Category: cinema

Film Review

“America America” was Directed by Greek American Director Elia Kazan. Kazan was a legend who directed Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront” and was an influence on Martin Scorcese. “America America” was nominated for several Oscars and Golden Globe Awards. The Oscar nominations were for Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay. It took one Oscar for Best Art Direction.

Kazan won a Golden Globe for Best Director and the star of the film, Stathis Giallelis won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer. With summer here, there will be more posts on Movies, especially since the theaters are still closed.

“America America” is the greatest Greek themed movie that Hollywood has ever created. Most people have seen “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. While that movie had humor and was embraced by the public it was not a film about the Greek experience and unfortunately (through no fault of its makers) it is the film that most people associate with Greeks.

“America America” is not only a Greek themed film. It is an American film through and through. It is about the land of opportunity and the immigrant experience.

The film is a fictionalized version of the journey of Kazan’s Uncle who was born in Anatolia. The film is set in the year 1896 and the story centers around a Greek family living under worsening political conditions under the Ottoman Turks. The main character is Stavros (played by Giallelis) the oldest son in the family.

Stavros is friends with an Armenian named Vartan. The film is beautifully shot (much of it was filmed in Greece and Turkey) and the second class status of Christians under the Turks is accurately depicted. The film takes place during the period when there was unrest as the Ottomans were becoming increasingly brutal toward the Armenian Christians. Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi who published last year’s masterpiece, “The Thirty Year Genocide” about the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Genocide dated the beginning of the mass slaughter to the year 1894.

The humiliation of Christians is expressed by the father of Stavros who tells his son “I keep my honor inside where it is safe”. This after a scene where the old man had to grovel in humiliation before a Turkish official. The film includes a scene where Stavros and Vartan are humiliated by Turkish officials while going about their business.

There is also a difficult scene to watch in which Armenians are massacred by the Turks. The film successfully captures the political atmosphere that surrounds the plight of Stavros and his family. Isaac, the father of Stavros is portrayed by Harry Davis who is excellent in the role.

My favorite scene in the movie is that which depicts family life. Isaac calls together his wife and children for prayer. He leads the family in prayer and gets irritated when his wife speaks when she should be praying. During the difficult centuries of Ottoman rule (referred to as Turkocratia by the Greeks) the Greeks survived because of the Greek Orthodox Church and the institution of the family.

The brutality and humiliation of living under Ottoman rule ended at the doors of the house. Even Isaac who had no choice but to accept humiliation at the hands of the Turks was a strong and good father who watched out for his family. In one scene, Stavros kissed the hand of his father.

The scene where the family is praying together has great significance because today the family in Greece has been largely decimated. Secularism, along with social media and other intrusions have done enormous harm to the institution of the family. Under the Ottomans, even the authority of the Turks had its limits. The home was a genuine sanctuary from outside oppression. The Greeks then were able to maintain their Orthodox faith and their national consciousness, something that has become less possible today as a result of the intrusions of modern technology and other sources.

Isaac is intent on sending Stavros on a mission. He is going to send him to live with his brother in Constantinople. This is the first step in the family’s efforts to make their way to America. Having already divulged too much for anyone who has not seen the film, I must stop any further discussion of the plot.

Stavros has read about America. He already loves America and desires to be an American. This is a brilliant immigrant movie and this is the film that should be embraced by the Greek American community as it depicts both the Greek national experience and America as a land of opportunity.

“America America” was released on VHS in 1994. It was released on DVD in 2011. Every Greek home should have a copy.

Film Review

PROLOGUE

The following review mentions only the original Star Wars film and makes no direct mention of ANY of the other films in the series and makes references only to the original film and the context of the times in which it appeared and its subsequent evolution over the decades.

In a previous post “The Absence of the Cinematic Experience”, I wrote about movies and I mentioned that I would write about Star Wars as I listed it as the best movie ever made. This is also the right time I think to break from politics as I spent a good deal of time writing many political posts. What can be said about Star Wars that has not already been written?

I saw Star Wars for the first time when I was seven years old in a movie theatre that no longer exists. I had already had a knowledge of the idea and the characters. I became a Star Wars fan at school and read the comic versions before I had seen the movie.

Those were the days when there were no DVD’s and blu rays. Home video was still a long way off. Even betamax had still not arrived. Forget anything like Netflix. Cable television was still something that would arrive later.

If you wanted to see a movie you had to go the theatre to see it. Then you would have to wait for it to show up on network television, or local television channels. Star Wars was so successful that having been released in 1977, it would not be on aired on cable television until 1983, and network television in 1984.

The film would be rereleased in the theaters from time to time, so if you wanted to see it you had to wait for it to return to the theater. This was why the infamous “Star Wars holiday special” was aired in 1979. More on that below.

Whenever it returned to the theater, it was always a fun experience. A great time always.

