rawlinson
Posts: 40194
Joined: 13/6/2008
From: Timbuktu. Chinese or Fictional.
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"…get off the panties – you've done enough damage…”
If the opening credits (a dazzling combination of Saul Bass and Duke Ellington) of Anatomy of a Murder don't get you into the swing of things then I sure as hell do not know what will. Okay so you're not a fan of jazz or Bass (what is wrong with you!?) not only are the opening credits amazing but the entire score is sensational. Okay I get it you don't like jazz…
That's fine because we have James Stewart; Jimmy gives a preeminent performance (nothing less than expected) he shines as the lead and once again delicately subverts his own respectable image. In support we have Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, the sublime Eve Arden and facing opposite Stewart in court is the imperturbable George C. Scott in one of his very first (though you wouldn't know it) major screen roles. The script is sublime and eminently quotable; the direction is crisp from Otto Preminger and despite the clean black and white the film is overflowing with colour, it's there in the performances, the score and the language. From the very beginning we are well aware of who is guilty (though why?) so you may think you know what's going to happen (melodrama) but the classy Preminger doesn't go for the easy option and expertly avoids the clichés prevalent in almost all Hollywood courtroom thrillers. Though it may seem tame by today's standards it should be noted that the film upset Chicago so much it was banned and it disgusted Jimmy's beloved father to the point of him beseeching folks not to see his son's own movie because it was "a dirty picture". It's not but it is a witty and playful piece with a healthy dose of cynicism thrown in for good measure.
Cary Grant was one of the best comedic actors in film history and there are a whole bunch of classic films which prove this to be true, including this hilarious gem of a movie. Admittedly the plot itself doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs - two old women murder bachelors and bury them in the cellar - but with Frank Capra at the helm and Grant in the lead it's an incredibly farcical, supremely funny film. The rest of the cast are perfect too, Jean Adair and Josephne Hull both suitably endearing as the killers, Raymond Massey on sinister form as Grant's gangster brother and an almost career-best turn from Peter Lorre. Screwball comedies don't come much better than this.
One of the finest retellings of the fairytale classic, La Belle et la Bete is a beautiful piece of magical fantasy. Cocteau's opening prologue and the wonderful opening credits instantly elevate the film from the traditional, standard retelling - breaking the fourth wall, he asks the audience to believe as they did as a child, asking for naivety and blind belief. And as Belle enters the castle, and you see the dark, dreamlike magic of moving statues in an empty house, you can't help but feel young again, hearing old stories of magic and romance and imagining them to be true.
It is one of the most beautiful looking films of all time too, with the sharp black and white emphasising the lingering shadows, whilst the absence of colour somehow makes the glitter of the gold and jewels seem more luxurious and opulent – black and white makes them richer than colour ever could. The extravagant costumes and the majestic score and set (filmed in the Château de la Roche Courbon) create a timeless theatricality – a still from the film could be a photograph from nineteenth century theatre.
In fact, the film as a whole has an atmosphere of the theatre - there is some element about it, some sense of performance and style, that makes it feel like a play. This atmosphere stems from Cocteau himself; a poet, writer, designer, and artist, you can't help but feel that his role in the arts, from the visual to words, makes La Belle et la Bete simultaneously a film, a poem, a drawing and a ballet.
La Belle et la Bete, to me, proves that cinema is an art form, a way of expressing an emotion and an atmosphere just as worthy as oil paintings or literature. Despite the fantasy, there's an undercurrent of real emotion - a real love, not romantic, but a love of imagination, of storytelling and of beauty.
With the death of Stalin in the early fifties the restrictions of Socialist Realism on art and film was relaxed slightly (known as the Thaw) which afforded filmmakers the chance to create works which were not solely driven by communist propaganda. One of the first and best films to come from the era of the thaw was Mikhail Kalatozov's 1957 masterpiece The Cranes Are Flying.
Boris and Veronica are very much in love and looking forward to their wedding day. Unfortunately their time together is cut short once The Great Patriotic War starts and Boris volunteers for army duty. With Boris sent to the front line Veronica is left behind under the watchful eye of Boris' scheming cousin Mark who is also in love with her. Here he is free to make his move on an emotionally fragile Veronica with devastating consequences.
The Cranes Are Flying could easily have descended into a propaganda film with the war made out to be a romantic and heroic endeavor where every loss, separation and death is a worthy cause for the war no matter how many casualties. Luckily it doesn't with Kalatozov concentrating on the human element of the story following Veronica as she wrestles with grief, loneliness, betrayal and the agonizing wait for any news from the front of her beloved Boris. It has to be said that the beautiful Tatyana Samoylova is outstanding as Veronica. She brings a fragility to the role as her world slowly unravels around her and at the same time a maturity beyond her years combined with a resolute strength in facing everything the war throws at her and the monumental effort to keep living when everything seems hopeless. Not only is it a fantastic performance but she carries the film with most of the running time focusing on her struggles.
