Body Heat (1981)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Body Heat (1981) – L. Kasdan

Excellent neo-noir from director Lawrence Kasdan that updates The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) for less repressed times (and is heaps better than the Bob Rafelson direct remake, also from 1981).  William Hurt is an easy-going lawyer at the bottom of the food chain in a sultry south Florida town, hanging out with his buddies, assistant district attorney Ted Danson and detective J. A. Preston.  He’s a ladies man who isn’t seeking commitment.  When he runs into Kathleen Turner, he is intrigued and soon they are having a tempestuous affair, despite the fact that she’s married.  Her husband (Richard Crenna) is a shady financier who is only home on weekends.  Eventually, they hatch a plan to murder him so that she’ll inherit a fortune. After the deed, Hurt discovers that things weren’t exactly how he thought they were…  Although hyped for its sex scenes, what really makes this film outstanding is Hurt’s performance – he’s cocky and confident at the start, then clearly obsessed by Turner (also good, in her film debut), and then slowly it dawns on him that he’s been played. Kasdan warns viewers again and again that Hurt is taking risks and that Turner is trouble – we know it, but still we only gradually realise just how clever she really is and how ****ed he is.  Well worth a revisit. 

The Fallen Idol (1948)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Fallen Idol (1948) – C. Reed

Middle film in a string of great ones from director Carol Reed (this followed Odd Man Out, 1947, and preceded The Third Man, 1949).  Told (more or less) from the perspective of a young boy, Philippe, living in a French-speaking embassy in London who tries to help butler Baines (Ralph Richardson), a friendly surrogate father figure, when there’s trouble in the house.  It starts when Phile accidentally discovers that Baines is meeting with a young woman (who he calls his niece) and doesn’t want Mrs. Baines (portrayed as mean-spirited and vindictive) to know. Of course, adult viewers realise that Baines is having an affair but naïve young Phile never figures this out – to him it is something of a game, keeping the secret, until suddenly it is no longer a game.  When the police become involved, Phile isn’t sure what to tell them and indeed he doesn’t really know what is true and what is not.  Suspense builds when viewers realise that Phile is the only witness to the crime and the fate of the good guys rests with him.  Reed and team employ beautiful sets, location shooting and B&W cinematography to good effect and Richardson gives a subtle and nuanced performance.

Sound of the Mountain (1954)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Sound of the Mountain (1954) – M. Naruse

Setsuko Hara stars as Kikuko, a young housewife who lives with her husband and older in-laws. Her husband (Ken Uehara) is often away until late in the evening (in fact, he is cheating on her with a mistress). To divert her attention from this, she devotes herself to taking care of her parents-in-law and forms an especially close relationship with her father-in-law, Ogata-san (Sô Yamamura).  Indeed, the film focuses in on their tender feelings toward each other, although it is clear that there are many roadblocks that prevent open expression of these feelings. His tense relationship with his own daughter, going through a divorce, provides a counterpoint. Eventually, Ogata-san decides to intervene in his son’s affair by confronting the mistress (but not, at first, the son).  At the same time, he learns a deep and painful secret about Kikuko which reveals much about her character (and her private response to her husband’s behaviour). Director Mikio Naruse (a great Japanese master) captures a poignant nuance, an unspoken love even, in the final meeting between the two leads.  Of course, a family drama such as this will always remind viewers of Ozu (particularly a father-daughter drama starring Setsuko Hara!) but Naruse was his contemporary and his shomin-geki are often just as good (although much sadder).

