Film Experience Blog

Michael C. here from Serious Film for another episode of Unsung Heroes. This week why don't we hand out some credit for some "uncredited" writing.


All directors, no matter how great, have a few blind spots. Even someone as indisputably great as Alfred Hitchcock could become leaden and stilted when he attempted farce. Similarly, one would not be too far out on a limb if he or she accused Steven Spielberg of lacking a certain lightness of touch. Which is not to say that he could never find a laugh (Jaws is full of humor) but he's not exactly the first person that comes to mind when one thinks of perfectly pitched comedic banter.

But a funny thing happened halfway through his career. He released a flick called Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and suddenly he was hilarious. And not just Richard Dreyfuss-does-an-amusing-line-reading funny. We're talking the kind of funny where the audience wouldn't mind if Indy took a break from fighting Nazis so long as we could keep watching him bicker with his dad. Now how exactly did that happen?

Well, like anything in film, handing out credit is a complicated business, but the short answer is this: Tom Stoppard happened.

Stoppard, for anybody unfamiliar, is one of the most prominent playwrights of the last half-century, winner of four Tonys and an Oscar for co-writing Shakespeare in Love. He was hired to give Jeffrey Boam's script for Last Crusade an uncredited polish, because when you're Steven Spielberg and your action picture needs punching up, you call one of the world's leading writers. I suppose Pinter was busy.

According to an Empire interview with Spielberg, Stoppard ended up writing pretty much every line of dialogue in the movie. No minor contribution, considering that Last Crusade's enduring popularity is more for its comedy than for any other quality. For my money, the much less fondly regarded Temple of Doom has superior action. But where that film's attempts at comedy were often clunky and lame, Last Crusade rattles of classic line after classic line:

"I should have mailed it to the Marx Brothers."

"No ticket."

"He chose poorly"

And even though the character of Indy's father was largely a plot device added for the sake of variety, thanks to Stoppard, Ford & Connery ended up as an enduring comedic duo. Connery's gobsmacked "Look what you did!" after Indy wastes some Nazis never fails to make me guffaw. Their dynamic rings so true that the story actually finds some pathos in their relationship, which is a whole lot more than one can say about Ford & La Beouf in Crystal Skull.

Tom Stoppard. His famous plays include The Real Thing, Arcadia The Coast of Utopia, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

It must have been wonderful for Connery to sign on for a mega-budget Hollywood behemoth only to find himself with the greatest comedic role of his career. Watching the film, the joy of his performance is obvious. This is pure speculation, but I get the feeling that Stoppard was having a blast too. Maybe not. Maybe grinding out punchlines for Indy and his estranged father was grueling, joyless work. But for the audience it certainly feels like the great man had the time of his life livening up the B-movie material with wit and style.
*
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Self Styled Siren "anecdote of the week" the great Myrna Loy (Manhattan Melodrama) on John Dillinger -- a great choice 0f topic given all the discussion about Public Enemies this week.
PopWatch the future and end of Friday Night Lights, one of the best shows on television. If you haven't yet watched, please do yourself the favor and rent the DVDs.
Kenneth in the (212) on the documentary "My Big Break". A documentarian decided to film his struggling actor roommates and three of the four ended up finding some fame.
Lazy Eye Theater is a patriot. He alerts the authorities to Roland Emmerich's questionable activities. "If you see something, say something!"


The Hot Blog David Poland has some deep thoughts on the audience/critical divide and what we (the audience) need and accept from movies. Good stuff though I'm not so sure about the final Star Wars examples. CGI Yoda not being the problem with the new movies.
World of Wonder Lindsay and Michael Lohan celebrating.
Boy Culture video of Madonna's 'Sticky & Sweet' tour changes. Couple of song switches and a Michael Jackson tribute
Cinematical has guarded hope for Indiana Jones Part V. Ouch. Does anyone (anyone?) outside of those who would directly profit by the million$, really think in their heart of hearts that this is a good idea? Why does no one demand more of these people before showering them with money? I'm absolutely convinced that if George Lucas announced Star Wars Episode 7: The Journey of Jar Jar Binks people would still line up in droves. And then complain about it afterwards. Why should filmmakers even try to make good movies when we reward them for hurting us? Current Blockbuster Movie Culture = Stockholm Syndrome.

