Sunday, March 10, 2013

Reaction: The Killing (1956), Rocco and His Brothers (1960) & Equus (1977)

The Killing (dir. Stanley Kubrick)

An early Kubrick film that shows how accomplished he was at a young age. It's a gritty, brisk film noir built around a heist at a race track, with a fine performance from Sterling Hayden.

Rating: ****

Rocco and His Brothers (dir. Luchino Visconti)

Visconti's melodramatic epic follows Rocco Pirovli and his four brothers as they try to adjust to a new life in Milan. Beautiful and heartbreaking, it's a powerful film from the Italian filmmaker.

Rating: ****

Equus (dir. Sidney Lumet)

This adaptation of the famed stage play has likely lost some of the power it had in the '70s, but Burton and Firth give compelling, unbalanced performances as a psychiatrist and his horse-worshipping patient.

Rating: ***1/2

4 comments:

  1. My father gave me a copy of Equus (the play) when I was a teen and had decided I wanted to pursue a career in psychology. Ha ha! An odd but interesting choice. I've never seen it on either stage or screen -- I might give it a go, especially since you said the performances are good. The other two movies look like must-see choices.

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    1. I'd be interested to hear your take on it. It seems like there's a lot of negativity towards the film (and their performances), but I think it's held up quite well.

      Oh, they're definitely must-see films. :)

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  2. OMG! Rocco and His Brothers is one of my FAVORITES!!! Glad you liked it.

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    1. Yeah, I had it on my watchlist ever since you recommended it. :)

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