The Great March HTF Historical Drama/Epic Challenge (3 Viewers)

[Lew Crippen]

When I saw you lying there suddenly everything became clear. I want to stay with you forever—if you'll have me.

I watched The Sleeping Dictionary because the blurb on IFC mentioned that it took place in Malaya between the wars. Had I known that the actors, no matter how talented, would have to struggle with a script that was as trite as it was predictable, I’d have spent my time doing something else. Veteran Bob Hoskins is quite good as England’s local colonial head. Jessica Alba is luminous as the native girl (Selima) whose job it is to teach earnest Hugh Dancy (John Truscott) both the Iban language and the ways of a man and woman. Predictably he resists for 30 minutes, until even more predictably he succumbs to her charms

Predictably he falls in love with her; predictably there are many obstacles to their romance, including (almost) forced marriages to others. Predictably they eventually find true happiness in the distant jungles of Borneo.

Did I mention that the plot was predictable?

There are some gorgeous shots of the jungles of Sarawak and the movie is worth watching for those—and perhaps for some of the performances. But if you have no interest in Borneo, give this a pass.

 

[PatW]

John, I enjoyed Stage Beauty alot. It's on my list to re-watch. Somehow I couldn't drum up any affection for the Libertine though Johnny Depp does play the role superbly. It was too ugly of a movie for me to enjoy.

The Right Stuff (1983) :star: :star: :star: :star:

Based on the Thomas Wolfe book, this chronicles the beginnings of the space race from the test pilots at Andrews Airforce Base to the Mercury 7 astronaunts.

Though well acted there is something about this movie that bothers me and that is the treatment of poor Gus Grissom. I'm sure Philip Kaufman was just following the book but to treat an American hero like that is just reprehensible. I don't know the truth of the blown hatch, but any person who is willing to serve their country whether fighting in a war, being a test pilot or hurtling up in space is a true hero in my eyes. Grissom did all these things and more. Unfair treatment of a dead hero. The acting stand-out here for me was Sam Shepard who's quiet dignity captured the essence of the hero. As a matter of fact, all the actors were great in their parts from the tortured Fred Ward to the cheekiness of Dennis Quaid. Even Chuck Yeager had a cameo as a bartender. The author's feelings about these characters were quite apparent for eg. Grissom as a low-life, Glenn as a prig and Lyndon Johnson as the circus ringmaster. There are good and bad parts of each person and this film probably tries to take a balanced view except for Grissom, but sometimes in a movie like this, the good is what we want to see. Still a very well-done movie that I don't seem to get tired of watching.

 

[JohnRice]

Well, it's ugly or strangely beautiful, depending on how you look at it. I did say it was filthy.

Completely unrelated, but I watched My Kid Could Paint That last night. Interesting doc, and I am entirely unconvinced the girl did the paintings.

Also, I added Angels & Insects to my list. I had added Bluebeard as well, but it just sounds too campy.

 

[Lew Crippen]

… but what I can’t stand is being called a hero. Mike was a hero. The things I saw; the things I did—that’s nothing to make me proud.

Flags of our Fathers is the story of a small group of Marines (and one Navy corpsman) who raised the flag (and were in the photograph) over Iwo Jima’s Mt. Suribachi. The movie is taken from a best-seller of the same (co-written by one of the flag-raiser’s sons) and director Clint Eastwood has crafted a movie that takes the big screen glamour out of war (borrowing liberally from Sam Fuller’s The Big Red One).

Even though it is hard to tell one young Marine from another, especially as the editing cuts back and forth from the battle to a war bond drive to the present day, and much of the story seems to be a contrast between the actions (or non-actions) of the principals on the battlefield and their being cynically used to sell bonds, Eastwood skillfully makes Adam Beach’s character Ira Hayes (an American Indian) a symbol for the complexities and cruelty of war, the contrast between the men and how they are presented and how they suffer war’s aftermath.

Watching this movie makes me want to revisit The Outsider, a movie made some years back about Ira Hayes. As I recall, a fine movie, but it has been a very long time.

 

[Lew Crippen]

et vous
et vous
et vous

Joan confronts her accusers in The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carl Th. Dreyer’s silent masterpiece. A very unsetteling movie to watch—and not only because of the subject matter, as Dreyer never relieves his audience by letting us see an overview of Joan’s surroundings. He gives us some medium shots, but mostly close-ups and most of those are of Renée Falconetti in the title role.

