Stagecoach
Pretty cool. Pretty dull on the first watch but I was sleepy and just trying to get through it… I have a feeling that I might like it more on second watch. I loved the characters on the trip- nine or ten distinct and interesting personalities- the tough but good marshall, the goofy driver, the imperial, enraged banker, the vaguely sinister, gentlemanly gambler, the put-upon prostitute, the drunk doctor, the meek preacher, the delicately haughty lady, the iconic gentleman cowboy. John Wayne, frankly, is pretty hot in this film. That voice, that bearing. Having finally seen his work, rather than just going on osmotic familiarity, I absolutely recognize that rugged sex symbol appeal.
The film rather reminds me of Gosford Park… it's less about what's happening and more about how the class of the characters affects their interactions. The Southern Gent, so kindly and affectionate to Mrs. Malloy, while Dallas is perpetually looked down upon, treated almost as if she's invisible- except by Ringo (and the Doctor.) The Ladies of the Law and Order Society. The banker angrily pronouncing that the nation needs a businessman president.
stray observations:
• "Ringo? I thought he was in the band!"- Buck (his tone sounds so much like he's knowingly making a pun… a pun FROM THE FUTURE)
• (being told by Hatfield that he's not behaving like a gentleman, the doctor says:) "Three weeks ago I took a bullet out of a man who was shot by a gentleman. The bullet was in his back." …badass retort
• In the vote to press on or stay, each person answers according to their character. Their priorities, their perspectives, uniquely in view from each answer.
• I Really like the music. Terrific, adventurous brass.
• Awesome stunts in the climactic chase/battle scene. The Indian falling off the horses and getting trampled over by the stagecoach… Ringo leaping from horse to horse.
• my favorite shot in the film- the overhead angle as the stagecoach floats across the river. Incredible. (better in black and white, too.)
• I knew I recognized Buck's voice! I knew it- he's Friar Tuck in the classic Disney Robin Hood.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
film #5
Bonnie and Clyde
This is my first time writing here in a very long time; posts will probably be rather short as I'm warming up the old review instincts. Also it's really very important that the reviews feel natural (even if they come off lazy)… to get back in the habit I can't allow myself to feel like I'm poring through homework. Anyway, a quick and disconnected review:
tremendously sexual, from the first scene onward. Beatty is spectacularly charismatic. Dunaway, very hot. They're outlaws, but the law is worse- the scenes when they're among the common folks are all pretty striking. Like the men shooting out the sign. Or allowing the farmer to keep his money at the bank. Or the Hooverville. "I ain't against him… I ain't against him"- Beatty lamenting the grocer who tried to kill him when he robbed the store. Striking moment.
The brotherly awkwardness strikes me as painfully true. Shouting, "Whoo! We're gonna have a good time!" and then drifting into silence. The sort of social anxiety scene that other movies are probably Only about. I despise Blanche Barrow. It's funny reading her wikipedia biography after the movie- "they made me look like a screaming horse's ass." Yep! Can't believe She was the one to win an Oscar from this. So, so hateable. GENE WILDER! Incredibly funny. Everything he says is perfectly hilarious. Pathetic and anxious and nerdy and furious. Brilliant.
I wonder if Bonnie was as weak and emotional as she seems in this film? There are multiple scenes where she's pouting or storming off. Lots of bickering between her and Blanche in this film. But apparently that's what it was like- not necessarily that their real life characters had that specific dynamic, but it was certainly tense and frustrating between the five of them, living in close quarters on the run. Whenever Beatty flips out- at Hamer for instance, when he knocks him into the water- it's always pretty intriguing. That raw, passionate fury- you get the sense that not everything's right with this guy… it's the part of him that makes him a criminal instead of a President.
I wonder how C.W. feels about the deal that ultimately gets struck. Hard to read his face as he watches them drive away to meet their fate.
Apparently this is a very historically important film, and I believe it, I can see it… the astonishing sexual energy, the violence, the anti-government vibe- but also fatalistic. It's definitely a reflection of its time, the turbulence, dusty, sexualized outlaw culture of the late 1960s. Entertaining, intense. Good action sequences. Good movie.
This is my first time writing here in a very long time; posts will probably be rather short as I'm warming up the old review instincts. Also it's really very important that the reviews feel natural (even if they come off lazy)… to get back in the habit I can't allow myself to feel like I'm poring through homework. Anyway, a quick and disconnected review:
tremendously sexual, from the first scene onward. Beatty is spectacularly charismatic. Dunaway, very hot. They're outlaws, but the law is worse- the scenes when they're among the common folks are all pretty striking. Like the men shooting out the sign. Or allowing the farmer to keep his money at the bank. Or the Hooverville. "I ain't against him… I ain't against him"- Beatty lamenting the grocer who tried to kill him when he robbed the store. Striking moment.
The brotherly awkwardness strikes me as painfully true. Shouting, "Whoo! We're gonna have a good time!" and then drifting into silence. The sort of social anxiety scene that other movies are probably Only about. I despise Blanche Barrow. It's funny reading her wikipedia biography after the movie- "they made me look like a screaming horse's ass." Yep! Can't believe She was the one to win an Oscar from this. So, so hateable. GENE WILDER! Incredibly funny. Everything he says is perfectly hilarious. Pathetic and anxious and nerdy and furious. Brilliant.
I wonder if Bonnie was as weak and emotional as she seems in this film? There are multiple scenes where she's pouting or storming off. Lots of bickering between her and Blanche in this film. But apparently that's what it was like- not necessarily that their real life characters had that specific dynamic, but it was certainly tense and frustrating between the five of them, living in close quarters on the run. Whenever Beatty flips out- at Hamer for instance, when he knocks him into the water- it's always pretty intriguing. That raw, passionate fury- you get the sense that not everything's right with this guy… it's the part of him that makes him a criminal instead of a President.
I wonder how C.W. feels about the deal that ultimately gets struck. Hard to read his face as he watches them drive away to meet their fate.
Apparently this is a very historically important film, and I believe it, I can see it… the astonishing sexual energy, the violence, the anti-government vibe- but also fatalistic. It's definitely a reflection of its time, the turbulence, dusty, sexualized outlaw culture of the late 1960s. Entertaining, intense. Good action sequences. Good movie.
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