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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 27, 2022 10:03:18 GMT -5
I was today years old when I learned that The Blue Angel was simultaneously filmed in German and English. I had no idea.
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 27, 2022 11:04:25 GMT -5
I was today years old when I learned that The Blue Angel was simultaneously filmed in German and English. I had no idea. Testament of Dr Mabuse was simultaneously filmed in French and German, as well. Not uncommon, at the time.
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 27, 2022 19:50:13 GMT -5
Has anybody seen White Dog (1982)?
I saw it last night. It’s really really good. It gets a lot of points for being one-of-a-kind.
But be warned. It will be gut-wrenching for dog lovers.
Burl Ives is in it. If you close your eyes, you’ll be thinking “Well, that’s a weird subject for a snowman to be talking about.”
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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2022 23:46:06 GMT -5
Has anybody seen White Dog (1982)? I saw it last night. It’s really really good. It gets a lot of points for being one-of-a-kind. But be warned. It will be gut-wrenching for dog lovers. Burl Ives is in it. If you close your eyes, you’ll be thinking “Well, that’s a weird subject for a snowman to be talking about.”
No, read about it but have never seen it. Not sure where I came across it but from what I remember, it sounded kind of harrowing. I used to read a lot of movie-related magazines in the pre-internet days, so it was probably some article, but if so, I have no idea which particular mag it might have been.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 29, 2022 9:36:50 GMT -5
I watched The Blue Angel probably for the first time. After watching it I'm pretty sure I've never seen the entire film, just scenes. And after watching it I can only really muster up an...okay. It certainly wasn't bad, though exactly nothing happened in the first half of the film. By far the most interesting thing about it was the atmosphere that Von Sternberg and his cinematographers were able to embue it with. There are definitely vestiges of German Expressionism in the film. It's essentially a silent melodrama with added sound, dialogue and music. It very much is a film made in the transition from silent to sound. I guess I can't blame The Professor for falling for Lola Lola, though it happened far too fast and smacks of that instant love trope that very seldom works for me. However, Lola agreeing to marry the Professor never rings true to me. The clear film-noir antecedents in this film, both in its look and its content, should have enamored it to me, but somehow it didn't. I don't dislike it, but it's not in any way a favorite and I'm not convinced I understand the acclaim it gets other than introducing Marlene Dietrich in her first major role.
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 29, 2022 22:24:10 GMT -5
I started watching Fritz Lang's Spione (Spies) last night, though all of the dialogue card's are in German (on Youtube). The visuals are interesting enough; but, I don't know enough German to follow the dialogue. Rudolf Klein-Rogge is the mastermind of a criminal organization, who blackmails a Russian spy into seducing a general for state secrets and also tries to steal a secret treaty between Japan and Britain. The top german agent, 326, is trying to hunt the spy master down, as he masquerades as the head of a bank.
Klein-Rogge played Dr Mabuse, in Mabuse the Gambler and The Testament of Dr Mabuse and Rotwang, the mad scientist, in Metropolis. Gerda Maurus is Sonja, the Russian agent. She also appeared in Lang's Frau im Mond Woman in the Moon, his sci-fi epic.
The film has a lot in common with Lang's Mabuse films, as Haghi, the villain (Klein-Rogge) changes his appearance as the bank president, and the secret agent, 326, is first seen as a street vagrant. One of the characters, Lady Leslane (Hertha von Walther), is an opium addict who is blackmailed by Haghi to get the treaty from a Japanese security officer. The Mabuse films also used disguises and cut-outs, for the master mind and often blackmailed others into committing crimes for him.
You could do quite a soap opera around Lang's time in Germany (let alone his leaving and coming to Hollywood). His wife, Thea von Harbou, who wrote the scripts for his films and novels based on the scripts, had been married to Klein-Rogge, before entering into an affair with Lang. She left Klein-Rogge for Lang, but Klein-Rogge continued to appear in Lang's films. During production on this film, Lang started an affair with Gerda Maurus.
I love Lang's Mabuse films, as the character makes for a great super-villain, even better than Moriarty, though seemingly less so with each entry in the 60s Mabuse series, as budget's decreased and cliches increased. Lang built a whole little "Mabusiverse", between those films and M, as he brought the character of Inspektor Lohman over from M and put him into Testament of Dr Mabuse, hunting for the madman (who secretly operates from an insane asylum). The 60s series continued to use Lohman as the chief antagonist for Mabuse, with Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) portraying him in Return of Dr Mabuse and the remake of testament (while he plays a different character in Lang's return to the series, The 1,000 Eyes of Dr Mabuse). Wolfgang Preis plays Mabuse, in the 60s films, who is more of an evil spirit who inhabits others.
