Series 5 - The First Films of Samuel Fuller

[criterionmaster]

His films have been called raw, outrageous, sensational, and daring. In four decades of directing, Samuel Fuller created a legendarily idiosyncratic oeuvre, examining U.S. history and mythmaking in westerns, film noirs, and war epics. And characteristically, it all began with a bang: after printing the legend with the elegant B-pictures I Shot Jesse James and The Baron of Arizona, he got himself into hot water with the FBI on The Steel Helmet, the first American movie to portray the Korean War. These three independent films showed off Fuller’s genre diversity, gutter wit, and subversive force, and pointed the way to a controversial career in studio moviemaking.

Three-Disc Set Includes:

I Shot Jesse James

After years of crime reporting, screenwriting, and authoring pulp novels, Samuel Fuller made his directorial debut with the lonesome ballad of Robert Ford (played by Red River’s John Ireland), who fatally betrayed his friend, the notorious Jesse James. At once modest and intense, I Shot Jesse James is an engrossing pocket portrait of guilt and psychological torment, and an auspicious beginning for the maverick filmmaker.

The Baron of Arizona

In one of his own favorite roles, Vincent Price portrays legendary swindler James Addison Reavis, who, in 1880, concocted an elaborate and dangerous hoax to name himself as the “Baron” of Arizona and therefore inherit all the land in the state. Samuel Fuller adapts this tall tale to film with fleet, elegant storytelling and a sly sense of humor.

The Steel Helmet

The Steel Helmet marked Samuel Fuller’s official arrival as a mighty cinematic force. Despite its relatively low budget, this portrait of Korean War soldiers dealing with moral and racial identity crises remains one of the director’s most gripping, realistic depictions of the blood and guts of war, as well as a reflection of Fuller’s irreducible social conscience. So controversial were the film’s comments on domestic and war crimes (American bigotry, the Japanese-American WWII internment camps) that Fuller became the target of an FBI investigation.

[Nomansvally]

I've marked my calender already. This one is a MUST!

[criterionmaster]

I am glad someone else is excited about this, I have always really wanted to see some Sam Fuller films, since he is so talked about. I believe I saw some clips in the Scorsese Through Film doc. Have you seen any Fuller films, nomansvally?

[Nomansvally]

criterionmaster said:

I am glad someone else is excited about this, I have always really wanted to see some Sam Fuller films, since he is so talked about. I believe I saw some clips in the Scorsese Through Film doc. Have you seen any Fuller films, nomansvally?

Great, Criterionmaster. Now I know I'm not alone on this!

I've seen Pickup On South Street (in my top 15, actually), Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss. I love all of them and what binds the three are that they (and I'll bet this goes for the rest of Fuller's films) are much less conservative than other American films made around the same time. In a way they are B-films. Pickup, Shock and Kiss have strong melodrama, rough realism and a certain violence you'll get in a Scorsese film, for example in Mean Streets or in The Departed (actually).

[criterionmaster]

nomansvally said:

criterionmaster said:

I am glad someone else is excited about this, I have always really wanted to see some Sam Fuller films, since he is so talked about. I believe I saw some clips in the Scorsese Through Film doc. Have you seen any Fuller films, nomansvally?

Great, Criterionmaster. Now I know I'm not alone on this!

I've seen Pickup On South Street (in my top 15, actually), Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss. I love all of them and what binds the three are that they (and I'll bet this goes for the rest of Fuller's films) are much less conservative than other American films made around the same time. In a way they are B-films. Pickup, Shock and Kiss have strong melodrama, rough realism and a certain violence you'll get in a Scorsese film, for example in Mean Streets or in The Departed (actually).

Yeah, I have heard that about them, actually, which is the main reason I want to see them. Scorsese did say he was greatly influenced by him. All the films you mentioned are on Criterion, so I will check them out. Is Pickup on South Street a good place to start with him? 'Cause if it is, then I think I will rent it, since it is so high on your list.

[Nomansvally]

criterionmaster said:

nomansvally said:

Great, Criterionmaster. Now I know I'm not alone on this!

I've seen Pickup On South Street (in my top 15, actually), Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss. I love all of them and what binds the three are that they (and I'll bet this goes for the rest of Fuller's films) are much less conservative than other American films made around the same time. In a way they are B-films. Pickup, Shock and Kiss have strong melodrama, rough realism and a certain violence you'll get in a Scorsese film, for example in Mean Streets or in The Departed (actually).

Yeah, I have heard that about them, actually, which is the main reason I want to see them. Scorsese did say he was greatly influenced by him. All the films you mentioned are on Criterion, so I will check them out. Is Pickup on South Street a good place to start with him? 'Cause if it is, then I think I will rent it, since it is so high on your list.

Yeah, definitely, go for it! Pickup on South Street was the first I ever wacthed from Sam Fuller, and it just got me curious for more. I remember I was taken by complete surprise! ;D

[criterionmaster]

www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews32/first_films_samuel_fuller.htm

[mixed]

pickup on south street is flat out amazing. One of the best little noirs around. This boxset is a bargain to, its mine!

ps: i would die happy if criterion released the low budget noir detour, that would complete me ;D