Klute (1971)

Plot: A small-town detective meets a New York prostitute while trying to locate a missing businessman.
Stars: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland

Jane Fonda gives a very good performance in this very mediocre movie. She's strong - yet vulnerable - and makes her prostitute character believable. But then there's the rest of the film.  Its a long, predictable, sluggish thriller. No doubt "edgy" in 1971 (Wow, Jane Fonda is a Prostitute!) today it seems mannered and pretentious. Some of the dialogue is cringe-worthy. For instance:

What's your bag, Klute? What do you like? Are you a talker? A button freak? Maybe you like to get your chest walked around with high heeled shoes. Or maybe you get off wearing women's clothes. G**damned hypocrite squares!

And having cold, remote, Donald Sutherland as the "love interest" doesn't help.

BTW, the 1970's were a weird time for lead actors. It was anything goes.  Men that had - or would've - been character actors or "the best friend" - now played the lead.  You had ugly guys (Charles Bronson), old guys (Walter Matthau), wimpy guys (Dustin Hoffman), goofy guys (Eliot Gould) short guys (Al Pacino), and dull guys without much charisma (Roy Scheider, James Caan, Donald Sutherland).   I don't know why it happened, but I do know Klute would've been better with Paul Newman.

Summary:  A fine Jane Fonda performance but a dull film - it was hard going. For Jane Fonda fans only.

Network (1976)

Plot: A TV network exploits a deranged anchorman's ravings for its own profit.
Stars: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch
Best Quote: So, you listen to me. Listen to me: Television is not the truth! Television is an amusement park! Television is a circus, a carnival, a traveling troupe of acrobats, side-show freaks, lion tamers, and football players. We're in the boredom-killing business! So if you want the truth... Go to God! Go to yourselves! Because that's the only place you'll ever find it.

Still astoundingly popular (8.1 rating), I don't have much to say about this creaky old gas-bag of a movie. Written by Paddy Chayefsky, an old gas-bag himself, (and one of my least favorite authors),  Network is a dated satire of "Network News" - which doesn't really exist anymore.  At that time,  a small cabal of Manhattan news execs at CBS/NBC/ABC, had a monopoly on news for 200 million Americans. "And that's the way it is" said Walter Cronkite, and in 1976, most Americans were no position to disagree.

Chayefsky, of course, had no problem with that East Coast media monopoly. His beef? The Networks were being driven by ratings and the "least common denominator".  Y'see things were grand in the 1940's, when Liberal elitists, of the right sort (like Ed Murrow and his boys), were giving us one side of the story.  But now (1976) things had gone all to Hell.

Anyway, the whole dated story is unbelievable, and filled with the usual Chayefsky verbose speeches & tirades. We also get a lot of  unbelievably nasty, corporate execs struggling for power and $$.

However, the acting is great.  Bill Holden, looking craggy as hell, shows he was criminally underused in his old age.  He's not only has charisma - he's a very good film actor. And Faye Dunaway, Beatrice Straight, and Peter Finch are even better. Inexplicably, Robert Duvall gives the only bad performance - he's way too shrill and over-the-top.

Summary:  As I turned off the DVD player,  I yelled out my window:  "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to watch Paddy Chayefsky movies anymore!" - and I suggest everyone do the same.

Ministry of Fear (1944)

Plot: Based on the Graham Greene novel,  during "The Blitz" a newly released asylum patient stumbles upon a nest of Nazi spies.
Stars: Ray Milland,  Marjorie Reynolds

This was a well directed movie that was just too silly for me to enjoy. And the silliness starts early. Here's the scene that lost me:

After Milland unknowingly gets a cake containing German Spy microfilm, a Nazi Spy follows Milland on to a Train.  He then knocks Milland silly, steals the cake, and runs out into the darkness. So what does Milland do?  He doesn't call for help.  Instead, he ignores the on-going air raid, and pursues the German spy - because he just loves that cake! And then the German spy starts shooting. So, what does Milland do?  He ignores the bullets and keeps running toward the Spy - because he wants that cake back! And when Luftwaffe Bombs start exploding around him, Milland doesn't take cover. Instead, he stands and gawks until a Bomb blows up the spy and the cake.  

