The Raiders of Steven Spielberg: Part Three

 

                                          

                                  The Phantom (1996) Dir. Simon Wincer

“For those who came in late…” reads the text on screen during the opening narration that relates the secret mythology of The Phantom (1996). Created by Lee Falk for the newspaper comic strips in 1936, The Phantom a.k.a. The Ghost Who Walks, is a purple clad hero who is the latest in a long line of men raised to fight crime from his jungle base in the fictional African country of Bangalla. Created after The Shadow and before Batman, the Phantom was the bridge between the early reality-based pulp heroes and the fantasy comic book heroes which were to dominate fandom in the ensuing decades. Directed with a breezy panache by Australian Simon Wincer (Free Willy) and starring a hunky tongue-in-cheek Billy Zane (Titanic), this Indiana Jones homage delivers all the required action-adventure elements including a spunky heroine, exotic locales, death defying stunts, the search for magical artifacts, and a show stopping femme fatale that introduced Catherine Zeta Jones to the big screen. Slightly let down by some lumpy plotting and a forgettable film score, this was the last major attempt to poach on Spielberg and Lucas’ ground before they came back with another sequel themselves. This year we will see Harrison Ford retire his hat and whip under the direction of James Mangold (Logan) with a finale that I hope lives up to the earlier films and their imitators.

The Raiders of Steven Spielberg: Part Two

 

                                       The Shadow (1994) Dir. Russell Mulcahy

 From the pages of the old pulp magazines of the 1930s came 1994's The Shadow, one of the most original and mysterious fantasy characters ever brought to the silver screen. A reformed criminal who is redeemed and taught the secrets of the mind by a Tibetan holy man, the Shadow is a one-of-a kind anti-hero who manipulates and terrorizes both villains and friends alike to serve his own ends as well as the scales of justice. Who better to embody such a handsome and egotistical hero than Alec Baldwin at the height of his Hollywood fame. Transformed by facial makeup partially hidden under a wide-brimmed slouch hat and brandishing nickel-plates .45s under his dark cloak, Baldwin with his sonorous deep voice personifies the duality of this deadly hero of the dark. John Lone (The Last Emperor) makes for a deliciously evil antagonist while amusing supporting performances are provided by Jonathan Winters and Tim Curry. Composer Jerry Goldsmith provides a suitably menacing musical accompaniment to the sumptuous art deco production design. Although Australian director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander) was a good choice to visualize such an effects driven project, he fails to bring the film’s contrived romance to life due to the miscasting of a stiff but sensational looking Penelope Ann Miller. Screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park) went onto much bigger success with Mission Impossible (1996) and even wrote the unfairly despised penultimate sequel Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). The idea to go back to the original pulp origins of The Shadow seemed sure fire at the time but audiences were just not ready for the off-beat humour Koepp brings to this fantastical tale of vengeance.

The Raiders of Steven Spielberg: Part One

 

The Rocketeer (1991) Dir. Joe Johnston

Is there a more seminal film for the Eighties generation than Raiders of the Lost Ark? Director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas captured lightning in a bottle with this homage to the cliffhanger serials of their youth. They continued to mine this profitable vein for three subsequent sequels with mixed results. After the third and what was presumed the last Indiana Jones film Indiana Jones and Last Crusade (1989), Hollywood tried to find new stories with pulp characters who could substitute for Harrison Ford’s indelible hero with a hat. None enjoyed the success of their inspiration but each are entertaining in their own way. 

