The Company (2003)

"Thinking about the movement is not becoming the movement."
-Alberto Antonelli.

Movies that are termed 'passion projects' often carry a greater risk of landing with a thud than being embraced as a timeless classic. For instance, Battlefield Earth (2000) is rightfully regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. Yet, I do feel a bit of sympathy for that film's star John Travolta because he fought & fought for years to get the film (based on the book of the same name by L. Ron Hubbard) green-lit. Perhaps it was this obsession to bring this film to the screen which blinded him to the fact that its focus on Scientology may not have given the story the across-the-board appeal that Star Wars (1977) generated.
But one passion project which turned out better is The Company, which focuses on the members of Chicago's Joffrey Ballet.
This movie was a long-time passion project for its star Neve Campbell, who plays company member Loretta "Ry" Ryan. Campbell, who began her career as a ballet dancer before making her mark as an actress, also co-produced and co-wrote this movie with Barbara Turner. Her success in the Scream films and Wild Things (1998) gave Campbell the clout needed to bring this story to the screen. She then achieved quite the coup by convincing the late, great Robert Altman to direct the film.
The movie itself is really a collection of scenes involving the company's various players (many of whom are appropriately played by real-life company members), including Ry, as they prepare for their show, under the guidance of company director Alberto Antonelli (Malcolm McDowell).
Ry later begins a romance with Josh Williams (James Franco), who is not a dancer himself but is supportive of Ry, especially when an injury forces her to back out of a performance. Franco also gets the film's sweetest moment at the end, when he brings flowers to Ry backstage while quickly going to his knees as the dancers onstage bow to the applause of the audience.
I've heard many people say that people who have never been waiters will gain a whole new level of appreciation for them if they spent just one day in that field. It didn't take me long to agree with that sentiment because I worked a few years in the restaurant industry myself.
On that same note, I'd like to think that this film will show people that ballet dancing is certainly more complex than it may appear to some. This film's Wikipedia page probably said it best when it says that this movie shows how ballet dancers put hardship and dedication into their art, even though doing so may not necessarily make them rich and famous.

The Bloody Judge (1970)

"Justice is a terrible thing, Palofox. But justice must be done!"
-Judge George Jeffreys



The films of Jess Franco aren't exactly regarded as high art, as much as they are exploitation. These films, from 99 Women (1969) to The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969), while attaining a cult following, have never propelled him to the same acclaim as other directors such as Alfred Hitchcock or Steven Spielberg. This could be attributed to the fact that Franco's films are notoriously low-budget, along with the emphasis on sexually and even human depravity which runs throughout much of his filmography. Even Franco's well-intended version of Dracula (1970), while more faithful to the Bram Stoker novel than Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), suffers from sloppy editing (that seems to be the problematic issue with film editing: It's either undeniably brilliant-like in 1975's Jaws-or it's unbelievably shoddy).

The Bloody Judge, however, illustrates what Franco can do when given a strong budget. It also has Christopher Lee (who worked with Franco numerous times, including his Fu Manchu and Dracula films) in one of his best roles as the title character. This film's obvious influence was Witchfinder General, with this movie taking place about 40-50 years afterward. Like Vincent Price's Matthew Hopkins in that film, Lee's character was a real-life figure; one George Jeffreys, who served under King James II when England was in the midst of civil war. Also like Hopkins, Jeffreys believes that his horrific acts are for a greater good. Unlike Hopkins, though, Jeffreys doesn't roam the countryside seeking witches or potential traitors to the crown. Rather, he spends much of the film holding court, condemning people to death for treason and/or sorcery. Although Lee is terrifying when pronouncing sentence, his scenes outside the courtroom are also interesting. In numerous scenes, Jeffreys has moments of discomfort brought on by kidney stones, which, in the 17th century, were untreatable. This condition eventually takes his life as he lays in prison once James II is overthrown. Jeffreys's brand of justice is delivered by his executioner Jack Ketch (played by Howard Vernon, who has the same look that Boris Karloff had in 1939's Tower of London), who brutally tortures those convicted before they are publicly executed.

Many of these victims are female, and it is these scenes of violence, nudity, and even lesbianism which have led many to treat this with the same indifference as Franco's other films (shockingly, the film got a PG rating). A friend of mine even called it The Devil's Rejects (2005) done as an historical drama. This indifference was exemplified when it was given the absurd title Night of the Blood Monster for its US release. While The Conqueror Worm gave the false impression that Witchfinder General was an Edgar Allan Poe tale, it still rightfully reflected that movie's emphasis on death. In the case of Franco's film, though, the title change made it sound like a generic monster movie, instead of the period piece it is. Another reason this film stands out in Franco's filmography is that the battle scenes are nicely done. One of Franco's first jobs was filming the second unit for Orson Welles's Chimes of Midnight (1966), which itself had memorable battle scenes, which makes his fine work in this portion of the film particularly fitting. Bruno Nicolai's musical score is another great aspect to the film, as it is appropriately dramatic without being over the top. While DVD has thankfully restored this film to its complete glory in recent years, this film, like Witchfinder General, would certainly have a better reputation had its director been more, shall we say, mainstream.