What's on your Daily Viewing List? (4 Viewers)

[Robert Crawford]

Today was my second viewing "Day of the Outlaw" (1959) this week, but on Kino's Blu-ray that officially gets released next Tuesday. I've seen this movie maybe 4-5 times in my lifetime and it's one of the best westerns ever made that isn't well known. It is such a bleak film which is why my number of viewings of it is so low. Jeremy Arnold does a really good job with the audio commentary.

 

[bujaki]

Busy with our 3 children here the last week. However, here are the films I've managed to watch in the last couple of days:
Women in Love (Criterion BD) 1969. When I first saw this in '69 I was totally awestruck by the cinematography. So I decided to learn the DP's name: Billy Williams. I had seldom seen anything so beautiful outside of Lean epics, and this predated Ryan's Daughter. The sexual frankness was also eye opening. I had seen Alan Bates and Oliver Reed before, but never had I seen so much of both of them. The most breathtaking scene of male bonding, reminiscent of late Michelangelo's sculptures. Nothing like it before nor since in the history of film. And apart from Marat/Sade, who knew Glenda Jackson? What a revelation! A fearless performance which snatched the AA. Great transfer supervised by Billy Williams. It can't get any better than that.
Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (Criterion BD) 1965. Zatoichi gets a request to clear a man's name. He decides not to honor it in order not to jeopardize his own life. Circumstances dictate otherwise. #11 in the Criterion box.
The Idle Rich (TCM) 1929. Remade in 1938 as Rich Man, Poor Girl. This is an early talkie directed by William DeMille, CB's brother. William's silents were quite good, sometimes surpassing his brother's work, but this film shows its age and creaks a bit. It's still well acted by Bessie Love and it's worth a look as a footnote to an interesting director's career and as a glimpse at the wonderful acting of Bessie Love.
Last night:
Desert Fury (Kino BD) 1947. The desert in Technicolor. Mary Astor in Technicolor. John Hodiak and Wendell Corey as lovers in Technicolor. There's also Lizabeth Scott and Burt Lancaster in Technicolor. Twisted story all around. Glad I finally caught up with this wacky one. Great PQ.
Portrait in Black (Kino BD) 1960. I may have never seen this Ross Hunter soaper before, starring Lana Turner and Anthony Quinn as murderous lovers. Richard Basehart, Ray Walston, Anna May Wong, Sandra Dee and John Saxon lend able support to the deadly but oh so glamorous proceedings.
The Strange Door (Kino BD) 1951. Charles Laughton hams up the despicable villainy with such delicious gusto that it's downright delectable. Karloff is fine as a confused ally of the virtuous characters. I really enjoyed this film which has an excellent transfer.
Madame X (Kino BD) 1966. Yes, the Lana Turner one, the one I saw as a lad of 16 when it came out; the one I couldn't take seriously at the time. Now after having seen 3 earlier versions of the old chestnut, to wit: the 1929 saved by Ruth Chatterton's performance but sunk by Lionel Barrymore's terrible direction; the 1937 buoyed by Gladys George's expert performance; and a 1955 Mexican version starring Libertad Lamarque, I can better appreciate the expertise behind this Ross Hunter U-I production. Expertly shot by Russell Metty in a color palette reminiscent of Sirk's films, and aided by Turner's expert (no joke!) performance, the film rises above the suds. I found myself involved in the old story. The BD is really good.

 

[Matt Hough]

Women in Love was revolutionary in its day, and it still manages to greatly impress all these decades later. What a masterful film and despite Glenda Jackson's Oscar, never given its due.

 

[Dave Moritz]

August 24th, 2019 Saturday

Heartbreak Ridge
1080p HD (iTunes)
5.1 Dolby

 

[Robert Crawford]

On Blu-ray from Kino, "Road House" (1948)

 

[Robert Crawford]

On the TCM app:

 

[bujaki]

Highway Patrolman (El patrullero) (Kino BD) 1991. From Alex Cox, who considers it one of his best, if not his best film. Shot in Mexico, in Spanish with subtitles. A surprisingly good look at the life of a patrolman in rural Mexico. A 4K restoration of which Cox is particularly proud.
Le Doulos (Kino BD) Belmondo in a Jean-Pierre Melville underworld story mixing gangsters, police, police informants and fate. Violent, bleak and good. Excellent PQ.
Becky Sharp (Kino BD) Fine rendering of this historic picture. The last reel remains problematic but it's the best I've seen it look and the best it'll probably ever look.

