Double Feature Time: Topaz/Bridge of Spies

Here are 2 Cold War thrillers that I always thought could be a double feature.

Both Alfred Hitchcock & Steven Spielberg are certainly 2 of the most commercially successful directors ever! This is one reason I thought Hitchcock's Topaz, released in 1969, and Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, released in 2015, could be an interesting double feature. Hitchcock's film centers on a French agent (Frederick Stafford) who becomes entangled in a Soviet spy ring just before the Cuban Missile Crisis. Spielberg's film focuses on an American attorney (Tom Hanks) who succeeds in avoiding the death penalty for the accused Soviet spy (Mark Rylance) he's defending, just before being sent to East Germany to negotiate for the release of Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) who was shot down while flying over the U.S.S.R. in 1960. Of the two films, Spielberg's has a tighter pace (Rylance deservedly won an Oscar for his performance), while Hitchcock's actually slows down in its final act. In fairness, studio heads were unsatisfied with certain aspects of Topaz, which led to Hitchcock filming an alternate ending. Topaz, like Hitchcock's previous film Torn Curtain (1966), may have also suffered from comparison to the James Bond series, which was in full swing by 1969 (Topaz was released the same year as the 6th Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service).

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The recent passing of great character actor Tom Sizemore prompted me to look at one of his best performances, which happens to be in one of Steven Spielberg's best films.

There really isn't much to say about this film that you probably haven't already read or heard elsewhere. Like Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket 12 years earlier, Private Ryan has a horrific but brilliantly crafted opening act that could concievably work as a short film. In this case, following a man in the present day breaking down as he visits a graveyard where numerous veterans are buried, it's a recreation of the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, also known as D-Day. Many consider this invasion the beginning of the end for Hitler's Third Reich. In the midst of this carnage is the group of soldiers that serve as our protagonists. They are led by Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks), whose eyes become the eyes of the audience as this nearly half hour sequence plays out eventually resulting in Miller and his men successfully taking the hill the field they are engaged in. This sequence is all the more overwhelming when you realize that this is simply a small glimpse into how extensive this battle was, as it stetched across the entire northern French coast.

We next cut to the generals at home, who realize that three brothers have died in quick succession in battle. General Marshall (Harve Presnell) sends orders to have a team go and retrieve the last Ryan brother James (Matt Damon), who was one of countless soldiers who were paratrooped into Europe. Hence, finding him won't be easy.

Miller receives these orders and heads out with his men Sgt. Horvath (Sizemore), Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi) and Privates Reiben (Edward Burns), Caparzo (Vin Diesel), Jackson (Barry Pepper), and Mellish (Adam Goldberg). During their odyssey, Upham attempts to ingratiate himself amongst the men, as he was brought in late in the game for his fluency in German and French. They eventually find Ryan but not before losing Caparzo to a sniper, in another moment nicely reminiscent of Full Metal Jacket.

After fending off more German soldiers with the help of another regiment led by Capt. Hamill (Ted Danson), they find a Private Ryan only to find out he's not the Ryan they are looking for. Our heroes hole up in an abandoned church for the night to get to vent and for Upham to discover that there's a pool among the men to see how much personal info they can learn about Miller. The men resume their quest before the sun rises. After finding out where Ryan is from a passing soldier who is in his regiment, they stumble upon another German contingent and, against orders, Miller orders his men to take them out. They do so, although Wade ends up dying. They consider killing a surviving German out of revenge, although, following Upham's pleas that they spare him, Miller simply sends him off blindfolded while he and his men move on. Before they do, though, Reiben expresses how pissed he is by both Wade and Caparzo's death, taking those Germans out against orders, and all this to save one man. Mellish and Jackson share his sentiment while Upham and Horvath do not. The latter makes that clear as he even pulls his pistol on Reiben when he expresses that he's just going to leave, Ryan be damned!

