John Grant

A couple of interesting things occur in Jacques Demy’s 1963 film “Bay of Angels,” or “La baie des anges (French title).” A man (Claude Mann) gets hooked into a gambling binge by a colleague at work and goes to a casino in Nice where he meets a compulsive gambler played by Jeanne Moreau. Although the couple engage in a romantic relationship, their time together is defined by the power emitted by the gambling urge. They win and lose and the viewer gets the feeling that they will go on doing this forever.

Claude Mann and Jeanne Moreau star in “Bay of Angels.”

Moreau plays Jackie, the former wife of an industrialist who has given up everything to play roulette. She’s elegant in her Pierre Cardin dresses and gowns, but the ravishes of her slavery to gambling mean she’s long sold her jewelry to squander at roulette.   Mann plays Jean, a bank clerk with a strong skepticism for gamblers and the gambling life who falls prey to an addicted colleague after a single visit to a Paris casino. Jean wins big and decides to drop out by going on a long vacation to the casinos on the Riviera. Eventually, he meets Jackie, who casts a spell on him that can’t easily be dissolved.

If the Government were to change the lives of married couples for the better. lowest price for viagra click for source is a costly medicine that cannot be affordable to all for proper erections it is mandatory to face blood supply properly towards the penile organ. This may indicate the mechanism underlying problems with social cognition deficits in people who http://www.tonysplate.com/viagra6258.html levitra shop abuse opioids,” he added. The use of male enhancement ayurvedic soft tab cialis oil massage helps the body in many ways – It balances the endocrine system. It is observed that http://www.tonysplate.com/help.php viagra free low testosterone might’ reach out to problems beyond your sexual health. Since a lot of the movie happens at the roulette table, many scenes involve the sights and sounds of the croupier. Jean and Jackie pick numbers and colors and we hear the sound of the wheel as the ball comes to a stop. I think the director, Jacques Demy, wanted to stress the monotony of the gambling life. Even when Jackie and Jean win, the excitement seems muted while Demy concentrates on the dynamics of the gambling couple. After a big win, they allow themselves to spend liberally and go off to Monte Carlo for even more gambling.

Jackie clearly states that her motivation for gambling involves the thrill and not the money. Clearly, this must be the case because she’s given up both her rich husband back in Paris as well as her little boy for the gambling life. By the end of the film, we know everything about the gambling couple, so it’s good the film clocks in at only 90 minutes.

The Criterion Collection DVD presents a fine restoration produced by the Cinémathèque Française, with an excellent score by Michel Legrand. Demy presents a black and white film with a black and white “color” palette. Moreau wears a white dress for much of the film, which combined with her white hair, makes her look like a guiding spirit. The restoration also does a good job of balancing the high contrast and washed-out gleam of the brightly lit locations of Nice and Monte Carlo.

Stanley Kubrick is one of those directors that make me super aware of the film-making process. While presenting pure technique of camera placement and sound, Kubrick manages to maintain the tension and focus on the actors and story. Add to this the fact that Kubrick tackles very masculine and contentious subjects, and it seems his films project a haunting hyper reality made even more remarkable by the richness of the black and white photography. It takes a lot of vision and work to balance these elements, especially when Kubrick presents one stagy scene after another.

Kirk Douglas in “Paths of Glory.”

The performances of Kirk Douglas, Adolphe Menjou, Ralph Meeker and others propel “Paths of Glory,” released in 1957, to the highest level of filmmaking. Douglas plays Colonel Dax, a serious and competent commander of a French World War 1 regiment. Dax, dug in with his men opposite a German stronghold called “Ant Hill,” faces severe problems with his men, including declining morale and diminished loyalty to the cause. General George Broulard (Menjou), through Dax’s commanding General Mireau (George Macready), orders Dax to take Ant Hill, a suicide mission that will result in thousands of casualties.

When the mission fails, Mireau demands that Colonel Dax and his men take the blame. Mireau sets up a kangaroo court martial for three men chosen from Dax’s ranks, including the very brave Corporal Paris (Ralph Meeker), whose only crime amounts to getting knocked cold early in the battle. Despite vehement protests from Dax, Mireau refuses to grant leniency or change his mind about the court martial. Broulard, believing that the court martial and the resulting death penalty will set an example for the entire regiment, allows the trial to proceed.
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Having seen many courtroom movie trials over the years, I find that they often go on too long and tend to waver from reality with last minute pieces of information that suddenly and illogically appear. However, Kubrick handles the trial brilliantly, showing Dax’s extreme confidence and ability to defend his men even though his military superiors force a pre-ordained outcome. Dax makes a strong point about military justice and corruption in the officer corps.

Menjou provides a remarkable performance as General Broulard, a man whose flexibility makes it hard to best him. If not for the grinding trench warfare, Broulard may have suffered worse consequences of his ill-advised decisions and tactical incompetence. Macready’s General Mireau is a buffoon who faces retribution sooner rather than later.

Kubrick films the trenches with long tracking shots, while Ant Hill is shown in the misty distance. Bullets and shells rain from the German positions, but the film shows no German soldiers or hand-to-hand combat. The director and the screenplay makes it seem that the French are only fighting themselves.

Kanchenjungha, the third highest mountain in the world, is the highest mountain in India. It’s a fitting analogy for the heights the characters strive for in Satyajit Ray’s 1962 film of the same name. They labor to understand their relationships and the power of personal choice. “Kanchenjungha” tells the story of a family’s visit to the hill station of Darjeeling, India, where the mountain rises high above the misty hills. The Bengali language film stars Chhabi Biswas as Indranath Choudhuri, the patriarch of a wealthy family that balances between tradition and modernism. Besides going to Darjeeling for holiday, Indranath wants to give consent to a marriage for his daughter Monisha (Aleknanda Roy), who is scheduled to meet her proposed fiance for the first time during their stay.

Arun Mukherjee and Aleknanda Roy in “Kanchenjungha.”

The story unfolds as various members of the family walk around the hills of Darjeeling. Monisha hears advice from her brother-in-law, that she should follow her own desires. It becomes obvious that Monisha doesn’t feel a strong attraction to her suitor, and when they begin their awkward walk along the path, she welcomes interruptions from a bird watching uncle and a young idealistic student who’s meant to represent the strength and naivety of modern India. Monisha and the student, Ashoke (Arun Mukherjee), develop a bond, and his presence forces her to think seriously about her position and her happiness. Ashoke’s shows his independence when he turns down a position offered by Indranath, who feels insulted and bewildered by the young man’s refusal. In Indranath’s mind, young men should not be foolish enough to turn down once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
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Satyajit Ray’s first color film offers excellent visuals of Darjeeling, and effectively shows both the mountain’s grandeur and the spooky mists that cling to the hills. The mists become a metaphor for a India. Those that can see the future more clearly through the misty present know that the younger generation desires opportunities based on personal choice. In this rather talky movie, the familial tensions juxtapose the traditional and famous venue of Darjeeling. It’s a jarring effect enhanced by the film’s color photography. A true debate ensues regarding duty to parents, personal choice and freedom (expressed by Ashoke) to explore the future unbridled by traditional mores.

Indranath, old enough to see it all yet willing to conjure new beliefs, openly gives credit to advances brought about by the British colonization. Yet, his own successful choices in life rely heavily on tradition and the strength of the family. One gets the feeling that the old patriarch will see even more rapid changes in his lifetime. He learns in this film that things do not always go as planned.

In an attempt to blend film noir with the Western, Anthony Mann made a 1950 movie called “The Furies,” which stars Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Houston, Gilbert Roland and Wendell Corey. While I would have preferred the movie to be more brightly lit, The Furies offers Stanwyck in a terrific performance and some garrulous acting by Houston. A lot of shouting goes on while Houston’s character, T. C. Jeffords, figures out how to save his Furies Ranch in New Mexico from a conniving banker played by Corey. Stanwyck plays Vance Jeffords, the strong and capable daughter of T. C. They come into severe conflict when T. C. decides to marry a city woman named Flo Burnett (Judith Anderson in a fine performance), who Vance (rightly) takes for a gold digger.

Walter Huston and Barbara Stanwyck star in “The Furies.”

Two other things complicate T. C.’s relationship with Vance. She falls in love with the conniving banker, and T. C. and the bankers want to throw all the squatters off the Furies Ranch.  But Vance wants T. C. to allow a close childhood friend and sqatter, Juan Herrera (Gilbert Roland), and his family to remain on the property. Juan loves Vance dearly, and they are really soul-mates, but their social classes keep them from a real romance. When T. C. and Vance finely reach irreconcilable differences, the movie delves into a twisted tale of double-crossing and revenge with the clever Vance leading the way. Ironically, director Anthony Mann manages to prevent T. C. from being a totally unsympathetic character. We’re made to think of him as a product of the age of stout and irascible Western men, but Huston’s natural appeal helps too.
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Corey does well playing banker Rip Darrow, who T. C. earlier cheated out of some family lands. Darrow wants his family’s land back, and isn’t above cheating both T. C. and Vance to get it. At first glance, a love affair between Rip and Vance doesn’t seem like it would work, but Corey plays it so cool to Stanwyck’s heat that the chemistry works. I kept my eyes on Stanwyck, of course; she looks great and bounces around the film with perfect kinetic energy.

A key scene in the movie involves T. C.’s move against the squatters on his land. Director Mann plays the scene so darkly that it’s hard to see exactly what’s going on except a lot of shooting and yelling on some high rocky ground. What happens during this extended scene is horrific enough without all the dark, shadowy black and white screen. Other than that, I enjoyed the direction and especially the acting by Stanwyck and Huston.