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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 13, 2018 15:49:24 GMT -5
Last night I watched Humphrey Bogart in Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Watching Bogey's descent into his greed and madness is chilling. Perhaps people of today may not realize just how desperate and consuming the gold disease was to those hunting and dying in the mountains and deserts in hopes of striking it rich to escape poverty and the responsibilities of every day work. Huston's directing of Bogart really shows the toll of what happens when you become obsessed and lose control of your humanity becoming more bestial in attitude and perception. The black and white here truly shows the sweat, dirt and pain a person can sink to in attempting to find the elusive gold in them thar' hills. Whether it was the combination of Dad and son Huston on the set or his own desire to create something unique as an actor nobody can know for certain but Bogart stepped up his acting and really shines in being the dirtiest and most ugliest kind of person there is. That his insanity allows him for becoming insanely suspicious and jealous to the point of killing a friend (which he failed at) so that he can have it all is more frighteningly real as in the beginning he swears that a man and his word means more than all the gold in the world. He is generous and giving with both of his partners only to find in the end that he isn't as strong or so proud as he devoutly believed. This is the type of movie you lose yourself in watching and in the end when it is over you are still feeling the movie haunting your thoughts and dreams. And that is the power of cinema folks! Looking forward to more Bogart goodness this week and next with several bogey DVD's on the shelf calling to me... I watched this for the umpteenth time earlier this year in the theater when it was re-released for its 70th anniversary. It was the first time my youngest son had seen it and he was mesmerized. I'll admit that he's not the average 17 year old, but for a kid that age to be held rapt by a 70 year old film it is truly something special.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 14, 2018 0:38:08 GMT -5
I like it when Bogey hits up the rabbit and the penguin for money.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 14, 2018 0:42:24 GMT -5
It's funny, Alistair MacLean was one of my favourite writers as a kid and Where Eagles Dare and The Guns of Navarone were two of the best of his best novels but I've never seen the film versions of either, though they played many times on tv when I was young. I'll get around to them one of these days, though. I'd also like to see When Eight Bells Toll and Puppet on a Chain, two other favourite MacLean books, though neither film is supposed to be that great as far as I'm aware. I have the impression that Puppet was pretty successful at the box office, however, which makes it interesting as a period piece, and Eight Bells starred a young Anthony Hopkins, who's always good to watch. The only two Alastair MacLean films I have seen are Force 10 from Navarone and Fear is the Key, both of which I used to rank among his lesser or middling books, though enjoyable reads nonetheless. Force 10, as the title indicates, was a sequel to Guns and was one of Harrison Ford's first starring roles after he made his name in Star Wars. I remember finding it a pretty solid war movie - nothing out of the ordinary but nothing to turn you off either. Fear, I saw as a very young person and don't recall much about it other than liking it at the time - but I was at that age when just going to theatre was a thrill in itself and it would have to have been a pretty dire movie to spoil the experience. Trying to recall it after all these years, I suspect it wasn't very good, but who knows. Force 10 is a pretty decent war film; didn't think much of the book. He wrote it much later and his later stuff, generally, wasn't a patch on the stuff from the 60s. Alcoholism was a big factor. One thing about the film, I originally noticed was Robert Shaw's voice, in scenes. some dialogue was looped and it doesn't sound like Shaw, in some scenes. Loved Edward Fox in it, though.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 14, 2018 0:52:09 GMT -5
Apropos of nothing except the talk of excellent war movies, The Great Escape is still a superb movie. Ditto The Train. For sheer silliness, you can't beat desperate Journey, with Errol Flynn and Ronald reagan. It's the closest thing to a Blackhawk movie (even more than the Columbia serial). You can add The Dam Busters, 12 O'Clock High, Objective Burma, The Blue Max, Battleground, Patton, The Desert Fox, The Desert Rats and The Young Lions to that list, among many others. A really interesting one is Lost Command, with Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon and George Segal. Quinn is a colonel in the paratroops, who is one of the leaders at Dien Ben Phu. Delon is a staff officer (still a para, though) who airdrops in as reinforcement. they surrender to the Viet Minh and are held prisoner, then released. Segal is an Algerian colonial para. On the way back to France, they stop in Algiers and Segal takes leave, witnessing the changes with harsher colonial rule, in the face of the revolt. He ends up going awol and joining the rebels. meanwhile, Quinn is in disgrace and visits the widow of a former CO. He is a peasant, from a shepherding and smuggling family; but, he falls for her and she for him, and helps him politically, to gain a new command, in Algeria, dealing with the revolt and the bombing campaign in Algiers. Delon is the young idealist, who falls for Segal's sister, until he learns she is part of the rebels planting bombs. Great character film, very much war turns people into killers, even good ones. Not surprisingly, it wasn't one that got shown often.
