4. Walkabout (Director: Nicolas Roeg, Starring: Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil) [1971]
Another film about the untamed wilderness of Australia, and another film directed by the crafty Nicolas Roeg. This movie will haunt you for the rest of your damned life! Two young kids, a high school girl and her younger brother, are brought to the Australian outback by their geologist father for a picnic (if there's anything I've realized while writing this list it is to never picnic in Australia!). The father completely loses it and his true motives for the picnic are revealed when he procures a gun from his car and first fires shots at his children, then, having missed them completely, takes his own life. The boy does not see his father's suicide, but the girl is indeed witness to it, and withholds the stark knowledge from her innocent brother. The two are abandoned in the sweltering heat of the outback with very little food and water. However, they are able to find a small pool of water and some fruit to replenish themselves before falling asleep. The next day they awake to find the water dried up, much to their distress. Soon after though, they encounter an Aboriginal boy about the same age as the girl on his "walkabout", an Aboriginal rite of passage. The indigenous boy guides the two children and protects them from the dangers of the outback, feeding them butchered kangaroo and other tasty treats along the way. The fun does not last for long though, as more tragedy is awaiting the children. This is a simple film that is able to thoughtfully tackle issues such as death, suicide, technological innovation, the failure of human communication, and the loss of sexual innocence. It is wonderfully photographed and brilliantly edited, a true work of art that begs to be seen by anyone who has the 100 minutes to submit to it.
3. Manhunter (Director: Michael Mann, Starring: William Petersen, Brian Cox) [1986]
Long before Mann would give us Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Collateral, or Ali, he would tackle an adaptation of the first novel in Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter series, Red Dragon. Yes, long before Anthony Hopkins would win an Oscar for his portrayal of Lecter, Brian Cox would bring the cannibalistic serial killer to the big screen first. Yes, long before Ed Norton and Emily Watson and the gang would star in the thriller Red Dragon, this movie would do the novel so much more justice. Mann is the master of pacing, it is popularly believed that Christopher Nolan modeled the pacing of The Dark Knight on Mann's Heat. This movie is no exception, it is a perfectly paced psychological thriller that can take your breath right away from you. This movie was a huge box office flop, probably accounting for William Petersen never making it as a household name and this film never reaching classic status. But don't be fooled, Petersen is intense as former FBI agent Will Graham, and this movie is one of the finest crime dramas available for your viewing pleasure. Picture Red Dragon, then picture it if it were ten times better. It's a shame that Red Dragon only got to be made because this movie was forgotten. This one is a far superior adaptation.
2. River's Edge (Director: Tim Hunter, Starring: Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper) [1986]
Judging by these last two entries, 1986 was an extremely good year for film. That wouldn't be reflected by the Academy Award winners that year though, while the deserving Platoon took home the big trophy, the comparatively underwhelming Hannah and Her Sisters, A Room With a View, and Children of a Lesser God took home several awards. My qualm is that River's Edge did not even garner any nominations. This movie is an eerie meditation on the apathetic state of youth culture in the late part of the twentieth century. The film opens with the shocking image of a dead teenage girl, naked and staring at us, she is humiliated even in death, and we are horrified right away. We see her oafish boyfriend sitting on the river bank near her corpse, he has killed her, but he is showing no signs of remorse. Soon after, this lug of a boyfriend brags about the killing to some of his friends. They don't believe him at first, then he takes them to the body and they are shocked, but none of them take any action. Keanu Reeves plays a conflicted friend of the killer who knows he should go to the police, yet protects the interests of his friend at the urging of the group's "leader" played magnificently by Crispin Glover. Glover, for those who are not aware, played George McFly in Back to the Future, as well as the Creepy Thin Man in the Charlie's Angels movies, along with a plethora of other oddball roles. But this turn is his greatest ever, without question. Glover is larger than life as Layne, the outrageous best friend of the killer who will stop at nothing to ensure that the police do not find out about the murder. Also in tow is Dennis Hopper, who plays a drug dealer with a history of murder and a blow-up doll as a girlfriend. Yes, this is all just as weird as sounds, but it is an absolute masterwork. Glover deserved an Oscar nomination for his work in this film, while Keanu proved he could actually turn in a serious role. I've never seen a more sordid picture of tainted youth in my life.
1. Repo Man (Director: Alex Cox, Starring: Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton) [1984]
This one you really have to see to believe. I stumbled upon this movie one day when I was looking for lists of the greatest cult films of all time. I saw this movie pop up on nearly every list, yet I had never heard of it before. When I finally read a synopsis of the film I began to realize just how much I needed to see it. When I finally saw it, I was absolutely floored. This is one of the most entertaining pieces of cinema ever created. Estevez is a punk rock kid surviving the 80's in steamy Los Angeles. After he gets fired from his job at the grocery store, he finds work as an apprentice to slimy repossession agent Harry Dean Stanton. Stanton's character teaches him everything he needs to know about taking cars and other goods from those who couldn't muster the cash to keep the creditors at bay. Steady cash-flow, thrilling work situations, and lots of amphetamine abuse make the job an absolute dream for the young punk. Things soon turn weird though, as every repossession agency in the state is sent on the hunt for a 1964 Chevrolet Malibu. The CIA is looking for the car, and we the omniscient viewer have already seen it and know its wild secrets. Aliens, conspiracy, and punk rock begin to run amuck as this movie plunges deeper and deeper into a surreal, yet very quirky world beneath the surface of L.A. The film has countless running gags, from generic brand products, to characters (hypocritically) named after brands of beer, to L. Ron Hubbard and William S. Burroughs references, to appearances by punk rock acts The Circle Jerks, The Untouchables, and others. Oh, and remember that mysterious glowing case from that other kooky Los Angeles film known as Pulp Fiction, I'm pretty sure Tarantino swiped that device from this film. This is one of the zaniest films you could never imagine, but I guarantee you will absolutely love it. There's a ton of substance to this one too, but that part I'll let you discover for yourself. If there is one film on this list you should be sure to seek out, it's this one!
0 comments:
Post a Comment