BIRDS, THE

(March 1963, U.S.)

Ah, finally! We begin with the first film in my collection by one of the greatest directors of all time! The man known as the "master of suspense", the great Alfred Hitchcock!

When I was a kid in the '70's, the annual airing (sometimes more than once) of THE BIRDS on WPIX-Channel 11 was a movie event to look forward to as much as THE TEN COMMANDMENTS on ABC-TV or THE WIZARD OF OZ on CBS-TV. As a kid, I knew very little about Alfred Hitchcock. I knew THE BIRDS and I'd already heard of the famous shower scene in PSYCHO. So naturally my first presumption about the man was that he was a maker of horror movies. I would discover later in life how wrong I was.

One of the key elements that makes a film like THE BIRDS frightening is that we are given absolutely no explanation whatsoever as to why the birds of Bodega Bay, California are suddenly attacking people. It starts with very little warning and it shows no signs of resolution even when the film is coming to an end. There is also no musical soundtrack to the film. There is only sound effects of the high-pitched wailing noises of crows, blackbirds and sea gulls when they strike at our fear of them. Keep in mind also that is not some cheap monster movie, either. Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren (Melanie Griffith's mother), Jessica Tandy and the rest of the supporting case are outstanding in their roles.

Now there are a couple of moments I'd like to focus on. The first one is a very visually frightening scene when Melanie Daniels (Hedren) is waiting outside the school and unbeknowst to her, the birds are slowly accumulating on the playground jungle gym behind her. She sees nothing, but the viewer does. You cringe and find yourself wanting to shout at her, "Look behind you, for God sakes!" Take a look...



(To make matters worse, you're forced to listen to an incredibly obnoxious song the children are singing inside the school.)

The second one is a scene at the end of the film when Melanie is being bandaged up by her new love interest (and hero of the film), Mitch Brennen (Taylor). As he helps her to sip some brandy, there is a look in her eyes that I cannot forget. They've only known each other two days, but as she stares into his eyes, you can tell that she has decided right there and then that she will love and honor this man forever. Like I said, it's only been two days but it's real nice to imagine love and devotion like that.

Some of my favorite scary films have taken place in quiet seaside communities; THE BIRDS, JAWS (1975) and THE FOG (1980) being three examples. For me, there is something extra frightening about the tranquility of that sort of community being threatened by a menacing force. You know, back in 2008, something like this actually happened to me. For about one hour a swarm of small birds mysteriously decided to encircle my house in the Hamptons. I was forced to go inside and wait until they left. Weird, huh?

Finally, since I'm not going to be getting up to another scary movie in the 'Bs' anytime soon, let me wish all my readers a very Happy Halloween to come!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Mother in Diner (to Melanie Daniels): "Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here, the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you're the cause of all this. I think you're evil! EVIL!!!"

BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ

(July 1962, U.S.)

The one interesting thing I've noticed about prison films over the years is that the protaganist of the film is always either innocent of the crime that put them in prison, or the crime they're guilty of was a sympathetic one. The viewer cannot feel any heart or sympathy for an inmate who's guilty of rape, child molestation or anything else considered hideous by society. The real life subject of this film, Robert Stroud, allegedly killed a man who had viciously beaten his girlfriend. It's up to view to decide if he/she can find sympathy in a crime like that. Persoanally, I can.

Robert Stroud was known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his life with birds. In spite of the film's title, much of the action is set at Leavenworth prison where Stroud was jailed with his birds. When moved to Alcatraz he was not allowed to keep any pets. Burt Lancaster plays Stroud and he was one of our most gifted actors, right up until his last appearance in FILED OF DREAMS (1989). He plays a hardened criminal, for sure, but there is such a gentleness to his mannerisms, his relationship with his birds and his longing for knowledge that you have to remind yourself of his incarceration. As the years pass, Stroud becomes an expert on bird diseases and even publishes a book on the subject. His writings are so impressive that a doctor describes him as a "genius". So why is it that all the geniuses in life are either convicts or schizophrenic nutcases (remember A BEAUTIFUL MIND?)?

Let me now talk about director John Frankenheimer for a moment, who was always hit and miss with me. He made some incredible films in his lifetime, but for as many hits as he had (THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, BLACK SUNDY, RONIN), there were just as many misses (FRENCH CONNECTION II, PROPHECY, THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU remake). I have to say, also, that it's a real fucking shame that his final theatrical "swan song" had to be the Ben Affleck movie, REINDEER GAMES (1999). Oh man, why did he have to go out like that??

Favorite line or dialogue:

Robert Stroud: "Tom? You know what they used to call Alcatraz in the old days?"
Tom Gaddis: "What?"
Robert: "Bird Island."
Tom (narrating): "Robert Stroud's petition for parole has been denied annually for 24 years. Age 72, he is now in his 53rd year of imprisonment."

BIRDCAGE, THE

(March 1996, U.S.)

