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A Movie A Day: Quint takes in POINT BLANK (1967)I want my money.
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with today’s installment of A Movie A Day.
[For those now joining us, A Movie A Day is my attempt at filling in gaps in my film knowledge and plowing through the hundreds of DVDs I own for movies I haven’t seen. Each day I’ll talk about a film I haven’t watched and each film will have some sort of connection to the one before it, be it cast or crew member.]
Today is POINT BLANK (1967), a film I’ve been hearing about since I was a teenager. I guess I always assumed it would come to either the Alamo Drafthouse or play at the Paramount Theater during their annual summer film run and that’s why it took me so long to get to it.
I bought the DVD at the Mill Store on the Warner Bros lot during one of my frequent infiltrations of the studio. This must have been a couple years back now. The Mill Store is the bomb. DVDs just above cost. I usually walk out of there with armloads of discs, including high def discs.
Anyway, their catalogue stuff is always well represented and it was in a big bunch of those that I finally picked up POINT BLANK.
What really struck me with the flick was just how arty it was. It really does feel like a combination of entertaining hard-boiled revenge story and experimental film. Directed by a young John Boorman (DELIVERANCE, EXCALIBUR) in a very unique way, there really isn’t anything else like this flick.
Lee Marvin is a force of nature here. He’s always had that barely-in-check feeling about him, but here you really do feel sorry for whomever he unleashes his full power on.
If you’ve seen PAYBACK, you know where this movie goes. They’re both adapted from the same source material, Donald E. Westlake’s PARKER novels. Guy is doublecrossed on a heist by his wife and her new lover. He’s shot the fuck up, barely survives, and when he recovers he’s out to get his cut of the job. Not even revenge, just what’s owed him.
I quite like PAYBACK (both cuts, but the director’s cut is substantially better… and the early, early cut I was lucky enough to see still included Angie Dickinson’s baddie turn, which, after having seen POINT BLANK, is even more depressing that it’ll never see the light of day) and thought that movie treated its hero harshly, but goddamn, man.
Gibson just has to survive some bullets in the back. Marvin is shot up… on Alcatraz! Not only does he have to drag himself to safety he has to fucking escape Alcatraz, swim away and not get caught up in the current that’d sweep him out to sea… all while carrying a full pistol’s worth of lead in his body!
Gibson couldn’t handle that, but you bet your ass Marvin could.
There’s a sequence in the movie where Marvin gets in a tussle at a movie club and the fight takes place behind the screen… I swear to god he kicks a guy hard enough to pulverize the poor bastard’s stomach.
What I love about Marvin in this is just how he takes his licks. He doesn’t get out clean in anything he does, but he’s so damn tough that he can take the inhuman punishment and just outlast whoever is unlucky enough to be in his crosshairs.
The supporting cast is great in the movie, too. As Marvin goes deeper and deeper into the syndicate trying to get his money he finds more and more badass people. Keenan Wynn pops up knowing a lot more than he should, Angie Dickinson is Marvin’s sister-in-law and plays a big role in helping him get in deeper (to the syndicate, you sickos… but yeah, that, too) and then Carroll O’Connor shows up and just rocks it for the last act.
But as good as they all are, it’s really John Vernon’s show when it comes to the supporting cast. This is an early role for him… I think they even have an “Introducing” credit, but he had been working for years in TV and had bit parts in movies. You’ll remember him as The Mayor in DIRTY HARRY or Dean Wormer in ANIMAL HOUSE.
If there was a guy that could stand up to Marvin it is Vernon in this movie. He has a Robert Shawish quality about him, tough. Of course not tough enough.
Look out for some fine score work from Johnny Mandel, who also scored our first film of the AMAD series, HARPER, and keep an eye peeled for a very young and very skinny Sid Haig as a syndicate guard keeping watch over John Vernon’s hotel lobby.
Also watch out for Angie Dickinson keeping up the quality level of performance and sexuality that we saw in RIO BRAVO yesterday. She's quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses of this period.
Here’s what we have coming up in the next 7 days:
Wednesday, June 11th: POCKET MONEY (1972)
Thursday, June 12th: COOL HAND LUKE (1967)
Friday, June 13th: THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)
Saturday, June 14th: CLASH BY NIGHT (1952)
Sunday, June 15th: SCARLET STREET (1945)
Monday, June 16th: KILLER BAIT (aka TOO LATE FOR TEARS) (1949)
Tuesday, June 17th: ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS (1964)
Final thoughts: POINT BLANK is an outstanding and bizarre movie. I’m so glad this film exists. There’s a little psychedelic influence, a little Fellini, a lot noir and a lot of crazed energy, all mixed together to make a hard-hitting, still incredibly fun movie.
