One of my favorite parts about doing this Blind Spot series is that it forces me to watch movies I’ve been intimidated by or nervous to watch. It’s been especially fun this year because my BFF Manda has joined me on my podcast to talk about each of the selections! This month’s pick, The Plague Dogs, is one I’ve been intrigued by but a little nervous to watch because of the disturbing imagery and themes. Now I’ve seen it and I was right to be anxious (if anything it was actually more disturbing than I anticipated) but it is definitely a bold and shocking film worth seeing .

Make sure you check out our recap tomorrow:

The Plague Dogs is interesting when placed in context of the animated films of the early 80’s and late 70’s.  This was the era when Ralph Bakshi, Don Bluth and other darker themed animators were making a name for themselves. Even Disney explored darker themes with films like The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron and live action Watcher in the Woods and Return to Oz. Animator Martin Rosen was part of this movement and his films Watership Down and The Plague Dogs stand out as some of the best.

While both films are based on Richard Adams books and can both be quite violent, Watership Down has more of a mythical, lyrical quality where The Plague Dogs seems more gritty and that is probably why it feels more shocking. It’s one thing for harsh things to happen to bunnies forming their allegorical societies and another for it to be realistic dogs on the run from the “white coats” trying to give them the bubonic plague.

One of my friends describes The Plague Dogs as “misery porn,” and I don’t know if I would go that far. Both Rowf and Snitter have hopeful moments that help you root for them and the ending could be interpreted hopefully depending on how you take it. However, it is definitely intense.  That’s for sure.

The voice acting led by John Hurd is excellent and the animation next level. They had an incredible team behind it including Brad Bird and the great Retta Scott. My only real criticism of the film is the absolutely terrible score by Patrick Gleason. The synthetic saxophone beats would feel more at home at a lounge club  than a gritty drama.

Evidently there are 2 versions of the film. I saw the 103 minute version which you can watch on tubi

What do you think of The Plague Dogs and what’s your favorite animated film from this darker period?

Smile worthy (it feels weird to say smile worthy to such a grim film but I would recommend it)

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Ever since it came out in 2015 I’ve been a big fan of the adaptation of Far From the Madding Crowd by director Thomas Vinterberg. In my opinion it is one of the most underappreciated films of the last decade and I only love it more with each rewatch (I gave it only a B+ on my initial watch but it has only grown in my estimation since.)  That said, I was always told that it really isn’t that great when compared with the 1967 version by director John Schlesinger. This is why I added the classic film to this year’s blind spot selections. Now I have seen both films and… I still like the 2015 film better! In basically every regard I think the 2015 film is superior to the 1967 classic.

Since this is a review of the 1967 film let’s talk about that version first. Schlesinger has made a beautiful film that feels right at home with the epic brand of storytelling popular at the time. There are many stunning sequences such as the fire being on hay and the devastating suicide of the sheep. They also have a talented cast with Julie Christie, Terence Stamp and Alan Bates.

The movie does take its time having every detail from the book such as an extended sequence when Troy is at the circus and more time between Boldwood and Bathsheba. Modern viewers will be surprised by the amount of time focused on Troy instead of Gabriel, who is more of an after thought in this version. We are supposed to buy that Troy is both in love with Fannie that he makes life miserable for everyone else but also so prideful that he rejects her after she goes to the wrong chapel for their wedding. This makes for a difficult and unlikable character to have as your lead for a 3 hour movie.

I personally love the approach by Vinterberg much more. By focusing on Gabriel and his long-seated love for Bathsheba we have a great love story instead of depressing melodrama. It also doesn’t hurt that Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenearts have incredible chemistry and they keep this friends-to-lovers story simmering for the much shorter 2 hour runtime. I see little in the additional hour of the 1967 film to justify so much more time especially with the characters they chose to focus on.

2015’s Far From the Madding Crowd is also beautifully filmed by Charlotte Bruus Christensen giving everything a hopeful energy especially when combined with Craig Armstrong’s stirring score. It makes for an overall moving journey we just don’t get in the 1967 film. The earlier movie may be more accurate to the book but where’s the heart and soul? I’d take the 2015 version any day!

I wouldn’t say the 1967 version of Far From the Madding Crowd is a bad movie. It’s serviceable. I just like the 2015 much better!

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Today’s Blind Spot review is a special one for many reasons. To begin with Manda and I had a very fun podcast on the film where we ended up reacting to the famous Daisy Ad from 1964- the same year our movie Seven Days in May came out.

