“Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989) dir. Woody Allen

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My favorite Woody Allen film is the thought-provoking, but despairing and chilling 1989 drama “Crimes and Misdemeanors.” In a modern-day update of “Crime and Punishment,” Allen explores the same themes of Dostoevsky’s classic, but comes to some different conclusions. In the world of Allen’s film, guilt does not always provoke a man to do the right thing, shallowness wins out over earnestness, and tellingly, the film’s most decent character (a rabbi) gradually goes blind by the end of the film.

Martin Landau is arguably the film’s lead, but was nominated for Best Supporting Actor instead of Best Actor that year at the Oscars. As much as “Ed Wood” is one of my all-time favorite films, Landau should have gotten his Oscar for his role as the morally conflicted doctor in “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” instead of his role as Bela Lugosi in “Ed Wood.”

Even Allen doesn’t spare himself. He plays a variation on the sometimes lovable neurotic he’s played in countless other films, but removes the “lovable” part. His character is like someone who never matured beyond his college years and his character’s pathetic stabs at being meaningful are seen as petty and grossly naive and immature.

The scene at the attached clip is one of the pivotal moments of the film, when Landau’s character goes back to the house where he grew up and flashes back to an intense discussion during a seder about faith, the nature of evil, and whether God has any meaning.

While critically acclaimed at the time of its release, it doesn’t get much mention these days. This is one of the best films of the 1980s and is in serious need of rediscovering.

“Piss Factory” – Patti Smith

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This is the B-side of Smith’s amazing “Hey Joe” cover / debut single.  Yes, if you’ve heard this, your first reaction is likely “This was a B-side ?!?!?”  One of the most brutal and despairing looks of blue-collar life ever.  And having worked on an assembly line, Smith knew and lived this s–t!

“Hey Joe” – Patti Smith

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One of the best covers of all time.  This was Smith’s debut single and almost 40 years later, is still a stunner.  Smith reimagines “Hey Joe” as a song about Patty Hearst and her band gradually ratchets up the tension as the song progresses.  Driven by piano and some of the absolute sickest and most intense electric guitar ever recorded, the song explodes into a frenzy of sex, violence, and revolution.  It’s so mind-blowingly intense, it’s easy to see why some critics were actually disappointed by her (damn good) debut album “Horses” which came out a year later.

“Bring the Noise” – Public Enemy and Anthrax

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Public Enemy teams with trash metal pioneers Anthrax for a slammin’ remake of PE’s “Bring the Noise” from 1991.  If your head isn’t bangin’ or your fist isn’t in the air while listening to this, you’re not alive.

“(Your Love is Like) Nuclear Waste” – Tuff Darts

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One of the least heralded bands of the late 1970s CBGB punk scene, the Tuff Darts still put together a pretty good album for Sire Records at the time.  This is arguably their most famous song and if you’re a fan of Ugly Kid Joe’s “I Hate Everything About You” (Dave sheepishly raises his hand), you’ll like this song.  A bit obvious and stoopid, but still pretty fun.  Trivia note: rockabilly legend Robert Gordon was a member of the Darts before this album came out and before his later renown as a solo artist.

“Max’s Kansas City” – Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys

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Here’s the punk version of Arthur Conley’s “Sweet Soul Music.”  Wayne (now Jayne) County gives a special shout-out to one of the preeminent underground music clubs of 1960s-1970s NYC, as well as all of the NYC punk icons of the day: Patti Smith, the Ramones, the Talking Heads, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, the New York Dolls, Pere Ubu (yes, they’re from Cleveland, but they deserve a shout-out), Lance Loud and the Mumps, Richard Hell, Television, Tuff Darts, etc.  And no, the Backstreet Boys who backed Wayne up are not the barely pubescent, New Millenial bad-facial hair boys who want it THAT way.

“That Obscure Object of Desire” (1977) dir. Luis Bunuel

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This trailer is admittedly lame, but Luis Bunuel’s final film “That Obscure Object of Desire” is pretty awesome.  This is a very infuriating film if you take it literally.  However, if you groove on the subversive surrealistic groove that Bunuel is emanating, it’s very very funny.  The film’s premise involves a middle-aged man (brilliantly played by Bunuel stalwart Fernando Rey) who meets an enticing young woman (played enticingly by both Carole Bouquet and Angel Molina … more on that below) who seems to be into the older man.  However, the young woman’s affections run from hot to cold to hot to cold to hot … to cold … to …   And, understandably, the older guy gets increasingly frustrated.  Hilarity … frustration … violence … what have you … ensues.

I remember seeing this in a college film class and the men in the audience went completely bats–t crazy over the machinations of the female lead.  When the older man (finally) fights back, the men in the audience erupted in thunderous applause.  Words like “bitch” and maybe the c-word were heard bandied about in the auditorium.  I can’t say I was that evolved as a human being when I saw the film, but even then, I felt a little weird sitting there with that going on.   And yes, that sort of reaction works if you look at the film literally.  But if you look at the film literally, you also have to admit that lead male protagonist is a complete putz and not worth defending on any level.  The fact that the female lead is played by two different actresses only emphasizes the lead male character’s frustration about never really knowing the woman who is his obscure object of desire.  Bunuel’s reason for casting two different women as the lead?  One of the actresses had to bail halfway through filming and Bunuel had to hire another actress.  However, based on the theme of the film, it totally works.

This is one of Bunuel’s best films and a wonderful cap to a splendid career of f–king with moviegoers.

“Crossing the Line” (2006) dir. Daniel Gordon and Nicholas Bonner

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“Crossing the Line” is a fascinating documentary about James J. Dresnok, a former U.S. soldier who defected to North Korea in 1962.  Dresnok grew up on the short end of lot of misfortunes in his youth.  His parents divorced when he was 10 years old, briefly lived with his father, and was then placed into foster care.  He joined the Army at 17 years of age, got married soon afterwards, and then divorced his first wife after he found out she cheated on him with another man.  Facing a court martial for going AWOL while stationed in South Korea, he cast his fate to the wind, elected to cross the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and defected to North Korea.  Along with three other US soliders who defected to North Korea, Dresnok’s fortunes took a dramatic turn for the better, becoming an important part of the North Korean propaganda machine.  He even became a movie star in North Korea, starring as an American villain in the 20-part North Korean film series “Unsung Heroes.”

In the film, Dresnok is unrepentant in his love for his adopted country.  However, it’s worth noting that his success is in direct contrast to the fate of many North Koreans who have suffered under the repressive regimes of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-il.  While Dresnok expresses no regrets about his decisions, he also has health problems as the result of a lifetime of heavy drinking and smoking.  It doesn’t take a Psych 101 student to conclude there may be a lot of internal doubt on Dresnok’s part about his choices.

“Crossing the Line” is a brilliant portrayal of what happens when a man sells his soul during a weak moment and the toll such decisions play on that man throughout his life.