Patton

Happy Saturday!

I first encountered Patton in Mr. Acton’s American history class in high school.  Though my depiction of a civil war battle was red and blue cowboys glued to a piece of cardboard, I learned more about history in Acton’s class than any other.  We also watched 1776 and Oh Brother Where Art Thou? Best class ever.

The film follows General George S. Patton Jr. through the highs and lows of his military career during WWII.  He’s an ambitious rebel general wanting to shape up his troops and take on Romell and all of Germany all by himself.  But his loud mouth and quick temper get the best of him and nearly cost him the chance to lead his troops into the most pivotal moments of the great World War.

In the film, General George Patton is depicted as one of the strangest and greatest military men in American history.  He’s a military fanatic, believing in harsh discipline and has read many historical accounts of battles, all the way back to the Roman Empire.  Patton also believes in reincarnation, stating the he was a soldier for Napoleon and finds an ancient battle ground where he recounts a detailed description of what happened.  He writes beautiful poetry and curses like a sailor.  The opening speech in front of the flag, full of ruthless bloodlust, was taken by many things Patton said throughout his career, but much of it had to be watered down, “like crap through a goose.”

Patton would not have been so remembered without the talent of George C. Scott, who we’ve met earlier in The Hustler, Anatomy of a Murder and Dr. Strangelove.  He won the Oscar for lead acting, but did not accept it, referring to the Academy as a “meat parade.”  That’s alright, we can still honor him and refer to his performance as one of the best in film history, whether he liked the Academy or not.

Patton is one of those rare war films.  It’s not focused on a mission or the everyday soldier or even the fate of the war.  Nope, it’s all about Patton.  If he’s not on screen, people are talking about him.  The Germans think he’s running the whole show and seem to glorify him more than the Americans.  All other characters are there just to help raise him up, and it works.  This isn’t a bad thing at all, we want to know all we can about Patton.  I mean, who wouldn’t?  But there’s no way we can get completely under that thick helmet, much of him is still an enigma.  It’s probably best kept that way.

I was surprised to see that Patton didn’t win the cinematography award, it seems Ryan’s Daughter must be something beautiful for the eyes.  Up close explosions and tanks about to run the camera over are brilliant.  During night battles, the explosions become smoky illuminations, casting a majestic glow over tanks, men and trees.  The film’s focus is on the military, yet the background is full of wonderful landscapes.  Tanks roll through African plains, smoke rises against hazy blue skies and mountains.  I found it beautiful and strange how a film with so much military strategy and explosions never sacrificed an opportunity for nature.  It feels like an old soul, just like Patton.

***Of course this is my pick of 1970, the other four just can’t compete.***

MASH

Set up just three miles from the front lines in Korea, the men and women in MASH stitch soldiers back together while trying to keep their sanity in tact.  The level of comedy is dark, and revolutionary, and helped promote anti-war movements in Vietnam.  MASH holds true today, standing at number seven on AFI’s top 100 comedies list.

Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould play Hawkeye and Trapper, two leading surgeons and the ringleaders in camp.  They’re almost too laid back and playful to be military men.  Their antics bring quenching laughter and life to a place in real need of refreshment.  Without them, MASH would feel like a desert rather than a small oasis.

The only problem I had with MASH was it’s lack of a substantial plot.  It’s a series of events, taking turns on different characters with a final battle during a friendly football game.  Easy to see how it turned into such a successful TV series.  Sure, Hawkeye and Trapper save some lives and maybe even learn a few lessons along the way, but there’s no real arc to the story.  Hmm, maybe that’s the point, that there’s no real story or arc to war as well…and therefore sending an antiwar message with some laughs, brilliant!

Don’t let my rambling revelations confuse you.  I really enjoyed MASH.  Great dark comedies are a rare breed and should be praised more.  MASH doesn’t preach against war and it doesn’t throw you onto the battlefield.  It’s like a small limbo where everyone, including the viewer, is allowed to breathe and think for themselves for a while.

