Return Of The Film Corner Thread

[jlhoots]

United Kingdom

[duaneiac]

I quite liked it.  It's nothing startlingly new or original, even among Woody Allen's films, but the story moves along well, the characters are interesting, the performances are good and it's beautifully filmed.  Not necessarily a must see film, but if you're a fan of the director's work, it's one worth watching.

[kinuta]

5 hours ago, duaneiac said:

I quite liked it.  It's nothing startlingly new or original, even among Woody Allen's films, but the story moves along well, the characters are interesting, the performances are good and it's beautifully filmed.  Not necessarily a must see film, but if you're a fan of the director's work, it's one worth watching.

I agree. I liked it a lot and thought it was his best since Blue Jasmine.

[BillF]

Have liked all the films by director Kelly Reichardt I've seen. This new one was no exception.

[duaneiac]

I hadn't seen this in 35 years.  It still holds up pretty well.  Don't try to make too much sense of the plot, just enjoy the visual storytelling.  In retrospect, this was maybe the first 1980's film that looked 1980'sish.  The motor scooter chase through the underground is still very compelling.

An interesting documentary about a man with an interesting career.  The most surprising part of the film was seeing Jack Nicholson (Jack Nicholson!!!) break down and cry while speaking about Roger Corman.

[jlhoots]

Logan

[OliverM]

Went to Louis Malle's Le Souffle au coeur (Murmur of the Heart, 1970) at French Cinematheque last night in presence of main actor, then 15 year old, Benoît Ferreux.

Great great movie and Charlie Parker soundtrack!

[BillF]

4 hours ago, OliverM said:

Went to Louis Malle's Le Souffle au coeur (Murmur of the Heart, 1970) at French Cinematheque last night in presence of main actor, then 15 year old, Benoît Ferreux.

Great great movie and Charlie Parker soundtrack!

Ah, yes, I recall tracks from the "Kim"/"Laird Baird"/"Cosmic Rays" session. Not too keen on what boyo got up to with his Mum though! 

[kinuta]

Thelma & Louise - Ridley Scott (1991)

[kinuta]

Someone To Watch Over Me - Ridley Scott (1987)

 

[duaneiac]

I had to stop the movie in the middle and take a nap.  I think I enjoyed the nap more.

 

Edited March 8, 2017 by duaneiac

[Dmitry]

On 3/3/2017 at 6:19 PM, duaneiac said:

I hadn't seen this in 35 years.  It still holds up pretty well.  Don't try to make too much sense of the plot, just enjoy the visual storytelling.  In retrospect, this was maybe the first 1980's film that looked 1980'sish.  The motor scooter chase through the underground is still very compelling.

 

I just watched it for the first time last week. Took me 3 tries. The scooter on a metro sequence is enjoyable. I didn't care for the rest of the movie...let's put it this way. I was expecting a much better film, based on the cult status.

[jazzbo]

I have never seen the film, but that's okay, I'm not much of a film guy, but I really enjoy the Delacorta novels.

[kinuta]

The Third Secret - Charles Crichton (1964)

Nice B&W widescreen and moody music.

Looked good on paper but was boring and rather pointless.

I kept wondering what I was missing.

[duaneiac]

22 hours ago, Dmitry said:

I just watched it for the first time last week. Took me 3 tries. The scooter on a metro sequence is enjoyable. I didn't care for the rest of the movie...let's put it this way. I was expecting a much better film, based on the cult status.

I could absolutely understand some on not liking this movie.  I guess I could also understand some on absolutely loving it, but I do not understand why it became such a cult favorite.  To me, it's just a good movie, kind of stylish/stylized. but with a contrived storyline.

Recently watched

Released on DVD by Criterion under its original title, The Devil and Daniel Webster.  The alternate title came from the fear in 1941 that a lot of theater owners would not be willing to put the word "Devil" on their marquees.  It's a really good but also strange movie.  At times it feels like a light comedy, at times like a fantasy tale and at times it takes a dark turn to the supernatural.  This movie poster really would not prepare a prospective audience member for what the movie is really like. 

Walter Huston and Edward Arnold are great.  Edward Arnold's performance as Daniel Webster is even more impressive given that he had to come in as a replacement after much of the film had already been shot when the original actor had a serious on-set accident.  James Craig is good as the down to earth, New Hampshire farmer whose life is changed dramatically by his deal with the devil.

This was only the second film scored by Bernard Herrmann (following something called Citizen Kane) and for it he won his first and only (!!!) Oscar.  Another Kane alumnus, Robert Wise, did some wonderful editing work here.

(An interesting bit of trivia:  Gene Lockhart was the father of June Lockhart and he also wrote the lyrics to "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise".)

