Two kiwis Reviews

Mansfield Park (1999)

It's great to see so much passion expressed by so many viewers

[18 October 2003]

No one could be entirely satisfied if the standard of measurement is the one set by the master herself. My own level of dissatisfaction is low enough that I'm very glad to have bought, not rented, the movie.

On my wish list to improve Rozema's movie:

1. a closer portrayal of Fanny's humility

2. greater character development of the horrible Mrs Norris, one of literature's greatest fictional creations

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Psssst. This is not the film . . .

[22 February 2003]

. . . whose scenery will convince you to visit New Zealand. See instead Jane Campion's The Piano (see my IMDb review.)

You'll pack your bags right away.

I will say this about Peter Jackson--he's managed to make his movies here but the ocean doesn't feature at all--gives you an insight into the astonishing variety of the physical geography of New Zealand.

Music of the Heart (1999)

Pssssssst! Looking for a good double feature??

[4 February 2003]

. . . then pair Music of the Heart with From Mao to Mozart, both of which feature everyone's favourite, Isaac Stern. In a sense, both movies are from the heart.

Make sure you buy or rent the DVD edition of From Mao to Mozart, which includes Stern's reprise visit to China in 2000.

They Were Expendable (1945)

"This film was made possible by . . .

[23 November 2002]

the Office of Strategic Management." (acknowledged during the credits)

This gives you a clue about the reason for the making of this film at the (victorious) end of the war in 1945.

Americans (I'm one) have short memories. Very short. The OSM judged there would be adverse public reaction to the abandonment of the Philippines in 1942. The film counters, or blunts, the question, "why did we pull out when we won the war anyway?"

Of course, the question is highly illogical but whoever said the general public is able to formulate logical questions?

What is being "strategically managed" is the manipulation of public opinion.

Lord of the Flies (1963)

Life Magazine carried a long article about the making of the movie

[5 October 2001]

. . . which was filmed in Puerto Rico. The boys were housed in a bunkhouse during the filming. They had a "minder" who made sure they kept out of trouble and that they turned up on the set on time every day.

The minder was awakened one night by a commotion coming from the boys' room which was adjacent to his own room. He padded to the door and peered through it to discover all of the boys huddled in a circle on the floor. They were having a contest.

In the center of the circle was an electric fan with the blade guard removed. The fan was running at full speed. In each boy's hand was one of the ubiquitous lizards that ran up and down the walls of the bunkhouse. Each boy, in turn, was dropping his lizard into the blades of the fan. The winner of the contest was the boy whose lizard was sliced into the most pieces.

One can imagine Golding's ghost nodding, nodding, nodding, nodding.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

"Just as good the fifteenth time as it is the first"

[23 June 2001]

Irony high and irony low.

Low irony: the soporific songs and singing, combined with a schmaltzy storyline, guaranteed failure for every theater release and re-release. "Just as good the fifteenth time as it is the first." Of course, the film has had outstanding success on television. Television success: Bravo!

High irony: the didactic Message that "there's no place like home" takes more time to deliver on the bonus material of the DVD edition than the movie itself. Of course this Message, like all "Messages to wayward children", is beyond any child's care or understanding. This is not a film for children but, rather, a film for the "child inside every one of us." One might as well subject that inside-child to numerous viewings ("Just as good the fifteenth time as it is the first") in a vain attempt to convey the Message. No actual child would willingly submit to such torture.

Dances with Wolves (1990)

Pssssssst! Looking for a good double feature??

[17 March 2001]

. . . then pair Dances with Wolves with At Play in the Fields of the Lord (see my review.)

Both films tell the same sad story (in very different ways.)

I understand Kevin Costner and Hector Babenco, director of At Play..., had the same (financial) problems in bringing their respective films to screen. It seems few are ever willing to "invest" in movies trafficking in extirpation, genocide and general human misery.

The Cider House Rules (1999)

A movie is no substitute for a book . . .

[2 February 2001]

and this movie proves the point.

John Irving wrote the filmscript and even he acknowledged that the film was too "small" to capture the book. (The DVD edition contains a full-length commentary by Irving, the director and the producer, in which the difficulties of faithful transcription are discussed at length and how these difficulties were resolved. In many cases the resolution was simply to abandon whole hunks of characters, of plot and of ethics. Is it any wonder the book took 15! years to write? There is also lengthy discussion of the director's sensitive treatment of children and of childhood.)

