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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 2, 2022 16:53:09 GMT -5
My Top Ten For 1957
12 Angry Men
3:10 To Yuma
Bridge On The River Kwai
Face In The Crowd
Gunfight At The O.K. Corral
Jailhouse Rock
Paths Of Glory
Sweet Smell Of Success
Throne Of Blood
Witness For The Prosecution
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 3, 2022 12:47:59 GMT -5
1957?
The Seventh Seal
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Post by commond on Aug 7, 2022 18:24:33 GMT -5
1957 was such a huge year for movies. Ingmar Bergman released The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries in the same year, can you believe that? And in between shooting the films, he directed three stage plays. The Seventh Seal was a gateway film for me when I first began developing a serious interest in cinema. It's a bit like Kurosawa's Rashomon or Mizoguchi's Ugetsu Monogatari in that respect. It's a classic, but I prefer Wild Strawberries. Wild Strawberries is a film that traditionally makes my top 10 for the decade, along with Nights of Cabiria, which is a beautiful film that may surprise folks who are only familiar with Fellini's later work. But there's so much more -- 12 Angry Men, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Paths of Glory, The Sweet Smell of Success, A Face in the Crowd, 3:10 to Yuma, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Witness for the Prosecution, Funny Face. There's the amazing Soviet film, The Cranes Are Flying, Wajda's first great film, Kanal, the Bollywood epic, Mother India, and Guru Dutt's Pyaasa, not to mention gems like Night of the Demon, Forty Guns, The Tarnished Angels and Nightfall. What a great year for cinema. I think I'll go with Nights of Cabiria as my favorite.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 11, 2022 9:58:16 GMT -5
Night of the Hunter - Charles Laughton's only turn as a director gives us one of the absolute great films noir. Adapted from Davis Grubb's novel of the same name this is just a chilling film with Robert Mitchum creating one of the great villains of film history in Reverend Harry Powell and the Love/Hate tattoos on his fingers have become truly (and I usually hate the misuse of this word) iconic. The supporting cast of Shelly Winters, Lillian Gish and Billy Chapin are quite good. But it's Mitchum and Laughton's show and they give us a film and a performance for the ages. I really neded to see this film sometime soon. I've been fascinated by clips from it for years. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 11, 2022 10:12:32 GMT -5
Playing catch up, as usual... 1955Of the handful of films I've seen from 1955, my favourite would definitely be The Dam Busters. This dramatisation of the 1943 RAF mission to bomb the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with aviation engineer Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb is pretty true to life, taking, as it does, an almost documentary-like look at the mission and the engineering behind it. It begins with Wallis (superbly played as a driven and slightly batty scientist by Michael Redgrave) developing the famed bouncing bomb in an experimental water tank. A bomber squadron is then formed under wing commander Guy Gibson (played by Richard Todd) to "deliver" the bomb into the heart of Nazi Germany. Todd is great in the part, and plays it straight down the line, without any unnecessary heroics: he is a man simply doing his job, and doing it well. The movie climaxes with the famous bombing raid, which pushed the ceiling of the era's special effects to its limit. This spectacular sequence was a huge influence on George Lucas when he was staging the Death Star battle at the end of the original Star Wars, and it's not hard to see why: it's a technically impressive aerial tour de force. Following this action-packed climax, the film's coda is appropriately reflective and sombre, as the RAF counts the human cost of the mission. Overall, The Dam Busters is a truly great war film – especially if you are interested in Britain's air war. Something to note is that there is quite a lot of technical and military exposition in the film – perhaps too much for a modern audience – but it's delivered in a very clear, straightforward way and is, frankly, why the film is so beloved by Second World War buffs.  Other films from this year that I've seen are... - The Ladykillers, which I'm gonna court controversy with, by saying that I've always found it rather boring. The performances by the likes of Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Peter Sellers, and Katie Johnson are all splendidly quirky, but overall the film's just so, so slow.
