bancroft Music by Hans Zimmer Assassin is an American remake of Luc Besson’s Le Femme Nikita, without the new wave, post punk trappings. Bridget Fonda plays ‘Maggie Blowjob’ (well, that’s what she calls herself in a police interview), who is a dishevelled, anti-social drug addict who kills a policeman while trying to score her next fix. For her crimes she is sentenced to death by lethal injection. The death sentence is not carried out and Maggie awakens in a Spartan, white room. At first she thinks she is in heaven until Bob (Gabriel Byrne) enters with a proposition. Either she can co-operate and be trained to be a covert agent (giving a little bit back to the community she abused), or the ‘death penalty’ can still stand. Maggie reluctantly agrees (some choice). Over the next three years she is trained in martial arts, the use of weapons, computers, and even how to dress, walk and talk. Finally she is released into the community. It is interesting to see Harvey Keitel as Victor ‘The Cleaner’. A cleaner is the man who comes in when a mission has gone wrong to clean up the scene and dispose of the bodies. Compare this character with Mr. Wolf in Pulp Fiction (made a year later). To some people this may be sacrilege, but in some ways I think that Assassin has stood the test of time better than Le Femme Nikita. Although only made three years previous, the original was definitely a film made at a certain time. Besson made his film, stylistically, cutting edge. But what is cutting edge one year, is passé the next. Badham travels a more timeless path and this serves the film well. One of the elements that helps the film is the choice of music. The incidental music is by Hans Zimmer is fairly unobtrusive. But musically it is the great songs by Nina Simone that drive the story along. In fact, the code-name selected for Maggie is ‘Nina’. Songs like ‘Feelin’ Good’ which struts out when Maggie has finally been released into society emphasise the feeling of freedom that Maggie must be experiencing. At the end of the movie, when Maggie has to leave everything behind her ‘Black Is The Colour Of My True Love’s Hair’ emotes a feeling of melancholy and loss that sums up the character perfectly. Other Simone performances include, ‘I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl’, ‘Here Comes The Sun’ (yeah, the Beatles one), and ‘Wild Is The Wind’. I doubt the common practice of using popular, commercial artists of the day would have had the same impact – and only serve to date the film in future years. I know that Hollywood’s penchant for remaking hit French films is reprehensible, but on this occasion the final result is fairly pleasing. In some sequences, it is shot almost scene for scene, which I guess is about as respectful as you can get. Assassin obviously is not as groundbreaking as La Femme Nikita, but if you view it as a stand alone feature, it’s a solid spy film, retaining the original ‘dirty people’ for a ‘dirty job’ ethos. You could do a lot worse.  Labels: Espionage posted by David at 12:14 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Wednesday, May 7, 2008La Femme Nikita AKA: NikitaDirected by Luc Besson Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hughes Anglade, Tceky Karyo, Jean Reno, Jean Moreau Music by Eric Serra Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is a junkie. Desperately in need of a fix, she and some of her drug addled buddies break into a pharmacist in an attempt to score some goodies to ease their pain. The burglary doesn’t go to plan and the police arrive on the scene with guns-a-blazin’. After the shoot-out, Nikita is the only one of her party left alive but seemingly in a catatonic state. A police officer comes to her aid only to have his brains blown out by Nikita, who barely knows what she is doing. She is then sentenced to thirty years in prison for her crime. That’s the opening sequence of La Femme Nikita, a French post punk, new wave, thriller by director Luc Besson. Nikita is an animal. One who has rebelled against the system. At the point of being imprisoned, she is made an offer. She can either be trained as a assassin or the sentence can stand. She chooses to be trained. But that means the she becomes a part of the system that she has been rebelling against. But she believes she is tougher than that. She thinks she can complete the training and still be the same anti-social miscreant that she was when she began. But slowly, almost like a military boot camp, her individuality is beaten out of her. They begin to mould her into a cool killing machine. But the strangest thing happens. The more she is stripped down the more she learns to love and be human. I know, it all sounds rather hi-brow and pretentious. But it isn’t. Over the years this film has become somewhat of a landmark film in the espionage genre. The simple fact that it was remade as The Assassin with Briget Fonda, and turned into a television series with Peta Wilson indicates the power La Femme Nikita had. We all know that spying is a dirty business, but generally it has been dirty men’s business. I know we’ve had heroines like Modesty Blaise and others who have shown that they are equal to the James Bonds of the world. And we’ve had a swag of evil villainesses, such as Sumuru, Madame Sin or even Rosa Klebb who’ve shown the other side of the spy business. But these have all generally been the positive globe trotting style spy films. Never the bleak ‘spying is a dirty business’ performed by morally reprehensible people type of film. I am talking about Scorpio, Permission To Kill or Le Professionnel. All these films have protagonists (I won’t use the word ‘heroes’) who are fairly ugly people. La Femme Nikita is one of the first films to present a female lead in that