The Failure We Should All Strive to Be

The Failure We Should All Strive to Be

    To call Ed Wood a failure would be far too disingenuous in this day and age of creating Art. For we live in a time in which something entertaining gets used and abused repeatedly in 24 hour cycles that ultimately leaves the essence of whatever was pure of the material to an absolute state of nothingness from being used & abused and most importantly forgotten when that 25^th hour arrives. A sad state of affairs.

    There is no time left these days for a film to take the years needed to be discovered by a small group of individuals that would then use word of mouth to make an audience grow and grow in appreciating the beauty and strangeness that these forgotten films have to offer. Many filmmakers have grown in popularity from these organic audiences of late night TV watchers but Ed Wood is possibly the most famous example to set the standard of what true low budget high concept independent cinema has to offer. 

    For the films of Ed Wood are now some of most revered and loved films that continue to find a new legion of fans more so than other American filmmakers of his time. What is also worth noting is that these films have also managed to beat the greatest critic mankind has come in conflict with since the beginning; Time.

    Whether or not this measure can be applied to the actual quality of the films themselves remains to be seen as a true test of the eye of the beholder but nonetheless it must be made certain that his films have stood the test of time as they are always in rotation when it comes to conversations of American cinema and what else can be described as the highest honor but of an Ed Wood film festival. 

    Truly these are the best of times when it comes to being an Ed Wood fan. Especially with the recent passing of Wade Williams who was highly litigious when it came to any of Ed Wood's films.

The Man

Ed Wood (L'Enfant terrible) 

    The question of Who is Ed Wood? might be the first to come to mind as you read so let me begin with a quick introduction to the man. He was a World War 2 veteran who strived to make films in Hollywood and with a career that zigged instead of zagged earned himself the title of being one of the worst, if not THE worst, filmmaker to ever get into filmmaking. A man who supposedly directed the worst film of all time; Plan 9 From Outer Space.

the worst film of all time?

    This claim to fame though is untrue for if you have seen enough films in your lifetime then you can recognize immediately that his films are completely watchable, for the most part, as well as coming to the realization that the actual worst film to ever manifest into existence is the 2019 anthology film; Verotika.

truly the worst film I have ever seen

    Ed Wood never got much of a worthwhile reputation when he was alive but in his passing, his films have sparked a cult like following and this growing postmortem appreciation accumulated into an out of the normal biography film from a Hollywood studio entitled simply Ed Wood.

    A passion project to all involved because why else would anyone write a script about Ed Wood unless they were passionate about the man? The film is written by team scriptwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski who would go on and make a respectable career as duo screenwriters writing such films as The People vs. Larry Flynt , Big Eyes, and my favorite Eddy Murphy movie; Dolemite is my Name. The script would bounce around and around Hollywood until final landing onto Tim Burton lap.

    Now at this time, Tim Burton is a pretty big name in the Hollywood game. Having directed the two very successful Batman movies that sort of defined the late 80's/early 90's and then going on to have another success in between the two with Edward Scissorhands. The stars aligning in Ed Wood's favor as Burton was an actual fan and had an appreciation for the material. Rounding out the cast with Johnny Depp in the title role, Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, and committing to shooting the film in black and white and you get 1994's Ed Wood.

The Film

    The film starts off with an introduction by Criswell that sets the tone for the irreverent sensibility that the audience is in store for. Howard Shore score of the therman and bongos lead us along as the fantastic opening credits of traveling through a graveyard that then lands in a small pond that cuts with stock footage of an octopus swimming the ocean floor before stop motion of that same octopus starts attacking the screen. Terrible looking flying saucers attack that stop motion leg and soon enough we fly into Hollywood where we are introduced to Ed Wood standing outside in the rain in front of small black box theater awaiting for critics to show up for his new World War 2 play; The Casual Company. No critics show up and the show must go on. 

    We then see Ed stand by the curtain as he acts out the play and the audience size of 5 gets the opportunity to see a terrible piece of theater to ever hit the stage on a cold rainy night.

    They all go to a bar after the production and get their hands on the first reviews hot off the press. The cast can't see anything good in the reviews but Ed Wood can't be discouraged and sees the silver lining of the review regarding the soldiers' costumes being very realistic. This doesn't do much for the rest of them as the reviews have knocked the winds out of their sales.

    From that beginning scene, the movie then follows the life of Ed Wood as he meets up and makes friends with Bela Lugosi and schmoozes his way into getting a shot at directing his first movie about the passionate introspective journey of a man needing to let the world know that he loves Angora sweaters as well as dressing up like a woman. 

    This cheapie shot in 4 days being the film Glen or Glenda which flops but Eddy keeps fighting and gets himself an interview with an executive at Warner Brothers. Ultimately that goes nowhere and Eddy has to go the independent route to tell the stories he wants to tell. Turmoil and painful is the production of Bride of the Atom with production having to stop so that they could get more money but after breaking hearts and having to compromise just a bit on his vision with a few tweaks such as renaming it Bride of the Monster he does the impossible. He gets the film in the can.

    This film causing the end of his relationship as he had replaced his girlfriend, Dolores Fuller, at the time with another actress and the film ends up getting chalked up as another failure when it premieres to a sold out crowd of maniacal moviegoers that tear up the movie theater. Though as the journey continues, we see more and more of the relationship between Ed and his idol Bela.

    Ed Wood being just about the only positive force in Bela Lugosi's life as he struggles with his morphine addiction which ultimately has him hitting a low point when his unemployment benefits are taken away. With no other options in his misery, he comes to the conclusion of just needing to blow his brains out to solve his problems but also wanting Eddy to join him. Ed though still has hopes for Lugosi. He gets him into rehab and stays by his side all throughout the treatment but it turns out that Lugosi doesn't have any medical benefits to stick with the treatment and gets kicked out.

    Eddy wants him to have something to look forward to and goes about in taking the time to film Lugosi for a movie that doesn't exist. Yet. Though he films something with the idea of it being more introspective. Wanting of something more. Though the fruits of this labor come to a sudden end when Lugosi dies soon after and Eddy finds himself in a state of depression. Watching that limited amount of footage he shot of Bela over and over again.

    Struggling to pay rent but luck has it that his landlord is wanting to get into the film business with his church to make 12 movies about the 12 Apostles but only have enough money for 1 Apostle movie. Eddy takes the opportunity to sell the idea that they should instead make a movie with mass appeal to make a lot of money in order to make all 12 films that they want and of course, he has just the script that contains just the massive mass appeal potential. Beaucoup bucks. The pastor agrees and Ed Wood gets the team together to make another movie. The movie that they'll remember him for.

