Great Films I Have Seen Recently - OT: Film Discussion

[Fredric]

Finally saw THE BIG SLEEP last night. Wow. I love that dialogue. Bought the DVD cheap and watched the "differences" documentary. I'll watch the pre-release version later in the week probably.

With Adult Eyes: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Magnificent movie. Not much happens but not much needs to. Really a movie that you "drink" in.

That's all for now. Harvey, tell us about your favorite Italian Westerns.

[Jeff Wilson]

I watched The Blue Angel again tonight on TCM. Jesus, that scene at the end where Janning starts crowing when he sees Dietrich and the strong man together is amazing. A fine film overall, but really boosted by the final 15 minutes.

[jaime marzol]

movie report from altamonte springs, florida:

i loved THE BLUE ANGEL. the last 15 minutes make it a very modern story. the second half of the film was written by von sternberg, he gave it what distinction it has. the book doesn't have any of the downfall. the guy marries the stripper, then goes into politics.

the BIG SLEEP is also trememdous. for those that have been watching the release version for years, the pre release version is a real treat, like finding lost footage.

recent dvd's i've rented and loved, GODFATHER II with copolla's commentary track; 4 minutes in and copolla is already bad-mouthing everyone. the GODFATHER bonus disc, lots of great behind the scenes stuff, and gordon willys is a student of the charleton heston school of blowing yourself.

NETWORK is great.

D.W. Griffith's BROKEN BLOSSONS is great, found the laser disc on a $2.99 blowout rack, along with WILD STRAWBERRYS.

got a copy of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE in lbx, and had the usual argument with one of my movie pals. is LIBERTY VALANCE a great film, or an OK film? i say great, he says OK. he has no taste, he also thinks EL DORADO is better than RIO BRAVO, and he didn't like RED RIVER, but he loved GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL. i think RED RIVER does rings around GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL, and so does MY DARLING CLEMENTINE. i think CLEMENTINE is one of the top 10 or 15 best westerns ever made.

[Welles Fan]

Jaime. I'm totally with you on those westerns. I've got Red River, Clementine, and The Searchers right at the top of my list. I don't know if I'd put Rio Bravo, there, but I enjoy the hell out of it every time I see it.

I like Liberty Valance as a sort of "minor classic", because it deals with the whole mythologizing of the west thing. I love it when a story or movie shows the transition from fact into legend (like the moment in The Searchers when Chief Scar meets John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter and says "You Big Shoulders. Him-one who follows"-it shows how the two searchers have become semi-legendary among the Indians they've been pursuing).

Gunfight at the OK Corral is just a good, routine star-driven western, IMO, and El Dorado showed the Hawks formula that dates back to Only Angels Have Wings was getting old-and it's badly acted as well.

I got the DVD of Red River at Sam's for like $8.99, and I find almost everything about it-the story, cast, Tiomkin score, direction/photograpy to be perfect.

[jaime marzol]

sunday when wife is going to sam's she'll be wondering why i want to go. i'm in search of my $8.99 RED RIVER dvd.

GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL is just poor. my friend loves it. he also loves the james garner wyat earp film, which is also poor i think.

yeah, RIO BRAVO is not a great movie, but it's great fun to watch, as EL DORADO is. EL DORADO has stuff for the kiddies. RIO BRAVO doesn't try as hard to entertain, so it's more entertaining. and who can resist a film where you get to see john wayne kiss walter brenan on the head, and brenan hit wayne in the ass with a broom.

i also enjoy the hell out of a lbx copy i have of THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER.

and a great, great film that you don't realize how incredibly great it is till you see it in lbx, is Huston's REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE. what a master of cinemascope huston was.

my friend's big beef about LIBERTY VALANCE is the cardboard sets. i loved the cardboard sets. gave it an abstract quality. the story and characters are so real, it could have played out in a cornfield and been just as effective.

my favorite fords are: STAGECOACH, LONG VOYAGE HOME, SEARCHERS, THE FUGITIVE (kicks ass), GRAPES OF RATH, CLEMENTINE, the 2 color cavalry movies of the cavalry trilogy, the B&W one is ok, the 2 color ones are great.
SEARCHERS, STAGECOACH, LIBERTY VALANCE, the abe lincolm film was also great. have never seen but looking for WAGONMASTER, and JUDGE PRIEST. incredible how many outstanding westerns ford made.

has anyone seen Griffith's sound film about lincoln? would love to trade for a copy of that. would also loveto trade for WAGONMASTER in lbx, and JUDGE PRIEST.

i might get blasted for this, but i also enjoy the director's cut in lbx, of TOMBSTONE. i know it has no ending. i know it has 37 things set-up and not paid-off. but the violence is great, and kilmner has such great lines. and i get a glimpse of my favorite, white bread and mayonaise eating actor, charleton heston. don't watch it on tv, they suck the violence right out of it.

[Fredric]

I remember liking BIG JAKE growing up. Of course, it could be a horrendous film for all I know. I just remember Wayne saying "Dog" and his dog would begin attacking the nearest person. Cool.

Not a Ford or Hawks film . . . sorry.

[Welles Fan]

I have the letterbox laserdisc of Big Jake. It's not a great one, but I have always enjoyed it. The bad acting of Patrick Wayne and Christopher Mitchum is offset by Richard Boone's gang leader and Bruce Cabot as the Indian sidecick, and of course, Duke. There's a scene between Boone and Duke where they are sort of trading witticisms before negotiating the release of Wayne's grandson, a kidnap victim, when suddenly Boone gets to the business at hand. You can see Duke's face change as if a shadow has crossed it. It's a very subtle effect Wyne used on occasion, as if a wave of nausea/hate/rage has just coursed through his body. It is extremely violent (one of the gangmember's preferred weapon is a machete!) but I always have a good time watching it.

I also like Tombstone, the only other Earp/Clanton movie I like besides Clementine. I love the scene where Kurt Russell as Earp kicks Billy-Bob's coward/bully ass out of the saloon in the beginning (indeed Russell is under-rated in his intense performance because all the kudos went to the equally fine job by Kilmer). The Crips/Bloods manner of depicting the gang was kinda lame, though, and it does run out of steam in its last third. I will look for a new director's cut DVD of it this month.

If you ever have trouble sleeping at night, I recommend the Kevin Costner/Lawrence Kasdan Wyatt Earp, a very successful attempt to make the most boring, pretentious Wyatt Earp movie ever made. You'll be begging for James Garner or Burt Lancaster after that one (if you make it all the way through-I didn't).

I saw the Griffith Abraham Lincoln a long time ago, and remember it chiefly as an creacky, clumsy early talkie. Young Mr Lincoln is much better, IMO. The only Griffith film that truly moves me is Broken Blossoms, especially if you see the version with the score that features a melody that Griffith either wrote or simply wanted in the film, I don't remember which.

The Red River DVD is bare-bones with no extra features save for some notes in the chapter booklet.

[jaime marzol]

you are right on the money about the kostner/kasdan earp, what a load of crap. and did you notice all the budget tv actors in it? it's like a made for tv movie.

i don't remember BIG JAKE. but i remember McCLINTOCK, a non ford/hawks western with wayne, i liked it a lot as a child. have no idea if it's any good today.

did anyone like THE MAGNIFICENT 7, THE RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT 7, and THE MAGNIFICENT 7 AND THE CHEERLEADERS? i never liked any of these.

sam fuller's 40 GUNS was very cool but you gotta see it in widescreen or it's terribly reduced.

my griffith BROKEN BLOSSOMS disc has the opium den scene cut out. what did i expect for $2.99, opium too?

got a copy of INHERIT THE WIND in lbx. what a great film. stanley kramer's heavy hand seems very well suited for this subject. when i saw gene kelly in it, i thought, 'oh no, he's going to dance and sing', and he didn't! i was very pleased.

[Fredric]

I thoght Tombstone was great, too, which leads me to Russell. Saw Vanilla Sky this weekend and agree that it was really Hollywoody. I'm very interested in seeing Open Your Eyes now for comparison. I can't believe anyone was confused by that movie, as I've heard, because Crowe (definitely no Welles) explains the whole freaking thing at the end! Nothing is left to imagine or debate. Anyway: the best thing about the SKY was what I thought was the best performance by Russell I've ever seen. Wow, can he really act! You could see his thoughts and emotions subtly cross his face. Give him more roles like that, I say. Sad thing is he probably won't be nominated for anything, not that that means anything nowadays.

Go Kurt!

