The General (1926) Review

Director: Buster Keaton
Stars: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack
Genre: Action Adventure, Comedy

Widely considered to be one of Keaton's best, if not his best, by many fans. Quite ironic being that at the time of its release it received poor reviews and was a complete failure at the box office. This film is actually the main reason Keaton's career was ruined; because of this film's failure he was forced to move to MGM where he lost nearly all of his creative control and only made lackluster comedies from then on. In fact for a long time the only person who would have called The General Keaton's best film was Keaton himself; a statement he believed true and stuck with till the day he died. 

But now The General is seen by the majority to be Buster Keaton's best, or at least one of. Orson Welles (director of Citizen Kane, which is largely considered to be the greatest film ever made and the first masterpiece of cinema) has been quoted as saying that The General is "the greatest comedy ever made, the greatest Civil War film ever made, and perhaps the greatest film ever made." Film critic Roger Ebert lists it in his top ten films of all time, along with countless other cinema buffs and it's been on countless lists of greatest films of the silent era. So why is it that this film went from failure to success in the eyes of the public? 

I think one thing that may have plagued this film at the time, and still, to an extent, to this day, was that The General, in defiance of Buster Keaton's reputation, isn't really a comedy. Keaton was known for making Romantic Slapstick Comedies, and sure, The General has plenty of slapstick and comedic and even romantic elements, and it follows the same plot of boy-overcoming-obstacles-to-win-girl that nearly every other Keaton film followed, but, I think, The General is, and was indeed intended to be, more of an Action Adventure picture. And if you view it as an Action Adventure film with comedic elements rather than a straight Comedy with adventure elements I think the film becomes much better. Because let's face it, when you compare The General to Sherlock, Jr. you realize that when it comes to laughs The General is severely lacking. The General is perhaps Keaton's best produced and shot and structured film but his funniest? Absolutely not. 

The General is a good film but I wouldn't call it one of my favorites from Keaton. It's shot very well and has some excellent cinematography; the lenses capture some truly beautiful images. The plot is, as I said, a typical one for Keaton, but it works here perhaps better than in any of his other films. Sure, the female Keaton is trying to save is nearly the complete opposite of likable, and yes the film forces you to root for a Confederate soldier, but this is still probably Keaton's most engaging film. The plot actually feels like it progresses here. It feels, as it should, more like the film is taking you on an actual adventure. It is, for lack of a better word, perhaps Keaton's most filmish film. Whereas Sherlock, Jr. was non-stop comedy with laugh after laugh, The General is non-stop action with awesome scene after awesome scene. You may not be laughing the whole way through but you certainly won't be bored. 

Above all I wouldn't call this one of my favorite Keaton films because when I think of Keaton I think of non-stop laughs and The General just doesn't achieve that. It has its funny moments and Keaton is still a pleasure to watch regardless, but I didn't want a Buster Keaton Action Adventure and I don't think anyone at the time did either. Looking back on it we can see it as a great Adventure film with some fabulous Action scenes and superb production values but it'll never be my favorite Keaton as it seems to be for so many people. 

An Action Adventure first, a Slapstick Comedy second, a great film overall, and a largely enjoyable one at that. Essential Keaton. Just barely short of a 4/5. 

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Siegfried's Death (1924) Review

Director: Fritz Lang
Stars: Paul Richter, Hanna Ralph
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, German Expressionism

Directed by Fritz Lang (Metropolis, The Big Heat, M, Destiny) during his expressionist period in the silent era, Siegfried's Death is part one of Lang's two part fantasy epic known as Die Nibelungen (The Nibelungs), the second part being Kriemhild's Revenge.

It's a story about a great warrior Siegfried who travels far to marry a beautiful woman, the sister of King Gunther. After doing a few favors for King Gunther he marries his sister and becomes close friends with the King. But, as you may of guessed, things start to go wrong for just about everyone.

I'll start off by saying that if Fritz Lang's Metropolis was the 2001: A Space Odyssey of the silent era, then Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen is certainly The Lord of the Rings of it. It's quite the epic fantasy. The highlight of the action is definitely towards the beginning when Siegfried slays a fire-breathing dragon. May I remind you this was made in 1924? It's awesome though and the visual effects in this film are quite stunning, and captured by some great cinematography I may add. 

Unfortunately towards the middle the film slows down. And let me remind you that this is a two and a half hour film so the middle is pretty damn long. It gets a bit boring and slow-paced and it definitely drags at parts compared to its great opening. It's not so bad, it has its moments, but I think it could of definitely benefited from being shortened or by adding a bit more action to it. Because as it is now it's largely a medieval melodrama. Not a bad medieval melodrama mind you, but still, who wants melodrama when you can have fantasy action?

It's an impressive film technically and an enjoyable film sometimes. Of course Fritz Lang's directing is stellar, and its German Expressionist qualities certainly bring the film to life, but it is a very slow and tedious film that can put some to sleep if you're not prepared for it.