    During production of Grave Robbers from Outer Space though, the powers that be start to come down on Ed. Commenting and critiquing about his lack of talent and skills as a director to the point where he runs out of the studio while in drag in protest. Angry and frustrated as he takes a cab to the nearest bar and gets himself a glass of whiskey. Through the cigarette smoke though he sees a man but not just a man but the man. The myth. The legend. Orson Welles.

As played by Vincent D'Onofrio 

    Just sitting at a table all by himself having a drink and a cigarette. Ed wanders over and introduces himself and they strike up a conversation. A conversation about filmmaking. Two men following down two different destinies and legacies in the filmmaking world sharing their struggles.

    What it means to fight for yourself and the art. What it means to push against the forces that try to intervene against your vision. The questions that haunt the creatives from the beginning and luckily the stars aligned for Ed to be at the right place at the right time to have Orson Welles give him the strength and courage to make the film that he needs to make with complete confidence and control over his cinematic vision.

    Ed Wood travels back to the studio and starts making his movie his way. Each memorable shot being created with the cheap sets, the terrible acting, and the dismal special effects. Done all in a montage to make you want to cheer and shout in encouragement.

    Ed and his girlfriend head to the premier of Plan 9 from Outer Space and he comes across the greatest crowd that anybody can hope to have. Everyone in attendance clapping for Eddy as he makes his way through the theater and introduces the film. Dedicating it to his late friend Bela Lugosi. Everyone in attendance is enjoying the film even before it starts by clapping for each name that shows up.

    The film almost ending on high note as Eddy and Kathy O'Hara head out to Vegas to get married until the epilogue starts playing and you found out about the fate of every major player in the film. You remember that ending to American Graffiti? Imagine that feeling of Goddamn by 1000.

this ain't shit to what Tim Burton drops on your

 

A Quick Lament about Ed Wood

    After watching this 2 hour and 6 minute film one might come to the question of; What else is there to say about Ed Wood? He was a man that didn't achieve much and met an end that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy but I want to say that this story of recurring failure is precisely the reason that we, you and I, must celebrate this man. For outside of his legacy of being the worst filmmaker is the story of a true artist. For as we all know that for an artist to be true they must know failure more than ever knowing success.

    Failure is the name of the game when it comes to life. For a life will consist of failed friendships, failed relationships, and failed opportunities all the while that person failing is struggling & striving for that 1 constant goal they can't seem to walk away from. But then after some time you have to ask yourself when is it time to call it quits?

    Death is certain and failure is a close second but if you do end up surviving both of them long enough then there is that one repeating question that travels first and foremost into the focus of your minds eye; What do you do next?

    Most, if not all, people in situations facing this question time after time would easily find that the solution would be to find a way get out and start somewhere new because they are done. Going out of their way to follow a life path where it requires the bare minimum needed to get through whatever time was left in their life. Though there are some that take another route as the pain of it all was far too traumatic that they need to rely on substances detrimental to their health in order to get through the day. Two extreme ends on the same spectrum but mostly you'll find persons who couldn't face another rejection, another failed project, or just face themselves in the mirror lying in between the two.

    Ed Wood, at least from the way this 1994 biographical movie portrays him, never had time to place himself on that line until later on in life. His story was more of journey to the end than what the end itself has to offer but before he reaches that end, he fought every goddamn day to make his movies. A one man army of sheer will to get his films made and for that tenacity I cannot in good faith claim to be better than the man.

The Film Review

    I have seen this film a couple of times over the years but as I get older & older and find myself dwelling far too much about the past and not enough about the future; I now see the film in a much more different light

    People will go out of there way to watch a lame duck movie like Rocky because they have this strange physical desire to see themselves as down and out like the bum on the ropes boxer in that film and live vicariously with the idea the one of theirs is getting their moment in the sun. This is what they need to survive. What they strive for to fell alive and its all the makings of a person who has landed at a point in their life where they don't have much to look forward to. Much like fans of NFL teams.

    Now Ed Wood. This is a movie with some real chest hair. For this film showcases Ed Wood failing time and time again until that fictional and moving premier of Plan 9 from Outer Space makes you feel like you and him finally won something but that's all taken away when the rug gets pulled away from you when that information card comes up at the end that lets you know that he spent the rest of his life trying to make movies with no success and ended up succumbing to a heart attack at the age of 54. Most likely due to his alcoholism. 

woof

    Though it feels like this information comes out of nowhere at the end, it provides a necessary grounding effect. For though you had a good time watching this man try and try to make a movie there were consequences at the end of the day from the failures. Without the tremendous scope of these filmmaking failures then his films wouldn't be much to see beyond just as fragments of filmmaking from the past and who wants to see that? Though this does make impossible for another and I doubt there will ever be another Ed Wood in our lifetime.

    Though people will obviously try to make their comparisons to a “modern day” Ed Wood in Tommy Wiseau, this must be understood as a false equivalence. For Tommy Wiseau never struggled financially to achieve his vision on the screen. There was no one telling him he only had so much money or so many days to get the job done. He took the time and money to truly achieve his mediocrity compared to the lack of everything that Ed Wood had & obtained far more success than Ed Wood could ever imagine though a lot for The Room making some semblance of sense can be most definitely attributed to Sandy Schklair whereas an Ed Wood film is complete and totally an Ed Wood vision.

    There maybe other filmmakers lacking the talent to make a movie work but they will always be compared to Ed Wood and no one can ever stand above him. For this biopic to exist the way it does I can only be thankful. I have yet to read the literature on the man but I do have a copy of Rudolph Grey's biography Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. in front of me that I will begin soon and I look forward to that. 

    I end this review by making this acknowledgement of the large sense of romanticism when it came to adapting Ed Wood's life. I can only imagine that to have such a career would be one of the most soul crushing life experiences someone can suffer. But for the moment, I would like to believe in the hope that the film gives to anyone out there trying to create. To keep a sense of tenacity and more importantly, to keep going. Even for just another day.

