Young Frankenstein

I’ve heard it said that while Blazing Saddles is Mel Brooks’ funniest film, Young Frankenstein is his best. I have to agree with both parts of that statement, with no offence to either films. Young Frankenstein is still hilarious while Blazing Saddles is on another level of side splitting fun. But spoofing the much loved classic horror genre is a balancing act not to be taken lightly and Brooks pulls it off perfectly. In fact, the screenplay he and Gene Wilder wrote for Young Frankenstein was Oscar nominated.

The story focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s grandson, Frederick, portrayed by the amazing Gene Wilder. Frederick is a doctor trying to distinguish himself and step away from his grandfather’s mad scientist reputation. When he journeys back to Castle Frankenstein, home of his grandfather’s infamous experiments, the compulsion to repeat Victor’s experiments is overwhelming. Soon he’s created a monster, and we’re happy to watch and laugh.

To truly spoof old classic horror movies, like Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and others, there’s only one mode to go in: rich black and white.  The photography looks back at classic scenes from these movies perfectly.  The laboratory scenes are a visual high point in the film. In fact, some of the old electrical equipment is from the original Frankenstein film from 1931. Brooks was lucky enough to borrow it.

What makes Young Frankenstein so entertaining are the jokes.  From something as simple as Marty Feldman’s perfectly executed Igor with bulging eyes, to a frightened horse neigh every time a certain character’s name is said, there are a variety of hearty laughs. I love Inspector Kemp’s clickety wooden arm and moments where no one can understand him. The Puttin’ On The Ritz scene is hysterical. Terri Garr’s Inga rolling in the hay makes me laugh every time. And Igor’s hump mysteriously switching sides cracks me up and catches a first time viewer off guard.  

My favorite scene is when The Monster happens upon a lonely blind man, played by Gene Hackman. The whole gag is based straight out of a scene Bride of Frankenstein, where the blind man welcomes the monster into his home and tries to be a good host. One clumsy blind man and a monster who can’t speak adds up to the funniest few minutes of the film. Peter Boyle’s performance as the monster shines here.

Young Frankenstein is the kind of film that can satisfy many tastes for October fun. It’s not very scary at all, but the classic monster movie aesthetics can satisfy any horror fan. The jokes are so wonderfully balanced that kids and adults can enjoy it together. And the cast’s performances are so fun, silly and yet rooted in respect for their classic counterparts. It really is Mel Brooks’ best film.

“Wait! Where are you going? …I was going to make espresso.”

The Birdcage

I remember being ten years old as my parents dropped my siblings and I off with an aunt while they went to see The Birdcage.  As a young and curious movie addict, I asked what kind of movie it was.  My parents gave me some vague description along the lines of, “Oh, a funny movie with Robin Williams.”  I knew that name, in fact, I had been to see many of his movies already; Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, and Hook was my favorite!  Immediately, I wanted to come too, but of course my parents said no.  I guess ten is a bit young for an R rated movie about a gay couple who run a cabaret/drag show and decorate their home with hilariously phallic artwork.

Robin Williams portrays the owner of The Birdcage, Armand Goldman.  He’s a man full of confidence and swagger, working with the performers as well as the crew.  His partner, Albert (Nathan Lane) is the star of the show and has plenty of diva to fit the part.  He dresses in drag and charismatically serenades  the guests into the finale on stage and stews in his own drama off stage.  Nonetheless, he and Armand are a sweet couple and great team.

When their son, Val (Dan Futterman) announces that he wants to get married, it isn’t a simply joyous situation.  His fiancee, Barbara (Calista Flockhart) is the daughter of a right-winged senator.  Senator Kevin Keeley (Gene Hackman) is Vice President of the Coalition for Moral Order , up for reelection and just as his daughter shares new of her engagement, one of his colleagues is found dead with a prostitute.  Wanting to get away from the media storm, Senator Keeley decides to visit Val’s family before he approves of his daughter marrying.  Of course, Barbara hasn’t told her parents that Val was raised by two men who run a drag show nightclub.

At first, Armand doesn’t want to hide who he is.  He makes a point about how long it took him to become proud of himself, his lifestyle and his sexuality.  But after some convincing, he agrees to help Val lie to gain favor with his future in-laws.

