olivia_sutton: (Woman Blog)
  • Title:  The French Connection
  • Director:  William Friedkin
  • Date:  1971
  • Studio:  20th Century Fox
  • Genre:  Action, Drama
  • Cast:  Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider
  • Format:  Color, Widescreen
  • DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

The French Connection was nominated for eight Academy Awards in 1972 (for the films of 1971) and won five.  It's on the AFI list of top 100 American films, and I bought it because it's a well-known film I had never seen, and to be honest because Roy Scheider is in it, whom I really like as an actor.

I think the film really is a time capsule -- it's hard to tell how revolutionary  the film would have been in the early 1970s, watching it for the first time in 2012.  And it's downright strange how this film seemed more odd to me than favorite classics of mine from the 1930s and 1940s.  However, that doesn't make it a bad film.  It is a very good film, it's just somewhat hard to relate to it.  But it does explain a heck of a lot about 70s television -- I can clearly see the connection between The French Connection and Starsky and HutchStreets of  San Francisco or even The Professionals.

The film is based on a real case, one of the biggest Heroin busts in US history.  That case inspired a true crime book called, The French Connection by Robin Moore.  However, according to the various special features on the film, and the short/cut actor commentary most of  the film was inspired by the technical advisers of  the film, Eddie "Poyeye" Egan and Sonny "Cloudy" Russo the two cops who made the case.  Also, the director, Friedkin, and actors Scheider and Hackman spent considerable time doing research, preparing, and following Egan and Russo around on the streets of  New York.  That research combined with Friedkin's background in shooting documentaries certainly added to the feel of  the film.

The film does have a gritty, down and dirty, realism to it.  Hackman's Poyeye Doyle is not a nice guy -- one of  the issues I had watching the film was not just the swearing but the racist language used in the film.  However, even with all his faults - Doyle is a good cop.  He and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo have the highest number of convictions in the Narcotics department of the Brooklyn, New York, NY police department.  Cloudy (Scheider in only his second film role) holds back Doyle, occasionally playing good cop to Doyle's bad cop.  But really, both are good cops -- though realistically grim, gritty, tough, and nasty.

The plot involves tracking a case trying to catch a French godfather who's sending in multi-million dollar Heroin shipments into New York every six weeks or so.  He uses a French actor to get a car in to the US, and the drugs are hidden in the rocker panels (floor boards under the car doors) of  the car.  But it takes a while for Doyle and Russo to put together what's going on -- and I had to watch the film twice to figure it out (though the second time I had one of  the two commentaries on, so I wasn't paying as close attention to what was going on, on the screen).  The film shows the cops on long stakeouts and tails where not much happens until they spot one of  the principals meeting a known drug kingpin.  This gets them two wiretaps, which leads to the Frenchman calling to set-up a meeting.  Before long, the case is coming together.

One of  the best scenes in the film is a cat-and-mouse scene between Doyle and The Frenchman at the heart of  the case on a subway.  The two jump on and off and on and off a subway car - but in the end the Frenchman escapes.  However, he puts a hit on Doyle.

This leads to the other big scene in the film, and the one it's famous for -- the car chase.  The chase starts when a sniper shoots at Doyle, hitting an innocent woman, and causing havoc.  Doyle finally gets to the roof, finds the guy's rifle, then sees him fleeing the building, and gives chase on foot.  When the sniper jumps a elevated train, Doyle commandeers a car and gives chase.  The chase is pure chaos and incredibly done considering it was all practical.  No computer-generated effects here, and no carefully plotted storyboards either.  Just a gifted stunt driver, a car with a siren, and a few (though not enough) blocked streets.  Most of the exciting parts of  the chase were stunts, however, at one point a civilian car pulled out and hit Hackman while he was driving the car as fast as possible.  Hackman was pushed into a metal support beam for the L.  Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident.  However, the chase was put together in pieces:  a stunt driver named Hickman; Hackman actually driving with a camera car besides him; Hackman driving with a cameraman in the car.  A stunt woman played the woman with the baby carriage that Doyle nearly hits.  Meanwhile, on the train, the sniper is causing panic - taking over the train, shooting a train worker, and causing the driver of  the train to have a heart attack, before crashing the train itself  into another train.  But the sequence is breath-taking.  The chase ends with Doyle cornering the sniper on the stairs to the L station (which go sharply up because it's an outdoor elevated train and station), and he shoots the now unarmed sniper in the back.

The film doesn't have a lot of exposition explaining what's going on -- it trusts the audience to follow along for the ride.  It's also not a film filled with stunning visuals, or "movie moments", rather it's a grim, gritty, dirty, realistic-looking, almost documentary style of  film.  The film is so rough at times it's almost uncomfortable to watch it. But it's also stunningly compelling - and Hackman and Scheider are both brilliant.

Throughout the film there's a huge, brown, Lincoln - by the end of  the film it's almost menacing.  Doyle and Russo manage to confiscate the car, get it stripped at a police garage, and finally when they've almost given up, locate the Heroin in the rocker panels (the floor boards under the front doors).  When the French actor shows up to claim his car, they give it back, complete with the Heroin so they can make the bust.  I honestly don't know where they got a second, identical brown Lincoln, but the one they had was trashed.

The cops follow the Lincoln to an abandoned building, there's a shootout and total chaos.  But the brilliant bit is the ultimate end  -- Doyle enters the building alone in search of  the Frenchman.  Russo, after aiding in the capture of  the bad guys, goes in after his partner.  Doyle's so tense he nearly shoots Russo, but Russo warns him off  with, "It's me, it's me!"  FBI agent Mulderig isn't so lucky -- thinking he's the Frenchman, Doyle shoots him.  But the last shot, of  Doyle walking though this dark, mucky, dirty, corridor-like building, walking into the distance, then there's a gunshot, and the screen goes black.  That's brilliant, and makes the film worth watching and re-watching.

There is character in the film, and an interesting relationship between the two cops, but really I could have done with a lot more of  that.  Still, definitely worth the time to watch, and re-watch, and own.

Recommendation:  See it!
Rating:  4 Stars
Next Film:  Either Royal Wedding or Cabaret which I also recently bought

olivia_sutton: (blogging)

There's a danger in posting JUST the big, truimphant, concluding musical number from a musical - it's out of context.  The clip below is the concluding number from All That Jazz, but I highly, highly recommend watching the entire film.  I do feel I need to explain Ben Vereen's weird and almost rude introduction of  the character of choreographer, Joe Gideon.  All That Jazz is a very surreal film, and throughout there are clips of Vereen introducing Gideon for something, and giving him all the compliments you'd expect (fantastic humanitarian, etc) but when Joe finally choreographs his own death - the intro is what you see.  Also, some of the characters you see close-ups of, or Joe talking to, are from earlier in the film - his girlfriend, his broadway partners, and his wife and daughter.  That helps with the context.  But I'd still highly recommend watching the ENTIRE film!  Oh, and yes -- All That Jazz is a fictional biopic of the life of genius choreographer, Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the film.  Fosse is also known for Cabaret, Chicago, and Pippin.

Bye Bye Life - "All That Jazz" 1979 - YouTube
olivia_sutton: (Rodney McKay)
Hi all -- If you read the original post on 3/22 -- PLEASE RE-READ this, I promise to make it a bit more coherent.  I was more tired than I thought when I posted last.  Thanks!  Completely revised, 3/24/2012.

seaQuest DSV First Season DVD Review

Dates: NBC,  1993-1996 (Series dates)
DVD Details:  23 episodes on 6 discs
Cast:  Roy Scheider, Jonathan Brandis, Ted Raimi, et al.
Technical DVD details:  PAL, R2, Rating: PG
DVD Case had to be replaced due to over-lapping discs.


