Klose.ES@sri-unix (06/08/82)
I was recently watching those "sneak preview guys" tell about their "Buried Treasures" -- films which did not receive the recognition they deserve or which have become obscure. So I began thinking about some of my buried treasures and here is one
oscar@utcsrgv.UUCP (Oscar M. Nierstrasz) (10/15/83)
Everybody seems to be in "list" mode these days, so I thought I'd
throw a little twist into the punch bowl. It's really nice to
know how much people out there like to see The Wizard of Oz over
and over again, but I've already seen it, thank you, and knowing
that you've seen it doesn't really tell me that much. What I'd
like to know is: what have you seen and liked that I *haven't*
seen, and probably haven't even heard of. That is, what *buried
treasures* are there out there?
A tentative definition:
Buried: ignored, forgotten or unjustly maligned.
Treasure: unusual, remarkable, valuable in *some* way.
A buried treasure doesn't have to be great, or even your
favourite film, but it should have something special to recommend
it. It should also be a film that people are either not likely
to have heard of, or not likely to have seen (because of a short
run, or unjustifiably negative reviews).
NOTE: "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is *not* a "buried
treasure". It is a *cult* film. The same is true about "Harold
and Maude". Everybody has, by now, heard of these films and has
either seen them or has heard enough to make an intelligent
decision about whether or not to see them. "Don't Look Know"
*used* to be a buried treasure. It is becoming, or has become a
cult film. Try to stick to hidden gems as opposed to underground
classics.
DISCLAIMER: Of course, *true* buried treasures are few and far
between. What I think is a "buried" treasure twenty people out
there will probably have seen already. The idea is the important
thing, however, namely to get off the Citizen Kane and 2001 track
(yes, they're two of my favourite movies too, but so what?).
A few modest samples:
---
Cul-De-Sac (Polanski, Roman; GB; 1966; 110m)
This early Polanski film starred Donald Pleasance and Lionel
Stander. It's a black comedy about two wounded gangsters on the
run who hide out in an old house in the middle of nowhere and
hold the family who lives there hostage. Very bizarre. I saw it
a couple of times about ten years ago, but Polanski has become a
bad word since then.
---
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Miller, Robert Ellis; USA; 1968;
125m)
Alan Arkin as a deaf-mute in a rented room. He tries and fails
to help a retarded man with an alcohol problem. I saw this years
ago and remember very little except that the movie really touched
me. I don't know if it would stand up well, but I'd like to see
it again very much anyway.
---
Le Magnifique (De Broca, Philippe; France; 1974; 95m)
By the director of the (underground?) anti-war classic, King of
Hearts. It stars (I believe) Jean-Paul Belmondo as a writer of
spy thrillers. The movie flips back and forth between reality
and fantasy, with Belmondo as the super-spy in his own story.
Suave and debonair in his dreams, our hero is a bit of a klutz in
this world. No great statements about humanity but a lot of fun.
---
Rancho Deluxe (Perry, Frank; USA; 1974; 93m)
Slim Pickens and Beau Bridges (or Jeff, if my mind has rotted),
in a very entertaining modern-day piece set (guess where!) on a
ranch. I saw it in '74 or '75 and liked it quite a bit, but I'll
be damned if I can remember what it was all about. Somebody
mentioned it a few articles ago and can probably fill in some
details.
---
Saint Jack (Bogdanovich, Peter; USA; 1979; 115m)
Bogdanivich alternately goes overboard with sensational flops and
redeems himself with exceptionally good "little" pictures. This
is a low-budget film that he made after recovering from one of
his disasters, I think. Ben Gazzara was in this one as "the pimp
with a heart of gold". It was set somewhere exotic (my brain
does not do well with places) and Gazzara was not making himself
too popular with the local representatives of organized crime.
Kind of a neat film that seems to have been screened only once in
its lifetime.
---
And that's it for now. Apologies if any of these are on TV a
lot. I'm a bit out of touch with the glass teat ...
