Tag Archives: Drama

#159 Favorite Film, 2006 Films, Beyoncé, Bill Condon, Danny Glover, Drama, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, John Krasinski, John Lithgow, Musical, Musical Drama, Top 250 Films

Dreamgirls-2006

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Dreamgirls-2006

Director Bill Condon

Starring Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy

Top 250 Films #159

Scott’s Film Review #792

Reviewed July 20, 2018

Grade: A

Dreamgirls (2006) is a glossy show business-style drama with plenty of glitz and glamour. Adapted from the Broadway production of the same name, the story is loosely based on the trials and tribulations of The Supremes, a popular all-girl group from the 1960s.

Despite the film being heavily focused on the drama and tension between the characters, it boasts a wonderful soundtrack and fantastic acting- most notably newcomer Jennifer Hudson, who garnered a surprising Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for her role.

The film tells the story of the evolution of American R&B music during the 1960s and the 1970s- the action mainly taking place in Detroit, Michigan, where the genre began.

Taking center stage is the incarnation of a girl group called The Dreams, who are controlled by their manipulative record label executive.

A womanizer and creep, Curtis Taylor (Jamie Foxx), guides the girls to stardom, but beds both the beautiful Deena (Beyonce) and the talented yet overweight Effie White (Jennifer Hudson). This leads to conflict as Curtis decides that less talented Deena is more marketable and thus should be the central figure of the band.

With a stellar cast in tow, Dreamgirls contains a plethora of talent and a good history lesson to boot. The main draw in the acting department is the revelation of the talented Jennifer Hudson.

Winner of the talent show American Idol, many pooh pooed her film direction, apparently assuming she was a flash in the pan and a “reality television” star. The challenging role of Effie is perfectly suited for Hudson- brazen, pipes for days, and plenty of attitude.

Her acting aside, Hudson scorches through an unforgettable rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”, which is assuredly what won her the Oscar.

Otherwise, the supporting cast is worthwhile and impressive is Beyonce in a pivotal role. Surely, the singer/actress faced her share of detractors, along with Hudson, but their chemistry is amazing and she nails all of her songs.

Eddie Murphy is a gem in the role mirrored after James Brown, James “Thunder” Early.  The role is perfect for Murphy- a far cry from his standard comedic roles that have grown stale over the years.

This role rejuvenates the actor’s credibility.

Dreamgirls does at times falter a bit with the drama, almost soap opera-like situations. A triangle develops between Effie, Curtis, and Deena, which leads to tension, bad blood, cattiness, and melodrama.

If the film were a standard drama this would undoubtedly make the film suffer from a tired script or generic writing.

But the musical numbers are so riveting that these flaws can be overlooked completely. The ritzy glamour and sparkles that erupt during “Dreamgirls” and “One Night Only” are wonderful fun and the songs are memorable leaving audiences humming along as they dance in the aisles.

The story has been told many times before. A dream of rising to musical stardom and the many trials and tribulations that go along with these hopes and desires.

Comparisons can be made to Chicago (2002), Valley of the Dolls (1967), or even Gypsy (1962), but the mostly black cast and the 1960s Motown theme is interesting, particularly as the Civil Rights movement of the time was upon us.

The film does not invest much time in politics, sticking mainly with drama and music, which may be a wise move to avoid too much of a message theme.

As the film concludes in 1975, Effie is reaffirmed as a meaningful member of The Dreams after her career has tanked and she has wound up on welfare.

A paternity twist is also thrown in for good measure, but the film has a clear “happily after ever” vibe to it which softens the film and keeps it more on the PG-13 level instead of going for darker themes.

Dreamgirls (2006) is a musical that is highly memorable for me because it made Jennifer Hudson a household name and confirms the talent and glory that she is rightfully due.

In subsequent years the star lost weight, softened her image a bit, and became, well, more generic. But thankfully we have a gorgeous performance to always appreciate her for.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Supporting Actor-Eddie Murphy, Best Supporting Actress-Jennifer Hudson (won), Best Original Song-“Listen”, “Love You I Do”, “Patience”, Best Sound Mixing (won), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design

#162 Favorite Film, 1988 Films, Barbara Hershey, Bette Midler, Comedy, Drama, Favorite Film of the Year, Garry Marshall, Héctor Elizondo, James Read, Jenifer Lewis, John Heard, Lainie Kazan, Mayim Bialik, Spalding Gray, Top 250 Films

Beaches-1988

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Beaches-1988

Director Garry Marshall

Starring Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey

Top 250 Films #162

Scott’s Review #352

Reviewed January 9, 2016

Grade: A

Beaches (1988) is a film that can easily be described as sentimental, sappy, and a chick flick- all in a derogatory fashion- but that, regardless, is a treasure to me.

I fall for this tearjerker every single time that I watch it.

It is not necessarily a great film, not high art, nor particularly edgy, but a good, old-fashioned, conventional film about friendship.

Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey give the film believability, whereas other similar films would appear contrived.

C.C. Bloom (Midler) and Hillary Whitney (Hershey) are lifelong friends from opposite backgrounds. Besides, they could not have more opposite personalities. C.C. is blue-collar, outrageous, and brash; Hillary is demure, rich, and sophisticated.

We meet our friends as young girls on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, C.C., hiding from her overbearing stage Mom, and Hillary is lost and wandering the boardwalk.

The two become fast friends despite their vastly different upbringings and stay connected through life’s ups and downs for over thirty years.

The chemistry between Midler and Hershey is great. I completely buy them as best friends through the years, despite having little in common.

Throughout their tender, emotional scenes and the knock-down-drag-out fight at the mall (a fantastic scene!), there is never a doubt about what they have.

They compete over a man, which ordinarily is a lame plot device, but in Beaches, it works because the two stars make it work.

Each actress puts her mark on the individual role. Midler’s C.C. is arrogant, feisty, and interesting as she begins as a “have-not” and becomes a “have”.

She becomes spoiled and pampered- all of the things she envies about Hillary. She does not handle wealth as well as Hillary because she lacks education. Hillary, an attorney, is classy and graceful.

These characteristics make it believable that the women would be at odds.

The last act is a weepy one as one of the women dies, leaving the other to pick up the pieces and move on- alone. This is a sad moment in the film, but the women’s devotion and loyalty are admirable.

Beaches (1988) may not be high art, but boy, will it get you reaching for the tissues.

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction

#167 Favorite Film, 2016 Films, Alex R. Hibbert, André Holland, Ashton Sanders, Barry Jenkins, Best Feature- Independent Spirit Award Winners, Best Picture Oscar Winners, Drama, Favorite Film of the Year, Independent, Independent Drama, Janelle Monáe, Jharrel Jerome, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Top 250 Films, Trevante Rhodes

Moonlight-2016

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Moonlight-2016

Director Barry Jenkins

Starring Trevante Rhodes, Andre Holland

Top 250 Films #167

Scott’s Review #512

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Reviewed November 6, 2016

Grade: A

Moonlight (2016) is an excellent film rich in character and grit. It tells the story of one man’s life, from childhood to teenage years to adulthood, sharing the bonds he forms and the demons he wrestles with.

The acting is fantastic, and the story is poignant and truthful.

The film is not preachy but instead tells a story, leaving the audience to sit and observe, quietly formulating their opinions.

Moonlight is a mixture of beauty and heartbreak and is told very well.

The film is divided into three chronological chapters that describe the central character’s life.

Chiron is a shy, docile young boy of six or seven living in the drug-filled world of Miami, Florida, in the 1980s. He is bullied for being “different,” though he does not know why he is shunned. Chiron is introverted and distrustful.

A kind-hearted drug dealer named Juan (Mahersala Ali) takes a shine to Chiron, whose own mother becomes more and more absent and emotionally abusive to her son.

Naomie Harris plays Paula, mother to Chiron and herself a drug addict. Juan and his girlfriend Theresa (Janelle Monae) become surrogate parents to Chiron and share their home with him as needed.

Chapter two focuses on Chiron as a teenager, still bullied and coming to terms with his sexuality and feelings of insecurity. By this time, his mother has spiraled out of control, and his life is a sad one.

He is filled with emotions such as rage, despair, and confusion. An experience with his best friend, Kevin, changes the direction of his life. Kevin is his saving grace and a decent person amidst his troubled life.

In chapter three, we are re-introduced to Chiron as an adult, having wholly reinvented himself and become a changed man, but is he changed for better or worse? People from his past resurface at this time, and Chiron must face various demons and emotions and come to terms with himself and the others surrounding him.

Does his story have a sad or a happy ending? This is the question we are left wondering.

The aspect that impressed me the most is the storytelling and the ground broken with this film.

From an LGBTQ+ perspective, by this time (2016), we have experienced numerous offerings on the subject. Still, the fact that Moonlight is not only a character study but a love story between two black men has not yet been done to this degree in cinema, or arguably at all, especially in mainstream fare.

Happily, Moonlight is receiving critical praise. The fact that Chiron lives in a macho, male-driven society makes his self-acceptance all the more challenging for him.

The direction in Moonlight is impressive, and director Barry Jenkins deserves much praise.

Quiet scenes of Chiron as a boy asking Juan and Theresa why the bullies call him a specific name are heartbreaking. Another scene muted and in slow motion, reveals an abusive Paula calling Chiron a degrading name, leaving him confused and hurt.

The tender scenes between Chiron and Kevin are sweet and passionate and are told on a humanistic level.

Moonlight delves into such territory as loneliness and self-identity. It is an interesting film for anyone who has struggled with these issues or is empathetic to those who have.

Moonlight (2016) breaks stereotypes and molds a subtle and low-key film that speaks volumes.

Oscar Nominations: 3 wins-Best Picture (won), Best Director-Barry Jenkins, Best Supporting Actor-Mahershala Ali (won), Best Supporting Actress-Naomie Harris, Best Adapted Screenplay (won), Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 6 wins-Best Feature (won), Best Director-Barry Jenkins (won), Best Screenplay (won), Best Cinematography (won), Best Editing (won), Robert Altman Award (won)

#169 Favorite Film, 2002 Films, Allison Janney, Claire Danes, Drama, Ed Harris, Eileen Atkins, Jeff Daniels, John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Margo Martindale, Meryl Streep, Miranda Richardson, Nicole Kidman, Stephen Daldry, Toni Collette, Top 250 Films

The Hours-2002

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The Hours-2002

Director Stephen Daldry

Starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep

Top 250 Films #169

Scott’s Review #803

Reviewed August 17, 2018

Grade: A

The Hours (2002) is a film containing the ultimate in acting riches. With names like Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore associated with the film this is not surprising.

Not solely belonging to the ladies, however, Ed Harris, in particular, is dynamic in his role as are all the other males who appear in the film.

Told in three different sections in chronological order, but going back and forth, the stories all share connections via the novel Mrs. Dalloway, written by Virginia Woolf.

One of the best films of the decade!

Each segment of the film takes place within a single day, but decades apart. Wisely, director Stephen Daldry switches between the stories frequently leaving sort of a cliffhanger, making the drama more compelling and spicy.

In 1923, a depressed Virginia Woolf is portrayed by an unrecognizable Nicole Kidman in a role that won her the Best Actress Oscar.

