Michael Mann ‘ophiles’ & ‘ophobes’ may fight over his ‘best’ (least over-rated?) film. (Is there another director who promises more/delivers less; an auteur less able to make distinction between style, fashion & fashionable?) But there’s surely no argument over his worst. It’s this near-blasphemous, risible concoction, a WWII mystical horror set in an ancient, sacred mountain pass fortress where occupying Nazis (fair & foul division) take tactical turns to hold & secure this aerie lookout thru the Rumanian Alps and find it ‘protected’ by beastly ectoplasm trapped inside, pulling their men to their doom. The SS officer in charge so desperate, he’ll even risk releasing a Jewish scholar, and his lovely daughter, from the local Concentration Camp to get expert advice. (Maybe he could have advised the Paramount special effects department, too.) Only Mann’s second feature, he’d made a buzz on his first, THIEF/’81, note another inappropriate Tangerine Dream score, but lost control of this production. Best guess is that producer Howard (Hawk) Koch did the heavy lifting at the studio; the heavy editing, too, since an original 130" running time was slashed to an hour & a half. Jürgen Prochnow (with fading post-DAS BOOT/’81 glow) & Gabriel Byrne are the main Nazis; Ian McKellen & Alberta Watson as dying Professor & curvy daughter; Scott Glenn some sort of supernatural avenger. (Glenn may glow in the dark, but Watson earns the Booby Prize taking this stuff seriously.) Maybe if it were more objectionable? Nah. Those missing 40 minutes? Now that’s a scary thought.
LINK/WATCH THIS, NOT THAT . . . but at your own risk: Normally we use this label to highlight a better choice. But apparently WWII pics with ‘KEEP’ in the title are a risky bet! https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2008/05/castle-keep-1969.html
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