JURASSIC PARK ~ 2011 DIGITAL RE-RELEASE

1993

DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg

TOP TEN FILM!

May Contain Spoilers!

Today, another travesty is taking place as Dino-classic, Jurassic Park (1993), which has been retrofitted in 3D, is being re-released in cinemas. Like 3D or not, in my opinion, post-conversion, certainly of films which have enjoyed success in 2D, is unnecessary and pointless for all reasons except controversial ones. So, if you like Jurassic Park, enjoy it as it was meant to be seen, on a 2D screen

N.B. The following review was originally posted on the 4th March 2012. For my original review which was written back in 2010, please CLICK HERE.

This is a template for how make a great action/adventure movie. Clocking in, at for what these days, a film of its type would seem to be a modest 121 mins, it divides itself into two solid halves. The first hour debates the science, the sociology and evolutionary issues of both cloning and of course, dinosaurs, whilst skillfully setting up and yet side tracking the audience into not realising who the real villains of the movie are going to be.

From the opening scene, the Velosaraptors are clearly formidable, but the film feeds on the overwhelming desire from the audience to see the T-Rex to the point of distraction. And it works, allowing a still awe-inspiring and music-less might I add, T-Rex sequence, and then giving the fourth act over the Raptors.

This film uses every minute brilliantly, maintaining a sense of pace throughout whist not bombarding us with pointless action. I do think that this film has lost some of its standing with a general audience these days, but for no other reason than the fact that is now almost 19 years old!

But even at 19, besides holding together as tight screenplay, it still has the power to bring out that sense of wonder. The moment that the group are introduced to the Brachiosaurs for the first time is still powerful today. Just the idea of being shown a living, breathing dinosaur is just amazing and Spielberg has effectively bottled that feeling of wonder.

Last September I took my 7-year-old Stepson,who is already a massive fan of the genre and indeed this film, to see this on the big screen. I had seen this three times back in 1993/1994 and seeing it again at the cinema was simply brilliant. It has defiantly lost NOTHING and I was so pleased to be able to share this with the next generation as it were.

But I was pleased on several other more technical fronts as well. Firstly, there were no alterations as we can easily expect from someone like George Lucas, with Spielberg generally showing more respect for his work, with the exceptions of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and E.T. (Special Edition) of course There was also the picture quality and the digital transfer. It was clear that the digital transfer presented in theatres would be representative of that for the then upcoming Blu-ray release and it was. There was significant grain but a strikingly sharp and beautiful image, with crystal clear sound.

The grain was great and I was glad to see it intact. This is how the film was made and how we saw films back in 1993 and that we shouldn’t forget or be cleaned up too much. The Blu-ray print is great with the grain in mind and overall they have done a fantastic job of bringing this classic back to the big screen as well as upgrading it to Hi Def.

Well worth rediscovering…

STAR WARS 3D MOVIES POSTPONED

 News is breaking that the planned re-releases of Basterisation of the Star Wars franchise in three dimensions (3D) has been put on hold, so that Lucasfilm, now under the control of Disney rather than the cynical George Lucas, can focus 100% on the 2015 Star Wars sequel, working under the title of Episode VII.

This is good news but a little late since one of the six films has already post converted and released to mix reviews in 2011. Will we ever see Episode I in 3D on Blu-ray? Or is the plan to release the prequel trilogy or even the entire saga straight to Blu-ray 3D? Who knows, but it’s nice to see that Disney are focusing more on producing original Star Wars material rather than Lucas, who seemed to be content in wringing as much money out of his existing properties as humanly possible.

3D, an interesting if not flawed fad that it may be, is not the prerequisite of film-making but if studios feel the overwhelming need to produce their summer blockbusters in the format, so be it but do we need to see another classic, or otherwise in the case of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, post-converted or “Upgraded” as some may see it, into a format which it was never intended, therefore not properly composed with inappropriate cinematography?

Star Wars 3D cheapened the franchise even more than Lucas’ ill-conceived prequels but we can only pray that with Disney’s takeover of Lucasfilm, we have A New Hope in continuing the saga with dignity, creativity as well as profitability, making everyone happy.

THE HUNGER GAMES (UNSEEN VERSION)

2012

DIRECTOR: Gary Ross

May Contain Spoilers!

The trailer didn’t really appeal to me, but the reviews were good, both from professionals and the paying public alike so we gave it a go. Was it worth it? Absolutely! The Hunger Games is simply a grown up teen drama, playing around with ideas and inspiration from Greek mythology, namely Theseus And The Minotaur, as well as the Roman Games.

