My Favorite Soundtracks/Scores of the Decade

This week I'm tackling some of my fave soundtracks/scores from the 2000s, taking my cue from Jeremy Richey's similar post over at his Moon in the Gutter blog. In no particular order, here are the ones stood out and continue to stay with me over the years.

Ocean's Eleven (2001) by David Holmes: I was tempted to rank his work on the other Ocean's films as well but if pressed, this is probably my fave with its funky nods to hip composers like Lalo Schifrin and Quincy Jones among many others. And yet it is still its own thing. Best of all the music compliments Steven Soderbergh's slick style and the breezy, confident way the film carries itself.

Death Proof (2007) by Various: I'm not a huge fan of this film but it does have an incredible soundtrack - a fantastic collection of tracks. Say what you will about Quentin Tarantino but the man knows his music. He sets the perfect tone with "The Last Race" by Jack Nitzsche over the opening credits and features fantastic cuts from the likes of Ennio Morricone and T. Rex (great choice!). He also goes old school R&B with the likes of Joe Tex and The Coasters. Great stuff.

Swordfish (2001) by Paul Oakenfold: Say what you will about this film (which starts off great but gets weaker as it goes on) but it does features a slammin' electronica score by Oakenfold that fits perfectly with the hi-tech vibe of this fast-paced action film. He achieves a certain tempo with his music and never lets up. This is one soundtrack that gets heavy rotation on my iPod.

24 Hour Party People (2004) by Various: This subversive, playful look at the Manchester music scene during the late 1970s and 1980s features a killer soundtrack of period music, from "Anarchy in the U.K." by the Sex Pistols to "Kinky Afro" by the Happy Mondays. Throw in lots of Joy Division and some New Order and you've got something really special and a mosaic of music that takes me back to that time every time I watch this film.

Snatch (2001) by Various: I almost picked RocknRolla (2008) over this one as it features a great collection of songs as well but this one is just a bit better with a fantastic mix of electronica (Overseer), old school R&B (Maceo & the Macks), New Wave (The Specials) and pop music (Madonna). But perhaps the coolest musical cue in the film is when Brad Pitt's boxer prepares to enter the ring for the climactic fight to the epic sounds of Oasis' "Fuckin' in the Bushes." It just doesn't get any cooler than this.

Almost Famous (2000) by Various: As you would expect from a Cameron Crowe film about classic rock from the 1970s, there is an incredible collection of songs that takes you through the decade. In a rather impressive coup, he even got permission from Led Zeppelin to have excerpts of five (!!) of their songs played throughout the film. They are notorious for being stingy with having their music in films. In addition, you've got The Who, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys and, of course, the iconic use of Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" in one of the best moments in the film.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2004) by Mark Mothersbaugh: In addition to Wes Anderson regular contributer Mothersbaugh's wonderful score, the film features an amazing selection of music that compliments the images so well. Who could forget the use of the Rolling Stones in the touching scene between Luke Wilson and Gwyneth Paltrow's characters? Or the haunting Elliot Smith track "Needle in the Hay" when Wilson's character attempts suicide? That one still gets me every time.

High Fidelity (2000) by Various: This film features an impressive 70 song cues and is as diverse and eclectic as the music-obsessed characters that populate it. You've got the Kinks, the Velvet Underground and the Beta Band, in addition to a brilliant use of "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina & the Waves which introduces Jack Black's blustery force of nature character in what has to be one of THE best intros in a film.

Lost in Translation (2003) by Various: This wonderfully atmospheric soundtrack is headlined by My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields but also features solid tracks by the likes of Squarepusher, Death in Vegas and Air. But who can forget the classic scene between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson's characters set to "Just Like Honey" by The Jesus and Mary Chain? Magic.

Zodiac (2007) by David Shire: This soundtrack deserves mention if only for David Fincher getting the great David Shire out of retirement to compose a wonderfully minimalist and creepy score that fits alongside an impressive collection of period music from the likes of Santana, Sly and the Family Stone and using "The Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan in a genuinely unsettling way that I will never forget.

Once (2007) by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová: This film features deeply personal, intimate songs by Hansard and Irglova that help get you closer to their characters and show how music brings these two lonely souls together. "Falling Slowly" even won (deservedly so) the Academy Award for Best Original Song the year it was nominated.

Punch-Drunk Love (2002) by Jon Brion: It was really hard picking a score by Brion as he has done so many great ones but this one really did it for me. Eclectic as the film itself, it features extensive use of a harmonium and memorable use of "He Needs Me" from the Robert Altman film Popeye (1980) with vocals by Shelley Duvall, which only adds the quirkiness of this unique romantic comedy.

Birth (2004) by Alexandre Desplat: His atmospheric score for this great film only enhances the Kubrickian chill that director Jonathan Grazer creates for this thought-provoking effort. It constantly throws you off-balance and creates a subtle feeling of unease as you delve deeper into the mysteries of the story.

In the Mood for Love (2000) by Michael Galasso & Shigeru Umebayasi: This is another fantastic atmospheric soundtrack that really captures the feel of 1960s Hong Kong. The music also manages to convey the longing that the two main characters have for one another in such an evocative way.

Mulholland Drive (2001) by Angelo Badalamenti: Lynch and Badalamenti have collaborated on some of the most haunting, atmospheric scores, perfecting complimenting the images from his films and this one is no different. However, the film's sonic highlight comes when Rebekah Del Rio sings an absolutely astounding a capella version of Roy Orbison's "Crying" in Spanish. It is an emotionally powerful moment in this masterpiece of a film.

When Harry Met Sally...

Can men and women be friends without sex getting in the way? This is the question that When Harry Met Sally... (1989) asks and then wisely leaves up to the viewer to decide. Released in 1989, this romantic comedy is a classic example of the right people in the right place at the right time with Rob Reiner directing, Nora Ephron writing and Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan as the romantic leads with old standards re-interpreted by a then-up-and-coming singer Harry Connick, Jr. The results were amazing to say the least, launching the careers of the aforementioned into the stratosphere and creating a benchmark that every romantic comedy has since been judged by.

Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) meets Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) after they both graduate from university and share a car ride from Chicago to New York City. Along the way, they argue about the differences between men and women and Harry says that they can never be friends because sex always gets in the way, to which Sally disagrees. She finds him obnoxious and he thinks that she’s too uptight. Once Harry and Sally arrive in New York and go their separate ways, they figure that they will never see each other again. Over the years, Harry and Sally run into each other again during various stages in their lives and become friends. The film chronicles the development of their relationship.

In 1984, Rob Reiner, producer Andrew Scheinman and writer Nora Ephron met over several lunch meetings to develop a project together. The second meeting transformed into a long discussion about Reiner and Scheinman’s lives as single men. The next time they all met, Reiner said that he had always wanted to do a film about two people who become friends and don’t have sex because they know it will ruin their relationship but have sex anyway. Ephron liked the idea and Reiner put a deal in place at a studio. She then proceeded to interview him and Scheinman about their lives in order to have material to draw on. These interviews also provided the basis for Harry. In Ephron’s first draft, Harry and Sally did not end up together at the film’s end, which she felt was “the true ending,” as did Reiner until he met his future wife while making it and changed his mind.

At the time, Reiner was constantly depressed, pessimisitic yet very funny. Sally, in turn, was based on Ephron and some of her friends. When Crystal came on board the film was called Boy Meets Girl, and he made his own contributions to the script, making Harry funnier. Crystal “experience[d] vicariously” his best friend Reiner’s return to single life after divorcing comedienne and filmmaker Penny Marshall. In the process, he was unconsciously doing research for the role of Harry. During the screenwriting process, when Ephron wouldn’t feel like writing, she would interview people who worked for the production company. She also got bits of dialogue from these interviews. She worked on several drafts over the years while Reiner made Stand By Me (1986) and The Princess Bride (1987).

When the film started to focus too much on Harry, the classic deli scene was born. Crystal said, “we need[ed] something for Sally to talk about and Nora said, ‘Well, faking orgasm is a great one.’ Right away we said, ‘Well, the subject is good.’ and then Meg came on board and we talked with her about the nature of the idea and she said, ‘Well, why don’t I just fake one, just do one?’” Ephron suggested that the scene take place in a deli and it was Crystal who actually came up with scene’s classic punchline, “I’ll have what she’s having,” spoken by Reiner’s mother. At a test screening, Reiner remembers that all the women in the audience laughed during this scene while all the men were silent. Originally, Ephron wanted to call the film, How They Met and went through several different titles. Reiner even started a contest with the crew during principal photography – whoever came up with the title won a case of champagne.

The film’s dialogue has a ring of honesty to it, from Harry and Sally’s discussion about having good sex early on in the film, to their conversation about fake orgasms during the famous deli sequence. One memorable scene is when Harry tells Sally what all men think about after having sex: “How long do I have to lie here and hold her before I can get up and go home? Is thirty seconds enough?” Disgusted, she replies, “That’s what you’re thinking? Is that true?” Harry tells her, “Sure. All men think that. How long do you like to be hold afterwards? All night, right? See, that’s the problem. Somewhere between thirty seconds and all night is your problem.” What they talk about and how they do it really captures the way men and women talk to and about each other. Much of the dialogue is also very funny. For example, there’s the little asides, like Sally’s anal-retentive and very particular way of ordering food at restaurants, or the Pictionary scene where Harry’s best friend Jess (Bruno Kirby) ineptly guesses Sally’s drawing as “baby fishmouth” (?!). Crystal’s reaction to Kirby’s guess is absolutely priceless.

The film finds humor in painful situations, like when Harry tells Jess that he’s breaking up with his wife because she cheated on him. Jess tells him, “marriages don’t break up on account of infidelity. It’s just a symptom that something else is wrong.” Harry replies, “oh really? Well, that symptom is fucking my wife.” The film is also chock full of brilliant observations about relationships – easily the best of its kind outside of a Woody Allen film. This is something that is missing from so many romantic comedies now. Most contemporary ones feel the need for some kind of zany premise to justify their existence and feature crude humor instead of working at creating fully-realized characters and authentic sounding dialogue. This is one of the strengths of When Harry Met Sally... because many of the situations and dialogue were based on the real-life experiences of the creative team that made the film.

