Flick of the Day: Cross of Iron

There is no doubt that certain film-makers and their work are so adored by their fans that even the biggest turkey in their filmography will find its defenders. There are still people who will vigorously claim that Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut is a masterpiece. Who knows, perhaps they’re right and it’s the rest of the world that’s wrong. We all have our blind spots but the point is that the overall quality of the work of such auteurs is such that it engenders deep support from viewers. Sam Peckinpah was such a film-maker and when on form and when his work was allowed to speak for itself (something that was rarely the case during his career), he was a prodigious talent. Perhaps his most well-known and celebrated film is the slice of revisionist western that is The Wild Bunch and it is an enjoyable, if violent, epic. However in my humble opinion, his best and indeed one of the greatest war movies ever made, is 1977’s Cross of Iron.

Cross of Iron is one of those rare things in a Hollywood film, a WW2 story from the side of the German army.  There are many historical reasons why this is the case, not least the crimes of national socialism and the holocaust, however Peckinpah manages to side step this by focusing on the lives of the average German soldier on the Eastern front. These enlisted men have nothing but scorn for Hitler, the party and their officers.

It is 1943 and the German campaign in Russia is rapidly beginning to reach its nadir. We are introduced to the hard bitten Sergeant Steiner, played with grim determination by an excellent James Coburn. Steiner is a decorated hero and winner of the Iron Cross who is beloved by his men. While he is difficult and often insubordinate, he is tolerated by his superiors Colonel Brandt, a weary James Mason and the resigned (to defeat if not death) Captain Kiesel, played with a rakish charm by David Warner. Into this steps the patrician form of Captain Stransky, a wonderfully malicious Maximilian Schell. Stransky is an officer of the Prussian aristocracy and has arranged his transfer to the front in order to obtain an Iron Cross. His brusque and often brutal leadership immediately puts him into conflict with Steiner. After Steiner and his men lead a bloody and victorious counterattack against the oncoming Russian forces, the cowardly Stransky who had hidden from battle, attempts to claim credit for the assault. He requires two men to corroborate, one he obtains by blackmailing a closeted homosexual and for the other he enlists Steiner. Steiner refuses to corroborate his tale even when urged by Colonel Brandt with the knowledge that it will rid them of Stransky. An enraged Stransky enacts a brutal revenge however. As the Russian army threatens to overrun their position he fails to pass on the order to retreat to Steiner and his men, leaving them trapped behind enemy lines with the only option of fighting their way out.

Filmed in Yugoslavia behind the then iron curtain, Peckinpah’s film has a real veneer of authenticity to it. War is brutal and the stark conditions of the front lines are continuously exposed to the viewer. In James Coburn’s Steiner, we are presented with an almost legendary example of soldiery. He is abrasive yet fair and not open to the kind of corruption which Stransky wallows in. Throughout the film Steiner defies death to lead his men to safety. It is a bravura performance form Coburn. Yet Schell deserves equal plaudits for his portrayal of the slimy but driven Stransky. He is the kind of patrician who looks down on all other men yet has a grudging respect for the abilities of Steiner who has achieved the one thing he could not, the iron cross. This leads him to dishonour himself in an attempt to enact revenge on Steiner, something he would not need to stoop to for other lesser men.

Like much of Peckinpah’s work, this contains sexual politics which can seem out of touch with modern times. At one point Steiner and his men come across a farmhouse full of female Soviet soldiers with consequences that can be expected. Now I’m aware the Russian had a lot of female participation, certainly far more than the other Allies, and a lot of it was concentrated at the front lines but the scene as it plays out feels bizarre at such a remove.

