Revenge exacts a terrible Price

Shocktober Theater returns to CineVerse on October 1 with “Theatre of Blood ” (1973; 104 minutes), directed by Douglas Hickox and starring Vincent Price, chosen by Farrell McNulty.

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Creating movie magic

"The Illusionist" proved to be an exceptional costume drama/period piece with twists and turns that aren't easy to predict. Here's our group's take on this picture:

WHAT IS INTERESTING, NOTEWORTHY AND DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU EXPECTED ABOUT THIS FILM?

·       Uhl serves as the audience surrogate; as he learns, we learn, and what he experiences, we experience.

·       The filmmakers don’t attempt to explain many of the tricks/illusions, suggesting that Eisenheim is, perhaps, using real magic.

·       Roger Ebert summarized the intelligence behind this film’s storytelling methods: “The Illusionist places the very film you’re watching at the center of the illusion. There’s an irony inherent in making a movie about magic, since the photographic medium is discontinuous and subject to post-production manipulations beyond those that can be created before a live audience.”

·       Actor Edward Norton has an enigmatic, mysterious quality to his acting style and appearance that makes him the ideal casting choice.

WHAT VISUAL EFFECTS AND LIGHTING TECHNIQUES ARE USED IN “THE ILLUSIONIST” TO CONVEY A VINTAGE LOOK AND FEEL?

·       The film image is given a consistent sepia tone in which greens and golds are particularly accentuated.

·       Iris fades are used, such as the kind popular in silent film days; and a concluding montage is employed that harkens back to the works of genius director Sergei Eisenstein, particularly his “Battleship Potemkin”

·       The frame has a flickering quality to it, almost as if the film itself was being passed through an antique projector.

·       The filmmakers use the technique of “vignetting”, a photographic method employed to constrict focus by dimming/darkening elements on the edges of the frame.

WHAT THEMES ARE AT WORK IN “THE ILLUSIONIST”?

·       The interplay between art and politics, art and religion, and religion and politics; writer Thomas A. Horne said the film “draws our attention to the role that art plays in maintaining political power and explores the way that art, in particular film art, can also undermine political power. It is, then, an extraordinarily self-conscious film that defends the filmmaker who wants to play a role in political life.”

·       The deceptive nature of perception and reality, and the fine line between reality and illusion. Director Neil Burger said in an interview that the film is “less about how he does the tricks than the idea that nothing is what it seems.”

·       The magical power and mystery behind new technology (consider how the audience is unfamiliar with the new art of motion pictures), and how things can appear mysterious and unknown to those who lack the science and sophistication to understand what’s causing the illusion or magic.

OTHER FILMS SIMILAR TO THE ILLUSIONIST

·       “The Prestige” and “Next,” two other films, also from 2006 and also about magicians/illusionists; the Prestige is particularly similar in that both movies concern magicians competing with a rival and who wear fake beards and a bowler hat.

·       Orson Welles’ “F For Fake”, a movie also concerned with art and trickery

·       Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo”

·       Tim Burton’s “Big Fish”

OTHER FILMS BY DIRECTOR NEIL BURGER

·       2002 Interview with the Assassin

·       2008 The Lucky Ones

·       2011 Limitless

·       2014 Divergent 

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Abracadabra cinema

Watch actor Ed Norton perform movie magic in “The Illusionist” (2006; 110 minutes), directed by Neil Burger, chosen by Jeanne Johnson, which is slated for CineVerse on September 24.

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Back in the U.S.S.R.

CineVerse strolled back to the dawn of the Reagan era with its exploration of "Moscow on the Hudson" last night. While it was fun to see now-dated early 1980s product placements for Sanka coffee and Sergio Valente jeans, the film still possesses a resonance that can be appreciated by today's audiences. Here's what we concluded:

WHAT DID YOU FIND INTERESTING, DIFFERENT OR SURPRISING ABOUT “MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON” THAT PERHAPS YOU DIDN’T ANTICIPATE?

·       The film is replete with racial and ethnic minorities, including an African American friend, an Italian girlfriend, a Cuban lawyer, a Korean taxi driver, a Chinese anchorwoman, etc.

·       Roger Ebert suggested one of this movie’s strengths is: “It’s a comedy that finds most of its laughs in the close observations of human behavior.”

·       Ebert also noted that the picture is “a rarity, a patriotic film that has a liberal, rather than a conservative, heart. It made me feel good to be an American.”

·       They actually have the actors, including Williams, speak in authentic Russian, as opposed to some films where the ethnic types speak in English but we’re supposed to believe they’re talking in their native tongues.