Samoylova's amazing performance is backed up by Kalatozov's and cinematographer Sergei Urusevsky's stunning camerawork and photography. They employ the use of elaborate tracking shots, crane shots and montage combined with an uncanny knack for stunning compositions and beautiful photography containing an ethereal quality. Cranes truly is one of those films where you could pause it at any point and hang that image on your wall. Although the technical achievements are worthy of high praise indeed, Kalatozov never lets them run away with the film but instead lets his mastery of the camera service the performances and story first and foremost.
From the joyful carefree opening to the bittersweet ending The Cranes are Flying is a wonderful portrayal of love, loss and redemption and a towering achievement not only in Soviet Cinema but all cinema, which is why it deserves its place in the HoF. Enjoy!
At the age of 29, Stanley Kubrick made a stunningly effective anti-war film, a bleak portrayal of, not only the senselessness of war, but is also a strongly atheist film and sets those deep topics of the human psyche like ego and pride that Kubrick would explore again in later films.
Not only is the subject matter evocative and on point, but the camera work is brilliantly effective. Note, for example, how the right to left tracking shot makes you feel uncomfortable, or how Dax is arranged like a pawn on the chateau flooring.
Its a masterful piece, in my opinion, that is much the stronger for its relatively short running time and one that I hope viewers will find pushes them through a range of emotions.
I know that some criticize Kirk Douglas in the film. But of course, beggars can't be choosers, and possibly without his money and influence this gem would never have existed. I also think that he is well managed in this film, or at least I think Kubrick handles him much better and is much more in control than their next outing together.
The double act of Stanwyck and MacMurray is probably most famous for Double Indemnity, with their poisonous relationship going a long way towards making it one of the greatest films ever made. So this earlier, more obscure, film may come as a surprise to many. Stanwyck is a criminal again, but she's far removed from the treachery of Phyllis Dietrichson. She gets arrested for shoplifting and comes up against good-hearted prosecution attorney Fred MacMurray. When the case is postponed over the Christmas period he has her released on bail and then takes her to spend an old-fashioned Christmas with his family. Not the most legally sound decision but I'm sure most guys would bend the rules for Stanwyck. In synopsis, Remember the Night sounds sentimental, cheesy even. But that's ignoring the fact that this was a film directed by Mitchell Leisen and written by Preston Sturges. Never men for pandering or taking the obvious path. But as superb as that screenplay is, it's Stanwyck and MacMurray that make the film so irresistible. They're up there with Arthur and McCrea, Grant and Dunne, Powell and Loy or Stewart and Sullavan as one of those screen couples that don't just have chemistry but seem somehow made for each other. The film is so magical that even a sentimental sing-song around the piano becomes touching rather than cloying. It's one of the great romantic comedies, one of the great Christmas films, in fact it's pretty damn perfect, and it deserves a place in the Hall of Fame.
La Ronde - the title is self explanatory: a prostitute picks up a soldier, who then romances a chambermaid who goes on to seduce the son of her employers, who has an affair with a married woman whose husband has a liaison with a young girl who has an affair with a poet who is also involved with an actress who dallies with a young count who then picks up the prositute, and thus the story comes full circle.
The film, set in turn-of -the-century Vienna, is adapted from the play Reigen, by Arthur Schnitzler, and was Ophuls' first film after returning to Europe from Hollywood where he had worked during the war.
The cast is practically a who's who of France's finest acting talent, including Simone Signoret, Daniel Gelin, Danielle Darrieux at her most exquisite, Jean-Louis Barrault, Gerard Philippe Serge Reggiani, Odette Joyeux and Simone Simon. The Master Of Ceremonies who ties the stories together and comments on the action is played with elegance and wry humour by the marvellous Anton Walbrook.
In fact, elegance is a key word in conveying the structure of the film, with Ophuls' trademark sweeping camera movements and stylish compositions giving endless pleasure, yet not overtaking the story and allowing each of the individual cast members to shine.
The film caused considerable controversy when first released, owing to its frank attitude toward sexual liaisons. It was banned in a number of US states, and in New Zealand was released with a certificate restricting it to over 21's.
It remains a monument to French Cinema at its most stylish, elegant and witty, and began what, for me, was Ophuls' most productive period - he went on to make Madame De............, Le Plaisir and the wonderful Lola Montes.
Sherlock Jr. isn't the first Keaton film I watched as an appreciative adult, that would be The General, but it is the film that cemented my love of The Great Stone Face and led to me watching pretty much all I could find of his work. The setup is pretty simple. A film projectionist is wrongly accused of stealing his girlfriend's father's pocket watch by a shady moustachioed rival suitor and then spends the afternoon at work dreaming of being Sherlock Jr. the World's greatest detective before his girlfriend finds out the truth and reconciles with him. It's not exactly Shakespeare but it suits its purpose.