- Rebel Without a Cause, which has a weak plot, an excruciatingly bad script, and is chock full of eye-roll-inducing teenage angst (back when teen angst was a new thing!). But what really makes this film great are the performances of James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. These three stars turn the, frankly, second rate material into a powerful and memorable tale of individual rebellion, self-expression, and social reconciliation.
- The Seven Year Itch: It's been years since I last saw this, but I remember it being a horribly dated and tremendously unfunny comedy. In fact, I recall thinking that it was only saved by Marilyn Monroe's iconic performance. Tom Ewell – the husband who is the victim of the titular affliction – on the other hand gives a wooden, stagy performance that, if memory serves, includes the irritating habit of thinking aloud constantly. Yeah, overall this is a bit of a dud, IMHO.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 11, 2022 19:30:02 GMT -5
The bouncing bomb was a key part of an episode of Foyle’s War, a great series set during and after the war.
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Post by commond on Aug 13, 2022 4:59:36 GMT -5
1957's Tokyo Twilight has a reputation for being Ozu's bleakest film. It's certainly darker in tone than many of his films. There's less humour, and it deals with issues such as abortion and prostitution, which aren't the first subjects that spring to mind when you think of an Ozu film. In fact, it feels more like a Naruse or Mizoguchi film than an Ozu one, even if it does end in typical Ozu fashion. It was the last film that Ozu shot in black and white. While I enjoy the way Ozu used color, there's no denying that his black and white films are far more powerful. The older I get, the more I appreciate the acting in Ozu films. As a young film student, I was so obsessed with Ozu that the actors felt secondary. Of course, Setsuko Hara and Chishu Ryu were iconic, and I enjoyed the troupe of Ozu regulars, but I was always focused on how Ozu framed them within the shot. There's a lot of great acting in this film, and I quite enjoyed the stark contrast between a regular father/daughter Ozu film and the Naruse style narrative with the younger daughter. Good stuff.
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Post by berkley on Aug 13, 2022 18:43:57 GMT -5
1957's Tokyo Twilight has a reputation for being Ozu's bleakest film. It's certainly darker in tone than many of his films. There's less humour, and it deals with issues such as abortion and prostitution, which aren't the first subjects that spring to mind when you think of an Ozu film. In fact, it feels more like a Naruse or Mizoguchi film than an Ozu one, even if it does end in typical Ozu fashion. It was the last film that Ozu shot in black and white. While I enjoy the way Ozu used color, there's no denying that his black and white films are far more powerful. The older I get, the more I appreciate the acting in Ozu films. As a young film student, I was so obsessed with Ozu that the actors felt secondary. Of course, Setsuko Hara and Chishu Ryu were iconic, and I enjoyed the troupe of Ozu regulars, but I was always focused on how Ozu framed them within the shot. There's a lot of great acting in this film, and I quite enjoyed the stark contrast between a regular father/daughter Ozu film and the Naruse style narrative with the younger daughter. Good stuff. I admire your knowledge of Japanese (and other) films. I've only seen a few odds and ends, nearly all of them obvious titles that most casual film fans would have seen. So much to learn! I haven't seen any of the directors you mentioned here, but looking at my list of movies to watch out for, I have Ozu's Dragnet Girl (1933), The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice (1952), and Tokyo Story (1953) listed. I can't remember now where I heard about them or why I added those three in particular, although I do have a vague idea that Tokyo Story is one of his most famous. |
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Post by commond on Aug 13, 2022 19:49:31 GMT -5
