Movie Muse

The Holocaust has been revisited in film so many times that I imagine the first thing German-born film actors ask themselves upon meeting is “which film(s) were you a Nazi in?” The crimes of the Nazi Party and the German soldiers carrying out its mission to revive Germany through the mass killing of Jews and other “invalids” are so unfathomable and powerful that filmmakers and storytellers can’t help but find so many ways to tell complex stories of morality and human survival.”The Counterfeiters” is another one of these films, but lack of originality is absolutely the only knock against it. Read the rest of this entry »

“The Thin Red Line” is a war story told with images. There is a difference between that and a movie. It is a bold piece of film-making, especially for a war film, yet it makes all the same statements only without the stereotypes. If the creators of those dumb spoofs made “War Movie,” it would be hard to make fun of this one. It’s not the most engaging of films, but once again, it’s more art through images and narration than a film. Read the rest of this entry »

When you watch “Braveheart” you can’t help but feel like you’ve seen it before. That’s because “Braveheart” did it first. James Horner’s thematic bagpipe music that could make a grown man cry is nearly replicated in his score for “Titanic” (although “Titanic” won him the Oscar). The highly skilled love and revenge-fueled hero is all that is Maximus in “Gladiator.” The list goes on, but the point is that “Braveheart” set formula for the modern day historical fiction war film. Read the rest of this entry »

The Vietnam War is not something filmmakers have shied away from, so the challenge for Michael Cimino right away was to make “The Deer Hunter” something different. He succeeds. “Deer Hunter” is a portrait of life for American soldiers before and after war. It’s goal is not to expose the horrors of the war or acclaim the bravery of its soldiers, but to show the far- reaching effects of post-traumatic stress. Although the film drags frequently because it doesn’t use traditional storytelling methods, the feelings Cimino wants to get across are felt. Read the rest of this entry »

R.I.P movie star Jean Simmons, who starred opposite Kirk Douglas in this film. She passed away last week just 9 days before her 81st birthday.

“Spartacus” (1960) and “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) were the two great epic war films of the 1960s. That said, the latter is superior, but not for the former’s lack of trying. The backstory of “Spartacus” explains a lot: Executive producer and star Kirk Douglas fires director Anthony Mann and brings in his “Paths of Glory” (a phenomenal film) director Stanley Kubrick. Problem is, the eventually infamous Kubrick really had no experience working with anyone’s work but his own, even if the script was written by blacklisted two-time Oscar winner Dalton Trumbo. Basically, Douglas did his best to make the most of “Spartacus,” including the corralling of a distinguished cast, but it results in a very good — not great — film. Read the rest of this entry »

“Patton” might not be the greatest war movie ever made, but it’s without question cinema’s finest character study. It’s a portrait of a man painted so vividly that I bet — at least since 1970 — that there are far more historians whose research emphasis is on Gen. George S. Patton than any other war hero/major military figure. Hollywood has given us any number of unique and enigmatic characters, but none so compelling and quickly gathering of our sympathies as Patton. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to argue that “Apocalypse Now” is anything but one of the top three war films if not the best ever made. There’s just nothing wrong with it. Sure, there might be parts that don’t resonate as well and the film certainly doesn’t broadcast its messages in the most direct of ways, but confusion has nothing to say to the film’s breathtaking visuals and impeccable post-production craftsmanship.

Francis Ford Coppola’s non-”Godfather” masterpiece is a Vietnam update of the classic Joseph Conrad novel “Heart of Darkness.” Capt. Willard (Sheen) is ordered on a mission to travel up a river in Vietnam to find a former army Col. Walter Kurtz (Brando), who has gone “rogue” and taken charge of a local tribe. Willard is ordered to terminate Kurtz … with extreme prejudice. With a band of ordinary soldiers, he travels upriver on a patrol boat on a mission that drastically changes his perspective.

It’s funny, because what most people look for in movies — great story, epiphany, great acting — are not the strongest points of “Apocalypse Now.” The film is a masterpiece of the more technical aspects of film as well as of direction. To start with, the cinematography is the most incredible of any war movie made before “Saving Private Ryan.” The lights, the glare spots, the explosions and the jarring but effective changes in color palettes are so impressive that they tell a story in themselves and that’s about the highest compliment that element of a film can receive.

Sound-wise, helicopter blades dominate the first significant chunk of this film and they begin to haunt you as a sound of war and danger, not to mention the challenges of mixing sound when that noise is so overpowering. The way it’s all strung together is bound to be under- appreciated considering how much is going on and that the plot demands a lot of our attention.

“Apocalypse Now” has a complex view of war that goes way beyond mere protest. In fact, it’s not about war, but the good and evil inside of the persons stuck in the middle of it. It’s about the choices humans make in dealing with the complicated forces inside them beckoning them to do one or the other and how war puts an incredible and terrible strain on that process.

I watched “Apocalypse Now Redux,” the 2001 re-edit of the film including nearly 50 minutes extra footage. Having not seen the original but knowing which scenes were added, I think the extra footage makes a difference. Scenes involving the stranded Playmates and the French woman who takes kindly to Willard add a sensuality to the film that brings a new layer of meaning to the journey of Willard and the young PBR crew. It make it all the more apparent just how out of place these soldiers were in Vietnam and why the US couldn’t “win” despite more than adequate numbers.

Although I make a point to emphasize the production elements of the film, the script by John Milius and Coppola along with Michael Herr’s narrative additions is worthy of the utmost praise. The way Willard’s journey allows him to understand more about the man he’s after and pushes him into Kurtz’s shoes is one of the clearer points of the film and the turning points are all based around it. Dennis Hopper’s photojournalist character spouting off T.S Eliot poetry and Brando’s improvisations murky the water a bit, but the impact is fierce as the film concludes and the incredible presence of Brando commands our attention.

“Apocalypse Now” has a lot to say and maybe too little time (despite the film’s length) to say it, but few films leave the impression on so many artistic levels that this war epic does. Despite the beauty, Coppolla doesn’t glorify war so much as make a bone-chilling and awing spectacle of it.

It was only a matter of time before WWII/Holocaust drama and Edward Zwick found each other. “Defiance” is the perfect little-known underdog war story that perfectly fits Zwick’s (“Glory,” “The Last Samurai,” “Blood Diamond”) tastes. Historical war drama with a heavy action slant as per usual, “Defiance” has all the elements that anyone who’s enjoyed Zwick’s past work is looking for: lush cinematography, gripping action and a strong leading male role played by an elite actor. At the same time, for a Holocaust story that hasn’t already received the silver screen treatment (a rarity these days it seems), “Defiance” seems like it’s been done before and doesn’t fully extend its audience the extraordinary experience its unique premise suggest it capable of.