Random Thoughts

Oo, this is by Koreyoshi Kurahara — and I already saw his Eclipse box set (and it was (intermittently) fantastic). This is a different box set (Nikkatsu Noir), and an earlier movie, but I’m excited.

This is perfect — you’ve got the mysterious woman, and the helpful restaurant owner guy — it’s the Platonic Ideal of a noir movie start.

And the cinematography is just right, and the actors seem good.

The only problem is that guy’s coat — it’s like nine sizes too large?!? Even as a zoot suit! What’s up with that! Dude.

This is a lovely, captivating movie, with several interesting plot threads. I’m all in.

Solid, solid advice.

What’s that neckline called?

Gangsters!

He said the line!!!

I feel like this movie has been slightly padded? I mean, I like every scene, but it’s been spinning its heels somewhat between the plot revelations. It’s great and all, but it feels like it’s lost most of the mystery and tension that it had going at the beginning.

I Am Waiting. Koreyoshi Kurahara. 1957.

This blog post is part of the Eclipse series.

The Shepitko movie I saw the other day was really something odd and interesting. So I’m excited to watch this one, but… it’s a war movie? OK, even more topical.

This starts off great… a bunch of soldiers/guerrillas in the forest, fleeing the Germans? Or something? I heard the word “partisans” being used. Aha:

The Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against the Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The activity emerged after Nazi Germany’s Operation Barbarossa was executed from mid-1941 on.

This looks great and has great, like, urgency, even if the pacing is placid.

Now it’s getting a bit confusing what’s actually going on…

So eeeevil!

I love the cinematography here. But actors are a bit hit and miss.

Uh-oh. And then everything turns all religiousy. The last third of the movie is an extended Jesus metaphor?

Yeah, I can see that:

The film was nearly banned: regulatory authorities believed that a “religious parable with a mystical tinge” was shot instead of a partisan story.

But then Klimov (the guy who made that awful Come And See thing, and Shepitko husband) showed it to some sentimental Belarussian dignitary, who was so impressed that it was released.

And won the 1977 Gold Bear in Berlin, even.

This first half of this movie is genius. The last third is tedious. So:

The Ascent. Larisa Shepitko. 1977.

This blog post is part of the Eclipse series.

This is very Sam Fuller.

I just read the liner notes on this DVD — this was Fuller’s final movie for B-movie producer Robert Lippert. It was a ten day shoot, and was such a hit that Fuller was snatched up by Fox and the big times.

Yeah, it’s a band of misfits.

This movie started off swell, but it’s hard to stay interested, because it feels so… schematic.

And sentimental. I don’t mind sentimental, but it doesn’t feel… earned?

I think… he means that as a compliment?

Renegade director Sam Fuller created this hard boiled Korean War classic which seems like a Sgt. Rock comic come to life.

This movie has a 100% tomatometer. But it’s not as awful as you’d think from that rating: I assume that the reviewers are reacting to Fuller’s reputation more than anything else.

What’s with the weird subplot about the bald guy getting his hair back?

It does look really good, though.

The Steel Helmet. Samuel Fuller. 1951.

This blog post is part of the Eclipse series.

Love those chairs.

Anyway, this is a Soviet movie made by an Ukrainian director. Unexpectedly current affairs relevant!

For once, I read the liner notes on the DVD before starting to watch it, and… perhaps I shouldn’t. Because they seemed to say that this was gonna be on par with a Tarkovski movie, and…

So far it really isn’t.

*reset expectations*

After resetting my expectations, this is a really intriguing movie. Very enjoyable actors, attractive cinematography, and I have absolutely no idea where the movie is going. At all.

Which is very unusual and refreshing.

Wings. Larisa Shepitko. 1966.

This blog post is part of the Eclipse series.

But not well!

Vincent Price!

I would never have guessed that this was a Sam Fuller movie. It’s so… staid? At least so far. We’ve got a cumbersome framing device where one of these guys is telling the story, and he also provides a voiceover.

Neither seems necessary?

Such subtle.

So passion.

I’m finding this movie to be a bit tedious? Price is fine, but the rest of the actors are playing it for laughs.

The heist plot (i.e., getting Arizona) should be so much more fun than this. It’s just … molasses.

This is pretty accurate:

A minor low-budget Sam Fuller (“I Shot Jesse James”) bizarre western, his second feature, tells a fabulous story loosely based on true events that are inefficiently worked out thereby making it seem unlikely. It’s at first appealing but soon becomes tiresome

It has no zip — it just trudges along for what seems like hours. I mean, this should be more fun:

During the course of the fraud, Reavis collected an estimated US$5.3 million in cash and promissory notes ($173 million in present-day terms) through the sale of quitclaims and proposed investment plans.

The Baron of Arizona. Samuel Fuller. 1950.

This blog post is part of the Eclipse series.