Seeing Double!

Well, classic film friends, it's time once again for that end of Summer treat of treats- The 3rd Annual Film Forum Summer Double Features Festival! Just like it used to be in olden times, you can pay for one ticket and stay through two movies! Unlike in olden times, the two movies have been specially curated by film wizard, Bruce Goldstein, to highlight/connect an actor, director, genre, or maybe just a title.

Here are my picks for the best of the festival, starting Friday, August 24:

The Last Detail/Five Easy Pieces

Before he became a leering parody of himself, Jack Nicholson was the quintessential '70's actor. He instinctually portrayed the man who vainly struggled to fit into the world, and found rebellion to be the surest escape. In Five Easy Pieces (1970) and The Last Detail (1973), Nicholson does some of his best work. In Five, he's the disaffected pianist who pisses off his family by rejecting his talent and working in an oil field. In Detail, he's a Navy grunt who takes pity on a wayward seamen. Nicholson's ease with masculinity but discomfort with the rules that defined a man made for an explosive combination that would be his stock in trade for his Seventies career earning him three Oscar noms and eventually a win for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).

But Nicholson's not the only reason to watch these two flicks. Five was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and his co-star Karen Black is a dim-witted spitfire with a monologue that nabbed her an Oscar nom as well. Not to mention you get to see Sally Struthers engaged in some very un-Little Goyl activities.

Detail was directed by Harold & Maude auteur Hal Ashby and also featured an Oscar-nommed supporting performance from Randy Quaid as the childlike AWOL dufus that Nicholson is tasked with retrieving. Robert Towne was Oscar-nommed for the screenplay and would go on to win the next year for another Nicholson classic, Chinatown (1974).

Badlands/Carrie

Sissy Spacek started her movie career with a bang. As homicidal gal pal, Holly, in Terrence Malick's harrowing murder-opus Badlands (1973), Spacek creates an initial impression of freckles and sweetness.

But through the picture, she helps her murderous boyfriend Kit (an impossibly young Martin Sheen) in a cross-state killing spree, evolving into a complicit and complicated woman. The performances from these two actors are spellbinding- and that's saying something as Malick's camerawork with the endless Texas prairie and radiant sunsets competes for our attention.

Three years later, Spacek would again play an innocent hiding darker, blood-soaked urges in Brian de Palma's horror classic Carrie (1976). So much has been written about this movie that it would be a waste of pixels for me to try and find something original to say.

It is a standout for the genre in this time period, period. I once sat in an audience packed with Carrie fans (and Piper Laurie) who knew what was coming at the end- and we all still screamed our fool heads off.



Taxi Driver/Mean Streets

This double feature doubles-up on several items: Direction by Martin Scorsese, performances by Robert De Niro, and the grubby setting of Seventies New York City.
Taxi Driver (1977) is an unassailable classic with distinctive direction from Scorsese, chilling Oscar-nommed performances from De Niro and Jodie Foster, and a posthumous Oscar nom for film score maestro Bernard Herrmann. It's a sick, dark chocolate of a movie- but wow, it holds up.

Before Taxi Driver though, Scorsese, De Niro, and New York cut their teeth on Mean Streets (1973). While his later work gets the majority of the attention, Mean Streets is a fascinating watch to see how the elements of Scorsese's direction that would become his signature style were all there from the beginning.

Morally ambiguous (or downright moral-less) protagonists, a loose- improvisational dialogue style, and a visually cynical view of the New York streets are the center of this tale about a hood who dreams of bigger crimes and greater glory. One particular scene employs inventive, swirling camerawork to bring the audience into a sprawling barfight- almost by centrifugal force. Scorsese always had it, and Mean Streets proves that.

Desperately Seeking Susan/After Hours

Who would have thought of doing a Rosanna Arquette/80's New York double feature? Apparently Mr. Goldstein- and it's a fantastic idea! Both released in 1985, these two cultural gems set in New York City offer a more lively and eccentric view of the Big Apple as it crawled its way back from being told to "Drop Dead."

Desperately is best remembered for helping launch the media domination of a girl named Madonna. Having released her Like a Virgin album only six months earlier, Madonna was becoming a pop star- but wasn't content with just ruling the airwaves. She wanted to be a movie star too.

It didn't hurt that her hit song "Get Into the Groove" was on the soundtrack and the accompanying hit video with clips from the movie had young girls (and gays) flocking to the theater to see their newfound idol of music, fashion, and chutzpah. Madonna's made many attempts since Desperately to conquer the big screen, but her most natural, genuine performance happened in this film. Oh yeah. Rosanna Arquette's in it too.

