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Reviews
The Wrong Man (1956)
Far over-rated
Hitchcock was increasingly erratic. His enviable record of undisputed classics such as Rebecca, Rear Window, and Vertigo was marred by uneven, sometimes downright uninteresting fare such as Topaz (whose beginning borders on the unwatchable) and The Wrong Man.
Possible spoiler follows
Not even Henry Fonda and Vera Miles could retrieve this yawner--nearly two hours of waiting for the inevitable Right Man to turn up. It's as if Hitchcock could not decide whether to make a psychological thriller or a police/law procedural, and produced unsatisfactory aspects of both. Other aspects also are unsatisfactory, including the unexplained cause of Miles' mental problems. We're only told in scrolling text at the end that Rose Balestrero spent 2 years recovering and then lived a normal life. No hint of how her husband supported 2 children and her institution fees working as a night-club musician.
There are some good performances in Wrong Man, but not even Fonda's star power is enough to boost the rating over the 50% mark.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Much Over rated
At 160 minutes this glacially-paced film is at least 35 minutes too long. It's THE talkiest period western since "Ride the High Country" in the 1950s. WAAAY too much character development and not nearly enough gunplay. However, it has good period shootin' irons and leather, and sets the stage in Missourah. Not up to the standard of "Ride w/the Devil" but OK. Not enough Pounding Hooves, either, and hardly any Sweeping Vistas.
Several reviews laud the cinematography. I admit: I do not get it. The camera work is OK, but much of the story occurs in the bleary drearidom of winter.
Writing: the prologue is first rate. Some of the subsequent narration is pretty good.
Casting: good to excellent, especially the 2nd tier players who really do look/act low IQ, Ferrell types. As we might expect, James carville is perfect as a sleazy politician (!) and I've not seen Michael Parks since "Then Came Bronson."
Bottom line: if you see one western this year, miss this and catch the 3:10 to Yuma!
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Great film making, with flaws
This is an exceptionally well made film on nearly all counts: dramatically, historically, and technically. The script is excellent, the cast well chosen, the visuals and CGI frequently stunning. There is very little to dislike.
But there is some.
For reasons not remotely clear, the depiction of USMC Commandant Archer Vandegrift is appallingly bad. In casting Chris Bauer as the general who received the Medal of Honor for his leadership on Guadalcanal, Eastwood commits as egregious an error as selection of prettyboy Alec Baldwin to play short, balding Jimmy Doolittle in the egregious "Pearl Harbor." Bauer, who resembles Dick Butkus more than Archer Vandegrift, comes across as a snarling bigot--not remotely like the courtly Virginian described by those who knew him. The book makes it clear that the film's incident at Soldier Field in Chicago did not occur.
Another example of playing with the facts is the marine who falls overboard en route to Iwo. The poignancy of the scene is too graphic to require much dialogue--a column of ships bypassing the youngster, left to his fate. As I recall, the book relates a similar incident that occurred at night, when a man could be lost to darkness rather than indifference. WW II sailors insist that in daytime there were several measures, including casting life preservers, dropping dye marker, and detaching small vessels for the pickup.
Additionally, the background of the flag raisers' bond-selling tour is vastly exaggerated. We are told that in 1945 the US Government was within weeks of running out of money and therefore reaching an accommodation with Japan. That's absurd. With an economy 15 to 20 times Japan's, how did America run out of money first? C'mon Clint: it's a wonderful story on its own merits and does not require such hype.
Those problems aside, "Flags" is a terrific accomplishment. The not-quite-a-sequel, "Letters from Iwo Jima", represents an exciting, innovative concept that will only further mark Eastwood as a significant director.
Flyboys (2006)
Twenty minutes worth
There are five combat sequences that make this flick worth your ticket--maybe 20 minutes worth seeing in the entire film. The CGI is excellent, especially the Gotha bomber. Wow. And the Zeppelin ain't bad.
Having said that: It's riddled with factual and historical errors, ALL of which were avoidable had the writers/director cared to pay attention. (It probably would have cost nothing to do it right.)
