And God Created Woman (1988)

Directed by: Roger Vadim
Written by: R.J. Stewart
Starring: Rebecca De Mornay, Vincent Spano, Frank Lengella, Donovan Leitch, Judith Chapman

Probably one of the worst movies of the 1980's, 'And God Created Woman' stars Rebecca De Mornay as Robin, a prison inmate who convinces the prison handyman (Spano) to marry her for a large sum of money so she can get released on parole. When she's out, they move in together and don't get along. Robin starts a rock-band, hoping to fulfill her life long dreams of becoming famous. Soon Robin catches the eye of local senator James Tiernan, and they eventually have an affair. As Robin's new found freedom is put in jeopardy, she must do whatever she can to remain free, while not hurting the man she really loves.

If there was ever a movie looking for a point, this is it. The movie has no direction, it wants to be too many things and ends up nowhere. There are prison breaks, gratuitous sex, family squabbles, political banquets, and rock bands. The writing in this is so over the top I had a hard time figuring out if this movie was intended as a drama or a comedy.

Hack director Roger Vadim, remaking his own 1956 film of the same name, had hoped this might do for De Morney what the original film did for famous sex symbol Brigitte Bardot, but the film turned out to be a box-office dud, and she'd have to wait a few more years before her chilling performance in 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' finally saw her deservedly hit the big time.



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

Compulsion (1959)

Directed by: Richard Fleischer
Written by: Meyer Levin; Richard Murphy
Starring: Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman, Orson Welles, Diane Varsi, E.G. Marshall, Martin Milner, Richard Anderson, Gavin MacLeod

In this dramatization of the infamous 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case, Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman play a pair of rich college students who decide that they can commit the perfect murder and get away with it. They kill a young teenage boy, off screen, but are soon arrested when police match a pair of glasses left at the crime scene to one of the men. Their wealthy parents hire renowned defense attorney Jonathan Wilk (Welles,) who is known for his passionate arguments against the death penalty. Both of the killers confess to the crime but Wilk pleads them not guilty. At the trial, they change the plea to guilty and Wilk argues passionately in favor of a life sentence rather than execution.

The first half of the film is great. We meet the two killers, see how they live, what makes them tick. It's all truly fascinating stuff that is acted very well by the leads. But the second half turns the movie into a shallow ad against capital punishment.

Firstly, we do not see the crime being committed. Perhaps seeing two grown men taking a child, killing him basically for fun, and then discarding his body like a bag of garbage would make a viewer think less of the two poor lads who go to trial.

Second, the little boy is treated more as a mentioned aside, rather than a real little boy. We do not see the huge impact that the murder has upon his family. We never even see the body. There are even subtle, basically unchallenged, references to him being a brat. Thus putting a little negative spin in the viewer's mind that the boy brought this evil upon himself!

Third, In the courtroom scenes, the audience is asked to question their beliefs if they happen to think the killers deserve to be executed for their cold blooded crime. During a long-winded speech made by Orson Welles (taken largely from actual courtroom transcripts) he goes on an on about how the two 'boys' shouldn't be put to death. I'm not going to get into what my beliefs on capital punishment are, but to ask an audience to feel some pity on two callous young men who murdered a boy for fun is absolutely ridiculous!

And we don't even hear any type of closing argument from the Prosecutor. As a matter of fact, everyone, even the judge, looks shamed by Orson's 'wonderful' speech about love, mercy, kindness, blah blah blah... It's a big fat cop out.

The acting and cinematography in 'Compulsion' is great, but the screenplay is just shallow liberal propaganda. (<-- And it really hurts me to say that.)



Final Verdict: See it for everything but the message.

Chattahoochee (1990)

Directed by: Mick Jackson
Written by: James Hicks
Starring: Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Frances McDormand, Pamela Reed, Ned Beatty, M. Emmet Walsh

Emmet Foley (Oldman,) a decorated but troubled Korean War vet suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and impotence, has a breakdown and goes on a shooting spree in his neighborhood, subliminally hoping to commit "suicide by cop." When that fails, he shoots himself in the chest but survives to be sentenced to a maximum security mental hospital in 1955 Florida. While recovering, he begins to feel a sense of rage over the mistreatment and open abuse of his fellow inmates, whose needs are ignored in an atmosphere of neglect and filth. With the help of another inmate (Hopper) and his faithful sister (Reed,) he begins a campaign against the entrenched bureaucracy to improve conditions for his fellow patients.

This film would have been better if the director had managed to reel the cast in a little bit. Oldman and Hopper in particular. Their scenes come across as ham-fisted and over the top, ruining scenes that were supposed to be harrowing and shocking. McDormand, playing the dimwitted wife, has a couple decent scenes, but she's far from memorable in this. Pamela Reed, on the other hand, gives a good solid performance in this, free of histrionics and scenery chewing.

The script is another problem. It's filled with every cliche in the 'insane asylum' genre book. From cruel orderlies to heartless hospital bureaucrats to long scenes of suffering. There's nothing here that we haven't seen dozens of times before.

All in all it's not a horrible film, it's just very predictable and routine. There are other, better films to see if you want a look inside the horrors of mid-twentieth century psychiatric wards.

Final Verdict: Skip It

Women's Prison (1955)

Directed by: Lewis Seiler
Written by: Jack DeWitt
Starring: Ida Lupino, Jan Sterling, Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, Phyllis Thaxter, Howard Duff

Sadly, there's not really much to say about this 50's women in prison melodrama. It's one of those movies that haven't aged well at all, and remain as interesting as a bucket of dust. The usually excellent Ida Lupino stars as the cruel warden in charge of the female side of a co-ed prison facility. After a female inmate gets pregnant, Ida Lupino's warden goes into a frenzy. She ends up beating the pregnant woman to death, and this results in the other gals rioting.

I haven't seen many of these so-called 'women in cages' films, but this film seems to mark the turning point when these types of films, up until then regarded as respectable dramas, transformed into sleazy exploitation.

Final Verdict: Skip It