Monday, December 29, 2008

the knack

I finished watching "All Night Long" this evening, which I found on tv a couple weeks ago. It is a 1961 British film, loosely adapting Othello into the contemporary jazz culture/community. It was filled by many cameos from real jazz players. The Iago character (called Johnny) was played by Patrick McGoohan (Secret Agent and the Prisoner). The oddest part of it was the ending where everyone lives and the truth is revealed allowing the status quo to be regained. When I taped it, also also taped the vaguely familiar title "The Knack and How to get it" which was on after it. Surprisingly, it is not only another early 60s British film about angry/confused young men, but is one of Richard Lester's first films. It's got this very cool opening sequence with hundreds of beautiful women lined up on a stairway, moving up to a room with a man one at a time. Plot is thin but style dominates every moment.

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