PONYO

PONYO: Any widespread success the animated films of Hayao Miyazaki have in the U.S. can be laid directly at the feet of John Lasseter, now the head of Pixar. Lasseter’s perpetual cheerleading of the man nicknamed the “Japanese Walt Disney” eventually convinced the mouse house to release several of his older works on special-edition DVDs and even give Ponyo, his latest and rumored last film, a massive theatrical campaign. The irony is, for all the lush imagination on display, Miyazaki’s films are so culturally different from our own idea of what an animated film should be, they’ll likely never become part of the Disney lexicon. But you can see its influence in Pixar output like Up, whose airborne domicile has much in common with Howl’s Moving Castle. Even the dogfighting mutts are a reflection of the high-flying pig in Porco Rosso. Ponyo is actually a variation on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, but the film is unmistakably Miyazaki’s, sporting a googly-eyed goldfish who escapes from her father’s undersea kingdom to be with her human friend, Sosuke. Using magic to sprout hands and feet, her arrival coincides with a dangerous tsunami which threatens to destroy the entire seaside town. Miyazaki’s films always manage to capture the magical innocence of childhood just as it’s about to be confronted with the petty worries of adulthood. Ponyo is probably both too mature and too juvenile for most American kids (the under 6 and over 16 crowd usually respond best). But it is a box full of animated wonders for those who can appreciate it. Miyazaki creates little pen-and-ink miracles, flooding the screen with meticulous hand-drawn ocean waves that change from fish to liquid and back again. Tina Fey, Matt Damon and Betty White are among the voice talent hired for the U.S. version. Disney’s 2-disc Blu-ray is exceptional, visiting the Studio Ghibli facilities and including a standard-def version of the film to boot.

GOODBYE GEMINI: British cinema always had a hard time with the “Swinging London” era of the late ‘60s. By the time they got around to showing all the free love, mod fashions and hip rock music much of it had already gone hopelessly out of style. For a truly embarrassing example check out director Alan Gibson’s Dracula A.D. 1972, which tried to shoehorn the gothic Hammer trappings into a modern setting to hilarious (although entertaining) effect. Much more successful, although not quite a horror film, is Gibson’s Goodbye Gemini, which unfolds as an unconventional psychological thriller set against the backdrop of wild parties, kinky sex and a happenin’ soundtrack. Jacki and Julian (Judy Geeson and Martin Potter) are a pair of toe-headed, overtly incestuous twins who hit the London party scene after wickedly knocking off their housekeeper. Naively pulled into gravity of a street hustler (Alexis Kanner), the couple get their hands bloody once again which threatens their fairy-tale world of actions without consequences. Goodbye Gemini takes full advantage of the new freedoms afforded filmmakers in the era, going for the full shock effect of transvestites, homosexual rape and incest (oh my!). But it’s to Gibson’s credit that his classy visuals make it seem miles away from a typical exploitation picture. Gemini is a film that’s rarely mentioned in cult film circles, because it’s not easily classified. Like David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers, which also had a twin-centric plot, it never commits itself to a specific genre but still seems disturbing all the same. Scorpion Releasing’s DVD looks pretty darn good overall and features a commentary track as well.

POWER PLAY: Like an alternate reality Marvel comic series, this little-seen 1978 war drama starring Peter O’Toole, Donald Pleasance and David Hemmings posits the happenings around a military coup de tat staged in an unknown European country. Hemmings (Blow Out, Deep Red) is the brains behind the operation, which he begrudgingly shepherds to include several military leaders while trying to avoid the attention of the current government’s chief of secret police (Pleasance). O’Toole takes on the showy role of Colonel Zeller, the wild card of the bunch whose battalion of tanks are essential to the success of the operation. Power Play is an odd film; well-acted, competently directed, but with the feel of a sprawling Bridge Too Far epic filmed on a Twilight Zone budget. There’s plenty of military machinery on display and a sizable airfield showdown near the film’s conclusion, but most of the drama arises from Hemming’s attempt at subterfuge. To the film’s credit, it seems like it’s done its homework. Power Play could be screened for potential revolutionaries as a “how-to” propaganda piece. But ultimately, the imaginary setting robs the piece of much of its dramatic intent. It’s hard to get involved in the outcome, when the global stakes haven’t been made clear. O’Toole, however, makes a mountain out of his molehill-of-a-role, making Power Play something of a rare curiousity in the actor’s oeuvre. Scorpion Releasing’s DVD comes across with the acceptable softness of a film from this period plus a commentary, interviews and trailer.

THE INTERNECINE PROJECT: Alfred Hitchcock was a master of pure cinema; that is, building and amplifying suspense via the simple connection of images with no dialogue to get in the way. Long stretches of director Ken Hughes The Internecine Project attempt the very same trick. But without Hitch’s stylistic panache, the results are clever but a bit less thrilling. James Coburn plays a secret agent / economics professor (how’s that for a double major) on a trip to London to clean up some loose ends. Namely, the four informants in his employ who are no longer needed. But rather than knocking them off himself, Coburn plots an elaborate scheme to have them unwittingly kill each other…all on the same night. Hughes’ film takes an awful long time to get up to speed, but once you know what’s on the agenda it becomes a suspenseful slow burn to see if the caper will play out as you expect it to. The Internicine Project turns into essentially a silent movie for the final half hour, but it’s also the film’s major claim to fame. With a bit more visual razzle-dazzle we could be talking about a crime classic. As it stands, it’s more of a fascinating footnote. Scorpion Releasing debuts the DVD with an interview with screenwriter Jonathan Lynn, co-star Lee Grant and an original trailer.