Welcome to the 933rd edition of my series. There is not a lot going on right now so I will just get on with my selections for the week.
Score (2016): I start the week out with this documentary which takes a look at the composers in the world of film and was directed by Matt Schrader. This starts out discussing the early days of film on where the music score originated and how it would progress. Interviews include Marco Beltrami, Christopher Young, Trevor Rabin, Bear McCreary, Mervyn Warren, Mychael Danna, Hans Zimmer, Rachel Portman, Christophe Beck, and many others. I have always enjoyed a good music score, and this pays wonderful homage to that world. I would have liked to have seen Nick Cave be featured more as he has my favorite music score from THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD. I understand I can't always get what I want as Mick Jagger would say so I remain content by who all they do feature. This is available to watch on Hoopla Digital, Freevee, Plex, TUBI, Pluto TV, and the Roku Channel.
12 Angry Men (1997): William Friedkin directed this version on the classic which is based on the teleplay by Reginald Rose. Jack Lemmon stars as juror #8 who stands alone with his eleven other jurors in his belief there is reasonable doubt in the murder case. He tries to slowly win over the rest with the difficulty of #3, played by George C. Scott, and #10, played by Mykelti Williamson. Courtney B. Vance, Ossie Davis, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Dorian Harewood, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, Hume Cronyn, Edward James Olmos, and William Peterson play the remaining jurors. Also, Mary McDonnell makes a cameo as the judge of the case. This does not match the greatness of the 1957 version but they did a good job of updating the story. Danza was perfectly cast in his role of juror #7. As many know, I had the pleasure of being in this show, though it was 12 ANGRY JURORS where I got to play juror #3 and ranks high as one of my favorite roles. This is available to watch on Prime, Freevee, the Roku Channel, and Tubi.
Oliver and Company (1988): George Scribner directed this Disney film which puts their treatment on the classic novel OLIVER TWIST by Charles Dickens. In this story, Oliver, voiced by Joey Lawrence, is a homeless cat and is taken in by a group of mutts, led by Dodger, voiced by Billy Joel. Dom Deluise co-stars as the voice of Fagin who owns the stray dogs. When Oliver is taken in by a young girl, things get complicated when Fagin's boss Sykes, voiced by Robert Loggia, gets involved. Cheech Marin, Richard Mulligan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Taurean Blacque, Carl Weintraub, Natalie Gregory, Bette Midler, Frank Welker, Jonathan Brandis, and many others provide their voice in this film. This is some pretty underrated Disney which puts a good twist, no pun really intended, to the Dickens novel. It also has some really good music numbers like WHY SHOULD I WORRY from Billy Joel. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.
Murder (1957): This is my short film for the week which was written and directed by a young Roman Polanski. This takes place in a very dark room where a murder has clearly taken place. This was a college project by Polanski and his first completed film at State Film School in Lodz, Poland. This would introduce themes that Polanski would use throughout his career. This is only about two minutes long and is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
I Am a Fugitive from the Chain Gang (1932): Mervyn LeRoy directed this film which is based on the autobiography by Robert E. Burns of the same name. Paul Muni stars as WWI veteran James Allen who tries to reenter society in hopes of being an engineer but unknowingly gets involved with a robbery. He gets sent to prison and must endure the life of the chain gang. He finds a chance to escape and becomes a Jean ValJean type but his past comes to catch up with him. Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson, Noel Francis, Preston Foster, Allen Jenkins, Berton Churchill, Edward Ellis, David Landau, Hale Hamilton, and many others co-star in this prison film. This is based on a real person in Robert E. Burns who was on set some as a consultant and the movie would lead to a lot of reform on the chain gang. I have mentioned many times how much I feel how underrated Paul Muni is and always glad to get him back on the radar.
A Woman Under the Influence (1974): This is my tribute to the late Gena Rowlands who recently left us. John Cassavetes wrote and directed this film that takes a look at mental illness, among other things. Peter Falk and Rowlands star as married couple Nick and Mabel Longhetti who also have three children. Mabel has a lot of mental instability which Nick tries deal with but he has his own issues being at overwhelmed at work. George Dunn, Mario Gallo, Charles Hovarth, James Joyce, John Finnegan, Cliff Carnell, Frank Richards, and many others co-star in this film. This is a very intense film that holds nothing back on how mental illness can effect a marriage. Falk and Rowlands worked very well together and is not an easy watch but is compelling on many levels. This is available to watch on Max and the Criterion Channel.