The Review of The Story of a Junkie by Frankie Boothareno

Where the sky stayed the color of grey, like heron

     From the various books such as Requiem for a Dream and The Basketball Diaries, as well as films such as Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream, and as well as the greatest television show The Wire. I came to understand 1 thing regarding heroin: It is a hell of a drug.

what a novel

    I haven't tried it since I never hung around the type of crowd that endeavored anything beyond marijuana though there have been rumblings about certain individuals that I am acquainted with in having partaken but from what I remember from the last point of contact with them, they seem to be more on the tweaking side with meth than something like heroin but I digress.
    Heroin and its story within the United States has always been a fascinating piece of history for me to learn about. From such beginnings where it became a part of this seedy underworld image with the likes of opium dens during the gold rush in the 19th century. So much of a striking image that it would be backdrop for various yellow peril tales featuring offensively racist characters such as Dr. Fu-Manchu.

who else better to play Fu Manchu but Christopher Lee

    Jumping forward in time and reading about manufactured heroin being smuggled into the USA during the Vietnam war was also a high point for Heroin in the United States. US Soldiers rotating back to the states were hooked on the stuff and with age old theory of supply following demand, capitalists at the right place and right time wanted to spread the joy to the rest of the United States. Then seeing the various footage on how it completely decimated neighbors and communities as the years rolled on alongside the complete failure of the War on Drugs that did absolutely nothing to stop the drug trade. 

    The clashing between brutal and violent capitalistic ventures of drugs on the street against the bureaucratic failure of the United States Government being unable to take control of the situation has always fascinated me. As it should with any American having to wake up to the hell we live in. 
    So a slice of life that focuses around an addict like the film The Story of a Junkie offered at first glance a film that I found immensely fascinating but as the credits rolled, there was something troubling in seeing the construction of the film.

The Film

    The film follows the trials and tribulations of one John 'Gringo' Spacely as he goes about his day to day life as a guy with a habit in the Lower East Side of New York City. This being the late 1980's New York that hadn't yet sold it's soul to real estate investors and was instead churning itself in the last moments of its shallow grave with a terrible drug trade destroying its city and landlords firebombing their own places for the insurance money. This was the time before it became all Disneyland.

The Greatest Newspaper Headline

    We follow the highs and lows of Gringo as he goes around the town looking to score, getting mugged, and talking to the camera to get a couple of internal feelings and thoughts across but mostly the camera plays like a fly on the wall. Leaving the world to pass by to keep it as untouched and real as possible.

A Documentation of Sorts    

    The feeling and presentation of the film falls under the style known as: Cinéma vérité. A sort of follow along without any coordinated effort to try and present some sort of voice over or flow of a narrative. Showcasing the characters interactions throughout his days to create a collection of images that then could be edited when its all said and done to present a story.    
    Truly the best part about the film is that not a moment throughout it feels as though judgement is being placed on the guy. It really is just showing his life on the streets as he tries to fuel his habit. What film also accomplishes looking it now to the world around was in documenting the possible future of addiction and if anything should have been seen a warning to what was coming to all of America but that's another rant for another place beyond that of a film blog.

   The film goes along and nearing the end, Gringo shows himself in the early stages of getting clean and talks about the sickness (withdrawal) and the proper steps to get off the drugs instead of going cold turkey. Its during the end of the film where the audience is presented with a pivotal moment that has affected me in a way that I believe will stir within me for a good part of my life.

    The scene being about Gringo's reason to entering this life. He's just talking and there's no voice asking or replying back to him with any questions or anything so he's just talking out loud for anyone to listen.         He talks about this girl he married years ago and how she had gotten pregnant but the kid didn't make it. She had some issues or something and the baby had come out of her at like 3 months and he talks about the experience of it all with a tinge of sadness but it comes out so matter of fact.

the scene in question

    You ever hear a story from somebody that has been through some terrible event and when you hear them tell this tale it just gets sadder and sadder and by the end you have a tear in your eye but the orator telling you the story is so matter of fact about it that it just seemed to be like he was telling you his grocery list?

    It's the same type of storytelling you get when hearing this guy talk all throughout this film but listening to him having to toss out his 3 month baby into the trash and having nightmares from the sight and such and needing an escape. Its a short brutal story and gives insight on how anyone would have gotten their start with heroin.

Feelings of Uncertainty 

    It's certainly a movie that succeeds but there are a few moments where I felt uncertain of the film riding the line of genuine curiosity to exploitative. These feelings of exploitation coming from the fact that the promotional materials that Troma made in releasing the film, just see the poster earlier in the blog, and the fucking logo in the beginning of the film just doesn't feel right with me. Which leads me uncertain as a whole as to the complete authenticity of the film as Troma has been known to make editorial decisions of their own free will.

leaves a bad taste in my mouth

    Alongside this sense of uncertainty, there were some scenes of the film that felt staged though these moments are too scattered around and ultimately inconsequential from the primary observational eye of the camera so I can say that it succeeds more-so than fails in presenting this guys story as amoral as possible but with an asterisk. 

    There is also a moment in the film, possibly the weakest, when the movie turns into music video of sorts as Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five song The Message is playing as images of the rundown streets and Gringo just living life pass by. 

    It is tough to tell if my point to criticize this particular scene at this moment of time is justified as this lifestyle at that time wasn't widespread knowledge. It must be understood that my opinion right now is that of a modern asshole giving an opinion on a moment of time that coincides and clashes alongside so much more information about this particular time of the American Drug Trade. All that existed then and what I can only assume was the point of the scene was to showcase something new for people that had no clue while having a fairly popular song that details in genius rhyming scheme the trials and tribulations of drug ridden New York. 

    Regardless, seeing this movie now I can only see this moment being so out of place to the rest of the film. It's just a showcase of more images of Gringo just doing the day to day rituals like combing your hair, cleaning your shoes, and walking around. It's a great song but playing against these images just doesn't work for me. Especially with Chuck Kentis's fantastic score playing all throughout the film. And it certainly doesn't feel like a proper build up to that extraordinarily sobering scene in the film.

    The movie playing out as amorally as possible but this part felt like a public service announcement of the lowest order. These grievances aside, as they are my own issues with the film, the overall impact of the film does far more good than bad.

    The ending though is just perfect. No notes or anything. The song Since I Don't Have You by Don McLean plays alongside the image of Gringo just riding around on his skateboard. A bittersweet sensations as you watch him coast along and feel some hope for the guy as the screen fades to black and credits start to roll.

 

   Bittersweet in that this documentary is about a guy who unfortunately didn't get a chance to come out clean the other side. John Spacely would die of AIDS in 1993. Most likely from sharing needles during this time as he had tried to go clean after this movie was made and strive for an acting career of sorts. 

The End

    A film that succeeds more so than falters in showcasing a external world that no longer exists as the neighborhoods of New York get cleaned up, for the most part, but internally to every person out there needing to escape as the successes of the old world around them seem to get farther and farther from their grasp, it seems like a road paved in blood waiting for them to travel down. It only takes a critical life event to make that road seem far appealing to travel down. Just look at John 'Gringo' Spacely. 

