SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952)

Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are Hollywood icons of silent era. Don has fame, money and fans favoring his screen image. Once he accidentally meets an aspiring young actress Kathy who unlike others doesn’t carry away by his screen charm. “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” she said to the star. She affected the charmer. On the other hand studio and producer are worried by invention of talkies as Warner Bros. going soon to release ‘The Jazz Singer’ (the first talkie ever made). Ultimately studio started making its first musical talkie saved by Kathy as voice over of dumb Lina.

‘Singin’ in the Rain’ was made when musicals ruled Hollywood but it’s not just run on the mill musical. It’s a film about making motion pictures and there’s film within film. In light hearted manner it very cleverly pinpointed the early problems faced in Hollywood with invention of talkies. The preview show of the talkie in the film shows the audience making mockery of that early phase of talkie. Watch those phonetic experts teaching dumb actress how to pronounce some common words. The audience laughing out loudly when introduced with sudden verbosity of sound at platter with quite indistinct recording, out of synchronization dialogue and star tantrums. Its period of transition from silent to talkie where song-music-dance comes to rescue and became an integral part of cinema than dialogues in early phase.

Needless to say that the film has some classic songs but its secondary compared to captivating powerhouse foot tapping dance energy of legendary Gene Kelly who not only acted, choreographed and co-directed the whole film. This is my second Kelly film after ‘An American in Paris’ and I must say that he’s graceful artist and an auteur as far as dance and choreography is concerned. Whatever Chaplin is to silent cinema, he’s to dance and musicals of early 50s. Nobody can dance foot tapping pantomime like him. He’s wonderfully accompanied by brilliant Donald O’Conner (watch his wonderful performance in ‘Make ‘em laugh’) and sweet dame Debbie Reynolds…amazing chemistry between trio filled it with life. All song-dance numbers are classic including the title track performed by Kelly and his prop umbrella, it’s the cinematic moment to witness and the father of all rain songs.

It’s a spectacular film absolutely made for big screen- vibrant colorful frames, beautiful studio sets and fine vintage dressing. There’s bit of everything for everyone here- song, dance, drama, romance, comedy and above all witty and humorous one-liners coated with aphorisms …the fun is so genuine unlike today’s films trying to tickle you with futile attempts. The most hilarious scene is one where director is experimenting first time to record sound of Lina with hidden microphone during shooting and mistakes and retakes ultimately ended with a big laughter.

Quite disheartening to know that when released it neither received well at box office nor won any Oscars. Like many great films, later it turns out as ‘King of all Musicals’ by critics and audience. Priceless and magical experience of the classic Hollywood…its films like these which uplifted the status of ‘musical’ as genre. Must watch for all classic lovers.

Ratings-8/10

THE APARTMENT (1960)

“If you are going to tell people the truth, be funny or they will kill you.” - Billy Wilder

An insurance clerk gets ahead in profession winning favors of his seniors and boss to get promotion.
The key to success is his apartment that he offers to them to cater their extra marital affairs. Poor fellow’s apartment is so occupied that he has to sleep outside in the park!!! Jack Lemmon’s C C. Baxter is an everyday common man who wanted quick success in corporate world and archetype who knows how to manipulate human weakness of seniors. In the beginning we look him as a slavish clerk trapped in fix to win favorable promotion but as the film progressed we see his other humanitarian face.

More than comedy Billy Wilder’s this film is satire on society’s mad rush to get material success either by hook or crook and it is as relevant today as in 1960. Its fine drama where comedy is concocted with something which scratches at the right place. Though I haven’t seen much of Jack Lemmon, I’m impressed by his act here. Shirley MacLaine is as average as in any films. Though wilder didn’t get deserving trophy as a director in ‘Sunset Boulevard’, he bagged three trophies at Oscar for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Director Anurag Basu lifted the whole plot of the film in his much appreciated ‘Metro’. Remember Sharman-Kangana-Kay Kay Menon part… and I thought Basu was original!!!

