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vinniekmetz
Reviews
Bastards of the Party (2005)
A monumental work despite artistic flaws.
I was truly gripped by Bastards of The Party as it aired on HBO yesterday evening (2/25/07) and I recommend it highly to those seeking substantive cultural information on the modern history of gangs, inner-city black life, the history of modern los angeles or the role of government and police in all three venues.
The greatest thing that can be said about this film from me is that it brought me one or two degrees closer to a non-pejorative, non-dismissive and non-judgemental understanding of a pocket of human life that I would - in fear and racial difference - never want to understand.
Even though myself and 190 million other white Americans may never be tainted with the cruelty and death that has gone on in Los Angeles, this film instructs us that the basic concept of American "justice for all" has gone mad here. And perhaps begin to reveal light about how it's gone mad in the overall....certainly at odds with all the nice inscriptions and beatific monuments found in Washington DC.
Time does not allow me to categorize some artistic nuances missed (perhaps a follow up later here) but this is a good cinematic jumping-off point for further consideration of the issue.
The Circus (1928)
The Film That Made Me Appreciate Chaplin
I am definitely an amateur and may be a dilettante when it comes to being a serious film reviewer/critic, but this movie has SO very much to offer to the movie-lover, that it is a sad commentary on the state of our commercial arts that it remains largely unknown to all but the ardent silent/chaplin aficionados.
The IMDb profile and the other user comments highlight many of the generally innovative and well-executed gags and set-ups but I thought I would provide a list of things to look out for that don't get so much attention:
- the hungry tramp stealing bites of hot dog from a toddler; only chaplin and his tramp would need to add mustard to the illicit gain
- though a famous shot for chaplin-niks, the brilliant harmony (aided greatly by the manic section of music) as both the thief and the tramp end up in parallel flight from the coppers, essentially for the same crime.
- the entire aristocratic air of the tramp settling down for a hobo's breakfast; when the chicken clucks by and charlie runs off to chase it, there's a pregnant pause of expectation...did he get it? will it be his meal? No. Befitting and completing the emotional tenor of the tramp, all he desired was an egg. So rewarded, he doffs his hat to the offscreen chicken. A fair exchange thus completed.
- I can hardly believe that in 50 or so comments, no one has mentioned the introduction of Merna to Charlie. When she reveals that indeed she is a performer in the circus, charlie glances at the poster-bill behind them both advertising the "Sword Swallower" With a mischievous grin and lilting eyes, he inquires as to whether this is HER role in the show. When she corrects him, "No, I ride the horses." he is so sweetly embarrassed by his misconstrual of her talents. A very sexually subversive, risqué gag for 1928.
There's dozens more just like this within this film and if you haven't seen it, it is so worth the investment of 70 minutes of your entertainment time. It has heart, nobility, zany humor and madcap comedic antics rolled into one concise ball; not unlike the ball of paper made by the crumpled circus star, that the tramp kicks away in the end.
a wonderful piece of film-making.
pax vk
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Sharp, Concise Dialogue and Von Sydow Elevate This Film
One of the most intriguing elements of this film is trying to answer the question: Is it dated, "of the era" entertainment or is it remarkably prescient film-making. If you're familiar with the film and any of its valid criticisms, you've heard that it's an uneven, Watergate-paranoia, evil-government piece; over-romanticized with music score and untenable heroic behaviors on the part of the characters.
However far the film strays from one's own vision of the caper at hand, the crisp singular dialogue and character exchanges have a directness and authenticity to them that keeps you emotionally interested.
There too innumerable to list here (check out the Quotes section) but I think you can make a short film of the last 25 minutes of this movie and it could stand on it's own. Truly.
Lastly, Max Von Sydow - he might have 20 minutes total of camera time, but he gives an award-worthy supporting performance. Stoic, frightening and honest, the classic actor also manages to milk some humanity out of the role of a ruthless assassin. His final foreboding soliloquy is made all the more so with the almost "sunny" and "benign" delivery of his warning to Redford's "Condor" that he will never be safe and perhaps they will meet again.
All That Jazz (1979)
The Most Human Film - Rendered In Pure Artistic Scope ***minimal spoilers***
Does art imitate life, or vice-versa? The brilliance of this film is that it suggests that they are imitating one another and the original, authentic part is the soul. That's too grandiose a sentiment, but here's what I mean: Does the sexy, risqué dance rehearsal number come from what is best about Gideon (his command and imagination in the art) or what is his worst, (his womanizing and failure to give honest commitment to those that love him in lieu of sexual gratification)? In the scene juxtaposing Gideon's open heart surgery with the conference on the insurance value of the show (one of the most compelling scenes in cinematic history; it manages to be graphic while maintaining dark comedic cadence) is Fosse making the cynical satirical point that life is cheap because a fiscal value CAN be put on it? Or is he mocking the cynics with a hard penance of life's bloody fragility right in the face? Those are philosophic points to be sure and there's such a rich variety of them in this movie, as to dazzle the mind. But to just concentrate on the cerebral is only half the wonder of this film which is a strong contender for Top 20 status in this writer's mind.
The other half - pure Fosse - is the range of artistic expression utilized to present an integrated total whole. It's a movie that takes you the viewer on your own artistic journey from the guts of a production to the unseen polished art in Gideon's heart and mind, where even mortal death must be turned into art to be defeated. Shots of tedious life are shot in tedious muted tones, the footage looks raw at these times and if it owes anything to Fellini it's that the more hyper the closeup or edit to sparse angles, the more "real" the subject becomes and the LESS you feel you are watching a film.
Time doesn't permit me to go on, and I don't know if any new viewers will even see this review - but if they are reading this, and you love great cinema - this is it.
pax vk