Blade Runner

USA | 1982 | Directed by Ridley Scott

Logline: In Los Angeles, 2019, a cynical and weary detective is coerced into tracking down several dangerous rogue androids, but finds himself confused and dehumanized in the process.

REPLICANT\rep’-li-cant\n. See also ROBOT (antique): ANDROID (obsolete): NEXUS (generic): Synthetic human, with paraphysical capabilities, having skin/flesh culture. Also: Rep, skin job (slang): Off-world use: Combat, high risk industrial deepspace probe. On-world use prohibited. Specifications and quantities ― information classified.

Sometimes it’s the flaws in a movie that elevate it to the level of rough diamond. Blade Runner is a cosmic gem grounded at street level in a wet and filthy social apocalypse of technological ingenuity amidst a wild moral wilderness. Based on Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novella Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, it is widely regarded as one of the most influential sf movies ever made. It also happens to be my very favourite film (although Fellini’s 8½ occasionally comes a-knocking).

8½

Italy | 1963 | Directed by Federico Fellini

Logline: A movie director suffering from a crisis of faith attends a health spa and is visited by the various women in his life; his wife, his mistress, his muse, and in turn is provoked and inspired by his friends and colleagues.

The greatest movie about trying to make a movie ever made. It is also the greatest movie depicting of the creative urge and the desires that get in the way. Part autobiography, part fantasy, part drama, part comedy, brilliantly realised; it demands repeat viewings.

Oh, and the title refers to the autobiographical director being in the middle of shooting his ninth feature.

Apocalypse Now

“I turned to the wilderness … And for a moment it seemed to me as if I was buried in a vast grave full of unspeakable secrets. I felt an intolerable weight oppressing my breast, the smell of the damp earth, the unseen presence of victorious corruption, the darkness of an impenetrable night.”

--- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

There are very few nightmare movies as visually, viscerally and psychologically affecting, as profoundly immediate, despite their historical settings, as Francis Ford Coppola’sApocalypse Now (1979). There has been so much said and done, so much dirty, bloodied water under the war-torn bridge of this extraordinary production, that any humble review in the wake of its questionable destruction, its primal majesty, its philosophical musings is purely grist to the mill. But a few more words scattered to the critical winds won’t hurt. This is a movie that has remained in my heart of dark delights ever since I first saw it cropped on a dodgy rented VHS with its original end credits rolling over a montage of the Kurtz compound being destroyed by what appeared to be an air-strike. It is one of my three favourite movies of all time; it is a war movie to be experienced like a bad acid trip infused with dangerous awe and nightmarish wonder.

Withnail and I

UK | 1986 | Directed by Bruce Robinson

Logline: It’s 1969 and two disheveled, unemployed London actors decide to spend a rejuvenating weekend in the country only to have their escapade turn into a series of embarrassing incidents and disasters.

Quite frankly I think Bruce Robinson’s semi-autobiographical yarn is one of a rare handful of perfect screenplays. It’s also one of the most moving and affecting films about friendship. And it also happens to be exquisitely funny. I’ve watched this movie more times than any other, except maybe Blade Runner, Apocalypse Now, and Alien.

Story goes that Robinson has circulating a manuscript for a novel he’d written, based on his experiences with a fellow thespian and raving alcoholic named Vivian (whom the character of Withnail is based on). The script ended up in the hands of George Harrison who decided it was suitable for his Handmade Films production company. Robinson was then offered the director’s role. He’d never directed anything before.

Down By Law

USA | 1986 | Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Logline: When three mischievous strangers find themselves sharing the same jail cell after each being set-up, framed or simply acting in self-defence, they escape into the wilderness of the Louisiana everglades.

Maverick indie auteur Jim Jarmusch hit the nail of bittersweet irony squarely and beautifully on the head with this black and white jazz riff on unlikely friendships forged in times of despair. It is arguably one of the most egocentric comedies of the 80s, and certainly one of Jarmusch’s crowning achievements (along with his monochromatic masterstroke Dead Man and the short Coffee and Cigarettes – Somewhere in California, all of them as elusively existential as they are ristretto black in humour).

Down by Law was Jarmusch’s third feature (and the only feature he’s made with American financing) and his first using Robby Müller behind the lens. Müller, a magician of monochrome, casts the film with superb tones and textures; the weathered homes along the streets of New Orleans, to the luminescent jungle of the everglades. This is film noir transplanted from the city and off the beaten track. It’s a fairy tale love story, but you’d never see it coming. It’s the buddy flick transmogrified. It’s a jam session of mood swings.

