Went off last night to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Having seen the opening night of Raiders of the Lost Ark, some 27 years ago I can rightly describe myself as a fan. The Sunday Times reported that in its first week the film took £12m in the UK and $120m in the US, so undoubtedly another massive success for Frank Marshall and Kathy Kennedy and rightly so - they are two of the greatest producers in modern film making. Harrison Ford was magnificent and Karen Allen looked fantastic, but if you are going, suspend all disbelief as all the baddies die and all the goodies live with hardly a scratch. It's fun, but let's face it, the first one was the best because at the time it was so innovative and original.
In total contrast, I watched on DVD The Lives of Others a quite remarkable piece about life in East Germany before the wall came down, with some of the finest acting one could hope to see on the screen. This sub-titled film won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, frankly it should have won Best Film. Haunting, demanding and utterly realistic. The director, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck deserves all the accolades he has received. I recommend it unreservedly.
In total contrast, I watched on DVD The Lives of Others a quite remarkable piece about life in East Germany before the wall came down, with some of the finest acting one could hope to see on the screen. This sub-titled film won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, frankly it should have won Best Film. Haunting, demanding and utterly realistic. The director, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck deserves all the accolades he has received. I recommend it unreservedly.
2 Comments:
I quite agree that Harrison Ford is incomparable in Raiders of the lost Ark.
Also agree that that was probably among the first such adventure movies, hence all the more enjoyable.
No film could ever match the level of expectation that 'Skull' had, but when punters have seen the picture a few times, I suspect they'll realize that - in it's own way - this entry is as good as the other three; the jungle chase is the most brilliantly sustained piece of nonsence since - well - the opening 20 mins of 'The Temple of Doom'.
I wasn't fully aware until today that JA was currently writing a new project; this is great news, since he really has hit a fantastic bit of form; for anybody who hasn't read 'Prisoner of Birth' please heed these words; it is very probably his best.
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