Any film stands (or falls) on its own merits. I liked it.

Chicken Run (2000)

The DVD release of this film adds a significant dimension your total chicken experience, featuring:

[13 January 2001]

-a full length commentary by the co-directors

-documentaries on the making of the film

-interviews with key players and film makers

-shorts takes from previous films

-short animations from the early careers of the film makers

-a game (if your computer has a DVD drive)

Blow-Up (1966)

This is the film that taught me to never again arrive late for the start

[10 November 2000]

When I saw this movie for the first time I was five minutes late. I had to infer the beginning from the film's ending, but that hole became a haunting lacuna in my life.

Subsequently, whenever I found myself missing some important point, either through inattention or stupidity, I would involuntarily flashback to Blowup.

I didn't have a chance to see the film again for twenty years (I did *not* miss the beginning this time) and saw that my inference had been correct. I also recognized that the beginning was now almost irrelevant (for me.) The lacuna persists to this day.

And of course, that's what the film is about--all the pieces (real and metaphorical) that are missing.

When We Were Kings (1996)

Ali had to be the hero . . .

[2 September 2000]

in this film because he took the trouble to actually act in it.

The bonus material in the DVD edition reveals that Ali helped the director to set up shots and did second takes if the first didn't quite work out.

In one sense this is less of a documentary and more of a docu-drama.

King Kong (1933)

"Comment guidelines. What to include: Your comments should focus on the title's content and context." "Resist the temptation to comment on other reviews."

[22 July 2000]

Sorry, couldn't comply with rules. Other viewers' comments are a fascinating cross-section of the movie-going public. For the most part, these reviews are perceptive and thoughtful, and seek to place this film in its correct historical context, citing historical precedents as well as its influences on succeeding films.

I really liked the movie. The features and stunts were as (1933) modern as any film made today. We see fighter planes buzzing around the Empire State Building (completed in 1931) trying to pick off an embattled King. There's carnage and catastrophe.

Terrific!

The General (1926)

Cast of thousands! Big budget!! (1926-style)

[15 July 2000]

Run the train wreck scene several times to marvel at its wonderful staging:

--riders on horses "escorting" the train onto the bridge (but stopping safely short of the coming carnage)

--engine cab clearly empty as it enters the bridge

--dramatic drop into the drink, followed by authentic gouts of steam as the engine's boiler is ruptured

--bridge pylons toppling

--train rails protruding from the remains of the bridge and swaying crazily under their own unsupported weight

--dramatic pressure wave rolling down the river toward the camera

Bravo!

Independence Day (1996)

Giant toadstools

[24 June 2000]

. . . crouching o'er us all.

If we don't do what ol' Toadstool say then he gonna turn the heat lamp on us. Mebbe we better fight back, and (coincidentally) save the world for democracy. De mockery.

(And IMDB insists I write at least four lines of text for a review to be accepted for display. What happens if the film reviewed is worth less than four lines? Way less.)

Nanook of the North (1922)

The DVD release makes this famous film accessible to everyone, and . . .

[6 May 2000]

it includes an interview with Flaherty's widow as well as some excellent still photographs.

I was most impressed with Nanook's knife, the blade of which was fabricated from walrus tusk. Nanook used it for every task and he wielded it with such dexterity that it seemed an extension of his hand.

Flaherty's film depicts a way of life that has now ceased to exist. The film makes the additional (explicit) comment that the Eskimo people were the last people on the face of the earth who were truly happy.

Viewers may wish to read Kabloona by Gontran de Poncins, first published in 1941. De Poncins, a trained anthropologist, has been described as the last competent observer of the Eskimo. This powerful book has the capacity to change lives because it explores the Eskimos' "happiness" while (implicitly) contrasting it to the white man's civilization-induced predicaments.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

The DVD version of the movie . . .

[19 April 2000]

is definitely worth buying because it features recent interviews with all the key figures including Gregory Peck. You also get to see Scout and Jem, all grown up.

I expect this film continues to be used in schools as a platform for discussion of contemporary social issues.

