AFI Lists - the new challenges - Page 4

Adam_S · 07-14-2003, 02:48 AM

The Philadelphia Story -

Movies list
Passions list
Laughs List
Stars list - Cary Grant
Stars List - Jimmy Stewart
Stars list - Katherine Hepburn
OAR DVD - home theater

I think I'm a real sucker for Katherine Hepburn, and she's more beautiful in Black and White in my opinion. I dunno, it keeps her more on the Goddess level (heh) of unattainability.

Of course I"m also a sucker for any Jimmy Stewart performance (probably one of the three greatest actors ever imo), and I've seen quite a few Cary Grant performances I really like, but he's too sophisticated to really love the way you can love Stewart, Lemmon, or Guiness.

A fantastic movie that just puts a modern retelling (even if they say it's not it is) like Sweet Home Alabama to shame. Perfect dialouge, and while there is no chemistry between Stewart and Hepburn (at least not compared to Hepburn and Grant) it works for the film because they're not meant for each other. Just a fantastic enjoyable film that I'd be glad to add to my collection were the dvd transfer better.

Not bad for a film to knock off: three lists to take down one notch, and one list to take down three notches.

D

Adam

Lew Crippen · 07-14-2003, 11:16 AM

The Gold Rush is also a three-fer, being included in movies, laughs and stars. And it is also on the S&S list.

My only complaint is that I watched the one with Chaplin’s voice-over, which I don’t like as well as the 1925 version. But it this is a film that really can’t be destroyed. Brilliant stuff from start to finish.

george kaplan · 07-14-2003, 12:08 PM

My only complaint is that I watched the one with Chaplin’s voice-over, which I don’t like as well as the 1925 version.

Why? Not why don't you like the 42 version, why did you watch it? I'm assuming you got the recent dvd, which has the 1925 version on disc 2.

Lew Crippen · 07-14-2003, 01:07 PM

Sort of complex George, but I rented the Modern Times disk (and the second disk) via Netflix. I was not real impressed with the bonus stuff except for a 30 minute discussion on the film (and Chaplin) by Philppe Truffaut. Second step was seeing that there were a bunch of Chaplins on TCM, each one preceded by a 30 minute film about the film. So I figured that they were showing the newly restored versions.

As it turned out TCM showed the voice-over version, not the original one.

I still laughed out loud. I start loving this film from the time the bear follows him around the mountain and don’t stop until the end.

Jeff Gross · 07-14-2003, 02:35 PM

Saw three more this weekend:

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - B+

The Jazz Singer - B

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - A

Holadem · 07-14-2003, 10:27 PM

Guess Who's Coming To Diner

I was completely surprised by this one. I was expecting a heavy handed moralistic tale which was praised only because it had the courage of directly tackling these issues. Instead, I found an intelligently written and completely charming comedy/drama which remains timeless, not so much because of it's subject matter than the interractions between the cast and the sharp dialogue.

Sidney Poitier has got to be the smoothest man in Hollywood. Katharine Houghton's description of his characters seems to apply to the actor himself - a monument of calm, smoothness, confidence.

And of course Hepburn.

It's a Wonderful Life

Yes, I had never seen it before. Don't ask. Beautiful movie, well worth it's status as an american icon, by the sheer power of it's story.

Touch of Evil

An interesting story this superbly directed movie does not make. For all it's evident technical achievements, I was not only supremely bored by this one, I was actually one of the few movies that pissed me off, so unpleasant the viewing experience was. Completely unsympathetic characters, murky settings typical of the Noir genre, a genre whose appeal I fail to see. All style, zero substance. Welles performance does not save this one in my eyes. As an aside, it is a credit to the make up guys of Citizen Kane that he should end up looking like he did.

On the Waterfront

A fine gritty movie, an appearently realistic depiction of that self contained world. It's funny, I have always picture the famed phrase "I could have been a contender" being uttered by a dying Marlon Brando. The actual thing turned out better

Next: Barry Lydon, To Kill a Mockingbird, All about Eve and finally finish up Brazil (ain't gonna be pretty...)

--
Holadem

Jeff Gross · 07-15-2003, 09:48 AM

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? - B+

A Man for All Seasons - B

Lew Crippen · 07-15-2003, 11:39 AM

A Star is Born, can be used to demonstrate both sides of the ‘why should this film have been remade’ controversy.

Originally it was a 30s film, with a witty screenplay mostly by Dorthey Parker (story idea from Wellman), directed by William Wellman and starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. It had some original music (Max Steiner) and a lot of recycled, older songs. A fine film indeed, though perhaps not so remembered now.

The version made by George Cukor in the 50s is superior in every way. Harold Arlen’s music is top-notch, including The Man that Got Away. James Mason is perfect as the alcoholic star who is past his prime even when we meet him and Judy Garland gives her best performance (not counting the Wizard) as the young, about to be discovered star on her way up.

Not a perfect film by any means, as it had some unevenness (though not in the direction), The 70s saw an attempt to update the film (the alcoholic movie star now is now a fading rock star) as a vehicle for Barbara Streisand. Unlike the 50s remake, which kept a good screenplay and discarded routine music, this version discards the good, the bad and the average. And winds up with the mediocre. Kris Kristofferson manages to demonstrate how fine the acting of Mason and March really are, and Streisand proves that she does not have unfailing taste.

Mariano · 07-15-2003, 12:42 PM

Ok, i took this as a personal challenge some time ago and i´m really glad i did because it made me discover lots of great films.

I live in Argentina, so it´s difficult sometimes to find some films and as the "left" list got shorter it became almost impossible.
But that just adds more flavour to the challenge, because when i find a film that i´ve been looking for for some time, it´s a great event just sitting and watching it.

When i started the AFI Top 100 films i had more than 80 left to watch, and now i´m glad to announce that i have just 5 left, after watching The Jazz Singer last night, and i have Bringing up Baby and A place in the sun ready to watch at home, so i´ll have only 3 left in a few days.

And on the other lists i have 30 left in Thrillers, 57 in Passions and 63 in laughs.

Lew Crippen · 07-15-2003, 01:07 PM

I have worked reasonably extensively in Buenos Aries (about 10 years ago, well before the rise of DVDs) and I can appreciate the difficulty of obtaining some of these films. Pretty impressive progress Mariano.

Mariano · 07-15-2003, 01:39 PM

Lew :

Buenos Aires changed a lot in the past 10 years and you can find lots of things that weren´t available before, but "old movies" on TV are hard to find and the number of classic movies in Blockbuster is very limited.

Unfortunately i have to admit that divx and the internet helped me a lot, but of course DVD and VHS are always my first options to watch a movie.

Hope you liked my city.