But, quite correctly translating both into more modern, Orwellian styled Reality TV language, perfectly tailored for the time that we live in. Based on a series of novels only four years old themselves, by Suzanne Collins who also co-wrote the screenplay, The Hunger Games is everything to the genre of teen melodrama that Twilight isn’t.

The film is also held together by solid performances from the cast, led by Jennifer Lawrence, who as Katniss Everdeen, the only child ever to volunteer for the games, who does so to save her sister, delivers and low-key but intense turn. But so do her co-stars, whether it be Josh Hutcherson as her love interest or Woody Harellson who almost steals the show at times.

The Hunger Games deals with mature subject matters, in a mature way all the way through, seeming not to shy away from the brutal and horrific topic of children murdering each other for the entertainment of the masses, without actually showing too much. But the intensity of the violence and the tone can a times be disturbing without be income distasteful. A fine line expertly walked by director Gary Ross.

But it’s not just the violent content that works here, so does the satire and political subtext, and boy is there subtext. The characters are well-rounded and their lives as well as their traumas are played out with a real sense of plausibility. And that is the key to a film like this. This is a fantasy film playing around with mythology and political satire. All of which can easily come crashing down but steering a steady ship and believing in your world goes along way to drawing in the audience to that world, which in many ways is filled with potholes, but who cares.

The tone is more than engaging enough to hold us and that is in the end in the key to the film. Certainly a MUST for Twilight fans, to see what a real female role model looks like…

Originally reviewed: 15th May 2012. Whilst the DVD presented the 12 cert version, the Blu-ray offered the 15 uncut edition. To be honest, there was very little between them, just a hint of some stronger violence but nothing to get exited about. And the film still stands up as one of the best mainstream adaptations that I’ve ever seen.

THE HELP

2011

DIRECTOR: Tate Taylor

May Contain Spoilers!

Whilst I was watching this drama, set in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960′s unfold, I found myself thinking back to another film which I reviewed back in July, The Women. Not as a direct comparison and certainly not to malign this with The Women’s quality, but the tone had some similarities. The Help follows young, white, aspiring writer, Skeeter (Emma Stone), as she attempts to put together a book of testimonials from the black women which work as servants, cooks, cleaners and nannies to the white families in the Southern United States, at the dawn of the civil rights movement in the turbulent 60′s.

Skeeter was herself raised by a black nanny, known as The Help, and sets about learning the truth behind this institution which was only a step away from the slavery which was supposedly vanquished a hundred year earlier. It’s not all dour, she learns, mainly through The Help, Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny (Octavia Spencer) that not all the white families are bad, and that they conduct themselves not only with as much dignity as they are allowed, but understand that they are not the second class citizens which many make them out to be.

But you’ve seen one civil rights movie and you’ve seen them all… right? Well, sort off, but some are better than others. This is not the best of the best, but it’s an admirable effort, tugging gently at your heart-strings whilst not ramming these issues down your throat. This is set in te deep south, it hard to escape the realities of racism but this film tries to limit the horrors and injustices as much as possible, instead focusing on the rights and wrongs of the situation.

The white men come across in a slightly more negative way here, but besides the mention of the K.K.K. assassinating Medgar Evers, they are generally portrayed as dismissive, leaving their wifes to deal with the day-to-day issues of the home and there by, The Help. This film has its villain, and that is in the form of Bryce Dallas Howard’s, Hilly Holbrook, a woman who herself was pretty much raised by The Help only to treat them as slaves as an adult.

She is a clear villain, but as most of the white characters are portrayed here, she is pathetic and weak, with Hilly simply bullying all those around her, whilst her peers, white women, seem incapable of making their own decisions of forming their own opinions.

The black characters are portrayed as sassy or disciplined, working towards a better day, when they can share the same toilet as their white masters and live free from degradation and abuse. It’s notable that whenever a black child is mentioned it is usually in reference to gaining an education, with one character resorting to stealing at one point, to pay for one of her sons to go to college. This doesn’t end well. But this is one plotline which goes to show how even-handed it is, knowing that a good argument will speak for itself, and therefore you are free to be true to you characters, good or bad.

