Donatas Banionis - RIP.

In memory of Donatas Banionis.

Talented and prolific Lithuanian-born actor I will remember best for his haunting portrayal of Kris Kelvin, in Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 version of Solaris.

[28 April 1924 – 4 September 2014]

Richard C. Sarafian – RIP

Richard C. Sarafian died on September 18, 2013, aged 83, following complications with pneumonia. A veteran of the Korean War, he was a reporter, then worked as assistant to director, Robert Altman, before starting on his own directing career.

I’ll remember him best for his 1971 movie Vanishing Point.

Kowalski [Barry Newman], is a Vietnam veteran and former cop. Driving a Dodge Challenger muscle car, he is pursued by police across the desert, as he races to get to his destination and win a bet. He encounters a naked biker [Gilda Texter] and gay hitch-hikers [Arthur Malet & Anthony James] along the way. Cleavon Little turns in a comical role as blind radio DJ, Super Soul.

This was the first road-chase-thriller movie I saw and it still stands as one of the best in the genre, with memorable chase sequences and location scenery.

It may seem dated now, but subsequent road thrillers like The Driver [1976], The Hitcher [1986], and Drive [2011], owe a huge debt to Vanishing Point, a true original and cult classic.

Patrick Moore - RIP.

Watching the science news on the latest close(ish) fly-by of another asteroid reminded me that one of my favorite astronomers, Patrick Moore, died on December 9, 2012. Born on March 4, 1923, he also worked as a researcher, radio commentator, writer and TV presenter. The astronomy show: The Sky at Night was his creation. First broadcast in April, 1957, it continues as one of TV’s longest running shows.

I remember the first time I watched an episode of The Sky at Night. It was a Saturday night and I always sat up late at weekends to watch the late movies. It was 1979 and I was 11-years-old. I can’t remember which movies I watched, but I do remember that one of the TV channels ran a late-night horror double-bill every Saturday. It was usually an old, 1940s-50s black-and-white movie, followed by one from the 70s. Passing time before the first movie began, I watched The Sky at Night. I was already into science fiction in a big way, but this was the first factual show I ever watched about the planets, stars, cosmos, et al. Astronomy has been one of my hobbies ever since. The grandiose and haunting theme music to The Sky at Night never changed and still resonates with me: At the Castle Gate, by Jean Sibelius.

The monocle-wearing host, Patrick Moore, often fast-talking [particularly when reporting breaking news of a cosmic event], was instantly likeable and succeeded in being both entertaining and educational. In life, despite his long-term health problems, he was highly talented, having self-taught the piano and xylophone. He was also a keen traveler. During World War II, he served with the Royal Air Force, and it was during the war years that he met and fell in love with his fiancée, Lorna. Tragically, she was killed during a bombing raid and Patrick remained a bachelor for the rest his life, dedicating himself to his life-work and study of astronomy, publishing many books on the subject. A cat-lover, he was a supporter of animal welfare charities and firmly opposed any blood sports. Along with presenting The Sky at Night, he made several appearances on other TV shows over the decades. His radio work also included a small role in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In later years, as his health worsened, he presented The Sky at Night from his home, where he also had his own observatory.

Two of my favorite quotes by him are:

“At my age I do what Mark Twain did. I get my daily paper, look at the obituaries page and if I'm not there I carry on as usual.”

“There is absolutely nothing to be said in favor of growing old. There ought to be legislation against it.”

The Sky at Night is now expertly co-presented by Chris Lintott, Pete Lawrence, Paul Abel and Chris North. The physicist, Brian Cox, has also appeared on the show.

Patrick, thank you for bringing the spectacle and mystery of the universe into my small world. I was one of many you inspired to look up in wonder and curiosity at the stars.

In memory of Patrick Moore (March 4, 1923 – December 9, 2012).

Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut, USA

I watched the heart-breaking news footage on the senseless tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut, USA, that happened on Friday, December 14, 2012.

Thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and friends.

Words fail me … apart from one word: WHY?

Tony Scott RIP:

British-born movie director and producer, Tony Scott, aged 68, committed suicide by jumping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge, in Los Angeles, California. He started out as an Art School graduate with aspirations of living as a painter. That changed when the success of his older brother, Ridley (director of Alien (1979), and Blade Runner (1982)), inspired him to follow into movie directing. Tony’s artistic talent is evident on screen in the vibrant photography he used. Like Ridley, he had a natural talent for using light to add tremendous atmopshere and depth to his scenes. His frenetic editing style and way of merging digital effects with the live action was a unique and visual joy. Often criticized for emphasizing style over substance in his work, his movies were nevertheless exciting, visually stunning and always hugely entertaining – three of the main reasons movies are made in the first place. Top Gun (1986) was the highest grossing movie of its year, securing Tony Scott on the A-list of directors, and providing star, Tom Cruise, with his career-making role.