THE BIRDCAGE is director Mike Nichols' American version of the French comedy, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (1978). It is also one of the very rare examples of the American version surpassing (in my opinion) the original foreign subtitled version of a film. Believe me, that doesn't happen too often.

Robin Williams and Nathan Lane play off each other's comic chemistry in the best tag-team (or should I say, "DRAG-team"!) example I've seen since Abbott and Costello. Nathan Lane's outlandish, effeminate mannerisms as a screaming drag queen absolutely shines with comic genius. The insanity begins when their son, Val, is going to be married to a girl whose ultra-conservative father (played by Gene Hackman) is seeking reelection as the co-founder of the "Coalition for Moral Order", which by the way, the founding member has just died in the bed of an underage black prostitute. Everyone involved on Val's side of the family is then put in the dire position of having to play it straight during a highly tense dinner to appease their would-be conservative in-laws. The results are absolutely...well, insane! Really, it's like something out of your favorite episode of I LOVE LUCY or THREE'S COMPANY!

Talking about Mike Nichols for a moment, he is probably one of the most diverse directors of our generation. His is a career that has included the funny (THE GRADUATE, THE BIRDCAGE), the dramatic (SILKWOOD, CLOSER) and even the monsterously terrifying (WOLF). Someone like Michael Bay could take a lesson or two and stop blowing up shit so much.

This film met with mixed reviews ranging from praise to condemnation in both the mainstream press and the gay press for the portrayals of its gay characters. Okay, not to sound too politically incorrect (or something like that), but there are certain comic themes in film that have always proven successful in the past. Like it or not, one of them is men in drag acting like women. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis (he just died) pulled it off in SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959). Dustin Hoffman pulled it off in TOOTSIE (1982). It seems that more often than not, if you're going to make somebody laugh, somebody else is going to likely be offended along the way. Get over it, will you!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Armand: "Al, you old son of a bitch! How ya doin'? How do you feel about that call today? I mean the Dolphins! Fourth-and-three play on their 30 yard line with only 34 seconds to go!"
Albert (effeminate voice): "How do you think I feel? Betrayed, bewildered... wrong response?"
Armand: "I'm not sure."

BIG SLEEP, THE

(August 1946, U.S.)

Consider, for a moment, the numerous celebrity marriages and relationships over that last three decades that movie studios have tried (in vain) to hype up the film they were making together; Sean Penn and Madonna, Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Ben Affleck and Jennifor Lopez (Uuggh!!!). Consider how all of those films flopped on their miserable asses!

Now consider Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. In their day, they were the real deal; happily married 'till the day "Bogie" died and all four of their films were big successes. THE BIG SLEEP (their second film together) has all of the traditional elements one would expect from a film noir detective thriller; the private dick, the femme fatale, the snappy dialogue, the dark alleys, the shadows, the gunfire, and the dead bodies. THE BIG SLEEP also (unfortunately) features a very convoluted plotline which can be very difficult to follow at times. There are also more character names to remember than a typical Agatha Christie novel. Allegedly during filming, neither the director, Howard Hawks, nor the screenwriters knew whether the chauffeur, Owen Taylor, was murdered or had actually killed himself. They sent a cable to Raymond Chandler (author of the original 1939 novel of the same name), who told a friend in a later letter: "They sent me a wire ... asking me, and dammit I didn't know either".

Being fully aware that a film like this is full of confusion, you have to simply decide to just sit back, turn out the lights, and enjoy the pleasure of glorious black and white film noir entertainment with two huge (married) movie stars of the "golden age of cinema". As the old saying goes, they don't make 'em like that any more. They never will.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Eddie Mars: " Convenient, the door being open when you didn't have a key, eh?"
Philip Marlowe: "Yeah, wasn't it. By the way, how'd you happen to have one?"
Mars: "Is that any of your business?"
Marlowe: "I could make it my business."
Mars: "I could make your business mine."
Marlowe: "Oh, you wouldn't like it. The pay's too small."

BIG RED ONE, THE

(July 1980, U.S.)

When you've watched a good amount of World War II films, after a while you find yourself in the position of asking yourself, "What makes this one different from all the others?" On the surface, THE BIG RED ONE is no different than all the other World War II films I've seen with the traditional excitement of blood, guts, action and explosions. The privates are also the usual bunch of boys who do not possess any special character that a viewer would want to get close to or come to care about.

THE BIG RED ONE is a World War II tale, yes, but in a way, the film seems very 1980. In fact, there are things about Sam Fuller's style of filmmaking, the dialogue and even the musical score that almost give the film the flavor of a 1980 CBS-TV movie of the week. To be perfectly honest with you, the one real thing that first attracted me to want to see this film was the fact that it starred Mark Hamil (yes, Luke Skywalker himself!). Sometimes I have to remind myself that the man did actually do some work that wasn't STAR WARS related. And is it just me, or does Lee Marvin seem like the most effeminate tough guy that ever lived? I mean, have you ever really listened to the guy's voice??

