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Reviews
Mackenzie's Raiders (1958)
This series caused me to research the real Mackenzie
General Ranald Slidell Mackenzie was indeed a real historical figure. His tragic end, in which he descended into madness, has obscured his outstanding record of achievement. While I remember this show from when I was a boy, it did not do justice to the real man. Mackenzie brought peace to the southern plains, accomplishing in a few short years what Texans had tried to achieve for three generations. While commanders like Custer, George Crook, and Nelson Miles are better remembered today, Mackenzie and his crack regiment, the 4th Cavalry, deserve to be remembered and at least equally well known. Not only did Mackenzie stop the predatory raiding of the Comanches, he dealt with them equitably in peacetime. He was most proud of having stopped wars without spilling blood. He deserves better than to remain obscure.
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Christopher Lee, Ian Fleming's cousin, weighs in on James Bond ...
Christopher Lee, Ian Fleming's cousin and frequent golfing partner, was Fleming's original choice to play DR. NO. Although the role would finally go to Joseph Wiseman, Lee would go on to play Scaramanga in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. Lee was in a position to know about James Bond and his opinion of Bond actors is well worth noting. He was quoted as saying, "In my opinion - and I think I know as much if not more about Bond than anyone, particularly about the characters on whom {Ian Fleming} told me Bond was based - Pierce Brosnan was by far the best and closest to the character."
Personally, I always felt that Brosnan's voice, physique, and temperament were much too lightweight for Bond to suit my taste. Although, his interpretation of the Bond character is essentially accurate, he seems miscast. In THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, Brosnan works very hard and he is better than in his first two outings as Bond. However, my problem is that I can still see the work at every turn. Laurence Olivier advised actors that, "The audience should never see your limits." Brosnan reaches his limits frequently as Bond, and lacks a real sense of ease. In the last result, his acting seems manufactured.
Admittedly, seeing Sean Connery in the early Bond films, beginning with DR. NO in its original release, was a huge influence. Obviously, Christopher Lee is in an almost unique position to have a very well informed opinion. With respect to Christopher Lee, from a an objective point of view I must demure on this point. Based on reading all of Fleming's work several times, as well as biographical material on the author, I feel strongly that Timothy Dalton was far and away the closest interpretation of Ian Fleming's James Bond.
Feel free to disagree.
Captain Clegg (1962)
"... the most beautiful woman who ever appeared on the screen"
"Special mention should be made of the incredibly beautiful Yvonne Romaine. She only made a handful of films yet she may possibly be the most beautiful woman who ever appeared on screen."
As RDenial expressed it so well, Yvonne Romain was indeed the most beautiful woman who ever appeared on the screen.
Simply incredible! She was also a better actress than she usually got to demonstrate in the films that she made. Her career may have been hampered by the very intensity of her beauty. Many leading men did want to compete with an actress who was so stunningly beautiful.
To call her staggeringly beautiful might be even more accurate!
King Kong (2005)
"It's not an adventure story,"...
... Jimmy the stowaway, as played by Jamie Bell, remarks to the First Mate as he reads Joseph Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS. This is the keynote for Peter Jackson's richly re-imagined version of KING KONG. This is a film made by someone who is in love with the original 1933 KING KONG, as well as for the people who also love the original film. As an inveterate lover of the 1933 KING KONG, it is my pleasure to say that I really like Peter Jackson's version. In fact, I like it a lot!
As a boy, I had the very good fortune to meet Fay Wray at a film festival where they screened the original KING KONG for a sold out audience. Afterwards, I asked her, "How does it feel to be immortal?" She replied that she didn't know how to respond to such a beautiful question. When I suggested that KING KONG could be seen as an argument for accidental art, she asked if she could quote me. She was a GREAT, GREAT lady! Somehow, I think she would have liked Peter Jackson's film and she would have appreciated Naomi Watts' fine work in it.
So, is Peter Jackson's film perfect? Honestly, NO. However, it is so immensely entertaining, so deeply felt, and so genuinely moving at the end, that its strengths far outweigh any conceivable weaknesses. KING KONG, to put it simply, is hugely entertaining. It propelled me back in time to the day when I was an impressionable child seeing KONG for the first time on television. If there is nothing like first love, then the memory of first love can come close.
No, the new KING KONG is not an adventure story, but a thriller. In fact, it develops as a thriller with elements of genuine tragedy. If the ending doesn't break your heart, then you didn't have one in the first place.
GO - and enjoy yourself! Let go of any considerations of the people who seem compelled to communicate their negative views of this film - and possibly life in general. Just open yourself up to the joys of storytelling, the wonder of the movies, and revel in a tale well told!
Thank, you Peter Jackson! You not only earned the right to do an honorable remake of KONG, but you have acquitted yourself nobly!
Mountains of the Moon (1990)
Sophisticated epic story telling with depth and intelligence
It was my good fortune to see MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON several times in its original theatrical release at New York's Ziegfeld Theatre in 1990. An article in the New York Times months earlier had alerted me to the possibility that this was my kind of movie. That easily proved to be true. MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON promptly became a great personal favorite, leading me to read two biographies of Sir Richard Francis Burton.
When MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON was originally released on DVD on the Pioneer label I bought it immediately. Once again, I was lucky because the Pioneer release was in the original 1:85 theatrical ratio. The Pioneer release was withdrawn and this title was subsequently reissued on DVD on a different label. Regrettably it was in a full screen pan and scan version that spoiled this film's excellent visual compositions.
MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON is superbly directed by Bob Rafelson. Although known as an excellent director of contemporary material, there is nothing in his previous body of work to prepare you for Rafelson's outstanding achievement in a period epic. It is uniformly well acted and technical credits are on a very high level. This overlooked classic deserves to be restored to it correct technical specifications on DVD. Hopefully, Bob Rafelson could do a commentary. Criterion Collection, are you listening?
If you have not had the great good fortune to see this film theatrically, then let me urge you to seek out the Pioneer DVD release in the correct aspect ratio. MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON is practically the only film that I would seriously compare to LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Each one is what you might call a thinking man's epic. Both of them succeed in asking provocative questions, without succumbing to giving the audience banal answers.
Thematically, MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON is one of the relatively few films that seriously deals with male friendship gone wrong. Although the theme of toxic friendships has been well explored in so-called women's films, it's comparatively rare in films dealing with men. In order to accomplish this aim, MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON takes some license with the facts. However, it does so in order to serve a larger measure of the truth.
MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON never resorts to cliché. This is a film for people who have a taste for sophisticated epic story telling and intimate character study. It has an unflinching eye for the best and the worst in it's characters. Layer by layer, Burton and Speke are revealed to be all too human.
Allow me to recommend MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON to you without reservation.