Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day (PG)

Grade: A+

• Directed by: Harold Ramis
• Produced by: Trevor Albert and Harold Ramis
• Screenplay: Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis
• Starring: Bill Murray (Phil Connors), Andie McDowell (Rita), Chris Elliot (Larry), Stephen Tobolowsky (Ned Ryerson), Brian Doyle-Murray (Buster Green), Harold Ramis (Neurologist)
• Cinematographer: John Bailey
• Music by: George Fenton
• Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
• Released: February 12, 1993
• Running Time: 101 minutes/1 hour and 41 minutes
• Language: English 

 

The 4th of July was yesterday, but the only day on my mind is "Groundhog Day".  NO!  Not the day itself, the film with Bill Murray.  I'll be honest; I had no expectations coming into this film because I had never heard of it, and the fact my friend bought at a store in a CD case for $2, but man, was I glad he did.  This film is great!

"Groundhog Day" has a premise we're all familiar with (which is ironic considering what the film is about).  What would you do if you woke up and relived one day over and over again?  To some, that would be a dream, but it's a nightmare for Phil Connors, a TV weatherman who has that happen to him on Groundhog Day.  He already hates his job, and the people he works with, so when this happen, he wants to kill himself, but eventually he makes the best out of the situation, leading to hilarious and touching results.

For a film this good, there's lots of praise that can be spread around.  The film has a great plot, it's well written, and the jokes are a riot and memorable (if/when you watch it, you'll see what I mean), but the winner of this award has to go to Harold Ramis and Bill Murray.  Ramis deserves praise for obvious reason.  He directed, produced, wrote, and even starred in the film, but he was the one who cast Murray as the lead, a pivotal decision which put the film over the top.  To be honest, I'm haven't seen Bill Murray in many films besides his classic films like "Ghostbusters", but I knew from his previous roles he would be funny and sarcastic.  I was right about that, but I didn't expect him to show the range he'd end up having in this film.  Yes, he's an a**hole at times that you don't root for, but as you delve deeper into the film, it's obvious Phil Connors is more than he seems.

"Groundhog Day" is a film with so many strengths, but the one reason why I now love it and recommend it is the connection it has to real life.  We all wish or at least contemplate what our lives would be like if we could relive one day constantly.  Now, our dream/fantasy is finally on the big screen, and it doesn't just show the joy and humor some of us would have; it shows the sadness, and loneliness we'd have knowing that we could never see the people we love again or move on from situations.  At the same time, the film shows that any person can change, even the bad ones for the better. "Groundhog Day" may of been made 20 years ago, but it's messages still apply, and it's worth seeing if you're a fan of films.  And that's something I don't need a groundhog to know.

From Russia With Love

From Russia With Love (PG)

Grade: A+

• Directed by: Terrence Young
• Produced by: Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli
• Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum and Johanna Harwood.  Based on From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming
• Starring: Sean Connery (James Bond), Daniela Bianchi (Tatiana Romanova), Pedro Armendariz (Kerim Bay), Lotte Lenya (Rosa Klebb), Robert Shaw (Donald "Red" Grant), Bernard Lee (M), Walter Gotell (Morenzy), Vladek Sheybal (Kronsteen), ? (Ernst Stavro Blofeld), Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny,  Desmond Llewelyn (Q), Eunice Gayson (Sylvia Trench)
• Cinematographer: Ted Moore
• Music by: John Barry
• Studio: Eon Productions
• Distributed by: United Artists
• Released: October 10, 1963 (London), October 11, 1963 (UK)
• Running Time: 115 minutes/1 hour and 55 minutes
• Language: English

"There's a saying in England: Where there's smoke, there's fire."

-James Bond

When James Bond says the quote above, he's in a speedboat being chased by bad guys.  Things don't look good for him, until he shoots a flare gun at oil drums he dropped, causing a fire, which engulfs the surrounding water.  Yes, the scene has all of that, but "From Russia With Love" has so much more compared to the previous Bond film "Dr. No".  It has love, introduction to gadgets, and best of all, memorable villains who are worthy to our hero.  The first time I saw "From Russia With Love" as a child, I didn't like it, but now that I'm older, I think it's one of, if not, the best James Bond film.

"From Russia With Love" is about revenge, at least in the beginning.  The villainous organization SPECTRE has a plan to get back at James Bond for a past vendetta.  Number 1 is the leader of the organization, and hires Number 3 and Number 5 for the assignment.  Number 5 (Kronsteen), is a chess master who has planned out every possible outcome, while Number 3 (Klebb) has to run his plan.  Their plan is to lure James Bond with a Lektor decoding machine, which is an object the British Secret Service and CIA have wanted for years.  As expected, Bond takes the job, but when Tatiana Romanova is set up as well, sparks fly and things get difficult, especially with a killer following them.

Sean Connery is still top notch as 007, but he's not alone.  In my opinion, the whole cast is great in this movie.  Vladek Sheybal looks the part of a chess master, Lotte Lenya really looks like an evil old woman, and Number 1?  Well, we don't see his face in this film, but his presence is felt by his actions, and of course, the white cat he always holds.  Along with the villains though, there's Daniela Bianchi and Pedro Armendariz as Bond's allies.  They get significantly more screen time, so we see their relationship with Bond evolve, which is a strange, yet wonderful sight to see.  

That's what I think is so great about "From Russia With Love".  Yes, it came out a long time ago, but it set the early standard for what Bond films would eventually have.  It has a pre-title sequence, gadgets, stunts, and villains, but the plot isn't ridiculous or video gamey like some of the later Bonds will be.  The relationship with Bond and Tatiana is also wonderful because we see how much they care for each other, which makes us root for them, and keeps us glued to the screen.

Bond fans everywhere will have different opinions on who the best Bond is, and what the best film in the series is, but if you ask me, it's "From Russia With Love".  Like I said before, it's not something I always thought, but re-watching it again, I saw myself being caught up in the love affair the was 007.  I may not know all there is about films, but I know what I like, and "From Russia With Love" is one of those films.

The Wizard Of Oz

The Wizard Of Oz (G)

Grade: A+

• Directed by: Victor Fleming
• Produced by: Mervyn LeRoy
• Screenplay by: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf.  Based on the novel "The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz" by L. Frank Baum
• Starring: Judy Garland (Dorothy Gale), Frank Morgan (The Wizard,  Professor Marvel, Doorman, Cabbie, Guard), Ray Bolger(Hunk/Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Hickory/Tin Man), Bert Lahr (Zeke/ Cowardly Lion), Billie Burke (Glinda The Good Witch Of The North), Margaret Hamilton (Miss Almira Gulch/The Wicked Witch Of The West), Clara Blandick (Aunt Em), Charley Grapewin (Uncle Henry), Pat Walsh (Nikko The Head Flying Monkey), Terry (Toto)
• Cinematographer: Harold Rosson
• Music by: Herbert Stothart, Harold Arlen, and E.Y. Harburg
• Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Distributed by: Loew's
• Released: August 25, 1939
• Running Time: 101 minutes/1 hour and 41 minutes
• Language: English

"There's no place like home."

-Dorothy Gale
 

It seems fitting to me that the first classic film review for my blog is "The Wizard Of Oz", arguably one of the best and most watched films of all time.  I first saw the film as a child, thinking it was just another run of the mill film, but as I got older, I started to realize what a masterpiece it was.  I'm 21 years old now, and have seen my share of film's, but few move me and bring me back to my childhood/home as much as "The Wizard Of Oz".

We start off in Kansas, where a young farm girl named Dorothy is running from Miss Gulch because she wants to take her dog Toto away for biting her.  Dorothy doesn't want to give her dog away, so she tries telling her aunt, uncle, and the farmhands about her problems, but they are too preoccupied to pay any attention to her.  When she finally does get attention from her aunt, she tells Dorothy to "find herself a place where she won't get herself into any trouble".  Dorothy doesn't know if such a place exists, but she sings about going over the rainbow because she thinks that might be the place.  After singing, Dorothy decides to run away from home with Toto because she knows that Miss Gulch will be back.  As she tries leaving Kansas, she meets Professor Marvel, who has a crystal ball telling her that Aunt Em is sick.  Dorothy rushes back home after hearing the news, but in the midst of it, gets caught in a storm and hits her head.  When she awakens, she finds herself in Munchkinland, but has to deal with The Wicked Witch Of The West, who wants revenge on Dorothy for killing her sister, and because she wants her ruby slippers.  The only way to get home, follow the Yellow Brick Road to Emerald City and visit the Wizard Of Oz, who can grant any wish.

The film has many strengths as a whole, but the thing I always remember from it is Judy Garland and her immortal performance as Dorothy.  Yes, her singing of "Over The Rainbow" is wonderful and brings tears to my eyes, but she's so much more than that song.  She's wonderful because of the innocence she has, and the fact that she's so realistic, we feel what she's feeling.  We want to leave home when she wants to leave home, and when she meets all her friends, we want her to succeed even more.  

"The Wizard Of Oz" is Judy Garland's defining role in film history, which is a shame cause most people haven't even seen some of her other film's like A Star Is Born or her movies with Mickey Rooney, which I highly recommend.  She was one of the most beautiful actresses and singers of all time in my opinion, which is why it's shame what her life was like with the drug and alcohol abuse, that really started because of the film industry.  I'm disappointed in what films did to Judy, but I'm glad she has at least one film and song that will last forever.  Not many people can say they have that.

In the end, "The Wizard Of Oz" is a simple plot, with old special special effects, sets, etc, but that's why it's a authentic.  As adults, we notice how cheap it looks now, but as children, it plays to our imagination and looks real, which is why despite it's minor flaws, the film is perfect.

"The Wizard Of Oz" is a timeless classic because it's a film that you see as a child that you will never forget.  It's a film that you couldn't bear never seeing again.  And most of all, it's a film that no matter how long it ages, it's something we relate to because of the lessons, and the fact that it always brings us back home.

 Judy Garland as Dorothy, singing her immortal song "Over The Rainbow"