cult film freak: YOUNG OLIVER STONE DIRECTS MICHAEL CAINE IN 'THE HAND'

Written by James M. Tate / 2/06/2022 / No comments / andrea marcovicci , annie mcenroe , body count , bruce mcgill , cult , eighties , horror , michael caine , oliver stone , thriller

YOUNG OLIVER STONE DIRECTS MICHAEL CAINE IN 'THE HAND'

2/06/2022 | No comment

Title: THE HAND Year: 1981 Rating: ***1/2

Michael Caine is good in this otherwise mediocre thriller by first-time director (of a genuine studio film) Oliver Stone that centers on Michael Caine as a comic book artist/writer who loses his hand in an automobile accident, which is technically the most riveting scene, after which he rehabilitates while the severed limb is, or seems to be, crawling around doing his dirty work for him...

Stone’s best direction occurs during taut conversations between Caine and the people around him, providing a suspenseful base liken to stage-influenced British horror films, building character development in lue of cheap shocks...

However, scenes involving The Hand itself look a bit cheesy, dated, and sporadic cuts to black and white seem misplaced, contrasting from our protagonist turned antagonist and revolving side-characters Annie McEnroe as a tempestuous college student, Bruce McGill as a temperamental shrink, and Caine’s cheating wife Andrea Marovicci: his ultimate target in a horror thriller that has moments but somewhat loses its grip halfway through. Although, witnessing Michael Caine slowly going mad... a role that, according to Stone, took a toll on the actor’s real life... is worth the ninety minutes.

Annie McEnroe in Oliver Stone's THE HAND

Michael Caine in Oliver Stone's THE HAND

Share This Post :

Tags : andrea marcovicci , annie mcenroe , body count , bruce mcgill , cult , eighties , horror , michael caine , oliver stone , thriller

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)THE BREAK 9)CALCULATED RISK 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)THE CROWDED SKY 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)JUNGLE STREET 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)FALLEN ANGEL 20)A PRIZE OF ARMS 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6)CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER