Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 17

Robert Crawford · 03-19-2005, 05:20 AM

I imagine our Daily Bread is also unlikely as I think that was an independent film of sorts.

That's correct. Another old MGM title that belongs to Warner is "The Citadel".

Jim_K · 03-19-2005, 08:50 AM

Jim and Steve are serving as a very reliable movie book for me since I'm recording the same films off TCM as they are.

thanks Michael. Though mine are not all TCM recordings but the occasional library rentals, Netflix rentals & my personal collection. I do admit I've never recorded so much in my life as I do now since getting a DVR unit. Before w/ VCR & tape I'd only record maybe 1 or 2 films a month (if that) because of the hassle.

One thing I passed on mentioning is that if you have They Gave Him a Gun recorded off TCM, the dialogue track is horribly out of sync.

Jim, glad you liked Fat City - it's one of my favorite films from the seventies.

Yeah I really liked it. It's one of those films that resonates with you long after you've watched it. I'll probably bump up it's rating a bit on my master list the more I think about it.

I only bought one Fox noir (Laura) but it hasn't arrived yet. I'm not a big fan of Call Northside 777 & I've never seen Panic in the Streets so I opted to rent it through my snailpaced Netflix service, I should get to see it by Christmas.

I'm way more pumped for the 2nd wave of Fox noirs in June. Kiss of Death is a favorite of mine & I'll be doing a rare blind-buy with Nightmare Alley & House of Bamboo.

First time viewings in Red
Out of

The Incredibles (2004) (9/10)
Brad Bird & Pixar’s wonderful comedy/adventure tribute to comic book superheroes (most notably the Fantastic Four) with quite a few nods to past James Bond flicks. I enjoyed this so much that I immediately had the desire to watch it again so I’ll probably give this another spin this weekend. Incredible.

Western Union (1941) (7/10)
Fritz Lang’s lavish Technicolor Western stars Randolph Scott as a former outlaw who goes to work for the telegraph company. Much of the film may seem cliché now but it’s still a pretty good early oater.

Afraid To Die (1960) (6/10)
Infamous Japanese writer Yukio Mishima stars as a yakuza about to be sprung from jail. Problem is the yakuza under-boss of a rival gang wants him dead for a past wrong. Slightly above average crime yarn though nothing to go out of your way to see.

It’s a Wonderful World (1939) (5/10)
This bland so-called screwball comedy romance road picture has Jimmy Stewart as a private dick running from the police as he meets up with Claudette Colbert. Sort of a cardboard version of It Happened One Night.

Haggai · 03-19-2005, 11:05 AM

It's great that you got to see The Big Parade that way, Adam. I saw it several years ago on TCM and was blown away, so I'll be all over it if we get a DVD release. First time I saw a silent movie in a theater with orchestral accompaniment was Battleship Potemkin, at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. Now that was a memorable experience.

Michael Elliott · 03-19-2005, 01:44 PM

Quote:

One thing I passed on mentioning is that if you have They Gave Him a Gun recorded off TCM, the dialogue track is horribly out of sync.

I've got that one recorded around here somewhere. The Tracy/Hepburn film KEEPER OF THE FLAME is on tonight at 4:15 AM. As far as recording, I got a DVD Burner in Jan. and I've probably recorded at least 80 films in that time. I recorded five Fritz Lang titles the other night and then THE TESTIMENT OF DR. MABUSE was on last night plus a few others on IFC.

Last year I was spending $100-$200 a week on DVD buys but that's cut down to maybe one or two titles a week due to my recording and Netflix. I'm actually having a hard time talking myself into buying anything because these two options are cheaper. As of now, I plan to only buy the Warner box sets and everything else (unless it's a favorite) can go through Netflix or TCM.

Brook K · 03-19-2005, 06:05 PM

I'm jealous too, I love Vidor's The Crowd, but have never seen The Big Parade. The Our Daily Bread I want to see is F.W. Murnau's follow up to Sunrise which was taken away by William Fox and retitled City Girl. It has been shown at some festivals recently, but I doubt Fox will release another silent film anytime soon.

