Following on from the humour laden The Black Cat episode in Tales of Terror, director Roger Corman and writer Richard Matheson decided to go for all out comedy when adapting Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. I don’t know how comic a tale this is in Poe’s bibliography, but the result here certainly has more laughs than chills.
Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff spar marvellously throughout the piece as a trio of grand wizards all attempting to out do each other. Central to the story is Lorre’s Dr. Bedlo, who is behind the times in still conducting magic with props. He angered the head of the Brotherhood, Karloff’s slick Dr Scarabus, and for his sins was turned into a raven. He fled to Erasmus Craven’s mansion, knowing this good doctor, the only wizard not in the brotherhood, could help him without revealing his folly. Price’s Craven is about as over-the-top as you’d expect, but why shouldn’t he be when the script is packed full of japes and jests like this one? Karloff and Lorre compete for attention. Sterling support is leant by the supporting cast, including a young Jack Nicholson, who looks both confused and irritated. They don’t have to try too hard as it’s all a lark to show off the aging stars, gently mocking their established screen personas.
The final confrontation between Craven and Scarabus is excellently done, lots of cheap effects looking as good today as they would in 1963 and standing up well against much more modern fare. You can see where J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter filmmakers got a lot of inspirations from. The burning castle is once again the same burning castle we saw in The House of Usher. Cheap, cheerful and a lot of fun.
Boris Karloff also starred in Universal’s 1935 chiller The Raven, but that movie only blended elements of several Poe stories into a new framework.
@Chrisno1, just FYI The Raven is a long form narrative poem by Poe. The unnamed narrator is mourning the death of his love and a Raven appears, repeating the word "Nevermore" again and again. It is very much a rumination on death and loss (two Poe hallmarks) and the narrator's fervent but ultimately unfulfilled desire to be reunited with his lost love.
The Corman movie has only the barest of connections to the poem, again ultimately descending into another unfaithful wife trying to screw over her unsuspecting husband plot that Corman loved to regurgitate over and over again. I saw it ages ago and as a longtime Poe fan I almost threw up after watching it. I wouldn't mind if it was treated as an original story but calling itself "Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven" is about on par with referring to the 1967 Casino Royale as "Ian Fleming's Casino Royale" and I just could never get past that.
It's been a long time since I've posted about a film in this thread. In fact, I haven't been watching as many films as usual lately. But last night I watched Akira Kurosawa's noir crime drama HIGH AND LOW (1963), in which a Japanese businessman is caught up in a kidnapping where his chauffer's son is held for ransom.
I've seen a few Kurosawa films over the years, but this is the first one that I've seen which takes place in a contemporary setting. It still has pretty much everything that I've come to expect from Kurosawa though. Striking compositions, creative and meaningful blocking of scenes, and a memorable lead performance by Toshiro Mifune. But the film isn't entirely focused on Mifune all the way through, as for much of the second half it goes into police procedural mode, with the focus on the detectives trying to track down the kidnapper. The film is engaging and gripping throughout, with a dark and memorable final scene. I think I'll be watching more Kurosawa noir in the future.
I've not seen this one. Sounds good. The best contemporary Kurasawa IMO is Living. A drama, but an exceptional one about age fulfilment and, well, living.
At first I wasn't sure what film you were referring to there @chrisno1 but I think you must be referring to Ikiru. I haven't heard it called that before. I haven't seen it yet, but it's on my list of Kurosawa films to watch.
Shocking as it may seem to the British members here, I've just seen The Wicker Man for the first time. I liked it. I rarely watch horror movies, but this one is different. it doesn't rely on lots of blood and jump scares. Instead it has mystery, the bizzare and a story we rarely see. Christopher Lee delivers a great performance and Britt Ekland changes her accent and voice, but not her hotness!
In the Random Chat thread I was compared to Lord Summerisle. This is completely unreasonable since us Norwegians would never condone such pagan traditions!
