nealvelgos Reviews

Citizen Kane (1941)

SOME FAVORITE KANE MOMENTS:

[10/10 · 9 November 2002]

--the 10 seconds or so of elegiac music when we first see young Kane's snowy

home.

--Head Waiter Gus Schilling acting with his eyes as he interacts with the reporter in front of drunken, mourning Susan Alexander Kane.

--the uncredited (except for IMDB!) copyboy who rolls his eyes just before he goes off camera, when Jed Leland asks him to save the "declaration of

principles" original copy.

--ALL the times when Welles cuts the background noise to emphasize the end

of a line, such as old Kane telling a reporter "...there'll be no war..."

And all those long takes that show the actors' chops. Wow!

The Dead Pool (1988)

Ugliest Automobiles Ever Seen in a Motion Picture

[3/10 · 28 October 2002]

What was Eastwood doing driving around in all these Dodge K-Cars? The only auto with any style was the toy that chased him around. As for the movie...Clint phoned in his performance, which improved upon the gruesome acting of the supporting cast, except for genius Jim Carrey. See original DIRTY HARRY please.

Allen Ginsberg: The Ballad of the Skeletons (1997 Music Video)

It all comes together

[10/10 · 17 October 2002]

Having just seen this approximately four minute film on the big screen, I am awash in admiration. A close-up of Allen Ginsberg reciting his "skeletons" poem is bluescreened and dissolved against archival film and video clips, and backed by musicians to create a sort of song that becomes an American anthem. These clips predominantly feature images of the Dole/Clinton presidential campaign, but also include familiar and disturbing 1960s civil rights conflicts. The immediacy of Ginsberg looking and speaking full-on into the camera, to us, is striking and impossible to forget.

What does it mean? I wish I could watch it again and decide. Surely Ginsberg and Van Sant have produced more meaningful work separately, but the combination with the music makes a brilliant whole. This is an extension of Van Sant's 1991 filmic version of William S. Burroughs' Thanksgiving poem, and the two short films are weird and poignant tributes to these great writers.

This Is Cinerama (1952)

Southern belles on water! Lowell Thomas in yawn-o-rama!

[6/10 · 9 October 2002]

Such are the extremes of this genuine three-strip widescreen extravaganza. The blather of Thomas, who had a major investment in this production, is only less dull when his face is off- screen. However, his 15 minute intro does create anticipation for the reason audiences went to see this movie--for its 3-D ride on the Coney Island rollercoaster. Slower travelogue segments fill out the first act, which make for some squirming. Welcome (and rare) medium shots show ordinary people often watching the cinerama camera rather than the event the camera is pointed at. It's a touching and high-resolution glimpse of postwar spectators, most of whom have departed from this earth. Intermission is followed by an aural demonstration of the new stereophonic sound recording, and is a classy touch. The two more segments alone are worth the price of admission. First is the drama and spectacle of a water ski show, in high camp style. Women in pastel hoopskirts run, run, run along the banks of Cypress Gardens, only to strip down past their hoops to swimsuits underneath. Voyeuristic viewers also are rewarded by hunky bad boys in motorboats and skiis, one shamelessly showing off his tanline. The water ski show perfectly demonstrates the widescreen format, as well as the exuberance of the 1950s fun generation. There are water casualties--but all girls reappear to run, run back to their hoopskirts and then pose...but for whom? The boys disappear back to their greasy engines, as, apparently cinerama was not meant for boy/girl co mingling. A concluding 23 minute aerial segment rewards with vistas of cities, plains, and mountains--all nicely smog-free. Only the wall - to-wall chorus, singing all verses of America the Beautiful, even pulling it into a minor key, grates on the nerves. Note: this engagement at the Hollywood Cinerama Dome was a rare occurrence, in fact the first time a true cinerama film has ever been projected there, despite its namesake. My audience of oldsters and fellow widescreen queens started many conversations of 70mm prints shown there over the years, and I for one am glad that the theater itself narrowly was saved from the wrecking ball. The cinerama trailer for the upcoming showing of HOW THE WEST WAS WON, with its last vestiges of the Hollywood system, sent everyone out happy.

The Innocents (1961)

The horror holds up

[24 September 2002]

Much has already been written of the superlative acting, cinematography, sound effects and music. My point: Don't miss an opportunity to watch this on the big screen. The sounds of chirping birds is impossibly sinister, and even the widescreen fade-in of the 20th Century Fox logo is magnificent. It doesn't work the same in pan-and-scan. This is the best ghost story on film.

Silent Running (1972)

New DVD interviews illuminate lasting power of SILENT RUNNING

[9/10 · 30 July 2002]

Bruce Dern and Douglas Trumbull recount a mostly fascinating background to this film which has lingered in my memory since it was released. Though not in the same league as Kubrick's 2001:, Trumbull has fashioned a highly satisfying emotional story with an environmental message that transcends its hippie-era origins.

This is a larger acheivement for Trumbull, who admits that he has been a misfit in Hollywood throughout his career, and laments that no other film projects have resulted with the same public admiration. Dern also regards the film with the best in his career, and any naysayers might admit that Tom Hanks in CASTAWAY owes a debt to Dern, who pulled off a largely solo acting piece without chewing through the scenery. The actors portraying the Drones deserve credit for their hard work, as does Peter Schickele for his lovely sparse score (if only the Joan Baez vocals could be removed!) Filmmakers might learn much from this film and the interviews--mostly in making the most of what they have. The budget, according to Trumbull, was 1.3 million. It all shows on the screen, making this film is one of the highlights of my favorite era of American cinema, from 1967 to 1975. May it be seen by many more viewers who take our earth's beauty for granted.

State Fair (1933)

One of the greatest depictions of Americana

[10/10 · 11 July 2002]

This 1933 film of STATE FAIR is nearly impossible to see except on one Fox cable channel, but is the best of all versions, with genuine and unsentimental writing and acting. Director Henry King propels the leisurely plot with a thrilling moving camera that efficiently depicts the varied sensations of a state fair, from wholesome contest fun to the menace of barkers and carnies.

King has a consistent handle on the theme, that the state fair is a quick microcosm of life, an event that thrusts persons together in a venue that makes possible the "rollercoaster" of infatuation (and sex--this is pre-code pleasure), the tension of competition, and the diversion from hard work in this depression era America. Even "Blue boy" the hog and "self object" of Will Rogers' likeable character discovers the same conflicted feelings of sexual attraction. The cast is excellent, with standouts of Rogers, a most natural performer, in a film that is unpolluted by awkward stereotyped supporting players common to his films. A truly stunning-looking Lew Ayres is a dream of a roller coaster partner, and Victor Jory in his silk shirt perfectly embodies the carnie whom small children fear to encounter outside the midway. But it's the quiet moments that register the most--the pensive characters driving at dusk to the fair, full of private anticipation, still totally one as a family. Modern films rarely dare such introspective glimpses, but this film doesn't bore because it is so true. These rural citizens are proud and flawed, but like the wonderful characters in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, they embrace the chance to take in the fun and mystery of life.