Adam_S

Quote:

I too love Broken Blossoms, but I have to say that I think that this film too, is quite racist. It is actually more racist than Jim indicates--still a fine film, however.

I agree with you Lew, it is definitely a racist film, however I think as I was writing that I was comparing it to the explict, hard-core racism of Birth of a Nation--and Broken Blossoms came up much better in comparison. It's clear the film is definitely racist, but it also seems that the filmmaker thinks that he is making an effort to not be racist; instead the racism is just more implied, insidious, and subdued. Still I stand by my rating because of the production values, especially the cinematography and Lillian Gish and Donald Crisp's performances. I found it to be one of the most satisfactory silent film experiences I've had (I can't wait to get to metropolis and sunrise, I may end up bouncing off walls...), the racism was the worst offender. As far as 'honoring' Griffith, it seems to me that this film would be the safest and most palatable choice for many people to make. This way they can respect what he did for cinema, without endorsing his ideology.

Adam

top 20 films
2008 film list
My DVDs; S&S List 62...212 AFI lists: - DONE! HTF Stars list 247/248

Lew Crippen

I've been in L.A. all week and have not had much time. Perhaps when I get back to Dallas I'll take some time and write why I like L'Avventura and think it a very fine film. I dn't really expect that I'll chnage anyone's mind, but there is perhaps enough material for some discussion.

¡Time is not my master!

Dome Vongvises

Poor Lew. When will he see the light?

Jim_K

Lew,

I'm always interested in opposing views so fire away.


Billy Wilder

Double Indemnity
Nothing much to say that hasn’t been said before, except that this is probably the best pure noir film ever made. This and the criminally overlooked Stalag 17 are my favorite Wilder films.

Sunset Blvd.
This dark and cynical look at Hollywood is one of the best of it’s type. Sharp dialog & wonderful performances by William Holden, Gloria Swanson & Eric von Stroheim.

The Apartment
Bittersweet romantic Comedy/Drama (which I think Wilder was more adept at vs. the screwball variety). What makes this film stand out is it’s brutal honesty about our money driven world.

Some Like it Hot
One of the most acclaimed screwball comedies is a good film but I just didn’t connect with it as much as with the films of Sturges, Hawks, etc. Someday I’ll give this another shot.

Joseph Mankiewicz

All About Eve
A tale of ambition & betrayal in the American Theater as a past her prime Actress & scheming protégé square off to be #1. Well made but another film that’s just not my cup of tea as I thought the film was a bit tedious & over-wrought. A better film about the evils of show-biz would be the above Sunset Blvd.

The Collection (Blu-Ray High Definition/DVD)

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Dome Vongvises

All About Eve and Showgirls exist in a strange equilibrium. I hated Showgirls and I told myself if I wanted to see a movie about showbiz backstabbing and betrayal, I'd watch All About Eve. I don't hate All About Eve, but I said a similar thing.

Stalag 17 is one of the few films that I haven't seen of Billy Wilder that I have a desire to see.

Jim_K

You really should see Stalag 17. It's brilliant in an understated way. I'd go into more detail but wouldn't want to spoil anything.

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glen_esq

Death in Venice (Visconti, 1971) ½

An art film, with beautiful cinematography, costumes, sets, along with symphonic music by Mahler, I thought it was an artistic treat.

Dirk Bogarde, an actor whose work I enjoy, stars as a composer on vacation due to stress. He has nothing but time on his hands, and the film is a dreamy treatise on beauty - Bogarde's character's pursuit of beauty in Venice. Visconti uses Venice's stunning architecture, waterways, an extravagent hotel, and lifestyle of the rich as a fitting background. The plot, of which there isn't a whole lot, becomes secondary to mood and atmosphere.

With its glacial pace, may not be everyone's cup of tea, I was in the right mood I guess to really enjoy it.

Visconti Seen/Rated
1. La Terra Trema
2. Death in Venice
3. Rocco and His Brothers
4. Ossessione
5. Ludwig

S&S Film Club: 336 viewed; last watched -> Kaagaz ke phool (Gutt, 1959)

george kaplan

Again, I find myself in agreement (at least mostly) with Jim.

First of all, Stalag 17 is a truly great, and somewhat underappreciated film. I obviously think Jim undervalues the Apartment by withholding that 1/2 star (after all, for me, it's my #1 film of all time). I also think Some Like It Hot is better than Sunset Blvd. (one of the few Wilder's that I don't like - it's well done, it just doesn't click with me), although Sunset Blvd. is heads and shoulders above the cheesy All About Eve (which I'd give 2 stars less than Jim gave).

"Movies should be like amusement parks. People should go to them to have fun." - Billy Wilder

"Subtitles good. Hollywood bad." - Tarzan, Sight & Sound 2012 voter.

"My films are not slices of life, they are pieces of cake." - Alfred Hitchcock

The Lakers may have sucked this year, but at least they didn't suck as much as the Spurs.

Lew Crippen

I'll add to the Stalag 17 recommendations. This is the first movie I ever saw, where I realized that a moive could be more than just entertainment.

¡Time is not my master!

Jim_K

Martin Scorsese

Raging Bull
Scorsese’s masterpiece is a seedy & gritty bio-pic about the brutal life of boxer Jake La Motta. The title is appropriate as La Motta lives on violence both in the ring and out of it. DeNiro’s greatest performance.

Goodfellas
This brutally honest true life gangster film is the flip side of the romantic Godfather films. Full of memorable characters, top notch performances, masterful editing, use of soundtrack & direction. Scorsese’s other masterpiece.

Taxi Driver
Scorsese was adept at creating some of the most undesirable characters that you’d never want to meet. Enter Travis Bickle a mentally unbalanced Vietnam vet who is like a volcano ready to burst. Travis wants to rid the world of the filth & scum infecting the streets of NY. A powerful & disturbing film.

Mean Streets
A tale of friendship focusing on two small-time hoods living on the “mean streets” of Little Italy NY. Excellent independent film but not for all tastes.


I’ve only seen part of Age of Innocence.

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Seth Paxton

Just think, this is one of his more socially progressive films with perhaps only Intolerance having a more progressively open attitude.

I'm quite anti-Griffith after doing some film history and film theory courses. He codified the language of early film rather than inventing it, and the main reason he was able to do so was because he played to the crowd in a sensationalized manner not unlike the National Enquirer, except with racism. There is little to be impressed by a writer appealing to a racist white audience by making Indians eat puppy dogs and blacks carry on as drunken rapists, then having the white hero save the day. Really, white audiences flocked to his film, especially in the south? Hard to believe.

I've ranted hard before so that blurb more than wears out my welcome on the issue.


Brook,

DOH!
I just assumed, although I almost got burned by Zorro in the same way so I guess I should have double checked. I just figured that DF's classic had to be the one mentioned since it was so groundbreaking and such a big hit.


Jim,

I really like Neo-Realism and De Sica was one of the best.

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