If after seeing Taxi Driver and Mean Streets you think Scorsese would not be a good candidate to direct a comedy, think again! Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) plays a square microprocessor who falls down the rabbit hole into the quirky art world of Soho. At a time where there are no smartphones, ATMs, or Venmos Paul goes from whacky misfortune to whacky misfortune all with the hope of making it with the screwy object of his desire, Marcy (Arquette playing screwy well).

With a supporting cast full of notables like Cheech & Chong, Linda Fiorentino, Terri Garr, Catherine O'Hara, John Heard, and a pre-Balki Bronson Pinchot, After Hours proves that Scorsese could find comedy on the grungy streets of New York as much as he found drama.
"Is That All There Is?" indeed.

If you want to go from double-vision to triple-vision, I HIGHLY recommend you check out the documentary Three Identical Strangers (2018). This is one of those times where I can barely tell you anything about this film without spoiling it, so all I'll say is this story of triplets separated at birth is an emotional rollercoaster ride with twists and turns that will leave you with your mouth hanging open. Director Tim Wardle dispenses and reveals facts to us in such a way that the film plays more like an ingenious suspense story than a documentary. I literally gasped and yelled at the screen. Don't miss this one. Also, the triplets have a cameo in Desperately Seeking Susan.

How's that for making connections, Film Forum?

You Kiss Your Mother With That Mouth?: Savage Grace

Sometimes ignorance is bliss. A couple weeks ago, one of my friends recommended I watch Savage Grace (2007). I vaguely remembered the title- and once I recalled Julianne Moore was in it- I was good to go. I would watch La Moore poop in a can- and for all I know, that happens in the upcoming Bel Canto (2018). What I'd forgotten was that this was the somewhat infamous based-on-a-true-story film about an uncomfortably close relationship between a mother and son. I didn't look any further into it than that- and I'm glad I didn't- cause the ending made my jaw drop.

Savage Grace recounts the life of our narrator, Antony Baekeland (Eddie Redmayne), heir to the Bakelite fortune and apple of his omnipresent mother's eye. Barbara (the aforementioned not-pooping Julianne Moore) has shifted her affections to her son because her icy husband (the nicely built Stephen Dillane) is tired of her social-climbing and philandering. As Antony tells us, "I was the steam when hot meets cold." As we watch Antony's story unfold, we realize that steam can cloud and confuse what we see.

What made Savage Grace so interesting to me was the classic style in which director Tom Kalin shot it. I don't just mean the beautifully realized period costumes and exotic European hotspots from the Forties to the Seventies that populate the film. For a film that is so much about sex, we see very little of the act. Glances, touches, and cuts to "the next morning" take the place of our seeing what actually happens when passions become unmanageable.

Classic movies did this to avoid the evil red pen of Joseph I. Breen. But Kalin does it to allow our imaginations to fill-in the blanks. When we do catch these moments, Kalin focuses more on faces than on bodies. It is not about the act- it is about what is going on internally for this fucked-up family.

Objects also receive unusual focus in the camera frame. Whether it's the dog collar of a long-dead pet, a record player, the serving of morning tea, or the accoutrements of a failed suicide attempt, objects hold the permanence in this story over the people. This is after all a memory play- and memory thrives on physical anchors. Throw in some mirrors and portraits and in style, Savage Grace feels like a Minnellian or Sirkian melodrama but with content that far exceeds anything classic Hollywood could have produced.

Moore is absolutely magnetic as the emotionally starving Barbara, and Redmayne gives a wounded, natural performance free of the tics and tricks he's picked up lately. If you don't know about the true story, I recommend waiting to research it until after you've seen the film. Trust me. Give yourself a little surprise in a world that has become reliably insane.

Babsolutely Babulous

I'm a binge-watching failure. When it was announced that six of Barbra Streisand's television/concert specials along with a special edition of A Star is Born (1976) would be released on Netflix on June 15th, I should have set time aside in my funemployment schedule to watch them all and immediately report back to my faithful readers.

Well... I'm doing that now... almost a month later. In my defense, it was a much more all-consuming task than I first thought- and I needed to make time to see Liz Taylor and Mia Farrow in Secret Ceremony (1968). I became so guilt-ridden over not finishing all the shows that I dreamed about having dinner with Barbra and breaking her toilet.

But better late than never as they say.

For your Babs binge-ing pleasure, here is my ranking of the six classic specials and the most recent Netflix-produced concert special- Best to Not As Best:

Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park (1968)

Fresh from shooting Funny Girl (1968), Streisand flew back to New York City in June of 1967 to perform in Central Park in front of 135,000 fans- okay maybe it was 150,000- but who other than Barbra is counting?
Streisand is literally a force of nature. As she sings the winds rise, her gown billows, and her voice soars. Totally in her element she is assured, funny, and seemingly relaxed- like the calm before the approaching storm both literally and figuratively. In a little over a year she would become a Hollywood superstar and Oscar-winner with the release of Funny Girl.

