Dimitri Levas

Frankly I have not been a fan of this director’s work, so I was not expecting much from Queer but I was knocked out by this film. I have read the novel and Lee is William Burroughs in the book but a side of Burroughs he did not show to everyone. I think it was wise that Craig didn’t play him so closely. He was more like a rough Tennessee Williams character than Burroughs. He is great in it. I also thought that the Allerton character was well cast. The film was not shoot in Mexico but on soundstages in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios and it does feel like a theatrical version of Mexico, very stagey and designed but I find that works well with the magical realism that peppers the story and ultimately the final act. A spoiler here; Allerton plays hard to get and hard to read throughout the film, he declares he is not queer, but me thinks he protests too much. The drug scenes in the jungles of Ecuador reveal that he is indeed gay but will not face the facts. The brilliant Lesley Mansfield’s character basically tells him so when she asks him what he fears from his merging with Lee during their peyote like experience together. “You should have seen yourself” she said, and we find out that he disappears out the jungle and of Lee’s life with another older man. I loved the ending and the way the real life tragedy of Burroughs life, his shooting of his wife, William Tell style is shown transposed to Allerton in a surreal sequence, and his death as an old man brings to an end a life of an unfulfilled seeker.

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is good. It is quite an undertaking to create the world that Napoleon and Joséphine invented and Scott does it with sublime taste and masterful filmmaking. It was a lifelong dream of the great Stanley Kubrick's to make his version of Napoleon, but in the end he was never able to bring it to fruition. Watching Scott’s film made me wonder if Kubrick finally realized that the drama of the failed marriage and Napoleon’s efforts to conquer the world are so at odds with each other that the movie’s main character would suffer from the dichotomy. I do think that applies to this version. We aren’t sure how we feel about him, was he the weak little man of the marriage or the masterful military leader who almost became emperor of the world. It remains to be seen if the full four hour version Scott wants to release will answer that question. In the meantime it is worth every minute of its two and a half hour running time.

A good, possibly underrated Noir with a cementing performance by Barbara Stanwick. She has an ability that few others do to change her expression from hard to soft in seconds. The storyline is predictable yet there are enough twists and turns to keep you on out toes. A surprisingly shocking train sequence gets the ball rolling. A stiff performance by John Lund doesn’t help but the assured direction by Mitchell Leisen makes it a dark silky ride. Recommended.

A beautifully crafted movie by all the collaborators but distinctly a Scorsese masterpiece. It has its own pace which lays out carefully the tale of greed and genocide that is an unfortunate and hidden history of America. The extra added first time collaboration of my favorite Art Director, Jack Fisk adds to the authenticity of the film.

The story is there but not the most compelling thing about this incredible movie. It is a beautifully crafted film in the epic sci-fi tradition that also expands on the genre at one and the same time with the cast and crew hitting on all cylinders. Jaw dropping cinematography, production design, costumes and one of Hans Zimmer best soundtracks to date. It is Denis Villanue’s filmmaking that is the most thrilling experience to behold.