Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)

Call it weird, call it wacky, Twilight's Last Gleaming is an engaging if not somewhat bizarre Cold War thriller starring Burt Lancaster as a disgraced, idealistic general who escapes from prison, hijacks a Titan II missile facility, and then proceeds to threaten destruction of the world if his three demands are not met. The demands involve some of the usual things--money and safe passage (by having the President volunteer himself as a hostage)--but the most interesting item is the public disclosure of a confidential document regarding the abuse of power in sending American troops to Vietnam. Sounds ridiculous, right? The film walks the line between conspiracy thriller and 70s political suspense film with a good cat-and-mouse game being played between Dell (Lancaster) and the US military. The supporting cast is fantastic including Paul Winfield, Melvyn Douglas, Joseph Cotten, and Richard Widmark among others. Charles Durning plays a sympathetic and somewhat wimpy president. Hardly believable, but his indecisive lip-biting and ranting is very entertaining. One element of the film that doesn't quite work is Aldrich's reliance on split-screen techniques to depict simultaneous events--I felt the tempo and synchronization of these shots never quite gelled as well as they should have, and it was more of a distraction than an asset. Regardless, it's a minor nuisance that hardly detracts from how fun the film is. A silly, lighthearted thriller at first, but keep watching and you'll see just how dark and overtly political the filmmakers were willing to go.

7/10

Red Tent, The (1969) aka Krasnaya palatka

Back from the dead!

A product of odd circumstances certainly, The Red Tent features Peter Finch, Sean Connery, and Claudia Cardinale in an enormous, impressive film directed by the Soviet director Kalatozov and co-produced by the Italians. In an attempt to settle his guilty conscience, the restless General Umberto Nobile conjures up the ghosts of his past to try him for his actions during a disastrous dirigible expedition he led to the North Pole forty years ago. The film flits between the discussion/trial and the retelling of the expedition. Connery (who should have been in OHMSS) has a lengthy cameo as Roald Amundsen, the famous North Pole explorer. The film runs 158 minutes and aside from a few odd romance scenes between Claudia Cardinale and Eduard Martsevich, never drags. Worthy of note is the spectacular Arctic photography by Leonid Kalashnikov and the incredible production values considering the location and production circumstances--on top of the Arctic snow and ice, they managed to throw a blimp (presumably a real one or a large model) around in heavy gusts and then convincingly crash it. The story strikes the right level of adventure and terror, and Finch, Connery, and Martsevich's performances are all delivered with a level of conviction that makes it easy to believe in the sense of honor and hubris, selflessness and sacrifice that they bought into to go on these dangerous, seemingly heroic missions. Highly recommended, if not a bit hard to find.

9/10

A note on the different versions: The most readily available version is the 120-minute International Cut featuring the original English dialogue for the (mostly) English cast, and dubbed-into-English dialogue for the International cast members. It also features an excellent score by Ennio Morricone. Despite all this, I must recommend the original 158-minute Soviet cut as it is the fuller, deeper, and more thoughtful version of the film. The Italians' International Cut doesn't appear to excise any of the crucial elements, but it lacks the subtlety and elegance of the Soviet cut. The Soviet score by Aleksandr Zatsepin, while not as good as the Morricone score, is no slouch and could easily be mistaken for minor Morricone.

The International Cut is available on DVD in the United States. The Soviet Cut is not. If you're dying to watch the Soviet cut, message me and I'll try to help you.

One final technical note about the film: The film was originally shot in Sovscope 70, Soviet Russia's 70mm process at the time. Neither available home video version reflects this as the Italians cropped to 1.66:1 for its release in the 60s and for some bizarre reason, the Russian DVD is in what appears to be an open matte 4:3. I can't even begin to imagine how incredible this film would have looked in 70mm back in 1969 on its release in Russia, and think that this film deserves a careful restoration from the original elements. Criterion?

Devil Rides Out, The (1968)

Christopher Lee stars in this enjoyable little witchcraft chiller. Lee plays Duc de Richelieu, an older man who discovers that a young friend of his has become involved with the black arts, his coven led by Mocata (Charles Gray between Bond films). He takes it upon himself to prevent this young man (Patrick Mower) and an associated young woman (the lovely Nike Arrighi) from their unholy Baptism into Satanism. Charles Gray plays a serviceable villain in this, while Christopher Lee excels as the dreadfully serious no-nonsense doomsayer and protector. The only other noteworthy member of the cast is Nike Arrighi as Tanith. She's one of the more irresistible actresses I've seen in a Hammer film--it's a shame she retired from acting so early. I wish I could figure out what kind of accent she has. With several fun sets considering the budget and a couple tense, exciting scenes involving magic, The Devil Rides Out is one of the better Hammer thrillers from the late 60s (although still not as excellent as Quatermass and the Pit). Definitely worth a watch. Good occult thrillers are not easy to come by.

