You've got to feel for Pierce Brosnan - when Daniel Craig came along as James Bond, such was the excitement over him that it's almost as if Pierce never existed, which is a shame because he did some fine work, and more importantly helped shepherd the "franchise" (for lack of a better word) back to success after a long spell on the bench.
Brosnan had of course been signed to play the role in The Living Daylights but lost out when NBC insisted he still make Remington Steele; he probably didn't think it at the time, but the gap turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise because the extra decade gave him some more lines and experience, made him a more realistic secret agent. He's a bit uptight in some scenes, lacks the humour of Moore or Connery (which wasn't a problem in Remington Steele, interestingly enough), and is not as good an actor as Dalton, but he's handsome and dashing, does the quips okay and is strong on action.
The movie has a whiff of 90s political correctness - Bond is called a sexist misogynist, Moneypenny accuses him of sexual harrasment, Bond admits sending some Cossacks back to Stalin after World War Two was not Britain's finest hour (this line has always annoyed me - why were the Cossacks dumb enough to think Britain would fight their wartime ally straight after peace?) - but I guess these things needed to be said at some stage.
The script is strong - although not based on a Fleming novel, it is very much in the spirit of them: there's a villain who is getting revenge on England for the wrongs done to his people rather like Hugo Drax in the novel of Moonraker; a Bond girl who is integral to the story (Izabella Scorupco, who has a nice Three Days of the Condor type subplot of her own); a decent plan, a funny ally (Robert Coltrane as a former Russian agent), some witty lines. It's a great idea to have the villain a former 00 agent (these had popped up sporadically in previous films, usually as corpses or mentioned as going to take over Bond's mission), although I was frustrated why they didn't have Felix Leiter instead of some random CIA guy Jack Wade. And the opening action stunt is silly and unbelievable - it pushes it too far.
Locations wise I felt too much of it was set in Russia, which tends to be overly brown, overcast and dull; there are also scenes in Monaco and Cuba, and the movie could have done with more of this colour. There were also a surprisingly large amount of two hander action scenes as if the budget for extras wasn't large.
Brosnan is surrounded by a superb support cast: Sean Bean is a solid head villain; Famke Janssen is a superb henchwoman, one of the best (as a killer who gets orgasmic at the sight of blood); Coltrane, Gottfried John and Alan Cumming are fun as Russians; Scorupco isn't an all time leading Bond girl, but is pretty, brave, likeable and sensible; Judi Dench makes an outstanding M, utterly believable and compelling.
Eric Serra's music score is fascinating, containing some dreadful electronic tunes and a wonderfully romantic theme, "We Share the Same Passions". The title song, by Bono/the Edge/ and Tine Turner, is awesome.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Movie review - Bond#14 - "A View to a Kill" (1985) ***
A frustrating grab bag of a Bond film - not great, with some truly terrible moments, but good ones as well. It starts like gangbusters, with a lively ski chase sequence (a little soon after For Your Eyes Only perhaps, but very well done, with a then-fresh snowboarding angle... why don't they do ski chases any more?), and an outstanding Duran Duran theme song.
Then it gets more mixed. There's the unmemorable Robert Brown as M and Lois Maxwell in her last appearance as Mrs Moneypenny looking really old (her acting seems to have gotten worse), but some pleasing location footage at Ascot and French stables. It is fun to have Patrick Macnee act opposite Roger Moore although his part really should have been played by Desmond Llewellyn as Q (because the characters had more history - that banter would have been more fun).
Apparently Chris Walken's part was originally offered to David Bowie, who would have been fantastic but Walken is fine - he's not remotely French but at eat he tries something different for a Bond villain (a sort of method-y portrayal). The character, Zorin, seems inspired by Hugo Drax from the book Moonraker with a dash of Goldfinger thrown in.
Zorin's plan is very Goldfinger - trying to create a monopoly in an important product (in this case, microchips) by wiping out the leading American producer in said product (here, wiping out Silicon Valley by causing an earthquake), raising funds by contacting a crime syndicate for money and killing people who don't want to be involved in the plan (by dropping them out of an airship instead of killing them in a car), and connections with the Russians.
Also like Goldfinger, Zorin has a sexy assistant who sleeps with Bond and later changes sides - although May Day (Grace Jones) is far more ruthless than Pussy Galore ever was, meaning she has to die even after she turns good. It's a shame in a way because Grace Jones is one of the all time great Bond villain henchman - she's spectacular, scary and utterly convincing; the scene where she gets on top of Roger Moore is hilarious. And also because the girl Bond winds up with at the end, Tanya Roberts, is incredibly bland. She's pretty, but too whiny, constantly asking for Bond to help her, and she's not even needed in the story.
