Monthly Archives: January 2013

“Out of the Blue” (1980) dir. Dennis Hopper

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgR_LUmf4vs

Dennis Hopper had an interesting, but extremely spotty career as a filmmaker.  His biggest hit was the 1969 cultural zeitgeist “Easy Rider.”  But in my opinion, the best film that Hopper had any involvement with (aside from “Blue Velvet,” “True Romance” and “Apocalypse Now”) was 1980s “Out of the Blue.”  Hopper was originally hired on just to act, but when the first-time director wasn’t delivering the goods during the first couple of weeks in production, Hopper rewrote the script and took over as director.

“Blue” is an ultra-bleak look at the collateral damage that alcoholism and drug abuse can have on a family.  The lead character CeBe, brilliantly played by Linda Manz, is a lonely 14-year old girl with a chip on her shoulder and an obsession with Elvis and punk rock.  Her father, played by Hopper, has been in prison for killing multiple children on a school bus in a drunk driving accident five years prior.  Her mother, played by Sharon Farrell, is a waitress and heroin addict.  Hopper’s character gets out of prison and for a brief moment, it looks like CeBe will finally have the normal life she has craved.  But it’s not to be and the film gets increasingly dark and bleak, leading to a really horrific ending.

Needless to say, “Out of the Blue” is not a film you’d want to watch in a foul or depressed mood.  It is THE definition of a “feel-bad” movie.  However, the movie is brilliantly directed by Hopper, who really conveys the desolation of these characters and the world they inhabit.  And the performances by Manz, Hopper, Farrell, and Don Gordon are all frighteningly real.  Especially Manz.  She plays a very angry character, an anger that masks a desperation for a normal family.  The hopeful look in her eyes when she thinks things are going to work out is heartbreaking.  “Blue” was in competition for the Palme d’Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival and Manz was talked about as a strong contender for the Best Actress prize that year (she lost to Anouk Aimee).

The trailer above gives a very strong flavor of what this movie is about. However, it’s definitely not safe for work given the subject matter.

“The Believer” (2001) dir. Henry Bean

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“The Believer” is one of the best (and most controversial) films of the last decade and contains one of the best acting performances I’ve ever seen. Forget what you think you know about Ryan Gosling. Gosling’s performance in “The Believer” is one of the most ferocious acting performances I’ve ever seen.

Based on a true story and brilliantly written and directed by Henry Bean, Gosling stars as Daniel Balint, a rising star in a neo-Nazi skinhead group who has a major problem… Balint is an Orthodox Jew. His hatred … and deep love of his Jewish faith keeps him conflicted throughout the film. As he starts to feel more conflicted, he becomes more dangerous and unstable. There’s not a happy ending.

“The Believer” won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, but was condemned by some as anti-Semitic and wound up without a distributor. Showtime bought it, planned on premiering the film September 2001, but then 9/11 happened. Due to Showtime not wanting to show such an incendiary film so close in time to a national tragedy, the film got its appearance on the network delayed by several months.

It’s too bad this film got such short shrift. It’s a truly great, albeit extremely disturbing and upsetting masterpiece. The screenplay was published in book form by Thunders Mouth Press in 2002, with additional essays and thoughts by Bean. If you like the film, you definitely need to hunt the book down with the screenplay. Spike Lee said “Henry Bean is a big talent and ‘The Believer’ is his most courageous and thought-provoking work yet!'”

“Wise Blood” (1980) dir. John Huston

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The problem with coming up with an all-time Top 10 film list is that afterwards, you think of a lot of films you should have included instead. “Wise Blood” is one of them.

Based on Flannery O’Connor’s novel, “Wise Blood” is about Hazel Motes, an angry young man who is fed up with religion and wants to start a new church, without Christ. Several things get in his way and inevitably, the more he tries to run away from religion, the more it seems to creep into his life. Believe me, this is not a pro-religion tale by any means. The fact that Hazel can’t escape religion is seen as ironic and comically awful.

Brad Dourif should have gotten an Oscar nod for his performance as Hazel, if not the statue itself. This is one of the best acting performances I’ve ever seen and it’s definitely the best thing Dourif has ever done. He plays the entire role like a caged rat, but ready to bite the head off anyone who gets in his way. The supporting performances by Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton, and Amy Wright are all terrific.

This was kind of a comeback film for legendary director John Huston. He made this during a low point in his career, got a lot of praise for it, and then two years later got the “honor” of directing the film adaptation of “Annie” in 1982 … yeah …  my thoughts exactly.  But Huston soon directed “Under the Volcano” and “Prizzi’s Honor” and acquitted himself quite nicely.

Long very hard to find, the Criterion Collection came out with a beautiful DVD of this approximately 5 years ago. This is a great, great movie.

“Salvador” (1986) dir. Oliver Stone

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Made in the same year as Oliver Stone’s breakthrough “Platoon,” “Salvador” is arguably Stone’s best film. The late, great critic Pauline Kael described the directorial style of this film as someone putting a gun to the back of Stone’s neck and shouting “GO!!” That’s pretty much the long and short of it. The most exciting political thriller since Costa-Gavras’s “Z,” “Salvador” is like a Hunter S. Thompson story in hell.

James Woods gives his all-time best performance as sleazebag photographer Richard Boyle.  Apologies to Paul Newman, but he should have gotten the Best Actor Oscar for “Hud,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “The Verdict,” or “Nobody’s Fool.”  Sorry, Woods deserved the Oscar in 1987.  If there was any role Woods was born to play, it’s Boyle.  And the supporting performances, from James Belushi to Elpidia Carillo to Micheal Murphy to John Savage to Tony Plana are all magnificent.

This is political cinema as an action film.  You can really see Kathryn Bigelow taking notes (Stone produced her 1989 thriller “Blue Steel”) for her later work on “Strange Days” and “The Hurt Locker.”

 

“The King of Comedy” (1982) dir. Martin Scorsese

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb3mV8rVsb8

“The King of Comedy” was Martin Scorsese’s follow-up to his legendary Jake LaMotta biopic “Raging Bull.” “King” flopped with audiences and got mixed reviews from critics. However, I think it’s one of Scorsese’s best films and as I much as I admire “Raging Bull,” I would watch “King” before “Bull” any day.

This movie seriously rubbed many the wrong way, because “King” did not resemble the typical Scorsese film. (There’s no gangsters, rat-a-tat dialogue and editing, or violence.) And star Robert DeNiro, as obnoxious autograph hound and wanna-be comedian Rupert Pupkin, likely really repulsed people. Granted, Jake LaMotta and Travis Bickle were scary characters, but let’s be honest, people love scary characters. Pupkin is the delusional loudmouth that most people go out of their way to avoid, let alone avoid seeing a movie about.  But DeNiro really brings it in this role, as well as Jerry Lewis as talk show host Jerry Langford and Sandra Bernhard as DeNiro’s arguably more demented cohort Masha.  Berhnard’s “seduction” of Lewis’s character is absolutely hilarious and frightening.

But I think time has been really kind to “King.” Uncomfortable, queasy comedy (i.e. “Curb Your Enthusiam,” “Louis”) has attained a certain kind of cache and if you like Larry David and Louis C.K., you should really give “King” a chance. “King” is one of the most brutal critiques of celebrity culture / worship ever created. It’s extremely uncomfortable to watch, but also very darkly funny.

“The Searchers” (1956) dir. John Ford

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Arguably, the most revered Western of all time and voted 7th greatest film of all time in the esteemed British film journal Sight and Sound in 2012, “The Searchers” is my personal favorite among the 10 films selected. It was highly regarded by many of the New Hollywood directors of the 1970s and its influence can be seen most significantly in Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” and Paul Schrader’s “Hardcore.”

“The Searchers” is about a woman (played as an adult by Natalie Wood), who is kidnapped as a young girl by Native Americans and her uncle’s obsessive search to find her. The uncle, played by John Wayne, is a Confederate Civil War veteran, on the outside of the law, and extremely racist. In his mission, he’s accompanied by his adopted nephew and the woman’s brother, played by Jeffrey Hunter, who is Native American by birth. Wayne’s character doesn’t consider Hunter to be part of his family and the two quarrel throughout the film. Wayne even reveals that his mission once he finds his niece is to kill her, because she’s likely been defiled by the tribe that kidnapped her. Yes, this is not exactly the most evolved film … but stay with me, please. Though, I’m going to reveal major spoilers, so if you don’t want to know what happens … STOP READING NOW!!

The first clip shows what happens when Wayne’s character eventually catches up with Wood. As he’s been saying, you expect Wayne’s character to kill her, but instead, he lifts her up and says “Let’s go home, Debbie.” This scene leaves me in tears every time I see it.

However, the saddest moment is yet to come. Wayne’s character carries Debbie back to her home and gives her back to his brother. Wayne’s nephew joins hands with the love of his life and enters the home. And then … Wayne turns around and walks off and the door closes behind him. The End.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woahas_W35A

A devastating masterpiece.

“Satellite of Love” – Lou Reed from “Live: Take No Prisoners” (1978)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uloC5PkhsnM

If you’ve been following Dave’s Strange World, you’ll know how much I revere Reed’s legendary/infamous live album “Take No Prisoners.” Many dismiss “Prisoners” as a stand-up comedy album because Reed takes the opportunity to occasionally p–s on his enemies in vicious verbal asides. This is not one of those moments.

This version of “Satellite of Live” is far from slick, but it’s certainly heartfelt. His backing band is stunning and the background singers are beyond awesome. The finale, which starts 4:35 into the song is absolutely incredible and should be played at maximum volume.

“Song to the Siren” – Bryan Ferry (live on the Jools Holland show, 12-11-2010)

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An absolutely amazing cover of one of my all-time favorite songs. Given the subject matter, you would have thought that Ferry would have composed this song himself. However, it was written and performed by Tim Buckley in the late 1960s and Ferry’s version was from 2010.

Bryan Ferry just keeps getting better as he gets older. It’s almost like he’s been waiting his entire life to grow into the Serge Gainsbourg-like world-weary European gentleman he’s become. The studio version of “Siren” on Ferry’s “Olympia” album is stellar, but this live version is very special. Also, highly recommended is his 2007 album of Bob Dylan covers “Dylanesque.”