Return Of The Film Corner Thread

[jlhoots]

Beanpole - interesting Russian film.

[ejp626]

I held off for the longest time but finally got a Blu-Ray player.  I needed to make sure I found one that would play Region A and B.

I've been hanging onto Criterion's Tati Blu-Ray set for some time now and finally broke out some of the discs.  Some of the bonus features are incredible.  There is a slightly different version of Jour de Fête from 1964 with hand-colored elements, which is what I watched tonight.  And then back in 1995 they were able to print a color version of the entire film!  (Tati shot the entire film with two cameras but the color version (very experimental) couldn't be developed into viable prints at that time.)  It's not quite as earth-shattering as if they found true color negatives of a Chaplin or Keaton film (rather than Ted Turner's colorization process) but pretty close.  I'll probably watch the color version over the weekend.

[Matthew]

Laura. Such a wonderfully acted movie, the minute the characters appear on the screen, you know what kind of person they are. Always liked Vincent Price in this one.

[Matthew]

Soul. I'm in the minority, I didn't think it was all that great and I did not like the animation for the film. I'll have to watch it again, but I was underwhelmed at my first viewing.

[ejp626]

1 hour ago, Matthew said:

Soul. I'm in the minority, I didn't think it was all that great and I did not like the animation for the film. I'll have to watch it again, but I was underwhelmed at my first viewing.

My kids have aged out of Pixar films, but I saw the trailers and was completely underwhelmed.  This is not a movie that appeals to me on any dimension.

[JSngry]

Three music-related films yesterday, all on amazon Prime, and all worhtwhile in their own way.

I don't know a lot about Elis Regina's life, but from what I do know, this film does a lot of the "bio-pic" things and is in some form or fashion "based on a true story" rather than actually being one. BUT - the actin and directing is really good,and the music is GLORIOUS. So, check it out and maybe find more about the real person.

I knew the gist of the this and the music (kinda), but this doc fleshes it out and is a delight to watch. Now I see that I really need to get the first Os Mutantes records (and some others as well).

And following Brazilian late-60s youthful cultural revolution, it was on to this:

This purportedly is a true story, and I don't have any difficulty almost believing that almost all of it it is. Boomers who still believe in magic should be enthralled by this, the rest of us...simply entertained by how it capture that brief moment where it really DID seem that things were going to get better and change and all we had to do was know that THIS was right and everything else wasn't.

All of the above are highly recommended to anybody who thinks "that looks interesting...", and all of them are free with Amazon Prime.

 

[JSngry]

The next time that Fania All Stars concert footage is released commercially (particularly Yankee Stadium & In Africa), I will get them immediately. Immediately!

 

[ejp626]

Watched Gilliam's "Final Cut" of Brazil for the first time in many years.  I forgot that it is a Christmas movie, much like Die Hard...

I did remember the gifts/bribes for officials, but forgot that they were presents.  I definitely didn't remember one of the chief officials dressed up as Santa Claus!  In my defense, I think this was in the European & Final Cut, and I have only seen the Final Cut twice (counting tonight).  Growing up I saw the US theatrical release several times, and I don't think that particular scene is in there, though I could be mistaken.  Never taken the time to watch the upbeat "Love Conquers All" version, but there are supposedly quite a few differences and it is much, much shorter (though with a marginally expanded role for DeNiro).  Maybe I will one of these days.

[ghost of miles]

Finally got around to watching this classic and favorite of my father's.  Riveting and lived up to its legend for me... also loved all of the late-1960s San Francisco atmosphere and location shooting:

[JSngry]

At its best, a Jerry Lewis movie with dogs.

Otherwise....not.

[Matthew]

48 minutes ago, JSngry said:

At its best, a Jerry Lewis movie with dogs.

Otherwise....not.

Dean Jones & Suzanne Pleshette. I wonder how many movies like this they appeared in? Disney did have its stable of solid, dependable comic actors back in the day.

[GA Russell]

On 11/30/2020 at 4:56 PM, medjuck said:

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. 

