What Classics Did You See Last Week (October 12–October 18)
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spiderwort — 5 months ago(October 21, 2025 12:29 AM)
Sullivan's Travels
is one of my favorites, PL. It's a joy to watch, brilliantly written and directed by Sturges, with wonderful performances by all the cast. And I love that it dips into the darkness and despair of the Depression to evoke Sullivan's transformation, manifested so beautifully in the the scene in the theatre.
I don't think I've seen any of your other films;
If Winter Comes
, maybe, but I'm not sure. I think I'd probably remember if I had. But
Underground
sounds like one I should see. I'll keep an eye out for that one. -
CoriSCapnSkip — 5 months ago(October 20, 2025 02:44 AM)
The Cat Creature
on October 12
Carnival of Souls
on October 13
Dead of Night
(1977) on October 14
The Night Stalker
on October 15
Ghost Story
, later
Circle of Fear
, pilot episode (not a movie) on October 16
Dark Shadows
(2012) on October 17
The Canterville Ghost
(1975) on October 18 -
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CoriSCapnSkip — 5 months ago(October 20, 2025 04:20 PM)
Carnival of Souls is one of my all-time favorites. I should watch it before October ends.
Ghost Story with Fred Astaire? That was a very mediocre adaptation of a brilliant novel.
I review every film I watch but I haven't been posting them here as I wasn't exactly welcomed when I joined. In fact, this is the only thread I've been participating in so thanks for answering.
No,
Ghost Story
was a TV series hosted by Sebastian Cabot. About halfway through they changed the title to
Circle of Fear
. -
spiderwort — 5 months ago(October 21, 2025 12:48 AM)
I quite enjoyed
Carnival of Souls
, Cori. I don't know if you know that a lot of it was shot in the (then) small college town of Lawrence, Kansas (home of the University of Kansas). And the rest was shot in Utah. I have connections to both places, so I always enjoy seeing it for that reason alone. And it was made for almost nothing, literally – about $33,000.00, but it's become a cult classic through the years. The director, Harvey Herk, was making industrial and educational films in Lawrence when he decided to put this film together. Kudos to him for being able to do it. It's not a great film, by any means, but it is a very entertaining one.
P.S. Would it be possible for you to put the year of release on all of your titles? It would very helpful to me in particular, if you could. Many thanks. -
CoriSCapnSkip — 5 months ago(October 22, 2025 01:20 AM)
P.S. Would it be possible for you to put the year of release on all of your titles? It would very helpful to me in particular, if you could. Many thanks.
So far I've only been doing that when I know there is more than one film of the same title but I guess I could. -
CoriSCapnSkip — 5 months ago(October 22, 2025 04:28 PM)
If there's a question on which film I meant on any of my previous posts please ask. As I said, I would be happy to post all my film reviews here except for the unwelcome (mild word for it) response when I joined.
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spiderwort — 5 months ago(October 23, 2025 05:01 AM)
I don't remember having a problem before, but I'll let you know if I think of anything. And I hope you'll keep posting. I'll respond when I have something to say based upon my own viewing experience. If I haven't seen the film(s), I may not respond, because I feel I don't have much to contribute. But please know that your posts are appreciated even if I haven't seen the films. So please do keep posting. I appreciate your contributions.
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spiderwort — 5 months ago(October 20, 2025 02:56 AM)
All first viewings:
Pygmalion / Anthony Asquith & Leslie Howard
(1938). An adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw play in which Professor Henry Higgins (Leslie Howard) bets he can teach a cockney flower girl, Elia Doolittle (Wendy Hiller) how to speak and act like a duchess. The precursor to the
My Fair Lady
musical adaptation, it’s a real delight. And unlike the musical it never feels stage-bound, instead makes creative use of interesting camera angles. And Hiller is wonderful in it, of course. She never ceases to amaze me. It received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Actor, Actress and Screenplay, winning for Screenplay. It’s a fine adaptation of a classic play that’s only and hour and a half long and David Lean was its editor! Highly recommended. (Available on several streaming services.)
