The Naked Kiss

A prostitute (Constance Towers) beats up her abusive pimp and takes what is owed to her before relocating to a small village where she is run out of town by a local police chief (Anthony Eisley) and lured back into the life before finding peace as a nurse at a children's hospital and getting engaged to a millionaire (Michael Dante), a situation that proves too good to be true. Highly suggestive and melodramatic Sam Fuller B-movie is sensationalist and shocking, especially for its time. The low budget affair is crisply edited and features several memorable sequences including the opening and the morbid culmination of a strange musical number.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Seven Days in May

Disarmament talks between Russia and an unpopular President (Fredric March) leads to rumors of a military coup led by a military demagogue (Burt Lancaster) and uncovered by his top aide (Kirk Douglas). John Frankenheimer’s Seven Days in May is a well-made, credible, and talky thriller that lacks suspense with the acting being the real attribute on display. Stars Douglas and Lancaster, though providing stalwart performances, are both relegated somewhat with supporters March and Edmund O’Brien stepping in with terrific turns.

*** out of ****

Pale Flower

Just released from prison for murder, a Yakuza hitman escorts a beautiful, thrill seeking femme fatale through underground gambling parlors before tragically falling back into the life. Masahiro Shinoda's noirish Pale Flower seems directly inspired by the French New Wave with its quick cutting and cool, jazzy aura. Either way, with severe under-plotting, this is an unmistakable exercise in style over substance, although the ending is impactful.

** 1/2 out of ****

Zulu

After being massacred by Zulu warriors at the Battle of Isandlwana, greatly undermanned British soldiers at Rorke's Drift in what is now South Africa prepare for another onslaught under a mixed feeling of emotions. Zulu is needlessly overlong with a muddled narrative but still contains some spectacular visuals and set pieces. Michael Caine and Nigel Green are standouts.

** 1/2 out of ****

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

The plot description bears nothing more than boy meets girl, boy gets drafted, boy loses girl forever. After seeing it cited so many times as an inspiration to the lacking, overpraised La La Land, I watched Jacques Demy's simplistic, entirely sung The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and wound up with the same insipid, uninspired, and totally forgettable feelings I had for its recent progeny and if not for Catherine Deneuve's timeless beauty and the film's radiant use of technicolor, Umbrellas would be a total wash.

** out of ****

The Unsinkable Molly Brown

A spunky hayseed (Debbie Reynolds) leaves her adopted backwoods home (from which she was rescued after found floating down the Colorado River as a toddler after a flood) with the determination of marrying rich and does so when she stumbles across a soon to strike it rich gold prospector (Harve Presnell). Rejected by Denver high society, she finds acceptance in Europe before famously playing the part of heroine while commanding her lifeboat to retreat in search of survivors after the sinking of the Titanic. Based on a popular stage musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown is an irritating piece of hokum and inferior to similar musicals of the period. Reynolds has her moments although the dance sequences along with Presnell (who seems otherwise ill-suited to the big screen) are worth the price of admission.

** out of ****

My Fair Lady

On his way home from the opera, pompous linguistics professor Henry Henry (Rex Harrison) happens upon uncultivated, cockneyed, and uncouth flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) and wages his assistant that he can transform her into a passable member of the upper class. From George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, which drew on the Greek myth, George Cukor's My Fair Lady is an entertaining, insightful take on the battle of the sexes/classes with sleek production values, memorable and sophisticated Lerner and Loewe songs, and only a few lulls. Harrison is brilliant in an Oscar winning role and Hepburn is absolutely lovely (or loverly as you would have it) and makes her transformation almost believable.

*** 1/2 out of ****

The Gospel According to St. Matthew

The life and passion of Jesus Christ drawn from the first book of the Bible by Pier Paolo Pasolini, told angrily and austerely in docu-style black and white, and features beautiful, exterior photography. Remarkable also for being the work of a controversial Marxist filmmaker, this rendering reminded me of the severeness and the expressive closeups of Dreyer's Passion of Joan Arc and surely served as inspiration for latter biblical treatments.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Red Desert

Like all Antonioni films I've encountered, Red Desert is cold, empty, and somewhat turgid, dealing with upper class alienation (here a depressed dissatisfied married woman enters into an affair with a traveling businessman), but likewise it contains excellent photography and, here, fine performances from Richard Harris and the beautiful Monica Vitti, all of which aid in bullying through the film.

