By Brett Blake Given the relative lack of major new releases through most of 2020 (I will still have a “Best of 2020” list coming around the end of the year!), much of my movie-watching since March has been devoted to diving deep into older films. I’ve watched over 320 movies (and counting) so far in 2020. Some were new releases, others were films I revisited, and most were films from prior years that I saw for the first time. That third group is the subject of this list, which is comprised of the fifteen best/favorite/most intriguing older movies that I saw for the first time this past year. Criteria for appearance: a movie with a United States release date of any time prior to 2020 that received a first-time viewing from me during the year. So, in no particular order, take a trip with me through a few decades of interesting cinema... LOOKER (1981) -- Directed by Michael Crichton Though primarily known as a novelist, Michael Crichton’s filmography could probably do with a positive reappraisal. This film tackles his usual interests (which tend to involve a mystery with the backdrop of some sort of techno issue/concern), but also adds a level of prescient satire that -- despite definitely being a very early 1980s film in style -- has actually allowed it to age very well. Stories about the lengths people will go to alter themselves and/or pursue fame tend to be timeless to begin with, but this story feels particularly like one you could make today, where computer algorithms dictate the kinds of content people make and consume, and where digital animation can (almost) be indistinguishable from the real thing. In terms of Crichton’s work in the director’s chair, this is a quite well-shot and edited film, with effective tension throughout (there’s a one-sided, time-distorting fight sequence in here that is particularly excellent). Albert Finney, who’s incapable of being bad in any part, comfortably slides into the role of the protagonist being framed and drawn into a web of mystery. Opposite him, Susan Dey has a very naturalistic, even quirky/funny quality that is really appealing, while James Coburn (like Finney, always a pro) lends some gravitas to what could have easily been a very tired, stock character. More people should seek this movie out, because it’s a quite fun and effective thriller. THE PLAYER (1992) -- Directed by Robert Altman Could also be titled HOLLYWOOD INSIDE BASEBALL: THE MOTION PICTURE. I don’t know how much the average viewer who doesn’t really have an interest in the inner workings of filmmaking and studio decision-making would get out of this, but for those of us who are major film buffs, this is pretty fantastic. As a satire of the whole Hollywood process, it’s often funny... if, again, you’re able to keep up with the fairly rapid-fire references to -- and appearances by -- real filmmakers/actors and their work. It also skewers the creative bankruptcy that is always threatening to overtake the business (and some might say it already has), and condemns a lot of the personalities found there in a fairly dark, biting way through a bit of a noir-inflected plot. It’s a movie made for, I think, a niche, small audience. I happen to be in that audience, so I really enjoyed it. JOHNNY GUITAR (1954) -- Directed by Nicholas Ray I’ve underrated Joan Crawford for far too long, apparently. Sterling Hayden may play the title character, but Crawford owns this movie entirely; in fact, I’ve never seen Crawford better. To call her character tough and hardscrabble would actually be an understatement, as this is Crawford in powerful, take-no-prisoners mode, but there’s a surprising amount of subtle nuance she brings to the part which elevates it way above being a simple “tough broad” archetype. The writing is tremendous, taking what could be a stock setup (on paper, it’s basically a variant of some common western tropes) and weaving in unexpected quirks and complications, populating the key roles with compelling characters, and giving them all some pretty great dialogue. This has the sort of colorful, idiosyncratic supporting cast that only classic Hollywood could provide: Ward Bond, Scott Brady, Ernest Borgnine, Royal Dano, John Carradine... that’s quite a rogues gallery that any western would kill to have on hand. Putting the great Mercedes McCambridge, one of the most distinctive female performers of her or any other era, opposite Crawford creates a fantastic dynamic, and there’s something rather fascinating about taking probably the most masculine film genre in existence and telling a story driven by two extremely forceful women that still satisfies as a two-fisted, bare-knuckles western yarn. SOUTHERN COMFORT (1981) -- Directed by Walter Hill A classic premise -- a group enters foreign territory and transgresses, bringing down deadly consequences upon them, in what is basically DELIVERANCE meets STRAW DOGS as a Vietnam allegory -- executed at a high standard. The whole ensemble is great, and the performers benefit from Walter Hill’s economical characterizations and direct dialogue. The choice of making the characters basically civilians who have the trappings of the military is a particularly interesting one, as it allows Hill to construct a scenario where these people have the outward appearance of a superior force... but they are, in fact, completely out of the their depth. Hill’s also able to generate a great amount of tension; even though we (sort of) know the general contours the story is going to take, the ever-evolving clash of personalities between the men provides for an always-there undercurrent of suspense on top of the actual threat facing them. Its choice of location also contributes a great deal to its effectiveness; the bayou is depicted as a hostile, harsh place out of step with the modern world. This is a quality thriller. VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972) -- Directed by Robert Young During the early 1970s, Hammer Films seemingly made a concerted decision to really push the boundaries of what horror content they were allowed to get away with, and VAMPIRE CIRCUS is one of the results, a surprisingly kinky effort awash with bare breasts, child murders, people sexually aroused by the murder of said children, bizarre circus acts, gruesome panther attacks, disease-spreading giant bats, and healthy amounts of sadism, all presented in an overheated manner... and all under a PG rating! The actual plot -- a dying vampire vows revenge on a village, with this vengeance being realized by his cousin’s weird circus which comes to town 15 years later -- is solid and functional enough, but it’s all those extra, strange little touches that push this one into the “overlooked gem” category. It’s pretty wild stuff, done with an utterly straight face, and the film ends up being extremely entertaining because of it. COP LAND (1997) -- Directed by James Mangold A tense, no-nonsense crime drama. It’s fun to see Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, and and Ray Liotta -- vets of this kind of material -- put fresh spins on roles of this sort, but this movie belongs entirely to Sylvester Stallone; playing significantly against type, this is a sad, burned-out Stallone, which is a mode we’ve never really seen him in, and he nails it. His arc, which takes him from willfully oblivious and ineffectual to... well, something else... is very strong, and I’m not sure Stallone has ever been better in any role anywhere else. There’s also something kind of fascinating in here about big city police politics playing out in a much smaller locale, where everybody has skeletons in their closets on the verge of being exposed, and where their personal baggage is dangerously intertwined. PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW (1971) -- Directed by Roger Vadim A truly bizarre collection of talent joining forces to bring us some perverted -- and extremely entertaining -- trash. Directed by Roger Vadim, written and produced by STAR TREK creator Gene Roddenberry (!), scored by Lalo Schifrin, and starring a cast of eclectic performers, this is just an oddball project before you even really start to dig into what it’s about... and once you do that, the strangeness gets even more pronounced! Only in the 1970s could you assemble a supporting cast that includes the likes of Angie Dickinson, Telly Savalas, Roddy McDowall, Keenan Wynn, and James Doohan, and it’s fun to see them all here. And you’ve got to give credit to Rock Hudson for playing such a complete sleazebag without overplaying it. Now, I don’t know how audacious the storytelling decisions made in here were in the early ‘70s, but by 2020 standards, the audacity of some of this is pretty striking; it’s a sex-obsessed movie, where basically all the major characters are constantly turned-on, where high school is a combustible lust factory (for students and staff), and where sexual urges are barely restrained and lead to some deadly consequences that are (again, adding to the oddness) kind of played for laughs. The brazen, blatant handling of all this stuff is kind of shocking, but in a very watchable way. NO ESCAPE (2015) -- Directed by John Erick Dowdle Shockingly solid! Putting Owen Wilson in the lead of an action-thriller is the sort of debatable choice that might sink an entire film if not done right, but NO ESCAPE actually turns out to be a pretty taut exercise in tension. Wilson and Lake Bell have a believable dynamic, and the young performers playing their daughters are just the right amount of “movie cute” without being cloying or annoying; some might say that putting children in this sort of extreme jeopardy is a cheap storytelling move, but it works very well here. Pierce Brosnan, always a welcome presence, pops up in a supporting role and has a ton of fun with it, and there are some quite nice character touches along the way that flesh things out, give us a reason to be invested, and elevate this above being action schlock. It gets a lot of mileage out of constantly placing the audience in the position of asking themselves, “What would I do in this situation?” It also benefits from a premise that -- while heightened for cinematic effect -- is not too far out of the realm of possibility (and is certainly inspired by real world coups over the years). MUTE WITNESS (1995) -- Directed by Anthony Waller The basic premise very easily could have resulted in a film that was quite sleazy, but director Waller’s filmmaking is so energetic and entertaining that the entire project is elevated. Clearly a student of the great thriller directors, Waller’s suspense techniques are extremely effective, and there’s also a playfulness at work, as well, which helps some of the more unsavory and seedy elements of the picture go down easier. The placement of the story in Russia adds some extra interesting dimensions; because the central character is a visitor (rather than a local) and inherently less at-ease because of that (in addition to already not being able to speak!), it makes the menace potentially even more grave. The communication gap is a big and ongoing component of the film, and it provides fodder not just for tension, but also for some genuine humor (there’s a pretty fun opening sequence that sets the stage for all this very well). Marina Zudina makes for a compelling heroine, and the script allows the character to be intelligent and resourceful, which gives her plenty to work with; Fay Ripley and Evan Richards round out a very likable central trio. It’s also weird (but not unwelcome!) to see the legendary Alec Guinness pop up in one of his final roles. Ultimately, this ends up being a quite fun and crowd-pleasing thriller. TIGHTROPE (1984) -- Directed by Richard Tuggle A peculiar, tense, and kind of sordid thriller that explores sexual violence without descending into total bad taste territory. There’s something fascinating about seeing a huge star like Clint Eastwood (still at the height of his stardom at this time) dive into a project that undercuts his image in such a complex way; the character he’s playing here is a devoted father to his two young daughters (who, refreshingly, are real characters and not “movie kids”), but he’s also dealing with some serious sexual hang-ups that override his professional judgment, which ends up being fodder for some quite effective character drama. The killer Eastwood’s on the trail of is a genuinely creepy figure, and the way he slowly starts to tighten the noose around Eastwood’s neck really amps up the suspense of the picture. It’s a very well-photographed film, too, utilizing its New Orleans location to add some extra personality and style to the proceedings. BLACK SUNDAY (1960) -- Directed by Mario Bava Spectacular black-and-white atmosphere. Filled with eerie, fog-shrouded forests and cemeteries, and spooky, cobweb-covered castles and crypts, this is a terrific visual evocation of gothic horror; it’s all heightened stuff, not realistic in the slightest, but wonderful to look at. Director Bava would eventually go on to be no stranger to graphic violence in the ensuing decade, but even this is a surprisingly hard-edged movie for 1960; it doesn’t shy away from blood and sadism. The story is nothing particularly notable, as it indulges in many familiar tropes (involving stuff like ancient family curses and people rising from the dead through the evil power of Satanic worship!), but the execution of that story through imagery is excellent, and Bava’s filmmaking throughout is very sharp. CAST A DEADLY SPELL (1991) -- Directed by Martin Campbell A fantastic genre hybrid which fuses film noir with the occult and Lovecraftian horror. Just the idea of that will be inherently appealing to a certain sort of viewer, and if you’re in that camp, there’s an enormous amount of fun to be found in here. Its “alternate 1940s Los Angeles” setting, where the casual usage of magic is commonplace, is a kind of brilliant conceit that allows the story to organically incorporate the fantastical elements without taxing the audience’s suspension of disbelief too much; if you can buy into that initial ask, you’re set. Fred Ward could probably have played this kind of role in his sleep, but he’s great as the hardboiled, anti-magic private detective. Plus we’ve got an early Julianne Moore performance, very good as a sexy femme fatale with her own agenda. Punchy dialogue evokes the noir classics, and it’s also self-aware about its genres in a way that’s often very funny, but it never fully crosses over into being a pure send-up. Instead, it just seems to be having a great time playing around with its ideas, and that feeling is palpable when watching. THE SWIMMER (1968) -- Directed by Frank Perry There’s something undeniably and oddly compelling about THE SWIMMER that is hard to really put my finger on. There’s a tone here -- a mood -- that is engrossing and yet also off-putting. Burt Lancaster is fantastic in the central role, playing up his inherent physicality and navigating a difficult character to invest in. His “1960s masculine ideal” physique makes for a quite striking contrast with the characterization, which is of a guy who is clearly undergoing some kind of crisis and can’t find a way to confront it or work through it, so he puts on a too-affable face and gives himself a strange quest: swim in one neighborhood pool, then go to the next, and to the next, and so on until he finally makes it back to his home. All the performances around him (and even his, to some extent) are turned up to a level just slightly more than realistic; everyone feels just slightly affected, and this is obviously a deliberate choice to heighten the curious atmosphere of film. It culminates in a finale that is extremely disquieting and kind of shocking, and which will certainly stick with me for a while. THE HANDMAIDEN (2016) -- Directed by Park Chan-wook Arresting, provocative, and magnetic. A work of extreme visual confidence in the filmmaking, and inventive plotting in the writing. The cinematography and design elements give the film a lush, sumptuous quality, and the movie overall is a beautiful production from top to bottom. But in addition to just its merits in those departments, this is also a pretty terrific yarn, packed with intrigue and unexpected developments. It also has a playful spirit that punctuates the narrative and adds some humorous zest to a plot that could have been plodding, but is instead utterly lively and constantly shifting and zig-zagging around viewer expectations in the process. It’s also deeply erotic and sensual in ways I wasn’t expecting, in addition to being completely engrossing. THE HANDMAIDEN defies easy genre classification, as it is many things, but the totality of the experience is a potent one. THE OFFENCE (1973) -- Directed by Sidney Lumet Utterly bleak, but quite powerful. Sean Connery teams with director Lumet to bring a very dark police story to the screen. After helming this and SERPICO in the same year, it’s easy to see why Lumet would be attracted to something more glamorous like MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (which he would direct the following year), because this is a picture fully in “gritty realism” style. It’s about a man driven over the edge by the depravity of the world around him; Connery is operating in a mode we never really saw from him before or since, and he’s excellent, conveying the simmering intensity of a guy trying to hold it together, but ultimately being unable to stop his rage and frustration from boiling over. He has an incredible sequence opposite (the also very good) Vivien Merchant where he relates all the awful things he’s seen in his job as sort of one long story, each incident flowing into the next, and you realize just how eaten-away this man’s soul is. The gloomy British atmosphere contributes to an uber-grim tone that, while challenging, is very much appropriate for this material. This is, at times, a tough movie to watch, and it’s not enjoyable in any conventional meaning of that word, but it’s extremely effective at what it wants to be. It should be considered absolutely essential Sean Connery.
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