Splendor In The Grass (1961)

Splendor In The Grass (1961) ★★★★★ 5/5

Amazing movie. This is one of the best movies I have ever seen without any question and has placed Natalie Wood on a whole new level for me. Wood plays Deanie Loomis, an all American girl in 1928 who is living the perfect life. Her family is middle class, but optimistic about stocks they have. Although they are not wealthy, they are happy and living above their means. Deanie is successful in school and well liked. She is pretty, popular and dating the star football player, Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty). He is athletic, has perfect looks, and comes from a wealthy family. The two share a typical teenage romance. They enjoy their time together and their romance is innocent. Both of their parents warn of issues that may arise if the romance goes to far, referring specifically to sex.

Bud begins to have stronger desires the more the two are together. He becomes confused and grows annoyed their relationship hasn't progressed beyond simple kissing and holding. Essentially, he wants sex. Likewise, Deanie questions her own sexual needs and tries to determine herself how to maintain her chastity. Bud has a sister, Ginny (Barbara Loden), who confuses his perception on sex completely as she does not hold back at all in her relationships, which are primarily based on sex. At one point, she nearly becomes raped as a group watches. From this, Bud realizes he can't keep seeing Deanie because he may not be able to resist his sexual urges. His Father (Pat Hingle) explains that he needs to find a different kind of girl to meet those needs. Bud does just that with Juanita Howard (Jan Norris).

Upon finding out what Bud has done, Deanie become depressed, nearly suicidal and throws herself at Bud. Knowing the difference between a good girl and a bad, he turns her down. Finally, she breaks down physically and emotionally. Her parents (Audrey Christie & Fred Stewart) send her to a psychiatric hospital. Meanwhile, Bud, still in love with Deanie and still knowing she is the right girl for him, becomes careless with his own life and loses sight of his goals. Deanie is institutionalized, yet he still loves her. Because of poor performance in college, his Father visits and tries to convince him that he can take any girl he wants and that Deanie is replaceable.

Years pass and Deanie comes home. Although time has passed, her love for Bud has not. While her Mother protests her seeing him, her father tells her where he can find Bud, at his Father's ranch. Deanie visits Bud, meets his wife, and realizes that although she loves him still, she might possibly love that the relationship is nothing more then a fond memory. The finale leaves for several interpretations, which add to the beauty of the film.

Natalie Wood's performance in this film rivals that of all her other work. Transforming from a perfectly lovable girl next door to an emotionally unstable wreck, there is never a moment of doubt as to what her character is going through. The character development is well played and highly believable. She is surrounded by a cast that plays to every aspect of the film. It is the surrounding characters who help define what Deanie and Bud believe in. Just as they impact Deanie and Bud, everything Deanie says and does impacts every other character. Whether it is the teacher, kids in the hall, Juanita, the doctors or Bud. Rarely does a film intertwine the characters so perfectly no matter how large or small their role is.

The use of the camera compliments everything about the film too. Complex scenes are easily adapted to the screen. Among those are the scene where Deanie reads a poem aloud in class as Juanita listens, Ginny's drunken antics as she wanders from the ballroom to the parking lot and Deanie's walk to the falls. Color is placed to focus attention on key elements in various scenes.

From a story perspective, it is so very complex and absolutely deserving of the Academy Award it won for the screenplay. When broken down, the topic of teenage sex has consequences regardless as to whether it happens or not. The pressure to avoid human instincts and urges can be maddening and cause mental and social suffering. At the same time, the act itself can cause just as much turmoil from pregnancy to negative labels. Decades later the double edge sword still exists where the perception a man can ensure his sexual needs are met if they are met by a girl to serve that need. Yet, a young woman who desires to have her needs met is ridiculed and scorned. Deanie and Bud were truly in love with each other and intended to marry. They both had urges and were directed away from them. This prompted the decline in both of their lives. Bud took the advice of his father and his sexual needs were met, but they were met at the expense of his relationship with Deanie. He loved her, but was convinced that because she was good he should not have sex with her. Deanie was not allowed to have her needs met and the betrayal of her true love drove her insane. It's a very complex storyline and the actions taken to cause and prevent what happened to the central characters could be debated on many levels.

The final scene is amazing. Here are two people who were completely in love and planning on spending their lives together. After time has passed, they are nearly strangers, yet you can see there are still feelings. Neither seem to be truly happy with the outcome and have merely accepted life as it now is, realizing that what they had left behind them in time was quite possibly the finest moments of their lives. you can almost see that while they are not happy, they question whether or not happiness would have lasted and carried on through their relationship had they stayed together. It's a tender moment. Sad, yet at the same time freeing.