Saw Clint Eastwood's latest, CRY MACHO. I could gripe about a lot--the story is slight and even a little silly (the rooster "Macho" is actually a major character here), and the kid who shares screen time with Clint can't act his way out of a paper bolsa--but it's touching to see old Clint still at it, championing old-fashioned values during a time when they seemingly don't apply. I wasn't bored and I smiled a lot, and that says something.
directed by Richard Lester (A Hard Days Night, Help!)
screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser (one of ours)
starring Malcolm McDowell as Harry Flashman, Oliver Reed as Otto von Bismarck, and Britt Ekland (another of ours) as Duchess Irma
you know, I don't think we have a Flashman thread in this forum or I would've bumped it. surprising since we've talked about the series of novels so much in the Last Book Read... thread
McDowell seems too young and skinny for my image of Flashman, the books always insisted he was tall and butch and broadshouldered. but of course that was the character himself telling us that, and he's a compulsive liar. Reed of course makes for an excellent villain, a bigger bully than our school bully protagonist. And Ekland gets more to do than as a BondGirl, but not much more: first she plays it frigid, than after one night with Harry she is insatiable (so maybe the braggadocio about the women was true even if he's skinner than he led us to believe)
this all seems quite faithful to what I remember from the second novel, with flashbacks (FlashmanBacks?) to certain scenes from the first. Beautiful architecture in Bavaria, well used, and lots of largescale set-pieces with hundreds of extras. Several extended comic sequences with elaborate choreography, and good swordfights too. its all very funny and cynical, but the humour is mostly physical comedy, whereas in the books most of the jokes came from exploration of Harry's bad attitude and the ridiculous things he told us.
Royal Flash wasn't my favorite of the novels, as it seemed more conventional. I think its the only one set entirely within Europe, and I enjoyed learning the history of other parts of the world, plus the imperialist prejudices made those exotic adventures all the more outrageous which is part of the fun. But nice we've got at least one adaptation of the books, and it was by Fraser himself and quite competent.
Re The Wicker Man, like Britt's Get Carter this was a typical movie shown late night on British TV when there were only a few channels and before they were officially cult classics so one watched with a growing sense of awe and delight, glad the parents had turned in for the night.
What added to the legend of Wicker is that it wasn't a big hit and large chunks of the movie were cut never to be found again. Later they resurfaced and went into the Director's Cut which I caught - but I'm not convinced it improved the film. The pace was lost and admittedly having seen it, one wondered if Sgt Howie couldn't have figured out what was actually going on over the longer duration of the film.
Re Flashman, another guilty pleasure, I think it's been observed that Reed himself would have been good in the role 10 years earlier. I loved reading these and got up to Flashman's Lady after a hiatus during Flashman and the Redskins which put me right off the character, less a dastardly rogue more a sociopath. I made the mistake of reading them in chronological rather than in published order, there's often a point when an author tires of his creation and wants to destroy him by making the reader go off them.
I can see Richard Lester doing this kind of film but it doesn't sell it to me. Royal Flash is a riff on Prisoner of Zenda - an innocent being mistaken for an illustrious double and you either buy into that story - more credible in days of yore before multimedia when there really might be your double in some part of the world - or you don't, and I don't really.
I do recall the author's vivid account of the 1848 Revolutions and the strange atmosphere in the streets of Vienna I think, sort of eerie and deserted.
A Flashman series will never be commissioned until the scourge of wokeness is replaced by common sense. It would be perfect for an Amazon series but would be pointless unless the scripts were like how the original books were written.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Saw Kenneth Branagh's DEATH ON THE NILE. Entertaining--hard to go wrong with an Agatha Christie plot and an all-star cast--but there's a weird focus on Poirot's mustache. . .it's all connected to trauma and loss and by the end Poirot realizes he doesn't need it. Oh fer Gawd's sake--isn't it enough that Poirot is a vain little man and during his time a finely-groomed mustache was the height of men's fashion?
Re Flashman, another guilty pleasure, I think it's been observed that Reed himself would have been good in the role 10 years earlier.
I hadn't thought of that, but you're right: oliver Reed is physically more the type, easy enough to die his hair blonde, and even if I'd never seen him in another film I'd just assume he's a big bully, he almost cant help but give that impression. whereas Malcolm McDowell is relying on my memory of his persona from Clockwork Orange moreso than anything he's actually doing in this film, he really looks (and acts) like a kid with a big moustache who's gotten into a situation way over his head.
coolhandbond said:
A Flashman series will never be commissioned until the scourge of wokeness is replaced by common sense. It would be perfect for an Amazon series but would be pointless unless the scripts were like how the original books were written.
