You Only Live Twice (1967)

"You only live twice. Once when you are born. And once when you look death in the face." (haiku written by James Bond in the Ian Fleming novel You Only Live Twice).

It took the 5th film in the James Bond series YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967) for Bond to finally visit Asia. He had already been to the Caribbean (twice), Turkey, and Switzerland but never to the Far East. As big a James Bond fan as I am, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967), has never been one of my favorites. I've probably watched the first four Bond films over a dozen times each but YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE just a few times. The Japan locations never bowled me over nor did the Japanese actresses who played the Bond girls. And a plot device that has Bond made up to look like a Japanese fisherman was just plain goofy.  Bond looked like Jerry Lewis pretending to be Japanese (think THE GEISHA BOY).

But like all good things, a film like YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE that I didn't rate as highly when I was young and finicky deserves a second chance now that CrazyFilmGuy is wiser and mellower and more appreciative of films he originally scorned. A new screening of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE reveals the filmmakers retreading some old Bond devices in new ways. The Japanese scenery and locations are actually very good (shot by David Lean's cinematographer Freddie Young). YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE finally reveals the face of the main villain behind SPECTRE'S diabolical plots, the cat loving, bald headed Dr. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (I'm curious to know where Blofeld got his doctor's degree). And, it's not often you get to say James Bond and Ninjas in the same breath.

After four solid hits, a franchise like James Bond is bound to hit a bump or two. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE had a new director in Lewis Gilbert (either Terence Young or Guy Hamilton had directed the previous four films) and a new screenwriter in Roald Dahl (yes, the children's book author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach.) Sean Connery had announced this was going to be his last James Bond film. Producers Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had wanted to make Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service next but lack of snow forced them to go with Fleming's YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE instead.

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE begins with the death of James Bond (Sean Connery)...or so it seems. Bond is supposedly murdered in bed (where else) in a Hong Kong hotel by two machine gun toting killers after sleeping with a Chinese girl Ling (Tsai Chin). Bond's death and elaborate funeral (he's buried at sea wrapped like a mummy only for his body to be taken by scuba divers to a waiting British submarine where he's revealed to be alive) is all an elaborate ruse to get Bond's enemies off his back so he can do some  undercover work in peace. A U.S. spaceship has vanished while orbiting the earth. Later, a Russian spacecraft will also disappear, both hijacked and gobbled up by a large mystery silver rocket ship. The Americans and Russians suspect each other. But the British represented by M (Bernard Lee) have detected a faint signal that something landed in Japan. M sends Bond to investigate before the U.S. and Russians start a nuclear war.

Bond meets up with his pretty but mysterious Japanese contact Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) who brings him to Henderson (Charles Gray), a British agent familiar with Japan. Henderson suggests Bond work with the secretive Tiger Tanaka (Tetsuro Tamba), the head of the Japanese Secret Service. Henderson is stabbed in the back with a dagger before he can tell Bond more. Bond chases down and kills the assassin, grabbing the killer's coat and medical mask to assume his identity and climbs into the waiting getaway car. The car takes  Bond to Osato Chemical and Engineering. Bond steals some documents from Osato's safe and barely escapes, picked up by Aki.

Aki leads Bond to Tanaka. Bond asks Tanaka to look at the papers he stole from Osato Chemical. A microdot is found on one document, a photograph of a freighter called the Ning Po. Bond returns to Osato Chemical impersonating a businessman to learn more. His snooping leads Mr. Osato (Teru Shimada) to order his beautiful assistant Helga Brandt (Karin Dor) to have Bond killed. Once again, Aki races in to rescue Bond. Bond and Aki travel to the Kobe shipyards to check out the Ning Po and its contents -- rocket fuel. More photos of the freighter reveal its cargo disappeared somewhere in the islands of the Japanese archipelago.

With tensions running high between the U.S. and Russia and another U.S. launch imminent, Bond and his cohorts are running out of time as they canvas the islands, looking for a launching pad. A squadron of helicopters almost kill Bond during one reconnaissance flight in his mini-copter called "Little Nellie." Tanaka has Bond to disguise himself as a Japanese fisherman and marry a local girl (and agent for Tanaka) named Kissy (Mie Hama) to infiltrate the fishing village and discover where the rocket might be. Bond and Kissy discover SPECTRE's secret underground volcano base, hiding the rogue SPECTRE rocket. In charge of the global extortion (the Chinese are paying SPECTRE to start World War III between the U.S. and Russia) is none other than Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence), SPECTRE's top man with Brandt and Osato by his side. Bond calls in Tanaka and his Ninja warriors as good battles evil in the enormous subterranean volcano lair in an impressive finale full of explosions and catapulting stuntmen.

All the James Bond films borrow and steal from previous Bond films but YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE is the first film to attempt it, making variations from the previous four films. In THUNDERBALL (1965), Bond's enemy Colonel Bouvar fakes his death to open the film. In TWICE, Bond fakes his own assassination. Tiger Tanaka, the man in charge of Japan's Secret Service, plays the role of sidekick that CIA Agent Felix Leiter performed in DR. NO (1962) and GOLDFINGER (1964). Bond's Aston Martin (tricked out with weaponry) is replaced by the mini-helicopter "Little Nellie" complete with two machine guns, two rocket launchers, two heat seeking missiles, two flamethrowers, and aerial mines. And when Bond needs help, Felix Leiter usually called in the reinforcements. In the case of TWICE, Tanaka brings an army of Ninjas. Bond trains with the Ninjas at their island training ground in TWICE. The Ninja training sequence is reminiscent to the SPECTRE training facility in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963).

Director Lewis Gilbert would even steal his own plot device from YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and use it not only once in 1977's THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (the first Bond film I saw in a movie theater) but a second time in MOONRAKER (1979) one of the most disappointing films in the 007 series. The device in TWICE is the SPECTRE rocket ship that opens up like a Venus Fly Trap and gobbles up the American and Russian spaceships. In THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, it was a gigantic oil tanker that swallowed both a Russian and American nuclear submarine (and their crews) like Moby Dick. In MOONRAKER, Gilbert would return to space as American and Russian space shuttles (and their crews) were hijacked by a larger space shuttle (almost identical to YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE).

The  Bond films have always done a nice job of playing tour guide for the exotic countries Bond visited, highlighting the scenery and customs of various locations but director Gilbert and writer Dahl make the Japan Tourist Board proud in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. A wonderfully staged scene in a jam packed arena has Bond taking in a sumo wrestling match between two behemoth wrestlers. Tanaka introduces Bond to the custom of Japanese women bathing and massaging the man (a bit sexist in today's society). There's a traditional Japanese wedding complete with silk robes that brings together (temporarily) Bond and Kissy. And the scenery is spectacular as the film takes us from Tokyo to the Kobe shipyards to the volcanic islands and coves of Japan.  The only iconic landmark missing in TWICE is Mount Fuji.

Although this is Gilbert and Dahl's first James Bond film, they don't shy away from the ghosts of past Bond success, staging some impressive set pieces in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. Second only to the fight scene on the train between Bond and Red Grant in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, TWICE has a brutal duel between Bond and an Osato bodyguard/driver (Samoan wrestler Peter Fanene Maivia) complete with both men throwing each other through Japanese paper screens and Bond fending off the bodyguard with a couch, ramming him repeatedly with the sofa. Another famous set piece involves a sedan full of Osato gunmen chasing Bond and Aki until a helicopter with a large magnet swoops down and picks up the sedan, dropping the sedan and gunmen into a nearby bay.

The attack by Tanaka's Ninja's on Blofeld's underground volcano base is YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE'S best set piece and one of the best in the Bond series. Production Designer Ken Adam's massive set includes a monorail, control room, Blofeld volcanic apartment (complete with stolen art), piranha pool, and rocket launch pad. I didn't even mention the retractable crater that opens up at the top of the volcano. The siege on Blofeld's base is well staged with hundreds of Ninjas repelling down from the top of the faux crater and multiple explosions sending numerous SPECTRE agents flying and somersaulting into the air courtesy of mini-trampolines off screen. TWICE would involve over 100 stuntmen for the finale.

The underground volcano base and epic battle between good and evil help to disguise the fact that YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE'S space special effects leave a lot to be desired. Gilbert, Dahl, Adam and company are ambitious with their intentions for the various lunar modules and rocket ships in TWICE but the technology just wasn't there in 1967. Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY just a year later in 1968 makes TWICE'S space special effects look amateurish.  Yet YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE'S space scenes beat Kubrick's 2001 by one year and the first actual landing on the moon by the United States by two years. TWICE even has a scene eerily similar to 2001 when the rogue SPECTRE rocket snaps the spacewalking U.S. astronaut's lifeline cable with its retracting jaws as it swallows the American space ship, the hapless astronaut floating away to his death in space.

Sean Connery as James Bond is his usual charming, lethal self but one might say Connery sort of walks through YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. In previous films, we always saw a bit of humanity or compassion emerge from Bond in a scene or two. In TWICE, he's a stranger in a strange land when he arrives in Japan. There's no spark between Connery and his female co-stars although I prefer Akiko Wakabayashi as Aki to Mie Hama's Kissy.

Karin Dor who plays Osato's personal assistant and SPECTRE agent Helga Brandt is a knock-off of
Fiona Volpe (she also has red hair), the insatiable assassin from THUNDERBALL played by Luciano Paluzzi. Dor does fine plus she gets to incur one of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE's most grisly deaths when Blofeld, unhappy that she failed to kill Bond earlier, sacrifices Brandt to his pool of man (and woman) eating piranha fish. The Bond filmmakers would steal this scene again in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME substituting sharks for piranha. Beware the trap floor when crossing the bridge over said piranha or sharks SPECTRE agents. You have been warned.

