Following a failed suicide attempt, Mia Farrow is holed away at her family's
country home in Vermont. As the film begins she has been there for a few
months and summer is drawing to a close. She longs to return to NYC and
restart her life...her life with an aspiring writer (Sam Waterson) who has been
renting the guest house. Early in the summer they had drawn close and even
made love, but now Sam is more interested in Mia's married visiting friend
Dianne Wiest. Added to this triangle is a neighbor, Denholm Elliott, who
is in love with Mia. And added on to that is Mia's mother and
stepfather (Elaine Stritch and Jack Warden) dropping by for a visit. Mia
has a very strained relationship with her mother.
SEPTEMBER is not a happy film. Anybody looking to see a funny Woody Allen
movie will be disappointed in that respect, but they will be treated to a
wonderfully written story filled with very flawed and very human
characters. And with only six principal characters and one-hundred percent
of the events happening within the confines of the house, SEPTEMBER is
structured like a play. It's not often that you see a film made this way
and I thought it was wonderful. The most impressive thing about SEPTEMBER
though is Mia Farrow's performance. Absolutely heartbreaking.
Overall, it's not as impressive as
INTERIORS, but I think INTERIORS was going more for the Bergman vibe while SEPTEMBER was
going for the Chekhov vibe. Either way it's triumph of filmmaking.
Highly recommended.
Showing posts with label Jack Warden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack Warden. Show all posts
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Saturday, April 5, 2014
THE FROGMEN (1951)
The "prima donnas" of Underwater Demolition Team #4 have a new commander
(Richard Widmark) and they're all butthurt over it because their last commander
was a real man and this guy's just a turkey! They hate his guts.
Behind his back they even call him Richard "Skidmark" Widmark. Alright,
that didn't really happen, but when, during a mission to scout a beach's
underwater obstacles before an invasion, he makes a decision that they see as
cowardly, they really get their panties in a bunch. Moral is low, but
Widmark is so focused on the mission he doesn't have time to pamper his
men. Things only get worse when on the next mission a guy is shot doing
something stupid. Will Widmark be able to earn the respect of his men or
will their petty squabbles cause all of the men to transfer?
THE FROGMEN was fun film. I love the standard WWII movie, they're usually about airmen, armored cavalry or grunts, but seeing one about an underwater demolition unit is pretty unique. Honestly, I can't even think of another one off the top of my head. Strong (all male) cast, exciting underwater scenes, quick pace, Harvey Lembeck, Navy ships, explosions, heroism. Highly recommended for WWII Navy buffs.
If you pay close enough attention, you'll see a young Jack Warden in a brief role (the sailor who spills water on Dana Andrews shoes) and Robert Wagner in an even briefer role (all he does is stand there and say "Aye aye, sir." to Gary Merrill).
In one scene a UDT guy swims onshore and plants a sign on the beach welcoming the Marines. I'm curious if anything like this ever happened in real life?
THE FROGMEN was fun film. I love the standard WWII movie, they're usually about airmen, armored cavalry or grunts, but seeing one about an underwater demolition unit is pretty unique. Honestly, I can't even think of another one off the top of my head. Strong (all male) cast, exciting underwater scenes, quick pace, Harvey Lembeck, Navy ships, explosions, heroism. Highly recommended for WWII Navy buffs.
If you pay close enough attention, you'll see a young Jack Warden in a brief role (the sailor who spills water on Dana Andrews shoes) and Robert Wagner in an even briefer role (all he does is stand there and say "Aye aye, sir." to Gary Merrill).
In one scene a UDT guy swims onshore and plants a sign on the beach welcoming the Marines. I'm curious if anything like this ever happened in real life?
Underwater Demolition Team Team?
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