The Seventh Seal.
The 14th Century. Knight Antonius Block, and his squire Jöns, return to Sweden following the Crusades to find that the Black Plague has devastated the land. Antonius awakes on the shore to discover that Death is before him. Antonius strikes a deal with Death. They are to play a game of chess; should Antonius win, he keeps his life, if not, Death awaits him. Antonius uses this extended lifespan afforded to him to seek answers to the great questions; after fighting in the crusades he expected salvation but has become disillusioned with religion; although having been surrounded by death, he still has no understanding of it, and why would God not intervene in such horrific circumstances? Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal is a triumph in filmmaking; a film rich in questions of spirituality and philosophy, aided by the stunning cinematography of Gunnar Fischer, that will leave the viewer searching for answers themselves.
Wild Strawberries.
Isak, a retired doctor and professor, lives a life of solitude. Selfish and grumpy in his old age, cold and emotionless in his earlier years, people wish contact with him as much as he does with them, even despised by his own son and daughter-in-law. The night before he receives an honorary award for fifty years of practicing medicine, he has a dream concerning his death. Rather than flying, as originally intended, Isak decides to take the day-long drive to Lund, accompanied by his daughter-in-law, Marianne. During the trip, events occur and people are encountered that force Isak to reflect on his life, and the worthiness of his existence. What unfolds in Ingmar Bergman’s existentialist masterpiece is a wonder of, not just filmmaking, but of art itself. Themes that were prevalent in The Seventh Seal reveal themselves again in Wild Strawberries, as the viewer, like Isak, is forced into considering the meaningfulness of their own life and the inevitably of death. Powerful.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Brick is an alcoholic, Maggie his affectionate wife. They are temporarily staying on the estate owned by Brick’s father, the family patriarch, Big Daddy, awaiting his return from hospital in time for Big Daddy’s birthday party. Brick repeatedly rejects Maggie’s affections, appearing heartbroken he tells Maggie of his hatred toward her, which she cannot accept. Also on the estate are Brick’s brother Gooper, his wife Mae, and their five “neckless little monsters”. Based on the play by Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof tells the story of a repressed, dysfunctional family with secrets and lies aplenty, the truth of which become apparent as the characters release their emotions, and words left unsaid for so many years. It takes some actor to stand out against two legends in the golden era of Hollywood, in Paul Newman (Brick) and Elizabeth Taylor (Maggie), but Burl Iver’s performance as Big Daddy, the man who has lived the American dream but at significant cost, does just that. A quite simple, but simply brilliant film.
Vertigo.
Jimmy Stewart is John “Scottie” Ferguson. A former police detective, forced to retire after developing acrophobia chasing a suspect over rooftops. Not long after his retirement, a former acquaintance, Gavin, hires him as a private investigator. He wants Scottie to follow his wife, Madeleine, who has been acting peculiarly and whom he believes is possessed by her deceased great-grandmother. After reluctantly agreeing, Scottie witnesses some of these strange occurrences; perhaps Gavin’s suspicions aren’t so farfetched. What transpires is a gripping, suspenseful classic from the master himself, Alfred Hitchcock. A wonderfully shot piece, set in stunning San Francisco, featuring the iconic dolly zoom depicting Scottie’s debilitating experience of vertigo. Don’t look down.
Touch of Evil.
Let’s get this out of the way early: Charlton Heston plays a Mexican in blackface. I am of the opinion that blackface is terrible and shouldn’t be used in future, but if historical usage is removed we are effectively removing the crime from the public consciousness. I would prefer to have a message at the start of an episode of Little Britain, for example, that reads “this includes highly offensive use of blackface that the writers thought would be funny because they are racists”, something along those lines. Back to Touch of Evil, Heston’s Vargas, a clean, honest Mexican narcotics official, is honeymooning with his American wife, Janet Leigh’s Susan, in a border town between the US and Mexico when an influential building contractor is killed in a car bomb explosion. The planting of the bomb occurred in Mexico, while the explosion itself took place on American soil, leading to US police captain Hank Quinlan, a lazy, crooked cop, to claim jurisdiction. What then ensues is an elegantly shot, enthralling film noir of corruption, drugs and murder, written, directed and starring the incomparable Orson Welles. Touch of Evil could be Welles’ Citizen Kane.
Back to the Culture 