TiVoPlex
By John Seal
November 15, 2004
From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.
Tuesday 11/16/04
12:15am Encore Mystery
The New Centurions (1972 USA): I wish, wish, wish that Encore had a wide-screen print of this Richard Fleischer cop drama, but if wishes were horses, which they thankfully aren’t, I’d, erm, be getting lavishly compensated for writing this column (the slavemasters at BOP are very generous with the shiny beads, though). That aside, this is a really fine, episodic film about life as a street cop in Los Angeles. Based on a Joseph Wambaugh novel (boy, that guy sold a lot of books in the ‘70s), The New Centurions stars George C. Scott as a grizzled veteran cop breaking in his idealistic young partner (Stacy Keach). The set-up sounds predictable, but the sharply-honed screenplay by Sterling Silliphant defies expectations, throwing curveballs throughout the film that lend added realism to the proceedings. Scott and Keach are excellent, and the balance of the cast includes familiar faces like Ed Lauter, Isabel Sanford, Rosalind Cash, and a pre-CHiPs Erik Estrada. The pan-and-scan print is awful, consistently compromising cinematographer Ralph Woolsey’s work, but the storytelling remains strong and the film comes highly recommended.
1pm Turner Classic Movies
Windom’s Way (1957 GB): Set in the strife-torn rubber plantations of 1950s Malaya, Windom’s Way stars the young Peter Finch as a multitasking doctor trying to care for his patients whilst helping maintain a modicum of peace in the neighborhood and patching up his faltering relationship with his spoilt wife (Mary Ure). Jill Craigie’s screenplay does a reasonably good job of blending its storylines, but the real pleasure is in Christopher Challis’ cinematography and the balance of the cast, which includes Robert Flemyng, Marne Maitland, and Michael Hordern. Soundtrack fans will also be thrilled at the opportunity to hear a rare non-Hammer score by beloved composer James Bernard.
10:35am Encore
Swashbuckler (1976 USA): Preceded by a dreadful reputation, this tongue-in-cheek pirate movie returns to the small screen after a long absence. It’s not as bad as advertised but perhaps offended cynical ‘70s audiences (who stayed away en masse) with its straightforward and unselfconscious tale of high seas adventure. Featuring a super cast, including Robert Shaw, Genevieve Bujold, Anjelica Huston, Sid Haig, and a villainous Peter Boyle, this is a good old-fashioned, erm, swashbuckler that provides mindless entertainment on a grand scale. It’s a shame Encore is airing it pan-and-scan, however, as the location footage of Jamaica is quite spectacular when viewed in the film’s correct aspect ratio. Also airs at 1:35pm.
Wednesday 11/17/04
3am Turner Classic Movies
Larceny, Inc. (1942 USA): Larceny Inc. was adapted from a stage play by acid wit S. J. Perelman, proving that Warner Bros was as adept at crime-themed comedies as they were at gangster films. Edward G. Robinson stars as a bank robber who buys a luggage store as a front whilst he and his gang (dimwitted Broderick Crawford and jumpy Edward Brophy) dig into the bank vault next door. Robinson’s also trying to convince gal pal Jane Wyman that he’s on the straight and narrow and really IS interested in an exciting and honest future in the luggage business. Unfortunately, he does such a good job selling her this unlikely scenario that the local merchants elect him as their leader when the city decides to make disruptive improvements on their street! Add in an early appearance by Anthony Quinn as a vengeful fellow ex-con and a small (but unforgettable) appearance by Jackie Gleason as a lunch-counter attendant, and you’ve got one of the funniest films you’ll ever see.
Thursday 11/18/04
4:50am Sundance
Our Times (2002 IRA): Yet another fascinating documentary from Iran, Our Times takes a look at the political ferment brewing beneath the surface of that nation’s theocratic exterior. Initially focussing on a group of enthusiastic female teenage campaign supporters of the contest’s ultimate winner, Mohammed Khatami, the film also takes a look at Arezoo Bayat, a female presidential candidate in the 2001 election. One of 48 women running for President that year (there was a total of 711 candidates!), Bayat - a 25-year-old divorcée in a deeply sexist society - could kindly be described as a dark horse at best. Her determined and enthusiastic efforts to help enfranchise the poor and unemployed women of her nation speak volumes about the hopes and dreams of liberal Iranian reformers, stymied so often, but still struggling for human rights and freedom. Also airs 11/22 at 3:45am.
