tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54376497897104020492024-03-13T02:33:47.595-07:00MoviecallThe evening call to the ships messdecks for film entertainment!Moviecallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15069780329540555297noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5437649789710402049.post-87054093284175392952015-03-24T20:32:00.000-07:002015-03-26T21:06:22.497-07:00Decision Before Dawn<div class="MsoNormal">
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This review is of a film that I first viewed as a young lad on "NBC Saturday Night at the Movies" back in the sixties. It didn't make much of a ripple when it was released in 1950 and afterward was relegated to late show purgatory, but unlike most films dealing with war it goes deeper into the emotions and morality of people caught up in the conflict. It definitely made an impression on me. I could never locate this movie on VHS, and was bowled over to learn it was recently released on DVD. The film is "Decision Before Dawn". It stars Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and<br />
Hildegard Knef.<br />
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The story takes place in the closing days of World War II. The US Army has organized a clandestine unit of turncoat German POWs to go back into Germany, and gather intelligence. Richard Basehart plays a US Army Lieutenant in charge of one such team. Oskar Werner plays a German POW who volunteers after witnessing the murder of a fellow POW who was declared a defeatist. </div>
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This film is loosely based on a factual WWII operation -Jedburgh - a little known chapter of the war where anti-Nazi German POWs were used to assist in the defeat of Nazi Germany. The men enlisted to participate were never quite trusted by their American controllers and if caught, their fate would be a foregone conclusion. A shadow world of the damned. Essentially, this film seeks to explore the meaning of the word "traitor." Is a soldier who risks his life to aid the enemy with the ultimate hope of possibly helping to alleviate the suffering of his countrymen and shorten the war commiting a traitorous act? One can only surmise that the definition is extremely vague and open to individual interpretation.<br />
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The team is parachuted into Germany and split up. Werner is assigned to get intelligence on the troop strength of units facing the US Army across the Rhine River. While waiting in line to catch a bus, a wehrmacht motorcycle courier offers him a ride and a place to stay overnight. After some conversation the courier gets suspicious and informs the Gestapo about Werner. From then on Werner is a marked man. Suspecting he is being followed, he confronts and kills the man assigned to keep track of him. After almost being caught by the gendarme it's a race to the location where the team was supposed to meet and then try escape back across the river to the Allies. I won't go into much detail about the ending in the event some readers would be motivated to see this film, but I can say that the ending is much like the rest of the movie, in a word - grim. </div>
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What makes this film so gripping and mesmerizing is that it was filmed shortly after WWII in Germany. The cities were still devastated and it has the look as if it is being filmed real time. Of course, it's in black and white. The mood is frenetic - air raids, artillery bombardment, fire engine bells clanging, sirens blaring, and refugees on the move. It is one of the few war films in existence that conveys the true feeling of a country turned upside down and the ordinary people trying to make sense out of it all. Also making one of his early cinematic appearances (15 seconds) is Klaus Kinski. More on Kinski at a later date I realize my taste in cinema is markedly different from most people, but I've learned that like most things in life if approached with an open mind, you can reap huge benefits and maybe start exploring outside your comfort zone.<br />
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Moviecallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15069780329540555297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5437649789710402049.post-44433952378173941492015-03-17T21:25:00.000-07:002015-03-17T21:25:41.313-07:00Ballad of a Soldier<div class="MsoNormal">
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Early in my Naval career
I was stationed at San Diego, which we affectionately called “Sand Dog”,
and there were two things that preoccupied a sailors liberty time…getting drunk
and trying to get laid. Of course, the former was quite easy to do (if you were
over 21); the latter took some effort, at least for me. Yes, I remember those
sojourns to Chula Juana (Chula Vista), Nasty City (National City), the real
Nasty City (Tijuana) and downtown Sand Dog playing my part as the gullible swabbie
caught in the cross hairs of the scam artists lying in wait to bag their prey
on Broadway Ave.</div>
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Eventually I grew bored with this routine and wandered
northward to La Jolla, which was refreshingly civilized. There I discovered art
house cinema. In a previous post, I wrote about the origins of my passion for classic
and foreign movies. In La Jolla this
began anew. The theatre shared residency with a book store which was managed by
an arrogant, smug, longhair who was more interested in reading his inventory
than attending to customer inquiries. The theatre was a small affair. They obviously weren’t in
the business to make big bucks, but showcase foreign, avant-garde, and classic
cinema. This is the place where I became enamored with film noir and other
classic gems like “Citizen Kane”, “Night of the Hunter”, “On the Waterfront”, and
“The Devil and Daniel Webster”. I must say that whoever had the job of planning
the show schedule had good taste. Could it have been that snobbish proto-hippie?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS15uxuQklvR-qcbq4SffbZYbZQ5O0mt5M4gxRSM-D8vhz6cbH7BkjXnXrtf3O9Ubt0cn6SfelTuISbQaoFMmpbSvNPtFxp29a8tHcQC9pacgj33Vt3nn2IklD4NXgpU-Cxu7ZsDmMSmI/s1600/imagesCAW1NRJT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS15uxuQklvR-qcbq4SffbZYbZQ5O0mt5M4gxRSM-D8vhz6cbH7BkjXnXrtf3O9Ubt0cn6SfelTuISbQaoFMmpbSvNPtFxp29a8tHcQC9pacgj33Vt3nn2IklD4NXgpU-Cxu7ZsDmMSmI/s1600/imagesCAW1NRJT.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsVWPSKRlUrU6hgLJL2UgRQlZbf4VSog4nAR8mnbUHzsq7OZxmvPbOn51gxRxCo1JLZrLPJUGFIlZwOzgGD8k2vrxWSDem-gM5nXymCsyd1S4J3Pn-g3LyakA1cT8hrFPF9OnBzgGfwQ/s1600/imagesCAVAU0GI+(252x187).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsVWPSKRlUrU6hgLJL2UgRQlZbf4VSog4nAR8mnbUHzsq7OZxmvPbOn51gxRxCo1JLZrLPJUGFIlZwOzgGD8k2vrxWSDem-gM5nXymCsyd1S4J3Pn-g3LyakA1cT8hrFPF9OnBzgGfwQ/s1600/imagesCAVAU0GI+(252x187).jpg" /></a>It was at this theater that I first viewed the film “Ballad
of a Soldier”. This is a Soviet import that first appeared in the US at the San
Francisco Film Festival in 1961. What is interesting about the film is that
while it is about a soldier and takes place during the German invasion of the
Soviet Union, only the first ten minutes or so show combat. The remainder is
primarily about the people behind the lines and how the war has affected their
lives.</div>
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Ayosha scores a four day pass home for knocking out two
German tanks at the front. His sojourn back to his farm is the film. He
selflessly helps people in various situations as travels east….a soldier who
had displayed courage in the face of the enemy and lost a leg in battle, but
cannot face his wife because of his infirmary.
