Brute Force

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

by
Natalia Dyer in YES, GOD, YES

This week: a sweet coming of age comedy and a pointed religious satire – all in the same movie. Plus art house cinema comes to your home and remembrances of two wonderful screen actors – one a mega-star and one not so much.

REMEMBRANCES

Olivia de Haveilland in GONE WITH THE WIND

Silicon Valley native and icon of classic Hollywood, Olivia de Havilland (her real name) was raised in Saratoga and went to Los Gatos High. Her performance in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream in the Saratoga Community Theater led directly to her appearing in the Hollywood film version of the play at age 19. She starred as the leading lady in her next film, Captain Blood, the first of a series of Warner Brothers costume romances that matched her with Erroll Flynn, with whom she had undeniable chemistry: The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Santa Fe Trail, Dodge City, They Died with Their Boots On and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. In this period, she was loaned to David O. Selznick for her most remembered role, that of the profoundly sweet and decent Melanie in Gone with the Wind.

De Havilland won her contractual freedom from Warner Brothers through landmark litigation in 1943. She went on to more serious fare and earned three Oscar nods in the next six years, winning for To Each His Own and The Heiress.

And here’s my remembrance of versatile and prolific actor John Saxon.

ON VIDEO

Yes, God, Yes: A sweet coming of age story and pointed jab at religious hypocrisy; based on writer-director Karen Maine’s own youthful experiences. Yes, God, Yes has been available to stream on Virtual Cinema and is available from the usual VOD platforms.

The Women’s Balcony:. A community of women in a traditional culture revolt in the delightfully smart and funny Israeli comedy. You can stream it on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Burt Lancaster in BRUTE FORCE

On August 6, Turner Classic Movies will present Brute Force (1947), the Jules Dassin noir that is by far the best of the Hollywood prison dramas of the 30s and 40s. A convict (Burt Lancaster) is taunted by a sadistic guard (Hume Cronyn) and plans an escape. It’s a pretty violent film for the 1940s, and was inspired by the 1946 Battle of Alcatraz, in which three cons and two guards were killed. Charles Bickford, Whit Bissell and Sam Levene are excellent as fellow cons. On my list of Best Prison Movies.

Burt Lancaster (right) in BRUTE FORCE

Movies to See Right Now

by

Rosamund Pike in GONE GIRL
Rosamund Pike in GONE GIRL

My top two recommendations for this weekend are:

  • The brilliant indie comedy about personal identity, Dear White People; and
  • The best Hollywood movie of 2014, the thriller Gone Girl, with a career-topping performance by Rosamund Pike.

I saw Dear White People at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and have been telling folks about it for months – it’s on my list of Best Movies of 2014 – So Far.  I’m gonna add Gone Girl to the list as well.

I haven’t seen it, but the universally praised Birdman, with Michael Keaton and Edward Norton, opens more widely today.

Other recommendations:

  • J.K. Simmons is brilliant in the intense indie drama Whiplash, a study of motivation and abuse, ambition and obsession.
  • The dark little French psychological drama The Blue Room packs a cleverly constructed story in its brisk 75 minutes.
  • The successful period thriller The Two Faces of January sets a dark-hearted and shadowy story in sunny Greece. The Two Faces of January is in theaters and is also available streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
  • The exceptionally well-acted dramedy The Skeleton Twins contains several inspired moments.
  • I liked the meditatively paced nature documentary Pelican Dreams.
  • If you’re in the mood for a brutal, brutal World War II tank movie, there’s Fury.

I’m a fan of writer-director Greg Araki and actress Shailene Woodley, but I didn’t find enough in White Bird in a Blizzard to recommend it.

My DVD/Stream of the week is ONCE AGAIN the exquisite Polish drama Ida – the best foreign film of 2014. Ida is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

Don’t miss the campy Vincent Price horror classic The Tingler; it’s on Turner Classic Movies tonight, and it’s perfect for Halloween.

Next week, TCM is bringing us some of my faves:

    • Brute Force (1947): This Jules Dassin noir is by far the best of the Hollywood prison dramas of the 30s and 40s. A convict (Burt Lancaster) is taunted by a sadistic guard (Hume Cronyn) and plans an escape. It’s a pretty violent film for the 1940s, and was inspired by the 1946 Battle of Alcatraz in which three cons and two guards were killed. Charles Bickford, Whit Bissell and Sam Levene are excellent as fellow cons. On my list of Best Prison Movies.
    • The Third Man (1949): Shot amid the ruins of post-war Vienna, this film noir classic sets an American pulp novelist (Joseph Cotten) to find out what happened to his pre-ward buddy, who turns out to have become a notorious black marketeer (Orson Welles) with a set of associates each shadier than the last. This has it all, a fated relationship with a European beauty (Alida Valli), stunningly effective black-and-white photography, an enchanting musical theme and one of cinema’s most sharply surprising reveals of a new character. There are two unforgettable set pieces – a nervous interview in a Ferris Wheel and a climactic chase through the sewers.
    • Bullitt (1968) features Steve McQueen and one of cinema’s most iconic and influential chase scenes. McQueen’s 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback and the bad guy’s 1968 Dodge Charger careen through San Francisco, taking almost 11 minutes to race from Fisherman’s Wharf to Brisbane. Classic.
    • Hot Rods to Hell (1967): Not a good movie, but amusing as an unintentionally funny guilty pleasure.

Orson Welles in THE THIRD MAN - the most iconic smirk in cinema
Orson Welles in THE THIRD MAN – the most iconic smirk in cinema

Coming up on TV: Brute Force

by

On November 2, Turner Classic Movies will be airing Brute Force (1947).  This Jules Dassin noir is by far the best of the Hollywood prison dramas of the 30s and 40s.  A convict (Burt Lancaster) is taunted by a sadistic guard (Hume Cronyn) and plans an escape. It’s a pretty violent film for the 1940s, and was inspired by the 1946 Battle of Alcatraz in which three cons and two guards were killed.  Charles Bickford, Whit Bissell and Sam Levene are excellent as fellow cons.

It’s on my list of 10 Best Prison Movies.

10 Best Prison Movies

by

So how does A Prophet stack up against other films in that time honored genre – the Prison Movie? Can a French film rank high among the Alcatraz, Sing Sing and Folsom fare?

My top ten includes familiar themes – the fact-based stories, the great escape attempts, the characters who resist the oppressive authority and those who work the system to become crime bosses.  Plus Death Row.  My list includes American penitentiaries, British, French and Turkish prisons, enemy POW camps and Southern chain gangs.  But some of the best known prison movies do NOT make the cut.

Edward James Olmos, Pepe Serna and William Forsythe in a very under rated prison movie

See my list of 10 Best Prison Movies.