The star of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE for me is Donald Pleasence (THE GREAT ESCAPE, HALLOWEEN) as SPECTRE #1 aka Ernest Stavro Blofeld. The filmmakers keep the identity of the villain secret for most of the film so it's a great reveal (and shock) when we meet face to face the bald, facially scarred Blofeld.  Previously, we had only heard Blofeld's sinister voice and seen him petting his Persian cat from the neck down in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and THUNDERBALL. Blofeld's appearance is a highlight of the film but he's only in the last 20 minutes. We are cheated of Pleasence's great, enigmatic characterization of the arch villain. Is Blofeld a leftover from the Nazi regime who's now in the global extortion business? Or is he a Swiss madman, plotting world catastrophe with a watchmaker's precision? Another actor was cast and started filming as Blofeld but director Gilbert felt he wasn't the right fit (and correctly so. Czech actor Jan Werich (the first choice) looked like a meek librarian). Pleasence was a last minute replacement and solidifies himself as one of the all time great Bond bad guys.

If the bald Blofeld character looks familiar to today's audiences, it's because Mike Myers lovingly parodies Blofeld as Dr. Evil in his James Bond spoofs, the AUSTIN POWERS comedies. The AUSTIN POWERS films borrow heavily from many of the Connery Bond films including FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, GOLDFINGER, and of course, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. The Blofeld character would return in two other Bond films. In 1969's ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, Telly Savalas (later to play KOJAK) played Blofeld.  And in 1971's DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, Charles Gray portrays multiple Blofeld's. But Pleasence's Blofeld is the best with his hypnotic voice, bald head, and bad scar across his right eye.

Speaking of Charles Gray, both Gray who plays Henderson and Burt Kwouk who plays Chinese SPECTRE agent # 3 in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE make appearances in other Bond films. Kwouk also appears in GOLDFINGER (1964) as a Chinese emissary Mr. Ling. Ironically, Gray would play Ernst Stavro Blofeld with white hair in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971) giving the 2nd best performance as Blofeld after Pleasence (and much more screen time).

But YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE is not without it faults. Besides the mediocre space ship effects, Bond's attempt to impersonate a Chinese fisherman is unintentionally funny and distracts from the story. At least Connery plays it straight. TWICE also has some plausibility issues. As hard as SPECTRE has worked to hide its identity with the space ship hijackings and hidden volcano base, Blofeld is way too casual when he lets the captured Bond hang with him in the control room, casually showing his bodyguard Hans (and Bond and the audience) which key controls the SPECTRE rocket ship.

Some final Bond trivia, tidbits, and thoughts. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE is the only Bond film in which we never see Bond or M or Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) in their London headquarters. TWICE takes place entirely in Asia -- either Hong Kong or Japan. TWICE also reveals for the first time Bond in a Royal Navy uniform and that he holds the rank of Commander. Bond never drives a car in this film (he does fly "Little Nellie") and it's only the third film in the series where Bond does not wear a tuxedo. Although World War II had been over for 23 years when TWICE was made and our former enemies were now friends, the Bond filmmakers have villains from the former Axis nations. Helga Brandt and Hans (Ronald Rich) play German bad guys and Mr. Osato is Japanese. I guess you can't have the Russians and Chinese play the heavies in every Bond film. Lastly, a Sinatra sings the theme song to YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE but it's not 'ol Blue Eyes Frank Sinatra but his daughter Nancy. Can you imagine a James Bond theme song sung by Frank Sinatra?  That would have been epic.

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE caps off a very successful run for Producers Harry Saltzman and Albert "Cubby" Broccoli. From 1962 to 1967, they had produced five of the best James Bond films in the series (some a little better than others) and made James Bond (and Sean Connery) an international phenomenon. Not many film franchises can boast that kind of record. But with YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, their run of success would hit a brick wall as Sean Connery would leave the franchise (only to return for a curtain call in 1971's DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER). Their answer to replace Connery would be the bizarre choice of Australian George Lazenby for ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969). I tried to watch it once and fell asleep half way through it. Lazenby would be a one film failure. It would be uncharted territory for the Bond filmmakers going forward.

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)

Recently, there's been a public relations effort by Hollywood to portray Henry VIII as a thinner, sexier monarch like in the recent Showtime cable series THE TUDORS starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyer as the Tudor King. In reality, Henry VIII was a large, heavy set, some might say pudgy ruler. I appreciate Hollywood's attempt to make Henry look slimmer in hopes of drawing in a younger target audience. But if you want to see a more authentic version of Henry VIII played by an actor with a closer body type to the real Henry, look no further than 1933's THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII starring the fantastic and always entertaining Charles Laughton.

I became a Laughton fan last year after watching his compelling performance as the obsessed police inspector Valjean in LES MISERABLES (1935). Laughton seemingly owned all the plum roles in the 1930's playing Dr. Moreau in THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932), Captain Bligh in MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935), and Quasimodo in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939). After binge watching THE TUDORS a few years ago and aware that Henry did not really look like actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyer, I wanted to see an actor with the same beefy physique as Henry play the ruler. Laughton uncannily resembles Henry. If Laughton had been born in the 16th Century, he might have passed as Henry's twin brother.

A tender moment between Henry VIII (Charles Laughton) and Wife #5 Catherine Howard (Binnie Barnes)

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII was directed by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Lajos Biro and Arthur Wimperis. PRIVATE LIFE is a cliff notes version of King Henry's life and relationships with five of his six wives. In fact, the film's prologue states that Henry's 1st wife Catherine of Aragon is not in this movie. "She was a respectable woman so Henry divorced her," the credits tell us. The film begins in 1536 with the impending execution of Henry's 2nd wife Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon) and the immediate wedding to Henry's 3rd wife Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie). Once Anne Boleyn is beheaded by a French Executioner (Gibb McLaughlin), King Henry VIII (Charles Laughton) weds Jane Seymour. Jane gives Henry the male heir he so desperately desires but Jane dies during childbirth. It has only been 25 minutes into the film and Wife #2 and Wife #3 are already gone.

Henry mourns the loss of Jane. Henry's chief minister Thomas Cromwell (Franklin Dyall) knows the king needs to be married for the sake of the country and suggests Henry marry Anne of Cleves (Elsa Lanchester), the German daughter of the Duke of Cleves (William Austin). By marrying Anne, Henry can calm some of the countries upset with Henry for divorcing and exiling Catherine of Aragon. Henry requests a painting of Anne. The German painter Hans Holbein (John Turnbull) paints Anne's portrait but she requests he make her look unappealing. Besides, Anne is in love with the man sent to bring her back, a man named Peynell (John Loder) from Henry's court.

Henry VIII (Laughton) with Wife #3 Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie)

But Anne of Cleves does her duty, crossing the English Channel and marrying Henry to become Wife #4. By now, Henry has fallen in love with Katherine Howard (Binnie Barnes) from his court and Anne has a lover in Peynell. Henry and Anne agree to get an annulment one night while playing and cheating at cards with one another in bed. Once again, Henry is alone and morose. His Privy Council which includes Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Lawrence Hanray) urges him to seek yet another wife. Henry weds Katherine Howard. By all appearances, Henry and Katherine seem happy and in love with each other. Except Katherine is having an affair with Henry's courtier and friend Thomas Culpeper (Robert Donat). When one of his advisers Wriothesley (Miles Mander) reveals the affair to Henry at a secret council meeting, Henry almost strangles him.

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII ends as it begins with another beheading (the lovers Katherine and Thomas) just as the film opened with Anne Boleyn's execution. Henry grows fatter, older, and lonelier. Anne of Cleves visits him. She recommends he marry Katherine Parr (Everley Gregg), a widow with children already. Katherine Parr is more maternal. Henry marries Wife #6 Katherine Parr who takes care of  Henry like one of her children, pampering and scolding him simultaneously. As the film ends, Henry looks at the camera and proclaims, "Six wives and the best of them's the worst."

As I mentioned earlier, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF  HENRY VIII is a Readers Digest version of Henry's life. It plays more toward the romantic and comedic. It races through Henry's marriages and doesn't linger on the executions or political and religious turmoil that Showtime's THE TUDORS spent four seasons covering. Previous projects focused on Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn (PBS's 2015 WOLF HALL) or the political intrigue of the Boleyn family in THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (2008). In PRIVATE LIFE, Anne Boleyn scarcely makes an appearance even though she's portrayed by well known actress Merle Oberon (in one of her earlier roles). It's Laughton's wife Elsa Lanchester as Anne of  Cleves who receives the most time on the screen (it's good to be the wife of the lead).

Perhaps one of the earliest paintings done by Hans Holbein the Younger of Henry VIII, circa 1536

Henry VIII is portrayed more humorously in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII than recent shows and films. Charles Laughton plays the king as a big spoiled kid. Laughton gives Henry a large hearty laugh that permeates throughout the castle, making all his court and servants smile and laugh when they hear it. When the king's in a jovial mood, so is his kingdom. It might be an inside joke that the film's title is THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII because Henry's life is anything but private. In one funny scene, Henry tries to sneak over to Catherine Howard's bedroom in the middle of the night for some naughtiness. But the King's Guard announces his every move, shouting "The King's Guard" as his element of surprise is ruined. PRIVATE LIFE has plenty of sexual innuendo for 1933 and for a British film. Henry has to explain the birds and the bees to Anne of Cleves who still believes storks bring babies.

This isn't to convey that PRIVATE LIFE is entirely a comedy. Henry's emotions run the gamut: petulant, happy, morose, cheerful, and flirtatious. Director Korda even stages a fight scene for Henry when he challenges a wrestler entertaining the court to impress his new wife Katherine Howard, defeating the wrestler but almost killing himself in the process. But PRIVATE LIFE avoids the bloodletting that made me finally stop watching THE TUDORS opting to show a more human and humorous side to the king. Laughton's portrayal of Henry VIII would earn him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1933.