It would be a shame, however, if the movie were to be used as an simple substitute for the book, which explores a greater number of issues besides that of race. In addition the book nicely employs a couple of literary devices, which, in the hands of a skillful teacher, would be accessible to unexceptional high school students. And of course the story is riveting.

The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

Do you believe . . .

[12 February 2000]

in censorship in any form?

The film censors where I live (New Zealand) recently put an R18 restriction on a film they said depicted "excessive social drinking."

Should there be censorship of bomb-making recipes?

Should there be censorship of gun-making details?

Should there be censorship of details for making target-shooting pistols?

Should there be censorship of details for making replicas of old-fashioned muzzleloaders?

The point of all of this is that the law only exists in the context of the times. The law can be a perfect mirror of that context. Alternately, it can define the outer limits of acceptable behaviour and activity. You could say that Larry Flynt and Jerry Falwell, respectively, represent those outer limits.

It's okay not to have an opinion on specific issues. Ambivalence is okay.

It's not okay *not* to have thought about these matters.

Casablanca (1942)

DVDs have spawned a whole new industry

[8 February 2000]

. . . brand new documentaries and interviews featuring the key people involved in the making of the film.

For this classic movie, it happened just in the nick of time. Some of these old birds are **really** old. After all, the film was made in 1942. The fabulous coup of this one was to have it narrated by Lauren Bacall. (Anyone remember her?)

The interviews and commentaries make the price of this particular DVD well worthwhile.

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Most reviews disclose the reviewer's gender

[29 January 2000]

I am amazed that so few guys come to Jane Austen's work willingly. Her stock continues to rise, and nowhere as highly as Pride and Prejudice.

I normally don't have a lot of time for television, but I will concede that only TV serialisation could have made this production possible. Five full hours to develop plot and character! No filmed version has that liberty.

All reviewers' praise for this production are true and correct. No home library can be without this one.

(disclosure: I'm the guy in "Two kiwis".)

Easy Rider (1969)

The 1999 DVD release makes this movie a good buy, in which . . .

[21 January 2000]

we see and hear recent extended interviews and voice-over commentary by all the stars/producers/photographers. All that looooong hair is gone, gone, gone (and not at the hands of the barber!) Ageing hippies! (groovy)

Unfortunately, Jack Nicholson is conspicuous by his absence.

Walkabout (1971)

Definitely a film for the big screen, but . . .

[15 January 2000]

the recent extended commentary found on the DVD release (Criterion Collection) by Roeg and Agutter is a useful addition.

Viewers might consider reading Bruce Chatwin's "The Songlines," which was written at about the same time as the making of the film. Same sere landscape: one painted with film, the other painted with words.

Battleship Potemkin (1925)

The DVD release of this film will bring a far wider audience . . .

[12 December 1999]

which is a good thing. Professional film critics detail the significance of Battleship Potemkin far better than I can.

Speaking for myself, Eisenstein seems to compose the film as if it were a photo-mosaic. He lays the images down to construct an entire canvas. I was reminded of the intricacy and deftness of the brush strokes in the best work of Cezanne: different medium, same emotional effect.

The Piano (1993)

Yep, the scenery's *exactly* as portrayed, so. . .

[17 November 1999]

pack up your bags and check us out--the birds, the beaches, the beeches, the mud--it's all real. A number of the beach and forest scenes were shot less than 25 miles from Auckland (population: 1 million.)

I wouldn't dare make a critical judgment on the story line--it's preposterous, it's plausible.

Michael Nyman's score for the film is available on CD. Nyman says the musical themes (which nicely unify the score) derive from Scottish folk music.

A Month in the Country (1987)

I'd buy this movie if it were released on DVD

[17 November 1999]

The film was one of the monthly selections shown by the local film society over ten years ago.

I remember little of the plot except for the mystery of why one of the centuries-old graves was discovered outside the churchyard (thus condemning the interred body/soul to purgatory, or worse.)

What I remember well is the very fancy camera work, hence my desire to see the film again with the highest of fidelity on DVD. I vividly recall one particular back-lit scene that was so bright I had to squint.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

A photographer's film

[12 November 1999]

The DVD contains an additional featurette of the film. This featurette is nearly full-length and gives a running commentary by the director, Ridley Scott. He discusses the actors, the set and the scenery.

Most reviewers comment very favourably on the camera work in Thelma and Louise. Scott tells us precisely how he did.