pitz42
Joined Jun 2001
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Reviews13
pitz42's rating
Finally I was able to see the thriller The Serpent on DVD under a new but poor title NIGHT TRAIN FROM MOSCOW (why this has been changed I don't know).
Any film that has Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda & Dirk Bogarde has to be worth watching but this is rarely shown on TV so I was pleased to find the recent Pathfinder DVD release. The film is very much in the trend of your typical spy drama from the sixties (see The Spy who came in from the Cold and The Quiller Memorandum) despite being made in 1973.
Brynner is Vlassov a valuable KGB agent who defects on the condition he supplies the CIA with information regarding Double Agents operating in the West. Question: Is he telling the truth or is he himself another carefully placed spy? It's up to CIA head Henry Fonda with the help of British Intelligence Representative Dirk Bogarde to determine this.
Phillipe Noiret, Farley Granger, Robert Alda (father of Alan) and Virna Lisi provide the support in an intriguing thriller. Although some of the plot twists are predictable and there's a lengthy absence of the 3 main protagonists in the second act, the pace is just right as opposed to other Bond alternative spy dramas where slow pacing and no action result in boredom.
Surprising therefore that The Serpent isn't more widely known as it's a gem of a thriller with a good ending.
Any film that has Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda & Dirk Bogarde has to be worth watching but this is rarely shown on TV so I was pleased to find the recent Pathfinder DVD release. The film is very much in the trend of your typical spy drama from the sixties (see The Spy who came in from the Cold and The Quiller Memorandum) despite being made in 1973.
Brynner is Vlassov a valuable KGB agent who defects on the condition he supplies the CIA with information regarding Double Agents operating in the West. Question: Is he telling the truth or is he himself another carefully placed spy? It's up to CIA head Henry Fonda with the help of British Intelligence Representative Dirk Bogarde to determine this.
Phillipe Noiret, Farley Granger, Robert Alda (father of Alan) and Virna Lisi provide the support in an intriguing thriller. Although some of the plot twists are predictable and there's a lengthy absence of the 3 main protagonists in the second act, the pace is just right as opposed to other Bond alternative spy dramas where slow pacing and no action result in boredom.
Surprising therefore that The Serpent isn't more widely known as it's a gem of a thriller with a good ending.
First of all there hasn't been a good film about English Football Hooliganism. Both ID in 1995 and last years FOOTBALL FACTORY either failed to convince or just went down the familiar exploitative road of glamorising the buzz and thrill of violence.
HOOLIGANS as the title suggests depicts what these aforementioned films centre upon with the added value of having a story and characters you care about. There's no avoiding the cliché's as the ranks of these organised gang members are portrayed as gangsters.
Similar to BBC's Gary Oldman drama THE FIRM broadcast in 1986 it also show the characters as normal members of society, family men with respectable jobs. FOOTBALL FACTORY took the extreme and unconvincing scenario that these weekend animals are florist's during the week which might be amusing but the subject matter of organised territorial football hooliganism needs to be given a serious look at.
Fortunately HOOLIGANS portrays this more realistically, sure there's the stereo types in designer clothes (The Chavs) as we call them now where loyalty, respect, revenge, dignity and pride are what they live for, not the enjoyment of the actual sport. This simply acts as the excuse to fight in a traditional gang warfare environment. The prospect of West Ham's cup tie with Millwall brings joy to the faces of both sets of fans.
Casting Elijah Wood is a bold move, he looks like a Choirboy but this adds to the films main storyline of innocence corrupted. The acting is better than average, despite letting his cockney accent slip on occasions, Gang leader Charlie Hunnam shows a genuine mix of anger, aggression and compassion which holds the film together.
This won't win awards but it's refreshing to see a film finally tackling the subject matter that unfortunately has been a shameful factor of Britain's attitude towards football as we are constantly under threat of being disqualified from International tournaments due to the bad behaviour of soccer hooligans.
HOOLIGANS as the title suggests depicts what these aforementioned films centre upon with the added value of having a story and characters you care about. There's no avoiding the cliché's as the ranks of these organised gang members are portrayed as gangsters.
Similar to BBC's Gary Oldman drama THE FIRM broadcast in 1986 it also show the characters as normal members of society, family men with respectable jobs. FOOTBALL FACTORY took the extreme and unconvincing scenario that these weekend animals are florist's during the week which might be amusing but the subject matter of organised territorial football hooliganism needs to be given a serious look at.
Fortunately HOOLIGANS portrays this more realistically, sure there's the stereo types in designer clothes (The Chavs) as we call them now where loyalty, respect, revenge, dignity and pride are what they live for, not the enjoyment of the actual sport. This simply acts as the excuse to fight in a traditional gang warfare environment. The prospect of West Ham's cup tie with Millwall brings joy to the faces of both sets of fans.
Casting Elijah Wood is a bold move, he looks like a Choirboy but this adds to the films main storyline of innocence corrupted. The acting is better than average, despite letting his cockney accent slip on occasions, Gang leader Charlie Hunnam shows a genuine mix of anger, aggression and compassion which holds the film together.
This won't win awards but it's refreshing to see a film finally tackling the subject matter that unfortunately has been a shameful factor of Britain's attitude towards football as we are constantly under threat of being disqualified from International tournaments due to the bad behaviour of soccer hooligans.
Take a sports drama and litter it with every cliché in the book then let the great Clint Eastwood surprise the audience as he manages to deliver a highly satisfying, original, thought provoking film. Despite containing some of the most realistic fight sequences I've seen, this is not a film about boxing, it's about loneliness, redemption and achievement, something that brings together three characters played by Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman.
Eastwood displays his emotional side something he touched upon in UNFORGIVEN, IN THE LINE OF FIRE & BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, but here he excels in one of the most moving performance's of his career, he directs with pace and flair but never over indulges with style. He also composed the beautiful score, a talent many movie fans don't know about(he also wrote the theme alongside regular collaborator Lennie Niehaus for UNFORGIVEN).
Freeman is excellent (as usual) in a role not too dissimilar to that in SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and let's not forget the lovely MILLION DOLLAR BABY herself Hilary Swank, she gained an Oscar five years ago for BOYS DON'T CRY but never achieved star status...hopefully this movie will change that.
This is as good as mainstream Hollywood can get and Legend Eastwood doesn't need big budgets to please a Cinema audience and with his 75th birthday in May approaching he shows no signs of stopping.
Eastwood displays his emotional side something he touched upon in UNFORGIVEN, IN THE LINE OF FIRE & BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, but here he excels in one of the most moving performance's of his career, he directs with pace and flair but never over indulges with style. He also composed the beautiful score, a talent many movie fans don't know about(he also wrote the theme alongside regular collaborator Lennie Niehaus for UNFORGIVEN).
Freeman is excellent (as usual) in a role not too dissimilar to that in SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and let's not forget the lovely MILLION DOLLAR BABY herself Hilary Swank, she gained an Oscar five years ago for BOYS DON'T CRY but never achieved star status...hopefully this movie will change that.
This is as good as mainstream Hollywood can get and Legend Eastwood doesn't need big budgets to please a Cinema audience and with his 75th birthday in May approaching he shows no signs of stopping.