Basements
Basements is the title for the omnibus film that brings together two plays by Harold Pinter – The Dumb Waiter and The Room – each, once again, set in a single location.
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- Cast:
- John Travolta , Tom Conti , Linda Hunt , Annie Lennox , Julian Sands , David Hemblen , Donald Pleasence
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Reviews
Very Cool!!!
So much average
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
ABC TV network has from time to time tried to work with more serious artists. This was a big experiment and Lynch's TWIN PEAKS was another go round with middlebrow if not high brow offerings. WILD PALMS falls in this category as well. In all cases they would attract a few household names to generate interest in the projects.I have not seen BASEMENTS. It was one of those projects I've always wanted to see because I am familiar with Harold Pinter. The fact that Travolta (who was in a career slump at the time and was reduced to appearing in cameos on SNL and Stevie Wonder videos)agreed to do it really intrigued me. Does anyone know where to find it?
I am the first one to SPIT upon....really, I cannot stand pretentious crud -- spit upon art that pretends to be art...Paintings of green with a yellow spot and selling for $250,000 (seriously), or boring movies and plays that border on insanity...BUT...Pinter's MASterpiece, The Dumb Waiter is indeed an 'absurdist' piece, but one that has a beginning, a middle and an end, and truly carries the viewer (or reader) through a psychological dialogue that ranks with Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil,' and Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner,' as films that take the absurdist and surreal genre and actually make films truly art-worthy.I love the Dumb Waiter -- and ironically, fell in love with it during a college drama class -- I wrote at length about it because I had been one to rant about stupid wannabe pretentious theatre, art, music, etc. and realized that Pinter is truly an artist. Truly. Other pretenders do minimalistic work because they can't do more, but this is great -- and the best acting Travolta has done besides Pulp Fiction... ...oh, and Battlefield Earth...(just kidding)
Now, I am one of the biggest John Travolta fans on earth, I have all of his movies, except for ones not out of video. I just recently got this movie, and I STILL do not understand it after watching it three times. I got the movie off of e-bay because it is out of print. Was it worth what I paid? Yes, because I am a collector of all his movies. For a regular person who isn't interested in it for the actor, I would tell you not to dare waste your money and time.
Altman really hit on a good thing with his short films written by Harold Pinter. The film effectively contrasts Conti's brilliant acting skills with the non-existent skills of John Travolta. Travolta's awful british accent is worth the price of admission alone! (I am sure this is all intentional - a real Altman touch) Travolta plays a hitman! And we all thought the Tarantino was the original one with that idea. A genius story that is excellently paced. For a great time, view this wonderful artistic piece.