·       This feels like a well-researched movie, and it was: Mazursky and his team prepped for the film by interviewing Russian immigrants about their experiences and by visiting Russia. Mazursky was quoted as saying: "Most Russians are just trying to survive. Yet, all Russians who leave their country leave behind something they treasure and love. It's a terrible conflict for them, so the act of bravery is overwhelming."

·       This is not a gag-a-minute, silly comedy that tries to overexploit Williams’ manic talents; it arguably could be funnier. However, the filmmakers were going for more than big belly laughs here: their aim was to make you think about the immigration experience, which has comedic elements, but is also meant to be dramatic, poignant, and emotional.

WHAT ARE SOME THEMES EXAMINED IN “MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON”?

·       The film posits the question: What does it mean to be an American? After all, no one is truly an original American except for the Native American Indians; the rest of us had ancestors that came from other countries, like Vlad.

·       The U.S., and the world for the matter, is one big melting pot and collective spirit, or at least it should be; New York is a great backdrop in which to play out this multicultural message of positivity.

·       We need to stop taking our liberties, freedoms and American way of life for granted and think about how envied we are by less fortunate foreigners, many of whom are simply looking for the same chances and opportunities and simple joys we are provided.

WHY IS ROBIN WILLIAMS THE RIGHT CASTING CHOICE FOR THE PART OF VLADAMIR?

·       While this isn’t an acting tour de force worthy of an Oscar, it does showcase Williams’ range a bit early in his career as more than a funnyman.

·       He possesses Slavic features, including a very hairy body that is surprisingly fully on display in the lovemaking scene—American audiences typically think of hairy bodies as unattractive and gross, which is why we rarely see them except in gross-out comedies (think Borat). Williams also pulls off the Russian accent pretty well.

·       Vladamir is a likeable character, and Williams, with his infectious energy and enthusiasm, is easy to like, so it’s a good match.

SOME ISSUES VIEWERS MAY HAVE WITH THIS FILM:

·       We don’t see any particular catalyst or trigger point that explains why Vlad suddenly decides to defect; previous to the defection scene in Bloomingdales, we see him try hard to dissuade his circus performer friend from defecting; also, Vlad is depicted as relatively content and accepting of his oppressed and predictable life in Russia. It becomes hard to understand the motivation for his impulsive decision to remain in America.

·       By the time the Russians arrive in New York, it becomes a bit implausible that they’re speaking such fluent English and also talking in English to each other (instead of Russian) when they don’t have to. Small point, but also unrealistic.

·       Vlad appears to become Americanized a bit too quickly to be believed; consider how well he can dance at the discotheque, how fast he learns the lingo, etc.

OTHER FILMS STARRING ROBIN WILLIAMS

·       1980 Popeye

·       1982 The World According to Garp

·       1987 Good Morning Vietnam

·       1989 Dead Poets Society

·       1990 Awakenings

·       1991 The Fisher King

·       1993 Mrs. Doubtfire

·       1997 Good Will Hunting

·       2002 One Hour Photo

·       2002 Insomnia

OTHER FILMS BY DIRECTOR PAUL MAZURSKY, WHO ALSO PASSED AWAY IN 2014

·        1969 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

·       1974 Harry and Tonto

·       1978 An Unmarried Woman

·       1986 Down and Out in Beverly Hills

·       1989 Enemies: A Love Story 

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Film rookie Robin plays a Russian

Make plans to attend CineVerse on September 17, as we pay tribute to the late Robin Williams and celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Moscow on the Hudson” (1984; 115 minutes), directed by Paul Mazursky, chosen by Larry Leipart.

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East meets west, and there's hell to pay

It may be a simple story, but "Onibaba" has a lot of meat on its bones that can be stripped away to reveal a marrow of truth that can prove quite satisfying to those willing to explore its deeper meanings. Here are the conclusions our CineVerse group reached on this 1964 classic of Japanese cinema:

WHAT DID YOU FIND UNEXPECTED AND MEMORABLE ABOUT “ONIBABA”?

·       The film features a lot of nudity for a 1964 film; Americans wouldn’t have been accustomed to seeing topless women in movies until the late 1960s, after the introduction of the ratings system and the loosening of censorship restrictions.

·       It’s an incredibly simple story, with very few characters, scenes and locations; yet, it’s riveting in its dark, horrific and noir-like atmosphere and its timeless triangular situations involving the two women and one man.

