Siskel & Ebert was on channel 2 at 11:35pm every Sunday. Here is our weekly tribute to the two legends. Film school starts now.
STREETS OF FIRE – Walter Hill is one of my favorite directors. His first film since 2006 comes out next year, Hollywood is better off with Hill behind the camera. STREETS OF FIRE was conceived during the shoot for 48 HRS and shot just after production wrapped. STREETS is a chaotic blend of influences from drama, to comedy, action, musical, and old school biker exploitation. Walter Hill somehow gets all of those genres to play nice together in a film that by all intents and purposes shouldn’t work at all. Diane Lane and Michael Paré have real chemistry together, and Willem Dafoe is a nutty kind of evil as Raven, the leader of the motorcycle gang. Though it flopped at the box-office, it has since gained a sizable cult following and is considered to be one of Hill’s best among his fans. THUMBS UP!
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA – Sergio Leone turned down THE GODFATHER to direct this film. This is an epic masterpiece of violence. The narrative of this film is so complex it requires multiple viewings, it requires discussion, it requires you tell all your friends to see this if they haven’t witnessed the genius of this film. Leone’s cut of this film clocks in at 227 minutes. It was released here in the states in a chopped up, mess of a film that clocked in at 90 minutes. This film was just recently released on Blu-ray, Leone’s cut is on full display. Leone’s version: THUMBS WAY UP! U.S. Version: Thumbs way, way down.
See you on forty deuce,
G
