Tag Archives: Franco Nero

2012 Films, Drama, Favorite Film of the Year, Top 250 Films, Western

Django Unchained-2012

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Django Unchained-2012

Director Quentin Tarantino

Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz

Top 250 Films #116

Scott’s Review #699

Reviewed November 26, 2017

Grade: A

Quentin Tarantino, the brilliant filmmaker, can do very little wrong in my opinion, and he releases yet another masterpiece with 2012’s Django Unchained, a western story centering around the delicate subject matter of slavery.

Like several other talented directors’ stories, the main focus here is a revenge-driven tale with plenty of bloody scenes and stylistic ferociousness, making Django Unchained yet another masterpiece in the Tarantino collection.

Certainly not for the faint of heart, the film will please fans of film creativity and artistic achievement.

As with many Tarantino films, a stellar cast is used, and each actor is cast to perfection- it seems almost every actor in Hollywood is dying to appear in the director’s films.

This time, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson are the lucky ones, all featured in prominent roles- not surprisingly, the acting is top-notch.

An interesting fact to note is that whoever appears in a Tarantino film seems to be having the time of their lives- what creative freedom and interesting material to experience.

A comparable director to Tarantino, in terms of recruiting fine actors, is Robert Altman, who was also tremendously popular with talent.

The saga begins with clear Western flair as Django Freeman (Foxx) is led through the scorching heat of Texas with a group of other enslaved Black people, presumably to be sold by their abusive white captors.

The time is 1858, and the abolition of slavery has not yet occurred; the Civil War is still two years away.

Doctor King Schultz (Waltz), a former dentist and current bounty hunter, is on a mission to find and kill the Brittle brothers and realizes Django can help him find them.

To complicate matters, Django has been separated from his wife Broomhilda (Washington) and vows to find her and avenge her abductors.

As circumstances lead Schultz and Django to a vast Tennessee estate, the duo becomes business partners and friends. The race to rescue Broomhilda takes the pair to sunny (and equally hot) Mississippi- the home of vicious Calvin Candie (DiCaprio) and his dreaded “Candyland”.

The crackling heat and atmospheric nature of Django Unchained, combined with the revenge theme, make the film an immeasurable success.

An ode to spaghetti westerns of yesteryear, the film incorporates similar music and grit so that the result is a modernized version of those films, with lots more blood and violence.

Slavery is a tough subject matter to tackle, especially when members of the Ku Klux Klan are featured, but Tarantino does so effortlessly. As Django takes revenge on his tormentors, the audience gets a lot of satisfaction.

The indignities and downright abuse that several black characters suffer can be quite tough to sit through.

The climactic dinner scene in Mississippi is splendid and the film’s best sequence.

Schultz and Django dine with Calvin at his spectacular mansion. Calvin’s sinister and loyal house slave (Jackson) suspects a devious plan is about to be hatched, and a vicious shoot-out erupts between the parties involved.

The ingenious, drawn-out sequence is a cat-and-mouse affair, with all the characters tiptoeing around the others for fear of being revealed as imposters.

The scene is exceptional in its craft as we watch the characters dine on delectable food and drink, all the while motivations bubble under the surface.

Django Unchained is not for film-goers seeking either a linear story or a mainstream piece of blockbuster movie-making-Tarantino is not a typical Hollywood guy.

The film is exceptionally crafted and constructed a challenge the viewer to endure what some of the characters (specifically Django and Broomhilda) are made to go through.

This discomfort and horror make the inevitable revenge all the sweeter and more satisfying.

Quentin Tarantino has created masterpiece after masterpiece throughout his filmography.

Proudly, I can herald 2012’s Django Unchained as one of the director’s finest and will be remembered for decades to come for challenging, provoking thought, and satisfying legions of his fans.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor-Christoph Waltz (won), Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Sound Editing, Best Cinematography

1967 Films, Drama, Epic, Fantasy, Musical, Musical Drama, Romantic Drama

Camelot-1967

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Camelot-1967

Director Joshua Logan

Starring Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero

Scott’s Review #1,370

Reviewed June 21, 2023

Grade: A-

Camelot (1967) adapts the well-known Broadway spectacle and explores the creation of the Knights of the Round Table. Set in the Middle Ages, the film follows King Arthur as its main character.

Unfortunately, the original stage stars, Richard Burton and Julie Andrews, declined to participate. Still, their replacements, Richard Burton and Vanessa Redgrave, are more than adequate in their prominent roles.

At an epic length of nearly three hours, not every moment is on the edge of your seat, and some lagging exists, but the film does justice to the stage production, only with a big budget to add extravagance.

The setting and experience are pure magic, not only because of the far-removed time. The Shakespearean elements are strong as royalty and entitlement mesh with scheming, jealousy, and dangerous romance.

This creates juicy soap-opera drama.

After the arranged marriage of Arthur (Harris) and Guinevere (Redgrave), the king gathers the noble knights of the realm to his Round Table. The dashing Lancelot (Franco Nero) joins but soon falls in love with Guinevere.

When Arthur’s illegitimate and conniving son, Mordred (David Hemmings), reappears in the kingdom and exposes the secret lovers, Arthur finds himself, by his own rules, trapped into taking action against his wife and closest friend.

There are some dull moments to face at epic length, especially in the first half. I tuned out once or twice, but then I was whisked back into the action.

The great moments are genuinely outstanding, with enough punch to pack a emotional wallop.

During a sequence when Lancelot is challenged to a game of jousting with some knights, events turn deadly, and one knight, Sir Dinadan, is critically injured. Horrified, Lancelot pleads for Sir Dinadan to live, and as he lays hands on him, Dinadan miraculously recovers.

