A legendary depression-era hobo and his young accomplice battle a sadistic railroad worker in a determined bid to hitch a ride.Emperor of the North, a vivid Depression-era drama, opens with a friendly, down-home song that doesn’t prepare the audience for what follows: The brutal killing of a train-hopping bum at the hands of a cruel conductor named Shack (Ernest Borgnine, Marty, The Poseidon Adventure). A hobo called A-No. 1 (Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou, The Big Heat) rises to the challenge of catching a ride on Shack’s train–but his heels are dogged by a tenderfoot (Keith Carradine, Deadwood, Nashville), whose inexperience may get them both killed. Director Robert Aldrich (The Dirty Dozen, Kiss Me Deadly) has a sure feel for male behavior driven by pride, boredom, and desperation. The swagger gets a little overblown at times, but more often Emperor of the North has a gritty realism, peppered with flashes of sardonic humor and surprising compassion. Aldrich has a gift for a loose yet always watchable story, filled with engaging bit parts and offbeat incidents that flesh out the world and make the main storyline all the more compelling. Marvin and Borgnine–craggy-faced character actors deluxe–are in excellent form, but Carradine steals the movie with his bitter, callow arrogance. (Originally titled Emperor of the North Pole, a bit of hobo lingo.) –Bret Fetzer
List Price: $ 14.98
Price: [wpramaprice asin="B000EXDSCU"]
STREETS OF FIRE – DVD MovieWalter Hill’s updated (1984), highly stylized take on biker movies still looks like a determinedly eccentric project that happens to work at times, but not at others. Michael Paré plays a biker who agrees to rescue his ex-girlfriend (a rocker played by Diane Lane) from kidnappers (led by Willem Dafoe). The ensuing battle against a nocturnal background of industrial blight, chrome, and loud music is like some fever dream of a Springsteen fan who listened to the song “Born to Run” far too often. The audacity of the film carries it a long way even after it becomes clear that Hill’s experiment is crumbling under its own weight. Dafoe, who looked even spookier back then than he does now, is memorable, as are Amy Madigan and Rick Moranis. Music is by Ry Cooder, with an appearance by the Blasters. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, optional French soundtrack, optional Spanish subtitles. –Tom Keogh
List Price: $ 14.98
Price: [wpramaprice asin="0783227876"]
Tags: bit parts, cat ballou, character actors, emperor of the north, emperor of the north pole, ernest borgnine, fever dream, gritty realism, hitch a ride, keith carradine, kiss me deadly, lee marvin, male behavior, poseidon adventure, railroad worker, robert aldrich, sardonic humor, springsteen fan, streets of fire, willem dafoe
Love's Enduring Promise Reviews
The Magic Flute - Criterion Collection
Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan [Blu-ray]
Reefer Madness
Been to the Mountaintop
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.