My personal favorites are:

The Hunger (1983): Tony Scott’s debut movie, based on the novel by Whitley Strieber, is a slick cinematic feast for the eyes, with a memorable and highly collectable soundtrack. The gorgeous Catherine Deneuve plays vampire Miriam Blaylock. David Bowie plays her husband, John. They enjoy an easy existence, but problems start when John suddenly starts to age … and age rapidly. Susan Sarandon co-stars as Miriam’s next companion-to-be, Sarah Roberts. The movie opens with an unforgettable nightclub scene where Miriam and John stalk their next intended victims, as Bauhaus perform their classic song: Bela Lugosi is Dead.

The Last Boy Scout (1991): Action-comedy far superior than the usual ‘buddy movie’, with private detective Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis) teaming up with ex-football star, Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans), to solve the mystery behind the death of Cory, Jimmy’s girlfriend (Halle Berry, in an all-too-brief role).

True Romance (1993): Clarence Worley (Christian Slater), a comic bookstore clerk, and call-girl, Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette), fall head over heels in love and get married. Violent circumstances soon have them on the run with a suitcase full of cocaine and both police and gangsters on their trail. With a hilarious script and stellar cast, this movie gets better with repeat viewings.

Enemy of the State (1998): Fast-paced and action-packed spy-thriller with Robert Dean (Will Smith) on the run from rogue agents and aided by Edward Lyle (Gene Hackman), with blackmail and intrigue surrounding the murder of a Congressman. Excellent supporting cast including Regina King and Lisa Bonet.

Man on Fire (2004): Denzel Washington delivers a blistering performance as John Creasy as he goes after the organisation that kidnapped, Pita (Dakota Fanning), the girl he was employed to guard. One of the most powerful and best revenge-thriller movies ever made.

Domino (2005): highly stylized biopic of real-life bounty hunter, Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley). Highly entertaining with another excellent ensemble cast.

Déjà Vu (2006): imaginative sci-fi thriller with ATF Special Agent Douglas Carlin (Denzel Washington) racing to prevent the bombing of a ferry during the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. A great twist on the genre of time-travel.

At the time of this writing, I have not yet had chance to see either the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), or Unstoppable (2010), but I will review them in future blogs.

For those who love movie trivia: Tony’s faded red cap appears somewhere in his movies.

Whatever the underlying circumstances, Tony Scott’s death was tragic and untimely.

He will be missed.

In memory of Tony Scott.

June 21, 1944 – August 19, 2012.

Chris Marker – RIP:

Little known outside of European art-houses, Chris Marker, who fought with the French resistance during World War II, was a unique, original, multi-talented French photographer, documentary and movie director, artist, writer and essayist. Among his works is AK (1985), focussing on the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.

My personal favorite of all his filmed works is La Jetée (aka The Jetty/The Pier) (1962).

This 28-minute short movie brought him fresh acclaim in 1995, when director and one-time member of Monty Python, Terry Gilliam, used La Jetée as the inspiration and basis for his movie: 12 Monkeys, starring Bruce Willis, Madeline Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer and David Morse.

La Jetée is composed almost entirely of black-and-white still photographs, with the story being told as voice-over narration with added music and sound-effects. The viewer gets so engrossed in the story and used to the flow of the still images that the only moment of actual real motion is almost surreal; with the character of The Woman (Hélène Chatelain), opening her eyes and blinking into the camera – from the point of view of The Man (Davos Hanich), a faint smile moving across her face before it cuts to the next still image.

La Jetée opens with a view of Orly Airport, in Paris, with flash images of a man apparently being shot and killed while a woman looks on.

Jump to a stark future, following the world being devastated by World War III, and the survivors living under ground (the difference in 12 Monkeys is that the world’s population has almost been totally wiped out by a flu-like virus). A callous heirachy exists far below the city, with survivors being used as prisoners and slaves, subjected to harsh experiments as their controllers struggle to harness the means to travel through time.

The Man is chosen because of his recurring dreams and memories of the event at Orly airport, which he witnessed as a child. During his hypnosis-induced jaunts back through time, he meets and develops a relationship with The Woman.

Will his love for her provide him with an escape through time? Or is his fate inexorable?

Anyone who has enjoyed 12 Monkeys and is passionate about movies should make the effort to see La Jetée.

Chris Marker died on 30 July 2012, the day after his 91st birthday. His body of work is vast and varied, but he’ll always be remembered most for the ground-breaking and atmospheric La Jetée.

In memory of Chris Marker (29 July, 1921 – 30 July, 2012)

Aurora Colorado Tragedy:

No words are adequate to sum up reaction to the horror of the shooting that happened at the Century 16 cinema, in Aurora Colorado, on July 20, 2012.