The plot of the film centers around Luke Skywalker, a farm boy who lives on the planet tatooine. He is a dreamer and an idealist. He lives with his Aunt and Uncle. Well, everybody knows the story,

It is a great movie that has aged very well. It is very well written and directed by George Lucas. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guiness, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Cushing. The movie has plot and adventure.

The movie has drama. From the beginning of the film when we see the Star Destroyer up to the end with the ceremony at the throne room, we have seen a true adventure. Believe me, you could not see this movie enough times in the late 1970’s when it came back to the theater.

As mentioned above, “The Star Wars Holiday Special” was shown during the holiday season of 1979. I still remember watching this but I always remembered it as being shown for thanksgiving, and not Christmas as many online reviews have stated. If you were a Star Wars fan you would watch anything Star Wars even crap like the Holiday Special.

I remember being disappointed that the main cast from the film appeared in only a few minutes of the special. I always remembered this special and the fact that the cast appeared only briefly. In 1999, I came across a VHS copy of somebody’s old tape in a used video and CD store.

I knew what it was, I remembered seeing it but did not actually remember much else. I bought it, took it home, and watched it. Yeah, the real cast was only briefly shown and the rest was this really stupid variety show typical of the 1970’s. The only thing that made this interesting was the appearance of Boba Fett. I had forgotten that. I still remember the TV commercial advertising the Boba Fett action figure in the run up to the “Empire Strikes Back”. I thought that was the first appearance of Boba Fett.

The Holiday Special was put together by morons who apparently never took the time to actually go see “Star Wars”. Why bring in other celebrities for this thing? They had the cast of the film which is why this thing is historically important and is in the collection of Star Wars fans.

If they could not commit the cast to more than a few minutes they could have made a thirty minute (with commercials twenty two minutes) special with a plot involving stormtroopers and a guy to wear a Darth Vader mask. It would not have had to be as good as the film (no one would have expected it to) but it would have been watchable.

In any case, Star Wars was a unique phenomenon. At the time, one assumed that Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia were going to become a couple (the subsequent revelation that Luke and Leia were brother and sister began to ruin the whole story.) That is how it should have been played over the long term.

Han Solo was the best character in my opinion. Total jerk but the guy who does the right thing in the end. And quite frankly, he is the real hero of the movie. If Han Solo did not return and bump off Darth Vader’s tie fighter when the latter was going to blow away Luke’s X wing fighter, the death star would not have been blown up and the rebel base at Yaavin might have been completely destroyed.

Obi Wan Kenobi is a superb character. A mixture of priest and warrior. The Jedi remind me so much of the Emperors of the Byzantine Empire who were honorary priests. Obi Wan is a hermit living a monastic life in complete solitude. His mission is to wait for the day when Luke will be ready to train to become a jedi and to teach him the ways of the force, a mystical energy.

The story begins when a rebel ship is sucked up by the imperial star destroyer and the rebels are annihilated by the stormtroopers who over power them when they enter the rebel ship. Princess Leia puts plans with the details of the Empire’s Death Star into R2 D2. The droid along with c3po are put in an escape pod and escape where they fall to the planet tattoonie.

The two droids subsequently are captured by Jawas, a small group of hooded aliens who resell captured droids. The two droids are purchased by Luke’s Uncle Owen. R2D2 not only carries the Death Star plans with him, but a message from Princess Leia for Obi Wan Kenobi. R2D2 sneaks out to find the retired Jedi master who lives on Tattooine.

The moment arrives when Obi wan saves luke after the latter has been attacked by the sand people. Obi wan sees the message that Princess Leia has put in R2D2 and comes out of retirement. When Luke finds his Aunt and Uncle have been killed by stormtroopers looking for the droids, he embarks with Obi Wan to Mos Eisley Space port where they meet up with Han Solo and Chewbacca.

The six of them escape the stormtroopers after a shoot out and subsequently find that the planet Alderaan (where Obi Wan is supposed to meet Princess Leia’s father) has been blown up by the Empire’s Death Star. The Millenium Falcon (the ship they are traveling on gets sucked into the Death Star by the tractor beam.

The group gets split up and Han, Luke, and Chewbacca rescue Princess Leia. They eventually make their way back to the ship except they are now witnessing a dual between Obi Wan and Darth Vader.

The lightsaber dual with Darth Vader is brief but highly dramatic. The expression on Obi Wan’s face when he sees Vader is great acting. Alec Guinness played this part brilliantly. Obi Wan is a man of faith above all and like the early Christians under the Romans allows himself to be killed in anticipation of eternal life.

Vader slays him and then finds his body is gone. Obi wan had faith in resurrection like Christians do. After a space battle in the falcon and the heroes have escaped they make their way to the rebel base on Yavin. The rebels will dissect the death star plans that R2 D2 has carried and they launch an offensive against the Death Star.

