What's on your Daily Viewing List? (3 Viewers)

[Robert Crawford]

I liked "Flipped" so shoot me.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I really enjoy The Magic of Belle Isle

 

[bujaki]

The Naked City (Criterion BD) 1948. Inducted into the National Film Registry. William Daniels won an Oscar for his cinematography and justly so for his mostly on-location work during a sweltering summer in NYC. Police procedural driven by producer Mark Hellinger's narration and clever script and performances. I'd never seen a version that looked this good.
Cry of the Banshee (Shout BD) 1970. I watched the Director's cut. It opens with clever titles which had a pythonesque air. Well, they were created by none other than Terry Gilliam! Vincent Price stars as the cruel Lord who is cursed by Oona the witch (played by venerable actress Elisabeth Bergner). I sampled a bit of the American cut and stopped when I noticed that the re-edit made no sense and that the nudity and violence had been trimmed.

 

[Thomas T]

 

[TJPC]

We found this just ok. Very conventional--all the way along we guessed plot twists (cliches).

 

[HawksFord]

The Bravados (1958) -- After watching the Criterion release of The Gunfighter recently, I decided it was finally time to check out this Twilight Time release. Both films star Gregory Peck and are driected by Henry King. I can't believe I never saw this before. It is a excellent western. Peck stars as a rancher on the trail of four outlaws who killed his wife. He tracks them to a small town where they are jailed and about to be hanged. The outlaws escape and Peck is on their trail again. Some great plot twists follow. One of the many delights here is Joe DeRita, shortly before becoming Curly Joe in the Three Stooges, as a creepy hangman.

I picked this one up based on some recommendations here, and I am so glad I did.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The Bravados (1958) -- After watching the Criterion release of The Gunfighter recently, I decided it was finally time to check out this Twilight Time release. Both films star Gregory Peck and are driected by Henry King. I can't believe I never saw this before. It is a excellent western. Peck stars as a rancher on the trail of four outlaws who killed his wife. He tracks them to a small town where they are jailed and about to be hanged. The outlaws escape and Peck is on their trail again. Some great plot twists follow. One of the many delights here is Joe DeRita, shortly before becoming Curly Joe in the Three Stooges, as a creepy hangman.

I picked this one up based on some recommendations here, and I am so glad I did.

A favorite western of mine with a vivacious Joan Collins.

 

[Dave Moritz]

November 11th, 2020 Wednesday

Overlord
4K Blu-ray / Dolby Vision
Dolby Atmos 7.1.4

Plan to break in the new popcorn machine on Saturday.

 

[bujaki]

Master of the World (Scream BD) 1961. Vincent Price tries to end wars by sowing destruction from his flying machine. Based on two Jules Verne's novels and scripted by Richard Matheson, it winds up being more than just kiddie matinee fare. It does have Exit Music with two pop songs that have nothing to do with the film.
Shock Treatment (Severin BD) 1973. Science-fiction horror thriller in which pampered capitalists exploit poor undocumented immigrants (in unspeakable and criminal ways) in order to retain their youth. There's plenty of full-frontal nudity presented in the most casual manner.
Skinner's Dress Suit (Kino BD) 1926. Last viewed at MoMA a half century ago. William Seiter directed with a light touch a comedy about a middle class couple with social pretensions. It all ends well with a thumb in the eye of the upper classes since the dress suit may not make the man but disguises him well. Reginald Denny is so good at this type of comedy and Laura La Plante is always a welcome sight. Arthur Lake (Dagwood and the silent Harold Teen) is here as well in a smaller role.
Born in Flames (TCM app) 1983. Lizzie Borden sets her film (fiction shot documentary style) ten years in the future. And yet, the issues, the burning issues remain the same in 2020. The film is too political to be discussed here.

 

[Thomas T]

 

[bujaki]

Reporting on the NOIR CITY: International Film Festival First Day
Panique 1946. Second viewing of this post-war masterwork from Julien Duvivier based on a Simenon novel. Anchored by 3 great performances: Michel Simon as a misanthrope who falls hopelessly in love; Viivian Romance as the femme fatale; and Paul Bernard as the criminal who engineers the fatal plot. Eddie Muller introduced the film, which was the Criterion sourced.
El vampiro negro aka The Black Vampire 1953. As Eddie Muller stated, this is a re-imagining of Lang's M. There's a serial child killer who whistles Grieg's tune; there are the denizen's of the lower depths who aid in the capture of the criminal. And yet...whereas the killer can't help himself, the prosecutor himself sometimes behaves in ways that are morally reprehensible. And the women have a more visible and active presence; in fact, heroic. The B&W cinematography is pure noir, with deep shadows down those damp streets and sewers, and those quick edits of visages that tell so much. A masterpiece on its own.
On a separate note and independent of Noir:
Silence 1926. It's true I haven't seen many of Rupert Julian's output as director (his most famous film is The Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney, famous for Chaney, not for Julian's direction) but I never expected such a polished film from him as this one, even though about 25 minutes are missing. This is a man's weepie, a type of melodrama in vogue in the late twenties (Sorrell and Son, The Way of All Flesh) that fell by the wayside, in which men suffer nobly for the sake of their children. HB Warner does it here quite well, quite convincingly. Only Vera Reynolds (double role as mother/daughter) overacts terribly in the daughter part. I really enjoyed this film, even though the deus ex machina robbed it of its melodramatic force.

 

[Toronto Argonauts]

Tonight:

 

[Mike Frezon]

Peg and I watched:

I don't believe we've seen this movie since seeing it during it's theatrical release in 1997. I had remembered that we liked it back then. And things haven't changed over time as Nora Ephron works her usual magic and had us really engaged in this film. While rather predictable, it was also rather unpredictable throughout. Excellent cast led by Travolta (who apparently calls this movie his "finest work") and William Hurt. Also Jean Stapleton, Teri Garr, Robert Pastorelli, Bob Hoskins and even a small role for Calvin Trillin. The film also includes Carla Gugino and Joey Lauren Adams.

The story is the thing. And this film has one interesting (even if formulaic) story.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The Postman
Originally Released: 12/25/1997
Watched: 11/14/2020
HDX (1080P) digital streaming on Apple TV app, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

The year is 2013, and the lands formerly known as the United States of America have seen better days. In the previous decade and a half, an ecological disaster led to winters that lasted for multiple years in some parts of the country and a decade-long drought that killed off all life in other parts. A farmer and right-wing fundamentalist named Nathan Holn took advantage of the resulting instability to launch a white nationalist insurrection against the United States, a successful military campaign that led to the downfall of the United States federal government. In the resulting collapse of social order, plagues swept across the continent and decimated the remaining population. Now only isolated pre-industrial communities scape by in the ruins of a once great nation. Ironically, Holn dies of a skin cancer that would have been treatable before his revolution. But now one of his generals, Bethlehem, rules a large expanse of the West as feudal lord.

Our unnamed protagonist begins the film as a nomadic scavenger roaming the Western states with his beloved mule Bill. He avoids people whenever possible, and performs as a traveling troubadour reviving scenes from Shakespeare when he can't. A series of unfortunate events strip him of everything he values. But just when all seems hopeless, he comes across a wrecked mail truck. He strips the postal uniform off the skeleton in the driver's seat, loads up the mailbag with some of the old mail from the back of the truck, and sets off for the nearest community. Upon arriving, he declares himself a postman operating on behalf of the Restored United States of America, uses the letters to gain entry, and then trades them for a warm meal and a soft bed.

What starts as a theatrical con quickly snowballs into something far more important.

Loosely adapted from David Brin's novel of the same name, this neo-Western was savaged by critics and bombed at the box office. For the life of me, I can't understand why. Is Costner guilty of self-mythologizing? Sure. But he's also careful to portray his character as a deeply flawed man. At nearly three hours long, is the running time a bit self-indulgent? Again, sure. But the more deliberate pacing gives the movie room to breathe, lets the events that unfold have weight.

Maybe it's the fact that it came out in 1997 -- when the stock market was roaring along, 9/11 hadn't happened yet, and the United States stood atop the world's stage as the sole remaining superpower. The country seemed so invincible then that the idea that the republic would be so fragile and come apart so easily probably seemed ludicrous back then. It doesn't seem nearly as ludicrous now.

I also like its exploration of civilization; how it falls, and how it comes into being. The movie understands that ideas inspire institutions, institutions uphold ideas, and the persistence of those ideas and the People's acceptance of those ideas provides the framework for the peace and stability necessary to move beyond bare survival. It also understands that ideas have a life of their own; once they're put out into the world, their originator no longer owns them.

So if the movie's a bit too overwrought, well, there are a lot worst crimes a movie could commit.

 

[Dave Moritz]

November 14th, 2020 Saturday

Avatar
1080p Blu-ray upconverted to 4K
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 upmixed to Auro 7.1

Made 1st batch of popcorn with new popcorn maker!

 

[Robin9]

Yesterday I watched Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Totally unfunny and I didn't laugh once, nor even smile. A skilfully made film and a superb transfer, but now I know why the Rita Hayworth remake is one of her worst movies.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yesterday I watched Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Totally unfunny and I didn't laugh once, nor even smile. A skilfully made film and a superb transfer, but now I know why the Rita Hayworth remake is one of her worst movies.

I didn't know Rita Hayworth made a remake of this fine film.

 

[Robin9]

I didn't know Rita Hayworth made a remake of this fine film.

It's called Down To Earth. Roland Culver plays the Claude Rains role; James Gleason and Edward Everett Horton repeat their roles.

 

[Matt Hough]

It's actually a sequel, not a remake of Jordan. That film was remade as Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty.

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's actually a sequel, not a remake of Jordan. That film was remade as Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty.

Right, I knew that Heaven Can Wait was the remake, but couldn't recall another. Now, it makes sense about the sequel.