Finally, Pop Culture Nerd is embarrassed that he's read only 13 of Newsweek's Top 100 Books: The Meta List. I haven't done much better. How many have you read? I'm guessing more than me. The Boyfriend consistently chastises me that I am to books what I complain the general public is to movies i.e. I usually go for the easily digestible ones within my favorite genres (fantasy/sci-fi) and devour sequels even when I think said franchise has become embarrassing.


I must admit, with some shame, that he's right. I regularly miss the new critical darlings and the old classics to pick up yet another fantasy or sci-fi book, even when I think the author is shamelessly repeating themselves for a buck. My adventurous cinephilia has sadly never transferred over into book form though I usually do love the classics once I actually read them. I've been thinking of bringing back the "cast this" series (a book club for film lovers) but haven't quite decided given all the other projects on hold.

What are you reading right now? Or are summers all about the air conditioned movie theater for you?
*

Year in Review: Part 2 of 5

I had to stretch to find unworthy characters for my 2008 Cinematic Hall of Shame list. I skipped most of those movies you might find below 30% on the tomatometer for example. But I found a few things to poke a stick at nonetheless. Read it and weep.

<-- That's better! Stop Edward's pervy staring and Bella's endless moping and Twilight immediately becomes more bearable.

[pet peeve tangent] I really hate the Twilight logo. On its on it's totally attractive/cute but how does it properly represent the book/movie? What is that dangling curlicue g for anyway? It makes the property look fanciful/playful not mopey/romantic. It suggests nothing so much as the dangling lightning bolt "P" in the book/movie the media loves to compare Twilight too. Yes, it screams 'You'll like this as much as you like Harry Potter! We hope!!!' Aside from moody teenagers what do those franchises really have in common anyway in terms of temperament? [/tangent]

On the Hall of Shame page, you'll find that one of the normal fields (the pet peeves chart) is empty this year. I'm going to let you fill it out. Load up these comments with minor moments, characters, films, thingamajigs, trends and whatever that you found most annoying in 2008 movies and I'll fill in the chart with some of the best ones. Type a name (quit going "anonymous") and you'll get credit on the page if I use it.
*

Rob here, back from a little vacation of my own and noticing that while attention has moved from movie to movie from week to week this Summer (with a long layover in Gotham City), one thing has been on movie lovers' to-do lists since June:

Hate George Lucas.

And this hobby hasn't been confined to mere fanboys alone. Today Jim Emerson outlines his argument against George Lucas (which, honestly isn't that different from anyone else's). This summer it's all about how George has ruined our childhood with his less than stellar update of Indiana Jones. Personally I'm not sure why Steven Spielberg doesn't get any of the blame since his fingerprints are all over the film: the overly-happy ending, the.... well... not to ruin the surprise, but lets just say "other elements found often in Spielberg movies."

Perhaps it's because George Lucas also has the Star Wars baggage, more of which comes out this week (and don't ask about Jabba the Hutt's gay uncle... seriously). Perhaps it's because he's already talking about a possible fifth Indiana Jones movie. While I personally don't approve of this, the obsessive compulsive in me kinda does, if for no reason than to have something to support this fourth film, which now is leeched onto the rest of the trilogy, 20 years removed (it's just unsettlingly unsymmetrical).

Anyways here are some suggestions for a title for George Lucas's fifth Indy film:

Indiana Jones and the Bad Case of Osteoporosis
Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Clones
Indiana Jones and the CGI Critters
Indiana Jones and the Small Personal Movies I'm Going to Start Making
Indiana Jones and the Attack of the CGI Critter Clones
Indy and Chewie Celebrate Life Day: A Family Adventure for the Whole Family
Midi-Chlorians and Nuclear 'Fridge Rides: The Story of George Lucas' Genius

(that last one would be a documentary)

Kelly Lynch sprawled out on the sand for a photoshoot back in 1989. She was 30 years old.


