- Screen cap from spectacularly-reviewed ‘Toy Story 3′ burning up the box-office
by Sam Juliano
As the school year winds down to its final days, some us have been pre-occupied with proms, graduations and retirement dinners, and the realization that some of our friends will be going their separate ways until September. Others have made plans for summer vacations and various day trips, while still some others (like our good friends Down Under) are actually beginning their winter season.
Here at Wonders in the Dark, our final decade poll (don’t quite think we’ll be around here in ten years ya know!) has entered the home stretch, with the usual combination of surprises and expected placements spurring on some lively discussion in the comment threads. After the final results of the polling are announced, there will be a one-month break before the horror poll launches. During that ‘poll-less’ period, a number of exciting features will be posted.
Yankee fans can rejoice in the 2-1 series win over the crosstown rival Mets at Yankee Stadium, while the World Cup seems to have devolved into a series of 1-1 ties, for USA, Italy and England fans. But there is a long way to go, and our guys Maurizio and Jamie are pumped up.
I saw two stage productions and five films in movie theatres over the past week, as well as two important DVDRs sent to me by Allan. I rarely discuss on this thread what I watch on DVD at home, but this one instance is well worth discussing, as one of the films (a Japanese work from 1947) is a supreme masterpiece of world cinema.
Experiencing Hair on Broadway (at the historic Al Hirshfeld Theatre on Thursday evening, June 17) with Lucille and Melanie was pure bliss, especially in view of the Tony Award-winning musical revival’s imminent closing at the end of June after an impressive run. But this was the ultimate interactive show, which served as a reminder of what a great score served this defining work of late 60′s and early 70′s hippie sub-culture. Some other surprises in the theatre had us all smiling from ear-to-ear. (review above diary, which includes clarification of the last point).
The previous night (Wednesday, June 16) I was solo, when I embraked on a trip to the ‘Producer’s Club Theatre’ on 44th Street to take in a 90 minute off-off-Broadway staging of a show titled Dickinson, William Roetzheim’s play, which ran for three weeks, timed to align with the opening of the Emily Dickinson Garden exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden. According to playwright William Roetzheim, “The myth of Emily Dickinson is that she was a prudish Victorian spinster who wrote beautiful poetry. The reality of Emily Dickinson was that she was a stunning creative intellect coping with an emotionally and sexually abusive Father, an enabling mother, surfacing lesbian feelings, raging sexual emotions, and mental breakdowns. This play brings the real Emily Dickinson to life, with all of her depth and complexities, and takes the audience on a magical journey of love and discovery.”
In DICKINSON at the Producer’s Club Grande Theater, the secret story of Emily Dickinson is told thru the one-night dream of a playwright struggling to write a play worthy of her genius. Sadly, the play was static, uninvolving and claustrophobic (the theatre it was staged in gave a new meaning to the word “seedy”) and it was pure torture to sit through. The stage featured a shabby bed with a single chest of drawers and two chairs, and while the two central performers delivered sparkling portrayals, the words they spoke were redundant and a dare for audience members to stay awake, even with the short running time.
On the movie scene I managed:
Toy Story 3 ***** (Friday afternoon) Edgewater multiplex
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work **** (Monday night) Chelsea Cinemas
Stonewall Uprising *** (Saturday night) Film Forum
Solitary Man **** (Saturday afternoon) Montclair Claridge Cinemas
Le Amiche (Antonioni; 1955) Film Forum; Sunday night
TOY STORY 3 pushes close to a five-star rating, and I applaud the film’s unanimous positive rating from critics, which will no doubt infuriate some bloggers looking to ‘stand apart.’ But great is great, and once again the Pixar wizards have crafted an engaging story to showcase their wonderful toys, and the animation is (heck, I am changing the rating to five right now!) on the level of the best Pixars. Unlike the previous Toy Story films, this one is deeply emotional in the end, and the deft combination of action, horror and wonderment make for a soaring, wholly exhilarating experience. Say it: Pixar rocks. Again: Pixar rocks. Again: Pixar rocks. (scroll down to read Marc Bauer’s magnificent review of TOY STORY 3, posted Sunday.)
Joan Rivers is one of the most colorful personalities in show business, whether you love her or despise the ground she walks on. The new documentary about her turbulent rise to fame, ultilizes clips from her stage shows, interviews with her, her daughter and inner circle and clips of her ill-fated husband, and other show-business luminaries. JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK is the year’s best documentary and a no-holds-barred examination of one of the most fascinating and irresistible entertainment icons.
STONEWALL UPRISING gives a fine overview of one of the gay movement’s defining moments, but it doesnt quite known down the barrier in presenting the facts that precipitated the mutiny staged at an infamous gay bar in 1969 that changed gay bias forever. The long lead-in on the oppression gays faced in the 40′s and 50′s was fascinating, even though simple and well-known. It’s a passable documentary, but it could have been and should have been much stronger.
SOLITARY MAN, shows Michael Douglas in denial: he’s getting old, he’s extremely unlikeable and he’s become a complete failure. Brian Koppleman’s probing film is far better than one would think, and this could well be Douglas finest performance of his career. Against all odds, it’s a wholly riveting drama.
The two DVDRs I watched were the Japanese The Ball at Anjo’s House (a 1947 masterpiece of the cinema) and Renoir’s La Nuit du Carrefore, which is narratively flawed, but still an essential work. I’ll have more to say in the future.
As of this writing I have tentative plans to see Antonioni’s restored LE AMICHE at the Film Forum at 10:00 P.M. tonight if I finish my review of Hair. The Italian film is a masterpiece of the cinema, and I think I’ll be able to make it. (I just arrived home from my trip to the Film Forum, and I’ll have more to say about this great Antonioni film later today on this thread).