Woolf resides outside of London and struggles to complete her novel amid nervous breakdowns and the watchful eye of her husband, who is aware of her mental pain.

In 1951, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) seemingly has it all, living the “American Dream”. Residing in a nice neighborhood with a loving husband, she is pregnant with her second child, spending the days at home raising her young son, Richie, whom she is very close to yet does not understand.

After a fleeting lesbian dalliance with a neighbor, Laura goes off to a hotel with bottles of pills, intending to kill herself. She changes her mind after reading Woolf’s novel and dozing off, deciding instead to make a different decision.

Finally, in 2001, Clarissa (Meryl Streep), is bisexual and in a same-sex relationship. She lives with Richard (Harris), whom she dated in college, now the best of friends. He is gay, stricken with the AIDS virus, and close to committing suicide as he plans to jump out of a window.

This story (present times) is crucial to the film because it involves two characters from the 1951 story. These characters intersect with others in a touching and heart-wrenching way.

The greatest parts of The Hours are the brilliant acting and the richly written storytelling. Arguably, Kidman, Streep, and Moore all could have won Oscars for their performances, and I must mention that as brilliant as Kidman is (she is the sole Oscar recipient), and Streep is just universally good, I would have given the Oscar to Moore- the standout in my opinion.

Glamorous and intelligent, warm to her son, she makes a monumental and controversial decision. The character should not be sympathetic- yet she is. This is a testament to Moore’s infusing the character with confidence, reasonable thoughts, and even some empathy. We finally understand why she does what she does.

May I boast for a moment about Harris’s performance? Richard, once known as Richie as a kid (this will give something away), has lived a difficult life.

Abandoned, wounded, and suffering much loss, he is a tragic figure, pained beyond belief. His suffering is so monumental that we almost welcome his demise, and Harris offers so much of himself in this difficult role. He is both physically and emotionally hurt and Harris portrays this in spades.

Uniquely, all three stories work independently of each other. Yes, characters from one appear in another, but they are like well-crafted vignettes. Similarly, they each begin with breakfast, then involve the planning of a party or celebration of some sort, and culminate in sadness.

Yet, the film does not feel like a downer or preachy in any way, but rather, good, solid, humanistic story-telling, which I adore.

Sure, the film is considered a drama, but it also contains multiple gay or bisexual characters and therefore must be included in the chambers of LGBT filmmaking.

With an A-list cast, the film helps lead the charge (successfully so) to bring more rich LGBT films to center stage and garner mainstream audiences.

The great aspect of The Hours is that it is a mainstream film- a good solid drama.

Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Cunningham, The Hours (2002) does not try to draw parallels with each story or necessarily connect them in an obvious fashion.

Rather, the film version provokes thought both with LGBT and feminist approaches. Each female central character lives in a world run by men, as Woolf argues in her novel.

The film brilliantly adapts the novel and brings it to large audiences in a fantastic, riveting fashion.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Director-Stephen Daldry, Best Actress-Nicole Kidman (won), Best Supporting Actor-Ed Harris, Best Supporting Actress-Julianne Moore, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing

#171 Favorite Film, 1993 Films, Ann Dowd, Antonio Banderas, Bradley Whitford, Charles Napier, Denzel Washington, Drama, Jason Robards, Joanne Woodward, Jonathan Demme, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Mary Steenburgen, Robert Ridgely, Roberta Maxwell, Tom Hanks, Top 250 Films

Philadelphia-1993

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Philadelphia-1993

Director Jonathan Demme

Starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington

Top 250 Films #171

Scott’s Review #782

Reviewed July 3, 2018

Grade: A

Having the powerful distinction of being one of the first Hollywood LGBT films to deal with heavy issues such as HIV/AIDS and homophobia, Philadelphia (1993) is a film to champion.

The film does contain some less-than-positive stereotypes across the board, but was a tremendous box office success and more importantly introduced a large audience to a still (at that time) taboo subject.

Hopefully, this had a tremendous effect on creating an understanding of a vicious disease and its ramifications.

Tom Hanks deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar for his lead performance of an AIDS and discrimination victim as did the heartbreaking theme song “Streets of Philadelphia”, penned by Bruce Springsteen, win for Best Original Song.

Director Jonathan Demme creates a world quite realistic in portrayal at the corporate level. Hotshot attorney Andrew Beckett (Hanks) has a promising future at one of the country’s largest law firms in Philadelphia.

Assigned a high-profile case, it is noticed that Andrew has developed lesions across his body and is subsequently fired from the firm. After deciding to sue the firm and having no luck finding an attorney to represent him, he finally meets struggling black attorney, Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), who begrudgingly takes the case to gain exposure.

Philadelphia is a film that is a courtroom drama with a cause and is firmly ensconced in the “message movie” genre.  A lesser version, and perhaps one made even a decade or so after 1993, might be reduced to the Hallmark television movie category.

Fortunately, the timing is perfect and Philadelphia can be remembered as a film championing LGBT rights.

Hanks’s performance is just dynamic- his character is meant to be empathetic, a victimized man unjustly suffering not only discrimination but a death sentence. The audience knows what is to come and as Andrew loses more weight and appears more sullen and haggard, the tale increases in sadness.

The final act of Andrew’s court victory is to be celebrated, but also is heartbreaking as a feeble and dying Andrew now lies close to death.

Hanks brilliantly infuses Andrew with courage, heart, and values, so much so that he becomes a hero to the audience even if their sexuality is different than his.

As much as the undying love for Hanks is deserved, the powerful supporting cast is a treasure. Washington is not as sympathetic a character as Andrew is, but learns a lesson and eventually leaves his machismo on the sidelines.

The heart-wrenching death scene culminating in the hospital room involves lover Miguel (Antonio Banderas), surrounded by Andrew’s family, all-embracing as one. There is beauty mixed with tragedy in this one scene alone.

Even Mary Steenburgen as the tough defense lawyer shows some heart. And who can say more about the dynamic Joanne Woodward as Andrew’s mother?

Unfortunately, there are a few stereotypes to endure, and sadly many early LGBT films (and some still do!) include these for emphasis- or perhaps ignorance? Nonetheless, these make the film seem slightly dated given the LGBT progress made in the decades since the film was released.

Joe Miller is portrayed as a macho guy afraid to be viewed as gay- he even jokes around about being a “man” with his wife. Joe also grimaces when he shakes hands with Andrew and suddenly realizes Andrew has AIDS.

Nearly all of Andrew and Miguel’s gay friends are effeminate- this hardly seems possible.

Such is a monumental achievement when a film breaks barriers by telling a story of critical importance. Philadelphia (1993) does just that by patiently asking its audience for tolerance, understanding, and heart.

In return, the film educates, floods with emotion, and breaks hearts. Other LGBT films would come along that were arguably even better, but Philadelphia is a groundbreaking experience sure to be remembered as the first of its kind.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Actor-Tom Hanks (won), Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song-“Streets of Philadelphia” (won), “Philadelphia”, Best Makeup

#173 Favorite Film, 2016 Films, Comedy, Damien Chazelle, Drama, Emma Stone, Finn Wittrock, J.K. Simmons, Jessica Rothe, John Legend, Musical, Musical Comedy, Musical Drama, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Drama, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ryan Gosling, Tom Everett Scott, Top 250 Films

La La Land-2016

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La La Land-2016

Director Damien Chazelle

Starring Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling

Top 250 Films #173

Scott’s Review #538

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Reviewed December 6, 2016

Grade: A

La La Land (2016) breathes new life into the classic musical genre of the 1950s and offers a fresh glimpse into Hollywood.

The film explores the glitz and glamour, triumphs and heartbreaks, and dreams both broken and fulfilled in a town laden with broken hearts.

The bright, colorful film stars two of today’s top young, talented actors: Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. The chemistry between the leads and the dynamic musical numbers is incredible.

It’s a masterful nod to old Hollywood.

Mia (Stone) is an aspiring young actress struggling to survive the Hollywood scene. She serves lattes in a coffee shop on a studio lot and auditions endlessly for film and television parts without much luck.

Her passion is acting, but she also writes a one-woman play she plans to star in.

On the other hand, Sebastian (Gosling) is a dedicated jazz musician, struggling to make ends meet by playing demoralizing gigs that ruin the essence of jazz, meeting many people who tell him that jazz is a dying genre.

Sebastian’s dream is to open his nightclub one day.

Through circumstances, Mia and Sebastian meet and continue to run into each other, forging a wonderful friendship that eventually leads to romance.

The film is a gorgeous experience with bright sets, creative sequences, and numerous song and dance numbers to keep you humming. Mia and Sebastian even tap-dance one beautiful night following a Hollywood party under the moonlight with the Los Angeles skyline in view as they bond.

It is one of the best scenes in the film.

La La Land is seasonal and begins in the winter, though this is strictly an attempt to separate the chapters. Los Angeles is always warm, but the timing is Christmas, which is engaging in a warm climate.

In the first scene, we are immediately treated to a musical number. Stuck in stifling freeway traffic, the car drivers get out in unison, sing and dance, and then return to their cars to continue their mundane day.

Director Damien Chazelle cleverly balances the cheerful tone with the everyday redundant tasks and the struggles of artists hoping for a dream.

La La Land excels during the scenes of Sebastian and Mia as the chemistry is palpable. Gosling and Stone have something.

Supporting players like J.K. Simmons and Rosemarie Dewitt add pizzazz to their small but meaningful parts.

I adore the odes to classic Hollywood films that director Chazelle incorporates into his movie.

Classics such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious (1946) and the legendary film Casablanca (1940) are mentioned twice.

During a sweet moment, Sebastian takes Mia to see Rebel Without a Cause (1956) at an old-style theater; he is shocked that she has never seen the film and eagerly excited to introduce her to it.

This continues as he shares his love for jazz music with her.

Later, the theater closes, and the film takes a more dour tone as the struggles of both characters overwhelm them.

The film’s finale is terrific.

Suddenly, five years later, many events have happened. In a brilliant sequence, the characters’ lives are explained through a song as we see the period play out until we reach the point of the film where the song began, a treasure of an ode to the truth of the characters.

The sequence is emotional, heartbreaking, and choreographed without missing a beat,

Gosling and Stone sing all their songs, not live as in Les Miserables (2012), but wisely on a sound stage. They are neither novices nor Grammy winners, but they are honest, truthful, and with heart.

It is refreshing to see classic Hollywood told in such a riveting fashion, as seen through the young’s eyes.

Films and styles of decades past are renewed through this excellent piece of cinema.

I noted similarities to An American in Paris (1951) and countless other gems from years ago and stood proudly, knowing that a nostalgic piece of cinema is precisely what we need.

Oscar Nominations: 6 wins-Best Picture, Best Director-Damien Chazelle (won), Best Actor-Ryan Gosling, Best Actress-Emma Stone (won), Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score (won), Best Original Song-“City of Stars” (won), “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Production Design (won), Best Cinematography (won), Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing

#174 Favorite Film, 2003 Films, Biography, Bruce Dern, Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Drama, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Patty Jenkins, Top 250 Films

Monster-2003

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Monster-2003

Director Patty Jenkins

Starring Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci

Top 250 Films #174

Scott’s Review #347

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Reviewed January 9, 2016

Grade: A

Monster (2003) may feature one of the best acting performances of all time-Charlize Theron simply embodies the role of the notorious female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, in a simply astounding triumph.