Because When Harry Met Sally... is so character and dialogue-driven, many forget just how beautifully shot a film it is, thanks to Barry Sonnenfeld, who got his start with the Coen brothers. The establishing shot of New York City early on shows the iconic skyline bathed in golden sunlight. There is another scene where Harry and Sally walk through Central Park and are surrounded by fallen leaves that perfectly capture the city in autumn. The sequence is saturated in warm yellow, reds and browns. These shots and the locations used in the film are captured in such loving detail by someone who is a native of the city, as Reiner was at the time.

I have a yearly ritual of watching this film between Christmas and New Year’s because part of the film is set during the holidays. There is a nice montage of New York during winter: people window shopping, sledding in the park, the streets covered in snow and Christmas decorations, and Harry and Sally getting a tree. Not to mention, the film’s climactic moment takes place on New Year’s Eve.

The casting for this film is perfect. Billy Crystal’s character is definitely cast in the neurotic Woody Allen mould with his obsession with death. For example, he tells Sally early on that when he buys a book he reads the last page first so that if he dies before finishing the book he’ll know how it ended. However, Crystal is infinitely more charming than Allen and has a certain vulnerability that is attractive. Meg Ryan is adorable as Sally, bringing a perky, irrepressible charm to the role. She compliments Harry’s pessimism. Ryan also nails Sally’s need to control every aspect of her life as typified by the way she orders food at a restaurant. She is the epitome of practicality as typified by the argument she has with Harry about who Ingrid Bergman should’ve ended up with at the conclusion of Casablanca (1942).

They are ably supported by Bruno Kirby and Carrie Fisher as their respective best friends. Not only do they play well off Crystal and Ryan, but also each other once their characters become a couple. Fisher’s scenes with Ryan where they speak honestly about their respective relationships have an honest feel to them. When Sally tells Marie that she broke up with her boyfriend, her friend laments, “you had someone to go places with. You had a date on national holidays.” They talk about dating and Fisher demonstrates fantastic comic timing, like when she goes through her Rolodex of available men and when told that one is married, folds over the corner of the index card with his contact information and puts it back – you know, just in case.

A memorable scene with Kirby includes the blind date where Harry tries to hook Jess up with Sally but he ends up getting involved with her best friend Marie. They are at dinner and Marie ends up quoting a line out of one of Jess’ restaurant reviews and his reaction is so real and genuine. I would have loved to have seen a film from the perspective of Jess and Marie showing how their courtship and marriage played out. This was one of the late-great Kirby’s most memorable roles and watching him in this film again serves as a sad reminder just how poorer cinema is with his passing.

Columbia Pictures released When Harry Met Sally... using the “platform” technique which involved opening it in a few select cities and then gradually expanding distribution over subsequent weeks. Crystal was worried that the film would flop at the box office because it was up against several summer blockbuster films, including Batman (1989) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

When Harry Met Sally... was not only a commercial success but a hit with critics. Roger Ebert called Reiner "one of Hollywood's very best directors of comedy," and said that it was "most conventional, in terms of structure and the way it fulfills our expectations. But what makes it special, apart from the Ephron screenplay, is the chemistry between Crystal and Ryan.” The Washington Post’s Rita Kempley praised Meg Ryan as the "summer's Melanie Griffith – a honey-haired blonde who finally finds a showcase for her sheer exuberance. Neither naif nor vamp, she's a woman from a pen of a woman, not some Cinderella of a Working Girl.” USA Today gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, “Crystal is funny enough to keep Ryan from all-out stealing the film. She, though, is smashing in an eye-opening performance, another tribute to Reiner's flair with actors.” However, in her review for The New York Times, Caryn James described the film as "often funny but amazingly hollow film" that "romanticized lives of intelligent, successful, neurotic New Yorkers." James characterized it as "the sitcom version of a Woody Allen film, full of amusing lines and scenes, all infused with an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu."

When Harry Met Sally... doesn’t answer the question about men and women being friends because it is more concerned with the differences between the sexes. Harry and Sally spend most of the film trying to under one another and find themselves attracted to each other’s idiosyncrasies that one finds endearing only after you’ve gotten to know someone over a long period of time. This film is arguably the best thing that Crystal, Reiner, Ryan and Ephron have ever done. Crystal went on to make several decent if not exactly memorable films (except for City Slickers). Reiner has made one increasingly forgettable film after another (Rumor Has It, Alex and Emma, etc.). Ephron and Ryan teamed up again for Sleepless in Seattle (1993) which was a monster hit, and You’ve Got Mail (1998), but both films don’t quite resonate as well or as memorably as When Harry Met Sally...

My Favorite Performances of the Decade: The Actresses

Inspired yet again by Jeremy Richey's own list of favorite performances by actresses from this decade, over at his Moon in the Gutter blog, and as a follow-up to the outstanding actors that caught my eye during this decade, here are some of the actresses that really hit it out of the park for me.













Diane Lane in Unfaithful (2002): Lane delivered the best performance of her career as a housewife who has a steamy, adulterous affair with a mysterious book dealer. There’s the much-praised scene of Lane’s character riding the train after having her first romantic tryst with her lover intercut with the actual encounter. The range of emotions that play across her face as she replays it over in her mind is incredible to watch. She smiles to herself and her hand absently runs across her chest. Her mood darkens ever so gradually before lightening again as she smiles and then breaks out into a laugh. Finally, her face takes on a slightly sad expression. In only a few moments, she has run a whole gamut of emotions and pulls it off masterfully.













Anna Faris in Smiley Face (2007): Coming off the intense drama of Mysterious Skin, Gregg Araki did a complete 180 with this hilarious stoner comedy - the best of the genre since The Big Lebowski. Faris turns in a tour de force performance as a whip-smart if not perpetually high actress trying to replace her scary roommate's cupcakes. The scene where Faris goes into audition for a role while stoned out of her mind is funny as hell - as is the rest of the film, carried on the actress' more than capable shoulders. Let's see less of The House Bunny and more of this kind of film from her in the future.













Julie Delpy in Before Sunset (2004): It's the sequel that fans of Before Sunrise had hoped and feared would happen. Fortunately, Linklater and co. created a film that is as good if not better than the original as they explore what has happened to these characters in the intervening years. Delpy crafts a believable, three-dimensional character that is full of contradictions, hopes, and dreams which she conveys so well over the film's running time. It's rare that a sequel is as satisfying as its predecessor and this one is just that thanks in large part to her strong performance.











Jennifer Connelly in Waking the Dead (2000): Before Requiem for a Dream demonstrated what a truly fearless actress Connelly was, she did this little seen film that really showcased her impressive range with a touching, fiercely intelligent performance. Connelly plays Sarah as smart, beautiful and with fierce political convictions – something that is virtually unheard of in American cinema and makes me think of Sigourney Weaver’s equally intelligent and beguiling character in The Year of Living Dangerously.












Nicole Kidman in Birth (2004): Kidman eschewed box office clout for more challenging fare in this decade appearing in some truly interesting films and turning in some great performances, chief among them this film. With more than a whiff of Kubrickian chill, Birth is one of those films open to multiple interpretations and is anchored by Kidman's stunning turn as a woman about to get married only to be revisited by her dead husband supposedly inhabiting the body of a young boy. There's a scene where Kidman attends a concert and the camera stays on her face for an extended period of time so that we see a whole range of conflicted emotions play across her delicate features. Amazing stuff.











Michelle Williams in The Baxter (2005): The always watchable actress is absolutely endearing as Cecil the temp in this quirky romantic comedy. Even though Williams is made to look mousy, her natural beauty and charisma come through. Her character is infinitely more interesting than Elizabeth Banks' more traditional love interest in the film and this is due in large part to Williams. There is something about her, an old fashioned quality in what her character wears, her inhibitions and her naivete that is refreshing in this day and age with actresses like Angelina Jolie that reveal too much so that there is no mystique to them. This makes them less interesting to watch.










Isla Fisher in Definitely, Maybe (2008): There have been many pretenders to the throne of romantic comedies that When Harry Met Sally... has comfortably ruled from for many years but this film is a very strong contender. Among a cast of impressive actresses, Fisher stands out as an absolutely adorable love interest for lead actor Ryan Reynolds. She conveys such an infectious feisty energy and has such a fantastic chemistry with him that you want to see their characters together by the film's conclusion and the filmmakers keep us guessing right up to the end. In a short career that's just starting to take off, Fisher is demonstrating a real knack for these kinds of films.










Natalie Portman in Garden State (2004): Portman finally escaped from Star Wars hell to capitalize on the promise she showed in films like Heat and Beautiful Girls. She is completely engaging as the neurotic and chatty Sam. She seems to be channeling Diane Keaton circa Annie Hall with her performance, displaying excellent comedic timing. Portman has such a radiant presence on camera and the film really comes alive whenever she’s on-screen, which, fortunately, is a lot.












Thora Birch in Ghost World (2001): After the promise she showed in American Beauty and this film, I expected her film career to take off but it has been largely unimpressive with most of her efforts being relegated to direct-to-home-video hell. It's a shame because she is so damn good in this film as a disaffected woman caught between high school graduation and college/real world. She doesn't know what she wants but she does know what she doesn't like - pretty much everything and everyone. But she does find solace in an older man - Steve Buscemi's cranky record collector and it is fascinating to see how their relationship plays out.











Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener (2005): Like Kidman, she took on a lot of challenging roles during this decade and turned in a lot of wonderful performances, including this Academy Award-winning turn as a doomed diplomat's wife. She exhibits a sexy intelligence and headstrong attitude as her character stands by her convictions and beliefs. The chemistry between her and Ralph Fiennes, who plays her husband, feels authentic and only enriches her fantastic performance in this film.