Tokyo Story is Ozu's most famous film. It usually ranks in the top 5 of the Sight and Sound poll. It's a very unique film in that on the surface it doesn't seem particularly special. It's a family drama about an elderly couple who travel to Tokyo to spend time with their adult children. The elder children don't have time to spend with their parents, so it falls to the widow of their younger son, who died in the war, to keep their company. It's a shomin-geki film, which was a genre of Japanese films which dealt with the every day lives of ordinary middle class families. Ozu had made dozens of shomin-geki films before he directed Tokyo Story. It was just another "home drama" for Ozu and his scriptwriter, Kogo Noda, but somehow the pieces fell together -- the story and Ozu's unique filming style -- to create a masterpiece. It's a deeply moving film. One of the few films that leaves me sobbing. About twenty years ago, I bought the English version of the screenplay at Narita Airport and I wept when I read it on the plane. It draws upon the Japanese concept of mono no aware, which loosely translated is an awareness of the impermanence of all things. Crudely put, it's the sad beauty that Japanese people find in the temporary nature of existence (eg. the Cherry Blossoms only blooming for a few short weeks.) Ozu was a big fan of Western melodramas, but the characters in his own films are very Japanese. There are no big emotional outpourings. The characters are resigned to their fates. Some of the sacrifices they make can be hard to understand as a Westerner, but much of the values that we bring to the film as Western audiences would be deemed selfish in Japanese culture. I usually tell people who want to try Ozu to start with 1949's Late Spring, which is another Ozu masterpiece and equally moving. They're both extraordinary films. I hope you get the chance to see them sometime.
BTW, I should also point out that Ozu made a number of smaller films which are extremely warm and humourous, but also have a touch of pathos.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 15, 2022 8:49:32 GMT -5
More catching up. First though, let me just say that by far my biggest omission from this year is The Searchers, which I've not yet seen, though I really want to. 1956Hands down my favourite film from this year would be the film that made the 22-year-old Brigitte Bardot an international star and sex symbol, And God Created Woman.  It's hard today, in our sexually liberated and enlightened era, to grasp just what a shocker the eroticism on display in And God Created Woman was for British and American cinema audiences back in 1956. Director Roger Vadim – who was Bardot's husband at the time – has her spend most of the film brazenly flirting with various men, oozing sex appeal in form-fitting dresses, or lying around completely nude (though there is no full-frontal nudity in the film). Such blatant eroticism was incredibly racy by late '50s standards, and the level of actual or implied nudity in the film forever changed how "sexy" was portrayed in British and American cinema. But what is just as surprising and shocking for the era is Bardot's portrayal of a freethinking woman who will not be tamed or controlled by the procession of lusty men who pursue her. Armand Thirard's cinematography is fantastic – and not just when the camera is lingering on Bardot's beautiful form, as she variously seduces the film's male lead in the rolling surf, or teases behind sheets hung on a washing line, or does a frenzied mambo dance in a dockside Beatnik club. No, the dusty, sun-soaked streets and the azure blue sea of St. Tropez itself also provide a beautifully sultry backdrop to the story and give the film a palpable exoticism. In all honesty, And God Created Woman is not terribly well written or directed...and Bardot's not even really that great of an actress. But such criticisms miss the point: this is a boundry-pushing social document of a free-spirited young woman's allure and how it feeds, builds, and destroys the dreams of the men who fall under her spell -- it's almost Helen of Troy for the 1950s. This is one of Europe's great cinematic sexual shockers, but it's also an engaging drama, celebrating the sensual vitality of youthful femininity, while telling a tragic tale of young love and lust. Other films I've seen from 1956 are... - Forbidden Planet, which would be a close runner up for my favourite film of 1956. As all good sci-fi nerds know, the film is based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. The acting is decent – though I confess it's kinda hard for me to accept Leslie Nielsen in a serious role, having grown up watching him goofing around in Police Squad, Airplane or Naked Gun – and the special effects are really excellent for their era. All in all, Forbidden Planet is a hugely enjoyable slice of space-opera, and its influence shouldn't be underestimated: without Forbidden Planet we might not have had Lost in Space, Star Trek, or even Star Wars.
