Unproduced Tennessee Williams play staged on Theatre Row in Manhattan
by Sam Juliano
With the Memorial Day weekend behind us. the summer season is now a matter of weeks away. Excessive heat is no doubt in the cards, much as the mindless blockbuster entertainment that maligns our movie screens during this down time for ardent cineastes. In any case, there are some notable exceptions to this general rule, and thus far 2011 has been a remarkable year at the cinema.
A recent e mail exchange with our very good friend Pat Perry of Chicago has resulted in a concrete plan to launch the musical poll on Monday, August 15th. It is looking like a Top 50 will be examined in ascending numerical order (like previous polls) on a Monday through Friday basis for ten weeks, with the conclusion expected near the end of October. Pat will be forwarding a list of her top 50 musicals to me by e mail, which I will combine with my own listing and one that will be submitted by Allan Fish. When the final tabulation of the three lists is arrived at, full essays will be offered up on a daily basis, in similar fashion as the previously concluded film noir polling by Maurizio Roca. While it is anticipated that Yours Truly will be writing the majority of the essays, there will be a substantial contribution made by Pat, and a few of Allan’s already-penned essays will be including for variety. Whatever film finishes at #1 will receive a three-prongued treatment, meaning reviews from Pat, Allan and myself will be posted on suceeding days. Each review will be expected to include some personal anecdotes about the writer’s lifelong remembrances with the film.
Readers are urged to participate in Dee Dee’s new contest at Darkness Into Light, also referenced on the interview with Kohl and Beetner, accessible on the sidebar. Dee Dee has also instructed that respondants send their answers to my own e mail address. (TheFountain26@aol.com) Instructions and questions appear on the Darkness Into Light feature post.
WitD friend, local playright Peter Danish of Nyack has a new work, Gods, Guns and Greed, which will be staging at 7:30 P.M. on June 6th at the White Plains Performing Arts Center. We urge all to attend. Here’s the promo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00ShEj7al3Y
We’ve enjoyed a beautiful weekend in the NYC area, and Lucille and I (and the kids in part) have been busy on the movie front. The eight day span included two trips to the Film Forum for “Buster Keaton Mondays,” and two new openings and a staging of Tennessee Williams’s “One Arm” on Theatre Row.
by Tennessee Williams, based on Williams’ provocative and personal 1948 short
story. One Arm follows Ollie, a young boxing champ described as “lightning in
leather,” who turns to hustling after an accident claims his arm. Bitter and
detached, he cuts a path through a disenfranchised American underworld in the
late 1960s, until at last he’s pushed to violence. One Arm traces Ollie’s
encounters with strangers, many of them men, and his odyssey from emotional
isolation toward a last chance at human connection. The staging was persuasive and the performances were energized, bringing a relatively obscure Williams work in a markedly serviceable production, that is at least intermittantly moving. A full review would best frame this experience.
For the viewing of The Tree of Life on Saturday night, Lucille, Broadway Bob and I had the great pleasure of meeting up with Bob Clark. Bob is an utterly delightful person and a remarkable conversationalist, and the late night meal we enjoyed together at The Dish on 8th Avenue led to all kinds of film and television insights. It’s funny how you develop in your mind a certain kind of impression of someone based on PC communication, and then have those expectations completely met by the subsequent live meeting. Bob is really one heck of a fascinating guy, and I’m sure we’ll be meeting up in the future. I have offered up a complete, albeit modest revieew of The Tree of Life above the diary, but suffice to say here the experience is practically life-changing. Woodly Allen’s Midnight in Paris certainly has it’s charms, and the rain falling in Paris is poetry in motion, but I’m a bit less impressed than the general concensus, in large measure because I found the central character a bumbling soul who is unconvincing as a writer. Typical of his late work Allen offers up some trenchant cultural enrichment, and at least a modest bevy of one-liners.
I will have a full rundown of the “Buster Keaton Mondays” Festival in August after the completion of the twelve-week itinerary that will include a dozen features and a dozen shorts. The two Mondays that fall within the scope of this week’s diary offered up two of the silent clown’s greatest masterpieces: The General and The Cameraman, which both shorts (The Playhouse and The Blacksmith) rank among the most formidable in that department. Seeing all the films with Steve Sterner and Ben Model providing piano accompaniment is a real joy, and the premium way to enjoy these silent classics.
The Tree of Life ***** (Saturday night) Sunshine Landmark Cinemas
Midnight in Paris *** 1/2 (Friday afternoon) Edgewater Multiplex Cinemas
The Cameraman (1928) ***** (Monday evening 5/23) Keaton at Film Forum
The Playhouse (1921) **** 1/2 (Monday evening 5/23) Keaton at Film Forum
The General (1926) ***** (Monday evening 5/30) Keaton at Film Forum
The Blacksmith (1922) **** (Monday evening 5/30) Keaton at Film Forum
This week’s links around the blogosphere include the following 40:
At Movie Classics Judy Geater has authored a spectacular essay on William Wyler’s Councellor at Law, a celebrated early Wyler with John Barrymore: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/counsellor-at-law-william-wyler-1933/
Jason Marshall has named Howard Hawks’s This Girl Friday the best film of 1940 in his ongoing survey of the cinema, and has supported it with a marvelous essay at Movies Over Matter: http://moviesovermatter.com/2011/05/27/his-girl-friday-best-pictures-of-1940-1/
Stephen Russell-Gebbett offers up another fascinating post at Checking on my Sausages, this time on the ‘degrees of complication’ in the orchestration of action scenes in the cinema: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2011/05/action-scenes-levels-of-complication.html
At the Creativepotager’s blog, after a short hiatus, Terrill Welch offers up some indelible images in the spirit of her nature-lover’s paradise in the post “Pure Joy”: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/pure-joy/
At Speaking From The Heart, the ever-motivated Laurie Buchanan makes superb metaphorical use of the spokes of a bicycle to establish a parallel with the “influence” some have over others: http://holessence.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/influence-the-power-to-affect/
Dee Dee’s latest contest (advertised here at WitD) can be accessed and negotiated at her place, Darkness Into Light: http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/
David Schleicher has penned a terrific review of Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams at The Schleicher Spin: http://theschleicherspin.com/2011/05/19/cave-of-forgotten-dreams/
Former Vietnam veteran John Greco has penned a fantastically insightful piece on Robert Altman’s M.A.S.H. at Twenty-Four Frames: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/mash-1970-robert-altman/
Wonders in the Dark readers by now have surely seen and accessed Tony d’Ambra’s collection of poems and prose, Cinematic Poetica, a new volume available at areasonable price, featured on the sidebar. For those who have been ravished by the works as they appeared over the past two years, here’s the chance to own the entire sensory collection in a beautifully ornate booklet: https://www.lulu.com/commerce/index.php?fBuyContent=10534204
