Guide (1995)- Classic Review

My all time fav movie. Reviewing a classic gives you a thrill and is an extremly challenging rather than reviewing some crap movie which are churned out today.

Navketan International have made some of the great movies like Jewel Thief,Jhonny Mera Naam, Hum Dono, Kala Bazar . But Guide is one of the biggest and most memorable movies under their banner. Based on R.K. Narayan's novel 'The Guide', the film is immortalized by director Vijay Anand's bold, unconventional strokes. Who would have dared to show a man and woman living together outside the sanctity of a marriage way

The movie revolves round Raju (Dev Anand), once a successful tourist guide who hesitates to return to his hometown of Udaipur after his release from jail and decides to search for his fortunes elsewhere. He ends up in a remote village temple wearing over his threadbare clothes a saffron scarf which had once belonged to some passing mendicant and finds himself suddenly elevated to the position of a holy man. Raju's mother and Rosie reach there and watch helplessly as Raju slowly drifts towards death due to the fasting.

The film is enhanced richly by the two central performances. Dev Anand gives perhaps his best shaded performance in the title role, playing him perfectly with just the right amount of grey and his perfectly nuanced performance won him his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Good as Dev Anand is, however, the life and soul of Guide is undoubtedly Waheeda Rehman. It was a daring role to play in those times, of a woman who leaves her stifling impotent husband and lives with her lover, a guide who helps her in her ambitions to become a famous dancer. Waheeda was in fact told she was committing professional suicide taking on this role.

The other big star of Guide was its musical score by S.D. Burman. The film represents perhaps Burman Dada's greatest work and he is aided tremendously by Shailendra's lyrics and the flawless rendering of the songs by Mohd. Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and himself.

Initially Guide had a tough time being sold because of its so called bold theme but thanks to Production Controller Yash Johar's perseverance, the film was finally sold and released to great critical acclaim and was a big commercial success. R.K. Narayan was most unhappy with the final film as he felt it deviated too much from his novel. One of the major changes that Vijay Anand did was to change the setting of the film from Malgudi to Udaipur and while this did give the film an exotic, grand visual look, admittedly perhaps this took away from the ambiance of the small town of Narayan's novel. The ending too of the film was significantly different from that of the novel. But then Vijay Anand has always maintained that he was never interested in merely copying any work of art from one medium to another unless there was scope for value addition and to be fair to him, he has made Guide into a rich and unforgettable cinematic experience.

Guide was made in two versions simultaneously- an English version in collaboration with Pearl S Buck and directed by Ted Danielewski to introduce Dev Anand to western audiences and of course the Hindi version directed by Dev Anand's younger brother, Vijay Anand. The English version said to be closer to the novel and in spite of a nude scene using a duplicate instead of Waheeda Rehman, flopped miserably but the Hindi version remains a classic to this day.

Blade Runner (1982)

"Wake up, Its time to Die"

Welcome to Ridley Scott's lurid slither into sci-fi noir. Blade Runner was definitely ahead of its time with a post-industrial, seemingly post-apocalyptic future, reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984. Ridley Scott has made movies in almost all the genre be it war ( Black Hawk Down), epic (GLadiator, Kingdon of Heaven), thriller (Hannibal/American Gangster), drama (Matchstick Men) and sci-fi (Aliens, Blade Runner). Scott set the sci-fi banchmark with Aliens which many directors tried to imitate afterwards. And which he himself broke with Blade Runner.

Set in a vast, vulcanized Los Angeles in the year 2019, complete with flying automobile and a neverending assault of rain, Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a "blade runner": a cop who's hired to "retire" androids. There are four dangerous androids who have escaped from an "off-world colony" and Deckard's duty is to track them down and kill them before they wreak havoc in this already dreary world.

Blade Runner is not an easy film to like. It has little overt characterization, a slow pace and a lot of background information to absorb before the whole thing makes any sense. Although the plot is a simple manhunt, the story stopped explored many issues. Things like 'what makes us human,'is it morally right to exploit the human
genome' and other classic science fiction themes are competently explored. The replicants are not just mindless killing machines. In fact, some of them were portraying more sympathetically than some of the human characters.

