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Heaven's Gate (1980)
Momma said there'll be films like this...
As a fresh-faced film student in 1980, I wishing that I was in New York City to attend the opening of Michael Cimino's much-anticipated "Heaven's Gate. " And then I read the now-famous, disastrously scathing New York Times review. And my widdle head pondered, how could a production with so much lavished on it turn out so wrong? This version was withdrawn and for many years was not available. Then it turned up on HBO ,and I was ready to bring all my film-school talents to bear in reviewing it. But my mother, a night owl who kept the TV on perpetually while finishing the housework, beat me to it. "Oh yes, I saw the film" she said with a big smile. I demanded "So, what did you tbonk?" And with a big smile she continued "Well, I was watching the film for about 30 minutes, and at no time was I unaware that I was watching actors in costumes. " And THEN my film-school brain clicked in. The failure of this film was the failure to achieve step one of any film: SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF. The film failed because no matter how pretty the pictures, no matter how much plot was added, Cimino failed to actually MAKE A MOVIE. He failed to get us interested in the movie he was making, regardless of the message. So give my Mom the credit in pointing out the specific failure of this film.
Operation: Rabbit (1952)
The 3 Roles of the Coyote
Chuck Jones explained something that, based on some of the comments, needs explaining. Wile E Coyote is a different character than the Coyote who chases The Road Runner. He's also different from Ralph Wolf who battles with Sam Sheepdog. Jones likened him to an actor playing three different roles. He admitted he just liked drawing this character. Now, as far as tbis cartoon goes, this is the best of the Wile E Coyote / Bugs films. Perhaps the best timed gag EVER in any film (animated or live-action ) is the final gag in the dynamite shack. Like a combination of Hitchcock and Lubitsch, *we* see the danger that the coyote doesn't, and it's only the,sound of the approaching train whistle that cues him to the danger. And the pulling down of the shade is just the icing on the cake.
Super Night at the Super Bowl (1976)
Embarrassing!
Super Bowl X was played in Miami in Jan., 1976, so I guess someone thought it would be a good idea to have Jackie Gleason (who had centered his production in Miami) co-host a live variety show the night before. Not sure how Williams got involved, but he must have brought in director Scheerer (who had directed his early 60s variety show). I remember watching this with my uncle. He kept pointing out how Gleason was obviously forgetting his lines, and was trying to get Williams to cover him a la Art Carney, but Williams was having none of that, which made for some extremely uncomfortable by-play, all of which was played out live. It seemed to be a smörgåsbord of entertainment, from KC and the Sunshine band here, to pre-filmed cameos there, to a big marching band appearing out of nowhere in the finale.