My Favorite Films Of The First Quarter Century

 

The fact that we are now a quarter way through the 21st Century already is rather disconcerting, but it gives me an excuse to make up another list. 

These are my favorite films from 2001 to the present. I base my choices on my own personal preferences--they have nothing to do with popularity, awards, box office, politics, trendiness, etc. I'm sure I've overlooked a few titles. It's not like I spent hours and hours doing research on this....it's merely meant to be entertaining. 

And yes, every so often I actually do watch movies made in the 21st Century.....and I usually wind up being more disappointed than inspired. The list is in no particular order. 

THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy 

KILL BILL (Volumes One and Two)

BATMAN BEGINS

ROGUE ONE

SHIN GODZILLA

GODZILLA MINUS ONE

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

CASINO ROYALE

WATCHMEN

PACIFIC RIM

BLADE RUNNER 2049

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

ENNIO

DUNKIRK

DUNE (Parts One and Two)

GANGS OF NEW YORK 

HELL'S ANGELS On Blu-ray From Criterion

 

The 1930 WWI aviation spectacular HELL'S ANGELS, produced and directed by the legendary Howard Hughes, gets the special-edition Criterion treatment. 

Most people today know about HELL'S ANGELS from watching Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic THE AVIATOR. But Scorsese's film only scratched the surface when it came to documenting the mammoth production history of Hughes' dream project. HELL'S ANGELS started out as a silent feature, but during the long shooting schedule Hughes reworked the story into a talkie, recast the leading female role, and even added in a color sequence. All the while, Hughes spent plenty of time (and money) on numerous flying stunts and sequences that had never been attempted before, and probably never will again. 

The result is a curious mix of incredible aerial feats and clunky dialogue scenes (with some excellent practical effects thrown in). The movie truly does soar when it takes to the air--but on the ground it betrays its early talkie origins. 

The two underwhelming leading men of HELL'S ANGELS are Ben Lyon and James Hall as brothers Monte and Roy, who join the British air force at the outbreak of the Great War. Monte (Lyon) is weak and irresponsible, while Roy (Hall) is a stuffed-shirt type. Lyon and Hall are not the most dynamic actors, and their characters are not very engaging. Both men get overshadowed by the very young Jean Harlow in her breakthrough role. Harlow is supposed to be playing an upper-class Englishwoman of the late teens, but she's really nothing more than sexy Roaring Twenties eye candy. Harlow has plenty of screen presence, but she's even more awkward in the dialogue sequences than Lyon and Hall are, and she doesn't actually have a lot of screen time. (Harlow was only 18 when she essayed this role, and Marian Marsh, who has a cameo as a girl trying to entice men to sign up for the war, was even younger than that.) 

Some may watch HELL'S ANGELS for Harlow, but it's the flying sequences that make this film memorable, with a nighttime attack on a zeppelin and a behind-the-lines bombing of a German ammunition dump. Howard Hughes was a technological innovator, and he was determined to use sound to make his film as cutting-edge as possible, but I think he would have been better off to have kept the audio of the planes & battles while going the silent route with the dialogue scenes. (James Whale, at the very beginning of his Hollywood career, worked on those dialogue scenes, but one gets the sense he wasn't able to do what he wanted with them, and he didn't like Jean Harlow at all.) 

Criterion presents HELL'S ANGELS in a "Magnascope" version, with most of the film in a standard 1.37:1 aspect ratio, while the action sequences are in 1.54:1. The movie is uncut, with certain scenes tinted and a special color sequence where one realizes Jean Harlow truly was a platinum blonde. 

The extras include a short program with Robert Legato, the FX supervisor on THE AVIATOR, who discusses the visuals of HELL'S ANGELS. Farran Smith Nehme narrates a concise and excellent half-hour mini-bio of Jean Harlow, while about five minutes of outtakes from the film are shown with commentary by Harlow biographer David Stenn (Howard Hughes himself appears in this footage). As usual with Criterion releases, this disc comes with a booklet essay. Written by Fred Kaplan, the author states that HELL'S ANGELS was much more cynical than the other WWI epics made up to that time. 

