Deliverance
July 25, 2009 by Hunting Season · Leave a Comment
One of the key films of the 1970s, John Boorman’s Deliverance is a nightmarish adaptation of poet-novelist James Dickey’s book about various kinds of survival in modern America. The story concerns four Atlanta businessmen of various male stripe: Jon Voight’s character is a reflective, civilized fellow, Burt Reynolds plays a strapping hunter-gatherer in urban clothes, Ned Beatty is a sweaty, weak-willed boy-man, and Ronny Cox essays a spirited, neighborly type. Together they decide to answer the ancient call of men testing themselves against the elements and set out on a treacherous ride on the rapids of an Appalachian river. What they don’t understand until it is too late is that they have ventured into Dickey’s variation on the American underbelly, a wild, lawless, dangerous (and dangerously inbred) place isolated from the gloss of the late 20th century. In short order, the four men dig deep into their own suppressed primitiveness, defending themselves against armed cretins, facing the shock of real death on their carefully planned, death-defying adventure, and then squarely facing the suspicions of authority over their concealed actions. Boorman, a master teller of stories about individuals on peculiarly mythical journeys, does a terrifying and beautiful job of revealing the complexity of private and collective character–the way one can never be the same after glimpsing the sharp-clawed survivor in one’s soul. –Tom Keogh
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars “Burt Reynold’s Best Cinema Effort”
“Deliverence” became a monster hit at the boxoffice when it was released in 1972, and it received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. The film is about four businessmen who venture into the backwoods on a canoe expedition on the mighty Appalacian River. The men are prepared for the forces of this river, but are totally unprepared for the hell that creeps up on them: they encounter hillbilly type hicks who have no morals and who have no feeling for other human beings. The men go through absolute hell as they try to survive a nightmare they were not ready for. The Ned Beatty character suffers the most as he is raped by one of the neanderthals. “Deliverence” is one of those rare films that dramatizes male rape, a subject matter rarely covered today, and even more rarely covered in 1972.
Burt Reynold’s autobiography “My LIfe” has some interesting anecdotes on the making of the film,, as he covers how he got to do the movie and the troubles the actors faced while filming in dangerous locations.
This particular DVD is the Deluxe Anniversary Edition that came out in 2007 and is filled with amazing bonus material. There is commentary from director John Boorman, the theatrical trailer is included, a vintage featurette “The Dangerous World of Deliverence” is part of the set, and the crown jewel here is the remarkable documentary on the film, which is a four part retrospective with the film’s stars, and the disturbing rape scene is discussed.
The film also stars Jon Voight and Ronny Cox. Charles Chaplin of the Los Angeles Times calls “Deliverence” “an absolute first-rate piece of moviemaking”.
Dersu Uzala
July 24, 2009 by Hunting Season · Leave a Comment
During an unusual chapter in the career of director Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon), the filmmaker went to Russia because he found working in his native Japan to be too difficult. The result was this striking 1975 near-epic based on the turn-of-the-century autobiographical novels of a military explorer (Yuri Solomin) who met and befriended a Goldi man in Russia’s unmapped forests. Kurosawa traces the evolution of a deep and abiding bond between the two men, one civilized in the usual sense, the other at home in the sub-zero Siberian woods. There’s no question that Dersu Uzala (the film is named for the Goldi character, played by Maxim Munzuk) has the muscular, imaginative look of a large-canvas Soviet Mosfilm from the 1970s. But in its energy and insight it is absolutely Kurosawa, from its implicit fascination with the meeting of opposite worlds to certain moments of tranquility and visual splendor. But nothing looks like Kurosawa more than a magnificent action sequence in which the co-heroes fight against time and exhaustion to stay alive in a wicked snowstorm. For fans of the late legend, this is a Kurosawa not to be missed. –Tom Keogh
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Someday I may rate it five stars.