The blogosphere is sizzling, even more than the weather:
Just Another Film Buff continues to dazzle the film community with top-rank writing that raises the bar in every sense, even when he disents, as he does here with a popular Indian feature, Raavan. The review here belongs in a published volume, and teh comment section is Hall of Fame material. http://theseventhart.info/2010/06/18/ramayana-reloaded/
Judy at Movie Classics has resumed her extraordinary series on pre-Code Wellmans with an essential piece on a rarely seen film, Stingaree. Another must-read, especially for fans of early 30′s American cinema, Judy’s specialty period: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2010/06/19/stingaree-1934/
Kevin Olson continues to prepare for the upcoming horror poll at WitD, and here’s his latest stellar appraisal of another batch of horror essentials: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/summer-of-slash-capsule-reviews-part-3.html
Dave Hicks’s spectacularly-popular ‘Director’s Series’ yielded a major-surprise with the #21 placement of noir specialist Robert Siodmak, who nonetheless is one of the form’s most accomplished auteurs: http://goodfellamovies.blogspot.com/2010/06/21-robert-siodmak.html
John Greco’s latest stellar review, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is showcasing at “The Twenty Four Frames”: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2010/06/19/they-shoot-horses-dont-they-1969-sydney-pollack/
Dee Dee’s superlative interview series with Film Noir Kingpin Tony d’Ambra is nearing its conclusion. The lastest post at Darkness into Light is a consideration of film noir icon Samuel Fuller: http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/2010/06/counting-down-thirty-one-film-noirs_18.html
Donophon’s excellent series on the films of Jean-Pierre Melville continues with a superb treatment of one of the director’s supreme masterpieces, Army of Shadows at his place: http://thelongvoyagehome.blogspot.com/2010/06/jean-pierre-melville-larmee-des-ombres.html
Tony d’Ambra continues his incomparable scholarly work at FilmsNoir.net with an exquisite piece on a 1949 RKO work, Follow Me Quietly, that’s well worth a read: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/the-aesthetic-of-the-b-noir-follow-me-quietly-rko-1949.html
The extraordinarily prolific and ceaselessly energetic Longman Oz, of film, theatre and music fame is cutting back a bit for the summer, though it’s doubtful his overall input will be compromised all that much at his Irish osasis of culture and the arts: http://noordinaryfool.com/2010/06/18/aweekinmusic53/
Kaleem Hasan also has an excellent post up on Raavan up at his ever-prolific “Satyamshot” blogsite: http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2010/06/20/when-the-gods-fall-gf-on-raavan/
Still moving ahead with Peril, filmmaker Jeffrey Goodman has supplented his original annual countdown with some additions of films he has just noew gotten to, and will be commenting on them at his site sidebar. The first entry includes some timeless classics: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/2010/06/upcoming-agenda.html
David Schleicher has a wildly-enthusiastic review up at The Schleicher Spin on one of the year’s bets films, Winter’s Bone, which is truly a must-read: http://davethenovelist.wordpress.com/2010/06/20/killing-kin-in-the-ozarks/
Ed Howard’s post on the 50 Greatest Albums of the 2000s may well be his most spectacular ever, and what with an exquisite layout, beautiful graphics, and splendid erudition and placements, one can’t at all be surprised with one of his greatest comment sections ever, aside from this monthly work with Jason Bellamy: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2010/06/best-albums-of-2000s-50-1.html
Craig Kennedy is fighting the flu, but this perennial trooper is hitting the Los Angeles Film festival hard this week, and he’s sure as ever to uncover a few gems: http://livingincinema.com/2010/06/17/the-2010-los-angeles-film-festival/
Michael, the enterprising ‘Coffee Messiah’ is on the couch escaping the heat and humidity in the Hoosier State, and he’s listening to Tom Jones doing Dylan: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/2010/06/what-good-am-i.html
Yet more kudos (this time from Word Press) for the wonderful Terrell Welch (a.k.a. as the Creative Potager) who’s reminding all of us of the real beauty in this world: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/squishy-hug-of-thanks-wordpress/
Pat is back, and in a big way at her Doodad Kind of Town home, with excellent reviews of both Please Give and Peter Medak’s The Ruling Class. It’s great stuff!: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2010/06/in-praise-of-stealth-performers.html
Shubhajit has posted a fantastic Top 100 of the 2000′s at his place, wich coincides perfectly with the ongoing WitD polling: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.com/2010/06/100-best-movies-of-2000s.html
Marilyn Ferdinand has a superlative review up at Ferdy-on-Films on a documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning, which is an absolutely fascinating read: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=5174
Troy Olson has been busy with work and with beautiful Madelyn as of late, but he’s still watching horror films and posting, in prep for the upcoming WitD polling, which he will help to negotiate: http://troyolson.blogspot.com/2010/06/more-horror-movies-in-just-one-sentence.html
With the opening of Toy Story 3, Samuel Wilson examines his ‘Top 10′ of “thirds” and it’s fabulous post at “Mondo 70″: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2010/06/who-wants-thirds-top-ten-list.html
Jon Lanthier has a fabulous DVD review up at “Aspiring Sellout” via SLANT MAGAZINE on the Criterion Mystery Train from Jim Jarmusch: http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/mystery-train-/1749
J.D. at Radiator Heaven continues to pen long essays of superb scope and erudition, and his lastest is Frantic by Roman Polanski: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2010/06/frantic.htm
The ever-perceptive and eloquent Drew McIntosh has a top-rank essay on Linklater’s Tape up at “The Blue Vial”: http://thebluevial.blogspot.com/2010/06/tape-richard-linklater-2001.html
Stephen has just returned from Romania (what a great place to visit!) with a split decision on the Romanian Police Adjective at “Checking on My Sauages”: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2010/06/police-adjective.html
Back from the greatest time of his life -his wedding- Dan Getahun is slowly returning to the blogging scene, but he’s be well-advised to do it slowly: http://getafilm.blogspot.com/2010/06/white-elephant-blogathon-summerthe.html
Andrew Wyatt has a superbly-penned dismissal up of The Wolfman at “Gateway” that typically raises the tone: http://gatewaycinephiles.com/2010/06/15/late-to-the-game-the-wolfman/
Dave Van Poppel’s excellent review of the widely praised documentary Exit Through the Gift House still headlines at his Visions of Non-Fiction blogsite: http://visionsofnonfiction.blogspot.com/2010/06/exit-through-gift-shop.html
Film Dr.’s popular ‘Things I Like’ series continues with an intriguing examination of Josh Brolin’s Jonah Hex that’s well-worth a look-see: http://filmdr.blogspot.com/2010/06/hellhounds-of-damned-15-things-i-liked.html
Ric Burke, at the resurrected “Films from the Soul” site has a review up on the second part of Soderbergh’s Che that continues where he left off: http://filmdr.blogspot.com/2010/06/hellhounds-of-damned-15-things-i-liked.html
Tony Dayoub at “Cinema Viewfinder” promotes a DVD A Star is Born giveaway: http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2010/06/star-is-born-deluxe-edition-dvd.html
Alexander Coleman has resurfaced after a long absense at his place for a terrific and exhautive consideration of Scorsese’s Shutter Island: http://colemancornerincinema.blogspot.com/2010/06/shutter-island-2010.html
Adam Zanzie’s much-anticipated John Huston Blogathon is set for August 5th at “Icebox Movies”: http://iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2010/06/announcing-john-huston-blogathon.html
Jeopardy Girl speaks of the elusive ideals of friendship and compassion at her intimate and always thoughful blog: http://jeopardygirl.wordpress.com/2010/06/19/how-bout-next-time-i-just-ignore-you/
R.D. Finch at “The Movie Projector” has penned another very fine review on a noir semi-classic: http://movieprojector.blogspot.com/2010/06/house-of-strangers-1949.html
- Screen cap from Michelangelo’s ‘Le Amiche’ (1955) running at Manhattan’s Film Forum
Is it just me or is the link list in this MMD entry amazingly long? Great work here, Sam. I keep wondering how ever you find time to do all this and catch up with so many of those films (and yes, your everyday work too!).
The high point of the week for me was when I saw The Reader being given its due in Allan’s countdown. Terrific stuff.
Toy Story holds a special place in my heart among Pixar’s works. I so hope it stays true in spirit to the original film. Will hopefully be catching up with it this weekend. Is it also being screened in 2D?
Always first to report in, JAFB, and the enthusiasm is much appreciated! Actually we all saw TOY STORY 3 in 2D, as I am growing tired of the overpriced 3D gimmick. It is being screened both ways of course.
And I do love THE READER as much as Allan does, so I am thrilled you are on board here too!
One day I’ll pull back from this admittedly dysfunctional behavior!
Then 2D is what I’ll be seeing it in!
Thanks Sam for the mention. And yes, like JAFB, I too never cease to wonder how the hell you manage to squeeze in time to watch half-a-dozen movies and a couple of plays. You’re one art-oholic if there ever was one!!!
Anyway, here’s what I saw in the past week, as you already know cos all the reviews are up at my site, and I’ve had the pleasure of reading your responses to most of them:
1) Virgin Suicides
2) Monsieur Verdoux
3) Solaris
4) Lady from Shanghai (thanks a lot for helping me get hold of it)
5) Shutter Island
6) Fargo (just felt like watching it again)
As you also know, I’ve also put up my Top 100 movies of the 2000′s, and making the collages for the post took up some movie-watching time. I’ll be really glad if you can feature it here at WiTD. And anyway, I’ll submit my list at the ongoing poll very shortly.
