Movieline Online

A Darryl F. Zanuck production of a John Huston film - with Errol Flynn in his last significant role – The Roots of Heaven is yet another example of the popular Hollywood expression “the story behind the film is more interesting than the film itself.” Shot in Chad over the course of six months, the perpetual heat and diseases took their toll on cast and crew, requiring a constant stream of replacements. Both Zanuck and Huston’s biographies feature anecdotes about the experience and Flynn’s excessive drinking (the actor would die a year later). How could any fictional movie compete with that sensationalist reality? Roots does have its strong points, but they’re a long time coming. Trevor Howard plays an idealistic elephant defender who uses guerilla tactics to defend the continent’s dwindling herds. A famous media personality (quick cameo by Orson Welles) turns him into an international celebrity and his cause is co-opted by other indigenous revolutionaries who use him for their ...

Last House on the Left , director Wes Craven’s debut feature, made such a stink in 1972 that he was spit on by strangers offended by the film’s overt sadomasochism. But that spit was actually a compliment. In the exploitation game, anything that can generate a reaction - especially outrage or disgust - means big money. And rival producers quick to spot a trend saw lots of potential in Craven’s down and dirty plot. Night Train Murders (1975) takes the same torture porn scenario but adds a few levels of dramatic and technical sophistication that House lacked, making it the superior film…but arriving three years too late to earn the same exploitation immortality. Margaret and Lisa hop a train to spend Christmas vacation with Lisa’s parents in Italy. But during the trip they run afoul of two thugs and a perverse older woman who revels in their sexual degradation. Like Last House, Night Train Murders is not a pleasant film to watch. Its goal is to make you extremely uncomforta...

Whatever ideas you have about DRIVE, I can almost guarantee you won’t get the film you’re expecting. Sure, the synopsis sounds like a typical genre action pic: mechanic / stunt man Ryan Gosling, who moonlights as a getaway driver, takes on a job to help out his next door neighbor (Carey Mulligan). When said job goes bad, Gosling and the girl come under fire from some angry underworld types (Ron Perlman, Albert Brooks) who want to cover their tracks. But director Nicolas Winding Refn doesn’t ever let his movie take the predictable route…for good or bad. From the opening hot pink ‘80s font and corny keyboard score, to the jarring moments of extreme violence, right down to refusing to give his lead character a first or last name; DRIVE is essentially a big middle finger to the Hollywood establishment. And that fits right in with Gosling’s post- Notebook career, which seems to be equal amounts Marlon Brando eccentricity and Steve McQueen cool. Gosling has a chip on his shoulder,...