JERRY MAGUIRE

(December 1996, U.S.)

According to the Old Testament, there are Ten Commandments for those of Jewish faith and practice to follow as law. There should be eleven! The Eleventh Commandement should state, "Thou shalt go to the movies and then a Chinese restaurant on every Christmas Day". Think I'm kidding? This is what Jews DO every Christmas Day! It's practically law! In my (younger) youth, I actually spent Christmas Day on the ski slopes and beleive it or not, it was crowded there, too. When you go to the movies on Christmas Day, you can pretty much count on extra aggrevation due to the incredibly high volume of high-demanding, bitchy people. These conditions are guaranteed to bring out the intolerance in anyone who has a low threshold for such matters (namely ME!). So what's my point with all this? My point is that JERRY MAGUIRE is one of the very few times (less than five, actually) that I've ever been to the movies on Christmas Day surrounded by a bunch of annoying Jewish people. Was the film worth it? Well, it was a great movie, no doubt, but nothing that couldn't have waited a week or two into the new year.

I've mentioned before that with some extreme exceptions like COCKTAIL (1988) and FAR AND AWAY (1992), I have this rather sick weakness for many Tom Cruise films. Many of them are just pure guilty pleasures. By the end of 1996, Tom Cruise was still riding high and riding hot from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE the previous summer. As a glossy, sharp, snappy, fast-talking, wise-cracking, bullshit artist, the character of sports agent Jerry Maguire seems unmistakenly perfect for a man of Cruise's persona and attitude. Just as a sample of his character, when you hear him say, "I will not rest until I have you holding a Coke, wearing your own shoe, playing a Sega game FEATURING YOU, while singing your own song in a new commercial, STARRING YOU, broadcast during the Superbowl, in a game that you are winning, and I will not SLEEP until that happens!", you know perfectly well that's Tom Cruise you're listening to and that the role was meant just for him. Jerry Maguire is great at his job, he's loved by all who know him and he's engaged to a beautiful woman (played by Kelly Preston) who demands that he never stop fucking her! It all sounds good, for sure, but it's also the perfect setup for a man who's about to lose it all - his job, his clients, his fiancée, his confidence, his self-respect and his upward mobility. So the solution becomes how is Jerry to get it all back, or some degree of it, and in the process, learn something new about himself and his career. This is perfect film cliche for this type of story, but it's what the viewer expects and wants.

So in the end, Jerry Maguire is left with his own sports agency with the one client of Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (played rather loudly by Cuba Gooding, Jr.) who's so full of himself that he gives words like ego and cocky brand new meanings. The only other person on his team is single mother Dorothy Boyd (played by Renée Zellweger), who, of course, Jerry will inevitably fall in love with when he realizes she "completes him", but not until after practically running scared shitless due to his issues with intimacy (seriously, why women put up with men is beyond me!). And not that I consider him such a major part of this film, but can I talk a moment about Jerry O'Connell as quarterback Frank Cushman? This was the first time I'd seen this guy since STAND BY ME (1986). One minute, he's this pudgy little twerp running for his life from a train on his way to see a dead body with his friends and the next he's this well-built, handsome man who would inevitably be fucking Rebecca Romijn (how DO these things happen??). Anyway, just thought I'd mention that.