Literally everything about this film is amazing. Without a doubt this ranks as one of Natalie Wood's finest performances in a career that has no real low points.

8 1/2 (1963)

8 1/2 (1963) ★★★★★ 5/5

Federico Fellini directs and co-writes this incredible film which seems to be quite autobiographical. The film centers around Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) and his struggle to overcome a creative block in his film making. After awaking from a dream, he is treated by doctors who recommend he go to the springs to drink Holy water and relax in the steam baths. Guido takes the advice and brings his writer along with him. While he is there, he meets up with his friend Mario Mezzabotta (Mario Pisu) and his mistress Gloria Morin (Barbara Steele).

Barbara Steele, although a minor character in this film, is exquisite. Every moment on screen, she is glamorous and exciting. The movie is worth seeing for her performance alone!

Guido soon meets up with his mistress Carla (Sandra Milo). When he returns to his hotel, he finds his entire production crew is there, as well as actors and actresses hired for the film he is writing. Little do they all know, Guido has not written anything. He is conflicted as to what to write and what he should convey. He is pulled in every direction by the cast and crew who all want to know their role in the movie.

Guido calls for his wife Louisa (Anouk Aimée) and she meets up with him. At first she is happy to be there, but soon becomes distant when she learns of his mistress.

Guido dreams and fantasizes about all the women he has loved and how it would be if he were able to live with them all.To have the joys each has brought him through his life consistently. He is haunted by childhood images. Religion questions his direction. A giant spaceship built for his unwritten film pressures his team financially.

All at once everything comes together right after the press has hounded Guido on everything from his writing technique to his political views and his love life. After that incident, Guido makes the film he wants. He creates and brings together images that mean something to him.

The film is artsy and complex, yet understated at the same time. It is dubbed with subtitles which makes it that much more artistic in feeling. The imagery is beautiful and quite ahead of it's time. The black and white production make the imagery even bolder. There is so much going on in this film that it never really dulls at all. The dreams piece together the reality, and the reality is somewhat unreal. A beautiful film and quite a pleasing one to watch.

The Nutty Professor (1963)

The Nutty Professor (1963) ★★★★★ 4/5

In watching this I was not anticipating much as I had seen Eddie Murphy's 1996 version of The Nutty Professor. I am not a fan of screwball comedies. Especially those of modern film where the humor is forced, exaggerated and primarily based on insults and crass humor. As I viewer, I require more substantial plots, humor and comedy. Jerry Lewis created a comical masterpiece with this film. I was disappointed when I read that Lewis produced the 1996 version and the 2000 sequel to that. That disappoint turned to relief when I further read that Lewis regretted his participation in those films. His disappointment and regret came from the crass humor Murphy used to get laughs.

This film is a fine example of how comedians could tactfully evoke humor without stooping to low gags and cheap one liners. This film brilliantly portrays Professor Julius Kelp (Lewis) failing in every way as a Professor. He blows up classrooms, has no respect from other administrators and is bullied by his students. The last straw is when a student throws him into a cabinet in front of the entire classroom and he is rescued by a beautiful student Stella Purdy (Stella Stevens). It's time for a change and he decides to take up going to the gym. Not getting the results he wants, he creates a serum to help him gain confidence. The results are far more then he could have imagined. Not only is he confident, but he is dashingly handsome, smooth talking and an instant social success. But there are side effects. His new alter ego, Buddy as he goes by, is cocky, arrogant and egotistical.

On his first night out as Buddy, he dazzles club goers with a stint at the piano crooning "That Old Black Magic." He gives a lesson in etiquette to a bartender and teaches him how to make a new drink. He keeps the boys in line and the women in awe, particularly Stella. With his smooth talking, he gets her to take him to a make out destination where he completely offends Stella with his arrogant, sexist attitude and expectations for her to provide some action. Being a complete sweet talker, he turns everything around and lays the romance on her. She is swooned and helplessly in love. As the connection between the two becomes strong, Buddy's voice begins to change. Instantly he goes from a smooth talker to the nerdy Professor. Before Stella can fully understand what his happening, Buddy disappears. Stella is left stunned, thinking only of Buddy. Upon seeing him in class as the nerdy professor, she does not connect, nor does anybody for that matter, that these two completely different men are really one in the same.

Eventually the dual roles catch up with him and he learns a valuable lesson about liking who you are. Stella reveals she always liked him or he was and order is restored as is romance.

