Gentlemen's Agreement (1947)

Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

Many films try to explore racial issues, but no other shows a man that sacrifices himself to public ridicule and scorn. This isn’t just standing up for another race or religion either. Phil Green (Gregory Peck) decides to pose as a Jewish man in order to write a column about Anti-Semitism that will go beyond facts and figures of prejudice. He doesn’t have to wait long before he feels the effects of his project. Even his son tells his friends that he his Jewish, and is teased and scorned as well. Phil struggles with his own pride, anger towards those who are persecuting him and other Jews, and with his girlfriend (Dorothy McGuire) who pretends that she isn’t prejudice but acts otherwise. She can’t understand why Phil would want to continue the experiment and she wants him to just admit that he isn’t Jewish especially when visiting her Anti-Semitic parents. Phil is determined to live with the persecution and to convince his son that there isn’t anything wrong with being Jewish. He stands up against the people who won’t allow him to stay in certain hotels or eat in certain places. He thinks he can relate to his life-long friend Dave (John Garfield) who is a Jew and lives with the constant torment, but soon realizes that Dave can’t stop the pain. Phil can end it at any time by confessing that he really isn’t Jewish. The thing is, Phil doesn’t necessarily want to stop because he’s trying to make a point.

Other great films that deal with hatred and bigotry are Remember the Titans (one of my absolute favorite movies), Crash (a good movie, but fails to go into the racism toward Asian Americans), West Side Story (another favorite with a Romeo and Juliet theme), Driving Miss Daisy (one that shows how two opposites can learn to trust, rely, and love each other), and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (shows the reluctance of a white family who’s daughter plans to marry a black man).

Gentleman’s Agreement won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm), Best Director (Elia Kazan), and Best Picture. This is a great performance by Gregory Peck, but not as good as in To Kill a Mockingbird, which come to think of it is another great film that tackles racism. Although some have reviewed this film and called it a weak attempt at a great film, I really enjoyed it and thought that it had a strong message of loving your brother, no matter who he is.

Hard Day's Night (1964)

Hard Day's Night (1964)

A 1964 UK film from Richard Lester epitomizes the Beatles in the heat of their popularity. These four never seem to be able to get anything done. They crack jokes, run away from their managers, sneak off to parties, and generally act like silly school boys. This isn’t as much of a story as it is a documentary, music video, and movie all rolled into one. These boys live like any kid would want. There are no responsibilities for them yet massive fame with girls diving to get one glimpse of the Fab Four. They would sometimes even forget about each other like when poor Ringo is left all alone to fend for himself because he doesn’t quite fit in with the rest. This story is fast-paced right until the end when everyone is out looking for these escaped musicians right before a live show that will be broadcasted on television. Even the police get in on the chase! While there’s no doubt that this story will wind up quite nicely, you still find yourself happily on the edge of your seat all the way until the end.
Camera angles and filming techniques were a huge past of this film. In order to make it seem like a music video, Lester had to do many close-ups of instruments, faces, eyes, and mouths. This draws the viewer into the music in some of the rare serious parts of the movie. Then it would switch to a more chaotic filming style that would follow the four all over the city in strange shots and clips. The style for the music video segments was brilliant and probably led the way to music videos being published through MTV and VH1 today. These shots also worked because it makes the music more of an art form when you see everything about them idealized in a small and close shot. It’s used to sell the band to an audience of adoring fans.
I loved this movie as well. The quick and witty humor is amazing. From the repetition about Paul’s “clean” grandfather to George cutting the measuring tape while declaring a bridge “open”. It was hilarious, and definitely was a precursor to the Monty Python style of humor. Although ridiculous at times, it was still vastly entertaining to watch them roam here, there, and everywhere.

Goodbye Lenin (2003)

Goodbye Lenin (2003)

This German film by Wolfgang Becker in 2003 was one of my favorites that we watched in my AP European History class. It stars Daniel Brühl as Alex Kerner, Chulpan Khamatova as his girlfriend Lara, and Katrin Saß as Alex's ill mother. It is a stunning story of a young man (Alex) who loves his mother enough to create a world that centers specifically on her beliefs and values. When his mother, a communist supporter and volunteer, has a heart attack after seeing Alex clubbed in a protest, he dedicates his time to helping her recover. Even though Communism is falling, he pretends that it is still alive and well to prevent her from having another shock and heart attack. Billboards clutter the walls of buildings and giant air balloons float by advertising some new thing, but Alex manages to keep her safely in an unchanged world. He needs as much help as he can get, so he employs his sister, new girlfriend,neighborhood boys in a version of the boy scouts, as well as his estranged father who was forced to leave the country when Alex was just a boy. Despite all the help, Alex still has trouble keeping the secret, especially with the whole country changing over to a new political system and leaving Communism in the dust.
Wolfgang Becker used many techniques in this film, but the most obvious and powerful was his exaggeration of the western invasion. There were huge coca-cola signs plastered everywhere, Burger King clips throughout, and images of fat westerners stuffing their faces. This dramatic choice is there to prove that one system might not be as good as another and they all have their flaws. It satirically shows how westerners can be bought and pleased very easily with junk food, while the Alex is struggling to find old brands of food for his mother. However, even though Alex was somewhat horrified of Burger King for this reason, his mother’s dependence on a specific brand name is the same. It plays around with irony and point of view. The whole movie keeps a lighthearted tone throughout, even though it is based on a very insecure time for many. This choice works with the rest of the humor and gives the viewer a break from the political issues.
As I said, this was one of my favorites because it showed the innocence of a family and how it can change just from the world around them. The film was very artfully done and was full of subtle humor. I give this four A’s and would definitely see it again.

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)

In 1939, there hadn’t been any outright bashes made to the United States government in film. That changed when Frank Capra came out with his masterpiece Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It shows conspiracy, corruption, and chaos in the members of the Senate and how they will do anything to get what they want. This movie was almost “shelved” when it first came out. Frank Capra was offered more than the movie was worth to not release the movie. However, Capra knew that this was a very important movie and went ahead with production. The movie became a great hit and in 1989, the Library of Congress added Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to the United States National Film Registry, for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

This masterpiece is about a small-town politician named Jefferson “Jeff” Smith (James Stewart) who is loved by many of the young kids, especially by the children of the governor who hires him for their state’s second senator with the aged Senator Paine. He is a very naïve and idealistic young man who when brought to Washington D.C. finds himself mysteriously drawn to a tour bus that goes to all the famous landmarks. He is in love with the history and is in awe of the Lincoln memorial and the power of his words. Later as he struggles to find his niche in the senate, he is encouraged to write up his own bill. Smith has a passion to help boys all across America, so he writes a bill proposing to buy a piece of land in his home state for a boys camp similar to the “boy scouts”. The land would be paid with donations from the boys: “a couple pennies, but never more than a nickel”. Immediately, donations from boys come flying in to support Smith. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know that that there is already a plan by some of the other senators to build a dam on that same plot of land that Smith has proposed. Senator Paine is one of these corrupted men who won’t stop at anything to take Smith down. They produce false evidence saying that Smith already owned the land that he was proposing, and was therefore attempting to steal the money from all the little boys. In order to defend himself, Smith must take the floor of the Senate, and hold it no matter how long it takes.

This film was shocking for its time and was released in 1939 with many other amazing movies such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and Babes in Arms. It was the greatest year for Hollywood, and so it took awhile for this film to make its mark and gain respect. It’s now number 26 on the AFI’s Top 100 list even though it missed the Oscar for Best Picture to Gone with the Wind. It’s brilliantly acted by Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, and Harry Carey. There are amazingly memorable lines that make the movie like “I wouldn't give you two cents for all your fancy rules if, behind them, they didn't have a little bit of plain, ordinary, everyday kindness and a little looking out for the other fella, too”. This is one of my favorite movies and shows the power that one man can have on the world. Sounds kind of like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life doesn’t it?

Rocky (1976)

Hey Readers!

It has recently been a goal of mine to watch all the Oscar best picture films. There are 81 of them and I have already seen 51. I plan to watch In the Heat of the Night tonight starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. I am also watching films on the AFI top 100 10th anniversary list. I hope that you enjoy reading these reviews as they are practice for me if I ever end up doing some film reviewing for a newspaper or something in the future. Hopefully these will also help you enjoy some old films with me, because the oldies are where it all started!

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Rocky (1976)

Everyone in the world has probably heard of the movie Rocky and its five sequels, but I wonder how many think it is just about boxing. I was surprised when I first watched this movie because I expected it to be just that: a boring and gory sports movie geared to teenage boys. However, I found it to be a rather mellow story about an ordinary guy (Sylvester Stallone) who is down on his luck and no longer the fighter that he once was. Even when he wins fights, he barely comes out of it well and doesn’t have the fire that the name “Italian Stallion” would imply.

Rocky was directed by John Avildsen and written by Sylvester Stallone who stars as Rocky Balboa. It also stars Talia Shire as Adrian Pennino, Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, and Burgess Meridith as Micky who is Rocky’s trainer.

Rocky collects money for his boss on the streets as a side job, but his kind spirit is evident when he gives a man a second chance to come up with the money instead of beating him up like his boss suggests. He is a kind but uneducated man whose circumstances have brought him to this point.

He even has a sweet relationship with his shy girlfriend Adrian. He respects her and his motives for being with her are innocent. Their relationship is more about friendship than sex. Rocky never hurts Adrian and he takes her away from her brother’s home when he begins to yell at her and mistreat her. Although it insinuates that Rocky and Adrian sleep and live together, it doesn’t show anything and leaves it up to the viewer to decide. He respects women in general and he gives a young girl a lecture about the type of boys she should be spending time with and self-respect while he walks her home late one night.

It’s easy to get caught up in the story and to root for Rocky especially through his training. He works hard, never says anything bad about his opponent Apollo Creed, and has an undying stamina. Rocky says that boxing is the only thing that he’s good at, but he’s very humble. He knows his weaknesses and uses them to improve and motivate himself.

Rocky won three Oscars for best director, best editing, and best picture in 1976 and was nominated for seven more. Bill Conti did the music for this film and barely escaped the Oscar for best song to “Evergreen” from A Star is Born. Although the title song “Gonna Fly Now” didn’t win, it is still an enormously motivating song that plays while Rocky is running through the streets and training for the big fight. As I said earlier, the movie is less about the fight (which only takes about ten minutes at the end) and more about how Rocky gets there and how he rises up from his meek circumstances to a local and international hero. I love this movie and would recommend it to most anyone as it is only rated PG for some blood, violence, and mild language. I would even recommend the first sequel. It stays true to the first and doesn’t seem strained or lame. I plan to watch the newest Rocky Balboa from 2006. If I watch the others, I hope that they doesn’t take away from the greatness of the first two.