Blade Runner 2049

Spoiler free quick analysis review without any discussion of plot by a diehard BR enthusiast. Fuller analysis will be composed soon.

2 stars out of 4.

2049 is everything the original Blade Runner was labeled as being in 1982. With vast resources and a bloated running time this film manages to have not one iota of the original’s staying power that had neither the resources, budget nor over elongated runtime. In many ways it feels like an over hyped graphic novel devoid of a truly motivating story.

The key issue is that you really miss the original creative team that made Blade Runner what it was. Gone are Michael Deeley pushing for stronger narrative focus, gone is the tougher voice of writer David Peoples, and despite Denis Villeneuve doing a good job gone is Ridley Scott’s mind behind the camera which really propelled the original forward to such a degree that no one could ever replicate it.

The environment is on a vast scale but is actually LESS detailed and interesting than the original. The story is slipshod that at times it feels almost nonexistent built out of several elements originally intended to be in the original film and this is compounded by making many of the same moves as the original structure overall.

Mostly I am reminded of 2010 (1984) in that this is an unnecessary sequel without the original production team to quite probably the greatest science fiction film ever made that is convinced it is saying something important. (Yes, I consider Blade Runner to be tied with 2001 and Star Wars (1977, unaltered) as the greatest of all sci-fi. It is one of the greatest films ever made you know.) Yet with 2010 they actually told a story relatively well; and the same can be said for The Two Jakes (1990) being at least competent and decent even in comparison to Chinatown. Both of those sequels can be ignored or enjoyed occasionally for their good points.

On a modern note, while I was quite dismayed at the empty shell that was Mad Max: Fury Road in comparison to the original Mad Max trilogy, 2049 makes that comparison look pitiful. The production design of 2049 is…okay. What detail you actually get to see is interesting but overall there isn’t very much other than many open and rather barren locales. Many things take place indoors which recalls the original film’s planning as a low budget interior film before Ridley Scott came on board. The film has a number of truly good moments, but these are more side quests than anything else. They would make for a great low budget shorter feature that really probed their particular issues because in 2049 they only serve to elongate an already overstuffed picture that can only dump them in the waste piles unfulfilled.

Then there’s the score or I should say lack of a score. For something to follow one of the all-time iconic scores, this is really more of a selective subwoofer rattle ambient noise cue sheet. Literally. I wondered if the theater’s speaker cabinets would break since no theater today actually maintains its equipment with care any longer. Combine this with even a lack of one truly definable great moment to raise the hairs on the back of your neck and a story that when closely scrutinized doesn’t make sense and you have this film whose name 2049 almost describes the runtime of two hours forty five minutes.

Ultimately this…is an overwhelming tedium.  A picture that is Blade Runner in name only. A large budget sci-fi film that has good ideas that merely serve as window dressing and fade into the background due to their lack of integration or true meaning to the story at hand. This is a motion picture without humanity, nor does it even truly question the nature of humanity in any meaningful way. And it drags. On and on without ever giving even the most diehard enthusiasts a real reason to care.

2049 is everything critics railed against in 1982 for the tampered with theatrical release of Blade Runner. They simply were writing about the wrong picture.

Do you get your ticket’s worth with this release? Sure I guess.

Is it nice to look at? Sometimes.

Any good ideas? Occasionally.

“Have a better one.”

Black Legion (1937)

3.5 stars out of 4. A strikingly bold picture for the time, and an early Bogart classic.

This is not an easy one to swallow. black Legion deals with a realistic KKK-like organization that unjustly takes out the frustrations of citizens against innocent foreigners and those of foreign descent. Based on a real life incident and court case, this is a great example of Warners adept production and refinement of the social issue picture.

Bogie stars as a worker passed over for a promotion he had been waiting for in favor of a better educated candidate who happen to be both younger and of foreign descent. This leads others to suggest he go to a secret meeting which of course turns out to be for the titular Legion, and it is at this point that he falls down the rabbit hole and will never make his way back out again. Seen today, what is most chilling is the degree to which the Legion infiltrates all aspects of society and these men’s lives, much as we have seen throughout modern times with the rise of various terrorist groups and factions hidden in plain sight.

Black Legion predates the Noir movement by a number of years but fits in right alongside other Warners productions from this era that effectively hint at what would later arise as Noir. Warner was always the studio that focused on real life dramas or stories of the streets. Aside from the gangster films, it was their continued adaptation of stories based on true events that set them apart from the other major studios.

Archie Mayo directed this film and it shares a number of similarities with  The Petrified Forest (1936), particularly in its strong use of Bogart as a dramatic performer. Mayo was able to get the most out of Bogie in both films before he was relegated to just playing the heavy or Gangster no.2 second fiddle to the rest. It is really only in these two films that you are able to see his range later glimpsed in his breakout role of Roy “Mad Dog” Earle in High Sierra (1940). Assisting this strength is a great gathering of the great WB stock company of actors, including the later forgotten Dick Foran.

So if you’re in the mood for a hard hitting and truly dark drama from the 30’s that feels miles ahead of its time, or are a Petrified Forest fan, this one’s for you.

The transfer is great, as always from WB’s classic titles, and being from the Gangsters Vol. 3 set has commentary and Night at the Movies option. Another great rendering of a studio classic.

