The HTF Movie Challenge! (1 Viewer)

[george kaplan]

Glad you enjoyed the films Brook. I feel bad that I still haven't seen any of yours, but circumstances are conspiring. My TIVO filled up, so I'm having to watch some of those to make room for new recordings. Hopefully this weekend I'll get to the last disc of Shoah, and can return that, and then will get back one of your films. So, it'll be at least a couple of weeks, but I'll get there.

I have to say that it certainly never occured to me to compare Random Harvest to a Sirk film. I haven't thought about it, but at the very least any melodrama in Random Harvest is wrapped in a sort of fantasy/comedy package, whereas the Sirk films are melodrama wrapped in a package that, aside from pretty cinematography, wouldn't be out of place in an afternoon soap opera show.

 

[Adam_S]

Leave her to heaven shipped on thursday but didn't arrive yesterday or today, looks like I won't be seeing it until tuesday at best

I've got another for you John. I think you'll especially enjoy the cinematography.

Joe Versus The Volcano

 

[JohnRice]

I have Joe vs. the Volcano and have seen it many times, going back well into pre-DVD days.

Watched Sweet Smell of Success today. I should have comments up this weekend.

Have you already seen All that Heaven Allows Adam? FWIW, I prefer LHTH, simply because I relate to the story.

 

[Adam_S]

no, but I've had sirk on my to-watch list for about six years now.

joe versus the volcano was on hbo today, which is what jogged my memory, it's a wonderful and completely overlooked film. and I immediately thought it'd be right up your alley.

I have a spare copy of A Matter of Life and Death I can send you, the title is not regularly available in region 1, never having got a decent dvd release (there's an odd sort of bootleg release under the title Stairway to Heaven, which is how the film was initially titled for the US market, that's where my copy comes from) but I believe there may be a superb dvd in r2 of the new restoration, if you have a way to get an r2 dvd, by all means take that route, the r1 dvd is okay, but leaves much to be desired.

I can't say this about any other film, but I think that A Matter of Life and Death is a spiritual ancestor to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Not necessarily related in any specific matter, but operating on the same sort of plane and perhaps, in a way, worldview.

 

[JohnRice]

"They do look like little monsters, don't they? But they're good little monsters"

A Matter of Life and Death certainly sounds like an inspiration for Here Comes Mr. Jordan/Heaven Can Wait, but from a more dramatic approach. NicheFlix doesn't have it, so I'll check with SteveGon. If he doesn't have it, I'll take you up on your offer. I know someone else who I bet has it, but he simply disappeared last year.

 

[JohnRice]

Sweet Smell of Success
A semi-noirish film about J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster), a bloorish, self-obsessed and thoroughly ruthless "journalist" (certainly inspired by Walter Winchell) who takes pride in routinely belittling the people he uses while finding scandal for his trashy society column. The only person in the world he appears to have any concern for is his (smokin') little sister Susie (Susan Harrison) who sits mousily by as he abuses everyone in his path. Small time publicity agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) puts up with the most abuse, as he seems to be treading the fine line on the boundary of J.J.'s inner sanctum.

It's pretty obvious things won't be going very well in the end for J.J. , the question is, what exactly is going to blow up in his face? I couldn't help but think of Citizen Kane while watching this, though in this case, you don't see the end result at the beginning of the movie. good writing, good cast and nice cinematography (from James Wong Howe), and did I mention that Susan Harrison is smokin'?

****/*****

 

[JohnRice]

He Walked by Night

Decent Noir about the LAPD pursuing a clever and evasive multi-criminal. Once they are on his heels, he changes his methods and crimes, and slips away once again. Certainly was a significant influence for the TV show Dragnet with its stern voiceover and "the names have been changed" opening title. It's also hard not to believe the final sequence didn't have at least a little influence on The Third Man, though it's not in the same league.

***/*****

 

[george kaplan]

Finished up Shoah, which I'll send back on Tuesday, so I should have one of Brook's films in the not too distant future.

 

[Brian Kissinger]

I haven't had a whole lot of free time lately (at least not in the sense of being able to sit down and properly enjoy a film without tons of interruptions) so even though I do have several films in my care, I have but one update.

Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)
directed by Takashi Miike

I'm no big film buff (in the sense of knowing many lesser and/or foreign movies and directors) but even I have heard the reputation involving Miike. And from what I've heard (or presumed) he is one deviant dude. Read what you will into deviant, but I was expecting to be vomiting, disgusted, outraged, offended, or all the above. How strange it was when I was just plain ol' entertained.

Now I realize he makes I guess about 57 movies a year, and all of them can't be evil, but I still expected it all the same. So in one sense I was a bit disappointed. But overall, the movie was a slice of good times. I loved the claymation. Just simply brilliant. "My nose isn't bleeding because I'm horny." I'm not sure if something was lost in translation here, but I haven't been able to get that line out of my head for days. And I know it'll sprout out every nose bleed I ever have again.



