titov Reviews

Seven Brave Men (1936)

There is no "gender evasion" in the title (except in N. Wales?)

[5/10 · 27 August 2010]

The Russian title of this film (which is faithfully given in transcription in the IMDb entry as Semero Smelykh) is Семеро Смелых-- which actually comes out "Seven Brave People" (or Seven Brave Ones, or perhaps The Seven Who Were Brave, if you want to get arty). In any case, there's no mention of men as such in it, so all of North Wales can relax on that score.

To call the film "propaganda" is not so much inaccurate as marveling at the obvious: no Soviet film of the period (or indeed any period) could be made *and* released for public consumption without passing several stages of official review, much of which -- and especially under high Stalinism -- was political in nature. Thus nothing that was not perceived as serving certain state ends (or the ends of certain powerful individuals/agencies within the state) could show up on Soviet screens. And much that *did* show up, naturally, contained a propaganda quotient far beyond the level of BEARABLE to a non-Soviet audience.

This film was Sergei Gerasimov's first as director-- and certainly not his best. Take a look, by way of contrast, at his version of Sholokhov's "Tikhii Don" ("and Quiet Flows the Don", 1958) or his last film, "Tolstoy (1984), in which he cast himself as the eponymous writer.

"Seven Brave, er, Individuals" is, in any case, endowed with good location segments and occasionally reaches an admirable level of tautness in the characters' problem-solving. So it can boast a watchability factor, if you will, rather higher than many of its contemporaries-- and evidently achieved a re-watchability factor to match, for that matter, as its creditable IMDb viewer rating attests.

Pop (2009)

Another long step forward for Russian WWII cinema

[8/10 · 6 June 2010]

"The Priest"/Поп joins several recent Russian entries (including "Punishment Batallion"/Штрафбат and two or three of the set-pieces within Sergei Mikhalkov's ponderous "Burnt by the Sun- 2"/ Утомленные солцем- 2) as part of a de facto common effort to rescue post-Soviet cinema from the stereotypes, fables and large-scale falsification that the Soviet movie industry was largely confined to for most of the period covering 1942-91-- and managed to pass along, if only as a mindset, to many in the succeeding Russian industry and general public after the Soviet Union finally went out of business (not a moment too soon).

For every rare kernel of truth-- and there were indeed a few in "Ballada of a Soldier"/ Баллада о солдате and "Come and See"/ Иди и смотри, for example-- there were 20 (or 200 or 2000) Big Lie whoppers planted within the waves of propaganda films masquerading as cinema (and not very well) that Soviet audiences were subjected to for half a century. Setting all this aside has not, of course, been easy-- particularly when you have figures like the mayor of Moscow adamantly insisting that Stalin should be honored as part of the nation's celebration of the 65th anniversary of victory in the war. Yikes.

"The Priest" profits enormously from Sergei Makovetsky in the lead, an actor whose range is among the broadest in the profession (Evgenii Mironov is his principal competition). The film is less plot-driven than episodic-- which is as it should be, since its premise is a plot unto itself: a Russian Orthodox priest functions under German occupation on territory that has changed hands multiple times over a single generation. Whom to serve and how are all the "plot" necessary; and the answers on offer are not pat.

Russian viewers have taken home much that is new to them from this film, and non-Russian audiences, even those unfamiliar with the contested history of the region, will likewise find considerable food for thought here. Briefly put, "The Priest" will reward different audiences on many levels, and deserves wide distribution outside (current) Russian borders. Highly recommended.

The History Boys (2006)

Yikes, it's the Excruciating Political Correctness Follies of 1983

[2/10 · 28 December 2006]

After last year's triple Oscar sweep of the new category Best Motion Picture About Homosexual Cowboys and Sheep by a film of breathtaking mediocrity, this year we get "The History Boys," which is apparently an, er, alternative lifestyler's fantasy of school teaching-- and one in which someone important decided that No Stereotype or Cliché Will Be Left Untrotted Out, Dammit, from the evil-caricature heterosexual authority figure to the WWII Bomber Crew (Rainbow Coalition?) of nationality groups on parade as the grammar school "students" (who look, hmm, suspiciously like 25 year olds).

If we can get the Academy to offer an Oscar for Most Excruciatingly Politcally Correct School Movie From the Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Trans-gender/Trans-species Front, this one may be a winner!

And please note: No actual reality was harmed in the making of this film. Or even suggested. Indeed, it is a safe bet that no one who ever taught a real class in a real boys' school in the real 1983 had even the remotest connection with this film. That's not the point. Nope, this one's relentless irreality is matched only by its cumulative tedium: audible yawns among the audience began to be heard around the 20-minute mark, and cell phones were gradually turned back on with impunity. Who could blame these folks? On the way out of the theatre people avoided eye contact, not wanting to recognize publicly everybody's mutual embarrassment: We Paid Money To See This.

