How the West Was Won (1962) - Western star cascade is a visual feast

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An overwhelming number of stars and an incredible amount of epic sequences are teased on this yellow-toned poster for Henry Hathaway, John Ford, Richard Thorpe and George Marshall's How the West Was Won

From the frontier men and women on rafts down the river, in the American Civil War, through the Indian Wars, the revolution of the railway system and the arrival of law and order: - This is how the west was won!

 

How the West Was Won is written by James R. Webb (Kings of the Sun (1963)) and John Gay (Final Notice (1989, TV movie)) and directed by great Californian filmmaker Henry Hathaway (Heritage of the Desert (1932)), Mainer master filmmaker John Ford (Straight Shooting (1917)), George Marshall (Love's Lariat (1916)) and Richard Thorpe (Rough Ridin' (1924)).

Variegated and (putting it squarely) shapeless anthology type largesse western epic: Starts by treating the West more or less as an enjoyable amusement park; later becomes more thrilling, - especially in the railroad section and towards the end, featuring outlaws. Stars replace stars as if delivered to us on a conveyor belt, where none of them have time to form whole characters that develop, and some of them simply chew up the scenery.

But How the West Was Won is worth watching as a photographic spectacle due to its laborious Cinerama three-strip film process, originally theatrically projected onto a curved screen. (The only other film made this way is The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962).) Enjoy it for its enormously wide, crystal clear, beautiful images, which are incredible to look at, when for instance grand vistas, buffaloes and dramas on the river come to life in extraordinary detail, so that you nearly feel that you're there. (Cinematography by William H. Daniels (The Prize (1963)), Milton R. Krasner (The Singing Nun (1966)), Charles Lang (Hotel (1967)) and Joseph LaShelle (The Outsider (1961)).)

Outstanding stunts and production design and popping colors also work magic. The West is almost entirely kept in positive turns in this nationalistic, fly-over work, which captivates visually.

 

Related posts:

John Ford: Fort Apache (1948) - Wayne and Fonda clash in Ford's solid western of a massacre of Indians 

Top 10: Best Twentieth Century Fox titles 

The Grapes of Wrath (1940) - Ford's Steinbeck adaptation is a cinematic crown jewel 
Henry Hathaway: Airport (1970) or, A Genre Is Born (uncredited director of winter outdoor scenes)  
Circus World/The Magnificent Showman (1964) - Hathaway and Bronston's grand, ill-fated curio 

The Dark Corner (1946) - Hathaway's great film noir

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 14.483 mil. $

Box office: 50 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.45 times its cost)

[How the West Was Won premiered 1 November (London) and runs 164 minutes. The film was originally intended to be charitable for St. Johns Hospital, but the hospital later sued to get its profits. Shooting took place from May 1961 - January 1962 in Kentucky, Arizona, Illinois and Colorado. During production the budget ballooned from 8 mil. $. Hathaway later said about the making of the film: (it was) "goddam trouble. They had an idiot for a producer and Sol Siegel was drunk most of the time. We spent so much money on the picture they almost decided not to do the last part. We had a meeting, and I said, 'You can't quit. You've got to show how the West was won. The West was won when the law took over'." At the London Casino Cinerama where the film premiered, it went on to play for 123 weeks, ending its impressive reign in April 1965. The film made 20.9 mil. $ in North-American rentals, becoming the year's 2nd highest-grossing in rentals. Elsewhere it is put down for a 46.5 mil. $ North-American gross. With considerable foreign numbers, there is a discrepancy concerning the alleged 50 mil. $ world gross. In any case it was a success. It was also nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 3, for Best Screenplay, Sound and Editing. It lost Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color to Cleopatra, Cinematography, Color to Leon Shamroy for Cleopatra, Costume Design, Color to Cleopatra, Score (Alfred Newman (The Counterfeit Traitor (1962)), Ken Darby (Meet Me After the Show (1951))) to John Addison for Tom Jones and Picture also to Tom Jones. It also won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Through restorative efforts, the very visible three image lines have been mostly disguised on newer home video releases of the film. Hathaway returned with Circus World (1964); Ford with Donovan's Reef (1963); Marshall with Papa's Delicate Condition (1963); and Thorpe with Follow the Boys (1963). James Stewart (Rope (1948)) returned in My Three Sons (1963, TV-series) and theatrically in Take Her, She's Mine (1963); John Wayne (The War Wagon (1967)) in Donovan's Reef (1963). How the West Was Won is fresh at 87 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of How the West Was Won?