Justified: City Primeval (2023): This is technically a mini-series but as I always say, since it is my blog, I make the rules. Dave Andron and Michael Dinner created this series that is based on the Elmore Leonard novel CITY PRIMEVAL: HIGH NOON IN DETROIT. It is also a continuation of the FX series JUSTIFIED which I have featured in my additional segment "Tube Time". Timothy Olyphant reprises his role as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens fifteen years after events that happened on the tv series. Raylan is now in Miami trying to balance his time with being a marshal and trying to have a relationship with his troubled teen daughter Willa, played by Olyphant's real-life daughter Vivian Olyphant. A chance encounter in Miami gets Raylan sent to Detroit to help bring down the violent sociopath Clinton Mansell, played by Boyd Holbrook. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Adelaide Clemens, Marin Ireland, Victor Williams, Norbert Leo Butz, Joseph Anthony Byrd, Alexander Pobutsky, Ravi Patel, Terry Kinney, Regina Taylor, Yosef Kasnetzkov, Eddie Martinez, David Cross, Paul Calderon, Keith David, Luis Guzman, Ahna O'Reilly, and many others co-star in this tv series. The original novel uses a detective Raymond Cruz, but they decided to use Raylan Givens instead. Many criticize this movie due to the lack of Boyd Crowder, but that story had already been told. I also already know of Raylan Givens before the JUSTIFIED ever happened as I had read Leonard's novels PRONTO and RIDING THE RAP in the '90s that feature Givens. The character Clinton Mansell could draw comparisons to Crowder. The big difference to me is that Boyd Crowder had some redeeming qualities, and Mansell was just a villain to the core. This is available to watch on Hulu.
The Great McGinty (1940): Preston Sturges wrote and directed this political satire comedy. Brian Donlevy stars as Depression-era bum Dan McGinty who is paid to make false votes in a rigged election. He is recruited by the Boss, played by Akim Tamiroff, to be an enforcer and other things. McGinty is soon elected as a "reform" candidate and must marry so he marries his secretary Catherine, played by Muriel Angelus, out of convenience. While McGinty is being groomed for corruption, Catherine helps him to be more honest which leads to trouble. Allyn Joslyn, William Demarest, Louis Jean Heydt, Harry Rosenthal, Arthur Hoyt, Libby Taylor, Thurston Hall, Steffi Duna, Esther Howard, Frank Moran, Jimmy Conlin, Dewey Robinson, and many others co-star in this film. This has some really comedic moments with McGinty perfectly cast in his role. It is a satire that remains relevant today. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
White Rock (1977): This is my second documentary for the week which was directed by Tony Maylam. This takes a look at the 1976 Winter Olympics that were held in Innsbruck, Austria. James Coburn narrates this documentary which takes a look at much of the Olympic events while also trying to take part in some of them. This also has a really good music score from Yes member Rick Wakeman which was some cool synthesizer music that went along well with the documentary. This has some really good footage and works really well along with the narration and music. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
La Femme Nikita (1990): I end the week with this French film that was written and directed by Luc Besson. Anne Parillaud stars as Nikita who is a feral street girl and drug addict. She also kills a cop at point blank and is convicted for her crimes but is given another chance through an organization that trains her to be an assassin. Tcheky Karyo co-stars as her mentor Bob who has a limited amount of time to teach Nikita what she needs to know before her wild ways get her killed. Marc Duret, Jeanne Moreau, Philippe Leroy, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Jean Reno, and many others co-star in this action film. This was a very cleverly done film with Parillaud great as Nikita. This movie started quite a franchise with the 1992 American remake POINT OF NO RETURN and the 1991 Chinese remake BLACK CAT. It also spawned two tv shows, one of which is featured in "Tube Time". In the tv series, Nikita is framed for murder and has more of a moral compass than in this movie. Also to fans of Besson's THE PROFESSIONAL, Jean Reno's assassin character Victor the Cleaner is based on his character Leon which was written specifically for Reno.
Well, that is it for this week but I did return with my segment Tube Time. The Madness starts next week so I will be going back to my weekly format for the month of October and will go back to biweekly in November.
