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The Godfather Part III was the final chapter in Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy. Though it undoubtedly pales in comparison to the towering brilliance of the first two films in the trilogy, it still stands as a good film that brought the epic saga to a satisfactory and meaningful conclusion. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), now an ageing patriarch of the immensely powerful Corleone family, is on one hand trying his best to keep his promise to his former wife by making the family business fully legit, while at the same time completely being engulfed by an overarching sense of deep guilt over his various acts of crime and violence - especially that of his brother Fredo’s cold blooded execution. The film therefore was as much about keeping up with a new series of antagonists, particularly the cocky celebrity-gangster Joey Zaza and the smooth-talking and back-stabbing Don Altobello (Eli Wallach), as it was about Michael’s poignant reminiscing of his life that could have been and his futile attempts at redemption and peace of mind. The film is a tad uneven at parts. Its performances too are mixed – while Eli Wallach and Andy Garcia (as the illegitimate son of Michael’s long-dead elder brother Andy, and the chosen successor to the clan) were good, Sofia Coppola was a severe disappointment as Michael’s naïve daughter; Al Pacino’s performance too was affecting without ever touching greatness. The film was exceptionally photographed as before, and the final scene, which was both ironic and sad, had a sense of Shakespearean tragedy written on it.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Genre: Crime Drama/Gangster Film/Ensemble Film
Language: English/Sicilian
Country: US
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is not set in New York and it isn’t loaded with quirkiness or neurosis; that said, it has most other archetypes that Woody Allen films are known by, viz. self-loathing intellectuals, love and heartbreak. And though it never managed to even come close to the sheer brilliance of his masterpieces, it nonetheless garnered far more support vis-à-vis his other recent works. The movie is about two art-loving friends (and, unsurprisingly New Yorkers) who have come to spend their summer vacation at Barcelona, the cultural melting point of Spain. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is a happily engaged girl who ends up having a one-night-stand with Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a self-destructive painter. The more extroverted Cristina (Scarlet Johansson), on the other hand, moves in with the charming and erudite artist, only for her blissful life to be disrupted by the arrival of Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz), Juan Antonio’s suicidal and stunning ex-wife. The film is lovingly shot and has a leisurely (even tranquil) feel to its narrative. And Woody, with his eye for detail where portraying a city goes, managed to capture Barcelona with all its glorious details, while also painting with broad strokes the tragedies of heart therein.
Director: Woody Allen
Genre: Drama/Romantic Drama
Language: English
Country: US/Spain
Very rarely does a sequel manage to hold a candle to the original; The Godfather Part II didn’t just equal The Godfather, which remains a cornerstone in American cinema, number of cineastes has opined that it even managed to go one step ahead. Francis Ford Coppola’s follow-up to his legendary adaptation of Mario Puzo’s tale of family and honour was both a prequel and continuation of the original. The film has two threads running in parallel – aptly placed flashback sequences chronicle the escape of Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) from Sicily as a child and his subsequent rise in power in a working-class New York neighbourhood; the ‘present’ on the other hand shows the continuation of familial legacy and making of inroads into Las Vegas and Havana by Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). While the original had limited its scope to the Corleone family, the sequel expanded it to far beyond such confines as it juxtaposed the Corleone saga (that too in two distinctly different timeframes) with that of modern American history. Yet, for all its breathtaking scope, the film also managed to be a fascinating human story – Vito’s chance introduction to the world of guns and his smart rise while retaining his sanity, on one hand, and Michael’s all-encompassing power and his absolute ruthlessness, on the other. Incredibly photographed, elegiacally paced, and hauntingly scored, the film’s grand vision and its melancholic tone are worth beholding. Al Pacino was absolutely devastating as Michael, while Robert De Niro was no less arresting as the young Vito. The supporting cast was also superb, especially Lee Strasberg as Michael’s double-edged ally, and John Cazale as Fredo, his tragic brother, whose murder provides the final death knell to any chances for his redemption.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Genre: Crime Drama/Gangster Movie/Epic
Language: English/Sicilian
Country: US
James Stewart starred in a number of Anthony Mann films, and The Naked Star is usually considered the their best collaboration. One of the early examples of revisionist Westerns, it is far removed from the good guy-bad guy story-lines typified by Classic Westerns. Stewart here plays Howard Kemp, bounty-hunter who isn’t just laconic but also prefers to be a lone wolf. He is forced to enlist the assistance of an old brusque prospector and a young dishonourably discharged soldier, in order to catch hold of Ben (excellently played by Robert Ryan), a notorious and maniacal fugitive, take him to the concerned authority, and collect the ransom that has been declared by the state. None of the characters in the film is flawless, consequently the journey of the group is made as much perilous by the harsh, arid landscape they must travel to, but also the intense psychological rivalry between the trio (on account of their inherent lack of trust towards each other) – the psychotic captive makes full use of the latter by continually supplying more and more fuel into the fire. Meanwhile, also tagging along with them is a hotheaded beaut (Janet Leigh) who happens to be Ben’s girlfriend; only that, over the course of their journey, she and Kemp start developing mutual feelings for each other. The crisp, violent film is therefore more about psychological warfare than actual fights, though it still boasted of some memorable action sequences culminating in a brutal climax.
Director: Anthony Mann
Genre: Western/Psychological Western/Action
Language: English
Country: US
Considered among the best works of the revered American filmmaker Sidney Lumet, Network was a prescient, tar-black critique of “trash television” and thus remains as relevant today as it was over three decades back. When a veteran news reader learns that he’s about to lose his job of 25 years, he falls off the hook and becomes the “mad prophet of the TV airwaves”. He initially creates embarrassment for his employers, however the tremendous ratings his prophetic slogan, “I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!” generates ensures he doesn’t just retain his prime-time show, a whole lot of crap gets added around him to spin as much money out of his sudden fame as possible. This trenchant satire is filled to brim with a host of superb performances – Peter Finch was absolutely terrific as Howard Beale, the tragic newsman who becomes a messiah for the troubled times and a mouthpiece for the generation’s angst; equally memorable turns were provided by William Holden as Beale’s long-time friend who’s forced to accept the madness around him with sardonic resignation, Faye Dunaway as a workaholic and insanely ambitious programming executive, Robert Duvall as the network’s scheming hatchet man, among others. Though the brilliantly written film divided critics and audience upon its release, its scathing indictment of all the lurid content religiously dished into our homes by the idiot box has elevated it over the years to the status of a modern day classic.
Director: Sidney Lumet
Genre: Drama/Black Comedy/Media Satire
Language: English
Country: US