What is sorely missing on this HELL'S ANGELS Blu-ray is an audio commentary. The making of this film is at times more fascinating than what is actually in it. One can only wonder what the silent version of this film could have been, with Greta Nissen playing Harlow's part and Thelma Todd even making an appearance. Plenty of urban legends have sprung up over HELL'S ANGELS, but even with its mediocre talkie sequences the aerial scenes alone make it an amazing achievement from Howard Hughes, one of the most fascinating figures of the 20th Century. 

THE HOT HEIRESS

 

The main reason I watched this very strange and silly Pre-Code comedy is that Thelma Todd appears in it. Unfortunately Todd doesn't get much to do, as she plays the best friend of the leading lady. 

THE HOT HEIRESS refers to Juliette (Ona Munson), a young socialite who enjoys sleeping during the day in her swanky apartment. While she is doing this, a riveter working across the street named "Hap" Harrigan (Ben Lyon) ogles her through a window, and likes what he sees. A red-hot rivet happens to go through that window, and Hap comes to Juliette's rescue (a unique way of "meeting cute"). Juliette (inexplicably) falls for Hap, and as the two grow closer, they plan to be married. Their different social stations, and Juliette's family, are major barriers, but all comes out right in the end. 

THE HOT HEIRESS is proof that not all Pre-Codes are provocative and intriguing. It's a dopey story, blandly directed by one Clarence G. Badger (who I know nothing about). Ona Munson, the future Belle Watling of GONE WITH THE WIND, is cute enough, but her character isn't particularly interesting, and neither is Ben Lyon. One gets the feeling that rich Juliette is attracted to regular guy Hap mainly because she isn't supposed to. 

The rich girl--poor guy element of the plot is very predictable. The only thing that stands out about it this time is that Juliette at the end goes to great lengths to win Hap (usually it's the male that does that in a classic Hollywood movie instead of the female). There are a couple songs forced into the story that were written by Rodgers & Hart, but they don't make much of an impression. 

Ona Munson and Thelma Todd in THE HOT HEIRESS

Tom Dugan plays a fellow riveter, and Inez Courtney (who was a friend of Thelma Todd in real life) is her girl. The two of them are Hap's pals, and they make plenty of trouble for him as he tries to woo Juliette. Hap and his friends get invited to a ritzy party at Juliette's family manor, and, as expected, they act as lower class as possible. A very young Walter Pidgeon plays Juliette's snobby former beau, and the ubiquitous Holmes Herbert is Juliette's father. 

Other than seeing Juliette in her lingerie, and in a bathtub, there really aren't any Pre-Code type moments that stick out in THE HOT HEIRESS. Thelma Todd fans will be distinctly disappointed--she barely has any screen time, even though she still shows more charisma than most of the cast. 

ALRAUNE (1928) On Blu-ray From Deaf Crocodile

 

The 1928 German silent ALRAUNE is the beneficiary of a fine restoration and a proper Region A Blu-ray release due to the folks at Deaf Crocodile, as part of their Henrik Galeen set. 

Henrik Galeen was a writer, director, and actor during the Golden Age of German Expressionist cinema in the 1920s, and ALRAUNE is one of his more notable works. Galeen directed the movie and adapted the screenplay from a novel by Hanns Heinz Ewers. 

The story of ALRAUNE deals with Professor ten Brinken (Paul Wegener), who, through artificial insemination between a prostitute and a convicted murderer, creates a female he names "Alraune"--the German word for mandrake. The Professor adopts the girl, and sends her off to be raised in a convent. Alraune (Brigitte Helm) grows into a rebellious troublemaker, and she runs away from the convent to literally join a circus. She also inflames the passions of many men along the way. The Professor tracks her down, and takes her away to Italy, where the two of them live in luxury and comfort. It appears that Alraune will become an upper-class lady, but the jealous Professor refuses to let her marry a handsome nobleman. Alraune finds out about her bizarre background, and she proceeds to seduce the Professor and bring misfortune upon him. 

The novel on which ALRAUNE was based (and which I have not read) was considered one of the most scandalous ever written at the time, and while experts say the film doesn't live up to it, the adaptation is lurid enough as it is. The very idea of the Professor creating his own "being" through the use of such notorious means is rather cringe-inducing. It appears that the Professor is trying to discover if a person's makeup is influenced by heredity or environment, but there's also a strong hint that the middle-aged ten Brinken (who is played by an actor who has the demeanor of a mad scientist) wants Alraune all to himself. 

