Review of Giant (1956) by Melissa P — 15 Oct 2007

Modern Times.

RATING (0 to ****): ***1/2.

Having had mixed reactions to his "The Great Dictator", I wasn't too sure what to think of Chaplin's "Modern Times" coming in, but as I watched it, not only was I entertained by almost every frame, but I was also laughing pretty hard! Classic, clean bits of silent slapstick comedy make this the perfect swan song for the era, with such memorably absurd images of the lovable Tramp stuck in the innards of a factory. So, what does a poor industrial worker do when he accidentally goes into the gears with the manufactured product? Why, fastens the nuts and bolts, of course!

"Modern Times" has but one flaw, and that's in the form of a gibberish song which runs at least three times longer than it should have. Otherwise, the film is excellent, and no segment is as hilarious as a dream sequence involving life in a nice new house. Business as usual in suburbia heaven, but with a cow thrown in the mix.

"Modern Times" provides for 87 minutes of pure entertainment.

East of Eden.

RATING (0 to ****): ****.

Of the "Big Three" James Dean pictures, his debut in "East of Eden" is by far the best- both in terms of his performance and of the film in itself. A powerful screenplay based on Steinbeck's Cain and Abel story, Dean plays Cal, the Cain character, with a longing to impress his father; all his life he's been "bad", and in the first minutes of the film, his unpredictability is frightening. Director Elia Kazan creates a perfect hook at the start of the film: Cal stalking a mysterious woman dressed like a widow. At the end of the encounter, we still know very little, but it makes "East of Eden" faster and more intriguing than many of those older, slower movies. I waited for details and got more and more as it progressed, and I can say I wasn't disappointed. Moving on to a powerful conclusion, the print I saw lopped off the final 20-something seconds; not exactly how I like to leave a film, but "East of Eden" is an excellent film which deserves far more recognition than Dean's other two pictures. Sort of like that second "Dollars" film and its two more popular counterparts.

"East of Eden" runs a fast 115 minutes.

Vertigo.

RATING (0 to ****): ****.

Alfred Hitchcock never made a theoretically-"perfect" film, as in looking closer there are plot holes and McGuffins. However, there's a reason why he's legendary as a filmmaker- goofs are fuel to the fire for a bad movie, but something as mesmerizing as "Vertigo" makes complaining very, very silly. True, his "dizzy" effect with accompanying loud music might seem silly today (and it might have been silly back then), but the rest of the film is compelling that we're quick to forgive and hold back any chuckles.

With the mystery, suspense and romance almost exclusive to our leads, Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, "Vertigo" is a disturbing film of mesmerizing beauty. Normally I complain when filmmakers decide to make us spend minutes watching nothing but people driving, but with the help of Bernard Hermann's fantastic score, this is an essential part of the spell this film casts. Furthering our interest is the fact that both our characters are borderline insane, however soft-spoken they are.

Topping it off with an excellent, memorable conclusion that leaves a mark (there is, as well, something unsettling about Hitchcock's not using a "The End" title), I can't believe I didn't see this film earlier. "Vertigo" may very well be one of my new favorites.

"Vertigo" runs a slow but perfectly-paced 126 minutes; I don't ever want to see a shortened edition of this picture.

Giant.

RATING (0 to ****): **1/2.

While there's a fairly decent, epic story which raised relevant social issues for its time and a nice, early Dennis Hopper performance, "Giant" is a giant mess, with a couple of giant problems. First, there's James Dean's heavily-mumbled performance which screams for you to turn the closed-captions on (how I do so pity the 50s moviegoers who didn't have this luxury); other actors mumble their lines, something I can assume to be the fault of the second, even bigger problem:

George Stevens. Well-known for his overshooting, filming scenes repeatedly from almost every angle possible (Dean called this the "around-the-clock method"), it must have been hell on the actors, to where the monotony messes with their delivery. As it turns out, it wasn't even worth all of that work, including spending a year in the editing room. Realizing that they had shot all the angles except the ideal ones, "Giant" O.D.'s on dissolves, often not to indicate a passage of time, but to cover up for a lack of establishing shots. Some scenes, thankfully, didn't fall victim to this, as evidenced by long takes in single angles. We see here the hint of an excellent film, ruined by sloppy craftsmanship. A shame.

"Giant" runs a massive 199 minutes.