Nurse Jackie, Hunter “Patch” Adams, and the list goes on. Movies are filled with stories of great medical caretakers, but with all great caretakers come terrible ones. Below you’ll find cinema’s worst medical caretakers.

Dr. Evil from the “Austin Powers” Series

Who could consider “worst medical caretakers” without thinking of Dr. Evil? He clone side-kick, Mini-me, and bald cat, Mr. Bigglesworth stand loyally at his side as he plans world domination and wreaks havoc. All in all, probably not the doctor you want conducting your annual physical exam.

Dr. Blue Jones from “Sucker Punch”

Dr. Jones is the director of an insane asylum set in the 1960’s, a time when lobotomies were considered a legitimate treatment for psychological disorders. But Dr. Jones doesn’t just do lobotomies on people with mental issues; he’ll do them on anyone if the price is right. In Sucker Punch, “Baby Doll” is a young woman whose step father has institutionalized her to get her mother’s inheritance. After being paid by Baby Doll’s stepfather, Dr. Jones forges the asylum’s therapist’s signature ordering Baby Doll to receive a lobotomy.

Dr. Heiter from “The Human Centipede”

Dr. Heiter is world-renowned for his surgical expertise in separating Siamese twins; however, his interests lie in something much more sinister: he wants to surgically connect humans from mouth to rear so that they share a single digestive system. Of course, he can’t go about doing that in a hospital, so he drugs and kidnaps his surgical victims.

Dr. Lecter from “The Silence of the Lambs”

He might be a brilliant former psychiatrist, but Dr. Lecter probably isn’t a psychiatrist you want helping you work through your problems. After all, he has an uncontrollable hankering for some unusual food: human.

Nurse Annie Wilkes in “Misery”

Nurse Wilkes doesn’t seem dangerous. That is, until you cross her. Nurse Wilkes takes in an author after he breaks both of his legs in a car accident, promising to help him until they can reach a hospital. A serial killer who began her spree in her childhood, Wilkes has already killed a neighboring family, her father, a college roommate, a man to whom she had a fling, and 11 infants; as the author begins to suspect her mental illness, he realizes that his car accident was no accident. Nurse Wilkes has a violent bedside manner; she begins torturing the author and when he attempts to escape, breaks his ankles with a sludge hammer.

Nurse Ratched from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”

Cruel, cold, and controlling, Nurse Ratched is not the nurse you want to stand up to. Between her humiliation tactics and punishments with Electroconvulsive therapy, if you do something she doesn’t like, you can be sure you’ll receive ample punishment.

Hal the Orderly from “Happy Gilmore”

An orderly in a nursing home, Hal is the last one any grandmother or grandfather wants as their orderly. As he says in Happy Gilmore after Gilmore’s grandmother asks for a glass of warm milk, “You can trouble me for a glass of shut the hell up. Now you will go to sleep, or I will put you to sleep. See the nametag? You’re in my world now, Grandma.”

While all of these caretakers are fictional, real world examples of some of these abuses exist; specifically, nursing home abuse to a much worst degree than the verbal abuse Happy Gilmore’s grandmother endured. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 91 percent of nursing homes are guilty of serious deficits in patient care. Unfortunately, these deficits include and lead to abuse and neglect of patients. If you or someone you know has fallen victim to abuse at the hands of a nursing home caretaker, you must act. Nursinghomeabuse.net was founded with the purpose of filling the void of information on nursing home abuse. To that end, this resource provides laypersons with legal updates and informational blogs to help prevent, inform, and heal those affected by the nursing home abuse epidemic.

Amber Paley is a guest post and article writer bringing to us Seven of Cinema’s Worst Medical Caretakers. Outraged by the prevalence of elder abuse in the U.S., Amber spends much of her professional life writing educational articles to help those affected by elder abuse.

This is a guest post written by Greg Davies. Greg is known in social media circles as cGt2099, and runs the sites cGt2099.com, Social Blend. We’ve previously featured his talents on the post: Five Films about Australia better than ‘Australia’ and Before the Galaxy Far, Far Away: Influences on ‘Star Wars’

From the 1980’s air-raid siren singing of Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden to the deepest guttural growls of the darkest Black Metal, I listen to it all.  I have been a metalhead since I was a kid, and the metal subculture has been a part of my life for many years.  So, unsurprisingly, when something popular takes off on the internet that has some relation to any form of Metal, I am usually all over it.

But in recent weeks, the site MetalInjection.net decided to compile a list of the “best” movies about Metalheads.  It hit the front page of Digg.com, and did very well at numerous other social news sites as well.  Aside from the author’s inclusion of This Is Spinal Tap (a good quality and mandatory selection which I wholeheartedly agree with), the other five choices were pathetic lampoons of the depth and scope of the Metalhead subculture.

Do not get me wrong: I am a fan of MetalInjection.net, and have been for some time; it’s a great site… but this list? Abysmal!  It should have been called “A List of Movies That Portray Metalheads as Cheesy Idiots”.  Off the bat, the author declined to include documentaries, which was an inadequate decision seeing as there are so many fine documentary flicks out there about the Metal subculture.  The Metal Injection listing included the predictable cheese ball comedies: Bill and Ted, Tenacious D, Beavis and Butthead, Wayne’s World, and Airheads.

 

In reply, I decided to come up with my own list…  The REAL top 6(66) movies about Metalheads – and why you ought to see them:

 

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1. Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey

 

'Metal - A Headbanger's Journey' director Sam Dunn

Rated 90% Fresh at RottenTomatoes.com, released in 2005, Sam Dunn’s anthropological glimpse at the Metalhead subculture has become the definitive look at the world and history of Metal, from its inception during the years of Black Sabbath, through to the international phenomenon it is today.  While there is a great focus on bands and musicians, the documentary also focuses on the fans and the culture of the genre.  It is a definite must-see for metalheads; but is prepared in a way for the average “outsider” to gain a fresh perspective and understanding of the culture.

