Hamsun (1996) - Sydow towers in overlong biopic

♥♥♥

 

The two big Scandinavian stars are set against a handwritten page on this poster for Jan Troell's Hamsun

Norwegian national author and recipient of the Nobel prize for literature Knut Hamsun develops, with support from his alienated wife, from a nationalist to a Nazi in the period leading up to, during - and after - World War II, which comes with grave consequences for the two.

 

Hamsun is written by Per Olov Enquist (Pelle the Conqueror/Pelle Eroberen (1987)) and co-writer/director/co-cinematographer, Swedish master filmmaker Jan Troell (Here Is Your Life/Här Har Du Ditt Liv (1966)), whose 10th feature it is. It is an adaptation of Thorkild Hansen's (Coast of Slaves/Slavernes Kyst (1967)) non-fiction book Processen mod Hamsun (1978).

The deeply illusory, Norwegian madness that the couple live in in Hamsun is frustrating in a way that makes the viewer want to physically grab them and shake them out of their delusions. Max von Sydow (The Final Enquiry (2006)) is masterly and very credible here, whereas Ghita Nørby (Ulvetid (1981)) by his side seems to have troubles portraying the Nazi wife, and in my opinion Nørby lays too much of her sympathetic self into this part.

Hamsun is especially valuable for historically interested and for those interested in portrayals of troubled, great artists. It is a bit overlong: SPOILER Hamsun waits to die throughout the film, and in the end we also want it for him, if only so the whole ordeal would end. Hamsun is a serious but not emotionally overpowering film from Troell.

 

Related post:

 

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 40 mil. SEK, approximately 3.99 mil. $

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain (but most likely a sizable flop)

[Hamsun was released 19 April (Norway) and runs 159 minutes. The film had been in development many years earlier but failed to find support in Norway due to its controversial topic. It was Danish company Nordisk Film's involvement that finally got Hamsun into production. Shooting took place in the Spring and Summer of 1995 in Norway, including in Oslo. The most expensive scene shot, in which Hamsun's wife Marie witnesses the sinking of the German cruiser Blücher in Oslo Fjord in 1940, was eventually cut from the film. 147,148 paid admission to the film in Denmark, one of its 4 co-producing countries (the other being Norway, Sweden and Germany). It made 50k $ in North America, where it debuted #24 to a 7k $ first weekend in 1 theater. Other release details are regrettably scarce, and this makes it impossible to determine its theatrical status, though I suspect it was a sizable flop. It won a Robert (Danish Oscar) and 4 Guldbagge (Sweden's Oscar), among other honors. It became Denmark's Oscar entry of the year but did not get nominated. Troell returned with 2 documentaries and a documentary short prior to his theatrical return with Så Vit Som En Snö (2001). Sydow returned in Jerusalem (1996); Nørby in Bryggeren (1997, miniseries) and theatrically in Sekten (1997). 1.6k+ IMDb users have given Hamsun a 7.2/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Hamsun?

Robin Hood (2010) - R. Scott's grand film of the English legend

♥♥♥♥

 

1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Production Design: Arthur Max (lost to Boardwalk Empire S1)

 

Russell Crowe looks like a distinctly different kind of Robin Hood than we have seen before on this poster for Ridley Scott's film of that legend

 

This review is based on the director's cut edition of the film.

 

In the late 12th century, Robin Hood serves under the war-mongering King Richard Lionheart, but when he gets killed, Robin escapes for home with a group of soldiers. In England, the throne now goes to the idiotic John.

English master director Ridley Scott (Gladiator (2000)) and the producers get an incredible lot out of their admittedly gigantic budget here: Robin Hood is a fiercely handsome, modern swashbuckler with beautiful sceneries and a luxurious cast to suit it: Russell Crowe (No Way Back (1995)) and Cate Blanchett (Hanna (2011)) are sweet together. Danny Huston (Children of Men (2006)), Léa Seydoux (Traceless (2010)), William Hurt (The Host (2013)), Mark Strong (Fever Pitch (1997)), Mark Addy (The Full Monty (1997)) and Max von Sydow (Pelle the Conqueror/Pelle Erobreren (1987)), in the touching part as the father of the fallen Loxley, complete the ensemble.

Robin Hood is a heady mix of strong fight scenes, romance, excitement and fun. Only its climax isn't right; it doesn't feel like a part of the rest of the film: The Troy/Saving Private Ryan-like CGI-heavy invasion from the sea and overly bloodthirsty Hood of the finale somehow wasn't how the film was supposed to end. Also, Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)) isn't altogether confident as the villainous John; plus he looks outlandish with blue contact lenses.

