By John Seal
January 6-12, 2004
From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times PDT.
Tuesday 01/06/04
1am Encore
Battle Beyond the Stars (1980 USA): Thanks a lot, Mr. Lucas. Not only have your last few films been nigh on unwatchable (even more so on the small screen than the big, by the way) but your little cowboys-in-space epic resulted in the production of a whole bunch of dreadful imitations. Luckily, this is one of the more amusing entries in the genre, happily free of heavy-duty philosophizing about the vastness of the universe and concentrating on low-budget space opera. It’s also another rendering of the now-hoary Seven Samurai storyline, with a group of astro-mercenaries out to protect a vulnerable spaceport. Starring Richard Thomas in the Toshiro Mifune role (no laughing in the back row, please), the cast also includes George Peppard, John Saxon, an incredibly old Sam Jaffe, scream queen Sybil Danning, and Jeff Corey. Thoroughly silly stuff, albeit a step above Battlestar Galactica. Also airs at 4am.
8am Turner Classic Movies
The Unguarded Hour (1936 USA): A solid MGM mystery directed by Marx Brothers regular Sam Wood, Unguarded Hour stars Loretta Young as a loyal wife trying to save hubby Franchot Tone from a former gal pal’s blackmail scheme. Like most MGM second features, this one plays more like a B+ or A- film, with excellent production values (most notably James Van Trees cinematography), a good (and witty) script by Howard Emmett Rogers and Leon Gordon, and a nasty baddie in the form of Henry Daniell.
Wednesday 01/07/04
11:20am Encore True Stories
Quitting (2001 CHI): This week’s speculative pick from director Zhang Yang (responsible for 1999’s marvelous quirky drama Shower) features a mostly amateur cast in a story about an actor (Jia Hongsheng, the only pro in the film) trying to overcome drug addiction. Apparently the film mirrors Hongsheng’s own unfortunate experiences with the demon powder whilst working in the Chinese film industry of the 1980s. Also airs at 8:30pm and 1/12 at 8:20pm.
Noon Turner Classic Movies
Stars in My Crown (1950 USA): Director Jacques Tourneur is remembered today primarily for his work for producer Val Lewton and his horror classic, Curse of the Demon (1956 GB). Here’s one of the forgotten gems in his filmography, a western with all the typical Tourneur touches. In fact, this was his favorite film, and in his brief essay Taste Without Clichés, he related the story of how he begged MGM producer William Wright to assign the film to him instead of a director lower on the totem pole. Eventually Tourneur got the job, but only after agreeing to work for the minimum fee, taking a two-thirds pay cut in the bargain. The result is a dreamy story of a Southern town beset by an outbreak of typhoid fever and plagued by a local Klan chapter. Racism was a long-term thematic concern for Tourneur, and he was lucky - or smart - enough to cast the always-wonderful Juano Hernandez as a black farmer targeted by Klansman Ed Begley. Hernandez remains one of the great unsung heroes of mid-20th-century American cinema in films ranging from Intruder in the Dust (1949 USA) to Kiss Me Deadly (1955 USA) and The Pawnbroker (1964 USA). There’s also an outstanding performance from Joel McCrea (who introduced Tourneur to the source novel for the film) as a local parson initially blamed for the typhus outbreak, and a fine supporting cast, including future Gunsmoke star Amanda Blake, Alan Hale, and Dean Stockwell. This isn’t your typical two-fisted oater, but if you’re a fan of the fever-dream terrors of I Walked with a Zombie and Cat People, you’ll definitely want to take a look at Stars in My Crown.
1pm Fox Movies
Journey into Midnight (1968 USA): Compiled from two episodes of Hammer Studio’s 1968-69 British television series Journey to the Unknown, this remains the only route by which American viewers can appreciate that anthology show. Clearly aimed at an international audience, this feature-length “film” stars up-and-comer Chad Everett in the first segment and established actress Julie Harris in the second. It’s not particularly scary stuff, but it generally plays better than the company’s later series, The Hammer House of Horror, and features a lot of familiar faces, including Edward Fox, Bernard Lee, and Marne Maitland. Maybe one day the miracle of DVD will bring the remaining 15 episodes to a wider audience; heck, now that I have a multi-region player, a UK reissue would make me happy. Also airs 01/08 at 3am.
Thursday 01/08/04
5pm IFC
Three Colors: Blue (1993 FRA-POL): I’ve recommended separate broadcasts of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colors trilogy on occasion, but tonight IFC broadcasts the full set in correct order. The first film in the series stars Juliette Binoche as a composer who withdraws from public life after the death of her husband and child in an auto accident. The story, co-written by Kieslowski and fellow director Agnieszka Holland, is the least immediately engaging of the three, but is an essential table-setter for those trying to fully appreciate Kieslowski’s musings on “liberty, equality, and fraternity”. Three Colors: White airs at 6:45pm and remains my favorite of the three. It’s a deceptively lighthearted sex comedy (!) starring the beautiful Julie Delpy (who appears briefly in both Blue and Red) as a spiteful woman who throws her husband (Zbigniew Zamakowski) out on the street when (to put things gently) the lead in his pencil runs out. He returns to his native Poland, becomes a successful businessman, and plots a spousal revenge that doesn’t turn out quite as he intended. Finally, Three Colors: Red concludes the series at 8:30pm, detailing the somewhat perverse relationship between a cynical older man (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and a younger woman (Irene Jacob) who meet after she runs over a dog. A film primarily about fate, coincidence, and synchronicity, Red concludes the series on a haunting and ironic note. These films aren’t for everyone, but for those who enjoy the art of cinema as much as the business of entertainment, they are must-sees. All three films are also re-aired immediately after Red concludes at 10:15pm.
