The Sunday Screening Session….. Gallipoli (1981)

28 Sunday Apr 2013

Tags

Adventure, Adventure Drama, Anti-War Film, Australia, Australian Film, Bill Hunter, Bill Kerr, Buddy Film, David Argue, David Williamson, Drama, Film, film review, Food For Thought, For Love Of Country, Graham Dow, Harold Hopkins, History, History Fiction, Home Grown, iRate:: 4½ / 5, Mark Lee, Mel Gibson, Middle East, Period Film, Peter Weir, Robert Grubb, Russell Boyd, Slice Of History, Sunday Screening Session, Tim McKenzie, War, War Drama, William Anderson, World War I

Credits (Click to expand)

Trailer:

iReview:
Last Thursday, 25 April, was Anzac Day, the day Australians and New Zealanders acknowledge the sacrifice of all those who have served in war and peacekeeping. It also commemorates the men and women who have died in that service.

Anzac Day coincides with the landing of ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), French, British and other British Empire troops at Gallipoli in south west Turkey in 1915. The objective was to secure the Dardanelles to provide a sea route to reach the Russian allies and ultimately to take Constantinople (Istanbul) and knock Germany’s ally, Turkey, out of the war.

The eight month campaign that followed cost the lives of 53,000 allied (including almost 12,000 Anzacs) and 56,000 Turks with total casualties reaching almost half a million. Many thousands more, suffered from dysentary, a result of the appalling sanitary conditions encountered by the troops.

Despite the campaign’s ultimate failure, media reports reaching Australia extolled the heroism of the Anzac troops and stirred national pride in the young country which had federated as Australia only 14 years earlier. Albany, the south coast port city in my home state of Western Australia, was the embarkation point for the thousands of troops who left Australia for Gallipoli. Albany also has a special significance for my family as it was my children’s maternal grandmother who, 15 years ago, uncovered the evidence that confirmed Albany as the location for the nation’s first iconic Anzac Day “Dawn Service”.

Learn more:
• Albany and the Anzacs
• Albany historian reflects on nations first Anzac dawn service
Listen to their discussion:
• Albany historian reflects on nations first Anzac dawn service

The way Australians relate to Anzac Day has evolved over the years and has not always been as robustly and reverentially marked as it is today. I remember Anzac Day in the 1970s, as a holiday celebrated largely as a day off from work and school, with a sideshow parade of old soldiers who got together once a year to swap tales of war, gamble a little and imbibe a little too much. The Gallipoli Campaign that sporned the day of remembrance as well as the world wars that were commemorated, were remote, little known and of scant significance to many. At that time, many Australians were also disaffected with all things military as a result of the country’s involvement in the disastrous Vietnam War.

In 1981, that all changed with the release of Peter Weir’s Gallipoli. The New Wave renaissance of the Australian film industry had seen acclaimed films like Wake in Fright (1971), The Cars That Ate Paris (1974), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Sunday Too Far Away (1975), The Last Wave (1977), Mad Max (1979), My Brilliant Career (1979), and Breaker Morant (1980), whet the Australian appetite for home grown cinema. The New Wave reached its zenith with Gallipoli (1981) which was a phenomenon in Australia with huge box office and critical success. The film also sparked a resurgent interest in the Anzac tradition which has grown steadily since. In 2013, a record 40,000 people attended the Dawn Service at the War Memorial in Perth, Western Australia’s state capital. Thousands more attended services in other cities and towns all over Australia, including Albany.

To acknowledge the significance of the day, I thought I’d revisit this best loved of Australia’s War cinema: Gallipoli.

What Happens:
Eighteen year-old Western Australian champion sprinter Archy Hamilton (Mark Lee) could be an Olympic contender, but he disappoints his trainer Jack (Bill Kerr) when he instead enlists in the elite Australian Light Horse cavalry. He’s accompanied by talented sprinter Frank Dunne (Mel Gibson), who also attempts to join but can’t ride a horse and is relegated to the infantry with his other friends.

Training in Cairo, the Anzac cavalrymen are converted to infantry so Archy persuades his Major, Barton (Bill Hunter) to allow Frank to transfer to the regiment.

At Gallipoli in 1915, the Anzacs find that they’re being used as cannon fodder as a ‘diversion’ for British landings elsewhere, and the entire unit realizes that they must obey suicidal orders and charge Turkish machine guns, a lunatic event among a litany of incompetent military planning.

Story (Click to expand)

Since I last saw this movie many years ago, I’d forgotten that it starts out as a boy’s own adventure featuring a very young, very Australian and not so weird Mel Gibson. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s interesting to reflect on this nascent star and his subsequent and controversial career. It’s also interesting to reflect on the very different career trajectories of the two stars. Gibson, we know went on a stellar rise to the A-list in Hollywood while Mark Lee (Archy Hamilton) moved into relative obscurity.

