TCM
TiVo ALERT
For
September
15–September 22
DAVID’S
BEST BETS:
SUDDENLY (September
17, 1:00 pm): Besides The Manchurian Candidate, this 1954
gritty film noir about a group of assassins who take over a house on
a hill in Suddenly, California, to kill the president is my favorite
Frank Sinatra film. And it's probably his finest performance. Rather
than playing the nice guy, Sinatra is fantastic as a crazed
psychopath who will stop at nothing to kill the president just
because he wants to. There are plenty of fine performances in this
film, particularly Sterling Hayden as the sheriff and James Gleason
as the patriarch of the family who lives in the house. The action is
fast-paced with some nice twists and a great ending - all wrapped
nicely into a 75-minute bow.
SHAFT (September
18, 12:00 am): "Who's the cat who won't cop out when there's
danger all about? Shaft. Right on." It's not just the great
theme song and a super funky soundtrack, this is the absolute best
blaxploitation film ever made. It was so popular that it's considered
the film that saved the then-struggling MGM studio from going out of
business in 1971. Richard Roundtree is Shaft, John Shaft, a private
dick who is asked by the Mafia to rescue the daughter of the crime
boss. Shaft is as cool as they come, bedding a number of women,
mostly white, and always a step or two ahead of the police, the mob
and the gang that kidnapped the girl. It's an incredibly enjoyable
movie, filled with action and humor.
ED’S
BEST BETS:
TO
HAVE AND HAVE NOT (September 15, 9:00 pm): Who knew
when this production was filmed back in 1944 that it would grow into
one of the most iconic cult classics, not only in Hollywood history,
but also in the history of pop culture? GE has a slogan, “better
living through chemistry,” and the motto for this film might well
be “better viewing through chemistry.” No one had the chemistry
that Bogart and Bacall had in this film. It was clear to see they
were falling in love as the picture progressed. And it wasn’t only
on celluloid, but also in real life as well, as they married shortly
afterwards. Without that chemistry, To Have and Have Not is
just another ordinary film, with Bogart repeating his role as The Guy
Who Doesn’t Want To Get Involved, getting involved with the
Resistance to fight the forces of Tyranny. Bacall is absolutely
marvelous in her film debut, even though she could hardly act a lick
back then. But with the help of mentors Bogart and director Howard
Hawks she pulls off a credible performance and establishes herself as
an actress to watch. For anyone interested in the Bogart-Bacall
marriage and the myth that came to surround it, this movie is a must.
THE
LITTLE GIANT (September 19, 1:00 pm): Eddie G.
Robinson in a comedy? Yes, and he pulls it off magnificently. He’s
totally in his element as a gangster who’s trying to crack the
social register after the repeal of Prohibition put him out of
business. Unfortunately, he’s under the delusion that social
standing breeds class, and it’s hilarious when he discovers this
isn’t the case. That’s when the fun really begins. Though
Robinson may be the star, he’s provided with solid assistance from
Mary Astor, Helen Vinson, and Russell Hopton. It’s a funny picture
and Robinson would actually play the same type of character five
years later in A Slight Case of Murder, which also
repeats the laughs.
WE
DISAGREE ON ... NETWORK (September 20, 9:45 pm)
ED:
C. I realize I’m swimming against the tide
here, but the only thing I ask of the reader is for him or her is to
take the blinders off and look at this film objectively. Network is
supposed to be a satire of the television industry. All well and
good. Unfortunately, the film’s author is Paddy Chayefsky, who
believes in satire with a sledgehammer. There is nothing subtle about
this film; for satire to truly be effective, it must be
subtle. Network is completely over the top. Everyone
seems to shout his or her lines, and the characterization is dull and
shallow; shocking has taken the place of clever, and the movie is
just as manipulative as those it seeks to “expose.” Also, for
satire to be truly effective, it must be rooted in the reality of its
time. There is nothing real about Network. Howard Beale
would’ve either been taken off the air long before he got started,
or a congressional inquiry would have forced the network to do just
that. And what real television network would give air time to the
Communist Party and the Ecumenical Liberation Army (does that one
sound like the invention of some smartass writer trying to be funny)
in the first place? It’s like a college sophomore’s idea of
humor. The characters are poorly drawn and one-dimensional. William
Holden just walks out of a successful marriage to be with a woman
(Faye Dunaway) who he knows is going to screw him over? Sorry, that
just doesn’t play in the real world. What the film does have a lot
of is cynicism. Howard Beale (Peter Finch in a completely
over-the-top performance) tells his audience that all they know they
have learned from television, as only 3% of the population reads
books and only 15% reads newspapers. Network’s real
target is the audience watching it, for it seems the producers assume
their audience is also brain dead and needs to be spoon-fed its
satire. Former Eagle Don Henley, in his song “Dirty Laundry” said
more in three-and-a-half minutes than Network says
in two hours. And he’s a lot funnier and on target because he aims
at the real, not the fictional. Want to see a good satire of
television? Watch Elia Kazan’s A Face in the Crowd (made
in 1956 and still on target today) or reruns of The Mary
Tyler Moore Show. At least they’re rooted in reality.
DAVID:
A+. This brilliant film is not only the best satire
of television ever made, but it is about two decades ahead of its
time showing how reality TV could and did capture the attention of
the viewing audience. As the years pass, this 1976 film becomes more
relevant as society's interest in the obsession of pseudo celebrities
and our insatiable appetite for around-the-clock garbage news
increase. At times, you can see yourself in the film watching some of
the crap that litters the airwaves today. You know it's awful and/or
outrageous, but you can't help but watch. Paddy Chayefsky's
screenplay is exceptional and it's the best film directed by the
incredibly talented Sidney Lumet. The film shows us the mental
breakdown of anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) and how it captures
the attention of viewers whose voyeur tendencies only grow. Chayefsky
won an Oscar for the screenplay. The script is so exceptional that it
provides many of the film's actors moments to shine. Finch, Faye
Dunaway (as an overly ambitious and sexy network executive), and
Beatrice Straight (in a bit but important role as the wife of a TV
executive played by William Holden) won Oscars in three of the four
acting categories. Like Finch, Holden was nominated for Best Actor
(two lead male actors?), but obviously didn't win. Finch's "Mad
as Hell" speech is one of cinema's finest and one of its top
five most iconic moments. It's drop-dead serious while also being
outrageously funny. How much do I love this film? I can't count the
number of times I've seen it. My favorite example is when my wife
went into labor in 1997 with our second child. I borrowed a VHS copy
of the movie from the library and we got through about one-third of
it when it was obviously time to get her to the hospital. After the
delivery and several hours of bonding between us and our daughter, it
was time for me to leave the hospital, get some much-needed sleep and
come back in the morning to bring them home. What did I do before
going to sleep? Yeah, I watched the rest of Network. I
don't regret a second of that decision. That's how great this film is
so Ed, you're not just swimming against the tide here. You're
swimming against a tidal wave.
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