Reviews

So gushes hero-worshipping, young Katsushiro (Isao Kimura) to the reluctant samurai master Kyuzo (Seiji Miyacuchi) in one of the more moving scenes from what just may be the greatest action/adventure film of all time. I'm probably not saying anything that much different from the other 866 (!) reviewers who posted comments before me so I'll start by repeating what I know has already been said. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert said it best when he stated that Akira Kurosawa influenced more action films in the latter half of the 20th century and beyond than any other one artist. The most obvious example of this is THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. But, as much as I love that film and Westerns, SEVEN pales in comparison to SAMURAI. It's that good. Brilliant direction, outstanding acting, terrific photography and wonderful editing (particularly of the final battle in the rain and mud) all add up to make this an unforgettable film. And, in all my 60 years of watching movies, I have never, ever seen an actor put as much energy into a performance as Toshiro Mifune in his role as the farmer-turned-samurai Kikuchiyo. He is a joy to behold. In closing, if I could only call one film a masterpiece, this would be it.

Marlon's only directorial effort is an outstanding psychological character study that reportedly suffered from production problems (Kubrick was set to direct and supposedly didn't get along with his star and Marlon's original cut was near 5 hours) but sure doesn't show on the screen. Brando and Malden made a number of pictures together and really made a great team. Their acting styles were different- Marlon was laid-back cool and Karl was always intense - but they always blended superbly - as they do here.

Karl should have played bad more often because he sure did it well in this film - playing a former devil-may-care outlaw-turned borderline psychotic sheriff (his whipping and brutalizing of Brando in the town square perhaps influenced Eastwood's direction and Hackman's performance 30 years later in UNFORGIVEN). And Brando was still great at playing the romantic lead - albeit with mostly ulterior motives. His scenes with Pina Pellicer are quite touching if perhaps a bit unrealistic.

Brando's direction is excellent and his 2 gunfights -one with with Timothy Carey and the climactic one with Malden are strikingly and inventively staged. The unusual seaside locations are also highlighted well by Chales Lang's terrific photography.

Ben Johnson has rarely been better as Brando's outlaw rival and the always excellent (and beautiful) Katy Jurado and slimy deputy Slim Pickens are also fine in support.

The film is a tad overlong perhaps but all-in-all this engrossing Western makes one wish that Marlon had tried his hand at directing more often.

Yes I know - it's more of a war film than a Western, but Mexican Revolution films are kind of honorary Westerns anyway or are at least treated that way. And thank God much of Sergio Leone's original vision has been restored after years of only being able to see butchered TV versions and/or pan and scan.

This Leone film is often overlooked and is probably not as well known as the "Dollar" trilogy and the two Once Upon a Time films (I also consider "My Name Is Nobody" to be a Leone Western as well - but that's another story), but it deserves recognition and praise because it's just as good - or better - than his other films.

Let's start with the performances. Both Coburn and Stieger are outstanding in their roles and play off of each other superbly. I've read some criticism of Coburn's Irish brogue slippage but I thought it was fine and I've definitely heard worse. There is also those who find method actors to be rather hammy and over-the-top at times, but to me a method actor is usually someone who takes their craft seriously - and what's wrong with that? Anyway I definitely think Rod is spot on in his performance. He perfectly conveys his transformation from a simple "chicken thief" (as Coburn's character frequently calls him) to someone who becomes serious about the cause. And both actors are outstanding at conveying their feelings without any dialogue at multiple times during the film. This is demonstrated in the scenes when Stieger finds his "gang" massacred and when Coburn wrestles with his conscience over killing an informer/friend back in Ireland. Romolo Valli is also excellent in support.

Leone's direction is superb and he expertly uses flashback scenes to punctuate points in the story. The dubbing, which can be mildly annoying in these "spaghettis," works better here as well - probably because Steiger and Coburn use their own voices and there is not a lot of secondary dialogue from non-English speakers.

This is a one-of-a-kind movie experience with lots of action, humor and poignant moments and has much to say about greed and injustice in the world. And it's all done in a marvelously entertaining way. What more could you ask?

As many others have stated here, this is my favorite version of the Dickens classic- it's not even close. Sim is absolutely marvelous and is the quintessential Scrooge. I dare anyone to keep to keep a dry eye towards the end of the film when - to the strains of the song "Barbara Allen" - a repentant Scrooge visits his nephew on Christmas Day and addresses his nephew's wife. "Can you forgive a pig-headed old fool for having no eyes ro see with, no ears to hear with, all these years?" It's one of my favorite cinematic scenes and never fails to warm my heart. Christmas is not complete without this marvelous British film.

This was my first Hitchcock film and it made me a fan for life. Saw it as a kid on TV in the late '60's and it scared the bejesus out of me! I just couldn't get the scene of the dead farmer lying in his bedroom out of my head for days. In that scene, Hitch forces us to focus on the man's bloody eye sockets with a telescoping zoom in. I still think it's one of the scariest scenes in the history of cinema. Hitch's storytelling technique is so superb that, in many of his films, he would often convey what was going on without any dialogue. One example of that in this film is the scene when Melanie brings the love birds across the bay to the house and she is discovered by Mitch. This scene must have at least 15 minutes with no dialogue and it demonstrates his training as a young man in silent films. There has been much written about a deeper meaning in 'Birds,' but I just think he wanted to simply have some fun by scaring the hell out of us. He is known, of course, as the master of suspense, but with 'The Birds' and 'Psycho' Hitch also showed that he could be a master in the horror genre as well and another reason that I believe that he is the greatest director of all time.

What a beautiful, heartwarming and uplifting slice of Americana is 'I Remember Mama.' Although the entire cast and crew are wonderful, I want to highlight two cinematic treasures in actress Irene Dunne and director George Stevens. It is a tribute to Dunne's talents that I had to keep reminding myself that it was she who was playing the lead - she so inhabited the character. I was amazed that I was watching the same actor from such classics as 'The Awful Truth,' 'Penny Serenade' and 'Cimarron' (perhaps an overrated Best Picture winner, but well worth seeing for Dunne's performance). She totally inhabited 'Mama' and drove the story forward. This is also another gem by the great director Stevens. His ability to bring humanity to his pictures are only rivaled perhaps by John Ford. But the sentiment is by no means treacly. One of my favorite scenes in 'Mama' is Uncle Chris's death. Perfectly acted (Oscar Homolka is also terrific), staged and directed. I love how the outside barnyard noises are juxtaposed with the solemnity of a passing - representing life going on as one life ends. Steven's touching humanity is also on display in Sal Mineo's funeral as seen through the eyes of a little Mexican boy in 'Giant' and Independence Day/anniversary dance in his great western 'Shane.' George was a true master. I had heard of but never seen ' I Remember Mama.' I'm so glad I finally got the chance because I'm better for it.