And it gets even worse. Milland picks up the Spy's gun (for no reason), goes to London, and hires a PI to investigate.  Why? Because he loved that cake.  Why not go to the police?  'Cause we wouldn't have a movie.  We then get a lot of second-hand Hitchcock before Milland breaks up the Spy-ring and saves England.  The end.

Summary:  Some beautiful actresses and good cinematography can't save this mediocre spy story.  It needed better dialogue and a more credible story.

Giant (1956) - Stevens

Plot: The multi-generational story of a Texas ranch family - and  oil tycoon James Dean.  We start in the 1920's, when refined bride Elizabeth Taylor moves to Rock Hudson's million acre ranch.
Stars: James Dean, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor,
Best Quote: Bick, you shoulda shot that fella a long time ago. Now he's too rich to kill.

Giant starts out well, with some promising dramatic conflicts:  Hudson's sister doesn't much like the new bride,  Taylor has to adjust to those odd Texan ways, a big conflict between Dean and Hudson seems to brewing,  and there's a potential Dean-Taylor-Hudson love triangle.

But no fireworks result and by the 105 minute mark, they've all been resolved.  Hudson's sister dies, Liz adjusts without much difficulty, and Dean gets "friend-zoned" by Taylor.  And the Hudson/Dean conflict?  Just a few harmless spats before Dean gets rich. Its a bit of a letdown.  Even worse - the movie continues for another agonizing 90 minutes!

Remember, its a "Multi-generational" saga. Oy Vey! So, after Dean, Taylor, and Hudson get  bad "old people" makeup jobs, we trudge on with the dull story of "the kids".  Oh, and there's a lot of "racism is bad" stuff.  Worst scene? 50 year- old millionaire Hudson sucker punches a small cafe owner because he won't serve a group of Mexicans **.

Summary:  Giant isn't all bad. Taylor looks beautiful, Dean acts well, and there's some sweeping big-screen cinematography. But Giant is only epic in musical score and length (201 minutes) - the story is pure soap opera. The last 90 minutes - without a young James Dean - are excruciatingly bad.

** = Giant ignores the fact that for the purposes of  1950s "Jim Crow" Mexicans were considered "White", and there'd been inter-marriage between White and Hispanic Texans since 1836.

Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - Peckinpah

Pros: Acting, Cinematography, Gig Young, First 30 minutes
Cons: Everything else

Alfredo Garcia is more interesting than good. The film has some good points - but they get lost as the story develops.

As with many Peckinpah movies the plot is minimal and characters undeveloped. Filmed entirely in Mexico, it starts out strong with Emilo Fernandez (a rich Mexican) torturing his daughter and demanding the “Head of Alfredo Garcia” After Emilo’s flunkies offer sleazy piano player Warren Oates $10,000; he sets out with girlfriend Isela Vega to dig up the already dead Alfredo Garcia & deliver his head.

But while the setup is interesting, there is no chemistry between Oates and Vega. Warren was never a romantic lead. There's a sleazy, pointless, rape scene and after Isela's death the movie degenerates into an endless series of perfunctory shootouts. However, one shootout with Gig Young-Robert Weber is well done.

Summary Most bad Peckinpah movies share the same problems. Weak structure, underdeveloped characters, lack of narrative drive, and pointless killings/shootouts. This was Peckinpah’s most personal movie. He wrote the script and made it at the height of his popularity. Peckinpah reveled himself to be a man of cinematic sensibilities but no taste. Rating **

Petulia (1968)

Plot: An unhappily married San Francisco socialite has a fling with a recently divorced doctor.
Stars:  George C. Scott, Julie Christie, Richard Chamberlain.
Best Quote: My name's Petulia Danner. I've been married for six months and I haven't had an affair yet.

On the surface, Petulia is a rather cold, if energetic, story about two lost souls:  a divorced doctor and an unhappy socialite who can't seem to leave her rich, abusive, husband.  Neither - as written - is particularly likable. However, the actors improve their characters. The oddly beautiful Julie Christie, makes her "Kooky" character touchingly sad - while Scott adds warmth to his character's toughness.

 But does the movie have a deeper meaning?  Perhaps its that materialism and  sexual freedom have a downside. Or maybe not. In any case, it held my interest. Additional positives: fine acting by everyone, nice SF location. and flashy (both backwards and forwards) direction that keeps the plot moving. Summary:  A forgotten gem of fine acting, Petulia can be viewed as a high-grade 60s soap opera or something deeper.  Either way, its worth a look.

