The Whale God (1962) Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka

Daiei Film, who brought us the Gamera series of films, made this historical drama before the giant turtle made them famous and it's almost sad they didn't stick with this sort of movie. In many ways the story, which centres around a giant whale that returns to a small whaling village every year but escapes being killed and instead kills many of its pursuers, IS a kaiju film even if whales are real creatures. Its ability to best the whale hunters drives many of the villages to want vengeance to an extreme degree, and more and more of them are dragged beneath the sea by the now uncontrollable need to "best" the creature. The lead character  Shaki (Kojiro Hongo) whose father and grandfather were killed by the whale god goes as far as telling anyone who tries to leave the village as traitors. No one can leave until the monster is destroyed. 

I do hope readers will seek this film out, it's on Tubi for free at the moment. It looks fantastic, many if not most of the effects are really well done and are ins ervice of the plot. The whale itself didn't seem bigger than a normal whale, to me anyway, but it's a fearsome creature worthy of it's reputation. he actors are good in thier parts, Hongo is very compelling and grows as a character - but not out of his obsession. 

Keeping mostly spoiler free, there are some very uncomfortable scenes in this, such as a very disturbing rape, woman used as as bargaining chips and property and a population of people that have lost thier reason and sense of humanity. It's a serious film to be sure but also happens in a time and place we have evolved from.... or have we? 

The Mark of Zorro (1920) directed by Fred Niblo

This original film version the Zorro legend is a pure delight. At this point we all know the story of the rich dandy courting the beautiful woman who finds him annoying but is also the dashing hero of the people, Zorro who cuts the faces of evil doers with sword, leaving his trademark "Z" on them as a warning to others. 

This is the role that catapulted Douglas Fairbanks to international fame and it is no mystery why. His dual role is done with an amazing amount of humour and his physicality and joyful energy in the role has never been matched. The sword fighting and the amazing stunts are still thrilling to watch and done with a grace and sense of fun that just keeps you engaged with the film from start to finish. 

Fairbanks produced the film and adapted it from the the 1919 story The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley as well as playing the titular role. 

I was introduced the character by the old TV show and have a soft spot for Zorro I have to admit. He was in some ways the inspiration for another vigilante of justice, Batman. In the comic, Bruce Wayne's parents are killed after seeing this this film so it's no wonder why the grieving child took on the role of a masked hero. To be honest this film would many anyone want to do that. 

The Crowd (1928) Directed by King Vidor (updated repost from April 2009)

 

This film is one of the all time classics of cinema. Made in 1928, it follows the life of a «nobody» born on July 4 who has asperations of grand things in his life. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he does not really distinguish himself from the crowd or society, which in this film becomes a character in of itself, always present and taking away his space, always surrounding him and restricting his movements in some way. The lead character is (played by James Murry) and, in fact, the whole story is morally ambiguous. He seems a total egotistical jerk, concerned only with his own delusion that he is better than everyone else - somehow... he has no clear idea why. His life is a mess and so tragic you can’t help but feel not only sorry for him but for yourself. Who amoung us hasn’t has big dreams only to find they were in fact, impossible to reach no matter what efforts made? He and us all have to learn to live in the world we get, not the one the one we wish we could live in. As a result, the film is thoughtfully indifferent to him all the way to the happy/bitter end. The last shot is haunting. It is at the same time hopeful and defeating as the main character start to put his life together and find happiness again we realize he will never differentiate himself from the crowd around him.

Visually, the direction by King Vidor is outstanding and the effects top-of-the-line. Some fo the images so powerful they stick on your head long after the film is done. For me the shot of the parents in the window watching helplessly as their daughter is accidently hit by traffic, the mother moments ago waving a doll he bought her now slumped against the window with the doll clutched in her hands show just how powerful silent films were and still are to those of us open enough to watch them. Director Jean Luc Godard was asked once why films about ordinary people were not being made. He responded with "Why remake «The Crowd?» It has already been done". The one terrible thing about this film is that, somehow, it is not on DVD.The lack of certain films updated and restored to the current format is, in my opinion, an abuse of the film going public. 

The Invisible Man (1933) directed by James Whales

This first film version of the H.G. Wells novel is true to the source material in most regards and gave audiences of the time a visual treat in terms of special effects. It is both funny and horrifying at the same time as the main character slips not just further into madness from the drugs that made him invisible but he also becomes violent and cruel.

While a film well worth watching, it does has its problems - some of them coming directly from the novel. The invisible man is in the book and movie - a total douche bag. I read the book again recently and watched the film just this past week for comparison. Wells' mad scientist is pretty much a horrible jerk and terrible person throughout while Whales' version is supposed to be more sympathetic. But he isn't. He has a fiancee in the screen version and she and her father inexplicably try to protect him throughout. We never see couple together until the death scene at the very end and the dialogue about him before he mysteriously left to work on his experiments seems to strongly suggest that while the invisibility drugs made him mad, he was a jerk long before he took them. Not to mention they are protecting a man who has killed over one hundred people over the course of the screenplay! Including a co-worker who of the father who was the a friend of the daughter! It is really impossible to fee anything but relief when he dies at the end with his fiancee by his side. We also never see him, literally, until he dies so it's hard to make any sort of connection with him.

Apart from the plot and character issues I had, the opening shot is amazing and the effects still work. There was a lot more care and skill put into the invisible effects than in the following sequels and the supporting cast is mostly humorous which makes it seem extra cruel when the invisible man kills some of them without a thought. As in pretty much all the Universal horror classics, the look of the invisible man is the one we all know and is the default representation of the character to this day.

It is easy to see how this film became a classic and it was pretty risky to make such an unlikable character as the main focus of the story. Oh, and if that theme music seem really familiar it was reused in the Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon series, which sort of adds an unintended camp flavour to it here.

The Wolfman

I recently got the time to see the film that was "going to bring the classic monsters back to the big screen", the new version the the Wolfman. As is evident by now, the revival never happened and this movie could easily be the reason. 

The good:

The retro Universal studios logo

The sets and locations

The cinematography 

The werewolf makeup

So far it looks like like a classic reborn, the look feel and colour palette are great and the werewolf makeup which the film should live or die by is a great updating of the Lon Chaney jr version. 

The bad:

The acting - totally phoned in by everyone

The violence is over the top and unnecessary

The cgi isn't terrible but it's obvious 

The story

With so much going right the stuff that went wrong is more a shame. The story is basically the same as the failed first Incredible Hulk movie (seriously) and wasted the chance for us to be watching and Creature from the Black Lagoon etc by now and it can't be stated enough how violently repulsive the gore is in this flick. No chance to show dismemberment and intestines on the ground is wasted. This is not classic horror, but it is horrible. 

Ethan Frome ala 2010

This short film hilariously adapts Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome - a tale of lust and tragic love - using today's vernacular.
Oh how I wish every classic got a retelling in this style. This amuses me to no end.



If you want the long moody adaptation- you can netflix the Joan Allen, Liam Neeson, Patricia Arquette film.