Dust Off Those Grooves (Chapter Nineteen) Out Of Sight By David Holmes

Early promotional material for OUT OF SIGHT had the music of Cliff Martinez listed as the score. Martinez is certainly no slouch as his music for films such as THE LIMEY and especially SOLARIS are among the finest in modern film, but no one else could have scored OUT OF SIGHT like Irish D.J. and musician David Holmes.
OUT OF SIGHT producer Danny Devito had heard some of Holmes' solo material, been very impressed and approached him about providing some tracks for OUT OF SIGHT. Holmes obliged and once director Steven Soderbergh heard them the famed Irish musician was hired on to do the full score.
The OUT OF SIGHT album is simultaneously among the great soundtrack albums and the most frustrating. Great, as each Holmes track is astonsihingly inventive and remarkably fresh, but frustrating in that many ques from the film aren't here. Hopefully one day the missing bits will appear, in the meantime let us celebrate the soundtrack we do have...an ingenious mixture of old and new...a cool get together where The Isely Brothers, Walter Wanderly and Dean Martin can hang out partying to the unforgettable grooves of one very 'possessed by genius' Irish DJ.
OUT OF SIGHT was recorded in Belfast, Ireland at Drama studios. Holmes was joined by a sizzling band featuring Tim Goldsworthy on drums, Phil Mossman on guitar and bass, and Darren Morris on keyboards. Holmes himself produced, scored and arranged the sessions that would culminate in some of the most unforgettable tunes of his already iconic career.

The Holmes tracks are all marked by the great playing of the band so a little time should be spent with the talented members. Drummer Goldsworthy has worked with Holmes quite a bit on the albums DON'T DIE JUST YET and LET'S GET KILLED. He has also had time with everyone from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion to The Beta Band. Guitarest Mossman is a top remixer and also supplied licks to the above Holmes records as well as the Manic Street Preachers. The unforgettable keyboard work of Morris has graced many of Holmes best records, as well as Spencer and The Manics. The session was engineered by Andrew Scheps, a man who has brought some sensational sonic sounds to bands as notable as The Red Hot Chili Peppers and U.2.
OUT OF SIGHT marked the first of many collaborations between Holmes and director Soderbergh. The two have an interesting relationship and the build up to the scores is fascinating, as Holmes will begin sending the director mix cds months in advance to set the mood. These discs give the director an opportunity to hear possible older songs that might appear in the film, and to get an idea of the mood Holmes is going to emulate. These mixes have proven inspired in the OCEAN'S trilogy the two have done together for once obscure songs by Elvis Presley (A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION), Dave Grusin (ASCENSION TO VIRGINITY) and Frank Sinatra (THIS TOWN). I am willing to bet that Holmes has one of the largest and most diverse record collections in the world, and it is this embracing of all types of music that separates him from almost any electronic based musician of his generation...it is that diversity that marks OUT OF SIGHT as not just a great soundtrack but also one of the truly great albums of the nineties.
The album kicks off with a bit of Scott Frank's dialogue from the film. The entire running time of the record is made up of some of this dialogue. As on his solo albums, Holmes expertly mixes this dialogue in with the tracks so it not only isn't distracting but actually adds to each individual song.

The Isley Brother's roaring IT'S YOUR THING opens up the music section of the album and it is a great choice, even though in actuality it closes out the film. The famed groover would later be used to open up the short lived KAREN SISCO television series.
IT's YOUR THING leads into the first Holmes original, a short piece entitled I THINK YOU FLOODED IT. The song with its smooth opening bassline and acoustic guitar interchange is a funky little work out that fits the sweltering Glades, Florida section of the film perfectly. Mossman's guitar work here is particularly sweet.
Brazilian composer Mongo Santamarie's infectious WATERMELON MAN follows and it continues to give the early part of the album the same hot and humid feel as the first half of the film.

JAILBREAK, the second Holmes track, follows and it is another funky short piece highlighted this time by the near tribal percussion of Goldsworthy. Dean Martin's legendary AIN'T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD comes in on its heels and the great Cahn and Van Heusen sounds tailor made for the album. The song has been overused a bit since, but ten years ago it was still fresh and its inclusion on the album was a great move by Holmes.
The Martin track gives way to one of the key moments on the album, the lovely keyboard driven THE TRUNK SCENE. Fashioned for one of the film's great scenes, THE TRUNK SCENE is haunting stuff as the band lock down into a slow seductive groove punctuated by the Morris' incredible playing. This is also the track that changes the tone of the album from the sweltering sunshine of Florida to the bitter cold winter of Detroit.
FOLEY PART 2 follows and it is a nice, if extremely short, Holmes composition made great by the quirky electric guitar work of Mossman. The longer RIP, RIP follows and it is another one of the great tracks in Holmes canon. It's a low down keyboard driven bit of hard funk that wouldn't have sounded out of place on any number of Parliament albums from the seventies. The dialogue snatches, featuring Don Cheadle's menacing Snoopy Miller, is used perfectly well here as well.
Willie Bobo's SPANISH GREASE follows and I think it is possibly the one slip up on the abum. The track is great on its own but it would have fit in better with the album's first half. Still it does add to the at times disorienting schizophrenic natured editing of the film, which is probably why it was placed here.
The Isley Brother's get an encore on the record with the tough and smoking FIGHT THE POWER...the song is used so perfectly in the film that I can't hear it now without the George Clooney line announcing "Let's Go To Detroit" placed at the beginning of it.
The second great minimal keyboard track is up next, and like THE TRUNK SCENE, TUB SCENE is an unshakably great seventies style mixture of keys, bass and percussion. Holmes production work here is sublime and my only compliant with the song is that it ends. Not since The Doors RIDERS ON THE STORM has a Hammond organ sounded so menacing and seductive.
Walter Wanderly's brilliant take on Jobim's ONE NOTE SAMBA breaks the mood of TUB SCENE and it is followed two more short Holmes tracks, THE DRIVE TO RIPLEY'S and BITCH OUT. The tracks work as nice short workouts for the band as a group, as if Holmes is getting them geared up for the albums great final downbeat moment.
NO MORE TIME OUTS is my favorite David Holmes track, and that is saying a lot as there are few modern artists I value more. Starting off with the film's most haunting and tragic dialogue, the song is one of the most moving I have ever heard with its long opening keyboard solo that pretty much encapsulates thirty years of cool crime films about lost dreams and failures. Tipping his hat to Portishead's majestic ROADS, this is David Holmes at his most brilliant and it closes the album on a strong note of weight and resonance. Ten years later, this track is still a stunner...

The OUT OF SIGHT album would receive rave reviews upon its release, especially in Britain. It would begin one of the most important partnerships between a composer and director in modern cinema, and it deserves to be remembered as one of the best soundtracks of the nineties. The work is currently out of print, although prices for used copies haven't sky rocketed yet. I can't recommend a collection more, NO MORE TIME OUTS alone is worth any price you might pay for it.
Holmes has continued his extraordinary journey, and his recent OCEAN'S THIRTEEN soundtrack is one of his finest albums.
My two previous David Holmes articles can be read here and here.
For more on Holmes check out the Gritty Shaker fan site, which is unfortunately not updated anymore but many of the interviews are still active and you can read some of Holmes thoughts on OUT OF SIGHT and Soderbergh.

Dust Off Those Grooves (Chapter Nine)

