Saturday, January 15, 2022
Testament
- Commentary: If you read comments left about this movie on Amazon.com (from where I purchased it) you'll notice that many of the commenters mention how long it's been since they first saw it: 30 years, 35 years; for me it's been 38 years. That was also the last time I saw it. In all these years, I haven't forgotten it. It was the first movie on my list of "nuclear movies to acquire" that I drew up a couple of months ago. No, it wasn't a long list. There aren't that many, and I wasn't interested in a lot of the movies I discovered.
During a significant portion of the Cold War, during my raising from elementary school through college, I lived on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that was definitely a tactical target for bombing by U.S. "enemies", in part because it housed the B-52's that busied themselves, daily, with trips to and from Southeast Asia, in part because it was the U.S. Naval home of the nuclear submarine "Proteus", in part because the island was a strategic communications center for about half the earth, in part because Australia also had a stragetic communications center there and in part because the island was constantly surrounded by Russian "fishing trawlers" that monitored all communications coming into and leaving the island, while the crews gambled at cards with the local fisherman. Although our family was civilian when we lived there, everyone on the island was aware that the island was so small that, if it were bombed, it would be as though nothing ever existed at its coordinates. This was not of particular concern to anyone, except, perhaps, the U.S. military installations on the island. The rest of us, well, why worry about something we couldn't influence? I remember that, for instance, there were no "duck and cover" drills in any of my classes, whether they be elementary, high school or college. I didn't even become aware of the phrase "duck and cover" for many years after having left the island. After all, one blast and everyone on that island would be on their way to the afterlife.
This is why, having seen the movie some years after leaving that island, I became fascinated with it. I didn't immediately relate to it. The situation we lived in during those early years of nuclear threat was nothing like what was portrayed in this movie. I mean, really, radiation sickness? No one living on that island during a nuclear attack was ever going to have to worry about that!
However, although my life on that island had long ended when this movie came out, by that time I was living in the U.S. Nuclear culture. I continued having no fear of nuclear attack and it's aftermath, having been well schooled, throughout my entire youth, in "don't worry about it, you won't survive it" culture, but was riveted by this culture I'd missed and whether I shouldn't seriously consider it, since moving from an island where obliteration in nuclear warfare was a given to a country where, well, it wasn't.
Take a look at this list: Films about the nuclear holocaust. It contains 61 titles. I'm assuming that it is not complete, and may never be, since these films continue to be churned out, but it starts in 1951. 1951, people! That was the year I was born! The most recent on the list was released in 2019: Chernobyl, a fictionalized account of a real nuclear disaster. There is even a punk rock musical on this list, Population: 1, released in 1986.
Staggering, really! You'd think ... well, what would you think?!?
I haven't [re]watched this movie, Testament [this review, by Glenn Erickson, DVD Savant/Cinesavant is illuminating about the history of nuclear apocalyptic films, as well as being an excellent review of this movie, in case you're interested], yet. I'm going to do that, today. I don't know if I'll write anymore about it. Possibly, since most of what I've written above is about the "genre", not this movie. But hang on, readers. We'll see.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Jane Alexander Carol Wetherly William Devane Tom Wetherly Ross Harris Brad Wetherly Roxana Zal Mary Liz Wetherly Lukas Haas Scottie Wetherly Philip Anglim Hollis Lilia Skala Fania Leon Ames Henry Abhart Lurene Tuttle Rosemary Abhart Rebecca De Mornay Cathy Pitkin Kevin Costner Phil Pitkin Mako Mike
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1983
Directed by Lynne Littman.
Labels: apocalyptic, dramaE, female-director3, haunting3, nuclear, reflective, tragedy2, TV3, war2, william-devane
Thursday, January 13, 2022
Pulse (Kairo)
- Commentary: Within the last few weeks when I was doing basic research for this site this movie captured my attention. I'm not sure, but I think I may have encountered it during a discussion of the EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) phenomenon resulting from a nuclear blast on an episode of Super Critical Podcast [the hosts of the episode to which I listened, by the way, are wary of what has been attributed to this phenonmenon]. At any rate, whatever was said piqued my interest and I ordered the movie.
I haven't watched it, yet, and will report back once I do. In the meantime, I discovered that it is listed on TimeOut - Movies's latest (December 10, 2021) compilation of The 100 best horror movies of all time. Since the last time the Wikipedia article on the film (linked immediately below) referenced the list in 2014 this movie has moved up one notch from 66 to 65.