1991 saw the film The Rocketeer, featuring Dave Steven’s 1980s comic book hero who fought the Nazis with his golden helmet and jetpack. Directed by Joe Johnston (Jumanji, Captain America) this 1930s era adventure captured much of the jokey fun and rip-roaring excitement of the Indy trilogy but sadly failed to achieve classic status due to a lackluster advertising campaign that needed a star as leading man to sell its outlandish premise to a skeptical audience. Handsome Bill Campbell brings all the necessary charm and energy to the role of the young pilot who becomes The Rocketeer while sharing romantic on-screen chemistry with his girlfriend played by a sparkling Jennifer Connelly. Former James Bond Timothy Dalton clearly relishes his role as the swashbuckling Nazi villain who comes complete with a hulking henchman sporting a Rick Baker facial makeup inspired by 40s horror legend Rondo Hatton. Lavish costume and set design, together with charming pre-CGI special effects are all propelled by James Horner’s majestic score making this feel-good franchise seem like it couldn’t miss. Shockingly it failed at the box office and despite various new adaptations long promised by Disney, over 30 years later Rocketeer fans are still cheering for this unique hero to return to the skies.

THE GUISES OF GUINNESS: Part Two

 

                                    H.M.S. DEFIANT a.k.a. DAMN THE DEFIANT!

                                                             (1962: Dir. Lewis Gilbert)                                      

After his Oscar winning role in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Alec Guinness had finally become an international star without leaving Great Britain. The 1960s would be the decade where he capitalized on this success in big budget historical epics that would be some of the most popular films of his career. Just months before the release of his triumphant collaboration with Lean  in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Guinness would make his most unfairly overlooked costume picture. H.M.S. Defiant or Damn The Defiant! (in North America) was made during the 15 month shoot of Lawrence when Guinness had a two month hiatus. Set during the Napoleonic wars, his role as the humane Captain Crawford is a rare example of Guinness not relying upon heavy make-up or eccentricities to create a character. Guinness's own naval experience during WWII helped him to portray a totally believable and stalwart leader of his crew whose authority is challenged by sadistic first lieutenant Mr Scott-Padgett, played with effete self loathing by Dirk Bogarde. Their clash and the resultant effect this has upon Crawford's own son who is serving as midshipman under him is the stuff of great melodrama. Director Lewis Gilbert (Alfie, You Only Live Twice) is that unique British breed of craftsman at home with both intimate drama and comedy as well as spectacular action. Here he demonstrates his talents by balancing the on-board tensions amongst the crew with rousing battle scenes of ships at sea,. Featuring breathtaking miniatures courtesy of special effects magician Howard Lyedecker (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea TV Series), these startlingly beautiful tableaux of naval warfare, as photographed in Cinemascope by Christopher Challis (Battle of the River Plate, Sink the Bismark), are like watching a painting by Turner come to life on screen. So successful are these sequences that a later film Bequest to the Nation aka The Nelson Affair (1973) recycled them in place of an inferior re-staging. Following this unpretentious endeavour, Guinness would have both his biggest failure of the decade in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and his biggest success to date in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago (1966), ironically in roles whose quality are inversely proportional to their fame. The 1970s would see his triumphs in a variety of different genres but the great film performances would continue to be in the box office disappointments rather than the blockbusters. (Blu-ray) 

 

THE GUISES OF GUINNESS: Part One

 

         Father Brown a.k.a The Detective (1954: Dir. Robert Hamer)