The books really don't make the British Empire look great. The first one shows the attempted occupation of Afghanistan as disastrous and near idiotic. And one of the most unforgettable scenes of the whole series is in Flashman and the Dragon, when he witnesses the British Army destroy a Chinese city more beautiful than he's ever seen anywhere in Europe (despite his foul and cynical language, Flashman is more sympathetic to the people he meets abroad than are most of his countrymen). A lot of the educational value in the books is that Fraser reveals well-documented aspects of history that are less flattering than the conventional narratives that are usually told, sometimes quite disturbing.
That said, could a modern film handle that nuance? could it tell a story that reveals mistakes of the British Empire without audiences misunderstanding and assuming its glamourising the subject matter? I think of some of the controversies Tarantino got into with Django Unchained, where character used the language of the times and the slave owners look more villainous than I've ever seen before in film, yet some argued that shouldn't be shown at all, as if it were glamourising slavery.
Funny how movie audiences are assumed to take whatever they see at face value without appreciating moral complexities, are we all really that dumb? but Hollywood in particular is risk-averse when it comes to judging an audience's reaction, so you may be right, they just wouldn't try.
twofour said:
I think the trick is to make it clear that Flashman isn't a hero.
in the books he tells us in own words he isn't a hero, and proves that to us over and over, usually there's at least one big moment per book that should make us really despise the man (I'm not sure there was a moment quite like that in the Royal Flash film). That should be easy enough to do in a new film, though it seems like a lot of morally ambiguous antiheroes are celebrated by their audiences for being "bad-ass", rather than being held responsible for their transgressions. Back again to the question of dumb audiences, and risk-averse film studios pandering to that assumed lack of critical thinking.
N24, there's some doubt over how much of Britt's voice was dubbed for this film. Scottish actress/singer Annie Ross has been credited (or claimed) to have done some (the singing) or all of her voice, and Britt has denied this. Mind you, she has always denied doing the nude scenes as well....
Have you been watching those films in the English dub, or the Norwegian one? I obviously only know the English one. IMHO she's dubbed, and partially doubled in the nude scenes.
Watched it today, and was very pleased with Jude Law as the younger Dumbledore but even more so with Mads Mikkelsen (one of ours) as Grindelwald, replacing Johnny Depp. Part of the plot involves Grindelwald attempting to set himself up as the leader of the wizarding world, which takes place in a Berlin around 1930. The Nazi symbolism is very clear, especially when he declares his intent to destroy the Muggles. I hadn't noticed before, despite knowing the actor since CR06 and following his Hannibal TV series, but he would be perfect casting for Hitler- just add the moustache- which is something this film does not fail to take advantage of.
Dubbing is for children. Like I said: Britt Ekland sounds like her Swedish self in all of her movies (as far as I know), but this one. She has a distinctive sound to her. If there was one Sean Connery movie where he didn't sound like Connery, I'd say he was probably dubbed. Same with Ekland. (except if I'm wrong this time)
High octane, low humour, nil romance exercise from the pen of Luc Besson and the directorship of old hand Corey Yuan.
Jason Statham had made an impression in Guy Ritchie’s break out capers Lock Stock… and Snatch, but it was this violent chase thriller which solidified his image as a monosyllabic tough-guy hero, who handily has a degree in martial arts. Plenty of action to get one’s teeth into accompanied by a thumping music soundtrack. The movie is best at the beginning where Statham’s Frank Martin, a ‘transporter’ or driver for criminal hire, runs amok in the south of France and reveals his three golden rules: never change the deal, no names, never look in the package. Unfortunately, this is an ex-special services mercenary with a conscience and when he realises he might just be ‘transporting’ a live person, events begin to spiral out of control. His car is bombed, his house destroyed, the police are on his tail and a beautiful waif-like Chinese girl wants to save 450 trafficked immigrants from slavery.
So much for the plot.