    If I had seen this back in the day, watching him ride this skateboard would give me a sense of childish hope that he would make it out but seeing it 41 years later, it hurts to accept my first reaction that its no surprise the guy didn't make it. Hardly any American today ever do. 

Look out! Its THE FLY!

It's That Time of Year Again

    It is the beginning of another October and 74 years on, it seems to matter less and less. It's still hot as hell with temperatures sticking around in the mid 80s but nonetheless; the history of this month has been spreading itself like an infection, something akin to Gonorrhea, for all these centuries that we as sentient beings now know it subconsciously as the time when the leaves are supposed to turn colors and Satan is ready for the ultimate orgy by the time the 31st comes around.

here we go

    What also comes to mind around this time of year are horror movies. And that specific niche of movie watching freaks that never shut up about this month being THE month for horror movies to be seen. Spreading around various images of gore photos or trying to one up one another in some social media comment wall about some obscure movie with a title like KILLER FETUS RETURNS. The sight is a true revelation of the disgusting self-masturbatory phenomenon that these movie watching persons indulge in and that I myself find myself indulging in. Though I must admit that my involvement is only to an extent as I have gotten older and shittier since those Cannibal Holocaust enjoying days of my youth.

 

the twilight of youth

    So for tonight on the first of October, I searched for something to set the tone for the month. Would it be a month full of comedy a la Evil Dead 2? Of thrills a la Evil Dead? Of kills a la Army of Darkness? Searching for something worth its while lead me to finding a copy of David Cronenberg's film The Fly.

    I can't even remember the last time I saw this film nor could I really remember the last time I held this exact copy of it. Which led me to travel down the mental pathways of my brain in trying to figure out whether or not this copy of the film was actually MY copy or someone else but then that would mean I would know other fellow movie watchers to exist alongside with and I don't. I have no one. There is nothing.....but the movies. Which is pretty cool.

A True Craftsman

    Before divulging into the film, I sat and wondered about David Cronenberg. For he seems to have created this legacy as a true wunderkind when it comes to making films. His style managing to work seamlessly within any genre that he makes films in. It doesn't matter where you, the viewer, exist as a movie watcher as his films can be viewed within any span of High and Low culture. Though please recognize that my use of these denominations is just to set a sense of universality of the man's work. For there is so much on the surface on the film to grab anyone's attention but the amount of depth behind that surface is just as grand for anyone wanting to truly venture on.

    I believe that the first David Cronenberg film that I got around to watching was the 2005 film A History of Violence. Watching it at the young age of 13 and I thought it was great. What's not to love? Necks getting snapped, cunnilingus, and there's William Hurt walking around and saying Broheem al over the place. Its the best. But at 13, what the fuck did I know about movies? I wasn't a genius then. I wasn't a baby genius from the beginning I'm sorry to say. I only became one after opening my chakras to the greatest film of all time.

excited for this Criterion release

    Then as time goes on and I my genius grows, I end up spending my school nights staying up super late to record on my VCR whatever I can on late night cable and one night in particular I myself end up staying up way too late and seeing one his earlier films; 1981's Scanners. Watching a man's head EXPLODE was not what I expected but I was hooked. These psychic powered mutants running around trying to escape the man or some government/corporation force and there's Michael Ironside causing trouble in the middle of it all. Then you get that final confrontation where its a Psychic Battle that should have been an influence on Dark City if Alex Proyas knew any better but I digress. 

 

Even with William Hurt...what a disappointment

    When those credits started to roll though, the race was on to hunt down and watch what else he had to offer and man, that guy sure did make a lot of good movies. Pretty cool Horror one's but the Science Fiction movies really do tickle my fancy more. Probably the highs for me at this point are Videodrome and Eastern Promises with the low being The Brood but even that as a low point is pretty high compared to other filmmakers with such long careers. Though I must give a shout out to Spider and Crash as these showcase that even with the lowest of budgets, magic can still occur.

    So how does The Fly stack up with the rest of his films? Looking at the man's filmography, this looks to be him taking another step into the Hollywood system. The Dead Zone could be probably be considered the first step in him having to wheel and deal with the Hollywood studio system. Interesting to see that this movie would end up being one that Mel Brooks would produce. The gears turning in such a way that gave Cronenberg free reign to rewrite the script he didn't like, but having enough respect to have the original screenwriter receive credit as well, to make something more viable to his tastes. So what comes out of this experience? A pretty solid David Cronenberg film.

The Motion Picture in Question

    The movie kicks off quick with Seth Brundle, played by Jeff Goldblum, and Veronica, played by Geena Davis, in conversation at some lame nerd party full of scientists and soon enough he convinces her to come over to his laboratory. She checks out his cool transporter and wants to break the news regarding this amazing invention that will change mankind. Brundle tells her to cool off on the story as he still has to figure out some kinks in the system. She says tough luck but gets denied by her editor/crazy ex-boyfriend Stathis,played by a bearded John Getz, about the story but that denial ends up working out for her. Brundle wants to give her the exclusive on his whole process. She agrees and starts filming his every move as he tries to make the machine work. They test run it with a baboon that would instantly be a turn off but dead baboon or not, she starts falling for the guy.

    They hook up but she still has some problems to solve with Stathis so she leaves to end it once and for all. Brundle gets stuck with the dead monkey's brother and gets drunk enough to turn jealous. He drinks enough to get his confidence going and decides to jumps in the transporter. The machine rips into gear and he comes out the other end feeling like a million bucks but we saw that a fly was hanging out in the machine at the same time he used it. Uh Oh.

    Brundel's body starts breaking down as well as his relationship with Veronica. She finds out she's pregnant and he wants her to keep the baby even though it could be a fly baby. Flesh decaying as it all comes to a head with Veronica having to pull the trigger on breaking up with Brendal with a shotgun blast.

The Strange Afterglow of this Film

    Boy, this sure was something but nothing like what one expects from a horror movie called THE FLY. I suppose people walking into this back in the day really didn't know what to expect. A Mel Brooks produced movie and even watching the trailer beforehand doesn't leave much to the imagination. But with having seen enough horror movies to daisy chain some sense of logic regarding the images, I could theorize that it would leave people expecting a completely different movie than the one that they ended up watching.  

    It's fascinating at how still this film compared to what horror films are these days. There isn't much flash in the way the camera moves when comparing it to the other big studio Horror releases of that year like Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. The only film that comes close to something similar to this that was released around the same time was Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer but even that film feels for more clinical in comparison. In The Fly, there primary investment of the actual drama playing out between the characters that manages to push the ridiculous surface level story of a man becoming a fly into something genuine and horrific.    

    Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis playing it straight makes it all the worthwhile. The special effects and that ending, which I can't lie brought a tear to my eye, wouldn't be much of anything if they didn't commit to their characters like they do. Horror movies always seem to follow this strange 90 minute structure of having character development for the first 25 to 30 minutes and then the nonstop horror. Creating this facade of what can only be considered a characterization than a person. 

    This film focusing and staying with the highs and lows of this interpersonal relationships instead of the horror gives so much more weight to it all. A real sense of gravitas if I can push up my glasses with confidence. It's funny as well to see that the horror seems to be this incident that gets in the way from these two lovers being able to continue on their life together. 

    Apparently when it was released, the connection that people made with the film was the ongoing AIDS epidemic. Easy to make what with the slow decay of a man as his body begins to slowly break apart. Though Cronenberg denies it as the decay of the flesh has always been present in his films, its interesting to see that this film in particular happen to be released at a time when that comparison could be made.

    What was also interesting on watching this at 80 years old was that my brain finally clicked into place as to what makes this film fit well within the various other Cronenberg films that I have seen. The use of very slow and calculated camera movements that creates this tension that just never seems to go away.          This method lending itself to create this unrelenting tension that isn't released suddenly with a jump scare, though there is a good one near the end, or anything of the nature of a cheap thrill. Instead what it does, this slow and distinct pace that it creates, has each scene builds upon the last to instill this real strange sensation of uncertainty that follows through the films running time even though you have a good sense of what's going to happen. This style just being how he made his movies but for some reason, I only just noticed it. Maybe I am growing. 

The Final Conclusion

    David Cronenberg made something that will stand the test of time but for some reason feels undefinable in a way. Its a horror movie for the most part but that's not the interesting part. The relationships between the two main characters are far more interesting to watch as this tragedy plays out. So who is this for? People that want to something serious with a horror twist? I'm just lost at the moment I suppose for I am bewildered that this movie exists in this particular way.

    There is so much to it that showcases great craftsmanship but out of the Cronenberg movies that gets mentioned, this probably doesn't rank high on that list. Maybe its because his other films have left a greater mark? 

    I feel as though this could be the same fate that something like Naked Lunch suffers as well though the difference being that the latter is an adaptation of a literature toted masterpiece and the other is just a short story from the horror genre. 

    I might have gotten muddled in what I am trying to say but there is something so strong in this film that I haven't seen in quite some time in other films. I still have others to see but I might possibly be bold, dare I say confident, to state that this could be my favorite David Cronenberg film.

The Wonderful Journey Into The World of Mandy

    Lost Without Reason

    What state of mind was I in when I first saw this? I must have been alone during this time, late 2018 into early 2019, and for certain I was on a path of uncertainty. I still travel down this road but with just a little bit more confidence in that I know what I'm doing. At least more so than I did back then. Alone and venturing into what I love most and that is movies and suddenly something unknown catches me by surprise. For the feeling I had when viewing this film was like discovering a brand new world. A world where the line of quality that existed for the revenge film could be raised so high.

pure magic

 

    The revenge genre is plentiful but it is hardly one that requires any resemblance of high quality. The basics of the main character getting double crossed, a close relation killed, or even the goddamn dog getting whacked is enough to drive a movie all the way to finish line. Or even 4 movies.     

    When it comes to recently great revenge films its a short list but also one in which I fear is dated on my mind. Or maybe I'm just tired at the moment. One of the few recent films that sticks out in my mind as having actually pulled off having the genuine weight of revenge be present is that mid to late 2000's film Death Sentence starring Kevin Bacon. It probably means a lot to me since I had seen it in theaters with some friends and we were all stoked by it. I haven't watched it recently but I still remember enjoying it very much even though usage of that one fucking song is just the worst as well as the clunky story telling of the 2nd child sub story. 

Pretty Good

 Low Expectations Unfounded 

    On this night though, I must admit that expectations were not high that this film was going to be great but it had Nicolas Cage so it couldn't be all bad, right? 

    What came after that opening crawl regarding someone requesting that they be rock and rolled in their death, which was a pretty cool way to start the film, were the opening notes of the King Crimson song Starless and as the camera flew over the trees to show this vast landscape, we then see Nic Cage cutting down trees as a rough and tumble tree logger. The images and music telling this story before a word is even spoken and I become entranced. I digress though as before I go into the nitty gritty of the what the film brought, let me give a quick overview of the plot:

    Red, played by Nicolas Cage, and his girlfriend Mandy, played by Andrea Riseborough, are living life in the remote wilderness of the Shadow Mountains in the year 1983 AD but life is only good for little while as cult arrives, one with possible mystical & magical powers, to ruin the fun. The leader wants to fuck Mandy and after taking the two hostage and failing to win her over goes about in killing her. Red survives the attack and transforms into something otherworldly on his journey of revenge. 

    That's the easy peasy breakdown of someone telling someone else the story of a movie but its not the way to recommend it.

    To do a proper recommendation of this film, I'm going to have to stretch my fingers a bit as what I witnessed when the credits started to roll was something far more beautiful and transcendental than just a revenge movie. I saw a movie where the theme of love is so prevalent throughout the journey of this man seeking revenge. 

    

 The Recommendation

     For starters, there is not a single boring shot in the entire film. No matter if the pace or the actual story of the film is something you don't care for, it must be accepted that there is always something on screen to be aware and look out for. Nothing from this film feels like it came from a director that has had producers breathing down their neck to get the shots they need and not what they want. A total vision is present and the energy of each shot shifts constantly from the insane lighting that makes no logical sense but the emotional plane of existence that the film lives on justifies all of it. None of this though comes to be as powerful as it can be without the music. My god the music.

    The score to this film is just absolutely amazing. It also happens to be the last film score that Johann Johannsson went about in working on and what a haunting melancholic score it is. The range of the tracks stretch through various areas of sound to create this emotional impact for each moment it plays against. From the slow and sensual for the soft moments that will shift suddenly into this world warping industrial landscape that gives certain portions of the film such a grand scope and all of it meshing so beautifully with the psychedelic images.

just the greatest

    All of this coming together to truly put Nicolas Cage's performance on a pedestal. At this point in his career an argument can be made that he isn't doing the jobs that he should be doing. Lackluster roles in lackluster movies with a high point coming every so often like that Paul Schrader film Dog Eat Dog but overall, there is a serious lack of seriousness in the roles that he was playing at the moment. The misses are plenty while the hits are varied but here it feels like he takes a true stand that he still has the juice. 

