I love retrospects of cool films. There is simply nothing quite like having a series of 3 or 4 days where you see some of the coolest films ever made unfurled upon an epic screen, with the filmmakers and contributors speaking before and after. It's just a joy. It is a shame to not get to see this for myself, but just listening to Hallenbeck here... well I get the feeling like I was there... just a bit. Of course I would recommend Joe give Saturday February 20th a shot at the ol American Cinematheque and watch Krysztof Kieslowski's BLUE and WHITE and RED... the colors trilogy, he might find it enlightening as well...
It's rather apropos that James Cameron's initials are J.C. considering he'll always be the #2 Dude in the 'Wood as long as "God" is still making films. Hey, if I were Mr. Cameron I'd just laugh at that fact and continue on kicking "God's" ass in the modern day filmmaking arena.
First off, you've gotta love a filmmaker who's film titles begin with either the letters "T" or "A." And yes, I know about Pirahna 2...but Mr. Cameron doesn't consider that to be one of HIS movies(although, starting with the letter "P" kinda fits into his lettering scheme).
Mr. Cameron, as I've been telling people for years, is a master filmmaker. His movies are "perfect" in my eyes. When your weakest movie is an enjoyable popcorn romp like TRUE LIES, then you have to admit this guy has one mighty impressive resume. Many have bitched and complained about how "tough' it is to work on a Cameron Film. Mr. Cameron is a perfectionist, thus he's an ASSHOLE!!! Whooptie-friggin-do! If I was able to churn out the amazing products he constantly does I wouldn't mind beig called an asshole either! He constanlty pushes the envelope for F/X and Story. He grabs the viewer and shoves them right smack dab into the movie. At the heart of each of his movies are characters which you can relate to and like to be with. You laugh, you cry, you cheer out loud. It takes a Master Storyteller to do something like. I've seen all of his films countless times and have never been bored watching them(Hell, I can't even say that about "God's" films).
Recently I had the oppurtunity to take a gander at Mr. Cameron's work at the beautifully refurbrished Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollyweird. American Cinematheque did an amazing job acquiring AWESOME prints to Mr. Cameron's KICK ASS ROUSTER OF FILMS...not to mention bringing together an eclectic group of cast and crew members to discuss their experiences on the films themselves.
THE ABYSS - in my humble opinion, this is Mr. Cameron's finest work. The "other" version of this movie no longer exists in my eyes. While I enjoyed the hell out of the original '89 cut, I felt that the movie lacked in a lot of departments. Never have I seen such a radical difference in versions than when I saw the 172 minute cut that came out in '93. It was a completely different film! It sickens me so Cameron and Co. had to rush the movie in order to make a summer deadline. I'm glad he learned his lesson with this movie, otherwise Titanic may not have been the phenomenon that it was. I have completely disavowed that other version of the film. I suggest you do likewise.
The ABYSS is the quintessential Cameron flick. It's got amazing, envelope pushing f/x, multi-layered storyline, awesome double climax, and the most kick ass of the C.B.'s (Cameron Bitches). Plus, at its core is a great subplot about love and a failed marriage. It's this latter aspect that makes this Cameron film the most rewarding of them all. The drowning/resurrection scene is one of the most gut wrenching, heart breaking scenes ever to be filmed. It gets me every time. It's one of those scenes where you can put yourself in that position and try to make it through the whole mind numbing ordeal. Just thinking about it is emotionally draining. Kudos to the cast, crew...but especially Mr. Cameron for directing and writing such a gripping scene.
I mentioned something above that may have insulted some and angered others. A CAMERON BITCH is something to be proud of. A REAL BITCH knows that being "JUST THAT" is a badge of honor you should wear proudly. It's not a sexist thing at all if you truly are a real bitch. The word bitch is not always a bad thing. It's just something ignorant people spew out when they can't think of anything else to call a woman. A TRUE BITCH is smart, sexy, opinionated and doesn't take any shit from a man or a woman. They also have that gentle, nurturing feminine quality that makes them reasonable and logical human beings. If you were to describe a man like this then he'd be one cool dude. If you were to say this about a woman then she's a bitch. It's only out of that ignorance that you would call a woman that when, in reality, it's a compliment.
C.B.'s(Cameron Bitches) are everything I said above and more! LINDSEY BRIGMAN(Mastrantonio) is the quintessential CB. BUD(Ed Harris - in the performance of his career) is one lucky son of a bitch to have a chick like this. He knows that too. If you're ever in a situation where you can capture the heart and mind of a CB like woman then GO FOR IT! It's an amazing challenge, but don't even try to win. A TRUE BITCH is not a wild stallion you're trying to tame. When I say "challenge" I don't mean it in "that light." You go in there with that attitude and you'll be eaten alive...and rightfully so. Oh, how amusing it is to see such schmucks waltz in and try to "handle" a true bitch. None of Cameron's Guys try that shit and neither should you. BUD learned his lesson as did Lindsey. These are two incompatible people who were perfectly compatible for EACH OTHER. I guess Mr. Cameron is a big softie afterall. He must have had some first hand experience in the "Bitch" realm. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to write them so well.
JC himself spoke after the screening. Nothing noteworthy was said, but it was nice to see him out and about shooting the shit with his many adoring, geekish fans.
