PASS THE POPCORN
Pete also casts his eye over the movie landscape, from new releases to classics of the silver screen
At the time of writing, the countr y’s cinemas are taking their first tentative steps at reopening – and praise be for that! While sitting in front of the TV at home has its many charms, for movies, nothing beats the joy of settling down in front of the big screen with a box of popcorn and an excitable crowd. While social-distancing restrictions will be in place at cinemas, and it will take many months before a normal movie-going experience can be enjoyed, there is a slate of exciting new releases planned for the second half of 2020, including Chris Nolan’s latest brainbox blockbuster Tenet, Daniel Craig’s final Bond outing No Time To Die and the long-long-long awaited Top Gun sequel Maverick. I’ll preview all these movies and more next month.
In the meantime, I thought I’d share another list of classic movies. This time, a top five of probably my favourite genre – private detective thrillers! So pull on your fedora and raincoat, adopt your best world-wear y grimace and come slip into the shadows with me...
1. Chinatown (1974)
Jack Nicholson is at his laconic best in this deep, dark delve into the murkiest of personal and political scandals in 1930s Los Angeles. A simple case of trailing an adulterous husband for Nicholson’s gumshoe Jake Gittis turns into a stark, seedy swim in a sea of corruption, culminating in what must be the bleakest ending of any mainstream American film. The legendar y script by Rober t Towne is word per fect (“Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown”) while Nicholson is more than ably assisted by Faye Dunaway and a poisonous John Huston.
2. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
And more than 30 years before Chinatown, Huston was the brains behind another iconic detective drama. He directed and wrote the screenplay for The Maltese Falcon, based on Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel, and delivered the archetypal film noir – moody lighting, cynical worldviews, femme fatales, murderous villains and of course the incomparable Humphrey Bogar t as hard-bitten PI Sam Spade. 3. Vertigo (1958)
Alfred Hitchcock’s study of obsession and voyeurism hasn’t lost any of its power six decades on. James Stewar t is the damaged former police officer tasked with following Kim Novak’s enigmatic Madeleine as she haunts the streets of San Franscisco. The twisty plot and Hitchcock’s swooning camera create a potent cocktail of colour and confusion. Utterly wonder ful.
4. Inherent Vice (2014)
A jazzy, modern update on the classic film noir with Joaquin Phoenix in fine form as the hippy investigator on the hunt of his missing ex-girlfriend. A rambling, shambling insight into sun-baked ’70s LA – and lots of fun!
5. Out of the Past (1947)
Films don’t come any more hardboiled than this tough thriller from the late ’40s. Rober t Mitchum is the jaded gumshoe, Jane Greer the electric femme fatale, both peering through the cigarette and gun smoke for a chink of humanity – with little luck.