Reviews

In our super-silly p.c. dreamworld of 2003, it's just great to go back to an era where one didn't have to bite one's tongue and/or stifle a laugh at classic comedy, where the genuine foibles of various ethnic groups and "lifestyle" choices were open to examination and, yes, even ridicule.

Only two other commentators here, one a Canadian who predictably trashes a program produced on his own soil, and an American who loved it (like me...although a Canuck).

John Byner was a GENIUS!!!!

Another wasted opportunity to present a story of epic proportions, dragged down by the "suits", who have finally managed to geld one of the true giants of Cinema.

At the turn of the Millennium, I feel sorry for Martin Scorcese. Given free rein, there is no way he would have cast the insipid Leonardo de Caprio as the protagonist, nor the similarly vapid Ms. Diaz as the "love interest". Even assuming he DID go for this, I suspect that the hour or so removed from his original cut must have contained far more of Horace Greely and Boss Jim, for example, than Leo and Cameron superfluously comparing scars before "making out".

Martin denies all this of course, but with $100 million or so having to be recouped before any profits, I smell a ruinous hatchet job on his orginal concept.

The young female audience must be accomodated nowadays, but Leo can't begin to compare with (for just one example) Brad Pitt in the brooding, menace-below-the-surface department. Leo is of course gorgeous, but is woefully inadequate when up against the likes of Bill the Butcher.

Daniel Day-Lewis is nothing short of phenomenal in this film...but he's forced to "carry" it almost single handed, and damn near pulls it off.

Tragically, however, GANGS OF NEW YORK is reduced to a Van Gogh in water paints.

As the proud owner of a digital high definition, wide-screen projection television with DTS surround sound, I could barely WAIT until the DVD version of this film was released, given all the hype.

I don't even bother going to the theatre anymore, because it's far more enjoyable to wait four or five months and watch it in the comfort and ease of state-of-the-art home theatre technology. Let me hasten to add that this film does not disappoint in that regard...it's magnificent in terms of picture and sound.

HOWEVER, I must confess that I turned it off at Chapter 14, and damn near threw the rented jewel case at the screen.

During the BIG ONE, as Archie Bunker called it, we were subjected to many jingoistic "John Wayne" propaganda-laden Hollywood productions, some of which were nonetheless very good AND served the useful and justifiable purpose of galvanizing Americans and their Allies into an all-out effort to wipe the (then) rotten Huns and Nips off the planet.

This one, however, is simply preposterous! There's not a commander, from platoon to division level, who would for a moment allow virtually all of his troops (having already accomplished their mission...rounding up the "bad guys") to return to a heavily defended area to rescue one guy who fell out of a copter or several others in a couple of other Blackhawks" shot down during the heat of battle.

I recently watched a documentary on the Battle of Midway, where the flight commander just prior to their mission told his torpedo bomber pilots "If 5 percent of you come back, I'll be surprised". As it turned out, he was overly optimistic....one squadron lost 28 out of 29 pilots. Now THAT was true and documented heroism, but the silly, needless and wasteful loss of further life depicted in BLACKHAWK DOWN is just another example of the brainless "feel good" mentality of our current movie fare. Even more sad, it is gobbled up by most of today's moviegoers, who've been programmed to accept and even rave about this and other manipulative horse droppings....eg. Pearl Harbour.

One fairly recent and notable exception which offered me some fading glimmer of hope for Hollywood ...the magnificent SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Although based on a similar premise, it was openly a politically driven order from Washington (rather than the ridiculous BLACKHAWK decision by the front line commander and his eager troops to return to a needless but oh so admirable kamikaze-style slaughter) which sent all those troops back into harm's way.

A MAJOR disappointment!!!!

It appears my comments of May/99 left the impression that I thought the "gun 'tottin" Joanne Dru at the finale was an appropriate end to this movie. Nothing could be further from the truth. Perhaps my subtle reference was lost on subsequent user reviews. I don't think Joanne had any place in the movie at all....her presence was no doubt due to the producer's desire to include the obligatory "love interest" somewhere in the scenario, to satisfy the female audience. Between wild potshots with her Colt 45, she says, "I'm mad...good and mad... you know you love each other", or words to that effect. Gimme a BREAK!! Then...."You better marry that girl, Matt" and "I think I will", from Monty. This casual exchange, after a Herculean struggle for dominance? I don't think so!! The ONLY way to have ended this movie with proper closure would have been for either Clift or Wayne to have bitten the dust! To leave the theatre with a '5o's style "good feeling", the Duke would have got the short end but, in reality, he was the protagonist throughout and, right or wrong, should have triumphed, irrespective of the silly and almost incidental involvement of Joanne Dru.

