Stylish, top-notch thriller, adapted from Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, about a serial killer who murders whole families and the FBI profiler lured out of retirement to catch him. Beautifully directed, and also written, by Mann, who surpasses the novel in several key aspects, most notably by dumping Harris' trick ending and replacing it with an honest climax, while maintaining the suspense and breathless pacing of the book. William Petersen, as Agent Graham, grounds the film nicely, and Tom Noonan makes a formidable and menacing psycho. Brian Cox, in a role later made enormously famous by Anthony Hopkins, plays Hannibal "Lecktor," a captive cannibal with links to the killer; he's not as flashy as Hopkins, but very effective in his own right. Had to be "reappraised" by critics to get the credit it deserves.
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Stylish, top-notch thriller, adapted from Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, about a serial killer who murders whole families and the FBI profiler lured out of retirement to catch him. Beautifully directed, and also written, by Mann, who surpasses the novel in several key aspects, most notably by dumping Harris' trick ending and replacing it with an honest climax, while maintaining the suspense and breathless pacing of the book. William Petersen, as Agent Graham, grounds the film nicely, and Tom Noonan makes a formidable and menacing psycho. Brian Cox, in a role later made enormously famous by Anthony Hopkins, plays Hannibal "Lecktor," a captive cannibal with links to the killer; he's not as flashy as Hopkins, but very effective in his own right. Had to be "reappraised" by critics to get the credit it deserves.
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+++++ A movie that isn't so much an adaptation of a book as a rewrite of it. Distilling the salient portions of a novel and filtering out its irrelevant subplots, it turns out, can produce a whale of a movie. That is, if you also humanize its characters, hire terrific actors, and direct the whole thing with imagination, skill, and incredible energy. This is a movie that is, unlike Benchley's novel, completely riveting. It is, of course, about three men who, each for his own reasons, set to sea to catch or kill the huge shark that has been eating people off the beaches of a small island resort town. It's got humor, suspense, excitement, and an evocative and apropos soundtrack. It also has one of the most memorable monologues in the history of movies, as Quint, the crude but colorful fisherman hired to lead the shark hunt, recounts one of his experiences from World War II. With Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss, and novel author Peter Benchley in a cameo as a reporter on the beach. Followed by three sequels, ranging from bad to deplorable. +++++ Distinctly Victorian, pleasurably Gothic, and immeasurably influential novel about a centuries-old vampire who travels from Transylvania to England where he is opposed by six confederates. One of those allied against him is an old but constitutionally open-minded Dutch professor named Van Helsing; the vampire, of course, is Count Dracula. One of the finest and most engrossing horror novels of all time, written with a richness and depth that makes the whole thing not only believable but positively inevitable. Stoker scrimps on nothing (including, be warned, a rather roundabout manner of communication between characters that is replete with the sincerest flattery and concern you will ever read); otherwise, the books drips atmosphere when appropriate, it's spooky, it's horrifying, and it is exciting, as well, with plenty of action and a number of memorable scenes. And, of course, it's a treasure trove of vampire lore, including perhaps most notably for modern audiences the idea that vampires can move about during daylight, only without their un-dead powers. Dracula's Guest Stoker's book begins with Jonathan Harker's written words, "Left Munich at 8:35 p.m." He is on his way to meet with Count Dracula in Transylvania. What it doesn't tell us is what happened to Harker while he was in Munich. This story, "Dracula's Guest," is the tale of those events. First published in 1914, it was originally written as the first chapter of Dracula, from which it was excised as either superfluous or simply in order to shorten the manuscript. In any case, Stoker must have revised it before publication, for the style is different, Harker isn't specifically named, and, though written in the first person, it isn't framed as an entry in his diary (which, had it been included that way, would have been at odds with the epistolary format of the rest of the book). That said, it worked out for the best, and we can be thankful that Stoker never produced an "author's cut" of Dracula. The slow build of the novel toward Harker's meeting with the Count is exactly the right beginning, while, taken alone yet in context, "Dracula's Guest" is a terrific horror story, full of dread and weird happenings -- as well as something else. The Signet Classic edition of the book claims on its cover that Dracula is "the dread lord of the un-dead." With only the novel to go by, this isn't saying a whole lot; the only other vampires we see are the three "sisters" in his castle. Here, in the story, we finally see that there are more of them in the world and that Dracula does indeed hold some sway over them. +++++ Mismatched group of men and women, each for reasons of their own, crowd together aboard a stagecoach during an Apache uprising, headed for the distant town of Lordsburg. Star-making vehicle for John Wayne, whose character, an outlaw named Ringo, is introduced with an iconic zoom that has lost none of its dramatic power but now generates an additional sense of pleasurable pride -- in Wayne, America, and American film. Joining Ringo are a lady, an alcoholic doctor, a gambler, and a prostitute, among others. Ultimately, a transcendent Western that engages on every level, with simple yet sharply drawn characters, believable dialogue, a tense, well-balanced narrative, and impressive direction and visuals -- with the latter not being entirely confined to the harsh beauties of Monument Valley (one shot, for instance, of a long hallway where Ringo and Dallas, the prostitute, converse is memorable not for its metaphor but instead for its stark and prosaic beauty). Based on "Stage to Lordsburg," a short story by Ernest Haycox. The Story & The Adaptation The story by Haycox, quite good in its own right, was originally published in 1937 in The Saturday Evening Post. It's about a gunslinging man on his way to the town of Lordsburg to repay a "debt" -- that is, to kill two men over some unexplained grievance. To get there, he must join a group of strangers aboard a stagecoach and travel through Apache country. Among his companions is a prostitute, scorned by the others, who piques his interest. Typically the other way around, here it is the relationship between these two characters that serves as the comfortable backdrop for the journey itself, which Haycox describes sparingly yet evocatively, imparting always a sense of constant threat and, above all, movement. Dudley Nichols' screenplay captures all of this magnificently, and the only real deviations from the story lie in the necessary expansion of the secondary characters to flesh it out to feature length. ***** Superb horror novel about a young woman who becomes convinced that her unborn child has been targeted by a coven of witches for sacrifice to the Devil. With suspense so tightly wound it's funny, yet sublimely subtle and wittily observed. The characters are sharply drawn and believable throughout -- and yes that includes the surprising ending. Adapted first by Roman Polanski for his classic 1968 film, then as a two-part miniseries in 2014. "Not since the late Shirley Jackson has there been quite this kind of spellbinder" - Kirkus Reviews, April 13th, 1967 ***** Stellar adaptation of the book by lawyer and Michigan Supreme Court justice John D. Voelker (writing as Robert Traver) that was itself based on one of Voelker's real-life cases. Stars James Stewart as defense attorney who accepts the case of Army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering the man who raped his wife (Lee Remick). Not that there's any doubt the lieutenant did it; the question is whether or not the lawyer can get him off on a bogus plea of temporary insanity. Where the book lacked suspense, the movie has no such weakness, thanks to Preminger's taut direction, a sparkling script by Wendell Mayes, and gripping performances, including those of George C. Scott, who plays one of the prosecutors, and Murray Hamilton as a hostile witness. Follows the book quite well, but includes one significant change to a secondary character that, frankly, is all for the best. With a score by Duke Ellington, who appears in a roadhouse sequence, and (the film's only mistake) real-life lawyer Joseph Welch as the judge. Briefly banned in Chicago for its language, the movie comes off even today as unusually frank and realistic. ***** Psychologically disturbed woman commits one crime too many, ending up in a coerced marriage with a man who believes he can help her. The basis for Alfred Hitchcock's film but with a significant difference in emphasis: the book isn't about a man trying to tame a woman; it's about a woman discovering that she has a problem. Written with humor and élan, Marnie emerges as one of the great women of genre fiction. She's pathological yet utterly charming. Marnie's crimes, however, are only one manifestation of her mental condition. The other is her detestation of men. One leads to her marriage, the other threatens to destroy it. It all plays out against a tense backdrop of jealousy, frustration, and intrigue. Quite possibly the best book ever adapted by Hitchcock. ***** Outstanding thriller starring Gregory Peck as a lawyer whose testimony sent a violent man to prison eight years ago. Now the man (Robert Mitchum) is out and seeking revenge on Peck through his wife and daughter. Excellent if not entirely faithful adaptation makes several changes to John D. MacDonald's novel The Executioners, but unlike Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake, which muddied the waters of the plot with infidelity and discord in the hero's family, the alterations here streamline the story and allow the tension and suspense to build to a very satisfying climax. Not as explicit as the later film, either, but just as rough in its evocative innuendo. Peck and Mitchum make weighty (rather than flashy) adversaries. Top-notch. ***** Adroit adaptation of Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac's novel The Living and the Dead sees acrophobic James Stewart hired to keep an eye on suicidal Kim Novak and falling in love with her. A mystery-thriller with supernatural overtones: Novak believes she is the reincarnation of her great-grandmother, who killed herself years before. An adult thriller on every level, this fascinating and unpredictable movie gets better with each new twist. By no means universally acclaimed on its initial release (with Variety's "Stef." going so far as to give away the last minute of the film, before tossing the whole thing off as "only a psychological murder mystery"), it was widely praised on its 1983 reissue and is now seen as one of the best movies ever made. With terrific performances all around, unflinching dialogue, and several standout scenes, including a haunting (and humbling) sequence among California's aged redwoods. ***** Tense, exciting, and ultimately moving legal drama that takes place almost entirely in a jury room, where twelve men must decide the fate of a young man from the slums accused of killing his father; at first, only one man (Henry Fonda) believes the kid may not be guilty, but can he convince the others? Excellent script, superbly acted, full of animosity, prejudice, and reason as the jurors kick around the evidence and each other. Fabulous cast includes Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Martin Balsam, and others. Powerful ending. |
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