The Crucible (1996)

Arthur Miller's Solid Allegory of McCarthyism

The Crucible is a solid screen adaptation of Arthur Miller's 1953 play about the virulent Salem Witch trials (a take on the communist witch hunts in the 1940s-50s US), directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Madness of King George) and adapted by Miller himself for which he earned his only Oscar Nomination.

This is still obviously a play, but Miller makes concessions to cinema's need for speed, adding many exterior locations and keeping the action shifting constantly from one location to another to provide visual variety and heighten the tempo. He also dramatizes a few scenes hitherto summarized in dialogue, in particular the girls' forest revelry that instigates the plot; and some brief, newly devised scenes, such as a jailhouse send-off between Abigail and Proctor and a finishing execution scene.

It's a rather claustrophobic play on the stage, but the film opens things up and brings in some authentic New England atmosphere. The cast is strong throughout, although, maybe it's just me, but I don't quite accept Winona Ryder as the envious, devious Abigail. Her perfect roles seem to be those in which she can be spirited but essentially sweet and vulnerable, as she was in Little Women and Reality Bites.

Paul Scofield is an suitably hard-faced Judge Hathorne, Daniel Day-Lewis gives another dynamic performance as John Proctor, and Joan Allen, as Proctor's wife, proves herself a match for Day-Lewis. Allen's moving performance as Pat Nixon is the one good memory I have from Oliver Stone's headache-inducing kaleidoscope of a movie about Richard Nixon. Her performance in The Crucible is equally stunning. She looks every inch the Puritan wife - plain, stoic, reserved, full of suppressed emotion that pours forth in the climactic reunion with her husband. That scene between Day-Lewis and Allen, shot on a windy promontory against the background of the sea, is simply heartbreaking. It's worth the wait.

It's valuable to see a faithful screen version of this play noted for its allegory of McCarthyism, so younger generations who haven't seen it on stage will have a chance to experience it. Admittedly, this may not be the sort of film you'll return to on Saturday nights with popcorn in hand, but it's definitely worth watching once.

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9/11 and The Kingdom

Understanding America's Dirty Oil Connection, Hollywood Style!

It was exactly 10 years ago, this week, when America was devastated by the daring 9/11 attacks that killed over 3000 people. But two costly wars later and Osama Bin Laden now dead, many folks - Americans especially still fail to understand the real reasons for the attacks or bother to decipher the intricate dynamics of America's murky involvement in the Middle East since the 1930s.

On the 10nth anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks, here's a stunning intro from Peter Berg's The Kingdom (2007) - a high octane actioner starring Jennifer Garner, Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper that succinctly explains it all - why the US is dependent on Middle East Oil, how Oil has transformed the Arabian political landscape, the growth of Osama, Anti-americanism, 9/11 and more. Its not 100% accurate but the intro sequence does a great job - all under 210 Secs.

Understanding America's Dirty Oil Business in 3.50 Minutes
The Kingdom 2007 Opening Credits

13 Great War Movies That You Probably Never Saw

Probably The Greatest War Movies of All Time

Its been quite some time since I wrote a post on Cinema and what better Cinema than exhilarating war movies. Instead of the usual Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Killing Fields or Saving Private Ryan types, what you'll find here is a refined list of select war movies outside the media and public radar that are truly great and one of the finest in all war filmdom. Believe the WebSnacker, they are all good as gold. 

The Big Red One (Sam Fuller/1980) – Ranked one of the 500 greatest movies of all time by Empire magazine, this is a tough, unsentimental World War II film from ace drama veteran Sam Fuller apparently based on his own experiences. Lee Marvin is excellent as the battle-weary commander of a squad of young soldiers, leading them through a variety of wartime situations – some funny, some frightening, some sad – all quite powerful and moving. With Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Robert Carradine, Kelly Ward and Bobby DiCiccio. An extended version - The Big Red One: The Reconstruction was released at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. 


The Battle of Algiers (Gilo Pontecorvo/1965) – Not screened in France for 5 years after its release, this landmark guerrilla warfare movie is a fine example of Italian neorealism cinema with a great score by Ennio Morricone. Based on actual events of the Algerian war (1954-62), this is an intelligent, restrained and straight forward account of the Algerian revolt, which nearly toppled the entire French government and resulted in an almost successful assassination plot against President DeGaulle. This fascinating Italian-Algerian production was filmed in black and white pseudo-documentary newsreel style presenting the landmark revolt from the point-of-view of those involved in the fighting – an angle rarely seen elsewhere. In French starring Jean Martin and Saadi Yacef.


The Boys in Company C (Sidney J Furie/1978) – 1978 was the year of Vietnam War films and this glossy but tough little, Golden Globe nominated movie directed by Sidney J. Furie (Ipcress File, Entity) went largely overlooked by the American public. The main appeal is a good, solid cast of then unknowns including Stan Shaw (so memorable in the Great Santini), R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket) and Andrew Stevens. A group of young marines move from the torture of boot camp to the terror of war in a way that is funny, action-packed and at times, harrowing. The Boys in Company C is the first in Furie's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 2001's Under Heavy Fire and 2006's The Veteran, both starring with Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers) 


Cross Of Iron (Sam Peckinpah/1977) – Peckinpah’s (Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs) idea of a WWII film was to focus on the German Army on the Russian front thereby blurring any ‘who are the good guys’ distinctions. His antagonists are an aristocratic monster of a captain (Maxmilian Schell) who wants the titular medal at whatever cost and the tough but compassionate sergeant (a very, effective James Coburn) who simply wants to his boys alive. Long and episodic, the highlights are the battle scenes, which are frequent, brutal and extremely disorienting – like real combat itself. Based on the book - Willing Flesh by Willi Heinrich With James Mason and David Warner.


49th Parallel (Michael Powell/1941)- Not exactly a full blown war movie but undoubtedly the greatest WWII-era thriller, beating out all of Hitchcock’s and Fritz Lang’s best efforts at the game of suspense. Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard and Raymond Massey are among the stars but the real attraction is a tense, convincing script (which deservedly received an Oscar) and superb direction. When a Nazi U-boat is sunk in Hudson Bay, Canada; 6 survivors try and make their way to freedom in the still—neutral United States. Photography by Frederick Young (Lawrence of Arabia) and the film's editor was a then little-known David Lean (A Passage to India).


Go Tell The Spartans (Ted Post/1978) – Who would have thought the best picture about the Vietnam before Platoon would be a small-scale film from a journeyman director. Burt Lancaster heads a group of military advisers who realizes he’s involved in a no-win situation in this cult anti-war classic based on Daniel Ford's 1967 novel - Incident at Muc Wa. The constant refrain of “it’s their war” and the 1964 setting lend the film both poignancy and bitterness. Unlike typical Hollywood action war dramas, you know there is no happy ending, not then, not now. The final images of an American walking through a cemetery saying “I’m going home” are all too appropriate. 


Hamburger Hill (John Irvin/1987) – A brilliant retelling of the Battle of Hamburger Hill chronicling the U.S. Army's assault on a heavily fortified but strategically insignificant hill during the Vietnam War. Starring Dylan McDermott (his debut), Courtney B Vance, Don Cheadle, Steven Weber and Michael Boatman, this intense movie beautifully captures the utter pointlessness of warfare. Directed by John Irvin (Dogs of War, Raw Deal) and written by James Carabatsos (Heartbreak Ridge).



 

Kanal (Andrej Wajda/1956) – Polish resistance fighters flee the Nazis by struggling through the labyrinth of Warsaw’s sewers in this tense, hellish vision of futility. Winner of the special jury prize at the 1957 Cannes Film festival, Oscar winner Andrej Wajda’s masterpiece is one of those rare films that hit you in the gut, the heart and the brain. Kanał was the second film in Wajda's War trilogy, preceded by the superb A Generation and followed by Ashes and Diamonds. In Polish.




 

Kelly’s Heroes (Brian Hutton/1970) – A ragtag group of soldiers headed by Clint Eastwood shangai some tanks and head behind enemy lines in search of a cache of German gold. Clint Eastwood squints and scowls in the lead at hammy co-stars Donald Sutherland (as a doped-up, laid back hippie in uniform), Telly Savalas and Don Rickles. A big-budget, wide screen version of WWII sitcoms like Hogan’s Heroes, this is popcorn action with slapdash charm directed by Brian G.Hutton, the same guy who gave us the 1968 hit - Where Eagles Dare also starring Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton. Harry Dean Stanton also co-stars. You can hear the "Tiger Tank" from the movie's soundtrack by Lalo Schifrin in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.

Pork Chop Hill (Lewis Milestone/1959) – Very similar to Hamburger Hill, a Korean anti-war picture based on the best selling book by SLA Marshall and directed by the Academy award winning Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front, Ocean's 11, Of Mice and Men, Mutiny on the Bounty). A brutal film that almost entirely centers on an infantry assault on the eponymous hill depicting the bitter struggle for supremacy between the US Army and the Communist (Chinese and Korean) forces at the end of the Korean War. This film adds the element of psychology to the standard battle scenes – the US men are not only bombarded by Korean artillery but also by loudspeakers positioned on the hill. Gregory Peck (Omen) heads a tough, realistic cast that includes Rip Torn, George Peppard, Martin Landau and Robert Blake.

Tora! Tora! Tora! (Richard Fleischer/Toshiro Masuda/Kinji fakasaku/1970) – This is a war action thriller starring Jason Robards, Joseph Cotton and Martin Balsam guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Date: December, 1941, Place: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The U.S. naval base is about to be bombed and we know it. But the directors weave the story and action so expertly, continuously building tension that we’re captive to its spell of intrigue and bomb fire. A massive hit in Japan but a flop in the US. Oscar Winner for Best Special Effects with 4 more nominations. This is what Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor should have really been. 


The Train (John Frankenheimer/1964) – A visually stunning, thought-provoking and ultimately heartbreaking thriller based on the book - Le Front De L'Art by Rose Valland . With the Third Reich crumbling, Col. Von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) is ordered to gather the spoils of a French art museum and ship them by (you guessed it) a train to Germany. The Resistance finds out and begs railway inspector Labiche (Burt Lancaster) to intercept the train and get the paintings back. But will he risk the lives of his men for the sake of preserving art – is any masterpiece worth more than a human life? The action scenes are spectacular and the performances are strong. A great film.


Zulu (Cy Endfield/1964) – Forget that Michael Caine made his first starring appearance in this thriller, forget that Stanley Baker gave an excellent portrayal as a Royal Engineers officer faced with a battle against titanic odds – this is a must see for its insights into contemporary South Africa. This brilliant account of the Battle of Roarke’s Drift, in which a few dozen poorly armed British soldiers defended a tiny mission against an army of 4000 determined Zulu warriors, has tension that builds slowly and inexorably during the first hour. Director Endfield sets up a situation in which there are no heroes or saints and even the noblest of action are ambiguous. A provocative historical thriller that inspired the equally good 1979 prequel - Zulu Dawn starring Peter O’Toole and Burt Lancaster.