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Reviews
Blow Out (1981)
Not your average slasher/conspiracy movie.
For me, Blow Out was a pleasant surprise- in this day and age of mega-budget, mindless, SFX-driven monstrosities, it was a relief to watch a Brian De Palma film (which had all the usual elements of suspense and tension), which actually concentrated on the main characters(Travolta and Allen) and the development of their relationship, instead of being driven mercilessly on by the plot(and expensive CGI fakeries). The conspiracy and psycho-killer aspect of the movie, though important, were in the end nothing more than plot devices to keep the story going, and not turn into a run-of-the-mill love story between the lead characters. The story is less about the killing of a presidential candidate, and its subsequent cover-up; it is more about how the lives of two very different people became entwined and forever changed by the terrible events of that night, two young people who might never have met otherwise, and in a more perfect world, would have fallen in love.
Enough of this sentimental nonsense! I will not concentrate too much on that aspect of the movie. For me, a far more interesting character than either Travolta or Allen, was John Lithgow's masterful portrayal of Burke, the cold-blooded killer on Nancy Allen's trail. Many would say that Lithgow has been pigeon-holed, as he is forever playing sadistic psychotic killers in other movies(see Cliffhanger). However, John Lithgow is an extremely versatile character, and portrays historical characters(Franklin Delano Roosevelt), as well as down-right comedic ones(see 3rd Rock from the Sun) with equal aplomb. There is actually no conspiracy in the movie- nothing but the desperate actions of a maverick assassin trying to cover up the fact that he's just accidentally killed someone very important- the next President of the United States!
Burke's character is chameleonic- from the devious infiltrator slipping into the police warehouse to remove all traces of his involvement in the Governor's death, to the 'I can't help myself, she made me do it' sleazebag cover-story which he sold to the police to add authenticity to the random and senseless killings of women (who look a lot like Nancy Allen), finally to the very official-looking 'upstanding member of society' whom no-one would suspect of being a trained assassin.
It wasn't hard figuring out his background- it is hinted at by his theme; every time Burke appears, there is a martial strain playing in the background. Obviously not a Ranger(way too old!), most definitely an ex-Green Beret (Army Special Forces) who used to work for the CIA. Burke looks like a school teacher- almost all Green Berets, contrary to the 'Rambo' stereotype, look like old school teacher-types! Hardly the kind of person you would go out of your way to avoid in a fight- in fact, you are more likely to invite him over for a cup of tea!
Burke isn't much of an assassin- he wasn't even hired to kill the Governor- just shoot his tyres out!("But I still kept within the parameters of the mission objective- the target was eliminated from the Presidential race"). Not only that, he is quite incompetent even at killing people- having identified someone whom he took to be Nancy Allen's character, he proceeds to completely botch the job, forcing him to come up with the whole 'psycho-killer' angle to cover up his mistake.
Lithgow successfully portrays Burke as someone quite full of himself- he thinks he is a top-rate assassin(yeah, right), on a mission of grave importance, when it was never his job to kill anyone in the first place! "Operation?! What operation?! You're on your own" his employer screams at him after being told of Burke's callous and utterly accidental killing of the governor. Burke is obviously a sadistic, coldblooded murderer, who thinks nothing of killing innocents- perfect CIA assassin material, if not for the fact that he screws up almost every time he does something!
The reason I have concentrated on Burke, and not Travolta or Allen, is because I find his character endlessly fascinating- his attitudes, his improvision skills(especially the inspired use of the ice pick on his female victims, earning him the nickname 'the Liberty Bell Killer'), and the fact that he is completely deluded as to his own importance, and of his 'assignment'. If this were a real conspiracy movie, John Travolta would have checked whether his phone-line was being tapped- instead, we find Burke lurking in his basement, listening in to conversations to his heart's content. Hardly the stuff of suspense thrillers, but De Palma's tight pacing, smooth script,(and admit it, Travolta is a fine actor), hurl us inevitably to an ending which we can see coming from a mile away, but is still eerily haunting nonetheless. Why Burke? If he hadn't messed up, maybe Travolta and Allen would never have met.
And by the end of the movie, both the audience and John Travolta's character wished they'd never met her either.
Bukit Kepong (1981)
A gripping, bloody film.
Bukit Kepong is one of the best Malaysian films ever made, and next to 'Sarjan Hassan' by P. Ramlee, definitely the best Malay-language war movie ever. It tells the true story of a doomed remote police outpost in Johore during the 'Emergency' years, when the Communist Party of Malaya took up arms and began a vicious campaign to establish a Communist state in Malaya(as it then was). Despite the fact that the movie has been attacked as being anti-Chinese (as the guerillas were predominantly ethnic Chinese), this is not so, as the Communists did not just target Malays, they threatened and killed anyone who refused to support their cause, including members of the Chinese community.
The movie is quite well-made, despite a few sillly moments, such as when a group of RELA armed volunteers(local villagers) are pinned-down by a smaller(but better trained) group of Commie ambushers, while on the way to relieve the besieged police outpost under attack by a huge force of guerillas. Despite out-numbering the enemy, they actually succeeded in running out of ammo, forcing some brave(and suicidal) individuals to charge the Commie positions armed only with parangs!
The battle for the police station was long and bloody, with quite graphic scenes. The director skilfully used music, crying women and children to impart to us the horror of losing loved-ones in war where necessary. It's the kind of movie which fills the viewer with a burning sense of patriotism and a desire to kill Communists (with great savagery) by the end of the film.
Whilst not exactly 'Cross of Iron', it is certainly far-better than 'Saving Private Ryan', and it's a great advertisement for the armed forces! Highly recommended.