Even though the film industry is a business and making movies is the way to make money, I am sometimes amazed how certain movies find the light of day. In 1992, One False Move, Gene Siskel’s pick for the best film of 1992, burst into theaters. Now, the movie was not an overnight success and if you think of it in terms of mere dollars made, then it was not and will never be a success. It was shot in 1990, when the only black independent filmmaker was Spike Lee. By the time it got a theatrical release, two of its stars had gotten married and divorced and John Singleton had become the first black filmmaker to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar for Boyz N’ the Hood. It was originally supposed to have gone straight to DVD and maybe late night cable. However, it probably lacks the required nudity to get shown on premium cable channels. Somehow, critics, like Siskel & Ebert, saw it and word of mouth convinced the distributors to release it in theaters.

When reviewing movies, people love to say what other movies they are similar to. While there have been plenty of imitators of the aforementioned Boyz N’ the Hood, One False Move is not one of those imitations. I could probably name a dozen or so movies that might come close to giving you an inkling of what One False Move is like, but it is a unique film. It works in every phase of filmmaking and has some great acting.

Director Carl Franklin had been an actor (mostly on television, with small parts on such shows as Hill Street Blues, The A-Team, and Roseanne) before directing some straight -to-video action films. This movie shows he is able to create an original atmosphere and pump up suspense without overdosing on it. He won the New Generation Award from the L.A. Film Critics Association and won Best Director at the Independent Spirit Awards. He has not had as much success in his later films, even if they made more money, although, Devil in a Blue Dress was a good movie with some great performances. He has mainly moved to working on television and was nominated for an Emmy for directing an episode of House of Cards. He does have a film in pre-production that looks intriguing, an adaptation of William Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust.

The actors are superb. Some of them have gone on to have great careers. Billy Bob Thorton, who co-wrote the film, was mainly playing stereotypes, but this gave him enough clout to make Sling Blade, for which he won an Oscar for writing. Before this film, Bill Paxton was probably best known as the scared Marine in Aliens. Michael Beach gives a great performance as a guy who is quiet and still until he is ready to pounce and knife you. The cast really came together and along with great writing, directing, and cinematography, made a film that could be easily overlooked into something unforgettable.

Ebert: “Yet no words of praise can quite reflect the seductive strength of One False Move, which begins as a crime story and ends as a human story in which everything that happens depends on the personalities of the characters.”

Oscars: None

Gene Siskel’s Top Ten of 1992: 1. One False Move
2. The Player
3. Howard’s End
4. The Crying Game
5. Malcolm X
6. The Hairdresser’s Husband
7. Damage (I haven’t seen)
8. Wayne’s World
9. Mississippi Masala
10. Under Seige

My Top Ten of 1992: 1. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwoood)
2. Resevoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)
3. Malcolm X (Spike Lee)
4. The Player (Robert Altman)
5. One False Move (Carl Franklin)
6. Husbands & Wives (Woody Allen)
7. Hard Boiled (John Woo)
8. The Hairdresser’s Husband (Patrice Leconte)
9. A River Runs Through It (Robert Redford)
10. Leap of Faith (Richard Pearce)

Next Month: Schindler’s List