Reviews

This movie is typical of the seventies in terms of gloominess and desperate atmosphere, it could have been made by Andre Cayatte - LA RAISON D'ETAT and a strange and disturbing and full of untold elements are here to puzzle audiences minds. Yves Boisset and Jacques Deray also gave us ESPION LEVE TOI and UN PAPILLON SUR L'EPAULE, and Henri Verneuil did the same with I COMME ICARE, nearly same kind of topics. Not for all audiences for sure, not today's - 2024 - audiences. They don't make films like this anymore. This feature is riveting, full of suspense and surprises, despite its low pace. Bruno Cremer excellent and the female character convincing too.

This is a true, pure, authentic fast and furious western, which would have never made it in movie theaters, it would have never made a gross, because audiences, silly audiences, crave for Hollywood like stories with the good defeating the evil ones and the always f...happy ending. This western is gritty, violent, disturbing and if you loved the likes of TOM HORN and HEAVEN'S GATE, if you love gloomy, downbeat stories, this one is for you. Definitely, entirely, literally. I am not sure it was inspired by an accurate real story but I know this kind of tragedies occured many many times during the old west era. There was no hero getting away in the sunset with his sweetheart. Leave it to the sissies.

Tremendous little French drama, very unusual, unpredictable, puzzling for many audiences, that's the reason why it did not work so well in terms of gross. Such a shame. It is unlikely, I admit, but that's precisely why I crave for it that much. I guess that Ridley Scott's DUELLISTS - or BARRY LYNDON - influenced this one, I won't explain why, it is so obvious.... It is impossiblle for me to spoil the story, so surprising, but believe me, if you search something different, this is definitely for you. Jeremie Renier and Vincent Perez steal the show together, this awesome, gripping, engrossing and daring movie. But from time to time, French movie industry provides such golden gems.

I understand that many people will find this small French drama very poignant, touching, engrossing if you watch it closely enough. This is not exactly JULES AND JIM, but the scheme is not so far from the François Truffaut's gem. Excellent character study, analysis, far from clichés, despite the classical basic plot. Not for too wide audiences, not a millions euros gross maker, but who cares? It sounds so real, so authentic. I love discovering such films, and the French industry offers us many of them. I am lucky. Yes, this is a true good curiosity to find out. So shame that the release was too confidential.

This film belongs to the rare movies from Ray Nazarro which were not westerns, because the latest was, with Lesley Selander, a very prolific westerns provider. As far as I know, there were only two of them - non westerns - CHINA CORSAIR and CORSICAN BROTHERS. TOUGHER THEY COME was a timberjack adventure flick...Anyway this one is the first role for Ernest Borgnine and you have Jon Hall. So, only this is a guarantee of good adventure film. It is rare, not too long and exciting enough to grab your movie buff attention. I am sure TCM showed it once, but I am not sure. I don't know myself where from I got it, not TCM, maybe a private collector 16mm print....

Blake Edward's highlight, his most prestigious film, above the PINK PANTHER movie series, starring the same Peter Sellers. I usually despise comedies, but I must admit that this one is a pure delight, a pure juicy masterpiece and an awesome tribute to the silent era and Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy...I never get tired to watch it again and again. It is so funny. The best comedy of all times; and, I repeat, I am not a comedy specialist. You never get bored with this movie, you can only laugh, laugh, laugh. The perfect show to entertain your friends at home, together, even with your kids. A pure and outstanding chiseled diamond.

I have watched this movie only once before, it was a long time ago and I often confounded it with some other comedy war Navy films, such as FATHER GOOSE for instance. But this one is a bit above the Ralph Nelson's film. James Cagney is excellent in this role that seemd to be made especially for him - remember Jimmy Cagney in GALLANT HOURS, in a very close character - and Hank Fonda a bit lame - just a bit - I don't know why. Jack Lemmon of course brings the comedy touch, at least contributes much to it. That's not the John Ford's film which I will remember the most, for sure, but it remains a good film to watch.

A very deep and realistic analysis of a factory on strike, from the director, executive and managers point of view, as well the workers too, but a bit less. Modern tale because this social scheme will alwaays be modern, unfortunately, but also because it evokes a massive heat wave on France that interferes with the production yield in the factory. Now, in 2024, the climate - worldwide climate - change will more and more interfere with everybody, not only factories. So, this TV movie is a very intelligent, brilliant social study. It is riveting, it grabs you without taking any part. It remains factual, for once. And that's exceptional.

Before French series JOE GAILLARD and the US MOVIN'ON, this tremendous French drama series is a must see for those who want to know more aboout truck drivers. Except that in this one, there is no criminal element, unlike the two previous TV shows, where the leads had to deal with hoodlums from time to time. LA ROUTE is a deep and accurate analysis of truck drivers daily life, their problems related to their wives relations, technical problems of all kinds - sleep behind the wheel, accidents, black ice, greedy peasants or fruit companies whom they work with, no insurance in case of an accident... It is also a powerful analysis of human relationship between those truck drivers, common folks, yes, but not that much. It explains their rules, codes. A tale about friendship, but also envy, jealousy. I am sure it was a success when it was aired, back in 1964. Very popular. I am sure.