Even upon release the ending of the film stood out for its abrupt nature and over the years a legend has grown up that the production ran out of money and was forced to throw together an ending on the last day of shooting that wasn't to Peckinpah’s liking. While the ending was not as outlined in the original script, it was something that Peckinpah had Coburn improvise on the day. Regardless, it doesn't detract from the film and contains one of the best lines in the film:

“Then I will show you where the Iron Crosses grow”

The film’s production is almost as legendary as its story. It was financed by a West-German pornography producer and filmed in Yugoslavia using mainly extras from the local army. Peckinpah was at this stage of his career a full blown alcoholic with reports that he drank four bottles of whiskey or vodka during every day of filming, sleeping only 2 to 4 hours a night as he struggled to complete his only WW2 film.

Overall, this is a film which just has to be seen. It is brutal and epic in a way that few films are these days. It showcases a director at his best and a fine cast of actors giving career best performances. Is it of its time? Absolutely but it doesn't detract from what is a great story.

Flick of the Day: Good Vibrations

 It can often be the case that history on screen can feel somewhat remote and detached from modern life, sometimes the frame of reference can be so different that it is difficult to take in the historical events playing out on screen. This is not always the case; the events depicted in Schindler’s List are as harrowing today as they no doubt were at the time.  For me, the events and happenings in Belfast during the Troubles of the 1970’s and 80’s can feel somewhat remote when played out on screen  given the long period of peace the people of Northern Ireland have enjoyed since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Today’s flick of the day however, Good Vibrations, manages to bring to life the difficult and often harrowing events of those times while also immersing us in the Belfast punk music scene through this fine tale of the life and times of Terri Hooley.

At the opening of the film we are introduced to a young Terri playing in his front garden where all is right with the world until after an exchange of words with some local children he gets a toy arrow to the face and requires a glass eye. At this point, I was slightly worried that the film might turn out to be a tad too grim to be enjoyable but it isn't the case. We fast forward in a bravura sequence of carefully edited news footage to Belfast in the 1970’s. Terri is a music fan and he saw all the greats come to Belfast in the 1960’s : Dylan, the Stones, Jimi Hendrix, the list goes on until of course they stopped coming because nobody went out at night anymore.

We find Terri, played by the excellent Richard Dormer, scratching out a living in Dylan Moran’s dive bar where he acts a DJ to an empty room.  There he meets Ruth played by an equally excellent Jodie Whittaker; he explains that once upon a time he had lots of friends, both Protestant and Catholic and that once the troubles started, they fell into opposing groups with Terri alone in the middle. We see how his former friends now despise him for not siding with either side. After marrying Ruth, they try and form a life together despite the maelstrom which is erupting around them.  However after Terri is the subject of an attempted kidnapping at gunpoint while walking home one night, he decides that he had to do something to foster peace and hits on the idea of a record shop. With the help of Ruth’s idealistic group of friends and a mortgage on his house, Terri sets up Good Vibrations. The story would have ended there but for the fact that Terri becomes drawn into, almost by accident, the emerging punk scene in Belfast. Despite being older than the young people that are the focus of this movement, Terri finds himself drawn to the energy of the music and a scene which is truly cross-cultural and without the infection of sectarianism. He sets out to try and bring as much press and airplay to the burgeoning scene and its various bands including most famously The Undertones and their anthem “Teenage Kicks”.

The real strength of this film is how it perfectly captures the raw energy and emotion of the punk movement and how influential it would prove despite its short initial lifespan.  Yet the film does not ignore the fact that punk was not the only game in town. In a poignant scene, Terri notes how talented musicians from the oft-maligned show band circuit kept the Belfast music scene alive.

The film displays a light touch with a period of Northern Ireland’s history which was grim to say the least and is to be commended for this. The casting of some of the young bands feels spot on, in particular Fergal Sharky of The Undertones. Ultimately the rise and fall of punk in Belfast did not bring about a sea change in relations between the two factions and it can’t be ignored that the Troubles thundered on for another 15 years with perhaps the darkest days in the 1980’s. Yet this film feels like a celebration of a time and place when change felt possible and one can’t help but be caught up in Terri Hooley’s story. As the man himself puts in the end: “When it comes to punk, New York may have the haircuts, London may have the trousers but Belfast has the reason”.

