Aging Movie Reviews

As the years have passed, I have come back to this movie time and time again, and I find that "King of the Hill" only grows better with each viewing. Undoubtedly this film has a tremendous amount to say about endurance, triumph, love, and adversity, and Soderbergh tackles such themes with great eloquence and ease. But what is most striking about this beautiful picture are the endless number of images that appear throughout the course of its story. I will never forget the tragic dance scene in which the character of Ella experiences a random seizure, the brilliant exchanges between Spalding Gray and Elizabeth McGovern, or the touching final interaction between Aaron and an elevator operator. But for me, the most incredible sequence comes at the story's very beginning when Aaron stands before his class and reads a report on Charles Lindbergh as it offers fantastic insight into Aaron Kurlander's strong spirit.

Beautifully acted, and brilliantly written, this film is an underrated jewel. I recommend "King of the Hill" to anyone, and make no apologies for saying that this is my very favorite film.

The film stars Jesse Bradford, in a brilliant, commanding performance, as a resourceful child who must make his own way in Depression-era St. Louis. The film successfully depicts the hopes and fears of children, and unlike other films about children, portrays its hero as intelligent and responsible.

"Out of Sight" may be more stylistically dazzling and "Erin Brockovich" may have more star power, but "King of the Hill" radiates with the power of a film passionately made.

If you blink, you'll miss Mohammed Ali.

Out of all his DVD to date, this is one of my favorites (along with the BET JAZZ)

Get it!

It was a high time in the Congo! George Foreman and Muhammad Ali's Rumble in the Jungle was about to happen.

Ali had become a hero to blacks around the world when he refused to be drafted to fight in Vietnam--"Why should I fight the Vietcong! They never called me a nigger." The Congolese were euphoric about Ali. Never had a black man stood up in this way to colonial whites or to the most powerful country in the world. Throughout the Congo, people chanted "Ali, boma ye! Ali, boma ye!" "Ali, kill him. Ali, kill him." (Poor George Foreman never fully understood the antipathy he met in Africa.)

It was in this atmosphere that James Brown and BB King came to perform. (Near the end, look out for a young Ali in the audience.)

This DVD is as good as it gets! Thanks BB.

Marlene Dietrich is the sparkle which makes this film far superior to most other westerns and she is the reason it will remain a classic for a long time. A strong supporting cast includes Samuel S. Hines, Jack Carson, Mycha Auer and Allen Jenkins.

The movie received no Oscar nominations undoubtedly because of the stiff competition provided by its numerous first-class competitors in 1939 such as GONE WITH THE WIND. George Marshall also directed YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN starring W.C. Fields in that same year.

In the opening scenes the audience is treated to absolutely breath-taking images of the hills of South Africa, it is there that you are introduced to the story's protangonist Rev. Kumalo, the pastor of a small country church in South Africa. The role of Kumalo is played brilliantly by James Earl Jones.

In the opening scenes Rev. Kumalo travels to Johannesburg to come to the aid of his sister and to search for his son. While in Johannesburg, the lives of Rev. Kumalo and James Jarvis, a weathly farmer and neighbor of Kumalo played by Richard Harris, are brought together by an event (I will leave it at that) that will profoundly affect the lives of both men. Pay particular attention to the scene where Jones and Harris first meet, it is a wonderful example what is possible when two accomplished actors are put together and given the chance to ply their trades.

"Cry, The Beloved Country," does require some patience from the viewer, director Darrell Roodt builds the story slowly and deliberately, and even this level of dillegence doesn't completely pay off, but when the movie comes to it's climax I can guarantee you will appreciate the time Roodt took to set up the story in the beginning of the movie.

This is really the story of an honest man in dishonest wolrd and the effect individuals can make in the lives of others. This movie should have recieved much more attention when it was in the theaters and Jones should have recieved an Oscar nomination for his preformance.

The final scene of the movie ends much as it starts, in the hills of South Africa. Director Darrel Roodt uses this local as bookends for this wonderous story. This movie is not available on DVD, but look for it on video tape it is well worth the effort.

It's hard not to be impressed by what you hear - the sounds of throat-singing (and the impressive vocal harmonics which result), combined with Pena's more natural blues influences. Well worth a look, even if it's just for the story alone!

The Gish sisters are the stars of this film; their names do not appear in the opening credits; they are reserved for when the pair make their first appearance. But this is really Lillian Gish's movie, even more so that Griffith's. He provides the grand sets and human spectacle, especially once the revolution begins, not to mention the periodic denouncements of bolshevism, but the emotional moments all belong to Lillian, especially the scene when she hears her sister's voice for the first time since their separation. As long as she is on screen you pay attention, but when the story goes back to the other plot threads slowly coming together your mind can start to wander, and it is her performance that makes the melodrama palatable. After all, this is a film where her starving father goes to the church to abandon her and ends up bringing two babies home. The close calls that almost reunite the two sisters are such that you could easily see this 1921 silent film being recut as a serial.