And what a performance. Often hailed as the greatest acting in a movie, it is easy to see why she has gained such praise. With over an hour of tight, tight close-ups, we never see a false note in her face. A master job in a masterpiece.

 

[PatW]

Khartoum (1966) :star: :star: :star: :star:

Chuck Heston surprised me. Though I've enjoyed alot of his movies, I've never considered him a good actor but merely competent. He was quite good here as General 'Chinese' Gordon who refused to leave Khartoum even in the face of an impending attack from the Mahdi and his followers.
Heston would have done well to have left off the British accent. Some American's do accents quite well and other don't. (remember Costner)
Laurence Olivier almost unreconizable as the mahdi is superb here. He can express so much just by the sheer tone of his voice. Unfortunately his scenes were all too brief. This is a good looking production with some great battle scenes. The guys were quite happy.


A Man for all Seasons (1966) :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

I don't think there's a single misstep here. Everything is brilliantly brought to life from the acting to the cinematography. What a virtuoso performance from Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More a man who wouldn't back down from his principles even if it meant his life. My hat goes off to Robert Bolt for writing such a masterpiece.

 

[Malcolm R]

THE LONGEST DAY :star::star::star:1/2

Yet another epic with an all-star cast (seems to be a required element of epics and period films) including John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Roddy McDowall, Eddie Albert and many more, that re-enacts the allied invasion of France at Normandy. Very large undertaking by producer Darryll Zanuck, showing the battle strategy from all sides, and impressively accomplished considering the lower tech filmmaking methods of the time. The only times I felt a little pulled out of the film were with a couple of the rear projection scenes, and the scene of the two German planes strafing the allied troops landing on the beach when there didn't seem to be any bullets flying.

My favorite scene has to be the batallion of Nuns marching right through the raging battle zone to render aid to allied forces. Nobody messes with Nuns, not even Nazis apparently.

 

[JohnRice]

The Jane Austen Mini-Marathon, pt. 1

9) Pride & Prejudice (2005) - :star::star::star::star::star:
Yeah, I love this movie, audacity and all. I've watched it more times than I care to admit. Purists disregard it for its impoliteness and emphasis on man chasing, but as far as I'm concerned, if any Austen novel is ripe for an amped up adaptation, this is it. Keira Knightley is perfectly headstrong as Lizzie, without putting off the audience. Rosamund Pike is also perfect as Jane, the temb=pered beauty who has the future of the family on her shoulders. Brenda Blethyn is just a bit overdone at times, but hey. Te only real miss is Judy Dench, playing essentially the same role she has played 100 times before. Maybe she is bored with it, because she ia WAY over the top. There is some of the most incredible cinematography I have ever seen in this film. Remarkably complex stuff.

10) Sense & Sensibility (1995) - :star::star::star::star::star:
It's hard to imagine a time when nobody had heard of Kate Winslet, but here she is. In this case we have a very "polite" adaptation of a more polite story. No matter how much I love the bold P&P, I like this one just a bit more. Probably the best performance of Alan Rickman's impressive career. Funny little thing I noticed. Willoughby (eventually) lives in the same castle here as Knightley calls home in the 1996 BBC adaptation of Emma.

11) Emma (1996-BBC) :star::star::star:1/2
In one of two 1996 adaptations of the same novel, Kate Beckinsale takes on the lead character. This is the better of the two and Beckinsale reminds me that at one time she was a promising, genuine actress. Her Emma is sweet and not too uppity. Most impressive is Mark Strong as a rather regal Mr, Knightley.

12) Emma (1996-theonewithgwyneth) :star::star:1/2
Call this the "cuteified" version. Bigger budget, but not better. Paltrow sometimes comes off more arrogant than I think Emma really should be. Looks better than the BBC, but the cutesy approach is a bit annoying. In particular, Toni Collette doesn't even hold a candle to Samantha Morton as Harriet Smith.

13) Becoming Jane (2007) - :star::star::star:
OK, it exaggerates, considerably, the central romance, as well as losing 5 or 6 brothers. What do you expect? On the good side, Anne Hathaway was surprisingly (almost startingly) good in the role. I have seen her try to branch out, with less than complete success, as a troubled teen in Havoc, so this was a real treat. I knew it was overblown, but I was still engaged.

