Summer Interlude

The films of Ingmar Bergman were no stranger to death and loss and his 1951 film Summer Interlude, the lingering feeling of death and loss and even loneliness are presented in all its stark reality.
Summer Interlude follows a twenty-eight year old ballerina named Marie (Maj-Britt Nilsson) who is rehearsing for a performance of Swan Lake when she receives a diary in the mail, sent by her Uncle Erland (Georg Funkquist). The diary belongs to a boy Marie had a summer romance with named Henrik (Birger Malmsten). Upon reading the diary, Marie impuslsively goes to the place where she and Henrik shared that romance. Upon visiting these places she is plagued of the painful memories of her doomed romance.
The romance itself is a thing of beauty. The more it plays out, the more you think it is going to last forever, until the dreadful end that tears Henrik and Marie apart. Through all this, Marie tries to find meaning in her empty life and tries to make up for it by embracing life, instead of dwelling in the painful past.
The portrait that Bergman paints here is a beautiful one. He brings to life a beautiful romance only to snatch it away and bring reality back to the front row. We feel every feeling that Marie does: love, hate, grief, pain, and regret. And like Marie, we are trying to piece together the fragments of all the things in the past. A starkly beautiful film from Ingmar Bergman.
This film is availble to watch on the Criterion's HuluPlus channel: http://www.hulu.com/watch/247386/summer-interlude. This film is also being released through the Criterion Collection on DVD and blu-ray on May 29. This is a must see film for any Ingmar Bergman fan or any fan of the Swedish cinema.
This is a true delight and a real gem from the fabulous filmography of Ingmar Bergman.

Summer With Monika

Throughout cinema history there have been those directors who could capture human emotions perfectly. One director who could do this and make those emotions so horrifyingly real was Ingmar Bergman. What Bergman did in a lot of his films was build up a foundation of tightly woven characters and through the course of the film tear them down to nearly nothing. One of his earlier works, Summer With Monika (1953) is on exception.
The film follows young lovers Monika (Harriet Andersson) and Harry (Lars Ekborg) who are fed up with the daily hassles of their everyday lives. Feeling that all they need is each other, they run away on Harry's father's boat and begin their adventure.
At first everything is wonderful and they don't want the romance or they adventure to end. But complications arise when Monika becomes pregnant and their food supply is running short. Forced to go back to soceity, the walls of reality begin to box them in again. Their romance diminishes into nothing after the baby is born and Monika finds love with other men.
Bergman presents a harsh look at young love in this film. It starts out so beautiful but ends so darkly, a feat that Bergman handles wonderfully. Harriet Andersson gives a wonderful performance here was the devilishly seductive Monika who seduces and then reduces the naive Harry. Nobody but Bergman could do what he did here.
This film is availble to watch on the Criterion's HuluPlus channel: http://www.hulu.com/watch/242443/summer-with-monika. This film is also being released through the Criterion Collection on DVD and blu-ray on May 29. This is a definite must see for any Bergman fan and any fan of Swedish cinema.
This is a fantastic film filled with the harsh reality of young love and how fleeting it is only as Ingmar Bergman could have presented it. And Harriet Andersson gives an intense performance.