I first saw seaQuest on the Sci-Fi channel (back when it was the Sci-Fi channel) in daily syndication.  Since I had missed the show when it aired, it was nice to catch-up with it then.  But, the show was like three different series with almost the same name (Seasons 1 and 2 were "seaQuest DSV", Season 3 was "seaQuest 2032").  The first season, and the best, was a show more based in science -- with an optimistic outlook and an emphasis on exploration and incredible undersea rescues.  Second season, which I'm currently re-watching, had more of an science-fantasy approach.  If your memory of seaQuest is of lots of bad CGI sea monsters, and Roy Scheider with a full beard - you saw second season.  The third season was a disaster on wheels - almost the entire cast was pulled from the series (including Scheider, who only shows up in a couple eps. as a guest star).

The Set-Up (First season):  In 2018, following a series of geopolitical conflicts and wars, "The Peace" has been established.  Economic confederations rule the globe - and have turned to the Oceans, for farming, living and working under water, research and discovery, etc.  The peacekeeping force for the Oceans is the UEO -- United Earth Oceans, charged with defending the fragile eco-systems of the Earth (several ecological disasters have also occurred), a central organizing for for the world's scientists and explorers, and, when needed, a military force - set to keep the peace.  As the "police of the Oceans" the UEO also runs rescue operations for the new civilian operations in the oceans: farms, mines, manufacturing, etc.

The seaQuest, is the flagship of the UEO - her biggest, fastest, best-armed, and capable of diving the deepest submersible.  She's the brainchild of Nathan Bridger, a man interested in science and a member of the Navy and the UEO.  During the first season, Bridger is called back to be captain of the seaQuest.  Bridger had left the project when his son was killed in action, and retired from the Navy and the UEO.  He had moved to an island with his wife, but she soon passes away as well, leaving him alone.

In the pilot, seaQuest's captain (Shelly Hack) has a nervous breakdown and nearly starts a war, or at the very least a international incident.  The UEO desperately tries to get Captain Nathan Bridger (Roy Scheider) back.  The SeaQuest was Bridger's baby -- he designed her, and meant the ship to be an exploration and research vessel for science.  The boat is also equipped for and expected to handle rescues in the ocean.  So when UEO (United Earth Oceans, a paramilitary peacekeeping force) contacts him to command seaQuest, Bridger says no way.  But, as these things do, he's convinced to come back and take the helm.  However, Bridger's management style is not typical Navy brass, and he doesn't approach things from a military viewpoint.  Yet, he is able to use the ship's power and weapons when needed.  A few episodes into the first season, it's revealed that Bridger has a high psi rating -- which gives him an advantage in negotiating.

The first season crew form a nice ensemble group - and I missed that in the second season.  And yes, this is the show with the talking Dolphin (Darwin) -- Bridger's "pet" whom he rescued and nursed back to health.  Darwin had been caught in and washed ashore in a fishing net.  However, the "talking" is given a scientific explanation for this futuristic series (set in 2018) -- Lucas Wolenczek develops a "voc-corder" which takes Darwin's clicks and whistles and translates them through a computer, after a basis of words are established.  Frank Welker of The Real Ghostbusters provides Darwin's voice.  Hey, it's no worse than Babel fish translators on-line.

The villains in the first season were always people, or corporations, and not angry sea monsters.  The issues sometimes vaguely environmental, but not over-done.  Other episodes, such as "The Good Death" dealt with human rights issues.  Still other episodes dealt with providing deep-sea rescues in impossible (and big) situations.  The SeaQuest was the biggest, fastest, and had the ability to dive the deepest of any ship or sub in the UEO fleet -- so it was only sent to the worst disasters.  In other words, this show inherited part of it's make-up from another of my favorites:  Thunderbirds.

