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Post by berkley on Nov 8, 2023 0:24:35 GMT -5
I watched one last Argento film, Opera, before switching to Mario Bava.
I saw Opera myself tonight and liked it a lot. None of the Argentos I've seen so far have been duds, but it's still only a handful. The opera scenes looked and sounded fantastic and make me wish he'd been able to get his real-life production of Macbeth (the opera) off the ground, but at least it led to the making of this film. Interesting soundtrack, with not only the well-chosen opera samples you'd expect but some tracks by Eno and also a few metal songs that sounded a bit like Motorhead at times but I don't think it was them. I may have to listen to Verdi's Macbeth one of these days, because the excerpts in the film sounded really good.
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Post by berkley on Nov 9, 2023 2:48:28 GMT -5
Speaking of Argento, when I saw Suspiria a few weeks ago it was my 2nd time, after a gap of 25 years or so. That first viewing left me feeling just a little let down: I had heard or read about the movie previously and knew its reputation, so I was primed with positive feelings going in. But I didn't like the lead actress - no fault of hers, just a chemistry thing, I think - and most importantly, seeing it on video on the old-style tvs we had back then just didn't do justice to one of Argento's greatest strengths, his visual flair - his use of colour and general sense of style. The performer that really stood out to me in Suspiria was the actress who played the sort of head-mistress character, Miss Tanner, who was I thought so effective that she should have been given more screen time, even though she did get a good amount for what was no more than an important secondary or supporting character. When I looked it up later I found it was none other than Alida Valli - look her up if you don't recognise the name, as I wouldn't have myself a few months ago. Her best-known movie to English-speaking fans would be The Third Man, in which she was the female lead. I didn't remember her from that, not having seen it for many years, but more recently I had seen her in an Italian film, Il Grido (1957) (very remarkable movie in its own right, highly recommended), in which she made an impression though not having a lot of screen time. Since then I've seen her in a few things, including a long overdue re-watching of The Third Man, and she now strikes me as one of the great actresses of her time.
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Post by berkley on Nov 12, 2023 3:10:21 GMT -5
Tonight I watched The Wild Party (1929), Clara Bow's first talkie and the third of her movies I've seen recently, after The It Girl and The Saturday Night Kid (her 2nd talkie). In this one she's a student at an all-girls College/University and the 'wild party' of the title I think refers to not so much any particular party, since there are several different ones in the story, but to the general behaviour of her character and her friends. Frederic March is the young new anthropology professor who all the girls like.
There's so much charm to this pre-code era of Hollywood that I find myself coming back to it over and over lately. My excuse to myself this time is that I'm reading a couple books from the early '30s (A.A. Merritt's Dwellers in the Mirage and Simenon's 2nd Maigret, Le Charretier de La Providence, which I'll try to talk about later in the books thread). But anyway, Clara Bow's enormous box-office power at the time might feel puzzling to viewers of today, born long after she retired - at the height of her fame in the early '30s, when she wasn't yet 30 yrs old herself - but it becomes more and more evident the more you see of her films. I find myself having to restrain myself from trying to watch everything she ever did, right away.
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Post by Rags on Nov 14, 2023 15:22:40 GMT -5
Jason and the Argonauts is 60 years old (1963). These effects weren't bad for the era....
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Post by tartanphantom on Nov 14, 2023 15:53:21 GMT -5
Jason and the Argonauts is 60 years old (1963). These effects weren't bad for the era....
Every year, some friends of mine get together and we have a summer "Drive-In" party-- where we set up a big outdoor screen, a PA sound system, a (free) concession stand, and lots of lawn chairs. We select 4 or 5 classic "Drive-In" style movies and watch them until the wee hours, complete with vintage film trailers and theatrical shorts in between.
We don't always choose films based on anniversary milestones, but this year Jason and the Argonauts was chosen (based on its milestone anniversary) and shown along with several other films.
It was great fun to see it under the stars on a 15-ft. backyard screen. It's probably one of my favorite Harryhausen films, along with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and 20,000,000 Miles to Earth.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 14, 2023 16:04:48 GMT -5
Harryhausen was awesome! I'm kind of partial to the fight with the skeleton, in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 16, 2023 10:06:48 GMT -5
I watched Ju-On: The Grudge last night. The Japanese horror film from 2002.
I am very seldom scared by horror films but The Grudge definitely gave me the creeps at times.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 25, 2023 15:35:59 GMT -5
I had never heard of The Dunwich Horror (1970) until Tubi recommended it. Most Lovecraft-inspired films (or films that just slap Lovecraft's name on the poster) are decidedly underwhelming and have little to do with the source material, but this was a rare and very welcome exception!
It suck pretty close to the original short story, and the director resorted to all sorts of clever effects to suggest the horror that is the son of Yog-Sothoth. No lazy CGI in those days, and since a stop-motion monster would quickly look silly, the film resorted to suggesting rather than showing the creature (as was the case in the prose story). It's amazing how a river suddenly flowing too fast or how trees moving furiously in the absence of wind can be scary! Short bursts of psychedelic saturated colours were also used to great effects, as were intense scenes in which images succeeded each other at breakneck speed, creating a believable sensation of panic.
All that and the kind of naive overall look one would find in George Pal's War of the Worlds make this one of my favourite Lovecraft films, right up there with the black and white Call of Cthulluh.
The only drawback to me was the music... it's not bad, but not all 70s sounds aged gracefully!!!