The plot is pretty much secondary to the technical brilliance and fantastic ingenuity of Keaton though. A lot of the pleasure I get from watching this, and indeed most of Keaton's work, is marvelling at the craft that's involved. Some of the sight gags here are insanely clever, and most importantly funny as hell. From the scene where he shadows his suspect right to the climactic bike chase sequence via a fantastic jumping through a man's chest gag and a spectacular film within a film this short, relentlessly entertaining piece of cinema magic puts a broad grin on my face from start to finish.
I'm really not sure how well I expect this to do in the HoF as I imagine it's going to be up against some really stiff opposition. Having said that though if I manage to introduce it to just one person who hasn't seen it before (unlikely on a film forum I'd imagine but you never know) then I'll be satisfied with my choice. This is simply brilliant, and is both one of the funniest comedies ever made and a remarkable technical accomplishment.
Watch this, then watch the rest of his work if you haven't already. No need to thank me later, I'm happy to spread the joy .
Blurb coming soon
"Yes, this is Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California. It's about 5 0'clock in the morning. That's the homicide squad, complete with detectives and newspaper men. "
The opening scene of Sunset Boulevard is one of the most famous in cinema. It begins with a dead man floating in a Hollywood swimming pool, the scene narrated by William Holden's Gillis from beyond the grave, as it is his body we see. Instantly we are drawn into the film by his story.
Sunset Boulevard is about film, but it's also about dreams and the fear of getting old and, to some, the worst fate of all – being forgotten. Norma Desmond, a former silent film-star, who has faded into obscurity (much like the actress who played her, Gloria Swanson) meets Joe Gillis, a failed screenwriter, and sees her chance to get him to polish her proposed comeback role as Salome.
This story of a down on his luck Hollywood screenwriter and his peril-fraught associations with a fading silent film star plotting her return to the big screen has all the things a noir fan loves - dark mysterious places, a near constant sense of looming danger, rapid and smart dialogue and great performances from Swanson, Holden and film director Eric Von Stronheim as Norma's butler (and ex-husband). Filled with cameos from people like Cecil.B DeMille and Buster Keaton, this is an insider's look at the glamour, pain, passion and madness of Hollywood and gives us glimpses of the different people involved in the film making process. Nowadays Hollywood's mask of glamour may have slipped, but in 1950 it was shocking to see Hollywood shining a spotlight on itself when the cameras aren't rolling and the makeup isn't on, revealing itself to be sometimes a very ugly place indeed.
I love films about films, but, somehow, until about 10 years ago it had escaped me what Sunset Boulevard was actually about. Don't make the same mistake as me and misjudge this masterpiece.
In the middle of the New Mexico desert, two police officers find a young girl wandering alone, deep in shock. They can't figure out what is wrong with her, but when they find her trailer home it has been ripped to pieces and her parents missing. As well as that, there is a mysterious sound coming from the wilds of the desert which the little girl has clearly heard before. It's clear that this can be the result of one thing only - GIANT ANTS TRANSFORMED BY RADIATION.
OK, let's address the mutant insect in the room, shall we? Yes, the special effects aren't great to contemporary eyes. Although the size of the ant models is laudably impressive, they're a bit too slow and clunky to really convince. However, I've always said that you shouldn't really judge a period film by its special effects, and Them! is an especially impressive and intelligent entry into the cycle of 1950s creature features that saw mankind regularly threatened by hugely enlarged creatures, transformed due to man's own meddling in science that he cannot yet comprehend.
The beginning of the film is incredibly creepy, as the two cops investigate the little girl and various other disappearances in the desert culminating in a gem of a scene late at night in a store as a howling storm surrounds them, and Gordon Douglas's evocative direction makes great use of sound and suggestive lighting to compensate for the fact that he probably wants to keep the ants off-screen as long as possible - it's no exaggeration to say that Spielberg's desire to keep the rubber shark hidden as much as he could in Jaws has some roots here.
Instead, the film is propelled along a taut narrative as more and more government agencies become involved to try and track down the source of the ants as the flee the desert, the film becoming more of a thriller at times than a sci-fi fantasy, before winding up to an incredibly tense showdown in some sewers. Ultimately, I think it still works today due to the fantastic handling of a potentially silly subject and Douglas directs the absolute hell out of it. The creature features of the 1950s are an absolute key part of both American cinema in general, and the Classic era, and as such let's drive these monsters the hell out of our cities and right into the HOF where they can BURN.
Blurb coming soon
< Message edited by elab49 -- 19/1/2013 11:03:56 AM >
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ORIGINAL: matty_b
I would plough my way through MonsterCat 
quote:
ORIGINAL: matty_b
I desire MonsterCat to go down on me.
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