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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 24, 2016 14:36:44 GMT -5
Somewhere in the early pages of this thread, I watched and reviewed all the Dr. Mabuse movies from those great ones from the 1930s through the German made James Bond inspired ones from the 1960s. Only the last one or two wasn't worth the effort And The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse is available, repeat after me, from Criterion. Very good, have a cookie Of the 1960s Mabuse films, I've only seen the one with Daliah Lavi. Since it has Daliah Lavi in it, it gets lots of extra points! |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 24, 2016 22:40:21 GMT -5
A Night At The Opera (1935) Groucho, Chico and Harpo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones
Havoc at the opera house
Prime Marx brothers. The movie starts rather abruptly with Margaret Dumont waiting for Groucho to join her at a table in a restaurant. Sure enough, on the DVD special feature, it makes mention that the beginning of the film , about 4 minutes worth, was trimmed. It had started with a title card saying it was taking place in Italy and you see a street scene with Italians singing and dancing. When this film was re-released to the theaters during WWII, all references to friendly Italy was cut. The negative for the missing scene was lost and never found for restoration.
Besides the jarring beginning and the operatic singing supplied by the real voices of Jones and Carlisle, this is grade A Marx material. Has the classic scene of stuffing 15 various people inside a tiny cabin room. Groucho and Margaret Dumont exchange some of their best repertoire.
Chico on piano, Harpo on harp, Groucho explaining a contract (the party of the first part is henceforth known as the first party...), and all hell breaks loose for finale on the opera stage with the police involved.
Groucho referred to this as his favorite film. It's certainly in the top 3
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 24, 2016 22:58:45 GMT -5
The Pianist (2002) Adrien Brody Director-Roman Polanski
The true story of a Polish/Jew classical pianist living in Warsaw when the Germans took over in 1939. The initial anti-Jewish restrictions, the round up the Jewish population into the ghetto, the massacres and uprising, the struggle to survive.
After watching Schindler's List the other week I wasn't sure I was ready for another view of the holocaust. There is no denying, however, how powerful and important these depictions are. Especially when they are based on survivor's accounts. Add to that the fact that Roman Polanski himself spent some years as a child within a German concentration camp. Ironically, Spielberg initially wanted Polanski to direct Schinler's List but at that time Roman felt he coildn't handle the subject matter
Adrian Brody won a well-earned Oscar for The Pianist.At age 29, he was the youngest to do so
Brutally and hypnotic. The scenes of a destroyed German city in the final days of the war are amazing. Polanski personally I find as a piece of shit for what he did with a young girl leading him to flee the country, but this is still a masterful movie
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 25, 2016 16:01:17 GMT -5
The Ring (1927) The biggest sap in movie history-Carl Brisson, Ian Hunter-no not the guy from Mott The Hoople Directed by Alfred Hitchcock-maybe you heard of him
Doofus Carl Brisson is known as One-Round Jack, an amateur boxer at the circus who takes on all comers. He's sweet on one of the girls who work there. A professional boxer gets in the ring and cleans Jack's clock. Couldn't happen to a better a-hole. The pro boxer also begins to make time with Jack's girl. Face it, Jack is a looser and so is the actor playing him
Carl Brisson was actually a professional boxer before taking up acting. Wait, did I say acting. I meant hamming. With lots of cheesy looks. This is Hitch's 4th feature length film, a silent of course. He begins to experiment with the available techniques such as super-imposing images and elongated distortions on screen. The boxing scenes are rudimentary and sped up from natural movements. A very slim story. A chuckle or 2 such as a wedding scene where one onlooker is constantly picking his nose or the circus Siamese twim sisters walk down the aisle and disagree on which side of the room to sit down
There's some disturbing rascist incidents to the modern sensibility too. But yes, Hitch did a boxing movie.
Carl Brisson-not looking to good. This ain't yer night Carl. You are not a contender
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 26, 2016 1:37:40 GMT -5
Oh What A Lovely War (1969) Colin Farrell, Malcolm McFee, Wendy Allnut Directed by Richard Attenborough
Adaptation of a stage musical concerning WWI and the 5 Smith Brothers from England who volunteer and see action in the trenches
I had hoped this might be a precursor to the movie M.A.S.H. or even Catch-22 since was supposed to satirize the patriotic zeal of engaging in war. And there is a bit of that, more so as the movie lumbers on at its somewhat bloated 145 minutes. But its smothered with songs and reeks of music hall merriment. A show tune is bound to break out every 5 minutes and none seem particularly memorable.
Its starts off fine, with the heads of the various nations of Europe at a gala ball discussing political events and trying to enlist as many allies to their side as possible. War arrives and there is song and dances to get as many young men as possible to sign up. Half the movie takes place on the battlefield trenches, the rest is on an amusement park pier back in England where the general looks through binoculars to see the outcome of the campaigns.
