film babble blog: John Wayne

Showing posts with label John Wayne. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

New Releases On Blu Ray & DVD: 5/28/13

This week's releases are cluttered with season sets of TV shows I haven't seen, and movies I've never heard of, but, hey, you can’t always have A-list titles to cover, right?

On the shows I haven’t watched front, there’s the 2 disc DVD-only edition of Longmire: The Complete First Season, the A & E crime drama starring Robert Taylor, Katee Sackhoff, and Lou Diamond Phillips. The show, the second season of which premieres this week, comes packaged with only one Special Feature: a featurette entitled “The Slow Burn: Shooting Longmire.” From the good reviews I’ve read, and the fact that it was A & E’s highest rated scripted drama last summer, it looks like something possibly worth checking out.

Another show I’ve been considering checking out is Doctor Who, but I’m overwhelmed by 50 years of episodes, and all the layers of mythology. Those who are all caught up in it most likely will already know about today’s release of Doctor Who: Series Seven - Part Two, available in both Blu ray and DVD 2-disc sets. The eight episodes of the second half of the season are only joined by two episode prequels: “The Bells of Saint John” and “Clarence and the Whisper Men,” both only running a few minutes. Hmm, seems like that they could’ve fit all that on one disc.

What they did put out today on one disc, aptly as it’s only an hour long, is the Christmas Special Doctor Who: The Snowmen, available on both Blu ray and DVD.

Other shows that I’m not familiar with that drop today: Covert Affairs: Season Three (4-discs, DVD only), Suits: Season Two (4-discs, Blu ray + UltraViolet, and DVD), George Gently: Series Five (2-discs on Blu ray, 4-discs on DVD), and Red Widow: The Complete First Season (2-discs DVD only).

New movies releasing today on Blu ray and DVD that I’d not heard of before: Kasper Barfoed’s THE NUMBERS STATION, a thriller starring John Cusack and Malin Akerman, which is rated at 30% at Rotten Tomatoes so it looks like I haven’t been missing much, and Scott Stewart’s sci-fi horror flick DARK SKIES, starring Keri Russell, rated at 35% at Rotten Tomatoes - also pretty unappealing looking.

What does look appealing is Cate Shortland’s LORE (93% RT rating), an Australian-German production about five German children of an SS Officer who journey through their devastated country in the days after the end of World War II to get to their Grandmother. Saskia Rosendahl, in the title role, got some Australian award action as the strong teenager who leads her sister and three brothers. Special Features include a few brief featurettes, an alternate ending and deleted scenes. Incidentally, despite this home video release, LORE will be opening exclusively in the Triangle area at the Chelsea Theater in Chapel Hill, N.C. (my hometown) on Friday.

Horror fans may be interested in Patrick Rea’s NAILBITER (2013), starring Joicie Appell, Emily Boresow, and Jason Coffman, out today only on DVD. The indie release, about a family forced to take refuge in a seemingly abandoned storm cellar from a deadly tornado, (IMDb description), comes with such Special Features as two commentaries (one with cast, one with crew) and a “Storyboard to Screen Comparison” featurette.

On the older film front, Mike Leigh’s 1990 comic drama LIFE IS SWEET, starring Jim Broadbent, Alison Steadman, and Claire Skinner, gets the Criterion Collection treatment, in a package (available on both Blu ray and DVD) that features a new high-definition digital restoration, a recently recorded audio commentary featuring director Mike Leigh, an audio recording of a 1991 interview with Leigh, and a booklet featuring an essay by critic David Sterritt.

Some other older titles releasing today: Three John Wayne movies (1940's DARK COMMAND, 1941's LADY FROM LOUISIANA, and 1942's IN OLD CALIFORNIA), Joseph McGrath’s THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN (a beautifully bizarre 1969 British comedy starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr making its Blu ray debut), and Nancy Buirski’s excellent documentary THE LOVING STORY, which I saw at its North Carolina premiere at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival back in 2011.

As usual, check out Amazon’s extensive list of titles (i.e. much more than I could even hope to cover) for more of today’s releases.

More later…

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

TRUE GRIT: Another Instant Classic From The Coen Brothers

TRUE GRIT
(Dirs. Joel & Ethan Coen, 2010)

Since they stumbled in the early Aughts with a couple of sub par offerings (INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, THE LADYKILLERS), Joel and Ethan Coen have been on a grand roll. The Oscar winning NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, the comedy hit BURN AFTER READING, and last year's critically acclaimed A SERIOUS MAN were all excellent additions to their canon, but their newest film, TRUE GRIT, may be the best of the batch.

An adaptation of the 1968 novel by Charles Portis rather than a remake of the 1969 John Wayne film, TRUE GRIT is in many ways a traditional example of the Western genre. What makes it so much more is its handling of the manner of characters that appear naturalistic yet still exuberantly exaggerated - in a way that long-time followers of the Coens will appreciate royally.

The "Dude" himself, Jeff Bridges, plays U.S. Marshall Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn - an iconic role that is considered one of the most definitive of the Duke's. Bridges owns it here however with a drunken swagger and a grizzled gusto. The real protagonist of the story is the 14 year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) who recruits Bridges to help her hunt down her father's murderer (Josh Brolin).

