Double feature at the Egyptian

I couldn't resist heading to the Egyptian theater in Hollywood last night to catch a double feature:  The Wild Bunch and The Dirty Dozen.  The latter, of course, is one of my top five movies of all time, but I've never been able to see it on the big screen.  That has been remedied... sort of.  These are playing as part of a tribute to Ernest Borgnine.  They've had several other movies I've really wanted to go see this past week, but alas, have to pick and choose, and I chose my favorites over seeing some new movies.

It was a pretty nice 35 mm print of The Wild Bunch.  It's actually the first time I've seen William Holden in color on the big screen, and boy, that was nice.  His blue eyes are gorgeous on television, but on the big screen?  Wow.  And Pike Bishop is my favorite character he plays, so it was really neat to see it big screen, for so many reasons.  Great experience, with a large audience that was quite vocal and appreciative.

The Dirty Dozen was not a film print, it was apparently a projected blu ray, and... that was disappointing.  It didn't seem to fit the screen right, and it just lacked that natural big screen feel that Wild Bunch had.  Nonetheless, it was still The Dirty Dozen on the big screen, and I still loved every minute of it.  And I had that new problem of what to look at on screen?  After seeing the film 50-60 times small screen, suddenly, I had to choose where to direct my eyes.  Ack!  Who to focus on in a scene?  It so made me wish it was playing again, as I'd go right back again to watch different things.  Mostly, I chose to watch my favorite character in the film, Franko, played by John Cassavetes.  But yeah, I still saw new things, read those signs in the corners, picked up on details you just can't see on DVD.  It was great.

It was two long movies that didn't start until after 7:30 pm, and I did not get home until after 2 in the morning, but it was totally worth it. 

Ernest Borgnine

It was with great sadness that I pulled up my blog reading list this morning and saw in the first subject line, Ernest Borgnine (January 24, 1917 - July 8, 2012). Took a half second for that to sink in. Then I burst into tears.  I haven't really stopped crying.

Sometimes it's not the actors we name our favorites who affect us the most.  Sometimes it's the other guys, the ones who star with our favorite actors, the ones without whom, the entire movie would fall apart.  They're so good, you almost take them for granted.  They make any movie they're in better.  Ernest Borgnine is one of those guys.  I've been watching him as long as William Holden, longer perhaps.  And it's not William Holden who has three movies in my top ten films of all time list -- two in my top five.  It's Ernest Borgnine.  Add in his appearances in so many of my other beloved movies, and I'm pretty sure his name would come out on top if you added up how many appearances he makes in movies I love.

I had the privilege of meeting him last year, and I'm sure that memory only adds to be heartbreak now.  He was so full of life, so full of laughter.

RIP, Mr. Borgnine, and thank you for so many years of amazing, wonderful, awesome performances.  You will be sorely missed.

The Vikings (1958)

Sometimes, I just have to go back to the tried and true. Sometimes, I get sick of seeing movies new-to-me, and I want something comforting and familiar. So, I re-watched The Vikings last night, for the umpteenth time. This film is one of those films on which I grew up. Although, I do actually remember a time before I saw it. When we were young and there weren’t VCRs or DVDs yet, we’d have to wait for the network stations to decide to air something, and we could wait months to see something. My mom would intrigue us by telling us how cool certain movies were and what we had to look forward to when it finally did air. For The Vikings, she would always tell us about her favorite part, when Kirk Douglas climbs up the tower in the end battle and swings feet-first right through the stained glass window at the top.


This movie is directed by Richard Fleisher, who directs my number one movie of all time, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Harper Goff, who designed the Nautilus in 20,000 worked with Fleisher again on The Vikings to help recreate the Viking ships, villages, etc. and, once again, he does a spectacular job. There’s a lovely little retrospective extra on the DVD of Fleisher talking about his memories of making this movie, of the two years it took, the research they did, the location work, his funny memories, and a lot of great still photos of the actors during the shoot. Wish there were more DVD extras like this, to add that cool insight and bits of trivia! Here's two of my favorite pics from the retrospective.


Anyway, I love this movie for a jillion and one reasons. This is the type of movie I grew up. Westerns, war movies, and period action adventures. There’s a lot of violence in this movie, but except for one scene, you don’t actually see much blood at all. I love that about older films. You don’t need the gore to get the point across. I absolutely cringe at one point in this movie even though you don’t see a thing. You don’t need to! When will modern filmmakers get it back in their heads that letting your audience fill in the blanks themselves is a hundred times more effective then showing it outright. Even still, this is undeniably a violent and movie and so definitely not for everybody. But then, hello, Vikings! Not the most peace-loving of people. Life was short, harsh, brutal, but also full of passion and beauty.

This is my favorite Tony Curtis movie, and my favorite Tony Curtis look. I love him with his beard. He’s an amazingly good-looking man anyway, but I just love him like this, less pretty and more straight handsome, all edgy and full of raw anger. He and Kirk Douglas play off each other so well, and I love their sword fight at the end, particularly as it takes place at the top of this tower, partly on these very steep steps. I've seen this movie how many times? And I still worry every single time that one of them is going to slip and fall.


This is also my second favorite Kirk Douglas film, right behind 20,000. His character isn't a nice man at all, but he fits right into the world the movie depicts and provides the perfect antagonist and foil for Tony Curtis. And The Vikings is also my favorite Ernest Borgnine role. He just makes a perfect Viking leader, with that great boisterous laugh of his. I love Janet Leigh in this movie as well and wanted to be her when I was little. She is so pretty as Morgana!


This is also the film in which I fell in love with James Donald. He’s one of those stalwart British actors who slips into good movies and makes them better. This was the first film I saw him in, and I quite fancied him. His character of Lord Egbert is intriguing. He allies with the Vikings, which technically makes him a traitor to England, but he does it only because King Aella is such a ratfink. He looks out for himself, but he’s not a coward either. He looks for ways to come out ahead personally, but at the same time, he’s got broader scope. I’m also an absolute sucker (probably since the first time I saw Mario sing “Vittoria!” in Tosca) for patriotic characters who quite loudly, noblely, and very inadvisedly, seal their guilt by decrying the evil of their captors in front of their captors. Good way to get yourself killed. Also a good way to make me love you forever. Egbert gets in such a moment when he’s hauled off to the dungeons: “Lies will not sustain a tyrant!” Mwah-hah-hah. He has some of my other favorite moments in the movie, such as when Ragnar (Ernest Borgnine) gives him a friendly clap on the back and nearly sends him flying. Egbert’s expression is priceless. I also love the casual, confused way he says, “Oh, I see,” when Ragnar explains a Viking custom to him. Makes me laugh every time. My only complaint is that I don’t know what happens to his character in the final battle! Does he live? Does he die? Alas, no such answers are forthcoming. I like to assume he made it, of course, and gave his devious, but faithful support to the new, true king.


I love the on location scenery in this film. The fjords are gorgeous, and I really do love ships… if it floats and is elegant and dangerous, I’m probably in love with it. My breath catches and my heart soars whenever I see a beautiful ship, and I absolutely adore these sleek dragon-headed Viking ships. I think if the movie was nothing but shots of the ships sailing around, I'd probably be quite happy. Yeah, I think I really did want to run away to sea all my life and just never fully realized it.


My favorite part of this film is the running of the oars scene. As the successful Viking ship comes in to dock, the rowers hold their oars out and the rest of the crew run along them. The scene makes me grin and grin.

Hollywood Collectors Show July 2011

I really wanted to meet Ernest Borgnine, so I attended the Hollywood Collectors Show last Saturday. He's in so many of my favorite movies: The Dirty Dozen, Flight of the Phoenix, The Vikings, The Wild Bunch, among many others. He popped up in my favorite movies more often than my "favorite" actors did! And I can't think of a time when he wasn't part of my movie-watching experiences. So, I got to meet him and thank him in person for all the wonderful years of performances he has given us. He was very nice, gracious, and funny. He laughs a lot! I know he's 94 now, but he sure doesn't act it! I got his autograph on his biography, which I'm really looking forward to reading. It was an honor to meet him in person.

I also chatted with Ed Asner, who was also very nice, gracious, and very funny. He cracked me up. I think I laughed more waiting in his line than any other time that day! He was eating lunch when I stopped by, and he would growl, "Whaddaya want?" to people in line -- but he couldn't keep a straight face, and he would break into a smile. I told him the first thing I ever saw him in was Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and that he made such an impression on me that I never forgot his character's name (Alexi Brynov). Probably because his bad guy character died nastily by drinking sea water, and a gruesome, unusual death was guaranteed to make someone memorable in my young mind. I got a pic from Up signed for my nephew. Mr. Asner was a very cool guy.

It was a fun day.

Crossed Swords (1977)

While I'm in the realm of 1970's movies, I watched this film for the first time this week. This is what my sister would call a very definite "Deb Movie." It has all the sorts of things I love in my action movies, and I do believe I'll be picking it up on DVD when I can, just so I can watch the good bits whenever I want.

It's a bit of a mixed bag, but the good outweighed the bad and I found myself really enjoying this version of Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper." I had no idea what to expect, honestly. I rented it because Oliver Reed was in it, and he did not disappoint. Seriously, throw Oliver Reed in a period movie with lots of sword fighting, and that'll make me happy right there. Give him excellent dialogue and an interesting plot and I'm even happier. Add in some lovely scenery and costumes. Then throw in a bunch of other great actors: Ernest Borgnine (in a nasty role as the pauper's father), and Charlton Heston (as Henry VIII!), Rex Harrison, Raquel Welch, George C. Scott... good lord, but this film is chock full of big names! And everyone of them turns in a great performance.

Crossed Swords is a familiar tale - pauper and prince look so alike, on a lark they switch places, not realizing how a simple change of costume will change everyone else's perception of them, rendering anything they try to say irrelevant. The prince is summarily tossed out of the castle, and the pauper has to pick up his place as Henry VIII's son. Soldier of fortune, Miles Hendon, helps the prince stay safe out in the tough streets of London and beyond, not believing Edward's claims of royalty, until he himself, is tossed and beaten out of his own house by his ratfink of a younger brother who has usurped his inheritance and intends to keep it by denying his brother's identity. Miles realizes the prince is indeed who he has claimed he was the entire time and sets about getting him to the coronation.

The weakest link in this film is, unfortunately, Mark Lester, the young man playing the lead dual role of Tom/Prince Edward. He's not terrible, and he doesn't derail the movie, but he's just... weak. He seems too old for the role. He's too deliberately awkward, and they could not possibly have given him more terrible wigs to wear. He's much more watchable when he's in Edward's shoes. The Tom character is far more annoying. Tom also has the added disadvantage of being in the lighter, "comedic" scenes, and comedy just doesn't appeal to me the way the more serious scenes with Edward do. The other light scenes are when George C. Scott appears as the Ruffler, a one-time monk now leading a band of outlaws and vagabonds. That scene is also played for comedy, and while Scott really does shine in his role, I just don't suffer comedy well, and that's a skippable scene for me when I rewatch this.


Back to the good...

Charlton Heston as a dying Henry VIII. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that he can play such a famous monarch so well, but I was still surprised. He gets some great dialogue, and he delivers it so well. Color me impressed! He might be my favorite cinematic Henry VIII now.


The dialogue was very well done, smart, and with just the right sound to it. The script in general was very entertaining. It was a lot more violent movie than I expected, starting from the opening physical abuses Tom's father heaps on him, to the frequent sword fights, which were, with one exception, one man (Reed) against many. He sure got ganged up upon!! They weren't sword fights so much as brawls, but really, is there anybody who can brawl as well as Oliver Reed and be so believable about it? One thing I really loved about the fight sequences was how different each was, and how differently Miles Hendon (Oliver Reed's character) approached each set of opponents. From leery and careful with vicious Ernest Borgnine and his minions, to uncaringly recklessly angry with his brother and his minions. I was also impressed at how fairly Oliver Reed's character fought despite the continuing overwhelming odds against him every time. Dude, if an angry Ernest Borgnine character was coming at me swinging a cudgel, I sure as hell wouldn't reverse my sword simply because I wasn't facing a man with a blade. I'd run the bastard through before he beat the crap out of me, particularly with three other armed, scurvy goons jumping in the fray too! But Oliver Reed is playing a far more noble character, and so he does not do that, and, yeah, he gets the crap beaten out of him because he plays fair. I so dig it! It just makes me love his character more. I'm such a sucker for moral characters who stick by their code of honor and their word. This movie is so up my alley!

Oliver Reed... ahh, he gets to do all those Oliver Reed things he does best -- fight, deliver angry speeches in that deep, rough-'n-smooth, wonderful voice, get in trouble, get out of trouble, rescue the hero multiple times, and look good while doing it. He has a couple hilarious moments that completely busted me up. One is when he's trying to fit into his younger brother's clothes and they're too small (in a scene that reminds me of a story I once wrote...) and he rails at his brother, "Are you some kind of a midget??" Hm. Probably not funny out of context, but dang it's funny in the film. Another is when he tells the prince to stand back and let him do the fighting, as fighting is his trade. And Edward tells him very calmly, "Forgive me, Sir Miles, but I've seen you fight three times. Once, we ran away, twice you lost." The look on Oliver Reed's face is priceless. There's also a couple really awesomely done emotional moments, such as when he realizes Edward has indeed by telling him the truth about his identity, that he is the king. That's my favorite moment in the whole movie. I could watch Oliver Reed's reaction right there over and over and over. He's such a darned brilliant actor I just don't tire of watching (and learning) how he does things.

Ah, this movie really was made for someone like me!

The music is lovely. Less than thirty seconds into the main credits, I told the cat, "Maurice Jarre!" The man has the most unmistakeable and unique sound. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Jarre's film scores. This one was no exception. At first, it feels almost out of place, too distinctive, and it almost distracts from the movie, but it's still a catchy theme, and it grew on me so much that when it finally got used gently, beautifully, in an emotional moment, it just completely worked. And one thing I do love about him: his scores are never boring. There's more originality and beauty and creativity in one of his scores than in all of Hans Zimmer's scores combined. And if there's one thing I want most out of music, it's beauty. I own an LP of this score, which I wish I could play right now, instead of setting the movie to repeat the end credits over and over.

Lalla Ward plays a small role as Princess Elizabeth. I know her only as the second Romana from Doctor Who, so it was fun to see her in something different. She made a very good, strong Elizabeth, and has one silent moment with Charlton Heston that's another of my favorite parts of the film.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this film has a bizarre epilogue of sorts, where the various characters' fates are revealed. No spoilers, but it was so out of the blue, I have to admit I laughed out loud at more than one of the characters' fates. Miles' future in particular, only because they could probably never have pulled that bit off with any other actor in the role but Oliver Reed. But because it is Oliver Reed, it works. It is very sad, and that doesn't mean I like it, but it works.

Day 3- A film that makes you happy

Only selecting one film this time, because while there are lots of films that make me happy, there's really only one film that I'd answer for this question instantly, where the others I'd have to think about. That would be The Dirty Dozen (1967).

This is a film that I can watch at any time of day, any day of the week, heck, every day of the week. If I'm in a less than stellar mood, it'll have me smiling again in just a few seconds. It's impossible for me to watch this film and stay in a bad mood. Just thinking about it makes me happy.

Now, you may be thinking, is she kidding? It's a war movie, nearly everyone dies including my favorite character, for goodness sake, how can this film make her happy? Well, a big part is that it's tied up with my sister and family, and many, many happy times spent watching it together over the years. And the rest of it is because it's simply a really good movie with non-stop great, quotable dialogue, acted by a whole lot of actors I love: Lee Marvin, Ralph Meeker, John Cassavetes, Charles Bronson, Clint Walker, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, Robert Ryan, George Kennedy, etc. And it's funny. The exchanges between characters just crack us up. Honestly, I don't think a single day goes by that a line or two of dialogue from this film isn't quoted between my sister and me. It's that much a part of our daily lives. Even normal stuff, like "Come on," or "Yeah," we usually say with the character's inflections, just to make each other grin.

I don't think there's any other film ever made, not even among my favorites, that puts me in the same Happy Realm ballpark as The Dirty Dozen.

The Wild Bunch

Yesterday was an odd mix of films. "The Wild Bunch" in the morning and then two Monty Python movies in the afternoon... "Holy Grail" and "Life of Brian." I watched the first mostly to offset the impending comedy.

"Wild Bunch" has been on my famous-movies-I've-never-seen list, though that's not entirely true. I've seen bits of it and the whole bloody shoot-out ending, but never the complete movie. I didn't really have any opinions one way or the other based on what I'd seen in the past, if anything, they were rather negative, so it rather surprised me that I liked this movie a lot.

Okay, okay. That's because I really liked the cast. Ernest Borgnine was awesome, as was Robert Ryan, who reminds me a lot of his "Professionals" character here. Strother Martin and LQ Jones crack me up, though I wanted to shoot both of them. Edmond O'Brien was also typically understatedly cool, even though I actually didn't recognize him under that beard and sixteen layers of dirt. But in particular, I loved William Holden.


Not that that's a big surprise. But this role suits him so well. My favorite WH roles are rather like my favorite Jimmy Stewart roles... I like 'em both when they're playing the authoritative, but more cynical, world-weary types, usually when they're older (but not always in WH's case, as he's that way in Sunset Blvd. and Stalag 17, to name a couple earlier films). Even in "The Horse Soldiers," WH has that healthy chunk of cynicism and bitterness coloring what he does. His character in Wild Bunch is everything I heart in a fictional character. From being forced to shoot his own man, to being able to laugh at his own failures, from still being able to swing into the saddle without stirrups, to doffing his hat to Robert Ryan when the bridge blows, to holding the group together until the very end, and to the bestest, most wonderful "He gave his word!" speech. Ahhh, nothing will win me over faster than characters who hold true to their beliefs with that intense honor/loyalty thing going on.

And Robert Ryan gets the second best scene award, for his simple knowing smile at the end of the film for some offscreen and most satisfying gunfire. Dig it to pieces.