Flick of the Day: The Yakuza

Sydney Pollack, who passed away in May 2008, was one of the great underestimated talents of American cinema in the last century. A director, producer and actor, he was a multi talented individual who won two Academy Awards. Perhaps his most endearing talent was his ability as an artist to turn his hand to a diverse range of genres. From comedy to thrillers to romance to drama, he could direct a picture. In this vein, today's flick of the day is The Yakuza, a 1974 Japan set neo-noir.

The Yakuza

A film that was little seen on its original release, The Yakuza was directed by Pollack from a script by Paul Schrader who would go onto find greater fame with his script for Taxi Driver and Blue Collar. An ageing Robert Mitchum is Harry Kilmer, an ex-military policeman asked to return to Japan by an old friend to intervene on behalf of his daughter who has been kidnapped by members of the Yakuza. Kilmer has not been back to Japan for 20 years since the last days of the occupation and returning brings back many memories. He reconnects with his old flame Eiko and her brother Ken, who was a high ranking Yakuza when Harry left Japan and Harry's sworn enemy. Ken is played by the great Japanese actor Takakura Ken. Ken has always resented Harry as he took care of Eiko during the war and thus is owed a debt that cannot be repaid by Ken. In an effort to repay this debt, Harry and Ken, who has left the Yakuza, join forces to save the girl. All however is not as it seems and Harry is forced to see where his true loyalties and those of his friends lie as the film moves to a dramatic and fitting finale.

The Yakuza is an unusual film for its era, even in the supposedly enlightened 70's. It displays a strong degree of cultural sensitivity and a surprisingly deep understanding of Japanese culture. This is perhaps due to Paul Schrader's meticulously researched script, based on a story by his brother Leonard. Schrader was one of the great writing talents to emerge from the 70's new wave of American cinema and though he would go on to greater things, this is a fine debut. The film is very much an exploration of the themes of guilt and honour. Mitchum's Harry is a world weary vet who has to question his past actions and even his point of view to reconcile with Ken and become immersed once more in Japanese culture.

Pollack as a director has always been more known for his ability to draw performances from actors then for a distinct visual style and this is evident in this film. Mitchum gives one of the best performances of his later career and gives this appearance throughout of carrying a great burden on his shoulders, namely his past. That said, the film is visually stylish, making great use of the almost otherworldly nature of hyper modern Japan. There is colour galore, with an Autumnal tone throughout perhaps to enforce the feeling of impending death.

It really is a shame that this film was not seen by a wider audience on its release as it is a gem. A surprisingly intelligent and deep tale will hold your interest throughout while Ken and Harry form a great partnership. At times a sober and quiet meditation on sacrifice, it introduces western audiences to the nature of Japanese culture and beliefs. Yet in the end, it delivers a thrilling and spectacular denouement in which Ken shows his incredible skills with a katana.

The decision to use ethnic actors and to film in Japan may not seem ground breaking for a modern cinema goer but they were at the time. You have to imagine this is an era where it was only a few short years on from Genghis Khan being played by John Wayne or an Apache Native American being played by Burt Lancaster. It is a good thing that this is no longer something seen as acceptable and yet it sets this film apart and marks it as something which along with the subject matter, is ahead of its time. A fine film.

Flick of the Day: Annie Hall

Romantic comedy is not a genre I often find myself enjoying but when it comes to Woody Allen, I make an exception. Considered his breakthrough film, Annie Hall is a romantic comedy with a difference. It tells the story of the failure of a relationship with a seriousness that heretofore had not been seen in Allen's work while retaining his natural humour.

Annie Hall

Allen plays a version of himself as comedian Alvy Singer who from the opening scene explains that his relationship with Annie, played by Diane Keaton, ended one year ago. The film then proceeds to tell the story of the rise and fall of their relationship through a series of vignettes. Singer is a man obsessed with the banalities of life and a need to see anti-Semitism in anyone who disagrees him.  Where he is an obsessive New York liberal, Annie is a free spirit from Wisconsin with a passion for photography. We gradually learn of Alvie's previous failed relationships and sexual failures and find that perhaps Annie is the cure for his neurosis. Ultimately the ups and downs of their relationship allow Allen to engage in musings on his favourite topics like therapy, the absurd oddities of the dating scene and the human condition while perfectly skewering the kind of upper east-side intellectuals that seem to populate Allen's films. 