(Far better value is Fiona Fullerton as a sexy Russian spy who becomes briefly involved in the case; I wish they'd gone with her as the girl but maybe the filmmakers were worried about being too close to The Spy Who Loved Me... as if that would have mattered).
It's a very up and down movie; pros include a decent Eiffel Tower action sequence, a genuinely clever bit where Bond escapes by breathing air in a tire, some funny lines, Zorin's engaging collection of fellow villains (a couple of girls in addition to May Day such as Alison Doody's Jenny Flex and Patrick Bauchau as a sauve henchman decent stunts and spectacle at the Golden Gate Bridge, and an early appearance by Dolph Lundgren.
Cons include an extremely dull and pointless car chase through San Francisco, Zorin shooting his men at the end (I think the idea was to make him seem a real psycho but it falls flat), an overlong running time, the fact Zorin's plan was already seen in Superman, a complete lack of chemistry between Moore and Roberts, and the fact that Moore was becoming far too old for the part. He definitely stayed one too long.
Then it gets more mixed. There's the unmemorable Robert Brown as M and Lois Maxwell in her last appearance as Mrs Moneypenny looking really old (her acting seems to have gotten worse), but some pleasing location footage at Ascot and French stables. It is fun to have Patrick Macnee act opposite Roger Moore although his part really should have been played by Desmond Llewellyn as Q (because the characters had more history - that banter would have been more fun).
Apparently Chris Walken's part was originally offered to David Bowie, who would have been fantastic but Walken is fine - he's not remotely French but at eat he tries something different for a Bond villain (a sort of method-y portrayal). The character, Zorin, seems inspired by Hugo Drax from the book Moonraker with a dash of Goldfinger thrown in.
Zorin's plan is very Goldfinger - trying to create a monopoly in an important product (in this case, microchips) by wiping out the leading American producer in said product (here, wiping out Silicon Valley by causing an earthquake), raising funds by contacting a crime syndicate for money and killing people who don't want to be involved in the plan (by dropping them out of an airship instead of killing them in a car), and connections with the Russians.
Also like Goldfinger, Zorin has a sexy assistant who sleeps with Bond and later changes sides - although May Day (Grace Jones) is far more ruthless than Pussy Galore ever was, meaning she has to die even after she turns good. It's a shame in a way because Grace Jones is one of the all time great Bond villain henchman - she's spectacular, scary and utterly convincing; the scene where she gets on top of Roger Moore is hilarious. And also because the girl Bond winds up with at the end, Tanya Roberts, is incredibly bland. She's pretty, but too whiny, constantly asking for Bond to help her, and she's not even needed in the story.
(Far better value is Fiona Fullerton as a sexy Russian spy who becomes briefly involved in the case; I wish they'd gone with her as the girl but maybe the filmmakers were worried about being too close to The Spy Who Loved Me... as if that would have mattered).
It's a very up and down movie; pros include a decent Eiffel Tower action sequence, a genuinely clever bit where Bond escapes by breathing air in a tire, some funny lines, Zorin's engaging collection of fellow villains (a couple of girls in addition to May Day such as Alison Doody's Jenny Flex and Patrick Bauchau as a sauve henchman decent stunts and spectacle at the Golden Gate Bridge, and an early appearance by Dolph Lundgren.
Cons include an extremely dull and pointless car chase through San Francisco, Zorin shooting his men at the end (I think the idea was to make him seem a real psycho but it falls flat), an overlong running time, the fact Zorin's plan was already seen in Superman, a complete lack of chemistry between Moore and Roberts, and the fact that Moore was becoming far too old for the part. He definitely stayed one too long.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Movie review - Bond#15 - "The Living Daylights" (1987) ****1/2
Once again, the Bond series manages to reinvent itself at the right time... after Roger Moore and A View to a Kill seemed so old and tired, things bounce back to form magnificently with this highly enjoyable entry. I recognise this isn't a universally accepted point of view - the movie was not a big hit at the box office, it's not that well known compared to other entries - but I feel it's aged well, and returned things to a more even keel, one of the things that has enabled the series to last so long.
