This blog is maintained by freelance journalist Orrin Konheim who has been professionally published in over three dozen publications. Orrin was a kid who watched too much TV growing up but didn't discover the joy of film writing until 2003 when he posted his first IMDB user review and got hooked. Orrin runs adult education zoom courses on how to be published, as well as a film of the month club
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The Abyss can be seen as a spiritual predecessor to the Titanic in that it marks Cameron’s love affair with the ocean and his desire to push the furthest limits of special effects in its discovery. It’s even been rumored that Cameron took on the assignment of Titanic as an excuse to indulge his zeal for undersea exploration. In addition to being one of the few people to dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, he holds the record for having spent the most time on board the Titanic (with the caveat that he never spent an hour with the ship when it was above board).
Among the things that fascinate me about this film is that he created an entire film for Brock.
Brock is the deep see gem miner played by Bill Paxton, who can be seen as an avatar for Cameron (considering a certain 2009 film, I’ll have to add a “no pun intended”). Both pride themselves on their adeptness, both feel comfortable in command, and both are capable of being moved by a story.
In an alternate ending, Brock actually catches Rose in the act of throwing it in the ocean. Rather than do everything in his power to stop her, he holds it for a moment, lets Rose throw it over and laughs. It's as if he learned a (very improbable) lesson on the true power of wealth.
James Cameron has been known as a controlling man on set and he has likely made enemies from the studios for overspending their money. If Titanic didn’t hit that lightning in a bottle and win big at the box office, it would have gone down as cinema’s biggest failures. Maybe Brock was a way to justify Cameron himself.
Whereas the final cut doesn’t give Brock the satisfaction of moral agency (he’s in the dark), it’s indicative of the way Cameron wants to see himself as a man who values wonder and exploration above everything. As an auteur, the way he (some might say carelessly) drives up the budget of his films reinforces this.
The Abyss is one of the most ambitious underwater films ever filmed this side of The Poseidon Adventure.
As part of the 1980s, it’s heavy on heroes and action. At its center is Bud Brigman. Played by Ed Harris, he might not look like a Sylvester Stallone or Harrison Ford; but he has the chip on his shoulder and the confidence in his own vision that is requisite of a frustrated auteur like another James Cameron stand-in. There’s also a quasi-military element which matches other films of the era like Hunt for Red October and Top Gun.
As Brock is potentially implied to be powered by greed (if we go by canon), Bud’s faults are presented by his soon-to-be-ex-wife and professional foil in Lindsey (Mary Elizbeth Mastrantonio).
But here’s the thing: We only see the competent version of Bud. The only negative things we hear of him are in flashback through Lindsey. It’s as if the flashbacks are a way for Cameron to address rumors or his internal doubts, while the man he wishfully presents to the world is an ordinary-looking man who becomes a hero.
Without giving too much away, Bud’s transcendent journey comes from curiosity and appreciating wonder. He also gets the girl back, just as Titanic and Avatar have non-romantic issues resolved through a cathartic love story.
If watching a movie critically is a richer experience than watching a movie passively, than Terry Gilliam is a good place to start because every choice he makes is strong. His artistic process is among the most transparent of any film maker. It’s very easy to spot his bold choices and it might not be too much of a stretch to reach into his head.
The former animator for the Monty Python troop sees the world as a children's storyteller of sorts influenced by mythology, science-fiction, and absurdist humor.
Pretty much nothing about the way his films are made are ordinary from the internal logic of his films, to the way his actors act exaggerated and can even be seen as live-action cartoons, to the close-ups and Dutch angles by which he will film his actors, to the artifice of the art direction, to the overwrought scores. But does it all add up to the sum of its parts? Is it enchanting?
The Fisher King might be Terry Gilliam's most adult film. It deals with loss, trauma, and metamorphis, and the nature of charity. His cartoonish style when Jack Lucas is interacting with Parry is juxtaposed against a straighter visual and aural tone when Lucas is interacting with people in the regular world. Whereas his characters often act cartoonish, Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams deliver two of their greatest performances here, Mercedes Ruehl won an Oscar in the supporting actress category, and Amanda Plummer should have won the Supporting Actress Oscar for my money. It would be rather far-fetched for anyone to earn a nomination in any of the earlier stages of Gilliam's career.
WHAT ELSE WILL THE FILM OF THE MONTH CLUB BE COVERING: Future installments include: Sunshine State and the poverty exposes by John Sayles; Zorba the Greek and the jet set era of 60s films; Sex Lies and Videotape and the birth of indie films; Treasure of the Sierra Madre and the capacity for the adventure film; Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the re-interpretation of noir.
For instance, I think Terry Gilliam is a good film director to examine because he's a very odd anomaly with a lot of variances in his popularity. A good discussion can be had about why his films might resonate and what holds him back from achieving more popular success. Someone in the group suggested Brazil but I think that might not create optimal discussion considering it is one of the most beloved films of all-time. I would imagine that 9 out of 10 viewers would find Brazil brilliant which wouldn't lead to as much discussion over a polarizing film director. Films like Fisher King (an attempt at merging mythology with a sappy drama about high stakes and trauma) or Time Bandits (a time travel sci-fi film that's underdeveloped in terms of world building by today's standards), or 12 Monkeys (a more universally enjoyable film, but has some odd attempts to integrate the source material to the final product) will challenge the audience more to see the director's vision. That would be more ideal for discussion.