 

The film delves into how the fans of the music have evolved into a worldwide subculture; but also takes a look at some of the controversies over the years – including the Norwegian Black Metal related church burnings (recently highlighted in a new documentary entitled Until The Light Takes Us).  Metal has faced many challenges over the years, from censorship to its relationship with religion, and the filmmaker does his best to attempt to cover all bases.

 

Sam Dunn has since moved on to film a sequel entitled Global Metal and has also co-directed the documentary Iron Maiden: Flight 666.  If you want to watch a movie about Metal, then Sam Dunn’s Metal: a Headbanger’s Journey should be the first in your list, or at least alongside This Is Spinal Tap.

 

 

 

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2. Still Crazy

In the mid- to late-1990’s, there was a development among classic metal bands and classic rock bands… nostalgia had kicked in, and reunion tours were announced. Numerous bands joined the movement – each one declaring that their reunion tour was individualized and not influenced by other acts getting back together:  Black Sabbath, KISS, Sex Pistols, and a slew of bands they influenced who were from the 1980’s zenith of hair metal…  It was an exciting time when it first started as many younger fans were getting the opportunity to see their favorite bands for the first time ever.

 

Capturing the spirit of this era is the film Still Crazy directed by Brian Gibson and starring Stephen Rea and Billy Connolly.  The movie focuses on getting the members of the fictional band Strange Fruit back together for a reunion show.  The film is testament to the reunion movements of the 1990’s, but also a tribute to the classic rock and metal acts of the Seventies; and includes some great humorous scenes with Billy Connolly as well! Still Crazy is a rockin’, yet touching flick, with some witty moments too.

 

 

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3. Detroit Rock City

After the tacky parody-filled comedies (most of them listed in the MetalInjection.net top 6) had come and gone, but also just after the Reunion Tour chapter of many Metal bands, came the movie Detroit Rock City.  Released in 1999, directed by Adam Rifkin, and starring Edward Furlong and Sam Huntington (who would later star in a similar movie, but about Star Wars fans entitled Fanboys), the movie follows the journey of four teens during the 1970’s on a pilgrimage to a KISS concert. Detroit Rock City, in several ways, is more of a “coming-of-age” film than it is a comedy (though there are some fabulous scenes that are highly amusing; most notably the vomit jug scene).

 

While the film never did fantastic at the box office upon its theatrical release, it has since gathered a sturdy cult following among rock fans and metalheads around the world.  It was the antidote to the “Bill and Ted and Wayne’s” of the early Nineties; but more importantly had a key scene that metalheads would pinpoint as a classic one for years: where the four KISS Fans take out a bunch of disco dorks with Black Sabbath playing in the background.  Pure awesomeness!

 

 

 

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4. The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years

In recent years, metal fans will point to documentaries such as Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and Anvil: the Story of Anvil as exceptional films looking at metal bands behind the scenes.  While these two examples are exceptional movies indeed, there was one movie that was the forerunner for all of these documentaries, and that was 1988’s Decline of Western Civilization Part II: the Metal Years by Penelope Spheeris.  Spheeris first represented the hard edged element of hard core and punk on the west coast in the first Western Civilization documentary; and for her follow-up, she focused on the Metal advancements during the late 1980’s: a period of glam and image, which was being eroded away by the behind-the-scenes existence of excess after excess.

 

While it does paint a very broad picture of the metal scene in Los Angeles (with a heavy prominence on hair metal), the film is most notable for its interview with Chris Holmes from W.A.S.P. – an interview in his swimming pool, awfully drunk, as his concerned and worried mother looks on.  It was perhaps the first glimpse fans had of the bearing and effect of the excessive “partying” lifestyle had on their idols, and was certainly an eye-opening image to many.

 

 

 

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5. Rock Star

Even though 1998’s Still Crazy gave metalheads a taste of a tale depicting a fictional rock band, it wasn’t until 2001 that the appetite was satisfied with the movie Rock Star.  Starring Mark Wahlberg with Jennifer Aniston, and directed by Stephen Herek, the movie was initially loosely based on the story of the band Judas Priest: where Rob Halford left the band and was replaced by a vocalist from a Priest tribute band named Ripper Owens.  The storyline eventually evolved into something else, though comparable elements of the Judas Priest story remain: the tale of a metalhead who has a dream, sees that dream come to fulfillment, and slowly discovers that perhaps the dream wasn’t exactly he had hoped for.

 

Panned by critics on its release for being gorged with rock clichés, it was embraced by rock fans for portraying an era in the history of metal that had finally been given a place in film – and by paying homage and doing justice to it, without succumbing to the cheese of the parody comedic films of the 1990’s.  Notable in this movie are the band member roles filled by metal musicians including Zakk Wylde, Blas Elias, and Jason Bonham – as well as ex-rapper “Marky Mark” truly playing a convincing metal singer / metalhead performance!

 

Side-note: the metal musicians take the opportunity to make fun of Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg during the closing credits of the film as well – worth “the price of admission” alone, in my opinion!

 

 

 

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6. Trick or Treat

It was 1986 and the metal scene was crazy at the time. Whilst the second generation of Glam Metal was starting to fire up, Thrash Bands were gaining in popularity, as were some of the underground Black Metal and Death Metal acts of the era.  But as the popularity of the metal scene was skyrocketing across the world, the bands and the fans were tackling threats from those considering themselves to be the “moral majority”.  Metal came under fire for numerous disparagements, but the one that came to the forefront during this era was that of Satanic worship and dabbling in the Occult. Metal musicians were accused of hiding secret messages in their music when the tunes were played in reverse, deep and shadowy secret messages of the Devil.

 

While it is true that there were many bands during this time (most notably Venom) that declared themselves to be Satanists, the majority of the claims made by the “moral majority” were ridiculous, misguided, and more significantly: untrue.  The accusations eventually became somewhat cliché, and no movie better cements this corny “done to death” and passé moment in metal history than Trick or Treat.  Yes, it’s a horror film, and yes it is a cheesy one – but it’s significant in using the cliché of a Satanic Metal Musician named Sammi Curr who kicks the bucket and then comes back to life when his music is played backwards. Comparatively, the film sits nicely in the Slasher horror movies of the day (known during this period of the 1980’s as becoming less threatening and more comedic), but is also noteworthy for the appearances of Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne in the movie.

