Cinema Paradiso
It is a bank holiday weekend, and it is fitting that a certain amount of sitting about doing nothing should take place. I feel very strongly that a certain amount of disciplined, applied laziness is a very important skill, which should be applied to everyone’s life. In my own case this often involves a regular Americano and a seat in a café at a pleasant café in a little village in the Pennines, I also like watching films. With that in mind I had a look through my DVD collection this week, and I thought I might compile a list of 10 films which never really made it big, although they did alright, and you may not have seen, but would be fine Bank Holiday weekend viewing, accompanied with the obligatory curry/shiraz/Stella, or beverage of choice.
Now, don’t go expecting touchie-feelie, girly movies, the much hated “Rom Coms”. No, this will be a Jennifer Anniston free zone (in other circumstances I could happily express a different point of view on the lovely Jennifer, but we will leave that for another day)! There will be a surfeit of swords, action, and knights. If you want introspection and sensitivity ask my better half, Sister Eva Longoria! So, lights, camera, action! Here are ten to seek out:
1. Solomon Kane. A lowish budget action pic with the very able James Purefoy in the lead role of a 17th century freebooting pirate who commits every sin under the sun, only to have his soul claimed by the Devil and who tried to turn into a man of peace. Needless to say, things don’t quite work out as planned, and Solomon is ultimately forced to return to his death dealing ways to save a family and free the West Country from an evil sorcerer. Plenty of sword play, zombies, chases, wonky accents, the odd crucifixion and a big black hat. Oh, and a Puritan girl with beautiful eyes. Easy and undemanding, but great fun. “Fight evil with evil?” Yep, good tag line. Let the blood spill!
2. Looking for Eric. This is brilliant. The enigmatic French footballer turned actor Eric Cantona sends himself up and stars as himself as the mystic figure who steps out of a poster and into the world of another Eric, a downtrodden postman with a broken heart and a lost love.
Through his mystic but inspirational aphorisms, Eric 1 guides Eric 2 to a spiritual and personal redemption. And a violent drug dealer gets a kicking in the process. It is quirky, very funny and heart warming. The best line goes to Cantona himself. “I am not a man. I am … Cantona!” Pause. Then all collapses in laughter.
3. James Carpenter’s Vampires. As you will have guessed by now, we are not in “Brief Encounter” territory with this list. James Woods leads a team of cross bow and gun wielding vampire hunters against a hoard of all too reasonable vampires. Apart from the blood and gore, it features a nice turn from the rather lovely and sexy Sheryl Lee, who you may remember as Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks. James Carpenter’s 1998 take is slick, stylish and smart. And yes, her clothes come off.
4. Brotherhood of the Wolf. Aha! Just to show I am not a total Philistine, this is in French! In a remote French province something is eating the natives. Gregoire de Fronsac and his native American sidekick are sent to investigate. It is done with typical Gallic style, and involves mystery, martial arts, intrigue and a great deal of style.
The charismatic Vincent Cassels is in top form, as is his real life other half, the utterly beautiful Monica Bellucci, who plays a mysterious and highly dangerous courtesan, worth the watch in itself. A bit long, but worth it for the sheer panache, and Monica Bellucci taking her top off and doing naughty things with a knife.
5. Hanna. I went to see this 2011 offering at the cinema, and really liked it. Who is the mysterious young woman living with her father in the remote arctic, learning how to kill and about life via an encyclopedia? What is her mission and past? This is a strange but compelling film; it is Pippi Longstocking meets the Bourne Identity.
Saoirse Ronan plays the lead, and she is an incredible screen presence. Eric Bana plays her father and Cate Blanchett goes over the top as chief villain. There are silos, chases, gun fights, and the trendy middle class family from hell. And some quite bad stuff. Plus a driving, menacing soundtrack from The Chemical Brothers. Really compelling and quite dark at times.
6. Centurion. Another reasonable, mid budget, British effort, this has a top class cast including Micheal Fassbender and Dominic West as Roman legionaries who are on the run hunted by the Picts north of Hadrian’s Wall. Unrelenting pace and action, and the very beautiful Olga Kurylenko made a bit of a breakthrough I think as the chief huntress Pict; a totally silent part but she really carries it offf with great style and conviction, and she is becoming a big star now.
7. Haywire. Speaking of Micheal Fassbender, he pops up as a hit man in this 2011 Film, a vehicle for the really rather attractive real life mixed martial arts star Gina Carano to have a go on the silver screen, and you know what? She pulls it off really well as the on the run assassin who has been set up (I have just noticed the words “on the run”, “assassin” appear quite a lot in this piece … ).
It is a compelling chase movie and worth it for one fight scene featuring Carano and Fassbender alone. Very nasty.
8. Sideways Ha! Just to prove that not every choice involved sword wielding assassins, this gentle bitter sweet comedy involves a lot of … wine.
