Targets (1968)

The auteuer theorists praised Hitchcock for making art out of what could only otherwise be described as a B movie.  But what if the director meant to create art out of a B movie and yet keep it a B movie?  This scenario is the great thing about Peter Bogdanovich's Targets.

In Targets, Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly) goes on a killing spree.  Despite all the film's suggestions that guns are a cultural problem, we get little explanation to why guns are a problem (other than they can be used by a psychopathic Bobby). Likewise, there is little insight into what motivates Bobby to kill:  maybe he kills because guns are available, maybe it is built into him because of military training, and maybe it is just being fed up with a life of modern complacency.  At any rate, the minute justifications keep with the conventions of a B movie expertly.

Meanwhile, we watch an aging star named Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff) debate whether to do one last movie.  If he does, he will have to promote his recent movie to stay in the game.  Orlock decides he will do one last movie, so he has to promote his new film by making an appearance at a drive-in.  

No viewer of Targets is particularly surprised to see Byron Orlock and Bobby Thompson at the drive-in at the end.  Though it is a simple matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time within the movie, Bogdanovich plays off of the B movie style by remaining transparent to the audience in his intentions.  

At the drive-in, people watch (or are at least being shown) the new Byron Orlock movie.  The movie itself is actually a B movie starring Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson called The Terror.  So we get a bargain; a B movie within a B movie, like a Freddy Krueger reference within the Scream films.  We also get what we paid for:  the final confrontation between Orlock and Bobby Thompson in classic low-budget fidelity.

What makes this a great film is that it does at least what a good B movie does:  it indicates that is self-aware of what it is doing.  How else would a director take pride in such films with low-budgets than by saying, "I am perfectly aware of what I am doing and am doing it because I want to?"  Bogdanovich proves a worthwhile director here in Targets precisely because of the way he flaunts his ability to make art through honoring the conventions of the B movie.

IMDb rates this film 7.5 out of 10
Film 101 rates this film 4.5 stars out of 5

Other films directed by Bogdanovich include:  The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon,  and Mask

Zelig (1983)

Mockumentaries seem to favor mockery above all else, but the year before This Is Spinal Tap was released, Woody Allen made Zelig, a "mock-documentary" posing as a case study of the life of Leonard Zelig.  And while mockumentaries amount to poking fun at a stereotype, Allen places a sort of "everyman" archetype at the center of his work.  No one is safe.

Zelig (played by Allen) is a chameleon.  Or a shapeshifter.  Whatever the label, he has the ability to take on the characteristics of those he is surrounded by.  Furthermore, he is convincing in his various roles.

Through psychoanalysis, it is learned that Zelig's ability comes from an intense desire to fit in.  Trying to "cure" Zelig, Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow) makes progress.  Zelig learns to have his own opinion, but goes to extremes here too.  When a doctor mentions how nice the weather is, Zelig asserts that it is not and the scene ends with Zelig beating the doctor with a rake.  Dr. Fletcher does not give up and succeeds in transitioning Zelig into normalcy with some minor adjustmenst.  The tension between being an individual and a conformist runs the course of the movie.

As a mockumentary, Zelig uses the documentary style to give it the air of truth.  The "mock" element loosens the gripping illusion of truth.  In a careful balance, Allen moves his audience to a wonder beyond mere pity and fear. What makes Zelig more than most mockumentaries is how it implicates all of us.  Who does not wish to fit in at some level?  Allen has placed the individual and conformist in all of us in the leading role.  There is no outside looking in at a ridiculous stereotype.  Zelig is concerned instead with the limits of who we are, and in owning up to this question, proves at least more rewarding than a film that questions the ontological ramifications of an amplifier that goes to eleven.

IMDb rates this film 7.7 out of 10
Film 101 rates this film 3.5 stars out of 5

Other underrated films by Woody Allen include:  Stardust Memories and Take the Money and Run

High Noon (1952)

In trudging through internet lists on the greatest Westerns of all time, certain titles start to feel embedded in the top ten.  One begins to expect these titles to the point that if they do not show up, the list loses credibility.  High Noon is one of those Westerns that judge the lists.

What distinguishes High Noon from other Westerns would be easy to explain if we were to distinguish it from Westerns that came before, but if we were to include what came after, it would pose an interesting challenge.  High Noon is not different from a lot of Westerns precisely because it was emulated often.  The stark, flat world became commonplace afterwards.  Even the virtually cloudless skies became a consideration of future filmmakers.  

Maybe the most important feature that embeds High Noon atop of any decent list is that the hero is not necessarily well-liked.  In fact, High Noon is about a sheriff that cannot rally together a group of men to ward off the bad guys; a point worth considering in contrast to The Magnificent Seven which is about pulling a group together to do a job.

The film deserves more than genre appreciation, however.  The music, for example, is the first noteworthy aspect of the film.  In the opening credits, the film is silent other than the theme song and the effect is mesmerizing.  The cinematography and editing are quality throughout.  The looks down railroad tracks tell a story by themselves.  The editing sequence when noon arrives is the perfect montage summary before we get the action we are waiting for.  The way the clocks get bigger as noon approaches is also a nice touch along with how the movie takes place in about the same time it takes to watch. 

The performances are also, for the most part, top notch.  Gary Cooper won his only Academy Award for his role as Marshal Will Kane.  Lloyd Bridges pulled off the reluctant coward well as Marshal Deputy Harvey Pell.  Lon Chaney took a flat and direct approach and made sincerity of it.  The most memorable performance, however, is Katy Jurado as Helen Ramirez.  Speaking almost exclusively in enthymeme, she is both refined and forceful.  Largely because of her compelling performance, Grace Kelly's role as Amy Kane felt dated and stereotypical.  At one point, Helen tells Amy what it is like for a Mexican woman in the Old West, and if only to highlight naivety, Amy replies, "I understand."  The scene where the churchgoers debate whether to help Kane also comes across as formulaic with everyone prefacing their thoughts with something like, "I can't believe what I'm hearing from you people."

In terms of great Westerns, High Noon is mandatory viewing.  In terms of great films, wait for the right time.  There is nothing so great about it that one's quality of life will lessen without seeing it.  High Noon is simply one of those movies that deserve being watched when one is in the mood for a Western that will not disappoint.

IMDb rates this film 8.2 out of 10 (and number 7 in its list of greatest Westerns of all time)

Film 101 rates this film 5 stars out of 5 (in the honored red stars)