Last Tango In Paris (1972)

Plot: A middle-aged widower and a young woman meet in an empty Parisan apartment to have anonymous "no questions asked" sex.
Stars:  Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider
Best Quote: 

Catherine (retelling the Police questions about Brando):
"Do you know that he was a boxer?" So? "It didn't work out, so he became an actor. Bongo player, revolutionary in South America, journalist in Japan. One day, he lands in Tahiti, hangs around, Learns French. Then he comes to Paris. There... he meets a woman with money, marries her and... Since then what has your boss done?"  Nothing.

Why Brando Took the Role

Money. After shooting The Godfather Brando was short on cash. First, he sold his Godfather "points" back to Paramount for $100,000 - but that wasn't enough. So, when the Producer Grimaldi agreed to drop his lawsuit against Brando (for cost overruns incurred on Burn) and pay him $250,000 plus 11 percent of the Gross - Brando agreed. He also liked the idea of working with Bertolucci, especially since the film's dialogue would be written/improvised on the set. Unexpectedly popular, Last Tango was a gold mine for Brando, he eventually made $14 million.

Brando's Performance

Nominated for an Academy Award, this was Brando's last leading man performance. Did he deserve it? Maybe. Through sheer force of personality he makes the movie somewhat interesting.  And he's the whole movie, since there's little plot and the other main character (Maria Schneider) is dull and passive.  Most of Brando's dialogue is improvised and based on his own past. At one point, Brando while improvising, became so angry he punched a door. Result? an injured hand and a trip to the Doctor. Note: Because of his obesity, Brando did the sex scenes clothed or partly nude. His belly - and everything below it - is always hidden. Rating  ***

The Movie

Wildly controversial when released,  Last Tango was the movie anybody who was anybody had to see. It did massive box office. Some critics - like Ebert and Kael -  hysterically overpraised the movie.  Kael stated:

This must be the most powerfully erotic movie ever made, and it may turn out to be the most liberating movie ever made...Bertolucci and Brando have altered the face of an art form. Who was prepared for that?I’ve tried to describe the impact of a film that has made the strongest impression on me in almost twenty years of reviewing. This is a movie people will be arguing about, I think, for as long as there are movies. 

But the other major critics, including almost all the British ones, John Simon, Rex Reed, and Stanley Kauffman were less impressed.  For example:

"Hatred for women and a pervasive homosexual sensibility characterize the film... The film can thus be seen as a product of the closet-queen mentality. Jeanne is... really Jean, a boy in disguise, and the filmmakers are playing with secret fears, guilt feelings, and obsessions that they want to get off their chests but dare not quite reveal... All this, of course, is detrimental only in a film posturing as the revelation of ultimate heterosexual truths, and made by two such supermasculine men..."

My Opinion

Brando gives an intense performance and the cinematography is elegant. But Last Tango is thin stuff that relies on sex, dead rats, and vulgarity to generate interest.  When Last Tango was made, it was scandalous that a major Movie Star would engage in "shocking" on-screen sex.  But its no longer shocking - quite the opposite. So, take out the sex - and you're not left with much.  Just two hours of mostly dull talk between two manufactured characters in a false situation. Even Brando didn't think much of it. Recommended only for fans of soft-porn. Rating ** 

Panic in Year Zero (1962) - Milland

Plot:  After seeing LA destroyed in a nuclear attack, an average family must fight to survive.
Stars:  Ray Milland,  Jean Hagen,  Frankie Avalon.

Best Quote:
Ann: Intelligent people don't just turn their backs on the rest of the world!
Harry: Under these conditions, intelligent people will be the first to try.

A low-budget "B" movie, Panic in Year Zero is a guilty pleasure of mine.  Its not really a movie about nuclear holocaust, but the breakdown of civilized society.  The first half is the  best as the family adjusts to the new situation and tries to escape the tidal wave of LA refugees. Later, it becomes more exploitative as the lawless "crazies" show up.  How exploitative? Well, lets just say no female is safe. Milland (who also directed) is excellent as the controlling Dad, while Hagen is good as the wife in denial.  Frankie Avalon, Milland's son (!),  shows some acting ability. Summary:  Its not Shakespeare, but its an entertaining 93 minutes. A well-done survivalist tale.