Herzog claimed never to have seen the Ferrara film & not even knowing who Ferrara was (of course, one shouldn´t take everything coming from him on the face value, but...) He also never intended the film to be called Bad Lieutenant, just Port Call: New Orleans until the producers, for reasons unknown and difficult to understand, interfered.
I just saw that Drive thing, too, and it pretty much deserves the ragging - the ride is smooth, but it all comes without a shred of originality or much of a point and the sappy romance thing with the neighbour is pretty terrible, especially as it tends to trigger a lot of really bad, cheesy noise on the soundtrack. Also, what´s with the main character? The guy looks like someone from Backstreet Boys with his cute puppy dog smile and a constant blank stare that is probably supposed to indicate a contemplative personality, but instead makes him look comatose. Such a sweet guy, too - O´Neal in The Driver (indeed a great movie which Drive indeed copies a lot) was also largely an uncomplicated pretty boy, but at least he kept the audience at arms length, being kind of a self involved prick. And was at least semi-believable as a tough guy. Gosling, on the other hand, is unable to convey any physical threat while virtually begging for sympathy.
Hard to think of anything that´d perfectly fit the bill that hasn´t already been mentioned, but I was recently very impressed with a number called True Confessions from 1981. It´s comparatively contemplative & character driven, but does qualify as a well shot, reasonably gritty neo-noir (it may have been made in the 80´s, but sure feels like a 70´s flick). De Niro and Duvall are pretty great in it, too.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
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tieman64
12 years ago
Why would producers insist on calling it Bad Lieutenant? That seems odd. The first film doesn't exactly have much brand recognition.
"Rape is no laughing matter. Unless you're raping a clown."
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asktheages
12 years ago
I could swear I remember reading that Herzog said he disliked Ferrara's film, but maybe I'm wrong. In any case, the two films are very amusing to compare, Herzog's acting as a more deliberately, humorously campy and over-the-top retelling of Ferrara's fairly straight-faced character study.
Yeah, Gosling didn't really work, didn't convince in his role, but I get the sense the film was aiming for some kind of transcendent aesthetic in which character development is irrelevant, and failed greatly. It's a "smooth ride" indeed, a ride to nowhere, nowhere we haven't already been, and nothing that's going to really linger in the memory indelibly the way TLADILA does. (I find, contrary to most films of its genre, To Live and Die really holds up to multiple viewings -- the "ride" is as thrilling as ever, but all kinds of other subtleties reveal themselves as well).
Thanks; I'll add True Confessions to the proverbial list.
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franzkabuki
12 years ago
It appears that Herzog claimed on at least two separate occasions, after Ferrara had publically wished death upon him, that he´s never seen Ferrara´s picture. Meanwhile, I can´t find any indication of him having stated the opposite.
As for the title, then possibly the producers/studio thought Port Of Call - New Orleans didn´t give much of an indication as to what kinda film it´s supposed to be. And who wouldn´t want to see corrupt police officers?
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
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