Throughout the film, JERRY MAGUIRE can seem a bit over-the-top in its depiction of the high speed, high stakes world of professional sports agents and what they must constantly do to make their living. Is it simply drama? There was a time I thought so until I saw a news piece on CBS Sunday Morning about real life sports agent Leigh Steinberg, whom Cruise's character is directly based on (Steinberg acted as technical consultant for the film). Director Cameron Crowe clearly displays his strong interest for not only the profession he's depicting, but also in his characters that demand only the strongest of passions and commitment. Mr. Crusie surely delivers it all for this film and, guilty pleasure or not, it's a Tom Cruise film I'm proud to say is worthy of my film collection and my blog writing. Though I must confess, during the scene where he's driving alone in his car and switches the radio station during the Rolling Stones "Bitch"...well, that still doesn't sit quite right with me. What were you THINKING, Tom??? You don't turn off the Stones!!!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Rod Tidwell: "That's what I'm gonna do for you. God bless you, Jerry. But this is what you gonna do for me. You listenin', Jerry?"
Jerry Maguire: "Yeah, what, what, what can I do for you, Rod? You just tell me what can I do for you?"
Rod: "It's a very personal, a very important thing. Hell, it's a family motto. Are you ready, Jerry?"
Jerry: "I'm ready."
Rod: "I wanna make sure you're ready, brother. Here it is: Show me the money. Oh-ho-ho! SHOW! ME! THE! MONEY! A-ha-ha! Jerry, doesn't it make you feel good just to say that! Say it with me one time, Jerry!"
Jerry: "Show you the money."
Rod: "Oh, no, no. You can do better than that, Jerry! I want you to say it with you, with meaning, brother! Hey, I got Bob Sugar on the other line; I bet you he can say it!"
Jerry: "Yeah, yeah, no, no, no. Show you the money."
Rod: "No! Not show you! Show me the money!"
Jerry: "Show me the money!"
Rod: "Yeah! Louder!"
Jerry: "Show me the money!"
Rod: "Yes, but, brother, you got to yell that shit!"
Jerry: "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"
Rod: "I need to feel you, Jerry!"
Jerry: "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"
Rod: "Jerry, you got to yell!"
Jerry: "SHOW ME THE MONEY! SHOW ME THE MONEY!"
Rod: "Do you love this black man!"
Jerry: "I LOVE THE BLACK MAN! SHOW ME THE MONEY!"
Rod: "I love black people!"
Jerry: "I LOVE BLACK PEOPLE!"
Rod: "Who's your motherfucker, Jerry?"
Jerry: "YOU'RE MY MOTHERFUCKER!"
Rod: "Whatcha gonna do, Jerry?"
Jerry: "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"
Rod: "Unh! Congratulations, you're still my agent."

Exhausting, isn't it?

JAZZ SINGER, THE (1927)

(October 1927, U.S.)

Just how good would you consider your imagination and appreciation of cinema history to be? I've come to realize over time that I very likely lose the attention of a small portion of my readers whenever I discuss a film that dates back even before their grandparents were born. However, it's impossible to ignore the significance of certain films and their place in history. Therefore, this particular film deserves mention, honor and respect not only from this blog, but from those who claim true film appreciation. For the sake of absolute fact and clarity, THE JAZZ SINGER was the first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences. Its initial release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the inevitable decline of the classic silent film era. Despite this great achievement, it should also be noted that the film only features a specific portion of actual dialogue. Most of the film is still actually silent.

As a kid, I experienced two misconceptions concerning this film. The first was that I thought the rather campy 1980 Neil Diamond version of THE JAZZ SINGER was, in fact, an original film and not a remake (the fourth film version, actually). The second was that I actually thought Al Jolson was a black man because the only pictures I'd ever seen of the man was when he was wearing his infamous blackface makeup. Yes, it looked just that convincing to a kid who didn't know any better. Take a look...

During a time of Hollywood show business that was primarily run by Jewish men who'd come to the United States as immigrants, THE JAZZ SINGER is one of the most Jewish tales I've ever seen on film. It tells the story of young Jakie Rabinowitz blatantly defying the traditions of his devout Jewish family by singing popular jazz tunes in a local beer hall. Punished by his strict father, a neighborhood cantor, Jakie runs away from home in defiance. Some years later, now under the name of Jack Robin, he's become a very talented jazz singer with an eye towards national fame. He slowly builds his career as an entertainer and falls in love with a woman who's not Jewish (a SHIKSA - OY!!), but his professional ambitions ultimately come into conflict with the demands of his home and heritage as his father lies in bed dying from an undisclosed illness and a broken heart over the estranged relationship with his son. Although someone like myself doesn't relate too well to the ancient traditions of Jewish faith and practices, the conflict between personal ambition and loyalties to honor and family are easily appreciated by even a world-class cynic such as I.