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Post by brutalis on Nov 15, 2018 7:50:13 GMT -5
Subconsciously codystarbuck last post must have influenced me into pulling Desperate Journey off the shelf to watch last night. The 1942 Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale Sr, Arthur kennedy and Raymond Massey was just the right touch of melodrama and silliness after a long day of work. boy does Alan Hale make a great Olaf or what? Flynn does a pretty good smirking irresponsible BlACKHAWK who is having more fun behind enemy lines tormenting the German's than trying to get the important information they discovered back to England. A very flawed yet charismatic leader indeed is Flynn in this one. Reagan has a splendid turn during the fast double-talk sequence in confusing the German command and leading to the flight squadron's later escape. Toss in a little flirting with a sympathetic resistance fraulein, some hit and run explosions, a car chase and thrilling plane escape while killing the enemy en-mass and yo have an instant chance for a successful movie. If you are looking for a serious world war 2 movie then this isn't the one for you. Rushed into production as America entered the war there are plenty of flaws and yet the movie is fast, smart and entertaining in all it delivers. Which is what a night at the movies is supposed to be.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 15, 2018 12:33:28 GMT -5
A couple of nights ago, I watched Sleeping Dogs (1977). It's a New Zealand film with Sam Neill and Warren Oates.
It's a lot like a Land of the Giants episode … without the little people.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 15, 2018 20:47:35 GMT -5
I remember when Fear of a Black Hat (1994) came out. I saw the trailer and I thought "The hip hop Spinal Tap! That could be hilarious!"
It has been excrutiatingly hard to find! But it's on Amazon Prime and I watched it today.
It IS hilarious! This movie is killing me! I haven't thought about it in ages but it popped into my head today and I searched it on Amazon Prime … and there it is!
I'm gonna see if I can find the soundtrack to play in the car when I drive around Pomona.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2018 23:38:16 GMT -5
I remember when Fear of a Black Hat (1994) came out. I saw the trailer and I thought "The hip hop Spinal Tap! That could be hilarious!" It has been excrutiatingly hard to find! But it's on Amazon Prime and I watched it today. It IS hilarious! This movie is killing me! I haven't thought about it in ages but it popped into my head today and I searched it on Amazon Prime … and there it is! I'm gonna see if I can find the soundtrack to play in the car when I drive around Pomona. It was freaking hilarious and these unknowns (to me they were) were so good and I saw this with a bunch of friends and I really want to see this film. I'm going to Amazon Prime and get myself a copy too.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 16, 2018 12:19:56 GMT -5
I'm recovering from a foot injury and so I sat around and watched movies yesterday.
The Life of the Party (1920) - with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. It's almost an hour long. I don't think I've ever seen a Fatty Arbuckle movie that's almost the length of a feature. It certainly has its moments but it's not a knockdown pie-in-the-face police-chase slapstick farce like his short films. I liked it quite a bit.
Three Brothers (1981) - An Italian film about a family coping with the death of the mother. There's a hilarious little girl and they talk about terrorism a lot. Italian movies! I saw this because it's on the 1001 list.
Fear of a Black Hat (1994) - This is hip hop Spinal Tap!
