Disney’s Tangled Passes $100 Million in Domestic Box Office Receipts
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Disney’s 50th animated feature film, Tangled, passed the $100 million mark at the domestic box office today. Tangled, which began its theatrical run over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, becomes the 68th title in the history of The Walt Disney Studios to reach this milestone. In addition, Tangled is the only film this year to earn an A+ CinemaScore, the highest rating to be given by moviegoing audiences.
“With its creative storytelling and lovable characters, Tangled is the sort of cinematic adventure that makes Disney films so appealing to audiences of all ages,” said Rich Ross, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. “We’re so thrilled that audiences love it as much as we do, and we’re looking forward to a great run through the holiday season.”
Tangled got off to a tremendous start during its opening weekend (Nov. 24-28), grossing $69 million to become the highest opening ever for Walt Disney Animation Studios and the second biggest Thanksgiving weekend opener in history behind Disney•Pixar’s own Toy Story 2.
The film has already opened in approximately 35% of the international marketplace and has taken in more than $56M. In Russia, Tangled had the biggest animated opening in Disney’s history and has become Disney’s biggest animated film of all time in the region.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Review: "Prince Caspian" is a Royal Adventure
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 101 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
Running time: 150 minutes (2 hours, 30 minutes)
MPAA – PG for epic battle action and violence
DIRECTOR: Andrew Adamson
WRITERS: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely (based upon the book by C.S. Lewis)
PRODUCERS: Andrew Adamson, Mark Johnson, and Philip Steuer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Karl Walter Lindenlaub (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Josh Campbell and Sim Evan-Jones
COMPOSER: Harry Gregson-Williams
FANTASY/ADVENTURE/ACTION/FAMILY/WAR
Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Sergio Castellitto, Peter Dinklage, Warwick Davis, Vincent Grass, Cornell S. John, Pierfrancesco Favino, Damian Alcazar, Tilda Swinton, and the voices of Liam Neeson, Ken Stott, and Eddie Izzard
Following The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media’s cinematic adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ book series, The Chronicles of Narnia, continues with the second film, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. While the first film was filled with displays of magic and a sense of wonder, Prince Caspian is darker in tone and is like a coming-of-age film, one that finds the characters grappling with maturity.
A year after their adventures in the world of Narnia, the Pevensie children: eldest child Peter (William Moseley), practical Susan (Anna Popplewell), second youngest child Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and youngest child Lucy (Georgie Henley), are back in London and struggling to adjust to their own mundane world. Meanwhile, in Narnia, 1,300 years have passed since the Pevensies left. In that time, the Telmarines, an ethnic group of humans, invaded the country of Narnia (the name of the world and of a country) and chased the mythological creatures of Narnia into hiding.
Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), heir to the Telmarine throne, survives an assassination attempt by his evil uncle, King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto). Caspian convinces the Narnians to help him win his throne so that he can return their land. Meanwhile, the Pevensie children are traveling to boarding school when they are again transported to Narnia. They find Cair Paravel, the castle from where they once ruled the country of Narnia, in ruins. After meeting Caspian, they form a shaky alliance with the prince and the Narnians to defeat Miraz. They will need the help of the lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson), but he is nowhere to be found.
I enjoyed The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian much more than I did The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Prince Caspian is full of intrigue and fighting, bickering, and large battle scenes, whereas the first film was sometimes slow with a mechanical pace. The first half-hour to 45 minutes of the first film were largely dull, but Prince Caspian gets off to a roaring start. Prince Caspian is a medievalist-fantasy film like the Lord of the Rings movies, but not as intense. It is an adventure film with the characters running from one end of the countryside to the other, playing war. Prince Caspian is more spectacular than the original film, but like the first film it gets it messages and themes through, albeit in a more subtle fashion.
This is an especially well-directed film, and director Andrew Adamson deftly inserts the messages and themes (restoration and renewal) he and his co-screenwriters spread so evenly throughout the narrative. The story is not so black and white about what is right and wrong; this is not about good-evil and consequences of one’s actions and choices, etc. The story is more complex or more complicated than that. As Aslan says, things do not happen when people wish them, nor do things turn out exactly as people wish them. It is less about what might have happened and more about what we can make happen.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian sneaks its medicine – these lessons of faith, hope, perseverance, respect, and tolerance – in the sugar of breathtaking adventure. That is good enough to make this visit to Narnia an unforgettable one.
