Films
"If I were an actor directing myself, I think one of us would probably have to look for another job, quickly."
John is a prolific actor. He’s appeared in around 70 films, produced 15 and directed 2 (one of which he wrote). His favourite movies tend towards intriguing plot lines and film noir and many of his own screen performances show reverence to films and filmmakers he respects.
Being a purist, John likes to watch films in High Definition whenever he can. His VGN-FZ11Z notebook includes a Blu-ray Disc™ drive so he can enjoy the latest movies in glorious HD - with sharper images, brighter colours and intense realism.
Some of his favourite films are:
The Battle of Algiers
Commissioned by the Algerian government, The Battle of Algiers came out in 1966 and shows the war of independence from both the French and Algerian perspectives. It's shot in black and white to give it the realism of newsreel footage, although viewers are told - explicitly - that no documentary footage is included. As a filmmaker himself, John admires the film’s brilliant photography, crisp direction and intriguing plot. Despite it having just one professional actor - the rest of the cast being Algerian Arabs - some scenes contain such fine acting it’s hard to believe genuine footage hasn't been used.
Citizen Kane
Orson Welles’ classic film, based on the life of newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst, was initially a box office flop. At the 1941 Academy Awards the film was booed every time one of its nine nominations was announced and, not only was it quickly consigned to the RKO vaults, but it nearly ruined Welles' career. Thankfully, it was re-released in Europe in 1946 and opinions changed. The story is shot mainly in flashbacks, revealed through the research of a newspaper reporter seeking to solve the mystery of publishing magnate Charles Foster Kane's dying word, 'rosebud'. In 1999 John appeared in a Golden Globe-winning TV drama called RKO 281 which told the fascinating behind the scenes story of the battle between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst.
Chinatown
Polanski's classic film noir, released in 1974, is part detective story, part psychological drama. Filmed predominantly in bright LA sunlight, the plot, in contrast, gets darker and darker as the story develops. Jack Nicholson plays private detective, Jake Gittes, hired by Evelyn Mulwray (played by Faye Dunaway). On the surface Mulwray is a wife, convinced her husband is having an affair. However, when she turns out to be an impersonator, whose 'husband' is found dead, Gittes is plunged into a world of murder, conspiracy and municipal corruption. Interestingly, John appeared as General Thomas Timms in the 1996 crime drama Mulholland Falls - a film with a similarly labyrinthian plot, and one which has drawn comparisons with Chinatown.
The Conformist
Bernardo Bertolucci's second film is adapted from the novel by Alberto Moravia, and set in the Fascist Italy of the Thirties. A weak-willed Italian man, Marcello Clerici, is so desperate to fit in that he joins the Fascist party, agreeing to betray and assassinate his old professor. Clerici falls in love with his prospective victim's wife, only for her to fancy his own wife more. This political-psychological drama is as mesmerising as it is disturbing. Twenty years after making The Conformist, John was directed by Bertolucci on the film The Sheltering Sky.
The Third Man
A film noir classic, The Third Man is a crime thriller directed by Carol Read. It's not only a story of corruption and betrayal, but also a great historical commentary on the mood of Europe between the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War. Graham Greene wrote both the inspirational novella and the screenplay, basing the character, Harry Lime (played by Orson Welles), on Kim Philby – his boss in the British Secret Service. The atmospheric use of black and white expressionist cinematography with harsh lighting and distorted camera angles, is a key feature of The Third Man.
