BURT REYNOLDS
Burt Reynolds left us recently at 82. He was still charming and still working. He was a genuine football star at Florida State and some of his movies have a football motif. He was first famous (notorious?) for posing for a Cosmopolitan centerfold in 1972. It was quite a cause celebre at the time, and that issue of Cosmo quickly sold out. Reynolds greatly regretted doing this. But he had quite an interesting movie resume’ mostly in the 1970's.
Reynolds’ break-out part was the role of Lewis Medlock in the haunting Deliverance (1972). He and three friends, played by Ned Beatty, Jon Voight and Ronny Cox, decide to take a canoe trip through the northern Georgia wilderness. Things go horribly wrong, and the Beatty character is savagely raped by local hillbilly thugs. There is then murderous retribution, and a scary and fateful encounter with the river’s rapids. The lives of all the participants are forever changed (one fatally) and the fun outdoor adventure of the four city boys has become a nightmare.
In The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973) Reynolds plays Jay Grobart, widowed husband of Cat Dancing. He sets out to avenge her murder and has many adventures along the way. This includes saving Sarah Miles from her abusive husband and joining forces with Jack Warden and Lee J. Cobb to rob a train. Then it gets complicated.
Burt Reynolds plays Paul “Wrecking” Crewe, a disgraced and imprisoned NFL quarterback in the unlikely but enjoyable The Longest Yard (1974). The sadistic warden (is there any other kind in the movies?) gets up a football game between the prisoners and the guards. He orders Crewe to throw the game and the guards go ahead by 24 points. But hey, this is a Hollywood movie and the final score won’t really surprise you. There are several pallid remakes of this movie, some foreign, some domestic, none much good.
Another Reynolds football film is 1977's Semi-Tough, based on Dan Jenkins’ hilarious novel and featuring Burt and Kris Kristofferson as teammates on a fictional Miami pro team. There is a love triangle between those two and Jill Clayburgh, and a lot of satirical stuff about the self-help movement. The book is more about football and far better than the film (so what else is new?).
The Smokey And The Bandit “franchise” was custom-made for Burt Reynolds, and he played the Bandit (Bo Darville) with a wink and a grin. I’m not a big fan of these films, but I guess the best one is the first one if you like that sort of thing.
Burt Reynolds was actually nominated for an Oscar for his part in Boogie Nights (1997) a fairly rough film about the porn industry. I guess it’s good of its kind but be advised it is very graphic.
Reynolds has a cameo as himself in Mel Brooks’ very funny Silent Movie (1976). He also has a good turn in Starting Over (1979) with Jill Clayburgh.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Sunday, September 23, 2018
WAR BONDS
When I mention “war bonds” as a type of movie, I’m not talking about the bonds the government once urged us to buy. (Okay, you’re probably too young to remember that). War bonds movies are about the incredibly strong connections between men (and women) in uniform under fire. Most who have experienced this say there is nothing quite like that bond.
HBO’s exquisite Band Of Brothers (2001) is an 11-part series about one platoon of men going though World War II in Europe. There is no one in the series you’ve ever heard of, which is a strength. The men come and go, but a few are left standing at the end. The last episode consists of interviews with the living veterans who went through the experiences on which the series is based.
A superb movie about the interrelationships shared war experiences create is the little-known Big Red One (1980). Lee Marvin and Mark Hamill belong to a squadron of men who become convinced their lives are charmed and that they can make it through absolutely anything together. With one of the best screenplays ever written on this subject, Big Red One is truly a film to cherish.
We Were Soldiers (2002) is a strong entry in this category. Mel Gibson is a Harvard-educated, urbane and intuitive Colonel. Sam Elliott is a career Sergeant, tough and profane. Both are experienced professional soldiers fighting in a war (Viet Nam) that refuses to fit into any known category. The strength of the film is the connection between the soldiers. “In the end,” we’re told, “they fought for each other.”
Black Hawk Down (2002) is about a supposedly routine American strike in Somalia gone terribly wrong. It is either a strength or weakness of the film (you pick!) that it’s often hard to tell the soldiers apart. It is a cautionary tale about often-fuzzy American intentions and often-wrong American assumptions about other places. Director Ridley Scott’s action shots are fantastic, but the movie is really about war bonds. One of the soldiers sums it up: “It’s about the man next to you. That’s all it is.”
