Josh's Blind Buys: Watching The Unseen Collection (1 Viewer)

[RMajidi]

One of these days I'll give Rebecca another shot. Every so often I go off on a Hitchcock tangent and next time it happens I'll try to get it on the list.

Switching gears... One reason I've been weirdly hesistant to watch Grapes of Wrath has nothing to do with the subject matter at all. I'm a huge Bruce Springsteen fan and the movie was a major inspiration to him. (He's got both a song and album titles "The Ghost of Tom Joad".) He's sung about the film, and spoken about it, and written about it in his memoir. It's been built up to be the most incredible thing and I don't want to be disappointed. As long as I've never seen it, it remains a legend in my mind. If I watch it, it might end up being just a movie.

I know that mindset, Josh, but I sincerely doubt you'll be disappointed - The Grapes of Wrath really is that good.

Best have a hankie at hand if/when you eventually take the plunge.

 

[Robert Crawford]

As long as I've never seen it, it remains a legend in my mind. If I watch it, it might end up being just a movie.

It's not though, it's a movie with some of the most powerful images ever captured on celluloid..

 

[Robert Crawford]

I was never a big fan of Joan Fontaine. Her film persona left me cold. She lacked those big brown eyes of her older sister and the warmth that came from them and her nice smile.

I never thought Joan and Olivia looked much alike. However, in Rebecca, especially early in the film, I must say the family resemblance really comes out and without a doubt, you can see they were sisters. I wish a good book or film could be made about them and their complex relationship. Perhaps, that will come one day after Olivia passes which I hope doesn't come anytime soon as she remains my favorite living actress.

 

[Robert Crawford]

As to Rebecca, a great job by Hitchcock. It's never been among my favorite Hitchcock films as I have to get in a certain mood to watch it, but it is still a very fine film. Similar in some ways to Jane Eyre and even though, Eyre might be an inferior film, I liked that film more than Rebecca.

 

[Rodney]

I never thought that Jane Eyre was an inferior film.
Just typing this I can hear Orson Welles' deep voice ring out for her.

 

[TJPC]

I know that mindset, Josh, but I sincerely doubt you'll be disappointed - The Grapes of Wrath really is that good.

Best have a hankie at hand if/when you eventually take the plunge.

Just don’t read the book first. It was on the highschool curriculum and I remember being very disappointed in the changes. Also, it is one of those very “American” movies like “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington”, “1776”, or “Forest Gump” that Americans find wonderful and non Americans are a bit mystified by them being considered to be masterpieces.
I am watching through the Frank Capra Blu ray editions right now and find without the patriotic foundation, that Mr. Smith is particularly heavy slogging.

 

[benbess]

I also love Rebecca, but obviously it's not for all tastes. I think it helps if you can sympathize with the "I" character and the unfolding mystery of the story. Anyway, it's one of my top 10 Hitchcock films. The new Criterion blu-ray is an improvement in picture quality compared to the previous release. The 1990 commentary on Rebecca by film scholar Leonard Leff on this set is impressively detailed. I prefer Rebecca to the Grapes of Wrath, and I'm glad it won the Oscar that year. Just my 2 cents. Very clearly opinions on Rebecca are all over the map, even for people who otherwise share an admiration and enjoyment for most other Hitchcock films.

 

[Nelson Au]

That’s how some people probably feel about 2001: A Space Odyssey. They see it and think, what’s the big deal. ( hard to believe, I know. ) It’s all about taste and what you like as you know.

I probably resisted a lot of the early Hitchcock titles like Rebecca for that reason you cite. Now that I’ve seen Rebecca, I can see what the praise was for. But it didn’t affect me like many other Hitchcock titles has, yet.

I saw The Grapes of Wrath ages and ages ago when I was very young and I recall it being a really good movie. I also saw The Good Earth ages and ages ago and I found that as fascinating, I’m curious to revisit both. The Good Earth, though might be controversial because Caucasian actors were hired to play Asian and I wonder if it has become a sore point over time. So it would be interesting to revisit these films after such a long time.

 

[bujaki]

Rebecca is a finely crafted film, superbly acted, directed, shot, scripted and scored. It's only marred by your associations to its director's later, and superior, efforts.
I recently saw a DCP (4K?) of The Grapes of Wrath. Toland's lighting was breathtaking! Ford deserved and won the Oscar for Direction. Jane Darwell won for Best Supporting Actress as she is the heart and soul of the story. Though sanitized for the Production Code, it still retains much of the strength of the book's social protest.
I enjoy both films as works of art, but Toland's images haunt and linger...

 

[commander richardson]

There is a good chance that Explosive's Media BD release fo Ulzana's Raid is Region Free. Many of their past BD releases have been that way.

just received it today................great picture and sound...............REGION FREE.........YES..........!!!!

 

[commander richardson]

just received it today................great picture and sound...............REGION FREE.........YES..........!!!!

there is a DVD also included of the movie and booklet in german..........movie has English sub-titles..........

 

[TJPC]

Why all the “..........”?

 

[commander richardson]

Why all the “..........”?

have no idea...........just the way the cookie crumbles I guess...............

 

[TJPC]

Are you aware of “Archy and Mehitabel?

 

[BobO'Link]

So... In the Holiday Inn BR review thread you indicated you'd not seen it *or* White Christmas (I still can't quite get over that revelation!) and that your wife wants to see more 1940s-1950s musicals. Here's a list of some I think are among the best. I'm sure (or maybe I should say I hope) you've seen most...

Singin' in the Rain
Guys and Dolls
Oklahoma!
South Pacific (good music but not much plot)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
The Glenn Miller Story
High Society
Calamity Jane
The Court Jester
Going My Way (also considered a Christmas film)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (James Cagney is simply superb in this one)
Annie Get Your Gun
The Band Wagon
The Pajama Game
Ziegfeld Follies
Road to Bali
Road to Morocco
Road to Singapore
Road to Rio
Road to Utopia
Road to Zanzibar
Cabin in the Sky

and many many more...

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I've seen some but not all - that's a great list and very generous of you to compile. My sincere thanks!

 

[TJPC]

I am puzzled by your no-plot reference to South Pacific. It contains two love stories, a strong inditement against prejudice and a WWII mission against the Japanese! What do you consider to be a plot?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Who knocked South Pacific?! It's great! Has one of my very favorite R&H songs!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

#139 - The Big Heat (1953)
Viewed on: October 30th, 2017
Viewing Format: Blu-ray (Twilight Time)

I'm sorry for the delay in getting to the review - can't believe I saw this almost a month ago. I don't know how I managed to find the work-life-watching-writing balance earlier in the year but it seems to be eluding me now. I think I'm envious of the full-time critics and writers; I can't imagine actually doing this as a day job, but it would be amazing. I'm often faced with the choice of either watching something new or sitting down to write, and watching something new is winning out these days. So my apologies for the delay. I feel like I've got the most loyal readers on the site and I'm grateful that you guys always seem to come back whenever I add something here. It's a great privilege.

I picked up The Big Heat during a recent Twilight Time sale. I didn't know much about it, but it starred Glenn Ford and was directed by Fritz Lang, so I figured that wasn't a bad place to start. It's kind of a low key noir, with Ford as the only honest cop in a crooked town. Assigned to investigate the suicide of a fellow officer, Ford's investigation soon begins to turn up things that plenty in town would prefer to stay quiet. The film also features a great supporting performance by Gloria Grahame as a gangster's girlfriend who might talk and threaten the whole thing.

So here's my thing. I always enjoy seeing Glenn Ford onscreen, and this film was no exception. Maybe it's just because I knew him first as Pa Kent, but the man radiates decency, and it's great to see him in this kind of role. But I've found that I tend to admire Lang's films more than flat out loving them, and The Big Heat was no different. I enjoyed the film, but perhaps not as much as its reputation might suggest. But again, that's probably just me; I would imagine that if I thought this was good, most of you will think it's great.

Twilight Time's disc presents a beautiful transfer from Sony, so it's certainly easy to say that the disc looks and sounds great. The audio and video are nearly flawless. English subtitles are available. The disc also includes a commentary with the TT crew, an isolated score, and featurettes with directors Michael Mann and Martin Scorsese. I have the "encore edition" second pressing of this title, but my understanding is that the transfer is identical to the earlier, out-of-print version.

I enjoyed The Big Heat, though it's not an instant favorite for me. It's still worth a look, and I imagine that most will get more mileage out of this than I did. It was on low quantity alert when I purchased it, so if you're thinking about picking this one up, it might be better to order sooner than later.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I've always loved this film! My favorite scene is the bar scene with Ford, Marvin and Grahame. God, Ford was great in that sequence.