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Enter the Dragon (1973) Review

Director: Robert Clouse
Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly
Genre: Kung Fu, Spy

Enter the Dragon is the film that solidified Bruce Lee's international fame and it is by far his most well-known film (at least outside of China). It also marks the first time that a Chinese film studio (Golden Harvest) and a Hollywood film studio (Warner Bros.) collaborated in making a film. A very important film in that in further drove the kung fu craze of the 70s...the craze which Lee had started in the first place.

The plot involves Bruce Lee's character entering an island tournament held by an evil Han as a spy to try and bring Han to justice. That's about all you need to know to figure out how the rest goes.

The plot is much more English than any Bruce Lee film before it. Which makes sense being that it is, after all, an American-English film. The story is reminiscent of many English spy thrillers. A sort of mix between James Bond and Fu Manchu.

Luckily Enter the Dragon isn't just a silly Hollywood cash-in on a kung fu fad. Bruce Lee wouldn't let that happen. Bruce Lee himself heavily revised the script and he even wrote and directed the opening sequence of the film. Lee said that he wanted to make it more than just another action film.

That being said, it's still not a product fully of Bruce Lee (like Way of the Dragon was or the unfinished Game of Death would have been). Bruce Lee manages to sneak his own philosophies and beliefs in there though to, like he said, make it more than just another action film. 

The opening sequence gives a great sense of Lee's own philosophy (which makes sense being that he wrote and directed the opening, and is probably my favorite scene of the film). And of course this great scene. Then there's little things like Lee's character's refusal to wear a uniform (reflecting Lee's own revolt against styles and traditions). The scene where Lee tells the man on the boat that his style is "Fighting without fighting" and then tricks him into a smaller boat is actually based on a famous anecdote involving 16th century samurai Tsukahara Bokuden. Bruce Lee was very much like a modern Bokuden in that they both preferred an adaptive style; Bokuden himself calling his sword-fighting style the Style of No-Sword.

The cast in Enter the Dragon is great. You got to love the super fly Jim Kelly and the high-roller John Saxon. Both did excellent jobs. Robert Wall returns from Way of the Dragon and plays a great unsporting goon. Many of the stuntmen were of the Seven Little Fortunes troupe, including Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan.

The film could of benefited from some more and some cooler fight scenes. There's not too much in the way of choreography that I'd call memorable. Of course everyone will remember the great mirror scene (taken from The Lady From Shanghai and later used in The Man With the Golden Gun).

Lalo Schifrin's score is also superb. 

Many people's favorite Bruce Lee film. I'd personally go with Way of the Dragon but this is a great one as well. Bruce certainly saved it from being another mindless action flick. 

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The Way of the Dragon (1972) Review

Director: Bruce Lee
Stars: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao, Bob Wall
Genre: Kung Fu, Comedy

Way of the Dragon, released as Return of the Dragon in the United States, is Bruce Lee's third film right after The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, and is the only film Lee has ever directed himself and is, in my opinion, some of his finest work of his career in film.

Unlike Bruce Lee's previous films Way of the Dragon takes place completely outside of China and instead is set in Rome. Tang Lung (Lee) is sent there to help a family friend and their restaurant which is being targeted by local thugs. The local gang will do anything they can to have the restaurant shut down, including hiring a martial arts master from America named Colt (Norris) to take out Tang Lung.

The plot is standard and conventional and follows little logic, but Bruce Lee never was known for his script writing abilities. Along with writing Lee tried his hand at directing this time around as well, and does a well enough job. He definitely gets the job done and captures all the film's awesomeness. What really counts is the fighting, but I'll get to that later.

Way of the Dragon definitely has much more comedic elements present than any other Lee film...especially towards the beginning. Sometimes the humor works really well and sometimes it fails completely. While seeing a Martial Arts master constantly having to go poop (along with funny music playing every time he asks where the toilet is) is amusing, it just doesn't feel right in here. And then there's the scene early on where Bruce Lee has a brief detour with a prostitute...but the scene wasn't at all funny and it served no purpose whatsoever...it was just there.

Some of the humor works really well though. A thug hitting himself in the head with nunchucks is hilarious, the gay mafia guy worked well, and even some of the dialogue is very funny. I'd say that all in all the humor worked well more than it worked bad, it's just a shame that they didn't know their limits. The humor though gives the film a sort of self-aware nature, but I will say that they made good use of their very small budget. 

The second half of the film is when things get real though. All jokes are set aside and the fists come out. Bruce Lee was at the top of his game in this film. His fighting was top notch and his body was incredibly toned (which he doesn't hesitate to show off). In the beginning of the film we're constantly teased; we think we're about to get to see Bruce Lee kick some ass but it is repeatedly delayed to the point where I was just dying to see Bruce Lee punch something, which made it all the more rewarding when he finally did. And boy does he!

