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R A P I D R I V E R A R T S & C U L T U R E M A G A Z I N E
film reviews
‘Movies’ continued from page 24
Heath Ledger in
The Imaginarium of
Dr. Parnassus.
movies. His acknowledged
masterwork
Brazil falls some-
where in the middle
for me as does The
Imaginarium of Dr
Parnassus.
Gilliam is blessed with one of the most
fertile imaginations of any director since
Jean Cocteau (Beauty & the Beast-1946) but
he has trouble putting his visions into words.
When dealing with pre-existing material like
Munchausen or Brothers Grimm, his films
flow better but he has a really hard time getting
his original screenplays from one scene
to the next. Because of that the audience has
a hard time keeping up and while we may be
dazzled by what we see, we are frustrated by
not being able to link them together.
Much has been made about the fact that
Heath Ledger died during production and
without that unfortunate occurrence, I doubt
if this movie would ever have been given a
mainstream release. Ledger is good but it’s
a role that any number of people could have
played which ironically proved to be the case
as Gilliam got Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and
Colin Farrell to take his place in order to
get the film finished. This not only works
surprisingly well but it works better than if
Ledger had done the whole thing by himself.
Parnassus is basically a reworking of the
old good-vs-evil scenario with Christopher
Plummer (still going strong at 80!) representing
good as Dr. Parnassus while singer
Tom Waits (in a delightful performance)
portrays the Devil known here as Mr. Nick.
The film draws heavily from such earlier
offerings as George Pal’s 7 Faces of Dr Lao
(1964) about a travelling carnival and Peter
Newbrook’s The Asphyx (1973) which is
about the curse of immortality.
It’s an interesting mix and there are
some dazzling visuals that only Terry Gilliam
could have conceived (and that will stay
with you whether you want them to or not)
but that won’t be enough for most people
outside of hard core Gilliam aficionados. It
almost wasn’t enough for me.
Rated PG-13 for violent images, some sensuality
and language.
REVIEW BY CHIP KAUFMANN
Me and Orson Welles ∑∑∑∑
Short Take: An extremely well done
little film about Welles and the Mercury
Theatre’s legendary 1937 production of
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
REEL TAKE: When I was but a little lad
growing up in isolation on a mountain top,
10 Sherlock Holmes DVDs Worth Investigating
With all the attention being focused on the
latest Sherlock Holmes offering starring
Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, here is
a list of earlier movies featuring the great
detective on DVD that are definitely worth
investigating.
Sherlock Holmes (1922) – For those of you interested
in silent films and/or cinema history, here is John
Barrymore’s version based on the William Gillette stage
play. It features William Powell in his first film role
(but not as Dr. Watson).
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) – For many
Holmes aficionados, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce
are the definitive Holmes and Watson. This is considered
the best of their 14 films together.
Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) – This entry from
England’s Hammer Films has Peter Cushing as a very
analytical and somewhat aloof Holmes. Christopher
Lee stars as Sir Henry Baskerville.
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) – A
flop when first released, this Billy Wilder directed has
grown in stature over the years. Robert Stephens stars
as Holmes with Christopher Lee as brother Mycroft
this time.
They Might Be Giants (1971) – This interesting variation
stars George C. Scott as a deluded lawyer who
believes he’s Holmes with Joanne Woodward as a
psychiatrist named Watson.
my constant companion
was a green coffee
table book detailing the
events of the first half of
the 20th century. The
book was very thorough
being broken down into
decades and into different
categories within the
decades. One of those
categories was Theatre
and in the 1930s section
there was a picture of the
WPA Orson Welles production
of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar or
Caesar as Welles called it. That production
is recreated in Me and Orson Welles.
There is much more to the movie than
that. It’s a coming of age story set in 1937
and is a wonderful recreation of the time
with great characters, period costumes, and
the popular music of the time. George Gershwin
has recently died, the WPA is in full
swing, and Orson Welles was just starting
out on his legendary career. It should have
scored at the box office but it didn’t which
comes as no surprise when you take into
account the public’s considerable cultural
amnesia concerning once famous figures no
longer in the limelight.
Christian McKay (as Welles)
and Zac Effron in Me and
Orson Welles.
Like any film about
celebrated people, it
has to be performance
driven, and it is. Christian
McKay as Welles is
exactly how I imagined
the man would
be at this stage of his
career (he was only 22).
Overbearing, erratic,
egotistical, a izer, but first and fore-
womanmost
a genius. Three
other members of the
Mercury Theatre who went on to fame
if not fortune are also portrayed. Did you
know that Joseph Cotton (James Tupper)
was a bigger skirt chaser than Welles or that
George Coulouris (Ben Chaplin) suffered
from stage fright or that John Houseman
(Eddie Marsen) was already John Houseman
at that early age?
Aside from the well knowns, the film is
really propelled forward by the unknowns
since this is essentially their story. Zac Effron
as the teenager who joins the production
and Claire Danes as the ice queen everyone
wants to make it with give excellent
performances and make us care about what
happens to them. I love the way director
The 7% Solution (1976) – From the bestselling book
by Nicholas Meyer. Nicol Williamson stars as Holmes
with Alan Arkin as Sigmund Freud trying to cure his
cocaine addiction.
Murder by Decree (1979) – Sherlock Holmes tangles
with Jack the Ripper in what is critically regarded as the
finest of all Holmes movies. Christopher Plummer and
James Mason head up an all star cast.
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) – Steven Spielberg
produced this interesting variation that has Holmes and
Watson first meeting as students at a boarding school.
They join forces to try to solve a series of mysterious
murders.
The Great Mouse Detective (1986) – Based on the
children’s book Basil of Baker Street, this Walt Disney
animated feature is great fun
with Vincent Price as the voice
of the villainous Rattigan.
Without a Clue (1988) – Ben
Kingsley stars as Dr. Watson,
the real crime fighting criminologist,
who hires an actor
(Michael Caine) to play his
fictional creation, Sherlock
Holmes.
BY CHIP KAUFMANN
Richard Linklater (School of Rock) has it
all work out but then that’s also the book
by Robert Kaplow. I also can’t wait for it to
come out on DVD so I can see it again.
Rated PG-13 for sexual references and
smoking.
REVIEW BY CHIP KAUFAMANN
Sherlock Holmes ∑∑∑∑
Short Take: This latest edition to
Sherlock Holmes cinematic canon
makes for an energetic and ultimately
entertaining 2 hours.
REEL TAKE: Let me say, right off the bat,
that Sherlock Holmes is a good movie. Not
a great movie, but then it doesn’t aspire
to be. As another cinematic installment in
the cinematic career of the world’s greatest
detective it belongs in the upper echelon
alongside such versions as The Adventures
of Sherlock Holmes (1939), The Private
Life of Sherlock Holmes(1970), The 7%
Solution (1976), and Murder By Decree
(1979)(see accompanying article).
The number one factor in the success
of any SH venture is the chemistry between
Holmes and Watson. Basil Rathbone and
Nigel Bruce were the first to click in 1939.
‘Movies’ continued on page 26
Vol. 13, No. 6 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — February 2010 25