Michelle Pfeiffer in White Oleander (2002): No longer, the box office darling she was in the 1980s and 1990s, Pfeiffer turned in what is arguably one of her greatest performances as the incredibly manipulative mother of Alison Lohman's character. The way Pfeiffer is able to control people she meets through subtle yet manipulative mind games is impressive to watch. There is a foreboding intelligence behind her piercing, intense eyes that is downright scary.













Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): This is a film about how precious our memories are and how we should savor them while we can because our minds erase them gradually over time on their own anyway. Winslet is wonderful as Clementine, an assertive, sometimes abrasive woman not afraid to speak her mind. The scenes between her and Jim Carrey are sometimes embarrassingly intimate and personal as if we are spying on them. While it was great to see her finally win an Oscar, I always felt that this was film the she should have won it for (neck and neck with her brilliant turn in Revolutionary Road), turning in an incredible performance as Carrey's elusive love interest.










Virginia Madsen in Sideways (2004): God bless Alexander Payne for casting Madsen in this film and reminding us what a fantastic actress she is. She plays Maya, the intellectual equal to Paul Giamatti's Miles. Maya knows her wine and this clearly impresses Paul. She is smart and beautiful, so why is she even wasting her time with a sad sack like Miles? She gets to know him beyond his looks and liquefies the pretension of his character. She pierces his wine-speak armor that he throws up constantly with her easy-going nature and Miles realizes that he does not need to always impress her. Like a fine wine, Maya allows him to breath and he gets better as time goes on. She is a romantic who is able to cut through his cynicism and soften his hard edges. She humanizes him.











Samantha Morton in Control (2007): She is heartbreakingly good as Ian Curtis’ wife in this impressive biopic. Morton conveys the strength of Deborah and the tragedy of her gradually disintegrating relationship with Ian. You can see the pain and frustration on her face. It’s a wonderfully understated performance. Her finest moment is in the scene where Deborah confronts Ian about his affair with Euro journalist Annik. She pleads angrily with him to admit to what he’s done but he says nothing and she leaves in frustration. It’s a devastating scene that is uncomfortable to watch at times.










Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line (2005): Yes, this is a much-lauded performance but for good reason. Witherspoon utilizes her adorable, plucky persona that she’s cultivated for years to maximum effect as June Carter, matching Joaquin Phoenix’s intensity as the legendary Man in Black. She is also willing to immerse herself completely in the role, including doing her own singing! Carter resists the lures of the open road and constant touring – the drugs and alcohol – that Johnny Cash succumbs to and this is part of her attraction to him. It is her purity and loyalty – standing by him even when he hits absolute rock bottom – that is a large part of her appeal for him. Carter is just as stubborn as he is and sticks by him because she loves and believes in him. Phoenix and Witherspoon have great chemistry together as they play out their on again/off again romance. They compliment each other so well. Cash is wild and Carter is wholesome and it is these ying and yang qualities that they love about each other.

The Ref

If you’re tired of the non-stop parade of saccharine Christmas specials or the glut of sappy seasonal programming on the Hallmark and Lifetime Channels, then may I recommend The Ref (1994). Directed by the late Ted Demme and starring his pal, comedian Denis Leary, this film is a wonderfully acerbic comedy with a heart that actually delivers on its zany premise of a small-time cat burglar forced to pose as a marriage counselor to a bitterly dysfunctional couple on Christmas Eve. For once, hilarity does ensue.

We meet Lloyd (Kevin Spacey) and Caroline Chasseur (Judy Davis) discussing their sex life (or lack thereof) to their marriage counselor (B.D. Wong). Caroline complains that they haven’t had sex in a long time and when they did it was a routine, going-through-the-motions act. She even has dreams of her husband castrated and being served up buffet-style. Lloyd is disgusted with her admissions and is clearly not thrilled with discussing the intimate details of their sex life with a stranger. His contempt for her hangs so thick in the air that you could practically cut it with a knife. Lloyd and Caroline have issues that could give the couple from The War of the Roses (1989) a run for their money.

Meanwhile, Gus (Denis Leary) is breaking into an expensive-looking house only to get sprayed with cat urine when he trips an alarm connected to the safe he’s trying to crack. He’s then attacked by a dog and beats a hasty retreat. In a nice touch, Demme shows us just how tough the dog is when Gus whips a pool ball at it which the canine catches in its mouth and then crushes with its teeth. On the run from the police, Gus takes Caroline hostage while she’s in a convenience store and forces her and Lloyd to go back to their house where he plans to hide out until the heat cools off. Gus gets a preview of what he’s in store for when, en route to their house and despite being held at gunpoint, Lloyd and Caroline continue to argue amongst themselves. An exasperated Gus mutters, “Great. I hijacked my fucking parents.”

Lt. Huff (Raymond J. Barry), the town’s police chief, has his hands tied with deputies who are inept and hopelessly inexperienced. The town elders (led by Robert Ridgely as a pompous blowhard) are breathing down his neck because they’re worried about the thief running loose in their nice, affluent small-town. You really feel for the chief who is stuck with incompetent deputies, is bullied by the rich townsfolk and muscled off the case by the state police. Raymond J. Barry wisely doesn’t play him as an idiot but as a guy good at his job but surrounded by idiots and mired in local politics.

Once home, Lloyd and Caroline’s teenage son Jesse (Robert J. Steinmiller, Jr.) shows up. He is a burgeoning blackmailer currently framing one of his teachers (J.K. Simmons) at the military academy he’s attending with incriminating photographs. Things get interesting when Lloyd’s mother (Glynis Johns), a real piece of work/battle axe, and her bossy daughter-in-law (Christine Baranski) with her family show up for dinner. Gus poses as a marriage counselor. Naturally, much of the film’s humor is derived from the thief’s blue collar attitude colliding with this snobby family.

The real villain of the film isn’t Gus but Lloyd’s shrew of a mother. She’s always complaining or telling others what to do and the real fireworks occur when Gus puts the woman in her place. The Chasseur family dinner is one of the film’s major comic set pieces as everyone wears these ridiculous headpieces consisting of a crown with several lit candles on them. Lloyd, Caroline and Gus try to maintain a facade of normalcy while the thief attempts to bluff his way past Lloyd’s mother’s nagging questions. Kevin Spacey has a blast feigning happiness in an obvious way and Judy Davis is a lot of fun to watch as her character gets progressively drunker, almost as if she’s auditioning for a lead role in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Denis Leary plays ... well, himself, or at least the angry guy persona from his stand-up comic routine at the time. Nobody plays pissed off quite like or as well as Leary, like when he chews out his sad sack accomplice Murray (Richard Bright) over the phone, slamming the receiver repeatedly on a countertop for effect. Leary also gets some of the film’s choice lines, like when he breaks up the incessant bickering between the Chasseurs by telling them, “You know what this family needs? A mute!” Leary’s bitter thief speaks his mind which inspires Lloyd and Caroline to open up and finally get down to the root of their problems. Leary is gracious with sharing screen time with the other actors and Demme knows when to let Spacey and Davis take front stage while Leary observes. Despite the marketing that placed an emphasis on Leary, The Ref is really about Lloyd and Caroline as they learn to finally listen to each other.

Spacey and Davis don’t play Lloyd and Caroline as just superficial, materialistic WASPs but two people who, at one time, had real dreams and aspirations (like running a restaurant) but over the years life hasn’t worked out as they would have liked. Occasionally, you can see this regret play across their faces and it takes Gus to finally confront them for the Chasseurs to deal with their issues. Only a year away from acclaimed turns in Seven (1995) and The Usual Suspects (1995), Spacey turns a solid performance as a frustrated man dominated by the women in his life. Matching him at every turn is Davis, who had a great run in the 1990s, as his disappointed wife.

The Ref was written by Richard LaGravenese and his sister-in-law Marie Weiss, inspired in large part by their own families. The dinner scene, in particular, came from their own experiences. LaGravenese said, “Both Marie and I are Italian Catholics who married into Jewish families, so we do have those big holiday dinners.” Furthermore, he said, “Families always have these unspoken dramas, and at holidays everyone is supposed to sit down and pretend that none of that is going on. Part of the fun in writing the dialogue was completely breaking down the veneer and finally having everybody say what they wanted to say.” Weiss actually began writing the script in 1989 after she and her husband moved from New York to California. Inspiration came from an argument she had with him and she thought, “wouldn’t it be great if there were a third party to step in and referee?”

Weiss wrote several drafts and consulted with LaGravenese in 1991. They took the script to Disney. The studio approved the project within 20 minutes. Made for less than $12 million, the film was produced by the most unusual candidates: Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, known for making some of the most popular Hollywood blockbusters of the 1980s. Simpson described the film’s tone as “biting and sarcastic. Just my nature.” LaGravenese spent a year rewriting the script until he finally got “tired of doing rewrites for executives.” Nine months later, Demme and Leary, fresh from working together on No Cure for Cancer, a stand-up comedy special for Showtime, expressed an interest in the project. This prompted LaGravenese to re-enter the fold. He worked throughout the production and even beyond when test audiences responded poorly to the film’s original ending – where Gus turns himself in – and a new one was written and shot in January 1994.

The Ref did not perform as well at the box office as Leary would’ve liked and he blamed how the studio marketed it. He said, “They did me like the MTV guy. And they shortchanged what the movie was all about.” The film received mixed notices from critics. Roger Ebert gave it three out of four stars and wrote, “material like this is only as good as the acting and writing. The Ref is skillful in both areas.” Rolling Stone magazine’s Peter Travers praised the performances of Spacey and Davis: “They are combustibly funny, finding nuance even in nonsense. The script is crass; the actors never.” In her review for The New York Times, Caryn James praised Leary: “For the first time he displays his appeal and potential as an actor instead of a comic with a sneering persona.” However, the Washington Post’s Hal Hinson was not so taken with the comedian: “A stand-up comic trying to translate his impatient, hipster editorializing to the big screen, he doesn’t have the modulation of a trained actor, only one speed (fast) and one mode of attack (loud).” Entertainment Weekly gave the film a “C-“ rating and Owen Gleiberman felt that the film was “crushingly blunt-witted and monotonous in its celebration of domestic sadism.”