A soldier heading for the front asks him to deliver some soap to his
wife on his way home, only to find when he locates the woman finds her with
another man.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEnk6q0NRCjLp6v38klYcHpMbfyDGHCJLZwTaFcOxLC-GPg1DL0oM14Ic_djmTWeVrCUOcIz_GPrKz8mx5CxBzkgDlVlX-VPeU-7cj40o-LT7Ih78P8dEcTWYuBiJz53TfFLLz-lk5Iw/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEnk6q0NRCjLp6v38klYcHpMbfyDGHCJLZwTaFcOxLC-GPg1DL0oM14Ic_djmTWeVrCUOcIz_GPrKz8mx5CxBzkgDlVlX-VPeU-7cj40o-LT7Ih78P8dEcTWYuBiJz53TfFLLz-lk5Iw/s1600/untitled.bmp" /></a>Perhaps the most momentous and poignant event to happen to
him is when he stows away aboard a train and discovers a young girl also hiding
in the same freight car. At first she suspects the worst from him and his
hostile but she soon realizes since they are both stowaways they have to work
together to survive the trip. They go
through numerous incidents together and their initial wariness turns into
infatuation until the time comes when they must go their separate ways and part.
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Like the motion of a clock’s pendulum, Ayoshas leave slowly
ticks away. By the time he reaches his home to see his mother, he has only a
few hours to spend with her before he has to go back to the war. Make no mistake, Ballad of a Soldier is a film about war but
not about the meat grinder of the front lines but rather about the human
condition of the home front.</div>
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Moviecallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15069780329540555297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5437649789710402049.post-50042569185442762882012-02-26T18:10:00.000-08:002012-02-26T18:10:09.383-08:00THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">During the 50’s, the studios discovered a gold mine in combining insects with nuclear fallout, which resulted in the mutation of gigantism and lead to them terrorizing the human population. While this scenario doesn’t stand up to scientific logic, it definitely makes one contemplate the observation made by H.L. Mencken that “nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public”. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGOkyhdIppWYKGwYaWM0-yjHSEYDp0Z-X9XEXF0-dJRq38TVWcTTHm-WaJ0U0R_5AEAqvB6o2c2ttLxQio1AlR4KFqE72PvZgsyde0u0z2imUVEl4hYg22WX5LcdEL0-2C6uhHpUqFuw/s1600/7870__x400_incredible_shrinking_man_poster_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGOkyhdIppWYKGwYaWM0-yjHSEYDp0Z-X9XEXF0-dJRq38TVWcTTHm-WaJ0U0R_5AEAqvB6o2c2ttLxQio1AlR4KFqE72PvZgsyde0u0z2imUVEl4hYg22WX5LcdEL0-2C6uhHpUqFuw/s400/7870__x400_incredible_shrinking_man_poster_03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tarantulas, ants, scorpions, grasshoppers, the list goes on and on. One film, however, made during this period stands apart from the rest. “THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN”, turns this paradigm on its head. In this film the human gets contaminated by nuclear fallout and gradually shrinks to the size of the insects. This film could have turned out as a run of the mill monster movie but it possesses an intelligent screenplay by Richard Matheson. The special effects aren’t bad either.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Robert Scott Carey (Grant Williams) is on vacation off the California coast with his wife. While on a boat out at sea, he is exposed to a strange fog-like cloud that sweeps over the surface of the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No outward effects are noticed and they return home and carry on with their lives. Until Carey notices his clothes getting loose. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is at even height with his wife. He consults a doctor who after numerous tests diagnoses his malady as - you guessed it - radiation sickness.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This, of course, is not good news. Carey does not adjust to his new condition cheerfully and it causes strains in his marriage. The doctors come up with an antidote that seems to arrest the shrinking process for the time being.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the meantime Carey visits a carnival where he meets a female midget. They become friends because he can converse with somebody who understands his condition. Not long after they meet he notices he is no longer at even height with the woman and flees in despair. The antidote is failing and he is continuing to shrink. The film fast forwards somewhat to where he is at the size where he has to live in a dollhouse. The couple had a pet house cat before the incident but now that Scott is the size of rodent, the cat has to be kept outside. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One day when departing the house, his wife leaves the door open long enough for the cat to get in. Carey is now in mortal danger. He manages to escape to the cellar while the cat is concentrated on getting into the dollhouse. His wife returns to find the cat inside, the dollhouse moved, and no sign of her miniature husband. She believes the worst possible scenario has occurred.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzbx-gj48_J9ls-VJUZQSl74tbEypt0684K31xkDmrGoWuuRnRHerVSy16CFHWpVMtYbjuois5P4XFmN1YwL_VM33Z-J9rMb2vBnBntUwn1zky2s31iIWt1CcZdDEpMYB05bm9pCQZIM/s1600/shrinking+man.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzbx-gj48_J9ls-VJUZQSl74tbEypt0684K31xkDmrGoWuuRnRHerVSy16CFHWpVMtYbjuois5P4XFmN1YwL_VM33Z-J9rMb2vBnBntUwn1zky2s31iIWt1CcZdDEpMYB05bm9pCQZIM/s400/shrinking+man.bmp" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the cellar Carey has just entered another world where insignificant creatures he once stepped on or laid down poison for are now the dominant species. The tables have turned. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will be his ultimate fight for survival. His new home is a matchbox. His clothes are burlap scraps. His sword is a straight pin. It doesn’t take long for him to realize his chief protagonist in this realm is a large spider. His time is spent trying to avoid the spider and searching for food. As luck would have it, he discovers a food source but it is located under the spider’s web. His efforts to create a diversion to get at the food go awry and the spider is upon him. He is pinned under the monster with mandibled fangs descending for the kill. Yet even in this impossible situation he manages to draw his weapon and drive it through the spider. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmItvvaADJryw41vLFHFfZTC3crURs6eyWTldWILdd6ANGOtOMlLFamgbxyNt1QN1BQV1dwED0fiq3PD84fkgToo8ZJmTjyX4vyGctXPEI_fjPIdeup5aZEVIgnI5mRQi4WHW0_lzv9U/s1600/imagesCA1YF617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmItvvaADJryw41vLFHFfZTC3crURs6eyWTldWILdd6ANGOtOMlLFamgbxyNt1QN1BQV1dwED0fiq3PD84fkgToo8ZJmTjyX4vyGctXPEI_fjPIdeup5aZEVIgnI5mRQi4WHW0_lzv9U/s1600/imagesCA1YF617.