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Post by tartanphantom on Nov 25, 2023 19:36:26 GMT -5
I had never heard of The Dunwich Horror (1970) until Tubi recommended it. Most Lovecraft-inspired films (or films that just slap Lovecraft's name on the poster) are decidedly underwhelming and have little to do with the source material, but this was a rare and very welcome exception! It suck pretty close to the original short story, and the director resorted to all sorts of clever effects to suggest the horror that is the son of Yog-Sothoth. No lazy CGI in those days, and since a stop-motion monster would quickly look silly, the film resorted to suggesting rather than showing the creature (as was the case in the prose story). It's amazing how a river suddenly flowing too fast or how trees moving furiously in the absence of wind can be scary! Short bursts of psychedelic saturated colours were also used to great effects, as were intense scenes in which images succeeded each other at breakneck speed, creating a believable sensation of panic. All that and the kind of naive overall look one would find in George Pal's War of the Worlds make this one of my favourite Lovecraft films, right up there with the black and white Call of Cthulluh. The only drawback to me was the music... it's not bad, but not all 70s sounds aged gracefully!!!
On top of that, Sandra Dee was still fairly easy on the eyes in 1970 as well, even if she was no longer a teenager bopping down the beach in a swimsuit like in Gidget. Dean Stockwell turns in his standard solid performance, which is typified throughout his long career-- never a superstar, but very adaptable to many different roles.
Yes, special effects were lackluster, but par for the course for an AIP picture of that era. Samuel Arkhoff was never known for blowing money on big budget effects.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 26, 2023 3:55:35 GMT -5
Watched Three the Hard Way (1974) last night... ...because I was simply in the mood for a fun, pretty mindless action film, and this one delivers in spades. The basic plot involves a secretive group financed by a wealthy racist that's plotting to dose the water supply in all large American cities with a poison that only kills Black people. Jim Brown's character, an LA record producer, gets wind of something going down when one of his friends escapes from the group's compound - where their evil scientist was conducting experiments on human subjects - and eventually he enlists the aid of two long-time friends, one in Chicago (Fred Williamson) and the other in New York (Jim Kelly). It's all kind of silly and over-the-top, and I pretty much loved every minute of it. And by the way Roquefort Raider, re: The '70s sounds here aged groovily...
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 27, 2023 21:50:31 GMT -5
Watched Three the Hard Way (1974) last night... ...because I was simply in the mood for a fun, pretty mindless action film, and this one delivers in spades. The basic plot involves a secretive group financed by a wealthy racist that's plotting to dose the water supply in all large American cities with a poison that only kills Black people. Jim Brown's character, an LA record producer, gets wind of something going down when one of his friends escapes from the group's compound - where their evil scientist was conducting experiments on human subjects - and eventually he enlists the aid of two long-time friends, one in Chicago (Fred Williamson) and the other in New York (Jim Kelly). It's all kind of silly and over-the-top, and I pretty much loved every minute of it. And by the way Roquefort Raider , re: The '70s sounds here aged groovily... The Blaxploitation Justice League, though missing Pam Grier, to add the Wonder Woman. Jay Robinson is awesome, as the nicest white supremacist around.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 27, 2023 22:19:16 GMT -5
I was pet-sitting over the holiday weekend and I watched these movie on the dog’s cable ...
Thanksgiving - The Human Centipede
Friday - I Walk Alone (1947)
Saturday - Death Proof
I’ve seen Death Proof a bunch of times over the years, but I had never seen the others before.
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Post by berkley on Nov 27, 2023 23:02:36 GMT -5
I was pet-sitting over the holiday weekend and I watched these movie on the dog’s cable ... Thanksgiving - The Human Centipede Friday - I Walk Alone (1947) Saturday - Death Proof I’ve seen Death Proof a bunch of times over the years, but I had never seen the others before.
I don't know if I'll ever watch Human Centipede, as it doesn't sound like my kind of thing, but the other two I've seen, and I Walk Alone not too long ago, maybe a year or two. Very cool to see Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in their first film together and I was also impressed with Lizabeth Scott, whom I don't remember knowing about before. She was perfect as the sultry nightclub singer and I meant to look for more of her movies but I don't thnk I've gotten to any yet.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 27, 2023 23:15:18 GMT -5
I was pet-sitting over the holiday weekend and I watched these movie on the dog’s cable ... Thanksgiving - The Human Centipede Friday - I Walk Alone (1947) Saturday - Death Proof I’ve seen Death Proof a bunch of times over the years, but I had never seen the others before.
I don't know if I'll ever watch Human Centipede, as it doesn't sound like my kind of thing, but the other two I've seen, and I Walk Alone not too long ago, maybe a year or two. Very cool to see Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in their first film together and I was also impressed with Lizabeth Scott, whom I don't remember knowing about before. She was perfect as the sultry nightclub singer and I meant to look for more of her movies but I don't thnk I've gotten to any yet.
If you’re interested in Lizabeth Scott, you should see Too Late for Tears. She’s not a good person in that movie. It’s on YouTube.
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Post by berkley on Nov 28, 2023 0:29:37 GMT -5
I don't know if I'll ever watch Human Centipede, as it doesn't sound like my kind of thing, but the other two I've seen, and I Walk Alone not too long ago, maybe a year or two. Very cool to see Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in their first film together and I was also impressed with Lizabeth Scott, whom I don't remember knowing about before. She was perfect as the sultry nightclub singer and I meant to look for more of her movies but I don't thnk I've gotten to any yet.
If you’re interested in Lizabeth Scott, you should see Too Late for Tears. She’s not a good person in that movie. It’s on YouTube.
Thanks, I'll add that one to the list.
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