LKguy's Reviews

Last Summer (2000 TV Movie)

9/10

30 June 2008

Warning: Spoilers

I saw this fine drama on CBC television eight years ago. "Last Summer" is based on the short story "Unless the eye catch fire" by poet and artist P. K. Page who portrays the central character/narrator in "Last Summer."

The film is shot on location in Victoria, British Columbia. I consider this drama a gem of television production because with a running time of under an hour and with a very small cast, it is able to say a great deal about the human condition when faced with death and extinction.

I enjoy "end of the world" (eschatological) stories and films such as "On the Beach", "The Purple Cloud", "The Last Man on Earth", and many others. What makes this drama unique is the serenity, the zen-like calm that the author and producers have brought to a story that could have been spoiled by too much intensity or violence.

At several points, the story breaks to an auditorium where musicians play the background music and a childhood flashback is played. This does not detract from the story but heightens the poetic elements.

Altogether, it was fine drama and I hope that it may be re-broadcast in the future.

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970)

A quiet, classic, literary adaptation

28 March 2004

The Virgin and the Gypsy was a novella by D. H. Lawrence that contrasted the suffocating closeness and inhibited atmosphere of an English cleric and his extended family with the awakening sexuality of his eldest daughter and the free spirited influence of a gypsy whom she meets.

The excellent screenplay by Alan Plater who also did the screenplay for "The Priest of Love", a biography of D. H. Lawrence, complements the direction by Christopher Miles. Their efforts helped create a film that matches if it does not surpass, the prose of D. H. Lawrence. A few scenes still stand out; the hysteria of Aunt Cissie who screams insults through the door at Yvette., the comedy of the church social evening when Uncle Fred sings a bawdy, music-hall song and the scene in which the Gypsy confronts and stares down several English youths.

I saw Franco Nero earlier in the film "Camelot." He plays the Gypsy in this film with quiet, machismo, atitude. Joanna Shimkus also played with quiet, understated style that plays well with that of Nero.

I saw this film during its initial release in 1970. I hope television networks may eventually air this film again or that it finds its way into a video or DVD.

19 out of 24 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Desert Sands (1955)

Exciting action film of the fifties.

14 December 2002

I saw this film only once in 1957 at a local cinema when I was nine years old. The plot outline is a little dim after the passage of time but I recall that the story centred upon a misunderstanding that took place between the son and daughter of an Arab chieftain and the local garrison of the French Foreign Legion. War ensues and Ralph Meeker as the commander of the garrison, fights heroically against the Arabs.

I recall that the colour was very good and the actors portraying the legionaires seemed quite authentic. The actor portraying the French sergeant was very affecting. Marla English as the Arab princess was beautiful and sensual.

I would enjoy seeing this film again and it is a pity that the copyright holders have not released it as a video or a DVD. I hope that it may be offered to television networks to take up and show in future.

13 out of 17 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

LKguy

Reviews

Tell Your Friends

Recently Viewed