Help!

Review #1939: Help!

Cast: 

The Beatles [John Lennon • Paul McCartney • George Harrison • Ringo Starr], with Eleanor Bron (Ahme), Leo McKern (Clang), John Bluthal (Bhuta), Patrick Cargill (the Superintendent), Victor Spinetti (Professor Foot), Roy Kinnear (Algernon), Alfie Bass (Doorman), Warren Mitchell (Abdul), and Peter Copley (Jeweller) Directed by Richard Lester (#541 - A Hard Day's Night, #594 - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, #785 - Superman II, #786 - Superman III, #972 - The Three Musketeers, and #976 - The Four Musketeers)

Review: 

I'm sure you remember A Hard's Day Night (1964), the first feature film that starred the wildly popular group of The Beatles. It was the third feature effort from Richard Lester, the American-born director who had lived in England since the 1950s. In my review for that film, I forgot to mention that one of the main attractions of Lester for the Beatles was his work on a short film called The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1959), although his experience in directing musical acts with It's Trad, Dad! (1962) probably also helped. The movie was a hit before it even came out (owing to pre-sales), but there was always a plan to do more than one Beatles film. At any rate, Lester followed the aforementioned Beatles film with The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965), a wide hit itself. Since the sequel wasn't going to feature the group doing what they were doing in their life, naturally the film would be about them being "passive responders to some external stimulus". Help! (working title: Eight Arms to Hold You) was a bigger budget film with more time (which meant filming in The Bahamas and Austria) and in color, which resulted in a generally pleasant experience, aside from the fact that the group got into marijuana during filming that made for plenty of giggles. The film was written by Marc Behm and Charles Wood. It should be noted that the film was apparently inspired by Duck Soup (1933), while the comedy stylings of the group was inspired by The Goon Show, which Lester had experience with. The next project with the Beatles was with the TV musical film Magical Mystery Tour in 1967, while Yellow Submarine (1968) saw them appear for exactly one scene, and the documentary Let It Be (1970) was their swansong. Lester would continue to do a variety of features in the next couple of years, whether that meant comedy in How I Won the War (1967, which had Lennon in a supporting role) or The Bed Sitting Room (1969) or other efforts such as the wildly successful Musketeers films.

At the time, the group did not particularly like the experience of filming - John Lennon felt like the group was like extras in their own film before calling it "advanced" years later. Of course, having to do a film alongside doing songs for it and touring probably didn't help matters. The two Beatles films were inspirations for filmmakers too: Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider saw the success of the two films and decided to revive an idea the former had for television involving teenagers and rock.... which eventually became The Monkees, which had their own feature film (but that is another time...). If you came to watch a film about The Beatles do a bit of singing and have a bit of fun with each other, you came to the right place. There's a handful of songs to view here, such as the title song (duh) or "Ticket to Ride". The group of four may be easy to describe with a sentence or two as performers rather than outright actors, but one always smiles when they are on screen, mostly in the case of the hapless Starr or the charm in McCartney (evidently, Lester felt Harrison was the best actor of the group, so take that for what it's worth). Besides, they seem to be having fun with the whole affair, whether that involves trying to deal with a stubborn ring on the finger or whatever - the lines go off one another like paper in the wind. It might not be as effective in general energy as their previous effort, but it has enough casual flair for adventure to make it a useful follow-up. It has been termed as being at the forefront for the "music video" (no, it didn't create the trend, but it sure had a key place with the filmmaking techniques used for sequences such as the title song). All of the fun happens around a movie about Eastern cultists and mad scientists chasing the group for a ring one of them has on their finger - McKern, Spinetti, and Kinnear make suitable foils to see involve themselves in the silly chase. Things come and go with the film, which all ends with tomfoolery on the beach. For 92 minutes, you can't really go wrong with this light fare of music and comedy with one of the most noted quartets of their time at your side for a playful goofy time.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

The Omen (1976).

Review #1452: The Omen.

Cast: 
Gregory Peck (Robert Thorn), Lee Remick (Katherine Thorn), David Warner (Keith Jennings), Billie Whitelaw (Mrs. Willa Baylock), Harvey Spencer Stephens (Damien Thorn), Patrick Troughton (Father Brennan), Martin Benson (Father Spiletto), Leo McKern (Carl Bugenhagen), Robert Rietti (Monk), John Stride (The Psychiatrist), and Anthony Nicholls (Dr. Fred Becker) Directed by Richard Donner (#075 - Scrooged, #355 - Lethal Weapon, #356 - Lethal Weapon 2, #547 - Superman, #619 - Maverick, #731 - Lethal Weapon 3, and #734 - Lethal Weapon 4)

Review: 
"With The Omen, I really felt I wasn't in control. It was panic...It was constantly on my head. I was scared, and I didn't want to disappoint Alan Ladd, who had trusted me."

When you think of good horror films, what comes to your mind first? Maybe it involves something involving the possible Antichrist, or some straight-laced acting, or maybe something with occasional gore that will sneak up on you with creeping terror without being too wretchedly scary. It should only figure that its director would receive a breakthrough with making it in Richard Donner (his next feature in Superman. He had an initial interest in acting, doing a few Off-Broadway productions and bit parts before being encouraged by Martin Ritt to try his hand at directing. In the 1960s, he would cultivate a modest career of directing television with shows such as The Rifleman (1962, seven episodes), Mr. Novak (1963-64, also seven), and The Twilight Zone (1963-64, six episodes). He made his feature debut with X-15 (1961) and followed it with a few other films in Salt and Pepper (1968) and Twinky (1969). There were quite a few actors who rejected starring as the lead for this film, ranging from Charlton Heston to Dick Van Dyke (no, not joking), and William Holden (who would star in the sequel four years later), although Warner Brothers initially considered doing this film with Oliver Reed in mind before 20th Century Fox later developed interest after Donner had seen the script and convinced Fox head Alan Ladd Jr to look over the script and take it on (albeit with reduction of elements that was felt to be too obvious, like cloven hoofs). David Seltzer was behind the screenplay, which took a year to write after inspiration came to producer Harvey Bernhard from his friend Bob Munger. Donner described in an interview how he approached Peck to do the film in treating it as a "mystery suspense thriller" rather than straight horror, which convinced Peck to sign on.

The best thing that can be said about the film is that it does manage to build a sense of foreboding to make a useful experience with consistent acting, top-rate music from Jerry Goldsmith and worthwhile moments of horror terror that make a decent if not exceptional horror film for its time. I suppose it really depends on how much one knows about its threat of evil (or at least the possibility of it, since this is a child we are talking about) when it comes to stoking true tension without waiting for the inevitable. I do wonder how this might compare to Rosemary's Baby (1968), which dealt with the possibility of a newborn being the spawn of a jackal to be used by cultists (or at least that's what I read from browsing). The film builds itself on carrying itself calmly to where you will presumably will let your guard down when something scary could befall someone in connecting the dots to the idea that yes indeed there is something wrong with this dark-haired little gremlin child, as if one might actually believe that we are going to be faked out at the last minute. It just depends on what seems the most interesting in whether the parts with the family seem more involving than the hunt for clues for evil, where one can either spend time with Peck and Remick, or see Peck and Warner. Peck is interesting, in the sense that he is taking things with a good grain of salt that doesn't crush the film's credibility nor make things a bore. Remick does fine, albeit with slightly less to do when comparing the first and second halves (though the zoo sequence is pretty amusing). Whitelaw makes a fair adversarial presence to nurture Stephens (who when prompted to go at Donner during the auditions like the others apparently screamed and clawed at him) to the other side without too much silliness. Warner follows along with quiet foreboding. Really though the most interesting small presence is Troughton (best known for his television work in programs such as Doctor Who), who is quite interesting in generating furor in small doses (before having to run away from foreboding weather, of course). This is a film caught between two worlds: On the one hand, it is a dignified kind of film that has plenty of production value to elevate what could've been very hokey in schlockier hands. On the other hand, it is the kind of film that runs for 111 minutes with a concept of horror rather than a true finish, where it only just works as a thriller if you aren't already incredibly familiar with what it is trying to sell you about a main threat of a five year old who could be the Antichrist (insert jokes about him coming to power in politics here). The ending is downbeat enough to make the idea potentially spring further into something more concrete (for which two sequels and an apparent line-by-line remake followed), and on the whole this makes for satisfactory entertainment worth a curious look.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

X the Unknown.

Review #837: X the Unknown.

Cast
Dean Jagger (Dr. Adam Royston), Leo McKern (Mac McGill), Edward Chapman (John Elliott), William Lucas (Peter Elliott), Peter Hammond (Lieutenant Bannerman), Anthony Newley (Lance Corporal "Spider" Webb), Ian MacNaughton (Haggis), Michael Ripper (Sergeant Harry Grimsdyke), Michael Brooke (Willie Harding), Frazer Hines (Ian Osborne), Norman Macowan (Old Tom), and John Harvey (Major Cartwright) Directed by Leslie Norman.

Review
This was a Hammer production that was distributed by Warner Brothers set in Scotland (filmed in England) released nearly 60 years ago in 1956, written by the same person behind The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula (1958), The Revenge of Frankenstein, and The Pirates of Blood River (#593). It's evident that there was effort to make a competent science fiction flick, with a well rounded cast and some fine thrills presented about something lurking in a crack shaped like a Y. By the time the movie's half over, a theory (pretty much confirmed later on) on what the creature may be is presented that is competently delivered, for a sci-fi plot anyway. Radioactive muddy ooze is par for the course for the time period, though there isn't a sense of light-hearted tone to it nor the acting, which works well for its time. Jagger does a good job as a scientist, feeling believable enough. McKern and Chapman are also okay. The rest of the cast is serviceable enough for the plot, with no random side characters involved. The effects are pretty decent as well (what with it essentially being giant mud), and the stuff in the pit are also pretty well done. The ending is a bit weird, ending with some sort of ambiguity. On the whole, X the Unknown manages to flow well enough at 81 minutes that keeps itself in focus with a strange but useful premise. There are endless amount of science fiction films (British or not), but this might be right enough for someone looking for something decent of the genre.

On a unrelated note, my heart goes out those affected by the recent events in Italy, Turkey and Myanmar. I wish them the best of luck in recovering from these tragedies. 

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.