The Comic Critic Reviews "Cleopatra"

Cleopatra is the movie that nearly destroyed 20^th Century-Fox. About everything that could go wrong during production went wrong. The script kept getting rewritten. Actors and actresses were replaced. Monumental salaries kept getting bigger even as production scheduling dragged on. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s relationship developed from a mere movie relationship into an epic in its own right. Elizabeth Taylor became deathly ill and had to be hospitalized. A new director was brought in. Several factors led to a new shooting location, and with scenes incomplete, this meant the huge sets and props had to be completely and perfectly reconstructed there. The new director, Joseph Mankiewicz, tried to convince the studio that their story was huge, and they had more than enough material to produce two films, Caesar and Cleopatra and Anthony and Cleopatra. The studio, however, was well into financial crisis by then and wanted to take advantage of the public’s infatuation with Taylor and Burton’s romance. So they pushed for the story to remain one single film. As a result, the final editing was brutal and removed large sections that would have made for a truly compelling story. Taylor was not pleased and said that they gutted key scenes from the film and kept war scenes to placate the audience. Watching Cleopatra, you can feel how Mankiewicz was right: Cleopatra should have been two films. Cleopatra is still a wonderful spectacle, but as daring and ambitious as it was, it would be the last in a long series of movie epics. The likes of it would not be seen again until the advent of CGI would allow grand shots on a reasonable budget.

The Comic Critic Reviews "Woman in the Dunes"

Woman in the Dunes is filled with allegories. They are layered over each other. Some are obvious and others construct the full meaning of the film. There are so many interesting possibilities that cinemaphiles spend hours discussing them. Woman in the Dunes has always been an art house film. For its very skillful use of sound, cinematography, and story, it received a nomination for Best Foreign Film from the Motion Picture Academy. However, an average viewer might find the film dull in places. Dry sand flowing like water might have deep meaning to the narration, but its constant appearance might be boring to an audience more accustomed to explosions and jump scares. There are moments of high tension to be had. But they cycle back into an ever-growing feeling of frustration and exhaustion that is a good portion of the story. While you watch Woman in the Dunes, you should prepare yourself for a full meal of hidden and obvious meanings behind situations, objects, how the objects are shown, and the sound. The sound is one of the best things about Woman in the Dunes: it creates a narrative onto itself. Viewers might be tempted to re-watch it just to capture the narrative of the sound and how it changes, just like our hero does throughout the movie.

The Comic Critic Reviews "Topper

Topper is filled with so many goodies; I hardly know where to start. All of the actors and actresses are familiar faces. Some of them are mid-career, others are just starting out, and others will go on to achieve fame outside of acting. The success of Topper set Cary Grant up as a leading man in screwball comedies. The actor who plays the elevator-operator-turned-bellboy would go on to play Dagwood Bumstead in a series of Blondie movies. The birdlike voice of Billie Burke, who plays Mrs. Clara Topper, is instantly recognized as belonging to Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz. Alan Mowbray’s portrayal of Wilkins the Butler would land him dozens of similar roles to the point that his onscreen character and delivery would be quoted by Raymond Chandler. One of Hoagy Carmichael’s movie appearances, this one goes uncredited—but it’s hard to miss as he’s singing his Old Man Moon with the two leads leaning on his piano. And Roland Young presented Cosmo Topper’s dry delivery so elegantly that he received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, which was quite impressive as that was unheard of at the time. Oh! And don’t get me started about the car. The car is practically a character itself. Do some research and you will find a whole history of car customization you’d never heard about. Topper is light-hearted and gay. Topper was well received because the actors and characters they played endeared themselves to audiences.