The Full Monty review

 Surprisingly, this British comedy isn't on the top 1000 films of all time, but it is one of my favourites, so here's my review.

Gary Schofield (Robert Carlyle) is an unemployed former steel-worker in Sheffield. He is behind on his child support payments. If he doesn't pay £700 soon, he will lose custody of his son Nathan (William Snape.) Desperate for the cash, Gary and his best friend Dave (Mark Addy) recruit four other former steel workers to form a striptease act. The four others include the suicidally-depressed Lomper (Steve Huison,) Gaz and Dave's former foreman Gerald (Tom Wilkinson,) the ageing Horse (Paul Barber) and the well-endowed Guy (Hugo Speer.)

Like I say, I was surprised to find that this classic British-comedy doesn't feature on the top 1000 list. it was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, it won the Best Picture Bafta and it was voted twenty-five on the Best 100 British films. But beyond that it is a phenomenal film full of humour and heartbreak. It is one of those rare films that will have you crying tears of laughter and sorrow.

To fully understand the Full Monty, you have to understand the social context. It is set in Sheffield - the home of Britain's steel industry. Once a thriving city, it was absolutely destroyed by deindustrialisation. Whole generations of male steelworkers found themselves unemployed overnight. Struggling to find other work, many of them lose all hope for the future, just like Gary and Dave.

The Full Monty brilliantly captured the alienation that this generation must have experienced. In a mere ninety minutes, we received a stark picture of how badly these men have fallen. Once heroes of their community, they were reduced to mere shells of their former selves. I visited Sheffield a few years ago and I don't think that even twenty years on it has fully recovered from deindustrialisation.

The cast were magnificent without any weak links. Robert Carlyle, one of Scotland's best actors, was utterly magnetic as the roguish Gary. Yes, he is a petty criminal, Jack-the-Lad type, who isn't the best father to Nathan, but he is still incredibly endearing to the viewer. Like many of us, he isn't perfect, but despite his flaws, he still wants the best for his son. Carlyle quite rightly won the Best Actor Bafta for his performance.

But he can't take all the credit. Mark Addy was also brilliant as Dave. To some extent, Addy provided a lot of the film's comic relief, but he also proves a lot of heart. For Dave is a character with a lot of self-loathing. He is a fat man - an aspect of himself that he absolutely denies. His efforts to accept himself provided one of the film's best subplots. And his final reconciliation with his wife Jean (Lesley Sharp) still makes me cry even all these years on. Dave's character is definitely one of the best depictions of male body image that I have seen on-screen.

Coming in next is the terrific Tom Wilkinson (RIP) who played Gary and Dave's former foreman Gerald. Being their old boss, he is of a higher social standing and has some of the most to lose out of being given the sack. Or at leas the will do if he ever tells his wife about what had happened. Instead, he decides to keep it a secret for six months. One of his best scenes is his fiery confrontation with Gary and Dave after they sabotage his interview.

Despite being a comedy it tackles a number of difficult subjects like body image, masculinity, suicide - through the character of Lomper - homosexuality and fatherhood. And it tackles all these themes with the necessary gravitas and humility. Our six strippers go through so much trial and tribulation that you are really rooting for them. Director Andrew Johnson did well to pack all this into ninety minutes.

Lastly, we need to talk about the soundtrack. It was a mixture of original score and some of the best disco hits of the seventies and eighties. Minus the Gary Glitter hit, every song fitted each scene perfectly. As for the original score, it netted composer Anne Dudley a well-deserved Oscar.

I loved the Full Monty. Even though, IMDB didn't rate it, I would definitely count it among my top ten films of all time. The setting, the characters and the music all came together to make a film that I could watch over and over again.

Patton review

Number 287 on the top 1000 films of all time is Franklin J Schaffer's epic biopic 'Patton.'

Patton follows the life of famed American army general George Patton (George S. Scott) as he leads the US to victory during the Second World War.

Patton is three hours long. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Films need a very good reason to be three hours long. I'm not sure that Patton had that reason. If you are going to have a three-hour film, then it needs to follow a likeable character. By all accounts, Patton was a bit of a dick. I can only imagine this is how he was in real life - a big-mouthed hot-head who hated cowardice.

This might be an accurate portrayal of the character, but it didn't make me like him anymore. Patton's hotheadedness gets him into trouble more than once, most notably, when he physically assaults a PTSD-suffering soldier in full view of the rest of the hospital ward. Again, Schaffer might be staying true to reality, but it didn't make Patton anymore likeable. And considering the film was about him, this was a problem.

This isn't to discredit George C. Scott's work. He did win the Best Acting Oscar after all even if ultimately refused it. Despite playing an unlikeable character, he did his best to make him a fully-rounded three-dimensional character.

Like many of my film reviews, I think this review ultimately boils down to personal preference. Not being American, Patton's prestigious position in American military history means little to me. As such this film meant little to me.

Being There review

 Number 281 on the top 1000 films of all time is Hal Ashby's 1979 comedy-drama 'Being There.'

Chance (Peter Sellers) has spent his whole life as gardener to a wealthy benefactor. But when his employer unexpectedly dies, the simple-minded Chance is thrust into the real world. Fortunately, he is soon taken in by the affluent Eve Rand (Shirley Maclaine) younger wife to the ailing business mogul Ben. Chance soon finds himself to be an unexpected celebrity.

This isn't my first old Hal Ashby film. I had the misfortune of watching Harold and Maude - a joyless and soulless black comedy. I thoroughly disliked it. Thankfully, that was far from the case with Being There. This was a touching and charming film with a winning performance from Peter Sellers.

I best know Peter Sellers from Stanley Kubrick's black-comedy Dr Strangelove where Sellers excelled in playing not just one, but three comedic roles. It was interesting to see whether he could do the same with a more dramatic performance, but he certainly delivered on the role.

Sellers placed Chance with a wide-eyed naivety that made him endearing to the viewer. Nowadays, we would undoubtedly throw around "autism" diagnoses, but back in the seventies, Chance was just one of life's innocents who has lived a sheltered life.

He's very much a fish out of water thrown into a world that he could never possibly recognise. But he soon forms an unlikely relationship with Eve. Sellers and Maclaine were great together. They had delightful chemistry and I enjoyed seeing them on-screen.

In some ways, Being There reminded me of Forest Gump. You had the same simple-minded but lovable protagonist who soon becomes the unlikeliest of heroes. And this was an unlikely film - quiet, funny but with the important message of remaining present and enjoying life's little moments.

Young Frankenstein review

Number 279 on the top 1000 films of all time is Mel Brooks' parody of the horror genre ‘Young Frankenstein.’

Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is the grandson of the legendary Victor Frankenstein. But he wants nothing to do with his grandfather, so much so, that he goes by “Fronkensteen.” However, upon returning to Transylvannia, he soon returns to his grandfather’s experiments aided by his deformed servant I-gor (Marty Feldman) and his love interest and assistant Inga. (Terri Garr)

Mel Brooks is well-known for his parodies from Blazing Saddles to the fantastic Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Although primarily a loving pastiche of the Frankenstein films of the thirties, it also pastiches the horror genre of a whole. Mel Brooks utilised a number of transitions, such as the screenwipes that you would never see today.

He also made the unusual choice of rendering the film in black and white. Yet this stylistic decision coupled with the background scenery of houses painted at abstract angles, made for a delightful call-back to the German expressionist films of the thirties. Brooks’ scenery, music and camerawork wouldn’t have been out of place in a Fritz Lang film.

Wilder and Feldman were also brilliant. Wilder gave it his all, as the maniacal Frankenstein. He was delightfully over-the-top, just how you would expect in one of the horror films of old. Marty Feldman provided most of the laughs as the hapless assistant I-gor. Some of this came from his brilliant improvisational talents. I-gor has a hump which Feldman kept secretly moving from side to side. When Frankenstein questions him about this, I-gor replies “what hump?”

Lastly, I have to give some credit to Terri Garr who played Inga. She very much encapsulated the standard damsel-in-distress prone to standing around and looking pretty/scared. It’s a role you would commonly expect from the old horror films. And it’s a role that she did well.

Yet despite all this, the film felt lacking. Sure it was funny, but I wasn’t crying tears of laughter. I’m glad I saw it the once, but I don’t need to see it again. 

Crimes and Misdemeanours review

 Number 278 on the top 1000 films of all time is Woody Allen's 1989 comedy-drama Crimes and Misdemeanours.

Crimes and Misdemeanours follows two characters. The first is the ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) whose marriage is threatened when his mistress Dolores (Angelica Huston) threatens to tell his wife about their affair. The second character is the married TV producer Clifford Stern (Woody Allen) who falls in love with his fellow producer Halley Reed (Mia Farrow),

If it bends, it’s funny.

