Tuesday, August 07, 2012
In all my hectic days before heading home for a week's holiday I didn't get a couple of classic reviews up. So tonight you're welcome to read my brief thoughts on some of the best from Spike Lee and Alfred Hitchcock. Share if you enjoy :D
Do
The Right Thing (1989)
A Spike Lee Joint (as the
director’s films are known) that hits at the heart of suburban racism, it was
perhaps the biggest impact Lee has made on modern cinema in his years of
directing. His portrayal of the issues surrounding multiple ethnicities
attempting to live in the one community is a disturbing picture, arising from
the simplest of requests.
The story moves through an intensely hot summer’s day in
the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Lee’s a Brooklyn man
and is known for exploring African-American themes in the areas best known to
him.
Mookie (Lee) works at Sal’s Famous
Pizzeria as a delivery boy where he gets through the day by taking his time on
the job to visit friends and his Hispanic partner Tina (Rosie Perez). With that
and some drama with Mookie’s friend Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito), Sal (Danny
Aiello) and sons Pino (John Turturro) and Vito (Richard Edson) become the
unwarranted centre of attention.
It’s often the little things that
tip us over the edge and what arises out of a seemingly baseless argument turns
nasty. Then there’s the twist that still manages to shock and sadden you as it
did to audiences more than 20 years ago, not holding back as the free-for-all
reveals simmering tensions. There’s a lot of derogatory language as the two
hours creep along, but this is a film that, pardon the pun, packs an almighty
punch. Or swing of the baseball bat.
***
The Birds (1963)
Alfred Hitchcock was a fan of novelist Daphne du Maurier’s work, adapting a number of her stories as part of his works. He was also a fan of Tippi Hedren, the newcomer actress in her breakthrough role. She was forever typified by playing Melanie Daniels in a story that still leaves much to be answered, and was supposedly hindered in her later work efforts by the man who directed her here.
Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) notices Melanie (Hedren) in a pet store, having previously seen her around San Francisco’s courthouse. After their encounter, Melanie is curious enough to follow him to nearby Bodega Bay where a strange natural occurrence sees different bird flocks carry out numerous attacks on the sleepy town.
Why the birds wreak havoc on the community is never answered, and the idea of Melanie going to such efforts to reunite herself with the mysterious Mitch is just as unsettling. The great thing about Hitchcock, and du Maurier’s stories, is that they integrate subtle hints that only might be the key to an answer.
The murder of crows perched on the playground is the film’s most memorable and dread-filled scene, a perfect calm before the storm. It’s one of Hitchcock’s most memorable scenes overall, and the film should have you afraid of the things for some time. Hedren is good in the central role and would rise again in Marnie the next year.
***
The Birds (1963)
Alfred Hitchcock was a fan of novelist Daphne du Maurier’s work, adapting a number of her stories as part of his works. He was also a fan of Tippi Hedren, the newcomer actress in her breakthrough role. She was forever typified by playing Melanie Daniels in a story that still leaves much to be answered, and was supposedly hindered in her later work efforts by the man who directed her here.
Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) notices Melanie (Hedren) in a pet store, having previously seen her around San Francisco’s courthouse. After their encounter, Melanie is curious enough to follow him to nearby Bodega Bay where a strange natural occurrence sees different bird flocks carry out numerous attacks on the sleepy town.
Why the birds wreak havoc on the community is never answered, and the idea of Melanie going to such efforts to reunite herself with the mysterious Mitch is just as unsettling. The great thing about Hitchcock, and du Maurier’s stories, is that they integrate subtle hints that only might be the key to an answer.
The murder of crows perched on the playground is the film’s most memorable and dread-filled scene, a perfect calm before the storm. It’s one of Hitchcock’s most memorable scenes overall, and the film should have you afraid of the things for some time. Hedren is good in the central role and would rise again in Marnie the next year.
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