    This is in no way to diminish the rest of the cast as Linus Roache creates such a fantastic villain as Jeremiah Sand but what Cage does with just his face and sculpting so much pathos in his raw emotion is just mesmerizing. There are two scenes specifically that have stayed with me in the recess of my brain ever since I first watched the film. As well as give me a punch in the gut every single time I give this a watch.

    The first is the scene where he wakes up after the attack of the cult. He rushes to the bathroom and finds his stashed bottle of vodka, him being sober for some time, and starts to just guzzle down the vodka. After the first chug he holds his throat as the burning sensation of the drink is too much and then he starts to scream. He drinks and screams. The screams though are so brutal with all that pain he just suffered. Just a true bare of the soul as he screams and screams before ultimately crying. No music is played as the scene goes and its just one of those scenes that make you say to yourself: Holy Shit.
    The second scene is near the end and is actually his most restrained piece of acting but its so pure. There's this beautiful song from Johann Johannson, I believe its the one I linked earlier in this love letter to this film, that plays as Red remembers the exact moment when he met Mandy.

    The setting looks to be as though he was waiting for a band to play or something and Mandy is staring at him. He takes a hit off a joint and looks up and the look that we see is the hardly ever seen love at first sight look. Everything is in those eyes and face. The vulnerability, the pain, the love, and so much more. It honestly reminded me of Charles Bronson in the greatest film of all time; Once Upon A Time in the West.     On Bronson, just the eyes are needed and I'm certain that if the film had done that shot then they would have achieved that same effect but with the whole visual explosion that happens when it shows Red's face, I'm glad they just kept the shot with his whole face in the frame. 

Powerful Potential 

    Panos Cosmotos, son of George P. Cosmotos who directed such films as the Stallone starring vehicle Cobra and Kurt Russell classic Tombstone, directs this, his 2nd time at bat, and what a visionary to pull off what he did. 

    I had a chance to view his debut film Beyond the Black Rainbow and its easy to see that there is something tangible there but it felt a bit dry. Something along the lines of knowing what he needs to pull off a movie but its a bit cool overall in the execution. Something akin to a Kubrick picture. 

    With this 2nd film though, its amazing how much more confident he is with the material at hand to be able to get this flourishing vision that just made the film rocket into another dimension. I mean the decision to place the camera where he did and to commit to those singular shots with little to no coverage. Its something truly excellent and there is high hopes that the man goes about in directing some more films before the end comes along. 

    I have heard good things from his episode from that Guillermo Del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities TV show but its been a desert since. 

And So It Goes 

    Since first viewing this so many years ago, I have seen the film again and again and I just finished viewing it last night with my girlfriend. She loves the movie and it reminds me of the various times that I have shared this film with people that I love. Friends and relatives. Their reactions also varies from the insanity that the film offers such as decapitations and chainsaw fights but the end result has always been a sense of love for the characters and the journey that occurs with the film. 
    Truly a film with so much but the underlying theme of love is so strong and so vindicated by that last moment that anyone can truly enjoy it. Though the squeamish might have more trouble than others. 

Out of a Film Festival Comes Another Biker Movie

A Film Festival Comes To Be

    I recently made my way to a film festival the other day. I write this on Sunday and this festival happened yesterday on a Saturday but I am posting this on Monday. It was the annual, I think, Severin pop up film festival where they go about in celebrating their greatness and to be fair, its well deserved. There are plenty of films that I have only come across due to this label with the biggest life changing moment was finding the director Eloy de la Iglesia whose films have become some of my most personal favorites. Especially his film Cannibal Man.

what a masterpiece 

    And so I traveled to this place and when it comes to driving into the hell hole of Los Angeles, my bowels tend to churn in anticipation the closer and closer I reach my destination. For this trip, I prepared myself. Pedialyte, Coconut Water, and Pepto-Bismal blended into the most delicious elixir to ever exist and after drinking a few cups of that, I knew I was ready. Last year though I was not ready.    

    The bowels last year churned and boiled to the point where the car I was traveling in had to pull over in order for the bowels to evacuate. Luckily my pants and underwear survived so I was able to enjoy the film festival. But into Los Angeles this year; all was well.

 

The Festival 

    The festival this year was pretty cool. There was some good movies that played along with some short films. With possibly one of my greatest movie going theater experiences that I have ever experienced was experienced on this day.

    They had played a pair of silent films back to back but instead of having some prearranged soundtrack to go along with the films, they had hired a pianist to play alongside the movie. I had never had a chance to see something like this and sitting there seeing this movie play while a man plays the piano, a strange feeling began to grow in the back of my mind that made me realize that this was a truly special moment in time.

    Although this silent film can be played again with someone else playing the piano, this moment can never be repeated with this particular crowd of movie goers. This strange mixture of performative art and a silent film on screen was something that had to be the norm back in the day before the recorded track but here was this lost art of sort that had been resurrected and in sitting through that, I couldn't believe how magical movie watching could truly be. Then my heart skipped a beat when a beautiful remastered print of Mario Bava's Bay of Blood played right after. Truly a highlight that I will cherish ever so.

 

Terrific

    In between the first two movies shown were these short 15 minute breaks and during this time I would venture out to the back of this movie theater, Brain Dead Studios, and try my best to privy the merchandise on sale but movie fans that gather for an event like this, the kind that wear worn out t-shirts of their favorite hardcore horror movie and have long flowing greasy hair even though they are balding from the front, refuse to have any kind of spacial awareness. And so, on the third trip I had to barge my way through to buy a couple movies.

    Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot money but after paying my rent, the electric, the gas, buying food, buying gas, and paying back my student loans; I had about 60 bucks to spare. Luckily, they were doing buy 3 for 50 so after negotiating with myself on what I could get the most bang for my buck I purchased the following movies:

                                                                        True Pleasure

    After the festival and striving to fight a possibly hangover today, I sat down and chose the movie that wasn't a Jess Franco joint.    

The Feature in Question

 

    To say there is a plot to Satan's Sadists would be diving into the uninteresting whereas if you view it more as a character piece then there is far more to indulge yourself in when taking this strange journey of a biker gang that truly has nothing to lose.

    The film starts off with possibly one of the most brutal openings that I've seen so far from a biker film. They pull up to some couple making out and make their presence known with some slick comment. Soon enough they start beating the guy up and knocking him out. Then they drug the woman with some LSD before each member takes a turn in raping her. Except for Firewater. Yes that is a characters name. They Finish up and put the couple back into their car, pour alcohol all over them, and then push the car off a cliff killing them both. That's how the movie fucking starts. Fucking bananas.

