Daily Archives: December 28, 2016

The Mummy
Directed by Terence Fisher
Written by Jimmy Sangster
1959/UK
Hammer Films
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] John Banning: Seems I’ve spent the better part of my life amongst the dead.[/box]

This time Hammer tackles the Mummy franchise.

This contains some key elements of 1932’s Universal classic The Mummy, mainly the great love of the ancient priest Kharis (Christopher Lee) for the Princess Ananka and his punishment by burial alive.

The main setting is moved to 1920’s England.  An Egyptian devoted to the cult of Karnack, of which Ananka was spiritual leader, takes Kharis’s mummy on the road to avenge the desecration of the Princess’s tomb.  He is successful with the elder members of the team but the youngest member of the party, John Banning (Peter Cushing), is a tougher nut to crack.  Banning just happens to be married to a Princess Ananka lookalike.

This is not the strongest or most memorable entry in Hammer’s catalogue but it is atmospheric and entertaining nonetheless.

Trailer

Good Morning (Ohayo)
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Written by Kogo Noda and Yasujiro Ozu
1959/Japan
Shochiku Eiga
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Keitarô Hayashi: Someone said TV would produce 100 million idiots.[/box]

Ozu reaches back to his silent days to direct a pure comedy (with plenty of fart jokes!) in living color.

The setting is a contemporary Tokyo neighborhood.  We get a slice of the lives of various families and a glimpse at neighborhood dynamics, including plenty of backstabbing and gossip.

The story centers around little boys.  The sons of the Hayashi family (perhaps 10 and 5 years old) love nothing better than to go to a neighbor’s house to watch sumo wrestling on TV.  This is forbidden by their parents who want them to be studying.  Finally, the boys revolt.  They repeatedly demand that father (Chisu Ryu) buy them a TV set.  He refuses and tells them to shut up about it.  They respond by going on strike and refusing to speak at all.  Their weird silence does nothing to enhance the family’s standing in the neighborhood.

This funny and charming film is a kind of remake of Ozu’s 1932 silent film, I Was Born But …, with the boys substituting a silence strike for a hunger strike.  There is no marriage drama.  Ozu’s theme of generational divides is embodied in the struggle over the TV, however.  The director’s use of color and composition is as masterful as ever.  Warmly recommended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkrBom6odYQ

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