lost - machine gun mccain

When it comes to TV show finales, very few of them are able to stick the landing. For every M.A.S.H. or Newhart there are dozen Seinfelds which seem to crack under the pressure of wrapping up a decade worth of characters and quips into one comprehensive package. Which is what makes Lost’s accomplishment that much more impressive.

After six seasons of mysteries, conspiracies and enough time-traveling to earn frequent flier miles to the moon and back, writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse finally buckled down and came to the realization most of us understood from the beginning: the show was never really about the island, it about the people on it. The reveal that this season’s “sideways” world was actually a pleasant form of purgatory, designed to help each our travelers “let go” and move into the next world, can be viewed as a cheat if you actually took any of that Dharma initiative crap seriously.

But experienced TV viewers should realize that most shows aren’t mapped out six years in advance; writers come and writers go, each finishing another’s work and leading the show in a different direction. Lost hit more than a few creative cul-de-sacs when it came to explaining the theological and philosophical implications of the island. But the ingenious flashback structure allowed for its characters to evolve in ways no show had ever attempted before. Anyone included to punish Lost for being too ambitious should be cursed to watch every episode of Two and a Half Men in syndication. That oughta learn ya!

Besides breaking new ground of television, the show also was the first to break the Blu-ray barrier on home video and still features some one of the best presentations around. The Final Season set includes all 16 episodes plus a much anticipated “extra” called The New Man in Charge, a 10-minute or so glimpse into Ben and Hurley’s new regime as caretakers of the island. (spoilers). Ben shares another training video with a pair of employees then heads off to recruit Walt (remember him?) who’s spending time in a mental hospital. It’s not much, but Jorge Garcia makes a great transition from comic relief to casual omnipotence. There might not be enough there for a spin-off but it’s a nice treat for fans. And it’s just the tip of the iceberg into terms of bonus features which includes the usual deleted scenes, featurettes, bloopers and a Blu-ray exclusive Lost University, where actual PHD spout off about the technical, moral and philosophical implications of the show.

Classic Italian film fans are used to seeing some familiar Hollywood faces slumming from time to time. From an actors’ perspective, these projects were an easy way to make a quick buck and keep their integrity intact (kind of like Brad Pitt doing underwear commercials in Japan). But John Cassavetes starring role as Hank Machine Gun McCain seems further off the menu than usual.

The actor had already directed two independent projects himself by this time, and was obviously using the cash from his B-pictures to fund his artistic ambitions. After making a big splash in The Dirty Dozen, Cassavetes probably seemed like a bargain to Italian producers of this gangster flick…even though the role seems more tailored to his uglier Dozen co-star, Charles Bronsan. McCain (Cassavetes) is busted out of jail to rob a rival mobsters casino, but when the job is called off at the last minute McCain smells a set-up. He goes through with the plan anyway, taking the mafia for a cool million. On the run with his naïve but loyal girlfriend (the stunning Britt Ekland), McCain uses his old underworld contacts to try to get out of the country alive and keep the cash.

Director Giuliano Montaldo’s film has more in common with Point Blank (released two years earlier) than most of the contemporary Italian movies of the day. Like Lee Marvin’s iconic character, Cassavetes limits himself to about a page of dialogue and insists on extracting his pound of flesh from those who wronged him. McCain may not be the cinematic equal of Boorman’s masterpiece, but it is a gangster flick cut from a different cloth. Peter Falk and Gena Rowlands (Cassavetes wife) add a naturalistic flair that make this one something to seek out for discriminating genre fans.

Blue Underground premieres Machine Gun McCain on Blu-ray, but it’s also the film’s first time ever on home video. The image is so clean it looks like it’s been in Al Capone’s vault for the last 40 years. Trailers and an interview with director Giuliano Montaldo complete the package.