Fictional account of real-life mystery writer Dashiell Hammett, and his involvement in the investigation of a beautiful Chinese cabaret actress' mysterious disappearance in San Francisco.
On location in Portugal, a film crew runs out of film while making their own version of Roger Corman's Day the World Ended (1955). The producer is nowhere to be found and director Friedrich... See full summary »
Director:
Wim Wenders
Stars:
Allen Garfield,
Samuel Fuller,
Isabelle Weingarten
Director Nicholas Ray is eager to complete a final film before his imminent death from cancer. Wim Wenders is working on his own film Hammett (1982) in Hollywood, but flies to New York to ... See full summary »
Directors:
Nicholas Ray,
Wim Wenders
Stars:
Gerry Bamman,
Ronee Blakley,
Pierre Cottrell
The director Friedrich Monroe has trouble with finishing a silent b&w movie about Lisbon. He calls his friend, the sound engineer Phillip Winter, for help. As Winter arrives Lisbon weeks ... See full summary »
Director:
Wim Wenders
Stars:
Rüdiger Vogler,
Patrick Bauchau,
Vasco Sequeira
An aging cowboy movie star deserts a film set and tries to reconnect with his mother, whom he hasn't seen in thirty years, only to learn that he has a child he never knew about.
Wim Wenders talks with Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto about the creative process and ponders the relationship between cities, identity and the cinema in the digital age.
Willi is a street kid trying to make a living with petty crimes. He befriends both a journalist who wants to help him make an honest living and an older petty criminal looking for a quick buck.
Director:
Roland Klick
Stars:
Charly Wierczejewski,
Eva Mattes,
Michael Degen
The novel writer Dashiell Hammett is involved in the investigation of the mysterious disappearance of a beautiful Chinese cabaret actress in San Francisco.Written by
Michel Rudoy <mdrc@hp9000a1.uam.mx>
According to the 'Virgin Film Guide' (VFG), "In between Hammett (1982) production delays, [director Wim] Wenders made the low-budget black-and-white "The State of Things" [The State of Things (1982)], a film about the difficulties of filmmaking and the elusiveness of an American film producer". Hammett (1982)'s production is known to have had difficulties and the relationship between Wenders and producer Coppola problematic. "Rating the Movies"'s review of the film talked of "Wender's fight with producer Francis Coppola". See more »
Quotes
Hammett:
Kit, this is Eli, last of the IWW organizers
Kit Conger:
Are you really a Wobbly?
Eli the Taxi Driver:
Naw, that's just Hammett talkin'. What I am now is sort of an anarchist, with syndicalist tendencies.
See more »
Watched Coppola/Wim Wender's "Hammett" again this past w/e- the film grows on me- has a flavour I like- the detective genre mixed with post-turn of the 20th century San Francisco- and the fact that SO MUCH is done on soundstages gives it a surreal quality. The film's production history has always been interesting (Frederick Forrest and Marilu Henner got married and divorced during it's long, tumultuous halt-run production). But, if you have never seen this or heard the John Barry score- you should. At least the score. It's to be placed in the Barry category called "unusual"- piano melodic and a lot of strained strings prevail- giving it a gin-soaked, withdrawn feel that still tugs through a foggy SF even when it's clear. A dubious above-ground underworld sucks all the characters and audience into a not-so-licentious but rather everyday (same then as today) corrupt city power structure. The film and score play off of each other, intertwining, massaging and playing out a tale of woe, misbegotten friendship and a lusty disgust for those in-power at that unique place by the bay. If ANYthing can be said of this film- it's that it has character-a-plenty and that includes the score
9 of 12 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Watched Coppola/Wim Wender's "Hammett" again this past w/e- the film grows on me- has a flavour I like- the detective genre mixed with post-turn of the 20th century San Francisco- and the fact that SO MUCH is done on soundstages gives it a surreal quality. The film's production history has always been interesting (Frederick Forrest and Marilu Henner got married and divorced during it's long, tumultuous halt-run production). But, if you have never seen this or heard the John Barry score- you should. At least the score. It's to be placed in the Barry category called "unusual"- piano melodic and a lot of strained strings prevail- giving it a gin-soaked, withdrawn feel that still tugs through a foggy SF even when it's clear. A dubious above-ground underworld sucks all the characters and audience into a not-so-licentious but rather everyday (same then as today) corrupt city power structure. The film and score play off of each other, intertwining, massaging and playing out a tale of woe, misbegotten friendship and a lusty disgust for those in-power at that unique place by the bay. If ANYthing can be said of this film- it's that it has character-a-plenty and that includes the score