This week on The Movie Gourmet – a remembrance of master director William Friedkin and a preview of Cinequest, Silicon Valley’s own film festival, which begins next week.
REMEMBRANCE
Robbie Robertson was justifiably famous as a musician and a songwriter, fronting The Band with its many hits and backing Bob Dylan’s transition from acoustic to electric. In fact, I was introduced to Robertson on-screen as a subject of Martin Scorsese’s documentary The Last Waltz, still one of the handful of greatest concert films. But Robertson also became a significant force in the music of cinema, amassing almost 300 screen credits on IMDb as a composer, music supervisor or contributor to the soundtrack. Robertson’s behind the screen work included many collaborations with Scorsese, the last being the heralded Killers of the Flower Moon, to be released later this year. Robertson identified as an indigenous Canadian, whose mother was Cayuga and Mohawk from the Six Nations Reserve.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Oppenheimer: creator of a monster controlled by others. In theaters.
- Afire: the summer of his discontent. In arthouse theaters.
- Past Lives: a profound and refreshing romance. In theaters.
- Barbie: a marriage of the intelligent and the silly. In theaters.
- Theater Camp: show people in the making. In theaters.
- Asteroid City: deadpan, witty, whimsical…and who cares? In theaters.
- Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed: leading man in the closet. HBO Max.
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: just a whole lotta fun. In theaters.
- No Hard Feelings: an amusement with Jennifer Lawrence. In theaters.
WATCH AT HOME
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: gentleness from ferocity. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Land Ho!: rowdy geezer roadtrip to Iceland. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Beast: finally unleashed … and untethered. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- The Imposter: a jaw dropper. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- The Secret in Their Eyes: Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- NUTS!: the rise and fall of a testicular empire. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- The Stopover: PTSD takes more than an umbrella drink…Amazon, AppleTV.
ON TV
Biblical epics were a staple of cinema until the mid-1960s when they petered out with The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Bible: In the Beginning. If you’re going to watch just one Sword-and-Sandal classic, I recommend going full tilt with Barrabas, broadcast by Turner Classic Movies on August 16. This 1961 cornball stars Anthony Quinn as the Zelig-like title character.
The story begins with the thief Barabbas avoiding crucifixion when Pontius Pilate swaps him out for Jesus (this part is actually in the Bible). Because the Crucifixion isn’t enough action for a two-hour 17-minute movie, Barabbas is soon sent off as a slave to the salt mines, where he is rescued by a miraculously timely earthquake. He then joins the Roman gladiators, complete with a javelin-firing squad, gets lost in the catacombs and emerges to the Burning of Rome. He has encounters with the Emperor Nero and the Apostle Peter before he converts to Christianity – just in time for the mass crucifixion. Watch for an uncredited Sharon Tate as a patrician in the arena.