Last night, I once again watched, "The Bad News Bears," written by Bill Lancaster, starring Walter Matthau.
It is an astonishing film, brilliantly crafted. I have no interest in seeing the remake. It's like going to a museum to see a copy of the Mona Lisa -- why would I do that? Though there are many characters in the Bad News Bears story, they are all unique and memorable, each having a distinct voice, and the plot is clear with great propulsion. For a screenwriter, this is quite a feat -- the late Bill Lancaster (actor Burt Lancasters's son) was a great talent. Kudos to the director and editor as well. Walter Matthau was terrific as the drunken coach, bribed into coaching a team of misfit kids. I like the honestly in which kids are portrayed in this movie. They swear. Some are bigots. Some have bad attitudes. They aren't cute to other kids; they're scary. One of the kids smoked! Nowadays, political correctness, while certainly positive for society in many ways, prevents an honest portrayal of how people, especially kids, really are, compromising artistic integrity. Adults are also frightening to kids, having power over them that they don't have with other adults. No wonder so many weak sadistic people aret attracted to the teaching profession. The story develops in a natural unforced way with great honesty and realism, remaining true to its characters, with many layers of meaning. Like film classics, "The Hustler" (starring Paul Newman) and "Rocky I" (starring Sylvester Stallone), it is a sports film focused on its characters and the game on one level, yet on another level is a metaphor for life itself. This movie was a huge surprise hit in 1976. It is both a sports fim and a kids film (though PG due to using the language kids actually speak), yet is much more, and has appeal to a wider audience. The Bad News Bears is an astonishing film (and the fact that I hate baseball doesn't weaken my appreciation of it).
Oh, wait, I just noticed this is not the movie criticism website. Oh, well...
just wait til you see them in japan.
Will check that out... school's out on the 23rd. I have an old movie recommendation: Seven Samurai. Go watch that in the original Japanese with English subtitles if you haven't already.
I have watched the original Seven Samurai. It was not too bad. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the Magnificient Seven with Yul Bryner. The sequel and the re-make sucked though.
Marik, you should check out Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman. That's pretty good too.
(//vny!://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a363/liseliselise/zatoichi.jpg)
Marik wrote:
Will check that out... school's out on the 23rd. I have an old movie recommendation: Seven Samurai. Go watch that in the original Japanese with English subtitles if you haven't already.
Yes, Seven Samurai is a great film, and Akira Kurosawa was a master filmmaker -- one of the greats. Among my favorite films of all time is "Ran" (it really needs to be seen on a movie screen to do it justice).
Isn't there like 20 of those Zatoichi movies made? Which one is the best Lise?
I liked the origional bad news bears better than the new one. I did like the new bad news bears as I like the actor.. but the origional was better.
The magnificent seven? You mean the old western? That was a brilliant movie! Im in negotiations with a friend to buy a complete set of movies from teh duke on a related note.
Marik, there's only one that I know of. You can watch the trailer here:
[A href="vny!://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/zatoichi.html"]vny!://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/zatoichi.html[/A]
[A href="vny!://www.empiremovies.com/movies/2004/zatoichi.shtml"][/A]
Russ: I heard that western movie was a remake of Seven Samurai (correct me if I'm wrong).
Lise: According to wikipedia, there's a whole bunch... vny!://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatoichi (scroll down 1/2 page)
I think you might be right Marik, I actually remember hearing something about that.
Seven Samurai/ shichinin no samurai 1954;
[A href="vny!://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047478/"]vny!://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047478/[/A]
Magnificent Seven, 1960;
[A href="vny!://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054047/"]vny!://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054047/[/A]