Tag Archives: martin scorsese

“Bad Lieutenant” (1992) dir. Abel Ferrara

Video

Reply

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6_bOzqDNOM

“Bad Lieutenant” was one of the best films of the 1990s and a film that continues to fascinate and provide food for thought as the years go on. The plot seems simple (and deceptively Conservative): a corrupt cop (masterfully played by Harvey Keitel) with various addictions: gambling, drugs, sex … reaches a major crisis point, finds Jesus, and understands the true nature of Christianity. The problem (at least of for Christian Conservatives) is that Keitel’s journey is an NC-17 rated charter to Hell, with graphic sex, nudity, violence, and drug use. Keitel’s character’s hallucination / breakdown in front of Jesus, as well as his subsequent giving some crack-smoking rapists $30,000 and a bus ticket out of town, really made me understand the concept of Grace. This will likely offend most people who call themselves Christians, but it also makes me understand what Christianity is about in a way that never made sense to me before. Admittedly, it’s not enough to make me run back to church, but it’s still pretty powerful … and a great testament to Ferrara as a filmmaker and potential (albeit wacked-out) theologian.

The attached red-band trailer is admittedly awful, but it’s at least consistent with most art-house trailers. The film is way better than this trailer would make you believe.

I remember seeing this film on a sleety, gray, miserable day in February 1993 in downtown Washington DC.  The theater I went to see it in (the Janus 3) was pretty run-down.  It wasn’t what I would call a grindhouse, but definitely a venue that had seen better days.  In retrospect, it was the perfect setting to see this f–ked up masterpiece.

This was one of Martin Scorsese’s favorite films of the 1990s.

“The Bells of St. Mary” – The Drifters

Posted on by
Reply

Another great, soulful, holiday classic … this time from the Drifters.  This version of “The Bells of St. Mary” is sublime and was used to chilling effect in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” when Joe Pesci’s character pays Samuel L. Jackson’s character a visit one morning.

“Neon Slime” – Wings Hauser (from the 1982 film “Vice Squad” dir. Gary Sherman)

Posted on by
Reply

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMFqPFrfZ4o

Yes, this song sounds more than a little ridiculous, except that I really, really love it.  It’s the perfect theme song for one of the craziest, sleaziest films ever made, Gary Sherman’s 1982 film “Vice Squad.”  Wings Hauser, who plays a sadistic pimp named Ramrod (is that a great villain name or what?!?), contributes this gem of an opening song, written by Simon Stokes, previously featured on Dave’s Strange World with his angry senior citizen anthem “Hey You”.

If I ever become a professional recording artist, I want to do a cover of this song as my first single.  The video would feature me in a blonde jheri-curl wig and black Members Only jacket shrieking this song to some Traci Lords look-a-like in spandex.

Trivia note:  Back in the day, Martin Scorsese said that “Vice Squad” should have been nominated for several Academy Awards that year.  He liked the movie so much that he got into a screaming match with his then-girlfriend, Paramount studio executive Dawn Steel, over the merits of the film at a Hollywood party.

Here’s the brilliant under-one minute trailer I remember seeing when I was 12 years old:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uac61-z9z8I

“Wake in Fright” (1971) dir. Ted Kotcheff

Posted on by
Reply

One of the best, most brutal, and weirdest Australian films ever made is getting a major American reissue via Alamo Drafthouse Films.  “Wake in Fright” was thought to be a lost film, but a negative in great shape was found a few years ago and the film was restored.  This is the Australian “Deliverance”.    Director Ted Kotcheff later went on to direct “North Dallas Forty” (arguably, the best American football film ever made) and the original “First Blood” (a great film, especially when you forget the moronic blockbuster “Rambo” sequel).

As Martin Scorsese said, “WAKE IN FRIGHT is a deeply – and I mean deeply – unsettling and disturbing movie. I saw it when it premiered at Cannes in 1971, and it left me speechless. Visually, dramatically, atmospherically and psychologically, it’s beautifully calibrated and it gets under your skin one encounter at a time. I’m excited that WAKE IN FRIGHT has been preserved and restored and that it is finally getting the exposure it deserves.”

“Wonderful Remark” – Van Morrison

Video

1

My favorite Van Morrison song. I first heard it nearly 30 years ago over the end credits of Martin Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy.” Until it appeared on Van’s mega-selling “Best Of” album from 1990, the only place you could find it was “The King of Comedy” soundtrack which went out of print almost as soon as it was released. Since the song was nearly impossible to find and I loved “King,” I would always watch the film through the end credits to listen to it.

