"i have not yet begun to fight!"
JOHN PAUL JONES (1959)
This is a rarely seen film, and a Great one.
Directed by Mia Farrow's father, this is a fairly lavish production. Historically, it's fairly accurate too.
You got George Washington, John Hancock, Ben Franklin and Bette Davis as Catherine the great.
I was eagerly anticipating seeing this, and I wasn't disappointed. Robert Stack plays Jones, a stern & stoic Naval Commander
who's responsible for giving the USA flag respect from Europe.
I WAS a little surprised to NOT see the Serapis, the flag that I thought was the ORIGINAL U.S. flag...Instead, we got the 13-starred banner
that looks like the current U.S. flag. The sequence of battle with the sinking of the bon Homme Richard was great.
I loved the costumes, and couldn't help but be reminded of Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, a similar period epic.
This needs a re-mastered proper DVD release PRONTO.
"No one loves poetry like a Russian..."
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
Omar Sharif is Dr. Yuri Zhivago, a physician and poet caught up in love and the October Revolution in Russia.
David Lean directs this epic, with gorgeous cinematography despite the dour/heavy story.
Rod Steiger and Alec Guinness provide stellar support, with Julie Christie playing Lara, his forbidden love.
Yuri goes through hell, while simply trying to live.
This is a long movie (over 3 hours with an intermission) so give yourself time to take it all in.
I loved seeing Klaus Kinski in an early role, "the only free man on this train..."
I also loved the lilting balalaika music, which you hear throughout the picture.
A must-see.
It's David Lean, Mang!!
The "Fury" of Mob Rule...
FURY (1936)
Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film.
Spencer Tracy is Joseph "Joe" Wilson, a man in love with Katherine Grant (Sylvia Sidney).
They don't have enough money to get married, so they work apart from each other in different cities to build their capital.
Joe has the misfortune of being picked up on suspicion of a kidnapping & murder rap.
Gossip of his guilt hits town, and he's burned alive in the jail by the lynch-minded townsfolk.
But he escaped at the last minute, and the "fury" is now all his...
You feel the injustice here, feel for Joe, and his dead dog Rainbow.
Joe plots revenge, and he's bitter.
His whole good life was knocked off track, by a murderous lynch mob.
Joe monitors his murder trial by radio, which has State exhibit "A" being a newsreel film that identifies perps.
Joe to Katherine: "I'm hangin' 22 rats for what they DID do!! They'll see what it's like being lynched!!"
Did he lose his morality for seeking revenge?
Excellent first American film from Fritz Lang.