Someday I may rate this film five stars. I don’t mean that to be a flip statement, but a reflection of the fact that sometimes our opinions have to be aged a bit before we can feel we have a firm understanding of the merits of a work of art. At this point I feel sure “Dersu Uzala” is an outstanding film, one in which I am willing to invest more attention to see if my appreciation grows. The reasons I think it may take time to fully appreciate this movie? There seem to me to be a lot of things suggested by symbolism in the film that are not overtly explained or clarified by action or dialogue. But, on the other hand, I may be misreading the symbolism or reading too much into it. Thus, the need for further investigation. For instance, I get a strong impression that the characters in the movie more or less all represent ideas or aspects of humanity larger than themselves. I think many reviewers have mentioned that this film was Kurosawa’s first effort following a suicide attempt caused by rejection of some of his previous films. Knowing this fact alone would make you tend to suspect there might be traces of this spiritual struggle embodied as artistic statement in Dersu Uzala. The very fact that this story takes place in a wilderness, a place where you can easily become lost or disoriented, could have some connection to Kurosawa’s state of mind when he attempted suicide. In an early scene the Russian explorers feel a sense of oppression at the desolation and loneliness of the landscape, which seems to harbor a malevolent force within it. At night their campfire weirdly illuminates the twisted tree branches and suggests a witches sabbath to the Russian captain. It seems reasonable to me there could be an identification here with the condition of soul Kurosawa had recently endured. Then, out of the darkness comes Dersu, a gnomish, rotund, archaic being full of practical wisdom, who becomes a guide and saviour for the fumbling Russians. Dersu seems to be an archtypal figure. Is he, perhaps, a personification of a spiritual force which Kurosawa summoned from his own inner being, a primeval instinct and will for survival? That is the primary concept which suggested itself to me as I watched the film, but of course, other interpretations are possible, and I may well be off the mark. The point is, though, that there is a subtlety to this story which suggests more than the somewhat simple surface story of a band of Russian cartographers exploring the Siberian wilderness, guided by a colorful aboriginal hunter. It is also well-known that Kurosawa lavished incredible attention on every scene to produce the effects he wanted, so it is likely there are very few noticeable details in this film that are not there for a very specific reason. Our attention is specifically directed to the way in which Dersu views the entire world of nature as being animated by spirit; how his harmony with the environment allows him to gather information from natural phenomena; and how this contrasts with the unappreciative and unobservant Russians, who, I would hazard a guess, represent civilized man more than Russians per se. I think it is important to try to see how the visual representation of the story might reinforce any of these concepts. I was somewhat surprised there were not more sweeping panoramic shots of the wilderness. For the most part, the camera view stays confined to a perspective of how we might see the people in the film if we were traveling with them. The main focus is on humans and their immediate surroundings. That there are few facial closeups seemed to me to reinforce the idea that he was not so much dealing with individuals as universals. All this is speculation, but these hints lead me to think that eventually a deeper and more comprehensive appreciation for the movie will settle out in my mind. For me, it will take more viewings to resolve this question. I may decide I was deluding myself about deeper meanings, but I am sure that the film can be enjoyed even on a surface level. Most people, I think, would be charmed by the friendship that arises between the refined Russian captain and the primitive hunter, with his earthy wisdom and basic decency. But viewed strictly as an adventure story, many folks used to the frenetic pace of modern Hollywood films might find the going pretty slow.
Jumanji Deluxe Edition
July 22, 2009 by Hunting Season · Leave a Comment
After the success of Jurassic Park in 1993, the floodgates opened for digital special effects, and Jumanji is nothing if not a showcase for computer-generated creepiness guaranteed to give young children a nightmare or two. Whether that was the filmmakers’ intention is up for debate, since this is a PG-rated adventure revolving around a mysterious board game that unleashes a terrifying jungle world upon its players, including gigantic spiders, huge mosquitoes, a stampede of rhinos, elephants, and every other jungle beast you can imagine. Robin Williams plays a man-child who’s been trapped in the world of “Jumanji” for 26 years until he’s freed by two kids who’ve discovered the game and released its parade of dangerous horrors. A chaotic and misguided attempt at family entertainment, the movie does offer a few good laughs, and the effects are frequently impressive, if not entirely convincing to the eye. –Jeff Shannon
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Another Childhood Favorite!!!
