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Reviews
Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
A sumptuous description of 19c.life in England
Of the many films describing life in 19c. England this is, by far, the best one I've seen. Peter Finch, Alan Bates and Terence Stamp are as as good as ever and, although it has taken me two viewings to realize it, Julie Christie holds her own just as well. However, it's the directing and camera work that put the stamp of cinematographic genius on this story of passion, marriage, betrayal, the class struggle, the sex war -in short - all of the themes that have been haunting us ever since we became humans.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
A fine Western
Gunfight at OK Corral, like High Noon, is an example of the best the golden years of Hollywood have offered. And who cares that it's historically inaccurate. We're dealing with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday: legends - stories that examine human emotions, motives, ethics and morality. When Wyatt Earp says to Doc Holliday "treat that woman (Kate) decent or leave'er" he is mouthing a universal cry for justice in male/female relationships, not a recorded statement made by a marshal back in the 19th century. Gunfight at OK Corral is Art without which we wouldn't even be able to spell the word history, never mind make it.
The Proposition (1998)
A movie I'll watch at least once a year.
I feel like a freak because I just watched this film and thought it was wonderful. Is it possible that a female director's view of things is unacceptable or misunderstood because it is so very rare for a woman to direct a mainstream movie? I'm asking this because I thought the movie "Michael" directed by Nora Ephron was also wonderful and the people around me thought it was full of clichés, the same comment at least one critic made of "The Proposition". Anyway for me "The Proposition" is a spiritual (not religious) film about marital love, parental love, of life being a composition of gray areas instead of a black and white, right and wrong deal. The acting was superb, the story thoroughly human,i.e., convoluted, winding, illogical, full of distress remorse and anger, but mostly about the beautiful, ugly or neutral ways we humans love. This is one of those rare movies I'll watch at least once a year, clichés or not.
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
A controversial masterpiece.
The first time I saw Midnight Cowboy was back in the 70s and it left me totally indifferent. As a female and a native New Yorker who loves her birthplace there was little I could relate to in a "buddy" movie that depicts women as sickos and New York as a cesspool of depravity, a largely forgivable country bumpkin's, or less pardonable petit-bourgeois' stereotyped opinion of New York. When I saw the picture in 1999, for the reasons mentioned, the film made me angry. I thought of the millions, like my parents, who came from starvation or persecution, anchored in New York and survived because despite its many defects, New York was and is a place of succor where the neediest have some hope of surviving, and in many cases go beyond survival. Just how many other cities in the world have been as generous as New York in this regard? Not many right? When Scorsese talks about New York in "Bringing Out the Dead", his vision has to do with redemption, hope and, in spite of all the bleakness, love. Schlesinger seems to have been driven by rancor, hate and resentment albeit brilliantly filmed. The last time I saw Midnight Cowboy was May 2000 and although I still disagree with the outsider's one-dimensional depiction of New York and the macho's fearful and destructive view of women, I am forced to admit that Midnight Cowboy is, cinematographically speaking, one of the greatest pictures of the 60s/70s era. "Why?", would be too long to explain here. Suffice it to say that I think Schlesinger deserves to be forgiven for his twisted depiction of womanhood and New York because of the beautiful way he did it.