Remembering Peter O'Toole

"He was the most extraordinary man I ever knew."

It's been five days since my favorite actor died. I'm still speechless, really. How can you measure a man who achieved so much, left such a lasting impression?

What follows is my stab at appreciating Peter O'Toole's life and work - detailed but not comprehensive, admiring but not uncritical. Ordinarily I'd try a more creative or succinct approach, but such thoughts desert me. At any rate, an actor with such a rich and varied career deserves it more than most.

* * *

Peter O'Toole was born in 1932 to an Irish bookmaker and nurse mother. Surviving youthful poverty, Catholic school and Royal Navy service, he dabbled in journalism before drifting into theater. In 1953 he graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Albert Finney and Alan Bates among his classmates. It was "the most remarkable class the academy ever had, though... we were all considered dotty," O'Toole said. Another peer was Welsh actress Sian Phillips, whom O'Toole married in 1959.

In early roles, O'Toole mixed Shakespeare and Shaw with modern characters like Jimmy Porter in John Osborne's Look Back in Anger (1957) and Bammo in Willis Hall's The Long, the Short and the Tall (1959). Kenneth Tynan, arbiter of English theater, proclaimed O'Toole a budding star: "To convey violence beneath banter, and a soured, embarrassed goodness beneath both, is not the simplest task for a young player, yet Mr. O’Toole achieved it without sweating a drop.” Others compared to him to Laurence Olivier. Playing Hamlet at the Old Vic in 1958, aged just 26, reinforced the comparison.

O'Toole reached an early pinnacle in 1960 when Peter Hall invited him to the Royal Shakespeare Company. During that time, O'Toole played Pertruchio in The Taming of the Shrew opposite Peggy Ashcroft, Thersites in Troilus and Cressida and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. O'Toole won rave notices for the last role, making Shylock not a monstrous caricature but “a human being of stature driven to breaking point by the inhumanity of others." Perhaps inevitably, O'Toole became drawn to the cinema.

O'Toole with Peggy Ashcroft in The Taming of the Shrew.

O'Toole's film career began, abortively, with a screen test for Suddenly Last Summer. O'Toole engaged in insouciant improvisation throughout, infuriating producer Sam Spiegel. He started with minor roles in unremarkable films like Kidnapped and The Savage Innocents. In 1960 he appeared in John Guillermin's The Day They Robbed the Bank of England, playing an affable English soldier opposite Aldo Ray's Irish bank robber. O'Toole's easy, off-hand charm caught David Lean's attention.

Then preparing Lawrence of Arabia, Lean needed an actor to play T.E. Lawrence after Marlon Brando and Albert Finney declined the role. Lean saw Robbed and, after speaking with Katharine Hepburn, approached O'Toole. After a hastily-arranged screen test, Lean reportedly exclaimed "The boy is Lawrence!" Sam Spiegel, remembering his past encounter with O'Toole, told Lean "he's no good." But lacking alternatives, Spiegel bought O'Toole out of his RSC contract and a film star was born.

O'Toole spent two nightmarish years filming Lawrence. O'Toole had to film in the deserts of Jordan, Spain and Morocco, learn to ride a camel and tolerate Lean's demanding direction.  He struggled to control his drinking: Alec Guinness recounted that O'Toole became drunk in Seville and threw a drink in the face of a local dignitary. Filming a battle scene, he fell off his camel and was nearly trampled to death. "By the time Lawrence wrapped," Robert Sellers writes, O'Toole "received third degree burns, sprained both ankles, torn ligaments... dislocated his spine, broken his thumb, sprained his neck and been concussed twice."

O'Toole was also daunted working opposite so many seasoned actors. Years later, he likened the experience to "a bull fight...every few minutes they opened the trap and out popped another bull: [Jack] Hawkins...[Claude] Rains...[Alec] Guinness...[Jose] Ferrer...[Anthony] Quinn...[Arthur] Kennedy...[Anthony] Quayle." He nonetheless bonded with Omar Sharif, whom he nicknamed "Fred" on the grounds that "no one in the world is called Omar Sharif." The two spent off-hours partying in Beirut, forging a lifelong friendship.

By any measure, O'Toole's is a remarkable performance - especially for a young, relatively untried actor. As conceived by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson, Lawrence is a multifaceted character mixing contradictory images and impulses: boyish insouciance and cynicism, megalomania and tortured introspection, wild flamboyance and insular brooding. One slight misstep could render him schizophrenic or incomprehensible. O'Toole shows an uncanny mastery of the part, hitting all the right notes.

For Lawrence's first scene in Arab costume, Lean advised O'Toole to improvise his reaction. O'Toole drew his dagger, pondering his reflection in its blade. This small moment reveals so much about Lawrence's character: his vanity, conscious role-playing, childish disbelief that he's become a real-life G.A. Henty hero. Lean echoed this moment in the final massacre scene, as Lawrence ponders the now-blood-soaked blade, horrified at what he's become. It's a small but telling moment that registers almost subliminally. 

O'Toole's genius registers in a hundred similar moments. His boyish glee as the Arabs depart for Aqaba. The quavering tone of voice as he describes how he "enjoyed" executing Gassim. His mincing, effeminate walk when approaching British officers in Jerusalem. His orgasmic trembling as Lawrence ponders unleashing the final massacre. His vacant glare through the final scenes, watching his allies dissolve into chaos. True, Bolt wrote great dialogue, Lean and his technicians crafted visual cues of Lawrence's dissolution. But all that would make no difference if O'Toole was less than perfect.

O'Toole won critical acclaim, his first Oscar nomination (losing to Gregory Peck for To Kill a Mockingbird) and became an overnight superstar. He also gained his reputation as an intellectual hellraiser, witty, sexy, smart as a whip but rowdy and uncontrollable. He turned up drunk for television interviews, and was arrested in New York with Sharif and comedian Lenny Bruce. This proved a curtain raiser for a career of hell-raising, O'Toole matching drinks with Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Oliver Reed and others.

Becket (1963) showed Lawrence wasn't a fluke. O'Toole had originally been asked to star in Jean Anouilh's play onstage, but backed out due to Lawrence. Peter Glenville gave the newly minted a star chance to play Henry II onscreen. O'Toole admitted he was much more comfortable here, acting alongside his friend Richard Burton, wife Sian Phillips and mentors Donald Wolfit and Felix Aylmer. Easy work compared to Lawrence's endurance test, and more fun too.

Becket is not only a "stagier" movie (as a play adaptation, how could it not be?) but a stagier performance by O'Toole. He indulges in rampant scenery-chewing, with little of Lawrence's tortured introspection. This isn't a criticism, as Henry is an outsized character requiring a theatrical performance. O'Toole's fun to watch as a childish king giddy in his absolute power, but Burton gets the more complex part - and gives the more satisfying performance.

If Lawrence and Becket established O'Toole as a formidable actor, What's New Pussycat (1965) and How to Steal a Million (1966) gave him a more audience-friendly pop image. He's no longer a distant historical personage but a hip, swinging sex symbol. I'm especially fond of Million, a cheerful, witty caper pairing O'Toole with the adorable Audrey Hepburn. Neither marks O'Toole's best work, but as breezy star vehicles they hold up well.

O'Toole returned regularly to the stage. In 1963 he played Hamlet again, directed by Laurence Olivier at the National Theatre. O'Toole found the part overwhelming: "If you want to know what it's like to be lonely... try playing Hamlet." Reviews were split between critics who found him brilliant ("A magnificent prince." - R.B. Marriott) and execrable ("The Prince's blondness and his curiously comic trousers are disconcerting." - The Times). A production of Bertolt Brecht's Baal proved an unmitigated disaster. O'Toole had a happier experience in Irish theater, performing successfully in Man and Superman, Juno and the Paycock and Waiting for Godot.

Not every O'Toole role from this period is a gem. Lord Jim (1965) is an unfocused mess, with O'Toole's intense but rudderless performance playing a major role in its dissolution. (It doesn't help that, as Pauline Kael observed, "he already played Lord Jim when he did Lawrence of Arabia.") He fares better in the bloated The Night of the Generals (1967), investing a murderous SS General with palpable menace. His cameos in The Bible (1966) and Casino Royale (1967) accrue him little credit. And The Great Catherine (1968) is known, if at all, for turning up in My Favorite Year.

O'Toole capped a busy decade with two further Oscar nominations. Goodbye Mr. Chips (1969) is his least deserving nomination: O'Toole does well in an uncharacteristically reserved performance, but the movie itself is overlong and dull. That leaves Anthony Harvey's The Lion in Winter (1968).

O'Toole often cited Lion as his favorite film. It gave him a chance to work opposite Katharine Hepburn, a friend since his theater days. The chance to reprise Henry II, older and wearier if not necessarily wiser, was an added incentive. Even if he hadn't played Henry previously, it's a role that unquestionably plays to his strengths. He's larger-than-life yet thoughtful, a great man forced to confront his unglamorous legacy.

I don't share the general enthusiasm for Lion, despite several viewings and reading the play. James Goldman's overripe dialogue eventually overwhelms the story. For every clever witticism, there's a gilded clunker of a line ("You're a stinker and you stink!") or annoying anachronism ("It's 1183 and we're barbarians!") After a well-crafted first hour, the show descends into convoluted chaos, events piling up rather than building on each other, characters losing drive or motivation.

O'Toole is unquestionably the best thing about Lion. He retains a pretense of virility with swordplay and womanizing, but it's evident that Henry's running on will and reputation. O'Toole excels showing the King's haughty exterior; he's grown smart (or cynical) enough to outwit most everybody, intimidating through reputation alone. But Henry deflates over the story, increasingly feeble in his denunciations, tormented by Eleanor's proclamations of infidelity and constant filial backstabbing. His ultimate failure is that, for all he's achieved, England will either fall to an unfit ruler or dissolve into chaos at his death. No wonder he and Eleanor want to live forever.

And so we leave Peter O'Toole at the pinnacle of his career: four Oscar nominations in eight years, an impressive filmography and respectable body of stage work. Parts Two and Three are already mostly written, for those with the patience to endure a series of posts.

Continue to Parts Two and Three

Remembering Tom Laughlin

Today I returned from my Sunday chores to learn that Peter O'Toole had died. Taken aback, I demurred on an instant reaction, unsure how to address his passing. By the time I put some thoughts together, I learned two others had joined him: Joan Fontaine and Tom Laughlin.

I'll put my usual blogging on hold to profile these recently passed stars. They deserve more than cursory notice, for all made a considerable cultural impact. Even if, in the case of our first subject, a somewhat absurd one.

It's somehow appropriate that on the same day my favorite actor passed away, this blog's bete noir joined him. Tom Laughlin, actor-writer-director behind the Billy Jack films, died Thursday at age 82. An all-star overachiever, Laughlin willed his creation into an improbable success. Unfortunately Laughlin's ambitions greatly exceeded his talent, producing a filmography more laughable than laudable.

A Minneapolis, Minnesota native, Laughlin played football at Wisconsin and Marquette before drifting into acting. After some stage work, he won bit parts in Tea and Sympathy, South Pacific and Gidget. Laughlin scored a starring role in The Delinquents (1957), notable as Robert Altman's directorial debut. But his Method acting style infuriated Altman, who dubbed Laughlin a "pain in the ass." Laughlin directed a few minor films around this time, but his career failed to catch on.

Frustrated by his cinematic failure, Laughlin set up a Montessori school in Santa Monica, California with his wife Dolores Taylor. Their school took in disadvantaged children, orphans and runaways, providing only general guidance while allowing the children to learn at their own pace. Laughlin and Taylor's experiences in this field informed Billy Jack's Freedom School, a pseudo-hippie commune where Taylor's Jean encourages children to explore their creativity.

Laughlin conceived Billy Jack as far back as 1954. His lifelong passion for Indian rights informed the script which he tried and failed to sell to several studios. The character, re-envisioned as an ex-Green Beret hapkido expert, first surfaced in Born Losers (1967). There's little to recommend this show, a chintzy biker film co-starring Jane Russell and Jeremy Slade. But its success enabled Laughlin to make Billy Jack (1971), and the rest was history.

Initially Warner Brothers fumbled the release, editing out controversial content and dumping it on the grindhouse circuit. Laughlin sued the studio before finding a more creative approach. He bought back copies of the film, angling to re-release it himself, and painstakingly negotiated with theaters for screenings. He spent $300,000 on a TV ad campaign, cutting TV spots and buying airtime on networks across the nation. Laughlin's efforts paid off handsomely: Billy Jack went from B-movie flop to massive hit.

Billy Jack played perfectly to the era's burgeoning counterculture. Its most obnoxious features - endless musical numbers at the Freedom School, lengthy guerrilla theater segments - mark it as an artifact of its time, as does the New Age obsession with Indian rituals. But Billy himself remains its most enduring legacy. A prototype for Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and other action stars, he spouts semi-profound koans while righteously kicking redneck ass. Billy Jack's most famous scene carefully treads the line between ludicrous and awesome:

One respects Laughlin's tenacity, business savvy and defense of principle. His personality, less so. Laughlin boasted that "The youth of this country have only two heroes: Ralph Nader and Billy Jack." He soon claimed that the CIA was working to suppress his films. Hyper-sensitive to criticism, he sponsored an essay contest to rebut critics of The Trial of Billy Jack. "The student should be free to enjoy the inner experience... without the imposition of someone else's opinion," he commented.

Laughlin's thin skin extended to his professional relationships. A Time profile ascribed to Laughlin "a temper... as infamous as Mussolini's." Billy Jack actor David Roya describes Laughlin forcing him to perform dangerous stunts, bilking him out of pay and an acrimonious lawsuit over billing. He frittered his newfound clout by loudly inveighing against Hollywood's studio system. He demanded complete control over his next feature, pushing for a nationwide release rather than a gradual roll out.

The Trial of Billy Jack (1974) ably documents Laughlin's descent into megalomania. It retains the original's enthusiasm for Indian rights, martial arts, spiritualism and unconventional education. But Laughlin insists on dragging in "big issues" like Vietnam and Watergate, putting the System on trial alongside Billy Jack. Laughlin posits himself a debating partner of the establishment: the FBI monitors the Freedom School's "scorching exposes" on local business leaders, before dispatching the National Guard to massacre everyone.

Laughlin's 15 minutes of fame soon ebbed. Trial proved another hit, but garnered toxic critical reviews. Even fans avoided his next film, The Master Gunfighter (1975). The final nail was Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977), so bad it never saw release. Predictably, Laughlin ascribed its failure to a government conspiracy; it's more likely his exorbitant ego caught up with him. After bit parts in The Big Sleep (1978) and The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), Laughlin's movie career died.

Banished from Hollywood, Laughlin nonetheless retained delusions of grandeur. He regularly ran for President, using his website to promote a bizarre political-psychological-spiritual philosophy. Laughlin constantly promised a fifth Billy Jack movie that never materialized: he shot only a few scenes of The Return of Billy Jack in the '80s, while another film where he "debated" George W. Bush never got past the idea stage. Laughlin's later activities were curtailed by ill health, suffering several strokes in 2007.

The Billy Jack movies retain a fervent cult following. And to Laughlin's credit, his innovative promotional antics made a genuine impact on the industry. For Groggy's money however, The Trial of Billy Jack is the worst movie ever made. For that achievement, if nothing else, Laughlin earns our recognition. 

John Ford: The Columbia Films Collection

New DVD set being released by TCM: John Ford - The Columbia Films Collection, including several of Ford's more obscure works. The New York Times has a nice write-up here.

Films included are:

The Whole Town's Talking (1935)
The Long Gray Line (1955)
Gideon's Day (1958)
The Last Hurrah (1958)
Two Rode Together (1961)

I'm a champion of Two Rode Together, a more pointed revisiting of The Searchers (though not as artistically accomplished). The Long Gray Line is... okay. As a Jack Hawkins fan, I'm most keen on catching Gideon's Day.