 

[SteveGon]

The Lady and the Duke (2001)

Viewed 3/8/2008 (first viewing)

Eric Rohmer's fine historical drama chronicles an English lady's time in Paris during the French Revolution. Examined is her attempt to save a fugitive (without losing her own head) and her problematic relationship with one-time lover the Duc d'Orleans, cousin of King Louis. Here Rohmer utilized digital technology to superimpose the actors over painted backdrops, a technique that mostly works in evoking in the viewer a sense of watching a painting come to life. Talky of course, but fascinating to watch.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Mario Gauci]

03/08/08: FAMILY THEATER: HILL NUMBER ONE (TV) (Arthur Pierson, 1951) :star::star:1/2

This is one of four relatively short films made by powerful American religious groups that were packaged together in a 3-Disc 10-movie budget collection entitled ”Bible Time Favorites” – the remaining titles being popular Hollywood or peplum efforts on a religious theme which have fallen into the public domain. Anyway, this one is perhaps the most successful because it treats the subject in an original, albeit unsurprisingly reverent, manner – the titular ‘outpost’ being Golgotha (the place of Christ’s crucifixion) and which is recounted on Easter Sunday by a padre to a squad of battle-weary G.I.s; in flashback, we see the events immediately following Jesus’ death – which, again, strikes a point in its favor since these haven’t been depicted all that often on-screen. The cast is an eclectic mix of character actors: Roddy MacDowall appears as a soldier in the ‘modern’ story, while Ruth Hussey, Joan Leslie, Gene Lockhart, Regis Toomey and Leif Erickson, among others, all interpret characters from the Bible – the latter, especially, making for a fine Pontius Pilate; however, most interestingly, this marks the debut of none other than James Dean – who already compels attention with his quietly sensitive portrayal of John, the youngest of Christ’s apostles. Unfortunately, the film ends on the wrong foot with a cloying plea from a doddering priest for families to recite the rosary daily!


03/08/08: FAMILY THEATER: I BEHELD HIS GLORY (TV) (John T. Coyle, 1953) :star::star:

This pretty much presents the same familiar story as HILL NUMBER ONE (1951), though shot in color – so, in fact, does the following film THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION (1958) – but it’s told from the viewpoint of a Roman officer (George Macready). Curiously enough, Macready is actually not actively involved in any of the events on the way to Calvary and he catches the Christianity bug from his various conversations with the doubting Apostle Thomas! As if that wasn’t enough of a handicap to one’s involvement into the whole affair, the treatment is pretty stolid overall and easily emerges as the least rewarding of the four modest films made by various evangelical groups about Christ’s Passion that I watched in quick succession.


03/08/08: THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION (Harold D. Schuster, 1958) :star::star:1/2

This takes yet another viewpoint – with the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion being recounted to a Christian novice by Simon Peter (Richard Kiley) at the time of his own execution. An interesting idea here is that the Jewish High Priests – who also hate the Romans – decide to give Christ over to their enemies (with the aid of the equally misguided Judas) not because he has put himself up as God but, rather, due to the fact that they’re disappointed by his preaching Peace And Love as opposed to brandishing a sword in order to vanquish the oppressors from their land! Here, of course, we also get to see a good deal of Christ himself – interacting with Simon Peter, Judas and the rest of the Apostles, and also a bit of the trial before Pilate when Peter denies knowledge of him in the palace courtyard. Before reverting to Peter’s own fate, we’re also treated to the re-affirmation of faith by the famously doubting Thomas as well as the remaining Apostles’ new-found courage to go out into the streets and preach The Gospel after Pentecost.