If it breaks, it is not.”

 

This film must have been broken, because I didn’t find it funny in the slightest. I can’t think of one occasion where I even cracked a smile. It wasn’t like there were jokes that fell flat, there was barely any jokes at all. Just annoying characters and faux-philosophy.

I’ve never hidden the fact that I don’t like Woody Allen, as a writer, director or actor. He always plays the same character of the middle-aged Jewish, neurotic writer going through a midlife crisis. That would be fine if his characters were likeable, but they’re not. They’re whiny and irritating. Clifford was no exception.

He was absolutely insufferable, as the pathetic film writer trying to rationalise having an affair on his affair. Note how I said pathetic, not pititful – he deserved no pity whatsoever.

He was a bland, unengaging character. I felt no reason to care or root for his romance with Halley Reed at all. I can say the same for Judah. He was similarly pathetic in his desperate attempts to keep his mistress away from his wife. If anything, he was worse than Clifford, because at least the latter had some gumption. Judah was very much ready to roll over and die.

Clifford spends a lot of his time taking his niece to see classic Hollywood films in the cinema – we would often see these films play on the screen too. I found this a peculiar choice. It was like I was watching more of these films than I was Crimes and Misdemeanours. And those films were highly more interesting.

Would it be going too far to say that even making this film was a crime and misdemeanour? Perhaps. But it was a tiresome film with two of the most annoying protagonists ever.

Rope review

 Number 267 on the top 1000 films of all time is Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 psychological thriller 'Rope.'

Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Farley Granger)  have just strangled to death their former classmate David believing they have committed the perfect murder. But before they can dispose of the body, they host a dinner party where the guests include David's parents, his girlfriend and their old prep-school teacher Rupert (James Stewart.)

From a content standpoint, Rope is classic Hitchcock. it is a tense, thrilling affair despite only having one set and a minimal cast. Despite being low on spectacle, it is high on suspense. Considering it was based on a stage play and we get little in the way of action, this might be a surprise, but it's true.

The acting talent is high. Despite how James Stewart disliked his performance, I thought that he was great as Rupert. He soon starts to suspect something is amiss with his old students. when he discovers the worst, his righteous indignation is plain to see. But John Dall and Farley Granger were the true stars. John Dall had a horrible smarm which made him one of Hitchcock's slimiest villains while Farley Granger soon becomes a bag of nerves.

Rope was also one of Hitchcock's most experimental films, as it is essentially a one-take film. It was filmed in a handful of long takes. I don't think this was an experiment that worked. The camerawork would track characters as they walked from room to room before shuddering to a stop. When Hitchcock wanted to do a hidden cut, he would zoom into a dark background and then zoom back out. All this left me with motion sickness.

I would also question the story's believability. I didn't understand why Brandon didn't just kill Rupert, as he started to uncover the murder. Brandon has a loaded gun for this reason, yet he doesn't use it.

Despite the plot holes and dodgy camerawork, I did enjoy Rope. It was a tense, suspenseful thriller.

Dog Day Afternoon review

 Number 262 on the top 1000 films of all time is Sidney Lumet's 1975 biographical crime-drama 'Dog Day Afternoon.'

Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) and Sal Naturile (John Cazale) have plans to rob a Brooklyn bank on one hot afternoon. But their plans quickly go awry, as what should have be a simple heist descends into chaos. This is all based on a true story.

It's been a while since I've watched a film that's had me on the edge of my seat, but Dog Day Afternoon fitted the bill. It was a terrific experience with a ferocious energy that made two hours fly by. There wasn't a dull moment and you couldn't look away for a minute.

Like I say, it was based on a true story, so it was highly authentic. This was only bettered through the brilliant use of improvisation. Much of the dialogue was ad-libbed by the actors themselves which only added to the energy and realism. It's now wonder this received a Best-Film nod.

Al Pacino and John Cazale were fantastic in the lead roles. As Sonny, Al Pacino demonstrated a nervous charisma, as he desperately tried to keep control of the volatile situation. It isn't helped that he also has to look after the unpredictable Sal. John Cazale was a real talent who died far too young. All five of the films he starred in received Best Film nominations. It's just a shame that he himself never received any Oscar nods.

Set during a slow, boring day, Dog Day Afternoon was anything but. It was an excellent piece of film-making.