Broadcast in September 1968 on CBS (appropriately timed with the release of Funny Girl) the special  included some of her best-known hits of the time (and her version of Silent Night?) and picked up an Emmy.




Barbra: The Concert (1994)

When it was announced that Streisand was going to return to live performance after a 28 year absence, her fans went bat-shit and all 18 shows sold out in an hour. Starting with a New Year's show in Las Vegas in December of 1993 and culminating with her "last" show in Anaheim in July of '94, the tour was a great success with a bout of laryngitis thrown in for some drama at the end. If you don't believe me, watch the tour promotional videos woven throughout the concert.

The HBO special was shot at her final show in Anaheim, and it is superb. Streisand is no longer the young lady with the big voice singing her heart out to get noticed by Hollywood. She is now a legend- the veritable priestess of American voice whose movies and career garner worldwide attention no matter how good or meh they are. Streisand is in full control... of everything- including her audience patter- rehearsed and planned for desired effect.

La Streisand has the deep musical history to fill an over two hour show with recognizable standards- many of which she made famous. Marvin Hamlisch's brilliant arrangements and song selection are all sung with a mastery that no one can match- no, not even Celine Dion. When Streisand duets with her younger self in the final scene of Yentl on a giant video screen, the audience explodes. It is Streisand's emphatic declaration that she was there, and she is still here. The special would go on to win 5 Emmys.




My Name is Barbra (1965)

Here she is! That plucky Brooklyn girl you've all heard about is ready to take on the world in her first musical television special!

Imagine a time when Barbra wasn't a household name. Well, in this 1965 CBS special, Babs launched herself into American living rooms with the hopes of changing all that.

It's really amazing to watch her vitality and her youth- and that voice! While the first two sections of the special are staged and in my opinion are only saved by a selection of Halston hats in the Bergdorf Goodman, the last section is a triumph. Barbra just sings- and it's transcendent. The voice is pure, and hungry, and at this point she hadn't sung "My Man" five bajillion times.

Color Me Barbra (1966)

After the success of My Name is Barbra CBS jumped at the chance to team with Barbra and producer  Martin Erlichman again in March of 1966 for a COLOR special. What better way to show off the abilities of a color TV set than to have Barbra run through the Philadelphia Museum of Art? Like its predecessor, the sketch portion of the program (including a "circus" set) feels forced- with the exception of Streisand's mod "Gotta Move" number. The fireworks start in the final segment when Streisand drops the schtick and just sings.

Barbra: The Music... The Memries... The Magic! (2017)

Streisand inked a lucrative deal with Netflix to produce a special for her 14 city tour in 2016 promoting her most recent Broadway duets album. Previous specials could skirt Barbra's age, but at this point she is 74. And while the top registers and clarity of her younger voice are strained, Streisand wisely dials those aspects down and focuses on her other genius ability- as an interpreter of songs. She knocks "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" and "Losing My Mind" out of the park- even if she can't hold that last note from "Don't Rain on My Parade" like she used to.

Stick around for the video in memoriam for her beloved Coton de Tulear, Sammie. It's so overly produced, it feels like a parody video. But it only takes a quick YouTube search to discover that Barbra's not alone in this sort of tribute to her four-legged best friend.








Barbra Streisand... and Other Musical Instruments (1973)

This show is just plain weird. Airing in November of 1973, the concept was that Streisand would transcend her Broadway/standard catalogue and sing along to music from different countries. It's sort of like "It's a Small World" on LSD with Streisand doing an international costume change every couple of minutes. Her African wig was a bad idea- even then- but Streisand seems game to try anything even performing with a computer.

What really saves this special are her duets with Ray Charles. It seems a strange combination at first- not unlike Der Bingle and David Bowie crooning Christmas carols together. But Streisand jumps into the numbers with gusto- and explores the gospel/soul layers of her voice- something she would continue to do throughout the '70's.

Barba Streisand: Timeless Live in Concert (2000)

Have you ever wanted to end the millennium with Barbra? New Year's Eve 1999/2000 in Las Vegas was your chance. The MGM Grand was decked out in a pyramid and three giant, moving video screens to accommodate Streisand and Kenny Ortega's concept of- well I honestly have no idea what their concept was.

There's an opening skit where a mini-me Barbra shows her early pluck before adult Barbra appears on stage to sing with her- all while Brother Time (an immensely talented but wasted on this show Savion Glover) tap dances around whenever Streisand is in need of a costume change or a countdown.

Barbra's in fine voice but the attempt to do something better or different from previous shows comes off more like she doesn't trust her audience to just sit and listen to her. Trust me, Babs. We'll listen and enjoy. Emmy voters did. They gave the special 4 Emmys.


If that's not enough Barbra for you, the 1973 remake of A Star Is Born is also available on Netflix with additional footage. But don't say I didn't warn you...

Hedy & Edies

Last week I escaped my real life by watching the real lives of famous people. I can't really compare my life to classic film star Hedy Lamar, but if funemployment goes on much longer, I may have something in common with the legendary Big and Little Edies of Grey Gardens.





Here are my reviews of Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017) and That Summer (2017).

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

I'll be honest. Even as a self-described classic film nerd, I was only marginally aware of Austrian film actress Hedy Lamarr. I knew about her controversial nude swimming scene in Ecstasy (1933) and her lawsuit against Mel Brooks for making fun of her name in Blazing Saddles (1974). (Mel loved her so much he just paid her. He figured she'd earned it by giving the world such "cinematic pleasure.") I could pick Hedy out of a lineup, but I had not seen most of her movies. In Bombshell, I learned her beautiful face, figure, and film career were just part of her story.

Born in Austria, Lamarr's natural beauty got her attention early on, and she started appearing in movies by the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she married prominent munitions manufacturer, Fritz Mandl, as one does. It being 1933 and all, Austrian munitions meant doing business with the Third Reich and state visits from Mussolini. Lamarr was Jewish, so she put two and Jew together and snuck out of her posh mansion in the middle of the night and high-tailed it to London. Her risqué scenes in Ecstasy caught Louis B. Mayer's attention, and soon the Austrian-accented beauty was brought to America to add her unique looks and style to Hollywood films until she retired in 1958.

The bombshell that Bombshell drops is that in addition to being a movie star, Lamarr was also a very talented inventor. Raised in her father's chemistry lab, Hedy had a keen scientific mind and was eager to join the war effort against the Nazis.

She helped develop a technology called frequency hopping to prevent Germans from scrambling radio signals that guided American torpedos to their target. While there was some propaganda coverage of her invention, nothing was actually done with it at the time (it included using something like a paper player piano roll). Later, her work was used to create a little thing we now know as wi-fi. Of course, because she was just a gorgeous film actress, she was not credited for her contribution for decades.

The documentary is a beautiful tribute to Lamarr's work both on-screen and off. In particular, the use of audio recordings made toward the end of her life add an authentic, human touch. Her films are not usually cited as memorable examples of great Hollywood filmmaking. Algiers (1938), Boomtown (1940), and Ziegfeld Girl (1941) stand out as good examples of the successful classic Hollywood style, and White Cargo (1942) and Samson and Delilah (1949) as examples of its excesses. It is Bombshell that will insure Hedy Lamarr has a permanent place in Hollywood history.

That Summer (2017)

I adore the documentary Grey Gardens (1975). Big and Little Edie of the titular East Hamptons decrepit manse have always held a hypnotic spell over me. Their ability to live so convincingly (and tragically) in a dream world of their own devising exemplifies how the human spirit can remake itself into whatever it wants no matter the circumstances. So when I heard there was a sort of prequel to the Maysles Brothers masterpiece, I grabbed a hand towel and a broach and headed to the IFC Center.

That Summer is directed by Goran Olsson from footage taken in 1972 by photographer Peter Beard. Beard and Beale relative Lee Radziwill were hoping to make a documentary about the reclusive and eccentric Beales, but after four reels the project was shelved. Two of their camera crew, Albert and David Maysles, would pick up the torch. The Maysles documentary would become a landmark in documentary filmmaking, while Beard's footage was assumed lost and collected dust.

Olsson bookends the now recovered four reels with the background of Beard and Radziwill and the artsy crew they hung out with. Yes, that's Andy Warhol, Paul Morrissey, Truman Capote, Mick and Bianca Jagger and even little JFK Jr. and Caroline hanging out on the beach. But the real focus is the two grand dames of Grey Gardens.

That Summer is like finding a box of old photos that you have never seen before of friends you know and love. There are Big and Little Edie as vibrant, peculiar, and irascible as we remember them. Little Edie poses in her trademark Frankenstein fashion style, vowing in whispers that she has to get the "H" out of here.

Big Edie hobbles around shooing cats away from her portrait and howling, "Edie!" in such a way that it rings throughout space and time. And the raccoons pop up through holes in the roof to eat the Wonder bread that Little Edie tosses to them.

There is nothing revelatory here. No dark secrets unearthed. We do finally meet the dreaded East Hampton Health Department, but otherwise, That Summer is not the in-depth documentary masterwork that Grey Gardens is. Olsson is showing a home movie rather than a character study. But it doesn't matter. Any time spent with these two extraordinary women is a welcome visit to a place and time that is sadly gone except for what celluloid has preserved.

I guess I accidentally had a feminism double-feature that deals with women who were so much more than what society expected of them. #westillhavealongwaytogo