TCM
TiVo ALERT
For
February
23–February 29
DAVID’S
BEST BETS:
ALL
THE KING'S MEN (February
24, 6:00 pm): This is the best political film ever made and one
of the 10 greatest movies of all-time. I could watch this 1949
classic over and over again – and have. Broderick Crawford is
brilliant as Willie Stark, a do-gooder who fails as a politician
until he learns to work the system, gets dirt on friends and foes,
and becomes a beloved populist governor. There are other
incredible performances, particularly John Ireland as Jack Burden, a
journalist who "discovers" Stark and helps him climb the
political ladder, stepping over anyone in the way; and
Raymond Greenleaf as Judge Monte Stanton, Burden's mentor
and role model. If you love politics, this is the best movie on the
subject ever made. If you hate politics, you'll love this film as it
gives you plenty of reasons to confirm your belief on the subject.
NETWORK (February
24, 12:15 am): 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. The film shows the mental
breakdown of anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) and how it captures
the attention of viewers whose voyeur tendencies only grow. 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.
ED’S
BEST BETS:
DAY
FOR NIGHT (February 26, 3:30 pm): This is one of
Francois Truffaut’s wittiest and most subtle films – a film about
the making of a film. While on the set of Je vous presente
Pamela (Introducing Pamela), the story of an English
wife running off with her French father-in-law, we also get to know
the cast and crew shooting the film, each with his or her own set of
problems. Hence the title: a technical cinematographic term for
simulating a night scene while shooting during the day. Special
filters and optical processors are employed to create the illusion.
While Nathalie Baye and Jean-Pierre Leaud are wonderful in their
roles, Valentia Cortese steals the picture as the fading actress
Severine. For those new to Truffaut, this is the perfect introduction
and one not to miss.
YOUNG
FRANKENSTEIN (February 26, 8:00 pm): After Blazing
Saddles became a big hit, people wondered how Mel Brooks
could top himself. And then came Young Frankenstein, and
that question was answered. This is a wonderfully hilarious spoof of
the old Universal horror films, concentrating
on Frankenstein (1931), Bride of
Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939).
Written by Brooks and Gene Wilder (who also stars as the descendent
of Frankenstein), the film combines the zaniness of Brooks with the
more restrained satire of Wilder. Peter Boyle is marvelous as The
Monster, complete with a zipper in his neck, and Madeline Kahn hits
all the right notes as Frankenstein’s prudish fiancée. With Cloris
Leachman as Frau Brucker, Terri Garr as Inga, Frankenstein’s lab
assistant, and Marty Feldman in a brilliant turn as Frankenstein’s
gofer Igor. Watch for Gene Hackman spoofing the blind hermit
from Bride of Frankenstein. He comes close to walking
away with the film. They don’t make ‘em any better – or funnier
– than this.
WE
DISAGREE ON ... M*A*S*H (February 24, 10:00 pm):
ED:
C+. Virtually everyone knows the story by now, thanks to
the hugely popular television show. But not everyone knows it began
as a series of comic novels by Richard Hooker and was made into a
film directed by Robert Altman. The success of the film with both
critics and audiences made the reputation of Altman. I went to this
movie when it opened, looking forward to a good, cutting-edge comedy.
However, what I got was a plot that careens back and forth and a
disjointed script. It seems more like a series of episodes, and for
an anti-war film, I never got the sense of the futility of war at
all. Instead what I got was a bunch of characters who seemed to be
having the time of their lives. The football game that takes up most
of the second half seems to come from out of nowhere, and I had
trouble with the change in the character of “Hotlips,” since
there was no justification provided for her metamorphosis from
by-the-book nurse to a wild and carefree woman. Also not in the
film’s favor is a soundtrack where the overlapping dialogue blots
out the plot points. The acting is an example of superb ensemble
acting, and added to the occasional chuckle, is the reason I gave it
the grade I did. But the film pales in comparison to the mediocre
1953 Battle Circus, with Humphrey Bogart as a MASH surgeon and
June Allyson as the nurse in love with him. That film has actually
aged better than this one.
DAVID:
A-. This 1970 movie does an excellent job of
combining the dark side of war – the gory "meatball"
surgery conducted by doctors close to the front line during the
Korean War on soldiers who either die, get sent home because of the
severity of their wounds or are patched up to go back to the fighting
to possibly get shot again or killed – with a comedic side. The
doctors and nurses work long, brutal shifts that take their toll. To
keep the violence from consuming them, they try to forget their
situation by having fun. They pull pranks, have sex, drink a lot,
play football and make jokes while operating on seriously wounded
soldiers. One of the best quips comes from Trapper in response to Hot
Lips pointing out that a Korean is "a prisoner of war."
Trapper says, "So are you, sweetheart, but you don't know it."
Ed is correct that the script is disjointed, but director Robert
Altman makes it work. It significantly helps that the film boasts a
cast of excellent actors including Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye,
Elliott Gould as Trapper John, Robert Duvall as Frank Burns, and
Sally Kellerman as Hot Lips. The first few seasons of the TV show,
before Alan Alda gained way too much control and turned episode after
episode into preachy sermons, are very similar to the movie. A final
note: for Ed, whose opinion I greatly respect, to contend
1953's Battle Circus has aged better
than M*A*S*H and the latter pales in comparison is
wrong. Battle Circus is an unwatchable, boring film
that even Humphrey Bogart couldn't save.
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