Recently in AFI Original Top 100 All Time American Film Category

Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Martin  Landau. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Action/Adventure. Synopsis: A Manhattan advertising executive is caught up in a web of intrigue, murder, espionage and crossing the country  when he is mistaken for someone else.

It's a funny thing when someone, like your humble blogger here, has not actually seen an iconic movie like North By Northwest, you kind of feel silly if you a) consider yourself a serious movie buff b) realize that no matter how many times you've seen the clip of the crop dusting plane chasing Cary Grant, a truly indelible screen image, that doesn't subsitute for having actually seen the flick.

And, that was a shame, because this is one hell of a movie, easily deserving of its common place on top "all time lists" or as, arguably, the greatest Hitchcock film of them all. The first thing that jumps off the screen at you is Cary Grant, in his mid 50s when the movie was made, and still the definition of the classic leading man, the kind of guy that both ladies and gents really like, a movie star who also comes across as a regula guy. And, oh by the way, a damn fine actor. 50 years doesn't dull the talent on the screen.   

Grant is Roger Thornbill, a Madison Avenue advertising executive who is twice divorced and does formal nights out with his mother. Not a bad lot in life, could be worse and definitely gets worse for Thornbill when a group of  thugs acost Thornbill at lunch and accuse him of being 'George Kaplan' and forcibly remove from the building and take him to a lavish estate filled with a staff and a couple of stylish, sophisticated thugs, Phillip Van Dam (James Mason Salem's Lot Murder By Decree) and Leonard (Martin Landau Ed Wood Sleepy Hollow) who grill him on things they think he knows, believing, of course, that he is 'George Kaplan'. Its not clear who they are or who they may represent, but it's clear they're not fooling around, and aren't going away easily, when they aggressively force bourbon down Thornhill's throat.

And, that is just the beginning, as our hero Thornbill soon finds himself in trouble with the police, who don't by his forcible intoxication defense-guess that one didn't work in the '50's any better than it does today- and, in his haste to find out just what the heck is going on, ends up as a witness, and worse the primary suspect, in a murder at the United Nations.

Well, when everyone thinks you're 'George Kaplan' and you're picture is on the front page of the evening paper (yes, young ones, there was a time when newspapers were actually a vital part of the media and some had evening editions) with a knife in your hand and the victim on the floor, the little fact that you didn't actually stab him is of little immediate consequence and sends you on the run right away.

That's not all bad because Thornbill finds himself on a train to Chicago where he meets the mysterious, sultry, and srikingly beautiful Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint Superman Returns

On The Waterfront). Ms.Saint is excellent here, the epitome of the film noir bombshell and the quintessential "Hitchcock blonde. She comes close to stealing scenes from Mr. Grant, which is almost impossible to do.

As I indicated earlier, the story winds cross country, ending up on the face of Mount Rushmore in the climatic scene. Along the way, of course we are also treated to the historic 'crop dusting plane chasing Cary Grant scene', a piece of filmmaking that, in my opinion, more than holds its own even when compared with CGI powered action scenes of today.

The story is fine, especially when it twists, somewhat predictably, into a spy thriller. Those of us old enough to remember or at least appreciate the ever present Cold War paranoia of the latter half of the 20th century in this country will also appreciate the spy element and, of course, the question that goes with almost every (Hollywood) spy circumstance: is someone really a double agent?

There is no question that Hitchcock was the master of building suspense, often times, like in this flick, in broad daylight and with several twists as the story develops: some you will see coming, some you won't.

The acting is supberb, which should comes as no surprise given the names on the bill. The DVD edition comes with some excellent special features, including a commentary by the screenriter Ernest Lehman and, best of all, a "making of" featurette hosted by Eva Marie Saint that is absolutely must see.

I'm telling you what you probably either already knew or, at least, already heard.

This flm is an American classic.     

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis,Rosanna Arquette, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, Christopher Walken, Amanda Plummer,Harvey Keitel. Directed by Quentin Tarantino.Action/Drama/Comedy.

Synopsis: Two philosphical hit men run into a day's worth of unexpected events after starting the morning on a simple assignment from their drug dealer boss.

O.k., I know those of you (everyone?) who have seen flick know that my poor attempt at a synopsis does dot come close to doing this film justice. I know that, I get that. I feel you.

But, how do you describe this ensemble, non-chronological, realistic satire, modern day homage to both film noir and grindhouse schlock?

I'm not sure you do, other than this, it's really, really good. 

Pulp Fiction is quintessential Tarantino, the proverbial "one they will remember him for", no disrespect to some of Mr. Tarantino's  other well regarded films. You have Travolta and Jackson  working together, both at their best and playing off one another beautifully. The dialogue between them is priceless, my guilty pleasure being the 'spiritual debate' between them before the accidental shooting death in the car. It's simply hilarious, which I know sounds really bad...unless you've seen the flick, in which case you'll understand.

