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08-28-2004, 06:57 AM
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#2251 of 3711 
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2000
Local Time: 04:06 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 8,416
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Wow, another film Brook & I agree upon. What's the world coming to? 
The Earrings of Madame De.. 
Blasé French melodrama involving the misunderstandings between an upper-class married couple, which starts & escalates over the apparent loss of (you guessed it) the Madame’s pair of earrings. This most likely made the list by serving as the inspiration for every episode of Three’s Company, right?
Salvatore Giuliano
Uneven docudrama which attempts to recreate the life of Sicily’s most notorious & celebrated bandit. A bit dull at times, & by sticking strictly to known facts it leaves to many unanswered questions.
266 films down
The Collection (Blu-Ray High Definition/DVD)
Pre-orders - BLU-RAY: 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Casino, Cool Hand Luke, Dawn of the Dead, Death Proof, Dr No, Eastern Promises, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love, The Godfather Collection, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Hulk, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Incredible Hulk, Interview with the Vampire, Iron Man, JFK, Kill Bill 1 & 2, LA Confidential, Live and Let Die, The Matrix (Ultimate Collection), The Mist, The Omen, Planet of the Apes (Evolution Collection), Planet Terror, Poltergeist, The Sixth Sense, Sleeping Beauty, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Thing, The Third Man, Thunderball, WALL E, Young Frankenstein DVD: Budd Boetticher Collection, Icons of Horror: The Hammer Collection, Popeye the Sailor Vol #3, Rodan/War of the Gargantuas, Warner Gangster Collection Vol #4
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08-28-2004, 11:26 PM
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#2252 of 3711
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Member
Join Date: Dec 2001
Local Time: 01:06 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 247
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Phew, it's been several months since my last update, but my count's at 165 now after catching up on several Godard and Mizoguchi pictures.
later Pooh...
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08-29-2004, 04:05 AM
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#2253 of 3711
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Member
Location: St. Louis, MO
Join Date: Feb 2000
Local Time: 09:06 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 10,411
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Well I don't like the Marx Bros. either so there you go...
I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that. - George Bailey
2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 313 Last Watched: Time of the Gypsies
Last 10 Films Watched:
Foreign Correspondent - B / The Small Back Room - B+
Days of Wine and Roses - B / Redbelt - C
Torn Curtain - C+ / The Wrong Man - B+
Dial M for Murder - B+ / I Confess - A-
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - C+ / Brand Upon the Brain! - B+
DVD BEAVER My Collection
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08-29-2004, 06:25 AM
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#2254 of 3711
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2000
Local Time: 04:06 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 8,416
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Stop it! Now you're really scaring me. 
Charulata 
Another stylish & moody film from Satyajit Ray, this one is a tale of a “lonely wife” who struggles with marital complacency in 19th century Bengal society. I’m definitely going to explore more Ray films in the future.
Death in Venice
Based on the Thomas Mann novella this is a tale of an aging composer obsessed with an image of ideal beauty which takes the form of a 14 year old boy. The lack of dialogue, sluggish pacing & obtuse plot makes this film wear out it’s welcome fairly early on. If you’re one simply to be mesmerized by pretty images, this is the film for you.
268 films down
The Collection (Blu-Ray High Definition/DVD)
Pre-orders - BLU-RAY: 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Casino, Cool Hand Luke, Dawn of the Dead, Death Proof, Dr No, Eastern Promises, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love, The Godfather Collection, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Hulk, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Incredible Hulk, Interview with the Vampire, Iron Man, JFK, Kill Bill 1 & 2, LA Confidential, Live and Let Die, The Matrix (Ultimate Collection), The Mist, The Omen, Planet of the Apes (Evolution Collection), Planet Terror, Poltergeist, The Sixth Sense, Sleeping Beauty, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Thing, The Third Man, Thunderball, WALL E, Young Frankenstein DVD: Budd Boetticher Collection, Icons of Horror: The Hammer Collection, Popeye the Sailor Vol #3, Rodan/War of the Gargantuas, Warner Gangster Collection Vol #4
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08-30-2004, 01:13 AM
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#2255 of 3711
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Local Time: 03:06 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 118
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The Last Laugh (Murnau, 1924)
Murnau's dark story serves as a commentary about the dignity, hope and frustration of the working classes. Grotesteque laughing faces, and looming buildings are some examples of Murnau's German expressionism I noticed in the film.
Thumbs down for the absurd ending.