The mannerisms, the anger, and the charisma that Theron portrays are nothing short of brilliance.

This brazen acting is simply the best aspect of Monster and the main reason to witness the film.

Besides this, the film itself is also great.

The film immediately focuses on Theron- we meet the down-on-her-luck prostitute sitting in tatters underneath an overpass.

Suicidal and with five dollars to her name, she goes to a dive bar for one last beer- having blown someone for the five dollars she reasons that the money will go to waste if she does not spend it.

Her older confidante is Thomas, a grizzled man assumed to be an occasional client of hers, who is played by Bruce Dern. She goes to a gay bar and meets Selby Wall (Christina Ricci), a lesbian.

Aileen insists she is not gay but winds up spending the night with her in Selby’s family home. The two form a connection and bond immediately, spending more time together and becoming immersed in each other’s lives.

When Aileen is brutally raped and beaten by a client, she begins down a dark and murderous path, killing men she meets after she steals their money.

Selby eventually catches on to this and is conflicted over whether to turn her friend in or serve as an accomplice to her crimes as the police close in on the pair.

Enough cannot be said of Theron’s performance. She simply becomes Wournos- from her walk to her infamous manic mannerisms, and her hair flip.

Theron, a gorgeous woman, gained weight, used false teeth, and became simply unrecognizable in the role of a brutal, angry, and trashy-looking woman.

Ricci also deserves praise, but plays her role as a bit clueless or dimwitted, counterbalancing Theron’s manic, in-your-face role. It works well. Both characters are longing for love and companionship and both are misfits.

In a sweet scene, the pair go roller skating together, hand in hand, to the famous rock song, “Don’t Stop Believin”.

This is a great scene.

One can argue the fact that director, Patty Jenkins, softens the way that Wournos is written. Known as a hardened, mean woman, Jenkins writes her as much more sympathetic.

This can also be attributed to the fact that Theron emits some vulnerability to the character- the woman never knew love until she met and bonded with Selby.

Needless to say, Monster (2003) is a dynamic, energetic film, thanks in large part to the powerful performance of Charlize Theron- a role that awarded her the Best Actress Academy Award.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Actress-Charlize Theron (won)

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 2 wins-Best First Feature (won), Best Female Lead-Charlize Theron (won), Best First Screenplay

#176 Favorite Film, 1989 Films, Alexis Arquette, Burt Young, David Warshofsky, Drama, Favorite Film of the Year, Frank Vincent, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jerry Orbach, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Peter Dobson, Ricki Lake, Rutanya Alda, Sam Rockwell, Stephen Baldwin, Stephen Lang, Top 250 Films, Uli Edel

Last Exit to Brooklyn-1989

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Last Exit to Brooklyn-1989

Director Uli Edel

Starring Stephen Lang, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Top 250 Films #176

Scott’s Review #152

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Reviewed August 13, 2014

Grade: A-

Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989) is a slice-of-life film set in lower-class Brooklyn, NY, in the early 1950s.

It tells the story of a group of struggling neighborhood people- sex workers, union members, drag queens, etc., whose lives intersect. Also in the neighborhood is a military base where soldiers come and go on their way to war-torn Korea.

The central characters, though there are several with small yet interesting stories, are Harry, played by Stephen Lang, a sexually conflicted union worker with a wife and newborn child.

He is in love with a selfish drag queen, and Marilyn Monroe lookalike, Tralala, played superbly by Jennifer Jason Leigh, a prostitute whose best days are behind her, and who will do anything for attention.

The sets and cinematography in the film are very well done- the feeling of despair and hopelessness is accomplished by the dowdy streets, homes, and bars that the cast frequents.

Some of the characters are sympathetic- the aforementioned plus Tralala’s love interest, the Diner boy madly in love with Tralala, and the virginal seeming (but not really) Donna, portrayed by a young Rikki Lake.

Other characters are abhorrent in their violence and hatred.

Last Exit to Brooklyn is quite a dark film and sometimes tough to watch, but it captures a dreary time and atmosphere. The Brooklyn set is excellent in its dreariness.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is the standout as the tough-talking, boozy prostitute who is losing her luster, and the final scene of the film is truly a heartbreaker.

The topics of union, strike, bisexuality, gangs, and drag queens are covered, and unique characters and conflict/loneliness are presented.

This film is an overlooked gem from 1989.

#10 Most Disturbing Film, #177 Favorite Film, 1999 Films, Chloë Sevigny, Drama, Hilary Swank, Independent, Independent Drama, Kimberly Peirce, Lecy Goranson, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Peter Sarsgaard, Top 10 Most Disturbing Films, Top 250 Films

Boys Don’t Cry-1999

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Boys Don’t Cry-1999

Director Kimberly Peirce

Starring Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny

Top 250 Films #177

Top 10 Most Disturbing Films #10

Scott’s Review #340

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Reviewed January 9, 2016

Grade: A

Boys Don’t Cry (1999) is a fitting tribute to real-life figure Brandon Teena, a transgender man from Nebraska, who adopts a male identity and attempts to find love with Lana, played by Chloe Sevigny. Brandon is played by Hilary Swank.

Sadly, Brandon was brutally raped and murdered at the hands of some local men- a fact that the film does not gloss over.

Boys Don’t Cry is a heartbreaking and tragic film that will disturb some with its shocking and violent content- sadly it is a true story.

Swank deservedly walked away with the Best Actress Oscar statuette.

Set in working-class Nebraska and in the heartland, Brandon has the cards stacked against him from the start. Not exactly the most open-minded of areas, the film also sets a working-class environment for Brandon as most of his friends are poor factory or bar workers.

Born as Teena Brandon and female, Brandon (Swank) is a drifter and in trouble with the law for various unpaid tickets. He befriends ex-convicts John and Tom and becomes part of their crowd, falling in love with Lana- they are all unaware of Brandon being a female.

When Brandon’s secret is revealed, Lana is accepting and the pair decide to run away together, but Tom and John decide to murder Brandon.

Swank’s portrayal of Brandon is brilliant and believable and very few actresses could successfully pull this off. Swank has angular, androgynous features to begin with, but her drastic physical transformation is jaw-dropping.

Having closed-cropped hair and a male swagger, Swank immerses herself in the role, so much so, that as I watched the film I completely forgot that Brandon was not physically male.

Her physical transformation is not the sole reason for the fantastic performance though- Swank is emotionally there in the role and in a heartbreaking scene, after being beaten and raped, is treated poorly by a sheriff handling the accusations- just when Brandon could use an understanding ear.

What a cold world it can be for someone different from most others as Boys Don’t Cry reveals in a brutal, honest fashion.

Anyone who knows the true story of Brandon Teena knows he led a painful, tragic life, but was also filled with life and love- mainly for Lana.

Worth mentioning is Sevigny’s performance as Lana- in love with the person that was Brandon, not so much the gender. Sevigny portrays Lana as supportive, confused, and loving.

Director, Kimberly Peirce, became obsessed with the real-life case and does a fantastic job at tackling the film in a true, compelling way. To say nothing of the writing and the acting, Peirce also successfully uses a hand-held camera during Brandon’s strip scene and a surreal, muted light to portray the gloomy mid-west and the cold, hard lives that most of the characters lived.

Impressively, Peirce accomplished all of this on a shoe-string budget and took a wealth of inspiration from independent film legend John Cassavetes, who proved that gorgeous films can be made for very little money.

Many scenes take place in bars as Lana, a devoted karaoke singer, croons one tune after another, the highlight being Restless Heart’s 1988 country hit, “The Bluest Eyes In Texas”, which Lana sings in Brandon’s presence.

The use of somber songs gives the film a tragic soundtrack.

Famed film critic, Roger Ebert, described Boys Don’t Cry as “Romeo and Juliet set in a Nebraska trailer park”.

Boys Don’t Cry (1999) is an enormous victory in film for the LGBT community and, along with Brokeback Mountain (2006), is a perfect double-feature, as both are similar films, only one featuring males, the other females.

Both are tragic, bleak and all too real.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Actress-Hilary Swank (won), Best Supporting Actress-Chloe Sevigny

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 2 wins-Best First Feature (Over $500,000), Best Female Lead-Hilary Swank (won), Best Supporting Female-Chloe Sevigny (won), Best First Screenplay, Producers Award

#179 Favorite Film, 1993 Films, Ben Kingsley, Best Picture Oscar Winners, Biography, Drama, Epic, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Steven Spielberg, Top 250 Films, War

Schindler’s List-1993

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Schindler’s List-1993

Director Steven Spielberg

Starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes

Top 250 Films #179

Scott’s Review #775

Reviewed June 19, 2018

Grade: A

Schindler’s List (1993) is a film that is arguably Steven Spielberg’s finest directorial work and Liam Neeson’s finest acting performance.

The film is as disturbing as it is awe-inspiring as many emotions will undoubtedly envelop any viewer- most of them dark and dire.

Spielberg’s most personal story centers on the devastating Holocaust of World War II that will grip and tear audiences to pieces.

The work deservedly secured the Oscar award for Best Picture and Best Director as well as numerous other accolades.

Oskar Schindler (Neeson) is a powerful German businessman who arrives in Krakow, Poland during the antics of World War II, presumably to make his fortune. Handsome and respected, he is charismatic and feared by the German army, who have forced most of the Polish Jews into the overcrowded ghettos where they await their fates.

Schindler himself is a Nazi, but becomes more humanistic than most and ultimately against the Holocaust killings. He establishes a factory and hires a Jewish accountant (Ben Kingsley) to assist.

As he is tremendously affected by the inhumanity he sees throughout the city, he makes arrangements to hire and thus save the lives of over a thousand Polish refugees.

He does so by allowing them to safely work and be productive in his factory. The story is reportedly true and was a rare instance of humanity in a cold and ugly chapter in world history.

To be clear, Schindler does not start as a hero and is admittedly rather an unlikely one. The man is a businessman, greedy, and undoubtedly flawed. He plans to use the Jews because they are cheap labor and can be used to his advantage.

Because of the very long running time of the film (over three hours), Spielberg slowly depicts Schindler’s complex character growth and eventual determination to save these poor people from the Auschwitz gas chambers.

Spielberg shoots Schindler’s List entirely in black and white with tremendous results. The camera work adds such ambiance and style to the 1990s film- so much so that throughout the film I felt as if I were watching a documentary from the 1940s.

The film is epic and choreographed with precision and timeliness- some of the best camera work in cinema history as far as successfully creating the perfect solemn and dreary mood.

Supporting turns by Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes must be noted. In vastly different types of roles, both shine.

As the understandably nervous, Jewish accountant for Schindler’s factory, Itzhak Stern is most notable for creating the famous “list”. This contains the names of those who would be transferred to the factory and thus have their lives spared.

Kingsley, a brilliant actor, fills the character with empathy and heart.