Cheers, Oscar Nierstrasz @ utzoo!utcsrgv!oscarasente@decwrl.UUCP (Paul Asente) (10/17/83)
My favorite "buried treasure" is a film I saw at Film Society once called "Savages." It was made in the early 70's but I don't know by whom, and starred nobody you have ever heard of. The plot concerned a tribe of savages (i.e. aborigines) coming across a deserted mansion and moving in, and in the course of 24 hours becoming civilized, holding a dinner party, and eventually falling back into savagery and returning to the woods. There was a lot of parody of other films in it, including some wonderful take-offs on "Smiles on a Summer Night" by Bergman. Has anyone else ever seen this? -paul asente (decvax, ucbvax, allegra, ihnp4)!decwrl!asente
cbf@allegra.UUCP (10/17/83)
*The Heart is a Lonely Hunter* is indeed a treasure. It is currently at No.2 on my desert-island movie list and is without a doubt the most moving film I have ever seen. I remember when it ended (around 2 A.M.) the first time I saw it, four years ago, I wept uncontrollably for about fifteen minutes. Never before had I so completely identified with a character as I did with Singer, the deaf-mute whose life touches for the better several troubled people around him, while his own life slowly disintegrates, unattented. Without uttering a single word, Alan Arkin, who has since become my favorite actor, delivers what must be one of the most heartbreaking I've seen. The movie, which is based on a novel by Carson McCullers, is sometimes revived. The last time I noticed it playing was this past summer at the Thalia in NYC. Another Arkin Buried Treasure: *Popi* (1969, Dir. Arthur Hiller). No. 18 on my list. Talk about offbeat. This time out, Arkin plays a zany Puerto-Rican father who wants to secure a better life for his two little boys, at least better than what the ghetto has to offer. He is willing to go to any extremes for the sake of his kids, ... and does in a touching and mostly hilarious commentary on the American social system. I chuckled my way through that one until I had to surrender to the concluding all-out assault on the lacrimal glands. Director Hiller and Arkin later teamed up again for the *In-Laws*, No. 22 on my list. Finally, a really Buried treasure that apparently no one else has ever heard of: *Jubal* (1956, Dir. Delmer Daves). No. 29 on my list, this is a delightful mixture of two cinematic genres, the Western and the Film Noir, complete with murder, good redeeming girl, femme fatale, and jaded existensial hero. Glenn Ford (so fine in *Gilda* and *The Big Heat*, two classic Films Noirs) plays a more-articulate-than-usual lonesome drifter who is hired on a ranch and finds himself in the middle of a nasty triangle. The jealous, hot-blooded owner (Ernest Borgnine) has a wild, hot-blooded young wife who rejects her vicious, hot-blooded lover (ranch head Rod Steiger) in order to throw herself at peaceful, uninterested Jubal, who instead falls for nice Mormon girl. This all makes for one sizzling movie. The acting is of course first-rate, and the ending is a cliffhanger. If it ever shows up on TV, don't miss it. --Charles (decvax!allegra!cbf)
cbf@allegra.UUCP (10/17/83)
*The Heart is a Lonely Hunter* is indeed a treasure. It is currently at No.2 on my desert-island movie list and is without a doubt the most moving film I have ever seen. I remember when it ended (around 2 A.M.) the first time I saw it, four years ago, I wept uncontrollably for about fifteen minutes. Never before had I so completely identified with a character as I did with Singer, the deaf-mute whose life touches for the better several troubled people around him, while his own life slowly disintegrates, unattented. Without uttering a single word, Alan Arkin, who has since become my favorite actor, delivers what must be one of the most heartbreaking performances I've seen. The movie, which is based on a novel by Carson McCullers, is sometimes revived. The last time I noticed it playing was this past summer at the Thalia in NYC. Another Arkin Buried Treasure: *Popi* (1969, Dir. Arthur Hiller). No. 18 on my list. Talk about offbeat. This time out, Arkin plays a zany Puerto-Rican father who wants to secure