The Two Jacks, 1
Chinatown (1974)
directed by Roman Polanski
rating: 5 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from the vaults
John Huston, the man as much his character, Noah Cross, is central to Chinatown. Huston’s weakness for adapting literary giants like Melville and Joyce is to me the definitive trope of a particular generation which sought to venerate movies by conquering the most universally admired of man’s many artistic pursuits. Huston died in 1987, three years before The Two Jakes was made. In Chinatown, Huston is the abiding, abhorrent anchor at the center and behind the scenes of each cruel narrative machination.
In a truly great picture, in which every moment is demonstrative of a medium at its best (what can I possibly add to the praise for Chinatown?), the moment I remember most is Noah Cross pulling his daughter Katherine from the car where her sister, Evelyn, lies dead. Katherine is hysterical, screaming, the rigor of shock upon her. Cross has been looking for Katherine for some time. As he approaches the car, his old body shudders and his eyes go wide. With his hand — and it’s the hand I remember, a meaty blinder — he covers (or consumes) Katherine’s face and eyes, then puts an arm around her waist and leads her away.
More here.
directed by Roman Polanski
rating: 5 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from the vaults
John Huston, the man as much his character, Noah Cross, is central to Chinatown. Huston’s weakness for adapting literary giants like Melville and Joyce is to me the definitive trope of a particular generation which sought to venerate movies by conquering the most universally admired of man’s many artistic pursuits. Huston died in 1987, three years before The Two Jakes was made. In Chinatown, Huston is the abiding, abhorrent anchor at the center and behind the scenes of each cruel narrative machination.
In a truly great picture, in which every moment is demonstrative of a medium at its best (what can I possibly add to the praise for Chinatown?), the moment I remember most is Noah Cross pulling his daughter Katherine from the car where her sister, Evelyn, lies dead. Katherine is hysterical, screaming, the rigor of shock upon her. Cross has been looking for Katherine for some time. As he approaches the car, his old body shudders and his eyes go wide. With his hand — and it’s the hand I remember, a meaty blinder — he covers (or consumes) Katherine’s face and eyes, then puts an arm around her waist and leads her away.
More here.
posted by NPK at 9:21 AM
<< Home