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.

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.

A tribute to Sidney Lumet (June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011):

Many of the movie thrillers I have come to enjoy over the years were directed by Sidney Lumet, who died from lymphoma at his home in Manhattan, New York, on April 9, 2011, aged 86. After serving in World War II, he created his own theatre workshop. Along with theatre and film, he was also successful as a TV director. Coincidentally, his first movie, 12 Angry Men (1957), was the first I saw. When I was kid, I spent many Friday and Saturday nights watching the late movies on TV. The drama in the story, adapted from a play, knocked me out as these 12 angry men argue the case, with 11 of them ready to condemn a man for a crime he’s innocent of. Henry Fonda plays the lone dissenter who eventually convinces them of his innocence.
Never shy to film a controversial story, hard-hitting dramas such as: The Hill (1965), an early role for Sean Connery surviving the tough boot-camp army regime.
Child’s Play (1972), a dark and surreal study of mind-control and savagery in a British boarding school.
The Offence (1972), another dark role for Sean Connery focussing on the effects police work can have on the mind, particularly when dealing with heinous crimes. These themes, along with those of corruption and dysfunctional family relationships became a driving factor.
Serpico (1973), a power-house role for Al Pacino as real-life cop, Frank Serpico, who refuses to buckle to peer-pressure, in a stand against corruption that almost cost him his life.
The Pawnbroker (1964), based on the novel by Edward Lewis Wallant, gave Rod Steiger one of the most powerful roles of his career as a Holocaust survivor haunted by his memories of the concentration camp and the pain of losing his family and wife, played by Geraldine Fitzgerald.
Dog Day Afternoon (1975), another true story with Al Pacino again playing the main role of the homosexual bank robber, bungling a heist in a desperate attempt to fund his partner’s sex change operation.
Similar themes of a heist-gone-wrong and surveillance was explored again in:
The Anderson Tapes (1971), starring Sean Connery as a career criminal, leading his gang to rob an apartment block with disastrous results.
Network (1976), starred Peter Finch, William Holden, Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway in a scathing black comedy satire on the TV media manipulation.
Equus (1977), based on the Peter Schaffer play, starred Richard Burton in one of his best roles, as a middle-aged psychiatrist who questions the meaning and validity of his own life as he tried to unravel the mind of a disturbed patient who blinded six horses.
Other notable dark dramas followed covering similar themes:
Prince of the City (1981), Deathtrap (1982), The Verdict (1982), Q & A (1990), Night Falls on Manhattan (1997), Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007).
Lumet’s early film: Fail-Safe (1964) dealt with the end of the world through nuclear holocaust, triggered by man’s misplaced trust in technology, and was the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick’s hilarious black comedy: Dr. Strangelove. Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963). It was successfully remade as:Fail Safe (2000), a one-off TV special starring a stellar cast of actors. Among them George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Richard Dreyfuss and Brian Dennehy.
Very much an independent director, Sidney Lumet’s work was unflinching in its depictions of a dark and volatile world, with individuals caught up in the sprawling cities, at war with bureaucracy and corruption, fighting for justice and truth.