 

Trick or Treat was never and WILL NEVER be taken into account for critical accolades and awards, but it remains in the hearts of metalheads as a popcorn flick to escape from reality for a couple of hours – it WAS the “rock movie” of its time.

 

Other Metal Related Articles by Greg Davies:

• 10 Things That Uniquely Identify and Define Metalheads
• Stomping True: The Metal Bands that NEVER Sold Out
• Stumble and Fall: The Worst Mistakes made by Metal Bands
• The Devil Made Me Do It: Famous Heavy Metal and Hard Rock Controversies
• 10 Underrated Metal Bands You Should Be Listening To
• 
  

What do you think of our Top 6 choices? Are there any we missed?

This is a guest post written by Regan Payne. Mr. Payne is president of Omnipresent Productions, a fully functioning production house in Vancouver, BC

I began hearing the cries and caterwauls several years ago. It’s a familiar sound to most, a high-pitched rhythm, lined with the sardonic shades of a half-conceived argument. Otherwise known as whining. And not just any old whining, no, the whining of that much-derided, multiplex malcontent: the cineaste. Every group of friends has one, that veritable fountain of nonplus theorizing about this, that, and anything film. I should know, I am this person amongst my unfortunate group of friends – though this particular grievance is not part of my usual repertoire, that consisting of the sacrilege of film remakes (God, please not Metropolis too! Or, Metropolis 2 for that matter, I don’t want to see either one) and the long lost art of actual film editing.

As Sean Penn strode the stage of the Kodak Theatre earlier this year, brow furrowed in familiar fashion, to accept his Best Actor prize for portraying 1970s San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, message boards filled and bloggers around the world dusted off their shopworn hypothesis, believing it wholly original once again under the veil of a new calendar year. Oscar, that Mount Olympus of film achievement, in all its glory, yet again, gleamed its way into the hands of an actor portraying not a character from a page, built surreptitiously from the inside out, but rather a person of flesh and blood, not unlike you or I, whose life had already been thoroughly documented and chosen exemplary by the glamour crowd.

This is not of course anything new under the sun. As early as 1933 one of the greatest actors to ever don powder, Charles Laughton, was awarded Best Actor for portraying King Henry VIII. Three years later, Paul Muni took home Oscar for portraying Louis Pasteur, believe it or not. These days it almost represents a hallmark for an actor’s career. From gritty independents for little money and a craft service table comprised of 5 cent wine gums, to modest supporting roles, comic relief or creepy neighbor, meant to embolden their more famous co-stars onto moral victory. To their big break, painting on spandex to rid the world of some form of evil understood only by people who develop code for a living, but with enough explosions to have them lining up around the block. And then, it comes: a serious, meaty opportunity of a lifetime in the form of the tried and true Hollywood biopic. Everyone’s had one. From Glenn Miller to Dorothy Dandridge: Howard Hawks to Jimmy Hoffa. Heck, even Larry Flynt got his due. No life too unseemly.

However, decades, or in certain cases centuries, removed allow an actor a certain freedom not available to an actor’s portrayal of a public figure whose life has already been committed to celluloid, or who may be still among the living; at the very least it provides freedom from the harsh criticism of modern film audiences. Brando’s Caesar or Taylor’s Cleopatra seem believable or not based on their performance and interpretation alone, as we can have no real, unbiased semblance of what these people were actually like. Even Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson playing the Boleyn sisters were afforded some leeway that wouldn’t have been present if they were playing, say, the Hilton sisters (though that film would have undoubtedly raked in more of the green). There are no facial ticks or funny walks, nor stuttering, stammering or random acts of stupidity caught on film, uploaded and ready for judgment on You Tube, for the modern actor to mimic and master. The blissful indiscretions of centuries past were carted off to the grave with the perpetrators allowing for time to smooth their respective legacies; their mannerisms lost, with only their collective posture documented for posterity in oil paintings hung throughout the modern art world.

This is a guest post written by Greg Davies. Greg is known in social media circles as cGt2099, and runs the sites The-TrukstoP.com and WallabyDown.com. We’ve previously featured his inestimable talents on the post:
Before the Galaxy Far, Far Away: Influences on ‘Star Wars’

© Annie Leibovitz for Vogue

One of the most expected movies of 2008, Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, also turned out to be one of the most polarizing. When the film was finally released, it was subject to a wide range of reviews; from positive to neutral to negative… it was unmistakable that the movie would not be universally loved as the hype before release had many people believe.

While Australia is not exactly a terrible film, it’s not exactly an exceptional one either. It does have its flaws; though it was overall well-received in my home nation from which the film gets its namesake.

It can be quite exasperating for many Aussies though, when only certain films about the Great Southern Land get all of the misdirected worldwide attention, while other fabulous movies are frighteningly underrated and rarely get seen by people outside of Australia.

Before you dive into renting or buying a copy of Luhrmann’s Australia on DVD/Blu-Ray (available Tues, Mar. 3rd); contemplate some of the following Aussie films that not only capture the essence of the Australian spirit, but are far superior documentations of Australian culture and history…

The Castle

Many Americans have probably never heard of The Castle, but it has got a minor cult following in the USA. Released in 1997, the film was an Aussie comedy featuring the unique and hilarious talents of Michael Caton and Eric Bana (While we’re on the subject, for those who are unaware, Eric Bana actually began his career in Australia as a television comedian – well before the days of turning into the Hulk). The plot behind the film follows a Melbourne airport wanting to take over the main character’s family home and property for expansion purposes. However, this plot line, while solid and entertaining, takes second place to the ethics and attitude of working class Aussies (“the battlers”) and how they fit into contemporary Australia.

Ned Kelly

While the Americans had Billy the Kid and Jesse James; Australia’s celebrated outlaw was Ned Kelly. Now a cultural icon, and a hero in the eyes of some, Ned Kelly was a bushranger that became a hunted lawbreaker by the Victorian police. He has been the subject of many films (including one misguided attempt in the 1970’s featuring Mick Jagger in the lead role), but undoubtedly the best film to portray this historic figure was one released in 2003, with Heath Ledger acting as Ned. Accompanied by Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, and Joel Edgerton, the movie was based on the novel Our Sunshine by Robert Drewe; and is considered to be perhaps one of the more precise portrayals of Ned Kelly. On top of that, the movie depicts the hardened and muddied lives of Australians during the late 1800’s, from the dishonesty among authorities to the light-hearted larrikinism of the working-class of the time.

Gallipoli

Every year, on April 25, Australians commemorate ANZAC Day – a day of remembrance and tribute to the soldiers who fought and died in the First World War, and all the wars that followed. The day of celebration gets its name from the ANZACs – The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The events of Australia’s involvement in World War I was the coming-of-age for the nation; and culminated in the Battle of Gallipoli, fought on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey – conceivably one of the most bloodiest and brutal battles of the war. Tens of thousands of ANZAC troops fought at Gallipoli – and many of these young men faced their deaths on this battleground. It was a time of grieving for the young nation of Australia – and the remembrance is always celebrated with more sobering respect than with elaboration or fanfare. Peter Weir’s film Gallipoli not only portrays the battlefield events of this chapter of the First World War, but leads up to the climactic battle with finely honed accuracy of the Australian identity – from the lifestyles down under during the time period, to the Australian solidarity among soldiers during war time. The film was a massive success in Australia, was a launch pad for Mel Gibson’s career, and is perhaps one of the best known films for capturing the Aussie spirit.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Irreverent humor is a part of the Australian uniqueness, and has been for decades. Out of many of the Aussie films to surface over the years, Priscilla is most definitely one that plays on the distinctive Aussie sense of humor. The story centers around three drag queens (including General Zod and Agent Smith!), travelling from Sydney to Alice Springs in a bus (dubbed Priscilla) for a show at a casino. While the movie is well known for its breathtaking footage of the outback, it is perhaps better known for highlighting the immense contrast between Aussie city culture and Aussie rural culture – and highlights the issues surrounding tolerance and acceptance of other people in the modern era. Besides all this, it’s a magnificent film – even worth seeing just to hear Terence Stamp say the line, “That’s just what this country needs. A cock in a frock on a rock”… or of course another classic: “Now listen here, you mullet. Why don’t you just light your tampon, and blow your box apart? Because it’s the only bang you’re ever gonna get, sweetheart!”

Rabbit-Proof Fence

This movie is unmistakably one of the more striking and significant Australian films to have been released in the last decade. The account is a tale from the Stolen Generation – a generation of young Australian Aboriginal children who were ‘stolen’ from their parents by the government in a foolish attempt to integrate them into “White Culture”. The Aboriginal people of Australia have been subject to many injustices by the governments through history, and the tale of the Stolen Generation is but a part of a long and sad tale of how such a rich and vibrant culture was almost erased by ignorant powers-that-be. The story of Rabbit-Proof Fence follows the trek of three young girls who run away from the Moore River Native Settlement in an attempt to return to families. Their journey home shows them following the 1,500 miles of the Australian rabbit-proof fence (a fence created to exclude rabbits, and other pests from pastoral areas). Rabbit-Proof Fence is an moving film – one that not only how far we have come in Australian race relations, but also one that gives a sobering reminder of how far we have yet to travel. The movie was the recipient of several awards, and also features a remarkable performance by Kenneth Branagh.

Honorable Mention:

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

While The Road Warrior is not necessarily a film that captures the quintessence of the Australian spirit, it is significant in its international impact as an Australian film. The movie helped strengthen the strength of the growing Australian film industry; and it also popularized the post-apocalyptic film genre that would see many imitations appear from all corners of the globe for decades after its release.

The 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder highlights an inconvenient Hollywood truth: Oscar loves mental disabilities. In the film, Ben Stiller’s action hero character, Tugg Speedman, wishing to expand beyond his stereotype, attempts to court Oscar sympathies by playing a mentally challenged farmhand. It ends up being a critical failure. This is because, as Tugg’s co-star Robert Downey, Jr warns him, “You never go full retard”. And he has a point.

The most critically acclaimed performances by characters with disabilities still retained something the audience could emotionally relate to. Let’s take a look at some of the best performances of characters with mental disabilities, and how those performances were rewarded.

Charly (1968)

Character: Charlie Gordon as played by Cliff Robertson
Mental Disability: A low IQ of 68 (Mild mental retardation)
Based on the critically acclaimed science-fiction short Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (the first short story I ever read that made me cry, if you must know, nosy Nellie!). Charlie signs up for a groundbreaking experiment that raises his IQ to genius level. It also, for some reason, turns him into a swingin’, psychedelic biker. Like all things too good to last, however, it doesn’t. Then comes the misty-eyed part.
What the Critics Thought: Roger Ebert called Robertson’s performance “sensitive [and] believable.”
How it Paid Off: Voters awarded the “better-to-have-lived-a-smarty-pants-and-lost” role both a Golden Globe, and an Oscar for Best Actor that year.

A glimpse of Charlie’s rollercoaster ride to intelligence and back.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Character: Randle Patrick McMurphy as played by Jack Nicholson
Mental Disability: Severe Authority Issues
Based on a book author Ken Kesey wrote after working the graveyard shift in a mental health facility (yeesh!), Milos Forman’s 1975 film features Nicholson as a statutory rapist who pretends to be crazy to avoid doing hard time (Forman’s celebration of crazed anti-establishment iconoclasts have become his stock and trade. Mozart, Larry Flynt and Andy Kaufman could’ve easily made this list). He clashes with Nurse Ratched every step of the way, and shows us that the crazies, deep down, are just like you and I. When one confrontation too many gives him a one-way ticket to a lobotomy, his Native American inmate friend mercifully decides the world’s better off without McMurphy than with one who’s spirit is gone.
What the Critics Thought: Vincent Canby called Nicholson’s performance “flamboyant…but not overbearing”. Variety called it “outstanding”.
How it Paid Off: The Academy awarded the film five Oscars, including Best Actor for Nicholson.