light. The film even goes a bit further than that, showing how she became that character, and how she was ‘recruited’ by the DGSE. The cast is pretty good. Parillaud portrays Nikita with a stoic indestructible grace. Tchéky Karyo (you know that French guy who’s in everything but you can’t remember his name) is her case officer and mentor, Bob. Jean-Hughes Anglade plays Marco, the man she meets on the outside. Jeanne Moreau, has a small role as Amande, a lady who teaches Nikita how to be feminine. And Jean Reno, who would later become Leon for the director, Luc Besson, plays Victor – The Cleaner. Eric Serra has quite a reputation and following after his successful score for The Fifth Element, but quite frankly I find his score to be very incongruous to the images taking place on the screen. His score for Goldeneye has to be the worst Bond soundtrack ever (yep, even worse, than Bill Conti’s work on For Your Eyes Only) and his avant guarde score for La Femme Nikita has dated and doesn’t follow the events of the movie. La Femme Nikita is a good film, maybe it is even a great film, but it was also the beginning of a new style of espionage films (and television shows). As such, it’s success lead to a whole slew of imitators which have moved on and surpassed the original in many respects. The ‘originator’ deserves credit and respect, but looking back on it now, it probably doesn’t pack the punch that it once did. Recommended  Labels: Espionage posted by David at 8:45 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Tuesday, May 6, 2008The Face Of Fu Manchu (1965) Directed by Don SharpChristopher Lee, Tsai Chin, Nigel Green, Karin Dor, Howard Marion Crawford, Joachim Fuchsberger, James Robertson Justice Music by Christopher Whelen Based on a character created by Sax Rohmer "Cruel, Callous, Brilliant - and the most Evil Man in the World!" Here's another film that has already be given the grand treatment here at Teleport City, but I was racking my brain trying to think of an appropriate film to follow yesterday's Peter Cushing review. Naturally, only one actor can follow Peter Cushing, and that's Christopher Lee. This is the first of five films that producer Harry Alan Towers (and his alter ego, screenwriter Peter Welbeck) made featuring Sax Rohmer’s character Fu Manchu. Out of all five, this is the only one that is quite good. Maybe that is on the strength of Nigel Green as Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard, Fu Manchu's archenemy. Green only appeared in this episode. Douglas Wilmer portrayed Nayland Smith in the next two films, and for the final installments, Richard Greene took over the mantle. At least the villains were consistent. Christopher Lee played Fu Manchu, and Tsai Chin appeared as Fu Manchu's malevolent daughter, Lin Tang for all the five films in the series. The film opens in China. We are in a prison courtyard and an execution is taking place. The man to be executed is Fu Manchu. On hand to witness the execution is Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard. Fu Manchu is marched to a chopping block, and with a lusty blow from a scimitar; his head is cleaved from his body.  Afterwards, Nayland Smith is back in London, and he has landed a cushy desk job, which he is not happy about. He is sure that the 'Crime Wave' sweeping Europe is the work of one criminal mastermind. But none of his superiors want to hear about it. The only person who has time for Nayland Smith's theories is Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion Crawford). For the uninitiated, Dr. Petrie is to Nayland Smith, what Watson is to Sherlock Holmes.Then we are introduced to Professor Hans Müller (Walter Rilla) and his young assistant. In a pea-soup fog they turn up at an old church in Limehouse. They enter the grounds of the 'apparently' deserted church. The assistant is strangled as he wanders through the yard. The Professor was told to come on his own. He is taken inside. And who is behind all this? The still very much alive Fu Manchu. The next day, the Professor's assistant's dead body is found. Around his neck is a red prayer scarf, with a medallion of the Goddess Kali tied into one of the corners. Naturally enough, Nayland Smith has seen all this before. It is the work of Burmese Dacoits. They believe the act of murder is blessed by the Goddess Kali, and every ritual killing is a passport to heaven. But the Dacoits must have someone controlling them, and even though he knows it is impossible, after all he saw the man executed, Nayland Smith believes that Fu Manchu is the man behind the killing. He plans to visit Professor Müller an ask him some questions. At Professor Müller's home, his daughter, Maria (Karin Dor) waits for his return. As she waits a Dacoit pays her a visit. She Screams. At that moment Karl Janssen (Joachim Fuchsberger), Professor Müller's research partner, arrives and rushes to her aid. By this time the Dacoit has dissapeared but has left behind a message: "If you value your Father's life - say nothing of his disappearance." Suddenly there's a noise in the laboratory down stairs. Janssen rushes down to investigate and gets into a noisy fist-fight with Nigel Green's stunt double (who's silhouette looks nothing like Green's). Before they kill each other, Maria rushes down and turns on the light, and the men stop. But why is Fu Manchu interested in Professor Müller? Professor Müller had previously studied in Tibet. His research brought him in contact with a flower called the Black Hill Poppy. The flower is incredibly rare, and the Professor needs it for his research. The Professor had received a letter two days previously, saying that if he went to the old church in Limehouse he would be given some special supplies. Naturally the Professor