Brigitte Helm and Paul Wegener in the 1928 version of ALRAUNE

One can easily see why the men in this movie would be enraptured by Alraune--Brigitte Helm gives another of her eerily sexy vamp performances. Helm goes from mischievous girl to deadly seductress in a flash, and one never quite knows what her Alraune is going to do next. Helm once again shows off her captivating screen presence--the actress herself wasn't too keen on playing femme fatale roles, but she was brilliant when she did them. 

Due to my fascination with Brigitte Helm, I had watched the 1928 version of ALRAUNE on YouTube a couple times, but the versions available for viewing were in bad condition, and they had a number of scenes missing. Deaf Crocodile's restored version on this Blu-ray is a very sharp looking transfer with proper tinting and intertitles. Even though there is still a sequence missing (which is represented by a still photo and a text description) the Deaf Crocodile version runs about 130 minutes....and yes, there are times when the story drags a bit. When it came to directing, Henrik Galeen was no Fritz Lang. Galeen was more interested in mood and ambiance than in pace or rhythm, and ALRAUNE is at its most striking when Brigitte Helm is in full vamp mode. 

ALRAUNE receives its own disc in Deaf Crocodile's Henrik Galeen set, and the extras on it include a snippet of a German film called DANGEROUS PATHS, which has footage of Henrik Galeen as an actor (from this footage Galeen appears to have been a burly Edward Arnold-type). There is also an interview with Stefan Drossler of the Filmmuseum Munchen, who was instrumental in the restoration of ALRAUNE. The interview is with Deaf Crocodile's Dennis Bartok, and it is in two parts, with an overall running time of over 90 minutes. The first part Drossler spends most of the time talking about his film archival work, and it isn't until the second part that he discusses ALRAUNE and THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE, but not as much as one would think. Drossler does make a rather interesting statement that sometimes silent film restorations are overly good-looking. 

A new audio commentary is included, by silent film expert Jan-Christopher Horak. He gives out plenty of info about the film and the people involved in it, but Horak has a very dry delivery and at times it sounds as if he is reciting from a book report. 

This is a great release from Deaf Crocodile, mainly due to the fact that it gives Brigitte Helm a major showcase of her talents for English-speaking audiences. ALRAUNE will probably be a bit too weird for most, even for silent movie buffs, but Helm is definitely worth watching, and you get the bonus of the Golem himself, Paul Wegener. I'll be writing a blog post on the Deaf Crocodile version of the 1926 THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE in the future. 

GERMAN SILENT RARITIES FROM DIRECTOR HENRIK GALEEN On Blu-ray From Deaf Crocodile

 

A company known as Deaf Crocodile has released a two-disc Blu-ray set containing a pair of rare (and restored) cult German silent films directed by Henrik Galeen, the man who wrote the script for the original NOSFERATU. The two films are THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE (1926) and ALRAUNE (1928). 

Both films have been restored by the Filmmuseum Munchen in Germany, and they both feature brand new music scores. The films also have proper intertitles inserted, along with tinting and English subtitles. There are plenty of substandard versions of THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE and ALRAUNE online, but the presentations on this Blu-ray set run about 130 minutes each, and they are far better-looking. 

ALRAUNE is based on a notorious novel by Hanns Heinz Ewers. A haughty scientist (played by the Golem himself, Paul Wegener) uses artificial insemination between a prostitute and a executed murderer to create a dangerously seductive woman (Brigitte Helm). Needless to say, this woman, called Alraune, causes plenty of problems. THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE is actually a remake of a 1913 film which was also written by Hanns Heinz Ewers, and also starred Paul Wegener. The 1926 version stars Conrad Veidt as Balduin, a student who despairs over not being wealthy. A mysterious moneylender named Scapinelli (Werner Krauss) provides Balduin with a fortune--but in return, the student must give up his reflection. Balduin starts to live the good life, but his lost reflection comes back to haunt him. 

