Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 61

Michael Elliott · 11-10-2005, 09:20 PM

BTW Joe, just over a month left in our "Recommend Five Movies" thing.

11/10/05

King John (1899)

I’ve been told this was the first Shakespeare adaptation and if so it isn’t too bad for what it is. Running just over three minutes this here takes the final pages of the play as King John dies.

Tempest, The (1908)

Another Shakespeare adaptation works perfectly well and delivers a very magical feel. Part of this is due to the dreamlike camera work but the special effects are also quite good for their time.

Midsummer Night’s Dream, A (1909)

Yep, more Shakespeare early style. The actual “story” never really comes across here and the title cards just make things even more confusing but the interesting thing are all the technical stuff. Every shot of the film takes place outdoors and all the locations are very nice. The camera angels are also all set up to perfectly capture the mood of the film.

King Lear (1910)

Once again the story doesn’t come across too clearly but I’ve still gotta recommend this baby due to the incredibly hand tinting. The work here is downright beautiful and perfectly done making this look and even feel just like a Technicolor film. Whoever did the drawing on this was way ahead of their time considering what most hand tinting jobs look like.

Twelfth Night (1910)

The story is very clear in this one but that’s about it. The film drags even though it’s a one reeler and the acting, direction and sets are all on the boring side. However, this must have been one of the first films to show a lesbian kiss so perhaps that’ll give you a historical reason to see this.

Merhant of Venice, The (1910)

Another weak Shakespeare adaptation, which has no story whatsoever and comes to an abrupt hault.

Alice Cooper: Prime Cuts (1991)

Pretty good documentary takes a look at the career of Alice Cooper up to the “Hey Stoopid” album. There’s plenty of rare performances from the early days, which are great to watch as is the Elected video. Alice is interviewed throughout the documentary and in my opinion he remains one of the best interviewees out there. The biggest downside is that the early 80’s albums aren’t really discussed.

Joe Karlosi · 11-11-2005, 06:36 AM

Quote:

BTW Joe, just over a month left in our "Recommend Five Movies" thing.

Would you mind refreshing my memory as to what your recommendations were again (so I may put them on my NETFLIX list)? If THE GENERAL was one of these, I'm afraid I can't find that disc (which I think I told you about). But I remember you giving me some titles and then I think you may have changed one or two.

Joe Karlosi · 11-11-2005, 03:09 PM

That'll Be the Day (1973)

I've meant to check this film out for many years. This turned out to be a good movie about a young man (David Essex) coming of age in Britain during the late 1950s when American rock 'n' roll was king. Fed up with school and the conventional life, he leaves his struggling, husband-less mom at home and tries to make his own way, developing a wild life of sex and taking on odd jobs to get along. He meets a humorous and supposedly more experienced sidekick (Ringo Starr) and tries to decide on a life of responsibility or wreckless rock music. Essex and Ringo are both good, and the soundtrack is peppered with many vintage rock n roll classic songs of the period it successfully emulates. Believe it or not, even as a lifelong Beatles fanatic I had no idea this was supposedly considered to be close to the story of John Lennon until after I watched it and read up on it. While there are certainly similarities (such as John's dad leaving him when he was a boy, and the lead character's wreckless nature) it's only very loosely based on Lennon at best. I look forward to seeing the sequel, STAR DUST.

Joe Karlosi · 11-13-2005, 06:31 AM

The Machinist (2004)

Very interesting film with Christian Bale as a worker in a machine shop who is suffering from chronic insomnia and hasn't slept for a whole year. He is so gaunt that his bones protrude, and everyone thinks he's on drugs. Due to the state he's in, his mind becomes affected and he begins to lose perception and cannot tell reality apart from imagination. He begins to hallucinate and develops a paranoia that people are out to get him. The only person he can confide in regarding his problems is s prostitute played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, with whom he forms a close bond above and beyond their business relationship. This is an intriguing concept that plays as a convoluted story but ultimately puts the pieces to the puzzle together in its unpredictable ending. Christian Bale is very good and actually starved himself to become ultra-thin for his part. I was surprised that this film was actually made in Barcelona, subbing for LA.

Jim_K · 11-13-2005, 10:04 AM

First time viewings in Blue

The Ring (1927)
Silent melodrama from the Master of Suspense, as two married boxers vie for the same woman.

Easy Virtue (1928)
Another silent melodrama from the Master of Suspense, as a divorcee flees to France to rebuild her life.

The Manxman (1929)
Yet another Silent melodrama from the Master of Suspense, as a woman falls for the best friend of her fiancé.

Rich and Strange (1931)
Early talkie romantic comedy from the Master of Suspense, as a young married couple come into some money and go on a cruise.

Impact (1949)
Amnesiac Noir has Brian Donlevy out for revenge on his two-timing wife.

The Second Woman (1951)
Minor Film Noir entry has a paranoid Robert Young thinking he’s a marked man.

A Lady Without Passport (1950)
Hedy Lamarr is stuck in Cuba and gets caught between a U.S. Immigration officer and the slimy head of an illegal smuggling operation.

Party Girl (1958)
Female nightclub performer falls for the shady lawyer of a gangster.

Gate of Flesh (1964)
Another strange entry from Seijun Suzuki, this one concerns a close knit band of prostitutes during the immediate occupation of post-war Japan.

Saratoga (1937)
Clark Gable seduces Jean Harlow.

Lone Star (1952)
Clark Gable is on a mission to bring Texas into the Union while romancing Ava Gardner.

Betrayed (1954)
Dutch Intelligence officer Clark Gable sends spy Lana Turner into Nazi occupied Holland.

Around the World Under the Sea (1966)
Tedious underwater adventure about a group of scientists exploring underwater volcanoes.

Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969)
Shipwreck survivors are rescued by Jules Vernes infamous 19th century sub captain, a dubiously miscast Robert Ryan.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Tim Buton’s update of Roald Dahl’s classic tale stars Johnny Depp as a really weird Willy Wonka. Visually striking & inventive but I didn’t much care for the lame Oompa Loompa musical numbers.

Haggai · 11-13-2005, 12:08 PM

A Woman's Face (1941) 7/10
A very good supporting cast backs up Joan Crawford in George Cukor's remake of a Swedish film starring Ingrid Bergman, about a woman who's lived with a scarred face since childhood and gets mixed up in various schemes and intrigue. The way that Joan deals with being scarred, and with the aftermath of a key operation to try to heal her deformity, is great, but the script pretty much forgets about it in the second half. Out of nowhere, everyone is plunged into a generic and melodramatic crime plot that has little to do with what her character has already been through, and which could have derived from almost anything "bad" in her past. Still pretty interesting to watch, and a very good role for Crawford.

The Wages of Fear (1953) 9/10
H.G. Clouzot's drama about desperate men willingly signing up for their own exploitation is incredibly tense and involving, and also very cruel, but naturally and convincingly so, not just nastiness for its own sake or anything. I had only seen it once several years ago before getting the new Criterion re-release. Without spoiling the somewhat controversial ending, I'll just say that while I can realize now that the thematic content is valid, i.e. it couldn't really end any other way, it isn't executed quite as well as it could have been. Still undoubtedly a classic.

Paradise Now (2005) 7/10
A new drama/thriller about two would-be Palestinian suicide bombers, directed by a Europe-based Israeli Arab. The "getting inside the mind of a suicide bomber" angle that's driving all the attention this movie is receiving isn't totally successful, as I thought the transformation undergone by one of the two main characters wasn't very convincing at all. But what stands out for me is the fascinating portrayal of how the phenomenon of suicide bombing has become so integrated into the everyday aspects of life for many Palestinians. I already knew a decent amount about that going in, being someone who follows the conflict rather obsessively, but very much from an Israeli perspective, so there were some really interesting details that were new and surprising to me. The cast is very good, particularly in some of the supporting roles.

The Big Lebowski (1998) 9/10
I loved the insane comedy style from when I saw this on its initial release, with the humor centering on the establishment of unusual characters who just happen to be very funny, but now that I've seen a lot more classic noir films, the over-arching riff on that style becomes much more clear. An obvious similarity with The Big Sleep comes with the old man in a wheelchair hiring someone to investigate his young nympho wife (or daughter) who owes money all over town, and there are plenty of other archetypal plot elements: the protagonist getting beaten up and drugged, the conspiracies piling up on top of each other, the strange woman who sleeps with the hero and hangs around with an oddball homosexual, etc. There's even that one scene with a private investigator who's been following along the whole time and just assumes that The Dude is also in his line of work, a direct comment about what the central concept boils down to: a classic-style L.A. neo-noir story, but centered on a stoner hippie slacker instead of a private dick.

Brook K · 11-13-2005, 03:40 PM

Cowards Bend the Knee - Guy Maddin's autobiographical film, "reflected through a shattered mirror" is the typical story of a boy growing up in Winnipeg - playing hockey, observing his Aunt's beauty parlor, falling in love, being fooled into thinking his hands have been removed and replaced with someone else's - the usual stuff. The film is shot b&w and silent with a sound effects track. Originally commissioned as a museum display to be shown through 10 separate "portals", the film consists of 10, 6 minute chapters. Exhibiting the strange visuals and wry sense of humor common to his films, this is not a film for all tastes, but one I found amusing. - B

Rize! - A documentary about the LA "krump" dancing phenomenon. It centers on different dance groups and how their members are making positive contributions to the community or have overcome various hardships. The dancing itself is pretty amazing stuff and combined with the music creates a compulsive energy. However, too much of the film plays like a typical ESPN/Olympics type "profile" where we see what the performers can do and then hear about all the hardships they've endured to get where they're at. Call me jaded but I'd have rather the film concentrated on dance and the positive impacts it has on more of the participants (young kids are shown dancing but are never interviewed), than to hear multiple "growin' up in da hood" stories. - B-

Kill! - Entertaining samurai film stars Tatsuya Nakadai as a ronin running from his past who decides to aid a group of samurai fighting back against an abusive lord. Taken from the same novel as Kurosawa's Sanjuro, Kill! takes some humorous jabs at various samurai genre conventions while presenting a solid story as well. But except for one hilarious moment in a brothel, I was never as interested in the film when Nakadai wasn't onscreen. - B

Samurai Spy - Another film from Criterion's recent samurai box set, it weaves a complex story of intrigue revolving around various spy groups and factions trying to track down a mysterious defector. Though at times I felt like I needed a program to keep up with all the names and places this film throws at you, the story is fast paced and contains a generous amount of action, while also displaying some excellent b&w cinematography. But it lacks a compelling star-type presence from any actor and thus takes more of an effort to maintain attention than it otherwise might have. B-

Samurai Banners - Toshiro Mifune stars as a master strategist who uses deception to achieve a high position advising a lord and then tries to achieve the dream of building an empire by waging long wars against neighboring territories. This is a color epic with lots of large scale battle scenes and political intrigue, while also providing a melodramatic love story.

Like director Hiroshi Inagaki's previous Samurai Trilogy, all the elements exist for a terrific film, and yet what exists on screen is largely lifeless. Mifune is always a compelling prescence and there are some very good scenes, but he can't overcome mediocre direction. The photography is flat and the story lacks any sort of subtext. While it wouldn't surprise me that this film was a box office hit, as it compares with a lot of Hollywood product, Inagaki is in the minor leagues compared to Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, and Kobayashi. - B-

Michael Elliott · 11-13-2005, 08:14 PM

Joe, here were the five I selected at the start of the year:

The Birth of a Nation
Gone With the Wind
Paths of Glory
Cool Hand Luke
On the Waterfront

I know you've got PATHS sitting around there somewhere. If you want to drop BIRTH and go for THE KING OF KINGS that's fine as well. I'll put BIRTH on next's years challenge.

Or, THE PENALTY since Netflix just got it in.

Joe Karlosi · 11-13-2005, 08:24 PM

Okay, Mike. I've already watched COOL HAND LUKE, GONE WITH THE WIND and ON THE WATERFRONT. I'll substitute THE KING OF KINGS (in place of BIRTH OF A NATION, which I'll get to next year) and I'll get to PATHS OF GLORY by Dec. 31st.