“The Great Escape” is mostly known these days for the iconic imagery of Steve McQueen riding his motorbike trying to escape the clutches of German soldiers. As a hardcore McQueen fan, I am all for giving him his due, but “The Great Escape” offers so much more than McQueen on a motorbike telling Nazis to fuck off as he desperately attempts escaping their forces. “The Great Escape” is a classic man film about a group of soldiers bonding to escape their prison, and garners an immense cast of acting heavyweights.
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
It’s well documented that Steve McQueen sported a hefty resentment toward Paul Newman and viewed him as a rival until the day he died. Though McQueen was known for being petty and resentful toward anyone who challenged his position as an actor, McQueen mostly aimed for Paul Newman. Naturally, since Newman was known for his iconic role as Fast Eddie Felson, a pool hustler battling against the one and only Jackie Gleason, a pool master named Minnesota Fats, McQueen followed up with his own version of the film, except with poker, and upped the ante by going up against Edward G. Robinson.
The Getaway (1972)
“The Getaway” was the film that turned me on to McQueen and introduced me to a new form of coolness, McQueen, who was a bad-ass as an action star as much he was an actor. Steve McQueen is just about larger than life in anything he was in, and with “The Getaway” he manages to elevate himself above the crime thriller, and helps Ali McGraw become his ultimate assailant in crime.
With Respect to Richard Linklater
If I could have one wish, it’d be to interview Richard Linklater.
It’s a bit selfish to test my luck in that regard, only because you’re only granted so many wishes in life before the well runs dry, but I mean it, if I could, I’d pick that man’s brain for at least an hour.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
If anything, while “The Last Crusade” is considered the weakest film of the first three films, director Steven Spielberg teams up the world’s most popular James Bond actor, with the newest adventure hero Indiana Jones. Once considered the finale in the adventures of Indiana Jones, “The Last Crusade” takes another step back and examines the Indiana Jones from when he was a young man. Played by the late River Phoenix, director Spielberg chronicles many of the beats that turned Indiana Jones from a young daring man who cherished hallowed treasures, to an actual man who risked life and limb to return hallowed treasures back to their homes.
X-Ray / Schizoid (BluRay/DVD Combo)
From Scream Factory comes two slasher films included in a pack that will test the resolve of even the most loyal slasher movie buffs. “X-Ray” tranquilized me and by the time “Schizoid” was almost done I was desperately trying to keep my eyes open. To their credit, they are a double pack for experimental horror fans, but on their own and without a distraction, they’re two of the most mind numbing slasher films I’ve ever seen.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
“The Temple of Doom” is one of the few prequels ever made that works, and works well. Though it gets a bad rap by some fans of the series, “The Temple of Doom” follows in the Lucas tradition where the ante is upped, and the sequel garners a much darker atmosphere with a unique premise not centered on the Nazis and their quest for world domination. “The Temple of Doom” is a great change of pace, in the end. And it’s damn fun, to boot.