Blow Out Directed by Brian De Palma Written by Brian De Palma 1981/US IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime rental
Jack Terry: I’m a sound man. And – the bang was before the blowout.
This movie steals its plot from Blow-Up and The Conversation. The best part about it is John Lithgow as an assassin/serial killer.
Jack Terry (John Travolta) is a sound recordist for low-budget horror movies. He and his boss are having a hard time finding a plausible scream for “Co-Ed Frenzy”. One night as he is out recording sounds for future use, he witnesses a car go off a cliff in a ball of flames. Sally (Nancy Allen) was a passenger in the car. Jack rescues her and develops feeling for her right away.
The passenger was a candidate for the Presidency. Jack gives his tapes a special listen when he gets home and becomes convinced that the crash was no accident. This knowledge puts him, his tape, and Sally in danger. Lithgow plays a hired assassin who likes his work way too much.
Blow-Out is more of a thriller than the Antonioni or Coppola films and is much more simplistic. It is effective visually but less so in its storytelling. Not a bad film. It is perhaps unfair to compare.
Przypadek (AKA Blind Chance) Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski 1981/1987/Poland IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube rental
Witek Dlugosz: If I hadn’t missed a train here a month ago, I wouldn’t be here with you now.
Ksiadz Stefan: It’s not just chance.
Witek Dlugosz: Sometimes I think it is.
This meditation on coincidence, chance, and fate paved the way for such movies as Run, Lola, Run (1998).
Witek Długosz is a young medical student who has decided to take a break from his studies. He takes a train to Warsaw. We see three different versions of his future depending on whether he misses or catches this train. These paths result in him getting involved with the Polish Government, getting involved with student radicals, or resuming his medical studies. But his ultimate fate remains unchanged in each version.
I love Kieslowski’s world view and spirituality. This is a good example of how he sees everything interconnect. It’s more heavy-handed than his later work but still thought-provoking and beautifully made. Run, Lola, Run is a gimmicky music video. This is far deeper.
The film was made in 1981 but banned and not released until 1987, in a censored version. The censored cuts had been restored in the version I watched.
Mephisto Directed by István Szabó Written by Péter Dobai and István Szabó from a novel by Klaus Mann 1981/Hungary/West Germany/Austria IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube renta
Hendrik Hoefgen: What do they want from me now? After all, I am just an actor.
This is an excellent movie and Kaus Maria Brandauer’s performance makes it an amazing one.
It is Germany in 1932. Hendrik Hoefgen (Brandauer) is egotistical, flamboyant, and erratic. But he is an absolutely mesmerizing stage actor. One of his great roles is as Mephistopheles in Goethe’s Faust. He wins the love of a society beauty and is having a heated sexual affair with a Black woman. He is soon on the road to Berlin to find fame and fortune on the national level.
Hoefgen is also apolitical and amoral. All he really cares about is himself and his career. So he is easily seduced by a high ranking Nazi official. This brings him the fame he seeks and paves the way to his moral bankruptcy as he tries to please his masters.
I can’t really explain how good Brandauer is in this movie. It is something you will want to see for yourself. There are many scenes of his acting on the stage that are pretty astonishing. All the other aspects of the film are first rate. Highly recommended.
Mephisto won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film.
Lackluster trailer and none of the clips have subtitles.
My Dinner With André Directed by Louis Malle Written by Wallace Shawn and André Gregory 1981/US IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
Andre: The 60s were the last gasp of real Human Beings, and all we have now are Robots walking around.
I loved this on original release and I love it still. I’m probably going to have trouble saying why though.
In this film, Wallace Shawn and André Gregory play versions of themselves. Shawn is a struggling playwright who has taken up acting to pay the bills but has a hard time getting work as either actor or writer. Gregory was a successful theater director but retired to find himself.
