Tag Archives: 1950’s

#169- The Day the Earth Stood Still

Quick recap: An alien lands his ship in the middle of Washington DC to declare that his planet is SO done with your shit, Earth. Get it together, you guys.

Klaatu is judging you and your primitive medicines. Typical Earthling, amiright?

Klaatu is judging you and your primitive medicines. Typical Earthling, amiright?

Fun (?) fact: According to IMDb, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a Christian allegory. It makes sense when you think about it: man comes to Earth preaching peace, gets wounded, resurrects, has super cool killing robot. It all fits! Even the name Klaatu adopts, Carpenter, has religious connotations. Director Robert Wise hadn’t considered any of this which makes me wonder if it is possible to do an accidental allegory. 

So, is Gort Moses? I'm a little rusty on my Bible stories but I seem to remember Moses killing everyone with his LASER stare.

So, is Gort Moses? I’m a little rusty on my Bible stories but I seem to remember Moses killing everyone with his LASER stare.

My thoughts: I’m not a fan of Sci-fi generally, but I make an exception when watching movies from the 1950s. I love how there’s a fine line between a movie becoming a classic, like this one, or fodder for Mystery Science Theater 3000. I see why it is such an important film and yet, it’s almost impossible for me not to imagine Tom Servo, Mike and Crooooooow sitting at the bottom of my screen, taking turns with their witty one-liners. It is both a blessing and a curse to live life like this, let me tell you.

0422Overall, I generally enjoyed the movie. The special effects were impressive and also a little bit cheesy. Gort was my favorite part of the film because his two roles were either KILLING ALL HUMANKIND or cradling Klaatu like a baby in his arms. I think we would be more likely to embrace our robot overlords if they also had a cradling function like Gort did.

As much as I enjoy a good symbolic film, I felt like parts of The Day the Earth Stood Still were a bit heavy handed. Peace for all mankind? I can dig it, but not when you go all preachy on me. Klaatu annoyed me from the very beginning, when he was shot and retorted that he was just giving us a tool to study life on other planets, but we ruined it and this is why we can’t have nice things. He then allows the military to take him to Walter Reed hospital but doesn’t really even need doctors because he has his own fancy salve. I also appreciated the irony that Klaatu refused to speak to the President of the United States about his mission because he wanted to talk to all nations at once so as not to take sides. And yet, he has landed his ship in the middle of Washington DC! We all know we are your favorite, buddy, don’t deny it.

At the end of the film, Klaatu basically says that the only thing that keeps his planet from fighting are these death robots, like Gort. It’s almost like some sort of war…..but no fighting, so it’s cold. It’s like a cold war. Get it? It’s not a bad idea, to have a self-destruct button built into your own planet, but we kind of did that with the nuclear bomb and that didn’t get us very far.

Final review: 4/5, but I’m being generous, I think. I didn’t love it as much as I expected to, but I can certainly appreciate a classic when I see one.

Up next: Blue Velvet

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#164- Tokyo Story

Quick recap: An older couple visit their adult children in Tokyo, only to find out they have raised selfish jerks who only care about themselves.

Fun (?) fact: Director Yasujirô Ozu never married and lived with his mother his whole life which comes as no surprise, given the context of the movie. 

My thoughts: I was NOT prepared for this movie. Like, at all, in any way prepared. I didn’t think I would need to, because it seemed like a run of the mill boring film and I already imagined the snarky responses I would write after it was all over. Two hours later, as the final scene fades and the credits come on, I’m a sobbing mess trying desperately to lure the cats over to comfort me in my time of need. They weren’t having it, by the way. My sudden sadness and crying startled them out of their sleep only moments earlier and I imagine this is a grudge they will be carrying for awhile.  

The film’s surface level blandness is what drew me in initially. There is never anything explosive that happens in the film or anything remotely scandalous. When I first read the synopsis for the movie I imagined it was the sort of thing mothers took their children to, in order to guilt them for not visiting more. It’s this blandness that makes the film so moving, though. I knew from the very beginning that the mother was going to die and yet it was still a shock when it happened and something I took as a personal loss because I had just seen her life for two hours. She was not a perfect person and not even spectacular, but an ordinary woman, just trying to visit her family one last time. Her absence at the end of the film is a void that I have never experienced in any other movie up until this point.

The never ending sweetness of the couple was a little much at times, but I don’t know if that was the director’s intent or if it was a mirror of the culture. The adult children did seem especially selfish, but not in a sinister way. At one point, they decide to send their parents to a resort bath because they can’t be bothered taking them around them city. It was a jerk move, but in their defense they had very busy jobs that would have been difficult to get away from. There are hints that the family has had its own share of trouble- one son was killed in the war and seemed like an ass before he died. His widow is the one that shows the most kindness, offering to take the couple around and letting the mother sleep in her house when they had nowhere else to stay. The father was also apparently a heavy drinker when he was younger which might explain some of the coldness his children feel towards him but still doesn’t really excuse their actions.

I could go on and on about this movie and what I learned, but it’s really something somebody has to experience for themselves. I wouldn’t even say that the biggest commentary is about parent relationships but instead about death itself and its finality.

tokyo-story

Final review: 5/5

Up next: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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#130- The Burmese Harp

Quick recap: Set during World War II, this movie follows a group of Japanese soldiers who have just crossed over into Burma, the main character being a guy who plays a Burmese harp. After being told the war is over, the Burmese Harp guy goes on a mission to find another group of soldiers to ask them to surrender instead of fighting to their death. The soldiers refuse and are all killed. Burmese harp guy is supposed to go back to his group who are currently in an internment camp but instead decides he would be more useful in other places.

