Monthly Archives: October 2018

Don’t Look Back
Directed by D.A. Pennebaker
Written by D.A. Pennebaker
1967/USA
Leacock-Pennebaker
Repeat viewing/FilmStruck

[box] Look out kid/ It’s somethin’ you did/ God knows when/ But you’re doin’ it again – “Subterranean Homesick Blues” by Bob Dylan [/box]

This classic documentary follows Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour of England.  It’s a fantastic look at a seminal place and time in popular music. 

Bob is in top form both with the songs and the snappy repartee, as is Joan Baez who toured with him.  He holds court in his hotel room for various notables of the day, including Donovan who also performs.

This really should be on The List.  There is not a single thing wrong with it and Pennebaker reveals so much about where we’ve all been.  I wish there was a way to get back some days.

I always feel sorry for poor Donovan when I watch this.  The British media was trying to set up some kind of “battle of folk singers” between him and Dylan.  There was never any contest and Donovan looks happy just to bask in the glow of his idol’s presence.

Clip – Donovan performs “To Sing for You” and Dylan performs “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue”

Not Reconciled (Nicht versöhnt oder Es hilft nur Gewalt, wo Gewalt herrscht)
Directed by Jean-Marie Straub
Written by Danielle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub from a novel by Heinrich Boll
1965/West Germany
Produktion Straub-Huillet
First viewing/FilmStruck

[box] Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal. Martin Luther King, Jr. [/box]

Far too much plot and message for one hour-long film.

This covers the lives of a single German family during three periods of recent German history – WWI, the 1930s, and modern day.  But the viewer must work to stay oriented as to time and the message is basically that the past is living in the present.

I can’t take credit for understanding much about this movie.  I don’t have the strength to watch it again.  On to the next one!

Most of this went straight over my head – here is one critic’s reconstruction

The Lion Hunters (La chasse au lion à l’arc)
Directed by Jean Rouch
1965/France
Comite du film Ethnographique/Les films de la Pleiade
First viewing/FilmStruck

[box] Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself. -African Proverb[/box]

For those that can handle animal gore, this is a fascinating documentary about all aspects of a lion hunt, both ritual and practical.

Jean Rouch (The Mad Masters (1955)) documents customs of nomadic sub-Saharan cattleherders on the Niger-Mali border surrounding a lion hunt.  Painstaking crafting of weapons and practice along with the rituals designed to ensure success are detailed.  

I thought this was really interesting.  I can’t figure out why The Book’s editors would choose the disgusting and staged Mad Masters for inclusion on the list over this one which feels very authentic.  Warning:  Not for the squeamish.

Trailer – no subtitles

Dr. Who and The Daleks
Directed by Gordon Flemyng
Written by Milton Subotsky based on the BBC Television serial
1965/UK
AARU Productions/Amicus Productions
First viewing/FilmStruck

[box] Dr. Who: How interesting! This is most interesting![/box]

It’s about time I finally became acquainted with Dr. Who!

Dr. Who (Peter Cushing) is an elderly eccentric inventor who has just put the finishing touches on his masterwork – T.A.R.D.I.S.  This looks like an ordinary police box but the interior reveals a gigantic laboratory and the mechanism that turns the device into a time machine.  The doctor is about to demonstrate to his granddaughter Barbara, her boyfriend Ian, and a young granddaughter named Susan.  Clumsy Ian bumps into the power button and sends the quartet to an unknown place and time.

This proves to be a planet devastated by nuclear war that left two sorts of inhabitants – evil Daleks, who protect their vulnerable innards with metal shells, and their enemies the Thals.     Dr. Who must use all his ingenuity to save the day.

I may be the only sci-fi loving Anglophile on the planet who has never seen Dr. Who in any of its many iterations.  This was a lovely introduction.  Peter Cushing is fantastic as the lovable old doctor.  The colorful sets are a blast.  Recommended.

None But the Brave
Directed by Frank Sinatra
Written by John Twist and Katsuya Susaki; story by Kikumada Okuda
1965/Japan/USA
Warner Bros./Tokyo Eiga Co. Ltd./Toho Film Co. Ltd./Artanis Productions Inc./Sinatra Enterprises
First viewing/FilmStruck

[box] None but the brave deserves the fair. — John Dryden[/box]

Nepotism puts the nail in the coffin of Frank Sinatra’s sole directing credit.

The setting is an isolated island in the Pacific during World War II.  A platoon of Marines crash lands onto the island only to find it is already occupied by an small unit of Japanese soldiers.  There is no means of escape, supplies are very short, and the men decide to cooperate.  Matters come to a head when a boat comes to rescue the Japanese and the men move back into combat mode.

This movie is pretty bad and the main defect is the character of 2nd Lt. Blair, played by then Sinatra son-in-law Tommy Sands.  Blair is the kind of gung ho rookie that gets on everyone’s last nerve – unfortunately this includes the audience.  He is meant to provide comic relief but is just ultra annoying.  No wonder Tommy and Nancy divorced that year.

Othello
Directed by Stuart Burge
Written by William Shakespeare
1965/UK
BHE Films/National Theatre of Great Britain Production
First viewing/Netflix

Othello: I pray you, in your letters; when you shall these unlucky deeds relate, speak of them as they are. Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice. Then must you speak of one that lov’d not wisely but too well.

Laurence Olivier’s bizarre black-face turn as Othello swamps the efforts of a stellar cast.

Ok, I think we all know the story of Othello.  The Moorish general (Olivier) marries the naive young Desdemona (Maggie Smith).  He prefers young Cassio (Derek Jacobi) over evil Iago (Frank Finlay) as his lieutenant.

Iago is consumed with jealousy and decides to get revenge through destroying Othello’s happiness with Desdemona.  With Joyce Redman as Emilia, Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s nurse.

Despite his Oscar nomination, this is honestly the worst Olivier performance I have seen.  His attempts to portray another race completely miss the mark.  The baritone bass used only resembles a bad imitation of a Jamaican accent.  His histrionics are almost offensive.  Everybody else is excellent.

Othello was nominated for Oscars in the categories of Best Actor (Olivier); Best Supporting Actor (Finlay); Best Supporting Actress (Smith); and Best Supporting Actress (Redman).

Clip