At Vermilion and One Nights our Japanese friend Murderous Ink continues his post-war Kurosawa series with a riveting piece on The Quiet Duel: http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2011/05/postwar-kurosawa-quiet-duel.html
Samuel Wilson has penned a terrific review of William Wellman’s “Track of the Cat” at Mondo 70: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2011/05/track-of-cat-1954.html
Director and film fan Jeffrey Goodman offers up Part 11 of his film round-up with four terrific capsules on recently-viewed films. At The Last Lullaby he’s particularly impressed by Charles Ferguson’s Inside Job and a Beastie Boys film: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/
JAFB has penned a remarkable, exhaustive essay at The Seventh Art on an experimental 1968 Hindi feature titled “Explorer” by Pramad Pati: http://theseventhart.info/2011/05/28/flashback-85/
At Films Worth Watching Jon has penned a terrific essay on Claude Sautet’s “Classe Tous Risques”: http://filmsworthwatching.blogspot.com/2011/05/classe-tous-risques-1960-directed-by.html
At Ferdy-on-Films Roderick Heath has penned a stupendous analytical piece on a rarely contemplated 1926 film by Albert Zugsmith titled Confessions of an Opium Eater: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=10008
Meanwhile at his solo site, Heath imparts his magical prose to a sprawling essay on Otto Preminger’s final film, The Human Factor (1979): http://thisislandrod.blogspot.com/2011/05/human-factor-1979.html
Batman and Riddler fans are urged to head over to Exodus: 8:2 where Jaime Grijalba offers up a unique post for the weekend: http://exodus8-2.blogspot.com/2011/05/magnifico-internet-top-10-riddler.html
Michael Harford, a.k.a. the Coffee Messiah has been briefly on sabatical, but his famed blog is always a place to visit again and again: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/2011/05/another-day.html
Shubhajit offers up a superlative capsule of Jacques Tati’s Playtime at Cinemascope: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.com/2011/05/playtime-1967.html
At The Blue Vial Drew McIntosh has a sumptuous display of images up from Jacques Tourneur’s 1951 “Anne of the Indies”: http://thebluevial.blogspot.com/2011/05/great-performances-jean-peters-in-anne.html
Soccer fans will be thrilled to know that Sanchin Gandhi is far more than just an ardent film fan, when they venture over to Scribbles and Ramblings where an amazing sports post leads up: http://likhna.blogspot.com/2011/05/2011-champions-league-final.html
Peter Lenihan has posted an incredible series of caps from Jean Renoir’s ravishing French Can Can at The Long Voyage Home: http://thelongvoyagehome.blogspot.com/2011/05/french-cancan.html
As timely as ever, Ed Howard and Jason Bellamy have posted the latest installment of their celebrated “Conversations” at “The House Next Door” on Terrence Malick. For the opening salvo, they discuss all films by the director pre-The Tree of Life: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2011/05/conversations-26-terrence-malick.html
Craig Kennedy has penned a curt dismissal of “The Hangover Part 2” at Living in Cinema that’s a must-read: http://livingincinema.com/2011/05/29/review-the-hangover-part-ii-2011-12/
At Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies Kevin Olson is honored to post teh second presentation in the “record club” initiated by Ed Howard: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/record-club-2-brand-new.html
At The Movie Projector R.D. Finch has posted the fourth installment of his fabulous “The Films of Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy” series: http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2011/05/films-of-spencer-tracy-and-katharine_30.html
At Velvety Blackness Jean has authored a remarkable essay on Terry Gilliam’s Brazil that’s a must-read for serious cineastes: http://velvetyblackness.blogspot.com/2011/05/brazil.html
At Patricia’s Wisdom, the lovely proprietor has announced the beginning of a most soulful endeavor for all those who stopover at the open and refreshing blogsite: http://patriciaswisdom.com/2011/05/the-next-oprah/
Slant writer extraordinaire John Lanthier likens A Serbian Film to a “transgressive” experience, awarding it 3 out of 4 stars at Aspiring Sellout: http://livingincinema.com/2011/05/14/review-a-serbian-film-2011/
Pat Perry at Doodad Kind of Town hasn’t updated for a while, but the Chicago native and very good friend, will be playing a vital role in the musical countdown that is tentatively scheduled to commence sometime in mid to late summer if everything falls into place. Here’s Pat’s long-running blogsite: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/
Adam Zanzie has posted what appears to be a tremendous review of 1985′s Agnes of God at Icebox Movies: http://iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2011/05/agnes-of-god-1985.html
Hokahey takes on the new Pirates of the Caribbean sequel at Little Worlds: http://hokahey-littleworlds.blogspot.com/2011/05/pirates-of-caribbean-on-stranger-tides.html
Dave Van Poppel has some great documentary capsules from the Toronto Film Festivals posting at his place: http://visionsofnonfiction.blogspot.com/2011/05/hot-docs-2011-we-were-here.html
Jeopardy Girl asks her readers “What’s Good?” at her place this week in an ever-thoughtful post: http://jeopardygirl.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/whats-good/
Longman Oz is on a brief break at his place, but his very fine piece on Route Irish is still leading the way: http://smiledyawnednodded.com/2011/03/28/routeirish/
Troy Olson has an assortment of posts leading up at his place on live basketball blogging, a new record club and the most recent Bresson reviews: http://troyolson.blogspot.com/
J.D. has penned a terrific review of Sean Penn’s directorial debut The Indian Runner at Radiator Heaven: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2011/05/indian-runner.html
Film Doctor has written up a glorious dismissal of the newest Pirates of the Caribbean installment at his place: http://filmdr.blogspot.com/2011/05/once-again-to-brig-pirates-of-caribbean.html
And then Jake Cole, writer extraordinaire, takes on the film at his film altar, Not Just Movies: http://armchairc.blogspot.com/2011/05/pirates-of-caribbean-on-stranger–tides.html
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Thank you so much, Sam for the amazing round up here.
Can’t wait to see THE TREE OF LIFE. I’ve read about 20 reviews so far (I don’t read so many reviews before watching a movie), and I’m still excited.
Last week I caught up with Malick’s films. I’d have to say that none of them really blew me away, though they all have brilliant passages.
BADLANDS is my favorite so far. Hope TREE changes that.
Off to read your review!
Cheers!
Srikanth: I am a little bit surprised that Malick hasn’t left a much stronger impression on you, but THE TREE OF LIFE may alter your overall assessment and appreciation. Then again, maybe not. He may not be your thing. BADLANDS is a great film, but stylistically tame comparatively, so I’ll inclined to think the newest film will be seen as more a companion piece to the last two films.
You read that many reviews on it? Wow. I must say I am anxious to hear (and perhaps read about) your reaction. I’m sure a sensational essay will appear at THE SEVENTH ART.
Many thanks my friend!
Another adventure this week and since it is bedtime here, I will tuck in rather than wander out – I truly did need that Tuesday. Wow what a list to investigate and blogs to explore – Thank you again.
Thank you also for the call out and we are barely up and running, but I am learning lots of tricks of the trade here and got some contemporary assistance in writing a full landing page for Wise Ears, which I think will make quite a difference. Since IT Girl is leaving for a three week vacation end of June, I am on a terrific fast track of learning, but I think I am on the passionate track.
No heat here yet, and have started painting the house, so we just watched a fun documentary about Garrison Keillor the man on the radio with red shoes – it was all we could handle
Sounds like you all had a great weekend…and wish I could sign up for you summer school class – Wow!
Patricia, you are one of the loveliest of people. I thank you for your friendly engagement and exceedingly kind words!
No heat yet out by you? We’ve been in the 80’s here, and one day will apparently reach the 90’s. I guess I can stand it if the humidity is low. Unfortunately I couldn’t cut the grass today as I had planned, because the index was considered unhealthy. So it’s been air condition (and blogging) most of day after my last class in school. As far as summer school, it begins in late June, and runs for six weeks until August 6th. This leaves almost four weeks for vacation.
Garrison Keillor? The Prairie Home Companion! Ha! Good stuff there!
We did have a very enriching and memorable weekend Pat, definitely better than most. And you’re a peach for saying that about signing up for my class!
Have a great week my very good friend!
Great to hear you have picked up some ideas for the site, though I know that three week absence is a kind of temporary setback.
The Tree of Life is coming to Richmond on June 17th and I was a skeptic when reading some of the reactions from Cannes but they have been put to rest after reading your review. Now I’m more giddy than ever. I’m also excited to see Tuesday, After Christmas making a theatrical run in the states. It was one of my favorite films last year and I hope to catch it again at least once if its playing in a theater near by (I encourage as many of you cinephiles who haven’t seen it to do the same). Another great Morning Diary Sam!
You have moved me very much Anu, with your confidence in my response to the film. I sincerely hope I haven’t oversold the film, though I can’t fathom you (with your vaunted good taste and ecelectic slant) not going for it in a big way. I can’t wait to see it a second time, and even now am plotting a course. That’s terrific news that it’s appearing in Richmond in just two weeks; you should be coming in with areport then very soon.
I wasn’t planning ahead to see that Romanian film you glowingly mention here, though I did alert Stephen that it’s playing at the Film Forum right now!:
http://www.filmforum.org/films/tuesday.html
As it’s running until Tuesday, June 7th, I will DEFINITELY get to it! Thanks for lighting afire under me my friend.
And thanks too for all the kind words. it’s always a delight to have you here!
Thanks a ton for kind the mention, Sam. New Malick plus classic Keaton, how on earth do you top that kind of weekend big screen viewing? Amazing. I’ve intentionally kept my exposure to TToL reviews to a minimum, but I’ll be sure to check out your full review after I’ve seen it. Malick is one of my very favorites, and I just can’t wait to experience it, it’s been one heck of a wait. Cheers my friend!
Drew: I am hoping that Malick’s film appears soon on Peach State screens, or at least in Atlanta, where you’ll be able to travel to easy enough. I am thrilled to hear that Malick is one of your favorite directors, though I believe I’ve known it and fully expect it with you. I quiver to think what an astouding screen cap display will appear at THE BLUE VIAL down the road after you’ve seen the film. Yes, Malick and Keaton in the same weekend is surely cinematic bliss!
Many thanks as always my friend!
Thanks Sam. Incredibly, it was my love for soccer that helped me hunt down films from various countries in my early film loving days. Now, the reverse has happened. My love for film has allowed me to find and appreciate some mesmerizing films based on soccer. The Belgian documentary Kill the Referee was my favourite film last year and I only got to see that after it got some mention at the Locarno festival. Otherwise, I would have missed that film completely. Then there was the wonderful Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait that I heard about during its Cannes 2006 premier. I was lucky enough to see a museum installation of the film recently and it floored me even more. The museum installation shows the full film (edited from the 17 camera angles) on the left hand side and the raw footage from camera 1 on the right hand side. The end result is a work of art that allows one to get a true understanding of the complex off the ball movement that is involved in a game while appreciating depiction of a man going through stages of intense focus, detachment and finally frustration and anger.
Awesome, another fan of ZINDANE around these parts… I had actually viewed the film again (I own the R2) in preparation to have the post go up on the first day of last summer’s World Cup but never finished it (I had screen caps and everything). Damn, now I wish I had.. it’s a great film in my opinion as well the existentialism of running on the beautiful grass and being alone even though you are working within an 11 man rotation. Brilliant, and incredibly under seen by most.
Yeah I had to order the DVD from the UK because I could not wait to see it. I have been lucky that the film had one theatrical screening plus has been showing for the last 2 months as part of this musuem installation. For me, the film finally provided a look at what a great player does off the ball. Given that an average soccer player only touches the ball for 2-3minutes per game, it is key to observe their off the ball movements. Thankfully, the film does a great job in showing that and then the soundtrack lets us hear the crowd when needed or just the feet on the grass to put us in that atmosphere. One can see Zidane lose focus, drift away from the field mentally and then come back into the game. I would like to capture screenshots of the film because you can see him get agitated and the red card was inevitable. The film provided foreshadowing to what happenned in the world cup a few months after the film’s Cannes premier.
Long reply but you should see “kill the referee” because it gives us a glimpse into the ref’s job in a similar manner to what Zidane did for a great player.
Thanks very much for the mention Sam.
I’m looking forward to THE TREE OF LIFE though its release in the UK is constantly being put back. I’m also awaiting MELANCHOLIA and THE TURIN HORSE.
This week’s highlight was the European Cup Final between Barcelona and Manchester United.
I hope that all’s well with you and your family.
Wasn’t it just. Watching Barcelona toy with United was like watching the Harlem Globetrotters toy with a group of ghetto hustlers. Even Ferguson couldn’t deny it, they’d been outclassed, like Barcelona were saying “yoiu’re good, but as long as we’re around, you’ll always be second best.” As a Liverpool fan, very gratifying and expected. If a pretty mediocre Liverpool side could run rings around United at Anfield, Barca were always going to wipe the floor with them. Like the club equivalent of the Brazilians of 1970.
Yes it was incredible to see Barca do that in the final. They do that regularly in la liga but this was a different occasion. Plus I love the first goal and how once again Xavi managed to find space. He found that space because Messi’s decoy run distracted Evra and he drifted a few steps and then immediately space opened up.
I am an Arsenal fan and Evra taunted Arsenal last year when he said it was men vs boys. Well Evra was made to look silly on more than one occassion by Barca.
Like you Stephen I am hankering to see MELANCHOLIA as well. I do hope that you, Allan and Judy will have THE TREE OF LIFE over there soon. I can’t fathom a long wait, especially after the Cannes win.
I don’t know too much about the European Cup, but am delighted you broached it on this thread (I always encourage sports, politics, music, theatre and literature in addition to film) and am happy that Sachin, Jamie and Allan have chimed in with their own expertise.
All is well with everyone here my friend. Thanks so much for asking.
Enjoyed your piece on The Tree of Life, Sam, especially your canny comment that Malick’s style is more like music than traditional cinema. Still, I remain a little bit more skeptical than a lot others about Malick, chiefly because The Thin Red Line was one of the most painful experiences of my cinematic life, although I love all his other films. Not all of his experiments and attempts to be holistically philosophical persuade me.
Also, at the risk of sounding churlish, you do know I’ve posted six pieces on TIR since The Human Factor, right?
Rod: I’ll have to check the archives at FERDY-ON-FILMS and at THIS ISLAND ROD to see if you have any Malick reviews there. If you felt that way about THE THIN RED LINE, I am wondering where you stand with THE NEW WORLD, though I know people who much preferred the latter film. You seem to have hit it on the nose yourself by referring to his works as “experiments” and as such they will not succeed with everyone. I do admit he asks for a lot and thumbs his nose at convention, not that this is a bad thing at all.
As far as THE HUMAN FACTOR as the lead on the link list, I am just shaking my head and realizing that senility has set in. I can’t figure why that old link is still there, but I will change it tonight. And as you’ve accelerated, I must get over to THIS ISLAND ROD for other reasons.
Thanks as always for the very kind words my friend!
Wow, Sam, another busy week for you… and more links than ever! Many thanks for the very kind plug. Looking forward to the musicals countdown, which sounds great.
While you were seeing Woody Allen’s latest, his previous film, ‘You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger’, has just arrived at my local arthouse cinema. I went and saw it this weekend and enjoyed it – not sure the voiceover adds much, but I thought Gemma Jones, Anthony Hopkins and the rest of the cast were all in fine form and there were some good gags in there too.
At home, I saw several films this week, with the main event for me definitely being John Ford’s ‘My Darling Clementine’ (1946) – I loved every minute of this one and it is probably my favourite of the Fords I’ve seen so far. That scene with the drunken actor reciting Shakespeare on the bar table is amazing stuff. I’m now thinking I will get the special edition DVD to compare the two cuts.
Still with older classics, I saw Cukor’s ‘Camille’ (1936), which UK TCM did their best to ruin by running a big blue ad for the next film across the bottom of the screen just as Garbo was dying in Taylor’s arms, Hawks’ ‘Twentieth Century’ (1934) (a repeat viewing for this one) and Vidor’s ‘Wild Oranges’ (1924). I enjoyed all of these, especially ‘Twentieth Century’, as it is great to see John Barrymore and Carole Lombard together and the script is so sharp.
I also saw Trevor Nunn’s ‘Lady Jane’ (1986), which even as a costume drama addict I’d have to say is pretty terrible, and watched ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ on TV with my family – my son is a big fan of this and I thought the cat-like black dragon is quite sweet, but I’m at a loss as to why this is in the 250 top-rated films of all time at the imdb! Maybe a lot of young children have been voting there?
DRAGON is rated that high on the IMDB Judy? Unbelievable. But I agree with your still pleased assessment; I’ve always liked the originality in the idea, and the animation is quite good. LADY JANE is indeed dismissable, and shame on TCM for ruining CAMILLE. One wonders why they do these things, and what could be gained. TWENTIETH CENTURY is masterful for sure, and always rewards re-viewings.
I can’t contest that ultra-favorable to MY DARLING CLEMNTINE as it’s a bonafide Ford masterpiece, and similarly agree with you on that Shakespeare scene!
You like the Woody Allen film more than I do, but talk about coincidences. My friend Jason Giampietro is here at my house tonight talking about this very film and how much he likes it. He gently ribbed me for my relative dismissal! Ha! Perhaps I should watch it again, though of his recent films, I have only really liked WHATEVER WORKS, a film that many do not care for. I did love MATCH POINT going back further, and beyond that am a huge fan of his.
Thanks for the very kind words. I’ll correspond with you more on the music poll soon.
Many thanks my friend!
PS, Sam, since you’ve just seen ‘The General’ you might be interested in this detailed review at Jacqueline Lynch’s site – putting this in a separate email in case posting a link lands me in spam corner:)
http://anotheroldmovieblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/general-1926.html
Judy, this piece was really a god-send, so timely and so engrossing!! Ms. Lynch provides a terrific historical/Civil War overview, and includes a number of details that you wouldn’t realize, like the noise that alerted people in the area when the train bridge was on fire. In fact the entire description of that famous seqquence was wonderful. I left a comment, which apparently went into temporary moderation. I see John left one there as well. Thanks so much for sending this on!!!
Thanks again for the mention. What an amazing week with Malick, Allen and Keaton on screen and Williams on stage. Looking forward to the Malick and Allen films coming down this way.
For me. it has been a hectic couple of weeks but mostly fun and exciting. First up we were away for five days in Vermont, had a great time despite moody weather. Took plenty of photos, some of which even came out good. That leads to my other news which is I have recently set up a new website selling my photographs along with a corresponding blog (and Facebook page) to go with it. It is admittedly limited right now with the number of prints and print sizes available, however both will be increasing as we go along. I invite all to visit the website and/or the blog, and any WitD reader who purchases a print and pays by personal check will receive a 20% discount. Just mention WitD in your mail order. I will extend this offer for credit cards and paypal as soon as I can get the discount set up for it. If you don’t want to buy please still stop by and visit. Below are the two links.
http://johngrecophotography.com/
http://www.johngrecophotography.com/blog/
This all will have no affect with my “Twenty Four Frames” blog but my other blog “Watching Shadows on the Walls” is officially dead. It has been dormant for awhile anyway.
Sunday afternoon, we went to the Florida Museum of Photographic Art in Tampa, which is presenting an Ansel Adams exhibit, a man whose work is all so inspiring. After looking at his work, I wanted to throw my own camera away! Tonight, my wife and I are heading over to Ruth Eckard Hall to see Al Pacino in a “Inside the Actor’s Studio” style interview with St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall. More about that will pop up at 24Frames later in the week. As for movies, I did manage to watch three films this past week, two of them with Rosalind Russell.
Fast and Loose (***) Rare book collector and his wife are amateur detectives getting involved in forgery and murder. Another in the long line of THIN MAN rip off’s, this time with Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell as the snooping fun couple. This was the second of what turned out to be a three film series. The first, FAST COMPANY, starred Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice. The final film in the series was FAST and FURIOUS with Franchot Tone and Ann Southern as the investigating book dealers. The constant changing of the stars must have been at least partially responsible for the failure of the series.
My Sister Eileen (***1/2) Two sisters from Columbus, Ohio come to New York to make it big. Ruth Sherwood (Roz Russell) a writer, and sister Eileen (Janet Blair) is an actress. With little money between them they rent a basement flat in Greenwich Village and meet a crazy cast of characters who are continually in and out of their apartment. Entertaining enough, mostly thanks to Roz Russell’s sparkling performance.
Cinema Verite (***1/2) HBO film about the making of “An American Family,” the groundbreaking documentary broadcast on PBS back in the 1970’s. The family was the Loud’s, a so called “typical” American family, that filmmakers followed around for three or four months. If it sounds familiar, that is because in recent years the then revolutionary format has degraded into all the so called “reality” TV shows we are force fed today. Unlike today’s fare, AN AMERICAN FAMILY was a serious work. Diane Lane holds it all together as the mother Pat Loud. James Gandofini unfortunately is wasted as the film’s producer. Still the film is interesting and worth a watch.