My heart goes out to the 12 people killed, 58 injured, and the families and friends affected.

May justice be served.

Ernest Borgnine – RIP:

Hollywood lost one of its most talented and prolific actors when Ernest Borgnine died of renal failure, on July 8, 2012, with his family at his bed side, in California.

Not only did I enjoy many of his movies, I also empathize with his strong work ethic, share his opinion on the concept of retirement, and whole heartedly agree with him when he said:

“I think you have to keep going. Otherwise, you know these fellas that say: ‘Boy I can't wait to retire. Boy, I'm going to be 65 years old, and I'm retiring and I'm quitting and that's it.’ Well, two weeks later they're saying to themselves, ‘What the hell am I gonna do?’ And first thing you know they find themselves in a wheelchair, or in a rocking chair going back and forth, back and forth, and that's the end of it. And suddenly you're dead.”

Borgnine’s statement on retirement sums up my own feelings on it: I have no desire or intention of ever retiring. Why should I? When I work at things I love to do, it doesn’t feel like work, so why would I want to stop? Inactivity-induced boredom is a big problem for me. The idea of eventually doing nothing but sit around, counting the hours in so-called retirement mode sounds to me like something close to torture. So, like Ernest Borgnine, I’ll just keep on going for as long as I can.

Born of Italian parents who migrated to America, Borgnine initially had no desire to go into acting. Instead, he enjoyed sports in his youth and joined the navy after graduating at 18. He served for 10 years and left in 1945. Unfulfilled with working dead-end factory and warehouse jobs, he went into drama school. He enjoyed a succession of roles and was awarded the Best Actor Oscar in 1955 for his portrayal of a kind-hearted butcher, in the title role of Marty.

His height and formidable stature, combined with his gruff voice and stern looks made him perfect for tough-guy roles.

He had a natural ability, dry wit and was gifted with a cruel, sardonic grin that added to his authoritive ‘don’t dare mess with me’ image.

Among seven of my favorites are The Devil's Rain (1975), a now dated but still fun horror movie about a satanic cult that starts and ends with a gloopy, gory meltdown fest. Watch carefully to spot John Travolta in an early ‘blink and you miss him’ role.

He had a small but memorable supporting role in The Dirty Dozen (1967), one of the greatest war movies ever made, alongside an ensemble cast headed by Lee Marvin.

Borgnine also played in all three sequels.

He would star again with Lee Marvin, this time in a lead role, in the depression-era movie, Emperor of the North (aka Emperor of the North Pole) (1973), as a railroad worker who ruthlessly bludgeoned, with a large hammer he hung on his work belt, any hobos he caught attempting to ride his train for free.

Lee Marvin co-starred as a hobo who turned riding his particularly train into a challenge and battle of the wills.

Next, I saw him in another supporting role, in Hustle (1975), a gritty and sleazy cop thriller starring Burt Reynolds, Catherine Deneuve and Ben Johnson – his previous co-star from The Wild Bunch (1969).

In Escape from New York (1981), he played an eccentric prisoner, called Cabbie, starring with another great, ensemble cast, led by Kurt Russell, in an exciting action sci-fi, as Cabbie joins a race against time to rescue the President from New York City, which has been walled-off and is the one maximum security prison for the entire country.

Convoy (1978) had cult-hit status when it was released for video tape rental during the early 1980s.

It’s a hugely enjoyable action comedy in which Borgnine played a mean sheriff, ‘Dirty Lyle’ Wallace, who battles against a Convoy of truckers attempting to escape across the border into Mexico after a fist-fight in a diner. The movie gave Borgnine a role to get his teeth into and one he clearly relished.

Last night, I took time out to rewatch The Wild Bunch (1969), a classic western I was fortunate to see in the cinema again a few years ago as a one-off special screening.

Director Sam Peckinpah, who’d later work with Borgnine again on Convoy, made one of the bloodiest, existential, realist westerns in movie history.

The climax with the titular ‘Wild Bunch’ (pictured from left to right: Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, William Holden and Ernest Borgnine) walking to and confronting the entire Mexican army, going out in a true blaze of glory, remains powerful to watch. There were many other memorable roles in his career, spanning over sixty years, on stage, TV and cinema, although not all of his movies were great, and some got him nominated for the ‘Razzie’ award, but he took it all in good humor.

Married five times, he also marched every year for three decades as the ‘Grand Clown’ in Milwaukee's annual Great Circus Parade, and enjoyed touring the US and meeting fans. He remained a prolific and talented actor, outspoken and an active Republican.

We have lost the actor, but his talent will remain forever in the roles he played, to be enjoyed and admired by future generations to come.

I defy anyone not to join in with Ernest Borgnine’s infectious, hysterical laughter during the end credits of Convoy.

In memory of Ernest Borgnine (January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012).