Alien

To make an unusual analogy, Alien has aged like a fine single malt; what was initially smoky and flavoursome with intense character and finish has become a truly powerful cinematic elixir. It doesn’t get much better than Alien, for mood, tone, atmosphere, mise-en-scene, special effects, cinematography, music, acting. Even the pared-back dialogue never comes across as forced or risible, as often is the case with derivative movies, because Alien does pull from numerous sources, it’s not a wholly original plot. But the emphasis on the visual narrative, the realism, the restraint in humour, these elements make the movie’s calibre like that of a full metal jacket; Alien kicks ass.

Cul-de-Sac

UK\France | 1966 | Directed by Roman Polanski

Logline: On an isolated beach castle property an eccentric husband and his wayward wife are set upon and driven to distraction by a desperate gangster and his befuddled accomplice.

A dark comedy of manners and errors, this is minimalist Kafkaesque perfection from Polanksi and his frequent co-screenwriter Gerard Brach. Donald Pleasence in an early career performance, but is challenged every step of the way by Lionel Stander.

Goodfellas

US | 1990 | Directed by Martin Scorsese

Logline: The true story of the mob career of Italian gangster, Henry Hill, living in Brooklyn, NYC, during the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Along with Coppola’s The Godfather (Parts I & II), this is the best movie about the Mafia ever made, which never mentions the word. Featuring career performances from Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci. Scorsese’s control of narrative, sourced music, extreme violence, and the cult of personality have never been better. It does for garlic and meatballs, what Tampopo did for noodles.

Fallen Angels

Hong Kong | 1995 | Directed by Wong Kar-wai

Logline: In an urban nightscape the lives of a contract killer and his agent working at a distance, a drifter searching for her ex-lover, and an eccentric mute vying for attention in outlandish ways, all cross paths.

Amidst the big neon glitter, the cluttered, claustrophobic alleyways, the towering architectural sheen, and the strangely lonely bars and cafes, five lost souls clamber and mumble, peer and glance, laugh, cry, perspire, and ponder. They dream of love and desire; of connecting in a trip-hop world of ordered dysfunction, searching for that elusive creature called belonging.

Blood Simple

“The world is full o' complainers. An' the fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee. Now I don't care if you're the pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin' can all go wrong. Now go on ahead, y'know, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help, 'n watch him fly. Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else... that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here ... you're on your own.”

The debut feature from Joel and Ethan Coen, and a damn fine piece of filmmaking it is. I sawBlood Simple (1984) over twenty years ago one dark and stormy night while I was babysitting for some friends of my parents. One of those early VHS releases with the big chunky covers, it featured the now classic artwork on the cover (also used for the original poster): red stilettos, cowboy boots, handbag, keys and a pearl-handled .22.

Come and See

“And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

---

Chapter 6, The Book of Revelation (The Apocalypse of St John the Divine), The New Testament

Without a doubt the most devastating and profoundly anti-war movie ever made, Elem Klimov’s semi-autobiographical account of a teenage boy unwillingly thrust into the atrocities of WWII Byelorussia, fighting for a hopelessly unequipped resistance movement against the ruthless Nazi fascist forces, witnessing scenes of abject horror, as he slowly loses his innocence, inexorably loses his mind, his face that of a frightened old man, his soul a ruined sentinel. Come and See is pure nightmare poetry.

Monsters

What begins as a road movie transforms into an elusive science fiction thriller, and ends abruptly as a romantic drama. But there is a deep sadness that permeates the narrative. This is instigated in a prologue sequence depicting the US military on a search and rescue mission, which culminates in an airstrike on one of the massive alien “octopus-spider” creatures, which involves Kaulder and Samantha as casualties. This isn’t immediately apparent, but can be confirmed upon repeat viewing.

Apart from the superb performances from McNairy and Able (and the great work ellicited from the un-professionals), what makes Monsters such a powerful and intelligent movie is Gareth Edwards’ approach to tone and atmosphere. The narrative isn’t so interested in the bigger picture, although that is addressed, albeit ironically, even cryptically, by the movie’s title, but by the little moments within scenes, the nuances of the characters expressions, through body language and reflection of thought. This is one of the most moving and unassuming love stories I’ve ever seen, exquisitely heightened by Jon Hopkins beautifully atmospheric, hugely emotive, mostly electronic score.