TCM
TiVo ALERT
For
March
23–March 31
DAVID’S
BEST BETS:
GREAT
EXPECTATIONS (March 25, 10:15 am): Charles Dickens'
books have translated into excellent films over the years, but none
greater than this 1946 movie. The cast is outstanding, led by John
Mills, Alec Guinness, Martita Hunt and Jean Simmons. The film is
about Pip, an orphan who is taken to London at the expense of a
mysterious benefactor. The benefactor believes Pip is a man with
"great expectations." It's a charming film that leaves you
with a good feeling inside because it's such an outstanding movie.
David Lean co-wrote the screenplay and directs with spectacular
cinematography. Lean would go on to direct epics such as The
Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor
Zhivago. All are great movies and really, really, really long.
Incredibly, Great Expectations isn't even two hours
in length despite being based on a 544-page novel.
NIGHT
OF THE LIVING DEAD (March 28, 1:45 am): Made for
about $100,000, and it sure looks cheap, this 1968 film is the
granddaddy of all zombie films. The main characters give a good
performance, which is impressive considering there's only one or two
professional actors in the entire film. Those playing the zombies are
locals who do a great job of scaring the hell out of moviegoers. The
film's plot is basic on the surface: seven people are trapped inside
a western Pennsylvania farmhouse with zombies interested in turning
them into late-night snacks. But the underlying themes of racism and
stereotypes is surprisingly sophisticated. The main character is a
smart, young black man who has to constantly prove himself to an
older white guy who thinks he knows it all. It turns out he knows
little and becomes a zombie appetizer. It's an interesting film with
director George Romero doing an admirable job of making an important
piece of cinema with little resources. Compare it to some of the
multi-million-dollar zombie films today and it holds up
extraordinarily well.
ED’S
BEST BETS:
IL
POSTO (March 23, 4:00 am): A clever and perceptive
satire about how the white-collar world crushes the hopes and
ambitions of those that work for it. As the director, Ermanno Olmi,
wrote in 1964, “ . . . everything – epic adventure, humor, and a
feeling – is contained in the normal human condition.” Indicative
of the new wave of Post Realist Italian directors, the film stars
Sandro Panseri, a non-professional actor. The female lead is another
non-professional, Loredana Detto, who later became Signora Olmi. (Way
to go, Ermanno!) It’s funny, touching and compelling. Watch for the
end scene when a worker dies and his desk is up for grabs. Real? I’ve
seen it. It’s all too real.
BIG
NIGHT (March 28, 8:00 pm): A totally wonderful
offbeat independent film about two immigrant brothers from Italy,
Primo (Tony Shaloub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) who start a Italian
restaurant on the Jersey Shore. Primo is a brilliant chef with a
total diva mentality: he won’t make the routine dishes that
customers expect. The result is that there are no customers and the
restaurant is failing. The owner of a nearby restaurant,
enormously successful despite its mediocre fare, offers a solution -
he will call his friend, a big-time jazz musician, to play a special
benefit at their restaurant. And so Primo begins to prepare his
masterpiece, a feast of a lifetime, for this big night. Shaloub and
Tucci are brilliant and well supported by the likes Minnie Driver,
Isabella Rossellini, Liev Schreiber, Ian Holm, and Alison Janney.
This is no routine dish.
WE
DISAGREE ON ... MARTY (March 23, 1:30 pm)
ED:
A. Ernest
Borgnine (who won the Oscar for this) and Betsy Blair are wonderful
in this honest, simple, bittersweet story from Paddy Chayefsky about
a lonely butcher and a teacher who have given up on the idea of love
and meet one night at a social. In the ‘50s, movie studios finally
began to pay attention to the lives of ordinary working folks as the
basis for films, realizing that not everyone is glamorous. And
Chayefsky was one of the best at portraying the hopes, trials and
disappointments of the common man. This movie is so touching, so well
made, that it’s difficult not to relate to the main characters on
some level or other. I can only give this film my highest
recommendation as a story.
DAVID:
B-. I don't
have negative things to say about this film. Ernest Borgnine steps
out of his typical tough-guy character and does a good job playing
Marty, a lonely butcher who doesn't ever think he'll ever get
married. He meets Clara (Betsy Blair), a plain-looking teacher and
they fall in love despite Marty's friends and mother telling him he
can do better. It's sweet, but cliched and feels too much like a
play, primarily because it's largely based on one. My biggest
complaint is not a lot happens and what happens is largely the same
thing: Marty and his friends can't decide what to do at night, and
typically end up doing nothing. While authentic in showing everyday
life, everyday life can be kind of boring so you can struggle at
times to stay interested in the film. Also, Borgnine's supporting
cast, except for Esther Minciotti who plays his mother, is just OK.
But that's fine as Marty is clearly the film's main character and
Borgnine is up to the task. Interestingly, his Oscar-winning
performance didn't lead to him playing this type of character again.
It won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Picture in a fairly weak year
for film though it beat Mister
Roberts, a vastly
superior movie.
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