The Magnificent Ambersons

Everybody knows Citizen Kane, but Orson Welles follow-up to his 1941 masterpiece is notable in it's own right. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), could very well have been a far greater film than Citizen Kane, but sadly, due to circumstances out of Welles' control it was only a minor achievement. However, it is still a great film.
Orson Welles narrates this film that centers around a wealthly family named Amberson. The film puts a spotlight on the young heir of the Amberson fortune George (Tim Holt) who is very spoiled and self centered. When he grows up he finds himself in an even more complex situation when a man named Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten) and his daughter Lucy (Anne Baxter) come to town. George falls in love with Lucy and instantly despises Eugene. Matters worsen after George's father dies and he soon realizes that Eugene is trying to rekindle the flame with his mother Isabel (Dolores Costello).
The film itself is searing pot of emotions. Welles uses all the techniques that he used in Kane and brings this story to life. Throughout the whole film the audience is locked on these characters and it is hard to look away at their self destructive ways. The stamp on this film can be that only of a true master.
Sadly though, this film could've been more if the studio heads at RKO had not cut the film and slapped a happy ending on it. This essentially cut the heart and soul out of Welles' work. That makes this film one of the biggest cinematic what ifs of the time.
That being said it is definitely worth a watch. No matter how much they cut of this film, they couldn't take away that Orson Welles stamp that is so imprinted on this film. Since the recent release of the Citizen Kane 70th anniversy DVD/blu-ray, Warner Bros. has put out a bare bones DVD of The Magnificent Ambersons, one that can be bought at a reasonable price at amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Ambersons-Georgia-Backus/dp/B00005JKGX/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1329889336&sr=1-1.
This film is highly recommended to any cinema lover and fan of Orson Welles body of work. This film is a staunch rival to Citizen Kane, if there were only some hope of finding Welles original cut. But that hope is entirely a pipe dream, since RKO destroyed the footage they cut and the print that was supposedly sent to Welles in Brazil has not been found yet.
All that aside, it is worth seeing to see the brilliance of Orson Welles. The performances in this film are also superb, from Joseph Cotten, Tim Holt, Dolores Costello, Agnes Moorhead, and Anne Baxter. Another cinematic achievement from the great Orson Welles.

Two English Girls

It goes without saying that Francois Truffaut was a true admirer of the cinema. He took those admiriations for film and used them to master his craft of filmmaking. Almost every film he does is a delight to watch. No matter what the film is, Truffaut has complete control over it, his style so beautifully expressed through the camera lens.
Two English Girls (1971) is no exception to this. With this film Truffaut is in familiar territory, exploring some of the same emotions he explored in his great film Jules and Jim, and even from the same author, Henri-Pierre Roche. Here we see Truffaut tackling another early 20th century love triangle.
This time the love triangle centers around Claude (played by Jean-Pierre Leaud) an aspiring French writer who falls in love with two English sisters Anne (Kika Markham) and Muriel (Stacey Tendeter). Anne originally intends for Claude to marry Muriel, but soon develops strong feelings for Claude herself, thus complicating things even more.
This film tracks this love triangle through seven years. By the end of the film the three characters are completely drained emotionally and left to accept the fate that has befallen them. The audience can really feel the emotional pain from these characters, as the actors give their heart and soul in this film.
This film is on the epic scale of Jules and Jim but does not quite measure up to the greatness that is Jules and Jim. That being said that doesn't dismiss the greatness of this film. Each actor brings gut wrenching emotions to the screen as love very tragically. Truffaut seems in his comfort zone, carefully placing the camera and getting great condensed shots and placing a haunting musical score in the backdrop of this film.
Truffaut essentially delivers a masterful film that doesn't overplay the drama in the film. It is a great example of classical filmmaking that throws the audience emotional curve balls that leave you with a dark feeling. Praise for this film really isn't enough, what is enough is people actually seeing this lesser known Truffaut film. But when searching for this make sure it is the 130 minute restored version that Fox Lorber offers and can be bought at a reasonable price new and used at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_7?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-keywords=two+english+girls+dvd&sprefix=two+eng%2Cmovies-tv%2C255.
This film is a definite must see for any fan of Truffaut or a fan of cinema for that matter, because that is what this film is, a cinematic masterwork. Plus, the performances from Leaud, Markham, and Tendeter are superb. A truly beautiful and dark film.

