Enjoy old or unusual movies? Here’s a review:
“Krakatoa: East of Java” (1968): Sometimes disasters are worth watching, and this disaster movie certainly is. Not because it’s good, but because it isn’t. This very expensive bomb about a mountain that turned into a bomb stars Maximilian Schell, Brian Keith, Rossano Brazzi, Sal Mineo and Diane Baker. They’re all on a treasure-hunting mission in 1883 (though it’ll feel a lot more like 1968) to score some diamonds from a shipwreck that happens to lie perilously close to the misbehaving volcano. The special effects were nominated for an Oscar, but I’ll let you be the judge. Just have fun watching the bad acting, the incongruous music (WHY is Barbara Werle singing?) and flaming hot air balloon. It’s a glorious mess. Oh, and of course, Krakatoa is WEST of Java.
Now streaming on YouTube
People are also reading…
“All of Us Strangers” (2023): Adam (Andrew Scott) leads a lonely life as a screenwriter, living in a nearly empty London high-rise. Then two things upend his life: He meets an attractive neighbor (Paul Mescal), and somehow begins visiting his long-dead parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy) in his childhood home. It’s all very mysterious and romantic and lovely and sad, and you can’t think too much about any of the logic. Just enjoy the ravishing acting by the four leads. I’ve long held that Bell is underrated, and you’ll see what I mean as he quietly kills it as Adam’s regretful dad. The movie is practically a Rorschach test, and dares its audience to come up with their own conclusions about what’s going on.
Now streaming on Hulu
“One of the Missing” (1969): This early short from director Tony Scott adapts an Ambrose Bierce short story about a Civil War soldier on a scouting mission. Containing very little dialogue, the tense film has us following the scout (an intense Stephen Edwards, who never made another film) as he infiltrates enemy territory. As he’s peering at an enemy encampment, he has a moment of disastrous bad luck and spends the rest of the film trying to escape a cruel fate. This movie shows off the visual flair that Scott would later develop hugely into blockbusters like “Top Gun” and “True Romance.”
Now streaming on BFI Player Classics
“Vaxan” (1922): This truly eerie Danish/Swedish hybrid documentary investigates the Catholic Church’s persecution of witchcraft in the Middle Ages. Director Benjamin Christensen (who also acts in the film) suggests several explanations for the widespread phenomenon of witchcraft accusations. For one thing, it was a convenient way to get rid of poor widows (how’s that for a depressing thought?). Also, mental illness was not understood in those earlier times, and strange behavior could strike fearful people as Satanic. The imagery and stories told in the film are striking and unforgettable.
Now streaming on The Criterion Channel
Trivia Question #1046: Which of this week’s films was directed by someone who ended their life by jumping off of a bridge in Long Beach, California?
Answer to Trivia Question #1044: Writer director Fares Fares did voiceover work for the award-winning video game “It Takes Two.”
Ray Ivey is a writer and movie fan in Hollywood, California. He would love to hear from you at rayivey@ca.rr.com.