The narrative is told through the eyes of the female characters in this Oscar nominated film, all of which are in one way or another oppressed and fighting to be heard. It’s also nicely played that this film is not just about racism in the 1960′s as much as it’s about sexism and the rise of feminism, with Stone trying to escape this small town trap, where a career is frowned upon by women trapped by convention themselves; Who place themselves on a pedestal higher than those who cook and clean for them.

And this is where Jessica Chastain comes in as a white women is looked down upon because she’s perceived as “Trailer Trash”. The fact that she is clearly colour blind (Figurativly), never really raises its ugly head here, instead she is trying to get the attention of the likes of Hilly (Howard) who is ashamed to be seen with her. They use the complexity and hypocrisy of this white conservative social dynamic to contrast the simpler life of their Help, who are still fighting for equality, in their own small way, as they contribute to Skeeter’s book.

My earlier comparison to The Women is based on the fact that even though men do appear in this, unlike The Women where not a single man is seen, this is very much a famine narrative, but unlike the other, this is about real issues, racial and feminist, rather than some cockamamie nonsense about not being appreciated and feeling smothered by all their money!

This is about women who raise and love other people’s children only for them to grow up and turn on them. This is about women working for a pittance in the so-called “land of  the free” at a time when presidents were being assassinated for advocating equality. The Help convincingly and emotionally shares the stories of this time, but does so without demonising everyone, choosing to cast Howard our villain, whilst allowing us to see the pathetic restraints placed upon the other white women.

This may be no excuse, but this was not and will never be a perfect issue with clearly defined rights and wrong and this story correctly chooses to be told in shades of grey, and not Black and White.

I have given this 7/10 and feel that maybe it deserves more, but for all the praise that would lavish upon its tone, its execution is still a little stale with the first hour running through the motions like any other movie of the week, but the second half picks up nicely and ensures that the best elements of this story are not wasted on a boring or mundane film.

This is not perfect. It not the best anti-racism film that I have seen and it does feel a little derivative, with my mind being cast back to films such as the afore-mentioned The Women, as well as Mona Lisa’s Smile to name two, but that can’t always be helped with such a well-worn subject. It was moving and the performances were first-rate across the board, and defiantly worthy of the best actress nods which Viola Davis, Octavia Spenser and Jessica Chastain were given and I would recommend this as a watch as a refreshingly unpreachy civil rights film and one which holds back from showing some of the now clichéd horror staples of that time. There are no significant K.K.K. murders besides that of Evers, which is off-screen, nor do we see any burning crosses, but the threat is present and that can actually underpin the tension better than any actual act.

In conclusion, this is a well judged film but I do feel that we’ve seen this before in many way, but besides that, I still liked it, a lot.

FILM OF THE MONTH ~ AUGUST 2012

August was another tricky month for choosing the best of best, with both Duncan Jones’ Moon and Mark Herman’s The Boy In Striped Pajamas making an impact on me, both scoring 10/10. But in the end, I went with my first choice, Moon. Both surprised me with how good they were and how good I thought they were. But I feel that Moon crept under the radar a little more. The Boy In The Striped Pajamasalways had a chance of being as good as it was, as even my kids were pushing it, and it was one of the most effecting films for putting across its message that I’ve ever seen, but Moon just had something else. And that is why, given that fact that I can only chose one, Moon in my Film Of The Month for August.

SCARFACE (1983)

1983

DIRECTOR: Brian De Palma

May Contain Spoilers!

Someone once told me, back when I was 19 years old, that I wasn’t a real film buff if I hadn’t seen Scarface. I took offence at that and as a result, when I eventually saw the film, I was 33! Was it worth the wait? Yes.

Oliver Stone’s brutal script, along with De Palma’s equally controversal take on this remake of the 1932 original, which at the time, broke all records for the profane language, leading to a savagely brutalised TV cut. The story of a Cuban gangster who takes over Miami’s drug trade, bears a striking resemblance to De Palma’s later work, Calrito’s Way, which in my opinion, seems to be a more refined version of Scarface, and with Pacino playing a slightly more sympathetic character, that he does here.

As a remake, it seems to be pretty faithful in certain respects, in its adaptation, maintaining several key elements but this is a film of the 1980′s and a groundbreaking one at that. Ultimately, I liked it. It wasn’t the greatest gangster film of all time, but it was a film of its day, and it was engrossing, Pacino and the rest of the cast as a whole where great and the moment when he “introducing us to his little friends”, was well worth the wait.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (EXTENDED EDITION)

2001/2002

DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson

May Contain Spoilers!

The Fellowship Of The Ring was the long, long-awaited first installment of the legendary Lord Of the Rings trilogy to be committed to celluloid. But, unless you were a fantasy geek, who cared?

I can’t say that I was too bothered at the time, and was often left baffled by the amount of time which was being lavished upon the film in magazines and other media of the day. I’m more into Sci-fi than fantasy but that didn’t stop me taking an interest and a pew at the local multiplex to see what all the fuss was  about.

Well, after 172 minutes and a numb bum, I wasn’t too impressed. This was a three-hour, ‘part 1′ of a trilogy, rather than a film in its own right. ‘What a jip!’ I thought as I regained the use of my legs and made my way out of the auditorium. But, I liked it enough to watch it again when it came out on DVD, and it fared a little better but was far from the masterpiece which everyone was talking about.

But that November, 2002, New Line released the first of the Extended Editions, now pushing the running past the three and half hour mark but that only served to encourage me. So, a year later and after something like 220 minutes, I was a changed man, certainly as where Lord Of The Rings were concerned. Finally, I began to get it. It took the extra material to flesh out the story even more for me to appreciate that it was the story that was the story.

The plot is relatively simple. An evil lord (Sauron) has forged a pile of magical rings, passed them out to the leaders of Middle Earth and has kept the Master Ring to rule the rest and in turn, taken over the world. But, the world has risen up against him, killed him, took his ring to be destroyed but the human king failed, and was seduced not only by the power of the ring, but by its supernatural soul as it were, as it was bonded with the Dark Lord, Sauron.

So, 3000 years later and the ring needs to be destroyed as Sauron is almost ready to return and wreak havoc on the world once again. The Ring tough, is now in the hands of a Hobbit named Frodo Baggins, a member of a peaceful race of little people who are drawn into the conflict and a journey which will take him far from comfort of his home to the darkest regions of the world.

After that, it all down to the details, and there are details up on details here. This is one of the most well crafted worlds that I have ever seen, with almost nothing left to chance. The effects are brilliant, with Weta Digital, more recently famous for their work on Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, skillfully blending CGI, Live action and Model Effects to create the perfect world.

At times though, the pacing can seem long-winded and plodding, but the more you watch it, the faster it becomes but that’s no excuse really. This long-windedness does put some people off and especially so with children who would normally be lapping up fantasy such as this. I do feel that it would have been possible to compromise a little without comprising the story in a real way, but saying that, it stands as a testament to real film-making, blending action, pacing and narrative to the maximum effect, translating a long saga into a definitive film series.

The cast are superb and the direction equally so, as were the production team at every level who got this right, and the results are right there on the screen for every to see and enjoy. This is how to make a blockbuster movie adaptation and with The Hobbit, (the prequel) due out later this year, we can only hope for more of the same.

COWBOYS & ALIENS

2011

DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau

NOT A PART OF OUR COLLECTION

May Contain Spoilers!

Will we be adding this to our collection?  NO

With a great title such as Cowboys & Aliens, is a fair to expect a great film which can live up to it? Possibly, but this doesn’t as far as I’m concerned. Jon Favreau, who’s most successful work would have to be Iron Man, manages to craft a decent homage to the Western, at least for the first 30 minutes, with an array of characters, situations and scenes which are all too familiar to the Western genre.

But then, the titular Aliens turn up and it all goes a bit Transformers! Loud and hectic action takes over at the expense of the half decent Western homages, with plays out with hammy turns from the now tired Harrison Ford, and the dark stranger from “the best left to Bond”, Daniel Craig. Overall, I was left disappointed, but only to an extent. I wasn’t expecting much more than this but the opening half an hour did tease at something better, and if they only played this a lot lighter, not so much as a comedy but as a light-hearted adventure, it would have worked a lot better.

Instead we get a film filled with two-dimensional Western caricatures, very earnestly saving the 19th century from CGI aliens, whilst combining forces with Bandits and Red Indians. Personally, I don’t think that a film with this title should have ever attempted to take itself THIS seriously and it was a real misjudgement from the team involved, especially as the screenplay was co-written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, both of which bred life and comedy into the first Transformers film, with great success.

STARSHIP TROOPERS

1997

DIRECTOR: Paul Verhoven

May Contain Spoilers!

January 1998: The mega-blockbuster that was Titanic had just arrived in cinemas, and I had seen it the night before. We wanted to see it again the next night but felt that was just a bit over the top, but it still didn’t stop me seeing it a total of FOUR times before the year was out, but this isn’t a review of Titanic, this is a review of the antidote. Starship Troopers.

The premise seemed to be ludicrous, as mankind was embroiled in an intergalactic war with giant bugs. But it worked and it worked well. There was gore, nudity and hammy dialogue but there was also a solid satirical streak running throughout the entire movie. The heroes are fascists! Humans are slowly invading the galaxy and citizenship is everything.

All this though, fits into the mold of Beverly Hills 90210! The troopers are all ‘pretty people’ who are about to be dropped into the horrors of war. But helped along by the rousing score by the late Bazil Poladorous, and at the time, some breathtaking visuals, not least the CGI bugs themselves, the bombastic themes of war and duty are played out the fullest effect.

The pacing is excellent, moving from one set piece to another, with action, humour, black comedy and satire all flowing in the same direction and to beat of the same drum. The film is also fragmented with interludes which come in the form of news broadcasts promoting the state and in a very similar vein to Verhoven’s other masterpiece, Robocop, demonstrating the power of propaganda.

Verhoven has stated that he didn’t like the original source novel by Robert A. Heinlein, which was more of a genuine fascist recruitment manifesto than pure open minded sci-fi novel, but it is considered to be one of the greats, and even though he was not faithful to this in its entirety, he has managed to satire it brilliantly, twisting it back on itself.

TOP 20 “TRUE STORIES” ON FILM

Here, I took a look at my personal take on the Top 20 so-called “True Stories” as seen on film. To keep the list as diverse as possible, the rules are that only ONE film from any given genre will be included, for example, only one film from World War 2, one from 9/11 or Tombstone etc... The films don’t necessarily have to be that accurate either,  as theatrical licence is very much a part of creating true drama as well as tradition within the medium.

The other key rule is that a the “True Story” which either inspires or dictates the story has to be the main plot of the film, so for example, Saving Private Ryan WON’T qualify as the story is fictitious, even thought is set in a very real-time and situation and based loosely on a similar event. The Fighting Sullivans for example, which is the basis of Saving Private Ryan would count but I haven’t seen it, nor really wish to, so it wasn’t be included.

Films such as Kingdom Of Heaven or even Titanic MAY be, as even though the key characters are fictitious, the events are supposed to be portrayed somewhat accurately even if they are portrayed inaccurately, particularly as where Kingdon Of Heaven is concerned!

My aim is to offer an interesting list of films, from a broad period of time and genres. The list is also not presented in any particular order…

• ZULU (1964) Based on the true story of just over a 100 British troops fighting against incredible odds and 4000 Zulu warriors at Rourke’s Drift in 1879, Zulu must stand the test of time as being one of, if not the best example of both a war film and a screen adaptation of a historic event. This film does not offer a perfectly accurate account and at times takes some outrageous theatrical licence, particularly when portraying characters such as Private Hook, who in real life was not a drunken layout as comically portrayed here, but that aside, the story and film work brilliantly to immortalise its subject and that must surely be the aim of any such work. Oh, and this is of course the film which introduced us to the now legendary Michael Caine…
• BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001)  Ridley Scott’s take on the 1993 Somalian street battle owes a lot to Zulu. Again, our “heroic” troops are out numbered by the indigenous population and must fight a seemingly futile battle to simply survive but both work so well to convey the truth of war, even if you doubt the legitimacy of the hero’s reasons for being there in the first place… That a battle won is simply to survive and do so with whatever honour you live by, in this case, never to leave a man behind, fallen or not. The main difference here though is that Scott is not as forgiving nor as sympathetic toward the Somalians as Cy Endfield (Zulu) was towards the Zulus, I don’t care what they say…
• ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN (1976) (see also: ZODIAC & GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK) This is not necessarily an easy watch, but it has to be one of Robert Redford’s best films and one where  there is no doubt about its influence.  David Fincher’s Zodiac (2006) owes a lot to this in style and would have made this list if it wasn’t for the impact of All The President’s Men on it and so may other titles. It’s just a real document of the times and the journalism industry as whole of the 1970′s, never bowing to any theatrical pressures and having the courage to stay the course with its own telling of the story.
• TORA! TORA! TORA! (1970) (see also: THE LONGEST DAY, DOWNFALL (aka , SCHINDLER’S LIST & THE SOUND OF MUSIC) A slow burn wartime thriller with good payoff at the end. This story of Pearl Harbour is the definitive one as far as I’m concerned, and as it was a U.S. and Japanese co-production, it is unbiased and shows both sides fairly. This is not Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor, this is how a war film should be made.

