Wake in Fright

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Wake in Fright (Outback)!

Original image located here. Accessed 31st August 2018

Yes it's one of the classics of Australian cinema. For those not in the know, it was made in 1971 and was something of a touchstone of Australian horror - or something.

So yeah, this was not the easiest thing in the world to watch. It was horrific, unsettling and does indeed display the uglier side of Australia for overseas viewing. Unfortunately, for Aussie's like myself, some people here are indeed like this.

Still, it is interesting to note that Wake in Fright came out the same year as Walkabout and both films were about the Australian outback. But whereas the latter was haunting, the former was hellish. And this from a Canadian director.
Not exactly a positive image of this country for an overseas audience eh?

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th August 2018

Yes, it's the documentary on Studio Ghibli, documenting the process behind the development of both The Wind Rise and The Tale of Princess Kaguya. Granted I'm cheating somewhat as I have (at time of writing) yet to see both movies but with Isao Takahata passing away earlier this year and more recent revelations been made about him being difficult to work with, now would be good time to watch it.

What i found interesting is that on the DVD cover (see above), there's Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki and Takahata - yet in the movie itself, Takahata gets little screen time. In a way it;s not surprising knowing what we all know now (and the fact that he got a separate documentary all to himself with his work on Kaguya). Which ultimately means that the documentary's focus then falls on Miyazaki and Suzuki.
While we do see Miyazaki at work and see what is involved whenever he makes a movie, the real surprise is what Suzuki has to go through with facing the press, having to make uncomfortable announcements and dealing with clashes with staff.
I was expecting this movie to the complete picture of Studio Ghibli but what I got was a reinforcement of the notion that making any movie is near-miracle in itself. And quite frankly, this documentary is all the better for it.

Das Boot

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Das Boot!

Original image located here. Accessed 17th August 2018

From the director of The Never-Ending Story...

Let me say this up front: Tense does not BEGIN to describe this movie. I was dreading a three and a half hour movie would be a slog to get through but this wasn't the case. It was gripping, it was never dull and one gets the feeling that this is as real as one is ever going to get with a German U-Boat. Furthermore, one gets the impression this is quintessential submarine movie: the one where everyone has been trying to replicate ever since.

But I think the greatest achievement of this movie is to make me root for a cast of Germans in a World War 2 movie. I found the rising of the sub in the last half hour genuinely inspiring and the conclusion a real punch in the gut. Seeing as people like a clear distinction between Good-guys and Bad-guys (if the Facebook debates I've seen are anything to go by) one would have to be insane to try and give Germans in a WW2 movie some humanity but here it works - largely through a committed cast.
Mind you, at least i now know where that joke from Disney's Aladdin originated...

Rio Bravo

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Rio Bravo!

Original image located here. Accessed 10th August 2018

Of course, it's fitting that I should follow High Noon with this movie. For those not in the know, both actor John Wayne and director Howard Hawks were unimpressed with High Noon, So they whipped out this movie as a response.

As is often the case with movies made before the New Hollywood (circa 1968-1980), I got the impression that the elements of this movie has been replicated many times over that it's kinda hard to look at the source. Example: The final showdown sees the main characters in a gunfight but still has room for them each to exchange quips and have their personalities work off of one another. Sound familiar? It may seem impressive in it;s day but now it's become something of the norm.

Still, I did enjoy this movie. Clearly this is one made by someone (Hawks) thoroughly enjoying his job and there's some great lines throughout. But is it better than High Noon? Now that's a damn good question....

High Noon

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....High Noon!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd August 2018

"Do not for-sake me oh my Dar-lyn...."

Okay seriously this must be one of the most famous films ever made, let alone one of the most famous westerns. So there is a degree of intimidation that comes approaching it. Personally, i was impressed with this movie on three fronts: a) the whole thing is done in real time which is still remarkable over sixty years later, b) it has a degree of suspense that I haven't seen in any western prior and c) the final shootout still holds up, even with the passage of time and the whole 'one-man-army' trope that has been done a thousand times since.
Throw in some solid directing, Gary Cooper's performance (which snared him a well-deserved Oscar) and this is still an excellent movie.

Funny thing though: This movie is often regarded as a product of it's time: It was made during the era known as McCarthyism hence there are some themes tied to it within the movie itself. Personally I didn't really see it, so I think it;s safe to say that this is one of those rare movies that transcend the era they were made (treasure them folks for they are rare indeed). If anything, the idea of one person who is committed to doing the right thing even when everyone else is walking out on them is remarkably universal theme.
Even with the distance of sixty six years