Statham is easily identifiable as a man of action. You believe him from the outset when he’s persuading a bunch of no-hoper thieves not to renege on a deal while staring at a gun in his face. You enjoy his patter with the suspicious, but unconventional cop Inspector Tarconi – a cheerfully careworn Francois Berleand. You really do root for him as he takes out a mansion-full of henchmen. He handles the unenthusiastic escaped hostage with brutal delicacy. The fights are furious. The car chases even more so. There’s a refreshing look to the film, even given it is now twenty years old. I think that’s down to the fact it’s virtually a no-CGI zone, all the stunts are either performed for real or edited to perfection, giving the impression of reality. Character barely gets a look in. The movie chops up the same staple ingredients as the same year’s The Bourne Identity, but without the pathos, the conceited narrative and the gadgets. Frank Martin is a distinctly low-rent hero.
The film loses its way towards the end due mostly due to a very long series of fights in and around a bus garage which strains our patience and credulity, although the most incredible stunt Statham’s character pulls off is when he chases down a crop spraying biplane. Or maybe it’s bedding Shu Qi’ s nubile heroine.
The film spawned three sequels and a television series which repeated the formula almost verbatim. I felt quite nostalgic watching it now. It’s nowhere near as thunderous as I remember it being in the cinema, but a lot of fun nonetheless.
Nobody Runs Forever is based on the novel The High Commissioner written by John Cleary, an Australian who made his name with The Sundowners, which was turned into a successful film. The High Commissioner introduced readers to the Sydney police detective Scobie Malone. He’s dispatched to London by a self-serving city mayor Leo McKern to arrest the Australian High Commissioner on a murder charge, except the Commissioner is in the middle of trade negotiations and someone from the delegates has plans to assassinate him. Malone, instead of arresting his fellow Aussie, turns detective and security guard, gets mixed up with Asian communist agents and eventually gets his man.
The film follows the basic outline fairly faithfully. Rod Taylor plays Malone and gets to act an actual Australian for once. Up to this point in his career Taylor had mostly played dramatic American roles. This was also his first foray into outright action and, along with the same year’s The Mercenaries, was a permanent change of direction for him. He claims to have been asked to audition for Dr No and foolishly turned it down. On this evidence probably a good thing. He makes a very chunky, clunky hero and lacks the svelte-like sophistication of a Bond, although one of the highlights is telling the McKern’s mayor point-blank “I didn’t vote for you, sir” which recalls some of OO7’s spiky exchanges with M.
An unnecessary love-interest [sex-interest?] is created so Dahlia Lavi can flash some flesh [nice…]. Camilla Sparv looks lovely as a winsome secretary [very nice…]. Christopher Plummer plays the Commissioner [yeah, okay on that one…]. Ralph Thomas directed with no special love [none at all, “I was a hired hand,” he claims, although the producer was his regular collaborator Betty Box]. Everyone has done better work elsewhere.
The action is sporadic and there’s not a lot of tension, not even during the very obvious ending. Not great.
Rod Taylor plays Malone and gets to act an actual Australian for once. Up to this point in his career Taylor had mostly played dramatic American roles. This was also his first foray into outright action and, along with the same year’s The Mercenaries, was a permanent change of direction for him.
he did play Boysie Oakes, in the Liquidator, and even if the charatcer tried to avoid his job responsibilities for most of the film there were some good action scenes towards the end He gets in a punch-up on the hood of a car teetering on the edge of a cliff, very dangerous looking. And spoke with an American accent even though the character was British, he might as well have just spoke Aussie (Aussie sounds closer to British to North American ears, and to Brits both accents are wrong anyway)
@caractacus potts I was under the impression - from reading Guns, Girls and Gadgets that The Liquidator was tongue in cheek. [It is on my ever increasing list of 'must see...] Nobody Runs Forever barely raises a glimmer of a giggle hence why I termed it 'outright action'.
Comments
THE RAVEN (1963)
Following on from the humour laden The Black Cat episode in Tales of Terror, director Roger Corman and writer Richard Matheson decided to go for all out comedy when adapting Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. I don’t know how comic a tale this is in Poe’s bibliography, but the result here certainly has more laughs than chills.
Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff spar marvellously throughout the piece as a trio of grand wizards all attempting to out do each other. Central to the story is Lorre’s Dr. Bedlo, who is behind the times in still conducting magic with props. He angered the head of the Brotherhood, Karloff’s slick Dr Scarabus, and for his sins was turned into a raven. He fled to Erasmus Craven’s mansion, knowing this good doctor, the only wizard not in the brotherhood, could help him without revealing his folly. Price’s Craven is about as over-the-top as you’d expect, but why shouldn’t he be when the script is packed full of japes and jests like this one? Karloff and Lorre compete for attention. Sterling support is leant by the supporting cast, including a young Jack Nicholson, who looks both confused and irritated. They don’t have to try too hard as it’s all a lark to show off the aging stars, gently mocking their established screen personas.
The final confrontation between Craven and Scarabus is excellently done, lots of cheap effects looking as good today as they would in 1963 and standing up well against much more modern fare. You can see where J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter filmmakers got a lot of inspirations from. The burning castle is once again the same burning castle we saw in The House of Usher. Cheap, cheerful and a lot of fun.
Boris Karloff also starred in Universal’s 1935 chiller The Raven, but that movie only blended elements of several Poe stories into a new framework.
@Chrisno1, just FYI The Raven is a long form narrative poem by Poe. The unnamed narrator is mourning the death of his love and a Raven appears, repeating the word "Nevermore" again and again. It is very much a rumination on death and loss (two Poe hallmarks) and the narrator's fervent but ultimately unfulfilled desire to be reunited with his lost love.
The Corman movie has only the barest of connections to the poem, again ultimately descending into another unfaithful wife trying to screw over her unsuspecting husband plot that Corman loved to regurgitate over and over again. I saw it ages ago and as a longtime Poe fan I almost threw up after watching it. I wouldn't mind if it was treated as an original story but calling itself "Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven" is about on par with referring to the 1967 Casino Royale as "Ian Fleming's Casino Royale" and I just could never get past that.
Great stuff! The Right Stuff, Apollo 13 and From The Earth to the Moon are three of my all time favourite films/tv shows.
It's been a long time since I've posted about a film in this thread. In fact, I haven't been watching as many films as usual lately. But last night I watched Akira Kurosawa's noir crime drama HIGH AND LOW (1963), in which a Japanese businessman is caught up in a kidnapping where his chauffer's son is held for ransom.
I've seen a few Kurosawa films over the years, but this is the first one that I've seen which takes place in a contemporary setting. It still has pretty much everything that I've come to expect from Kurosawa though. Striking compositions, creative and meaningful blocking of scenes, and a memorable lead performance by Toshiro Mifune. But the film isn't entirely focused on Mifune all the way through, as for much of the second half it goes into police procedural mode, with the focus on the detectives trying to track down the kidnapper. The film is engaging and gripping throughout, with a dark and memorable final scene. I think I'll be watching more Kurosawa noir in the future.
I've not seen this one. Sounds good. The best contemporary Kurasawa IMO is Living. A drama, but an exceptional one about age fulfilment and, well, living.
At first I wasn't sure what film you were referring to there @chrisno1 but I think you must be referring to Ikiru. I haven't heard it called that before. I haven't seen it yet, but it's on my list of Kurosawa films to watch.
Yes. Sorry Living is the [indirect] translation of Ikiru. Do watch it. IMHO it is superb, one of the Master's very best.
The wicker man (1973)
Shocking as it may seem to the British members here, I've just seen The Wicker Man for the first time. I liked it. I rarely watch horror movies, but this one is different. it doesn't rely on lots of blood and jump scares. Instead it has mystery, the bizzare and a story we rarely see. Christopher Lee delivers a great performance and Britt Ekland changes her accent and voice, but not her hotness!
Here's the movie: The Wicker Man (1973) | Full Movie | w/ Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt - Bing video
In the Random Chat thread I was compared to Lord Summerisle. This is completely unreasonable since us Norwegians would never condone such pagan traditions!
Saw Clint Eastwood's latest, CRY MACHO. I could gripe about a lot--the story is slight and even a little silly (the rooster "Macho" is actually a major character here), and the kid who shares screen time with Clint can't act his way out of a paper bolsa--but it's touching to see old Clint still at it, championing old-fashioned values during a time when they seemingly don't apply. I wasn't bored and I smiled a lot, and that says something.