Fortunately, Miller gets his men to calm down before things escalate. Having revealed earlier to Upham that he knows about the pool, Miller shares some info about himself before expressing that he has no emotional attachment to Ryan but they still have their orders and they should follow them. This convinces Reiben not to leave and they carry on. Sure enough they find Ryan, who is with his regiment at a village with a bridge that they are ordered to protect as they wait for reinforcements. Miller informs him of his brothers' deaths and that he's going home. But Ryan states that he can't just leave his comrades, saying that they have a right to go home as well. In a nice moment, Reiben tells him of Caparzo and Wade's deaths, which prompts Ryan to ask for their names. He is clearly humbled by the fact that two have already died looking for him but he states that his regiment are the only brothers he has left and he can't desert them until reinforcements arrive. Miller considers Ryan's words as he and Horvath walk together and have a brief chat. Horvath agrees with Ryan's sentiments, adding that they should stay and help his regiment out as they wait for reinforcements. Miller and his other men agree. Soon, German troops begin to arrive and the subsequent battle scene matches the one at the film's beginning in terms of impact. Miller, Horvath, Mellish, and Jackson all end up dying before Allied reinforcements finally show up. Miller's last words to the surviving Ryan are to earn being rescued.

This leads to the final scene with the man revealed to be Ryan over 50 years older. He asks his wife if he's led a good life before saluting in front of Miller's grave.

Some have complained about the scenes with the older Ryan (Harrison Young), but I was fine with them myself. This is because they show a man still affected by his war experiences decades after the fact and in tears over the fact that him returning from war came at the cost of good men. As I noted earlier, this is one of Sizemore's best roles. His scenes with Hanks especially hit the mark as Miller, who is rather a quiet man, seems to truly open up only to Horvath during the course of the film. This makes their respective death scenes especially poignant. Like Apocalype Now (1979), this is a war film involving a small group of men on a nightmarish quest to find one man. The film not only deservedly won Spielberg an Oscar for directing, it was also the first of (so far) five films he made with Hanks. The rest of cast is fine, too, including Damon, even though his part is relatively small. The resentment the men carried for his character somewhat spilled over onto the actor as, unlike them, Damon was not required to undergo a rigorous week-long boot camp to prep for the film, led by real life veteran Dale Dye, who appears in the film as one of Marshall's aides.

All the President's Men (1976) vs. The Post (2017)

We are currently experiencing Trump's impeachment drama. This article looks at two films which focused on Nixon's.

With Donald Trump now officially the third US president to be impeached, here’s a look at two movies that focused on events which came close to making him the fourth. Both of these films involve journalists from the Washington Post going up against the Nixon White House as they discover and eventually make information public which would eventually lead to Nixon becoming the first United States president to resign in order to avoid impeachment.

So, which is better? Let’s find out.

All the President’s Men (1976)

This film, directed by Alan J. Pakula and based on the book of the same name by Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, begins with security guard Frank Wills (played by Wills himself) reporting that the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. has been broken into. Five men have been arrested, and the Post sends Woodward (Robert Redford) to cover the story.

At the arraignment of the five men, one of the accused (Richard Herd) informs Woodward that he and his four accomplices were all connected to the CIA. Investigating further, Woodward discovers the five are connected to Nixon’s White House Counsel. Although Woodward’s boss and editor Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards) doesn’t think the story is front page-worthy, he assigns Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) to work with Woodward further on this.

Woodward goes to a parking garage and makes contact with his old acquaintance, who only goes by “Deep Throat” (Hal Holbrook). He cryptically informs Woodward to “follow the money”.

Soon, Woodward and Bernstein link the Watergate quintet to campaign contributions to Nixon’s re-election committee. But Bradlee still has his doubts, as Nixon was expected to easily defeat George McGovern in the 1972 election anyway.

The two reporters question Nixon’s former re-election treasurer Hugh Sloan (Stephen Collins) and learn that thousands of dollars were given to Nixon’s Chief of Staff and that the campaign was financing efforts to sabotage Democratic candidates well before the Watergate incident. This, and the White House’s subsequent denial of these events, prompt Bradlee to tell Woodward and Bernstein to keep digging.

Meeting with Deep Throat again, Woodward is told that Nixon’s Chief of Staff thought up the break-in and subsequent cover-up, which was also meant to cover the asses of both the CIA and FBI. Although Deep Throat tells Woodward that he and Bernstein are now targets, the duo, with Bradlee’s support, type out the full story just as Nixon is inaugurated again. The film ends with subsequent headlines announcing the cover-up and Nixon’s resignation.

The Post (2017)

This movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, begins in Vietnam in 1966. Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) is a military analyst observing the troops and even getting a taste of combat as he accompanies troops into the jungle. On the subsequent plane ride home, Ellsberg tells Defense Secretary Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood) that there’s no sign of improvement regarding the military situation in Vietnam. However, upon landing, McNamara tells the press that everything is going smoothly. A few years later, Ellsberg clandestinely obtains and copies numerous documents about the Vietnam situation, soon to be known as the Pentagon Papers, which go back to Truman’s time in the Oval Office.

In 1971, Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) is adjusting to her new role as the owner and publisher of the Washington Post. As she attempts to enact methods to help the paper financially, she finds she’s often at odds with both board member Arthur Parsons (Bradley Whitford) and the Post’s editor Ben Bradlee (previously played by Jason Robards, here played by Tom Hanks).

On top of that, Graham meets up with McNamara, who’s an old friend. He informs her that Ellsberg has given copies of the documents he obtained to the New York Times, along with other information. This results in anti-war protests intensifying. While Graham and Bradlee are angry that the Times is a step ahead of the Post, a subsequent court injunction prohibiting further articles on the matter puts them at ease.

Bradlee’s assistant Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk) eventually tracks down Ellsberg, whom he previously worked with. Ellsberg gives him the crapton of documents he copied, which Bagdikian quickly takes to Bradlee’s home. They and other Post reporters are soon pouring over all the pages, piecing the elaborate, decades-long deception together. But Parsons strongly advises not to publish the findings because the Nixon White House could easily retaliate and send them all to jail. Graham is also conflicted about doing so because of her friendship with McNamara, as is Bradlee upon learning that his late friend JFK was in the know about this deception as well.

Despite the legal challenges that are now coming her way, Graham gives Bradlee the go-ahead to publish the findings. Nixon’s retaliation leads to both the Post and the Times appearing before the Supreme Court, while other newspapers begin taking a cue from Graham. The court ends up ruling in favor of the Post and the Times, making Graham a hero in the eyes of many, and prompting Nixon to ban the Post from the White House.

The film ends with security guard Frank Wills (previously played by Wills himself, and here played by JaQwan J. Kelly) reporting a possible break-in at the Watergate complex.

Which is better?

If I had to give the edge to either film, it would be All the President’s Men. This may be because it was released first and less than two years after Nixon’s resignation. Hence, the effect of this complicated series of events regarding a war most of the American public had turned against by the start of the ’70s was still fresh in people’s minds. The film also benefits from a great cast and tense moments. This is all the more remarkable as there isn’t much action or bloodshed in this picture. The movie would go onto win four Oscars, including awards for Robards as well as William Goldman’s screenplay.

But this is not to say that The Post doesn’t have its good points. Like All the President’s Men, it has a great cast and Spielberg’s behind the scenes triumvirate of Michael Kahn (editing), Janusz Kaminski (cinematography) and John Williams (music) do their usual great jobs. One could also say that the ending nicely segues into the beginning of Pakula’s film, the same way that the ending of Rogue One segued nicely into the beginning of the original Star Wars film.

But The Post, which was dedicated to the late journalist/filmmaker Nora Ephron (who previously worked with both Streep and Hanks and was a neighbor of Spielberg’s), is actually more of a character study than a straight thriller like Pakula’s film. Despite Hanks’ above-the-title billing, his Bradlee, like Robards’, is essentially a supporting player, as Streep’s Graham is the center of the story. She must contend with holding her own as an executive in what was, at the time, a male-dominated field, while simultaneously facing the strong possibility of ruining the legacy left to her by her father and her late husband as she takes on the highest levels of government.

Just as Pakula’s film was released while the country was recovering from Watergate, Spielberg’s came out just as Trump was making noise about what the press was saying about him. Like Nixon, Trump is known for bitching about “fake news”, with probably the only difference being that Nixon didn’t have Twitter at his disposal. Regardless of what happens next with Trump’s current drama, both these films are wonderfully crafted dramas which should be required viewing for anyone interested in looking at a career in journalism.

The Terminal (2004)

"Are you coming or going?"
"I don't know. Both."
-Amelia Warren and Viktor Navorski.



By the turn of the millenium, Steven Spielberg's clout had risen to the point where, like Alfred Hitchcock before him, he had become the true star of his films, regardless of who was acting in them. Filmmaker Jamie Stuart once wrote: "Like Stanley Kubrick, (Spielberg's) imprint is felt in multiple genres and time periods." Indeed, like Kubrick, Spielberg has left memorable marks in diverse film genres: horror, science fiction, war, period pieces, and comedy.

Spielberg's first film which could be classified as the latter was the great-looking, well-cast, but laugh-free 1941 (1979). His next attempt proved more successful with Catch Me If You Can (2002), a wonderful (and, at times, sexy) film in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays a con artist being pursued by an FBI agent, played by Tom Hanks, who previously worked with Spielberg in Saving Private Ryan (1998). What made Catch Me a classic was that it had laughs but also an emotional core at its center. Although DiCaprio's character forges checks to live the good life, he is instantly likable and sympathetic. The relationship which forms between his character and Hanks's gives the film a unique twist.

Spielberg's next film was The Terminal, which reunited him with Hanks. Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a native of the fictitious country Krahkozia, who is traveling to the US. Upon landing at the JFK airport, he learns of the coup which occurred in his native land while he was in the air and, while his family is fine, his passport has now been rendered obsolete. Hence, he is unable to leave the airport to go to any country (including the US) until the political red tape is cleared up. Although scared at first, Viktor eventually takes it upon himself to treat the airport like his own home, including making money by doing odd jobs such as maintenance. This leads to friendships with the airport staff, one of which, the caterer Enrique (Diego Luna), enlists Viktor's aid in helping him win the heart of security officer Dolores (Zoe Saldana).

Viktor, likewise, develops romantic feelings for beautiful but emotionally troubled airline stewardess Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who has an unfortunate penchant for being involved with married men. Viktor making the airport his own slowly but surely gets on the nerves of its director Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), who makes several attempts to remove him. One such attempt is by depriving him of making money for food, but Enrique gives him a hand there. A later attempt involves attempts to deport Viktor (once the crisis in Krahkozia has been resolved) out of spite, but another employee Rajan (Kumar Pallana, who gets most of the funny lines in this film) stops those plans by literally running in front of the plane meant for Viktor.

If the film has a flaw it's the slow pace it seems to adapt once Viktor is told that he can leave the airport. While he may want to see where he stands with Amelia by that point, I would think he'd at least want to make an international phone call or two to his native land to talk to his family. One thing I've always liked about this movie is the relationship between Viktor and Amelia, which is sweet but doesn't end with them getting married, as other, more predicable comedies would do. Viktor is unhappy that she is continuing her relationship with a married official but the smile they exchange in their final scene is nice. I've always hated it when people accuse Spielberg of being too sentimental and this sub-plot proves that he can do something different on a dramatic level. Hanks and Zeta-Jones are as charming as ever.

To me, Hanks and Spielberg are as great an actor/director combination as Kubrick and Peter Sellers or Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. It is also amusing how Dolores is revealed to spend her spare time at Star Trek conventions. I've always wondered if Saldana's role in this film was a factor in casting her as Uhura in Star Trek (2009). Hands down, though, the best part of this film is the terminal of the title. The non-CGI set was the work of set designer Alex McDowell, who did the believable science fiction sets for Spielberg's Minority Report (2002), and it's as wonderfully detailed and eye-popping as, say, Blofeld's volcano in You Only Live Twice (1967) and the Overlook Hotel in The Shining (1980). Why none of those films won, or were even nominated, for the Oscar for art direction, I'll never know.