Timothy Dalton wasn't exactly Mr Action Man - the back projection is a bit too obvious when he's hanging off planes and cars - but his youth is a tonic after Roger Moore, and he has dark good looks, and a believably ruthless streak. He's also surprisingly - and touchingly - romantic. Bond doesn't sleep around in this one; he flirts with some girls but only really has eyes for Marym d'Abo, who is one of the most likeable Bond heroines, Kara. Kara is a top cellist completely out of her element in the adventure, and d'Abo brings a winning naivety to the part; she's so much better than Tanya Roberts. John Barry's romantic theme and some pleasing shots of Vienna add to the romance.
It's an excellent script, which skilfully incorporates the Fleming short story that gives the film it's title, and is well thought out and witty. There are some flaws - the one liners aren't super strong, I wasn't wild about Kara's incompetence causing the plane bottom to open up at the end, the finale in Afghanistan went on too long, an over use of the exploding key ring device - but these are easily outweighed by the strengths.
The support cast is of high quality: Jeroen Krabbe is an engaging rougish Russian general, Joe Don Baker is always good value as a military nut gun dealer, Art Malik is fun as an Afghan leader, John Rhys Davis is superb value as another Russian (it's a shame they didn't bring him back for other movies in the series), as is Andreas Wisniewski as a truly frightening, smart henchman (the best of the Red Grant rip offs; takes part in a really tough kitchen fight sequence with a British agent who isn't Bond - this is given a surprisingly long running time).
Of the regulars Desmond Llewellyn and Walter Gotell (his last appearance) are in good form, Robert Brown isn't memorable, or is the latest bloke to play Felix Leiter, and Caroline Bliss a disappointingly poor new Moneypenny. Sexy Aussie Virginia Hey pops up too as Rhy Davis' mistress.
Locations are varied and exotic: Gibraltar (I love it when Bond defends the crappy modern day British Empire, it's so cute), Tangiers, Vienna, Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan. Decent stunts and action - nothing particularly awesome, just solid, smart Bond movie making. Poor theme song (by A Ha, who prove yet again they are no Duran Duran) but a lovely romantic tune from John Barry, doing his last music score for the series.
Timothy Dalton wasn't exactly Mr Action Man - the back projection is a bit too obvious when he's hanging off planes and cars - but his youth is a tonic after Roger Moore, and he has dark good looks, and a believably ruthless streak. He's also surprisingly - and touchingly - romantic. Bond doesn't sleep around in this one; he flirts with some girls but only really has eyes for Marym d'Abo, who is one of the most likeable Bond heroines, Kara. Kara is a top cellist completely out of her element in the adventure, and d'Abo brings a winning naivety to the part; she's so much better than Tanya Roberts. John Barry's romantic theme and some pleasing shots of Vienna add to the romance.
It's an excellent script, which skilfully incorporates the Fleming short story that gives the film it's title, and is well thought out and witty. There are some flaws - the one liners aren't super strong, I wasn't wild about Kara's incompetence causing the plane bottom to open up at the end, the finale in Afghanistan went on too long, an over use of the exploding key ring device - but these are easily outweighed by the strengths.
The support cast is of high quality: Jeroen Krabbe is an engaging rougish Russian general, Joe Don Baker is always good value as a military nut gun dealer, Art Malik is fun as an Afghan leader, John Rhys Davis is superb value as another Russian (it's a shame they didn't bring him back for other movies in the series), as is Andreas Wisniewski as a truly frightening, smart henchman (the best of the Red Grant rip offs; takes part in a really tough kitchen fight sequence with a British agent who isn't Bond - this is given a surprisingly long running time).
Of the regulars Desmond Llewellyn and Walter Gotell (his last appearance) are in good form, Robert Brown isn't memorable, or is the latest bloke to play Felix Leiter, and Caroline Bliss a disappointingly poor new Moneypenny. Sexy Aussie Virginia Hey pops up too as Rhy Davis' mistress.
Locations are varied and exotic: Gibraltar (I love it when Bond defends the crappy modern day British Empire, it's so cute), Tangiers, Vienna, Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan. Decent stunts and action - nothing particularly awesome, just solid, smart Bond movie making. Poor theme song (by A Ha, who prove yet again they are no Duran Duran) but a lovely romantic tune from John Barry, doing his last music score for the series.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
John Landis, George MacDonald Fraser and the Lone Ranger
On October 12, 2013 I had the honour/delight of meeting John Landis while he was in Melbourne as a guest of the Melbourne Festival. It was at a book signing where he was putting his John Hancock on his book about movie monsters.
During our five minute chat, I managed to ask him a few questions, in particular about his collaboration with one of my favourite writers, George MacDonald Fraser, on a script about the Lone Ranger which Fraser refers to in his memoirs. (Fraser whined about political correctness in Hollywood causing the deletion of a scene where Indians were made drunk despite the fact it was based on history, but also said it was a shame the movie was never made as he and Landis got along like "ham and eggs".)
Landis brightened at the mention of this and said Fraser's script (the writer did two drafts) was one of the best he'd ever read, but didn't get made because of a long, complicated issue partly involving the rights.
The director also said:
- he really liked Fraser even though the author was very right wing and they were an odd couple but they collaborated well
- the script was very historically accurate - Tonto always spoke Indian when he was with Indians and only English when he was with whites
- there was a funny subplot about a touring Shakespearean actor where Tonto ended up speaking words of the Bard
- there was a romantic scene where people were looking for the Lone Ranger and he hid in a room and kissed a woman several times and she ended up not minding (inspired I feel by The 39 Steps).
Landis wasn't a big fan of the 1981 or 2013 movies and expressed regret the movie wasn't made. I think there's a fair few of those in his career though and he wasn't bitter about it.
A lovely short chat - I figured I'd put it on the net in case anyone is interested!
During our five minute chat, I managed to ask him a few questions, in particular about his collaboration with one of my favourite writers, George MacDonald Fraser, on a script about the Lone Ranger which Fraser refers to in his memoirs. (Fraser whined about political correctness in Hollywood causing the deletion of a scene where Indians were made drunk despite the fact it was based on history, but also said it was a shame the movie was never made as he and Landis got along like "ham and eggs".)
Landis brightened at the mention of this and said Fraser's script (the writer did two drafts) was one of the best he'd ever read, but didn't get made because of a long, complicated issue partly involving the rights.
The director also said:
- he really liked Fraser even though the author was very right wing and they were an odd couple but they collaborated well
- the script was very historically accurate - Tonto always spoke Indian when he was with Indians and only English when he was with whites
- there was a funny subplot about a touring Shakespearean actor where Tonto ended up speaking words of the Bard
- there was a romantic scene where people were looking for the Lone Ranger and he hid in a room and kissed a woman several times and she ended up not minding (inspired I feel by The 39 Steps).
Landis wasn't a big fan of the 1981 or 2013 movies and expressed regret the movie wasn't made. I think there's a fair few of those in his career though and he wasn't bitter about it.
A lovely short chat - I figured I'd put it on the net in case anyone is interested!
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Movie review - "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) ****
George Raft wouldn't have done too badly as Sam Spade in this classic private eye mystery but no way near as well as Humphrey Bogart who took the role and completely ran with it, launching himself as a star. And no wonder - its remarkable what an anti-hero Spade is: mean, cruel, sleeping with his partner's wife, sadistic (look at his face when he punches Peter Lorre), greedy, snarky. His saving grace is a sense of honour and the fact the villains are worse. Or, more accurately, fabulous: was there ever a better rogues gallery than Sydney Greenstreet, Lorre, Elisha Cook Jnr and Mary Astor (who I never used to be a fan of but my appreciation of her performance grows every time I see this film)?
There is an awful lot of exposition going on here - great slabs of dialogue which go on and on, and to be honest sometimes I had trouble following the plot. But I went with it because the acting and dialogue was so good - there's encounter after encounter between masters at their peak: Bogart and Astor, Bogart and Lorre, Bogart and Greenstreet. I felt it could have done with some more emotion - I never really got the sense that Bogart fell for Astor, despite that dynamic finish.
Lots of gay subtext - Lorre/Cairo is campy, Greenstreet/Gutman keeps pawing Bogart - plenty of nice touches (eg Bogart's hand shaking after an encounter with the others), a cute cameo from Walter Huston, some scary cops (Ward Bond and Barton MacLane), plenty of rich supporting roles.
There is an awful lot of exposition going on here - great slabs of dialogue which go on and on, and to be honest sometimes I had trouble following the plot. But I went with it because the acting and dialogue was so good - there's encounter after encounter between masters at their peak: Bogart and Astor, Bogart and Lorre, Bogart and Greenstreet. I felt it could have done with some more emotion - I never really got the sense that Bogart fell for Astor, despite that dynamic finish.
Lots of gay subtext - Lorre/Cairo is campy, Greenstreet/Gutman keeps pawing Bogart - plenty of nice touches (eg Bogart's hand shaking after an encounter with the others), a cute cameo from Walter Huston, some scary cops (Ward Bond and Barton MacLane), plenty of rich supporting roles.
