The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)

The first horror movie, I believe. Not much to say about this one except maybe it deserves it's classic status. A sheer palpable tension pervades the entire movie. The set designs are dreamlike and mirror the somnabulist Cesare's (in the famous cabinet) mind set. Clearly, even if it's common knowledge, Tim Burton's Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands owe a lot to this movie.

My copy comes with a free jazz soundtrack that adds a lot more to the edgy surrealism. (I bought this in a four DVD "German Expressionism" pack that includes Hands of Orlac, Waiting Shadows and Secrets of a Soul, which I'll post my thoughts when I've watched them). The guitar bits sound a lot like John McLaughlin. My only gripe is that this one should work better monochromatic rather than tinted.

And the ending is a big fucking mind-trip, and of course, constantly aped but seldom surpassed or equalled. Awesome!

Across the Universe

Ever felt you've been had? Curiousity got the better of me so I bought this. And yeah the cat died. Absolutely stinky crap with leaden dialogue and a contrived plot. "Ze turbulent 60s!" This one sheds absolutely no light on anything.

The Beatles are massacred with no pity, and John and George should be on their way as zombies looking for the director. To be fair, two songs are reworked well - the gospel "Let it Be" and the Joe Cocker-sang "Come Together". And the part where "Strawberry Fields Forever" has its meaning subverted is at least interesting. But the rest is cat poo. The "I want you" sequence is so corny I cringed. "If I Fell", "Somebody", "I Wanna Hold your Hand" and "All My Loving" would have been moving in more capable hands but here, the singers struggle to enunciate.

And the plot:- Put a Hendrix clone with a Joplin clone. D'oh! Let's have it end by putting a concert on a roof-top. D'oh! The hallucinogic sequences also look terribly amateurish in an era of CGI.

This is profound. A PROFOUND WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY! I wouldn't recommend this to anybody, least of all Beatles' fans.