GONE  WITH THE WIND

According to some, this is one of the best movies ever made, if not the best. And after watching it again I can understand why. For one, it held the record for winning the most Oscars (at 10) for twenty years before it was surpassed by Ben-Hur in 1959 with its eleven. I remember that towards the end of the last century there was some or the other international survey to determine the greatest movie ever made and in the end it was a toss-up between Citizen Kane and Gone With The Wind.

In one of the editions of his Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin refers to Gone With The Wind as: "...in effect, a Civil War soap opera" and, in a sense, I suppose he is right. The story of Scarlett, Rett, Ashley and Melanie with all its love intrigue, knots and twists set against the background of some epic circumstance forms the basis of many a day time television drama we see today. And no matter what, this theme never seems to lose its fascination for us mere ordinary folks, regardless of where, what or who we are.

Although it is true that since this 1939 film version of Margaret Mitchell's beloved novel, we saw many more great movies come and go, most of which were much more technically advanced and with much more spectacular special effects or even superior acting. But isn't it strange that from all the (what is today regarded as) great classics, this is the only one of which there was (to date) no serious attempt at a remake? Was it maybe because it was so perfectly executed the first time round and its never a good idea to mess around with perfection? My answer: to quote what must be one of the most famous lines of any movie ever "Frankly, my dear. I don't give a damn." I gave it four out of five stars anyway...  

Trailer link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dTsfsr6-X8 

   "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" - Clark Gable as Rett Butler

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO

The second classic I'm looking at is the 1965 adaptation of the novel by Boris Pasternak with Omar Sharif in the title roll and who received a Golden Globe Award as best actor for that. The film itself earned five Oscars.

In essence it is the love story of ( or rather a love triangle between) the Doctor, his wife, Tonya (played by Geraldine Chaplin) and the actual love of his life, Lara (wonderfully portrayed by Julie Christie) all set against the Russian Revolution which took place during the early 1900's. But over the years the movie perhaps became move known for its hauntingly beautiful music score by famous French composer and conductor, Maurice Jarre; more specifically Lara's Theme (which has since been recorded by almost every orchestra of note!)

However, at more than three hours the movie tends to be a bit overlong. I think there are too many protracted shots of the bleak snow covered landscapes and one gets the impression that director David Lean tries too hard to use that in order to capture the somber mood of the story itself. Be that as it may, it still remains a very good movie of its era and as such I awarded it three out of five stars.

Trailer link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GkLjncctic  

   The 'Ice House'

BEN-HUR

Today and for the next couple of weeks, I am going to look at and discuss three landmark classics. First up is the 1959 version of Ben-Hur with Charlton Heston in the title roll. This movie once held the record for the most Academy Award wins with 11 in total.

Although the novel by Lew Wallace was written during the late 1800's, the theme of a man falsely accused and condemned for a crime he did not commit and then later returns to take his revenge, is a familiar one for stories from that period. Just think of The Count Of Monte Cristo and The Man In The Iron Mask, both by Alexandre Dumas or The Prisoner Of Zenda by Anthony Hope.

And even though all of these have been made into movies at some stage or another, Ben-Hur stands out as the most spectacular one of them all. No wonder it was also the most expensive movie of its time with one of the first 'chase scenes' ever and something like 8000 extras!

This masterpiece surely should form part of any serious film collection. I rated it four out of five stars for mine...  

Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlzfqVtmxVA

    The famous chariot race from the movie

GOATS

On the DVD cover, just below the title, it says: "Most families have a black sheep. This one has a whole flock." And that, I think about sums it all up.

Fifteen year old Ellis (Graham Phillips) is about the only 'normal' one of the Whitman family. His parents are divorced with his dad remarried to someone half his age and expecting their first baby. His mom, sort of a New Age hippie, is involved with yet another parasitic boyfriend. And then there is Goat Man (David Duchovny), a pot-growing-and-smoking botanist cum landscaper as his mentor. To top it all off the boy has to cope with all the demands of a prestigious prep-school his father enrolled him in as well. But, amazingly, amidst all the confusion and challenges, the boy manages to rise up above it all to find his niche in this world.

To call it just another teenage angst movie would be selling it short. It reminded me a lot of The Way Way Back which I also reviewed on this blog a while back. And like that movie, this one also contains definite elements of coming of age which on its own makes it worth watching. This one too earned three out of five stars from me.

Trailer link:   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJiz3SsY9fE

 

   The cast

MY LIFE AS A DOG (1985)

You might remember the TV series from the mid-nineties with the same title. That was based on this 1985 film from Sweden, directed by Lasse Hallstrom which, in turn, is based on the semi-autobiographical book by Reidar Jonsson.

The story is about twelve year old Ingemar (Anton Glanzelius) who is sent to live with relatives in a small rural town during the 1950's because of his mother's terminal illness. It is also about growing up and becoming aware of who you are and where you fit in. But it is also about coming of age and discovering love for the first time.

This is yet another poignant film by this master director who was also responsible for other masterpieces like What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), The Cider House Rules (1999), Chocolat (2000) and Hachico: A Dog's Tale (which I wrote about on this blog not too long ago). No wonder he won the Oscar for best director for this film.

Normally, I am not too keen on watching foreign language (non-English) movies with subtitles. I regard it as a distraction (or maybe I am just lazy...). But fortunately this DVD came with an English dubbed soundtrack. So I did not have to read the story whilst trying to watch it at the same time. However, some may prefer to rather watch it with the original soundtrack. Be that as it may and regardless of your preference, this movie is highly recommended and earned four out of five stars from me.

Trailer link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-rbfXweQYg

    Anton Glanzelius