Category Archives: 1986

The Name of the Rose (1986)

From NetFlix:

In this adaptation of Umberto Eco’s best-selling novel, 14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) and his young novice (Christian Slater) arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church’s authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence — which is considerable

Umberto Eco wrote his first novel The Name of the Rose in 1980. Eco is a well-known modern scholar.

Jean-Jaques Annaud, the director, has assembled a cast of the most unusual, distorted, exaggerated, cretinous faces I have ever seen. These faces are perfectly in tune with the dark, forbidding atmosphere of the Benedictine monastery in northern Italy. To keep all the characters straight, try reading the Wikipedia article on the film. Besides Sean Connery and Christian Slater, Ron Perlman as Salvatore is particularly memorable. Salvatore is the retarded hunchback whose garbled speech is a mixture of several languages. Whoever restructured and tonsured all those heads was a genius in the art of actor makeup.

Thanks to my Italian teacher ,Vincenzo Santone, for recommending this film. Of course, Vincenzo would like me to read the original Italian version, which is a challenge. Because I have not read the book, I do not know if it is so condemning of the Catholic church of the early 14th century as is the film. Certainly the film makes the church hierarchy into a pack of sadistic, ignorant, self-indulgent, greedy, superstitious cretins. Naturally, the Inquisition is cast as the fundamentalist, intolerant Taliban of the 14th century.

Here is one film that I could not stop watching.

Edge of Darkness (1986)

From NetFlix:

When police detective Ron Craven (Bob Peck) witnesses the murder of his environmental activist daughter (Joanne Whalley), he vows to track down her killer. Little does he know, however, that the trail will lead straight to the heart of Britain’s nuclear power industry. The suspense ratchets ever upward in this award-winning BBC miniseries, as Craven finds himself smack in the middle of a top secret government project. Joe Don Baker co-stars.

This “Edge of Darkness” is the original 6-episode British TV series as opposed to the 2010 Mel Gibson remake. As such it proceeds at an unhurried calm pace. Alongside the conspiracy plot there are the psychological after effects of Craven’s having seen his daughter gunned down. There is some violence, but no gore. And of course the villains are cool and calculating.

According to the Wikipedia article, this series as been acclaimed as one of the best and most influential pieces of British television drama ever made. Be prepared for pessimism and a bit of magical realism.

As an extra, the very appropriate “Edge of Darkness” electric guitar theme that runs throughout is by Eric Clapton.

The Color of Money (1986)

From NetFlix:

The hustler isn’t what he used to be: ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson
(Oscar-winner Paul Newman) has given up pool for life as a
liquor salesman. But then he meets Vincent (Tom Cruise), a
cocky natural who makes a cue ball crack like a lightning
bolt. Eddie takes Vincent under his wing and on the road,
but are teacher and student destined to become competitors?

Because of our devotion to the game of pool, Kate and Nigel and I watched a very young
Tom Cruise do a perfect job as an arrogant kid refusing to take directions from an older
and wiser Paul Newman. Our NetFlix CD was in terrible shape but we enjoyed the film
so much that we will next order the precursor “The Hustler”.

I would be interested to know if you find the film confusing. Also, there is a lot of pool
playing in the film which might not interest everyone.

My Beautiful Laundrette (1986)

From NetFlix:

Hanif Kureishi received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay
for My Beautiful Laundrette, a stunning portrait of two boyhood
friends struggling to survive in racially tense Thatcher-era
Britain. Omar (Gordon Warnecke), a Pakistani, and his old school
chum Johnny (Daniel-Day Lewis) use stolen drug money to renovate
a laundrette in a squalid London neighborhood. But conflicting
interests and loyalties soon threaten their newfound success.

I continue to work my way thru the films of Hanif Kureishi. Recall that the previous film was “My Son The Fanatic”. “My Beautiful Laundrette” is 13 years older. I saw this film 20 years ago but was too “young” to appreciate it. At that time Daniel-Day Lewis meant nothing to me. But his role in this film is outstanding. He has the skill to become the character completely. The difference in characters between this film and “There Will Be Blood” is a tribute to his talent. One theme in the film is the gay relation between Omar and Johnny. It was stunning to watch a young, smiling, naive Omar transform into a cunning businessman. The actor who plays Omar’s father was the paedofile in “Monsoon Wedding”.

The film is inspired by the policies and attitudes of Margaret Thatcher’s England. How sad and ironic that Margaret Thatcher now has Alzheimer’s disease.

There is also some violence and nasty behavior. NOT FOR CHILDREN.

This is a really well-done film. The films of Hanif Kureishi are hard to get from NetFlix. They seem to be very popular now.

This one is a “don’t miss it”

Stand By Me (1986)

From NetFlix:

In this Rob Reiner dramatization of Stephen King’s novella, The Body,
a writer ( Richard Dreyfuss) tells the story of how he and three other
boys sought adventure and heroism. In the 1950s, in the woods of
Oregon, the boys set out to find a missing teen’s dead body. What
they find out about themselves along the way, though, means even
more in this coming-of-age tale co-starring River Phoenix,
Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton and Jerry O’Connell

Beautiful, nostalgic, at times sad. You can just feel Richard Dreyfuss’
wave of sad long-lost memories while sitting in that car.
This Stephen King novel is a sweet classic.