Carrie (1976).

Review #1230: Carrie.

Cast: 
Sissy Spacek (Carrie White), Piper Laurie (Margaret White), Amy Irving (Sue Snell), William Katt (Tommy Ross), Betty Buckley (Miss Collins), Nancy Allen (Chris Hargensen), John Travolta (Billy Nolan), P. J. Soles (Norma Watson), Sydney Lassick (Mr. Fromm), Stefan Gierasch (Principal Morton), Priscilla Pointer (Eleanor Snell), and Edie McClurg (Helen Shyres) Directed by Brian De Palma (#801 - Mission: Impossible)

Review: 
When it comes to making films from novels, Stephen King books sure do make for interesting material to cull from. Prior to the publication of his first novel, he had been a English teacher at Hampden Academy in Maine; he had contributed and written numerous short stories for years while trying to work on ideas for novels. Early in the writing process for the novel that would become Carrie, King threw out the first few pages of the work he had typed out (involving the shower scene), which his wife Tabitha saved. She encouraged him to finish the story, As he later described after the book's success: "I persisted because I was dry and had no better ideas… my considered opinion was that I had written the world's all-time loser." As it turned out, Carrie (released in 1974) became a hit, with King soon selling off the film rights to the book (for $2,500) - director Brian De Palma, a reader of the book soon got interested in doing the film, with Lawrence D. Cohen being brought in as screenwriter. The budget for the film would prove to be $1.8 million, which was pretty small compared to other horror films of its time, but in any case the film managed to turn out pretty well for itself, raking in over $30 million upon release. It isn't hard to see why its success inspired others to try and make further adaptations, including a 1988 Broadway musical, a 1999 sequel, and remakes in 2002 and 2013. The film itself is a fine piece of horror entertainment, being fairly engaging with terror and tension that manages to endure well after its release four decades ago. It works best with key moments such as its opening or its prom climax, where its tragic elements play well within a high school setting like this, and a fairly game cast makes that click in most of the right places. It does fine with a pace of 98 minutes, building its reversion of the Cinderella tale to life with a few good direction and camera tricks from De Palma and cinematographer Mario Tosi.

Spacek plays the role with vulnerability and angst that slowly morphs itself into some readiness to make for a rounded out performance fitting for a film like this. Laurie chews a bit of scenery with a brimstone touch, but it all feels worth it in part because she doesn't lose your attention whenever she shows up on screen. Irving and Katt turn out okay for their parts, both having a bit of plain charm to them. Buckley plays her part (named Desjardin in the novel) just fine, probably being the easiest person to follow along with besides Carrie at times. Allen, Travolta, and Soles (all in the early parts of their respective film careers), make for a capable group of bullies, the kind of people that could fit right in with the right crowds for the time without having to reveal themselves too much. In any case, it is the prom sequence where the film gets itself into final gear, where it builds up the tension for its memorable moment slowly but surely until it hits like a bucket of blood. The split-screen usage here is a bit interesting here for its time, at least, and the lighting sure can make for a tense watch. It lets loose with terror for a good bit and makes a fine climax upon return back home. There is a scene after that (different from the novel), but it's probably best to let a first-time viewer watch the whole thing without getting too spoiled - but it sure makes for a good punch to leave the viewers home with a bit of a chill. On the whole, this is a well-done tragic horror film that pulls some punches close to home with a good reflexive sense behind it and some memorable terror to along with it to make this a fine film to recommend for the horror circuit.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Review #1164: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Cast: 
Jack Nicholson (Randle McMurphy), Louise Fletcher (Nurse Ratched), Will Sampson ("Chief" Bromden), William Redfield (Dale Harding), Brad Dourif (Billy Bibbit), Sydney Lassick (Charlie Cheswick), Christopher Lloyd (Max Taber), Danny DeVito (Martini), Dean Brooks (Dr. John Spivey), William Duell (Jim Sefelt), Vincent Schiavelli (Bruce Frederickson), Michael Berryman (Ellis), Nathan George (Attendant Washington), Marya Small (Candy), and Scatman Crothers (Orderly Turkle) Directed by Miloš Forman.

Review: 
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was originally a novel by Ken Kesey that he had done based off his time working as an orderly in a mental healthy facility, for which he wrote the novel in 1959 before it was published in 1962. In the original novel, the story was narrated through the character named Chief Bromden, who found that society was controlled by some sort of system called "The Combine". A year after the novel was released, the novel was turned into a play, written by Dale Wasserman that had McMurphy played by Kirk Douglas, who had bought the rights to make it for the stage or for film. After a decade of trying to make it into a film, he gave the rights to his son Michael, who helped co-produce the film along with Saul Zaentz, with Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman doing the screenplay. The film was primarily filmed at Oregon State Hospital in Salem. Kesey was not happy with how the film adaptation came out, later suing Douglas and Zaentz for a percentage of the gross and damages for “breaking our verbal agreement and ruining the book.” He objected to the fact that the film was from the perspective of McMurphy rather than the Chief, describing it as such: "they took out the morality; they took out the Combine—the conspiracy that is America.”

At any rate, it isn't hard to see why the film is fairly enjoyable, having a certain kind of energy and pull with a fine deal of craftsmanship and interesting people to follow along with. Nicholson and his rebellious presence give a great magnetic pull for the film, bemused at having to deal with the state of the people on both sides of this mental institution that he deals with, while also having a bit of humor and will to him that makes for good entertainment. Fletcher plays her insidious role with a good degree of understated manipulation, having no sense of overblown nature nor being overshadowed by the other members of the cast, having a voice and enough presence to make this battle of wills work without too many hitches. One good scene with Nicholson and Fletcher that I can highlight is the scene where his character tries to get the television to be turned onto the World Series, where he tries to get the necessary amount of votes from the submissive ones in the ward and her attempts to assert her authority, complete with an ensuing (and amusing) act of defiance - imagining the game out loud. Sampson, who had been discovered by the producers due to his 6'7 frame, does a fine job for his acting debut, doing just alright with the small amount of lines he has while playing his part in the climax without any hitches. Dourif and Lloyd (who both had done work on the stage prior to this film) shine in their own ways, with the former's fear and willingness to try and please everyone coming out fairly well and the latter being amusing when picking on Redfield. Lassick does well with conveying panic and nervousness, and DeVito (reprising his role from the 1971 revival of the play) also does fine with brief moments to talk.

The film does take some time to show the conformity and mindless automation of the people in the ward, and for the most part the film keeps itself consistent. The fishing sequence is a bit of a miss when compared to other sequences in part because it just feels a bit too silly that kind of messes with the rest of the film's tone. It should be mentioned that the fishing sequence was present in the novel, although it has a few significant differences - such as the fact that the trip is planned in the book, for example. In any case, it's a bit of a understatement to say that the film turned out to be such a great success, being a hit with audiences while winning numerous awards, winning what is described as the Big Five categories of the Academy Awards: Best Picture (beating films such as Jaws and Nashville), Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. On the whole, the film is pretty entertaining, having an enduring spirit to it that makes it work more often than not in its 133 minute run-time. It still manages to hold up well after over forty years since its release with a game cast and an enduring spirit that makes for at least one watch.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.