The Chris Moeller Archives

The 50 Great American Films 6-10

The next five films of the Chris Moeller Top 50 List, alphabetically, from B to C...


THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN directed by James Whale (1935)

The only film sequel that truly surpasses the original, Whale's masterpiece adds pep and irreverence to the iconic "Frankenstein" of four years previous. This time around, the monster (Boris Karloff) is given a 44 word vocabulary and a love interest- the twitchy, uniquely-tressed Bride, played by Elsa Lanchester. Whale skillfully combines tongue-in-cheek humor with horror, while introducing the shadowy photography that would flourish in the film noirs of the '40s. The film also tugs at the heart with the famous scene in which the monster befriends a blind hermit.
The two "Frankensteins" should be viewed concurrently, along with 1998's "Gods and Monsters" about the life of Whale. The director, it turns out, inflicted his big screen monster with the same deep-seeded loneliness he felt in his life. "Alone bad. Friend Good."


BULL DURHAM directed by Ron Shelton (1989)

With all due respect to fans of science fiction, there is no group of filmgoers harder to please than baseball fans. You can't fake it with us. If the swing is wrong, or the pitching mechanics, or the language, it stands out like a thumb that's just been drilled by a Roger Clemens fastball. The reason for repeated cinematic failure is simple. Hollywood recognizes the inherent drama of a baseball game, but falsely concludes that it can be re-created on the screen. The story arc of a game or a season is too rich and uniquely perfect to be duplicated. There's not a baseball fan alive that would rather watch the big game in "Major League" than the real thing on television. Shelton, to his enormous credit, didn't even try.
His movie is basically a series of anecdotes gathered loosely into a plot about minor league players. It's full of surprises, so you feel like you're getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the real thing- in other words, you're getting the part of the game you can't get anywhere else. "Bull Durham" is about the larger themes of life- savoring youth, the realities of aging, good fortune, and redemption. It's about where people search for answers, and why they seek them. Or maybe it's just sex and baseball. Your call.


CABARET directed by Bob Fosse (1972)

Before 1972, movie musicals were about wholesome hayrack rides and people teaching fun songs to children. After 1972, movie musicals rarely existed at all. That stitch in time corresponded with the theatrical release of "Cabaret." In Fosse's film, no one breaks spontaneously into song. Instead, the floor show at the Kit Kat Klub is the prism through which we see the characters' lives.
And the apocolyptic setting demands realism. Fascism is breaking out across Germany in the early '30s, and the employees and patrons of the Kit Kat see their joint as the last refuge of freedom and decadence. The one musical number that takes place outside the club is "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," sung in a country-inn beer garden by an angel-faced, blonde boy who, if he hasn't already, is destined to join Hitler's Youth Movement. It's chilling to watch. The entire movie carries a chill.


CASABLANCA directed by Michael Curtiz (1942)

"Casablanca" embodies 'the dream factory' aspect of Hollywood more than any other picture. Its photography and performances are beautiful. Its dialogue has become iconic. Its signature song, "As Time Goes By," can move one to tears. But, to me, it's also the most patriotic movie ever made. As Rick, Humphrey Bogart is the only American in the film. The world is at war, and Rick is trying to keep his nightclub in business in French Morocco. He's tired, largely indifferent, and carries a reputation for self-protection. Point of fact- he doesn't even identify himself as American. Early in the film he's asked what nationality he is, and answers, "I'm a drunkard." But he's a romantic at heart, and his heart has been broken. As he's reacquainted with his past love, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), he falls helplessly back into passion. In the end, he chooses social purpose over self-interest. He's a patriot because of his actions, not his words. He is a symbol, not of America, but of what America should be.


CHINATOWN directed by Roman Polanski (1974)

The 1970s was a great decade for movies, but "Chinatown" stands out because it plays by the old rules. It was a faithful new story in the 'noir' catalog, but, unlike many of the other filmmakers of his generation, Polanski is not winking at the audience. Along with screenwriter Robert Towne, he re-creates an old Los Angeles, one that existed before the film industry grew up inside of- and around- it. The movie carries an absolutely fascinating, fact-based story about the scandalous birth of the San Fernando Valley. "Either bring the water to L.A. or you bring L.A. to the water," John Huston's character explains. Polanski seems to filter the camera's lens so that the California sun never quite illuminates, and Nicholson strips Bogie's old 'gumshoe' role of whatever romance it has left. "Chinatown" doesn't compromise. Today, it would be butchered.
It also plays great in black and white. Give it a try after first viewing.


(The first five movies of the CM Top 50 were posted 12/18)

posted by CM @ 1:48 AM