Obscure Movie Recommendations

[Little Garwood]

I saw the recent 'Condor' TV series which I think is based on this. It was pretty good stuff.

Have any of you read the Condor books? I enjoy the film, but not the novels. I wonder how much the film differs from the novel (other than the three-days taken off the time line).

[Pahonu]

I saw the recent 'Condor' TV series which I think is based on this. It was pretty good stuff.

Have any of you read the Condor books? I enjoy the film, but not the novels. I wonder how much the film differs from the novel (other than the three-days taken off the time line).

I read the original Six Days of the Condor back in the 80’s and it was twice as good as the movie.
Seriously, I enjoyed the novel but don’t remember a whole lot. I do remember the film had some significant differences from the book, but nothing specific I can describe. I’m thinking the film added the love story element between Redford and Dunaway. I didn’t even realize there were other books or a TV series in the last decade.

[Chris109]

There is a semi-spoiler alert.

Any movie that has come out in the past 10+ years would be considered obscure to me cause most of what I see being advertised for release really is garbage. Movie I'm referring to Fury starring Brad Pitt that came out in 2014. Since I don't keep up with movie releases, I saw this for the first time 2 years ago, never knowing it even existed. It is a WW2 movie with great acting all around and showing the horrors of war. I thought Shia LaBeouf showed off his acting skills by portraying Boyd "Bible" Swan. Reminded me of Private Daniel Jackson, played by Barry Pepper, in Private Ryan, who would say some bible verses or prayers before blowing someone away. Unfortunately, LaBeouf is turning himself into another Alec Baldwin. Great actor, but a total nut job. Really hate to see it happen to anyone. You wonder, are they acting like they're crazy, or is their acting what they are really like.

Ending was rather outrageous, but I'm sure a tank holding off a company or division of bad guys could possibly happen.

[Pahonu]

There is a semi-spoiler alert.

Any movie that has come out in the past 10+ years would be considered obscure to me cause most of what I see being advertised for release really is garbage. Movie I'm referring to Fury starring Brad Pitt that came out in 2014. Since I don't keep up with movie releases, I saw this for the first time 2 years ago, never knowing it even existed. It is a WW2 movie with great acting all around and showing the horrors of war. I thought Shia LaBeouf showed off his acting skills by portraying Boyd "Bible" Swan. Reminded me of Private Daniel Jackson, played by Barry Pepper, in Private Ryan, who would say some bible verses or prayers before blowing someone away. Unfortunately, LaBeouf is turning himself into another Alec Baldwin. Great actor, but a total nut job. Really hate to see it happen to anyone. You wonder, are they acting like they're crazy, or is their acting what they are really like.

Ending was rather outrageous, but I'm sure a tank holding off a company or division of bad guys could possibly happen.

There are still lots of interesting films being made, you just have to weed through all the ads and hype for the franchise stuff like Marvel, Fast and Furious, etc…
Which does seem to obscure the rest as you wrote.

[Little Garwood]

I read the original Six Days of the Condor back in the 80’s and it was twice as good as the movie.

...or twice as long!

Onward...

Night Moves (1975) No relation to the annoyingly omnipresent Bob Seger song of a year later, Night Moves the film is a largely forgotten Neo-Noir directed by Arthur "Bonnie & Clyde" Penn and starring Gene Hackman, who also boasts a mustache that rivals even that of The Great Selleck.

It's a bleak film that epitomizes the "Burned Out Vietnam Watergate Blues" of that great early-to-mid-'70s period. That 1960s-Vietnam-Watergate hangover produced so nany great films which reflected those troubled times. Too bad Jimmy Carter's Malaise period didn't do the same. Night Moves has a fine score by Michael "1970s Paranoia" Small.

Melanie Griffith plays a young tart in this film and also in 1975's The Drowning Pool. I believe Night Moves was filmed first.

Night Moves was filmed in the Florida Keys, so this viewer half expects "Pirate's Key" resident Rick Simon to show up to help Hackman's Harry Moseby character.



youtu.be/6iP6ugUiM4Y

I've obsessed over Night Moves since seeing it one late, late night decades ago, so prepare to glaze over and not comment as I drone on unfascinatingly about it.

Night Moves is a hidden gem of a movie and one of the best in capturing the "post-'60s, post-Watergate, Existentialist Hangover Blues." And it does so without really talking about it, save for the lines about the Kennedys.

