MovieWatch 2007 Begins!
I love to watch movies (not exactly a news flash), but I have never taken the time to actually document all the films that I watch over the course of a year. I'm going to try and change that this year. My plan is to post all the movies I watch over the next 12 months, and offer a brief review along with a recommendation to either check it out, or skip it.
So what was the first movie viewed for 2007?
The choice was tough - for several reasons. I got several great movies on DVD for Christmas this year. Including Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, the Criterion edition of John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln, starring Henry Fonda, and the six-hour Italian epic The Best of Youth (La Meglio Gioventu) (which was one of my favorite films viewed last year - hence the request for it on DVD!)
But the winner is....
Superman II - the Richard Donner Cut.
Okay, maybe this seems an unlikely choice, but my son had asked me twice (since Christmas) to see it, and I kept delaying (well, actually I was having too much fun playing with our new Xbox 360) but I finally decided it was time to watch a movie, and this was one of the few I got this year, that he had any interest in seeing.
The story behind this special edition of the 1980 sequel to Donner's original Superman, is a fascinating one. It seems that there was a lot of bickering about how much money was going to be spent on the film. Donner had shot a large percentage of the sequel while shooting the original film - including a lengthy exchange between Superman (Christopher Reeve) and his father Jor-El (Marlon Brando).
The film's producer's didn't want to pay Brando the large fee he was requesting for only about 10 minutes of screen time. So they decided they wouldn't use him, and informed Donner that was the way it was going to be.
But for the director, this was unacceptable. A key sequence in the film relied on the emotional impact of father and son facing a decision that will effect the whole world - it just wouldn't work without the father. Words were exchanged, Donner left the picture and Richard Lester took over the helm.
Now, 30 years later, the footage that Donner shot and intended to use in the film has been found, and he's been given an opportunity to finally complete his movie, his way.
And I'm glad he did.
The scenes with Brando are terrific (and not JUST because he's Brando). The movie shows its age a bit, but the overall impact is one of solid entertainment. Gene Hackman is a scene-stealer as the egomaniacal, criminal genius Lex Luthor. Margot Kidder is wonderful as Superman's crush Lois Lane, and Terence Stamp is almost unrecognizable as the evil General Zod.
The movie is a worthy follow-up to the original Superman, which single-handedly invented the modern superhero movie.
RECOMMENDED
So what was the first movie viewed for 2007?
The choice was tough - for several reasons. I got several great movies on DVD for Christmas this year. Including Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, the Criterion edition of John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln, starring Henry Fonda, and the six-hour Italian epic The Best of Youth (La Meglio Gioventu) (which was one of my favorite films viewed last year - hence the request for it on DVD!)
But the winner is....
Superman II - the Richard Donner Cut.
Okay, maybe this seems an unlikely choice, but my son had asked me twice (since Christmas) to see it, and I kept delaying (well, actually I was having too much fun playing with our new Xbox 360) but I finally decided it was time to watch a movie, and this was one of the few I got this year, that he had any interest in seeing.
The story behind this special edition of the 1980 sequel to Donner's original Superman, is a fascinating one. It seems that there was a lot of bickering about how much money was going to be spent on the film. Donner had shot a large percentage of the sequel while shooting the original film - including a lengthy exchange between Superman (Christopher Reeve) and his father Jor-El (Marlon Brando).
The film's producer's didn't want to pay Brando the large fee he was requesting for only about 10 minutes of screen time. So they decided they wouldn't use him, and informed Donner that was the way it was going to be.
But for the director, this was unacceptable. A key sequence in the film relied on the emotional impact of father and son facing a decision that will effect the whole world - it just wouldn't work without the father. Words were exchanged, Donner left the picture and Richard Lester took over the helm.
Now, 30 years later, the footage that Donner shot and intended to use in the film has been found, and he's been given an opportunity to finally complete his movie, his way.
And I'm glad he did.
The scenes with Brando are terrific (and not JUST because he's Brando). The movie shows its age a bit, but the overall impact is one of solid entertainment. Gene Hackman is a scene-stealer as the egomaniacal, criminal genius Lex Luthor. Margot Kidder is wonderful as Superman's crush Lois Lane, and Terence Stamp is almost unrecognizable as the evil General Zod.
The movie is a worthy follow-up to the original Superman, which single-handedly invented the modern superhero movie.
RECOMMENDED
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posted by Michael K. Hill at 9:07 PM
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