Allen has never been better as an actor then in the role of Alvie, perhaps because it is almost autobiographical in tone. That said perhaps the best sequences in the film are those where Allen is taking his keen and acerbic eye to American life in the 1970's. The scene where he contrasts the WASPish preoccupations of Annie's family with his own Brooklyn Jewish roots is still hilarious today. It is this humour and the one liners which have ensured that the film hasn't become dated and still feels relevant today though the musings and cultural references have moved on. When the couple take a trip to California, Allen takes his considerable wit to skewering the kind of fake personalities and faux mysticism that populate La-la land.

        [a guest is calling his meditation guru] Party guest: Hello? I forgot my mantra.  

There is a realism at the core of the film which makes it seem more vital and true. In any other film, Annie and Alvie would waltz off into the sunset. Here, though they seem perfect for each other first it is the little flaws and obsessions in their personality which eventually drive them apart. It is typically condescending of normal Hollywood fare to attempt to assure us all that everything will work out in the end, that is not Allen's way and it isn't true to real life. Relationships have their ups and downs and sometimes they end.

Alvy Singer: Don't you see the rest of the country looks upon New York like we're left-wing, communist, Jewish, homosexual pornographers? I think of us that way sometimes and I live here.

A landmark film for romantic comedies, it introduced a new level of intelligence to the genre and set Woody Allen on the path to new found acceptance outside of New York and in the great cinema going public of middle America. It was also the first of three films in a row to star Diane Keaton culminating in perhaps Allen's best work Manhattan in 1979. Annie Hall beat out stiff competition from The Goodbye Girl and Star Wars to win the Best Picture Oscar for 1977.

Alvy Singer: Lyndon Johnson is a politician, you know the ethics those guys have. It's like a notch underneath child molester.

Flick of the Day: The King of Marvin Gardens

The rise and fall of Bob Rafelson's BBS Productions is the story of 1970's American cinema. At the vanguard of the movement to bring smart, literate cinema to the American mainstream, it quickly flamed out but in it short life, it left some genuinely ground breaking work such as Five Easy Pieces, The Last Picture Show and today's flick of the day The King of Marvin Gardens. The story of BBS is documented in Peter Biskind's excellent account of 70's cinema Easy Riders & Raging Bulls however it was the failure of Marvin Gardens which dragged BBS down and marked a creative limit for how far mainstream audiences were prepared to follow a new generation of film-makers that were to blossom later in the decade.

The King of Marvin Gardens

A relentlessly downbeat look at the disillusionment with society of those on the margins, the film opens with a depressive radio DJ, David Staebler played by a reserved Jack Nicholson, who spends his days monologuing philosophy on his show in Philadelphia while looking after his aged grandfather. One day out of the blue, he gets a call from his estranged brother Jason, a manic con-man played by Bruce Dern who urges David to come to Atlantic City for his latest get rich quick scheme. Arriving to a wintry and decaying city that is long past its heyday and long before its rebirth as the town that gambling owns, he meets Jason's two accomplices, an ageing beauty queen named Sally played by Ellen Burstyn and her stepdaughter Jessica. David quickly realizes that Jason's plans are pie in the sky and tries to talk some sense into him but neither he nor the women in his life are listening leading to a tragic outcome for all.

Coming off a series of failures, BBS Productions was desperate for Marvin Gardens to be a hit and on paper it seemed a sure thing. It re-teamed the star and director of 1970's surprise hit Five Easy Pieces and had a fine cast including Ellen Burstyn fresh from an Oscar nomination the previous year. However, this dark and at times bizarre tale of urban alienation was too much for even the enlightened audience it was aimed at. In retrospect it is not a bad film and despite an initial feeling that the two male leads Nicholson and Dern should switch roles, they do deliver strong performances with Dern excelling as the extrovert con-man and Nicholson showing his range as the permanently depressed DJ. The gritty realism of Laszlo Kovacs cinematography gives the off-season Atlantic City a dark beauty and highlights both the decay of the city and the isolation of the characters.