Well, Just You Wait! (1969–2017)

A very primitive, agonizingly slow Roadrunner facsimile

[2/10 · 19 May 2003]

How exactly the "Nu, pogodi!" series has retained any following at all in the age of universal cassette access remains a mystery. It would seem a foregone conclusion that if you take a Roadrunner cartoon-- *any* Roadrunner cartoon-- and show it to a devotee of the "Nu, pogodi!" films, some sort of Dramatic Epiphany will take place before your eyes ("So *this* is what they were trying to do!").

But perhaps we're actually talking about two different phenomena altogether. For although both series feature exactly the same continuing "plot" throughout all episodes (big bad animal chases smaller, cleverer/luckier good animal), the difference in the execution of this concept could not be more marked: the Pogodi series is amateurishly drawn, animated in haphazard and ill-connected sequences, and moves at a pace that could only engage a very early pre-schooler. Which may be the key to its puzzling popularity, one thinks-- hey, who doesn't remember one's early cartoons fondly?-- until one recalls that Soviets of *all ages* loved (as do many Russians *now*) this meandering, lumpy and almost entirely wit-free series. The considerable acting skills of Anatolii Papanov-- a genuine star of the Soviet cinema-- are squandered altogether on the wolf's voice, as the character is never given a clever line to deliver.

Again, pick a Roadrunner cartoon, *any* Roadrunner cartoon: within 30 seconds the viewer is involved with and amused by Wile E. Coyote in ways that the well-intentioned creators of "Nu, pogodi!" simply could not conceive of. The Soviet series is not a *bad* cartoon, in the sense that it is actively harmful. It is simply inert.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

The best of its genre, "Ferris" amuses and entertains at the same level it did 15 years ago.

[10/10 · 26 December 2001]

This is a film that has aged well-- rather better than most of its viewers, in fact (take a look around your office). Indeed, "Ferris" continues to amuse and entertain precisely because all of us, whether we admit it or not, still want to identify with the victories of the hero and his friends over the adults we have long since become. Or perhaps already were in 1986...

Beyond the steadily successful development of its plot-driven (or maybe "plot"-driven) situational humor, "Ferris" impresses as a film of wonderful isolated moments; many of these have drawn well-deserved praise-- Ben Stein now *defines* the classic feckless teacher for a generation, and Charlie Sheen (appearing unbilled) managed an inspired James Dean homage for the 80's kids to guess the origins of-- but some have (apparently) escaped general notice. Has there ever been a better, more believable Irritable Best Friend character than that created in Alan Ruck's sulking-Cameron scenes? Or consider Richard Edson ("Joey Breaker", "Do the Right Thing") as the swarth-enhanced parking garage attendant; when Ferris asks "Do you speak English?", Edson simply masterfully doles out incredulity via a raised eyebrow and the now-classic response (today so daringly un-PC) "What country do you think this *is*?"

Briefly put, "Ferris" continues to do credit to all who created and appeared in it--and rewards the home viewer over multiple screenings. The fact that this film has drawn a paltry 2 1/2-star rating from a standard (and usually reliable) source such as Maltin remains a Bermuda Triangle-sized anomaly...

Drive, He Said (I) (1971)

An almost perfect depiction of the American college experience in the late 60s-early 70s, Nicholson's directorial debut has been unfairly neglected-- and deserves a new audience!

[10/10 · 1 December 2001]

This may be the only film that actually comes close to capturing on film the essentially uncapturable world of the American college experience of the late 60s-early 70s. Go ahead, name another movie that even approaches this one: "Getting Straight"? "RPM"? These are caricatures. "Return of the Secaucus Seven" has its moments, but that's a retrospective film about (self-obsessed) individuals more than a film about a time and a place depicted *in* that time and place. "Drive, He Said" portrays-- with subtlety and nuance where it should, and a swift kick in the shorts where that's the only appropriate way-- the anti-draft movement, the ambiguity of big-time college sports (especially when there's a war on), the sexual revolution of the period, and the general unreality of the day. Believe me, it was like that.

The whole cast deserves commendation (as does the director, of course) but particular praise should be reserved for Bruce Dern, as the basketball coach, and Karen Black, the hero's very unusual-- except for that time-- love interest. William Tepper, as the lead, also rates a real round of applause both for his perfect capturing of the student-athlete of the period and for actually playing real college basketball in the film (remember Anthony Perkins in "Tall Story"? Yikes!).

All in all, a classic of a kind-- and the last film someone currently in 6th grade should be writing comments on ("boring", "repellent"-- um, right, sonny, please go back to your Arnold movies). Why isn't this film available from imdb?