Good news to wake up to on a dreary Sunday.

RIP Hal Needham and Marcia Wallace

A few days late with this... stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham passed away Friday at age 82. After serving in the Korean War as a paratrooper, Needham became one of Hollywood's premiere stuntmen. A close friend of Burt Reynolds, Needham graduated to directing with Smokey and the Bandit, also penning its screenplay. That movie's success led to a prolific, if not especially distinguished career: Hooper, The Cannonball Run, Stroker Ace.

Few of Needham's films are good, and some absolutely terrible. But he'll always get a pass for Smokey and the Bandit, a big part of my childhood, and a not-quite-guilty pleasure even today.

We also lost Marcia Wallace to breast cancer at age 70. Well-known for The Bob Newhart Show and a regular on game shows like Hollywood Squares, for my generation she'll always be the bitter, sarcastic yet strangely likeable Mrs. Krabappel from The Simpsons.

Rest in peace to both.

RIP Carlo Lizzani

Another major figure in Italian cinema passed away Saturday. Carlo Lizzani, director, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker, died at age 91. He evidently committed suicide by jumping out a window.

As a screenwriter, Lizzani worked on key titles in the neorealist movement, including Germany: Year Zero and Bitter Rice. He generated a formidable directorial resume, producing historical dramas (The Last Days of Mussolini), Spaghetti Westerns (The Hills Run Red), crime films (Bandits in Milan) and comedies (Roma Bene). He also made several well-regarded documentaries, and in 1996 fictionalized the production of Rossellini's Rome: Open City with his film Celluloide.

Lost Stooges short film!

Any fans of The Three Stooges out there? If so, you may take heart at this bit of news from Australia:

The only missing short film by The Three Stooges has been found in a Manly shed. Film collector Malcolm Smith, 78, was clearing out his old films when he came across Hello, Pop!, an 18-minute backstage musical from 1933 that he bought from another collector in the 1950s.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/three-stooges-film-found-in-australian-garden-shed-20130928-2ukw2.html#ixzz2goJEsmgY

On a sadder note, we'll note the passing of novelist Tom Clancy. I've always been more of a Frederick Forsyth fan, but there's no denying he created an impressive body of work.

RIP Giuliano Gemma

Italian actor Giuliano Gemma passed away today at age 75, killed in a car accident in Rome.

The boyish Gemma starred in a slew of Spaghetti Westerns, most notably A Pistol for Ringo (1964) and its sequel, Ringo Rides Again (1965). He also starred opposite Lee Van Cleef in the popular Day of Anger (1967), and also appeared in Arizona Colt (1966), A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof (1968) and The Price of Power (1969). He presented a more clean-cut, traditional hero than Spaghetti stars like Van Cleef, Clint Eastwood and Franco Nero.

Other notable films include Luchino Visconti's The Leopard (1963), Valerio Zurlini's The Desert of the Tartars (1976), Dario Argento's Tenebrae (1982) and Woody Allen's To Rome With Love (2012). In recent years he'd focused mainly on television.

RIP Luciano Vincenzoni

Italian screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni passed away Sunday at age 87. He's best-remembered for his contentious collaboration with Sergio Leone, writing or co-writing the scripts for For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Duck, You Sucker! He also penned the scripts for A Professional Gun and Death Rides a Horse, the Oscar-nominated The Great War (1959) and a variety of other films - including that timeless masterpiece Orca.

Leone fans are keenly encouraged to check out Cenk Kiral's old interview with Vincenzoni here. He's very frank about his relationship with Sergio, and just a bit arrogant. Of course, if you co-wrote The Good, the Bad and the Ugly you're entitled to a slight ego.

Footage from The Day The Clown Cried

Just a few days ago, someone uploaded this video onto Youtube. It's part of a behind-the-scenes documentary on The Day the Crown Cried (1972), a notorious lost film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis.

Wikipedia summarizes this strange project in same detail. Basically, it's a black comedy featuring Lewis as a German clown in the Nazi era. Lewis's character gets arrested for insulting Adolf Hitler and winds up in a concentration camp, where he entertains Jewish children until they're executed. It sounds laughably terrible. Lewis hated the final product so much he completely buried it. The few who've seen it mostly concur.

With Lewis still blocking its release, it's unlikely we'll see Clown any time soon. Based on available descriptions, it sounds like an unfathomable exercise in bad taste. (Jerry Lewis and bad taste? Say it ain't so!) Then again, Roberto Begnini won Best Foreign Language Film for Life is Beautiful two decades later, so who knows?

RIP Karen Black

Actress Karen Black passed away today after a long bout with ampulary cancer. She was 74.

The Chicago-born Black racked up an incredible resume. She made her breakthrough role in Easy Rider (1969) opposite Dennis Hopper, but it was her impressive turn as Jack Nicholson's long-suffering girlfriend in Five Easy Pieces (1970) that assured her stardom. Black subsequently appeared in a slew of successful films: The Great Gatsby (1974), The Day of the Locust, Nashville (both 1975), Family Plot (1976) and Capricorn One (1978). In later years her stardom faded a bit, appearing mostly in horror flicks like The Devil's Rejects, and like many celebrities dabbled in Scientology.