Saving Private Ryan (1998) is Steven Spielberg’s towering war epic, one of the best movies of our time of any kind. Tom Hanks heads a stellar cast. Here the story is about a very close group of Normandy survivors whose mission is to find and rescue someone they don’t even know (Private Ryan, of course). When you are surrounded by hell on earth, the thing you cling to (and depend on) is the other guy.
The more recent Last Survivor (2014) features Mark Wahlberg as the title character in an Afghanistan mission doomed by bad luck. The title unfortunately gives too much away, but it’s still quite a trip.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
When I mention “war bonds” as a type of movie, I’m not talking about the bonds the government once urged us to buy. (Okay, you’re probably too young to remember that). War bonds movies are about the incredibly strong connections between men (and women) in uniform under fire. Most who have experienced this say there is nothing quite like that bond.
HBO’s exquisite Band Of Brothers (2001) is an 11-part series about one platoon of men going though World War II in Europe. There is no one in the series you’ve ever heard of, which is a strength. The men come and go, but a few are left standing at the end. The last episode consists of interviews with the living veterans who went through the experiences on which the series is based.
A superb movie about the interrelationships shared war experiences create is the little-known Big Red One (1980). Lee Marvin and Mark Hamill belong to a squadron of men who become convinced their lives are charmed and that they can make it through absolutely anything together. With one of the best screenplays ever written on this subject, Big Red One is truly a film to cherish.
We Were Soldiers (2002) is a strong entry in this category. Mel Gibson is a Harvard-educated, urbane and intuitive Colonel. Sam Elliott is a career Sergeant, tough and profane. Both are experienced professional soldiers fighting in a war (Viet Nam) that refuses to fit into any known category. The strength of the film is the connection between the soldiers. “In the end,” we’re told, “they fought for each other.”
Black Hawk Down (2002) is about a supposedly routine American strike in Somalia gone terribly wrong. It is either a strength or weakness of the film (you pick!) that it’s often hard to tell the soldiers apart. It is a cautionary tale about often-fuzzy American intentions and often-wrong American assumptions about other places. Director Ridley Scott’s action shots are fantastic, but the movie is really about war bonds. One of the soldiers sums it up: “It’s about the man next to you. That’s all it is.”
Saving Private Ryan (1998) is Steven Spielberg’s towering war epic, one of the best movies of our time of any kind. Tom Hanks heads a stellar cast. Here the story is about a very close group of Normandy survivors whose mission is to find and rescue someone they don’t even know (Private Ryan, of course). When you are surrounded by hell on earth, the thing you cling to (and depend on) is the other guy.
The more recent Last Survivor (2014) features Mark Wahlberg as the title character in an Afghanistan mission doomed by bad luck. The title unfortunately gives too much away, but it’s still quite a trip.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
NEIL SIMON
Neil Simon, who died recently at 91, wrote one Broadway hit play after another in the 60s and 70s. He had three hits running on the Great White Way at one time! Mr. Simon cut his writing teeth working for Sid Caesar, Gary Moore and Phil Silvers. Though his plays were considered sophisticated fluff by serious critics, the public loved them. So did Hollywood. At least a dozen Simon plays made the silver screen, with varying degrees of success. The snappy one-liners that made “Doc” Simon rich are still present and still snappy. I’ve listed some of the best.
Leading the parade is the wonderful The Odd Couple (1968) with neat-freak Jack Lemmon sharing digs with sloppy Walter Matthau. The difference is the running joke, but it somehow stays funny. It is not hard to understand why both are divorced. This work led to a long-running TV series of the same name, with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman.
The Goodbye Girl (1977) stars Mr. Simon’s wife, Marsha Mason, as a recent divorcee forced to share an apartment with dancer Richard Dreyfus. It’s the standard Hollywood plot in which the couple starts out hating each other and gradually this turns to love (of course!), but the screenplay pushes this way above the usual.
Most of Mr. Simon’s work is autobiographical, and none more so than Biloxi Blues (1988). Matthew Broderick stars as a Jewish kid from Brooklyn washed up on the shore of darkest Mississippi for 10 weeks of grueling boot camp. Christopher Walken is on board as the drill sergeant from Hell (was this his first maniacal role?). The first two-thirds are genuinely funny. I thought the last part faded rather badly.
Barefoot In The Park (1967) doesn’t really have a plot, but doesn’t need one. It has one of the most engaging young married couples in cinematic history, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. They are just so cute you’ll fall in love with them. Their first apartment is a fifth-floor walk-up and they have no money. But they have each other and love. Ain’t Hollywood wonderful? It’s interesting that this same cute couple shows up as wonderful senior citizens in Our Souls At Night (2015) and they’re still super.
In Max Dugan Returns (1983) a father who ignored his children until they were grown tries to make amends, which at first is creepy but then turns nice. More and more expensive presents are showered on his struggling single-mom schoolteacher daughter. Where the money came from is part of the fun. Jason Robards is the recalcitrant dad, Marsha Mason is his daughter. Also along are Donald Sutherland and Matthew Broderick.
Some other good Neil Simon flicks include Lost In Yonkers (1973), Star Spangled Girl (1971) and The Sunshine Boys (1975).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are okay for 10 and up.
Neil Simon, who died recently at 91, wrote one Broadway hit play after another in the 60s and 70s. He had three hits running on the Great White Way at one time! Mr. Simon cut his writing teeth working for Sid Caesar, Gary Moore and Phil Silvers. Though his plays were considered sophisticated fluff by serious critics, the public loved them. So did Hollywood. At least a dozen Simon plays made the silver screen, with varying degrees of success. The snappy one-liners that made “Doc” Simon rich are still present and still snappy. I’ve listed some of the best.
Leading the parade is the wonderful The Odd Couple (1968) with neat-freak Jack Lemmon sharing digs with sloppy Walter Matthau. The difference is the running joke, but it somehow stays funny. It is not hard to understand why both are divorced. This work led to a long-running TV series of the same name, with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman.
The Goodbye Girl (1977) stars Mr. Simon’s wife, Marsha Mason, as a recent divorcee forced to share an apartment with dancer Richard Dreyfus. It’s the standard Hollywood plot in which the couple starts out hating each other and gradually this turns to love (of course!), but the screenplay pushes this way above the usual.
Most of Mr. Simon’s work is autobiographical, and none more so than Biloxi Blues (1988). Matthew Broderick stars as a Jewish kid from Brooklyn washed up on the shore of darkest Mississippi for 10 weeks of grueling boot camp. Christopher Walken is on board as the drill sergeant from Hell (was this his first maniacal role?). The first two-thirds are genuinely funny. I thought the last part faded rather badly.
Barefoot In The Park (1967) doesn’t really have a plot, but doesn’t need one. It has one of the most engaging young married couples in cinematic history, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. They are just so cute you’ll fall in love with them. Their first apartment is a fifth-floor walk-up and they have no money. But they have each other and love. Ain’t Hollywood wonderful? It’s interesting that this same cute couple shows up as wonderful senior citizens in Our Souls At Night (2015) and they’re still super.
In Max Dugan Returns (1983) a father who ignored his children until they were grown tries to make amends, which at first is creepy but then turns nice. More and more expensive presents are showered on his struggling single-mom schoolteacher daughter. Where the money came from is part of the fun. Jason Robards is the recalcitrant dad, Marsha Mason is his daughter. Also along are Donald Sutherland and Matthew Broderick.
Some other good Neil Simon flicks include Lost In Yonkers (1973), Star Spangled Girl (1971) and The Sunshine Boys (1975).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are okay for 10 and up.
Sunday, September 9, 2018
FUNNY WESTERNS
For lack of a better term, I’ll call this category Funny Westerns, and there is no better place to start than Cat Ballou (1965) . It seems incredible to me that 53 years have passed since Jane Fonda’s wide-eyed portrayal of the naive Cat captured the nation. Cat is a schoolmarm who not so reluctantly turns outlaw. Lee Marvin earned an Oscar in a dual role as Cat’s gunfighter-protector and his evil twin who sports a metal nose. Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole add just the right whimsical touch as strolling minstrels. This is a funny, original movie.
For outright belly laughs, few movies of any kind can top Blazing Saddles (1974). Arguably Mel Brooks’ best film, it is the story of a small frontier town tired of being pushed around by outlaws. Cleavon Little is hired as probably the only black western sheriff in history. Little’s ingenious use of whatever materials are at hand to fend off the bad guys is hysterical. Brooks stalwarts Madeleine Kahn, Harvey Korman, and Gene Wilder add to the mix. Not for the squeamish, but an absolute barrel of fun. Former Chicago Bear Alex Karras’ knockout punch on a horse is a scream.
City Slickers (1991) won Jack Palance a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as the tough old trail boss on a dude ranch. Billy Crystal is always funny and the screenplay is a gem. Lots of laughs and a little heart, too. Give the sequel a miss.
In Destry Rides Again (1939) James Stewart is a nonviolent sheriff in a wild frontier town and Marlene Dietrich is the dance hall girl with a heart of bronze. This film is now over 60 years old and is still fresh and funny and loads of fun.
The endlessly facile James Garner is the centerpiece of Support Your Local Sheriff (1969) as another nonviolent sheriff with more brains than brawn. But he has lots of help from Bruce Dern as an outlaw brat, Walter Brennan as the basic Old Man, and Joan Hackett as the ditzy heroine.
Some other genuinely funny westerns include Bronco Billy (1980) with Clint Eastwood as the owner of a small western circus; The Rounders (1965) with Glen Ford and Henry Fonda as two cowboys with a feisty horse; and Bob Hope’s best movie, Son of Paleface (1952).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are suitable for children 12 and up.
For lack of a better term, I’ll call this category Funny Westerns, and there is no better place to start than Cat Ballou (1965) . It seems incredible to me that 53 years have passed since Jane Fonda’s wide-eyed portrayal of the naive Cat captured the nation. Cat is a schoolmarm who not so reluctantly turns outlaw. Lee Marvin earned an Oscar in a dual role as Cat’s gunfighter-protector and his evil twin who sports a metal nose. Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole add just the right whimsical touch as strolling minstrels. This is a funny, original movie.
For outright belly laughs, few movies of any kind can top Blazing Saddles (1974). Arguably Mel Brooks’ best film, it is the story of a small frontier town tired of being pushed around by outlaws. Cleavon Little is hired as probably the only black western sheriff in history. Little’s ingenious use of whatever materials are at hand to fend off the bad guys is hysterical. Brooks stalwarts Madeleine Kahn, Harvey Korman, and Gene Wilder add to the mix. Not for the squeamish, but an absolute barrel of fun. Former Chicago Bear Alex Karras’ knockout punch on a horse is a scream.
City Slickers (1991) won Jack Palance a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as the tough old trail boss on a dude ranch. Billy Crystal is always funny and the screenplay is a gem. Lots of laughs and a little heart, too. Give the sequel a miss.
In Destry Rides Again (1939) James Stewart is a nonviolent sheriff in a wild frontier town and Marlene Dietrich is the dance hall girl with a heart of bronze. This film is now over 60 years old and is still fresh and funny and loads of fun.
The endlessly facile James Garner is the centerpiece of Support Your Local Sheriff (1969) as another nonviolent sheriff with more brains than brawn. But he has lots of help from Bruce Dern as an outlaw brat, Walter Brennan as the basic Old Man, and Joan Hackett as the ditzy heroine.
Some other genuinely funny westerns include Bronco Billy (1980) with Clint Eastwood as the owner of a small western circus; The Rounders (1965) with Glen Ford and Henry Fonda as two cowboys with a feisty horse; and Bob Hope’s best movie, Son of Paleface (1952).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are suitable for children 12 and up.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD
Most of us like to eat well. (A glimpse in a full-length mirror rather distressingly confirms this). Here are some excellent movies featuring glorious, mouth-watering food. Do not watch any of these on an empty stomach!
In Babette’s Feast (1987) two very religious spinsters take in a young maid (Stephane Audran). She is able to show her love, and bring tears to the eyes of the most Whopper-hardened junk food freak, by preparing a wondrous meal. A lovely, simple movie that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The feast is to die for.
Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci are Italian-American brothers who own a classy (and failing) restaurant. Shalhoub is the perfectionist, no-compromise chef and Tucci is the more business-like manager who wants to lighten up and attract more customers. A banquet for Louis Prima and his band is to be their Big Night (1995). The preparation of this sumptuous meal consumes (!) almost the whole film. Not without serious moments, but lots of fun.
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) is about a Chinese master chef whose three unmarried daughters still live at home. Everyone has difficulty expressing affection by any other means than the preparation and serving of incredible meals. Wry touches (the chef has lost his sense of taste; one of the daughters works at Wendy’s) add to the enjoyment. But the food is the real star. An underappreciated jewel.
In Tom Jones (1963) , Tony Richardson brings Henry Fielding’s wry and raunchy story of English life in the 1700's to glorious flower. It won a passel of prizes,
including the Oscar for Best Picture. The food scene between Albert Finney and Joyce Redman is the sexiest one ever filmed. It puts romantic dining in a whole new light.
The magical Like Water For Chocolate (1993) is about the youngest of three daughters condemned to stay home and look after Mama. Her thwarted love is expressed through cooking, and ,Lord, can she cook. Delicious movie.
The search for the perfect noodle to save a floundering cafe is the hilarious background for the weird and wonderful Tampopo (1986). Not for all tastes; you’ll know in the first 20 minutes.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. None are really suitable for children under 10 because they wouldn’t like them. Bon appetit!
Most of us like to eat well. (A glimpse in a full-length mirror rather distressingly confirms this). Here are some excellent movies featuring glorious, mouth-watering food. Do not watch any of these on an empty stomach!
In Babette’s Feast (1987) two very religious spinsters take in a young maid (Stephane Audran). She is able to show her love, and bring tears to the eyes of the most Whopper-hardened junk food freak, by preparing a wondrous meal. A lovely, simple movie that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The feast is to die for.
Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci are Italian-American brothers who own a classy (and failing) restaurant. Shalhoub is the perfectionist, no-compromise chef and Tucci is the more business-like manager who wants to lighten up and attract more customers. A banquet for Louis Prima and his band is to be their Big Night (1995). The preparation of this sumptuous meal consumes (!) almost the whole film. Not without serious moments, but lots of fun.
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) is about a Chinese master chef whose three unmarried daughters still live at home. Everyone has difficulty expressing affection by any other means than the preparation and serving of incredible meals. Wry touches (the chef has lost his sense of taste; one of the daughters works at Wendy’s) add to the enjoyment. But the food is the real star. An underappreciated jewel.
In Tom Jones (1963) , Tony Richardson brings Henry Fielding’s wry and raunchy story of English life in the 1700's to glorious flower. It won a passel of prizes,
including the Oscar for Best Picture. The food scene between Albert Finney and Joyce Redman is the sexiest one ever filmed. It puts romantic dining in a whole new light.
The magical Like Water For Chocolate (1993) is about the youngest of three daughters condemned to stay home and look after Mama. Her thwarted love is expressed through cooking, and ,Lord, can she cook. Delicious movie.
The search for the perfect noodle to save a floundering cafe is the hilarious background for the weird and wonderful Tampopo (1986). Not for all tastes; you’ll know in the first 20 minutes.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. None are really suitable for children under 10 because they wouldn’t like them. Bon appetit!
Sunday, August 12, 2018
GEORGE AXELROD
Young folks today (okay, anyone under 60) weren’t around when the Motion Picture Code forbade nudity, sex and dirty words. Now we have the ratings system and most anything goes. A few screen writers became expert at working around the Code and pushing it to its limit. Nobody was better at this than George Axelrod.
Three Axelrod screenplays were based on his own stage plays, and the best known of these is The Seven Year Itch (1955). Though watered down quite a bit from the stage version, it features a bewildered Tom Ewell smitten with an impossibly sexy Marilyn Monroe, and is still lots of fun. This movie contains the famous MM “blown skirt” scene.
Phhht! (1954) is another Axelrod stage play become screenplay and features incredibly young Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon as a divorced couple who discover they made a terrible mistake- not when they married but when they split!
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) is the final George Axelrod stage play to screenplay and is probably the best. Tony Randall, Jayne Mansfield, Betsy Drake and Groucho Marx (!) join in a spirited and humorous send-up of advertising, sex and morals. This film is still really funny and dead-on lots of targets.
Mr. Axelrod was also expert at adapting the works of other writers for the silver screen. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is still as good a thriller as was ever made, with Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey and a not-so-loveable Angela Lansbury in a real nail biter. Mr. Harvey has been programmed by the North Koreans as an assassin and Mr. Sinatra tries to deprogram him before he acts. Beware the cheesy 2004 remake!