The Man on the Train/L'Homme du Train (2002) - French legends meet in heist yawner

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Two French veteran stars are going in opposite directions on a train track on this very bright poster for Patrice Leconte's The Man on the Train

An old gentleman befriends another aging man, who visits his city to participate in a bank robbery.

 

The Man on the Train is written by Patrick Cauvin (Le Dernier Tour (1994, TV movie)) and directed by Patrice Leconte (Les Vécés Étaient Fermés de l'Intérieur (1976)).

Why the two guys band up was never clear to me, (I might have missed something.) They are basically two archetype characters: 'The lion' (guess who) and 'the owl', you might well call them. But this meeting between major French star figures is no Heat (1995), and one of the film's problems is that it tonally sits between two chairs: The two men have conversations about their world views, which are the best scenes in the film and at times well-written. But then in the end the film also goes for suspense with the robbery, and this fails. 

For long stretches The Man on the Train left me yawning, and it is hard to say if stars Jean Rochefort (La Clef (2007)) and Johnny Halliday (The Pink Panther 2 (2009)) are really good here. The photography (by Jean-Marie Dreujou (Wolf Totem (2015))) is nothing special.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 5 mil. €, approximately 5.47 mil. $

Box office: 7.5 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.37 times its cost)

[The Man on the Train premiered 3 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 90 minutes. 14 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Strangely the UK Film Council supported the wholly French film with 500k £. Shooting took place in France. The film opened #57 with a 41k $ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #22 and in 85 theaters (different weeks), grossing 2.5 mil. $ (33.33 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Italy with 1.8 mil. $ (24 %) and France with 1.5 mil. $ (20 %). The film was nominated for 4 European Film awards, a David di Donatello award and won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 4 notches over this one. The film was remade in 2011 as Man on the Train. Leconte returned with Intimate Strangers/Confidences trop Intimes (2004). Rochefort returned in Blanche (2002); Halliday in Crime Spree (2003). The Man on the Train is certified fresh at 92 % with a 7.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Man on the Train? 

Hello, Dolly! (1969) - Effervescent, grand musical entertainment from some of the greats

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A very late 1960s and supremely stylish poster for Gene Kelly's Hello, Dolly!

Dolly Levi is an effervescent widow who can afford just about anything. For her own future she targets the wealthy merchant of Yonkers, Mr. Vandergelder.

 

Hello, Dolly! is written and produced by Ernest Lehman (The Sound of Music (1965)), based on the same-titled 1964 Broadway play by Michael Stewart (Bring Back Birdie (1981)), which in turn was based on Thornton Wilder's (The Merchant of Yonkers (1938)) play The Matchmaker (1954). It is directed by Pennsylvanian master filmmaker Gene Kelly (On the Town (1949)), whose 9th feature it was.

Barbra Streisand (The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)) is radiant comically, musically and motion-wise (as well as erotically) as never before in the festive title role, and Walter Matthau (Charade (1963)) is formidably funny as the square Vandergelder. With tremendous guys as Vandergelder's underlings, his clerks (in particular the young Danny Lockin (Gypsy (1962)) is irresistible), as well as Joyce Ames (The Todd Killings (1971)) and Tommy Tune (The Boy Friend (1971)) as the in-love Ermengarde and Ambrose and flyingly fresh and keen dialog. Perhaps the length stretches a bit comfortably, but a musical lover can't but fall in love with this grand, beautifully photographed (by Harry Stradling Sr. (Island of Love (1963))) master class. The costumes, which has the elegant meeting the gaudy in a whirl of colors, and the dance acts, - along with a couple of the songs, - simply don't come more attractive or impressive.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 25.3 mil. $

Box office: 33.2 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Uncertain, likely even

[Hello, Dolly! was released 16 December (USA) and runs 146 minutes. Streisand was paid 750k $ for her performance; Matthau 500k $. Shooting took place from April - August 1968 in Pennsylvania, New York and in Los Angeles, California. The release was delayed due to a contractual issue that it would not be allowed release before the Broadway show of Hello, Dolly! ended. Fox eventually paid 1-2 mil. $ to secure a release before the contract had stated. The film opened #3, behind On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Easy Rider, in North America, where it grossed 33.2 mil. $, making it one of the year's 5 highest-grossing films domestically. The film reportedly earned Fox 26 mil. $ globally, - enough that it ranks here as 'even' or 'box office success' status, but reportedly still incurring a 10 mil. $ loss for the studio, likely due to big marketing and print expenses which are not calculated into the theatrical status of a film's performance here. The film was nominated for 7 Oscars, winning 3: For Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Sound and Musical Picture Score (Lennie Hayton (The Virginian (1963, TV-series)) and Lionel Newman (The Pleasure Seekers (1964)). It lost Best Cinematography to Conrad L. Hall for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Costumes to Anne of the Thousand Days, Editing to Z and Picture to Midnight Cowboy.  The film was also nominated for 3 BAFTAs and 5 Golden Globes, among other honors. Kelly returned with The Cheyenne Social Club (1970). Streisand returned in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970); Matthau in A New Leaf (1971); and Michael Crawford (Condorman (1981)) in The Games (1970). Hello, Dolly! is rotten at 45 % with a 6.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Hello, Dolly!?