Also it is of note because this review marks my 100th entry in the blind spot series. That means since I first started in January of 2016 I have covered 100 films for 100 months and what a fun adventure it has been! My original review was for Blade Runner and I was nicer to it than I would be now (it’s not for me) but that’s part of the learning experience of this project is gathering confidence on my opinions on classic films and learning how to convey those feelings as coherently as possible. Now on to 100 more!

With Seven Days in May this was a bit of a wild card when I selected it for this month’s blind spot. I had never heard of it but I noticed a bunch of my friends had rated it highly so I decided to give it a go. I’m so glad I did. This is an absolutely terrific political thriller that continually surprised me at each turn.

I think what was the most surprising was to have a character like Burt Lancaster’s General Scott commit outright treason with no real vindication was shocking. He has his reasons for trying to train a coup on President Lyman, (played by the great Frederic March) but he still does it and begins training an elite group of soldiers to overthrow the government.

Every part of this film is outstanding including the acting from Lancaster, Kirk Douglas (as our man of virtue hero) and March. The writing is also excellent with the tension between Scott and Lyman as they both try to plead their case. It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like for audiences in Cold War America to watch a film like this. They certainly would have been more sympathetic to Scott’s position. He believes if they sign this treaty the Russians will attack and kill over 100 million people (he states that statistic in one of the confrontations with Lyman.) From his perspective he’s the hero trying to save Americans and Lyman is the fool.  However, Lyman tells him he has to use the tools given to us to fight the treaty.  A military overthrow will only embolden Russia more.

Anyway, the tension grows especially for Douglas who can’t believe a heroic man like General Scott could be planning treason. Ava Gardner is under-used in her role in this but aside from that Seven Days in May is a tight, well-made, engaging piece of filmmaking and I highly recommend it.

Smile Worthy

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I can’t believe next month will mark my 100th entry in this Blind Spot series! What a fun journey this has been! And it’s been made recently even cooler by my friend Manda joining me to talk about the movies each month on my podcast. I really value her friendship and love talking to her about these films.

This month we have the Western classic from director Sergio Leone entitled The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Whether Eli Wallach as Tuco is ugly may be up for debate but I think you could easily call all 3 “The Bad.” Referring to anyone as “The Good” in this movie is a bit of a stretch. That’s for sure!

Last year I reviewed A Fistful of Dollars for blind spot and found it to be a stronger entry from Leone than this one. First of all it is a lot shorter so that makes it more palatable and it has a lot more memorable lines than this one. My favorite line from this one is “when you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk”

Still you have to admire the craft that is on display in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The incredible long tracking shots and brutal violence have obviously been very influential on many modern directors and were masterfully done by Leone. Also the iconic score by Ennio Morricone is one of the most famous in film history.

The ending with Blondie shooting Tuco off the noose is also very memorable. “You’re a dirty SOB” and he is so it all works!

If you love Westerns than you will enjoy any movie from Leone including The Good The Bad and The Ugly. I’m glad I checked it off my blind spot list and I suppose I will have to watch A Few Dollars More next year (I realize I got the order totally messed up! Oh well.)

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This month’s blind spot is an interesting one because it’s not only checking off a classic film off of my watch list but it’s my introduction to an entire genre. It’s the first spaghetti western I’ve ever seen. I have never seen a film by director Sergio Leone, and I don’t believe any other westerns made by Italian directors. Today we are looking at perhaps the most famous spaghetti western- A Fistful of Dollars.

This movie is a pretty iconic one, a film I can recognize the famous scenes even though I hadn’t seen it. In particular the final duel where the Stranger has the metal plate on and the bullets bounce off I’d definitely seen before.

Clint Eastwood is perfect for this role of the Stranger with a brooding sense of coolness and confidence. This isn’t a nuanced performance but it works for the gravitas of the movie. It’s also only 99 minutes where today it would definitely be stretched out to an interminable runtime.

It is a very bloody movie with the Stranger becoming involved in a feud between 2 families in Mexico. I honestly started to lose track of who was taking revenge on who and for what reasons but it doesn’t matter because it’s not a movie you see for the plot. It’s all about these western duels and Eastwood’s charisma with a gun. His draw is so fast and he’s so quick with his pistol that it makes him a threat in any situation. You can certainly see why everyone is intimidated to go against him!

There’s not that much more to A Fistful of Dollars. If you want a bloody movie with a memorable star turn from Eastwood give it a watch. It also has the terrific music from Ennio Morricone, so that adds a layer of enjoyment. If it sounds like your kind of thing you’ll definitely enjoy it.

7 out of 10

Smile Worthy

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