McMurphy rallies the crazies to vote to watch a baseball telecast

Being There (1979)

Character: Chance, the gardener, aka Chauncey Gardiner as played by Peter Sellers
Mental Disability: Extreme naïveté due to social isolation
Hal Ashby’s adaptation of Jerzy Kosiński’s novel features Sellers as a middle-aged gardener who’s only contact with the outside world comes from watching television. Mistaken for a businessman, he’s adopted by a wealthy Washington, D.C. family and gains the ear of the President. His gardening advice is misinterpreted as sage political wisdom, and he becomes the darling of the Beltway elite. He inherits a fortune (and potentially the Presidency), and walks off in an enigmatic Jesus-like ending people are still debating today.
Sellers fought hard to prove he could break out of the comedy stereotype and pull off a truly straight dramatic role, and his efforts paid off.
What the Critics Thought: Variety called Being There “quietly outrageous” and “unusually fine”, and Roger Ebert said it was “one of the most confoundedly provocative movies of the year.”
How it Paid Off: It took home Golden Globes for Sellers and Supporting Actor Melvyn Douglas (as well as an Oscar for Douglas), but Sellars was cheated out of an Oscar that year, presumably because the Academy was put off by the film’s closing credits outtake reel, where Sellers breaks character.

“Life is a state of mind…”

Rain Man (1988)

Character: Raymond Babbitt as played by Dustin Hoffman
Mental Disability: Autism / Savant Syndrome
Barry Levinson’s film features Hoffman as an “idiot savant” who possesses a phenomenal capacity to count toothpicks and cheese balls (and later, cards in Vegas). Hoffman’s performance arguably is one of the most ‘affected’ of all the characters on this list, and as such, the hardest to emotionally connect with, particularly for his brother (Tom Cruise), who’s self-centered and primarily interested in the estate their father left Raymond. But in the midst of his worst autistic episodes, Raymond’s primal instinct to care for his younger brother is the touchstone that makes this performance resonate.
What the Critics Thought: The Los Angeles Times called Hoffman’s performance made the film “hypnotically interesting”, and Newsweek’s David Ansen said the film was “made with care, smarts, and a refreshing refusal to settle for the unexpected”.
How it Paid Off: It took home four Oscars that year, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Hoffman.

Here’s a compilation of some of Hoffman and Cruise’s best moments.

The Fisher King (1991)

Character: Parry, as played by Robin Williams
Mental Disability: Derangement, brought on by emotional trauma
Terry Gilliam’s outstanding redemption tale follows a former shock jock (Jeff Bridges) as he attempts to salvage the life of a mentally deranged homeless man (Williams), who, unbeknown to him, went crazy after an indirect result of something Bridges said on the radio. In most director’s hands, a character like Parry’s would be one to sympathize with or pity. But director Terry Gilliam gifts us with the ability to see life through the magic wonderment of Parry’s mind, and for that, we envy Parry.
What the Critics Thought: The Washington Post said The Fisher King was “a one-of-a-kind, thoroughly engaging experience” and Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers said it “restores our belief in the power of movies to transform reality”. High praise, indeed.
How it Paid Off: It was nominated for five Oscars, and won one for Supporting Actress Mercedes Ruhl. Oscar notoriously has a stigma for awarding comedies (or in this case, comic actors like Robin Williams). Fortunately the Golden Globes has its own comedy category, for which Williams handily won Best Actor.

Parry’s admiration for Lydia transforms a crowded Grand Central Terminal into a waltz.

Miracle Mile is a fantastic thriller born of the apocalyptic paranoia of the late eighties — the last vestiges of Reagan-era Cold War. It’s directed by Steve DeJarnatt (whose previous film, Cherry 2000, is a futuristic romance about a guy who discovers love while on a journey to find a replacement for his sex robot) and stars a pre-ER Anthony Edwards and ‘brat packer’ Mare Winningham.

Edwards plays Harry Washello, a young trombone player who “meets cute” with Winningham’s Julie. Harry and Julie have the kind of whirlwind all-in-one-afternoon storybook romance montage that only occurs in movies rapidly needing to get to their Inciting Incident. After museums, carousels, and lobsters, Harry decides Julie’s “the one” and vice versa. They plan their first real date, later that evening. Harry decides to get some shuteye before picking Julie up at the diner she waits tables at, so he sets his alarm clock.

Things go awry, however, and he wakes up in the middle of the night, long past their date. He rushes down to the diner in hopes she’s still there. She’s not. He leaves her a message apologizing for missing their date from a nearby phone booth (when they still had them–kids, ask your parents about these). A few moments later, the phone rings back. Except it’s not Julie, it’s a wrong number from a soldier in a missile silo, who has just about the worst news imaginable…

Upon hearing this, Harry is resolute, with a singular goal in mind–find Julie, and somehow get her to safety. From this point on, the rest of the film occurs in real time. While this may not seem groundbreaking in the era of ‘24‘, in 1988, this was pretty innovative (although Hitchcock’s Rope and Zinnemann’s High Noon pioneered this technique). The next sixty minutes of the film takes on a wildly different tone, right down to its final scenes (which I will spoil a little later in this article).

Harry attempts to describe the phone call to the late-night denizens of the diner. No one believes him at first. At this point the movie’s tone devolves into a paranoiac, claustrophobic thriller– the type I usually identify with dark comedies such as After Hours, Into the Night, The Cable Guy, and U Turn, wherein the protagonist is trapped in an off-kilter world either by geography or time limitation, and everything he does to try and fix the situation only gets him in more trouble (a topic for a future post itself). As Harry continues to recruit people to help him, he discovers a “telephone game” effect occurring: all news and rumors about the impending incident, he learns, came indirectly from one source: him. The self-reflexive nature of this causes Harry to question his own credibility. Did he really understand the phone call correctly, or is he just a Chicken Little, inciting citywide mass hysteria?

