What Classics Did You See Last Week (November 17–November 23)
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Rufus-T — 1 year ago(November 24, 2024 07:44 PM)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070334/
Private detective Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) got into some sticky water after helping his friend cross to Mexico. This is very enjoyable Robert Altman adaptation of a Raymond Chandler detective story. The mumbling and the complaining of Elliott Gould was amusing. The middle part of the movie was a bit confusing when he was asked by a woman to find her missing husband. The story tied up at the end. One criticism is they played the mediocre theme song in all sort of different ways like begging for an Oscar nomination. It did not get the nomination.
The Godfather (1972)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/
A movie I love before I knew how much this was also loved by so many others. It's been a while since I watched this. Since the trilogy is on Amazon Prime, so I plan to go through the movies. The arc of Michael Corleone's character is one of the best character depiction in movie, going from a clean cut youngest brother to a cold blooded mob boss. Marlon Brando won the Oscar as the Godfather Vito, but I thought Al Pacino as Michael is a co-lead even though the Oscar considered him a supporting role. I never get tired of of rewatching.
The Amazing Mr. X (1948)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040829/
A woman (Lynn Bari) living near the shore heard her late husband's voice calling her name from the sea. With the help of a psychic, she tried to resolved the call. This is a mystery, with a strong tinge of horror. Turhan Bey was very good as the psychic. Cathy O'Donnell was very cute as the younger sister. She can really widen her eyes when being alarmed. Many twists and turns, though the last part was not that strong.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071562/
How could a sequel measure up to The Godfather? It did. What a brilliant idea of telling in parallel the rise of Vito Corleone and the fall of Michael Corleone. The transitions between the story were perfect. The dialogues were just as good as the first movie. Possibly my favorite is the exchange between Tom Hagen and Frank Pentangeli outside of the compound.
Slightly Scarlet (1956)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049769/
A woman has a sister who kept having legal problem, is a girlfriend of the mayor candidate, and fell in love with a mob member who is influencing the mayor campaign and taking over gang behind the mob boss. A lot is going on, yet there were plenty of drawn out campy drama too, especially between the woman and the mob member, played by Rhonda Fleming and John Payne respectively. Both who held up the movie well. The sister, played by Arlene Dahl, was being naughty and sexy throughout the movie stirred excitement. Overall enjoyable.
23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048919/
A depressed blind writer overheard in a pub a dialogue which may imply a woman in danger. He decided to take investigate into the situation even after reporting to the police. He was helped along with his devoted butler caretaker and his girlfriend secretary both who wanted to help him out of his depression. My thought at first was he is being very nosy. Then on second thought his situation make sense that he wanted to feel some importance by checking things out. Of course it got him into trouble. Van Johnson played the blind writer. I am generally not big fan of him, but he was excellent here. Same with the butler played by Cecil Parker and the secretary played by Vera Miles. Such devotion to him. This is a beautifully handled suspense mystery with good colorful city scenery. It felt a good Hitchcock movie.
Framed (1947)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039396/
A truck driver driving a malfunction truck rammed his way into a small town and met up with a beautiful waitress. The waitress is much deadlier than she looked. Glenn Ford ws very good playing the truck driver. The movie did feel very low budget, with the quality very mediocre. The movie was saved by a very good climax and by Glenn Ford's cool demeanor.
Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072973/
This time Philip Marlowe was played by Robert Mitchum. An ex-convict (Jack O'Halloran) wanted to find his wife who he hasn't seen in 7 years. Marlowe kind of went through hell to fulfill the service. The movie was not as exciting as it may sound, and could have been better. There were some good scenes though. Note that Sylvester Stallone appeared briefly before his Rocky days.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049006/
An original to the 2016 film that I saw recently. Same storyline, but not much better than the remake. The remake focused on a corrupt prosecutor. This one is focus on against the death penalty, which failed to do in the movie. Starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine, both were not that good. I usually like both. Considering it is directed by Fritz Lang, it is a disappointing movie. -
spiderwort — 1 year ago(November 24, 2024 10:20 PM)
Agree with you 100% about THE GODFATHER II, Rufus. I like it much better than the original. And, like you, I really enjoyed 23 PACES TO BAKER STREET, for all the reasons you mention – and William Wellman's excellent direction. Haven't seen any of the others, though I'm familiar with some, and several of the others sound really interesting.