In contrast to the inevitable racial jokes and innuendos brought out in its subsequent persistence in early sound film, the blackface imagery in THE JAZZ SINGER is truly at the core of the film's central theme as an artistic and expressive exploration of the notion of ethnic duplicity within the American identity. The meaning and function of the blackface in this film is intimately involved with Jack Robin's own precious Jewish heritage combined with his desire to make his mark in mass American pop culture, much the same as the Jewish man Al Jolson and the Jewish Warner brothers themselves were doing in real life. The film's apparant thesis is that, in order to truly succeed in life, a man such as Jack must first acknowledge his ethnic self and the past traditions that have come to define him. It can be argued, therefore, that the blackface serves as the screen's symbol of Jack's compounded identity issue and manages to hold all the identities together without freezing them in any singular relationship. This sort of philosophy may not hold the same relevance in a world that's become so damn politically correct, but again, you need to reach back into the past with your imagination and consideration for a film that breaks ground on so many levels.

Lastly, using that imagination and appreciation I keep insisting upon, try and envision a premiere of such a film back in the glorious days when movies were still relatively new. By today's standards, of course, this would be an insignificant Friday night opening at the local, impersonal neighborhood multiplex. However, the premiere for THE JAZZ SINGER was set for October 6, 1927, at the Warner Brothers flagship theater in New York City. The specific choice of that date was pure Jewish show business in that the following day was Yom Kippur, the sacred Jewish holiday around which much of the film's plot revolves. Here's what that spectacularly crowded scene looked like...

And so, with the introduction of one film, "talkies" were born and the motion picture industry changed forever. THAT, my friends, impresses me a whole hell of a lot more than the latest bullshit digital 3D effects on any screen!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Jack Robin: "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet! Wait a minute I tell ya, you ain't heard nothin'!"

Yes, those words said it all!

JAWS 2

(June 1978, U.S.)

Let's start by taking a long, good look at this teaser poster for JAWS 2 (a poster that I own, by the way). Look at the rich orange color emanating from the sun into the sky and onto the water below. Look closely at the seemingly rough currents and the lonely, yet menacing shark fin that rises and coasts along with it. Read how the new film promises to be "ALL NEW" and that it will be hitting theaters this summer. Finally, read the film's tagline, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...,", which has become perhaps the most famous tagline in film history, parodied and homaged ever since we first heard it. I ask you all to go through this silly exercise to try and give you an idea of what fans of the original JAWS very likely experienced with the promise of more shark terror, more shark fun and a return to the village of Amity (though much of the beach sequences were filmed in Florida) and the characters they came to know three years prior. This is what fans were promised, anyway. Whether they truly got it or not depends solely on the viewer's perspective.

So, let's address the real big question right away. Is JAWS 2 as scary as the original JAWS? Of course not! Is it as much fun to watch as the original? Not really. Did it gross as much money as the original? Not likely. Is JAWS 2 a completely disasterous sequel? No, not at all (that honor we can give to JAWS 3D and JAWS: THE REVENGE). Exactly how can one classify JAWS 2, then? Simply put, JAWS 2 may be considered an almost scientific exercise in Hollywood show business mediocrity for its time. In other words, not too great and not too bad, either. To it's credit, the first sequel of the franchise offers some exciting and original sequences such as the shark chasing the water skier, the shark getting burned by the flare gun, the shark attacking the harbor patrol marine helicopter and pulling it under the water, the beached killer whale with the enourmous shark bite taken out if it, and the shark's final demise by electrocution, which in some ways, outsoars the simple drama of the explosion of the first shark, in my opinion. These are all wonderful ideas, which unfortunately tend to fall short in their delivery. It's exciting to watch the shark fin get closer and closer to the water skier but it would have been deliciously enticing to watch this girl get hers with a lot more terrifying gore as opposed to the quick underwater camera shots that only provide the obvious implication that she's being torn to pieces. The same can be said for the helicopter pilot whom we don't see after the craft in pulled underwater (even the deleted DVD scene doesn't offer much more than the pilot struggling to stay alive). And while the characters of Matt Hooper and Quint (he's DEAD, actually!) are noticeably missed, the performances of our remaining characters Martin Brody (played again by Roy Scheider), Ellen Brody (played again by Lorraine Hamilton) and Larry Vaughan (played again by Murray Hamilton) are strong enough to hold the viewer's interest for one more round.

