Finally, "The Conformists" is here. It's about time!

Possibly the greatest film all time!
On an unofficial tour, Bernardo Bertolucci's lost masterpiece made its way to Portland. Their has been a restored subtitled print going around, but no word of it hitting to DVD. It is one of the most important films of the 70's and it's original negative is lost. Their was a revival tour back in 1994, I was too young to understand the concept of the "Conformist" and instead later watched it on cable. The funny thing is, is that they been showing "The Conformist' on cable for awhile during high school. It was funny, because they would show it on Cinemax, and I always wondered how they get the print to this. Other cinephile's proclaim that it is one of the best films ever and is rarely hard to see the uncut version. So the version I was raised on was the dubbed copy, Cinemax and HBO would show it uncut, but couldn't get the subtitled version. They would show uncut, but the controversial "Dance of the Blind"(Which I would be talking about later on) was took out from theatrical release. So Cinemax and HBO had the uncut version but didn't have the subtitled print and would show that whole sequence(Dance of the Blind) without sound. I would watch it and wonder what their is going on, as time went on I would watch it regular on cable and watch the same sequence and try to read lips. Pretty ghetto, but who cares. As Henri Langlois would say is that when he showedBuster Keaton films with Czech title cards and people would complain, he would say,"Why do you need title cards for Buster Keaton. I do it for the audience to sharpen their senses". True, but I thought that in my life time I would never see it uncut, subtitled with sound and on the big screen. Then came Friday, at the glorious Cinema 21, up in Northwest. They showed a restored print of "The Conformists" on the first day of December. Merry Christmas to me!
The first quarter of the movie feels very Godardian, in matter fact it is. It feels wrong of me to quote Pauline Kael, but she said that everyone copies Godard, but no one has extended his views than Bernardo Bertolucci. Which is true, because Bertolucci puts more beauty into it than Godard does. Not saying he's better, but rather just copying Godard, Bertolucci relishes his techniques in beautiful back drop, camera work and gorgeous cinematography from Victorio Storaro. That's looking from the outside, it is what's inside the film that makes it stand alone.
The awesome Jean-Louis Trignant plays a Marcello Clerici, a fascist coward that is willing to conform to be "normal". He longs for normality, but later regrets its. He is assigned to assassinate his former mentor. Bertolucci tells the story in a non-linear format starting from Marcello going to his assignment which is an assassination, notice the theme music and how it will stick with you after the movie while walking to the bus. Its beautiful, the complex shots that alternate the shadows when Trintignant is walking the streets. The huge takes that follow Trigtignant that is synch with the music. It's an exercise in style, but not over substance.
The non-linear format sets up a character study of why Marcello is doing this and his past that haunts him and later gives him an urge to be normal. You look at this character and realize that he's a bitch and wonder why you're following him, but Bertolucci has love for him and with the teaching of Godard makes him look cool. It's like he's making fascism cool, and he succeeds at doing so. The scene when Marcello is young boy which gives an insight that isn't wasted towards the film, where he is molested by an hermophodite driver. It's hard to watch, but gives more depth to Marcello. I know you're not suppose to like the character, but you'll understand his right to complain about normality.
The scene that I never heard the dialogue before which is the "Dance of the Blind" scene, where a group of blind people are having a party at a house boat (funny concept). His friend Italo, who is blind and a true fascist talks to Marcello about love and politics. I finally watched it on the screen and heard the dialogue, and for whatever reason it was taken out of initial release is a shame. It wasn't pointless, it was beautiful and gave more insight into the politics of fascism. Which is easy to understand, but gave the reasons why these characters are fascist.
Bertolucci may be hit and miss, and I mean hit-and-miss. He sure has missed, but when he's on it...he knows how to make a great movie. I respect him more as person talking about films than an actual filmmaker. I notice from this films till his last is that the films are different, but he hasn't lost his style.

By all means try to see this, do whatever you can. I doubt their ever movie again in Portland and anywhere else. If it comes your way, go see it. You will not be disappointed. Please someone buy the rights to this film and put it out on DVD. Please Paramount, enough begging!