To cover up anything the Keeleys would look down upon, Val and some family friends redecorate the lively home until it looks like a drab monastery.  Armand invites Val’s birth mother, Katherine (Christine Baranski), to stand in as a matriarch and tries to gently push Albert out of the picture for the evening.  But when Albert becomes aware of what is happening, and hurt that he, who raised Val, would be an embarrassment, he refuses to leave.  Perhaps things would have been smoother if he had just stayed in his room to pout, but instead he puts on a costume and poses as Val’s mother.

From start to finish, The Birdcage is a fun and sweet riot.  Williams and Lane have perfect chemistry, fighting and fussing with rising friction only to always be each other’s best advocate.  When Lane shows up masquerading as Mrs. Coldberg (Goldberg?) and winning over the future in-laws, it’s a scream that the film builds up to wonderfully.  Even the minor characters, especially Hank Azaria’s Agador Spartacus steals his scenes effortlessly.  And Hackman is hilarious as he falls for the act and starts to sense something amiss.

The Birdcage was nominated for one Academy Award, best set design.  From the bright colors and lights on the Miami streets to the transformation of Goldman’s home above The Birdcage, you can see why it was rightly nominated.  In the beginning, the happy home is an oasis, complete with hand painted murals of tropical jungles, party lights by the hot tub and bits of artwork that seem to celebrate the male form.  It’s almost miraculous how Val tones it down enough to compliment the Keeley’s boring home.

Sure, I wasn’t ready for The Birdcage when I first wanted to see it.  The culture clash would barely be present in my mind, I doubt I would have noticed a change in scenery and innocently wondered what was wrong with the soup bowls.  I wouldn’t have seen it as much more than some funny guys putting on an act to help their son.  I know now my parents didn’t want to expose me to, or have to explain homosexuality to me at the time.  Funny, considering that’s exactly what everyone is trying to hide from Senator Keeley and his wife.  Ironic, considering the film is a charismatic, beautiful and loving plea for acceptance.

“Actually, it’s perfect. I just never realized John Wayne walked like that.”

Bonnie and Clyde

Sometimes I look at the tale of Bonnie andClydein an odd way.  It was the depression and they were in the middle of the boring, flat mid-west.  They were young, crazy and faced with the choices of sit around and rot in the dust or run off, have fun and raise a little hell.  Their main problem was, they raised loads of hell.

When we first see Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway), she’s alone in her room, bored, naked and all she has to look forward to is her next waitress shift.  But outside her window, she sees a young man hanging around her mother’s car.  This is Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty).  They hang out around town for a while, just talking.  He says he’s done time for armed robbery.  That fascinates a bored girl.  Everything happens so casually, just as in conversation.  Before we realize what is happening,Clydehas robbed a store and the two are exchanging names as they steal a car.

You could say these two move pretty fast, but that only applies to their life of crime.  Though it’s easy for Bonnie to get stirred up and attempt a ravenous make-out session while Clyde is driving the getaway car,Clydemakes it clear that he “ain’t much of a loverboy”.  To Bonnie’s disappointment, she’s just run off and become an outlaw with someone who won’t have sex, which seems to be Bonnie’s main asset and outlet.

Soon the Barrow gang is expanding.  While Bonnie andClydeare driving through, they recruit a young man tending a gas station, C.W. Moss (Michael J. Pollard).  He seems like just another bored kid who decides on a whim that running from the law is more exciting than sitting around in the dust.  Later,Clydemeets up with his brother and sister-in-law, Buck (Gene Hackman) and Blanche (Estelle Parsons).  Buck knows all about his little brother’s growing list of run-ins with the law and tries to keep all that from his wife.  The whole gang decides they should just lay low for a while, but when they’re found out, Buck and Estelle shoot and run with the rest, permanently attaching themselves to the Barrow gang.