8 of 10
A
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
Running time: 150 minutes (2 hours, 30 minutes)
MPAA – PG for epic battle action and violence
DIRECTOR: Andrew Adamson
WRITERS: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely (based upon the book by C.S. Lewis)
PRODUCERS: Andrew Adamson, Mark Johnson, and Philip Steuer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Karl Walter Lindenlaub (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Josh Campbell and Sim Evan-Jones
COMPOSER: Harry Gregson-Williams
FANTASY/ADVENTURE/ACTION/FAMILY/WAR
Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Sergio Castellitto, Peter Dinklage, Warwick Davis, Vincent Grass, Cornell S. John, Pierfrancesco Favino, Damian Alcazar, Tilda Swinton, and the voices of Liam Neeson, Ken Stott, and Eddie Izzard
Following The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media’s cinematic adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ book series, The Chronicles of Narnia, continues with the second film, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. While the first film was filled with displays of magic and a sense of wonder, Prince Caspian is darker in tone and is like a coming-of-age film, one that finds the characters grappling with maturity.
A year after their adventures in the world of Narnia, the Pevensie children: eldest child Peter (William Moseley), practical Susan (Anna Popplewell), second youngest child Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and youngest child Lucy (Georgie Henley), are back in London and struggling to adjust to their own mundane world. Meanwhile, in Narnia, 1,300 years have passed since the Pevensies left. In that time, the Telmarines, an ethnic group of humans, invaded the country of Narnia (the name of the world and of a country) and chased the mythological creatures of Narnia into hiding.
Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), heir to the Telmarine throne, survives an assassination attempt by his evil uncle, King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto). Caspian convinces the Narnians to help him win his throne so that he can return their land. Meanwhile, the Pevensie children are traveling to boarding school when they are again transported to Narnia. They find Cair Paravel, the castle from where they once ruled the country of Narnia, in ruins. After meeting Caspian, they form a shaky alliance with the prince and the Narnians to defeat Miraz. They will need the help of the lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson), but he is nowhere to be found.
I enjoyed The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian much more than I did The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Prince Caspian is full of intrigue and fighting, bickering, and large battle scenes, whereas the first film was sometimes slow with a mechanical pace. The first half-hour to 45 minutes of the first film were largely dull, but Prince Caspian gets off to a roaring start. Prince Caspian is a medievalist-fantasy film like the Lord of the Rings movies, but not as intense. It is an adventure film with the characters running from one end of the countryside to the other, playing war. Prince Caspian is more spectacular than the original film, but like the first film it gets it messages and themes through, albeit in a more subtle fashion.
This is an especially well-directed film, and director Andrew Adamson deftly inserts the messages and themes (restoration and renewal) he and his co-screenwriters spread so evenly throughout the narrative. The story is not so black and white about what is right and wrong; this is not about good-evil and consequences of one’s actions and choices, etc. The story is more complex or more complicated than that. As Aslan says, things do not happen when people wish them, nor do things turn out exactly as people wish them. It is less about what might have happened and more about what we can make happen.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian sneaks its medicine – these lessons of faith, hope, perseverance, respect, and tolerance – in the sugar of breathtaking adventure. That is good enough to make this visit to Narnia an unforgettable one.
8 of 10
A
Friday, December 10, 2010
------------------------
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wesley Snipes Reports to Prison
According to Brian Ross, via this ABCNews.com story, Wesley Snipes, 48, reported to McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Lewis Run, Pennsylviania, shortly before noon. He is reportedly Bureau of Prisons inmate No. 43355-018
In April 2008, Snipes was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file income taxes. He had spent the time since unsuccessfully appealing his conviction.
Eventually, Snipes will be housed in the adjacent, satellite minimum security prison camp to McKean, according to Ross. McKean is supposed to be a federal prison that convicts, especially the rich and famous, prefer.
I send good wishes to Wesley and prayers to his family. I can't wait for him to be back in action. Blade will live!
In April 2008, Snipes was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file income taxes. He had spent the time since unsuccessfully appealing his conviction.
Eventually, Snipes will be housed in the adjacent, satellite minimum security prison camp to McKean, according to Ross. McKean is supposed to be a federal prison that convicts, especially the rich and famous, prefer.
I send good wishes to Wesley and prayers to his family. I can't wait for him to be back in action. Blade will live!
Review: First "Blade" is Still Cool
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux
Blade (1998)
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
MPAA – R for strong, pervasive vampire violence and gore, language, and brief sexuality
DIRECTOR: Stephen Norrington
WRITER: David S. Goyer (based upon characters created in the comic book Tomb of Dracula by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan)
PRODUCERS: Robert Engelman, Peter Frankfurt, and Wesley Snipes
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Theo van de Sande (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Paul Rubell
COMPOSER: Mark Isham
HORROR/ACTION/FANTASY/MARTIAL ARTS
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, Arly Jover, Traci Lords, Kevin Patrick Walls, and Sanaa Lathan
Blade (Wesley Snipes) is a vampire hunter. Born Eric Brooks, his mother died from a vampire attack, and Eric, still in the womb, underwent a change in his DNA, which made him part human and part vampire. He has all the vampires' strengths but none of their weakness. As a adult, Blade seeks revenge on all vampires.
Blade’s war on the vampire nation focuses on Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), an ambitious bloodsucker who plans to resurrect the vampire god, La Magra. Blade rescues Dr. Karen Jenson (N’Bushe Wright), a doctor attacked by one of Frost’s henchmen, and she joins Blade and his fellow soldier/father figure Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) in the battle to stop Frost and his world ending plans.
Directed by Stephen Norrington, Blade is an exhilarating, action thriller/horror. Before The Matrix, Blade featured sped up motion and high tech chop socky. With a pumped up electronica soundtrack and the visual panache of a music video, Blade didn’t have to lean on its skimpy story. It is amazing eye candy: cool, fast paced, violent, gory; it is a part arcade game, part music video, horror movie, action movie, and all around good time.
The performances are decent. Snipes is dead on monotone as the super vampire killer, and Dorff is the delightful, eternally young and sexy bad boy. Kristofferson is cardboard gruff and Ms. Wright is earnest, if not a bit over reaching, in her determination to act like the serious doctor/scientist.
A review can’t really do this very fun film the justice it deserves. Blade is not smart. It’s perfect action movie entertainment that delivers much more than it initially seems to offer. Reading this won’t do it. Blade and Deacon Frost are all bad boy cool with a very good movie as the backdrop. Just see the damn thing for yourself.
7 of 10
A-
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Review: "Being John Malkovich" is Wildly Original (Happy B'day, John Malkovich)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Running time: 112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and sexuality
DIRECTOR: Spike Jonze
WRITER: Charlie Kaufman
PRODUCERS: Steve Golin, Vincent Landay, Sandy Stern, and Michael Stipe
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lance Acord
EDITOR: Eric Zumbrunnen
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell
Academy Award nominee
FANTASY/COMEDY/DRAMA
Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Ned Bellamy, Catherine Keener, Reggie Hayes, Orson Bean, and John Malkovich
We’ve all read the reviews that describe particular movies as inventive, witty, original, unique, or some other hyperbole used to describe cinematic “brilliance.” Whether many of those movies deserved such praise is debatable, but Being John Malkovich is the real deal – original and stunningly, painfully unique. It’s not perfect, but it is so mind-numbingly brilliant: I’m not sure if I even know how to watch it again. I’m afraid to think what this film would be like if it were perfect.
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a talented puppeteer with a failed career and an (seemingly) unhappy marriage to a frumpy animal lover (Cameron Diaz). When finances finally get too tight, Craig gets a job sorting files for the peculiar Dr. Lester (Orson Bean). He becomes hopelessly infatuated with Maxine (Catherine Keener), a sharp-tongued woman who works on the same floor. On one particular day of drudgery, Craig accidentally discovers a door to a portal that leads literally into the head of John Malkovich (John Malkovich). After Craig shares the secret with his wife Lottie, she can’t get enough of being John Malkovich, which, of course, leads to a maze of confusion and conflicting desires that both destroys and redefines relationships and creates new pairings.
Directed by award-winning and acclaimed music video director Spike Jonze, Malkovich defies an accurate description. It is alternately a fantasy, a comedy, a romance, and a drama; it is a story that both crosses and breaks genres. The film derives its brilliance from writer Charlie Kaufman; the script is a masterwork and one of the finest original screenplays of the last few decades. That Jonze could make a coherent and entertaining film of a story that it so philosophical, surrealistic, avant garde, and abstract foretells that the creativity seen in his music videos, he will carry over to film – lucky, lucky us.
The performances are all very good; everyone seemed more than up to the task of translating Kaufman’s eccentricity and brilliance to drama. Cusack once again affirms both his coolness and his talent. It’s pointless to praise Malkovich, and Ms. Keener only showed a more attentive audience the skill she’d already showed in films with smaller audiences. If no one will, I will toot Ms. Diaz’s talent. Her beauty merely accentuates her talent. She buried herself in this role as the frumpy lovelorn Lottie; she can do the method thing, so where’s the props?
Brilliant, smashing, exhilarating, ingenious, hilarious, hysterical, and wildly original – all have been said before, but these praises were made whole with Being John Malkovich. The film does seem to run out of energy late in the story, and the sci-fi/fantasy element seems to go overboard. Still, it is a film that has to be seen, if for no other reason than because Being John Malkovich is a fresh look at individuals and their need for and of other people. Run see this thing.
9 of 10
A+
NOTES:
2000 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Catherine Keener), “Best Director” (Spike Jonze), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Charlie Kaufman)
2000 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Screenplay – Original” (Charlie Kaufman); 2 nominations: “Best Editing” (Eric Zumbrunnen) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Cameron Diaz)
2000 Golden Globes: 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical,” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Cameron Diaz), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Catherine Keener), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Charlie Kaufman)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Running time: 112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and sexuality
DIRECTOR: Spike Jonze
WRITER: Charlie Kaufman
PRODUCERS: Steve Golin, Vincent Landay, Sandy Stern, and Michael Stipe
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lance Acord
EDITOR: Eric Zumbrunnen
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell
Academy Award nominee
FANTASY/COMEDY/DRAMA
Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Ned Bellamy, Catherine Keener, Reggie Hayes, Orson Bean, and John Malkovich
We’ve all read the reviews that describe particular movies as inventive, witty, original, unique, or some other hyperbole used to describe cinematic “brilliance.” Whether many of those movies deserved such praise is debatable, but Being John Malkovich is the real deal – original and stunningly, painfully unique. It’s not perfect, but it is so mind-numbingly brilliant: I’m not sure if I even know how to watch it again. I’m afraid to think what this film would be like if it were perfect.
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a talented puppeteer with a failed career and an (seemingly) unhappy marriage to a frumpy animal lover (Cameron Diaz). When finances finally get too tight, Craig gets a job sorting files for the peculiar Dr. Lester (Orson Bean). He becomes hopelessly infatuated with Maxine (Catherine Keener), a sharp-tongued woman who works on the same floor. On one particular day of drudgery, Craig accidentally discovers a door to a portal that leads literally into the head of John Malkovich (John Malkovich). After Craig shares the secret with his wife Lottie, she can’t get enough of being John Malkovich, which, of course, leads to a maze of confusion and conflicting desires that both destroys and redefines relationships and creates new pairings.
Directed by award-winning and acclaimed music video director Spike Jonze, Malkovich defies an accurate description. It is alternately a fantasy, a comedy, a romance, and a drama; it is a story that both crosses and breaks genres. The film derives its brilliance from writer Charlie Kaufman; the script is a masterwork and one of the finest original screenplays of the last few decades. That Jonze could make a coherent and entertaining film of a story that it so philosophical, surrealistic, avant garde, and abstract foretells that the creativity seen in his music videos, he will carry over to film – lucky, lucky us.
The performances are all very good; everyone seemed more than up to the task of translating Kaufman’s eccentricity and brilliance to drama. Cusack once again affirms both his coolness and his talent. It’s pointless to praise Malkovich, and Ms. Keener only showed a more attentive audience the skill she’d already showed in films with smaller audiences. If no one will, I will toot Ms. Diaz’s talent. Her beauty merely accentuates her talent. She buried herself in this role as the frumpy lovelorn Lottie; she can do the method thing, so where’s the props?
Brilliant, smashing, exhilarating, ingenious, hilarious, hysterical, and wildly original – all have been said before, but these praises were made whole with Being John Malkovich. The film does seem to run out of energy late in the story, and the sci-fi/fantasy element seems to go overboard. Still, it is a film that has to be seen, if for no other reason than because Being John Malkovich is a fresh look at individuals and their need for and of other people. Run see this thing.
9 of 10
A+
NOTES:
2000 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Catherine Keener), “Best Director” (Spike Jonze), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Charlie Kaufman)
2000 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Screenplay – Original” (Charlie Kaufman); 2 nominations: “Best Editing” (Eric Zumbrunnen) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Cameron Diaz)
2000 Golden Globes: 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical,” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Cameron Diaz), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Catherine Keener), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Charlie Kaufman)
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Wednesday, December 8, 2010
"The King's Speech" Rules the British Independent Film Awards
Created in 1998, The British Independent Film Awards (as they describe it) celebrates merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, honor new film talent, and promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.
2010 Winners
Best British Independent Film
The King's Speech
Best Director of a British Independent Film
Gareth Edwards for Monsters
The Douglas Hickox Award
Clio Barnard for The Arbor
Best Screenplay
David Seidler for The King's Speech
Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film
Carey Mulligan for Never Let Me Go
Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film
Colin Firth for The King's Speech
Best Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
Best Supporting Actor
Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech
Most Promising Newcomer
Joanne Froggatt for In Our Name
Best Achievement In Production
Monsters
The Raindance Award
Son of Babylon
Best Technical Achievement
Gareth Edwards for Monsters
Best British Documentary
Enemies of the People
Best British Short Film
Baby
Best Foreign Independent Film
A Prophet
The Richard Harris Award
Helena Bonham Carter
The Variety Award
Liam Neeson
The Special Jury Prize
Jenne Casarotto
For a complete list of the nominees: http://bifa.org.uk/nominations/2010
2010 Winners
Best British Independent Film
The King's Speech
Best Director of a British Independent Film
Gareth Edwards for Monsters
The Douglas Hickox Award
Clio Barnard for The Arbor
Best Screenplay
David Seidler for The King's Speech
Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film
Carey Mulligan for Never Let Me Go
Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film
Colin Firth for The King's Speech
Best Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
Best Supporting Actor
Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech
Most Promising Newcomer
Joanne Froggatt for In Our Name
Best Achievement In Production
Monsters
The Raindance Award
Son of Babylon
Best Technical Achievement
Gareth Edwards for Monsters
Best British Documentary
Enemies of the People
Best British Short Film
Baby
Best Foreign Independent Film
A Prophet
The Richard Harris Award
Helena Bonham Carter
The Variety Award
Liam Neeson
The Special Jury Prize
Jenne Casarotto
For a complete list of the nominees: http://bifa.org.uk/nominations/2010
Review: "An American Werewolf in London" Will Howl Forever (Happy B'day, Rick Baker)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 85 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Landis
PRODUCER: George Folsey Jr.
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Paynter
EDITOR: Malcolm Campbell
COMPOSER: Elmer Bernstein
HORROR with some elements of comedy and romance
Starring: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter, John Woodvine, Anne-Marie Davies, and Frank Oz
I remember when my late father had to actually go to the ticket window and physically purchase a ticket for me to see John Landis’s comedy/horror classic, An American Werewolf in London, because it was an R-rated movie. At the time, the local sheriff was forcing the theatre I frequented to abide by the MPAA ratings system. In the early 80’s, there were so many (fairly) hardcore teen-oriented films with strong sexual and violent themes, but I’m sure it was the sex that was bothering any influential locals who might have protested to the sheriff. I think the area was just starting to understand that the less attractive aspects of the sexual revolution were coming to visit us.
However, the “inconvenience” to my father was worth it, at least to me. An American Werewolf in London truly is a great horror film. I recently watched the movie in its entirety for the first time in over 20 years, and I still liked it as much as I did the first time. Even the special makeup effects by SFX maestro Rick Baker (who won an Oscar for his groundbreaking work here) for the first werewolf transformation that we see is as stunning, shocking, hilarious, frightening, and quite intense as it was when it first wowed audiences.
In the film two American college students, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), on a walking tour of England are attacked by a werewolf (Paddy Ryan) near a small rural village on the moors. David survives the attack, which the superstitious town folks hastily cover up. While recovering in a London hospital, David falls for his nurse, Alex Price (Jenny Agutter), and she takes him how so they can bop each other’s brains out. However, David receives a gruesome surprise when Jack returns as an undead apparition that only David can see. According to Jack, David carries a curse, and during the next full moon, he will transform into a werewolf and kill more people. Only David’s death will end the curse, free Jack’s soul, and save others from a brutal death in the jaws of the lycanthrope.
From Animal House to Blue Brothers, writer/director John Landis showed his gift for sheer lunacy, which he combined with a rich sense of humor. Granted that American Werewolf’s has some story holes (didn’t the neighbors hear all the racket David made the night he transforms and how did he leave Alex’s apartment after he transformed?), but the movie is such fun. It’s creepy, but not in a dreadful sort of way. It’s inventive, especially in the dream sequences and scenes where Jack and other undead visit David. It’s spectacular in Rick Baker’s surreal and near supernatural display of make up wizardry. Werewolf is hilarious and goofy; it has a B-movie spirit of winks and nudges with just enough gore to place it firmly in the pantheon of “serious” horror films.
I liked the acting because all the actors played their parts with such aplomb. Although I really liked David Naughton’s frantic portrayal of the doomed David, I also liked Griffin Dunne’s turn as the sarcastic and deadpan Jack. What more do I need to say? If you like horror movies, especially the one’s in which the comedy is intentional, and a good old-fashioned thriller, An American Werewolf in London is the film for you. It stood out amongst the flood of crass slasher films of its time, and it has a special quality that would make it stand out today. And I love Rick Baker even more!
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
1982 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Makeup” (Rick Baker)
----------------------------
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Landis
PRODUCER: George Folsey Jr.
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Paynter
EDITOR: Malcolm Campbell
COMPOSER: Elmer Bernstein
HORROR with some elements of comedy and romance
Starring: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter, John Woodvine, Anne-Marie Davies, and Frank Oz
I remember when my late father had to actually go to the ticket window and physically purchase a ticket for me to see John Landis’s comedy/horror classic, An American Werewolf in London, because it was an R-rated movie. At the time, the local sheriff was forcing the theatre I frequented to abide by the MPAA ratings system. In the early 80’s, there were so many (fairly) hardcore teen-oriented films with strong sexual and violent themes, but I’m sure it was the sex that was bothering any influential locals who might have protested to the sheriff. I think the area was just starting to understand that the less attractive aspects of the sexual revolution were coming to visit us.
However, the “inconvenience” to my father was worth it, at least to me. An American Werewolf in London truly is a great horror film. I recently watched the movie in its entirety for the first time in over 20 years, and I still liked it as much as I did the first time. Even the special makeup effects by SFX maestro Rick Baker (who won an Oscar for his groundbreaking work here) for the first werewolf transformation that we see is as stunning, shocking, hilarious, frightening, and quite intense as it was when it first wowed audiences.
In the film two American college students, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), on a walking tour of England are attacked by a werewolf (Paddy Ryan) near a small rural village on the moors. David survives the attack, which the superstitious town folks hastily cover up. While recovering in a London hospital, David falls for his nurse, Alex Price (Jenny Agutter), and she takes him how so they can bop each other’s brains out. However, David receives a gruesome surprise when Jack returns as an undead apparition that only David can see. According to Jack, David carries a curse, and during the next full moon, he will transform into a werewolf and kill more people. Only David’s death will end the curse, free Jack’s soul, and save others from a brutal death in the jaws of the lycanthrope.
From Animal House to Blue Brothers, writer/director John Landis showed his gift for sheer lunacy, which he combined with a rich sense of humor. Granted that American Werewolf’s has some story holes (didn’t the neighbors hear all the racket David made the night he transforms and how did he leave Alex’s apartment after he transformed?), but the movie is such fun. It’s creepy, but not in a dreadful sort of way. It’s inventive, especially in the dream sequences and scenes where Jack and other undead visit David. It’s spectacular in Rick Baker’s surreal and near supernatural display of make up wizardry. Werewolf is hilarious and goofy; it has a B-movie spirit of winks and nudges with just enough gore to place it firmly in the pantheon of “serious” horror films.
I liked the acting because all the actors played their parts with such aplomb. Although I really liked David Naughton’s frantic portrayal of the doomed David, I also liked Griffin Dunne’s turn as the sarcastic and deadpan Jack. What more do I need to say? If you like horror movies, especially the one’s in which the comedy is intentional, and a good old-fashioned thriller, An American Werewolf in London is the film for you. It stood out amongst the flood of crass slasher films of its time, and it has a special quality that would make it stand out today. And I love Rick Baker even more!
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
1982 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Makeup” (Rick Baker)
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