THE TERMINATOR - UBER-FUCKIN'-COOL! There are about 10 films which I've seen a gazillion times in my life...movies which I can't get enough of. Are they favorties? Some are, but some aren't. They are just films that are so damn addicting you just can't help but watch. Terminator is one of those films. It was so far ahead of its time, too. For what Mr. Cameron and Co. did with $6.5 million still baffles me. That movie looks kick ass for even now! Every scene...every line is classic. When Arnie uttered those immortal words, "I'll Be Back" you just knew you were witnessing Film History in the making. Do you even comprehend how fuckin' cool that must be to know that a simple phrase like that will be mimicked until the end of civilization as we know it? That's just AWESOME!
Michael Biehn, John Bruno, Adam Greenberg(DP) and one of the F/X guys were there to answer some questions from the audience. Like the Cameron Q&A nothing of interest was said, but it was enjoyable nevertheless.
T2 - the first and ONLY movie that should be referred to by its initials. Enough already with this "hip" movie slang! What's the Wild Wild West website called -- www.www.com? Fuckin' stupid already! Damn you Will Smith and your initial prone movies!!!
ARGH! Where was I? Oh yes, that's right Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I know I'll get reamed for this one, but I just want to say that as much as I adore, cherish, and practically worship the first movie I must admit that T2 is better. It's practically a remake of the original, but with today's f/x and $100 million more to work with. It's what Cameron probably wanted to do in the first place. I applaud him for making a sequel that is BIGGER and BETTER than his original creation.
The thing I loved about this movie(besides the mind boggling f/x and action scenes) is the complete 180 Sarah Connor pulled. Mr. Cameron really got inside her psyche and fully realized this obsessed woman's character. While we didn't see what happened to her and John for the past 10 years, JC managed to fill in the gaps with a few stories and character traits that expressed this radical change.
BTW, is it me or weren't you pissed that Sarah didn't say, "You're Terminated, fucker" to T-1000 right before she was going to fire that last shotgun blast? Even though she was out of ammo, it still would've been apropos and down right cool to hear that. Oh, well -- C'est la vie.
Just so you know I will supply the Wood and the nails for the Cruxfiction.
ALIENS - the GREATEST SEQUEL EVER MADE!!! ALIEN is awesome, but I'd take Alien$ any time over Alien. They are both masterpieces, but Aliens is just way to fun to be even be considered a movie! It's an adventure which I love taking! It was so ballsy for JC to have no action until about 1 hour into the film. It's unbelievable that this film only cost $17 million. There is not one shot...one frame that doesn't look incredible even compared to today's standards. This is just one sequel that is bigger, meaner, better, and incredibly different from its Mama. JC knows how to push the envelope alright.
The one thing that makes this a great movie is its characters. Ripley, Newt, Bishop, Apone, Hicks, Hudson, Vasquez, Burke, Gorman, Drake, and Frost are all characters we wish we had as friends. And, in a way, they become our friends. Unfortunately, for most of them that friendship is cut rather short.
I don't think a day passes by when I don't hear someone utter one of Hudson's trademark quips. So many lines in this movie are classic that it boggles the mind to try and narrow it down to the best one. I've narrowed the field down to four:
"FUCK THAT!" - Hudson
"Game Over, Man. Game Over!" - Hudson
"Have you ever been mistaken for a man?" -
Hudson "No. Have You?" -
Vasquez
and last, but certainly not least...
"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH!"
JC has a knack for concocting the most audience pleasing, coolest goddamn one liners to ever grace the silver screen. I recall seeing this film in a packed house opening night and hearing the audience go absolutely wild when she said that line. It's reasons like that why I make movies! It's just so damn cool to hear an audience go crazy over a certain line of dialogue you wrote or a scene you concocted.
After the amazing experiences of both Alien films (not to mention the boffo box office) I'm surprised Fox hasn't bothered making a 3rd Alien Movie. We've been waiting 13 long years now and still no sign of a 3rd Alien movie. Perhaps they should beg Ridley or JC to come back and direct another installment in the Alien series...THUS completing the trilogy. If they don't, then we may have to suffer through wretched pieces of shits directed by some hack video director or some fuckin frog who only has an eye for art direction. God., I hope we never have to endure that.
Gale Anne Hurd, Jenette Goldstein, and one of the F/X Artist were there after the screening. Ms. Hurd was the most interesting speaker of them all. The quick little anecdotes she told about how she and JC met were amusing and enlightning. She even knew that JC wasn't going to remain a model builder for long. Before they knew it JC became an art director, then a Director in a blink of an eye. The rest, as they say, is history.
I didn't show up for TRUE LIES or TITANIC simply because I've seen them in the theaters recently. I love the films, but even I grow tired of them.
I sure hope the Egyptian Theater continues on with this wonderful retrospective of films. My advice is to stay away from Foriegn shit and concentrate on some great modern day filmmakers like Gilliam, Scott(the really talented one), or Scorcese. You'll sell out every show if you do that.
The question one must ask himself is this: "What the hell is JC gonna do next?"
Well, he could do that little APE movie or sequel with Arnie. However, I would love to see him do a "swingin'" comic book film. Whatever he chooses to do next I know I'll be first in line. Hell, he can do a movie about soup can manufacturing plant and I know I'll be camping out waiting to see how he awes me this time out.
You know what -- that's his secret. He manages to "awe" even guys like me. Shit, right there is a major accomplishment in and of its self. You keep on doing that and maybe we'll just have to replace GOD and put you up there where you belong. With a strong record of 6 and 0 it's safe to assume Cameron will be one of the greats of all time.
He already is to me.
"T.T.F.N., Man!"
Joe Hallenbeck
