Chip Kaufmann’s Pick:

Blood & Wine (1996)

Seeing the new Richard Gere movie Arbitrage (reviewed in this issue) brought back memories of this 1996 modern noir that features Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine and a young Jennifer Lopez. Nicholson plays a successful wine merchant whose life suddenly spins out of his control and the more he tries to fix it, the worse things get.

He enlists the aid of a seriously ill thief (Caine) to steal a valuable diamond necklace which will help to cover his financial losses. His mistress (Lopez) becomes involved with his estranged son (Stephen Dorff) and his wife (Judy Davis) finds out about the necklace and wants it for herself.

Similarities between the two movies abound including a serious car accident and its aftermath which is a key plot element. Things go from bad to worse for Jack. He double crosses Caine and then goes after his son and wife. This leads to a remarkable ending which was much more dynamic and satisfying than the one in Arbitrage.

Nicholson’s long time friend and collaborator Bob Rafelson (Five Easy Pieces, The Postman Always Rings Twice) is at the helm while Caine and Judy Davis give ferocious performances. The film is beautifully shot and edited and proves that you don’t have to have wet streets in L.A. or black & white photography to make a film noir. If you like your crime thrillers dark and with a few twists, than Blood & Wine is a potent mixture.

Michelle Keenan’s Pick:

Thunder Road (1958)

After seeing Lawless I was tempted to offer the Coen brother’s Miller’s Crossing as my DVD pick for the month – as an example of a film that definitely achieves the balance that Lawless lacks. But as I thought about it, I kept going back to the 1958 classic Thunder Road, another Appalachian tale of moonshine and bootlegging. It also still amazes me how many people I know who have never seen the film, a film shot right here in Asheville, starring Robert Mitchum.

Unlike Lawless, Thunder Road doesn’t take place during prohibition. Mitchum, who wrote, produced and starred in the film, Lucas Doolin, a Korean War veteran who returns home to the family business of making and peddling illegal hooch. The goal is to make, transport and sell the stuff without the treasury men catching up with you. By the 1950’s moonshiners were also hot rodders, tearing down winding mountain roads with a bootful of shine. In fact running shine gave birth to NASCAR.

Armed with those sleepy eyes, contempt for authority and tough guy bravado, Mitchum was the perfect actor to tackle this territory. Like the Bondurants, Lucas Doolin and his family refuse to cower to the heavies attempting to take over his family’s operation. It’s worth noting that Mitchum’s son James Mitchum co-stars as Lucas’ little brother Robin. Like Jack Bondurant, Robin emulates his big brother longs to prove himself in the family business.

An indie film ahead of its time, Thunder Road was low budget wonder that scored in the box offices and played forever on the Southern drive-in circuit. Today it looks dated and is almost campy, but look closely and you can spot some of the locations where it was filmed (The Log Cabin Motel in Woodfin features quite prominently in the film.) Listen closely and you’ll also hear Robert Mitchum singing the ballad “The Ballad of Thunder Road.”

Locally Thunder Road is available at Rosebud Video and Orbit DVD, as well as through online outlets.