Henry (Laughton) with Wife #4  Anne of Cleves (real life wife Elsa Lanchester)

We never see Wife #1 Catherine of Aragon. Wife #2 Anne Boleyn is barely showcased and almost presented as a martyr. Jane Seymour, Wife #3, is portrayed as stupid and childish, a perfect match for Henry but she dies after giving birth to his son. Anne of Cleves (Wife #4) is supposed to be ugly but Lanchester's beauty can't be hidden underneath her funny gaments and accent. Anne is the nicest of the wives. Catherine Howard comes off as the most ambitious and smartest of the bunch, a woman who sought the crown but paid the price.  Catherine's ambition and infidelity will cost her and Culpeper their heads. Katherine Parr rounds out the six wives and appears the most practical. Interestingly, the movies spells both the later Katherine's with a K while history tells us their names were spelled Catherine.

As for the actresses playing Henry's wives, Elsa Lanchester as Anne of Cleves has the showiest part. With her big luminous eyes and funny accent, Lanchester almost steals all her scenes from Laughton in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII. Lanchester would play both the Bride and author Mary Shelley two years later in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935). Lanchester and husband Laughton would make 11 films together (some of them early short films) including another Alexander Korda biographical film REMBRANDT (1936) and Billy Wilder's WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957). Merle Oberon may be the most well known actress besides Lanchester to play one of Henry's wives but Oberon only appears in the first twenty minutes as Anne Boleyn before she loses her head. Ironically, director Alexander Korda discovered Oberon and cast the beauty in PRIVATE LIFE. They would be married in 1939 and divorced in 1945. Oberon would soon land bigger parts in films like THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (1934), WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939), and THE LODGER (1944).

Binnie Barnes who plays Henry's 5th Wife Katherine Howard is also very memorable. She has the most dramatic and interesting role, seemingly in love with Henry but having an affair with Henry's closest friend Thomas Culpeper. Her character is the closest we see to the drama and intrigue that more recent projects about Henry VIII have targeted. Binnie Barnes would appear in over 75 films including George Cukor's HOLIDAY (1937) with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn.

Henry (Laughton) and Katherine Howard (Barnes) watched over by Katherine's lover and Henry's friend Thomas Culpeper (Robert Donat)

The last well known actor to appear in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII is Robert Donat. I've known Robert Donat forever from Alfred  Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS but it's the only Donat film I've ever seen until now. PRIVATE LIFE is only Donat's 4th film and he's clearly cast as a romantic supporting character with his thin mustache and tights. But his matinee good looks served him well as he followed up PRIVATE LIFE with the lead role as Edmond Dantes in THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1934) and then as the accidental hero Richard Hannay in Hitchcock's fantastic British spy thriller THE 39 STEPS (1935). Not to be outdone by Laughton, Donat would win the Best Actor Academy Award for GOODBYE MR CHIPS (1939). Donat was dogged by poor health throughout his career and only made films sporadically after GOODBYE MR CHIPS.

Director Korda made THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII in England where it was a smash hit both in Britain and overseas. Eventually, director Korda and actors Laughton, Lanchester, Donat, Oberon, and Barnes would all end up in Hollywood, all with varying degrees of success. If PRIVATE LIFE were made today, the closest actor I could see portraying Henry with the right body type would be John Goodman.

Korda's decision to jettison some major characters in Henry's life and focus on the wives is a good decision. Thomas Cromwell who's a major character in WOLF HALL and THE TUDORS is but a bit player in PRIVATE LIFE and Cardinal Wolsey another important player in Henry VIII's world doesn't even appear (probably because he was involved with the Catherine of Aragon storyline which is also missing from the film). Korda's success with THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII stems from the casting of Charles Laughton who throws his considerable weight and exuberance into the role of Henry VIII making the King of England a likable, sympathetic historical character. Explore PRIVATE LIFE as it may be the closest  you'll ever come to seeing the real Henry VIII.

Marathon Man (1976)

When I was young film viewer, my naïve view of Nazis in movies were as stereotypical villains, the type you saw in films like CASABLANCA (1943) or last month's film blog RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981). They were cartoonish. But there was another type of Nazi that was making headlines in the 1960s and 70s that became subject matter for a few films. It was the real life Nazis who escaped Germany before the war ended and emigrated to South America. The most famous Nazi who got caught after WWII was Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann blended into the Buenos Aires German community until he was caught in 1960 and hanged in 1962. But the most infamous Nazi who fled Germany and was never caught although legend has it he's hiding in some South American jungle trying to start the Fourth Reich was Dr. Josef Mengele. Truth be told, Mengele had a stroke and accidentally drowned in Brazil 1979.

Nicknamed the "Angel of Death", Mengele was responsible for sending many Jews to the gas chamber at Auschwitz and for performing horrific experiments on them during WWII. In 1978 Franklin J. Schaffner's film THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL based on the novel by Ira Levin (Rosemary's Baby) was released. THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL was about a Jewish Nazi hunter played by Laurence Olivier hunting for Dr. Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck) in South America. But there was an earlier film that had caught my attention about a Nazi war criminal who comes out of hiding and shows up in New York. It was MARATHON MAN (1976) directed by John Schlesinger (MIDNIGHT COWBOY) and starring Dustin Hoffman. Ironically, Laurence Olivier stars in MARATHON MAN as well but instead of playing a Nazi hunter, Olivier played the fictional Nazi war criminal Dr. Christian Szell, clearly patterned on Mengele.

In my teens in the 70s, CrazyFilmGuy (then just a comic book/girl crazy nerd) was fascinated by the Loch Ness monster, UFO sightings, Bigfoot, and the Bermuda Triangle. But as I got into middle school and matured a bit, the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa and Nazi war criminals hiding in South America piqued my interest. So when MARATHON MAN came out, I was keen to see it. MARATHON MAN is a combination of the conspiracy paranoid thriller/urban noir genre with the Nazi war criminal subplot thrown in. But like some other films I wanted to see during the mid-70's like JAWS or ROLLERBALL, MARATHON MAN was another film that my parents wouldn't let me see. It was R rated. I know I watched it at some point as an adult but I don't recall the particulars of the plot. And so I return to another forbidden fruit from my past to see what was all the fuss about MARATHON MAN.

With a screenplay by the great William Goldman (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) based on his own novel, MARATHON MAN begins with a seemingly random incident. Two old men, one German, the other Jewish (Lou Gilbert), race through the streets of New York's Upper East Side, insulting each other, consumed by road rage until they crash their cars into a gas truck, killing both of them. This isolated accident will set in motion dire consequences for two seemingly unconnected men. The German man killed was Klaus Szell (Ben Dova), the brother of wanted Nazi Auschwitz Concentration Camp dentist Dr. Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier). Szell's brother had one of two keys to Christian's safety deposit box full of diamonds extorted by Szell from Jewish prisoners seeking freedom during WWII. With his brother dead, the ex-Nazi Szell comes out of hiding from his Uruguayan jungle compound and sets off for New York to retrieve his fortune.

Thomas "Babe" Levy (Dustin Hoffman) is a college graduate history student haunted by the suicide of his professor father. Babe's father was turned in by his friends as a communist during the McCarthy witch hunts of the 1950's. Babe's mysterious older brother Doc Levy (Roy Scheider) shows up in New York to visit his younger brother. When Doc is stabbed by Szell, he crawls back to Babe's apartment and dies. A federal agent Peter Janeway (William Devane) arrives to investigate. Janeway reveals that Doc and he were colleagues. They work for an agency known as the Division, a ghost agency situated between the FBI and the CIA that handles anything including taking care of Nazi war criminals. Known as the "White Angel" for his white hair (which he mostly cuts off before arriving in New York), Szell occasionally gave up other former Nazis to the Division in return for their protection. Doc was a courier between the Division and Szell. Janeway wants to know if Doc said anything to Babe before dying. Babe tells Janeway Doc said nothing and died in his arms.

Two men, Karl (Richard Bright) and Erhard (Marc Lawrence) break into Babe's apartment and kidnap him, whisking him away to a warehouse where Szell calmly tortures Babe with his dental instruments, repeatedly asking Babe, "Is it safe?" Satisfied Babe knows nothing and Doc wasn't trying to rob him, Szell orders Babe to be disposed. Babe manages to escape in a harrowing chase scene at night under the Brooklyn Bridge. Babe reunites with his girlfriend Elsa Opel (Marthe Keller) who takes Babe out of the city to a friend's house in upstate New York. But Babe soon realizes that he can't trust Elsa as Janeway, Karl, and Erhard show up at the country house.

Janeway reveals Szell is trying to sell his diamonds and flee the country. Babe survives a shootout that kills Janeway, his men, and Elsa who turns out to be another courier working for the Division. Szell goes to the bank and withdraws his safety deposit box with diamonds. But Babe is waiting for the former Nazi dentist. He takes Szell to a water treatment plant near the Central Park reservoir he jogs around. Babe forces Szell to swallow his diamonds if he wants to live. But Szell is like a caged animal and will not bow down to Babe's wishes in a tense finale in which only one of them will survive.

So CrazyFilmGuy has provided the plot for MARATHON MAN but why exactly is the film called MARATHON MAN? Babe is a runner, training for his first marathon. Early in the film, we see Babe running and running around the Central Park Reservoir. Schlesinger occasionally cuts to newsreel footage of Ethiopian Olympic long distance runner Abebe Bikila, Babe's hero. Bikila won the 1960 Olympic marathon running barefoot. But running plays a key part in MARATHON MAN besides exercise. When Babe escapes the interrogation by Szell and Janeway, he's literally running for his life as the bad guys try to kill him. Metaphorically, Babe is running from his past, from his guilt over his father's suicide, a professor ratted out by his friends during the McCarthy era. He's running from his lack of drive, ambition. He's intelligent but holds himself back. His brother Doc is a renaissance man, a well dressed agent who knows his wines and tailors. Doc has moved on from their father's disgrace. But Babe can't run away from his father's legacy. He wants to clear his father's name.

Recently, I watched another John Schlesinger film, the period film FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (1967) based on a Thomas Hardy novel. Schlesinger's style is to not tell you what's going on or who's who. He makes audiences pay attention by not revealing too much right away. In FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, I didn't catch Julie Christie's characters name right away or that she had inherited a farm. With Schlesinger films, you need to pay attention. In MARATHON MAN, the early scenes don't seem connected at first. We're not sure how the old German man who dies in a fiery car accident connects with Babe the college student or Doc who's in Paris barely escaping a car bombing and then an attack by Chinese assassin Chen (James Wing Woo). Director Schlesinger and writer Goldman take their time rolling out the plot and the characters and how to connect the dots, making for a more satisfying, cerebral thriller. The first half of MARATHON MAN is like solving a puzzle.

Schlesinger would not be my first choice to direct a thriller. His previous films about an amoral model in DARLING (1965), a woman wooed by three different men in FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD,  and a male gigolo in MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) are all very different and not particularly action oriented. But Schlesinger is well known for coaxing great performances out of actors. Julie Christie won an Academy Award in Schlesinger's DARLING. MIDNIGHT COWBOY showcases two of the best acting performances you will ever see by Jon Voight and  Dustin Hoffman. Schlesinger would win a Best Director Academy Award for MIDNIGHT COWBOY. It was probably hard for Schlesinger to pass up a chance to make MARATHON MAN with two of the titans of acting at the time: the legendary Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman, one of the best actors in the business working in 1976 (and Hoffman and Schlesinger had worked together on MIDNIGHT COWBOY).

But the English born Schlesinger handles the style and action of the paranoid conspiracy film with ease. Cinematographer Conrad Hall (COOL HAND LUKE, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) photographs MARATHON MAN with harsh lighting, deep shadows, and rain slickened streets. Schlesinger and Hall are so good they make Babe's apartment and bathroom menacing. Babe's escape from his captors at night under the Brooklyn Bridge is suspenseful and well staged. Because Schlesinger is a foreigner, his images and compositions are interesting and different from what an American director would choose to show.

MARATHON MAN'S most infamous scene is Szell's torture interrogation on Babe (forever making moviegoers even more fearful of dentists). With the calm demeanor of the neighborhood dentist, Szell briefly chastises Babe for having a cavity before jabbing at a nerve, repeatedly asking "Is it Safe?" for Szell to extract his diamonds from the bank. I commend Schlesinger for his brevity in the torture scenes (today's filmmakers would have made it gorier) but then read on IMDB that originally, the dentist scene was much longer, with more screaming from Babe but the filmmakers ultimately cut it down. Another less known but equally suspenseful scene is Nazi Szell's journey into the lion's den when he wanders around the mostly Jewish diamond district in New York. Trying to gauge the price of uncut diamonds, Szell is recognized by several Concentration Camp survivors who scream his name and try to stop him. It's a powerful moment in the film, a chance for survivors to have their comeuppance against their torturer except Szell escapes before the angry mob can catch him.

Dustin Hoffman definitely looks in great shape for MARATHON MAN especially when he's shirtless running away from Szell's henchmen Karl and Erhard. But his performance as Babe Levy, although solid, reminds me of a similar character David Sumner that Hoffman played in Sam Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS (1971). In both films, Hoffman plays meek, non-confrontational men who try to veer away from violence but are forced into morally compromised decisions that make them to do brutal things they would not normally do. I guess one could see similarities in Hoffman's Ratso Rizzo in MIDNIGHT COWBOY and his Louis Dega in PAPILLION (1973) as well.

One of the joys to MARATHON MAN is watching one of the greatest actors of his generation on stage and film Laurence Olivier perform with arguably one of the most talented actors (along with Jack Nicholson) of this generation Dustin Hoffman. It's a match made in cinema heaven. Olivier's Dr. Christian Szell appears so grandfatherly with his glasses and bald head, looking like a German version of Pinocchio's father Geppetto until he springs his hidden retractable dagger from his coat sleeve. Szell is evil incarnate, a terrifying villain because he looks so harmless. When we first see Szell, he's in suspenders, baroque music playing on a phonograph but the camera pans around his room and we see skulls and human teeth and animal skins. Szell may be one of the most underrated villains in film history, no less evil than Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter, convincingly played by Olivier. Olivier had cancer while making MARATHON MAN and thought he was going to die but his cancer would go into remission and he would live another 13 years. Two years later, Olivier would go from playing the Nazi war criminal Szell to playing the Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (based on real life Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal) in THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL.

MARATHON MAN'S supporting cast is perfect with consummate pros Roy Scheider as Babe's mysterious big brother Doc and urbane William Devane (still sounding like Jack Nicholson's little brother) as Doc's agency colleague and friend Peter Janeway. Schneider may have been one of the best supporting actors in the business (see THE FRENCH CONNECTION or KLUTE). He made MARATHON MAN fresh off his success in JAWS (1975). Scheider would eventually become a leading man in films like Bob Fosse's ALL THAT JAZZ (1979) and John Badham's BLUE THUNDER (1983). Scheider and Hoffman have nice chemistry. Scheider's Doc is protective of his little brother Babe. Devane's Janeway exudes Ivy League elitism. Janeway is ambiguously deceptive as most intelligence agents are. He's on both sides and neither side, climbing the corporate spook ladder to his next promotion. I was always a little surprised Devane didn't have a better film career but he has been a constant in television and cable. And Richard Bright (THE GODFATHER PART II) and Marc Lawrence (KEY LARGO) are perfect from the Rogue's Gallery of movie henchmen as Szell's muscle.

Marthe Keller as Babe's Swiss (or is she German) girlfriend Elsa had her heyday in the mid-70's. Keller appeared in MARATHON MAN as well as John Frankenheimer's BLACK SUNDAY (1977) and Sydney Pollack's BOBBY DEERFIELD (1977). In MARATHON MAN, she plays a history student who becomes Babe's nurturing lover, a role she would play again as the terrorist/lover to Vietnam Vet psycho Bruce Dern in BLACK SUNDAY. Keller's Elsa has some depth and sadness, she's not just another pretty foreign actress in an American film. Elsa's a pawn in this chess game of political intrigue.

An interesting six degrees of cinematic separation. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford would star in one of the great real life political conspiracy thrillers of all time ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976) directed by Alan J. Pakula based on Washington Post writers Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's true account of Richard Nixon's presidency collapsing over the Watergate scandal. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN screenplay was written by none other than MARATHON MAN screenwriter William Goldman. In 1975, the year before, Redford starred in THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, another political conspiracy film. And then Hoffman would star in his own political conspiracy film (with a Nazi war criminal subplot) written by Goldman called MARATHON MAN. Hoffman, Redford, and Goldman all knew a good thing when they saw it with the paranoia conspiracy thrillers in light of Watergate.

MARATHON MAN is compelling but not perfect. The opening road rage scene between German and Jew is a bit contrived as the men race their cars past Orthodox Jews on the Upper East Side of New York on the day of Yom Kippur. And Babe's falling for Elsa who just happens to be Swiss was a little too convenient once we figure out Nazi Szell and Babe's brother Doc know each other. But ultimately, MARATHON MAN is a grade or two above the usual thriller because of its pedigree: Director John Schlesinger, Producer Robert Evans (who I haven't even mentioned), Screenwriter William Goldman, and a stellar cast led by Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, and Roy Scheider. MARATHON MAN is like a long distance race. It starts out slow and deliberate, building suspense, and finishes fast like a sprint.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

One of the greatest movie going experiences I ever had occurred one fine summer day in June of 1981 when my sister Leslie and I drove to the Washington Square cinema in our orange Volkswagen Super Beetle to see a movie called RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981). Time Magazine had raved about it and provided tantalizing photos from the film. But a TV commercial I had seen for RAIDERS was less informative. We knew the movie had adventure, Nazis, and a globetrotting archaeologist but little did we know what we were in for. As Leslie and I sat in the dark theater, I think we screamed and laughed and shrieked as if we were on a rollercoaster ride which is literally what RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is like the first time you watch it. We came out of the movie theater into the bright hot sun with big grins on our faces.

Mad Max has always been my favorite movie character but recently Indiana Jones has moved into a tie with the futuristic leather clad ex-policeman. I credit the great performance of Harrison Ford as the intrepid professor/archaeologist and my new passion for history as keys for my fondness for Indiana Jones. In recent years, I've become a fanatic about historical discoveries around the world: a purported Alexander the Great's tomb, Richard the III's body, medieval coins in an English field, or a new Mayan pyramid in Central America. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and its subsequent sequels have generated a cottage industry of television programming with male and female Indiana Jones type hosts (often wearing leather jackets and fedoras) looking for the next Holy Grail or Hope diamond. And the Indiana Jones series has spawned cable channels like the History Channel, the Smithsonian Channel, and the National Geographic Channel. All thanks to Harrison Ford's performance as the intrepid Dr. Indiana Jones and his quest for real life if not legendary antiquities like the Ark of the Covenant in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is also significant for resurrecting director Steven Spielberg's career. Spielberg had made two successful blockbusters with JAWS (1975) and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1978) but had gone over budget in both. His next film, the bloated WWII comedy 1941 about a supposed Japanese invasion off the coast of northern California was critically and financially a disaster. Other distinguished filmmakers like Francis Coppola with ONE FROM THE HEART (1981) and Michael Cimino with HEAVEN'S GATE (1980) had also made expensive, over budget flops. Studios were now wary of these wunderkind directors. Rescuing Spielberg was fellow wunderkind George Lucas, fresh off his success with STAR WARS (1977) and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980). Under Lucas's guidance, Spielberg would direct one of the greatest adventure films of all time while learning how to stay within budget yet still showcase his masterful cinematic vision.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is a throwback to the short Republic film serials of the 1930's and 40's like SPY SMASHER or FLYING DISC MAN FROM MARS that proceeded the main feature (way before CrazyFilmGuy's time). With a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan (BODY HEAT, THE BIG CHILL) based on a story by George Lucas and fellow filmmaker Philip Kaufman (THE RIGHT STUFF), director Spielberg begins the fun from the moment the Paramount mountain logo dissolves into a real mountain. RAIDERS opens in the jungles of South America in 1936 as Professor Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is on a quest for a small golden statue. Led by local guide Satipo (played by a young Alfred Molina), Jones enters a booby trapped temple where the statue resides. Chased by a giant boulder and dodging poison darts, Indy just barely escapes with his life and the idol only to have it snatched from him by his French archaeological adversary Rene Belloq (Paul Freeman). Indiana loses the relic but escapes Belloq and his spear throwing Novitos Indians.

Indy returns to the States where he's a college professor of archaeology. Waiting for him are two government agents. They want Indy to find the Ark of the Covenant, a chest that supposedly contains the original Ten Commandments, before the Nazis find it. The Ark is rumored to have the Power of  God, the ability to level whole civilizations (hence occult fanatic Hitler's interest). An intercepted dispatch mentions Indy's old teacher Abner Ravenwood. With his friend and museum curator  Dr. Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) blessing, Indy flies to Nepal to search for Ravenwood's daughter and former flame of Indy's Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and locate the headpiece to the Staff of Ra that will help pinpoint the ancient city of Tanis and the location of the Ark. Marion owns a bar in the Himalayas. She tells Indy that her father is dead but she might know where the headpiece resides. Sadistic Nazi S.S. Major Arnold Toht (Ronald Lacey) shows up at the bar to make a similar offer for the headpiece. A gunfight erupts between Indy and the Nazis. Marion's mountain tavern burns down but she had the headpiece on her. She and Indy reluctantly become partners.

Indy and Marion journey to Cairo next to meet up with Indy's friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), the best digger in Egypt. Sallah's been keeping tabs on the dig for the Ark led by none other than Indy's adversary Belloq. Belloq has located the Map Room. Belloq tries to have Indy killed again in an open Cairo market square by sword wielding assassins and Nazis in business suits with machine guns. Indy narrowly escapes yet again. He and Sallah learn that Belloq has part of the headpiece's information but he's digging in the wrong place. Indy secretly descends into the Map Room and using the real headpiece locates the coordinates to the Well of Souls where the Ark rests. Indy, Sallah, and a team of diggers begin digging in the correct location and find the entrance. Indy and  Sallah repel down and secure the Ark. But Belloq along with Toht and Colonel Dietrich (Wolf Kahler) stumble upon their plot. Toht throws Marion into the Well of Souls to join Indy as the tomb is sealed up.

And so begins the epic second half of RAIDERS as Indy and Marion manage to escape the Well of Souls (and deal with Indy's fear of snakes), blow up a German cargo plane fueling up to fly the Ark to Berlin, and chase down on horseback and hijack a truck convoy carrying the Ark. "I'm making this up as I go," Indy confides to Sallah. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK has more action in this 20 minute sequence than most full length films. When Indy gets to Cairo, Sallah has a freighter helmed by Captain Katanga (George Harris) waiting to take Indy, Marion, and the Ark. But Belloq and Dietrich catch them again on the high seas with a U-boat and take them to a secret Mediterranean submarine base on a Greek island. Belloq wants to open the Ark and examine it before sending it to Hitler. Belloq opens the Ark, releasing phantasms and wraiths that obliterate Belloq, Toht, Dietrich, and the remaining German soldiers. Indy and Marion, tied up, close their eyes and escape the Ark's supernatural fury.

The fun of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is it's loving reverence for the cheap Republic Serials and B movie westerns that it pays homage to. Only RAIDERS is made with a talented A list director and a budget 100 times larger. In the tradition of the old time serials, RAIDERS sends Indiana Jones from one cliffhanger to another but all within one movie instead of a 10 minute episode to be continued next week. With the leather jacket, fedora, and bullwhip, Indiana Jones embodies the classic B-movie hero. Spielberg and Lucas show their love for these 1930's and 40's serials from the start, superimposing the Pan Am sea plane flying across a map of the Pacific Ocean, a line detailing its route and final destination -- Nepal. The dashing hero and dastardly villains, the plucky heroine, the sidekicks - they're all stock characters from a Republic cliffhanger serial but with greater depth and characterization for modern audiences.

Like my previous film blog on THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981), RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is another of my all time favorite film that satisfies with the big action sequences as well as the little moments or visuals. One of my favorite big scenes is the opening jungle temple set piece. We see Indy's resourcefulness as he evades traps, traitorous guides, and a giant boulder. I love the little squatting golden idol he risks life and limb for ((based on a real life Chachapoyan Fertility idol that turned out to be fake). My other two favorite set pieces are the bar fight in the Himalayas and Indy and Marion's escape from the Wells of Souls. But great films have small, detailed pleasures too. I love Indy's silhouette (with fedora) against the wall as he enters the Himalayan tavern. The mummified corpses that surround Marion in the Well of Souls. A lone snake that slithers through a hole in Marion's dislodged shoe. The capuchin monkey giving the "Heil Hitler" salute to other Nazis in Cairo. The dust coming off Indy's jacket as he runs away from the Hovitos tribe. Small details that spice up the bigger story and action pieces.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is Spielberg at his most playful, a young filmmaker growing with confidence. I never realized how many gags Spielberg put in RAIDERS. The gags all poke fun and reinvent the clichés from the cheap serials RAIDERS is based on. Toht pulling out a torture weapon only to turn it into a hangar for his coat or Indy settling for just shooting a sword wielding assassin rather than dueling with him stand out. Spielberg shows off his film history knowledge borrowing from two of my favorite directors in a couple of RAIDERS scenes. He borrows a device from Alfred Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) when Indy searches for a large basket containing a kidnapped Marion and enters a bazaar full of men carrying similarly large baskets. In NORTHWEST, Cary Grant disguised himself as a train porter to avoid bad guys and steps onto a train platform teeming with similarly dressed train porters. For the finale of RAIDERS, Spielberg borrows from the great Orson Welles. The giant warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant is finally stored resembles the infinite warehouse that contains the contents of Charles Foster Kane's life in CITIZEN KANE (1939).

The filmmakers also tip their cap to the James Bond films. The opening scenes of RAIDERS and the other Indiana Jones films are almost a separate little movie unto themselves, much like the opening scene for a Bond movie like GOLDFINGER or DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. And the secret Nazi submarine base hidden on a rocky island in the Mediterranean is something Bond's enemy organization SPECTRE would build. In RAIDERS and later INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989), Spielberg portrays the Nazis as cartoonish bad guys. But as Spielberg grew as a filmmaker and an adult, he would grow more serious with the true evil nature of the Nazis regime, displayed in his powerful WWII films SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998).

Sometimes lost in all the praise for Spielberg, Lucas, Kasdan, and Ford are a couple of key contributors to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK'S success.  The sound design and effects by Ben Burtt for RAIDERS are amazing.  It's not often that you notice sound in a film but I remember the punches and bullets sounds used in RAIDERS as unique and unlike any I had heard in previous films. Every punch is bone jarring. The bullet sounds whizzing past Indy were not the stock sound effects from TV westerns. They sounded powerful and dangerous. Burtt's sound effects are exaggerated like the punches but it fits perfectly with the look and feel of this modern version of an old fashioned cheapie serial. And I think the score for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK by composer John Williams is one of his best (yes better than STAR WARS or the HARRY POTTER films). Williams captures the mood of the cliffhanger serials with appropriate villain music when the bad guys show up and a rousing RAIDERS theme song when Indy escapes yet another harrowing predicament.

Many film fans will point to the roguish intergalactic mercenary Han Solo from the STAR WARS series as Harrison Ford's best role but for CrazyFilmGuy, Ford's Indiana Jones is his greatest performance. In fact, I think Indiana Jones is one of the best action characters in film history (along with my other fave Mad Max). Ford is fantastic as Dr. Indiana Jones juggling humor (both physical and non-physical), action, romance, and serious moments where he has to reveal historical and plot exposition with ease. Ford was 39 when RAIDERS came out. He had been a journeyman actor, appearing in small roles in George Lucas's AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) and Francis Coppola's THE CONVERSATION (1974). But Ford hung in there and became a star with STAR WARS (1977) followed by RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. And to imagine that the role of Indiana Jones was first offered to Tom Selleck. The producers of Selleck's hit TV series MAGNUM P.I. wouldn't release Selleck from his duties to make RAIDERS and so Ford was offered the part. The rest is film history.

Spielberg and Lucas round out the RAIDERS cast with familiar but unfamous actors who play their parts to perfection. Karen Allen is tomboy pretty as Indy's old flame Marion Ravenwood, a heroine who reminds us of the drinking, carousing women from a Howard Hawks like ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (1939). Allen looks like a 1940's heroine and her combination of tough sexiness and strength make her the best heroine of the first three Indiana Jones films. Allen would make a triumphant return as an older but still feisty Marion in the 4th installment of the series INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008). She would also appear in John Landis's ANIMAL HOUSE (1978) and John Carpenter's STARMAN (1984).

John Rhys-Davies who plays Indy's friend Sallah may have the most interesting film career arc of all time. His first big breakout film was RAIDERS and Rhys-Davies also appeared in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE. His Sallah brings an exotic quality to series. He's acted in countless films and television series as well as provide his voice for many animated shows but nothing as big as RAIDERS until the deep baritone Welshman was cast as the dwarf warrior Gimli in Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. A nice way to book end his career with two classic movie franchises. Rhys-Davies is still going strong today in films and television.

Watching RAIDERS again makes me think that the casting of English actor Paul Freeman as Indy's nemesis French archaeologist Rene Belloq (with his bad French accent) is on purpose. It would go along with the filmmakers poking fun at the B movie cliffhanger serials and the stock villains in them. Freeman makes Belloq likable and despicable at the same time. Apparently, Freeman is very good at accents but I think he plays Belloq's accent to be funny. Freeman popped up recently in Edgar Wright's HOT FUZZ (2007) and has worked steadily since RAIDERS. He is a key contributor to the film's success. Ronald Lacey who plays SS Major Toht passed away far too early (in 1991). His sniveling, sweaty toad of a Nazi was another good foil for the do-gooder Indiana Jones to battle. Lacey had a small part in LAST CRUSADE as, what else, another Gestapo officer.

With any successful film concept, imitators will follow and there have been many. Robert Zemeckis's ROMANCING THE STONE (1984) with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner was a more modern fortune hunter tale set in Mexico that was a hit and spawned a sequel JEWEL OF THE NILE (1985). More recently, we've seen Ron Howard's THE DA VINCI CODE (2006) with Tom Hanks as a cryptographer chasing down a religious mystery and Jon Turtletaub's NATIONAL TREASURE (2004) with Nicholas Cage as a historian involved with a Templar Knights treasure.  Rumor has it that today's version of Harrison Ford, actor Chris Pratt (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) will take over the fedora and bullwhip in a reboot of the Indiana Jones character. And let's not forget one of the best rides at the Disney Parks -- INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF THE FORBIDDEN EYE. All inspired by Professor Indiana Jones and his adventures.

But if you think CrazyFilmGuy has gone loco about his love for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, you haven't seen anything yet. Take for example, three 12 year olds from Mississippi who made a shot by shot video version of RAIDERS called RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION also in 1981. It took 7 years to complete (and they didn't even film the flying wing fight scene). A few years ago, the three grown up men toured the country showing their fan version at film festivals and local theaters  to great enthusiasm (Spielberg even met them and saw the film). RAIDERS: ADAPTATION filmmakers Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala finally finished their RAIDERS fan film and a documentary about finishing their film is coming soon. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh recently presented RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK on his website in black and white (and no sound) to show how beautifully RAIDERS cinematographer Douglas Slocombe shot the film in high contrast lighting (it's just as good to watch in black and white as color) and to make viewers explore why Spielberg and editor Michael Kahn chose the edits and cut they did. Seeing RAIDERS in black and white is a nice way to take yourself back to the 1940's and imagine what if RAIDERS came out in that era.

Back in 1987, I was backpacking through Europe after college. As I walked around the streets of Florence, Italy I came upon an archaeological dig next to the Uffizi Gallery.  It was the remains of a house from the 13th or 14th century perhaps belonging to the Houses of Nobility of the Ghibelline Party. Standing in the middle of the excavation stood a man in a leather jacket smoking a pipe. All I could think of as I snapped a photo was "that's Indiana Jones." RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is a timeless film that entertains, delights, and surprises with each viewing. But RAIDERS also got the world excited about history and archaeology again. For CrazyFilmGuy, RAIDERS made me appreciate the history and art history classes I took in high school and college. It gives me inspiration when I travel to Europe and view castles and ruins and artifacts that previous archaeologists have discovered from our past. I can run around ramparts and through Roman arches or Greek temples and for a brief moment, pretend I'm Indiana Jones discovering these artifacts for the first time. Thankfully, in most cases, the real archaeologists of today don't need to fend off Nazis or headhunters to do their jobs. Their efforts are important and thanks to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, we're paying a little more attention to what they're doing and finding from our past than we used to.

The Road Warrior (1981) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Everybody has a Top 10 List of their favorite films. Whether you're a movie critic or just a film aficionado, a List emerges from all those films you've watched. Several years ago, CrazyFilmGuy decided to come up with a List. It's really a Top 5 favorite film List (plus an additional three or four more for good measure). I've never written it down and I stopped it at about 1999. The List has to be films that I want to see over and over again. One of my future blogs I will reveal the whole List. But Number One on my list (and perhaps a surprise to many) is George Miller's post-apocalyptic action film THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981), the sequel to his film debut MAD MAX (1979). From the first time I sat in a movie theater and watched THE ROAD WARRIOR (it actually came out in the U.S. in the summer of 1982 along with BLADE RUNNER and E.T. but was released first in Australia the winter of 1981), I was captivated by its sheer visual brilliance in action, editing, cinematography, wardrobe, and storytelling.

With director George Miller rebooting his leather clad hero Max Rockatanksy (and actor Tom Hardy taking over for original Max Mel Gibson) in the new MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015), I thought this would be a good time to compare the best of the three MAD MAX films THE ROAD WARRIOR with the new film as FURY ROAD will be compared to THE ROAD WARRIOR, even if the timeline, according to Miller, is a couple of decades apart. For those unfamiliar with the series, the MAD MAX trilogy is made up of the original, low budget MAD MAX, Miller's first feature film that introduced us to Police Officer Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) who loses his family to a motorcycle gang and chases them down for revenge in his V-9 Interceptor (actually a Ford Falcon). Then, came THE ROAD WARRIOR which is set about 25 years after MAD MAX. The third and least satisfying film although very different is MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (1985), set farther in the future for our wandering hero.

In MAD MAX, society was on the verge of anarchy. In THE ROAD WARRIOR (written by George Miller, Terry Hayes, and Brian Hannant), nuclear war between nations has destroyed cities and sent survivors out into the Australian wastelands to fend for themselves. Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), former policeman, is now a burnt out shell of himself, driving the endless white line highways in search of food and gas while trying to evade the scavengers that prey on the weak. After coming across the crazy Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence) and his Rube Goldberg gyrocopter, the Gyro Captain takes Max (and his loyal Australian cattle dog) to a rocky outcrop. He shows him a ragtag group of survivors led by the swaggering Pappagallo (Mike Preston) defending an oil refinery from a horde of marauders commanded by the muscular Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson), "the Warrior of the Wasteland, the Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah" and his blood thirsty henchman, the red mohawked Wez (Vernon Wells).

After an ill-fated attempt from some of the survivors to hunt for a rig that can haul their prized oil tanker to a new paradise, Max brings a wounded man back to the compound with the hope of receiving some gas for his good deed. But the man dies. Before Pappagallo can discard Max, Humungus and his gang return, promising the survivors safe passage if they give up the oil refinery. The Feral Kid (Emil Minty), a young wild boy, kills Wez's boyfriend the Golden Youth (Jimmy Brown) with his boomerang, enraging Wez. Humungus takes out his rage on his captives at night, torturing and killing his prisoners while Max, Pappagallo, and the others watch in horror.

Max tells Pappagallo that he saw a truck a few days away that could haul their tanker full of fuel. He makes a deal to bring back the truck. Max sneaks out at night beneath the vigilant eyes of Wez and Humungus. On his way to the truck, Max comes across the Gyro Captain again. Working together, Max and the Gyro Captain run the gauntlet of vehicles, bullets, and murderous outlaws camped out and bring the truck cab back to the compound. The survivors are ecstatic and see Max as their savior for getting out alive. But Max is a loner. He passes on a new deal to drive the tanker away to a new home, choosing to take his chances on his own against Humungus. At dawn, Max speeds off into the outback, chased by Wez and his thugs.

Wez along with the Toadie (Max Phipps) cause Max to have a terrible crash down a ravine. Max barely crawls to safety before his car explodes, booby-trapped, killing Toadie trying to siphon his gas. Wez takes off, thinking Max is dead. Seeing the smoke from the compound, the Gyro Captain flies off to investigate. He finds Max half dead and flies him back to the oil refinery. Pappagallo and his people are ready to leave. Max has no choice but to drive the tanker. He has nothing else to live for as his car and dog are both gone. Pappagallo balks at first but Max insists. And so begins one of the great finales (and chase scenes) in film history as Max, Pappagallo, the Warrior Woman (Virginia Hey) and a few others break out with the oil tanker chased by Humungus, Wez, and a bunch of hot rods, tow trucks, motorcycles, dune buggies, and police cars in hot pursuit.

When THE ROAD WARRIOR first came out, I remember critics calling it a post-apocalyptic western, comparing it to SHANE (1953) with Mel Gibson's Max the equivalent to Alan Ladd's lone western hero Shane. It wasn't until I began watching a lot of westerns that I saw that THE ROAD WARRIOR was a futuristic western. Max is the lone gunslinger, devastated by the loss of his wife and son, trying to live on his own and not get attached to any one person, group, or cause. But circumstances pull him into a hero role he tries to avoid. The band of marauders on motorcycles and souped up cars are the Indians, exemplified by the mohawked Wez and his war paint. When they chase Max and the tanker at the film's climax, it's like the Indians pursuing the stagecoach. And the group of survivors behind their fort, guarding and protecting the gasoline are the homesteaders or wagon train fighting off the Indians. Besides the Warrior Woman and Pappagallo, the settlers are not very strong. They're mostly made up of women, old men, and children. Most of the younger men are either meek or crippled. Only Max can lead them to safety.

So why is THE ROAD WARRIOR my favorite film of all time? Let me count the reasons. First, never had cars crashing and windows smashing, metal grinding against metal, and bodies somersaulting through the air or tumbling like rag dolls looked so beautiful on film. Director Miller and Cinematographer Dean Semler's every camera angle and movement is perfect from high angle and aerial shots to up close with the scorched highways and burning rubber hitting the pavement. Some films are glorious to look at but lack a story. Not the case with THE ROAD WARRIOR.

Then, there was my man crush on Mel Gibson who plays Max. THE ROAD WARRIOR would turn Gibson into an international star. He's a baby faced boy in MAD MAX but in THE ROAD WARRIOR, Gibson's the embodiment of cool, decked out head to toe in black leather with that cool Australian accent and spiky hair. I wanted to look and be Mel Gibson as Mad Max. I tried to catch every film that Mel made after ROAD WARRIOR including THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (1983), THE BOUNTY (1985), and AIR AMERICA (1988). I develop these man crushes from time to time. Mel was my first. Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, and Ralph Fiennes in their early years come to mind as other crushes. Ironically, my latest man crush is on Tom Hardy, the actor who replaces Mel Gibson as Max in FURY ROAD. Ever since I saw Hardy in Christopher Nolan's INCEPTION (2010), I'm his biggest fan.

When we choose our favorite films, there are reasons why we love this film or that film. It might be the actors in it or the story or the genre. Those are the big things that make us love a film. But it's also the little things, small visuals that resonate for me in my favorite films. In THE ROAD WARRIOR, it's Max's cattle dog sniffing a dead kangaroo lying next to the rig or low angle shots of the automobiles or the white lines on the highway racing by or a cobra snake insignia on the side of a tow truck chasing Max. Max's loyal dog almost steals the film in the first half of the film, its reactions so human like. And the end of THE ROAD WARRIOR with Max standing alone in the middle of the endless highway as the Feral Kid and the other survivors caravan away, the camera pulling away on the lone hero as he grows smaller and smaller, is priceless and perfect. It's the visual equivalent of the little boy Joey (Brandon De Wilde) in SHANE calling "Shane! Come back!" as Shane rides off only without any dialogue.

Mel Gibson's performance as Max in THE ROAD WARRIOR is more mature, nuanced as he's grown more comfortable in the role. For THE ROAD WARRIOR, director Miller drew inspiration from author Joseph Campbell's book The Hero With a Thousand Faces (more on that later). In the first MAD MAX, Max became a vigilante only after his wife and son are run down by the Toecutter and his motorcycle gang. But by the time of THE ROAD WARRIOR, Max is a loner, a survivor, his loved ones but a distant memory. When Max finds a toy musical box that plays Happy Birthday, a shadow of humanity returns to his face. The song reminds him of his child, a happier time. The Feral Kid will also remind Max of his son, his family. Max will give the music box to the Feral Kid, the most poignant moment in THE ROAD WARRIOR. But Max has no time for love or a relationship anymore. The closest Max gets to a woman is when the Warrior Woman apologizes to him.

The villains in THE ROAD WARRIOR are key ingredients to the film's appeal. The Lord Humungus is mysterious and a bit disappointing as the main heavy. Played by Swedish weight lifter Kjell Nilsson, Humungus looks like a WWE wrestler with a hockey mask that hides scars that may have been caused by a fire or radioactive fallout (we never know). He pontificates a lot to the survivors but his main weapon besides an antique pistol is a sleeper hold that he uses on Wez when the mohawked madman disobeys him. Like Max, Pappagallo, and the others, the Humungus is aware that everyone has lost someone. He tries to be humane, offering Pappagallo and his people safe passage if they'll just give up the oil refinery. But circumstances won't let peace happen, not with a dog of war like Wez around. When Pappagallo refuses the offer and disobeys the Humungus's orders, the real Humungus is revealed, a Humungus that takes no prisoners and intimidates with shock and awe.

But Wez, played by Vernon Wells makes up for the Humungus's shortcomings. Wez is terrifying, relentless, and fearless (he even wears cheekless leather chaps). His weapon of choice is a metal crossbow attached to his wrist. He's Geronimo or Crazy Horse to Max's Shane. Wez, Humungus, and the other scavengers stand out in their quirky wardrobe that's one part Hell's Angels, one part S&M, and one part Nazi storm trooper thanks to costume designer Norma Moriceau. Actor Wells would also appear as a bad guy in John McTiernan's PREDATOR (1985) and spoof his ROAD WARRIOR Wez character in John Hughes's comedy WEIRD SCIENCE (1985).

Director Miller wisely throws in a comic character with the Gyro Captain played by Bruce Spence to give THE ROAD WARRIOR some humor during all the action and chase scenes. Spence is a tall, gangly actor, his appearance resembling a tall bird like a crane or heron. No wonder he likes to fly. He's the closest thing that Max will have to a friend (or "partner" as the Gyro Captain keeps telling Max) since Max and his police buddy Jim Goose from the original MAD MAX. The Gyro Captain waxes nostalgia for the good old days. "Remember lingerie?" he asks Max as he carries gas cans for Max. Spence would make another appearance as a different, shadier pilot in MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME. More recently, Spence (almost unrecognizable) played an alien in George Lucas's STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005).

After THE ROAD WARRIOR, George Miller would make the final Mad Max movie MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (co-directed with George Ogilvie) in 1985 and then completely switch gears. Not many people might know it but Miller would move into children's films and create two very popular children's film franchises about a pig (BABE and BABE: PIG IN THE CITY) and penguins (HAPPY FEET). As for CrazyFilmGuy, I would take a hiatus from my all time favorite film. I decided I wouldn't watch it again until Warner Brothers released a DVD version of THE ROAD WARRIOR jam packed with extras and special features (I'm still waiting Warner Brothers).

In 2001, word leaked that George Miller had a new Mad Max script called MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. But the journey from script to finished film would have as many obstacles as one of Max's incredible adventures. Miller would endure delays due to 9/11 and then the 2006 U.S. invasion of Iraq halting any chance of making the film in the African desert country of Namibia due to safety reasons. Then, plans to film in Australia were halted by Mother Nature who turned Miller's dusty landscape into a green oasis. Lastly, original star (and my former man crush) Mel Gibson would have a career meltdown. By the time the world had calmed down and Miller and company were finally ready to try again in Namibia, Gibson was too old to play the part of Max.

Thank the movie gods for George Miller's perseverance. 34 years since THE ROAD WARRIOR and 30 years since THUNDERDOME, director Miller along with co-writers Brendan McCarthy and Nick Lathouris have given us a new Mad Max tale titled MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. Set several years after THE ROAD WARRIOR but a brand new story, Miller had a bigger budget ($150 million dollars), new technology, and a new Mad Max (Tom Hardy) to throw his creative energy at. FURY ROAD is not a remake but a reimagining of Max Rockatansky to entice a new generation and please us old die hard MAD MAX fans. Although a different story, FURY ROAD has elements, motifs, actors, and scenes that hearken back to the earlier MAD MAX films while taking us on an adrenaline charged new journey of the lone hero, the road warrior known as Max.  Welcome back Max. We missed you.

Director Miller steps on the gas pedal right from the beginning in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD and never stops. Immortan Joe (Hugh Keys-Byrne) is a warlord who rules over the Citadel in this toxic, arid dystopian wasteland. Joe controls the water, the gasoline, and the people. His War Boys, painted white young soldiers, idolize Joe like a god. Immortan Joe keeps five wives ("my property") as prisoners and to produce healthy offspring through rape. Into this maelstrom comes Max (Tom Hardy), living out in the fringes, haunted by the deaths of his wife and daughter. He's hunted down and caught by a War Boys scout party and brought back to Immortan Joe's kingdom where he's hung upside down and hooked up to War Boy mechanic Nux (Nicholas Hoult) as a human blood bag, providing strength to the poisoned, sickly youth.

But Imperator Furiosa (Charlene Theron), a War Rig operator with a mechanical left arm, enslaved by Joe, plots revenge against the evil tyrant, liberating Immortan Joe's five wives and hiding them in her war rig as she makes a run across a hostile environment to bring these girls back to her homeland called the Green Place where she was stolen away as a child. Immortan Joe discovers her treachery and with his gargantuan son Rictus Erectus (Nathan Jones) and his army of War Boy warriors including Slit (Josh Helman) by his side, they pursue Furiosa's vehicle with an armada of monster trucks and supercharged machines. Nux, wishing to gain Immortan Joe's favor, rides with the armada, bringing his blood donor Max with him, stuck on the front of Nux's roadster like a Roman shield.

Immortan Joe and his War Boys race to catch Furiosa while fending off other tribes in the region with just as crazy vehicles (like a dune buggy resembling a porcupine) as them. Furiosa drives into a gigantic sand storm, momentarily losing her pursuers. Nux and Max get separated from Joe's war party. Max attempts to free himself from Nux's chains and finds himself near Furiosa's war rig.  Furiosa and Max square off with each, almost killing one another before they realize they both have a common goal - to escape Immortan Joe's tyrannical reign. Max joins their righteous cause as Furiosa brings her war rig into a canyon ruled by a Rasta-looking Rock Rider tribe. She tries to cut a deal with the bikers as Immortan Joe's fleet draws closer but the deal backfires.

