Bold and innovative in its use of flashbacks, ellipses, and, most uniquely, flash-forwards - probably the first use of that technique in mainstream narrative film - Petulia (1968) tells the powerful story of two disintegrating marriages and the flowering of a love affair set against the backdrop of the Viet Nam war (waged on television screens), a potent counterpoint to the emotional chaos and violence in the characters' lives. This Richard Lester masterwork is an amazing and continuously fascinating fracturing of narrative structure that simultaneously succeeds in maintaining a clear and forward momentum to culminate in an emotionally and intellectually satisfying catharsis. A film way ahead of its time with exceptional performances by all the cast, especially Shirley Knight in a heartbreaking turn as George C. Scott's devastated wife and Richard Chamberlain in the unlikely role of Julie Christie's abusive husband. A vastly underrated, overlooked film, in my opinion.
Reviews
4 Reviews
The Miracle Worker
(1962)
A masterwork
12 March 2020
With brilliant performances by Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke and great direction by Arthur Penn, The Miracle Worker is a masterful cinematic adaptation of the powerful stage play by William Gibson. The use of quasi-surrealism in the starkly beautiful black-and-white cinematography by Ernesto Caparrós is haunting. It's so characteristic of many other great films of the sixties, but it distinguishes itself in the dream sequences in which it also pays lyrical homage to the ghostly images of early cinema and, even before, to the early days of photography. This adds an eerie integrity to the film's vintage period which is fraught with images that linger in the mind and heart long after the film is over. A true masterwork, in my opinion. And the final moments are deeply touching and beautiful.
Niagara
(1953)
Beautiful color noir
12 March 2020
One of the gems of late noir, Niagara (1953), owes its success not to cast, script, or locale, though locale is a factor. Rather, its genius is in its use of camera, color and sound. Early Technicolor films were almost always over-lit and flat. This film is remarkable for its deep, rich blacks and realistically saturated colors, combined with strong compositional lines typical of the very dark, black-and-white noir films of the forties. In this regard, it is a masterpiece (I would not say the same about the story). Images from it linger in the mind long after the film is over. Another innovation is its use of pure cinema to tell the story sans underscore. Instead of music, it uses powerful sound effects often built on cuts to convey emotions. The story and acting are secondary, although Joseph Cotten's performance is admirable, and even Marilyn Monroe manages to create a character that is without her usual Hollywood gloss and glamor. But the purely cinematic triumphs of director Henry Hathaway and cinematographer Joe MacDonald are the real stars of Niagara. Their work set the standard for The Godfather, Chinatown, and other great films that didn't appear until after 1970. A film both ahead of its time and vastly underrated in its time, each viewing yields examples of some new cinematic innovation.
The Belle of Amherst
(1976 TV Movie)
A great actress portrays a great poet
30 January 2020
This sublime one-one show is without question one of Julie Harris' career best performances. She portrays multiple characters in it in addition to the enigmatic Emily Dickinson, and does it with a deftness and skill that at times takes one breath away. Any fan of Dickinson and/or Harris cannot afford to miss this compelling, beautiful work of art.
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