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

[Matt Hough]

Peg and I watched my new DVD copy of:

My original DVD (purchased MANY years ago) was a victim of whatever causes certain WB discs to stop playing. So I purchased a new copy from Warner Aarchive via Amazon.

It is quite a film. We really enjoy it (and Grand Hotel).

Sorry, Mike. The graphic isn't coming up. What movie is it?

 

[Mike Frezon]

Sorry, Matt.

Dinner at Eight (1933)!

 

[Matt Hough]

Sorry, Matt.

Dinner at Eight (1933)!

Thanks. I figured it was either that or Weekend at the Waldorf. I'm glad it was the one you illustrated. It's a fantastic movie.

 

[bujaki]

Sorry, Matt.

Dinner at Eight (1933)!

The greatest double take in film history! And one of the great exit lines as well. I'm referring, of course, to Dressler's.

 

[bujaki]

NOIR CITY: INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Facts of Murder 1959. Eddie Muller programmed another Pietro Germi jewel, also new to me, starring Germi hmself as the police detective in charge of a theft that evolves into a murder case. Involved in both are two beautiful women: Eleonora Rossi Drago and Claudia Cardinale. There's so much corruption when the police start to scratch the underbelly: an old bachelor cruising for young men; an adulterous quadrangle with a minor; a quack "doctor" who trades on stolen goods and his looks; an electrician who makes end meets by sleeping with American tourists...This in one fine, snappy film.
Story of a Love Affair 1950. Antonioni's first feature film. And it's a noir. And it's a distant cousin of The Postman Always Rings Twice. And it also stars Massimo Girotti, who also starred in Visconti's Ossessione, also based on the Cain novel. And Eddie Muller loves this film! Oh, it's noir alright, with the extraordinarily beautiful Lucia Bose (alas, an early victim of COVID-19) as the femme fatale. It seems that in 1943 a moment of hesitation between our two leads caused the death of a friend, causing their abrupt separation. War, marriage intervene. She marries rich. He's basically destitute. Antonioni shows the desolation of Milan and the spiritual wasteland of Paola as she tries to entice Guido to once more commit (or had they already) a crime. Is intent already a crime? Is she to be trusted. A surprising conclusion, but one that is organic. The print, from Kino, is soft and disappointing. It's a fascinating film debut.

 

[Dave Moritz]

November 22nd, 2020 Sunday

Sister Act 2: Back In the Habit
HD Digital upconverted to 4K
Dolby 5.1 upmixed to Auro 7.1



Kong: Skull Island
4K Digital / Dolby Vision
Dolby Atmos

 

[Mike Frezon]

The greatest double take in film history! And one of the great exit lines as well. I'm referring, of course, to Dressler's.

It's as if the entire film was designed to build to that final minute. Just wonderful.

I suspet we'll get to Grand Hotel again in the not-too-distant future.

 

[Toronto Argonauts]

Tonight:

 

[Dave Moritz]

Am looking forward to picking up Schindler's List on 4K Blu-ray next month!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Up the Down Staircase
Originally Released: 07/19/1967
Watched: 11/22/2020
HDX (1080P) digital streaming on Apple TV app, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

This movie wasn't what I expected; while it bears superficial similarities to other movies about idealistic teachers venturing into inner city schools, it doesn't really feel like part of that subgenre; instead, it's a coming of age story where the teacher is the one coming of age.

Robert Mulligan shoots the film in a very gritty style: hard lighting, deep focus, drab color palette, lots of pre-Steadicam handheld camera work. It gives the movie an immediacy that puts into sharp relief what Miss Sylvia Barrett is up against.

As Barrett, Sandy Dennis gives a different performance than I'm used to from her. In a way, the film trades on her screen persona playing hesitant, neurotic characters -- her first time in front of the classroom, when the students eat her alive, you wonder how this woman could possibly survive the week, much less the school year. Miss Barrett's strength and persistence sneak up on you; at some point, she is steering a classroom discussion with the students actively engaged and hanging on every word, and you're not sure exactly when the tide turned. There are no big dramatic moments that cause the character to do 180; instead, Dennis makes very tiny changes to her performance over the course the movie that accumulate into a real transformation by the end.

I appreciated the teachers, who have distinct personalities and who -- with one notable exception -- really do care about their students. A number of solid character actors pop up here, including Jean Stapleton as the office manager in central administration and Sorrell Booke as the school's principal.

I appreciated the students even more. Instead of a classroom of twentysomething actors playing teenagers, these kids felt like real kids. Their motivations and personalities varied, but the movie takes them seriously. Not all of them get happy endings by the end of the movie. The movie has a realistic understanding of what one teacher can accomplish, when her students face the full gamut of nightmares when they're not at school -- domestic violence, drugs, gangs, homelessness, teenage pregnancy, and so on. Miss Barrett doesn't save their lives, she provides them with engaging and worthwhile English instruction. Whatever is going on outside the classroom, during those forty minutes and change they are safe and their minds are valued.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Tonight, Peg and I watched my Region B-locked Blu-ray of:

We had seen it in the theater in December 2019. But I've got to say this Blu-ray blows that viewing WAY out of the water. Fantastic PQ and SQ.

For anyone interested, I got my copy from amazon.uk. It appears there will be no US release.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Tonight in the "I feel old" column:



November 22, 2020 is the 25th anniversary date of the release of Toy Story in 1995.

Even if its remarkable technical achievement hadn't been responsible for changing the face of the animation industry, it would still be an exceptional film in every respect. It holds up just as well today as when I saw it in the theater at seven years old.

 

[Mike Frezon]

It holds up just as well today as when I saw it in the theater at seven years old.

Dammit. That makes me 36 when I saw it in the theater!

 

[Jake Lipson]

That makes me 36 when I saw it in the theater!

You're welcome for the reminder.

 

[Matt Hough]

Up the Down Staircase
Originally Released: 07/19/1967
Watched: 11/22/2020
HDX (1080P) digital streaming on Apple TV app, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

View attachment 82285

This movie wasn't what I expected; while it bears superficial similarities to other movies about idealistic teachers venturing into inner city schools, it doesn't really feel like part of that subgenre; instead, it's a coming of age story where the teacher is the one coming of age.

Robert Mulligan shoots the film in a very gritty style: hard lighting, deep focus, drab color palette, lots of pre-Steadicam handheld camera work. It gives the movie an immediacy that puts into sharp relief what Miss Sylvia Barrett is up against.

As Barrett, Sandy Dennis gives a different performance than I'm used to from her. In a way, the film trades on her screen persona playing hesitant, neurotic characters -- her first time in front of the classroom, when the students eat her alive, you wonder how this woman could possibly survive the week, much less the school year. Miss Barrett's strength and persistence sneak up on you; at some point, she is steering a classroom discussion with the students actively engaged and hanging on every word, and you're not sure exactly when the tide turned. There are no big dramatic moments that cause the character to do 180; instead, Dennis makes very tiny changes to her performance over the course the movie that accumulate into a real transformation by the end.

I appreciated the teachers, who have distinct personalities and who -- with one notable exception -- really do care about their students. A number of solid character actors pop up here, including Jean Stapleton as the office manager in central administration and Sorrell Booke as the school's principal.

I appreciated the students even more. Instead of a classroom of twentysomething actors playing teenagers, these kids felt like real kids. Their motivations and personalities varied, but the movie takes them seriously. Not all of them get happy endings by the end of the movie. The movie has a realistic understanding of what one teacher can accomplish, when her students face the full gamut of nightmares when they're not at school -- domestic violence, drugs, gangs, homelessness, teenage pregnancy, and so on. Miss Barrett doesn't save their lives, she provides them with engaging and worthwhile English instruction. Whatever is going on outside the classroom, during those forty minutes and change they are safe and their minds are valued.

One of my all-time favorite films, and the book is a classic: a hodgepodge collection of notebook scribblings, memos, suggestion box entries, interoffice communications, diary entries. The film recreates the book magnificently and is very true to it. One of the best representations of secondary education in an urban high school of the period ever made.

 

[DFurr]

I'm a sucka for Friday the 13th on big screen 3D so tonight it's another screening of my favorite Friday flick.

 

[TravisR]

Dammit. That makes me 36 when I saw it in the theater!

I wasn't 36 when I saw Toy Story in theater but I was older than 7.

 

[bujaki]

Foreign Letters (TCM app) 2012. A young Israeli girl moves to the US and tries awkwardly to integrate. She does so by engaging with a Vietnamese girl. It's affecting and sincere; a love letter to friendship.
Detour 1945. NOIR: INTERNATIONAL brings us back to the US for the last time with this undisputed classic, inducted into the National Film Registry. This film, more than any other, has the fickle finger of fate foiling a man's every chance at happiness. And Vera, fury incarnate, not even as attractive as a Stanwyck or a Bennett or Tierney; worse yet, she doesn't even have sex with Al! Oh, the poetry of sheer nihilism!

 

[Robin9]

Detour 1945. NOIR: INTERNATIONAL brings us back to the US for the last time with this undisputed classic, inducted into the National Film Registry. This film, more than any other, has the fickle finger of fate foiling a man's every chance at happiness. And Vera, fury incarnate, not even as attractive as a Stanwyck or a Bennett or Tierney; worse yet, she doesn't even have sex with Al! Oh, the poetry of sheer nihilism!

You should, at least, mention the name of the actress: Ann Savage. I have some photos of her and I assure you, she wasn't bad looking at all. I'm going to upload a couple into the Brunettes thread because a performance so memorable deserves to be remembered! The photos might surprise you.

 

[bujaki]

You should, at least, mention the name of the actress: Ann Savage. I have some photos of her and i assure you, she wasn't bad looking at all.. I'm going to upload a couple into the Brunettes thread because a performance so memorable deserves to be remembered! The photos might surprise you.

True, Ann Savage was made up to look more unattractive than her usual self so as to fit Al's description of her physiognomy.