With Max's help, Furiosa and Immorten Joe's stolen harem of Toast the Knowing (Zoe Kravitz), Capable (Riley Keough), the Dag (Abbey Lee), Cheedo the Fragile (Courtney Eaton), and the pregnant Splendid Angharad (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) outduel not only Immortan Joe's army of tricked out trucks and cars but a two other baddies who have joined Joe: the Bullet Farmer (Richard Carter) and the People Eater (John Howard). Nux, left for dead, stowaways on the oil rig and becomes an ally with Max and Furiosa. Furiosa reaches a band of mostly older women called the Vuvalini or Many Mothers from where she was born. This matriarchal motorcycle tribe led by the Keeper of the Seeds (Melissa Jaffer) and the imposing Valkyrie (Megan Gale) have dire news for Furiosa. It's up to Max to rally this ragtag band of mothers, daughters, wives, and outcasts and take the offensive against Immorten Joe.

With 20 plus years to contemplate a new story for his Lone Wolf, anti-hero Max, Miller delivers, conjuring up a hallucinatory, over the top, crazy post-apocalyptic new world for Max to inhabit. FURY ROAD introduces us to the War Boys, kamikaze-like warriors slavishly devoted to the god-like father figure Immorten Joe, willing to sacrifice their lives for the warlord in hopes of reaching Valhalla. But the War Boys and War Pups are sickly, poisoned by their environment, many with tumors on their bodies, destined for short life spans. Blood transfusions from prisoners like Max and pumped mother's milk from Joe's pool of obese wet nurses help keep the pale young men strong and ready for battle.

We're introduced to the villainous Immorten Joe who governs the Citadel with an iron fist, branding all his human property with his death's head insignia on the back of their necks. Five beautiful wives are kept in captivity, iron chastity belts attached to them. They are sex slaves to Immorten Joe, fertile women he will rape so he can breed a stronger brood and one day, a healthy heir.

Miller gives us our first female road warrior in the series in Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). With her head shaved and a bionic left arm, Furiosa proves herself to be every bit an equal to Max. Even Furiosa's cargo, the five young maidens are more than just Victoria Secret eye candy (even if a couple of the actresses actually were Victoria Secret models previously in real life). Each young lady plays a part in their race to freedom, fighting off Immorten Joe's War Boys, reloading Max's shotgun, or aiding Furiosa as she drives.

MAD MAX movies are always about the cars and car crashes and Miller goes steroid in both instances in FURY ROAD. THE ROAD WARRIOR had a small army of vehicles but FURY ROAD brings an armada of war machines with monstrous tankers and rigs, hybrid hot rods and muscle cars, Immortan Joe's Gigahorse (two Cadillac Coupe de Ville's welded on top of each other), killers on giant bending poles called Pole Cats, and even a trailer pulling a death metal guitar player spewing flames from his double necked instrument known as the Doof Warrior (Iota) and four behemoth drummers pounding away on their enormous war drums.  FURY ROAD is an assault on your senses.

Although MAD MAX: FURY ROAD is a reboot of the MAD MAX trilogy, Miller draws inspiration from the first three films, filtering past ideas and images into FURY ROAD. The War Boys with their ghostly white skin and black, hollow eyes seem a homage to a minor character from MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME called Scrooloose, a mute, eccentric boy who was part of the tribe of kids Max stumbles upon. Scrooloose had the same chalky skin and raccoon eyes as the War Boys.

THE ROAD WARRIOR'S Warrior Woman hinted at the possibility of a strong female character and THUNDERDOME'S Aunty Entity (Tina Turner) had her moments. In FURY ROAD, Miller unleashes a full feminine fury starting with Furiosa, the bad ass War Rig driver for Immortan Joe's empire who betrays him. There are other empowered female protagonists in FURY ROAD like the raven haired Valkyrie. Both women could be offspring of the original Warrior Woman from ROAD WARRIOR.

The music box that Max finds on a dead body in THE ROAD WARRIOR makes an appearance in FURY ROAD as Toast, one of the wives, plays with a similar music box. The musical toy reminds them of a simpler, less violent past and hope for the future. Max's V-8 Interceptor makes a brief appearance in FURY ROAD but the car figured more prominently in both MAD MAX and THE ROAD WARRIOR. Unfortunately, there's no Australian cattle dog or much of any animal to be found in FURY ROAD unless you want to count the two headed lizard that Max munches on at the start of the picture.

The most significant nod to the old MAD MAX films is the return of actor Hugh Keays-Byrne as the evil Immortan Joe. Keays-Byrne started it all in 1979's MAD MAX as Toecutter, head honcho of the motorcycle gang that maims Max's friend Goose and murders Max's wife and son. As the aging Immortan Joe, Keays-Byrne still has a crazy head of hair and scary eyes but he's almost Darth Vader-ish  with his breast plate adorned with war medals and a gruesome breathing apparatus and horse teeth mask. Keays-Byrne has come full circle in the MAD MAX pantheon of bad guys. Both Toecutter and Immortan Joe belong in the Mad Max Villain Hall of Fame.

Tom Hardy as the new incarnation of Mad Max in FURY ROAD doesn't make us forget Mel Gibson's Max but Hardy puts his own stamp on the MAD MAX franchise, showing he's the right guy to take over the role. Gibson's Max may have been ever so slightly more vulnerable and humorous. Hardy's Max is indeed a little mad, tormented by nightmares of his dead daughter. Hardy's Max is on the brink of insanity, wrestling with demons inside his head even before he becomes Immortan Joe's captive. But just like Gibson, Hardy looks kick ass in leather as the stoic wasteland wanderer. And his humanity will slowly return over the course of FURY ROAD.

In Imperator Furiosa as played by Charlize Theron, Miller has created one of the strongest female action characters since Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in ALIENS (1986) or Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) in TERMINATOR II: JUDGMENT DAY (1991). Stolen possibly by Immortan Joe as a child and imprisoned, then discarded when she may have been infertile and unable to bear children, Furiosa has plotted for countless years to get back at Joe.  Theron plays her as empowered mother figure to the five young women. Max reluctantly becomes the big brother to Furiosa and the brides. Even though FURY ROAD is a sci-fi action film, the film's theme of oppressed women, white slavery, rape, and human trafficking are taken from today's headlines and atrocities occurring in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and by a terrorist group known as ISIS.

Just like THE ROAD WARRIOR had humor with the Gyro Captain, comic relief in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD is provided by Nicholas Hoult as the War Boy Nux. Enamored by his idol Immortan Joe, Nux aches to impress Joe. But Nux is a failure. He starts out as a bad guy but turns good when surrounded by all the women of FURY ROAD. Nux is like a teenager hitting puberty. Hoult gets all the best bits of what dialogue there is in FURY ROAD and he makes Nux very sympathetic and ultimately heroic.

The MAD MAX films are not necessarily known for their music but music has played a role in all the films. In MAD MAX, the Night Rider quotes from AC/DC's song Rocker. It might just be me but in THE ROAD WARRIOR, I always thought the Mechanic looked like the lead singer from Air Supply and the Gyro Captain's Girl with her headband and ponytail sort of looked like Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME cast singer Tina Turner as Aunty Entity and featured two great songs on the soundtrack by Turner. But MAD MAX: FURY ROAD goes full throttle with a traveling rock guitarist and drummers following the chase, providing musical inspiration. FURY ROAD is a rock opera during the almost full length chase with Immortan Joe the mad rock star. Miller even casts the offspring of rock legends in key roles. Zoe Kravitz who plays Toast is the daughter of rock musician Lenny Kravitz. Riley Keough who plays Capable is the granddaughter of none other than the King -- Elvis Presley. And kudos to FURY ROAD'S composer Junkie XL whose music adds to the film's tension and action immensely.

Besides director Miller, compliments to the entire producing and production team behind MAD MAX:FURY ROAD.  Miller coaxed veteran Australian cinematographer John Seale (THE ENGLISH PATIENT) out of retirement and the results are stunning. Seale's color palette of burnt orange for day scenes and cold blue for night scenes are magnificent. Editor Margaret Sixel's cutting of FURY ROAD is impressive and may win her an Oscar. And let's not forget production designer Colin Gibson who's insane array of cars and trucks lives up to the MAD MAX tradition.

I've always been surprised that there weren't more post apocalyptic films after THE ROAD WARRIOR and THUNDERDOME.  I think ROAD WARRIOR definitely influenced some of the crazy characters in the Coen Brothers RAISING ARIZONA (1987). THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise owes its car chases (no matter how unbelievable) to the MAX films. Kevin Reynold's WATERWORLD (1995) was a water version of THE ROAD WARRIOR (and even had the same cinematographer Dean Semler). Neil Marshall's DOOMSDAY (2008) mixed zombie plague, King Arthur, and a ROAD WARRIOR like car chase finale. The closest film to the MAD MAX series I've seen and liked was the Hughes Brothers THE BOOK OF ELI (2010) with Denzel Washington. But Miller's MAD MAX films are tough to top.  And Miller has added to the series with maybe his masterpiece in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. I dare another filmmaker to top FURY ROAD (and if they do, then it will be a good thing for moviegoers).



Director George Miller (center) surrounded by Mad Max both past and present: Mel Gibson on the left and Tom Hardy on the right.

With the character of Mad Max Rockatansky, as played by both Mel Gibson in THE ROAD WARRIOR and now Tom Hardy in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, George Miller has created maybe one of the greatest anti-hero characters in film and an incredible mythology around Max and his world that has no limits. Miller explained the hero mythology influenced by Joseph Campbell's book The Hero With a Thousand Faces in an interview in the 1982 July/August issue of Film Comment.  "The hero in all these classic stories is always a lone, fairly amoral seeker wandering a dark wasteland. Most of the time he's not aware of his purpose. There's no real hope for him but, because of some particular talent he's got - like Max's skill on the highway - he's able to give to a new order. Life goes on." THE ROAD WARRIOR has a new bigger brother to join it in the film universe and that big brother's name is MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. Long live Mad Max!