Come on, read my future for me. You haven't got any. Hmm? What do you mean? Your future's all used up.

Mexican Narcotics officer Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas has to interrupt his honeymoon on the Mexican-US border when an American building contractor is killed after someone places a bomb in his car. He's killed on the US side of the border but it's clear that the bomb was planted on the Mexican side. As a result, Vargas delays his return to Mexico City where he has been mounting a case against the Grandi family crime and narcotics syndicate. Police Captain Hank Quinlan is in charge on the US side and he soon has a suspect, a Mexican named Manolo Sanchez. Vargas is soon onto Quinlan and his Sergeant, Pete Menzies, when he catches them planting evidence to convict Sanchez. With his new American wife, Susie, safely tucked away in a hotel on the US side of the border - or so he thinks - he starts to review Quinlan's earlier cases. While concentrating on the corrupt policeman however, the Grandis have their own plans for Vargas and they start with his wife Susie.

I had more appreciation of Orson Wells after I saw Citizen Kane. I knew most of his story. I knew what his background was and even his gift of telling a great story. I wanted to know more about his films and his directorial efforts. His films were different and odd, but they told a well proven story that very few who can actually remake or redo. I liked the way Orson did thinks with such professionalism. His stuff was the making of a great legend. I wish I lived in the time that he was popular because I would have seen his films first run. Very few directors I can say that about and he is one of them.



I was at my local Art-House cinema one day checking out a John Sayles film when I was walking up the stairs from my seat when a friend who I have not seen in a while approached me with an film that was coming to the theater. He told me that it was wonderful to see me at the movie, but he told me that they are going to play a Film Noir tribute and wondered if I would love to come see them presented. I had some Film Noir in my collection like Laura, and Maltese Falcon. I did not know that there were other classics out there that had to be watched. My film education had to be expanded and I told him I would go to these films. They showed the two I mentioned above, but they also showed films I have never seen before. These are the films that I knew that I would love to this day. These films alone I was told will speak volumes in my learning about style and understanding the history of cinema.

The week long tribute of movies had a great impact on what I was learning about classic cinema. I saw styles and ideas that I don't think could ever be done this way again. Film is great because if the story is told really well, there is no reason to remake the film. There is a general consensus that these films are classic. There are a few that actually try to do the uneventful and sometimes they just don't have the same power or impact as the first. I have been a lobbyist for some 60's and 70's films of that idea. At the end of this week they debut a Orson Welles controversial film called Touch of Evil.



This film caught my eye because when I saw the trailer for during the week, it had an interesting twist. The movie had been been not to popular with the film audience and it was supposed to be never seen again. Welles viewed the new cut and wrote a 58-page memo to Universal's head of production, Edward Muhl, detailing what he thought needed to be done to make the film work. However, many of his suggestions went unheeded and Touch of Evil was eventually released in a version running 93 minutes. In the short of it there was a re-release of the film in the 70's and also at one point came out on video. In 1998 the restored one came out in select theaters and to this day is as close as Orson wanted. I watched this 1998 version with great interest. I thought what Orson wanted was amazing and well put together. I put it quickly on my tops of film likes and always wondered why the film world in 1958 did not like it. For more information the Wiki site on the movie is well done and presented to give you an idea about the background.

The film has special meaning to me because I like movies that have questioned for it's not so simple formula of being put out. I like films that question the very essence of movie making. Touch of Evil is a great film because Orson Welles acting is actually pretty damn good. It is a movie that has a good deal of small roles that actually add so much to a great piece of work. Don't take my word for it, I would check this film out. Classic!! Enjoy!!!

I cannot negotiate in an atmosphere of mistrust.

Wait Until Dark begins with a backbone to the story of which we are about to forge upon. As the film opens we see an old man splicing a doll with a knife; in many ways resembling how you would butcher and than carve out the organs of an animal, the organs being cotton in this case. Lacing the inside with heroin, the old man sows the doll back up and hands it to a gorgeous but antsy young lady by the name of Lisa (Samantha Jones). With the doll under her arm, Lisa quickly exits the building and takes a taxi to the nearest airport. Once there a strange man confronts her, but not before she was able to hand the doll off to Sam Hendrix (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to watch over.