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• A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (1958) (see also: TITANIC) Since the disaster in 1912, Titanic had appeared numerous times and by 1958, there had already been two titular versions, with the little known Nazi propaganda piece from 1943, Titanic, and the 1953 Barbara Stanwick take of the same name. But then came the very British, A Night To Remember starring Kenneth Moore. This was, and in many ways, still is the most accurate version of the tragedy, though more effort was paid to some of the small details in James Cameron’s equally as brilliant 1997 epic. But this offers a more detailed look at what happened, what went wrong and who was blame.
• UNITED 93 (2006) Just five years after the world-changing events of 9/11, two director’s dared to tackle the subject. The normally bold and controversial Oliver Stone made the tame movie of the week which was World Trade Center and British director Paul Greengrass, of Bourne fame, made one of the best examples of dramatic documentary filmmaking ever with United 93. This is a chilling dramatisation of the events of that day, cast with the real people in parts and directed to feel very real, every 9/11 film to come will have a tough act to follow. This is simply one of the best real life adaptations that I have ever seen…
• JFK (DIRECTOR’S CUT) (1991/1993) (see also: NIXON, THIRTEEN DAYS & FROST/NIXON) Oliver Stone made his name with his Vietnam films, taken from his own experiences but in the 1990′s, he began to tackle issues of American culture, as with the banned for a time, Natural Born Killers, but before that there was JFK. This is a very seductive film, cleverly layering on conspiracy theories with loose facts or unanswered questions and filtering it through the obsessed character of Jim Garrison played by Kevin Costner. The problem is that in real life, Garrison was no nice guy and his noble character as portrayed in the film, which is the lynch pin of our faith in his quest to reveal the truth, is probably fictitious also. But, theatrical licence or not, JFK is riveting and the director’s cut is better and offers a more complete story than the theatrical version. Stone would later direct Nixon, often dismissed nowadays but it was far from a poor biopic, but its jumbled narrative can be too much to take for a lot of people.
• THE DAMNED UNITED (2008) Not a fan of sports movies persay, the fact that I think so highly of this film about football manager, Brian Clough’s short tenure as manager of Leeds United back in 1974 is somewhat puzzling. But I’m sure that Michael Sheen’s stella performance as Clough certainly has something to do with it, as well as the smart script and some more theatrical licence from Peter Morgan.
• ALIVE (1993) The film made famous by the fact that in this true story about a plane crash in The Andes, and some of the passengers walking the torturous walk across the mountains to get help, is known mainly as “the one where they eat each other!” Yes, there was some eating of frozen human flesh but there was also a decent story of survival and let’s not forget one of cinema’s greatest plane crashes which opens this little classic.

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• APOLLO 13 (1995) (see also: THE RIGHT STUFF) “And that’s how we do that” sums up this film which pretty much covers the highs and lows of the U.S. space programme in one macrocosmic event; that of the doomed mission of Apollo 13.There’s no reason to make another film about NASA after this, but that didn’t stop the same production team making the more that decent 12 part drama, From The Earth To The Moon in 1999 focusing on the entire Apollo programme. There’s a lot technically wrong with this film but there’s a lot right with it too and if you simply want to know what happened then this more than covers it. The Right Stuff, (1983) was a close second but as good as it is, considering it’s almost three-hour running time, it only covers the Mercury Programme and takes its time doing that so as a film, it’s first-rate but as a film which draws you in to its world and leaves you feeling fulfilled that you know all about it, The Right Stuff is ain’t.
• THE BOUNTY (1984) If you’re looking for a historical epic about sailing the high seas then you need to see Peter Weir’s Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World but as that is a fictional story set in a real world, I can’t list it here. Instead I would look at The Bounty, the third version of the true story of the Mutiny On The Bounty, which is the title of the two previous versions. This early Mel Gibson starrer is blessed with a fast and modern pace, and Mel, who certainly in his younger years, was made for roles like Fletcher Christian, though that’s not to say that Marlon Brando’s take in the 1961 epic wasn’t more entertaining…
• EL CID (1961) Possibly one of the best Epics of the era. Its style is darker than most, with a macabre yet uplifting ending and a grand scale all the way through. It is also a subject often ignored by mainstream cinema, with the nearest modern example being Kingdom Of Heaven, with is right up there with the Cid.