The film is more a character study than anything, as most will figure out who's who well before the end. I'm not so sure if it's the lines themselves that are great or if Gene Hackman just has the gift of delivering them in his inimitable fashion. Probably both.

Fine performances by all involved, with a finale that's gripping and as per the era, downbeat. But then that was the first half of the '70s, before everything got all twinkly and escapist in the decade's second half. The first half of the '70s comes off as one big hangover, and the pop culture shows it.

With its stripped down, sun-baked weariness, Night Moves is the “anti"-Chinatown, the film to which it is often compared. One of the things that has taken a bit of the "shine" off of Chinatown is Faye Dunaway's mannered, meant-to-evoke-Hollywood's-Golden-Age performance. I much prefer the performance of Night Moves' Jennifer Warren, which is natural and effortlessly good in what was only her third credit. Warren has since managed a decent career in TV movies, but greater fame has eluded her.

Michael Small was the best at scoring movies like this and these early-to-mid-'70s films were perfect for his style. What little there is of Small's music in the film is effective, as it's a jazzy, vibes-led piece that's already stuck in my head. Small’s later work in the vapid 1980s was a tragic waste of his talent. His music after 1979 was still solid, professional stuff but the ship had sailed on the kind of quality film Michael Small could score with brilliant ease circa 1975.

It's interesting to note that by 1975, these Neo Noirs became more slick and self assured. I'm thinking of movies like 3 Days of the Condor, Marathon Man, and All the President's Men. All fine films, but they're a refined "last gasp" designed more for gaining prestige and awards than for just telling a good story with interesting characters. They lack that feeling of desperation and bone-weary tiredness that made protagonists in so many early '70s so damned interesting.

Those Early ‘70s Burned-out Blues couldn’t last forever, but it also makes me realize that cinema got a lot less interesting after Jaws hit theaters. The efforts of Arthur Penn and Peckinpah are certainly different than anything Spielberg cranked out; a conch shell to the forehead to anyone who disagrees with this.

In fact, one can sense a "burned out" atmosphere in things like Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and especially Night Moves that truly signified the end of something. Spielberg and Lucas were master craftsmen, but their movies were designed to appeal to the masses or the "child lurking within us" or some such nonsense; one could never say that a movie by those two was "controversial" and they sure never made you think about your own life.

As for Night Moves, I'm mesmerized by its burned-out, "post-Vietnam/Watergate Blues" atmosphere, the baked environment of Los Angeles, the steaminess of Key West--another place that has changed dramatically over the years. In fact, the entire Night Moves vibe is sun drenched, weary, and just plain worn out. Oh, how I love it, but I'm beyond bleary whenever I watch it or think about it.

It's impossible to imagine a film like Night Moves being made today.

[Pahonu]

I read the original Six Days of the Condor back in the 80’s and it was twice as good as the movie.

...or twice as long!

Onward...

Night Moves (1975) No relation to the annoyingly omnipresent Bob Seger song of a year later, Night Moves the film is a largely forgotten Neo-Noir directed by Arthur "Bonnie & Clyde" Penn and starring Gene Hackman, who also boasts a mustache that rivals even that of The Great Selleck.

It's a bleak film that epitomizes the "Burned Out Vietnam Watergate Blues" of that great early-to-mid-'70s period. That 1960s-Vietnam-Watergate hangover produced so nany great films which reflected those troubled times. Too bad Jimmy Carter's Malaise period didn't do the same. Night Moves has a fine score by Michael "1970s Paranoia" Small.

Melanie Griffith plays a young tart in this film and also in 1975's The Drowning Pool. I believe Night Moves was filmed first.

Night Moves was filmed in the Florida Keys, so this viewer half expects "Pirate's Key" resident Rick Simon to show up to help Hackman's Harry Moseby character.



youtu.be/6iP6ugUiM4Y

I've obsessed over Night Moves since seeing it one late, late night decades ago, so prepare to glaze over and not comment as I drone on unfascinatingly about it.

Night Moves is a hidden gem of a movie and one of the best in capturing the "post-'60s, post-Watergate, Existentialist Hangover Blues." And it does so without really talking about it, save for the lines about the Kennedys.

The film is more a character study than anything, as most will figure out who's who well before the end. I'm not so sure if it's the lines themselves that are great or if Gene Hackman just has the gift of delivering them in his inimitable fashion. Probably both.

Fine performances by all involved, with a finale that's gripping and as per the era, downbeat. But then that was the first half of the '70s, before everything got all twinkly and escapist in the decade's second half. The first half of the '70s comes off as one big hangover, and the pop culture shows it.

With its stripped down, sun-baked weariness, Night Moves is the “anti"-Chinatown, the film to which it is often compared. One of the things that has taken a bit of the "shine" off of Chinatown is Faye Dunaway's mannered, meant-to-evoke-Hollywood's-Golden-Age performance. I much prefer the performance of Night Moves' Jennifer Warren, which is natural and effortlessly good in what was only her third credit. Warren has since managed a decent career in TV movies, but greater fame has eluded her.

Michael Small was the best at scoring movies like this and these early-to-mid-'70s films were perfect for his style. What little there is of Small's music in the film is effective, as it's a jazzy, vibes-led piece that's already stuck in my head. Small’s later work in the vapid 1980s was a tragic waste of his talent. His music after 1979 was still solid, professional stuff but the ship had sailed on the kind of quality film Michael Small could score with brilliant ease circa 1975.

It's interesting to note that by 1975, these Neo Noirs became more slick and self assured. I'm thinking of movies like 3 Days of the Condor, Marathon Man, and All the President's Men. All fine films, but they're a refined "last gasp" designed more for gaining prestige and awards than for just telling a good story with interesting characters. They lack that feeling of desperation and bone-weary tiredness that made protagonists in so many early '70s so damned interesting.

Those Early ‘70s Burned-out Blues couldn’t last forever, but it also makes me realize that cinema got a lot less interesting after Jaws hit theaters. The efforts of Arthur Penn and Peckinpah are certainly different than anything Spielberg cranked out; a conch shell to the forehead to anyone who disagrees with this.

In fact, one can sense a "burned out" atmosphere in things like Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and especially Night Moves that truly signified the end of something. Spielberg and Lucas were master craftsmen, but their movies were designed to appeal to the masses or the "child lurking within us" or some such nonsense; one could never say that a movie by those two was "controversial" and they sure never made you think about your own life.

As for Night Moves, I'm mesmerized by its burned-out, "post-Vietnam/Watergate Blues" atmosphere, the baked environment of Los Angeles, the steaminess of Key West--another place that has changed dramatically over the years. In fact, the entire Night Moves vibe is sun drenched, weary, and just plain worn out. Oh, how I love it, but I'm beyond bleary whenever I watch it or think about it.

It's impossible to imagine a film like Night Moves being made today.

Great analysis!

Another element that should be considered to put the whole early 70’s filmmaking era in context is the collapse of the studio system. It’s often pegged at 1969 but of course it was a process over several years. Either way, it ushered in the era of the auteur director-centered filmmaking that still persists at some level today.

In the years immediately following, things were wide open creatively and many incredibly odd/unusual/non-mainstream ideas actually made it to the screen. Film historians often refer to the 70’s as the second Golden Age of filmmaking, after the 30’s, for this reason. Blockbusters like Jaws and Star Wars would eventually rise, but the 70’s and particularly the early 70’s, was a unique era on screen.

[Little Garwood]

Thanks, Pahonu. I owe it to my decades-long fixation on that era! I'm sure I can muster long-winded thoughts on a number of early '70s films.

New Hollywood is pretty well encapsulated in two documentaries: Easy Riders and Raging Bulls and to a lesser degree, A Decade Under the Influence. Some of the "major players" interviewed in the documentaries come off as insufferable, egotistical, self-centered jerks, but then they did contribute some significant work in those films that fascinate me so much.

[Little Garwood]

The Mechanic, despite being remade, qualifies as obscure.

I watched the film last night and appreciate The Mechanic on a whole new level. There's a scene that never left my memory all these years: when Bishop (Charles Bronson) takes McKenna (Jan-Michael Vincent) to a martial arts exhibition and discusses the concept of the "old master" and the "new master." I'd forgotten which film that came from; it turned out to be this one.

I think I may be becoming obsessed with this movie, mainly because the Bronson character is sophisticated, philosophical, and a man of taste! He listens to Beethoven while plotting his next hit and admires paintings by Bosch in his Mulholland Drive home. Yes, Charles Bronson: Man of Taste. It's an interesting take on action movies. The two principals have a teacher-student relationship and I like the old master imparting his wisdom on the talented newcomer. The movie boasts a knockout of a music score, an edgy, prickly, avant-garde effort by Jerry Fielding. This score is so descriptive of the characters' psychology. I even thrilled at the few action cues that I didn't care for previously. Fielding composed a music score for the ages.

The film itself is a warmly nostalgic movie for me. The fact that a movie about assassins qualifies as “warm nostalgia” says just how up in the clouds I was as a kid...I guess you could say, as they do in the movie, that "I lived in my mind." I watched it when I was 13 one Saturday afternoon and was completely fascinated by it.

JMV's cocky, Baby Boomer jerk, "Steve McKenna" works well in contrast to Charles Bronson's "Arthur Bishop." The film itself works best as a character study but it is also about fathers and sons, or father and son figures.

I don't know about the remake, but this version of The Mechanic can boast an opening 15 minutes with only one or two words of dialogue, as Arthur Bishop plans and "executes" an assassination.

Plus, the way the 1972 film ended, there definitely wouldn't be a sequel.

Spoilers galore.


youtu.be/AATqYSY-Udk

[Chris109]

The Mechanic, despite being remade, qualifies as obscure.

I watched the film last night and appreciate The Mechanic on a whole new level. There's a scene that never left my memory all these years: when Bishop (Charles Bronson) takes McKenna (Jan-Michael Vincent) to a martial arts exhibition and discusses the concept of the "old master" and the "new master." I'd forgotten which film that came from; it turned out to be this one.

I think I may be becoming obsessed with this movie, mainly because the Bronson character is sophisticated, philosophical, and a man of taste! He listens to Beethoven while plotting his next hit and admires paintings by Bosch in his Mulholland Drive home. Yes, Charles Bronson: Man of Taste. It's an interesting take on action movies. The two principals have a teacher-student relationship and I like the old master imparting his wisdom on the talented newcomer. The movie boasts a knockout of a music score, an edgy, prickly, avant-garde effort by Jerry Fielding. This score is so descriptive of the characters' psychology. I even thrilled at the few action cues that I didn't care for previously. Fielding composed a music score for the ages.

The film itself is a warmly nostalgic movie for me. The fact that a movie about assassins qualifies as “warm nostalgia” says just how up in the clouds I was as a kid...I guess you could say, as they do in the movie, that "I lived in my mind." I watched it when I was 13 one Saturday afternoon and was completely fascinated by it.

JMV's cocky, Baby Boomer jerk, "Steve McKenna" works well in contrast to Charles Bronson's "Arthur Bishop." The film itself works best as a character study but it is also about fathers and sons, or father and son figures.

I don't know about the remake, but this version of The Mechanic can boast an opening 15 minutes with only one or two words of dialogue, as Arthur Bishop plans and "executes" an assassination.

Plus, the way the 1972 film ended, there definitely wouldn't be a sequel.

Anything Charles Buchinsky, er, Bronson, did in the 70's were classics. Violent City (1970), Mr. Majestyk (1974), and, of course, Death Wish.
I believe a tag line for Mr. Majestyk was, "Don't mess with his melons".
I recall watching a movie of his in 1984 called The Evil That Men Do. The only thing I remember about that film was that he killed a man by grabbing his balls and squeezing until..."till the juice runs down my leg."

Chuck B. was da man!

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

The Mechanic, despite being remade, qualifies as obscure.

I watched the film last night and appreciate The Mechanic on a whole new level. There's a scene that never left my memory all these years: when Bishop (Charles Bronson) takes McKenna (Jan-Michael Vincent) to a martial arts exhibition and discusses the concept of the "old master" and the "new master." I'd forgotten which film that came from; it turned out to be this one.

I think I may be becoming obsessed with this movie, mainly because the Bronson character is sophisticated, philosophical, and a man of taste! He listens to Beethoven while plotting his next hit and admires paintings by Bosch in his Mulholland Drive home. Yes, Charles Bronson: Man of Taste. It's an interesting take on action movies. The two principals have a teacher-student relationship and I like the old master imparting his wisdom on the talented newcomer. The movie boasts a knockout of a music score, an edgy, prickly, avant-garde effort by Jerry Fielding. This score is so descriptive of the characters' psychology. I even thrilled at the few action cues that I didn't care for previously. Fielding composed a music score for the ages.

The film itself is a warmly nostalgic movie for me. The fact that a movie about assassins qualifies as “warm nostalgia” says just how up in the clouds I was as a kid...I guess you could say, as they do in the movie, that "I lived in my mind." I watched it when I was 13 one Saturday afternoon and was completely fascinated by it.

