Best Movie Year Ever?

                                                                           1983

Another year with more than its share of winners is the fairly recent (to me) 1983. Let’s take a look.

  Tender Mercies features Robert Duvall at his absolute best (and that's saying a lot) as a broken down country singer trying to rebuild a life on the wreckage of too much liquor and too many honky tonks.  Duvall wrote the songs in this movie.  Betty Buckley, seen briefly as another singer, is now the star of Sunset Boulevard on Broadway.

The Year of Living Dangerously is one of the best political thrillers ever made.  Sigourney Weaver is just fine as the attache who knows more than she wants to.   Helen Hunt won an Oscar for her role as a local who knows too much, but why they picked her to play a man baffles me. Since she won an Oscar, what do I know?  Mel Gibson proves here he really can act. 

Terms of Endearment features Jack Nicholson as an aging ex-astronaut with problems connecting emotionally and Shirley MacLaine as the unsainted mother of the fetchingly terminally ill Debra Winger.  An excellent screenplay by first-time director James L. Brooks from a Larry McMurtry novel keeps you interested and off balance.

The Right Stuff was the best movie about the space program until Apollo 13 came along.  Dennis Quaid, Scott Glenn, Sam Sheppard and Ed Harris play the early astronauts broadly as true American heroes.  Never boring, even though it's over three hours long, and technically stunning, it does not hook you emotionally.

Educating Rita is an absolute little gem of a film. Michael Caine is a world-weary college professor and Julie Walters (in her film debut) is the hairdresser who wants to better herself.  This is the best feminist movie ever made, but don't let that stop you from watching it.  

El Norte, about illegal immigrants, is alternately harrowing and humorous.  Featuring all unknowns, it is riveting from beginning to end.  You'll never think the same way about Latinos again.

Testament is a good end-of-the-world movie, far superior to the much-ballyhooed The Day After (made this same year).  Jane Alexander leads a stellar cast. It isn't the desperation that gets you, its the low key matter-of-factness.

Return of the Jedi was the second of the Star Wars trilogy, and, while not as dazzling as the first and third, the story is first-rate and the lovable Yoda is one of the best characters in the set.

Fanny and Alexander is one of the great Ingmar Bergman's most accessible films, and easily the most charming. One of his few color ventures, it is the story of a brother and sister whose dream lives intertwine with reality.

Ed Harris, Gene Hackman and Nick Nolte are certainly a dream team in Under Fire, a political thriller set in Latin America in which the journalists telling the story somehow become the story. The most violent scene is so offhand you're not sure you saw it at first.

Zelig is considered one of Woody Allen's lesser films, but those tend to be the ones I like the best.  This one foreshadows the neat special effects in Forest Gump  by showing Zelig on screen with long-dead celebrities. Mia Farrow is in this one, too; this was before you-know-what.

                                                   Best Movie Year Ever? 

                                                               1939

Yep, I was born in 1939. You can do the math.  Anyway it so happens that this was a great year for movies.

Many movie fans would pick 1939 as the best year in the history of motion pictures, primarily because two of the most popular movies ever made were both released in that year.  The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind are each shown on TV at least once a year and most everyone has seen and liked both.  The Wizard of Oz has been on TV so much it has been referred to as The Oz Bowl Game, but who wouldn't like Judy and Ray and Bert cavorting along the yellow brick road. (The fourth actor, the guy who played the tin man and the one nobody can ever remember, was Jack Haley).  The truth is, it holds up very well indeed and is that rare film that appeals equally to kids and grown-ups.  And, it spawned the hugely successful prequel Wicked, which is still kicking.

Gone With The Wind  is epic in sweep and the story is a winner. Never mind that it is really just an overblown soap opera and Vivien Leigh is simply dreadful.   (Do you know anyone who talks like that?)  But Gable is excellent, the photography and music are great, and it's just so darn big you have to at least be awed by it.  The Technicolor in both of these movies is just amazing, and no, they don't make them like that anymore.

Well, there aren't a whole lot of years that produce two absolute legends, and 1939 also produced the definitive Hunchback of Notre Dame, the one with Charles Laughton.  Laughton has been constantly downgraded since he died, and this is a mistake.  The man could play absolutely anything and this film proves it.  Forget all those dreary remakes and catch this one.  Director William Dieterle pulls one of the neatest tricks in Hunchback: when Quasimodo swings from a rope to rescue Desdemona, Dieterle suddenly cuts all sound: no dialogue, no crowd noise, no music. It is an unforgettable moment.

Of Mice and Men also first came out in 1939.  Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney, Jr., give career performances in the Steinbeck story of the feeble-minded Lenny and his pal and mentor Curly, who desperately want a place of their own.  (Steinbeck characters always want a place of their own and have not a prayer of ever having it.   They just don't know it.) 

Jimmy Stewart's first Everyman role appears in 1939, in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The faintly socialistic, do-good Smith would get booed off the screen by today's me-first crowd, but it's a darn good performance. Stewart also found time that same year to star in Destry Rides Again, along with the legendary Marlene Dietrich.  Destry was the philosophical godfather of Maverick, for those of you keeping score. He would rather joke than fight. 

Hollywood hadn't been quite able to decide what to do with Big John Wayne until 1939.  When Stagecoach came out, he became The American Cowboy Hero, and he always will be. This also happens to be a good western that holds up quite well.

 

                                                                Rabbits

I enjoy watching the rabbits in our urban back yard. They seem to require a column about their tribe. Well, why not? Turns out the problem is picking the best, not lack of subjects. Of course Mr. Movie can do that so here goes.

I’ll start with my personal favorite, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988). In a world where cartoon characters (toons) and real people exist side by side, Roger Rabbit is accused of murder. Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) reluctantly agrees to defend Roger. The terrible Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) is out to see that Roger is convicted. The toons cannot be killed by the usual means, they have to be destroyed by a caustic chemical combination .It’s complicated, but things work out. The film also has the sexiest rabbit ever, Jessica Rabbit (voiced without credit by Kathleen Turner and Amy Irving).

Up high on everyone’s list of classics is the endearing Harvey (1950) with James Stewart as the charming but wacky Elwood Dowd, who is dear friends with a puka (legendary Celtic rabbit) named Harvey. However, no one but Elwood can see Harvey, including the two female relatives with whom he lives. Several attempts are made to have Elwood committed but he keeps escaping and finding his way to his favorite bars with his favorite friend. Elwood gives us Harvey’s best quote: “Harvey not only understands time and space, but any objection”.

Zootopia (2016) is a fun animated film that features a wily rabbit, Judy Hopps, as the local police officer. She is conned, but then befriended by an even wilier fox, Nick Wilde. They become quite a good team and eventually ZPD (Zoo Police Department) colleagues. The movie provides the funniest sloth in the world: Flash Slothmore, the fastest clerk at the Zoo DMV. He is worth the trip!

Song of the South (1948) is, okay, unabashedly racist, so much so that for many years it was banned everywhere and you couldn’t see it. I say get beyond that pigeon hole and enjoy the story of a lonely little boy enchanted by the stories of Uncle Remus, a kind elderly black man. One of his favorite characters is the sharp-witted Brer Rabbit, who enjoys taunting and escaping from the clutches of the dense and slow Brer Bear. 

Any version of Lewis Carroll’s delightful Alice in Wonderland features the frantic White Rabbit, who is scurrying because he is always late. Alice follows him “down the rabbit hole” and has many wonderful (pun intended) adventures. For my money, the 1950 animated version is superior to the one from 2010 with live characters. 

And any version of Winnie The Pooh brings us another frantic Rabbit, who talks too fast and overruns his plans. The 2011 version is good enough, though none of the films come close to the magic of the books. Anyway, Rabbit leaves a note for Pooh:”I am scerching for owl a new house. So had you. Rabbit”. And of course Rabbit is trying to help the professorial Owl, who could spell his own name: Wol. 

There’s even a movie featuring killer rabbits- Night of the Lepus (1972). The killer bunnies gather at an abandoned gas station. Good grief! 

                                                                 Michael Madsen

                                                                       Part 2

No more Mr. Nice Guy. He made a good living doing exactly that. From the severed ear by Mr. Blonde to burying The Bride alive in Kill Bill 2 he continued to menace the other characters (and often the audience). And yet in real life he was a gentle guy, well liked by his fellow players. He was even a published poet!

In both of the Kill Bill films (2003, 2004, 2006) Madsen is Budd, also known as Sidewinder. The Bride (Uma Thurman) is a former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. She is nearly killed by Bill (David Carradine) and spends most of these movies hacking her way toward revenge against  Bill. Bodies everywhere, body parts as well. This is Quentin Tarrantino’s masterpiece and there’s nothing else quite like it. The 2006 version is actually a merger of the first two. Fans keep hoping for a Volume 3. Quentin says it is not happening. The Sidewinder becomes one of the numberless dead in the second film. 