11:05pm HBO Family
The Double McGuffin (1979 USA): It’s airing on HBO Family, but this is definitely a kiddie (or young adult) movie with a little edge. That’s a good thing, of course, as the film paints a relatively realistic portrayal of coming-of-age teens in the late ‘70s without descending into frat house antics or toilet humor. Written and directed by Benji creator Joe Camp and filmed on location in Texas, The Double McGuffin follows half-a-dozen high school students on the trail of a mysterious suitcase and a disappearing body. Youngsters will enjoy the intrigue and parents will get a kick out of seeing Ernest Borgnine as a would-be assassin, George Kennedy as the suspicious local sheriff, and Too Tall Jones and Lyle Alzado as henchmen. Awfully good fun, especially on a cold winter’s night, which my meteorological sixth sense predicts for some part of the country this evening. Also airs 01/09 at 2:05am.
Friday 01/09/04
10:15pm Showtime 3
Lonely Hearts (1981 AUS): A marvelous Australian romantic drama, Lonely Hearts stars the ubiquitous Wendy Hughes and Norman Kaye as a couple engaged in an awkward on-again/off-again relationship. Written and directed by Dutch-born Paul Cox - who followed this up with another Kaye-starring minor classic, Man of Flowers - this is a million miles from Hollywood romance, featuring two flawed characters who can’t quite seem to decide exactly how far they can - or want to - go with each other. A good one for those who enjoy indie character studies.
11pm Turner Classic Movies
The Wages of Fear (1953 FRA): If you haven’t already splashed out for the wonderful Criterion DVD of this title, set the timer tonight. Directed by France’s answer to Alfred Hitchcock, Henri-Georges Clouzot (whose equally-memorable 1943 classic Le Corbeau is set for the DVD treatment shortly), this epic adventure follows a group of hired hands on a dangerous trek through South American jungles as they attempt to transport a load of nitroglycerine. Whatever they do, drivers Yves Montand, Peter Van Eyck, and company must somehow navigate 300 miles of atrocious roads without shifting the contents and agitating the explosives within. Clocking in at a generous and thoroughly unboring 156 minutes, this is a gorgeously shot thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Add in a memorable Georges Auric score, and you have one of the greatest suspense films ever made.
Saturday 1/10/04
9am Fox Movies
A Hatful of Rain (1957 USA): By the late ‘50s, mainstream Hollywood had finally taken tentative steps to stop tiptoeing around the realities of drug abuse. The burgeoning social problem, once confined to traveling road shows and B pictures, had graduated to the A list with 1955’s Nelson Algren screen adaptation, The Man with the Golden Arm. A Hatful of Rain, whilst not quite as brutal as its predecessor, is nonetheless a worthy and serious look at heroin addiction. Don Murray stars as a young, disabled Army vet who can’t get the monkey off his back after being discharged from hospital. Supported by his family - including wife Eva Marie Saint and brother Tony Franciosa - Murray struggles to get control of his addiction, only to lose every time. Filled with wonderful location footage of New York City, and featuring an appearance by TiVoPlex favorite William Hickey, this is a prime example of the “problem pictures” of the period, right down to the downbeat but realistic finale. Also airs at 11pm.
Sunday 1/11/04
1:30pm Encore
Guncrazy (1992 USA): A sterling cast and a reasonably well-written script lift this tale of teenagers on the run from the law into above-average territory. James LeGros (also memorable in Drugstore Cowboy) plays a paroled convict trying to get his life in order. Drew Barrymore is a confused teen who loves guns, and Warhol alum Joe Dalessandro is the scumbag who abuses her. When Drew and James hook up (shortly after she's offed Joe!) complications ensue. Guncrazy is predictable but entertaining, doesn't pander to its audience, and is a damn sight better than Natural Born Killers. Also airs at 4:30pm.
9pm Turner Classic Movies
Man with a Movie Camera (1928 USSR): Need more proof that the Russian Revolution actually did some good? Just watch Dziga Vertov's amazing experimental film and appreciate the creative energies that October 1917 unleashed. A clear (and superior) forerunner of films like Koyaanisqatsi, Man with a Movie Camera will tease and provoke your eyes until its quick-cut ending will leaves you gasping for more. Absolutely essential viewing for anyone interested in the development of the motion picture arts and sciences.
Monday 1/12/04
5:30am More Max
To Live is Better Than to Die (2003 CHI): A thoroughly gut-wrenching portrait of human suffering, To Live is Better Than to Die’s blunt title appropriately reflects the dire circumstances of the Mas, a rural family in China’s Wenlou Province. Stricken by HIV/AIDS as a result of selling their blood, the elder Mas struggle to raise their children and prepare them for a parentless future. Filmed surreptitiously by filmmaker Weijun Chen and screened at last year’s Sundance festival, this certainly isn’t a film the Chinese government will smile upon. A very tough documentary to watch, but an astonishing and moving piece of work.
6pm HBO Signature
A Man and a Woman (1966 FRA): If you’ve never seen the film, you’ve certainly heard Francis Lai’s music. You know, “ba-da-da-DADDA-DADDA-DA DADDA-DADDA-DA… (lower octave) ba-da-da-DADDA-DADDA-DA DADDA-DADDA-DA…”. Well, possibly that didn’t help matters…at any rate, Claude Lelouch’s romantic drama was a huge box office hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1966, and features Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant as star-crossed lovers who - oh cruel, cruel fate - can never truly be united. Not quite the classic its proponents make it out to be - or its Best Foreign-Language Film Academy Award would imply - this remains a pleasant if insubstantial artifact of ever-so-colorful European ‘60s cinema.