 

[Mysto]

Went to the lovely Tampa Theater today
The Immigrant Charlie Chaplin
One Week - Buster Keaton
Never Weaken - Harold Lloyd
Big Business - Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy
All accompanied on the Mighty Wurlitzer by Dr. Steven Ball.

A great time with an audience full of laughter. The way theater should be enjoyed.

 

[Robin9]

Today I watched two films directed by Joseph Sargent. The first was the MIA movie The Hell With Heroes which I recorded off a TV broadcast decades ago. It's pan-and-scan of course and poor picture quality but at least I can watch the film when I'm willing to tolerate the lousy quality. I didn't think Joseph Sargent did a good job so later I watched the Blu-ray disc of The Taking Of Pelham, 123 where I think his work was pretty good.

 

[Dave Moritz]

August 25th, 2019 Sunday

Jumanji
4K UHD Blu-ray (HDR10)
Dolby Atmos 7.1.4

This was one of my first DVD movies I remember getting with my first DVD player that was a Panasonic! Now many years later I have the movie on 4K UHD Blu-ray and my home theater once again has a Panasonic disc player!

 

[Dave Moritz]

Planning on watching Godzilla: King Of The Monsters and possibly Apocalypse Now both from 4K UHD Blu-ray on Wednesday depending if I have enough funds for both.

 

[JohnRice]

Sliding Doors (1997): I'd never seen this before, but recalled it was widely disliked... for some reason. I decided to watch it (found it free on Prime) after it was mentioned in a podcast I listened to. Neat idea. Not bad, but hardly great. It was worth the watch.

Mud (2012): A solid piece of Ozark drama about two 14 year old boys who discover a boat suspended 10 feet up in a tree on an uninhabited river island. Well done all around. Writing (a couple little inconsistencies), directing and acting. An outstanding cast, with a couple very big names in small but critical roles. A satisfying, slow burn drama. It was a bit of kismet to follow up Sliding Doors with this, since I watched the first one due to its topic of trust, and Mud is even more about the complexities and unpredictability of trust.

 

[Robert Crawford]

On the TCM app:

 

[JohnRice]

Busy with our 3 children here the last week. However, here are the films I've managed to watch in the last couple of days:
Women in Love (Criterion BD) 1969. When I first saw this in '69 I was totally awestruck by the cinematography. So I decided to learn the DP's name: Billy Williams. I had seldom seen anything so beautiful outside of Lean epics, and this predated Ryan's Daughter. The sexual frankness was also eye opening. I had seen Alan Bates and Oliver Reed before, but never had I seen so much of both of them. The most breathtaking scene of male bonding, reminiscent of late Michelangelo's sculptures. Nothing like it before nor since in the history of film. And apart from Marat/Sade, who knew Glenda Jackson? What a revelation! A fearless performance which snatched the AA. Great transfer supervised by Billy Williams. It can't get any better than that.
Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (Criterion BD) 1965. Zatoichi gets a request to clear a man's name. He decides not to honor it in order not to jeopardize his own life. Circumstances dictate otherwise. #11 in the Criterion box.
The Idle Rich (TCM) 1929. Remade in 1938 as Rich Man, Poor Girl. This is an early talkie directed by William DeMille, CB's brother. William's silents were quite good, sometimes surpassing his brother's work, but this film shows its age and creaks a bit. It's still well acted by Bessie Love and it's worth a look as a footnote to an interesting director's career and as a glimpse at the wonderful acting of Bessie Love.
Last night:
Desert Fury (Kino BD) 1947. The desert in Technicolor. Mary Astor in Technicolor. John Hodiak and Wendell Corey as lovers in Technicolor. There's also Lizabeth Scott and Burt Lancaster in Technicolor. Twisted story all around. Glad I finally caught up with this wacky one. Great PQ.
Portrait in Black (Kino BD) 1960. I may have never seen this Ross Hunter soaper before, starring Lana Turner and Anthony Quinn as murderous lovers. Richard Basehart, Ray Walston, Anna May Wong, Sandra Dee and John Saxon lend able support to the deadly but oh so glamorous proceedings.
The Strange Door (Kino BD) 1951. Charles Laughton hams up the despicable villainy with such delicious gusto that it's downright delectable. Karloff is fine as a confused ally of the virtuous characters. I really enjoyed this film which has an excellent transfer.
Madame X (Kino BD) 1966. Yes, the Lana Turner one, the one I saw as a lad of 16 when it came out; the one I couldn't take seriously at the time. Now after having seen 3 earlier versions of the old chestnut, to wit: the 1929 saved by Ruth Chatterton's performance but sunk by Lionel Barrymore's terrible direction; the 1937 buoyed by Gladys George's expert performance; and a 1955 Mexican version starring Libertad Lamarque, I can better appreciate the expertise behind this Ross Hunter U-I production. Expertly shot by Russell Metty in a color palette reminiscent of Sirk's films, and aided by Turner's expert (no joke!) performance, the film rises above the suds. I found myself involved in the old story. The BD is really good.

