“The Defiant Ones” to “The Devil Rides Out”

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”,”serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} –>

The Defiant Ones (1958) – Classic tale of two escaped convicts (Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier) on the run and shackled together. See it. (GS)

Deliverance (1972) – If you’re anything like me (which is unlikely, but meant to be as inclusive as possible), you’ll find yourself at the end of this movie asking “What the hell just happened here?!?” Even though it’s perfectly clear what happened. It’s that kind of movie. The guys you expect to be the hero end up being just guys, and the whole story turns out to be that of common men dealing with what slowly becomes a rural nightmare – the kind you don’t realize is a nightmare until it’s way too late. Unsettling, and it’s installed itself in our culture. (KCL)

The Departed (2006) – Scorsese returns with an incredible rollercoaster ride of action, drama, violence, and tension all put into play by an impeccable cast. Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Alec Baldwin all put on their best Boston-ese as assorted Irish Mobsters and law enforcement officers – or a combination thereof – in a grand tale of deceit and deception. (SB)

Dersu Uzala (1978) – Dersu Uzala is a Russian film that was made by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. It takes place in the late 1800s/early 1900s when a Russian Army survey team is exploring the unmapped areas of Siberia. There they meet Dersu Uzala, a Mongolian trapper who lives a nomadic existence, sleeping on the ground, speaking to the trees. They engage him as a guide. At first the army men think he is naive and silly. But the Captain begins to respect him and learn that perhaps civilized man has gotten just a little TOO far from the Earth. I won’t say more – just see it! There is little dialogue, so the fact that it is in Russian isn’t a problem. (PBW)

The Devil Rides Out (1967) – Hammer’s sumptuous adaptation of Dennis Wheatley’s text benefits from two magnificent performances – Christopher Lee and Charles Gray – and from some of Terence Fisher’s most memorable set-pieces. Highlights include a lengthy car chase through the twisting greenbelt Hertfordshire lanes involving beautiful vintage motors like an episode of The Avengers. The Devil Rides Out remains one of the most intelligent, ruminative and elegant horror movies ever made – in Britain, or anywhere else for that matter – and is still both an unnerving and riveting experience for the viewer. (KT)

 

 

 

Originally published in Raspberry World – Volume 2, Issue 1 (June/July 2007)