The Omega Man (1971)

With the Coronavirus (otherwise known as COVID-19) dominating the headlines for the foreseeable future, CrazyFilmGuy has decided to stick with current events and revisit a virus themed film he first watched as a young boy at his grandparents house in Fresno, CA in the early 70s. Boris Sagal's THE OMEGA MAN (1971) was my first encounter with a film about a pandemic that wipes out most of mankind (except for the king of sci-fi movies at the time, star Charlton Heston). Based on the novel I Am Legend by renowned horror/sci-fi author Richard Matheson, his book has been adapted into a film three different times.

The first version THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964) was made in Italy starring Vincent Price with a script by Matheson himself (although unhappy with the result Matheson used the pseudonym Logan Swanson for his credit) that sticks with the basic premise: a virus turns most of the planet into vampires except for a few lone humans. More recently, Francis Lawrence's I AM LEGEND (2007) had Will Smith as the scientist who survives the plague and battles nocturnal mutants in an empty New York City. THE OMEGA MAN is the middle child both in production value and when it was released. The more recent I AM LEGEND has the benefit of CGI to create an eerily barren New York City and the terrifying mutants that emerge after the sun sets. THE LAST MAN ON EARTH had the first shot at Matheson's story. Originally to be filmed in England for Hammer Films, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH ended up becoming an Italian production with unimpressive results.

Adapted by the husband and wife writing team of John William Corrington and Joyce H. Corrington and directed by Boris Sagal, THE OMEGA MAN begins with the seemingly last man on earth Dr. Robert Neville (Charlton Heston) riding around a desolate downtown Los Angeles in 1977 with just his Ford Mustang and an automatic weapon.  Its been over two years since biological germ warfare between the superpowers of the world wiped out almost every human on earth. After watching WOODSTOCK in an empty theater for the umpteenth time, Neville emerges from the cinema to discover he's lost track of time. The sun has begun to set. Neville races back to his fortified apartment building before the night's denizens, a group of albino, light averse zombies known as the Family led by their fanatical leader Matthias (Anthony Zerbe) emerge from their nest to attempt to capture and destroy Neville.

In a flashback, we learn Neville worked for the U.S Army as a scientist. As society crumbles, Neville flies away in a helicopter with an experimental vaccine headed for an undisclosed location. The pilot and Neville are overcome by the virus mid-flight and the helicopter crashes. Bloody and about to die, Neville injects himself with the serum which keeps him alive and immune from the plague. Neville is supposedly the last human left alive. Those that did not succumb to the virus have become albino night creatures. When the sun rises, Neville ventures out, scouting for the Family's lair. While trying on some new clothes at a department store, he notices one of the mannequins moving. It's another human, an African American woman. He chases the woman but she eludes him. Neville celebrates the discovery of more humans in a basement bar but he's not alone. He's captured by Matthias and his followers including his second in command Brother Zachary (Lincoln Kilpatrick). Neville is convicted in a kangaroo court judged by Matthias and sentenced to death.

Neville is tied to a wooden wheel in the middle of Dodger Stadium, about to be burned when the floodlights come on, temporarily blinding the zombies. Dutch (Paul Koslo), a former medical student and Lisa (Rosalind Cash), the woman Neville saw in the department store, rescue Neville. Lisa leads him to a motorcycle and they ride off (pulling off some Evel Knevel stunts in the process). Lisa takes Neville to their compound, a house in the hills outside the city. Besides Dutch and Lisa, the other humans consist mostly of young women and children who are seemingly resistant to the virus. Lisa shows Neville her brother Richie (Eric Laneuville) who has caught the virus. He's slowly turning into one of the zombies. Neville takes Lisa and Richie back to his apartment to work on a cure for Richie.

As night falls, Matthias and the Family wait below, calling to Neville, trying to lure him out. Zachary scales the apartment building only to be shot off the balcony by Neville. The next day, Neville and Lisa go to a deserted hospital. Neville provides his blood to create antibodies to create the serum that saved him. They try the serum on Richie and it works. He's human again. Neville reports back to Dutch he has the cure. Dutch promises to swing by Neville's apartment the next morning with the kids and pick everyone up so they can flee the city. But Richie sneaks out to find Matthias and tell him about Neville's cure (which doesn't go well for Richie when he finds the Family's nest). Lisa contracts the virus. When Neville returns to his apartment, Lisa has allowed Matthias and his sect to infiltrate his sanctuary.  As the sun begins to rise, Neville and Matthias wage their final battle for the sake of mankind.

Even though THE OMEGA MAN is post apocalyptic science fiction and takes place six years into the future from the film's 1971 release, the film reflects the social attitudes of the late 60s/early 70s.  All of that went over my head when I watched THE OMEGA MAN as a kid.  I just remember the zombies were scary in their robes and alabaster skin. I remember Heston and Cash jumping the motorcycle over the zombies. I remember the shock of Cash's afro turning from black to white and her eyes becoming dull blue as the virus overtook her. It's incredible the parts of a film you don't recall when viewing it as a kid.  Watching it as an adult, most of THE OMEGA MAN seemed new to me.

Hippie culture oozes from THE OMEGA MAN screenplay. Matthias is a Charles Manson like cult leader. The Family (of light sensitive zombies) are his followers, albino hippies with sores on their faces.  Neville represents the establishment in Matthias's eyes. Ironically, Matthias is shown in flashbacks as a local television anchorman by the name of Jonathan Matthias who witnesses the fall of mankind and blames it on corporations and the military complex. He drops his first name and leads the revolt against the machines, the gadgets, the gimmicks with his plague infected followers (who were all able to pick up matching robes and mirrored sun glasses before the world crashed). They burn material goods. Matthias won't use modern weapons like guns or cars to defeat Neville.  "Do we use the tools of the Wheel as he does?" Matthias asks his followers. "No," they echo back. The Family use catapults and shoot flaming arrows like Crusaders. When they capture Neville, the put a dunce cap on him and lead him to his execution in a wooden cart like some kind of Salem witch. Neville represents the bankers and businessmen of yesterday, now obsolete in this world. "You are refuse of the past," Matthias tells Neville.

Matthias may think Neville represents the material world but Neville's a closet hippie himself. In an extraordinary scene early in the film, Neville goes to a cinema and watches the ultimate hippie film WOODSTOCK (1970) again.  He can quote what few lines of dialogue the film has including the prophetic words from the promoter of the Woodstock music festival Artie Kornfeld who tells an interviewer, "if we can't all live together and be happy, if you have to be afraid to walk out in the street...what kind of way is that to go through in this life?" This is Neville's predicament in this brave new world. Neville would probably smoke dope if he had someone to share it with.  Instead, he drinks bourbon and plays chess with a statue of Julius Caesar, his penthouse decorated with Roman busts from empty museums. Neville may envision himself as a last emperor of mankind.

Charlton Heston was the king of science fiction when he made THE OMEGA MAN.  He was coming off the hugely popular PLANET OF THE APES (1968) and its sequel BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970).  After THE OMEGA MAN, he would star in Richard  Fleischer's SOYLENT GREEN (1973) playing a cop in an overcrowded futuristic New York (as opposed to a barren Los Angeles in THE OMEGA MAN). Then, Heston would move into the disaster film genre with Mark Robson's EARTHQUAKE (1974) and Jack Smight's AIRPORT '75. THE OMEGA MAN wasn't the only film about a contagion either.  It was in competition with Universal's THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1971) directed by Robert Wise (THE SOUND OF MUSIC) based on an early novel by Michael Crichton about a satellite that crashes in New Mexico bringing back an organism that wipes out a small town.

At the beginning of THE OMEGA MAN, Heston's Neville comes off as a narcissist. As the only human supposedly on earth, he looks at himself constantly in his mirror or in shop windows outside. He has inner monologues with himself (something Heston did at the opening of PLANET OF THE APES). He runs shirtless around the streets of Los Angeles while jogging and wears Hugh Hefner like outfits at night. But when Neville encounters other humans, the filmmakers hearken back to Heston's biblical film past when he played Moses or Ben Hur.  Only this time Heston's a Christ-like figure for these few survivors.  When Neville's almost burned in the stadium, he's tied to a wooden wheel with his arms stretched out, crucifixion style.  When Neville tells Dutch and his followers that he has an antidote, a little girl asks Neville, "Are you God?" In the finale (SPOILER ALERT), Neville's impaled with a spear (just like you know who) thrown by Matthias. As Neville dies, propped up against a fountain, the water blood red, he passes to Dutch the precious antidote to stave off the plague for the survivors. The film ends with Neville dying in a Christ like pose again, as if he were on a cross.  Neville has died to save Dutch, Lisa, and the children of the future. He's died for the sins of the world.

Anthony Zerbe who plays Matthias the leader of the Family was a familiar face to me.  It seemed like he was in every television show in the 70s, usually playing a villain. But Zerbe bounced between television and films effortlessly that decade.  He played the leader of a colony of lepers in Franklin J. Schaffner's PAPILLON (1973) and as a murderous army scout in Stuart Millar's ROOSTER COGBURN (1975). Zerbe plays Matthias as a zombie hippy cult leader. He calls his followers in the Family his brothers and sisters. Matthias never raises his voice to them.  Like the TV anchorman he once was, Matthias speaks in a calm, authoritative tone. But Matthias is manipulative.  He wants total control. He doesn't want to return to the old capitalistic, electronic society.  He wants to start a new world from the ashes of machinery. When Richie tells Matthias that Neville has made a cure and they can become human again, Matthias rejects the suggestion, killing Richie. Zerbe's performance in THE OMEGA MAN is creepy and chilling.

