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— Jeppe Kleijngeld
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FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….
Barton Fink (1991, UK, USA)
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Cast: John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner Running Time: 116 mins.
When the Coen Brothers hit writer’s block while working on Miller’s Crossing, they took a break and wrote Barton Fink: a story about a playwright who suffers from writer’s block. After finishing Miller’s Crossing, they moved on to this film, starring two Johns: John Turturro as the titular character and John Goodman as his hotel neighbour. Barton Fink has success with Bare Ruined Choirs, a play about the common man. He’s offered 2,000 dollars a week to work in Hollywood, and with that decision he sells his soul to the devil. He’s assigned to write a wrestling picture, but isolated in his hotel room, he can’t get a single word out of his typewriter. Turturro is terrific as the pompous Fink, who pretends to be a champion of the common man yet fails to listen to one when he finally meets one in the flesh: his next-door neighbour, Charlie Meadows. The film quickly develops an eerie, almost horror-like mood, while still delivering plenty of classic Coen Brothers humour. Barton’s haircut is so high it almost fills half the screen, the studio head (a scene-stealing, Oscar-nominated performance by Michael Lerner) literally kisses Barton’s feet, and Barton is forced to watch dailies of the most terrible wrestling movie ever made. The story unfolds like a nightmare in which Barton gets trapped in his hotel room and inside his own mind, which he doesn’t understand. The film famously won the Palme d’Or, Best Director, and Best Actor at Cannes 1991, the first film ever to sweep the top three prizes, a feat that sparked controversy at the time.
Director: Martin Scorsese Writers: Martin Scorsese (screenplay), Nicholas Pileggi (book & screenplay) Stars: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco, Joe Pesci
One time during my high school days, I convinced a teacher who liked me to view GoodFellas in class, and so I could see my favorite movie of all time through the eyes of my ‘virgin’ classmates.
I remember their baffled reactions to the bloody opening scene, their laughter at almost everything Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) said and did, and their unease at seeing Henry and Karen Hill crying in each other’s arms in desperation towards the end.
GoodFellas is my favorite movie of all time, but for this ultimate gangster movie ranking, it shares the throne with The Godfather. The reason is obvious; both movies are monumental gangster epics. The Godfather is by far the greatest film ever about the top level of the Mafia, and when it comes to the life of the street level wiseguy, GoodFellas is the essential picture.
Like the protagonist Henry Hill gets sucked into the seductive life of a mobster at a young age, so we, the audience, get sucked into this movie. And just like Henry, at first we find the lifestyle to appear exciting and glamorous, only to discover its ugly true nature half way through. From that point on, it all goes downHILL…
Scorsese employs a variety of cinematic techniques to keep us at the edge of our seats throughout Henry’s journey through 30 years of crime in New York City. The first part of the movie is shot like a movie trailer with tremendous energy with Henry in voiceover describing the events from his wiseguy perspective (“business bad? Fuck you pay me!”) and the frantic editing and swooping cinematography brings the audience into the rush of the mobster life.
Later, we also get the wiseguy’s wife’s perspective through the voiceover of Karen Hill and this really completes the picture of what that lifestyle is all about. The murder of made guy Billy Batts then marks the turning point after which the wiseguys’ demise gradually draws closer. The movie slows down a little bit and we get to witness a number of pivotal moments of Hill’s life that are not so glamorous, like Spider’s murder and Karen almost shooting him in the face for cheating on her.
After a lengthy period in prison, it follows the Lufthansa heist, one more incredible highlight for a mob crew that loves nothing more than taking down big scores. Then, during the final part of the film, the pace picks up again as we join Henry on a day filled with cocaine, paranoia and police helicopters.
Like The Godfather, the movie is chock full of unforgettable moments that are forever recorded in the cinematic consciousness. At the end of Hill’s downfall, when he is reduced to the status of ordinary ‘schnook’ citizen, Scorsese cleverly throws in a reference shot to The Great Train Robbery. Although it usually leads to an inglorious death, the life of the American, gun-slinging outlaw remains forever alluring.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola Writers: Mario Puzo (screenplay & novel), Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay) Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
50 years after its release, The Godfather remains one of the most powerful and emotional cinematic experiences ever created. It is only rivaled by its knockout sequel Part II that arrived two years later.
Director Francis Ford Coppola took Mario Puzo’s fascinating story about the power struggle of the Corleone crime family in New York in the forties/fifties, and weaved it into an unforgettable epic about family, honor, love and revenge.
A whole range of cinematic achievements combined ensure that The Godfather is often hailed as the greatest movie of all time.
Take the stylish cinematography, beautiful musical score and thrilling pacing for starters. And then add the superb performances of the whole cast and you have a true classic on your hands.
But there is much more. The characters are so brilliantly realized that it matches the best of Shakespeare’s writing. Especially Marlon Brando’s aging patriarch Don Vito, and Al Pacino’s cold and calculating successor Michael, have become immortal characters in cinema.
Plus no other movie has so many iconic scenes crammed into its running time: the horse’s head, the Sollozzo-McCluskey murders, the baptism scene, to name but a few.
And there are too many unforgettable lines of dialogues to mention. The Godfather has thus sealed its position as the Capo di tutti capi: the Boss of all Bosses of Gangster Movies.
Rivalled only by the second number 1 of this list: GoodFellas.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola Writers: Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay), Mario Puzo (screenplay & novel) Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall
With The Godfather: Part II, director Francis Ford Coppola did the impossible. He created a movie that is just as captivating and beautiful as its unforgettable predecessor.
Unique in its structure, both sequel and prequel simultaneously, Part II sees the rise of a young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) to power and Michael Corleone’s (Al Pacino) transcendence to hell: an inevitable continuation of the events of the first part.
Michael becomes a truly tragic character by the end when he dooms himself by committing an unspeakable act of evil. The build-up to the shattering final image – Michael sitting alone outside his Lake Tahoe estate having lost his family – is one of the most memorable images in cinema history. A unique accomplishment by Coppola and his team.
Special praise must go to Pacino for radiating Michael’s mindset throughout every step of his diabolical transformation, making Michael Corleone one of the most iconic figures in movie history.
And cinematographer Gordon Willis succeeds once again in making every image a wonderful painting. As far as cinematic accomplishments go, Part II is as epic as its subject matter.
Welkom op Fragmenten uit het Schemerland, mijn persoonlijke website en content-verzameling. Je vindt hier veel artikelen over films en series in de FilmDungeon. Ook vind je op deze site mijn achtergrondverhaal, een selectie van mijn professionele werk, en een groeiende collectie blogs – fragmenten genaamd – over uiteenlopende onderwerpen. Veel leesplezier en bedankt voor het bezoeken van mijn blog!