Gus is sick and tired of rich people that think they’re entitled to everything and isn’t afraid to call them on it. He can’t understand why these people are pissing and moaning about their trivial problems when they have so many things going for them but The Ref goes to great lengths to humanize Lloyd and Caroline. In this respect, the film does something that few Hollywood films have the balls to do: draw attention to the differences between the upper and working class. Demme’s film also shows that not everyone is happy during Christmas. Being with family, especially those you don’t like very much, can be a trying experience and test anyone’s patience as old grudges and bad memories surface.

My Favorite Performances of the Decade: The Actors

Inspired by Jeremy Richey's countdown of his favorite performances of the decade over at his wonderful Moon In The Gutter blog, I've decided to join the fray and start posting some of my picks. Following Jeremy's lead, I'm starting off with some of my fave performances by actors from this decade. They are in no real order but just were ones that really stood out in my mind.














Adam Beach in Flags of Our Fathers (2006): Clint Eastwood depicted the famous battle of Iwo Jima from both the American and Japanese perspectives. He had so much material and wanted to give equal time to both sides that he decided to make two films. The first one, entitled Flags of Our Fathers, is from the American point-of-view with the focus on three of the six men captured in the famous photograph raising the American flag in the battlefield. The performances of the three lead actors are all superb, especially Beach as the tormented and tragic Ira Hayes who develops a drinking problem as a way to cope with hypocrisy of what he is doing and as a way to deal with the fact that his fallen comrades, including the other three who helped raise the flag, aren’t there to enjoy this with them. His drinking begins to affect the PR tour and cause a rift between him and the other two men. He is unable to escape his memories of the brutality he witnessed at Iwo Jima. The things he saw and did would make anybody traumatized for life.














Philip Seymour Hoffman in Almost Famous (2000): Any time I have doubts about writing or feel uninspired I just watch Hoffman's performance as the legendary Lester Bangs in Cameron Crowe's nostalgic ode to his days writing for Rolling Stone magazine and it instantly makes me feel better. He not only steals every scene he's in but conveys a passion for writing that gets me every time. There's a scene where he talks about writing a record review, not for the money, but just for the love of writing that never fails to inspire me.















Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Brick (2006): Rian Johnson's film re-imagines high school life through a 1940s film noir lens as he populates it with terse, fast-talking characters and all kinds of plot twists reminiscent of a Dashiell Hammett novel. Levitt had several memorable performances during this decade and this one if my fave (just edging out The Lookout) as he hits it out of the park playing a student moving through a shadowy, noir-ish world trying to solve the murder of his ex-girlfriend. He handles Johnson's stylized dialogue expertly, somehow making it sound natural coming out of his mouth.















Javier Bardem in The Dancer Upstairs (2003): While Bardem won a much-deserved Oscar for his work in No Country for Old Men, my fave performance of his (and it was hard to narrow down) is his quietly understated turn in John Malkovich's directorial debut. Bardem plays a thoughtful police detective trying to track down an enigmatic guerrilla leader in an unnamed Latin American country. The actor conveys a piercing intelligence behind his eyes that is really something to watch in this film.















Andy Serkis as Martin Hannett in 24 Hr Party People (2002): Serkis was absolutely brilliant in Michael Winterbottom's fast 'n' loose look at the Manchester, England music scene in the late 1970s and 1980s. He played mercurial genius music producer Martin Hannett with absolute disdain for those around him, culminating in a hilarious kiss-off with Tony Wilson where he tells the talk show personality, "Well, this is goodbye. I mean, we obviously have nothing in common. I'm a genius, you're all fucking wankers. You'll never see me again. You don't deserve to see me again."














Aaron Eckhart in Erin Brockovich (2000): While Julia Roberts received the lion's share of praise for her admittedly excellent performance in this film, for me Eckhart is quietly impressive as the genial biker who lives next door to Brockovich and ends up getting involved romantically with her. The actor instills a low-key dignity to his character who stands by his woman until he feels like a glorified nanny. Their conflict over her obsession with a righteous cause versus their relationship adds a nice layer to the film and fleshes out his character.














Paul Giamatti in American Splendor (2003): This veteran character actor really came into his own during the decade, turning in several impressive performances but he finally got to carry a film in a big way with this funny yet also poignant look at the life and times of comic book creator Harvey Pekar. He perfectly captures Pekar’s curmudgeonly attitude and distinctive physical mannerisms right down to his raspy voice. He wisely doesn’t try to do an imitation; instead he shows the different sides of the man. Pekar is not just a cynic but someone who has dreams and aspirations just like anyone else. Giamatti also humanizes Pekar by showing his vulnerable side: his love for his wife and his fear of death when he is forced to confront his cancer.












Donal Logue in The Tao of Steve (2000): Like Paul Giamatti, Logue has been bouncing around Hollywood playing scene-stealing supporting characters but it was thanks to an independent film that he landed the role of a lifetime playing a very Dude-esque slacker who lives his life according to actor Steve McQueen. I've always been a fan of Logue's work and it was great to see him carry a film and pull it off with ease. Sadly, this film didn't take off as it should have and despite headlining a pretty decent sitcom, Logue has been relegated to supporting roles again.















Steve Carell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004): Before his career really took off with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Carell played the lovable, yet dumb-as-dirt weatherman Brick Tamland in this great comedic ode to local news in the 1970s. It's the little things he does in this film, like feeding mayonnaise into a toaster or professing his love for a lamp that makes me laugh every time. He manages to steal every scene he's in and that's no mean feat considering some of the comedians he shares screen time with in this film.














Steve Zahn in Riding in Cars with Boys (2001): Zahn is another character actor known for playing lovable goofballs and he finally got a chance to show some range in this criminally underappreciated film. He starts off in lovable goofball mode as Drew Barrymore's love interest but after her character becomes pregnant and his character becomes a drug addict, Zahn gradually shows an uglier side to his character. He is not afraid to look and act and unpleasant, especially when his character tries to kick drugs. Ultimately, one is left with a melancholic feeling about his character as we (and Barrymore) realize that he can never be trusted or relied upon.














Ray Liotta in Narc (2003): After a lull in quality projects, Liotta exploded on the screen by playing Henry Oak, a dedicated cop with a reputation for delivering brutal beatings to crooks who cross his path. He brings a ferocious intensity to the role that is mesmerizing. There is a scene where Liotta interrogates two murder suspects that is scary because his anger and frustration levels build by the minute, threatening to boil over. And then Liotta gets that crazed look in his eyes that he’s showcased in so many of his films but this time he’s entering unpredictable territory.














William Forsythe in The Devil's Rejects (2005): After starring in numerous forgettable direct-to-video efforts, William Forsythe finally got a substantial role playing a sheriff hell-bent on vengeance by any means necessary. He harkens back to a bygone era of tough guys, like Lee Marvin or Robert Shaw who naturally exuded a ferocious intensity that is exciting to watch. With his deep, gravelly voice Forsythe plays an unstoppable force of nature that is just as ruthless in his methods as the Firefly clan in theirs. He brings an air of unpredictability in this film that is really something else.















George Clooney in Syriana (2005): It was really tough narrowing down a performance of Clooney's to pick for this list as he turned so many good ones. His performance in this film just narrowly edged out the one he delivered in Michael Clayton. The actor has improved and refined himself with every subsequent role and relies more and more on what is going on behind his eyes than falling back on his good looks. His performance in Syriana goes beyond the obvious Method trappings – the weight gain and the thick beard – to his expressive eyes and how he uses them to convey his character’s world-weariness.














Mark Ruffalo in Zodiac (2007): This actor really immerses himself in the role of Dave Toschi, the man who inspired Steve McQueen’s character in Bullitt and Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry Callahan. The actor adopts a specific voice and a distinctive look that sets him apart from the other characters but not enough to be distracting. It doesn’t hurt that he’s got great material to work with and rises to the challenge of playing a man frustrated by bureaucracy. Ruffalo has only gotten better with every performance and this may be his best one to date.














Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass (2003): I've been a big fan of this actor's work for some time and he really turned in some memorable performances during this decade, chief among them his turn as beleaguered editor New Republic magazine editor Chuck Lane. Sarsgaard doesn’t deliver any blustery, histrionic speeches and instead keeps things grounded in realism by applying restraint whenever possible. He doesn’t try to make his character inherently sympathetic. In fact, Lane comes off as a bit distant and humorless but he has an integrity that is admirable.

Author! Author!

Sometimes, not often, but sometimes I wonder why Al Pacino hasn’t done more comedies. After all, he played straight man to George Clooney et al in the fun, colorful romp that was Ocean’s Thirteen (2007) and was quite funny as a quirky hobo opposite Gene Hackman in Scarecrow (1973). Interestingly, these films bookend a career chock full of critically-acclaimed, award-winning performances in dramatic fare like Serpico (1973), The Godfather films, The Insider (1999), and so on. So, where are the comedies? And then I’m reminded of Author! Author! (1982), the unwanted step-child in Pacino’s filmography. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if Pacino was a single father in charge of five kids then this is the film for you. Sadly, it wasn’t the film for many and tanked at the box office while also getting mauled by critics at the time. This film is the cinematic equivalent of the scrawny little tree that Charlie Brown rescues in A Charlie Brown Christmas and like it; this film deserves a little love and someone to realize its true value. I love Author! Author! for all of its flaws (of which there are several) and consider it something of a comfort movie.