A must own for Bogie fans.

Lady Killer (1933)

3.5 stars out of 4. My favorite Cagney vehicle.

This is the third 1933 produced Cagney vehicle I have reviewed. Amazing how the breadth of one’s work back in the golden age could be so quickly put together. Lady Killer is pure contrivance and absolute fun.

Cagney plays a movie usher who winds up throwing in with a small time gang, who he then builds into an empire out East until it blows up and they must go run out West to escape the law. Cagney winds up broke and betrayed, only to find work as a movie extra and eventually becomes the top star in Hollywood.

If that paragraph doesn’t grab you, then stop reading here. This is the film that firmly cements the audience’s love of Cagney forever. He is at his charming best, and runs the gamut of opportunist and honest guy. And it also features more turmoil for poor Mae Clarke, who was the same actress on the receiving end of Jimmy’s grapefruit in The Public Enemy.

In addition to all the fun, there’s a nice criticism of Hollywood and the system at the time while providing a real glimpse into the workings of 1933 production that goes beyond just the stuff you can read in books. And any picture that can get Cagney to laugh at himself while riding a fake horse in full Indian chief regalia in front of back projection footage is tops in my book.

Another winner in WB’s Gangsters Vol. 3 with commentary and the always lovely night at the Movies option. Transfer is great as usual with these.

The Mayor of Hell (1933)

3.5 stars out of 4. Somehow it works.

Here is a prime example of how effective the Warners machine was back in the day. The Mayor of Hell is basically a gangster film crossed with a youth reformation picture crossed with the studio’s successful hit I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932). And yet despite seeming like a silly combination it actually manages to work in some strange fashion.

The film opens with miscreant youths progressing in acting up throughout their section of New York. Eventually they are picked up by the police and finally sent off to reform school upstate. Now this might have one thinking that the ringleader would then grow up into the Cagney character as would later occur in Angels With Dirty Faces and others, but you’d be dead wrong. They arrive at the “school” which is run more like a corrupt prison from Chain Gang. The headmaster is corrupt as hell and secretly delights in punishing the youths in his charge.

Enter Cagney as a gangster given the top job as payback in order to simply collect a cushy government salary. Yet despite his seemingly carefree attitude he takes an active interest in the treatment of the boys held there as they remind him of himself coming from the same neighborhood. This leads to an eventual clash of wills and temperaments that despite some slightly unbelievable elements eventually boil over to a flame filled full scale riot that truly gives Cagney the titular role.

It is this surprising honesty and darkness that led to the ending being partially re-shot by studio expert Michael Curtiz who was the master of action sequences. This steps up the game to a point where the Code started cutting chunks out of the picture like crazy when it had to be re-certified a year after release. By no means is this a happy picture or one with a positive outcome no matter what the tacked on ending tries to sell.

If you can forgive its narrative contrivances, this one is an interesting and invigorating watch that actually has some balls to it. Cagney can sell just about anything, and the nods to Chain Gang serve to only heighten the film’s dark tone.

A great uncut transfer on DVD, from WB’s Gangsters Vol. 3. Picture and sound are great, aside from a hair or two in the gate. Commentary and Night at the Movies options make this another essential slice of classic WB.

Picture Snatcher (1933)

3.5 stars out of 4. Classic Jimmy. The above poster says it all.

Here we have a pure Cagney vehicle, and one where he is allowed to keep the trademark snarkiness that still endears him to film fans while actually being a good guy for a change. Picture Snatcher deals with tabloid journalism and trying to get that perfect stolen shot of the juiciest story to sell editions before the next guy. Has very much changed all these years later?

Here we see the Warners machine really getting revved up, particularly its usage of the same tried and true on staff directors who could make even the lowest of pictures sing. Here the film is directed by Lloyd Bacon who does a remarkable job at keeping this one tight and compact as it crams quite a bit of story into its blistering 77 minute runtime.

Cagney plays an ex-con just out of the joint who takes up an offer to join a tabloid and lands the job of photographer after a particularly dangerous shot gets him the job. His supervisor is a surprising Ralph Bellamy, who portrays a cynical and beaten drunkard who once had grand ideals of journalism. Bellamy who seemed forever stuck in the role of the country bumpkin does really fine work here, showing even earlier on that he had the necessary dramatic chops to to portray greater roles.

But it is Jimmy Cagney who we’re staring at, it’s his picture and for good reason. Nobody else could have sold us a guy who so blatantly teeters on the line of good taste and breaking the law again. When they finally gave him his own starring vehicles, Cagney was basically unleashed upon the whole WB classic era backlot. From charming the ladies to worming his way into an execution to secretly snap the shot of the chair flashing…this is pure PreCode fun in every way possible.

The second entry in WBs Gangsters Vol. 3 set, complete with commentary and Night at the Movies option.

The transfer is solid with good sound, and miles ahead of previous tape copies.

If you don’t have the WB Gangster sets, what’s stopping you? The probability of these ever hitting Blu-ray is practically nil.

Smart Money (1931)

3 stars out of 4.

Someone obviously came up with the idea to re-team Robinson and Cagney after their huge successes with Little Caesar and  The Public Enemyrespectively the previous year. This is exactly what Smart Money is, another gangster picture culled from “ripped from the headlines” news stories where the lead character will be a fictionalized variant based on several real life notorious crime figures.