This limited-edition special version of the release comes in a slipcase that has original artwork for both films on each side (see pictures above). The disc case has a two-sided sleeve which features vintage artwork for each movie, and each title gets its own disc. 

Included in the limited edition is an 80-page illustrated booklet, which contains reprints of articles written in the 1920s by Henrik Galeen, Hanns Heinz Ewers, and various critics. It also has sketches on the very unusual personal lives of Galeen and Ewers, and discussions on both of the films in the set. 

The two discs are Region A, and they each have audio commentaries by Jan-Christopher Horak. Each disc also has a two-part interview with film archivist Stefan Drossler of the Filmmuseum Munchen, the man behind the restorations of ALRAUNE and THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE, and an excerpt from a 1924 German film called DANGEROUS PATHS, in which Henrik Galeen appeared as an actor. In the future I will be writing blog posts on each movie in this set, and I will go into greater detail about the extras. (A regular edition of this set is available from Deaf Crocodile.) 

This is the first time I've purchased anything from Deaf Crocodile, and I was suitably impressed with this set. I've been fascinated by German silent cinema since I first saw METROPOLIS decades ago, and this set is made for folks like me. It contains a lineup of German Expressionist All-Stars, and it features two films that desperately needed to be restored and given a major release on North American home video. I hope Deaf Crocodile has more German silent movie releases planned in the future--particularly anything that stars Brigitte Helm. This release gets my highest recommendation for silent movie buffs. 

Book Review: MAKING A BRIDGE TOO FAR

 

A few years ago I wrote a glowing review of a book titled WATERLOO--MAKING AN EPIC, a massive tome that dealt with the production of WATERLOO, a large-scale historical epic film released in 1970. The author, Simon Lewis, has now written another "making of" volume dealing with another big-budget high-end war movie--MAKING A BRIDGE TOO FAR, released in 1977. 

A BRIDGE TOO FAR was one of the very last expensive all-star blockbusters set during World War II. Producer Joseph E. Levine was determined to make a film based on historian Cornelius Ryan's expansive book detailing Operation Market Garden, the flawed 1944 plan to make a quick thrust into Germany by seizing a number of bridges behind enemy lines in Holland. Levine secured the services of esteemed actor-filmmaker Richard Attenborough to direct the project, and he also signed up 14 different international stars. The movie was filmed in the Netherlands during a very hot summer in 1976. 

Simon Lewis gives a complete look at the entire production of the film, detailing all of the integral aspects of it in a concise and effective manner. The author has plenty to cover, but he does it very well--even someone who is not a major film buff will understand and appreciate all the various steps taken to make a story that had numerous complicated and challenging elements to it. A BRIDGE TOO FAR was not an easy shoot by any means, and this book is at its best when it delves into the "grunt work" that happens behind the scenes. For all the famous actors and department heads, there are hundreds of regular folks doing their best to make a recreation of a controversial military event seem real, dramatic, and engaging. Lewis shines a spotlight on many of these folks. 

Lewis also provides plenty of detail about a group of young British actors who became known as the "A.P.A."--Attenborough's Private Army. This group was given some basic military training, and they filled out the roles of various background soldiers and even German troops during most of the scenes. 

The author does give insight into the major stars of the film, such as Sean Connery, Laurence Olivier, and Michael Caine, and there are a few gossipy anecdotes, but MAKING A BRIDGE TOO FAR isn't a celebrity-centered tell-all. The book's main themes are the collaborative (and often frustrating) aspects of big-budget film making, and the fine line between showing historical accuracy and making an entertaining and dramatic story. What made A BRIDGE TOO FAR different than most WWII films is that many of the top officers that were involved in Operation Market Garden were advisers on the set, and at times they disagreed with how events were staged. 

Another thing that makes A BRIDGE TOO FAR stick out from other WWII movies is that it details an operation that did not succeed. This may have affected how the movie was viewed by audiences and critics when it was released in 1977. The film made a decent amount of money, but it wasn't a box-office sensation, and for a while it wasn't looked upon as one of the better WWII epics. 

Lewis also examines the movie's reception during its original release, and he maintains that the film has managed to stand the test of time as a riveting and monumental production. I must admit that my appreciation for A BRIDGE TOO FAR has grown over the years. Some of the individual sequences are quite stunning, especially the recreation of the massive Allied paratroop drop. In an age of over-reliance on cartoonish CGI and over the top editing effects, Richard Attenboough's understated direction and the movie's top-notch practical effects and battle sequences go a long way. Simon Lewis makes the case with MAKING A BRIDGE TOO FAR that Joseph Lewis and Attenborough created a great WWII spectacular, and, in probably the best compliment I can give to the book, made me want to see the movie all over again. 

THE BLACK WATCH

 

THE BLACK WATCH (1929) is director John Ford's first sound feature. I was enticed to seek it out after reading about it in the book JOHN FORD AT WORK, which I wrote a blog post on a week ago. 

THE BLACK WATCH is an Imperial Britain adventure story, taking place in 1914. The Great War has just broken out, and Captain Donald King (Victor McLaglen) is looking forward to going to France with the rest of his Scottish regiment, the Black Watch. However, King is sent out on a secret mission to India (the captain grew up in that country, and is familiar with its ways and culture). King isn't happy about not being able to fight with his regiment, and it doesn't help that in order to cover up his assignment, he is to pose as a drunken wastrel. King's mission is to infiltrate a band of renegade tribesmen who have fallen under the spell of a mysterious and beautiful young woman named Yasmani (Myrna Loy). The tribesmen look upon Yasmani as a goddess. King and Yasmani fall for one another, but the soldier is sworn to do his duty, no matter what. 

The JOHN FORD AT WORK book points out how innovative Ford was at using sound in THE BLACK WATCH. In the first part of the film, we hear bagpipes playing, regimental songs being sung, soldiers marching past cheering crowds, background noise, and a Muslim call to prayer. All these various sounds come off very distinct and clear--it appears Ford (and Fox Studios) wanted the audience to experience and appreciate the audio right from the start. 

It is during the dialogue scenes that THE BLACK WATCH reveals its early talkie status. When characters start to talk to one another, the story comes to a screeching halt. Most of the dialogue is recited verrrryyyy slowly, and there are plenty of clunky line readings. According to multiple John Ford biographies, Fox Studios had Lumsden Hare, a British actor who plays an officer in the film, supervise a number of dialogue scenes, particularly those involving Victor McLaglen and Myrna Loy. John Ford had nothing to do with these scenes, and it shows--they are very stilted and awkward. 

Ford and his cinematographer, Joseph August, did provide many atmospheric and expressionistic shot compositions, and they gave Myrna Loy some very exquisite close-ups. If all the music and background & incidental noise had been left in, and the dialogue muted out, THE BLACK WATCH would have been much better. 

Putting aside the sound issues, the plot of THE BLACK WATCH has plenty of problems as well. Once Captain King gets to India and begins his mission, the story goes off into fantasyland, as King unconvincingly woos Yasmani, and joins up with her band. King is led to the band's stronghold, an underground temple that resembles something one would see in an Indiana Jones movie. The temple is filled with sword & gun wielding militants, yet King, and a few companions, are able to take them down. 

If that's hard to believe, it's even harder to accept that a large group of fanatical Muslim tribesmen would be under the sway of a young woman. And it's even harder to accept that King and Yasmani would be attracted to each other. Victor McLaglen isn't exactly a dashing romantic hero--he's more the guy who would be best friends with the dashing romantic hero. John Ford would later learn how to use McLaglen properly--here the actor doesn't get any comedic moments, and he's too stiff and formal. Myrna Loy plays one of the many foreign temptress roles she got stuck in before she achieved mainstream success, and while she's gorgeous, she speaks so slowly it's as if she's in some sort of trance. (She even whips out a crystal ball at one point, to show King what his regiment is going through in France.) During the climax Yasmani reveals that she is white....and that she's a direct descendant of Alexander the Great!! (Apparently this was done to make it "okay" that King and Yasmani could have a relationship.) This wild revelation doesn't help Yasmani's fate. 

Info on THE BLACK WATCH states that John Wayne and Randolph Scott were extras in this film, but I didn't notice them, despite the fact that the version of the movie I viewed on YouTube was clear and sharp looking. 

