Tag: Jon Voight

New & Old Twofer – ‘Hal’ and ‘Coming Home’

Hal

Directed by Amy Scott
Interviewees: Allison Anders, Judd Apatow, Rosanna Arquette, Beau Bridges, Jeff Bridges, Lisa Cholodenko, Caleb Deschanel, Pablo Ferro, Jane Fonda, Louis Gossett Jr., Lee Grant, Grif Griffis, Norman Jewison, Robert C. Jones, Adam McKay, Charles Mulvehill, Alexander Payne, David O. Russell, Cat Stevens, Robert Towne, Jon Voight, Haskell Wexler, Jeff Wexler, and Ben Foster as the voice of Hal Ashby
Soundtrack: Heather McIntosh

Most people know the influential American directors of the Seventies: Spielberg, Coppola, Lumet, Lucas, Friedkin, Altman, Kubrick, Scorsese, even Brian De Palma is finally getting some due, but Hal Ashby tends to get overlooked; and, to be sure, his films don’t necessarily have the same level of name recognition as the others, but, make no mistake, the filmmakers of today know his work.

I wasn’t a total newbie to Ashby, the old dope-smoking, music-loving beatnik-turned-master auteur, before seeing this documentary.  I’d seen a couple of his directorial efforts (The Last Detail and Being There) in my lifetime; and I’d seen a couple of his editorial collaborations with Norman Jewison (The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! and In The Heat of the Night, which he won the Best Editing Oscar for), but it’s fair to say I was relatively unfamiliar with the man himself.

He was born to humble means in Ogden, Utah (though never a Mormon), made his way to Hollywood, and worked on films for William Wyler and George Stevens (among others) before meeting Norman Jewison, who essentially gave him a promotion to editor in the late-Sixties before finally striking out on his own as a full-fledged director.

As a documentary, I found Hal entertaining, it’s definitely much more slickly made than others in the genre, but at the same time I was expecting more content.  To put it another way, I’m not sure it goes much deeper than its trailer (which is also basically the introduction to the film).  It’s still a fun ride, and certainly a good primer for the uninitiated, and I don’t want to downplay the labor of love aspect, but, I struggle to give it a theatrical recommendation.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

 

Coming Home

Original Release Date: February 15, 1978
Directed by Hal Ashby
Written by Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones (screenplay), Nancy Dowd (story)
Cast: Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, Robert Carradine, Robert Ginty, Mary Gregory, Kathleen Miller, Beeson Carroll, Willie Tyler, Lou Carello, Charles Cyphers, Olivia Cole, Tresa Hughes, Bruce French, Jonathan Banks, Marc McClure

I know Coming Home got a whole bunch of awards season love at the time, and it’s a fine film, and I’m not even mad about its politics (after all, I love All Quiet on the Western Front), but, forty years on, it seems clear that much of the love was politically motivated (it’s not even the best Hal Ashby movie I’ve seen), which is nothing new, it still happens, and that’s all I’ll say about that.

It’s a heavy film, to be sure, and (something I feel like I’ve been saying a lot lately) on the whole it might be more interesting than good, but it’s worth a watch if only for the strong performances (especially Jon Voight) and unconventional use of music.  We’ve become accustomed to “needle-drop” movies that use portions of songs, usually cutting in time to the music, but Coming Home utilizes licensed songs more like John Carpenter uses his score, like “wallpaper”.  I honestly can’t think of another movie that does this and it made for quite the unique experience.

Still, there’s something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on.  Perhaps it’s because the story and characterization are over-simplistic in places, and, personally, I wish the movie established itself more as the period piece it is, but, ultimately, it does get its message across, and there’s something to be said for that.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

Classic Movie Review – ‘Mission: Impossible’ – Rulers Who Had Gold

Original Release Date: May 22, 1996
Directed by Brian De Palma
Written by David Koepp (story and screenplay), Steven Zaillian (story), and Robert Towne (screenplay), based on the television series created by Bruce Geller
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Rolf Saxon, Andreas Wisniewski, Ricco Ross, Dale Dye, Marcel Iures, Emilio Estevez
Soundtrack: Danny Elfman

A lot can happen in twenty years.

Just ask Paramount.  In the two decades they’ve been releasing Mission: Impossible films, they’ve also managed to put Star Trek into a space coffin, only to successfully resuscitate it again (although it did take them three movies to really get it right).  Certain wisdom might suggest they think about packing the M:I series in after five films in twenty years, but it doesn’t look like they plan on stopping anytime soon, so long as Tom Cruise is still willing and able to do big, on-camera stunts.

What’s really funny, though, is that for a franchise that’s become synonymous with top-of-the-line action, the original movie seems quaint in comparison.  In fact, outside of the helicopter vs. train sequence, 1996’s Mission: Impossible barely has any “action” as we think of it today.  Yet, it’s still utterly engaging from start to finish.  Who, you might ask, is responsible for this?

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. Brian De Palma.

His own contentious relationship with the movie aside, it’s undoubtedly one of his babies.  Outside of gratuitous nudity, pretty much any De Palma hallmark you can think of can be found in Mission: Impossible: killing off important characters for shock value, rogue investigations, crane shots, Steadicam shots, sharply-angled shots, POVs, split diopter shots, stairwells, murder, blood, murder, payphones, murder, and, of course, lots and lots of tension.

He’s never gotten the same level of respect as his contemporaries (Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, Scorsese), despite directing at least a few movies that have left indelible marks on pop culture (Carrie, Scarface, The Untouchables), but Brian De Palma is a remarkable talent nonetheless; unabashedly visual in his direction, and a quintessential expert in cinematic language [that’s sadly being lost as time goes on].

That said, the movie doesn’t rest entirely on De Palma’s shoulders, broad as they may be.  At the time of its release, Mission: Impossible was, as the kids say, “a big effing deal,” and a lot of heavy hitters were involved.   You had De Palma himself; you had Tom Cruise on top of the whole wide world (and producing his first picture); Jon Voight was still very much in the public eye (a cameo on Seinfeld certainly didn’t hurt his Q-Rating); Danny Elfman did the score; you had Paul Hirsch in the editing room (he cut together a little film called The Empire Strikes Back); and, last but not least, special make-up effects by Rob Bottin (The Howling, The Thing, RoboCop).

In other words, Mission: Impossible was always intended to be a big movie, not something the studio took minimal financial risk on and hoped did well, because they clearly went out and hired tried and true professionals, and, in the end, the investment paid off very well.  The film is wonderful to watch, filled with all sorts of visual sumptuousness; the vault sequence where Tom Cruise is hanging on wires makes you tense up every time; and, as silly as it is, the end action sequence still looks fine, especially comparing effects from twenty years ago to modern CGI.

Again though, what makes Mission: Impossible truly special, in comparison to other action-espionage films as well as its own sequels, is the lack of reliance on gunplay and general action schlock.  It may not be a hard spy film like A Most Wanted Man, but, like many other Brian De Palma features, it starts out grounded enough in reality to make the insanity that comes later seem plausible while you’re engaged with it.

As much as I do enjoy the recent entries in the series, Mission: Impossible is still the best of the bunch.  Quite simply, it’s captivating, gorgeous, and fun.  A great popcorn movie if there ever was one.

Rating: ★★★★½