03/08/08: THE GREAT COMMANDMENT (Irving Pichel, 1939) :star::star:1/2

The oldest, yet longest, of the four religious films commissioned by various Christian groups that I watched (I opted not to go through too much ‘straight’ stuff while waiting for the result of the General Elections over here!) actually had the backing of one of the Hollywood majors – Twentieth Century Fox. The familiar events of The Passion are played out as a backdrop to the main narrative – that involving a couple of zealot brothers who clash over their mission (the impulsive younger sibling wants to act now while the more practical older one, played by John Beal, wants to wait for the arrival of The Messiah); the latter also falls out with his father because he has in mind for him to become a scholar while marrying off Beal’s sweetheart to his brother! Eventually, he sets out to find Jesus and offer him his sword of allegiance – but he slowly comes to understand his message of Peace and Love. Also involved is a Roman officer, well played by Albert Dekker: as it turns out, Beal’s brother winds up dead after an attempt on Dekker’s life (who is crippling the Jews with taxes, gathered by the “snivelling” and typically slimy Ian Wolfe); however, Beal – inspired by his new faith – takes care of the wounded Dekker who, noticing the Jews’ confusion and anger at Beal for his conduct, decides to lock him up. During his tenure in jail, it transpires that Christ was tried, convicted and crucified; still baffled by Beal’s behavior, Dekker asks him to explain – the catch is that the person who ‘converted’ Beal towards helping even his enemies turns out to be the very same one in whose side Dekker had just driven the proverbial spear!

 

[Mario Gauci]

03/02/08: HECTOR THE MIGHTY(Enzo G. Castellari, 1972):star::star:1/2

I happened to notice, by chance, that this was being shown on late-night Italian TV recently; I checked out its entry on the “Stracult” book – where I learned that it was an “extremely vulgar” modernization of the perennial Helen Of Troy story…and, hence, would make for an interesting addition to my current Epic/Historical Film challenge!

Apart from that, I was highly intrigued by the credits including cult director Castellari and co-writer Lucio Fulci, a master film-maker in his own right…as, in fact, were a couple of members from its cast – namely Vittorio De Sica and Luciano Salce. The rest of the acting ensemble (despite the title, no one character takes center-stage throughout) includes Giancarlo Giannini (as Ulysses), Philippe Leroy (Hector – the “Lo Fusto” of the original title translating not to “The Mighty” as above but rather “The Stud”), Rosanna Schiaffino (Helen – depicted as a nymphomaniac, but a curiously unglamorous one), Vittorio Caprioli (Menelaus) and Orchidea De Santis (as a slut brought in especially with her companion from Perugia and who also ends up being contended by the two gangs).

The Greek setting of the original tale has been transposed to the criminal underworld in Rome – with the warring factions involved being a big-time prostitution racket and a more modest rival establishment (the updating also sees the usually stoic warrior Achilles now as a gay “Hell’s Angel” though, thankfully, not a stereotype). In this respect, too, the prose of Homer’s epic poem “The Illiad” is here replaced by the slang typically found in Italian films of the 1970s – while a shiny new Rolls-Royce (with the much reduced invading army concealed with great difficulty within its boot) acting as the all-important Trojan Horse! Similarly, the famed duel of champions takes place at night with flick-knives and motorbikes as opposed to javelins and chariots respectively.

In the long run, then, the general style is all over the place and the film may seem slightly overlong for its purpose; nonetheless, it’s kept going by the enthusiastic performances and a lively score by the prolific and versatile Francesco De Masi. Incidentally, I’d seen three personalities involved with the film in the flesh at the 2004 Venice Film Festival: Giannini (still a star after all these years), Castellari (invited for the Italian B-movie retrospective) and De Santis (ditto – she was present to introduce the excellent but little-known political satire COLPO DI STATO [1969], coincidentally directed by her co-star from this film Luciano Salce!).


03/02/08: MONDO CANDIDO(Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, 1975):star::star:1/2

Despite the title, this isn’t yet another repellent documentary by the notorious film-makers behind MONDO CANE (1962) et al; rather, it’s an adaptation – their only ‘proper’ feature as a team – of the popular allegory “Candide” by the celebrated French author Voltaire. Incidentally, I own this classic piece of literature and, in fact, had read it some years ago; while I can’t objectively determine the film’s actual proximity to the source novel (also for reasons I’ll get to later), as I lay watching it, I certainly recalled the episodic and essentially tasteless nature of the plot (placing the subject matter firmly down the film-makers’ alley!) – not to mention connotations relating to the main characters (the naively optimistic hero Candide, his long-suffering lover Cunegonde – serenely accepting every card dealt her by Fate – and the boy’s infuriatingly practical mentor Dr. Pangloss), and even key phrases from the book!!