What does conuse me about this movie, and maybe it was explained and I missed it, is where this takes place. It seems to be a University as the teachers are all professors and doctors. But then they have a senior prom implying it is high school. Which o course raises questions as to the teacher/student relationship. Other then this irritating act, the ilm is enjoyable. The transormation from geeky professor to swingin' ladies man is well done. Unlike it's 90's counterparts this film is fresh and the comedy is based on the plot rather then unneccessary crass jokes or one liners.

The Apartment (1960)

The Apartment (1960) ★★★★★ 5/5

Absolutely love this movie. It is one I have seen before and was thrilled to find it as an upcoming movie on the DVR. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine make a dynamite onscreen duo in this fantastic film. Lemmon plays C. C. Baxter, an corporate employee of an insurance company who makes his way up the corporate ladder by loaning his apartment to senior executives who use the pad to carry on affairs with their mistresses. When he is given the promotion, he finds out his boss, Mr. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), is wanting to take advantage of the apartment himself. The first day of the promotion, Baxter plans to go home and sleep off a cold. But instead, Sheldrake gives him tickets to see "The Music Man," so Baxter tries to take advantage of it by asking out the cute elevator girl, Fran Kubelik (MacLaine).


Although the story is quite complex as to the dynamics and relationships between the characters, the setup makes it easy to follow along and anticipate what will happen before it actually occurs. The audience knows before it even happens that Kubelik won't show up for the date. They also know that the girl that Sheldrake is going to meet is going to be Kubelik. In spite o the predictability, the film holds up amazingly because they seem to be setting the viewer up for the character's emotional reactions rather then the actual event happening.

The characters in this film are so likable, yet at the same time so vulnerable that you want to reach into the screen, shake them and tell them what to do. It is an interesting take on married business men and one that has been examined in film so often that it seems as if in 1959 that the notion of having a mistress was nothing out of the ordinary. They have a boys club. They have their mistresses and work very hard at scheduling in their affairs and congratulate each other on their conquests. The workplace in the film was so sexually charged. There is ass slapping, there are secretaries who are love interests and there are no female employees with high paying positions. Kubelik and her relationship with Sheldrake is so stereotypical, but at the same time still common in media and news stories today. The married man sleeping with a young, beautiful woman, but constantly telling her that he loves her and is going to leave his wife. He strings her along and in doing so MacLaine gracefully conveys what effect that has on a woman. Her vulnerability leads her to a suicide attempt. It leads to loneliness, self pity, self loathing, self depreciation and confusion. We see the whole thing played out and it plays out brilliantly in her face alone.

Lemmon as Baxter shows the same emotion and same vulnerability. He unwillingly loans his apartment out to the unfaithful executives. He is forced to sleep outside, stay at work late, and wander the streets because his home is in use. However, he can't build up the courage to say no because he needs his job. When he makes the connect that Kubelik and Sheldrake are having an affair, we see how hurt and alone he is. When he finds Kubelik overdosed in his bed on Christmas Eve, he takes the blame for that - as he did with constant noise complaints his tenants would make. He is a martyr of sorts for the boys club and you just want to grab hold of him and tell him to stop.

By the film's close, Baxter and Kubelik both make personal changes. These changes help make the movie even stronger. There is nothing more satisfying in a film then when the main characters overcome adversity and there is an evolution as to who they become. As the film ends, and the couple play gin on New Year's Eve, there is a solid sense of closure and a rewarding feeling that the main characters did stand up to their biggest challenges. For Baxter is was reclaiming his apartment. For Kubelik it was accepting that she did not have to settle for a married man who used women.

An excellent film and a deserving winner of the 1961 Oscar for Best Picture. Shot in black and white, the film is timeless. Great movie! And keep an eye out for a very young, and very nice looking Ray Walston.

The Wild Bunch (1969)

The Wild Bunch ★★★★★ 4/5

This movie completely threw me for a loop. When I started watching it, I was thinking I had seen it before. As the film progressed, I realized the movie I was confusing it with was The Magnificent Seven (1960). Well, it turns out that The Wild Bunch is a far cry from The Magnificent Seven. Westerns certainly came a long way from 1960 to 1969. If you watch this movie and expect a decent, well mannered Western, you are in for a surprise.

The opening sequence is atypical of the Western right off the bat. William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates make up the members of the Wild Bunch. They ride into town disguised as American soldiers to rob a train station of a silver shipment. As they ride in, the musical score is startling and bold. Children alongside the road are torturing scorpions by placing them atop mounds of what appear to be fire ants. As the children laugh and giggle, the screen freezes on each of the main actors one by one and the music screeches and vibrates. The opening title scene is far ahead of it's time and is worth watching just for that.