Does anyone else remember her? 1989 was an important year in her career. She was getting attention for her sparkplug part in Drugstore Cowboy (a fine rental choice if you haven't seen it). Gus Van Sant handed her the funniest line in the movie, delivered to her always high boyfriend Matt Dillon

You never fuck me and I always have to drive.

Like many young actresses A list opportunities didn't really pan out (the competition is insane. Not for the faint of heart these acting careers) but in the right roles she was a keeper. I loved her butch lesbian in Three of Hearts, too.

Time capsule: While Kelly was stretched on the beach, The Little Mermaid was beaching herself and restoring Disney to its former animated hit-machine glory (retrospective). Tim Burton's Batman was the toast of mainstream moviegoers and an archeologist named Indiana Jones was also back in theaters ... again. Franchises made up nearly the entire top ten of 1989. The past nineteen years have noticeably altered many Hollywood careers but they haven't altered moviegoing tastes much. It's still Indy, Batman, franchises and animated films that pack movie houses.


The only thing you'd never see today: Driving Miss Daisy was in that year's top ten grossers. Oscar bait and/or period films rarely rock the multiplex anymore. The audience for them apparently never leaves their TV sets now. I hate to sound supportive of something like Miss Daisy (yeesh, someone hand me some soap. I feel dirty) but here's to variety. It would help the cinema a lot if audiences still wanted a little bit o' that and a little bit o' this on their movie menu. Man cannot live on superheroes and franchises alone. Man will try. Man will eventually get hungry for something else. Maybe in nineteen more years. Here's to 2027!

What will you be seeing this holiday weekend... or is it Off Movie adventures for you?

L I M I T E D
The Edge of Heaven -Anyone who saw writer/director Fatih Akin's (pictured left) powerful Head-On [queue it] probably should have his feature follow up on their radar. This one also toggles between Turkey and Germany and deals with an estranged father and son and the attempt to free an imprisoned Turkish activist, the daughter of the father's girlfriend.
The Children of Huang Shi -Ostensibly this stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell rescuing orphans in 1930s China but the most interesting note (at least sight unseen) is that it reunites Crouching Tiger's Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh.
A Jihad for Love -This controversial documentary on the gay Muslim experience was filmed right inside deadly countries for gay men and women. Reviews are largely glowing. Here's the trailer.



Postal -Uwe Boll (!I know!) directed this satirical comedy about religious nuts and terrorists. Inspired by the video game.
War Inc. -Another contemporary political comedy, this one starring several 80s/90s stars including Ben Kingsley, Dan Aykroyd, Marisa Tomei and John and Joan Cusack (where ya been girl?)

W I D E
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -Nothing dared open against it which is possibly wise given the expected gold it will dig up. I am probably the only person alive who isn't very interested. I've been burned too many times by Lucas, occassionally by Spielberg, and fairly regularly by wanting something to continue that already ended. Nostalgia should really mean just plopping a movie you love into the DVD player. Nobody has had to wait for re-releases of beloved films since the early 80s! If anything, nostalgia should make much less sense in terms of ticket buying than it once did. Strangely, it still does. Perhaps I shall see Indiana Jones 4 but I'm not in a rush. This week has been a little tough as previously noted. I maybe could use some old fashioned adventure.

...and you?

The Revised Greatest American Films List
I'm happy to see Blade Runner, Nashville, and Cabaret added. They all hold high rank in my own favorites listing. What say ye about this new lineup? (To be helpful I've added their previous AFI ranking to the right --big changes in bold)

1. "Citizen Kane" (1941) same
2. "The Godfather" (1972) 3
3. "Casablanca" (1942) 2
4. "Raging Bull" (1980) 24
5. "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) 10
6. "Gone With the Wind" (1939) 4
7. "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) 5
8. "Schindler's List" (1993) 9
9. "Vertigo" (1958) 61
10. "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) 6


11. "City Lights" (1931) 76
12. "The Searchers" (1956) 96
13. "Star Wars" (1977) 15
14. "Psycho" (1960) 18
15. "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) 22
16. "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) 12
17. "The Graduate" (1967) 7
18. "The General" (1927) new
19. "On the Waterfront" (1954) 8
20. "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) 11