The acting is a bit unnatural, but that's obviously because of the movie's subject. There's minimum dialogue and maximum expression through nuance and innuendo in this movie. This kind of acting style is very effective in a

movie that successfully captures such a dark mood through its artistic direction. It's also fitting that all the characters have mechanical, robotic interactions with each other, signifying the often obscured line between humans and androids and the overall closetedness of emotional life in this bleak city.

What I really appreciate about Blade Runner is its acuity in visual detail. Ridley Scott has taken a lot of pains to make this an intensely visual experience. I've never seen such a variety of styles in lighting technique in a movie. Blade Runner utilizes darkness to set the tone of the plot - a harsh, fluorescent kitchen light, the rays of sharp illumination through a broken skylight from a passing blimp, and the reddish sunset that permeates the sky like a layer of smoke.

The movie also challenges us with some modern interpretations of genetic manipulation and human experimentations in being god. It serves as a horrible reminder of what could be and what is happening: a lot to deal with in the span
of two hours, but of course Blade Runner accomplishes that feat expertly.

In conclusion, this is one superb piece of filmmaking. It reached new heights in cinema in terms of its

cinematography, its audacious storytelling and its pessimistic outlook. A true classic.

Ace in the Hole (1951)

Ace in the Hole is a movie which has been made in 1951 but after watching the movie I firmly believe that the movie still holds valid in the current mad mad Fourth Estate race.


Ace in the Hole is directed by Billy Wilder and was a flop when it opened in 1951 that too one year after Wilder had provided a real treat in 'Sunset Blvd.' in 1950.

With all the venom that Wilder spewed at Hollywood in 'Sunset Blvd.', he outdoes himself here. His teeth are clenched, his fists are up and he's out for blood but this time his target is mass media as represented by newspaperman Chuck Tatum played by Kirk Douglas (Michael Douglas's dad). The film opens as he's driving through Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tatum stops by the local paper, The Sun-Bulletin, to ask for a job.

Kirk Douglas gives the fiercest performance of his career, an amoral newspaper reporter caught in dead end Albuquerque who happens upon the story of a lifetime, and will do anything to ensure he gets the scoop.

After months of living in a rut he finally stumbles upon the perfect story. Deep within some old Indian ruins, a treasure hunter has gotten himself stuck in a cave-in (Co-relate it with our own Prince story which bombarded our TVs couple of years back). Guy in a well. That'll sell papers, right? What follows is genius, as Tatum engineers the story to be far bigger than it really is. We watch as he manipulates the rescue engineers, the local sheriff, the victim's wife, all with the intent of prolonging the incident. He wants to keep the guy underground as long as possible. This gives Tatum time to write more stories, sell them at top dollar to other newspapers, become a major celebrity in his own right and land piles of cash.


When thousands gather outside the cave and a feverish media circus begins to grow, Tatum smells victory. But of course things go downhill from here.

Wilder has always been a master of tone and he continues that trend here. The film starts very funny in a dark, sadistic sort of way, but Wilder slowly lets the humor drain from the proceedings.Wilder often considered Ace in the Hole to be his greatest film and he'll get no argument from me. As of this writing, I can think of few films that are as timely and relevant as this one. It feels fresh and contemporary, and not dated in the least.

Kiss Me Deadly (1955) - Review

Do me a favor, will you? Keep away from the windows. Somebody might... blow you a kiss.

'Kiss Me Deadly'' was ignored when first released but now seems to be a touchstone, a sacred object in the film world. 'Kiss Me Deadly' is the definitive, apocalyptic, nihilistic, science fiction film noir of all time at the close of the classic noir period. Being a huge fan of film noir I bet that this movie is a perfect example of this genre.

People always talk about good endings in film and a lot of these films stick in the mind. By comparison, the beginning of a film is rarely talked about or remembered.

The film opens with a striking pre-credits sequence. A pair of naked feet stumbles and runs down the middle of a lonely highway at night. A near-hysterical, panting, barely-clothed woman with closely-cropped hair who wears only a white trenchcoat, rasps and breathes heavily on the highly-amplified soundtrack as she helplessly tries to flag down passing cars that flash by her. Desperate to get one of the cars to stop she strategically positions herself in the middle of the road by standing and holding her arms out in a V as a two-seated Jaguar sports car/convertible approaches and blinds her in its high-beamed headlights. The driver swerves to avoid the apparition while applying his screeching brakes. His tires squeal as he pulls sharply off the road into a swirling cloud of dust and barely misses running her down. I consider it a perfect opening and the opening which is still talked about in the film circuits even today.

