A Reel Review: A QUIET PLACE PART II

In 2018, John Krasinski made an impressive leap from the small-screen to the big-screen, directing and co-starring in the horror thriller A QUIET PLACE; one of the surprise hits of the year that had audiences shitting bricks. Here in 2021, after a delay of a year, Krasinski returns with PART II; following the Abbott family as they try to survive in a world decimated by deadly creatures. 

 

After the events of the first film, the surviving members of the Abbott family; mom Evelyn (Emily Blunt), along with her hearing-impaired daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), son Marcus (Noah Jupe), and her infant son…make their way out of their isolated home to search for more survivors…and hope. 

 

Written and directed by Krasinski, A QUIET PLACE PART II re-establishes the world the Abbott’s are living in through an extended flashback; not a TV-episode type that recaps the previous happenings, but an extended prologue that shows the day the deadly, spindly, blind-yet-noise-sensitive creatures arrived on Earth. The Abbott’s and others learn the hard way that silence is the way to survive, and we’re off to the races as the film quickly moves ahead to just after PART I wraps up. In the present time, the family has discovered a way to fight off the creatures, and thanks to the forward thinking of Regan, may have a way to extend the fight for all of what’s left of humanity. 

 

The plot is simple; find help and a way to spread the word of the new fighting method. Hope is the key term and that’s what the characters grapple with in PART II. Eventually the Abbott’s stumble upon an old family friend (Cillian Murphy), who has lost his family and any sort of hope. Finding a way to bring him out of the darkness is the moral center of the film and it works well. 

 

Tension-building with tremendous payoffs was part of the reason PART I worked so well, and this time around Krasinski outdoes himself. Characters having to keep quiet while running and hiding provides some excellent edge-of-your-seat moments, and the creatures are more frightening than before. The highlight of the film comes when the characters split up into three groups, and all three groups find themselves stalked by the creatures…which turns into three different nail-biters going on at the same time in a masterclass of editing. And speaking of editing, the manipulation of sound is tremendous; this is a film that demands to be seen on the big screen. 

 

Acting is excellent. Emily Blunt has the burden of being the only adult in the room and she carries it in her usual solid talent. She feels a little sidelined this time around, as the film does shift its attention more towards the children…but she still gets her moments. The film is stolen by young actress Millicent Simmonds. 

 

After a thriller of a finale, PART II avoids any old sci-fi cliché of wiping out the creatures and mankind rising out of the ashes, and instead stays true to its central theme of hope; and ends with just that for mankind. The film’s shift from the adults to the children is noticeable, but logical, as any hope mankind has always rests with its children. That makes A QUIET PLACE PART II not just a shit-your-pants thriller, but one that means a little something more. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

A Reel Retro Review: THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1971)

Reel Speak’s Retro Reviews will randomly review a classic film from the TCM library every week, with the intention of introducing some overlooked and perhaps forgotten screen gems from the past to those of us who may be unfamiliar or unawares of their existence. 

 

As we wrap up STAR WARS Month, we look back at some films featuring its many stars. In 40-plus years of STAR WARS movies, we have been treated to some of the most ruthless and iconic villains in cinema. One that is often overlooked is the man that held Darth Vader’s leash; Grand Moff Tarkin as played by Peter Cushing. But even before Cushing started destroying planets, he was an icon in the horror genre, with one of his films being the 1971 horror anthology THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. 

 

After renting an old country house, horror film star Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee), vanishes. Scotland Yard Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) is called in to investigate, and is told some of the house’s history through four separate tales; including the film star, a struggling writer and his wife (Denholm Elliot, Joanna Dunham), a retired stockbroker and his best friend (Peter Cushing, Joss Ackland), and a widowed man and his daughter (Christopher Lee, Chloe Franks). 

 

Directed by Peter Duffell, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD is composed of four short stories, almost feeling like four separate short-films, connected by the house and the inspector trying to solve the murder of the missing film star. As he digs deeper into the recent history of the house, he finds, through the four stories, that all four previous tenants had come to bad ends. As a policeman, Holloway is focused on the facts, while everyone else seems convinced that the house has an evil to it. 

