It was in the theater I managed. As I recall, it was mostly people in their late teens to early twenties, a similar crowd to comedies like BACHELOR PARTY, though with a smattering of 30 to 40 somethings. We did much better for the later shows. Very little matinee action.
This is what they were given by MGM, who, as I'm sure you know, are not the best curators of the films in their care. Either it comes out the way it is, which sounds imperfect but certainly watchable, according to Matt's fine review, or it doesn't get seen at all. I, for one, prefer the latter...
As always, Mychal, an engaging and commendable review. Based on your recommendation, I would rush right out and buy it, except I already have it. I wanted to comment a bit on the image quality of the 1:85:1 version. I haven't watched the 1:35:1 iteration as I always thought that framing, with...
I'm referring to the last line of Mr. Harris' "few words':
Tremendously entertaining - nominated for four Academy Awards, Back to the Beach is one of those treasures that one will want to pass down from generation to generation, warranting that special spot in the Paramount Presents pantheon.
I saw it a year later, in '56, also at a kiddie matinee. It scared the beejums out of me, but I couldn't stop watching because of that arresting, almost alien beauty on the screen. I'd never seen anything like it. It made time stand still. When the film was over, it felt as if it had just begun.
All joking aside, I love this film. And as far as BEN HUR is concerned, if you're looking for breathless suspense, forget the chariot race. There's edge of your seat thrills in BACK TO THE BEACH wondering where Frankie Avalon's toupee is going to end up.
I thought BACK TO THE BEACH was nominated for five Oscars, not four. In addition to the usual categories, there was also excellence in surf wrangling.
Btw, Frankie Avalon's performance was definitely echt Noir, especially when he smiled and showed his capped teeth.
"The only real difference will be the artwork and of course the exclusive UK availability"
That seems pretty clear to me. I read it to say the Arrow will have a different cover illustration and will be Region B locked. Otherwise it will be the same.
The difference with some of those reissues, I believe, but you can correct me if I'm mistaken, is MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS was released by Warners only in 5.1 stereo without an original mono track, and when the Warner Archive re-released it, there was a mono track as well. At least, that's what I...
I saw the play before I saw the movie, so I have the same perspective. The play is much darker, and also, because of that, a lot funnier. The two seem to go together. The play is also perfectly constructed, and the film alters that to its detriment. In the film, Capra seems to try to replace the...
Robert, what did you think in terms of comparing the new Criterion Blu with the 2014. Though I wouldn't say the difference is necessarily revelatory, I'm really glad I bought the disk. I found it more detailed, especially the darker sequences. And though I did think the 2014 Blu was...
So they're showing LA CHIENNE at 2 AM? That almost makes sense, as for me, LA CHIENNE has always had the quality of a dream, one of those reveries where you're semi-conscious, so elements of the world around you get filtered through, and everything becomes strangely surreal, with nothing...
Thanks for the review, Matt! I've been waiting impatiently for this to be released on Blu-Ray, as it's one of the few three-strip Technicolor films lensed by Elwood Brendel, who's mostly known for his expressionist Noir work, especially PHANTOM LADY and THE KILLERS, but also photographed ROMANCE...
I've had the Pathe Blu for a number of years. It's held up to multiple viewings. In fact, it keeps getting better. Tough and unsentimental and completely engrossing. The double and triple crosses come fast and furious. Everything works. The direction is like a scalpel, bridging points of view...
I had a better reaction than you. Yes, terrible script, not a lot they could do with it, but I thought Aldrich's direction was very good, considering. It made the execrable almost entertaining, and watchable, for me anyway. Visually, I thought the film was interestingly staged. And I liked the...
I remember loving it when I was in my early teens. I just looked up the Times review, and Bosley Crowther panned it, so it has to be good, right? But even he, in the height of his curmudgeoness, extols Margaret Sullivan's performance. He complains the actresses spend their time in hospital...
Monty Wooley is even more surreal than usual, as he's the oldest and most inelegant college student to appear in the movies. Looking at him pontificate boggles the mind. It usually does, but in NIGHT AND DAY, it doesn't make any sense either. He seems to have walked in from an entirely different...
Most of his work after the late 40's was done in Europe. He's in Rossellini's EUROPE '51, and Joseph Losey's THE SLEEPING TIGER, THESE ARE THE DAMNED, MODESTY BLAISE and ACCIDENT. Also the sci-fi film CRACK IN THE WORLD.
I would too. And I know the three strip cabal on this forum, of which I consider myself a member, would. But that may not be enough. Though it did well when released, it's got a bad rep. Grant apparently hated doing it. And objectively, yes, it's pretty wretched, but I have a fondness for it.
I agree. Knox is marvelous in it. The first time I saw it, as a teenager, I felt the same as you. And I loved the cinematography. I haven't gotten the DVD, as I'd rather keep those memories of seeing it long ago.
If WILSON had Mary Martin singing Cole Porter, it would be a much better film. But NIGHT AND DAY does. In fact, the musical scenes in NIGHT AND DAY are very diverting and even dazzling. It's the other stuff that's problematic, but it's so silly, and so overdirected by Curtiz in a frenzy of...
I don't see what any of this has to do with THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN, or the artistry of Erroll Flynn, for that matter. And he was an extraordinary artist, in my opinion. Whatever he had to do to achieve such indelible performances, I'm more interested in the evidence on the screen, not his...