The special features for this Kino on Video DVD that is part of the Griffith Masterworks series includes a filmed introduction by Orson Welles; a portfolio of rare Griffith photographs of the directors and his starlets; "Rescued From the Eagle's Nest," a 1908 film that stars Griffith as an actor; "The Story of David Wark Griffith," a biography published in "Photoplay" magazine in 1916; footage taken at Griffith's funeral; and a radio eulogy of Griffith by fellow director Erich von Stroheim. Based on Adolphe d'Ennery's play "The Two Orphans," this film runs 150 minutes and features the 1922 score by Louis F. Gottschalk & William Frederick Peters given a modern arrangement and performed by Brian Benison. "Orphans of the Storm" would not qualify as a great silent film, but Griffith's hand and Lillian Gish's performance is enough to ensure it is considered a classic. I know that Mary Pickford was America's Sweetheart, but I find that hard to believe every time the camera lingers of Lillian Gish.

The Gish sisters are the stars of this film; their names do not appear in the opening credits; they are reserved for when the pair make their first appearance. But this is really Lillian Gish's movie, even more so that Griffith's. He provides the grand sets and human spectacle, especially once the revolution begins, not to mention the periodic denouncements of bolshevism, but the emotional moments all belong to Lillian, especially the scene when she hears her sister's voice for the first time since their separation. As long as she is on screen you pay attention, but when the story goes back to the other plot threads slowly coming together your mind can start to wander, and it is her performance that makes the melodrama palatable. After all, this is a film where her starving father goes to the church to abandon her and ends up bringing two babies home. The close calls that almost reunite the two sisters are such that you could easily see this 1921 silent film being recut as a serial.

The special features for this Kino on Video DVD that is part of the Griffith Masterworks series includes a filmed introduction by Orson Welles; a portfolio of rare Griffith photographs of the directors and his starlets; "Rescued From the Eagle's Nest," a 1908 film that stars Griffith as an actor; "The Story of David Wark Griffith," a biography published in "Photoplay" magazine in 1916; footage taken at Griffith's funeral; and a radio eulogy of Griffith by fellow director Erich von Stroheim. Based on Adolphe d'Ennery's play "The Two Orphans," this film runs 150 minutes and features the 1922 score by Louis F. Gottschalk & William Frederick Peters given a modern arrangement and performed by Brian Benison. "Orphans of the Storm" would not qualify as a great silent film, but Griffith's hand and Lillian Gish's performance is enough to ensure it is considered a classic. I know that Mary Pickford was America's Sweetheart, but I find that hard to believe every time the camera lingers of Lillian Gish.

The 6-part series (of which Li only appears in the first three, and the sixth) follows Wong Fei Hong, a doctor long renowned in Chinese legend. The setting is in late 19th century China as issues of colonialism, and suspicion toward foreigners runs ramapant. Fei Hong is usually neutral, with stronger leanings toward anti-westernization. Villains often play the part of the complete anti-westerners, doing any and everything to kick the French or British out. In the pro-west corner is Aunt Yee (aunt via a distant relation it seems, which lessens the weirdness of the romantic tension between her and Fei Hong) who dresses "modern," takes pictures with a camera, and believes the future lies in assimilating more of the western form into the culture.

Fei Hong is caught in the middle. He is extremely proud of his country and its people, but knows there is some merit to Yee's belief. For one, as a doctor, he has seen and understands some of the more efficient medical methods of the West, and knows that they surpass some, but not all Chinese methods. He fights both overly zealous Chinese and foreigners who don't mind making murder and brutality part of the process.

The Yuen Wo Ping choreographed scenes could make up a manual for shooting the kung fu fight scene. The cuts are long, extended takes, from numerous angles, with only splashes of slow motion. Wire work takes precedence over CG EFX (there aren't really any), and the fights are fast and furious, with few dramatic pauses where the fighters glare at each other, etc. You will see some of the most clever and awe-inspiring fight scenes ever caught on film.

One fight in the first volume takes place in a multi-story barn where Fei Hong battles Iron Vest Yim atop ladders and hay bales, using the ladders as if they were his feet. In the second, more historical volume, there are amazing sequences against Donnie Yen, it top "Iron Monkey" form, and a fight against the White Lotus sect where winning the battle is only half the fight: both fighters are at the same time trying to stay atop tables, ledges or people, as long as they don't touch the ground.

It's a definite must-have for your collection, and if its the start of your collection, you'll be drawn to his other pre-mainstream films as well. Note that his assistant Fu changes from volume to volume (Yuen Biao sets and is the standard as Fu in Vol. 1) but this is a minor, although slightly irritating side issue. The fights are mind-blowing--"Crouching, Tiger" without the intimations of love, fantasy, magic or slow motion. Just drawn-out street fights in the true fight-to-survive mindset.