went, and he was captured by Fu Manchu. Fu Manchu knows that a powerful poison can be manufactured from the Black Hill Poppy. A poison so strong, that one-pint would kill everyone in London. A sure enough, that is exactly what evil mastermind Fu Manchu would like to get his hands on. Of course, I couldn’t talk about a Fu Manchu film without mentioning Christopher Lee as the evil Doctor. And although next to Dracula, Fu Manchu is the character Lee is most associated with (I don’t count Saruman or Count Dooku), it isn’t a particularly good portrayal. He gets to spout some ridiculous dialogue in a clipped, quasi-Chinese accent, and wear some fake eyepieces to make him look Asian. His main menacing attribute is his height. On the other hand, Tsai Chin as Lin Tang is deliciously evil. For Bond fans, Tsai Chin appeared in You Only Live Twice and has a nice cameo in the 2006 Casino Royale. Nigel Green is one of the great character actors, adding weight and class to a myriad of productions. Notable performances in espionage movies include The IPCRESS File, Deadlier Than The Male, and The Wrecking Crew. He also did quite a bit of television work, appearing in shows such as Danger Man, The Avengers and The Persuaders. His portrayal of Nayland Smith is the best in the Fu Manchu series, and it is a shame that he only appeared in this film. The Face Of Fu Manchu is quite a good film. It’s reputation is somewhat tarnished by the lesser films in the series, but as a stand-alone movie, this works extremely well as a period thriller. The Fu Manchu films is this series: • The Face Of Fu Manchu (1965) • The Brides Of Fu Manchu (1966) • The Vengeance Of Fu Manchu (1967) • The Blood Of Fu Manchu (1968) • The Castle Of Fu Manchu (1969)
posted by David at 12:54 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Monday, May 5, 2008The Masks Of Death (1984) Directed by Roy Ward BakerPeter Cushing, John Mills, Anton Diffring, Gordon Jackson, Ray Milland, Anne Baxter Music by Malcolm Williamson The Masks Of Death is a autumnal take on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The characters are much older than we are used to. Peter Cushing in particular, as Holmes looks gaunt and frail – he was 69 years old at the time. John Mills, who plays Watson was 76 years old. Despite their ages, and subsequently the lack of vigorous action sequences, this film is still very enjoyable. I guess this stems from watching a group of seasoned professionals do their thing the only way they know how. Sherlock Holmes was clearly a character that Cushing enjoyed playing, having starred in Hammer’s The Hound Of The Baskervilles in 1959, and then later taking on the role in the BBC television series in 1969. The film has a weird little cowcatcher at the front, set in 1926 where Homes, or more precisely Watson is recounting the tale of one of Sherlock Holmes’ untold adventures to a reporter. She begins writing down her notes, and we flashback to just before The Great War, in 1913. Even in 1913, Sherlock Holmes has long since retired and spends his time tending his bees in Sussex, but on one of his occasional visits to London he returns to 221B Baker Street – It appears that Mrs. Hudson keeps Holmes lodgings in ship shape condition for his return visits to the big smoke. Joining Holmes for the afternoon is his old friend Dr, John Watson. As they chat and reminisce, they are interrupted by Alec MacDonald of Scotland Yard (Gordon Jackson). MacDonald has a baffling case which he cannot fathom. In the past month three men have died, all with their faces frozen with a look of horror. Intrigued, Holmes agrees to help MacDonald out. Two of the men died in Whitechapel, so after a visit to the morgue, Holmes begins his investigation there. The last man who died was a professional beggar, and he died on a grating in one of the many laneways in Whitechapel. Holmes finds the grating, but a new derelict has taken up residence upon it. The derelict is one Alfred Coombs, played by Russell Hunter, who spy fans will remember as the stinky character, ‘Lonely’ in the TV series Callan. Coombs rants and raves like a mad man, and Holmes gets no useful information from him – or does he? Back at Baker Street, as Holmes and Watson try to decipher the rambling of the mad man Coombs, they are payed a visit by the Home Secretary (Ray Milland) and Graf Udo von Felseck (Anton Differing). It seems that Graf Udo von Felseck is on a secret mission of peace in England. He has been escorting the young Prince of Germany, to lead him in talks with the British Government. But before these talks could commence, the young Prince has been kidnapped from von Felseck’s country estate. If it is discovered that the Prince has been kidnapped, then war between the two countries is imminent. Naturally Holmes accepts the case, and along with Watson they head to Purbridge, and von Felseck’s estate and attempt to pick up the trail of the missing Prince. Among the house guests at the estate is Irene Adler (Anne Baxter). In his career, Holmes has only been bested four times. Irene Adler was the only woman to do it, and naturally Holmes is very suspicious of her presence at von Felseck’s. While I loathe to can this film, because I enjoyed it very much, but there are some incredibly large plot holes, and simply overly contrived situations. At one stage Holmes is lured to a chalk mine, where the villains of the piece attempt to assassinate him. Believe me, if they wanted him out of the way, they could have quite simply shot him earlier in the film. The subterfuge is completely unnecessary – except to confound the audience. This is a film for Holmes completists, and/or those who enjoy watching the films of Peter Cushing. Others could find it a bit slow paced, lacking in action, and