TiVoPlex

By John Seal

November 18th - November 24th, 2003

Some actors fire their agents. Sutherland fires -at- his agent.

From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times PDT.

Tuesday 11/18/03

2:35am Sundance
Silence, We’re Rolling (2001 EGY-FRA): The most recent feature film by Egypt’s greatest living director, Youssef Chahine, is a frothier concoction than one might expect based on his contributions to the anthology documentaries Lumiere and Company (1995) and 11’09”01 - September 11 (2002). Straddling the lines dividing fact, fantasy and fiction, the film follows the real-life Tunisian singer Latifa as she tries to fend off the advances of a penniless scoundrel (Ahmed Wafik) who has his eye on her money. The story isn’t particularly original, but Chahine is an enthusiastic director whose kitchen-sink approach to filmmaking offers pleasant surprises for the patient viewer, especially those who have a penchant for big-budget Hollywood musicals seen through the prism of modern Arabic culture. All three of you.

11:30am Encore Westerns
Rampage at Apache Wells (1966 BRD-YUG): The sixth in the popular series of Karl May westerns produced for the German market in the ‘60s, Rampage at Apache Wells again stars Stewart Granger as Old Shatterhand (here dubbed as Old Surehand) and Pierre Brice as his faithful Indian companion, Winnetou. I wish Encore would dig up wide-screen prints of these films, but unless TCM decides to air them, this is likely the best American audiences will get. This time, our heroes are escorting a wagon train across Texas, confronting the usual assortment of threats and dangers, though, as always with the Winnetou series, Native Americans are regarded as more noble savage than bloodthirsty killer. Nicely shot throughout Yugoslavia, well scored by Martin Bottcher, and filled with familiar Eurotrash faces, including Terence ‘Trinity’ Hill and Harald Leipnitz (Creature With the Blue Hand), this is a formulaic, corny, and quite enjoyable sauerkraut western. Also airs at 6:30pm, 11/22 at 8:50pm, and 11/23 at Noon.

9pm More Max
Big Shot’s Funeral (2001 HK-CHI): This movie-making satire stars Donald Sutherland (!) as an American “big shot” director bringing Hollywood artistic sensibilities to Asian cinema. Sounds more like a recipe for tears than laughter to me. When Sutherland goes into a coma, his studio boss (Paul Mazursky!) hands his film over to a local cameraman (You Ge), who decides to grant Sutherland’s last wish to incorporate his own funeral in the final cut, replete with product placement and sponsorships. It’s scattershot stuff and doesn’t entirely work, but there’s enough here to warrant a recommendation, especially with the beautiful Rosamund Kwan on hand as love interest. Also airs 11/20 at 7:05am and 10:05am.

Wednesday 11/19/03

4:35am Encore True Stories
Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys (1999 USA): Mmm, nothing like a made-for-TV rock-and-roll biopic to get the juices flowing. This one is ever-so-slightly above-average, however, with Bruce Greenwood (Below, Rules of Engagement) on hand as Beach Boys wild man Dennis Wilson, the only member of the band who actually surfed. The otherwise unheralded Greg Kean co-stars as brother Brian and Arlen Dean Snyder is sufficiently monstrous as showbiz dad Murry Wilson. The focus is on Greenwood’s Dennis, though; probably a wise decision, as his hell-raising ways translated better to celluloid than Brian’s bedroom nervous breakdown would have. And, of course, there’s a visit from Charles Manson to supply the final icing on this cake, even though Michael Mackay isn’t quite up to the task of filling Steve Railsback’s shoes (Railsback’s Charlie in 1976’s Helter Skelter remains the gold standard for performances as the would-be pop star and cult leader). Summer Dreams won’t satisfy hardcore fans of the Hawthorne homeboys, but the rest of us will find it an amusing and occasionally tuneful diversion.

11:15pm Turner Classic Movies
The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight (1971 USA): It’s pretty weak tea, but this rarely-seen Mafia comedy is appearing on TCM in wide-screen, and it includes one of the earliest on-screen appearances by Robert De Niro, here playing an Italian cyclist masquerading as a priest. Adapted for the screen by the great Waldo Salt (Midnight Cowboy, Coming Home) and based on a Jimmy Breslin novel, this really should be a lot better than it is, especially considering the terrific cast, which includes Leigh Taylor-Young, Lionel Stander, Burt Young, and, erm, Herve Villechaize. Well, maybe that’s not such strong supporting evidence after all. At any rate, this is essential viewing for De Niro fans.

Thursday 11/20/03

2:20am Black Starz!
Sia, the Dream of the Python (2001 BRK-FRA): This languidly-paced West African film about a young woman destined to be sacrificed to a python god takes on Shakespearean overtones in its tale of power politics, religion, and superstition. Fatoumata Diawara is fine as Sia, the young woman with a date with death at the hands of her drought-stricken tribe, but the real star is Ibrahim Baba Cisse as the crafty and manipulative Mamadi. Some viewers may not have the patience to make it to the end, but this is a powerful and rewarding film, and another excellent example of French-African collaboration.

