Long after the topicality of the conversations has faded away, this film will be revered as the only cinematic close-up tour of Mont Saint-Michel, one of the most spectacular and intriguing edifices in Europe. That alone is worth the price of the film.
Reviews
5 Reviews
An Age of Kings
(1960)
TV at its finest
17 May 2003
Possibly the finest moment of TV, at least in my memory, as millions could watch Shakespeare's gripping Kings cycle (Richard II - Richard III) play out on prime time TV (I believe it was on Friday nights). No word was left out, and the plays awoke in me (who was then in elementary school) a thirst for history and a hunger for Shakespeare and drama.
Let's see these reissued on DVD. What a set this would be!
Let's see these reissued on DVD. What a set this would be!
Full Frontal
(2002)
A nice little movie
11 August 2002
Soderburgh here has shown he can still make the little movies that were his stock in trade before ERIN BROKOVICH and TRAFFIC vaulted him to the A-list. This film, a traditional indie flick with grainy video, ensemble cast but no single star, interlocking but separate story lines, has a lot to please the discerning viewer. Although the plot resolution ultimately shows Soderburgh to have a heart of gold (which I would never begrudge him), the film resists sentimentality. All in all, a great flick.
CAVEAT: I think this movie succeeds without the signature plot trick, i.e. the nesting of films within films within films. One level of nesting, or perhaps two, might have been enough.
CAVEAT: I think this movie succeeds without the signature plot trick, i.e. the nesting of films within films within films. One level of nesting, or perhaps two, might have been enough.
The Royal Tenenbaums
(2001)
Precious, sentimental, overrated...
11 August 2002
This film is vastly overrated. Despite a stellar cast and novel method of presentation, the film turn out to be basically a sentimental essay about an estranged family. There is surprisingly little humor, as most of the laughs are really in anticipation of greater laughs to come, which never arrive. This is the kind of film which has made "quirky" a red flag
High and Low
(1963)
The masterpiece of the "police procedural" genre
14 February 2001
This is one of the outstanding detective films. For me, the most remarkable feature of this film is its architecture - the beginning is a long, static set piece taking place in one room. however, about a third of the way through the movie, it erupts into action, showing the resourcefulness of a largely blue collar police force tracking a lone sociopathic criminal.
The film is a fascinating portrait of '60's Japan, but at the same time reveals its roots in Ed McBain's _King's Ransom_, from which it was taken.
This is one of those films which doesn't seem to age after several viewings. Especially affecting are the police detectives, whose proletarian roots contrast sharply with the cold insensitivity of the powerful corporate executives. But the police find a hero in Gondo, the rebellious general manager who stakes his entire fortune to rescue his chauffeur's son. The admiration that the police detectives feel for him is one of the key emotions in the film.
The film is a fascinating portrait of '60's Japan, but at the same time reveals its roots in Ed McBain's _King's Ransom_, from which it was taken.
This is one of those films which doesn't seem to age after several viewings. Especially affecting are the police detectives, whose proletarian roots contrast sharply with the cold insensitivity of the powerful corporate executives. But the police find a hero in Gondo, the rebellious general manager who stakes his entire fortune to rescue his chauffeur's son. The admiration that the police detectives feel for him is one of the key emotions in the film.
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