Two middle aged guys with not a lot going for them embark on a week long road trip in wine tasting country. It is gentle, thoughtful and moving and in the end there is redemption. Stand out performances from Paul Giamatti and the luminous Virginia Madsen.
9. The Right Stuff. This 1983 making of Tom Wolfe’s 1983 best seller about the test pilots who went on to become America’s first space men is compelling from start to finish and finely acted. Also, it features an Oscar winning score. Brilliant cast.
10. A Knight’s Tale. If there is one film on this list which you have to see on a Bank Holiday, it is this one. It is an off the wall take on medieval jousting which is played out to a soundtrack featuring Queen, and in some ways was regarded as Heath Ledger’s breakthrough role as the servant boy masquerading as a nobleman entitled to joust. But the stand out role is Paul Bettany as the “Geoff” Chaucer, a writer with a gambling problem, and there is a fantastic cast including Laura Fraser and Mark Addy. Rufus Sewell does another stand out as a villainous and cheating baron. There is humour, wit, romance and jousting, and a fair lady’s heart to be won. Oh, and a great soundtrack and some funky dancing. An original; and thoroughly charming film.
And with that, I bid you a happy bank holiday weekend, and the best wishes to our landlady, who regular readers will know, has been a bit under the weather for a while.
Gildas
May 8, 2013 at 00:05
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Also eminently watchable, for a variety of reasons and assuming you can
espouse a catholic taste or tastelessness as required, are, in no particular
order; Castaway, Mars Attacks, Up, Pulp Fiction, Mississippi Burning, The
French Connection, Sleeper, In the Heat of the Night, Dark Star, The Day of
the Jackal, Fantasia, Men in Black 3, and the absolutely unmissable Anchorman:
The Legend of Ron Burgundy
- May 6, 2013 at 13:11
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Might I point online viewers at Vile Pervert: The Musical, a film they
might find interesting in the light of recent events? It’s available to be
either watched or downloaded for free on http://www.vilepervert.com/
- May
6, 2013 at 08:18
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Btw, that should be John Carpenter’s Vampires…
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May 6, 2013 at 09:07
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Correct Jabba – a bleary Sunday morning mistake, I even had the DVD in
front of me!
- May
6, 2013 at 08:15
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Currently enjoying watching James Purefoy playing the deranged Poe scholar
and serial killer in The Following tv series.
Vincent Cassels is also very good in the thrillers Crimson Rivers and
Mesrine.
For swashbuckling adventure, Le Bossu, with Daniel Auteuil, Fabrice
Luchini, Vincent Perez and the lovely Marie Gillain, is hard to beat.
- May 6, 2013
at 07:24
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“It is done with typical Gallic style, and involves mystery, martial
arts, intrigue and a great deal of style.”
An excellent Fortean choice!
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May 6, 2013 at 09:06
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Quirte right Julia! It has a certain Fortean feel to it!
- May 5, 2013 at 23:10
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If you want to disappear into the fantasy of film can I suggest the daily
TV news? Or perhaps some fiction? Try the daily newspapers.
-
May 5, 2013 at 21:45
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Anything directed by John Ford, especially “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” – but
I would say that wouldn’t I.
- May 5, 2013 at 20:49
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The Great Waldo Pepper. ( I would say that, wouldn’t I )
The last time I
went to the cinema it was to see the recently released ‘Jaws’.
Can’t
remember when that was but I gave up swimming in the sea at the same time!
-
May 6, 2013 at 09:23
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OT – How did you fare in the elections last week, A&TA ?
- May 5, 2013 at 20:00
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Blimee that last link was a foreign dub – ner mind here’s another with the
marvellous sax refrain ……The Magdala pub (outside of which Ruth Ellis shot
David Blakeney hasn’t changed much in 60 years either……)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdrynRqBm7E
- May 5, 2013 at 19:53
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I also loved Dance with a Stranger – the atmosphere that music WOW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7yAaZgOKzk
- May 5,
2013 at 19:40
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Cinema Paradiso also one of my favorite movies, along with Citizen Kane,
Sunset Boulevard, Barry Lyndon, anything by Hitchcock, anything by Capra,
anything with James Dean, etc.
- May 5, 2013 at 19:32
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There are a few films I’ve picked up on my travels that have stuck me.
1. The Legend of 1900.
2. Bagdad Cafe
3. My First Mister
4. Scent
of a Woman
5. The Incredibles
- May 5,
2013 at 16:59
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Wot No Bambi?
-
May 6, 2013 at 09:05
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Ah, sorry about that….
- May 5, 2013 at 16:55
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And a great movie for a night in with your other half – Last of the
Mohicans…
- May 5, 2013 at 18:47
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Agreed, this film and Michael Mann’s other films are usually very
watchable, unique, intelligently made and are a substantial cut above the
usual Hollywood dross. E.G. Heat, Manhunter and Miami Vice
I think it is a good rule of thumb to say if filmmakers are lazy enough
to set their films in the backdrop of contemporary Hollywood, then they
usually fail to impress.