Right off the bat, the filmmakers assault our senses with an awful early 1980s ballad, “Coming Home to You,” complete with those annoying synth drums that were so fashionable with New Wave bands back then. The first image of the film is of an actor pretending (badly) to die on stage, which is apt metaphor for what happened to Author! Author! when it was released in theaters. Famous experimental theater director Andre Gregory (one of the stars of My Dinner with Andre) has an amusing cameo in the beginning as a director who gets fired. Ivan Travalian (Al Pacino) is a New York City playwright trying to rewrite his latest play, English with Tears, while trying to raise five children after his wife Gloria (Tuesday Weld) has left him for another man.

We are introduced to his unruly brood when Ivan comes home and they give him a surprise birthday party that he forgot all about. Ivan rattles off all the things he did that day with the last one being to beat his kids. In mock surprise he says, “I forgot to beat my kids!” and proceeds to chase them around the house. Ah, how times have changed. A joke like that would never fly in today’s ultra-sensitive, politically correct environment. We actually get to see Pacino have a cushion fight with his kids which I have a feeling is not something we’ll see in a montage of his career when he receives a lifetime achievement award.

Pacino does a good job of playing a man barely keeping it together. He’s depressed, unable to sleep and focus on his work. His wife has left him and he can’t figure out how to improve his play even as opening night rapidly approaches. Ivan does manage to convince Alice Detroit (Dyan Cannon) to be in his play and they start an affair of their own. Amidst all of his doubts and depression, Alice provides a chance for Ivan to take a time out and enjoy himself. It’s nice to see Pacino loosen up and his character opens up to Alice. Dyan Cannon provides Alice with a bubbly, playful personality but her character is no ditz and is quite good for Ivan. She and Pacino have decent chemistry together and we want to see their characters as a couple. Cannon was originally asked to play the role of Gloria but turned it down because she found the character “bitchy” and had already played that kind of role. She was then asked to play Alice and agreed because she loved the character. Cannon enjoyed the experience of making the film and compared it to “being on a cruise.”

Author! Author! comes to life in the scenes between Ivan and his kids. Geraldo (Benjamin Carlin) is the youngest of the bunch and is adorable quirk is being unable to pee in front of Ivan and one of his brothers (“Because I’m Spanish!” he says in exasperation). Spike (B.J. Barie) is the middle son from another one of Gloria’s marriages but Ivan makes him feel like he is part of the family. There’s a nice moment when Ivan picks up his eldest son Iggy (Eric Gurry) from school and they talk while walking the streets of New York. The boy has already anticipated Ivan and Gloria’s divorce. Ivan confides in Iggy and the boy has a wise beyond his years thing going on. He is also quite funny as evident in the scene where Alice leaves a sexy message on Ivan’s answering machine, proposing an affair at a hotel in 51 minutes and 12 seconds. Iggy tells his father, “If I were you, I’d spend 50 minutes dressing and a minute and 12 seconds sprinting to the corner of Seventh Avenue and West Fourth Street.” Pacino’s bemused expression as he listens to her message says it all.

It is refreshing to see a father talking honestly and openly with his kids. Ivan doesn’t talk down to them. He lets them say their peace. He is also sympathetic to their plight and really does love them, like when he consoles one of his daughters, listening to her pouring out her fears and frustrations. Pacino is very generous with the kids and allows them to steal the scenes they’re in together. In particular, Benjamin Carlin and Eric Gurry demonstrate excellent comic timing and play well off each other and Pacino.

The film’s dramatic moments are between Ivan and Gloria. She is portrayed in an extremely unsympathetic light as she coldly and casually breaks things off with him. Their scenes are filled with uncomfortable intensity and are fortunately few and far between. Author! Author! spins its wheels when Ivan is working on the play. Comedian Alan King plays Pacino’s incredibly neurotic Jewish manager Kreplich who always seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He plays a broad stereotype and his scenes feel forced and tired. King has said that his character was a cross between Hal Prince and Zero Mostel, which may explain the lack of originality.

Israel Horovitz, the film’s screenwriter, first worked with Pacino in the mid-1960s developing the play The Indian Wants the Bronx. The play was produced in 1968 and both men won Obie awards for their work. They remained friends over the years. The origins of Author! Author! came from conversations Horovitz had with his three children and how he dealt with raising two of them on his own. He said, “I felt there was a lot of room to explore the ease with which people get married in this country, the way kids come along in huge bunches and the irresponsibility of parents in taking care of those children.” Instead of going the dramatic route a la Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Horovitz decide to make a comedy because, as he said in an interview with The New York Times, "The film had to be written in a comic mode, because otherwise it's too painful to deal with." Director Arthur Hiller was drawn to the project because it was about an extended family and it showed “that love is what makes a family strong, not necessarily who’s the natural parent.”

Horovitz worked closely with the cast and Hiller, rewriting scenes and characters (much like Ivan does in the film) based on what individual actors brought to their respective roles. However, Pacino did not get along with Hiller. Years later Pacino said, “Sometimes people who are not really meant to be together get together in this business for a short time. It’s very unfortunate for all parties concerned.” Pacino agreed to do Author! Author! because he was interested in making a film “about a guy with his kids, dealing with New York and show business. I thought it would be fun.” He did not have a good time working on the film but did enjoy acting with the child actors who played his kids.

When Author! Author! was released it bombed at the box office and drew scorn from critics. The Globe and Mail’s Jay Scott criticized the child actors: “The brood is composed of the most appalling set of exhibitionistic child actors this side of Eight is Enough.” Ouch. Furthermore, he wrote, “That this comedy is not funny is bad enough; that is resolutely and maliciously anti-female is unforgivable.” The film didn’t fair much better with the Washington Post’s Gary Arnold. He felt that “Pacino’s maddening articulation would seem to argue against further flings at comedy. Line after line is obscured by his whispery mumble, and this mangled speech seems particularly inappropriate in a character who’s supposed to be a playwright.” In his review for Newsweek, Jack Kroll wrote, “There’s nothing sadder than a movie that tries to be adorable and isn’t. Author! Author! tries so hard that the screen seems to sweat.” Finally, The New York Times’ Janet Maslin felt that Pacino handled his role, “appealingly and comfortably,” but that “the movie is virtually over before the audience is given a chance to figure out where it is going, which is toward a one-happy-family resolution, 1980's style.”

After these scathing reviews is it any wonder that Pacino retreated from doing comedies and dramatically switched gears, making Scarface (1983) soon afterwards? Even though Author! Author! is a comedy about divorce, it doesn’t make light of it. The film shows the damage caused by two parents splitting up and how it affects their kids on an emotional level. Ivan and his kids use humor to cope with their situation. The film never loses sight of how much he cares for and is willing to support them.

25 Years Gone: A Tribute to Sam Peckinpah: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

NOTE: This article is part of Neil Fulwood's Sam Peckinpah Blog-a-Thon all month long over at The Agitation of the Mind. He's really put a lot of amazing work into it so far and you really should check it out.

Sam Peckinpah spent his career fighting against the Hollywood studio system to make his own distinctive brand of films. He defines the word “maverick.” He came out of Hollywood with his own unique brand of filmmaking that often clashed with studio executives. This resulted in a career of tough, uncompromising films that were either loved or hated – there was no in-between. Out of all the films he made only on one was he given final cut privileges — Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), the epitome of a grungy nihilism that was in vogue with many American filmmakers during the 1970s. Peckinpah had even led the charge in 1969 with the explosive deconstruction of the western with The Wild Bunch (1969).

The film begins with an image of idyllic beauty: a young, pregnant woman sunning herself on the bank of a river in Mexico. This is quickly shattered in a brutal scene when her land baron father El Jefe (Emilio Fernandez) demands that his daughter tell him the identity of the father. She is proudly defiant and refuses. So, he gets two of his flunkies to break one of her arms and she gives up the father’s name: Alfredo Garcia. The sickening snap of her arm sounds like a small branch and is a truly ugly moment. Feeling that he was betrayed by Garcia (“He was like a son to me.”), El Jefe decrees that anyone who brings him the head of Garcia will receive a million dollars. In doing so, he sets in motion a chain of events that will have bloody, tragic consequences.

Two rich businessmen, Quill (Gig Young) and Sappensly (Robert Webber), search every town and small village for any signs of the man. One day, they happen by a small-town bar where they catch the eye of Bennie (Warren Oates), the bartender who likes the color of their money. We meet Bennie playing piano and looking a lot like a scuzzy version of Tom Waits during the Nighthawks at the Diner phase of his career. Warren Oates exudes an engaging sleazy charm that is a lot of fun to watch in this scene, especially when he talks sports with Quill and Sappensly.

Bennie asks around and finds out that his girlfriend Elita (Isela Vega) once had Garcia as a customer when she was a prostitute. Bennie strikes a deal with the businessmen. He has four days to bring back Garcia’s head for $10,000 or they will come after him. So, Bennie and Elita go on the road with two thugs in a beat-up station wagon tailing them. They travel through some of the most dirt-poor parts of Mexico that you will not find in a tourist brochure any time soon. For example, Bennie and Elita live in a grungy fleapit that makes you want to get a shower, or at least check for ticks. There’s a tangible quality that comes from shooting the entire film on location, which gives everything a genuine lived-in look.

Peckinpah takes the time to show the relationship between Benny and his Elita — the intimate familiarity. They are a hard-drinking, hard-living couple that cares for each other. They have their dreams of a future together but also have no allusions about the present. It is almost like they are out for a picnic and not looking for a dead man. They have their dream of one day getting married and the scene where Bennie proposes to Elita is touching and heartbreaking – one of the most emotional scenes in any Peckinpah film. It makes us care about what happens to them. It also lays the groundwork for Bennie’s transformation into a hardened killer.

