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Reviews
Princess of the Nile (1954)
Hilarious
An absolutely amazing cast (Lee Van Cleef! Jack Elam!) enlivens this utterly preposterous yarn which passes off an Egyptian Hareem that's straight out of Minsky's (down to a few blondes and red heads).
Paget is both lovely and acrobatic, handling action sequences charmingly. Hunter is a stiff. And who knew Michael Rennie fenced left handed?
This film has recently been seen in criculation on AMC, and it's worth catching. The technicolor production design combines with the two-dimensional characters to create the effect of a Prince Valient comic on celuloid. But the appaling acting, ham-fisted dialog and cardboard sets only enhance the film's charm.
A Mighty Wind (2003)
Another gem from Guest & Co.
Not as funny as "Guffman," but with considerably more heart, this affectionate and gentle film in the now-familiar Guest style lampoons both the folkies of the sixties and the nostalgia of the 2000's.
All your favorite performers from "Best in Show" return, and again Guest has wisely taken a smaller role on screen in order to have more control behind the camera. All the performances are rich and funny, but the film belongs heart & soul to Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara.
They play a former duet known as "Mitch and Mickey" - imagine Leonard Cohen paired with Joan Baez - whose relationship deteriorated thirty years ago. Levy is both sweet and shrewd as a visionary burnout and O'Hara is simply amazing. The film is largely the story of their reconciliation, a subtle blend of comedy and genuine emotion that builds to a beautiful climax.
Fans of "Waiting for Guffman" and "Best in Show" will certainly get some solid belly laughs out this film, but as Levy and Guest grow as filmmakers, they are moving past satire and into something with greater depth. So don't be surprised if you get a little choked up, too.
The Purple Heart (1944)
Interesting historical curio
Worth seeing for WWII and film history fans, this occasionally sappy film buys into the Hollywood anti-Japanese jingo-ism of the war while throwing in a few interesting curve balls.
The story hangs on a show-trial of a captured American bomber crew for the charge of murder for killing civilians during the bombing of Tokyo in 1942. Anticipating the Nuremburg trials, the plot is a daring concept for a time (1943) when the U.S. still had no clear idea how the war would end!
While the main characters adhere to the standard PR depiction of the Japanese as evil, cruel and hate-filled, there are interesting exceptions in the margins, particularly a kameo by Key Luke as a sailor who survives a shipwreck. He has to provide testimony that will either embarrass the army General prosecuting the case or his own Navy superiors. Tangential to be sure, but even this much sympathy for the Yellow Devil is almost unique for the period.
It also goes to great pains to show that not all orientals are evil, with an extended subplot involving a Chinese soldier who dies a hero's death.
Certainly, all the characters are highly emblematic - the Chinese soldier and his collaborationist father represent the divided China of the war, the foreign diplomats for whose benefit the show-trial is being conducted are all straight from central casting (note the conflicted Russian, not yet at war with Japan, who is driven finally to reject his own government!), and the crew are the typical rah-rah war movie accumulation of types and accents. But there are several extremely intelligent debates on war and responsibility to duty scattered through the film, along with a grudging admiration for the Japanese people as strong-willed and able to suffer deprivation for the sake of their ideals.
Ultimately, the movie is carried mostly by the charm of the American crew, who manage to get through the most appallingly sentimental parts of the film with their dignity intact.