- The Girl Can't Help It, which, in all honesty, is a rather lacklustre film. The weak storyline follows glamorous Jerri Jordan (played by Jayne Mansfield) in her burgeoning musical career, which he dislikes, while her manager/theatrical agent Tom Miller (played by Tom Ewell) falls for her and attempts to protect her from the mob. Honestly, apart from the eye candy of Mansfield, this film's only saving grace is the absolutely fantastic rock 'n' roll soundtrack, with some fantastic, "prime of their lives" footage of the likes of Little Richard, Fats Domino, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent.
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which is a genuinely creepy, paranoia drenched B-movie, in which a small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates. Of course, it's all Cold war paranoia under the surface, with the soulless, mindless victims mimicking life under Soviet rule (allegedly). Or it's a portrait of Eisenhower-era complacency, or a look at the infectious hysteria attendant to McCarthyism. Whatever its subtext, it's a really enjoyable film.
- The King and I, which I haven't seen since I was a little kid, but which my parents and aunties used to watch every damn time it was on TV during late '70s and early '80s Christmasses. To be honest, I recall it being an absolutely crushingly dull film, but then I was never a fan of musicals! I do recall that the backdrops and scenery were pretty stunning, but I'm sure this would still bore the pants off me if I were to watch it again now.
- Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, which is yet another Cold War-era sci-fi film dealing with invasion paranoia, but at least it's one that is an entertainingly tongue-in-cheek affair. The film has some exciting action sequences, in which Washington DC comes under attack from the titular alien vessels, with enjoyable stop-motion effects from a young Ray Harryhausen at the start of his career.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2022 9:35:13 GMT -5
We're No Angels, directed by the protean Michael Curtiz, is a Christmas story set on Devil's Island. Bogart is charming, as are Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov as his fellow escapees. Trust me, you've never seen anything like this movie. Absolutely true, this is my family's favorite Christmas movie of all time...the holidays don't start for us until we've watched it. The chemistry of the three is absolute perfection, and a special shout out to Aldo Ray who, in the company of Bogart and Ustinov, not only doesn't get over-shadowed, but has some of the most charming lines and moments in the whole movie. "Adolphe" did a lovely job as well, he certainly earned his halo  |
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Post by badwolf on Aug 15, 2022 10:02:23 GMT -5
Sweet Smell of Success and Desk Set are my highest-rated films from 1957.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 16, 2022 10:25:47 GMT -5
Finally caught up with this thread!  1957Hands down my favourite film from this year would be the masterpiece of cinematic horror that is Night of the Demon. Nothing else that I've seen from this year even comes close.  I'm not sure how well known this film is in the U.S. – it was released there under the alternate title of Curse of the Demon, but in a heavily edited version, I believe. In its original uncut UK version, however, it is a must-see slice of Gothic horror. The plot is loosely adapted from M. R. James' short story "Casting the Runes", and the film certainly retains the creeping sense of dread and foreboding inherent in much of James's best work. It's a deliciously spooky and atmospheric piece of cinema, filled with witchcraft, curses, runes, and occult lore, in a gripping narrative that pits science and scepticism against the forces of the supernatural. Director Jacques Tourneur conjures a taut, race-against-the clock-style supernatural thriller, with gorgeously shadowy and moody cinematography, which gives the film a certain film noir-ish flavour. It also has proper jump scares, that can actually still make you jump – even though the film is 60+ years old! That said, the Demon itself is rather an unfortunate let down when we finally get to see it fully, due to the limitations of the era's special effects, but I'm sure it must have looked terrifying to cinema goers at the time. Overall, Night of the Demon is a surprisingly thought-provoking film. It chills the viewer intelligently and slowly, conjuring an ominous sense of dread, while slipping in doses of humour and irony. This is an early example of an intelligent, occult-based horror, and as such can be seen as a forerunner of such films as Rosemary's Baby or The Wicker Man. It's beautifully constructed and remains a haunting, chillingly plausible tale of witchcraft and the occult. Other 1957 films I've seen are... - The Seventh Seal, which is an extremely strange and surreal film. It is, however, also one that is both thought-provoking and absolutely beautifully shot. The famous scenes of Death (played by Bengt Ekerot) and the knight Antonius Block (played by Max von Sydow) playing chess are excellent, of course, but the other cast members – particularly Block's synical squire Jöns and Mia the actress – are all really enjoyable too. The film is brilliantly unflinching look at the existential dread of mortality and the difficulty of sustaining faith in a God that forever seems elusive or out of reach.