Once in town, the Wild Bunch, led by Pike (William Holden) conducts their business of robbery only to be run out of town by a group of men hired to capture them. The leader of this group is (Robert Ryan) Deke. As Pike's men flee to escape and Deke's men try to capture the Wild Bunch, the town where the robbery occurs becomes a bloodbath. Innocent townspeople, women and children are all caught in the crossfire. To see this happen so vividly in a 60's Western was actually quite shocking.

After Pike's men escape and are able to divide the earnings of their robbery, they realize they were tricked and the silver they had stolen was actually bags of worthless washers. Broke, and needing money, the robbers flee to Mexico where they can plot their next move. As they travel to Mexico, they come across a rising Mexican dictator who entrusts them to steal artillery from the US Army. The group agrees and devises a plan to rob a train carrying the equipment.

The plot is pretty cut and dry from here out. Rob the train, get the supplies to the Mexican army without getting killed, collect their pay and be on their way. There are some twists here and there. One twist is that one of the Wild Bunch, Angel (Jaime Sánchez) lost his Father when the Mexican General's army had raided his village. Angel intends to shoot and kill the General himself. Upon finding this out, the General and his men claim Angel and torture him. This sets the Wild Bunch off and they then care more about getting Angel back then they do fulfilling their agreement with the General. This conflict is what brings the film to an ending that rivals the works of Quentin Tarantino. It is for this reason you do have to see this film.

Rarely do you come across a film lover who does not love and respect the work of Quentin Tarantino. It is virtually impossible to watch The Wild Bunch and not think about Tarantino. This film has so many components that are similar. The initial opening scene where The Wild Bunch comes into town posing as something they aren't, the way he used legendary stars in a way you would never expect to see them, the blurry lines as to who is the "bad" guy, and that who might be considered bad is actually good. There are complexities to the film that evolve from character struggles.

There are three scenes that make the film entirely worthwhile.

1) The train robbery. This scene is so smoothly choreographed and reflective of historic train robberies. The filming in itself is smooth and well down for the amount of action that takes place. A grand scene and highly entertaining.

2) When Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine) essentially sacrifices Angel (Jaime Sánchez) to the Mexican leader. The facial expressions of the actors say everything that they are thinking. The tragedy of what is coming is clear - well, somewhat clear. Borgnine displays so many emotions in just a matter of seconds. He looks at the general and glances at Angel with disgust, which immediately turns to sorrow an apology. Before he even turns his head you can see the guilt and betrayal he feels. It is a brilliant scene and emotionally charged.

3) The finale. This is the most Tarantino-esque scene in the film. A machine gun becomes a character. A bloodbath ensues like that of Inglorious Basterds (2009). The dictator and his men are brutally slain on their own base with their own weapons. Shock value kicks in and the movie is a far cry from predictable. With The Wild Bunch the mold of the Western was broken.

There are other interesting elements to this film as well. From a historical perspective, it analyzes illegal arms trade. In the 1980's weapons were reportedly illegally sold to other countries. Could this film have laid out the plans for that, or does it simply explain how that type of thing happens? The whole concept that with the right access, a down on their luck bunch of guys could make money stealing and selling weapons to dictators and guerrilla groups is very realistic after seeing this film. There are those who don't believe in country and have no alliance to anyone other then themselves.

Also interesting in this film is the racial breakdowns. The racism in the film is atypical in the sense that it is not stemming from white characters. The bulk of the stereotype comes from the Mexican army who repeatedly refer to the Wild Bunch as the Gringos. They also run with one Hispanic, Angel. When Angel is taken into custody and being tortured by the Mexican General, they no longer care about any reward or money. All they care about is getting their friend back. They hold him as an equal throughout the film. In past Westerns, a character of a different race might have been expendable, or abandoned once the initial goal was completed.

It is worth seeing and if you are a movie fan, yes, you should see this movie. It is worth is for many reasons. First, the main reason is to see how it laid down the path for movies to come decades later. Second, it defies conventional movies of it's time. It is worth seeing for the political implications, the social contexts, and the character developments. There are parts where the movie does drag out bit. It is for that reason I could not go with 5 stars.

West Side Story (1961)

West Side Story ★★★★★ 5/5

There are a few movies that define and separate true movie lovers from people who just like movies. Among them are Citizen Kane, Gone With The Wind and West Side Story. Your regular movie lovers might not get these films and be able to appreciate what they have done for film. But, a true film lover can understand and embrace these films and see them for more then what they are.