As the story progresses we come upon a young and very beautiful Susy Hendrix (Audrey Hepburn). Susy tragically lost her ability to see during an accident that graced her life in a prior time. Coping with the darkness of the world around her, Susy is lucky enough to have a loving husband guiding her a long the way, and even a rambunctious neighbor to assist with the grocery list. As time would turn out, the strange character Lisa ran into at the airport was actually a thief by the name of Roat (Alan Arkin) looking to get his chubby paws on the doll and the drugs. As it becomes clear who posses the doll, Roat turns up at the Hendrix’s home with two other crooks Carlino (Jack Weston) and Mike Talman (Richard Crenna), only to begin plotting a terrible scheme to retrieve the belongings.

Once night falls the crooks enter the house disguised as several cunning characters and begin to take advantage of poor Susy. Fearing for her life and the sake of her husbands she hides the doll and refuses to tell anyone where it is. As the crooks become more voracious and forceful, Susie’s only contention for survival is to fend for herself. Locked inside her own home, surrounded by the pitch black darkness, and inhaling the fumes from the gasoline splashed across the floor, she makes one last attempt to plea for her life, will she survive? Wait until dark to find out!



The first time I saw this movie was when I was in my mid twenties. I had a friend who loved the old classic films from the 50's and 60's. He told me that there were some movies that just screamed repeated viewings. He told me about how he could watch some of these films over and over and not get tired of the how fun some of those films were. He gave me a pile of videos to watch and over the course of the few weeks I would watch a film a night. I did not know where to start. He had so many great films and films I never heard of. I decided to watch Wait Until Dark. It was glad I got introduced to this film, because it is one classic that you cannot do without.

After watching the movie I was a bit shaken, but really enjoyed the way it was done. The music by Henry Mancini and the acting is pretty damn good. Based on a Fredrick Knott play which was pretty good. I asked my father about the film and he told me that he saw the movie in theaters and when he saw it, he loved it. He thought it was a very scary film. He told me that Alan Arkin's was the ultimate villein.



When the movie came out on DVD I picked it up and rewatched the film. I tell you it's just as good and scary as the first time I saw it. It's an underrated classic and I recommend this wonderful film. Check this film out and I know you will put this on your Halloween watch list for years to come. This film is great fun and you can see why Audry Hepburn was nominated for an Academy Award. Great film and don't get scared. Also, if you get it leave the lights off and watch in the dark, you will be glad you did. Enjoy!!!

What we see and what we seem are but a dream, a dream within a dream.

"On Saturday 14th Feburary 1900 a party of schoolgirls from Appleyard College picnicked at Hanging Rock near Mt. Macedon in the state of Victoria. During the afternoon several members of the party disappeared without a trace..."

This quote is taken from the opening of the film and tells that story that will have the cinema world spinning and putting Peter Weir's first film as a classic. It's one of the oddest first films for a director in my collection. The picture above was a movie poster at the theater I regularly go to. Walking out I spotted this and told my friend we have to come back when this is playing. Since I am a fan of Peter Weir I wanted to know more about the films I was not so familiar with, starting with this one. The quote also insists that this is based of fact, but the truth is it's based on a novel by Joan Lindsay.

This film was never introduced to the people in the United States until 1997 or so. I saw it at my local independent cinema that I always go to. The striking attractiveness of the young girl on the front of the poster (see above) got me to come to see the movie. The turnout for the film was actually quite impressive and I was surprised that films like this had a following or even a popularity. The Australian landscape made itself a character in the movie. In a cast of virtually unknowns to me each person played there roles quote well.



So here again is a bit of plot without giving it away. Picnic at Hanging Rock is about three virginal young women and a school mistress who, on Valentine's Day in 1900 disappear without a trace while on an expedition to a splendid outcropping called Hanging Rock. Whatever the origins the story provides Peter Weir with material for a kind of Australian horror-romance that recalls Nathaniel Hawthorne's preoccupation with the spiritual and moral heritage of his own New England landscape. The movie is comprised of clues. Its methods are illusory, not necessarily to trick us but to force us to use our imaginations.

The film also has this wonderful aware of showing a bunch of sexual longings everywhere: students for students, students for school mistress, school mistress for someone we don't even know and even the maid for the gardener. Peter Weir also provided us with a feeling that the rock that they go to on this hot day is alive. When four girls ignore all the warning signs we have they sense that they are being called. One chubby girl panics and runs back screaming back to the base of the rock. Later the report is true that four people have disappeared and the viewer, such as myself really wonders if this rock is really the culprit.



The film is well done and wonderfully rich with dialogue and great visuals of what Australia is known for. Take my word for it, the film is a classic. It's a film that begs to be looked at closer for it's film study. I just watched it the other day to remind me how great sometimes great directors first films are wonderful and creative. Enjoy this Australian film and you too will put Peter Weir on your films to watch list! Enjoy!

One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place.

"One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place." That line stuck with me from the very first time I saw If.... It's not hard to be attracted to this film. I mean the first time I saw this I was an impressionable young adult at the age of 18 seeing on of all channels Bravo. This is when Bravo actually had some quite interesting programming on TV. They would put on Films that never really hit the mainstream, but enough for people like me to soak up the films that I have never heard before or films that just hit that line of cult. On a typical week you could see films like If..., Night On Earth, Peeping Tom, and other great and strange odd things. Bravo also put on TV shows that I long to wish they were back on TV. Things like South Bank Show, or documentaries on the birth of Memphis or other unusual classic stuff.

My first time watching this film I was intrigued that it did not follow the formula I was taught. Movies back then to me were easy and the plots made sense of everything around the rest of the story. It was driving; point A to point B. It was what I thought a straight line. Little did I know that straight line took a lot of twists and turns before it got there. I always had the VCR rolling at home and looking for something that really made the grade. What was also cool about Bravo and AMC is their was no commercials like they have on their now. If there was, then they would only put on one or two just to give you a chance to catch your breath. If... was British, but that was okay by me. My world cinema was lacking and what I needed to is watch films outside the typical ones I knew.



If you asked me when I was eighteen what my favorite films were I would give you some really bad films. I mean what person in their right mind would think all the Police Academy are essential viewing. Even contemporary films like Lethal Weapon series are gold to me. I really liked films that really had no business liking good films, but Bravo, and AMC and especially If... changed my viewing landscape. Taking a few film classes and talking to the right people who loved Cinema also helped too. Every day I come to class with a notepad of what I should see and watch. This is way before DVD or Netflix and I would come home with about a dozen or so films to borrow from the library or video store.



During this learning experience I even asked my best friend who was getting a degree in Theater what I should watch and he gave me a few ideas what to see and pay close attention to. His films were mostly American films like Diner, Bullitt, Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon and others. I needed to find stuff that would capture my interest and make me remember that I can show off these films to a teacher or a friend and tell them how great they are. It is good in conversation that you like these films because one day it actually gets someone's attention that has the same appreciation as you do.

So, my first film has a simple title, but not a so simple plot. The movie is called If.... The movie is Lindsay Anderson's second full length film, but film debut of one Malcolm McDowell. It caught the attention of great film director Stanley Kubrick who was so engrossed with Malcolm's lead in the film that he cast him in A Clockwork Orange. Malcolm and his friends in the film are very rebellious and they have a plan to change the ridged ways of the school they are attending. There are certain parts that are in black and white, and rumors still surface that it was done intentionally or as Lindsay told everybody "I ran out of colour stock." I would tell you more, but then I would have to kill you. The movie finally made a DVD appearance in 2007 to much of my happiness.



The movie is a must own and worth every penny to study and talk about. Criterion did a wonderful job of restoring it to it's great luster and added a wonderful second DVD with great bonus material. After watching this film I'm sure you will be dying to see what other classic gems I will have up my sleeve. Take a time to watch. And....Action!!