Cruel Gun Story (CGS) was a pretty good heist caper in the veteran Nikkatsu Studio's crime filmography. Joe Shishido (he of puffed cheeks fame from Branded to Kill) heads the gang meant to carry out the heist. But Joe is not calling all the shots - a big fish gangster is bankrolling the caper and has assigned a motley of crew-mates to Joe, who may not all be trustworthy.
As South East Asian film expert Tony Rayns says in his video essay included on the blu-ray from Radiance Films, CGS shares a kinship with Stanley Kubrick's The Killing, in which also a gang plots to steal the receipts of a horse racing derby. In other film references, there is a chase through sewers a la Carol Reed's The Third Man.
As can be expected, the heist does not go as planned. The gang face unexpected stumbling blocks - including a guard that refuses to leave the bulletproof money van, and there are double and triple crosses galore. CGS is based on a story by Haruhiko Oyabu, who also wrote the sources behind several Seijun Suzuki movies. The overall mix is delirious, and while there are logical fallacies and contrivances of melodrama, it does not prevent the film from being entertaining.
Shishido as the tough-talking leader holds our attention (and his cheeks don't look as ridiculous as they did in Branded to Kill). I noticed that the environment around the characters had predominantly English signage; Rayns explains that the film is set in and around an American military base (Shishido's contact even obtains a sniper-scope rifle from a GI) and is indicative of the corruption culture prevalent in the period.
A few words on the Radiance blu-ray:
Video quality is solid but not spectacular. The master appears dated, with middling detail and limited contrast / grayscale; it might be the same that was sourced for The Criterion Collection's DVD release as part of their Eclipse box-set on Nikkatsu Noir). Initially, the audio seemed to have some distortion, but that feeling went away afterwards, and the brassy score punches hard. Extras include two video essays (one being the aforementioned Tony Rayns piece and one by Jackie Scanlon on the Nikkatsu Noir period), a commentary by expert Jasper Sharp and a short interview with an older Joe Shishido who looks a lot more handsome after having removed the cheek implants.
Seeing Running Time (1997) directly after the French crime noir Le Doulos (reviewed HERE) might appear repetitive on face, it being another black and white crime caper, but in tone and feel Josh Becker makes an entirely different sort of movie. It has more of a Quentin-Tarantino-meets-Kevin-Smith feel, but with none of the obnoxiousness such a combination might suggest.
Everyone's favorite cult movie star Bruce Campbell gets a rare chance to play in a non-horror film and he is a big part of why this movie works. Campbell plays Carl Matushka, just released from prison early for good behavior, and rewarded by the warden himself with a warm farewell and a box of Havana cigars. But Carl has other plans than walking the straight and narrow path. In fact, his first move after he exits the prison doors and meets up with long-time friend-in-crime Patrick (Jeremy Roberts) is to put in motion his plan to rob the place responsible for laundering the warden's dirty money - there is some poetic justice in this, since the warden runs a profitable laundry service using prison labor at below minimum wages. An old safe-cracker (William Stanford Davis) and a junkie getaway driver (Gordon Jennison) are the other parties involved in this heist. Early indications suggest that the caper is unlikely to go as per Carl's plan and this proves to be the case. A major scene has Carl and Patrick indulging in a verbal spat about their respective deficiencies in the presence of hostages, while the safe-cracker is trying desperately to finish his job. Later there are gunshots and chaos, they must go on the run from cops. Somewhere in all this Carl also catches up with a former flame (Anita Barone) he is looking to resume acquaintance with.
Running Time's USP is the attempt to frame its narrative in real time, which is to say, we see the events entirely as they unfold (Becker cites Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and its unbroken shot effect as his inspiration; of course, one recalls that just a couple of years before, there was a real-time Johnny Depp movie called Nick of Time). To achieve that end, Becker goes for long takes with steadicam, and skillful obscuring of cuts. This of course means that the actors (and other shooting crew) need to be continuously on the ball. It is extremely helpful that the main roles are aptly cast, and the performers are enthusiastic.
