Pakeezah (rewatch)

The disc is non-anamorphic, which really sucks (not that I expected otherwise from a cheapo import).  But the nice thing is, this time the song lyrics are subtitled.  Last time I compared this to a Sirk melodrama… there might be some validity to that, but now it seems closer to a Cinderella-esque fairy tale.  I think I overrated it slightly, but it’s still pretty good, and certainly better than most Bollywood films I’ve seen (which I admit isn’t that many).  Rating: 8

IMDb

Satyajit Ray import DVD round-up, part 2

Devi (rewatch) – Bah, I’ve pissed away my Saturday.  It’s after 5:00 already, and I’ve only gone through one movie.  Having just received another batch of DVDs from India, I’ve got a lot of watching to do.  Satyajit Ray has no less than 10 films I would consider masterpieces: the “Apu trilogy”, the “Calcutta trilogy”, Mahanagar, Charulata, Jalsaghar, and this one.  A haunting and effective condemnation of blind religious fanaticism.  Sharmila Tagore was only 14 when she made this!  Rating: 9

 

Mahanagar (rewatch) – My favorite Ray film, but this is my 5th time watching it so I don’t think I have anything new to say.  The subtitles on the disc were pretty bad.  Rating: 10

 

Nayak (rewatch) – Second-tier Ray is like second-tier Bergman or second-tier Hitchcock… still damn better than most other stuff out there.  This one grows on me a little more each time I see it.  Rating: 8

 

Aranyer Dinrati (rewatch) – My opinion of this one has elevated as well, despite the horrible subtitles on the disc.  Ray has done other films with unsympathetic protagonists (namely Jalsaghar and The Chess Players) but rarely is he so disdainful to them.  When I first saw this several years ago, I said he lets them off too easy, but now I don’t think so.  People like this rarely get any kind of comeuppance, instead they use their wealth and influence to sail through almost any situation.  In fact, I think Ray is wise to give them a hint of humanity, which allows him to be scathing without appearing like he’s shooting fish in a barrel.  The film is also noteworthy in that it deals frankly with sexuality, at least far more so than one ordinarily sees in Ray’s work.  Superior camerawork as well, and the music is not nearly as poor as I initially thought.  Rating: 8

 

Seemabaddha (rewatch) – Bad subtitles again… in fact, some of the worst I’ve ever seen.  Large patches of dialogue go untranslated, heaps of spelling and grammatical errors, and the English phrases that were subtitled were way off the mark, which means the Bengali probably wasn’t translated much better.  Fortunately, it doesn’t do much to lessen the impact of this powerful fable about ambition and corruption in modern Calcutta.  As a sidenote, lead actor Barun Chanda looks for all the world like Jeff Goldblum with a heavy tan.  Rating: 9

 

Jana Aranya (rewatch) – The last of my Ray purchases, and it’s just as well.  Even with your favorites, you can get burnt out.  At least the subtitles were good on this one, though.  It’s interesting how the Calcutta trilogy (this is the second one, and appropriately titled “The Middleman”) progresses from the upper to the lower classes.  As you get further down the ladder, the ambitions get smaller, and the integrity gets greater.  This is one of Ray’s finest morality tales, and watching Somnath struggle with his principles is a nail-biting experience.  Rating: 9

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (rewatch)

Simply perfection.  One of the most “watchable” films I can think of, there’s never a bad time to see it… unless you don’t have 3 hours to spare, but the time flies by like nobody’s business.  Rating: 10

IMDb

Local Hero

I was surprised to see “Boon” from Animal House (Peter Riegert) starring in this.  Not that I should be, of course the man would have done other movies, I’ve just never seen him in any other context.  Here he’s again wonderfully affable, the kind of sardonic everyman that a viewer can instantly identify with.  I also wasn’t expecting a comedy.  I thought it would be a heavy-handed message film about the kindly villagers up against the evil corporation.  Instead it takes a much lighter approach with gentle satire.  Burt Lancaster is terrific as the eccentric CEO with a penchant for astrology and an abusive therapist.  I enjoyed this a lot, and although it isn’t one of my favorites, I can easily see how it could build up a cult following.  Rating: 8

IMDb

Hobson’s Choice

David Lean never disappoints (well, I’m not crazy about Summertime, but then again I owe it a fresh viewing).  One of his few comedies, Hobson’s Choice is a delightful, breezy romp that both lampoons and celebrates several facts of the British spirit.  The simple plot is propped up by three wonderful characters, expertly played by Charles Laughton, Brenda De Banzie and John Mills.  Laughton’s slapsticky inebriation is a little much for me, but it pays off with a terrific d.t.’s scene.  Rating: 8

IMDb

Dialogues With Madwomen (rewatch)

