Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is a tawdry book that details the rise of the new wave of talented young directors and some not-so-talented producers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. When the book sticks to facts it can be fascinating. Unfortunately it wouldn't surprise me if fabrications make up over half of the book. Not only is a lot of it hard to believe, but many of the sources are ex-wives and ex-girlfriends. Still, it probably is not reaching and probably not that shocking to say that most everyone in Hollywood at this time was doing drugs, except for Spielberg, Lucas, and Bogdanovich, who were too nerdy, and Beatty, who was too busy having sex.
Biskind ties everything together under the theory that these directors "blew it" thanks to drugs, women, and/or their bloated egos. This thesis doesn't make sense if you really think about it. Very few directors fit the description of great. Most directors are lucky to produce two or three highly thought of works before falling into obscurity. It's Sick Boy's "universal theory of life" where "at one time you've got it, and then you lose it, and it's gone forever."
Let's face it, Scorsese is the only "great" director from this bunch. Speilberg has always had the talent, but he has been limited by his overriding interest in sentimental material. Dennis Hopper was never much of a director. Warren Beatty got to make the movies that he wanted to make, and was successful for the most part. Bob Rafelson had one really good movie. Peter Bogdanovich had the talent, but he had too much of a reverance for the past in his choice of subject matter. Audiences did not share that interest. Robert Altman made the type of movies he wanted to make, and they were inherently non-commercial. But he was able to continue to make movies due to miniscule budgets. Brian DePalma was successful but also very inconsistent. Paul Schrader was always more of a screenwriter than a director, and it is surprising that his career as a director has been so successful. George Lucas has and always will be a godawful director whose worst flaw is his incompetence directing actors.
Hal Ashby, who was perhaps the most successful director in the 1970s (7 good if not great movies) was also older than most of his "New Hollywood" contemporaries, and his body was shot by the 1980s, when his movies really tailed off before his death in 1988. What is peculiar about Ashby is that he is virtually unknown nowadays among the mainstream public.
So who fits Biskind's thesis? No one really. Does that make the book a failure? No, because the book is still interesting for its information on the rise of the "New Hollywood" and the business dealings that led to some of the biggest movies of the 1970s. I just wish I knew what to believe.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
That's So Juvenile
One of the worst things about my elementary education was the lack of literature therein. In fact, I don't remember being required to read one book. Actually, that is not true. I do remember in third grade being required to deliver an oral book report. That's right, an oral book report in third grade. The teacher had us go into the tiny library room and pick out a book, any book. The day came to give my report. I had picked out a 400 page book on the planet Jupiter. Needless to say I hadn't read any of it and had nothing to say when it came time to deliver the report. I didn't know what I was doing, but I don't think the teacher knew what she was doing either, as guidance was completely lacking.
Fast forward to eighth grade, when we read Romeo and Juliet. It is not that I don't think that kids that age can handle Shakespeare, but it is tough when it is suddenly thrust upon them without any "warm-up" books. My memory is a little foggy. We might have read Great Expectations that year too, but I don't think so. I think I read that one on my own, and then an abridged version (yuck!) was assigned my freshman year of high school.
Other than that I don't remember any other assigned books. I know we had a "reading" class, but that involved very forgettable short stories without much meaning or depth. Anything good would be too adult or controversial for most kids that age. Fortunately I read a lot of books on my own, though none was at a very high level before my teen years. My mom read a lot of books herself, and she was always good about taking me to our town's library. I would take a sharp right and head to the juvenile section. I devoured dozens of Hardy Boys books. They were easy reads (all about 180 pages). While the narratives were sometimes compelling, the characters themselves were as bland as rice cakes. Staying in the mystery realm I read another series of books under the label "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators." Since the Wikipedia entry is so good I'll limit my description. The Hitchcock connection is coincidental since I would not become really interested in classic movies until I saw some Hitchcock movies for the first time during a WGN marathon back when I was in high school.
It is shocking to me that they have made a Three Investigators movie. Why now? From what I've read the books aren't even currently in print in this country. The movie entry does not give me much hope that the movie will be good or true to the original books. When they don't even cast Jupiter Jones correctly-he was a pudgy kid, an important trait that was played up in the book-then there is not much hope that they will get anything else right either. Also, the kid actors are too young. The books don't say how old the characters are, except that they are not old enough to drive. I always imagined them as 14 or 15, somewhere around the start of high school.
I liked these books because the characters seemed real (to a grade schooler), with colorful stories and strong continuity between the first several books. The first edition hardcovers, the first 11 of which I wish I had, are somewhat pricey on Ebay, with the prices ranging from $50 to $150.
Fast forward to eighth grade, when we read Romeo and Juliet. It is not that I don't think that kids that age can handle Shakespeare, but it is tough when it is suddenly thrust upon them without any "warm-up" books. My memory is a little foggy. We might have read Great Expectations that year too, but I don't think so. I think I read that one on my own, and then an abridged version (yuck!) was assigned my freshman year of high school.
Other than that I don't remember any other assigned books. I know we had a "reading" class, but that involved very forgettable short stories without much meaning or depth. Anything good would be too adult or controversial for most kids that age. Fortunately I read a lot of books on my own, though none was at a very high level before my teen years. My mom read a lot of books herself, and she was always good about taking me to our town's library. I would take a sharp right and head to the juvenile section. I devoured dozens of Hardy Boys books. They were easy reads (all about 180 pages). While the narratives were sometimes compelling, the characters themselves were as bland as rice cakes. Staying in the mystery realm I read another series of books under the label "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators." Since the Wikipedia entry is so good I'll limit my description. The Hitchcock connection is coincidental since I would not become really interested in classic movies until I saw some Hitchcock movies for the first time during a WGN marathon back when I was in high school.
It is shocking to me that they have made a Three Investigators movie. Why now? From what I've read the books aren't even currently in print in this country. The movie entry does not give me much hope that the movie will be good or true to the original books. When they don't even cast Jupiter Jones correctly-he was a pudgy kid, an important trait that was played up in the book-then there is not much hope that they will get anything else right either. Also, the kid actors are too young. The books don't say how old the characters are, except that they are not old enough to drive. I always imagined them as 14 or 15, somewhere around the start of high school.
I liked these books because the characters seemed real (to a grade schooler), with colorful stories and strong continuity between the first several books. The first edition hardcovers, the first 11 of which I wish I had, are somewhat pricey on Ebay, with the prices ranging from $50 to $150.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Keep Dreaming
I am so glad that Dreamgirls did not receive a nomination for Best Picture. The experts always conclude that if a musical is actually good, then it will receive a nomination. Not this time, and it really might signal an end to that kind of presumption. Many of the old guard in the Academy are dying off, which means that the musicals are no longer going to get a free ride to the top. If Dreamgirls had been nominated, the awards telecast this year was going to be nigh unwatchable. Bad enough that the wretched Little Miss Sunshine is nominated, but also Degeneres is the host. She has NEVER, EVER, been funny.
Alan Arkin phoned in his performance in Sunshine. This nomination is obviously more for his career.
I'm kinda shocked that DiCaprio was nominated for Blood Diamond instead of The Departed. I was blown away by the latter, but didn't see the former. The Academy has a stupid rule that the same actor cannot be nominated twice in the same category, otherwise DiCaprio had a good chance at two nominations. DiCaprio might benefit though and receive votes based on both performances.
One more thing. Early on, right after he saw it, David Poland actually wrote that Dreamgirls had a very good shot at the nomination record. It fell a little short.
Alan Arkin phoned in his performance in Sunshine. This nomination is obviously more for his career.
I'm kinda shocked that DiCaprio was nominated for Blood Diamond instead of The Departed. I was blown away by the latter, but didn't see the former. The Academy has a stupid rule that the same actor cannot be nominated twice in the same category, otherwise DiCaprio had a good chance at two nominations. DiCaprio might benefit though and receive votes based on both performances.
One more thing. Early on, right after he saw it, David Poland actually wrote that Dreamgirls had a very good shot at the nomination record. It fell a little short.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Christmas Comes Before Halloween
Bob Clark has one of the most curious oeuvres of any director out there. So far I have seen 3 of his movies. A Christmas Story is now so overexposed that it does not need a description. Needless to say it seems to have overtaken It's a Wonderful Life as the quintessential Christmas movie. Porky's is a teen sex comedy. It grossed an astonishing $100 million on a $4 million budget, and inspired a number of dreadful copycats over the next 3 or 4 years. According to the reviews it similarly inspired two dreadful sequels, also directed by Bob Clark. I haven't seen those, but I will admit that I consider Porky's something of a classic. Black Christmas is a sorority house slasher film. Clark evidently didn't mind jumping from genre to genre. One thing that all three films have in common is the lack of mature adults as protagonists. A Christmas Story focused on elementary schoolers. In Porky's it was high schoolers. Black Christmas presented us with the aforementioned sorority girls.
