i am so upset that this movie's dvd release is in mono; perhaps some studio exec will read this review and remedy this crime!
mr. poledouris produced a soundtrack masterpiece. the waltz that accompanies the burglary of the mountain stronghold is itself one of our culture's enduring legacies. sandahl bergman in that scene not only puts celebrated feisty contemporaries like sigourney weaver's ripley and carrie fisher's leia to shame, but also shames many a modern dancer for the elegance of her movement. james earl jones's work here may still be praised even as his darth vader is mocked, then forgotten. nadiuska is unforgettable.
but do not overlook the contribution of oliver stone to the script. this is an entirely deliberate, fully conceived, politically astute morality play. it raises the question of how dogma can be contested, how political power in the hands of demagogues can be stemmed. stone's answer is pure violence, but violence born of indomitable will and unharnessable ability. it pits the uebermann, the gloriously rugged individual, against the mediocrity of the masses. one imagines nietzsche crying with joy at the spectre of mr. schwarzenegger's righteous barbarism, carried out in de laurentiis-style cinematography, to redeem the soul of a wayward princess, with the discipline of sword master yamzaki, for the love of ms. bergman's valeria...
mr. poledouris produced a soundtrack masterpiece. the waltz that accompanies the burglary of the mountain stronghold is itself one of our culture's enduring legacies. sandahl bergman in that scene not only puts celebrated feisty contemporaries like sigourney weaver's ripley and carrie fisher's leia to shame, but also shames many a modern dancer for the elegance of her movement. james earl jones's work here may still be praised even as his darth vader is mocked, then forgotten. nadiuska is unforgettable.
but do not overlook the contribution of oliver stone to the script. this is an entirely deliberate, fully conceived, politically astute morality play. it raises the question of how dogma can be contested, how political power in the hands of demagogues can be stemmed. stone's answer is pure violence, but violence born of indomitable will and unharnessable ability. it pits the uebermann, the gloriously rugged individual, against the mediocrity of the masses. one imagines nietzsche crying with joy at the spectre of mr. schwarzenegger's righteous barbarism, carried out in de laurentiis-style cinematography, to redeem the soul of a wayward princess, with the discipline of sword master yamzaki, for the love of ms. bergman's valeria...