THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) - Review

The Phantom of the Opera

Horror
1 hour and 33 minutes
Rated: Not Rated

Written by: Frank M. McCormack
Directed by: Rupert Julian
Produced by: Carl Laemmle

Cast:
Lon Chaney
Mary Philbin
Norman Kerry
Arthur Edmond Carewe
Gibson Gowland

A Million Thrills to Thrill Millions

Following the enormous success of their 1923 hit The Hunchback of Notre Dame, producer Carl Laemmle and Universal Studios decided to keep the ball rolling with the audience interest in gothic horror by adapting another French horror classic, Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. Keeping another main part of their successful formula, Lon Chaney was cast as the titular villain, a wise move given Chaney's capabilities to deliver outstanding performances while covered in enormous amounts of makeup and prosthetics. Not surprisingly, The Phantom of the Opera also was an enormous success, which solidified, along with The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the foundation for what would become the iconic Universal Monsters canon.

For a lot of the same reasons that made The Hunchback of Notre Dame such a great film, one can see why The Phantom of the Opera has too become such an iconic motion-picture in the annals of cinematic history. For starters, the film essentially does not stray very far from its source material. Like with Hunchback, producer Carl Laemmle likely knew that Leroux's story was thrilling enough for it to translate well from the medium of literary fiction to that of film with virtually nothing needing to be tweaked. Because the film remains nearly identical to Leroux's book and was not subjected to the tendency to change the source storylines that the Universal Monster films would later be in the habit of doing, The Phantom of the Opera does feel quite literary at times, largely in its first and second acts. While this may feel exhausting and slow - probably even more so for modern audiences given that it is a silent film - this slow burn of a pace allows for the fast moving tension of the climax and conclusion of the film to really be built up to the point that the last twenty minutes of the movie are really quite breathtaking to behold. This pacing must be attributed to director Rupert Julian, as well as Carl Laemmle who no doubt had creative control over the movie just as he did with Hunchback.

Again, like its predecessor, the set pieces within The Phantom of the Opera are incredible and their enormous size and ancient appearance really do give the impression that the film was shot in and under the Palais Garnier. Production designer Ben Carré did a terrific job in turning Hollywood sets into reality, so much so that one has to be impressed at the pure skill of it all. Rare is it within a modern Hollywood film that a set does not look inauthentic in some way. Perhaps designers ought to take pages out of these early Hollywood playbooks.

The film's music, the most important ingredient to any silent film, is absolutely remarkable. Composer Gustav Hinrichs creates an atmosphere that moves the audience along throughout the piece, playing with our emotions in such an effective manner. While The Phantom of the Opera relies more heavily on cutaway dialogue than most other silent films, it is Hinrichs's score that pulls at the emotions of the audience, not the read speeches and perceived actions. One always feels at ease, terrified, on edge, or contented purely by the orchestral sounds created by the film's brilliant music.

From a technical perspective, the film's makeup effects are beyond remarkable. Chaney's appearance as the disfigured Erik has become so iconic that it is in fact how most perceive of the Phantom character whenever they first think of him. Like with The Hunchback of Notre Dame and many of his other films, Chaney did much of the makeup effects work himself. His bulging eyes seem all the more menacing in their black, lidless sockets. His fangs appear ghostly white against his black, decaying lips. And the bulbous nose and nearly bald head give the overall skull-like appearance its final, perfect touches. All other Phantoms that followed couldn't hold a candle in comparison to how downright creepy, inspiring, and iconic Chaney's Phantom appears.

And while the music may be the driving force behind all silent films, the performances remain equally important, since they cannot rely on the subtleties of speech, the physicality of the performers within silent films becomes essential in either selling the film as a success or as a laughable failure. The supporting cast within The Phantom of the Opera does do a convincing job delivering their parts, however, they are so overshadowed by the pure, physical talent of Chaney that they all become completely forgettable by the film's end. Chaney could do and say more just by moving his eyes, or gesturing with his hands than most performers could do by giving a performance all that they've got. Indeed, the finest moment of Chaney's career comes at the very end of Phantom, when Erik is cornered along the Seine. Doomed, he pulls something from his pocket, keeping the angry mob at bay. Upon opening his fist, the Phantom reveals he holds nothing and laughs as the mob beats him to death and tosses his corpse to the bottom of the river. In this one moment of gestures and actions, Chaney captures the essence of the Phantom and the essence of fear. Both are empty threats, and both are powerless to the mob mentality of humans. It is an incredibly powerful moment that rightfully has placed this film as one of the most iconic motion-pictures ever made.

With beautifully constructed sets that look and feel authentic, a slow pace that builds effectively to a riveting and suspenseful climax, a powerful soundtrack, horrifying makeup effects, and a performance by the eternally iconic Lon Chaney that may in fact be his best, The Phantom of the Opera remains not just one of the greatest horror or monster movies ever filmed, but one of the greatest movies overall ever to be photographed. It is, and always will be, an absolute masterpiece.

10/10

THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990) - Review

The Hunt for Red October

Action/Adventure/Thriller
2 hours and 15 minutes
Rated: PG

Written by: Larry Ferguson & Donald E. Stewart
Directed by: John McTiernan
Produced by: Mace Neufeld

Cast:
Sean Connery
Alec Baldwin
Scott Glenn
James Earl Jones
Sam Neill

The hunt is on.

The 1990 release of Paramount Pictures' big-budget adaptation of author Tom Clancy's bestseller The Hunt for Red October caused a lot of people in Hollywood to nearly soil themselves out of pure fear of failure. Looking back upon it now with the knowledge of the film's enormous success, it may seem bizarre to think anyone was worried about the film at all. It was handled by a capable filmmaker, John McTiernan, who had had previous success with his films Predator and Die Hard. The film's two leading men, Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, were by this point heavy hitters in the industry - one a legend and the other a rising star. And the film was based on a source material that had a large fanbase. So why all the tension? For starters, there was the content. There was no guarantee that a Soviet/US tension-filled thriller about a nuclear submarine would spark interest with audiences in the glasnost era that was 1990. The budget took on an enormous hike once Connery was signed on to play the film's leading role (the part was originally going to be portrayed by Klaus Maria Brandauer). And, speaking of Connery, the actor had experienced two major box-office failures - The Presidio and Family Business - following his Academy Award win in 1988 (although, he did have success with the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). Nothing was guaranteed when it came to the success of The Hunt for Red October, and yet the film did succeed and it's easy to see why.

The film's story is an extremely slow-burn that, perhaps had it been handled by a less-than-capable filmmaker, would have endangered the entire film and alienated its audience by boring them to sleep. It speaks enormously to the talent of director John McTiernan that he was able to pace the film in such a fashion that its never-ending dialogue concerning sonar, submarine tactics, latitude and longitude, nuclear missiles, Cold War politics, and military/naval slang never at all feel boring or, worse yet, outside the comprehension of a layman audience member. Even more remarkably, McTiernan peppers in throughout various conversations and actions that allow for The Hunt for Red October to never lose sight of its human elements. Yes, Connery's character talks about East versus West and wanting to defect in order to prevent war - but McTiernan dives in further to these issues through the eyes of the characters, allowing for us as audiences to really sympathize with their actions and their intentions. This is largely what kept The Hunt for Red October from being a failure of a Cold War espionage thriller released during the glasnost era.

While its pacing is its best asset, not to be ignored are the film's technical elements. Attributing to the slow-burn that builds to an explosive climax is the film's editing. Editors Dennis Virkler and John Wright keep the sequences trimmed and neat in a fashion that allows for this dialogue-heavy thriller to really settle in with its audience. The film's music is just as remarkable, composed by Basil Poledouris. Poledouris utilizes Soviet-themes and refrains throughout much of the score, but dives into more synth-heavy, stripped down, qualities when it comes time for the film's tension to escalate to its fullest degree. But the film's best technical achievement is its cinematography. Cinematographer Jan de Bont captures the horrifyingly claustrophobic and abysmally dark atmosphere of the inside of submarines, which allows for the film's tension to be bottled up and broil in the minds of its audience all the more. The film's exteriors feel cold, dark, and gray - equally portraying a level of claustrophobia and allowing for the film's slow-building tension to percolate as well with its viewers.

Of course, no one can ignore the performances within The Hunt for Red October, either. Sean Connery shows why he was always one of Hollywood's greatest performers to ever grace the silver screen. As the Russian submarine captain Marko Ramius, Connery is a haunting presence. His sense of authority is believable and felt, as is his character's drive for justice. Ramius remains one of Connery's greatest performances out of a career full of incredible and iconic performances. Alec Baldwin is equally impressive. As the CIA analyst Jack Ryan, Baldwin portrays a reluctant hero to the best of his abilities. It is believable that Ryan has no desire to involve himself in the fight, but nevertheless is willing to do so if it means preventing a nuclear war and saving an adversary he admires. The supporting cast of Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, Sam Neill, and even Tim Curry - who may seem miscast at first as the Soviet doctor Petrov, but nonetheless handles himself with a tremendous amount of capable talent in scenes with Connery and Neill - all provide equally riveting performances that are perhaps some of the best of their careers as well.

The film's special effects too remain impressive, especially when considering the miniatures of the submarines were not actually photographed underwater. Instead, smoke and various digital effects were utilized. While this has dated the film to some degree - since when working with digital effects, one must always understand they will look dated within a few years time - not enough of these effects were utilized to seriously jeopardize the overall quality and look of the film.

While it may be dated in some degree, and its slow-burn story and technical/dialogue-heavy script seem like more than enough to sink the film as a failure, The Hunt for Red October remains an incredibly engaging motion-picture that overcomes all of these aspects that should have harmed it. Its pacing is remarkable and director John McTiernan never allows for the film's human elements to fall to the wayside. Its technical achievements are brilliant and help to keep the overall sense of tension that the film needed in order to succeed. And lastly, and not surprisingly given the men involved in these roles, the film is full of incredible actors giving some of the best performances of their entire careers. In short, The Hunt for Red October succeeds as being a quintessential example for how to make an engaging thriller out of elements most Hollywood thrillers shy away from - especially these days.

9.5/10

ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1976) - Review

Assault on Precinct 13

Action/Crime/Thriller
1 hour and 31 minutes
Rated: R

Written by: John Carpenter
Directed by: John Carpenter
Produced by: J. Stein Kaplan

Cast:
Austin Stoker
Darwin Joston
Laurie Zimmer

L.A.'s deadliest street gang just declared war on the cops.

After the release of his first motion-picture, the extremely low-budget sci-fi/comedy film Dark Star, John Carpenter began writing more scripts with the intention of directing his second feature film with the money made from the sales of others. After bringing producer J. Stein Kaplan on board, it was decided that Carpenter's script for Assault on Precinct 13 would be his second movie, and with the sale of his screenplay Eyes, which would go on to become Eyes of Laura Mars, to Barbara Streisand and Jon Peters, Carpenter and Kaplan had secured enough funding (a measly $100,000) to begin making the film that most consider to be one of Carpenter's finest.

In interviews, John Carpenter has expressed that at the beginning of his career he had absolutely no intention of becoming a master of horror. Instead, Carpenter really wanted to make westerns, often citing the work of legendary filmmaker Howard Hawks as being the most influential upon him. This is perhaps nowhere more apparent than it is in Assault on Precinct 13. The film's plot, in its most basic synopsis, mirrors in an almost identical manner Howard Hawks's 1959 western Rio Bravo. However, the major difference between the two, and it may seem like a simple one but it is absolutely crucial to understanding Carpenter's genius even this early into his career, was that by transposing the Rio Bravo plot to a then-modern day Los Angeles, Carpenter had essentially made a film that was incorruptible to the process of time. When examining Rio Bravo and Assault on Precinct 13, Hawks's film, like so many American-made westerns before the 1960s, suffers from being a product of its time. While it is understandably still a great film, there are moments within Rio Bravo that must have been extremely charming and/or entertaining to audiences of 1959, but by today's standards these same sequences date the film considerably, and drag down the overall viewing experience one has with it. With Assault on Precinct 13's more modern and urban setting, Carpenter has effectively written out all these hokey qualities that were present in Hawks's film. While the film is undeniably a product of the 1970s, it still very much functions today just as effectively as it did in 1976. This speaks to enormous levels regarding Carpenter's genius as a filmmaker. Assault on Precinct 13 remains an exciting, fun little thriller that seems much bigger and grander than it really is.

Another showcasing of Carpenter's genius is the film's score, composed by Carpenter himself. While Carpenter would go on to compose most of the scores for his movies, and all would be as impressive, with his music for Assault on Precinct 13 Carpenter set the tone of what to expect for his movies. The synth-rock soundtrack is big, it's bold, and it packs a punch that is incredibly effective, especially during the wonderfully choreographed and exciting shootouts that occur throughout the film. The film equally set the precedent for what one could expect for the technical qualities of Carpenter's films to follow. Shot in Panavision, the wide shots give the film an eerie quality, allowing for an overall tone of dread that fits in just as well with this action/thriller as it would with later horror films by Carpenter.

The performances within Assault on Precinct 13 are terrific, even more so when one understands that none of these actors had much in the way of experience. The film's three leads function well together, and each feels unique enough that their different energies coming together along with the supporting cast feels authentic to the film's plot. Austin Stoker provides a sense of calmness, even in moments where he feels lost and unaware of what to do. By casting an African American man, as well as two women, in the leading roles of this film, Carpenter, like with what his friend George A. Romero did with his 1968 movie Night of the Living Dead, showed that genre filmmakers were ahead of the curve in a major way when it came to casting minority characters in leading roles. 

Perhaps the only flaw with Assault on Precinct 13 is its script. Overall, the majority of the dialogue is fine. It allows for us to get to know these characters both before and in-between the intense and exciting moments of action. However, there are moments where Carpenter's greenness shines through. Certain lines feel hokey or cheesy, and others just seem completely inauthentic to the character that delivers them. Perhaps a few more rewrites would have made Assault on Precinct 13 into an essentially perfect motion-picture. These dialogue mishaps are easily forgiven though, especially when the mind-blowing action sequences make one forget about them completely.

Assault on Precinct 13 remains to this day a powerful motion-picture. The closest thing John Carpenter made to a true western, perhaps only rivaled by his more recent movie Vampires, Assault on Precinct 13 improves upon its Rio Bravo-esque storyline by transposing it to an urban and modern setting, thus allowing for it to become ageless. It set the precedent for many of the brilliant qualities that would permeate Carpenter's later films and set him apart from other filmmakers as being a real genius. Its performances, incredible sequences of action, cinematography, and synth-rock score are sure to appease all movie lovers who have the pleasure of sitting down and watching the film from start to finish.

9/10