This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and In the Court of the Crimson King.
Set your DVR to record Turner Classic Movies’ airing of Harry Dean Stanton’s masterpiece performance in Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas LATE TONIGHT (see below)
CURRENT MOVIES
- Killers of the Flower Moon: an epic tale of epic betrayal. In theaters.
- The Pigeon Tunnel: a great storyteller’s story, told at last. AppleTV.
- Fremont: self-discovery and a fortune cookie. Amazon, Vudu.
- The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial: just what, not who, is on trial here? Showtime/Paramount+.
- Flora and Son: a bad mom turns it around. In theaters and AppleTV.
- Reptile: a neo-noir showcase for Benicio del Toro. Netflix.
- Oppenheimer: creator of a monster controlled by others. Still in theaters.
- Past Lives: a profound and refreshing romance. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- In the Court of the Crimson King: a perfectionist and his jester. In theaters.
WATCH AT HOME
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- Our Kind of Traitor: Skarsgård steals this robust thriller. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Undefeated: an Oscar winner you haven’t seen. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Kimi: an adequate REAR WINDOWS ends as a thrilling WAIT UNTIL DARK. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Lune: funny, searing, and richly authentic. Amazon.
- Summertime: no longer invisible and unheard, giving voice through verse. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Phoenix: riveting psychodrama, wowzer ending. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- I’m Fine (Thank You for Asking): a desperate dash for dignity. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Making Montgomery Clift: exploding the myths. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- ’71: keeping the thrill in thriller. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
ON TV
Late TONIGHT, Turner Classic Movies will air Harry Dean Stanton’s masterpiece in Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas. In Paris Texas, Harry Dean plays Travis, a man so traumatized that he has disappeared and is found wandering across the desert and mistaken for a mute. As he is cared for by his brother (Dean Stockwell), he evolves from feral to erratic to troubled, but with a sense of tenderness and a determination to put things right. We see Travis as a madman who gains extraordinary lucidity about what wrong in his life and his own responsibility for it.
At the film’s climax, Travis speaks to Jane (Natassja Kinski) through a one-way mirror (she can’t see him). Spinning what at first seems like parable, Travis explains what happened to him – and to her – and why it happened. It’s a 20-minute monologue so captivating and touching that it rises to be recognized as one of the very greatest screen performances.
Paris, Texas is on my list of the fifty or so Greatest Movies of All Time.
