The Ipcress File (1965)

- 14 maart 2010 -

Busy, busy, busy at the Filmvehikel café this week. Our customers this week were encouraged to make their own set of Michael Caine 2D glasses, before settling down to watch Harry Palmer go through seven shades of cool to defeat the bad eggs and shoot the rat.
This was followed as always by intense debate over a continental breakfast buffet. This weeks breakfast was brought to you by the croissant, with many thanks to the coffee…and only good eggs.

A spy film……
Do we need another? There was already James Bond.
Dr No was brought out in 1962, and the fourth, ‘Thunderball’, was scheduled for release around Christmas. The Bond franchise was safe for now. Nevertheless producer Harry Saltzman, who had risked so much to bring Ian Flemings Bond to life, felt there was room for an antihero in british cinema. Len Deighton’s book fitted the bill. , A book about an ordinary spy who, instead, of risking all for queen and country, would only risk his neck because it was his job, because he had too.
Michael Caine was chosen for the lead role, having just starred in his first feature length film Zulu the year before he was an up and coming actor. Turns out he was perfect for the job of Harry Palmer.
Under Sidney J Furies direction, the film captures the understated nature of the british secret service. The camera work and choice of shot provides a gritty, sinister feel teetering on the edge of comedy.
We are shown that being a spy, although not an ordinary job, is banal. There is no glamour, only leg work and administration. Our main character Harry Palmer doesn’t fly jet packs or blow up submarines, instead he lives in a flat in the east end of London, tries to get to work on time, signs for his gun, and worries about his pay check.

The film won a BAFTA and was nominated for the plam d’or in 1965 and holds a position as one of the top 100 british films of all time. The Harry Palmer franchise went on to make four more films.
However Harry Palmer did something more in 1965. Harry Palmer made it cool to wear glasses, Herry Palmer made it cool to cook. But most of all Harry Palmer made it cool to be Michael Caine.

Titanic (1953)

- 28 februari 2010 -

Gekkenhuis, gekkenhuis… Het was spannend of onze eerste filmvehikelcafé matinee goed zou vallen bij ons trouwe publiek (gemiddeld zo’n twee bezoekers per filmvertoning). Wat bleek: ons trouwe publiek bleef weg, maar daar kwamen zes nieuwe fans voor in de plaats. Netjes om elf uur was iedereen er klaar voor, behalve de organisatoren die het eerst nog even nodig vonden om wat deciliters koffie achterover te slaan. Nochtans gingen ze scherp van start. De ene achter de knoppen en de ander klaar voor zijn inleidende praatje.
De hoofdfilm werd voorafgegaan door een introducerend filmpje over de varende koopman Morgan Robertson die in 1898 een novelle schreef, getiteld Futility (nutteloosheid), die chronisch geweigerd werd door uitgevers. Men vond het verhaal te ongeloofwaardig.
Robertson had een verhaal geschreven over een passagiersschip, Titan geheten, die ten onder zou gaan op de grote Atlantische Oceaan, omdat het grootste, snelste als onzinkbaar beschouwde schip tegen een ijsberg ramde aan stuurboordzijde. Twee derde van de 2200 passagiers overleefde het rampzalige avontuur niet, mede vanwege een tekort aan reddingsboten. Klinkt bekend? Juist, het bleek een profetische vertelling te zijn.
Uiteraard vielen de uitgevers over elkaar heen toen ze Robertsons’ Futility wilde uitbrengen in 1912, vlak na het zinken van de Titanic. De titel werd wel veranderd in ‘The wreck of the Titan’. Tja, commercie was ook in de prille jaren van de 20e eeuw al gemeengoed…
De zes bezoekers waren verbijsterd door dit verhaal. Nee, maar ze genoten wel van de film, Titanic (1953), die vooral zo schoon is om de typisch stijlvolle en ingetogen dialogen van de acteurs. Zoals de Titanic zinkt in dit vehikel zal het nooit meer doen. Zelfs de beroemde versie uit 1997 met die bakvissen Winslet en Caprio kan ondanks de overtuigende effecten en de met condens beslagen achterruit van de T-ford (ingewikkeld standje als u het ondergetekende vraagt) niet een traan opwekken bij de nuchtere videotheekhouders.
Nee, geef ons maar de hymn ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’ wat met volle borst werd gezongen op het dek door alle achtergebleven noeste mannen.
Er werden enkele snikken gehoord onder het aanwezige publiek. Terecht.
Na de vertoning werden de magen door een ieder aanwezig nog even snel gevuld met ontbijtkoek en warme broodjes. Onder de noemer ‘het kan altijd nog erger’ werden de consumpties welwillend achterover gewerkt.
Het filmvehikelcafé-personeel gaat met een gerust hart de toekomst tegemoet. Te weten: filmvehikelcafé matinee nummer twee op 14 maart 2010 met de hoofdfilm ‘The Ipcress file’. Tijd elf uur ’s morgens wederom bij ons op locatie in de Twijnstraat nummer 7.
‘There is no need to catalog our regrets,’ aldus een van de slachtoffers van de Titanic. Zo is het maar net.