Agree with many of the foregoing comments, especially the removal of several great songs from the Broadway original, but my major problem was the LONG romance setup and LONG Havana sequences with Brando and Simmons.

This detracted from the Damon Runyon "Noo Yauk" milieu to the point where I always hit the fast-forward button, so I can get back to those wild outfits on the gamblers and all their clever lingo. One other problem, the very stage-bound set, clearly shot entirely on Goldwyn's backlot. Perhaps it was intentional, in tribute to the stage production, but it always bothered me....I'd have much preferred to have seen it shot like ON THE TOWN, right on the streets of NYC.

Finally, I agree that you MUST have a fairly large-screen TV, and see this only in widescreen. The pan and scan format totally ruins most of the musical numbers.

I've just perused all 23 or so rave user-reviews of this movie and, I'm sorry, I just never could understand all the fuss about SHANE. To me, it was simplistic in the extreme and, although Alan Ladd was one of my all-time favourite actors, he was MUCH better carrying a snub-nosed 38 than a Colt 45!...a cop or a noir-bad guy...yes, but a cowboy or a Mountie, afraid not!!

I just couldn't buy him beating up Van Heflin, let alone taking out Jack Palance, and the wide-eyed admiration of all those sodbusters when little Alan came upon the scene reminded me of a bunch of pro-wrestling fans!! Beautifully photographed, and Alan's scenes with young Brandon de Wilde were very touching but, as to the rest, if I'm the only kid on the block who didn't think it was an all-time classic, so be it!!!!!!

The whisky-voiced Brit, Edmund Gwenn, didn't get the Oscar for this one....but he did receive the well-deserved trophy for his portrayal of Kris Kringle in "The Miracle on 34th Street". Sorry to nitpick..he was great in both, and Mr. Gwenn, from all I've read, when queried on his deathbed about how hard it must be to die, was the REAL originator of the oft-repeated showbiz line..."Dying is easy...comedy is hard!"

"Laura".....for me, the very title evokes a flood of nostalgia for the charming, long lost, politically incorrect era of mid-40's America. From the haunting theme by David Raskin, later so wistfully verbalized by Johnny Mercer and recorded by a young Sinatra on Columbia....Oh, just try and find a current lyric to compare with "Laura, is the face in the misty light, footsteps that you hear down the hall, a laugh that floats on a summer night that you can never quite recall...and you see Laura, on the train that is passing through, those eyes, how familiar they seem...she gave her very first kiss to you, that was Laura, but she's only a dream..."

This movie, which I first saw as a youngster, burned a hole in my memory, though I didn't of course appreciate its subtle undertones until many years later. It might have more properly been titled "Waldo", since the real protagonist was the prissy, acerbic and vindictive narrator, played to perfection by Clifton Webb, a Broadway dancer and actor whom the Fox executives pleaded with Preminger to replace (he being "one of those" at that time)...fortunately Otto refused, and Webb went on to become one of their top stars, with a seven year contract. The only other comparable movie character of a similar vein I can think of was Adison DeWitt (eight years later, by the nasally sonorous George Sanders in "All About Eve").

You can check out the many summaries which precede mine, but what can I tell 'ya! Gene Tierney manages to look iridescent throughout, despite those terribly dated hats which were de rigeur in that era...Dana Andrews is perfect as the sardonic gumshoe who matches Lydecker's pretentious observations with his street-smart bottom line comebacks...Vincent Price exemplifies the heap big smoke no fire gigolo...Judith Anderson, portraying the tarnished lady "of a certain age" who unabashedly takes what she can get...and, finally, Clifton Webb...the real star of the movie. One cannot help but admire his baring of the soul portrayal, from the opening scene where he sits in his tub, exposing his frailty for all the world to see, stands up and asks McPherson for a towel. Next time you view this, watch for the ever so momentary smirk by Dana Andrews as he complies, glancing downward.

