710. Amadeus

Amadeus
1984
Directed by Milos Forman

I am not a big fan of classical music.  It's embarrassing, but I have never even seen an opera and therefore, have never had my Pretty Woman moment.  I went to a symphony a couple of years ago with my brother, but we left during intermission when it was clear we weren't supposed to have candy inside.  It's important to have priorities.  Anyway, I obviously don't know anything about the subject matter but actually ended enjoying myself quite a bit.

After an attempted suicide, Antonio Salieri recounts to a priest his bitter rivalry with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which ended with the latter's death.  Of course, Mozart is out of Salieri's league talent wise (and, let's face it, looks wise and laugh wise too) that it's like if I declared Keira Knightley my nemesis.  Which, after looking at her husband, I might just do.

Okay, I have to complain about the length first.  It was three hours long and I can point to at least forty minutes that were dispensable.  All right, I had to get that in.  Was anyone else reminded of Barry Lyndon watching this film?  I loved how Kubrick never took the "period drama" genre too seriously (which is probably the only thing in his life he didn't take too seriously) and Forman brought me back to that.   And the score delighted even me, which was probably because I didn't feel overly pressured to praise its brilliance.

Still, not without its dead time and if I watch it again I might just skip the middle hour.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Mel Gibson, Mick Jagger, and Tim Curry all auditioned for the role of Mozart.

There is some circumstantial evidence that Salieri was sleeping with Mozart's wife.

591. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1975
Directed by Milos Forman

I might step on some toes when I say this (or possibly stomp on some feet) but I was never that impressed with this movie.  Perhaps it is because it has been hyped up so much, but I was actually a bit disappointed when I sat down and watched this.

Randle McMurphy is a criminal serving a sentence for the statutory rape of a 15 year old girl.  Yay, anti-establishment.  Anyway, he is sent to a mental hospital for evaluation.  It doesn't seem like he is crazy, but simply wants to avoid hard labor.  He predictably meets an eccentric cast of characters and quickly becomes their leader.  Most of the film centers on his battles with the cold Nurse Ratched.

I think the biggest problem that I have with this film is that I didn't understand what the audience's relationship was supposed to be with the main character.  Certainly, we can't be expected to like him.  He is a sexist bully who doesn't seem to think there is anything wrong with sleeping with a child.  But I kept feeling like the film wanted us to root for him and cohorts.  I honestly felt bad for Nurse Ratched.  Of course, psychologists are always portrayed as inhumane and crazier than their patients.  And electric shock therapy is seen as basically torture.  But I still felt bad for her.  If she had gotten me out of watching the World Series, I would have thanked her.

Still an entertaining, if unsettling, movie that is worth a watch.  But I am not going to join the ranks saying this is the greatest film of all time.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

One of only three movies to win the Big Five (Best Actor, Actress, Screenplay, Director, and Picture).

The author of the book this movie is based on was so upset with how the director handled this that he refused to watch the film.

Audrey Hepburn turned down the role of Nurse Ratched.

474. Hori, ma panenko

Hori, ma panenko
The Firemen's Ball
1967
Directed by Milos Forman

So here is yet another Czech film. I am not quite sure why Czech movies don't seem to exist in The Book outside of 1967, but that is a question for another time.  Amazingly, this time we are dealing with a Czech comedy.  I am saying this is amazing since all of the recent foreign movies have ranged from confusingly dry to downright depressing.  Let's see if this one can actually make me laugh.

I had tried to watch this film before but had a hard time finding it anywhere.  Now there seems to be an abundance of copies online, just none with English subtitles.  I was forced to download a transcript of the English subtitles and read along as the film progressed.  As you can imagine, this is not the ideal way to view a movie, particularly a comedy.  So although I did not crack a smile once throughout the duration of this film, I won't fault the movie for that and will blame the lack of humor on my horrible process of watching it. That's fair, right?

Anyway, this film takes place during the annual Firemen's Ball.  The laughs (I am guessing here) come from the fact that everything goes wrong during the event.  Most notably, people keep stealing raffle items and the beauty pageant is a complete disaster (honestly, sometimes I feel like watching the films in the 1001 Book is an exercise in restraint for feminists).

I can see why this film is significant since there are quite a few slams to communism that ultimately resulted in the movie being banned in Czechoslovakia.  Still, it was kind of a miss for me; I found it neither funny nor entertaining.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

The cast was made up mostly of unprofessional actors.

Banned in 1968.

One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.