Reviewed -

“ Manhattan “ 1979 – Woody Allen written and directed. Black and white.

Just watched “ Manhattan “ by Woody Allen again, have not seen it for a couple of years.

-         In some scenes, the cinematography is perhaps the best ever done, like-

The opening sequence.  Done all in black and white, it reminds us of what B & W movies do well – make very dramatic cinema. The shots of the NYC skyline, the bridges, the streets, the people, night scenes , the stores and shops. Just fantastic!  And the Gershwin music makes it all the more so. Rhapsody in Blue, fireworks at night over Central Park with the skyline in the background…….I just don’t know of a better opening sequence to any movie. 10 of 10 in that department. And that is just the opening. Although I strained to see some of the scenes indoors ( just not very much light ), the cinematography is just the best from start to finish.

-         The dialog … people who just meet for the first time and drop names like Van

Gogh, concepts like cubism and negativity, Princeton, Brown, and all other manner of literally luminaries….although this might happen , it is very contrived and forced in this otherwise very fine film.

Diane Keaton as Mary, Woody’s sometime love interest, is the most guilty of this.

Although I am a big fan of Woody Allen, I just cannot stand Diane Keaton and she reminds us all in this film why that is. “ I am so smart, I am beautiful, I could have the whole staff of MIT if I wanted. “  Please shut up already.  Her world clearly revolves around her. Art Galleries, The Literary world, The Ivy League universities, The Guggenheim Museum…nice places, for sure, but without Diane Keaton, she is convinced that they would some how just not be the same. OK, she never says that, but it is as clear to me as the nose on one’s face. Smarmy. Smug, Self Satisfied, self centered, pompous, egotistical, and snobbish- Diane Keaton all the way.

 Opening Scene...

-         The relationships ….Yale ( Michael Murphy ) and his wife , Emily  ( Anne Byrne Hoffman ) –married for 12 years, he cheats on her, enjoys every bit of it, but is so torn…contrived. Make a decision ( which he never does )…and Emily, a beautiful desirable women, accepts it.  Good looking she is, but a brain dead lap dog.

-         Yale happens to wear glasses like Woody, his have clear frames and Woody has dark frames. I could not help but wonder if this was done on purpose to cast them,

-         At least subliminally, as opposites.  Maybe , Woody is his neurotic self and Yale is uber confident about everything.  Opposites indeed.

-         Woody , at 42 , is dating the most honest, charming and clear thinking person in the movie , Mariel Hemingway ( Tracy )… ( she was 18 at the time ).  And just how and where does a 42 year old date an 18 year old ?  Woody pushes her away, urging her to get someone her own age, but she loves Woody.

-         Tracy is a student , she loves Woody and that is about as complicated as she gets, happily. What a performance she turns in. Honest, clear headed, alluring , elegant, youthful, sweet , genuine and lovely. Nominated for an Academy Award for this role. Not bad for 18 years old.

The entire films revolves around the relationships between Woody and Tracy, Woody and Mary, Yale and Emily, Yale and Mary the ins and outs of each respective one.

Woody finally wakes up one day and realizes that he does indeed love Tracy and it is the most sensible thing done in the movie. But before that, Mary and Woody are a couple, until big mouthed Mary ruins it and in the process, shows the world that she is about as narcissistic and one can be. She tears Woody limb from limb in 2 minutes at the break up and it is here that we see Woody at his best as an actor- the look on his face, his comments, he demeanor- this is someone who has just had the world rocked and the rug pulled from under him. Mary, once again, thinks only of herself and screw everyone else. ( I am so beautiful , my phone never stops ringing . “ )

What an unsavory bitch she is.

Meryl Streep plays Woody’s ex –wife, now a lesbian. She is writing a book about their failed marriage and the break up thereof. Woody is petrified at the thought of the most private business between a man and woman is going to be very , very public. He pleads with her but to no avail. In 1979, Streep was a very attractive woman, but she is hated by the audience for her gratuitous dragging-through-the mud that she lays on Woody. She just does not care – “ it is an honest assessment of our marriage “ …like that makes it OK.

Right up there with Diane Keaton, she is a bitch without peer.

And then- late in the film, the book comes out. And the book comes out when Woody, Mary, Yale and Emily are on a weekend trip to the shore. So what do they do ? They read the extremely embarrassing passage about Woody right there in front of him and laugh out loud at his expense. At that point in the film I had to ask myself – what kind of rotten people “ friends “  - would do this to each other ?  It is about the most insensitive scene in the film, self centered Yale reading and having a good old belly laugh and Woody squirming with no where to go. What kind of people do this to each other ?

Creepy , self centered snobs, that’s who.

So Woody  has enough and returns to the sanctity of his work as a writer and in a tender scene, he asks himself – “ what in this world is worth living for ? “  and he answers- Sinatra, Jazz, food, …and Tracy. He realizes that he does love her and all of the rest of the noise from his so called intellectual friends has little meaning. Tracy does. 

So I am a little torn at the totality of the film….” Manhattan “ is a cinema classic and for good reason…those reasons are the cinematography and the coordinated music that goes with it – like the hugely iconic scene at the Williamsburg bridge where Woody and Diane Keaton sit on a bench and watch the sun come up. It is ethereal, unearthly, stupendous, sublime and very gorgeous. To use a hackneyed phrase , that scene alone is worth the price of admission. It will be used in film schools for a hundred years as an example of the very finest in cinema and well it should be. But the self centered “ friends “ that Woody runs with, their superfluous dialog and inane concerns all about themselves and incessant chatter about themselves- well, that is not enough to make me not recommend this movie. I recommend it highly, although I think it is best viewed with the sound on when the music is playing and the sound off for all the rest of the film.

More Movie Posters

  Here are some of our favorite movies posters.

The Magic of the Movies....ahhhh.

And just HOW do you lose a continent ?

Bueno

Movie Posters

Title of the week !

Oh, My.

" If I knew what you know, I would never work again " - Jeff  Bridges 

One way to crack open a safe- use a Lahti Anti Aircraft cannon

Great poster, highly disappointing film.

" The low down on skid row "  ....ouch !

Sometimes the poster is more memorable than the movie itself.....sometimes not.

Warriors of the Rainbow, Seedq Bale

Warrior of The Rainbow - 2011 - reviewed.

 

WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW ( Seediq Bale )  2011 

 

Starring -

Ling Ching-Tai – stars as Mauno Rudo Chief of the MeHebu tribe.

Ando Masanobu- Japanese Academy award winner

Kowahara Sabu- Veteran Japanese actor , plays the Japanese general

John Woo – producer

Wei Te Sheng- director.

Language- Japanese and others- English subtitled.

Thesis- even if outnumbered and outgunned, the true warrior will rise up and fight, even if it leads to his death.

Warriors of the Rainbow is an epic story based on the true events of the Japanese invasion of Taiwan in 1895.  John Woo ( Mission Impossible II, Red Cliff, Hard Boiled, and of course A Better Tomorrow ) produced this extraordinary movie. His fingerprints are all over this violent, searing , heart-rendering story of warriors , the oppressed and their oppressors.

The scene and backstory -

The island of Taiwan was the home of ancient aboriginal people and it was the property of China for hundreds or years. Our story centers on these aboriginal tribes, of which there were perhaps a dozen around the time of 1895.

These inhabitants of Taiwan were hunters- hunters of game, fish and other humans. Head Hunting was not only accepted, it was the way a young man of these tribes would indeed become recognized as a true man. A Hero.

At the time and even into the 1930s, Taiwan is not the big city that we know today, most of it was very dense mountainous jungle. Rivers and creeks everywhere, triple canopy jungles, sheer 1000 foot cliffs, full of game and eternally green.  Hunting grounds are very coveted and valuable.

The tribes’ existence is built around the land, the hunt, and a reverence for their ancestors. The deceased ancestors live in the afterlife and all tribes-people wish to join them by going over the rainbow bridge after their future passing.

                                                                          

“Warriors “ is the story of what happens to the all of the aboriginal people living on Taiwan when the Chinese simply hand over Taiwan  to Imperial Japan as part an agreed to treaty in 1895. It takes place over a 30 year period beginning with the brutal Japanese sailing in and taking possession of the Island as soon as the ink is dry on the treaty paperwork.  This is Imperial Japan, warlike in every word and deed. They did not come to negotiate.

Mouna Rudo is the main character in the story- future Chief of his Mehebu tribe, he has just made his bones by taking the heads of 2 rival clan members and stealing their game.

We see him as a young man just becoming a true man and hero for the first part of the movie and for the latter two thirds, we see him as a grown man and tribal chief.

The mature Mouna is played by Lin Ching Tai. A great and 100% believable performance wherein his courage, anger, mockery, leadership, charm and heroism are all on display.   I found out  after  seeing the entire movie for the first time that Lin Ching Tai is not an actor. He is indeed a tribal chief of his own tribe and is dedicated to keeping the old ways alive. When I found out that he was not an actor, I was amazed. He is the lead character in this epic 2 ½ hour 30 year epic movie , and he was brilliant.

For people whose lives are built around pride in themselves and their heritage, it is hard times for the tribal people living under the very heavy boot of the conceited, cruel, vicious Japanese. It is military rule and a force feeding of Japanese language, culture and way of life to all of the aboriginal people.

The men of the tribe are forced to do hard slave labor for almost nothing and what they do earn is spent drinking their lives away. Resentment builds and the hatred just smolders, you can smell it.