Winter Light / Ingmar Bergman
(1963). A Swedish pastor (Gunar Bjornstrand) is struggling with his faith and sliding towards atheism. In the process, he fails a loving woman (Ingrid Thulin), a suicidal father (Max von Sydow) and his pregnant wife (Gunnel Lindblom). It’s the second film in Bergman’s self-proclaimed faith trilogy that includes the earlier
Through a Glass Darkly
(1961), one of my favorite Bergman films, and the subsequent
The Silence
(1963), which I haven’t seen yet. Beautifully directed and performed, especially by Ingrid Thulin, and impeccably shot by the great cinematographer Sven Nykvist, I have to say that in spite of all of that I found it to be a bit disappointing with an oddly abrupt ending. I wanted a more profound, specific sense of closure. But for Bergman fans, I suspect it’s a must-see.
Wings / William Wellman
(1927). Two rivals (Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Richard Arlen) who are in love with the same woman (Jobyna Ralston) become fighter pilots during World War I. The first Best Picture winner at the first-ever Academy Awards, it’s beautifully directed by Wellman, who had been a pilot himself during the war and because of that was able to create some dazzling aerial sequences, long before CGI, which are still amazing to see today. And it has very good, moving performances by Rogers, Arlen and Clara Bow, who’s in love with Rogers, though he doesn’t realize it. It was also one of Gary Cooper’s first major screen roles. Not a great film, but a very good one that I highly recommended because of Wellman’s craftsmanship and the film’s historical significance. (On Tubi, Fawesome, and YouTube) -
sheetsadam1 — 5 months ago(October 20, 2025 03:33 AM)
More trivia than anything else, but you called
Wings
"the first Best Picture winner at the first-ever Academy Awards." Interestingly enough, there are (sort of)
two
films which can lay claim to that title.
Wings
, of course, won what was then called "Outstanding Picture" while F.W. Murnau's
Sunrise
won "Best Unique and Artistic Picture," an award that was never handed out again (
Sunrise
is worth watching, by the way; I haven't seen
Wings
).
Draft Barron Trump -
spiderwort — 5 months ago(October 20, 2025 04:47 PM)
Yes, of course. It's a little confusing because of the different categories in that first year of the Oscars, but I should have have clarified it as you have done. Thanks for that.
And
Sunrise
is one of my favorite films. I enjoyed
Wings
, but I love
Sunrise
! -
PygmyLion — 5 months ago(October 20, 2025 02:50 PM)
Pygmalion
is one of my favorites; top 10. I like to watch it at least once every year.
It always seems like a shame that we didn't get more movies from Wendy Hiller (1912-2003) when she was young.
Pygmalion
(1938),
Major Barbara
(1941), and
I Know Where I'm Going
(1945) are her only movies before 1950.
I Know Where I'm Going
is another one of my favorites. She was, of course, mostly a stage actress during that period.
It's been a long time since I last watched
Wings
. I'm not that into silent films, but your description and pictures make me realize that it is time for a rewatch. -
spiderwort — 5 months ago(October 20, 2025 04:52 PM)
So glad to see another
Pygmalion
fan, PL! I just love Wendy Hiller; what a great actress she was. And
I Know Where I'm Going
is one of my favorites, too.
As for
Wings
, I really enjoyed it, much my surprise. If you do re-watch it, I hope it holds up for you. -
Rufus-T — 5 months ago(October 23, 2025 03:25 AM)
The Descent (2005)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435625/
Some time after a tragedy happened to a woman, her bunch of adventurous female friends took her to a cave exploration. They went to the wrong cave and something creepy is lurking there. The movie is intense and gory. However, the first half is just exploring. It took awhile before the danger begins. Besides the danger the women faced, there were some unresolved emotional conflict brewing. I suppose the claustrophobic atmosphere would work very well on the large screen. I did not work that well on the small screen. Also, hard to be convincing when these women able to fight like Wonder Woman. I believe it is adapted from a video game, but not sure. I don't know any of the actresses, nor the director Neil Marshall. It probably did well at the box office since there was a sequel.
The Dunwich Horror (1970)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065669/
Based on a H.P. Lovecraft story, a man (Dean Stockwell) lured a young woman (Sandra Dee) so to summon his mysterious ancestry. Very camp, but the story is weirdly engaging, thanks to the performance of the two leads. The Sandra Dee character was very sensual, and the role begged for nudity. I am sure any other actress, they would have yield to the temptation. There were scene that were in psychedelic images, which was poorly done effect. It was not a well made movie, but I think Lovecraft fan would enjoy it. You get to see the young Talia Shire in a minor role before her Godfather and Rocky fame.