Putting stark war and operating tent realism in a comedy is genius and took some balls back in 1970.  The men are dirty, just as they would be in Korea.  They live in tents, sweat and get blood on their hands.  Look at a lot of more pro-war films (most of Patton) and you’ll see soldiers shine like they just had a shower.  In fact, the only reason some soldiers in Patton are a little rough at times, is because of a Fox executive’s visit to the set of MASH.

One piece that really caught my eye was a scene where a few men are sunning in lawn chairs and beach towels right next to the remains of a crashed helicopter.  They even nonchalantly discuss the pilot’s condition.  These men aren’t living in the fantasy of being all they can be, it’s real-as-the-limbs-they-amputate life.  I’d crack open a Pap’s and lay in the sun if I got the chance too.

MASH is a wonderful film, for those to can stand some dirty tricks, sex talk and blood.  Oh, and it was the first to use the F-word in film, just a fun fact.  So don’t miss out on a classic, just send the kids to grandma’s or something.  Unless you want to explain why Trapper and Hawkeye are wagging their fingers down by their pants.

“Tonight’s movie has been “M*A*S*H.” Follow the zany antics of our combat surgeons as they cut and stitch their way along the front lines, operating as bombs and bullets burst around them; snatching laughs and love between amputations and penicillin.”

Airport

Welcome to the 1970’s, where disasters became big in the box office.  Airport was one of the first to make big bucks over depicting a day where everything goes wrong and lead the way for films like Earthquake, The Towering Inferno and the rest of the Airport series.  But perhaps Airport’s greatest achievement was inspiring the best spoof ever made, Airplane!

I’ll admit it, I love Airplane! and have seen it too many times.  So it was a little difficult at first to take Airport seriously.  But Airplane! mostly spoofs Zero Hour! and other installments of the Airport series.   So don’t write off Airport too fast, once the gears of the plot start moving together it’s almost intriguing and suspenseful.

The whole film is one crazy night at an airport.  There’s a huge blizzard delaying flights and one plane is stuck on the runway.  The nearby neighborhood is filing a lawsuit because planes rattle their houses.  A stewardess discovers that she’s pregnant with a married pilot’s child.  An old woman is caught for being a stowaway.  And a man has a bomb on a flight to Rome.  Talk about a bad night.

Thankfully, most of these problems are very unlikely to happen today (I mean besides unplanned kids and snowstorms).  But it’s fun to look back at the airport of yesteryear where they didn’t scan your bag, ticket or shoes.

The plot jumps back and forth between action in the terminal, on the runway, the tower, the jammed highway and of course the plane.  For some, it may feel that too much is going on at once, and one character might be forgotten for a while until everything gels together.

The most enjoyable plot line is of the little old woman who stows away on planes to see her daughter.  Played by Helen Hayes, Ada is a delightful little thing just playing the system and doing it well.  In the end, she gets to be one of the heroes aboard the plane and snatches Airport’s only Oscar for best supporting actress.

For those who enjoy disaster films of the 70’s or airport melodramas, Airport is for you.  If you want the same basic idea but full of zany laughs, just watch Airplane! And for a quote that could fit either film:

“Hold the whipped cream; I just had dessert.”

Five Easy Pieces

Robert, or Bobby to most, seems like your average blue collar drifter.  He works the oil fields, hangs out at the bowling alley, in his friend’s trailer and with his white trash girlfriend.  He’s rough talking, sarcastic and doesn’t seem to respect anyone.  You’d never imagine a guy like that coming from an upper-class household full of concert musicians.

Played by Jack Nicholson, Bobby hasn’t been home in about three years.  It’s suggested that there’s a general falling out between him and his father, but that’s never dwelled upon.  He’s visiting because his father has suffered multiple strokes, the end may be near.  With his sister being a professional pianist and his brother a classical violinist, Bobby is the black sheep who threw away his once promising musical career.

