One From the Heart
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Movie Reviews of One From the Heart
Movie Review: A great lesson of cinema does not necessarily make a great movie!
Summary: 3 Stars
It's an interesting piece but it goes in so many directions. It could have been a Felini movie, a US version of Fellini, but the second part is to slow. As a fan of Tom Waits, I had to see it anyway...
And just for the camera movement, you have to see it, but the music hall part is a bit too much.
Movie Review: How people yearn for a romantic ideal, supreme happiness, a utopia
Summary: 2 Stars
ONE FROM THE HEART (1982) iill attract a viewership on account of
Francis Ford Coppola's fame, or perhaps from its talented, sincere
cast, comprising Nastassja Kinski, here shown very young, with a
ballerina's physique, yet still very green in her emotional, human
aspects ons screen.
What works best, is the strong dream-like atmosphere that it brings
forth, taking viewers into another dimension, and the romanticism of
the actual story. Indeed, after 5 years in a monogamous
relationship, as each partner consciously grows older, seeing each
other turning into furniture so to speak, this aging and boredom
stress-tests each partner into finding out who they are, what they
are they made of, their character, what is the key to happiness.
For the girl, played superbly by Teri Garr, (in fine physical
shape), with a mature yet youthful, realistic approach in her
acting, happiness is a husband singing, dancing, going to a remote
tropical resort, in sum, the presence of romanticism. For the man,
Frederic Forrest, happiness is maintaining a routine, living
day-to-day, with limited ambition or possibilities of variance in
the agenda, paying the bills on time, seeing reality.
There are multiple aspects that bring the picture down. The first,
and foremost, is the astounding lack of subtlety in the "crooner"
song numbers, such that the audience is left with the impression
that the story, and the singing revolving about "feelings" and "lack
of utopic, perfect love" is onanistic, an irritation. There is a
whining attitude, over-the-top, deranged singing, reminscient of
Barbara Streisand's hysterical "Woman in Love" for example.
Secondly, the opening and closing credits, publicize the Zoetrope
Studios, as if this means anything to the audience in the US, Canada
or around the world. It's silly.
Third, the exteriors, backdrops filmed of many kinds (sunset,
sunrise, simulated motel and streets) are blatantly and obviously
fake, as the audience can see it's a studio, not the real thing.
Only a photographer can prefer a set like this to the real thing,
filmed in a neighborhood. Simply because there is "no dust" or
"photographic imperfections" of any kind, doesn't mean Zoetrope was
better because it's made in a sterile, artificial room vs. the real
thing.
Fourth, the real shocker, and unrealistic aspect, is the complete
lack of moral, religous dimension to the behavior of the characters,
including Raul Julia, who seduces Garr, much like Kinsky seduces
Forrest. The film suggests people are zombies, only obeying to a
"master", an internal compass instructing them to maximize and
reach a "utopic, supreme level of pleasure, happiness, excitement"
as if human life was only about a day at the amusement park,
figuring out which ride is the most fun.
Fifth, although some may disagree, over 90 mins, over and over
again, the actors and actresses are shown either dressing up or
taking their clothes off, with frequent upper nudity of both Kinsky
and Garr, and when not the case, in pajamas, intimate night wear,
underpants or stockings. This brings forth an intimate setting with
the audience, and sensuality (as does Garr's lovely red dress, on
her figure), but there is an unsettling, queasy voyeuristic aspect
to this.
As for Julia, he's clearly in supreme form, slim, youthful,
energetic, charismatic, and enjoying every moment, especially the
scenes filmed with the crowds in the street. A fair bit of humor is
present, such as Julia's stint as a waiter.
Overall, this picture is very human, feminine in its outlook,
showing how people in relationships yearn for a romantic ideal, a
supreme happiness, a utopia, to the point of one night stands.
Movie Review: More Like A Knife In Your Heart
Summary: 1 Stars
I had heard a lot about this Francis Ford Coppola film. None of it was good. I heard rumors such as Coppola had to file for bankruptcy after this. Whether any of this is true I don't know, these are only rumors I heard. But, now after this this film, I can understand why this movie would flop at the box-office. This is honestly one of the worst films I have ever seen.I think highly of Coppola. No one can doubt the man has directed several American masterpieces. "The Godfather" films, "Apocalypse Now", and "The Conversation". But there's something those films have in common, and to me, this it where Coppola's strenght lies.
All of those films deal with people. They are character studies of sorts. When Coppola is dealing with people, rather than special effects, or plot formula driven films he succeeds.
Make no mistake about it Coppola has limitations. Every director has limitations. Coppola has proven he can not direct comedies (Jack), horror fillms (Bram Stoker's Dracula), and jazz bio's where effects came before characters (The Cotton Club). But look at the films that deal with characters first. "The Godfather" series, "Apocalypse Now", "The Conversation", "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "The Rain Maker". Here is where Coppola shines.
A lot of people as I understand it, had problem with Coppola directing a romantic film. I wasn't bothered by that, because as I thought about it there were elements in "The Conversation" that possessed as certain romanticism. At least I thought so.
"One from the Heart" fails on so many levels it's hard to fins a place to start. The movie lags. The pacing of the film is off. This is what I like to call "coma inducing". "Coma inducing" works are works that can put you to sleep for a very long time. Or they at least have the ability to do so. "One from the Heart" has the ability to do so.
The characters are not believeable. I understand this was suppose to be a lighthearted fantasy, but I found nothing romantic about the film. The situations and the characters are flat. You can't relate to them or the situations they are put it. If you found that you do relate to them, you must have tried really hard.
The acting is here dreadful. Fredic Forrest stars as Hank, a man pining after his ex-girlfriend, of many times, Frannie (Teri Garr). The problem is they have no chemistry. And Forrest is not a leading man type. There is nothing about him that makes you want to watch him for the duration of the film. In fact no one look good in this film. People such as Harry Dean Stanton, who plays Hank's friend, seems to disappear after a while. I'm not entirely sure what purpose he served to the story. The same goes for Natassja Kinski who's role is pretty much a joke and Lainie Kazan. There is no depth given to any of these characters. And to be honest, after a while, I really didn't care to know anything about them. All I wanted to know was when would the movie end.
Another problem I had with the film was the music. It is also thought this film is a musical, but a number of songs sang by Tom Waits I felt did not fit. I also thought in the beginning moments of the film too much music was being used. Though Waits was nominated for an Oscar. I'm still trying to figure that one out. But, the Academy is always doing something wrong.
But, this is not to say I am not able to find anything positive about this film. I did enjoy Vittorio Storaro's cinematography. He is my absolute favorite. Though, I have to be critical here again, because Storaro's work doesn't quite build up to some of the other films he's done such as "The Last Emperor" and "Goya in Bordeaux".
Overall though what he have here is a bad movie from a good director. In other words, I wish I never saw this film.
Bottom-line: Not just one of Francis Ford Coppola's worst, but one of the worst films I've ever seen. A boring, slow moving, unsympathetic, style over substance film.
Movie Review: What was once a masterpiece is now a massacre
Summary: 1 Stars
This film has always been a favorite. My wife and I have worn out two video versions over the years, as well as a copy of the soundtrack LP (being big Tom Waits fans also). Needless to say, we were thrilled to see it finally come out on DVD. What a joke. Somewhere along the line Coppola must have decided that it could be improved upon, and managed to destroy it in the process. From the opening scenes it's a mess. The music has even been relocated. In the original version there's very little dialog needed in the beginning because the song lyrics perfectly describe what's going on. Not any more. Not only do the lyrics no longer match what's happening on the screen, but there's even dialog on top of the lyrics in spots. Scenes were added that actually take away from the film while a few favorite spots have been cut out. One truly bad judgment call is where there was a love scene with Teri Garr and Raul Julia followed by one with Fredric Forrest and Nastassja Kinski. In the new "improved" version it cuts back and forth between the two scenes like the viewers attention span must not be long enough to remember what happened last. There are also some harsh scene cuts now in the film that weren't there in the original (including one extra bad one where the music is abruptly cut off). One of the most impressive things about the original release was the way the film flowed from beginning to end much like a stage play. That's gone. One thing I can't figure out is the other reviewers of this film that are watching the DVD copy after seeing it on video, yet none of them seem to notice the difference. How is that possible? If the DVD version had been the original release back in 1982, I wouldn't be writing this now. I would have only seen the film once, and would have forgotten it immediately. In spite of the unfair rap this film got in the beginning, I've always defended it as one of Coppola's best works. He gambled and lost everything on this film including his studio complex in the process. It took many years and films to pay back the debts, but the end result was a cinematic beauty that stood on it's own merits. Sadly, what's left of it can't even do that now. I give the original release a rating of 10, but the new version isn't worth rating at all.Movie Review: At Least He Makes Good Wine
Summary: 1 Stars
"The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now" are two landmark achievements of American cinematic history. Which makes it puzzling that "One From the Heart" may be one of the worst films EVER. This includes cheesy horror films and the collective works of Ed Wood. Everything goes wrong here. Unappealing leads, uninteresting visuals, inept script, shoddy direction. What was the point of recreating the Vegas strip on a soundstage when the real one would suffice? Tom Waits contributes a semi-interesting soundtrack that acts as a greek chorus to what's going on but it's completely wasted. Maybe the only other thing noteworthy is Teri Garr's gratuitous nude scenes. Debacle and misfire would be the adjectives to best describe this enterprise.