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ZolotoyRetriever — 1 year ago(November 25, 2024 01:27 AM)
The Americanization of Emily
(1964) - Directed by Arthur Hiller, written by Paddy Chayefsky, starring James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas, James Coburn. First-time viewing for me (thanks,
@spiderwort
, for the recommendation), this very off-beat war film was full of surprises, not least of which was the script by Chayefsky, who seemed to be hell-bent on making biting statements about love, war, international relations, and a lot of other stuff, just about every other minute of the film. Nothing wrong with that, but it sure makes you perk up your ears as the movie rolls along (also, I feel a distinct need to re-watch this one at least once, maybe even twice, to make sure I got it all straight).
Uncle Buck
(1991) - Dir. John Hughes's early-90's comedy, with John Candy as the clumsy but well-meaning uncle pressed into house-sitting for his brother and sister-in-law as they are called out of town on a family medical emergency. Seen it before a very long time ago… I remember I liked it a lot better then, but over the years I've gotten a lot more savvy and discerning about what is presented on screen, and this time around I found myself noting things that, to me anyway, made the film seem very flawed. Still, it's good mindless fun if you don't let your "film critic" side get in the way.
How to Beat the High Cost of Living
(1980) - Light-hearted but sometimes dark and edgy heist comedy about 3 middle-class women trying to cope with late-70's inflation and other financial as well as personal woes in Eugene, Oregon. Directed by Robert Scheerer with Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin, Jessica Lange, Dabney Coleman, Richard Benjamin. Not great, but certainly a fun flick and a good mood lifter.
Othello
(1922) - German silent film adaptation of the immortal Shakespeare play. Directed by Dmitriy Bukhovetskiy, with Emil Jannings as Othello, Werner Krauss as Iago, Theodor Loos as Cassio, and Ica von Lenkeffy as Desdemona, Othello's wife. This was the 2001 Kino International restored version, with new soundtrack and all-English intertitles (they're in English, but can be hard to decipher at times, because it's all Shakespearian English). The print I saw looks very good. -
Rufus-T — 1 year ago(November 25, 2024 07:41 PM)
Agree with you there about Uncle Buck. It is a very flawed movie if one were to break it down. Hell, I don't care and I love it. John Candy is very funny and dark. Really amusing relationship between his character and Amy Madigan's, and his handling of the oldest daughter.
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spiderwort — 1 year ago(November 27, 2024 02:27 AM)
Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed
The Americanization of Emily
, ZR! I thought you would. And you're so right about Chayefsky's compelling script. It's based upon a William Bradford Huie novel, who also wrote some other novels/books that were turned into significant films, including
Wild River
(1960) (one of my all-time favorites) and
The Execution of Private Slovik
(1974), which became a powerful TV film.
Haven't seen any of your other titles, though the silent version of
Othello
sounds quite interesting. I don't know the director, but I'm a big fan of Emil Jannings. I may give it a look, if I can find the Kino version. Thanks for the recommendation. -
ZolotoyRetriever — 1 year ago(November 27, 2024 03:22 AM)
Much thanks, Spiderwort. I am now very curious to see
The Hospital
(1971), with George C. Scott, screenplay written by Paddy Chayefsky (for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay).
BTW, take a look at
Uncle Buck
someday, too, if you have time, and let me know what you think… was John Hughes just "letting it all hang out," directorially speaking, with this one??
This silent version of
Othello
I saw was certainly "okay," but now I'm interested in seeing some of the other film versions of this Shakespeare tale - not least of which would certainly be the 1951 version by Orson Welles, which has quite a history. -
spiderwort — 1 year ago(November 27, 2024 04:34 PM)
Your so welcome, Zolotoy. And I only saw it once when it was first released, but I remember being very impressed by
The Hospital
. In addition to the Chayefsky connection, it was directed by Arthur Hiller, who also directed
The Americanization of Emily
.
And if I get a chance, I'll watch
Uncle Buck
. But for the record some friends have been pressuring me to watch
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
for a long time, which I still haven't done, so that has to come first. I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything.