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Ithiliensranger
Reviews
Kings Go Forth (1958)
A good movie with all the right elements, but...
Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtiss, and Natalie Wood, make a good trio cast in these roles. The movie, for its day, was a good one, but I think this could be a prime one for a remake. The screenplay had all the right elements in it, but the order was tweaked to make the ending into a Hollywoodish, happier ever after story. The book by Joe David Brown (called Combat Mission) had it end in a much darker way than was acceptable for movies in 1958.
It could be done correctly these days, filmed in a dark nor style in wartime of 1943-44. They only worries I would have is with the current rash of remakes hitting the theaters, it would be done sloppily and the cast would be sub par. I could see a remake done with a low/average budget using good, young, unknown actors in the roles with the emphasis put on the accuracy of the original story. Also, an average amount of CGI in the battle scenes (read no overkill), and I think a remake would redeem itself at the box office.
The Illustrated Man (1969)
An interesting and intriguing movie!
The power of a movie is how well it sticks with you. This one I saw at a drive-in back in 1970, and though I only considered it average at the time, one scene stuck with me through the years. The setting in rural depression-era United States helps set the mood of the meeting of a young drifter and a hardened hobo.
Recently I acquired a used VHS tape of it and watched it through, and I remember why it stuck with me so well and so long. Not always well done, but yet it has power. The character Carl, well portrayed by the acting of Rod Steiger, starts to tell stories, and they take the young Willie, portrayed by Robert Drivas, on a wild mental ride that changes both their lives. I recommend it highly, and hope one day it will be out on DVD.