A short list would include: Nonexistent aircraft in 1916 such as the Fokker Triplanes (all of them red except the black one!), Sopwith Camel, SE-5, and Bristol Fighter.
The concept of training pilots to fly in a combat squadron is of course absurd but the director apparently thought it necessary as a plot device.
French airmen learning to fly in a British airplane (Sopwith Strutter) is equally absurd.
For the real hair splitters, the Gotha and some triplanes have the straight-edged Balkan crosses that appeared two years later. Other fingernails on the blackboard include "9mm Spandau" machine guns (they were 7.92 Mauser) and "canvas" covering on the wings when cotton or linen were used because canvas was much too heavy.
But beyond that, the script takes a pedestrian approach to what could have been a more evocative, even inspiring, film. There are no standout performances, and the syrupy, chaste romance goes nowhere. The only reason for including it probably was to draw in more of an audience as a date flick (not quite a chick flick.) For those of us who truly enjoy aviation films, this one proved a major disappointment but hey, within limits, almost any WW I flying flick is better than no WW I flying flick.
Reunion at Fairborough (1985)
Historical Background
This comment belongs in "Trivia" but there are no instructions for initiating that segment of the site.
In the film, the reunion involves WW II veterans of the 323rd Bomb Squadron, which actually existed. It was part of the 91st Bomb Group based at Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire (8th Air Force Station 121) from 1942 to 1945.
The group's emblem was a "Triangle A" on the tail, though the movie shows B-17s from several other groups. The 91st is best known as the organization that flew "The Memphis Belle", which belonged to the 324th Squadron.
13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
Major Goof
Because it's unclear how to post an original "goof" I'm using this review to bring the errors to IMDb's attention.
The first time I saw this film I thought my eyes were playing tricks. But I just saw it again on AMC. An absolutely TERRIBLE property manager/continuity performance:
Cagney arrives in France with a .45 automatic, which becomes a revolver, which becomes an automatic, which finally settles down as a revolver when he actually has to shoot somebody.
Brief appearance by Karl Malden as the jump-master, who for some reason allows about 5 seconds between each agent's jump from the airplane. At a B-24's normal cruise speed of 215 mph that's about one-third of a mile between each agent by the time they get to the ground: a full mile for all three!
Custer of the West (1967)
Dated, Dreary, Dreadful
Granted, this abomination was filmed nearly 40 years ago but it lacks most of the style and energy of Flynn's 1941 Custer epic. The technical aspects alone are enough to consign "Custer of the West" to the Dust Bin of Hollywood, let alone of History.
Just a few gripes among many: The topography of the climax in no way resembles Montana. Maybe that's to be expected of filming abroad, but there must be ONE grass covered hill somewhere in Spain.
The troopers and Indians are armed with Winchester repeaters. If the 7th Cavalry had been so equipped, the battle might have gone the other way.
One suspects that the portrayal of mounted Indians riding down the soldiers is inspired by Hollywood convention. In truth, the battle was fought on foot with the Indians making use of cover and terrain to approach the cavalrymen.
SPOILER FOLLOWS The ending is just plain stupid: hundreds of Indians simultaneously halting in their tracks to spare Yellow Hair so he could be humiliated at the end of his life. That segments strains credulity to the breaking point.
This pony's leg is so broken that the only thing to do would be put it out of its misery--and the audience as well.
Joe Kidd (1972)
You're (Joe) Kidd(ing) me!
Director of "The Great Escape" made this turkey? You gotta be (Joe) Kidding me!
At best this effort rates a 5 (almost anything with guns and horses is worth that much!) but I give it 4. After all, Sturges made enough westerns to know SOMETHING about the period. He should have fired the wardrobe and/or property masters the minute Duvall put on that absurd 1970s high-brimmed rodeo hat, not to mention the rest of the cast. Only big-city dudes appear in such dandified get-ups, let alone in the 1900s!
Otherwise, it's a pretty conventional chase 'em and shoot 'em up, partially retrieved by some marvelous scenery. But the plot contains numerous inconsistencies (notably Eastwood and Saxon's characters)and the script often seems merely a vehicle to carry Clint to further mayhem.
