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Reviews
Breezy (1973)
Uneasy about the age gap
A little-known film directed by Clint Eastwood, it tells the story of a blossoming love affair between two VERY different people. Call me old-fashioned, but I felt they made Breezy too young as it emphasised how prematurely aged Holden looked, and a love affair between a 17 year old hippy and 55 year old divorcée is not particularly palatable. It might have been better had the much younger Eastwood himself taken on the role as originally planned, but I suppose he wanted to stretch the boundaries and this is touched upon. If it were made today, there would probably be scenes of locals firebombing his home and spraying 'PAEDO' down the side of his Lincoln.
Try not to think about the 40 year age difference though, and this is a pretty well-made schmaltzy Sunday afternoon film - I even cried at one point - not because of the 2 protagonists, but because of the dog sub-plot. Well acted by all players, particularly Holden who does grumpy and irascible brilliantly. I also love films made during this era with the over-sized cars, stylish women and chintzy Los Angeles designer homes.
The Appointment (1969)
A strangely alluring film
I started watching this film one night and decided it was interesting enough to record the rest for later viewing. Okay it is overlong - in fact, my wife commented that it was like a feature length Tales of the Unexpected. However, what ultimately saved it was the style of the film which had us both entranced. The colours, locations, the people - life seemed to be so much more stylish in those days; smoking actually looked cool, whereas in todays films, cigarettes are disgusting, seedy and smoked by the villain of the piece. The fashion show scene with babbling models in weird designs was fascinating and almost like a documentary. It was interesting to see Lotte Lenya as the madame - I don't think I have seen her in anything except From Russia With Love playing the ghastly Rosa Klebb. Omar Sharif played a similar role as he did in Dr Zhivago - shaking, worried, with puppy-dog eyes.