Film Shapes

First review in a while. It's been a few months since I've been to the cinema, but I happened to notice this little nugget tucked away in the 10am showing of Toho's '50 great films' season. The theatre was more packed than I thought it would be but I reckon this is due to Steve McQueen's staying power. He's in great form and Faye Dunaway is a sparky, saucy foil for him. The famous  sexy chess scene is a stand-out. This film came out around the peak of McQueen's popularity, following The Cincinatti Kid, Nevada Smith and The Sand Pebbles and just before Bullitt . It didn't seem to do so well at the box office but it shows McQueen at his coolest (even Dunaway says he's "like ice" at one stage). The film itself is not brilliant. It's a little floppy in the middle and some of the characters seem superfluous. It really is held up by the two leads, and while they're great, there's a bit too much dilly-dallying. One ...