TiVoPlex
By John Seal
October 17, 2005
From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.
Tuesday 10/18/05
5am Turner Classic Movies
The Richest Girl in the World (1934 USA): Miriam Hopkins plays the titular female in this first rate RKO screwball comedy. She's the reclusive and extremely wealthy Dorothy, whose fear of gold-digging paramours can't completely suppress her desire to find Mr. Right. What to do, what to do? Why, trade places with your secretary (Fay Wray), of course, and use the ol' switcheroo to find out if potential spouse Tony (Joel McCrea) values cash over true love. The leads are engaging and Norman Krasna's Academy Award-nominated screenplay amusing and downright hilarious in places, and though the film's denouement is never really in doubt, The Richest Girl in the World provides an enjoyable if predictable journey to the land of connubial bliss.
1:05pm Sundance
Dolls (2002 JAP): No, it's not a rebroadcast of Stuart Gordon's creepy horror film of the same name, but a recent (and atypical) Takeshi Kitano flick. In a notable departure from his predilection for ultraviolent cinema, Kitano adapted three traditional puppet plays (bunraku) for the big screen, casting living, breathing actors in the roles usually reserved for the Japanese equivalents of Punch and Judy. Whilst that renders Dolls somewhat less accessible for Occidental audiences - who will generally find the pace a tad more deliberate than that of Sonatine or Battle Royale - the film is a visual feast, with some scenes bringing to mind the saturated colors seen in Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits. That's high praise, and makes this slow (some might say turgid) feature a must-see for cineastes. Also airs 10/23 at 3pm.
8:35am Starz!
The Rocketeer (1990 USA): I know this is a big-budget Disney film, but it was a flop at the box office, and the film's referential (and reverential) nods to old serials really appeal to me, so here it is. Bill Campbell plays the granite-jawed hero, and while the part would have been better in Brendan Fraser's hands, he's fine. It's the supporting cast that really shines, including Alan Arkin as Campbell's scientific mentor, Timothy Dalton as Errol Flynn clone Neville Sinclair, Paul Sorvino as a gangster, Ed Lauter as a dimwitted FBI agent, and the ethereal Jennifer Connelly as our hero's main squeeze. Coen Brothers regular Jon Polito also has a small role as a sleazy airfield owner, and there's a great Rondo Hatton impression by Tiny Ron Taylor. The story is basically a remake of Lost Planet Airmen (1949), with spies and other bad guys out to obtain an incredible rocket pack that can transport a man through the air with amazing speed. The more old movies you've seen, the more you'll enjoy this guilty pleasure directed by Joe Johnston, also responsible for the excellent October Sky, and Jumanji, of which the less said the better. Also airs at 11:35am.
Wednesday 10/19/05
8:30am HBO Signature
Soft Fruit (1999 AUS): This is a typically well-acted Australian kitchen sink-comedy/drama about a working-class family tending to their ailing mother. Mum's played with aplomb by Jeanie Drynan (Don's Party, Muriel's Wedding), and she only has a few weeks left to have her final wishes fulfilled, a trip to the seaside and a Parisian holiday amongst them. Needless to say, her dysfunctional offspring have a hard time satisfying her desires. Written and directed by Christina Andreef and produced by Jane Campion, Soft Fruit took home acting and screenplay prizes at festivals around the world.
11am Turner Classic Movies
Jack of Diamonds (1967 BRD-USA): Though not a terribly good film, this Topkapi rip-off has enough points of interest to make it worth a look for certain viewers. It's a West German/American co-production starring the ageless George Hamilton as a suave jewel thief who tries to go on the straight and narrow, only to succumb to temptation One Last Time when hood Joseph Cotten makes him an enticing offer he can't refuse. Also on hand are Maurice Evans and Wolfgang Preiss as fellow criminals and, in cameos, Lilli Palmer, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Carroll Baker as jewelry-laden victims. In addition to its intriguing cast, the film features glittering wide-screen photography and a typically jaunty Peter Thomas soundtrack that will have you tapping your toe in no time. If you're into swinging ‘60s cinema and can overlook its appalling screenplay, Jack of Diamonds is a modest diversion; otherwise, all but fans of Hamilton can safely avoid it.
9:30pm Sundance
El Cielito (2004 ARG): One or two or even three times, it might be a meaningless coincidence, but this is the fifth or sixth Argentinean film to recently air on American television. Could it be that the Argentine economic collapse of the late 1990s reinvigorated that South American nation's senescent film industry? I don't know nearly enough about the matter to accurately answer that question, but it's an interesting theory nonetheless. None of the Argentine films I've seen recently have directly addressed that crisis - thus not fulfilling the role that New York Times' critic Caryn James recently opined cinema SHOULD fulfill - but all have, arguably, included it as subtext. This film is no different; it's the superficially simple tale of Felix (Leonardo Ramirez), an itinerant farmhand who befriends the infant child of his employers and "adopts" the toddler when their marriage falls apart. The glittering prize of big-city wealth tempts Felix to relocate to Buenos Aires with his new charge in tow, but things inevitably don't turn out as intended. The winner of four awards at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, El Cielito is further proof that Argentinean film is in more robust condition than it has been for many years. Also airs 10/23 at 11am.
Thursday 10/20/05
12:15am Cinemax
Night of the Juggler (1980 USA): This brutal Death Wish clone stars James Brolin as an ex-New York City cop out for blood after his daughter is mistakenly kidnapped by a madman (Cliff Gorman) looking for big ransom bucks. Based on a novel by William McGivern (The Big Heat and other hardboiled classics), this is a sleazy Big Apple classic that will have you desperate to take a shower ex post facto. Look for the great Mandy Patinkin in a small role as a Puerto Rican cabbie. Also airs at 3:15am.
9am Sundance
Career Girls (1997 GB): Confession time: I've never actually seen this Mike Leigh film, and in fact I can't even remember it coming out! I'm not sure what my excuse is - perhaps I spent 1997 in a Titanic-induced coma - but I'm not about to let it slip by a second time. Career Girls features one of my all time favorites, Katrin Cartlidge, as well as movie chameleon Andy Serkis. Also airs at 4pm.
5pm Turner Classic Movies
Dances With Wolves (1990 USA): Running to a solid three hours in length, this bloated, seven Oscar blockbuster makes its wide-screen television debut this evening. As much as I enjoy capping on Kevin Costner's non-baseball movie career, though, this is hardly the worst of the man's films, though it does provide yet another platform from which he can congratulate himself for being such an upstanding, open-minded and honest fellow. This time he portrays an Old West cavalry officer who goes native, assumes the lifestyle of the Noble Savage and, in best Hollywood liberal fashion, gains a new appreciation for ecology and a new disdain for tight-fitting cavalry uniforms. It's a magnificent-looking epic thanks to Dean Semler's sweeping cinematography, and whilst its stodgy, ahistorical message is much less fun than that of Waterworld's, Dances With Wolves is by far the better picture. Can you believe I didn't work in a reference to The Postman? Also airs 10/22 at 1:30pm.
Friday 10/21/05
6:30pm Showtime
Festival Express (1970 GB): Watching these old hippy documentaries is so much fun. The music generally stinks, but the drug- and alcohol-induced shenanigans of the musicians more than make up for that. This one features TiVoPlex whipping boys The Grateful Dead, plus overrated classic rockers The Band and sweet lil' Janis Joplin as they keep on truckin' across the Canadian wilderness on a chartered train. More intriguing are glimpses of The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Great Speckled Bird, and, of course, Sha Na Na, one of the few musical bright spots of 1970. No word on whether that song about ridin' that train, high on cocaine had anything to do with this particular tour. Also airs at 9:30pm and on Showtime 3 10/22 at 3:30pm.
Saturday 10/22/05
8:45pm IFC
Madman (1982 USA): Every once in a while, IFC turns up a real gem, or deposits a fresh turd in the punch bowl, depending on your perspective. Here's a fairly obscure slasher flick that anticipated the similar (though far superior) Candyman by a full decade. Set at one of those summer camps that parents really should know better than to send their kids to, the film's protagonist is Madman Marz, a mythical killer summoned to life by having his name whispered by a camp counselor during spooky story hour. This completely unoriginal film was written and helmed by the second-unit director of cult favorite The Clonus Horror, and features an abrasive and unoriginal score that apes the worst aspects of John Carpenter. It hasn't been seen on television in a very, VERY long time, however, and is a must-see for fans of schlock cinema.
Sunday 10/23/05
Variety Time (1948 USA): Here's a real oddity. Remember back in the 1960s and ‘70s when the Big Three TV networks would each run a pre-season preview show highlighting all the great new series coming our way in September? (That was before shows got cancelled after a two- or three-episode run, of course.) Here's the big-screen studio equivalent of that marketing strategy from RKO, who hired radio personality and future boob-tube legend Jack Paar to host its very own clip show. The result isn't exactly enervating, concentrating on underwhelming features like Riverboat Rhythm, and the talent on hand wasn't going to make anyone forget MGM, either: frequent Paar collaborator Hans Conried is the biggest name here, with Leon Erroll and Edgar Kennedy bringing up the less-than-impressive rear. Nonetheless, it's a fascinating curio of American media on the cusp of the television age and remarkably, Variety Time actually turned a tidy profit at the box office, causing RKO to repeat the exercise on two further occasions.
Monday 10/24/05
6pm Sundance
The Man Who Stole My Mother's Face (2003 AUS): This grueling made-for-Australian television doc about a brutal sex crime isn't for everyone, but for non-fiction buffs such as yours truly, it's well worth a look. After Aussie director Cathy Henkel's mother was assaulted, beaten and raped by a Johannesburg youth in 1988, the filmmaker returned to her South African homeland to confront the attacker, who remained uncharged and scot-free for a full decade after the incident. This moving and troubling film won the Best Documentary Feature prize at 2004's Tribeca Film Festival.
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