*** out of ****

Marnie

A young woman (Tippi Hedren) routinely procures secretarial work and proceeds to rip off her employers before making off into the night. When one of her victim's clients (Sean Connery) discovers her treachery, he arranges to acquaint and marry the thief, largely in part to understand her pathology and have her confront its source. With Marnie, Alfred Hitchcock explores similar obsessive, psychological territory as he did with Vertigo and handles a bizarre story with style and flair. Hedren's character journeys to unexpected places and she offers a thorough and multifaceted performance, though Connery's character is somewhat underdone and comparatively let off the hook.
*** 1/2 out of ****

Woman in the Dunes

A teacher on sabbatical performing entomological studies in a remote desert misses his bus back to Tokyo and is given lodging in a deep, cavernous sand pit inhabited solely by a young woman. When he attempts to leave the following morning and finds the rope ladder has disappeared, it soon becomes apparent he has been enslaved to provide companionship to his new bunkmate and take part in the futile task of shoveling sand for the locals to sell. Hiroshi Teshigahara's Woman in the Dunes is a powerful, sexually charged, incredibly well done allegory that is terrifying both in presentation and implication. Eiji Okada and Kyoko Kishida, playing the man and the woman respectively, deliver brave and haunting performances, and the film features a stunning use of sand photography.

Mary Poppins

After recently watching the flawed but generally enjoyable Saving Mr. Banks, which tells the story of Walt Disney's courting of the prickly P.L. Travers who attempts to win the film rights of her Mary Poppins books, it gave me the opportunity to rewatch the childhood favorite. In revisiting the delightful tale of the practically perfect nanny flown in on the east wind to save the emotionally stilted Banks' family with assistance from Bert, the local jack of all trades, I couldn't believe how remarkably well the picture held up and how, in many ways, it might actually play better for adults then kids. Where to begin: The Sherman Brothers witty and lyrical music carries the picture, and not just mainstay numbers but ones which I'd forgotten, which include "The Life I Lead" and the hilarious ditty sung by the stern looking bankers headed by craggily and heavily disguised Dick van Dyke. Julie Andrews is lovely in her screen debut and Oscar winning role and van Dyke is amusing, but unheralded supporting performances also abound: Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice in fine juvenile performances as the Banks children, David Tominlinson and Glynis Johns spot on as the parents, and even further down the credit rung we have great fun with Hermione Baddeley and Reta Shaw as the domestics, Arthur Treacher as the Constable, Reginald Owen as Admiral Boom, and Ed Wynn, hilarious as the laugh loving Uncle Albert. Additionally, there is Bill Walsh and Don Dagradi's droll screenplay and the wonderfully imperfect production design and animated meshings, all combining to form a marvelous film experience for all ages, the type of which isn't even dared attempted today.

Becket

Following the Norman Conquest, King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) now rules England alongside the French aristocracy. After hitting speed bumps with the clergy, he sees his opportunity for a power play when the Archbishop of Canterbury dies and appoints his loyal friend and confidant Thomas Becket (Richard Burton) to the post. However, the honorable Becket hears a calling from God and begins to take his duties seriously, often clashing with the king, and causing the weak leader to reassess the terms of their friendship. Peter Glenville's  film adaptation of Jean Anouilh's stage play "Becket" is a costume drama, done to the highest degree and featuring two lions of the British cinema's finest actors in career defining roles. Both nominated in the Best Actor category for their performances, Burton and O'Toole give completely divergent and entirely effective performances as a brave stoic and a drunken clod, respectively. The great actor John Gielgud also delivers a wonderful supporting turn as King Louis VII of France. "Becket" is a grand entertainment, wonderfully staged and written, and also an extra special delight we are given the pleasure of watching two of film's greatest actors go toe-to-toe in some the of the best work of their remarkable careers.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

