Phantom of the Paradise.

Review #2304: Phantom of the Paradise.

Cast: 

Paul Williams (Swan / singing voice of the Phantom), William Finley (Winslow Leach / the Phantom), George Memmoli (Arnold Philbin), Gerrit Graham (Beef; Raymond Louis Kennedy as singing voice), Jessica Harper (Phoenix), Mary Margaret Amato (Swan's groupie), Janis Eve Lynn (a groupie), Cheryl Smith (a groupie), with Archie Hahn, Jeffrey Comanor & Harold Oblong (the Juicy Fruits / the Beach Bums / the Undeads), and Rod Serling (the introductory voice) Written and Directed by Brian De Palma (#801 - Mission: Impossible, #1230 - Carrie, #1471 - Scarface, #2139 - Sisters)

Review: 

"I've always thought rock and horror were very close stylistically. I felt I had a solution in combining two separate audiences. Obviously, I didn't."

In 1974, when Halloween night became November morning, a movie came out with elements borrowed from a variety of literary sources from Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera to Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray to the famed Faust legend that was directed by Brian De Palma. You might remember that he had just scored a pretty decent hit with Sisters (1972), his sixth feature film but first with considerable attention. Interestingly, the root for making the film was De Palma hearing a Beatles song in an elevator played as "muzak" to go along with experiences trying to pitch material to indifferent executives and an idea from his friends (Mark Stone and John Weiser) about a "Phantom of the Fillmore"; De Palma wrote the film, although apparently Louisa Rose (his co-writer for the aforementioned Sisters film contributed, but the original screenplay just lists De Palma). Apparently, it was a chance meeting of De Palma with Williams at A&M Records while the former was trying to raise money for the film that led to the casting seen in the film because of his particular "look". This was the first major role for Paul Williams, who previously appeared in minor roles such as Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) while becoming a noted professional songwriter, most notably writing the lyrics to songs such as "We've Only Just Begun" to go along with being a regular on the TV circuit. The movie was independently financed (with funding from real estate guy Gustave Berne, who actually was a co-producer on Theatre of Blood), but it found a place at 20th Century Fox because of producer Edward Pressman, who sold the film to the one who happened to bid the highest. The movie was a flop at the time of release, even with such promising ideas from Fox to have costume parties held at its big-city premieres (it was apparently on Halloween night, after all; Pressman has stated that the promotions focused more on the music and specifically Williams were ineffective for the film and he later did his own promotion of the film as "horror phantasy"). However, viewers in Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada), they apparently loved it enough for the movie to be screened for several weeks (okay, Paris apparently was cool with the film, but Movie Night loves the city of Winnipeg far more than the country of France; besides, one came up with "Phantompalooza"). Well, there was one considerable influence the film had: music duo Daft Punk apparently cited the film as their foundation point as a favorite of theirs. The next film for De Palma would be Obsession (1976), which would end up as a decent hit before he made some film about teenage revenge.

Musical, comedy, horror, it's a delight depending on what genre you're looking for (for those questioning its place in the latter category, call it the horrors of selling one's soul and get back to me). If you appreciate films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975; emphasis on "you", because I sure didn't), it surely will have an electrifying effect for its viewer in enjoyable glam-like rock and acid-tongue humor for a particular industry that happens to have a game cast. De Palma really believed even in 1969 (as per production note research) that rock and horror were merging with the growing success of the Rolling Stones and Alice Cooper and thus a film should be done in the rock world beyond concert films, and I think I see where he was going with that vision for a movie that is delirious and rapid in execution. It is a broad movie where you feel every beat and every style; one critic called it an "elaborate disaster", and I fail to see how that was meant to be criticism; it's a movie about people sealing deals in blood, what do you expect?. True to form, Williams really does pull off the standout performance as both composer and actor for this film, managing to be conniving in the great double-act that can be both soul-sucking and darkly amusing. Finlay makes for a worthwhile tragic figure, robbed of his soul and his livelihood to the point where he is figuratively bound to a person with devastating results. Graham provides great amusement in his interpretation of glam rock (he may not get to provide his own vocals, but he sure moved like he did them) in great theatricality to go along with support from Memmoli and a young Harper. The film is electrifying and actually pretty funny in its look on the music industry and the exploitative horrors that come with art that is prey to big business (note the changing band played by the same people that starts and close the film), and that includes the women that are seen exploited in certain ways (take note of the auditions) as well. It is a demented and worthwhile film that may very well become even more interesting to look upon in rewatches, which is quite the compliment for the true mix of horror-comedy-musical you would hope for anytime and anywhere.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Now then, we enter a tradition that I enjoy making up so November can start off well, with the last five Novembers seeing: Dracula [1979] (2019), Revenge of the Creature (Part II, 2020), Halloween Kills (Part 3, 2021) The Cat and the Canary (4.0, 2022), and Lifeforce (Year Five, 2023). 

For Halloween: The Week After VI, let's go with Madhouse tomorrow night.

Redux: Smokey and the Bandit.

Review #033 Redux: Smokey and the Bandit.

Cast: 

Burt Reynolds (Bo "Bandit' Darville), Sally Field (Carrie), Jerry Reed (Cledus "Snowman" Snow), Jackie Gleason (Sheriff Buford T. Justice), Mike Henry (Junior Justice), Pat McCormick (Big Enos Burdette), Paul Williams (Little Enos Burdette), Macon McCalman (Mr. B), Susan McIver (Hot Pants), and George Reynolds (Sheriff Branford) Directed by Hal Needham.

Review: 

"I'll never win an Academy Award. But I'll be a rich son of a bitch." - Hal Needham

I first saw this movie at the age of fourteen in 2011. I found the movie (and I quote) "a load of fun.", one that proved quite humorous and captivating in its sequences involving cars, trucks...you get the idea. Over ten years later, it is interesting to consider how a film can age after 45 years. On May 19, 1977, Smokey and the Bandit premiered at Radio City Music Hall as a Rastar production from Universal Pictures. The way it came together might be as interesting as the actual film, since one has to remember that it was the brainchild of a former stuntman making his debut. Born in Tennessee, Hal Needham served in the United States Army as a paratrooper during the Korean War before entering Hollywood as a stuntman in 1956 (after stints as an airplane jumper and tree trimming), which resulted in work for various productions in television and film, and it was here that he met Reynolds while serving as his double on television in 1959, which soon resulted in a long-lasting friendship (to the point where he lived in the guesthouse of Reynolds for twelve years). He soon did stunt coordination and second unit action, most notably with The Longest Yard (1974). Needham approached Reynolds about doing the film based on his script (originally set for a B-movie target that would have had Jerry Reed as star) when he had trouble getting studios to take him seriously as a director. Reynolds, despite apparently calling it one of the worst scripts he ever read, decided to do the movie with Needham. For better or worse, this is the one film that Needham is best remembered for, despite the fact that he directed a handful of features and television work in the next two decades (his last theatrical film however was Rad (1986)). This would include further collaborations with Reynolds such Hooper (1978), The Cannonball Run films (1981, 1983), and Stroker Ace (1983). The Bandit series would continue with Needham, Reynolds, Field, Gleason, and Reed each doing Smokey and the Bandit II (1980). Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983) saw only Reed & Gleason return for what was surely far less returns than the previous film (which was already a huge disappointment). One further Bandit came around with four made-for-television films that were all directed by Needham in 1994 before he retired in 1999 (perhaps fittingly, his last project was a TV film with Reynolds as the star). Needham died at the age of 82 in 2013, but not before he was celebrated with an Honorary Academy Award as a pioneer in stunt technology and procedures in safety. The writers for the film were Needham and Robert L. Levy (who also served as a producer) for the story while the screenplay was done by James Lee Barrett (author/writer/producer best known for scripts such as The Cheyenne Social Club), Charles Shyer (his first credit), and Alan Mandel.

I could go quite a bit about weird trivia about this movie (like Alfred Hitchcock saying it was one of his favorite films), but it helps to get to the point. The reason the film works so well isn't really because of any great tense moments or elaborate directing (as this is a movie full of improvisation more than anything) There is a good reason this was the second highest grossing movie of the year of 1977, and that is because it captures the essence of entertainment that comes with adventure and humor. It is probably up there as one of the best films with Burt Reynolds as a star (one he cited as the most fun he ever had in making) and definitely a movie you could nickname a "Southern classic". We are talking a movie where Coors Banquet Beer is something to get down to Georgia (at the time, one could not buy or transport the beer east of Oklahoma) in a hurry that features three former television stars, two award-winning singers, a football player-turned actor, and a comedy writer-turned actor. But the main point is this: it may have a loosely-developed story, but it doesn't cloud all the fun and excitement one manages to get from the film, one that is the definitive feature for both Needham and Reynolds in its execution of comedy and adventure. It isn't perfect, but then no movie truly is perfect, and it is the importance of picking movies that one can see again and again that truly matters when it comes to an appreciation of cinema or "Americana" in general; in other words, it wears its appeal and flaws on its sleeve with no filter or shame.

Readers and anyone familiar with cinema of the time know that Reynolds cultivated his lovable rogue persona into stardom with Deliverance (1972) after years of toiling in television and low-budget films. Of course, this film wasn't his first rodeo when it came to car-action films, since White Lightning (1973) was a well-regarded hit in the South. He has the comic timing and confidence required here for a "good ol' boy" movie that winks to the camera with the appeal to everyone (the folks that want to be him and the folks that want to go home with him). Sure, Deliverance might be a tight rival on the top tier of Reynolds movies, but this is the movie I find myself going back to again and again more than anything (besides, his other films with Needham never quite had the same magic). It does seem weird to consider that Field was actually a television presence before finding eventual fame in film, but it was this film, alongside the TV production of Sybil (1976), that helped her break out of just being known as the star of Gidget and The Flying Nun, for which you can credit Reynolds for fighting for her to be cast (arguing that "talent is sexy"). As such, she makes an excellent partner to Reynolds because of her own quick timing and energetic grace that make for instant chemistry (they would star in three other films together). And then of course there is Reed. The Atlanta native grew up with an ambition to be a star in Nashville from a young age, and he eventually proved to be successful in country music (both writing and singing music alongside his guitar-playing). As a close friend of Reynolds, he had appeared with him in a variety of films such as W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1974) and Gator (1976), but it is his singing (which won him three Grammy Awards) that he is obviously best known for, particularly with his singing of "East Bound and Down" (written by Reed and Dick Feller), which has endured in my mind for many, many years with its beat and singing, with his energy proving quite infectious as both actor and singer. Gleason was a television icon for two decades, and yet he had time to dabble in film roles alongside singing (his "mood music", I kid you not, actually had one album that stayed on the top ten in charts for nearly three years), and Reynolds personally wanted him for the film, for which Needham would allow him free rein to ad-lib. In fact, it was Gleason who came up with one of the best little sequences of the movie: the one and only scene where Gleason and Reynolds share a scene together, which the two setup with efficient timing; Gleason and Henry make a worthy 1-2 bumbling punch together, which also goes for McCormick (writer on The Tonight Show) and Williams (Academy Award winning songwriter), who each serve as a useful foil for Reynolds. The 96-minute run-time proves just right when it comes to not overstaying its welcome (editors Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross earned the film's one Academy Award nomination), one that moves from scene to scene with charm that paces itself with its car sequences that are executed crisply without just being loud silly sequences that wreck cars just to wreck cars. There are a handful of scenes one could highlight, such as Reynolds and Reed bumbling through acquiring beer from Texarkana or when Field tries her hand at driving the Trans Am (which still exudes sleek excellence), but the best way to enjoy it is to see for yourself. As a whole, it is the kind of fun-loving movie that packed the right people together for the right movie at the right time for a movie that has endured for 45 years because of how it captures the Americana spirit of fun and good times in all of the excesses that come with doing so for one of the best movies in the career of both Reynolds and Needham, a pairing like no other.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Smokey and the Bandit II.

Review #945: Smokey and the Bandit II.

Cast:
Burt Reynolds (Bo "Bandit" Darville), Jackie Gleason (Sheriff Buford T. Justice / Gaylord Justice / Reginald Van Justice), Jerry Reed (Cledus "Snowman" Snow), Dom DeLuise (Dr. Frederico "Doc" Carlucci), Sally Field (Carrie/"Frog"), Paul Williams (Little Enos Burdette), Pat McCormick (Big Enos Burdette), David Huddleston (John Coen), Mike Henry (Junior Justice), John Anderson (Governor), and Brenda Lee (Nice Lady) Directed by Hal Needham (#033  - Smokey and the Bandit and #034 - The Cannonball Run)

Review:
It's hard to believe it has been over 900 reviews (and six years) since I watched and reviewed Smokey and the Bandit. It is only fitting that I return to do the sequel, after all these days.

When I reviewed the first film in April of 2011, I called it a "load of fun", in part because it really was an enjoyable piece of entertainment. When it comes to the sequel, it is evident quite immediately that it is inferior in pretty much every way to the original. From the comedy to the stunts to the entertainment value to the heart, it is not only a disappointment but it is also a lazy kind of movie. Not only does this feel like a rehash of the first film, it is a bad imitation that only serves producers who wanted to make a profit of the Bandit name. Reynolds himself has admitted his displeasure with the film in interviews, stating how it was an unnecessary sequel, and I can't help but agree.

It's not so much that the actors are terrible, it's the writing that sinks the movie to a level that it never recovers from. Reynolds and Field have decent chemistry when they are simply allowed to interact and not have lines about why their characters broke up in the first place. It would've been better to just have them just be a couple then having this whole thing where they just argue (of course the parts before Field show up where the Bandit is a sad drunk aren't any better). The parts where Bandit has become a sort of folk hero don't really help the film as it does just be a lazy way of invoking the first film over and over again. Reed does a fine job as expected, with "Texas Bound and Flyin" being an adequate title song for the film (though obviously nothing tops "Eastbound and Down"). It's interesting to see Gleason back again, especially when he plays three characters in one scene (through trick photography), and his parts with Henry are useful enough. DeLuise is charming as always, but he doesn't really bring anything to the movie more than just a few Italian phrases; this happened to be filmed around the same time as The Cannonball Run, which while not exactly a great piece of work is easily better than this film, while also having better scenes of Reynolds and DeLuise. The fact that Williams and McCormick don't show up in the movie again after they recruit the main characters also doesn't help, considering they drive the plot (wanting an elephant delivered to a political convention). The fact that everything feels like a caricature doesn't help either.

The only trick that the film seems to have up its sleeve is a big sequence involving 50 cars and semi-trucks piling on each other in the desert, with destruction after destruction. However it only manages to come off as just going through the motions, feeling like a cartoon. The whole movie feels like a dumb cartoon, and it really seems to drag after the first hour or so. It's amusing (in a mocking kind of way) how they don't even end up delivering the elephant to Dallas on time, because of course not. It ends with Justice trying to chase them down on a bus, perfectly encapsulating the lazy nature of a film that comes and goes without a payoff. There are no real stakes, nor are there any moments where I felt like I needed to care about anything that happens. On the whole, the best thing I can say about the movie is that it makes the viewer want to see the original film again. I hope I didn't go too long with my critique, folks.

Overall, I give it 3 out of 10 stars.