What a terrific John Sturges' early western, and also a forgotten one, except for the die hard movie goers. It is a really worth watching movie, so riveting, tense, unforgettable, offering awesome scenes. And it is not a long film, so short that it could have been a bit longer. Good characterization, and rather not that predictable. Treasure hunt has rarely been evoked in westerns; the most famous being MACKENNA'S GOLD. This one is more modest in terms of budget, but who cares? It is a John Sturges' movie, western, and it definitely deserves to be watched at all costs. And Randolph Scott directed by John Sturges, not that common.

The Warner Bros company provided so many westerns in the forties and early fifties, all fast paced, gritty, tight, sharp, never boring, and action packed....the company trademark, using Old West legends such as Younger Brothers and Jesse James, Quantrill and the Daltons... Ray Enright and Edwin L Marin were the directors who were chosen and the likes of Dennis Morgan, Victor Jory, Wayne Morris, Randolph Scott were hired as the main leads. All the same kind of atmosphere for the best audiences pleasure. If you like this one, then don't miss THE SPOILERS, MEN OF TEXAS, TRAIL STREEET, RETURN OF THE BADMEN; not all from Warner though, but RKO too. It is in black and white. I highly recommend it.

Poverty Row or Picture Releasing, who cares? PRC company was the authentic grade Z film company in Hollywood, even after Republic Pictures, but not that lousy, if you watch the movies very closely. This one is a true little gem, starring John Carradine in a role that would have perfectly fit to George Sanders, if the movie had been made for Twentieth Century Fox; and after all Sanders worked with Ulmer with THE STRANGE WOMAN. Anyway this movie is among the best from director Edgar G Ulmer. It is a true delight to watch it, or discover it, if you are lucky enough not to know this film already. I nearly prefer it to the 1972 version starring Ricard Burton and directed by Edwar Dmytryck.

Lewis Teague gave us this crime drama from the seventies, and I can still think of BLOODY MAMA or BIG BAD MAMMA, also produced during the same decade. I guess Lewis Teague had some link in common with Corman's "family", so was under influence of the master. This movie is not genuinely a gangster film in the first part, but mostly a drama, only the second part, at long last, will satisfy the gangster element buffs. There is also a bit of women's prison scheme in the first part; again a Corman's production influence. A curiosity but not a masterpiece, not a must see. Good little film to discover if you are curious enough. Note that Robert Conrad played in YOUNG DILLINGER, back in 1965, where he was Pretty Boyd Floyd. And I also like the supporting characters, who arrive late in the story, whom we can feel attached to, and who suddenly die. I love this. And this film with a strong, but also believable, female lead could easily be remade now, in 2024, the modern fashion. This is for me my favourite from director Lewis Teague, with also CUJO. One last thing, Louise Fletcher plays here, but no in the cruel matron prison warden.... As she did in ONE FLEW OVER A CUCUU NEST.

Jesse Hibbs was for Audie Murphy at Universal Studios what Joseph Pevney was for Jeff Chandler. Both directors used their fetish actors in all kinds of films, except science fiction; all kinds: boxing, dramas, westerns.... This one is above the average though, because of Dan Duryea's presence and the big surprise is that he doesn't play the villain here, not the Audie Murphy's nemesis, I mean. A very ambivalent and interesting character indeed. Not a masterpiece, but a good western. I preferred the relation between Glenn Ford and Chad Everett in THE LAST CHALLENGE than the one between Murphy and Duryea, in more or less the same kind of relation between the lead and his "pal", "sidekick".... But both interesting however. I insist.

Is it useful to present this pure golden gem, this pure masterpiece, one of the best westerns ever made, and one of the best Jimmy Stewart played in? It is complex, psychological, providing jawdropping settings, natural landscapes, a terrific music, splendid acting...Yes, Anthony Mann was a pure western specialist, as were Delmer Daves, John Ford or Henry Hathaway. Even the supporting roles are excellent. But there is not much unexpected stuff, everything is predictable but in a brilliant way of story telling. The authentic magic atmosphere of those bgreat Hollywood westerners. A forever lost period. Just a little flaw; the chariot full of arms and ammo for Indians, in the end, which both Art Kennedy and Jimmy Stewart push down the cliff, this chariot seems very light....

Yes, you don't dream, that's a terror movie directed by the master Roger Corman, and also adapted from Edgar Allan Poe's novel, but this time without the Corman's fetish actor: Vincent Price. That's why it is Priceless.... I hope you have appreciated my humor. That said, Ray Milland is good, not as adequate for this kind of role as Vincent price, but OK for me; Don't miss him too in THE MAN WITH X RAY EYES. Also made by Corman. Here, the Corman's trademark is everywhere, and it will be copied several years later in some Mario Bava or Antonio Margheriti's Italian spaghetti horror yarns. A must see gem. It also makes me think of some William Castle's horror features.

