MOVIE REVIEW | ***AFI WEEKEND*** #13. Star Wars (1977)

“The American Film Institute’s list of the 100 Greatest Movies was selected by AFI’s blue-ribbon panel of more than 1,500 leaders of the American movie community to commemorate 100 Years of Movies”. Every weekend(ish) during 2015, I’ll review two(ish), counting them down from 100 to 1.

“I have a very bad feeling about this.”

I was born in 1980. So while that means I never got to see the original Star Wars trilogy in cinemas, it means I was of an age where I grew up with myself, and pretty much all of my friends, having the original Star Wars trilogy on VHS and watching them constantly. I had the toys, though not nearly enough of them, a few books, a t-shirt or two, and even thought the Ewoks movie was good. I’m of an age that I will always love the originals, was too old to like the prequels, yet still can’t help being a little excited about JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens. What is it about these movies that grabbed a generation, and never let go?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a rebel spaceship is boarded by a band of menacing Imperial storm troopers and their leader, the black suited and black helmeted Darth Vader (voice by James Earl Jones, body by David Prowse). Before he is able to capture rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), she is able to dispatch an escape pod holding two droids, the pretentious and particular C-3PO (Antony Daniels), and the adorable little scamp, R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). They land on the desert planet of Tatooine, where they are eventually bought by farming uncle and nephew duo, Owen and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

MOVIE REVIEW | The Big Red One (1980)

“Saving that Kraut was the final joke of the whole goddamned war. I mean we had more in common with him than all our replacements who got killed whose names we never even knew.”

Lee Marvin is a Hollywood legend who I recognise, but I’m not sure if I could name a single one of his movies off the top of my head (and it turns out I’ve even written about one here).  l know what he looked like, I know the general persona he brought to a role and I know he’s pretty awesome.  So why haven’t I seen more of his movies?  And if I was gonna make concerted effort to see more of his work, shouldn’t I go back the 50s or 60s?  I probably shouldn’t go to the 80s, one of the worst decades in movie making history.  Yet, that’s exactly what I did when I watched The Big Red One.

Fighting in the First Infantry Division, nicknamed the Big Red One, a ragtag group of soldiers make their way through World War II, from Africa into Europe.  Narrated by Pvt Zab (Robert Carradine), we meet their leader, Lee Marvin as The Sergeant, Mark Hamill as Pvt Griff, and a few others who never made enough of an impression on me to be buggered finding their names of the characters or the actors who played them.