    The movie goes on and we see these squares traveling through the desert and there there to bring some sense of grounded reality to offset this biker madness. All these people meeting up to clash at a diner where after a quick confrontation between the gang and a Marine, the gang takes control of the situation. Some of them, including the leader Anchor, take the owner and this passing older couple to the back of the diner, which happens to be a junkyard?, where Anchor has them tied up. He then goes about raping the wife then after finding out the old guy was a cop gives this speech. This speech being one that not only hits so goddamn hard but also creates an understanding to their logos as to why these wandering maniacs are the way they are.

 

                  what a speech

    There were 2 other members that get killed in the diner by that roaming Marine, in the vein of a Johnny Rambo, who just came back from Vietnam, He and the waitress go about in making their escape with the remaining gang members chasing them down into the desert mountains.

    At this point, there's a split between the "plot" of the film with what happens next. The gang finds a trio of girls, they having shown up earlier in the film, camping out and getting rock samples. They take clear advantage of their camping supplies and then of the girls themselves. Anchors woman, Gina, has enough with Anchor paying her no attention nor caring and goes about in committing suicide. 

    Anchor and his buddy Acid stay at the camp and go about in drugging the woman and raping them before killing them. Two other members, Willie & Firewater, yes that is his name, go out on the hunt for the Marine and waitress but the Marine ends up killing Willie by tossing a rattle snake that bites him. 

    The biker gang ends up self destructing with Acid playing Russian roulette by himself and reaching that point where he shoots himself. Anchor and the racist named Firewater fight one another. Firewater winning and wanting to warn the Marine and waitress but they end up fighting to the death with Firewater getting killed by a boulder but then the final confrontation.

    Anchor shows up on his motorcycle and walks over to the two with a gun, in this real great shot of Anchor right in front of the sun and creating this golden silhouette, and starts laughing at the expression that the Marine has on his face when seeing him. A true madman as the Marine holds a switchblade and is ready to kill. Anchor fires and the Marine throws a knife, which lands impossibly, into Anchor's throat that kills him. Then the Marine comes out of nowhere to deliver the most INSANE line that I ever heard:

In Vietnam, at least I got paid when I killed people.

    Then him and the waitress drive off on Anchors motorcycle but from the looks of it, not into the city where salvation was waiting.

Way Far Out

    Out of all the biker films that I have seen in recent times, this one was special. With the lack of plot, the film is able to makes the characters stick out more and the end result achieves this real nihilistic feeling all throughout. 

    In the other films, there are at least goals for those bikers to achieve whereas here it just seems that these characters are just existing. Going from one place to another just trying to get their kicks and this movie just happens to be when it all comes to end. Leaving me to wonder how long have they been roaming this Earth and spreading their hatred for the status quo?   

    What really sold me on this movie were the two characters of Anchor and Gina. These two truly steal the movie. Russ Tamblyn playing the leader of this gang and every time this guy shows up on screen, the movie realigns itself with his silent madness. Every other moment outside of this guy on screen is bringing a grounded reality back to the movie but when he shows up, its madness. Everything he does has a sense of terror. He hardly raises his voice or anything except for the end and even then, he's laughing         

    Reportedly Russ Tamblyn rewrote and improvised all his dialogue and if that's true then he was riding a truly high creative wave. Playing it truly sinister all throughout and especially so when you realize that there is nothing for this guy to attach himself to this Earth. Ultimately carrying on this turbulent relationship he has with Motorcycle Mama Gina played by a fantastic Regina Carrol that sets her on a downward path.

    Her performance is another highlight of the film as there is just so much there for me to empathize. All the squares in this movie and what happens to them is a bummer but what happens to her is truly tragic. For her character is one of great sadness. Of great unfulfillment. Of great melancholy. It's strange seeing a woman like this in a movie since I don't believe that there would be many directors willing to make a completely sub servant character such as this go through with such a bummer end. 

    All throughout the film, Gina is basically living for the sake of Anchor. All she wants is for Anchor to live a life that she could be a servant to which feels something akin to those woman that have a Charles Manson fixation but instead of having her be some sex slave, I'm sure he did but only after he gets through raping so many other women, Anchor treats her like shit to the point where he tells her that she isn't worth anything to him. Leaving her with nothing and so she ends up taking a motorcycle and speeding off to her death right off a cliff.

    One of the most unnerving scenes was the cross cutting of Anchor and his fellow cohort Acid go about in using the trio of drugged woman for their own pleasure up until killing them and Gina riding a motorcycle to her suicide. With this song playing that feels a bit out of place but also feels just perfect for this scene. It's really just amazing.

    Although the movie was one made with far less artistic intentions with it reportedly being made under the gun with a small budget and a lack of a script, I got a lot more out of it than I expected. So much so that I have a need to give it a rewatch soon compared to the various other biker films that I have indulged in and so I can can only come to the conclusion o:  This is the best biker film that I have seen thus far.

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

From a Bummer to a Good Time

    Only 1 Movie That Can Heal  

    Haven't been feeling too good amigos. What the ailment could be I don't know. I'm not a doctor. Maybe it's the realization of time never stopping even when my existence will have to come to a stop sometime. I can't watch movies after I die unless something worthwhile in technology can achieve this dream but alas, all technology is good for is manufacturing hardcore pornography for the degenerates out there but I digress. Been feeling a bit on the bummer side and after going through a whole day feeling like this, I decided that I needed to watch a movie but the ultimate question came soon after: What movie? 

    Jess Franco is still off the table but I did see his Film Noir Rififi in the City recently and thought that was great. Peter Strickland was still taunting me with his box-set but I couldn't commit to The Duke of Burgundy.

    So I ventured onto the TUBI streaming service in search of a Jean Claude Van Damme movie. I found a couple but what I also found was a movie from the past. Obviously it was from the past as it came out in 1992 but its also a film that was part of my personal past. A film directed by a man that I had to import his other films as no one was releasing this crazy shit on American shores. That man is John Woo and the feature presentation was Hard Boiled.

What a title card

And So

    There was recent news in the movie watching world where Shout Factory had received the rights to certain Hong Kong films that have been existing strictly in limbo. Meaning that movie fanatics can finally fulfill their life's journey of upgrading from the original round of terrible quality DVD's that came out back in the day and reach fulfillment with the promise of a 4k remaster. 

    20 years or more in the making with Hard Boiled being one of the tougher sons of bitches to get a copy of as the last great physical release of this film was by the Criterion Collection release back in the late 90's. I couldn't get a fucking copy of this movie since I was barely 10 years old and didn't know who the fuck a John Woo was.