The outback scenes that open the film are spectacularly shot with the heat, dust and desolation radiating off the screen. The stark monochromatic beauty of Australia’s hot, dry interior is a place best admired from the air-conditioned comfort of a 4 wheel drive. That many Australians willingly endured life in these and other hostile environs was the steel that forged the myth of the tough Anzac warrior. Williamson’s script is cloaked in this mythology and he uses it well to set up the main protagonists in this yarn.

Archy is a naive young man and a very talented runner who yearns for the adventure of Gallipoli that he has read and heard about. His sprinting rival, Frank (Mel Gibson) is a cynical descendant of Irish nationalists, and as such, has no desire to fight Britain’s war. At the time, Irish nationalists and unionists were in a bitter struggle over the future independence of Ireland from Britain. The speed with which Frank and Archy are transformed from rivals to such good friends that Frank is prepared to enlist with him, almost stretches my credulity and that’s despite the device of the desert trek bonding ordeal they endure that cements their close mateship. If Weir had taken more time to develop these characters, perhaps this wouldn’t have seemed such a stretch.

Learn more:
• Ireland and World War I

Generally, the performances of the cast, particularly, Mel Gibson are strong. Newcomer, Mark Lee also convinced, despite apparently having a particularly nervous time on set.

David Williamson’s script also moves the story well and although calculated to draw strong emotion, it doesn’t overindulge in overt tearjerking.

Although half the movie is set in Western Australia, none of it was filmed there. Lake Torrens in South Australia represented the desert in WA and Adelaide Railway Station stood in for Perth. The Marble Hall at the station also provided the set for the Cairo ball, before the troops shipped out to Gallipoli. Various beaches in South Australia, including Gallipoli Beach, were also used to depict the Gallipoli theater. On the other hand, the Cairo pyramid footage was actually shot on location and provides an interesting, and sometimes amusing, leg of the boy’s own adventure. The behaviour of the Aussies in Egypt as they mocked their British counterparts, also provided a neat metaphor for the rebellious teenager relationship, Australia shared with the mother country.

One of the film’s most memorable scenes was the eerily quiet and beautiful night arrival at Gallipoli; the looming terror juxtaposed with the brightly festooned and other worldly hospital ship offshore. And although for a time it looked like the boys were approaching a fun day at the seaside, the blood in the water, as they abandoned their cares and clothes and went swimming, reminded us of the deadly import of their endeavour.

The final scenes in the trenches were laden with the dread of what was coming, interspersed with the evocative strains of Giazotto’s Adagio in G minor. Major Barton’s attempt to shut out the war raging around him, listening to the duet from Bizet’s famed The Pearl Fishers opera, also provided a poignant moment in the buildup to the horrible climax.

On the morning of 7 August 1915, the Australian 8th and 10th Light Horse Regiments were to attack Turkish lines a mere 30 metres from their own. The attack in 4 waves, was to be immediately preceded by an artillery suppression barrage that fatefully ended 7 minutes early as a result of unsynchronised watches. The troops had already been instructed to remove ammunition from their rifles and fix bayonets. So hopeless was their position after the Turks were alerted by the barrage, that many went over the top without even their rifle. I’ll never forget the image of a bayonet being thrust into the wall of the trench to act as a hanger for a doomed soldier’s precious wedding ring. Knowing the terror that those boys must have felt as wave after wave went over the top to a certain death, enraged me today even as it did 32 years ago.

The futile attempts to get the 4 insanely suicidal charges of this Battle of the Nek called off, provided the closing argument in Weir’s prosecution case that: the Gallipoli Campaign was a cruel waste of talented young lives sacrificed by stupid and incompetent leaders. On a larger scale, it also symbolised the generation lost to the insanity that was World War I.

The final freeze-frame which evokes Robert Capa’s famous 1936 Spanish Civil War photograph The Falling Soldier, had me uncomfortably riveted to my seat with tears streaming, the first time round. Seeing it again, all these years later had exactly the same impact.

The Picture:
This is a film crying out for a Blu-ray release. The grainy, artifact laden sky in the early outback scenes, reminded me how disappointing the old DVD format picture can be. Russell Boyd’s wonderful cinematography, particularly in the early scenes, needs to be showcased in high definition.

The Audio:
I would have liked a DTS 5.1 audio track but the Dolby Digital 5.1 track was reasonably serviceable. However, the mix was heavily biased towards a simple front stereo with little distribution to surround or subwoofer channels. Frankly there was little difference between the quality of the output from my receiver and the sound generated by the surround speakers on the Panasonic 140cm flat screen monitor.

Verdict:
When I first saw this movie in 1981 it was very much a creature of its time, coming so soon after Breaker Morant and the widening scrutiny of Australia’s past as well as its relationship with Britain and the British Empire. So, with its huge success, this was also a triumph of its time. I’m pleased to say, it is still a wonderful and deeply affecting landmark in Australian Cinema.

iRate:: 4½ out of 5.