Among the three or four best movies ever made about prison. And also the best Alan Parker's work, the most prestigious, terrific, with the famous score that will never stop being listened to in the world. It is a tremendous, riveting, tense, disturbing piece of art - not work, ART - which we review now. It must be seen at all costs. It was maintained in movie theaters in Paris for decades, since 1978...Decades. I am sure you still can go and see it. Since its release, back in 1978...That's a purely a gem, a hit in the face, a mind blowing and jaw dropping movie, and inspired from actual events. With also, I admit, just a bit of fiction. Just a bit...

I forgot this series for the big screen and given by RKO pictures in the mid forties. William Berke made one, Gordon Douglas made another one and John Rawlins finally directed the last two of the series; All three were at the same level, the same quality. They are all short, tense, fast paced. Here Paul Mazurky is juicy as the villain, and it it was a pleasure to see this little crime flick again,, after all those years. A serial killer story, already in the forties.... It is surprising that there was no TV series dedicated to Dick Tracy, at least as far as I know. Only a movie directed by Warren Beatty, in the nineties. Please note that Mike Mazurki will also have a small role in Warren Beatty's DICK TRACY.

This is a pure product of the fifties: psychological, and psychanalistic drama. Twentieth Century Fox trademark. This is a terrific and also terrifying piece of work where Paul Newman's wife largely deserved to get her Academy Award statuette. It is not too complex to follow but riveting, incredible but also true. It may be hair rising, even if it is not a horror flick. Nunally Johnson the director signs here one of his best jobs. But he was genuinelly a screenwriter, so maybe this explains that. The explanation, concerning the genesis of this woman's sickness is disturbing. How can people, grown up adults, do this to a little girl?

I guess not so many films were made about Mussolini and the people who were around him. I guess this movie is accurate, faithful to history. It is in the Italian style of the modern decades. You have to be fond of this kind of stuff. The German film industry also made intersting films about Hitler, Nazi party; for instance Elser, the man who tried to kill the Führer. This is not destined to wide audiences, but the "elite", the historians. Marco bellochio is a confirmed film maker, and we can trust him in giving us something solid, strong, convincing. A good film, speaking of an interesting plot. Not a comedy, but a sad, gloomy and desperate tale.

Of course, any movie buff will think about Richard Fleischer's THE VIKINGS after watching this one. Both features remain for me the best films ever made about Northmen, at least in the twentieth century. Since several years now, there are series and movies speaking about them. But the charm is not the same anymore. And this one offers the peculiarity to show Sidney Poitier as a villain, the only one in his whole career. In the LOST MAN, he was an outlaw, but not a villain, not more than Warren Beatty in BONNIE AND CLYDE. No, this one is really a terrific film, and more than a simple VIKINGS rip-off. It is riveting, spectacular and the production design outstanding, awesome. One of the best Jack Cardiff's movie for me, besides of course THE MERCENARIES. This master of photography, one of the best Hollywood ever had.

It is not my all time favourite movie from my favourite director - more precisely ONE of my all time favorite film makers. Richard Fleischer started at RKO pictures, as Robert Wise and Mark Robson, but unlike them, he did not ever approach the Val Lewton stuff, suggested eerie horror. Dick Fleischer stayed in the noir thriller drama such as this one and the terrific ARMORED CAR ROBBERY and NARROW MARGIN or FOLLOW ME QUIETLY. TRAPPED is not bad too. But BODYGUARD and CLAY PIDGEON...Hmmm. Those plots of a hero accused of a crime he did not commit bore, bore, bore me so much. So much.... But of course such a film must be watched, because it is a Richard Fleischer's film. That's it.

I guess this is not MANDCHOURIAN CANDIDATE nor PRISONER OF WAR, back in 1954 and starring Ronnie Reagan, both pictures evoking prisoners of war in Korea. This one is just a tremendous time waster, a testimony of its time and period: the Cold War one. It is worth watching for the Leo Gordon's presence, for instance. Not a bad film and rather rare one too. Lewis Seiler gave us all kinds of films and topics, except science fiction. But I agree he lacked a bit of ambition to be as good as Don Siegel or Henry Hathaway. So, if you crave for Cold war, anto communist movies, this one is for you. Just a rare little gem, but not a jewel.

What a beautiful but sad story, in the pure French tradition of TV series taking place in the deep countryside during the nineteenth century, as were JACQUOU LE CROQUANT, L'ENNEMI DE LA MORT, FABIEN DE LA DROME and I suppose many more tv shows of this kind and period ( shooting and story ). Realistic and glooomy in the same time. It also can be seen as a sort of documentary of how peasants lived in those days: farmers, sheepmen using stilts to walk on any kind of ground - mud, swamp, wet grass - or any other craftsmen . But we never see how they get, climb on their stilts.... The story of a poor man lost in a cruel and ruthless world. What a painful story, in the line of SANS FAMILLE, from novelist Hector Malot. Or even get down. Anyway, this is a tremendous TV series, with an unusual lead character; he never speaks French but only local dialect. Very sad but beautiful story. I hope to watch more of those series from the late sixties to the early eighties. It is slow, very slow, but never never boring; at least from my point of view.