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The monster is vanquished and Carey is the master of his world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His shrinking has accelerated; the scraps of cloth hang loosely on his frame. He wanders to the window screen which he now can climb through. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wanders into the grass which is like a rain forest and slowly recedes into the tangle of flora and fauna slowly dissolving into the earth.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now this might sound like just another monster movie, and it could have wound up as one, but Matheson’s script makes all the difference. Narration in films can be a useful tool as to provide a running monologue or as a device to shore up the story. In the case of this film, the narration starts when Carey is consigned to the dollhouse and continues for the remainder of the film because it is the only form of communication with the audience. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the hands of a less gifted scenarist the narration could sound like an explanation of the obvious, but as Carey crawls through the wire screen and wanders into the jungle he expounds on his place in nature or in his words “between the infinite and the infinitesimal”, to proselytize on how in glaring clarity he “has found the riddle of the infinite, that it is man’s presumption that existence begins and ends – not natures”. As the narration ends and Carey dissolves into nothingness, one final statement to put everything in reference to the cosmological and the theological – “to God there is no zero, I still exist! This isn’t the typical ending for a monster flick. As Carey shrinks his spirit soars. </span><br />
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</div>Moviecallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15069780329540555297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5437649789710402049.post-36059926535488451112012-01-24T19:25:00.000-08:002012-01-24T19:25:03.577-08:00Lets all go to the fairIf you haven't noticed already, I punctuate a good number of these writings with rememberances of times gone by. Well, I've been working on one that came to me after viewing some old monster movie posters from the 1950's. This memory was back in Topeka, Kansas at the county fair. <br />
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As I recall, the fair came to town in September. For a young lad, a visit to the fair was like hitching a ride with Alice on a journey through Wonderland. A replica of the Statue of Liberty made of butter, a large faucet suspended in mid air gushing forth water. Such seminal amusements to behold. Of course, there were the rides with names like the Tornado, Scream Swing, and the Cliff Hanger. Then there was the House of Terror, and here is where my recall takes focus. The large billboard facade of the house was painted with the most lurid depictions of gore and dismemberment. The most intriguing aspect of the<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pdqXu2eaPELpOMZ5dCOyo7Np-uKvYf5p-vCemn7a8VlHTRXiBWw4hN1ZzYpRYL54RZF_doX0nQy6uzm9FO1JKYA5DZ_VEP0nWBvJBAxbkAbh7Q7BHd8jSJmfDZRDWhMkqzQwQIEWVBI/s1600/bug.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pdqXu2eaPELpOMZ5dCOyo7Np-uKvYf5p-vCemn7a8VlHTRXiBWw4hN1ZzYpRYL54RZF_doX0nQy6uzm9FO1JKYA5DZ_VEP0nWBvJBAxbkAbh7Q7BHd8jSJmfDZRDWhMkqzQwQIEWVBI/s320/bug.png" width="320" /></a> bloody mural was that the victims were all young women with little or no clothing on hanging from meathooks, draped over tree limbs, or being held in the claws or mandibles of hideous monsters. I'll hazard a guess that the painter of this gory mural might have had huge psycological problems with the opposite sex.<br />
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What truly is a wonder was that this illustrated atrocity was right there in the buckle of the bible belt, and people walked by it without a second glance. Except Me. See you at the fair!Moviecallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15069780329540555297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5437649789710402049.post-46746737419414559112012-01-24T19:06:00.000-08:002015-03-24T21:10:36.559-07:00THE SEA WOLF<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJ99z8FpIvCA63_t00XaNO6Go-RqoNxZuWIQeRhNRym334tnd5zYgQZxMAGFK9UJlEFg3p0fciVv2SPGqvYjv6KYjJFzZCALvIR9DP0pBb3XG3K2NNK1tx3L67IDELC493jb-gQ90qvw/s1600/sea+wolf.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJ99z8FpIvCA63_t00XaNO6Go-RqoNxZuWIQeRhNRym334tnd5zYgQZxMAGFK9UJlEFg3p0fciVv2SPGqvYjv6KYjJFzZCALvIR9DP0pBb3XG3K2NNK1tx3L67IDELC493jb-gQ90qvw/s200/sea+wolf.bmp" height="200" nfa="true" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"THE SEA WOLF" is based on a novel by Jack London and takes place in the late 1800's aboard a seal hunting ship called the "Ghost”. It stars Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, and Gene Lockhart. The Captain is a brutal, black hearted, tyrant named Wolf Larson. This part is played splendidly by Robinson. Prior to leaving San Francisco and sailing for the hunting grounds of Alaska, they are in need of more crew members. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At a bar on the Barbary Coast sits Charlie Leach(Garfield). He overhears a crimp try to persuade a seaman to ship out on the "Ghost." The seaman knows the story of the ship and the master who runs it and wants no part. He is later forcefully shanghaied. Charlie, innocent of the ships reputation and desperately wanting to evade the law, signs on. As he is being transported to the ship in a small boat there is a collision between a bay ferry and a cargo ship. The boat picks up two survivors, a man - Humphrey Van Weydon,(Lockhart) a writer, and Ruth Webster(Lupino), an escaped convict. Instead of putting them ashore, the boat proceeds to the "Ghost". Good thing too since the male survivor – Van Weydon, is a pivotal character in the narrative.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlY7BCweYNqaICmqFIda3myNVmtrgHtk5sMDTCMq4DVflqDAQTv0y4au9huSxTQKLgus-QKNx4rThebzqw2p0LltnRLoaNDN0rPofud3u2t74VjpY-Qe_FlsiKanvFtqNS-7XVFfDX7A/s1600/uUrRhPByDIwde6QKhWiwpXChsw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlY7BCweYNqaICmqFIda3myNVmtrgHtk5sMDTCMq4DVflqDAQTv0y4au9huSxTQKLgus-QKNx4rThebzqw2p0LltnRLoaNDN0rPofud3u2t74VjpY-Qe_FlsiKanvFtqNS-7XVFfDX7A/s1600/uUrRhPByDIwde6QKhWiwpXChsw.