Peeping Tom

Release Year: 1960

Director: Michael Powell

Review:  'Peeping Tom' finds Michael Powell without his longtime filmmaking partner Emeric Pressburger.  Powell never ceases to amaze me with the diversity of his talent.  From the epic-style war movie 'Life and Death of Colonel Blimp', to the eloquent examination of the passion of dance in 'The Red Shoes', to this film, a phycological horror thriller.  One constant remains the same, all are magnificently produced and are far ahead of their time.  Powell might have gone too far ahead of his time with this film as the critical backlash devastated his career.  Audiences were not quite ready for the taboo story of a psychopathic serial killer who filmed the deaths of his victims.

It's a creepy movie.  Carl Boehm, who plays Tom, delivers an unsettling performance.  His character is painfully shy, but obsessed with his camera.  The way he delivers his lines in a slow, calculated and cool manner enhances the vile acts he commits.  What is most disturbing is that, while a loner, Tom is an ordinary guy.  He is nicely groomed, and is pleasant to the people who interact with him.  He even manages to charm his neighbor into a romantic attachment to him.  The trust which his victims place in him is the most terrifying part.  They're sheer terror as he slowly approaches them with his camera for their final closeup is haunting. 

 In a way Tom's obsession, his fascination and desire to see the horror contorted on his victims faces, is a reflection of what lies in all movie audiences.  We watch horror movies and we see terrible acts of cruelty and we shovel popcorn in our mouths.  Powell turns the mirror on us, and shows how gruesome this actually is.  Its easy to draw comparisons to 'Psycho' while watching this.  Both deal with psychotic serial killers, tormented by their parents.  'Peeping Tom' might be much less discussed, but its equally as good. 
Rating: 4/5

The Magnificent Seven

Release Year: 1960

Director: John Struges

Review: Directed by John Struges, 'The Magnificent Seven' is a resetting of Akira Kurosawa's 'Seven Samurai'.   A small Mexican village is being raided by bandits, and they seek the help of some gunslingers to defend their village.  What they end up with is a group of seven eclectic cowboys who make it their mission to help defend the villagers.  I'm not a fan of westerns in general, so a film from this genre has to bring something extra for me to enjoy it.  Since this is a western adaptation of 'Seven Samurai' there is definitely a lot more to this story than just your run-of-the-mill cowboy flick.

I think what I enjoyed most about this was what was taken from Kurosawa's film, and the fact that it was set in the West had little to do with it.  Its strongly character driven, and each of the gang of seven are compelling, with their own motives and personality.  Yul Brynner and Steve Mcqueen are the definition of cool cowboys, and if I were to form my posse of cowboys I'd definitely want them at the lead.  The story got slightly bogged down as the story progressed, trying to stuff the familiar western troupes into the story.  The beginning is strong however, and the forming of the crew is the most fun I've ever had watching a western.  If nothing else, this only strengthens my resolve to watch Seven Samurai(something I should have done long ago).  It does, however,  stand up on its own as an enjoyable character driven western that mostly stays away from the familiar, stereotypical, aspects of traditional westerns.

Rating: 3/5

The Apartment

Release Year: 1960

Director: Billy Wilder

Review: Billy Wilder is not afraid to make provocative films.  Like Apatow today, Wilder was working on a different plane than everyone else while working in a genre.  'The Apartment' is about an average white collar worker(Jack Lemmon) who loans his Upper West Side apartment to upper management for their extramarital activities until he falls for one of the victims of the adulterers.  Being produced in the production code era, Wilder was none the less able to make this edgy comedy. 

It is so lighthearted, that you forget your watching a film about sex, adultery and suicide.  It deals with these issues with the wit of a comedic genius and delivered by one of the best comedic actors of all time in Jack Lemmon.  Despite being primarily shot in two locations, it never felt cramped and it only magnified the acting abilities of Lemmon and the his love interest played by Shirley MacLaine whose chemistry was phenomenal.  They manage to pull off the the complex relationship by both being sincere and comical.  Lemmon is hard not to like in this role.  In almost every scene he managed to bring a smile to my face.  This is a masterful film dealing with the pain of a broken heart in an original and insightful way, while always staying true to its comedy genre.
Rating: 5/5

 

The Alamo

Release Year: 1960

Director: John Wayne

Review: 'The Alamo' is a true western.  I mean that in the worst possible way.  I'm not a fan of the genre, so for me to enjoy a western it has to transcend the genre in someway and this one is by the books.   John Wayne had a huge budget and spent a couple years in production, but ultimately fails to make the epic battle anything more than a weary ego trip.  The stakes for the battle are never built up.  There are plenty of long winded, heavy, and passionate speeches, but they were just crammed in with no real justification.  They were there simply as a cheap ploy to build emotion, but they did not land and as a result I was not invested in the men defending the Alamo, completely missing the point of why the battle at the Alamo is an endearing . In a character driven war tale, the characters were muffled, disconnected and, despite a plethora of interesting historic personalities, pretty dull.  It was as true fifty years ago as it is today. Just throwing money and time in a picture doesn't make it interesting.  Being elaborate for the sake of being elaborate doesn't make for compelling cinema.  In a film that should inspire passion for those that gave their lives at the Alamo I was left feeling bored.  The cries may be to "Remember of the Alamo", but watching this just made me want to forget it, or at least this representation of it.
Rating: 1/5

 

Psycho

Release Year: 1960
Review: A thriller that holds up nearly 50 years after it was created. Without relying on special effects or gore, Hitchcock creates a suspenseful murder mystery. The acting in this film is phenomenal, and paired with the classic score, it is timeless.
Rating: 4/5