tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post8267872671123482188..comments2024-03-03T10:32:45.969-08:00Comments on Mr. Peel's Sardine Liqueur: The Power Of A DemonstrationMr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-9040465140562644562011-10-10T18:49:29.675-07:002011-10-10T18:49:29.675-07:00Great blog. Very informed.
I am not here to defe...Great blog. Very informed.<br /><br />I am not here to defend this film, though I can't say I HATE it. I think that one thing you left out was that it grasped the military-escalation-will-bring-peace mood of the times. The Cold War was at a peak, and being the military buff that I was at the time, I always admired the fact that this movie got the military tech down. The general feeling was that the nukes could fly at any moment, and this flick was tapping into that feeling. However, as you said, I wish it had come up with a message for that dark period of time. It's almost like they were afraid to make any kind of statement at all about the insanity of Pentagon psychology.Joe Hackinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13306936226551391422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-65448719092752122742011-09-05T19:26:26.381-07:002011-09-05T19:26:26.381-07:00Like many others here, I saw this as a child, but ...Like many others here, I saw this as a child, but I think I only rented it because I couldn't find a PG-rated movie starring Bill Murray that I hadn't already seen and, more importantly, a movie that my parents would allow me to rent (they'd recently given me a book on "Saturday Night Live" that got me interested in the pre-Eddie Murphy years of the show that I'd missed, but they weren't keen on me seeing R-rated movies).<br /><br />I don't remember much about "Deal of the Century" now, but after seeing "Cruising" for the first time on Saturday, I'm fascinated that this was Friedkin's follow-up. Like you said, he probably either needed the paycheck (before he could rely on his wife, Sherry Lansing, as head of Paramount, to hire him to direct "Blue Chips," "Jade," "Rules of Engagement," and "The Hunted") or was hurting for any kind of offer to direct at that point. Or, possibly because of all the controversy surrounding "Cruising" between its production and premiere, he needed to find a project that would have a much lower profile while still having the potential to be his first hit since "The Exorcist."<br /><br />Great blog, by the way.Robert Casshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08707335033990525130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-75351773987639659852009-11-27T13:50:56.518-08:002009-11-27T13:50:56.518-08:00Captain Vic? Great name! Forget THE BRINK'S JO...Captain Vic? Great name! Forget THE BRINK'S JOB, I have to get around to writing a piece on NEIGHBORS! Anyway, glad you liked the piece!Mr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-20383078066207558222009-11-24T13:02:22.476-08:002009-11-24T13:02:22.476-08:00Wow. I too saw this on a double bill with THE OSTE...Wow. I too saw this on a double bill with THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND but at a rough and tumble theater in Oakland.<br /><br />I was looking forward to seeing this then but as you have expertly elaborated on, Friedkin did not deliver. Nor Chase - I read Jack Nicholson bailed on the Muntz role and that would have been something to see. Brickman's original script HAD to have been better than the stillborn execution we're stuck with.<br /><br />It's been years since I've watched this but lines delivered by Hines and Edwards occasionally pop into my head to this day, so at least there's that.<br /><br />As for THE BRINK'S JOB... you must see it for yourself! Having the same father, DEAL and BRINK'S are strange brothers in arms.Captain Vichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06520448142084248646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-44063449445018670412009-11-23T19:32:04.030-08:002009-11-23T19:32:04.030-08:00ZAR--
I'm going to try to seek it out somehow...ZAR--<br /><br />I'm going to try to seek it out somehow, I promise!Mr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-3612227544525745512009-11-23T02:25:27.542-08:002009-11-23T02:25:27.542-08:00Ah, finally somebody mentioned THE BRINK’S JOB! I ...Ah, finally somebody mentioned THE BRINK’S JOB! I haven't seen that one for ages, but it's a very enjoyable film.<br /><br />One of those "Sunday-movies" they were showing on German television in the 1980s. You didn't expect much. Especially so, since this was shown on the so called "regional senders" and those didn't get much description space in the TV program magazine (10-15 words maybe)!<br /><br />But THE BRINK’S JOB left a pretty good impression the first time - and that even improved when I saw it a second time some years later.<br /><br />Good actors and who doesn't love caper movies? Well, maybe the ending is a bit of a problem, but since that movie is based on historical fact it fits.<br /><br />ZAR.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-21944508656891831612009-11-21T11:47:04.448-08:002009-11-21T11:47:04.448-08:00db--
Failures like this do sometimes get you wond...db--<br /><br />Failures like this do sometimes get you wondering what they were thinking. I hadn't seen it since watching it on cable as I kid so I was curious to check it out. I'm still not quite sure what they could have been going for but you're right, some of it does leave a very sour taste and it never becomes a coherent whole. Glad you liked the piece!<br /><br />Ivan--<br /><br />A double bill with THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND!!?? Damn, cool. I don't know if you should see it again or not--but I understand what you mean about Chevy even if I do have a soft spot for several of his films (I've been meaning to get around to SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES...)<br /><br />J.D.--<br /><br />Believe it or not, I've never actually seen BLUE CHIPS, probably due to my total lack of interest in college basketball. You should write up a piece on it, tell me what you think...hey, wait a second! You just did!<br /><br />Christian--<br />HBO must have been where I saw it back then. It did occur to me while watching it that the scene where Chase gets shot must have been Friedkin's idea of a comedy scene that would send the audience into hysterics...it just doesn't work at all. But I never thought to link it to that scene in MODERN PROBLEMS! Some early 80s comedies seem pretty strange these days.Mr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-65175070000892890782009-11-20T09:35:52.496-08:002009-11-20T09:35:52.496-08:00A William Friedkin Comedy is practically a contrad...A William Friedkin Comedy is practically a contradiction in terms and this film proves it. I watched DOTC on HBO a few times, stunned at its lack of humor; the scene where Chase is shot in the leg and sprays blood everywhere while Hines and Weaver pleasantly introduce each other might be the most ill-conceived comedy bit of the 80's -- oddly, a scene where Chase causes non-stop nose-bleeding in MODERN PROBLEMS might be the second. <br /><br />Strange film...but worth examining for those reasons.christianhttp://christiandivine.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-66612991282421048912009-11-20T08:34:24.077-08:002009-11-20T08:34:24.077-08:00I file this film under the same category as BLUE C...I file this film under the same category as BLUE CHIPS - what was Friedkin thinking? Both films reek of a simple paycheck gig on the filmmaker's part. Oh well...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164105442273577128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-24560844346968406452009-11-20T07:42:06.363-08:002009-11-20T07:42:06.363-08:00Mr. Peel,
I caught this during its original releas...Mr. Peel,<br />I caught this during its original release as a double feature with The Osterman Weekend at some sleazeball theater on Market Street in San Francisco--and I remember liking the movie! Not that I thought it was good, but I did laugh. <br />But I've never been tempted to see the movie again--I'm too scared that I'll wind up hating it now (I was much more tolerant of Chevy Chase when I was a kid). <br /><br />Thanks for writing this one up!<br />--IvanIvanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16443946766217092846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-90659063752726919052009-11-20T00:36:29.904-08:002009-11-20T00:36:29.904-08:00Growing up, this was always a really weird film fo...Growing up, this was always a really weird film for me: I liked the idea of it, I thought there were bits that were funny, but it just never comes together. Part of it is having seen Chevy Chase in Caddyshack, which I think of as a kind of hygene film for American teenage males on how not to be an asshole (The Blues Brothers is even more the case, as it's a musical), so to see him in a role where he's an oblivious witness to evil, a feeling which never really finds a satisfying resolution, always made me uncomfortable. Watching Gregory Hines, who plays (for me at least) a pretty likeable guy driven insane by a system which runs on human misery and death, is a very sour taste, and I suspect Friedkin was doing this intentionally as a cautionary tale, but it's so hard to connect to that it doesn't really function. I'm going to have to watch this again now and think about it -- it's a failure, for sure, but a failure worth investigating. Good post!dbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08610914455757359201noreply@blogger.com