Nickelodeon (1976)

Directed by: Peter Bogdanovich
Written by: Peter Bogdanovich + W.D. Richter
Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, Tatum O'Neal, Brian Keith, Stella Stevens, John Ritter, Jane Hitchcock, Jack Perkins

This homage to the childhood days of the motion pictures starts in 1910, when the young attorney Leo Harrigan (Ryan O'Neal) by chance meets a motion picture producer. Immediately he's invited to become a writer for him - the start of a sensational career. Soon he's promoted to a director and shoots one silent movie after the other in the tiny desert village of Cacamonga with a small crew of actors. But the competition is hard: the patent agency sends out Buck Greenway (Burt Reynolds) to sabotage them. When they visit L.A., his crew is surprised by a new species: fans!

This movie has many problems. The biggest one being it's running time. At over two hours, it's just way too long for a comedy, especially one that aspires to recreate the screwball humor of the olden days. The second problem is the confusing tone. One moment it's a love story, the next it's a slapstick comedy, then it's a history of early filmmaking, then it's a melodrama, then back to comedy. Repeat that for over two hours and things get pretty tiresome. Because of the constant jerking of the tone, none of the leads make much of an impression with their characters.


The slapstick comedy that worked so well in director Bogdanovich's hilarious 'What's Up Doc?' falls flat on it's face here. If Bogdanovich hadn't used such a heavy-handed slapstick, there might have emerged a fond tribute to the pioneering days of silent films in the early part of the 20th Century. But instead, he has filled the movie with a whole series of non-stop sight gags that become tiresome and repetitious, even more so because none of the characters involved really come to life. As the pretty heroine of the piece, Jane Hitchcock has very limited abilities beyond staring wide-eyed into the camera lens. Burt Reynolds at least does derive several good chuckles from his comedy efforts as a reluctant participant in the troupe of silent film actors. Younger and elder O'Neal are not too bad, but Ryan is never as funny as he was in 'What's Up Doc?' and Tatum, whose performance in 'Paper Moon' is still the best child performance ever on film, isn't very memorable here.

Technically, the film is handsomely produced and pleasing to look at in color, but it plods along without the benefit of a tight script or a really compelling story and suffers, mainly, from the heavy-handed approach to comedy.


Final Verdict: Skip It

Gandhi (1982)

Directed by: Richard Attenborough
Written by: John Briley
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Martin Sheen, Ian Charleson, Athol Fugard, Geraldine James

The only times I've ever heard this film mentioned it was usually disparaging remarks about how it's overrated or how it stole awards from more deserving films the year it was released. Because of those comments I never really had much desire to see 'Gandhi.' What a mistake. This film is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

The film follows Mohandas K. Gandhi from when he was a young lawyer in South Africa, leading non-violent protest against the colonial British powers, to his assassination many years later, after he became known as 'The Father of India.' We see his struggles to unite the native population of India, including Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, to peacefully reject the authority of the British Empire through non-cooperation. We witness the sacrifices he and his followers made to sustain their vision of a free India, the torrents of abuse those who followed him suffered, and the astonishing way they all took it in stride, and the notoriety he and the movement gained all over the world.

Of all the bio-pics I've seen, this is definitely at the top of the list. While other films need to romanticize and glorify their subjects, the real life Gandhi was fascinating enough not to warrant any embellishment on the filmmakers part.

Over the three hour running time we not only get a thoughtful, detailed biography of this fascinating man, but we also get a history of India. We learn what it was like as a native living under Colonial rule, and what the country was like after the British left. We see what caused the rift between Muslims and Hindus, and the creation of present day Pakistan, and the tense, violent relations that still exist between the two nations today.

In other films the actors playing their real life counterparts rarely disappear into their character. Ben Kingsley not only disappears into his role, he becomes Gandhi. Never once during the three hours did I catch myself thinking 'Hmm Ben Kingsley is acting really well!' I can't say that about many of the other acclaimed bio-pics I've seen. On top of Kingsley's brilliant performance, we have a large, wonderful supporting cast. The film also boasts beautiful cinematography and a gorgeous musical score. All of these elements make the long running time fly by.

The makers of this film tried to get it made for over a decade, but kept reaching dead ends. It's a good thing that they pushed through the Hollywood bullshit and were able to make it. Not one minute or one penny were wasted on this magnificent film.

'Gandhi' won Academy Awards for Actor, Director, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Editing, and Best Picture. Looking over the list of people and films it beat out, 'Gandhi' deserved every statuette it received.



Final Verdict: See It

The Naked Truth (1957)

Directed by: Mario Zampi
Written by: Michael Pertwee
Starring: Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Peggy Mount, Shirley Eaton, Dennis Price, Joan Sims

Released in America as 'Your Past Is Showing,' this amusing black comedy concerns a group of English celebrities and nobility who are being blackmailed by Nigel Dennis, an unscrupulous tabloid reporter. Four of these people, a Lord (Terry-Thomas,) a television host (Sellers,) an author (Mount,) and a model (Eaton) decide to fight back and kill their blackmailer. The catch is, none of them are aware anyone else is targeting Dennis. What follows is a series of humorous attempts to off Nigel Dennis.

Peter Sellers gets to dress up in various disguises and do impressions. Watching him is watching a true genius at work. But the movie is stolen by Peggy Mount, who plays the daffy author. She and her hilariously skittish daughter, played by Joan Sims, concoct a plan to poison Dennis, lock him in a trunk and dump him in the river. But things go wrong on several levels, and the way these two cope is hilarious.

As all the characters come together for the final act, things escalate and become even funnier. So if you enjoy british comedy, a fan of Peter Sellers, or just in the mood for a laugh, then don't hesitate to watch this film.

Watch the Trailer

Final Verdict: See It

Escape To Athena (1979)

Directed by: George P. Cosmatos
Written by: George P. Cosmatos; Edward Anhalt
Starring: Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Claudia Cardinale, Stefanie Powers, Richard Roundtree, Sonny Bono, Elliott Gould, Anthony Valentine

It's always weird for me to see an actor who played James Bond in another movie from that period of their 007 career. This would have to be the weirdest so far.

Roger Moore plays an antique collecting SS Officer stationed in Greece during WWII who runs a prison camp. In this camp, which more or less resembles a resort, are David Niven (also a former James Bond,) Richard Roundtree (Shaft!,) and Sonny Bono (the ex-Mr. Cher.) In a 'Hogan's Heroes' type set-up they annoy Roger Moore and his evil SS colleague (played by Anthony Valentine) by always trying to escape. When they are caught, instead of being put to death they are given a slap on the wrist. You see, it turns out that Roger Moore isn't a bad Nazi, he's just an opportunist, which we learn when two American art dealers, played by Elliot Gould and Stefanie Powers, arrive. He and the three prisoners and these two Americans plan on stealing some treasure hidden in a local monastery. When the Germans lose the war, they'll make millions.

Meanwhile, Telly Savalas (a former Bond villain) plays a Greek resistance fighter who is holed up in a local brothel run by the vampy Claudia Cardinale. He plans on liberating the Nazi prison camp and destroying a German submarine.

After an overlong and dull second act, it turns out that the Nazi's have turned the local monastary into a secret launch pad for a deadly nuclear bomb. Telly leads Mr. Cher, Shaft, and Elliot Gould up the cliffs to the monastary while Moore, Niven and Stefanie Powers get to work on destroying the German submarine.

If only any of it were exciting. This movie is only good for seeing such a big, interesting cast in such a big disaster of a WWII adventure. The most egregious offender is Elliot Gould, whose character seems like he's right out of the 70's, not the 40's. In fact, this whole film seems to take place in some alternate reality where WWII continued on into the early 1980's.

Final Verdict: Skip It