Emil Jannings is good in the lead... similar I thought in many ways to his performance in The Blue Angel.
As with all the silent dramas, would love to ask the critics who voted for it if they made the choice for its importance in film history, or for the power the film has upon viewing it today.
Murnau seen/ranked:
1. Sunrise ****
2. The Last Laugh ***
3. Nosferatu the Vampire * ½
S&S Film Club: 336 viewed; last watched -> Kaagaz ke phool (Gutt, 1959)
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08-30-2004, 01:17 AM
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#2256 of 3711
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Local Time: 03:06 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 118
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Earrings of Madame de... with its superb acting and high production values, I believe earns it a place among the world's great films. A four star film for me.
S&S Film Club: 336 viewed; last watched -> Kaagaz ke phool (Gutt, 1959)
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08-30-2004, 01:20 AM
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#2257 of 3711
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Member
Location: St. Louis, MO
Join Date: Feb 2000
Local Time: 09:06 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 10,411
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Well, I liked Death In Venice quite a bit, and while I would agree with the assessment that Salvatore Giuliano is "a bit dull at times", I definitely liked it more than you did, so I don't think the world is coming to an end or anything.
I should be watching Orphee this week, and plan on renting 4 of the 7 remaining Netflix S&S's in September before taking my annual October horror break. Netflix has really slowed down for me in the last month and a half. It's taking an extra day to check in titles and 1-2 days to receive them.
And Last Laugh is an "A" film for me. I think it retains every bit of its power. Murnau remains one of the world's greatest directors and his films hold a timeless power over me. It is only a pity that his masterpiece, Tabu, does not show up on the list. As for the "absurd" ending, I like it. Although most evidence points to the ending either being forced upon him by UFA or that he meant it as a satirical mocking of the happy ending cliche, I don't mind thinking of it as a director who so loved a character that he wanted things to turn out all right for him.
Earrings is one of the films remaining that I most want to see after my fantastic experience with Letter From An Unknown Woman.
I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that. - George Bailey
2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 313 Last Watched: Time of the Gypsies
Last 10 Films Watched:
Foreign Correspondent - B / The Small Back Room - B+
Days of Wine and Roses - B / Redbelt - C
Torn Curtain - C+ / The Wrong Man - B+
Dial M for Murder - B+ / I Confess - A-
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - C+ / Brand Upon the Brain! - B+
DVD BEAVER My Collection
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08-30-2004, 05:35 AM
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#2258 of 3711
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2000
Local Time: 04:06 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 8,416
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Paisan
Neorealist War film about the Allied liberation of Italy, which is broken down into vignettes. A decent film worth a look though the use of non-actors hinders the film somewhat. It’s certainly no Patton or the Bicycle Thief.
The Red Desert
A nearly incomprehensible existentialist mess about the insane wife of an engineer in a small industrialized & polluted town in Italy. I suppose Antonioni was trying to tell us about the human condition & it’s parallels with the environment but frankly I just didn’t care.
The Collection (Blu-Ray High Definition/DVD)
Pre-orders - BLU-RAY: 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Casino, Cool Hand Luke, Dawn of the Dead, Death Proof, Dr No, Eastern Promises, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love, The Godfather Collection, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Hulk, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Incredible Hulk, Interview with the Vampire, Iron Man, JFK, Kill Bill 1 & 2, LA Confidential, Live and Let Die, The Matrix (Ultimate Collection), The Mist, The Omen, Planet of the Apes (Evolution Collection), Planet Terror, Poltergeist, The Sixth Sense, Sleeping Beauty, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Thing, The Third Man, Thunderball, WALL E, Young Frankenstein DVD: Budd Boetticher Collection, Icons of Horror: The Hammer Collection, Popeye the Sailor Vol #3, Rodan/War of the Gargantuas, Warner Gangster Collection Vol #4
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08-30-2004, 10:33 AM
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#2259 of 3711
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Member
Location: Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexíco
Join Date: May 2002
Local Time: 04:06 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 11,402
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Quote:
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Lew - I'm curious where you felt Underground is self-indulgent?
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Too many party scenes that go on for way too long, to cite one example. I think that Emir Kusturica fell in love with this Fellini variation, but lacked his sense of when to pull back.
This tended to make (for me) the ending less powerful. If the last 15 or 20 minutes or so had occurred 30 minutes earlier, I would have been more involved with what was happening, instead of having to reintegrate myself into the movie and what (by then) I considered its point.
¡Time is not my master!
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