Oh, in case you are confused, the Black Christmas to which I am referring is not the remake that was just released. Instead this is the 1974 version. This movie is very raw as the formula for the slasher film had yet to be perfected. But it made me wonder if John Carpenter shouldn't be given so much credit for Halloween. Christmas gives us camera angles that let us see what the slasher is seeing. For whatever reason this camerawork was abandoned later in the movie in favor of more convention methods, so Halloween is more focused in that regard.
The acting is very good in Christmas. Ok, so Olivia Hussey's accent comes and goes, and Keir Dullea is dubious as her nearly 40 year old boyfriend, but the acting is far better than it should be for this type of movie. Margot Kidder smokes and drinks a lot in the movie, and from what I have read this must have been a case of very good casting. If the movie has a failing it is the same failing that many horror movies have-a bad ending. The ending is not actually that bad, but it does not live up to the rest of the movie.
A bit of research revealed the following info-allegedly Bob Clark gave the idea for Halloween to John Carpenter, when they were discussing the possibility of a sequel to Black Christmas. Very interesting.
Spoiler questions--Ok, these will give away the movie, so don't read these if you plan on seeing the movie. Who killed the girl that was found in the field? Why did the boyfriend break through the basement window? What happened to the cat? How many cigarettes did Margot Kidder smoke during filming? Where was the obligatory nudity?
Oh, in case you are confused, the Black Christmas to which I am referring is not the remake that was just released. Instead this is the 1974 version. This movie is very raw as the formula for the slasher film had yet to be perfected. But it made me wonder if John Carpenter shouldn't be given so much credit for Halloween. Christmas gives us camera angles that let us see what the slasher is seeing. For whatever reason this camerawork was abandoned later in the movie in favor of more convention methods, so Halloween is more focused in that regard.
The acting is very good in Christmas. Ok, so Olivia Hussey's accent comes and goes, and Keir Dullea is dubious as her nearly 40 year old boyfriend, but the acting is far better than it should be for this type of movie. Margot Kidder smokes and drinks a lot in the movie, and from what I have read this must have been a case of very good casting. If the movie has a failing it is the same failing that many horror movies have-a bad ending. The ending is not actually that bad, but it does not live up to the rest of the movie.
A bit of research revealed the following info-allegedly Bob Clark gave the idea for Halloween to John Carpenter, when they were discussing the possibility of a sequel to Black Christmas. Very interesting.
Spoiler questions--Ok, these will give away the movie, so don't read these if you plan on seeing the movie. Who killed the girl that was found in the field? Why did the boyfriend break through the basement window? What happened to the cat? How many cigarettes did Margot Kidder smoke during filming? Where was the obligatory nudity?
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Little Miss Can Be Wrong
What happened to originality? Better yet, what happened to critics demanding originality?
The warm critical reception for Little Miss Sunshine puzzles me. Did they forget the now 26 year-old Vacation? While the latter movie relied on idiocy more than anything, similar plot points are explored. Throw in a touch of the 17 year-old Weekend at Bernie's and you have a movie that some people are touting as a Best Picture candidate.
Wait, isn't there more to the movie than that? Not really. I did laugh at a coffee mug early in the movie, and there is the big laugh at the end. The rest is poorly written, episodic tripe. The directors made a career out of working on music videos. Said experience is on display here. That is not a compliment. I wish I could say more, but it has been a few months since my viewing of this forgettable film.
Meanwhile, Wes Anderson is ready to kill himself.
The warm critical reception for Little Miss Sunshine puzzles me. Did they forget the now 26 year-old Vacation? While the latter movie relied on idiocy more than anything, similar plot points are explored. Throw in a touch of the 17 year-old Weekend at Bernie's and you have a movie that some people are touting as a Best Picture candidate.
Wait, isn't there more to the movie than that? Not really. I did laugh at a coffee mug early in the movie, and there is the big laugh at the end. The rest is poorly written, episodic tripe. The directors made a career out of working on music videos. Said experience is on display here. That is not a compliment. I wish I could say more, but it has been a few months since my viewing of this forgettable film.
Meanwhile, Wes Anderson is ready to kill himself.