I couldn't help it, by the way. I perused the entire list to see which movies in my collection appear on the list. Here's a rundown. The names of the movies I own are linked to the articles TimeOut - Movies wrote about each movie, including their current ranking (the list is reranked periodically - by the way, TimeOut's The 100 best horror movies of all time list includes two write-ups, the initial for the film as it appears in the list and an additional, different write-up when you click on the title; unfortunately, the html is so convoluted for the list that I couldn't figure out how to link to the initial write-up, so, if you want to access the first write-up, you'll need to scroll through the list; it's usually worth it, until the list is recalibrated, I suppose), after which I linked each to its location on my site:- 82. Midsommar - Midsommar in this journal
- 67. The Witch - The Witch in this journal
- 65. Kairo/Pulse - Pulse (Kairo) in this journal
- 57. The Vanishing - The Vanishing in this journal
- 56. The Sixth Sense - The Sixth Sense in this journal
- 54. Repulsion - Repulsion in this journal
- 39. Jacob's Ladder - Jacob's Ladder in this journal
- 29. The Birds - The Birds in this journal
- 7. Rosemary's Baby - Rosemary's Baby in this journal
You may notice that, in my own labeling, I did not assign the "horror" genre to all these films. I thought about it, as I was compiling this post, but decided to keep my original ranking. Horror is different for different people. Those that I didn't label as horror don't have quite the horrific impact for which I look in a horror film.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Kumiko Asō Michi Kudo Haruhiko Kato Ryosuke Kawashima Koyuki Harue Karasawa Kurume Arisaka Junko Sasano Masatoshi Matsuo Toshio Yabe Shinji Takeda Yoshizaki Jun Fubuki Michi's mother Shun Sugata Boss
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2001
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Labels: §, apocalyptic, dramaE, folk-horror, psychological1, suspense3
Mother
- Commentary: I haven't watched this movie, yet, but I will be watching it tonight and will report back later. I am a fan of South Korean cinema, in general, and Bong Joon-ho's work, in particular, so I'm really looking forward to watching this movie.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Kim Hye-ja Mother Won Bin Yoon Do-joon Jin Goo Jin-tae Yoon Je-moon Je-moon Jeon Mi-seon Mi-seon Song Sae-byeok A Detective Lee Young-suk Junk Collector Moon Hee-ra Moon Ah-jung
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2009
Directed by Bong Joon-ho.
Labels: §, bong-joon-ho, dramaE, mother-son-dynamics1, neo-noirC, revenge1
Threads
- Commentary: This movie has haunted me ever since I saw it, a few years after it was released. I saw it on television, likely on PBS, of course, since it was made for television. I've seen it a few times since and it never fails to rivet me. It is still as probable today as it was when it was made.
I'm going to consider this write-up, though, still Under Construction, since I just received it, have yet to view it and it's been, what, at least twenty years and probably closer to thirty plus years since I last saw it. It was, after all, initially released 37 years ago.
Expect more later. Or, perhaps not.
So, I watched this movie last night, 11/16/2021. I'd forgotten, and was entranced by, the studious detail brought to the staging. The movie was even more horrific than I remembered, precisely because of these details, stuff like the increasing shabbiness of the clothes on those who survive; the work involved in opening a can when you haven't got a, well, a can opener; the importance of keeping one's affect flat in order to endure what one has no choice but to endure; the desire to die in those who lived through the blast vs. the desire to live in those born after the blast. More later, maybe, maybe not, but those were my initial astonishments.
So glad I've added this to my collection! I know I'll be watching it again!
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Paul Vaughan Narrator Karen Meagher Ruth Beckett Reece Dinsdale Jimmy Kemp David Brierley Bill Kemp Rita May Rita Kemp Henry Moxon Mr Beckett June Broughton Mrs Beckett Victoria O'Keefe Jane Sylvia Stoker Granny Beckett Harry Beety Clive J. Sutton Ruth Holden Marjorie Sutton Michael O'Hagan Chief Superintendent Hirst
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1984
Directed by Mick Jackson.
Labels: apocalyptic, dramaD, horror1, nuclear, political5, TV3, war2
On the Beach
- Commentary: I only own a few of Stanley Kramer's movies, but I've seen, throughout the years of my life, several of them. Check out this list. I'm sure you'll recognize several you've seen. Considering how long he lived (from 1913 - 2001), he wasn't particularly prolific, but the list to which I've connected will show you that he was extraordinarily important as a producer and director. It's almost as though he had a golden touch; he didn't use it often, but when he did, the results were always spectacular, often groundbreaking. I'll be writing more about this film when I watch it again after having not seen it for a few decades. I can't believe my luck that it was available!
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Gregory Peck Cmdr Dwight Towers Ava Gardner Moira Davidson Fred Astaire Julian Osborn Anthony Perkins Lt Cmdr Peter Holmes Donna Anderson Mary Holmes Lou Vernon Bill Davidson Kevin Brennan Dr. King John Meillon Ralph Swain John Tate Admr. Bridie RAN Harp McGuire Lt. Sunderstrom Lola Brooks Bridie's Secretary Bill Hunter extra/swimming double
Cary Peck, Gregory Peck's son, also had an uncredited cameo in this film.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1959
Directed by Stanley Kramer.
Labels: apocalyptic, bill-hunter, dramaE, fred-astaire, gregory-peck, nuclear, romance5, war2