The General (1926) - One of the wildest comedies and best train movies ever made

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Buster Keaton looks only slightly unnerved as the hapless title character on this drawn and painted poster for Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton's The General

The American Civil War breaks out, and Johnny attempts to enlist in the Confederate Army, but there he is thought to be more vital in his current job as a train engineer. But then Union spies steal Johnny's train, the General - with his girl on it! And so starts a wild chase.

The General is written by Californian master co-writer/co-director Clyde Bruckman (The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933, short)) and Kansan master co-writer/co-producer/co-director/star/co-editor Buster Keaton (Boom in the Moon (1946)), with Paul Gerard Smith (It's a Joke, Son! (1947)) contributing elements, and Al Boasberg (The Fuller Gush Man (1934, short)) and Charles Henry Smith (Nobody (1921)) contributing with the adaptation process: The film adapts William Pittenger's (Daring and Suffering, A History of the Great Locomotive Adventures (1963)) account of his experiences in the actual Great Locomotive Chase of 1862.
Keaton's enormous comedic talent and derring-do is on full display in The General, which is also a technically deeply impressive film, for example for its many high-speed traveling shots of Keaton and his not exactly petite sweetheart (played by Marion Mack (The Carnival Girl (1926))) fooling around.
The seemingly endless traps and gags are smartly incorporated into the story, which culminates in a panorama of war, which in terms of firepower, gunpowder, bombs and stunts is nothing short of awe-inspiring. There is simply no way in which The General does not lift its audience's spirits.

Related posts:

Clyde Bruckman: For Heaven's Sake (1926) - Lloyd's antics unleashed in a missionary setting (co-writer)
Buster Keaton: The Electric House (1922, short) - Keaton introduces electricity with hilarious results in great short (co-writer/co-director/star)

Watch  a recent HD trailer for the film here

Cost: 750k $
Box office: Reportedly 1 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.33 times its cost)
[The General premiered 25 December (El Paso, Texas) and runs around 75 minutes, (some versions are shorter.) Keaton was a train history fan and attempted to rent the real General locomotive to use in the film but was refused. He instead bought 3 locomotives for use in the film, and was initially given a 400k $ budget. Keaton and Bruckman traveled to Oregon in 18 freight cars with cannons, stagecoaches, houses, three 33 mm cameras and the cast and crew. Shooting took place in Oregon and California from June - September 1926. A press release stated that the film had 3,000 people on the pay roll and cost 400 $ an hour to make. On-set accidents contributed to the ballooning costs: Keaton getting knocked unconscious; an assistant director getting shot in the face with a blank cartridge; a train wheel running over a brakeman's foot; and the train's wood-burning engine causing numerous haystack fires. The town Cottage Growe declared a local holiday on the day of the shooting of the climactic train wreck scene, and 3-4,000 curious locals showed up, including 500 extras from the Oregon National Guard in uniforms. The shot took hours to prepare and carry out and cost 42k $, thus becoming the costliest single shot in silent film history. However, the later shot from The General of the Texas locomotive crashing into the river from a burning bridge was as expensive. The wreckage was left in the river but salvaged for scrap metal during WWII. A large fire broke out during shooting of a major fight scene, costing the production 50k $, as everyone went back to Los Angeles for a few weeks, while the heavy smoke cleared! Several of the shots in the film that features Keaton himself were extremely dangerous and could have easily turned deadly, had anything gone wrong. The general US release of the film was delayed due to the success of Flesh and the Devil (1926). It made just 474k $ in the US and became Keaton's biggest flop, though he took great pride in The General and called it his best film. The failure meant that Keaton lost his artistic independence and accepted a restrictive deal with MGM. The film fell into public domain in the US in 1954 and can be seen free and legally right here. It may have turned a profit since with several re-releases in many countries. IMDb's users have voted the film in at #196 on the site's Top 250, sitting between Catch Me If You Can (2002) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Keaton returned in College (1927), for which his co-direction received no credit; Bruckman returned with Horse Shoes (1927). The General is certified fresh at 93 % with a 9.09/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The General?