Voltaire’s narrative thrust the titular character (after being banished for ravishing Cunegonde) into all the socio-political strife that went on in that particular era; in hindsight, little has changed throughout the centuries – and, in fact, this satirical- picaresque style has influenced other notable works including Evelyn Waugh’s “Decline And Fall” (filmed in 1968) and Lindsay Anderson’s second “Mick Travis” adventure O LUCKY MAN! (1973). “Candide” itself has been adapted for cinema and TV a number of times, with perhaps the most interesting version being the 1960 French film (which updates the tale to WWII) with an all-star cast – Jean-Pierre Cassel (as the hero), Daliah Lavi (Cunegonde), Pierre Brasseur (Pangloss), Michel Simon, Louis De Funes, Michel Serrault, etc. As for MONDO CANDIDO, it starts off in period vein but then switches to more recent times and events (presumably for a greater political immediacy) – so that we see Candide & Co. involved with IRA bombings, Jewish freedom-fighters, even hippies; that said, it maintains a curious balance throughout of old and new: for instance, at one point Cunegonde is raped by a rocker dressed in a knight’s outfit(!) - which emerges to be perhaps the film’s comic/absurd highlight. For this reason, the ever-reliable Riz Ortolani provides a suitably eclectic score.

Given its considerable length of 110 minutes (and with the only notable performers in the cast being Jacques Herlin as Pangloss and popular Italian comic Gianfranco D’Angelo as Cunegonde’s campy Baron father), it’s small wonder that the film bogs down after the IRA scenes. Nevertheless, it features ample nudity and violence (notably the slow-motion massacre of the Jewish troops) – to say nothing of weirdness – to keep the interest alive (and is good-looking into the bargain).


03/08/08: MARKETA LAZAROVA (Frantisek Vlacil, 1967) :star::star::star:1/2

UK DVD label Second Run – which specializes in rare Eastern European classics – have, over the last couple of years, released a handful of films I have long yearned to watch (and which, as a result of this viewing of MARKETA LAZAROVA, I’ve just ordered online): Aleksander Ford’s KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER (1960; a disc which despite its being trimmed by the BBFC and in an altered aspect ratio, I couldn’t sensibly forego), Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (1961; their very first release which I purchased in London last year), Jan Nemec’s THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS (1966) and, debuting in a few days’ time, Miklos Jancso’s THE ROUND-UP (1965).

Unlike these movies, I wasn’t consciously aware of MARKETA LAZAROVA when the infectious buzz about its impending release hit the Internet but, as I later found out, the film was actually mentioned, ever so fleetingly, in one of my father’s old movie magazines. Again, when the DVD was eventually released, there was a negative vibe about the alleged visual deficiencies of Second Run’s disc but, in hindsight, these were quite needlessly exaggerated. Ultimately, an awesome – and, as it turned out, essential – movie experience such as this one deserves to be seen right away and to keep waiting for that perfectly pristine print to rear its unlikely head is utterly pointless. Alas, the Czech New Wave is still a largely undiscovered segment of cinema history for me so I am not in a position to suitably assess whether MARKETA LAZAROVA is indeed the greatest Czech movie ever made (as it had been judged in a 1998 poll among 100 native film critics). Suffice it to say that this ostensibly obscure film has by now figured in a number of published all-time best polls and, consequently, its status is deservedly well-established. Hopefully, as it was in my case, Second Run’s DVD will serve as the introduction to many an adventurous film enthusiast in the future…

Since my overall experience of MARKETA LAZAROVA was such a positive one, it seems only right to get my quibbles with the film out of the way first and there are basically two of them: a muddled storyline which, for most of the film’s first half, left me rather perplexed as to which of the two warring factions the characters whose exploits I was following onscreen belonged and, while things got clearer as time went by, the individuals themselves (with the obvious exception of the titular character) did not exactly garner much sympathy. I suppose that for a movie with a running time of almost three hours these flaws would usually be significantly detrimental to one’s enjoyment of the whole: however, the definite impression I was left with while watching was that, despite the eponymous title, the director’s intent was not to narrate a conventional life history but actually to create a visual tapestry of the medieval era onto celluloid and, in this regard, to say that he succeeded would be the understatement of the year. In fact, along with Andrei Tarkovsky’s ANDREI RUBLEV (shot in 1965 but actually unreleased until 1972), I’d venture to say that MARKETA LAZAROVA is the most convincingly realized cinematic portrait of those turbulent times, distinguishing Frantisek Vlacil’s vision as an overwhelmingly expansive and stunningly visual one.

