Razor's Edge
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VHS Movie Reviews of Razor's Edge
Movie Review: Thank you, The Razor's Edge
Summary: 5 Stars
Thank you, The Razor's Edge.
A man in search of his purpose and reason in life. One who lived in a world of the lost, but not lost himself. A timely incident made him realise the fragility of life and the thin, very thin line between life and death stirred an indescribable hunger for meaning, and that ignited his search henceforth.
I picked up several important pointers from this meaningful work of art, a good reminder that life is not an empty seek of mere material wealth and riches.
Tyrone Power(Larry) and Gene Tierney(Isabel) passed away at the ages of 44 and 71 respectively. Life's too short to waste time over trivials.We are not here by accident.
Movie Review: I Dare You to Ask: Why?
Summary: 5 Stars
I will leave it to others, better at it than I am, to detail the story, the actors, and the hollywood behind this wonderful film. What I need you to understand is that the film's central theme, that the life handed to us by society, that the life we are programmed into accepting unquestioningly and unreflectingly is one big fraud, is more relevant today than ever. This film, more than any other, dares to ask the right question and shows us one man's search for one right answer. It is a search that Tyrone Power's character begins in himself, and concludes in a world filled with friends who live falsely rather than truly, and have chosen the illusion of happiness over truth with the possibility of despair. Take that journey with him ... you won't be disappointed. That life of tirelessly struggling for wealth, power, fame, and pleasure cannot help us achieve real happiness, even though to rule over us in the name of order and organization, the structures of society must do their best to convince us that it will. The answer to the question, why do we behave as we do, and live as we do, has got to be more than what we are told almost from the moment of birth ... why not. This film says, living a good life, a happy life means walking on the edge, walking the tightrope from illusion to truth. We can never hope to get all the way across, but, like any real-life tightrope, to stop means to perish. Movie Review: And What A Sharp Edge It Is!
Summary: 4 Stars
A wonderful, home-hitting post war film that definitely succeeds in its touching and sometimes searing portrait of a young man searching for the meaning of life after witnessing such suffering, pain and sacrifice. After serving and surviving WWI, he is at a loss as to where to go from there.
Larry Darrell wants to find himself, but his need is not understood or appreciated by his fianc?e, the beautiful but selfish Isabel, who wants a good society position and money. Her stuffy, snobbish uncle Elliot wants Larry out of her life for those exact reasons - he's not wealthy enough. So we have the foundation for a watchable drama.
Gene Tierney looks lovely, and Tyrone Power (who, along with Dana Andrews, was one of her best leading men) more than matches her, and they look gorgeous together. Their performances are superb and flawless, and the same can be said for Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, John Payne, and of course, the Oscar-winning Anne Baxter as the ill-fated Sophie.
Biblical symbolism is evident in many of the scenes, and one cannot help but compare Isabel to Tierney's Oscar-nominated performance a year earlier in "Leave Her To Heaven". Isabel, like Ellen, is a manipulative, controlling and jealous woman, who wants Larry all to herself, even after she marries the gentle, wealthy Gray (John Payne), who doesn't realize how he's been used. Tierney's character is dressed in black and a floppy black hat when flaunting a drink in front of Sophie, tempting her like a serpent. And when Larry asks her about this incident, she proceeds to spin a lie, trying to make it look like an innocent misunderstanding, until he calls her on it. As with LHTH, she admits the truth with the line, "I did it and I'd do it again!", and goes into detail of how she did this for his own good, all for the love of him, trying to "save him" from what in her view was a disastrous mistake. How she could turn on a woman who was once her close friend is a question that, besides the jealousy factor, isn't really explained.
Baxter's portrayal of Sophie is brilliant, and she justly deserved the Oscar she received. Sophie is like Mary Magdalene or Eve, tempted by the demon liquor (no thanks to Isabel) and lured into prostitution, and Larry tries heroically and compassionately to save her. Her death is something that she began seeking after the tragic accident that claimed the lives of her husband and baby daughter. It is so easy to tear up during the sequence in the apartment when Sophie looks at the photograph of Isabel and Gray's eldest daughter and thinks about her own little girl that she lost, and Isabel almost looks sympathetic. After Larry tells a shocked Isabel of Sophie's demise, he compassionately and gently states, "There's no need to be shocked about Sophie any longer, Isabel. I've had the feeling all day that Sophie's where she wants to be most - with Bob and Linda. I know that's a simple way to look at it, but it's comforting." Marshall is wonderful as Maugham, the narrator, who observes all this drama and who comments on it, and who even goes so far as to appeal to Isabel's vanity in order to get back on her good graces. The scenes with Isabel and Gray's children are very sweet, with Isabel speaking to them in French (Tierney was fluent in that language, as she attended a finishing school in Europe). Larry can't bring himself to be angry with Isabel, despite what she's done, and Isabel can't bring herself to hurt Gray, as much as she loves Larry. And Larry's travels (although those bogus backdrops do little to convince that he actually is in those exotic locations), are a definite plus, his experiences shared with the viewer in order to find what he's looking for, and in a sense, to help us discover the meaning of life too. "Do you know what it's like to see another man give up his life for you? That someone deliberately died so that you might go on living?" Larry asks Isabel, who obviously has never experienced what he refers to. Even as she declares her love for him, regretting how she rejected his marriage proposal years before, we know that a life with Isabel is no longer in the cards. And when Larry says, "Goodbye, Isabel, and take good care of Gray. He needs you now more than ever", it is a fitting exit line as Power decides to continue on his journey of self-discovery.