La grande illusion (1937)
A flawed classic
Excellent casting and some fine performances. But the editing is probably the film's greatest flaw, especially early on in shifting from the French squadron to the German squadron; no transitions at all. Just plain amateurish: a grade school student with a film splicer could have done as well. Those easily avoidable flaws reduce my rating to a 7.
GOOF: why oh why does the floral wreath to a fallen French flier have the date "March 12, 1914." The film is set in 1916, but the wreath's date was five months before the war began!
GOOF: Stroheim made the greatest pistol shot in movie history: a moving man, in the dark, at 150 meters. But the French victim indicates he's hit in the forearm--certainly not a fatal wound.
Fighter Squadron (1948)
Enjoy the Airplanes But....
There's a lot wrong with this film, including the schmaltzy or trite stock characters: the Tough Commander, the Happy Go Lucky Guy, the Goof Off, the Big Operator, and of course The Kid.
Henry Hull plays...yet again...Henry Hull.
Modelers will wonder why an 8th AF group uses 12th Air Force markings, with different colored cowlings in the same formation. (It would not have been hard to do it right.) Some of the film footage is reversed (stars & bars on upper right instead of upper left wings) and much of the color combat film is from Japan in 1945.
Still, how often do we get to see P-47s in color? "Fighter Squadron" is much like the egregious 1970s TV series "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (BBBS!) in that the plot is thin and the acting is marginal, but the airplanes are watchable.
Air Force (1943)
Goof: Wrong serial number
This is a really minor Goof but hard to understand, considering that the Army Air Force co-operated heavily with production of the film.
The Boeing B-17C "Mary Ann's" serial number is 40-1104 (shortened for radio transmissions to 01104) but that aircraft actually was a Vultee BT-13 trainer, not a B-17.
Additionally, Winocki describes himself as a tail gunner when the B-17C did not have a tail position. That change was made in the E model and subsequent versions.
Partway through the film, a field modification is made to the Mary Ann by curring away the rearmost part of the fuselage to allow installation of a machine gun to protect the tail.
Flying Tigers (1942)
Tigers Opted Out
Several friends of mine flew with the AVG. One of them who attended the premiere (c. October '42) recalls that he and a couple other Tigers were so embarrassed by the film that they were caught sneaking out of the theater.
However, the loathing of John Wayne contained in other reviews on this site demonstrates a total lack of objectivity. Wayne was 35 at the time of Pearl Harbor, and not even his friendship with then-Cdr. John Ford could get him accepted for military service. (according to one bio, his distinctive walk resulted from a football injury.) On one tour of the Pacific, Wayne got dead drunk with some fighter pilots in New Guinea. They placed his inert form on a cot and carried it into the middle of the compound and allowed him to awake with a hangover: stark naked. He rolled over and went back to sleep...
Whatever anybody thinks of Wayne or the Vietnam War, he was still visiting troops in-country at age 63.
Always (1989)
Tries hard to be an 8
"Always" is an enjoyable film, largely on the strength of Holly Hunter and John Goodman's performances. Unfortunately, it would have been better with almost anyone but Richard Dreyfus. Normally a fine actor, he is woefully miscast here. Sorry folks, but I've spent my entire life in aviation and never knew, met, or even heard of anyone who speaks and acts like Pete. Dreyfus simply has no credibility in the role.
Spielberg's love of aviation shows throughout, with some excellent flying scenes and a variety of Manly Man aircraft: old, solid machines with big round engines. After that, jets are for kids (and Maverick was the biggest kid of all!) Finally, I concur with previous comments ref. Audrey Hepburn. Who better to play a guiding, occasionally scolding angel?
Winged Victory (1944)
Still a classic
As has been noted, this is one wartime film that got it right. Apart from the accurate depiction of army flight training, WV probably remains the only movie featuring the Consolidated B-24. A flight instructor who helped with the film reports that most of the cast got along well with the supporting officers and men, the exception being Edmund O'Brien. While filming an engine-start sequence he noted the usual "fire guard" with the extinguisher and became exceedingly nervous. Finally he "abandoned ship" and refused to proceed with the shot. Considering that his performance was witnessed by genuine airmen, let alone some combat veterans, EO's stock plummeted on base.
