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gordofett
Reviews
Day of the Dead (1985)
A Mental Battering, But My God, The Effects!
Day of the Dead, the third in Romero's 'Dead' series, is taglined 'The darkest day of horror the world has ever known'. If it were up to me they would have capitalised DARKEST. And then added some stars and exclamation marks for good measure! Each of the 'Dead' films has something unique about it. I could write about the aspects of social commentary each film has for the time it was made, and while that is absolutely worthy of mention, (it's one of the things that separates and elevates George A Romero's 'Dead' films above the numerous others in the genre) you can read about that elsewhere. The two things I can't review Day of the Dead without mentioning though, are its tone and the effects.
THE TONE: Wow. This film is *dark*. You thought Se7en was dark, think again. You thought Bergman was bleak? Watch this. For a study in how to create and sustain an oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere, Day of the Dead is hard to beat. I know all about (and have read and enjoyed) the original script. It is very good and had it been made it would have been a fantastic film. However, the film that did get made was the 'Day' that we have now - and that is no bad thing. Although Romero (and many 'Dead' fans) consider this to be the finest film in the series, for me it doesn't quite beat 'Dawn of the Dead'. And anyone not prepared for the downshift into the crumbling vision of humanity and blurred moral lines of 'Day' after the comic book fun of 'Dawn' might well feel the same way. Of the three, 'Day' continues to be the film that I find most interesting - not my favourite to watch, but certainly the most challenging.
THE EFFECTS: Wow. The effects in 'Day' are brilliant - there is no other word. They are especially impressive given that they were so far ahead of their day. I'd stack them against any similar effects done today and for shock, entertainment and realism (in the confines of the gore/horror genre) they are, for my money, unbeatable. If anyone can name a film that has better gore effects, let me know! The 80's were the day for this kind of work with the Re-Animator, Evil Dead, Phantasm, Freddy and Jason series' running full tilt, wonders like John Carpenter's The Thing and directors like Cronnenberg putting out their best stuff. Day's effects top them all. Even similar stuff today. Dusk till Dawn (I know it's Savini), Kitamura, Miike, the Dawn of the Dead remake (sigh), 28 Days Later, what else? To be honest, the only thing that comes close (pretty darn close) is Peter Jackson's Braindead. Braindead's effects are superlative, but there you trade off the numbing effect of the rivers of gore (and lighter tone) against the jarring effect of 'Day of the Dead's darker tone, and horror setting.
Lori Cardille is good as the tough female lead of the picture (think of a character in the same vein as Ripley). Richard Liberty brings some needed off-beat moments as Doc Logan, who is charged with behaviour experimentation on the undead and Howard Sherman is also a standout as Bub, Doc Logan's star pupil. It's interesting that in a film where one of the main themes dealt with is that of human nature in a crisis, what is arguably the most touching performance comes from one of the undead.
Day of the Dead is a hard film to get through if you're not ready for it. There's a lot of anger in the characters (particularly a barely-contained Joe Pilato as Capt. Rhodes) and even the quieter scenes only serve to remind us about the claustrophobic atmosphere that humanity has been reduced to living in and the bleak outlook for mankind as the undead problem continues to worsen.
Watch Day of the Dead. A decent into darkness for the human soul.
Le Mans (1971)
More than holds up after all these years
I recently saw Le Mans all the way through for the first time, and I was very impressed. The film has often been called 'documentary-like', for its attention to detail and the feel of the film, but it is much more than that. The film is more about making you feel as if you are actually there - as if you are one of the drivers taking part in this 24 hour endurance race. Compared to an average film, Le Mans has very little dialogue. What there is mostly comes from the Race Track Commentator who gives us some background and takes us through what is happening on the track and in the pits. Some of the cars in the race are similar models, but you never lose track of who is who thanks to his updating. To be honest, the film doesn't need much dialogue - and Steve McQueen's presence does enough talking. In fact, many of the character's exchanges take place with just looks.
However, the on-track action - and there's plenty of it - is the reason to watch this film. You'd think that with the percentage of the film that's made up of racing it would get boring after a while, but director Lee Katzin keeps the footage fresh, playing with speeds, camera techniques and racing conditions to keep our attention. It's a testament to him and the editing and cinematography of the film that we're still as fired up at the end of the race as we are at the beginning. And what a beginning it is. The film brings you in slowly, from the dawning of the morning and the individual drivers arriving, to the crowds settling down, and finally into the build-up to the roaring race start. It's great stuff.
I saw about 15 minutes of this film on TV when I was quite young and remember getting annoyed at some of the filming techniques - particularly the occasional periods of silence through the crashes. However, coming back and watching the film again, I can plainly see why it was done. The crashes are some of the most powerful parts of the film and the way they're filmed blew me away. I would take this kind of thing over similar moments in almost any racing film made since.
(MINIMAL SPOILER) I also liked the fact that the 'romance' between the male/female leads was not rushed at all, almost just hinted at - the race is the star here, not the people. I can see why the time taken between them may be frustrating to some people, but I found it to be fairly realistic. It's not likely that they would just fall into bed - especially given the character's unusual relationship. (END SPOILER)
If you're looking for a racing film, give this one a try. It's a little different, and it is all the better for it.