Review of Masters of Horror 6: Joe Dante's "Homecoming".

Left:Joe Dante doing his thing. Left:A Zombie talking about rights.













Out of the rest of the bunch that are enlisted in the "Masters Of Horror", the few that talk about using horror as an outlet that relates tot he current events in politics. Romero is known for his social commentary and still is feels like he didn't push it enough. It's there but it still is in the confines of a zombie film, which is not bad, but it feels like Romero wants to say more. Stuart Gordon has talked a lot about it and feels like it's about time horror expands into the realm of political issues. I think that Stuart Gordon has that film in him someday, at the H.P. Lovecraft film festival he talked about another "RE-Animator" sequel. Where Herbert West is in the White House, kinda like "Re-Animator in the White House", I'll see it. Heck, I even own the other two sequels to the "RE-Animator".
But the rest of the bunch like John Landis, Tobe Hooper, Don Coscarelli, Mick Garris, as they all talk about it Joe Dante is the one to actually display that ambition. Joe Dante is back in the field of horror since the "Howling", and it is awesome. Before I get into this review, or just criticism of the film. Let me start talking about Joe Dante, I love the man and respect everything he does, I was heavily influenced by Joe Dante(and who wasn't). When people thought that he was going soft after the 'Howling", which was a werewolf film of bold and brilliance. After the "Howling", he started doing kid fares that people thought that he sold out. I never took it that way because like me, I was raised with 'Gremlins", "Explorers", "Innerspace","The Burbs","Small Soldiers",'Matinee", which was an homage to William Castle. I loved the guy so much that I use to watch that show that he produced back in the early 90's called "Eerie Indiana". I always look back on those films because they left a mark, it presented Joe DAnte's love of movies. It was like, he wasn't just making kid fluff, but kid films that he would want to see as a kid. It was like putting his whole childhood in those movies, growing with Mario Bava, William CAstle, Edgar G. Ulmer, Herbert Strock(R.I.P) and Val Lewton. His films had so many different references that opened my eyes to so many different movies. Thank you Joe DAnte. This doesn't sound a review, it sounds more like a love letter, but I have so much respect for him and his films. And as I grew up and actually did research on this man that supplied most of my childhood, I found out that he was a film critic for a fanzine for B-Movies or Drive-in flicks. The guy was a huge cinephile and I always got that from watching his films. Lately, in high school he has influenced me to be a critic. I have been reading his criticism, because 'Video Watchdog" has been diggin up his old reviews from his fanzine and their apart of a section called 'Joe Dante's Fleapit Flashbacks". Joe Dante is great filmmaker and critic that feels like when he crafts his work he gives it a critics touch, his latest for the 'Master of Horror" proves my point.
Now on to the review of the "Homecoming", set in a 2008 presidential election where a Bush-like president is running. The whole short is not about him, but rather the conservative loyals that run his campaign, including an Ann Coulter-like character and Joe Dante alumni Robert Picardo(I'm surprised another Joe Dante alumni, Dick Miller, is not in this) playing a Karl Rove-like character. The whole premise is that corpses from the war are coming back from the dead. Instead of the zombies out eating the brains of the conservatives that put them in the war................They do something way worse, they vote. The whole movies goes into the debate if their allowed to vote and the whole story is narrated by this one conservative that accidentally started this incident by a wish. It's funny, I think that's what Joe Dante wanted it to be but he doesn't get preachy or biased, because he seems to make fun of everybody. The one line I like is the Ann Coulter-like character talking about the zombies saying," They have the brains of liberals". That's some funny stuff, Dante really hit his mark with this and has really started something. And as a critic Dante doesn't go into the zombie cliche's, that make zombie films so entertaining, instead he focuses on the humans dealing with this fiasco, and the zombie are just as human as anybody else. As the film not being biased, the reason why I say that is because it told through the conservative's campaign managers who are struggling to put there president in office, but can't because of these zombies voting against him. The one thing I noticed is that Joe Dante shows Karl Roves to be actually a smart guy, even through this whole zombie thing is happening, he's coming up with ways to re-use dead soldiers for the war. I ain't no conservative and really don't like Karl Roves, but the man must be smart to put Bush twice in office. Robert Picardo, who plays this Karl Rove-like character, hits his mark on every line and makes it so believable. Robert Picardo is an awesome character actor, his character is not over-the-top, but just on it.
Joe Dante doesn't relegate to the zombie gore that makes the genre so fun, but instead goes for something more intense than a zombie eating rib cage or anything. And while it's all told through conservatives side, which I fine to be more fun rather told by the liberals. For short amount of time it wraps up into a beautiful elegy that just like all of his films as a kid for me, leaves a mark. Dante is back, and really started something that might open a trend of personal horror. WAY TO GO PLAYER! This Aliye Nyoka saying Goodnight and Peace Out!

Review of Masters of Horror 5: Mick Garris' "Chocolate"

Left: Mick Garris showing how it all goes down. Right: Lucie Laurier showing she is down!














Of course, the series creator has to have a hand(no pun intended) in his latest series. I have never been a connoisseur of the man, but have seen his other films from "Critters 2: Main Course" to "The Stand". It's funny how now he can set this whole thing up on Showtime and lately it feels like he gives the directors to show as much T&A as possible. I'm not complaining, I've just been noticing. Then again, I shouldn't be surprise it is SHOWTIME! This entry in the horror series based of GArris' short is no exception. While the others stand alone to me as masterpieces, to mixed bags, and just entertaining. This falls in the entertaining zone, but it's mere direction that just fills a whole hour of suspense that makes it feel longer. The story is simple, about a man that starts having the senses of a mysterious woman. Garris gives no resolution into why he starts having the same senses of this mysterious woman, but just go in format where he has to deal with it. We don't know why, I didn't know how he got the ability to see, smell and feel what this woman sees, smells and feels. Garris gives no explanation, and the whole movie isn't about finding that explanation but rather the man having feelings for the woman. So a movie that is sick twisted new age stalker love story. A concept like this, Garris basically takes from "The Exterminating Angel", where the rich aristocrats deal with the fact there stuck in the room. Same goes for "Chocolate", not comparing it to "Exterminating Angel", but it has that note and extends it. It's like surrealistic suspense, with a concept like this the woman commits a murder, and of course he sees it. Theirs the kicker, the other nifty thought is that he also feels her when she masturbates and has sex with a man. That's some trippy stuff, as he has these randomly blackouts he is disconnected with the real world and tries to maintain a state of alertness so he won't..........I don't know crash into a car. When he has these, and by the way the character's name is Jamie, he has them when he's having sex with a girl or driving or and other instances that Garris can put this concept into twisted sequences. Matt Frewer(Max Headroom) plays his best friend who is a laughable scientist by day and punk rocker at night. I always liked Matt Frewer, even who he gets bit parts he still does a good keeping a place of not overacting but hitting his note. I feel the man is underrated!
Garris did a really good job, but people will feel its mediocre suspense filler. It may fall into that category has do most of his works, even though they have attention span. You watch them late night and can;t stop watching it. it could follow into that, but GArris crafted knew where to turn and what numbers to hit in this one! As the story unfolds, he tends take a predictable approach that you already know. If you do already know how it end, which is something that be said in one or two sentences. It still doesn't differ the fact on how it's executed! To me, I love it. It's a MINI-MASTERPIECE!

Review of Masters of Horror 4: Dario Argento's "Jenifer"

Left:Director Dario Argento.Right:A madman about to decapitate "Jenifer".



















A Grim Italian Fairy Tale!
What can I say!!!!!! Argento's has been in the realm of the director's that lost it. I wasn't very pleased with his latest movies like " The Card Player" and "Sleepless"."The Stendhal Syndrome" was his last decent movie. I love the man and his work, but he's up there with Tobe Hooper, and like him he proves me wrong. I loved "Jenifer", it had the spirit of a fairy tale that went wrong. Originally FRank Darabont(Shawshank Redemption) was entitled to this project, but left because of the sexual explicit content. I'm a fan of FRank Darabont, but I knew he wasn't the man for this. Darabont being a gifted writer and director he could of been on board for "Master of Horror" and adapt another Stephen King nouvelle. Argento took on the project and was given the budget and means to show whatever he wanted. Show time saw his final cut and said it was too much and cut it. What they just aired was enough for me, and the audience, I hope when they released on DVD they show this uncut. The reason why I call it a fairy tale is because the stories sounds a like one by the Grimm brothers or by one of your drunk uncles. Steven Weber(from my childhood show "WINGS" and who also wrote the screenplay) plays a cop who was on a stake out with his partner and catches man wearing a trench coat in his underwear dragging a blonde woman by a rope and carrying meat cleaver. AS he bends the woman over and tries to decapitate her with the meat cleaver Frank(Steven Weber) shoots him, the man's last dying words were "Jenifer". Now to get to the basics, the woman who was being attack was Jenifer( played by Carrie Ann Fleming giving an all out physical performance) a girl the body of a pornstar but a disfigured face. Frank still is frighten for a minute and tends to her, after having dreams of the girl he wonders what going to happen to her. He finds out that they stuck her in a insane asylum, he rescues her and brings her back to his place where he lives with his wife and son. For some odd reason he falls prey to Jenifer's aura and happens to have an affair with her. After the wife and kids leaves after catching Jenifer eating their cat, Frank tries to sort things out but ends up just having wild sex with Jenifer. As disfigured her face is she still as a hot body, and Argento does in a way that erotic but still twisted. Where he ventures the territory Joe D'Amato and Jess Franco go, where they mix horror and explicit sex, except Argento actually succeeds. The whole movie feels like "The Elephant Man" meets "Emmannuelle", you know. Except the movie goes into a state of Jenifer having cannibalism, and she eats the little girl from next door. Shown enough where you the grotesque tensity, the whole stories takes Frank and Jenifer running away to a small town. There he realizes that Jenifer must be stopped and does the same thing the man with the meat cleaver did and fails. The story has the sense of a fairy tale about a disfigured woman with a body of beauty that woos everyman shes meet and leaves them to insanity. The one opening factor about the whole movie was that the score was done Claudio Simonetti from Goblin. With his score it gives the old feeling of a 70's giallo, that has been lost in recent Argento films. Looking for plausibility is something that you should not look forward to when watching this. Argento created a whole universe that just allows the score, gore and story flow. I never found the sex to be pointless, it added to the atmosphere and was constructed well to the point of being unerotica, but not looking away. It's like "Jenifer" came out of the screen and brought that spell to you in your living room. You already know the ending about thirty minutes in to it, but you was trying to grasp more from it. As 2-dimensional the characters were I still had questions about "Jenifer" and why they call her "Jenifer"? How many men has she done this to? What is she? Argento never improvises an answer and it adds more to the mystery of "Jenifer" and makes you stay tuned till the last frame Ann Fleming, not to give her credit for just being naked even though it was enjoyable, but I really liked her performance. Physically, because it was all a physical performance but it's physicallity might even impress Buster Keaton. Alright, that was sad but she worked it and hope to see speaking roles that shes in because she could be in scream queen status. Steven Weber did a good job, he always does even from "WINGS" I always enjoyed is worked, I was surprised he did the screenplay, it needed albeit of work but was good. The gore is well-crafted courtesy of Argento's mind and vision to show extremity, but the make-up goes to Gregory Nocotero. There are scenes where how absurd it may be it still looks real. The gore is superb and grotesque that pushes the limits than most of his films. I enjoyed every minute and contemplating that it might be Argento's comeback or the best thing Argento has done in awhile. I truly loved this short and is a personal favorite right next to Stuart Gordon's and hopefully Joe Dante's next one! Argento is a sick, twisted, disturbing bastard and is back in the game. Could be his comeback!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!