Crouching tiger, hidden dragon - **

Crouching tiger, hidden dragon  * *
a.k.a. “Wo hu cang long”

Action. Columbia. 2000.
D: Ang Lee.
P: Hsu Li-Kong, William Kong, Ang Lee.

“Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are lead to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman’s daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life”.

Unusual mix of martial arts, love story and eastern philosophy, creating a unique work in its moment that became very popular. It has splendid action sequences, some acquiring an oniric beauty. The human elements never fall into place, but when the film soars, it does so to surprising heights.

Significant production contribution: Directing; Music (Tan Dun); Cinematography (Peter Pau); Choreography (Yuen Woo-ping); Editing (Tim Squyres)

Witness - ***

Witness * * *

Thriller. Paramount. 1985.
D: Peter Weir.
P: Edward S. Feldman.

“A young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder; policeman John Book goes into hiding in Amish country to protect him until the trial”.

Intelligent, subtle thriller with an emphasis on character, and the depiction of an Amish community and its contrast with the modern world. The film is wonderfully shot in a naturalistic fashion, and most of the production values are outstanding.

Significant production contribution: Cinematography (John Seale), Screenplay (Earl Wallace, William Kelley, Pamela Wallace), Direction, Acting (Harrison Ford, Lukas Haas), Editing (Thom Noble), Music (Maurice Jarre)

The terminator - ***

The terminator * * *

Thriller. Orion. 1984.
D: James Cameron.
P: Gale Ann Hurd.

“A human-looking, apparently unstoppable cyborg is sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor; Kyle Reese is sent to stop it”.

Action thriller with a science fiction storyline, put together with an economic, effective sense of storytelling, and featuring outstanding effects for such a cheap production. Well written.

Significant production contribution: Direction, Screenplay (James Cameron, Gale Ann Hurd), Special effects (Stan Winston, Jack Bricker, Richard Landon, Shane Mahan, John Rosengrant, Joe Viskocil, Tom Woodruff Jr.)

The shining - ****

The shining * * * *

Horror. Warner. 1980.
D: Stanley Kubrick.
P: Stanley Kubrick.

“A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future”.

Meta generic film, a rumination on the workings of the horror genre, and a gallery that reunites most of its items. Monumental in its intelligence and depth, it also works very well as a straight horror film. Scores very high in technique and multiple level reading. Narrative is not all that accomplished, wether purposefully or not, but some of the images Kubrick creates (the use of steadicam giving the perennial idea of persecution, Jack standing toweringly against the miniature maze) resonate deeply.

Significant production contribution: Direction, Cinematography (John Alcott), Use of pre existing music (Stanley Kubrick), Art direction (Roy Walker), Music (Wendy Carlos), Acting (Jack Nicholson)

Wo de fu qin mu qin - **

Wo de fu qin mu qin * *
a.k.a. “The road home”

Drama. Columbia. 1999.
D: Zhang Yimou.
P: Zhao Yu.

“Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback”.

Simple, optimal, beautiful romantic melodrama, wonderfully directed, framed by a fantastic use of color. Its honesty and sensibility earns a true burst of emotion.

Significant production contribution: Direction, Cinematography (Hou Yong), Music (San Bao)

The ice storm - **

The ice storm * *

Drama. Fox Searchlight. 1997.
D: Ang Lee.
P: Ang Lee, Ted Hope, James Schamus.

“1973, suburban Connecticut: middle class families experimenting with casual sex, drink, etc., find their lives out of control”.

Minutely directed tale of family disfunction, a success in its portrayal of the human and political landscape of its time and place, as, for two families, individual and social tensions build up to a towering climax.

Significant production contribution: Direction, Acting (Kevin Kline, Joan Allen)

The hunger

The hunger

Horror. MGM. 1983.
D: Tony Scott.
P: Richard Shepherd.

“The Egyptian vampire lady Miriam subsists upon the blood of her lovers. In return the guys or girls don’t age”.

Topical horror film, stylized for pop oriented audiences. It proves its director has always relied on shock value and visual tricks over anything else.

Significant production contribution: None.

The hunchback of Notre Dame - *

The hunchback of Notre Dame *

Drama. Disney. 1996.
D: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise.
P: Don Hahn.

“A deformed bellringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancing girl”.

Darker and more tragic than usual Disney animated musicals -even erotic-, argument was toned down and dumbed down with kiddie jokes for commercial purposes, and thus the film suffered. It was the last fine musical Menken wrote for Disney.

Significant production contribution: Music (Alan Menken), Songs (Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz)

The day the Earth stood still - ***

The day the Earth stood still * * *

Adventure. 20th Century Fox. 1951.
D: Robert Wise.
P: Julian Blaustein.

“An alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets”.

Well directed and written, stands out as a science fiction outing for the level of its realization and its emphasis on realism, as well as some ingenious visual effects and a very slick, minimalistic design for the airship, which seems very ahead of its time. Herrmann composed one the first film scores which was largely electronic.

Significant production contribution: Direction, Special effects (Fred Sersen), Art direction (Lyle Wheeler, Addison Hehr), Music (Bernard Herrmann)

The blob

The blob

Horror. Paramount. 1958.
D: Irvin Yeaworth, Russell Doughten.
P: Jack Harris.

“An alien lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows”.

Average product of its time, famous for its impact back then. In cinematic terms, it has no nuance or interest whatsoever.

Significant production contribution: None.