This became Warner’s bread and butter release during the worst years of the Depression and still pack quite a punch these days, particularly these earlier films that arrived before the Code implementation. These Pre-Code gangster releases are grittier and darker, and today are finally seen again uncut. If they were reissued or put on tape any earlier it was always in a truncated Code enforced edit.

All this aside, Smart Money is an inferior picture that skirts by on the charm of its stars and the PreCode elements. Otherwise it’s all  very standardized and drags despite its short runtime. Robinson is given the lead, with Cagney playing a supporting role. He naturally steals all his scenes and it only when both are present onscreen that the picture really lights up. Of particular note is a small bit part for pre-fame Boris Karloff as some sort of pimp and a scene where Cagney pantomimes the err…accentuations of a certain lady that Robinson will find of certain interest.

It’s thankfully short, but many narrative contrivances cannot be overlooked, especially the apparent bloodthirstiness of the police and the sudden ending designed to punish evildoers.

Not a bad way to spend a little bit of time though. An hour and twenty minutes of pure American cinema pairing two of the great stars. Found in WB’s phenomenal Gangsters Volume 3 DVD set which can be had for NOTHING online. Highly recommended.

The transfer is astonishing for those used to grimy tape and laser releases. The film is uncut 1.33:1 in a clean typical WB transfer with a healthy grain field. The sound is clear and undistorted mono. There is a commentary  and full WB night at the Movies feature on all these from the Gangster sets. Maybe someday the studio will get its act together and do one big set of all their classic Gangster pictures.

Soul Erosion in a Counterfeit World

Soul Erosion in a Counterfeit World:

The definitive film of the 1980’s

William Friedkin’s career masterpiece

To Live and Die in L.A.

MGM/UA, 1985

 4 stars out of 4. Immortal classic film.

As a lifelong fan of The French Connection (likely still the best film ever made about the police) I use none of the words above lightly. Over the years I find myself returning to this film and its ideas, themes and context. It has never truly gone away and is arguably more relevant today than upon its original release. TLADILA is a bold, brash and unrelenting explosion of energy, drive and complete erosion of the soul. This soul erosion is a reflection of the shift in culture that occurred and defined the 80’s, and an extension of Reganomics itself. It goes without saying that the industry itself was turned inside out for the worse but combined with the rise of commercialism in every aspect of society, conglomerates amassing huge amounts of control over our daily lives amidst a general feeling that cash solves all problems. It is no wonder that the film itself deals with a counterfeiting plot.

The film deals with the US Secret Service and their everyday activities fighting against counterfeiting rackets as an extension of the US Treasury department. Agent Richard Chance (the astounding William Petersen) is a reckless and brash field agent who risks everything in the pursuit of his target. When his retiring partner is ambushed and killed by ultra-counterfeiter Rick Masters (the incomparable Willem Dafoe), Chance sets out to nail Masters by any means necessary, roping in a new partner the by-the-book John Vukovich (John Pankow). Chance’s enraged pursuit, backed by a scintillating ego will place absolutely everything in the crossfire.

Chance is perhaps the worst agent possible. He must live on the edge almost as if it is as essential as breathing and frequently risks everything in order to achieve his goals. With the murder of his older partner pushing him over the edge, now the law he has upheld his entire career is merely an obstacle that slows him down. His partner Vukovich is another obstacle, as a traditional agent who finds Chance’s actions more and more objectionable though he himself gets involved deeper and deeper running against his own moral code and perhaps beginning to enjoy the danger somewhat.

Rick Masters is also not a typical villain. He may be even more of an enigma than Chance. As an artist he is consistently searching for something to fill the empty void within himself, the same degree of counterfeiting displayed in his excellent false money. This is why he burns all of his work, as it reveals something he cannot or will not acknowledge about himself. The same reasoning applies to the consistent videotaping of his own sexual encounters with his girlfriend. It is an extension of how each character displays such a deep rooted sense of teetering on the edge of destruction due to the fact that only primordial reasons guide them forwards in a land of imposed annihilation.

All in the film are completely developed and morally questionable characters, amidst a world that burns away at them. Frequently it seems as if everyone in the film is treading water in a sea of acid all while trying to grasp at any shred of debris to stop their flesh burning away. The style and tone of the film completely predates the slightly later 80’s action film renaissance where character began to take a backseat to unrealistic glories which when closely examined feel quite hollow i.e. the Rambos, Miami Vice-styled crud and even predates many of the same themes that turned up in Lethal Weapon and Die Hard before those franchises became imitators of themselves.

Each and every one of these characters is morally questionable and absolutely duplicitous. It is up to the audience to determine when they are counterfeit or if they are completely gone. The character of Vukovich is perhaps the only one who is not too far gone but over the course of the film even his motives come called into question. Friedkin described the film as being set in a counterfeit world, where everyone and everything is as counterfeit as the money Rick Masters makes. But this can only take place once the soul has eroded away leaving a world of people who revert to primordial tendencies of greed and rage with a degree of conviction because they have nothing else left to them. It is this central emptiness to their lives that pushes Masters to continually burn all of his own artwork as he cannot face the fact that he is already a dead man, and the reason why Chance lives so close to the edge taking enormous risks without any hesitation.

Friedkin was and is what I describe as a kinetic filmmaker, or one who uses the medium to convey a sense of motion and immediacy through sensory linked visuals in addition to narrative. You see this in The Excorcist and The French Connection, but never as blatant and layered as TLADILA, where they begin in the opening titles. It may come across as heavy handed to some, but they serve to link the narrative to the individual character’s state of mind and also to disorient the viewer and forcing the brain to work harder to get the meaning thus involving the audience in the picture even more. That this is done in a refined way without any modern tendencies to induce false realism only adds to the picture’s power. This extends to the soundmix design which uses varying levels of volume and other trickery to create a sense of unease in the brain that puts the audience on edge. And to extract such a degree of control on a low budget film in the era of analog Dolby Stereo, which was extremely limited in terms of what you could and couldn’t do, is nothing short of amazing.

Seeing this film begs the question: “how in the world did they get away with all this?” The answer is simply that it was made as essentially an indie with a non-union crew, and where everyone took pay cuts to simply do the film. Budgeted at six million, TLADILA was never meant for star power, and thus actually cast for the respective parts using lesser known stage and screen actors. It is of course no surprise that many are familiar faces now since much time and care was placed in finding the right people to fill the roles. Particularly Petersen and Dafoe both of which are absolutely riveting, with Petersen presaging his phenomenal work a year later in Michael Mann’s stylistically similar/outright inspired by TLADILA,  Manhunter. (Mann later tried to sue Friedkin by claiming TLADILA stole from his developing Miami Vice series. Which it didn’t, as Vice was a poor man’s version of TLADILA, made for TV.)   Then you have Friedkin’s usage of all practical locations and no sets. This bridges the line between fiction and reality so that we’re already in the film’s world and it is our own. To add to this it was Friedkin’s desire and practice during shooting to secretly film rehearsals and not cut at scene’s end in order to try and catch those magical moments of realism that came from developing a real trust with all the actors. The film truly evolves into a nightmarish vision of what seems like just another chapter in the madness of humanity.

The film was shot fast and dirty, but still provides remarkable cinematography from Robby Muller with great usage of color and staggering tracking shots that directly recall TFC. The editing is seamless and editor Bud Smith actually co-produced the picture. (I met Mr. Smith once at a lecture; who aside from being very honest, informative and talented is a very nice man. All a rarity in the business.)

The other and perhaps best stroke of luck possible is that the film’s deal was moved to MGM/UA who at this time was still financially off kilter, and UA had been bought out after the Heaven’s Gate fiasco. This led to many things being virtually unquestioned until it was far too late to do anything and because the budget was so low less care was placed on messing with Friedkin’s decisions.  This was challenged in the ending, where the studio objected to the abrupt reversals and demanded a more conventional and absolutely implausible happy ending. That being said is a testament to all those involved that they could craft such a piece of garbage and tie it in beautifully to the film’s overlying tone.

Anyone who knows of the film today or remembers it is usually referring to the now renowned car chase that tears through backstreets, train yards and the LA aqueducts before finally heading down the freeway against oncoming traffic. It is as bold as the film itself and was inserted only as Friedkin put it: “if it could top the chase in The French Connection”. Due to the latter’s sheer iconic status it doesn’t exactly do that, but it is one of the rare chases that so perfectly matches the story and characters with reality. Every single aspect of this chase is down to earth and places the audiences right there in the moment with Chance and the panicked Vukovich in the back of a crap Chevy sedan at its breaking point. Friedkin went for broke here and rightfully so. Car chases have become a cliché and never serve anything other than being the umpteenth bad action scene in any standard filth. They used to mean something and the really good ones told you about character whilst performing vehicular feats you could only dream about doing. Thus this chase is up there with the greats from TFC, The Seven-Ups, Ronin and of course the big one: Bullitt.

Now we come to the score. Friedkin handpicked Wang Chung to score the entire film as he liked their sound on the Points of the Curve album and felt they would be perfect for the setting he was trying to achieve. While it seems to be off-putting to modern reviewers who lambast the sounds as being terribly dated, in fact Friedkin was right and not only is the score perfectly matched to the narrative, but it is the best work the band ever achieved-particularly before going down in history as the “everybody wang chung tonight” guys. It is a symphony of darkness in a sun-blazed world set against synthesizers. Even their earlier hit “Dance Hall Days” was incorporated into the film as what its eventual resting place likely was: background music for a seedy stripclub in the daytime hours.

Modern viewers complain about the film’s style and staging being severely dated, but this misses the point entirely. The goal was to fully utilize the new sheen of the 80’s to fully convey just how far gone society had become. It is all defined by the erosion of the soul I underlined. It beautifully hints at the film industry shifts occurring at the time, the dark underbelly of Reganomics and the growing desire at the time for more.

The gaze of Regan himself reaches into the film, as a framed portrait on the wall of the abandoned Secret service branch office, glimpsed as Chance and Vukovich return arms late at night. It is one of those real life touches that so eloquently underscores the film’s study of the difference between outer shells and true intent. Regan is of course also heard in the opening, where he is giving a speech and heard over the radio comms.

