Change Your Image
andy_rox_99
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Bigger Than Life (1956)
Nicholas Ray and James Mason are pure geniuses.
Nicholas Ray is one of those classic 50's directors who has a huge cult, even though he only made a handful of excellent films. Experimenting with drugs, a study of the patriarch family and of boring suburban people and mid-life crises, Ray weaved an extremely controversial, yet superb and disenchanted melodrama. Memorable for many brilliant expressions of terrifying drama, lurid colour, a cult director at one of his greatest points, a risqué story which mounts the devastating critique on the materialistic, middle-class society during post-war America, and showing off the brilliant British actor Mr. James Mason, (who also produced such a fascinating time period study) who in a perfectly cast role, gives one of his greatest performances.
Before I dig into the pros, which I will likely explain Ray and Mason's perfect touches, and cons, which the film does have, I must first explain the harrowing and interestingly risqué dramatic story, which Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum controversially put together.
Bigger Than Life stars the brooding James Mason (perfectly cast, in a role only he could play that strong) as a small-town teacher beset by worries about money and middle-age. He suffers from a rare disease and is prescribed cortisone, a type of steroids, but he becomes addicted to the sense of well being and bigger than life feeling it brings. The overdose of the drug and the inability to stop taking it, turns him into a neurotic, megalomaniac tyrant to his loving and sensitive wife, (played with warmth by Barbara Rush) scared, innocent son (Christopher Olson) and everyone else around him.
A profoundly radical Hollywood movie, the distinguished not only by its distaste for suburban notions of 'normality' but by the change of society and middle-class life during the postwar 50's. The film has an unbelievably raw and dramatic darkly moving score by David Raskin, and the beautifully nightmarish clarity of Bigger Than Life's intense colour scope and realistic dark colourful imagery is always a pleasure to watch. An extremely controversial film, the lighting, sets make the middle- class and small-town 'normal' community and family realistically shown, as well as heighten the melodramatic terrifying drug story and script.
Inspired by a New Yorker article by Berton Roueche, the screenplay warns against quick-fix solutions like the cortisone that transforms Mason's ailing teacher into a psychotic tyrant. The dialogue is fine and the film has some brilliantly scripted melodramatic moments and terrifying sequences. Sure, the films beginning is quite slow and the movie may wander off and grow too dramatic at some points, but its still such a provocative and extremely important study on middle-class suburban life and the effect of drugs and overdoses on a perfectly normal man.
James Mason gives such a terrifying, dark performance as Ed Avery. Barbara Rush is great, playing off warm and sensitivity and Walter Matthau is also well-casted in a rare dramatic role. Yet the supporting cast, screenplay and technical aspects are all out shined by the brilliant inventive performance from Mr. Mason. Perfectly showing the before and after character and emotion of Ed Avery, Mason is perfect in every sequence, both a sensitive and pitiful hero, as well as a vicious and tyrannical villain, tearing apart his and his family's life by his improper use of a dangerous drug. In every scene, mason gives just the perfect amount of touching emotion, terrifying Hyde-like power and memorable freed from inhibitions raw power, dominating the screen.
One of the most intriguing and raw filmmakers ever to be out in Hollywood, Nicholas Ray's follow-up to Rebel Without a Cause may not be as consecutively entertaining, brilliant or versatile to watch, but it's equally as important. In Bigger Than Life, Ray uses the lush and lurid horrifying colour cinematography, to show a realistic nightmare. Perfectly composing the suburban community and notions of 'normality,' Ray gives some terrific angles, terrific set-ups and excellent movement to show the story and develop the raw Mason. Collaborating together, Mason and Ray are perfect together and put together a controversial, yet extremely important and entertaining raw melodrama, which is in fact a masterpiece.
M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (1931)
Fritz Lang's Masterpiece!
Being a young movie buff, I have seen a limited the amount of foreign classics. M topped off all the other foreign films I've seen and showed me what a master Fritz Lang is and how Peter Lorre is a brilliant actor!
Fritz Lang's M is one of cinema's great achievements. An unmistakable classic, this heavy German thriller was highly criticized upon its original release, whereas today it's never looked, sounded and been more exciting than ever. Fritz Lang's famous name is most often associated with Metropolis, hailed as one of the greatest silent films ever made, but M is equally enthralling and brilliant, if not better. Directing with an unmistakable style and outstanding effort, Lang smartly sets up the thrilling story and shows the script through unforgettable visuals, terrific psychological suspense and brilliant staging of the murders, the police effort and the thrilling chase and trial scenes.
In his finest performance, Peter Lorre proved to me that he is one of the great actors of the classic film era. Portraying such a complex psychopath, Lorre makes the audience hate, as well as feel pity for his character, which is an incredibly difficult task. Performing silent for most of the film, Lorre finally speaks in the outstanding closing Trial scene, where he unforgettably pleads insanity in a speechless moment.
Lang and his wife Thea Von Harbou collaborated on the thrilling script, and used both sound and silent moments to tell the horrifying psychological story of Franz Becker, (the beginning of Lorre's great villain roles) a psychopathic serial child-killer who causes a frightening uproar in Germany. He is wanted by the police and citizens, yet the police can't get much further in their case. Becker's killing doesn't only disturb the large police force and four and a half million citizens, but disrupts the city's criminals at a point where they decide they must find the killer and eventually suspect Becker.
A true achievement by all means, Lang's M is one of my favourite psychological thrillers. The brilliant staging, terrific use of sound, (despite there being no musical score) and inspiring camera, acting and writing techniques all help shape this thriller as a cult-classic. An unusual piece of storytelling, M is presented through a series of montage like techniques that add up to the portrait of a German city in terror before being converted into a true mystery-thriller in the second half.
The film's oddities can get picture down and make it too slow and boring to comprehend, yet there hardly worth criticizing. The lighting and use of shadows make the film look like a foreign noir, and the social-drama and satire help the film remain entertaining even when it seems to drag on. The screenplay is entirely unforgettable, as it takes a risky story and makes that into a creative emphasize of Becker's psychosis and has the murders and chases all the more entertaining. Lang and his wife's work makes you both hate and feel sorry for the villain which is a hard task to do. Their work has some terrific lines of dialogue and features some brilliant scenes (especially the final courtroom sequence) which allows Lang to give outstanding camera work.
Like I said at the beginning of my review, Lorre is brilliant and gives his finest work. His portrayal of Becker never gets boring and leaves you speechless right after his brilliant trial finale. He is superb as a villain and floats hauntingly through the various psychological scenes. His bug-eyes make him all the more frightening and his expressionistic style of his performance make him horribly remarkable.
Fritz Lang's unique work may be his greatest. The picture is a heck of a thriller and his directing perfectly compliments the film's darkness. His strange thrilling style is best-shown here as he gives some of his most famous haunting angles and shows great movement in scenes with multiple characters. He also uses the lighting, shadows and sounds to express the film's horrifying reality and help stage the film brilliantly. Altogether, Lang's M is one of foreign cinemas greatest and a frighteningly real psychological treat!