The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959)
Goofs aplenty
A real bow-wow, as are most Civil War westerns (surprising how many have been churned out, though apparently nobody has compiled a list). Both the Confederate gang and the townspeople manage to acquire guns that weren't thought of yet. They include the Colt Peacemaker of 1873 and the Winchester Model 1892 (and maybe a 94 for good measure) plus double-action, cartridge conversions of cap and ball revolvers!
Also, you have to wonder why the producers took a popular folk song and set it in another era. The similarity with "Burning Bridges," the "Kelly's Heroes" theme by the Mike Curb Congregation, comes to mind. Absolutely no connection between score and plot.
Red Dawn (1984)
Another Look
"Red Dawn" just ran again on cable TV and I watched with renewed interest. Since we live in a completely different world 20 years after its release, the film makes for intriguing comparisons now that we're engaged in "The Global War On Terrorism." Today, of course, we're still stuck with the immigration problem that features in RD's plot, but the consequences in the age of WMD are potentially as great or greater than the bygone era of international Communism. While large-scale shootouts with Islamicists constitutes an unlikely scenario within our borders, there's no doubt that today's high school students will live with the external and internal threat for years to come. Those viewers who scoff at the use of personal weapons in the film are free (!) to suit themselves. But the height of irony is found in the fact that the US Army has issued cautions to Stateside soldiers, warning them against wearing uniforms in some venues because Al-Queda web sites have noted that American troops seldom go armed within our borders.
Overall, an interesting example of a "message" film that remains relevant even long after the message has changed.
Excalibur (1981)
Lush, Lavish, & Loving
Excalibur is one of the most satisfying films I've ever seen. As one who grew up fascinated with the Arthurian legend, I tolerated the post-WW II efforts, including page-boy haircuts and the likes of Tony Curtis saying "Yondah lies my faddah's castle." Ho-lee smokes...
"Camelot" was a fun musical with marvelous songs. Nothing more.
Then came "Excalubur." Lush photography, lavish production values, and a loving retelling of The Tale. Yes, some of the performances are erratic or a tad shallow, but at the end of the film I simply don't mind. As noted previously, the score is just terrific: a marvelous match.
Winchester '73 (1950)
Stewart's best western
I led a national championship team with my own Winchester 73, though it wasn't close to being "One of one thousand!" That connection aside, this is probably Jimmy Stewart's best western: a gritty, intense performance happily at odds with his usual genial persona. Stephen McNally is just fine as The Evil Brother, and Millard Mitchell is solid as sidekick High-Spade. The same cannot be said of some other cast members. Will Geer is simply ridiculous as a bumbling Wyatt Earp, and Shelly Winters is, well, Shelly Winters as The Blowsy, Buxom Blonde.
One aspect of the shooting is peculiar. It's necessary to demonstrate the sibling background for Stewart and McNally, but the sloooow raising of the rifle halfway followed by the snap movement to the shoulder serves no genuine purpose. Another device easily could've been used: shooting stance, identical terminology, etc. Champion shotgunner Rudy Etchen, who did some of the trick shooting, certainly could've contributed had he been asked.
Quigley Down Under (1990)
Where's the sequel?
Western fans were thrilled with this film, for all the reasons cited previously. (As a cowboy action shooter, I can attest to the large following of "the legendary Sharps.") Tom Selleck and Sam Elliot have no competition as today's reigning western box-office kings, partly because they honestly care about the American West (and the American Western.) The fact that "Quigley" is a down-under western bothers us not at all.
For some years after its release, there were persistent rumors of a sequel, possibly "Quigley in Africa." What a pity that it never panned out.
Meanwhile, the movie's famous "bucket shot" (something around a quarter mile on film) has become a staple of Winter Range, the national championship of cowboy action shooting--at rather reduced distances.
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Life Imitates Art
I don't know about currently, but some years ago this film was being shown at the Marine Corps Basic School where second lieutenants are hatched. It's an unexcelled example of military life imitating art: a symbiotic relationship between the Corps' timeless self image and, by extension, that image reinforcing the reality of the Corps itself.
