By John Seal
November 1-3, 2002
As promised, here are the picks to click for the rest of this week. I’ll be back with a full-length TiVoPlex next Sunday. In the meantime, enjoy, and remember, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” All times PST.
Friday 11/1/02
4:30am Encore Mystery
Bunny Lake is Missing (1965 GB): Before descending to bad-taste trash classics like Skidoo and Rosebud, director Otto Preminger had one more decent (if still exploitative) film left in him, and this is it. Keir Dullea and Carol Lynley star opposite Laurence Olivier in this fairly suspenseful story about the search for a missing child. There’s a nice supporting cast, including Finlay Currie as an elderly doll-maker, and terrific black-and-white cinematography by Denys Coop. Great music by the Zombies, too. Also airs 11/7 at 2:45am.
5:20am Black Starz!
Adanggaman (2000 FRA-IVO-SWI-BRK-ITA): Now that’s what I call an international co-production! This West African film focuses on the slave trade in the late 17th century, and the complicity of many African tribes and tribal leaders with that trade. The story itself is not particularly riveting, but the cinematography is outstanding (though understandably dark during nighttime scenes) and the acting is fine. And I have to admit I've got a thing for the Amazon warriors who capture the slaves and march them to their fate. Like many of the foreign films shown on Black Starz!, the film is being shown wide-screen. Also airs at 1:50pm and 11/6 at 2:00am and 1:00pm.
7:00pm IFC
Let Him Have It (1991 GB): This true crime film retells the tragic story of Derek Bentley, a slightly retarded young Englishman who was executed in 1953 for a murder he didn’t commit. Bentley is played with terrific sympathy by Christopher Eccleston, and there’s the usual superb British supporting cast, including Paul Reynolds as the real villain (who ultimately served time but was later freed) and Tom Courtenay and Eileen Atkins as Derek’s parents. You can learn more about the case, and about the fight against capital punishment in ‘50s and ‘60s Britain, at http://web1.pipemedia.net/~sar/bentley/db_main.html. Also airs 11/7 at 7:00am and 1:00pm.
11:00am Turner Classic Movies
Ossessione (1942 ITA): I’m not much of a fan of the over-mannered and long-winded Luchino Visconti, but before his storytelling powers atrophied he was actually close to the forefront of neo-realism, the movement that put Italian cinema on the front burner in the years immediately following World War II. TCM is airing his first film, an uncredited adaptation of James Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice. As usual, the film doesn’t cheat on running time, clocking in at a generous 142 minutes. It’s been many years since I’ve seen it, but I’m moderately excited about this one.
Saturday 11/2/02
8:15am Sundance
Sunshine Hotel (2001 USA): Slim pickings indeed on this day, but at least there’s one film that really does deserve your attention. Sunshine Hotel is a documentary about a New York residential hotel, a place occupied by the lonely, the sick, and the poverty-stricken. One is quickly drawn into the lives of several hotel denizens, including the manager, who isn’t quite all he seems to be; his assistant, a former drug addict trying to leave the Bowery; and a man who earns his keep by literally running around lower Manhattan. Full of surprises, heartbreak, and humor, this film also airs 11/3 at 2:35am and 11/7 at 10:30am.
Sunday 11/3/02
8:30am Sundance
Le Million (1931 FRA): It’s a musical. In French. From 1931. That doesn’t sound terribly promising, but I remember Le Million as being vastly entertaining. I haven’t seen it since catching it on a double bill at the late, lamented UC Theatre in downtown Berkeley, but I can still hum one of the songs from this film almost 20 years after the fact! Director Rene Clair also made A Nous La Liberte in 1931 before moving on to wartime Hollywood success with And Then There Were None and I Married a Witch . Also airs 11/8 at 4:30am and 2:30pm.
1:00pm Fox Movies
Princess Bride (1987 USA): I certainly shouldn’t need to recommend this to anyone. One of the most delightful film fantasies ever made is being broadcast wide-screen, and that’s not only cause for celebration, it’s a great reason to watch it again (Beware of later Fox and Encore airings, as these will almost certainly be pan-and-scan). Equal parts romance, laughter, and adventure, this is a wonderful film for the entire family.
2:00pm Encore Action
Castle Keep (1969 USA): I’m somewhat reluctant to recommend this one, as it doesn’t appear to be the letterboxed print that has aired occasionally on TCM. Nevertheless, I’m going to include it because it’s one of those great films hardly anyone has ever heard of, never mind seen. Cinematographer Henri Decae (The 400 Blows) creates a surreal fairytale atmosphere without sacrificing wartime realism in this tale of stranded GIs in the Ardennes at the end of World War II. The squad, led by an eye-patched Burt Lancaster, try to halt the German advance by hunkering down in a medieval castle that has been miraculously unaffected by the tribulations of the war. The film has echoes of Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast and its stylistic contemporary, King of Hearts, but stands on its own as a superb philosophical exploration of warfare and violence. You won’t be able to fully appreciate Decae’s work, but hey; I grew up watching this film on crummy VHF broadcasts, so we all have to start somewhere.
5:00pm Fox Movies
Phantom of the Paradise (1974 USA): A guilty pleasure par excellence, it’s hard to imagine anything good coming from a film starring Paul Williams as a reclusive musical genius based on Phil “You Signed the Contract” Spector. Luckily, the film had Brian De Palma at the helm and still at the peak of his powers, as well as a super performance by De Palma veteran Bill Finley as Winslow Leach, the aspiring songwriter who tries to get Williams’ attention with his work. Things go badly wrong, and Leach is transformed into the Phantom, who is hell-bent on avenging the iniquities perpetrated by the vile impresario. Gerrit Graham is great as Beef, the androgynous rock-star wannabe, and there’s even a pre-Suspiria performance by Jessica Harper.
5:00pm Turner Classic Movies
The General (1927 USA): How many 75-year-old films can still make an eight-year-old laugh? One. When The General was shown earlier this year with live organ accompaniment at Oakland’s beautiful art-deco Paramount Theatre, the whole family had a terrific time. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard my child laugh as long or as heartily as he did during The General, surely one of the five greatest film comedies of all time. If you can’t catch a showing at your local repertory house, you owe it to yourself to watch it tonight. Buster Keaton has long been eclipsed by the talented-but-maudlin Charles Chaplin, but to me he’s the King of Silent Comedy.