4:30am Turner Classic Movies
Undercurrent (1946 USA): One doesn’t usually associate Katharine Hepburn or director Vincente Minnelli with film noir, but Undercurrent finds both of them swimming against the dark tide of inexorable evil that was pulling in scores of cinemagoers in the late 1940s. Superbly shot by the great Karl Freund, Undercurrent also features top-notch performances from Robert Taylor as Hepburn’s too-good-to-be-true husband and Robert Mitchum as his suspicious brother, and includes a plethora of solid supporting actors, including Edmund Gwenn, Marjorie Main, and Jayne Meadows. Hepburn doesn’t seem entirely comfortable in her role, and Minnelli doesn’t do enough to heighten the suspense, but there’s enough good stuff in Undercurrent to satisfy thriller fans, though hardcore noirphiles will probably not approve.

Friday 11/21/03

4:40am Encore Mystery
I, Desire (1982 USA): This forgotten ABC Movie-of-the-Week stars David Naughton (star of An American Werewolf In London) as another unlucky creature of the night: in this case, a mortician on the trail of a vampire in modern-day Los Angeles. Directed by small-screen stalwart John Llewellyn Moxey, this is an above-average TV movie that successfully blends the disparate qualities of shows like Kolchack: The Night Stalker and Quincy. Watch for Grima Wormtongue himself, Brad Dourif, in a small role.

5am IFC
You’re a Big Boy Now (1966 USA): Francis Ford Coppola’s first non-AIP film was, nonetheless, aimed at the young adult audience of the day. Peter Kastner plays a young man on the verge of a late sexual awakening in New York City, and the film is a terrific full-color time capsule of the Big Apple in the 1960s, including a visit to a raunchy Times Square magazine stand. The supporting cast is flawless, including Karen Black, Dolph Sweet, Elizabeth Hartman, and Rip Torn, and the title track - sung by The Lovin’ Spoonful - is particularly memorable. Also airs at 11am.

Saturday 11/22/03

5pm Fox Movie Channel
Violent Saturday (1955 USA): Thanks to FMC, we can now see the wide-screen version of Violent Saturday…on a Saturday, no less. Certainly the onscreen violence is stronger than anything else I've seen from the period, except possibly Richard Widmark shoving the wheelchair down the stairs in Kiss of Death (1947 USA). There are definitely some hints of the future Hollywood of Sam Peckinpah - the sadistic Lee Marvin grinding a little boy's hand into the ground, and a bearded Ernest Borgnine using a pitchfork on Lee towards the end of the film - which is surprising from a director generally as non-controversial as Richard Fleischer. Screenwriter Sydney Boehm was responsible for gritty films like The Big Heat (1953 USA) and Rogue Cop (1954 USA), so I expect we must blame him for coarsening the cultural atmosphere and poisoning the artistic well. Do William Bennett and Lynne Cheney know about this guy?

Sunday 11/23/03

2:30am Sundance
Cunnamulla (2000 AUS): This grim documentary about life in Australia’s Outback offers a depressing set of world-weary real-life characters living a bleak existence at the end of the railway line. There’s the pregnant teenager, the bright young man struggling with substance abuse, the harsh father, the prejudiced mother, and the Aborigines the white folks love to kick around. The film doesn’t abuse its subjects, simply presenting them as-is and without commentary. If you’ve ever been tempted to up sticks for the 100-degree heat of the Simpson Desert, this film may change your mind, though the Queensland Tourist Board will no doubt protest.

9pm Turner Classic Movies
Tillie’s Punctured Romance (1914 USA): That great romantic screen couple, Charlie Chaplin and Marie Dressler, only have eyes for each other in this ancient but reasonably funny Mack Sennett slapstick comedy. Actually, that’s not strictly true, as Dressler was rarely cast as a romantic lead, and Charlie is only after the family money. He really wants to set up shop with Mabel Normand, and frankly, who can blame him? Tillie’s Punctured Romance was the first feature-length comedy film, and also features familiar faces like Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy, Chester Conklin, and Slim Summerville, and Dressler’s father is played by perennial Chaplin foil Mack Swain. The family-friendly pick-of-the-week.

Monday 11/24/03

10:30pm Turner Classic Movies
New York New York (1977 USA): I love Robert De Niro. I’m a huge admirer of Martin Scorsese. And yet, believe it or don’t, I’ve never seen this drama about the love affair between a musician (De Niro) and a night-club singer (Liza Minnelli) in post-World War II New York. Perhaps it was the presence of Liza with a Z that kept me away from it, or perhaps the hefty running time (155 minutes), but with the film STILL not available on DVD, and with TCM airing it letterboxed, there are no more excuses. Or at least no more acceptable excuses. A wonderful supporting cast, including Lionel Stander, Dick Miller, and, of course, Casey Kasem, provide extra incentives, and with Laszlo Kovacs behind the camera, The Big Apple will undoubtedly never have looked better.

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