Wonderwall

Well, I just saw a restored print of this at the Screening room. It is a marvelous piece, light and yet moving, filled with wonderful visuals, a great performance by Jack McGowran and a marvelous (and unfortunately out-of-print) score by everyone's favorite Beatle, George. The synopsis above just doesn't do justice to the film. Yes, it's about a daffy old guy who peers in on a lovely young woman living next door, but there's nothing creepy or pathetic about it. In fact, he's actually quite a bit a of a dashing and romantic figure in his own detached, weird way. One of the most notable things about the film is the art direction, done by the band/art collective The Fool. An obscure folk group (sort of a lesser Incredible String Band) they made the most of what was most likely a thin budget by pouring every ounce of energy into creating two amazing sets for the adjacent apartments of the old man and the young model. They are, without a doubt, two of the coolest looking places to live I have ever seen in a movie (I would give my eye-teeth to live in either one of those flats) and they form as much of a part of the main characters as the portrayal by the actors themselves. The old scientist lives in Celtic-Medieval warren, inspired by Pre-Raphaelite design, and the young model lives in a mod Sixties psychedelic/glam environment suffused with overtones of 20's/30's nostalgia. Both apartments then are filled with a yearning for the past and so, the old man becomes no more of a romanticist than the girl, despite his age. He is actually quite dashing in his cape and tuxedo when engaging in some of his later escapades, like some bandit out of a Fantomas picture. No, this movie isn't about a pathetic old guy lusting after a lithe young thing. It's about a few other things more interesting and perhaps more touching, but you'll have to find out for yourself. In any case it's a nice little treat worth finding, if you can.

This "wild" 60's romp is now available on DVD from Rhino. It looks to me like they rushed it out after George Harrison's death. The extras are pretty lousy, but the disc is worth it for the movie alone. The soundtrack seems to have been remastered, but the film seems to be an old beaten up print. Still it isn't too shabby. I would recommend this film to fans of psychedelic movies and Beatles completists. Others may be bored.

Every scene could have been cut much shorter with no loss of content or story development. It seemed like they were simply trying to fill a 92 minute time slot.

I hope the Quality Control office of the Water Authority replaced the Professor with automated equipment. I would not trust his analyses.

In the stuffed apartment of a nerdy professor - books, piles of papers, late romanticism murals of wounded knights and bereaved maidens. He only lives for his science, does not have a social life. Until he finds a hole in a wall. He peeks through and discovers a new world. In the next door apartment - fully decorated in day-glo painted furniture and pop art - young Londoners are fully embracing the swinging lifestyle: photographers, models, musicians. Parties take place, wild music is played and boys and girls experience life. By and by the professor gets sucked into this new world next door.

Even though there are some scenes that could be shorter, the director takes the time to let us know, how slowly but inevitably the professor opens up.

I love movies like Blow Up, Magical Mystery Tour, The Magic Christian, Performance, ... This movie is not one of the cult films but has its own zeitgeist charme. It inspired Oasis to do a song with the same title. George Harrison did the soundtrack.

Any movie that is defended with the idea that it can only be enjoyed by viewing after taking drugs... well, c'mon, you know it's got to be pretty bad. And this is bad, no mistake about it. Sure, it's very colorful, and for the drug-inclined it's an eye-popping visual "overdose" of nostalgic psychedelia...

But at the the heart of this foolish fruity farrago is an offensive story of a geeky middle-aged man obsessing pervertedly over a pretty young woman living next door -- that obsession fueled by non-stop Peeping Tom activity. This sick invasion of privacy is treated as an excitable, joyous, comical diversion. It leads the geek professor to wild flights of fancy and lunatic dreams, giving us plenty of bizarre sequences filmed in full 60's psychedelic-meets-Richard Lester glory. But, wacky comedy-wise, it's weak tea in comparison to Lester's 'The Knack' or 'Help!' And considering the obvious Lester-Beatles influence (including the actor playing Birkin's boyfriend having a distinct Liverpudlian accent) it's no surprise that George Harrison provides the score.

Too bad that the score is awful. Whole scenes go by with virtually no dialogue, thus a catchy pop score from Harrison would be welcome, and add to the nostalgic value of the film beyond the psychedelia. Unfortunately we get the Shankar-sauce sitar-period Harrison. Only those finding a nostalgic trip from Indian music that sounds like the wailing of out-of-tune violins (or worse, the sound of a cat trapped inside bagpipes) will be pleased. Otherwise, it's an ear-offending slog.

And otherwise, filmically, you get a frantic but professional performance from Jack Macgowran, a lot of eye-catching shots of pretty cult-figure Jane Birkin, and a few comic bits that work.