Bruce Willis (16 Blocks) is wondeful as Butch, the aging fighter who is looking for one last grab at the brass ring and, like Jules (Jackson) and Vincent (Travolta) is connected to drug king pin Marsellus Wallace. (Ving Rhames The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard   Shooting Gallery )

Arguably the most memorable scene in a movie that is, basically, a collection of memorable scenes, is the overdose scene of Marsellus Wallace's wife, Mia (Uma Thurman My Super Ex-Girlfriend), after she has been out for the night with Vincent (with her husband's blessing). Vincent's friends who help him out of this awkward situation, married couple Eric Roberts (Break A Leg) and Rosanna Arquette are memorable, to say the least.

Christopher Walken's (King Of New York) one scene might be the funniest monologue in movie history. The "fix up the accidental killing" scene with Harvey Keitel (Wrong Turn At Tahoe) is my personal favorite, but no discussion of this flick would be complete without reference to the scene that most people who see this movie will remember vividly until they lay down for their eternal rest: the Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames "one gets saved and one doesn't from homosexual rape" scene. Trust me, any scene that can spawn this line(s) in context "...you hear me, buddy boy? I ain't through with you by a damn sight. I'm about to get medieval on your ass!!!" ...is part of a movie that is one for the ages. 

I loved the non-chronological flow as well as the sense that there wasn't so much of a standard 'plot', per se, but that I was just being introduced to these interesting characters and I very much wanted to see what happened next. 

This is a truly unique film that has a fresh and cynical take not only on our society and culture, but also on our culture of movies and what we like in them.

A timeless classic, in my humble opinion.

One of the best movies I've ever seen. I guess I could just stop there with my thoughts, but I probably should say just a little more. So, I will.

It can be really tricky to evaluate a movie that many of us will or have seen for the first time years or decades after its release, especially when it is a 'futuristic' movie, made at a time when the 1980s and 1990s seemed far, far off. I think the way to look at this type of flick is not to 'judge' it in the sense of what we now know happened, but in the sense of the view of what people 40 years ago thought the near future might hold for us.

In that way, when I look at A Clockwork Orange, I see a time when people felt, or feared, that crime and violence would become pervasive in society and that society would find a way to fight back that, at some level, might be just as bad as the violent crime itself.

Now, the story is set in London, but to me, the only thing that makes this story different than one that could have been set in any large American city is the accents of the actors. We are never told precisely what year its supposed to be, but its obvious the film contemplates the not too distant future. The cinematography and feel of the flick are vintage 70s, bright and loud colors, garish wardrobes, the whole nine yards. When you couple that feel with the attempt to look futuristic, you get a flick that, visually at least, you won't soon forget.

Our protagonist and narrator is Alex (Malcolm McDowell The Book Of Eli Blue Thunder) , a ne'er do well youngster (you'll have to suspend disbelief here to buy McDowell, nearly 30 at the time of this movie, as being young enough to still be in school) who lives with his parents and pretty muich spends all of his waking hours-mostly at night-roaming the streets with his gang of hoodlums where they commit crimes, petty and violent, battle rival street gangs, and find time for a little fornication (referred to in passing by Alex as "the old in out, in out").

All is going along swimmingly until, as these things tend, there is dissension in the ranks. Alex is the leader of the gang but one of his underlings, Georgie, has designs on the job not least because of the way Alex picks on another member of the gang, the less than mentally astute Dim.(There is a fourth member but, in any version of the film I have ever seen, he does not have a speaking role...let me know if any of you have seen anything different) Alex manages to quell one attempted coup d'etat but its a hollow victory as the rest of the gang soon betrays Alex by assaulting him and leaving him helpless at the scene of their most horrific crime.

Well, betrayal is bad enough, but a long prison term is even worse and things do not look particularly sunny for Alex in prison, until he learns of a new scientific experiment which claims to "cure" the impulse for violent or criminal behavior. If Alex successfully completes the treatment, not only will he be cured of his violent hooliganism, he will be rewarded with early parole!

Now, that is just too good to be true so Alex jumps at the chance (who wouldn't). There is just one thing. While Alex is enduring the treatment by, among other things, being forced to look at constant loops of violent scenes with his eyes secured so he's unable to close them, he is inadvertently programmed to become sick when listening to Beethoven.

What makes this so cruel is that Beethoven, as we learn early in the film, is Alex's favorite, he listens to the glorious classical music from the early scenes of the film, sometimes almost to the point of seeming ecstasy.

Now that he is cured, Alex is released from prison, but the reality of his current situation soon hits him. You see, Alex becomes physically ill every time he has a violent urge or attempts a violent action, even in self defense. And, of course, you know about his favorite tunes.

It couldn't be worse for Alex because his first few days out of prison are the epitome of getting what's coming to you. See, Alex's parents not only reject him from coming home, but they have taken in a boarder, a figurative if not literal replacement son for the one who caused them so much pain. That would be difficult for any child to come to grips with, no matter how bad he or she had been, but poor Alex can't even bash the guy in the mouth, though he tries. And it gets worse.

As luck would have it, he soon runs into an old drunk who he and his buddies assaulted back in the good old days. Well, now is the time for revenge, and the old drunk has plenty of old drunken friends. Poor old Alex can't fight back so he does what any citizen in distress would do, he calls for the police. Two officers respond, but they are less than sympathetic because, well, Georgie and Dim have moved on since Alex has been away. And last, but not least, Alex-battered, bruised, cold, and wet-makes his way to a home...which happens to be one where he previously had participated in the sexual assault of the wife and physical assault of the husband.

Revenge will be sweet.

Listen, it is hard to describe this movie, as my poor attempt was only meant to give those of you who have not seen it a rough idea, but understand that there are so many levels to it. What it is ultimately saying is, of course, up to the viewer, but there are issues of violence in society that are still topical today, and probably will be decades from now. 

You might think this is a curious statement about a movie featuring one onscreen murder, at least two rapes of females-not counting the depictions of attempted ones-and one brutal assault on two elderly people, but this film is, in many places, funny. This is primarily by McDowell's sardonic narration, but other characters, most notably the Adolph Hitler lookalike prison guard, provide some guilty laughs as well.

The dark humor is laced throughout the film. It might also be a little disconcerting to see scenes of violence with Beethoven or Gene Kelly's "Singin' In The Rain" as the score, but it does work. The only way this type of thing could work, in my opinion, is with the genius of a director like Kubrick. (Full Metal Jacket Eyes Wide Shut)

Some of you may know this film was originally released as an "X-rated" movie, before the X rating was co-opted totally by porno films. My research into it shows that the film was widely protested both here and in the U.K., but what is interesting is that the most of the protest here was based on the abundant nudity and sexual content, while over in Europe it was primarily the violence.

For you younger pups who cut your teeth on the Saw movies, you probably won't blink at the violence in the movie, as it is not as graphic as what you see today, but very casual, which likely makes it more disturbing for many.

Malcolm Mcdowell is wonderful as Alex and I can't help but think his performance was so indelible that is the primary reason he seems to have primarily only played characters with slightly unstable and/or violent tendencies (Caligula The Barber), you also will see an outstanding performance from Patrick Magee as the victim of Alex who takes out the most evil revenge. Just for fun, Julian(David Prowse)-the the big bodyguard of Magee's character-is the one who is actually in the Darth Vader costume in Star Wars, though the voice we all know is that of James Earl Jones. 

I know not everyone will like or even understand this movie, but I just think all serious film buffs should make sure they see it once.

And I'll bet most will want to see it again.  

Drama/Horror/Mystery. Directed by Jonathan Demme. Starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Diane Baker, Kasi Lemmons, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Frankie Faison, Charles Napier, Danny Darst. Oscar Winner Best Picture

Synopsis: A young F.B.I. trainee gets into a psychological match with a jailed serial killer in order to get a profile on an active serial killer who has killed several young women and abducted the daughter of a U.S. Senator.

To me, its hard to look any top 10 movie list of all time and not see Silence of the Lambs on it. Seeing it in the theater all those years ago when I was still young and now, through the magic of DVD, being able to see some of the behind the scenes footage and interviews with some of the actors just makes it all the more amazing.

On the slim chance that you have not either seen it or have heard about the plot to this classic, F.B.I. trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster Inside Man) is recruited by her superior (Scott Glenn Codebreakers, Training Day) to interview the infamour cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins Proof)  in hopes that she might get some information that will help the F.B.I. in its hunt for active serial killer "Buffalo Bill"(Ted Levine The Hills Have Eyes).

The "relationship" between Lecter and Starling proves ultimately fruitful as the young trainee is able to unlock some of the hidden complexities of Lecter's insane mind and use them to aid in the hunt for Buffalo Bill. But Lecter also cleverly uses his knowledge of the acting serial killer to set the bed for his own escape.

To me, one of the most amazing things about this film is its ability to weave so many different genres, subgenres, and elements into the story. We have classic horror, with the most frightening things, as they alwasy are, being unseen or implied, There is suspense, mystery, and-yes-a touch of romance in a serial killer-FBI profiler kind of way. But, Demme didn't skimp on the action. No, not at all. I challenge almost anyone to look at the Lecter escape scene and not squirm just a little.

Most would say that the briliiance of Hopkins carries this flick and that's true...the way its written we have to fear Lecter.  But the performance of Foster cannot be overlooked, especially at a time when strong female leads in this type of film were even less prevalent than they are now. To boot, the supporting cast is awesome as well. Levine's performance as Buffalo Bill, while not one for the ages like Hopkins, is powerfully creep and he could carry a horror film on his own. Likewise, Brooke Smith (Iron Jawed Angels), Diane Baker, Frankie Faison, Danny Heald, and Kasi Lemmons (Candyman) also hit home runs with their limited screen time.

To me, the film has no flaws, other than it might be too creepy or violent for the fairer minded among us, but for anyone who actually watches the film...it just doesn't get any better.