In this film, Haghi has this high tech desk, with a built in intercom system and pneumatic slots & tubes that convey papers to and from the office. He has a light-up display for some messages. he is wheelchair bound and has a nurse attend him, also helping him with his disguises.
As soon as I finish this, I am looking to watch Frau in Mond.
The German tv series, Babylon Berlin, mixes in elements from the German Expressionist films, especially Lang, but also The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and I think some elements of this, as Sonja reminds me of Countess Svetlana Sorokina/Nikoros in the tv series. There are also elements from Berlin Alexanderplatz, the 1980 tv mini-series, also set during the Weimar Era (in which Lang and Murnau worked, before the Nazis came to power).
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 29, 2022 23:09:45 GMT -5
And I know did a re-watch of 1931s Monkey Business. The first film starring The Four Marx Brothers written for the screen as opposed to adapting one of their stage shows. I suppose saying it was written may be too kind, because even among Marx Brothers films the plot on this one is ultra tissue thin.
A couple of things jumped out at me. One was that this (and 1932s Horse Feathers) actually gave Zeppo something to do. He almost had a character arc in this one. And good for him.
It’s also almost the story of two halves. The second half of the film is much weaker than the first. The time on the ship is anarchic Marx mayhem. The interplay between Groucho and Chico was particularly good. The second half was much weaker with the kidnapping kind of tacked on and the obligatory harp solo dragging more than usual.
For me this is mid-range Marx Brothers. I do have to say that Ruth Hall was absolutely adorable as Mary Helton. No wonder Zeppo fell for her.
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Post by Calidore on Apr 30, 2022 10:45:27 GMT -5
I started watching Fritz Lang's Spione (Spies) last night, though all of the dialogue card's are in German (on Youtube). The visuals are interesting enough; but, I don't know enough German to follow the dialogue. Rudolf Klein-Rogge is the mastermind of a criminal organization, who blackmails a Russian spy into seducing a general for state secrets and also tries to steal a secret treaty between Japan and Britain. The top german agent, 326, is trying to hunt the spy master down, as he masquerades as the head of a bank. Klein-Rogge played Dr Mabuse, in Mabuse the Gambler and The Testament of Dr Mabuse and Rotwang, the mad scientist, in Metropolis. Gerda Maurus is Sonja, the Russian agent. She also appeared in Lang's Frau im Mond Woman in the Moon, his sci-fi epic. The film has a lot in common with Lang's Mabuse films, as Haghi, the villain (Klein-Rogge) changes his appearance as the bank president, and the secret agent, 326, is first seen as a street vagrant. One of the characters, Lady Leslane (Hertha von Walther), is an opium addict who is blackmailed by Haghi to get the treaty from a Japanese security officer. The Mabuse films also used disguises and cut-outs, for the master mind and often blackmailed others into committing crimes for him. You could do quite a soap opera around Lang's time in Germany (let alone his leaving and coming to Hollywood). His wife, Thea von Harbou, who wrote the scripts for his films and novels based on the scripts, had been married to Klein-Rogge, before entering into an affair with Lang. She left Klein-Rogge for Lang, but Klein-Rogge continued to appear in Lang's films. During production on this film, Lang started an affair with Gerda Maurus. I love Lang's Mabuse films, as the character makes for a great super-villain, even better than Moriarty, though seemingly less so with each entry in the 60s Mabuse series, as budget's decreased and cliches increased. Lang built a whole little "Mabusiverse", between those films and M, as he brought the character of Inspektor Lohman over from M and put him into Testament of Dr Mabuse, hunting for the madman (who secretly operates from an insane asylum). The 60s series continued to use Lohman as the chief antagonist for Mabuse, with Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) portraying him in Return of Dr Mabuse and the remake of testament (while he plays a different character in Lang's return to the series, The 1,000 Eyes of Dr Mabuse). Wolfgang Preis plays Mabuse, in the 60s films, who is more of an evil spirit who inhabits others. In this film, Haghi has this high tech desk, with a built in intercom system and pneumatic slots & tubes that convey papers to and from the office. He has a light-up display for some messages. he is wheelchair bound and has a nurse attend him, also helping him with his disguises. As soon as I finish this, I am looking to watch Frau in Mond. The German tv series, Babylon Berlin, mixes in elements from the German Expressionist films, especially Lang, but also The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and I think some elements of this, as Sonja reminds me of Countess Svetlana Sorokina/Nikoros in the tv series. There are also elements from Berlin Alexanderplatz, the 1980 tv mini-series, also set during the Weimar Era (in which Lang and Murnau worked, before the Nazis came to power).