Truman Capote’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961) features the elegant and effervescent Audrey Hepburn as the delightfully off-the-wall Holly Golightly, a stranger in a Manhattan paradise. The late Buddy Ebsen has a minor role and if I tell you who he plays it would spoil it for you. George Axelrod won the Oscar for his sparkling screenplay.
William Inge’s Bus Stop (1956) has Don Murray as a lonesome cowboy absolutely besotted by saloon singer Marilyn Monroe (who really gets to act up a storm in this). He decides to marry her but sort of forgets to ask her first.
Lord Love A Duck (1966) is an extremely dark comedy starring Roddy McDowell as, perhaps, Satan since he is able to grant all of the wishes of teenager Barbara Ann Greene (Tuesday Weld). The wishes and their granting get further and further out until the ending you won’t see coming. This movie is somewhat dated, but still a lot of fun.
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for ages 10 and up.
Young folks today (okay, anyone under 60) weren’t around when the Motion Picture Code forbade nudity, sex and dirty words. Now we have the ratings system and most anything goes. A few screen writers became expert at working around the Code and pushing it to its limit. Nobody was better at this than George Axelrod.
Three Axelrod screenplays were based on his own stage plays, and the best known of these is The Seven Year Itch (1955). Though watered down quite a bit from the stage version, it features a bewildered Tom Ewell smitten with an impossibly sexy Marilyn Monroe, and is still lots of fun. This movie contains the famous MM “blown skirt” scene.
Phhht! (1954) is another Axelrod stage play become screenplay and features incredibly young Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon as a divorced couple who discover they made a terrible mistake- not when they married but when they split!
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) is the final George Axelrod stage play to screenplay and is probably the best. Tony Randall, Jayne Mansfield, Betsy Drake and Groucho Marx (!) join in a spirited and humorous send-up of advertising, sex and morals. This film is still really funny and dead-on lots of targets.
Mr. Axelrod was also expert at adapting the works of other writers for the silver screen. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is still as good a thriller as was ever made, with Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey and a not-so-loveable Angela Lansbury in a real nail biter. Mr. Harvey has been programmed by the North Koreans as an assassin and Mr. Sinatra tries to deprogram him before he acts. Beware the cheesy 2004 remake!
Truman Capote’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961) features the elegant and effervescent Audrey Hepburn as the delightfully off-the-wall Holly Golightly, a stranger in a Manhattan paradise. The late Buddy Ebsen has a minor role and if I tell you who he plays it would spoil it for you. George Axelrod won the Oscar for his sparkling screenplay.
William Inge’s Bus Stop (1956) has Don Murray as a lonesome cowboy absolutely besotted by saloon singer Marilyn Monroe (who really gets to act up a storm in this). He decides to marry her but sort of forgets to ask her first.
Lord Love A Duck (1966) is an extremely dark comedy starring Roddy McDowell as, perhaps, Satan since he is able to grant all of the wishes of teenager Barbara Ann Greene (Tuesday Weld). The wishes and their granting get further and further out until the ending you won’t see coming. This movie is somewhat dated, but still a lot of fun.
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for ages 10 and up.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
ANNE BANCROFT
If she were a baseball player, you would say that Anne Bancroft could run, throw, hit, hit with power and field any position. Still gorgeous at 67, she was in over 40 movies. She was nominated for an Oscar five times, won once, and picked up two Tonys for her stage work. She died in 2005, leaving a bushel of fine performances.
After a series of mediocre to awful films, Ms. Bancroft broke through in The Miracle Worker (1962). She is Annie Sullivan, the hard-as-nails teacher of blind and deaf Helen Keller (Patty Duke). Annie cuts poor Helen no slack; her unsentimental approach increases the impact of this wonderful film. Both Ms. Bancroft and Ms. Duke won Oscars.
The part that has etched Ms. Bancroft on the American memory is Mrs. Robinson in Mike Nichols’ The Graduate (1967). She is absolutely perfect as the symbol of jaded maturity’s seduction of youthful innocence, as she lures the bumbling Dustin Hoffman to her bed. This film, perhaps more than any other, defined the 60's. Ms. Bancroft’s no-big-deal attitude toward her amoral lifestyle still shocks as it amuses. To young people, who were told to trust no one over 30, Mrs. Robinson was the embodiment of THE ENEMY. Oh, and by the way, at the time this film was made Ms. Bancroft was only 35 and Mr. Hoffman was 30!
