Quote (originally posted by Michael Elliott):
"That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
Luis Bunuel film starts off as a man (Fernando Rey) dumps a pale of water over a woman's head in front of various passengers on a train. The man then tells them the story of this woman, his desire for her and what led to the events on the train. Well, The Phantom of Liberty didn't stay at my #1 Bunuel film for very long. While this is certainly the best film I've seen from the director I'd go as far to say this is one of the greatest films I've ever seen period. I don't want to place a ranking on it since I would need more time to think things over but there's no doubt this would enter in my Top 20 at least. What I really enjoyed most was the little touch of having two actresses play the woman to show off both of her sides but you could go a little deeper and say the man didn't notice the two women and that's how blinded he was by his desire for her. The film really started off well, grabbing my attention but making my attention even stronger with each passing scene. The final moments were brilliantly done and the actual love story of the man is one of the greatest I've seen. The terrorist bits were rather strange but made sense and I'm glad Bunuel left out some of his usual surrealist moments and instead mainly concentrated on the story at hand. Bunuel also did a brilliant job at slowly building up the man's desire to the point where the viewer also feels his anger and desire for the woman. The performance by Rey was brilliantly moving and touching, as were the two female actresses. This is one of the best examples of a relationship between men and women and also shows the nasty games that can be played."
"I've got to admit it's getting better
It's a little better all the time
I have to admit it's getting better
Getting so much better all the time"
Upon reading your review of THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE (1977), Mike, I felt just like singing these lines from The Beatles' song "Getting Better"
!!
I thought you'd like this one after your positive reaction to Bunuel's previous (and more "difficult") film, THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY (1974)...but I wasn't expecting you in a million years to place it in your all-time Top 20
! Not because it's not
that good but because not even VIRIDIANA (1961), BELLE DE JOUR (1967) and PHANTOM (which are generally considered to be greater films) had earned such an accolade from you! Having said that, 3 well-respected contributors (director John Boorman and writers Gavin Lambert and David Thomson) did rank it among their Top 10 in that 2002 "Sight And Sound" Poll
.
With regards to that genius idea of having two different actresses playing the same role at various stages in the movie, while Bunuel had had it for some years, he decided to finally use it in this case
only after his original choice for the role of Conchita (Isabelle Adjani) turned him down and after her eventual replacement Maria Schneider - of LAST TANGO IN PARIS (1972) fame - was fired after a few days' shooting for her unreliability on the set due to her current drug use! Obviously, I
love both Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina in the movie and, despite repeated viewings, I can't truly decide which of the two I prefer...if I had to choose, that is
!
While I'm disappointed that the stunning Adjani did not get to work with my favorite director, I'm pleased that Bunuel got to use his unique concept before retiring since, as you know, THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE turned out to be his last film! In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Bunuel made the greatest last film ever (although, say, Bresson, Dreyer and Max Ophuls also saved some of their most challenging work for last); quite a contrast to how other great directors like, for example, Hawks, Hitchcock, Lang, Renoir and Welles ended their careers!
As for the terrorist sequences, I don't want to spoil anything for you but Bunuel inserted such an episode in each of his last 3 films - like the sniper in THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY - and this bears out that even if he was an atheist and absorbed in his anti-Catholicism and anti-bourgeoisie preoccupations, he was still terribly concerned with the real world. One must remember that the 1970s were the age of the Patty Hearst kidnapping, the Munich Olympics killings and the kidnapping (and subsequent murder) of Italian politician Aldo Moro by The Red Brigades. As a matter of fact, even Claude Chabrol halted for a time his impeccable series of studies of the French bourgeoisie to dedicate himself to this serious issue in NADA (1974).
Also, I don't know if you're aware of this, Mike, but the story on which the film is based, "La Femme Et Le Pantin" i.e. The Woman and the Puppet, also served as the basis for the last of the great Josef von Sternberg-Marlene Dietrich collaborations, THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN (1935) - which, although very different from Bunuel's take, is an equally entrancing film and is, in fact, a favorite of von Sternberg's; luckily, the latter is getting a DVD release next month as part of Universal's 2-Disc Set of "Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection" and which includes two more from her von Sternberg cycle. Besides, the snippets from the Silent version of LA FEMME ET LA PANTIN (1928) on the Criterion DVD of THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE are really intriguing and one hopes that a complete version of this film will one day materialize. It's interesting to note that Bunuel had wanted to film this story 20 years before actually getting to it but that version, starring current sex-kitten Brigitte Bardot, was eventually directed by Julien Duvivier!
Finally, after a period of freewheeling, anything goes films like THE MILKY WAY (1969), THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972) and THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY, Bunuel proved - if any such proof was needed - that his peerless storytelling skills had not abated with age. On the contrary, Bunuel left his most sexually-charged film for his very last work when he was 77 years old, practically deaf and plagued with other health problems - which makes this invigorating movie all the more astonishing an achievement!
