My Review: Modern Times (8/10)

"Buck up - never say die. We'll get along."

I can't think of a more fitting line than that final one from the Tramp to the Gamin to say farewell to silent films as they cheerfully walk towards the horizon. By 1936 everyone was watching talkies and they expected Modern Times to be Chaplin's first one considering his previous film, City Lights, had already incorporated some sound effects five years ago. Modern Times is considered one of Chaplin's finest movies and perhaps a lot of it has to do with the fact that it was his last silent film so it has the nostalgic factor going for it. The way Chaplin incorporates sound in Modern Times is pure genius because the only moments where we hear sound is when they come from mechanical devices, so in a way he blended the social critique of the Industrial age with his own critique of the use of sound in film. This mechanical monster that was taking over his industry was putting an end to the silent era which made him such a popular figure. Chaplin may have stated that his films aren't social critiques, but I don't think anyone managed to capture the human spirit during that era better than he did. During the first hour of this film which I earnestly enjoyed I couldn't quite understand why this film was considered superior to his other films which I enjoyed more. Up to that moment there wasn't really a scene that stood out for me like there had been in all his other features. Then suddenly when I was about to lose hope came the restaurant scene where the Tramp performs a song where we can't understand what he's saying, but through his gestures he makes himself perfectly understood. That was the scene that sold this movie for me and reminded me of Chaplin's genius. The ending in Modern Times is perhaps my favorite ending in all of Chaplin's films, although I still think I would rank City Lights as his best film. 

In his last silent film Charles Chaplin stars as the Tramp once again, and this time we find him working at an assembly line in a factory. The quick working pace and the mechanized movements he has to make slowly begin to affect him. He can't keep up with the pace in the assembly line and production is delayed because of him. During a lunch break he is chosen for experimentation with an automatic feeding machine that they want to sell to the president of the steel corporation. The machine goes haywire and the Tramp also begins to lose his sanity so he is sent to a mental hospital. Eventually he is released but after an unfortunate incident he is mistaken for a communist and imprisoned. In prison he becomes a hero by stopping several prisoners from breaking out of jail so he is released. Unemployed and unable to find a job all he wants is to go back to prison, but when he meets a Gamin (Paulette Goddard) and falls in love with her, he makes it his goal to find a job and buy a house where the two can live happily ever after, but in these modern times it won't be an easy task.

Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard have excellent chemistry together although the film is a little too sentimental at times. In Modern Times, Chaplin manages to once again balance pathos with slapstick, but I found some of the scenarios to be a little too similar to his other films so I felt it was getting a bit repetitive. However, what Chaplin does really well here is include the social elements of the time and use it to his advantage by focusing on the struggle the people had adapting to the modern industrial age. He does this by using satire through his brilliant physical comedy. In an era of dehumanization, Chaplin humanizes Modern Times with a sweet and tender story reminding everyone that the obstacles can be overcome. With every new problem that the Tramp has to face somehow he always finds a way to remain hopeful and rise to the occasion. That is perhaps why his comedies still remain timeless and continues to touch the hearts of those who encounter Chaplin for the first time. They will also understand that dialogue was not always necessary to tell a story, and the best to do so was Chaplin with his unique energy and brilliance.

My Review: Chinatown (10/10)

"You may think you know what you're dealing with, but, believe me, you don't."

Sometimes things are bigger than ourselves, and despite how much we think we can change the world eventually we are brought down to our reality: we are much smaller than we think we are and there is little we can do against the big corporate giants. That is the main theme that director, Roman Polanski, is trying to explore here in this criminal film noir thriller starring Jack Nicholson as a wise and overly confident private detective who is about to learn that despite how much he wants to teach the bad guys a lesson perhaps things are a little out of his league. That is why the film is titled Chinatown, because it represents a time in Jake's (Nicholson's character) life where he wasn't able to make a difference in the police force and became cynical towards the world. "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown" is what they told him, and that is why he decided to retire and become a private investigator working on his own. He doesn't want to forget it, he wants to catch the bad guys and balance things out. He doesn't want these rich executives to continue thinking they can get away with anything. That is exactly why he decides to investigate things on his own and begins to enter dangerous territory where not everyone is who they say they are. He slowly begins to uncover one lie after another, and that is what makes Chinatown such an entertaining and masterful thriller. We are part of the investigation and begin discovering things at the same time Jake does. We are as confident as he is that he is going to uncover everything. This is Jack Nicholson's movie from the opening scene and he delivers one of his best performances to date. Faye Dunaway is also interesting in her femme fatale role; we are never sure if we can trust her or not. Polanski has delivered a perfect homage to the 40's film noir thrillers. Chinatown will remain as one of the best classical films of all time. This is my favorite Polanski film, perfect in every way.

Jake Gittes seems to be doing well as a private detective in Los Angeles, since he specializes in infidelities and there are many in the city. His latest assignment is to follow Evelyn Mulwray's (Diane Ladd) husband who happens to be the builder of the city's water supply system. His name is Hollis (Darrell Zwerling) and he is fascinated with everything that has to do with water, but Evelyn is convinced he is having an affair. Jake accepts the job and begins following Hollis, and surely enough he photographs him with a younger woman causing a scandal in the city. Jake believes his job is done, until a Mrs. Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) comes thundering into his office claiming that she had never hired him to follow her husband. Apparently the first woman claiming to be Mrs. Mulwray was only an impersonator and now Jake has a law suit in his hands. Surprisingly Mrs. Mulwray drops the law suit a few days later, and her husband is found dead after an apparent suicide. Jake is now hired by Mrs. Mulwray to discover who might have wanted her husband dead, and soon Jake will find himself uncovering an entire web of deceit and corruption that is much bigger than he thinks.

This masterful film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, but only won one (Best Original Screenplay written by Robert Towne) considering it had to compete in 1975 with another perfect film: The Godfather Part II. One of the best things about Chinatown actually is the screenplay. There are so many great dialogues and quotes from this film that are still remembered today almost 40 years later. Chinatown is exactly what a classical film looks like. Polanski created a masterpiece by recreating the classic film noir from the 40's with great art direction, costume designs, and cinematography. The editing and the original score are also done wonderfully, but none of this would be enough if it weren't for the wonderful performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. Chinatown deserves all the praise it has received over time and it has really turned into a timeless classic and one of the few that continues to astonish modern audiences. The twists and surprises in Chinatown continue to work today.

My Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (10/10)

¨You see in this world there`s two kinds of people my friend, those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig.¨

I wonder what would`ve been of Clint Eastwood`s career if it weren`t for the ¨Dollars¨ trilogy. Before working with Italian filmmaker, Sergio Leone, he had a career as a television actor in Rawhide, a western based TV series, but he couldn`t get a decent job in Hollywood so he began to look for work abroad. He reached international success thanks to Leone`s reinvented spaghetti westerns: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966), known as the ¨Dollars¨ trilogy. He proved producers wrong because they thought that people wouldn`t pay to see movies of actors they could see for free on television, but audiences were  more than willing to see him in the big screen. His pairing with Leone couldn`t have worked out better for him since the director`s trademark was combining long wide shots with extreme close-ups. These wide shots couldn´t have been enjoyed as much on the small television sets at home. Eastwood`s rough features and manly charisma also contributed to Leone`s success, and both seemed destined to work with each other. There is no need to see the previous ¨Dollars¨ movies as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly stands out on its own and is actually a prequel since the movie takes place during the Civil War in the early 1860`s before the other plots take place and they are all separate stories that only have Clint Eastwood`s character in common. When I see Eastwood`s latest films as a director I can`t help but think how much he was influenced by the great Sergio Leone. He must have learned a great deal working with the Italian director in this masterpiece. It is just shot beautifully and to perfection by Leone, the cinematography and scenery are amazing and feel real, and the score is perfect. Eastwood may be a different director than Leone was, but he pays close detail to his craft and also knows how to shoot beautifully.

The plot is pretty simple for a movie that is about three hours long, but Leone`s use of the camera and extended shots makes the film longer. He also adds several side stories that work really well in the narrative. The film begins by introducing each character (although in the opposite order: The Ugly, The Bad, and The Good). The film begins with an extreme close up on a bounty hunter (Al Mulock) and then when we see the wide shot there are three of them who are quietly entering a bar. Once the men enter we hear three shots and out comes Tuco, also known as The Ugly (Eli Wallach), who escapes. In the next scene we are introduced to The Bad, Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef), who is tracking down a peasant farmer. The scene is truly a classic as no words are spoken for about ten minutes, but the tension can be felt. Angel Eyes is actually looking for information on the location of a treasure of coins lost during the Civil War and he is told a soldier named Bill Carson has it. Finally, we are introduced to Blondie, The Good (Clint Eastwood), who saves Tuco from a group of men who want to turn him in because there is a reward on his head. Blondie saves him only to collect the reward himself, but once Tuco is about to be hanged he shoots the rope and sets him free as part of a scam in which they divide the money. They later turn against each other only to discover the location of the treasure that has been buried and the race begins to see who can get to the treasure first as the three men have different information regarding its whereabouts.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is my all-time favorite Western. Any other film in the genre will always be measured by its standards. The opening scene in which we are introduced to Angel Eyes (The Bad) is just so beautifully shot that no dialogue was needed and we were already hooked (Ennio Morricone´s amazing score can also take some credit for that). The first ten minutes have no dialogue whatsoever but it sets up the general tone of the movie: several wide shots where we can see the great landscape and deserts combining them with extreme close ups of the characters facial expressions, the tension and suspense is built with long and slow scenes and suddenly the violence happens so quickly that we are caught off guard. The film doesn`t celebrate violence, it portrays it truthfully. The main character is the quiet Blondie (The Good), but without a doubt Tuco (The Ugly) is the one who has the most lines and brings some unbalance and goofiness to an otherwise serious picture. One of the funniest scenes is when he is in the tub and one of the bounty hunter shows up to kill him but before shooting he begins the classic speech villains tend to give and Tuco pulls out his gun and fires at him saying, ¨When you have to shoot, shoot, don`t talk.¨ Tuco plays a key role and his character is kind of the gray in an otherwise black (Angel Eyes) and white (Blondie), good guy and bad guy western movie. He breaks the conventionality in the genre. The final Mexican standoff scene is also truly memorable and one of the best shot sequences. This is a truly unique film that has stood the test of time; it catapulted Eastwood into a movie star, and has influenced him on his way to becoming a great director. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is one of my all time favorite movies and is a must see film.

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