the story too contrived. Labels: Sherlock Holmes, Stars: Peter Cushing posted by David at 5:23 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Thursday, May 1, 2008Do Aur Do Paanch (1980) Directed by Rakesh KumarAmitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Parveen Babi, Lalita Pawar Music by Rajesh Roshan – Lyrics by Anjaan You’ll have to forgive me, if I make a ‘balls-up’ of this review. Todd is Teleport City’s expert on subcontinental cinema...I am but a beginner...but if like me you’re taking your first tentative steps into an understanding and appreciation of Bollywood film then I guess looking at the films of Amitabh Bachchan is a good place to start. Teleport City already has a fine collection of reviews on Bachchan... To read the whole swag: click here. I’ll refrain from tracing Bachchan’s career, as it’s ground covered by much more knowledgeable reviewers than I, and after all, this is a Shrimp Chip review. The film opens with a colourful animated title sequence, very much in The Pink Panther style – that is, cartoon characters with bombs. In fact the film starts off very much like a comedy. Two men, Sunil (Sashi Kapoor) and Vijay (Armibabh Bachchan) are in prison (a classic comedy setting). Whenever they see each other, they threaten each other with all forms of physical violence. As they are separated by bars, of course, they cannot enact upon their threats. A young boy, also serving hard time, asks an old man, ‘Why do they go at it like dogs?’ The old man explains that destiny has a hand in it – whenever either of the two go thieving (or whatever nefarious activity they are up to), the other inadvertently turns up. We then ‘flash-back’ to the event that lead to their incarceration. Both Sunil and Vijay have planned to rob a safe on the same night. As they enter the room from different entrances, each is dismayed to see the other enter the room. But time is of the essence, so they both chip in to break open the safe. It’s only when it comes time to split the loot, that problems arise. Neither wants to share, and instead they slug it out on a roof top. As they fight, they tear open the money bag, and a shower of bank notes rain down upon the police officers who are looking for them. Naturally they are captured, and each blames the other for their arrest. The film skips ahead to it’s next plot point. It concerns a young boy named Bitoo (Master Bittoo) who is neglected by his father (Shreeram Lagoo). That’s not to say the boy doesn’t have everything he needs. Bitu has everything, including nannies and a team of security guards to watch him around the clock. The neglect stems from his millionaire father’s hectic work schedule. He never has time for little Bitoo. But criminal minds are scheming. If Bitoo were to be kidnapped, they could extort an exorbitant ransom demand from his father. One gangster, known only as Uncle (Kader Khan) plans to do exactly this. He arranges for a squad of cars to kidnap the boy. Despite being professional gangsters, there kidnap attempt is foiled by a passer by, Miss Shalu (Hema Malini). Single handed, and in a quite ridiculous fashion, she manages to destroy all the cars that were sent after Bitoo. Miss Shalu is a school teacher at an exclusive boarding school. She suggests to Bitoo’s father that the boy come and stay there. The school has excellent security and she guarantees that Bitoo will be safe. By this time both Sunil and Vijay have been released from prison, and have gone their separate ways...but not for long. Destiny once again steps in so they attempt to work on the same scheme at the same time. Both men conspire to kidnap Bitto. This, of course means infiltrating the private school. Vijay’s plan involves impersonating the son of a friend of the headmaster...and ultimately becoming the Phys. Ed. Teacher. Sunil’s scheme is to replace the music teacher, who is off on leave after encountering some of Uncle’s henchmen. Naturally, at the school, Sunil and Vijay are not enamoured to see each other and spend a considerable amount of time trying to outwit each other, and ultimately get their hands on Bitoo. Do Aur Do Paanch starts off in an amusing enough fashion, but to be honest, the child kidnapping plot is a bit creepy when you think about it. In the second half, this film moves away from comedy and becomes slightly darker in tone. Well, you certainly can’t call the film boring. It has a bit of everything in it. But for me, I don’t think this is the best introduction to the work of Amitabh Bachchan. I think I’ll have to look elsewhere. Labels: Bollywood, Stars: Amitabh Bachchan posted by David at 4:50 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Wednesday, April 30, 2008The Phantom Of The Opera (1962) Directed by Terence FisherHerbert Lom, Heather Sears, Michael Gough, Edward de Souza, Thorley Waters, Music by Edwin Astley Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux The Phantom Of The Opera is a tale that has been told many times, but in recent years, the success of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical version, both on stage and on screen, has overshadowed some of the earlier telling of the tale. This version is the Hammer Studios version, and like many of their films, it deviates from the source material, but still provides a great little story. The film begins on the opening night of Lord Ambrose d'Arcy’s (Michael Gough) new opera ‘Joan Of Arc’. For weeks the Opera House, in the lead-up to the production, has been plagued by small accidents. Some people even believe that the theatre is haunted. The bad luck continues during the performance when one of the stage hands, hanging from a rope around his neck, tears one of the backdrops and swings out into the middle of the stage, dead. The