Tune in Tomorrow

- 10th of January 2009 -

It’s been a hell of a week, freezing temperatures playing havoc with old injuries. Stiff legs and crippling back pain, just confirm the fact that I am more suited to a horzontal than a vertical existence. Darwin be damned I made my bed and I’ll bloody well lie in it! Now with the week drawing to a close I am looking forward to a good film. …and it is a good film.

Stars:

Peter Falk: radio play script writer
Barbara Hershey: exotic prodigal ‘aunt’
Keanu Reeves: a piece of wood

‘Tune in Tomorrow’ also known as ‘On the Air’, and ‘Aunt Julia and the Script Writer’ is a light, sometimes romantic, comedy reminding us of the good old days when the radio play was king. The days when we believed what we heard. “It must be true, I heard it on the radio”. This as apposed to todays environment of suspicion and cynicism. We are of course quite right in our distrust of information media having been lied to again and again. However before we get too smug we must also realise that we too are unwitting victims of the repeated message no matter how absurd. This is beautifully demonstrated by Peter Falk’s character as he manages to turn entire towns against which ever nationality of peoples he desires simply through constant denigration. In the film he has finished with the Canadians and hooks his claws into the Albanians for reasons unknown and by constantly blaming them for every ill in the world in his regular radio broadcast he manages to turn an entire community on it’s head.

Drifting casually alongside this plot is a romance. A romance between a brick and a piece of wood. The brick being Barbara Hershey, as in a very good and reliable actor and the piece of wood being Keanu Reeves….who is..well a piece of wood. If Keanu was performing solo in a forest he would still only manage the nomination for best supporting actor. For this film Keanu’s tree like properties are well suited as he fumbles his way toward the more mature and experienced Barbara.

What results is a good, funny film that leaves you for want of a better word….happy.

Best enjoyed on a Sunday evening with tea and cookies.

Enjoy,

Mike

Search and Destroy

-3th of Januari 2009-

The Filmvehikel café is abandoned, but as promised the film must still roll. Once again Christopher Walken did not show, so I am really on my own. Sure I have my smoking chair and a bottle of vodka, but it’s not quite the same being unable to share what I believe to be a hidden treasure of a film.
I toy with the idea of watching it completely naked as you do, but remembering that I turned the heating off an hour before makes me reconsider. Still the film must roll.
All at once I am relieved at the decision I made, albeit via irrelevant logic, as at 23:15 the people start to arrive. The Filmvehikel café is now far from abandoned as the film faithful end their pilgrimage weary and ready for spiritual reward. I break bread, miraculously turn my water into wine, and address the crowd.

I roll the film.

‘Search and Destroy’ follows on where ‘After Hours’ left off. Griffin Dunn delivering a pathetic arsehole of a character as only he can. An arsehole of a character that we all kind of …well….get? A character that is all of us when push comes to shove. We would never admit to this of course, and that’s just why we need him.

The film is from 1995 and has been reissued on dvd. Martin Scorsese was an executive producer on the film all those years ago and those among you who have seen ‘State and Main’ will appreciate what executive producer means…..or doesn’t mean as the case may be. However this re-release is ‘presented’ by Martin Scorsese, and thank god he did ‘represent’ it,  because it was a small film at the time and there was a good chance that it would remain an obscure VHS release.
It was destined to be one of those half remembered films you inevitably end up trying to google for fifteen minutes a year before losing interest. Rearranging search words like ‘film’, ‘guy’, ‘comedy’, ‘gun’…’brilliant’, ‘intense’ etc. The film is all of these words and more. Unfortunately just as the nouns will provide you with a million possibilities, the subjectives, not sitting happily with such a democratic search engine, will only provide confusion.
This is a fine bit of film, a good bit of writing, a fun bit of acting and, above all, a good try. Once you have seen it you’ll want to run out, buy a camera, get drunk, write a script, get a silly hat, and become a film maker.

Now to nerds corner, or at least my gripe…for those who have seen the film….what I don’t understand is that although Griffin Dunn is playing the main character, and headlines on the VHS cover and cinema release posters, …….his name is not mentioned on the re-release! Not once! You can kind of make out his image in the background of the cover design but while 5 other characters are listed…he is not. Did he decide not to be associated with this film, or have Marty and himself fallen out?
He was Scorsese’s choice for the lead role in ‘After Hours’I mean even if the marketing people had decided that the other actors featured in the film (Rosanna Arquette, Dennis Hopper, John Turturro, Christopher Walken and Ethan Hawke) were all more bankable there was still plenty of space on the cover to list him…say…last! But no. He is not credited at all. How pissed off would you be, having played the lead role in a film and then when they release it….you don’t get a mention. Well another mystery I must ask Walken for the low down when he turns up.

Now I’m talking about Griffin Dunn; if you don’t know who he is then perhaps you should look him up.
I’m talking about a film called Search and Destroy; if you haven’t seen it then perhaps you should.
I’m talking about executive producers; if you don’t know what one is keep it that way. I’m talking about making your own movie; if you are scared to start, don’t be.

Finally I’m talking about a film evening at the Filmvehikel café.
If you haven’t experienced it yet then give it a go sometime.

This film should be seen on a Saturday around midnight, it is best enjoyed with chilled vodka and dark chocolate…..after a pilgrimage…and not naked.

Enjoy,

Mike

Biloxi Blues

-6th of december 2008-

If anyone doubted the skill of Neil Simon as a playwright then they would have to talk to me first……for a very long time. The man who gave us ‘Barefoot in the Park’ and The Odd Couple’, served up another gem full with honest down to earth dialogue and wholly recognisable characters. He handed this broadway success, turned novel over to Mike Nichols for the film version. Nichols drafted in a wonderful combo of Matthew Broderick as narrator and Christopher Walken as a disturbed (no surprises there) boot camp sergeant.

We pull up two comfie chairs, a bowl of olives and a bottle of good red. I give my introduction, remembering to apologise on behalf of Christopher Walken’s publicist. Chris, (the Walkster to his friends) would have loved to have been here but was otherwise detained. Still that little dissapointment aside, we rolled the film.

Wondered for a second where you all were, but apparantly some jolly gent with a big book and a mitred hat visited the day before and I guess you all celebrated the fact that he had buggared off back to Spain finally. Or perhaps you were all out with Christopher Walken. Another mystery.

In any case we had a wonderful time, transported back to 1945 Mississippi. Young men sent to prepare for a grand tour of horrors they could never prepare for. To be trained by a nation that had listened well to Henry Ford’s economies of scale, and could not deny the prosperity it had provided. Throw enough apples, even the rotten ones, and you’ll hit the target. The hopeless collective naivety of all soldiers yet to see action, is played out for us with all the innocence and humour it respectfully deserves.

I give the film a clear 7,600 / 10,000 it is best enjoyed on a spring Sunday afternoon between 15:00 and 18:00 with a new world, preferably californian, cabernet sauvignon and firm blue cheese, stilton being my choice.

Enjoy,

Mike