Holy smokes. You watch a lot of movies.

 

[RolandL]

On the TCM app:

We watched it also. Great documentary.

 

[JohnRice]

Sleeping Beauty (2011): Definitely not Disney. I'm not sure what to make of this movie. Even though it predates the #MeToo movement, it definitely is an indictment of the same ways power and wealth have been used to objectify women for... well... pretty much for ever. It's an uneasy watch, and I'm not sure it's worth the memory of having seen it. I don't see a rating for this movie, but I'm pretty certain it would earn an NC-17 if it was rated.

Before I Fall (2017): Sweet but seemingly shallow 17 year old Samantha (Zoey Deutch) relives the day of her death dozens of times, until she finally learns something about the value of life. Yeah, blah, blah, Groundhog Day, blah, blah. I take exception to the comparison. Yes, the story has the same concept, and the goal is to be a better person, but Samantha has no illusion she will survive the story. Her ultimate growth isn't so much for her own benefit as the benefit of others.

The first 20 minutes, showing Samantha and her popular, vapid friends is a bit of a yawn, and doesn't create expectations of what's to come. What does come is something I find quite fulfilling, even though the movie on the whole has plenty of problems. The fact is, once it was over, I forgave the flaws. I appreciated how Samantha didn't reject her friends for their selfishness, but did her best to bring them with her on her quest for improvement. The movie is melodramatic, even sappy, but I was surprised how much I found myself appreciating the final half hour. It made the hour preceding it worthwhile. It's heart is definitely in the right place.

 

[bujaki]

The Nightingale (DCP) 2019. Australian film from the woman director who gave us The Babadook, Jennifer Kent. A revenge tale set in Tasmania in the 19th century. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. I was told by the ticket seller that patrons rushed out during the first half hour due to the extreme violence. This film is highly recommended.

 

[JohnRice]

The Nightingale (DCP) 2019. Australian film from the woman director who gave us The Babadook, Jennifer Kent. A revenge tale set in Tasmania in the 19th century. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. I was told by the ticket seller that patrons rushed out during the first half hour due to the extreme violence. This film is highly recommended.

I’ve heard a lot of good feedback about it.

 

[bujaki]

Holy smokes. You watch a lot of movies.

Yes, I do and in the order that I list them. I also listen to a lot of classical music and read many books in between. I live in the Dallas area so I also avail myself of art exhibits, the opera and symphony orchestra in the DFW area; travel to Houston for the opera 3-4 times a year and art exhibits there.
Each June we travel to Culpeper, VA, to the Mostly Lost film conference and workshop at the Library of Congress, and then to Richmond and its Museum.
Its good to be retired.

 

[JohnRice]

Yes, I do and in the order that I list them. I also listen to a lot of classical music and read many books in between. I live in the Dallas area so I also avail myself of art exhibits, the opera and symphony orchestra in the DFW area; travel to Houston for the opera 3-4 times a year and art exhibits there.
Each June we travel to Culpeper, VA, to the Mostly Lost film conference and workshop at the Library of Congress, and then to Richmond and its Museum.
Its good to be retired.

A lot of classical music for me too, interspersed with Classic and Prog Rock. I lived in the DFW area for a couple years in the late '80s, but had to constantly travel for my job, so I was rarely there. Never got to see the DSO, unfortunately. Our Colorado Symphony Orchestra is in a sad state these days. I'd like to go a couple times a season, but rarely end up doing it. I love their hall, though. The last time I went (Mahler's 2nd) was just awful. Really awful. It was just too much for them to take on. Oh, wait, correction, that was two times ago. The last time was an all Beethoven, which they handled OK.