Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

PROVIDENCE (1977):
In the past I've mentioned my movie-loving friend David, who once played a thinly veiled version of director James Foley in one of my plays. Recently David turned 70 and when I asked him what kind of present he'd like, he told me he wanted a copy of this rather obscure feature from Alan Renais, director of LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD and NIGHT AND FOG. David last watched it in the early 80s and hadn't been able to find a copy since. His wish was my command, and David enjoyed revisiting PROVIDENCE so much he asked me to watch it w/ him again last week. Wow, it's a movie.

David Warner is on trial for murder and Dirk Bogarde is the prosecutor. Warner is acquitted (quickly, not a spoiler) and Bogarde is immediately non-plussed, then even moreso when he comes home (to his lovely mansion) and finds Warner hanging out w/ Mrs. Bogarde (Ellen Burstyn). For better or worse, Bogarde is also having an affair - with (of all people) Elaine Stritch, who (as other characters acknowledge) looks about 20 years too old for Dirk. (Bogarde and Stritch were both in their 50s and Bogarde was actually 4 years older than Stritch irl, but Bogarde looks great as usual and Stritch looks like Stritch.) Every now and then the action pauses and cuts to John Gielgud, soliloquizing as he suffers (maybe dies slowly) in bed. Oh yeah, there's also some sort of fascist regime rounding up the elderly, and a subplot involving lycanthropy, and a football (aka American soccer) player who runs through scenes intermittently for no apparent reason.

But wait! About 2/3rds of the way through (and after Bogarde begins to climactically brandish a revolver), there's a reveal of sorts........ not exactly a twist, but a change of setting that provides a new perspective on the characters and their relationships. What was a highly Pinteresque, nearly absurdist exercise in formalism becomes involving and even emotionally affecting, at least in an odd manner. Warner's performance is typically odd as well, and Burstyn (still a huge star after EXORCIST and ALICE DLHA) behaves in a mostly arch, artificial fashion, though by design I think. Weirdly enough, the legendarily acidic Stritch actually is grounded and relatable here.

PROVIDENCE succeeds though because of Bogarde and Gielgud, who eventually get to share the screen. Gielgud was a universal signifier of Quality Acting before I was born and in my youth I only knew him for his Academy Award-winning role in ARTHUR  and then a bit later in CALIGULA (which isn't, tbh, a good reflection of Gielgud's talent). In PROVIDENCE, he savors every elliptical crypticism as if it was Shakespearean gold and truly earns his rep. And Bogarde effortlessly delivers a parade of eloquent, caustic, heartfelt, and always compelling Oscar nom-reel clip contenders, unknowing or indifferent to the fact he's acting in a bizarre French artfilm that most US and British Academy voters will never bother to watch. Class act.

4.5/5    Great film, exactly what you'd expect and want from the author of MARIENBAD.

[Jim H]

Empire of the Dark - Probably the best of the "bit schlubby middle aged guy writes/directs/stars in film where he's awesome" film I've seen, with a coherent story, some legitimately solid visuals, decent pacing, a pretty good score.  Reminded me of The Final Sacrifice, but better made.

It's a bit silly and not well performed of course, and some of it is roughly made, but I enjoyed it.  Bonus, a big puppet demon and a stop motion demon.

Trivia: a number of aspects of the art and effects in this were done by Robert Stromberg, who would go on to win back to back Oscars for production design on Avatar and Alice and Wonderland, plus seven (!) Emmys for visual effects work on stuff from Star Trek TNG to Boardwalk Empire. 

[Rev. Powell]

THE FIRST WAVE (2021): Follows front-line health care workers in the first days of the Covid pandemic in New York City. I'm glad someone documented this, but these are not times I am particularly nostalgic to relive. 3/5. Part of my project to watch every movie released by Neon.

[M.10rda]

VERDENS UNDERGANG [THE END OF THE WORLD] (1916):
This is often billed as the first sci-fi/speculative "apocalypse" movie, as opposed to historical disasters like Pompeii etc. It's feature-length and, like some apocalyptic films from 60+ years later, the pre-apocalyptic stretch (about 45 minutes here) is stagey, melodramatic, and dreadfully dull. There's lots of stuff about businessmen doing business and workin' men doin' hard labor, a little bit of stuff about astrologers warning about an approaching meteorite and no one taking them too seriously, way too much stuff about a love triangle or maybe quadrangle or pentagon - who cares - all of it is boring and the two female leads (sorry to say this) are quite mediocre to look at. (To be fair, the men aren't hot either.) Also there are repeated lengthy shots of two old guys reading or playing cards or shooting the breeze at a drawing room table, waiting for the inevitable mayhem. I started referring to them as Statler and Waldorf to amuse myself, but they play no significant or entertaining role in the story, so. 

All of this would render VERDENS UNDERGANG as a Bad Movie, but - when the meteorites eventually start to fall - they actually look pretty darn cool for 1916, and the last half hour of the film is impressive! The apocalyptic footage ranges from acceptable to cool, but best of all, the early slice-of-life exposition does pay off, as we get a mob of angry miners deciding, upon the imminent rain of fire, to storm the local millionaire's mansion (where he is having an opulent final supper w/ all his rich friends and a buncha' showgirls) and to murder them all!        And that sequence is MUAH chef's kiss! 

3/5    Director August Blom has a bunch of other credits, including some films w/ cool titles like THE VAMPIRE DANCER, but this one wasn't quite so good to propel me down a  Blom-hole........