And so, with a slight sense of anti-climax we reach the final step on our film odyssey. That’s not strictly true – there’ll be one more blog soon, rounding everything up and listing all the winners in a simple cut out and keep format. Just as well, as Z would not be the best category to end on (though admittedly it is the logical one, coming at y’know… the end of the alphabet and all that) as, just like with the Q category, I’ve only seen 5 films which obviously will all make the final five. A far cry from the M and S categories which contained several thousand films each (may be slight use of hyperbole there). But I know you’re gasping to find out what those five films are, so here goes.
Zulu: Our first film is a homegrown product from 1964; Cy Enfield directs Michael Caine, Stanley Baker and Jack Hawkins among others in this tale of the battle of Rourke’s Drift between the British army and the Zulus in the late 19th century. It’s kind of a cross between a war movie and a western, and if you want to read more about it, I should direct you to this book, written by Sheldon Hall, an old film studies tutor of mine from Sheffield whose favourite film this is. He may not be happy if this doesn’t win the Z category – oops.
Zombie Flesh Eaters: Lucio Fulci’s 1979 horror. The first time I saw it was at the cinema and I wasn’t actually that impressed. However, next time I saw it, on DVD, I really liked it – what a difference a second viewing makes. Quite explicit in its depiction of flesh-eating zombies; it also features an underwater fight between a zombie and a shark! Yes, it's a bit silly but it's a well made film with some good sequences; the most memorable being the eye piercing incident; in its full version this is perhaps the best eye related injury caught on film since Un Chien Andalou. Granted, some of the acting is dodgy, and everyone takes it a tad too seriously, but for what it is - a zombie horror film - it's pretty good and almost up there with Romero's works.
Zelig: Woody Allen’s 1983 film takes the form of a "documentary" about Leonard Zelig (Allen), a man who in America in the 30s had a unique medical condition in which he takes on the appearance and characteristics of whoever is in his company at the time. Shot as a contemporary documentary but with lots of archive footage from the 30s with Allen cleverly inserted (later to be copied in Forrest Gump). Hence Leonard is seen behind Hitler, with movie stars, etc. Mia Farrow stars as the doctor who tried to treat Zelig but ended up falling in love with him. An interesting film; it’s certainly funny at times, though a bit of a departure from Allen’s previous comedies.
Zoolander: Ben Stiller stars as the world's top (and possibly stupidest) model, Derek Zoolander, who decides there's more to life than being really, really, really good looking and he intends to find out what that is. He finds himself as an unknowing pawn in the scheme of fashion mogul Will Ferrell who intends to have the Malaysian prime minister assassinated as he is cracking down on the sweatshops that the fashion industry relies upon. There are laughs to be had, mainly revolving around Zoolander's stupidity and his and Owen Wilson's rivalry. Stiller's real life father, Jerry Stiller stars as an agent, and his wife, Christine Taylor is the Time magazine reporter, helping to uncover the plot. David Duchovny has a nice cameo as does Jon Voigt. It's not an award winner by any means but it skips along at a fair pace and at just over 80 minutes, there's little chance for boredom.
Zatoichi (2003) This was fantastic! Takeshi Kitano directs and stars, under his acting name of Beat Takeshi, in this Samurai film set in the nineteenth century. However, not only is it a Samurai film, it's also a comedy, a drama, and even at times a musical. Kitano just throws everything but the kitchen sink at the screen and it comes off. Kitano himself plays the titular Zatoichi, apparently a famous figure in Japanese culture. He is a blind Samurai, and arrives at a town that has been taken over by a gang. Add to this the story of two geishas - one of them a transvestite - who are trying to avenge the slaughter of their family, then chuck in the fact that the gang have hired a new bodyguard Tadanobu Asano who seems to be invincible, and you have all the ingredients for a rollicking and very enjoyable two hours. There's a fair bit of blood a la Kill Bill, but I'd rate this streets above that film - this is the King, not the pretender to its throne. Some may not like the mix of genres and the musical dance ending, but I thought it was nearly perfect - Kitano seems to just want to entertain his audience and this he does in spades.
And the winner is Zatoichi… a stunning piece de resistance from Kitano – an all round entertainment extravaganza.
So that concludes the list, but look out for another blog soon, summing up this whole pointless exercise.
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