I liked the character interaction as well.  Bridger, a widower, slowly began to fall for Dr. Westphalen, a divorcee with grown children.  Bridger also became pseudo-father to 16-year-old Lucas, wunderkid and computer genius, but not nearly as annoying as Ensign Crusher.  So Bridger, the man who had lost his wife and son at the beginning of the series, was beginning to form a new family -- on seaQuest.  And, in a sense, the entire crew could be looked as a family, though it's almost cliched to say it.  I also liked Krieg, the morale and supply officer (think Klinger without the dresses) who had been married to the ship's third in command, Katie. And the wonderful Ted Raimi plays the ship's communications officer, who is also an expert in languages.


The first season of seaQuest had a wonderful optimistic quality to it.  The boat, seaQuest, was a research and exploration vessel that participated in rescue missions as well.  It many ways, it was an undersea Star Trek.  I wish the show had stayed that way!

The show was fun -- and I wish they had kept the first season cast and concepts for the entire three years.  I flew through watching this series -- watching four discs this past weekend, and having two marathon sessions of watching a full disc (4 episodes) on Monday and finishing up on Tuesday.

A note on versions:  I bought the PAL set because it's single-sided discs in a six-disc set.  According to the notes on Amazon, the US version is four double-sided discs.  I hate double-sided discs!  Copy quality was nice and crisp -- I love actual film, as opposed to videotape!  However, to watch the version I bought one does need to have a region-free and multi-system DVD player that's capable of correctly outputting a PAL signal to a US (NTSC) TV.

DVD Extras are minimal and  consist of deleted scenes on nine episodes.  Also, Dr. Robert Ballard's sea facts/comments on the ending credits are intact.


olivia_sutton: (Woman Blog)
  • Title:  Jaws
  • Director:  Steven Spielburg
  • Date:  1975
  • Studio:  Universal
  • Genre:  Suspense, Drama
  • Cast:  Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
  • Format:  Technicolor, Widescreen
  • DVD Format:  R1, NTSC
"This was no boat accident."  Matt Hooper

"It doesn't make much sense for a guy who hates the water to live on an island either."  -- Hooper
"It's only an island if you look at it from the water."  -- Martin Brodie

"We're going to need a bigger boat."  -- Martin Brodie

Quite by accident Jaws was the first movie that I got on DVD, received as a gift.  I still love it though because it's a masterful piece of suspense, and a fine character study.  It is not out and out shock-factor horror, in part due to happy accident -- the mechanical shark didn't work, and the film works better when you can't see it.  There are some scenes where you finally do see the shark, and it looks very fake, though the film stands up by it's well-drawn characters and their relationships.

Amity Island is an East Coast summer island, preparing for the busy Fourth of July summer holiday.  The film opens with a group of  young people having a bonfire on the beach.  One of the teenaged girls runs off to go skinny dipping in the ocean, at night, and is attacked and killed (eaten) by the shark.  Martin Brodie (Roy Scheider), the chief of police, immediately tries to close the beach -- but is prevented by the local mayor and business people who are afraid they will lose their summer income.

And thus the first half  of  the film almost has the format of a disaster film:  one guy (Brodie) knows there's a threat to life and limb, but no one listens to him, because doing the smart thing is a threat to local business and income.  Later a young child is killed, and reward is offered for the shark.  Soon every idiot who can find a boat is out looking for the shark, and doing a terrible job.

At this point, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), a shark expert, shows up.  He tells Brodie the shark someone's caught is a Tiger shark and too small to have killed the girl who died.  What they are looking for is a Great White.

The scene where Hooper examines the remains of  the dead girl is well done, because we don't actually see the body, he just describes into a dictaphone what he sees and what's missing, while trying not to lose his lunch.  Similarly, when Brodie found the girl in the first place -- all the audience saw was the girl's hand -- that's it, no body and no blood.  (There isn't even any blood in the first attack scene, though there are in later ones).

Again, Brodie and Hooper want to close the beaches, but the mayor won't allow it on Fourth of  July weekend.  After another attack, and Brodie nearly losing his own son (he survives), the mayor relents.