Royal Flash, 1975
directed by Richard Lester (A Hard Days Night, Help!)
screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser (one of ours)
starring Malcolm McDowell as Harry Flashman, Oliver Reed as Otto von Bismarck, and Britt Ekland (another of ours) as Duchess Irma
you know, I don't think we have a Flashman thread in this forum or I would've bumped it. surprising since we've talked about the series of novels so much in the Last Book Read... thread
McDowell seems too young and skinny for my image of Flashman, the books always insisted he was tall and butch and broadshouldered. but of course that was the character himself telling us that, and he's a compulsive liar. Reed of course makes for an excellent villain, a bigger bully than our school bully protagonist. And Ekland gets more to do than as a BondGirl, but not much more: first she plays it frigid, than after one night with Harry she is insatiable (so maybe the braggadocio about the women was true even if he's skinner than he led us to believe)
this all seems quite faithful to what I remember from the second novel, with flashbacks (FlashmanBacks?) to certain scenes from the first. Beautiful architecture in Bavaria, well used, and lots of largescale set-pieces with hundreds of extras. Several extended comic sequences with elaborate choreography, and good swordfights too. its all very funny and cynical, but the humour is mostly physical comedy, whereas in the books most of the jokes came from exploration of Harry's bad attitude and the ridiculous things he told us.
Royal Flash wasn't my favorite of the novels, as it seemed more conventional. I think its the only one set entirely within Europe, and I enjoyed learning the history of other parts of the world, plus the imperialist prejudices made those exotic adventures all the more outrageous which is part of the fun. But nice we've got at least one adaptation of the books, and it was by Fraser himself and quite competent.
Someone (HBO?) should make a Flashman TV series.
Re The Wicker Man, like Britt's Get Carter this was a typical movie shown late night on British TV when there were only a few channels and before they were officially cult classics so one watched with a growing sense of awe and delight, glad the parents had turned in for the night.
What added to the legend of Wicker is that it wasn't a big hit and large chunks of the movie were cut never to be found again. Later they resurfaced and went into the Director's Cut which I caught - but I'm not convinced it improved the film. The pace was lost and admittedly having seen it, one wondered if Sgt Howie couldn't have figured out what was actually going on over the longer duration of the film.
Re Flashman, another guilty pleasure, I think it's been observed that Reed himself would have been good in the role 10 years earlier. I loved reading these and got up to Flashman's Lady after a hiatus during Flashman and the Redskins which put me right off the character, less a dastardly rogue more a sociopath. I made the mistake of reading them in chronological rather than in published order, there's often a point when an author tires of his creation and wants to destroy him by making the reader go off them.
I can see Richard Lester doing this kind of film but it doesn't sell it to me. Royal Flash is a riff on Prisoner of Zenda - an innocent being mistaken for an illustrious double and you either buy into that story - more credible in days of yore before multimedia when there really might be your double in some part of the world - or you don't, and I don't really.
I do recall the author's vivid account of the 1848 Revolutions and the strange atmosphere in the streets of Vienna I think, sort of eerie and deserted.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
A Flashman series will never be commissioned until the scourge of wokeness is replaced by common sense. It would be perfect for an Amazon series but would be pointless unless the scripts were like how the original books were written.
I think the trick is to make it clear that Flashman isn't a hero.
Saw Kenneth Branagh's DEATH ON THE NILE. Entertaining--hard to go wrong with an Agatha Christie plot and an all-star cast--but there's a weird focus on Poirot's mustache. . .it's all connected to trauma and loss and by the end Poirot realizes he doesn't need it. Oh fer Gawd's sake--isn't it enough that Poirot is a vain little man and during his time a finely-groomed mustache was the height of men's fashion?
napoleon said:
Re Flashman, another guilty pleasure, I think it's been observed that Reed himself would have been good in the role 10 years earlier.
I hadn't thought of that, but you're right: oliver Reed is physically more the type, easy enough to die his hair blonde, and even if I'd never seen him in another film I'd just assume he's a big bully, he almost cant help but give that impression. whereas Malcolm McDowell is relying on my memory of his persona from Clockwork Orange moreso than anything he's actually doing in this film, he really looks (and acts) like a kid with a big moustache who's gotten into a situation way over his head.
coolhandbond said:
A Flashman series will never be commissioned until the scourge of wokeness is replaced by common sense. It would be perfect for an Amazon series but would be pointless unless the scripts were like how the original books were written.
