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Charlton Heston Film Festival.
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Showing posts with label
Charlton Heston Film Festival.
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Directed By: Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring: Charlton Heston, Richard Boone, Rosemary Forsyth
Tag line: "Until this moment, the shield was his only bed...the sword his only bride!"
Trivia: Charlton Heston admitted in his 1978 journal "An Actor's Life" that he was not impressed by Richard Boone's performance
With its rousing score, period costumes, and sweeping battle scenes, 1965’s The War Lord has the look and feel of a Hollywood epic. But beneath all the magnificence lurks a love story for the ages, and thanks to director Franklin J. Schaffner, the characters, and not the spectacle, are what drive the movie forward.
It’s the 11th century, and Norman knight Chrysagon de la Cruex (Charlton Heston) has been ordered by his lord and master the Duke to defend a Celtic village, which is in danger of being attacked by Frisian raiders. Teaming up with both his brother Draco (Guy Stockwell) and his most trusted comrade Bors (Richard Boone), Chrysagon takes up residence in a small tower overlooking the countryside. Chrysagen is fully prepared to carry out his mission, yet is none too happy that the townsfolk, ignoring the missionary efforts of a Christian priest (Maurice Evans), still practice their “heathen” religion.
While out riding one day, Chrysagon spots a beautiful peasant girl working by the side of the river, and falls instantly in love with her. The peasant's name is Bronwyn (Rosemary Forsyth), and she is about to be married to Marc (James Farentino), the son of the village elder.
While he is committed to to maintaining a cordial relationship with the locals, Chrysagon is nonetheless persuaded by his brother Draco to evoke his “right of first night” with Bronwyn (an ancient custom that allows the local authority to bed a virgin bride on her wedding night).
Once the marriage ceremony is completed, Bronwyn is brought to Chrysagon, and during their time together she confesses that she is in love with him as well. So, when the sun rises the next morning, Chrysagon breaks tradition by refusing to allow Bronwyn to return to her new husband, an act that forces the villagers to seek an alliance with a Frisian Prince (Henry Wilcoxon), whose young son (Johnny Jensen) is being held prisoner by Draco.
Is Chrysagon ready to go to war for love, or will his duty to lord and country influence his actions?
Having already portrayed larger than life characters in Ben-Hur and El Cid, Charlton Heston was the perfect actor for the role of the brave, lovesick Chrysagon, while Guy Stockwell is every bit Heston’s equal as Draco, Chrysagon’s occasionally treacherous brother. In addition, the musical score (by Jerome Moross) and the costumes (designed by Vittorio Nino Novarese) are first-rate; and kudos to director Schaffner, who somehow managed to make Southern California look exactly like France in the Middle Ages (I was shocked when I discovered The War Lord wasn’t shot on-location in Europe).
Yet all this, as well as the electrifying battles (the Frisian siege of the tower fills a fair portion of the movie’s third act, and is a thrill-a-minute), plays second fiddle to the characters and their relationships, from the central love story (which is very effective) to the sibling rivalry that develops between Chrysagon and Draco (leading to some tense moments between the two).
As he would eventually do with Patton and Papillon, Franklin Schaffner crafted an elaborate, fascinating world for The War Lord, then made his characters the center point of the film.
Directed By: Boris Sagal
Starring: Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash
Tag line: "Pray for the last man alive. Because he's not alone"
Trivia: Warner Brothers originally wanted Diahann Carroll for the role of Lisa.
Ah, The Omega Man!
I go back a ways with this movie. Not to the beginning, of course; I was two when it first hit theaters. But I did see this 1971 film for the first time in the mid-‘80s, when it played on television, and I adored it. Whenever someone asks what's my favorite adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, The Omega Man is my answer, and while I now spot a few flaws that escaped my notice before, it has a lot going for it.
Robert Neville (Charlton Heston) is convinced he is the only person left on earth. Years earlier, a simple border conflict between Russia and China escalated into all-out war, during which one side resorted to using chemical weapons. Alas, the deadly toxin released into the air quickly spread around the world, killing hundreds of millions while turning those lucky enough to survive into near-crazed albinos with an extreme sensitivity to light, making it impossible for them to venture out during the day.
A military scientist at the time of the catastrophe, Neville injected himself with an experimental vaccine designed to combat the toxin, and as a result is now immune.
By day, Neville scours the abandoned streets of Los Angeles, looking for the hiding spots of some night-dwellers known as “The Family”. A group led by Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), The Family has, in turn, been harassing Neville every evening for years, in part because he’s killed a few of their own, but mostly because Neville represents a past that they believe failed mankind.
