Movies
Not the most subtle film on the subject, then again, most of Nicholas Ray's films are pretty brash and direct. I don't consider that necessarily a bad thing, I am after all a fan of directors like Gaspar Noé, but the presentation here didn't appeal to me at all, which made certain scenes more obnoxious than impressive. Mason does a pretty solid job and the build-up of his psychosis is rather nice, but the soundtrack was a real earful and the cinematography often bordered on kitsch. The ending went gleefully over-the-top too. This film needed either a more subtle approach, or more effective styling.Read all
Legendary James Dean film. I don't think I had ever seen a film with Dean before, while watching all I could think is that he looked an awful lot like a beefier version of James Franco. It's not hard to see why he got such a big following, though acting talent probably didn't play a big part in Dean's success. The rebellious side of the film isn't great, but it's at least somewhat entertaining, with the cliff scene being a clear standout. The dramatic side is pretty poor though. Performances are weak, characters are one-dimensional, and two hours is a bit much for a simple film like this. Far from good, but I guess its reputation is deserved.Read all
Nicholas Ray's first film is a tepid mix of film-noir and romantic drama, with a stronger focus on the latter. For its time, it appears to be a film that strived for a more realistic approach to the relationship between the two leads, but Ray was clearly still looking for ways to properly accomplish this. If you're hoping for hardened criminals and exciting heists or chases, this won't be for you. Ray skips most of the classic film noir elements and instead aims his camera at the two leads. Their performances are too basic to support the drama and Ray's styling falls short, making this a pretty dull and uneventful drama. Not a good start.Read all
There are some big names attached to this film. Ray helms the film, while Lupino is credited as the lead actress and co-director. Not that it shows in the final result. On Dangerous Ground is a pretty bland and generic film noir, sporting the usual traits that do absolutely nothing for me. The acting is overstated, the plot is simplistic and lacks the tension needed to keep it interesting and the presentation is dull, despite the focus on strong black-and-white contrasts. The only positive here is that the film is short, clocking in well under 90 minutes, but the film certainly felt longer to me.Read all
Beyond terrible. I'm not a big Western fan to begin with, but this one was particularly awful. The acting and dialogues are laughable, the music is grating, the editing sloppy and the plot a complete bore. Apparently everyone involved thought this was supposed to be very intense and serious, which just made it all so much worse.