Film Persona

  Ermanno Olmi's "The Fiancés" There's something very unique about the films of Ermanno Olmi. It's even stranger given the notion that they are Italian films, as Italians film are often full of kinetic energy - bouncy and exaggerative. The films of Olmi, on the other hand, are more akin to the works of Michelangelo Antonioni, slower and arid. His 1963 film, " The Fiancés ," adheres to this dry, aimless quality.  The film centers on a factory welder named Giovanni, who has been offered a job in Sicily with the prospect of a promotion. He accepts the offer and leaves behind his fiancé, Liliana, for eight months. However, the days and nights in Sicily are lonely and hollow. The expectations of the job are not what he expected, either.  The intention behind Olmi's film seems not too dissimilar from an Antonioni feature. However, Olmi has added the classic element of economic disparity to the equation, which is a far more familiar theme in Italian cinema....

  John Sturges's "The Great Escape" Considered an American classic, John Sturges's 1963 film " The Great Escape " has heavy commercial appeal. Pulling the layers underneath will not satisfy anyone searching for human depth, especially given the film's context. However, if one throws out the need for dimensionality or depth and simply views this as the commercial vehicle it is, it does its job adequately. The film centers on a group of Allied POWs attempting to escape the confines of a new camp in Germany. With almost 3 hours of runtime, we spend most of it with the POWs in the camp - getting to know them so that we have an emotional attachment to them by the time their dangerous escape comes. The last 45 minutes or so is their planned escape, told in exhilarating and suspenseful fashion. Despite spending ample time with these fellows, I found it hard to connect to them. They are not fully fleshed out characters and seem to only be character traits in hum...

  Louis Malle's "The Fire Within" The first thing I noticed while watching Louis Malle's 1963 film " The Fire Within " was it's lack of music or soundtrack. Aesthetic choice perhaps. After all, Malle is an engineer of the Nouvelle Vague movement. It's safe to assume that some creative liberties were to be used. However, " The Fire Within " was far from the typical style that Nouvelle Vague had become known for. The film centers on Alain, a rehabilitating alcoholic who vows to kill himself by the end of the week. He is separated from his wife, Dorothy, who is living in New York, while he rehabilitates in a clinic. After leaving the clinic, he meets up with various former friends and associates. None of them are able to convince him that life is worth living, however. To entrench our character's story with the malaise of his own emptiness, Malle really makes the atmosphere as dry as possible. The story plods along without any kinetic ener...

  Kon Ichikawa's "An Actor's Revenge" Based on the 1934 novel by Otokichi Mikami, the 1963 film " An Actor's Revenge"  centers on a Kabuki actor in late Edo Japan who seeks revenge on those responsible for his parent's death. The novel had been adapted to the screen numerous times before, the first time by Teinosuke Kinugasa in 1935. Coincidentally, the lead role in both the 1935 version and the 1963 version were both played by Kazuo Hasegawa.  The basic story elements work well and are structured in a dramatic and engaging way. However, there is a bit of excess to the film that makes it feel somewhat bloated. A more stripped down version could have sufficed. However, one positive aspects from this perceived bloat is that the climatic final reckoning feels more weighted.  Overall, I liked the film. However, there was some aspect of it that was missing for me. I'm unsure of what that is, but it felt incomplete as a dramatic piece.

  Robert Wise's "The Haunting" Adapted from the 1959 novel " The Haunting of Hill House " by Shirley Jackson, the 1963 Robert Wise directed " The Haunting " centers on a group of paranormal investigators who spend the week at a haunted house. Although the film is meant as a horror film, it leans more into the branches of the psychological horror than tactile horror. That being said, the film remains a classic of the genre. I, however, was very uninspired by the film. Firstly, whether it was the original Jackson novel that is to blame for this or the screenwriter, but I believe that much of the film doesn't quite make sense tonally. Plot-wise and structurally, it couldn't be more coherently simple. However, the insufferability of the protagonist renders all other plot points unfeasible. I simply could not get past the protagonist's lack of psychological coherence and the lack of logic in the remaining relationships they build throughout the ...

  Stanley Kramer's "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" The very first thing I noticed about the 1963 comedy " It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World " wasn't its expansive and explosive cast. Rather, it was the impeccable crispness of its color formatting and its incredible use of widescreen. This feat wasn't too shocking, given its director, Stanley Kramer, was more attuned to social dramas and not comedies.  The film has an enormous cast, with innumerable comedic icons appearing. It centers on a group of strangers who are in a desperate hurry to acquire a mysterious briefcase of cash after the death of its owner. During their race to get there first, they encounter many comedic and slapstick situations. Despite Kramer wanting the film to be over 3 hours in length, the 2 1/2 hour version I watched was still a tad too long for my taste. It would've been more suitable if the comedy was a tad stronger. I'm not saying the film wasn't funny. I jus...