shaxper
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Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Jan 16, 2020 10:34:44 GMT -5
Continuing to double dip between this and my Bela Lugosi thread with Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), which I review here. Watched this morning! Your review led me to it, so thanks for that. Loved your writeup in the other thread. So glad I could share the love! |
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Post by brutalis on Jan 17, 2020 16:42:08 GMT -5
Just figured out another book to movie I can claim this month! Back on 1/6/20 i watched 1970's Monte Walsh. It is based upon the western from Jack Schaefer, even if it doesn't have much to do with the written novel. Really, how many Hollywood movies actually do follow the books they are based upon other than vaguely?
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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 17, 2020 22:13:45 GMT -5
Just figured out another book to movie I can claim this month! Back on 1/6/20 i watched 1970's Monte Walsh. It is based upon the western from Jack Schaefer, even if it doesn't have much to do with the written novel. Really, how many Hollywood movies actually do follow the books they are based upon other than vaguely? Lonesome Dove didn’t change the plot, only cut some episodes from the epic-length novel. It’s been so long since I read Shane that I honestly can’t remember how closely the movie followed the novel. But I know what you mean. Fort Apache added a great deal and made substantial changes to “Massacre,” the short story it’s based on. And from what I’ve read, The Searchers is quite different from its film version. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 18, 2020 9:36:36 GMT -5
The Never Ending Story, 1984
I loved this film to pieces when I was a kid, and I still enjoy the book( My wife actually got me a leather bound copy of it with a pewter AURYN embossed on the cover for christmas!) and although I've found the film to have not stood up to the test of time in latter viewings I decided to dust it off for a rewatch yet again...and it didn't change my mind. While the effects work is pretty solid the acting and dialogue are really wooden.
This is one of those films that really needs a remake, and with the current craze for 80's nostalgia, fantasy and teen coming of age stories it really baffles me that it isn't on the radar more.
Our Kind of Traitor, 2016
I'm a big fan of John le Carre's work and have enjoyed many of the adaptations of his novels but this 2016 film was a new one for me which is a surprise as I'm also a big fan of Ewan McGregor. The film had a great sense of suspense and dread, but I felt slightly dissapointed that McGregor was used here rather than in a Smiley novel as that would make for a fun connection as Alec Guiness was great in that role.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Jan 18, 2020 9:45:34 GMT -5
The Never Ending Story, 1984 I loved this film to pieces when I was a kid, and I still enjoy the book( My wife actually got me a leather bound copy of it with a pewter AURYN embossed on the cover for christmas!) Consider my jealous! It's certainly not a perfect film, but I would hate to see a heavily CGIed version lacking all the practical effects, and Barrett Oliver would be hard to replace in the lead role. But yeah...we live in an age where the greatest fantasy aspect of that film has now become stumbling upon a dusty old bookshop. I don't watch Stranger Things, but I do know the Neverending Story theme song made its way into an episode. Kids today now know the song, if not the film. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 18, 2020 9:53:28 GMT -5
The Never Ending Story, 1984 I loved this film to pieces when I was a kid, and I still enjoy the book( My wife actually got me a leather bound copy of it with a pewter AURYN embossed on the cover for christmas!) Consider my jealous! It's certainly not a perfect film, but I would hate to see a heavily CGIed version lacking all the practical effects, and Barrett Oliver would be hard to replace in the lead role. But yeah...we live in an age where the greatest fantasy aspect of that film has now become stumbling upon a dusty old bookshop. I don't watch Stranger Things, but I do know the Neverending Story theme song made its way into an episode. Kids today now know the song, if not the film. It was a pretty fun scene in the last season of Stranger Things, and the show itself is definitely worth watching. If there was a remake, I'd definitely want practical effects to do the heavy lifting and as the success the newest Dark Crystal showed there is still a great love for that kind of artwork in film. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 18, 2020 18:16:13 GMT -5
Finally one to add to this month's theme. Though to be fair it may be the first movie I've had time to watch this month (leaving aside a couple Rifftrax).
