In honor of the Oscars tomorrow night, I decided to watch a past Best Picture winner. Somehow, I picked this one. Well, I was a little stoned. Still am.
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH has the reputation in some quarters of being the worst film ever to win "Best Picture of the Year." I presume the people who say that have never seen BROADWAY MELODY, or CAVALCADE, or even GOING MY WAY, among others. Not defending GREATEST; it's not a…
It feels as if there are a million and one directorial choices in the first half hour, and that's intriguing for a while. Content-wise, however, the movie runs out of steam well before the one-hour mark, with little action; even the central heist set-piece lacks punch. And it just keeps going on and on, with disappointing twists and turns. Lazily scored.
A few small roles are played with some spark (shout out to Yasan Atour). Butler chews scenery. He's unkempt and out of shape, and his beard kept changing, but the female lead finds him a desirable long-term prospect, if somewhat half-heartedly. O'Shea Jackson gives nothing.
Gorgeous filmmaking. Shot in color, Zhang nonetheless uses mostly a black, white, gray palate; he creates one stunning image after another. An invasion that uses umbrellas made of blades is breathtaking. I don't recall that the movie received much of a release in the US; had that happened, all of the technical aspects would have been honored.
It's the story of one Chinese town's efforts to extricate itself from the control of a neighbor. The manipulations by the various factions are just a little confusing and sometimes deliberately paced. Doesn't matter; the imagery makes this well worth seeing.
Watched on Kanopy.
The poster is hilarious, as RKO tried to reposition HOLIDAY AFFAIR as a noir after its Christmassy release flopped. Frankly, I understand the audience's disenchantment. We're supposed to think Janet Leigh belongs with Mitchum because he's Mitchum, I guess, a big star. But to get there, the couple has to run roughshod over the honorable intentions of another, rather decent suitor played by Wendell Corey, so the "holiday affair" leaves a sour taste. Leigh's son in the movie, with his saccharine acting and random preference for Mitchum, doesn't help. (NB. When I wrote this review, LETTERBOXD was using a different poster as its tag.)
I'M STILL HERE has moments and scenes of great tension and sadness. Unfortunately, the narrative drifts away once it jumps ahead in time; given the sad reality of the story, it probably could not have been any other way. Fernanda Torres is a remarkable presence although I wish there had been a way to give her one more powerhouse scene where she could tear loose.
