Sung Tse-Ho, a former counterfeiter for the Triads, is released from prison and tries to reconcile with his estranged brother, Kit, now a detective with the Hong Kong police. Not the best of Woo's heroic bloodshed films, lacking the elegance of The Killer and the sheer batshit insanity of Hard Boiled, but it's certainly the one that set the tone. Does suffer somewhat from the fact that much of what made it ground-breaking at the time now feel a little outdated and cliched. Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung are fine in the lead roles, but Chow Yun-fat effortlessly steals the show as Sung's fellow gangster, giving the kind of iconic star making turn that every hungry young actor dreams of.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is assigned to investigate the murder of Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), but as he begins to piece together her final days he finds himself falling in love with the dead woman. Perhaps the quintessential “haunting the narrative” movie, there's an interesting mystery and a good cast of suspects (Vincent Price being the standout as Laura's slippery fiancée), but what lets it down are that many of the twist and turns are easy to work out in advance (I guessed the killer from the first scene), and Andrew's detective is a complete dullard and his “love” for Laura is never once convincing.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas (Charlton Heston) is forced to work with slimy American police captain Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles) after a car bomb goes off on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, but Vargas quickly begins to suspect that Quinlan may be trying to frame an innocent man. Welles, one of cinema's true auteurs, was originally only hired to play Quinlan, but ended up directing the whole thing, making numerous changes to the characters, story, and setting (including the baffling decision to make Heston's character Mexican). The result is a brilliantly shot, seedy noir, full of creeps and weirdos, that practically descends into full blown horror when Janet Leigh has an unpleasant experience in a motel. She should really stay away from those places.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Akira Kurosawa took a break from Samurai films to make this contemporary crime thriller that also doubles as an acting showcase for two of his regular collaborators: Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai. Mifune plays Kingo Gondo, an executive at a shoe company who has staked everything he owns on a hostile takeover bid, but may have to risk financial ruin when his chauffeur's son is mistakenly kidnapped in place of his own. The first part is like a claustrophobic play, set almost entirely in Gondo's living room as he wrestles with the difficult choice he'll have to make. The rest is pure procedural that follows the police, led by Nakadai's calm and sympathetic detective, as they investigate the crime. Kurosawa's mastery of the craft ensures that you stay engrossed even during long scenes of police just going over evidence, although I do question their tactic to let the main suspect roam free to commit more crimes just so they can hand down a harsher sentence.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
On his last day in prison, Corey (Alain Delon) is tipped off by a guard about a major score at a prestigious jewellery shop in Paris. After he is released he recruits an escaped criminal (Gian Maria Volonté) and a former police sniper (Yves Montand) to help him pull off the heist. After making the definitive hitman movie with Le Samouraï, Delon and Jean-Pierre Melville reunited three years later to make a serious contender for the definite heist movie. Melville was a master of the stripped down, slow burn crime thriller, and this was him at his absolute peak. The standout sequence remains that 30 minute wordless heist, an absolute masterpiece of slow building tension.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Narratively speaking, Thief doesn't really break new ground for the heist genre, telling a familiar story about master thief Frank (James Caan) who is looking to make one last big score only to be betrayed by his partners. What sets this apart from all that came before it is Michael Mann, who takes this well worn tale and makes it feel fresh, vibrant and stunning to look at. The majority of the film takes place at night and not only looks fantastic, but everything can be clearly seen (please take note, modern filmmakers). Frank is a typical Mann protagonist; a tough guy professional with their own code of honour who won't let anyone push him around, be they backstabbing gangsters or corrupt cops. It's a role tailor made for Caan who delivers one of the best performances of his career. Of course, being a Mann movie it is very much a man movie and all the female characters are relegated to being just supportive wives and girlfriends.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In order to catch a notorious getaway driver (Ryan O'Neal), a corrupt detective (Bruce Dern) coerces a gang of thieves into hiring him for their latest heist. Like the title character, this is a cool and efficient film that avoids unnecessary complications wherever it can. Walter Hill took a lot of inspiration from Melville and kept things simple and to the point. So simple in fact that characters do not even have names. Besides driving, O'Neal's job is to look good and say little and he does it all very well, while Dern does enough acting for the both of them.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011 More Mark Greig
I've not seen it, but I immediately recognized Vincent Price in that picture! I may have to give Laura a watch. He just makes anything better.
ReplyDeleteLaura is the only one of these I've seen, but it was years ago and I don't remember the details. I used to watch a lot of old movies when I was a teen.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting group of films for sure, Mark.
Thief is very good indeed; James Caan is, as always, brilliant. I love your comment about a Mann movie being very much a man movie; classic. (Maybe give some credit to Kim Greist in Manhunter, though, as she does eventually do just a bit more than be supportive.)
ReplyDeleteNeed to watch Touch of Evil, both for Orson Welles directoral greatness and the experience of watching Charlton Heston (!) play a Mexican (!!). Gotta be right up there with Mickey Rooney playing a Japanese.
I've always been curious about Laura, but have never set aside the time to watch it, because I've always feared I would be disappointed because it's not The Maltese Falcon or Double Indemnity. But I suppose I really should have a go.
The Driver looks intriguing — and promising, as it involves Ryan O'Neal not doing what he's generally not very good at: speaking. So I'll put that on my list, along with Le Cercle Rouge. High and Low is already there, but I think maybe I'll give A Better Tomorrow a miss.
Heston as a Mexican is awkward, but no where near as bad as Mickey Rooney's Japanese.
DeleteIt's certainly a high bar to clear, that's for sure.
DeleteTouch of Evil is brilliant, one of my favorite films. IIRC there's a comment in the screenplay that "he doesn't look Mexican", so they were aware of the oddity of the casting, even in those days when brownface was routine. But Heston was also the guy who suggested Welles direct the project, so the film would likely have been forgettable without him.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, in case anyone doesn't already know, and in case it hasn't already been mentioned, a ready source for many (not all!) of these older films, not all of which may be available on your enshittified streaming service, is the handy Internet Archive.
ReplyDelete