Here are my picks for a batch of films that have a certain quality, will enrich the viewer, encompass variety, and provoke discussion.
So here is what I would pick if I could say curate for a year (I stretched it out to a year and a third)
1. Sunshine State (2002) by John Sayles. It’s a film about poverty, class (a little bit about race), and people coping with changing economic conditions. Plus, it's a great Florida film (my favorite invented genre). I’m assuming that people in my group will have less familiarity with him as other auteurs, and that should be changed.
Alternate: Matewan
2. Theoretically, Liz (the horror buff) would pick the second film and she would probably like to do horror and I don’t know how much stomach we have for that group.. But David Cronenberg’s 1980s film Videodromeis a thoughtful film (I have seen about half of) and I might be able to appreciate it in a way and it might be a good way to bend. it’s firmly within the realm and I don’t think it’s too horrific for people who don’t love that type of horror.
3. The Elia Kazan film Pinky (1949). This will be a very interesting film to discuss because this is a 1940s film about race that would get canceled immediately today because the character’s mixed race and she’s played by a white actress. Kazan made a lot of social message films but some like this and Gentlemen’s Agreement (in which a clearly non-Jewish person tries to expose anti-semitism) seem dated, but we can look at such things from a modern lens and evaluate. Mind you, the film might be dated but it is not boring. I really do remember this to be a very moving and good movie.
4. The disaster film Airport (1970) upon which Airplane! devised some of its popularity. We should look at the disaster film as a whole and evaluate whether this is just frivolous Blockbuster or like a really good film.
5. Treasure of the Sierra Madre(1948) It’s one of those films that regularly appear on the top 100 films of all time lists, and is part Western, part adventure, and a little formless. It’s a beloved film, so the discussion can be about whether it’s worth the hype. I’ve only seen half of it on TCM (not the start and not the beginning).
6. The Conversation (1976). A 1976 Francis Ford Coppola film made at the height of the film director’s power that was sandwiched in between the Godfathers and Apocalypse Now. It’s about surveillance, and equally as acclaimed but not as famous. I haven’t watched any Coppola films outside some of his unacclaimed 90s stuff and Finnian’s Rainbow, and honestly, I don’t feel like starting the Godfather or Apocalypse Now this late in life, so I want to work my way into this wayward stop in his filmography as he returns to form in Metropolis.
7. School Daze(1988). A 1988 film of Spike Lee that’s right before his defining turn in Do the Right Thing. It might be interesting to look at the elements of Spike Lee before his big, big film.
8. Sweet Charity (1969). For Mary (a member of our group who liked musicals), we’ll throw in a musical. There's a tremendous number of musicals I'm fond of but for the group, late-period musicals like that of Bob Fosee would be richer for discussion in terms of modern relatabality. Cabaret, because it foreshadows Naziism and the songs serve a purpose that you can argue a lot is an interesting film. But Sweet charity was also an influence in Schmigadoon, and also a Bob Fosse film. I have a feeling it will be very 60s and 70s vibe. As films are a window into history, this could be a big one
Alternative: Cabaret
9. American Graffiti My favorite coming-of-age film. I’d be curious to see how others see this 1973 George Lucas film as comparing to the ones they grew up on (I’m guessing John Hughes).
Alternative: Rebel Without a Cause
10. The Fisher King (1991)I think Terry Gilliam is an odd bird, to put it mildly. What is it about his visually exxagerative style that works?
Alternatives: Time Bandits, 12 Monkeys
11. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1956) I want through a lot of sci fi films before deciding on this one. It's not as iconic and influential as Flash Gordon or 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it's a landmark film and symbolizes 1950s films which, like the Twilight Zone, were often rich in allegories and morals. It can be seen as a good code film.
12. What Did You Do in the War Daddy (1966)by Blake Edwards, best known for the Pink Panther. Is a comic war film you might enjoy (I’ve seen it) and can serve as a companion piece to the more famous Rob Altman film MASH (1980) in that it shows the silliness of war
13. Three Days of the Condor (1975) Adam Spector (the local film discussion guru) spoke of this as having some bearing on the Marvel movies, so it could be a good segue to the early action films of the 1970s and 1980s.
14. Cat Ballou (1965) A fun Jane Fonda film and woman-oriented Western which is kind of a curious thing to study from a feminist perspective. It's also a less famous Western, and a very fun film.
15. Dr Zhivago (1965) An epic. The kind of epic that becomes endangered. This is a film I’ve seen half of and own but the second part of the DVD is broken.
16. Looper (2012) Certainly not my favorite film of this era, but it's a curious film and there are a lot of influences in this that might be interesting to examine
17. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) We can watch noir or we can watch something that references
18 The Matrix (1999) In this case, I'm picking a film I've never seen and should have. It comes from what some in the group consider to be the best year in recent American history. It's also taken on meanings upon meanings as the film has matured, so that evolution can be discussed.
