Return Of The Film Corner Thread

[duaneiac]

16 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

Chander was infamously pressured to change the identity of the murderer.  I don't want to give away any spoilers for those who've never watched it; it's a classic noir, but the first time I saw it the reveal struck me as weird and forced.  Didn't read the account of the script change & reasons behind it till years later.  

This was the first time I saw this film and even while watching it I was thinking the killer couldn't be who I was thinking it might be.  Society at large and the studio heads in particular simply would not allow that to happen -- not in that particular place & time in US history.  The reveal of the (substitute) killer in the finished film struck me as kind of, "Oh.  Okay.  Huh.".

Last night I watched:

What a weird movie.  It's kind of a psychological drama that I assume was made because Hitchcock's Spellbound was a box office success a couple years earlier.  Just imagine if suddenly in the middle of Spellbound there was a lengthy scene of Sid Caesar doing his German professor schtick -- and you hadn't taken any mind-altering substances!  That's kind of what the experience of watching this film was like.

Edited November 15, 2020 by duaneiac

[medjuck]

17 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

I think one source was Otto Friedrich’s City Of Nets (I just pulled it off the shelf and found the relevant section on pg 231-33), but I’m pretty sure that I also read about it in one of the Chandler bios. The Wikipedia entry for the film makes a brief allusion to Chandler’s original intended ending and why he had to change it.

Thanks. Checked the Wikipedia entry and realized that I've (falsely) remembered the Chandler ending as being that of the film.  Checked the screenplay and see that I was wrong. BTW published screenplay has an addendum by Mathew Broccoli  (sp?) that explains the change.   

[medjuck]

Terrible print of a bad but fascinating film. I watched it because the music is by Ellington.  Most of the score is made up of brief cues but you get to hear a lot of EKE's piano-- solo and in duets with a bass-- as well as a lot of Harry Carney and a beautiful Johnny Hodges solo over a sex scene. Klaus Stratemann's authoritative "Duke Ellington, Day by Day and Film by Film" says ""Change of Mind" appears to have enjoyed limited distribution only."  No wonder: the plot is about a white district attorney whose brain is transplanted into the body of a Black man.  The films deals with the political, social and even sexual complications that ensue.  Oh, and Leslie Neilson plays a racist cop accused of murder. This is not a comedy. 

Edited November 15, 2020 by medjuck

[JSngry]

Fun movie. Not a fun story, but a fun movie.

[ejp626]

Watched Life of Brian over the weekend.  It holds up quite well.  I was reading that there was a huge fuss at the time, which of course made the film profitably almost immediately.  I think there was an interview a while back with one or more of the Pythons, indicating that it would be all but impossible to release the film in today's climate.

[soulpope]

Outstanding ....

[JSngry]

Hey, it's got Buddy DeFranco as a jazz clarinet player playing jazz clarinet in a basement jazz club. That's all he does, is play clarinet. But he got a spot on the opening credits!

Otherwise, interesting enough to watch once and not feel bad about it. More than once, though...

[Dave James]

On 11/16/2020 at 9:47 AM, ejp626 said:

Watched Life of Brian over the weekend.  It holds up quite well.  I was reading that there was a huge fuss at the time, which of course made the film profitably almost immediately.  I think there was an interview a while back with one or more of the Pythons, indicating that it would be all but impossible to release the film in today's climate.

Very much up and down...nowhere near the consistency of "Holy Grail."  Having said that, the Biggus Dickus bit is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.  I'll bet I've watched it 20 times and it still makes me laugh out loud.  

[medjuck]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

Hey, it's got Buddy DeFranco as a jazz clarinet player playing jazz clarinet in a basement jazz club. That's all he does, is play clarinet. But he got a spot on the opening credits!

Otherwise, interesting enough to watch once and not feel bad about it. More than once, though...

I'll bite:  What was the new sin sweeping America?

[JSngry]

Never really answered...Jazz? Washed-up Jocks Gone Loony? Thuggery? Neurosis? Chumps? Buddy DeFranco? Thrill-Seeking Rich Chicks Who Get Cold Feet?

It's never really clarified, which is probably all for the best.

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, Dave James said:

Very much up and down...nowhere near the consistency of "Holy Grail."  Having said that, the Biggus Dickus bit is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.  I'll bet I've watched it 20 times and it still makes me laugh out loud.  

I totally disagree about consistency ... too many great bits to count thru the whole film - debating the merits of the Roman occupation, "he's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy" ... the different names of the resistance groups - it's all great.

to top if it off, Holy Grail gets stupid with the ending, whereas Brian is one of the great endings of all time. Not to mention "I'm Brian of Nazareth, and so's my wife!"

Edited November 19, 2020 by Dan Gould

[mjazzg]

39 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

I totally disagree about consistency ... too many great bits to count thru the whole film - debating the merits of the Roman occupation, "he's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy" ... the different names of the resistance groups - it's all great.

to top if it off, Holy Grail gets stupid with the ending, whereas Brian is one of the great endings of all time. Not to mention "I'm Brian of Nazareth, and so's my wife!"

Completely agree.  Lots more to Life Of Brian compared to Holy Grail

"Spare a Talent for an old ex-Leper?"  "Naff orf"

Edited November 19, 2020 by mjazzg

[gmonahan]

Magisterial performance by the great Bette Davis

 

[gmonahan]

On for tonight:

 

[Matthew]

1 hour ago, gmonahan said:

On for tonight:

 

The Mother of Musical Movies. It seems just as fresh now as in 1933. I won't bother you with my love of the cast either, but I love, love, love, love, everyone who appeared in and everything about 42nd. Street. 

[jlhoots]

Big Night - Tucci, Shaloub, etc.

[gmonahan]

23 hours ago, Matthew said:

The Mother of Musical Movies. It seems just as fresh now as in 1933. I won't bother you with my love of the cast either, but I love, love, love, love, everyone who appeared in and everything about 42nd. Street. 

Me too!!

 

 

gregmo

[medjuck]

1 hour ago, gmonahan said:

Me too!!

 

 

gregmo

I recently watched as many musicals from the era as I could find.  The 3 WBs from 1933 with mostly the same cast are all great. 42nd St., Gold Diggers of  1933 and Footlight Parade (which may be my favorite). 

[GA Russell]

34 minutes ago, medjuck said:

I recently watched as many musicals from the era as I could find.  The 3 WBs from 1933 with mostly the same cast are all great. 42nd St., Gold Diggers of  1933 and Footlight Parade (which may be my favorite). 

Joe, I'm reading a Horace McCoy novel about Hollywood called "I Should Have Stayed Home."  Did you ever read it, and if so, what did you think?

[medjuck]

1 hour ago, GA Russell said:

Joe, I'm reading a Horace McCoy novel about Hollywood called "I Should Have Stayed Home."  Did you ever read it, and if so, what did you think?

I know who Horace McCoy is, but I don't know this novel.  Is it worth reading? 

[GA Russell]

19 hours ago, medjuck said:

I know who Horace McCoy is, but I don't know this novel.  Is it worth reading? 

I'm halfway through it, and so far it is a real downer.  However, some people like that sort of thing.   

The question in my mind is whether it is a realistic portrayal of Hollywood in the '40s.  I bet you met some old hands over the years who could tell you, and perhaps did.

Since you're in the business, I bet you would probably enjoy it.  

Edited November 30, 2020 by GA Russell

[gmonahan]

21 hours ago, medjuck said:

I recently watched as many musicals from the era as I could find.  The 3 WBs from 1933 with mostly the same cast are all great. 42nd St., Gold Diggers of  1933 and Footlight Parade (which may be my favorite). 

Busby Berkeley really was a genius, and his eye for how to use B&W--really silver--was absolutely dazzling!

 

gregmo

[medjuck]

31 minutes ago, GA Russell said:

I'm halfway through it, and so far it is a real downer.  However, some people like that sort of thing.   

The question in my mind is whether it is a realistic portrayal of Hollywood in the '40s.  I bet you met some old hands over the years who could tell you, and perhaps did.

Since you're in the business, I bet you would probably enjoy it.  

I did meet several people who worked in Hollywood in the '40s but they tended to tell personal stories and anecdotes rather than give overall views.  Stories were great but not sure I could confirm or deny McCoy's views.  Also, having just read the most depressing book of all time (A Fine Balance) I'm not sure I could take another one. 

[duaneiac]

Sure there are some duds and more than a few dated references, but line for line, this has got to be the funniest movie ever.  It's amazing that a joke such as "Well, art is art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west, and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce, they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does." is still as funny -- and in Groucho's hands/mouth, just as fresh -- today as it was 90 years ago.

Odd/sad that the version I watched on Peacock had a line edited from "Hooray For Captain Spaulding" song.  Apparently "I think I'll try and make her" is beyond social acceptability now.

[soulpope]