From: plragde@maytag.uwaterloo.ca (Prabhakar Ragde)
Subject: August Princess reviews
Originator: plragde@maytag.uwaterloo.ca
Organization: University of Waterloo
Distribution: kw
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 19:22:57 GMT

Here are my recommendations for the August programme at the Princess. I
will continue to do this monthly unless someone objects, or unless my
count of already-seen films drops so low that it becomes pointless to
continue. 
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The Double Life of Veronique: Polish master filmmaker Krzytof
Kieslowski (A Short Film about Killing) scores again. The plot doesn't
entirely make sense, and those looking for a tidy resolution will not
find it, but this film creates moods in a way that should make most
directors despair. This is cinema at its finest. Highly recommended.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai in the Fifth Dimension: This film is
not nearly as funny as its cult followers would have you believe, and
it doesn't improve with repeated viewings. But it tries hard;
basically a good concept with not enough follow-through. I saw about
half of it on German TV a while back, dubbed into German; for some
reason it improved considerably. I don't speak German.

Shadows and Fog: There are two major problems with Woody Allen films
these days. One is that at any screening, some nitwit will laugh
uproariously at everything that goes on, including scenes that are
supposed to be serious. Another is that Allen cannot write dialogue
that does not sound like New Yorkers coming out of a really great
session with their their therapist. Stardust Memories was his
highwater mark, as far as I'm concerned. This got good reviews, but
disappointed me considerably.

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe: This might
have worked wonderfully on the stage, though the script patches over
its weak spots with too many one-liners. But the director has chosen
to tart it up with costumes, jump cuts, and real sets, instead of just
showing us Lily Tomlin on a bare stage. Anyone trying to transfer a
one-person show to the screen should be required to see Jonathan
Demme's "Swimming to Cambodia" before making any creative decisions.
Also, see my comment about nitwits above.

A Clockwork Orange: Kubrick captured the bad taste of the 1970's
perfectly in this film, and you can see it at any screening when
people dressed like Alex or his droogs show up and play air hooligan
to the tune of "Singin' in the Rain". Stay home and read the book.

Proof: A very clever first film by a young Australian woman, about an
unusual triangle, including a blind photographer. This film is solid
all the way through. Highly recommended.

8 1/2: This was my least favourite Fellini film when I saw it in film
class twelve years ago, but maybe I just couldn't relate at that time
to its combination of decadence, creativity crises, and European
angst. I really liked Woody Allen's Stardust Memories, which was
essentially a ripoff of this film, so maybe I should see it again. Can
I relate now?

Delicatessen: In the style of "The Player", I should describe this as
Brazil meets Eating Raoul. A delightful black comedy from first-time
directors Jeunet and Caro, chock-full of neat ideas and clever scenes
(the best of which is expropriated in its entirety for the trailer).
Highly recommended.

Withnail and I: Two English assholes spend a miserable weekend in the
country. Hunter S. Thompson meets Brideshead Revisited. Recommended,
as long as you don't act like this around me. This is a midnight
showing, so sneak a bottle of wine in, but make sure to recycle it
on the way out of the theatre.

-------------------------------
[The following films are part of the Humphrey Bogart series.]

African Queen: E.M. Forster probably spun in his grave over this one;
the plot is absurd, especially the ending, but the interaction between
Bogart and Hepburn is superb. Recommended.

High Sierra: Adapted from the stage, if I remember correctly, this
film retains a little of that proscenium claustrophobia. Worthwhile.

The Big Sleep: The plot is so confusing that reportedly during the
writing of the screenplay, a telegram was sent to novel author Raymond
Chandler asking who was responsible for one of the deaths. Chandler
wired back that he didn't know. So forget the plot and enjoy the
hardboiled dialogue. Recommended.

The Maltese Falcon: A classic -- top notch characters all the way
through, a gripping script, and a proper ending. Highly recommended.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre: Bogart chews up the scenery a little too
much, but this is a solid film with great performances. Recommended.

Key Largo: Also adapted from the stage. The plot falls apart, but who
cares, with this cast emoting their brains out. Worthwhile.

Casablanca: More than a classic, a cultural icon and source of beloved
cliche. Go see it on the big screen in its proper black and white,
even if you've seen it fifty times. Highly recommended.

------------------
[The following films were reviewed in earlier postings and have
reappeared in August.]

Howard's End: Impeccable pedigree -- novel by E.M. Forster, production
by Ismail Merchant, direction by James Ivory, screenplay by Ruth
Praver Jhabvala, great performances by Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham
Carter, and Vanessa Redgrave. But I found myself curiously uninvolved
by this story of class frictions in Victorian England, and I'd be
willing to bet some crucial nuances have been lost in the translation
to film. Still recommended.

The Player: Hollywood is an easy target, but Altman hits it dead on.
Hollywood buffs can have fun spotting cameos and in-jokes; others can
relax and enjoy a well-constructed plot involving a young studio exec
and what he has to do to succeed. Recommended.

Riff-Raff: British documentarist/dramatist Ken Loach should be better
known on these shores. Riff-Raff is a low-budget cinema-verite slice
of life set on a building site in a London suburb. The subtitles (for
an all-English film) are necessary, since the various regional accents
are important to the structure of the film. Recommended.

Naked Lunch: Soderburgh (Kafka) said he was ashamed after going to see
this film because it was so much more daring than his. He should be.
This one is a challenge but it's worth trying, maybe more than once.
Hallucinogenic, non-linear, highly organic.

------------------

Not seen but well-reviewed by other sources:

A Woman's Tale
Daughters of the Dust
The Fool
Rhapsody in August
Nashville
-- 
Prabhakar Ragde                             plragde@maytag.waterloo.edu
Associate Professor, Computer Science            DC 2119, (519)888-4660
University of Waterloo                 Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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