I avoided this film for the longest time. How could I get excited about a 4 hour epic, starring Charleton "Soylent Green" Heston, that couldn't possibly live up to all of its accolades? Well...I was wrong. BEN HUR is an astonishing film. That chariot race is one of the best action sequences in the history of cinema...exciting and dangerous to a level I never though imaginable from a film made in the 1950s. Also, Heston can actually ACT!!! I was so surprised. The plot of BEN HUR is not that different from GLADIATOR, but also has all of the Christ encounters, that never felt forced or cheesy. When/if they ever make a Charleton Heston biopic...Patrick Wilson BETTER play him, because as I sat through BEN HUR, the entire time, I thought it was Wilson on screen. It's a perfect match.
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I finally understand what Peter Jackson was trying to do with his KING KONG update in 2005 and why the 1933 version inspired him so much. This film is a marvel monster movie for being made so long ago. Also, the length is what makes it so successful. Jackson's opus was FAR too long, but now I realize how good Jack Black was as Carl Denham. Even though the stop-action animation was obviously not real, I was excited a bit more than during the 2005 version...which I was more impressed with by marveling at its realism. Just a great time to be had with this classic!!
Yet another "classic" horror film that I was a bit disappointed in. It certainly isn't a bad film, hence the ***, but the terror that is involved in this film has really nothing to do with the demonic themes. The real scares come from the fact that everyone Rosemary trusts is plotting against her and she has nowhere to turn. This is definitely the best I have seen Mia Farrow, as she really portray's Rosemary's helplessness perfectly. I really do wish that there was a bit more Satanism in the film however. I don't know....maybe the fear of abandonment and mistrust was the whole point. If it was...it did that well.
Stanley Kubrick is an artistic master. I don't know what happened at the conclusion of this film, but it is mesmerizing to watch and understanding it is only secondary. I guess it is kind of like the essence of MULHOLLAND DR. I was also thoroughly impressed by the special effects and camera trickery, that is more realistic than modern day sci-fi epics. Those scenes with the guy jogging around the space station? Incredible. And good old HAL...who would have thought an inanimate red bulb would become one of the most iconic film characters of all time. This film also further immortalized "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and "The Blue Danube". What an experience!!!
Is it wrong to rank a movie based solely on one scene? That's how I feel about THE DEER HUNTER. The opening act at the wedding is too long and inconsequential. The final act is a bit boring and rambling. However, that famous "Russian Roullette" scene is so incredibly powerful that it singlehandedly legitimized the Best Picture Oscar for me. It was also nice to see Christopher Walken doing something other than making fun of himself and his caricature.
I didn't enjoy the film CABARET nearly as much as I did when I saw it on Broadway with Neil Patrick Harrisas the Emcee. The Emcee, the most popular character to come out of the play, was very significant in the play. In the film, he came across as a sideshow...and I certainly don't agree with the role earning Joel Grey an Oscar. Come to think of it...I don't really agree with most of the Oscars won by the film. That being said...its not a terrible film. Liza and Michael York do a swell job in their roles, and the songs are still fun to watch. I just wish the Nazi situation came across as serious as in the stage musical.
This film is a tour de force by its star, George C. Scott. All I knew Scott from is DR. STRANGELOVE, and he all but completely stole that movie. As General Patton, Scott gives one of the finest performances ever. Patton is a man who loves battle, knows he is good at it, but is a bit odd in the head with his delusions of grandeur and beliefs of his own reincarnation. PATTON is an important history lesson and a real treat to see someone acting their ass off. Not only that....but he really reminded me of my late grandfather, so that helped.
This is a dystopic smorgasbourd, full of deviant, violent psychos and dangerous, shocking behavioral modification. It goes without saying that Stanley Kubrick's direction is beautiful, but it is Malcolm McDowell's semi-comic portrayal of Alex that really makes this film shine. When poor Alex inadvertanly becomes conditioned against Beethoven as well as violence, I honestly started crying. That is impressive when such a strange movie can bring you to tears, during one of the strangest, most disturbing scenes of the film. This behavioral modification theme is SO much better than the ending of BRAZIL.
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These are Kevin's viewings out of the above Steven Jay Schneider tome Archives
May 2012
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