The Other Side of the Wind (2018)

 

A Hollywood director emerges from semi-exile with plans to complete work on an innovative motion picture. 

Posthumously reconstructed Orson Welles film is probably as haphazard and incoherent as its production history, with a complex, barely film-within-a-film plot, massive experimentation with all kinds of cinematic trickery and an overpopulated cast, but besides seemingly random shots, there are many moments of sheer beauty and pure genius.

The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

Two fishermen pick up a psychotic escaped convict who tells them that he intends to murder them when the ride is over.

Tough, no nonsense thriller  with a good male-only cast (but by a female director!) was certainly a shocker at its time, but seems now a bit meek compared to today's standards.

Halliwell**: "A tense, paranoid thriller, based on a actual crime."

Maltin**1/2: "Well-made suspense yarn...Good performances, especially by a venal Talman in the title role, but the film's once-powerful impact has been muted by decades of more graphic and imaginative films."

The Last Voyage (1960)

After a boiler explosion aboard an aging ocean liner, a man struggles to free his injured wife from the wreckage of their cabin and ensure the safety of their four-year-old daughter as the ship begins to sink.

Old-fashioned disaster movie istold straightforwardly (the catastrophe begins in the first seconds before the credits) and with a solid cast, but the excitement is somewhat limited.

Halliwell*: "Spectacular if dramatically deficient actioner for which a genuine liner (awaiting scrapping) was sunk."

Maltin***: "Engrossing drama..."

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

A scientist is nearly assassinated. In order to save him, a submarine is shrunken to microscopic size and injected into his blood stream with a small crew. Problems arise almost as soon as they enter the bloodstream.

At its time a spectacular special effects sci-fi event despite a trashy plot it  very quickly became outdated and is now merely of historic interest.

Halliwell*: "Engagingly absurd science fiction which keeps its momentum but is somwhat let down by its décor."

Maltin***1/2: "Tremendously entertaining science fiction story...Film's then-state-of-the-art visual effects look great in widescreen."

Michael Weldon/Psychotronic: "Lots of enlarged guts, a voyage through the ventricles, and a lung-induced tornado."

Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)

A surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert.

Affecting prison drama takes its time to tell its  story, but gives room for many touching moments; Burt Lancaster delivers a great performance.

Halliwell*: "Overlong and rather weary biopic of Robert Shroud, who spent nearly sixry years in prison and became a cause célèbre. One cannot deny many effective moments, notably of direction, but it's a long haul."

Maltin***: "Pensive study...Film becomes static despite imaginative sidelights to enlarge scope of action."

The Killers (1946)

Hit men kill an unresisting victim, and an investigator uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly woman.

Film noir classic with extraordinary b/w photography and excellent performances, Ava Gardner, however, is not quite convincing as femme fatale; the plot is more an imagination about Ernest Hemingways story than an adaptation.

On renewed viewing: Hemingway's famous short story is merely the trigger for an intriguing, complex Noir crime story, arguably one of genre's best; both Lancaster as the 'innocent' cuckold and Gardner as the inscrutable femme fatale set standards with their performances.

Halliwell***: "Elaborate tale of cross and double-cross, stunningly executed."

Maltin****: "Compelling crime drama...Film provides fireworks, early success of Lancaster (in film debut) and Gardner."

1984 (1956)

In a totalitarian future society a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.

Adequate, if not a bit frumpy adaptation of the famous dystopian novel works best in its depiction of the totalitarian society, but the ending is strangely not as devastating as it should be.

Halliwell*: "The famous prophecy of  a dehumanized future is followed with reasonavle fidelity apart from the deviant ending, but the novel is too literary for cinematic success and the result is too often both downbeat and boring."

Maltin***: "Thought-provoking version..."

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.

Much-loved classic Western with a dream cast that leisurely spins a tale self-reflecting the genre and its political implications.

Halliwell***: "Clumsy, obvious Western with the director over-indulging himself but providing some good scenes in comedy vein."

Maltin****: "Panned and patronized upon original release, but now regarded as an American classic; one of the great Westerns."