Classics: Shawshank Redemption, A Clockwork Orange, Sunset Boulevard

9/16/16 Shawshank Redemption, 1994 #72 AFI, National Film Registry
Shawshank Redemption is one of the few movies that I will watch whenever I see it's on television (which is almost as often as the Tolkien trilogy), regardless if it is halfway over or has only fifteen minutes to go, it's just that great. It's based on a short story by Steven King and stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Andy Dufresne (Robbins) is found guilty of killing his wife and her lover and sent to Shawshank State Penitentiary (which was the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio) where he meets Red (Freeman) who is a man who knows how to get things. It's very obvious that Andy is not like the other prisoners, he's quiet, thoughtful, well-versed in many topics, and able to see the big picture and play the long game. He makes friends with Brooks (James Whitmore), the prison librarian and animal-lover; as well as winning over several of the inmates by scoring some beers on a hot summer day by offering to provide Captain Hadley (Clancy Brown) with some financial advice. The warden (Bob Gunton) is also eager to use Andy's 'skills' for his own funny money business. Life moves along in the prison, things change but they also stay the same. Like I mentioned earlier, Andy has been playing the long game, and there are a few clues along the way (which I am not going to ruin in case you have not seen it). The best part, to me, is the last 30 minutes; I could watch that part over and over again. The movie was nominated for seven Oscars, winning none, and was considered a box office failure, yet whenever I mention the movie (or it comes up in conversation), everyone loves it. I think it's the 'redemption' part, not just for Andy, but for his fellow prisoners, who get a little bit of humanity back, and the 'fall' of the prison powers. It's about the power of the human spirit; many people would have crumbled after what Andy went through, but he didn't; he survived, and maybe even became stronger. I'm not as eloquent as I'm sure Andy would be, but if you haven't seen the movie, you can wait until it's on TNT or get it from the library. I promise you will not be sorry. 


9/17/16 A Clockwork Orange, #70 AFI
I have always wanted to like or appreciate A Clockwork Orange (I've seen it three times), and I just can't. I'm sorry. I'm sorry Stanley Kubrick, Malcolm McDowell, and Anthony Burgess. The movie is set in the near future in England, and Alex (McDowell) is the leader of violent youths who are comfortable kicking old men or raping women; after a particularly violent evening where a woman died, Alex is sent away to prison for fourteen years. In exchange for a shorter sentence, Alex agrees to be part of an experimental rehab program. He is forced to watch horrifically violent film clips, while being injected with a chemical that makes him physically ill, until he cannot even fight in self-defense. Alex sees his life change dramatically after his release; his parents aren't all that keen to have him, his old friends really aren't thrilled to see him, and on and on. There are some philosophical questions which present themselves, but I'm too lazy to really dig into them. At the highest level, there is the question 'can you program morality or desired behavior?' and 'should you?'. The doctors and prison officers don't really work with Alex and the other prisoners to find the root causes of their behaviors and what could positively change their attitudes and behaviors; they just use tools to modify the behaviors they don't want. Stanley Kubrick doesn't shy away from using sex as a metaphor or as a narrative tool (there are shades of that in Dr. Strangelove, Lolita, and Eyes Wide Shut); I have not seen Lolita or Eyes Wide Shut, so I don't know how it's used in those films. There was also a part of me that thought Alex may have gotten what he deserved: he killed, crippled and raped. Hard to feel sorry for him; it's not like he was stealing bread to survive. On another note, I did notice that Kubrick used music throughout the movie, but especially towards the end, in the same fashion as he did in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the action seemed balletic. I don't know, that's about as insightful as it's going to get.

9/17/16 Mulholland Drive, 2001 #21 BBC
I'm not even going to try and give you a synopsis, because I'm not really sure what happened. I can tell you that David Lynch directed this film noir filled with hidden clues and twisting plotline. The movie, which is set in 'current day' but pays homage to movies like Sunset Boulevard and old Hollywood. Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring are the female leads, as actresses, and Justin Theroux (I didn't know he acted in anything) is Adam, a movie director. I usually dislike (or hate) movies that don't make sense or that seem too smart for their own good (The Usual Suspects - hated it), but I didn't. I didn't love it, but I did like it enough that I would watch it again. It was the perfect movie for a Saturday night.

9/18/16 Sunset Boulevard, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay, Best Art Direction - B&W, Best Music, 1950, #16 AFI, National Film Registry, #54 BBC 
There is no shortage of accolades for Sunset Boulevard: Oscar nominations, Oscar wins, on two top 100 lists and preserved for posterity. Do you really need me to review it? You may be familiar with one of the most famous lines "All right Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup." said by the lead actress, Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond. It was good timing on my part that I watched Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard one after the other; as I mentioned above, Mulholland Drive tips its hat toward Sunset Boulevard and old Hollywood, femme fatales and film-noir. Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder, not only refers to silent film era, it features some of the stars from that period: Buster Keaton, H.B. Warner, Anna Q. Nilsson in cameos; the famous director, DeMille as himself; Erich von Stroheim as the dedicated and protective butler/chauffeur, Max, and of course, Gloria Swanson. The opening of the film reminded me a little of Laura directed by Otto Preminger from 1944 (is your interest piqued?). William Holden stars as Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter, who falls into the very open arms of Norma, who is still living on the memory of her glory days. To say she is delusional may be too kind. It's really hard to separate Swanson from the character (verging on caricature) of Desmond; Swanson just embodies Desmond's neuroses and insecurities, you kind of don't think she's acting (the only thing that convinced me that Swanson was NOT Desmond is the fact that her biographical information is full of real accomplishments and she wasn't a fragile vase). Joe gets into her clutches, he almost becomes a gigolo, and I don't think he intentionally tries to hurt her or take advantage, it's kind of a trap he falls into. He just wants to write, and begins a secret writing relationship with Betty, a script reader, and he tries to break away from Norma, but her mental strength is so unstable that Max warns Joe against hurting her. All four main characters were nominated for acting Oscars, but all four lost: Swanson lost to Judy Holliday (Born Yesterday); Holden lost Best Actor to Jose Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac (which I have not seen); Stroheim lost the Best Supporting Actor to George Sanders in All About Eve; and lastly, Nancy Olson who played Betty lost to Josephine Hull in Harvey. I honestly don't know, Holliday was really great in Born Yesterday (which also starred William Holden), but I think Swanson gave the performance of her career. Wilder was also nominated for Best Director and lost to Joseph Mankiewicz for All About Eve, which was the big winner that year. This is a classic, and I did enjoy it, but I don't know how many of you will like it. But, I would say give it a go; it's a classic, but also a cultural icon with so many references in other movies.