Rosalind Cash as Lisa represents the Black Power movement in THE OMEGA MAN. With her classic afro and kick ass, no nonsense demeanor, she's more Angela Davis of the Black Panthers than black exploitation butt kicker Pam Grier. Naturally, Heston and Cash have an interracial love scene that was all the rage in the early 70s cinema. Yet, in a world where there are now very few humans, the color of one's skin doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is to be human. THE OMEGA MAN was Cash's second film credit. She would play strong black female characters in films like Sidney Poitier's UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT (1974) and on numerous television shows. Cash also appeared in the cult classic THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKEROO BONZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION (1984) directed by W.D. Richter.

Paul Koslo who plays Dutch, the drop out Medical student now fighting zombies, in THE OMEGA MAN was an up and coming young actor in the 70s. Neville will become a role model for Dutch and passes the torch to the young man to lead the survivors forward in the finale. Dutch is a nice counterpoint to Neville's alpha male. Koslo's films include the car chase cult film VANISHING POINT (1971) and Michael Winner's THE STONE KILLER (1974) with Charles Bronson before having a long career in television.

Director Boris Sagal does a yeoman's job of alternating between empty downtown Los Angeles streets and the Warner Bros city back lot in THE OMEGA MAN to show a world devoid of life but his camera isn't perfect. In a few high long lens shots of Heston driving down a deserted LA city street, moving cars can be seen crossing intersections or even driving on nearby adjacent freeways.  Sagal even freeze frames one high angle shot so the cars appear to be sitting idly on the street. It looks as fake as it sounds. Sagal would go on to direct the landmark television mini-series RICH MAN, POOR MAN (1976). THE OMEGA MAN reunites Heston with director of photography Russell Metty. Metty's career spanned over four decades and he worked with some of the great directors including Howard Hawks BRINGING UP BABY (1937), Stanley Kubrick's SPARTACUS (1960, and Orson Welles TOUCH OF EVIL (1958) which starred Charlton Heston.

One thing that Hollywood and literary authors are very good at are suggesting future scenarios that could happen. Volcanos erupting near large cities, incredibly tall skyscrapers catching on fire, or voyages to Mars seem farfetched in films yet some have occurred already and some will happen in the future. Yes, there was the Spanish Flu in 1918 but we have not seen a worldwide pandemic in a very long time. We've had some close calls recently with Ebola and SARS. In the last twenty five years, two films had plots involving deadly viruses that barely caused a ripple for movie audiences: Wolfgang Petersen's OUTBREAK (1995) starring Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman and Steven Soderbergh's CONTAGION (2011) with Matt Damon and Kate Winslet.  In today's current climate and stay home orders, both OUTBREAK and CONTAGION have been rediscovered thru Netflix and On Demand, becoming more popular than before in this new era we live in.

THE OMEGA MAN is more post-apocalyptic and horror like in its virus plotline than OUTBREAK or CONTAGION. But Richard Matheson's story, no matter how fantastical, has its roots in fact. While these newer pandemic films plots are ripped right from today's headlines, the virus coming from monkeys in Africa or pigs from Asia, THE OMEGA MAN'S pandemic is brought on by man in the guise of super powers that can no longer get along and resort to germ warfare to destroy one another. THE OMEGA MAN is a time capsule, exploring both the future and the recent, turbulent past. If  Charlton Heston's Neville were alive in 2020 and we had an outbreak, how would he fare in today's world of selfies, Tik Tok, and video games?  He might prefer the good old days of albino zombies instead.

Top Hat (1935)

Back in the day, the phrase "he dances like Fred Astaire" was the equivalent of today's "he's got moves like Jagger." Dancing like Fred Astaire evoked effortless, light footwork as a dancer elegantly glided from one position to another or twirled a partner like they were one and the same. That was Fred Astaire. I knew who Fred Astaire was but I had never seen a genuine Fred Astaire dance film. My first recollection of Fred Astaire was as an animated mailman (in Fred's likeness) on the Christmas television special SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN (1970). And my only live action Fred Astaire encounter was an older Fred Astaire in a non-dancing role in the star studded disaster film THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974). I had not witnessed Fred Astaire at the peak of his popularity when he was dancing...well, like Fred Astaire.

But if we're going to talk about Fred Astaire, we have to talk about his dancing partner and co-star Ginger Rogers.  The platinum haired beauty was the other half of the successful dance team of Astaire and Rogers. They made an engaging cinematic couple, able to dance and sing and act (helped by both their vaudeville backgrounds). Astaire and Rogers would make 9 films together for RKO Pictures including FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933), THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934), and George Stevens SWING TIME (1936). Fred Astaire often danced in a top hat, tuxedo and tails so it seems fitting that TOP HAT (1935) directed by Mark Sandrich (who helmed 5 Astaire/Rogers films) and written by Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott, based on a story by Dwight Taylor, should be my first Fred Astaire dance film.

RKO Pictures appears to have had a regular stock company (in front and behind the camera) that worked together in many of these musical/dance comedies of the 30s. Besides Astaire and Rogers, there's Edward Everett Horton as Astaire's goofy buddy,  Eric Blore playing sarcastic waiters and butlers, Erik Rhodes as the snooty, narcissistic foreign foil (usually Italian), and Helen Broderick as the wise cracking girlfriend/confidante to Rogers. Director Mark Sandrich used this group in three films: THE GAY DIVORCEE, TOP HAT, and SHALL WE DANCE (1937). Even George Stevens cast most of these actors for SWING TIME. Screenwriters Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott either wrote or co-wrote many of these films including THE GAY DIVORCEE, TOP HAT, and FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936). And one of the best collaborators with Astaire, Rogers, and Sandrich was composer and lyricist Irving Berlin who's songs provide the entertainment in these lighthearted, whimsical films.

It doesn't take long into watching TOP HAT to grasp the film's unmistakable universal plot: mistaken identity. Fred Astaire plays Jerry Travers, an American entertainer over in Britain to star in his own London show. His wacky producer Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton) picks him up from the stuffy Thackeray Club (of which Hardwick is a member) and takes him back to his hotel. Jerry's so excited for his show that he tap dances and sings "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)" in Horace's room. His tap dancing wakes up model Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) who's trying to sleep in the room below. While Horace deals with angry hotel managers downstairs, Dale confronts Jerry who's instantly smitten with Dale.

The next day, Dale catches a horse driven hansom cab that Jerry has secretly commandeered. Jerry takes her to her favorite horse stables. Dale goes horse riding but a thunderstorm chases her to cover under a gazebo. Jerry joins her for their first dance duet and the song "Isn't This a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain."  Jerry returns Dale to the hotel. Her room is crammed with flowers (courtesy of Jerry) and an angry Italian fashion designer Alberto Beddini (Erik Rhodes) who also is smitten with Dale. The next day, Dale tries to find out Jerry's name. The hotel clerk mistakenly identifies Jerry as Horace.  Dale is shocked. She's friends with Horace's wife Madge Hardwick (Helen Broderick). Madge believes Jerry's cheating on his wife.  When Jerry approaches her in the lobby, Dale slaps him in full public view.

Horace hides Jerry in his hotel suite, afraid of bad publicity.  Horace orders his butler Bates (Eric Blore) to follow Dale. Jerry performs his show on opening night. Afterward, he discovers Dale has flown off to Venice, Italy with Alberto (and Bates hot on their trail). Jerry catches the next flight out to find her, taking Horace with him. In Venice, Dale confides to Madge (who was vacationing there) about Horace's philandering but Madge seems nonchalant about the accusation. It doesn't sound like the Horace she knows (because it's actually Jerry). With Madge's blessing, Jerry dances with Dale to "Cheek to Cheek." Later, Alberto proposes to Dale.  Confused by Madge and Horace's seemingly open marriage, Dale accept Alberto's proposition and they are hastily married. Madge punches Horace when he shows up for dinner (she's more ticked off then she let on to Dale). Jerry referees an apology between Horace and Madge and deduces that Dale thinks Jerry is Horace.

Armed with this new knowledge, Jerry sets about to disrupt Dale and Alberto's wedding night. He bursts into their honeymoon suite, upsetting Alberto. After he's kicked out of the room, Jerry takes the suite above them and tap dances thunderously, interrupting the newlyweds night of passion. Alberto races upstairs with a sword to fight Jerry only to encounter Horace. Jerry sneaks downstairs and takes Dale on a gondola ride to explain that he's not Horace but Jerry. Alberto, Horace, and Madge chase after them on a speedboat only to get lost in the fog. Dale's happy to find out Jerry's not an adulterer but she reveals to Jerry she's now married to Alberto. TOP HAT ends with a surprise twist that will solve Dale's situation and bring Jerry and Dale back together.

TOP HAT is a musical comedy about mistaken identity but it also fits into another genre that was wildly popular in the 1930s -- the screwball comedy.  Directors like Howard Hawks and Preston Sturges and Ernst Lubitsch were making screwball comedies in the 30s with great actors and outrageous plots but they didn't have one ingredient that TOP HAT has -- a couple like Astaire and Rogers that could sing, dance, and play comedy. TOP HAT has all these elements. Astaire and Rogers have several dance/song numbers together.  The early sequences are excellent and exhibit why they made a fetching pair. The finale "The Piccolino"is a bit of a letdown, more of a group dance number than a showcase for Astaire and Rogers.  Irving Berlin's songs are catchy and light, just like Astaire and Rogers dancing.  And the film has many wonderful gags and humorous moments. Each player has their moment to shine or get a laugh.

Before watching Fred Astaire dance in TOP HAT, the only dancing actor I had really watched was Gene Kelly in films like Vincent Minnelli's AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951) and Stanley Donen's SINGING IN THE RAIN (1952).  Whereas Kelly was a compact, athletic dancer, Astaire is tall and elegant. One surprising aspect about Astaire is that he's cast as a ladies man. He's certainly attractive but not in the classic way.  Kelly was better looking but could play modest and shy very well.  Astaire is cocky and confident. I first noticed this about Astaire while watching HOLIDAY INN (1942) with Bing Crosby. I expected Crosby to be the lady killer but it was Astaire who was the cocky one. Astaire and Kelly would make one film together called ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1945) dancing together in a sequence directed by Vincente Minnelli called The Babbit and the Bromide. They would also dance together in the MGM musical retrospective THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II (1976).

Ginger Rogers has that 1930s look for actresses from Jean Harlow to Mae West: platinum blonde hair and big eye lashes. Throw in the curls and a mole on her chin to separate Rogers from the rest. Rogers also had versatility. In TOP HAT, her dance duets with Astaire are beautiful but the two have a genuine chemistry whether it's a romantic scene or a comic one. Rogers wasn't just a dancing actor. She went on to act in more films, winning an Academy Award for Best Actress in Sam Woods' KITTY FOYLE (1940) and garnering excellent reviews in Garson Kanin's comedy TOM, DICK, AND HARRY (1941).

TOP HAT is a screwball comedy with lots of music and dancing. Astaire and Rogers costars in TOP HAT provide much of the comedy and worked with many of the great screwball comedy directors before and after.  Edward Everett Horton made a career out of playing the lead character's best friend or acquaintance. In TOP HAT, Horton plays Astaire's nervous producer/friend Horace Hardwick. He's not so much Astaire's wingman as his fixer with mixed results including being mistaken for Jerry by Dale. Horton began in the silent films but made the transition to talkies with his quivering, falsetto voice. Horton had some of the best character names in film: Egbert "Pinky" Fitzgerald in THE GAY DIVORCEE or Homer B. Bitts in HIS NIGHT OUT (1935). Horton would appear in more traditional screwball comedies like Ernst Lubitsch's THE MERRY WIDOW (1934), George Cukor's HOLIDAY (1938), and Frank Capra's ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944).

Horton may have perfected the high strung buddy of the protagonist in screwball comedies but Erik Rhodes (who was born in Oklahoma) found his niche playing European characters with broad accents or dialects. In TOP HAT, Rhodes plays splashy Italian fashion designer Alberto Beddini, who duels with Astaire's Jerry for the hand of Ginger Rogers.  Like Horton, Rhodes would also appear with Astaire and Rogers in THE GAY DIVORCEE as another outrageous Italian character Rodolfo Tonetti. The other Eric in TOP HAT is Eric Blore. Blore perfected the sarcastic servant whether it be a waiter or a butler. In TOP HAT, Blore as Hardwick's man servant Bates steals every scene he's in. Blore would work with the great comedy director Preston Sturges in THE LADY EVE (1941) and later provide the voice for Mr. Toad in Disney's THE WIND AND THE WILLOW (1949). Lastly, Helen Broderick as Hardwick's wife Madge is another delicious comic character. Broderick was wonderful with her deadpan delivery. Broderick would appear with Astaire and Rogers in SWING TIME as well.

Special mention goes to the RKO Art Department (Van Nest Polglase gets the screen credit for TOP HAT) for their beautiful, opulent sets especially the Venice set complete with canals and gondolas and Dale and Alberto's bridal suite. They are huge and minimalist allowing room for dancing or comedic action on a grand scale.  TOP HAT and many of the other Astaire/Rogers films were a diversion for an audience that was just coming out of the Great Depression. The stories transported moviegoers to Rio, London, Venice, and New York. Astaire and Rogers made audiences forget their troubles for an hour and a half, swept up in their graceful, synchronized movements. The rich were portrayed as foolish fops and the servants got all the funny lines. I tip my hat to TOP HAT and its stock company of performers and especially Astaire and Rogers who dazzled audiences for a good decade. Check out TOP HAT or any of the other Astaire/Rogers films for a nice distraction in these unusual times.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

It was the cover of a program that was promoting a German Film Festival at my favorite second run movie theater in Northwest Portland that first caught my attention to AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD (1972). The photograph on the program terrified me. On the cover was a crazy eyed Spanish conquistador with white hair coursing from underneath his helmet, gazing intensely to his right off camera. Later, I would see a larger version of that photo (it might have been the film's movie poster) only the conquistador was clutching a young girl's head in front of him. Her expression wasn't terror but it wasn't happiness either. I had no idea what the film was about or who made it. I had no intention of ever watching it even as I was mesmerized by this one image.

Jump ahead maybe ten or fifteen years and I stumbled across AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD on television of all places.  Not the network channels or a cable channel.  It was on our local Public Broadcasting channel. I turned it on just when a soldier was decapitated. As his severed head lay on the ground, he spoke a final word. I was hooked.  It turned out I had caught the last quarter hour of the film.  I eventually rented it and watched the film in its entirety. AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD is an amazing adventure film, shot on location in Peru, written and directed by German director Werner Herzog during his most creative period in the 1970s. It turns out that the young girl held by the conquistador is his daughter in the film. AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD would be a cinematic calling card for Werner Herzog but the film would also catapult a little known German actor named Klaus Kinski (more well known as the father of actress/model Nastassja Kinski) into international fame. Herzog and Kinski would make five films altogether. During those five films, they often wanted to kill each other when they weren't enjoying each other's creative company.

Although a work of fiction, AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD incorporates historical events and real people like Aguirre and Pizarro. Herzog tells his hallucinatory tale through the words of the only supposed account of this lost expedition, a diary kept by the monk Gaspar de Carvajal (Del Negro) who narrates most of the film. It's December 1560 and Spanish explorer Gonzalo Pizarro (Allejandro Repulles) and his Spanish army of conquistadors have trekked over the Andes after obliterating the Incan empire. Pizarro is in search of the legendary city of gold known as El Dorado. As the expedition comes down a steep, twisting Incan trail, they are met by a swollen, raging river.  The jungle is thick. Their cannons become stuck in the mud. Rations are beginning to dwindle. Pizarro orders rafts built. He decides to send a smaller party of forty soldiers accompanied by a few Indian slaves to scout down river for the fabled golden city.

Pizarro puts in charge Don Pedro de Ursua (Ruy Guerra) to lead the survey party. It's not a popular choice. Ursua brings along his mistress Dona Inez de Atienza (Helena Rojo) against Pizarro's wishes. Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski) is chosen as second in command. Accompanying Aguirre is his fifteen year old daughter Flores (Cecilia Rivera). The hefty Don Fernando de Guzman (Peter Berling), representing the House of Spain, the priest Gaspar, and Guzman's personal slave Okello (Edward Roland) are also part of the group. The rafts head down the river.  The party encounters some big rapids early on.  One of the rafts becomes stuck in an eddy, unable to push back into the main river. Ursua sets up camp across the river from the helpless soldiers. He sends out a group to try and rescue them against Aguirre's protests. At night, there's an explosion where the stuck raft lays. The next day, the search party reaches the raft.  Every one on board is dead.

Ursua wants to retrieve the bodies to bury but Aguirre knows this is madness. There are hostile Indians hiding on either side of the river. Aguirre quietly orders the raft and bodies blown up by cannon fire. Ursua decides to turn back to rejoin Pizarro. Aguirre has Ursua shot, wounding him and several others. The hefty Guzman is placed in charge but it's really Aguirre and his right hand man Perucho (Daniel Ades) manipulating the soldiers. They convict Ursua of treason but keep him alive. The expedition will continue. The party comes across a deserted Indian village on the bank of the river.  Signs indicate the inhabitants are cannibalistic. Aguirre and the rafts move on. The river slows, providing the unseen Indians opportunity to shoot their poison darts at the boat, picking off the soldiers one at a time. A canoe rows out to the raft from the shore, carrying two members of the Yagua tribe. One of them wears a gold necklace around his neck. Aguirre and the search party believe El Dorado must be close.

The gluttonous Guzman proclaims the land in the name of Spain. Guzman mysteriously dies soon after. The expedition begins to descend into madness. On Aguirre's orders, Ursua is led away into the jungle and hanged. The party drifts past another cannibal village where they're attacked by arrows. The soldiers go ashore and burn the village.  In the confusion, Ursua's mistress Dona Atienza wanders into the woods, never to be seen again. Aguirre threatens anyone who tries to desert with death but his men are hungry and feverish. Soon, even Brother Gaspar and Aguirre's daughter Flores are mortally wounded by arrows. Aguirre pushes on, his raft overrun with monkeys, as he alone searches for the mythical El Dorado.

From Herzog (and cinematographer Thomas Mauch's) opening long shot of conquistadors, Incan slaves, and pack animals winding down a steep Peruvian mountain (actually filmed near the ancient Incan cloud city Machu Picchu), we know we're in for a haunting, mystical adventure.  With period costumes, cannons, and rugged locations, it's hard to imagine that Herzog made the film for $360,000. Herzog used just one 35mm camera that he stole from a Munich film school and had a film crew of only eight people. But like another Herzog film set on a Brazilian river 1982's FITZCARRALDO (also starring Klaus Kinski), Herzog gets a lot of mileage out of filming on a floating set. He can just reposition his actors around the raft in AGUIRRE and there's always interesting scenery as they float by.

Watching AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD as the Spanish exploratory party floats down the Peruvian river, attacked by spears and poison darts from unseen savages, I couldn't help but think of another film that takes place mostly on a river and encounters a faceless enemy - Francis Coppola's Vietnam War epic APOCALYPSE NOW (1979).  Like APOCALYPSE NOW'S American soldiers, Aguirre and his Spanish conquistadors fight not only inhospitable Indians but fight among themselves and venture into madness the farther into the jungle they go. Coppola has been quoted that AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD strongly influenced him in the making of APOCALYPSE NOW. In AGUIRRE, the men see a boat lodged high up in a tree.  Is it a figment of their imagination or an actual boat lifted to the top by high water?  In APOCALYPSE NOW, as Willard and his crew get closer to Colonel Kurtz's compound, they pass burnt out helicopters and fighter planes stuck in trees. Ghostly, hellish images that Coppola may have found inspiration in from Herzog's AGUIRRE visual style.

APOCALYPSE NOW was based on Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness set in the African  Congo but AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD'S journey echoes some of Conrad's story. In the novella, the protagonist Marlow seeks the god-like ivory trader Kurtz  and meets him farther down the river. In AGUIRRE, it's Aguirre who starts to believe he's a god while on the river. Aguirre quietly undermines Ursua, ordering new rafts to be made without Ursua's knowledge when their original rafts float away at night after the river rises. Aguirre has Ursua arrested for treason when Ursua decides to turn back from the mission and rejoin Pizarro. Aguirre has more on his mind than finding El Dorado (which he may not even believe exists). Aguirre has decided he wants to conquer this South American jungle single handedly, throwing out the Spaniards. By the end of the film, still floating aimlessly down the river on a makeshift raft, his crew dying, dead, or feverish, Aguirre and his army of monkeys push on as Aguirre dreams of marrying his daughter and starting a new dynasty in this inhospitable land.  To quote Kurtz from Heart of  Darkness, "The horror...the horror."

AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD is an impressive film to view with its exotic locations and historical based plot but it's the performance of the kinetic, volcanic Klaus Kinski as the ruthless Don Lope de Aguirre that brings AGUIRRE to another level and made Kinski an international film star. Kinski had appeared in minor roles in some noteworthy films like Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964) and David Lean's DR. ZHIVAGO (1965). With his expressive blue bulging eyes and golden locks cascading down from his conquistador helmet, Kinski as Aguirre snarls, hisses, cajoles, and intimidates officers and soldiers alike. He walks like a hunchback at times but he's no cripple. He's a battle tested warrior. Yet for all of Aguirre's Machievellian tendencies, he's also a doting father to his fifteen year old daughter Flores, brushing her hair or showing her a rare pgymy sloth he found in the jungle. Kinski and director Herzog would have a turbulent relationship making AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD yet the two of them would make four more films together including WOYZECK (1979); a remake of F.W. Munrau's classic NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE (1979), and FITZCARRALDO.

The rest of the cast of AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD may not be as famous as Kinski but they are uniformly good. It's an international cast: Helena Rojo who plays Ursua's loyal mistress Inez is Mexican; Ursua was played by Portugese actor Ruy Guerra; Del Negro as the priest Gaspar is American; German Peter Berling who was also a director and appeared in Herzog's FITZCARRALDO appears as Guzman, the delusional representative for the kingdom of Spain on the raft; and Aguirre's daughter Flores was played by Peruvian actress Cecilia Rivera. All the cast and extras deserve special credit for surviving such an arduous production and giving high quality performances.

The 1970s would be Werner Herzog's most creative decade. He became an internationally known director with AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD and led a wave of new German filmmakers that included Rainier Werner Fassbinder and Wim Wenders onto the cinematic scene.  Today, Herzog bounces between commercial films like RESCUE DAWN (2006) starring Christian Bale and BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS (2009) with Nicholas Cage and making numerous documentaries on subjects as diverse as GRIZZLY MAN (2005) about doomed grizzly bear advocate Timothy Treadwell, CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (2010) an intimate look at man's earliest known paintings in southern France, or a documentary series ON DEATH ROW (2012-13) about death row inmates. Herzog even finds time to act occasionally, appearing as the bad guy in the Tom Cruise action film JACK REACHER (2012).

Herzog actually combined two real life Spanish expeditions into AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD'S plot. In 1541, Gonzalo Pizarro did lead an expedition of 200 Spaniards and 4000 Indians into an unchartered area east of Quito, Ecuador. In AGUIRRE, Pizarro sends Ursua to continue the search for El Dorado.  In reality, Pizarro sent his lieutenant Francisco de Orellana to look for provisions for their large group.  Orellana and his brigade of fifty soldiers realized they could never make it back to Pizarro. Instead, Orellana explored the Amazon region. Pizarro would barely make it back alive to Quito in 1542. AGUIRRE'S  plot also borrows from the real life Lope de Aguirre. Aguirre joined an expedition led by Pedro de Ursua in 1560 to search for El Dorado. Ursua and Fernando de Guzman would be killed by Aguirre in a rebellion during the quest. Aguirre would raid several towns and murder his daughter Flores before he was caught and executed by the Spaniards in 1561. Herzog weaves pieces from both historical accounts into the film while making AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD his own original story as well.

The actual movie program with the image from AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD that captivated me as a youth.

As I've watched AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD a few times again recently, I've stared at that image of Aguirre and his daughter on the cover of the DVD that captivated me those many years ago. Gazing at the photo (which is taken from a scene in the film), I noticed something for the first time. Aguirre's daughter Flores has an arrow sticking out of her (which occurs toward the end of AGUIRRE). I was always staring at Kinski's face and his daughter Flores expression, trying to figure out if she was terrified of him, was he hurting her, or what their connection was? All these years the arrow sticking out of her chest eluded me. Until now.  That single photo for AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD is one of the great posters of all time.

Even today, AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD is a milestone in guerilla filmmaking, made by a young German filmmaker named Werner Herzog who was determined to get his vision onto celluloid and projected onto movie screens around the world.  AGUIRRE is an adventure film, a mystical film, a story of ambition and madness that we've seen from Shakespeare to the samurai period to modern battle fields. There's no CGI or rear projection as the actors climb down a steep mountain or stand on a makeshift raft down a roaring river in heavy armor.  AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD is real filmmaking and as impressive today as it was in 1972.

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 and 1962) and The Bounty (1984)

The plight of Captain William Bligh, Fletcher Christian, and crew of the HMS Bounty has tantalized Hollywood for almost fifty years.  The true story of a group of English sailors who commit mutiny in the South Pacific to escape their tyrannical captain has inspired four different film versions beginning with Charles Chauvel's IN THE WAKE OF THE BOUNTY (1933) starring a young Erroll Flynn. CRAZYFILMGUY is going to focus on Frank Lloyd's MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935), Lewis Milestone's (with an uncredited assistance by Carol Reed) 1962 remake MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, and more recently Roger Donaldson's THE BOUNTY (1984). One of the draws to MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY are the two meaty roles of the martinet Captain Bligh and the man who leads the mutiny, Bligh's master's mate Fletcher Christian. They are plum roles, sought after by the best. Some of the most distinguished actors in Hollywood have had their shot at playing Bligh: Charles Laughton, Trevor Howard, and Anthony Hopkins.  And some of Hollywood's most dashing leading men have been cast as Fletcher Christian: Clark Gable, Marlon Brando, and Mel Gibson.

Of the two roles, I have found the Fletcher Christian character the harder of the two to figure out. I've watched all three films once and each film (and actor) has a different interpretation of how, when, and why Christian decides to mutiny. There's no denying the dramatic tension between the rigid Captain Bligh and the handsome Christian. The beauty of the South Pacific Islands (and the native women who inhabit them) is another lure to the MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY story.  Besides the two main characters, part of the fun of the three BOUNTY films is spotting the young up and coming actors who play the officers and crew of the HMS Bounty.  So take a sea sickness pill, pull up the anchors, and let's hit the high seas to explore the three different versions of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY.

MGM would bankroll the first two versions of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY beginning with Frank Lloyd's 1935 version.  The source material was the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Three writers (Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman, and Carey Wilson) would craft the screenplay. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) opens in Portsmouth, England in 1787.  We find First Lieutenant Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) bursting into the King George tavern, pressing five men of various degrees of skullduggery (and one innocent man) to join the crew of the Bounty.  Its two year mission is to sail from Portsmouth, England to the South Pacific island of Tahiti, pick up breadfruit plants, and transport them to the West Indies to plant as cheap food to feed the slaves working on English plantations. The captain of the Bounty is the brutal Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton). His officers include Roger Byam (Franchot Tone), a midshipman from a family of sea officers. Bligh's sadistic side is shown early when he orders the flogging of a seaman who's already dead. The ship leaves Portsmouth for the open seas.

Early on, Christian and Bligh butt heads on the treatment of the crew. Bligh wants discipline and punishment if rules and orders are not obeyed. The more compassionate Christian wants to teach and train the new crew. The Bounty barely makes it through some terrible weather. Later, the ship runs into the doldrums (no wind) forcing Bligh to make his crew pull the ship via row boats, rotating the tired men.  The crew are close to exploding under Bligh's tyranny when they finally reach Tahiti.  The natives paddle out to greet the crew.  Bligh meets with the island's chief Hitihiti (William Bambridge) and makes his request for one thousand breadfruit plants. It's paradise for the seamen after their perilous journey. Beautiful women are everywhere, dazzling the sailors like sirens. Hitihiti's granddaughter Tehani (Movita) falls in love with Christian.

The time comes for the Bounty to leave. A few deserters like Burkitt (Donald Crisp) are caught trying to stay on the island. Bligh learns that the breadfruit will need more water than the ship can store.  Bligh cuts the crew's water rations in half. As the ship sails, Bligh accuses Christian of stealing coconuts. But the final straw for the crew is when Bligh orders the perennially drunk but now very ill Dr. Bacchus (Dudley Digges) to the top deck. The beloved Bacchus promptly dies. The crew mutinies and Christian begrudgingly becomes their leader.  Christian puts Bligh and many officers and crew loyal to the captain in a row boat and sets them adrift.  Byam misses the row boat and reluctantly stays on the  Bounty. "We can never be friends again," Byam tells Christian. Christian orders the Bounty to turn around and return to Tahiti.

Bligh and his men eventually reaches East Timor in the row boat. Christian and the mutineers celebrate Christmas in Tahiti. Christian weds Tehani. Life is good on the island until a mysterious English ship appears on the horizon months later. Christian and his men gather their families and sneak away on the Bounty. The English ship the Pandora is captained by none other than Captain Bligh, obsessed with catching Christian.  Byam and Stewart (Douglas Walton) who remain on the island welcome Bligh back only to be thrown into the irons by the tyrannical captain. Bligh wants Christian but Byam doesn't know Christian's destination. Bligh takes Byam, Stewart, Burkitt, and Ellison (Eddie Quillan) back to England to be court martialed. The men are convicted by Lord Hood (David Torrence). Byam rails against the false charges, condemning Bligh's brutality as a sea captain. Christian and his crew reach Pitcairn Island, evacuate everyone onto the island and scuttle the ship where they remain (supposedly) for the rest of their lives. Byam's conviction is overturned with the help of family friend Sir Joseph Banks (Henry Stephenson). Bligh's honor is maintained but his treatment of his crew places a stain on his reputation.

This first version of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY paints Bligh clearly as a sadistic villain yet it had the good fortune of casting Charles Laughton as the Captain. As warped as Bligh is in following English maritime rules to the letter, Laughton makes Bligh sympathetic at times. There's no question about Bligh's character. Clark Gable's Fletcher Christian is another story. We first meet Christian basically kidnapping six men (albeit pirates and thieves except for Ellison who's there for a drink with his wife) from a tavern because the Bounty needs more men. But Christian is portrayed as a tough but fair First Lieutenant who cares more about the men he commands than Bligh. Gable (who shaved his famous moustache for the role) plays Christian in that classic 30s hero role -- dashing and roguish with a hearty laugh (imagine Errol Flynn on the high seas). What makes this MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY interesting is there is a second romantic leading man besides Gable.  Franchot Tone as Roger Byam. The two men become friends, both pursue different women on Tahiti only to see their friendship torn apart by Christian's decision to join the mutineers. Christian's decision to overthrow Bligh comes back to haunt the idealistic Byam who Bligh turns his hatred toward on Bligh's return voyage to Tahiti.

Of the three BOUNTY films, the first and oldest version is the most explicit in showing Bligh's brutality in keeping discipline with his crew. We see an already dead sailor flogged because Bligh had ordered the punishment before the man died. We see another crew member keel hauled (thrown over the bow of the ship and pulled underneath it before he's pulled back up from the stern). This sailor also dies. Byam is forced to sit up in the crow's nest during a ferocious storm for disobeying one of Bligh's orders. Then, we have the unfortunate situation of crewmen Ellison.  Ellison is neither a thief nor a pirate. He's just the wrong person at the wrong time when he's grabbed by Christian and forced to serve on the Bounty. Ellison has a wife and a new child he leaves behind. Forced from his family for two years, Ellison is one of the crew members court martialed for mutiny when Bligh returns and grabs him among others. Ellison had nothing to do with the mutiny. He's an innocent man. The filmmakers soften his situation by allowing him to see his wife and child one last time before he's hung (off screen). Ellison's ordeal is heart wrenching. Officer Byam receives a late pardon but not Ellison or Burkitt.

Clark Gable was on his way to becoming a major movie star, Franchot Tone was an up and coming matinee idol, and Charles Laughton was on an incredible streak of roles including Dr. Moreau in THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932), Henry VIII in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933), and Inspector Javert in LES MISERABLES (1935). But MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY provided a kick start for a few of the supporting actors (although not as many as the next two versions). Donald Crisp as the big chested Burkitt would have a long career in film often playing patriarchs in films like John Ford's HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941) or Anthony Mann's THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955). THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD fans will recognize Herbert Mundin (Much the Miller) as the dim witted cook Smith. Mundin is the one comic role in MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. He ends up with a wife on Tahiti and disappears in the middle of the film, presumably happy to stay on the island. Movita who plays Fletcher Christian's Polynesian love interest Tehani was actually Mexican-Ameican. She would appear in John Ford's FORT APACHE (1948) as a Mexican woman.  Ironically, Movita would become Marlon Brando's second wife. Brando would play Fletcher Christian in the 1962 remake and leave Movita for his BOUNTY co-star Tarita. And rumor has it that James Cagney (who was vacationing on Catalina Island when the cast and crew of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY landed to film the harbor scenes) can be seen in a few opening group shots as one of the crew (I was not able to spot him).

Hollywood's first shot at MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY was a rousing success, garnering six Academy Award nominations and winning one for Best Picture. Made by MGM (the most prestigious studio at the time), MUTINY had great production value, up and coming and established movie stars, and a mixture of drama, action, and some comedic moments typical of big studio films in the 30s. What's unexpected is how vividly director Frank Lloyd depicts Captain Bligh's viciousness toward his crew in the name of English sea law. Neither the 1962 or 1984 versions would be so graphic in showing whippings and keel haulings.  One other item worth noting with this first version is there are two romantic leads in Clark Gable and Franchot Tone.  Fletcher Christian is the only romantic lead in the latter versions.  But in Lloyd's film, Fletcher Christian although played roguishly by Clark Gable is not a choir boy.  He kidnaps men to work on his ship. He breaks from his English officers and supports the mutineers against Captain Bligh. He doesn't sail away to a uncharted tropical island but a rocky, desolate patch of land in an inhospitable part of the world.  The studio needed a second lead to give the audience some hope (even though Tone's Byam almost hangs).

MGM would roll the dice a second time, remaking MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY in 1962.  Based on the same book by Nordhoff and Hall with a new screenplay by Charles Lederer (and several uncredited screenwriters), this MUTINY was an even bigger production as the cast and crew actually filmed in the French Polynesian islands of Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Moorea for all the exterior scenes. Directed by Lewis Milestone (who took over for Carol Reed early during filming), the second MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY would be beset by budget woes, script changes, and the unprofessional behavior of its leading man Marlon Brando who drove cast and director crazy. Yet, MUTINY is a big, beautiful film to watch especially its island scenes. The film is fairly faithful to the first version until its third act where perhaps the offscreen clashes between actor, director, and script rewrites provide an unsatisfactory finale.

Gorgeously photographed in Technicolor by Robert Surtees (THE GRADUATE), the 1962 version of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY lets us know right away that Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando) will be more of a romantic hero than Clark Gable's Fletcher.  Christian arrives to the Bounty in Portsmouth, England Harbor in 1787 escorted by two beautiful women: one French and one English. He's greeted with contempt by Captain William Bligh (Trevor Howard). Christian was not Bligh's first choice to be his second in command on the Bounty. Bligh welcomes gardener William Brown (Richard Haydn) who will be his expert on whether the breadfruit plant can be transplanted from Tahiti to Jamaica to feed the island's slave population. The Bounty leaves Portsmouth for Tahiti. This MUTINY crew are made up more of volunteers and regular sailors than thieves: Seaman John Mills (Richard Harris), Alexander Smith (Hugh Griffith), Seaman Matthew Quintal (Percy Herbert), Seaman Edward Birkett (Gordon Jackson), and Seaman William McCoy (Noel Purcell) among the crew.

The ship is barely at sea when Bligh's zeal for punishment rears its ugly head. Seaman Mills is flogged for allegedly stealing a block of cheese. Bligh is obsessed with completing his mission successfully.  He makes the foolhardy choice (against Christian's reservations) to go West around the Cape of Good Horn (the tip of South America) instead of East and around the Cape of Good Hope (Africa). The Bounty endures four weeks of rough seas and terrible storms, making little head way. Bligh runs the crew ragged. His gamble costs them previous time. In the end, Bligh reluctantly heads East.  He takes his frustration out on the crew. For his part, Christian doesn't really side with either Bligh or the crew. Luckily for everyone, the Bounty finally reaches Tahiti.

The ship is met by hundreds of natives. Upon reaching shore, Bligh meets with the island's chief Hitihiti (Matahiarii Tama). Bligh brings a chest full of gifts for the chief and reveals they have come for breadfruit. While Christian and Brown begin collecting breadfruit samples, the men discover the island's other beauty: the local women of the island. At an extravagant feast, Hitihiti's daughter Maimiti (Tarita) flirts with Christian. Bligh orders Christian to stay away from her which insults Hitihiti. If Christian won't sleep with his daughter, Hitihiti declares no breadfruit for the Bounty. Bligh relents.  After five months of rest, the breadfruit come out of their dormant period. The Bounty prepares to depart. Mills and Quintal try to desert but they're chased down by Christian and Midshipman Ned Young (Tim Seely). Bligh places the deserters in irons as the Bounty sails for Jamaica.

Brown tells Bligh the breadfruit will need more water if they're to survive the voyage. Bligh cuts the crew's water rations.  The men begin to go mad without water, some dying.  Mills becomes an instigator, prodding Christian on how many more men have to die under Bligh.  When Christian tries to give water to one crazed seaman, Bligh kicks the ladle from him. Christian snaps and hits Bligh.  The crew arm themselves and Christian takes command of the Bounty. Christian sends Bligh and some crew members off in a rowboat (they eventually make it to land). The Bounty turns around and returns to Tahiti.  Maimiti joins Christian as do other islanders. The Bounty searches for a far off island to evade the inevitable return of a British ship. Christian discovers Pitcairn Island by accident. The English map makers have it wrong on all the maps. The island is a paradise. But when Christian begins to suggest returning to England to regain his honor and face Bligh at a trial, Mills and the crew will make a rash decision that will have irreversible results for Fletcher Christian.

Many critics and movie fans think Marlon Brando is miscast as Fletcher Christian but I disagree.  I would pay money to see Marlon Brando play a hotel doorman.  Fletcher Christian is a bigger than life historical character and Brando was the bigger than life actor to play him (Brando turned down another big historical character T.E. Lawrence of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA to play Fletcher Christian). Christian is portrayed early on as a playboy, arriving to the docks with two beautiful, fashionable women and wearing a red cape.  In another scene, Brando has Christian wearing a lavender scarf. Christian seems to be at a crossroads of his life. Brando plays him like some of  Brando's other characters: a loner, a rebel. He's got money, good breeding, but is the British navy the place for him. He seems to want to get the voyage over with and get on with his good life.

Captain Bligh as played by Trevor Howard has a chip on his shoulder. He may have had to work harder to get where he's gotten than Christian. He seems jealous of Christian's high born class. Bligh has no sense of humor.  When Midshipman Young laughs at how Bligh walks, Bligh punishes the young cadet. "I'm not a figure of fun," he reminds both Christian and Young. Bligh may also have an inferiority complex. Chief Hitihiti is disappointed it's Bligh and not the more well known Captain Cook who has returned to their island which Bligh notices.  Bligh has anti-social tendencies as well. In one of MUTINY'S funniest sequences Bligh is forced to dance with Maimiti much to his dread.

Even though he objects at times, Christian puts up with Bligh's overhanded discipline. He acknowledges Bligh's authority even though Bligh senses contempt from him. But when Bligh emasculates him in front of the men, Christian snaps, striking Captain Bligh and altering his future forever. After his actions, did Christian make the right decision or did Bligh goad him and get under his skin? Bligh was all about the mission and not his men. More sailors may have died unnecessarily if  Christian doesn't act. But Christian sulks and hides in his quarters after the mutiny. The crew respect Christian for his decision, not fully realizing the sacrifice he made for them. In the end, when the Court Martial Judge (Henry Dashiell) excuses blame for Bligh for losing his ship, he condones Bligh for his excessive zeal toward his crew. Bligh's career is finished and his chance to pursue Christian done.

Besides Brando and Howard, Richard Harris (CAMELOT) is sneaky good as Seaman John Mills. He starts out the movie as a lazy sailor, trying to avoid any hard work. But when he's flogged for allegedly stealing cheese, Mills changes.  He doesn't want to go back to the Bounty and Bligh once he experiences Tahiti. Thrown in irons for trying to desert, Mills will be the provocateur that encourages Christian to mutiny. In a way, Mills is like Judas in that he will betray Christian at the end of the film. Movie fans will recognize some of the other crew members from various films: Percy Lambert (THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI and MYSTERIOUS ISLAND), Gordon Jackson (THE GREAT ESCAPE and TVs UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS), Hugh Griffith (BEN-HUR and TOM JONES), and Richard Haydn (THE SOUND OF MUSIC). Harris was the first actor of the first two BOUNTY films to receive third billing.

After viewing the first two MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY films, there are some facts and falsehoods to separate.  Captain Bligh would not return right away to Tahiti like he did in the first MUTINY film to pursue Christian. It would be several years and Christian long gone before Bligh made it back to the South Pacific and successfully complete his breadfruit mission.  Unlike its depiction in the second MUTINY film, Pitcairn Island was not a tropical paradise but a fairly inhospitable island.  As to what happened to Fletcher Christian and the mutineers, history does not have a firm decision. Some say Christian was murdered on Pitcairn Island by either the crew or the natives that came with him.  Other reports say that Christian returned to England incognito and visited his family. It's a mystery that may never be answered.

THE BOUNTY (1984) directed by New Zealander Roger Donaldson would be the third version of this tale. Produced not by MGM but by Producer Dino De Laurentiis, this version would not be based on the Nordhoff and Hall book but a different book called Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian by Richard Hough. The screenplay is by renowned screenwriter Robert Bolt (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS) and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA director David Lean was originally attached to direct. One could see how the strong personalities of Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian would appeal to Lean. But Lean would have to drop out of the project and up and coming director Donaldson would helm the film instead.

THE BOUNTY is unique in that it begins with Bligh's naval hearing upon his return to England from having his ship taken from him and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the HMS Bounty and its mutiny.  Bligh appears before Admiral Hood (Laurence Oliver) and the suspicious, inquisitive Captain Greetham (Edward Fox). The first two films had Bligh's hearing near the end of each film. And breadfruit are barely focused on in this version. The other interesting take from THE BOUNTY is that the film begins with Lieutenant William Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) and Fletcher Christian (Mel Gibson) as friends. Christian has dinner at Bligh's home and plays with Bligh's children. Bligh has been assigned this mission to bring breadfruit from Tahiti to Jamaica to feed the West Indies slaves. Bligh wants to make his mark before he becomes too old. He asks Christian to be his Master's Mate. Sailing Master Mr. John Fryer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is Bligh's second command but Bligh wants Christian with him as Christian has connections that Bligh does not.

Early in the voyage,  Bligh's portrayed as more lenient, crew friendly. But when the brutish Churchill (Liam Neeson) and Quintal (Neil Morrissey) complain about a dancing exercise ordered by Bligh to stay fit, Bligh has both of them gagged for insubordination until Christian asks for leniency. Bligh's seamanship is questioned by Fryer when Bligh decides to go around Cape Horn instead of the Cape of Good Hope. After 31 days of grueling winds and storms and nearly capsizing and just 85 miles to show for it, Bligh turns around. Bligh loses faith in Fryer and makes Christian his second in command. Morale is low until the Bounty reaches Tahiti. This BOUNTY has no problem showing the native women topless as the islanders paddle out to greet them. Bligh meets with King Tynah (Wi Kuki Kaa) and explains their mission. The Bounty has to wait for the breadfruit to grow allowing the crew and island women to become close. Christian begins a relationship with the King's daughter Mauatua (Tevaite Vernette).

As Christian falls in love with Mauatua and falls under the spell of her and the island, his relationship with Bligh begins to splinter. Christian spends more time on the island than on the ship, angering Bligh who eventually orders Christian to return. As the ship prepares to leave with its cargo of breadfruit, tensions grow on the island. The alcoholic Dr. Huggan (Malcolm Terris) is found dead, tormented by some locals. Churchill tries to desert only to be caught by Bligh and Cole (Bernard Hill). Christian sneaks back to the island to say goodbye only to learn that Mauatua carries his child. Churchill is flogged in front of the crew. As the ship continues its voyage, Bligh begins to go a little mad, complaining that the ship is filthy, having Christian order the men to scrub and scrub again the decks. When Christian takes one of Bligh's coconuts, Bligh puts the crew on half rations. Mr. Young (Philip Davis) suggests to Christian to take the ship. Bligh considers trying to take on Cape Horn again. The crew are at a breaking point. Christian leads the revolt, grabbing Bligh and Fryer.

The crew are ready to kill Bligh, Fryer, and Cole but Christian intervenes. There will be no slaughter of the officers. Bligh feels betrayed by his friend. Christian sends Bligh and his men off in a row boat.  For the last third of the film, THE BOUNTY alternates between Bligh and Christian's journeys.  Bligh and his men stop on a different island for supplies and barely escape hostile natives. Christian and his mutineers return to Tahiti to pick up food and their women.  King Tynah is shamed by Christian's actions. It means King George will send more ships to his island, searching for Christian.  Both men have troubles on their respective boats. Bligh's men are dying of thirst and hunger when they crawl into East Timor. Bligh will make it back to England and face his peers. On the Bounty, the crew begin to turn on Christian as he vainly tries to find an island for them to inhabit. Christian puts his trust in his maps and stumbles across Pitcairn Island. Christian, Adams (Philip Martin Brown), Young, Mauatua, and the rest of the crew land on the island and burn the Bounty, ensuring they will never leave.

THE BOUNTY puts a little more emphasis on Bligh than Christian in this version. Bligh is humanized. We see him at dinner with his wife (Sharon Bower) and his kids. We also see that Bligh and Fletcher Christian are friends. Bligh asks Christian to join his mission and later promotes him after Fryer questions Bligh's sailing choices. It's only when Fletcher falls in love with Mauatua and begins to go native in Tahiti, neglecting his second in command duties does Bligh begin to turn on him.  Bligh's embracement of discipline and punishment may stem from his Puritan background. Bligh begins to go a little mad from the heat. He may be jealous of Christian's lifestyle and attitude. But in the end, THE BOUNTY does not paint Bligh as responsible for losing his ship. Even with stern questioning from Hood and Greetham, Bligh is exonerated and Christian found guilty of mutiny.

Fletcher Christian as played by the ridiculously handsome young Mel Gibson in THE BOUNTY is portrayed as ambitious but a bit of a novice. He and Bligh get along early on. Christian, as in the other film versions, sees himself as an intermediary between crew and captain. But Christian succumbs to the temptation of the fairer sex on Tahiti.  He sleeps with Mauatua. He dresses more like the Tahitians and even gets a tattoo. Like Franchot Tone's Byam in the first version, Gibson's Christian feels more at home with King Tynah and his people than Bligh. Bligh begins to torment Christian, forcing him to wear his naval jacket over his fresh tattoo, a painful order that Christian reluctantly follows. When he leads the mutiny, Christian's motive may be more to return to his beloved Mauatua on Tahiti as it is to protect the crew from Bligh's ego.

All the BOUNTY films but especially the Brando version and THE BOUNTY contrasts English prudeness versus the open sexuality of the South Pacific natives. Fertility dances and suggestive hip movements especially by the Tahitian women are prevalent in all three versions. The Tahitian women sleep freely with the English sailors.  Many become girlfriends and even wives of the seamen. But Bligh represents English morality and a repressed sexuality. In a very funny scene in THE BOUNTY, King Tynah sends one of his wives to sleep with Bligh. The rigid, moralistic Bligh wants nothing to do with her but knows it's expected.  He asks Christian to interrupt them before they can consummate. Christian waits longer than he should than bursts into Bligh's quarters. When Bligh demands what requires his attention, Christian answers, "The ship's sinking sir." Bligh replies, "Good."

What are the odds that two of the most recognizable and respected actors (not named Hopkins and Gibson) currently in the business would have supporting roles in THE BOUNTY. Daniel Day-Lewis who plays Master of Sailing John Fryer has gone on to win multiple Oscars for Best Actor in films like Paul Thomas Anderson's THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007) and Steven Spielberg's LINCOLN (2012). THE BOUNTY was an early role for Day-Lewis and it's not a showy one. Liam Neeson (TAKEN, SCHINDLER'S LIST) plays the thuggish Churchill, maybe one of the scarier crew members in any of the BOUNTY films. Churchill will suffer a severe lashing ordered by Bligh for trying to desert and eventually assist in the mutiny but he will end up staying on Tahiti rather than join Christian.  Like Day-Lewis, THE BOUNTY was one of Neeson's first films. Neeson's career would explode beginning in the 90s. Also look for THE LORD OF THE RINGS: TWO TOWERS (2002) actor Bernard Hill who plays Bligh's taskmaster Cole.  Hill would become known to millions as King Théoden in the Peter Jackson fantasy films. A quick note about the music.  Nothing says 1980s more than an electronic music score.  It was all the rage for that decade. THE BOUNTY'S music is by Vangelis whose best works included Hugh Hudson's CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981) and Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER (1982).  Vangelis's score is haunting and seems fitting for a film that takes place mostly on the open water.

So as we wrap up our cinematic journey from Portsmouth, England to Tahiti and finally, Pitcairn Island, what have we learned about Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian from version one and version of two of MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY and THE BOUNTY? In the 1935 version, Christian is portrayed in the Hollywood Golden Era style as a lovable rogue, foreshadowing Clark Gable's ultimate role as Rhett Butler in Victor Fleming's GONE WITH THE WIND (1939). Marlon Brando's take on the Christian role in the 1962 version is as an outsider, a well to do playboy who tries not to take sides until Bligh humiliates him. Mel Gibson's Christian (besides as a heartthrob) is that of a greenhorn who falls hard for a local girl and mutinies as much to rejoin his love as to protect the crew that Bligh so callously treats.

On the Captain Bligh side, Charles Laughton's performance in the first version is pure villainy with just a dash of humanity. Trevor Howard in the second version is an older, crustier Bligh with more of a chip on his shoulder toward Christian and his class and good looks. Anthony Hopkins Lieutenant Bligh is painted as a more human figure with a wife and two small children. He's not perfect but by the film's end, he's cleared by the Admiralty of any wrongdoing. As we know, fact and fiction in films never do quite meet.  The real Captain Bligh did seem to have issues when it came to commanding men.  Not only was his ship the Bounty taken from him by his crew in 1789 for his treatment of the crew, years later as Governor of New South Wales in Australia in 1808, Bligh was arrested by his own military officer and under house arrest for a year for bad relations with the army.

I was able to forge ahead through MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (both versions) and THE BOUNTY without receiving a single lashing or keel hauling from my family (who sometimes rolled their eyes when I told them I was watching all three versions). It's always interesting to see how each group of filmmakers (director, screenwriter, and actors) tackle the same basic story.  Each film has its own strengths and weaknesses but each version is a worthy and entertaining couple of hours to ride along with history on the voyage of the HMS Bounty and its dramatic conflict between Captain William Bligh and Fletcher Christian.

Die Hard (1988)

Within the last few years, an unexpected film has suddenly been designated as a Christmas picture. That film is John McTiernan's DIE HARD (1988).  I laughed out loud when I first heard this preposterous notion.  DIE HARD?  The film with Bruce Willis as a New York cop visiting his wife in Los Angeles over the holidays who stumbles across some German bad guys up to no good in a new gleaming skyscraper. I had never thought of DIE HARD as a Christmas film. Okay, yes it's set during the Christmas season but is that enough to justify it as a Christmas film like MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET or IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE?  Even THE GODFATHER had some scenes set during Christmas and no one calls it a holiday film.

But then I started to analyze the concept a little more closely. Maybe Bruce Willis is Santa Claus, trying to deliver "cheer" to the hostages in the Nakatomi Tower by rescuing them. Perhaps Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber represents the Grinch or Scrooge or Krampus, ruining Christmas for everyone including the city of Los Angeles, the LAPD, and the FBI.  Hey, there is a Christmas work party going on at the beginning of DIE HARD. Only instead of the CEO kissing his secretary by mistake or saying something inappropriate, he's shot dead by the terrorists. I think I'm beginning to see the holiday connections.

DIE HARD actually was released in the summer of 1988. I will never forget when I saw the first trailer for DIE HARD in a half full theater a few months before its release. The first trailer (sometimes know as a teaser) gives a general idea of the film and only lasts about ninety seconds compared to the second and third trailer which run about two and a half minutes. Whomever edited the first DIE HARD trailer did a horrible job.  It consisted of a few explosions with quips by Bruce Willis that made no sense as they were out of context with a film no one had seen yet.  I would surmise that three quarters of the audience including me snickered at the first DIE HARD trailer.  Bruce Willis was a successful television star from the hit comedy show MOONLIGHTING (1985-1989). The trailer played up his comedy side. No one saw Willis as an action star. DIE HARD seemed like it might arrive dead on arrival from that first preview.  Oh how wrong we would all be.

