Tag Archives: Terence Stamp

#183 Favorite Film, 1967 Films, Alan Bates, British, Drama, Epic, 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

Leave a comment

Far from the Madding Crowd-1967

Director John Schlesinger

Starring Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Alan Bates

Top 250 Films #183

Scott’s Review #315

70111488

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

1966 Films, British, Camp, Comedy, Dirk Bogarde, Joseph Losey, Monica Vitti, Terence Stamp

Modesty Blaise-1966

Leave a comment

Modesty Blaise-1966

Director Joseph Losey

Starring Monica Vitti, Terence Stamp, Dirk Bogarde

Scott’s Review #1,243

Reviewed April 9, 2022

Grade: B

Modesty Blaise (1966) is a campy, over-the-top escapist film loosely based on a British comic strip. It features a relaxed style but a convoluted plot.

The story doesn’t matter much, and the film feels based on the James Bond film series with some Dick Tracy and Brenda Starr comic elements thrown in.

Throughout the action, I chuckled at the characters’ situational comedy antics. Both heroes and villains get mixed up in one hokey situation after another, and all the actors seem well aware that they are not performing Shakespearean comedy.

They forge ahead, making it as much of a zany offering as humanly possible.

Much of the film is reminiscent of television, Get Smart, a foolish but sweet-natured 1960s spy-genre offering.

I challenge the odd decision to make a film of this genre a bloated one hour and fifty-seven minutes. A spry ninety or ninety-five minutes would have been ample time to wrap up the experience and allow audiences to head for the exits.

This might prevent some from realizing how silly a film they’d just sat through

Modesty Blaise is not a traditionally good film but grooviness and pizazz are the main attractions as characters indulge in an orgy of colorful situations and preposterous setups.

Lavish locales like Amsterdam, and London, and the roaring beaches off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea bring the film back from going too far off the rails and pepper it with some cultivation.

If you’re in the right mood, Modesty Blaise is a chuckle fest, but don’t waste your time if you’re aching for high art. The psychedelic, groovy art design and Mad Men-like sets won me over.

I quickly forgot to try and piece together the complicated plot.

I didn’t care who was who or who was trying to outwit who and why. And I was okay with that.

Gorgeous Italian actress Monica Vitti leads the charge, followed by the dashing English actor Terence Stamp. Together, they make a lusty and good-looking pair, though Vitti gets no acting accolades.

Her looks are the primary reason for her casting win.

The actress plays a beautiful former criminal named Modesty who decides to go straight and work for the Secret Service. They send her to infiltrate a ring of jewel thieves, but the stuck-up older regime does not especially respect her.

She shrugs it off and offers her best services.

Soon after she joins the gang, sophisticated and dangerous head honcho Gabriel (Dirk Bogarde) grows suspicious of his new charge; Modesty realizes that British Intelligence gave her a mission they could care less if she survives.

She then enlists her former partner, Willie (Stamp), to help her out of her peril while outsmarting both sides.

Most action scenes are ludicrous, and the likelihood of any of the stories being true is slim to none. Plenty of sequences are set on a luxury yacht or some other water transportation, and Vitti and Stamp are clad in as little as possible.

I smirked at more than one James Bond nod, though some influence on the still-to-be-made Diamonds Are Forever (1971) is noticed.

If I’m making Modesty Blaise out to be a terrible film, it’s not.

The gimmicky angle of having Modesty appear with a different hairstyle in every sequence is clever and enjoyable (my preference is for her as a blonde).

When she is imprisoned in a spiraling-colored basement cell and must climb out the roof for help, the set design is one of the best I’ve ever seen. The creative team gets an A-plus for expressiveness and imagination, which is why Modesty Blaise is so fun.

Dirk Bogarde and Rossella Falk play cartoonish criminals Gabriel and Clara, who are deliciously wicked. I was amazed at Gabriel’s towering purple cocktail and craved a sip to see exactly what he was drinking.

Satisfyingly, both main villains get their comeuppance.

The film is foolish, campy, and a silly time wrapped up in fantastic artistry from a creative team that deserves more credit than they probably received.

Modesty Blaise (1966) is a messy but enjoyable film. I found it endearing more than I probably should have. It’s the guiltiest pleasure in a chest of sub-par spy comedy films.

1987 Films, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Drama, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, Martin Sheen, Michael Douglas, Oliver Stone, Paul Guilfoyle, Richard Dysart, Sean Young, Sylvia Miles, Terence Stamp

Wall Street-1987

Leave a comment

Wall Street-1987

Director Oliver Stone

Starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah

Scott’s Review #511

60003330

Reviewed November 5, 2016

Grade: B+

Rather late in the game, but 2011 was my first time seeing the film Wall Street and it was a very good film.

Douglas and Sheen have great on-screen chemistry and the numerous scenes of New York City are pleasing- pre- 9/11 they capture a haunting feeling.

Despite being made in 1987 (not a great year for cinema), it does not feel dated except for the soundtrack.

Unfortunately, the circumstances in this movie still ring true today. There is a lot of dishonesty and greed in the financial world (check out the documentary Inside Job for proof of this).

The financial collapse of 2008 is a great indicator.

Michael Douglas is excellent in the role of Gordon Gekko, a power-hungry, greedy financial mogul.

