A salesman of domestic appliances, down on his luck, is enchanted by a female evangelist: he uses his sales skills to join her religious movement, to promote the Gospel and to get closer to her.
An extraordinary film: it is impossible not to delight in theatrical trickster Gantry, who is played with great suppleness by Burt Lancaster. And each scene is shot through with an ambiguity, wit and irony that allows the film to breathe.
Showing posts with label Burt Lancaster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burt Lancaster. Show all posts
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Valdez is Coming (1971): review- 6/10
6/10
An aging sherrif, Valdez, has shot a wrong murder suspect: he approaches an unpleasant landowner for compensation for the suspect's widow.
Though solidly made, the film does not touch as it might because the standoff between Valdez and his landowner counterpart is not perfectly realised.
This might be because the landowner lacks the glamour that wicked characters need, or it could be because they do not mirror each other sufficiently, and the film therefore lacks moral complexity.
An aging sherrif, Valdez, has shot a wrong murder suspect: he approaches an unpleasant landowner for compensation for the suspect's widow.
Though solidly made, the film does not touch as it might because the standoff between Valdez and his landowner counterpart is not perfectly realised.
This might be because the landowner lacks the glamour that wicked characters need, or it could be because they do not mirror each other sufficiently, and the film therefore lacks moral complexity.
Monday, August 16, 2010
From Here to Eternity (1953): review- 6.5/10
It's the eve of the bombing of Pearl Harbour...!
Mysteriously, Montgomery Clift, a wonderful buglar, maintains his enthusiasm for the US army despite being mercilessly bullied for refusing to participate in boxing matches. He meets a girl who is completely unmemorable but falls for her nevertheless.
Simultaneously, Burt Lancaster starts an affair with his Commanding Officer's wife. Given what a grumpy cow she is and quite how surly he is, the source of their passion is unclear but they roll about in the sea in long swimming trunks while the waves wash over them anyway.
Frank Sinatra wonders about buffoonishly, usually drunk. What he's doing as a private soldier in Hawaii is anyone's guess.
Messy, inconclusive film which tries to say something profound about masculinity and service but which fails- entertainingly enough, it might be said.
Mysteriously, Montgomery Clift, a wonderful buglar, maintains his enthusiasm for the US army despite being mercilessly bullied for refusing to participate in boxing matches. He meets a girl who is completely unmemorable but falls for her nevertheless.
Simultaneously, Burt Lancaster starts an affair with his Commanding Officer's wife. Given what a grumpy cow she is and quite how surly he is, the source of their passion is unclear but they roll about in the sea in long swimming trunks while the waves wash over them anyway.
Frank Sinatra wonders about buffoonishly, usually drunk. What he's doing as a private soldier in Hawaii is anyone's guess.
Messy, inconclusive film which tries to say something profound about masculinity and service but which fails- entertainingly enough, it might be said.
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962): review- 6/10
Well paced story of a convict that takes up bird breeding and becomes an aknowledged expert in the matter.
The film is further animated by an ongoing feud between a prison governor and the hero.
The film is nicely filmed, with very characterisitc tics from the time, and Lancaster is excellent, if unlikely, as the convict, being much too good-looking.
The film attempts, clumsily, to introduce a political message about crime. It argues that the prisoners are somehow victims of society- though the director indeed skirts any examination of the convict's crimes, or his motivations for them, nor those of his co-detainees.
A definate superficiality then, is sustained thoughout; this is particularly apparant in the relations with his mother and also his wife.
The film is further animated by an ongoing feud between a prison governor and the hero.
The film is nicely filmed, with very characterisitc tics from the time, and Lancaster is excellent, if unlikely, as the convict, being much too good-looking.
The film attempts, clumsily, to introduce a political message about crime. It argues that the prisoners are somehow victims of society- though the director indeed skirts any examination of the convict's crimes, or his motivations for them, nor those of his co-detainees.
A definate superficiality then, is sustained thoughout; this is particularly apparant in the relations with his mother and also his wife.
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