·       Interestingly, the women are not necessarily depicted as more threatening than the amoral and violent males around them. It’s important to remember that they are destitute, impoverished, hungry, and alone, and women are low in social status in this Japanese era. They aren’t even provided names, unlike the men. In other words, although they are cold, cruel and callous, this approach is required to survive in a time when, as a double standard, men are permitted to be hired killers.

·       This film is the antithesis of samurai movies of this era, which celebrated the heroic values and virtues of macho men who went off to battle; as a contrast to honor and virtue, this film spotlights desire, greed and passion.

·       The score is quite radical: the opening number is a jazzy, contemporary tune, but the main music used in the film employs a percussive, discordant, even guttural pattern of drums, simplistic woodwinds, strings, and some instrument or object that mimics the sound of wood snapped in half.

·       The movie adopts elements of film noir, such as the high contrast lighting scheme that produces deep darks and shadows, and the presence of two femme fatales who lead men (samurai) into danger.

HOW IS “ONIBABA” A BLENDING OF ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY VALUES, OF OLD AND NEW STORYTELLING, AND OLD AND NEW BELIEFS, ESPECIALLY FOR JAPANESE AUDIENCES IN 1964?

·       It’s adapted from a Buddhist parable intended to encourage females to attend religious services.

·       In this contemporary retelling, however, it becomes a cautionary tale warning of the dangers of consequences of passion, hunger, and desire, especially sexual desire.

·       Reviewer Mike Pinsky further suggests that “Shindo has completely transformed the original folktale from its search for spiritual fulfillment to the satisfaction of very human hungers: survival, companionship, and sexuality. Just as the Hole is not a gateway to some hell (since the hell has already come to Earth), the demon mask is not a gate through which spiritual evil (some "real" demon) might pass, but a marker of the ethical corruption that already surrounds the world like the endless stalks of waving, hissing grass.”

·       The film is topical for the 20^th century in its indictment of the devastating effects war has on humanity and civilized values.

·       It could also be considered a criticism of how women are treated as objects in Japanese culture.

·       You could make a case that this story is also a parable about the rape of the natural world and our heartless stripping of earth’s resources (think of how the women kill the men so callously, then strip them clean of anything of value).

·       Additionally, “Onibaba” employs a healthy dose of subjective camera shots (we’re right down at the women’s level, low in the grass and the mud, watching their prey ahead, for instance) as well as visually poetic close-up shots of nature and expressive human faces.

THIS IS A PICTURE REPLETE WITH SYMBOLISM. FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT DO THE MASK, THE HOLE, AND THE GRASS REPRESENT?

·       The mask and what it reveals underneath could be figurative of the mutilation and defacement of the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, which is what director Kaneto Shindo reportedly revealed. 

·       In a Freudian psychological reading, the hole could signify the danger and mystery of female sexuality to men.

·       In a wider reading, one reviewer said: “as the film progresses, it becomes clear that the hole represents a wider danger for humanity. At various times, people nearly fall into the hole - most notably Hachi, who teeters on the brink of it momentarily, having just been running through the grass in an ecstasy of lust for the younger woman. Various other people fall into it - mostly the unfortunate soldiers who have become the victims of the two predatory women. The hole represents some nemesis or catastrophe that is constantly there for those who are prey to the baser instincts of Man, in the absence of civilization.”

·       You could make a case that the grasses, which ebb and flow in the wind and move randomly and wildly, could stand for the general disorder and unpredictability of nature itself.

·       As posited by Pinsky: “Wounded men in Onibaba fight through a sea of whispering grass, like sharp phalluses, as if masculine power has been turned against them. Speared unseen by feral women, they are stripped of their armor and dumped in a great hole, thus completing the humiliation of their gender.”

·       There are many spaces implying claustrophobia in “Onibaba”: consider the hut the women live in and the cave. The filmmakers want us to feel hedged in and trapped, as the women are trapped in their condition, despite ironically living in the vast expanse of the wild.

OTHER MOVIES AND WORKS OF LITERATURE SIMILAR TO ONIBABA:

·       Japanese “kaidan” ghost story films, such as “Ugetsu” by Kenji Mizoguchi and “Kwaidan”

·       “Woman of the Dunes” and “In the Realm of the Senses,” also both from Japan

·       “Knife in the Water”

·       “Diabolique”

·       The “Twilight Zone” episode “The Masks”

·       Scary fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm

·       “Days of Heaven”, which also features a love triangle and extreme close-ups of tall grasses and shots of nature

·       Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal,” which is also set during a particularly bleak time in human history when death and destruction reigned, and which also includes an ominous omen figure of doom.

