Review: The Wild Bunch (1969)

SA/C-145m./Dir: Sam Peckinpah/Wr: Walon Green & Sam Peckinpah/Cast: William Holden (Pike Bishop), Ernest Borgnine (Dutch Engstrom), Robert Ryan (Deke Thornton), Edmund O’Brien (Freddie Sykes), Warren Oates (Lyle Gorch), Jamie Sanchez (Angel), Ben Johnson (Tector Gorch), Emilio Fernandez (General Mapache)

The Wild Bunch is a masterpiece, plain and simple. Forty years after its original release, Sam Peckinpah’s violent, revisionist Western still has the power to thrill, shock, disturb, provoke thought, and entertain. All of the best films reward repeated viewings, and no matter how many times I re-watch The Wild Bunch (and it has to have been at least a dozen viewings), the movie never grows tiresome. The Wild Bunch is so multilayered that one sees something new in the characters, themes, dialogue or performances with each screening.

Peckinpah once said of the film that it was “simply what happens when killers go to Mexico,” and on the surface, The Wild Bunch is a story about outlaws on the run. After a botched bank robbery turned massacre, Pike Bishop (William Holden) and the surviving members of his gang (Borgnine, Oates, Johnson, Sanchez, and O’Brien) hightail it across the Mexican border with bounty hunters on their tail. The pursuers are headed by Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), a former member of Bishop’s gang, who has the unappealing choice between hunting his past companions and rotting in prison. While on the run, Pike’s band agrees to take a job stealing ammunition from a train for a corrupt Mexican General (Emilio Fernandez). It is unclear whether the greatest threat to Pike and his gang comes from their Mexican allies, the bounty hunters, or from fissures within their own group.

Of course, The Wild Bunch is about a lot more than “what happens when killers go to Mexico.” Pike’s bunch isn’t just running from men with guns. They’re trying to escape so-called civilized society, modernization, advancing age, their past mistakes, and pangs of conscience. It’s a multifaceted film that is open to many interpretations; and it has been viewed as everything from a treatise against violence to a metaphor for America’s intervention in Vietnam. No matter how you want to look at it, The Wild Bunch is a damn good film, perhaps the best Western ever made.

The use of violence, slow motion, and editing were revolutionary at the time, but none of that would matter if not for the fact that The Wild Bunch is a well-written story brilliantly told. The characters are captivating, and the dialogue is spare but perfect. Never has more meaning been conveyed through the lines “Let’s go,” and “Why not?” The actors are as good as the material, and the film is perfectly cast from the leads on down. And while there is great acting on display from everyone in the ensemble, the film really belongs to William Holden. He never played a more fascinating character than Pike Bishop, and he never gave a better performance in his career.

Of course, as good as it is, The Wild Bunch wouldn’t be included here if it didn’t have a pretty strong liquor content. While booze is not the main focus of the film, it is present throughout. Whether on the run on horseback or camping in the desert, one of Pike’s company always manages to produce a whiskey bottle; and General Mapache, for whom they rob the train, is persistently plastered when not on the battlefield. From the opening, in which the bunch bloodily interrupts a temperance march to the wine-drenched debaucheries in Mapache’s camp, the film is full of memorable alcohol-related scenes. However, the most iconic is one in which Pike’s gang passes a whiskey bottle from man to man as a sign of camaraderie and respect.

As you can probably tell, I love this movie. For devotees of Westerns, soused cinema, and motion pictures in general, The Wild Bunch is essential viewing.

Drinks Consumed--Whiskey, tequila, wine, beer, and champagne

Intoxicating Effects--Slurred speech, staggering, soused sex, and physical violence

Potent Quotables--ANGEL: Don’t you see, this is their land, and no one is gonna drive them away.
FREDDIE: I’ll drink to that sentiment… and to love. But most of all, I’ll drink to gold!
DUTCH: Salute! Salute!

Video Availability--On DVD as The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) or as part of Sam Peckinpah's Legendary Westerns Collection (Warner Brothers). An ultra-sharp The Wild Bunch [Blu-ray] disc is also available.

Similarly Sauced Cinema--The whiskey flows liberally in many of Peckinpah’s other weird, wonderful, artistic flicks, including Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

Read more...

Booze News: Yammering Magpies, The Moonshine War, & a mention in The San Diego Reader

Salutations, fellow inebriates,

I've had a rather busy month, and the past couple of weekends I haven't had a chance to watch a "booze movie," let alone review one. Don't worry. I'll get back in the groove before you know it, and there will be a lot more reviews on the way.

In fact, this past weekend I picked up a number of interesting, alcohol-drenched titles from Yammering Magpie Cinema, while I attended the Hollywood Collector's Show. I've previously reviewed their releases of The Bottom of the Bottle (1956) and The Moonshine War (1970), and the Magpies mentioned that a few of their customers had found their Website through Booze Movies. That included a writer for the San Diego Reader, who wrote about the experience, giving our site a plug. Check out the article if you get a chance.

One last note, the folks at Yammering Magpie Cinema have upgraded their release of The Moonshine War. It is now letterboxed and much better video quality. I've updated my review accordingly.

Cheers,
garv

Read more...

Review: Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

USA/B&W-97m./Dir: W.S. Van Dyke/Wr: Irving Brecher & Harry Kurnitz/Cast: William Powell (Nick Charles), Myrna Loy (Nora Charles), Barry Nelson (Paul Clarke), Donna Reed (Molly), Sam Levene (Lieutenant Abrams), Alan Baxter (Whitey Barrow), Stella Adler (Claire Porter), Henry O’Neill (Major Sculley)

The fourth entry in the popular Thin Man series, Shadow of the Thin Man, was the first not to be derived from a Dashiell Hammett story and not to be written by the screenwriters Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Unfortunately the changes in scribblers can be felt in the finished product. Shadow of the Thin Man is neither as witty nor as alcohol-soaked as the series entries that preceded it.

Nick and Nora Charles, Asta, and Nicky Jr. are back in San Francisco for Shadow of the Thin Man, presumably due to Nick Sr.’s fondness for the horse races. Unfortunately, plans for a pleasant day losing money at the track are spoiled when a jockey turns up dead. Lieutenant Abrams (Sam Levene, reprising the character he played in After the Thin Man) tries to persuade Nick to help him investigate the murder, but the ex-detective resists. Of course, after a few more bodies pile up, Nick is once again reluctantly pulled out of retirement.

After a promising start, with Nora luring Nick back to their apartment by agitating a cocktail shaker (see “Potent Quotables” below), the drinking drops off dramatically. Apparently, the writers felt that it would be unseemly for the couple to overindulge in front of their young son. Nora only drinks one martini while on camera (although she wins 240 martinis from Nick in a wager on a turtle race). Nick manages to down a few more cocktails than Nora, but never enough to get really drunk. In fact, the only time Nick gets truly dizzy is in accompanying his son on a carousel. Worst of all, Nick Jr. manages to bully the old man into drinking a glass of milk. Horrors!!!

While dryer than the previous Thin Man movies, Shadow manages to maintain much of fun associated with the series. William Powell and Myrna Loy still have great chemistry, and while their dialogue isn’t quite as sharp as in the previous films, they make the most of every line and physical bit of business. The mystery is every bit as thorny as in the earlier entries; and as before, they are supported by a great cast of character actors, including the aforementioned Sam Levene, who is a sputtering delight as the befuddled cop; a pre-stardom Donna Reed; Stella Adler as a gangster’s moll; and even Ed Wood regular Tor Johnson (with hair for a change) as a mop-topped wrestler. Eagle-eyed viewers may even spot Ava Gardner amongst the extras when Nick and Nora arrive at the track.

Drinks Consumed--Martinis (gin) and unnamed cocktails

Intoxicating Effects--Sneaking sips

Potent Quotables--MAID: Ma'am, did he hear that or did he smell it?
NORA: That's Mr. Charles, isn't it?
MAID: Yes'm.
NORA: This is a cocktail, isn't it?
MAID: Yes'm.
NORA: They'll get together.

Video Availability--Shadow of the Thin Man is available as a solo DVD or as part of The Complete Thin Man Collection (The Thin Man / After the Thin Man / Another Thin Man / Shadow of the Thin Man / The Thin Man Goes Home / Song of the Thin Man).

Similarly Sauced Cinema--Nick and Nora next appeared in The Thin Man Goes Home (1944).

Read more...

Booze News: Remake of ARTHUR in the works

Wasn't Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988) bad enough?

Now, Warner Brothers plans to remake the cocktail-charged 1981 Dudley Moore comedy, Arthur, and have hired Russell Brand (the womanizing musician of Forgetting Sarah Marshall) to star. I found Brand's work in Sarah Marshall quite good, but let's face it, he's no Dudley Moore. By the time Moore was hired to lead Arthur, his comic chops were tops from years of stage, television, and film experience as part of a comedy team with the even more brilliant Peter Cook. His performance in Arthur was a career-topper, and I can't see how Brand can hope to match it.

Moore also had excellent support from actors Liza Minnelli and Sir John Gielgud and especially from writer/director Steve Gordon. The screenplay of Arthur was an absolute gem that captured the fizziness of the screwball comedies of the 1930's, while telling a completely original story. The worst news about the proposed remake is that Peter Baynham, a co-writer on Borat, has been hired to write the film. Blurrgh!

