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VICEROYS HOUSE (Dir: Gurinder Chadha, 2017).
VICEROY’S HOUSE (Dir: Gurinder Chadha, 2017).
Viceroy’s House is a fact based drama detailing the events surrounding the Partition of India from British born Indian director Gurinder Chadha.
Set in 1947 Delhi during the dissolution of the British Raj. As the last Viceroy of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville) is to oversee the transition from British rule to Independence. India is a country divided, between those who wish the independent nation to remain intact and those who wish to establish the separate Muslim country Pakistan. Against this backdrop is the Romeo and Juliet-esq tale of Jeet (Manish Dayal) and Alia (Huma Qureshi) whose love is thwarted as he is Hindu and she is Muslim.
The Partition of India was a bloody mess at the hands of the UK government. As the film's postscript informs us "14 million people were displaced and one million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs died". It is a dark episode in 20th Century British history rarely spoken of in the UK. For this reason, Viceroy's House is a difficult film to criticise, as it relays such an important story. Perhaps it can only be faulted for not depicting how truly horrific it was.
Hugh Bonneville is very effective as the beleaguered Mountbatten faced with the thankless and controversial task of dividing India. He is surrounded by a quality supporting cast of acting legends including Gillian Anderson, Michael Gambon, Om Puri and Simon Callow. As the star-crossed young lovers Manish Dayal and Huma Qureshi are both touching and appealing.
Director Gurinder Chadha is a talented filmmaker. Her feature is incredibly moving and made more powerful by the knowledge that it draws upon Chadha's own family history; her grandparents were among those displaced and her aunt starved to death on the migration.
It could be argued that Chadra's gentle approach to Partition does make a challenging subject more accessible for audiences. The fact that it addresses an issue largely untold in film is significant, however more palatable that issue has been made. The powerful tale may provide uncomfortable viewing for many, but do not let that dissuade you from watching this ultimately very moving film.
Check out my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of Viceroy’s House. Link below.
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ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS (Dir: Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton S Luske & Clyde Geronimi, 1961).
Walt Disney's classic animated feature based upon Dodie Smith's novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians tells the story of dalmatians Pongo (Rod Taylor) and Perdita (Cate Bauer), whose 15 puppies are stolen by the evil Cruella de Vil (Betty Lou Gerson). With the help of cohorts Horace and Jasper, Cruella intends to turn these and 84 additional pups into spotty dog skin coats. Utilising the ingenious Twilight Bark dog social network, Pongo and Perdita track their offspring to Cruella's abandoned Hell Hall country estate and embark on a daring rescue.
With it's impressionist background art and loose, stylistic approach to character design ...Dalmatians was Disney's most stylish and contemporary animation to date. Nearly sixty years after release it's highly graphic Mid-century modern stylings are as fresh and appealing as ever. In fact it's difficult to recall any other animated feature with such a dramatic and arresting visual style. In particular, praise must be given to beautiful rendering of early 1960s London; effortlessly capturing the spirit and atmosphere of the city and it's surrounding countryside.
Matching the impressive visuals is an exceptionally well realised screenplay by Bill Peet. One Hundred and One Dalmatians is an expertly crafted thriller, tightly plotted and exciting while remaining lighthearted and extremely witty. It is populated by a fantastic cast of characters, not least Cruella de Vil, possibly the greatest of all Disney villains. Clean-cut canine leads Pongo and Perdita are both heroic and charming and audiences will have no trouble identifying with the parental pooches on their daring quest to rescue the stolen pups.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians easily ranks among the greatest of Walt Disney's many significant achievements. Its beautiful visuals, flawless storytelling, top notch vocal work and fantastic music combine to make ...Dalmatians a masterpiece of movie making.
Check out my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of One Hundred and One Dalmatians! Link below.
KING KONG (Dir: Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933).
RKO Radio Pictures’ modern day Beauty and the Beast is the daddy of all monster movies; chronicling the tale of the Eighth Wonder of the World, King Kong.
Maverick filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) and actress Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) travel to the exotic Skull Island to shoot Denham's latest movie, there encountering the 20 foot tall ape King Kong. Kong falls for Darrow and is used by Denham as bait for the primate's capture. They return to New York with the intention of parading the mammoth beast before a paying public. The plan fails when Kong goes ape, resulting in a climax both thrilling and surprisingly touching and featuring one of the greatest last lines of any movie.
With a cast relatively unknown to modern audiences the real star of the picture is, of course, the gorilla. We are roughly halfway through the movie before we meet Kong. He is mesmerising. Provoking terror and eliciting sympathy from the audience, Kong is completely believable as a living, breathing creature. The animated ape has more personality than most leading men!
Willis O’Brien’s stop motion special effects are astonishing. King Kong is full of breathtaking special effects set pieces which must have seemed miraculous in 1933. Of course the effects do not look as slick as modern day computer graphics but they do have a tactile quality missing from CGI. They are certainly more impressive than the man in the monkey suit of some later Kong movies.
Kong would inspire countless imitations and spawn sequels, remakes and reboots including the forthcoming Godzilla vs Kong (Adam Wingard, 2020). While, admittedly, many of the Kong spin-offs have had their merits, the original has never really been equalled.
A truly astounding piece of filmmaking, King Kong is a work of art that is rightly regarded a masterpiece.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of King Kong! Link below.
TOUCH AND GO (Dir: Michael Truman, 1955).
Jack Hawkins makes a rare foray into comedy in this lightweight, late period effort from the Ealing Studios.
