Michael Murphy

Phase IV

by
Ant in foreground, Kendra in the background

The legendary titles guy Saul Bass (he did the opening credits sequence for Psycho, The Man with the Golden Arm and Casino) made only one feature film and Phase IV is it. A fascinating sci-fi/horror tale set in the desert, it has ideas, some great acting, excellent close-up cinematography, gorgeous locations and an excruciatingly static sense of pace. It also has Nigel Davenport, a real asset as Dr Ernest D Hubbs, a scientist alarmed at what’s happening out in Arizona (Kenya, in fact) and heads off there with fellow scientist James R Lesko (Michael Murphy) to investigate. The ants, it turns out, have started building huge structures, with square quasi-industrial chimneys. What can … Read more

Brewster McCloud

by
Suzanne (Shelley Duvall) and Brewster (Bud Cort)

Brewster McCloud, the Robert Altman film people rarely talk about, owes something to early Soviet pioneers like Eisenstein, but possibly a lot more to the ingestion of cannabinoids. It’s got experiment with form in mind, but it’s also sprawlingly formless, as if Altman was stoned while in the edit suite. We understand his point, but he will keep on making it. In high (take that any way you want) Altman style, it’s a scenes-from-a-montage affair, a collage of moments where Altman in effect says “This!… this!… this!… this!… and this!… are what it’s all about”. A snapshot of one world, then a snapshot of another, a movie reference, then a star from an old … Read more