The 1981 original is rightfully considered a modern comedy classic, and it was included in the AFI's list of the 100 funniest American films (at #53). Let's hope the powers that be at Warner Brothers come to their senses and leave Arthur alone.

Here's a link to the news about the film from Variety's Website: Arthur Remake

Cheers,
garv

Arthur (DVD)
Arthur/Arthur 2: On the Rocks

Read more...

Review: Tango Tangles (a.k.a. Charlie's Recreation, 1914)

USA/Silent/B&W-12m./Dir: Mack Sennett/Wr: Mack Sennett/Cast: Charles Chaplin (Tipsy Dancer), Ford Sterling (Bandleader), Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle (Clarinetist), Sadie Lampe (Hat Check Girl)

The early comedy shorts produced by Keystone studios were fairly lowbrow and low budget affairs; and in order to minimize production costs, many of the films were shot guerrilla-style. Producer/director Mack Sennett would often hustle his comedy troupe to public events and have his actors adlib amongst the ready-made spectacle. This was how Charlie Chaplin’s “Little Tramp” character was introduced to the public--improvising during an actual children’s push-car race in his second released short, Kid Auto Races at Venice, CA (1914). Chaplin’s sixth short under his Keystone contract, Tango Tangles, was another impromptu affair, with the comedian’s inebriated adlibs taking place in a public dance hall.

Chaplin, clean-shaven and dressed in normal street clothes, totters tipsily into a dance hall. After his attempts to join in the terpsichorean merriment land him on his back, the drunk is directed to the cloak room to discard his hat and cane. Finding the hat check girl attractive, the liquored lothario flirts with her, not knowing that the girl already has a couple of dueling admirers, the band leader (Ford Sterling) and the clarinetist (Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle). Of course, the bandleader objects when the amorous inebriate takes the girl for a spin around the dance floor. The resulting melee spills from the dance floor into the cloak room, where Chaplin and the bandleader try to beat each other senseless while wearing the same coat.

Even by Keystone standards, Tango Tangles is a pretty sub-par outing. The plot is nearly nonexistent and the film mainly consists of characters jumping up and down, pushing each other, and falling over. Given little to do, each of the three lead comedians handles the situation differently. Ford Sterling gestures and gyrates to an extent far beyond cartoonish, upstaging the other actors in the worst way possible. Whereas, Roscoe Arbuckle more or less disappears into the background. Only Chaplin occasionally elevates the proceedings with a bit of inspired inebriated shtick, such as when he tries to lean on a table and misjudges the distance. Instead of moving his body slightly, Chaplin moves the entire table. This more subtle style of slapstick didn’t mesh well with the Keystone brand of knockabout comedy, so it is understandable that Chaplin was anxious to move on after only one year at Sennett's studio.

While Tango Tangles has little to recommend it as a comedy short subject, it does have significant historical value. Fans of silent film will enjoy this rare opportunity to witness Chaplin clowning without his familiar mustache and tramp costume, while soused cinema enthusiasts will see the seeds of sauced slapstick that Chaplin exploited to greater effect in later shorts and features.

Drinks Consumed--Sadly none. Chaplin enters the film with a full tank and flies on that gas without refilling.

Intoxicating Effects--Staggering, stumbling, flirting, brawling, and public disturbance

Potent Quotables--TITLE CARD (introducing Chaplin): One of the early arrivals, a little worse for the wear.

Video Availability--Tango Tangles, like most of the public domain Keystone shorts, is available on numerous budget DVDs from companies such as Delta and Madacy. The short is often listed under the alternate title, Charlie’s Recreation, and the 16mm print from which it is derived is pretty ragged. However, an effort is underway by the British Film Institute to restore all of the Chaplin Keystone shorts, so the Keystones will eventually be available on video in improved condition. The film as it currently survives can also be viewed through the embedded video above.

Similarly Sauced Cinema--Chaplin bellied up to the bar yet again in his very next short, His Favorite Pastime (1914).

Charlie Chaplin at Keystone and Essanay: Dawn of the Tramp
The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion
Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema

Read more...

Review: Drunken Master II (a.k.a. The Legend of Drunken Master, 1994)

HK/C-102m./Dir: Lau Kar-Leung and Jackie Chan/Wr: Edward Tang, Man-Ming Tong, Gai Chi Yuen/Cast: Jackie Chan (Wong Fei-Hung), Ti Lung (Wong Kei-Ying, Fei-Hung’s Father), Anita Mui (Mrs. Wong, Fei-Hung’s Step Mother), Lau Kar-Leung (General Fu Wen-Chi), Ken Lo (John), Ho Sung Pak (Henry), Felix Wong (Tsang)

Sixteen years after Jackie Chan had a career-making hit with the kung-fu comedy Drunken Master (1978), he returned to the part of hooch-happy hero Wong-Fei Hung in Drunken Master II. Chan was still youthful enough to pull off the part of the naughty boy who becomes an invincible fighter when fortified with fermented fluids; and to prove that he hadn’t lost a step, both the stunt work and the juicing were supercharged in the sequel. The resulting concoction turned out to be nothing less than the greatest alky action picture ever produced.

Having finished his tutelage under Sua Hua-Chi (who isn’t mentioned in this film), Wong Fei-Hung is back with his family and still causing mischief in the sequel. Returning by train from a shopping trip with his father, Fei-Hung hides a ginseng root in another passenger’s luggage to avoid paying tax. He ends up paying for his dishonesty with numerous cuts, bruises, and burns, when he retrieves the wrong package from the other traveler’s trunk. Instead of ginseng, Fei-Hung discovers that he has the Emperor’s jade seal, and he finds himself up against a British plot to smuggle China’s treasures out of the country. With high-kicking henchmen and ax-wielding thugs on his trail, Wong Fei-Hung needs something stronger than wine to add power to his punch this time around.

Many consider Drunken Master II to be Jackie Chan’s finest film, and I can’t help but agree. This fast-paced flick contains some of Chan’s greatest action set pieces, including the final showdown in an iron factory, where Wong Fei-Hung is kicked repeatedly and thrown into a pit of hot coals by Ken Lo (one of Chan’s real-life bodyguards), before saving the day by Hulking-out on industrial alcohol. Most of the stunt work is performed by Chan and the other actors themselves, which adds additional drama to each fall, body blow, and encounter with fire.

Although audiences for Drunken Master II are likely to be most interested in the kung-fu fight scenes, the film doesn’t skimp on story and the action emerges naturally from the narrative. The acting is also above average for a chopsocky flick. Jackie Chan is a natural comedian as well as an athlete, which helps with his numerous drunk scenes. At the same time, he is completely believable when called upon to display emotion and play it straight. Jackie receives tremendous support from the rest of the cast, including Ti Lung as Fei-Hung’s serious father and director Lau Kar-Leung as a General who also tries to keep China’s treasures out of the hands of smugglers. However, the real standout of the cast is Anita Mui, who nearly steals the film with her mugging in the part of Fei Hung’s scheming stepmother (despite being eight years younger than Chan in real life).

It is unlikely that future films will ever surpass Drunken Master II in terms of combined action and alcohol consumption. Soused cinema enthusiasts should consider it essential viewing.

Drinks Consumed--Red and white wine, cognac XO, and industrial alcohol

Intoxicating Effects--Staggering, slurred speech, brawling, physical violence, harmonizing, hiccups, destruction of property, vomiting, passing out, blowing bubbles, and temporary blindness and mental impairment

Potent Quotables--WONG KEI-YING: Fei-hung never forgets that he once won with drunken boxing. I’ve my reasons for not letting him use it.
FO SANG: There’s nothing wrong with drunken boxing.
WONG KEI-YING: You’ve to drink to fight it, and you may get drunk. Let alone fighting, you can’t even stand steady. He gets into trouble because of this.
FO SANG: Don’t drink so much then.
WONG KEI-YING: No, he must drink a proper portion before it becomes effective. He gets powerful but feels no pain when beaten; so it gives the wrong illusion of being powerful. A drinker knows he can’t stop drinking. Is it worth being a drunkard to use this move? Water floats but also capsizes boats.

Video Availability--When Disney released the film in the U.S., they dubbed it in English, made cuts, and changed the music and sound effects. The resulting film, re-titled The Legend of Drunken Master, is virtually unwatchable. This version is available on a Region 1 DVD from Buena Vista, but it should be avoided. The original, uncut version is available on a Chinese DVD from Thakral, which will play on Region 1 DVD players. However, the Chinese release is far from perfect. The aspect ratio on the Thakral DVD has been trimmed from 2.35:1 to 1.85:1, and the print shows wear and speckles. Hopefully, Drunken Master II will eventually receive an improved DVD release, but for now, the Thakral DVD is the best available.

Similarly Sauced Cinema--Jackie Chan played another drunken master in his 2008 team-up with Jet Li, The Forbidden Kingdom.

Drunken Master (DVD)
Drunken Master 2 [Letterboxed VHS]

Read more...

Booze News: The 2nd Annual Cocktail Film Fest!

