The Agony And The Ecstasy- Trailer

If one need any further proof that journeyman director Carol Reed could not have produced the Wellesian film classic, The Third Man, one need look no further than this bloated yawnfest, which starts out with a de facto 12 minute long commercial for the then traveling global exhibition of Michelangelo's works.

Cecil B. DeMille

Mentioned this film director in my last post.

His most famous film is probably this Charlton Heston vehicle:


But, let's face it, DeMille's films were lightweight extravagant crap, from the silent film era on.

The Agony And The Ecstasy

While not a fan of Carol Reed's films, save The Third Man (see here for that), this film is doubtlessly better than the artsy biopics she mentioned.

Burt Lancaster

I've mentioned Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas, but Burt Lancaster, who starred in From Here To Eternity, was as big a name.

Here is a tribute from filmmaker John Frankenheimer:


Note the scene between Douglas and Lancaster.

El Cid

El Cid was a film from the early 1960s, and one of the sword and sandal genres greatest achievements. Charlton Heston, long a rival of Kirk Douglas for box office supremacy in that genre, gives one of his better performances as the Spanish legend.

Sophia Loren is nice eye candy, but apparently she and Heston could not stand each other.

The film ends with El Cid leading a victorious army against Moslem conquerors, but unbeknownst to the many, he has been struck dead in battle and his armored figure strapped onto his horse.

While not a great work of art, it was great spectacle, as seen with the ending:


Here's an earlier scene:


Interestingly, the Moslem hordes were, in this film, used as Cold War stand-ins for Communists, yet, seen in today's climate, that little sleight of hand seems almost prescient.

And, finally, here's the trailer:


I have to say, film studios today have utterly forgotten how to make trailers that actually market the idea of cinema as spectacle. Most are PoMo hipster posing. This trailer, however, is equal to the film it declaims

The Ten Commandments (sans Charlton Heston)

Ok, this is a cheat, but I gotta love this clip on the Commandments and Yahweh's ego!

El Cid

One of the better epics from the 1960s, the film El Cid takes on a greater depth when one realizes that the 'Moslem threat' the film represents has been reconfigured post-9/11.

Yet again, Chuck Heston kicks ass. See the finale of the film here, where Chuck is a corpse:

Touch Of Evil

People mock the fact that Charlton Heston plays a Mexican, but other than his cheesy mustache, it's a good performance. So is Orson Welles'.

An underrated film with a great opening dolly shot:

The Planet Of The Apes (1968)

While not as 'deep' as Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Planet Of The Apes was the other great sci fi film to be released in 1968.

Charlton Heston always gave good performances, even if a little over the top, at times. But, could you imagine Gary Cooper or John Wayne as Colonel George Taylor?

Here is the trailer:



And here is the ending:



Rod Serling's ending is classic, causing the author of the original novel, Pierre Boulle, to envy it. But, notice the ending- Jerry Goldsmith's score is classic, but the ending revelation gains power because there is no music to guide the viewer. There is no Aha! crescendo. Taylor's idea of the world is utterly destroyed (including him as the white male American conqueror) yet the ocean waves pummel on, indifferent to his plight. The power of quietude.

Just imagine had, say, Philip Glass had scored this. While great in some films, like the -Qatsi films and The Thin Blue Line, he's also some over the top scores like The Hours. My guess is Glass would have ruined the scene.

Anyway, the first film is truly great, albeit far from perfect. That fact- that great does not equate with perfect, is a concept few grasp. Think, though, and the reason should become clear.