TiVoPlex
By John Seal
July 3, 2007
Saturday 07/07/07
3:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Big House, U.S.A. (1955 USA): Here's a rarely seen prison break thriller that's guaranteed to please action fans. Roughly divided into two sections, Big House, U.S.A. first grimly details the kidnapping of a child, and then segues to Casabel Island Prison, where Rollo Lamar (loathsome Broderick Crawford) is leading a group of inmates - including Lon Chaney Jr., William ‘Hamilton Berger' Talman, Charles Bronson, and Ralph Meeker - in an escape attempt. Considering this was produced in 1955, it's quite edgy and bloody fare, and the non-pareil cast makes it a must see. Too bad there was no room for Lee Marvin, who starred in the equally nihilistic Violent Saturday the same year.
6:00 PM Starz
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006 USA): Just to prove I'm neither a complete snob nor an unrepentant pedant - though, of course, I'm both - here's a tip of the hat to 2006's funniest comedy, which makes its premium channel premiere this evening. Star Will Ferrell has since outdone himself in this year's hilarious Blades of Glory, but Talladega Nights is plenty funny, too, assigning juicy roles to top character actor John C. Reilly as Ricky Bobby's put-upon pal Cal Naughton Jr. and the previously unheralded Sacha Baron Cohen as gay French racing champion Jean Girard. Cohen would reappear on American screens a few months later as Borat Sagdiyev - but that's another story for another column. Also airs at 9:00 PM and throughout the month.
Sunday 07/08/07
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
A Nous la Liberte (1932 FRA): I last saw this film 25 years ago, and can STILL sing the theme song to this very day! That's especially impressive considering the vintage of this wonderful French comedy from director Rene Clair, and an impressive tribute to composer Georges Auric, who penned the catchy tune. As for the story, it essays the tale of French ex-cons Emile and Louis (Henri Marchand and Raymond Cordy), the former of whom has become a wealthy factory owner at the expense of, amongst others, the latter, who now works for him for a meagre wage. Emile is determined to completely automate production, but a disgruntled worker recognizes him as a former inmate and threatens to bring down the operation via blackmail. Sickened by this turn of events, Emile and Louis throw down the tools of their oppression, chuck in their day jobs, and reunite as equal opportunity tramps journeying across the bucolic French countryside. If you've ever seen Clair's equally brilliant social satire Le Million, you know what to expect, but if you haven't, you're in for a real treat. Fair warning, though: you'll still be humming that song a quarter century from now.
Monday 07/09/07
6:00 PM Sundance
Commune (2005 USA): Now and probably forevermore the butt of a thousand hippy jokes, communes began life as very serious and determined efforts to create alternate communities outside the framework of ‘normal' American society. This documentary takes a look at one such community, California's Black Bear Ranch, which started life in 1968 and still exists today. Though a tad bit unfocussed, this is an interesting film, refreshingly devoid of cant and condescension, and serves as an admirable counterweight to mainstream media's narrative regarding the movement, which seems to fixate on pot smoking, tye dying, and hacky sack.
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