Bennie becomes obsessed, not with the money, but with Garcia and why his head is so valuable. He sees it as a ticket that will lead him to this answer. Once he and Elita find Garcia’s body, their lives get a lot more bloody and violent as the film shifts gears into a balls-to-the-wall revenge picture. Bennie’s descent into murder-fueled madness is fascinating to watch as he slowly loses his shit thanks to an all-consuming obsession for Garcia. He starts talking to the severed head. He looks in the mirror and sees a completely different man looking back at him then who he was when this all began.

Warren Oates was one of the most underrated actors in the ‘70s. He left behind an impressive body of work, much of the best was with Peckinpah. He looks the part, with his cheap, white suit, gaudy shirt and loud tie, complete with large sunglasses — based on Peckinpah’s actual attire at the time. Oates always looks disheveled and world-weary — a life of hard-living. He delivers a fierce, fearless performance devoid of vanity. He holds nothing back as he gives his all to fully and believably inhabit this character. He has a natural, tough guy presence that you just don’t see anymore. He has a cool, don’t-mess-with-me attitude. And no one can quite curse angrily as convincingly as Oates does. At one point, he tells two bikers (one played by Kris Kristofferson) who are about to rape his girlfriend, “You two guys are definitely on my shit list.” You don’t really like Bennie but you grow to respect him and his obsessive desire for the truth.

A troubling aspect of Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is Peckinpah’s harsh treatment of women. From the pregnant woman who has her arm broken, to Elita almost being raped by a dirty biker, women are abused and generally treated like crap. That being said, Elita is an interesting character in that she rises above the film’s misogyny. As the biker gets ready to rape her she refuses to cower in fear and instead bravely faces her would-be abuser, even slapping him several times in the face. Elita stays with Bennie because she loves him and he’s devoted to her. He’s willing to kill for her. It’s a fully-realized relationship with its own unique complexities. She’s conflicted by her feelings for her past relationship with Garcia and the hopeful future that could be as a result of collecting the bounty for his head.

Peckinpah was working on The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) when Frank Kowalski, a screenwriter and long-time friend, told him about an idea he had for a film: “’I got a great title: Bring Me the Head ...,’ – and he had some other name – ‘and the hook is that the guy is already dead.’” Peckinpah loved it and began working on the project then and also in England while making Straw Dogs (1972). He wrote the shooting script with producer and screenwriter Gordon Dawson.

Producer Martin Baum had formed his own independent production company, Optimus Productions, and had a deal with United Artists. Peckinpah came to him with Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and 25 pages of a script. Baum read it and liked it. United Artists agreed to pay Peckinpah to write the script but he told Baum that he didn’t want any money for it because he owed him one. Peckinpah told Baum that if UA liked the script then they could pay him. Clearly, this project was a labor of love for the filmmaker.

Peckinpah started pre-production in mid-August 1973 in Mexico City. With the exception of a few key people, the entire crew was Mexican. For example, he hired director of photography Alex Phillips, Jr., one of Mexico’s premiere cameraman, to work on the film. They bonded over a dislike for wide-angle lenses and an admiration for zooms and multiple camera setups. Peckinpah told him, “I make very few takes, but I shoot a lot of film because I like to change angles. I shoot with editing in the back of my mind.”

While scouting locations, he relied extensively on his gut instinct and a desire to portray a gritty, realistic vision he had of Mexico. Peckinpah spent a lot of time searching for the right bar that would be Bennie’s workplace. He finally discovered one in the Plaza Garibaldi known as “Tlaque-Paque.” Peckinpah looked around and said, “This is dressed. This is for real.” Mexican members of the crew told him that the bar’s owner had an infamous reputation and it was rumored that he once killed a woman there and served very little jail time because he bribed the right people in positions of power.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia went into production in late September 1973. And then Peckinpah stirred up controversy in an October 10 issue of Variety where was quoted as saying, “For me, Hollywood no longer exists. It’s past history. I’ve decided to stay in Mexico because I believe I can make my pictures with greater freedom from here.” This upset the Motion Picture and Television Unions and they openly censured Peckinpah for his statement at their National Conference in Detroit. They also threatened Alfredo Garcia with union boycotts upon its release, labeling it a “runaway” production. Peckinpah claimed that he was misquoted. Fortunately, before the film was released, the unions relented on their boycott threat.

As principal photography continued into the month of December, the demands – both physical and mental – were taking their toll on the cast and crew. To help everyone let off some steam, Peckinpah and the producers bought out a local bar and threw a surprise party for the production. Principal photography ended three days before Christmas and Peckinpah took a week off before supervising the editing of the film.

In mid-August 1974, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia first opened in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. Not surprisingly, critics were not jazzed about the film. The New York Times’ Nora Sayre felt that the film wasn’t “as bloody as some of Mr. Peckinpah's others. Instead, it's profoundly pessimistic – because of the emphasis on obscene acts committed merely for money.” Time magazine’s Jay Cocks wrote, “Alfredo Garcia is full of fury and bile. It is a troubling, idiosyncratic and finally unsuccessful film—troubling not for the feelings of horror it intermittently tries to conjure up but for the impression it gives of being a dead end.” In his review for New York Magazine, Michael Sragow called it, “a catastrophe so huge that those who once ranked Peckinpah with Hemingway may now invoke Mickey Spillane.” However, Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and called it “some kind of bizarre masterpiece” and said of Warren Oates, “we like him because he's suffered so much more than we ever will (we hope) that no matter what horrors he goes through, or inflicts, we still care about him.” Years later, in his review for the Village Voice, Michael Atkinson wrote, “Desultorily shot, full of dead ends, and as lean as a Beckett monologue, the movie is also coarse and anarchic, a capitalist dream of free-for-all commerce gone scrap crazy.”

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a ferocious crime film that has been imitated (recently with Man on Fire and the mini-homage in Sin City) but never equaled. At times, it is not an easy film to watch. It doesn’t care if you like it or not. Any film that’s unafraid to tell a story with such unflinching honesty should take you to places that challenge you and make you think about things differently. That’s what Alfredo Garcia does so well. Finally free of studio constraints, Peckinpah was able to tell a story his way and that’s why this film is his most satisfying one. There is a line from Apocalypse Now (1979) where Willard says of Kurtz, “There is no way to tell his story without telling my own. And if his story really is a confession, then so is mine.” These words could also apply to Bennie and Garcia. It could also apply to Peckinpah, for if this film is Bennie’s confession, then so is Peckinpah’s life. Like Coppola’s film, Alfredo Garcia is about a man’s descent into madness and obsession at the cost of all else in order to achieve a kind of freedom.

The production info in this article comes from Garner Simmons excellent book, Peckinpah: A Portrait in Montage. Check out David Thomson's excellent look at the film for Sight and Sound magazine.

SLIFR's Thanksgiving/Christmas Movie Quiz

It's always fun to participate in and read other people's responses for Dennis Cozzalio semi-regular cinematic quizzes over at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule. He presents so many questions that demand so much thought and input I feel like I'm taking on The New York Times crossword puzzle! It's all in good fun and this time around he's got a Thanksgiving/Christmas-themed quiz. If you haven't already, take the quiz yourself. Here are my responses:

1) Second-favorite Coen Brothers movie.

Tough one as so many of them are my faves but if I had to narrow it down, I'd say Miller's Crossing. The visual palette - all of the greens and chocolate-y browns are incredible as is the snappy gangster speak: "Now take you flunky and dangle!"
2) Movie seen only on home format that you would pay to see on the biggest movie screen possible? (Question submitted by Peter Nellhaus)

That's an easy one, my fave film of all-time: Blue Velvet. I'm ashamed to say that I've never had a chance to see this on the big screen. Something I hope to rectify some day. To see Frederick Elmes' masterful widescreen compositions on the big screen has been a dream of mine ever since I first saw it on laser disc.

3) Japan or France? (Question submitted by Bob Westal)

Japan. If only for Sonny Chiba and Kinji Fukasaku's blood-soaked Yakuza films.

4) Favorite moment/line from a western.

This is a hard one to narrow down as I could pick so many from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly alone. I would say the bit where Tuco guns down a hapless desperado trying to catch him unawares in the tub and offers the pithy retort, "When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk."

5) Of all the arts the movies draw upon to become what they are, which is the most important, or the one you value most?

I would say music. The way a song or a musical cue can make you feel during a giving scene or married with a specific image is undeniable.

6) Most misunderstood movie of the 2000s (The Naughties?).

The Way of the Gun. People were either repulsed by this film or simply ignored it but I thought it was a masterful attempt to recapture the gritty, bloody Peckinpah crime film from the 1970s. You could debate how successful it was but I like how it flew in the face of a lot of Quentin Tarantino wannabes.
7) Name a filmmaker/actor/actress/film you once unashamedly loved who has fallen furthest in your esteem.

Nicolas Cage. What happened to this guy? He used to be pretty reliable for turning in outrageous, unpredictable performances but ever since he won an Academy Award, it's been a slippery slope towards Hacksville. That being said, his new Bad Lieutenant film does look promising and a return of the wild man of yore.

8) Herbert Lom or Patrick Magee?

Patrick Magee.

9) Which is your least favorite David Lynch film (Submitted by Tony Dayoub)

Oh man, tough call as I like most of his films but if push came to shove I would say The Elephant Man. I respect its craft but it puts me to sleep and I would actually watch Dune over it.

10) Gordon Willis or Conrad Hall? (Submitted by Peet Gelderblom)

Gotta go with the Prince of Darkness on this one: Gordon Willis, for his work with Alan J. Pakula alone!

11) Second favorite Don Siegel movie.

Charley Varrick. Great film with a rock solid, no-nonsense performance by Walter Matthau.
12) Last movie you saw on DVD/Blu-ray? In theaters?

On DVD: True Believer. In theaters: Public Enemies.

13) Which DVD in your private collection screams hardest to be replaced by a Blu-ray? (Submitted by Peet Gelderblom)

Tough one. I would have to say The Godfather. I would love to see that on Blu-ray.

14) Eddie Deezen or Christopher Mintz-Plasse?

Eddie Deezen. If only for his small but insanely memorable bit part in WarGames.

15) Actor/actress who you feel automatically elevates whatever project they are in, or whom you would watch in virtually anything.

Actor: Jeff Bridges. The man has appeared in countless incredible films, from Cutter's Way and The Fabulous Baker Boys, to American Heart and The Big Lebowski. I find him to always be watchable no matter what he's in.

Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh. I've been a fan of hers since Fast Times at Ridgemont High. No matter the film, I will give it a chance if she's in it. From small roles in films like The Hitcher, to ones like Georgia and Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, where she dominates the screen like no other.

16) Fight Club -- yes or no?
Yes!

17) Teresa Wright or Olivia De Havilland?

Olivia De Havilland.

18) Favorite moment/line from a film noir.

Double Indemnity and the first meeting between Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson. There opening exchange crackles with noirish intensity and heat quite unlike any other film in the genre.

19) Best (or worst) death scene involving an obvious dummy substituting for a human or any other unsuccessful special effect(s)—see the wonderful blog Destructible Man for inspiration.

The deer o' death from The Long Kiss Goodnight.

21) Van Johnson or Van Heflin?

Van Heflin for 3:10 to Yuma.

22) Favorite Alan Rudolph film.

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. Quite possibly Jennifer Jason Leigh's finest performance in a very distinguished and varied career. Also, the film most worthy of Rudolph's tutelage under Altman. Love this film.
23) Name a documentary that you believe more people should see.

Comic Book Confidential. Ron Mann's highly original look at the history of comic books with some of the legends from the field (Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller) reading from their own work with the artwork animated (sort of). It is a great primer and wonderful to watch as several of the older creators are no longer with us. Great stuff.

24) In deference to this quiz’s professor, name a favorite film which revolves around someone becoming stranded.

Ripley and the Colonial Marines being stranded on a desolate planet infested with nasty xenomorphs in Aliens is probably my fave.

26) Ann Sheridan or Geraldine Fitzgerald? (Submitted by Larry Aydlette)

Ann Sheridan.

27) Do you or any of your family members physically resemble movie actors or other notable figures in the film world? If so, who?

When I was younger I kinda sorta resembled Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) in Eraserhead.

28) Is there a movie you have purposely avoided seeing? If so, why?

Salo - Probably for its notorious reputation and repellent imagery.

29) Movie with the most palpable or otherwise effective wintry atmosphere or ambience.

Beautiful Girls really nails that bitterly cold, chill-to-your-bones feeling that always reminds me of winters in Canada. And the small-town vibe reminds me a bit of the places where I grew up.

30) Gerrit Graham or Jeffrey Jones?

Jeffrey Jones, if only for his performances in Beetlejuice (love it) and The Hunt for Red October (he has a small amount of screen time in this one but makes the most of it).

31) The best cinematic antidote to a cultural stereotype (sexual, political, regional, whatever).

How Asians and their culture are portrayed in Big Trouble in Little China. The film dispenses with the stereotypical Chinese music and also has the Chinese sidekick turn out to be the hero who does most of the heroic stuff!
32) Second favorite John Wayne movie.

The Searchers.

33) Favorite movie car chase.

To Live and Die in L.A. The car chase that starts of at an underpass and ends up with our (anti)heroes speeding through oncoming traffic on a freeway is the most insane car chase I've seen in a film. Friedkin somehow manages to top the one he pulled off in The French Connection.

34) In the spirit of His Girl Friday, propose a gender-switched remake of a classic or not-so-classic film. (Submitted by Patrick Robbins)

I always thought that it would be great to remake Reservoir Dogs and keep the dialogue exactly the same but cast all women in the various roles.

35) Barbara Rhoades or Barbara Feldon?

Barbara Rhoades.

36) Favorite Andre De Toth movie.

House of Wax, my fave 3-D movie of all time!

37) If you could take one filmmaker's entire body of work and erase it from all time and memory, as if it had never happened, whose oeuvre would it be? (Submitted by Tom Sutpen)

Brett Ratner. Man, I really can't stand any of his films, esp. Red Dragon. And don't even get me started on the Rush Hour films!!

38) Name a film you actively hated when you first encountered it, only to see it again later in life and fall in love with it.

The Family Stone. When I first saw it, I thought it was an awful, mean-spirited film but gave it another chance and the film has grown on me over the years and now I really like it. Go figure.

39) Max Ophuls or Marcel Ophuls? (Submitted by Tom Sutpen)

Max Ophuls.

40) In which club would you most want an active membership, the Delta Tau Chi fraternity, the Cutters or the Warriors? And which member would you most resemble, either physically or in personality?

Oh, that's an easy one. The Delta Tau Chi frat if only for the wild parties and a chance to hang out with Otter and the boys.
41) Your favorite movie cliché.

The veteran cop he always says at one point, "I'm getting too old for this shit."

42) Vincente Minnelli or Stanley Donen? (Submitted by Bob Westal)

Vincente Minnelli for the incredibly vibrant colors on display in so many of his amazing films.

43) Favorite Christmas-themed horror movie or sequence.

Wind Chill is good one from recent memory as two college students take a short-cut down a back-road during the dead of winter and get stuck.

44) Favorite moment of self- or selfless sacrifice in a movie.

Spock taking one for the team in Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan ranks right up there.

45) If you were the cinematic Spanish Inquisition, which movie cult (or cult movie) would you decimate? (Submitted by Bob Westal)

The one that supposedly supports Showgirls.

46) Caroline Munro or Veronica Carlson?

Caroline Munro! Loved her in Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter.

48) Favorite ambiguous movie ending. (Original somewhat ambiguous submission---“Something about ambiguous movie endings!”-- by Jim Emerson, who may have some inspiration of his own to offer you.)

Almost anything by David Lynch but if I had to narrow it down I'd say Lost Highway.

49) In giving thanks for the movies this year, what are you most thankful for?

I'm thankful for Hollywood managing to not screw up the Star Trek reboot. Amazing!

50) George Kennedy or Alan North? (Submitted by Peet Gelderblom) George Kennedy. Loved him in Cool Hand Luke!

Real Genius

In the 1980s, Martha Coolidge’s films were a welcome antidote to the dominance of John Hughes’ output. On the surface, her films appear to be quite similar but whereas Hughes’ films ultimately play it safe and are conservative in nature (i.e. the status quo is preserved), Coolidge’s films champion the outsider in society – for example, Nicolas Cage’s punk rocker hooks up with Deborah Foreman’s Valley girl despite societal pressure in Valley Girl (1983). Real Genius (1985) appears to be just another mindless college comedy like Revenge of the Nerds (1984) but whereas that film had its outsiders ultimately become part of accepted mainstream society, the nerds in Real Genius rebel against it and are proud to be different.

Mitch Taylor (Gabe Jarret) is a brilliant high school student recruited by Professor Jerry Hathaway (William Atherton) to become a student at Pacific Tech and join a special team working on an experimental laser. Hathaway tells Mitch and his parents in person at a science fair. The exchange between them is priceless. His parents obviously have no idea just how smart their son is and only want him to get the best education. At one point, Mitch’s mother asks Hathaway, “I saw your show the other night on radioactive isotopes and I’ve got a question for you. Is that your real hair?” He cheerfully replies, “Is Mitch by any chance adopted?” They are oblivious to the implied insult and Hathaway pulls Mitch aside and tells him, “We’re different than most people. Better.” Hathaway’s elitist attitude is established early on, setting him up as an arrogant snob that must be taught a lesson in humility by our heroes.

Hathaway rooms Mitch with Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), the top brain on campus – at least he used to be until Mitch showed up. We first meet Chris as he’s being taken on a guided tour of a top science laboratory. He has a t-shirt on that reads, “I love toxic waste,” and a set of alien antennae on his head that demonstrate he is the antithesis of Hathaway. He may be super smart but he’s not a stuffed shirt. At one point, his tour guide asks him, “You’re Chris Knight, aren’t you?” Without missing a beat, he replies, “I hope so, I’m wearing his underwear.” Val Kilmer’s deadpan delivery is right on the money and he demonstrates an uncanny knack for comic timing. The film could have so easily set up a rivalry between Chris and Mitch but instead they become friends and team up against a common foe: Kent (Robert Prescott), an arrogant senior student who is also working on the laser.

Chris is super smart but something of a loose cannon, always cracking jokes and never taking anything too seriously, much to Mitch’s consternation because he doesn’t know how to loosen up and have fun. Mitch also has trouble adjusting to campus life and this isn’t helped by Kent who enjoys tormenting Mitch when the senior student isn’t busy sucking up to Hathaway. Coolidge replaces the class warfare in Valley Girl with in-fighting amongst academics in Real Genius. The setting may be different but the tactics are no less mean-spirited as Kent delights in publicly humiliating Mitch. Meanwhile, Hathaway puts pressure on Chris to produce a working laser before the school year ends. Failure to do so will result in Hathaway making sure that Chris doesn’t graduate or work in his field of expertise. Unbeknownst to the ace student, his professor is getting pressured by a flunky and his superior from the CIA who want to use the laser for their own covert actions (assassinations from outer space?).

Every so often, Mitch catches a glimpse of a mysterious long-haired man who goes into his closet at random times during the day. His name is Lazlo (Jon Gries) and he lives deep in the bowels of the school. He used to be the smartest student on campus back in the 1970s but cracked under the pressure and now spends all of his time generating entries for the Frito Lay sweepstakes (enter as often as you like) so as to get as many of the prizes as possible. Jon Gries plays Lazlo as a shy genius, smarter than Chris and Mitch combined. He’s a gentle soul and a far cry from the arrogant blowhard he would go on to play in Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Over the course of the film, Mitch finds himself attracted to Jordan (Michelle Meyrink), a hyperactive student who never seems to sleep. She sports an adorable Louise Brooks-style bob haircut and a nervous energy that is oddly attractive. I had a huge crush on her when I first saw this film back in the day, quite possibly one of my earliest cinematic crushes. She was the ultimate nerd sex symbol in the ‘80s with her undeniable beauty and brains. Sadly, after a few films she grew disenchanted with the movie making business and retired to Canada to become a Zen Buddhist.

Remember when Val Kilmer was funny? Between this film and Top Secret! (1984), he displays some impressive comedic chops. Kilmer excels at delivering smartass quips and jokes but is also capable of delivering an inspirational speech that convinces Mitch to stick it out at school and get revenge on Kent. There are two scenes where he dispenses with the jokes and has a relatively serious conversation with Mitch about life. They are refreshingly heartfelt and elevate Real Genius above the usual ‘80s teen comedy.

Gabe Jarret is perfectly cast as the helplessly square Mitch with his dorky haircut and his J.C. Penny wardrobe. We aren’t meant to laugh at him and Coolidge shows that he’s a good kid thrust into a new and strange environment. He’s smart but lacks the emotional maturity which he will acquire over the course of the film. Jarret does a nice job of conveying his character’s arc. He doesn’t totally transform into Chris but instead absorbs some of his traits while remaining true to himself.

In the ‘80s, William Atherton seemed to be the go-to guy for playing douchebag authority figures, with memorable turns as the unscrupulous journalist in Die Hard (1988), the “dickless” EPA guy in Ghostbusters (1984), and, of course, his turn in Real Genius. Atherton’s job, and man, does it he do it oh so well, is to provide a source of conflict for our protagonists. He portrays Hathaway as the ultimate arrogant prick and we can’t wait to see him get his well-deserved comeuppance at the hands of Chris and Mitch.

Real Genius does plug in the usual tropes of ‘80s teen comedies with the now dated soundtrack of New Wave songs, most of them forgotten except for “Everybody Wants to the Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, which plays over the blissfully carefree ending of the film. There is the wacky comedic set pieces involving pranks. There’s also the T&A factor when Chris takes Mitch to an indoor pool party populated by sexy beauticians. Not to mention, the dorm that Chris and his classmates live in which vaguely resembles the chaotic frat house in Animal House (1978), only inhabited by really smart people.

However, it is how the film presents these generic elements that sets it apart from the typical ‘80s teen comedy. For example, the pranks are quite inventive, like when Chris and Mitch manage to place Kent’s car in his dorm room. There are several and they all lead up to the mack daddy of them all which occurs at the climax of the film. While there is the requisite T&A factor in Real Genius, the PG rating assures that we don’t see much, just some girls in bikinis. Instead, we get the understated romance that develops between Mitch and Jordan, which is rather sweet in its own unassuming way. The dorm is certainly not the debauched chaos of Delta House, but it clearly is a place of fun, led by Chris and his various antics.

Real Genius received mixed to positive reviews when it was released. In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin felt that the film was at its best when it took its characters seriously, “though it does so only intermittently." Newsweek magazine’s David Ansen wrote, "When it's good, the dormitory high jinks feel like the genuine release of teen-age tensions and cruelty. Too bad the story isn't as smart as the kids in it." The Washington Post’s Rita Kempley felt that, "Many of the scenes, already badly written, fail to fulfill their screwball potential ... But despite its enthusiastic young cast and its many good intentions, it doesn't quite succeed. I guess there's a leak in the think tank.” However, Roger Ebert awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying that it "contains many pleasures, but one of the best is its conviction that the American campus contains life as we know it.” In his review for the Globe and Mail, Salem Alaton felt that Coolidge “turned in the summer's best, and she didn't cheat to do it. There's heart in the kookiness. Real Genius has real people, real comedy and real fun.” Time magazine's Richard Schickel praised the film for being "a smart, no-nonsense movie that may actually teach its prime audience a valuable lesson: the best retort to an intolerable situation is not necessarily a food fight. Better results, and more fun, come from rubbing a few brains briskly together."

Real Genius argues that nerds can have fun too but there needs to be a balance. You can love solving problems but it can’t be all science and no philosophy as Chris tells Mitch. People like Kent and Hathaway have no sense of humor and are self-obsessed egotists. They are ambitious to a fault, not caring who they step on the way, while Chris and Mitch are aware of the consequences of their actions. There is sweetness to this film that is endearing and rather strange considering that Neal Israel and Pat Proft wrote the screenplay (authors of such paeans to sweetness, like Police Academy and Bachelor Party), but Coolidge is firmly in charge and wisely doesn’t let Real Genius get too sappy. She also doesn’t let the funny stuff devolve into mindless frat humor, instead maintaining a proper mix that doesn’t insult our intelligence. The end result is a film that the characters in the film might enjoy, if they weren’t already in it. Achieving just the right alchemy may explain why the film continues to enjoy a modest cult following and is one of the few teen comedies from the ‘80s that stands the test of time.

The "Pacific Tech" in the film is actually a thinly-disguised version of CalTech in real life. Here is a page examining many of the references to CalTech in the film. Info on a real-life laser gun. Last, but certainly not least is Edward Copeland's fantastic look back at the film over at Edward Copeland on Film. His post inspired my own.

DVD of the Week: The Ice Storm: Criterion Collection

Director Ang Lee has had a fascinatingly diverse career. He’s tried his hand at the literary adaptation with Sense and Sensibility (1995), the Civil War epic with Ride with the Devil (1999), a period martial arts tale with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and a comic book adaptation with the much-maligned Hulk (2003). He has successfully dabbled in several genres and with The Ice Storm (1997), he adapted Rick Moody’s 1994 novel of the same name, a drama set in 1973 during the waning years of the sexual revolution.

The film takes place during the Thanksgiving holiday in New Canaan, Connecticut and explores the relationship between two families: the Carvers and the Hoods. Paul Hood (Tobey Maguire) is returning home from school and hopes to lose his virginity to an attractive classmate named Libbets Casey (Katie Holmes). His sister Wendy (Christina Ricci) is obsessed with the Watergate hearings and delights in watching President Nixon going down in flames. Their parents, Ben (Kevin Kline) and Elena (Joan Allen), are a bland WASPy couple whose marriage is stuck in a rut. Ben is having an affair with Janey Carver (Sigourney Weaver) who is in a loveless marriage with Jim (Jamey Sheridan). They have two sons, Mikey (Elijah Wood) and Sandy (Adam Hann-Byrd), oddly off-kilter boys who are becoming increasingly sexually aware with Wendy’s help.

All of their conflicts and problems boil to the surface at a “key party” that the Carvers and Hoods attend during an ice storm. There’s a faint whiff of desperation as all of these conservative WASPs try to be hip swingers. Meanwhile, their children are up to their own subversive activities with unfortunate, tragic consequences.

Needless to say, both of these families are very dysfunctional with the adults being sexually repressed and the kids exploring their sexuality. Lee underlines the dysfunction of these families by visually referencing panels from issue 141 of the Fantastic Four comic book occasionally throughout the film. Paul is reading it on a train during the film’s climactic ice storm. The FF are a family of superheroes and in this particular issue they are plagued by internal strife. There is some delicious foreshadowing as Tobey Maguire would go on to play Spider-Man and Lee would adapt the Incredible Hulk.

The Ice Storm feels like an Ingmar Bergman or John Cassavetes film from the 1970s with a dash of Atom Egoyan (the look of either Exotica or The Sweet Hereafter). It also has a textured, painterly quality thanks to the exquisite cinematography of Frederick Elmes who also shot some of David Lynch’s best films (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Wild at Heart). He really captures the tacky, kitschy look of the ‘70s and is helped considerably by the attention to period detail (awful sweater vests over turtleneck sweaters) and the top notch production design (capturing the look of the houses from that era).

The Ice Storm takes a fascinating look at a specific time and place through the eyes of an outsider – the Taiwanese-born Lee who offers a fresh perspective on American culture. His film can be seen as a melancholic lament for the end of an era and the loss of innocence that began with the Kennedy assassination. Kudos to the Criterion Collection for giving this unfairly neglected film their deluxe treatment.

Special Features:

The first disc features an audio commentary by director Ang Lee and producer/screenwriter James Schamus. They banter back and forth like the long-time friends and collaborators that they are. At one point, Schamus jokingly refers to a “pre-Scientology” Katie Holmes and recounts some of the challenges of shooting on location including greedy town locals who held up filming. Lee makes some astute observations about the characters and points out his favorite shots and lines of dialogue in the film. They talk about Maguire’s voiceover narration and how it provides structure to the film and how it comments on the action. This is an entertaining and informative commentary.

There is also a theatrical trailer.

The second disc starts off with “Weathering the Storm,” a 36-minute retrospective featurette with new interviews with a lot of the key cast members who reflect on making the film and how it affected their careers. Joan Allen describes the script as minimalist in nature and was intrigued by it. Kevin Kline’s agent described it as the bleakest one he’d ever read and this piqued the actor’s curiosity who read and found it quite funny. Sigourney Weaver talks about the social restrictions her character and women in general faced in the ‘70s. Everyone talks about what it was like to work with Lee. This is an excellent look at how the film came together by some of the actors who were in it.

“Rick Moody Interview” features the author of the source novel talking about his feelings towards the film adaptation. These characters were an intimate part of him and the film version was a very different take on them. He was allowed to watch the process of the adaptation by the filmmakers.

“Lee and Schamus at MOMI.” The two talk about their filmmaking career together at the Museum of the Moving Image in November 2007. They talk about how various films came together and reflect on them in an eloquent and intelligent way.

“The Look of The Ice Storm” features interviews with cinematographer Frederick Elmes, production designer Mark Friedberg, and costume designer Carol Oditz. They talk about how they helped realize Lee’s vision.

Also included are four deleted scenes with optional commentary by Schamus. We see Ben at work in a funny bit with Kline and Henry Czerny. He talks about why these scenes were cut.