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Fun (?) fact: Godzilla’s requiem theme from the 1954 movie ‘Gojira’ can be heard during several parts of this film. Because nothing goes better together than a story of a Buddhist monk and Godzilla.

My thoughts: The Burmese Harp is a war movie in the sense that it is set during World War II and the characters are all soldiers. Thankfully, and I say that solely because I have had more than my share of war movies lately, the theme is less war centered and revolves instead around pacifist themes. Yay for not having to sit through confusing battle scenes and lots of blood and guts. Everything is coming up Mary!

The downside of making this sort of movie is that pacifism is sort of dull. The Burmese Harp is a beautiful film, don’t get me wrong, but ‘beautiful’ can only keep my attention for so long. The whole thing reminded me of reading Siddhartha when I was in high school. It too is a beautiful book about a man’s journey to spiritual fulfillment, but just know that if you choose to read it, don’t expect there to be much,if any, action. The only real action this movie has is when all of the Japanese soldiers are killed when they refuse to surrender. Even then you never really see a fight, just the aftermath. Also, that scene happens during the first half hour of the film while the next hour and a half is filled with a lot of walking and singing. Lots of walking and singing.

One thing I did enjoy about this film is watching Mizushima, the Burmese Harp guy, realize his calling. After being injured, he begins to make his way back to the internment camp to join his squad. On the way, he steals a Buddhist robe and also begins to take on the role of a monk. His journey takes him all the way across Burma where he sees bodies strewn about. He begins to bury and burn the bodies, hoping to give them a little bit of dignity in the end. I’m sure it must have been a very difficult decision to stay in a foreign land, adopt a new lifestyle and never see your friends again. But that’s sort of the point of being a monk, to put others before yourself.

I feel a little guilty for not being as in to this movie as I would’ve liked to be. It seems right up my alley, especially since I find myself identifying more with the pacifism side than the war side. But it just didn’t do much for me. I feel like this movie was made more for the Japanese people than me as an American. There was plenty to identify with and learn from, but in the end I felt like it would be more powerful for those who have lived through the horror directly.

Final review: 2/5. Not my cup of tea but a beautiful film, nonetheless.

Up next: HORRORFEST 2014

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127- Singin’ In the Rain

Quick recap: A group of actors and their movie studio go through a tough transition from silent films to ‘talkies’.

also lots of hijinks. Trust me on the ridiculous level of hijinks

also lots of hijinks. Trust me on the ridiculous level of hijinks

Fun (?) fact: These crazy kids just gotta dance: Fred O’Connor was in bed for a week following his ‘Make ‘Em Laugh’ number, Gene Kelly performed a few numbers with a fever, and Debbie Reynolds was just a hot mess. Kelly criticized her constantly, making her cry on several occasions. I couldn’t confirm this but apparently Fred Astaire saw her crying one day and helped her with the dancing.

Reynolds should have tried tappa-tappa-tappa

Reynolds should have tried tappa-tappa-tappa

My thoughts: ‘I just love Gene Kelly so much,’ an older woman sitting next to me at the Alamo Drafthouse sobbed to no one in particular. I had gotten to the theater half an hour early so that I could watch the related clips the Drafthouse likes to show before each movie. It’s one of my favorite experiences at this particular theater and it always helps get into the right frame of mind before watching something new. Going early to the theater also gives me a chance to scan the crowd and try to sum up the core audience. Tonight there was a healthy mix of older people and young children. And this sobbing woman. She glanced over at me, hopeful perhaps for a sympathizer, but I was not the right person for that. I have never seen anything with Gene Kelly and after the disaster that was High Society, have not been the most keen to watch a 1950s musical. As with most movies of this caliber I was interested to see what the big deal was and especially why this woman would be so moved to tears.

Almost immediately, I could tell this was the movie for me. The humor was authentic and I found myself laughing out loud at many scenes (especially the scene during the ‘Dueling Cavalier’ when the audio messes up and Lina Lamont sounds like a man). And of course the dancing. Oh my god, the dancing. I could watch Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor for hours. Is it too late to take up tap lessons? I, like most people, have seen the iconic ‘singing in the rain’ scene before and wondered what the fuss was about. It didn’t seem too difficult to pull off, but then again that’s why I am reviewing movies and not out at some studio practicing my plié. I see now how talented Kelly was (as well as O’Connor) and how much of their life was dedicated to this perfection. I quickly snuck a look at the sobbing woman, who was now literally sitting on the edge of her seat and silently mouthing the words to the musical number currently on the screen. It dawned on me that maybe this wasn’t some sort of schoolgirl crush but instead a pure admiration for dance. I could feel it a little now, also.

I didn’t fall in love with the music as much as the dancing and acting. The songs were catchy enough. In fact, I added ‘Singing in the Rain’ to my classroom playlist, although I don’t think my 3rd graders got as big a kick out of it as I did. But there was also a cheesy level that I couldn’t quite get past. Case in point, ‘Moses’. The song is a silly one, almost too silly for me to enjoy. ‘Good Morning’ I love for Debbie Reynold’s voice (if that was even her), but once again not very complex lyrically.

The movie ended and I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more to watch. In the short hour and a half, I had become addicted to the constant motion and color. I dreaded leaving the theater, back to reality. Singin’ in the Rain is a perfect escape in many ways and as evidenced by the audience that night, means something very special to many people. I too was caught up in at all. I looked over at the sobbing woman, curious to see if she had the same disappointment as I did. She smiled at me serenely and walked down the aisle out the door.

Singin_In_The_Rain_1118339c

Final Review: 5/5.

Up next: Hearts of Darkness

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