Track the Films You Watch (2008) - Page 33

Mario Gauci · 05-01-2008, 11:42 AM

I haven’t posted here in a while (except for the reviews) so I’ve got a lot to reply to:

Mike,

Re: THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

You got most of it right, Mike – except the release date! Kidding aside, I do think this is one of cinema’s all-time greatest thrillers and directorial (John Huston) and acting (Sydney Greenstreet) debuts. It’s hard to believe now that any new director would have the courage to stick so closely to the source novel (with all the lengthy dialogue sequences that goes with the territory in this case) at the expense of the expected flashiness of first timers; likewise, not many actors embark on a career at the venerable age of 62, garner an Oscar nod and practically walk away with the picture to boot!

It was nice to be offered a chance to watch the earlier versions on DVD and, if it’s anything that the classic remake lacks, it’s the Pre-Code sauciness of the 1931 version…and the onslaught of dialogue does tend to overpower the viewer at times. Still, I’d say it remains Huston’s finest piece of work (as well as Greenstreet’s) and hovering around the top spot for Bogie, Astor and Lorre. I’m proud to be associated (by nationality) with such a classic, even if the film’s standing in my eyes has decreased slightly with time – it used to be in my all-time Top 10 but I now prefer Howard Hawks’ THE BIG SLEEP (1946) – it’s still a brilliant piece of film-making and a vastly enjoyable thriller.

Re: SHINE A LIGHT (2008)

Your claim that “Martin Scorsese is the greatest director in the history of cinema” is highly suspect. I’ve always maintained that Scorsese littered his movies with vintage rock and pop songs far too much – as if he wants to show the whole world that he knows his stuff even musically! Perhaps it’s telling that Scorsese’s greatest film (in my opinion), TAXI DRIVER (1976), jettisoned that whim for once and, as a result, made Bernard Herrmann’s memorably brooding score stand out even more.

On the other hand, that phrase “you could also argue that The Rolling Stones are the greatest rock 'n roll band in history” is quite probable. Although they haven’t been all that musically relevant (album-wise) since 1981’s “Tattoo You”, there’s no denying their reported towering above everybody else when it comes to live performances. I say ‘reported’ because I’ve never seen them personally perform as a band – although I did catch ex-Stones bassist Bill Wyman at the all-star Jim Capaldi tribute show in London in January 2007; actually, I was planning to go for one of their “Bridges To Babylon” shows in London but then clumsy Keef went and fell off that stool and broke his ribs!

Anyway, I have no idea if this is even going to be released theatrically over here but I did catch its trailer just this morning on a special “Summer 2008 Previews” DVD and even those few minutes were exhilarating (let alone the whole two hours); I’m sure it will be superior to Jean-Luc Godard’s SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (1968) but whether it will upstage GIMME SHELTER (1970) remains to be seen…

Re: THE RUTHLESS FOUR (1968)

Hey, Mike – where did you ever acquire this one? As far as I know, it’s not available on a legitimate DVD and, unfortunately, it has never been shown on Italian TV either. Being an avid fan of Spaghetti Westerns, that

rating on the Leonard Maltin guide, and the presence of Van Heflin, Gilbert Roland and Klaus Kinski, has always intrigued me.

Re: MEET MARLON BRANDO (1966)

My father has got more books on Brando than on any other film personality and, over the years, I’ve read all of them. Therefore, I am aware of this documentary short but not familiar with it. It’s a pity that Fox didn’t go an extra mile and got the rights for it to be included in their bare-bones DVD release of MORITURI (1965). Brando did not give many interviews at this stage in his career – let alone allowed them to be filmed – but he broke his own rule in this case because he wanted to push MORITURI. The film itself is quite good and certainly undervalued; incidentally, I actually added it to my DVD collection upon Brando’s death – after having missed a rare local TV screening of it in the late 1980s.

Re: Disaster movies

I haven’t caught many of these in a long time but it was fun and refreshing to go through a few of them just now. I think AIRPORT (1970) gets short-changed a lot these days because it’s far longer than the others and so much less seems to happen in it…but I still think it’s the best of the bunch by far. The cast, the music and, well, the relative novelty of it all still works I believe but, as I said, it’s been ages since I’ve watched it all the way though…

Re: DEEP THROAT (1972)

Yes, it is censored but in a way that I’ve never experienced before. It’s as if the entire image has been dragged slightly downwards to mask the offending parts (quite literally in this case). WTF!?! Oh, well – it’s not that I’ll be spending any dough on a correctly-framed version anytime soon, so…nevermind.

Re: Abel Gance

It pains me to admit that although I have now been in the possession of LA ROUE (1923), NAPOLEON (1927), THE END OF THE WORLD (1930) and BEETHOVEN’S GREAT LOVE (1936) for quite some time, I still haven’t sat down to watch any of them so far.