4Movie Tragics

Extras:
Disk One:
• Cast and Crew Bios and Filmography (interactive bio. & filmography text screens).
• Theatrical Trailer.

Disk Two:
• Interview with Peter Weir (interesting retrospective interview) – 15min.
• Interview with Mel Gibson (reflective interview filmed in 2005) – 12min.
• Boys Of The Dardanelles: Australian War Memorial Documentary (produced by the War Memorial to commemorate the men who fought and died at Gallipoli) – 22min.
• The Keith Murdoch Letter: The Letter That Changed History (a facsimile of the letter Murdoch wrote to his friend, Australian prime minister Andrew Fisher, which led to the removal of the Campaign commander, General Sir Ian Hamilton and the eventual withdrawal from Gallipoli. Note: Sir Keith was the father of Gallipoli producer and media mogul, Rupert Murdoch).
• Photo Gallery (30 production stills) – 2min.
• In Depth Gallipoli Material (library of interesting information stills).
• DVD-Rom Teaching Aids including a printable version of The Keith Murdoch Letter: The Letter That Changed History.

You want More!
Gallipoli – IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Gallipoli – Rotten Tomatoes
Gallipoli – allmovie.com
Gallipoli – Wikipedia

Is this one of the best anti-war movies yet produced or am I just biased?
:: Please leave a comment ::

The Sunday Screening Session….. No Country For Old Men (2007)

21 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by Zak de Courcy in Film

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

1980, Abandon All Hope, Beth Grant, Carter Burwell, Chase Movie, Coen Brothers, Cormac McCarthy, Crime, Crime Thriller, Drama, El Paso, Ethan and Joel Coen, Film, film review, Garret Dillahunt, In A Minor Key, iRate:: 4½ / 5, Javier Bardem, Joel and Ethan Coen, Josh Brolin, Modern Classic, Nail Biter, No Country for Old Men, Roger Deakins, Roger Ebert, Sunday Screening Session, Texas, Thriller, Tommy Lee Jones, USA, Woody Harrelson

No Country For Old Men (2007) (122 min)
iReview: Version: No Country For Old Men: Blu-ray Edition (Blu-ray);
Video: AVC 1080p; Audio: LPCM 5.1.
Genre:: Crime | Drama | Thriller |
Sub-Genre/Type:: Chase Movie | Crime Thriller |
Modern Classic |
Settings:: 1980 | El Paso, Texas | Texas, USA.

Mood?:: Abandon All Hope |
In A Minor Key | Nail Biter.
iRate:: 4½ / 5
Directors:: Ethan and Joel Coen.
Writers:: Cormac McCarthy (novel: No Country for Old Men);
Ethan and Joel Coen (screenplay).
Cinematography:: Roger Deakins.
Editor:: Roderick Jaynes (Ethan and Joel Coen).
Music:: Carter Burwell.
Cast:: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly MacDonald, Beth Grant, Garret Dillahunt, Stephen Root, Jason Douglas, Kit Gwin, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin.

Credits (Click to expand)

Trailer (HD):

iReview:
This week I decided to check out a movie I hadn’t seen before (unbelievably lame, I know), and also from this century: No Country For Old Men (2007). Universally praised and hailed as a filmmakers masterpiece, this movie also attracted an avalanche of awards. Joel and Ethan Coen share the record of four Oscar nominations for the same film with Orson Welles for Citizen Kane (1941) and Warren Beatty for Reds (1981). The Coens’ four nominations are for Best Picture (won as producers with Scott Rudin), Best Director (won), Best Adapted Screenplay (won), and Best Editing (under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes).

What Happens:
Acclaimed filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen deliver their most gripping and ambitious film yet in this sizzling and supercharged crime thriller.

When Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles on a bloody crime scene, a pickup truck loaded with heroin, and two million dollars in irresistible cash, his decision to take the money sets off an unstoppable chain reaction of violence and his pursuit by a nerveless psychopath, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Not even West Texas lawman, Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), can contain it.

“This magnificent film represents the best work the Coen Brothers have done since Fargo. Like that movie classic, this is a cold-blooded thriller with a darkly humorous edge… Hitchcock wouldn’t have done the suspense better.”
(David Stratton, ABC Australia, At The Movies)

“No Country for Old Men is as good a film as the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, have ever made, and they made Fargo.”
(Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)

Story (Click to expand)

While this is recognized as the Coen brothers darkest and most tense film, it is not lacking in their signature deadpan humour. I love the way they play with Cormac McCarthy’s language in this script (yes they directed, adapted and edited the whole thing). Here’s an exchange between Deputy Wendell (Garret Dillahunt) and Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones):
Wendell
“Well, it’s a mess, ain’t it, sheriff?”
Sheriff Bell
“If it ain’t, it’ll do till the mess gets here.”