So, to do a brief recap, everything I've written so far seems quite negative, doesn't it? Despite it all, though, THE BIG RED ONE doesn't fail to entertain as a war film. It doesn't fail to remind the viewer of who the real heroes and enemies of World War II were and what the spirit of the American soldier has always meant to this country. That is probably the most important element that any war film can hope to achieve. I should also point out that this film has what I would consider to be the SECOND best filmed sequence of the Battle of Normandy on Omaha Beach (the first being, of course, Steven Spielberg's SAVING PRIVATE RYAN).

Favorite line or dialogue:

Griff: "I can't murder anybody."
Sergeant: "We don't murder; we kill."
Griff: "It's the same thing."
Sergeant: "The hell it is, Griff. You don't murder animals; you kill 'em."

BIG LEBOWSKI, THE

(March 1998, U.S.)

Jeff Bridges is Jeff Lebowski. Lebowski is "The Dude". Who is The Dude? "The Dude" is the laziest excuse for a California slacker you ever did meet who spends his days dressed in his favorite robe, smoking marijuana, drinking White Russians and bowling with his pals. His sole purpose in life is to seek compensation for his favorite rug that was pissed on by two thugs who mistook him for a different and significantly wealthier Jeff Lebowski. The Dude makes Kramer from "Seinfeld" seem productive. Seriously, what's not to love about the guy??

Now let's talk about John Goodman as Walter Sobchak, The Dude's best friend. This nutcase places the rules of bowling second in reverence only to the rules of his adopted religion, Judaism, as evidenced by his strict stance against "rolling" on Shabbos. He has a violent temper, and is given to pulling out a handgun (or crowbar in another case) in order to settle disputes and constantly (and pointlessly) mentions Vietnam in his conversations. Hey, what can you possibly expect from a guy that had to act against Rosanne Barr for so many years?? I'd probably be a total whackjob, too!

Joel and Ethan Coen are two of the most gifted filmmakers of the last 25 years who have shown us the dark macabre of their work in films like BLOOD SIMPLE (1984), FARGO (1996) and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) and the outrageous comedy in films like RAISING ARIZONA (1987), THE HUDSUCKER PROXY (1994) and this film discussed now. To watch a film by the Cohen brothers is not knowing what to expect next and then deciding whether to be shocked by what you've just seen or to laugh with hysteria. An odd combination, indeed. The gifted ones are usually the oddest ones, too, aren't they?

At it's heart, THE BIG LEBOWSKI (aside from the great comedy) can easily be compared to the classic structure of thrillers by Alfred Hitchcock and the film noir era where the innocent man is a victim of mistaken identity and must experience a personal journey to exonerate himself and seek justice for whatever has been taken from him, even if it's a pissed-on rug that "tied the room together". The film's structure has actually been compared to Raymond Chandler's novel, "The Big Sleep". I didn't read it, but I saw the Humphrey Boagrt film and it's coming real soon to this blog!

Favorite line or dialogue:

The Big Lebowski: " What makes a man, Mr. Lebowski?"
The Dude: "Dude."
Lebowski: "Huh?"
Dude: "Uhh... I don't know sir."
Lebowski: "Is it being prepared to do the right thing, whatever the cost? Isn't that what makes a man?"
Dude: "Hmmm... Sure, that and a pair of testicles."

BIG CLOCK, THE

(April 1948, U.S.)

Did you ever see 1987's NO WAY OUT with Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman? Did you think it was an original story? Sorry to burst your bubble, but it was a remake of THE BIG CLOCK. The original film is closer to the novel. The remake, on the other hand, updated the events to the United States Department of Defense in Washington D.C. during the Cold War period of the 1980's. But we're not here to talk about that story right now.

The era of the 1940's was prime for film noir thrillers. Some of these stories could get a little redundant after of these movies. The plot of THE BIG CLOCK seems simple enough is which the editor-in-chief of a popular crime magazine, George Stroud (played by Ray Milland) is charged by his tyrannical publishing boss, Earl Janoth (played by Charles Laughton) with the assignment of finding an accused murderer of a young woman. The twist is that we already know that Janoth is the murderer and Stround was a witness to Janoth leaving the scene of the crime, though Janoth doesn't know that. So Stroud is racing the clock (the big one) as he outwardly appears to diligently lead Janoth's investigation and, at the same time, tries to prevent that investigation from uncovering the fact that it is he who is the very target of it. Meanwhile, he must also secretly carry out his own investigation to gather the evidence necessary to prove who the real murderer is.

Confused yet? Well, look at it this way, sometimes a little confusion helps to make a story more original. That's when you have to watch the film more than once. Trust me.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Don Klausmeyer: "I'm Don Klausmeyer, from Artways magazine."
Louise Patterson: "Yes. Oh, yes. Didn't you review my show in '41?"
Don: "I think I did."
Louise: "Oh, come in, Mr. Klausmann."
Don: "KlausMEYER."
Louise: "I've been planning to kill you for years."