a better life for his two little boys, better at least than what the ghetto has to offer. He is willing to go to any extremes for the sake of his kids, ... and does in a touching and mostly hilarious commentary on the American social system. I chuckled my way through that one until I had to surrender to the concluding all-out assault on the lacrimal glands. Director Hiller and Arkin later teamed up again for the *In-Laws*, No. 22 on my list. Finally, a really Buried treasure that apparently no one else has ever heard of: *Jubal* (1956, Dir. Delmer Daves). No. 29 on my list, this is a delightful mixture of two cinematic genres, the Western and the Film Noir, complete with murder, good redeeming girl, femme fatale, and jaded existential hero. Glenn Ford (so fine in *Gilda* and *The Big Heat*, two classic Films Noirs) plays a more-articulate-than-usual lonesome drifter who is hired on a ranch and finds himself in the middle of a nasty triangle. The jealous, hot-blooded owner (Ernest Borgnine) has a wild, hot-blooded young wife who rejects her vicious, hot-blooded lover (ranch head Rod Steiger) in order to throw herself at uninterested, peaceful Jubal, who instead falls for a nice Mormon girl. This all makes for one sizzling movie. The acting is of course first-rate, and the ending is a cliffhanger. If it ever shows up on TV, don't miss it. --Charles (decvax!allegra!cbf)
lpa@houxo.UUCP (10/18/83)
Another Bogdonavitch (sp?) treasure was one that starred Audrey Hepburn, Benn Gazarra, John Ritter, Collean Camp, Patti Hansen and others. I saw it by accident on cable last year and loved it. Too bad I can't recall the name. It had to do with Gazzara, Ritter and another actor ( forgot his name too) doing detective work in NYC. In the plot Gazzara falls in love with Hepburn, Hansen is a very uncommon cabbie, Camp is a famous country singer who is after Ritter but he wants an attractive blond. Very well acted and an incredibly good script. I really enjoyed the dialogue. I never saw this movies in the theaters and I never heard of it before I saw it on the cable. I also think the other detective was played by someone called Blaise Novak or something like that. I still can't recall the title though. Anyone in netland know the movie and like it also? Andy Andres, AT&T Consumer Products Labs, Neptune NJ ...houxo!lpa
dag@sultan.UUCP (Dan Glasser -- PRO 350 Graphics - ML) (10/19/83)
Another pair of "Buried Treasures" are "My name is Nobody" and "They Call Me Trinity". Both are spoofs on the western. The first stars Henry Fonda as a retired "fastest gun in the west", who is followed around by a young man who refuses to let him retire. The latter is centered around the same young gunslinger and what happens when he runs into his brother... I will not spoil either, but I recommend both. And I don't even like Westerns! Daniel Glasser ...!decvax!sultan!dag
lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (10/19/83)
Now that Halloween's coming up a good one to look out for is "Diabolique", a 50's French suspense/horror film starring Simone Signoret. (A younger "Za-Za??" from "La Cage Aux Folles" is also in this film.) Another excellent film which I only caught on cable is "I Sent A Letter To My Love", also French and also starring Simone Signoret. This one's a real tear-jerker, but a good one and well acted.
leimkuhl@uiuccsb.UUCP (10/21/83)
#R:utcsrgv:-248900:uiuccsb:10000020:000:764
uiuccsb!leimkuhl Oct 20 20:24:00 1983
Well I can't go along with calling Rancho Deluxe a "buried treasure." While
that movie had its tolerable moments, the plot was predictable and the pace
was sometimes agonizingly slow. {Jeff,Beau} Bridges can't act anyway.
Basically, the story focuses on a sparsely populated western ranching
community and a couple of happy-go-lucky modern day rustlers (including the
Bridges). Slim Pickens plays an old fashioned detective with an almost
Columboesque bumbling manner and a pretty (but deadly) female assistant.
After spending weeks seemingly without accomplishing anything, Slim solves
the crime and captures the rustlers.
The premise is intriguing, but the production doesn't really live up to
expectations--at least not my expectations.
