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francis-moury
Reviews
Moonrise (1948)
Note about the influence of Borzage on Terence Fisher
It is well known that Terence Fisher's favorite director was Borzage. After the vision of MOONRISE last Sunday, I have clearly discover some elements to establish a positive influence of one on the other.
The persecution of the the man who cannot talk nor hear in MOONRISE is describing pure sadism : such a sadism will be the Fisher's one when filming Christina's persecution by the young mens in FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN, the beggar's persecution by the castle lord in CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF.
The idea of hunting men with dogs - though coming of course from THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME - will give the second part of the beginning of Fisher's THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLE, reinforced in violence since it is an innocent girl who is chased and not a criminal man.
Last but not least, the positive reality of hate as evil, negative energy and pure vice or immorality coming from Satan, by night of full moon will maybe give some transitions ideas in CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF.
The idea to fight evil with love - or Freudian idea to fight Thanatos with Eros or religious idea to fight Satan with God - is a success in MOONRISE but it fails in CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF as well as in many other Fisher.
Thematical influences so... and aesthetic ones too, certainly : Fisher will use such expressionism in shots - sometimes full sequences - but in color movies such as, again CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, BRIDES OF Dracula, and many others.
PS : another similarity maybe between the U.S. version of LILIOM directed by Borzage (not to be confused with the Fritz Lang one shot in France, of course)and some FRANKENSTEIN (especially FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN and FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED) directed by Fisher is the use of Central Europe police in uniform and specific helmet. Such policemen have the same discreet sadism, and the same patent inutile, in both case : they do not prevent evil but they frighten innocent without protecting them. This does not mean that Fisher had not seen previous FRANKENSTEIN shot by Universal, of course : we know he did. But we do not think in the first place of the James Whale's ones, rather of the Erle C. Kenton's ones, to say the truth.
Trapped (1989)
One of the best TV movies ever made and a good Walton
To compare it with DIE HARD is stupid.
It is not relevant since those two movies have nothing in common except to happen in a tower. By the way, 14 HOURS directed by Henry Hathaway and THE TOWER INFERNO directed by John Guillermin & Irwin Allen are also set in a tower : so what ? To those who have seen WHEN A STRANGER CALLS- the original one directed by Walton - and his APRIL FOOLS' DAY, TRAPPED will mean what they knew already : Walton is able - technically and psychologically - to put fear on screen. Kathleen Quinlan is excellent from the beginning to the end.
When a DVD of that one ? And if it was shot in 1.66 or 1.77 or 1.85, when a 16/9 DVD, I precise ?