Bruce Lee kicks so much goddamn ass in this film it is glorious. From street fights with a dozen thugs to intense duels with terrifying opponents. In Fist of Fury we got to see Bruce Lee go up against a katana, in this one we get to see how well he fares against guns (he fares well, obviously, and awesomely). All the fighting is choreographed very well, and the final fight scene against Chuck Norris is perhaps Bruce Lee's best ever (though I'd probably give that honor to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game of Death).

Speaking of Chuck Norris, he's great in here as well and was definitely a worthy opponent for Bruce Lee. Any fans of Chuck Norris: you have this film to that for starting his acting career.

I must also compliment Lee's directing in many of the fight scenes, especially the last one. There's some great location shots and the Colosseum was a great spot to have the last fight. The creepy voice echoing in the empty arena and even the cat are nice touches. Bruce Lee is such a fast fighter, and part of the charm is watching his speed on camera, but the film made sparing though incredibly perfect use of slow-motion that's added at just the right parts to add to the intensity. 

I criticized the writing before but some things were handled very well. There's a twist that adds a bit more depth to the film. And perhaps what I thought was done best was how they made Bruce Lee's character someone with emotion, but they didn't achieve this through boring drama or misplaced romantic sub-plots, they did it just by the way he reacted to things. After he beats Chuck Norris you can tell just by his face and the way he walks away (and then further when he covers Norris' face) that he's not just a emotionless killing machine; he has morals and feelings and him displaying that in turn makes you question certain morals. And again, achieving all that without any boring drama, making a kung fu ass kicker have some depth to him, is very impressive.

The Way of the Dragon is my favorite Bruce Lee film by far. Despite a somewhat bumpy start the film manages to include some well-done humor, some interesting characters, and a final fight scene that is easily one of the best, most memorable fights of all-time.

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Mister Lonely (2007) Review

Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant
Genre: Drama

Oddly enough this film about flying nuns and a commune of celebrity impersonators is director Harmony Korine's most conventional film to date. 

It's a film about a Marilyn Monroe impersonator who meets a Michael Jackson impersonator and invites him to come live at her commune for impersonators, among which are her abusive husband Charlie Chaplin, Abraham Lincoln, Little Red Riding Hood, James Dean, The Three Stooges, the Queen, the Pope, Madonna, and so on and so forth. 

The impersonations are done pretty well; charmingly well I'd even say. You do have to keep in mind here though that the actors are not playing celebrities, the actors are playing impersonators playing celebrities. Which makes any unfaithfulness forgivable. I'd like to say though that I think the performances in this film gave the celebrities even more depth and emotion than the real celebrities' public personas do. Nonetheless the performances were good. Especially Samantha Morton and Denis Lavant. 

The problem with Mister Lonely is that once the novelty of watching Abraham Lincoln curse at The Three Stooges or The Three Stooges shooting sheep with shotguns or Charlie Chaplin fingering Marilyn Monroe or Buckwheat giving the Pope a bath or hearing Little Red Riding Hood sing the incredibly dark "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" wears off there really isn't much more to this film. Imagine what this film would be if it had been regular people instead of celebrity impersonators. It's nearly complete novelty. Very early in the film we realize the film will probably go one of two ways: (spoilers) Either Marilyn Monroe will finally leave an abusive Charlie Chaplin and fall in love with Michael Jackson, or the Michael Jackson impersonator will realize he's not being true to himself and stop impersonating and live a "normal" life. Just because the film defies the former choice by having Marilyn Monroe hang herself doesn't mean it's defying convention because it still uses the equally stereotypical "Be Yourself" ending. It's telling an old story with an overused moral that has been done many times much better. But that's only the film's first plotline; it has but a second as well. 

The second, much more minor, plotline going on is about a nun who falls out of a plane (spoilers) and survives. Then more and more nuns begin jumping out of planes without parachutes, as they believe that if you truly believe in God you will not die. This actually works for them. Due to these miracles the nuns are invited to the Vatican. On their way to the Vatican the plane they are flying in crashes and all the nuns die. This plotline is just fantastic. The film is worth watching for these few scenes alone. I must say watching nuns fall out of planes is quite satisfying. It's unfortunate that this is the severely more minor plotline of the film (although I'm not sure that it would have been able to carry an entire film on its own had it been the main one). 

The film's soundtrack is also worth noting as exceptionally great, as should be expected from a film named after the fantastic Bobby Vinton song. 

It's an okay film, and if I didn't have a high standard for Korine's work it may have gotten a slightly higher rating. It's still better than most of the terrible films coming out, but still sadly a disappointment. Korine's directing and camerawork is impressive and the idea of pairing two plotlines, one very hopeful and the other incredibly bleak, was an interesting one but didn't really work out too fantastically. Not a bad film, but nothing special. 

Favorite line from the film: "Sometimes when I look at you, you seem more like Adolf Hitler than Charlie Chaplin."
also the whole Buckwheat part where he's talking about women and chickens is golden.

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