“The Eagle Has Landed” to “Edward Scissorhands”
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The Eagle Has Landed (1976) Ambitious adaptation of the Frederick Forsyth novel about a German plot to kidnap Churchill. Directed by John Sturgis and with a stellar cast (Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter, Donald Pleasance, Jean Marsh, Larry Hagman). Told with a balance often missing in war movies. A humane and intelligent action movie would appear to be something of a contradiction but it’s what we’ve got here. Sutherland is particularly brilliant. (KT)
Easy Rider (1969) Hip, insightful, influential road movie about hippies in search of America and made at a time when such a concept seemed not only valid but necessary. Those who got it, loved it, those who didn’t weren’t so much a square as a rhombus. Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson are great, the acid trip sequence still has the power to really disturb and the soundtrack remains a classic. Time has dimmed it’s relevancy but the ending remains truly shocking to first-time viewers. (KT)
Eating Raoul (1982) Another extremely low-budget quirky satire on Hollywood films made in, would you believe it, L.A? Paul Bartel wrote, directed, and starred, while filming his project incrementally as he worked to scrape the funding together. He had many actor friends who worked hard to make this work. It does and it shows. Satirical cannibalism has often succeeded when skewering the upper-crust. Paul and his wife are the epitome of normalcy, even their name is bland; no, their name is really Bland. They plan to save up to open an extremely fine restaurant in the country. The plot may be staid, but the sharp writing, quirky surprises, and snappy satire are sublime. This is a great party film though not good dinner-party faire. (KWR)
Ed Wood (1994) The tagline for this movie couldnt have been more perfect. Movies were his passion. Women were his inspiration. Angora sweaters were his weakness. Its almost impossible to think of another director/star team who could have brought this film not only to the screen, but with such love. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp dont make fun of Ed Wood, his colleagues, or his films but they avoid romanticizing the subject too. See it in all its B&W glory! (GS)
Edward Scissorhands (1990) In my own all-knowing opinion, Tim Burton’s best movie, period. An off-center fairy tale, and Vincent Price, to boot! (KCL)
Originally published in Raspberry World – Volume 2, Issue 1 (June/July 2007)