KIPPUR (2000, ISRAEL)

MILLENNIUM MONTH (MM): MOVIES FROM THE YEAR 2000...

AND IN MEMORIAM

(Post 6 of 11)

Kippur

Kippur is an Israeli war film depicting the 1973 Yom Kippur War which attempts to put the viewer in the center of the film. It has a documentary film feel with a lack of overtly dramatic flourishes and there is certainly no playing of Ride of the Valkyries or the Rolling Stones as helicopters swoop into enemy territory. This made it seem a little plodding at times, but I think that was kind of the point. The scene that I thought was the most effective was the clumsy rescue of an injured soldier on a stretcher that seemed to take forever. The scene lacked any background score and was better off because of it.

2000 IN MEMORIAM

Obituary of person with 1001 movie connection: If John Gielgud (1904-2000) isn't the greatest English speaking actor of the twentieth century, he is certainly near the top of the list. His many stage roles, Shakespearean and otherwise are legendary, but what about his film roles? He didn't appear in too many films until he hit his fifties, but from that time on, he built quite a resume. High brow Shakespearean films (Julius Caesar, Prospero's Books) and high brow TV (QBVII, Brideshead Revisited) seemed to be his specialty. He was also called on to appear in supporting roles in critically acclaimed productions such as The Elephant Man, Gandhi, Chariots of Fire, and Shine (all in the 1001 book).

But despite all this, Gielgud is remembered by some of us (and I'm guilty of this) for his Oscar winning role as Hobson, the snobby butler in Arthur.