Tagarchief: FilmDungeon

The Valachi Papers (1972)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘The Valachi Papers. Fact not Fiction’

Directed by:
Terence Young

Written by:
Peter Maas (book ‘Le Dossier Valachi’)
Dino Maiuri (screenplay)
Massimo De Rita (screenplay)

Cast:
Charles Bronson (Joe Valachi), Lino Ventura (Vito Genovese), Jill Ireland (Maria Reina Valachi), Walter Chiari (Gap), Joseph Wiseman (Salvatore Maranzano),
Gerald O’Loughlin (Ryan), Amedeo Nazzari (Gaetano Reina), Fausto Tozzi (Albert Anastasia), Pupella Maggio (Letizia Reina), Angelo Infanti (Lucky Luciano)

Joe Valachi is not a name that is spoken of with much respect in mob circles. He was the first Mafia rat and gave up the entire hierarchical structure of the Mafia to a crime committee. He revealed the five families of New York – Gambino, Lucchese, Colombo, Bonanno and Genovese – that were named after the ruling bosses at that time. This film tells Valachi’s life story. At the height of the Castellammarese war (1929 – 1931), the bold, small time crook Joseph ‘Joe Cargo’ Valachi joins the side of Don Salvatore Maranzano, an old Mustache Pete who is fighting a bloody war with his rival Joseph ‘Joe the Boss’ Masseria.

After the deaths of the two old Don’s, Valachi’s crime family evolves. First Lucky Luciano becomes boss, and after his imprisonment Vito Genovese takes over. In a Mafia-career spanning over 30 years, Valachi is involved with New York’s most legendary Mafia figures. He steals, frauds and murders for them, until finally the FBI manages to turn Genovese against Valachi in order for him to testify. He does so, and gives up his former associates along with all other major Cosa Nostra figures he knows of.

He becomes the first mob informer who makes sure that the existence of ‘La Cosa Nostra’ is no longer a secret for the public. Based on the novel by Peter Maas, The Valachi Papers was produced by Dino De Laurentiis in Italy with many scenes dubbed in English. It was directed by Terence Young, most well-known for directing the first official Bond movies. It came out in the same year as The Godfather, and helped to popularize the Mafia as a source of entertainment.

The Valachi Papers sticks to the steady pattern of the mob film; tough guys, half Italian dialogue, shoot-outs and violence (especially a castration scene is very brutal). Also the ‘rise and fall’ type of build-up has been done countless times. This is not the head of its class though. The beginning promises a rapid-pace movie, but after about 40 minutes, all the suspense has been drained from the script. Since the characters are not that fascinating to begin with, this becomes quite a doll viewing in the second half.

Rating:

Quote:
JOE VALACHI: “Senator, I am not talking about Italians. I am talking about the Mafia.”

Trivia:
In the final credits, it is stated that Joe Valachi outlived Vito Genovese by six months. It was actually two years.

Bride of the Monster

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Edward D. Wood Jr.
Written by: Edward D. Wood Jr., Alex Gordon
Cast: Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy, Loretta King

Year / Country: 1955, USA
Running Time: 68 mins.

Bride of the Monster is perhaps the greatest display of director Ed Wood’s ‘talents’. It might also be his best film and the only one that was financially successful upon release. A true salute to incompetence.

In this homage to classic monster movies like Frankenstein, the uncanny scientist Eric Vornoff (Bela Lugosi) lives in a mysterious house in the swamps, performing experiments in terror. He is aided by the huge butler Lobo (wrestler Tor Johnson) and a gigantic octopus.

When a number of people disappear, the police, the press and a Van Helsing type of monster expert start an investigation around Vornoff. They find out he has been tempering with God’s creations, resulting in the beginning of an ‘atomic super race’.

There are quite a few hilarious scenes and dialogues in this movie. The highlight by far is the octopus monster. Wood inserted real footage for the underwater scenes and an incredibly fake rubber octopus for the surface ones. The mismatch between the two is spectacularly funny. Whenever a victim is struggling with the dead tentacles you can only think ‘this can’t be serious’. Still, Wood’s passion for the medium is undeniable.

The movie ends with an atomic explosion as a warning for the use of nuclear power. This was one of the demands of the film’s financier. Believe it or not, it is very fitting in the context of this film. Conclusion: if you watch one Ed Wood movie, watch Bride of the Monster. Oh yeah, it’s that bad.

Rating:

Biography: Edward D. Wood Jr. (1924, New York – 1978, Hollywood) is widely considered as the world’s worst filmmaker. His low-budget movies, usually mergers of science-fiction and horror, are mostly complete disasters in terms of production values and continuity. In 1994, Edward D. Wood Jr. became the subject of an amazing biopic directed by Tim Burton called Ed Wood.

