Charly

Directed by: Ralph Nelson

Written by: Daniel Keyes (novel); Stirling Silliphant (screenplay)









I was channel surfing a while back when I stumbled across this film adaptation of "Flowers for Algernon" about to begin. I wasn't aware that there had ever been a movie made, and for whatever reason, I was drawn to watch it from beginning to end.

It's a mostly-faithful adaptation of the novel (at least, as far as I remember the novel), with a little more focus on the romantic element (again, from what I remember).

Cliff Robertson's performance is outstanding, handling a complex character very delicately and respectfully. It would have been very easy to over-play the part or become a ham, but he did not fall into those traps. This would be the main reason to watch the film.

Night of the Living Dead

Directed by: George Romero

Written by: George Romero, John Russo

This is it. The film that spawned a million spin-offs and imitations, and began an obsession with the undead.

When the recently deceased begin to return as cannibals, chaos ensues and people enter survival mode. The government's top scientists struggle to solve and explain the problem of the roving bands of flesh-eaters, while most people are in a fight to stay alive. The film follows one motley group of people who hole-up together in a country home and try to survive the night. Tensions rise immediately among the survivors, though, as they debate which strategy will give them the best chance to make it to dawn - barricade and wait, or make a run for it. Each person's personalities and motives are pushed to the breaking point, leading to the dramatic and surprising conclusion. (And yes, I realize that this description is vague and could even be loosely misleading, but if you've seen the movie, you know what I'm working with.)

Everyone should see this movie at some point. And when they see it, they need to see it in the original black-and-white style. Although the colorized version adds to the blood and gore, the black-and-white is thematically important. (Again, I can't say much more without ruining things).

Even without color, this movie is gritty and graphic. I refuse to see it at night, even though I've seen it several times.

In the canon of the history of film, "Night of the Living Dead" should stand as the representative of the horror genre.