From IMDB:
A group of good-hearted, but incompetent misfits enter the police academy, but the instructors there are not going to put up with their pranks.
From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 36 minute comedy from way back in 1984.
Surprising how explicitly ribald a film that is nearly 40 years old can be. Pratfalls, sight gags, and downright lewd situations gave me some genuine belly laughs. Odd, isn’t it, that I cannot find a defect in this obviously B- screwball comedy.
From NetFlix:
In a jealous rage, Texas tavern owner Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) hires unscrupulous private detective Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to not only tail Marty’s two-timing spouse (Frances McDormand, in her big-screen debut) but also murder her and her paramour (John Getz). But events take a surprising turn when the gumshoe double-crosses his client. Joel Coen directs this stylish shocker co-written with brother Ethan Coen.
This is the first film that the Coen Brothers did together. For a recap of their career see the Wikipedia article which makes a table of 17 of their films including Barton Fink (1991), No Country For Old Men (2007), and Romance & Cigarettes (2005).
Violence seems to be their trademark. However, for me the attraction of the film was its firm foundation in gritty, believable reality. Special effects need not apply! The slow acting is pace-perfect. Part of that slow pace owes to an awful lot of actors just staring without saying anything. But in this film that style seems to work. When was the last time you saw a film in which the possible failure of a car to start was especially nerve-wracking ?
25 years ago, a very young Fances McDormand got by with a minimum of acting. John Getz seems to have spent most of his career in TV. Ditto for Dan Hedaya. M. Emmet Walsh is a face you have seen everywhere probably without knowing his name. For me Walsh had the most memorable part: evil with an ironic sense of humor. His part at the end is unforgettable.
If you want to watch Coen brother films, this is the place to start.
From NetFlix:
Harvey Fierstein narrates this documentary by Rob Epstein about San Francisco’s
most colorful — and unfortunately, tragic — political figure: Harvey Milk. A
staunch fighter for gay rights, Milk helped forge a presence for the city’s gay
community in city hall, becoming the first openly gay member of San Francisco’s
combative city council. But his life, along with Mayor George Moscone’s, was
cut short by infamous fellow politico Dan White.
The New York Times suggested that before watching the Hollywood ‘Milk’ it might be worthwhile viewing the actual film footage from that era. For an hour and a half you can see for yourself what those days looked like in San Francisco, especially in the Castro. You watch interviews, television newscasts, parades, protests, and above all you get to see the almost always smiling Harvey Milk. At certain points you look at Harvey Milk and see how closely Sean Penn has made himself resemble Harvey Milk. I was impressed by Mayor Mascone (also murdered).
I could see how a jury might sympathize with the young, handsome, sincere, devoted family man Dan White. But the facts show clearly how he plotted very carefully to commit two brazen and deliberate murders. The sight of an immense nighttime candlelight march in memory of Milk and in protest of the extraordinarily light sentence given to White is something you don’t forget. And remember, this isn’t a staged Hollywood extravanza, it really looked that way.
There is NO lurid film footage, no nudity in parades, nada! Because of the unusual issues at stake and footage of the dead bodies covered in sheets being carried out of the building this film is probably not for young children.
I confess I have no memory whatsoever of these events. In 1984 I was working as a software engineer at Bolt, Beranek, and Newman busily raising a family. Kathy doesn’t remember the events either. How important was it ?
Where is Dan White today ? And if this isn’t an invitation for a comment, what on earth is ?
From NetFlix:
Director Sergio Leone’s sprawling crime epic follows a group of Jewish mobsters (including Robert De Niro, James Woods and Elizabeth McGovern) who rise in the ranks of organized crime in 1920s New York. Their story unfolds in flashbacks as ringleader Noodles (De Niro) returns to Brooklyn 30 years later to reunite and reminisce with his cohorts. Nominated for two Golden Globes, this gritty drama was Leone’s last directorial effort.
“Once Upon a Time in America” was made in 1984 by Sergio Leone. It requires 2 disks. The subject is a New York Jewish mob in the time of the depression and later. Before going any farther:
o It is violent
o The treatment of sex is frank, crude, adolescent, and abundant.
There is one no-holds-barred rape scene. Considering the
personalities, it all makes sense.
However, this is an important film which I loved. Most notable for me was the incredibly leisurely pace, which I mean in a constructive way. Conversations are not hurried. Scenes are allowed to linger. Am I wrong or do many of today’s films hurry ? Robert Di Niro, James Woods, and Elizabeth McGovern do a great job.
I have no idea whether this pretends to be a true history, but it doesn’t matter. There are surprising plot twists. Despite the fact that the protagonists are murderous thugs, you can’t help but feel what Di Niro suffers.
Don’t miss this classic!