Based on a novel by Roderick Thorpe (nope, I never read it either) and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. DeSouza, DIE HARD stars Bruce Willis as John McClane, a New York cop who lands in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve to visit his estranged wife Holly Gennaro McClane and their two kids. The two have lived on opposite coasts for six months as Holly took a high profile position for Joseph Takagi (James Shigeta), head of the Nakatomi Corporation. McClane is picked up by novice chauffeur Argyle (De'Voreaux White) and taken to the Nakatomi Plaza, a sparkling new high rise skyscraper. The building is virtually empty except on the 30th floor where the employees of the Nakatomi Corporation are having their Christmas party. McClane meets Takagi as well as Holly's unctuous, cocaine sniffing co-worker Harry Ellis (Hart Bochner).

While McClane waits in Holly's office for Holly to finish up some work, a group of slick, well-dressed and coiffed Euro terrorists led by Hans Gruber (the superb Alan Rickman), his trigger man Karl who looks like ballet star Alexander Godunov (wait, it is Alexander Godunov), and security system hacker Theo (Clarence Gilyard, Jr) surreptiously infiltrate the skyscraper and take Mr. Takagi and his employees hostage.  Gruber wants Takagi to hand over the key codes to their vault where sixty million in negotiable bonds sit. When Takagi refuses, Gruber shoots him. Hearing gunshots, McClane hides out, moving a few stories higher. He pulls the fire alarm to bring police and fire trucks to the building but Gruber's men cancel the alarm. When Karl's brother Tony (Andreas Wisniewski) goes to investigate, McClane takes him out, obtaining a machine gun and hand radio. He sends the dead Tony down in an elevator to the 30th floor to alert Gruber and his men they have an adversary in the building.

Enraged by the death of his brother, Karl and two others chase McClane to the rooftop where a gun battle ensues.  McClane calls 911 for help.  A patrolman Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) investigates, checking the lobby.  As Powell pulls away from the building, McClane throws the body of a dead terrorist out the window, hitting his car, grabbing Powell's attention. Gruber's men open fire on Powell's car. He barely survives. Now, the LAPD and a nosy TV reporter Richard Thornburg (William Atherton) head to the Nakatomi tower. Led by the incompetent Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson (Paul Gleason), the LAPD attempts an unsuccessful assault on the building, resulting in the LAPD's small tank to be destroyed by a missile launcher. A cat and mouse game ensues between McClane and Gruber as they banter on the radio.

Holly's slimy co-worker Harry Ellis tries to negotiate with Gruber, revealing to the terrorists that McClane's a cop. Gruber repays Harry by killing him.  The FBI arrives led by hot shot FBI Special Agent Big Johnson (Robert Davi) and FBI Agent Little Johnson (Grand L. Bush). Theo finally cracks the vault.  McClane discovers that Gruber has planted detonators on the upper levels of the building, planning to blow up the building to hide their theft after they depart. McClane manages to disable a few of the bombs (throwing them down an elevator shaft with pyrotechnic results), infuriating Gruber. Gruber figures out that Holly is McClane's wife. With FBI helicopters circling the building and law enforcement waiting below, McClane and Gruber (holding Holly as his hostage) square off for a very entertaining final confrontation.

So is DIE HARD a Christmas movie?  I would argue that Richard Donner's LETHAL WEAPON (1987) may have more Christmas vibe than DIE HARD with Bobby Helms' Jingle Bell Rock playing over the opening credits, Mel Gibson undercover at a Christmas tree kiosk, and Hollywood Boulevard decked out in wreaths and Christmas lights. Some films placed in the Christmas film genre are there because of a song. Robert Wise's THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) isn't really a Christmas movie but Julie Andrews' rendition of My Favorite Things has propelled it as a holiday favorite. Vincent Minnelli's MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) is broken into four parts based on the seasons. Judy Garland sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas during the winter section and it falls into the Christmas category. Are we so hard pressed for a new Christmas movie to replace WHITE CHRISTMAS or HOLIDAY INN that we have to conjure up new ones out of an action film?

The new generation of film lovers imagines Bruce Willis in DIE HARD as Santa Claus (or maybe Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer or Yukon Cornelius) coming to deliver "the gift" of a Christmas miracle by rescuing the Nakatomi employees from a terrible fate.  Hans Gruber is the Grinch or Krampus incarnate, prepared to steal the Nakatomi Corporation's "toys" i.e.  negotiable bonds, jewelry, and priceless works of art from its impenetrable vault. The FBI helicopters are Santa's flying reindeer, buzzing around the building. It's far fetched but DIE HARD does take place entirely during Christmas Eve.

More surprising than it's comparison as a Christmas movie, I was struck by DIE HARD'S separation of classes (working class vs the elite). McClane is a blue collar New York cop. His wife makes more money than he does and her boss and co-worker aren't too impressed with him.  But McClane can see through the trees. He's not about ego. He's real. Sgt. Powell is just an LAPD foot soldier. He survives the terrorists barrage on his patrol car and connects with McClane, reading the situation they're involved in. But Powell's superior Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson ignores every suggestion that Powell provides.  Then, the FBI (more arrogant and elitist than Robinson) take over the crisis and make it worse.  Director McTiernan clearly roots for the underdog. DIE HARD even hints that bad guy Gruber may have come from humble roots. His previous terrorist group ignored or brushed off his ideas. Gruber has a chip on his shoulder and starts his own terror campaign to show what he's capable of.

What DIE HARD most certainly proves is it's one of the best action films ever made, redefining the genre.  It's the classic fish out of water film, only the fish is a New York cop stepping out of the concrete jungle and landing in the bright, palm tree laden City of Angels. The direction, writing, and acting in DIE HARD is superb.  Screenwriters Stuart and de Souza give McClane plenty of obstacles to overcome yet create ingenious ways for our hero to overcome them. The villain Gruber is witty and adaptable, even fooling McClane when they accidentally cross paths. Gruber adopts a Texas accent and pretends to be one of the party guests, almost fooling McClane.  Director McTiernan intersperses plot and character with great action set pieces.

DIE HARD would spawn four more sequels including 1990's DIE HARD 2 (set in an airport), 1995's DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (New York terrorized by Hans Gruber's brother Simon), 2007's LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (computer hackers), and 2013's A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (McClane in Russia). DIE HARD would spawn countless imitators like Renny Harlin's CLIFFHANGER (1993). Harlin actually directed DIE HARD 2. CLIFFHANGER wants desperately to be DIE HARD right down to Sylvester Stallone's average Joe mountain guide and John Lithgow's over the top villain Qualen. It has its moments but CLIFFHANGER is no DIE HARD.

Bruce Willis was still starring in the TV show MOONLIGHTING when DIE HARD was released. DIE HARD'S success would propel Willis into a bona fide movie star and he would never look back appearing in hit films like Quentin Tarantino's PULP FICTION (1994) and M.Night Shyamalan's THE SIXTH SENSE (1999).  Willis's John McClane is like the classic lone wolf western hero. Hans Gruber calls McClane "cowboy" and McClane professes to be a fan of Roy Rogers yelling "Yippee-ki-yay mother*@&#!" as he kicks butt. DIE HARD would also be a breakout film for British actor Alan Rickman as German terrorist leader Hans Gruber.  Rickman would play another fascinating villain the Sheriff of Nottingham in Kevin Reynolds ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES (1991) but will probably be best remembered as the Professor of Dark Arts Severus Snape in the HARRY POTTER film franchise. I always feel sorry for Gruber in DIE HARD.  He wears expensive suits and seems to have a full proof plan but he's easily bothered that a common cop has interrupted his grand scheme.

Director McTiernan peppers the rest of DIE HARD with wonderful character actors.  Bonnie Bedelia as McClane's wife Holly turns the usually cliché hero's spouse into a tough and smart hostage, having to think on the fly as much as McClane does. Bedelia would also appear in DIE HARD 2.  Actors Paul Gleason and William Atherton have both perfected how to play an asshole in films like John Hughes THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) where Gleason played the principal overseeing detention and Ivan Reitman's GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) where Atherton's EPA official butted heads with Bill Murray and gang. Gleason as the Deputy Police Chief in over his head and Atherton as a smarmy TV reporter chasing the story of his career are both utterly despicable and hilarious.  Special mention to the two equally cocky and horrible FBI Agents played by Robert Davi and Grand L. Bush and Hart Bochner as Holly's sleazy co-worker Harry. The one other human character besides the McClane's is Sgt. Al Powell played by Reginald VelJohnson. VelJohnson seemed destined to play a nice TV sitcom Dad and he would get that chance soon after as patriarch Carl Winslow in TVs FAMILY MATTERS (1989-1998) which was famous for Winslow's nerdy young neighbor Steve Urkel (Jaleel White).

Ultimately, whether DIE HARD belongs in the Christmas movie genre like IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE or ELF is up to each movie fan to decide.  One thing going for DIE HARD like many Christmas movies is the universal theme of family. Like George Bailey realizing how important his family is to his life or Buddy the Elf leaving the North Pole to find his real family, DIE HARD boils down to John McClane flying from the East Coast to the West Coast to reunite with his wife and kids. It just takes McClane about two hours to dispatch of a group of German terrorists before he can be with his family. That's what Christmas movies are about. Family.