    It would only be in the high school when I would correct this mistake but even then, I could not get hold of this expensive piece of physical media. I did manage to get copies of The Killer and Bullet in the Head from Fortune Star release though so high school wasn't all that bad but I did have to illegally download a terrible dubbed MP4 of Hard Boiled so high school wasn't all that good either. Enough small talk, lets get into this beautiful film.

 

Possible the only decent release and priciest  

The Story

    Gun running is problem number #1 in early 90's Hong Kong and Officer Tequila is on the front line in trying to stop it. The movie opening up with him playing some cool jazz then the band heads out for some tea but are actually working a stake out. Gun deal goes bad and the only solution is for the bullets to start flying. Bad guys die. Civilians die. Cops die. Its a bloodbath. One cop in particular, the cool drummer of the band, get lit up by the boss henchmen and Tequila has to live with it for the rest of the movie. He kills the guy that killed him by the end of the scene so he ain't out for revenge but instead is dealing with the melancholy.

    Funeral service kicks off but the movie flips to a casual light jazz beat as we now follow Alan, a Triad hit-man, who is introduced by going to the local library and pulling off a hit. Killing a man while he was studying and walking away without a care in the world. Except he does care. Cares enough to make a paper crane for every person he's killed but we find out about that later. He works for a gun runner by the name of Uncle Hoi and everyone celebrates the hit but soon after, Johnny Wong comes calling and wants Alan to work for him. He lost a guy and needs a replacement. A real killer. 

    Alan has to prove his loyalty by killing his Uncle in this warehouse takeover but then Tequila shows up and starts shooting. A most insane shootout happening and soon enough, the two end up working together for the rest of the film to take down Johnny Wong. Also, Mad Dog is the coolest villain with morals to be seen on the screen.

one bad ass mother fucker

 

The Man that is John Woo

     There is something special when one mentions the name because no matter the movie, there is always something tremendously enjoyable to take from it. From the Hong Kong movies to the Hollywood years and then maybe the China years and then those 1or 2 American films again. 

    I can't say that I've kept up with the work of the guy since the last thing I saw was Paycheck when it came out.

 

pretty cool movie

 

Regardless, when looking through the filmography the hits keep coming:

A Better Tomorrow 

 A Better Tomorrow II

The Killer

Bullet in the Head

Hard Target

Broken Arrow 

Face/Off

Mission: Impossible 2

Windtalkers 

Paycheck

But what makes Hard Boiled the golden child of the bunch?

    There are a few things that come to mind when realizing that this film stands the strongest against the rest of his films. The first is the most subtle but possibly the most important; Music. 

    He wasn't able to use jazz in his previous film The Killer and that movie is a bit lower on the Francis Booth scale of genius as it has a song that the main female character sings in the beginning and all throughout and it's terrible. Its the kind of song that is trying to force an emotional emotion down your through and in the scene instead of having the music naturally create this emotional tone to set the scene.  

    In this film, it starts off with a slow build up as the credits silently take up the screen alongside an off screen Officer Tequila mixing his drink and then jamming on a clarinet. Some real smooth shit that sets this opening of the cops jamming in a jazz band while the movie starts showing us the sights of early 90's Hong Kong then some more opening credits and then newspaper articles with screaming headlines setting up the rampant gun running going on. All this flowing together to set up the first scene of the tea house shoot out. 

    Throughout the rest of film, the jazz switches modes from the melancholic tones to this upbeat good time moment and then we get these far out jazz moments during the shoot out moments with this repeating sound effect going BADA DA DA DA DA DA! throughout that gets you riled up.  

just press play and you'll hear what I am saying

    Music has and will always important to all of John Woo's films with the most insane moment being the child listening to a cover of Over the Rainbow during a shoot out in Face/Off but in this film, it plays its strongest role. Just absolute perfection meshing with every scene in the film.

    What else makes this special? The relationship between Chow Yun Fat and Teresa Mo. In all John Woo films, there are always strong relationships present between the main characters characters that they have actual gravitas compared to the endless action films that teeter and totter with stock characters saying stock lines that ultimately have stock character arcs. 

    One example are the three buddies in Bullet in the Head or the two brothers and two buddies of A Better Tomorrow, and in The Killer between the killer and the cop. A lot of these relationships are so strong with their masculinity as well as soft as these characters are willing to cry over the death of one another. But this works against any notion of their being a relationship with whatever woman is on the screen but here, there is actually something of merit. 

    It's not like in the forefront of the film as the tale between the two cops is what the heart of the film is but seeing Chow Yun Fat and Teresa Mo have their little back and forth really makes a mark. There's a sense of history between the two and with the undercover cop sending flowers that makes Tequila jealous. It feels like genuine cute moments of a relationship that you never see in a John Woo film. It was refreshing to say the least. 

    Now for the coup de grâce as to what makes this movie the greatest; the last 30 to 40 minute action sequence. This is one of the first movies I remember watching where everyone in the movie shows up for this. All of the police officers seen so far throughout the film show up for this. The main bad guys and all their henchmen show up for the final sequence. Just absolutely insanity and that's why the action works so goddamn well. 

    No one is safe in this movie. Sure, the MAIN characters, for the most part, survive but everyone else is fair game. Cops are getting killed in this hospital. Bad guys are lining up the morgue. Even the civilians that are in the hospital needing help get lit up. Its an absolute frenzy as tensions rise and explode and rise then explode. Every bullet that EXPLODES into a wall or a body is keeping you on your toes in anticipation as you wait to see what the fuck is going to happen next! It's a thrill every single time the movie moves locations to that hospital sequence. Ultimately achieving an ending where all the characters reach the end of their arcs, each story line wraps up nicely, and you are left with a film that not only satisfies but leaves you feeling something that few films have achieved; Fulfillment.

    You will always hear of people comparing the shootouts in his films to these beautiful bullet ballets and other superfluous phrases such as that but in all honesty, its the absolute restraint in going about creating all these elaborate sequences that sets up the notion that every single bullet matters. Creating a feeling for the viewer to be so engrossed with the action because nothing feels wasted and everything truly matters. 

What else is there to say?

    A true high watermark to any filmmaker to have made this but to Woo, it seems to have been just another day on the job. Though his films past this aren't as strong, at least in my opinion, there is always something worth watching in them. What truly excites me more in having watched this on what seems to be the new 4k remaster of the film, is that the heart itself cannot do anything but swell in joy.

     For now there is a definitive version available for all to enjoy but what this also offers is hope for future releases of other Hong Kong films and with City on Fire seeming to be the first release to test the waters, I have already placed my order, then the future is looking pretty good for this movie watcher.