[dmolson]

Well, Kurt did learn from the best -- Joe Flynn! You saw a lot of puzzlement/amazement/frustration parade behind his eyes during the Computer Wore Tennis Shoes/Disney flicks...
Caught the Shipping News, a neatly 'Readers Digest' version of the book by Lasse Hallstrom. Plenty of good acting performances with Kevin Spacey and Cate Blanchett leading the way. On the supporting side, Canada's Gordon Pinsent (the original Rowdy Man) uses his authentic accent and sharply honed skills to bring a calm yet compelling character to the forefront at times. Also, watch for a brief but excellent turn by 90 year old Hollywood pro Marc Lawrence... The guy's still got the chops! and his Newfie accent (in one good yet tiny stint of dialogue) is top notch.

[ChristopherBanks]

Saw <i>Vanilla Sky</i> this weekend and agree that it was really Hollywoody. I'm very interested in seeing <i>Open Your Eyes</i> now for comparison. I can't believe anyone was confused by that movie, as I've heard, because Crowe (definitely no Welles) explains the whole freaking thing at the end! Nothing is left to imagine or debate. Anyway: the best thing about the SKY was what I thought was the best performance by Russell I've ever seen. Wow, can he really act! You could see his thoughts and emotions subtly cross his face. Give him more roles like that, I say. Sad thing is he probably won't be nominated for anything, not that that means anything nowadays.

There is a similar explanation of things at the end of "Open Your Eyes", but there is a great deal more uncertainty and suspense about it all. The atmosphere is definitely not "up" in that final scene on the building.

If you're a Hitchcock fan, you'll be struck by the film's similarities to "Vertigo".

Kurt Russell was good in the part of the psychiatrist, but wait till you see the original. Every single person is cast beautifully. Especially the mysterious man from the infomercial. I'd love to hear your thoughts when you do see it, it's one of my all-time favourites.

[Fredric]

Speaking of Vertigo, did I ever mention my theory that the second half of the film (after the breakdown) takes place entirely in Scotty's mind? (Spoilers Follow) It came to me when Kim Novak only falls out of the frame at the end of the film, and Scotty looks down but we do not get to see what he sees (THE END). Hmmm. What if the girl hired to play the wife didn't really exist? What if Scotty was so riddled with guilt about letting her die that he fabricated an excuse in his mind? His obsession wasn't actually with Novak but with conquering his Vertigo. "No," he tells himself, "it wasn't my fault. It was really a plot to kill the wife. Yeah, that's it!" So he sets about creating a second chance for himself in order to succeed this time, to conquer his illness. That's why we don't see what he sees at the end. There's no one there.

Not a very popular theory, but it's fun.

[jaime marzol]

i like to do that fredric. i cast a theory then try to find clues in the work that support my theory. the more outrageous my theories are, the more exciting it is when you find the links.

TAXI DRIVER: travis bickle, always writing letters home. we were never given any sign that this is a real family he's writing to. when the camera scanned the letters on the wall, it curiously never came in close enough to show any personal words shared between travis and family. never a phone call. just those letters. some have said that travis was created that day the film began, that is why he was so allian in his own world.

[jaime marzol]

A PLACE IN THE SUN
no one notices clift as he walks through the film, until elizabeth taylor notices him making that pool shot. before the poolshot, see how many times people pass right by him like he's invisible. a guy with a garbage truck sees him and stops to give him a ride into town, towards his future, as was just set-up in the billboard. in fact, during the party scene clift is like repellent. rooms he enter suddenly clear out. he makes the shot, taylor notices him, his life changes. cut to that incredible, unbeleivable close-up of them dancing.

i love the way stevens cuts between the ugly, pregnant frump exiting a dive and checking the mail, to clift waterskying with the rich and famous.

during the row boat ride scene, while clift is rowing the ugly frump out to the lake, has to be the most brilliant assembly of studio footage inter cut with location footage. would be hard to imagine a more brilliant assembly.

had clift slammed the frump on the head with that oar and drowned her, we could have forgiven him.

[Fredric]

WONDER BOYS (Spoiler)

The story, at the end, cuts from Douglas at the bottom of his downfall to . . . him having won the life he wanted. He's now married to McDormand, and they have kids. Everyone tells me that he turned his life around and that this is a flash forward, and I'm the only one that says . . . .

The whole movie is the viusualization of a novel in this writer's head as he writes it. The character of the professor's wife is based on his own wife, etc. None of the movie really happened.