Watched The Irishman, based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. I'll leave aside any issues of the veracity of the source material, which is at least questionable and has definitely been questioned. Given that it's directed by Martin Scorsese and it stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino, if it were anything but excellent it would be a shocker. The fact that Pesci came out of retirement for it is enough to recommend the film. It's also has the best performances by Pacino in at least twenty years and the best by De Niro in probably twenty-five. Add in (though too little) Harvey Keitel and it feels like stepping into a time machine...in a good way.
I do have a couple of problems with the movie. It's LOOOOOOOOONG. I honestly can't imagine seeing this in a theater. Three and a half hours is a whole lotta movie. And while it's very good and the performances are great, there isn't a single WOW moment. There's no scene that is going to stay with me long after the film is done. And that's really what puts it behind Goodfellas and Raging Bull (at least) in the Scorsese oeuvre. There's nothing like the tracking shot through the nightclub or Pesci's "You talkin' to me" from Goodfellas or the brutal boxing scenes from Raging Bull. It's a very good movie. I'm glad I watched it. It was great to see quality performances from some actors who have phoned in a lot of recent roles. But it isn't a classic.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 18, 2020 20:21:36 GMT -5
Finally one to add to this month's theme. Though to be fair it may be the first movie I've had time to watch this month (leaving aside a couple Rifftrax). Watched The Irishman, based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. I'll leave aside any issues of the veracity of the source material, which is at least questionable and has definitely been questioned. Given that it's directed by Martin Scorsese and it stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino, if it were anything but excellent it would be a shocker. The fact that Pesci came out of retirement for it is enough to recommend the film. It's also has the best performances by Pacino in at least twenty years and the best by De Niro in probably twenty-five. Add in (though too little) Harvey Keitel and it feels like stepping into a time machine...in a good way. I do have a couple of problems with the movie. It's LOOOOOOOOONG. I honestly can't imagine seeing this in a theater. Three and a half hours is a whole lotta movie. And while it's very good and the performances are great, there isn't a single WOW moment. There's no scene that is going to stay with me long after the film is done. And that's really what puts it behind Goodfellas and Raging Bull (at least) in the Scorsese oeuvre. There's nothing like the tracking shot through the nightclub or Pesci's "You talkin' to me" from Goodfellas or the brutal boxing scenes from Raging Bull. It's a very good movie. I'm glad I watched it. It was great to see quality performances from some actors who have phoned in a lot of recent roles. But it isn't a classic. The run time is definitely what's been keeping me away. |
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Post by brutalis on Jan 20, 2020 7:56:07 GMT -5
Weekend watching:
Shane with Alan Ladd from 1953 from the Jack Schaefer novel. Not watched in a long time and forgotten how influential it was upon other western movies following it.
Buchanan Rides Alone, Randolph Scott/Budd Boetticher 1958 adaption of the Jonas Ward novel. Follows the book fairly close with Scott being a laconic and amiable bloke until riled or taken advantage of. Prefers to using his brains and fists over a gun but when push will come to shove he has no problem quick drawing in defense. A favorite western movie for me.
Heller in Pink Tights the 1960 movie from the Louis L'Amour book. Brightly colorful fun western. Who would expect an Anthony Quinn, Sophia Loren, Margaret O'Brien, Steve Forrest western to be so entertaining?
The Virginian is 1946's Joel Mcrea adaption of the novel from Owen Lister. Splendid cast providing fairly accurate adaptation from the book.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 20, 2020 12:35:49 GMT -5
The Three Musketeers (1993, Disney)
This is a film that at first glance just doesn't look like it should work at all; with it's corporately branded theme song, stereotypical 90's pretty boy actors whose hair never looks so much as mussed...and Charlie Sheen, you can't help but think the film will be horribly flat and shallow...but somehow despite all that it all comes together for a fun ride. The sword play is great, the costumes are wonderful and it captures the best beats of Dumas' plot. Oh, and there's Tim Curry, there have been some excellent actors called on to play the Cardinal( a young Vincent Price is a close second!) but Curry does his best mustache twirling ever seen on film.