Conversely, Fiennes plays a dastardly character in that of Amon Goth, a commander at the concentration camp. Evil and known for taking glee from killings, he is the man instrumental in deciding to exterminate all of the people in the ghetto.

A pivotal character, Goth is important because he is the man who makes Schindler realize how sickening and inhumane the treatment is.

Fiennes carves the character with so much hate that he is believable in the part.

One of the most beautiful scenes is aptly named “the girl in red” and is highly symbolic and worthy of analysis. Oskar watches as prisoners are escorted, presumably to their executions. He notices a three-year-old girl walking by herself- she is clad in a bright red coat.

The coat is Spielberg’s only use of color throughout the entire film.

The scene is incredibly important as the girl stands out, proving that all the Nazi commanders are accepting of her death. In tragic form, Oskar later sees her dead body draped in her red coat.

The scene is sad and powerfully distressing.

Schindler’s List (1993) is an outstanding film that elicits such raw emotion from anyone who views the masterpiece. By no means an easy watch and most assuredly “a heavy”, the film depicts the true struggles and catastrophic events occurring not all too long ago.

A film for the ages that simply must be seen by all to appreciate the terror and inhumanity that occurs throughout the world.

Oscar Nominations: 7 wins-Best Picture (won), Best Director-Steven Spielberg (won), Best Actor-Liam Neeson, Best Supporting Actor-Ralph Fiennes, Best Adapted Screenplay (won), Best Original Score (won), Best Sound, Best Art Direction (won), Best Makeup, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography (won), Best Film Editing (won)

#181 Favorite Film, 1992 Films, Andie MacDowell, Bert Remsen, Best Feature- Independent Spirit Award Winners, Brian Tochi, Bruce Willis, Buck Henry, Cher, Comedy, Dark Comedy, David Alan Grier, Dean Stockwell, Dina Merrill, Drama, Gary Busey, Gina Gershon, Independent, Independent Drama, Jeff Goldblum, Jeremy Piven, Joel Grey, Julia Roberts, Lyle Lovett, Michael Bowen, Nick Nolte, Paul Dooley, Peter Gallagher, Ray Walston, Richard E. Grant, Robert Altman, Robert Wagner, Satire, Scott Glenn, Sydney Pollack, Tim Robbins, Top 250 Films, Vincent D'Onofrio, Whoopi Goldberg

The Player-1992

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The Player-1992

Director Robert Altman

Starring Tim Robbins, Peter Gallagher

Top 250 Films #181

Scott’s Review #601

Reviewed January 11, 2017

Grade: A

The Player (1992) ranks up there with other Robert Altman classics such as Gosford Park (2001), Nashville (1975), and Short Cuts (1993).

The film is an excellent piece of Hollywood satire and centers around a jaded movie executive, played by Tim Robbins, who does an incredible job with his role.

Robbins plays Griffin Mill, a man with no scruples. Feeling usurped by a younger executive, played by Peter Gallagher, as well as receiving death threats, he goes on the hunt for the person he feels responsible for, which leads to murder.

The audience is unsure whether to love or hate Mill, thanks to Robbin’s performance. He is snarky, but also vulnerable and a tad sympathetic.

The film contains a slew of real Hollywood celebrities (Cher, Malcolm McDowell, Bruce Willis) playing themselves and is largely improvised (as many of Altman’s films are).

Whoopi Goldberg and Lyle Lovett star as odd police detectives.

The plot is nothing that hasn’t been done before, but it’s the realness and the direction that make this movie a must-see, especially for Robert Altman fans.

The Player (1992) is a hidden gem.

Oscar Nominations: Best Director-Robert Altman, Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, Best Film Editing

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Feature (won)

#182 Favorite Film, 1971 Films, Daniel Day-Lewis, Drama, Glenda Jackson, John Schlesinger, Jon Finch, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Maurice Denham, Murray Head, Peggy Ashcroft, Peter Finch, Tony Britton, Top 250 Films, Vivian Pickles

Sunday Bloody Sunday-1971

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Sunday Bloody Sunday-1971

Director John Schlesinger

Starring Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Murray Head

Top 250 Films #182

Scott’s Review #1,062

Reviewed September 15, 2020

Grade: A

Whether it’s the late 1960s style with British sophistication or the ahead-of-its-time subject matter, John Schlesinger’s Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) is a brazen and mature piece of filmmaking.

With fantastic acting mostly from Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch, the film is subdued enough to contain the drama while letting the underlying plot marinate and flourish rather than being forced or overdone.

That’s not to say Sunday Bloody Sunday is an easy watch. The main characters stew and simmer rather than explode as the audience comes to grips with their feelings, emotions, and motivations, as painful as they can be.

Schlesinger offers the complexities of the characters as we get inside their heads across multiple scenes, with cameras carefully panning in on their facial expressions. The intention is to read their minds or think we know what they are thinking.

The three characters featured are Alex (Glenda Jackson), a divorced, restless recruitment worker; a young, free-spirited artist, Bob (Murray Head); and a gay, Jewish doctor, Daniel (Peter Finch).

Bob openly dates both Alex and Daniel, who are aware of each other and even have common friends. Instead of scheming against the other in hopes of poisoning their character with Bob, they deal with acceptance and a host of different emotions.

A triangle ensues, though not one with a clear couple to root for, nor is it clear who we want to root for. Sunday Bloody Sunday is not that trite or simplistic, and this is the beauty of the film.

Each character can be analyzed for individual motivations, peculiarities, and desires that sometimes overlap. The added perk of one character being straight, one character being bisexual, and one character being gay only adds flavor and lustful desire.

Sunday Bloody Sunday is a character study if ever there was one.

Screenwriter Penelope Gilliatt writes a piece so bristling with unpredictability that the characters and situations are deep and troubling. My favorite character is Daniel, the most adjusted of the three, but a character who would typically be written as the most maladjusted.

Schlesinger had directed the brilliant Midnight Cowboy (1969) two mere years earlier, a film that depicted gay characters as troubled and self-hating. Gilliatt crafts Daniel as confident, booming, and masculine, avoiding all stereotypes.

I immediately had thoughts of Ken Russell’s masterpiece, Women in Love, made only one year earlier in 1970, and starring Jackson. Both films, featuring four characters rather than only three, are British and explore the complexities of sexual orientation, jealousy, and loneliness.

Women in Love is a slightly better film, but only by a small margin, probably because it adds one additional character. Both explore and barely touch territory when it was still taboo to explore homosexuality in film.

Adorable is a scene at a Bar Mitzvah given to Daniel’s nephew. As the merriment commences, several women are bound to be interested in Daniel, what with him being a successful doctor. He doesn’t have any interest in it naturally, but he politely makes small talk with one woman.

The scene is so natural and at ease that it is terrific and reaffirming to see a gay character treated with such dignity and richness, his problems not being a result of being gay but of being a human being.

Daniel and Alex compete for Bob’s affection, but in a polite way. Instead of hating each other, they hate the situation. Bob is not the nicest guy in the world, so the question arises as to why they both feel the way they do about him.

But this hardly matters when the heart wants what it wants.

The most interesting and realistic scenes occur when each couple lies in bed together or when they make small talk over a meal. This offers a glimpse of the day-to-day treasures they could each enjoy.

Those in the mood for a film rife with emotion and psychologically complex feelings, wrapped in a good drama, will find Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) a pure treat. Trimmings like glimpses of the gorgeous city of London lend added nuance.

Each time this film is viewed, it could easily be watched from the perspective of either Alex, Bob, or Daniel.

Oscar Nominations: Best Director-John Schlesinger, Best Actor-Peter Finch, Best Actress-Glenda Jackson, Best Original Screenplay

#183 Favorite Film, 1967 Films, Alan Bates, British, Drama, Epic, Freddie Jones, John Schlesinger, Julie Christie, Period Drama, Peter Finch, Prunella Ransome, Robert Powell, Romantic Drama, Terence Stamp, Top 250 Films

Far from the Madding Crowd-1967

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Far from the Madding Crowd-1967

Director John Schlesinger

Starring Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Alan Bates

Top 250 Films #183

Scott’s Review #315

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Reviewed January 1, 2016

Grade: A-

A sweeping, gorgeous epic made in 1967, Far from the Madding Crowd is pure soap opera (this is not a negative), done very well, featuring a woman with three male suitors and many similarities to another brilliant epic, Gone with the Wind (1939).

The cinematography, score, and writing are excellent, and at close to three hours, it is a lengthy experience.

The film is based on the popular novel written by Thomas Hardy.

The setting is lovely, rural England, the landscape green and lush- mostly farmland, where Bathsheba resides, having recently inherited her Uncle’s enormous estate and is, frankly, overwhelmed with the heavy responsibility required to run it successfully.

Three men appear in one form or another to lend a hand, and each falls madly in love with her- she had her choice of any of them. Throughout the film, each is given a chance to win her heart, and each faces trials and tribulations.

The wealthy neighbor, William Boldwood, is older and insecure. Frank Troy is a bad boy who is a cavalry sergeant, and Gabriel, a former farmer, has lost all of his sheep.

Having only seen this film twice (so far), I notice more and more the similarities to Gone with the Wind. Both are set around the same period (the 1860s), and both films feature powerful, independent, gorgeous female characters with multiple male suitors.

Unlike Gone with the Wind, though, Bathsheba is not self-centered, but wholesome and honest.

Julie Christie was undoubtedly the “it” girl during the time the film was made, having recently starred in Darling (1965) and Doctor Zhivago (1965), among others, and Far from the Madding Crowd is a perfect film for her, focusing on her beauty and earnestness.

She is exceptionally cast.

What I enjoy most about the film is that we do not know which of the men Bathsheba will wind up with…if any of them. Gabriel (Alan Bates) is my personal favorite, but at the beginning of the film, she rebuffs his marriage proposal.

In a heartbreaking scene, one of his dogs goes mad and leads his entire flock of sheep to their death. He is then forced to work as her shepherd, a job beneath him. He is the most likable of the three men, and it is fun to root for their ultimate union. But is he prone to bad luck?

Frank Troy is dashing- a clear lady’s man, yet I did not root for him. A character, whom I found to have strange motivations, impregnated and almost married a young lady named Fanny, only to turn her away based on a misunderstanding, then ultimately changed his mind about Bathsheba.

In one scene, he manipulates the citizens into getting drunk on brandy, which leads to a crisis. He is charismatic and used to getting his way.

Finally, Boldwood is wealthy, sophisticated, and appealing to Bathsheba in a certain way (primary stability). Still, there is also something I find “off” about the character throughout the film- unstable, maybe, needy? I did not find his character likable either.

The overlap and the relationships between the men are also interesting aspects of Far from the Madding Crowd. Will they become friends? Would they kill each other for Bathsheba’s affection?

Many emotions run through all four characters, which makes the film rich in character development.