The books really don't make the British Empire look great. The first one shows the attempted occupation of Afghanistan as disastrous and near idiotic. And one of the most unforgettable scenes of the whole series is in Flashman and the Dragon, when he witnesses the British Army destroy a Chinese city more beautiful than he's ever seen anywhere in Europe (despite his foul and cynical language, Flashman is more sympathetic to the people he meets abroad than are most of his countrymen). A lot of the educational value in the books is that Fraser reveals well-documented aspects of history that are less flattering than the conventional narratives that are usually told, sometimes quite disturbing.
That said, could a modern film handle that nuance? could it tell a story that reveals mistakes of the British Empire without audiences misunderstanding and assuming its glamourising the subject matter? I think of some of the controversies Tarantino got into with Django Unchained, where character used the language of the times and the slave owners look more villainous than I've ever seen before in film, yet some argued that shouldn't be shown at all, as if it were glamourising slavery.
Funny how movie audiences are assumed to take whatever they see at face value without appreciating moral complexities, are we all really that dumb? but Hollywood in particular is risk-averse when it comes to judging an audience's reaction, so you may be right, they just wouldn't try.
twofour said:
I think the trick is to make it clear that Flashman isn't a hero.
in the books he tells us in own words he isn't a hero, and proves that to us over and over, usually there's at least one big moment per book that should make us really despise the man (I'm not sure there was a moment quite like that in the Royal Flash film). That should be easy enough to do in a new film, though it seems like a lot of morally ambiguous antiheroes are celebrated by their audiences for being "bad-ass", rather than being held responsible for their transgressions. Back again to the question of dumb audiences, and risk-averse film studios pandering to that assumed lack of critical thinking.
Correct. In the book Flashman is clearly isn't a hero, and it's important that he isn't a hero on TV to make a series work.
I think Dominic West, who has expressed an interest in the role, can be a great Flashman.
N24, there's some doubt over how much of Britt's voice was dubbed for this film. Scottish actress/singer Annie Ross has been credited (or claimed) to have done some (the singing) or all of her voice, and Britt has denied this. Mind you, she has always denied doing the nude scenes as well....
She has her Swedish accent in all other movies I've seen her in, but not in this one.
Have you been watching those films in the English dub, or the Norwegian one? I obviously only know the English one. IMHO she's dubbed, and partially doubled in the nude scenes.
The Secrets Of Dumbledore
Watched it today, and was very pleased with Jude Law as the younger Dumbledore but even more so with Mads Mikkelsen (one of ours) as Grindelwald, replacing Johnny Depp. Part of the plot involves Grindelwald attempting to set himself up as the leader of the wizarding world, which takes place in a Berlin around 1930. The Nazi symbolism is very clear, especially when he declares his intent to destroy the Muggles. I hadn't noticed before, despite knowing the actor since CR06 and following his Hannibal TV series, but he would be perfect casting for Hitler- just add the moustache- which is something this film does not fail to take advantage of.
PS- I'm willing to bet that Christopher Lee did the Norwegian dub himself.
Dubbing is for children. Like I said: Britt Ekland sounds like her Swedish self in all of her movies (as far as I know), but this one. She has a distinctive sound to her. If there was one Sean Connery movie where he didn't sound like Connery, I'd say he was probably dubbed. Same with Ekland. (except if I'm wrong this time)
THE TRANSPORTER (2002)
High octane, low humour, nil romance exercise from the pen of Luc Besson and the directorship of old hand Corey Yuan.
Jason Statham had made an impression in Guy Ritchie’s break out capers Lock Stock… and Snatch, but it was this violent chase thriller which solidified his image as a monosyllabic tough-guy hero, who handily has a degree in martial arts. Plenty of action to get one’s teeth into accompanied by a thumping music soundtrack. The movie is best at the beginning where Statham’s Frank Martin, a ‘transporter’ or driver for criminal hire, runs amok in the south of France and reveals his three golden rules: never change the deal, no names, never look in the package. Unfortunately, this is an ex-special services mercenary with a conscience and when he realises he might just be ‘transporting’ a live person, events begin to spiral out of control. His car is bombed, his house destroyed, the police are on his tail and a beautiful waif-like Chinese girl wants to save 450 trafficked immigrants from slavery.
So much for the plot.