The credit for originating the teenage slasher film has continuously gone to John Carpenter for HALLOWEEN (1978). But when you really consider it, can we not give that honor (if you want to call it an HONOR) to JAWS 2 first? For its climactic sequences, we have a group of Amity-fun-loving teenagers who are caught in great peril when they become disabled and adrift in the middle of the ocean and are repeatedly stalked, manaced and even killed (killed without gore, though) by the great white shark, much in the same tradition that one would have bestowed to Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. You see? Teenage slasher film, except with shark teeth rather than butcher knives and machetes...or am I really reaching for shit here??

It's probably safe to say that JAWS 2 is a worthy sequel if you have the particular personal memories for it. For myself, it was 1978 and I was three years older since the previous film that my "stiff-as-boards" parents would not permit me to see. Despite the movie poster warning of "May be too intense for younger children" (a pre-cursor to the PG-13 rating to come years later), I was eleven years-old now and my parents decided to lighten up just a bit when JAWS 2 premiered at the neighborhood movie theater in Westhampton Beach, Long Island. So take a moment to try and picture the victorious joy an eleven year-old boy has when he's finally allowed to see a (semi) scary movie that takes place at the beach in a movie theater in a beach town. Perhaps you had to be there back in '78, but believe me when I tell you it's a memory that I hold onto to this day and it's also a reason I watch JAWS 2 every summer at my house at the beach. It's all about mood and memories, you see?

Finally, just to give you an idea that JAWS 2 was NOT as unpopular with fans as you might think, take a look at just some of the merchandise that was created following the film's release...

I own the novelization, the movie program, the trading cards and the above-mention teaser movie poster (pathetic, isn't it??).

Favorite line or dialogue:

Martin Brody: "But I'm telling you, and I'm telling everybody at this table that that's a shark! And I know what a shark looks like, because I've seen one up close! And you'd better do something about this one, because I don't intend to go through that hell again!"

JAWS

(June 1975, U.S.)

This is it, people! This is the big one! With all due respect to STAR WARS, INDIANA JONES and E.T., this is the greatest summer blockbuster movie of all goddamn time! And it should be noted that it's with a tremendous sense of seasonal irony that I'm writing about this film, a summertime beach thriller, on a day when the entire northest portion of the United States is experiencing a blizzard. Nothing like a little summer movie warmth to combat the February chill in the air!

So, what can I possibly tell you about Steven Spielberg's colossal film that ushered in the new era of summer blockbusters from the moment the great white shark's fin broke through the water that you don't already know?? Shall I tell you that JAWS ushered in a new era of film marketing and wider theatrical releasing? Shall I tell you that in between THE EXORCIST (1973) and STAR WARS (1977), JAWS was the highest grossing film of all time? Shall I tell you that JAWS instilled terrifying fears of going in the water that people may still hold onto today? Shall I tell you that JAWS made Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts more famous than it already was without the Kennedy's? Shall I tell you that the key element of what makes JAWS so damn scary is the mystery and the intruigue of what lurks beneath the water given that we don't see the actual shark for nearly an hour? Well, what's the point of telling you all that? Any fan of JAWS or anyone who only ever heard of JAWS already knows all this. So what I will do, if you'll permit me the time, is share some personal stories with you regarding the film, and perhaps you'll do the same with your comments.