Hard-hitting detective Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) takes on thugs and atomic secrets in Robert Aldrich's fast-paced thriller 'Kiss Me Deadly', an adaptation of the Mickey Spillane novel. The night goes awry for Hammer soon after he picks up a scantily clad hitchhiker (Cloris Leachman). The next thing he knows, he's assaulted by a couple of goons and the sultry drifter turns up dead. As Hammer tracks down the murderers, he realizes he is involved in an international conspiracy .'Kiss Me Deadly' boasts nightmarish imagery, a careening, sinuous plot and an unforgettable shock ending.

Filmed in a scant three weeks, 'Kiss Me Deadly' was a late entry into the film noir genre, but it turned out to be one of the most memorable.It's pretty doubtful that anyone at the time realized how important Kiss Me Deadly would loom in coming years. It was lionized by French critics, hailed by French New Wave directors and went on to influence everyone from Martin Scorsese to Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh to countless up-and-coming directors. I recommend it to anybody who wants to understand just what the whole noir craze is about.

For the people who do not know the root cause of the problem I suggest going through the BBC website link below and for others please read on.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/south_asia/2002/kashmir_flashpoint/default.stm

The issue of the Amarnath Land Transfer was on the forefront right from the begining of year.
I'll address the issues one by one.

1. Amarnath land row

The trouble started in Jammu & Kashmir on May 26 after the Congress-led Govt decides to transfer 100 acres of forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board. First there was agitation in Kashmir Valley against the transfer of the land to Sri Amarnath Shrine Board which forced the Government to take back the land allotted to The Board and now for more than a month Jammu is burning demanding the land back for the Sri Amaranth Shrine Board. What has sustained the agitation so long in Jammu? Who provoked it and for what? Is the peace of land a real issue? These are important questions which must be answered satisfactorily. It need not be stressed that it is BJP which is trying to cash in on this agitation and is having its eye not only on election in Jammu and Kashmir but on forthcoming Loksabha election in early 2009.

2. Agitation in Jammu

The agitators in Jammu claim that no party controls the agitation and that people of Jammu – meaning Hindus of Jammu themselves are leading the agitation, not any political party. Though not wholly but partly it is true. Jammu is really on fire.

The agitation in Jammu is indeed draws its dynamics not from 'land for Amarnath' issue but it is highly complex thing. There has long been simmering against "Kashmir Raj" in Jammu region of the state. Basically it is regional divide but unfortunately now it is being turned into communal divide mainly by the BJP by raising the Amarnath land issue. The noted scholar and journalist Shri Balraj Puri who has for years dedicated his life for just and fair settlement of J&K issue has repeatedly pointed out that different region of J&K be given regional autonomy. He also headed a commission to find solution to this problem appointed by Farouq Abdullah Government. However, the report prepared by the Commission, was thrown into the dustbin.

It is important to mention here that during the agitation in Jammu, the mob attacked the police/army and stabbed a sub-inspector and torched a police station and several police vehicles. Policemen were beaten with their own lathis and yet in over 70 days of voilence in Jammu 5 people were killed as compared to the peaceful protests in Valley where more than 30 people were killed. Their only fault they were carrying green flags.

3.Economic Blockade of Kashmir

Was there an economic blockade in Kashmir?? Most of the people in India can say no this is because they are ignorant of many facts which happen in Kashmir and ONLY believe the news comming from NDTV and CNN-IBN (Which is another topic within this blog ie Role of Media). Comming back to the blockade, was there a blockade....the answer is plain YES. I was there and i can vouch for it. Currently Kashmir is connected to outside world only by India’s National Highway No. 1(NH-1). All the supplies, be it medicines, food items etc come into Kashmir through NH-1 all the imports and exports go through this very road. In wake of recent Amarnath Land Transfer controversy(which was a different story all together), Jammu and some other states of India like Punjab imposed an economic blockade on Kashmir Valley for 2 long months stopping all the essential supplies to the Kashmir, leading acute shortage of essential commodities. Empty departmental stores and medicine less hospitals were enough proof of it.
While Government of India and Jammu(including other states) were consistently denying the economic blockade, one needs to be present here in order to witness it. After visiting 30 medical stores i swear I couldn't get a tin of baby food. Such was the condition. Like me there were hunderds of people searching for such stuff.