Still, Robin Hood, which is written by Brian Helgeland (A Knight's Tale (2001)), is still a thoroughly enjoyable, grand piece of entertainment.

 

Related posts:

 

Ridley Scott:  Prometheus (2012) or, Even Then, Space Eggs Were Bad News

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

American Gangster (2007) - Great American - now black - gangster picture
A Good Year (2006) - Ridley Scott likes Provence

Top 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date  
Blade Runner (1982) director's cut - Visual extravaganza, great SF 
Alien (1979) or, Space Eggs Are Bad News 

Listen to a part of the film's score here

Cost: 200 mil. $

Box office: 321.6 mil. $

= Big flop

[Robin Hood premiered May 12 (UK and Ireland) and runs 140 minutes, with a director's cut edition of 156 minutes. The spec script that Helgeland took story elements from was bought for a 7-figure amount in 2007. Crowe was paid a hefty 20 mil. $ against 20 % of the gross. Scott was not happy with any of the previous Robin Hood adaptations and got Helgeland involved to rewrite the script. Production was delayed due to writers and actors strikes. Filming took place in England and Wales from March - August 2009. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit Iron Man 2, to a 36 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it fell out of the top 5 after 4 weeks and grossed 105.2 mil. $ (32.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 23.1 mil. $ (7.2 %) and France with 18.2 mil. $ (5.7 %). Roger Ebert was critical of the film, giving it only 2 stars, equal to two notches harder than this review. Robin Hood is rotten at 43 % with a 5.4 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Robin Hood?

The Exorcist (1973) - Friedkin and Blatty's masterpiece, one of the scariest pictures of all time

♥♥♥♥♥♥

The iconic poster for William Friedkin's The Exorcist

QUICK REVIEW:

In Georgetown, Washington, D.C., a famous actress' preteen daughter Regan is possessed by an ancient Iraqi demon so strong that an official Catholic exorcist gets involved.

The Exorcist is an adaptation of William Peter Blatty's (Legion (1983)) same-titled 1971 novel, - which was based on an actual 1949 exorcism of a young boy in Maryland, one of three exorcisms authorized by the Catholic Church in the US at the time, - written by Blatty himself, winning an Oscar for his job, and directed by Oscar-nominated master Chicagoan filmmaker William Friedkin (The French Connection (1971)). It is a notorious film and still diabolically scary.
It is beautifully photographed by Oscar-nominated Owen Roizman (Wyatt Earp (1994)) with lots of vertical angles and symbolism. The extraordinary, Oscar-nominated Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream (2000)) is phenomenal as Regan's mother, and so is Max von Sydow (Truck Stop (1996)) as the titular exorcist, Father Merrin.
Especially for Christians, The Exorcist is and will probably always remain one of the scariest movies of all time.

Related review:

William Friedkin: Killer Joe (2011) - Friedkin's dark, intense maybe last cinematic package
The Boys in the Band (1970) - Friedkin and Crowley's groundbreaking gay birthday party movie

Max von Sydow in William Friedkin's The Exorcist

Linda Blair (Sorceress (1995)) as Regan in William Friedkin's The Exorcist

In lieu of a trailer for the film, not currently on Youtube, here's a scene from it

 