McCarthy’s writing was clearly destined for the Coens’ delightful and mischievous adaptation. I can imagine the brothers glee as they saw these words; they and Cormac are kindred spirits.

The three main characters are all beautifully drawn: Vietnam vet. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), is an expert hunter who happens upon an unhappy scene with perhaps, happy consequence – a slew of bullet-strewn bodies, bullet-ridden trucks, a truckload of drugs and 2 million dollars in cash; Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones), a very competent veteran lawman, the last in this family business, who seems slightly out of his time; and recovery guy, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), the unflinching psychopath who carves a murderous path across Texas with his gas bottle and cattle stun-gun.

Brolin is entirely believable as Moss, a man who might just be able to stay one step ahead of the unstoppable Chigurh (pronounced chugar). Tommy Lee Jones, as the slightly world weary Bell, acts his socks off in this. He utterly inhabits the role with exquisite timing and tone, and an understated delivery that tells you he’s at the top of his craft. He also wears the vernacular like a Texas native (oh, hang on a moment, he is). Bardem was born to play Chigurh and he does so with pitch perfect characterization. You just know that if you bumped into Javier on an L.A. street, you’d regret the experience; he’s that good. The three story-anchors are ably supported by Scottish actor, Kelly MacDonald, as Moss’ wife Carla, who had me completely fooled – of course she was a Texan; Woody Harrelson plays himself delivering us Carson Wells, who was sent to end the out of control murder spree and recover the money; and Beth Grant, who gives us a short but memorable turn as Carla’s abrasive mother.

From the stunning red sky silhouette that stamps Roger Deakins’ entry into the film, you know there’s some wonderful photography ahead and he doesn’t disappoint. In much the same way as cinematographer, Tom Stern has become the right hand of director, Clint Eastwood, Deakins has come to exemplify the Coen brothers films. His framing is very precise and in almost all ways, I couldn’t imagine it done better. You only need to watch the featurette: The Making of No Country for Old Men (see extras), to see the contrast between the behind-the-scenes footage, and the finished shots.

The music from Carter Burwell, another staple of the Coen universe, is unobtrusive but appropriate, leaving space for the sound of the wind to weave its magic throughout the film.

I’ve left the best for last… The work of the brothers as directors, writers and editors is near faultless. None of the plot seems forced or contrived, even though the effect of the whole is completely quirky (as you’d expect from a Coen film). The stories of the three central intertwining characters rarely fully intersect yet they are told in such a way that you’re never left wondering. The dialogue is fluid and deliberate without anything superfluous or corny. The tension built by the direction and editing is perfectly fit for purpose with so many near misses and moments of possible discovery which keep us on the edge of the seat. The hotel/motel scenes where Moss and Chigurh never meet, are exercises in pure dread. Add to that, the device of the coin toss which creates another layer of delicious tension. And, like a cat toying with its prey, the Coen brothers leave us guessing which way the coin fell, the final time, until we see Chigurh check the soles of his boots on the path out front.

The luxury of having almost complete control of the film making process is a creative advantage few directors are afforded. Even fewer filmmakers, I suspect, would be able to handle these multiple disciplines with as much finesse as the Coens. Steven Soderbergh has often photographed (as Peter Andrews) and edited (as Mary Ann Bernard) the films he’s directed, with excellent results. However, I wouldn’t rate him quite in the same class as Joel and Ethan Coen. Here, the Coens have employed their extra limb (Deakins) on camera while they have control of every other major aspect of the look of the film. The combination of their shooting script, their dialogue, their direction and their precision editing, is a rhythm that is almost musical. I became conscious of this as I mused over their many cuts and cutaways and realized they were part of a dance which also included the delivery of the dialogue. It’s very clever and something only really achievable if you control the whole shebang as they did.

This would have been an impressive genre movie even if it had a conventional conclusion. But the ending that presents itself here, was so satisfying and original that I found myself laughing completely inappropriately. If you’re one of the other three people who haven’t yet seen this movie then I’m not going to spoil it by telling you.

The Academy got it completely right in awarding the filmmakers their Oscars for this movie; as a lesson in film making it is peerless.

As a critic, Roger Ebert, regularly placed himself in the seat of a genre fan, so he would not necessarily grade on an absolute scale (according to his taste) but rather gave a relative score. Thus on Ebert’s scale, if Superman (1978) scores 4 within the superhero genre, then Hellboy (2004) gets a pretty good 3 (even though Ebert really disliked the film) and The Punisher (2004) only a 2. If I were putting myself in someone else’s seat then, like Ebert (who scored this a 4/4), I’d have to give this 5/5. But, because I want to keep a perfect 5/5 for rare movies that completely blow me away, I am awarding this a 4½ / 5. Jeez, after an explanation like that, it might have been easier just to go the 5.

The Picture:
As you would hope, with a movie of this recent vintage, the screen image is superb. Every craggy wrinkle line, every speck of blood (and there’s a lot of that) and every bullet hole crack in the glass of Moss’ truck, is displayed in brilliant detail. The colours are rich and true and the image, clean with no visible noise.

The Audio:
I wish I’d had the foresight to have bought the Collector’s Edition with its possibly superior DTS 5.1 audio track. As it happens, this Blu-ray LPCM 5.1 sound track is more than adequate. As well, as this isn’t an action flick, the quality of audio reproduction isn’t quite as critical. There were times when the balance between speakers fell short of ideal. For example, occasionally, the right front and left surround channels dominated, leaving the left front unbalanced and slightly out of the mix. Apart from these occasional anomalies, though, the audio field sounded fine.

Verdict:
I’m embarrassed that it has taken me this long to see this movie, especially as I’ve had it in the library for some time. In a way though, I’m glad I waited because I think I can now appreciate the virtuosity of its construction a lot more than I would have only a few years ago. It’s a filmmakers tour de force and a film I’ll likely learn more from with each viewing.

iRate:: 4½ out of 5.

4Movie Tragics

Extras:
• The Making of No Country for Old Men (as well as the usual filmmaker discussion about inspiration and script development, there’s some interesting behind-the-scenes action from the set… an interesting featurette) – 24min.
• Working with the Coens (this is pretty much a PR gushfest) – 8min;
• Diary of a Country Sheriff (this character featurette looks at Sheriff Bell from a number of angles and compares him with Chigurh… enjoyable without being essential) – 7min;

You want More!
No Country For Old Men – IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
No Country For Old Men – Rotten Tomatoes
No Country For Old Men – allmovie.com
No Country For Old Men – Wikipedia

Is this the best movie by the Coen brothers or does Fargo still top the list?
Have I got it completely wrong and has Stephen Hunter got it right in his Washington Post review, when he abruptly states, “I just don’t like it very much”?

:: Please leave a comment ::

The Sunday Screening Session….. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi (1983)

31 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by Zak de Courcy in Film

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Action, Action & Adventure, Adrenaline Rush, Adventure, Alec Guinness, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Ensemble Film, Epic, Fantasy, Film, film review, Frank Oz, George Lucas, Guy Movie, Harrison Ford, iRate:: 4½ / 5, John Williams, Lawrence Kasdan, Mark Hamill, Master Villain Film, Modern Classic, Other Dimensions, Out In Space, Richard Marquand, Sci-Fi Action, Sci-Fi Adventure, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Epic, Space Adventure, Star Wars, Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi, Sunday Screening Session

Star Wars:
Episode VI Return Of The Jedi (1983) (135 min)
iReview: Version: Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Blu-ray);
Video: AVC 1080p; Audio: DTS 5.1.
Genre:: Action | Adventure | Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction |
Sub-Genre/Type:: Action & Adventure | Ensemble Film |
Master Villain Film | Modern Classic | Sci-Fi Action |
Sci-Fi Adventure | Science Fiction Epic | Space Adventure |
Settings:: Out In Space.

Mood?:: Adrenaline Rush |
Guy Movie | Other Dimensions.
iRate:: 4½ / 5
Director:: Richard Marquand.
Writers:: George Lucas (story); Lawrence Kasdan & George Lucas (screenplay).
Cast:: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Frank Oz, Billy Dee Williams, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Sebastian Shaw, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Pennington.

Credits (Click to expand)

Trailer (HD):

iReview:
This week’s selection was a no-brainer, as a happy coincidence of events made the choice very easy. Today is the 30th birthday of all-round-good-bloke and son in law, Morgan, who shares a birthday with the final chapter of one of his favourite film franchises, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi. It’s hard to believe, I know, that it’s been that long. I had intended to set aside a whole weekend to view the entire Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray set, with its 6 movie and 3 Extras discs. But that’s going to have to wait. In the meantime, and in honour of Morgan’s birthday, I’m going to enjoy revisiting this much loved film.

What Happens:
In the epic conclusion of the saga, the Empire prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star.

Han Solo (Harrison Ford) emerges intact from the carbonite casing in which he’d been sealed, after rescue by R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), disguised as a bounty hunter, and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Then they must escape the clutches of the grotesque Jabba the Hutt.

On the forest moon Endor, the reunited team enlist the help of the Ewoks as the rebellion reaches its decisive stage.

Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader (David Prowse & voiced by James Earl Jones) in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). As he enters into this spirited battle with his light saber-wielding enemy, some surprising revelations await the young warrior…

Story (Click to expand)

With the plot safely secured back in my memory, I sat down with a little unease; this was the first time I’d watched Jedi in isolation and also in glorious 1080p HD. How would the movie stand up without its usual crutches, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back to lend it support? I wanted it to be great, and you know what, I wasn’t disappointed.

In my memory, Jedi was the least impressive of the original trilogy. That may still be true but I get the feeling that by its release in 1983, we’d become very familiar with the Star Wars universe. I still remember the goose bumps I felt on that day in 1977, when I first saw the mighty Imperial Stardestroyer emerge from above and gradually fill the huge dark screen. The sequence was made perfect by the accompanying deep rumble of the sound track and John Williams’ opening of the Star Wars Symphony. When I first saw it, everything about Star Wars was new for me. I’d seen and been perplexed by 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) but I’d never seen a space fable like Star Wars. The special effects were not a compromise of Flash Gordon model spacecraft darting drunkenly in front of an obviously painted matte space. They were believable and very real in a way I’d never seen before. I remember that very quickly, Star Wars had been integrated into my life to the extent that the sound-track vinyl album got frequent play even though it was completely out of place next to my Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Fleetwood Mac.

With the second installment, The Empire Strikes Back, in the hands of Irvin Kershner, the continuing story transcended the novel appeal of its predecessor and emerged as a cinematic triumph with a great story, great effects, and most importantly, none of Lucas’ dreadful dialogue. I recall seeing Jedi for the first time as a much anticipated closure to the story and with a very high bar set by the first two films, it didn’t disappoint.

The Picture:
In this high definition version of Jedi, the image is brilliantly saturated and crisply defined, with no discernible noise. I don’t remember Endor being quite as lush and beautiful as it appears here. As well, the battle between the Imperial and Rebel fleets fills the screen spectacularly and with a pitch-perfect DTS 5.1 audio track. The final confrontation between Vader and Luke also has all the drama and visual excitement I’d hoped for and remembered.

The Audio:
The Blu-ray DTS 5.1 sound track is stonkingly brilliant and that’s with no ifs, buts or maybes. The mix of sound effects and music score is pristine. The discretion of spacecraft rumble and other mechanical noises together with the subtlety and richness of the sounds of the Endorian natural environment, are a joy to hear. John Williams’ Star Wars theme has been waiting patiently for 30 years for the exposition of this Blu-ray set. And, never has Darth Vader’s respirator assisted voice sounded so menacing and the swoosh and hum of the lightsaber, so threatening.

Verdict:
My only criticism of this edition of Jedi, and it’s very minor; I wish someone had held Lucas back when he decided to tinker with the later releases of the film, including this one. Look out for the CGI soul singer with suitably silly alien backing group singing Jedi Rocks. I found myself mildly irritated that George thought the addition of this turgid song and its inconsequential CGI would somehow elevate the movie. Also, some of the other cosmetic CGI changes that Lucas has brought to the movie seem to stand out even more in HD, especially the not so successful additions of some obviously CGI building structures.

Coming back to the film in isolation, did also highlight how much merchandising Lucas was able to attach to these movies. I’d never been so conscious of how cute, kid friendly and stuffed toy-like the Ewoks were.

Overall though, this has been a wholly satisfying return to one of my favourite movie sagas and one I’m really looking forward to completing. I also have a sneaky feeling that once I’ve seen the rest of this Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray pack, the old DVD box-set (with the exception of the Special Features disc), might reluctantly have to migrate to Cash Converters.

Anyone looking to augment Morgan’s (if you know him, that is) Blu-ray collection can use these convenient links:
Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray (at eBay)
Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray (at JB HiFi)

iRate:: 4½ out of 5.

4Movie Tragics

Extras:
• Feature Commentary by Director George Lucas, actor Carrie Fisher, and crew, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren (this is a surprisingly interesting and informative track, dominated, as you might expect, by George Lucas, which also appears on previous releases. If you’re new to this then I’d urge you to remember that Lucas is the creator and curator of the Star Wars mythology and so treat his recollections of fact with due caution.)
• Audio commentary from archival interviews with cast and crew.

You want More!
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi – IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi – Rotten Tomatoes
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi – allmovie.com
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi – Wikipedia

Where does “Return of the Jedi” fall on your list of favourite Star Wars flix? A lot of critics were unenthusiastic about this when it was released. Were they wrong? I love it, what about you?

:: Please leave a comment ::

The Sunday Screening Session….. Platoon (1986)

24 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by Zak de Courcy in Film

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

1867-68, Action, Anti-War Film, Blood and Gore, Charlie Sheen, Cold War Film, Combat Film, Drama, Ensemble Film, Film, film review, Food For Thought, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, iRate:: 4½ / 5, John C. McGinley, Johnny Depp, Jungle Film, Keith David, Kevin Dillon, Modern Classic, Oliver Stone, Platoon, Richard Edson, Southeast Asia, Sunday Screening Session, Tom Berenger, Tough Guys, Vietnam, Vietnam War Era, War, War Drama, Willem Dafoe

Mood?:: Blood and Gore |
Food For Thought | Tough Guys.
iRate:: 4½ / 5
Director:: Oliver Stone.
Writer:: Oliver Stone (screenplay).