I believe this was the first documentary I ever saw in a theater.  Either this or Hoop Dreams, they came out around the same time so I can’t be certain.  I gotta admit I thought I was pretty hot shit back then, seeing a documentary and being among all the other sophisticated folk.  Unfortunately, it’s not as good as I remembered.  In general, it’s interesting, but there are some flaws.  Because it’s San Francisco, the subjects tend to be of the hippie persuasion… lots of talk about female energy and moon goddesses, et cetera.  That’s fine, but a couple of them are really annoying with it.  My biggest problem was Mairi, the multiple personality disorder girl.  MPD has come under a lot of scrutiny since doubt was cast on Sybil’s story, and Mairi’s tale definitely stinks of bullshit.  I mean, the things that she claims happened to her are tragic, but it sounded like she was just making up her personalities (28 of ‘em, take THAT Sybil) to be a more dramatic subject.  One of the subjects didn’t appear to have anything wrong with her at all except some mild (and understandable) anger over racial tensions, but maybe she was just reluctant to open up for the camera.  The rest of them (including the filmmaker herself, Allie Light) have stories that are mostly pretty compelling, and sometimes quite horrifying or moving.  The directorial style is somewhat bland, though.  Shooting on video is okay for a project like this, but it does look kinda cheap.  I also thought a lot of the cutaways (stock footage and re-enactments) were a little cheesy.  Rating: 6

IMDb

The Beautiful Washing Machine (rewatch)

I probably shouldn’t be giving Facets money, it only encourages them to release more non-anamorphic DVDs.  But I love the movie (the only James Lee film available in Region 1) so I settled for a crappy disc.  I’ve resisted getting a region-free player for a long time, but it’s getting tougher.  This is one of those movies that I wish I could get other people to see.  It’s hard to talk about without “spoiling” anything, though.  I’ll just reiterate my comparison to Bunuel, Tsai and Weerasethakul, and say that it was just as entrancing and thought-provoking (if not more so) on the second viewing as it was the first time.  So ripe for interpretation.  Rating: 9

IMDb

Fargo (rewatch)

“And for what? For a little bit of money. There’s more to life than a little money, ya know. Don’t ya know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well.  I just don’t understand it.”  Rating: 10

IMDb

Henry V

As this was a straight Shakespeare adaptation, I fully expected to be bored to tears by this.  I even had a “Henry ZZZZ” gag planned for this review.  But credit where credit is due: Olivier makes the Bard palatable to a dummy like me.  I know nothing about the play, but according to Criterion’s essay, much of the fat (and cynicism) was cut from the text, leaving an exciting, thoughtful, and engaging tale.  Olivier does two other very smart things.  One, he injects the play with a dose of humor.  Granted, the jokes aren’t exactly rib-ticklers, but it helps lighten the mood.  And secondly is the masterful way in which he blurs the line between theater and cinema, opening the film in the Globe Theater, complete with audience reactions and backstage business, and gradually draws the proceedings into the world of reality.  And although I’ve been less than impressed with Olivier’s acting work in more modern settings, here he’s clearly in his element, turning in a compelling performance.  In fact, the entire cast is quite good.  And the Technicolor looks quite nice too, although Criterion could have done more work on the restoration.  It’s still straight Shakespeare, and therefore not entirely my cup of tea, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Rating: 7

IMDb

How Green Was My Valley

One of the drawbacks of working my way through the TSPDT 1000 list (this marks #744 for me) is that there’s an unholy number of John Ford films on it.  18 in all, more than anyone else… and I still have 8 more to go.  It’s gotten to the point where I’m predisposed to loathe anything he does (although I do still love My Darling Clementine), so with that in mind, you can take this review with a grain of salt.  A grain of salt would have helped me swallow all this sentimentality and nostalgia that I was being force-fed, complete with voice-over.  The story of quaint hard-workin’, hard-drinkin’ Welsh folk who heartily sing quaint Welsh songs.  And when they’re not singing, the soundtrack is absolutely DRENCHED in syrup and treacle.  How many violins gave up their lives for this film?  Ford has zero faith in his audience, constantly telling them how to feel about whatever wonderfully touching thing is happening.  Nor does he trust them to accept complex characters.  The antagonists have no redeeming qualities, and the protagonists are paragons of virtue and wisdom (one of Ford’s recurring problems is that he admires his characters too much).  Oh, and there’s the obligatory macho bullshit.  When does young Huw become a “man”?  When he learns how to take a beating and give a beating, of course!  My feelings about the film aren’t entirely negative, though.  I may have been annoyed, but I wasn’t bored.  I liked the pro-labor stance, and Walter Pidgeon’s speech about the hypocrisy of the villagers.  And it would be silly of me to overlook the absolutely stunning cinematography: thoughtfully composed shots and idyllic vistas.  And lastly: at least John Wayne isn’t in it.  Rating: 4

IMDb