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Reviews
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Surreal and twisted backwoods Americana
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER makes one wish Charles Laughton had been a more active director during his Hollywood career; his many acting roles remain a joy, but this 1955 film is a hypnotic work that will reward anyone with the wise blood to view it. It truly is surreal, with fantastic camera-work that both enhances the artistry of the work and shows off the amazing potential of black and white composition. Ironically, the story itself is weighed in shades of black and white, "good" and evil, with Robert Mitchum (only several years after his marijuana bust) delivering an iconic, crazed performance that should be seen by anyone who unfortunately might know of Mitchum only through his later, sleepwalking performances--this film is really a revelation for film fans who haven't seen it before. The performances, the arty and bizarre visuals, the Southern Gothic setting, the taut direction and fine cinematography all work well together, and have satisfied followers that include classic horror fans and auteurist critics. If you enjoyed the original WHITE HEAT, GUN CRAZY,INVADERS FROM MARS, THUNDER ROAD, etc., you'll want to see THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, and very likely watch it again. To me, the caveat is that my great-aunt did the hairdressing on this film!
Born to Boogie (1972)
BORN TO BOOGIE--a gem for Seventies rock fans
BORN TO BOOGIE is a real 'find'--though a rock fan for nearly thirty years, I only first saw the film a few days ago, and rank it among the top rock films of all time; the music's terrific (the cream of T. Rex) and the visuals consistently exciting and unusual, leaving this viewer craving any more past directorial efforts of Ringo Starr, who did a fine job here. If you love the music, you'll be in T. Rextasy throughout, as Marc Bolan really is the star of the piece, front and center. Even the fact that some songs are repeated doesn't matter a bit: different venues, costuming, musical arrangements, and bizarre visual concepts are all used to lend different textures and a great deal of upbeat humor to what could have ended up as 'only' a concert film in other hands. As rich and full packed as BORN TO BOOGIE is, the film's only about an hour long, but what is there is totally satisfying. Therein lies my only criticism--the video package states something like 71 minutes, and at least one online source claims the film to be 67 minutes, but apparently it's more like 61 minutes of rocking fun.