The Company of Wolves (1984)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087075/
A teenage girl at modern day in sleep as her sister knocking on her bedroom door. Her dream drifted her towards a middle age small village with the same family, where The Red Riding Hood story took place as a horror story. Sarah Patterson, with her wholesome and pretty image, seemed to be the perfect girl to play the Red Riding Hood, but with the name of Rosaleen. Angela Lansbury played the grandmother. Within that dream, a few stories were told by one character to another which set up the background to the ultimate showdown at grandmother's home. Though much of the setting were not real, it is a beautiful looking movie. I think Sarah Patterson has a lot to do with it. This is Neil Jordan's second directorial work, before his Mona Lisa, The Crying Game, and Interview with the Vamplire. It is a bit slow moving, but I like the idea of making it a horror which most of these fairy tales are in a subtle way. A similar horror conversion was attempted lately starring Amanda Seyfried and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. I thought this Neil Jordan adaptation was better
Reds (1981)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082979/
One of the best epic movies, and the best Warren Beatty directorial work. The movie could have been called "The story of John Reed and Louis Bryant" or "The rise and fall of John Reed". John Reed, played by Warren Beatty, was a writer during the pre-WWI era met up with another writer Louis Bryant, played by Diane Keaton (RIP). He got caught up into the Russian Communist revolution, and he wanted to bring it to America. Asides from the chronicling the oppression and the growing of left wing politics, the movie was basically an epic romance between the two. There were real live witness to their story. Sometime their narration overlapped with the movie to spice it up. Beatty and Keaton were simply outstanding. In fact, this movie has one of the best movie casting. Credit often also go to Jack Nicholson and Maureen Stapleton, but I thought Paul Sorvino's performance was highly overlooked. Gene Hackman (RIP) also has a minor role. Another thing I have to praise was the editing. For 3 1/2 hours, it could have been boring without the outstanding editing.
The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066849/
A 18th century village was affected by some curse and people, especially the young ones, were dying one by one. A judge went there to examine if witchcraft was involved. Directed by Piers Haggard, this is a British cultish film much like The Wicker Man, but not as good. It has a feel of low budget, but able to create the creepy mystery. The were some gore and much sexual content. The most stood out performance was Linda Hayden who played an important role in the mystery.
Destiny (1921)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0012494/
This was an early Fritz Lang fantasy/horror before M and the Mabuse movies. A strange man went into a town and leased a land next to the graveyard. This man later involved with an engaged couple which leads to three stories in determining their life and death. The three stories took place in three different culture: Middle East, Italy, and China. The third story has some outstanding special effect for the time.
From Russia with Love (1963)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057076/
The second Bond film, also directed by Terence Young and starred Sean Connery. The organization that Dr. No involved used a beautiful Russian spy to -
PygmyLion — 5 months ago(October 23, 2025 09:11 PM)
It's been a while since I saw either of the first two Bond movies, but I think I like
From Russia With Love
better. I remember liking the fight scene in the train compartment where Bond uses the gadgets in his briefcase.
The last part of
Dr.No
in the book is quite a bit better, so I tend to feel a little shortchanged with the movie.
Of course, you also had all the great music that really got things going.
As a kid growing up in the 1960's those movies where really a big thing, along with
Goldfinger
and
Thunderball
. They created a big "spy" fad. You had "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." tv show, the Flint movies, the "Get Smart" tv show. We had toy pistols based on the U.N.C.L.E. pistols and a toy rifle with a scope on it from Bond. We had a "Man from U.N.C.L.E." board game and an 007 board game. I recall a toy version of 007's briefcase being around with a plastic knife that would pop out of its side.
Definitely time for a rewatch of those 2 movies and
Goldfinger
for me. -
Rufus-T — 4 months ago(November 03, 2025 08:39 PM)
The last part of Dr.No in the book is quite a bit better, so I tend to feel a little shortchanged with the movie.
Definitely agree. I love the book. I haven't read all the Bond books. Hope I will find sometime to read them all.
The Bond movies are on Prime, so I hope to go through them chronologically. I haven't watched the Sean Connery Bond films for a long time. I always thought they were better written and better made than the later ones, though I found the Roger Moore's Bond films were more entertaining.