Cast:: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, John C. McGinley, Richard Edson, Kevin Dillon, Reggie Johnson, Keith David, Johnny Depp, David Neidorf.

Credits (Click to expand)

Trailer (HD):

iReview:
I was scratching around my library trying to settle on a film for this week’s screening but found myself spoiled for choice. I asked a few friends for help and suggested they consider titles from science fiction, gangster or graphic novel adaptation. So after extensive consultation within the strict parameters provided, I’m Screening Platoon in this Sunday Session. Umm, yes I know, it’s a war movie. I hadn’t seen this film for more than 10 years and that was the less than stellar, 2000 DVD release, which I viewed on an old 80cm 4:3 TV. So I was looking forward to the opportunity to see the recent 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release, on a 140cm 1080p widescreen.

Throughout the soundtrack, Samuel Barber’s hauntingly beautiful Adagio for Strings, interjects to add a note of melancholy. It’s unfortunate, that after Platoon, overuse has turned such a wonderful feature of this film into a cliche. Nevertheless, I’d still recommend listening to the track while reading this as it sets a darkly appropriate tone.

After a very brief introduction and without fanfare or warning, the audience descends into an impenetrable jungle. The camera at eye level draws us into a patrol alongside the newest member of Bravo Company, Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), who is confronted by the claustrophobic thick lush brush, with rough fronds brushing and irritating his fresh face. We experience the gut-wrenching physical exertion of the terrain as he hacks frustrated and incompetently with his machete, dry reaches and is harassed by ants, leaches, and mud. And we sense the contagious and overwhelming fatigue.

“Somebody once wrote: ‘Hell is the impossibility of reason.’ That’s what this place feels like: Hell.” So says the bewildered Taylor as he writes a letter to his grandma.

Most of us could identify with Taylor’s disillusionment. He’s a kid from a good family who dropped out of college because he felt the call to do his patriotic duty and “Live up to what Grandpa did in the first war, and Dad did in the second.”. And, as he put it, “…why should just the poor kids go off to war.” He soon realizes that in ‘Nam the drafted men are largely uneducated, “They’re poor. They’re unwanted… They’re the bottom of the barrel, and they know it.”.

Through Taylor, Oliver Stone stipulates that war has always been fought by the poor and “rich kids always get away with it.”. He’s right of course, You need look no further than the last president and vice-president of the USA, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. It’s reported that Bush went AWOL (absent without leave) from the National Guard from 1972-’73, while Cheney applied for and received five Vietnam War draft deferments. When asked about his deferments, he reportedly said, “I had other priorities in the ’60s than military service”.

Story (Click to expand)

Platoon is set in a remote area of Vietnam’s east, near the Cambodian border, during 1967-’68. The men of Bravo Company live in barely tolerable conditions, rarely sleep and frequently go out on nerve-jangling ‘ambush’ patrols where they lie in wait for an ethereal enemy, who only seems to emerge from the mist as an apparition. We, like the rest of the patrol, intently watch the dense, steaming wet brush, looking for any movement. Like them, we have no idea if they will appear but sense the danger. Alongside the patrol, we also learn that veteran leaders, Sgt. Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe) and Sgt. Bob Barnes (Tom Berenger), can spot the seemingly invisible source of much of the danger and uncertainty, the tunnels below them that the VC (Viet Cong) disappear into. Their sense of siege is heightened by the suspicion that the enemy are also the civilians, young and old in local villages. This paranoia and contempt for the Vietnamese results in the most shocking and viscerally disturbing scenes in the film.

In Stone’s vision of the Vietnam War, there are no heroics, just a very real sense that at any time, one of us could be thrown into that hell and how might we react; perhaps just like one of them.

Some of Oliver Stone’s other films, like Salvador, JFK and Natural Born Killers, almost blow the horn before coming down the street, so transparent is their intent; not so Platoon. Here, the plot doesn’t meander and yet, it is brilliantly disorienting, creating a palpable unease. Nor does it telegraph its trajectory and because the whole story is told from the point of view of the camera lens as a member of the squad, there’s no predictability or safe foxhole for us to rest and little indication what we might expect through the next bush.

While the wisps of the enemy provide the danger and uncertainty that keeps us riveted from the first frame, the narrative arc is provided by the tension within the squad. Sgt. Barnes, a scarred battle veteran sees every Vietnamese as the enemy and fosters an attitude among his acolytes that manifests in depraved violence. At the other pole, Sgt. Elias, who acts as mentor to Taylor, blunts his cynicism by shotgunning smoke in the old-fashioned way with his ‘hippy’ friends. He also acts to mitigate the excesses of Barnes. These two characters could easily have been caricatured but in Stone’s writing they are utterly convincing.

