October on Cable
Short film reviews by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1987 Mark R. Leeper
Every month cable dredges up a bunch of older films to fill up their programming schedules. the quality of these films is spotty at best. This month seems to have a better selection of filler films than usual. These films running on cable this month all rate a +2 or higher on the -4 to +4 scale, at least in my opinion.
COUNTRY (1984): One of three save-the-farm films that came out at the same time. This was the only one that was really believable (though PLACES IN THE HEART was a good story). The people looked the part and acted the part. A strong piece of human drama. +2. Cinemax and Showtime.
FUNERAL IN BERLIN (966): The producers of the James Bond films tried to have a second series based on Len Deighton's books about an unnamed agent (the films called him Harry Palmer). THE IPCRESS FILE and FUNERAL IN BERLIN were both good spy stories. (The series was killed when Ken Russell horribly mishandled BILLION-DOLLAR BRAIN, the third film.) On the axis between action and believability, with Fleming at one end and LeCarre at the other, these stories sit nicely in the middle. Michael Caine plays the laconic anti-establishment agent. +2. Cinemax.
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966): This is probably my favorite of all time. In the days before videotape, I had it on audiotape and played it often once or twice a week. Thomas More is a man of wit and brilliance and, above all, integrity. The play itself is full of bitter humor and meaty ethical argument. It will not be for all tastes, but it is a fine film. +4. Cinemax.
OBSESSION (1976): Brian DePalma made this film while Hitchcock was making his last film, FAMILY PLOT. Had I not seen the credits of the two films, I would have guessed that this was the Hitchcock. It is in the style of some of Hitchcock's best films and ranks with them. DePalma, who made Stephen King a household name with CARRIE, also seems to have discovered John Lithgow, featuring him in this film and BLOWOUT. +2. HBO.
OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (1976): Clint Eastwood's best film, though BRONCO BILLY is not far behind. Eastwood is just one of several interesting and three-dimensional characters in a story that is as much about the shape of the country at the close of the Civil War as it is an action Western. +3. Cinemax and Showtime.
I seem to remember THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, based on the novel by John LeCarre, as being pretty good, but I haven't seen it since the 1960s. It is on Cinemax.
Mark R. Leeper
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