Noises Off...
Peter Bogdanovich
1992
I'd been resisting Noises Off... for years, simply because I'm persnickety when it comes to comedies, and there is really no movie in the world worse than a bad comedy.
Well, I liked this one a lot. Though basically plotless, it tracks the journey of the play Nothing On from the final dress rehearsal to its opening day on Broadway. The frazzled director, Lloyd Fellowes (Michael Caine), has no faith in his cast, whose members require constant coddling and reassurance. Behind the scenes in-fighting, the result of petty jealousy, misunderstandings, and simple acts of mischief, threatens to sink the play almost nightly. The able and talented cast, featuring Carol Burnett, John Ritter, Christopher Reeve, Marilu Henner, Denholm Elliott, and Nicollette Sheridan (who spends half her time in her underwear - can't be bad) are more than capable of executing the highly choreographed physical comedy that makes up most of the running time. Lots of fun.
(Thanks to Melanie, who brought it over for us to watch.)
Showing posts with label Movie Log. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movie Log. Show all posts
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Movie Log: Who Can Kill a Child?
Who Can Kill a Child?
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador
1976
This one comes with a high reputation, and boy, does it live up to it. Who Can Kill a Child? bears a strong similarity to Stephen King's short story, "Children of the Corn." Or maybe it would more accurate to say that King's story bears a strong resemblance to this movie, since "Corn's" first appearance was in 1977 in Penthouse, a year after this movie's release (at least in Spain).
Regardless, apart from the set-up and general plot progression, Child? also boasts a very King-ish supernatural conceit; that of evil in the world manifesting itself in a localized, uncanny incarnation. Here, the location is an isolated island off the coast of Spain. Vacationers Tom (Lewis Fiander) and pregnant wife Evelyn (Prunella Ransome) arrive to find a village nearly abandoned of townsfolk, all except for groups of untalkative yet playful children whose pretty faces and gleeful smiles harbor a sinister agenda.
The movie begins with a long documentary-like section, and uses actual newsreel footage spotlighting atrocities during the Holocaust, the civil war between India and Pakistan, and the Korean War and Vietnam, focusing on the suffering of the children caught in the violence. This is a pretty brazen way to start off what is ostensibly a mere horror/thriller, but to the credit of the writers and director, it sets up the film's theme perfectly.
Most of the violence occurs off-screen, but the movie is no less disturbing for it. In fact, the most unnerving moments come about in the aftermath of the violence. The plot ratchets up the suspense slowly and deliberately, and progresses with an absolute sense of logic. (I will say that Tom and Evelyn really should have decided to get off the island much sooner than they do, but, remember, characters in horror movies don't realize that they're in horror movies, and don't understand danger they're in the way audience does even before the title credits roll. In any case, the movie rewards the willing suspension of disbelief.)
I think if Who Can Kill a Child? had been a North American or British movie, it would be considered a classic on par with Village of the Damned. That's no small praise.
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador
1976
This one comes with a high reputation, and boy, does it live up to it. Who Can Kill a Child? bears a strong similarity to Stephen King's short story, "Children of the Corn." Or maybe it would more accurate to say that King's story bears a strong resemblance to this movie, since "Corn's" first appearance was in 1977 in Penthouse, a year after this movie's release (at least in Spain).
Regardless, apart from the set-up and general plot progression, Child? also boasts a very King-ish supernatural conceit; that of evil in the world manifesting itself in a localized, uncanny incarnation. Here, the location is an isolated island off the coast of Spain. Vacationers Tom (Lewis Fiander) and pregnant wife Evelyn (Prunella Ransome) arrive to find a village nearly abandoned of townsfolk, all except for groups of untalkative yet playful children whose pretty faces and gleeful smiles harbor a sinister agenda.
The movie begins with a long documentary-like section, and uses actual newsreel footage spotlighting atrocities during the Holocaust, the civil war between India and Pakistan, and the Korean War and Vietnam, focusing on the suffering of the children caught in the violence. This is a pretty brazen way to start off what is ostensibly a mere horror/thriller, but to the credit of the writers and director, it sets up the film's theme perfectly.
Most of the violence occurs off-screen, but the movie is no less disturbing for it. In fact, the most unnerving moments come about in the aftermath of the violence. The plot ratchets up the suspense slowly and deliberately, and progresses with an absolute sense of logic. (I will say that Tom and Evelyn really should have decided to get off the island much sooner than they do, but, remember, characters in horror movies don't realize that they're in horror movies, and don't understand danger they're in the way audience does even before the title credits roll. In any case, the movie rewards the willing suspension of disbelief.)
I think if Who Can Kill a Child? had been a North American or British movie, it would be considered a classic on par with Village of the Damned. That's no small praise.
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