Following a disagreement with his boss, furniture designer Jim Fletcher (Hawkins) makes the snap decision to emigrate to Australia. Less than enthusiastic are his wife Helen (Margaret Johnston) and teenage daughter Peggy (June Thorburn) with concerns for the family cat and Peggy's new sweetheart.
Aside from the excellent The League of Gentlemen (Basil Dearden, 1960), comedy was not really Jack Hawkins’ forte. Although an otherwise fine dramatic actor, he often seemed a little uncomfortable in domestic situations and was at his best as stoic men of action. Oddly, Hawkins was far more convincing as a naval officer or a pilot than he ever was as husband or father and his performance here is rather broad and lacking in subtlety. In fairness, he is given little to work with in a role which involves little more than expressing exasperation at his wife and daughter.
Scenarist William Rose was an accomplished comedy writer; responsible for Ealing classics such as The Maggie (Alexander Mackendrick, 1954) and The Ladykillers (Alexander Mackendrick, 1955) and later co-scripting Hollywood epic It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Stanley Kramer,1955). So it is all the more surprising that Touch and Go doesn’t quite deliver the goods. Its attempts at humour are somewhat laboured and never raise the hoped for big laughs in a plot which offers no surprises; the denouncement can be guessed within the first 10 minutes. Which is not to suggest the movie is without merit. It ambles along nicely enough and certainly provides some mild chuckles. The muted colour palette is attractive and the atmosphere is cosily nostalgic.
Viewed today Touch and Go is a quaintly dated period piece. It does not rank among the greatest of Ealing Studios movies but neither is it a complete failure. Ultimately, it is just a little undistinguished and lacks the bite of other Ealing comedies. Still, it is a pleasant enough time waster that will certainly be of interest to Ealing completists.
100+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (Dir: Charles Crichton, 1951).
A classic comedy from the golden age of the Ealing Studios.
Mild mannered bank clerk 'Dutch Holland' (Alec Guinness) concocts a daring gold bullion robbery. Engaging the help of souvenir maker Al Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway) they execute the crime and disguise the gold in the form of miniature Eiffel Towers. However, things do not go to plan when a casement of the souvenirs is accidentally opened and sold to group of British schoolgirls.
Released the same year as The Man in the White Suit (Alexander Mackendrick), The Lavender Hill Mob is less satirical, but equally humorous as it gleefully sends up Ealing’s own popular crime dramas such as The Blue Lamp (Basil Dearden, 1951) and Pool of London (Basil Dearden, 1951). Director Charles Crichton effortlessly apes the quasi-documentary realist approach of those movies. The heist itself is as thrilling as it is humorous and makes excellent use of its real life London backstreets and warehouse locales. Crichton also manages to out Hitchcock Hitchcock with a vertigo inducing sequence which sees Guinness and Holloway make a dizzying descent down the steps of the Eiffel Tower. Significantly for a British film of the era, it was rewarded by the American Academy, winning the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for TEB Clarke’s excellent script.
As the criminal mastermind with the meek exterior, Guinness delivers another excellent performance; eliciting audience sympathy for a character which could have easily evoked apathy. Stanley Holloway is equally effective in the less showy role of co-conspirator. They make for a winning comedy team here, ably supported by Sidney James and Alfie Bass as fellow Mob members.
The Lavender Hill Mob made more impact internationally than any other Ealing film. Its theme of longing to escape from day to day drudgery is clearly a universal one. Like the best of the Ealing comedies it has hardly dated, despite its obvious post-War trappings.
Excelling in all areas: writing, directing and acting, The Lavender Hill Mob is another Ealing masterpiece.
Check out my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of The Lavender Hill Mob! Link below.
THE LADYKILLERS (Dir: Alexander Mackendrick, 1955).
Alec Guinness heads an ensemble cast in the last great Ealing comedy.
Seemingly mild mannered Professor Marcus (Guinness) leads a gang of oddball criminals, masquerading as classical musicians, in the planning and execution of a daring bank van raid. When their elderly landlady Mrs Wilberforce learns of the wrongdoings they all agree she must be silenced. However, Mrs Wilberforce is not as easy to do away with and their perfect crime begins to go awry.
Disguised with an oversized set of false teeth, Alec Guinness is excellent in his role as the cardigan wearing criminal. An outstanding ensemble cast makes up the rest of the gang. Cecil Parker as a corrupt retired army major, Herbert Lom as a Soho gangster, a subdued Peter Sellers as a cockney spiv and Danny Green as a dim-witted heavy; all give superlative performances. Upstaging them all, however, is the marvellous Katie Johnson as the seemingly frail Mrs Wilberforce who outsmarts the robbers.
One of a handful of Ealing productions shot in Technicolor, cinematographer Otto Heller's beautiful muted colour palette lends it an oddly surreal, atmosphere. This is complemented by Jim Morahan's excellent art direction; the wonderful tumbledown Victorian house in which much of the movie is set adding to the general off kilter ambience.
Director Alexander Mackendrick fashioned a deliriously dark comedy of the highest order; the only film blacker in the Ealing canon is Kind Hearts and Coronets. He elicits career best performances from his distinguished cast in what is among his greatest films.
William Rose's screenplay balances the light and dark with tightrope precision; neatly offsetting the contrasting worlds of ruthless criminals and twee little old ladies. Some broad farce involving an escaped parrot should sit uneasily with the otherwise subtle humour but, amazingly, the whole thing gels perfectly.
The Ladykillers is a masterpiece among comedy movies. Its mix of humour and thrills is irresistible and as an ambassador for the Ealing legacy it cannot be bettered.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of The Ladykillers. Link below.