With a film like West Side Story there is no need to really expand on the plot. Everyone who loves movies enough to be interested in the top 1001 movies to see before you die has surely already seen West Side Story and understands why it is on the list. But to be consistent with the theme of the blog let's give a little breakdown.

The Jets and the Sharks are opposing gangs in the West Side of New York City. In classic Romeo and Juliet style, a boy and girl representing opposing sides fall in love. The love is forbidden, misunderstood and rejected by those around them. The forbidden love affair continues despite the opposition. The result is fatal. But out of the death comes reconciliation and an end to the hatred between the two groups.

Simple enough? Oh no. There's far more to it then that. This musical broke the mode of musicals years after the genre had essentially died out. Previous musicals were giddy and whimsical. Romantic follies with extravagant numbers. Plots and themes were simple. West Side Story however was dark and political. Social issues run rampant through the film. Racist remarks and dialogue propel the hatred between white American raised kids and immigrant Puerto Ricans. Teen delinquency is addressed as a direct cause for the kids gang involvement. A struggle exists not just between the two gangs, but the kids as a whole against authority. Societal issues are a major component to this film, making it just as much of a case study of social complexities as a musical.

As a musical, there is no denying how incredible the movie is. The choreography is astonishing. every movement clearly relays emotion like no other musical has. Smoothly and elegantly the musical numbers transition in and out of the film. The lyrics by Stephen Sondheim replace traditional dialog in a manner that makes the musical acts fit snugly in the movie without feeling out of place. Songs like "I Feel Pretty," "Something's Coming," "Maria," and "America" capture the mood and essence of the film better then any dialog could. Hand in hand with the songs comes the dancing. The choreography is acrobatic and entertaining. The dance numbers are not pointless, nor do they lack meaning. every snap of the finger, kick of the leg and turn of the head conveys emotion. "The Jet Song," "Cool," and most effectively "Dance At The Gym" bring emotion to the screen and clearly demonstrate what the characters are feeling. Perhaps "Dance At The Gym" is one of the film's many finest moments. The tension and excitement are clearly visible when the kids are asked to form a circle and dance with whomever they are lined up with when the music stops. The dancing is frenzied and chaotic. Disdain for the selected partners is clear as is the resistance to authority. Then as Tony Wycek (Richard Beymer) meets Maria Nunez (Natalie Wood) everything literally becomes a blur. Perhaps this is one of the greatest transitions in the history of film. "Cool" is another example of how the film relays emotion. The song lyrics, the facial expressions, the body movement. So many emotions are expressed in tis song and each character deals with the events of the film in a different way. All those differences are melded together in this one sequence with such a brilliance. These scenes are hard to turn away from. So much is happening on screen so fast and characters are actually developing and changing during these numbers.

Another worth while scene is "Tonight." A song that basically takes every character and group in the story and magically combines every viewpoint of the night's expectations into one amazing number. The filming of this scene alone is a true masterpiece. Director Robert Wise did everything right. Not just in this scene, but in the whole movie. From the placement of the actors in every scene to the clothes they were wearing.

You don't have to wait long when you start watching this movie to be caught up in the fine production. The opening scene is a cinematic treasure. A camera hovers over the city of New York moving East to West. Eventually zooming down into the city and centering on the Jets immediately setting the scene as the gang that owns the street.

Of course it would be ridiculous to talk about West Side Story and not mention Rita Moreno who played the feisty Anita Nunez, a role that earned her an Academy Award. Her performance is exceptional, as is Natalie Wood's. One often overlooked performance in the film is that of John Astin. While he is better known as Gomez Addam's from The Addam's Family TV series, his role in West Side Story is exceptional. He appears briefly in the film at the dance sequence and in his efforts to bring the feud between the Jets and the Sharks to an end, he displays the fear adults have of delinquent youth. While watching this and noting that Officer Krupke (William Bramley) is in the background at the dance, one realizes that 1961 may not have been so different as it is today. Often people remark about how sad it is that there needs to be police and security in schools. This movie is a reminder that even in 1961 there was a need for law enforcement to maintain order at social functions for kids.

There is no question this film belongs on the list. A winner of 10 Academy Awards, and a soundtrack that holds the distinction of holding the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 for 54 weeks - longer then ANY other album - West Side Story is cinema perfection. Like I said in the beginning though, you have to really appreciate and understand film to fully get why this film is ranked so high and held with such esteem. It's not just the acting and the music. It's the cinematography, the costumes, the colors, the symbolism, the editing. It's everything about the film. If you can take that all in and appreciate every bit of that then you understand why this film is so powerful.

Yes - you have to see this movie - and on Blu Ray it is even more captivating then ever before.