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CULT CINEMA
PLEASE NOTE THAT REVIEWS CAN BE IN THE ENGLISH OR DUTCH LANGUAGE
From those classic 70’s thrillers to Sci-Fi, Arthouse and even the bizarre yet hilarious world of Monty Python, from Spaghetti westerns all the way to Horror, Stanley Kubrick to Bernardo Bertolucci, and then from Besson and Tarantino all the way back to Sergio Leone …
You can check out more film reviews by us in the Dutch language here: FILM RECENSIES
There are also FILM reviews in the Dutch language & TOP 10 FILMS by TerryA on the moviemeter.nl website (where it is marks out of 5) - > HERE
Here is a selection of our favourite movies (in no particular order):
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1967)
The classic spaghetti western by Sergio Leone … most people will claim to have seen it but in reality most have actually never watched it uninterrupted from start to finish? … When they do they then suddenly realize its so much more than just a western!
The amazing soundtrack by Ennio Morricone became one of the biggest selling albums in the 70’s & 80’s, and still one of the top5 best selling original soundtracks in the world today.This film finally received its official DVD release in November 2003 but recommended as cinema viewing only – no TV does this “extra wide screen” film justice!
THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987)
This is Brian De Palma’s masterpiece. A classic gangster film set during the prohibition-era depicting the life of Al Capone and the “untouchable” law enforcers who vowed to bring him down, starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery in his Oscar winning performance and Robert De Niro as Al Capone, and an excellent music score by Ennio Morricone, this remains a great cinema experience.
RAGTIME (1981)
For a film that received 8 Oscar nominations it’s a mystery to me how the majority of film lovers appear to have since forgotten all about it? This cinematic masterpiece by Milos Forman is set in New York at the start of the 20th century. The film boasts an excellent all-star cast including James Cagney’s last ever role, of which the un-edited version is 150 minutes. Highly recommended.
MARATHON MAN (1976)
The classic 70's thriller by John Schlesinger with Dustin Hoffman & Laurence Olivier – In my opinion still the best thriller ever made!
Based on the bestseller by William Goldman. "Is it safe?"
SERPICO (1973)
Based on a true story, Al Pacino is superb as the New York policeman who uncovers corruption in this excellent crime drama and character study by Sidney Lumet. When this film appeared in cinemas back in the early 70’s it created more than just a few ripples.
THREADS (1987)
This is a BBC TV film that’s never been released outside of GB – A chilling film that tells the story of what would happen during and after a nuclear strike on a major European city. One critic described it as “Brilliant, informative and shattering”.
24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE (2002)
The story about Factory Records, Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays and the “Madchester” music scene from the late 80’s/early 90’s that was to change the face of both youth culture and music not experienced since punk rock in the 70’s! – Essential viewing for music lovers.
SALVADOR (1985)
Apart from his film JFK, this is probably Oliver Stone’s finest moment. This is a semi-biographical account of a photojournalist in El Salvador during the civil war that shook Central America in 1980. Nominated for various Oscars, it also provides James Woods (along with his excellent performances in "The Onion Field" and "Once Upon A time In America" with one of his most impressive roles to date. Highly recommended.
THE WIND AND THE LION (1975)
This Sean Connery adventure is based on a true story … an amazing account of western forces in 1904 trying to impose their influence in Morocco ... another very hard to find film that I’ve never seen repeated on TV for a long time – I have an old VHS copy … great performances (as long as you accept that a Muslim war lord has a broad Scottish accent) … Also very topical today!
PAPILLON (1973)
A true classic starring Steve McQueen & Dustin Hoffman ... based on the best selling autobiography by Henri Charriere, about life in a penal colony in French Guyana at the turn of the 20th century …"Society does not want free men, society wants conditioned men".
YEAR OF THE DRAGON (1985)
An excellent crime thriller set in NYC’s China Town - directed by Michael Cimino, who had previously received critical acclaim for his film The Deer Hunter along with critical annihilation for his film Heaven’s Gate. This is the film that also established Mickey Rourke as one of the best actors of that decade. The screenplay for this film was by Oliver Stone!