John, a hearty congratulations to you for your new venture! Your photographic work richly deserves a form like this, and I’m sure a number of people will want some of these treasures hanging on their walls. I’ll certainly be looking at all the offerings this week myself. The sites look beautiful, and the photose are wonderfully integrated. Thanks for the site discount, which I am hoping many will take fulla dvantage of. You’ve really been on the move as of late and the trip to Vermont was one I’m sure you’ll fondly remember. Sorry you are closing shop with the other site, but heck, you do have your plate full at this point.
I have not seen CINEMA VERITE, but you make it sound fascinating. Hmmm. Diane Lane is in there too! I think you’re dead on with MY SISTER EILENN, while I am only marginally lower on FAST AND FURIOUS. As always you frame all three filsm impressively.
Again, best of luck to you and Dorothy on this glorious new endeavor, one I’ll be affording more than a passing interest in!
Hey Sam, Thanks for the shout-out! We had a busy weekend with our girls at the zoo and in the yard. Sounds like you were busy too. Keaton is great and probably The General or Our Hospitality are my favorites. His films and his acting style hold up remarkably well today.
I’m pleased that TToL is coming to Kalamazoo as part of the wider release in July. It’ll be hard to wait that long, and unless we get over to Chicago I’ll have to be really patient.
Best film I saw over the weekend was seeing The Assassination of Jesse James….which I had not seen yet. I’ve missed several movies over the last 4 years (busy with young children), so I’ve been making a point of catching up. Casey Affleck was brilliantly awkward and Roger Deakins’ cinematography was great.
Thanks again Sam!
And I bet you had a wonderful time at the zoo with the girls Jon! Nothing matches those moments my friend. I completely agree with what you say there about Keaton’s timelessness and about those two masterpieces, which by any barometer of measurement rank among the silent clown’s greatest films.
When you mentioned Kalamazoo (ah, you’re a Michigan guy. Nice!) I immediately thought of Chicago, knowing you are only a few counties away. But it still may be a two hour ride I bet. Jamie Uhler seems to think the film will be opening in the Windy City in two weeks, so you now need to decide if you want to see it earlier. I know you are anxious and I can’t blame you. I was feeling the same way for quite some time.
Jon, I hear ya about the young kids. I have a basketball team here myself, and know and understand how your style is crimped. I’ve long expected too much from my saintly wife Lucille. JESSE JAMES was one of the great films of the past ten years, and it’s incredibly popular in the blogging community (as well it should be). Agreed on Affleck and Deakins and I’ll add that haunting new age score by Cave and Ellis. Great film!
Thanks again my friend for the splendid report!
Good morning, Sam!
Sounds like you had another great, film and theatre packed weekend. “Tree of Life” is opening in the city here next week, “Midnight in Paris” has opened in the city and a couple of outlying arthouse theatres, and I’m very anxious to see both. Love Buster Keaton, although my experience of him is limited to “The General” and “Sherlock Jr.”
I actually HAVE udpated my blog recently, with two new posts this weekend. Doodad Kind of Town has a new focus and purpose, and I’m the process of revamping its look – check it out when you have a “spare moment” – ha!
Very excited about the upcoming Top 50 Musicals series, so I started brushing up on old, long-unseen favorites this weekend. To my delight, I found that my cable company’s OnDemand service has a treasure trove of classic musicals for instant viewing, and I was able to start with the best of Astaire and Rogers – saw “Swing Time” on Saturday, and plan to watch “Top Hat” tonight. Also on On Demand, we watched “The Perfect Host,” a creepy, twisty thriller with a deliciously demented performance by David Hyde Pierce – it debuted at Sundance last year and is on its way to theatres soon. My other viewing for the weekend was “The Clock,” the class Vincente Minelli wartime romance with Judy Garland and Rober Walker (beautiful!) and a second viewing of “Bridesmaids,” which I’ve written about on my blog.
Music to my ears Pat–Music to my ears!!!! Talk about motivating language–you are really pumped, and my heart is racing just reading this. Great way to launch the revisitations with the Astairs (I haven’t watched those in years!) SWING TIME specifically seems agreat first choice! I have some ideas which I’ll soon be sharing with you by e mail (this week for sure) and I’m sure you’ll be posed some titles. The preparation for this poll will be thrilling.
I’ve never seen THE PERFECT HOST, but it sounds intriguing. (david Hyde Pierce is a fine actor) and have seen THE CLOCK, a good Minnelli romance.
I suspect you’ll like MIDNIGHT IN PARIS more than I did, although I still liked it, and appreciated the atmospherics in the rain, and much of teh screenplay. I can’t wait to hear what you say about THE TREE OF LIFE!
I read that extraordinary review of BRIDESMAIDS at the resurrected DOODAD KIND OF TOWN blog, and will momentarily read the Woody Allen post.
Here’s the link of Pat’s newest post:
http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-im-back-and-why-you-should-see_30.html
Thanks my friend for this wonderous contribution!!!
Sam, thanks so much for the awesome mention!
I still need to see the Malick. It’s not quite here yet. And I’m immensely jealous of the Keaton fest. If I were in the NYC area, I would want to hook up with you for a good amount of those.
As a tennis fan, it’s a good time as the French Open nears its final few rounds. And we were blessed with really fortunate weather here in Shreveport this past Memorial Day Weekend.
This week I saw: Sembene’s BLACK GIRL, WHALE RIDER, THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, THE RISE OF LOUIS XIV, Resnais’ LA GUERRE EST FINIE, and 2 OR 3 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER. I was very happy to see them all but think I was most struck by the Rossellini. He’s long been one of my ten or so favorite directors, and I continue to be fascinated by the way he unfolds stories in his languid, austere way and still finds ways to pack them with a stout, emotional punch.
Here’s to another wonderful week, Sam. Thanks for all that you do!
Jeffrey: I know you are a major silent film fan, and would be spendinga good part of your time in the Big Apple in the Film Forum if you were here. I do hope to meet you up here one day, hopefully at an opening to one of your films! THE GENERAL is my favorite Keaton film, so I guess it’s downhill from now on! Ha!
Just kidding. There are no less than a half-dozen features and the same number of shorts that I am looking forward to on the remaining ten weeks of the twelve week (Mondays) schedule. It’s been a gas that the kids are loving it too.
I love the words there you use to frame the Rossellini. Perfect.
Thanks again for the magnificent wrap my friend. Great that you enjoyed the French weather in fine weather down in the Bayou!
That Rossellini is a very great film, and can’t blame you for tabbing it as the favorite of yet another stacked deck. I am not the biggest Godard fan in the world, but 2 OR THREE THINGS is one of about four or five films by him I regard as a masterwork. The Bunuel is a staggering masterpiece, and the Resnais is pretty much the same. I always liked WHALE RIDER and think Sembene is the greatest African director. BLACK GIRL is one of his bets films, though I’d say MOOLAADE is his absolutely tops. I love CAMP DE THIAROYE quite a bit too.
Coming a year (?) after the Chaplin Festival, the Keaton venue confirms the Film Forum’s dedication to silent cinema, and the comedic icons in particular. It must have been something to have a few of your kids in the audience for the inter-active show. Your energy never ceases to amaze me.
I’ve never heard of that Tennessee Williams play. Looks like his admirers would be well advised to catch it before it closes.
Correct Frank! You have a good memory. The Chaplin Festival was staged last August and ran for three full weeks including the one week for THE CIRCUS. The Film Forum does have a fondness for the silent clowns, and have featured the two major players in the past too. I’m hoping they’ll do Lloyd soon. Having Sammy and Danny is the most thrilling aspect of the festival for me, and they again seemed to have a great time with a Keaton feature. THE GENERAL of course is a masterpiece, and THE BLACKSMITH am exceptional short.
Few have heard of the Williams play, and it was fortunate it was staged.
Thanks again my friend for the very kind words!
I’d like to see them do the Marx Brothers, now that they’ve given W.C. Fields his due.
Hey Sam! Thanks for the shout-out. Glad you dug TREE OF LIFE. I’m hoping to see it mid-June and plan to write about it on my blog. Can’t wait!
J.D.:
You know I would LOVE to see the film reviewed at your blog. I know you will bring many new insights to the table, and as always you’ll be super-comprehensive. I am also figuring on a very big reaction. Thanks as always my very good friend!
Sam, I’m depraved on account of I’m deprived. With Tree of Life not due for another few weeks and Meek’s Cutoff not arriving in town as scheduled, I was left to my own devices this long weekend, and to celebrate Memorial Day I took out Mill Creek Entertainment’s Combat Clasics box set and took a world tour of war. Stops included North Africa by way of Italy (Bitto Albertini’s War Devils), Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia (Hajrudin Krvavac’s Battle of the Eagles) and occupied Holland by way of Great Britain (The Archers’ One of Our Aircraft is Missing). Yes, that’s Powell & Pressburger (and Lean & Neame for technical overkill) in a public-domain box set, but the film is really a slick trifle, just as propagandistic if not as preposterous as Battle of the Eagles, in which a “partisan air force” of two biplanes consistently routs superior German forces in consistently explosive fashion for the glory of Marshal Tito. By comparison, War Devils had no axes to grind and, as an unpretentious action film at least kept the screen busy. I wandered away from Mill Creek long enough to check out Sam Fuller’s The Steel Helmet, which I liked for its unpredictable take on its tough-sarge hero. Finally, to clean my palate yesterday I indulged in the Albany Public Library’s copy of Lu Chin-ku’s Holy Flame of the Martial World, a berserk extravaganza of special effects filmed with almost irresistible enthusiasm and a wee bit of self-mocking humor. More on this later. Now I’ll read your review of the Malick.
I hear ya Samuel! That’s rather odd that MEEK’S CUTOFF is taking it’s time, though with THE TREE OF LIFE, I’m sure it will be with you within a week. I love the way you present your “tour” here, naming the “stops” with the titles of the films! I have seen that Powell & Pressburger, but not the others I’m afraid. I agree when there is no axe to grind this kind of genre film can work more effectively.
Did you know Samuel, that in addition to the a proctor of the “western film” we are looking for someone to chair the “greatest war films” countdown? Ha! My own favorite war films? I’ll propose a dozen in no particular order: (didn’t include “overlap” films like SCHINDLER’S LIST)
All Quiet on the Western Front
La Grande Illusion
Come and See
Paths of Glory
The Thin Red Line
The Ascent
The Big Parade
Downfall
Apocalypse Now
Glory
Forbidden Games
Potemkin
Don’t mind me, this is off the top of my head. I never heard of Chin-ku’s film (love your description there! Ha!), but think quite a bit of STEEL HELMUT.
I hope you get a crack at THE TREE OF LIFE very soon. Thanks as always my friend for the engaging, impassioned wrap!
Coupled with your full review (WOW!), your additional statement of:
“…suffice it to say here the experience is practically life-changing”
has me anxious to be seated in a big theater — NOW!
Thanks again Laurie for the double-barrel support, and one both threads today as well. I appreciate it exceedingly!
Yes,you have once again pealed away the gauze to point to the most vital statements, or at least the most eye-opening. I know one can toss around the ‘life changing’ comments without elaborating effectively, and I would pose here that Malick’s film has me re-evaluating my own beliefs. He has me thinking again. he has me pondering the strength or lack thereof of what I’ve felt through my life.
When a film or any work of art can do that you know you are in the face of greatness.
I do hope you will get the opportunity to see this very soon my friend! Thanks again!
Thanks a lot Sam for the good words.
This weekend has been really good for me. Saturday was especially special, not only because we met and interacted with some of the students enrolling to my institute this summer, but more so thanks to the Football (Soccer) Champions League final. It was really gratifying to see Barcelona giving a hapless Manchester United side a lesson on how to play football.
Anyway, my internship got over today. So I’m heading to home for a couple of weeks. Hope to have a grand time before our classes begin during the mid of June.
Geez, Shubhajit, it seems even Allan was satirically dismissing Manchester United, and he’s a native. Barcelona is a popular squad and most feel they deserved the championship. You, Jamie, Allan and Sachin have sized up this year’s final quite insightfully.
Enjoy those two weeks off before classes resume. This is precious time for you. You really have been a sterling example to all of how one can successfully burn the candle from both ends. Amazing.
Thanks as always for stopping by. We’ll talk soon my friend!
Sam J. ~
Hotter than Georgia asphalt here in Ohio with everyone hibernating in the great air-conditioned indoors. 95 degrees today.
Well, I see the Malick devotees (you too, huh?) are singing in full-throated chorus over THE TREE OF LIFE this weekend, though the film doesn’t open in these parts until June 10th. Instead I had to content myself with THE NEW WORLD, that combination of Indian rites, Puritanism and the myths of THE GOLDEN BOUGH I guess, magic, religion and cultural anthropology — “the melancholy record of human error and folly” from time immemorial stretching toward infinity. But this is only conjecture because Malick’s scenario is so vaguely allusive that it’s hard to tell what his meanings and source materials are. How many times does Captain Smith beat death for a symbolic resurrection? Too many. So I remain for now one of the benighted when it comes to Malick, still steadfast in the anti-Malick camp. So much specious beauty and a reputation that continues to baffle. Maybe THE TREE OF LIFE will change all that, but based on Malick’s current filmography hope shivers.
Here’s a hoot-and-a-half. THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN ~ Carnevale in Spain. That mad window dresser von Sternberg uses the theme of sexual humiliation to pile on so much latticework, wrought iron, jalousie and Spanish lace as to instill in the viewer a sense of claustrophobia and voyeurism. As the she-devil an insanely upholstered Dietrich stamps around like Lady Gaga in a Rimsky-Korsakov capriccio. Inspired nuttiness. LMOA.
Going to delve into THE GOLDEN BOUGH further, will be back later.
Sam, your review does make THE TREE OF LIFE sound very interesting. Stubborn myopia on my part? Dislike hardened into blindness? Could be.
Later ~
Mark–we have been socked with some hot ones too over the past week, but nothing near 95. Not yet at least. But air-conditioning is indeed the only way to go under those conditions.
Whether I agree with you or not on THE NEW WORLD, I can only sit back and marvel at the amazing way you size it all up. Well, I can see why Malick is devisive in the sense that he can be seen just as easily pretentious as profound. This is applicable to all his work with the exception of BADLANDS, methinks, but I would be hard-pressed to qualify that statement. (Ha! I won’t unless I’m challenged!) I can’t ask any more from you. You haven’t offered any kind of flimsey dismissal. No, on the contrary, you are most persuasive. Yet I feel differently to the extreme. Malick has reached the depths of my spiritual being, and I don”t necessarily mean spiritual as in religious. He’s offered some questions and given us no real answers (Bergman and Antonioni used teh same tact, though comparing these in any other way of course would be preposterous) and he’s dug deeper than most, using an array of daazling devices to stimulate our most intense feelings and sensibilities. But one would have to feel it. it’s that simple. You don’t, which is fair enough. Let’s see what happens with THE TREE OF LIFE. I would not say it’s any kind of myopia. This is the conclusion you’ve come to on his earlier films, and your framed the reasons superlatively.
LOL on what you say there about A DEVIL IS A WOMAN!!! Classic!!
Look forward to what you say about THE GOLDEN BOUGH!
Thanks as always for the spectacular comment my friend!
Yes, I think there’s more mystery and awe in Bergman’s spider-God than in all of Malick’s sun-dappled tree worship.
For a meditation on the meaning of life I think I prefer Monty Python (The meaning of life is there is no meaning. So relax, read a book. And now we’re going to show you completely gratuitous photos of penises). Nabokov said it, and Anthony Lane repeats it in his review of ‘The Tree of Life.’ The difference between the comic and the cosmic is the letter ‘s.’ Malick should ease up (Bergman should have, too, in a couple of his more dour works). Making a film is not the same thing as editing ‘The Essence of Reason.’
PS: ‘Wonders’ is slowly converting me to ‘Barry Lyndon.’ I watched it again and, indeed, it becomes more mesmeric with time.
Mark……I’m a recent convert too, thanks to Sam and Allan’s high praise.
Well Mark, I love THE MEANING OF LIFE too (especially Mr. Creosote!) and all Bergman, but I hear what you are saying here.
What you are saying about the Lyndon transformation is music to my ears!
Sam, Mr. Lyndon is now snapping at Premiere Kissoff’s rear end in the Kubrick canon. I never thought it could happen.
Later, my friend
First up, ‘One Arm’…a thoroughly engaging production of a Williams teleplay that just makes you crave for more of his less familiar work. Short (85 minutes) and entertaining with an abundance of strong performances under the taut direction of Moises Kaufman. Thank you, New Group.
Moving on to ‘The Tree of Life’….well, let’s just say that mid-way through I wanted to vacate the theatre (but I was in the middle of the row). Boring (yet beautiful in select parts) beyond belief and torturous to sit through (still can’t believe that I stayed awake). An endless (coming in around 2:15) meditation on family, faith and loss intertwined (haphazardly) against the history of Earth. I wasn’t sure if I was watching a National Geographic special or a highlight reel of Pitt and Penn. Dialogue??? Minimal and more effective than the endless narrative drivel. Some call it a visual and life altering masterpiece, I think of it as empty with too many unanswered questions with no true focus.
Finally, it was a pleasure to meet Bob Clark and to share a good meal and terrific conversation. 🙂
Bob, I am completely with you on that fine framing of the ONE ARM staging.
You do an excellent job conveying your feelings on THE TREE OF LIFE. You certainly are not alone.
Many thanks for sharing here my friend!
I’ll get the ammo, you fire the gun (“I was feeding you, Jack. Wasn’t I? I was feeding you”).
no more than ten to twenty million killed tops…..
Hello Sam and everyone who lurks into the wonders of the dark. Thank you Sam, once again, for featuring my humble content on your blogroll, which everyday turns more and more essential as weeks go by, there’s real talent showcased here!
You had a spectacular week and a great review to put it all together. You meeting Monsieur Bob Clark makes me want to hang out with you guys, I know you people work and all, and maybe I’ll have to do that as well, but man, having a good time and enjoying life is one of my priorities right now (even if I have to work like a donkey to get to that part).
I, pretty much, want to see every movie you saw last week, the Keatons, the Tree of Life and the new Woody Allen film. I look forward to them all.
My week…. ugh… I’m so tired right now. I’ve been working forward to the TV Pilot I have to shoot this weekend and I’ve been just in that, almost. Monday, I had my first script advisory (yay), something people may make money of, but I didn’t just yet, since I’m working on the project (it’s from some friends at the university) but I swear to God this will be the last thing I do for free.
Tuesday I managed to see my girlfriend. Wednesday I went to my high school and got paid (but the money won’t be around for a while) to show students of the school how my university is the best in the world (it isn’t but, hey, they paid me to say that). Friday I managed to act in a play for charity, and saturday I was able to see my girl.
So, anyway, my week filmwise:
– Carl Th. Dreyer, my Metier (1995, Torben Skjødt Jensen) **** Documentary on a director I’ve yet have to discover fully, it made me want to see his films, they look specially interesting in every way. It also makes you reflect on the office of directors and how much planning is going behind every single little shot of it.
– Girl Crazy (1932, William A. Seiter) *** I reviewed this at my Sam Flick Picks, which finished last week, check it out people! It’s quite nice!
– The Hangover Part II (2011, Todd Phillips) *** Did I expect something good? No. Did I expect something funny? Kinda. Did I laugh? No. But Bangkok looks great, and that’s about the only thing that kept me seeing it. It’s not as good (****) as the first one, but I don’t think that was mana from heaven either, I think black comedy like “World’s Greatest Dad” (2009) is the way comedy should go for USA.
– Hollywood Ending (2002, Woody Allen) ***1/2 Not awful, as many people would like to name it, an actual accurate portrait of how a movie is made and quite a satire as well, but not as funny as you’d expect. It could’ve been acid, but it moved slower in parts it should’ve been faster.
– Jewel BEM Hunter Lime (1996, Tetsuro Amino) ***1/2 I saw this OVA Anime just to understand a videogame in my last videogame entry at my blog, but it was useless to do so, since it was virtually unplayable. Still, the anime was entertaining, even if it had some used tropes and such panty stealers and oversexualized characters: usual in anime.
– Too Big to Fail (2011, Curtis Hanson) **** HBO TV Movie that manages to take a hard subject and make it somewhat simple. While not entirely succesful, it carries a good amount of performances to make it a must-see in something (whatever it is).
Well Sam, have a good week!