 

With a creepy atmosphere and some excellent performances from the entire cast, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD is perfect viewing during the Halloween season, as it is packed with the familiar spooky things; vampires, witches, escaped lunatics, a large empty house and even a creepy wax museum of horror. The buildup of tension and scares is perfectly done, and each of the four tales comes with a twist or two. 

 

The final minutes don’t do the greatest job in tying the four stories together, and instead focuses only on the final tale. It’s a little unsatisfying, and the final shot is a character looking at the camera and telling the audience exactly how the house works. It feels lazy and unnecessary, but doesn’t ruin the experience as everything else is strong enough, and spooky enough to overcome it. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

 

Reel Facts: Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, who would also appear as a villain in two STAR WARS films, would appear in a total of 22 films together. Peter Duffell’s career would run over 60 years as a writer and director, winning the BAFTA for Best Director in 1980 for CAUGHT ON A TRAIN. He passed away in 2017 at the age of 95. 

A Reel Review: SPIRAL - FROM THE BOOK OF SAW

In 2004, the horror genre was given a sorely needed vaccine when the tricky and twisty SAW spilled blood on our screens in imaginative ways; gone were the lumbering slashers and in came the killer with a brain and a vendetta. What sadly followed next were seven ridiculous, repetitive, and non-sensical sequels that sunk the franchise into the lower colon of the genre. Here in 2021, director Darren Lynn Bousman, who helmed three of those rancid sequels, returns to the series with yet another chapter. 

 

Detective Zeke (Chris Rock), is teamed up with rookie detective Shenk (Max Minghella), to solve a series of grisly murders that seem to be done by a copycat; replicating the deadly traps by the long-dead Jigsaw killer which put the victims in life or death situations. 

 

In directing his fourth SAW film, director Darren Lynn Bousman seems to have picked up on the many flaws of the previous films and decided to step far and away from them. Where the sequels tied themselves together with recurring characters redundantly siding with Jigsaw, this time around SPIRAL focuses on operating as a cop drama. Although the atmosphere is very much in the SAW world we’ve come to know, SPIRAL separates itself from the previous turds with decent character backstories that come into play in the present. Zeke has a history with his department; having once turned in a dirty cop which results in most of the squad room hating his guts (yellow betrays blue, as they say), and Zeke himself has issues with his father (Samuel L. Jackson), who was once the chief of police. And even as a cop drama, SPIRAL doesn’t hang it’s hat on the old cliché’s of the genre, as the banter between the seasoned and bitter Zeke and rookie Shenk is fresh and new. 

 

Once the killing does start, it’s SAW madness all the way. The traps are thankfully more grounded this time around; gone are the ridiculous giant gatling guns and laser beams, replaced by pure mechanics and engineering. There is a commitment to practical effects that mostly works, although an early sequence involving a cop’s tongue looks terrible. There are a few decent jump-scares, one or two good laughs, and some pop-culture references that earn a chuckle or two. 

 

For the first time in a long while, acting is very good for a SAW movie. Chris Rock makes the transition from comedy to drama very well, and he still manages to throw some of his familiar self in there. Max Minghella is excellent, and Samuel L. Jackson is, well, Sam Jackson. Marisol Nichols comes in as the new chief of police and is excellent. 

 

Every SAW film has a pre-requisite of having a twist. SPIRAL does indeed have one, but anyone who has ever seen at least one chapter of this series has been trained to watch out for dialogue that has more than one meaning. In short, the twist and the identity of the copycat killer is telegraphed early. What follows then is a finale that is loaded with decent irony and another twist that works well enough. The final trap and situation Zeke finds himself in has a lot of holes, but ends just right considering the characters. SPIRAL is new and same-old at the same time, and stands as the most functional sequel of the series. This is the medicine SAW has been needing. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

A Reel Retro Review: FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE (1978)

Reel Speak’s Retro Reviews will randomly review a classic film from the TCM library every week, with the intention of introducing some overlooked and perhaps forgotten screen gems from the past to those of us who may be unfamiliar or unawares of their existence. 

 

As we continue to celebrate STAR WARS Month, it’s always fun to revisit or discover the films of its stars. Perhaps the biggest star of the franchise has been Harrison Ford, who blasted his way into our hearts as the charming smuggler turned war hero. After THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, he swung his way into pop culture as Indiana Jones. But inbetween Indy and Han, he went to war against the Nazi’s in Guy Hamilton’s FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE. 

 

WWII, 1943. Lt. Barnsby (Ford), of the U.S. Army Rangers, is teamed-up with British Major Mallory (Robert Shaw), to lead a joint-secret mission in Yugoslavia. 

 

Based on the novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean, and a sequel to the 1961 film THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, FORCE 10 is one-part war film, one-part espionage. Barnsby and Mallory have separate missions, each one a secret to the other. Barnsby’s task is to blow up a bridge, while Mallory is to assassinate a German spy; a leftover thread from the previous film. Things are complicated when their plane is shot down over enemy lines, which kills off most of their team. This leaves Barnsby and Mallory to argue and conspire their way through German forces and rebel factions whose alliances aren’t always clear. 

 

The charisma between the primary players, Barnsby and Mallory, truly drives the film as they go from place to place looking for resources and allies to complete their missions. Long-time fans of STAR WARS and JAWS (1975) will love seeing Ford and Shaw battle each other before finally teaming up to punch Nazi’s in the face. Overall the film is testosterone-fueled and definitely an old-school war picture, but there is enough meat on the bone to sustain it. Director Guy Hamilton films some great fight scenes, and the tension built during some of the sneaking-around pieces are very well done. 

 

Harrison Ford and Robert Shaw own the film, as well they should, and both are perfect as good soldiers with toughness and charm. Carl Weathers of ROCKY fame comes in as an Army medic and faces off well against Ford and Shaw. Richard Kiel (“Jaws” from the James Bond films), also appears and makes an impression. Actress Barbara Bach, as the only woman in the film, nearly steals the show. 

 

After an explosive finale, what’s left of their team is left behind enemy lines with no way home, which seems to have been a set up for a sequel that never happened. It’s a little unsatisfying, but most ambiguous endings are. Still, FORCE 10 is a lot of fun with the stars shining brightly. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

 

Reel Facts: FORCE 10 has several actors that would join Harrison Ford in his future STAR WARS and Indiana Jones adventures; Michael Byrne (THE LAST CRUSADE), Wolf Kahler (RAIDERS), and Michael Sheard (LAST CRUSADE and EMPIRE). Robert Shaw would only appear in one more film before his death in 1978. 

 

 

 

A Reel Opinion: The Top 10 Worst Superhero Films

Earlier this week, the trailer for the Sony Pictures-produced supervillain film VENOM: THERE WILL BE CARNAGE was released. It is a sequel to the solo film VENOM from 2018; a superhero film without a superhero that has been, and still does draw debate today. Some consider VENOM to be great, others (like this Blogger), ranks it up there with the worst. And that leads us to Reel Speak’s Top 10 Worst Superhero Films. 

 

With so many caped crusaders hitting the screen in the last 20 years, there have been some great successes...and some miserable failures; GREEN LANTERN (2011), JONAH HEX (2010), and WW84 (2020), for starters. But superhero films can be given a wide berth. Many fail hard in places like story and character, but deliver on action…which gives them a slight pass. The films based on the DC Comics heroes have been all over the place in the last decade, with Zack Snyder’s MAN OF STEEL (2013), and BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016), full of terrible moments but also some very good ones. The continuing JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017) debacle is an embarrassment of riches for all involved, but it did manage to do a few things better than the four-hour re-cut released this year. The absolute worst superhero films are the ones that have nothing to save them; no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Another important factor to consider are the films that did not live up to the sum of its parts, which means low-budget, B-movie junk like the Shaquille O’Neal-led STEEL (1997) barely counts as a real movie. 

 

 

So let’s tug on some capes…

 

 

 

10. CAPTAIN AMERICA (1990)

There is an argument that we shouldn’t be too hard on superhero films made before the modern era, as back then no one really knew how to do it right. That’s a lot of bull, because the magnificent SUPERMAN from 1978 and the beloved BATMAN from 1989 say otherwise. But even if we were to lower our standards, this very first version of the Star-Spangled man in a feature suffered from cheap-looking rubber suits (complete with rubber ears), and a lead actor who played the heroic Steve Rogers as a lumbering dumbass. 