You Only Live Once

Throughout the history of cinema, there have been several directors who have come to Hollywood from foreign countries. Most would argue that the films those directors made in their native countries were a lot better than the ones they made in Hollywood, but that statement isn't neccessarilly true for German director Fritz Lang. To examine Lang's filmography it would seem he was great no matter what country he was in when he made a film.
One of the greatest examples of this is Lang's 1937 film You Only Live Once starring Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda. The story follows legal secretary Joan (Sidney) who is deeply in love with convicted criminal and three time loser Eddie (Fonda). After Eddie is released from prison, the two marry and try to start a life together. This proves extra hard for Eddie, with his criminal record he can't catch an even break. Matters worsen when he is framed for a robbery he did not commit. Eddie soon escapes from the authorities with his wife Joan and they go on the run.
This film is one of those rare gems that one stumbles upon from that glorious era of filmmaking. Fritz Lang displays the intensity here that he did so greatly in his 1931 German classic M. In this film, Lang makes the pain Eddie feels that is inflicted on him by soceity very clearly. It is as if soceity is against Eddie from word go. They treat him like dirt, even though he is trying to go straight and start a normal life. Lang presents Eddie as a very sympathetic character who is merely beaten down by soceity and the only thing that holds him together is the love of his wife Joan.
There is never a dull moment in this film and Lang constantly keeps the audience on the edge of their seats at every twist and turn. This film is bleak, tough, and unforgiving in its content. The film never lets up and forces you to look in the eyes of these tragic characters and feel the pain they feel.
This is highly recommended for any fan of great cinema. This is also a partly based on Bonnie and Clyde and is a precursor to that film. Definitely seek this film out, this film is availble at a reasonable price new and used at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Only-Live-Once-Sylvia-Sidney/dp/B000093NTA/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1329457249&sr=1-1.
This film is one of the best films that Fritz Lang did and contains emotionally charged performances from Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda that really jump off the screen. This film is a gem and must be seen.

Confidentially Yours

The final film from Francois Truffaut is a very interesting one. The film Confidentially Yours (1983) is a pure film noir, done magnificently in black and white and uses almost every tool in the book. To watch this film, you know Truffaut was probably having a good time with this.
After a man named Massoulier is murdered while hunting, real estate agent Julien Vercel (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is the prime suspect. Soon after that, Vercel's wife is murdered and his guilt seems even more evident. All hope for Vercel seems lost until his trusty secretary Barbara (Fanny Ardant) comes to his aide. Using every trick she knows, Barbara stops at nothing to find the killer who framed her boss, leading to a surprise ending.
This film is a delight to watch. It is filled with excellent moments with Ardant and Trintignant. The film holds a very complex and mixed up plot, very reminiscent of Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep and has that kind of energetic and quirky mix that Robert Altman displayed in The Long Goodbye. The film itself seems like it could be a Philip Marlowe mystery, with Fanny Ardant playing a very sexy version of Marlowe. Never has a raincoat been sexier when Fanny Ardant wears it.
Francois Truffaut's love for the cinema has never been more evident here. Going back to the American films that he admired so much and using all the tools that Welles, Hawks, Lang, and Hitchcock used in their film noirs. In Truffaut's films it was more about perfecting the cinema than changing it altogether. It was about putting the right actors in the right roles and Fanny Ardant feels comfortable as the tough, yet vulnerable secretary and Jean-Louis Trintignant is perfect as the real estate agent that tries to prove he has been set-up. These are not flashy actor personalities but they fit their parts perfectly.
As far as the condition of this film on DVD, it seems that there might be a Criterion release on the horizon since this film is on their HuluPlus channel: http://www.hulu.com/watch/265804/confidentially-yours. This film was already on laserdisc for the Criterion so maybe they will give this film a blu-ray/DVD release sometime soon. If you are desperate to have this film on DVD, a Region 1 release is availble on: http://www.amazon.com/Confidentially-Yours-Fanny-Ardant/dp/B00000IBQ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1329287423&sr=1-1, for $40.00 new and $7.04 used.
This is a great film from Francois Truffaut and definitely needs to be seen by any true Truffaut. It is not his best film but is definitely a delight to watch.

The Antoine Doinel Series

This is me discussing the Antoine Doinel films, directed by Francois Truffaut: The 400 Blows, Antoine and Collette, Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, and Love on the Run, starring Jean Pierre-Leaud as Antoine Doinel. All video uploads found on my YouTube channel TheRentBoy96.