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• PLATOON (1986) (see also: BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY) Oliver Stone is back and this time this is The Deer Hunter for my generation. The horror or Vietnam have never been so honestly portrayed and Platoon set the tome for war films which would lead us straight to Saving Private Ryan in 1998.

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• SPARTACUS (1960) Not dead on accurate, but it will always be hard to make an accurate Roman epic due to the ever fluid nature of archeology but this is truly Stanley Kubrick’s best mainstream achievement. After this he would become the genius behind the 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining but in this role as director for hire, Spartacus is the best Roman Epic full stop. Ahead of its time in many respects, boasting some scenes that world be cut for 30 years, namely the “Oysters and Snails” scene, which featured a thinly veiled conversation of homosexuality.
• RAGING BULL (1980) A simple biopic about a troubled subject. Possibly Robert De Nero’s best role and defiantly Martin Scorsese’s best film, Raging Bull’s portrayal of a small time boxer turned comedian would hardly seem to be the subject matter for such plaudits. Filmed in black and white and boating some of the most artful boxing scenes of all time, this is a film that you NEED to watch and judge for yourself…

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• WYATT EARP (1994) (see also: TOMBSTONE) Lawrence Kasden’s western epic, again starring Kevin Costner as the titular western hero. This is long film but in my option, a well crafted if not again, guilty of some theatrical licence. It may be more romance than document, but it looks great and stands up against to any epic that has gone before or since.

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• ELIZABETH (1998) (see also: THE KING’S SPEECH & THE QUEEN) British monarchs are certainly in fashion at the moment. As I’m writing this, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee has just taken place here in the United Kingdom and even though Peter Morgan’s 2006 film, The Queen did an admirable job of portraying Elizabeth II, it’s neithef her or her father in the good, but overrated The King’s Speech that makes my list. It is rather the first Queen of England, Elizabeth I. In 1998, the solid and well-worn genre of BBC drama portrayals of The Tudors was turned on its head by director Shekhar Kapur who presented Australian actress, Cate Blanchet as the titular monarch. This version was sharp, dramatic and whilst feeling fresh, still felt solidly British.
• WALK THE LINE (2006) I’m not normally a huge fan of music biopics but James Mangold’s Walk The Line seems to get it right. Choosing only to focus on the early portion of Johnny Cash’s life and dealing primarily with the on/off romance between him and his eventual wife (Spoiler!) June Carter Cash, this does not tread the same old boring episodic lines, joining the dots at were, as a lot of biopics of this kind seem to do. Seeming fresh and boasting a brilliant sound track performed by the stars rather than being mimed, this is how to make a music biopic.
• CHANGELING (2008) The most bizarre and outrageous true story to feature, Clint Eastwood’s, Changeling tell the story of an abducted child who is returned to his mother, Angelina Jolie, only for her to swear that this is not her son. The rest was an ever fluid and at times, harrowing tale that has to be seen to be believed, and yes, this is pretty much a true story. The most bizarre ones often are.

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• THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010) And finally, when news broke about Arron Sorkin (The West Wing) was going to tackle the story of Mark Zuckerberg’s, the founder of Facebook, story, there were mixed feelings. The result was a sharp and effective take on the evolution of the social networking revolution, and an insight into one of the worlds most socially inept men and his success in the changing of relationships forever. The film is good but I suspect that it’s life will be long in as a small “must see” rather than a film which everybody has actually seen.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Other films with didn’t make the list were little remembered ones such as THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS (1996), which was unfairly criticised in my opinion but was still based on a fascinating true story somewhere down the line. THE PERFECT STORM (2000), which whilst not being Wolfgang Peterson’s best work, still offers some insight into both storms and fishing!

Peter Weir’s may not have made the list with MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD, but GALLIPOLI almost did, as it tells the little known story of Australian runners during the horrific World war 1 battle. CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR, a Tom Hanks starring, Aaron Sorkin, West Wing styled drama charting the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan in the 1980′s was also a close one.

And the exclusion of THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE DAM BUSTERS will no doubt offend many but great as they both truly are, they are both World War 2 classics and that slot was taken by TORA! TORA! TORA! and I stand by it.

Well, there it is. My Top 20 True Stories, covering  twenty different subjects. I hope you enjoy agreeing and HATING my choices, but that is the list.