Black did her best work playing put-upon women eager to break into big things. Rayette in Five Easy Pieces, whose pathetic dreams contrast with the smug sophistication of Bobby Dupea's family, endures her man's condescension and philandering almost beyond belief. I'm extremely fond of her Myrtle Wilson in Gatsby: very little about that film works, but Black plays the character with the perfect mixture of desperation and cunning. Myrtle is Rayette with a spine, a social climber ruthlessly ambitious yet unable to escape intoTom Buchanan's world.

For those interested in learning more about Ms. Black, I commend you to my friend James Tate's interviews here and here. Rest in peace to a remarkable, under-appreciated talent.

Catching up

A few things to catch up on...

Most recent is the passing of Richard Matheson. One of the doyens of late 20th Century science fiction, Matheson amassed an extraordinary body of work. His post-apocalyptic novel I Am Legend (1954) has been filmed three times (none an all-time classic, but it's the thought that counts). He also contributed several memorable scripts to The Twilight Zone (most notably Terror at 20,000 Feet), and wrote screenplays for movies The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), The Raven (1963), The Devil Rides Out (1968) and Duel (1971), among others. 

This comes just a few days after James Gandolfini's shocking passing. Gandolfini was just 51 when he died of a heart attack last Wednesday. This remarkable actor will always be associated with Tony Soprano - not unjustly, as most consider The Sopranos one of television's greatest achievements. Lest we forget, Gandolfini had a memorable film career: True Romance, Get Shorty, The Mexican, Zero Dark Thirty. Notably, Gandolfini cited his portrayal of Al Love in A Civil Action (1998) as a personal favorite, and helped spread awareness of PTSD through the documentary Wartorn. Off-screen he always gave the impression of a friendly, humble guy a world removed from his gruff screen persona.

It's not all doom and gloom, though. Groggy's friends at Moviepilot accepted his pitch to write a column on classic movies. That won't effect this blog much, though - my schedule remains as erratic and eclectic as ever!

Roland Emmerich Presents: Anonymous Patriot Lawrence of Arabia's Independence Day After Tomorrow's Godzilla Stargate

I was rather reticent towards Werner Herzog's upcoming biopic of Gertrude Bell, in which Robert Pattinson has been cast at T.E. Lawrence. Eventually though I got over it because a) it's Werner Herzog, give him a pass, b) Lawrence will be a supporting character, not the star, and c) hey, maybe Pattinson can be decent playing a non-Edward Cullen role. Also, life's too short.

Today, I read that Roland Emmerich - the brilliant auteur behind Independence Day, The Patriot and Anonymous - is planning to produce a miniseries about Lawrence. Michael Korda, author of Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia, is tapped as an historical consultant for what good that does.

Given the level of historiography present in The Patriot (aka all Brits are child-murdering Nazis) and Anonymous (Shakespeare's plays were written by an incestuous nobleman, Elizabeth I had a son with her other son), it's not imprudent to suggest this Lawrence project will follow the same route. Expect the "real story" behind Lawrence, namely that he was murdered by an MI6-Nazi conspiracy because he impregnated the Duchess of York, hence making him father of England's present Queen! And Seven Pillars of Wisdom was really written by Hannen Swaffer. While they're at it, maybe Emmerich can use Desmond Stewart's trashy biography as a source!

In other words, I expect it to be about as accurate as Lawrence's appearance on Deadliest Warrior:

Time permitting I'll finally get around to my annual blockbuster review. Don't go browsing other blogs now.

Groggy on Movie Pilot!

A few weeks back, the fine folks at Moviepilot.com asked Groggy to contribute to their site. Yesterday they published my first piece, asking whether historical accuracy in movies is important. For the three of you who don't know my real name, here's your chance to find out.

Servant Dundee: Blu-Ray News

Recently two excellent films received a Blu-Ray release.

First comes Groggy's long-time favorite, Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee (1965). The one person who loves Dundee as much as me is Glenn Erickson, aka DVD Savant; he provides another lengthy essay on the film. Blu-Ray.com has screencaps here. Sadly Daniele Amfitheatrof's original score isn't provided with the 134 minute cut, only the 121 minute version. Boo.

Even more interesting is this interview by Darren Gross, conducted with Helen Samuels, who played Mary Rostes in Dundee's infamous lost opening. This confirms beyond any reasonable doubt the Apache massacre was filmed. Credit Savant with a genuinely groundbreaking piece of research!

Groggy reader Michael O'Sullivan, who maintains his own blog at Mike's Movie Projector, tipped me off to a new Blu-Ray release of Joseph Losey's The Servant (1963). Mike provides some thoughts here. Blu-Ray.com has a review and some screencaps here; looks excellent. Looks like Losey's Accident (1967), unseen by me, also received a release. Somehow I don't think The Assassination of Trotsky is next.

Enough classic talk. Scathing reviews of awful movies to come later. You've been warned.

Boston Marathon Blog

I haven't much to say about the Boston Marathon bombing and the ongoing manhunt; I share the shock and anguish of everyone, but from a fairly safe distance. Here though is a piece written by an old high school friend, who participated in the Marathon and missed the bombs by a few minutes. She's far more eloquent on the topic than I could hope to be.

I'll have a new film review up later tonight. I'm hammering away at some longer pieces but they may take awhile to complete; stay tuned.

RIP Roger Ebert

America's most famous film critic, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, passed away today of cancer. He's battled the disease and related complications for over a decade. Just two days ago, he blogged about taking "a leave of presence," promising he'd be back. In retrospect it's a heartbreaking farewell.

I'm too young to have watched much of Siskel & Ebert's TV series, but Ebert was a major inspiration. Buying his bad review compilation I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie around 2000 and reading it until the cover rotted off and the pages warped is a cherished childhood memory. How many vacations did I undertake with my family armed with his book? I remember one trip to Hershey Park, when I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and sat in the hotel bathroom reading reviews of Armageddon and I Spit On Your Grave. Along with Mike Sauter's The Worst Movies of All Time it was a formative work, which convinced me to take movies (and writing about movies) seriously.

Ebert's main virtue, of course, is accessibility. He's rarely the intellectual critic like Andrew Sarris or Jacques Rivette, wrapping his analysis in academic theory. He writes for the mass reader and lay movie buff, laying out his like or dislike in straightforward fashion, providing direct analysis. That certainly doesn't preclude intelligence or thoughtful reflection; Ebert's best reviews are as smart and insightful as any Cahiers du Cinema think piece. Both methods have their place, of course, but I'd rather read Ebert than Rivette any day. There's nothing disdainful or plebeian in extending cinematic appreciation to the layman. 

Ebert is loved and hated for his idiosyncratic writing style, combining anecdote, personal reflection, humor and often informal structure. His often dislikes movies for strange reasons. Notably, he gives Die Hard a two star reviews solely for Paul Gleason's bumbling FBI agent. His vitriolic reaction to David Lynch's Blue Velvet earned him much opprobrium from the hoi polloi. But I allow Ebert his eccentricities. You're reading a guy who's seen Leprechaun in the Hood five times, after all.

The main takeaway from Roger Ebert is that he loved movies, loved writing about movies and conveying this love to an audience. Anyone reading his Great Movies essays, his memoirs or any random review can't deny this man had his dream job. That's really all anyone can ask for. From the bottom of my heart, Roger, thank you for everything. Rest in peace with Gene.

Napoleon by Kubrick by Spielberg

The latest buzz in the movie world is Steven Spielberg's latest project: developing Stanley Kubrick's famously-aborted Napoleon project as a TV miniseries. Spielberg and Kubrick collaborated on A.I., with Spielberg finishing that movie after Kubrick's death. Kubrick's family have given their consent for this adaptation.

Spielberg and Kubrick's sensibilities don't really mesh, in this blogger's opinion. The screenplay is as an epic character study/period piece like Barry Lyndon, laced with Kubrick's customary cynicism, a far cry from Spielberg's mass. On the other hand, Lincoln recently showed Spielberg is capable of a cerebral biopic. Let's be cautiously optimistic.

Best & Worst Super Bowl Ads of 2013: A Rant

Like all sentient Americans I watched Super Bowl XLVII last night. Who doesn't love watching football while gorging on assorted greasy snacks? It was three quarters of lousy football capped by an exciting fourth, which beats most Super Bowls. Suffice it to say that I hate the Baltimore Ravens, but since they didn't beat a team I care about I'm not depressed.

Apparently Beyonce provided a great halftime show. Not that I'd know: halftime is when I do something productive, like take a shower or fold towels. Heck, last year's show had M.I.A. flipping the bird and I still didn't watch. To quote Ahnold, "I'm da pahtee poopah!"

Yes, there was a power outage during the third quarter. It was annoying. The news covering it like the next 9/11 is more annoying.

At least as many people watch the Super Bowl for the commercials as the game. Here's where Groggy proves himself a right cynical bastard. I hate most of these ads, and this year was no different. Lots of time, effort and millions of dollars into 30 seconds of ludicrous, overblown idiocy. I've seen Adult Swim programs more appealing than most of these ads.

In the interest of fairness though, I'll do a Best and Worst list. There were a few spots that didn't make me want to hurl a brick at my TV, which deserves some recognition. Just know I relish the latter far more.

Best Ads:

10. Leon Sandcastle (NFL Network)

Good old Deion Sanders. An insufferably obnoxious player; a surprisingly likeable, self-effacing TV personality. Between this and his DirecTV fairy ads, I've forgiven Deion for his Primetime antics.

9. Morning Run (Milk)

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson doing what he does best: being funny, self-effacing and badass in a silly context. This sort of humor works better at a minute than 90 minutes though.

8.  Prom (Audi)

This ad doesn't necessarily make me want to buy this car. It does make me want to travel back to high school and French kiss my not-so-secret crush at prom. Too bad she's hiding out somewhere in New England...

7. Asking Amy (Best Buy)

Amy Poehler is a funny lady. That's why this commercial works: it's short, simple, funny and makes good use of a celebrity spokesperson. Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen blathering nonsensically for 90 seconds isn't and doesn't.

6. Team (Hyundai)

This ad starts predictably (a kid is told to "get your own team" by football-playing bullies) then takes a clever turn. No, the kid doesn't assembles a team of conveniently-visiting NFL stars. He gets a juvenile bear wrestler as his placekicker. Bonus points for using Quiet Riot.

5. Happier Than Dikembe Mutombo... (GEICO)

If there were a lifetime achievement award for stupid commercials, GEICO would win for its endless barrage of irritable cavemen, cockney lizards and jabbering swine. So I'm happily surprised they managed a funny spot. See Coke, this is how you do a Super Bowl ad: a simple gag (Mutombo swatting a box of Cap'n Crunch) well-executed. But we're getting ahead of ourselves...

4. Soul (Mercedes-Benz)

Willem Dafoe plays Satan. He could be shilling for Go Daddy and still earn a spot.

3. Love Ballad (M&M's)

M&M's ads have gone a bizarre route the past few years, hinting at sexual relations between humans and chocolates. Now we see the logical conclusion: Red M&M finds out his girlfriend's greatest wish is to eat him! While singing Meat Loaf, no less.

2. Brotherhood (Budweiser)

Give Budweiser credit: their Clydesdale ads are always winners. This touching spot is no exception. Sure it's treacle, but it's well-done treacle. Don't tell me you aren't tearing up at the end

1. Miracle Stain (Tide)

This one's got it all: a clever premise, Super Bowl tie-in, recognizable product and funny payoff. One caveat: while many treat football as a religion, comparatively few worship the 49ers.

Worst Ads:

Now for the fun part. Don't like my choices? Complain in the comments section.

10. Viva Young (Taco Bell)

Two objections: one, Taco Bell's entire demographic is 30 and under, so why the senior focus? Two, most 20 year olds with cast-iron colons can't keep Taco Bell food down for 15 minutes. Pity these poor seniors gulping Taco Supremes.

Strangely, this seems to be one of the most popular ads. Are old people that hilarious?

9. Wonderful Pistachios Get Cracking (Emerald Nuts)

Signs an obnoxiously over-hyped "music sensation" has reached their sell-by date: 1) Glee covers their song. 2) They star in an Emerald Nuts commercial. An MTV reality series can't be far behind for PSY.

8. Party (Pepsi Next)

I lost 30 pounds last year and Pepsi Next was a big part of that. That's my way of saying Pepsi Next is awesome. This lazy, stupid ad is not. 

7. Get In, Get Happy (Volkswagen)

This asinine spot generated unwarranted controversy for "insulting" Jamaicans. The real problem is stupidity. Whether you're from Kingston or Massapequa, no one talks like Bob Marley unless they're baked. If that be the case, kiss your job goodbye, mon! Worse, I didn't even remember what was being sold - the sure sign of a bad ad.

6. Fashionista Daddy (Doritos)

Admittedly, I had trouble finding laughs in transvestites playing with little girls right after watching The Damned. Regardless, men wearing frilly things has long since supplanted the pun as comedy's nadir. Witness ABC's Work It. Witness this ad. To quote Bobby Hill, "Cross-dressing's been done." Apparently Doritos didn't get the memo.

5. Save It (E-Trade)

The e-Trade babies aren't funny, period. They weren't funny in 2008, they aren't funny now. Come to think of it, CGI-lipped talking babies weren't funny in Baby Geniuses or Baby Bob, either. It's never funny. It's creepy. Stop for the love of God.

4. Space Babies (Kia)

More babies, plus cute animals, wrapped in higher-grade CGI than Prometheus and a nonsensical premise dreamed up on a millionaire's bar napkin. Another popular ad, though this one's more explicable: everyone's had "the talk" with their kids. And everyone loves astronaut babies and thumbs-upping panda cubs. Everyone except Groggy, who hates overpaid ad execs trying too hard.

Of course, I actually drive a Kia. The last thing I'm thinking about while skidding around the snow-encrusted back roads of Pennsylvania is space penguins on a baby planet.

Speaking of astronauts... 

3. Lifeguard (Axe Apollo)

 

Note the warning that this is a "fictionalization." So there wasn't really a lifeguard who gill-punched a shark, rescued a beach babe and then got cock-blocked by a nerd wearing Buzz Aldrin duds? Damn, thanks for shattering my illusions Axe!

P.S.: This is a deodorant ad. Please explain how I'm supposed to know that.

2. Perfect Match (Go Daddy)

What sort of troglodytic horn dog does Go Daddy market to, exactly? Their entire campaign is a slobbering monument to the kind of male chauvinism that went out with bell bottoms. As a male, I'm offended by the notion that I'm only interested in scantily-clad women. As a nerd, I'm offended by the notion that smart equals fat and ugly. As a functioning human being, what the hell is this garbage? Here's hoping a mob of angry feminists burns down their corporate headquarters.

1. Mirage (Coca-Cola)

This commercial epitomizes everything wrong with Super Bowl ads: pointlessly contrived, needlessly expensive and profoundly unfunny. I can just imagine Coke's ad department brainstorming this:

"Okay, we need a Super Bowl ad. Ideas, guys? Bob, you watched Mad Max last week right? Tina, you wanted to be a Rockette when you were little, so here's showgirls driving a bus. Groggy, you won't shut up about T.E. Lawrence, so here's an Arab with a camel. Cowboys, those are popular right? How about they're racing each other? How wacky! And it will only cost enough to feed Zimbabwe for a year!

"Um, guys? Where are you going? Why are you all printing your resumes?"

This plays out exactly like it sounds: a jumble of bizarre, nonsensical ideas spewed forth Katyusha-style in hopes of triggering a laugh and rampant Coke buying. My reaction?

Look, Coca-Cola could run 30 seconds of polar bears crapping without denting their market share. You don't need to put this much effort into being stupid, guys. And that goes for all of you.

RIP Jon Finch

Actor Jon Finch passed away on 28 December 2012 at 71. News of his death wasn't publicly disclosed until last Friday.

The darkly-handsome, gravel-voiced Finch was an unorthodox leading man. He gained notoriety for his powerful turn in Roman Polanski's Macbeth (1971), but is probably best-remembered as the anti-hero Richard Blaney in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972). Around that time he also appeared in Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), Robert Bolt's Lady Caroline Lamb (1972) and The Final Programme (1973); later he co-starred in Death on the Nile (1978) with Peter Ustinov. After that, however, Finch mostly worked in stage and TV, notably in the BBC Television Shakespeare's Richard II and Henry IV. His last high-profile role was Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005).

Finch missed out on being a much bigger star. He was reportedly considered as James Bond for Live and Let Die. He also turned down an unspecified part in Richard Lester's Three Musketeers films, the TV series The Professionals and John Hurt's role in Alien. He's the rare actor whose career of missed roles is more interesting than those he accepted.

Finch indicated in a 2005 interview that he disliked the idea of super-stardom, a view shared with contemporaries like Paul Scofield, Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney. However, Finch was also diabetic, and his condition likely prevented him from taking more demanding roles. All the same, he starred in two bona fide classics and appeared in a third, which is more than most actors can say.

RIP to this unsung, talented actor.

Oscars 2013

Yep, it's that time of year again... the list of nominees are:

Best Picture:
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"
"Lincoln"
"Les Miserables"
"Life of Pi"
"Amour"
"Django Unchained"
"Argo"
Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"
Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Alan Arkin, "Argo"
Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
Best Supporting Actress:
Sally Field, "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"
Amy Adams, "The Master"
Best Director:
David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"
Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"
Michael Haneke, "Amour"
Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Best Actor:
Daniel Day Lewis, "Lincoln"
Denzel Washington, "Flight"
Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"
Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"
Best Actress:
Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"
Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Best Original Screenplay:
"Zero Dark Thirty"
"Django Unchained"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Amour"
"Flight"
Best Adapted Screenplay:
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Best Animated Feature:
"Frankenweenie"
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits"
"Wreck-It Ralph"
"Paranorman"
"Brave"
Best Foreign Feature:
"Amour"
"A Royal Affair"
"Kon-Tiki"
"No"
"War Witch"
Best Visual Effects:
"Life of Pi"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"The Avengers"
"Prometheus"
"Snow White and the Huntsman"
Best Cinematography:
"Skyfall"
"Anna Karenina"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
Best Costume Design:
"Anna Karenina"
"Les Miserables"
"Lincoln"
"Mirror Mirror"
"Snow White and the Huntsman"
Best Documentary Feature:
"Searching for Sugar Man"
"How to Survive a Plague"
"The Gatekeepers"
"5 Broken Cameras"
"The Invisible War"
Best Documentary Short:
"Open Heart"
"Inocente"
"Redemption"
"Kings Point"
"Mondays at Racine"
"Snow White and the Huntsman"
Best Film Editing:
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Life of Pi"
"Argo"
"Zero Dark Thirty"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
"Hitchcock"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"Les Miserables"
Best Music (Original Score):
"Anna Karenina"
"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"
Best Music (Original Song):
"Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice"
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted"
"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi"
"Skyfall" from "Skyfall"
"Suddenly" from "Les Misérables"
Best Production Design:
"Anna Karenina"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"Les Misérables"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
Best Short Film, Animated:
"Adam and Dog"
"Fresh Guacamole"
"Head over Heels"
"Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'"
"Paperman"
Best Short Film, Live Action:
"Asad"
"Buzkashi Boys"
"Curfew"
"Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)"
"Henry"
Best Sound Editing:
"Argo"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Skyfall"
"Zero Dark Thirty"
Best Sound Mixing:
"Argo"
"Les Misérables"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"
Since I've seen just three of the nominees, I can only offer some wholly non-scientific and opinionated observations.

No huge shocks in the Best Picture category. Lincoln, Life of Pi, Zero Dark Thirty and Les Miserables were all locks, prestige pictures from repeat offenders… er, winners. Django Unchained qualifies too; the Academy loves to nominate Tarantino even if they don't let him win anything. Argo surprises me: a good movie, but not really typical Oscar bait. Michael Haneke's Amour is an outlier too. Beasts of the Southern Wild and Silver Linings Playbook fulfill the precocious indie quotient.

Some people seem upset The Hobbit or The Master were left out, but neither film met with exactly universal acclaim. I'm glad at the lack of popcorn blockbusters, though it's not really a shock: The Avengers wasn't aiming for awards, Prometheus got mixed reviews and The Dark Knight Returns had a mute reception.

Acting categories? Daniel Day-Lewis seems a lock. Best Actress seems a dead heat between Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence, two hot (career-wise) actresses anchoring prestige pictures. Supporting Actor is a toss-up: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Arkin, Tommy Lee Jones and Christoph Waltz are all past winners with a lot of great buzz. Robert De Niro's the outlier, though he deserves a "welcome back to quality roles" bone. Supporting actress is Anne Hathaway, no question.

The Best Director, however, indicates we’re playing with loaded dice. Tom Hooper, Kathryn Bigelow and Ben Affleck were all shut out, even with their pictures earning Best Picture nods. Call me cynical but given the lack of Best Picture buzz around Life of Pi and others, this seems a set up for Lincoln to run the table. Since I loved the movie I'm not too upset, but it does neuter the suspense considerably.

Not that I'll be watching anyway. Seth McFarlane's hosting this year, when he'd be much more entertaining with his entrails devoured by rabid badgers.

Rest assured I'll be catching (and reviewing) at least three of these movies over the weekend. Stay tuned to find out which ones.