And to Craptain Rice: He's hoarding it because he hasn't mentioned it. The dirty sob.

 

[JohnRice]

Now I can't remember which movie I was talking about. Anyway, he got a batch probably a couple weeks ago.

 

[SteveGon]

Must be the one with what's-her-name from Ginger Snaps. Wanted to watch it first to make sure there was no tail-sprouting.

 

[JohnRice]

Naw, it had to be something trashy or campy. I just can't remember. Maybe Hardware, but he didn't have a PAL player then, so maybe not. There was something in the last batch.

 

[george kaplan]

The Devil & Daniel Webster

I'm not sure what I think of this film exactly. I'm going to have to ruminate on it. It's very good and I like it, but I'm not sure how good it is or how much I like it. Most films immediately hit me one way or another, but this is one of those rare ones that may or may not end up on my to purchase list after thinking it over.

In any case, certainly worth seeing at least once (though I'm fairly certain I've seen it a long, long time ago - at least the ending seemed very familiar). Thanks, Brook.

 

[SteveGon]

Damn, just when I was getting ready to shovel the dirt on this thread...

 

[JohnRice]

Yeah, I am waiting for young Adam to watch just one movie I recommended, before watching another of his.

There was a brief gasp, but things seem to by dying since.

 

[Adam_S]

sorry, I have leave her to heaven sitting on my desk, I think I'll get to it this week, tuesday probably. I had a fourteen hour day on set today, and two night shoots tomorrow and Monday and then Tuesday through Friday I'll need to clock a lot of editing hours before another twelve hour+ set day on Saturday and then I'm home for eight days and sometime in that time frame I need to pack and move half my stuff to my new apartment so I'm not scrambling in the three last days of June when I get back from Missouri to get everything moved.

I would have gotten to Leave her to heaven a week or two ago but two of my good friends watched Serenity and have had me watching Firefly over again with them (as they've never seen the best show ever made) which has been eating up my viewing time.

 

[Brook K]

Hmm, I had thought you would like Daniel Webster best...hope that isn't the case now. Still, glad you liked it. If you still have the disc the extra that breaks down Bernard Herrmann's score is very interesting. IIRC the commentary is more historical than analytical.

I have watched the other two movies you suggested. I've just been extremely far behind on reviews. I've watched 8-10 movies past my "Last 10 Movies I've Seen" sig, which more recently has been permanently stuck on 15 because of my lack of writing.

Anyway, I didn't enjoy these two as much as the first two. The Talk of the Town was just ok...a bit disappointing as I expect something with Cary Grant to be automatically excellent, but then I've probably only seen his best films. Ronald Colman's natural stiffness was fine in Random Harvest, but didn't work as well for me here. Felt a little forced when his character had to become energetic and romantic. The female lead was no Greer Garson either. And I just didn't find the movie very funny. I would give it points for its (for the time) progressive use of an African-American character. Still the film does have a few entertaining scenes and Grant is Grant, always a pleasure to watch, this just isn't a movie I see myself watching again. - B-

Safety Last! was even more disappointing since it had a greater buildup. While there are a couple of humorous gags (like when they avoid the landlady by hiding inside their coats while the coats are hanging on hooks), I only laughed a couple of times in 80 minutes. I watched the 3 Lloyd shorts that were on the disc and I didn't find them funny either. Even the building climbing/clock hanging was a letdown. The fully executed scene wasn't tense or exciting as I had imagined from the stills I'd previously seen, because I wasn't invested in the film or in Harold Lloyd. For me, Lloyd just doesn't make the screen come alive like Keaton or Chaplin. He didn't charm me. I liked this the least of the four films in the "Challenge". - C+

Enjoyed participating...it was definitely worth it to see The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Thanks George!

 

[Adam_S]

Watched the first bit of Leave her to Heaven and really like it, looking forward to finishing it tomorrow, hopefully.

 

[george kaplan]

Samurai Rebellion

Not a film without flaws, e.g., the freeze-frame flashback is pretty cheesy, but still an excellent flick. For reasons similar to why I prefer Brando's excellently subtle acting in the Godfather to his hyperactive overacting in Streetcar, so do I much prefer Mifune's acting in this to his Seven Samurai role.

This film isn't going to make my top 100 or anything (e.g., as effective as the last duel is, it pales compared to the showdown in Good Bad & Ugly from that same period, both in cinematography and especially in the use of music), but I'm definitely going to add it to my collection.

Good job Brook!

 

[Brook K]

Excellent, glad you liked it so much George!

While I obviously think highly of it as well, I think Kobayashi's earlier film Harakiri (also a Criterion DVD) is even better. But that one is even darker and more intense than Rebellion, there is virtually no letup as even more of the story is told in flashback so that even the "lighter" scenes aren't really light because we already know or suspect how things will turn out. There is also an excruciatingly gory death scene. Didn't think it would fall into your "want to see it again" category.

Waiting to hear what you think of your other 2 "assignments" - The Secret of Roan Inish and Children of Heaven.