The real emotional heart of the film is that each of these characters apart from David places money and fame above personal relationships and each are damaged individuals because of it.

Jason Staebler: You notice how it's Monopoly out there? Remember Boardwalk, Park Place, Marvin Gardens? 
David Staebler: Go directly to jail? 
Jason Staebler: Well, that's me. Don't pass go, don't collect $200. 

While not one of the all time greats, it is still an affecting and hard hitting drama of human relationships. Nicholson's David is as emotionally reserved as Dern's Jason is out there and the various bizarre scenarios they find themselves in merely highlight this emotional emptiness in their lives due to the focus on money.

All in all, this is a dark and downbeat film with an ending that will leave you feeling ill at ease. That said, there are some fine performances from the leads and the cinematography makes the most of the wintry setting of a depressed Atlantic City. Nicholson's career would go on to bigger and better pictures but he shows real range as the dour David while Bruce Dern makes the most of one of his better roles in the 70's. A touchstone for where the decade went in terms of cinema and a historically important film.

Flick of The Day: Close Encounters of The Third Kind

Steven Spielberg followed up the success of Jaws with this sprawling epic picture. A classic of the science fiction genre  and a massive hit on its release in 1977, the same year as George Lucas first Star Wars picture. In my humble opinion, Close Encounters is the far superior of the two though in truth they are not aimed at the same audience. Close Encounters is much more adult in tone and asks the viewer to engage more with the material.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition) [Blu-ray]

The film opens in the Mexican desert, a French scientis named Lacombe and a team of American Army personnel discover a squadron of WW2 planes missing since the 1940's. In the heart of the Gobi desert, they find a missing ship. Later an airline pilot reports a near collision with an unidentified flying object to air traffic controllers in Indiana.  That night in Indiana, a young boy named Barry awakes to find his toys operating automatically, he follows some unseen figures into the fields near his house. Separately, a electricity lineman named Roy Neary, brilliantly played by Richard Dreyfuss, is trying to fix a fault on a lonely country road when he a close encounter with a UFO. Roy gives chase along with the police. Thereafter, nobody is the same again. Roy becomes obsessed with the UFO's, obsessed with a shape in his head that he can't leave behind. His marriage begins to disintegrate around him. Barry's mother becomes equally involved, particularly after her son is abducted by forces unknown.  Elsewhere, the UFO activity is increasing and as Lacombe and his team move from site to site, they become aware that the witnesses all report the UFO's making a distinctive five tone sound. They are trying to make contact. All of the characters stories then converge in a thrilling finale at the Devils Tower in Wyoming.

In an intereview given in 1990, when asked to choose an image to summarise his career, Spielberg chose the above. It is a striking image as the young Barry opens the door of his house in a brilliant orange light. It is just an example of a film brilliantly shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. The special effects were ground breaking for their day and unlike so many sci-films, it doesn't attempt to re-invent the wheel. It is the ordinariness of the various locations that makes it so compelling: the small town, lonely rural locales. As with Spielberg's later work E.T, there is the theme of  a broken family. Roy's wife leaves him and takes the children, unable to deal with his obsession. The children unable to understand what has happened to their hard working father. Barry's mother, a single mother it should be noted has her child abducted. It is this sadness, this sense of family that endears Spielberg as a film-maker so much. He has often been criticised for being overly sentimental but this sentimentality is at the core of his talent. He makes the audience empathise. Who can ever forget the little girl in red in Schindler's List? 

This is a great film, one of Spielberg's best with a towering performance of depth from Richard Dreyfuss, fine cinematography and an engaging tale that deals with the psychological impact of those who claim to experience encounters with alien life. A must see.