Cost: 12 mil. $ 
Box office: 402.7 - 441.3 mil. $
= Blockbuster
[The Exorcist was released December 26 and runs 121/131 (director's cut) minutes. The adaptation of Blatty's New York Times bestselling novel was difficult in many ways. Directors Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Penn, Peter Bogdanovich, Mike Nichols, John Boorman (who eventually made the God-awful sequel) and Mark Rydell were all contacted but turned down or otherwise fell out of the project, before Friedkin was hired based on his incredible job with French Connection. The fabled production, which began August 1972 and lasted not the already long, scheduled 85 days but an astounding 224 days, concluding in July 1973. It included Friedkin using unconventional methods to get the best performances out of everybody, including giving Burstyn and Blair back injuries due to harnesses pulling them, Friedkin slapping a reverend across the face before his scene, firing blanks from a gun on set, affecting the cast and crew with eerie music and sounds playing between takes and constructing a giant freezer around the exorcism set, so that everyone had to work in freezing temperatures for long durations of time, (Blair mostly just in a night dress.) It was shot on location in Iraq in a blistering heat (!), in a Manhattan studio, in New York locations and in Georgetown, D.C. Several versions of the film have been devised since its release, cutting and changing different parts and reinserting material, such as the famous spider-walk scene, which has been reinserted after digital technology has made possible its improvement, so that the wires visible in it could be erased. The Exorcist opened to mixed reactions from critics, some lambasting it while others sang it praise: Roger Ebert awarded it a perfect 4 star rating but also called it a "painful experience." It opened very tentatively in just 26 theaters but the sensational response of the public, (just try typing 'the exorcist 1973 reactions' on Youtube!) soon made it available all over North America, where it grossed 66.3 mil. $ in rentals in its first run, becoming the second-biggest movie of 1974 domestically, behind The Sting. With reissues, it has grossed 232.9 mil. $ (ca. 57.8 % of the total gross) in North America. It was nominated for 10 Oscars, becoming the first ever horror to be nominated for Best Picture. It lost editing, director (George Roy Hill), picture and art direction to Sting, cinematography to Cries & Whispers, supporting actress (Blair) to Tatum O'Neal (Paper Moon), supporting actor (Jason Miller (Rudy (1993))) to John Houseman (The Paper Chase), actress (Burstyn) to Glenda Jackson (A Touch of Glass), but it won for Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay (Blatty). It was also nominated for 7 Golden Globes, winning 4, for Best Drama (!), Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress (Blair) and Director. The film has spun two sequels and a prequel, a Turkish remake and inspired tons of other films. The Exorcist is certified fresh at 87 % with an 8 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Exorcist?
What is the scariest film of all time in your opinion?

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011) or, The Boy Who Lost His Father

♥♥♥♥

1 Time Film Excess Nominee:

Best Non-adult Actor: Thomas Horn (lost to Amara Miller for The Descendants)

An extremely clear image of Thomas Horn on the poster for Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

QUICK REVIEW:

An extremely intelligent boy loses his father in 9/11, and a year later he ventures out on what he perceives as his father's last expedition for him, with a key in his hand.

Young Thomas Horn (Space Warriors (2013)) is exceptional and a joy to see act and charm us in this really sweet film, which is about something very sad: Settling with a grief and a loss that seems senseless.
Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan (1998)) and Sandra Bullock (Gravity (2013)) play the sweetest and best father and mother in the world here, it seems, respectively.
The scene with Jeffrey Wright (Broken Flowers (2005)) is too long, (the movie runs 129 minutes), and there are other minor flaws, but Extremely Loud is still a humorous, touching film.
It is an adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's (Tree of Codes (2010)) 2005 novel by Eric Roth (The Insider (1999)), and the film is directed by English master filmmaker Stephen Daldry (The Hours (2002)). His latest work is the Brazilian-set Trash (2014).

Related posts:

Stephen Daldry: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
The Reader (2008) or, Guilt, Words and Love

Watch the official trailer for the film here, - and note that although James Gandolfini is credited in it, his scenes were ultimately cut from the film (due to test audiences responding negative to the scenes of him and Bullock's romance)

Cost: 40 mil. $
Box office. 55.2 mil. $
= Big flop
[Extremely Loud garnered lukewarm reviews in the US, where it made 31.8 mil. $ (58 % of the total gross.) When it was Oscar-nominated as Best Film and Best Supporting Actor (Max Von Sydow (Pelle the Conqueror/Pelle Erobreren (1987))), several critics lambasted the Academy for their nominations of it. However, those critics were wrong: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a good film.]

What do you think of Extremely Close & Incredibly Loud?
If you've seen Daldry's latest, Trash, please, let us know how it was

Conan the Barbarian (1982) - Prehistoric fantasy opus stretched out beyond its maximum

♥♥

Mythical, alluring poster for John Milius' Conan the Barbarian

QUICK REVIEW:

The first Conan movie by John Milius (Red Dawn (1984)), who wrote Apocalypse Now (1979), is an excessively long, tiresome affair with an Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)), who at this early point of his acting career still clearly had plenty to learn about his own talent and acting in general.
The story is set in a prehistoric age, where the young Conan sees his village destroyed and his parents slain by some fierce villains, who then enslave him for many years. He gains reputation as a barbaric killer after he gets loose, and then goes on his quest for vengeance.

