REVIEW: The Zookeeper's Wife

Directed by Niki Caro
2017 War Biography
2 hours 4 mins
From Focus Features

Starring
Jessica Chastain
Johan Heldenbergh
Daniel Brühl
Val Maloku
Iddo Goldberg

Roy Scheider

He was a unique character in a number of ways.  He looked like he knew his way around the docks of his native New Jersey with his misshapened, gaunt face and tough-guy demeanor and fists to back it all up.  At the same time, he had been a voracious reader since a childhood bout with rheumatic fever that kept him in bed for long periods of time.  He ultimately became a stage actor with a background in the classics.  He could be rough around the edges and yet kind and thoughtful.  He was an ideal candidate to become one of the leading figures of the film renaissance of the 1970s.

Out of Canada

Here are three actors, one man and two women, I very much liked at the height of their fame.  Each made a contribution to the movie world in his or her own way in the 60s and 70s and then seemed to disappear, at least from American screens.  Sometimes it seems to me that the further we get away from the 40s, the shorter careers were.  All are Canadians with two being specifically French-Canadians, born in Quebec, and the other comes from the opposite side of the country, British Columbia.  Any idea who they might be?

Good 70s Films: The Way We Were

1973 Romance Drama
From Columbia Pictures
Directed by Sydney Pollack

Starring
Barbra Streisand
Robert Redford
Bradford Dillman
Lois Chiles
Patrick O'Neal
Viveca Lindfors
Allyn Ann McLerie
Murray Hamilton
Herb Edelman
James Woods

The Bottoms Boys

Once upon a time there were four acting brothers and their last name was not Baldwin.  It was Bottoms and don't think we didn't have some fun with that back in the 70s.  Their first names are Timothy, Joseph, Sam and Ben. They have had varying degrees of success-- Timothy, by far, the most successful-- and today he is the most remembered of the four although the youngins today probably haven't heard of any of them.

The Directors: Alan J. Pakula

He came into his own in the 1970s with a trio of wonderful conspiracy thrillers, often called the Paranoia Trilogy, and his influence was celebrated throughout the entire decade.  The public flocked to his films because they knew they were in for a helluva good time.  He directed two stunningly-talented women to best actress Oscars. Before he directed he was a producer and part of a duo whose stamp on a film meant accolades for both.  What seems odd is that such a sophisticated filmmaker would not only fall in a slump from which he wouldn't truly recover but that his total directorial output was a mere 16 films. 

Odd Careers

There are some actors and actresses that I have the hardest time understanding how they made it in Hollywood.  They are usually not very talented and not good-looking, two prerequisites to carving out a successful career.  And there are others who are quite handsome or beautiful and may or may not have talent and they don't make it.  Some fell by the wayside because they just could never relate to the crazy business of movie-making.  Some had behavior issues or got a case of Mr. Bighead.  Some it's just plain perplexing.  Let's look at some odd movie careers.

Jeanne Moreau

France loves its cinema and for years has held three actresses in iconic status.  There's the sex kitten Brigitte Bardot, the beautiful ice queen Catherine Deneuve and the subject of today's posting, one of the great screen goddesses of our time, by far the best actress of the three, the luminous Jeanne Moreau.

Good 70s Films: Monte Walsh

1970 Western
From Cinema Center Films
Directed by William Fraker

Starring
Lee Marvin
Jeanne Moreau
Jack Palance
Mitchell Ryan
Jim Davis
G. D. Spradlin
Bo Hopkins
Matt Clark
Allyn Ann McLerie
Billy Green Bush