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Really entertaining documentary about how George blagged his way into becoming Bond, though its only dealt with from chapter 8 onwards, the early part about his life is funny, sad and engaging!
I am curious though, that when he was going for the part of Bond he seemed to be mostly dealing with Harry rather than Cubby?
Well worth checking out!
I find it massively underrated. Such a cool visual film with some really unusual locations. Mann's direction is excellent as usual. Love it.
The documentary doesnt feature Cubby at all, and yes it was Harry who made the quote when George clobbered the stuntman by accident "We're going with you!" and it was Harry who tried to get George to sign that lucrative contract! How different things would have been if he agreed to star in 5 more!
I imagine that Harry and George got strained by the end of the production too simply because of how hard George was making it to promote the film and give it good word of mouth (while also making it known that he wanted to quit), but Harry was most assuredly a big cheerleader of him before and during OHMSS and was very protective of him in some ways. My favorite example is this story from the set, involving George, some loose cash and Telly Savalas: Only on a Bond set.
Excellent review. May just give this a watch tonight.
Just superb! I await your TDKR rises review with baited breathe.
(Given my avatar, hehe.)
Tonight: VICTOR/VICTORIA. One of my favourite feel-good movies with one of my favourite actresses ever, Julie Andrews. With a score by one of my favourite composers ever, Henry Mancini. A film that never fails to lift me up, even drag me out of a mild depression (if I define it as such), making me laugh over and over again although I've seen it at least five times or so.
Priceless, and probably in my top ten of all time if I had to choose.
There is a good story their just not on the screen
Are you a Mann fan ?
So-so Spanish horror film. The storyline, which concerns a mother determined to locate her missing son, transitions a little awkwardly between story beats. The screenwriter shoves in a medium/exorcist archetype halfway into the film for a scant ten minutes, just as the story approaches a cul-de-sac. The film's denouement is ultimately unrewarding for those who have sat through a film that, despite its twists and turns, is more passable than consistently impressive.
Hellraiser (1987)
Mixed feelings over Clive Barker's "Hellraiser." The screenplay unfortunately squanders the film's more fascinating elements (in particular, the hellish world of the Cenobites) for the trite and uninteresting personalities that viewers will be all too familiar with - the jealous brother, the perfidious wife, etc. As a result, we get an unusually restless script that seems to switch character focus midway through, with a very questionable ending. The direction, by and large, is not greatly skilled, for this is indeed the directing debut of the author who penned the film's source material.
The real draw of "Hellraiser" are the very good gore effects and scenes of body horror, that lend themselves to powerful horror imagery. If only the performances were less painful than the death scenes.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
There's not really much I can say about "Caligari" that hasn't been said already. Suffice to say that this is the work of a visionary, made in a time when films weren't 'star vehicles' or moneymaking enterprises, but a medium for artful expression. "Caligari" is endlessly captivating, with its exceptional imagery, chilling tone, and bizarre, stylistic sets. An astounding work of the silent era - I should watch more silent films!
Only reservations I have are when the film feels the need to delve into its 'plot,' which is frankly unnecessary... Indeed, the film begins to stumble a little in Act 5 as it wades through a bit of clunky exposition. The twist ending, whilst justifying the off-kilter sets, does invalidate much of the preceding action.
Tonight I completed my viewing of the Nolan Bat saga, with the last and perhaps most controversial outing. I realize it’s quite long and doesn’t hit the same highs as BB or TDK, but I’ve always liked this film. Perhaps it could never be realistically expected to, without the charismatic and diabolical Joker as the villain.
Like its predecessor, the film broaches some topical issues of the day and it’s similarly prescient in some ways. As an example, one day we may all wish for a ‘clean slate’, as we increasingly lose our privacy and realize too much of our personal life is online and in the hands of major corporations looking to exploit us, or governments looking to oversee us. Socially responsible investing (SRI) is becoming increasingly popular, and the film touches on that via Wayne's fusion reactor. The concept of idolatry and the consequences of having too much adulation for self proclaimed heroes, public leaders, liberators and false prophets is also touched upon. Most notably, it foretells the populism and class warfare which has gripped many parts of the world, and correctly identifies the reasons for it, namely concentration of wealth and resources in the hands of the few and failure by politicians on both sides of the aisle to address inequality. Wall Street’s complicity in this wealth shift is alluded to via odious individuals like John Daggett, beautifully played by Ben Mendelsohn. Nolan smartly doesn’t take a position on these philosophical issues, but rather just puts them out there for us to take in & absorb.
There’s a real epic scale to this third film too. Some of the setpiece sequences are truly awe inducing, particularly the 9/11 style coordinated explosive attack on Gotham. Unlike rival franchises which depict city destruction in a cartoon like CGI fashion, here it seems real and therefore chillingly reminiscent of that frightening September morning 17 years ago, complete with US Air Force jets zooming past the skyline. Similarly the opening mid flight escape by Bane, no doubt inspired by John Glen’s work for Bond and notably LTK, is truly magnificent in its audacity and execution. The Bane/Bat fight is bone crunching, visceral and vivid. It’s not so much the action, which although well choreographed is nothing special in itself. Rather, it’s the increasing desperation and emotional vulnerability of Batman as he realizes Alfred was correct after all. He is no match for Bane in his current state, and his initial overconfidence and hubris descends into fear and back breaking despair before us, accompanied by chilling commentary by Bane - it’s brilliantly done. My favourite action sequence occurs about 50 minutes into the film when the Batman makes his return after Bane infiltrates the Stock Exchange. The wide eyed senior cop who tells his young colleague that he is “in for a show tonight” perfectly reflected my own emotional excitement at finally seeing the dark knight back in action in the theatre in 2012. Nolan pulls out all his tricks here, reintroducing the Bat at speed on his Batpod in a glorious fanwank moment, and shortly thereafter giving us our first look at the Batplane (named simply the ‘Bat’) as he escapes capture from a dark alley. Pfister’s cinematography during this sequence is superb, with elevated night shots of the city following dozens of police cars in pursuit. The finale is also wonderfully realized, with the Batplane chasing Talia Al Ghul’s (aka Miranda Tate’s), truck above city streets while avoiding missiles as Catwoman picks off armed Tumblers on the Batpod.
Speaking of Catwoman, I was initially quite concerned when I realized she would be in this film. After all, who could surpass Michelle Pfeiffer’s iconic turn in the 1992 Batman Returns. Well, I needn’t have worried because Anne Hathaway completely steals the show. She is at once demure & beguiling as Selina Kyle. Not off-kilter like Pfieffer’s version, but rather very much in control, with an underlying quest for survival. Athletic too (I’m sure I saw her do a roundhouse overhead kick which would make Van Damme proud when taking down a thug on a rooftop. The manner in which she gleefully admires the Batpod before sexily straddling it and her look when travelling in the Batplane are sights to behold as well). I wish there was more of her in this film because her wit and insouciance provide much needed levity.
I had no such concerns about Bane of course because his last filmic appearance was poorly realized in the woefully embarrassing Batman and Robin. As expected, Tom Hardy is very good as the muscular supervillain. The mask, robotic Vader-like voice, physique and demeanour are chilling, and Hardy accurately projects the character’s combination of sheer brute power combined with intelligence. In fact, I still can’t believe it’s him in there – the transformation is so convincing. It’s perhaps true that the character is somewhat undermined due to his depiction here as a sort of protector and servant of Talia, but I didn’t find it to be as offensive as some. His sudden demise is very anticlimactic though, and could have been handled better.
As concerns Talia/Miranda, I feel she is the most poorly depicted character in this film. Marion Cottilard is a compelling actress, but she is let down by the script here. Her ‘surprise’ revelation as the master villain is also poorly handled. Having said that, Talia is supposed to have conflicted feelings for Bruce in the comics, and that does come through in this film. It explains why she allows certain things to play out as they do. I was not aware until recently that the comic character is actually partially based on Tracy from OHMSS.
I have to commend Mr. Zimmer on his score for this film. He creates a memorable piano motif for Ms. Kyle which is at once playful but suspenseful, and perfectly reflects her morally ambiguous persona. His theme for Bane is also distinctive and has a deliberately uneven tone to it underpinned by the rhythm of the ‘fire rises’ chant. It’s unsettling but suggestive of power, and serves as a neat counterweight to Batman’s familiar and more even theme. I think this is his best work in the superhero genre.
Despite all this impressive visual scale and epic scope, at its core I feel that this is an intimate film – one which brings the story back full circle to Bruce Wayne, where it all began. Nolan smartly focuses as much on him as he does Batman, as he is forced yet again to confront the group that trained him – namely the League of Shadows. Christian Bale gives us his most complex and multi-faceted realization of the character yet. There’s a wounded weariness to him here which reflects the cumulative impact of what his character has been through over the years. The callbacks to key moments in the earliest film are a nice touch too (young Wayne’s fall down the well, the importance of Martha’s pearls, his first meeting with Gordon as a frightened young boy). For those like myself who have been fully invested in this iteration of the character and all his trials and tribulations, this film is a wonderfully satisfying and epic conclusion to this landmark trilogy. It’s not perfect, is a bit overlong, and seems overburdened by its ambition at times (most notably once Bane takes control of Gotham) but it’s also undeniably top drawer entertainment brought to us by a master of the game. This is wiithout doubt (for me) the most meaningful and therefore best realization of this amazing character on the big screen. I very much hope that Nolan gets his hands on James Bond soon for a suggested ‘reimagination’ and can’t wait to see what he does with him. “You have to be needed”, he’s said. Well, I think we need you Chris!
Well it wasnt on Television this Christmas, but i still watch it this time every year. Whats not to like? Burtons commanding voice and Eastwood coolness and action chops ( love when he uses two machine guns!) , Alistair Maclean storytelling, great locations, the legendary Yakima Canutt on stunt duties (highlight being that great cable car fight!) Ron Goodwins marvellous theme and an action packed final section! Great stuff!
Reading your three Nolan Bat reviews back-to-back has just persuaded me to check these films out again - today!
It was a delight reading your thoughts, to the point where I'd love to read other Bat reviews, say about the Burton, Schumacher, Snyder, ... films. ;-)
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I'm a huge fan of this film too. I wish there was a remastered copy of it because the version I have doesn't do the film justice. I must check this out again soon.