Tomorrow we follow Lee Marvin over to POCKET MONEY co-starring Paul Newman and written by Terry “Terrence” Malick. See you folks then.
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
Previous Movies:
June 2nd: Harper
June 3rd: The Drowning Pool
June 4th: Papillon
June 5th: Gun Crazy
June 6th: Never So Few
June 7th: A Hole In The Head
June 8th: Some Came Running
June 9th: Rio Bravo
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I live in the south and it's the only fucking movie anyone ever talks about. It's annoying. Mention Glengary Glen Ross or Dr. Strangelove and they look at you like you are a retard. Maybe it's because i'm a waterhead baby but still.
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I was promised 20 chapters.
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For some reason I always mixed this title up with Zabriskie Point, duh!
So now I have another great movie to see. Looking forward to it. And yeah Cool Hand Luke......
By the way just in case you've never seen Amarcord, one of my all time favs. -
Marvin is a legend and never better than here. Not based on the same material but far more in the same realm than Payback is Soderbergh's The Limey with Terence Stamp, well worth seeking out.
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Is awesome. "Tell him I'm coming! Tell him I'M FUCKING COMING!" Stamp is the man.Aloy, Amacord is on the list. I have the Criterion DVD and will definitely get to it.
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Sounds sweet.
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I'm not serious.I saw this few months back and the only thing I didn't like about this movie was... maybe that long-ass shot of Marvin walking down a hallway, all artsy fartsy style.I started reading the Parker novels (the ones that GP/Payback are based on) around when Payback cameout and I've always wanted to see a series of Parker movies like Bond or Jack Ryan. But, I'm not sure I'll ever get to see it happen.
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That movie is pure kick ass. "My name's Wilson. You wrote me about my daughter."
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No time to mention the amazing commentary on that disk with Steven Soderbergh asking Boorman questions about the making. It's almost as cool as the film. Oh and I probably think that because I edited that commentary
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I haven't listened to it... not much time to do hit all the special features as well as the movie itself and writing it up... and keeping up my regular work-load. However, I do plan on keeping that one tabbed for later listening. I'm sure you did a great job. :)
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You mean the scene where his footsteps echo throughout other shots? I f'n loved that bit... great piece of sound design and tension building.
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As in, that is the worst thing that is in the movie.I do kinda hate how Marvin takes the girl out for dinner, the real Parker would'a made the girl make him dinner... but, he would've also smacked her around if she put too much salt in it.
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one of only 3 films I've ever seen that I immediately watched again as soon as it was over. It's not just Lee Marvin, or the uncommon artistry, or the alien landscape of L.A. or the vague Syndicate or the fact that Marvin's first dialog is 20 minutes into the film. It's that this film is working on a whole other level of fantasy. If you haven't seen it, the intro is crucial, as are the number of characters Marvin kills in the film. It's hard to compliment Payback as a remake when this shit is so singular.
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i want, as Paul Harvey says, the rest of the story!
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Jun 11, 2008 12:26:17 AM CDT
I Have Seen PRIME CUT (1972) With Lee Marvin Vs Gene Hackman
by red dawn don
I have not seen POINT BLANK (1967) but plan to see it. It is on my WISH LIST at several e-sites. I loved PRIME CUT. Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman go at it as mobsters. Talk about a battle. Also, Sissy Spacek is shown as a young NAKED victim forced to be a prostitute. The hand full of NICKELS scene by her poor girl friend is still a painful memory to me. If you like comedy with your Lee Marvin, I enjoyed CAT BALLOU (1965). LM won an OSCAR for it and in his OSCAR speech he thanked the "drunk" HORSE he rode in it.
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Jun 11, 2008 12:27:49 AM CDT
i always had a lil green army soldier i called LeeMarvin
by groothewarrior
he was the commando guy in the green army guy set that kicked ass the most
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Glad it's on your list Quint. It makes Cinema Paradiso look like a cheap ripoff. The soundtrack alone is worth the price of admission.
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Jun 11, 2008 12:30:22 AM CDT
also Lee Marvin was a student of Bruce Lee also he is much like
by groothewarrior
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The last one you have in the article. One of the best movies ever made, everyone should see it.
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Jun 11, 2008 12:32:26 AM CDT
Lee Marvin had a knife thrown right beside crotch in Mag.Seven
by groothewarrior
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good god man, can you bump it up in the rotation?and how did you appreciate Eddie Murphy in "Life"?
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Great film! I remember being all "up in arms" when the film didn't get nominated for Best Editing that year. Great soundtrack too! I like the old Soderbergh best.