A complete change of pace is 84 Charing Cross Road (1985), a very under-appreciated little gem. Anne Bancroft is an American teacher who strikes up a lively friendship, by mail, with cultivated British bookseller Anthony Hopkins. Ms. Bancroft’s savvy New Yorker is a perfect foil to Hopkins’ soft-spoken Londoner. A film for the mind and the heart.
Neil Simon’s Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) is a comedy with tears in its eyes. As the suddenly unemployed Jack Lemmon’s sympathetic but wise-cracking wife, Anne Bancroft makes the very most of a difficult part. And of course any Neil Simon effort has lots of laughs along with the sadder parts.
The enigmatic Agnes of God (1985) is about a young nun who may or may not have murdered her own baby. This movie is certainly not for all tastes, but the performances by Meg Tilly as the young nun, Jane Fonda as a psychiatrist and Anne Bancroft as the Mother Superior are fine.
What if your troubled daughter told you she planned to end her life before morning? This is the dilemma faced by Thelma Cates (Anne Bancroft) in the haunting, nail-biting ‘night Mother (1986). Sissy Spacek is, as always, outstanding as the daughter, but to me Ms. Bancroft carries the film.
Ms. Bancroft was married to director Mel Brooks until her death. The only film of his in which she appears is the hilarious and clever Silent Movie (1976). Making a modern comedy without any dialogue is quite a challenge, but Mr. Brooks is certainly up to it and Ms. Bancroft’s presence is a real plus.
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for children over 12.
If she were a baseball player, you would say that Anne Bancroft could run, throw, hit, hit with power and field any position. Still gorgeous at 67, she was in over 40 movies. She was nominated for an Oscar five times, won once, and picked up two Tonys for her stage work. She died in 2005, leaving a bushel of fine performances.
After a series of mediocre to awful films, Ms. Bancroft broke through in The Miracle Worker (1962). She is Annie Sullivan, the hard-as-nails teacher of blind and deaf Helen Keller (Patty Duke). Annie cuts poor Helen no slack; her unsentimental approach increases the impact of this wonderful film. Both Ms. Bancroft and Ms. Duke won Oscars.
The part that has etched Ms. Bancroft on the American memory is Mrs. Robinson in Mike Nichols’ The Graduate (1967). She is absolutely perfect as the symbol of jaded maturity’s seduction of youthful innocence, as she lures the bumbling Dustin Hoffman to her bed. This film, perhaps more than any other, defined the 60's. Ms. Bancroft’s no-big-deal attitude toward her amoral lifestyle still shocks as it amuses. To young people, who were told to trust no one over 30, Mrs. Robinson was the embodiment of THE ENEMY. Oh, and by the way, at the time this film was made Ms. Bancroft was only 35 and Mr. Hoffman was 30!
A complete change of pace is 84 Charing Cross Road (1985), a very under-appreciated little gem. Anne Bancroft is an American teacher who strikes up a lively friendship, by mail, with cultivated British bookseller Anthony Hopkins. Ms. Bancroft’s savvy New Yorker is a perfect foil to Hopkins’ soft-spoken Londoner. A film for the mind and the heart.
Neil Simon’s Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) is a comedy with tears in its eyes. As the suddenly unemployed Jack Lemmon’s sympathetic but wise-cracking wife, Anne Bancroft makes the very most of a difficult part. And of course any Neil Simon effort has lots of laughs along with the sadder parts.
The enigmatic Agnes of God (1985) is about a young nun who may or may not have murdered her own baby. This movie is certainly not for all tastes, but the performances by Meg Tilly as the young nun, Jane Fonda as a psychiatrist and Anne Bancroft as the Mother Superior are fine.
What if your troubled daughter told you she planned to end her life before morning? This is the dilemma faced by Thelma Cates (Anne Bancroft) in the haunting, nail-biting ‘night Mother (1986). Sissy Spacek is, as always, outstanding as the daughter, but to me Ms. Bancroft carries the film.
Ms. Bancroft was married to director Mel Brooks until her death. The only film of his in which she appears is the hilarious and clever Silent Movie (1976). Making a modern comedy without any dialogue is quite a challenge, but Mr. Brooks is certainly up to it and Ms. Bancroft’s presence is a real plus.
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for children over 12.
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