Edited March 9, 2017 by duaneiac

[medjuck]

54 minutes ago, duaneiac said:

I could absolutely understand some on not liking this movie.  I guess I could also understand some on absolutely loving it, but I do not understand why it became such a cult favorite.  To me, it's just a good movie, kind of stylish/stylized. but with a contrived storyline.

Recently watched

Released on DVD by Criterion under its original title, The Devil and Daniel Webster.  The alternate title came from the fear in 1941 that a lot of theater owners would not be willing to put the word "Devil" on their marquees.  It's a really good but also strange movie.  At times it feels like a light comedy, at times like a fantasy tale and at times it takes a dark turn to the supernatural.  This movie poster really would not prepare a prospective audience member for what the movie is really like. 

Walter Huston and Edward Arnold are great.  Edward Arnold's performance as Daniel Webster is even more impressive given that he had to come in as a replacement after much of the film had already been shot when the original actor had a serious on-set accident.  James Craig is good as the down to earth, New Hampshire farmer whose life is changed dramatically by his deal with the devil.

This was only the second film scored by Bernard Herrmann (following something called Citizen Kane) and for it he won his first and only (!!!) Oscar.  Another Kane alumnus, Robert Wise, did some wonderful editing work here.

(An interesting bit of trivia:  Gene Lockhart was the father of June Lockhart and he also wrote the lyrics to "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise".)

IIRC Criterion released the "complete" version.  For years an edited version was in distribution. I like the film very much but  I remember thinking that the shorter  version may have been better.

[duaneiac]

58 minutes ago, medjuck said:

IIRC Criterion released the "complete" version.  For years an edited version was in distribution. I like the film very much but  I remember thinking that the shorter  version may have been better.

Yes, it was the restored 106 minute version.  I think in the commentary track it was mentioned that the film had been cut down to a 99 minute and an 84 minute version.  It didn't feel like anything as pure padding in the longer version, although I;m sure a few scenes could have been tightened up or perhaps even cut entirely without drastically affecting the storyline or the feel of the film.

Edited March 9, 2017 by duaneiac

[kinuta]

Portrait In Black - Michael Gordon (1960)

 

Wall to wall melodramatic cliche, scenery chewing leads with almost zero on screen chemistry.

The appearance of the asiatic looking maid, who played no significant part in the narrative, was accompanied each time by daft Japanese sounding music. Although it has similar visual flourishes to Douglas Sirk, it just proves how great he was and how poor this director is.

For all that I quite enjoyed it, as an Airplane type comedy.

I like All That Money Can Buy & The Devil & Daniel Webster and have seen them both several times.

Diva didn't do anything for me. Like Le Plaisir very much.

One of the pleasures of digital recordings is the freedom to stop the film and have doze. I do it quite often.

Edited March 9, 2017 by kinuta

[kinuta]

Rewatched 20th Century Women. Great film.

[BillF]

Feel uneasy about this - a black comedy with rape as a central feature. That said, the movie was beautifully paced and Huppert's acting was up to its usual superb standard.

[kinuta]

Madame X - David Lowell Rich (1966)

 

Trashy tearjerker with a good perfomance by Lana Turner.

Not without it's moments and an entertaining enough way to pass a couple of hours.

[jlhoots]

The Maltese Falcon

[duaneiac]

A weekend spent watching film classics which I'd never seen before.  First up --

Good, but a tad overlong for my taste.  I had to pause for two naps during this one.

A really good movie with an excellent ensemble cast.

Wow!  Absolutely my favorite of the bunch.  A movie which draws you into its own little world from the very first frame.  I think the problem with a lot of film musical comedies is that they always try to establish the plot and characters first like any other movie would, then they shift gears when some one breaks out into a song and dance number.  Here, right in the opening sequence, before a word is even spoken, the characters effortlessly build up into a joyously vibrant dance just for the heck of it.  Thus, the film establishes that's the kind of world this is going to be and so the viewer accepts that as the ground rules.  There is a youthful energy throughout the film which is aided by some excellent set & costume designs and Jacques Demy's masterful camerawork.  For a 50 year old film, this still looks very fresh today.  The story is almost like a Shakespeare comedy of perfectly matched lovers always looking for, but just falling short of meeting, one another.  The best known melody from the film would become "You Must Believe In Spring", although those lyrics have absolutely no relation to the lyrics used in the film.

[Shawn]

Raise The Titanic (1980, Jerry Jameson)

Saw in 35mm at the New Beverly Cinema (Quinton Tarantino's theater)

The coolest aspect was the audience applauded when John Barry's name appeared in the opening credits.  Barry's score, Alec Guinness' guest appearance and the raising sequence are still the highlights.  It's a flawed film, but I loved it as a kid and it started my fascination with the Titanic and Clive Cussler novels.  

[duaneiac]

Packed with 10 times the pulse-pounding thrills and excitement of My Dinner With Andre.  At least I got to have two night with Maud; it took me that long to get through this movie.  Every scene as suitably well lit.