New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Wednesday 12/01/10

3:00 AM HBO Signature
Beau Geste (1966 USA): The most recent big screen adaptation of Percival Wren’s once popular novel of the same name, 1966’s Beau Geste is inferior to both the 1926 and 1939 versions but still has points of interest. Members of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club will note with approval the complete absence of female speaking roles in the film, whilst ladies will swoon at the presence of matinee idol Dean Stockwell in the lead role of Beau Graves, an American who joins the French Foreign Legion for action and quality time with brother and fellow Legionnaire John (Doug McClure). The Legion, as per usual, is assigned the task of keeping down rebellious North African natives - but Beau and John have a bigger problem on their hands in the shape of sadistic Sergeant Dagineau (Telly Savalas), who has commanding officer Lieutenant De Ruse (Leslie Nielsen, may he Rest In Peace) wrapped around his little finger. Beau Geste was shot in 2.35:1 Techniscope, but it’s a stretch to think HBO Signature will be airing it in its correct aspect ratio. Nevertheless, it’s worth a look for its rarity (the film has never had a home video release) and its cast.

3:00 PM Showtime
The Other City (2010 USA): I haven’t seen this recent documentary yet, but judging from what I’ve read it could also have been titled A Tale of Two Cities. Shot in America’s capitol, Washington D.C., the film examines that city’s HIV epidemic and the disinterest shown towards it by its congressional plantation masters down the road apiece. Sounds thoroughly depressing. Also airs at 6:00 PM.

4:00 PM Flix
The Man in the Iron Mask (1977 GB): Looks like it’s going to be a week of literary adaptations - or references thereto - in the TiVoPlex. To continue the theme, here’s an above average made for television version of the elder Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale of royal intrigue and unjust imprisonment in 17th-century France. Richard Chamberlain essays two roles, as both French monarch Louis XIV and the Sun King’s twin brother Philippe, secreted away in a dungeon to prevent his rightful accession to the throne. As familiar as the story is, the film is well executed by director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco) and features a superb cast, including Ian Holm, Patrick McGoohan, Louis Jourdan (surely the only man who ever played both D’Artagnan and Count Dracula in the same year), Ralph Richardson, Jenny Agutter, and Esmond Knight. For more classics illustrated, stay tuned at 6:00 PM for 1975’s The Count of Monte Cristo, another small screen production with big screen aspirations (as well as Chamberlain, Jourdan, Tony Curtis, Trevor Howard, and Donald Pleasence in its cast).

Thursday 12/02/10

4:30 AM HBO Signature
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008 USA): Though Roman Polanski's 1977 conviction for statutory rape has generated much media hot air over the years, little real light has been cast on the subject. This documentary finally gives Polanski's case the careful attention it deserves, and suggests that it may not have been as cut and dried as the popular narrative would suggest. Though the film does not exculpate Polanski - who did, after all, take advantage of a 13-year-old girl - it does imply he got a raw deal from the American judicial system.

Continued:       1       2       3       4