Friedkin is still working today, but never achieved the recognition or career of some of his contemporaries, likely due to his up and downs at the box office and his somewhat abrasive personality. But it cannot be stressed enough that he is a prime example of someone who truly cares about the medium and isn’t afraid to embrace cinema history or to break rules. Somebody PLEASE give the man a decent budget and free reign. TLADILA was his return to form, and essentially going back to his roots of independent documentary filmmaking. It remains a triumph of story, style, execution and complete mastery and control of narrative cinema—particularly after the absolute waste that was his film Cruising.

TLADILA is a film not easily forgotten, and if closely examined reveals a rich understanding of the human condition and how it our own impositions that tear away at the soul. It is practically The Third Man of the 1980’s.

A federal agent is dead…

A killer is loose…

And the City of Angels is about to explode…

EDITIONS:

Not much to report here. Image eventually released a decent LD with okay color, widescreen matting and the original Dolby Stereo mix in PCM. MGM finally released the DVD in 2003 with extras and commentary surprisingly. The sound was remixed in 5.1 but preserved the original intent and design thank goodness. Eventually a Blu-ray was released and thankfully it features no tweaking or revisionism. The color and contrast is remarkably improved providing for likely the best presentation since the film’s 35mm run in 1985. The 5,1 remix was upgraded to a lossless DTS-HDMA presentation and is lovely. I only wish they had also included the original 2.0 track in lossless. Stupidly this disc has no new features nor any of the previous SD features so one must keep the DVD for those and swap discs to enjoy them.

Also of note, the DVD and Blu-ray releases stupidly and pointlessly airbrush out Petersen’s silhouetted face from the stunning poster and substitute a generic one. What the heck MGM?!?!?

SOUNDTRACK RELEASES:

Wang Chung’s score was released on LP and CD, arranged into a vocal side and instrumental side. I haven’t heard the CD as the vinyl is phenomenal and can be had four typically under two dollars. It was mastered at Artisan studios in LA just as their other records for Geffen were, so you have really the pinnacle of great 80’s production, engineering and plating going on to produce great records. The mix is far better than the film version and the album is a great listen for any mood. Sadly it does not include “Dance Hall Days”, but this can be rectified with one of the many 7” or 12” single releases of the song, or an LP copy of Points on the Curve, the album that convinced Friedkin that they should score the film, and it also includes “Wait”.

I recently found a 2015 dated vinyl reissue from Geffen of the film’s score in stores, but have no idea as to its origins or cutting information. If the price falls enough I will try it out, but don’t expect anything to touch the original LP, nor it be something that would justify the nearly $30 price difference between the two.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

4 stars out of 4. A near-classic reshaping of a sprawling crime novel that glorifies the spirit of a city none will ever truly understand.

 

A huge work of fiction about a city that exudes explanation. A period piece about cops in the 50’s teetering on the edge of the dream factory. That it believably stars two Aussies is a testament to director Curtis Hanson’s desire to consistently toe over the line of fiction vs reality.

What L.A. Confidential does so well is not simply recreate the period as many films of this type do, but to accurately craft its story amidst the characters so that the setting just seems to fall into place naturally. By keeping the style and photography naturalistic this avoids what is now the film noir cliché that has made the term one of derision instead of one of the great American art forms. We the audience are actually allowed inside the character’s motivations and thought processes so that their arcs become the story arc and intermesh with one another so by the final credits the true plot becomes visible and concise.

It remains a film that can be revisited and firmly enjoyed time and time again because it never once insults one’s intelligence. The sure handed quality to the production creates an atmosphere of confidence which then spills over into the film itself. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to relax and enjoy a well crafted adult picture for adults that isn’t afraid to take risks in order to better serve its source material. This is most defined by the insistence upon relatively unknown leads to better suit the roles as written instead of using star power to make it more studio approachable. The usage of stars is carefully controlled to both side and character parts so that it creates a perfect balance of performers in order to better shape the world onscreen, much like the classic studio stock companies of old.

However, my one caveat to this strong recommendation is that each time I come away a bit unsatisfied. Instead of the usual feeling of being left wanting more, I get a sense of not seeing the whole picture. This is likely due from jettisoning the majority of backstories and virtually over half the novel which actually takes place over a ten year span. Thus the narrative seems even more fractured than what it should be and when the pieces are fit together one still gets the feeling of things being left out. Admittedly this is a minor qualm, but it still hasn’t gone away after all these years so I cannot simply write it off as a necessity of adapting to the screen. I have not yet read the novel and know several characters turned out wildly different so it must be viewed as more of a companion piece to the film. Yet, I still can’t shake the feeling of incompletion. This is why I can never place L.A. Confidential in the pantheon of greats, because it isn’t quite seamless in its presentation or narrative.

Any time you make a film set in the LA of the past, you invoke all the classics that have gone before and a certain stylistic approach people have in their minds. Whether or not it has anything to do with them or the hardboiled fiction that were their inspiration is irrelevant. There is one picture that was able to make that jump to classic status by incorporating more modern techniques into a poetic and timeless synthesis with the past, and one that the audience is reminded of throughout L.A. Confidential. Chinatown is that picture and probably the one time anyone ever achieved something onscreen remotely close to the poetic weathering of humanity Chandler’s prose created. The great Jerry Goldsmith provides the score to both films and one cannot help but see the similarities that the similar musical touchstones weave together.

