The Good, The Bad and The Ugly : Review

Posted by Syed Aamir Zaheer

Directed by an Italian, shot in Spain and starring only three English speakers The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is somehow the greatest western ever made. Sergio Leone’s final instalment of his Fist Full of Dollars trilogy is a step up in class and it leaves anything John Wayne has done in it’s wake. As it is European made, Leone’s efforts are outside the remit of the American produced Westerns and so avoids all the usual clichés (and look, no Indians!).
The story follows The Good (Eastwood), The Bad (Van Cleef) and The Ugly (Wallach) as they go in search of a stash of gold stolen from the army. The three shady characters double-cross and fight their way across deserts, abandoned towns and through the brutal American Civil War before arriving at the graveyard where the treasure has been hidden.The climactic graveyard scene is the most perfect of film events. Close the curtains, turn the volume all the way up and let the fusion of epic score, masterful camerawork and escalating tension give you goosebumps. The rest of the film is also a film technician’s dream with long panoramic shots of desolate deserts, Ennio Morricone’s memorable score and grand civil war battle scenes.
Clint Eastwood is at his moody, silent best as he casually struts around in his trademark poncho, looking and acting as cool as ice, and Lee Van Cleef is excellent as the snarling bad guy who’s easy to root for. Eli Wallach steals the show as the lovable thief-rapist-murderer-bigamist cowboy turned treasure hunter. The rest of the cast are made up of an international menagerie of comically dubbed cannon fodder but they snarl and then die and do their job ably.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly : Review

Rear Window: Review

Posted by Syed Aamir Zaheer

Hot-shot photographer L. B. Jeffries – or “Jeff”, as he’s known to his chums – is at a bit of a loose end. You see he’s stuck in a wheelchair, having broken a leg in a car accident whilst working on a Grand Prix circuit (perhaps a bit of a touchy subject considering Grace Kelly’s in the cast). So, passing the time in the only way he can think of, he’s started spying on the neighbours through his big ol’ telephoto lens.

The trouble is, Jeff’s hobby becomes more like an obsession when he starts to suspect the silver-haired bloke across the street (Raymond ‘Perry Mason’ Burr) of murdering his wife. Is his idle mind playing tricks on him, or is poor Mrs Thorwald really buried underneath the family flowerbed?

James Stewart dumps his trademark “aw shucks” demeanour and takes on a notably darker persona as the crime-sniffing cripple in this absolute masterpiece from Alfred Hitchcock. Jeff’s visitors – nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter), ladyfriend Lisa (Kelly), sceptical police ‘tec Tom (Wendell Corey) – at first have him down as little more than a sticky-beaking nosey parker, but as the evidence becomes tougher to ignore, so too does Hitchcock up the suspense levels.

If you’re after an example of textbook Hitchcock, this is without a shadow of a doubt the film to watch. Instead of attempting to scare us with repeated shock tactics, the film builds up in tension until, by the time it reaches its one climactic pay-off, it’s become almost too much to watch. Yet, at the same time, it’s virtually impossible to take your eyes off the screen. This is quite simply sheer cinematic brilliance. Hats off to you, Alfred.

Rear Window: Review

The Godfather: Review

Posted by Syed Aamir Zaheer

Marlon Brando is Vito Corleone, also known as “The Godfather”, who is head of one of the most powerful mafia families in America. Don Vito is a fair but ruthless man who runs much of his business by doing favours and expecting favours in return. The Corleone family are drawn into a bitter and violent war with other mafia families over their refusal to participate in the lucrative but dangerous drug trade. Don Vito is shot but the attempt on his life does not succeed – he is seriously injured rather than killed. While Don Vito is in hospital, control of the family passes to his eldest son Sonny (James Caan). Sonny is a hot-head, and with his contributions the war continues to escalate.

Don Vito's youngest son is Michael (Al Pacino). He has stayed outside the family business, and his father had aspirations of him holding some legitimate position of power, perhaps through politics. When Don Vito is shot, however, Michael returns home to do what he can to help the family through the crisis. He protects his father against the killers trying to finish what they have started. Michael starts to show promise in this violent world. He takes his revenge against those trying to kill his father, shooting them during a meeting at a restaurant. Ultimately, Sonny is shot and now it is Michael who finds himself with all the responsibility.

It may not be possible for a film to be faultless, but this certainly comes close. The ensemble cast are wholly convincing, and there are a string of well-known names involved who weren't at all familiar until this film. The story progresses at perfectly measured pace, moving almost gently between moments of calculated violence. The cinematography and direction are picture-perfect, with immaculate attention to detail. Every aspect of life in those turbulent times is faithfully recreated with great accuracy. “The Godfather” is a credit to all involved.

The Godfather: Review