To Kill a Mockingbird

   And this week's Friday night movie has been... To Kill a Mockingbird!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th November 2023

It's one of the most famous movies of it's era, having come out during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and therefore becoming a representation of a time and place. 

Unfortunately it also means that this film comes across as dated. It seems to me that this film's reputation lies heavily on the courtroom drama that takes place in it. And whilst those scenes are great, they do however only take up a quarter of the movie. Other times, the movie is more focused on what the kids are doing - often to the movie's detriment. I mean, am I convinced a child can manage to change the minds of an angry mob? I don't think so.

Still, I do not doubt Gregory Peck's efforts and his Oscar for Best Actor was nothing less than well deserved.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd November 2023

"He was the bravest of them allllllll......."

Once again, I tackle one of the westerns forged from the partnership between director John Ford and actor John Wayne. By all accounts, this was an unbeatable team, making some of the finest westerns ever committed to celluloid.

So it is indeed a surprise to see that this movie does things differently: it is shot in black and white and the location shooting is non-existent. These two elements are pretty much defined Ford's westerns so their absence is indeed striking. 
And one gets the impression that this is exactly the point: This movie is pretty much built around the notion of how the mythology of the wild west is built up and thrives. And it is therefore fitting that Ford is casting a critical eye to the westerns he crafted and the legend he, and Wayne, built up.

Keep in mind that this was made in the 1960s, where the western genre was on shaky ground: On one hand, the genre itself was falling fast out of favour and, on the other, in doing so it was perfectly positioned to be reinvented by the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone and the nihilism of Sam Peckinpah. And in that sense, the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance seems to be the endpoint of the classic western that defined the decades prior. But that doesn't mean it is without merit. 
So yeah: An excellent western all around

Carnival of Souls

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Carnival of Souls!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th October 2022

And so this years clutch of October/horror movies comes to a close with this lesser known movie from the early sixties. Personally I knew of this film through it's reputation as a precursor to a lot of horror movies that followed in it's wake.

Watching this movie now, six decades later, it is interesting to see what it does. It is clearly made on a small budget but such limitations work in it's favour: It relies heavily on mood, atmosphere and suggestion. There is a freaky-sounding organ score running throughout and the scares are genuinely frightening. And this works in my book as I will take atmosphere/mounting-dread over jump scares any day.
Still this movie is showing it's age and the slow parts do prove to kill the momentum. But when this movie hits, it hits hard

Lawrence of Arabia

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Lawrence of Arabia!

Original image located here. Accessed 1st July 2022

Well I'm in quarantine so now would a good time as any to address some of the longer running movies in my to-watch list.
I knew this movie on two fronts: a) it's a very famous movie and b) it was directed David Lean. Now I've already seen one of his works, Doctor Zhivago, and it seems to me his films are defined by two characteristics: a) they feature lots of exotic locales and b) they tend to be very long. So should I be put off by such a reputation?

No I shouldn't. Because it seems to me this movie's reputation is justified. It runs over three hours but it never drags. The locations are astonishing and the filmmaking techniques put to use are incredible. The battle scenes are great and there are plenty of unforgettable images. There is plenty of desert sure but the film does a clever job making you feel like you're there - which is saying a lot for a movie approaching it's 60th birthday.
And it's always nice to see a pre-Star Wars Alec Guinness.
I was told that this is one of cinema's achievements and now I see no reason to doubt it.

Dr No

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Dr No!

Original image located here. Accessed 8th January 2021

I have a goal for this year and that is to watch more James Bond movies.
Now I have enjoyed the James Bond movies but the amount I have seen all the way through is surprisingly few. Sure I have seen bits and pieces of some but that doesn't really count to this ongoing series.
So I plan to rectify this in 2021 by watching a James Bond movie every month and playing catch up. After all, with a new movie on the way, I couldn't ask for a better time.

And so what better place to start than at the very beginning.
It may be easy to dismiss Dr No as being the starting point of the franchise and thereby trying to figure itself out. But already some familiar elements are in place: John Barry's unmistakable theme, the gun barrel introduction, how Bond introduces himself, Car chases, Bond's tendency to quip upon defeating a foe, exotic locales, Bond's choice of martinis, a final showdown in a grandiose enemy lair and bikinis.
Of particular note is that this Bond comes across as a different one than his future incarnations: he is less suave and more thuggish. And as there are no gadgets, he is more dependent on his own ingenuity. I have to wonder: is this James Bond more in line with that from the source material?
Still, this movie was enjoyable: the series hits the ground running. And it can only go up from there....

They Found a Cave

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....They Found a Cave!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th September 2018

For the uninitiated, this is a movie based on a 1948 children's novel by Tasmanian author Nan Chauncy. The film was released in 1962 and is noteworthy for utilizing a Tasmanian cast and crew. This movie is of particular interest to me as I'm currently involved with a stage production of They Found a Cave.

Obviously this movie is a product of it's time and very much of a low budget quality but as a kid's movie it works well. The child actors are good and the cinematography is superb. Whilst the shots on a studio set are obvious the shots on location otherwise look great.

Ultimately this is throwing down of the gauntlet: it's something for myself and my theatrical cohorts to rise up to...

Ride the High Country

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Ride the High Country!

Original image located here. Accessed 15th June 2018

Behold: Sam Peckinpah's breakthrough movie. It's the one that set him on a path that led to later triumphs and features some recurring themes.....that would become recurring.
I have to admit that compared to some of Peckinpah's later work (the Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid) this seems more sedate. But that by no means makes it a bad movie: one gets the impression that Peckinpah wanted to prove>what he could do before he began stockpiling his shock tactics.

And prove he does: Great cinematography, excellent acting, some truly amazing scenery shots and the most bonkers wedding I've ever seen (or at least one of them).