7/10

A Note on the Restoration: The version I watched was the recent restoration in which Hammer chose to "fix" some of the effects left unfinished by either lack of funds or time. While the improvements are mostly unnoticeable to someone unfamiliar with the film and done tastefully (The only effect that was obviously digital a strike of lightning--don't they know lightning never looked like that in the 60s?), it does bring up the question of what level of alteration is acceptable if at all. I'm not sure I can provide a clear answer. The improvements didn't seem to be for stupid reasons like "to update the film to younger generations," or needlessly adding garbage to fulfill some delusional director's vision, but rather because they wanted to put a finishing touch on effects that were obviously unfinished due to circumstance. It's kind of like Harryhausen colorizing Merian C. Cooper's 1935 film She because their original intentions were to shoot in color, so he colorized it as a gesture of appreciation for the film. Does that justify the alterations? I'm not sure. Regardless, they should at least provide the original unaltered version for the purists.

China Syndrome, The (1979)

The China Syndrome stars Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, and Jack Lemmon in a conspiracy thriller about a nuclear power plant mismanaged by its corporate heads for the sake of reputation and a quick buck. Fonda and Douglas give good performances as an ambitious news anchor and her independent cameraman as they battle against the money trail for the truth about an accident that they capture on film during a visit to the plant for a routine story. The best performance and the heart of the film is Jack Lemmon's as the shift manager and begrudging whistle-blower. I guess I've never really gave him much credit as a dramatic actor, but he was fantastic. The film could have easily become an anti-nuclear PSA, but it didn't stray very far into that territory at all. Rather, it was about technological hubris, corruption, and human error. As Lemmon's character, Jack Godell insists, "the system works," and it does. The higher-ups chose to ignore the warning, and then the human system kicked in--against Jack Godell. For some reason I thought the film was going to be slow, but it's an engaging, slick, and chilling ride.

8/10

Deathtrap (1982)

A decade before Deathtrap, Caine made his mark in the diabolically clever film Sleuth. Deathtrap has very similar style twists, turns, and revelations, but loses its grip in the second half. The casting is a little off with Irene Worth turning in a barely intelligible performance (it was supposed to be funny) as a Scandinavian psychic and Dyan Cannon giving an absolutely grating performance as Bruhl's (Caine's) wife. Thankfully, the two main actors, Caine and Reeve, give it their all and were a great pleasure to watch. Without giving much of the plot away, Bruhl, a stagnating playwright, comes across a brilliant play written by a student. Because he is desperate for a hit, he considers murdering the student and taking it for himself. From there, it goes crazy. With these maze-like films it's fun to see just how everything plays out. Typical of Sidney Lumet films, the production is slick and the material is smart. Johnny Mandel's baroque score imitates Sleuth's soundtrack, but it's far more heavy-handed. Despite its shortcomings, Deathtrap is a clever, flawed film that serves as a good companion piece to Sleuth.

7/10--I was tempted to give it a 7.5, but I told myself I'd never give halves. I'd say the body of the film is an 8, but I was disappointed with resolution.

Marathon Man (1976)

A taut thriller starring Dustin Hoffman, Lawrence Olivier, and Roy Scheider, directed by John Schlesinger, Marathon Man is a twisted, suspenseful experience until it cops out right at the end. Hoffman plays a graduate student who haphazardly gets caught up in the scheme of one of the last remaining and most ruthless Nazi fugitives, Christian Szell (Olivier)--and that's all I can tell you. The film is effective at providing loose threads and keeping them loose until the revelatory moment hits you and it all comes together. It's not that the film is cryptic--it was pretty easy to see where the film was going--it's just that you don't know how. There are also one or two logical points that don't quite work. Either way, it was a pleasure to see it play out. The film production is a bit rough around the edges, but it works in its favor. Tightly woven, slightly sadistic, and fascinating, I enjoyed the film fully until the very end. I found out later that the cop-out ending was forced by Dustin Hoffman. It's a shame they never filmed the original ending because from the summary, it looks like it would have been a far more satisfying and believable conclusion.

7/10

Narrow Margin (1990)

Narrow Margin is a by-the-numbers action thriller about a deputy district attorney (Gene Hackman) seeking out and protecting the witness to a mob assassination of her blind date. Because it's directed by Peter Hyams, I expected it to be at least a solid--but not spectacular--film, and it was. Hackman gives a very sharp performance. The dialogue for the most part is well-written, although there is one monologue that the witness gives about half-way through the movie that had me cringing. The story is pretty simple, with a few light curve balls thrown in but nothing groundbreaking. The amount of stunt-work involving the real actors (for example, on top of a moving train with no discernible rear-projection/blue-screen) is impressive. Overall, a fun film to kill the time. It is worthy to note that this film uses the basic standing-on-a-train and making a tall joke before villain gets decapitated by a tunnel setup four years before Speed (1994) did.

6/10

Capricorn One (1978)

An intriguing conspiracy thriller about a faked Mars landing directed and co-written by Peter Hyams. The film has some really great dialogue and is highly engaging, with some decently developed characters. The mood of the film ranges from suspenseful to emotional (but mostly suspenseful). A drawn-out (but well-executed) plane/helicopter chase sequence, some really bad overly emotional slow-motion, and a lack of closure really mar the ending, but fortunately the worst of it comes only in the last minute and it's not nearly enough to ruin the film. The score by Jerry Goldsmith is really fantastic. Starring: Elliot Gould, James Brolin, OJ Simpson and quite a few more famous actors.

7/10

Class of 1984 (1982)

Being of the rather rare "teacher-wastes-delinquents" genre, Class of 1984 is already a crowd-pleaser. I mean, who doesn't enjoy seeing some idealistic teacher snapping and subsequently murdering several gang members because they decided to harass you then kidnap and rape your pregnant wife? From the first 2/3rds of the film you wouldn't expect the brutally violent conclusion that follows... And I mean brutal. For being a mild-mannered teacher, Perry King certainly knew how to kick ass! Directed by the fantastic Mark L Lester, Class of 1984 lacks the overt homosexual overtones of its successors (Commando (1985), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991)), but already Mr Lester has established himself as having a sense of style and fun. Also starring: Roddy McDowall and Michael J Fox in an early role. The rousing anthem is sung by Alice Cooper.

7/10

Face of Fu Manchu, The (1965)

The first entry of the 1960s Fu Manchu series starring Christopher Lee. It has a stock espionage plot involving the fake-death of Fu Manchu, a secret underground lair, and a devastating poison used to manipulate the Western world however Fu Manchu desires. The characterizations are satisfactory, but nothing to be especially excited about. I was excited to see this one because I'm always interested in different incarnations of Fu Manchu. Both the Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) and the Drums of Fu Manchu serial (1940) were fun, but unfortunately other than Christopher Lee, nothing about this film is particularly noteworthy.

6/10

Unlawful Entry (1992)

Kurt Russell and Ray Liotta star in this very engaging psychological thriller. Kurt plays a well-to-do businessman that becomes the brunt of some pretty chilling harassment problems. From that description, you wouldn't think this film is scary, but believe me, it is! It's not a Halloween scary, but a slow-burn something-like-this-could-happen-to-you scary. Kurt plays his part well enough, as do the other supporting actors, but the real meat is Ray Liotta's performance as the cop that Kurt and wife befriend. It's a little predictable, but the film definitely plays its predictability well, dragging you into one unsettling scene after the next.

8/10

Power, The (1968)

George Pal produced this ambitious science fiction thriller starring George Hamilton and Michael Rennie. The film starts off strong, but unfortunately it becomes very muddy. The film is a sci-fi who-dunnit as the scientists are gradually murdered off by one of their own who happens to be telekinetically-endowed, but the film bites off more than it can chew. The mid-section sags horribly, with many scenes being confusing or redundant. The ending is both confusing and dissatisfying. Conceptually, the film is excellent, and the acting is good. The musical score is oddly invasive with use of a zither throughout. What starts as a distinct musical decision soon becomes annoying as the same theme is repeated often. For 1968, the special effects are well-done but sometimes out of place or random. George Pal tends to err on the side of self-indulgence, and The Power is no exception.

5/10

Art of War (2000)

Ridiculous political action/thriller starring Wesley Snipes as a fringe-CIA man-for-hire who gets framed and stuck in the middle of a big conspiracy. Heavy handed politics, lack of clarity in presenting the characters, and poor acting plague the film. Of the principle actors, Snipes probably gives the best performance, which says a lot. His companion/hostage/partner is an annoying Chinese woman whose dialogue is moronically meta, often blabbing analysis about macho bullshit (thank you Rae Dawn Chong). The film must have been trying to separate itself from the run-of-the-mill B-rate thriller, but sadly her presence was more agitating than enlightening. This one is not worth the film it was printed on.

5/10

Nighthawks (1981)

Sylvester Stallone stars as a NY cop who has to take down European terrorist Wulfgar played by Rutger Hauer. Billy Dee Williams plays Sly's partner, but unfortunately his role is squeezed into the margins. The real meat is the play between Sly and Rutger. Excellent score by Keith Emerson. This is more of a psychological crime thriller than an action film, but nevertheless it is a good one.

I'm a Man by Keith Emerson

7/10