Friday 11/19/04
7:45am Showtime
Zero to Sixty (1978 USA): Car movies were all the rage in the 1970s. From Cannonball Run to The Car, from Car Wash to Corvette Summer and to Vanishing Points beyond, the genre kicked off by Richard Sarafian’s underappreciated 1971 classic was still going strong in 1978, just in time for it to hook up with America’s hottest comedy commodity, The Hudson Brothers. What? You DON’T REMEMBER THE HUDSON BROTHERS? You’re either suffering from selective amnesia or are under the age of 35, because the Brothers were the talk of the nation when their fill-in summer variety show took off in the wake of their Saturday morning kids' program, The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show (One of them even married Goldie Hawn; hence, Kate Hudson). Zero to Sixty marked the Brothers’ first big-screen appearance, but it didn’t do much business and the boys were soon back to plying their wares on the small screen. Darren McGavin is the real star of the film, playing a repo man hired by termagant Sylvia Miles to repossess his own car. Denise "Violet Beauregard" Nickerson is on hand as his jailbait love interest, and there are brief cameos by TV comics Dick Martin and Lyle Waggoner, B-movie goddess Francine York, and wrestling legend The Great John L., presumably in between bouts with The Iron Sheik and Bruno Sammartino. Anyone who grew up watching too much television in the 1970s will want to take this trip down Memory Lane, preferably in a totally radical custom hotrod with mag wheels. Also airs at 10:45am.
4:15pm Showtime
Rocky V(1990 USA): A few months back, TCM aired the first four Rocky movies in letterboxed format. Rocky fans throughout the land wanted to know: whither goest Rocky V? Well, it’s here at last in its correct aspect ratio, and the even more surprising news is that it's not nearly as bad as you might think or may remember. Star Sylvester Stallone wisely decided to limit his time in the ring for this outing, opting instead to feature Rocky Balboa training a new fighter from Oklahoma, a hot-headed brawler named Tommy Gunn (played by pro boxer Tommy Morrison). Balboa spends all his spare time working with Tommy, neglecting the long-suffering Adrian (Talia Shire) and, more importantly, son Rocky Jr. (played by real life son, Sage Stallone), who rebels in typical movie kid fashion by smoking cigarettes and getting his ears pierced. Though neither are particularly good actors, Stallone père et fils are genuinely effective together, with their affection for each other readily apparent on-screen. The smaller scale of the story, primarily set in the working-class Philly streets that spawned the first film, are a welcome antidote to Rocky IV’s jingoistic Russkie-bashing, and while this is by no means as fresh as its 1976 progenitor, it remains a satisfying series entry. Rocky V isn’t a classic, but it works for the most part, and now thanks to Showtime looks better than ever on TV. Also airs at 7:15pm and 11/20 at 6:45am and 7pm on Showtime 2.
Saturday 11/20/04
11:30am More Max
Airheads (1994 USA): It feels awfully funny selecting this pop comedy as the speculative pick of the week, but any film featuring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Michael McKean, Joe Mantegna, Lemmy, and Harold Ramis is surely worth a look. Oh, and some guy called Adam Sandler is in it, too. Fraser, Buscemi, and Sandler are cast as a rock band (The Lone Rangers) who take control of a local radio station in an effort to get their demo tape aired. Sounds like good dumb fun.
Sunday 11/21/04
7:00PM Turner Classic Movies
Treasures From American Film Archives: This week’s selection of archival rarities include the trailer for a lost silent adventure feature, The Silent Flyer (1926); a six-minute Edwin S. Porter film, Life of An American Fireman (1903); late 19th-century experiments such as Mr. Edison at Work in His Chemical Laboratory (1897), the early sound effort A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor (1924), and Zora Neale Huston’s 1928 home movie footage of African-American field workers. These fragments of the past will prove to be compelling and compulsive viewing for those with an interest in film history.
Monday 11/22/04
9am Sundance
Diamonds and Rust (2001 ISR-NAM): Yo ho, yo ho, a dredging life for me! If you’ve always wondered what life on the bounding main is REALLY like - no, Swashbuckler doesn’t quite count as an educational film - take a look at this documentary about the ragtag crew of The Spirit of Namibia, a diamond-dredging rust-bucket anchored a mile off the African coast. See the useless Cuban captain being bullied by his cruel Israeli first mate! See the South African officers mistreat the Namibian sailors! Marvel at the crew’s ability to keep the ship afloat! Diamonds and Rust, which won the Golden Gate Award at the 2001 San Francisco International Film Festival, makes its television premiere this morning.
10:30am Turner Classic Movies
A Tale of Two Cities(1958 GB): Long overshadowed by the 1935 Hollywood version of Charles Dickens classic (if somewhat out of character) novel of the French Revolution, this 1958 interpretation returns to American television this morning. Starring handsome Dirk Bogarde as Sidney Carton, this made-in-Britain production matches that well-loved MGM picture in every respect, and features a mouth-watering supporting cast, including Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass, Christopher Lee, Leo McKern, Donald Pleasance, and Eric Pohlmann. T.E.B. Clarke’s screen adapation is a faithful one, and though one would suspect that Ralph Thomas was a poor choice as director - he was much better known for his comedy films - he acquits himself admirably. If the film has a flaw, it’s in the performance of Paul Guers as Charles Darnay. His dialogue was post-synched by a different actor, but more significantly for this tale of switched identities, he doesn’t look much like Bogarde. That aside, this is an excellent film with which Dickens’ fans will definitely want to acquaint themselves.
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