The Flight of the Phoenix vs The Flight of the Phoenix

The original post for my review of The Flight of the Phoenix can be read on Vulturehound HERE. The following post is where I will be comparing the two films rather than reviewing them.

I saw the remake of The Flight of the Phoenix some years ago after I bought it in Woolworths. That should put a date on things. I bought it for a few quid along with Zoolander. I bought it because Giovanni Gibisi was in it and that’s all I can remember.

I was bored during the film as I was getting fed up with the characters and the dynamics. To me it was hopeless cause where a group of people were trying to survive a terrible situation but they don’t give up and in the end succeed. There is a scene that sums up the remake, where the remaining crew and passengers are eating BBQ listening to music (as I recall) in the middle of the day in the desert. There are no moments like this in the original. Things are far more desperate, everyone glistening in sweat and always on edge. The characters in the 2004 version are at ease which makes the film less understandable or enjoyable. 

The two films follow a similar story, based on the book of the same name by Elleston Trevor. A group of people travelling across a desert by plane crash land, miles off course. They eventually agree to rebuild the plane to a design but the outsider of the group in order to get to civilisation. There are deaths along the way and plenty of angry arguments but eventually the phoenix does fly.

The central confrontation between James Stewart’s Frank Towns is with Heinrich Dorfmann, the so called aeronautical engineer, but in the remake Dennis Quaid’s Towns is with a character similar to himself, Miranda Otto’s oil rig worker/leader AND Giovanni Ribisi’s Elliot who stands in as the plane designer. These dynamics between characters are different, maybe due to the times the films are set. In 1965, the plane is made up of passengers from an oil rig in Libya and jumps straight into the terrifying crash. In 2004 there are a few scenes before setting up the situation the characters are in. The oil rig is being shut down and everyone is being transported out. This rig is in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. A change of location and a shuffle of characters makes the obvious differences.

  

Events play out differently in the remake, not for the change in time but for the dramatic effect. For example in 1965 version, when (characters names) decide to confront the raiders for help, they disappear. The rest of the group later discover their bodies, throats slit. But in 2004 version, the raiders attack, killing a member of the crew. The former was far more dramatic and sinister, the later plays on ‘shock and surprise’ even though you could see it was going to happen.

  

Ultimately I think that 1965 wins over 2004, despite the fact that I don’t think I enjoyed either. The 1965 film had the grit and desperation that the remake glossed over and felt like it was an echo of what we seen before. I was certain that the original would be better when I saw the remake. Both films failed at the box office and it’s not hard to see why, for different reasons. The 1965 version became a cult hit whereas most have forgotten there was remake, just adding to the fact there is a clear winner.

Blind Spot Series: Grey Gardens

Grey Gardens first came to my attention when HBO made a one off film about Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edie, named Big Edie and Little Edie. Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore were the mother and daughter who haunted the East Hampton mansion, Grey Gardens. I started to watch part of the film but stopped as I wanted to see the original documentary that became a cult film and brought the world to the place where time stood still.

Edie and her mother Edith are the stars of the show and each unique in their own way. They go about their daily routine, their habits, their home while talking about the past, regrets and music and the many arguments as mothers and daughter do. They always reconcile and continue onwards.

The Maysles brothers capture every detail of the Bouvier Beales, who in turn don’t shy away from the camera. Their ease with their surroundings, a dilapidated house that should have been torn down, is a reflection of their spirit. They won’t give up on life and will live it on their terms.

For years they were living in poverty and squalor, with no running water even, until their house the media’s attention and their relative, Jackie O, came to the rescue and helped clear out the 1000 bags of rubbish and start the restoration, bring Grey Gardens back to the real world. 

Little Edie is the driving force throughout the film. Long legged and prancing around the house and garden, her unique way of speaking and take on life is fascinating to watch. At age 56 during the time of the film, she looks fantastic. It’s such a shame that she spent most of her adult life cooped up with her mother missing many things. She talks about missing life in New York and many events in the past and her regret that she was there but underneath, she seems scared to leave. Always disappearing at the end of shots saying she has to check on her mother and the cats, Edie seems lost. She even says that when she sees herself she sees a little girl, Big Edie agreeing.

It’s not surprise that Edie became an unusual fashion icon after the release of the film. Having been a model when she was younger, she knows how to style herself. Calling her outfits her ‘costumes’ she carefully picks out each outfit to suit the day.

Throughout the film, although Big and Little Edie have a few laughs, singing songs, remembering the past, there is an obvious hint of sadness surrounding them. Almost reclusive, their barely interact with others. Brooke, their gardener and Jerry, their handyman are the few that saw them daily. Little Edie constantly says how she wants to leave but can’t. Her repetition saying that she doesn’t want to stay another Winter is almost heart breaking. She wants to leave but can’t.

It’s beautifully filmed and encapsulates a relationship between a mother and a daughter as well as the strange and wonderful world of Grey Gardens, a documentary like no other I’ve seen.

To see where it all started and for an excellent insight to film, have a look at The Matinee HERE - Blind Spot posts go up every month.

October Watch List

It's been a very busy month of films, mostly because of the festival but I have managed to watch a few new and old faces.

The Dressmaker

Kate Winslet in my opinion looks amazing in everything. But put her in exquisite couture from 1950s against a background of a small town in the Australian outback and you make her look magnificent. As you tell, I really love Kate Winslet. She is Tilly Dunage who returns home to take care of her mother, Mad Molly who has basically been neglected by the town. Try was accused of killing the school bully when she was a child. She was taken away and since then has become a well travelled and very talented dressmaker. While she tries to unravel what happened that day she killed that boy, a whole load of tragedies unfold, ultimately testing Tilly to her last nerve. I really enjoyed this film more than I thought. 3/5

BFI London Film Festival

As you know I went to the festival this month and all (but one) of the films are listed and reviewed on the FESTIVAL page.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

This film got its own separate post and the review is on Vulturehound.
4/5

The Girl on the Train

(I actually wrote out somethng better but my damn phone crashed and lost several posts)

It seems that any film or book featuring a woman and a murder/mystery has the sticker 'just like Gone Girl' slapped on it. This is not like Gone Girl. Rachel is an alcoholic with a few past tragedies to cope with. Everyday she watches from the train, what she believes to be the perfect couple. But when the wife of the couple goes missing, she goes in search of the truth, finding more than she expected. Emily Blunt is very good in her role as a distraught drunken women who has lost everything and is trying to piece back together. The story held my attention, even if the characters were quite stereotypical and it is quite predictable, it was still compelling to watch. Not the greatest of thrillers but worth seeing if you enjoy the genre (and I do). Those who have read the book know what to expect. 3/5

Better, Scarier, Brainier, Funnier

 In honour of Halloween I have a post from a while ago but it seemed more relevant now. 

At the start of the month I went to a screening of Gremlins 2: The New Batch. It was a special screening, got a goodie bag and got sit in the screening room at Warner Bros. 

The full post can be read on Vulturehound HERE.

I first saw Gremlins back in Uni, which seems to be how quite a few of my stories begin, as it is beloved by one my friends. I think there were quite a few people in the room who I think we invited to watch movies and eat pizza or something. I was kinda bored during the first half of the film and don't remember much. Then I fell asleep. I woke up at the end just as the credits were rolling and that familiar music came on. I'm not too sure but I think people were annoyed that I fell asleep but I can't be certain. Anyway, I never re-watched it as I had no desire to. In a fight over what is better, Gremlins or Ghostbusters, I am obvious a champion of Ghostbusters. I grew up with the gang so it makes sense.

But later on in Uni, my same Gremlins obsessed friend suggested that we watched Gremlins 2 as it’s better than the first because it doesn’t take itself seriously AND it makes fun of the first one. I really enjoyed this one. It was crazy, ridiculous fun and has some seriously messed up moments, girl gremlin anyone? I think I’m going to add this to my Halloween watching collection, along with Frankenweenie, Coraline and Corpse Bride. 

BFI London Film Festival - Your Name

 

Being unfamiliar with Makoto Shinkai’s work, it was interesting to hear from him, as he was present at the screening that his previous films have all been sad but this was different as it was happy. He wanted people to be happy so in a way, he was giving us all an assurance that we wouldn’t be disappointed. Your Name is doing amazingly well in Japan, set to be the fifth highest grossing Japanese film in Japan, which is also encouraging.

There may also be some SPOILERS but not major ones. But just warn you.

 Taki, who lives in Tokyo and works as a waiter after school swaps lives with Mitsuha, who lives in a rural town, Itomori, and learns Kumihimo from her Grandmother and continues her duties as Miko, shrine maiden. The swaps begin when a comet passes by, creating amazing views in the sky. But the swaps, although confusing at first, Taki and Mitsuha think they are just dreams. Realising what is happening, they start to work together, trying not to disrupt their lives. They soon start to feel closer to one another and gradually fall in love. But when Taki tries to find Itomori, he discovers that the town was destroyed 3 years previously. He then has to find a way to reach Mitsuha in the past to warn her.

Part body swap, part dreamscape, part time travel, this story takes the best elements of the genres and themes and binds them all together to create a beautifully animated story with characters you really hope find each other again, specially as they go through so much to finally be together. 

The story then turn to science fiction and time travel possibilities mixed with myths and legends, basically, it’s a mixture of quite a few things but watching it on screen, everything makes sense. There is the initially lead up to feelings being realized, they are teenagers after all, living very different lives. Through being each other they learn things about their homes, family and friends and grow closer this way. At first they hate each other and ruin things but soon they learn how the swaps work. The first shock or twist is when Taki realizes the time differences and that he may have lost Mitsuha forever.

There are a few sequences in the film where it feels like a music video, particularly the intro. Some things are repeated others are solely for this music interlude, which breaks up the tension towards the end and is an excellent way to ease you into Shinkai’s world.

It’s a fantastical film that marks the first time an animation film was in the official competition category and it definitely deserves the place and honour.

 

BFI London Film Festival - Heal the Living

Having admired Katell Quillévéré’s Love Like Poison, I wanted to see what the director would bring to the festival. A story about organ donating, how one tragedy can become another’s miracle. This was one of the saddest films I saw at the festival as no matter what happens, someone will always be hurt or left feeling empty.

Simon, a keen surfer is left brain dead after an car accident and his parents are left with the decision whether to have his organs donated. Claire is a middle-aged musician with heart disease and two sons who dote on her. But she hasn’t told her now ex-girlfriend of her illness.

The stories of the characters are all connected through the accident and affect not only the families of Simon and Claire but the doctors and nurses attending the surgeries. They are all given an introduction as well as thought out characteristics, showing that many people can be affected, negatively or positively from one incident.

There are some amazing stand out sequences in the film that keep the peace and tone. There are no out bursts, everything is treated with dignity and a sense of calmness that all begins with the Simon and his friends going early morning surfing. The camera goes through the water, through the waves, which look terrifying but at the same time, the sound of waves, which appears throughout, makes everything seem that things will be ok. The other scene, which I found quite difficult, was the heart surgery. Removing the heart and being placed in another body. It’s in depth and very clear, you can see every vain, every tube, every crease in the heart itself. 

A different feel from Love Like Poison but the delicate way the film progresses, you can tell this was made by the same hand.