The Phantom of the Opera/Il Fantasma dell'Opera (1998) - Argento's Leroux adaptation is a kicker mostly for stout fans

♥♥♥

Horror, frights and sexy Asia Argento are promised on this poster for Dario Argento's The Phantom of the Opera

An abandoned baby is raised by rats in the Paris sewers and goes on to become a much feared serial killer in its opera house.

 

The Phantom of the Opera is written by Gérard Brach (Bitter Moon (1992)) and Italian master filmmaker, co-writer/director Dario Argento (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage/ L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo (1970)), adapting the same-titled 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux (Le Sept de Trèfle (1921)). It is Argento's 13th feature.

It is not a terribly successful film, and markedly one in which Argento finds himself noticably out of his Italian home-field. The use of modern CG special effects in the film look very misplaced today, and the phantom is revealed right up front, so that there is no continuous suspense to speak of.

Regardless of these issues the film is highly entertaining: Argento gives the often dusty, respectful screen adaptations a kick in the balls with his version here! Asia Argento (The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004)) is adorable, and The Phantom of the Opera also has some highly memorable scenes; a rat chase, a sex harem in a Turkish bathhouse - and a guy getting spiked on a cliff.

 

Related posts:

Dario Argento: Demons/Dèmoni (1985) or, Cinema of Death! (co-writer/producer)

Dawn of the Dead (1978) or, Mall of Death! (co-composer)

The Cat O'Nine Tails/Il Gatto a Nove Code (1971) - Solid genetics-themed giallo murder puzzle 

The Bird With the Crystal Plumage/L'uccello Dalle Piume di Cristallo (1970) - The great debut giallo of Dario Argento

Documentary about Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (2002) - Bio. doc. of Dario Argento 

Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: Estimated 10 mil. $

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain

[The Phantom of the Opera was released 20 November (Italy) and runs 99 minutes. Shooting took place in January - April 1998 in Budapest, Hungary and in Italy, including in Rome. The film had a limited North-American release in June 1999 and was released in 6 other markets, but details concerning its gross performances are regrettably unknown. Argento's initial cut was reportedly an hour longer than the film eventually released, severely re-cut by the film's producers. Argento returned with AIMI: Vicolo Cieco (1999, short) and theatrically with Sleepless/Non ho Sonno (2001). His daughter Asia Argento returned in La tua Lingua sul mio Cuore (1999, short) and theatrically in Scarlet Diva (2000); Julian Sands (Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2014)) in The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999). Approximately 5,300 IMDb users have given The Phantom of the Opera a 4.3/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Phantom of the Opera?

Malèna (2000) - Bellucci radiant in Tornatore's under-appreciated ode

♥♥♥♥♥

Monica Belucci's head-turning beauty adores the poster for Giuseppe Tornatore's Malèna

In a small Sicilian town in 1940, as Italy enters WWII, a teenage boy is seeing the locally famed beauty Maléna, who changes his life.

Malèna is written and directed by Italian master filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore (The Professor/Il Camorrista (1986)), based on a story by Luciano Vincenzoni (Little Funny Guy/L'Emigrante (1973)). It is Tornatore's 7th feature.
It is a wonderful little film of first love, the rampant horniness of the teenage boy, and the passing from boy into something else. It is also about a woman but mostly as an idolized, more or less mystical, older figure.
Monica Bellucci (She Hate Me (2004)) is incredibly beautiful and erotic as the title character, among the fairest and sexiest women in the history of cinema with Malèna one of the great bullets to prove this, and you can easily watch the film for her scenes alone and enjoy it immensely. But Malèna is also exceptionally shot (cinematographer Lajos Koltai (The Legend of 1900/La Leggenda del Pianista sull'Oceano (1998))), - and the score is pure Ennio Morricone (Porca Vacca (1982)) magic.

Related post:

Giuseppe Tornatore: Cinema Paradiso/Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988) - Tornatore's timeless masterpiece

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly "around" 10 mil. $
Box office: 14.4 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.44 times its cost)
[Malèna premiered 26 October (Italy) and runs 109 minutes/92 min. in the North-American watered down edition. Shooting took place in Morocco and in Sicily, Italy from September 1999 - March 2000. The film opened #37 to a 62k $ first weekend in 32 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #28 and in 117 theaters, grossing 3.4 mil. $ (23.6 % of the total gross). The international gross sheet at Box Office Mojo is not complete, missing among many other markets Italy itself, likely the film's biggest or at least 2nd biggest market, but the 14.4 mil. $ gross is likely accurate. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: It lost Best Cinematography to Pater Pau for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Score to Dun Tan for the same film. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes, a BAFTA, won 1/4 David di Donatello nominations, a National Board of Review award and several other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to 3 notches under this one. Tornatore returned with The Unknown Woman/La Sconosciuta (2006). Bellucci returned in Dear Father (2001, short) and theatrically in Brotherhood of the Wolf/Le Pacte des Loups (2001). Malèna is rotten at 54 % with a 5.58/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Malèna?

Gosford Park (2001) - Smith triumphs in Altman & Fellowes' exquisite whodunit

♥♥♥♥

Scarlet roses and a menu attached to a waiter's backside with the title, tagline and impressive list of stars make up this inviting poster for Robert Altman's Gosford Park

A British family patriarch invites to a grand hunting weekend in 1930s upper class England. The family and their servants cultivate etiquette, gossip and viciousness as usual. But then a murder occurs!...

Gosford Park is written by Julian Fellowes (Romeo and Juliet (2013)), based on an idea by co-producer/co-star Bob Balaban (The Last Good Time (1994)) and co-producer and Missourian master filmmaker Robert Altman (The Delinquents (1957)), whose 33rd feature it was.
It is a wonderful multi-character film with a terrific ensemble of whom especially Maggie Smith (Keeping Mum (2005)) and Kelly Macdonald (Finding Neverland (2004)) impress. Smith is tart and incredibly funny here.
Altman serves the whodunit in a breezy style without giving the misdeed more room than is necessary.
The British social reservation that's integral to Gosford Park may affect my own feelings about it a bit to the cool side, but it is certainly still a splendid picture.

Related post:

Robert Altman: The Company (2003) - Campbell, Turner and Altman's fine ballet picture

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 19.8 mil. $
Box office: 87.7 mil. $
= Big hit (returned 4.42 times its cost)
[Gosford Park premiered 7 November (London Film Festival) and runs 137 minutes. Balaban asked Altman if they could develop a film together in 1999, and upon Altman's response of an Agatha Christie-like whodunit introduced him to Fellowes. Shooting took place in England from March 2001 - ?. Filming took place with two cameras perpetually moving in opposite directions, forcing all actors to stay in character throughout every scene, all of which has at least one servant in them. The film opened #23 to a 241k $ first weekend in 9 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #9 and in 918 theaters (different weeks), grossing 41.3 mil. $ (47.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 17.1 mil. $ (19.5 %) and Australia with 4.5 mil. $ (5.1 %). It was Altman's most commercially successful film, following MASH (1970). The film was nominated for 7 Oscars, winning for Best Screenplay. It lost Best Picture, Supporting Actress (Smith and Helen Mirren) to Jennifer Connelly, Director to Ron Howard, all for A Beautiful Mind, and Art/Set Decoration and Costume Design to Moulin Rouge!. It won 1/5 Golden Globe nominations, 2/9 BAFTAs, 1/4 AFI award nominations, was nominated for a César award, 3 European Film awards and several other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches higher than this one. Fellowes was inspired by the film to create his hit-series Downton Abbey (2010-15). Altman returned with The Company (2003). Smith returned in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002); Macdonald in Brush with Fate (2003, TV movie), State of Play (2003, miniseries) and theatrically in Intermission (2003). Gosford Park is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.51/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Gosford Park?

Somewhere (2010) - S. Coppola's phenomenal existential character study

♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

3 Film Excess wins:

Best Actor: Stephen Dorff
Best Director: Sofia Coppola
Best Editing    

7 Film Excess nominations:

Best Film (lost to The King's Speech)
Best Actor: Stephen Dorff (won)
Best Supporting Actress: Elle Fanning (lost to Dianne Wiest for Rabbit Hole)
Best Director: Sofia Coppola (won)
Best Cinematography: Harris Savides (lost to Wally Phister for Inception)
Best Editing (won)
Best Music: Phoenix (lost to Treme S1)

 

+ 3rd Best Movie of the Year

+ Best American Movie of the Year 

+ Best Character Study of the Year

 

With Hollywood's Chateau Marmont hotel looming in the back, the poster for Sofia Coppola's Somewhere

 

We follow action star Johnny Marco, who lives a distanced, floating life in a fancy Los Angeles hotel. For a while he lives with his teenage daughter Cleo.

 

Stephen Dorff (The Iceman (2012)) and Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon (2016)) are indescribably good in New Yorker master writer-director Sofia Coppola's (The Virgin Suicides (1999)) masterpiece of realizing you have gotten stuck in life and setting a new course. Dorff inhabits his character physically as well as psychologically. Somewhere also has a beautiful score by French indie-pop band Phoenix, (whose front singer Thomas Mars is Coppola's husband), and bold, simple and very elegant photography by the great Harris Savides (Milk (2008)).

This is an awesomely fine film, in which the lack of formal events and action lead our focus to its existential core meditations: Can one change? And, even more to the point; can one really act in one's own life? SPOILER The sophisticated ending seems to respond a tentative yes. (And if you don't get it, watch the film again, understand its journey and look at its title.)  Somewhere is beautiful.

 

Related posts:

 

Sofia Coppola: Top 10: Best Hollywood-set movies   

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]

The Bling Ring (2013) - Coppola misfire, boooooooring

Coppola is interviewed about the film here

Cost: 7 mil. $

Box office: 13.9 mil. $

= Flop

[Somewhere premiered September 11 (Venice International Film Festival) and runs 98 minutes. Coppola drew inspiration from countless movies, acquaintances and her own upbringing as cinema royalty (as the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola.) Filming took place in Italy and LA, including the real Chateau Marmont, and Las Vegas from June - July 2009. The film opened #26 with a 119k $ first weekend in 7 theaters in North America, where it peaked in 83 theaters and grossed 1.7 mil. $ (12.2 % of the total gross). Before North America, the film's biggest 2 market were France with 3.3 mil. $ (23.7 %) and Italy with 2.7 mil. $ (19.4 %). The film won the Golden Lion in Venice. It received mixed reviews, but Roger Ebert, agreeing with me, gave it 4/4 stars. Somewhere is certified fresh at 71 % with a 6.6 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Somewhere?