Ever since I was a kid, I have loved this movie! Today I watched it to refresh my memory. When young Alan Parrish finds the Jumanji board game in 1969, he and Sarah try playing it but Alan is sucked into the game and stays there for 26 years. Judy and Peter Shepherd move into Alan’s house and find the game and finally release Alan. While they play; bad things start happening like monkeys in the kitchen, a lion in the bedroom, poisonous flowers, stampede, a hunter and much more! They need the help of Sarah to finish what they started 26 years ago. If they finish the game, everything will go back to the way it was. I highly recommend JUMANJI!!!
Nanook of the North Criterion Collection Spine 33
July 21, 2009 by Hunting Season · Leave a Comment
Nanook of the North Criterion Collection Spine 33
Robert J. Flaherty, who wrote, directed, produced, shot, and edited this landmark picture, will forever be remembered as the godfather of documentary filmmaking. While this landmark 1922 production, shot on the northeastern shore of Hudson Bay, isn’t a true documentary by contemporary conventions, it remains the first great nonfiction film. With the help of Nanook and his friends and family, Flaherty undertook the mission of re-creating an Eskimo culture that no longer existed in a series of staged scenes. Nanook ice fishes, harpoons a walrus, catches a seal, traps, builds an igloo, and trades pelts at a trading post, all captured by Flaherty’s inquisitive camera. Though he presents a “happy” culture bordering on primitive innocence (Nanook and his family were in reality quite westernized), his loving portrait is anything but condescending. Ultimately Flaherty shares his tremendous respect and awe for a culture that has learned to not just survive but thrive in such an inhospitable environment. On a purely visual level the film is a beautiful work of cinema, an understated drama in an austere, unblemished landscape of snow and ice. With unerring simplicity and directness, Flaherty re-creates the details and rhythms of a culture long gone and gives the world a glimpse. David Shepard’s restoration, which is offered by Kino, shows a cleaner, brighter image than has ever been available on video and restores scenes missing for decades, and he has commissioned a new score by Timothy Brock, which incorporates and expands upon elements of the original score. A short interview with Flaherty’s widow concludes the tape. –Sean Axmaker
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great Documentary, Maybe of all Time!
A great documentary of the Inuit or Eskimo people as they were called by Robert Flaherty. He actually had to make it twice. The film used then was highly flammable and caught fire as he was editing it while smoking. People smoked anywhere they wanted in the 20s too! Flaherty suffered burns in many parts of his body and had to recover before going back north. He had made copious notes of his previous film and was able to recreate most scenes again. Not your typical documentary now, but was at this time. Filmmakers were quite aware of having to make the film entertaining and interesting to watch. Not unlike today! The 20s was the heyday of anthropology and of documentary film so they went together nicely. Flaherty has made a spine-tingling film where the cold can be felt as well as seen. The lives of Nanook and his people is interesting and stunning.
Two Brothers Full Screen Edition
July 20, 2009 by Hunting Season · Leave a Comment
Two Brothers Full Screen Edition
Two michievous twin tiger cubs live a carefree life in an exotic jungle amidst beautiful ancient ruins. But one day an act of fate forces them apart as one is sold off to the circus and the other becomes the pampered pet of a governors son. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 02/06/2007 Starring: Guy Pearce Jean-claude Dreyfus Run time: 109 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Jean-jacques Annaud
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars NOT for young children
This film is very intense and scary. While there are lovely moments, and the cinematography is great, it should not be labeled as a “family” film. The violence is way too real for young children. Just because the victims are the animals, doesn’t make it less so.