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I really like the unique style this film has. It's got a kind of dream like quality which kept me on edge throughout the whole film and really added to the tension.
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...as a kid and it had this one gangster with his head turned to the side holding his arm straight in a 135 degree angle like he's putting a kill-shot into a fallen enemy and I swear he looked exactly like Lee Marvin.Actually, so does my cat.I loved Cat Ballou, my dad loved The Big Red One, we both loved The Dirty Dozen.And if you get the chance to go back to 1955 (I can only imagine how long your list is already) I FREAKING LOVE "Pete Kelly's Blues." Okay, Marvin's not a lead in that one or even the toughest guy, but if Lee Marvin's going to let himself get bitchslapped by any one, at least it was Jack Fucking Webb.Trivia note for comics buffs - Gil Kane's late '60s tough guy detective hero Savage from his early magazine format 'graphic novel' "His Name Is... Savage!" is clearly patterned on Marvin - especially the cover painting, which is practically a movie quality portrait. Remember the scene where he knocks a guys front teeth out jamming the pistol in his mouth?
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Oh and the limey's great too. Probably my favorite soderbergh movie.
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This was the film that made me wake up and realize MARVIN IS A GOD. Very badass. Great to watch back to back with the original Get Carter and Le Samourai. They just don't make badasses like that anymore.
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Jun 11, 2008 1:41:59 AM CDT
ASHAMED TO SAY JUST WATCHED LAST NIGHT..1st TIME
by greigy just wanted to say
Thanks Quint, seeing it was the next one up prompted me to dig out the disc (bought it a couple of years ago and never got around to it). Seen all of it on TCM at various points and always promised to sit down and take it all in a linear fashion. NOT DISAPPOINTED. Always loved Marvin, one of the most underrated and pigeon holed actors ever. It hit me like a fantastically twisted version of Elia Kazan’s The Arrangement meets the guts oddness of the original Get Carter. John Vernon…. The man who delivered the single funniest line in Airplane franchise was sleaze personified and it even had Dr ROGER CORBY for god’s sake…!!! Such a beautifully shot film as well and the use of sound was stunning Boorman knew how to create a soundscape in the same way Friedkin did in the Exorcist… and that was before 5:1 and DTS..!! Will have to sit down and listen to the commentary with him and Soderbergh, I already see a few post checking the Limey.. which riffed on Get Carter and Point Blank brilliantly. Don’t be too hard on Gibson and Helgeland, they were working in a films by committee structure and the end result was perfectly palatable under the circumstances (both versions) and they didn’t have Marvin. Both versions have their merits and are worth checking out http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65556
THANKS AGAIN QUINT… LOVING THE COLUMN
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http://tinyurl.com/5l58uf top 20 toughguys, guess who's number 1?
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And that hallway scene is maybe the best part. The way he kicks in the door and unloads his gun into the empty bed seemingly in one motion.
I like the commentary track. It makes me laugh how Soderbergh makes no bones about asking Boorman everything he always wanted to ask him about film stocks and shit. It makes it kind of charming.
It bums me out though that so many people can't see room in the world for both POINT BLANK and PAYBACK. Yeah, they're the same story, but completely different styles and tones. POINT BLANK is the better movie and Lee Marvin is the better badass, but as a fan of the books I also think PAYBACK's "Porter" comes closest to the book of all the onscreen portrayals of Parker. POINT BLANK's is too emotional. I don't think Boorman thinks too highly of the book - if I remember right he never mentions it in the extras. And he repeatedly refers to the earlier script as "shit," and I suspect that one was more like the book.
I want to see a James Bond style series too. Some of the later books are better, the way they get into all the details of preparing for, executing and escaping from these heists. Something always goes wrong of course and Parker knows how to fix it (usually).
At one point somebody was supposedly developing a Parker series for HBO or Showtime or something. That would actually be a great way to do it.
Good to see some love for PRIME CUT, too. That movie is a great combination of badass and just plain weird. All this shit about meat. A guy gets stabbed with a sausage. A car gets eaten by a tractor. Rich people sit around eating piles of ground beef surrounded by stables full of doped up naked girls. And Gene Hackman's character is named Maryanne. Pretty bizarre. -
I’ve seen Point Blank, Payback, and read The Hunter and I think Point Blank is the best version of the story. The book, as incredibly cool as parts of it are, has a structural problem about half way through that sucks suspense out for a while. Point Blank fixes the problem and keeps things lean and mean. Yet Point Blank is so much of the 60s with experimental jump cut editing. This is a good thing. The club scene is funky with it’s cutting to the close up of the singer juxtaposed with what else is happening. To my knowledge, John Boorman hasn’t done anything quite like this since, albeit I haven’t seen Zardoz. Reading the review and talkback makes me want to absorb it further as I’ve only seen Point Blank once. I’ve got the DVD and will make it a higher priority. I’m seeing both my brothers this weekend and it’d be awesome to watch it with them. It’s a cool movie. And Lee Marvin: Badass. Unfortunately not on DVD is The Outfit from 1973. Robert Duvall plays Parker, called Macklin this time. It’s based on the third Parker novel by Donald E. Westlake (writing as Richard Stark for the Parker series). This movie kicks at least as much ass as Point Blank and should be snapped up right away if it comes on DVD. I was fortunate enough to see it at The Best of QT festival and it’s a complete blast. As for the books, the second one, The Man With The Getaway Face, is next for me; I have the first five novels. There are 24 total; the latest came out earlier this year.
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A brutal death dream of a movie. Marvin's emotionless avenger, great anamorphic lensing, the wicked Los Angeles landscape, the jagged time shifting editing. Plus its got a dark hearted sense of humor that everyone fails to mention. You just keep coming back to it. And you should. I could write all day about the amazing moments in this flick. If you haven't seen it, seek it out. If you have, see it again.
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I'd like to have seen Marvin in a Tarantino movie. Marvin was the best at repressed anger - like the performance Tarantino got from DeNiro in Jackie Brown. Prime Cut is an underrated Marvin movie, where again he's on the rampage. There's a great shot inside a car, heading to the fight - lightning strikes behind it and you feel like Marvin made that happen.
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Also with Marvin and Dickinson, and none other than Ronald Reagan as the villain. Not as stylistically interesting as Point Blank, but a damn good 60s crime flick.
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He could shave the moustache off but Kirk still sussed him.... once a used car salesman....
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I went to see a screening of this in London a couple of years ago. Boorman and Westlake were interviewed on stage afterwards - they said it was the first time they met. Boorman had loads of good things to say about Marvin - who was massively supportive of the young director- especially backing the more surreal and dreamlike elements of the film.
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I've added this to the queue now.I'm digging this column more and more Quint. Always good to shed some light on old gems....
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great music
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Damn, what a great screen presence. I just recently rewatched The Professionals, which is a great men on a mission flick with Burt Lancaster and Jack Palance, and was once again awestruck by how dangerous and badass Lee Marvin seemed to be. It's not so much what he does on screen as what he DOESN'T do. There's just an air about him and certain other American actors of his generation which was very much of their time.
Get what passes for the toughest, meanest badass actors today and compare them at their most brutal to Marvin at his most laid back, and Marvin could still easily beat the shit out of them without batting an eye. He didn't have to scream or flex his muscles to look tough. Just one look from his icy, detached stare carried loads more menace than a fistful of automatic weaponry, blades or kung-fu kicks.
Lee Marvin was a singular badass and his breed is sorely missed in movies today. -
but the release I saw sucked ass. And then I heard it was a REMAKE so I had to check this Point Blank movie out - and it was THE SHIT!
Never read any Parker novels so I'll have to see what ebooks I can turn up. Can't say I'm a big Lee Marvin fan but I absolutely loved him in Point Blank!
BAD
ASS -
Absolutely love Point Blank, such an influential film in so many ways. Lee Marvin is amazing as Walker, a relentless pitbull of a man out for answers and 'Payback'no one can touch him. Filmically it's a lexicon of Goddard inspired French New Wave filmaking (Boorman really wanted to experiment and reflect his burgeoning interest in this style). It's jarring structure, fragmented editing, and focus shifting sound help reinforce the prevailing tension and urgency as Walker draws closer to the answers that elude him and in some respects the viewer. Nothing is force fed, the films finale is left to interepretation, and for me endures over repeated viewings because of it.
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I met him in Johannesburg, of all places, a few years ago and he would namedrop like a motherfucker. "My friend Stanley Kubrick"; "my buddies the Coens"; stories of David Lean on his deathbed. It was great. Hours and hours of the most amazing anecdotes. The man is a fuckin legend and it's not difficult to see why. P.S. The Limey has a great commentary, with Soderbergh getting attacked by the writer of the film for turning his mediocre script into a great movie. Funny stuff.
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Point Blank beats them at their own game! This is one of the few films that I really wanted to hear the director's comments and thoughts. Extraordinary camera technique, lighting, and editing coupled with amazing actors created such a sad, depressing futile and engaging mood piece of a movie. Did Walker actually die on Alcatraz and was this his troubled spirit trying to find the answers to his meaningless life???
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yes, great & influential film in every respect (acting, cinematopgraphy, music, editting)
and Soderbergh also discusses how he 'ripped' it off for 'the limey' on the commentary discussion with Boorman
other great Lee Marvin badd-ass pics
* hell in the pacific (also with Boorman)
* the big red one
* the emperor of the north pole
* prime cut -
..._Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman_. just an hour long but great reminiscing by the great director about his work with the great actor. AND jim jarmusch reading from marvin's unpublished WWII memoirs. track it down.
quint -- you finally watched a good movie this day. -
My Dad talked it up huge when PayBack came out so I tracked it down on VHS and loved it. Had it on my Amazon watch for years before it came out, in fact I was like WTF is Amazon emailing me and then BOOM! Point Freaking Blank. Great DVD with a commentary from Soderberg ect.... Boormans best movie. Lee Marvin is always going to be the man. He coulda bagged Rambo in 1st Blood and pistol whipped McLaine into unconsciousness.
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Jun 11, 2008 9:19:33 AM CDT
There was a Gil Kane comic magazine based on Lee Marvin
by toadkillerdog
I haver the magazine in my colection, bioxed up somewhere. It was called His name is Savage. I have an early 1980's re-issue. The mag came out in the 60's. Just amazing graphics, and violence. Not to mention a damn good story. I read the mag before I saw this movie, and although they are not the same story, it is essentially the same character. Both were awesome. Yes Xi, a Marine.
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Weird. Stumbled on this and the guy is doing the same thing as Quint on almost the same date. Crazy. http://youtube.com/watch?v=8ugBsSWtkDo
Point Blank does look pretty cool though, thanks for adding that one to my list, as well as Limey and Prime Cut from the talkbacks. -
The guy makes McQueen, Coburn, Bronson and the like look almost soft by comparison. Hell of an actor too.Point Blank is classic, not much more to say on that one, but any fan of Marvin has to see The Big Red One, Hell in the Pacific (opposite Toshiro Mifune), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and of course the original, and immortal Dirty Dozen. Prime Cut, The Professionals, Monte Walsh, The Killers, The Iceman Cometh, Death Hunt, Emperor of the North, Gorky Park and Cat Ballou are all well worth watching as well, and come highly recommended by me. It's a damn shame that the roles he was offered started to thin out as much as they did in his latter years, he was probably the toughest screen presence the cinema has ever seen, and not to mention a hell of an actor as well. Rock on Lee Marvin.
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What a great cast of male character actors. Great to see George Kennedy before he was cast as "Mac McMackerson" in every '70s disaster epic. And don't even try to duplicate the hard boiled egg scene...enjoy.
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You feel kinda creeped out just watching it.
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Yeah Psychedelic, that's a good one. Directed by John Flynn who also did ROLLING THUNDER, which is actually my #1 "why the hell isn't this on DVD yet?" movie. (And you know I have to mention he directed OUT FOR JUSTICE too.)
I actually have a CD of the scores for both POINT BLANK and THE OUTFIT. Not the same composer either. I don't know too many soundtrack CDs organized by author of source material.
Nice to see Boorman's HELL IN THE PACIFIC mentioned too. I consider that the greatest badass ensemble of all time since the cast is comprised ONLY of Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune. Nobody else. How you gonna top that? -
Be sure you catch The Searchers with John Wayne if you haven't seen it already. Definitely one of the best westerns out there.
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I heard Tarantino based Pulp Fiction off of this movie of two clean cut hitmen with silenced guns arguing over their steaks at a diner. Marvin plays the ice professional, albeit kind of psychotic. So i also recommend those that like Point Blank to SERIOUSLY watch The Killers. And Reagan's last role too, and his only bad guy role as the mob boss guy, an eerie forshadowing of his presidency.
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http://tinyurl.com/6h2yn3 here is a clip of his effortless menace. http://tinyurl.com/64v77t here is him being goofy. the contrast is just frightening
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You're overrated, you little shit. Just kidding. Not really.
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A true rebel.
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when he talks about The Magnificent Seven and Bruce Lee. I used to be confused between the two of them (Coburn and Marvin) when I was 7 or 8, so I get it.
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Lee Marvin can kick my ass anytime
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Quite simply the greatest revenge film ever made, "I'm Gonna Kill A Bunch Of People"
I think along with being in my eyes Tommy Lee Jones and William Devane's greatest roles it also has aged really really well -
can he eat your ass too?
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Is worth mentioning. You wouldn't think you're watching the same movie. It's vibrant with color and character. Overcome your hatred and loathing for the semi-anti-Semitic Gibson and check out this flick. For the Director's sake at least.
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