Movie review - "Casablanca" (1942) ***** (warning: spoilers)
As one of the screenwriters put it, this is corny as hell but when corn works it works like nothing else and few movies work as well as Casablanca with its magical combination of war, romance, honour, comedy, Warner Bros handling, Hollywood's greatest line up of character actors, music, third world backlot recreation and stars.
I've seen this many times - the most recent in 2013, when I was struck by several new things. It's a surprising tribute to France - France, which, as exemplified by Claude Rains' Rene and Madeleine LeBeau's Yvonne, is corrupt, egotistical, lecherous, whorish... but which ultimately comes through in the end: Yvonne sings the Marseilles in what remains probably my favourite film scene of all time, and Rains helps Bogie/Rick get away at the finale, one of the greatest endings of all time.
It's very adult. Rick is clearly sleeping with Yvonne, and had a sexual relationship with Ilsa, Rene sleeps with women in exchange for visas, roulette wheels are rigged, people are shot without trial, the police are corrupt, America are isolationists, life is rough for refugees.
It also has one of the best casts you can think of. Everyone knows Bogart was a perfect Rick - tough, bitter, brave romantic (others could have played the role - Alan Ladd did okay on radio - but no one as effectively), and that Berman was stunningly beautiful (who else could make adultery seem so innocent), and Claude Rains astonishing, and Paul Henreid wasn't up any of them but had a handsome dull presence and was effective; the skill of Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet and Dooley Wilson is also well known. But the depth of it continues to astound - Curt Bois as a pickpocket, Leonid Kinskey as a happy go lucky barman, Dan Seymour as the doorman, Joy Page as a young Bulgarian woman (her scene with Bogie made me tear up... I can't believe she didn't have more of a career) and Helmut Dantine as her husband; LeBeau as the touching Yvonne; John Qualen as a resistance contact; the cute old couple excited about going to America. Many of the cast were real life refugees giving this incredible verisimilitude.
I will nitpick for the sheer hell of it - it made me laugh that Rick puts the transit visas in the piano in full view of his entire cafe, the choreography of what happened in the cafe sometimes got plain darn confusing and Bergman's character is, to be frank, a ninny (she's required to be for plot purposes admittedly, so Rick can make the big sacrifice).
But it all works - the story, cast, setting, themes, atmosphere. And so much of it is magical: Page asking Bogart is she should sleep with Rains, the Marseilles, the surprise when Rains saves Bogart at the end, walking off into the sunset.
I've seen this many times - the most recent in 2013, when I was struck by several new things. It's a surprising tribute to France - France, which, as exemplified by Claude Rains' Rene and Madeleine LeBeau's Yvonne, is corrupt, egotistical, lecherous, whorish... but which ultimately comes through in the end: Yvonne sings the Marseilles in what remains probably my favourite film scene of all time, and Rains helps Bogie/Rick get away at the finale, one of the greatest endings of all time.
It's very adult. Rick is clearly sleeping with Yvonne, and had a sexual relationship with Ilsa, Rene sleeps with women in exchange for visas, roulette wheels are rigged, people are shot without trial, the police are corrupt, America are isolationists, life is rough for refugees.
It also has one of the best casts you can think of. Everyone knows Bogart was a perfect Rick - tough, bitter, brave romantic (others could have played the role - Alan Ladd did okay on radio - but no one as effectively), and that Berman was stunningly beautiful (who else could make adultery seem so innocent), and Claude Rains astonishing, and Paul Henreid wasn't up any of them but had a handsome dull presence and was effective; the skill of Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet and Dooley Wilson is also well known. But the depth of it continues to astound - Curt Bois as a pickpocket, Leonid Kinskey as a happy go lucky barman, Dan Seymour as the doorman, Joy Page as a young Bulgarian woman (her scene with Bogie made me tear up... I can't believe she didn't have more of a career) and Helmut Dantine as her husband; LeBeau as the touching Yvonne; John Qualen as a resistance contact; the cute old couple excited about going to America. Many of the cast were real life refugees giving this incredible verisimilitude.
I will nitpick for the sheer hell of it - it made me laugh that Rick puts the transit visas in the piano in full view of his entire cafe, the choreography of what happened in the cafe sometimes got plain darn confusing and Bergman's character is, to be frank, a ninny (she's required to be for plot purposes admittedly, so Rick can make the big sacrifice).