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once the survivors and the criminal set foot on the ship their life becomes a living hell. The importance of the character of Van Weydon is that the Captain is a highly self-educated man who cannot intellectually communicate with any of the less educated crew. Since Van Weydon is a writer, he now has an equal. The Captain also suffers from debilitating headaches accompanied by temporary blindness -a condition he tries to keep secret from the crew. He rules his ship with an iron fist and the crew lives in fear of his wrath which is projected personally and by the First Mates. In this atmosphere of violence and deceit, it goes without question that the voyage to Alaska will be a grim one. The Captain harbors another secret - he lives in mortal fear and is in cutthroat competition with his brother who also is Captain of another seal hunter. Driven like Ahab to kill the white whale, he will willingly sacrifice his crew in the quest to beat and destroy his brother. This would all be routine except for the three new crewmembers, which by their intelligence, guile, and cunning, disrupt the Captains plans. However in the end it is the Captain's brutality and ultimate total blindness that will be his destruction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the problems London readers have with the cinematic characterization of Wolf Larson is that London describes him as physically powerful with handsome chiseled features. As we all know, this isn't a description of Edward G. Robinson. Nevertheless whatever he lacks in the physicality of Larson, he clearly translates the pessimism and brutality of the character. The basic outline follows London’s novel, but in the desire to make it attractive to a varied audience, the relationship is given prominence as to include a romance where one was lacking. In the book, Leach is a minor character and Ruth Webster isn't a convict, but a poet and acquaintance of Van Weydon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The bottom line was that it had to be adapted for Hollywood and the masses. Some screenwriters and directors can pull this off with good results(Stephen King's "The Green Mile" being a recent example) or miserably (James Clavell's "Taipan", practically unwatchable). In this case I vote for the former. Admirers of Jack London and classic cinema will not be disappointed.</span></div>
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Moviecallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15069780329540555297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5437649789710402049.post-81151627802033621982012-01-23T21:03:00.000-08:002015-03-24T18:46:05.714-07:00Origins<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I've often thought about what were the origins for my love of the cinema. I believe I can thank my Mother for kindling the spark that started the fire. Way back in the sixties when we lived in Topeka, Kansas, Mom bought a pass that let us view foreign films that were screened at the Topeka Public Library. For a town like Topeka, this was as close to "Art House Cinema" as it got. As memory serves, all the films were foreign. The one detail I cannot seem to remember is my reaction to being taken to a foreign, black and white movie. It wouldn't be hard to reconstruct it - "Jeez, black and white, subtitles, are you kidding me?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, I do remember being completely mesmerized by the first foreign film I saw: "ALEXANDER NEVSKY." This was a Russian import made before World War II, which is interesting because it's about the Teutonic invasion of Russia in the Thirteenth century. This is an Eisenstein film, which segues into the next entry: "POTEMKIN." This film had everything wrong - B & W, subtitles, and silent. Upon viewing, this film has everything right - the staging of the mutiny on the battleship "POTEMKIN", the emotional, dramatic buildup to see if the rest of the naval fleet will join in the mutiny, and, of course, the climax at Odessa with the famous Odessa steps sequence where the mutineers joined by the masses face the Czars Army. </span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-EWTRr-m3VrYzpMfajDS_KjZ-LjNI-mbR9msGVarjNB00XfONO4BnIl6RK_y_UbRwQTGYxmLZKP_72A7qhOqwl9h3zoh6MunK5yKfctc2d10CSf0-zsHe7BQbEsVoYgrEo6nzl7RZZe0/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-EWTRr-m3VrYzpMfajDS_KjZ-LjNI-mbR9msGVarjNB00XfONO4BnIl6RK_y_UbRwQTGYxmLZKP_72A7qhOqwl9h3zoh6MunK5yKfctc2d10CSf0-zsHe7BQbEsVoYgrEo6nzl7RZZe0/s1600/untitled.bmp" nfa="true" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatICOg_S_98AWq3bAPeNpkMLTViqIzKdMweRtcOtOrx65goG1UDexIhBOJffAtYfFcuZbiv5rzvVOikaIQfAneR1BB5Sxr0Xlm06rZtRWBetQFxCZAH_uZSeL-VPDQXA7r-HIBm21gq0/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatICOg_S_98AWq3bAPeNpkMLTViqIzKdMweRtcOtOrx65goG1UDexIhBOJffAtYfFcuZbiv5rzvVOikaIQfAneR1BB5Sxr0Xlm06rZtRWBetQFxCZAH_uZSeL-VPDQXA7r-HIBm21gq0/s1600/download.jpg" height="157" width="200" /></a> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">These films were great introductions into the power of the moving image. Other film entries were: </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">SEVEN SAMURAI (Kurosawa), THE SEVENTH SEAL (Bergman), </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">LA STRADA (Fellini), and my favorite - THE BICYCLE THIEF </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(De Sica). This is such a powerful film - made with non-actors and on a shoestring. In my mind it is the epitome of the perfect movie - simple but so complex in its build up to it's climax. No special effects, no play with light and shadow. Just a straight forward quest for a stolen bicycle that ends in heartbreaking tragedy. I</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">have to admit I fell asleep during </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">THE SEVENTH SEAL, too wordy! This was a good beginining to a lifelong film education. Other genres(noir, melodrama, horror) were acquired by late night movie viewing and the written page. Therefore I thank my Madre many times over for setting me on my journey of cinema appreciation. Love you, Mom!</span><br />
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Moviecallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15069780329540555297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5437649789710402049.post-51780163733342789642012-01-22T21:32:00.000-08:002015-03-24T19:41:51.717-07:00The Dark Side of Mother Goose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The premise of "THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER" is deceptively simple - a maniac chases two children across the countryside in pursuit of stolen money. A moralistic play on the axiom of money is the root of all evil. Yet in Charles Laughton's hands it becomes something totally different.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-L2gLkX9NRj_OO6jgKrMw6vTVFeJtd_CGv0mrzq0VdeTU8AUdKRcPGhBIDeRJjCjmquGDnX9PqqMqzt5SlHIIfY5sCtfZzBZvj4ohi-95GdFUFBD0FHu1XuZg6xPzLdGm65JcZYxDSPA/s1600/images+(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-L2gLkX9NRj_OO6jgKrMw6vTVFeJtd_CGv0mrzq0VdeTU8AUdKRcPGhBIDeRJjCjmquGDnX9PqqMqzt5SlHIIfY5sCtfZzBZvj4ohi-95GdFUFBD0FHu1XuZg6xPzLdGm65JcZYxDSPA/s1600/images+(5).jpg" height="257" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Readers might not know this film by title, but you have </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">probably seen a picture of Robert Mitchum with</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> the words "Love" and "Hate" tattooed on his hands. Mitchum </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">plays Harry Powell, a murdering psycho in the guise of a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">minister who roams the land preying on the innocent and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">gullible citizens of rural communities. He is thrown in prison </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">for stealing a car, but as is illustrated in the opening scenes this is the least of his crimes. In prison his cell mate who is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">sentenced to die tells him about a stash of stolen loot he </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">had hidden on his property before he was arrested. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Harry i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">s released from prison and journeys to the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">executed mans home with the intention of finding the money </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">but acting as if to comfort the dead man's widow (Shelly Winters), son, and daughter.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> She falls under his spell and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">they marry.</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">It is important to note that her son sees him </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">for the fraud he is from the start. The widow</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> is ignorant of the stolen loot, but her children know </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">the hiding place because their father had put it into the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">girls doll before he was arrested. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Eventually, the mother catches on to the real reason of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">the preachers affections and threatens to tell the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">authorities. Of course he can't let this happen so he </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">murders her. He then turns his attention to the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">children. They escape and head downriver on a boat, Harry </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Powell in pursuit. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpWuUEZf2LKdvb8nLAy2YKBvCTvHjohoVjFqbuHsl9dBd3EFPuBOPvHfNP3ltASM-w80-cNUVF35wQQ_XvT2VseQOaUsukUpwWg6xt9YPPH5M80la__VrK8otuQL1zWz985qitUq_gIE/s1600/download+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpWuUEZf2LKdvb8nLAy2YKBvCTvHjohoVjFqbuHsl9dBd3EFPuBOPvHfNP3ltASM-w80-cNUVF35wQQ_XvT2VseQOaUsukUpwWg6xt9YPPH5M80la__VrK8otuQL1zWz985qitUq_gIE/s1600/download+(4).jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpWuUEZf2LKdvb8nLAy2YKBvCTvHjohoVjFqbuHsl9dBd3EFPuBOPvHfNP3ltASM-w80-cNUVF35wQQ_XvT2VseQOaUsukUpwWg6xt9YPPH5M80la__VrK8otuQL1zWz985qitUq_gIE/s1600/download+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">Now the film enters another realm. The journey of the children becomes visually lyrical as they meander down the river seeking sanctuary, the self-styled sky pilot always there on the edge of the shadows. Their boat eventually lands near a farm owned by another character of self stylization, in this case the Earth Mother (Lillian Gish) or as she describes herself "a mighty oak with many branches' who cares for a number of children who are bereft of parents. We now have the angel to offset the devil.</a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, the preacher arrives at the town near the farm, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">and finds out the children are staying there. He tries to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">sweet talk the old women to give him back his children. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">She sees him for what he is and runs him off with a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">shotgun. Through the night he lurks on the fringe of her </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">property, singing the hymns that punctuate the dread that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">he wears like an aura. Deep in the night the singing </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">stops and he tries to break in the house and receives a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">load of bird shot for his troubles. One of the orphans </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">runs to get the sheriff, and Harry Powell, hiding in the barn,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> is taken into </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">custody. The preacher is judged guilty of his </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">crimes and sentenced to be hanged.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpWuUEZf2LKdvb8nLAy2YKBvCTvHjohoVjFqbuHsl9dBd3EFPuBOPvHfNP3ltASM-w80-cNUVF35wQQ_XvT2VseQOaUsukUpwWg6xt9YPPH5M80la__VrK8otuQL1zWz985qitUq_gIE/s1600/download+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">His last sight before </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">being spirited off to prison is the frenzy of a lynch mob who </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">want </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">instant justice.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> The children have found solace</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> with the old women. The Angels have dispatched the devil.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> All is right with the world.</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkuuNqEhwNgsnNApx5rjizm3YAXb2ALYzZf0td6KsnHnLw1bh-EaGu2JvT59pjpAjHUa7zYTQOK-6EZwXjDECL6F8bnmiIM05gbMGnXPUl78EKjtaGqh_G6thL1Dkw6ns5pmxnjrnQ7I/s1600/the-night-of-the-hunter1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkuuNqEhwNgsnNApx5rjizm3YAXb2ALYzZf0td6KsnHnLw1bh-EaGu2JvT59pjpAjHUa7zYTQOK-6EZwXjDECL6F8bnmiIM05gbMGnXPUl78EKjtaGqh_G6thL1Dkw6ns5pmxnjrnQ7I/s1600/the-night-of-the-hunter1.jpg" height="276" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">What is it about this film that makes it a classic? It was </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">released in the mid-'50s, and was a commercial failure.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;"> Audiences couldn't decide if it was </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">a drama, a horror movie, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">or a really twisted nursery </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">fable. Featured, flopped, forgotten.