SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)

One of the quintessential, outrageous comedy of all-time by Billy Wilder. When he made it, its taboo and risky territory for both Hollywood star/actors and director to make a successful cross dressing comedy full of spoofs poking fun at gender sexuality but Wilder made a cheerful package loaded with fun and entertainment with all the ingredients in perfect formulaic balance.

Two unemployed musicians accidentally witness a gangster shootout in early thirties of Chicago and escape under disguise of woman and unite with girl band on train. Both of them lured by vulnerable charm of lead singer Sugar, without revealing their true identity under circumstances when gangsters are still on chase. Wilder managed to get fine performances, chemistry between actors with hilarious situations, cleverly written cheesy gags and fine timing. The difficult task was not just looks like a woman but behave like a one in presence of mythical beauty Marilyn Monroe and both Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are so convincingly play their parts without making it too burlesque. Poor Lemmon, its Curtis who got all the long kisses from Marilyn!!! Monroe is immortal beauty for sure showing all her gifted curves and Wilder who directed her in ‘The Seven Year Itch’, summed up his experience working with the most popular pin up girl of all-time: “More has been written about Marilyn Monroe than about World War II, and there are many similarities.”

Though AFI’s top rating as the Best comedy ever made is quite disputable; the film is nostalgic classic of old Hollywood.

Ratings-7.5/10

PS- Bollywood’s Rishi-Neetu starrer ‘Rafoo chakkar’ is cent percent rip off this classic.

EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL (German) (1970)

Like every time once again Werner Herzog just made me speechless and it’s damn difficult to utter anything about the madness of his filmmaking. He’s the filmmaker who made absolutely path breaking films like ‘Fitzcarraldo’, ‘Aguirre-the wrath of God’, ‘Stroszek’, ‘The Enigma of Kasper Hauser’ and now the film about dwarfs. Only Herzog can make something radical like this; making a film entirely on cast consists of dwarf men showing us an unimaginable chaos from beginning to end. I’m sure you have never seen something like this.

As film opens we see the group of pygmies overthrowing the asylum institution turning rebel against the instructor in absence of principal. Quite unlikely to Herzog film, it has elements of wicked fun like watching Bunuel films. Without winning our sympathy, the dwarfs here represent the uncontrolled mess of madness letting out free. Whether it’s harassing instructor, two blind dwarfs or destroying telephone cables, trees, flower pots and above all the scene where they made mess of driverless circling car throwing every available object from typewriter to plates (he repeated circling car again in ‘Stroszek’). The dwarfs here are really monsters. We see the change of violent behavior of chicks too! And yes, there are some chaotic real images which you can only expect from him- crucified monkey, kneeling camel and unstoppable boisterously laughing dwarf named Hombre! Again a memorable Herzog character for sure!

There are many who pointed the film as crude satire on fascism and there’re many reasons why the film struggled terribly when it was released. The film was banned initially in Germany since Herzog became controversial men bearing hatred from political wings, animal rights activists and religious organizations for disturbing and ridiculous portrayal. But Herzog without any gimmicks made an honest film which makes you think hard and contemplate. Talking about the film Herzog said in book “Herzog on Herzog’, “It is not midgets who are monstrous, it is us and society we have created for us.”

Highly recommended for all Herzog fans.

Ratings-10/10

ERASERHEAD (1977)

"Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you've got to go deeper".
– David Lynch

Six years ago ‘The Guardian’ made a joint survey based on public opinion poll and a panel of international critics regarding the best director of current time. The Top forty list has some of the brilliant names- Scorsese, Coen Brothers, Tarantino, Wong Kar-Wai, Bella Tarr, Terrence Malick, Cronenberg, Miyazaki, Fincher, Miike and others but the man who score the top position is none other than David Lynch. There are many close rivals in substance, craft, look and intelligence but as far as originality is concerned he scored maximum points among the rest.

Eraserhead is debut full length film of Lynch and it’s undoubtedly an experimental cult film with an unconventional plot set in an industrial waste land loaded with bizarre and surreal imagery. It’s absolutely challenging film for your head like most of Lynch works. Lynch himself called it “dream of dark and troubling time.” One can see the stamp of Lynch as the auteur in all three shocking scenes- dinner party scene, dream sequence of Henry’s head to pencil machine operator and the climactic scene where Henry cuts the bandage of deformed baby and feel paranoia.

Without using any commercial material except special effects in few scenes Lynch absolutely made a film with his independent touch. The peculiar use of mechanical sound, B&W bizarre camerawork, negligible dialogues, neurotic characters looming between symbolic heaven and hell and absolutely awesome imagination that envy any creative directors. It’s a kind of film which opens up more intensity after several viewing like his the most intriguing ‘Mullholand Drive’. But again it’s an out and out head product of Lynch; amid his all terrific creativity he skipped the heart here. My favorite Lynch film still remains ‘The Elephant Man’ where he beautifully combines his heart and head making everlasting experience for all audience.

If you don’t mind watching a challenging film with unease, disgust and full of weird surreal underpinning than it’s out and out film which blow your mind away!!!

Ratings-9/10

AMISTAD (1997)

“In a courtroom whoever tells the best story wins the case.”

In 1839 the African slaves started bloody revolt with the leader Cinque on board of Spanish ship named La Amistad. Despite their efforts to free themselves, the Spanish navigators betrayed them and tread them to US shore where they were put on trial on charge of murder and the case thrust into the white politics full of black and white. Director Steven Spielberg’s this film opens brilliantly with bloodbath scene on ship (kudos to great Janusz Kamninski) and has fine actors such as Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman and Matthew McConaughey, though it’s Djimon Hounsou as Cinque seems more impressive.

Film moves us in buts and pieces especially in Cinque’s moving flashback take showing us brutal and inhuman treatment to slaves on ship, inspired by a film which considered as magnum epic of Hollywood. And while making it epical/ historical drama, Spielberg missed the point. The drama here is overt political than personal statement on anti slavery. Spielberg invoked the emotions but not with heart at right place. He told the story from the white man’s point of view; again the white men fixed the real justice for black men, nothing unusual!!! Climactic courtroom drama is all sympathetic one sided show without any conflict! Spielberg off course has noble intentions but surprisingly he missed the punch and subjective side of story telling. Seeking references of holy bible and the history of American revolutionaries; at the end the film uplifts the spirit and victory of the American courts and not the poor African slaves got free to their roots.

Ratings-6.5/10

TRANSSIBERIAN (2008)

“With lies you may go ahead in the world but you may never go back.”

An American couple is on Trans-Siberian train journey from Beijing to Moscow. On their way they share their compartment with a young couple with whom they form quick bonding. At one of stopover the husband fails to pick up the train and soon the wife traps in a journey with murder, guilt and drug trafficking in the presence of smart cop. The film is an average thriller with fine performances of Emily Mortimer as tormented wife and Ben Kingsley as Russian cop, again an impressive act. The first half is quite slow and dramatic in parts but from the second half it sets thrill with tension rolling between a smart cop and the protagonist. Not a quite suspense film but a tense crime thriller where an innocent trapped in a drug trafficking tries to hide her crime under panic. Don’t digest the end; quite Hollywood!!!

Ratings-6/10

STAGECOACH (1939)

A landmark film for both Johns- Director John Ford and John Wayne. Its first film where both icons worked together gifting us one of the classic western of all time. I haven’t seen much of Ford films but after watching this I believe that Ford was truly an artist, the film was damn 70 years old and still it gives you a beautiful nostalgic feel of that era. Stagecoach sets a journey with diverse set of passengers amid the danger of Apache attack. On surface the passengers look idiosyncratic but as film moves forward we see their true characters. Ford portrayed all the passengers in interesting and memorable character sketches- the loudmouth banker, an exiled prostitute, a pregnant wife of soldier, booze addicted Doctor, a sheriff, and above all an outlaw hero pursuing revenge. Ford brought bit of everything for everyone with moments of drama, fun, romance, adventure, action accompanied by gentleman heroes and lovable characters.

One can see the mastery of Ford on all the technical matters of filmmaking especially camerawork which became inspiration for many legends like Kurosawa, Bergman, Orson Welles to name a few. The sequence of Apache attack and chase sequence shot spectacularly and it’s really breath taking one. It’s with this film Ford introduced great Monument Valley to screen with wide panoramic shots. It was he who brought to screen the pure western- a classic visual experience before it corrupted with inclusion of many commercial elements. I think every western filmmaker owe something to John Ford in that respect.

Ratings-8/10

KWAIDAN (Japanese) (1964)

My first Masaki Kobayashi film and after watching it I must say I would love to explore more of him. The film is haunting and creative bouquet of four supernatural horror stories each with surprise ending. The film won special Jury prize at Cannes Film Festival in 1965. Well, it’s not cup of tea for those who’re obsessed with gory, torture or zombie horror flicks. But for those who love to watch fine psychological-supernatural horror films, it’s a big treat.

Kobayashi’s use of artificial sets loaded with bright colorful canvas of background and changing fluorescent shades of light bring elegance of fantasy to screen. Beautiful cinematography and illusive visual effects add haunting atmospheric tension reminding me Dario Argento’s ‘Suspiria’, though there’s huge dichotomy in treatment. The climactic dawn of ‘The Black Hair’, the background depicting the giant eye in ‘The Woman of the Snow’ and the illusive Buddha temple scenes of ‘Hoichi, the Earless’ (the best part IMO) where blind Hoichi is playing Biwa or are just matchless example of classic Japanese cinema. The last part ‘In a cup of Tea’ is the shortest but intriguing one.

Highly Recommended.

Ratings-8.5/10

PS- Thanx Vikram for this recommendation. As you said, Both ‘Kwaidan’ and ‘Onibaba’ are absolutely classic psychological horror from Japanese cinema.