“God Give Me Strength” (from the 1996 film “Grace of my Heart”) dir. Allison Anders

Video

Reply

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ese5A8Y-Sdg

This film appears to be based on Carole King’s life … but not exactly.  Because writer-director Allison Anders did a very smart thing when she came up with “Grace of My Heart.”  Instead of going the straight biopic route … and getting raked over the coals for fudging details of what actually happened to keep the story moving, she fictionalized her account.  This way, she could create composites of people, tell a compelling story, and keep people focused on her film.  And, instead of trying to buy the rights to all of the great songs from the Brill Building era (which would have been cost-prohibitive), she hired the composers of that period (Burt Bachrach, Gerry Goffin, etc) and teamed them up with Elvis Costello and others to write new songs.  This was another incredibly smart move, because not only are the new songs terrific in their own right, but having the old songs would have further distracted audiences from the narrative.

Anders script and directing are terrific. There’s loads of great actors in this film (Eric Stoltz, Matt Dillon, Patsy Kensit, Bridget Fonda, John Turturro), but Illeana Douglas towers above them all in the performance of her career as the lead, Edna Buxton.  She should have copped an Oscar nomination for this.  Unfortunately, even though Martin Scorsese was Executive Producer, the film was released by Gramercy Pictures (the mini-major created by Universal Pictures and Polygram Films), who botched the release of a lot of terrific films of the period (“Dazed and Confused,” “Mallrats,” “Bound,” “Kalifornia”) that are now considered classics.  When they had the occasional hit (“Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Fargo”), it seemed purely accidental.  But I digress …

This is the musical highlight of the film, in my opinion.  “God Give Me Strength” was written by Burt Bachrach and Elvis Costello and is sung by Kristen Vigard (Douglas is lip-syncing).

If you want to hear a great podcast about this film, check out The Projection Booth’s episode on this film.  It’s really terrific.

http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2012/04/episode-60-grace-of-my-heart.html

3. “Boogie Nights” (1997) dir. P.T. Anderson

Posted on by
Reply

Number 3 on Dave’s Strange World’s all-time favorite films is P.T. Anderson’s magnificent epic film the L.A. porn industry between 1977 and 1984. It still amazes me to think that Anderson was only 27 when he made this film, because it exudes an artistic confidence that is rare in most films, let alone by young filmmakers making their 2nd feature.

“Boogie Nights” combines the delirious rock-n-roll rhythms of Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” the successful juggling of multiple quirky, memorable characters / storylines (ala Robert Altman), and “Wouldn’t it be really f–kin’ cool if I tried this?” sense of danger / bravado of Tarantino. Like “Goodfellas,” it’s a 2.5 hour film that feels like its half its length. Anderson has gone on to make other brilliant films (“Magnolia,” “Punch Drunk Love,” “There Will be Blood”), but none of them are quite as breathtaking as “Boogie Nights.”

The scene here is the bravura sequence near the end of the film where Mark Wahlberg’s Dirk Diggler character (his success as a porn actor squandered on cocaine addiction), along with his pals (played by John C. Reilly and Thomas Jane) makes a desperate attempt to rip off a drug dealer. The scene is based on the infamous Wonderland murders from 1981 that involved John Holmes. Anderson’s use of 80s pop music in this scene is extraordinary … especially the use of Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian,” which takes on a deeper meaning, because the song is about the loss of innocence and it’s an ironic and sad counterpoint to the characters in this scene, who are long past that stage.  The character with the firecrackers was a steal (with permission) from Robert Downey Sr.’s abrasively funny 1969 satire “Putney Swope.”

Because this scene involves substance abuse, graphic violence, and bad language, not safe for work or little ones.

7. “Goodfellas” (1991) dir. Martin Scorsese

Video

Reply

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eVqdnDk02Y

Number 7 on Dave’s Strange World’s list of all-time favorite films is Martin Scorsese’s vicious, profane, and hilarious gangster classic “Goodfellas.” Since I tried limiting myself to just one film by each director, it was hard picking my favorite Scorsese film. “Taxi Driver” and “Hugo” almost made the cut on all my time Top 10, but “Taxi Driver” is a really heavy, painful film that I don’t watch that often these days and “Hugo,” while being emotionally uplifting, is heavy in its own way too. These aren’t criticisms, it’s just that if I’m picking a Scorsese film to watch at the end of a long, hard day at work, “Goodfellas” never disappoints. Even at 2.5 hours long, it feels like it’s half that length. Everything about this film, from the script to the acting to the editing to the music is a pure adrenalin rush. And while you may feel exhausted at the end of this, it’s a good exhaustion.

The scene I included here is where Liotta’s, DeNiro’s, and Pesci’s characters need to borrow a shovel from Pesci’s mother’s house to bury the body of a gangster they just killed. Playing Pesci’s mother is Scorsese’s mother Catherine, who is totally sweet and funny in this scene. There is some pixelation during the first 11 seconds of this clip, but everything else is fine after that. Favorite line: “Looks like someone we know.”