John Ford fans will be more interested in seeing THE BLACK WATCH, especially with it being his first sound film. Viewing the movie one can see that it took Ford a bit before he achieved the proper rhythm for sound dialogue--but then again, that could be said for most film directors of the period. The story is reminiscent of better features such as THE FOUR FEATHERS and GUNGA DIN, but overall THE BLACK WATCH is basically a curio. 

THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH On Blu-ray From Vinegar Syndrome

 

I was seriously considering titling this post "What would you pay to see Hazel Court naked??", but I thought that would be in bad taste. It does have to be stated, however, that the main selling point of this new 4K/Blu-ray release of a Hammer movie that already has been the subject of multiple HD versions is the fact that it contains shots of Hazel Court topless, shots that were considered lost for years. These shots have had a legendary reputation among Hammer geeks, so much so they have overshadowed the actual film itself. 

There's more than just the topless shots in this new restoration--the fiery climax is extended a bit, giving more exposure to the extreme old-age makeup sported by lead character Georges Bonnet, an effect that I must say is underwhelming. 

Vinegar Syndrome presents two versions of THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH on this special release: an uncensored version and a "Continental" version with the topless shots (which are very brief). This release has two discs, a 4K and a Blu-ray, and each disc contains both versions, with the Blu-ray having all the extras. 

The disc case states that THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH has been scanned and restored from 35mm camera negatives, and even though I just own a Blu-ray player, I have to say that this is one of the best Hammer transfers I've seen. It's much more colorful and sharper than the Kino Blu-ray of the movie that came out a few years ago, and it proves that the real stars of the film are cinematographer Jack Asher and production designer Bernard Robinson. 

Unfortunately despite the magnificent visuals, and more of the lovely Hazel, the story is still too talky and static, and Anton Diffring as Georges Bonnet, a man who has scientifically discovered how to live forever, is cold and not very interesting. THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH was based on a play (something the extras for this release remind one over and over again), and it feels like a stage production instead of an all-out Hammer Gothic. 

Vinegar Syndrome has given this release some exclusive packaging, such as a special case and a disc case slipcover with movie-inspired artwork. 

The extras include a program in which English Gothic expert Jonathan Rigby talks about THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH for about a half hour (ironically Rigby also was on an extra for the Kino Blu-ray of this title). Rigby mentions how the movie was developed, and why it isn't as well-remembered as the other Hammer horrors. Another program has Vic Pratt discussing Terence Fisher, and he basically mentions the typical Fisher attributes: he was a modest man, he was an efficient filmmaker, he was more interested in substance rather than style, etc. Melanie Williams provides a mini-bio of actress Hazel Court, specifically pointing out that Court had been acting onscreen for almost a decade before she started working for Hammer, and that the British film industry didn't seem to know what to do with her. (By the way, with the latest releases of THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH, Court has been the beneficiary of two excellent restorations--she looks stunning in both of them.) 

There's also a very short interview with Hugh Harlow, who worked on the film as an assistant director, and he mainly states that he enjoyed the experience. An alternate censored ending is also included. 

This release also features a 40 page booklet, with three articles. Adrian Smith goes into the production history of the film, while Jon Dear's essay calls the film a "conceptual horror", while musing that Hammer might not have been the right company to make a version of this story. Finally Kieran Foster provides an appreciation of James Carreras, the high-living head of Hammer. One issue that I have with the booklet is that it has red lettering against all-black pages, and the text is not easy to read. 

A brand new audio commentary by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones is provided, and the two have a lively chat, discussing several facets about the movie, such as why Peter Cushing turned down the lead role, Jimmy Sangster's adaptation of the original story, and the acting careers of Anton Diffring and Hazel Court. 

Vinegar Syndrome's release of THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH is Region A. According to internet rumors the present-day Hammer is preparing their own release of this title. I assume that there is a rights issue that prevents Hammer from doing a home video release available for North America, much like the reason why there are American and English disc versions of the latest restoration of THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. 

I have to say that THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH is not one of my favorite Hammers, but having a great-looking HD presentation of the truly uncut version of the film is worth buying it again. Vinegar Syndrome deserves many kudos for this special edition.