The Shout.
On the grounds of an asylum, a cricket match is held involving visitors, staff and patients. A young doctor, Robert Graves, is chosen to act as one of the scorers and is warned by the chief medical officer about his scoring partner, a patient by the name of Charles Crossley, who claims his soul has been broken into four pieces. A wicket falls and a new batsman approaches the crease, prompting Crossley to recount a story to Graves of how this batsman, Anthony, lost his wife. An experimental musician and church organist, Anthony lived in a quaint Devon home with his loving wife Rachel, until Crossley imposed himself upon the couple, attempting to steal Rachel using magic learned from his 18-year stay in the Australian outback, and threatening Anthony with a shout learned from an aboriginal witch doctor that can apparently kill any hearer instantly. An odd, uneasy atmosphere is maintained through Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks’ avant-garde electronic score, as well as Alan Bates’ flawlessly intense outing as the mysterious outsider. The already impressive cast of Bates, John Hurt, Susannah York and Tim Curry is completed by Jim Broadbent in his feature film debut (in the rather unfortunate role of “Fielder in cowpat”) in this grippingly weird psychological horror mystery.
Assault on Precinct 13.
Saturday, 3am in an LA ghetto. Police kill six young gang members in a gruesome ambush. The gang’s warlords, in possession of a stolen cache of automatic weapons, swear a blood oath of revenge for their fallen comrades. Lieutenant Ethan Bishop, a newly promoted highway patrolman, is assigned to a decommissioned police precinct (the titular Precinct 13, despite being referred to as Precinct 9, Division 13 throughout) in the process of being relocated; he is to answer the phone and direct anyone to the new station before the old station is permanently closed the next morning. A prison bus transferring three prisoners cross country stops at Precinct 13 when one of them becomes seriously ill; after a little persuasion Bishop allows them to stay to call for medical assistance. Four gang members prowl the streets searching for some form of vengeance. Lawson, a man whose daughter is murdered by the gang, flees to Precinct 13 having pursued and killed one of the warlords as revenge for his daughter’s death. Trapped inside the police station, under siege by swathes of bloodthirsty gang members and with no means of communicating with the outside world after the phone lines are cut, the occupants of Precinct 13 must band together if they are to survive the night. John Carpenter’s homage to the westerns of Howard Hawks, in particular 1959’s Rio Bravo, builds the suspense and fear into an unforgettable crescendo of violence. Carpenter’s score deserves it’s fair share of credit too; an electronic main theme that ranches up the excitement and anticipation, and long drawn out synthesisers to create a deep sense of dread: the longer the note the more dread. A thrilling masterpiece.
Drunken Master.
The son of a respected kung fu teacher, Wong Fei-Hung is an arrogant and mischievous student at his father’s martial arts school, frequently pranking his equally cocky, yet inept, assistant teacher. Goaded by his friends, Wong attempts to impress a young woman before insulting her as well as her mother, who steps in to protect her daughter and soundly defeats Wong in a fight. As he retreats from his beating, Wong defends a poor man when a wealthy stranger refuses to pay for a jade ornament, Wong this time emerging victorious. Once returned home, Wong is confronted not only by the two women he insulted, who are revealed to be his visiting aunt and cousins whom he hasn’t seen since he was a child, but also the influential father of the man he defeated seeking retribution. Disgraced and dishonoured by his son’s continued disobedience, Wong’s father considers killing or disowning him before relenting to his sister’s wishes and punishes him through excruciating kung fu training and places him under the stewardship of renowned master, the alcoholic Beggar So. One of Jackie Chan’s earliest starring roles, Drunken Master is of a similar comedy martial arts style that would endear the Chinese star to western audiences later in his career with the likes of Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon. Though the fight scenes of Drunken Master are comedic, this doesn’t dampen the fact that they are superbly choreographed and realistic. A thoroughly enjoyable, pioneering, slapstick action comedy.
That Obscure Object of Desire.
Middle-aged, wealthy Frenchman, Mathieu, intends to return to his native Paris from his current home in Seville. His servant informs him that a woman who had been staying in his Sevillan mansion has left, as Mathieu demands all her possessions be burnt. At the train station, a bandaged and bruised woman begs Mathieu not to leave, to which he responds by pouring a bucket of water over her head. Onboard the French-capital-bound train, those sharing his first-class cabin (a Parisian neighbour, an acquittance of his cousin and a dwarf) are intrigued as to his actions, with Mathieu defending himself by declaring her the worst woman in the world and that he ought to have killed her. As the locomotive rattles towards its destination, Mathieu recounts to his captive audience how he became obsessed with his penniless, 18-year-old Andalusian chambermaid, Conchita, and how his constant romantic and sexual frustrations led to her drenching. Luis Buñuel’s final film, That Obscure Object of Desire, is a typically surreal and mysterious film. Set against the backdrop of terrorist activity and sudden acts of extreme violence, the true intentions of Conchita (whether she actually loves Mathieu or is simply manipulating him) keep the viewer guessing throughout; while Mathieu’s blind obsession is so plain to see that he fails to even notice that the actress portraying Conchita changes between (and sometimes during) scenes. A weirdly wonderful comedy-drama unlike anything else.
Midnight Express.
Istanbul, 1970. American student, Billy Hayes, straps two kilograms of hashish to his chest in an attempt to smuggle it back to the US. Billy’s girlfriend Susan, unaware of his plan, walks calmly through the airport, while Billy’s heart races, his perspiration intensifying with every passing second. Through customs and seemingly in the clear, Billy is further confronted by armed guards immediately before boarding due to an increased threat of terrorism. Billy’s plan disintegrates as he is strip searched and arrested. Persuaded into snitching in exchange for his release, Billy gives up his seller to the Turkish authorities before fleeing through crowded market streets; he’s taken to a local jail upon his short and unsuccessful escape attempt, where he is savagely beaten and tortured. Days later Billy awakens in Sağmalcılar Prison and introduced to his fellow inmates: short tempered, fellow American, Jimmy; amiable Swede, Erich; and English heroin addict, Max. Smuggling is common here, with many foreign inmates incarcerated for the same crime; the penalty is severe in order to deter others, while corrupt Turkish lawyers are easily influenced. The best chance of escape, Billy is informed, is by the “midnight express”, prison slang for suicide. At his trial Billy is found guilty of possession, his lawyer believing it be a great win since smuggling is punishable by life, and is sentenced to four years. Surrounded by loneliness and brutality, Billy anticipates the day of his release, but the Turkish penal system isn’t finished with him yet. Alan Parker’s bleak and unforgiving portrayal of life in Turkish prisons is so incredible, so improbable, so shocking, that one can easily forget that this is based on a true story. Controversial for its negative, bordering on xenophobic, depiction of the Turkish people, Midnight Express is an eye-opening prison drama you won’t be able to look away from, no matter how hard you try.
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