If you're interested in Lang's silent films and would like to watch them in English, Kino has an excellent blu-ray box set containing all 12 of those films in the most recent restorations, plus some worthwhile extras. I recently picked it up on sale as a present for my dad, who's a big Lang fan, and watched through it before sending it to him. Some of the earliest stuff can be a slog, but then Lang knocks it out of the park with Destiny and never looks back.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2022 15:40:39 GMT -5
Here in the UK, there’s a channel called Talking Pictures. It shows vintage TV and films, which the bigger channels don’t seem interested in. Until the 21st of May, 1950’s The Blue Lamp is on there. It features the debut of P.C. George Dixon (Jack Warner), who went on to be in the TV show Dixon of Dock Green. I know little about Dixon. I don’t know if the show has been repeated in my lifetime. I am sure some episodes might be lost (thanks again, BBC). But I’ve been wanting to see The Blue Lamp for an age. I may do it. If you’re in the UK, it’s available here (you’d need to register, not sure if non-UK citizens are able to): www.tptvencore.co.uk/Video/The-Blue-LampEDIT: The link seems to redirect to the main Talking Pictures TV site, but you’ll find the film if you navigate the front page.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 15, 2022 22:19:35 GMT -5
Here in the UK, there’s a channel called Talking Pictures. It shows vintage TV and films, which the bigger channels don’t seem interested in. Until the 21st of May, 1950’s The Blue Lamp is on there. It features the debut of P.C. George Dixon (Jack Warner), who went on to be in the TV show Dixon of Dock Green. I know little about Dixon. I don’t know if the show has been repeated in my lifetime. I am sure some episodes might be lost (thanks again, BBC). But I’ve been wanting to see The Blue Lamp for an age. I may do it. If you’re in the UK, it’s available here (you’d need to register, not sure if non-UK citizens are able to): www.tptvencore.co.uk/Video/The-Blue-LampEDIT: The link seems to redirect to the main Talking Pictures TV site, but you’ll find the film if you navigate the front page. I've only seen a couple of brief clips (one of Paul Eddington, shown in a documentary about his career) and one other. I understand most of the cliches about police constables ("Evenin' all!) came from Dixon, especially the ones that Monty Python parodied.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2022 18:37:18 GMT -5
From 1950, directed by Basil Dearden: PC Dixon (George Warner) mentors PC Mitchell (Jimmy Hanley) on the beat in Paddington. After Dixon is shot dead by some unruly young criminals, the police try to find his killer, led by Detective Inspector Cherry (Bernard Lee). Firstly, is this film fantasy? I mean, come on, bobbies on the beat, police stations open to the public, officers responding to 999 calls quickly, etc. It’s not like that now! ;-) I found this gripping, a few dead spots aside (at 81 minutes, it doesn’t matter too much). The performances are top-notch here, although I could not take to Peggy Evans as Diana Lewis. Too much screaming, too much over-acting. I found the finale unique as the bobbies and CID chase the killer into a greyhound stadium, where, with the help of some “upper class criminals” (who appear to have disdain for street crooks), a convoluted method of hand signals leads them to track down the killer among a busy crowd. Most riveting. Good, solid stuff. Now I’m wondering how Dixon returns from the dead for the TV show…
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Post by codystarbuck on May 22, 2022 19:37:22 GMT -5
I just started watching Charlie Chan films, with two Warner Oland ones, Charlie Chan at the Circus and Charlie Chan at the Olympics. The former finds Inspector Chan and the whole family (14 including the venerable one) at a day at the circus, where one of the owners has been getting threatening letters. He ends up dead, with a gorilla suspected, though Inspector Chan isn't buying it. He accompanies the circus to their next venue and uncovers the real murderer.
