Track the Films You Watch (2008) - Page 46

george kaplan · 07-20-2008, 07:12 PM

Scaramouche

If Tyrone Power is a poor man's Errol Flynn, then Stewart Granger is a poor man's Tyrone Power, only Tyrone is far far closer to Errol than Granger is to Tyrone.

Michael Elliott · 07-20-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mario Gauci

I have watched - and loved - the 5-hour TV version of FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1982)...it's not like you just have a squabbling couple going at it for the same duration like in SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (1973) which is the one Bergman film I'm dreading to watch myself! I feel Martin Teller's wrath flaring up as I write this...

Anyway, you needn't have any similar reservations about FANNY AND ALEXANDER since it's an epic family saga full of brooding melodrama with some childhood fantasies sprinkled throughout.

SCENES is Bergman's masterpiece IMO. I've yet to watch the TV version of that but plan on doing so after the Horror Challenge.

I'm not sure if we've ever really discussed Bergman but what are your top 5 (or 10) films of his?

Martin Teller · 07-20-2008, 11:07 PM

I prefer the longer version of Fanny and the shorter version of Scenes.

MY top 10 Bergmans are (roughly in order):

Scenes from a Marriage
Fanny and Alexander
The Seventh Seal
Shame
Winter Light
Wild Strawberries
Sawdust and Tinsel
Through a Glass Darkly
Saraband
Persona

...and there's another 15 or so that I consider to be very high quality.

Martin Teller · 07-21-2008, 01:16 AM

Journey on the Plain - I honestly think I could have watched Satantango all over again today, it's that fucking good. But since I spent most of my day putting furniture together, I didn't have time for it. Instead I watched this short where Mihaly Vig (Tarr's amazing composer, and he played Irimias) revisits some of the locations while reciting poetry by Sandor Petofi. The poetry is surprisingly not bad at all. I don't know how it sounds in Hungarian, but it translates quite well. However, seeing the locations in color isn't the revelation one might hope for, and it might even take away some of the magic. An unusual curiosity, but not something I'd return to. Rating: 6

Macbeth - Tarr's take on Shakespeare. Literally... one take, unbroken for an hour (plus a five-minute take before the titles). It involves some elaborate choreography and staging. I'm not usually that into Shakespeare in the original text (I'd much rather watch Throne of Blood), but compressed like this makes it easier to digest. The video looks like crap, though. Rating: 7

Mario Gauci · 07-21-2008, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Elliott

SCENES is Bergman's masterpiece IMO. I've yet to watch the TV version of that but plan on doing so after the Horror Challenge.

I'm not sure if we've ever really discussed Bergman but what are your top 5 (or 10) films of his?

Would that timing be because you think watching the complete TV version of SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (1973) is a horrifying prospect

?

Seriously, however: I haven't yet posted my Bergman poll because I have 5 of his films in my collection which are as yet unwatched and, incidentally, I should have another one - Criterion's SAWDUST AND TINSEL (1953) - in my hands in a couple of days.

Since I'm on a week-long stretch of vacation leave, I might get to watch that one - as well as Victor Sjostrom's THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE (1921) and Bergman's own TV-film of the latter's making, THE IMAGE MAKERS (2000) - sooner rather than later if SAWDUST gets here in time.

I still don't intend to dampen my high spirits (due to being away from work) by watching either version of SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE, though. Sorry, folks...

Brook K · 07-21-2008, 02:05 AM

I've only seen the longer version of Fanny. I don't really see a need to watch the shortened version so I don't have a basis for comparison. It's actually pretty low on my Bergman list and I'm glad it didn't end up being his "final" film.

Top 5
Seventh Seal
Winter Light
Wild Strawberries
The Passion of Anna
Smiles of a Summer Night

Took my son to see Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D today and was mightily impressed by the current 3D technology. It's come a long way since the days of the red and blue lenses. The movie sticks to the basics in terms of plot and themes and the dialogue is serviceable at best but the 3d really punches up the action scenes and some of the comedy making for a satisfying experience. I imagine this is a pretty average experience flat, so don't wait for DVD. See it in 3D if you have a chance. - B