I liked Afraid to Die more than you Jim, though I'd put it 3rd out of the 4 Masumura films Fantoma released. Afraid to Die is worth seeing for Takeshi (Ikiru) Shimura's performance as a cold-blooded gangster who would rather have his son die than suffer the dishonor of his cowardice; totally opposite of his roles in Kurosawa films.

Incident At Loch Ness was disappointing. I loved the opening stuff. I just got a kick out of seeing Herzog's homelife and the dinner party with Jeff Goldblum and Ricky Jay in attendance. But once they actually start filming the movie, I just thought it was too silly and dumb. There were numerous laugh-out loud moments early on but the last 40m or so I was just waiting for it to end.

Michael Elliott · 03-19-2005, 11:59 PM

03/16/05

Cary Grant: A Class Apart (2004)

Very good documentary that takes a look at the life and career of Cary Grant from his early days growing up poor to his final tour. I really love these TCM produced documentaries because they perfectly capture the right mix of the movies with not too much gossip about the personal stuff. The personal stuff is certainly covered but thankfully the movies are the big key.

Men Who Made the Movies, The: Howard Hawks (2001)

Somewhat interesting documentary takes a look through some of Hawks’ films but it never gets in depth enough to be totally entertaining. The interview footage with the director is the highlight.

03/17/05

Alice Cooper Trashes the World (1990)

I’m a die-hard Alice Cooper fan but this concert really doesn’t have too much going for it. This was filmed during Cooper’s heavy metal years, which cut out the horror show and the album this tour supported, Trash, really wasn’t that good outside the song Poison. The few highlights include the typical classics like School’s Out, Under My Wheels, No More Mr. Nice Guy and the rarely played Steven. The straight jacket routine is used during The Ballad of Dwight Frye.

Dogway Melody, The (1930) C+

Live action short serves as a spoof of The Broadway Melody with dogs filling in for the people. The first few scenes are cute as the dogs (through editing) bounce around singing and dancing but things get very tiresome rather quickly.

Broadway Melody, The (1929)

Two sisters from a small town run off to New York City so that they can make it big on Broadway. This film somehow won Best Picture and while I haven’t seen every winner, this is certainly the worst film I’ve seen that took home that award. That’s not to say this is a horrible film but like The Jazz Singer, this movie might have historical importance but as a movie it’s rather weak. There’s a few charming moments scattered throughout the film including some raunchy dialogue and an early pre-code scene with the two sisters in the bathroom.

Child Bride (1938)

Incredibly insane film about mountain men (rednecks) who marry young girls to keep the population going. This film opens with a montage saying this is a warning to the public and it might have been but in the end this is pure exploitation. The shocking thing is that the film is actually very well made and the performances are right on the mark. The sexual nature towards the 10-year-old star is quite disturbing especially one skinny dipping scene, which has some nudity. There are some hilarious moments including a dwarf redneck, a school session with dumb kids trying to learn to spell and other stuff dealing with moonshine. Shirley Miles plays the young bride and her performance is wonderful and again, it’s rather shocking too see the sexual nature and nudity. She would go on to star in The Grapes of Wrath.

03/18/05

Blackwell’s Island (1939)

Interesting if not totally successful Warner film that mixes their gangster pictures with their prison films of the time. A gangster gets sent to prison but he’s having an easier time calling the shots there so a reporter (John Garfield) enters to try and see what’s going on. Garfield gives a good performance but the rest of the picture really doesn’t work too well. The interesting thing is that the gangster is played for laughs and gets them by always playing jokes on people.

Bone Trouble (1940) A+

Pluto, hungry and out of food, decides to steal a bone from a bulldog, which starts the chase. This is a wonderful little short that has all sorts of laughs from Pluto trying to steal the bone and then the eventual chase through the Hall of Mirrors.

Pluto’s Playmate (1941) B

Mildly entertaining short has Pluto playing on the beach when he runs across a baby seal. The scenes of the two fighting over a ball are cute enough but Pluto’s fight with a baby octopus is the highlight.

East of the River (1940)

Predictable Warner Bros. fair dealing with hoodlums is basically a showcase for John Garfield, who as usual, remains watchable throughout. The film starts off pretty well but we get into familiar territory, as the hoodlum can’t stay out of trouble.

Mask (1985)

Director’s Cut

Wonderfully touching film tells the true story of Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz), a teenager disfigured by elephantiasis. With the help of his mother (Cher) he tries to coup with everyday life. Peter Bogdanovich smartly added a lot of comedy to the film because without this the sadder moments would probably be too depressing for the film to work. The performances are all top notch and that includes Sam Elliott. I’m actually interested in seeing the theatrical cut because there were a few moments I didn’t care for and it turns out these were the scenes added back into the film after 20 years.

03/19/05

Mondo Balordo (1964)

Poor imitation of Mondo Cane features narration by Boris Karloff and I’ve really gotta wonder if he actually saw the footage he was speaking about. Other Mondo movies are usually fairly interesting but this one here has a lot of boring and stupid footage that’s just too flat to be entertaining. As usual, the disgusting factor comes from the African footage where we sea tribes capturing and killing various animals.

Werewolf Woman (1976)

Euro Horror sleaze about a woman (Anne Borel) who was raped at the age of 13 and ever since she’s suffered from hallucinations, some of which cause her to think she’s a werewolf. There’s plenty of nudity, sex and gore to keep most entertained but after the first hour things get painfully slow (even with the sex and nudity). Borel is a beautiful woman so seeing her run around naked is of course fun but even this gets tiresome after a while. For some reason the director only has her in the werewolf makeup at the very start of the film, which I feel was a mistake.

Blood of the Beasts (1949) A+

Georges Franju’s brilliant documentary that examines French slaughterhouses and their means of killing the animals. Seeing horses, sheep and cattle being slaughtered isn’t going to appeal to very many people but this is a very fascinating look at how it’s done. There’s some brilliant camerawork and the mood created perfectly captures the death in the air. This might be hard to watch but it’s certainly worth your time.

SteveGon · 03-20-2005, 01:59 AM

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1957)

Viewed 3/19/2005 (first viewing)

Just-okay adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel is more of a vehicle for Gina Lollobrigida than anything else. Anthony Quinn tries as Quasimodo, but the film lacks a sense of real tragedy and is thus largely ineffective.

out of

The Gaucho (1928)

Viewed 3/19/2005 (first viewing)

Hugely entertaining adventure stars Douglas Fairbanks as The Gaucho, a roguish South American bandit who vies with government insurgents for control of the mystical City of the Miracle (or rather, its gold). As if that weren't enough, he also has to contend with a jealous lover, a traitorous underling, the ghastly Black Doom, and a beguiling former shepherd girl turned saintly healer. Arguably Fairbanks' best film and a must-see for fans of adventure flicks.

out of

The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916)

Viewed 3/19/2005 (first viewing)

Bizarre comedy short penned by Tod Browning. Douglas Fairbanks plays scientific genius/detective Coke Ennyday (a comic jab at Sherlock Holmes?) who investigates a mysteriously wealthy man. Has to be seen to be believed! Included as an extra on Kino's The Gaucho DVD.

out of

Jim_K · 03-20-2005, 09:49 AM

Afraid to Die is worth seeing for Takeshi (Ikiru) Shimura's performance as a cold-blooded gangster who would rather have his son die than suffer the dishonor of his cowardice; totally opposite of his roles in Kurosawa films.

I agree that was an interesting role to see him in.

First time viewings in Red
Out of

Desperate (1947) (7/10)
Minor noir classic Directed by Anthony Mann, has a truck driver and his new bride hiding out & away from psychotic gangster Raymond Burr & his gang.

Tension (1950) (7/10)
Timid drugstore clerk plots the perfect plan to murder the guy who’s shacked up with his conniving wife. Another minor noir classic.

Clash By Night (1952) (6/10)
Fritz Lang directs this melodrama featuring Barbara Stanwyck & Robert Ryan. A bit of a disappointment considering the talent involved & it’s classification as a noir film, which this is not - IMO.

Born to Be Bad (1950) (5/10)
Joan Fontaine plays against type as a scheming manipulative bitch in this overblown melodrama/noir, directed by Nicholas Ray.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996) (8/10)
Jean-Luc & the gang take on the Borg in one of the better films of the long running sci-fi series. Upgraded to the new SE.