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Reviews
Crawlspace (1972)
A sort of requiem for the 1960s
Like the reviewer above me, I saw this when I was young and it returns to my thoughts often...it has a certain haunting quality to it that is hard to define. Powerful and evocative and yet very understated. There is an air of reconciliation for the generations here, after the turbulent and impassioned separation of the 1960s, just passed.
No performances stand out in my mind...Matthew Cowles is believable as the small-town heavy, and Arthur Kennedy turns in a memorable performance in the twilight of his career.
It's the eerie and unexplained presence of the young man...almost like a lost child, how the old couple summons him up from the crawlspace and just accept him as their surrogate child, that's always stuck with me and made this movie return to my thoughts again and again, after all of these years.
The Proposition (2005)
The Aussie Western Has Arrived--and a note on a gaff
A brutal and yet at the same time lyrical film, this movie also reminds us that Australia had an evolution that parallels that of the Amercian Old West, with many of the same types of stories playing out in an even more unforgiving landscape. I was a bit surprised that a musical anachronism crept in, especially since this movie was sound tracked by my favorite musician on earth, Nick Cave, along with the redoubtable Warren Ellis.
Please note one gaff: When Charley Burns (Guy Pearce) enters the shanty bar and meets John Hurt's character, Hurt sings a satirical version of the old Irish-American standard, "Danny Boy." This movie is set in the 1880s, but the song was written in 1910 by Frederick Weatherly, an English lawyer, and set to the tune of "Londonderry Air" in 1913.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Threadbare and poorly done
This boorish, Americanized showboating of English legend is just plain embarrassing. Robin is somehow completely, unapologetically American, as is the entire mindset of this pathetic Costner vehicle. This was KC's last gasp, soon to be followed by other classics like Waterbomb, the Postman, and 3,000 Miles To Graceland...anybody even SEE those losers? The real death knell of this film lies in the obvious fact that no one connected with this film has any idea about the mythos behind it, and I suppose that extends to myopic fans who think this is such a "great job." It's not even a good movie; it is an exceptionally bad Robin Hood movie.
Under Milk Wood (1971)
Dylan Thomas' genius translates well onto celluloid
The movie is a painting of scenes, and a romance with English words that, oddly enough, only Celtic people seem capable of; Welshman Burton's riveting voice gives life to his countryman's work like perhaps none living could, today . The language is so lively and the metaphors so concentrated that the film may leave some scratching their heads; but for lovers of poetry, or literature at large, this well-conceived and directed interpretation of Dylan is worth the viewing. Peter O'Toole and Elizabeth Taylor give interesting performances, and the film contains several scenes that will stay with the viewer long after the film is over. The lush countryside of seaside Wales, and the sleepy little village in which the action plays out, are also quite haunting. Llareggub, indeed.