The screenplay has been wonderfully crafted and has the polish that often characterises a song-writer’s first album that’s been percolating for years. And knowing that Stone had been working this script for 18 years, seems to confirm that. Watching the result seems like witnessing Stone’s own catharsis, reliving his own experience in Vietnam.

The performances of all the ensemble are authentic and enhanced by the realism constructed in the locations and uniforms that show the effects of constant wear, as well as copious mud and grime that attaches to bodies that are seldom washed.

Before filming began in the Philippines, the cast was sent on a two-week boot-camp. The actors were given military haircuts, required to stay in character, required to dig foxholes, ate only military rations, not allowed to shower, camped in the jungle, had rotations for night watch, and were subjected to forced marches and nighttime “ambushes” with special-effects explosions. Stone explained that he was trying to break them down, “to mess with their heads so we could get that dog-tired, don’t give a damn attitude, the anger, the irritation… the casual approach to death”. In a Bombsite interview, Willem Dafoe said,
“the training was very important to the making of the film… It wasn’t boot camp with lots of push-ups. It was serious, getting no sleep; doing activities at night where you were attacked by real people. Certainly you weren’t going to die, but you did know exhaustion and confusion… the training was important because it gave us a relationship to soldiering… By the time you got through the training and through the film, you had a relationship to the weapon. It wasn’t going to kill people, but you felt comfortable with it.”

This preparation obviously paid off in the delivery of the cast. If anyone were to ask me how an actor is directed, I’d point to one of the worst I can remember as a contrast: George Lucas’ Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. There, fine actors, like Ewan McGregor, appear to be delivering lines with the care of a first Script Read-Through. in a Daily Express interview, McGregor even said,
“Quite honestly, after my initial excitement, the film-making process turned out to be the epitome of tedium,” he said. “There was no spontaneity. Your job, as an actor, was just to get it out. I was frowning a lot. It just became a frowning exercise.”
Now come back to Platoon, and while it’s not the finest bit of actor performance direction, it’s still very good. The acting of this ensemble is delivered with assurity and an easy familiarity. The performances are also understated even though the actions portrayed might be shocking and seem almost implausible at times. This restraint adds to the believability and menace of the scenario with very ordinary people doing inexplicable things.

One of the Vietnam War movies that’s frequently held up in comparison with Platoon, is Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola which was released seven years earlier. Where Apocalypse Now is epic in its bombast and artifice, Platoon is intimate but a lot more confronting. Where Coppola orchestrated a well crafted Wagnerian opera, Stone has unselfconsciously delivered a frank and unmannered masterpiece.

Francois Truffaut is often quoted as saying, “There is no such thing as an anti-war film”, reasoning that in a good war film, explosions and great cinematography always excite, and there’s always some sense of adventure. Well, I think Platoon goes a long way towards refuting Truffaut; this is a great anti-war film.

iRate:: 4½ out of 5.

4Movie Tragics

Extras:
• Feature Commentary by Director Oliver Stone (This filmmaker enjoys talking and this informative track relates just how personal this film was to him).
• Feature Commentary by Military Advisor Dale Dye (In this interesting track Dye details his training regimen for the cast and how he and the director worked to achieve authenticity. He also relates his own wartime experience).
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (12 scenes) – 12 minutes.
• On the Flashback to Platoon Menu, you’ll find 3 featurettes:
• • Snapshot in Time:1967-1968 (this featurette includes movie clips and interviews with Stone, Dye and others and recalls the Cold War political climate at that time) – 19 minutes.
• • Creating the ‘Nam (this production featurette looks at the design, effects and locations) – 12 minutes.
• • Raw Wounds: The Legacy of ‘Platoon’ (this piece looks at the healing process after the war and how American veterans reacted to the film) – 17 minutes.
• One War, Many Stories (veterans react to a screening of the film and relate how their own experiences compared with that depicted) – 26 minutes.
• Preparing for ‘Nam (war veterans recall their enlistment and basic training) – 7 minutes.
• On the Vignettes Menu there are 3 short elements:
• • Caputo & the 7th Fleet (recollections of the 1975 evacuation of Saigon) – 2mins.
• • Dye Training Method (the technical advisor, Dale Dye discusses his process for turning actors into soldiers) – 3mins.
• • Gordon Gekko (recalls how the name was hatched during a Platoon brainstorming session) – 1min.
• The DVD copy (this is the disappointing dvd version released in 2000 and a questionable addition to this set)

You want More!
Platoon – IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Platoon – Rotten Tomatoes
Platoon – allmovie.com
Platoon – Wikipedia

In my mind, this film ranks right up with All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) as one of the two or three best anti-war films yet produced. What do you think about the film?

:: Please leave a comment ::

Zak From Downunder

~ Zak de Courcy's sometimes incendiary thoughts about politics, life and religion.

Tag Archives: iRate:: 4½ / 5

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