Whereas, the first half of the movie is like a disaster film -- with the one guy trying to convince everyone else and not being believed; the second half of the film is closer to horror -- though it's still more suspense than horror.  Because of  the problems with the shark, and Spielburg's excellent direction, surprise, brief glances, and suggestion is used more than actually seeing the shark eat anyone.

The second half of  the film has Brodie -- the chief of police, and a guy who's afraid of water; Quint (Robert Shaw) the old poacher and fisherman, and Hooper (the shark expert), stuck on Quint's boat trying to catch the shark.  The film examines these three characters, their relationships to each other, and their relationships to the shark.  This is where the character-building occurs, having already been touched upon as the three very different men are introduced.

My favorite scene in the entire movie is actually where the three are in the cabin of  the boat, they've just finished comparing scars (except Brodie), and the three start singing, "I'm tired and I Wanna go Home", only to have the shark butt in, literally, as it begins to ram the boat.  At this point, too, the shark goes from the unseen, spooky, where will it show up next, monster -- to something they cannot kill.  It makes the film more towards the horror genre, but even once we start to see the shark, it still isn't seen all that often.  A big part of what makes Jaws scary is that what you don't see is a lot scarier than what you do see.  Even in Jaws, when we see people splashing around in the water, and hear the marvelous Jaws theme music, that's scarier as the audience anticipates something happening, than later when the shark takes a chunk out of Quint's boat.

Again, the acting in this is marvelous.  Scheider is calm and collected, but you can see he's repressing his fears, especially when in the boat, or watching people swimming in dangerous waters.  Some of the best shots are of  him reacting to things.  Dreyfuss is the manic scientist, smart, knowledgeable, but also able to get a quick insult off at the stupidity of people on the island when he needs to.  He also quickly convinces Brodie exactly what they need to do.  And Quint, the poacher and fisherman -- course, mean-tempered, essentially a salty old sailor -- the perfect foil for the more normal Brodie and Hooper.

In the end, of course, Hooper disappears (but survives), Quint doesn't, and Brodie manages to thrust a compressed air tank into the shark's mouth and then blow it up by shooting it.  Instant sushi.

Still, an excellent movie with great characters and some really good acting.

Recommendation:  See it!  But not for the really young (I'd go 13 plus on this)
Rating:  4 of 5 Stars
Next Film:  Justice League Crisis on Two Earths

olivia_sutton: (Neal Caffrey)

Posted on my Movie Project blog, last night, sorry for the delay.  --Olivia
  • Title:  All That Jazz
  • Director:  Bob Fosse
  • Date:  1979
  • Studio:  20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures
  • Genre:  Musical
  • Cast:  Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Erzebet Foldt, John Lithgow, Ben Vereen
  • Format:  Technicolor, Anamorphic Widescreen
  • DVD Format:  R1, NTSC
It's Showtime! -- Joe Gideon

What was the name of  the blonde in Philadelphia?  I remember her name, she meant something to me!  Her name was Sweetheart! -- Joe Gideon



My second favorite musical (my favorite being "Moulin Rouge" (2001) but it will be a few months before I get to that one).  All That Jazz is truly one of those movies that gets better every time you see it, and as Roger Ebert once said -- I can't imagine never being able to see this film again.  It's good -- and you notice more each time you see it.  Or, at least I noticed more this time, and I've seen it half a dozen times.

All That Jazz is a fictional biopic about a choreographer who is falling apart from his excessive lifestyle -- too much smoking, too much drinking, too much fooling around with women, and a life of nothing but work are wearing him down to a point of exhaustion.  While preparing his new Broadway show, and cutting a film of  his own called "The Stand-Up", Joe Gideon's life spirals out of control.  He has an angina attack - and then things get really interesting, before the choreographer choreographs his own death.