Ben Leimkuhlernelson@avsdS.UUCP (10/22/83)
Hey, I have seen "Jubal" and it was good (Glenn Ford for being so low key is a good actor). There was a French film called "Gigot", late 50's I believe, starring (of all people) Jackie Gleason! He is the town dummy - literally. He is a retarded deaf-mute, whose main problem is that temptation sometimes overwhelms him and he breaks the bakery window and steals cakes. The townspeople make fun of him of course, but nothing too malicious. As I recall, he has at least one friend who knows sign language. Some touching scenes where he becomes friends with this young girl (~12) - a reference to Frankenstein I suspect. Anyhow, Gigot falls in the river (or something) and drowns, but his body is never found. The townspeople who made light fun of him have a service for him - everyone feels bad about how they treated him and the baker proclaims that if Gigot were still alive he could have sweets everyday. Gigot, who really is not dead, hears this from his hiding place and reveals himself. The movie ends with the townspeople, angry and embarassed of their grief, running after him. This film was a really pleasing human comedy, and Jackie Gleason is superb in such a difficult role. I was reminded of this film by some comments on "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" - indeed one of Alan Arkin's best films - and that says a lot! Shortly after deciding that he was my favorite actor (in 1971), I was driving down Sunset Blvd through Beverly Hills, when I saw a stalled car in the middle of an intersection. Someone was helping push it. I got out of my van and helped. The driver turned around for an instant - looked like him! The other guy took off and the driver got out to thank me. Indeed it was Arkin, late to the airport, ran out of gas. I gave him a gallon, got my picture with him. Hey, big thrill for a youngin'. Gee, he even paid me $0.75 for the gas! Another great movie of his - "Wait Until Dark" with him as a heroin smuggler and Audrey Hepburn as a blind woman who unfortunately winds up (by accident) with his heroin in her apartment. He makes the mistake of coming back to her apt. after dark to get it. Very suspenseful and scary. I remember seeing it the second time and still screaming with the rest of the audience at the end. Glenn Nelson, Ampex, Redwood City
speaker@umcp-cs.UUCP (10/25/83)
Anyone ever see 'Hot Stuff'? This one is distributed by the Canadian Film board. I can't say that I know much of anything about it other than what I've seen in the film itself. Like the cat sitting in front of the mouse hole smacking its lips and hoping for 'mouse flambe'. Its a fire prevention film you see, and quite funny, not to mention a nice piece of animation. See it if you ever get the chance. Its short... about 10 minutes. But wonderful for partys (hint Fred) or conventions. And next time, we give... -- - Speaker speaker@umcp-cs speaker.umcp-cs@CSnet-Relay
rtf@ihuxw.UUCP (10/25/83)
In the French movie "Gigot" capsulized by the author of the article to which this is a followup, I have a question. If Jackie Gleason portrayed a retarded deaf-mute how was he able to 'overhear' the eulogy at his own funeral??? sparrow
rh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Randy Haskins) (10/28/83)
The Film Board of Canada has lots of winning shorts. Another one is something like "Mrs. Fishbournes Manners," or somesuch. It's a little animated doodad that talks about manners, with everything going wrong. (Like it talks about how to handle it if something goes bad, then the butler brings out a dish, and a parrot gets up and starts to dance on the table.) -- Randwulf (Randy Haskins); Path= genrad!mit-eddie!rh or... rh@mit-ee (via mit-mc)
stroyan@hp-dcd.UUCP (10/31/83)
#R:houxo:-21800:hp-dcd:18200001:000:65 hp-dcd!stroyan Oct 30 00:38:00 1983 The name was "They All Laughed." Mike Stroyan hp-dcd!stroyan
speaker@umcp-cs.UUCP (11/05/83)
Any idea where I can get a Canadian Film Board catalog? Some of this stuff would be great for conventions. -- - Speaker-To-Stuffed-Animals speaker@umcp-cs speaker.umcp-cs@CSnet-Relay
msc@qubix.UUCP (Mark Callow) (11/11/83)
An excellent short from the Film Board of Canada is
Norman McLaren's Pas de Deux.
--
Mark Callow, Saratoga, CA.
...{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!
...{ittvax,amd70}!qubix!msc
decwrl!qubix!msc@Berkeley.ARPA