Roger Corman directed some truly commendable films in his day, and Shame may be one of his crowning achievements. The director may be most well known for his proficiency at churning out schlocky B movies with cheap monster costumes, cute girls in their underwear and Z grade scripts, but he found time now and then to really put his heart and soul into creating more personal, meaningful films in between all the more marketable drive-in flicks. Put Shame on your queue next time you sign into your movie download service.
Shame is a truly courageous film. It deals with the issue of racism in the south, but it did so at the dawn of the civil rights era. It was easy to make a movie about racism in the eighties or nineties. Making a movie about racism in the early sixties, that's another story entirely. Corman actually made this film in the south, in the early sixties, and he was constantly threatened and harassed by the populace of the small rural town where the film was set.
The real star of the film is William Shatner as a villainous political agent. He's currently working for a segregationist running for office, and he moves into this town with one purpose in mind: Stir up racially motivated violence. It's a dark, disturbing character, and Shatner is incredible in the role. He usually plays the sort of roles that play off of his boyish charm and good looks, his uniquely friendly sense of machismo and his humor. To see this reversed in this early role is something like seeing Henry Fonda as the villain in Once Upon a Time in the West.
The concept may have begun with Adolf Hitler. It seems odd that Corman would cast such a charismatic young man in such a seedy, nasty role as villain, but as Hitler made clear, you need charisma, you need charm, and you need a handsome face to sell ugly ideas. Shatner is just incredible in the film, and you can see exactly how he scams and cons the people of the small town to believe what they know in their hearts is not true.
Corman and his crew were run out of town by the local police when it became clear what sort of a film they were creating, and that it could mean trouble for segregationists. The final shots were literally filmed "on the run". As in, Corman was filming at one end of the street while a virtual lynch mob was closing in from the opposite end of the street, so Corman had to grab the shots and flee.
Corman may have his lifetime achievement Oscar by the time you read this. It's about time. Corman's reputation as a schlockmeister has always seemed to invalidate the immense contributions he's made to the world of American film.
It's true that Corman is primarily remembered as the maker of some truly cheap B films, but that's only one aspect of what he's done for American film. Besides making some true classics like Shame, he also launched the careers of Dennis Hopper, Martin Scorsese and Jack Nicholson, to name only a few of his many efforts and gifts to the modern cinematic landscape.
If you've never bothered with Corman, start with Shame, then watch X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes. These are two of his best, and Shame in particular is an example of what the artist is truly capable of when he's willing to take a break from his more marketable B movies and really put his heart into a film that takes courage to write, direct and release.
Shame is a truly courageous film. It deals with the issue of racism in the south, but it did so at the dawn of the civil rights era. It was easy to make a movie about racism in the eighties or nineties. Making a movie about racism in the early sixties, that's another story entirely. Corman actually made this film in the south, in the early sixties, and he was constantly threatened and harassed by the populace of the small rural town where the film was set.
The real star of the film is William Shatner as a villainous political agent. He's currently working for a segregationist running for office, and he moves into this town with one purpose in mind: Stir up racially motivated violence. It's a dark, disturbing character, and Shatner is incredible in the role. He usually plays the sort of roles that play off of his boyish charm and good looks, his uniquely friendly sense of machismo and his humor. To see this reversed in this early role is something like seeing Henry Fonda as the villain in Once Upon a Time in the West.
The concept may have begun with Adolf Hitler. It seems odd that Corman would cast such a charismatic young man in such a seedy, nasty role as villain, but as Hitler made clear, you need charisma, you need charm, and you need a handsome face to sell ugly ideas. Shatner is just incredible in the film, and you can see exactly how he scams and cons the people of the small town to believe what they know in their hearts is not true.
Corman and his crew were run out of town by the local police when it became clear what sort of a film they were creating, and that it could mean trouble for segregationists. The final shots were literally filmed "on the run". As in, Corman was filming at one end of the street while a virtual lynch mob was closing in from the opposite end of the street, so Corman had to grab the shots and flee.
Corman may have his lifetime achievement Oscar by the time you read this. It's about time. Corman's reputation as a schlockmeister has always seemed to invalidate the immense contributions he's made to the world of American film.
It's true that Corman is primarily remembered as the maker of some truly cheap B films, but that's only one aspect of what he's done for American film. Besides making some true classics like Shame, he also launched the careers of Dennis Hopper, Martin Scorsese and Jack Nicholson, to name only a few of his many efforts and gifts to the modern cinematic landscape.
If you've never bothered with Corman, start with Shame, then watch X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes. These are two of his best, and Shame in particular is an example of what the artist is truly capable of when he's willing to take a break from his more marketable B movies and really put his heart into a film that takes courage to write, direct and release.
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