The scene is fraught with emotion as a decisive moment occurs between the men. It’s also pivotal to the storyline because it links Lancelot with Guenevere and sets off a romantic chain of events.

Guenevere is so overwhelmed and humbled that her feelings for Lancelot begin to change. Despite his vows of celibacy, Lancelot falls in love with Guenevere.

More than one song is lovely in Camelot, and as the production went on, I yearned for more musical numbers.

My favorite is the coy  “The Lusty Month of May,” which appears when Guinevere and the women frolic and gather flowers to celebrate the coming of spring. Later, Lancelot and Guenevere sing of their forbidden love and how wrong life has all gone in ‘I Loved You Once In Silence.’

In the eyes of the law, the lovers are to be punished so they are aware they are not long for this world.

Visually, Camelot is a spectacle rich in style and pizazz. Whimsical colors and a ton of vibrant and fragrant flowers appear regularly amid fields of greens and forests of trees.

The castles and battlefields also support Gothic structures and masculine power, which perfectly balance the exquisiteness of the other aspects.

This more than makes up for any drudgery the story might have. It’s nice to sit back and be fulfilled by the cinematic beauty, especially considering the romance at the heart of the picture.

So when the story drags, one can enjoy the visuals and escape for a moment.

Also impressive is the story of friendship, and how a woman’s affection for a man can tear two male friends apart.

Camelot (1967) is a behemoth epic that requires patience. Some parts flat-out drag. But the daring, compelling triangle among the three leads usually turns the experience into an above-average thrill ride.

Oscar Nominations: 4 wins-Best Art Direction (won), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design (won), Best Costume Design (won), Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score (won), Best Sound

Golden Globe Nominations: 2 wins-Best Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical, Best Actor-Comedy or Musical-Richard Harris (won), Best Actress-Comedy or Musical-Vanessa Redgrave, Best Original Score (won), New Star of the Year-Actor-Franco Nero

1966 Films, Drama, Epic, Religious

The Bible: In the Beginning-1966

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The Bible: In the Beginning-1966

Director John Huston

Starring George C. Scott, Ava Gardner, Richard Harris

Scott’s Review #1,139

Reviewed May 5, 2021

Grade: A-

An epic of grand proportions that nearly rivals the magic cinematography of Lawrence of Arabia (1963), The Bible: In The Beginning (1966) embraces its definition of majestic, magnificent, and sweeping.

The story follows the Bible chronologically, beginning with Adam & Eve.

Remember, you need not be Catholic, Christian, or of any religious persuasion to enjoy the film’s rapturous beauty.

The pious and non-believers alike can enjoy the experience. There is a hint of the unbelievable and a suspension of disbelief in some of the stories gracing director John Huston’s “The Good Book.”

He also narrates some of the stories and appears as Noah.

Nobody is mocked for their beliefs, and the film is a straight-ahead interpretation of the first twenty-two chapters of the Book of Genesis, covering the stories from Creation and Adam and Eve to Isaac’s binding.

Abraham (George C. Scott) and Sarah (Ava Gardner) are heavily featured.

The film focuses on five main sections: Creation, Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, Noah’s Ark, and Abraham’s story. Other stories get less screen time and attention but are still featured.

Speaking of Adam and Eve (Michael Parks and Ulla Bergyrd), they kick off the action with the fateful decision to pick and taste the luscious fruits dangling before their eyes as the Serpent fiendishly looks on.

God punishes Adam and Eve for their temptation, setting off a common theme throughout the film and, indeed, the excellent book: resisting pleasures of the flesh and being penalized for caving into desires.

Aod is happy when people are unfulfilled and joyless. Sadly, some have taken this too seriously.

We could debate religion until the cows come home, and many have, but I became aware of a hint of ridicule or at least intense questioning on the part of Huston.

He creates scenes that most would deem ridiculous if not written in the words of the Bible.

Again, Huston is careful not to mock anyone, shrouding any antics in good, stylized 1960s film, but a woman being turned into a pillar of salt for looking at the sky is amusing.

Admittedly, some chapters are better than others.

The trials and tribulations of Abraham and Sarah get off to a slow start when Abraham and company traverse miles and miles of the lonely desert so much that I was left wondering if they were on the road to nowhere.

Finally, the action takes off when Sarah realizes she is barren, which leads her maid to conceive a child with Abraham. I never knew this saga had so much in common with the Hulu hit The Handmaid’s Tale, but the similarities are eerie and uncanny.

Noah and his Ark is also an excellent sequence and brings more humor than necessary, but I guess it balances the more severe stories.

Noah adores animals, especially cats and lions, and treats them beautifully, choosing to save and live harmoniously with the creatures. They love him. The flooding scenes related to this chapter are exquisite and adventurous.

The film depicts God as a bit of a son of a bitch as he calls Abraham to lead his only son to a high mountain and sacrifice him. This tests Abraham’s will and is thought-provoking.

If many of the actors look Italian, it’s because they do. Pupella Maggio, famous for her role in Fellini’s Amarcord (1973), plays Noah’s wife.

Much of the film was shot in and around Rome.

Huston not only narrates some sections but also appears as Noah himself!

The Bible: In the Beginning (1966) is exquisite and pleasing cinematically. Many fans of religious cinema will prefer the more conventional The Ten Commandments (1956).

While slow at times, the film has aged like a fine wine by the end, leaving me enthralled and appreciative of its achievements.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Music Score

Golden Globe Nominations: Best Original Score