Weekly RoundUp 5-25-2010 (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman

 

[Mike Frezon]

In a discussion in another thread about No Orchids for Miss Blandish, Steve Christou posted the following comments he found in IMDB:

...the most sickening exhibition of brutality, perversion, sex and sadism...the morals are about level with those of a scavenger dog...it has all the sweetness of a sewer...the worst film I have ever seen. This is one of the roughest movies I've ever seen. I won't give anything away but, wow! The body-count is high. The film caused huge controversy in the UK after it was passed with an uncut 'A' rating on account of the violence and rape implied in the story, leading to critic 'Dilys Powell' stating that the film be "branded with a "D" certificate for disgusting". This led to various councils banning the film completely and politicians demanding an investigation into the running of the BBFC, and censor Sir Sidney Harris was forced to issue an apology for having "failed to protect the public".

Amazing remarks for a film made in 1948, eh?!? And there's this from the MovieTone News Blog:

It was nothing new, either, being the same basic set-up as in Faulkner's novel Sanctuary, filmed sensationally (in both senses) with Miriam Hopkins in The Story of Temple Drake. But that had been pre-Code, of course - Hays had held sway for some time when Travers's little nasty showed up, and how it was that the supposedly genteel British cinema came to produce a thriller about a sadistic gangster who kidnaps an heiress for ransom, then forces his attentions on her until she responds by becoming his willing lover, demands some explaining! Among many British cinemagoers enduring the hardships of the war, a certain cynicism had become fashionable in the movies, typified by the voguish, hard-bitten heroes of American noir. The harsh realitiesof the conflict had made the world suddenly seem a lot less innocent, and bred a desire for less innocent entertainment. As a result, the censor felt inclined to lower his guard and if necessary avert his eyes somewhat in the interests of morale. The Gainsborough melodramas, such as The Wicked Lady, are one obvious example of this new policy, aimed as they were at the newly emancipated female audience, and filled with sex, sadism and heaving bosoms. At the end of the war, with servicemen returning home to everyday life, it was noted that the novel of No Orchids by James Hadley Chase, a typical sexy pulp thriller of the sort that had been produced in their millions during the war, had been by some margin the most popular book among members of the armed forces. A film version seemed an obvious money-spinner and, in a way, would serve almost as a reward to those coming home: something they certainly wouldn’t have seen before they left. The film, unsurprisingly, was a smash hit, despite the horrified objections of critics neither prepared for nor willing to overlook its unprecedented harshness and sexual frankness. With the shock and controversy now only a memory, the chief value of the film today is as a reminder of just how fine an actress Linden Travers was. Her performance, shading from fear, through revulsion and on to uninhibited desire, is unlike anything else in forties British cinema.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Originally Posted by Jeff Meyers To make things easier to find I created a link in the white space just under the Supporters box with links to Amazon and our shopping page. Look for the picture of the shopping cart. Thanks for your support (you too Malcolm)!

 

[EricSchulz]

Well, thanks for the info on No Orchids... because it sounds like it would be right up my alley. But Netflix doesn't carry it... :-(

Next stop, the SE WI library group...

 

[RickER]

I was gona add No Orchids to my NetFlix, after reading Steve-Os links on it. Guess i wont, if its not on NetFlix.


On a side note...what an amazing sale BB is having on Avatar! Its a whole $15 MORE than Amazon's sale price this week! Its also the same price they have had it at since release day.


Thanks guys, nothing for me.

 

[Jeff Meyers]

Amazon dropped their price on Dear John BD to $17.99. As of right now they have not reduced the price of the SD-DVD version - it's still at $17.99. Still trying to decide what to do: I really like Amazon's BD price but, having a combo pack with the DVD (from Target exclusively) is probably the better call. Then again, that combo pack is going to run me $25 with tax. Decisions, decisons. Hmmmm.

 

[EricSchulz]

Originally Posted by RickER

I was gona add No Orchids to my NetFlix, after reading Steve-Os links on it. Guess i wont, if its not on NetFlix.


On a side note...what an amazing sale BB is having on Avatar! Its a whole $15 MORE than Amazon's sale price this week! Its also the same price they have had it at since release day.


Thanks guys, nothing for me.

No luck on No Orchids at the library...though I can get the 5 tape audiobook version!

 

[Will_B]

I enjoy seeing whether my town appreciates a good tv series or not.


The local Target, at noon, had only 3 BluRays of True Blood S2 (with bonus disc) and no DVDs at all left. Glad I came for the BluRay! 2 left. Granted this is a smaller store.


And over at Best Buy, where uninformed people were buying the plentiful supply of BluRays and DVDs from a large cardboard display, I bought that bottle of True Blood I'd wanted. I didn't appreciate that there'd be variables on which bottle was in best condition, but there are: the seam where the two halves of glass are fused together is ideally not underneath the label. The glass also features the words T R U E B L O O D in raised lettering on the glass itself and ideally that is above the label. So I did the OCD-esque thing and picked through the dozen bottles until I found the best one. A few scratches on it, but that's ok.


I dreamed last night I turned it into a candle, but I doubt I will actually do that. It is a good idea for goths though! Stick a fat candle on top and let it drip down in that way they do.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Took advantage of the Best Buy price to pick up 2012 on BluRay, since I missed it when it first went on sale. Not as good of a deal as then, and probably not as good of a deal as I'd get in a couple months but I was sick of waiting.

 

[Malcolm R]

The link to Amazon near the shopping cart in the upper right do not lead to a functioning page (same with the Gold Box Deal link I've seen a couple times today).


Just gives a 404 - Page Not Found screen.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Originally Posted by Will_B


But then I'll have to swing over to Best Buy because I've wanted one of those True Blood drink bottles, but would never pay the $20 it takes to get them from the HBO online store. $4 is good though! And no, I won't actually drink it -- it's a soda of some sort. Yeck!

Did it come from a diver with the bends or something?

 

[Mike Frezon]

Those drinks are probably just filled with Target's Market Pantry water...

 

[Will_B]

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman


Did it come from a diver with the bends or something?

Brilliant!


(I get it -- fizzy blood!)