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">This was the first film that Charles Laughton directed </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">and it</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;"> would be his last. That is most unfortunate. It's tant</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">alizing to speculate what other films he would have </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">made if he hadn't been burned by the critics and the public. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">Years later it was resurrected and shown at art house </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">theaters and classic cinema revivals and gained a new </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">audience. When you view it you can see why. The use of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">tone, shadows, and light is remarkable. This film could </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">only be made in black and white. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">Throughout the film are separate scenes that in themselves </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">are masterpieces. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">After Harry Powell murders his new wife</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">he places her in a car, engages the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">clutch and the car and body slide into the river. Later on, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">a fisherman sees the car and body from the surface. The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">camera lingers over the vision of Winter's body </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">underwater, her hair rippling in the current.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvTy1AB40eElpJyV5huhqZcJQAUNpHAFsXWi57GWc9ooxGWrHPsl-bjHBP923vQ6LsirMz_WZCIb9mBRzZ3eLkFE9FaKn6id3hb94mw3kDddIaRROnHRaRjDBKeUyVYRftRak-zaXTGw/s1600/images+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvTy1AB40eElpJyV5huhqZcJQAUNpHAFsXWi57GWc9ooxGWrHPsl-bjHBP923vQ6LsirMz_WZCIb9mBRzZ3eLkFE9FaKn6id3hb94mw3kDddIaRROnHRaRjDBKeUyVYRftRak-zaXTGw/s1600/images+(1).jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">Later when Harry is chasing the children across the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">country side, they take refuge in a barn for the night.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">They are in the loft with the upper door open.The moon </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">casts a bright light across their sleeping forms, when the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">voice of Harry Powell singing a hymn in the distance is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">heard. They awaken and watch Harry travel slowly across </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">the screen. It is hard to convey the visual beauty and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">impending terror that this scene illustrates. The moon is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">used like the background light such as you see in Chinese </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">shadow puppet theater. This was all Laughton's vision, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">he shared that vision with an audience that just didn't </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">get it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">Harry Powell is twisted in so many ways. Impostor, pathological liar, thief, and sexually repressed psychotic murderer</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">. This psychosis is manifested in creative ways. One scene is particularly poignant: Harry sits in a burlesque theatre watching the gyrations of the stripper onstage, muttering about harlots and Jezebels but also getting aroused to where he involuntarily activates the switchblade knife he keeps in his pocket, the blade tearing through the fabric of his trousers as if to suggest an erection. In this case, to further enhance the violence that Harry equates with sex, the phallic symbolism in the form of an opening knife blade. Sheer genius.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGCgkfWDCfvcXZ5QB3WugYhWIWKmL5HY1_9QI548Mt7D5mu5f9ekEpHaWGkdVDK1jiKY6x5Ldg4il9cz1LU0P2qbPlKC3cY5-wgK2D05Yr2h6pSl7ij-GnfKIaAbRdPCATPEtTTJ7Afg/s1600/download+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGCgkfWDCfvcXZ5QB3WugYhWIWKmL5HY1_9QI548Mt7D5mu5f9ekEpHaWGkdVDK1jiKY6x5Ldg4il9cz1LU0P2qbPlKC3cY5-wgK2D05Yr2h6pSl7ij-GnfKIaAbRdPCATPEtTTJ7Afg/s1600/download+(2).jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">Robert Mitchum, who sometimes seems to be sleepwalking in some of his films, pulled out all the stops in his role. Later in his career, he was quoted as saying that he considered his performance in "THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER" as his finest and I would have to agree.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">This film was definitely made before it's time. I believe it has finally found it's audience.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> </span>Moviecallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15069780329540555297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5437649789710402049.post-54756656579799908682012-01-21T22:51:00.000-08:002015-03-24T18:32:29.807-07:00Billy Budd<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">"Billy Budd". This is an adaptation of a</span> <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">novella</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> by Herman Melville and stars Peter Ustinov (who also <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">directed) as Captain Vere, Robert Ryan as Master-at-Arms</span> <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">Claggert, and Terence Stamp as Billy Budd.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This film is exceptional in comparison to others dealing with the era of the 'bounding main' in that it concentrates on the dynamics of the crew and not the enemy <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">on the horizon. Only in the last five minutes is</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">there a battle. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xVK6ecm63jc/Tv-gCjLrsJI/AAAAAAAAADw/o6b3vMvB5RM/s1600/220px-Billy_budd_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xVK6ecm63jc/Tv-gCjLrsJI/AAAAAAAAADw/o6b3vMvB5RM/s320/220px-Billy_budd_poster.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The story is mainly about men thrown together to live in a small wooden world and the politics, jealousies, and friendships that develop as they sail about looking for the French naval forces who are in turn looking for them. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">Billy Budd is an ordinary seaman pressed from a merchant</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">ship to help fill out the compliment on a Royal Navy frigate. This was a common practice in those days and it was one of the reasons we went to war with the British in 1812 because they were pressing American seamen for their ships. Billy is a likable bloke, easy to smile, a kind word to every one. He suffers from a stammering speech impediment on occasion but even this small handicap he treats light heartedly. His manner is in sharp contrast to the crew of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">the frigate, who are terrorized by Claggert, the ships Master-at-Arms. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">As played by Robert Ryan, Claggert is </span>sadistic taskmaster who terrorizes the crew with strict discipline and frequent punishments. This rings true with how crews were treated at sea in those days. Very few sailors actually made it their life’s calling to ship out. Most seamen were there against their will or were escaping from the law. Such men, it was reasoned, had to be treated severely to keep them in line. A good "Bucko Mate", or in the case of the navy - Master-at-Arms, was worth his weight in gold. The plot revolves around the relationship of Billy and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">Claggert. The more Billy smiles and cheerfully does his work, the more Claggert despises him. </span>To Billy, the Master-at-Arms is a mystery. In his short life he has never met a man so full of self-loathing that it manifests itself in sadism and fury. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">One night on watch, Billy engages Claggert in conversation and for a brief moment Claggert's façade </span>falls and we glimpse a vulnerability that is normally kept tightly bundled away. Before too much is revealed, however, he becomes aware of the slip and hereafter hates Billy even more for exposing a weakness.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZtVWNKd7tj-xe3FwcpHtUhcwXxGS-k7kDy3NAKVv-ujKDLWUFP191UVAHOUId5hLYyKOxG57Ts0vdakv8P_o9WBVdDhRNQflpjqsJxpjZC-ZsNorSrM5w6ErI_EQfc2byM9Gkt2xIN8/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZtVWNKd7tj-xe3FwcpHtUhcwXxGS-k7kDy3NAKVv-ujKDLWUFP191UVAHOUId5hLYyKOxG57Ts0vdakv8P_o9WBVdDhRNQflpjqsJxpjZC-ZsNorSrM5w6ErI_EQfc2byM9Gkt2xIN8/s1600/download.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">Billy is now in Claggerts cross-hairs. The Master-at Arms</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"> c</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">oncocts a story of possible mutiny among the crew instigated by Billy. When the seaman is called to the Captain's cabin to answer to the charges, he is overcome <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial;">with emotion when he hears Claggerts lies. In his inability to articulate a rebuttal due to his impediment, frustration and anger build to a velocity where he strikes Claggert with a mortal blow. Tellingly, just before Claggert dies his last expression is a smile, as if to be </span>finally liberated of his demons. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">It would seem a simple case of manslaughter due to the provocation and accidental death. A board consisting of the ship's officers is convened to either acquit or convict Billy Budd. The mood of the officers is to acquit, however, Captain Vere points out that the Royal Navy Articles of War are quite clear on the subject. Since England is at war with France, the Articles stipulate that a seaman who strikes an officer during wartime will be hung by the neck until dead. "Gentlemen we must side with the law, not justice." Billy meets his conviction with an unnatural calmness, stating that since the Captain and ship's officers are learned men then they arrived at their decision with wisdom borne of such learning. Billy is duly hung from the yard arm. His last words were "God bless Captain Vere". Just as his body gives its last breath, the French attack. Captain Vere, overcome with emotion turns his back in apathy to the attack. We as an audience are left to our own devices as to the fate of the ship since the film ends as the battle rages. </span></span><br />
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This film was bracketed by two other films dealing with wooden ships and iron men. "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "Damn the Defiant" were released before and after respectively of "Billy Budd." It came out the loser in profits. However, when viewed in comparison to the others in actors performances, It clearly is superior (Brando's eccentric and erratic Fletcher Christian in "Bounty" would mark his long slide into mediocrity). Robert Ryan clearly translates evil in his portrayal of Claggert. Peter Ustinov's gives a restrained performance as Captain Vere, until the execution where we watch the mask fall away as he curses himself for obeying Admiralty law instead of righteous justice. Terence Stamp is superb as Billy Budd. The juxtaposition of his angelic performance makes the contrast to Ryan's sadism that much more memorable. I don't know if this film has been converted to DVD, but if discovered, it's definitely worth a look.</div>
Moviecallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15069780329540555297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5437649789710402049.post-62016612261677024902011-12-31T16:33:00.000-08:002015-03-26T17:45:15.706-07:00The Victors/The Execution of Pvt. Slovik<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezJMfsG7DUQ9iOcTcIZDPxBLnhu9wGW8KOjPiCoqJc93C9NKrHfQY8TV8m76E_yJBjaNlzCmuA559e5Q3jP9qQxEUZhk1WCM5ByVesvGXaCrvvWjEbH0BG9tgymcYs7_ewamcxK8Fvms/s1600/Blog+Art+-+The+Victors2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezJMfsG7DUQ9iOcTcIZDPxBLnhu9wGW8KOjPiCoqJc93C9NKrHfQY8TV8m76E_yJBjaNlzCmuA559e5Q3jP9qQxEUZhk1WCM5ByVesvGXaCrvvWjEbH0BG9tgymcYs7_ewamcxK8Fvms/s320/Blog+Art+-+The+Victors2.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Movie poster courtesy of <a href="http://thepassionatemoviegoer.blogspot.com/search?q=victors">The Passionate Moveie Goer</a> blog</span></i></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">War films follow an evolutionary path over time. Those made during the conflict will be propagandised in so far as to say "We fight for right!" Films made later after a time of reflection will tend to be anti-war, as if to refute the patriotism and glory shown earlier.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">"The Victors" (1963), is such a film. Although not the first to present war as barbaric and dehumanizing, it definitely goes for the jugular in its portrayal of wars brutality. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The basic premise </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">follows a squad from North Africa to Italy to England to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Normandy and finally to Berlin. Gradually the war wears them down </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">physically and mentally to where at the end they barely </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">resemble the young, eager, and naive men they once were.