Alec Guinness came to hate Star Wars (1977). Although his profit participation had provided him with financial security for the rest of his life, the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi seemed to obliterate his previous acting achievements in the eyes of younger viewers. Prior to working with George Lucas, director David Lean was the filmmaker most associated with Guinness but there was another writer-director with whom Guinness had enjoyed a successful partnership. In the post WWII British film industry of the 1940s, Robert Hamer was one of the bright young filmmakers to emerge from the editing room as a directing talent to be watched. Having garnered critical acclaim for a pair of crime melodramas Pink String and Sealing Wax (1946) and It Always Rains on Sunday (1947), Hamer co-wrote and directed Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) an icy black comedy about a ruthless aristocrat (Dennis Price) who murders his way into an inheritance. Guinness plays nine roles - both male and female - as each member of the wealthy D'Ascoyne family is done way with in witty fashion. This tour de force of characterization together with his unrecognizable performance as Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948), helped cement Guinness in the public mind as a master of disguise. Hamer and Guinness re-united in 1954 for their greatest collaboration Father Brown, boringly re-titled The Detective for American release. Co-produced by Columbia Pictures, it is an amusing though deceptively spiritual adaptation of the first in the beloved G.K. Chesterton stories of a wily clerical investigator. Once again effecting a bold physical transformation, Guinness cheerfully embodies the heavy paunch and myopia of Father Brown while communicating his unique blend of detective skills combined with a congenial yet unshakeable moral authority. His French nemesis Flambeau is portrayed by the underrated Peter Finch, in a suave performance of criminal cunning that is both elegant and tragic in its palpable loneliness. Finch was not yet the star he would become by decade's end and here he proves every bit the equal of Guinness when sharing the screen. Father Brown enjoyed a fitful success and led to an immediate follow-up project for Hamer and Guinness, To Paris With Love (1955). Although his role as a Scottish Colonel gave Guinness the requisite opportunities for eccentric impersonation, this romantic comedy is unfortunately a light souffle of an entertainment that never adequately rises. Hamer's final film with Guinness proved more worthy. The Scapegoat (1959) is a moody filming of Daphne Du Maurier's novel of mistaken identity. Surprisingly, for a film about assuming the identity of another man, Guinness is at his most subtle and least mannered in both his physical and emotional personification. The film's lack of success is often blamed on its troubled production. Hamer, a tormented homosexual, struggled with chronic alcoholism and as a result he was often left unable to work. This caused particular conflict with Guinness, who as co-producer with Du Maurier had insisted on hiring Hamer for the job of director. In addition, Hamer came into conflict with financiers MGM who altered his director's cut by re-editing and re-scoring the film despite his protestations. Sadly, Hamer would make only one more film School for Scoundrels (1960) before dying at the young age of 52. Guinness however would continue to expand his impressive collection of masquerades. (DVD Region 2)

Liam Neeson saved me from the pandemic

While living in uncertain times we yearn for heroes on the big screen and small screens.  In the past, actors such as Errol Flynn, Sean Connery, Jean Paul Belmondo, Charles Bronson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have embodied the dependable men of action who audiences trust for their evening of vicarious thrills. Starting with his surprise hit Taken in 2008, Liam Neeson has emerged as this generation’s Clint Eastwood – a taciturn and impressive physical threat to criminal corruption wherever it festers. Even a worldwide pandemic has not deterred Neeson from his mission to entertain. Since October of 2020, he has had an impressive 5 pictures in release as of April 29, 2022. Here is a viewing guide to the man who saved me from the pandemic.

Honest Thief (2020)

A good start to Neeson’s cycle of Covid era films. Producer-writer-director Mark Williams (creator of the tv series Ozark) has fashioned a compelling moral tale about a successful non-violent bank robber who wishes to repay the stolen money and face the legal consequences so he can marry the woman he loves. Naturally, a ruthless pair of crooked cops get in the way of his plans, but Liam proves equally deadly when pushed to defend himself. A small-scale thriller that effectively balances its hard-boiled elements with the somewhat melodramatic set up.

The Marksman (2021)

Neeson has often flirted with Clint Eastwood style characters in the past, but this script feels like it was originally intended for Dirty Harry himself, not least because it is written and directed by longtime Eastwood associate Robert Lorenz (The Trouble with the Curve). Mark Williams also produced this story of an aging former US Marine Corps sniper who patrols the US-Mexican border reporting on illegal immigrants to US Border Patrol where his step-daughter works. When he kills a member of a drug cartel while protecting an orphaned Mexican boy he is saddled with the uneasy task of dodging vengeful criminals as he drives the boy to his only family in Chicago. Neeson is very believable as a lonely widower - and dead shot- with a gruff demeanor yet kind heart that the audience knows will win the boy’s trust. Coincidently, Clint Eastwood would direct and star in a very similar film Cry Macho, released only 8 months later.

The Ice Road (2021)

The most ambitious of Neeson’s recent action films and a frigid bookend to his Scandi-noir remake Cold Pursuit (2019). Here Liam is part of a team of ice truckers racing over a frozen lake to rescue trapped miners. A perfect example of old fashioned high octane filmmaking, using minimal CGI and shot by Clint Eastwood’s longtime cinematographer Tom Stern on authentically remote Lake Winnipeg locations. Writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh (Armageddon, The Punisher) knows which classic films to steal from (The Wages of Fear, Sorceror), while proving that charismatic middle-aged actors like Neeson and Laurence Fishburne can still sell the visceral suspense and emotional extremes of the premise. Buckle up for the best truck thriller since Breakdown (1997).

Blacklight (2022)

Liam Neeson’s first movie shot during the pandemic casts him as an FBI agent who uncovers a conspiracy while on the verge of retirement. A low concept but serviceable potboiler successfully reuniting Neeson with filmmaker Mark Williams and his Michael Collins (1996) co-star Aidian Quinn. Truly a test of Neeson’s watchability even in B-movie material, with enough action and intrigue to provide a slow night’s entertainment.

Memory (2022)

It was perhaps inevitable that Neeson would eventually work with action director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, the Mask of Zorro), and hopefully this upcoming thriller will fulfill the promise of their anticipated collaboration. A remake of the Belgian film The Memory of a Killer (2003) that tells the story of a freelance assassin targeted by his client when he refuses to complete his assignment. The hook is that the Neeson’s hitman character suffers from Alzheimer’s, so he can’t even trust his own memory as he fights to stay one step ahead of his enemies. I will be looking forward to this as my first Liam Neeson film at the cinema in over 2 years and even though he turns 70 in June, this is will hopefully not be the last of his beloved action heroes.

                     Elwy Yost : My Movie Mentor

https://www.tvo.org/video/documentaries/magic-shadows-elwy-yost-a-life-in-movies

Before Netflix and Turner Classic Movies, there was Elwy Yost, Canada’s most famous film buff. For 25 years at TVOntario, Elwy gave viewers an unparalleled access to classic Hollywood Cinema, brought to you uncut and in the comfort of your own home. Watching classic films on TV in the early 1970s was not always fun. Too many commercial breaks meant films were edited for broadcast, print quality was often lacking and you couldn’t always count on the correct title in the TV Guide being the same film that was eventually shown. Starting in 1974, the TVO show Saturday Night at the Movies (SNAM) with Elwy Yost changed all that by inaugurating a new era of film appreciation that continues to this day. Elwy was a film buff who knew the world of cinema needed proper presentation and scholarship to educate and entertain a growing generation of cinephiles. SNAM was unique in North American television programming. Audiences were provided with an engaging film history lesson every week in a commercial free themed movie double bill accompanied by introductions, commentary and interviews with the actors, filmmakers and craftspeople who made them. Elwy’s experience as a high school teacher, theatre actor, and on-air personality made him the perfect host. Unafraid to embrace his youthful enthusiasm for talking film, Elwy connected with viewers who were discovering the pure joy of movie genres such as Film Noir and Science Fiction/Fantasy. His legacy lives on to this day, with many people in the film industry and media education crediting him as a formative influence. My new TVO documentary Magic Shadows, Elwy Yost: A Life in Movies (available at TVO.org) is an affectionate tribute to this legendary TV presenter by detailing his childhood influences, how he became Canada’s most famous on air movie presenter, and the family whose love he cherished. 26 years ago I was thrilled to have Elwy contribute the foreword to a book that I wrote and self-published entitled You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet: A Guide to 500 Unsung Films on Video. He was a warm and generous man who taught me how the power of cinema influences our daily lives. I am proud to salute the life and work of Elwy Yost.