John Frankenheimer (1930–2002)

Decent nature amok horror thriller that sees a giant mutated bear on the rampage in the forests of Maine. Turns out that a dastardly logging company has been treating timber with mercury and letting the effluent enter the local water system resulting in all kinds of mutations and deformities. Inner-city doctor Rob (Robert Foxworth) and his newly pregnant wife Maggie (Talia Shire) are sent to investigate and are soon caught in a life-or-death struggle between the local Indians led by John show more (Armand Assante), the logging company and the giant, mutated bear. Directed by John Frankenheimer, which on the face of it would seem a departure from his normal political thriller fare, but on closer inspection the film contains plenty of political themes with rapacious capitalism, exploitation of the environment, native people's struggle to protect their land and overt racism and bigotry all featuring heavily within the narrative. Some elements of the film work better than other: the cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr. captures the expanse of the forest settings to great effect; Frankenheimer builds the tension nicely and the beast attacks are well-handled. Not so good, however, are the rough-and-ready creature effects, some of the dodgy dialogue and the relationships between the characters. The relationship between the leads appears particularly odd with Maggie apparently terrified to share with her husband the fact that she's pregnant. Is this hinting at something darker within their relationship or is it simply bad writing? All that said, "Prophecy" is an enjoyable animal attack / man against nature horror thriller that has some pretty solid elements and a decent message about our acquisitive abuse of nature. show less

Famed more for its incredibly troubled history and its bizarre performances than anything else, "The Island of Dr, Moreau" is far from a masterpiece but it is a bit better than its awful reputation suggests. The loose adaptation of H. G. Wells' classic SF horror tale sees UN staffer Edward Douglas (David Thewlis) adrift in the Java Sea and being rescued by the erratic Montgomery (Val Kilmer). The pair travel to a mysterious island where rogue scientist Moreau (Marlon Brando) has set up a show more living laboratory to carry out human / animal hybrid experiments. Director John Frankenheimer does well to carve a watchable film out of the material at his disposal and manages to deliver something of a garish freakshow. Brando delivers a whacked-out performance delivering an Ealing comedy accent, mumbling through philosophical soliloquies while channelling Colonel Kurtz slathered in sun screen. It is a fascinatingly bad but an entirely riveting approach. Val Kilmer appears totally out of control moving from drugged-out lunacy to contemptuous Brando impersonations. Worst of all, however is David Thewlis who looks completely miscast and out of place. On the up side William Fraker's cinematography is outstanding and Stan Winston's make-up and special effects looks great. Overall "The Island of Dr. Moreau" is better than its supremely bad reputation would suggest. It is a film which features three of the oddest, craziest performances you're ever likely to see and for that alone it is worth seeing. show less

From the get-go, one of the strangest and ultimately horrifying movies you'll ever see. Hudson gives a very good performance as a man given a new life through surgery, while his old life is ended with a faked death, corpse included. And all for only about $30,000. Even in 1966, that seems a bargain. But is Rock grateful? Oh no. Not even a house by the beach and a blonde can make him happy in his new life! Creepy to say the least. And frankly, looking at all the support he is given by "the show more company" the economics don't add up. Jeff Corey is really good as the face of the company. Especially when eating a chicken dinner. Definitely one of the oddest films I have ever watched. Amusing, horrifying, and effective at the same time. show less

Substance: The basic story-line makes points about the frantic anti-Communism of the time (post-WW2 to post-Korean-War) and plays on the McCarthy accusations and hearings. Anything else will spoil the fun.
The romance between Ben and Rosie happens too quickly in the film; I presume the book is a bit less abbreviated.
Style: Suspenseful and dramatic at the time (1962), the plot now looks obvious and the acting histrionic. However, the flash-backs to the brain-washing are superbly contrived, and show more Angela Lansbury is magnificent.

NOTES: Yes, McCarthy was bone-headed and grand-standing, but there really were Communists in the government at the time - and afterwards.
FWIW, if you don't have an intimate acquaintance with the layout of a particular large auditorium, there is no way you can find a path from one place to another without a map or a lot of back-tracking. Dramatic license at work.

Bizarre: (Wikipedia 2011-12-09) "In 1998, software engineer C.J. Silverio noted that several long passages of the novel seemed to be borrowed, almost word for word, from Robert Graves' 1934 novel I, Claudius. Forensic linguist John Olsson judged that "There can be no disputing that Richard Condon plagiarized from Robert Graves." 1. ^ Lara, Adair (4 October 2003). "Has a local software engineer unmasked 'The Manchurian Candidate'? Menlo Park woman says author Richard Condon plagiarized.". San Francisco Chronicle. http://articles.sfgate.com/2003-10-04/entertainment/17512034_1_silverio-richard-.... Retrieved 4 March 2011.

Interesting: (Amazon 2011-12-09) Claims the film was withheld by Sinatra for 25 years after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, but see this review at http://www.bookrags.com/research/the-manchurian-candidate-sjpc-03/

"The film received mixed reviews and mixed reactions—it was picketed in Orange County for being left wing and picketed in Paris for being right wing—but its original and gripping delineation of the lone gunman and his preparations for the murder of the president, so close to the actual death of Kennedy, propelled it into a kind of obscurity. Over the next 15 years it was difficult to see the film, increasing its aura and, as the amount of contradictory information mounted on the death of Kennedy, the work seemed prophetic not only in foreseeing a president murdered, but in foreseeing a political atmosphere that could make any conspiracy seem imaginable." show less