Before I begin forcing my opinion down your throat I feel I must apologise for my tardiness as of late. I have been quite a busy lad as of late doing various bits and pieces to do with Awkward Cough and Theatre and Edinburgh Fringe Festival Things and this morning I watched "La Regle du Jeu" which (interesting fact for fans of fact) may well be the best flick that LoveFilm have been kind enough to allow me the loan of. Well worth a look.
Anyway, yes, due to my business as of late I feel I have neglected my Cinemazov duties. A fact Joe was all too quick to point out to me. So here I am decreeing that I will be a nicer and more efficient and frequent blogger. Right, let's get it on.
I dunno about y'all but I love a good film set in a prison. & I don't mean seedy explotation grindhouse "woman with large breasts in nazi prisons" films.
No Offense intended, Ilsa.
I mean hopeful redemptive one man against the corrupt faceless terrible prison system, triumph over adversity prison/prison escape films. The kind of film that "The Great Escape" is, y'know? Which, by the way, I haven't included in this list as it seemed a far too obvious choice (Plus I felt it served better as an example) and we all know it's awesome.
Just look at that awesome poster. Ace.
So, here goes. By the way, please chip in and let us know your opinion of awesome prison/escape films.
1. Papillon. (1973)
& no sooner had you finished marveling at a picture of Steve McQueen doth his glorious escaping face pop up once more, in the brilliant 1973 Franklin J.Schaffner film "Papillon". I only watched this film for the first time a month or so ago and was utterly bowled over by the staggering performances of its two leads. A dogged, rugged, determined McQueen, who showcases his true acting talents in the near-wordless segment in which he battles starvation and internal demons in a 5 year stretch in solitary confinement. & the brilliant, bespectacled Dustin Hoffman, whose turn as the fascinating Louis Dega adds a delightful layer to this story of "Two men with nothing in common but a will to live and a place to die".
It has all you could want of a good prison/escape film. excitement, despair, friendship, trial, tribulation, goodies, baddies, strife and ingenious escape methods. It also shows Hoffman and McQueen giving two powerful, important and exciting performances. A cracking picture.
& the fashion is second to none...
2. A Man Escaped (1956)
"A Man Escaped" or "Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut" to give it its full french title, is a masterpiece of achingly tense scenes of minimalist action but massive meaning. Bresson's beautifully crafted tale of French Resistance fighter Andre Devigny's laborious and elaborate escape from a Nazi prison is a testament to the "less is more" ethos that can so often go astray in contemporary prison films.
The beauty and brilliance of this film lies in its simplicity. it doesn't fuss itself with unnecessary or extraneous details, a simply and wonderfully told tale of a man attempt an audacious escape.
Andre couldn't for the life of him remember if he'd turned the oven off...
3. Toy Story 3. (2010)
Now I'm going to do my level best to write about this without beefing, or growing nostalgic about all the fun times I've had with that Cowboy and Spaceman (not to mention Rex, easily the best character in the whole franchise) Instead I will choose instead to marvel at the fact that a threequel about toys in a day care centre could so expertly construct and play out a brilliant prison/escape film. When the day-care centre in which they find themselves dumped those erstwhile toys slowly realize the horrible fact that all that glitters is not in fact gold. The film's truest testament to its brilliance is that you so often forget that you are watching the exploits of toys, but instead see in them the heartache, passion and determination they so expertly and heartwarmingly convey. Ace film and ace prison/escape element and my god does it ever make me cry...
i love rex.
4. Cool Hand Luke. (1967)
Cool Hand Luke, for part of it at least, made me think that prison may not be all that bad. If I had some ace buddies, a cock sure happy smiley fella who looked like Paul Newman, the ability to work in a chain gang, some southern fried prison chatter, a tough attitude and about 50 or so eggs then prison and the labour associated with it didn't look so bad. This degree of excitement and enthusiasm is what makes this film so special, much in the same way that Luke's inmates get caught up in the whirlwind of his exuberant personality so do we as an audience. we ache for him to succedd, we cheer when he cheers, we smile when he smiles, we feel full of eggs when he feels full of eggs, we hurt when he hurts. Paul Newman is brilliant is this film, perferctly embodying the spirit of such a loveable and believable everyman.
it really is "The man... and the motion picture that simply do not conform" and we love him... and it for it.
Man cannot survive on eggs alone.
5. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. (1975)
One of only 3 films to win the elusive "Big 5" at the Academy Awards and deservedly so, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a truly magnificent film and one that showcases, to my mind, Jack Nicholson's best performance. It's hard to pick out what makes One Flew so brilliant, the gleeful, anarchic antics of MacMurphy? The steely Matriarch that is Nurse Ratched? The Stoic grandeur of the mute chief? Or is it Danny DeVito's Martini? Needless to say that all of these factors and more add up to make this a truly brilliant and unique picture. Also (Despite Ken Kesey not being a fan) a surprisngly faithful adaptation of the source material.
It offers something new to the "Prison Movie Genre" Despite it being an institute intended to aid MacMurphy and his companions it seems a far more hopeless venture than prison flicks that are set in actual prisons. That was an odd sentence. I apologise. Either way, I friggin' love this film.
FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUU...
Thanks for bothering to read this. Sorry if it's a bit haphazard and poorly written and whatnot, I wrote it in a state of great excitement. also i'm writing it on this computer i made out of an old prison towel, shredded bed sheets, a file and a spanner i stole from workshop, so progress is jilted to say the least.
Thoughts, Opinions, Disagreements and Threats greatly welcomed and appreciated.
SO.
P.S. Also, check out Buster Keaton's ace Prison Short "Convict 13" here it is on YouTube. So no excuses... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr51PzWSMvY
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