DAVID O.RUSSEL, CHRIS NOLAN & MICHAEL CIMINO DELIVER DARING DRAMAS
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
By far, David O. Russell’s quirky dramedy is among the more engaging and entertaining films I’ve seen in a long, long time. Maybe even the best picture of the year. I was surprised by the unfolding of the very human story of a Phillie family working out ways to cope and readjust to the shifting reality they have been dealt. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are fantastic in this crazy, funny, and finally upbeat love story that dabbles in the diverse issues of mental health, grief and gambling.
Word of mouth will make this a huge hit for the holidays and beyond. What a delight to find this terrific film in a season that’s rife with contrived, insipid family fare. Here’s one that’s not sentimental or smarmy but energized with the wild, dark humor and scary twists just like real life — and also infused with the kind of compassion and understanding that changes the perception of things. Don’t miss this one. The less you know of the story, the more you will enjoy experiencing it. Trust me. I felt good walking out of the theater and appreciated the interesting insights producer Bruce Cohen shared with the preview audience at our best-run desert theater — the fabulous Cinemas Palme d’Or where it will run through Christmas.
NEW FOR THE HOME THEATER:
DARK KNIGHT RISES
Christopher Nolan’s dramatic finale to his brilliant Batman trilogy is a terrific tale tailored for our times. The Imax cameras capture the scale of the struggle that sets up a dissonance with the audience regarding just who is the hero and who is the villain. Tom Hardy’s Bane represents the unnumbered throngs of those enslaved — literally or figuratively — by the system. Batman’s sole is Bruce Wayne, a psychologically damaged and justice obsessed billionaire crime fighter who clearly aligns with the elite capitalists, power brokers and those who probably trade with the military industrial elite. A literate story, superb direction, intelligent acting, wonderfully choreographed action sequences and a powerfully pulsing score make this a fine contender for Best Picture and a worthy title for the home library. A slew of extras elaborate the production process. (For those who desire a deeper examination of Nolan’s Batman movies, check out the “Complete Screenplays with Selected Storyboards” (Opus, $34.95) and “The Art and Making of THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY” (Abrams, $40). The former is a 553-page trade paperback and the latter is a lavish 304-page coffee table book loaded with 300 color photos and literate copy that explores some of the myth, meaning, concepts and production challenge of the three films.) Available December 4. Warner Bros. Blu-ray.
HEAVEN’S GATE
Michael Cimino’s much-maligned, lengthy, indulgent 1980 western epic inspired by the obscure, bloody “Johnson County war” was butchered by critics, radically cut by the studio and avoided by audiences. The story has Harvard grad Kris Kristofferson relocating to Wyoming as a federal marshal where he discovers a government-sanctioned plot by cattle barons to kill European immigrants for their land. Now, after more than three decades since its original release, and stories of a coke-fueled production not with standing, perhaps the vitriol and venomous passions have subsided enough so that Cimino’s original 216 minute cut can be seen anew for what it is: an artistic — and scathing — tone poem about much more than the American class warfare rule of profit over people. With our recently concluded Presidential elections, and the shaky truce between Israel and Gaza, this difficult and unorthodox film tears into something very raw in the heart of the human family that struggles to survive on an increasing fragile and beautiful planet. Yes, make no mistake; Cimino’s transcendent natural landscape is a core element that surrounds the Manichean view of evil done under the law. Vilmos Zsigmond’s cinematography is consistently eye-popping and the production design is richly and minutely detailed.
This magnificently visualized film has been restored (under Cimino’s supervision) by Criterion in a truly breathtaking hi-def transfer that must be seen to be believed. Cimino recently said he couldn’t recreate this film today even with a budget of $300 million. Perhaps unwieldy in its non-traditional structure, the ultimate power of the film is the hypnotic seduction of the images that recreate a specific time and place. This tragic and prescient story deserves to be seen and appreciated at the very least for the magnificent canvas it recreates. Kris Kristofferson stars with Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterson, Brad Dourif, Isabelle Hupert, Joseph Cotton and Jeff Bridges. Solid extras and interviews add insights. Two discs. Criterion. Blu-ray
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