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What Have You Seen In MARCH 2004?

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Author	Topic: What Have You Seen In MARCH 2004?

Graham Watt Standard Userer	Alfred Hitchcock's TORN CURTAIN is dry, overlong and dialogue-heavy, and the typically Sir Alf wild goose chase plot is uninteresting and uninvolving. But amidst it all there are touches which bear all the hallmarks of the Master's sure hand, and two stand-out sequences - the justly famous protracted murder in the farmhouse, and the lengthy (and increasingly amusing) journey with David Opatoshu and a bus-load of defectors. So TORN CURTAIN isn't too enjoyable on the whole, but as a lesser Hitchcock there's still much to admire. I could say the same about John Addison's mixed bag of a score. The romantic material is probably the weakest part, and the travelogue scenes near the start have almost infuriatingly jolly music. But there are effective suspense motifs on cymbalom etc, and the main theme itself - a kind of macabre waltz - is excellent. Of course it's true that this would have been a whole different movie with the rejected Herrmann score in place - it would have been even MORE dour! TORN CURTAIN (USA 1966) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Screenplay by Brian Moore Photography by John F Warren Music by John Addison Main Cast: Paul Newman, Julie Andrews
posted 03-01-2004 04:04 AM PT (US)

Graham Watt Standard Userer	Was in typically exotic, sprawling Michener territory with THE HAWAIIANS yesterday. Attractively shot but instantly forgettable, like a long, expensive TV episode. Point in its favour: the great Henry Mancini score. Several standout dramatic passages, and a plethora of delicate Oriental themes for the Chinese characters, as seriously handled as the best of Jerry Goldsmith's Asian-tinged music. I didn't like the Main Theme as much (which doubles as a love theme for Charlton Heston and Geraldine Chaplin - the latter giving a terrible performance) - it's a bit too sickly lush, in Paradise Island mode. But great score on the whole. THE HAWAIIANS (USA 1970) Directed by Tom Gries Screenplay by James R Webb, from the novel by James A Michener Photography by Philip Lathrop and Lucien Ballard Music by Henry Mancini Main Cast: Charlton Heston, Tina Chen, Geraldine Chaplin, John Phillip Law
posted 03-17-2004 04:51 AM PT (US)

Timmer Standard Userer	Getting through the BBC series EDGE OF DARKNESS which I have on loan from a friend, starring Bob Peck, Joanne Whalley and Joe Don Baker, 2 episodes so far and I'm hooked....interesting to note that I saw this when it was originally on TV in 85 but I don't remember how it all pans out. great theme by Eric Clapton & Michael Kamen.
posted 03-17-2004 06:39 PM PT (US)

Graham Watt Standard Userer	Helped or hindered by the lunchtime wines, I was bored and sleepy whilst watching HIDALGO. I kept forgetting it was about a race - there's not much sense of movement at all, and the interplay between the characters is far from gripping. Soporiphic. I've read in the press several mentions of James Newton Howard's score as charting LAWRENCE OF ARABIA territory. To me it's actually more akin to Jerry Goldsmith in Middle Eastern mode (particularly THE MUMMY), with the odd nod towards Bruce Broughton (TOMBSTONE) and early John Williams in the opening and closing Wild West scenes. My first impression was that it's enegetic enough, but shapeless and lacking in strong themes, and even motifs. I could easily change my mind after a few listens on CD though, so if anyone would like to send me a copy for free (no CDRs, please), I'd gladly accept. HIDALGO (USA 2004) Directed by Joe Johnston Screenplay by John Fusco Photography by Shelly Johnson Music by James Newton Howard Main Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif, Zuleikha Robinson, Louise Lombard
posted 03-20-2004 07:22 AM PT (US)

Graham Watt Standard Userer	SLEEPY HOLLOW (USA/Germany 1999) Directed by Tim Burton Screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker Photography by Emmanuel Lubezki Music by Danny Elfman Main Cast: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Caspar Von Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, Claire Skinner, Alun Armstrong, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lee, Martin Landau Watch out - here comes Washington Irving's headless horseman! What a beautiful looking movie, a superb combination of inky photography (never has black been so black!) and imaginative production design. Visually it seems to owe a small debt to Hammer, as people pointed out at the time, but I think it owes a considerably larger one to Roger Corman's Poe films for AIP, particularly as regards the twisted trees and dry ice of the studio "exteriors". SLEEPY HOLLOW is such a treat to the eye that I could almost overlook the scrappy handling of the material - the pacing and the emphasis on some plot details is rough, Johnny Depp's comically camp Ichabod Crane is all wrong, and the whole thing is cluttered up with secondary characters. So, thumbs up for the look of it, thumbs down for the handling, and a kind of wavering teetering thumb shakily going down the way for Danny Elfman's incessant cacophony.
posted 03-20-2004 07:35 AM PT (US)

Graham Watt Standard Userer	I was slightly disappointed with Douglas Sirk's IMITATION OF LIFE. It struck me as being somewhat less focussed thematically than I'd have liked, and it didn't impress me half as much as the other Sirk I caught recently, WRITTEN ON THE WIND. The dramatically opulent funeral ending is awesomely shot, but before the film gets there, there are several unconvincing stretches, and the lush pink blandness does seem to overwhelm the proceedings. Also, several themes fight for attention throughout (racism, true love, family ties), without any seeming to dominate, hence my quibbles about the lack of focus. Moreover, it's too long. It's still good though - it's just that after having heard so often that it's a masterpiece, I was correspondingly underwhelmed. As usual, the hard edges are softened candy-floss style by Frank Skinner's typically drippy score. Sirk really needed someone like Leonard Rosenman to offset the overly conventional ambience. IMITATION OF LIFE (USA 1958) Directed by Douglas Sirk Screenplay by Eleanore Griffin and Alan Scott Photography by Russell Metty Music by Frank Skinner Main Cast: Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Susan Kohner, Robert Alda
posted 03-28-2004 03:43 PM PT (US)

Graham Watt Standard Userer	COLORADO TERRITORY (USA 1949) Directed by Raoul Walsh Screenplay by John Twist and Edmund H North Photography by Sid Hickox Music by David Buttolph In the Old West, a cowboy is sprung from jail in order to perpetrate one last heist. Story-wise this is old territory indeed, and although the film moves within the confines of the genre, Walsh's vibrant direction makes it seem like new. Excellent photography and sets too (the ghost town is straight out of a horror movie), and the supporting cast is splendid, even if potato-headed Joel McCrea is much too diffident as the lead. David Buttolph's scoring, with hints of Dimitri Tiomkin, isn't particularly distinctive, but it is rather good nonetheless.
posted 03-28-2004 03:58 PM PT (US)

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