Starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset
Directed by Sidney Lumet
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, traveling aboard the Orient Express, is called upon to solve the murder of a man also aboard, who's connected to a famed kidnapping five years earlier.
A fascinating and entertaining adaptation of Agatha Christie's famed novel, the picture is brought to life by an all-star cast in a high-class production. In addition to the famed actors listed above, there's appearances by Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Michael York, George Coulouris and more. Such a large number of famed principals, and egos on the set, can backfire on a film like this, but Finney, playing Poirot with a boisterous energy, dominates the film and maintains our interest in the mystery, despite the picture's long running time. Lumet also keeps things moving briskly, and Geoffrey Unsworth's photography is convincing in taking us back to a vintage time, as does Richard Rodney Bennett's waltz-like score. I enjoyed the film very much, and the entire cast and crew acquit themselves well.
Showing posts with label Martin Balsam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Balsam. Show all posts
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Cape Fear (1962)
Starring Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin, Martin Balsam
Directed by J. Lee Thompson
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A dangerous ex-convict stalks the lawyer whose testimony sent him to prison, driving him and his family on edge, convinced he's planning a violent revenge.
Thompson delivers a great suspenseful thriller, with Mitchum echoing his psychopathic turn in The Night Of The Hunter in another memorable performance, as the clever and villainous Max Cady. Based on John D. McDonald's novel, The Executioners, the film is not only well-directed by Thompson, but is highlighted by terrific photography by Samuel Leavitt and excellent editing by George Tomasini, augmenting Mitchum's creepy performance. Bernard Herrmann's score is dark and atmospheric, and so cleverly used throughout the film. A highlight is the scene in which Lori Martin, as Peck's young daughter, flees from Cady through an abandoned schoolhouse, and Herrmann's score fades in and out to showcase the sound of footfalls echoing closer and closer to her. The unsettling undertones of the story are captured with palpable tension in this nightmarish film which for me is far more effective than Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake.
Directed by J. Lee Thompson
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A dangerous ex-convict stalks the lawyer whose testimony sent him to prison, driving him and his family on edge, convinced he's planning a violent revenge.
Thompson delivers a great suspenseful thriller, with Mitchum echoing his psychopathic turn in The Night Of The Hunter in another memorable performance, as the clever and villainous Max Cady. Based on John D. McDonald's novel, The Executioners, the film is not only well-directed by Thompson, but is highlighted by terrific photography by Samuel Leavitt and excellent editing by George Tomasini, augmenting Mitchum's creepy performance. Bernard Herrmann's score is dark and atmospheric, and so cleverly used throughout the film. A highlight is the scene in which Lori Martin, as Peck's young daughter, flees from Cady through an abandoned schoolhouse, and Herrmann's score fades in and out to showcase the sound of footfalls echoing closer and closer to her. The unsettling undertones of the story are captured with palpable tension in this nightmarish film which for me is far more effective than Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Psycho (1960)
Starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Janet Leigh, Martin Balsam
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer, and drives off to use it to start a new life with her boyfriend, but makes the mistake of stopping for the night at the Bates Motel.
Hitchcock's classic shocker, so influential in ways both good (inspiring countless horror films to come), and bad (launching the "slasher" genre and with it numerous uninspired gorefests), still holds up, thanks to good performances from Perkins, Miles, and Balsam, Bernard Herrmann's unnerving score, and skilled editing, photography, and direction. It's a little dated in some respects, but it's not hard to imagine the impact the picture had on audiences of the time. Although the famous horrific shower scene is what's most remembered today, the rest of the film is artfully assembled, and packs enough suspense to be ranked among the best of Hitchcock's classic potboilers.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer, and drives off to use it to start a new life with her boyfriend, but makes the mistake of stopping for the night at the Bates Motel.
Hitchcock's classic shocker, so influential in ways both good (inspiring countless horror films to come), and bad (launching the "slasher" genre and with it numerous uninspired gorefests), still holds up, thanks to good performances from Perkins, Miles, and Balsam, Bernard Herrmann's unnerving score, and skilled editing, photography, and direction. It's a little dated in some respects, but it's not hard to imagine the impact the picture had on audiences of the time. Although the famous horrific shower scene is what's most remembered today, the rest of the film is artfully assembled, and packs enough suspense to be ranked among the best of Hitchcock's classic potboilers.
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