In 1975, at the tender age of only eight years-old, my parents would NOT allow me to see JAWS! Try to imagine what it was like for an eight year-old kid in summer camp and in the third grade the following Fall to feel as if he's the only one who hasn't seen a movie that's clearly become a massive cultural phenomenom! Try to imagine what it's like for this same kid to be surrounded by a bunch of other third graders who are gleefully walking around humming the infamous tones of John Williams' classic theme and he has virtually no idea what they're humming about! Try to imagine extreme movie denial in this young kid's life! How are you supposed to combat something like that? Walking around saying, "Oh, yeah, well I saw BENJI!" ain't exactly going to get the burden off of your shoulders. Hell, it might even get you beat up by other third graders!

(Are you sensing some childhood anger here yet??)

Okay, so now let's cut to four years later, the Summer of 1979, when JAWS is re-released in movie theaters everywhere for a special two week run engagement (Man, how DO I remember these things??). This twelve year-old child (ME!) is teased, enticed and provoked by a re-release movie poster practically begging him into the theater. It looks like this...

If I can get sidetracked for a moment, I must confess that I've always had a particular fondness for re-release movie posters as opposed to original one sheets. In my opinion, re-relase movie posters signify a film's popularity and legacy that's already been achieved with popular culture and serves as an artistic tool to invite the moviegoer back for more. Those of us who can remember a time before video tapes and DVDs will remember just how significant it was when your favorite movie was re-released in theaters.

Okay, back to where I was. So now I'm four years older now (not necessarily wiser!) and do my parents budge on the issue?? NO! These over-protective sons-of...(whatever!) still won't allow their son to see JAWS! WTF??? No, my friends, it would not be until several months later, November 1979, when JAWS made it's world television premiere on the ABC Sunday Night Movie that I finally got to see the legendary Spielberg masterpiece, all cut-up and edited to keep mommy and daddy's precious little prince safe and cozy! It wasn't until 1984, when the family finally got its first VCR, complete with fake wood finish and pop-up tape insert, that I would go out to the video store and rent my first uncut, commerical-free movie. Yes, it was JAWS and I was finally able to break my virginity on the matter.

Quite a saga, isn't it? How's THAT for being born under a bad movie sign??

As an adult, JAWS remains one of my top ten favorite films of all time. And why not? It's a film that takes place on the beach, I grew up at the beach in the Hamptons every summer, and what defines summer better than the beach? I've seen JAWS more times than can be counted and I make it a point to watch it every July 4th in the same manner of movie tradition that one would watch A CHRISTMAS CAROL or IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE on Christmas Eve. To this day, I DO go swimming in the ocean every summer without fear of becoming the great fish's next feeding. To this day, I still regret not being able to get to Martha's Vineyard during the Summer of 2005 when JAWS was celebrating it's 30th anniversary there, complete with celebreties, tributes and multiple film screenings. Oh, what a celebration it must have been!

Here's a couple of two more quick stories (grammar?) to share with you about this film. In 1997, I had the one and only opportunity to see JAWS on the big screen at a special one-night-only screening at New York City's famous Radio City Music Hall (they don't show movies there anymore, but let me tell you, this is a BIG fucking screen!). I was on a second or third date with some girl (what WAS her name??) and when it came to the climactic moment of the film when Quint is killed, she felt grossed out and decided to leave her seat and retreat to the theater lobby. So there I was with a big choice to make; either stay in my seat and fullfill my one and only time to see this great film in its entirety on screen without interruption OR play the bullshit chivalrous gentleman and go after her. Hmmmmmm...what to do? Well, I'm sorry to say I opted for the great white shark. It's okay. I figured out pretty early in our dating rituals that I wasn't going to get very far with her, so hey, no great loss. The second story really involves my mother in-law and HER story of how JAWS was the last film she'd been to see in September 1975 just weeks (or days?) before her daughter (my wife) was born. Just for the fun and humor of it, whenever I bring up that story I enjoy grossly distorting the facts in that I tell it as if she actually went into labor in the movie theater while watching JAWS. It's just more fun that way (ha, ha!).