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eli Wallach plays the tough and war-weary sergeant. George Peppard, George Hamilton, James Mitchum, and Vince Edwards are the junior troops. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfOEuyyp98g7yvy7r0Cuxs3YsgyFZiBN_cDu5SHDvrhazOnbWMcMezFLAuWBSm_9eZ3Z3OKP4gzuQYQ09mrac-jJSja0nYri9aT-RulS57G88P6Q88YJyifQx6k8FpFxs4Kt0n4PQFLg/s1600/0287-Edwards-Hamilton-Peppard-The-Victors-ON-FOUNTAIN-New.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfOEuyyp98g7yvy7r0Cuxs3YsgyFZiBN_cDu5SHDvrhazOnbWMcMezFLAuWBSm_9eZ3Z3OKP4gzuQYQ09mrac-jJSja0nYri9aT-RulS57G88P6Q88YJyifQx6k8FpFxs4Kt0n4PQFLg/s1600/0287-Edwards-Hamilton-Peppard-The-Victors-ON-FOUNTAIN-New.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One scene toward the end is noteworthy in contrasting the change in the men as they progress through the war. A v</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ery young Peter Fonda shows up as a replacement troop. When he arrives he is made to feel about as welcome as a skunk at garden party. Reason being is new guys have a low survival rate. The troops that have survived the combat thus far don't want to get to know the guy since he won't be around long. So to fill the void from lack of friendship, he adopts a stray puppy. His squad leader discovers the dog and tells him to get rid of it with the admonition not to become attached to things that you can't carry in haversack. From then on, Fonda keeps the dog hidden. T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">he time comes for the platoon to move out and the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">puppy is discovered again. This time the Sergeant throws the puppy out of the tent and i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">n no uncertain terms tells the new troop </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">to get his stuff together and get on the truck. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The truck pulls out and the puppy starts to follow. The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">newby is heartened by this, and starts yelling for it to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">catch up. Meanwhile, a couple of the grizzled troops make </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">bet on who can shoot the small target. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Well, the puppy is dispatched in short order and Fonda </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">slumps against the canvas cover of the truck and quietly sobs.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6CDptPcJEJ3KQXgpA7mKkQrCSsf-7fsCPFjGrPidTm92UbLbrBeSiMq7ur3WTj4WU1R4OCdl-fEjL0QseYKWlGa8QBvGw6wBV4R45tAiJXIo3yWqJhibZYBTD66D6VqP8-KhBbe05Pw/s1600/victors_613x463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6CDptPcJEJ3KQXgpA7mKkQrCSsf-7fsCPFjGrPidTm92UbLbrBeSiMq7ur3WTj4WU1R4OCdl-fEjL0QseYKWlGa8QBvGw6wBV4R45tAiJXIo3yWqJhibZYBTD66D6VqP8-KhBbe05Pw/s1600/victors_613x463.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEe2xKwRf7JLMHi2WmqWKnUQkWDg0l2JAsT8PVWLwEub211b4gD9BgidaEa3NYYPKD96qitYHnJHlfR9R5yxPZU25y-2aaxIgDmeLIok8ScsW6Dq_7dBuhHMNpvuWTnbX1IKH5RAOCegI/s1600/The_Execution_of_Private_Slovik_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEe2xKwRf7JLMHi2WmqWKnUQkWDg0l2JAsT8PVWLwEub211b4gD9BgidaEa3NYYPKD96qitYHnJHlfR9R5yxPZU25y-2aaxIgDmeLIok8ScsW6Dq_7dBuhHMNpvuWTnbX1IKH5RAOCegI/s320/The_Execution_of_Private_Slovik_poster.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Another scene worth a mention is when the platoon is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">detailed to be witnesses for the execution by firing squad </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">of a soldier sentenced to die for desertion. This </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">actually happened during WWII in the winter of 1944. The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">scene is given further pathos by the soundtrack of Frank </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Sinatra singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". I have heard this scene was cut from the original theatre version.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This incident would later be adapted for a made-for-TV <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">movie called "The Execution of Private Slovik", with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Martin Sheen in the title role.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This film gets little </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">airplay and I'd lay bet that few readers of this blog have </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">seen it, but Sheen's performance is noteworthy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">There is one scene in particular that is memorable. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Throughout the courtroom phase of the movie the impression </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">is given that Slovik will get some brig time, a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">dishonorable discharge and go home. However, he was chosen </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">to be executed as an example because the Army was </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">experiencing a high rate of desertion at the time. This </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">order came from the top - Eisenhower. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">When the sentence is read that he is to be executed by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">firing squad the camera lingers on Sloviks/Sheens face. His</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> understated reaction to the sentence is a truly piece of brilliant acting</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> and Sheen should have received an Oscar for this </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">scene alone.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A discussion of anti-war films would not be complete without mentioning "All Quiet on the Western Front". Similar in plot to "The Victors" in that we see young men eager to go to war, however, as the war grinds on so does their enthusiasm for it. "All Quiet" is significant due to the period it was made. Memories were still fresh from the carnage of World War I, but we were rushing headlong into the second installment. "All Quiet" was remade in the '70s as a TV film starring Richard (The Waltons) Thomas in the lead role. This version is, in my opinion, superior to the original probably due to modern production techniques. It's message was still quite clear: war is insanity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The Victors" and "The Execution of Private Slovik" are not available on DVD at this time. Both versions of "All Quiet" are available and affordable.</span><br />
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