The first two are obviously not in their full-length versions (albeit still 3 and 4

hours long respectively) and the last two came via Italian TV broadcasts so, in a way, all of them are far from ideal. Added to that, the fact that LA ROUE and J’ACCUSE (1918) are getting officially released on R1 DVD through Flicker Alley (whose head, Jeff Masino, I can personally vouch to being a great guy – so, give him your cash please) in a few weeks’ time would seem to make a viewing of LA ROUE (at least) in its current DivX state somewhat redundant at this late stage.

Re: AVPR: ALIENS VS. PREDATOR – REQUIEM (2007)

I know what you mean when you say that I’m being too kind on this one but, I figure that as long as there is action, gore and monsters, it can’t be completely worthless – no matter how repetitive or senseless the end result proves to be.

Joe,

Re: IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953)

Knowing how underwhelmed you were by THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) and THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951), I guess it follows that a

rating for this one is fairly reasonable; I searched for your comments on IMDB but didn’t find any and it’s useless to look for them over here but I don’t recall your views on Jack Arnold’s first sci-fi classic and hope that you will shed some light on the matter for our (Mike and mine) benefit.

Martin,

Re: Worst Discovery of April 2008

You’ve had an outstanding run of pictures to watch for the month of April and I’ve also been following your posts in the “Sight & Sound” and “Directors’ Polls” theads.

However, giving Jacques Tati’s vastly overrated PLAYTIME (1968) a 9 and then awarding a measly 2 to the delightful W.C. Fields comedy IT’S A GIFT (1934) seems highly contradictory to me. As it happens, when I revisited the latter on New Year’s Eve 2004 (via the Universal DVD), it seemed very Tati-esque to me!

For the record, Tati is an artist I’m none too fond of despite having watched every one of his 6 feature films once – of which I will only admit to liking two, JOUR DE FETE (1949) and MON ONCLE (1958). In fact, it’s the latter which seemed closer to the general tone of IT’S A GIFT…but maybe it was just me overly exerting my critical faculties instead of just enjoying Fields’ antics.

Brook K · 05-01-2008, 04:01 PM

Haven't read this thread in about a month. First movie writing had to go, now I barely have enough time for reading and have only managed to keep up with a few threads on the forum.

Lightest month of the year so far as I had 2 multi-day stretches of no movie watching. The month was ok, I spent much of it still catching up on 2007 releases with few standouts and have now seen just about everything I wanted to see except for a few stragglers and a couple that have yet to be released. Coming months should be much more interesting as I have about 20 all-over-the-map titles on my list followed by a too long unseen by me selection of Billy Wilder which will then be followed by the 1940's and up Hitchcock films I haven't seen. I also still have a mix of stuff on the DVR and of course my 30 or so Criterion titles that make me feel guilty every time I walk by them in their still shrink-wrapped glory. Plus I really need to get to the library so Martin doesn't fly right by me on the S&S list, though it is inevitable since you have already seen multiple films I have no way to see short of buying them, which I'm not going to do. Anywho:

Movies Seen: 25

Best New Viewing: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Honorable Mentions: Blast of Silence, Wings, Charlie Wilson's War, The Son, A Matter of Life and Death

2008 Films (Based on NY/LA Release)

Cloverfield (2008, Matt Reeves) (DVD Rent) - C+

2007 Films Viewed in '08 (Based on NY/LA Release)

The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (2007, Andrew Dominik) (DVD Rent) - B
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007, Arthur Penn) (DVD Rent) - B-
Charlie Wilson's War (2007, Mike Nichols) (DVD Rent) - B+
The Golden Compass (2007, Chris Weitz) (DVD Rent) - B
I Am Legend (2007, Francis Lawrence) (DVD Rent) - B
Lions for Lambs (2007, Robert Redford) (DVD Rent) - B-
Margot at the Wedding (2007, Noah Baumbach) (DVD Rent) - C
Michael Clayton (2007, Tony Gilroy) (DVD Rent) - B+
Reservation Road (2007, Terry George) (DVD Rent) - B
The Savages (2007, Tamara Jenkins) (DVD Rent) - B-
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007, Tim Burton) (DVD Rent) - A-
The Water Horse (2007, Jay Russell) (DVD Rent) - B

Pre-2007 Films Seen for the 1st Time

Bay of Angels (1963, Jaques Demy) (DVD Rent) - B-
Blast of Silence (1961, Allen Baron) (DVD Rent) - A-
The Last Wagon (1957, Delmer Daves) (DVD Rent) - B
A Matter of Life and Death (1946, Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger) (DVR TCM) - B+
The Most Dangerous Game (1932, Ernest B. Schoedsack) (DVR TCM) - B
La Promesse (1996, Jean Pierre & Luc Dardenne) (DVD Rent) - B+
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958, Terence Fisher) (DVR TCM) - B
The Son (2002, Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) (DVD Rent) - B+
The Taste of Others (1999, Agnes Jaoui) (DVD Rent) - B+
Wings (1927, William A. Wellman) (DVR TCM) - A-
You Can't Take It With You (1938, Frank Capra) (DVD Rent) - B