And so, having said all that, it's with the greatest sincerity and admiration that I say THANK YOU! Thank you Roy Scheider, thank you Richard Dreyfuss, thank you Robert Shaw, thank you Murray Hamilton, thank you Lorraine Gary and thank you John Williams! But most of all and most importantly, thank you Peter Benchley and Steven Speilberg for giving us the timeless and classic masterpiece of great cinema known as JAWS!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Larry Vaughan: "I don't think either one of you are familiar with our problems!"
Matt Hooper: "Uh, I think that I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and bites you on the ass! Now wait a second, wait a second! There are two ways to deal with this problem! You're either going to kill this animal or you're going to cut off its food supply!"
Martin Brody: "Larry, we have to close the beaches!"
Larry (pointing to defaced billboard): "Brody, sick vandalism! That is a deliberate mutilation of a public service message! Now I want those little paint-happy bastards caught and hung up by their Buster Browns!"
Matt: "That's it. G'bye! I'm not gonna waste my time arguing with a man who's lining up to be a hot lunch! I'm gonna see you later."
Martin: "Come on now, please, don't do this."
Matt: "Mr. Vaughan, what we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, uh, an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks and that's all. Now why don't you take a long, close look at this sign. Those proportions are correct."
Larry: "Love to prove that, wouldn't you? Get your name into the National Geographic."

JARHEAD

(November 2005, U.S.)

Let's clear this up right away - the title JARHEAD comes from the slang term used to refer to U.S. Marines (sometimes by Marines themselves). The second thing I should point out upfront is that JARHEAD may, perhaps, be the only combat film in the history of cinema in which no United States soldier actually fires his weapon during combat at any time. But more about that later.

This biographical drama war film (based on the biographical accounts of U.S. soldier Anthony Swofford), like Stanley Kubrick's FULL METAL JACKET (1987), begins with the attention on the above-mention Anthony Swofford (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) as he endures the hell of basic training of U.S. Marine boot camp under his hard-boiled drill instructor. From there, it's off to the 1990-1991 Gulf War and Operation Desert Shield in Iraq where Anthony trains to become an expert sniper. Like the other soldiers in his unit, their blood is boiling and they're longing to kick some Iraqi ass! It's something they can taste every day of their existence and the reality of the situation is that they're just painfully waiting for something, anything to happen. The concept of war for these men has turned into nothing more than sheer boredom in the desert. Even when Operation Desert Storm is finally declared and the Marines are dispatched to the Saudi-Kuwaiti border, very little changes for them. Their purpose in Iraq to this point has been about oil and nothing else and it's becoming painful. Watch carefully how Corporal Alan Troy ( played by Peter Sarsgaard) cries in pain and agony when at the end, when it seems he'll finally be able to manage just one kill in this entire war, is ultimately denied his opportunity at the last moment. This is a man who has seemingly little to look forward to back home and whose sole purpose in the Gulf War has been to hunt down and kill the enemy...denied to the very end. The war ends and the men go home alive. Alan is pronounced dead by the film's end. Although the cause is not indicated, one can't help but wonder if it was an act of suicide to end a life that appeared to have little meaning left.

Since AMERICAN BEAUTY in 1999, director Sam Mendes has become a very well-respected, admired filmmaker. Because most of JARHEAD takes place in the desert, I can't exactly claim that Mendes is on the same par with David Lean (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA). However, there some particular moments when the soldiers are marching along the desert plain with the burning oil fields in the distance that are remarkably striking to the eye. Take a look...

When you watch these moments, it reminds us, perhaps, of the reality of the Gulf War for these Marines. They were trained to fight, they yearn to fight, they live to fight...and in the end, their purpose in this foreign land has been about oil. Right or wrong, that's hardly the subject of debate for this blog. My job is to interpret my thoughts and feelings for this particular war film. And speaking as a man who's never been in the military and speaking for those who fought, survived and died in the first Gulf War, I hope this writer did JARHEAD some degree of pride and justice.