Campbell's Everyman Hero charisma is beautifully tapped into, and one really wishes he had been able to make greater inroads into mainstream Hollywood; but then one has to also wonder if that would have made him less accessible to indie directors like Becker and Don Coscarelli (Bubba-Ho-Tep)? He also has great chemistry with his co-actors, mostly notably with Barone, which is critical because in shorthand they have to establish a relationship history and a rapport that makes us root for their togetherness. Running Time is a film of modest scope but it is a labor of love and the final product conveys that admirable, plucky spirit to the audience.
A terrific article on the making of the movie, written by the director himself - LINK
For those interested, a couple of words on the blu-ray from Synapse Films:
Running Time is a low-budget independent effort and the 4:3 B&W transfer reflects those gritty roots. The limitations of contrast and details are those baked into the original natural light location shoot. Similarly the stereo sound ably conveys the film's ambience. Extras include a conversation with the always chatty Bruce Campbell who provides a lot of insight into both his old friend Josh Becker and the making of the film. It is extremely clear that the star is fond of this film and happy to see it get a new audience. An archival recording captures Becker and Campbell chatting extempore with a group of students as they wait for a video screening of Running Time. There is an audio commentary track with Becker and Campbell that promises to be interesting and a trailer that gives a small taste of the real-time storytelling style.
What is it with the French and crime procedurals? They seem to have an
almost innate talent at turning out kickass movies centering around
criminals either carrying out a caper or escaping from custody. Jules
Dassin's Rififi, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge (and any others I've missed), Claude Sautet's Classe Tous Risques.
These often feature a set-piece where a delicate and risky maneuver is
depicted in exquisitely excruciating detail, making the audience feel
one with the participants and feel their tension. I am happy to have
found Jacques Becker's Le Trou (aka The Hole) to be another proud member of this clique.
Becker's film was adapted from a book (written by José Giovanni) based on a true-life prison escape
attempt. A group of men sharing a cell make an audacious plan to escape
from their confines by digging their way into the underground sewer
system from where they can tunnel out of the prison. Jacques Becker's
commitment to capturing the realism of the event was so great he not
only had sets built to closely correspond with the original locations
and shot the prison cell scenes in an equally cramped and claustrophobic
space, one of the major actors in the film (Jean Keraudy, he called
himself) was a real-life participant in the original escape. Becker
decided to use Keraudy after speaking with him and becoming extremely
interested in the colorful inventive man, and decided to populate his
film with non-professional actors.
Le Trou is almost entirely set in the confines of the prison. It begins
with one of the characters entering as a new occupant in the cell
already occupied by four men. After chatting with the new man, they
decide to accept him as one of their own group and include him in their
escape plan. The film covers each aspect of the escape with loving
detail and an eye for realism. When floors and walls are dug through,
they don't just break apart in a couple of blows, but take about as much
effort as you would expect concrete structures to. Iron bars take a lot
to be sawed across. Between each set of operations the gang has to be
careful to wipe off or put away all traces of their covert activities.
The film establishes a routine and constantly reminds us of it. In the
wrong hands this could have ended up as a rote and boring exercise, but
between the screenplay, the actors, the superb production design and
strikingly austere B&W photography, we become one with the rhythm
and are constantly riveted. When they break through into the sewer
labyrinth and open a manhole to see the road outside the prison, there
is a palpable sense of fresh air and freedom.
Do they actually
manage to escape? I recommend you watch Le Trou to find out. But Becker's film is not just about the suspense. The prisoners are not action figures carrying out the motions. They have personalities and the relationship between them - trust, friendship, brotherhood - is equally important, in fact the lynchpin of the film's lasting impact.
There's a bit in Dedh Ishqiya (DI) where Madhuri Dixit's character is performing a kathak dance, and during its course we're treated to a rapid flashbacks that briefly outline her backstory. Alas, little else in the script reflects the economy and precision of that sequence. I don't know if its the need to have an epic running length (2.5 hours in this case) that makes a number of Hindi movies drag in a load of unnecessary and/or stagnant elements, or whether the unthinking concoction of the above culminates in them being groaningly long affairs. I haven't seen the first Ishqiya but this sequel is to my mind a confused messy affair.