- The Bridge on the River Kwai, which I must confess I haven't seen since I was a kid. It was a film my Dad would watch whenever it was on TV, but I always found it rather slow and boring. I'd like to watch it again sometime because I have a feeling my attitude towards it might be very different as an adult.
- Blue Murder at St Trinian's, which is the second entry in the vaguely saucy British comedy series. This was made back in the days when having saucy schoolgirls dressed in black stockings and suspenders under their short skirts was perfectly acceptable (and to be clear, the schoolgirls are all played by women who are a good few years out of school). Of course, the "saucy schoolgirl" trope was a popular staple of British humour at the time, and was much more innocent, in an end-of-the-pier, naughty postcard type of way, than we might regard it today. A very young George Cole reprises his role as "Flash Harry" in this, and overall it's an improvement on the first St. Trinian's film.
- Jailhouse Rock, which is one of the better Elvis Presley film vehicles – though that's not saying much, given how dire most of them are! The film sees Presley playing a young kid who is jailed after accidentally killing a man in a bar fight, but who learns to play guitar while in prison, and then becomes a star after his release. It's a surprisingly moody, almost noir-like black and white movie, in which the down-beat atmosphere is punctured regularly by exuberant musical numbers. Presley is very watchable and exudes "cool" in this rags-to-riches tale.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 16, 2022 11:21:47 GMT -5
Slam_Bradley, you have fielded a line-up of all-stars for 1957. Only one I haven't seen is "Curse," but all the others are on my list, too. Offered for your consideration... Witness for the Prosecution, an Agatha Christie mystery that is much more realistic and gritty than one might expect from her. The actng and the script carry this courtroom drama skillfully, with Tyrone Power playing against type, Charles Laughton adroitly adding just the right touch of ham to his performance and Marlene Dietrich as a woman still in her Weimar Republic phase, if you know what I mean. Directed by Billy Wilder, so expect a classic. Sweet Smell of Success, in counterpoint to its title, is a rancid story of cynicism, exploitation and ambition in the old days of columnists like Walter Winchell, whi could make or break a career, blackmail anybody, and cause irreparable damage just because. Burt Lancaster is the souless user columnist, Tony Curtis an equally amoral agent, and both are creepily excellent. The screenpaly by Ernest Lehman and Clifford Odets slices, dices and chops like a Ginsu knife. "Plan Nine From Outer Space" Need we say more? Here's just one of the scores of pearls in the dialogue. Police detective, upon seeing the lifeless body of Tor Johnson: "Inspector Clay is dead! Murdered! And someone’s responsible!" Can't slip the 3-0 fastball by that guy, can you? Thank you, Ed Wood! "Zero Hour" is about a passenger plane in desperate straits when the pilot, co-pilot and some passengers suffer food poisoning. The only hope is an an ex-fighter pilot suffering from what we'd today call PTSD (played by Dana Andrews). If this sounds familiar, it should. Watch it and you can see the secret origins the movie that the landmark comedy Airplane (1981) was based on. "Desk Set" is a charming Tracy-Hepburn comedy. They're both too old for their parts, but that actually adds a sweet romantic touch. Quaint in a pleasing way, but also still relevant, given that it is set in the cold-hearted world of capitalism adapting to new technology. Night Passage stars Jimmy Stewart and Audie Murphy as brothers. Not up to the high level of the Anthony Mann Westerns, but still a solid turn for Stewart and Murphy. A sentimental favorite: Johnny Tremain, a book I loved as a kid, and a movie from Disney that reminds you of the old days of MGM's lushly colorful style. My sleeper: Man of a Thousand Faces stars Cagney in a biography of Lon Chaney. The picture is melodramatic way too often, the price for altering many a key fact, but the real attraction is Cagney, who is, as usual, just great. I love the scenes of his using sign language with his parents, hastily transforming himslef into a Lascar with his near-magiclal make-up kit, and playing a man with twisted limbs uncoiling bit by bit as he is "healed" in a scene restaged from The Miracle Man. Trailer, though overblown, features a couple of hints of cagney in fine fettle...
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 16, 2022 14:04:06 GMT -5
Slam_Bradley , you have fielded a line-up of all-stars for 1957. Only one I haven't seen is "Curse," but all the others are on my list, too. Offered for your consideration... Witness for the Prosecution, an Agatha Christie mystery that is much more realistic and gritty than one might expect from her. The actng and the script carry this courtroom drama skillfully, with Tyrone Power playing against type, Charles Laughton adroitly adding just the right touch of ham to his performance and Marlene Dietrich as a woman still in her Weimar Republic phase, if you know what I mean. Directed by Billy Wilder, so expect a classic. Sweet Smell of Success, in counterpoint to its title, is a rancid story of cynicism, exploitation and ambition in the old days of columnists like Walter Winchell, whi could make or break a career, blackmail anybody, and cause irreparable damage just because. Burt Lancaster is the souless user columnist, Tony Curtis an equally amoral agent, and both are creepily excellent. The screenpaly by Ernest Lehman and Clifford Odets slices, dices and chops like a Ginsu knife. "Plan Nine From Outer Space" Need we say more? Here's just one of the scores of pearls in the dialogue. Police detective, upon seeing the lifeless body of Tor Johnson: "Inspector Clay is dead! Murdered! And someone’s responsible!" Can't slip the 3-0 fastball by that guy, can you? Thank you, Ed Wood! "Zero Hour" is about a passenger plane in desperate straits when the pilot, co-pilot and some passengers suffer food poisoning. The only hope is an an ex-fighter pilot suffering from what we'd today call PTSD (played by Dana Andrews). If this sounds familiar, it should. Watch it and you can see the secret origins the movie that the landmark comedy Airplane (1981) was based on. "Desk Set" is a charming Tracy-Hepburn comedy. They're both too old for their parts, but that actually adds a sweet romantic touch. Quaint in a pleasing way, but also still relevant, given that it is set in the cold-hearted world of capitalism adapting to new technology. Night Passage stars Jimmy Stewart and Audie Murphy as brothers. Not up to the high level of the Anthony Mann Westerns, but still a solid turn for Stewart and Murphy. A sentimental favorite: Johnny Tremain, a book I loved as a kid, and a movie from Disney that reminds you of the old days of MGM's lushly colorful style. My sleeper: Man of a Thousand Faces stars Cagney in a biography of Lon Chaney. The picture is melodramatic way too often, the price for altering many a key fact, but the real attraction is Cagney, who is, as usual, just great. I love the scenes of his using sign language with his parents, hastily transforming himslef into a Lascar with his near-magiclal make-up kit, and playing a man with twisted limbs uncoiling bit by bit as he is "healed" in a scene restaged from The Miracle Man. Trailer, though overblown, features a couple of hints of cagney in fine fettle... I've seen Witness for the Prosecution and Desk Set, but it's been a LONG time. Plan Nine is one of the great bad movies. I'm a fan of Ed Woods' oeuvre for its sheer ineptitude. I haven't seen Johnny Tremaine since I was a kid. As a big Lon Chaney fan I'm of two minds about Man of a Thousand Faces. Love that there's a bio-pic of Chaney, but he was an intensely private man and as I recall it plays pretty fast and loose with the facts of his life. |
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