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Post by brutalis on Jan 20, 2020 15:51:51 GMT -5
The Three Musketeers (1993, Disney) This is a film that at first glance just doesn't look like it should work at all; with it's corporately branded theme song, stereotypical 90's pretty boy actors whose hair never looks so much as mussed...and Charlie Sheen, you can't help but think the film will be horribly flat and shallow...but somehow despite all that it all comes together for a fun ride. The sword play is great, the costumes are wonderful and it captures the best beats of Dumas' plot. Oh, and there's Tim Curry, there have been some excellent actors called on to play the Cardinal( a young Vincent Price is a close second!) but Curry does his best mustache twirling ever seen on film. I really like that Disney 3 Musketeers (in spite of Sheen's later deterioration) and as you say, it is a truly fun swashbuckling affair. In many ways I hoped it ignited young readers into picking up a book (or at least a comic book) to explore further the world of the King's Musketeer's! |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 20, 2020 16:16:05 GMT -5
The Three Musketeers (1993, Disney) This is a film that at first glance just doesn't look like it should work at all; with it's corporately branded theme song, stereotypical 90's pretty boy actors whose hair never looks so much as mussed...and Charlie Sheen, you can't help but think the film will be horribly flat and shallow...but somehow despite all that it all comes together for a fun ride. The sword play is great, the costumes are wonderful and it captures the best beats of Dumas' plot. Oh, and there's Tim Curry, there have been some excellent actors called on to play the Cardinal( a young Vincent Price is a close second!) but Curry does his best mustache twirling ever seen on film. I really like that Disney 3 Musketeers (in spite of Sheen's later deterioration) and as you say, it is a truly fun swashbuckling affair. In many ways I hoped it ignited young readers into picking up a book (or at least a comic book) to explore further the world of the King's Musketeer's! It definitely inspired me to pick up the Illustrated Classics version at the time, I loved those growing up; they were such great entries into classic literature. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 20, 2020 16:19:01 GMT -5
Just watched Carmen Jones (1954) for the first time (based on the 1943 Broadway musical based on Bizet's opera Carmen based on the Merimee story) and I really liked it. Otto Preminger directed, Oscar Hammerstein wrote lyrics to what I presume were the highlights of the opera, and an all-black cast supplied the punch, figuratively and literally.
The singing was generally great, as was the acting. Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge did not their own singing, a practice not unheard of, and here especially appropriate because the songs require operatic skills.
Superb ensemble acting by Pearl Bailey(who didn't require dubbing), Diahann Carroll, Joe Adams, Brock Peters and Roy Glenn.
Despite its being a melodrama, the movie made me unexpectedly happy. Seeing an all-black cast was enjoyable, but frustrating. In 1954 and well beyond, the notion that black actors could portray more than the usual collection of stereotypes was a radical notion and this picture showed how wonderful it could have been had things been different. Reviewers were not always kind. (My euphemism for bigoted.)
I wish that Carmen Jones had become a breakthrough film for black actors, but it really didn't. Dandridge was Oscar-nominated and clearly was a star, but she never made it to this level again. Her life was controlled by others directly (Preminger) and indirectly (the studios and the Hollywood establishment) and her talent, which should have taken her to the top, never got the exposure it should have. So sad.
Still, the film is well worth watching.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 21, 2020 9:01:49 GMT -5
Not a movie so it doesn't count, but the latest(and sadly last) season of Anne With an E was amazing. The show deviates greatly from the Anne books but the spirit is perfect.
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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 21, 2020 16:57:12 GMT -5
Speaking of Anne, I watched The Diary of Anne Frank on TCM the other night and found it effective and affecting. A difficult film to watch at times, given what we know about the fates of Anne and her companions, and, I'd imagine, just as difficult to appear in.
Excellent acting by the entire cast, but especially by a favorite character actor of mine, Joseph Schildkraut, who underplayed the resolute and Otto Frank as brilliantly as he had overplayed (correctly) Vadas, the villain of Shop Around the Corner back in 1940.
George Stevens, who was forever changed as a director by what he saw and filmed during the war, particularly the liberation of Dachau, navigates the fine line between mawkishness and poignance with the help of his cast, and also avoids sensationalizing any aspects of the story, instead opting for a near-documentary style.
Millie Perkins, who played Anne, had never acted, nor even taken a lesson, and I think that lack of artifice added to the depth of her portrayal. It probably also helped that, though a relatively unworldly young woman at 20, she still had a few years' worth of maturity and experience on Anne herself. Like Juliet, Anne Frank may be the kind of role that you're only ready to play well when you're too old to play it.
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