An Air Force general (Sterling Hayden) has just flown off the handle and issues an aerial attack order on Russia, one which will surely result in global annihilation. When he takes his own life as the only person with knowledge of the deactivation code, it is up to his upright British assistant (Peter Sellers) to hurriedly collaborate with the President (Sellers again) and his team of advisors headed by another manic general (George C. Scott), who place their final hopes on a shifty, spasmodic former Nazi scientist (Sellers once more). Stanley Kubrick's classic satire, which he scripted with Terry Southern and Peter George from the latter's book Red Alert, is farcical black comedy pitched at the highest level with frightening implications which are still relevant to this day. Sellers disappears into three disparate roles, generating laughs from all angles and receives uproarious support from Scott, Hayden, and Slim Pickens, who plays the commander of Hayden's bomber, all portraying incompetent zealots.

Zorba the Greek

On his way to his property on the Isle of Crete, a melancholic British writer (Alan Bates) chances to meet Zorba, a bawdy, zest filled peasant (Anthony Quinn) who takes him under his wing and bestows his way of viewing the world. While overseeing a timber operation on his new friend's land, Zorba introduces him to a gorgeous and tragically doomed widow (Irene Papas) and also to the French madame (Lila Kedrova) whose bedchambers he finds himself a frequent guest. "Zorba the Greek" was a resounding success for director Mihalis Kakogiannis, who adapted Nikos Kazantzakis' equally beloved novel, and Anthony Quinn who is so good in the title role, and a match for it if there ever was one. The film features glorious black and white photography, which looked so refined is these later usages, and often overactive camera, which does service its excellent ending quite well. Alan Bates has kind of a quiet, thankless role which is odd because I can picture him playing Zorba later in his career, and Lila Kedrova has some moving sequences in the latter stages of the film.

The Best Man

At the Democratic National Convention, two candidates have emerged as front-runners for their parties next presidential nominee: a time tested pragmatist (Henry Fonda) and a McCarthy-like tyrant (Cliff Robertson) whose thirst for the presidency knows no bounds. Soon the backroom deals for crucial endorsements and political backbiting begin, with damning oppositional evidence falling into both leading candidates hands. "The Best Man" is Gore Vidal's cynical adaptation of his satirical stage play, providing a seemingly behind closed doors account of the wicked ongoings of our electoral process. As expected, Fonda is excellent as the tried Senator and Robertson is no less his equal as his vicious rival.  The supporting cast is likewise excellent, with Lee Tracy as the current president, and Margaret Leighton and Edie Adams as the candidate's respective wives being particular standouts. Although the nastiness of today's political climate, and in particular betwixt the two lackluster nominees pandering your vote today, make the political jostling in this movie seem like a friendly round of golf, Vidal's script still demonstrates how the worst (though not in all cases) in human nature can be brought out of us through politics.

A Shot in the Dark

Staff members of a Parisian chateau continue to be murdered, one after the other with all signs pointing to a beautiful Italian maid as the culprit. However, Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) suspects a conspiracy, much to the annoyance of his superior (Herbert Lom), and follows his senses down a bumbling and calamitous path. "A Shot in the Dark", the followup to "The Pink Panther", placed Sellers front and center and is routinely heralded as the foremost picture in the series. While I find it as slight and silly as the other entries, there are many hilarious gags (including Lom's psychotic episodes and a recurring one involving Seller's Judo tutee), and of course Sellers' committed and always spot-on performance.

The Up Series

Tony, a participant in "The Up Series", at various stages of his life

In 1964, a British documentary crew interviewed a group of seven year olds from various economic backgrounds and asked them about their hopes, fears, and lives in general. Every seven years since then, Michael Apted, a member of the original crew, has revisited each of these participants to catch up with them and discuss their lives. "The Up Series", as these programs have come to be collectively known, are an endlessly fascinating form of time lapse filmmaking, as we see each of the film's subjects age before our eyes, as Apted interweaves prior footage into each new film. Keeping things simple, each film is simply a sit down with each person and a catch up on their lives, as they discuss with candid honesty the turns their lives have taken. Apted resists the urge to jazz things up and is straightforward presentation only adds, rather then detracts, to overall impact of these powerful films. The stories that I enjoyed the most include Tony, a young boy who dreams of being a jockey and grows up to be a cab driver, still full of zeal; Suzy, an unhappy young woman who finds solace and happiness with her husband and children; Bruce, a boy with missionary aspiration who winds up teaching in the inner city; John, a boorish snob who remains a boorish snob but becomes involves in relief work in Eastern Europe; and then their is Neil, discontented young man who drops out of school and becomes a vagrant who well, I don't want to spoil that one. "The Up Series" is about as real and engaging a film can get and I eagerly await the next installment, due out soon, as these subjects approach the twilight of their lives.

Here is a very brief description of each installment:

Seven Up! (1964)

A collection of British seven year olds, both female and male, from different socioeconomic backgrounds are introduced and interviewed as they talk about subjects such as school, money, race, and their futures. After meeting them all individually, the children all attend a party and we see how they interact.

7 Plus Seven (1970)

We revisit the subjects at age 14, midway between childhood and adulthood.

21 (1977)

Now 21 years old, the group of people we met at 7 and 14 now have clearer ideas on life and what they want their lives to be.

28 Up (1985)

Maybe its because I am now of the same age as the subjects here, but it is this installment that the series begins to take on resonance, as its subjects have largely settled down with family and careers.

35 Up (1991)

As the subjects move closer towards middle age most are firmly rooted in their lives with a few exceptions as they begin to deal with divorce and death of their parents, and other issues while the most fascinating member of the group continues to fascinate us.

42 Up (1998)

As the subjects have now reached the midpoint of their lives, most are firmly rooted with the exception of a few extraordinary examples, one involving an incredible intersection of two of the subject's lives.

49 Up (2005)

As the hairs have grayed, the hairlines receded, and the waistlines expanded, the subjects approach 50 mostly with contentment as they embrace grandchildren, their partners, careers, and life turns.

56 Up (2012)

The participants return, mostly contented with their lots as they face retirement and brace themselves for old age.

Culloden/The War Game

In the mid-60s, BBC filmmaker Peter Watkins crafted two unflinching documentary style recreations of war, one on the small scale of an 18th century battle and the other on the effects of nuclear detonation, depicting the all encompassing horrors that surround these disparate conflicts. "Culloden" depicts the 1746 effort which marked the last ditch effort of the Jacobite Rebellion in the Scottish Highlands and the British troops efforts to eliminate those said people through economic warfare. Watkins' follow-up was the Oscar winning "The War Game" which, in exacting and vividly descriptive detail, demonstrates the firsthand results of nuclear war. Presenting both staged films as if a documentary crew were present, interviewing the participants and victims, while capturing the unfolding events, Watkins and his crew capture the larger horrors while providing the lesser thought of consequences of these radically different forms of conflict. In "Culloden" and "The War Game", Watkins presented two harrowing, all encompassing anti-war statements.

The Train

With the Allies closing in to liberate France, a German colonel (Paul Scofield) decides to transport all the precious works of art  to the fatherland by way of locomotive to boost the waning war effort. In order to take up the dangerous mantle of stopping the train and reclaiming the paintings, the task falls to a French rail worker and resistance leader (Burt Lancaster), who at first does not see the purpose in risking lives for art, but eventually comes around when one of his comrades is murdered in that pursuit. "The Train" is a superior action thriller from director John Frankenheimer, that provides nail biting thrills while providing the technical workings of its featured mechanisms, i.e. the functioning of the train, the unhinging of its tracks, the specifications of C-4 dynamite. Additionally, the film also serves as a wonderful and credible argument for the importance of art. Lancaster is at his quietly powerful best and Scofield makes an absolutely, cold-hearted and sadistic Nazi. "The Train" is rousing entertainment with great thrills, character development, and even technical workings and intellectual stimulation to match the usual (and excellent) genre techniques.