Each night, Matthias and his followers try to lure Neville out of the small L.A. flat he has transformed into a stronghold (complete with a generator, assault rifles, and all the liquor he can drink), only to be turned away time and again by his advanced firepower.
Then, one day, Neville makes a startling discovery: he is not alone after all!
Lisa (Rosalind Cash) and her brother Richie (Eric Laneuville) are helping former medical student Dutch (Paul Koslo) watch over about a dozen or so children, who have yet to suffer the full effects of the toxin. Using his blood as an antibody, Neville believes he can prevent Lisa and the rest from eventually “turning”. But will Matthias and his brood catch up with Neville before he can finish the job?
Without a doubt, the strongest scenes in The Omega Man come at the beginning, when Neville is cruising in his convertible down desolate roads littered with trash and decaying bodies. He pauses a few times: once to shoot at a shadow in a window, which he assumes is one of Matthias’ followers, and again to watch a movie in a derelict cinema (ironically, the film he sits through is Woodstock, a documentary featuring about 500,000 people!).
In one of the film's more intense sequences, Neville crashes his car late in the day and is forced to get a new one ("borrowing" it from a used car dealership). Speeding to make it home before sundown, he is attacked right outside his garage by members of The Family, and after shooting them dead heads upstairs, where he passes the evening playing chess with a bust of Caesar as Matthias and the others taunt him from the streets below.
Heston is excellent in these early sequences, displaying his usual strength but also adding a touch of comedy with his running monologue; after switching on a closed-circuit monitor in his apartment, Neville looks at an image of himself and says “Hi, Big Brother. How’s your ass?”.
But we also see how the years of isolation have taken their toll, causing Neville to hallucinate. During one of his trips through the city, he thinks he can hear phones ringing all around him. Along with setting up the story, these opening moments clue us in on the lead’s state of mind, and Heston handles all aspects of his character wonderfully.
Equal in every way is Rosalind Cash, whose Lisa is a bad-ass through and through, not to mention the perfect girlfriend for a guy like Neville. For the early ‘70s, this love affair was groundbreaking, and the movie features what is supposedly the first interracial kiss in cinematic history.
Where The Omega Man falters is in its depiction of Matthias and The Family. In the other film versions of Matheson’s story, notably 1964’s The Last Man on Earth (with Vincent Price) and 2007’s I Am Legend (with Will Smith), the night dwellers are more enigmatic, which, in some scenes, makes them downright creepy. By dedicating screen time to The Family, during which Matthias preaches how the illness has cleansed his mind, allowing him to see the evils of the “regular” world, the movie takes the edge off of him and his group. The make-up effects are fine, and Zerbe is quite good as Matthias. But when the chips were down, I wasn’t nearly as afraid of him or his followers as I should have been.
Regardless, I will continue to rank The Omega Man as my favorite I Am Legend adaptation, partly for sentimental reasons, but also because of Heston and Cash, as well as the convincing manner in which director Boris Sagal depicts the end of the world (making L.A. look like an abandoned city couldn’t have been easy).
Warts and all, The Omega Man is a fun movie!
Directed By: Tom Gries
Starring: Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, Donald Pleasence
Tag line: "The Brute in Every man Was Also in Him - And the Love and the Violence"
Trivia: First credited role in a theatrical film for Lee Majors.
In movies such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, and El-Cid, Charlton Heston played imposing characters whose courage and strength inspired those around them. In Will Penny, a 1967 western written and directed by Tom Gries, Heston portrays a different sort of hero altogether, a simple cowboy who has spent his life in the saddle, and doesn’t know how to live any other way.
After finishing a cattle run for boss Anse Howard (G.D. Spradlin), 50-year-old cowhand Will Penny (Heston) finds himself in need of a job. Tagging along with fellow cowboys Blue (Lee Majors) and Dutchy (Anthony Zerbe), Will sets off in search of work, hoping to secure a position before winter.
Along the way, the three have a run-in with an overzealous preacher named Quint (Donald Pleasance), who is traveling with his adult sons Rafe (Brice Dern), Romulus (Matt Clark) and Rufus (Gene Rutherford). A fight ensues, during which Will shoots Rufus dead, and a grief-stricken Quint vows to one day take his revenge on the aging cowboy.
Saying goodbye to Blue and Dutchy, Will pays a visit to the Flat Iron Ranch and is hired by the foreman (Ben Johnson) to be one of the company’s new line riders, acting as caretaker for a remote section of the ranch during the winter months. X When Will arrives at the cabin assigned to him, he finds it is already occupied. Catherine Allen (Joan Hackett) and her son Horace (Jon Gries) moved in some time ago when their guide, who was hired by Catherine’s husband to lead the two westward, abandoned them in the middle of nowhere.
Instead of kicking them out, Will allows Catherine and Horace to stay in the cabin while he’s riding the line. Unfortunately, during his travels, Will once again encounters Quint and his sons, who savagely beat him and leave him for dead.
Making his way back to the cabin, a badly injured Will is cared for by Catherine, who nurses him back to health. As thanks, Will lets Catherine and Horace stay for the winter, during which he experiences something entirely new to him: family life. Over time, Will and Catherine develop feelings for one another, but does the cowboy have what it takes to be a family man, or is it too late for Will Penny?
What sets Will Penny apart from most screen westerns is its realistic depiction of cowboy life. Unlike most western heroes, Will Penny is not a sheriff or gunslinger; he’s a hired hand, and worries what will happen to him when he is out of work.
Even more revealing are the scenes in which Will interacts with Catherine and Horace. Accustomed to living alone, Will is suddenly sharing a cabin with two other people, and it’s a difficult adjustment for him. Even the simple things most of us take for granted are a challenge; In one of the film’s more poignant scenes, Catherine tries to teach Will a Christmas song, so that he can join in the next time she and Horace are singing (to her amazement, Will doesn’t know a single carol).
Over time, Will and Catherine fall in love, which leads to even more complications (Will has a hard enough time providing for himself, let alone a small family). Though excellent throughout, Heston is particularly superb in these scenes, capturing the shyness and uncertainly of a man out of his element, who believes he may very well be too old to change his ways.
There are a handful of action scenes scattered throughout Will Penny, not the least of which is the exciting finale. But despite the occasional thrill, the movie is more a character study than it is a traditional western, and thanks to the excellent work of it’s star (with an assist from Gries' intelligent script), it’s a damn fine character study.
Directed By: Larry Peerce
Starring: Charlton Heston, John Cassavetes, Martin Balsam
Tag line: "91,000 People. 33 Exit Gates. One Sniper..."
Trivia: Universal Studios devised a gimmick where moviegoers were not allowed to enter the theater when the football game's two-minute warning began in the film.
The opening scene of 1976’s Two-Minute Warning scares the hell out of me.
An unknown gunman, sitting in a hotel room overlooking a neighborhood, peers through the scope of his rifle, resting the crosshairs on a couple of cyclists out for their morning exercise. Though the movie has just started, and we know nothing at all about the gunman or the cyclists, we sense this is a random act, one that turns deadly when the assassin finally pulls the trigger.
The murder itself is bad enough (he shoots the male cyclist through the heart, killing him instantly), but it’s the senselessness of it all that shook me; the thought that I could be walking in a park, or driving in my car, and someone I can’t see has a rifle trained on me, just waiting to take the shot, is more terrifying to me than any masked killer, haunted house, or demonic entity.
Yet as disturbing as this sequence is, it's merely a warm-up for the gunman, a trial run to make sure his sights are calibrated. Breaking his rifle down and hiding it in the lining of a trench coat, he walks out the front door of the hotel and heads to his ultimate destination: the championship football game between Baltimore and L.A., which is set to begin in a couple of hours at Los Angeles Coliseum.
After turning in his ticket, the gunman breaks into a small storage room and climbs to the top of an archway overlooking the entire facility. He then re-assembles his rifle and again looks through the scope, moving from one end of the coliseum to the other, to ensure he can see everybody.
What he doesn’t know is that others see him as well.
Mike Ramsay (Beau Bridges), an out-of-work father who brought his wife and kids to the game, spots the killer through a pair of binoculars. What’s more, the crew of the Goodyear Blimp, circling overhead, notice him while focusing one of their cameras.
The TV control room, located inside the stadium, picks up the feed from the blimp and alerts Sam McKeever (Martin Balsam), who handles the coliseum’s day-to-day operations. Realizing how potentially dangerous this situation is, a visibly shaken McKeever puts a call in to police Capt. Peter Holly (Charlton Heston), who, after arriving on the scene, decides the best course of action is to have a SWAT team on standby.
Holly contacts Sgt. Chris Button (John Cassavetes), who assembles his team in the parking lot. To avoid a panic, Sgt. Button has his men dress in maintenance overalls, then positions them at several key locations throughout the stadium.
But the question remains: who is the gunman’s target?
Among the 91,000 fans in attendance are two Governors, the Mayor of L.A., and rumor has it the President of the United States himself plans to make an appearance around halftime. Is the motive political assassination, or is the gunman after somebody else?
Maybe he’s a scorned lover, hoping to kill the guy who stole his girl; or is looking to take out his frustrations on a former boss. Or, most troubling of all, he’s a psychotic whose sole aim is to murder a few strangers.
Whatever his motives, Capt, Holly and Sgt. Button know their time is limited; before the game is over, the gunman is going to open fire, and they must do everything possible to stop that from happening.
Essentially a thriller, Two-Minute Warning also has the look and feel of a ‘70s disaster film, right down to its large cast. Aside from Bridges, Balsam, Heston, and Cassavetes, there’s David Janssen and Gena Rowlands as a couple from Baltimore attending the game who simply don’t get along; Jack Klugman as a degenerate gambler in danger of being knocked off if he doesn’t pay his bookie soon; Walter Pidgeon as an elderly pickpocket hoping to swipe a bunch of wallets; and Brock Peters as the Coliseum’s handyman, who, despite the accusations of Sam McKeever, is certain he locked the door behind him, and has no idea how the gunman gained access to the archway. There are even cameo appearances by sportscasters Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford (playing themselves), as well as ‘70s talk show host Merv Griffin, who, prior to the game, sings the National Anthem.
Throughout the movie, we get to know some of these characters, and though they have no idea of the danger they’re in, we can’t help but worry about them.
Yet as intense as the film can be, nothing that came before it will prepare you for the final moments. More than likely, you’ll remember a good deal about Two-Minute Warning, which, for the bulk of its running time, is an edge-of-your-seat thriller. But I guarantee you won’t soon forget the ending!
Directed By: Charlton Heston
Starring: Charlton Heston, Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud
Tag line: "Three of Hollywood's Greatest Stars in a Triumphant New Production"
Trivia: This was the last film Roy Kinnear completed before his death
A few months after seeing the excellent 1990 made-for-television movie Treasure Island, which starred Charlton Heston as Long John Silver, I decided to check out another TV film featuring the same actor, an updated adaptation of Robert Bolt’s play, A Man for All Seasons (which Heston also directed).
While I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s as strong as the Award-winning 1966 picture, Heston's version certainly has its charms.
Sir Thomas More (Heston) is a well-respected statesman, a noted scholar, and a loyal subject and friend of King Henry VIII (Martin Chamberlain). But when King Henry, who is desperate for a male heir, divorces Queen Katherine so that he can marry Anne Boleyn, it causes a rift between he and Thomas More that resonates across the whole of England.
Unwilling to accept the King’s new marriage, Sir Thomas resigns his position as Lord High Chancellor, and refuses to swear an oath of loyalty to the newly established Church of England (which declares the King, and not the Pope, is head of the country’s church).
Yet, in spite of his feelings, Sir Thomas is careful not to make any statements that could be construed as treasonable, and on the subject of the marriage to Anne Boleyn, he says nothing; not to his wife, Alice (Vanessa Redgrave), his daughter, Margaret (Adrienne Thomas), or his good friend, the Duke of Norfolk (Richard Johnson).
Anxious to obtain Sir Thomas’ blessing, King Henry charges his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell (Benjamin Whitrow), with the task of either convincing More to change his mind, or, if need be, bring him to trial on a charge of high treason, an offense that is punishable by death.
Heston is strong in the role of Sir Thomas More, conveying both the man’s intelligence and his strength of character, and he surrounded himself with a fine supporting cast, including Redgrave, Johnson, Whitrow, Sir John Gielgud (appearing briefly as Cardinal Wolsey), and Jonathan Hackett (as Richard Rich, a man so eager for a position of power that he’ll do anything, including lie, to obtain it).
Yet the most interesting character in 1988’s A Man for All Seasons is one that doesn’t appear in the 1966 film: that of the Common Man. Played exceptionally well by Roy Kinnear, the Common Man serves as the movie’s narrator, while also appearing in a number of minor roles, including Thomas More’s house servant; a boatman; a Jailer; and several others. Breaking the fourth wall to address the audience directly, the Common Man keeps us abreast of what’s going on, while also injecting some much-needed humor. As strong as this film’s super-star cast is, Kinnear manages to steal nearly every scene.
While I still consider director Fred Zinnemann’s A Man for All Seasons the definitive film version of Bolt’s Play, Heston and company do a good enough job with the material to make this an entertaining, thought-provoking watch.
Directed By: Stuart Burge
Starring: Charlton Heston, Jason Robards, John Gielgud
Tag line: "No grander Caesar... No greater cast!"
Trivia: This marked the second time Charlton Heston would play Mark Antony. He did so previously in a 1950 low-budget version of Julius Caesar and would do so again in 1972's Antony and Cleopatra, which he also directed
Director Stuart Burge brings William Shakespeare’s celebrated 16th century play to the big screen in the star-studded 1970 film, Julius Caesar.
By defeating the sons of his late enemy, Pompey, on the battlefield, Caesar (John Gielgud) has become the most powerful man in Rome. Though loved by many, there are those who fear Caesar’s immense power, and plot to assassinate him. Among the conspirators looking to remove Caesar are Cassius (Richard Johnson) and Casca (Robert Vaughn), both of whom convince Marcus Brutus (Jason Robards), a beloved friend of Caesar’s, to join their cause.
On the Ides of March, Caesar is stabbed to death in the Senate, and while his assassins believe their actions were justified, Caesar’s closest ally, Marc Antony (Charlton Heston), rallies the people against the conspirators, plunging Rome into yet another civil war.
To successfully translate Shakespeare for a modern audience, you need to have the right actors in place. Fortunately, Julius Caesar features some very good ones. John Gielgud is convincingly arrogant as the power-mad title character, and Diana Rigg brings enough life to the small part of Brutus’ wife, Portia, to make her presence known. Charlton Heston is also solid as Marc Antony, conjuring up all the anger and fury he can muster in the stirring “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech, and Robert Vaughn is very effective as the shifty Casca, the first conspirator to plunge a dagger into Caesar.
My favorite performance in Julius Caesar, though, is delivered by Richard Johnson. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare company, Johnson gives it his all as Cassius, the “less honorable” of the two main assassins, and is wonderful in the part.
Not all of the casting choices pan out. Without question, Jason Robards was a fine actor, excelling in movies such as Once Upon a Time in the West, Melvin & Howard, and Magnolia. Yet in Julius Caesar, Robards is as flat as flat can be, bringing no "oomph" whatsoever to the role of Brutus. Sad to say, it is a fairly terrible performance.
While the 1953 version of Julius Caesar, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Marlon Brando as Antony, Louis Calhern as Caesar and James Mason as Brutus, is still the definitive cinematic take on Shakespeare’s famous play, this Julius Caesar has enough going for it to at least warrant some attention.
Directed By: Anthony Mann
Starring: Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone
Tag line: "The GREATEST ROMANCE and ADVENTURE in a THOUSAND YEARS!"
Trivia: The part of Ben Yussuf was originally offered to Orson Welles
Who else but Charlton Heston could've played the title role in El Cid? Having already portrayed larger-than-life figures such as Moses in The Ten Commandments and the lead in Ben-Hur, he seemed the natural choice to star as the Spanish knight Rodrigo de Bivar, also known as El Cid, a man whose courage and strength made him a legend in his time.
Set in 11th-century Spain, when the country is being torn apart by warring kingdoms, El Cid follows the legendary Rodrigo (Heston), a nobleman of the city of Castille whose bravery has earned him the honorary title El Cid (which is Arabic for “The Lord”).
Yet despite his victories on the battlefield, El Cid finds himself at odds with many of his fellow countrymen. After defeating the Moors, he allows some of their leaders to go free, causing many in Castille to brand him a traitor. He is even forced to kill Count Gormaz (Andrew Cruickshank), the father of his bride-to-be Jimena (Sophia Loren), who challenged Rodrigo to a duel.
To further complicate things, El Cid refuses to swear allegiance to his new King, Alfonso (John Fraser), because he believes Alfonso had a hand in the assassination of his own brother, Prince Sancho (Gary Raymond).
An angry Alfonso sends Rodrigo into exile. But when word arrives that the ruler of the Moors, Ben Yussef (Herbert Lom), intends to invade, the King knows that the only man who can lead his army to victory is El Cid.
El Cid is a first-class Hollywood epic, a movie large in scope, with beautiful imagery and, more importantly, a handful of spectacular action sequences. Early in the film, El Cid squares off against Don Martin (Christopher Martin), the champion of the King of Aragon. It’s a lengthy showdown (starting as a joust on horseback and finishing with hand-to-hand combat), yet never once does it lose an ounce of energy.
Anthony Mann’s steady direction aside, El Cid owes much of its success to Heston’s performance. From his heroic bearing to the way he approaches the arduous battle scenes, Heston is every bit a warrior, and a commanding presence when serving king and country.
El Cid does stumble when the action subsides. Though convincing as a valiant knight, Heston’s scenes with Sophia Loren are flat. The two have zero chemistry (which may have something to do with the fact they couldn’t stand working together). This aside, El Cid is a thrilling account of Spain’s most famous knight, portrayed by an actor who was born to play a hero.