And of course, I’ve also been watching a lot of football (soccer for you), though severely the WC has turned out to be one of the worst ever in terms of goals & fun. And what’s really striking is the number of upsets occurring, as if upsets are the normal thing to happen, with most of the big teams like Italy, England, Spain, Germany & France struggling. Brazil of course won comfortably last night (the second goal from Luis Fabiano was atrocious though), and Argentina, the team I always root for, also seems to be doing good.
Shub–Goals were lacking until the beatdown Portugal put on North Korea this morning. I’m shocked that not one African team may advance out of the group stage. All the big European teams other than Portugal and Holland are struggling. I’m honestly not surprised since Europe has never won a World Cup off their continent. Their national teams simply don’t travel well. France is an utter disgrace and Italy are taking their usual reputation for starting out slow to a dangerously unacceptable level. England is also stuttering around and some players are complaining their woeful performance is because they miss their families lol. Only the South American teams are doing well and if its destined that one of them lift the cup…..then I will join you in full support of Argentina. There is no team I despise more than Brazil.
Sam I have no idea how you find the time to see so many films, theatre plays, go to work, love your family, watch sports, visit every blog, write on your blog, and comment on everyone else’s blog. I think Sam Juliano isn’t really a person but a computer program constructed by someone to be at all places at all time. Keep up the good work. I struggle to get through one task by lunch.
LOL!!! Sam’s achievement, as you duly noted, is nothing short of remarkable. Though I’m sure no computer programme can ever replicate his kindness & sense of camaraderie.
Yes, I did see the Portugal-N.Korea match. Christiano Ronaldo & company played some gloriously free-flowing football that was a delight to watch. I won’t be surprised if a few of the Korean players & their coach face the firing squad upon their return home, while the others are jailed for life ;P
Courtesy this match the goals per match avge has just about managed to cross 2. What a shame indeed!
I agree, the European teams do not travel very well. Even Holland is looking far from their best despite having won both their matches. France has certainly been a disgrace. And I was really sorry to see Italy just about managing to draw against New Zealand – whoever knew the Kiwis can play football. And England has been anything but a goal-scoring team for a few years now.
You can never count out Brazil though, after all they are the only country to have won the WC outside their own continent. But Argentina surely deserves a 3rd trophy given their pedigree.
And Federer has thankfully managed to survive the scare with elan. What a shock it would have been had he lost in the 1st round itself.
By the way, Maurizo, I’m still looking forward to reading your views on my Top 100 movies of the last decade at my blog. Pardon my brazen publicising
Yeah. Like S.A.M 9001: The Super-Automated Machine!
Hahahahah Maurizio! Thanks for that appraisal, but as I stated to Shubhajit, it’s a double-edged sword, and even some of those expressing appreciation here must also be thinking, “a complete nut.’ And they aren’t far off! I even have something lined up for tonight (an off-Broadway show) on a night I am usually home. But tickets were purchased a while back.
Shubhajit:
Thanks for the kind words, though it’s clearly a serious disorder that for all it’s amazement, needs some serious reassessment. I hope to calm down over the summer, as I have a wonderful family here (even if they are often part of the cultural equation). Still you are a machine yourself as is John Greco, Longman Oz, Troy Olson, and so many others here.
I’ve seen all your excellent reviews of that terrific lot at your place, and was happy to add my two cents. As far as featuring your top 100 here, I will do this over the next few days for sure in a separate post.
I can’t say all that much about the soccer, but I have noticed that there have been many 1-1 ties, and some shocking upsets. I guess when the chips are down, the South American teams are the safest bets.
Thanks for the terrific wrap!
Thanks a lot Sam!!!
My anticipation of Toy Story 3 really snuck up on me. I remember seeing the first in the theater with my Dad when I was a kid and really enjoying it, and of course I found the second one delightful as well. But for some weird reason, I’ve been completely unenthusiastic about this new one. That is, up until I watched both movies again last week, and was reminded of the magic and imagination and sheer cinematic joy contained within. It was a wonderful experience revisiting them after so long, and Sam your enthusiasm for the new one is wonderful to read. I’m really looking forward to catching it this week! And of course any Antonioni on the big screen is cause for excitement!
As always, thanks for the shoutout and the kind words, Sam! It’s always much appreciated!
Thanks so much for that passionate remembrance Drew, and I was amazed myself at the unanimous critical adoration, thinking the magic had long since dissipated. But alas, the third installent is the most wrenching, and it reminds us just how much we adored these characters all along. The Pixar trouble-shooters (the curmudgeons who make it their mission to play the role of killjoy) will no doubt be bringing out their posion pens soon enough, but their is really a definitive example of how popularity can be wedded to artistic excellence. I have no doubt you won’t be disappointed, Drew.
And seeing LE AMICHE last night at the Film Forum (even at that late hour) was an experience right up there with the recent screenings of METROPOLIS and BREATHLESS at the same theatre. LE AMICHE predates the great trilogy, and it’s a comparatively obscure Antonioni from the early period, but again there are existential underpinnings, and the film features many of the themes and cinematic techniques. In fact it displays some of Antonioni’s innovative storytelling methods on a narrative canvas that was more complex than that of his later works. Here Antonioni chronicles the evolving relationships among a group of young women friends who question what they want out of life. The characters are unplesant, but are ever-fascinating. The restored black-and-white print was glistening!
Thanks as always for the very kind words and great wrap my friend!
Thanks for the mention, Sam.
You are most welcome, Film Dr.!
Thanks Sam for the mention.
Like Shubhajit, the World Cup looms large for me. Though I don’t know him, congratulations to Dan on his wedding.
You are most welcome Stephen!
Dan is a prince of a guy, so your well-wishes are most deserving. I am assuming you are backing the Brits (as Allan is), no Stephen?
Sam, thanks so much for the great words. Yes, I’m really looking forward to catching up with some of these classics that I’ve never seen.
It sounds like you had a wonderful week of movie-watching. I’m so excited to hear that you finally got to see Renoir’s LA NUIT DU CARREFOUR.
Thanks, Sam, for all that you do. Here’s to another wonderful week!
Thanks for the ever-so-kind-words Jeffrey, and yes, thanks to Allan I was finally able to watch the Renoir film. I know of your own great love for it! With the summer upon us, I hope to spend some of my time outdoors, but there will still be some essential films to check out. You have a wonderful week as well my friend!
Hey Sam. That Dickinson play definitely sounds far better than it proves to be. That is a shame, as she was a fascinating individual.
With Money Never Sleeps out this year, I did not think that we would be saying anything positive about Michael Douglas’ acting any time soon. However, I will suspend my disbelief and keep an eye out for its arrival to these shores.
I have been at a long wedding myself this weekend, so only saw two films this week. The first was The Killer Inside Me, which was okay. Without the violent scenes, though, I am not sure how much attention the rest of the film would be getting. The other was a re-release of the 1961 film Bronco Bullfrog, which I liked a lot.
Cheers for the ref. I am only modestly scaling back during the good weather, so I still hope to write 3-4 reviews per week!
Aye Longman, I was so disappointed, as I am a lifelong fan of her poetry. I just got an e mail yesterday from the Producer’s Club Theatre, which I print here:
“First, I wanted to thank you for attending Dickinson. As you may know, these
productions are intended as developmental productions to help us move the
pieces into their final form. A big part of this process is honest audience
feedback. We didn’t take the time to do audience talk-backs after the
productions, but instead we’re doing this email follow-up to solicit your
input. It would be greatly appreciated if you would take the time to answer
a few questions.
1. In a few words, what were your impressions of this piece?
2. Is this something that you would recommend to your friends? Why or why
not?
3. Were there some specific aspects of the piece that could be improved to
make it better? If so, what aspects and how would you like to see them
changed?
4. Is this something that you would come back to see a second time?
We’re running three plays on alternating nights in the same theater (so
we’re alternating between Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, and N.I.C.E.). It would be
great if you were able to make it out for one of the other plays during this
run.
Sincerely,
William
William Roetzheim
Producing Director
American International Theater, Inc.
A 501(c)3 charitable organization
13518 Jamul Drive, Jamul, CA 91935
(619) 917-4917
Show your support with a donation at:
http://www.aitheater.org
Ya know Longman, I just don’t have the heart to respond, as I know these people have the focus in the right place.
And yeah, Michael Douglas is usually the Kiss of Death these days, so this film (SOLITARY MAN) was quite the pleasant surprise, especially since Douglas’ work here was excellent.
I do plan on seeing THE KILLER INSIDE ME (it’s just this week opened here) and yes, the violence has been the bone of contention here as well.
I haven’t seen BRONCO BULLFROG, but I’ll do some research.
3 or 4 reviews a week is certainly no cut-back. You are a machine my friend!
Thanks for the terrific wrap as always!
I loved Toy Story 3 as much as the other two. I can see why many found it the most emotional, and why it has received all these great notices. It’s Pixar’s jewel franchise.
Aye Frank. And it even seems headed for all-time studio box-office records after the critics were conquered.
Some people will ‘invent’ problems just to stand alone, but most of us won’t be listening! Ha!
I had a good month and was able to break my purchasing drought with some stellar buys at a local record/video store – a used-but-pristine copy of Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation (less than $40) plus 4 VHS tapes for less than $2 (total, not each): a special on the birth of the universe scored by Brian Eno, the claymation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a widescreen copy of Born on the 4th of July, and one single episode of Twin Peaks (the one with the first appearance of the Red Room…). I also bought Trout Mask Replica, which I’ve wanted for a while, but the discussion on this board a few weeks back pushed me over. I listened to part of it on the way home and liked it – which, if I understand the later-listens-to-initial-listens ratio correctly, means I will eventually consider it the greatest album of all time!
Anything scored by Brian Eno is probably worth the money paid for it. Where was the discussion of Captain Beefheart? I missed that one somehow. I have always been in the minority that Safe As Milk is the Capt’s best album. Electricity, Dropout Boogie, Autumn’s Child, and Abba Zaba are my favorite tracks. Its like taking Piper At The Gates Of Dawn by Floyd and injecting a bluesy warped American sensibility. Though the song I’m Glad is maybe too perverse to really work. It is played too straight, as a doo wop/ blue eyed soul track.
Hey MoveMan, come down to Calcutta sometime. There’s a place here called College Street where you can get used books for less than Rs. 100 (that’s roughly $2)!!! And if one has the ability to bargain, there’s really no end to it
MM, glad to see there is another VHS user still in existence. I still buy, and watch the things too!
If you need a dub of the great obscure horror gem BEGOTTEN I’m your man! (It will rank high on my horror list coming soon)
A great movie factoid to impress your friends with: The last film to be released new on VHS and dvd was HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. after that release all films just get the dvd only. It’s a great fact to lovers of that medium and a reason to love Cronenberg.
Jamie I must see BEGOTTEN. I’ll add it to netflix!
Sam it’s DVD availability is spotty. I believe netflix has it on ‘save’ right now. I have it on .avi on my harddrive, and on vhs. I’ve never thought to replace these formats s the grainy quality is kind of the point.
Great if you see it though, not to give anything away but it’s Top 5 horror all time for me. it’s that god damn creepy and artistic.
Cronenberg and VHS– no matter how great the DVD package Criterion put out a few years ago was, I’d love to own a cassette-tape version of “Videodrome”.
Seems like the Eno and Trout Replica are the most popular of your purchases Joel, but I am particularly imprssed by the purchase of CIVILIZATION, which is one of the greatets of all series. Allan tuned me on to that even before the DVD set came our. And who can argue with a widescreen copy of BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY and the cla-mation RUDOLPH!
Yeah, I’ll never give up on VHS! It amazes me that I watched chopped-up aspect ratios throughout my youth (not to mention those ghastly stretched-out images, like on the video Ben-Hur) – but when the frame is 1.33 I have no problem settling for an old-fashioned tape (I’ll admit that when the video in question is a nostalgic favorite, like Patriot Games or Forrest Gump, I may also prefer the butchered version and find it harder to “get into” the “proper” version). I kind of like the aesthetic quality, actually – plus my still-functioning player needs some sort of diet to keep it happy. Great tidbit on History of Violence. I never really realized when the shift-over occurred, particularly as I was a latecomer to DVDs (around 2002, which was only four years before the HoV release).
And speaking of video, Sam, that’s where I first discovered “Civilisation”: on VHS tapes rented from good old Kim’s. I had never heard of the series, nor Kenneth Clark, but I was a history buff and thought, this looks interesting. I found the decidedly old-fashioned temperament and decorum of Clark charming and watched the series out of order but couldn’t stop renting the tapes. Later I discovered my grandmother had the book tie-in and I “borrowed” it (never gave it back, despite repeated requests!) and read it cover to cover. Now I look forward to re-visiting the series on DVD and maybe writing it up at some point in the distant future.
As Beefheart, re: Maurizio – “It is played too straight, as a doo wop/ blue eyed soul track.” This is how I feel about a lot of the tracks on Zappa’s first album too; in much of Freak Out! the irony seems so understated that it doesn’t really work for me. I’m much more of a We’re Only In It for the Money fan – ironically not only is the satire crystal-sharp (and delightfully equal-opportunity) but, for me, at least, the music is catchier as well! Subversion you can hum along to…
Shubhajit, I’d be a terrible bargainer in that scenario. Just want to grab them all up before they disappear!
Sam, speaking of claymation I just watched Fantastic Mr. Fox (yeah, I know, stop-motion…). Believe it or not, it’s one of the Dahl books I never read (though I used to smuggle “The Witches” home from school as if it were some sort of contraband, afraid my parents would disapprove – indeed, I remember my mother finding it and me disassembling desperately – “I don’t know how it got there, I didn’t put it there!” etc. and her looking at me quizzically, wondering why on earth I would disclaim knowledge; obviously, she could have cared less! I had the same weird compunction with some of those monster-movie books on Dracula and Frankenstein; though equally erroneous, such paranoia probably heightened my enjoyment; but I digress). I just discovered a copy and will read it & review the film in broader context tomorrow for the Best of 21st Century series, though it will not be appearing for two weeks (another review in the series is in the wings for tomorrow morning).
This was a rather rambling response…
MovieMan I know you are a stop motion fan are you familiar with Jan Svankmajer? I’ve watched a few of his recently and he seems like a pretty substantial genius. He mixes full sizes puppets with real people. Almost like ROGER RABBIT if Roger was a full size puppet. The fact that he is such a great creepy story teller it really creates a film(s) like I’ve never seen. His FAUST and LITTLE OTIK are fantastic, I think the latter will place in my horror list.
He’s also interesting to consider with all this (baseless to me) Pixar hoopla.
I tip my hat to Svankmajer and his idiosyncratic genius, but I’ll admit I find his works somewhat frustrating – I think with animation I go more for the oneiric than the abrasive, and hence am more of a Quay Brothers fan. But I have a feeling his work would grow on me with repeat viewings. I have yet to see all of Alice.
Another interesting Czech stop-motion animator is Jiri Barta – he made a bizarre Pied Piper film in the 80s which spends as much time with the strange, tiny-headed, squawking villagers as with the titular character. And he mixes real rats and stuffed rats with the various puppets! It’s on the “Labyrinth of Darkness” DVD on Netflix, which also includes a fun stop-motion film with gloves which is a pastiche of various film styles. I don’t know what it is with those Czechs, but from Cameraman’s Revenge to a really enticing-looking adventure-of-the-toys stop motion epic I saw advertised recently (I linked up to the trailer once here and will see if I can find it again) they’ve really dominated the puppet/stop-motion field!
Here it is:
Actually when I say “abrasive” it’s more the “repetitive” that gets to me – I was never one of those kids who liked the stories where things happen over and over again, though I might be in the minority there…
I remember this trailer I believe… pretty wild.
Shame you don’t like the Svankmajer films as much as I, and I also like the Brothers Quay. I have trouble judging this stuff as it’s not my cup of tea, so I though that my actually liking a few feature length Svankmajer’s would mean they were that great for the field.
Quay is great though, as are all those cool Tool videos they inspired.
Jamie, I think I’ll definitely like Svankmajer more on re-viewing(s). I love the idea of Svankmajer, but sometimes loving the actuality takes me a bit longer (Au hasard Balthazar is a case in point, a film I fetishized in the abstract for years, was disappointed with when I finally saw it, I grew to revere it for what it was). I have not really done a thorough trek through the annals of stop-motion but I love much of what I’ve seen – and the Czechs really do dominate! (One of several reasons I haven’t suggested a genre countdown yet is that I tend to go more for breadth than depth in my viewing, though there are certain directors I’ve actively viewed the oeuvre of, including deep cuts. Of course this is also a reason I’m really looking forward to the genre countdowns, as a guide).
the genre countdowns really are intriguing for a reason you hint at– I’ve been watching nothing but horror for about 2-3 months now and as a life long fan I’ve viewed a few old favorites to see if I’d still rank them or recommend them. I’m finding old loves to be either terrible or better but with no real rhyme or reason, FROM BEYOND I find to be even more of a hoot then before and wanting to slap myself for ever thinking STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER was good. Repeated watches are quite a litmus test, especially for some of this pretty sub-sub-sub genre stuff.
the 4 of us working on this horror countdown hope to really expose the uninitiated to some rather obscure fantastic gems. Art horror– the stuff most never view or discuss.
There’s 4 of you on it now?! I thought it was just you and Troy! Out of curosity, how are you guys arranging the ranking – straight-up pooling votes or discussion? It will be interesting to see the way different sensibilities at play manifest themselves on the list overall…
I think what most excites me about the genre countdowns, per my breadth over depth prejudices, is that there isn’t just one but multiples – it will be fun switching gears between the horror, the musical, the animated films, etc…
it’s both Olson’s (Troy and Kevin), me, and a friend of mine.
we do plan at the end to release our personal lists (100-1) so people can see how each person views horror and personal films they individually like. We also have sun-genre top 10′s included, ‘see also’ things, and a bunch of other little treats.
Right now the cumulative ‘list’ is being culled with no real clue as to how we’ll agree on a final list. I guess we have time at least!
Jamie — Glad I’m not the only one who finds it more difficult to grade/rank the genre stuff. When all you watch is horror movies for as long as you and I have (I’ve been going for about 2 months as well) you start thinking stuff is good, when really, it’s only good because you are comparing it to a lot of crap. That’s why I try to keep a couple of baseline levels — if it’s in the top 10, then it has to be as good as PSYCHO? in the top 25, is it as good as NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET? And so on. Of course, the more I watch, the more I shift those guidelines.
And as you say, it gets even harder when you get to sub-genre stuff. Watch 10 giallo films in a row and you start thinking they are a lot better than perhaps they are. I think Kevin is seeing the same thing by going on a big run of slasher films (though I’m speaking for him there).
And MovieMan – rest assured it will be a diverse list from amongst the four of us. I get the feeling that Jamie has a much more eclectic taste in his horror, whereas I’m more of a classicist (with a few exceptions). Kevin’s probably somewhere in the middle of that and he’s the type who likes to put something up high on a list just to stir things up.
And more than anything, I’m going to join in with Jamie to get the word out that every person who comments here must see the film PIECES. Sheer brilliance.
Anyways, should be a fun time.
Thanks for the great comment on my site Sam! It’s really appreciated.
This weekend I saw Winter’s Bone, which I enjoyed (enjoyed doesn’t seem like the best word to use since it was so dark). I’m really coming to love these dark rural American films that have been prominent the past couple of years, such as Ballast and Wendy and Lucy.
I also managed to watch Toy Story 2 in preparation for my viewing of Toy Story 3 some time this week, which was so darn cute.
Hope all is well!
Great comparisons there with those other realistic inde gems, David! There were certainly some filmmaking similarities with the former in particular. I did figured you would love WINTER’S BONE, as it does at times resonate as a docu-drama, but what a powerful lead performance! I’d love to hear what you say on TOY STORY 3! All i well, mydriend. Thank You!
Sam-
Wow, you sure pack a lot into a week!
I will be very interested to hear your thoughs on the Antonioni film. I find that director’s work to be consistently fascinating, though I’ve never seen any of his pre-”L’Avventura” work.
Both “Solitary Man” and “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work” are very much on my radar – I believe both have opened here, but only in the city.
I really didn’t see any films of note over the past week, but I did get to take in a unique show at the Goodman this past Friday – “Haphaestus” combines the re-telling of a Greek myth with a CirqueDuSoleil-style performance of heart-stopping acrobatic feats. In fact, several cast members were former CirqueDuSoleil performers, and two others were great-granchildren of Karl Wallenda (of the tightrope-walking, Flying Wallendas fame.) Quite an impressive show, very imaginative and original. I was thrilled to see that the Goodman will open its 2010-11 season in the fall with a production of “Candide” directed by Mary Zimmerman. I don’t take advantage of their programming often enough.
Also, in anticipation of upcoming Independence Day (where has the summer gone already!), I finally got around to reading David McCullough’s “1776,” a very engaging and meticulously detailed account of a turbulent, landmark year in our history.
Aye Pat, it’s a contest to see how many days I can fill up with various events. And it’s a non-paying position! Ha!
As I stated above in my response to Drew, LE AMICHE is a vintage early Antonioni, which I had watched about eight months ago on DVD, and it’s an introduction to the themes and characterizations more profoundly explored in the three masterpieces that followed. It’s another existential piece, and the characters are ever-searching, in what can be seen in a sexual sense (the sex is implied, and apart from some kissing, is accomplished off-screen) a precursor to Fellini’s LA DOLCE VITA. I saw it late at night, but was fully riveted. I hope it runs in Chicago-area theatres.
I’d love to know what you think of both the Joan Rivers documentary and the Michael Douglas film. I’d wager in the affirmative, but we’ll see.
That is a fantastic show you witnessed there at the Goodman of “Haphaestus” with that CirqueDuSoleil-style performance!!! That’s something I would really appreciative, myself. That’s quite an anecdote too there about the connection to Karl Wallenda! This would be great for the entire family, even with the more profound Greek mythology underpinning. I wonder if this production does touring.
The Bernstein is a masterwork, and any opportunity to see it (especially in this prestigious arena) should be negotiated. I do hope you’ll make it, if you can.
And then we have David McCullough. Well Pat, I DID tead this one, and have never forgotten it, even with the reasonable HBO mini-series that followed. It’s the greatest biography I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, and it features one of my most favored historical characters—–hold on a minute Pat—my mind-set was on JOHN ADAMS……still I did read 1776 too, and liked it!!!
Thanks for the fantastic and much-appreciated wrap!
HARRY BROWN(which I saw this past Tuesday) is a finely tuned treatise on put-upon hatred and forced vigilantism. After suffering the loss of a friend by the hands of a herion gang, former British Marine Harry Brown decides her can’t take much more of the abuse building in his once quaint home town. After acquiring a gun, this seemingly gentle octogenarian goes on the hunt for the thugs that shattered his peace and quiet and, surprising himself, find the cold and cocky professional killer he once was begin to surface in revenge. Micheal Caine, always cool as a cucumber, delivers one of his very best performances as Harry. There’s just something sleek and retro to watching this stylistically proificient actor crack wise as he’s cocking a pistol. Going back to classic Caine performances like the IPCRESS FILES and THE ITALIAN JOB. There’s just something joyful in seeing a legend like him get back to what he started with.
Fine review of Harry Brown, Dennis!
Dennis, I agree with Peter. You’ve penned an excellent appraisal here, and I’m happy we are in complete agreement.
Thank you most sincerely for the mention, Sam! It’s been a very long time, my friend, but I’m thrilled to see you continuing your never-ending quest to conquer the arts here at Wonders in the Dark!
As always I take your reviews most seriously and am compelled to see anything you praise. Thank you for the fabulous analysis, something I hope none of us ever take for granted from you! Haha.
Well Alexander, in the end it might be me who is “conquered!” Ha! At 55 years old, I’d be well advised to “get a life.” But it’s been fun bringing the kids to so many events. They are even looking forward to the annual free concerts in Central Park conducted by the New York Philharminic, so you know something has rubbed off on them.
It’s always a treat to hear from you, especially since I know your rightful focus has been on becoming a success in your life. Thanks so much for the effervescent submission here on this most revered (by me) of all WitD threads, and the support for my blogging.
Your comeback was a home run of course!
***Sam tell them the truth. You have an incurable case of OCD.***
Hey Sam. Great to hear that TOY STORY 3 is as good as I was hoping it would be. I probably won’t get the time to see it in the theater, but Pixar films are typically a blind buy when they come out on Blu-Ray. I look forward to the day when I can skip right past all the bad kids movies and have my daughter watch the Pixar ones with me…
Looks like I missed the cut, but I did get a post up last night, a bit hastily, so it’s not the best thing ever, but it was fun to be able to right something again. It’s on two of Mario Bava’s giallo films.
http://troyolson.blogspot.com/2010/06/giallo-fever-mario-bava-blood-and-black.html
I watched the following this past week:
TORSO ***1/2
FREAKS ****
NOSFERATU (Murnau) *****
LIZARD IN A WOMAN’S SKIN ***
CALVAIRE **
BAY OF BLOOD ****
TENEBRE ****
FRONTIER(S) **1/2
THE TENANT ****
Ah, that will be pure bliss Troy, when you turn Madelyn on to the Pixars. The TOY STORY films may well be the favorites of them all. Yeah, this third installment is truly remarkable, in every sense, and like I’ve said to some others, I’d be hard-pressed to wager against total appreciation.
I’ll be checking out that new post Troy, and know you’ve been hitting the horror scene hard. What a lot here!
NOSFERATU is indeed the one five-star film and FREAKS, BAY OF BLOOD and THE TENANT deserve teh four, as does TENEBRE. I don’t recall the other three at this point.
As far as Bava I’d say these are his greatest:
1 Black Sunday
2 Black Sabbath
3 Whip and the Body
4 Kill Baby Kill
5 Blood and Black Lace
6 Planet of the Vampires
7 Danger Diobolik
8 Twitch of the Death Nerve
9 Rabid Dogs
10 Hatchet for the Honeymoon
11 Lisa and the Devil
12 Five Dolls for an August Moon
13 I Vampiri
14 Baron Blood
Thanks as always Trpy for the great wrap!
Sam, have you ever seen KNIVES OF THE AVENGER? It’s definitely an underrated Bava film from a very underrated genre, the viking film, with Cameron Mitchell in a variation on Shane with more of a guilty conscience thrown in. At least it’s better than his spaghetti western!
Samuel, I have a copy of that film in the house, but I’ve never gotten to it. I read it about it recently in the massive coffee-table book I bought a few years ago: MARIO BAVA: COLORS OF THE DARK by Tim Lucas of Video Watchdog fame. I need to see this. Thanks for the heads up!
I’d also be very interested in hearing your response to that late-night trek into Manhattan for the Antonioni film. I have not seen it, but appreciate many others by him.
I am excited about all the hoopla for Pixar again!
Thanks Peter. I just voiced my response to LE AMICHE to Drew and Pat (above) but again, it was an intoxicating experience.
Now I am really jealous!
I’d love to borrow that DVD buddy.
As usual, Sam, thanks for the recognition. For what it’s worth, Toy Story 3 was the first time I sprang for Real 3D glasses at the movies. The feature was much less aggressive about the process than the Despicable Me trailer, which left me still without the slightest interest in seeing this long-promoted item. Pixar seemed content with establishing the illusion of depth, though some moments, like Woody’s kite flight, made great use of the process. The film itself convinced me to buy the inevitable DVD trilogy collection later this year. Since I don’t currently own any Pixar discs, that says something about this movie and the series it appears to complete.
Aye Samuel, I know the 3D glasses render a mixed verdict, though I can’t say their weren’t special pleasures in TOY STORY 3. I do see you have a review up, and I will head on over to Mondo 70 tomorrow to check it out. It appears to me that the few Pixar dissenters in the blogosphere are in hiding, waiting for someone to lead the charge.
Thanks as always for the thoughful submission my friend!
You had a great and busy week there Sam! Thanks again for the mention. I am still doing some catch up from the vacation, have been going through some 600 photos or so that I took. I am going to be posting a few “film” related pictures I took later this week at 24frames (Coppola memorabilia and some other stuff).
On the movie front I only saw three films since coming home.
A Slight Case of Murder – Lloyd Bacon – (***1/2) Entertaining enough film with Edward G. Robinson doing a comical twist of his screen persona in this gangster comedy film. Robinson plays Remy Marco a bootlegger who decides that going straight may be the best way to combat the repeal of the prohibition laws that had kept him in business. It is funny enough to keep you interested. Jane Bryant, Allan Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly and Margaret Hamilton all co-star.
The Hard Way – Vincent Sherman – (***1/2) The Hard Way is centered by a strong iron coated performance by Ida Lupino who won the New York Film Critics Award for her role as the determined, tough, hard driven older sister willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to ensure her young sister’s rise to the top of Broadway’s bright lights. Cinematography by James Wong Howe and montage by future director Don Siegel. Joan Leslie’s performance as the younger sister is debatably the weak link here. Her song and dance number that represents her big break is actually pretty bad making it hard to swallow that it was this routine that impressed the director and producers.
The Eastwood Factor – Richard Schickel (**1/2) this original TCM documentary on Clint Eastwood is tepid at best. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this is an all too familiar look at the legendary icon. The film focuses on the Warner years, barely mentioning the Leone films and the Universal films (This may be because it is also included in the box set “Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years at Warner Bros.”). His directing mentor Don Siegel does not even get a mention, unless I missed it. What is best about the film is Eastwood discussing some of his lesser known films and not just the standard hits one would expect.
John: It’s great to have you back, though I can’t blame you traveling, especially with those awesome destinations. And I will certainly be watching for some of those pictures at WATCHING SHADOWS ON THE WALL. We appreciate that shout out a few days back from a visiting PC!!!
Well, of the three films that you have given sturdy sketches of, I’ve seen the first two. I never watched the Eastwood documentary, though I do know of it. Freeman is usually a reliable narrator, but the ‘tepid’ prognosis seems dead-on. Concentrating on the Warner years does leave some gaping holes.
Aye with Ida Lupino and James Wong Howe, who make THE HARD WAY worthy of the *** 1/2 rating, even with that weak link figured in.
Bacon’s A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER also rates just about what you gave it. Any EGR performance is always worth a look, and we have the bad witch on board too. I discussed this film with Allan not too long ago.
Again, it’s great to have you back my friend. I will be paying you an extended visit tomorrow at your two internet homes! Ha!
Fantastic wrap!
I am leaving the house now, but will be back later tonight to respond to John’s typically stupendous submission, as well as Samuel’s excellent one and any others that are added.
I’m seeing Toy Story 3 in a few hours, and I’m beyond excited. I actually got interviewed by Irish National Radio a few weeks ago b/c a reporter liked my reviews of TS 1 & 2 and asked my thoughts on the series and Pixar (only a minute or so made it in the final story, sadly, but I was still grateful and really just bewildered that anyone would care about me, much less in Ireland). As for recent viewings, I’m finally getting back into the swing of things after a dead month:
Walkabout (*****) — One of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen. Layered, well-acted, atmospheric, and made even more beautiful by Criterion’s fantastic hi-def restoration. This is just a few more viewings away from cracking my top 15 or 10 of the ’70s.
Sisters (****, full review forthcoming) — Introduces De Palma’s mastery of thriller techniques without sacrificing the darkly sardonic humor of his earlier films. A breakthrough on several levels, and it really prefigures his true commerical/critical arrival, Carrie.
Jake, thanks so much for stopping by. I seem to have foresaken you as of late, but I assure you I will be focusing more on your extraordinary blog, where high quality writing and prolific writing have made it one of the best film blogsites out there! Your review of Bresson’s A MAN ESCAPED was fantastic. That is awesome news about the interview from the Irish National Radio!!! Kudos to you!!! That is a something to really be proud of. I will look for your essay on TOY STORY 3, and I just know you’ll love it.
Aye, WALKABOUT is truly a magnificent work, and I completely agree with what you say here. John Barry’s score too is rapturous.
SISTERS is one DePalma I really do like, so I’ll be watching for your review.
Thanks for the passionate wrap, and again congratulations, my friend!
Sam – Thanks for the shout out… I’m having a blast with this directors countdown, so it’s great to see others getting involved. There have been some great comments and discussions as the result of the some of the postings, so I’m having a lot of fun.
I’m still playing it close to the vest on my viewing… particularly from this weekend, as it will be a surprise director to pop up in the countdown! What I will say is, though, that I’m loving the decision to buy an all-region DVD player. I have two new titles in that I ordered from Amazon UK and am anxious to watch – BRIGHTON ROCK and IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY. Brighton Rock, in particular, I am anxious to finally see as I know that in his berating of my noir countdown (LOL) Allan declared Brighton Rock to be the best British noir. So hopefully I can get to it in the next few days.
Still plugging along with the Peckinpah bio, although I haven’t had much reading time lately.
Aye Dave. Allan really did brow beat you on BRIGHTON ROCK, and as you well know I do know the feeling! I am thinking you will love this one to death! IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY is another classic British film that was shown last year in Manhattan at the Brit Noir Festival, and fortunately I watched it. I’ll certainly be looking for your reactions.
Your director’s countdown rivals your film noir and annual countodowns, and you have steadily but surely build up a formidable readership at FilmsNoir.net. You’ve done it all by yourself, and your prolific writing is a thing of amazement!
Thanks as always for the splendid wrap my very good friend!
I have had some interesting dialogues with both actors and directors – both on my site and by email – about their work. I find it quite stimulating at times, as many of them really think quite hard about their performances/productions and welcome external insights, however modest the latter may be.
At the same time, where I have generally had bad things to say in the original review, the conversation has either been politely apologetic (on both sides) or mildly confrontational. In both cases, I am not sure what has generally been gained from such discussions. Therefore, you may be quite right to say nowt!
Very interesting Longman! Your frankness and refusal to hedge your bets are what in good measure has distinguished your superb writing and prolific coverage in Dublin cultural circles. That shows you how important your work is deamed by the professionals over there, and I’m hardly surprised!
Sam, thanks for the link to my Winter’s Bone review. I just hope folks like us can get the word out — the film deserves to do bang-up business but only if we keep talking it up!
On DVD I watched:
The Sun — */1 — I just didn’t get this Russian helmed look at Hirohito’s last days. The cinematography was drab, the sound design lousy, and the lead performance very off-putting. I couldn’t even sit through the whole thing.
Edge of Darkness — **1/2 — I actually dozed off during this one, but it didn’t seem too bad…just kinda pointless.
Rome: Open City — ***** — WOW! I had no idea I would enjoy this as much as I did. Completely enthralling from the first shot to the last. Isabella-Rossellini’s-poppa’s-picture-is-a-masterpiece-a!
Meanwhile, the Phillies (after beating the Yanks twice) continued to infuriate — but Rollins is back tomorrow, and hopefully so too will be their mojo!
David: We are definitely on the same page with WINTER’S BONE, and I assure you I am talking it up. It’s clearly one of the year’s very best films, and certainly the most harrowing. I am also with you on ROME OPEN CITY and EDGE OF DARKNESS on your ratings (the Rosselini is a staggering work of world cinema) but would only part company on THE SUN. But I’ll admit, David that this film is not everybody’s cup of tea (neither is Sokurov for that matter) and a close friend felt the same way you did. We had a lively discussion as I recall on the way home from the theatre.
The Phillies have had a tough time maintaining consistency this year, but they are still the favorites in my view!
Thanks as always for the impassioned wrap my friend!
Thanks for the nod Sam, it’s good to be back. I finally got around to Bright Star, which I know is a favorite of yours. I didn’t think quite as highly of it, although my judgment may have been clouded by my fondness for Keats’ poetry, and my refusal to believe those works could have brought into the world in a manner so lacking in violence. I found Mr. Brown far more interesting, and Schneider was undoubtedly the best thing in the whole movie. I would have made it about him.
Donophon: Many thanks. And you won’t get any argument from me about Schneider’s performance, which was extraordinary. I know BRIGHT STAR is generally liked by just about everybody, though in various degrees of enthusiasm. Admittedly, I went all the way with this one, but my feelings were and are still strong for the material and the craftsmanship. Your reaction is certainly fair enough.
Thanks as always for the thoughtful submission my friend!
Many, many thanks for promoting the Huston blogathon, Sam! I’m so thrilled for it that I can hardly believe we all have to wait for an entire month. But that’s how to celebrate a late filmmaker’s 104th birthday, of course! (and it gives me and others time to see some Huston films we’ve never seen before, too)
Joining in on the Toy Story 3 discussion, I pleasantly enjoyed the movie. I didn’t find it as rich as Ratatouille or Finding Nemo, but in terms of a Pixar sequel it seriously delivers the goods.
Adam, I was happy to join in! Many in the blogosphere have voiced excitement for this project, and frankly you’ve picked a most worthy subject, as Huston is one of the titans of American cinema. Geez, didn’t realize he would have been 104! I have teh date marked down for the blogothon and am assembling my notes! Ha!
Yeah, it’s tough to numerically place the Pixars!
Thanks for the great wrap my friend!
Thanks very much for the plug, Sam, and I look forward to following up more of your links. You have had a very busy week, as ever!
This week I haven’t made it to the cinema but did see four movies at home –
As You Like It (Paul Czinner, 1936) *** The first Shakespeare sound film to be made in the UK and also Olivier’s first Shakespeare role in a film – I loved Olivier as Orlando, but unfortunately the actress playing Rosalind, Elisabeth Bergner, has a heavy German accent which made her hard to follow at times although I understand she was great in the role on the German stage. Anyway I’m hoping to write a short review of this one at Movie Classics to kick off a mini-Shakespeare season.
Across the Wide Missouri (William A Wellman 1951) ** I had high hopes from this Wellman Western starring Clark Gable, so was disappointed to find that it is quite a mess – sadly it seems the studio cut out great chunks so that the story didn’t make sense, then added in a clunking voiceover to try to fill in the gaps. Aiming to write a bit about this one too.
Paris Blues (Martin Ritt, 1961) ***** I loved this early Paul Newman/Sidney Poitier/Joanne Woodward/Diahann Carroll film which is full of great jazz music, including a fantastic solo by Louis Armstrong, and atmospheric location shots of Parisian streets, bars and coffee houses. Just a shame TCM kept putting their channel logo in the middle of Paul Newman’s face – I’ll have to buy the region 2 DVD.
Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) ***** No need to say much about this one! I really like Claire Trevor’s performance as well as John Wayne and Thomas Mitchell.
Thanks much Judy. Yeah it was a busy week, though with my eldest daughter’s eighth grade graduation on Wednesday and a planned trip to the Meadowlands Fair on Thursday night, I’ll be taking a brief break from the cultural scene this week.
I know that Olivier AS YOU LIKE IT well, and own the Image DVD of it. I do agree that Bergner’s accent is (lamentably) too German, yet as you note she’s an accomplished performer back home. After a while it didn’t bother me, though admittedly this film is dry and dated, and not the way to turn people on to one of the greatest comedies ever written. I saw an excellent stage version of this play just months ago here in Manhattan. I will be over to check out your review tonight!
I didn’t see that particular Wellman, though I can see I don’t need to remedy that anytime soon. Shame, with Gable too!
PARIS BLUES is absolutely a terrific Ritt with that priceless solo by Mr. Armstrong and great jazz music. I can’t blame you for going with the top rating.
STAGECOACH? Well, I genuflect, dear lady! Masterpiece with a capital M.
Thanks so much for these wonderful capsules, my very good friend!
Hi! Sam Juliano, Allan, and WitD readers,
My Lead-in:
Sam, once again some very interesting films that you watched this week on your weekly quest to let your readers, know what films that you experienced at the theatre and on stage.
Now, on the Theatre front:
What you have watched on Stage…You seemed to have enjoyed experiencing the stage play Hair on Broadway with your wife and daughter…and the play Dickinson to “boot” hmmm…“nice” to the former play and all I can say about your critique of the latter play is lol…and Wow!
Now when it comes to the films that you watched…It appears as if the film(s) Toy Story 3, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Stonewall Uprising, Solitary Man, Le Amiche (Antonioni), all deserved 3 to 5 stars ratings from you…that is great news to hear…
Sam, I must admit that I recently, watched Toy Story and Toy Story 2 (for the first-time…this year) with somewhat “abandonment”…I must somehow rectify that and watch all three films again.
I must also admit that I recently watched…Shhhh… Ratatouille again, but let keep that a secret.…As far, as I’am concerned Ratatouille plays second fiddle to no other animation.
Films on the shelf:
…Sam, here is what happened on my “front”… I watched a precode and a remake… Mystery of the Wax Museum and The House of Wax the latter title is the remake…and the former film was okay, but I prefer the latter film. (Because I feel that, the story was more coherent in the film The House of Wax.)
I also watched three film noir starring actress Jane Russell… Macao, The Las Vegas Story, and His Kind of Woman…In honour of her Birthday yesterday.
…I must admit that I’am still very busy assisting two friends with their work…assisting them is a real work in progress…believe me I don’t mind assisting them at all…
Books on the shelf:… author Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island still lead on my “online” bookshelf (Is the bookshelf on my blog)…Additional books added to my “physical” shelf (The bookshelf in my parents’ home) While out there lurking on the internet…I plan to add some books to the shelf suggested by author Eric Beetner, and writer Paul D. Brazill, shortly…
…Music on the shelf :… Nope…not yet…with “yet” being the operative word.
Food … Hmmm…a very light touch…as usual.
Sports… No Comment…
Politics…No Comment…
Sam Juliano said, “Dee Dee’s superlative interview series with Film Noir Kingpin Tony d’Ambra is nearing its conclusion. The latest post at Darkness into Light is a consideration of film noir icon Samuel Fuller…”
Sam Juliano, my visit with Tony, has “wrapped-up”
I rolled up the “red carpet” with my posting last Friday of director Samuel Fuller’s two films.
I guess that about wraps up my week in review for this week too…
By the way, Sam Juliano thanks, for mentioning…
…the “happenings” over there on my blog…as usual.
(In addition, I want to thank-you, for always taking part in the conversation on my blog as well as other blogger’s blogs and encouraging me along the way with your very kind words.)
Take care!
DeeDee
Aye, Dee Dee, the theatrical experiences this week were basically one extreme to the other in every sense. One was a musical in the historic Hirschfeld , the other a chamber play in a small space. I loved Emily Dickinson’s poetry, but this entire experiment backfired as I stated in my capsule. The acting was inspired, but the material redundant and tedious. Yet, I am happy I did get to see what this company was doing.
Yes, there wasn’t really a bad film in the lot I managed, even though TOY STORY 3 and Antonioni’s early masterwork LE AMICHE were the the best of all. TOY STORY 3 had me in tears, and I’ll admit the first two films in the trilogy didn’t move me that deeply. The JOAN RIVERS documentary was admittedly a major surprise, and STONEWALL UPRISING, though decent enough, was a slight letdown.
Michael Douglas’ film, SOLITARY MAN also surprised me in a positive sense.
Dee Dee, I am assuming that the “abandonment” admission of the viewing of the two TOY STORY films was a strong endorcement, no? Well, it’s really amazing how the third film really went for the heart, and like WALL-E and UP before it, really hit its mark. It would be great to see all three, one after the other.
Ah, now what made me know that you love RATATOUILLE? Ha! Well, you have a supporter with that one in me, though I can’t even imagine any animation lover not adoring that work of art! Pixar has really put together an a remarkable streak, probably the only one of its kind in movie history.
Then you say:
“Sam, here is what happened on my “front”… I watched a precode and a remake… Mystery of the Wax Museum and The House of Wax the latter title is the remake…and the former film was okay, but I prefer the latter film. (Because I feel that, the story was more coherent in the film The House of Wax.)”
Both of these are classics Dee Dee, and zI’m sure you saw the artistry!
And those were excellent choices too for Jane Russell’s birthday. it’s been years since I saw those myself.
I am very moved as always by your final sentences here. I want to congratulate you on your fantastic interview with Tony and for the many postings featuring his choices piecemeal.
Your work has again been peerless, my wonderful friend!
Thanks for this awesome wrap once again, and I bet your friend appreciates all you have done too!
Hi Sam,
Thanks for the mention and the (always) kind words. I’ve spent most of this week absorbing some truly great alternative theatre through the London Fringe Festival, as well as volunteering for it, so for the first time in my adult life I can honestly say I haven’t watched a single movie since last Wednesday (an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Mrs. McGuinty’s Dead)! I plan to rectify this ASAP.
Looking forward to Toy Story 3…
Jeopardy Girl, you are most welcome, as this inclusion is really long overdue. That is a fantastic involvement there with the alternative theatre group with the London Fringe Festival! I’d love to hear what productions you are involved in at some point. That’s really exciting I must say!
As far as TOY STORY 3, I think you will be once again transported by the wizards at Pixar!
I love the Poirot Christies, and many years ago read the prolific author’s entire collection, in the obsession of the day. I recall there was the rare strand of humor playing through MRS. MCGINTY’S DEAD, and I do like that film version you saw, and indeed any other with David Suchet. It’s interesting that an older version of this novel, was made into a 1964 film titled MURDER MOST FOWL, with the Poirot character being replaced by Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford, a wonderful actress played the role) but I prefer the Suchet version myself.
Thanks so much for this great submission, Jeopardy Girl, and Good Luck with the theatre group!
SAM-Its TUESDAY. I’ll be at the usual spot at 5pm!!!!!
Aye Dennis! I will be there.
Yes sir, I shall also be there
Hello sir,i like this