Mulholland Falls (1996) is about a group of Los Angeles cops who grow tired of known criminals slithering out of punishment and decide to do something. That something is throwing people off the cliff on Mulholland Drive. Michael Madsen is one of the group, playing Eddie Hall. The group operates with the passive protection of the police chief (Bruce Dern). A series of murders and assorted crimes complete the movie until the equivocal finish.

Donnie Brasco (1997) is portrayed by the unlikely Johnny Depp as Joseph Pistone, an undercover FBI agent assigned to infiltrate the Mafia. Which he does, endearing himself to the fading enforcer Lefty Ruggerio (Al Pacino). Michael Madsen is Sonny Black, titular head of one group of mob members. His enemies, a rival Mob gang, makes the mistake of burning down Sonny’s night club. His revenge is unsubtle and complete. Meanwhile, Donnie’s undercover work results in over 200 indictments and he retires to an undisclosed location. 

The Hateful Eight (2015) is another Quentin Tarantino project and like most of his films it is a good story with nobody much to pull for. The title group is a mishmash of outlaws and crooked lawmen forced together by a blizzard into a clothing store. Madsen is Joe Gage, one of the cowboys in the group, by no means the worst. Samuel L.Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh are also present. Someone poisons the coffee and most of the group is killed. There is a hanging, an arm cut off and various other acts of blood and gore. Well, this is a Tarantino. 

Michael Madsen can also be seen to advantage in Wyatt Earp (1994) as Wyatt’s brother Virgil, and in the very weird Sin City (2005). One of his last roles of note was as Sheriff Hackett in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019). Madsen worked all the time. He logged nine films, none very good, in 2004, the year before his death. 

All of the films in this article are for adults only. 

                                                                     Michael Madsen

In the latter part of his career, he was almost always the meanest guy in the film. And he was so good at it he sort of got type cast as such. Premiere critic Roger Ebert said “He’s like a really mean Robert DeNiro. He has the kind of menacing screen presence only a few actors achieve.” Michael Madsen left us way too early at 67, leaving behind over 300 appearances in movies and TV shows. Until his turn as the psychotic Mr. Blonde, he was usually just a good middle of the road character actor. If you think these descriptions of the mature Madsen are a little strong, I direct you to his signature role.

Reservoir Dogs (1992). There are lots of bad guys in Quentin Tarantino’s rhinestone in the rough. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi and Quentin himself are all on board for the mayhem. But Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde tops them all. The gang sets out to rob a jewelry store but things go sideways and the police show up. They go their separate ways, winding up at an empty warehouse. They have kidnaped a policeman as a hostage, and they leave him alone with Mr.Blonde. Who promptly tortures the poor guy and cuts his ear off. Bad enough for you? I thought so. This bloodbath of a saga was Quentin’s first feature and sets the tone for his later work. It is not for the squeamish.

Madsen often said that while he made a good living as a totally bad, menacing guy, he sometimes wished for a gentler role. And he actually got one and did a good job with it in Free Willy (1993). 12-year-old Jason is an abandoned kid living on the street when he breaks into the aquarium and bonds with a feisty orca named Willy. Jason is taken in by the kind Greenwood family- Annie (Jayne Atkinson) and Glen ( yep, Michael Madsen). When Jason learns the aquarium’s owner plans to kill Willy for the insurance on him, Jason hatches a crazy plan to return Willy to the open sea. The Greenwoods help him and with Glen’s truck and a hydraulic lift give Jason hope. Finally, Willy must overcome a breakwater to get away and he manages this with Jason’s encouragement by jumping over it. This little film spawned two sequels, a TV series and several video games. None of them are, of course, up to the original. 

In Thelma and Louise (1991) Madsen is a regular guy as the boyfriend of Louise (Susan Sarandon). He tries to help the girls but they are beyond help as they shot a guy outside of a bar. And, of course, wound up driving their getaway car into the Grand Canyon. 

Madsen’s no hero in The Natural (1984) appearing as journeyman baseball player Bump Bailey, completely willing to collude with gamblers and throw a game. Roy Hobbes (Robert Redford) of course refuses and plays on despite death threats. 

In War Games (1983), Diner (1983) and Racing With The Moon (1984) Madsen has meaty, but minor, parts. 

All of the movies in this article except Free Willy are for adults only. Next time, another look at his bad guy roles, of which there are many.

                                               Oliver- More? Maybe Not

    One of my very favorite movies is Oliver (1968). This is the musical version of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, the story of a poor orphan sold into slavery, then rescued by a bunch of juvenile thieves and their boss. He has many adventures as a part of the gang and winds up finding a good home and his true family. The music is sensational and the photography the best. And it won the Oscar for Best Movie. 