Trees Lounge (1996) - Steve Buscemi, Chloe Sevigny, Carol Kane, Daniel Baldwin. Buscemi directed this quirky little film about a middle-aged slacker driving around Queens in an ice cream truck.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2018 11:10:37 GMT -5
On Turner Classic MoviesLast Sunday, GUNS OF NAVARONE, THE (1961) --- DVR, yesterday afternoon -- one of my all-time favorites. Tuesday, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957) --- I haven't seen this movie in years and glad that I did watch it on Tuesday. Friday, SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932) --- This Marlene Dietrich movie is a great film and this is the first time that I seen it --- Highly Recommended. Friday, DEVIL IS A WOMAN, THE (1935) --- I just loved this Dietrich film and also starred Lionel Atwell and Edward Everett Horton too. Friday, GLIMPSES OF AUSTRALIA (1939) --- Great 9 Minutes Film showcasing AUSTRALIA ... Saturday, SPANISH MAIN, THE (1945) --- Loved this Maureen O'Hara Film! Saturday, ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN (1958) --- Probably, the last time that I see this film ... Getting bored with it. Watched several football games and later on SVENGOOLIE ... the Monster Classic GORGON, the Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco, and several others including Prudence Hyman as the Gorgon. I haven't seen this movie in 15-20 years and I was happy to see this film that was made in 1964.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 18, 2018 13:20:43 GMT -5
On Turner Classic MoviesLast Sunday, GUNS OF NAVARONE, THE (1961) --- DVR, yesterday afternoon -- one of my all-time favorites. Tuesday, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957) --- I haven't seen this movie in years and glad that I did watch it on Tuesday. Friday, SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932) --- This Marlene Dietrich movie is a great film and this is the first time that I seen it --- Highly Recommended. Friday, DEVIL IS A WOMAN, THE (1935) --- I just loved this Dietrich film and also starred Lionel Atwell and Edward Everett Horton too. Friday, GLIMPSES OF AUSTRALIA (1939) --- Great 9 Minutes Film showcasing AUSTRALIA ... Saturday, SPANISH MAIN, THE (1945) --- Loved this Maureen O'Hara Film! Saturday, ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN (1958) --- Probably, the last time that I see this film ... Getting bored with it. Watched several football games and later on SVENGOOLIE ... the Monster Classic GORGON, the Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco, and several others including Prudence Hyman as the Gorgon. I haven't seen this movie in 15-20 years and I was happy to see this film that was made in 1964. I wish I had known The Gorgon was on Svengoolie! I got out of the habit of watching Svengoolie once or twice a month. But Svengoolie and The Gorgon sounds like a great match!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2018 14:39:17 GMT -5
I wish I had known The Gorgon was on Svengoolie! I got out of the habit of watching Svengoolie once or twice a month. But Svengoolie and The Gorgon sounds like a great match! I bookmarked Svengoolie and I check it every Sunday AM to see the next movie will be showing ... this Saturday Mr. Sardonicus will be showing and I have seen it 3 months ago at a friend house and won't be seeing it. I pretty much watch Svengoolie faithfully and MeTV has Closed Captioning ... and that's an added plus.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 19, 2018 1:08:03 GMT -5
On Turner Classic MoviesLast Sunday, GUNS OF NAVARONE, THE (1961) --- DVR, yesterday afternoon -- one of my all-time favorites. Tuesday, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957) --- I haven't seen this movie in years and glad that I did watch it on Tuesday. Friday, SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932) --- This Marlene Dietrich movie is a great film and this is the first time that I seen it --- Highly Recommended. Friday, DEVIL IS A WOMAN, THE (1935) --- I just loved this Dietrich film and also starred Lionel Atwell and Edward Everett Horton too. Friday, GLIMPSES OF AUSTRALIA (1939) --- Great 9 Minutes Film showcasing AUSTRALIA ... Saturday, SPANISH MAIN, THE (1945) --- Loved this Maureen O'Hara Film! Saturday, ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN (1958) --- Probably, the last time that I see this film ... Getting bored with it. Watched several football games and later on SVENGOOLIE ... the Monster Classic GORGON, the Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco, and several others including Prudence Hyman as the Gorgon. I haven't seen this movie in 15-20 years and I was happy to see this film that was made in 1964. The Spanish Main-Maureen O'Hara is good; but, kind of a dull hero. She's also in Against All Flags, with Flynn, towards the end of his credible swashbuckling days (alcohol was catching up). She gets to do a bit of sword slinging. Not much on the fencing; but, she has a good lunge. A fun one is At Swords Point, where she is the daughter of Athos (who had a son, Raoul, by The Vicomte De Bragelonne) , matched with Cornell Wilde (as the son of D'Artagnan) and Alan Hale Jr, as the son of Porthos, and Dan O'Herlihy as the son of Aramis (who entered the priesthood, by the time of The 20 Years After). Maureen gets to do a bit of cross-dressing and a bit of sword-sticking.