Filmography: The Sun Was Setting (1951, TV short), Trick Shooting with Kenne Duncan (1953, short), Glen or Glenda (1953), Crossroad Avenger: The Adventures of the Tuscon Kid (1953, TV short), Boots (1953, short), Jail Bait (1954), Bride of the Monster (1955), The Night the Banshee Cried (1957, short), Final Curtain (1957, short), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), Night of the Ghouls (1959), The Sinister Urge (1960), Take It Out in Trade (1970), The Young Marrieds (1971), Necromania: A Tale of Weird Love (1971)

The Midnight Meat Train

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Ryûhei Kitamura
Written by: Jeff Buhler (screenplay), Clive Barker (short story)
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields

Year / Country: 2008, USA
Running Time: 98 mins.

A big city is like a human body. The central train station is like the heart, the subway tunnels are the arteries and the trains themselves are blood cells. But just like a human body, a city can carry a disease through its blood vessels; a cancer or a deadly virus.

A struggling photographer (Cooper) wants to capture the real city as it has never been done before. He starts having horrible visions of a butcher (Jones), who slays people on the midnight subway. To impress an influential photo guru, a ridiculous role by Brooke Shields, he starts making more dangerous photos, including those of the butcher himself.

Movies based on Clive Barker novels are not guaranteed to be great films. In fact, only the original Hellraiser can be called great. The rest range from mediocre to poor. The Midnight Meat Train does a better job than most. Although it never becomes scary, it does have a sense of dread, something all novels by Barker definitely possess.

The signature of director Kitamura is very visible. The cleverly edited slayings are typical of Japanese horrors and make The Midnight Meat Train a purely graphical experience. It is hard to take it seriously; the hero jumps on a riding train in one scene. The cast is also not exactly grade A. Shields was already mentioned, Jones fits his role like a glove, but is not scary at all. Then there is the boring Cooper and his girlfriend Bibb, who is not the most convincing actress.

Apart from the images, what makes The Midnight Meat Train a worthy ride to take is where the train eventually comes to a halt. There is actually an ending to this tale that is Hellraiserishly fantastic. Better to watch it long after dinner though.

Rating:

Biography: Ryûhei Kitamura (1969, Osaka) briefly studied film making in Australia. The first ten years he spent in Japan making horror, action and monster movies, all starring Tak Sakaguchi. Well-known successes include Azumi and Versus. In 2008 he made his American debut with The Midnight Meat Train.

Filmography: Heat After Dark (1996), Down to Hell (1997), Versus (2000), Jam Films (2002, segment ‘The Messenger – Requiem for the Dead’), Sukai hai (2003, TV episodes), Azumi (2003), The Messenger (2003, short), Sakurajima (2004, doc), LoveDeath (2006), Romance Novel (2006, TV), The Midnight Meat Train (2008), Baton (2009)1

Trinity Is STILL My Name!

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


Director: Enzo Barboni
Written by: Enzo Barboni
Cast: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Yanti Somer, Enzo Tarascio

Year / Country: 1971, Italy
Running Time: 112 mins.

They Call Me Trinity, the first ‘Trinity’ film, was a major financial success and made Terence Hill and Bud Spencer international stars. This follow-up was an even greater success. It became the top-grossing Italian film of all time upon release.

In this sequel, Trinity (Hill) and his older brother Bambino (Spencer) want to make name for themselves as outlaws. This is the last wish of their dying father. They also promise him to work together from that point on.

Bambino takes the lead and the two brothers head north. Their plan to become outlaws doesn’t go too smoothly. They get mixed up in unsuccessful robbery’s, crooked card games and a massive scheme involving a monastery. They also pretend to be federal agents, which is not good for their outlaw status.

The first ‘Trinity’ film was no Citizen Kane, but for a comedy-western it was fair enough. Trinity Is STILL My Name! isn’t all that great honestly. While Hill and Spencer function better and better as a comic duo, it’s the writers that drop the ball here. There is no story and the dialogues are weak.

Mostly, the writers depend on running gags to raise a few laughs. Some are okay: ‘don’t call me Bambino’, but some – like the farting baby – are terrible. There are also fewer of the slapstick fights that made the first movie entertaining, although it ends similarly with a major brawl.

Rating:

Biography: Enzo Barboni (1922, Rome – 2002, Rome) was originally a cinematographer, but later turned to writing and directing as well. In 1966 he shot Django, which became one of the archetypes of the spaghetti western. His second film They Call Me Trinity was also a massive trendsetter for the comedy-western and launched the careers of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. He also directed the sequels Trinity Is STILL My Name! and Sons of Trinity, which was his final movie. Barboni is often credited under his pseudonym E.B. Clucher.

Filmography: The Unholy Four (1970), They Call Me Trinity (1970), Trinity is STILL My Name! (1971), A Man from the East (1972), Even Angels Eat Beans (1973), Charleston (1974), Crime Busters (1977), The Odd Squad (1982), Go for It (1983), Double Trouble (1984), They Call Me Renegade (1987), Speaking of the Devil (1991), Sons of Trinity (1995)