On recently watching it yet again it occurred to me that this wonderful film seemed to be almost the end of the road for most of the cast. Very strange!

Oliver is portrayed by the angelic Mark Lester, a wonderful little actor just right as the waif of the title. And yet, although he had plenty of acting jobs, none seemed close to fulfilling the promise of Oliver. Of course, he grew up and that did him no favors. You would have thought that he would have become a big star after playing Oliver. Just wasn’t in the cards. 

The rapscallion Artful Dodger is played to perfection by Jack Wild. He was the leader of the gang of miscreants and a fitting mentor to Oliver. It seemed like a part he was born to play, and he was so good in it that big things should have happened to his career. He died at 54 but his major accomplishment after Oliver was as Jimmy in the children’s TV series HR Puffnstuff. 

The gang of child pickpockets are given a place to live and a job by the villainous Fagin, played to the hilt by Ron Moody. He was only 54 when Oliver was filmed, and he had lots of good jobs both before and after that one. But he never seemed to quite get over the hump and realize the promise of his role in Oliver. 

Shani Wallis shines as Nancy, singing barmaid and sometimes attempted savior of the criminal boys. She has really lousy taste in men though, pairing off with the criminal Bill Sykes. She was a real jewel in the rough in this part and came to a bad end because of her relationship with Sykes. She explains her loyalty to the treacherous Sykes in her solo He Needs Me. And she sings and dances up a storm in the wonderful pub scene. She seemed destined for great things, but alas it just didn’t happen. She had plenty of jobs on up into the 2000s but never seemed to hit it big. 

Harry Secombe had a great part as Mr. Bumble, famously informing all that “if that isn’t true, I’ll eat me head”. Well, he was then and remained a good character actor, never really aspiring to more. 

Oliver Reed, perfectly cast as the glowering Bill Sykes, had loads of work his entire career but never really rose above the Sykes role. Sykes not only forces poor Oliver and his juvenile friends to help him rob people, he also is the neer-do-well and violent boyfriend of Nancy. She meets a sad fate because of her attraction to Sykes.

Well, Carol Reed, who directed this great film, won the directing Oscar for Oliver and helmed lots more good movies. Oh, and my subtitle?  “More” is the word that got Oliver in trouble in the orphanage when he had the temerity to ask for more food.

                                                                 Dylan and others

I finally got to see A Complete Unknown (2024), the biopic about folk-rock legend Bob Dylan. I liked it, especially the first hour. It is a warts and all look at the meteoric rise of the Nobel Prize winner. Timothee Chalamet is good as Dylan, he looks very much like him and he has the voice down pretty well. Dylan’s decision to ditch folk and wade into rock and roll is convincing and well covered.  Edward Norton is good as the gentle Pete Seeger. Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo are also good. So, in a nicely crowded film category, I would put this somewhere in the middle.

For my money, the film that is perhaps the high watermark of this field is Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980). Sissy Spacek (who does her own singing) is simply marvelous as Tammy Wynette, and Tommy Lee Jones does a good job as her husband and manager. Her meteoric rise from coal-mine poverty to queen of the country stars is told accurately and well.

Walk The Line (2005) is one of the best.  Joaquin Phoenix (Johnny Cash) and Reese Witherspoon (June Carter Cash) did their own singing, and are really good at it. Ten minutes in the actors become the singers they’re playing.  That June saved Johnny from sinking into oblivion from drugs and alcohol is well known, and the movie gets it right. The story is a good one and the music is great.

Sweet Dreams (1985), with Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline, is a step slower but still quite good. The dependable Ed Harris is just fine as her ne’er-do-well husband, and little-known Ann Wedgeworth is superb as her mom. That’s Patsy singing and Jessica lip-synching in this one. 

David Carradine can sing up a storm (he starred in the Broadway hit Will Rogers Follies) and does so as legendary Woody Guthrie in Bound For Glory (1976). Woody’s music is very close to the heart and soul of America..He travels the land singing and fighting for the underdog. “This Land Is Your Land” will always be remembered and sung with pride. This movie is gloriously photographed by Haskel Wexler

. The quintessential country singer is, of course, Elvis. Though I guess you can’t really put him in the country (or any) category box. Anyway, to date, nobody has made the defining biopic but it’s not too late. This Is Elvis (1981) isn’t even close; it is more exploitational than entertaining OR true. There are over 30 films either starring or about Elvis, none of which seems to me to get him just right. 

I’m throwing in a film about a country singer who never was because Robert Duvall’s performance in Tender Mercies (1983) is about as good as it gets. It’s not about a real life, but it oughta be!

All of the movies in this column are fine for 12 and up.