Finally, I am duty bound to inform you, gentle reader, that McPherson did NOT fall in love with Laura's admittedly haunting portrait (as most movie reviewers insist)...nobody falls in love with the mere subject of a painting...it was Lydecker's entrancing verbal portrait, combined with the reminiscences of all who knew her, reading her private love letters and finally, the smell of lingering perfume in her garments that captivated him before they even met. To wrap this up, "Laura" should be compulsory viewing for Hollywood's current money men, though most of them would walk out after five minutes..."Where's the HOOK, no explosions, no teen market, no tie-ins...no nothin'!"

To Hell with the book! That's the old cliche about ANY movie...if you've read the author's version and have your own mind's eye scenario firmly in place, almost NO movie will ever compete. However, movies are made to bring the mass audience to a (sometimes) great literary work that would otherwise be relegated to obscurity. "Loved the book...hated the movie...yadda, yadda, yadda". In any case, George Stevens' adaptation of this novel is a magnificent piece of filmmaking. The sheer "beauty" of Clift and Taylor in their prime, doomed to an unachievable fruition of their romance due to the difference in "class" and Clift's apparently deliberate failure to save the life of his frumpy little girlfriend (Shelley Winters in a thankless role)is heartwrenching.....star-crossed lovers in the Romeo and Juliet vein. The sub-title of the book "An American Tragedy" is certainly appropriate. I agree the movie takes a rather LONG time to get to it's denoument, and Raymond Burr is WAY over the top as the film-ending prosecutor. However, you will NEVER see two young actors as tragic and beautiful as Montgomery and Elizabeth...when she says "Tell mamma...tell momma all" and Monty clutches her towards him and almost brutally clamps a big kiss while the camera circles...oh my!! Of course, the REAL tragedy was that, off screen, Elizabeth was MAD for Monty and was even prepared to put up with his bisexuality. Wouldn't they have made a great looking couple at film openings, the Oscars, etc.? But I digress...the stark black and white photography, great background music and fabulous acting (particularly by the stage-trained and film-cautious Monty in a fish-out-of-water role)adds up to a memorable viewing experience. If this one doesn't tear your heart out, you HAVE no heart!!!

I was the "first kid on the block" to purchase a VCR, way back in the late 60's...the RCA VBT200...no timer, no remote, no nothing! Paid $1200.00 for it (Canadian funds!)and ALL my friends told me I was nuts. I TRIED to tell them that, eventually, everybody would own a VCR but was shouted down. In any case, Red River was the first movie I taped and, deleting commercial breaks, I was ecstatic to have a Hollywood movie on hand to watch whenever the urge arose. And WHAT A MOVIE!!! I agree with earlier comments re John Wayne...who usually just played John Wayne. In THIS one, and "The Searchers", however, the director got one helluva performance out of the Duke. Also, the second movie performance by the tragical Montgomery Clift...so "pretty" in the Mohammed Ali sense that I virtually fell in love with him myself, even though I was a "straight" teenaged boy. From the opening credits, with that almost Wagnerian music by Dmitri Tiomkin, this movie (shot in 1946 and held 'til 1948 for release...I forget why)should be compulsory viewing for the brain-dead Hollywood moguls of today. Actually, there are no "moguls" left...they're all bottom-line money men who wouldn't know a good movie if they saw one..."Let's check the demographics, guys, and fill those multiple screen outlets with brain-dead teens (not really their fault as products of our so called progressive p.c. education system)and make a TON of money!" My age is showing...back to the movie. If you haven't seen it, be prepared for a LONG sojourn. This isn't brain candy...it's an allegorical treatise on the impetuousness of youth vs. the inflexible values of pioneer stock. In the end, BOTH are told to cut themselves some slack, by the "gun-totin" Joanne Dru. In summary, a Great Western, and to get back to the Duke, an amazing performance by a 39 year old made up to look like a 60 year old...and he pulled it off! The respect/fear combo of his hired trailhands is almost Shakespearian, and a tribute to the screenwriter/s and director Howard Hawks. If you've never seen it...do yourself a big favour and rent this little classic!