Brattle Theatre Film Notes

By Julie Lavelle

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1956 - dir. Don Siegel

Don Siegel’s 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers has prompted countless debates over its political message: is it anti-McCarthyism or anti-communist? Although the iconic invasion narrative gives the plot cohesion, the film is most interesting for its bleak envisioning of a post-World War II America filled with broken promises, mental instability, and general uneasiness–a world in which anxiety rules and love can’t save the day.

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By Paula Delaney

Chinatown - 1974 - dir. Roman Polanski

A young Jack Nicholson stars in this complicated weave of drama, suspense and intrigue. Nicholson plays the role of J.J. ”Jake” Gittes, a private investigator who has retired from the police department with some very bitter memories of corruption during his days working for the district attorney in Chinatown. Nicholson is as savvy and self-assured as he is in all of his movies, and he can be captivating as he risks his life to solve this intricate “whodonit” about the murder of a Water Department in a close knit town in southern California.

The unraveling of the plot in this film resembles peeling layers of an onion. Mrs. Mulray, the wife of the victim, Hollis Mulray, is played exceptionally well by Faye Dunaway. Dunaway’s aloofness contributes to the intrigue of the film and she perfectly fits the character who is obviously concealing important information throughout the story. Hollis Mulray is played by Darrell Zwerling who is cast as the unlikely suspect of being involved in an extra marital affair, a ruse that is created to discredit him and thus his ability to stop a large scale fraudulent land acquisition. The land deal is being contrived by group of politicians and “civic leaders” that are led by the wealthy Noah Moss (played by John Houston) who is initially introduced to the viewer as the estranged father to Mrs. Mulray and former business partner of her husband Hollis. Nicholson presents as a very clever detective from the beginning when he places a timepiece under Hollis Mulray’s car to calculate how long he stays at a reservoir during a scene early in the movie. When Nicholson learns that he has been set up by a ruse and he becomes tenacious in his effort to solve the murder of Hollis Mulray. He enlists the help of Mulray’s wife, and throughout the film the viewer is forced to question her role in this murder case, since she expertly plays the role of possessing a secret. This can be considered a challenging film for viewers who like to solve mysteries quickly . The circumstances around the murder are such that throughout the film one entertains any number of suspects.

The solution to the murder uncovers a number of surprising, if not twisted, circumstances, not the least of which is the discovery of an incestuous relationship. This film won an Oscar for best screenplay and received 22 other nominations. It has been assailed as one of Polanski’s finest productions and while offering some unique opportunities for character study, it also serves to make a comment on the political corruptness that is often characteristic of emerging rural America.

By Melvin Cartagena

Gun Crazy - 1949 - dir. Joseph H. Lewis

The street could be Main Street from anywhere U.S.A., but in this case it’s Hampton, California. We see only a slice of the street, at an angle, from a connecting street. The effect is expressionistic lighting broken by a heavy rainfall. Then, a shadow slides across the storefronts for a moment before young Bart Tare (Russ Tamblyn) peeks around a building’s edge, right at us. He advances, and the camera pulls back to show us the window front of a hardware store. Bart presses his face against the glass and looks at the display of six-shooters with a fascination that borders on worship.  He picks up a rock, hurls it at the window, then turns to look back, momentarily striking a Jesus Christ pose with his arms stretched out at his sides. He reaches in and pulls out one Colt revolver and a box of bullets, runs away, and trips, causing the gun to slide across the rain-slick street, right at the feet of Sheriff Boston. The lawman advances on Bart and, his POV is a tracking shot that crowds young Bart’s wet face on the frame before we fade to black.

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By Kris Tronerud

The Fearless Vampire Killers (aka Dance of The Vampires) • 1967 • dir. Roman Polanski - Original Theatrical Trailer

Someone’s heart is beating around in their bosom… pitter pat… pitter pat… like a rat in a cage…
— Iain Quarrier to Roman Polanski in The Fearless Vampire Killers

From the beginning of the long and winding road that has been the film career of Roman Polanski, the Polish-born director’s films have been judged not only by their often considerable merit, but as a kind of post facto barometer of his tragedy-haunted, scandal ridden life. The corrosive alienation and jaundiced world view of his early successes Knife in the Water (1962), Repulsion (1965) and Cul-de-Sac (1966) taken as a reflection of his being left alone to escape the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto and survive the war in the Polish countryside at the tender age of nine; the pessimistic, paranoid (and brilliant) Rosemary’s Baby of the fears of a successful young director dependant on strangers in a foreign environment; the brutal, feral violence of Macbeth redolent of the horrific murder of his wife, unborn baby and 4 friends at the hands of the Manson family; with his whole post-exile career seen as a long string of reflections on personal morality, corruption, and the terrible difficulty of human relationships in general, and a string of artistic missteps and/or commercial failures viewed as some sort of karmic/filmic comeuppance. All this ephemera has been, happily, put to rest with the commercial and critical success of the Oscar/Cannes Prize-winning The Pianist and the presumably healing effect of the 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired; a good time, perhaps, to revisit the one Polanski film that can truly be enjoyed completely on its own, the light-hearted and baggage-free The Fearless Vampire Killers, an affectionate, charming homage to the Golden Age of Gothic Cinema in general, and 60’s Hammer vampire films in particular.

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By: KJ Hamilton

Rosemary’s Baby – 1968 – dir. Roman Polanski - Original Theatrical Trailer

“The name is an anagram.”  This is the line that the entire plot of the movie hinges on. In fact, even the title of the movie is an anagram: A BRASSY EMBRYO.  The definition of ‘brassy’ in this case is “brazen, bold, loud”; three words which accurately describe this film.  The basic plot of the film is centered around newlyweds. They move into a new apartment, and meet new neighbors who offer to advance the husband’s struggling career. His wife’s womb is offered in exchange.

There are several themes in this film. The first involves the relationship and bond between a husband and wife, Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse (Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes). In the beginning, they are two happy lovers who truly enjoy being around each other, there’s nothing to hide, nothing to distrust.  It does not last long.  Guy soon puts his career ahead of his marriage. His guilt over the deal he made becomes apparent: he progresses from sleeping in the nude, to full-blown pajamas, he rarely looks into her eyes, he’s suspicious of Rosemary’s friends.  One could almost feel sorry for him because he’s the epitome of someone stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, one must remember that this was a choice he made in order to further himself and his career. Pity soon vanishes once that realization sinks in and it’s then easy to recognize his cowardice and vanity.

The second theme is the relationship between friends. The Woodhouses are a younger couple, with a grand assortment of friends.  Minnie and Roman Castevet (Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer)are an older couple, also with several friends. Once these two couples meet, Rosemary has to struggle to keep up with her own friends, the connection that her husband has with the Castevets initially seems very overpowering and strange to her. Desperate for companionship, she befriends the young woman staying with the Castevets, Terry (Victoria Vetri) and is subsequently horrified when she takes her own life.  Alone again, Rosemary becomes closer to the older couple during her pregnancy, and the people her own age seem to fade out of the picture—until Rosemary discovers that they’re the only people she really can rely on.

Another theme of the film is pregnancy.  “No two pregnancies are alike…” Dr. Sapirstein (Ralph Bellamy) cautions Rosemary. She’s not to listen to her friends, nor take prenatal vitamins that come from a bottle. Instead, Minnie Castevet provides her with an herbal drink, that just happens to contain tannis root—a fictional fungus that is apparently preferred by Satan. Rosemary suffers almost unbearable pain for close to three months, yet no one does anything. Rosemary suspects that perhaps Dr. Sapirstein isn’t as brilliant as everyone tells her he is, but doesn’t act on these suspicious until they’re confirmed by her friends. But, the moment that the pain disappears, so do her suspicions. She falls right in line with the rest of the plan.
That is another theme of this film: no one acts on their own accord. It could be easy to say that Roman was pulling the strings, but these characters have obviously given up any amount of free will they have left.  Even when Rosemary tries to fight for her baby in the end, she does as Roman suggests: be a mother to her baby in spite of the fact that the child is the actual spawn of Satan.

The most prevalent theme in the movie organized religion. Roman is quick to speak about the hypocrisy behind organized religion, which is perhaps the single most amusing statement in the entire movie because Roman’s entire life has been spent in an organized religion. Just because they choose not to worship God, does not mean that it’s not organized. The definition of “organized”, is “…having a formal structure, especially to coordinate or carry out for widespread activities.” The coven gathers together from all around and sing praise to Satan. They chant, cast spells and use this magic—which is generated by the power of the coven—to force others to bow to their will. All it takes is one item of yours, and you would be under their spell.  It all sounds incredibly idealistic, and laughable upon initial reflection. When you delve further into the ideas behind the coven in this film, the story sounds incredibly familiar.  Christians, for example, believe that the spirit of God impregnated the Virgin Mary, and, every year they celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.  Roman’s coven has one goal: to conjure the living demon Satan so he can conceive a child with a mortal woman.  The coven tried to recruit different young women, Terry being the last one, but when Terry didn’t agree to go along with the plan she was found dead on the sidewalk. Enter the Woodhouses, two Midwesterners whose desires overpower their collective intelligence. Christ’s purpose on earth was to eventually die to redeem the sins of all mankind.  Adrian’s purpose is to vanquish the good on earth and claim it in the name of Satan; which is the exact polar opposite.

1966 is the Year One, rather it’s 1966 AA (After Adrian). We don’t really see the title character at all, though Rosemary’s reaction upon seeing little Adrian for the first time definitely sparks the wildest images in the imagination.  Like the upside-down cross that hangs above Adrian’s cradle, this film succeeds at turning everything sacred on its head:  marriage, faith, friendship, trust and religion.  That is the true power of Rosemary’s Baby. It asks the question: ‘what if?’ and answers itself with a truly terrifying answer. The film isn’t frightening in a blood-guts-and-gore kind of way, rather, it uses our most basic belief system against us and forces us to question ourselves and our surroundings to their very cores.