Grand, sweeping, and beautiful are words that describe Far from the Madding Crowd, a film I enjoy exploring and evaluating with each viewing.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Music Score

#188 Favorite Film, 1965 Films, Caterina Boratto, Comedy, Drama, Federico Fellini, Giulietta Masina, International, International Comedy, International Drama, Italian, Marilù Tolo, Mario Pisu, Milena Vukotic, Sandra Milo, Top 250 Films, Valentina Cortese

Juliet Of The Spirits-1965

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Juliet Of The Spirits-1965

Director Federico Fellini

Starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo

Top 250 Films #188

Scott’s Review #725

Reviewed February 15, 2018

Grade: A

A true Fellini film in every sense and perhaps his most personal film, 1965’s Juliet of the Spirits, is a colorful and masterful experience with fluid art direction and stunning sets and costumes.

As with most of his films, the story and its intricacies are odd and do not always make perfect sense, but the film is meant to be absorbed and felt and exhibits more of a central plot than some of his other works.

Juliet of the Spirits is undoubtedly a must-see for fans of Fellini or any novice who wants an introduction to the great director.

In a compelling tidbit of background information, lead actress Giulietta Masina, wife and muse of director Fellini and sometimes deemed the female Charlie Chaplin, plays a true-to-life character.

In real life, the woman suffered from a philandering husband- Fellini himself!

For this reason alone, the film is fascinating as a true-to-life story, leading the audience to empathize with Giulietta and her life of doldrums and turmoil.

Giulietta Boldrini (Masina) is an affluent woman living in Italy with her successful and dashing husband, Giorgio (Mario Pisu). Despite wealth, two housekeepers, and free time to do whatever she pleases, she is dissatisfied with her life and surroundings.

This occurs mainly after she hears her husband mutter another woman’s name in his sleep. Concerned and intrigued, Giulietta hires investigators to unravel the mystery, which spawns an adventure for her.

Instead of being a cookie-cutter film with a basic plot explained above, in proper Fellini form, the character of Giulietta embarks on a journey into the dreamlike and odd experience, tapping into her repressed desires and innermost thoughts while being exposed to her larger-than-life and sexy neighbor, Suzy (Sandra Milo).

The oversexed Suzy enlightens Giulietta to the joys of her mansion, treehouse, dazzling, weird friends, and bubbling sensuality.

Juliet of the Spirits is a joy to watch and quite a bit more linear than other complex masterpieces, such as the 1960s La Dolce Vita or 1969’s Fellini Satyricon.

The plot is spelled out presently- Giulietta is depressed and anxious for something new and exciting. Her journey into this new life, marked by her wrestling with demons and resistance, makes this film so much fun.

Styles and colors are brilliant and lavishly loud. Take the gaudy and glamorous nest that Suzy calls home. Her palace is both tawdry and sophisticated, with a built-in underground swimming pool where she bathes after lovemaking and velvety red walls and furniture.

Fellini uses gorgeous reds, greens, and blues throughout the film to create dazzle and spectacles with larger-than-life characters.

To further focus on Suzy for a minute, the blonde bombshell frequently visits her very own treehouse, complete with a swing. She flirts with handsome young men who gaze up at the scantily dressed beauty as she tosses her high-heeled shoe down to them in a suggestive manner.

When they come up to the top of the treehouse by way of a mechanical basket, presumably for sex, this is too much for the overwhelmed Giulietta, who returns to the safety of her own home.

But she is excited and scared.

The film belongs to Masina, and we cannot help but wonder if Fellini created Juliet of the Spirits for the actress because of his reported years of cheating. Regardless, Masina plays a confident woman on the outside- insecure on the inside, flawlessly.

With her expressive eyes and a nice smile, Masina enthusiastically embraces the role, making her a perfect fit for a Fellini film.

Juliet of the Spirits mixes several film genres, including fantasy, drama, and light comedy, and contains interesting supporting characters.

Suzy’s seemingly clairvoyant mother is a great side character. Upon meeting Giulietta, she immediately sees that the woman is troubled. Giulietta’s father, whom we meet when she is a little girl appearing in a religious play, is boisterous and spirited.

I was fortunate enough to stay at the Grand Hotel in Rome, a lavish yet strange establishment where Fellini spent many nights as a guest. While watching Juliet of the Spirits, I fantasized that he drew inspiration for this film from the hotel.

The grand red textures, which appear in both the hotel and the Fellini film, could have created a truly inspiring facility.

Stalwart, creative, and masterful director Fellini once again crafts a stylish film that warrants thoughtful consideration after a solid viewing.

Too much analysis, however, will ruin the enchanting experience. Juliet of the Spirits (1965) is best enjoyed as a treat that will mesmerize you in glamorous fashion.

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction, Color, Best Costume Design, Color

#189 Favorite Film, 1975 Films, Burgess Meredith, Donald Sutherland, Drama, Florence Lake, Geraldine Page, Gloria LeRoy, Jackie Earle Haley, John Hillerman, John Schlesinger, Karen Black, Lelia Goldoni, Natalie Schafer, Richard Dysart, Robert Pine, Satire, Top 250 Films, William Atherton, William Castle

The Day of the Locust-1975

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The Day of the Locust-1975

Director John Schlesinger

Starring William Atherton, Karen Black, Donald Sutherland

Top 250 Films #189

Scott’s Review #1,460

Reviewed January 16, 2025

Grade: A

I love films set in Los Angeles, especially those dealing with Hollywood and/or the dark underbelly of the City of Angels. With its lights and allure, there is a murky side laden with drama, jealousy, and loneliness.

John Schlesinger’s dark period piece The Day of the Locust (1975) examines the bleak lives of several aspiring people in 1930s Hollywood, just before World War II.

The prominent themes are alienation and desperation, with aspirations for success that do not come true, emphasizing the sad saying, ‘The road to Hollywood is paved with broken dreams.’

It’s a brilliant adaptation by screenwriter Waldo Salt, based on Nathanael West’s 1939 novel of the same title. The film horrifically depicts the Hollywood film industry in all its artificial glitz and glamour.

In the 1930s, Los Angeles ‘ sunny Hollywood shone like a beacon to helpless people across the city who were looking for fame, fortune, or a quick buck.

In one apartment block, blond bombshell Faye Greener (Black) aspires to be an actress, artist Tod Hackett (Atherton) seeks legitimacy, and a frightening child actor named Adore (Jackie Earle Haley) performs a grotesque homage to Mae West.

Introverted accountant Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland) watches as society collapses under greed and ambition.

From a romantic standpoint, Homer and Tod vie for Faye’s affection in a tragic triangle fraught with jealousy and competition.

Schlesinger knows his way around dark, influential, intelligent films. He created stalwarts such as Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Sunday Bloody Sunday (1975), both unconventional and controversial, the former being the only film ever to win Best Picture and garner an X rating.

The Day of the Locust is no different.

There is scarcely a likable character in the cast, but I ascertain that Tod is the most stable and trustworthy in the rogues’ gallery.

He appears grounded and the voice of reason, though he mocks Homer later on at a party, so he’s not exactly Prince Charming. He arrives at work as a production illustrator in the art department at a major film studio and rents an apartment in the same community as the other characters.

Gently, he places a lovely flower in a crack in the wall.

Tod is smitten with Faye, a callous vixen who beds not one, not two, not three, but four men and makes no bones about it. Not exactly a feminist, she is more concerned with rising to stardom at any cost.

We meet Faye as she works as an extra in a lavish production. She smacks her gum and then snaps into character as a royal sophisticate, revealing a tacky, tawdry presence to the audience.

Later, during the grand finale, she tries to catch a glimpse of the big stars arriving in limos at a premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, one in a crowd of thousands.

She’s a lost soul, filled with self-delusion, desperately wanting the spotlight in whatever form she can get.

Her father is played by Burgess Meredith, who nearly steals the show as an elderly, washed-up ex-vaudevillian.

Despite the outstanding performances, the production design and cinematography are flawless, seamlessly portraying what life was like in Hollywood in the early days.

My favorite sequences are in the movie sets filled with pizazz, glamour, and intricacies.

The most significant scene, though, occurs at the star-studded event, a premiere of The Buccaneer, when all hell breaks loose, and a tragic death occurs, leading to subsequent bloodshed and further death and destruction.

It’s a spectacle, supposed to be the movie event of the year, with champagne and the ultimate celebration of film, but the stark nature of one’s rage overtakes the beautiful moment.

During this pivotal scene, we see the darkness of humanity counterbalanced against the glitz and glamour of movie stars.

Schlesinger masterfully takes us through this journey of human depravity with flawless ease.

The Day of the Locust (1975) is a brilliant film.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor-Burgess Meredith, Best Cinematography

#190 Favorite Film, 1974 Films, Bert Remsen, Crime Drama, Drama, John Schuck, Keith Carradine, Louise Fletcher, Robert Altman, Shelley Duvall, Tom Skerritt, Top 250 Films

Thieves Like Us-1974

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Thieves Like Us-1974

Director Robert Altman

Starring Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall

Top 250 Films #190

Scott’s Review #1,071

Reviewed October 16, 2020

Grade: A

The first time I saw Thieves Like Us (1974), I was not blown away. I have forgotten what my original gripe was, but my lackluster star rating on Netflix years ago is confirmation of such.

All is now forgiven, and like a fine wine, this film gets better and better with each viewing.

It’s a gangster film, but a heart-wrenching story containing one of the sweetest romances in cinema history.

Based on the novel of the same name by Edward Anderson, director Robert Altman, famous for allowing his actors to ad-lib their lines to their heart’s content and peppering his films with overlapping, “real-life” dialogue, limits this technique this time around.

His stars, Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall, regular fixtures in his films, are the main attraction, but supporting players like Louise Fletcher, Bert Remsen, and John Schuck give tremendous performances.

Set in the 1930s in the Deep South of Mississippi, the time period and location are key elements of the film’s success.

Having never set foot in this geographical area, I nonetheless found myself escaping there and ruminating on what it would have been like to live there during the Great Depression.

The many outdoor sequences with trees, forests, country roads, and home-cooked meals provide a luminous atmosphere and texture.

Small-town living has never felt so good and cozy.

Wisely, Altman steers clear of any racial overtones or dialogue within the film. The film is not about that.

There appear to be many black characters, mostly in the background, townspeople scenes, or as prisoners, which adds flavor. But they are represented as living among other folks without any aggression or stereotypes.

They are, and it feels like the South.

Altman crafts an experience of understated, good storytelling, proving a quality film can be quiet and proud, not needing explosive bells and whistles to prove showy. The dialogue crackles on its own and is smart.

The plot is compelling. Bowie (Carradine) is an escaped convict who embarks on a crime spree with fellow former prisoners Chicamaw (John Schuck) and T-Dub (Bert Remsen). While in hiding between bank robberies, Bowie meets a young woman named Keechie (Duvall), and the two quickly fall in love.

A life of crime doesn’t sit well with Keechie, however, so she and Bowie try to settle down, but the law is determined to bring him to justice.

The fun is in watching romance blossom between Bowie and Keechie. Despite Bowie being a criminal, his character contains sweetness and purity that match like a glove with the whimsical truth and simplicity of Keechie.

Throughout the film, I compared the characters to the legendary icons Bonnie and Clyde from the self-titled cinema masterpiece.

They are similar but different. The pair sits quietly on the front porch, talking about life and the future, optimistically planning their lives together, unaware of what fate has in store for them. Their innocence and their goofy humor made me fall in love with them.

The relationship between the three men is apt. They have each other’s backs and are loyal to a fault. The men are convicts and cause death and injury, but there is a humanity that Altman gives to each character.

We do not think of them as derelicts.

When Bowie poses as a sheriff to break Chickamaw out of prison, we root for the escape rather than for the warden. Bowie kills the warden, shocking Chickamaw. Even with disputes, there is care between the men.

It does take patience to get into this film; I probably did not give the film its due on my first watch. Once the film ended, I was left with a feeling of having experienced something of value and a visionary, cinematic story.

The homespun characters, eating a feast of meat and southern biscuits and discussing the day’s events, are richly and atmospherically rendered.

Carradine and Duvall would reunite a year later in another Altman masterpiece, Nashville (1975), playing vastly different, both unlikable, characters. Hence, a recommendation is to watch both films back-to-back to appreciate the dizzying, morphed characterization.

Thieves Like Us (1974) is no mere opening act for Nashville but of a different ilk.

The film is a treasure.

#191 Favorite Film, 1967 Films, Barbara Parkins, Darlene Conley, David Arkin, Drama, Jacqueline Susann, Lee Grant, Mark Robson, Patty Duke, Paul Burke, Richard Dreyfuss, Sharon Tate, Susan Hayward, Tony Scotti, Top 250 Films

Valley of the Dolls-1967

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Valley of the Dolls-1967

Director Mark Robson

Starring Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke, Sharon Tate

Top 250 Films #191

Scott’s Review #657

Reviewed July 3, 2017

Grade: A-

Based on the best-selling novel written by Jacqueline Susann a year earlier, the film version of Valley of the Dolls (1967) has become a cult classic in the years following release- it has earned the dubious description of “it’s so bad it’s good”.

The film dives headfirst into the soapy, dramatic world of Hollywood and Broadway, and the trials and tribulations three young women encounter as they try to “make it” in the backstabbing business.

The film teeters on camp, but it is a favorite of mine, as I love the theme of aspiring stars in La La Land. The set design and groovy styles of the late 1960s are also noteworthy.

Bored with her life in sleepy New England, Anne Welles decides to move to the bright lights of Manhattan, seeking fame, fortune, and excitement.

After she lands a secretarial job for an entertainment lawyer, who handles temperamental Broadway star Helen Lawson (Susan Hayward), Anne meets and befriends two other struggling young actresses.

Neely O’Hara (Patty Duke) is a vivacious, gifted singer, and Jennifer North (Sharon Tate) is a gorgeous blonde with limited talent but looks to die for.

The three women wrestle with the ups and downs of show business as they each achieve various levels of success and failure.

The film centers on both the love and the losses of each woman, and at times it’s rather soap-opera-like, especially the bitchy feud between Neely and Helen, but it’s a fun, entertaining experience.

Various men come in and out of the trio’s lives. The “dolls” referenced in the title are a nickname for pills that the girls readily pop, and alcohol is also used in the film.

One interesting aspect of the film I like is that the three women are very different from one another.

Anne is the most sensible of the three and arguably the most intelligent. Neely is wild, reckless, and constantly battles drugs and alcohol, yet she is both the most successful and the most talented. Jennifer is gorgeous but lacks the talent or the vigor to succeed in Hollywood.

Two of the three women do not have happy endings in their stories.

Some are admittedly a bit uneven, especially the performance of Duke as Neely. She plays the role wildly over the top, especially during her shrieking, drug-saddled tirades, but rather than find the performance irritating (some indeed might), I find the role loud, bombastic, yet sympathetic.

We root for Neely because she has talent despite her shortcomings, and she is a likable character to me, as I want her to find happiness.

Also playing up the camp is Hayward, as she fills Helen with fire, spite, and gusto, doing everything to make the audience view her as a queen bitch. Helen was scheduled to be played by the illustrious star Judy Garland (she would have been perfect!), but was reportedly fired for showing up for work drunk.

An enjoyable aspect of Valley of the Dolls is the humor, though sadly, the laughs are not always intentional. The finale involves a catfight between Neely and Helen in the classy ladies’ room of a famed theater.

With sheer delight, Neely yanks off Helen’s bright orange wig to reveal her natural head of hair. In campy fashion, Helen’s real hair is excellent- more shocking would have been if she were bald or had thinning hair, but her hair is bleached blonde and full.

In melodramatic fashion, Helen waltzes out of the theater sans wig.

Valley of the Dolls is a late-night treat that can be enjoyed and not taken overly seriously- the film differs vastly from the actual novel, and even the time (the 1960s versus the 1940s through the 1960s) is changed.

The film was followed by a much campier and satirical film, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, made in 1970 and directed by Russ Meyer.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score

#193 Favorite Film, 2007 Films, British, David Cronenberg, Drama, Favorite Film of the Year, Mob, Naomi Watts, Tatiana Maslany, Top 250 Films, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel

Eastern Promises-2007

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Eastern Promises-2007

Director David Cronenberg

Starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts

Top 250 Films #193

Scott’s Review #205

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Reviewed December 15, 2014

Grade: B+

Eastern Promises is a 2007 Russian mafia thriller directed by David Cronenberg (The Fly, A History of Violence) that stars Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, and Vincent Cassel.

The film is an uneven experience, seemingly meshing two stories together- one fascinating, one unnecessary.

Watts plays a British-Russian midwife named Anna, who works at a London hospital. She attempts to find the family of Tatiana, a fourteen-year-old girl who dies during childbirth leaving a diary written in Russian along with her newborn.

Anna struggles to unravel the mystery surrounding the girl which ends up involving the mafia.

Mortensen plays Nikolai, the mysterious chauffeur to crime lord Semyon, and Cassel plays Kirill, the disturbed, alcoholic son of Semyon.

The plot segues into a story of a somewhat relationship between Nikolai and Anna that is not quite romantic and also a much more intriguing relationship between Nikolai and Kirill as a brotherhood of sorts develops between them.

This relationship is complex- Kirill wants Nikolai to prove he is a straight male by having sex with one of several female prisoners he and his father keep as part of a sex trafficking group.

During this scene, and a few others, the two men seem close, almost too close, given the sexual nature of what is happening during the scene, so this relationship is left vague, but intriguing nonetheless.

The latter story holds more interest to me, whereas the former seems contrived and rather uninteresting. Was the intention of the film to imply a romantic interest between Anna and Nikolai?

I found zero chemistry between the two and wondered if the audience was supposed to root for them as a couple or not.

The four principal characters in Eastern Promises are interesting to unravel. I found the characters of Nikolai and Kirill complex and interesting.

Not so much with the character of Anna. Why did I not find her so compelling? Besides a skimmed over the mention of how she lost a baby what vested interest did she have in mixing with the Russian mafia and putting her mother and uncle in harm’s way?

Sure, anyone would want to find an orphaned baby’s family, but why not just call the police? This seems like a large plot hole. Conversely, Nikolai is a fascinating, layered character played wonderfully by Mortensen.

What are his true motivations? Is he a good guy or a bad guy? His attempts at being accepted by Semyon and the family to join the mob family make him seem dangerous- but his kindness towards one of the Ukrainian prostitutes is sweet.

Kirill is a despicable character, but what is his sexuality? Does that make him get so drunk and angry? How does one explain his conflict over the baby shifting his character too sympathetic?

Ultimately, Nikolai and Kirill are complicated- Anna and Semyon are more one-note.

I would have preferred the story solely revolve around the mafia family and the Godfather-type scenes, specifically the two throat-slashing scenes violently done, and perhaps leave out Watts’s character and story altogether.

A gritty scene that takes place in a steam room pits Nikolai against two rival mafia men. The scene is long and intense. Mortensen performs the scene completely naked, which adds to the rawness and the brutality of the fight.

It is one of the most masculine scenes I can remember watching.

At times compelling, but riddled with plot holes and requiring some suspension of disbelief, Eastern Promises (2007) is an entertaining Russian mafia film that remains a decent watch.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor-Viggo Mortensen

#194 Favorite Film, 1975 Films, Art, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Drama, Elena Fiore, Fernando Rey, Giancarlo Giannini, International, International Drama, Italian, Lina Wertmüller, Shirley Stoler, Top 250 Films

Seven Beauties-1975

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Seven Beauties-1975

Director Lina Wertmüller

Starring Giancarlo Giannini, Shirley Stoler, Fernando Rey

Top 250 Films #194

Scott’s Review #1,364

Reviewed June 3, 2023

Grade: A

Italian Director Lina Wertmüller was the first female ever nominated for the coveted Best Director Oscar. She did not win the award, but the nomination is a bold victory for women artists in 1975 and a testament to her visionary approach to filmmaking.

With Seven Beauties (1975), she tackles the painful subject of concentration camps during World War II with artistic merit and a powerful message of survival by her lead character, Pasqualino, brilliantly played by Giancarlo Giannini.

Through Pasqualino’s backstory, Wertmüller provides comic relief and a sizzling Italian style. This counterbalances the terrifying German elements with cultural and sometimes humorous sequences set in Italy. Pasqualino’s family hijinks are explored.

Back in the 1930s, Italy, Pasqualino is a struggling low-level Sicilian thug who accidentally kills a man who disgraced his unattractive and vulnerable sister, Concettina (Elena Fiore). He escapes imprisonment by joining the military, but goes AWOL when things get too severe.

Eventually, Pasqualino is captured and sent to a concentration camp, where he vows to do anything to survive. He attempts to seduce an evil and obese female German camp commander (Shirley Stoler), but this comes at a deadly price.

I’ll argue that Stoler should have received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Her callous nature only deepens as her character is peeled back, and Pasqualino’s hope that she has a glimmer of kindness in her is dashed. She is one of the best screen villains of all time.

Seven Beauties is an art film with gorgeous visuals, especially potent in the concentration camp and the surrounding forest. The greyness of the camp is the perfect opposite of the pizazz of Italy.

As Pasqualino and comrade Francesco wander through the looming German forest, the camera looks up at the sky in a blurry, dizzying way.

At the start of the film, black and white footage of World War II encompasses the screen, and slivers of the tyrants Mussolini and Hitler are displayed.

If not for the macabre dark humor we see in Italy, Seven Beauties might be too much of a downer. Pasqualino’s seven sisters are unattractive, and one is living the life of a struggling stripper and prostitute. He also manages to cleverly chop a body to bits and stuff the body parts into suitcases.

Back in Germany, the scenes between Pasqualino and the female commander are frightening. He is forced to provide sexual pleasures in exchange for his survival, but when she callously orders him to select six mates to be executed, her viciousness is apparent.

Giannini is a fabulous actor and heartbreakingly reveals Pasqualino’s vulnerabilities as the film plows forward. His good-natured innocence is lost forever, and the man he becomes is darker.

But the caveat is that the character is never purely good; rather, they are layered with complexities. Always, Giannini emotes deep expressionism through his powerful green eyes.

Similarities between Seven Beauties and Fellini’s Amarcord (1973) or Fellini’s Roma (1972) are evident.

Had I not known Wertmüller directed the film I would have thought Fellini had. This is more so because of the Italian sequences featuring a bevy of zany, homely characters, which adds flavor and humor.

Fernando Rey, well-known for playing the villain in The French Connection (1971), appears as a doomed prisoner who ends up in a large tub of shit rather than suffer a forced execution.

The executions are sob-inducing as lines and lines of prisoners being callously shot and killed are tough to watch. But the film’s core is the viciousness of humanity, and this must never be forgotten.

Wertmüller delivers a masterpiece that I’ve now seen only twice. I plan to watch this film again and again for the content to sink in more.

The comic elements of Seven Beauties (1975) never diminish or lighten the horror of the Nazi’s actions since they are not done in parallel. The back-and-forth between periods only adds value and balance to a powerful subject.

Oscar Nominations: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director-Lina Wertmüller, Best Actor-Giancarlo Giannini, Best Screenplay-Written Directly for the Screen

#200 Favorite Film, 1979 Films, Annie Golden, Beverly D'Angelo, Charlotte Rae, Cheryl Barnes, Donnie Dacus, Dorsey Wright, Drama, Ellen Foley, Favorite Film of the Year, John Savage, Melba Moore, Michael Jeter, Miloš Forman, Musical, Musical Drama, Nell Carter, Nicholas Ray, Richard Bright, Ronnie Dyson, Top 250 Films, Treat Williams

Hair-1979

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Hair-1979

Director Miloš Forman

Starring John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D’Angelo

Top 250 Films #200

Scott’s Review #664

Reviewed July 14, 2017

Grade: B+

Hair is a 1979 musical film that, in addition to catchy singing and dance numbers, explores a serious theme: the Vietnam War.

This film is not your typical Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-style musical from the 1950s. Rather, the entire experience is a unique, with an underlying dark tone, and is presumably a message film with a liberal slant.

Made in 1979, set in the late 1960s, Hair centers primarily on two young men and a bevy of hippie friends, with most of the action in New York City.

Despite the time, the film does not always succeed in the authenticity category- many of the costumes and hairstyles scream the late 1970’s.

The film also has the late 1970s “look”, on the cusp of the 1980s, with poofy hair associated with the times.

This forces the viewer to escape into a world largely of make-believe.

Claude (John Savage) is a naïve young man from folksy Oklahoma, having lived a sheltered, religious life, proper and away from big-city living.

He is drafted and sent to the Big Apple, where he will await his assignment.

Charismatic Berger (Treat Williams) and company befriend Claude after he gives them spare change, soon becoming the best of friends. Claude falls in love with socialite Sheila Franklin (Beverly D’Angelo), who is in town from neighboring Westchester County, NY, and a love story ensues.

When Claude, Berger, and company interrupt a lavish dinner party hosted by Sheila’s parents, a hilarious yet informative scene develops.

While Sheila is secretly gleeful at the arrival of her new friends, her parents are none too pleased, resulting in a standoff between Berger and Sheila’s family.

Partly comical, this scene also reveals the stark class distinctions among many of the characters.

The rest of the film centers on the friend’s antics involving drug use, relationship trials and tribulations, and culminates in a cross-country drive to see Claude before he is shipped to Vietnam desperately.

Multiple scenes involve songs concerning the turbulent race issues of the times- my personal favorites are the opening number, “Aquarius”, and the scandalous, “Black Boys” and “White Boys”, performed by Nell Carter.

Never one to be disappointed with a film set in Manhattan, Hair is a film basking in fantasy, and the entire production seems to be one big dream as the carefully crafted musical numbers are interspersed with the more dramatic elements.

Still, much of the film consists of the group prancing around Manhattan, with wonderful areas such as Washington Square Park featured, as well as several changes of season, giving the film a slice-of-life feel.

My favorite performance is that of Treat Williams as Berger. Part showman, part jokester, and part earnest, he fills the role with dynamic energy that comes full circle in the last act when he drastically changes his appearance for the sake of a friend.

The film’s ending is melancholy and an inevitable reminder of the coldness and finality of war in human life.

The encompassing song is “Let the Sunshine In”, a powerful and worthy conclusion to the film as the gang visits Arlington National Cemetery, to join an anti-war peace rally and say goodbye to a friend.

The film version of Hair (1979) may be drastically changed from the stage musical version,  a version I shamefully have yet to see. Still, on its own merits, the film is a poignant, powerful, and wholly entertaining musical adventure.

#201 Favorite Film, 1977 Films, Alida Valli, Bernardo Bertolucci, Burt Lancaster, Dominique Sanda, Donald Sutherland, Drama, Ellen Schwiers, Epic, Francesca Bertini, Gerard Depardieu, Historical Drama, Laura Betti, Period Drama, Robert De Niro, Romolo Valli, Stefania Casini, Stefania Sandrelli, Sterling Hayden, Top 250 Films

1900 (Novecento)-1977

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1900 (Novecento)-1977

Director Bernardo Bertolucci

Starring Robert De Niro, Gerard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda

Top 250 Films #201

Scott’s Review #984

Reviewed January 28, 2020

Grade: A

An epic to rival all epics, 1900 (Novecento) (1977) is a grandiose offering of monumental proportions featuring legendary actors and created by a brilliant director.

With a running time of a whopping 317 minutes in its original version, 1900 is known as one of the longest commercially released films ever made.

The cinematography is breathtaking, and the historical themes, such as friendship, class distinctions, and rivalry, are explored in depth.

The key is to let the experience marinate and blossom through a slow, patient build.

Brilliant director Bernardo Bertolucci’s tale follows the lives of two Italian men, a peasant named Olmo (Gerard Depardieu) and landowner Alfredo (Robert De Niro), both ironically born on January 1, 1900.

Inseparable as children, the two become estranged as their differing social statuses pull them apart. Their conflicts mirror the political events in Italy, as both fascism and socialism gained prominence there.

Here is a bit of background on the film.

Due to its length, the film was presented in two parts when originally released in many countries, including Italy, East and West Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Colombia, Pakistan, and Japan.

In other countries, such as the United States, a single edited-down version of the film was released.

The latter is not the way to watch this film. I do not like heavily edited films, especially in an epic like 1900, so the full-length version is highly recommended.

The film opens on April 25, 1945, the day Italy is liberated from the fascists, and this is key to the political message Bertolucci crafts. As peasants revolt against the landowner, Alfredo (De Niro) and female laborers wield deadly pitchforks, creating an atmosphere of chaos.

We know nothing of Alfredo yet, but we know enough to realize he is rich and perceived as a tyrant. The natural reaction is to sympathize with them because they are oppressed.

As the film backtracks to the turn of the century, a more elegant scene emerges: the births of two infants, Alfredo and Olmo. The sequence is sweet, and both babies are bright and filled with promise.

Sadly, this is not meant to be.

A railway track is an important addition to the film, culminating in the finale.

The most interesting aspect of the film is the dynamic development of Alfredo and Olmo as they grow. Alfredo resents his family’s wealth and sides with Olmo, a socialist. Alfredo sees his family as false and Olmo and his family as genuine.

This aspect is timeless and can be related to by any viewer with any intelligent sense of the world today. The obvious analogy between the haves and have-nots is clearer than ever in this film. Frightening is that some have-nots are convinced they will one day become the haves.

The messages and feelings elicited in 1900 are strong and emotional. Aren’t all men created equal? On the surface, they are, but Alfredo and Olmo are not equal. As the birth scene reveals and as Bertolucci makes clear, they are born with advantages and disadvantages.

These characteristics are what they are, and as human beings grow and learn social norms, financial differences become more pronounced and humanistic connections weaker.

If the social aspects of the film or the brilliant cinematography are not enough to please a viewer, the historical lessons presented are second to none. One can revel in the political and historical excitement that characterized Europe throughout the forty-five years the film is set.

I wish Hollywood made more films like this.

1900 (Novecento) (1977) can be enjoyed as both a grandiose, dramatic period piece, revered for its majestic and flourishing design, and as a thought-provoking film about unresolved social class distinctions in the world.

I found the film a treasure that works on all levels and showcases just how good a director Bertolucci is.

This film is not his best-known work, but for fans of cinema as an art form, this is a must-see.

#203 Favorite Film, 1975 Films, Al Pacino, Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, Crime Drama, Dominic Chianese, Drama, Frank Pierson, James Broderick, John Cazale, Kenneth McMillan, Lance Henriksen, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Sidney Lumet, Top 250 Films

Dog Day Afternoon-1975

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Dog Day Afternoon-1975

Director Sidney Lumet

Starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon

Top 250 Films #203

Scott’s Review #185

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Reviewed October 13, 2014

Grade: A-

Director Sidney Lumet successfully sets the smoldering hot summer afternoon in New York City for his 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon.

Al Pacino plays Sonny, an unemployed, desperate man who, while married with two kids, has a gay lover, Leon (brilliantly played by Chris Sarandon), whom he is attempting to help finance a sex change operation.

Based on a true story, Sonny, along with his dimwitted friend Sal- played by John Cazale- decides to rob First Brooklyn Savings Bank.

Predictably, their plans go awry when Sonny burns a ledger during the robbery attempt, and a pedestrian sees the smoke and alerts the police.

As the police become aware of the attempted heist, a standoff ensues between Sonny and the cops, led by Detective Moretti (Charles Durning), and the robbery receives media coverage.

Most of the action is set inside the stifling hot bank and directly outside on the street, and gradually the supporting characters come into play- the hostages, Sonny’s mother, wife, and lover all make contact with Sonny in some way or another, and his motivations become clearer to the audience.

Dog Day Afternoon is an anti-establishment movie, in this case anti-police, questioning the government and the financial establishment (Lumet also directed Network, challenging the establishment).

This is evident when, after a standoff with police, the crowd sides with Sonny as he chants “Attica!” Attica!, which is a direct reference to a recent prison riot.

Sonny speaks for the working class- the poor, struggling, underpaid workers who cannot afford to feed or adequately take care of their families.

The heat and humidity compare perfectly to the pressure felt by most middle-class people that still resonates today and leaves the viewer contemplating their life.

Sonny relates to the bank tellers who do not earn much. Besides, Sonny is sympathetic to the audience in another way. Leon, recently hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital, is emotionally dependent on Sonny. He would be lost without him.

They share a lengthy and heartfelt phone conversation that is the heart of the film- gay romance had not been explored this way by 1975 in cinema, and the romance was neither shoved down the audience’s throat nor was it looked past entirely.

Their relationship is tender and deep, yet still somewhat ambiguous.

Would they stay together? What would become of Sonny’s wife and two children? Would he leave them for Leon in a world that was not ready to accept two homosexual men together? Is that the reason for Leon’s desire for a sex change operation?

Chris Sarandon, in too small a part, is wonderful as the gay lover, struggling with a sexual identity crisis. Al Pacino gives, per usual, a brilliant portrayal as he takes on a complex character who is far from one-dimensional.

Perhaps not a masterpiece, Dog Day Afternoon is a very good film, but neither is it strictly a gay-themed movie nor an action/thriller- it’s more complex than that.

Ironically, Sonny is portrayed as the hero of the film, as it is not a standard good police versus bad bank robber type of film- quite the contrary. It is much, much more than that.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Director-Sidney Lumet, Best Actor-Al Pacino, Best Supporting Actor-Chris Sarandon, Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Film Editing

#204 Favorite Film, 1964 Films, Anthony Eisley, Constance Towers, Drama, Edy Williams, Film noir, Michael Dante, Samuel Fuller, Top 250 Films, Virginia Grey

The Naked Kiss-1964

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The Naked Kiss-1964

Director Samuel Fuller

Starring Constance Towers, Michael Dante

Top 250 Films #204

Scott’s Review #1,346

Reviewed February 25, 2023

Grade: A

A pure treat for me is seeing a film, especially a classic film, that exudes creativity and a left-of-center approach. In the 1960s, cinema films started to break away from the tried-and-true and safe, telling sinister stories of macabre and unusual human behavior.

Samuel Fuller bravely created The Naked Kiss (1964), a film that goes beyond well-meaning but straightforward offerings. Dusting off the film noir genre, it is riddled with perfections like the tarnished glitter of small-town Americana and the secrets beneath the surface.

It also dares to delve into the lustful and perverse depths of abnormal human psychology, a feat few films achieved in the old days.

The film is a B-movie with black-and-white filmmaking, enhancing its power and lurid nature.

Eager to start a new life, a prostitute named Kelly (Constance Towers) arrives in a small town but finds the sunny veneer and the residents’ cheery, wholesome dispositions to be a sham.

Kelly meets the handsome town sheriff, Griff (Anthony Eisley), and her eventual fiancé, Grant (Michael Dante), but ultimately, both men have something to hide.

Hard to believe, but we do anyway, is the haughty incorporation of a secret small-town brothel with one gorgeous prostitute after another. It is led by the evil madame Candy, portrayed by Virginia Grey.

Constance Towers easily carries the film as Kelly. Towers did not make many films, but later became well-known in theater circles before becoming a legendary villainess on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital.

Kelly is sultry yet highly learned and intelligent. She is not afraid to use her smarts to get ahead. She calculates and wisely pursues opportunities to stay on the straight and narrow while using a man or two to get what she wants and needs.

Despite this, she is kind and revels in caring for children of all colors and backgrounds. She also watches out for her fellow nurses. One of them, Buff, nearly stumbles into a life of prostitution if not for Kelly daringly describing what her new glamorous life would ultimately become.

Thanks to Towers, Kelly relays every possible emotion to the audience, from comedy to love, horror, and controlled manipulation.

I don’t think I’ve seen any other projects by director, writer, and producer Fuller, but I want to. Perhaps only a coincidence since the films were made in the same year, but comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie (1964) are noticed.

Kelly briskly combs her blonde hair while looking into a mirror and smirking, reminiscent of Marnie doing more or less the same in Hitchcock’s classic. Both characters are tall and leggy blondes with a secret or two to hide and damaged psyches to preserve.

They also each arrive in a new town, presumably to start over. Boldly carrying a suitcase and wearing a bright grey business suit, they proudly walk down a suburban street with possibilities ahead.

The Naked Kiss is a very progressive and feminist film.

During the first scene, Fuller shows what few directors ever would- a female character with a shaved head. Kelly has been humiliated for the last time and takes her owed $75 from her pimp. Kelly’s honest personality is revealed in this scene since she could have quickly taken $900 from him and fled.

The cagey and spiteful underbelly of suburban life is exposed. A  pointed critique of small-town hypocrisy and the exploitation of women is nearly at every turn.

Another comparison to the masterpiece The Night of the Hunter (1955) is worth mentioning since the use of child characters in haunting form appears in both films.

The theme of pedophilia is powerful and sickening, but portrayed with a warped sense of a fairy tale.

Finally, the cinematic use of harsh, glowing white light makes many characters appear angelic, which works tremendously well.

Because of Fuller’s direction and Towers’s great acting, Kelly’s character is portrayed well. As a result, we get a character study to savor and a strong female character to root for. Both aggressively champion their respective areas of expertise.

The Naked Kiss (1964) challenges the rules of early 1960s filmmaking and storytelling. It is a brave journey through humankind’s dark natures, breaking every rule as it progresses.

#205 Favorite Film, 1955 Films, Barbara Baxley, Burl Ives, Drama, Elia Kazan, Epic, Henry Rowland, James Dean, Jo Van Fleet, John Steinbeck, Julie Harris, Lois Smith, Period Drama, Raymond Massey, Richard Davalos, Top 250 Films

East of Eden-1955

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East of Eden-1955

Director Elia Kazan 

Starring James Dean, Julie Harris, Jo Van Fleet

Top 250 Films #205

Scott’s Review #1,092

Reviewed December 17, 2020

Grade: A

James Dean wasn’t with us for very long, tragically dying at the tender age of twenty-four, but he made three films: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Giant (1956), and East of Eden (1955), all-powerful showcases and unique.

Dean gives a brilliant, humanistic, and sometimes tragic performance.

East of Eden, his first film, is the only one he got to preview. I hope he liked it because it will live forever as a gem.

Based on the John Steinbeck novel of the same name, the story is also a biblical retelling of Cain and Abel, brothers who clash and spar. Director Elia Kazan, famous for supporting and using Method actors in his films, gave a tremendous performance as Dean, which was key to the film’s empathetic nature.

The key to East of Eden is that it reflects on several characters, who are both good and bad, possessing qualities of both, detailing their struggles.

Nobody is completely good or completely bad. The story analyzes good versus evil and the multitude of layers between both extremes, making the experience juicy, truthful, and brilliant.

Set in 1917, during World War I, two sunny coastal California towns are the backdrop for the action. Cal Trask (Dean) perceives his father, farmer Adam (Raymond Massey), as favoring Cal’s brother, Aron (Richard Davalos). This leads to much resentment, jealousy, and conflict. Aron is the apple of Adam’s eye, and we wonder why.

Furthering the drama is Cal’s love for Aron’s girlfriend, Abra (Julie Harris), who doesn’t rebuff any advances. Cal and Aron’s mother, Kate (Jo Van Fleet), who they think is dead, is alive and well and running a brothel in a nearby town. Assuming a different name, she harbors secrets.

Before you get the impression this is some cheesy soap opera, East of Eden, like the novel, is heavily character-driven and nuanced with development. It ultimately draws the audience in and envelops everyone in its simmering qualities.

East of Eden is packed with powerful scenes after powerful scenes, and in more than one, the allegiances and rooting values shift from character to character.

Some of the best moments are when Cal self-destructs after his father refuses his birthday gift, or when Cal cruelly reveals the true nature of their mother’s profession to the innocent and unsuspecting Aron.

Finally, Cal and Abra’s kiss atop a Ferris wheel is filled with smoldering desire and deadly consequences.

The acting was tremendous across the board. Much of the credit must go to Kazan for pulling fabulous performances out of the players, a talent only a Method acting director can achieve.

While the cast is exceptional, the film belongs to Dean, who provides enough emotion and vulnerability to sustain his character’s topsy-turvy, tortured existence. Knowing that the actor died soon after filming gives the film an eerie and sentimental feel.

This is comparable to a more modern-day example when Heath Ledger died after giving a brilliant performance in The Dark Knight (2008).

This is hardly a war film or a guy’s film, as the ladies also get to shine with rich characters. Julie Harris and Jo Van Fleet portray flawed characters in juicy roles rife with meaty scenes filled with conflict.

As with most of Steinbeck’s works, specifically The Grapes of Wrath, the landscape is a character, and East of Eden is no exception. With dusty roads and mountainous backgrounds, events ooze with atmosphere and beauty.

The lush northern coastal California landscape portrays a grandiose magnificence that counterbalances the conflict its inhabitants are experiencing.

The central note to take away from East of Eden (1955) is that we are complex creatures with a mixture of good and evil. We sometimes want to do the right thing, but in doing so, we hurt those we love. The main characters suffer from pain, regret, good intentions, poor decisions, and loss.

The rich dialogue, adaptation, acting, and cinematography make the film near perfection.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Director-Elia Kazan, Best Actor-James Dean, Best Supporting Actress-Jo Van Fleet (won), Best Screenplay

#209 Favorite Film, 1947 Films, British, David Farrar, Deborah Kerr, Drama, Emeric Pressburger, Favorite Film of the Year, Jean Simmons, Michael Powell, Top 250 Films

Black Narcissus-1947

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Black Narcissus-1947

Director Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Starring Deborah Kerr

Top 250 Films #209

Scott’s Review #688

Reviewed October 5, 2017

Grade: A

A British film made in 1947 that is way ahead of its time, Black Narcissus is a brilliant foray into the mysterious entity of nuns and the bitterness, both from humanity and from the elements, that a group of nuns must face as they attempt to establish a new school atop the hills of the Himalayas.

The film’s look is as fantastic as its story, with incredible cinematography and a foreboding, eerie quality.

Black Narcissus is one of the great treasures of classic cinema.

Based on the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden, Black Narcissus tells the story of revolving jealousy, rage, lust, and tension amid a convent of nuns living in isolation.

Deborah Kerr, fantastic in the lead role of Clodagh, Sister Superior and leader of the group, faces the temptations and anger of men while dealing with an unbalanced nun, Sister Ruth, played terrifically by Kathleen Byron.

The cinematography and the art direction must be praised as the lavish sets are just that- sets. However, the average viewer will be whisked away on a magical experience where it seems the sets are real locales, high atop the Himalayan mountains.

Scenes depict howling wind, mist, and fog in a believable manner. All sets are built and structured, and Black Narcissus was filmed entirely on a set. This tidbit is unbelievable, given the realism, especially since the film was made in 1947.

The lighting in the film is unique, precisely the vibrant colors of the pink flowers and, later, the close-ups of Sister Ruth. A fantastic example of this is her descent into madness during the final act, as her face, maniacal yet lovely, is heavily featured. Her face appears bright and hypnotic.

The main event, though, is the tales the film tells, which are pretty edgy for the year the film was made. Religion is always risky, and the treatment of the nuns as real human beings with actual emotions, even lustful ones, is brazen.

Specifically, Clodagh (Kerr) is a fascinating study as the character teeters on a romance with the charismatic, handsome, local British agent, Mr. Dean (David Farrar), while attempting to forget a failed romance during her youth in Ireland.

Meanwhile, Sister Ruth spirals out of control, leading to a dire climax involving an enormous church bell atop the restored structure.

A slight misstep the film makes is mainly casting white actors with heavy makeup in the Indian roles instead of actors with authentic ethnicity.

This detail is glaring because the makeup used is not overly convincing, and the casting of the gorgeous Jean Simmons as Kanchi, a lower-class dancing girl whom the Prince becomes infatuated with in a subplot, is incredibly guilty.

Still, this pales in comparison to the fantastic story and look of the film.

Black Narcissus is a classic film that contains a bit of everything—drama, thrills, intrigue, gorgeous sets, lavish design, and even a bit of forbidden passion—and brilliantly executes all aspects of the film.

A film admired by critics and directors throughout the ages and explicitly championed by Martin Scorsese, it has the unique quality of getting better with each viewing.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Art Direction-Set Direction, Color (won), Best Cinematography, Color (won)