Peter Bogdanovich's comeback hit after some fallow years, his most successful film without Polly Platt, but he managed to stuff it up by whingeing that the producers/studio cut some scenes and wouldn't let him use Bruce Springsteen because it was too expensive. I watched his cut... there's a few Springsteen songs, which are fine, but not that essential. The two extra scenes are nice but cut-able: a funeral for Harry Carey Jnr (enabling Bogdanovich to do a bikies John Ford homage) and Cher and Eric Stolz singing 'Little Egypt' which is fine but does take you out of the movie because Cher is famed as a singer.
But Bogdanovich went and whined and sued Universal for millions and slagged off Cher even before the film came out. So his career was damaged again.
He did a lovely job. He worked from a superb piece of material, it's sentimental (romance with blind girl, a mute bikie manages to say "he's proud"), the bikies are cuddly... but it holds because it's so well acted (Eric Stoltz is excellent, Cher is perfectly cast, Sam Elliot is perfect, Laura Dern a delight), and it was based on a true story. The concept of a tough drug taking bikie chick who is devoted to her ill son is gold and it's wonderfully realised.
No comments:
Post a Comment