The film version of Laura Hillenbrandโs bestseller Unbroken, about the life of Louis Zamperini, was the early Oscar favorite last year with director Angelina Jolie talked about as a potential Best Director Oscar winner and star Jack OโConnell as the next big thing. While the film opened to strong box office at yearโs end, it was mostly liked, but not loved by the critics. What went wrong?
There was nothing wrong with the film as far it went. OโConnell was terrific as Zamperini, as were Dohmnall Gleeson and Finn Wittrick as his co-survivors on a raft in the Pacific for 47 days before being rescued by a Japanese ship and brought to a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Garrett Hedlund as a fellow prisoner and Jai Courntney as an early casualty of war were also strong in their roles. Miyavi was interesting if not entirely believable as Zampariniโs tormentor. Roger Deakinsโ Oscar-nominated cinematography, Alexandre Desplatโs score, the SAG-winning stunt ensemble and the Oscar-nominated sound editing and mixing were all superb. As far as it went it was a fine film, but thatโs the problem. It didnโt go far enough. The film spent so much time on the torture scenes that they didnโt have time left for the last third of the book, which represented the remaining seventy years of the protagonistโs life.
The Blu-ray extras fill in the gaps in Zamperiniโs story including his epiphany at a Billy Graham crusade that he reluctantly attended in 1949. Prior to that, the Olympic hero and Army Air Force captain had recurring nightmares in which he strangled his Japanese captors, waking up one night with his hands around his wifeโs neck. Threatening to leave him unless he attended the Graham crusade, his wife persuaded him to do so. He was about to leave when Graham said something about the power of prayer that caused him to pause. He immediately gave up drinking and smoking and his nightmares stopped. He went to Japan the next year to meet with his former guards and to tell them he forgave them. He then spent the rest of his life doing good works including starting a childrenโs camp that helped thousands of boys. He returned to Japan again in 1998 shortly before his 81st birthday to run with the torch to the Olympics.
Both OโConnell and Gleeson are stars on the rise. Both had earlier films that opened in the U.S. earlier in 2014, which have been released on DVD.
OโConnell is one of two brothers named Private Peaceful in Pat OโConnorโs film of the World War I novel by Michael Morpurgo, who also wrote War Horse.
The film opens with one of the brothers convicted of cowardice at his court-martial. Which brother is not made clear until the end of the film. Their story is told in flashback by the younger brother, played by George MacKay. OโConnell is the older one. Their nasty sergeant is played by John Lynch who made his screen debut as the star of OโConnorโs 1984 film Cal.
The film touches on many of the themes of War Horse but on a much smaller scale. Itโs also highly reminiscent of Stanley Kubrickโs Paths of Glory.
In Starred Up, OโConnell is a 19-year-old street hoodlum incarcerated in a tough prison where the father (Ben Mendolsohn) he hasnโt seen since he was five is also an inmate. Rupert Friend co-stars as a trustee who sees potential in the young punk. Itโs a tough go, but the actors, especially the three stars, hold your interest.
Both Private Peaceful and Starred Up are available in the U.S. on standard DVD only.
Dohmnall Gleeson is the son of veteran Irish actor, Brendan Gleeson. Heโs had major roles in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2, True Grit and his fatherโs Calvary. In Frank he plays a wannabe musician who joins an eccentric rock band led by an enigmatic singer named โFrankโ who wears a fake head he never takes off. Michael Fassbender plays โFrankโ. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Frankโs girl, Clara, who is also one of the band members. The film takes place in Dublin and other parts of Ireland, then shifts to Austin and other parts of Texas. Itโs an odd, but strangely compelling film with both Gleeson and Fassbender in top form.
Frank is available on both Blu-ray and standard DVD.
Film versions of Stephen Sondheimโs musicals, aside from the two he only wrote the lyrics for (West Side Story and Gypsy) have been largely unsuccessful. Into the Woods, which took 27 years to reach the screen, is better than the film versions of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Tood and Company, but that isnโt saying much.
The problem with the film is that it never really soars. The only song in the score that stands out on its own is โNo One Is Aloneโ. Others, especially โOn the Steps of the Palaceโ and โAgonyโ play well within the film, but have no life out of context. The characters are not developed. Either we know them from the fairy tales from which they are taken or we donโt know them at all. Worse, some of the characters completely disappear without resolution. Much has been made over Disneyโs insisting that Rapunzel not die, but what happens to her? She and her prince completely disappear after they are glimpsed waving from a balcony to Cinderella and her prince as they ride off on their honeymoon.
The all-star cast does well within the limitations of their roles with Oscar nominee Meryl Streep as the witch, James Corden and Blunt as the baker and his wife, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, Chris Pine as her prince, and Billy Magnussen as Rapunzelโs prince the standouts.
Into the Woods is available on both Blu-ray and standard DVD.
A more satisfying film musical is the Sherman Brothersโ Tom Sawyer from 1973 which has finally been released in widescreen by Shout Factory. Available on standard DVD only, this is the first time since the old laser disc version that this charmer has been released in widescreen. Itโs about time!
The third of Peter Jacksonโs overly long installments of J.R.R. Tolkienโs slim childrenโs book, The Hobbit has arrived on Blu-ray and standard DVD. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is easily the worst of the three elongated films that turn the anti-war original into an 8ยฝ hour orgy of violence and mayhem. Several of the actors, though, do manage to turn in excellent performances amidst the CGI turmoil all around them, most notably Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Lee Pace and, all too briefly, Ian Holm.
This weekโs new releases include The Imitation Game and Interstellar.
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