The Silver Screen Oasis

Okay Bryce,
I can see you're going to steal some of my thunder with the Hong Kong cinema picks. John Woo realized noir on film as well as anyone. Great list. This is going to be very entertaining.

How to choose just 15?

1. Force of Evil (1948)
Scarlet Street (1945)
Out of the Past (1947)
Rififi (1955)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
You Only Live Once (1937)
Port of Shadows (Le Quai des brumes) (1938)
Il Bidone (The Swindle) (1955)
Act of Violence (1948)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Vertigo (1958)
Touch of Evil (1958)

Honorable mentions abound, but there is no room to write them all down.

Mr. A,
I have heard so much about The Killing of a Chinese Bookie but have never had the opportunity to see it. Can you tell me anything about it, or what makes it so good? Is it out on DVD?

Thanks

Bypassing Stray Dog and Rififi was difficult as well, but I had to narrow down the field somehow. I made the decision to stick with classic English-language noirs and still almost gave up.

But both of those films are tremendously well-made, especially the latter. I've truly grown to love most of Dassin's films-I only recently acquired Phaedra and have been looking forward to watching it.

-Stephen

Hi Bryce! Kudos on your highly unconventional list! I'm sure there'll be a considerable amount of nit-picking around some of your choices before this is over, to be sure. But that's what makes these "competitions" interesting.
As for BULLET IN THE HEAD, it's without a doubt my favorite of John Woo's films; a much more emotionally draining and visually astonishing (not to mention less pretentious and far less tedious) version of Cimino's THE DEER HUNTER. I had the supreme pleasure of opening BULLET IN THE HEAD theatrically in San Francisco back in the 90s but was ultimately disappointed by the lackluster response on the part of the public. Nevertheless, it's a great film and fans of Woo's other work, Hong Kong films in general, or those who simply enjoy brilliant, uncompromising filmmaking are urged to check it out.

cinemalover wrote:Mr. A,
I have heard so much about The Killing of a Chinese Bookie but have never had the opportunity to see it. Can you tell me anything about it, or what makes it so good? Is it out on DVD?

Thanks

It is out on DVD:
http://tinyurl.com/5pslr6

While there are many great things about Cassavetes film (color, shots, framing, story), probably the number one reason you should see this film is the incredible performance of Ben Gazzara. Noir protagonists are usually sympathetic in that we identify with them on some level, but have they ever been loveable as Cosmo Viteli?

Cosmo owns The Crazy Horse, a bottom barrel strip club. The performances range from silly to pathetic and Cosmo writes all the material himself. When a customer gives him an invitation to his gambling establishment, Cosmo makes it a night on the town with his ladies in high style. Things turn sour when he loses and ends up owing the house over 20 grand. Unable to pay and not willing to give up his club, the owners (who turn out to be the mob!) offer him an alternative--kill a well-known bookie who has been causing them trouble. As always, there is no perfect crime and Cosmo is no professional hit man. What's worse, the mob has no intention of leaving him alive.

Gazzara does some amazing work here, particularly long stretches with no dialogue where it's his expressions and mannerisms that give us insight into his character. A sleaze ball with few scruples, Cosmo genuinely loves his club and performers. Whether it's calling from a pay phone to check on the acts while waiting for a taxi (the car the mob provided has a blown out tire), or going backstage to settle a squabble between the girls and his bizarre emcee Mr. Miracle (what film might that name reference?), the character of Cosmo is a stand in for director Cassavetes who prostituted himself as an actor to make films that were important to him.

With The Killing of a Chinese Bookie Cassavetes suggests that while man living in corruption is flawed--he is still a human being with passion, hopes, and dreams which he will fight to protect--no matter how tattered they may be.

My list is probably very conservative. All from the 1941-58 era, and no "Brit noirs," although I admit that one on my list could arguably be considered a British film.

1) Scarlet Street
2) The Killers (1946)
3) Brute Force
4) Criss Cross
5) Touch of Evil
6) Double Indemnity
7) Sunset Boulevard
8) In a Lonely Place
9) The Big Sleep
10) Night and the City (1950)
11) Sweet Smell of Success
12) The Maltese Falcon
13) The Big Heat
14) The Set-Up
15) The Woman in the Window

Great synopsis of a great film by a great director, Mr. Arkadin.

While there are many great things about Cassavetes film (color, shots, framing, story), probably the number one reason you should see this film is the incredible performance of Ben Gazzara.

Gazzara's performance is incredible; however, I feel compelled to edit the sentence slightly to get at a deeper truth.

"While there are many great things about Cassavetes film (color, shots, framing, story), probably the number one reason you should see this film is the incredible performance of Ben Gazzara and Timothy Carey."

There, that does it.

ChiO, I'm certainly not complaining. This little masterwork has never received its due.











Now if we could just hear a bit from the big D.

Reading the various lists, I noticed some movies that not only I hadn't seen but some I'd never heard of. Made me wonder about my own list.
Has anyone out there seen 'Daughter of the Mind'
with Ray Milland and Gene Tierney? Or 'the Gazebo' with Glenn Ford and Carl Reiner, or the British 'the Wrong Box? Just curious. .... mel

I don't mind my stomach talking back to me but I wish it would speak English.

Hi Mel---I've seen Daughter of the Mind and The Gazebo, but I'm not sure about The Wrong Box. I think I may have but I have no clear recollection what it was about.

There are MANY movies nominated here that I have never seen or heard of, too. My list is very conventional.

Well, this is what happens when I don't check in at the Oasis for almost 24 hours, many great questions and some more fabulous lists.

Bryce,
You may have to wait until the last minute to see my list because as of this moment I have no idea which films will end up on it. I love John Woo's films. I fell in love with Hong Kong cinema 20 plus years ago when I started getting my paws on some bootleg VHS tapes of dubious origins. In those days it was not easy to find copies on VHS that had English subs, so in some cases I had to settle for no subs. I already knew and enjoyed Jackie Chan (had first become aware of him in his American release of the Big Brawl) and was curious about absorbing as much Hong Kong Cinema as I could. I received a copy of A Chinese Ghost Story within months of its release and that was it, instant, unrequited love.

That led to discovering Ringo Lam, the Mad Mission spoofs and, ultimately, Chow Yun Fat and John Woo. In those pre-internet days it was very challenging to find information about any of these directors, actors or films, so every discovery was like discovering a new treasure. Don’t even get me started on hopping vampires.

I grew to enjoy John Woo’s films and anything Chow Yun Fat appeared in above all others. I have no idea which of the Woo films I will choose, or harder yet, which I would dare to leave off of the list.

But, that’s what makes this little game so fascinating.

Mr. A,
Thanks for the words on "Bookie", plus the pictures. Now I want to see it more than ever. It offically goes on my must have list. Thanks for helping me appreciate it.