21. "Chinatown" (1974) 19
22. "Some Like It Hot" (1959) 14
23. "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) 21
24. "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) 25
25. "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) 34
26. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939) 29
27. "High Noon" (1952) 33
28. "All About Eve" (1950) 16
29. "Double Indemnity" (1944) 38
30. "Apocalypse Now" (1979) 28

31. "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) 23
32. "The Godfather, Part II" (1974) same
33. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975) 20
34. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) 49
35. "Annie Hall" (1977) 31
36. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) 13
37. "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946) same
38. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948) 30
39. "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) 26
40. "The Sound of Music" (1965) 55

41. "King Kong" (1933) 43
42. "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) 27
43. "Midnight Cowboy" (1969) 36
44. "The Philadelphia Story" (1940) 51
45. "Shane" (1953) 69
46. "It Happened One Night" (1934) 35
47. "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) 45
48. "Rear Window" (1954) 42
49. "Intolerance" (1916) new
50. "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001) new

51. "West Side Story" (1961) 41
52. "Taxi Driver" (1976) 47
53. "The Deer Hunter" (1978) 79
54. "M*A*S*H" (1970) 56
55. "North by Northwest" (1959) 40
56. "Jaws" (1975) 48
57. "Rocky" (1976) 78
58. "The Gold Rush" (1925) 74
59. "Nashville" (1975) new
60. "Duck Soup" (1933) 85

61. "Sullivan's Travels" (1941) new
62. "American Graffiti" (1973) 77
63. "Cabaret" (1972) new
64. "Network" (1976) 66
65. "The African Queen" (1951) 17
66. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) 60
67. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966) new
68. "Unforgiven" (1992) 98
69. "Tootsie" (1982) 62
70. "A Clockwork Orange" (1971) 46 (i still don't understand how this one qualifies as American)

71. "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) new
72. "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) new
73. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969) 50
74. "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991) 65
75. "In the Heat of the Night" (1967) new
76. "Forrest Gump" (1994) 71
77. "All the President's Men" (1976) new
78. "Modern Times" (1936) 81
79. "The Wild Bunch" (1969) 80
80. "The Apartment" (1960) 93

81. "Spartacus" (1960) new
82. "Sunrise" (1927) new
83. "Titanic" (1997) new
84. "Easy Rider" (1969) 88
85. "A Night at the Opera" (1935) new
86. "Platoon" (1986) 83
87. "12 Angry Men" (1957) new
88. "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) 97
89. "The Sixth Sense" (1999) new
90. "Swing Time" (1936) new

91. "Sophie's Choice" (1982) new
92. "Goodfellas" (1990) 94
93. "The French Connection" (1971) 70
94. "Pulp Fiction" (1994) 95
95. "The Last Picture Show" (1971) new
96. "Do the Right Thing" (1989) new
97. "Blade Runner" (1982) new
98. "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942) 100
99. "Toy Story" (1995) new
100. "Ben-Hur" (1959) 72

<---they're tearing him apart: James Dean lost BOTH his spots on the top 100. And Monty Clift too. Argh. The films that fell out were...Doctor Zhivago #39, North by Northwest #40, Birth of a Nation #44, From Here To Eternity #52, Amadeus #53, All Quiet on the Western Front #54, The Third Man #57, Fantasia #58, Rebel Without a Cause #59, Stagecoach #63, Close Encounters of the Third Kind #64, The Manchurian Candidate #67, An American in Paris #68, Wuthering Heights #73, Dances With Wolves #75, Giant #82, Fargo #84, Mutiny on the Bounty #86, Frankenstein #87, Patton #89, The Jazz Singer #90, My Fair Lady #91, A Place in the Sun #92, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner #99

weirdest entry: Sophie's Choice... almost never listed in any "best of", apart from Meryl Streep's astonishing performance, is in the top 100 --They collectively name it the 6th best of the entire 80s decade. Whaaaa?

lesson learned: nothing below the top 30 is ever safe. It all depends on who they poll and which way the winds blow.