Every Man for Himself

The French New Wave had an immense impact on cinema in general. Two of the main people responsible for the success of this phenomena were Jean Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. Both directors had very interesting careers, since their explosives debuts. But where Truffaut was a little more consistent with his films, Godard was all over the place.
Throughout the sixties Jean Luc Godard delivered a unique palette of films that touched on several different subjects but continually attacked politics and the cinema in general. From Breathless to Weekend, Godard never failed to amaze with his films. But after Weekend he went on a different path of filmmaking.
Joining fellow filmmaker Jean Pierre Gorin, Godard formed The Dziga Vertov Group. This group was dedicated to making films like the Russian autuer Dziga Vertov, who's most famous for the great film The Man With the Movie Camera (1929). All through the seventies Godard and Gorin made several films that explored the concept of showing work on the screen.
At the turn of the next decade Godard made a comback. A film he referred to as his second "first" film. That film was Every Man for Himself. It was heavily compared to the energy that Godard showed in his debut film Breathless and was also very autobiographical for Godard.
The film centers around a film director played by Jacques Dutronc, who travels back and forth from town to town to visit his ex-wife and daughter and to work. He lives with his girlfriend in the other town. Throughout his adventures he runs into a prostitute played by Isabelle Huppert, at a movie theater.
Throughout the film Godard examines the sexual exploits of it's three main characters, Dutronc, Huppert, and Natahlie Baye. It also closely examines the role of the father and the artistic rut one gets into from time to time. The film ends tragically as with almost every other Godard film, but it is a delight to watch.
The film is definitely Godard at the top of his form. Very on par with the films he made in the sixties at the height of his career. The camera captures some of the most beautiful nature scenes ever to be seen on film and the characters interact in a special way, even if they are in their own special world. With this film Godard proved that he still had the power of a great filmmaker.
As far as the availbility of this film, there is none in the U.S. However, recently a restored print of this film toured New York and other places. So with the presence of this newly restored print a proper DVD release of this film should be on the horizon. Especially since the recent Olive Films release of Godard's massive documentary on film Histoire(s) du Cinema on DVD. But here's hoping the Criterion Collection gets a hold of this film and releases it. If they do it will join other Godard films: Breathless, Vivre Sa Vie, Pierrot Le Fou, Alphaville, A Woman is a Woman, Masculin-Feminin, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her, Made in U.S.A., Contempt, and Tout va Bien.
This is definitely a film that needs to be viewed by any true Godard fan or anybody who appreciates the cinema. It is beautifully filmed movie that nearly jumps off the screen with its characters. Pure Godard.

Saint Jack

This is me reviewing Saint Jack starring Ben Gazzara and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Also on my YouTube channel.

Madchen in Uniform

The German cinema of twenties and early thirties is one that was best known for being ahead of it's time and ahead of it's competitors such as America. From serial killers to futuristic cities to very disturbed doctors and misunderstood prostitutes, Germany lead the way in revolutionary cinema, pushing the envelope before there was even an envelope. Leontine Sagan's 1931 film Madchen in Uniform is no exception. This is one of the earliest films to explore homosexuality.
The film follows a young girl named Manuela von Meinhardis (Hertha Thiele), who is sent to an all girls boarding school by her aunt. Almost immediately Manuela seems to have a hard time adjusting to the new environment and things get even more complicated when she falls in love with her teacher Fraulein von Bernburg (Dorothea Wieck).
Tensions start to rise as the girls get frustrated by their poor treatment and grow even more tired of the headmistress's tyranny. Manuela especially targeted for severe punishment after an outburst she has declaring her love for Fraulein von Bernburg. As the alliance between the girls grow stronger the film leads to a harsh climax.
The thing that sets this film apart from the other boarding school rebellion movies like Vigo's Zero for Conduct or Anderson's if..., is that instead of rebelling by shooting automatic weapons into a crowd or throwing objects from the roof into a crowd, the girls in this film merely show the headmistress her tyranny first hand. A revelation that cuts deeper than any bullet wound.
Leontine Sagan uses every method of filmmaking at her disposal in this film. Most specifically the close-up. The close-up is used in abundance in this film to express the complex emotions going on with each character as they try to discover their love for each other and their severe hatred for the headmistress and her lackeys.
The film is a beautiful one that deals with the subject matter in a subtle tone and brings to life the characters in an intimate way. Blending cross cuts and close-ups in a backdrop of uniformity is quite stunning as the film moves along.
With all that being said, this film has not yet found a home on DVD. There is however a VHS copy available on amazon.com for $19.98 but that is still too much for a dead technology. I was able to view this film on YouTube in eight parts, but this film deserves to have a proper release on DVD, it is an important film that needs to be viewed.
Madchen in Uniform is a stunning film, that is erotic and powerful in all the right places. Yet another grand achievement, from that golden age of German cinema.