The gang finds themselves in some of the most screwball situations.  When a lone Texas Ranger tries to sneak up on the gang, parked in the woods for a break, he ends up with his arms tied and in a photo shoot.  Buck brings out his camera and takes a few priceless shots of Bonnie andClydeposing with the bound lawman.  Later, there’s a hilarious scene where the gang steal the car of a young man, Eugene (Gene Wilder).  He and his girlfriend Velma (Evans Evans) start chasing the gang in another car, but decide to turn back fearing they’re armed.  Soon, they’re riding around, with the Barrow gang, stopping for hamburgers and having a grand time.  Hanging around with the Barrow gang sounds like a real fun time, unless you’re an undertaker.

Bonnie soon sees that this life on the run is harder and less romantic than she thought.  She misses her family and refuses to let go of her old life, saying she wants to live near her mother again.  As the law moves closer, it’s clearer that those things aren’t going to happen.  It’s kind of sad really, but eventually Bonnie makes her own mark on the world and tells the story of her andClydein a way that makes sure they’re remembered forever.

To this day, the term Bonnie andClydehas a hint of romanticism in it.  We know they robbed banks and killed people along the way and by definition they are considered bad people.  But there are still ideas of rebellion, adventure and charm associated with the unforgettable duo.  Somehow, I think Bonnie andClydeappreciate us remembering them as just a couple crazy kids raising some hell in a time that needed a little excitement.

“All I can say is, they did right by me – and I’m bringin’ me and a mess of flowers to their funeral.”

The Conversation

My first encounter with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation was about four years ago in my first film class.  The professor chose this film to study sound and how it relates to image, and yesterday I found my old term paper breaking down a few scenes into the most minuscule details.  It hurt to read those eight pages of boring nitpicking with my classic typo turning definitely into defiantly.  It was like a literary photograph of from college, with that big ugly sweatshirt trying to cover up the fact that you hadn’t showered in a few days.  The fact remains that this is the first film I ever really contemplated the importance of sound in film and it is one I would recommend both in and out of study.

The film begins at a crowded plaza, where a surveillance team led by Harry Caul, (Gene Hackman) is trying to record a conversation between two people as they walk around.  The voices are scrambled, just noises like when you mumble through one of those voice scrambler toys and set it to robot.  Throughout the film, it’s Harry’s job to take the recordings and make the conversation audible.

As he uncovers more and more of the conversation, he becomes concerned.  This is the opposite of what Harry’s job calls for.  He is simply the bugger, the third party who figures out how to record people without them knowing and then makes the recording easily understood.  Getting involved with what he has recorded or why someone needs to hear it is not part of the job.  But when he unscrambles one key moment, Harry starts struggling with his conscience on whether to deliver the tapes or not.  Between the mystery surrounding this conversation, the dread Harry feels and the consequences following his conscience brings him, The Conversation becomes a quietly intense thriller.

Hackman’s performance is the vehicle that moves this entire film.  It is through Harry that we understand the job, the dangers and the paranoia he faces.  He is a very quiet, methodical, cautious, but self destructive person.  His fear of intimacy, of getting too close to anyone or saying too much about himself, ruins the relationship with his girlfriend.  We see later in the film why Harry never lets his guard down.  It seems that the few moments he does, it always comes back to bite him.  But Hackman lets Harry’s soft side show just enough in those moments that the viewer can connect, be on his side and then feel that sting of broken trust with him.  That is a rare and amazing relationship to have with a character who keeps everyone at a distance.

It makes perfect sense for a surveillance expert to be edgy, with several door locks, an alarm system and even tells people he doesn’t have a phone when he clearly does.  The real treat is seeing him react to a breach in security.  One of my favorite scenes is near the beginning, when Harry first goes to his apartment.  Despite his locks and a security alarm, a neighbor has put a little gift just inside his door.  This nice gesture just annoys Harry and instead of thanking his neighbor for the gift, he calls and asks how she got inside.

The Conversation is a slow paced thriller that has a great deal of mystery and character study.  It also holds, what I consider to be, the most horrific sound in the world.  That day in class that my professor decided to watch that moment over and over again, really cranking up the sound, gave me chills for the rest of the day.  I still have to mentally and physically get myself ready for that moment when I watch this film.  Yet I love it.

“We’ll be listening to you.”

The French Connection

Have you ever followed someone before?  I don’t mean following a friend as you drive across town so you don’t get lost.  I mean a complete stranger, or someone who would not welcome you keeping an eye on them.  It’s a creepy question to answer yes to.  The experience is nerve wracking, keeping the target in sight while you stealthily stay just out of their range of perception.  You have to just go with it and ignore that part of your mind that calls you a creep, that’s what will make you slip up.  But when your target realizes just what he is to you, there are only two options: slip into the shadows or chase.  The French Connection is my dream chase.

In New York, Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider) are cops in the Narcotics Bureau.  On a hunch, they tail Sal Boca (Tony Lo Bianco), owner of a seemingly normal sandwich shop.  It turns out he’s about to make a deal with Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), one of the biggest suppliers of heroin to the US.  Doyle and Russo have to try to intercept the huge heroin shipment from France, but things get messy when Boca and Charnier realize they’re being tailed.

Gene Hackman is so amazing as Doyle that he won the Oscar for leading actor.  He has the most perfect loose-cannon cop presence I’ve ever seen.  One of his shining moments is in an early scene where he busts a bar.  As he enters, he yells, “Alright, Popeye’s here,” lines everyone against the wall and puts two men in the phone booths.  He knows all the tricks, reaches underneath the bar railing, finds all sorts of drugs and mixes them together in a leftover drink to make a “milkshake”.  Doyle is a loose guy, perhaps he gets too intense, but he’s a great cop.  His intensity and sense of duty is what gives the chase scenes a personal drive.

Honestly, the first view can be a bit confusing if you don’t pay close attention to who wants what with the drugs, but the main idea is always clear: Guy 1 is following Guy 2.  I remember in a film class we were shown about five minutes of the train chase.  We weren’t given any premise, just “this is a chase” and that’s all we needed.

Director William Friedkin knows that when it’s filmed right, the most simple plot can be the most captivating.  In the amazing-train-chase-scene, there is always a component of the chase shown in motion.  We see Gene’s car maneuvering recklessly through traffic.  The man on the train keeps moving forward and after enough time, catches a second tail.   When we get a shot of Gene’s face as he’s driving, the train above is reflected on the windshield.  As the chase continues, we only get more involved and stakes get higher.  What began as an on-foot pursuit has turned into a man hijacking a above ground train being chased by a cop in a stolen car below.

I’ve often talked about how I love to yell at certain films, especially tense Hitchcock moments.  Readers, I honestly wish I had been a further creep and videoed my reactions throughout this film.  I was brought repeatedly to my feet, cursing, yelling at Gene Hackman, “Get back on the train!”  By the end, my brain was fizzling and my veins pumped pupil dilating adrenaline.  There was a good half an hour before I could do anything more than pace around the house cursing in delight and jubilation.  I can only hope it will give you the same reaction.  The French Connection won Picture, Director, Actor, Editing and Writing and my undying love.  This is one of the greatest films I have ever seen.

“I’m gonna nail you for picking your feet in Poughkeepsie.”

Unforgiven

In Unforgiven, the romantic ideas of the gun slinging cowboy are brought to a much darker light.  After a couple of cowboys cut up the face of a whore, their punishment is just to give the saloon owner a few horses.  The poor girl will be labeled hideous and useless for the rest of her life, so to seek justice, all the whores in the saloon pull their savings together and put a one thousand dollar bounty on the men who cut the girl’s face.  That sort of paid vigilante work attracts a young man who calls himself The Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett) who passes the news onto Will Munny(Clint Eastwood).

Munny was once one of the most dangerous men around.  He would drink whisky and shoot a man for no real reason.  But when he married, Munny gave up that rough life for her and she bore him two children before she died of smallpox.  Now, with two growing children to feed and the farm work not paying too well, Munny decides to recruit his old friend Ned (Morgan Freeman) and catch up to The Schofeild Kid to ride out on one last job.

The film is set in 1880, where the wild west is becoming more tame.  Guns aren’t even allowed in the town of Big Whiskey.  It’s only the old timers like Munny and Ned who remember the real wild west, helped shape it and have now settled down on their own farms and under the roofs of cabins.  It is the young men, The Schofield Kid and knife-happy cowboys, who seem to want to go back and live out their father’s tales of gun slinging, lawlessness and chaos.

Problem is, I feel like the older men just let this happen, maybe for old-time’s sake.  Munny decides it’s convenient, he needs the money, time for one last run.  Sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman) is building himself a nice little cabin to settle in and yet he kicks the shit out of English Bob (Richard Harris) in the middle of town.  Later Daggett pushes Munny too far and the wild west explodes with all it’s old violence and destruction one last time.

Perhaps they let this play out to show the young men that being a wild west outlaw isn’t all whiskey, women, gun smoke and riding off into the sunset.  There are some real dangers, repercussions to your actions and pain in your soul you’ll live with all your life.

In the end, Unforgiven is a gritty western that spits on classic romantic ideas of wild west cowboys.  Do we honor Munny and The Schofield Kid as heroes for serving justice or villains for gunning down these men?

“It’s a hell of a thing killin’ a man.  Take away all he’s got, and all he’s gonna have.”

Mississippi Burning

According to my massive spreadsheet that helps me keep track of what films I’ve watched from what year and when to post them, 1988 was supposed to be a few weeks ago.  It seems that in the month or so I had Mississippi Burning in my Netflix cue, their copy disappeared before I could view it.  This movie is only twenty-two years old, it couldn’t be that hard to find a copy and I didn’t want to look like a lazy bum because some ass-hat destroyed, lost or decided to keep the Netflix copy.  So with a little rearranging and internet shopping, I was able to avert 1988 until my very own copy of Mississippi Burning arrived.  Now that I’ve got some frustrations out, I can review.

In Jessup County Mississippi no one in the black community is registered to vote due to the strong presence of the KKK.  When three civil rights activists go missing FBI agents Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman) and Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) are sent to investigate.  They discover foul play and hatred that runs through the entire small town.

The film is based off of true events in 1964.  Even though it was fictionalized, there was a lot of controversy surrounding it.  Most films with the N-word over ten times usually are.

Gene Hackman was nominated for best actor in his role as Agent Anderson.  With roots in Mississippi, Anderson knows how people in small towns think.  He saunters around the square, into barber shops and beauty salons trying to identify with the locals with his roots and charm.  He needs to get the clan members to slip up and talk.  It works on some, others don’t trust outsiders.  Once you’ve left Mississippi, you ain’t from Mississippi.  Hackman skillfully displays old charm, kindness and balls crushing ruthlessness.

Dafoe’s character, Ward, is in command of the investigation, but plays second fiddle to Anderson.  His solution for everything is to get more men.  In no time, he’s turned a two man job into a hundred agents running around town in suits and a hundred soldiers combing a swamp for bodies.  Ward’s a college city boy from up north and believes in everything by the book and isn’t used to ignorant rednecks.

That’s exactly what the average citizen of Jessup County is portrayed as.  After reporters flock into town to keep up with the breaking story, they interview several locals and for many, their answers are shocking.  Of course, only members of the white community are interviewed.

The black community is much different.  What hasn’t been burned to the ground are just rickety shacks along dirt roads out in the woods. Nearly every night, another church or residence is caught on fire by Klan members.  In one scene, they wait outside one of the few churches left, wearing white sacks over their heads.   As members leave, the Klan boys run them down, beating them with sticks cursing and kicking them.  Amongst all the chaos, a boy who was a target for the terror just stands still and prays.

A little fun fact: during the “political rally” scene, many of the extras were members of the KKK.  How do we know?  They used their membership cards as ID!  Sorry, that was just too mind-boggling for me, but hey, it’s Mississippi.

Mississippi Burning is rated R with lots of violence, profanity and racial slurs.  It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you can handle all that, I recommend this.  Hackman and Dafoe are always a treat to watch and the story is one that shouldn’t be forgotten.  I’m proud to add this to my dvd collection, but quit stealing dvds from Netflix.

“At school, they said segregation what’s said in the Bible… Genesis 9, Verse 27. At 7 years of age, you get told it enough times, you believe it. You believe the hatred. You live it… you breathe it. You marry it.”