Ratings-7.5/10

SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)

“I am big… its pictures that got small.”
- Norma Desmond

Glamour…fame…fans…they all fade slowly and steadily in place called HOLLYWOOD.
Two thumbs up for Billy Wilder and absolutely brilliant Gloria Swanson for this scathing satire on fading reel/real life of screen idol and her fame which no longer remain same. It’s an in depth look of silent era’s aging Hollywood star and her fading career and empty life. Norma Desmond is still living in her grim huge mention, basking in the world of lost glory with her proud and fake arrogance. She’s still sleepwalking along the giddy heights of her lost career and plain crazy about one subject: her celluloid self image. She has a stalwart servant and surprisingly her first husband at her disposal who feeds her lies and lies about her fan following and let her remain cozy to her hallucination of greatest stardom. Until she meets a strange script writer and fall in love with him.

Wilder shows us the dark face of screen and fickleness of profession that trades in the world of pipe dreaming. Remembering an equally tragic play by Eugene O’Neill named ‘Iceman Cometh’. Its too dark tragedy and more melodramatic than any other Wilder films so far. The climax is shatteringly tragic as Joe showed her the face of ugly reality and her fake pretence. It’s outstandingly brilliant tragic end- the star is not dead but he’s not alive any longer. She’s still star in her own madness facing crime reporters’ camera as returning to studio again. What a tragedy!!

The casting of Gloria Swanson was pitch perfect as in real life too she’s silent star of 20’s bygone era then and had no film on her platter when Wilder approached her. And still it’s this film why the world will remember her forever. Watch her in the last ten minutes of the film where she marked her permanent stamp…a pipe dreaming lady unable to face the reality amid the most shocking tragedy of her life. A great cinematic moment indeed!!! William Holden is Wilder regular and he too delivered perfectly controlled act. Surprise of the package is to see three legendary filmmakers as actors in the film- Erich Von Stroheim in great supporting role, Cecile B. DeMile in brief but significant role and my favorite silent icon Buster Keaton in cameo as himself (playing cards at table in a single scene). It’s ironic to know that though nominated for eleven categories at Oscar including best actress, best actor, best supporting actor and best director, it won only consolation prize sort of three awards in best writing, best music and best art direction.

Well I have seen many Hollywood classics but when it’s time to narrate the drama nobody comes nearer to Billy Wilder. He’s not only great Hollywood director but brilliant screenplay writer too; making his dramas as compelling and interesting as his noires and romantic comedies. His companionship with Brackett gave us great films- ‘Double Indemnity’, ‘The Lost Weekend’ and the last is this masterpiece. Wonder why they stopped working together after this; another Hollywood mystery maybe!

Wilder’s Masterpiece and perhaps the best film Hollywood made on Hollywood.

Ratings-9/10

PS- I equally love Guru Dutt’s take on Hindi film industry’s fading director in ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’. Do catch it too if you haven’t. It’s equally as tragic and as great as this one.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)

What’s original and classic will remain so forever. Giant alien pods starts taking the form of any human body sweeping the town into hysteria. The changes in appearance or personality are not visible but it makes one free from all emotions and life simply becomes an instinct to survive. It’s a contagious and the only way one can survive is to stay awake. A smart and brave doctor and his beloved are struggling to save themselves noticing the madness surrounded all around. But can they remain so?

Don Siegal’s this original cult sci-fi film was later remade by Brian De Palma and gave birth to many of its clone versions with slight changes, the recent example is Nicole Kidman starrer ‘Invasion’. With least or no special effects, lower budget production and average cast Siegal had made a compelling film, perhaps way ahead of its time. He maintained both suspense in the beginning and thrill in the later part making it compelling watch. What’s first seems like a psychological thriller later turns out as sci-fi thriller. The end remains open when we see frustrated Doctor keeps yelling in front of camera- ‘You’re next’.

Recommended to all classic fans.

Ratings-8/10

VAARANAM AAYIRAM (Tamil) (2008)

A young major on mission got the news about his father’s death, he didn’t abort the mission and next we are drawn to the flashback of his relationship with the most intimate person of his life- his daddy, who remains inspiration in all walks of his life. Director Gautam Menon’s this film is a tribute to his father but it shares the bonding that touches all of us. Menon hasn’t glorified the character of father and let it remain resembling with any common father of middle class family trying to keep his family as happy as possible. The admirable things do not necessarily small or big one but memorable one. The intention and theme is noble but Menon’s main flaw lies in loose screenplay and script making film melodrama most of the time.

It’s difficult double role to carry for Suriya playing both father and son but he is full of confidence and energy and throughout the film he maintained both characters along with his crowd pulling charming star appeal. He has to play multiple parts of a common man’s life- lover, husband and a caring father with all commercial ingredients of dance, romance, action, comedy and drama and he’s carrying all these so comfortably like a seasoned player.

Menon is technically topnotch director and stylistically his films have Hollywood kind of touch in production, art direction to camerawork but what’s big flaw is that he stretches his filma repetitively too far for full three hours; giving you dragging feel. Harris Jayraj’s almost all compositions for the film are fine melodies. He’s wonderful guitarist and couple of his solo playing in background adds fine touch to certain romantic scenes.

Watch it for talented Suriya.

Ratings-7/10

DAYS OF HEAVEN (1978)

Very rarely we come across such a beautiful film which just sweeps all our heart to the different ground from beginning to end. Terrence Malick’s ‘Days of Heaven is visually poetry or a beautiful piece of artistic expression; certainly higher than just a film watching experience. Undoubtedly Malick is rare breed of filmmaker whom I like to term as ‘the gifted naturalist’. Watching his films are like going into the lap of nature without any preconceived notions where we witness the colors and moods of the characters lives running parallel to the nature. Here the nature is the strongest character both as healer and destroyer capturing the essence of human nature with pictorial landscape.

Written by Malick and narrated by a teenage young girl mature in her observations, it’s a journey of complex love triangle between three characters. The rivalry to win the heart of lady stuck between two lovers; the ownership over someone who does not wish to be owned. Perhaps more than loving her owning her is quite contrary to their natural order. Without any sort of heavy or emotional dialogues Malick made a love story with ‘most heard silence’ focused on characters expressions and fixed images depth in meaning.

Watch the symbols too- the unwanted harmful bugs and fire in the field runs parallel with frustration in life, the house of landowner farmer dominates the frame is perhaps the sign of human progress in the Promised Land. The message of the film is quite clearly followed in one of the lines uttered by the girl, “Nobody is perfect. There was never a perfect person around. You just got half devil and half angel in you.” If we think deeper it suggests that heaven and hell lies not elsewhere but in our heart and soul. Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepard are permanently indebted to Malick for being the part of their most valuable and memorable film of their entire career. What’s adding more value to film is another gold score by legendary Ennio Morricone and Nestor Almendros is God himself at camera showing you the world of nature and human from his eyes. I’m quite desperate to see his other works.

A new permanent entry in my favorite films list.

Ratings-10/10

THE NEW WORLD (2005)

A few directors know what to do with silence or whisper…subtle emotions don’t require words for expression. But to represent and create same on screen is too difficult task to accomplish. Even at the expense of few minus points in writing and deviation in theme, Director Terrence Malick made us felt those sublime emotions with minimum words, natural sounds and visuals and sometimes by mere silence. Story unfolds the time of early seventeenth century in Virginia where Natives balanced the natural law until ships of England landed on shore. Its story about the promised land of America- ‘The New World’ for them but what’s new and promised possession for them was old home for natives. So who inherit the land of God? History always weighs in favor of power and colonial empire.

Though Malick hasn’t given any blockbuster hit in his career, his influence is terrific as a brilliant filmmaker. Even while watching, it seems that James Cameron has referred this film for sure and lifted (‘influenced’ would be euphemism!) many things to make ‘Avatar’; it’s all here-the sublime love between a native chief’s daughter and an outsider white man, along with portrayal of white man’s attachment with natives’ natural order of life and mysterious Mother Nature and above all the theme of savage natives Vs civilized white men.

Malick cast real native Indians for the film to give the authenticity to the film. Juxtaposition of natural selfless world with wicked selfish and greedy civilized world is reflected so sublimely from the protagonist’s point of view and the transformation it brings to him seems so convincing in the first half; until this point the film is extraordinary experience. The drawback in the film is that Malick went too subjective treating the love story in the later half with strange entry of Chritian Bale in the plot. It would have been more refine experience to cherish if the theme of the film didn’t shift its focus in the last one hour and made it too predictable and emotionally manipulative. Perhaps this is sole reason why it got mixed review from audience and critics.

For me Colin Farrel is an average actor but here he has given one of the restraint performances of his career. Q’orianka Kilcher is revelation for all of us. Narration is direct, minimalist; simple and off course moving. Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography is award deserving and so is James Horner’s one more haunting score.

Watch it for subtle emotions…watch it for its visual beauty and depth. No one can deny that Malick is artist and nature never seems so natural as in his films.

Ratings-7.5/10