For such a young whippersnapper, Steinfeld has a stern delivery confirming her determination and her sometimes harsh words to Bridges have a sting to them that is more than equal to Kim Darby's readings in the 1969 version. See? It's hard not to compare this film to the original adaptation. They follow the same plot progressions and the spirit of Western homage is certainly present, but the Coens saw the piece as funnier with less Hollywood sentiment and they deliver a film that lives up to their vision gloriously.

Matt Damon, who was long overdue for a part in a Coens production, has a juicy gruff character of his own in Texas Ranger Le Bouef. Damon is at first just along for the ride with Bridges and Steinfeld, but his jaded face-offs with the Marshall and the foes they encounter along the way have a hilarious bite to them as the tension builds.

As a Western in the classic mold with a body count, I didn't expect TRUE GRIT to be as funny as it is - it's for sure one of the Coen's most laugh-filled films since THE BIG LEBOWSKI - just about every utterance of Bridge's is comic gold and his fellow cast mates (including crusty turns by a deranged Brolin and Barry Pepper as Lucky Ned Pepper funnily enough) hold their own humor-wise as well.

Then there's the magnificent cinematography by Coen Bros. collaborator Roger Deakins that fills the frame with striking shots of the blinding terrain in New Mexico and Texas as well as the extreme jolting actor close-ups that flicker with raw emotion. Another Coen Bros. co-hort Carter Burwell, who has been with them since BLOOD SIMPLE (1984), provides a score composed of gospel hymns and effectively spare piano accompaniment.

TRUE GRIT is an instant classic.

From the Coen Brothers' ace direction to the cast's top notch acting spouting out hilarious dialog line after line and then on to the wondrous look, feel, and heart of the film, I honestly can not think of a negative criticism of it. I can't wait to see it again. If I find anything to dislike about it then - I'll get back to you.

More later...

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Hey I Finally Saw...TRUE GRIT!

It seemed like a good time to catch up with the 1969 John Wayne western classic for a few crucial reasons.

The recent death of Dennis Hopper who has a small, yet memorable role was one, but overwhelmingly it's because the Coen Brothers next project is a remake with Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin set to be released later this year. Although the Coens reportedly are aiming for their film to be a more faithful adaptation of Charles Portis's 1968 novel than a strict remake, the original was a milestone movie that won an Oscar for Wayne's performance as Marshall Rooster Cogburn, therefore a must see.

In the late '60s the genre was undoubtedly winding down, but you wouldn't know it from the opening landscape shots of TRUE GRIT in which the wide-screen western still looks alive and kicking. Henry Hathaway had the formula down as he had directed dozens of cowboy pictures, and of course "the Duke" was a hardcore veteran, but this project had a different element to it in the form of a young tomboyish girl named Kim Darby. Darby plays the fiercely determined 14 year old Mattie Ross who recruits the ornery drunken Wayne to help her hunt down her father's murderer (Jeff Corey).

Accompanied by Glen Campbell as a Texas Ranger they ride out through dangerous Indian Territory. They encounter horse thieves, rattlesnakes, and an extremely shady Robert Duvall as Corey's partner in crime "Lucky" Ned Pepper. Wayne says of Duvall: "Short, feisty fella. He's got a messed-up lower lip. I shot him in it."

That's just one of many great line readings the Duke gives in the best performance of his that I've ever seen. Rooster Cogburn is an iconic role and very comic at the same time. In one scene he sees a rat in the corner of the cabin he resides in. Inebriated though still fairly articulate he declares:

"Mr. Rat, I have a writ here that says you are to stop eating Chen Lee's cornmeal forthwith. Now, It's a rat writ, writ for a rat, and this is lawful service of same! See? He doesn't pay any attention to me."

Then he swiftly shoots the rat. Later the trio came across a couple of outlaw buddies of the men they're pursuing - Jeremy Slate and Dennis Hopper. Hopper, as a character named Moon that wasn't in the book, took 5 days off from editing EASY RIDER to do the film and appears to have been added as a concession to the kids of the hippie era. Or maybe it's the unsettling "tweaking" manner he's acting in that makes me think that.

Darby is very much the heart of the movie bringing a feminist factor in to re-ignite a timeworn formula. Her poise and "never back down" spirit clashes then mashes with Wayne's rugged demeanor in many amusing blustery exchanges. Sadly as an actor Campbell is not up to par with Darby or "The Duke". He was perhaps the real concession to the times as he had just had a hit single - "Wichita Lineman."

It wasn't the last western that Wayne made - he even returned to the role of Cogburn in a sequel simply entitled ROOSTER COGBURN (1975) - but TRUE GRIT was perhaps the most notable of his films in his last decade. It's just a notch below the supreme quality of the movies he made with John Ford, yet it's still a towering achievement and an absolutely essential work. Rooster Cogburn deserves further recognition as one of the greatest characters in the history of motion pictures.

Can't wait to see what "The Dude" will do with it.

More later...