The two sides of Bobby’s life seem to be portrayed by two types of music: classical piano and country.  The country songs, mostly by Tammy Wynette, are the soundtrack to Bobby’s new life he’s found for himself down south.  They also seem to be the choice of his pea-brained girlfriend, Rayette.  The classical piano plays when Bobby is faced with family matters or in his childhood home.

One of my favorite scenes nearly combines the two music personalities.  Bobby and his coworker are stuck in traffic with horns blaring.  Bobby gets fed up and gets out of the car to yell at everyone.  He climbs into the back of a truck to find a piano in the back and proceeds play it (even though it’s horribly out of tune).  It seems even in the hot southern sun Bobby cannot escape his musical past, even when antics that can only be pulled off by Nicholson come to play.

My big problem with Five Easy Pieces is that I wasn’t sure where the heart of the story was for too long.  Like driving two days for a weekend getaway, I questioned if his time at home would be worth it.  There was so much time spent down south, and then the car ride was such a long journey, I was starting to wonder if the destination was important at all.  It’s only there that we discover who Bobby really is, the good, bad and everything.

I really enjoyed this film, but my husband curled up and fell asleep because, “Nothing was happening.”  Fair enough, it wasn’t the most eventful movie.  But it’s got the heart, the drama, and an interesting character that Nicholson was born to play.  Take it or leave it, it’s much better than Love Story.

“I move around a lot, not because I’m looking for anything really, but ’cause I’m getting away from things that get bad if I stay.”

Love Story

Ah, young love.  Here we meet Oliver, a Harvard hockey jock full of his family’s money and high expectations.  He falls in love with Jenny, an idealistic girl studying music whose father owns a bakery.  After a cute college courtship (complete with a frolic in the snow montage) Oliver and Jenny marry.  Oliver’s father won’t stand for that, so he cuts off his son’s inheritance.  But love doesn’t need money, Jenny teaches and supports Oliver through Harvard law school.  After he graduates and takes a great job, they start to really move up in the world.  Yay! Warm fuzzies!  They’ve overcome hard times with their love holding strong.  But then, things take an unfortunate tragic turn.  I won’t ruin the devastation for you.

People can’t take any love story seriously without good acting.  Both leads, Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw were nominated for best acting as well as John Marley who played Jenny’s understanding father.  Of these three, MacGraw is most intriguing to watch.  She’s just the right unorthodox mix of spunky, sexy and smart to make enough guys want to watch Love Story.  Portraying young love is beautiful with all its wide eyed dreams, emotion and shit.

Oh yeah, some people were put off by Love Story because of its “excessive swearing.”  Please, in terms of what we’re used to today, it’s a blip on the profanity radar.

So Romeo and Juliet, Oliver and Jenny.  Tomato, potato.  It’s the same thing just kids at fancy east coast schools.  The one thing that distinguishes Love Story is the father/child relationships.  Oliver’s father expects him to excel at Harvard, be a great hockey player, go to law school and marry within his high social class.  Wander just a bit and he’s out of the money.

However, Jenny and her father are on much friendlier terms.  She simply calls him Phil, almost too modern for Oliver.  Phil is completely accepting of Oliver and Jenny’s decisions, even when their wedding deviates to what he hoped for.  Jenny hopes Oliver can learn from her father, especially when he won’t even speak to his own.

So what’s the point of Love Story?  Without giving anything away, to be a love story.  It’s meant for you to cuddle up and feel close to someone.  And to question things about love, life and all it’s unanswerable questions.  Guys, if mush is too much for you, don’t let your girl learn about Love Story.  Girls, don’t watch Love Story alone, you’ll probably want a hug afterwards.  Not that I’m giving anything away, but bring tissues.

“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

Just a lighter note of trivia, one great reason to be accepted at Harvard is to have a freshman screening of Love Story, complete with juvenile heckling throughout the entire film.  I would love to be a part of that, I had to heckle this movie all by my lonesome.