The Station Agent (2003) - A little star is born

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+ Best Independent Movie of the Year + Best Dramedy of the Year + Best Shooting Star Actor of the Year: Peter Dinklage

Sundance awards and critical praise helps sell this poster's promise of decent, good, bright, grown-up company, for Tom McCarthy's The Station Agent

Fin's boss at the model train shop passes away and leaves a closed up train station in New Jersey to Fin, who decides to move there, where he encounters two new friends.

The Station Agent is written and directed by great New-Jerseyite filmmaker Tom McCarthy (The Cobbler (2014)), whose debut it is.
It is a small, 'good time' story with 4 delightful actors. Peter Dinklage (A Case of You (2013)) is excellent as Fin, and the film gives insight into the life as a little person. It also deals with train fascination and friendships. Bobby Cannavale's (Blue Bloods (2010-11)) character lacks some information; namely, how does he survive on selling hotdogs and coffee in virtual no-man's-land?
The Station Agent is built with warm humor and pleasant scenes with something at stake. It is a fine little picture.

Related posts:


Tom McCarthy: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  
The day after the day after ... the Oscars 2016
Spotlight (2015) - McCarthy puts an admirably bright and sober light on one of the major crimes of modern history

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 0.5 mil. $
Box office: 8.6 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 17.2 times its cost)
[The Station Agent premiered 26 January (Sundance Film Festival, Utah) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in August 2002. The film opened 55 to a 57k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #20 and in 198 theaters (different weeks), grossing 5.7 mil. $ (66.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 0.9 mil. $ (10.5 %) and New Zealand with 0.5 mil. $ (5.8 %). The film won a BAFTA, 3/4 Independent Spirit award nominations, 2 National Board of Review awards and 3 prizes at Sundance. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch better than this one. McCarthy returned with The Visitor (2007). Dinklage returned in Tiptoes (2003), Cannavale in 3 TV credits before Shortcut to Happiness (2003); Michelle Williams (Lassie (1994)) in Dawson's Creek (1998-03)) and theatrically in A Hole in One (2004); and Patricia Clarkson (The East (2013)) in Dogville (2003). The Station Agent is certified fresh at 94 % with a 7.97/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Station Agent?

The French Connection (1971) - Hackman and Friedkin burst forth with propulsive NY-set drug thriller

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Gene Hackman's hero Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle shoots a fleeing guy in the back on this great poster for William Friedkin's The French Connection

NYPD drug-assigned detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle works largely on the basis of "hunches", - and he is often right. Tired of catching the little fish, he now gets a whiff of something much larger ...

The French Connection is written by Ernest Tidyman (Shaft (1973-74)), based on the same-titled 1969 non-fiction book by Robin Moore (Pitchman (1966)), (which details the uncovering of the large-scale heroin-smuggling from France to the US), and is directed by Chicagoan master filmmaker William Friedkin (Rampage (1984)). It is his 5th theatrical feature.
Gene Hackman (Welcome to Mooseport (2004)) has an authenticity, a masculinity and a fallible quality to him as 'Popeye' Doyle, which makes him outstanding in this film, and Roy Scheider (Executive Target (1997)) is good (as usual) as his partner. The city is used with great care, insight and effort, and in a sense New York's criminal underworld becomes the film's lead character.
Very little happens in the first hour, while nothing seems to corroborate Doyle's hunch, but somehow this wildly macho, realistic mammoth work remains effectively compelling despite this. The central car/train chase scene is intense, (cinematography by Owen Roizman (Straight Time (1978))), and Don Ellis' (The Seven-Ups (1973)) score is often fantastic.
The French Connection is always a great watch and a brilliant thriller.

Related posts:

William Friedkin: Top 10: Best drug-themed movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Top 10: Best crime movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Killer Joe (2011) - Friedkin's dark, intense maybe last cinematic package
The Exorcist (1973) - Friedkin and Blatty's masterpiece, one of the scariest pictures of all time
The Boys in the Band (1970) - Friedkin and Crowley's groundbreaking gay birthday party movie 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 2.2 mil. $
Box office: Reportedly 75 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 34.09 times its cost)
[The French Connection premiered 7 October (Los Angeles, California and New York) and runs 104 minutes. The film's realism was inspired by Costa-Gavras' Z (1969). Many other famous actors and NY columnist Jimmy Breslin were considered for (and some were offered) the Doyle part, before Friedkin settled on Hackman, who got his major breakthrough with the film. Shooting took place in New York and Washington DC and in Rhône, France from November 1970 - March 1971. The film made 51.7 mil. $ (68.9 % of the total gross) in North America. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. The film was nominated for 8 Oscars: It won 5; for Best Picture, Actor (Hackman), Director, Adapted Screenplay and Editing. It lost Supporting Actor (Scheider) to Ben Johnson in The Last Picture Show, Cinematography to Oswald Morris for Fiddler on the Roof and Sound also to Fiddler on the Roof. It won 3/4 Golden Globe nominations, 2/5 BAFTA noms, a David di Donatello award, 1/2 Grammy noms, 2 National Board of Review awards and many other honors. John Frankenheimer directed the successful sequel French Connection II (1975) with returning stars Hackman and Fernando Rey (1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)). Friedkin returned with The Exorcist (1973)). Hackman returned in Cisco Pike (1972). The French Connection is certified fresh at 98 % with an 8.7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The French Connection?

Hostel: Part II (2007) - Roth's return to Eastern Europe is a wicked horror blast

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+ Best Horror Movie of the Year + Best Gore Movie of the Year + Best Exploitation Movie of the Year + Best Comeback Actress of the Year: Heather Matarazzo 

Heather Matarazzo is caught upside down in an undeniably terrifying state of helplessness on this appropriately nasty poster for Eli Roth's Hostel: Part II

3 young women are lured to take a detour on their European interrail vacation from Rome to Slovakia, where they become victims of a clandestine society of upper class torture and murder patrons.

Hostel: Part II is written and directed by great Bostonian filmmaker Eli Roth (Cabin Fever (2002)), a sequel to his thrilling Hostel (2005), in which three male tourists experience the same type of grueling reception in Eastern Europe. Part II tops the wicked first film as an evil, grim and staggering work of exploitation horror.
Although the film by no definition of the word could be said to have a star cast, it does have a super cast: Stand-outs are Heather Matarazzo (Scream 3 (2000)), SPOILER whose death by scythe must rate as among the sickest movie death scenes in recent history, - unforgettably sadistic, - and Richard Burgi (Fatal Instinct (2014)) as a grotesque businessman. Horror fans will also appreciate Italian master filmmaker Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust (1980)) in a cameo as an Italian cannibal, naturally.
Hostel: Part II is a refreshingly inhumane, hardcore gore horror classic.

Related posts:

Eli Roth: The Last Exorcism Part 2 (2013) or, The Not So Last Chicken Exorcism (co-producer)
Aftershock (2012) - Extreme tastelessness in one of 2012's worst films (co-writer/co-producer/co-star) 
Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011) - Stapleton's Corman doc. is among the year's best films (interview subject)
Inglourious Basterds (2009) - The Movies take revenge on Nazi scum (co-star)
2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
Cabin Fever (2002) - Eli Roth's awesome skin-rash-inspired breakthrough (co-writer/co-producer/director)

Watch a terrific teaser for the film, introduced by Eli Roth SPOILER from the set of Matarazzo's death scene here

Cost: 10.2 mil. $
Box office: 35.6 mil. $ 
= Box office success (3.49 times the cost)
[Hostel: Part II premiered 7 June (Australia, Argentina and Slovakia) and runs 94 minutes. Shooting took place in Iceland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, including Prague, and Monaco from November 2006 - January 2007. SPOILER Bijou Phillips (Black Limousine (2010)) has explained that her scalping death scene required around 45 camera setups, and that her experience on the film made her lose interest for doing more horror. SPOILER Matarazzo completed the shooting of her upside down nude death scene without a stand-in, hanging for 5 minute intervals during the two days the scene was shot. The film opened and peaked #6 to an 8.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, (less than half of the first film's #1 19.5 mil. $ opening), grossing 17.6 mil. $ (49.4 % of the total gross). The film's 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 3.5 mil. $ (9.8 %) and Germany with 2.1 mil. $ (5.9 %). The release encountered resistance of many types: Its meat-themed poster above was removed from US theaters after complaints. It was released cut in Germany, Singapore and Malaysia and banned outright in New Zealand. In UK's House of Commons in 2007, having stills from the film was cited as illegal, an offense of 'extreme pornography'. Worst for the film; a pirate version of it leaked online days before the release and was downloaded millions of times, which Roth blamed for the less impressive box office, compared to the first film's 80.5 mil. $ world gross. Roth returned with short Stolz der Nation (2009), featured a clip of in Inglorious Basterds (2009), which Roth also co-starred in, and with an episode of Hemlock Grove (2013, TV-series), which he also executive produced (2013-15), before he returned theatrically with The Green Inferno (2013). Hostel: Part III (2011) by Scott Spiegel was the much inferior straight-to-DVD so far last film in the Hostel franchise. Hostel: Part II is rotten at 44 % with a 5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hostel: Part II?