The Sting

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Sting!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th July 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 46 (1973)

Given the 1970s are regarded as one of, if not the, strongest decades of Best Picture winners, it does raise an interesting question: Which of the ten winners is the weakest? 
Such a question is by no means a slight against the movie in question. It just sits besides some titans that would easily overshadow it. So would The Sting be the weak point of the 70s? 

Well I will admit it certainly stands on it's own. Whereas 70s cinemagoers embraced the New Hollywood movement and cynicism, The Sting is a deliberate throwback to the 1930s style of film-making. And it's not just in the aesthetic: the structure and direction is undeniably lifted from an earlier, long-gone era of film-making. If anything this seems to be a flipside to The French Connection: if that movie embodies the realism and cynicism of New Hollywood, then The Sting seems oddly resistant to them.  
But that is by no means a bad thing: This is a solid crime caper based around building up a con-game to take down a crime boss. Certainly the narrative is bogged down by multiple double-crosses but I do admire the effort gone into making this movie. After all, it has the most compelling poker game I have ever seen on celluloid. 

The French Connection

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... The French Connection!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th June 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 44 (1971)

Hey, did you now that the director of The Exorcist made other movies? And he has a Best Director Oscar to his name?!

Okay, sarcasm aside, this is very much a product of it's time: the era of New Hollywood was underway and the Academy voters has discovered cynicism. And here we do indeed have a more realistic approach to film-making and film-makers more than willing to take risks. 

And it works. There's so many highlights I don't know where to start: Gene Hackman on fire. An opening scene that has our protagonist dressed as Santa Claus chasing down and beating up a guy. A detective protagonist that is less Dirty Harry and more Captain Ahab. An intense car chase that was famously illegally shot. Some truly stunning location photography. The template for countless police procedural movies to follow. And an ending that hits like a truck.

Speaking of which, is this the bleakest movie to win the Best Picture Oscar? One would think so but that's what makes it a unique entry compared to it's brethren. And all the better for it. 

In the Heat of the Night

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... In the Heat of the Night!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th June 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 40 (1967)

In recent years, some people have grumbled that the Oscars have become 'too political'. I personally don't know what they're complaining about because as I have traversed through Oscar history it seems that they have always been political. 
And so we come to this: One of the more indispensable Best Picture winners with an agenda behind it. 
Because this came during the Civil Rights Movement and saw a dramatic change in the perception of people of colour.

Needless to say, I can only wonder the audience reaction to see a person of colour not only in a leading role but playing a character who has a well-paying career, in a position of credibility, can take charge of situations, is intelligent and doesn't take any crap from anyone. Radical at the time? Without a doubt. A trailblazer? Sadly, not a lot of movies since have taken note. 
It's interesting to note that this may be a 'message' movie but it doesn't feel like a message movie largely because it comes across as wanting to talk to it's audience as opposed to talking down to it's audience. I think this due to the movie being unafraid to challenge the perceptions of it's protagonist (ie Gillespie's "You Listen to me" speech) 

Still Sidney Poitier has a presence that is unbeatable and Rod Steiger is just as compelling. The murder mystery is handled well and the movie is gripping stuff all the way through.  

Really, this is a class act all the way.

Out of Sight

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Out of Sight!

Original image located here. Accessed 8th September 2023 

I recall when this movie was released: It wasn't a major box office hit but it did make some headway in proving George Clooney could successfully make the transition from TV to move star.

Personally I feel that this movie deceived me: I went in expecting to see an action movie - with a title like that one would expect a movie with a whole load of car chases - but what I got was more akin to a slow burner. There's a lot of talking and some shots that come across as well constructed (and admittedly wouldn't have been out of place in a Stanley Kubrick movie). There is humour to be sure and a lot of small moments that ultimately add up to a substantial package. 

So yeah, not what I was expecting but there was much to enjoy

The Killing

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Killing!

Original image located here. Accessed 27th January 2017

I have been asked how I choose the movies to watch on a Friday night. In this case, it was down to two reasons.

The first reason it was an early film by Stanley Kubrick - someone whose work i have held an interest in for a long time. And in the sense that each of his films is a separate entity onto itself, The Killing shows Kubrick to handle a crime movie pretty well. Sure it may be dated (it was made in 1955 after all) and I'm not sure about the use of the narrator, but the movie had enough clout to maintain my attention and have me see it through to the end.

The second reason are the alleged similarities between this and Reservoir Dogs. Although Quentin Tarantino has credited the Killing as an influence and dismissed claims of trying to do a rip-off, it did not stop similarities arising - even to the point where some TV channel in the UK showed both movies back to back. Personally i don't see the similarities beyond the basic plot of 'a bunch of guys pull off a heist and it goes wrong'. I think what separates both films is the Killing is BEFORE the heist and Reservoir Dogs is AFTER the heist.
So yeah, I enjoyed the Killing a lot because it had my attention - which is what a movie should do.

Chopper

And this week's Friday night move has been.....Chopper!

Original image located here. Accessed 13th January 2017

So this was the movie that pretty much launched Eric Bana's star into the stratosphere. And I will agree he alone makes the movie. But get past that I'm not sure what to make of the movie itself. Is it cautionary tale? A character study? An attempt to beat Tarantino at his own game?

Still, I've seen plenty of Australian made films and this is, hands down, one of the most memorable. So something must've worked.

Road to Perdition

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Road to Perdition!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th October 2016

I don't recall this movie being that big a deal when it was originally released - and compared to other graphic novel / comic book movies, it comes across, at least to me, to be overlooked. Sure these movies can't all be on par with the MCU but considering the patchy reputation these type of movies have, they can't all be bad right?

Well, i didn't see Road to Perdition as a comic book movie or an American rehash of the Japanese manga Lone Wolf and Cub. No, I saw it as a crime drama. And to that end, the movie is remarkably effective. Exceptional visuals, directing and soundtrack make for a gripping film and there's some truly unforgettable moments - the diner scene and ambush in the pouring rain being two such examples.

I reiterate: comic book movies tend to have a patchy reputation but this is undoubtedly one of the best. But there's something to consider: Did Road to Perdition become the turning point where people started taking comic book movies seriously again that it ultimately paved the way for the MCU? One can only wonder....