 

The Blue Dahlia (1946)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Blue Dahlia (1946) – G. Marshall

Raymond Chandler’s only credited solo screenplay (he worked with others on Double Indemnity, 1944, and Strangers on a Train, 1951 and many of his novels were adapted for the screen by others), although he complained that director George Marshall took many liberties, including changing the ending (which is to say the actual murderer!).  Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) and his buddies Buzz (William Bendix) and George (Hugh Beaumont) are airmen just back from WWII, trying to return to civilian life.  Buzz has a steel plate in his head and is disoriented and aggressive most of the time – George tries to look after him and they take an apartment together. Johnny returns to find his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) turned into a party girl, drunk most of the time, and obviously sleeping with club owner Eddie Harwood (Howard Da Silva) – he walks out on her.  Of course, that night, she is murdered (this is noir, after all).  Johnny avoids the cops, hoping to find Helen’s killer and exonerate himself and his friends; he’s helped by Veronica Lake, a mysterious woman who picks him up in the rain. Ladd and Lake were often teamed up but apparently disliked each other; Chandler called her Moronica and felt that she hurt the film.  My view is that she’s no Lauren Bacall but she manages an underwritten role okay. Although the film feels less formulaic for most of its runtime, the ending does turn toward the standard whodunit. Chandler’s original plot would have been a lot more poignant -- which is not to say we still don’t feel for these returned veterans.

 

Stand By Me (1986)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Stand By Me (1986) – R. Reiner

I have never watched this film before.  Why has it taken me so long? Perhaps seeing a movie with kids in the lead never seemed like my thing (as a grown up).  Or I worried that Rob Reiner or Stephen King might combine to make middle of the road fare? Maybe I wasn’t ready for another film looking back at the 1950s for nostalgia? Whatever the reason, I probably shouldn’t have waited so long.  As narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, this is a wistful but realistic look at four 12-year-old boys who head up the railroad tracks for a chance to see a dead body (over the course of 24 hours or so).  The dead body is really just the MacGuffin when what we really get is some robust interaction between boys before puberty sets in.  Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell manage to define certain types while still being natural and demonstrating camaraderie.  There’s cussing and gross outs and run ins with a tough older gang (led by Kiefer Sutherland).  Perhaps there are lessons to be learned (for the boys, if not us), particularly about friendship.  I strained to remember my 12 year old self but got mostly flashbulb memories and rarely full interactions. Still, that’s probably the starting place for a screenplay such as this.  I probably couldn’t do better (for the ‘70s, of course). Or perhaps, my weird film wouldn’t be as popular…

 

The Vanishing (1988)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Vanishing (1988) – G. Sluizer

Rex (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia (Johanna ter Steege) are travelling in France on their way for a cycling/camping holiday.  They run out of petrol, quarrel, but make up.  However, at a highway rest-stop, Saskia suddenly vanishes.  Rex frantically turns the place upside down but eventually has to give up.  The movie switches to following another character, Raymond, who we suspect has abducted Saskia.  He certainly is creepy and seems to be methodically preparing for evil acts.  Indeed, soon we realise that we are seeing him before Saskia’s disappearance.  Fast forward three years and Rex is still obsessively seeking Saskia, which effectively ends his latest relationship.  He is also receiving mysterious postcards inviting him to various locations to learn about Saskia – but no one ever shows, despite Rex feeling watched.  Until one fateful day….    Naturally, I was waiting for a twist (probably thinking of Gone Girl) but instead this is a chilling study of pure evil – the remake starred Jeff Bridges in the Raymond role which is rather hard to imagine post-Dude.  At least in its original Dutch version (Spoorloos), The Vanishing is the kind of horror film that you’ll never be able to shake…

 

The Sting (1973)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Sting (1973) – G. R. Hill

Robert Redford is the petty grifter who makes a big score on the street in 1936 but attracts the attention of mobster Robert Shaw who promptly arranges for his partner to be killed.  Redford escapes to Chicago to team up with Paul Newman, an expert in the “big con”, currently washed up.  Together, they recruit a team to run a fake bookie operation to ensnare Shaw.  Director George Roy Hill uses cinematic techniques from the Thirties (wipes, iris-in or out, slapstick-style chases) and Marvin Hamlisch famously adapted Scott Joplin rags (“The Entertainer”) for the soundtrack to get that period feel.  At times, with some over-lapping dialogue and some wistful inter-titles, it almost feels Altman-esque.  The plot twists might even catch you by surprise (or not – it doesn’t really matter). In sum, The Sting is good fun.