The latter has Number 1 son, Lee, on the US Olympic swim team, for the 1936 Berlin Games (you know the one) and someone has made off with a robot pilot mechanism, from a test plane. Inspector Chan and the owner of the device fly via Pan-Am Clipper to the mainland, grab a transcontinental flight and, then, the Hindenburg to Berlin, beating the suspects by a few hours. However, the inspector soon finds himself embroiled in espionage games (not involving the Germans, if you can believe that). The film includes stock footage from the games and of the Hindenburgh, with it being the only swastika you see on display, though if you pay attention, you can see a party salute, when the torch is lit.
While I fully understand the condemnation of the "yellow face" stars, I don't get all of the animosity to the character, himself. The objections I have heard boil down to the movies, rather than the books, with most aimed at Warner Oland and Sydney Toller (and, later, Ross Martin and Peter Sellers) in bad make-up as the detective,. The criticism of the character as subservient doesn't hold. he is polite and seemingly humble, but it is obviously to help put people in a position to underestimate him, much like Inspector Columbo and his seemingly clumsy manner. Chan is shown as intelligent, shrewd, respected and commanding, without shouting.
Now, these are the Oland films and I haven't gotten to the Toler ones, with worse racial stereotyping (especially the character of Birmingham Brown, in the 40s, who is treated worse than any of the Asian characters); but, I kind of feel like a good character is condemned because of old attitudes, rather than recognizing the positive traits of the character and trying to modernize him. I had heard noise about a potential film or series that was all but condemned, sight unseen. It seems to me that you could easily update the character and erase the worst elements without too much trouble. He was based on Chang Apana, a real police detective in Honolulu, of Asian heritage, who was a noted detective. If you drop the fortune cookie sayings, unless you make it clear that he uses them to crack jokes or something, drop the halting English and have him speak it like someone who was raised in Hawaii would, make him a forceful figure and not a caricature, then you would have a positive role model that could be used for a series of mysteries and adventures. Earl Der Biggers created him to be a counterpoint to the "yellow peril" villains, like Fu Manchu; but, it just seems that too many want to erase him completely, then embrace the good and evolve the bad into something more positive. It feels similar to the condemnation of the Legend of Tarzan, without seeing a single piece of footage and missing that it addresses many of the criticism of the character, from the decades of its life.
I've enjoyed Oland, so far, but love watching young Keye Luke, as Lee, Number 1 son and look forward to seeing Victor Sen Yung (Hop Sing, on Bonanza), as Jimmy Chan, Number 2 son, and Benson Fong, as Tommy Chan, Number 3 Son. All were part of my childhood, via Bonanza, Kung Fu, MASH and other films and tv shows and all were noted actors in their field, despite the limitations placed on Asian roles. Key Luke also had a long career as a voice artists (including voicing Charlie Chan in The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan and Zoltar, in Battle of the Planets), and was the original Kato, in the Green Hornet serials (and Mast Po, in Kung Fu).
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Post by berkley on May 23, 2022 0:28:48 GMT -5
Just saw David Lynch's Inland Empire for only the second time: one of his most enigmatic but still one of his best, for my money. But I love pretty much everything he's done. Wish he'd make another movie but it seems he may have retired permanently from feature films. I'd also love to see another Twin Peaks series but that is probably even less likely.
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Post by berkley on May 27, 2022 0:17:52 GMT -5
Saw The Godfather last night: everyone knows how important and influential this movie is, but I'll just say one thing: in contrast to recent 3-hour films like Dune and the last James Bond (both of which I liked very much) I never once found myself wondering how much more time was left during this viewing of a film Ive seen at least twice previously and read the novel and thus knew what was going to happen at every moment before it happened.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 27, 2022 13:47:03 GMT -5
Saw The Godfather last night: everyone knows how important and influential this movie is, but I'll just say one thing: in contrast to recent 3-hour films like Dune and the last James Bond (both of which I liked very much) I never once found myself wondering how much more time was left during this viewing of a film Ive seen at least twice previously and read the novel and thus knew what was going to happen at every moment before it happened. It's such a perfect movie that it never feels long. And I've seen it probably close to a dozen times. In fact I recently re-watched about the first half with audio commentary from Francis Ford Coppola. I actually found the commentary online. Overall, I don't necessarily miss physical media, but I do love a good commentary track now and then.
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