shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 29, 2014 14:55:12 GMT -5
There's still an embarrassing amount of Kubrick that I've not seen:
Fear and Desire
Killer's Kiss
Spartacus
Lolita
Barry Lyndon
The Shining (smack me now)
Full Metal Jacket
Eyes Wide Shut
I hope to get to some of these within the year. Spartacus, Lolita, and The Shining are simply inexcusable omissions in my film education.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2014 15:08:58 GMT -5
This is my list of unseen Kubrick.
the shorts
Fear and Desire
Spartacus
2001
A Clockwork Orange
Barry Lyndon
I have seen parts of 2001 and Clockwork, and may finally watch them in their entirity eventually. I'm pretty sure I own the latter. I have very little interest in Spartacus and none in Barry Lyndon, beyond seeing all of Kubrick's stuff.
Is Fear and Desire available?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2014 15:10:08 GMT -5
Squeezed in one more tonight: Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956). This one blew me away. It had the criminal brilliance of Double Indemnity with a cast you could actually feel something for. And Kubrick's screenplay and cinematic style -- I count at least half a dozen films I've seen that borrow heavily from what he did here. Additionally, I've always liked Elisha Cook and was psyched to see him earn a leading role. Really, I don't think I've ever seen a Kubrick film I didn't adore. I really need to see them all, eventually. This is my favorite Kubrick. I may watch it again this weekend. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 29, 2014 15:17:34 GMT -5
This is my list of unseen Kubrick. the shorts Fear and Desire Spartacus 2001 A Clockwork Orange Barry Lyndon I have seen parts of 2001 and Clockwork, and may finally watch them in their entirity eventually. I'm pretty sure I own the latter. I have very little interest in Spartacus and none in Barry Lyndon, beyond seeing all of Kubrick's stuff. 2001 is one of my favorite films ever made. It's long and takes patience, but it's a brilliant film when you look past the parts and appreciate the whole. |
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Post by Jesse on Nov 30, 2014 6:49:06 GMT -5
Low budget poverty row film features an excellent story and a sympathetic lead played by Tom Neal. Ann Savage who plays Vera may be the most evil femme fatale on film. Actually looking forward to rewatching this. This movie is absolutely terrifying. William Talman is great as the psychotic hitch-hiker who holds two friends on a fishing trip hostage while escaping from the law. One of the creepiest things about Talman's character is that he literally sleeps with one eye open. Interesting heist film and I really enjoyed Peggy Cummins' performance as the femme fatale. I checked this out because Claude Rains is in it. The boxing match at the climax of the film was pretty good and it's one of the few film noir with a happy ending of sorts. This movie is incredible and I can't imagine anyone watching it and not immediately falling in love with Rita Hayworth. I had seen her before in The Lady from Shanghai (1947) but she really shines here. I can't help but think that her last musical number in this partly influenced the design for Jessica Rabbit. He Walked by Night (1948) Exciting and suspenseful police procedural, based a true story that wastes no time jumping right into the action and ends with a very climactic chase scene. You can watch the entire film for free on youtube. Great casting including Robert Cummings who I've seen in Hitchcock's, Saboteur (1942) and Dial M for Murder (1954). Steve Cochran who plays vicious gangster Eddie Roman here was also in White Heat (1949). Peter Lorre is always great. Michèle Morgan looks very familiar here but I can't quite place what I've seen her in before even after checking her filmography. There's a bizarre twist midway through this one that I don't think anyone is going to see coming. You can watch the entire film for free on youtube. The Woman in the Window (1944) Doesn't get much better than Fritz Lang and Edward G. Robinson. Joan Bennett is lovely as Alice. Although I'm not a big fan of the ending overall it's pretty good film. You can watch the entire film for free on youtube. I checked this out solely because Vincent Price is in it and I wasn't disappointed. Pretty solid B-movie that's only about 70 minutes long. Good use of suspense and an interesting dream sequence toward the beginning of the film. You can watch the entire film for free on youtube. Well paced and intriguing 'whodunit' with an interesting premise. An art expert insists that he was in a train wreck that never actually occurred. Retracing his steps he discovers an art forgery ring and a dead body. Wanted for murder he searches for clues to clear his name while evading the police. Enjoyed rewatching this exciting and tense spy thriller. Great performance from Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane was absolutely gorgeous. The Statue of Liberty scene at the end is a great visual. The strongest and most disturbing performance from Joseph Cotten I've seen and an excellent Hitchcock film. I always get a kick out of the father and his friend who are constantly coming up with ways to get away with murder. Also one of my favorite cameo's from Hitch. Released in the U.S. as "The Hidden Room". Fantastic film that's well paced with excellent performances from Robert Newton and Phil Brown. (Brown is best known for playing uncle Owen in the original Star Wars.) When a doctor becomes fed up with his unfaithful wife he confronts her and the American man she is cheating with at gunpoint. Later he kidnaps the man and holds him prisoner chained to the wall in an abandoned building as part of his plan to get the perfect revenge. You can watch the entire film for free on youtube. Behind Green Lights (1946) Another short B-movie just over an hour long. Fun, fast-pasted, well acted with an interesting premise, lots of colorful characters and will keep you guessing 'whodunit'. You can watch the entire film for free on youtube. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 30, 2014 11:39:00 GMT -5
I've got my own working definition of a Noir film now. I think it's a film set in (then) modern times, telling the story of a character outside of the law wading through a world of crime, but not the classy, elegant criminal underworld of a typical mafia or spy film; it's got to feel dirty, messy, and sleazy, and the character has to be willing to dirty himself as well, often unable to come out clean and/or victorious by the close. I figured this out largely after watching M because, as different as all the Noir films I've watched thus far have been, M is the only one that felt like it didn't fit, and it's because it doesn't meet the critera I just laid out. The criminal underworld in that film is very clean and well organized, our protagonist does not wade in their filth at all, operating entirely outside of it and in regular society until the end, and his cleanliness or lack thereof is an issue completely left unresolved/unaddressed at the close. Obsessed with my need to define and understand noir, I made sure to check out some films that are considered noir and yet don't fit the criteria above, including Ace in the Hole (Awesome!), Strangers on a Train (Terrible!), and Notorious (Pretty good!). All three show up on a variety of film noir lists, yet none fit my working definition, as Ace in the Hole is about a newspaper reporter's battle with ethics, not involving the criminal element at all, Strangers on a Train stars a character who does not consciously choose to dirty himself but instead is dirtied by another's actions, and Notorious is about protagonists officially sanctioned by law enforcement and working against an elegant, well-organized criminal enterprise, even while being forced to essentially prostitute both her body and heart to move among them. So, while I'm tempted not to count any of these as Noir, I suppose I can refine my definition to include them and, hopefully, quantify what those who know Noir far better than I were thinking when they called these films "Noir." Attempt at a definition #2: Noir is a film in which a character descends into a morally troubling contemporary world either by choice or as an indirect result of a dirty impulse within him/herself, becoming tarnished and sleazy from the descent, and a heavy concern within the film becomes whether or not the character will be able to redeem him/herself by the close. This definition applies to every Noir film I've watched this month, and it also manages to incorporate Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, which I've struggled with seeing as Noir up until now, since the trouble all stems from the protagonist's impulse to get away from her family's expectations for her and lead a more wild life. However, upon second thought, there's never an issue of whether she will redeem herself by the close. Her purity is never truly in question; only her survival is. So maybe someone can help me to understand their criteria for Noir that would incorporate Shadow of a Doubt, because I must still be missing something. Also, one could argue a film like Citizen Kane meets my criteria, though it isn't considered a Noir film. Perhaps the difference is that Kane is outwardly respectable and rising while he is morally falling, and thus no one but the viewer is worried that Kane is sullying himself until the end. And I guess the point was less that he'd become dirty/sleazy, and more that he'd become isolated and miserable. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 30, 2014 15:49:43 GMT -5
Watched Sunset Boulevard for the second time today, and my opinion of it hasn't changed. It's positively brilliant; flawless in accomplishing all it sets out to do; a triumph of cinematography, scoring, plotting, dialogue, and symbolism. For all those reasons, I respect the heck out of it, but I still don't love it. Wish I could tell you why. Maybe it's too smart without enough heart attached to it. And I really felt like Gloria Swanson overdid it at times, especially by the close. Those insane eyes peering into the camera made for a cruel and almost comical final moment whereas her tragically descending the stairs in self-delusion a moment earlier was a far more touching and kind place to end. I guess I wanted to give her the same kind of end that Max did.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2014 2:23:48 GMT -5
Interestingly enough, with this past month's category being noir, today's The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip had Peter Parker watching The Maltese Falcon. An interesting end note on noir month.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Dec 1, 2014 6:10:30 GMT -5
Well that brings an end to November Noir. Thanks to all for the great conversation and recommendations. I have to admit I didn't fully catch the Noir bug until three days ago, but, since that time, I've been pretty much watching Noir films every time I could find a spare hour. It's been a lot of fun. I hadn't expected it, but it looks like I came up as our top viewer this month with 19 films, so I'll be choosing our December assignment. While I loved broadening my horizons in November, I think I'd like to fall back to a comfort zone for the holiday season, so I'm going with:  A few ground rules I should have laid down way back in October: 1. As this is a "classic" film club, we're looking at films that had a theatrical release date prior to December 1st, 2004. 2. While you're certainly welcome to watch television shows and direct to video releases, they do not count towards your list. 3. Films under a 60 minute run-time also do not count towards your list (but I'll be watching "Trip to the Moon" again anyway  ) I plan to begin with some cheesy '50s films, watch a few intellectual space travel films for contrast, and then work my way through the big franchises again (Star Trek, Star Wars, and Alien). Of course, Star Trek IV doesn't actually meet the criteria for this month since it's time travel, not space travel. |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 1, 2014 7:55:53 GMT -5
But Star Trek IV involves a space ship and space aliens.
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 1, 2014 7:57:43 GMT -5
Of course in addition to the classic space films, everybody should watch the not-yet classic Interstellar on the biggest screen you can find. It will help set the mood.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Dec 1, 2014 16:45:31 GMT -5
But Star Trek IV involves a space ship and space aliens. Were there aliens in Star Trek IV? Oh yeah. Forgot about that. Touche. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 1, 2014 16:52:57 GMT -5
Excellent pick!
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 1, 2014 19:27:52 GMT -5
I put an asterisk next to my first pick this month, as I technically saw it when I was 7 but truly I couldn't tell you the plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, even watching it now(I'm a half hour in) hasn't really jogged my memory. All I remember is not liking it then and in all the years since I never revisited until now and so far I'm liking it.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Dec 1, 2014 21:16:16 GMT -5
I put an asterisk next to my first pick this month, as I technically saw it when I was 7 but truly I couldn't tell you the plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, even watching it now(I'm a half hour in) hasn't really jogged my memory. All I remember is not liking it then and in all the years since I never revisited until now and so far I'm liking it. It's my favorite Trek film by far, but I wouldn't have liked it as a 7 year old either. |
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