JMV's cocky, Baby Boomer jerk, "Steve McKenna" works well in contrast to Charles Bronson's "Arthur Bishop." The film itself works best as a character study but it is also about fathers and sons, or father and son figures.

I don't know about the remake, but this version of The Mechanic can boast an opening 15 minutes with only one or two words of dialogue, as Arthur Bishop plans and "executes" an assassination.

Plus, the way the 1972 film ended, there definitely wouldn't be a sequel.

Spoilers galore.


youtu.be/AATqYSY-Udk

Ask me what the best film of 1972 is. Go ahead, ask. I dare ya. Ok, thanks for asking. Well, if you think the answer is THE GODFATHER you're dead wrong! The correct answer is of course... THE MECHANIC.

Everything you said about this film is spot-on. I can't really add anything more. The first time I saw this film I found it fascinating (must have been the summer of 2006) and I've seen it at least 2 times since. Love it even more each time I see it! Like you said, it's like some philosophical tale about hitmen. A hitman with refined tastes. Bronson with refined tastes! This film is a world of difference from the exploitative schlock that Bronson was starring in in the 80s for the Cannon group (Golan-Globus). I liked some of their Chuck Norris 80s output but the Bronson stuff was just ugliness and violence cranked up to 10. His sweet spot was definitely the 70s and between THE MECHANIC, MR. MAJESTYK, and BREAKHEART PASS I sometimes can't decide which is my favorite. I find myself at times gravitating towards THE MECHANIC but I think the other 2 are just as great. Oh, there's also a little obscure gem by Don Siegel from 1977 - TELEFON. I would like to throw that one in too as one of my favorites for 70s Bronson. And I do recall VIOLENT CITY from a long time ago. In fact it was shown on the telly sometime in the mid 90s under the title THE FAMILY. Charlie, his wife Jill Ireland, and Telly Savalas were in that one. It was like sort of a warm-up to THE MECHANIC because he plays a hitman in that one too, a hitman we're rooting for. But it doesn't have that philosophical edge to it like the latter does. Still, there's a great car chase there! Camera low to the ground, slightly sped up, hubcap flying off during the chase. You know - like BULLITT, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, THE SEVEN-UPS, etc. That type of 70s car chase style which I love so much.

Anyway, I veered off. Yep THE MECHANIC is a 70s classic. Michael Winner's best film! The remake? Puhhhleese. Forget about it. I saw it and regretted seeing it. Nothing more than a generic Jason Statham actioner with overblown stunts.

Oh, speaking of Michael Winner - how about LAWMAN (1971) with Burt Lancaster??? Talk about an underrated western!!! Maybe my second favorite Winner film. It's got some serious Sergio Leone vibes going on.

[Little Garwood]

Hard Times is another Bronson film that goes forgotten these days.

Lawman has a great cast--including Higgy Baby, the great Robert Duvall, and Richard Jordan--and a fine Jerry Fielding score. Burt Lancaster only got better as an actor as he aged.

If forced, I would say my all-time favorite 1970s film is Apocalypse Now. To those of us of a certain age, Apocalypse Now was not just a movie, but a common language! A conversational icebreaker between like minds as quotes from it flew back and forth.

Does every generation have a movie like that? I know some guys---it's always guys--who do this with Goodfellas or Tombstone or Pulp Fiction or Heat. I don't know if the younger folk even do this.

[Chris109]

In honor of David Warner's passing, I have downloaded, er, come across, Time After Time (1979) where Mr. Warner played Jack the Ripper to Malcolm McDowell's HG Wells. Also starred Mary Steenburgen who I considered was the sexiest woman alive in that time period with the good looks and the little girly voice.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

"A Kojak with a Kodak"

A hearty "well done" to anyone who can name the movie that line is from.

No idea why it just popped into my head this morning. Just one of those things.

[Pahonu]

"A Kojak with a Kodak"

A hearty "well done" to anyone who can name the movie that line is from.

No idea why it just popped into my head this morning. Just one of those things.

Don’t know the movie but isn’t it trucker slang for a cop with a radar gun?

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

"A Kojak with a Kodak"

A hearty "well done" to anyone who can name the movie that line is from.

No idea why it just popped into my head this morning. Just one of those things.

Don’t know the movie but isn’t it trucker slang for a cop with a radar gun?

Indeed it is. But what movie?