Eureka (1983) ***1/2
Eureka (1983) is a disjointed movie, a tonally schizophrenic mess, but not one without moments of pure cinematic brilliance. Much like his films that came before it, Nicolas Roeg's fragmented, experimental style is on display, perhaps a bit less so, but there is no question that this is one of his films.
There are scenes of violent savagery, of sexual abandonment, of dreamlike wonder. Some of the dialogue feels a bit forced and none of the characters are particularly likable, but they are always engaging and the film is never boring (not to mention that the cast is a very peculiar combination of stars). The score by Stanley Myers is sweeping and grandiose.
Much like the way that Roeg's The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976) references the Orson Welles-starring The Third Man (1949) on numerous occasions, Eureka has obvious parallels to Welles's Citizen Kane (1941) and Gone With The Wind (1939) (which it name drops more than once), as well as parallels to the themes and style of TMWFTE itself.
Somewhere below the surface of the film that got made was a masterpiece waiting to happen, but I'm glad that we at least have this flawed slice of cinema by a true auteur to admire, ponder and revisit.
You can find my Nicolas Roeg Feature Films Ranked list here.
There are scenes of violent savagery, of sexual abandonment, of dreamlike wonder. Some of the dialogue feels a bit forced and none of the characters are particularly likable, but they are always engaging and the film is never boring (not to mention that the cast is a very peculiar combination of stars). The score by Stanley Myers is sweeping and grandiose.
Much like the way that Roeg's The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976) references the Orson Welles-starring The Third Man (1949) on numerous occasions, Eureka has obvious parallels to Welles's Citizen Kane (1941) and Gone With The Wind (1939) (which it name drops more than once), as well as parallels to the themes and style of TMWFTE itself.
Somewhere below the surface of the film that got made was a masterpiece waiting to happen, but I'm glad that we at least have this flawed slice of cinema by a true auteur to admire, ponder and revisit.
You can find my Nicolas Roeg Feature Films Ranked list here.
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