Classic Pick of the
Week – The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Orson Welles was more than up to the task of following up Citizen Kane (1941) as he planned to
make a sweeping, familial saga set at the turn of the century by adapting Booth
Tarkington’s novel The Magnificent
Ambersons. Unfortunately, the studio
heads at RKO didn’t share his vision as they butchered the film – excising some
40 minutes without his approval – Â while he was working on his next project in
South America. And yet, despite its
truncated form, Welles’ genius is still evident in this tale of a rich family
who suddenly finds its fortunes fading when they prove incapable of changing
with the times. Tim Holt and Agnes Moorehead deliver poignant performances as
the two family members who are ultimately left with nothing but the director’s
innovations shine. Watch for his
sweeping camera moves, a conversation that takes place over the course of three
floors in the Amberson house, all in one unbroken take and the distinctive
lighting that conveys all that the characters are not. Just ignore the happy ending – that was not
Welles’ idea. TCM – 4:00 PM – Sunday
Tuesday – August 26th –Director Peter Bogdanovich
first came to prominence as a film critic who championed the great filmmakers
of Hollywood’s Golden Age. With Paper Moon (1973), airing at 5:40am on
the Retroplex Channel, he emulates and pays homage to John Ford and Howard Hawks
while making a name for himself in this Depression-era tale about Moses Pray, a
conman (a never-better Ryan O’Neal) who is suddenly saddled with Addie
(Oscar-winner Tatum O’Neal) a precocious young girl who may be his
daughter. Their odyssey throughout the Midwestern
states has them selling Bibles to vulnerable widows as well as aiming
for higher marks when the opportunity presents itself. Madeline Kahn gives a wonderful supporting
performance as a desperate woman they travel with for a time while the
relationship the develops between Moses and Addie is never forced, making it
all the more poignant as the film reaches its moving climax. Laszlo Kovacs’ evocative
black-and-white cinematography is beautiful to behold, providing a nostalgic
lens through which we see this more innocent time.
Thursday – August 28th – While Crimes and Misdemeanors, showing
at 4:25 am on Encore Suspense may not be Woody Allen’s best film, it remains my
favorite because its his only work that combines his bitter sense of humor with
an examination of the existential questions that dog him. Following two storylines that brilliantly
converge in the end, the viewer’s initial focus is on ophthalmologist Judah
Rosenthal (a great Martin Landau) who fears his life and reputation will be
ruined if his unstable mistress (Angelica Huston) follows through on telling
his wife about their affair. Meanwhile, unemployed
filmmaker Cliff Stern (Allen) is, as a favor, given a job to make a documentary
about his insufferable brother-in-law Lester (Alan Alda), a comedic genius
whose career is at its height. Both men
make decisions that come back to haunt them while the ultimate irony that
arises in both tales as they come together will have you doing exactly what
Allen has tried often to do but rarely succeeded fully in achieving, namely
contemplating our purpose and the impact of our actions…There’s no question
that Moonstruck (1987) airing at 11:00
pm on the MGM-HD Channel is one of the great screen love stories and that as
improbable as they seem as a couple, Cher and Nicolas Cage do light up the
screen. However, what’s often forgotten about the film are the wonderful
supporting characters it contains and the great cast assembled to bring them to
life. As Loretta and Ronny try to come
to terms with their romance and figure out a way to break the news to his
brother Johnny (Danny Aiello), her father Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia) is engaged
in an affair, while his neglected wife Rose (Olympia Dukakis) contemplates
stepping out on her own with a cynical university professor (John Mahoney). It’s no wonder the film garnered six Oscar
nominations, three of them for acting with Cher and Dukakis taking home their
respective trophies. However, the whip-smart
writing from John Patrick Shanley, also an Academy Award winner, is what separates
this from other love stories as he deftly combines the story’s pathos, passion
and humor in equal measure.
Friday – August 29th – It’s too bad that Nicolas Cage has become a bit of a joke in some
circles. While he is less than
discriminating at times where choosing intelligent scripts is concerned, he
never gives less than 100% in each and every performance he gives. One of his very best can be found in Adaptation (2002) showing at 5:35 am on
the Indieplex Channel. Cage takes on the dual role of twins Charlie and Donald
Kaufman, one a floundering screenwriter, the other a rather directionless,
likable sort who always lands on his feet. The complex narrative also delves
into the life of author Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep), whose book The Orchid Thief Charlie is trying to
adapt, as well as the subject of her narrative John Laroche (Oscar-winner Chris
Cooper), whose life took on meaning once he began to cultivate orchids. Wryly funny, the movie’s theme, about our
need to change as our life throws us curveballs is driven home by Cage in the
dual role as each of the characters he portrays comes to a different end due to
their differing point of view where this theory is concerned.
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This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2014.