©Dave Gorman	©Radkovitch Co.

His situation is either helped or harmed by some great supporting characters: Robert DoQui as the diner’s cook- a survivalist with an itchy trigger finger, Denise Crosby as Landa, a sexy businesswoman who happens to have frighteningly powerful military connections, Mykelti Williamson as a scared car thief, and “that guy” Kurt Fuller (voted most likely to be confused with other “that guy” Stephen Tobolowsky) who steals a pivotal scene as Landa’s rage-fueled go-to guy. Even Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile district itself becomes a character, with the film creating memorable icons of Johnie’s Coffee Shop and the Mutual Benefit Life building.

Edwards is perfectly cast as the type of reactive protagonist to whom bad things are always happening– a schlemazel as my bubbie would say. He’s constantly got that deer-in-headlights look about him. Winningham carries well the role of befuddled, newly-lovestruck Julie (I don’t know if I’d be so quick to run off with someone I’d only met the day before, but she sells it).

Before it was produced, it was a legendary film around Hollywood, voted by American Film magazine as one of the 10 best unmade scripts. The main reason it remained unproduced was because DeJarnatt insisted on directing it himself. He intended the film’s anti-war message to be a “penance” to Tony Scott’s overtly militaristic Top Gun.

Comparisons to ‘Cloverfield‘ (2008)
(End spoilers hidden in invisotext; highlight to view)

While Miracle Mile may have indirectly inspired disaster films such as Volcano and Right At Your Door, some of the comparisons made between Miracle Mile and Matt Reeves’ 2008 monster movie Cloverfield are too eerie to deny.

DeJarnatt’s cautionary tale was a welcome antidote to the testosterone-fueled blockbusters that glutted the eighties, and demonstrates with striking directness that in the end, the only thing with any permanence is love.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree : Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man: Down to a sunless sea.” –Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Kubla Khan, or A Vision in a Dream. A Fragment.”

Perhaps the biggest crime Xanadu, the 1980 Olivia Newton-John/Gene Kelly musical is guilty of is its attempt to serve many masters. Capably directed by Robert Greenwald (who later enjoyed success with the liberal documentaries Outfoxed and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price), the film certainly had a respectable provenance. It’s based on Down to Earth, a 1947 Rita Hayworth musical that happens to be the sequel to the highly successful 1941 comedy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (Incidentally, Here Comes Mr. Jordan was remade by Warren Beatty in 1978 as Heaven Can Wait, so in a weird, roundabout way, Xanadu is really a sequel to Heaven Can Wait… but I digress).

The plot’s fairly simple: Michael Beck plays Sonny, an idealistic young artist who dreams of opening an art-deco nightclub cum roller disco. Just when he’s at the end of his inspirational rope, he runs into Kira (Newton-John) who turns out to be his muse (no, like a real muse). Kira introduces him to Danny (Kelly), a land developer who just so happens to be a former nightclub owner himself. A couple of dance numbers, a couple of arguments, a couple more dance numbers, and it all ends up nicely like a classic Hollywood musical should (Right down to “The End. Made in Hollywood, USA”). Despite The Warriors star Michael Beck’s uncomfortably wooden performance (he once said of Xanadu, “The Warriors opened a lot of doors in film for me, which Xanadu then closed.”) the rest of the cast acquits themselves fairly well.

(Universal/Everett Collection)

The real problem with Xanadu is it tried to be too many things to too many people. There’s a musical number about midway through the film where Sonny’s idea of what the club should be clashes with Danny’s idea, and instead of picking one, they attempt to shoehorn a punk band and swing band together. This, I feel, stands as a metaphor for the entire film. I believe the filmmakers’ intention was truly to show how opposite styles can blend together elegantly to create something novel, but the execution more often than not ends up muddled. Beginning with the basic premise, the jazz club/roller disco, this is evident throughout. John Farrar’s tender ballads are an awkward match for the Birmingham disco/rock of the Electric Light Orchestra. For the most part, Gene Kelly looks horribly out of place amongst Newton-John and Beck. The entire fifteen-minute finale is a schizophrenic mess, with Greenwald throwing everything but the kitchen sink at us, from Zoot Suit-wearing poppers to leopard-skinned rock to faux country in a relentless assault to the end.

In spite of all this, there are some pretty distinctive, memorable touches throughout, whose pros definitely outweigh their cons: the unique transitions and visual effects by R/Greenberg, the cool animated sequence by Dragon’s Lair animator Don Bluth,  Kenny Ortega and Jerry Trent’s outstanding choreography. And the film’s main saving grace: everybody genuinely looks like they’re giving this labor of love their best effort, and are having fun doing it. There are glimmers of genius– and I’m thinking in particular of the highlight of this film for me, the fantastic “Whenever You’re Away From Me” number between Newton-John and Kelly– when you see the potential this film had to be a legitimate addition to the canon of great MGM-style movie musicals. And it’s this display of heart that draws the film to be imminently rewatchable to me.

But hey, don’t take my word for it. Immediately below is the the entire film from start to finish, via Hulu. Check it out for yourself. If you watch it directly from the Hulu site you have the option to expand the window to full screen.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that I am certainly not the only Xanadu fan out there. Douglas Carter Beane was such a fan that in 2007 he staged a live musical version based on the movie that opened to incredible success, and subsequently was nominated for 4 Tony awards, including best musical. Here’s the live performance of “Don’t Walk Away” from the 2008 Tony Award broadcast.

So, now that you’ve seen Xanadu for yourself, what did you think?

We at Cineleet really appreciate a good title sequence, as can be seen in our showcase of designer Saul Bass. A truly effective title sequence should act as a microcosm of the film, delivering all the basic themes in a matter of a couple of minutes, and mentally preparing the audience for what lies ahead. So imagine our delight when we stumbled across Art of the Title.com.

Art of the Title is a film blog solely dedicated to terrific title sequences, in a simple, yet well-designed fashion, with still frames to each sequence presented in a matrix that illustrates their progression. They currently have profiles on about 50 movie title sequences and nearly 20 TV title sequences. I have no idea who runs the site or any additional background, but the site owner’s passion for good title sequences is apparent. I’m going to add it to my bookmarks, and if you like titles as I do, I hope you will as well.

I leave you with Danny Yount’s opening titles to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) which I discovered on this site.

This is a guest post written by Greg Davies. Greg is known in social media circles as cGt2099, and runs the sites The-TrukstoP.com and DayoftheJedi.com

With Universal Day of Jedi set for May 25, Star Wars fans around the globe will be celebrating the legacy of George Lucas; his creative and pioneering vision of what happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Day of the Jedi is, undeniably, specifically a Star Wars celebration; but in many ways it is more than that. It is a reflection of how much impact Lucas’ saga has had upon pop culture around the world. Think about it: can you imagine a world without Star Wars? The movies, books, comics, toys, cartoons, video games, and countless forms of other types of media connected with millions over a few generations. Clearly, what Lucas had accomplished with the series, did more than just touch a nerve.

There was definitely, at one point, a world without Star Wars. Before May 25, 1977, the mythical universe created by Lucas was simply a work-in-progress; something that many in the business-side of Hollywood found challenging to comprehend. The whole concept was weird to them. What the hell was a Wookiee and why did he not have any pants on? What is this Force and who or what is a Jedi?

In spite of the difficulties many of the execs had with understanding the story, the ancestry of Star Wars come from many different sources. Lucas often quotes Joseph Campbell and his studies into and publications about mythology to be a key influence. But it was more than that. While “the suits” thought that Sith Lords and Death Stars were just too peculiar, there were numerous films that Lucas used as inspiration for the Star Wars saga; inspirations that assisted him in molding the saga into a multigenerational story.

Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress

Kurosawa is conceivably George Lucas’ biggest influence in the realm of film-making. He has explicitly confirmed this in countless interviews over the years. More significantly, he has also used scenes in his movies that “give the nod” in tribute to the classic Japanese director.

The Hidden Fortress tells the story of a soldier, General Rokurota Makabe, who is transporting a Princess to a safe locality. The royal family has been defeated by their enemies, and the two make a strategy to rebuild the Princess’ military and take back her land.

The plot, in and of itself, is particularly similar to the concept of Star Wars: of a Princess leading a Rebellion and re-establishing order to her domain by taking down ‘the evil empire’. But perhaps the most unequivocal influence of Star Wars is not the plot, but two characters called Tahei and Matashichi.

Tahei and Matashichi are the initial primary characters in the film; and the entire story is fairly much told from their perspective. They have a habit of getting into trouble, getting in the way, and the dynamics of the rapport between the two is a key element of the film. These two characters were a thorough influence for the creation of C-3PO and R2-D2: two characters that have a tendency of getting into trouble, with which Episode IV: A New Hope is fairly much told from their viewpoint.

While The Hidden Fortress is in all probability the more renowned Kurosawa film known to have influenced Star Wars, Lucas has evidently been inspired by a majority of the works by the Japanese master, inserting references to a variety of Kurosawa’s films. Examples include severed limbs (as seen in Yojimbo), and Yoda slowly moving his hand over his head in Episode III (faithfully like Kambei in Seven Samurai)

The Flash Gordon Serials

Being a space-based saga, Star Wars was clearly influenced by several science fiction films. Perhaps the biggest influence was the classic Flash Gordon film serials made during the thirties. With Buster Crabbe fulfilling his defining role as the space hero, the Universal Pictures chronicle became popular among young film fans.

While the basics of spaceships, laser guns, and a young space hero facing off against a wicked emperor are clearly large influences on the Star Wars saga, there are some other characteristics of the serials that Lucas used for both the original and prequel trilogies.

Firstly, Lucas imitates the naming convention of the classic sci-fi serials – naming his films “Episodes” in place of Flash Gordon’s “Chapters”. Additionally, the opening crawl for which Star Wars is so renowned is almost shamelessly ripped off from the Flash Gordon serials; particularly the style used in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. In essence, Lucas’ utilization of these elements is his way of saying that his saga is the contemporary interpretation of these classic serials.

The Searchers and other Westerns

Star Wars has long been known for being inspired by classic Westerns, such as Once Upon a Time in the West, as well. Scenes (such as those in the Mos Eisley Cantina in Episode IV and the Outlander Club in Episode II) resonate elements of the old classic Saloon scenes in some of the more well-known Western movies of years gone by. In fact, the Han Solo/Greedo scene in Mos Eisley is directly taken from a comparable scene in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Perhaps the one Western that influenced Lucas was The Searchers, featuring John Wayne. The plot focuses on Ethan Edwards (portrayed by Wayne) spending years searching for his niece, who had been kidnapped by a Comanche tribe during a raid on the family’s home.

Lucas refers to The Searchers in several scenes throughout the saga. In A New Hope, the burning of the Lars Homestead is story-wise and visually very similar to that of the burning of the family home in The Searchers. The scene from The Searchers when Edwards observes the Comanche camp to save his niece is almost identical to the way Anakin Skywalker looks over and into the Tusken Raider camp to save his mother (from Star Wars Episode II).

Tuco shoots first.

The Guns of Navarone

Films about World War II were also clear influences on the Star Wars saga (the dogfight scene from “Episode IV: A New Hope“ was based upon a visualization created by Lucas taken from countless WWII films; and the historical tale of the Nazis was a huge influence on the development of The Empire). Visually, The Guns of Navarone, a classic in its own right, was a big inspiration on how the Death Star’s functionality was portrayed on-screen. The scenes in which the engineers and gunners prepare to trigger the primary weapon(s) in both films is very close; in fact it is more or less identical.

Plot-wise, the heroes’ attempts at attempting to destroy the formidable weapons are also mirrored in both Episodes IV and VI. While the journey to the end-goal differs between the two films, it is the idea of unlikely heroes accomplishing the impossible that Lucas was clearly fascinated with.

Compare the scene below to the scene in Episode IV where the Death Star is about to fire upon the rebel base on the moon of Yavin.

Lawrence of Arabia

Lucas has acknowledged that there are several allusions to this film in the Star Wars saga. The most apparent one are the scenes from the Theed Palace in Attack of the Clones with Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, which were shot at the Plaza de Espana. The Plaza de Espana was used as the Cairo Great Britain Army Headquarters for Lawrence of Arabia. The Star Wars scenes were shot in a similar style to the technique used when Dryden and Allenby discuss the issue of providing ammunition to Lawrence and his troops.

Below you can see the entire extended scene shot on location at the Plaza de Espana for Star Wars Episode II.

The Dam Busters and 633 Squadron

Another World War II film, The Dam Busters has long been considered by countless film fans as an absolute classic. Released in 1954, the flick comes to a climax in the scene where Rebel pilots are to fly towards a target and release a single shot of a special weapon at a specific distance in an endeavor to destroy the enemy base with one explosion.

Sound familiar? It should, because the conceptualization is the exact same one used by Lucas during the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Moreover, some of the lines spoken by several of the X-Wing pilots in these scenes are duplicated from The Dam Busters. The assault on the Death Star is also heavily influenced by another film called 633 Squadron.

The parallels with The Dam Busters do not just end there. The final march scene at the end of Star Wars, in which Luke Skywalker and Han Solo are awarded their medals, features music very similar to the Elgarian-style march them used in the timeless 1954 film.

These similarities have not gone unnoticed by fans. In actual fact, one ambitious fan put together his own version of footage from The Dam Busters overdubbed with sound effects, music, and lines from Episode IV.

There are, absolutely, countless films that have influenced George Lucas over the years as he produced the Star Wars saga, besides the ones listed above. The opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan have been seen as an influence on the Kashyyyk battle in Revenge of the Sith, while others have pointed out some inspirations evident in other scenes in movies ranging from Casablanca to Zatoichi. The list could potentially be inexhaustible, which highlights one major factor in all of Lucas’ works: not only is he an accomplished film-maker, but he is most certainly a fan of films and enjoys paying homage to some of the finer moments in film history within his own works.

So, this May 25, as you swing your Force FX Lightsaber about on Universal Day of the Jedi while imitating Yoda’s backwards talk, save a thought also to many of the films that came before Star Wars became such a social impact across the world. Take some time to check them out, because who knows? You might truly end up enjoying them as much as that saga from a galaxy far, far away…

On a final note, I’d like to close out with a parody film that focuses on what influenced George Lucas and the creation of Star Wars. In 1999, an independent film was made by Joe Nussbaum as a homage and spoof to both Star Wars and Shakespeare in Love. The short film is called George Lucas in Love and was very popular on the web “back in the day”. It’s one of my personal favorites, and it fits nicely with this subject. Enjoy, and Happy Universal Day of the Jedi for May 25.

This is a guest post written by Darius Monsef. Darius is the Creator & Executive Editor of COLOURlovers.com. He is a creative consultant, entrepreneur and Internet Astronaut.

When a new viral video pops up on the internet it can reach upwards of 20,000,000 views… that’s more than can be said about any of Eddie Murphy’s latest films. Advertising agencies and major brands have begun to tap the creative class for commercials and funny sweded movie remakes… but how far off are we from a completely user generated feature film?

Spike Lee doesn’t think we’re too far off. He has teamed up with Nokia to direct a film made with mobile phone footage from every day people. “You are seeing first hand the democratization of film,” Lee said in a statement on Thursday. “Aspiring filmmakers no longer have to go to film school to make great work. With a simple mobile phone, almost anyone can now become a filmmaker.” More on this project at Nokia Productions [Be warned, auto loading annoying video + sound]

Not slow to embrace the latest trend MTV is running a User Generated Video Contest right now for the MTV Movie Awards. Kids grow up even more and more immersed in this internet rich, user generated content world. It was not too long ago, I was part of the MTV generation, but the camera phone enabled, video & music on demand teenagers are quick to embrace the new technologies that may be creating the next wave of entertainment content. Some teenagers would bury your body in the desert for a chance to go to the MTV movie awards… and now all they have to do is shoot a good 3 minute video.

Feature Films About Making User-Generated Films

Even though Hollywood hasn’t quite fully embraced user generated feature films… they seem to be embracing making movies ABOUT user generated feature films.

Son of Rambow is the name of the home movie made by two little boys with a big video camera and even bigger ambitions…

Be Kind Rewind stars Jack Black who unintentionally erases all the tapes in a video store where his best friend (Mos Def) works. He then devises a plan to satisfy the store’s few loyal customers by re-creating and re-filming every movie they decide to rent.

The Faux User-Generated Genre

While you can look back a few years to the smash hit The Blair Witch Project. Shooting in a handy cam style got some major attention with the recent release of Cloverfield. Both were very successful films despite their nausea inducing camera movements. If Hollywood can make a feature film about people making an amateur film… why not amateurs actually making an amateur film?

Cloverfield

The Blair Witch Project

The Fan Film Epic

And then there is Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, a shot-for-shot remake of the Spielberg-Lucas blockbuster by three 12-year-old boys in Ocean Springs, Miss. It ended up taking 7 years, between 1982 and 1989 to complete the project. (So a full length feature film can be shot by amateurs… if we can only speed up the process 5-6 years.)

A $6278 Feature Film

$1,500 Camera. $3,000 Macbook Pro. $1,300 Final Cut Pro. $478 Coffee. Granted there are a lot of other costs involved with creating a full length film, but make some talented friends with some free time on their hands and creating a 100 minute film isn’t impossible. And make any trip through the aisles of your local video store and you’re sure to find hundreds of films that you and your handy cam easily could have produced with more quality… and with any luck your film might just be horrible enough to become awesomely bad.

Do you believe Hollywood’s future lies in user-generated content? If not, what does? Leave us your thoughts in the comments.