I can write all of that above and yet still enjoy the hell out of myself revisiting this murky slice of the past. What is the most striking nearly twenty years on is just how dedicated and complete the direction is and all without the over-reliance on technology or proven trends we have today. To be completely honest it was a lucky thing to get the film made in 1997 and would be a miracle to be made in today’s landscape. It may not be completely perfect or seamless in its presentation of 1953 LA, (A number of shots can’t help but scream the 90’s.) but its well-drawn characters delving into the eroded humanity that is inherent to the city of angels is a refreshing breath of fresh air to this day.

EDITIONS:

Released on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD. The LD had a Dolby Surround mxidown and 5.1 ac3. The DVD was good for the time with DD 5.1 but suffered from noise and edge enhancement. It wasn’t updated until the simultaneous DVD SE and Blu-ray release from WB. The Blu-ray is a welcome improvement in every way. Picture quality dramatically increases with a nice natural look, good color and no visible edge enhancement. Sound is carries in the Dolby TrueHD lossless codec in the same 5.1 track. The sound is very subtle and the surrounds typically carry the scenes and only kick into high gear during the few action moments or more bombastic score cues. I did notice a slight bit of noise in one scene but overall this is a great improvement to the DVD’s lossy rendering.

Had now for a few bucks under the Fox label, this one is a steal. There is a Japanese release with slightly improved specs but likely not worth the import cost.

Ronin (1998)

4 stars out of 4. Immortal film. Final masterpiece from the legendary John Frankenheimer.

The best action-adventure film or spy thriller made in the past few decades.

 

“Don’t you see? I never left.”

 

Three little words. So small, so minute and so seemingly insignificant that they could not possibly have any real impact on a story. Yet in Ronin they form the entire crux upon which the film and its deeply nuanced worldly characters are based. To have a film in this day and age so perfectly poised, so perfectly balanced on a razor’s edge and yet filled to the brim with great performances helmed by one of the great directors at the top of his game firing on all fronts is practically impossible to even fathom. That is has at least been remembered for one thing is some small consolation. Ronin is the only modern entry in the very small list of great car chases that include Bullitt, The French Connection, The Seven-Ups and To Live and Die In L.A..

Yet separating that one fact from the film as a whole does it a major disservice as it has long deserved a major revisiting as not only a modern classic but a great film. This is not because of its car chases, action sequences or the fact that it practically capped off the Eurothriller movement that was so prevalent in the 90’s. No, the reason is because it is a film that given a chance never leaves the mind fully.

“If there is any doubt then there is no doubt.”

How can this be, people will ask me. The film’s storyline is so threadbare and downplayed that it becomes a non-entity. The plot is essentially that various ex-government agents and foreign mercenaries are gathered together to steal a mysterious briefcase for an unknown party. Innumerable reversals, betrayals and plot twists ensue but the reason for the film’s staying power is its commitment to both reality and a heavy prevailing sense of world weariness. These characters are real people who are burdened with such a huge lifetime’s worth of pain, loss, bloodshed and that particular brand of absolute loneliness known only to spies and the devoted readers of espionage fiction.

Deep weight is conveyed in every single moment of character interplay, as the slightest glance or action can speak volumes. The dialogue is sparkling and note-perfect, stemming from a rewrite by an uncredited David Mamet. This gives the film’s world outlook such a beautiful layered sense of poetry that is most perfectly outlined in the defensive retorts of the ex-CIA man, known only as Sam, portrayed by Robert DeNiro in what is to date his last great screen role before he went into an endless string of forgettable pictures.

DeNiro’s Sam is a picture in himself. The audience can instantly tell that this man has been through it all and seen it all, much like an American version of LeCarre’s Alec Leamas. DeNiro brings a definite energy to his trademark low-key style that in a certain light reflects his fantastic turn in Midnight Run. The film’s opening has long been criticized for being overdrawn and slow but if examined closely perfectly sets up both the DeNiro character with practically no dialogue but also the dark and shadowy world of the film itself. All in a few minutes of silent exposition.

Sam is not only the lead character but in a way what the picture is really about. Never mind that the briefcase is the suggested goal-Sam’s pursuit of it invokes something other than money despite his continual claims to the contrary. We can get a sense of something else much larger behind his actions motivating them, perhaps something much greater than money. This reflects most in his relationship with the team’s equipment man, Vincent (Jean Reno, who has probably never been better-certainly not in any English language production) the Frenchman. That the others are practically only known by nationality adheres to their strict business-like code of work.

The film is a cryptic labyrinth of motivations and betrayals. These characters are forced to hedge all their bets not to mention their lives on the single turn of an event, with one insignificant miscalculation proving fatal. It is an absolute delight to see something in the espionage genre that actually has a working brain behind it. So long have we been bombarded with absolutely mindless and trivial spy thrillers that to come across one so perfectly formed and honest to the world it creates is beyond a breath of fresh air; it is mesmerizing. And behind such a grounded and multifaceted plot is a master perfectly working the controls. Ronin’s greatest strength is Frankenheimer’s seamless grasp of proper and classical filmmaking techniques. The picture is effortless and seamlessly constructed. It was the major return to form for Frankenheimer after several extremely strong television productions and sadly proved to be his own swan song in this regard. (The less said about the troubled Reindeer Games the better.)

