Bookshelf: James Dickey's Deliverance

The movie Deliverance is coming up on my list, and I got to say I'm quite excited. It was one those movies I heard a lot about growing, but I wasn't allowed to watch it, understandably since there is rape and sexual language in the book. Anyways, I didn't know this movie was based on a book till a few months ago while browsing a book store, and I was on board with reading it before I got the movie. I have to say that my thoughts are still conflicted on what I thought, but there is something very poignant about the story yet I felt it needed more.

Summary: Ed, Lewis, Drew, and Bobby are suburban guys who want a taste of the wild. They plan a trip in North Georgia where they can canoe and camp, and be well men. Once arriving they get the feeling this community is really tight and folks from around there aren't too welcome. Things only get worse when the guys get going on their canoeing trip, and Ed and Bobby are attacked by two men. This is only the beginning of worse things to come though as a hunt in the woods begins.

236 of 1001 Movies: The Conformist (1970)

 Bernardo Bertolucci has made a trademark with several things, but probably most notably the nudity he features throughout. This one doesn't fail with that expectation, plus the rampant sexual scenes throughout. You might have heard of Last Tango In Paris. Even though they aren't graphic they still imply a lot. Unlike 1900 though the characters just didn't garner my interest as much.  Especially the lead character, Marcello.

Summary: Marcello has just been hired to work for Mussolini as a spy. This also makes him a fascist. In order to make him more of a conformist he also marries Giulia. On his honeymoon to Paris he is to carry out an order of eliminating someone who is considered anti-fascist. A professor has fled Italy in retaliation of the new government with his wife, and they don't like the scene he is stirring. Once arriving there though Marcello finds himself falling for the professor's wife making the task a bit more difficult. The professor and his wife are also aware of his fascist ways, but they continue to trust him. Intertwined with flashbacks, the story conveys where Marcello's violence began along with it's ties in sexuality.

174 of 1001 Movies: The Butcher (1970)

Claude Chabrol did prove to be a master at building suspense especially in this French film, The Butcher. Even though it appears obvious at who is doing this, somehow Charbrol still makes it quite intense as you watch, and it fills like minutes are passing quickly. His filming style is simple, but he knows how to capture the scenery and people in a way that builds the terror. Shadows seem pretty staple of the mystery thriller genre, but this movie has done it really well in making you feel the eerie situation.

Summary: Helen and Popaul meet at a wedding, and from there they begin a friendship that is unusual. Popaul is the local butcher, and Helen is a popular, but repressed school teacher. While Popaul has feelings for Helen, she has voiced her lack of interest in a romance after heartbreak. The two are forming a close bond, but there is also a string of murders occurring, and Helen finds that she may be getting close than she thought to figuring out who is behind the murders.

105 of 1001 Movies: The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970)

Sadly, the first thing I noticed about this film was the very poor transfer to DVD. No one had bothered to try to restore it even though the shots in the film are well thought out, and really do try to view the city as beautiful despite the grim happenings in it. To cut some slack though on Dario Argento this was his first film he directed, and you can sort of tell. For him it worked out though because it got him dubbed the Italian Alfred Hitchcock. While the story does grow to be suspenseful, and has some creative twists it never really gives you any spooks, and there is also some odd dubbing and mixed language that is going on that throws you off.

Sam is an American tourist in Italy, and one night witnesses the attempted murder of a woman. After seeing the murder he becomes the target of the killer, but still wants to investigate the crime after finding out that this killer has already murdered 3 other women, and the count is still rising. Sam doesn't expect it though when the killer not only begins targeting him, but his girlfriend. So now he is in a race to figure out who is committing the crimes before they get him first.