I see this now a month later!  I forgot to mention that the McCoy book was recommended in the Wall Street Journal by a woman who also recommended a few non-fiction books about Hollywood.  That's why I picked it up.

12 hours ago, Matthew said:

Dean Jones & Suzanne Pleshette. I wonder how many movies like this they appeared in? Disney did have its stable of solid, dependable comic actors back in the day.

My parents loved Dean Jones' TV show Ensign O'Toole from 1961.

[medjuck]

27 minutes ago, GA Russell said:

I see this now a month later!  I forgot to mention that the McCoy book was recommended in the Wall Street Journal by a woman who also recommended a few non-fiction books about Hollywood.  That's why I picked it up.

My parents loved Dean Jones' TV show Ensign O'Toole from 1961.

Funny these threads got put together because Dean Jones was one of the veterans I worked with (0n "Beethoven"). He apparently had been fairly wild in his youth but was now  a born again Christian. I remember him thanking me for making a film that had no swearing in it-- something I hadn't noticed.  He also told me that every one of the kids who'd been in the Disney movies with him  had eventually had a bad time, often as drug addicts. 

[JSngry]

Cesar Romero AND Joe Flynn...and a bunch of other faces you've seen on countless TV shows and movies over the years without ever needing to know their names...people who seemed to always have a gig.

As a movie, eh, it goes without saying. But the entertainment value of simply seeing these people just to be seeing them should not be underestimated, at least on my TV.

OLAN SOULE!!!!

[Matthew]

Good News. The oldest looking cast of students this side of Beverly Hills 90210, very enjoyable movie though.

 

[ghost of miles]

12 hours ago, JSngry said:

Cesar Romero AND Joe Flynn...and a bunch of other faces you've seen on countless TV shows and movies over the years without ever needing to know their names...people who seemed to always have a gig.

As a movie, eh, it goes without saying. But the entertainment value of simply seeing these people just to be seeing them should not be underestimated, at least on my TV.

OLAN SOULE!!!!

In my early/mid 1970s childhood memories "Kurt Russell IS Disney comedy!!"  pretty much.  Thanks for the flashback on this.  

Next on my DVDs-I-bought-ages-ago-and-am-finally-going-to-watch list:  The Man With The Golden Arm.

[ejp626]

12 hours ago, Matthew said:

Good News. The oldest looking cast of students this side of Beverly Hills 90210, very enjoyable movie though.

 

Grease would like to have a word with you...

[duaneiac]

13 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

In my early/mid 1970s childhood memories "Kurt Russell IS Disney comedy!!"  pretty much.  Thanks for the flashback on this.  

 

I was thinking just last week, when I saw a promo for his latest movie, that Kurt Russel has had quite the career these past 50-some years-- to go from being the teen heartthrob lead in those Disney comedies to portraying the immortal Snake Plissken to now being Santa Claus.  That shows some adaptability and durability.  Good for him.

I recently watched the Rifftrax version of this:

Just as a movie, this is not that bad if you think of it as a live-action version of one of those 1950's horror comic books.  Yes, it's hokey, a little plodding at times and the characters a are all paper thin, but it is ghoulish, mindless fun.  The only thing which would have made this movie even better would have been if it had included Elisha Cook, Jr. with a terrible Cockney accent.

[gmonahan]

19 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

In my early/mid 1970s childhood memories "Kurt Russell IS Disney comedy!!"  pretty much.  Thanks for the flashback on this.  

Next on my DVDs-I-bought-ages-ago-and-am-finally-going-to-watch list:  The Man With The Golden Arm.

Whoa--that is a *serious* movie. I think it is far and away Sinatra's greatest film performance, and he had some good ones.

 

 

gregmo

[Matthew]

Singing in the Rain. It's the movie I return to time and time again. It's my all time favorite.

[jlhoots]

Soul - my wife liked it more than I did.

[JSngry]

[JSngry]

 

[HutchFan]

My wife, son, and I watched a couple movies by the Coen Brothers yesterday:

 

and

[jlhoots]

Nowhere In Africa - 1992 Oscar for best foreign film

Edited January 3, 2021 by jlhoots