REPO MAN
Universal, 1984, Color, 92 mins.- DVD
Tracey
Walter: The more you drive, the less intelligent you are.
Suburban punk Emilio Estevez is a disaffected jerk with no future, until he
hooks up with car reposession agent Harry Dean Stanton and his pals at the
Helping Hands Finance Company. Their beat is Edge City, a skewed
version of L.A. where everybody eats generic food and drinks generic beer,
and where the behavioral code of the colorful Repo Men seems to
offer something better to Estevez. Of course, it also leads him into conflicts
with other outfits, angry car owners, and evil government agents, but its
all part of the Intense life of the repo crowd.
The cleverly-designed story has its various characters routinely crossing
paths, with one element weaving- literally- through it all: a 1964 Chevy Malibu
with a trunkful of dead aliens, driven by an outlaw nuclear scientist who
is fleeing a set of personal demons bad enough to drive somebody to a lobotomy.
This cult classic is a cheap, rude, violent picture- and thats just
fine, because its also an energetic, quirky, funny picture, infused
with an infectious goofiness. Writer/director Alex Cox creates a surrealistic
world full of oddball characters and situations that get weirder and weirder
until the out-of-this-world climax. The disc comes with audio commentaries
and trailers, and a limited edition is available with an info booklet and
the punky soundtrack CD.
THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE
British Lion, 1961, B&W,104 mins.- DVD
Leo
Mckern: Id say theres about four months before theres
a delightful smell in the universe of charcoaled mankind.
From the bad old days of Cold War nuclear paranoia comes this, the original
Global warming picture. Mans messing around with The Bomb
shifts the Earths axial tilt and moves it closer to old Sol, which will
cause the abovementioned worldwide barbecue. As the film opens, reporter Edward
Judd, in a broiling London, waits along with the rest of the world for the
results of a desperate plan to save humanity.
The story then unfolds in flashback, with the boozing has-been Judd eking
out a living at a metropolitan newspaper, until he smells a rat on a routine
story and busts the secret catastrophe wide open. There is a full spectrum
of reaction to the impending doom, from Bacchanalian revels to panic to calculating
attempts at survival. But through it all runs a rich stream of humor, with
wisecracks from Judd and a fellow reporter played by the ever-colorful Leo
McKern.
It is this snappy dialogue, along with the realistically-observed reactions
of the citys populace, that lifts this film above the usual end-of-the-world
cheesiness. The storys wrap-up is ambiguous, but dont let that
put you off- getting there is the fun part. The disc comes with extras including
commentary by writer/director Val Guest and a photo gallery.
HELL IN THE PACIFIC
CRC, 1963, color,102 mins.- DVD
Its
1944, and a war in microcosm plays out when downed U.S. airman Lee Marvin
finds himself trapped on a picturesque dot of land in the Pacific with Japanese
soldier Toshiro Mifune. There is instant conflict between these two, with
the normally stoic Mifune playing against type by freaking out at the sight
of the American.
Marvin exploits the others fear, using the best weapon at his disposal-
his wits. Their fight, like the larger conflict, is filled with pain and needless
destruction, but the two men eventually wind up with a common goal- survival.
Much of the story is told visually, even when the two characters communicate,
as neither man understands the others language. Aided by director John
Boormans staging, the two actors skillfully carry the story along, showing
us the effects of this forced Vacation on their characters.
When they finally decide to try an escape, you will root for them- but uneasily,
because like death and taxes, there is no escape from the war. The disc contains
an alternate ending which provides an interesting contrast to the somewhat
abrupt finale of the film- one of its few notable flaws.
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© Melt Magazine 2001
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