Statham is easily identifiable as a man of action. You believe him from the outset when he’s persuading a bunch of no-hoper thieves not to renege on a deal while staring at a gun in his face. You enjoy his patter with the suspicious, but unconventional cop Inspector Tarconi – a cheerfully careworn Francois Berleand. You really do root for him as he takes out a mansion-full of henchmen. He handles the unenthusiastic escaped hostage with brutal delicacy. The fights are furious. The car chases even more so. There’s a refreshing look to the film, even given it is now twenty years old. I think that’s down to the fact it’s virtually a no-CGI zone, all the stunts are either performed for real or edited to perfection, giving the impression of reality. Character barely gets a look in. The movie chops up the same staple ingredients as the same year’s The Bourne Identity, but without the pathos, the conceited narrative and the gadgets. Frank Martin is a distinctly low-rent hero.
The film loses its way towards the end due mostly due to a very long series of fights in and around a bus garage which strains our patience and credulity, although the most incredible stunt Statham’s character pulls off is when he chases down a crop spraying biplane. Or maybe it’s bedding Shu Qi’ s nubile heroine.
The film spawned three sequels and a television series which repeated the formula almost verbatim. I felt quite nostalgic watching it now. It’s nowhere near as thunderous as I remember it being in the cinema, but a lot of fun nonetheless.
NOBODY RUNS FOREVER (1968)
Nobody Runs Forever is based on the novel The High Commissioner written by John Cleary, an Australian who made his name with The Sundowners, which was turned into a successful film. The High Commissioner introduced readers to the Sydney police detective Scobie Malone. He’s dispatched to London by a self-serving city mayor Leo McKern to arrest the Australian High Commissioner on a murder charge, except the Commissioner is in the middle of trade negotiations and someone from the delegates has plans to assassinate him. Malone, instead of arresting his fellow Aussie, turns detective and security guard, gets mixed up with Asian communist agents and eventually gets his man.
The film follows the basic outline fairly faithfully. Rod Taylor plays Malone and gets to act an actual Australian for once. Up to this point in his career Taylor had mostly played dramatic American roles. This was also his first foray into outright action and, along with the same year’s The Mercenaries, was a permanent change of direction for him. He claims to have been asked to audition for Dr No and foolishly turned it down. On this evidence probably a good thing. He makes a very chunky, clunky hero and lacks the svelte-like sophistication of a Bond, although one of the highlights is telling the McKern’s mayor point-blank “I didn’t vote for you, sir” which recalls some of OO7’s spiky exchanges with M.
An unnecessary love-interest [sex-interest?] is created so Dahlia Lavi can flash some flesh [nice…]. Camilla Sparv looks lovely as a winsome secretary [very nice…]. Christopher Plummer plays the Commissioner [yeah, okay on that one…]. Ralph Thomas directed with no special love [none at all, “I was a hired hand,” he claims, although the producer was his regular collaborator Betty Box]. Everyone has done better work elsewhere.
The action is sporadic and there’s not a lot of tension, not even during the very obvious ending. Not great.
chrisno1 says:
Rod Taylor plays Malone and gets to act an actual Australian for once. Up to this point in his career Taylor had mostly played dramatic American roles. This was also his first foray into outright action and, along with the same year’s The Mercenaries, was a permanent change of direction for him.
he did play Boysie Oakes, in the Liquidator, and even if the charatcer tried to avoid his job responsibilities for most of the film there were some good action scenes towards the end He gets in a punch-up on the hood of a car teetering on the edge of a cliff, very dangerous looking. And spoke with an American accent even though the character was British, he might as well have just spoke Aussie (Aussie sounds closer to British to North American ears, and to Brits both accents are wrong anyway)
@caractacus potts I was under the impression - from reading Guns, Girls and Gadgets that The Liquidator was tongue in cheek. [It is on my ever increasing list of 'must see...] Nobody Runs Forever barely raises a glimmer of a giggle hence why I termed it 'outright action'.
IIRC, there's a line or two to make Boysie an American rather than a Brit as he is in the novel.
you're quite right though its more of a cynical satire of the spy fantasy than say Matt Helm
You should watch it! I thought it was excellent
and I shall try to find Nobody Runs Forever, as it sounds good too, and theres not enough straight spy stories from this era
Operation Mincemeat. Thoroughly enjoyed, one grandfather was in Sicily; thank you, Mr Fleming.