Brook K · 07-21-2008, 02:12 AM

I've been making good progress in my Billy Wilder viewing. While nothing has been in the class of Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., Some Like it Hot, and The Apartment; the clear favorite of this new batch of viewing is One, Two, Three I was swept along by the incredible pace that harkens back to comedies of the 30's and 40's, with Wilder delivering laughs at breakneck speed. Jumping from corporate jokes, marriage jokes, cold war humor, or just the typical Wilder observations about human behavior, I haven't laughed this much during a movie in a very long time. One of my favorite lines was a joke about German denial of their Nazi past (incidentally a subject Fassbinder and other New German Cinema directors would embrace 10-15 years later), when Cagney discovers his secretary was in the SS, the secretary explains that he was "only a pastry chef in the officer's mess!" Of course while Wilder's writing is sharp as a whip and the film features some terrific camerawork and editing, and the music is carefully selected to set the pace, the film wouldn't work at all without James Cagney. His ability to deliver dialogue, dominate scenes, and command the viewer's attention at all times is like none other. That is also my one detraction of the film though, because Wilder didn't cast anyone who can come close to sharing the screen with Cagney, all three of the other big roles in the film are actually quite poor, the film feels a bit like watching Babe Ruth play in a Little League game. - A-

I was also quite taken by Love in the Afternoon. I was never an Audrey Hepburn fan until seeing this movie. I don't care if Gary Cooper is too old for her, she is so impossibly loverly here, her performance so nuanced, that I just didn't want her time onscreen to end. This is a wonderfully romantic film, allowing me to quickly overcome any reservations I had about casting. And of course, Wilder finds a number of opprotunities to inject humor in the proceedings, often involving the troupe of gypsy musicians Cooper hires to seranade his love conquests. - A-

If I wasn't done buying DVD's, I'd add both of these to my collection

Michael Elliott · 07-21-2008, 02:21 AM

Mario, it really seems as if you have seen and hated SCENES. I'm just curious but it seems like you think it's just a flat-out depressing film and I'm not sure why you'd be so down on it since it is considered one of his best (and of course influenced countless Woody Allen films).

I certainly don't blame you for not wanting to be "brought down" on your vacation time but once you see it I think you'll love it. Even if you hate it, I'm sure you'll love and respect what Bergman is able to pull off.

As for F&A:

I'm going to start on the TV version right now. It's funny but I bought the Criterion set when it was first released (I remember the Suncoast price screw up) but never watched it because I was debating which version to watch. After three years I decided to just post here and go with whichever one seemed to be the most popular.

Mario Gauci · 07-21-2008, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Elliott

Mario, it really seems as if you have seen and hated SCENES. I'm just curious but it seems like you think it's just a flat-out depressing film and I'm not sure why you'd be so down on it since it is considered one of his best (and of course influenced countless Woody Allen films).

I certainly don't blame you for not wanting to be "brought down" on your vacation time but once you see it I think you'll love it. Even if you hate it, I'm sure you'll love and respect what Bergman is able to pull off.

As for F&A:

I'm going to start on the TV version right now. It's funny but I bought the Criterion set when it was first released (I remember the Suncoast price screw up) but never watched it because I was debating which version to watch. After three years I decided to just post here and go with whichever one seemed to be the most popular.

Although I wasn't so hot on SARABAND (2003; TV) as you were yourself - which, as you know is a sequel to SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (1973) - it's not that I expect I'm going to hate SCENES (at least, I hope to Christ I don't after having invested 9 hours in it some day) but it's merely that, when it comes to bickering onscreen couples I'd rather have them of the Oliver Hardy-Mae Busch, W.C. Fields-Kathleen Howard or Cary Grant-Rosalind Russell variety than the overly-hysterical ones seen all too often in the films of Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen!

Or, now that I'm listening to Georges Delerue's haunting main theme on my CD-ROM, bickering females should be naked or mostly clad in a bathrobe and look like Brigitte Bardot in CONTEMPT (1963)...

Joe Karlosi · 07-21-2008, 08:28 AM

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

Not a very funny comedy overall, though it has its scattered moments. Cary Grant wants to take himself and his family out of the quickly-paced New York City and move to Connecticut where he'll have a larger house constructed to his specifications, along with what he hopes is a better lifestyle. He finds out it's more problematic than he thought. Myrna Loy plays his wife, but she doesn't register anything here. Melvyn Douglas plays Grant's attorney and good friend who advises him against the whole undertaking. I don't know if it's just me, but Douglas reminded me a lot of the character he played in THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932), especially while sitting in the back seat of Grant's car as a passenger making quips while smoking a pipe.