9. VENOM (2018)

One of the worst trends in cinema right now are the superhero movies without superheroes; instead spending time with the bad guys as they spin their wheels in the mud. This Sony Pictures-produced laugher based on the popular Spider-Man villain couldn’t decide if it wanted to be an odd-couple comedy or horror, so it tries to be both and ends up with a bizarre soup sandwich. 

8. CATWOMAN (2004)

Oscar winner Halle Berry stars in this joke which didn’t even bother to use the character’s name from its comic origins. Based on the long-running and iconic supervillain in the Batman comics, CATWOMAN had some ridiculous set-pieces, even for a comic book film, and its lack of any real story or character and focus on Berry’s slinky, half-naked body raises an eyebrow. 

7. SUPERGIRL (1984)

Helen Slater dons the skirt of Supergirl in this spin-off of the SUPERMAN series starring the late great Christopher Reeve. Similar to CATWOMAN, SUPERGIRL lacks anything resembling a story and just wants to make a movie about Slater’s legs. Some may give this a pass as a low-budget affair, but the talent involved; Slater, Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, and Peter O’Toole suggests that it could have been better. 

6. SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007)

By the time Sam Raimi made it to his third Spider-Man film, the bar was set high. His SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004) was excellent, and took a page out of the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK playbook in leaving important story threads out there for resolution. Sony Pictures drove Raimi mad in demanding one-too-many villains be present, leading to a very unbalanced movie. Raimi wasn’t without his own mistakes; filming some pretty dumb sequences and resolving those hanging threads by way of awkward information dumps. 

5. X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (2009)

Starting in 2000, the X-MEN series launched strong, took a nose-dive, recovered, bombed again, recovered, and then fizzled out for good. There’s a lot to pick on in this series, including THE LAST STAND (2006), APOCALYPSE (2016), and DARK PHOENIX (2019)…but none of those reached the level of disappointment than this first solo outing of the beloved clawed, self-healing mutant. Hugh Jackman gives it his all, but even he can’t overcome the clunky plot and shitty CGI that made his claws look like a Roger Rabbit cartoon.

4. BATMAN AND ROBIN (1997)

The fourth and final film in Warner Bros.’ initial BATMAN series, which started in 1989 with Tim Burton’s still-popular and admired BATMAN. This Joel Schumacher-directed, big-budget, packed-with-stars yukfest had to overcome a newly recast Bruce Wayne (George Clooney), who was overshadowed by the presence of mega-star Arnold Schwarzenegger. Stuffed with terrible jokes and headache-inducing colors, the film wasted its talent (Clooney, Schwarzenegger, Chris O’Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone), and killed the Bat on film for nearly a decade. 

3. FANTASTIC FOUR (2015)

This Fox Studios-produced adaptation of the iconic Marvel team of heroes was doomed from the start. The cast was boring (Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell), and director Josh Trank was a train wreck…acting like a weirdo on-set which messed up the entire film. On the screen, the film was dull, an editing disaster, and seems to be missing whole sections. In the high-bar era of superhero movies, it’s mind-boggling that something feeling this incomplete would actually be released. 

2. SUICIDE SQUAD (2016)

Similar to the X-MEN series, there is a lot to pick on in Warner Bros.’ adaptations of DC Comics heroes; including the Zack Snyder films, and Patty Jenkins’ bizarre WONDER WOMAN sequel released this year. But even they look like masterpieces compared to this wacky thing which made no sense from concept to execution. Once again featuring Batman baddies with no Bat, SUICIDE SQUAD was completely dysfunctional; odd casting, non-sensical plotting, an editing mess, and stakes that no one could care about. So bad that Warner Bros. themselves decided to reboot the thing and start all over. Embarrassing. 

1. SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)

The late great Christopher Reeve set a high bar for his own series and for superhero films over the next 40 years after SUPERMAN (1978), and its sequel in 1980. The third installment in 1983 took a dive in quality, but even that looks good compared to the fourth and final film in this initial Superman run. The concept of Superman eradicating nuclear weapons in the world could be looked at as un-necessarily political, but arguably feels like something Supes would do in his life-long goal of peace on Earth. Execution-wise, everything fell apart. Suffering hard from a very limited budget, the film looked cheap and on the level of a B-movie, and the big bad villain Nuclear Man looks and sounds terrible. The stories say that parent studio Cannon Films ran out of money during production and basically released an unfinished film, and it shows. There’s nothing worth saving here. 

REEL SPEAK'S TOP 10 WORST SUPERHERO FILMS

1. SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE
2. SUICIDE SQUAD
3. FANTASTIC FOUR
4. BATMAN AND ROBIN
5. X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
6. SPIDER-MAN 3
7. SUPERGIRL
8. CATWOMAN
9. VENOM
10. CAPTAIN AMERICA

A Reel Retro Review: THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1964)

Reel Speak’s Retro Reviews will randomly review a classic film from the TCM library every week, with the intention of introducing some overlooked and perhaps forgotten screen gems from the past to those of us who may be unfamiliar or unawares of their existence. 

As we continue to celebrate STAR WARS Month, it’s always fun to revisit the films that inspired the long-running franchise, and the other works of its stars. Famed actor Alec Guinness, who played the wizened Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Original Trilogy (1977-1983), had one of  the most-impressive resumes of any actor when the first film arrived in May of 1977, with one of his roles being that of Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome, in Anthony Mann’s 1964 epic, THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 

 

In the year 180 A.D., Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Guinness), is ill and at war with Germanic barbarians. Sensing the end of his life, he chooses General Livius (Stephen Boyd), as his successor, in favor of his son Commodus (Christopher Plummer), whose cronies begin to plot against the Emperor to secure their own political future.

 

Loosely based on historical events, THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE has a wide scale; covering several years and stretching across many continents…while laying down groundwork that would effect Rome over the next hundred years. Despite the wide berth, EMPIRE is driven by its strongly drawn characters, with contrast and conflict the name of the game. Emperor Aurelius is less interested in conquering nations and more into uniting them and treating them equally, while his son Commodus wants to wipe out all enemies and treats war like his favorite gladiator games. Livius in the meantime is unsure of his qualities as Emperor, and just wants to profess his love for Aurelius’ daughter Lucilla (Sophia Loren). 

 

It is no spoiler to say that Emperor Aurelius is eventually killed, which allows Commodus to ascend to the throne. While Livius and Lucilla suspect foul play, the film moves into many long political discussions between the new Emperor and the senate discussing how Rome should be run from now on. While these meetings tend to drag the film down a little, they are countered by some massive and impressive battle scenes. Director Anthony Mann works with over 8,000 extras and 1,200 calvary to put together some very well-staged battles, although a quick scene where a stampede of horses run over obvious stuffed dummies is laughable. But, the film also boasts a thrilling chariot race, and a high-stakes duel-to-the-death in the final minutes. 

 

Acting is superb. Alec Guinness shows strong leadership and a kinder, vulnerable side as ruler of Rome. Long-time STAR WARS fans will thrill in his opening scene; sporting a hooded brown robe to go with his white beard. Christopher Plummer makes for a great villain, and Sophia Loren nearly steals the show. The film also has a very young Omar Sharif as the rival King of Armenia. 

 

In addition to the obvious STAR WARS connection, EMPIRE also has the building blocks that Ridley Scott would use for his Oscar-winning GLADIATOR (2000), making this film a ground-zero for a lot of popular cinema. Outside of all that, EMPIRE is a sweeping epic that is most-impressive even by today’s standards. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it. 

 

Reel Facts: Composer Dimitri Tiomkin won a Golden Globe for his score, and was also nominated for an Oscar. The film’s reconstruction of the Roman Forum, a plaza in the center of Rome, still holds the record for the largest outdoor film set. 

A Reel Opinion: Ranking the STAR WARS Films

Every May the 4^th launches the official un-official STAR WARS month; a time for fans (and those who think they are fans) to re-visit the Saga, or at least the parts that they like. These revisitations always lead to endless debate over the best and worst of the long-running franchise, and that leads to Reel Speak’s very first Ranking of the STAR WARS Films. 

 

Ever since STAR WARS exploded onto screens way back in May of 1977, I and legions of fans have been captivated by that far, far away galaxy. While creator George Lucas was changing cinema overnight, he had also changed the lives of kids who had fallen in love for good with a galaxy of aliens, droids, Jedi, and Death Stars. It has been, and still is an elemental force in this Blogger’s life, and this is a blog has been put off for years simply because ranking the films is like picking and choosing your favorite children; we love them all, no matter their faults. STAR WARS may have had its missteps in the last 40-plus years, but here there is a love for them all; with that said, all STAR WARS films have merits.  

 

 

 

This is where the fun begins…

 

 

 

11. SOLO (2018)

Only the second film in the franchise’s 40-year history to explore territory outside of the Skywalker family. This Ron Howard-directed flick took the bold step of filling in the backstory of the ever-popular Han Solo; showing his roots as a smuggler, and his acquisition of his best pal Chewbacca and his beloved ship the Millennium Falcon. Lighter and breezier than most STAR WARS films, SOLO doesn’t carry a lot of weight, but it is fun and opens up the underworld of the galaxy. 

 

 

10. ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002)

The second film in the Prequel Trilogy which shows the vital steps towards the formation of the evil Galactic Empire, and the eventual downfall of the Jedi and Anakin Skywalker. Despite its aggressive title, ATTACK OF THE CLONES mostly unfolds as a slow-burning mystery; with our heroes trying to uncover who has been behind assassination attempts and shady dealings with consequences for the galaxy. The action is sparce, but when it does come in the last half-hour, it’s full-throttle STAR WARS. And the material here is strong enough to inspire the successful CLONE WARS TV series. 

 

 

9. REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)

The third and final installment of the Prequels, which finally shows the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the Jedi, and the rise of Darth Vader and the Empire. The tone is darker than the previous two episodes with heroes dying left and right, and the last 40 minutes range from thrilling to heartbreaking; with Obi-Wan’s final plea of love for his old friend hitting hard. 

 

 

8. RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019)

The 9^th episode in the Saga and final film in the Sequel Trilogy that launched in 2015. Where the previous film, THE LAST JEDI was a slow brooder and deep character dive, RISE went in full-throttle; racing from planet to planet and battle to battle in a near dizzying fashion. The evil Emperor Palpatine is revealed to be the villain in the shadows pulling all the strings, making him the overarching bad-guy for all three trilogies. Not to mention it gives us an emotional, and proper goodbye for our beloved Princess Leia, as played by the late great Carrie Fisher. 

 

 

7. ROGUE ONE (2016)

The very first film to tell a story un-related to the Skywalker family, with this adventure exploring the characters, conflict, and the Rebel Spies who successfully stole the plans to the dreaded Death Star. Set firmly during the Galactic Civil War, the STAR WARS era that everyone loves the most, ROGUE ONE plays out as a classic WWII film, with an ensemble cast of misfits coming together against impossible odds. It was a story that no one really asked for, but by movie’s end it was the one that we didn’t realize we really needed.

 

 

6. THE LAST JEDI (2017)

By the time the second film in the Sequel Trilogy arrived, STAR WARS had been around for 40 years, and we were content thinking that the franchise was same-old, same-old. Thank the maker we were wrong, because this Rian Johnson-directed Episode XIII smashed any and all expectations. Character-driven and done with a palms-up approach to the deconstruction of “heroes” and how we look at them, it showed that STAR WARS could still be full of surprises. 

 

 

5. THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)

The first Episode in the saga that relaunched STAR WARS for another generation. Going back decades before the events of the first Death Star, MENACE dove into the early steps of Anakin Skywalker’s path to becoming the evil Darth Vader. Once again clinging to classical storytelling tools, Lucas takes a simple, yet effective approach in reaching new audiences. It ushered in a new era of CGI techniques, is the home to one of John Williams’ best scores, and the place to find the best lightsaber battle ever filmed. 

 

 

4. RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983)

The finale to the Original Trilogy which wrapped up the threads left dangling in its predecessor; the question of Vader’s claim of parentage, the fate of Han Solo, and a deeper story behind the Skywalker family name. Its magnificent final battle, which is fought and masterfully edited over three different fronts, would set a standard for action films in the years to come. 

 

 

3. THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)

The J.J. Abrams directed and Disney produced follow-up to RETURN OF THE JEDI which re-ignited STAR WARS for yet another generation of fans and for the modern era. Set 30 years after the death of Vader, AWAKENS explores the long-term aftermath of the fabled galactic conflict through the eyes of Rey (Daisey Ridley), who would become an icon for female heroes and their fans. High energy, another wonderful score by John Williams, and full of stand-up-and-cheer moments. 

 

 

2. A NEW HOPE (1977)

The film that forever altered pop culture and the way movies would be created and marketed. Inspired by classic storytelling with clear definitions of good and evil, George Lucas’ very first space epic, originally just titled STAR WARS and given the episodic sub-title A NEW HOPE, introduced us to characters that would be household names for over 40 years and counting; Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia…and so much more. With an energetic pace and mythic atmosphere, STAR WARS literally exploded onto the big screen in 1977 and it still works today. 

 

 

1. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)

How do you follow-up one of the greatest movies of all time? By not going bigger (although it did to that), but by going deeper. The very first STAR WARS sequel upped the scale with some massive battles through ice and snow and thrilling chases through asteroids, but at the same time it brilliantly isolates the characters to provide developing moments. After seeing our heroes win the day in STAR WARS, it was a shock to see them get their butts kicked for nearly an entire film; the bad guys actually win the day this time…all topped off with a whopper of a twist that still echoes after all these years. STAR WARS may have set the template for blockbusters, but EMPIRE set the standard for sequels, and for all of cinema. 

REEL SPEAK'S STAR WARS RANKING

1. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
2. A NEW HOPE
3. THE FORCE AWAKENS
4. RETURN OF THE JEDI
5. THE PHANTOM MENACE
6. THE LAST JEDI
7. ROGUE ONE
8. RISE OF SKYWALKER
9. REVENGE OF THE SITH
10. ATTACK OF THE CLONES
11. SOLO 

A Reel Retro Review: THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958)

Reel Speak’s Retro Reviews will randomly review a classic film from the TCM library every week, with the intention of introducing some overlooked and perhaps forgotten screen gems from the past to those of us who may be unfamiliar or unawares of their existence. 

It is no secret that STAR WARS creator George Lucas found influence and inspiration from several places when he first started writing his generation-spanning galactic saga; including TV serials, the writings of Joseph Campbell, and the films of famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. One such film in particular was Kurosawa’s 1958 adventure, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS. 

 

In feudal Japan, two peasants; Tahei (Minoru Chiaki), and Matashichi (Kamatari Fujiwara), escape captivity and encounter the mysterious Makabe (Toshiro Mifune), who was once a general of a defeated clan, and assist him in protecting the hunted princess Yuki (Misa Uehara).

 

After spending most of the decade directing films that dabbled with the Samurai, nuclear terror, and Shakespeare…Akira Kurosawa’s THE HIDDEN FORTRESS leans towards a simpler, straight-up adventure film; complete with duels, castles, hunts for gold, and plenty of deception. The plot mainly deals with the two peasants unaware of the identity of their leader and the princess, whose price on her head could bring the peasants the gold they are seeking. 

 

While the plot is somewhat simple on paper, Kurosawa makes for a deeper film by letting the situations and scenes draw out character moments. The former general in exile has his character revealed more and more with each conflict, and even the princess has her own arc; learning and appreciating those that serve her. 

 

This was the first film that Kurosawa shot in the widescreen format, and he makes excellent use of the larger canvas. Battle scenes are wonderfully staged, and even the intimate moments capture every emotional tick. The cast helps to drive the story, even though the two bumbling peasants can get annoying from time to time. 

 

George Lucas would draw a lot from THE HIDDEN FORTRESS when he wrote STAR WARS (1977), and THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999), which is just fine because the film’s clear-cut presentations of the good-guys and bad-guys took inspiration from the Old West flicks that were popular at the time. This is a film that is not only ground-zero for that far away galaxy, but a neat little package of cinematic adventure. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

 

Reel Facts: THE HIDDEN FORTRESS would win the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 9^th Berlin International Film Festival in 1959. Actor Toshiro Mifune would appear in 16 films of Kurosawa’s, including RASHOMON (1950), and SEVEN SAMURAI (1954). He passed away in 1997 at the age of 77.