SOIJ is still one of the better WW II combat films, even 55 years after its release. The one factual glitch is the impossibility of a Tarawa unit (2nd Marine Division) being ashore on Iwo (3rd, 4th, and 5th Divisions.) Otherwise, I don't think I've never known a marine who had serious reservations about it.
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
"It's got legs."
This film has legs: six decades later it still holds up as a romance and as a "docu-drama." Based on Ted Lawson's book of the same title, the movie features a solid cast, engagingly sympathetic plot line, and some FX that also hold up extremely well. The sound stage duplicating the rain-swept flight deck of the carrier Hornet (CV-8) is particularly well rendered.
Sorry, but I cannot help joining the chorus of other reviewers who compare "30 Seconds" to the egregious Pearl Harbor film. I was fortunate to know Jimmy Doolittle, and can only imagine how torqued his family must have been not only with the selection of pretty-boy Alec Baldwin in that role, but Baldwin's obscene, abrasive characterization. "General Jimmy" never said "damn", let alone any of the dialogue attributed to him.
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Vastly over-rated
The enormous number and variety of factual errors in this over-rated classic have been noted by viewers and the authors of the "goofs" section. (Neither Wyatt's presumed wife Hattie nor later wife Josie even appear in the film.) Suffice to say, MDC would have been a far-far more acceptable film had John Ford merely changed the names and place. His oft-repeated statement that he interviewed Wyatt Earp, who allegedly "planned the gunfight like a military campaign" simply does not bear scrutiny. In fact, the OK Corral shootout was typical of so many lethal confrontations: it began with a vague plan and quickly turned to hash.
Granted, the photography is marvelous--just what we expect of Ford--and the scenery is eye-watering. But almost any other Earp movie does vastly better at portraying the era and the events in Arizona Territory. As an Arizonan, I much prefer "Tombstone," which is not only more stylish and more authentic, but just plain more fun to watch.
Dirty Harry (1971)
Too many errors
I just saw the film again on TV for the first time in many years, and several avoidable errors were apparent.
Factual error: When Harry finds the empty cartridge case atop the building, it's a .308 but later he says it's a (much longer) .30-06.
Factual error: In the bank shootout when Harry's leg is struck by several shotgun pellets in his leg he's a good 35 yards from the shooter (he walks about 40 paces beyond the car) yet the hit pattern is extremely tight--impossible at that distance.
More importantly, he fired four rounds from his revolver yet he's empty when he asks "Do you feel lucky?" If that's in the original version, it's a serious story/continuity error.
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
The original Paul Baumer
Novelist Erich Maria Remarque reportedly used his dentist's name for the protagonist of "All Quiet." The real Paul Baumer was a prewar dental assistant who learned to fly in early 1914. Nevertheless, he entered the infantry upon outbreak of war and only later joined the German Air Service. In 1917-18 he became one of the most successful German fighter pilots, credited with 40 or more aerial victories. After the war Baumer completed dental school but continued flying, established a small factory, and was killed in an accident in 1927 at age 31. Remarque so admired him that the name was perpetuated in the book, and subsequently in the movie.
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Wonderful
Enchanting, romantic, innovative, and funny. The vision of this extraordinary film is almost unparalleled, exceeding better known "death romances" such as Ghost. While we know intuitively that Peter and June will find ultimate happiness at the end of that long-long stairway, the joy is in the journey. The moral of the tale, of course, is timeless: love conquers all. But the struggle to achieve that victory is played in a celestial arena of sweeping vision and gripping grandeur. With more than 500 suitably clad extras portraying various ages and cultures, the directors' vision of heaven remains memorable six decades later, far into the CGI era.
Yet for all the cosmic scale, Powell and Pressburger knew an essential truth: the best story is told at the smallest level. The wonderfully, determinedly romantic aspect of "Stairway" is captured with ultimate simplicity: June's teardrop, preserved on a rose petal.
This film, like the story and the set itself, is one for the ages.