"You see, my dear, goodness is no doubt the greatest force in the world, and he's got it," Maugham explains to a sorrowing and astonished Isabel, letting her (and the audience) know what quality Larry possesses and what he is in search of - goodness.
And we watch as Maugham's protagonist boards a ship, still in search of himself, but much more at peace.
It's well worth the running time, although the novel was very difficult to adapt to film, and it's a rewarding experience for those willing to sit down and absorb the message of "The Razor's Edge".
Movie Review: deep focus
Summary: 5 Stars
I've taught this film in colleges for thirty-plus years. Even back at the earliest screenings, traditional-aged freshmen had trouble with it (a) because it was in b&w, and (b) because the dimensional characters didn't telegraph plot advancement but instead used irony, wit, or assumptions that would later be proven wrong by subsequent events.
The first of these objections stunned me when they couldn't appreciate Gene Tierney descending the stairs to seduce "Larry" in a gown relegated to grays. The second objection (young auduence confusion) just made me sad about the impact of television ... but you already know that story.
As with Hollywood's THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, released in during the same general period, I personally appreciate the "epic scope" of the narrative, enhanced by remarkable set direction detail. And I appreciate even more the depth-of-focus photography in both of these films, which enriches viewing by sharp images at several planes of action within the frame. It's a story well-told at the visual level.
I've read complaints about Tyrone Power's "dated" acting in this performance, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, etc. But again, I suspect this is from a generation more comfortable with MTV editing than with theatre as an entertainment criterion. Power is given a series of difficult monologues to recite about uncinematic spiritual/ philosophical themes, and he pulls each off brilliantly. As with Olivier's opening scene in RICHARD III, it's interesting to watch how these monologues have been directed to use a pacing movement of the actor within the frame as a "paragraphing" punctuation. The lengthy, uninterrupted takes and consequent fluidity of camera movement within these shots not only enhances the impact of the monologues but also makes sly commentary on characters/ themes as continuous camera includes other characters in medium close-ups.
Herbert Marshall's Maugham is interesting and underplayed almost as masterfully as Cedrick Hardwicke's performance of "goodness personified" in ROPE. The close-ups of "Maugham's" eyes to communicate ironic plot points may seem obtrusive, but they're true to Maugham's voice in the novel.
Further, they emphasize the ill-advised decision to omit this narrator's perspective in Murray's hapless remake. That later film fails in no small part because the female characters are virtually indistinguishable visually, and because the studio (which only made the film to entice Murray to make GHOSTBUSTERS II) invested no interest in producing a good movie script. Pity, since Murray could have done okay.
Two less successful scenes in the 40s version are the "Baby!" hospital melodrama and the ashram Jehovah sequences (not including the remarkably visual spiritual moment in the mountains). But the supporting cast remains superb throughout--especially the bracing comedy of Webb and Lancaster, and the moving subtlety of John Payne and Lucille Watson.
Tierney's richest moments are linked to the plot: "That's all right, Larry. It might be less than a year"; the wedding announcement over the phone; the camera-narrated scene where Isabel "seduces" Larry's fiancee; and, of course, the climax with Larry at the end. And, by the way, she's as gorgeous as Tyrone Power!
How much more value can one expect from an entertainment that succeeds so well with complex, mature themes of spiritual redemption in a society of capitalist myopia?
Movie Review: A laudible effort.
Summary: 5 Stars
The plot synopsis above tells you the story line, and this very unconvential story is remarkable in having been made. At a time when some other movies were being made in color, this was still in black and white, which tells you where the movie moguls placed it in "rank". Color was reserved for block busters, and despite the epic sweep of this story, they didn't expect it to sell. (Also, "serious" dramas were often done in B&W.) It fits very well in black and white, both with it being set in the 1920s, and much of its story line is dark.
Tyrone Power does some of his best acting work in this film. Perhaps his military service deepened him, or the story line seemed more important and personal to him, but I believed his quest for something beyond the conventional, comfortable life. Unfortunately, as a fan of Gene Tierney, I find this her worst work. Even at her best she can be alittle blank, but here, a level of mental machinery is required of this manipulative, calculating character, and we are left always seeing only an beautiful empty surface. Her eyes betray no inner life. And yet, as soon as you dismiss her as an empty shell, she will have a really lovely moment of total truth, ususally in the most odd places. She is perfectly cast as the pampered, narrow minded patrician. She does look a bit like Kathryn Hepburn, who was considered for the role, but determined to not have enough charm - and it is true. Hepburn in this role would have had more fire and spirit, but not this genteel icy sweetness. We do see why he loves her inspite of knowing how rotten she is.
Contrast Tierney's blankness with a very young Anne Baxter who has a very demanding role; first mousy and insecure, heartbroken and heartbreaking, and then alcoholic and defeated. She did deserve an award for her work here, and it should have been a lesson for the mannered, self-conscious diva she became in her later work. This is some of her best, risk taking, work. In a role that could have been a wallpaper tearing scene stealer, she is very contained and her struggle is with herself, inside.
I saw the version with Bill Murray when it was in theatres. I understood completely why he would want to make it, and he simply was not right for the role, not his acting ability, nor his personal qualities. Tyrone Power, usually too pretty, hits just the right notes. It is worth mentioning that the studio fought constantly to take religion out of this story which, ultimately, is about a religious quest - the way to live a life of meaning and rightness. The resulting restraint, as with many classics, work in its favor.
The commentary is very good on this DVD, discussing details like the long takes of the director, and how that influenced all the technical aspects, from lighting to acting style. But the overwhelming stand out of this film is the story. Thoughtful, different, and interesting, it overcomes any elements of dated presentation to make it remain a classic worth continued viewing.