We need to be a little kinder to the few remaining popular music geniuses we have. We are running seriously low these days, perhaps the sixties and seventies spoiled us. Looking back at those decades it was like a new one was popping up out of Britain, France or America every other week. Since that moment when Elvis Presley first starting singing "That's All Right" in between takes with Scotty Moore and Bill Black joining in it seemed like we would never run out of people who would really be willing to take a chance. But in the past ten years it has begun to happen. Every year brings new talent but the true visionary is dying out. Perhaps it was inevitable, I mean how much can you do with sound in popular music?
David Holmes is these days best known as a top soundtrack composer, and why not? His scores for Out Of Sight, Oceans Eleven and Oceans Twelve among others have provided some of the most thrilling music of the past decade. The popularity of his film scores has unfortunately overshadowed his solo work as well as his powerful funk group The Free Association. At this date nearly all of his most innovative and influential music has slipped out of print in the States. Much like The Velvet Underground, Big Star and countless other under appreciated in their times acts, his work now resides in cut out and used record store bins. Check those 99 cent bins carefully next time you are at your favorite record haunt, you might just find something that will change your life.
David Holmes has had two big strikes against him in the rock community. Anytime the words DJ and Dance are mentioned many rock fans will recoil away in horror. It is there loss, since the sixties much dance music has at times been the most innovative around, but wait David Holmes doesn't perform typical dance music. The there is the DJ moniker, and an Irish DJ no less. Holmes did start out his career as a club DJ, and still spins on occasion, but his eclectic mixes would alienate as many clubbers as those that he would turn on. So, David Holmes isn't your typical DJ. Actually he isn't your typical anything which is one thing that adds to his allure, even his soundtrack work differs from most composers who only want their work featured. One of Holmes most enduring characteristics is his love for his record collection, and his need to bring it to us.
After Djing in his native Belfast as a teenager Holmes recorded his first album, The Films Crap Lets Slash The Seats, in 1995. He was 26 years old and the double cd films inspired set was well received but it was overlong and remains Holmes' least essential work. He would get some producing and remixing jobs from it though and he would soon start to plan the follow up.
After the death of Sarah Veronica Holmes, whom his second album would be dedicated to, Holmes wound up Djing in New York City. Inspired by the city and especially the people in it Holmes got the idea to start recording conversations on his daily walks through the New York streets. These snatches of colorful conversations would provide the genesis for the album he was getting ready to record, the first of his decade long string of masterpieces, 1997's Let's Get Killed.
Many albums have featured samples of found conversation but none have ever sounded like Let's Get Killed. In fact Holmes second album really doesn't sound like anything else. While it was recorded ten years ago, it sounds like something that is going to be recorded in about twenty years from now.
The album begins with a track entitled "Listen, 49 seconds of Street Noise" and an anonymous New Yorker telling us why New York is the greatest city on earth. "Listen", without a break goes directly into the single, "My Mate Paul". This track is one of the least groundbreaking on the album but it has a nice dub progressed sound scape that lasts for over five minutes. All of Holmes work is cinematic in nature and this is obviously the albums opening credits, the sampled drum loop that plays throughout is particularly nice. Holmes continually messes with the drum's time signature, giving the song a dizzying feel. It sounds repetitive at first but further listen s reveal a very complex track that Holmes has built from a variety of sources that would undergo many transformations on future remixes.
The title track is next and here we are presented with our first snatched conversation. The track has a chilling film noir feel to it and the violent narration is carried through by a propulsive drum pattern. It's here that the album really begins to take shape as Holmes begin to throw in a barrage of sound effects and samples.
The classic "Gritty Shaker" follows, one of Holmes signature tracks and another single off the album. More traffic noise and this time dialogue from what sounds like a street psychic rambling on about money, sex and past presidents. It's the kind of dialogue that can't be written, it is too naturally shambolic and features the great line, "I advise you to become a lawyer because you are going to have to represent yourself some day."
The delightful "Gritty Shaker" flows directly into the rap of "Head Rush On Lafayette", made entirely out of a frantic drum pattern and a rhyme that sounds like something off of a Last Poets album.
One of the more mellow moments on the record follows. Entitled "Rodney Yates" and resembling his later soundtrack work on Oceans Eleven, this track features incredible guitar work by Keith Tenniswood and a lovely Holmes Synth track that is reminiscent of Eno. It is one of the most ambient feeling of all the tracks but it never loses it's groove. One of Holmes' great moments.
The next track is one of Holmes most audacious moments. Beginning with an argument over who is the best, John Shaft or James Bond. Coming right off the immortal line, "James Bond was Hispanic" Holmes rips into his own version of the immortal Bond theme. A completely retooled masterwork of one of the most famous themes on earth. Samples come in and out but it's the crazed Samba like feel that takes the track over the edge. Much better than Paul Okenfield's later commissioned James Bond remix, this track smokes and is a splendid tribute to the Bond films that Holmes loved so much as a youth in Ireland.
More dialogue in "The Parcus and Madder Show" is followed by a track that would have been right at home of Sandinista by The Clash, "Slasher's Revenge". A top dub track that still has echoes of the Bond theme, like us Holmes can't quite get it out of his head.
"Freaknik", with it's opening dialogue of a guy just thrown out of a downtown punk club, is one of the only sort of dance tracks on the record. Holmes can't resist challenging expectations though as he continues to play start-stop with the rhythm.
"Caddell Returns" opens with a junkie lamenting about all of the drugs he has taken and ends with, "I can't even tell you what day it is." One of the most soulful spots on the album and predicting the future Free Association project that Holmes would throw himself into later. The Bond theme comes back in again briefly and then suddenly the album shifts into one of the most beautiful moments Holmes has ever put onto vinyl, with a sample of Patti Smith's "Easter". It's a dramatic, haunting turn where we hear Holmes tipping his hat to one of New York's finest. It's also a reminder of why Holmes pissed so many people off in the club world, whether it was closing his sets with Elvis Presley's "If I Can Dream" or sampling one of Patti Smith's most tender moments, he was never willing to pander to expectations. This is a guy who will beyond all else, always deliver the unexpected.
The album's, and David Holmes, most jaw dropping moment is the penultimate track. Entitled "Don't Die Just Yet", Holmes deliverers and audacious reworking of the legendary "Cargo Culte" off Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire De Melody Nelson. This was the first time many people would have heard this remarkable piece of music as most hipsters and music lovers were just starting to immerse themselves in the legend of Gainsbourg. Holmes delivers us a mission statement on this track and it is an extraordinary moment. On first listen he has barely touched the song but the subtle and substantial differences will be apparent to anyone who worships Melody Nelson. Holmes damn near tops Gainsbourg's original on the album version. He manages to bring British music dance, New York punk and the historically unfairly maligned French music scene together in six breathtaking minutes. It's right up there with the finest Portishead, Bjork and Massive Attack moments of the 90's most progressive and daring music.
The album ends with "For You", in which we hear our passenger exiting his cab and stepping out into the street. More voices that have their first and only album appearance, immortalized on vinyl by someone who appreciated that they deserved to be heard.
Steven Soderbergh would hear Let's Get Killed and asked Holmes to record his the film he had began work on, Out Of Sight. It was a match made in heaven and Holmes has just finished up Soderbergh's Oceans Thirteen. He would record another solo masterpiece entitled Bow Down To The Exit Sign in 2000, this time utilizing singers over snatched conversations. His mix albums have become the stuff of legend and have turned on, for those lucky enough to hear them, many young people to a wide variety of music they had have never heard before.
He continues searching through old records trying to find sounds and moments that touch him. He was the one responsible for unearthing Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" and sent it to Soderbergh to use in Ocean's Eleven. Holmes refused to remix the Presley song though as he said he didn't want to touch perfection or perhaps even more appropriate was when he would say, "It was already as funky as fuck." This refusal led to Junkie XL remixing it and having a global smash number one hit, but it was Holmes who was responsible for digging it up.
David Holmes has slowed down a bit in the past year or so. As much as I love his soundtrack work I hope that he continues cutting his own albums. His solo catalogue represents some of modern musics most unknown treasures, his best music may be lost in your corner store's cut out bins but it will be someday be re-discovered by those adventurous enough to dig.

Scott Frank's The Lookout

I typically don't like to write about films right after I see them, because inevitably my initial thoughts will change upon re-viewings so i am always hesitant to throw out a quick definitive opinion.
I will say though that I highly recommend the new film by screenwriter Scott Frank called THE LOOKOUT. It is an uncommonly good film to see this early in the year and is proof positive that actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of the most talented working today.
This is Frank's first film as director after many interesting screenplays, including the legendary OUT OF SIGHT. He's got a real director's eye and even though the film does have a slightly disappointing second half it still plays out as a splendid study of lost identity and missed chances.
The great cast includes Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher and in a small role my beloved Carla Gugino (who is pictured here at the film's premiere).
So take this not as a review but a recommendation to a really interesting new film. I'll look forward to the dvd and re-viewing it. I have a strong feeling that this film will hold up, I hope Frank continues to direct.

Soderbergh's Thirteen

After nearly twenty years of feature length filmmaking, Steven Soderbergh remains one of the most original and important of all American directors. His career has been a fascinating mixture of fiercely independent work and overwhelmingly commercial but uncompromising material. He is one of the few directors around who has managed to combine the two, and be successful at both. I have seen the majority of Steven's work, with SCHIZOPOLIS and BUBBLE being my two biggest omissions, and I thought to go along with OUT OF SIGHT week I would give a nod to my favorites. So in descending order, here are my favorite Soderbergh projects so far. I have no doubt that his upcoming GUERRILLA will make this list "Soderbergh's Fourteen".

13. THE UNDERNEATH (1995): Soderbergh's disappointing, but still worthwhile, mid nineties noir finds him in a bit of a rut just before his major creative rebirth. Still, the film is better than most give it credit for and Elisabeth Shue is extremely good in it.

12. KAFKA (1991): I've never quite warmed up to Steven's odd SEX LIES AND VIDEOTAPE follow-up but it is still an intriguing little experiment. The film is gorgeous to watch and both Jeremy Irons and Theresa Russell are excellent. The rumored upcoming Criterion disc is sure to make it all the more inviting.

11. ERIN BROCKOVICH (2000): My distaste for Juila Roberts clouds what is otherwise a very strong film. Roberts is good in the main title role, but the real reason to watch it is for Steven's confident direction and the scene stealing Albert Finney.

10. OCEAN'S THIRTEEN (2007): The newest was the weakest but it was still a lot of fun. The addition of Pacino and Barkin certainly helped what could have been a very tired retread of the first two.

9. TRAFFIC (2000): The film that won Steven many awards is a solid and thoughtful production, although it doesn't compare to the original BBC or USA remake. It is hampered by some poor casting choices, but the work of Benecio Del Toro and Catherine Zeta Jones is remarkable.

8. FULL FRONTAL (2002): The little film everyone loves to hate is half a masterpiece, and only slips in the Julia Roberts movie section. Mary McCormack is sublime and Catherine Keener is savagely good in this, one of Soderbergh's most under appreciated films.

7. OCEAN'S ELEVEN: Soderbergh's most financially successful film is undeniably infectious and fun. Featuring a cast of some of the brightest stars in modern American cinema, and an astonishing score by David Holmes, OCEAN'S ELEVEN is is unstoppably entertaining.

6. K STREET (2003): One of the great television series of the decade that was unfortunately cancelled after less than ten episodes. Smart, funny and searing with Mary McCormack delivering yet another showcase performance for him, Soderbergh's K STREET was too good for television.

5. SEX LIES AND VIDEOTAPE (1989): Soderbergh's feature length debut remains one of the most important first films of the past three decades. Smart, funny, inventive and undeniably great. This film, along with Gus Van Sant's DRUGSTORE COWBOY, helped bury the eighties and signaled the nineties as a much more invigorating decade in American cinema.

4. OCEAN'S TWELVE (2004): Trumps the first one on every count...genre bending, self-referential and masterful, OCEAN'S TWELVE is one of the great films of the decade. The fact that it continues to be reviled only fuels my love for it.

3. SOLARIS (2002): Along with IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE, I'm not sure if there is a more underrated film from this decade around. Criminally ignored by both the critics and public, Soderbergh's great remake is a haunting, emotional masterpiece. For my money its the best science fiction film since Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER.

2. THE LIMEY (1999): Soderbergh's thrilling tribute to the sixties is the stuff of legend. Featuring Terence Stamp in a career defining performance, and some of the most inventive cutting ever, THE LIMEY is an unforgettable experience that works on a near impossible number of levels...a really stunning film that just gets better and better with each viewing.

1. OUT OF SIGHT (1998): The film that put Soderbergh back on the map and teamed him up with his most valuable cinematic partner, George Clooney, for the first time. My look at this film will continue throughout the week.

I really need to see the handful of Soderbergh's productions that I haven't yet soon. Any recommendations on where to start are appreciated.

For more on Steven Soderbergh please visit this excellent site.

Thinking On Karen Sisco

I'm trying to figure out what I want to write about the short lived KAREN SISCO series with Carla Gugino that I loved so much. In the meantime please check out a previous article I wrote in the early days of this blog on the OUT OF SIGHT spin-off and my television memories in general. It is located here, and it is actually one of my favorite things I have written for Moon In The Gutter.
Also, for the most definitive look at this wonderful ten episode series, check out these posts at Marty McKee's blog.
To celebrate Carla Gugino, please visit this fabulous site.

Karen Sisco: She Was A Friend Of Mine

"He liked to play the Underdogs..."
-Robert Forster's Marshall Sisco To Karen-

The final episode of KAREN SISCO, entitled HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE, aired in March of 2003 on the U.S.A network. It was one of three episodes ABC decided not to run when SISCO failed to catch fire with audiences in the fall of 2002. Helmed by STRANGE DAYS director Kathyrn Bigelow from a script by Emmy winning writer Peter Lefcourt, HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE was the most emotional and best episode in the series tragically short run. It was also the episode that truly signaled that the makers of KAREN SISCO were going to turn it into much more than just another routine network cop show.
Backed by a great Hammond driven score and the lovely blue toned photography by Emmy winning cinematography Edward J. Pei, HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE was a really potent way to send the series out on. Compared to much of the cringe worthy reality programing people flocked to after 9-11, the show and series feels positively brilliant.
The main thing that made the show so special was the relationship between Karen and her father Marshall Sisco, played by the always wonderful Robert Forster. In Forster and Gugino, ABC hit upon one of the great teams in modern television, even if ultimately the station was too short-sighted to see it. Relationships between father and daughters on television often have a stale and false feel to them, but in KAREN SISCO it was very rich and real feeling. The widowed Marshall was an alcoholic cop who was emotionally in and out of young Karen's life when she was growing up. Neither have ever fully reconciled their feelings about it, and there is an extraordinary scene towards the end of HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE where Karen confronts him on it. Its the kind of scene that isn't seen much on television anymore, and the two actors play it out beautifully.
HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE is the most Forster driven episode of the series. After a good friend is killed Marshall Sisco becomes obsessed with finding the culprit, while in the meantime Karen is stuck on a rather routine drug smuggling case. The side storyline should have been abandoned and the show should have concentrated just on the investigation of Marshall's friend. Thankfully the majority of the show does this, and Forster delivers a finely nuanced portrayal of a man racked with guilt and anger.

One of the great things about KAREN SISCO was the way it happily played into many genre cliches, like dirty cops, sleazy drug dealers and sly bookies. The show wasn't afraid to be generic at times, but because of the always intelligent direction and the extraordinary work of Gugino and Fortser even the most pedestrian story lines felt fresh.
Joining Gugino and Forster in this final episode is the great Clarence Williams 111 from THE MOD SQUAD. As the frustrated cop who sells himself out for some easy bread, Williams is especially good in support here. Also always worth noting is the always awesome Bill Duke who played Karen's boss, Amos, in all ten of the episodes.

The other thing that was consistently great about the KAREN SISCO series was the way Gugino played Karen as a woman in a very male dominated world who refused to sacrifice her femininity. Karen can fit in with the guys but she never sells herself out as a woman doing it. KAREN SISCO is a celebration of the modern woman and not an apology for it. Sisco is a complex character who fits in perfectly well with the 'love em and leave em' classic noir male character of the past...that aspect is one thing that made her feel so revolutionary in the original book, the film and this series(and something that even modern audiences turned off to five years ago when this show was cancelled.)

Carla Gugino was playing a role that had already been rendered beautifully by Jennifer Lopez in OUT OF SIGHT. I really can't choose which one I like better as Karen Sisco. Certainly I value Gugino more overall as an actress, but Jennifer Lopez's poor career choices shouldn't take away from her exceptional work in OUT OF SIGHT. Both actresses took Elmore Leonard's iconic character and made her very real and alive...they should both be commended for their performances.
KAREN SISCO could have become a great modern series but ABC wasn't willing to stick with it, which was a real shame. All ten episodes of the series aired first on the U.S.A. network and then on Sleuth. No DVD is currently planned but Amazon has a page where you can request it.

To read another review of this episode, please visit here.

To visit the best KAREN SISCO gallery online please visit here.

Paul Thomas Anderson Tribute Month: Actor Profiles (Luis Guzman)

***Here's a redone and updated piece that was originally written as part of my 'Great Ones' series a few years back.***


Great characters actors should be routinely celebrated, as some of the best can add layer upon layer of dimension to films good, bad and great. Luis Guzman is one of the best on the planet right now, and has been for the past couple of decades but I rarely see that fact mentioned. So here is a little tribute to a guy who consistently has made some of my favorite films even better than they would have been without him.
A friend of mine used to shout out "The GuzMan!!!" every time we would Luis' name would pop up in a film's opening credits. It was like a stamp of approval..."okay, the film might be bad but at least it has the Guzman in it." Often though the films have been good, because Guzman is a really smart actor and he has managed to work consistently with many of the best directors on the planet. Filmmakers like Brian De Palma, Steven Soderbergh, and Paul Thomas Anderson have recognized the greatness present in Guzman and their films have been made all the more special because of his presence.

Guzman was born in Puerto Rico around the time that Rock and Roll was being fully realized for the first time. His family moved to New York's lower East side when Luis was a kid, and it was in New York that he came of age. After graduating from college, Guzman became a social worker who acted in theater to make some extra money, and as time went on he found himself acting more and more. Outside of a small role in Robert M. Young's SHORT EYES though in 1977, Guzman didn't began to find steady acting work in front of the camera until the early eighties when he started doing television in such shows as MIAMI VICE (someone should write a book on how many great actors got their start on this Michael Mann created show), and THE EQUALIZER.
Guzman would appear in a variety of television shows and films throughout the eighties. The first time I remember seeing him was in Joseph Ruben's vastly underrated TRUE BELIEVER in 1989. Even at this early stage you could tell that there was something special about Guzman, and it was really noticeable in Sidney Lumet's 1990 drama Q & A where Guzman delivered a really memorable performance for the great director.
Many more television roles would follow before Guzman landed one of the great roles of his career in Brian De Palma's emotional and intense CARLITO'S WAY (1993). Guzman was especially memorable in this undervalued De Palma masterwork, and the role would lead him to the attention of a group a young filmmakers who were coming of age as the nineties progressed.
One of those young filmmakers was named Paul Thomas Anderson and he kept the young actor in mind as his career began. When the time came to shoot his second feature, the astonishing BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997), Anderson would hand Guzman the best part of his career up to that point. Luis Guzman is one of the secret weapons in BOOGIE NIGHT'S mighty arsenal. As the lovable club owner Maurice who wants nothing more than to make a film for Jack Horner to impress his friends at home, Guzman is funny, fresh and moving. It is impossible to imagine the film without him. Unfortunately some of his best work had to hit the cutting room floor due to time limitations, but Anderson thankfully included these in the deleted scenes on the BOOGIE NIGHTS DVD. One scene in particular involving Guzman and Heather Graham's Roller Girl is one of the most oddly touching moments of his career.
Guzman would hit a major winning streak after BOOGIE NIGHTS. Soderbergh loved him in it and cast him in the small but unforgettable role of the escaped convict Chino in OUT OF SIGHT (1998). Guzman shines next to George Clooney and particularly in a scene with Jennifer Lopez and Catherine Keener. De Palma's SNAKE EYES (1998) followed and then some solid work with Angelina Jolie in THE BONE COLLECTOR (1999) before Guzman would score another set of films with Anderson and Soderbergh.
Guzman is extremely memorable as one of the game show contestants in Anderson's unforgettable MAGNOLIA (1999) but he is even better in Soderbergh's THE LIMEY (1999) opposite Terence Stamp. THE LIMEY would give Guzman one of his largest roles, and he is commanding in the film. The fact that he holds his own with an actor of Stamp's stature says a lot. As Eduardo in Soderbergh's already legendary film, Guzman delivers an honest and striking performance that should have garnered him much more acclaim than it did. He is brilliant in the film, and one of its major highlights.

Anderson and Soderbergh would give him two more great roles in their films PUNCH DRUNK LOVE (2002) and TRAFFIC (2000) but for the most part it has been back to business as a scene stealing character actor this decade for the great Guzman. He did score a major role in the funny 2005 comedy WAITING opposite Ryan Reynolds. The WAITING DVD, be the way, has a jaw dropping behind the scenes practical joke involving Guzman that has to be seen to be believed. Outside of WAITING though Guzman hasn't recently been given roles as good as he is...which says more about the films being made right now rather than Luis Guzman. He has kept extremely busy though, appearing in a whopping 3 dozen or so films and television roles since WAITING, but he should be getting plum roles in more great films than he currently is. Hopefully they will be coming again for him soon.
Luis Guzman is one of the major actors on the scene today. He is someone who always makes a movie better than it would have been. As my friend said to me once..."If you are making movies now, you need to have Luis Guzman in your movie." I agree, this guy is one of the greats.

To read an interview with Luis where he talks on his life and career please visit this link.

To visit the site of Luis' company Wild Orchid Stables please click here.

To visit his official MySpace page, please click here.

Home-Viewing Recommendations for March

It looks like March is turning out to be quite the month for the DVD and Blu-ray market with several new and classic films coming out, including two of my favorites from 2010 (Black Swan and The Fighter). With all of the great titles already out or just on the horizon, I wanted to throw some shout-outs to some that I am greatly anticipating (or already enjoying). In no particular order:

Jackson County Jail/Caged Heat: One of March's most exciting releases is this edition of Shout Factory’s continuing Roger Corman collection. Jackson County Jail is solid but the real treat here is the re-release of Jonathan Demme’s terrific Caged Heat starring Erica Gavin, Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith and Roberta Collins. Shout Factory’s DVD not only contains a remastered print of Demme’s important early work but also a new audio commentary with the man himself! Demme is joined on, what I am sure is, an excellent track by cinematographer Tak Fujimoto and Gavin. I can't wait to hear Demme's stories of shooting the film, working with Collins and Smith and, hopefully, telling the story of how John Cale came to score the film.

Out of Sight: One of my favorite films of all time gets the Blu-ray treatment and I hear the results are quite stunning. My copy has been shipped and I can’t wait to spend time with Jack Foley and Karen Sisco in High-Def.

The Walking Dead (Season One): For those that missed AMC’s terrific new series, this DVD and Blu-ray set should prove a perfect opportunity for catch up in anticipation of Season 2.

Love and Other Drugs: I’m not a fan of Edward Zwick’s works typically but I was really taken with this beautifully acted (Anne Hathaway is particularly exceptional here) and well-made romantic drama that is refreshing in the way it approaches modern relationships and sexuality, and for making a rather tired genre feel vibrant again.

Daughters of Darkness: Harry Kumel’s masterful vampire opus starring Delphine Seyrig comes to Blu-ray fully loaded with quite a number of great special features (including the astonishing Blood Spattered Bride as a High-Def bonus film!).




Italian Classic Reissues!: Dario Argento’s wonderful Phenomena starring Jennifer Connelly hits Blu-ray courtesy of Britain’s Arrow label. The picture quality on Arrow’s release is supposed to be a great improvement over past versions and the near hour long documentary is a real selling point as well. Also look for Blue Underground's release of Argento's incredible Inferno as well.
Perfume of a Lady in Black: Francesco Barilli’s stunning giallo starring a brilliant Mimsy Farmer finally hits American DVD courtesy of Raro’s new stateside division. This is one of the best Italian films of the seventies and it is so great to finally see it released here.
The Beyond: Lucio Fulci’s masterpiece finally hits Blu-ray courtesy, again, of Britain’s Arrow label with extras aplenty.
Finally, one of the few films from Antonioni I haven't seen, Le Amiche, is also being released on disc in March. Now if we could only get quality versions of Blow-Up, Zabriskie Point and The Passenger on Blu-ray.

Galaxina: While it may not be the greatest film in the world, Galaxina did offer the much-missed Dorothy Stratten her largest role and I am sure one of our great lost beauties will look even lovelier than ever in High-Def.



The Next Three Days: Forget any prejudices you might have against the films of Crash writer and director Paul Haggis and check out this extremely well-done thriller from last year that mostly slipped under the radar. The always astonishing Russell Crowe gives a jolting and quite haunting performance and Elizabeth Banks proves she is just more than just a great comedian. The Next Three Days is a terrific and intense film that was one of my favorites from 2010 and I highly recommend it.

Dorm that Dripped Blood: One of the early eighties more undervalued slasher's gets the deluxe treatment in this DVD/Blu-ray combo set. I can't wait to throw out my old murky looking full-frame VHS copy.

Even though it came out in February, I also wanted to mention that Bernardo Bertolucci's monumental Last Tango in Paris is now out on Blu-ray. Frustratingly MGM still refuses to give one of cinema's most important films special edition treatment but the picture quality is a big improvement over past version.

This Week, Santa's Got A Brand New Bag

This week marks the one year anniversary of Moon In The Gutter, and to celebrate I am going to be paying tribute to one of my favorite actors, genres and films.
Pam Grier is a legend, and since coming on to the scene in the early seventies she has been one of the most unforgettable icons in modern cinema. All throughout this week I will be looking at the ladies career and some of her best films. This will allow me to look at the Blaxploitation genre, one of my favorites, and it will culminate in my look at my favorite Quentin Tarantino film JACKIE BROWN (which celebrates its ten year anniversary this Christmas). I hope everyone enjoys my upcoming posts on Pam and what is to my eyes Tarantino's best film.

I will post a new poll focusing on Pam's career shortly. Thanks for all of those who participated in last week's Elmore Leonard poll, and I hope my OUT OF SIGHT posts proved to be of some interest. Here are the results from last week:

BEST ELMORE LEONARD ADAPTATIONS:

1. JACKIE BROWN: 31 Votes
2. OUT OF SIGHT: 24 Votes
3. MR. MAJESTYK: 15 Votes
4. GET SHORTY: 11 Votes
5. 52 PICKUP: 9 Votes
6. TOUCH: 8 Votes
7. STICK: 6 Votes
8. BIG BOUNCE(69) 5 Votes
9. BIG BOUNCE(05) 4 Votes
10. BE COOL: 3 Votes
11. KILLSHOT: 2 Votes
12. MOONSHINE WAR 2 Votes

Thanks again to all who voted...

Overlooked Classics: Out Of Sight (1998)

Jack Foley is a disappointed man. He’s nearing forty and he knows that the charm and charisma he has had is going to fade eventually. He’s had two major stints in prison and if he is arrested again he will spend the rest of his life there. He dreams of a different life…something better, something legitimate, but the problem is that the only thing he has very been any good at is robbing banks. It’s his inheritance, it’s his calling and no matter what he does he can’t get away from that very simple truth.
OUT OF SIGHT is a very rare breed of film. It is a commercial piece of cinema that is as uncompromising in its view as the hardest hitting of avant-garde films. It would be a career changing and life altering film for the people involved as well. It would cement the status of its screenwriter as one of the most talented of his generation, and it would allow its director to pay tribute to the type of cinema America had once been known for (and save his own career in the process). For its cast, it would be the film that would make some of them stars, put some of them on the map, and make them all as legitimate as Jack Foley himself longed so much to be.
Shot mostly on location around Angola, Florida and in Detroit (with some shooting in Los Angeles) in the late part of 1997, OUT OF SIGHT would be a relative commercial failure upon its initial release but with each passing year it is looking more and more like the classic many of us thought it was back in the summer of 98.
Adapted with care and passion from Elmore Leonard’s fine novel by young LITTLE MAN TATE and GET SHORTY screenwriter Scott Frank, OUT OF SIGHT stands as one of the most well written films of the nineties. It is one of only two Leonard adaptations, JACKIE BROWN being the other, which manages to stay truthful to the source material while maintaining its own very distinctive feel.
After the failed commercial attempt of THE UNDERNEATH in 1995 and the decidedly anti-commercial venture SCHIZOPOLIS in 1996, Steven Soderbergh needed a project where he could channel both his mainstream and experimental energies into one project. OUT OF SIGHT might have looked like a straightforward crime film to anyone else but Soderbergh saw it differently. With the help of his editor Anne V.Coates he would take Scott’s complex script and construct an astonishingly inventive and surprising film that would confound many critics and the public at large in 1998.

The main trick with OUT OF SIGHT is that it has to be watched multiple times to really get the story, so when Gene Siskel admitted in his original view on the film that he was confused he was having a legitimate first time reaction. The construction of OUT OF SIGHT can be confusing and disorienting on the first and even second viewing but, like Soderbergh’s THE LIMEY, repeated viewings show an incredibly intelligent film that is not only willing to take chances but demands that its audience does the same.
The non-linear first half of OUT OF SIGHT never feels gimmicky and that is one of its biggest assets. Unlike say MEMENTO, the mechanics of its storytelling never get in the way of the fact that this is a work essentially dealing in regret, and disappointment. In fact the way Soderbergh, Frank and Coates set up the story ends up adding even more emotional resonance to both Jack Foley and Karen Sisco. As Soderbergh mentions on his commentary, if the film had been told in a pure linear fashion much of the emotion and irony would indeed have been lost.
Technically OUT OF SIGHT is a gorgeously rendered production. With the powerfully cool music of David Holmes providing what seems to be an interior soundtrack for all of our main characters, and the aforementioned editing by Coates, OUT OF SIGHT moves along at a fast pace but feels downright meditative at times. The photography of Elliot Davis and production design of Gary Frutkoff are also superb, particular in the film’s second half Detroit shoot. Has a city ever looked so cold, hard and yet seductive than snow covered Detroit does here?

Everyone in the cast turns in great, and sometimes career best performances. As Jack Foley, George Clooney gives a weighty and moving performance that has fueled all of the great work he has done since. His work in OUT OF SIGHT is one of the key performances of the period. In support Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn, Ving Rhames, Albert Brooks, Dennis Farina, Michael Keaton (who reprises his role from JACKIE BROWN here) and Luis Guzman all turn in wonderfully rich supporting turns. Cheadle is especially effective as the menacing but funny Maurice “Snoopy” Miller. It’s not just a man’s show though as Catherine Keener, Nancy Allen and especially Jennifer Lopez are equaling compelling in their roles. Watching Lopez in this today is bittersweet today as she has never had had another role even close to matching the complexities of Karen Sisco.

The film is filled with notably rich moments. The celebrated chemistry between Clooney and Lopez is scorching, and their few scenes together are among the best in the film. Their love scene, set to David Holmes music and told partially in stills, is among the most heartbreaking and erotic ever filmed.
Scott Frank’s screenplay only significantly differs from Leoonard’s book in the last section of the film. Even Elmore Leonard gave approval though to the surprising closing shot, which includes a cameo by Samuel L. Jackson and possible redemption for one Jack Foley.
OUT OF SIGHT opened up in the summer of 2008 to mostly positive reviews and lukewarm box office. Like the other great Leonard adaptation from the period, JACKIE BROWN, it never really caught fire with the public. Frank and Coates received well-deserved Oscar nominations for their work but Clooney, Lopez and Soderbergh were ignored. All three of them were thankfully honored for their work though in several other award ceremonies that year.

Everyone, with the regrettable exception of Lopez, has made good on the greatness they displayed in OUT OF SIGHT. Clooney, Cheadle and Soderbergh are among the most powerful teams in Hollywood and Scott Frank recently enjoyed some success for his fine debut feature THE LOOKOUT. OUT OF SIGHT remains a special project for everyone involved though, even if it has never been granted the classic stature of some of the nineties most recognizable films...time should eventually take care of that though.