As the war drags on, the death toll rises according to the dialogue and charts seen at the Army HQ. But there is not a single drop of blood shown, nor and severly wounded casualties. Any corpses look rather neat. Unlike the U.S. embroiled in Vietnam at this time, I guess there was no overwhelming outrage against war among the English public to instill a bit more visceral wit. It's light and sanitize. Only towards the very end as the film concludes within a field containing thousands of crosses does the movie show some true bite
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 26, 2016 10:08:07 GMT -5
Here are a few summaries of some of the movies I've seen lately but not commented on yet: The Pirate (1948) - Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in a Technicolor musical set in the Caribbean in the 1700s. From the IMDB threads, I can see that a lot of people love this movie. I found it watchable and charming with a few really good musical numbers - notably "Be a Clown" - but it's not Meet Me in St. Louis or The Harvey Girls! Black Magic (1949) - Orson Welles stars as Cagliostro, the con man and mystic who took Paris by storm just before the French Revolution. It reminds me of film noir, set in the 1780s. It's kind of like Nightmare Alley. One of the femme fatales is a gypsy and the other is ... Marie Antoinette. This movie gets a lot more points for being wacky and fun than it does for being good. It's worth watching for Orson Welles. Antonio Gaudi (1984) - A documentary about the work of the architect Gaudi. His work has made Barcelona one of the most recognizable cities in the world. And I'm a sucker for any movie that takes place in Barcelona and they walk by one of the buildings and talk about Gaudi. (Antonioni's The Passenger (with Jack Nicholson) comes to mind.) There is almost no dialogue in Antonio Gaudi. It's just the work of Gaudi for 70 minutes. And when somebody is finally interviewed for a minute, it's a bit weird because it's a Japanese film. The subject starts talking in Spanish, then the Japanese voice-over starts translating, and the English sub-titles start. The documentary was directed by the guy who did Woman in the Dunes. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 26, 2016 10:36:51 GMT -5
And last night I watched From the Life of the Marionettes (1980). Ingmar Bergman filmed this for German television. It takes two of the characters from Scenes from a Marriage and relates their further adventures. (But not with the same actors. I was a little disappointed at first because I worship Bibi Andersson. But Christine Buchegger is a more-than-acceptable substitute.) I was completely blown away by From the Life of the Marionettes. I didn't know very much about it going in except that it's an Ingmar Bergman film and it uses characters from a previous film. And I was completely sucked in by the opening scene and totally mesmerized by the ensuing 100 minutes. This is why I love Bergman so much. So many of his lesser films are mini-masterpieces. I don't want to say anything else about the film itself. Part of my enjoyment derived from the unexpected aspects. A lot happened that I wouldn't have expected in a Bergman film. Let's just say it's highly recommended for Bergman fans. I haven't rated it on IMDB yet because I want to give it a "10". I usually hesitate before rating a movie with a "10" when I've only seen it once. (I gave The Harvey Girls a "10" the first time I saw it, but I thought about it for a few days. And I recently gave The Testament of Dr. Mabuse a "10" without thinking about it too much.) But From the Life of the Marionettes worked on every level, I was fascinated the whole time I was watching it, it kept me awake when I was kind of tired, great acting, frequently unexpected elements, innovative cinematography techniques. Also, I didn't miss Bibi Andersson a bit after the first few minutes! THAT says a lot! |
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Post by Bronze Age Brian on Apr 26, 2016 11:55:33 GMT -5
 Watched Psych-Out starring Jack Nicholson. I've always been fascinated with the hippie culture of the 60's, as my parents were hippies that met on Haight/Ashbury. This movie kind of felt like a portal into that world for a bit, as it gives a good glimpse into that culture since it was made in 1968, right in the heart of the Flower child phenomenon. Nicholson is great, you wouldn't think he would make a good frontman for a psychedelic band but he pulls it off just fine. Susan Strasberg wasn't that convincing as a deaf girl, but her beauty astounds. There is chaos in the scene, as LSD and debauchery pervades. But the real kicker is what happens when a deaf girl takes too much LSD? A wild scene to be had, at that. Great colorful visuals too, I enjoyed it.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 26, 2016 12:43:36 GMT -5
Bird (1988) Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora Directed by Clint Eastwood. Biopic about the life of jazz great Charlie Parker. This a somewhat unbalanced look at Parker's life as it focuses heavily on his addiction to heroin and alcohol, his mental illness (shown to be largely fueled by substance abuse) and his relationship with Chan Parker. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think his music gets short shrift. And I know that is absolutely a choice made by Eastwood as he is a huge jazz fan. For all that, it's a very good film and Forest Whitaker does a great job of portraying a tortured genius who essentially committed slow suicide (The medical examiner estimated Parker to be in his 50s at the time of his death...he was 34). This was the film that began to turn the tide in how Eastwood was viewed as a filmmaker. It's a good bio-pic with an absolutely incredible soundtrack. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Apr 26, 2016 15:29:33 GMT -5
I was a regular listener to WBGO, the New York area's jazz station, when DJ Phil Schaap played every recording of Charlie Parker that exists, in chronological order. Every weekday morning at 8:20 he'd play the next 15-20 minutes of Bird's recorded oeuvre; it took months to get thru it all.
