dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) (01/28/86)
I have confused feelings about this movie, but in general I liked it.
It is a movie that seems to emphasise direction more than plot. And
the direction was superb. This is not a film to be just watched and
analysed; it is a film to be savoured.
This film is the most tense film I have ever seen. In contrast to the
constant action of "Temple of Doom," this film uses constant tension
to keep you interested. Even when the action dulls, the underlying
tension is unbearable.
One particularly memorable scene is at the first of the movie, where
you see the inside of a maximum-security prison. The underlying fear
and rage and frustration is brought out beautifully by the camera
angles and the sudden shouts and whoops; and on top of it all there is
a horrible rendition of "Yellow Rose of Texas" blaring through the
loudspeakers at every point in the jail that eventually drives you up
the wall. (This technique of using a ridiculous, repetitive song to
make you grit your teeth as the tension builds is reminiscent of the
scene in "The Birds" where Tippi Hedron is sitting on the bench outside
the school, watching the birds gather on the playground, while all the
time you can hear the school children in the background singing a
stupid, repetitive little song.)
Another memorable piece of direction is in the way the train sequence
was filmed. The director put trees between the camera and the train,
which gave a very fast-paced, dizzying effect as the trees whizzed by
in front of the camera. And the scenes of the ice-covered landscape
were done in such a way as to create a feeling of isolation and
sameness, yielding a subtle, uneasy feeling of claustrophobia.
And from the moment the film starts to the last ending moment, there
is no let-up in the underlying tension. That is the key word, in
case you haven't guessed by now: tension. Not action, not suspense, not
cleverness of plot, not even the acting, is nearly as significant in this
movie as the tension introduced by superb directing.
Someone a while ago said that he didn't like the music. I enjoyed the
music; it was taken from one of Vivaldi's symphonies, and used quite
appropriately, I thought.
Suggestions for viewing:
(1) Get a front-row seat. This is a movie, as I said before, to be
savoured. And if you like Vivaldi as much as I do, you will want
to be surrounded by the music. You will definitely want to be
surrounded by the action.
(2) Finish your popcorn BEFORE the movie starts. Things get gross
and gory real quick, and you will not want to finish your snack once
the movie starts.
(3) Try to ignore the overacting.
This is far from a perfect film, but one I personally enjoyed and would
pay full price to see again. I would rate it +3 on a -4 to +4 scale.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dave Kirby ( ...!ihnp4!akgub!cylixd!dave)