Of course there are exceptions but on the whole those films that are set
in non-Hollywood America or abroad are usually more watchable and
intelligent.
-
May 5, 2013 at 18:51
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However historical Hollywood in the form of LA Confidential is
phenomenal…
-
May 5, 2013 at 16:13
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I have to say one of my favourites of recent years has been “Winter’s Bone”
starring Jennifer Lawrence who also starred in “The Hunger Games”. An amazing
performance as an unflinching Ozark Mountain girl who hacks through dangerous
social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep
her family intact. Bleak yet somehow hopeful.
A film I can watch again and again is “The Blues Brothers” which I was
surprised to learn was voted one of the 10 worst films of the year when it was
released but has become a cult classic
-
May 5, 2013 at 16:23
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I have indeed heard good things about that. Another intelligent and
family friendly film that I enjoyed recently was “Super 8″. Quite scary in
places though!
- May 6, 2013 at 12:22
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G,
I would not call “Winter’s Bone” family friendly. There are some
very harrowing and deeply disturbing moments. Nevertheless, still worth
watching.
- May 5, 2013 at 15:13
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I haven’t watched a film since Crocodile Dundee, so I’m totally unqualified
to make any sort of comment on this thread. Nonetheless, I’d like to nominate
‘The Titfield Thunderbolt’ as ideal lazy viewing. Very British, totally
escapist, a celebration of glorious eccentricity, and in places extremely
funny.
- May 5, 2013 at 15:25
-
And of course those other classics from the same Ealing Studios: Kind
Hearts and Coronets,The Man in the White Suit and The Lavender Hill
Mob.
Curious that they all had Alec Guinness in them. I wonder, if Alec
Guinness was alive today, would he appear in one of Gildas’s vampire, blood
fest, all kick-ass films? I suppose, as he appeared in Star Wars, he may
have done a part of a Kung Fu master vampire killer in one of those
films.
Hang on, seriously?! You haven’t seen a film since Crocodile Dundee in
1986?!!!
-
May 5, 2013 at 18:08
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I’ll raise you, Engineer, back to 1979, “Monty Python’s Life of
Brian”.
-
May 6, 2013 at 09:01
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Not just me then ! In my case I was going to say Zulu, but then I
remembered Blazing Saddles and The Blues Brothers.
- May 5, 2013 at 14:10
- May 5, 2013 at 14:04
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You could have just stopped at the title for me – Cinema Paradiso the film
(orginal cut) and the music – watched the dvd for the first time in a holiday
apartment in Berlin – it was snowing outside but I was warm inside – wonderful
!
- May 5, 2013 at 14:00
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Umm, Gildas. I need your advice. Seeing as how you’re a monk and all, I
obviously trusted your selection of films as being suitable for our family get
together. So without scrutnising your list, I left all of your recommended
DVDs with my family in the front room while I spent a very enjoyable time
doing the Sudokus in the pub. I presumed they would enjoy a very entertaining
afternoon of family classics.
I have just returned and am quite perplexed as to why the youngest cousins
appear to be in a catatonic trance and are shaking, some of their older
siblings appear to have made some crude crossbows and are causing mayhem with
them, the young teenage girls have turned into goths and are trying to bite
people’s necks, the teenage boys are running around doing all sorts of jump
kicks, other kung fu stuff and are also throwing knives and my father has just
said he is divorcing my mother because she won’t take her top off in the same
way as Monica Belucci. And no one has seen my brother since he was seen with
mud on his face tying a pair of shears to a broom handle in the garden
shed.
I haven’t done anything wrong have I?
-
May 5, 2013 at 14:20
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Of course. It has to be your fault. It can’t possibly be the effects of
watching videos, DVDs or TVs as so many research studies have shown. And you
are a man.
-
May 5, 2013 at 16:24
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It sounds like perfectly standard Bank Holiday behaviour to me, Mr
Parrot!
- May 5, 2013 at 13:39
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Can I make my suggestions too?
1 Groundhog Day
2 Groundhog Day
3 Groundhog Day
4 Groundhog
Day
5 Groundhog Day
6 Groundhog Day
7 Groundhog Day
8 Groundhog
Day
9 Groundhog Day
10 Groundhog Day
Why? ‘Andie MacDowell’ says it all
-
May 7, 2013 at 10:09
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Andie MacDowell: good in Groundhog Day. Terrible in Four Weddings
-
May 5, 2013 at 13:32
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4,6,9 and 10. In memory. Seen several times. Thanks for bringing them back
to mind.
Question: a starter for ten points, anyone. Has anyone made a film of
Wolfram’s Parzival? Not Wagner’s opera but the book.
- May 5, 2013 at 13:34
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Sounds like a film I could have a part in.
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