He encompasses the role in every way and deservedly won the Best Actor statuette for this year.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Actor-Michael Douglas (won)

1968 Films, Art, Drama, International, International Drama, Italian, Massimo Girotti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Silvana Mangano, Terence Stamp

Teorema-1968

Leave a comment

Teorema-1968

Director Pier Paolo Pasolini

Starring Terence Stamp, Silvana Mangano

Scott’s Review #234

70039263

Reviewed April 10, 2015

Grade: A-

Teorema is a 1968 Italian art film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, who later went on to direct the dark and disturbing 1975 masterpiece, Salò- 120 Days of Sodom.

If one is looking for a concise, mainstream plot with a fixed, to-the-point beginning and ending, one will be disappointed. Rather, Teorema is an exhibition in artistic style and interpretation, and it succeeds in mesmerizing this viewer with thought and contemplation.

A mysterious stranger, known as “the visitor”, suddenly arrives to stay with an affluent Italian family in their sprawling estate. The family consists of a father, mother, son, daughter, and maid, all of whom experience loneliness, boredom, fear, rage, or repression.

The handsome stranger successfully beds all the family members, and just as suddenly as he arrives, he disappears from the household, leaving the family members with different thoughts, feelings, and actions upon his departure.

The film is highly interpretive, and every character can be analyzed.

The stranger seduces all the characters, and the family’s wealth is examined. Is Teorema (which translates to the theorem in Italian) a commentary on the bourgeois society? The father, Paolo, owns a factory and appears to be in turmoil- is he a repressed homosexual?

The father’s story concludes with him turning his factory over to the workers, stripping naked, and roaring with anger and frustration.

Is the mother simply a wealthy, bored housewife or much more than that? This character might have been explored more thoroughly.

The maid, devoutly religious, becomes suicidal after her tryst with the stranger. The others confide in the stranger about how they feel about themselves, and at times, the film feels like a therapy session as each character delves deeper into their personal feelings.

Only the maid is a bit different from the others, but could this be because she is working-class, while the others are affluent?

The daughter, Odessa, approximately sixteen years old, becomes depressed after her liaison. The frightened, weak son appears to have a crisis and is consoled by the stranger in a loving, tender fashion.

Interestingly, the film at the time was resoundingly denounced by the Vatican, which took offense at the controversial tone of the film and its focus on “obscenity”.

Could this be because of some people’s interpretation of “the visitor” as being a Christ-like figure? One must argue for the distinction between “obscenity” and “art” after viewing this groundbreaking, visionary film. I found Teorema to be a thought-provoking film and did not feel the movie was going for shock value.

The film is lightweight in this regard compared to the hauntingly brutal Salo (1975), which followed years later.

Teorema (1968) delves into the psychological abyss and portrays an Italian family as more than wealthy- they are people with emotions, fears, desires, and complexities.

Not for mainstream audiences, but meant for lovers of interpretive film, it can be debated and discussed for ages to come.

2014 Films, Amy Adams, Biography, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Drama, Jason Schwartzman, Terence Stamp, Tim Burton

Big Eyes-2014

Leave a comment

Big Eyes-2014

Director Tim Burton

Starring Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz

Scott’s Review #216

70095129

Reviewed January 18, 2015

Grade: B

Big Eyes (2014) tells the true story of Margaret Keane, a talented artist, famous for the “big eyes” waif collection, whose husband manipulated her and took credit for her works during the 1950s and 1960s.

A con artist, he passed himself off as a talented artist, but in truth, he scammed other artists and had no artistic talent of his own.

He was also mentally unstable.

Due to his charisma and ability to wine and dine, with influential people, combined with his marketing talents, he made millions in profits from his wife’s art.

Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz portray Margaret and Walter Keane.

Tim Burton directs the film.

Adams and Waltz are the main appeals in this film. They share tremendous chemistry, when they are courting one another and subsequently when they despise each other and fight a bitter divorce battle in court over the rights to Margaret’s paintings.

I love Christoph Waltz in whatever he appears in as his charisma and acting ability astound me.

Adams is quite effective and believable as the passive, loyal, and talented Margaret Keane.

As compelling performance as Adams gives, one issue with the film is that I did not feel as sympathetic towards Margaret Keane as the film probably intended.

I like the character very much and was rooting for her in the courthouse scenes to be awarded rights to her paintings and cheered when she escaped to Hawaii with her daughter to begin a new life.

But, she willingly went along with her husband’s plot, as they both decided a female artist would not sell like a man could (it was the 1950s), and they made millions from her art. They lived in a gorgeous house, had wonderful dinners, and were able to maintain an extravagant lifestyle- not so bad.

It was not as if Walter stole all of her money and left her homeless. She enjoyed a nice lifestyle.

So, my sympathy for her was affected.

A positive of Big Eyes is how Margaret continues to uncover Walter’s deceptions. She first learns he has taken credit for her work then finds out that he is not even an artist and has conned another painter into giving Walter credit for their work.

The buildup to these reveals is excellent.

The film is a change of pace for Tim Burton. Big Eyes is not a dark film and is quite bright and colorful. Some interesting sets and art direction are similar to his other works- Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice.

Big Eyes (2014) is an enjoyable film largely made successful by the talents and appeal of its two stars.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Screenplay