Back on track - a review of two classics: The Graduate and High Noon

Steve Hackett at the Arcada Theater, 9/21/13

Well, I think I have finally recovered my week off, which was really spectacular. It's always nice to go home, even if it puts me way behind on my movie watching. Not only did I go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as I mentioned, I also ate my way through the East Side of Cleveland, going to favorite places like Tommy's (nothing else like it anywhere) and Melt Bar and Grilled. On my way driving back to Minnesota, I took I minor detour to St. Louis to see Dar Williams (you're not surprised are you?). I blame a friend of mine who said you only live once, so don't have any regrets. What's nine hours out of your way when you get to hear good music? Dar was playing the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill in the Loop, which was a much better location, size-wise, than the other two venues where I saw her. The audience was totally into it and you felt like you were with old friends. I don't want to be pushy, but if you haven't tried listening to Dar after my previous mention, you really should, just to shut me up. I would recommend her best of collection, called "Many Great Companions", it gives a great overview of her career, it's in the car right now. Opening for Dar was Angel Snow; she endeared herself to the crowd because she actually didn't tell us who she was until about halfway through her set when someone yelled out "What's your name?", she couldn't believe she hadn't told us. It was just her and her guitar and a bunch of original songs. She was really good, and I hope she makes it to Minneapolis at some point in the future. If you get a chance to see her live or listen to her stuff, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I ended the trip with a stop in St. Charles, Illinois, a lovely town along the Fox River to see Steve Hackett. Steve (we're on a first name basis) was the guitarist for Genesis during their progressive rock period in the 1970s. I have never seen him and this was the perfect opportunity: he was doing Genesis songs and St. Charles was actually on my way home. So, while Fridays and Saturdays are normally movie nights for me, last week they were filled with music.

9/28/13 The Graduate, Best Director, 1967

It's kind of fitting (although totally serendipitous) that The Graduate had such a great soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel, it ties in nicely with the singer-songwriters I talked about earlier. 1967 was a great year for movies: Camelot, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Cool Hand Luke, Doctor Doolittle, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner among others. I've heard about The Graduate forever, it's talked about as a movie of a generation, with Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson, a "cougar", (although I don't think that term was invented 45 years ago) and Dustin Hoffman as recent college graduate, Benjamin Braddock, who has no real idea of what he wants to do, despite the recommendation of his father's friend "Plastics". Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin fall into a rather emotionless affair, which eventually wanes as Benjamin falls for Elaine (Katharine Ross), Mrs. Robinson's daughter. Oh, I didn't mention, Mr. Robinson is the partner of Benjamin's father, making everything a little awkward. I liked this movie a lot (I was ready to be disappointed, fearing it would not live up to the hype), but it was funny, well-acted, well-written, and the direction/filming kept me interested. Mike Nichols won Best Director (he has also directed Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? which is great if you like a lot of screaming, I couldn't stand it; Working Girl, Silkwood and others). I'm not sure what to call the technique, but he liked to obscure the scene, either by lighting or having a character's face hidden or framed by an object, he also used what I can only describe as a use of perspective that was interesting. Bancroft is wonderful as the emotionally vacant, cynical Mrs. Robinson who seduces the young Braddock, played by the stammering, searching and bemused Dustin Hoffman. The exchange between Bancroft and Hoffman when she begins her seduction is worth the price of admission. If you watch this, you will see a lot of familiar faces, including Buck Henry (later of Saturday Night Live fame), Norman Fell (Three's Company), Alice Ghostley (Bewitched) and William Daniels (Knightrider, St. Elsewhere) amongst others. This is on AFI's list of 100 Best Films.

9/28/13 High Noon, Best Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Music scoring of Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Song, 1952

Oh Gary Cooper, how you vex me. Everyone who has watched movies or television over the last 60 years has heard of this movie and maybe even knows a little about the storyline, but I wonder how many people have actually seen it. Gary Cooper is Will Kane and the movie starts with Kane and Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly) getting married by a Justice of the Peace. Will is the outgoing Marshal of Hadleyville; he and Amy are leaving town, looking for a more peaceful life, except an old foe is headed back to town and Will feels obligated to stay and try to protect his friends in the town. File this one under 'no good deed goes unpunished' because his intention is not appreciated by most of the townspeople or his new bride. Amy is a Quaker and believes in non-violence, and she doesn't want to be a widow less than 24 hours of getting married; some of the townspeople are kind of short-sighted and don't appreciate Will's efforts to make the town safe. Basically, the poor guy is on his own. One of the cool things about the movie is that it follows the events of the day in 'real-time', so the action takes place in a little over an hour and that adds to the tension of watching the clock tick down to 'high noon'. If you're read my previous entries on Gary Cooper, you know he and I have a complicated relationship, and that is not helped by this movie. I get that the Marshal would be expected to be very stoic and somber, but there are more than a few moments where Cooper is so stiff, but he won Best Actor for his efforts; Jose Ferrer was nominated for his role as Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge and he was excellent in that; I also saw Sir Alec Guinness in The Lavendar Hill Mob, which I did not love, I have not seen the other nominees. Grace Kelly was hardly in the movie and honestly, not very memorable, not when compared with To Catch a Thief. The actress, who played Kane's previous love and was also the lover of Frank Miller, the bad guy, Katy Jurado, was very good and very memorable, and I think she should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. What I did really like about the movie was the way it ended, that was priceless (but I'm not going to tell you how it ended, you'll have to check it out yourself). So, you're asking...should I watch it? Yeah, go ahead, it's on the AFI list of the best 100 movies, and it is a classic, it won't kill you and the soundtrack (which also won an Oscar) was also quite nice. It's family-friendly and you can judge for yourself. I am glad I watched it, and I don't have to do it again.