Shawn had hoped never again to see Gregory but a mutual friend insists that he dine with him now. He reluctantly accepts the invitation. The two spend dinner in rapt conversation. Gregory does most of the talking. His adventures with spirituality all over the world are related in such detail that the viewer almost feels s/he has witnessed them. They keep talking until they notice that the restaurant is preparing to close for the day. Then they leave. That is all.
Obviously, fans of action should give this a miss. But I would absolutely have loved to dine with either of these man and the film is actually engrossing despite its talkiness. It should have been nominated for its screen play. Highly recommended if this appeals at all.
Clip – The other stories are not this depressing
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The World of Gilbert and George Directed by Gilbert Passmore and George Prousch Written by Gilbert Passmore and George Prousch 1981/UK IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
Two British performance artists indulge themselves in a bunch of weirdness. I’m surprised it was not required viewing on the List like all the other similar homoerotic “art films” I have been subjected to.
Raiders of the Lost Ark Directed by Steven Spielberg Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan; story by Gary Lucas and Philip Kaufman 1981/US IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon prime renta
Marion: You’re not the man I knew ten years ago!
Indy: It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.
Still thrilling after all these years. I had forgotten how sharp the screenplay is.
It is 1936. Indiana Jones is an archeology professor. In his off time, he searches for historically significant relics. This is dangerous work but Indy is proficient with the bullwhip and is incredibly lucky at all times. We begin the story in an old Amerind temple where Indy snags a cursed solid gold fertility statue, escaping from collapse of the temple and poison arrows by the narrowest of margins.
He is visited by some officials who say that Hitler is obsessed with the original Ark of the Covenant which he believes will endow the owner with incredible powers. The US Government wants to deny him that prize. Indy immediately recognizes the significance of this and prepares to leave for the Kathmandu, the last known location of his old professor who possesses a vital clue needed to discover the Ark.
During this visit, Indy must perforce meet again with his professor’s daughter, ex-flame Marion (Karen Allen). The father is dead and she has the clue. Despite her cold reception, danger brings them back into each other’s arms. She will be his partner in his future adventures, in addition to serving as a damsel-in-distress.
The action continues in Egypt where many more incredible adventures await. The whole thing is capped off by an explosive finale.
This remains a ton of fun. Movies like this one and Star Wars came as a breath of fresh air to movie lovers who were stuck with a lot serious and depressing material in the seventies. The screenplay is wonderful in blending fantasy with wit and romance. The score is classic. I kind of like that the sets remind me of something out of a theme park. It emphasizes the escapist tone of the whole thing. Easy to see why this would get the kind of sequels it did.
Raiders of the Lost Ark won Academy Awards in the categories of Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Sound. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. John Williams got gypped, though I suppose he got quite enough awards during his career.
Vernon, Florida Directed by Errol Morris 1981/US IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
Henry Shipes: Listen to that sound? Hear that sound? Getting in and out of trees? That flop-flop sound? Mm, that sound will sure mistake you for turkeys. Listen. Hear that flop-flop. Limbs breaking. Hear that good flop, then? Listening to that gives me the turkey fever. Mm, I wish there were as many turkeys as there are buzzards.
Errol Morris’s second film is another tribute to folks who think way outside the box.
Vernon, Florida is about as far as a retirement haven that you can find in Florida. It is a backwoods sort of place where everybody knows everybody and the town consists of a Main Street and little else. Though most people there seem retirement age after all. Several men ramble about their pet interests ranging from wild turkey hunting to proof God exists.
This kind of thing is right up my alley and I enjoyed it.
I’ve been a classic movie fan for many years. My original mission was to see as many movies as I could get my hands on for every year from 1929 to 1970. I have completed that mission.
I then carried on with my chronological journey and and stopped midway through 1978. You can find my reviews of 1934-1978 films and “Top 10” lists for the 1929-1936 and 1944-77 films I saw here. For the past several months I have circled back to view the pre-Code films that were never reviewed here.
I’m a retired Foreign Service Officer living in Indio, California. When I’m not watching movies, I’m probably traveling, watching birds, knitting, or reading.
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