McCabe & Mrs Miller 6.5/10I finally got around to see this weird one. Fresh take on the genre, I really like where they went with it. I'm among the ones who think the Cohen songs add a lot to the film's whimsical mood (in a good way). The best thing it has going for it, and that will inspire filmmakers at some point, is the way the environment is a character of its own, evolving with the story. And of course the great "physicality" of such a set (I'm sure these things will come back, one way or another, at some point in the near future).The fake snow during the shootout really took me outside of the film. Anyway, the film is a bit rough for a first viewing (I understand why CJ was initially so caution when writing about it in the film's thread), so I could see its charm but not feel it that much. I'll probably rethink my rating after a second viewing some day: it's the kind of film that either grows on you or becomes annoying as hell.Of course, like many here have noted, its influence on OUATIA is striking.
Rumble Fish (1983) - 3/10. Pretty pictures. Stooopid story. Sure looks good on blu.
Yeah. I've started it a few months ago, I've yet to finish it. The mix of indie 70's filmmaking with the classic 50's setting and black and white is interesting, though. It's more convincing than what Scorsese tried with New York, New York.
It was described by FFC as an "arthouse movie for kids" and while that doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement, it sort of explains its uniqueness.
The Pumpkin Eater (1964) - 9/10. Anne Bancroft plays a woman with eight kids, married to a philandering Peter Finch, her third husband. She's having mental problems. Directed by Jack Clayton, this is marvelously photographed by Oswald Morris. This was a second viewing for me (on DVD) and I really noticed all the Pinteresque touches this time (Harold Pinter wrote the screenplay of the adapted novel). There is one amazing scene in a hairdressers where Yootha Joyce talks to Bancroft, in turns fawning and then venomous. And all the bits with James Mason are acting gold. Hey, Bancroft was one stone fox! I get where Mel Brooks was coming from.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is Cassavetes at his best (together with Faces), and I really love that one. 10/10
I'm pretty sure that I have never watched the short version. It was always the real one which was shown on TV or released on discs. I have that short version now on the Blu, as bonus, but I doubt that I will ever try it. No, get the original version, and you get 25 more wonderful minutes of pure cassavetism.The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is somehow some kind if genre film, but actually more an anti-genre film, which means that unlike Gloria, which Cassavetes accepted to direct as a favor for his wife, and which is different from what he did before (but also good, only in an other way), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is 100 % Cassavetes, as much as Faces or Husbands or A Woman Under the Influence or Love Streams, and I love them all.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is somehow some kind if genre film, but actually more an anti-genre film, which means that unlike Gloria, which Cassavetes accepted to direct as a favor for his wife, and which is different from what he did before (but also good, only in an other way)
I've seen all of his stuff but I didn't find this to have the kinetic energy of Husbands and Faces
You know what? I was under the impression you were gonna praise the Cassavetes. Tell us more!