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Face to face with fear

Join CineVerse on on September 10 for the return of World Cinema Wednesday and a specail import from Japan: “Onibaba” (1964; 103 minutes), directed by Kaneto Shindô, chosen by Peggy Quinn, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

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Taking a page from Pat's "Playbook"

Let's face it: Romcoms often come with a lot of baggage, be it expectations for a storybook romance, desires for female wish fulfillment, or preconceived notions of sexy thespians flirting and bed-hopping. But "Silver Linings Playbook" doesn't exactly play by the book that romantic comedy fans know by heart. Here's what distinguishes this picture above many of its predecessors:

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A TYPICAL ROMCOM (ROMANTIC COMEDY)?

·       They almost always demand a happy ending that is almost always delivered; in this sense, they are predictable, schmaltzy, implausible and derivative.

·       They usually involve the meeting of two people who are mutually attracted but who each have personal problems that impede them from fostering a healthy relationship; there are often a series of misunderstandings, bad choices and mistakes that help them improve and develop, and which bring them together by the end of the movie.

·       Romcoms almost always cast attractive, likable actors, and this is no exception.

HOW IS SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK DIFFERENT AND UNEXPECTED, PARTICULARLY AS A ROMANTIC COMEDY?

·       It shifts in tonality and mood throughout the picture: you see moments of comedy, violence, tenderness, darkness, and more.

·       It brings the decidedly sobering topic of mental illness into the romcom formula, which is a risky proposition that can derail lesser pictures into maudlin, over-generalized cliché approaches to psychiatric problems in characters.

·       Salon critic Andrew O’Hehir summarized it nicely: “It’s a rom-com that succeeds in revitalizing that discredited genre where so many others have failed, injecting it with the grit and emotion of realist drama rather than with amped-up whimsy or social satire or montages of people walking on the beach while whiny emo-pop plays on the soundtrack. As he did with the boxing movie in “The Fighter,” Russell proves that you can breathe new life into one of the hoariest forms in the Hollywood lexicon. He takes a movie where everyone in the audience knows how it will end and makes us suspend our disbelief and fall in love all over again.”

·       It’s not overly cute, sentimental or completely predictable like many romcoms.

·       It casts two increasingly popular actors in roles that challenge their typecasting: Bradley Cooper often plays pretty boy characters and in gross out comedies; Jennifer Lawrence has demonstrated more range, but we see a different, more diversified side of her here.

·       Interestingly, many of the characters in this picture have mental challenges: Pat and Tiffany suffer from bipolar disorder; Pat’s dad has OCD and anger issues; Ronnie thinks about suicide, etc.

·       It does a good job of depicting a family near its breaking point and of portraying flawed characters who each seem to have a hangup or disorder.

·       This film turns the gender dynamics around; instead of the man pursuing the woman, it’s the other way around: Tiffany likes Pat and aggressively pursues him.

DOES THIS FILM DO A DISSERVICE TO VIEWERS IN ITS DEPICTION OF MENTAL ILLNESS?

·       This movie has been criticized as whitewashing the issue of a challenging mental issue like bipolar disorder, suggesting perhaps the conservative, faith-based view that mental illness can be managed or overcome through sheer force of will (Pat’s initial attitude). However, we see that he finally does take his medications and sticks to them, and that by the end of the film he’s more balanced and in control of his illness.

·       Psychologists have also complained that the movie wraps up too neatly all the loose ends, insinuating that a dance contest and mutual love can overcome psychological disorders.

·       On the other hand, Dr. Skip Dine Young wrote: “The reason that Silver Linings Playbook is nominated for an Academy Award is not because of its innovative narrative but because of its unusual characters placed in an otherwise cliché narrative. The typical flaw of a rom-com hero is that he is “afraid of commitment” while the heroine is often “too needy.” In this movie, we have a hero who nearly killed a man and a heroine who had sex with everyone in her workplace. These behaviors are a challenge to the comfortable identification that often accompanies “normal” flaws. The movie’s primary virtue lies in how it manages to include such atypical characters in the hopeful dreams of the romantic comedy tradition.”

OTHER MOVIES THAT COME TO MIND AFTER VIEWING “SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK”

·       As Good As It Gets

·       Dirty Dancing

·       Friday Night Lights

·       Benny and Joon

OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY DAVID O. RUSSELL

·       Three Kings

·       I Heart Huckabees

·       The Fighter

·       American Hustle

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