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At my local library, I'm often in the habit of borrowing DVD's and (occasionally) Blu-rays. And if they don't have something I'm interested in, I'll borrow it using the inter-library loan system. Granted, I usually prefer buying my own movies - preferably in a 4K UHD and/or Blu-ray Special Edition with all the bells and whistles and commentary tracks and bonus features, etc. But if I'm getting impatient to see something while I'm saving up for it, I'll borrow it first for a little "sneak preview". And believe me, I've fallen in love with quite a few of my favorite movies this way! It's totally cool, and it's absolutely free.
Here are some of my most recent borrowings:
Granted, I'm not really that much into the Hammer brand of gothic horror. (Nothing against it, mind you, it just wasn't my particular cup of hemoglobin.) But I've always wanted to see the Christopher Lee Dracula pictures, in particular his first two for Hammer, both directed by Terence Fisher. I've got to say, they're both very good, in particular the first one from 1958. That final confrontation between Lee's Dracula and Peter Cushing's Van Helsing is just terrific, and the final disintegration of the count was quite the makeup FX marvel in its day, and I think it still holds up. I don't know if I'm quite motivated enough to purchase either of these on Blu-ray, but I'm definitely glad I checked them out.
And more recently...
I have also become very interested in the work of Sam Peckinpah as of late. As with Hammer gothic horror, I've never been a huge fan of Westerns, not even the more brutally revisionist kind. But Peckinpah's the sort of filmmaker you learn about when you're reading about horror films and makers of other kinds of films of, shall we say, a more "extreme" persuasion! So I was definitely aware of The Wild Bunch (1969) and Straw Dogs (1971), the latter of which ranks among my all-time faves. Quentin Tarantino is also a Peckinpah devotee, and his Cinema Speculations book devotes an entire chapter to 1972's The Getaway. He also talks at length about having seen a double bill of The Wild Bunch and John Boorman's Deliverance (1972) at a very young age and its having made a big impact on him.
In Stephen King's non-fiction book Danse Macabre, King discusses Peckinpah's work a little bit, and in passing dismisses Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) and Cross of Iron (1978) as snoozes compared with his earlier work. (I don't remember the exact quote.) Well, I was curious and I definitely wanted to see for myself and render my own verdict. And upon watching both of these films, my response was very much "What?!" I can only conclude that King has an extremely low boredom threshold, because I can't imagine anyone walking out of any Sam Peckinpah movie yawning, never mind those two I just saw!
I really enjoyed Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia a great deal. It's got a wonderfully morbid premise and grotesque imagery. Warren Oates is great in the role of the doggedly determined loser Bennie, and Isela Vega as his girlfriend Elita is also great. When her character checks out at the approximate mid-point of the story, it is truly a kick in the head for any viewer.
Cross of Iron is one of the greatest war films I've ever seen (not that I've seen that many besides those dealing with Vietnam). It's certainly quite a ballsy move to make a World War II film that deals with characters on the German side fighting desperately against the Russians. I gather the film was not such a big hit in the U.S., because I'd imagine it's a big ask for Anglo-American audiences to identify with soldiers of the German Wehrmacht (however depoliticized their own outlook). James Coburn plays Corporal Steiner, the leader of the platoon, and Maximilian Schell portrays Steiner's nemesis, the arrogant Prussian aristocrat Captain Stransky, who is out to get himself the Iron Cross and doesn't care who he's got to step over to do it. Also in the cast are James Mason and David Warner, plus Fassbinder regular Klaus Löwitsch.
Overall, I find the work of Sam Peckinpah intelligent, invigorating and challenging. I've already got The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs and The Getaway on Blu-ray, and I think Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Cross of Iron shall join their illustrious company in my collection very soon! (Also on the agenda is an eventual viewing and purchase of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, which I've always been curious about due to Bob Dylan's involvement.)
Here are some of my most recent borrowings:
Granted, I'm not really that much into the Hammer brand of gothic horror. (Nothing against it, mind you, it just wasn't my particular cup of hemoglobin.) But I've always wanted to see the Christopher Lee Dracula pictures, in particular his first two for Hammer, both directed by Terence Fisher. I've got to say, they're both very good, in particular the first one from 1958. That final confrontation between Lee's Dracula and Peter Cushing's Van Helsing is just terrific, and the final disintegration of the count was quite the makeup FX marvel in its day, and I think it still holds up. I don't know if I'm quite motivated enough to purchase either of these on Blu-ray, but I'm definitely glad I checked them out.
And more recently...
I have also become very interested in the work of Sam Peckinpah as of late. As with Hammer gothic horror, I've never been a huge fan of Westerns, not even the more brutally revisionist kind. But Peckinpah's the sort of filmmaker you learn about when you're reading about horror films and makers of other kinds of films of, shall we say, a more "extreme" persuasion! So I was definitely aware of The Wild Bunch (1969) and Straw Dogs (1971), the latter of which ranks among my all-time faves. Quentin Tarantino is also a Peckinpah devotee, and his Cinema Speculations book devotes an entire chapter to 1972's The Getaway. He also talks at length about having seen a double bill of The Wild Bunch and John Boorman's Deliverance (1972) at a very young age and its having made a big impact on him.
In Stephen King's non-fiction book Danse Macabre, King discusses Peckinpah's work a little bit, and in passing dismisses Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) and Cross of Iron (1978) as snoozes compared with his earlier work. (I don't remember the exact quote.) Well, I was curious and I definitely wanted to see for myself and render my own verdict. And upon watching both of these films, my response was very much "What?!" I can only conclude that King has an extremely low boredom threshold, because I can't imagine anyone walking out of any Sam Peckinpah movie yawning, never mind those two I just saw!
I really enjoyed Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia a great deal. It's got a wonderfully morbid premise and grotesque imagery. Warren Oates is great in the role of the doggedly determined loser Bennie, and Isela Vega as his girlfriend Elita is also great. When her character checks out at the approximate mid-point of the story, it is truly a kick in the head for any viewer.
Cross of Iron is one of the greatest war films I've ever seen (not that I've seen that many besides those dealing with Vietnam). It's certainly quite a ballsy move to make a World War II film that deals with characters on the German side fighting desperately against the Russians. I gather the film was not such a big hit in the U.S., because I'd imagine it's a big ask for Anglo-American audiences to identify with soldiers of the German Wehrmacht (however depoliticized their own outlook). James Coburn plays Corporal Steiner, the leader of the platoon, and Maximilian Schell portrays Steiner's nemesis, the arrogant Prussian aristocrat Captain Stransky, who is out to get himself the Iron Cross and doesn't care who he's got to step over to do it. Also in the cast are James Mason and David Warner, plus Fassbinder regular Klaus Löwitsch.
Overall, I find the work of Sam Peckinpah intelligent, invigorating and challenging. I've already got The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs and The Getaway on Blu-ray, and I think Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Cross of Iron shall join their illustrious company in my collection very soon! (Also on the agenda is an eventual viewing and purchase of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, which I've always been curious about due to Bob Dylan's involvement.)