While not original, the opening setup which (re)introduces the audience to the thieving uncle-nephew duo (Naseerudddin Shah and Arshad Warsi) is at least brisk. It is once their characters land in the startlingly anachronistic Mahmudabad that the plot descends from entertaining slapstick to purposeless whimsy. We are to believe that Begum Para (Madhuri), the widow of Mahmudabad's Nawab, will select her husband from entrants in a poetry competition. Para preens like a sheltered peacock (okay, hen), while her younger companion Muniya (Huma Qureshi) is the trademark cynical sexually liberated woman now fashionable in Bollywood's "hatke" cinema. What follows then is a tour of crumbling lamp-lit surroundings, a splash of hi-falutin poetry and Begum Akhtar ghazals on gramophone, some dance, a coy courtship with Uncle and Para contrasted by a rougher brush between Nephew and Muniya. I would welcome the change of pace if it added any real depth or thrust to the story. Alas, it seems mostly superficial. The poetry competition makes its presence felt only sporadically and becomes irrelevant just a little way in (for some reason the poets must also compete in skeet-shooting).
Once this premise is established, almost nothing of any consequence happens till more than half the running time, after which we have a yawningly predictable plot twist (which nullifies the purpose of several previous plot points), supplemented by such random chaos (the climax packs in almost every character in the film, for no justifiable cause) as to wonder why no one looked at the script and said "Yeh kya chutiyapa hai?". The only thing that remains striking about DI is the relationship between Para and Muniya. In an age where most of Bollywood continues to use homosexuality only in the vein of tasteless humor, we have here the most thinly veiled depiction of homo-erotic companionship featuring an A-list star (OK Madhuri's not a current gen star, but still).
I am not happy panning DI in this way. The cultured language used in the feudal setting and some stimulating vintage-style music gives it an uncommon flavor, while the low-contrast darkness shrouded visuals of the haveli interiors are a soothing change from the gaudy full-bright mainstream eyesores. But I can't in good conscience recommend this film as well-conceived or consistently entertaining.
The opening moments of 99 are among its worst: Amateurish framing, actors clearly struggling with sketchy material, clichéd unfunny jokes and glaring continuity errors (check out the constantly varying density of Boman Irani's goatee). The first half of the film also suffers from a grave degree of plot slackness, so much so you begin to wonder if its the sparseness of the juicy bits that makes them feel good. But then the strike rate of the comic situations and the jokes improves, the main characters grow more likable, and by the end, you are entertained enough to cheerfully excuse all the convolutions and contrivances of this Get Shorty influenced little caper.
All of 99's characters have shady corners to them: Sachin (Kunal Khemu) and Zaramud (Cyrus Broacha, incredibly fat or wearing very convincing padding) are Mumbai-based sim-card counterfeiters who in their quest to escape the law end up totaling an expensive car of the local bookie bhai (Mahesh Manjrekar, actually entertaining). Taken on as bonded labor by the bookie to pay their debts, they are given an assignment to collect on debts from a motley of Delhi-ites. Bumbling their way through Delhi's mores, they corner the main debtor Rahul (Boman), a compulsive gambler with widespread debt. The bulk of the narrative is about their attempts to recover the money from Rahul while he conjures various schemes to slip their (and a lot of other creditors') grasp. There is also an extended and entirely useless romantic angle thrown in with Soha Ali Khan as the (incredibly vella) floor manager of the fancy hotel the amateur loan collectors pile into.
The plot is set in late 1999 – early 2000 and an integral angle is the match-fixing scam with Hansie Cronje (kudos to the makers for setting up a lot of references to the period, be it posters and film references, or other winks like the immensely more primitive mobile network in India at the time). The humor in 99 is mostly situation based, thankfully steering away from cheap double-entendre or the “it must be funny because everyone is screaming” style. The script taps smartly into the cultural stereotypes of Mumbai and Delhi, and gives the characters a lot of nuance. It helps also that the actors plunge into their roles with relish; apart from the lead actors, who fit their roles snugly, relative newcomer Amit Mistry, who plays a Dilli-based operator for the bookie, is an absolute delight. Vinod Khanna as an alcohol-fueled big-time better is so bang-on I am convinced he was genuinely sozzled at the filming.
So like with Barah Aana, we have in 99 a schizophrenic experience where the film starts off on a limping note, but for the patient ones turns around in (over)due time and delivers a nice bit of entertainment
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