4. Protests in Kashmir against the blockade

Raging Bull (1980)

After a long time it gives an immense pleasure to do a review of Martin Scorsese's movie again. Well today being friday I picked one of his best movie "Raging Bull".

Raging Bull is a cinematic masterpiece which pulls no punches. Based on a true story, Robert De Niro stars as Jake La Motta, a middle-weight boxer from the late-1940s and early-1950s, who basically destroys himself and those around him because of an uncontrollable temper and poor decision-making. Instead of going down as one of the greatest boxers of all time, La Motta ruined his career because he was unable to see the bigger picture. He threw bouts, he got involved with low-life underworld crime figures, he beat his wife , he abused all those closest to him, and he had relationships with young girls who were still considered minors. Even his strongest tie, his younger brother, gets cut during the course of his untimely self-destruction.


The film is shot brilliantly, what Scorsese disliked about the previous boxing films he had seen was the way the fights were shown from ringside, adopting a spectator's view, which protected the audience from the brutality inside the ring. For Raging Bull, Scorsese was determined to get as close as possible to the raw violence of the fights. He filmed inside the ring and make the audience feel every punch. His plan was to shoot the fight scenes as if the viewers were the fighter, and their impressions were the fighter's, and never to insulate the audience from the violence in the ring. The viewers would think, feel, see and hear everything the boxers would.


I keep mentioning in all Martin Scorsese movie reviews that he was again and again robbed of the Oscar awards for eg. for Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and later for Aviator, Gangs of New York. This film was also criminally robbed of 1980's Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards, by "Ordinary People", another one of those dysfunctional family drama's.

For all those who have not seen, see it. The legendary Mohammed Ali may be boxing's biggest name, but his recent biopic, 'Ali,' falls way short of the high standards set by Raging Bull.

Johnny Gaddaar [2007]- Review

Recently saw this movie when one of my friend told me that it is an adaptation of James Hadley Chase's novel. I have read most of the JHC books and will vouch for it that if you read all of his books and act on them you'll one day end up a big fraud. There are so many innovative ways which JHC come up with to con people. Now being an ardent fan of JHC, I made it a point to see this movie but had some apprehensions at first because some years ago even Ketan Mehta tried to adapt a JHC novel, 'The Sucker Punch' into AAR YA PAAR, even some of the dialouges were lifted from the book but i guess he failed in the script. He went too far from what was there in the novel.

Comming back to Johnny Gaddaar I found the story is not lifted from any of JHC's novels, it does follow a somewhat similar plot though. I feel it is Sriram Raghavan's (Of 'Ek Haseena Thi' fame) tribute to many personalities, Vijay Anand, R K Narayan (Rimi Sen is reading 'Guide' in the film), Rama Gopal Verma (Sriram was RGV's assistant), Hitchcock etc. In the opening credits he mentions some of the names like JHC and Vijay Anand.



The movie features the grandson of the legendary singer Mukesh, Neil Nitin Mukesh and what a debut!!!!! I was amazed by the way he has carried out his role. Flawless. Also another brilliant performance by Vinay Pathak after Bheja Fry.



The movie is about a gang whose members are involved in some kind of shady deals. One such deal promises the gang a lot of money, but one member of the gang is lured by the 'Whiff of Money' (Another JHC novel which Neil Mukesh is reading in the train) and began to hatch his own secret plans, leading to unforseen situations for the group. The things go wrong when his plans goes astray. The movie is a relentlessly rigorous take on the wages of crime and what evil men do to their conscience for the sake of money.

Johnny Gaddaar is not a compelling thriller but its witty direction and sincere performances make it a fine thriller, among the best in recent years. It is a much needed respite from song and dance type of movies which are being churned out these days. The soundtrack is groovy, Vishal-Shekhar has done justice to some old song references by mixing them well. Even the songs are a tribute to the olden era (Read Navketan Productions) of thrillers. Songs like Johnny Breakbeat Mera Naam aka 'Johnny Mera Naam', 'Bhule Bisre Geet', 'Revenge of the 70's', are well done.

It is sad that the movie didn't got its due share commercially. But after the movie was well received by the critics, it mustered some figures commercially. I feel it was the most underrated movies of 2007.