The car chases deserve their legendary status. Nothing since has ever topped the sight of a BMW and Peugeot tearing through Paris reaching speeds of over one hundred miles per hour…in single takes….with the actors inside the cars…and everything being done one hundred percent practically! That Frankenheimer himself was a car nut is obvious. His trademark low to the ground car POV shots from Grand Prix (1967) return with an even greater degree of suspense which heightens every last nail biting moment of the film’s several chases. The realism is so incredible that only moments in Bullitt and Popeye Doyle’s furious pursuit of the EL train in The French Connection hold up as well.

Released with a number of CCE prints which heighten the silver content and minimize color, Ronin is a strikingly cold and dark picture to look at. The photography was conducted in Super35 which uses the spherical lens focus superiority to provide truly staggering trademark multicharacter focus shots the Frankenheimer so adored-and all without the obvious fakery of a split focus diopter. This also allowed for good usage of deep focus technique, which is truly a lost art. The sound mix, released originally only in DTS, is exceptional for the time and when properly represented still holds up very well today.

That Frankenheimer knew France and knew Paris like the back of his hand comes into play practically as soon as the film starts. Only someone who had both lived in and loved the country for years could make a picture that truly delves right into the back alleyways of many of the nation’s great cities. He was also thus able to get a number of permits for shooting that most would never be allowed to have in this day and age. This only aids the blending of reality with the so-called Eurothriller style, giving Ronin an edge over virtually every action thriller made since.

The alternate ending Frankenheimer wanted, is included on disc and would have given a poetic noir-ish ending had it been left in. However UA wasn’t so much of a fan and it works well without the extra scene, just perhaps not as completely as planned.

But again, it is the perfection of film technique which makes the film so incredibly strong. Frankenheimer trusts us to not have to be guided and respects the audience for actually having a brain thus not holding back from trusting us to follow the story. At no time are we ever spoken down to, nor is anything being spoon fed. This is why the film has become a cult favorite and appears on many late night cable channels, because its replayability is infinite.

The film opens with a small bit of text which explains the title. Ronin are masterless samurai, whose master has been killed thus throwing them back out into the world completely devoid of meaning or purpose. The mercenaries are thus modern day masterless samurai and must find their own purpose whatever worthless exercise it may be. The concept that these various operators are exactly like the Ronin of old Japan is an absolutely perfect metaphor for their continued existence: whatever may be left of it.

A true qualified masterpiece in every sense of the word. A forgotten and undervalued motion picture that has NEVER gotten the reception it so deserves; as the last great work of a master.

EDITIONS:

Released on Laserdisc and a DTS edition, DVD, CE 2 disc DVD and Blu-ray.

The DVDs are practically identical, stemming I presume from the LD master. The 2 disc version changes the color timing however a slight bit, has some infrequent combing artifacts, and is marginally sharper. The old disc includes a open matte copy that reveals more frame information from the Super35 production. The Blu-ray is a MPEG-2 transfer and is extremely outdated. It also reverts the color scheme to something more basic in the skintones losing the DVD’s slightly colder look which I attributed as being closer to the original CCE prints ordered by Frankenheimer. I think it is based on the CE master that had already been worked on in the 2000’s and appears very old.

Audio is best heard on the Blu-ray which at least gives us a lossless DTS-HDMA rendering. It comes across a slight bit canned and harsh in the upper ranges at times along with some dialog sounding a bit mono. I hope to soon check the LD audio of which the DTS track might outperform the lossless rendering due to the older format utilizing mainly untouched theatrical audio mixes.

All extras are on the 2 disc CE DVD and not on the Blu-ray as is typical of MGM held titles. Thus, you must obtain the DVD to watch them and for primarily fluff they are actually not bad at all. Best is Frankenheimer’s commentary which is a very detailed and frank discussion about the process and making of the film. Hearing it makes it even sadder that this proved to be his piece de resistance.

Verdict: BD and 2 disc CE DVD for extras.

EDIT 9/2017:

Arrow Video has released their own 4K sourced new Blu-ray special edition worldwide. The film negative was scanned at 4K and supervised by the cinematographer. The new master is breathtaking and far more detailed than the old outdated master. The particular color design is far more correct than the old MGM disc which had introduced pinkish skin tones. Arrow generated a new interview with the cinematographer which is a great watch and included all of the previously exclusive to DVD extras. The sound is presented in 5.1 dts-hdma and nearly identical to the MGM track which had a marginally higher bitrate. A 2.0 track is also included which is matrix encoded and thus replicates the original matrixed 35mm optical track and PCM of the Laserdisc. The original poster art is on a reversible sleeve with the newly commissioned cover. I have written to Arrow as to inquire if CCE prints were consulted.

A dream release that I thought would never happen. Grab it immediately.

 

You’re worried about saving your own skin?

–Yeah I am. It covers my body.

The Fleischer Studios/Famous Studios Superman theatrical cartoons (1941-1943)

4 stars out of 4. Immortal film.

“Look up in the sky—it’s a bird—it’s a plane—it’s Superman!”