In this context, it is quite appropriate that the titular character (played by a future Presidential candidate, the beautiful Magda Vasaryova) is practically silent for most of the film; she is first seen about to enter into a holy order but is eventually abducted, raped and impregnated by the feral Mikolas (who was actually raised by wolves) whom she comes to love eventually. Another parallel and equally unlikely relationship we are witness to is the one which blossoms between the earthy Alexandria (who is also involved in some brief but startling instances of full-frontal nudity) and her young, aristocratic captive who happens to be a German Bishop; it is worth noting here that Alexandria had already almost cost the life of her brother Adam when his own father had severed his arm in punishment for their incestuous coupling! Interestingly, the film is divided into two parts – respectively entitled “Straba” and “The Lamb Of God” – and punctuated by frequent, verbose, half Dickensian-half picaresque chapter headings, not to mention the presence on the soundtrack of a bemused narrator who, at one point, even takes on the role of God while interacting with a monk! This is not the only instance of whimsical inventiveness present in MARKETA LAZAROVA – perhaps adopted by the director to counter the oppressively bleak ambience created by the forbidding snowy landscape and dense forest settings which can actually claim to be the film’s true main characters. As I said previously, striking images abound throughout: the intermittent, sinister appearance of the pack of wolves is impressively eerie, the distraught monk looking for his lamb and eventually losing her decapitated head down a clifftop, a horse drowning in a puddle on a deserted no man’s land, the camera occasionally taking on a feverishly first person viewpoint according to the character at hand, the effective use of unheralded off-kilter compositions (including a totally bizarre arrow-in-the-eye shot!), etc. Having said that, Zdenek Liska’s choral, percussive and electronic score is equally imaginative and, as a result, extraordinarily complementary to the uniquely sombre spectacle on constant display.

 

[PatW]

Tea with Mussolini (1999) :star: :star: :star: 1/2

A sweet little movie directed by Franco Zeffirelli and loosely based on his life. The movie has many endearing characters- Elsa (Cher) a rich woman with a big interest in art, Georgie (Lily Tomlin) an archeologist, and the British ladies most notable being Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. Then we have Luca (Baird Wallace) a young boy who's loved by all. This story is set in Italy during the start of the second World War.

This story is very melodramatic and complicated with great acting all around. A bit slow at times but the acting made up for it.


Vanity Fair (2004) :star: :star: :star:

This is a chopped up version of a great novel involving a interesting female character who is poorly represented by this film. There is no way this novel could have been done justice with a two hour plus movie. The plot is unwieldy and most of the characters are bland and in some instances changed from the novel's intent. Despite all that, this is a beautiful film to look at, beautifully photographed with gorgeous sets and costumes. I just wish more care had been given to the screenplay.

 

[Malcolm R]

GIANT (1956) :star::star::star:1/2

George Stevens' adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel shows the trials and tribulations of three generations of the Benedict family, owners of presumably the largest cattle ranch in the state of Texas. Beginning in the 1920's with the initial travels of Jordan Benedict Jr (Rock Hudson) to Maryland to purchase a horse, he falls in love (faster than anyone in history) with Leslie (Liz Taylor), the daughter of the horse's owner. After they stop quarreling enough for a whirlwind marriage, they travel back to Texas to the ranch run by Benedict and his sister.

The film then covers about 30 years of loving, fighting, jealousy, deaths, births, sexism and discrimination as the elitist cattle barons must uncomfortably mix with the newly-wealthy oil barons as well as dealing with the emergence of women's rights, childrens' independence, and the blurred lines between the white landowners and the mexican labor class.

While I purchased this disc blind, I've always kind of been intimidated by its 3 hour 20 minute length. But it didn't seem nearly that long while watching. Very good performances from Taylor, Hudson, and the actors portraying their grown children (including a young Dennis Hopper). I wasn't overly impressed with James Dean's performance and would probably rate this as the lesser of his "Big 3" films released around the time of his death.

 

[SteveGon]

Maria Marten: The Murder in the Red Barn (1935)

Viewed 3/9/2008 (first viewing)

Creaky but satisfying historical chiller stars Tod Slaughter (England's go-to man for unctuous villainy) as William Corder, a dastardly squire who murders his pregnant lover so he can marry a rich spinster. Based on a real-life 1827 murder case, you can still see the guilty blighter's scalp at Bury St. Edmonds.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Lew Crippen]

One cup for you and one cup for me.


The cups in question are wine filled with raw opium, as Jade attempts a double suicide with her wealthy patron in Flowers of Shanghai, a visual tour de force of Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien. Set in four upper-class brothels of late 19th century Shanghai, we are presented several interlocking tales of the girls and (somewhat peripherally) their patrons.

But Hou never lets us get close to any of the principals or even their seconds, as he shoots the entire film without close-ups, almost entirely lit by oil lamps and candles, the warm yellow, slightly diffuse look making us think we are not in the real world, but one imagined. And perhaps so we are, as the opium pipe is as present as the girls and their ‘aunties’.

But even though we never get close to the girls or their men, we also (anymore than the girls) are not allowed to escape from the overly ornate and cramped interiors of the flower houses—there are no establishing shots and no long shots. The shots are long (up to 8 minutes) and languid, with only minimal movement (mostly confined to pans and tilts) as the camera sometimes chooses to follow one character or another.

Hou is perhaps more appreciated in the West now than when his films were first shown—or perhaps we have become more accustomed to his cinematic language now than we were then, but still this can be a difficult film, albeit one with rich rewards.

As an aside, I wonder if Hou was thinking of Barry Lyndon when he made this movie?

 

[Lew Crippen]

I’ll comment later on many of the movies in this thread, but right now I think that Steve and Mario are in a race to see who has seen the most movies with which I’m totally unfamiliar.

 

[Ruz-El]

AMERICAN GANGSTER 3.5/5 - I watched the extended version of this, and I suspect the theatrical will play better. That said, still a damn fine movie. Scott is in fine form again with the direction, and all the performances are spot on. A film that you have to pay attention too, and one that rewards you for it.


I also watched "The Grapes Of Wrath", but it doesn't qualify, I think I'm failing this challange. :frowning:

My tally:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...ml#post3330552

 

[PatW]

The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) :star: :star: :star: :star: 1/2

A well-done historical drama about how Jessie James met his end. This is a well thought out, and well acted movie with superb performances from both Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. I think this is my favourite Pitt performance, of the movies of his that I've seen. He was very chilling in the role, one minute a family man and the next a cold-blooded killer. Affleck was also brilliant as the sneaky turncoat who followed James around like a puppy-dog and whose affable nature could grate on one's nerves. This is a brilliant character study more than a Western. Each character was fleshed out and given their due, no pun intended. Though a long movie the time went by quickly for me. Great movie.


The Prestige (2006) :star: :star: :star: :star: 1/2

A brilliantly complicated movie that offers up one twist after another. Normally I feel it's lazy filmmaking, a gimmick that seems to be overdone lately but in the right hands......
Christopher Nolan directs this magnificient puzzle, and despite unlikable characters it's satisfying from beginning to end.

The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) :star: :star: :star: 1/2

An interesting movie who's claim to fame is Janet Leigh's first acting role.

The Civil War may be over but not for the residents of a small farming community in Missouri. Van Johnson plays a returning soldier, a stranger who tries to bridge the gap between the two opposing groups and heal the wounds that are tearing this community apart. Van Johnson was fine in the part but the real standout here was Selena Royale as Mrs MacBean who's quite dignity was the heart of this film. The movie seemed slow at times and I really could have done without the musical numbers but still a worthwhile watch.

 

[JohnRice]

14) Jane Eyre (1996) - [/url]
Epic cops and robbers from Michael Mann starring Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo, Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Amy Brenneman and too many others to list. Fun stuff I expect everyone is already aware of.

 

[SteveGon]

Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972)

Viewed 3/10/2008

Revisited Werner Herzog's mesmerizing account of "mad conquistador" Don Lope de Aguirre's murderous journey up the Amazon. More a surreal parable of man's greed and folly then an actual historical record.

:star: :star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star: