Rushed, non-sensible, confusing, out of character, Beloved character's left hanging, incomplete story lines, older character bearing little likness to younger versions.
Reviews
6 Reviews
Horrendous
29 June 2022
Plot holes galore
27 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I agree with sumtim3s00n. Too many plot holes. There had to be a way to protect the translator in a building brimming with security. Carrie was out on bond? Who get's bond with those charges and who has a proven ability to flee? Why didn't the Russian call Saul to confirm. He opened like a sieve way too easy. Why would the Russians follow through and give up the flight recorder? Fear that Yvegeny would be killed? Guess it's really easy to get out of Israel. Wouldn't Israeli intelligence have been tracking both Carrie and Yvegency the moment they entered the country?
Give the interpreter a heads up the she may be burned wayyy sooner so a decent escape plan could be formulated rather than "run".
And yes, Carrie having access to secrets through Yvegeny? He is way to smart for that.
Walk on the Wild Side
(1962)
Mediocre
20 January 2012
Walk on the Wild Side could have been a decent movie but the script is underwritten, the plot is simplistic, there is no chemistry between Laurence Harvey and Capucine and Capucine herself is incredibly bland. Her acting range is extremely limited. Harvey's character is under developed. He might as well have been a faithful cocker spaniel searching for his master. Chemistry can sometimes save a bland script. No chemistry makes a bland script stick out like a sore thumb. The wild side? a couple of quick beat downs, a gunshot, some pedestrian flirting in a bordello. There are some fleeting echoes of Paris, Texas but not enough to create any real sympathy for the characters. It's simply tough to care what happens to them.
The Running Man
(1963)
Passable but lower grade Carol Reed
5 October 2006
For those who have criticized Harvey's Aussie accent, remember, he's not playing an Aussie. His character, who I think it's safe to assume has not been schooled in proper accents, is putting on an Aussie accent. He's an amateur. Therefore it makes perfect sense that the accent would be amateurish. Whether it was a conscious choice or not, realistically, the accent should be bad. I'm an actor and when I try to put on an Aussie accent it's laughable. I could make it better if I practiced. Doubtless, Rex Black (Harvey's character)had no such practice.
The movie itself is lower grade Carol Reed. The problem is you never get to know the characters. If Harvey's character had been fleshed out, maybe his decent would be somewhat moving. Remick is lovely but also a cardboard character. Bates, later a truly great actor, seems lost or playing ambiguity merely to serve the false suspense the story creates. The settings are beautiful, the music fat too bombastic.
The movie itself is lower grade Carol Reed. The problem is you never get to know the characters. If Harvey's character had been fleshed out, maybe his decent would be somewhat moving. Remick is lovely but also a cardboard character. Bates, later a truly great actor, seems lost or playing ambiguity merely to serve the false suspense the story creates. The settings are beautiful, the music fat too bombastic.
The Manchurian Candidate
(1962)
Clearing up some misinformation
25 September 2006
First, let me say that this is my favorite film. It has flaws, which I imagine most films do after their 10th viewing or so. The film was not pulled from circulation after JFK was assassinated, it had run it's course in the theaters months earlier.
It was shown at least two times that I know of before it's re-release in 1988: on NBC in 1975 ( I have the TV guide) and in 1979 in an appreciation of film class at college of Marin. It was not re-released in theaters because until 1988, Sinatra didn't realize he dad the rights (he says this on his special feature interview on the DVD).
Harvey was chosen after Tony Curtis was considered. It was thought that Harvey's British accent (even though he's a Lithuanian Jew) could be tempered( if you've seen him in other films, his accent in TMC is definitely not as 'British' as he's capable of)and also, Lansbury, who played his mother had a slight British/New England accent. Frankenheimer also says in the commentary that since JFK had an odd accent, Harvey's would not seem that odd.
Janet Leigh's character is in keeping with her character in the book although not as fleshed out. If it were, I think most viewers would not suspect her intentions. Frankly, I never thought she was that odd. Most films of that era hooked up the main actor with the "girl" who's primary function was to be the "girl" and support the main actor.
Finally, the remake bears only faint resemblance to either the novel or the first film. It would have been far better if they had given it a different name to avoid the inevitable comparisons,
It was shown at least two times that I know of before it's re-release in 1988: on NBC in 1975 ( I have the TV guide) and in 1979 in an appreciation of film class at college of Marin. It was not re-released in theaters because until 1988, Sinatra didn't realize he dad the rights (he says this on his special feature interview on the DVD).
Harvey was chosen after Tony Curtis was considered. It was thought that Harvey's British accent (even though he's a Lithuanian Jew) could be tempered( if you've seen him in other films, his accent in TMC is definitely not as 'British' as he's capable of)and also, Lansbury, who played his mother had a slight British/New England accent. Frankenheimer also says in the commentary that since JFK had an odd accent, Harvey's would not seem that odd.
Janet Leigh's character is in keeping with her character in the book although not as fleshed out. If it were, I think most viewers would not suspect her intentions. Frankly, I never thought she was that odd. Most films of that era hooked up the main actor with the "girl" who's primary function was to be the "girl" and support the main actor.
Finally, the remake bears only faint resemblance to either the novel or the first film. It would have been far better if they had given it a different name to avoid the inevitable comparisons,
Expresso Bongo
(1959)
Laurence Harvey's performance
9 December 2005
Harvey's performance is akin to Cary Grant in His girl Friday which I term "Cary Grant unleashed" Like Grant, Harvey takes his character and far from overacting rather sets the screen on fire. As for the movie itself,it lags when Harvey is not on the screen and it needs another actress in the Dixie roll who can somehow match Harvey. Dixie drags down the last third of the film. For the legions who deem Harvey's career as a series of zombie-like performances, Bongo turns that opinion on it's ear. Cliff Richard does a good job in his first screen roll. Beware of the current DVD release. It does not have several musical numbers and this greatly mars the movie.
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