Great action scenes and outstanding special effects. When Luke is the last fighter left fighting the Death Star he hears the voice of Obi Wan, He turns off the computer. Again, the power of faith over reason and technology.

At the last minute before Darth Vader is about to finish off Luke, the Millenium Falcon is back and Han Solo knocks off Vader. Han Solo had taken off with his reward money after refusing to participate in the fight against the Death Star. His heroic action redeems him and makes him a hero.

Luke takes the final shot and blows up the Death Star. The final scene of the throne room where Han, Luke, and Chewbacca get their medals is great drama.

The film is a masterpiece and represents all that is good about movies.

As noted above, Star Wars made its initial premiere on cable television in 1983, and network television in 1984. I am not sure when Star Wars was first released on home video.

Like any other film, Star Wars (and its sequals) was released on betamax, laser disc, and VHS formats. The last version of the original theatrical cut was released in the fall of 1995. I always found it strange that these releases were advertised as the original “one last time”.

I am a classic fan of Star Wars having been there from the beginning but I was never a nerd or a fanatic. I never understood what the “one last time” was supposed to mean”. In 1997, on the twentieth anniversary of the release of Star Wars, George Lucas rereleased the film and its sequals as “special editions” featuring both restored footage and newly filmed footage that were inserted into the films.

Further changes were made when Star Wars was released on DVD for the first time in 2004, and yet even further changes were made when Star Wars was released on blu ray for the first time in 2011. As it is the original theatrical versions have become unavailable.

It is true that the theatrical versions of the film were released in 2006 on DVD but George Lucas basically cheated the fans with these releases. At the time, video stores advertised that the original theatrical version of Star Wars were going to be released on DVD. This was misleading.

The final product was a rerelease of the 2004 special editions in which the theatrical versions were included as bonuses. The transfer was garbage as it was an outdated transfer from 1993 laser disks. The quality of the picture and sound was terrible and the film does not fit on widescreen televisions.

No other artist hates his fans as much as George Lucas does. All that Star Wars fans want (especially those of us who were there from the beginning) is a blu ray high definition transfer of the original film and its sequals. Lucas could have had as many special editions out there as possible, but he could have at least had the original theatrical versions available for film afficionados.

Many Directors have used the technology of DVD and blu ray to release several versions of their films. Some Directors have to cut their films for length of time, or to avoid a rated X or NC-17 because of too much violence or sex. The availability of technology enabled them to bring back their original films but they did NOT eradicate the original theatrical versions.

Star Wars has to be the only cinematic masterpiece that is not available to film fans. Yes, the various special editions are available but that is not quite the same thing. Considering the phenomenal success of Star Wars, one would think it would be available forever.

Without the availability of the original theatrical cut(s) Star Wars no longer exists for viewing.

Alas, Star Wars is a matter of nostalgia.

One of the crucial freedoms lost during the coronavirus epidemic has been going to the movies. Like bookstores (which I will write about in another post), cinemas are a crucial and important part of a healthy democracy and society. Films are not only great art but can be very enlightening, educational, and inspirational. Sitting in a theatre and watching a film on the big screen in the dark is a great experience.

The cinematic experience varies depending on the type of theater one attends. Most common these days are the megaplexes which have huge screens and great sound. On occasion one can pay an extra $10 to have dinner in a special section of the theater and be served by a waiter or waitress. Best experience I have had while eating dinner at a theatre was seeing Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds”.

Three other great cinematic experiences. In 1980, I saw “The Empire Strikes Back” on the third day of its release. What a line that was at the height of Star Wars mania! Waited for a long time to get in. It was so hot that some fat guy actually fainted and fell on some people.

In 2015, I went to see “Jaws” on the fortieth anniversary of its release at the local community theatre. I got the last ticket that was available in what was a packed house. The film works after forty years. There was a woman sitting next to me with her son who left because the kid apparently got scared. Still effective after forty years.

Not long after seeing “Jaws” I went back to the same community theatre on halloween night to see a classic double feature. Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”(1960) followed by Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974). Both are fictional stories based on the same real life serial killer. In between films there was an expert on serial killers who gave a lecture. When “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was on, several women got up and walked out of the theatre.

The film is not as sleazy as it sounds. There is no blood in the film but it is a psychologically disturbing film about a family of cannibals.

Best film of all time is in my opinion the original Star Wars (1977). This is the film that made me love movies. An entertaining film that incorporates elements of history, Christianity, and politics. It is a classic story of good vs evil. “Jaws” (1975) is another classic and is the first film I remember seeing at a theatre. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) is a great film that is a mixture of both “Star Wars” and “Jaws” as it was made by Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas.

I am a big fan of horror cinema and so the greatest film in that genre is “The Exorcist” (1973). I originally watched the cut version on television in the 1980s, then the theatrical version on VHS, DVD, and Blu Ray. I have seen the director’s cut of “the Exorcist” on the big screen once when it was rereleased in 2000. Aside from being a horror masterpiece, it is a great theological film.

One can see a film dozens of times on television, satellite, VHS, DVD, and blu ray but never quite get the theatrical experience. In recent years, the megaplexes have brought old films back to the big screen to celebrate the anniversaries of classics. I saw “Goodfellas” (1990) and “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) on the big screen for the first time in the local community theatre. Having watched these films numerous times at home on VHS, DVD, and blu ray it was great to see them on the big screen.

Seeing “Goodfellas” in a packed theatre was tremendously fun as everybody knows the classic lines. “Goodfellas” was nominated for best picture of 1990 but lost to “Dances with Wolves”. The only thing that “Dances with Wolves” will ever be remembered for is that it beat “Goodfellas”.

“Goodfellas” is the greatest mob movie ever made without question. Other classic films I have been fortunate enough to see on the big screen after having seen them on VHS and DVD include “Casablanca” and “The Godfather”. Always good seeing the classics with an audience.

Two classic films I saw on the big screen for the first time were “The Sound of Music” and “Gone with the Wind”. I generally hate musicals but “Sound of Music” was a pro Christian and anti Nazi film which was really excellent. I saw this in 2015 at a special screening on the fiftieth anniversary of its release. In 2014, I saw “Gone With The Wind” for the first time on the big screen on the seventy fifth anniversary of its initial release.

I may write film reviews on this blog in the future but for now I will simply list the best films of all time in their categories. As I am a Greek American, I will start by listing the best Greek themed movie of all time.

Best Film with a Greek theme of all time,

Elia Kazan’s America America (1963). Nominated for several Oscars including best picture and best director. The film is a semi biographical account of the directors uncle who left Ottoman Anatolia for America. The director himself is a Greek who was born in Constantinople in 1910.

Forget garbage like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” (I may have something to say about that piece of shit later). This is the best English language film ever made about the Greek experience. It shows the lives of Greek and Armenian Christians in Anatolia in 1896. And it shows the importance of faith. One of the best scenes in the film is the Greek father demanding silence as his family gathers to pray together in their home. Full review will be coming soon.

Best Horror Film of all time,

As mentioned above, William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”. Runner up in this category is George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” (1968).

Best political film of all time,

Gillo Pontecorvo’s “The Battle of Algiers”(1966). Classic work on the Algerian war of independence. Takes a look at the brutality of French colonialism.

Best Mob film of all time,

As mentioned above, Martin Scorcese’s “Goodfellas” (1990). Scorcese is also the greatest Director of all time. Runner up in this category is Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” (1972).

Best historical fiction film of all time,

Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” (2009). With everything we know about Auschwitz, who would not have wanted Nazis to be dealt with in the manner as the “Basterds” deal with them? Runner up is Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” (2012).

Best Film of all time,

Star Wars (1977) (To be reviewed later).

I have never written about movies before but decided to write about movies and the movie experience on the grounds that under the present circumstances going to the movies is no longer possible. You never miss something until its gone.

Going to the movies is not essential but it is something that I found enjoyable. As much as I like blu ray and widescreen televisions the experience is simply not the same. It will be a tremendous loss if movie theaters do not come back.

The coronavirus is a horrible disease. Without the arrogance and apathy of a certain totalitarian government, it is quite possible that the disease could have been contained. Therefore, there is definitely a political connotation to what has happened.

A few years ago, there was an excellent book “The collaboration” by Ben Urwand who wrote about failed attempts in Hollywood to make a film exposing Hitler. Hollywood depended on the German market to show its films to such an extent that it suppressed efforts to make serious films about Hitler. It was not until after war in Europe broke out that Hollywood started making anti Nazi films.

In 1933, efforts were made to make a film about the Armenian Genocide. Like the Germans, the Turks exerted pressure to enforce a policy of censorship and to deny oppressed people the ability to tell their stories. Oppressive governments fear Cinema much more than they do books.

As the world begins to slowly reopen, one can only hope that movie theaters will be back. Certainly, life will never be the same without them. Technically, movie theaters are not essential in the same way as pharmacies or supermarkets, but in terms of democracy and civilization they are most certainly essential.

Political, historical, and religious films make an impact and stir debate when they open in cinemas. Such an impact will be non existent if films are to be released only on DVD, blu ray, or netflix. For example, Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” stirred up a good deal of discussion on matters of faith when it was released in cinemas. Martin Scorcese’s movies often deal with spiritual themes that have to do with individuals who become corrupt and pay a heavy price for their sins.

Oliver Stone has produced a number of controversial but necessary films of a social and political nature. This is art. Art is best shown on the big screen.

There is no adequate substitution for the cinematic experience.