Feb 14, 2023
Yentl (1983). A Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training.
Absolute vanity project on Babs' part, but y'know what? If more vanity projects were this good, cinema would be a better place. 8/10.
seen from Brazil
seen from Poland
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Bangladesh
seen from United States
seen from Maldives
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from Malaysia
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from China
seen from Türkiye
seen from Peru
seen from Australia
seen from Sudan
Yentl (1983). A Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training.
Absolute vanity project on Babs' part, but y'know what? If more vanity projects were this good, cinema would be a better place. 8/10.
A Passage to India (1984). Cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator.
Slowly paced and beautifully shot, this has all the hallmarks of David Lean's directorial style. He's a master of epics, and this is a richly told one, albeit one that's very flawed. I wish it was a little more critical of British imperialism, and I wish too it hadn't used brownface for critical Indian characters, but the central story between Dr Aziz and Adela is compelling, and Victor Banerjee and Judy Davis' performances are pretty terrific. 7.5/10.
The Right Stuff (1983). The U.S. space program's development from the breaking of the sound barrier to selection of the Mercury 7 astronauts, from a group of test pilots with a more seat-of-the-pants approach than the program's more cautious engineers preferred.
Really wasn't expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did (especially given the run time), but god, it really works. Leaning into the brutal sacrifice and the lack of support in the aftermath, it still somehow never manages to lose a sense of wonder, discovery and connection. Plus some pretty amazing flight sequences - just, yes. Really enjoyed this one. 8/10.
Victor/Victoria (1982). A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.
Julie Andrews can do no wrong, and she sells every bit of this messy musical, making it a genuinely pretty fun watch. Unfortunately, she's hindered by some sub-par writing and a genuinely terrible last act, but y'know! When it works, it works! 6.5/10.
All That Jazz (1979). Director/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.
God, the 52nd Academy Awards had a stacked Best Picture category - Kramer vs Kramer, Apocalypse Now, Norma Rae, Breaking Away and this. All that Jazz ultimately lost out to Kramer v Kramer, which is probably understandable, but to me, this really deserved to take it home. It's rare after all that a movie can feel both this spectacular and this intimate, this personal and yet this accessible.
It just works on every level and I really loved it a lot. 9/10.
Fame (1981). A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
I enjoyed this so much more than I was expecting to. Yeah, it's pretty disjointed and frenetic and grittier than it has any right to be, but it really captures both the headrush and the grind of what these kids experience. It's messy, sure, but it also surprisingly really works. 7.5/10.
A Little Romance (1979). An American teenager living in Paris meets and falls in love with a local.
I was genuinely pretty charmed by this little film about two young teenagers swept up in first love in Paris. Diane Lane (!) and Thelonious Bernard play the characters pretty perfectly, loading them up with wide-eyed innocence and romance, and watching them cavort around the city with the help of Laurence Olivier is - - okay, a little odd, but also a lot of fun. It's really cute. 7.5/10.
Bound for Glory (1976). The early life of Woody Guthrie as a vagabond folk singer.
As far as bio pics go, this one's just okay. It's got some great shots and a pretty rambling pace, which works well given the story, but David Carradine is oddly charmless as Woody and never quite captivates in the way that you'd hope he would. It's a bit of a shame, as it does feel like a better actor could've elevated the script into a better film overall. 6/10.