Escape from New York

Tags

1980's, Action, Adrienne Barbeau, Donald Pleasence, Ernest Borgnine, Escape from New York, Harry Dean Stanton, Isaac Hayes, John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Science Fiction

The ever wonderful Gill invited me to take part in a blogathon to honour Kurt Russell and I simply couldn’t refuse.

Director

John Carpenter

Starring

• Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken
• Lee Van Cleef as Bob Hauk
• Ernest Borgnine as Cabbie
• Adrienne Barbeau as Maggie
• Harry Dean Stanton as Brain
• Isaac Hayes as The Duke
• Donald Pleasence as the President

John Carpenter’s science-fiction action film Escape from New York is rightfully held in high regard for its vision and plot. And with atmosphere, imagination and a bad ass lead character to boot, it’s hard to disagree.

The year is a then futuristic 1997. Manhattan Island has been turned into a maximum security prison where once you go in, you never come out. In the main area that was once the central hub, anarchy reigns supreme with violence and destruction. When the President’s plane is hijacked and he crash lands in Manhattan, he is taken hostage by the local crime boss The Duke and his goons. He was supposed to be attending a peace summit with the Soviet Union, but that goes completely out the window with the events that unfurl. Sneaky and manipulative Commissioner Bob Hauk then strong arms the most unlikely person ever to rescue the President from an almost certain death. That person is Snake Plissken, a cynical ex soldier, serving time for theft. Snake is understandably not at all on board with this plan. But after being told that if he rescues the President within 24 hours he could be pardoned, he accepts reluctantly. Though Hauk makes sure he will do it as he has micro explosives implanted in Snake’s neck that will detonate if he doesn’t complete the mission. Hauk knows that Snake would use the opportunity to escape but has him by a tight leash now. With time ticking away, Snake enters the city where he encounters violence from various factions and some assistance by a rag tag group of renegades. They consist of a joking cab driver, hard edged lady and know all.

John Carpenter keeps events imaginative and engaging, with his ingenuity on clear display. I’ve always admired what he brings to a movie and he has the story be one that is very taut and entertaining. Some will say that the film has dated parts, which it does in areas, but the anachronistic touches really add to the oddball personality of the film that it isn’t easy to see why it’s a cult movie. Carpenter plays up the outlandish aspects of the story and the desecration of humanity, mainly in the case of Snake and his no cares attitude towards everything. On the visual front, the practical effects have aged well, with the shots of New York through a futuristic lens being particularly inspired. We get a grimy dystopia to witness and one that has certainly influenced many a film since. Escape from New York is often billed in some quarters as an action movie(which in many cases it is), but for me it’s more about the moody atmosphere than anything else. The cyberpunk echoes and vision of a world in free fall really make sure that Escape from New York is a film to remember. John Carpenter himself provides the pulsing electronic score that compliments the futuristic setting and has just the right notes of darkness there too.

Kurt Russell completely owns the screen as the growling, scowling yet sardonically witty bad ass that is Snake. Russell provides the cynicism and swagger of a man who doesn’t believe in anything and is proud of it. He is ironically the last person you’d think of to rescue a president and that is what ultimately drives the plot. Seriously, Snake ranks as one of the most charismatic and bad ass anti heroes there is. Lee Van Cleef is on nasty form as the scheming and controlling Comissioner who uses Snake to his own advantage. Ernest Borgnine, Adrienne Barbeau and Harry Dean Stanton flesh out the crew that Snake falls in with excellently.With some serious style, Isaac Hayes rocks it portraying the crime boss who stands in the way of Snake succeeding. And there’s Donald Pleasence appearing as the President, who it is revealed is not as squeaky clean as he seemed.

Exciting, inventive and engrossing, Escape from New York is John Carpenter at his imaginative and full blooded best, aided by a fine performance from Kurt Russell as one of cinema’s best anti-heroes.

You Only Live Twice

Tags

007, 1960's, Akiko Wakabayashi, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Donald Pleasence, James Bond, Karin Dor, Lewis Gilbert, Lois Maxwell, Mie Hama, Sean Connery, Spy, Teru Shimada, Tetsurō Tamba, You Only Live Twice

Film Title

You Only Live Twice

Director

Lewis Gilbert

Starring

• Sean Connery as James Bond
• Tetsurō Tamba as Tiger Tanaka
• Akiko Wakabayashi as Aki
• Mie Hama as Kissy Suzuki
• Donald Pleasence as Blofeld
• Teru Shimada as Mr Osato
• Karin Dor as Helga Brandt
• Bernard Lee as M
• Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
• Desmond Llewelyn as Q

The fifth film in the James Bond canon, You Only Live Twice is also one of the most well-known. With the iconic villain of Blofeld, stunning locations and action, it is a great addition to the franchise. Some of it may become a little ridiculous but overall You Only Live Twice is a strong, entertaining and memorable spy movie.

In the opening scenes, James Bond fakes his death while in Hong Kong so that his enemies are less suspecting. After a mock funeral at sea, Bond is informed of his next mission. The mission in question centres around American and Soviet spacecrafts that have disappeared in orbit under mysterious circumstances. With each nation blaming the other and tensions mounting, M dispatches Bond to Tokyo to find the cause of this potentially fatal situation. 007 soon uncovers that SPECTRE is behind this, with the nefarious head Blofeld at the heart of it. He plans to instigate a war between the countries and wreak havoc in the process, all from the security of his lair which is situated under a dormant volcano. Helped by the charming head of Japanese Secret Service Tiger Tanaka, female agent Aki and eventually a student of Tanaka’s Kissy, Bond dives into the sinister plan and hopes to stop nations coming to the brink of war.

You Only Live Twice features some of the best set design in the Bond movies. Under the skilful eye of Ken Adam, the volcano lair that houses Blofeld is amazing to look at and ingenious in its execution, with it still holding up even in today’s age of blockbusters. The same can be said about the beautiful Japanese locations, that paint a thrilling and adventurous picture of the Orient as Bond comes up against his many enemies amongst the blazing sun, mountains and rivers. Lewis Gilbert directs with finesse and makes the film memorable all round with its cocktail of action, scenery and intrigue. The final attack on the volcano lair is exciting and generates thrills and explosions a plenty. It’s also great to finally see Blofeld in person. In other films, he was just a voice, a pair of hands and a purring Persian cat. But in You Only Live Twice, we get a look at the evil mastermind for the very first time and it immediately becomes an iconic scene. Where You Only Live Twice stumbles is in the moments when it falls into the realms of ridiculousness. The main example is Bond being made to look Japanese as part of his cover. The whole idea is needless and doesn’t do anything for the plot as well as being supremely unconvincing. John Barry contributes one of his best scores to the series with a lush and romantic sound featuring prominently as well some suspenseful pieces of composition. Nancy Sinatra’s haunting title song perfectly compliments the beautiful title sequence of Maurice Binder, which incorporates spinning parasols, melancholy geishas and lava flowing.

Despite being disillusioned with the role at the time of filming, Sean Connery is still charming, virile and convincing as James Bond on yet another mission to stop worldwide war. Tetsurō Tamba is charismatic as Tiger Tanaka, Bond’s valuable ally in Japan. The scenes between Connery and Tamba are great as we see that both men are very similar in that they are there to do a dangerous job, but are not above refusing the advances of beautiful women. As the two Bond girls, Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama are beautiful and charming, even though neither is given much in the way of character development. Despite this, both girls are good as willing agents aiding Bond on his mission. Donald Pleasence is creepy and effective as the mastermind Blofeld, his scarred face and Persian cat becoming staples of evil and leading to many imitators. Teru Shimada and Karin Dor are used well enough as enemy agents, scared to fail their menacing boss for fear of a painful death. The MI6 regulars( Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn) are all fine, with Llewelyn especially humorous as Q.

Despite the odd trip into ridiculous and needless strands that don’t make sense, You Only Live Twice is another exciting yarn in the James Bond universe.

 

Phenomena

Tags

1980's, Daria Nicolodi, Dario Argento, Donald Pleasence, Horror, Jennifer Connelly, Mystery, Phenomena

Film Title

Phenomena

Director

Dario Argento

Starring

• Jennifer Connelly as Jennifer Corvino
• Donald Pleasence as Professor John McGregor
• Daria Nicolodi as Frau Bruckner

A horror/murder mystery from the imaginative mind of Dario Argento, Phenomena may not be his finest work. But boasting a strong and haunting visual style, a young Jennifer Connelly and a pulsing soundtrack, Phenomena is bound to linger in the mind for a long time. I can safely say that this film has me curious to watch many more of Argento’s movies( I think the only other one I’ve seen is Suspiria and another one which I can’t recall off the top of my head) in the future and add them to my ever-growing movie experience.

Jennifer Corvino is the teenage daughter of a well-known actor who is sent to a Swiss Boarding School for girls. The creepy surroundings aren’t helped by the fact that a serial killer is on the loose and many of the students have fallen victim to gruesome murders. Jennifer as it turns out possesses a strange gift; the ability to communicate with insects. This gift makes her feel isolated from those around her and makes her question whether she is normal or not. She also has a habit of sleepwalking and whilst doing this witnesses one of the murders. She also comes into contact with Professor John McGregor, a wheelchair bound authority in entomology who sees the unique gift that Jennifer has. Seeing that she could help solve the case with her powers, Jennifer sets out to find the killer before another student brutally dies. But finding the killer may just be murder in this striking mystery from the talented Argento.

As with the majority of Argento’s work, the visual design in Phenomena is absolutely stunning. Capturing the natural beauty of the Swiss countryside, yet cutting it with the copious flowing of blood proves to be an interesting juxtaposition of savagery and beauty. We also get some elaborate murder scenes which give Phenomena a disturbing quality, especially when one notes that the girl who is murdered in the opening scenes is played by one of Argento’s daughters.The sleepwalking scenes are definitely a highlight, with the camera swooning over Jennifer as she enters like Alice and Little Red Riding Hood an almost fairy-tale realm of unusual and hypnotically disturbing events cloaked in mystery and soaked in scarlet blood, aided by the insects that she can communicate with. The ability to do this allows us many interesting shots from the point of view of insects, which still hold up remarkably well today. The soundtrack for Phenomena is pulse-pounding to say the least, with synthesisers and hard rock forming the backbone. Albeit some of the uses of rock do detract from the overall impact of scenes, most of the time it gives it a driving force and nightmarish quality. I’m the not the biggest fan of dubbing, and some of it here is pretty laughable, but if you can overlook this then Phenomena is still a well-crafted slice of mystery with an imaginative mind at the helm. The only other flaw is that all of the creative ideas here don’t quite flow well with one another and this leaves the first half hour a long slog. But once it hits the hour mark, the elements do gel a little more with one another and Argento introduces more pace into the narrative which saves Phenomena from going off the rails.

A young Jennifer Connelly is excellent in the main role. Argento clearly put a lot of faith in the young Connelly by basing the story around a young girl, but Connelly handles this remarkably well and conveys innocence, courage and skepticism as her character ventures deeper into the disturbing events around her. Donald Pleasence is well cast as the curious professor who notices the young girl’s gift and how she can use it to help in the murder case. Daria Nicolodi is interesting as the mysterious teacher at the boarding school, who always seems to have a nervous menace about her.

If you can overlook the flaws of the first half, then Phenomena is an effective horror/mystery with striking visuals and a great lead performance from Jennifer Connelly.