Phil moved to WKCR a year or so after this project concluded but he continued to play Bird at 8:20 every morning. Is he by any chance still doing it?
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 26, 2016 16:09:21 GMT -5
I was a regular listener to WBGO, the New York area's jazz station, when DJ Phil Schaap played every recording of Charlie Parker that exists, in chronological order. Every weekday morning at 8:20 he'd play the next 15-20 minutes of Bird's recorded oeuvre; it took months to get thru it all. Phil moved to WKCR a year or so after this project concluded but he continued to play Bird at 8:20 every morning. Is he by any chance still doing it? A Google search indicates that the show Bird Flight airs on WKCR Monday - Friday from 8:20-9:30 A.M. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 27, 2016 9:57:21 GMT -5
I definitely remember this scene even though I haven't seen the movie for almost 40 years. I DVRed The Bobo off TCM. This is a 1960s comedy with Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland. I saw the ending when I was a kid and the imagery is unforgettable. But I didn't know the name of the movie. I thought it was called The Blue Matador. And I couldn't find it anywhere! I eventually found out the name of the film from a cinephile co-worker, but I still haven't seen the whole thing. It was on one of the movie channels a few years ago but I missed the beginning. I watched it for awhile but I quit when I decided that I'd rather watch the whole thing. And now I can! I might watch it tonight. It's apparently more fun than a barrel of people. I also DVRed Sex Kittens Go to College. Tuesday Weld! And Mamie van Doren. Tuesday Weld is one of my favorites. I thought about DVRing Lord Love a Duck but I feel like I'm overloading the DVR. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 27, 2016 17:12:44 GMT -5
I DVRed The Bobo off TCM. Curious to here what you think of the film. Have not seen it and don't believe I heard anything particularly good about it, even as a Sellers fan such as myself, never tried to obtain a DVD of it. I do remember Sellers on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson pitching the movie and showing clips from it. God I'm ancient |
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 28, 2016 8:20:32 GMT -5
I DVRed The Bobo off TCM. Curious to here what you think of the film. Have not seen it and don't believe I heard anything particularly good about it, even as a Sellers fan such as myself, never tried to obtain a DVD of it. I do remember Sellers on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson pitching the movie and showing clips from it. God I'm ancient I was going to watch The Bobo last night, but I mentioned to my brother that I had DVRed it and he remembers it fondly, so he wants to watch it too. And my nephew overheard us talking about it and he's intrigued by the idea of a blue matador and he wants to watch it with us. So It may be a few days before we get to it. So I watched Sex Kittens Go to College last night. That's Mijanou Bardot in a tablecloth for some reason. She had plenty of opportunities to put on something else. I guess she liked it. This movie is stupid, but very charming and frequently very funny. I'm surprised this isn't a more well-known cult classic. It's not good by any sensible or useful definition of "good" but it's wildly entertaining. I was never bored, that's for sure. Mamie van Doren plays a newly hired college professor with a 298 IQ. However, her presence is very disruptive among the students and staff. There's a computer robot names Thinko who looks like Electro, the World's Fair robot that became the butler for the All-Star Squadron. Tuesday Weld and Mijanou Bardot (Brigitte's little sister) are students at the college. Mijanou is hilarious. I laughed a lot when she was onscreen. She's not as drop dead gorgeous as her sister but she makes up for it with personality. Jackie Coogan shows up after a while and offers up a W.C. Fields imitation that is hilarious because it's so lame. And I don't think a good W.C. Fields imitation would have been nearly as amusing. Conway Twitty and Mamie van Doren. This movie is so weird. Also - Conway Twitty, Vampira, Louis Nye, Martin Milner and John Carradine. If nothing else, you get to see Mamie van Doren and John Carradine dance the Charleston together! Lots and lost of points for being SO WEIRD! |
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 28, 2016 8:35:50 GMT -5
I forgot to mention I watched The Virgin Suicides (1999) the night before last. It's pretty good! Kirsten Dunst is a beautiful teenage girl with four teenage sisters who are also beautiful. But 1970s Michigan suburbia has really MESSED THEM UP! It doesn't help a bit that James Woods and Kathleen Turner are the parents!
Directed by Sofia Coppola, who is a pretty good director. I remember liking Marie Antoinette a lot.
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