TUBE TIME
Justified (2010-2015): Graham Yost created this tv series that is based on the short story FIRE IN THE HOLE by Elmore Leonard. Timothy Olyphant stars as the loose cannon U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens who is working in Miami gets in trouble with his superiors and is sent back to his old hometown of Harlan, Kentucky. While there, he must deal with what they call the "Dixie Mafia" which is mostly lead by his former co-worker turned rival Boyd Crowder, played by Walton Goggins. Raylan has his own brand of justice that sometimes gets him in trouble with his superiors. Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Natalie Zea, Jere Burns, David Meunier, Jonathan Kowalski, Rick Gomez, Raymond J. Barry, Jesse Luken, Damon Harriman, Jeremy Davies, Justin Welborn, Mykelti Williamson, Kaitlyn Dever, Abby Miller, Jim Beaver, William Gregory Lee, Mel Fair, Michael Rapaport, Demetrius Grosse, William Ragsdale, Ron Eldard, Sam Elliott, Neal McDonough, Mary Steenburgen, Peter Murnik, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Margo Martindale, Linda Gehringer, Alicia Witt, Sam Anderson, A.J. Buckley, John Kapelos, Amy Smart, Garret Dillahunt, Jeff Fahey, Brad William Henke, Stephen Root, James Le Gros, Patton Oswalt, Scott Grimes, Danielle Panabaker, M.C. Gainey, Brian Howe, Jonathan Tucker, Dale Dickey, Steve Harris, Wood Harris, Max Perlich, Adam Arkin, Ned Bellamy, Stephen Tobolowsky, Will Sasso, Doug E. Doug, Xander Berkeley, David Koechner, Alan Ruck, W. Earl Brown, Kristin Bauer, Peter Greene, Tony Hale, Ray McKinnon, Mo Gaffney, Chadwick Boseman, Shea Whigham, Jessica Camacho, Desmond Harrington, William Forsythe, Jake Busey, Clarence Williams III, Jason Gedrick, Michael Ironside, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, Beth Grant, Dave Foley, Carla Gugino, Larenz Tate, Eric Roberts, Alan Tudyk, and many others star, play recurring characters or made guest appearances. As one can see, this how had many big actors. This is a really good contemporary western and it is also very violent. There are a lot of very graphic killings and has a very high body count that I believe tops THE SOPRANOS. Olyphant and Goggins were perfect in their roles with Goggins being a very compelling villain who was also an anti-hero. Elmore Leonard had starting writing the character Raylan Givens in the mid-'90s so I was aware of the character. I was also aware of the Crowe family from Leonard's books in general. I think I finally started watching this show during Covid lockdown. Two of the books are called PRONTO and RIDING THE RAP. This show was based on FIRE IN THE HOLE which also has other short stories by Leonard. The last book was called RAYLAN which is more based on this show and the last book the Leonard wrote before his death. This is a very compelling series which is included on Hulu.
La Femme Nikita (1997-2001): Joel Surnow created this series based on the characters created by Luc Besson from the 1990 movie of the same name. Peta Wilson stars as Nikita who is framed for murder, condemned to death and recruited to be an assassin for an anti-terrorist government agency called Section One. She is trained by Section One member Michael Samuelle, played by Roy Dupuis, and have a difficult relationship as they fall in love as time goes on but work for a ruthless organization. Nikita's ethical dilemma sometimes gets her into trouble as well. Don Francks, Eugene Robert Glazer, Matthew Ferguson, Alberta Watson, Carlo Rota, Cindy Dolenc, Lawrence Bayne, David Hemblin, Anais, Granofsky, Sian Phillips, Kris Lemche, Stephen Shellen, Hassan Coskuner, Malcolm Xerxes, Larissa Gomes, Edward Woodward, Samia Shoaib, Aiden Devine, Conrad Coates, Kira Clavell, Bruce Payne, Polly Shannon, Julian Richings, Callum Keith Rennie, Nigel Bennett, Colm Feore, Janet Kidder, Tobin Bell, Sean Whalen, Harris Yulin, Marnie McPhail, Maury Chaykin, Steven Berkoff, Gina Torres, Joaquim de Almeida, Khandi Alexander, Margot Kidder, Juliet Landau, Adam Ant, former WWE superstar Val Venis, Michael Cera, Patrick Gallagher, Jayne Eastwood, and many others co-star, play recurring characters, or guest star in this series. This show lasted five seasons though season five had a much shorter season of eight episodes due to a contract dispute with Wilson and the producers. This was not the best series of all time but it was usually pretty fun and interesting. This is available to watch on Tubi.
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