I love my new name.
I love it myself Bob!!! Ha!!!!
Isn’t it just fancier? I love it as well.
Yep Jaimie, it was a great gathering there with Monsieur Clark, who is quite a talker, and a brilliant fella in person. Well, much like he is on the site. Thanks for the very kind words about the review, and about the memorable weekend. If you were up here you most definitely would have been part of it. Ah, maybe one day my friend……
I must say I got quite a laugh reading how you were “paid” to say that your university is the best in the world!!! hahahaha!!! Well, I agree with you that you must find employment that pays, and that you have indeed paid your dues for much too long a time. No wonder you are spent! Great that you at least got to see your girlfriend on Tuesday (and Saturday), after that demanding session at school on Monday!
I didn’t realize you hadn’t seen the Keatons. Well, there is a way to remedy that. I can’t say when Malick’s film will be down in Santiago, but alas there will be other “ways” to see it.
That is a solid documentary on Dreyer, which is on the Criterion set. He is indeed one of the cinma’s greatest artists, and three of films (PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, DAY OF WRATH and ORDET) are masterpieces). I am sure in time you will probably see him as one of the supreme masters.
GIRL CRAZY deserves what you give it here, and I did indeed read your very fine review weeks back.
Lucille liked that first HANGOVER quite a bit, and thought the second a little better than others, so your *** rating would be perfect with her. I still haven’t seen either. i haven’t seen the Hanson nor Almino (interesting capsules there) but HOLLYWOOD ENDING would get about the same from me.
I do hope you get some rest in the coming week; you are driving yourself to a frenzy. As always spectacular wrap my friend!
Another great week for you Sam. I would have loved to hop a flight and make my way to New York for some Keaton. There is nothing like watching Keaton in a theater with a large audience. The roars of laughter in his movies are some of the loudest and most genuine I’ve ever heard in a movie.
I just saw The Tree of Life today, but I am going to withhold my opinion for the moment. I need to let my reactions stew a little bit. I will say, however, that I completely agree with you on “Midnight in Paris.” It was genial enough, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. I also saw the second Hangover movie. I guess I laughed a few times, but wow — it was so creatively bankrupt. They didn’t even bother trying to make a sequel. It’s a remake through and through.
I am wrapping up 1940 on my site so in the lull between 1940 and 1941 I want to try and catch up on all the new releases I haven’t written anything on. I keep telling myself to make the essays short, but they keep getting longer and longer. Does that mean I’m a blowhard?
Jason, I know you are a huge Keaton fan, and would have put those screenings front and center if you were here in the Big Apple. Perhaps someday, and I’ll be here to roll out the red carpet for you!
Let’s see. You are witholding your opinion on THE TREE OF LIFE. What shall I make of that? I am figuring a split judgement, but let’s see what you come up with. Glad to hear we’re on the same page with the Allen, which I like but don’t hold up on a pedestal. Ironically my favorite Woodman film of recent years is WHATEVER WORKS, which most critics dismissed.
No you are not a blowhard. You are a pumped up passionate guy! The 1940’s countdown has been quite superlative, and you’ve certainly earned that catch-up break.
I am avoiding HANGOVER 2, much as I avoided the first! Ha!
Thanks for the terrific wrap my friend!
I join you as one of the few who also liked “Whatever Works.” I was somewhat surprised by the extreme negative reactions to it. I thought it was pretty funny.
Sam, do you have any intentions of seeing the Broadway play “Jerusalem?” It’s a Tony award nominee, and it’s received strong notices.
I know you are not going to believe this but I have just had the most harrowing experience of my life since I was almost burnt at the stake at St. John the Baptist school for asking Louis Martinez to borrow his eraser in the sixth grade.
This wonderful eatery of yours (the Hilltop Diner) is doing quite poorly through no fault of it’s own. It is Obama’s failure to punish the Wall Street bankers and make the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, not to mention letting three or four wars to go on simultaneously to make the oil companies happy that is keeping people out of the joint.
How can one go out to eat in this present economy (fuel prices hello!) enough to keep a place like the Hilltop Diner above water? They have even resorted to making deliveries like the doomed “The Point”.
What they tried to do to me though reprehensible is understandable in the present circumstances.
I completely blame Barack Hussein Obama that I was almost killed, butchered, cooked and served by the desperate management and staff of The Hilltop Diner.
As usual I had to move my car at 7:50 Saturday morning so as not to get a $30 citation from the parasites who unfortunately hold me in bondage because I didn’t take high school seriously enough to get into college to get a business degree or some other degree which could have landed me a decent job that would have gotten me my own driveway along with a house of my own house of course. But I really don’t mind renting, being one of the proletariat so to speak…however I loathe that dirty cocksucker who struts up Garfield Street at ten to eight every morning to make everyone’s life a little bit more miserable. I am in trouble with this son of a whore…I don’t know…I’m sure he knew that I was mocking him by throwing my shoulders out as if I were a well built United States Marine drill Sgt. I was only imitating him…that was how he was walking towards Anderson Avenue in his shit brown uniform Friday morning. I was out there getting ready to go to work. I flexed my bicep muscles like a body builder in a competition would and then I pretended I was writing a ticket…I mimed it you know? It was clearly an act of disrespect for this pile of offal.
Anyway, I get to the Hilltop at about a minute to eight and even I was surprised that there were no other cars in the parking lot. For a second I thought they were closed for some reason but then I noticed that the door to the foyer was wide open so they must be too. The gay, bald waiter was there but I was lead to a table by a young Hispanic (20 or 21) lady whom I supposed was the hostess. She was the most gorgeous, sexy young woman I have ever had the pleasure to breathe the same air as. I was shocked when she sat down with me and even more so when she made this speech, when she made this confession: “I know you are going to think this is completely crazy but I have fallen madly in love with you, and I had to let you know as soon as possible or totally lose my mind.”
Had she been unattractive I would have said: “Yes you are totally insane, get away from me or I’ll call the manager.”
But since I had already fallen in love with her I played along like a sap.
“What are we going to do about it?” I asked her.
“Come into the kitchen with me,” she whispered.
“But won’t the manager get angry?”
“He’s not here yet…I’m the interim manager so to speak.”
Suddenly I was aware of the bald, gay waiter behind me and the next thing I knew I was being chloroformed. I woke up evidently in the kitchen, naked, spread eagle on my back bound to a huge wooden butcher’s block…the beautiful girl was absent but the gay, bald waiter was standing over me with a very sharp looking butcher’s knife. He put the knife down for a second and started drawing on me with a red sharpie.
I was gagged so I couldn’t ask him what the fuck he thought he was doing. I look at myself now…he wrote “pork chops!” across my belly…and “short ribs” on my chest…the man was a psycho. Luckily for me the Fairview Police were trying to locate me because that dirty cocksucker who tickets my car all the time had signed a Federal complaint against me under a little known clause of the Patriot Act that provides for abject veneration for anyone wearing a shit brown uniform.
Thank Bog for that turd or I’d be today’s special!