Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 4, 1993 TAG: 9312050015
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mike Mayo
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"The Night of the Following Day" is a relatively obscure 1968 thriller starring Marlon Brando. Due in video stores next week, it was radically re-edited (i.e. chopped apart) for American television and hasn't been available as it was meant to be seen since its initial release. Though it is still a seriously flawed film, it's a real treat for Brando fans. He's at his youthful best here, and in some ways, his performance can be seen as a dry run for "Last Tango in Paris," which came five years later.
Essentially, this is the story of a kidnapping. It begins when a young woman (Pamela Franklin) arrives at Paris' Orly Airport and is met by a sinister chauffeur (Brando). Without much fuss, the gang's leader (Richard Boone) takes over. A scared small-time crook (Jess Hahn) and his drug-addicted sister (Rita Moreno) are their accomplices in a scheme that starts going bad as soon as they reach their beachfront hideout. (Yes, it's a long way from Paris to the beach. Don't ask questions.)
In the existentially "cool" fashion of the late '60s, the characters don't have names. Each is simply playing out his or her role. That's fine, but the story by co- writer/director/producer Hubert Cornfield stumbles badly in a few scenes. The weirdest is one in which Brando's character announces that he's getting out of this harebrained scheme, and lists perfectly good reasons for doing so in a long emotional outburst. But immediately, he changes his mind saying, in effect, "What the hey, I'll stick around after all."
At moments, the film is reminiscent of other thrillers of that time, notably "Bullitt" and "Point Blank," but not always in the best ways. And the ending ... well, about the best that can be said is that it's pretty screwy.
Mistakes not withstanding, "The Night of the Following Day" is recommended for anyone who's interested in the films of those turbulent times.
"Laura" is another older mystery that has recently come to home video. Some of the conventions in this stylish, shallow 1944 whodunit seem a bit dated now, but it's still a treat because it's so perfectly cast.
Dana Andrews is a New York City detective who's investigating the murder of the title character, Gene Tierney at her most drop-dead glamorous. Through a series of flashbacks her relations with other men are detailed. There's the charming but penniless cad, played by Vincent Price with a faint on-again-off-again Southern accent. Laura was engaged to marry him against the wishes of a venomously witty columnist, the incomparable Clifton Webb. Both of them were in love with her, but was the dead woman really as beautiful and innocent as she seemed? And is the tough-talking detective falling for her, too?
The film is the kind of highly polished melodrama that Hollywood has\ always done well. Producer/director Otto Preminger didn't try to make it\ anything more than that. Though the film was up for several Oscars - and\ Joseph LaShelle won one for his fine black-and-white cinematography - David\ Raskin's lush, memorable score wasn't even nominated.
Of more recent vintage (1989), "The Return of the Musketeers" is Richard\ Lester's third take on Alexandre Dumas' swashbuckling novels. Though it has\ some of the wit and fun of the first two, it's not as energetic.
Once again, historian, novelist and screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser\ has placed our heroes on the wrong side of history. They stoutly defend the\ French throne against the wily intrigues of Cardinal Mazarin (Phillipe Noiret).\ The stars of the originals are back - Michael York, Frank Finlay, Oliver Reed\ and Richard Chamberlain - with an infusion of young blood by C. Thomas Howell\ as Athos' son, and Kim Cattrall as Milady's daughter, who's out to get the\ Musketeers.
For comparative purposes, this one is about as enjoyable as Disney's\ current theatrical "Three Musketeers," but not nearly as good as the first\ Lester-Fraser collaboration, one of the best historical adventures ever, and,\ possibly, the subject of a future column.
THE ESSENTIALS:
The Night of the Following Day: ** 1/2 MCA/Universal. 93 min. Rated R for strong language, drug use, violence, brief nudity.
Laura: *** FoxVideo. 88 min. Unrated, contains no objectionable material.
Return of the Musketeers: ** 103 min. Rated PG for mild violence.
New releases this week:
Sleepless in Seattle: ***
Stars Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan. Directed by Nora Ephron. Colmubia/TriStar. 100 min. Rated PG for subject matter.
There's no violence, no rough language, no nudity or sexual activity in this old-fashioned love story. It's a sweet-natured comedy about an unusual cross-country romance. The heavy-handed use of music is an intrusive but not fatal flaw. The summer's surprise sleeper is sure to be a big hit on video.
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story ***
Stars Jason Scott Lee, Lauren Holly. Directed by Rob Cohen. MCA/Universal. 117 min. Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content, strong language.
Combining genres is usually a risky proposition, but this one stands on its own as a moving martial-arts celebrity biography. Jason Scott Lee (no relation to Bruce) does fine work as the star who died young and lived an interesting life. The story is based on a biography by his wife Linda. Well worth a look even for those who don't normally care for martial arts films.
Guilty as Sin: ***
Stars Rebecca deMornay, Don Johnson, Jack Warden. Directed by Sidney Lumet. Buena Vista (Hollywood). 106 min. Rated R for graphic violence, strong language, sexual material.
Here's an aptly titled guilty pleasure. It's also an inventive reversal of the standard "killer blonde" formula. Johnson is an homme fatale accused of murdering his rich wife, and Rebecca De Mornay is the lawyer who's representing him. Yes, it's the same premise that was used in the Madonna-Willem Dafoe dud "Body of Evidence." This time, it works. Funny and entertaining.
Super Mario Bros.: **
Stars Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper. Directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. Buena Vista (Hollywood). 101 min. Rated PG for violence.
This incoherent supernatural adventure is based on the popular video game. But the film's real inspiration appears to have been the sets and sensibility of "Batman." A few individual shots and sequences are interesting in a visual sense, but the story simply doesn't hold together. And the characters have no more depth and believability than . . . well, characters in a video game.
by CNB