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
To many people the greatest film ever made! - Voor veel mensen de beste film ooit gemaakt! Peter O`Toole speelt de rol van Lawrence in deze film van David Lean dat in 1963 een record aantal oscars had gewonnen. Voor meer info in nederlands (for more info in Dutch) ga naar: http://www.moviemeter.nl/film/1049
3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975)
An espionage thriller with Robert Redford and a quality supporting cast which was made by the same director as The Interpreter (Penn/Kidman), and is highly recommended.
THE BIG BLUE - version extra longue (1988)
A French film production … dolphins, the ocean, freestyle divers?! ... it all sounds bizarre, but a great film & amazing images by French director Luc Besson (The 5th Element, LEON) - the version extra longue is the recommended version as it contains all scenes that were deleted for US market because they thought it was too long. EMPIRE magazine once wrote: “A visual feast … Breathtaking”.
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFÉ (1991)
A very strange title for this film by Jon Avnet, which turns out to be a fascinating and witty drama about 2 sets of women (present day and the past – 1950’s) … one of the few films made over recent years that ends up appealing to almost everyone and boasts exceptional acting, especially Mary Stuart Masterson’s performance.
MY NAME IS NOBODY (1973)
Sergio Leone’s last ever spaghetti western but not entirely a (comedy) western as most people originally thought upon its release …there are so many undertones & references contained in this film it would be a lot quicker to just watch it!)
THE LEGEND OF 1900 (1998)
An Italian production in English language by Guiseppe Tornatore is one of those films that only the Italians could make! … Tim Roth stars as a piano player on an ocean liner at the turn of the last century that takes all the immigrants over to America … when most people hear what the film is about they usually say “That sounds rubbish!” …Well, put it this way, I’ve still to meet a person who after seeing it thought it was anything other than brilliant! Tornatore has also made Cinema Paradiso & Malena (also both recommended, although these are Italian language only films with English/Dutch subtitles).
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984)
Sergio Leone’s last ever film … a gangster/crime epic … Leone turned down The Godfather (another classic gangster film from the 70’s) to direct this story instead! … Robert De Niro becomes an international star and Jennifer Connolly plays her first ever role … more Morricone music that should have won the Oscar that year for best score if the film company hadn’t “forgotten” to officially submit it! … this was the film where all the lead roles had to act whilst the music score was blasted out of speakers on the set! …Another film that fell victim to the US policies of not having films run for longer than 2 hours! … the re-mastered version has just been released on DVD with a running time of 229 minutes. Warning: there are some very realistic scenes in this film that are definitely not suitable for kids!
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975)
A great adventure film which is based on a Rudyard -The Jungle Book - Kipling story and stars Sean Connery & Michael Caine as 2 British soldiers who during the Victorian period go into uncharted territory in Afghanistan & Kazakhstan where one becomes … King!
THE NINTH CONFIGURATION (1980)
A cult classic by William Peter Blatty, the writer of “The Exorcist” – very strange but highly impressive drama/thriller/black comedy set in a modern day military hospital for the insane - in some ways similar to Oscar winner “One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest” but with a totally different finale and the classic line “I’ll show you that God exists!”
Unfortunately a very hard to find film as it was deleted back in the 90’s – a great shame!
THE THIN RED LINE (2000)
Probably one of the best films ever made about human emotions that was incorrectly marketed as a war film simply because it’s set in the middle of the Pacific campaign during WW2! … Based on the bestselling novel by the same name … 7 Oscar nominations … amazing cast, including cameo appearances …released the same year as “Saving Private Ryan”, and while Spielberg’s dose of treacle style Americana fantasy (no other allied soldiers in Europe during WW2 according to Spielberg?) became the commercial hit of 2000, it doesn’t even come close to the masterpiece that is “The Thin Red Line”!
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (2000)
A gritty emotionally charged film by the critically acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky. Tells the story of four people and the perils of addiction.
MAGNOLIA (1999)
A film that is difficult to put into any category … life, passion, fear, love, emotions, etc … a quality cast driven along by a very impressive soundtrack by Aimee Mann. The screenplay was written around the songs!
MERRY CHRISTMAS MR LAWRENCE (1983)
A film with incredible acting performances by 2 singers! - David Bowie & Ryuichi Sakamoto, which is based on a true story and set in a Japanese prison camp during WW2, this film deals with the clash of personalities and cultures. Bowie plays an Australian – Mr. Lawrence – but the real story was actually about a Dutch soldier called Van De Laurens. However the film makers decided to change the name because they decided a Dutch soldier would have no universal appeal – go figure!)
TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA (1985)
Superb action-thriller by William Friedkin, who was also responsible for both The French Connection and The Exorcist, it tells the tale of corruption and revenge and boasts a shockingly explosive ending. Unfortunately this film also became Friedkin’s last great film.
THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966)
This highly acclaimed masterpiece that portrays the 1954 to 1962 France-Algerian conflict is regarded today as one of modern cinema’s finest achievements. Shot documentary style in Black & White this is an enthralling, extremely powerful, deeply moving and often shocking cinematic experience. This film by Gillo Pontecorvo received 3 Oscar nominations, and has a deeply moving music score by none other than Ennio Morricone. The Observer said “One of the most remarkable films of all time”.
LEON (1994)
The first big budget English language film by French director Luc Besson, with Jean Reno as the hired assassin and Gary Oldman giving an excellent performance as a rather unorthodox cop. It is rumoured that Besson only agreed to make this film to help fund The 5th Element and wrote the screenplay during a trans-Atlantic flight from Paris to New York. A highly recommended action packed crime thriller.
CROSS OF IRON (1976)
Back in the 60’s and 70’s the legendary film director Sam Peckinpah was the first filmmaker to use the slow motion action scenes to maximum effect and in doing so went onto totally change the way that action films were then made. More famous maybe for classics like The Wild Bunch, The Getaway (with Steve McQueen) and Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia, it was with his only ever war film Cross of Iron (with James Coburn & James Mason) that he pushed the boundaries to the limit in this story of a group of German soldiers who were trapped behind enemy lines on the Russian front during WW2. The late great Sam Peckinpah was very controversial but also totally compelling in his filmmaking. EMPIRE magazine summed him up with two words: “ True Genius”.
Peckinpah's under studies included Walter Hill who went onto make The Warriors, 48 Hours and Southern Comfort.
     
Any film by British directors Mike LEIGH or Ken LOACH …
2 British film makers who have been making gritty (often comedy) dramas since the 1960’s … Life Is Sweet, My Name Is Joe, Raining Stones, Naked, Career Girls, Land and Freedom, Carla`s Song, Secrets & Lies, Hidden Agenda, etc, etc.
Check out http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm0005139/ for info on Mike Leigh.
Check out http://www.britmovie.co.uk/directors/k_loach/ for info on Ken Loach.
    
NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR (1984)
The original Big Brother before anyone had even thought up the idea, Michael Radford’s film from is based on the best-selling classic novel by George Orwell, and stars John Hurt and Richard Burton is his last great role. Possibly inspired by the Stalin regime, Orwell introduces us in this story to the thought police!
THE LAST EMPEROR (1987)
A brilliant account of China during the changes created by WW2 & then communism that led to the abrupt closure of The Forbidden City.
One of Bertolucci’s best films to date along with excellent performances by the entire all star international cast
MURDER IN THE FIRST (1995)
Kevin Bacon, Christian Slater & Gary Oldman … A prison/courtroom drama set in the 1930’s about a prisoner (Bacon) & his lawyer (Slater) who were eventually able to change American legislation concerning amongst other things solitary confinement. The film boasts brilliant all round performances from the entire cast. Watching Murder In The First makes putting up with all the usual Hollywood dross worthwhile. This is the kind of film, from its opening shots of Henri (Bacon) being horrifically abused to the final, powerful, closing scenes, grabs your attention and never lets go. The most frightening thing about Murder in the First, however, is that it is a true story. Kevin Bacon is nothing short of amazing. For his role as Henri, Bacon lost two stones in weight and actually volunteered to spend three days in a dungeon to get a feel for what it must have been like. Highly recommended.
THE EXORCIST 1 & 3 (but most definitely NOT Exorcist 2 which is probably the worst major budget film ever made!)
Maybe a strange set of choices, but in simple terms, the original movie The Exorcist (1973) scared me as a kid, while decades later The Exorcist 3 (1990) unexpectedly scared me as an adult! In 2004 there were 2 different versions of the Exorcist prequel made (one of them Exorcist - The Beginning had a cinema release early 2004 and has since been released on DVD) while the other versuion - Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist - is due a limited cinematic release on 27th October 2005.
  
OTHERS...
You’ve probably seen most of these, but just in case 1 or 2 slipped through the net
APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
The film about Vietnam & the 60’s – no contest! – Oliver Stone's films were ok but in comparison to this Francis Coppola masterpiece, Platoon was only average at best! Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen star amongst the horror of war in what is essential viewing.
THE GODFATHER 1 & 2
The most famous mafia drama ever filmed – more brilliance by Francis Coppola - based around true life events in the 50’s by best selling writer Mario Puzo – the film is also rumoured to portray how in real life Frank Sinatra got himself back into acting (for his role in From Here To Eternity) with a little help from his Italian connections! - forget part 3 as it’s very poor in comparison
THE WARRIORS (1979)
Walter Hill’s controversial film about gang warfare in New York during the late 70’s is about to see a re-make hit the cinema in 2006. The original film was for the most part shot at night and a dazzling achievement by cinematographer Andrew Laszlo. It was also the first film to feature a compilation soundtrack by various artists.
THE FRENCH CONNECTION 1 & 2
Some say FC2 is better than FC1, although FC1 has the most famous car chase scene ever filmed – Gene Hackman in his most famous role as NYC narcotics detective Popeye Doyle in these Oscar winning thrillers from the 70’s)
TRAINSPOTTING (1996)
A must see film and modern day classic based on the bestseller by Irvine Welsh
If you haven’t already seen them, I suppose all the Quentin Tarantino films are worth a look - RESERVOIR DOGS, PULP FICTION, JACKIE BROWN, KILL BILL parts 1 & 2 while TRUE ROMANCE wasn’t actually directed by Tarantino (he only wrote story & produced it) but is still very much a Tarantino style film, and NATURAL BORN KILLERS was absolute sensationalist rubbish … or was that its actual point?!
 
WHAT TO EXPECT?
Apart from the above list, don’t forget that we are also going to be delving into different kinds of cult films. Expect to see George Romero’s original zombie films from the 80’s, while not forgetting legendry directors like Stanley Kubrick or Sam Peckinpah, with special nights dedicated to Sidney Lumet, Brian de Palma, Terry Gilliam and William Friedkin.
There will also be a screening of the re-mastered version of Sergio Corbucci’s classic spaghetti western “Django”
WHAT NOT TO EXPECT?
As a general rule we won’t be paying that much attention to those films (for the most part think Hollywood) that can be either found in your local video shop, or seen almost every night on Dutch television! - Let’s just say that Frank Sinatra in Ocean’s 11 and Michael Caine in Get Carter are really cool cult films … but those remakes, including Ocean's 12th member are most definitely not!
And who said Frank Sinatra could only sing?
We will also see if we can get hold of some cool sounding film music by the likes of John Barry, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Eric Serra, Nico Fidenco, Nicola Piovani, AIR, Jerry Goldsmith, Lalo Schifrin, Clint Mansell, and of course the maestro himself Ennio Morricone, which we will then be able to play before and after the films are shown – What more do you want?
A selection of our favorite filmmakers (in no particular order)
STANLEY KUBRICK
GIUSEPPE TORNATORE
DARREN ARONOFSKY
BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI
GEORGE ROMERO
DARIO ARGENTO
SAM PECKINPAH
JOHN SCHLESINGER
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
QUENTIN TARANTINO
ROMAN POLANSKI
DAVID LYNCH
ALAN PARKER
TERRENCE MALICK
SERGIO LEONE
MIKE LEIGH
SIDNEY LUMET
JOHN HUGHES
GIULIANO MONTALDO
OLIVER STONE
BRIAN DE PALMA
SERGIO CORBUCCI
CLINT EASTWOOD
KEVIN COSTNER
SEAN PENN
TERRY GILLIAM
SOFIA COPPOLA
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
KEN LOACH
WILLIAM FRIEDKIN
LUC BESSON
WILLIAM PETER BLATTY
PIER PAULO PASOLINI
ROLAND JOFFE
ENZO BARBONI
JIM JARMUSCH
TERENCE YOUNG
The next James Bond film is going to be CASINO ROYALE but what happened to this 60's version?
© AAPA - 2005
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