Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 8

Jim_K · 02-04-2005, 07:05 AM

First time viewings in Red
Out of

Night and the City (1950) (10/10)
Low-life hustler Richard Widmark sets out to “control all wrestling in all of London” in this film-noir masterpiece by Jules Dassin. This is what gets me electrified towards film an example of what drives me to seek out the deeper catalog titles.

Bunny Lake is Missing (1965) (7/10)
A young girl turns up missing in this strange psychological thriller directed by Otto Preminger. Laurence Olivier plays the inspector on the case.

Mean Creek (2004) (8/10)
A group of teens set out on a boat trip, planning to teach the local bully a lesson when something goes wrong. Like Steve I could raise comparisons to Stand By Me, but I’d also throw in River’s Edge & a little Deliverance. The outstanding young cast and the sublime & artful direction make this film stand out.

Mario Gauci · 02-04-2005, 07:19 AM

Joe,

I'm pleased to see that you're currently going through Warners' "Gangster Collection" and, based on your IMDB entries, enjoying it so much! Have you acquired it for yourself by any chance (in which case it must have been one hell of a worthwhile quasi-blind purchase for you

- I can't quite recall if you've ever watched THE PETRIFIED FOREST [1936])?

I also noticed that you've changed some of their ratings around quite a bit since you first posted them here - particularly with ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES which you first gave a *** rating, then upgraded to a ***1/2 and then even a ****! Don't worry...I'm with you on this one: ANGELS has always been a **** film for me (ever since I first saw it back in 1986 when it was shown on local TV to commemorate James Cagney's passing) and in fact I'd go so far as to say that it's the finest film in this stellar collection.

I'm also very pleased that you've caught up with (and appreciated) TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962; which I've watched a couple of times and currently have on my "DVDs To Watch" pile), as well as some more Bogies. It's a shame that Warners didn't deem it fit to upgrade the current barebones disc of KEY LARGO (1948) and give it a similar lavish treatment like the other "Gangsters" titles mentioned above as, in my opinion, it would have fitted nicely in this collection. Perhaps they thought that one stagey Gangster flick was enough for this collection

. Maybe next time...

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944) is also awaiting its turn to be viewed on DVD, alas. In its case, despite some reportedly choice extras, I also happen to think that Warners missed the boat somewhat since they could easily have turned it into a 2-Disc set - or, at the very least, a dual-sided disc a` la DR. JEKYLL & MR HYDE (1931/1941) and GASLIGHT (1940/1944; which I've yet to get hold of myself) - by including the Michael Curtiz/John Garfield remake, THE BREAKING POINT (1950; also a Warners property) which I've never watched but have heard good things about (it's not like they'll be giving it a DVD release of its own anytime soon, is it?)! As a matter of fact, it's never even been shown on local or cable TV over here so I don't know at all what the score is with this one. Anyhow, I still had to have TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT in my DVD collection since, as you may know, not only is Bogie one of my favorite film stars but Howard Hawks is my all-time favorite American film director. This wasn't always the case, however: in fact, I wasn't all that impressed with this one (which I practically dismissed as merely a second-rate CASABLANCA [1942] clone), THE BIG SLEEP (1946; too convoluted) or RIO BRAVO (1959; overlong) the first time I watched them! Heresy, I know, but one matures with time and so do his film viewing choices and predilections. I give most of the credit for this "change of heart" towards Hawks' work to world-renowned film critic, David Thomson, whose essential tome, "A Biographical Dictionary Of The Cinema", did much to challenge, refine and expand my preconceived cinematic notions. Incidentally, the newest edition of this book even sports an image from TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT on its cover...and, once again, I've yet to purchase it! Besides, I'm currently watching again three Howard Hawks films which I've rented on DVD: THE OUTLAW (1943; credited to Howard Hughes but the Hawksian touch is unmistakable), HATARI! (1962) and EL DORADO (1966) and have Todd McCarthy's massive biography, "Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox Of Hollywood" beckoning me from my bookshelf...

It's very ironic to me that we're discussing Warners' "Gangster Collection" since I've yet to add it to my collection: as a matter of fact, I have yet to purchase a SINGLE DVD in 2005!! As it happens, late last year I've made the decision to drastically diminish my "DVDs To Watch" pile (currently standing at a staggering 271!) before proceeding with my reckless purchasing. Naturally, storage space has had a lot to do with this admittedly difficult resolution but, given the mouth-watering array of recently released or upcoming titles, I feel just like paraphrasing Lloyd Bridges' character in AIRPLANE! (1980): "Looks like I picked the wrong year to quit buying DVDs". How about these for starters:

01/11/05: The Letter
01/11/05: Random Harvest
01/18/05: Carrie
01/18/05: Casque D' Or
01/18/05: Touchez Pas Au Grisbi
01/25/05: Little Caesar/The Public Enemy/The Petrified Forest/Angels With Dirty Faces/The Roaring Twenties/White Heat [6-Disc Set]
01/25/05: Victory/The Wicked Darling
01/25/05: The Killer Must Kill Again
02/01/05: The Life Of Emile Zola
02/01/05: The Palm Beach Story
02/01/05: Leave Her To Heaven
02/01/05: A Letter To Three Wives
02/01/05: Thieves' Highway
02/01/05: Night And The City
02/08/05: Lizard In A Woman's Skin
02/08/05: Boxcar Bertha/New York, New York/The Last Waltz/Raging Bull [5-Disc Set]
02/22/05: Twentieth Century
02/22/05: We Were Strangers
02/22/05: Bitter Victory
02/22/05: Behold A Pale Horse
02/22/05: 99 Women
02/22/05: Venus In Furs
02/22/05: The Mansion Of Madness
03/01/05: Piccadilly
03/01/05: The River
03/01/05: Bambi [2-Disc Set]
03/01/05: Arrowsmith
03/01/05: We Live Again
03/01/05: Come And Get It
03/01/05: Dinner At Eight/Libeled Lady/Stage Door/Bringing Up Baby [2-Disc Set]/The Philadelphia Story [2-Disc Set]/To Be Or Not To Be [8-Disc Set]
03/15/05: The Eclipse [2-Disc Set]
03/15/05: Young Torless
03/15/05: Laura
03/15/05: Call Northside 777
03/15/05: Panic In The Streets
03/15/05: Easter Parade [2-Disc Set]/The Band Wagon [2-Disc Set]/Brigadoon/Bells Are Ringing/Finian's Rainbow [7-Disc Set]
03/22/05: Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia
03/22/05: Voodoo Island/The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake
03/22/05: Tales Of Terror/Twice Told Tales
03/22/05: Panic In Year Zero/The Last Man On Earth
03/22/05: Die, Monster, Die!/The Dunwich Horror
03/22/05: War Gods Of The Deep/At The Earth's Core
03/29/05: Andrzej Wajda - Three War Films: A Generation & Ceramics From Ilza/Kanal/Ashes And Diamonds [3-Disc Set]
03/29/05: Jules Et Jim [2-Disc Set]
03/29/05: Kagemusha [2-Disc Set]
03/29/05: A Bell from Hell
04/05/05: The Professionals
04/05/05: Leaves From Satan's Book
04/12/05: Captain Blood/Dodge City/The Private Life Of Elizabeth And Essex/The Sea Hawk/They Died With Their Boots On/Bonus Disc [6-Disc Set]
04/19/05: The Four Feathers
04/26/05: F For Fake/Orson Welles: One Man Band [2-Disc Set]
04/26/05: Love Rites [The Director's Cut & The Complete Version]
05/24/05: Anna And The King Of Siam
05/24/05: The Razor's Edge
06/07/05: Nightmare Alley
06/07/05: The Street With No Name
06/07/05: House Of Bamboo
06/14/05: The War Of The Worlds
09/06/05: The Lodger
09/06/05: Hangover Square
09/06/05: The Dark Corner

Mario Gauci · 02-04-2005, 07:22 AM

DOUBLE POST

SteveGon · 02-04-2005, 08:43 AM

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Viewed 2/3/2005

One of the great Hollywood biopics stars Paul Muni (in a magnificent performance) as the socially-conscious French author Emile Zola. The bulk of the film is given over to Zola's involvement in the infamous Dreyfus affair. His climatic courtroom speech is spellbinding. Great stuff.

out of

Also watched the nifty National Geographic documentary SuperCroc which details the discovery of a 110 million year old crocodile fossil that was later determined to be 40 feet long with an estimated bite force of 18,000 pounds.

SteveGon · 02-04-2005, 08:48 AM

Double down

Brook K · 02-04-2005, 11:02 AM

I have Thieves Highway on the way. Wish I'd put Night and the City above it with all the raves I've seen in the past couple of days for the movie.

Saw Mean Creek in the theater. Didn't enjoy it as much as the rest of you, though definitely worth seeing.

I watched the A&E Biography W.C. Fields Behind The Laughter extra to finish off the Fields box. Good overview of his sad life, though i wish they'd talked more about some of his films I haven't seen, like The Flying Trapeze (not even mentioned) and Never Give A Sucker An Even Break. Also what is up with Harry Anderson's hair? He must be seeing Trump's barber.

I really need to pick up a Field's biography and do some reading. Also got me interested in seeing "W.C. Fields And Me" with Rod Steiger as Fields. Anyone seen it?

No time for detailed reviews, but I would rank the movies in the box:

1. The Bank Dick (Comic Genius) - A
2. My Little Chickadee (the story is a throwaway and calling the production values "shoddy" would be kind, but who cares when a movie is this funny?) - A-
3. Never Give A Sucker An Even Break - B+ (another trifle of a story and too much time is given to Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, but Fields is as riotous as ever)
4. International House - B (Fields is gold, and there's some other good material too, but with so many separate personalities given their due, it is all over the map qualitywise)
5. It's A Gift - B- (almost a completely different Fields - very few quotable lines, mostly slapstick and situation comedy rather than jokes and props, no drinking...just not what I expect in a Fields movie)

While traveling through Afghanistan we lost the corkscrew. Had to survive on food and water....

Michael Elliott · 02-04-2005, 12:33 PM

Quote:

(in which case it must have been one hell of a worthwhile quasi-blind purchase for you

I'm going to try and bug the hell out of him so that he'll do a blind buy with RAGING BULL.

Mario, was BRIDE OF THE MONSTER your first Ed Wood film? I'm sure you know that I LOVE his films with a passion much in the same way as some love Jess Franco. The funny thing about Franco is that I've quite often called him an Ed Wood type filmmaker because quite often my enjoyment comes from laughing at silly moments in the film. The orgy scene and Romay running into the door in EXORCISM gets laughs. How Franco is killed in BARBED WIRE DOLLS gets laughs.

I think Franco has made some "real" brilliant films like A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD and LORNA, THE EXORCIST but most of the rest (WIP films) I've found myself enjoying because of how silly they are. THE FEMALE VAMPIRE is my third favorite and I was disappointed to see you didn't enjoy this one. I've only found a few people who actually love this film but IMO it's the best of the vampire/lesbian type of films. I thought Franco's poetic beauty really shined through and I thought Romay was terrific visually. Most people don't like it because of what kind of "sucking" she does in the film but this is why I put it above the rest. I enjoyed this different take on it and I'm really not sure I'd enjoy the horror version with the casual sucking of the blood.

Nice "to buy" list. Mine was just as big, if not bigger but I decided to cut back on my buys this year after I realized that I was spending between $400-$800 a month!!! I finally signed up with Netflix, which I've enjoyed so far.

Joe Karlosi · 02-04-2005, 03:33 PM

Quote:

I'm pleased to see that you're currently going through Warners' "Gangster Collection" and, based on your IMDB entries, enjoying it so much! Have you acquired it for yourself by any chance (in which case it must have been one hell of a worthwhile quasi-blind purchase for you - I can't quite recall if you've ever watched THE PETRIFIED FOREST [1936])?

Hi, Mario. Yes, I am loving this Gangsters Collection, and as of right now THE PETRIFIED FOREST I haven't seen, ever.
I went out and bought the box set on my own, having already seen and liked ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES and THE ROARING TWENTIES enough to take the chance. I like Cagney, Bogart and Eddie Robinson so it wasn't a risky blind buy.

Quote:

I also noticed that you've changed some of their ratings around quite a bit since you first posted them here - particularly with ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES which you first gave a *** rating, then upgraded to a ***1/2 and then even a ****!

My ratings sometimes change when I re-watch a film, either for better or worse. Most of the time they remain the same, though.

You may be noticing too that I tend to go back and forth as to whether or not I use "half-star" increments for my ratings system! While my actual "opinions" on films remain the same, it's sometimes the "symbolism" I experiement with. It's always driven me a little crazy.

At present I'm no longer using the half star increments. Because with my current system, **** is given for a film that I consider to be "EXCEPTIONAL OR OUSTANDING", and not necessarily "EXCELLENT OR PERFECT" (there is a difference between these distinctions, and so few movies, if any, are truly "perfect and excellent"). So with my present method, there is more room for me to cut very good movies (that may be a hair off) some slack. If I were using half stars, I might have given ANGELS WITH DIRTy FACES, WHITE HEAT, PUBLIC ENEMY and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD only ***1/2 each, as they're not quite 100% "flawless" to me; however, with my present system, ALL these films certainly warrant an "EXCEPTIONAL" rating (****)!

Quote:

I'm with you on this one: ANGELS has always been a **** film for me (ever since I first saw it back in 1986 when it was shown on local TV to commemorate James Cagney's passing) and in fact I'd go so far as to say that it's the finest film in this stellar collection.

Believe it or not I'm most partial to THE PUBLIC ENEMY and LITTLE CAESAR! Once again -- with the new system, all these films are given more room to be considered "exceptional", though, and they all warrant a solid **** by that criteria.

Quote:

As it happens, late last year I've made the decision to drastically diminish my "DVDs To Watch" pile (currently standing at a staggering 271!) before proceeding with my reckless purchasing.

I actually decided to join NETFLIX, which is going very well so far; that way I can rent the films and decide whether or not they warrant a purchase from me. I obtained TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, KEY LARGO and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD as my first three choices, and I think you'll be very interested when you see some of the other films I currently have awaiting mailing from my queue. NETFLIX bills you $18 a month, and you may order, watch, and mail back as many DVDs as you can in a month. If you watch a lot of titles as we do here at HTF, this is a good deal. The ability to receive 10 or more DVDs for your monthly payment - or even more if you can watch them and mail them back fast enough - is very handy.

I appreciate the feedback, Mario - I knew you'd get around to it when you saw me listing a Howard Hawks title!