Tales of the Cocktail and The W Hotel New Orleans will be holding their 2nd Annual Cocktail Film Fest on Saturday, April 11th; and once again, Miss Charming herself, Cheryl Charming will be hosting the festivities. Tickets go on sale on February 15th at www.TalesoftheCocktail.com. Check out the press release below for all of the pertinent details:

Tales of the Cocktail Announces
The 2nd Annual Cocktail Film Fest
Tickets on Sale February 15, 2009

NEW ORLEANS, LA – February 7, 2009 – Tales of the Cocktail and W New Orleans invite movie buffs and libation lovers to indulge in celebrating the cocktail in three films. Cheryl Charming aka Miss Charming™, cocktail author and founder of MissCharming.com, plays hostess for the silver screenings.

The Film Fest schedule is as follows:
Saturday, April 11, 2009
4 pm. King Creole
6 pm. Meet-n-Greet Dean Sernells
8 pm. Cocktail
Midnight Moulin Rouge

*Seating for all films are dinner party style*

Film Fest hostess, Cheryl Charming a.k.a. Miss Charming™ has been in the food and beverage industry since 1976, tending bar, authoring cocktail related books (nine so far), teaching bar tricks to Walt Disney World bartenders, cocktail consulting and teaching cocktail classes. She is a member of The Bartenders Guild and The Museum of the American Cocktail. She resides in Downtown Orlando and maintains the website MissCharming.com.

Chef Roberto Bustillo, Jr. of Zoë Restaurant will prepare inspired hors d’oeuvres for the day. Chef Bustillo has won two Gold Fleur de Lis Awards from New Orleans Wine and Food Experience in 2006 and 2007 and a Silver Fleur de Lis Award in 2008. Zoë Restaurant and Lounge is located on the second floor of the W New Orleans.

Saturday, April 11th

King Creole (1958)
4 pm.
This Elvis Presley summer hit of 1958 was filmed in New Orleans when he was 22 years old. The cast and crew blocked off the entire top floor of the Roosevelt Hotel (now Fairmont Hotel and soon to be Waldorf Astoria). King Creole was Elvis' last B&W film and is considered by critics to be his best. Elvis plays a nightclub busboy turned nightclub singer and even though there are many bar scenes not one single cocktail is mentioned, so we will be serving famous New Orleans cocktails including the Sazerac, Hurricane, Scarlet O'Hara, Ramos Gin Fizz, and French 75. Retro candy and popcorn will be served and popular soundtracks to look forward include Trouble, Hard Headed Woman, King Creole, New Orleans, and Dixieland Rock.

Dean Serneels is the Mad MXologist
6-8 pm.
Come meet Dean Serneels as the Mad Mixologist! This Dean of Drinks is an Inventor, Hospitality Consultant, Entertainer, Motivator, Flipping Mixologist and owner of Flairco.com. Dean will be sharing his skills in a hands-on bottle flipping workshop and will also entertain you with his magic and moves on the bar. Dean has won over 22 bartending awards, has appeared on the FOOD Network and as the bartender trainer on CMT's Search for the Ultimate Coyote. Dean is also the creative mind behind all of the Flairco brand bartending products. Join Dean as he flips, spins and tosses the fictitious Blue Turquoise from the film, Cocktail, Pink Squirrels, and Sex on the Beaches. Landshark beer will also be available.

Cocktail (1988)
8 pm.
Cocktail finally turns 21! And what better way to celebrate this summer hit of '88 than with dinner, drinks and a movie New York/Jamaican style! This film kick-started modern flair bartending worldwide and introduced three hit songs, Kokomo, Don't Worry, Be Happy and Addicted To Love. We celebrate the 21st birthday with Jamaican style food and birthday cake.
Special guest star, Dean Serneels will be present demonstrating the moves seen in the film.

Moulin Rouge(2001)
Midnight
Can-Can you join us for a midnight enchanting screening of this lush and visually-rich modern musical that was nominated for 8 Oscars? The Green Fairy will be upon us as we serve Absinthe in glass blown fountains at each table. Nibbles, bottled water and French wine will also be available.

Tickets and Special Rates
Tickets are required for Tales of the Cocktail Film Fest and can be purchased online at www.TalesoftheCocktail.com as of February 15, 2009 for $25 per showing. Ticket packages are available through the website. A special room rate of $99 at the W Hotel New Orleans available Thursday, April 9, 2009 through Monday, April 13, 2009. Please use promotion code LIF. For event guests, a rate of $12 per car will be available. For questions, please call 1-877-WHOTELS for assistance. Book a room online at www.TalesoftheCocktail.com.

Read more...