DVD Collectors Online

I Know Where I'm Going!, a review by Antares

I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) 4/5 - Have you ever gone into the viewing of a film with the wrong idea about the premise? For years I've wanted to watch this film, but was unable to procure it. During that time, I read reviews on various forums which described it as a dark drama about a woman who is a gold digger who falls for a young naval officer while stranded in upper Scotland. A few reviews quipped about Wendy Hiller's character as being shrill and whiny to the point of intolerance. So as I sat down to watch this, I had a pre-conceived notion that this was going to be a dark and bleak picture.

Well...I was wrong.

I don't know what movie these reviewers were watching, but I Know Where I'm Going! is one of the best romantic films I've had the pleasure to view. I place it second behind my favorite romance film Brief Encounter. And just like that iconic film, this story has a taut screenplay that keeps you entranced for its duration. Wendy Hiller, and especially Roger Livesy are top notch in their performances. This is the second film I've seen with Livesy and now I'm interested in seeking out his other work. This now moves ahead of The Red Shoes as my favorite Powell/Pressburger film.

(From Antares' Short Summations on July 1st, 2011)

Two-Lane Blacktop, a review by Jon

TWO-LANE BLACKTOP (1971)
4 out of 5



James Taylor (Driver) and Dennis Wilson (Mechanic) are driving across America in a souped up Chevvy, drag racing for money. Along the way they pick up a hitchhiker, played by Laurie Bird, and get into a race for "pinks" with Warren Oates in his G.T.O.

Time for change of pace. So far this marathon has featured people driving for a reason, but the early 1970s American cinema was defined by several classic movies that were more about the road than the journey. Aimless quests for freedom matched only by aimless filmmaking in some cases, started by Easy Rider in 1969. That's a film I found hard to really like, but I do admire it and it's importance can't be undervalued.

Two-Lane Blacktop is in some ways, Easy Rider in cars, though the characters have more interest in their vehicles than Fonda and Hopper who were more interested in drugs. It certainly shares it's laidback, cool vibe. Or is that lazy and comatose? Depends on your point of view, but Two-Lane is definitely better without compromising the idyllic idea of freedom.

The script is so lean the characters don't have names. Driver and Mechanic as they are credited, are also played by singers who can't act. That sounds like a criticism, but it's just an observation, because their manner was ideal and they weren't tasked with any sort of development. This is a film about mood and, I felt, a melancholic nostalgia for a time that surely couldn't last. The very final shot is as memorable and poetic as any.

The story, such as it is, follows the two as they drive across America challenging other drivers and entering competitions in drag racing to earn money. Get a proper job, you might say! But that's kind of the point. They pick up a hitchhiker... well, actually she just gets in the car when they stop for food. Then they get in and ignore her and carry on the journey. They say nothing for miles! Which pretty much tells you the whole style of things just kind of happening without argument or commentary. An urban natural order perhaps.

They keep tussling with the driver of a G.T.O. and finally make a bet for the cars on who can get to Washington first. That might sound like a plot, but trust me, it isn't! You have to see it to see why. Warren Oates plays an incredible character in a very poignant role as "G.T.O.". He's a show-off seemingly trying to fit in and be hip who annoyed me at first, but he gives the film a purpose and some much needed dialogue and by the end, he's a heartbreaking figure. For a film that seems so light, his part is brilliantly written. He picks up a string of hitchhikers (each one a comedy moment in their own right, especially Harry Dean Stanton) and gives each one a different story. One he tells the story to twice, so used as he is to lying. He reminded me a little of Leonard in Memento; it's impossible to know how long he has been out on the road or why. It gives the film a mysterious sad quality.

That character and the commitment to the mood make for a powerful screenplay, while Monte Hellman's direction is similarly restrained. There's plenty of driving of course and plenty of talk about cars, but very few stunts unless you count track shots at drag races. There is one highlight when they spin off the road to avoid an accident, but this isn't a pure petrol head experience. They do sound great though!

It's very hard to commit and say whether this film, like might be said about Easy Rider, is monumental work of art or a pointless exercise in boredom. It's wide open to interpretation. I loved it. G.T.O. made sense of the whole lot for me and made it a very memorable experience and I look forward to seeing it again. If you fancy challenging your conceptions about what makes a good film, give it a shot. It's a little bit of French New Wave played out on the American highways!

The Criterion DVD is superb. If you enjoy the film (big "if" possibly!) the interviews and features expand on it brilliantly. Nice feature about tracking down and restoring the Chevy too. Comes with a "book". Wasn't sure what to do with that; certainly wouldn't fit in the DVD player...

The Car's the star: Custom Chevy versus Ford Pontiac G.T.O.


Trailer

(From Car Movie Marathon on August 20th, 2008)

Smallville Marathon #2, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Tyler's mother wants to die but when her son tries to grant her that wish he is caught and falls out of a window, breaking his neck. But during the autopsy he re-awakes from the death - a meteor rock around his wrist saved him. From now on he has the ability to turn people into ashes and he uses that to help people die. But then he kills someone accidentally and Clark has to stop him.

My Opinion: Euthanasia is always a complicated topic but even if one isn't opposed to the idea in general no one has the right to make that decision for another person. I liked it that Tyler saw the error in his way and ended it his way. It would become boring if Clark always had to put down the bad guy himself.

Synopsis: Pete convinces Clark to run for class presidency. But then his competitors are attacked by bees one after the other. Clark has a pretty good idea who is behind this. Additionally he has an argument with Chloe who supports another candidate.

My Opinion: There are some parts of the american culture I will probably never understand. This was just a class presidency election, yet there were banners and buttons and flags and flyers and  ... all over town. Some villages around here wouldn't put that much effort to it when it comes to the election of the next mayor. I also wonder who would fund such an election since Clark didn't seem to have asked Lex.

Synopsis: Justin has just come out of recovery. He was injured in a hit-and-run accident the previous year. He lost the ability to use his fingers properly and thus the ability to draw. But instead he can move objects with his mind. He still tries to find that driver and Chloe helps him with that. Clark - who had a major run-in with Chloe - is sceptical about Justin because freak accidents happen around him.

My Opinion: The writers managed to put Clark in a lose-lose situation. Everytime he socializes with either of the girls he has to run off to save the other. And that won't change for quite some time. On the one hand it's understandable that both are disappointed by this behaviour but on the other hand they both should have learned by now that Clark only runs off when he has a very good reason to do so. Before I started this marathon I thought about making a list of people who know about Clark's secret and have "forgotten" it again. Maybe I should make a list of how often he saves Lana's and/or Chloe's life.

Synopsis: Lana is knocked out by an explosion on a field. When she awakes she is somehow mentally connected to a kidnapper. She sees that he keeps Chloe as prisoner but nobody believes her because Chloe is supposed to be in Metropolis. Clark - who has experienced stranger things - goes onto a search for Chloe.

My Opinion: Two more notches. This time he had to save both, first Chloe and then Lana. I liked the episode because he finally asked Chloe out for the spring ball. If I were him, I would have gone for Chloe a long time ago. Yes, I admit it, I belong to the Chlark (Chloe + Clark) fraction.
It was practically just a side-remark but the discovery of the octagon disc will set many things in motion. It will become one of the most important items of the show.

(From Smallville Marathon #2 on May 23rd, 2008)