But it all works - the story, cast, setting, themes, atmosphere. And so much of it is magical: Page asking Bogart is she should sleep with Rains, the Marseilles, the surprise when Rains saves Bogart at the end, walking off into the sunset.
TV review - "Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch Story" (2013) **1/2
The underwhelming ratings of this mini series came as a shock to many observers, especially considering the popularity of previous Packer tales, Howzat! and Paper Giants. Viewer fatigue with the Packers was blamed, but was it the only thing? I think three other factors were crucial - the lack of female interest, the fact it deals with events most people don't remember/recall, and perhaps most importantly it's not about an underdog triumphing for a good cause.
In Howzat the underdogs were the cricketers who finally got a fair day's pay via one day cricket, which people really like and was ultimately a good thing; in Paper Giants Ita Buttrose overcome obstacles to be editor and helped more honest conversation about racy topics, which people really like and was ultimately a good thing. (The Paper Giants sequel didn't do as well, IMHO, because while it was about a woman who triumphed, she did it by increasing the amount of schlocky invasive gossip out there, which ultimately wasn't a good thing. Also Kerry Packer was a passenger as opposed to a key character.)
Here the only real underdog is Rupert Murdoch - and no one except the Murdochs and Andrew Bolt would think him triumphing was ultimately a good thing. The events all took place a long time ago now - the sixties - and lack much nostalgic appeal, so they require more than the skim-through-history-as-montage method which features here.
Even with these drawbacks it still could have worked - the Packer and Murdoch families are the stuff of Shakespeare: megalomaniacal, sexually voracious, bullies, crawlers, pirates, brave, funny. And occasionally a glimpse of what this could have been sneaks through, particularly in the dynamics between Sir Frank and Clyde. But most of the time this is strictly broad strokes - the piece has been fatally compromised by the fact it was made by Channel Nine, the fact Rupert Murdoch is alive and that Southern Star got away with skimpy character development in their other history montage biopics. If this had aired on the ABC I think it would have rated better because audiences would have sensed a gutsier depiction of the tycoons (and it's more an ABC show)
There are some good performances, particularly from Lachy Hulme as Sir Frank Packer (although Pat Brammel, while normally a fine actor, lacks the ruthlessness and sense of being a prick that would have made his Rupert Murdoch more compelling) but the actors could have done with better parts. All the female roles are forgettable - there's "brave cancer sufferer" (Heather Mitchell), a whining "why are you never home type", and a pretty girl with long eye lashes (Maeve Dermondy, who's really got to watch playing this sort of role in period mini-series otherwise she's never going to do anything else). It's watchable, but it's a pity.
In Howzat the underdogs were the cricketers who finally got a fair day's pay via one day cricket, which people really like and was ultimately a good thing; in Paper Giants Ita Buttrose overcome obstacles to be editor and helped more honest conversation about racy topics, which people really like and was ultimately a good thing. (The Paper Giants sequel didn't do as well, IMHO, because while it was about a woman who triumphed, she did it by increasing the amount of schlocky invasive gossip out there, which ultimately wasn't a good thing. Also Kerry Packer was a passenger as opposed to a key character.)
Here the only real underdog is Rupert Murdoch - and no one except the Murdochs and Andrew Bolt would think him triumphing was ultimately a good thing. The events all took place a long time ago now - the sixties - and lack much nostalgic appeal, so they require more than the skim-through-history-as-montage method which features here.
Even with these drawbacks it still could have worked - the Packer and Murdoch families are the stuff of Shakespeare: megalomaniacal, sexually voracious, bullies, crawlers, pirates, brave, funny. And occasionally a glimpse of what this could have been sneaks through, particularly in the dynamics between Sir Frank and Clyde. But most of the time this is strictly broad strokes - the piece has been fatally compromised by the fact it was made by Channel Nine, the fact Rupert Murdoch is alive and that Southern Star got away with skimpy character development in their other history montage biopics. If this had aired on the ABC I think it would have rated better because audiences would have sensed a gutsier depiction of the tycoons (and it's more an ABC show)
There are some good performances, particularly from Lachy Hulme as Sir Frank Packer (although Pat Brammel, while normally a fine actor, lacks the ruthlessness and sense of being a prick that would have made his Rupert Murdoch more compelling) but the actors could have done with better parts. All the female roles are forgettable - there's "brave cancer sufferer" (Heather Mitchell), a whining "why are you never home type", and a pretty girl with long eye lashes (Maeve Dermondy, who's really got to watch playing this sort of role in period mini-series otherwise she's never going to do anything else). It's watchable, but it's a pity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)