So many shots in Conan are so protracted that even the most die-hard Arnold-fan will have problems not mentally drifting from it. I frequently totally forgot what the film was about.
It is blown up to epic length (129 minutes) with a grand, fine score by Basil Poledouris (Free Willy (1993)), which doesn't serve the Conan universe well, because the film is basically too ridiculous to bear such length and grandeur.
Line after line is spoken that seems too ludicrous to even have been written. Here's one example which is testament to the low-brow level that Conan floats around in: [ed.: Crom is Conan's sword!]

Conan: Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that two stood against many. That's what's important! Valor pleases you, Crom... so grant me one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you! 

One wonders if screenwriter Oliver Stone (Platoon (1986)) wrote Conan (with Milius doing rewrites) in a cocaine snowstorm. And Milius is no great director...
The film does have some impressive scenery and sets, liberal amounts of blood and mayhem, special effects and co-stars James Earl Jones as the evil Thulsa Doom and Max von Sydow as a bitter old king who helps Conan. And two sex scenes with Conan, the first one ending SPOILER with him throwing her into a bonfire!

James Earl Jones as Thulsa Doom in John Milius' Conan the Barbarian

But dang is it (generally) boring. I just couldn't care about the walking lump of meat that is Conan if you tried to force me into it, I think.
In fact, the elaborate DVD behind-the-scenes documentary about Conan the Barbarian was better and way more interesting (and more than an hour shorter!) than the film itself.
The 1984 sequel by Richard Fleischer at least has an irreverence about itself, which the self-serious, solemn 1982 here original totally lacks.
Incredibly enough, Schwarzenegger still wants to do a third Conan, which has been announced with the title, Legend of Conan.

Related reviews:

Conan the Destroyer (1984) - Arnold K.O.'s animals and pushes doors open in early-career fantasy 80's extravaganza
John Milius: Apocalypse Now (1979) Redux version - The horror of war (screenwriter)

Watch the original trailer here

Cost: 16 mil. $
Box office: 130 mil. $
= Blockbuster

What do you think of Conan the Barbarian?
If I am missing some central charm about the character, what is it?

The Magician/Ansiktet/The Face (1958) or, Fool the Townfolk

♥♥♥♥♥


A strongly mystery-denoting original Swedish poster for Ingmar Bergman's The Magician

Dr. Vogler and his little troupe of con-men/magicians arrive in Södermalm, Sweden, in 1846, where they are confronted with the town's skeptical, haughty aristocrats. 

The Magician is written and directed by Swedish master filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (Face to Face/Ansikte mot Ansikte (1976)) as his 20th theatrical feature. The original title translates to, 'the face'. 

As the masks fall in the film's compelling story, The Magician turns into a trembling showdown between judgemental, proud, pompous science and the right to believe and believe in superstition. The final ribbon that ties the tale together is a most merry one. There is plenty of both wisdom and foolishness before this.
The Magician is simply composed over diametric opposites and done in a frank and open-minded style with delightful acting, - especially from Ingrid Thulin (Winter Light/Nattvardsgästerna (1963)) and the other women.
This vivid gem blends comedy, thriller aspects and philosophy with drama in an elegant and enthusiastic way. It is a treasure from one of Bergman's most productive years, 1958, in which he directed two feature films and two TV movies.

Related posts:

Ingmar Bergman: Fanny and Alexander/Fanny och Alexander (1982) - Bergman's treasured mammoth drama farewell
All These Women/Now About These Women/För att Inte Tala om Alla Dessa Kvinnor (1964) - Bergman's pitifully awful farce

Watch a montage of the picturesque film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[The Magician was released 26 December (Sweden) and runs 107 minutes. The script was inspired by G.K. Chesterton's play Magic, which Bergman had previously staged. The film was shot in Stockholm, Sweden. It was chosen as Sweden's entry for the Oscars but didn't get nominated. It was nominated for a BAFTA and won 3 awards at the 1959 Venice Film Festival. Bergman returned with Storm Weather/Oväder (1960, TV movie) and theatrically with his masterpiece The Virgin Spring/Jungfrukällan (1960). Max Von Sydow (Dreamscape (1984)) returned in The Virgin Spring; Thulin in Älska (1959, TV movie), Vår Ofödde Son (1959, TV movie) and theatrically in The Judge/Domaren (1960); Gunnar Björnstrand (Taboo/Tabu (1977)) in Swinging at the Castle/Det Svänger på Slottet (1959); and Bibi Andersson (Drømspel (1994)) in Lilith (1959, TV movie) and theatrically in Den Kära Leken (1959). The Magician is fresh at 100 % with a 8.14/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Magician?