Steek

When this film was released by Paramount, it was hyped as an anti fraternity, expose'. The marketers played up the alcohol, pledging rituals and other negative stereotypes commonly attributed to fraternities. In actuality, this film which was a student production at USC and depicts a true story from the late 50's, is the loving but critical tribute by its author/producer to his friend whose story is told in this film.

While it looks with an blinking and critical eye at the many shortcomings including bigotry and other evils of pledging in that era it also is clear that the writer has a love for the ideal of fraternity and what it can be to young idealists such as Zac, the protagonist. That the reality, in this instance, falls far short of the ideal and results in terrible tragedy, provides the irony and conflict of this really very well done thesis project.

Although it was released by Paramount, it is still owned by USC and for that reason has never been released to video. Probably the only way to see it is by direct rental from USC or when it occasionally shows up on television.

Anyone who has seen Patton,and enjoyed that and other performances of George C. Scott, should see this film just to marvel at the range and abilities of this classic stage actor. A strong supporting cast make this a delightful comedic romp by this giant of an American actor.

Like most physicians, I tend not to watch medical shows in Movies and on Television; partly because they aren't usually very realistic - the real world seldom has sufficient drama to make good entertainment - and partly because one doesn't normally look for relaxation or entertainment in the same field in which one works. I saw Threshold for the first time recently only because I am a great admirer of Donald Sutherland's considerable talent. In this film, Sutherland is at his best, creating a portrait of a Cardiovascular Surgeon which is so real I could recognize several of the surgeons I know personally. He embodies both their strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps the most notable attribute he gives the fictitious Dr. Vrain is the total commitment and life absorbtion which a heart surgeon must have, even when it weakens his ability in other facits of life. One of the film's advisors was Dr. Denton Cooley, the pioneering Dallas Surgeon; Sutherland must have studied and worked with him extensively to so perfectly capture the personality and persona. The film follows his lead in making nurses, and their daily routines in the hospital unusally true and realistic also. This film is worth seeing just for the strength of Sutherland's portrayal and the realistic view of the medical world alone.

The nay-sayers are right that this is not the greatest movie adaptation of Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express gets that honor) but it is one of the better. The lush photography and Cole Porter soundtrack alone make it worth seeing. Ustinov is a warmly funny Poirot and takes second place only to Albert Finney in "Express" The real show though, is in the over the top performances by Maggie Smith and Dianna Rigg. Both among the finest actresses Britain has to offer and both at the top of their form. The cat fights between them are amoung the best ever filmed. Rent it; you'll be glad you did.

Although there has been much criticism of Branagh's "over the top" performance and the mixed performances of the "who's who" list of famous Hollywood personalities, the bottom line is that this Hamlet is the first I've seen that will truly hold the attention of most movie-goers and bring Shakespeare's greatest play to a mass audience particularly the young. That it does it for over 4 hours in the very superior long version, is truly an accomplishment. Like Branagh's "Much Ado about Nothing", "Henry V.", and Zefferelli's 1968 version of "Romeo and Juliet", modern audiences without a great deal of experience can understand and appreciate the greatest literature in the English language. More, they can relate to it. This, after all, is what Shakespeare himself would have done. Performances are mixed; Branagh is good, but not great in the title role, Julie Christie, who makes Gertrude a truly interesting character, gives her best performance in years, and Derek Jacobi, who was not great some years ago in his own Hamlet, gives the performance of his life as Claudius. The movie is worth seeing for Jacobi alone. This is a must see especially for college and high school students who thought they could not understand Shakespeare. Like the young audiences of "Romeo and Juliet", 30 years ago, they will find themselves saying, I've felt like that!

This delightful film is based on one of the three great stage comedies written by Moss Hart and George Kauffman, two of America's most celebrated comedy playwriting teams. A classic farce which spoofs the arrogance of the self important writer, Sheridan Whiteside, and exposes the hidden foibles of high society including a household member who is a secret axe murderer, it's nicely offset by a light comedy romance between two supporting players. Bette Davis gives one of her better performances as the female romantic lead and is, for a change, neither ascerbic nor bitchy. This is a nice piece of ensemble acting, and a perfect example of American comedy of its period.