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Post by brutalis on Nov 19, 2018 7:58:12 GMT -5
Another Bogartdeep dive back to 1947 and Dead Reckoning also starring Lizabeth Scott and Morris Carnovsky. Bogey is "Rip" Murdock a WW 2 military Captain playing gumshoe detective for his war partner Johnny Drake who is up for a Medal of Honor. Johnny disappears before receiving the medal and Rip goes AWOL to uncover his friends fate, eventually learning he is now dead, burned in a car crash. Rip finds out Johnny joined up under an assumed name to avoid a murder charge where he was accused of killing a rich man to get his young beautiful wife. This starts a voyage for Rip to discovering all he can about Johnny and what actually happened.
The hunt is on as Rip digs into the past and finds himself falling for Coral Chandler the beautiful blonde femme fatale. Murder, mystery, intrigue, gambling, thugs and clues take Rip upon a merry chase. Lots of good old detective dialogue and rambling narration from Bogey. An entertaining and tense dramatic who done did it as Bogart gives a fun edge to the tough guy detective motif.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 19, 2018 12:10:55 GMT -5
Another Bogartdeep dive back to 1947 and Dead Reckoning also starring Lizabeth Scott and Morris Carnovsky. Bogey is "Rip" Murdock a WW 2 military Captain playing gumshoe detective for his war partner Johnny Drake who is up for a Medal of Honor. Johnny disappears before receiving the medal and Rip goes AWOL to uncover his friends fate, eventually learning he is now dead, burned in a car crash. Rip finds out Johnny joined up under an assumed name to avoid a murder charge where he was accused of killing a rich man to get his young beautiful wife. This starts a voyage for Rip to discovering all he can about Johnny and what actually happened. The hunt is on as Rip digs into the past and finds himself falling for Coral Chandler the beautiful blonde femme fatale. Murder, mystery, intrigue, gambling, thugs and clues take Rip upon a merry chase. Lots of good old detective dialogue and rambling narration from Bogey. An entertaining and tense dramatic who done did it as Bogart gives a fun edge to the tough guy detective motif. I've only seen Dead Reckoning once, and it's been a while, but I remember it as being pretty good, and Lizabeth Scott is always one of the most fatal of femmes fatales. If you've never seen Too Late for Tears, find it as soon as possible! Ms. Scott takes over the movie so completely and so passionately to make Too Late for Tears one of the best films noirs. I got my Bogart fix yesterday by watching Beat the Devil. Along with Bogart, it's got Gina Lollabrigida, Jennifer Jones, Peter Lorre and Roger Morley. Directed by John Huston. Screenplay by Truman Capote. I've seen Beat the Devil over and over again through the years. I was watching the movie "Capote" a few days ago and there's a scene with Truman talking about hanging out with Bogart and John Huston in Italy, and it reminded me that I hadn't seen Beat the Devil for two or three years. Great movie! It's been called a parody of film noir. Someone - I think it was Roger Ebert - called it the first "camp" film. I find the writing and the performances HILARIOUS!
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