Finally, let me draw your attention to one particular sequence that never fails to put a smile on my face. It's the simple shot of a group of men watching a movie on a large screen. Simple, yes, but exceptional in the fact that these men are U.S. Marines and the movie they're watching is Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW (1979). They almost resemple any given audience at a midnight showing of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE show as they gleefully sing along with Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" and cheer their hearts out when the U.S. helicopters fire upon the Vietnamese beach village. War may be Hell, indeed, but for these men, it's home.

Favorite line or dialogue:

D.I. Fitch: "You the maggot whose father served in Vietnam?"
Anthony Swofford: "Sir, yes, sir!"
Fitch: "Outstanding! Did he have the balls to die there?"
Anthony Swofford: "Sir, no, sir!"
Fitch: Too fucking bad! He ever talk about it?"
Anthony Swofford: "Sir, only once, sir!"
Fitch: Good! Then he wasn't lying! Are you eyeballing me with those baby-blues? Are you?"
Anthony Swofford: "Sir, no, sir!"
Fitch: "Are you in love with me, Swofford?"
Anthony Swofford: "Sir, no, sir!"
Fitch: "Why, you don't think I look good in my uniform, Swofford?"
Anthony Swofford: "Sir, the Drill Instructor looks excellent in his uniform, sir!"
Fitch: "Oh, so you're gay then and you love me!"
Anthony Swofford: "Sir, I'm not gay, sir!"
Fitch: "You got a girlfriend, Swafford?"
Anthony Swofford: "Sir, yes, sir!"
Fitch: "Guess again, dumbass! Jody's banging her right now! Get on your face and give me twenty five for all the times she's gonna get fucked this month! Down on your face!"

JANE EYRE (1944)

(February 1944, U.S.)

Like many kids in high school, much of the literature that was required reading in English classes were about as exciting as sex with a Jewish woman! Therefore, as Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel of JANE EYRE was never required reading in my four years of high school, then (naturally) I never read it. My eventual interest in this particular American film version stems from my discovery of Orson Welles as an actor and a filmmaker. Beyond the outstanding performances in his own works like CITIZEN KANE (1941) and THE STRANGER (1946), he's provided work just as noteworthy in films he did not direct like THE THIRD MAN (1949) and this film I discuss now. Although not under his direction (officially), anyone familiar with his body of work as a director can clearly recognize the Orson Welles presence in specific camera shots of light and darkness, as well as the overall cinematography.

Getting back to high school reluctance with classic literature, it surprises me to learn that there are a number of surprising and, dare I say, exciting elements to be found in this film version of JANE EYRE. Besides the aforementioned black and white filmmaking artistry, there begins with the rather shocking and cruel manner in which we're introduced to Jane Eyre as an unwanted child of the classically cruel aunt who's never had a kind work for her poor niece. Escape from this horrible family only means transfer to the Lowood Institution charity boarding school for unwanted girls (look for an uncredited little girl named Elizabeth Taylor!) that's even more cruel under the harsh Reverend Brocklehurst (played by Henry Daniell). It's surprising to cut to Jane Eyre's life ten years later as a grown woman (played by Joan Fontaine) and find that she's managed to survive an entire decade of cruelty and emotional torture. She has survived, though, and she's determined to leave Lowood with her head held high for a position as a governess for the child of the mysterious Edward Rochester (played by Welles) at his gloomy, isolated mansion. Edward is rough, boorish, masterful and abrupt with Jane. She can handle it, though, because she's the first to recognize the gentle, even tormented, soul of her employer that's buried deep down underneath. Edward, in turn, can also recognize that Jane is a woman of true love and substance, unlike many of the high class, stuck-up ladies of his life that clearly only seek his attention for the money and lifestyle he can provide them.