This is not the existence of a warrior. It is not the life of a proud independent people

Who have lived their way of life on the land of their ancestors.

Mouna Rudo, Chief, is treated like a dog and has to take it and so do all of the aboriginal people on Taiwan.

Time passes and the Japanese are entrenched. Mouno and his people are demeaned and degraded at every turn.

Enough is Enough. The tribal people rise up revolt against the  iron rule of the Japanese.

Warriors of The Rainbow shows us that a true hero, a Warrior must stand up.

Outnumbered, Outgunned, and against all odds, Warriors fight.

Losing is not the worst thing in this life, not showing the courage is.

Warriors Of The Rainbow portrays the conflict between a time honored way of life in the jungle vs the encroaching hand of “ civilization “ as it is thrust and forced onto the the native people. Conflicts are also evident within the tribes- not everyone is ready to forego a substandard but predictable existence at the hands of the unkind masters for the chaos, the almost- sure death and chaos that will come about as soon as the rebellion starts.

The different men of the tribes are all caught in the conflict, no one can escape or ignore it.

We recommend this beautiful movie highly. It is historic, masterful in its cinematography,

And tells a compelling tale of warriors, war, the downtrodden and uprising.

At 2 and ½ hours long, it is a completely engrossing film. Enjoy.

The film's site and trailer, here -

 http://warriorsoftherainbow.wellgomovies.com/

available for sale at Amazon -

 http://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Rainbow-Seediq-Lin-Ching-Tai/dp/B008645YLM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354735852&sr=8-2&keywords=warriors+of+the+rainbow

                                          

Welcome to Limelight Movie Reviews

Welcome and thank for visiting our blog.

The purpose of this blog is to share my interest in movies. Foreign movies, Hollywood movies, documentaries, old-time movies, blockbusters, new movies are the subjects that I will be discussing here.

Also, books and music will be reviewed here from time to time.

Courtesty - www.says-it.com/marquee

I like many types of films and would like to share the enjoyment with you the reader. Many people only watch movies that play in the local Cineplex and of course many are fine films. But there are many great , exciting movies from the bargain bin, from decades ago and from around the world that I have enjoyed and should have a wider audience.

Your comments are encouraged. Enjoy your stay and tell your friends. 

                                    

The Burmese Harp- reviewed

Reviewed :

The Burmese Harp – 1956, Japanese

English subtitled. Black and White.

Directed by Kon Ichikawa.

 

This is a somewhat challenging movie to review simply because I have never seen anything like it. The Burmese Harp is the most powerful anti-war movie I have ever seen,

While at the same time it is a war story.  The cinematic stereotypes of British and Japanese soldiers just don’t fit in this haunting, ethereal story of the end of World War II as it takes place in Burma.

The time is 1945 and we are with the Japanese Imperial army in Burma. The war in the Pacific is being fought fiercely in many islands and countries all over the Pacific.

The Japanese where tasting defeat in many of the dozens of places they had invaded by the time 1945 arrived and the writing was on the wall, but Burma remained an extremely important country to both take an hold, as it is next to India.  India was British as the time. By taking Burma, the British would have the enemy knocking on the door and that enemy would have the whole country next door to stage and prepare for an invasion.

Burma was a hugely important target for the Japanese and it was also a do-or die , must-stop the enemy here destination for Britain.

This Japanese did not successfully conquer Burma. They lost as many as 60,000 men there, dying in the monsoons, the jungles, the mountains and tasting defeat as bitterly as any army dying in a far away land ever has.

Think of that,  sixty-thousand men, dead and lost. The bitterest of defeats for the once all- powerful Imperial Army. 

The movie opens in Burma where we encounter a Japanese squad of perhaps 50 men led by an inspiring commander who is a classically trained musician. Because of his training, he has his troops sing occasionally, and they are glad to do it. The very heavy and slow slog of the war, being so far from home, all of the soldiers enjoyed the singing as the only joy they have known for a good long time. One of the soldiers, Muzishima, finds a harp there. He picks it up and finds that he has a natural gift of making beautiful, lilting music to accompany his singing comrades. They are managing about as well as they can in these difficult circumstances.

When we first see this Japanese army squadron , the war has been declared as over for 3 days already, but they don’t know it. They do their duty as soldiers while continuing to sing. In a scene appears almost magical , they are taken prisoner by the conquering British. The British treat them well, but they do not know if they will be killed, enslaved, moved to who know where, or have any idea of their fate. They are all good soldiers and face the unknown bravely, and make the most of their peaceful captivity and carry on.

Not far from the camp where they are held, there is a fiercely resistant holdout of a large number of Japanese troops who are firing down from a mountain and harassing the British.

The British ask the Japanese if they would volunteer one of their men to go to the Japanese holdouts and explain that the war was over, please hand over your arms and lets stop this fighting now that the was is over.  Mizushima, the harp player , is chosen and gladly accepts the mission. He wants to save as many of his comrades as he can. Of course the Japanese hold outs not only do not believe him, the call him a coward. Mizushima does his best in the short time the British have ceased shelling the hold outs, but is not successful in convincing his fellow soldiers. The British once again resume the bombardment of the Japanese hold outs, only this time, almost all are dead or gravely wounded, including Mizushima.

Mizushima is now separated from his comrades. They are taken to a larger British camp at Mudon, hundreds of miles away.

Mizushima recovers, but just barely. He steals some local clothes and shaves his head and from then on, he is taken by all of the modest Burmese that he meets as being a monk.

( Monks are greatly revered in Burma, “ where the Buddah lives “. )

Mizushima is overwhelmed by the simple graciousness that he encounters from the many Burmese he meets, many of which have nothing in this world except today bowl of porridge , which they happily share and give to this stranger.

We see Muzishima change. He affects the clothes of a monk, he encounters nothing but kindness from all of the local population as he attempts to get back to his squad who is now imprisoned at Mudon. He finally makes it to Mudon, then turns back. His comrade see him, they shout ( they had all taken him from long-dead ! ) and beckon him to join from the other side of the barbed wire fence. For some reason, he declines and heads back into the jungle, while noting that the British are treating the Japanese quite well and humanely, much to his surprise.

Thru a third party, the commander of the Japanese men receives a letter from Muzishima.

All of his comrades want to know what is in it, the commander decides not to open it from now.  They are confused and dumbfounded, how could their friend and comrade not want to join his old outfit ? What is he doing that is so important ?

The Japanese are finally repatriated back to Japan. They are returning to Japan on a freighter. The war is lost, they know that they will be returning to a very defeated, starving Japan, but are anxious to get back home and to make Japan a better country when they do. It is a sad and melancholy scene on the ship back home. At this point, the commander pulls out the letter from Muzishima and reads it to the men.

Muzishima had encountered so many thousands of dead Japanese as he traveled Burma.

He has decided to return to Japan, someday. However he is going to stay in Burma to bury the bones of the many thousand of his comrades so they can at last rest in peace in this country so far from their homes. The men understand, it is a very difficult decision, but it is the right thing to do.

I have seen just about every war movie made. The Burmese Harp is the only war movie that I would call tender. It is haunting. It is reflective. It is redeeming.

And it should be seen by a lot more people. I recommend it highly.

Note- Kon Ichikawa is one of the greatest directors of the 20th century, he also directed " Tokyo Olympiad, Fires on the Plain, and Alone in the Pacific, among many others.

This movie is  part of the Criterion Collection of fine films.

Favorite Movie Quotes

An ongoing list of some of our favorite quotes from the movies. 

Favorite Movie Quotes

In no particular order, here is a on-going list of some of our favorite lines from the movies.

“ Now go home and get your F**cking shine box ! “

        Billy Bats ( Fred Vincent ) to Tommy DeVito ( Joe Pesci ) in “ Goodfellas “

“ Alright ramblers, let’s get ramblin’ “ 

     Joe ( The Great Lawrence Tierney ) in  “ Resevior Dogs”

“ I asked yous’ to leave. Now yous’ can’t leave “

        Sonny ( Chaz Palmentari  ) in   “ A Bronx Tale.”

“ I can eat 50 eggs.”

       Paul Newman as “Cool Hand Luke”

“Now he's got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie. Trouble with a bill, to Paulie. Trouble with cops, deliveries, Tommy, he calls Paulie. But now he has to pay Paulie every week no matter what. "Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. The place got hit by lightning? Fuck you, pay me."

          Henry Hill ( Ray Loitta ) in “ Goodfellas “

“ What do you do “

          Jill Ireland asking Charles Bronson who plays Chaney in “ Hard Times “.

“ I knock people down “

                                                             

“I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. “

          Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy, to Rod Stieger as Charlie Malloy ( his brother ) in “ On the Waterfront “

“ Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn’t have fucked with? That’s me. “ 

          The Great Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski in “ Gran Torino “

“ Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite ?”

          Micheal Madsen as Mr. Blonde in “ Resevior Dogs.”

“ Why do I have to be Mr. Pink ? “

          Steve Buscemi, as Mr. Pink in “ Resevior Dogs.”

“I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubble gum “

          Rowdy Roddy Piper as Nada in “ They Live “

“ Get your stinking paws off of me, you damn dirty ape !

          Charlton Heston as George Taylor in “ Planet of the Apes “

“If you wanna do anything about it, I'll be outside. I'm a lot drunker than you are, so it'll be a fair fight. “

          Jose Ferrer as Lt. Barney Greenwald in “ The Caine Mutiny “