It is not often that a definitive adaptation of a character or work comes around. Almost always it is left up to each individual’s preference, but in the case of Superman there is a clear beacon that so hugely affected the character that he was never the same again.

The Fleischer theatrical serials were and are unlike anything to come out of Hollywood animation before or since. They are completely self-contained miniature movies that perfectly encapsulate the appeal of superheroes while absolutely enthralling the mind due to their sheer imagination, breathless excitement, stunning visuals and absolutely brilliant staging. Fast, bold, vibrant, unbound by story convention and so wonderfully executed and constructed that one quickly forgets they are mere 10 minute or less theatrical serial cartoons.

This was Superman before Kryptonite, before all the woes about the character’s inherent clichés and not fitting in a modern world, before he was invincible. And it is all filled with that wonderful 30’s-40’s rhythmic snap even down to the dialogue where Lois Lane more closely resembles Torchy Blane than a damsel in distress. This has all of the excitement and adventure that has been so lacking in many modern adaptations. These cartoon shorts truly bring the character to life and brought about many of the touchstones that we now take as common parts of the Superman character.

With the Flesicher shorts, we were given so many elements that weren’t present in the comics of the time that are now trademarks of Superman: the power of flight, x-ray vision and the famed opening that still sends shivers of excitement down my spine:

“Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! The infant of Krypton is now the Man of Steel—Superman! To best be in a position to use his amazing powers in a never-ending battle for truth and justice, Superman has assumed the disguise of Clark Kent mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.”

The famed usage of the phone booth for quick changes and the usage of “This looks like a job for..Superman” (the line originating in Clark Kent’s voice and shifting to Superman’s more authoritative tone) make their appearances to create what is essentially is true classic version of the character onscreen that does not try to make amends for being a pulp adventure hero. Also beneficial is the production taking place in the early 1940’s so that the elements of the snappy 1930’s world in which Superman was created is maintained. The characters thus speak and act like real people, more as if they are in a Pre-Code film than a later Hollywood film, doubled by the fact that most cartons of the era still played to their audiences despite this new form of censorship.

The usage of rotoscoping further sets these cartoons apart in that not only do the stories resemble the comics and engage our fantasies, but that it also looks realistic to the point of actual believability. Combined with an intense usage of light and shadow, the world of Superman leaps off of the pages of Action Comics and onto the screen with all the direct power of a radio show.

For decades these shorts have proven immensely influential to other animators, filmmakers and storytellers. They were the primary inspiration for the legendary Batman: The Animated Series, not to mention the wonderful Superman: The Animated Series, and serve as the template for which every superhero story should be trying to achieve.

But halfway through the run of shorts, the Fleischer studio was taken over by Paramount and the series was carried over to Famous Studios. These cartoons are typically regarded as being inferior to the Fleischer studio episodes and are typically written off because of the inherent and obvious racist overtones that feature prominently in several episodes. This is an extreme disservice to cartons that are no more offensive than other propaganda at the time due to our entry into WWII and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It is regrettable that so many things were produced with this inherent but it should not be used as an excuse to simply write off more of these wonderful cartoons.

Admittedly, the stories began a general shift from the science-fiction elements of the Fleischer produced shorts to a more wartime espionage and general fantasy theme, much as the comics themselves shifted to tones like these throughout the 1940’s. But hey, sometimes Superman just needs to fight off some reanimated giant mummies or a underground colony of mutant birdmen.

But what is most striking, most important and the chief reason to why the cartoons still work after all this time is that they absolutely nail the character and his mission. They are absolutely passionate and human whilst retaining that defining element that inspired superheroes in the first place, the desire for betterment and to escape the daily horrors of an unjust life where striving for good did not always mean good would be returned. Superman at his core symbolizes this ideal, just as he was written originally in Action Comics no. 1 in June 1938.

And by god, you really do believe a man can fly.

EDITIONS: Falling into the public domain decades ago, the Fleischer/Famous Superman has long been seen in terrible condition with most tape and disc copies being sourced from dupes of dupes of dupes of faded 16mm reduction prints. There are only two official releases worth owning, as other slap on new sound effects and lack any restoration whatsoever.  The first is the recent Warner Bros. Max Fleischer’s Superman which uses brand new restored versions from the 35mm elements in the WB vault. The image is stunning full of the robust color unseen since their 1940’s debut, but the set is plagued with audio errors that come from using the wrong score and cue elements. (All the errors on the Warner release are quite jarring. “Never ending battle for truth and justice” is now presented as “for truth-justice”.)

For the best presentation of the shorts, one must turn to the DVD from Bosko Video, The Complete Superman Collection Diamond Anniversary Edition. This uses the old Bosko-Image Laserdisc source, re-transferred for DVD and accurately carries over the look and feel of the 35mm prints. There are some inherent defects in the audio but these are minor. Sadly this does not have the color of the Warner transfer but was done long before digital tools were available. The only downside is that Terror on the Midway is heavily damaged and that at the beginning of each short, the initial release date is superimposed for a few frames.

Consider only these two releases. (Or the bosko/image Laser.) All others are to be avoided at all costs. The shorts are also available on YouTube and the Internet Archive in varying quality.

Best version on YouTube, from the Warner transfer of the first installment: