Created by David E. Kelly, The Practice surely ranks among the finest TV series of our times. The series, that lasted 8 seasons, chronicles the journey of a legal practice based in Boston that starts small, and through various events – both good and bad, grows into a criminal defense firm to reckon with. At the heart of the series are a string of exceptionally well-etched characters – Bobby Donnel (Dylan McDermott), the founder of the practice, a terrific defence lawyer and a loner by choice, who often finds himself grappling with his conscience; Eugene Young (Steve Harris), a brilliant street-smart lawyer with an almost implacable demeanour and a strong believer in the role of a defense attorney; Linsday Dole (Kelli Williams), a Harvard Law School graduate and an emotionally fragile person who gets married to Bobby with not-so-good consequences; Helen Gamble (Lisa Flynn Boyle), a sexy Assistant District Attorney, Lindsay’s college-buddy, and a relentless criminal prosecutor with a knack for cynical wisecracks, Jimmy Berluti (Michael Badalucco), an Italian-American who grows as a lawyer after his joining the practice, Ellenor Frutt (Camryn Manheim), a competent lawyer with a distinct apathy towards death sentences et al. The last season introduced us to the characters of Alan Shore (James Spader) and Danny Crane (William Shatner), unscrupulous but exceptional lawyers, who would head the cast of Boston Legal, the spin-off to this series. The best part of the series, apart from the immensely captivating legal cases, arresting opening and closing arguments and cross-examinations, and plot twists, was the way the characters were developed into real people of flesh and blood. Bobby and Eugene remain two of the most unforgettable characters, and though the acting was great by everyone involved, McDermott and Harris were especially amazing in their respective roles. The series has explored various themes including guilt and retribution, personal demons and redemption, legal ethics versus moral ethics, to name a few.
Creator: David E. Kelly
Genre: Drama/Legal Drama/TV Series
Language: English
Country: US
Edward D. Wood Jr. might have been in love with the medium of cinema and the very act of filmmaking, yet he has also been voted as the worst filmmaker of all time. This apparent irony and much more, have been captured and portrayed in utterly compelling and entertaining fashion by Tim Burton in Ed Wood. This quirky, deliciously idiosyncratic and darkly comic voyage into the life of the cross-dressing Wood, who directed one turkey after another despite being an ardent admirer of Orson Welles, is certainly a one of a kind journey. But what stands out most in the film is the fascinating friendship that Wood forms with his idol – a veteran, drug-addicted, cash-stripped former star called Bela Lugosi. That, along with the bizarre acquaintances that he surrounded himself with, and the atrocious films that he made believing all the while he’s creating great art, help us in knowing this sadly marginal and critically-panned auteur. Johnny Depp gave a sterling performance as the protagonist, while Martin Landau was terrific as Lugosi, the washed out actor who once gained tremendous repute for his portrayal of Dracula, among others. Despite its comic tone, the film has been given a noirish feel thanks to exceptional, B/W, expressionistic photography. And the thumping soundtrack, along with the decidedly offbeat screenplay, played its part in making this a unique and eminently watchable biopic.
Director: Tim Burton
Genre: Comedy/Satire/Biopic
Language: English
Country: US
If I were to make a list of archetypal film noirs that I’ve seen, The Big Combo would surely find a place in it. The film is about a cop’s obsession with bringing down an organised crime boss against all oppositions, while at the same time being, on some Freudian level, in love with the mobster’s beautiful and emotionally vulnerable fiancé. The film was way ahead for its time, as it contained a heavy dose of violence – the film contains one of the most innovative torture scenes one can imagine – and palpable sexual undercurrents. Cornel Wilde, as the tough as nails cop, was very effective, as were Richard Conte as the menacing, smooth-talking gangster, and Jean Wallace as his moll. But the most unforgettable part of the film undoubtedly happens to be its photography and cinematography. The canted camera angles, the high-contrast shots, the silhouettes and the arresting chiaroscuro haven’t just given us some truly iconic cinematic moments (as in the devastatingly beautiful final shot), it also managed to portray the seedy and sordid with such style, composition and élan that one can almost call the film poetry in motion, albeit a very bleak, dark and disturbing one. The film’s terrific opening soundtrack too managed to play its part by creating the fervent, feverish mood and the perverse, nightmarish atmosphere. Yet, for all its poetic beauty and sadness, it also remains an engaging and gleefully unpredictable hardboiled thriller.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Genre: Crima Thriller/Film Noir/Gangster Film
Language: English
Country: US
Stardust Memories was Woody Allen’s unabashed tribute to Federico Fellini’s biting magnum opus 8 ½. And for better or for worse, this also remains one of his most difficult and complex films. Right from the first scene, where we see a famous filmmaker trapped in a claustrophobic railway compartment filled with odd-looking people, the film is Allen’s recreation of the famed Italian film. As we progress we find that Sandy Bates isn’t just a famous filmmaker, his life – surrounded by sycophantic fans, blood-sucking journalists, oddball acquaintances and friends, and stream of self-destructive fiancés, is like a big, unending circus. Though filled with moments of acidic, self-deprecating humour, the film remains in large parts an exercise in surrealism and cruel ironies, and an openly hostile satire on the shallowness of celebrity obsession. Woody Allen gave a measured performance in a role that was both difficult and complex, and his script is acerbic and disturbingly self-critical. The black-and-white photography added a sort of dismal beauty to the crazy proceedings. The film might not be a cup of tea for most filmgoers – and that includes Woody Allen aficionados too, but it remains an important film in his career for the simple reason that this was a huge departure from the kind of films we have come to associate him with.
Director: Woody Allen
Genre: Drama/Social Satire/Showbiz Drama/Avante-Garde
Language: English
Country: US
Woody Allen isn’t just one of the greatest American filmmakers, he’s also a prankster of the first order. And not to mention, an exceptional humorist too. Zelig might not rank alongside the likes of Annie Hall, Manhattan et al, but it does unequivocally prove what I’ve written above. The film, a mocumentary (mock-documentary) to be precise, is the biopic of a fictional character called Leonard Zelig, a mysterious, diminutive “human chameleon” living in Depression-era America. Comprising of faux-interviews and seemingly vintage newsreel clips and footage, the film tells the tale of a man with stunning (if bizarre) abilities, and who had the Forest Gump-like knack (or should I have mentioned it the other way round) to be at the right time and right place of some of the most celebrated pop-culture moments of that period. The film is filled with wit, humour and zany gags courtesy the crackling script and the brilliant ideation, and it boasts of jaw-dropping technical wizardry where editing and post-production go. Woody Allen played Zelig in his imitable style, while Mia Farrow was equally great in the role of a chain-smoking psychiatrist who doesn’t just go to exceptional lengths to treat Zelig, but also eventually falls for him and marries him. The film might not have great psychological depth as some of Allen’s more famous films, but it is an immensely delightful watch and a nostalgic pastiche to an era, as the line in the song American Pie goes, “lost in space”.
Director: Woody Allen
Genre: Comedy/Satire/Mocumentary/Fantasy
Language: English
Country: US
