The Chris Moeller Archives

The 50 Great American Films 31-35

The next five films of the Chris Moeller top 50, alphabetically from N to R...


NORTH BY NORTHWEST directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1959)

Cary Grant was effortless in his craft. He's been called the last movie star that wasn't "the boy next door." He was always a star on screen. Critic Pauline Kael wrote that he embodied a happier time in movies when we had a simpler relationship with a performer, "We could admire him for his timing and nonchalance; we didn't expect emotional revelations from Cary Grant... We didn't want depth from him; we asked only that he be handsome and silky and make us laugh." His likability gives him an 'everyman' quality in "North By Northwest," albeit that of an everyman who's having a remarkably bad day. He's mistaken for a spy, held at gunpoint, forced to drink himself into a drunken stupor (that part's not so bad), and framed for murder. Later, he's chased by a biplane in the middle of a cornfield, and winds up hanging from Mount Rushmore. At one time or another, all of us have feared that we'll be accused of a crime we didn't commit. (Or is it just me?) It's a dread that comes with the recognition that our best intentions will not always be good enough. Hitchcock had a terrific sense of humor and made a legendary career out of forcing us to confront our fear. Watching the polished and sophisticated Grant deal with his dread through extraordinary circumstances, is pure magic.


ON THE WATERFRONT directed by Elia Kazan (1954)

"On the Waterfront" was Kazan's on-screen justification for the most important decision he had made in his life. The director was perhaps the best-known artist to give friendly testimony before the House Un-American Activities committee. Kazan became a pariah in left-wing circles, and remained one almost a half century later. When he received the Thalberg Award at the Oscars in 1999, many attendees sat silent with arms folded in protest of his appearance. In the film, Marlon Brando's Terry Malloy is a longshoreman on the mob-infested docks of Hoboken, NJ. At one point, a union boss shouts, "You ratted on us, Terry." Malloy shouts back, "I'm standing over here now. I was rattin' on myself all those years. I didn't even know it."
Brando is at his revolutionary best. When his co-star Eva Marie Saint accidentally dropped a glove during a scene, Marlon picked it up and slipped it over his own hands, staying in the scene. The take stayed in the picture. His "I could-a been a contendah" speech in the back of a taxi remains one of the poignant moments in film. As for the politics of conscience at play in "Waterfront," I've always felt that forgiveness should be the order of the day. During the Red Scare, there were no heroes and victims, only victims.


PSYCHO directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1960)

A certain friend of mine (who comments occasionally on this blog) refuses to see "Psycho." Such is its reputation as the ultimate horror film that many people who grow up absorbing movies in this country want nothing to do with it. It was the slasher picture to end all slasher pictures. Designed to look cheap, Hitchcock shot the movie for $800,000, a small amount even by the standards of the late '50s. The horror genre was in fashion at the time, and Sir Alfred wanted his movie to feel like the other exploitation flicks. But movies of that type had rarely been made by directors with the stature and skill of Hitchcock. As in "North by Northwest," the director's genius is not in the thrills (though both pictures have those in spades,) it's in the twisted sense of humor. When we first meet Norman, proprietor of the Bates Motel, we're witnessing a man being held captive. ("Mother... she isn't herself today.") Hitchcock is sticking it to the audience for his own amusement. He cleverly plays with the plot structure by killing off his main character a third of the way through the film. In marketing the movie, he prohibited theater owners from letting anyone into the screenings after the movie had begun. Audiences reacted viscerally to "Psycho," as they do today. It's moody, shocking, and scary as hell.


PULP FICTION directed by Quentin Tarantino (1994)

"Pulp Fiction" made me love movies. When it hit the big screen, I paid full price to watch it in the theater three times. That's still a personal record. It seemed like the world of entertainment was exploding. Anything was possible. Tarantino, with only one other film under his belt, infused the film with complete originality while conveying much of his own personality. It made every viewer, at least for a moment, feel like he or she had it in him to accomplish the same thing. The reason for this is the brilliant use of often seemingly mundane dialogue. The plot structure takes the shape of its namesake- classic "pulp" novels, trashy and grotesque, playing with time, and veering off on tangents; but the dialogue gives the film a foundation from start to finish. It calls on our common experiences as well as the characters'. It puts us on par with them. We may have never shared Bruce Willis' character's experience of being bound, gagged, and nearly raped by two hillbillies in the basement of a pawn shop, but we can appreciate his frustration when his girlfriend complains that she couldn't get pancakes for breakfast.
Time-- as it always does-- takes off a little of the edge. There's already a new generation of movie fans discovering "Pulp Fiction," having grown up with the wannabe films that it spawned. But I'll always remember the feeling I had watching the movie the first time, wondering what would happen next and hoping that the experience would never end. It was the feeling of being alive.


RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK directed by Steven Spielberg (1981)

Steven Spielberg has boundless ability behind the camera. He has a terrific eye, extraordinary craftsmanship, and for the last quarter century, an unlimited budget. Unfortunately, his imagination arrested development at the age of 14 so we've never been able to experience what that talent would produce on an adult level. His attempts at mature themes (Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan) have resulted in big screen adaptations of your junior high history textbook- sanitized and paternal, and they usually wind up devolving into an exploration of his guilt-ridden relationship with his father. The type of movie best suited to Spielberg's talent is "Raiders of the Lost Ark," an adventure movie inspired by the old Saturday matinee serials that played to predominantly youth audiences. Indiana Jones escapes one crisis after another. He's chased by a boulder, hounded by Nazis and snakes. Harrison Ford is exceptional as the flawed hero and most iconic archeologist of all time, real or imagined. The pacing is excellent-- exciting, but not as frantic as other modern action films, and backed by a wonderful score by John Williams. "Raiders" was also the last great hurrah for stunt men in Hollywood (including Ford) before the special effects industry took over. Spielberg pushes our buttons as only he can. It's great fun.


Previous Top 50 film reviews were posted on 12/18, 12/23, 12/30, 1/9, 1/16, and 1/23.

posted by CM @ 11:51 PM