The true shock of the story of JANE EYRE, in my opinion, lies in the deep, dark secret Edward keeps locked away in the highest, most isolated part of his mansion - namely his wife who's completely mad out of her mind. This wouldn't be such a problem were the act of bigamy preventing him from marrying his true love Jane (don't you HATE when those things happen??). In what I can only describe as true Hitchcock fashion via his 1940 film, REBECCA, the film concludes with an act of violence and a blazing inferno (unseen in the film) that by standards of pure cliche, brings the two seemingly doomed lovers together again in the end. Now that's true love for you, served 19th Century style!

So like I said, I never read JANE EYRE and I've never seen any other film version of it (because once you've seen the great Orson Welles in action with it, why bother with anyone else?), so I have no other frame of reference or comparison. I can only claim it's validity as true cinema of mystery, drama and excitment of the classic black and white genre...and that's good.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Blanche Ingram: "Good morning, Edward. By rights, I should scold you for running off like this. A correct host entertains his guests."
Edward Rochester: "My dear Blanche, when will you learn? I never was correct, nor ever shall be."

JAMAICA INN

(October 1939, U.S.)

Although director Alfred Hitchcock will always be synonymous with films like PSYCHO (1960), THE BIRDS (1963) and a string of wonderful titles starring such Hollywood greats as Cary Grant and James Stewart, it's quite often that I really enjoy his early black and white British period of films like THE 39 STEPS (1935), SABOTAGE (1936), THE LADY VANISHES (1938), and JAMAICA INN. Believe it or not, I actually recall the original novel by Daphne du Maurier as a piece of required reading in my sixth grade class back in 1979. I didn't see the film, though, until my adulthood.

At its heart, this is a rather bizarre pirate story in which the Jamaica Inn in Cornwall, England (the year is 1819) is headquarters to a gang of savage smugglers, led by the innkeeper Joss Merlyn (played by Leslie Banks). Their ongoing diabolical scheme is to extinguish coastal beacons in order to directly cause ships to run aground and crash into the rocks on shore. They then proceed to loot the wreckage, its valuable contents and kill all the surviving sailors. All of this, though, is secretly controlled by the local wealthy magistrate, Sir Humphrey Pengallon (played by Charles Laughton), his secret known only by Joss. When newly-arrived neice Mary (played by Maureen O'Hara) starts poking her nose around, it's not long before she discovers the truth of her wicked uncle's ways and must put her faith into one of his men who's actually an undercover officer of the law. Unfortunately for her, but fortunate for the viewer who enjoys a bit of an old fashioned plot twist, she also puts her faith into the assistance of Sir Humphrey, whom we already know is really the bad guy.

It should be noted that in addition to the wonderful cinematography of land and water in this film, there is a very strong and evil presence of the WIND which seems to never stop blowing and howling throughout the story. As a psychological element of sound, it serves to constantly remind us that there is something very wrong and very ugly taking place at Jamaica Inn.

As the "master of suspense", JAMAICA INN serves to remind us that Alfred Hitchcock was a man who seemded willing to take on a variety of stories, each with their own element and meaning of suspense, surprise and resolution to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. I urge you, if you never have, to experience and educate yourself with his early British period to not only appreciate classic black and white cinema, but to get a much better sense of where the man was destined to take us when he inevitably became the most celebrated film director in America during his golden period.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Sir Humphrey Pengallon: "You seem to have a very clear picture of him. Tell me, what sort of a fellow do you really think he really is?"
James Trahearne: "This man deliberately plans not only the wrecking of ships, but the cold-blooded slaughter of any who survive the wreck! He remains aloof, contempt to hire the scum of the coast to do his murderous work for him, thinking there's no blood on his own hands, but there is! Heaven help him! There's blood on that man's very soul! I'd like to break...!"

The great irony here is that the man Mr. Trahearne is (unknowingly) referring to is sitting right behind him preparing to shoot him in the back!