Welcome our newest writer, Shane Singletary, to The Movie Isle. He begins his tenure here with an on-going Column; Shane’s Shelf. First up, his Film Discovery List for 2019.
Many of us spend the waning days of December and the hopeful beginnings of January scrambling to create Best Of lists usually compiled of films from the current year. We’re all competing to create a list worthy of a year spent at the cinema. Unfortunately most of these lists are comprised of the same 10-25 films.
Over the past few years I started creating lists of film discoveries. The lists capture films I watched in the calendar year but were released in prior years. I see this as an opportunity to highlight films that don’t generally show up on the run-of-the-mill end of year lists.
It’s a list of the ten films that really captured my attention and made an impression, not exactly a list of the best films I saw last year
Enjoy.
10. Cruising (1980) – Dir. William Friedkin
Cruising is a film that was on my Must See list for quite a while and one that I somehow never got around to watching until 2019. I knew going in that the film had a reputation. It had polarized both critics and the gay community at release. The film, about a detective going undercover in the leather scene of New York to apprehend a serial killer, is a superbly crafted NY slasher film but one that never truly digs deep enough into the material to make any real statement on the culture it seeks to explore. Pacino’s character, Steve Burns, is explored on the surface but we never dive into how the case really impacts his sexuality, his relationship with his girlfriend and his role as a NY cop. Those narrative issues aside, I was engaged by the film from start to finish. And despite its rather intense subject matter, it’s a film that has continued to linger in the back of my mind like the knife wielding killer that haunts the edges of Friedkin’s frame.
9. Hooper (1978) – Dir. Hal Needham
Burt Reynolds plays an aging stuntman in Hal Needham’s Hooper, a film about filmmaking and the rigors of stuntman life in the days when most action films were based on practical effects instead of CGI. The insider view of the stuntman world and 70s action filmmaking in general really worked for me. Reynolds is as charismatic as they come and his role as Sonny Hooper is no different. He’s at the top of his game and seems to be having a damn good time. The final stunt piece is an insane bit of practical stunt work. I wonder how many cars they crashed in that scene. It’s unreal. While it might be mindless action fare, Hooper is thoroughly entertaining and you can never go wrong with 70s era Burt.
8. Body Double (1984) – Dir. Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma is a highly artistic and stylized filmmaker who’s known for being heavily influenced by the work of Hitchcock. In Body Double, he seems to really ape the famed director by way of Rear Window and Vertigo. As simply a form of escapism, Body Double is an entertaining and fast paced thriller loaded with style. As a narrative it’s a bit simplistic and predictable. I knew the mysterious killer almost as soon as he or she appeared onscreen. The lead, played by Craig Wasson, was terribly wooden and lacked the chops to really capture the complexity of the role. I kept thinking how much better Travolta would have been in the role given his incredible work in De Palma’s stunning Blow Out. That being said, Body Double was an incredibly fun watch and one of the best pieces of sleazy escapism I saw in 2019.
7. Prime Cut (1972) – Dir. Michael Ritchie
Prime Cut is unlike most other crime films to come out of the 1970s. It’s a slightly off-center film about a mob enforcer sent from Chicago to Kansas City to settle up a debt. Lee Marvin is perfectly cast as the anti-hero enforcer but it’s Gene Hackman who’s the real stand out. He’s astounding as the violent, tough- as-nails cattle rancher at odds with Lee Marvin’s character. The film also introduces Sissy Spacek as a sex slave. Yes, you read that right, Spacek as a sex slave. Prime Cut is B-movie, exploitation cinema at its best that’s sprinkled with a dash of social commentary subtext. If any of this sounds interesting, I’d like to mention the film features a combine harvester chase scene which gets my nomination for most ridiculous, but amazing, chase sequence of the 1970s.
6. The Blues Brothers (1980) – Dir. John Landis
After reading Nick de Semlyen’s Wild and Crazy Guys (about the comedy geniuses that came out of the 80s) I had to remedy this John Landis blind spot. The film was a 1980 musical comedy, The Blues Brothers. A film that I cannot believe I haven’t already seen. It’s the type of film that just wouldn’t get made today. It’s a comedy that plays as an action film and a musical as well. It features insane practical car chases, two frenetic lead performances and musical numbers with numerous cameos from blues legends like Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker. The brain child of Dan Akroyd and John Belushi, The Blues Brothers is a 80s comedy classic that only gets better on a rewatch.
5. All That Jazz (1979) – Dir. Bob Fosse
What’s it like to give everything for your art? Bob Fosse explores this question in his semi-autobiographical tale of a playwright and director. Joe Gideon, played remarkably by Roy Scheider, is a man so obsessed with his craft and his vices that he has no problem skirting the line between life and death. The film sways between days spent honing his latest show and editing his latest film intercut with dreamlike sequences depicting his childhood and conscience. It’s a fascinating rumination on the pressure an artist feels when he’s producing a piece of art. Bob Fosse is a mad genius and directs All That Jazz with style and a kind of frenetic energy that’s in touch with his lead character. Hard to believe Fosse basically predicted his own death, I guess sometimes art comes before life.
4. The Night of the Hunter (1955) – Dir. Charles Laughton
One of the most fascinating things to consider when evaluating a film from the past is how it was received by the audiences and critical establishment of the time. For The Night of the Hunter, the reception was mostly negative. It’s unfortunate because visionary director Charles Laughton never directed another film. In The Night of the Hunter, Laughton creates a noir nightmare filled with shadows, strange lighting, surreal sets and a dark mood. It’s one of the most terrifying films of the 1950s and that’s due in part to the pitch black performance from Robert Mitchum. He’s sinister but friendly and that’s what makes him so foreboding. A film about childhood and the dangers of the stranger with a past, The Night of the Hunter is a chilling tale that should have garnered Laughton a long career in Hollywood.
3. Mikey and Nicky (1976) – Dir. Elaine May
Mikey and Nicky is a film about friendship, the bonds that tie us together and the emotional blows that tear us apart. It’s a wonderful two-hander between Peter Falk and John Cassavetes. Nicky (Cassavetes) has stolen money from the mob and calls in his longtime friend Mikey (Falk) to help him navigate his way out of the city and to safety. The film is brilliantly acted by both Cassavetes and Falk. The dialogue between the two is so effortless and natural. At the helm, Elaine May is able to wrangle in two sublime 70s actors and channel their energy to deliver one of the best crime dramas of the era. A masterclass of cinema, Mikey and Nicky is one of the best films I watched last year.
2. The Long Good Friday (1980) – Dir. John Mackenzie
Bob Hoskins is an absolute revelation in one of the best British gangster films I’ve ever seen, The Long Good Friday. The film centers on Hoskins’ character, Harold Shand, who’s aspiring to turn his criminal empire legit. He’s in almost every scene and commands every bit of your attention all the way up to the final shots of the film. It’s in these final moments that Hoskins really dials it down to give a nuanced and heartbreaking performance. He’s able to exhibit a range of emotions in mere minutes, doing so with just his eyes and without uttering a single word. Buoyed by solid directing, a brilliant pulsating score and Hoskins’ incredible performance, The Long Good Friday is an all timer of British cinema.
1. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) – Dir. Werner Herzog
Many times while watching Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God I asked myself, “Are these actors safe?”. The film is shot entirely on location in the Peruvian rainforest over the course of almost two months. The cast and crew actually climbed the mountains and tore through the jungles, creating pathways and spent quite a bit of time in the Amazon River on rafts that were built by the Peruvians. The film charts the course of a Spanish expedition as they travel through the rainforest searching for El Dorado. Wrath of God features an absolutely unhinged performance from the always wonderful Klaus Kinski. It’s almost like he was beamed in from another planet. Truly one of the most daring films to come from Herzog; Aguirre, the Wrath of God is not to be missed.
There it is. Those are the films from prior years that really made an impact on me in 2019. It’s truly an eclectic batch that spans several genres and decades. If you haven’t seen something from this list I urge you to consider giving one of them a shot in 2020. You won’t be disappointed.
If you’re interested in these types of films, keep an eye out for this Column where I plan to cover boutique physical media releases from the likes of Criterion, Arrow, Shout Factory, etc.