Tried something VERY different today while grading at school. Usually, I put on an old film I know so well that I only need to hear it to know what's going on while primarily focusing on my grading. Today, still feeling the Metropolis bug from last night, I put on The Complete Metropolis (1927) including the original reconstructed score. I wanted to see if I knew both the film and the score well enough to be able to visualize the film while I graded.



Well, it worked. Scene for scene, shot for shot, I knew exactly what was going on without looking up. Best yet, seeing it on the big screen for the second time last night allowed me to notice details in the images I'd never caught before. Now, listening to it through the score, I was able to hear things in the score I'd never heard before. It was a truly powerful experience.

shaxper ... 49 films is enough for me and you got me beat fair and square! ... I did watched both Abbot and Frankenstein and the Wolfman a year ago. And, the House of Haunted HIll too ... I did managed to watch a couple of Godzilla movies on TCM the other day and I don't think anyone would count them in the count. Only two ... Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla and the Terror of Mechagodzilla.

Fell behind but right at the end of the month I managed to watch three more horror movies over the last few nights:

Poltergeist (1982)
I remember this being quite a sensation at the time but I missed it at the theatre back then and never got around to seeing it until a few nights ago. Didn't realise it was directed by Tobe Hooper (though wiki says rumour has it that Spielberg actually did much or even most the actual on-set direction). I enjoyed watching it but at the same time was reminded of why I hadn't made a great effort to see it all these years: it's kind of a by-the-numbers Hollywood production. Skilfully done, all very slick and professional, but that's its weakness as well as its strength. I probably liked it more now than I would have at the time, as it benefits from some period charm at this point in time, even though I don't feel a lot of personal nostalgia for that particular period.

Dark Shadows (2012)
I liked the previews for this when it came out but never saw it until now. Johnny Depp was perfectly cast as Barnabas Collins and he put in a really great performance, I'd say one of the best he's ever done, of the ones I've seen. Note perfect. Michelle Pfeiffer is great too - I only wish she'd had more to do, as her role was very much a supporting one. She looked fantastic, BTW, I think she must be one of these people who looks more and more impressive as they age, because I was never a great fan of hers in her earlier days (Scarface, Batman, etc). The young actress who played Victoria had the perfect look for her part too, great casting again and excellent job by the wardrobe and hair stylists to get her look down for the late-60s-early 70s setting. I was a bit disappointed with Eva Green, to my surprise, because I've liked her in everything else I've seen her in. But I thought the look they gave her and her American accent were both a little too bland to make her a good foil for Depp's over-the-top Barnabas. I think it would have worked better if they had made her Angelique a little more exotic and colourful in sound and appearance, as well as in what she actually does and says.

Doctor Faustus (1967)
I'd seen this on tv as a kid in black and white and it made a pretty big impression on me, so it was cool to finally watch it again after all these yeas, and in colour for the first time. I've read the play several times over the years and as a rendition of Marlowe's drama, I think it succeeds very well for the most part, bar the inevitable few moments when they don't capture a certain line or moment that I think is important. I say inevitable because every reader's individual experience is a personal thing that one can't expect to be translated exactly to the screen. For me, one of my favourite bits in Marlowe's Faustus is when he first encounters Lucifer and Burton sort of skates over a few lines that i think should be slowed down and impressive.

BTW, one thing I didn't remember at all (for the very good reason that I hadn't read any Marlowe when I saw this as a youngster) is that Burton or his collaborator Nevill Coghill (yes, the same guy who did the modern English version of Chaucer for Penguin paperbacks) transposed some famous lines from Marlowe's Tamburlaine (Is it not passing brave to be a king/And ride in triumph through Persepolis?) into the Seven Deadly Sins scene with Pride and Wrath.

I wonder if there have been any other film versions of this play? I'll have to look that up. Or of Tamburlaine, now I think of it.

He beat me fair and square 55 films to my 51 ...   

Thanks ... October with Halloween approaching; that month alone - I watched a lot of horror movies and that month is a record for me and with that alone; I watched another 8 movies on top of that bringing my total of 59 films and that's my record all time. I don't watch much sitcoms and all that. I'm a movie and documentary guy likes to be entertained and educated at the same time. Great idea that you had at the start of October.


For the record ... I watched the Horror of Dracula and Dracula has Risen from the Grave twice that month. I'm a huge Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing Fan.

An interesting and challenging theme to be sure and that DVD set sounds amazing!