International '70s Class: The Black Windmill (1974)

 A good Film, you say?  Am I allowed to do these?!?

This is The Black Windmill, a 1974 Film that I got for a $1.  I did, however, get the Kino Lorber release, so yea for me!

The Plot involves a spy- Michael Caine- whose Son is kidnapped and he has to work to save them.  His bosses aren't exactly helpful, especially when it seems like he's in on the crime!

The Film comes to us from Don Siegel, who made most of Clint Eastwood's early, star-making Films.  He's credited by Clint himself for making him a Star.  It was also produced by Richard Zanuck, which is a plus.

The Cast is full of notable Stars and Character Actors, including Donald Pleasence, Joseph O'Connor and John Vernon.

Am I hyping this up too much?  To find out, read on...

The Film begins with a montage of 2 kids wandering around the countryside while them saying a Nursery Rhyme can be heard.  That explains the Title Card.

They wander onto an Air Force Base and are brought in by RAF Security...but they are actually bad guys, who kidnap them.

The lead guy- Vernon- also blows up his excess cohorts to boot.

Caine is a Spy who is working to infiltrate a gang involved in some sort of gun operation.

However, unbeknownst to him, he's been 'made' and this is documented for later use.

During a meeting, he gets a call of the kidnappers- daring to call there, no?- and acts calm, not letting on what he was told.

That's really the heart of the Film- him looking/acting calm in situations where most would not.

They are let in on what is happening after he talks to this ex-Wife (and mother of their child).  The kidnappers want to talk to his Boss- Pleasence- and are otherwise vague about what they want.

The other kid is discovered, but he's too drugged/traumatized to say anything helpful.

He's still better off than the other girl in Taken.

The bad guys play both sides against the other now as they tell Caine different instructions for delivering what they want- a bunch of diamonds.

Meanwhile, they frame him as being in a relationship with the woman from Screen Cap #2, even using a picture taken then.

With no help from his bosses, Caine does some elaborate work- including doing an impression of Pleasence over the phone- to get the diamonds.  He doesn't realize that he's being framed yet either.

Seriously, watching him impersonate Pleasence is worth the viewing alone.

He realizes that they figured out about the diamonds and has to go on a French Connection-style run (RIP William Friedkin).

It's a great Scene, even if you can see why Caine didn't become an Action Hero.

Picture Tom Cruise running, but with this face.

He uses Chekhov's Briefcase (no SPOILERS on that) to get leverage when he meets the kidnappers, but that only gets him so far.

As you can see, it doesn't end well for him.

He's framed for the murder of the woman- she really is just a Plot Devices, isn't she?- and is taken in by the Police.

The bad guys break him out, but only to have him be killed before anyone can ask questions.

That fails and he gets across the Chanel via Hovercraft Ferry.  That was a thing!  Sadly, they stopped doing it in 2000.

Can he rescue his son?
Can he figure out who the bad guy is?
Can you finally relax now that you've seen him get angry?

Well, for once, I won't SPOIL the ending here.  See it for yourself.

It is good.  Considering the caliber of people involved, is that a surprise?
Well, to be fair, a great Cast, Director and Studio once gave us Paint Your Wagon, so it can happen.

'70s burn!

To be fair, this one might be a bit slow for people used to newer Films only.  It is not action packed.  It is not constantly tense and keeping you 'on the edge of your seat.'  It is still engaging the whole time though.

The Film is definitely a Character Study on Caine's Spy, as he acts calm and in control at all times.  That's how he was trained to act- he can't help it.  You see him struggle to hold it, see people react to him and try to get him to break.

When he finally does, it is all worth it.  The climax is a great one, although it doesn't end well for one of the bad guys.  I did Screen Cap it, but it hurts every time I look at it.  I'll spare you.

Finding gems like this- like when I found Street Smart- is fun.  Seeing this logo again is just a nice bonus...

Next up, let's stick with the '70s, but move to Sci-Fi.  Let's check out the Film that indirectly inspired one of my favorite Shows.  Stay tuned...

International '70s Class: The Bullet Train (1975)

 I feel the need for Speed!  Today's Film is The Bullet Train, a 1975 Film that has a similarity to a famous Film.  To be fair, it is mostly a surface similarity.  The Plot involves some bad guys who put a bomb on a Bullet Train.  If the Train goes under a certain speed, it's going to blow up.  Yes, it's Speed.  To be more accurate, Speed is this though, isn't it?  That said, this is much more of a '70s Disaster Film than anything else.  All that is missing is ugly '70s Cars getting crushed or big Stars slumming it for a quick buck.  Speaking of Stars, we get Sonny Chiba in a rare non-Action Role.  Neat.  The Film is quite long and I've got alot to talk about, so let's just go down this tunnel...

In a Cold Open, a man puts a bomb on a Bullet Train.

I guess that's what happens when you can't have guns- you go around making bombs.

I might be misinterpreting things though...

After we establish all of the random people on the Train (a Prisoner, a Pregnant Woman, other random people and a Pop Group), the Police get a call about the train.

Stupid Metric System!

This is a deep into the '70s Film, so you know all of the stuff to expect.

We see bad guys planning.
We see heroic Cops.

We see them get a call from the bad guys, but they fail to trace the call in time...

On board the train, they (naturally) keep the bomb thing a secret for as long as they can.

Tensions run high, of course, as everyone knows that something must be up.

The Police set up a drop for the payment with one of the bad guys, but things take a weird turn.

A group of Judo Students are jogging through the same Forest and end up chasing him.  Why not?

In what becomes an odd trend, the chase ends in his death before he can give up information.

Later on, they get close to another one and he throws some dynamite down, jumps at it and gets blown up.

That seems like somethings he's planned out for a while and not a spur of the moment thing, no?

To make a long story short (this is nearly 3 hours long), they manage to get a welding torch onto the train to remove the bomb.

In the meantime, they run an appeal to the Bomber to give them the information.

After the bombs are disarmed (shock twist- there were two!), the guy in charge (or so he thought) finds that it is still running.

They explain that this is just a trap for the bad guy.  He's not happy and quits.

The final bad guy tries to flee with the money, but gets spotted at the Airport.

When he tries to flee, he is killed by the Police in a negative-tinted freeze frame.  How artistic.

The End.

A good Film, if a bit long.  As mentioned, the Film clocks in at around 2 hours and 35 minutes.  If you're not fighting Thanos or saving Middle-Earth, that's a long time!  I know it's become an accepted thing in recent memory for big tent-pole Films to be this long.  That said, this Film really stretches to fill time.  The Train has about six Sub Plots worth of stuff to pad things out.  Some of it is sad- like the pregnant woman losing her kid-, while others are unintentionally-silly- like the over-dramatic Passengers.  Off the train, we have lots of stalling in the Control Room AND with the bad guys.  They spend alot more time than you might think with said bad guys.  In theory, it is fine.  In practice, I just lost interest.  Some of it I think is a regional thing, as they debate with the Leader over losing his commitment to the whole thing.  None of it is bad- it's just not that exciting.  The big moments usually pay off here, so I still recommend it if you're a fan of '70s Disaster Films.  Just go into knowing what to expect.  So it's not always going to be explosions and shooting, it's often going to be switchboards galore!

Next time, I stick with Japan for a bit longer.  I have either a Remake or a Parody to pick between.  Stay tuned...