Very good film, very realistic, I might add. Redford getting water at the Firebase in Vietnam wearing that cap was my tell. New frames in a few.
This Twenty is an “Entertainment”.
.
MrTibbs
2705
That’s an older Noel Coward, so I’m going to guess maybe Our Man in Havana?
Since @Navaronegun is our resident Preminger aficionado, I’ll guess Bunny Lake is Missing.
So Graham Greene termed his works of fiction “Novels” and “Entertainments”. His intent, I suppose, was that some were intended to explore deeper human motivations and ponder aspects of the human condition, while others were purely intended to entertain; having more comic elements, possibly. His distinction regarding his works implies a difference. One that I cannot see when I read them.
Director Carol Reed brought his keen noir sensibility (Odd Man Out, Fallen Idol, The Third Man - another Greene “Entertainment”) to this underappreciated work. Filmed in Havana in 1959 two months after the revolution, Reed brings to life the Cuba that existed no more, in service of Greene’s work and screenplay.
The film explores: flaws of intelligence collection and analysis, weapons of mass destruction, superpower competition as it plays out in the developing world. And the flaws of all human work in these endeavors due to the fact that they are engaged in by humans. Reed and Greene created a film that deeply explore these themes that continue to resonate today. And certainly resonated in 1962 and 2003.
The superb cast includes: Alec Guinness, Burl Ives, Ralph Richardson, Noël Coward, Maureen O’Hara and an amazing turn by the almost forgotten Ernie Kovacs as Captain Segura. All bring life to this story of espionage, self-deception, vanity and quiet desperation.
The Forty:
The Sixty:
The Eighty:
The Hundred:
“The engineer does not belong to the torturable class.”
“Are there class distinctions in torture?”
“Some people expect to be tortured. Others are outraged by it. One never tortures except by mutual agreement, @MrTibbs”
MrTibbs
2709
Excellent write-up, Navaronegun.
I thought while it wasn’t as successful as Reed and Greene’s previous collaboration, the iconic The Third Man, I loved the humor and the fantastic performances. I sought this out because of Ernie Kovacs, who at the time had co-written to screenplays with Stanley Kubrick that sadly never made it into production. Sad his life was cut tragically short just a few years later.
New 20:20
MrTibbs
2711
It does share the same washed-out naturalism and softer film stock look of Altman’s film, but it’s something different.
Skipper
2712
I can almost hear a Joan Baez song being played while looking at this. There is a lot going on in this screen in the way of details, but that mural on the wall has my attention as well. It’s not eye level framing either, we’re above, looking down at the people in the shot.
No guesses yet.
That looks to me like a scene from Billy Jack, where Tom Laughlin’s daughter warbles out a terrible song about peace or something.
MrTibbs
2715
charmtrap scores another win! Yes, it’s Tom Laughlin’s blockbuster breakthrough Billy Jack, the highest-grossing film of 1971, though this wasn’t until after it was re-released in 1973 when the actor-writer-director sued Warner Bros for dropping the ball during its initial release. It was the second time he had played the character after API’s The Born Losers, but in this outing he’s a stoic Native American outcast experiencing a tension between his desire for pacifism and wanting to stand up against discrimination with ass kicking! It’s a very sloppy didactic, overly earnest film, but it’s kind of charming in how sincere it is.
40
Non-professional actor alert!
60
Hippies straight out of Haight-Ashbury
80
More indignaties
100
B.J. himself!
The TIFF website has an absurdly thorough retrospective on the series, which is worth checking out if you’re a fan of New Hollywood cinema.
https://www.tiff.net/the-review/strange-saga-of-billy-jack
You reminded me how much I hate the Billy Jack movies, Tibbs!
MrTibbs
2717
Yeah, they’re terrible films that are only worth seeking out as historical curiosities. Laughlin sounded like a jerk, but I respect his tenacity and his attempts to introduce innovations into the industry (e.g. four-walling promotion and his attempt to revamp the VHS market so the filmmakers themselves would benefit from the rentals, which never got off the ground).
Matt_W
2718
100 caption:
“Screw the rifle; I’ll just fart in their general direction!”
Oh man, for sure. Those Billy Jack movies are terrible, but how those got made and made a fortune is a fascinating story.
New 20:
Skipper
2720
No clue on the movie yet but the use of color to home that shot on the desk is cool. The TV, the phone call, what she’s wearing, none of that matters. The important things are on the desk, the director is practically highlighting it.
OK, nothing. That’s alright, we got plenty to go.
40