Quote (originally posted by Michael Elliott):
"Ikiru (1952)
A man (Takaski Shimura) without a life finds out he's going to die of stomach cancer, which causes a big shakeup in his lifeless world. He becomes friends with two people, one who helps him enjoy a little of life and the other someone who teaches him about leaving a legacy. So far this is my favorite Akira Kurosawa film, just ahead of Rashomon. This was an extremely powerful film about life and death that asks a lot of questions and for the most part it tried to give simple answers. There were countless powerful scenes with masterful direction and a brilliant performance by Shimura but the highlight would have to be the singing during the party scene. This was one of the most haunting, beautiful and magical scenes I've ever seen. Another great moment, showing the fear of death, takes place early on in the doctor's office as another character explains the pain that the man will eventually start to suffer. Another interesting and effective move comes in the change of storytelling with an hour left to go in the film. I wasnˇ¦t quite sure if this move was going to work or not but the director pulled it off quite nicely."
I've already discussed this with Brook in the past in this very thread but I'm very pleased with your reaction to this one. Undoubtedly one of Kurosawa's finest achievements but, perhaps, not one of my favorites because of its depressing subject matter. This quality also affects my estimation of another Kurosawa film, THE LOWER DEPTHS (1957) despite it being an exceptionally well-made and acted film. In IKIRU (1952)'s case, it's not just cancer (which also happened to claim my favorite aunt at the untimely age of 51
) but also because I identify completely with the main character's belated realization that he has wasted his time (or rather, most of his life) working at a worthless job...and
that makes me very uncomfortable
!
I agree that Takashi Shimura gave a wonderfully humble performance and his pathetic attempts at going to town with his younger female companion are very moving. Kurosawa's decision to split the film practically in two was a bold and, in retrospect, emotionally sensible one. Kurosawa's modern day dramas are often overshadowed by his more energetic period pieces but, in films like DRUNKEN ANGEL (1948), STRAY DOG (1949), IKIRU and HIGH AND LOW (1963) he showed that he was perfectly at ease in this
milieu as well.
There has been some talk in the past of Steven Spielberg remaking this with Tom Hanks in the lead but, perhaps mercifully, these plans haven't materialized yet...
!
Quote (originally posted by Haggai):
"Tom Jones (1963) 8/10
A fun and raunchy period romp with a great cast, although some of the shaky hand-held cinema-verite stuff doesn't seem too appropriate to the material. Nobody in the cast is taking any of it very seriously, which is definitely the right tone for the script. A better DVD transfer would probably help, as this most recent one is still pretty crappy."
This seminal film, which would make a fascinating double-bill with Stanley Kubrick's infinitely more solemn BARRY LYNDON (1975), certainly deserves much better treatment on DVD: I
love TOM JONES (1963) and have watched it several times over the years but, given the shamefully bare-bones nature of the MGM disc, I haven't bothered to upgrade from my crappy, pan-and-scan VHS copy
!
While some of the novelties of the British 'Free Cinema' movement have dated and were somewhat incongruously adopted for this period piece, the intoxicating sense of fun and experimentation makes this a timeless classic. Albert Finney never managed to top this role - despite subsequently playing Scrooge and Hercule Poirot - and the ensemble cast was top-notch especially Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Diane Cilento, Joyce Redman (all 5 were Oscar nominated), Joan Greenwood and David Warner.
Quote (originally posted by Haggai):
"The More the Merrier (1943) 9/10
George Stevens' wartime romantic comedy has a hilarious first half, with lots of inspired sight gags in a crowded apartment, and a sweetly romantic second half, thanks to great performances by Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea. Charles Coburn's Oscar-winning role is also excellent, and although the plot seems a bit overly manufactured down the stretch, the overall result is terrific."
Another great comedy from the Golden Age of Hollywood which has, yet again, received pitiful treatment on DVD - bare-bones and overpriced, as is the fashion with most Columbia catalog titles...which is a pity since most of George Stevens' movies have been given creditable Special Editions on our home video format of choice
.
The MORE THE MERRIER (1943) also marked Stevens' last comedic feature film (after a career almost exclusively dedicated to that genre) since, after his harrowing WWII combat experiences, he concerned himself with more serious issues in a series of ambitious if self-important films; incidentally, I've just ordered one of them myself on DVD i.e. the now out-of-print 2-Disc Set of THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965)
.
Also, THE MORE THE MERRIER was cheerfully remade as WALK, DON'T RUN (1966) which proved to be (my favorite actor
) Cary Grant's screen swan song. Coincidentally, while in Hollywood a couple of months ago, I caught a big-screen showing of another good comedy with Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn, THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES (1941).
Quote (originally posted by Haggai):
"Pride and Prejudice (1940) 9/10
A magnificent cast anchors this straightforward classic adaptation, the first one I've seen of the idol to all of the Austen-obsessed women out there. I haven't read any of her books, but the greatness of this movie comes in establishing a very precise tone for all of its characters, in terms of how they speak and interact with one another. It's always tough to adapt a lengthy and widely beloved novel for the movies, with the need for a lot of plot and/or character cutting, but this one does a brilliant job of feeling like a great story being brought to life."
There haven't been that many big-screen adaptations of Jane Austen's work but, although I haven't watched the highly-acclaimed remake of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005), I'd say that this 1940 adaptation is still the finest of the lot. I haven't watched it in ages but, as far as I can recall, it was in the same class as other classic film adaptations of period pieces aimed mainly (but not exclusively
) for the female crowds: LITTLE WOMEN (1933), WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939) and JANE EYRE (1944). It might well be Greer Garson's finest hour and, although Laurence Olivier made a dashing Mr. Darcy, the film belonged to its roster of brilliant character actors, particularly Mary Boland, Edmund Gwenn and Melville Cooper.