But more than that is the way the film uses everything -- music, dance, songs, little bits of  Joe's life, and interspersed throughout it all some very strange scenes with Jessica Lange as the Angel of  Death -- to tell it's story, make it a visual masterpiece.  I cannot imagine this film in any other format - book, magazine spread, TV series - only the film format works, which is a high compliment to a film and a reason I highly, highly recommend it.

The film also references many other musical films - visually.  And not in a "cutsy" way, but if you know the reference it adds to what's being told and if you don't - it doesn't distract from it.  For example, the first fifteen minutes or so are "A Chorus Line" as Gideon chooses the cast for his new production from an open call (or "cattle call" as they are sometimes known).  Then, as Gideon starts to prepare his show - it briefly brings to mind such "show within a show" films as 42nd Street or The Bandwagon.  However, where those films are solely about getting a Broadway production made -- and the successful show is the end of the film, in All That Jazz, once Gideon develops an artistically pleasing but very adult production number -- the film turns more to his complicated life and quickly to his complicated death.  Then, while Gideon's in hospital, a group of producers are sitting around discussing the life insurance policy on Gideon.  Their cold, hard discussion determines that if  Joe dies, the insurance pays off, and the show will make a profit -- without opening.  Remember The Producers?  That's the original one by Mel Brooks starring Wilder and Mostel.  And in the handful of quick numbers at the end as Gideon's hallucinating in the hospital - includes a dance that's a dead-ringer for a Busby Berkeley musical, including white feathers.

But, the film is NOT a parody of musicals -- not by a long shot.  It's about Gideon, a choreographer, and his life, which is spiraling out of control.  And despite the way he abuses himself with too much booze, smoking, fooling around, and driving himself at work, Gideon, as a protagonist is a fascinating man.  Because we, the audience, don't hate him.  His behavior may at times be despicable - but we don't hate him.  Bit by bit Scheider's portrayal of Gideon wins the audience over and we come to care about him.  Gideon has a pre-teen daughter whom he loves very much.  In fact, in my opinion, some of  the best scenes in the film are between the two, especially when they are dancing together (he's helping her with ballet and jazz dancing).  His ex-wife, despite having left him because of  his numerous affairs - still loves him.  And his long-time girl-friend also loves him, and gets along fine with his ex-wife and daughter.  (Told you his life was complicated).

While working on his new production, Gideon has an angina attack.  After the initial scare the doctors keep him in the hospital to try to get him to relax and calm down -- Gideon, however, fools around, smokes, drinks, throws parties, and has his surgeons convinced he doesn't care if  he lives or dies.  Gradually, through his hallucinations - he comes to realize he wants to live - for his daughter.

However, that isn't to be and in a final, triumphant number  we see the choreography of  his death in a duet between Scheider and Ben Vereen -- which becomes a major production number.  The first time I saw the film I was confused by the chorus girls in the white stocking outfits with the red and blue lines -- the next time I saw it, I realized those were meant to suggest blood vessels.

This time around, I kinda' wondered if  either the suits on the Broadway production, or a conniving fellow director/choreographer (played to the chilling teeth by John Lithgow) actually arranged Gideon's hospital "accident" that leads to his death ultimately.

Either way -- the final production number is outstanding!  And the mini-numbers leading up to it, with each of the important people in Gideon's life trying to convince him to live are also outstanding.  Bob Fosse's direction throughout the film is brilliant, as is his choreography.  And yes -- the film is said to be a fictionalized version of Fosse's life.  It's still brilliant.

Roy Scheider is also brilliant in this film - and actually looks his best in the production number at the end, when he's performing his duet with Vereen.  (Yes, he sings, and fairly well.  Not sure if it was dubbed - it doesn't sound like it, Scheider's accent is still there.)  And the dancing in that number is brilliant!

OK - and standard 1970s disclaimer here:  All That Jazz is an adult film with adult concepts, however that means it's a film adults can enjoy without feeling it's an insult to their intelligence.  There is a lot of sex, smoking, drinking, swearing, drug use, and bare breasts -- deal with it.  For a film this brilliant, I'm not sweating it.

Recommendation:  I highly, highly, highly recommend this film.  If you've never seen it - rent it, give it a try, maybe even watch it a couple of times - I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Rating:  5 of 5 Stars
Next Film:  The Apartment
olivia_sutton: (Tardis)
  • The Movie Project:  Movie # 2
  • Title:  2010 The Year We Make Contact
  • Director:  Peter Hyams
  • Date:  1984
  • Studio:  MGM
  • Genre:  SF
  • Actors:  Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Keir Dullea, Dana Elcar
  • Film Format:  Color, Widescreen
  • DVD Format:  Dual-sided Standard/Widescreen
  • DVD Formats:  R1, NTSC
"My god, it's full of  Stars!"
"What's going to happen? / Something Wonderful."

The common problem with older SF movies is often their anachronistic nature.  It's 2010 now  -- I don't see a mission to Mars, much less to Jupiter.  It's easier to ignore out-of-date fashions in a drama, than someone using a computer that looks like it came from Radio Shack 30 years ago.  However, if  the SF film is a space-fantasy like Star Wars or resembling a drama more than anything else, like 2010, sometimes little inconsistencies can be overlooked.

2010 The Year We Make Contact is a sequel to 2001 -- but with a completely different look and feel.  It's not weird, hard-to-follow, visually stunning but character poor like 2001.  The plot is straight forward, in 1984, when I originally saw it, this film had drama and tension, and seemed incredibly realistic in a futuristic way.

Watching the film again in 2010 -- things pop up that seem strange (like Schneider using a Word Processor with a lift-up 4-inch screen instead of a computer, laptop, or even an iPad.)  And the cold war plot seems really, really strange and out of place.  After all, the Soviet Union broke up, when, in the 90s?  But Russia, will always be Russia -- any country that managed to survive even a little bit under the Czars...  But it was weird to see the Soviet flag on the Russian spaceship and on the Russian uniform.  I mean, I don't think I've even seen a picture of  it in over 10 years.

However, about halfway through the film, the Cold War turns hot -- messing up the join space mission considerably.  And the answer to the survival of  both crews turns out to be cooperation.  Also, the end of  the film is fantastic and awe-inspiring!  It makes the film worth watching, even with all the technical "problems"  (more along the lines of  "oh, come on -- tech doesn't work that way").  And HAL still seems chilling, and strangely advanced, compared to any other computer in the film, or what I'm typing on right now.

Scheider and Lithgow are both wonderful, as usual.  Watch for them to team-up again (previously) in 1979's "All that Jazz".  Scheider's a magnetic actor -- simply because he never seems to be acting.  And Lithgow can do just about anything -- he melts into his characters extremely well.  Helen Mirren, doing a passable Russian accent, manages to be less annoying than usual (she must have been pretty young here).  Keir Dullea of  2001, makes a re-appearance.  Dana Elcar plays a Russian diplomat of some sort, his exact title isn't spelled out.  But his Russian accent is terrible.

The plot of 2010 is considerably less complex than 2001 (which no matter how many times you see it always leaves one scratching their head, thinking, "Huh?").  Nine years after the mission of  the Discovery went south rather spectacularly -- the man who designed the mission (Scheider), the computer engineer who designed HAL, and an engineer (John Lithgow), hitch a ride on a Russian ship to Jupiter to investigate the monolith, figure out what went wrong on Discovery, fix HAL, and pretty much find some answers.  And they do...  ultimately 2010 is satisfying as a film because it explains the loose ends left in 2001 and has it's own plot of cooperation overcoming Cold War oppression and stupidity, that works.  Some of  the other issues in the film can be overlooked.  And it also looks pretty good, so that's helpful.  (EG the special effects don't look particularly dated).

Recommendation:  See it, after seeing 2001 and boning up on your 1980s culture and history.
Rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars
Next Film:  42nd Street

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