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| gromit |
 Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:40 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Hey, this is marantz we got here.
He was probably an extra next to Natalie Wood. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:11 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Downhill Racer is a pretty mediocre-at-best film. Not sure why Criterion tabbed that instead of the better Redford-Ritchie collaboration, The Candidate.
Downhill just doesn't generate much interest in the characters. Gene Hackman has a negligible role as the coach. None of the other team members come into focus; one even seems chosen for his resemblance to Redford just so the TV commentators can mix them up in one scene, before he is well-known. The dialogue is rather weak, sometimes embarrassingly so.
I thought the editing also was sub-standard throughout. And this includes many of the skiing scenes, where it seems that many runs or courses and weather conditions are patched together to imitate one run. Actually when I checked out the interview with Redford and the cameramen it turns out that some runs are even comprised of different skiers in identical outfits.
For such a film about skiing, I was never convinced that Redford moved one inch on skis. I assume the cameramen on skis was novel and cool at the time, but it looks somewhat dated now, though not so much as the cheesy freeze frame ski action of the title sequence. There are two nice visuals -- one of a skiier disappearing downhill into whiteout conditions and another where Redford and the Eurochick are at the top of some mountain with an enormous bowl of snow behind them like miles of clouds. Both both aren't edited into the film that well.
As for storyline, we get a brief hit of his family and hometown life (one scene with grouchy Dad and one with hometown girlfriend), a longer fling with an equally self-absorbed Euro-glam chick, and brief bits of Redford annoying the coach or his teammates by being arrogant or impulsive. But it's too little of each, and all of it seems rather rote, so it doesn't amount to an interesting character study. I guess it was bold to make the main character somewhat of a jerk.
Not surprisingly, Redford looks good in a white turtleneck and is able to convincingly play a narcissist. I would have liked more character reveal or development. Also I would have gone for more of the ski training and preparation, but there are just two brief scenes used to hastily flesh out their world a little. It was a low-budget film -- Redford tabbed TV director Michael Ritchie due to the budget -- but unfortunately it looks and sounds sloppy. Not terrible, but I found little of interest.
If you want a ski film, check out Herzog's short doc, The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner, which has Werner (unintentionally) doing a loopy Wide World of Sports impression.
That is about ski jumping rather than downhill racing as in Redford's cleverly titled film. |
Last edited by gromit on Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:05 am; edited 1 time in total
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:28 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Downhill Racer was overrated from its initial release and has never lost the undeserved cred it got at the time. It's, as you say, mediocre and sometimes worse. But as we have already decided (we being me and some others), Smile, not The Candidate, would be the logical choice for a Criterion Ritchie. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:18 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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lady wakasa wrote: Whiskey - I'm talkin' to YOU (well, and everybody else) - I'm late with this by about 6 weeks, but the Criterion Third Man is officially OOP. It's also half price at Barnes & Noble.
This might be your last chance, if you don't have it... STOCK. UP. (*Before* Leo D does his remake.) |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:22 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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whiskeypriest wrote: lady wakasa wrote: Whiskey - I'm talkin' to YOU (well, and everybody else) - I'm late with this by about 6 weeks, but the Criterion Third Man is officially OOP. It's also half price at Barnes & Noble.
This might be your last chance, if you don't have it... STOCK. UP. (*Before* Leo D does his remake.) What's "OOP"? I have the Criterion from a couple editions ago.
Out of print. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:23 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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Marc wrote: Watched Billy Wilder's ACE IN THE HOLE. Wow! What a prophetic movie. Right up there with Dr. Strangelove. An absolute masterpiece with a dark uncompromising ending.
Has one of my favorite scenes in Wilder's work - and I love Wilder above all other directors - when the carnival pulls out, and the camera moves away, we see Leo's father hobbling back to the mountain that still holds the body of his son. |
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I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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| lady wakasa |
| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 12:33 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 5911
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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FYI - I just found out that http://hkflix.com is having a 40% blowout sale on 400 titles (of course, I found that out about two hours after getting notice that my yesasia.com order shipped). It's *not* all Asian, either (although it mostly is). So stock up away...
"Our economic distress is your gain!" (which is sad, but) |
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http://www.wakasaworld.com |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:22 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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watched Nothing But the Truth last night.
Well acted, very engrossing flick |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:11 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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October Sky
I was in high school, just like the Jake Guyllenhaal character was, when Sputnik was launched, and so I remember collections of kids building rockets all over the neighborhood, and all of us families going up on our apartment roofs at night, to watch Sputnik in awe and fear.
With the encouragement of one lone school teacher who doesn't want the rocket-making team to miss a chance at college, and so wind up working in the mines, they enter a science fair. (You think they'll win it?)
But with a stern Chris Cooper and a wide-eyed Guyllenhaal as father and son, a lot more than predictability would have to be wrong with this flick before I would pan it. They are terrific together, and so is the movie. |
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| inlareviewer |
| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:46 pm |
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Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 1949
Location: Lawrence, KS
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| Have warm memories of October Sky, not least because of Mr. Cooper and Jake, Be Still My Beating Heartenhaal, but also due to La Dern, Laura, that is, as the teacher and the general sense of era and milieu and unconventional conventional storytelling. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:41 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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inlareviewer wrote: Have warm memories of October Sky, not least because of Mr. Cooper and Jake, Be Still My Beating Heartenhaal, but also due to La Dern, Laura, that is, as the teacher and the general sense of era and milieu and unconventional conventional storytelling.
Gyllenhaal received rather blah reviews for the movie; saner heads prevailed and stardom struck nonetheless. He was terrific; so was Cooper; so was Dern. So was the movie. It was one of the best of its year. |
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| lissa |
| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 7:30 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 2148
Location: my computer
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| It was because of this forum (or was it NYT?) that I even heard of (and rented) October Sky. Loved it and the acting, and most of all that it depicted a true story. I remember it spurring on a whole discussion about how underused is the amazing Chris Cooper...he nails pretty much every part he plays but has yet to receive widespread recognition for his work. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:08 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Chris Cooper is not only a great actor, he is amazingly versatile. Compare his performances in October Sky, Lone Star, Adaptation, and American Beauty. That the same actor could essay four roles as disparate as these is practically supernatural.
For the record, I prefer the lesser-known performances in Lone Star and October Sky to the more famous, Oscar-surrounded turns in American Beauty and Adaptation. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:18 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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| The Cooper scene that took my breath away in Adaptation is when he's driving his old beatup PU, as he lights a cigarette, careens while he looks over at Streep more than the road, all the while talking orchids. And she's falling in love with him! |
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| lissa |
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:37 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 2148
Location: my computer
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I have yet to see Adaptation...now that I'm a NetFlix-esque member, I think I'll put it in my queue.
(*grins* I've always wanted to say that!!)  |
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