Re-Visits (All DVD's owned unless otherwise noted)

The Cradle Will Rock (1999, Tim Robbins) - A-

Joe Karlosi · 05-01-2008, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mario Gauci

Joe,

Re: IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953)

Knowing how underwhelmed you were by THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) and THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951), I guess it follows that a

rating for this one is fairly reasonable; I searched for your comments on IMDB but didn’t find any and it’s useless to look for them over here but I don’t recall your views on Jack Arnold’s first sci-fi classic and hope that you will shed some light on the matter for our (Mike and mine) benefit.

I will probably prepare an IMDB review soon enough; I'm a little behind. Basically, I've never been that big on "space ship '50s sci-fi" even from when I was growing up with them on TV in my youth. I did manage to see IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE at a theater in 3-D though; it was around 1975, and I was 13. Saw it in NYC along with THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, a double feature. I think the main problem for me is that ICFOS seems quaint today and obviously it can't be as spellbinding and intelligent or innovative as it must have appeared 55 years ago.

For what it's worth, I have a friend who, like me, has never been very impressed with THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, but he told me just the other day that he gave it another shot (maybe his 5th time or so) and now he really appreciated it. So I'm thinking of giving it another chance sometime, along with THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL.

Joe Karlosi · 05-01-2008, 04:38 PM

The Far Horizons (1955)

Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston portray Lewis and Clark, famed historians who explored the Louisianna Territory as per the instructions of Thomas Jefferson. This plays very much like a cowboys and indians type of actioneer, but without actual cowboys. We also get a fabricated (so I've read) side love story between Heston's Clark and lovely squaw Sacajawea (Donna Reed!!), the woman who helped lead the way to discovery. In this story, MacMurray is the more laid back and serious leader while his partner Heston is - no surprise - rather cynical and the Wild Card of the two. Seems like Chuck played these parts constantly in the first half of this decade. It's always been odd for me to go backwards in time and see Fred MacMurray in straight films, as I grew up with him primarily as the dad from TV's sitcom MY THREE SONS. Here he shares screen time with William Demarest , who was also in the TV show as well. Demarest seemed miscast to me here though, cast as an 1800 sergeant.

Bill McA · 05-01-2008, 07:27 PM

April Recap Total Seen: 58

Theatrical Viewing in RED

Best 1st Time Viewing: The History Boys, Death of a Cyclist, Ballad of a Soldier, Boy

2008 Films

none

2007 Films Viewed in '08

AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (The Brothers Strause) (DVD, Own) 2/5
Daddy's Little Girls (Tyler Perry) (DVD, Library loan) 1/5

Pre-2007 Films Seen for the 1st Time

At Land (1944|Maya Deren) (DVD, Library loan) 1/5
Ballad of a Soldier (Ballada o Soldate) (1959|Grigori Chukhraj) (DVD, Own) 4/5
The Baron of Arizona (1950|Samuel Fuller) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Boy (Shonen) (1969|Nagisa Oshima) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Calle Bardem (2005|Alberto Leal) (DVD, Own) 2/5
The Coast Guard (Hae Anseon) (2002|Ki-duk Kim) (DVD Rent) 1/5
Conversations with God (2006|Stephen Simon) (DVD, Library loan) 1/5
The Cranes are Flying (Letyat Zhuravli) (1957|Mikheil Kalatozov) (DVD, Own) 4/5
The Damned Don't Cry (1950|Vincent Sherman) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
The Dead Girl (2006|Karen Moncrieff) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un Ciclista) (1955|J.A. Bardem) (DVD, Own) 4/5
El Cantante (2006|Leon Ichaso) (DVD, Library loan) 1/5
Faithless (Trolösa) (2000|Liv Ullmann) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Flyboys (2006|Tony Bill) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (Le Foto Proibite di una Signora per Bene) (1970|Luciano Ercoli) (DVD Rent) 2/5
Happily N'Ever After (2006|Paul Bolger) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
The History Boys (2006|Nicholas Hytner) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006|Carlos Saldanha) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Idiocracy (2006|Mike Judge) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D (2005|Mark Cowen) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Mala Noche (1985|Gus Van Sant) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Meditation on Violence (1948|Maya Deren) (DVD, Library loan) 1/5
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943|Maya Deren, Alexander Hamid) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Mystery on Monster Island (Misterio en la Isla de los Monstruos) (1981|J. Piquer Simón) (DVD, Own) 2/5
Nomads of the North (1920|David M. Hartford) (DVD Rent) 3/5
The Nude Restaurant (1967|Andy Warhol) (DVD, Own) 3/5
The President's Last Bang (Geuddae Geusaramdeul) (2005|Sang-soo Im) (DVD Rent) 3/5
The Private Life of a Cat (1944|Alexander Hammid) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946|Maya Deren) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Señor Droopy (1949|Tex Avery) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
The Shock (1923|Lambert Hillyer) (DVD Rent) 3/5
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973|Ivan Dixon) (DVD Rent) 3/5
Sports Oddities (1949|uncredited) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
The Story of Petroleum (1923|uncredited) (DVD, Own) 3/5
A Study in Choreography for Camera (1945|Maya Deren, Tally Beatty) (DVD, Library loan) 1/5
That Midnight Kiss (1949|Norman Taurog) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
The Very Eye of Night (1958|Maya Deren) (DVD, Library loan) 1/5
Walt Curtis: The Peckerneck Poet (1997|Bill Plympton, Walt Curtis) (DVD, Own) 3/5
The World of Jacques Demy (L'Univers de Jacques Demy) (1995|Agnès Varda) (DVD Rent) 3/5

Re-Visits

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968|Stanley Kubrick) (DVD, Own) 5/5
Brokeback Mountain (2005|Ang Lee) (DVD, Own) 5/5
The Burning (1981|Tony Maylam) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Donkey Skin (Peau d'âne) (1970|Jacques Demy) (DVD Rent) 3/5
Don't Look Now (1973|Nicolas Roeg) (DVD, Own) 5/5
The Fountain (2006|Darren Aronofsky) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Gorilla at Large (1954|Harmon Jones) (DVD, Own) 3/5
The Hole (Dong) (1998|Ming-liang Tsai) (DVD, Own) 5/5
Into the Wild (2007|Sean Penn) (DVD, Own) 5/5
Mission: Impossible III (2006|J.J. Abrams) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Nashville (1975|Robert Altman) (DVD, Own) 5/5
No Country for Old Men (2007|Joel Coen, Ethan Coen) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007|Tim Burton) (DVD, Own) 5/5
There Will Be Blood (2007|Paul Thomas Anderson) (DVD, Own) 5/5
There Will Be Blood (2007|Paul Thomas Anderson) (DVD, Own) 5/5
The Toast of New Orleans (1950|Norman Taurog) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983|John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, George Miller) (DVD, Own) 3/5

John Stell · 05-02-2008, 01:52 PM

More Hitchcock:

The Manxman (1929)

Fisherman Pete Quilliam (Carl Brisson) is in love with Kate Cregeen (Anny Ondra), but her father won't let her marry a "penniless lout." So he leaves the Isle of Man to make his fortune, leaving his long-time lawyer friend Philip Christian (Malcolm Keen) to watch over her. Trouble begins when Kate and Philip fall in love. Rather devastating Hithcock silent is uncompromising stuff, where basically good people make poor choices and wreak emotional havoc. The final shot of Carl Brisson is a heartbreaker.

Blackmail (1929)

Hitchcock's first sound film is a riveting thriller about a killing in self defense that leads to blackmail. Alice White (Anny Ondra) has a fight with her boyfriend, Det. Frank Webber (John Longden) and goes home with an artist who tries to rape her. She stabs him and flees, but and ex-con (Donald Calthrop) knows what she did. This film shows how successful Hitchcock was in making the transition to sound, using random whistles, sirens, etc. to point out the emotional turmoil of the characters. The highlight is when the word "knife" is constantly brought up in conversation with the volume altered until the word becomes a scream. In spite of some technical hurdles, such as having another actress, Joan Barry, actually say Anny Ondra's lines due to the latter's heavy accent, Blackmail remains a terrific entertainment.

Juno and the Paycock (1930)

An impoverished family in Dublin during the civil uprising bemoans their sad state of affairs, while the father refuses to work and squanders what money he does have at the local bar. His daughter sleeps with the wrong man, his son is an informer, and his wife prays a lot. This is my least favorite Hitchcock film, which is basically a filmed stage play. There's not one reason to like or care about these people, and the acting is largely over the top. Sara Allgood, as the mother, is pretty good though.

Michael Elliott · 05-02-2008, 05:15 PM

Mario:

Re: Scorsese & Music

Would you really say GOODFELLAS would have been better without those classic tunes backing up the action? That famous camera shot into the club wouldn't be the same without the song in the background. The use of LAYLA towards the end is the key to that scene and Scorsese's camerawork. Without the songs there wouldn't be much left and I've never felt that any of his films would have worked better without the music. At least a scene doesn't come to my mind right now.

Re: RUTHLESS FOUR

It's on one of those public domain collections. Go to Amazon and look up Kinski's name and you should find it. Gunfighters 4 Movie Collection or something but it also features CAIN, a Palance SW and a Glenn Ford film from the early 90s.

Re: MEET MARLON BRANDO

Do a search on Google and you should be able to find the film.