Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh, 1996)
This isn't the easiest film to discuss, even if it ranks as Branagh's best. I'm not sure where he got the guts to push for this film to be shot in 70 MM and be a completely uncut, four-hour version of the play, even if there was no way for it to ever recoup its costs, but kudos to Branagh the Negotiator. As far as the play/movie goes, it's wonderful. The resetting of it in some 19th century, seemingly-Bohemian country adds some subtext and spectacular color, costumes and sets which none of the other versions ever had. For the record, I still enjoy Olivier's version as the best Shakespearean cinematic adaptation HE ever made, and I think Zeffirelli did a wonderful job stripping down Mel Gibson's
Hamlet. But this version is basically supposed to show off and be in your face for four whole hours, and although it slightly weighs upon one, it succeeds very well.
This
Hamlet has to be discussed in the context of its cast. It's a wonderful collection of veteran Shakespearean actors and some others who have never, ever dabbled in Shakespeare, and that's part of the reason that it's so interesting to watch and such a successful film. Let's start with some actors you'd never expect to see in
Hamlet. I enjoyed most all of them, even if some could be objectively construed to be better than others. I'll mention Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Gérard Depardieu. Then you have others which seem to be up to Shakespeare, but have they ever actually done it? I'm talking about Kate Winslet, Julie Christie and Rufus Sewell. Then, there are the Shakespeare actors
par excellence, so this is where Branagh can do no wrong. He's got arguably the greatest Shakespearean actor, John Gielgud, and then he adds Derek Jacobi, Richard Briers, Brian Blessed, and Charlton Heston (in one of his greatest perfomances). The first half of the film is probably stronger overall, but the entire thing is well worth-watching, for multiple reasons.
The Castle of Cagliostro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1979)
I could well be underrating this flick, but I at least want to mention it since I watched it last week, one day when I was sick. I'll admit that I missed some details, but it started out so exciting, and the mystery, action, suspense and humor seemed so genuine that it's difficult for me to believe that it's worth less than my rating, even if I took a nap trying to recover from illness and bodyaches. More in the future after I've rewatched it.
Get Smart (Peter Segal, 2008)
The thing which really gets your attention when watching this film is that rocker Trevor Rabin's musical score is consistently melancholy and it makes the viewer realize that they're not just watching a "comedy" based on the '60s "
Get Smart" TV show, but they're also watching a film which takes the entire concept very seriously and doesn't want to turn it into the unfortunate buffoonery that something like
The Nude Bomb (with Don Adams!!) turned out to be.
I don't know. If I was going to classify this flick by genres, I'd probably say it's about 30% doomed romance, 25% comedy, 25% action-adventure (a la James Bond), 10% homage to
What's Up, Tiger Lily?, and 10% unpredictable thriller. It really doesn't seem like something you'd see on the "
Get Smart" TV show, but it's strongly inspired by it and certainly loves it. There are enough wacko supporting characters for people who know and love the show, and those who've never seen it to find equal amounts of enjoyment here, so I actually find this film worthy of a future sequel.
The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (James Neilsen, 1964)
When I was seven years old, I pretty much gave up on Fess Parker's Davy Crockett being my hero and decided it had to be Disney's "Scarecrow" (Patrick McGoohan). This thing was shown on three consecutive Sundays on the Disney "
Wonderful World of Color", and I was glued to the set, even if it was B&W! I started playing Scarecrow with my friends just like we played Civil War and baseball, but Scarecow was just so much cooler. The Scarecrow was a smuggler who hung out near the White Cliffs of Dover and was able to exchange the merchandise he amassed into money for all the poor citizens who lived around Romney Marsh but couldn't afford King George III's outrageous taxes. The Scarecrow was something similar to a Robin Hood of the 1770s. The fact that the Scarecrow was actually a pious vicar called Dr. Syn, who has never really harmed anybody, made him an attractive hero and a supercool anti-hero at one and the same time. Plus he, and his best buds, had the coolest costumes and masks of all time!
This made-for-TV flick was released in Europe in 1964 and eventually released in the U.S. as an edited feature with about one-third cut out. Needless to say, that version is weaker than the original TV show which was just released on DVD last week. This full-blooded version offers up plenty of suspense and character development, along with a catchy theme song. Watch it and tell me what you think.
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i'll let you know how it goes