My Name Is Julia Ross Blu Ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Timothy Bodzioney]

Timothy Bodzioney submitted a new blog post

My Name Is Julia Ross Blu Ray Review

Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thank you for your review. Alan K. Rode's colleague at the Film Noir Foundation, Eddie Muller also thinks it's a Film Noir, but he's kind of on the fence about it. At the very least, he thinks it's part of a subset of Film Noir. I tend to think it has some Noir elements and I also consider it part of a subset of Film Noir. There are so many of these crime dramas that you can argue for or against them being Film Noir. My first viewing of this film was last Novermber, when I caught a TCM broadcast of it. I have this BD release on order, but my retailer hasn't shipped it yet. I'm really looking forward to watching this again on a more presentable video presentation. I do plan on watching this disc twice with my second viewing with the audio commentary by Rode.

 

[Timothy Bodzioney]

I respectfully disagree. It's much more Gothic than noir.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I respectfully disagree. It's much more Gothic than noir.

Disagreement is the lifeblood of this forum. Just about every Noir book I've read consider this a Film Noir so I guess it will remain a disagreement.

 

[Robin9]

Disagreement is the lifeblood of this forum. Just about every Noir book I've read consider this a Film Noir so I guess it will remain a disagreement.

Disagreement is the lifeblood of any forum, not just this one. I am frequently appalled by the way - not here, but elsewhere - posters become aggressive and rude whenever they meet a contradictory opinion. They obviously don't understand what a forum is. Having visited others, I am pleased the moderators here at HTF come down hard on bad manners and aggression.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Disagreement is the lifeblood of any forum, not just this one. I am frequently appalled by the way - not here, but elsewhere - posters become aggressive and rude whenever they meet a contradictory opinion. They obviously don't understand what a forum is. Having visited others, I am pleased the moderators here at HTF come down hard on bad manners and aggression.

True, but I only care about this one.

 

[lark144]

I respectfully disagree. It's much more Gothic than noir.

There are Noir scholars, such as Eddie Muller, and also Martin Scorsese, who have repeatedly stated that Noir is not a genre but a mood and a style. There are Noir Westerns, Noir Melodramas, Noir Docu-dramas, even Noir Musicals (well, parts of a musicals, anyway; the ballet sequence from AMERICAN IN PARIS & the mirror image dance scene from COVER GIRL immediately come to mind) So, one COULD call MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS a Gothic Noir & you'd both be right! AS for me, I haven't seen the film in 40 years. I just remember it was pretty amazing; though I will say that I recall that the both the emotional tenor and manner of the film, in addition to many of the visuals, bring the film into Noir territory, though the story/genre is woman's picture/melodrama/gothic. There are those people who insist that Noir needs a femme fatale, but I feel they're confusing crime pictures with Noir. For me, Noir is more a feeling of dread, of bleakness and dead ends, & ESPECIALLY of one's own personal life and self-image suddenly turned inside out, a personality crisis that is both existential in feeling and expressionist in terms of image, and that is certainly a very strong aspect of MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS.

 

[JohnRice]

There are Noir scholars, such as Eddie Muller, and also Martin Scorsese, who have repeatedly stated that Noir is not a genre but a mood and a style.

I'm in agreement with that, and tend to believe that's the general philosophy. Noir is primarily (but not quite exclusively) a visual style, while Gothic is a thematic or literary style or genre. They aren't exclusive. The example that comes immediately to mind is Bladerunner, which is science fiction (thematic genre) as well as noir (visual style). When I say "visual style", it doesn't limit it to movies, but can be the mental images created by novels as well.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I agree with the sentiment expressed in the last couple of posts.

 

[Martin_Teller]

Noir is the slipperiest of definitions. No two people have the exact same idea of what's noir and what isn't.

I'm firmly in the "Julia Ross is noir" camp, and it's one of my faves. I haven't had time to watch the Blu yet, but it's waiting for me.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Noir seems to be an over-used marketing term these days. A film with 'dark' elements! Is Vertigo therefore a film noir, I don't think so. I agree with the reviewer that it is a gothic film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Noir seems to be an over-used marketing term these days. A film with 'dark' elements! Is Vertigo therefore a film noir, I don't think so. I agree with the reviewer that it is a gothic film.

To some people, yes, Vertigo is film noir.

 

[Harold Chasen]

I like what film writer Richard Barrios said about the broad way the term film noir is used now:

"At this point, it seems that almost any movie made between 1939 and the 1960's that is not an overt comedy or musical can qualify. All that is required, it seems, are some shadows, a serious or menacing tone, and perhaps a sardonic or fatalistic air."

I remember when a similar thing was going on with the term "screwball comedy." To call a comedy "screwball" was a shorthand way of saying it was from Hollywood's Golden Age and it was good. Hence, arguments over whether a particular comedy was or was not a screwball comedy were a shorthand way of saying "I think it's good" or "I don't think it's good." I think something similar is going on with the term film noir now - at least for some.

 

[HawksFord]

We watched My Name is Julia Ross, our first time, last night. We picked it out because we were specifically looking for a short film, but it's a bit too short. Events happen so quickly that the suspense is less than it could be. That didn't bother me too much, but my wife felt the rushed ending really hurt the film. I'd call it Gothic rather than film noir, but I don't worry too much about those definitions. Whichever category you put it in, it's certainly worth watching.

 

[t1g3r5fan]

Interestingly enough, this movie was loosely remade as the horror thriller Dead of Winter (1987), directed by Arthur Penn and starring Mary Steenburgen and Roddy McDowall.

I thought I would mention that since I think that Julia Ross would make a great double bill with Dead of Winter.