leading lady in the production quits and the season of ‘Joan Of Arc’ is postponed until a replacement can be found. The production Manager, Harry Hunter (Edward de Souza) finds a girl named Christine Charles (Heather Sears) who has the voice to fit the bill. But Lord d'Arcy is a lecherous swine and tries to take advantage of the rising starlets desire to perform. She rebuffs his advances and d'Arcy fires her from the production and seeks a new starlet to sing the lead. Hunter tries to reason with d'Arcy, but for his trouble he gets fired too. Afterwards he goes to Christine’s lodgings to tell her the bad news. At the lodgings, however, the landlady tells him of one of her previous tenants, Professor Petrie who was a composer who died in a fire many years previously. Hunter does some investigating into the death of Professor Petrie. It seems that Petrie wrote a great deal of music, but broke, went to Lord d'Arcy to see if he could get his work published. Lord d'Arcy agreed to buy and publish the work, but instead stole it, and put his name to the music. In a fit of rage, Petrie went to the printers that were running off ‘d'Arcy’s ill gotten sheet music and threw all the printed sheets into the furnace. One sheet fell out of the furnace and onto the floor starting a small fire. Petrie picked up a bucket filled with acid, thinking that it is water. He then threw the acid on the fire, and it splashed back in his face. Blinded in one eye and in tremendous pain, Petrie ran from the printers, out into the street, and then threw him self into the river – never to be seen again. The Phantom Of The Opera is not a true horror film. Their are a couple of violent scenes, but they aren’t too shocking. Like the best of Hammer, what this film has got going for it, is a sense of atmosphere, and a great ensemble of character actors. Lom is good, but considering he spends most of the movie hidden behind a mask it is his voice that carries his performance. Michael Gough though is brilliantly evil as Lord Ambrose d'Arcy, and he dominates every scene he is in. All in all, The Phantom Of The Opera is an entertaining tale in true Hammer style, of good versus evil, corruption and revenge. Labels: Studio: Hammer posted by David at 1:27 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Tuesday, April 29, 2008Mata Hari (1985) Directed by Curtis HarringtonSylvia Kristel, Christopher Cazenove, Oliver Tobias, Gaye Brown, Gottfried John, Anthony Newlands Music by Wilfred Josephs I am sure that this won’t be the worst Mata Hari movie ever made, but by the same token, it is rather limp affair. Strangely, the film-makers couldn’t decide if they wanted to make a faithful version of Mata Hari’s tale or go for a dashing, labyrinthine spy story. The end result has a few facts that seem misplaced, and it doesn’t quite take flight as a fully-fledged spy movie. It’s a muddle really. But the opening titles should have been a warning for what was to come. The titles roll and the film opens in Java in 1909. In front of some over grown ruins, Mata Hari is dancing topless with the natives. Anybody who has the tiniest bit of interest in Mata Hari, will tell you that she never took of her top in any of her dances. Apparently she was quite embarrassed by the size (or lack thereof) of her breasts and often wore padding to enlarge her bust. The titles end, the dance ends, and so does Mata Hari’s life in the mystic East. We move forward to Paris in 1914. Two friends are engaged in a duel. A bit of light-hearted competition. The two are Captain George Ladoux (Oliver Tobias), a French Officer, and Captain Karl Von Whyling (Christopher Cazenove), a German officer. Later that evening at a party, they both witness the exotic dancer Mata Hari. And both men, in their way, fall in love. Soon after, Von Whyling is called back to Berlin. Co-incidentally Mata Hari is also soon to be going to Berlin to perform. On the train, she notices a young gentleman dining alone. She joins him for a meal, and soon after they are on their way back to his cabin. In no time Mata Hari has her gear off. During their sexual encounter, as they are in the throes of ecstasy, a shadowy figure partially opens the door. A blowpipe sends a poison dart into the young gentleman’s neck and he dies. Mata Hari is soon arrested for the man’s murder, as the poison used on the dart was from the East Indies. Mata Hari obviously has a history in that part of the world, and to make matters worse, it appears that the man was a German agent. German intelligence is sent to interrogate her. It won’t shock viewers to know that the man sent to question her is Karl Von Whyling. He frees her and tells her to get away. She refuses to leave and goes out to dinner with Von Whyling instead. As they dine, their meal in interrupted by a Wolff (Gottfried John) and a woman who goes by the title of Fraulein Doktor (Gaye Brown). They are both high ranking intelligence officers and they don’t believe her story. Fraulein Doktor believes George Ladoux, who is now head of the Deuxienne Bureau, sent her to Berlin. When we next see Mata Hari she is having a very creepy lesbian affair with Fraulein Doktor. Nothing is openly stated, but this is meant to imply that Mata Hari is now working for the German’s. Or at least, that they want the French to think she is working for the German’s. It’s all very complicated and contrived. And, sorry to say, the plot doesn’t get any easier to follow. WAR IS DECLARED. We now skip forward to 1915. We are in Paris at the Follies Bergére and Mata Hari has just performed. Backstage, Ladoux pays a call on her. She says that she has been tricked by the Germans, including Von Whyling, into spying for them. Ladoux takes pity on her and does not arrest her. In fact he makes love to her. The next morning as she leaves, she is picked up by Von Whyling, who is posing as a driver. He claims that it is Ladoux who is laying the trap for him. Naturally Mata Hari then makes love to Von Whyling. She chooses to believe him and take his side. She wants to stay with him.  They set up a love nest in a little village outside Paris. Mata Hari waits, while Von Whyling clandestinely arranges an arms deal. Days pass. She continues to wait. Then one day Ladoux turns up. He escorts her to a battlefield. He explains that they had intercepted a German message. It said that a French General was going to attack the German line at this location. The German’s were waiting and consequently the French troops were slaughtered. The message also claimed that Mata Hari was the sole source of the information the German’s received.Despite her innocence, Mata Hari has little option but to offer her services to the French. Of course, she is to spy on Von Whyling, who is supposed to be in Madrid. Mata Hari is sent to Madrid. But Von Whyling is not in Madrid. Another German officer, Von Krohn (Malcolm Terris) is. As you’ve have come to expect from Mata Hari by now, she makes love to Von Krohn and goes through all his belongings as he sleeps. She sends the information back to Ladoux via a contact named Noriega. The system seems to be working well. But then Noriega is killed. Then even Von Krohn is killed – by the German’s, for his incompetence. And waiting in Mata Hari’s room is Fraulein Doktor. And upon threat of death, Mata Hari is once again spying for Germany. Mata Hari new target is a hedonist called Baron Joubert (Anthony Newlands). She arranges an invitation to one of his parties and finds herself in a topless swordfight with another woman. For the voyeurs, it’s a fairly interesting set piece – dare I say it – the highlight of the film. But it really is an incongruous plot point. It really does seem another opportunity for Miss Kristel to get her gear off. And if that isn’t silly enough, next Mata Hari is drugged. This drug makes her participate in a three-way lesbian act, while Joubert and his masked party guests watch on deliriously. There’s a few more plot twists and turn and double crosses along the way, but as you can read above, it is all very convoluted. And ultimately it is a story with a downbeat ending. I am sure I am not giving anything away when I say that Mata Hari gets executed by firing squad. So to enjoy a film with such a ‘bummer’ at the end, you have to at least enjoy the journey along the way. But with all the clumsy twists, one after the other, belief in, or even respect for the characters is a tough ask. All the characters betray each other, and as such are not likeable in any way. And poor old Mata Hari seems to be the pawn in the middle (or should that be porn – sorry couldn’t help myself). The actions of Ladoux and Von Whyling are particularly hard to fathom. It seems like a vicious game between two brothers that has gotten seriously out of hand. To add insult to injury, as an epilogue, the two men meet three years after Mata Hari’s death and express their sorrow for the events that transpired. Quite frankly, it’s crap. This film may not be quite as bad as I make out, but I can’t really think whom the audience for this film would be. It’s not a good history lesson. On the porn scale it’s pretty tame (although I have heard that there are more explicit versions of the movie out there). There is hardly any action. And the story, well the previous paragraph tells you what I think about that. So if you are a person who likes convoluted stories, with unpleasant characters, and cold emotionless sex then maybe this is the spy film for you. But otherwise, may I suggest you have a cold shower and an early night. Labels: Character: Mata Hari posted by David at 1:22 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Monday, April 28, 2008Mata Hari (1931) Directed by George FitzmauriceGreta Garbo, Ramon Navarro, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, C. Henry Gordon, Karen Morley “In 1917, war-ridden France Dealt summarily with Traitors and spies” I am far from an expert when it comes to the film Mata Hari. Sure, when reviewing a film, I try to do a little bit of research, but generally when watching a mainstream film, I presume that I am watching a full-length, uncut version. After all, what kind of shocks could a film from 1931 hold for modern audiences? Not too many, but when the film was re-released in 1938/39, some scenes were cut out to satisfy the Hays Code. And unfortunately, these scenes have never been reinstated. So the current DVD version of Mata Hari is cut. But who knows, the complete version may turn up one day? But here’s a quick overview of the current DVD version: In a field three traitors a tied to stakes. A firing squad shoots the first traitor, then the second. Before shooting the third, two officials walk up to the young gent tied to the stake. One of the officials, Dubois (C. Henry Gordon) asks the young man about a woman. The man, who is clearly scared, refuses to answer. Dubois says, “It’s Mata Hari isn’t it?” There is still no answer. The officials walk away in disgust, and the traitor is shot. Overhead, a biplane flies over the killing field to a nearby landing field. The plane is Russian and the pilot is Alexis Rosanoff (Ramon Navarro) of the Russian Imperial Airforce. He is carrying important documents which have to be passed on to the heads of the Russian Embassy in Paris. Waiting to greet Rosanoff is General Shubin (Lionel Barrymore), a high ranking Russian officer stationed in Paris. Shubin takes Rosanoff to the Embassy where he hands over the despatches. The documents he has handed over demand a reply, but the information is in code and will take twelve hours to decipher. So in the meantime. Rosanoff has a few hours to kill in Paris. Shubin invites Rosanoff to dinner, and afterwards to a performance by Mata Hari.  At the show, Mata Hari (Greta Garbo) does a provocative dance in front of a giant statue of Shiva. Apparently this is one of the sequences that was cut. It appears that Garbo’s dance was a little too steamy. At the end of the performance the crowd goes wild. Especially Rosanoff, who after witnessing one performance is completely infatuated with Mata Hari.But Rosanoff isn’t the only one infatuated with Mata Hari. General Shubin meets her back stage. He wants a relationship (or a least a quick leg-over) with Mata Hari. But she is not interested at this time. She is more enamoured with the other younger men who throw themselves at her. But Shubin knows a few ‘dirty secrets’ about Mata Hari, and threatens to reveal them all. She calls his bluff. Shubin backs down and leaves with his desires un-satiated. Afterwards, Mata Hari and an entourage of young men make then way to a gambling den called The Pavillion. The Pavillion is actually a front for the German spymaster Andriani (Lewis Stone), and Mata Hari is one of his agents. Mata Hari and Andriani meet in a back room. Her next mission is to find out about the papers that were flown in from Russia earlier in the day. To acquire the information she is sent to seduce Shubin once again. But there may be a another way to get the information. Rosanoff has followed Mata Hari to the casino, and offers to chauffeur her home. She accepts the offer, and the couple return to her abode. More recent Mata Hari films have asked the question, was Mata Hari really a German Agent? Or was she a French double-agent? Or was she a courtesan who’s allegiances fluctuated with whoever was paying her the most? In this film there is no conflict. She is definitely a spy for the Germans. The conflict in this film comes from her relationship with Rosanoff. It is her love for him that is her eventual undoing.  Early in the film Andriani kills one of his agents. Her name was Carlotta (Karen Morley), and she worked in a very similar fashion to Mata Hari; seducing the information from men of influence. But she falls in love. As Andriani has her killed, he says to Mata Hari, ”A spy in love is a tool that has lost it’s usefulness.” It’s a lesson that Mata Hari should have heeded.This film makes virtually no attempt to tell the truth about Mata Hari’s life. The only things that are true are: she called herself Mata Hari, she danced, she fell in love with a Russian pilot, and was shot as a traitor. Apart from that, all the characters and situations have been made up. But if you look at this film as entertainment, and not as a history lesson, then I guess it isn’t to bad. The last twenty minutes or so are a bit long and overly melodramatic, but that was the style at the time. Despite this film’s flaws it is worth noting that much of the myth and notoriety surrounding Mata Hari was created by the success of this motion picture, rather than any factual retelling of the Mata Hari story. The acting is a film of this era isn’t really worth talking about too much. It was made long before ‘method acting’ so nobody really inhabits their character. In some of the scenes it is almost like watching a bad soap opera. Ramon Navarro is particularly guilty of over-acting. Garbo, on the other hand doesn’t have to act until the end of the film. Generally her lurid costumes do the talking for her. Time has caught up with this film a bit, but if you are a hard core fan of spy movies, you must see this film (at least once). The Mata Hari legend begins here. Labels: Character: Mata Hari posted by David at 1:18 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Sunday, April 27, 2008From Corleone to Brooklyn (1979) Directed by Umberto LenziMaurizio Merli, Van Johnson, Biagio Pelligra, Mario Erola Music by Franco Micalizzi From Corleone To Brooklyn is slightly different to most of Merli’s poliziotteschi – but not too much. Firstly he is still one tough cop, who’ll go to extreme lengths to stop crime dead in it’s tracks. He is still determined to see justice done. But in this film he get’s along with his superiors. He even jokes around with them, and in turn they back him up. And there is not one single tirade about the system protecting the criminals, and punishing the victims of crime. It’s only a subtle change to Merli’s usual screen persona, but one that presents a new slant to his character. He isn’t a loner. At times he may have to do the job on his own, but generally he has the support of his colleagues and friends. From Corleone To Brooklyn opens in New York. Vito Fernando (Mario Merola ) has just moved out from Sicily. He is meeting a few old friends in a restaurant when two uniformed police officers enter and demand to see the newcomers passport. Fernando supplies his passport only to have the officer declare it a fake. A commotion in the restaurant allows Fernado to get away, much to the embarrassment of the officers involved. Then we cut to Palermo. Lieutenant Berni (Maurizio Merli) is investigating the Mafia related killing of one of the local mob bosses, Salvatore Santoro. Santoro’s brother, Francesco is walking through the markets when two men with machine guns burst out of a delivery van and gun him down. The police were watching Francesco but were unable to stop the killing, but they pursue the delivery van as it tries to make a quick getaway. During the pursuit, the police radio for back up, and soon, Berni and a whole battalion of police cars are on the narrow Palermo streets chasing the van. The chase ends up on foot, and as one of the perpetrators tries to get away, Merli proves he can still throw a decent punch. Meanwhile the US police fax through the details of Vito Fernando hoping for some background information. Upon seeing the fax, Berni realises that Fernando is actually Barresi hiding out in the USA. Misguided by his lawyer, Barresi voluntarily turns him to the police. He figures they do not know he is Baressi, and he has committed no crime in the U.S. Except for illegal entry. But Berni notifies them otherwise and convinces one of Barresi’s footsoldiers, Salvatore Scalia (Biagio Pelligra) to act as a witness against Barresi. That way he can be extradited back to Italy to stand trial.  But it isn’t as simple as that. Naturally Barresi doesn’t want to be extradited or stand trial so he arranges for every hood between Palermo and New York to kill Berni and Scalia. With every mob enforcer on their trail, Berni and Scalia’s trip is vigorous and fraught with danger.This film is more atmospheric and less visceral than some of Merli’s earlier poliziotteschi films, and it is aided by a story that makes sense. It features investigative police work, rather than Merli simply being in the right place at the right time or beating up snitches for a scrap of information. I enjoyed From Corleone To Brooklyn. It is more mature than some of Merli and director Umberto Lenzi’s other collaborations, but sadly this would be the last time they would work together. Labels: Eurocrime, Stars: Maurizio Merli posted by David at 1:15 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post Saturday, April 26, 2008Code Of Silence (1985) Directed By Andrew DavisChuck Norris, Henry Silva, Bert Remsen, Molly Hagen, Dennis Farina Music by David Michael Frank If you pick up a copy of Leonard Maltin’s Film Guide, and look up Code Of Silence, you’ll see a picture of me staring back at you! No, not really – I have always just wanted to say that. Maltin’s Guide describes Code Of Silence as ‘Dirty Chuckie’. It’s an obvious comparison to make, but I have a theory – not a very solid one, but none-the-less – that director Andrew Davis drew his inspiration from the Italian poliziotteschi films, rather than Eastwood’s magnum toting maverick cop. Firstly, and most overtly, Henry Silva is cast as the villain. I realise Silva was an international actor who plied his stock in trade all over the world, but next to Maurizo Merli and Tomas Milian, he surely has to be considered one of Italian Crime Cinemas most recognisable faces. Secondly, we have Chuck’s appearance. Sure he has a beard in this movie, but he looks like Merli, or Franco Nero – blonde hair, blue eyes, carrying a badge and a gun. I know that’s pretty thin, but go with me on this. My third, and most damning piece of evidence is that Chuck gets into a fight in a billiard parlour. A fight in a billiard parlour is almost a prerequisite in a poliziotteschi. Hollywood had given them up after Coogan’s Bluff in 1968. Another European touch – although French this time, rather than Italian, is that Chuck chases a villain along the roof of a moving train. I am sure that every police thriller starring Jean Paul Belmondo has a scene with him riding on top of a train. In fact, I believe that’s how Belmondo goes to work each day. He doesn’t buy a train ticket, he simply leaps onto the roof of a moving trains as it passes by. Then as he reaches his destination, he jumps off again. Amazing man, but I have digressed. In this film Chuck Norris plays Eddie Cusack, who is a straight down the line Chicago cop. The film opens with Chuck undercover as a garbage collector. His team of men are planning to bust some of the members of the Comacho family, who are dealing drugs. Before Cusack and his team can move in, a rival mob gang headed by Crazy Tony Luna (Mike Genovese) hit the Comachos. This is a pretty silly thing to do, because the head of the Comacho mob, Luis, in played by Henry Silva. Luis vows revenge and kills the entire Luna family, except one, Diana (Molly Hagen). Of course, she is next on the hit list, and Cusack steps in to save and protect her. Sounds similar to Forced Vengeance doesn’t it? There’s a nice subplot that involves a drunken old police officer named Craigie (Ralph Foody). During the opening attempted police raid on the Comachos, in a darkened hallway, Craigie shoots down an innocent boy. Rather rather go through legal proceedings, Craigie then plants a gun on the boy cover it up. Code Of Silence is Chuck’s second great film. I think he only has two good ones. The success of this film probably comes down to the direction by Andrew Davis. Davis knows his way around an action movie and seemed to have a knack for getting decent performances from wooden leading men. Davis performed the same feat with Steven Seagal, directing his best two films, Above The Law (once again with Menacing Henry Silva) and Under Siege. Code Of Silence really was the pinnacle of Chuck Norris’ career. From here on in, each film seemed to get a little bit worse – dropping from cinema release to direct to video, and then finally TV movies. But to give Chuck his due, he was a pioneer in this sort of thing. He was doing his violent martial arts films long before Seagal, Van Damme or any of their ilk. And his impact was such that even non martial artists had to have martial art fight sequences in their films. Look at Lethal Weapon? Mel Gibson is one of the most unconvincing Martial Artists depicted on screen – aided considerably with some rapid fire editing. But nowadays, every hero has to know a modicum of Kung-fu, Karate, Jujitsu or some other ancient form of violence. No longer is throwing a good punch enough. Labels: Stars: Chuck Norris posted by David at 1:37 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post |
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