by Sam Juliano
June continues, leaving behind some torrential rains and some seasonal temperatures. Graduations, proms and summer programs are on the horizon in area school districts, while in the private industry vacations are fast approaching. While movie lovers can look ahead to high profile Cannes releases, a number of highly-regarded independent films are competing for attention with the commercial fodder, at a time when movie greatness is normally elusive.
The western countdown draws closer, though there are still about seven weeks left for prospective voters to finalize their Top 60 choices. Eight (8) ballots have been submitted to this point according to Voting Tabulator Extraordinaire Angelo A. D’Arminio Jr. who again will be compiling the numbers in early August to determine the 60 films that will be receiving full essays by a host of writers, in assignments to be firmed up when the totals are sorted.
Lucille and I watched three movies in theaters and one as an HBO on demand exclusive at home. We saw:
Wish You Were Here *** (Saturday night) Landmark
Mozart’s The Magic Flute **** 1/2 (Sunday) Chelsea Cinemas
Behind the Candelabra *** 1/2 (Thursday) HBO on demand
Floating Weeds (1959) **** (Sunday) Ozu Festival at Film Forum
I am planning to pen a full review on Kenneth Branagh’s ravishing adaptation of Mozart’s immortal final opera THE MAGIC FLUTE for later in the week, but for now I’ll say I was blown away by this imaginative World War I set updating of the opera with the catchiest tunes and I do think that both Stephen Frye and Branagh did a fabulous, extraordinary job in translating Mozart and librettist Ennanuele Schikaneder employing the phantasmogoric playbook of Julie Taymor. The Masonic context was cut, but Mozart’s glorious score is intact and listening to the great orchestration and sublime vocals I was elevated to emotional heights, while finding yet another reason to find this masterpiece as one of the great accomplishments of western culture. Branagh was incredulous when asked about the opera film this past week, as it was really made back in 2006, but only now has finally received a US opening in selected theaters, with an encore set up for this coming Tuesday. The Region 1 DVD will be released on Thursday, and needless to say my order is in. The film’s June 2013 theatrical release means that it will count for this year despite the five-year hiatus.
Steven Soderbergh’s BEHIND THE CANDELABRA has been winning some superlative notices from critics and audiences, and I’m willing to join in for the most part, though I didn’t feel it probed all that deep and was rather conventionally crafted. Still, there are some stylish moments and the two lead performances By Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as his younger lover are often electrifying.
Naturalistic dialogue and taut performances partially redeem the rather disjointed and convoluted Australian thriller WISH YOU WERE HERE, though all the major characters are sympathetic. Ozu’s 1959 FLOATING WEEDS, a re-make of his 1934 THE STORY OF FLOATING WEEDS boats some glorious color cinematography from the legendary Kazuo Miyagawa.
Some Links have been updated:
Weeping Sam offers up his Top Ten favorite Beatles songs at The Listening Ear in an irresistible post by the rock specialist: http://listeningear.blogspot.com/2013/06/beatles-top-ten.html
John Greco has posted a fabulous review of Ford’s celebrated western “My Darling Clementine” at Twenty Four Frames: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/my-darling-clementine-1946-john-ford/
Tony d’Ambra has penned a terrific review of the ‘last of the B movies’ “The Burglar” at FilmsNoir.net: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/the-burglar-1957-the-last-b-movie.html
Shubhajit Lahiri has posted a superlative review on Sergio Leone’s “Duck You Sucka” at Cinemascope: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.com/2013/06/duck-you-sucker-fistful-of-dynamites.html
Samuel Wilson has written an excellent essay on the 1972 western “Ulzana’s Raid” at Mondo 70: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2013/06/ulzanas-raid-1972.html
Joel Bocko has posted one of his great pieces from two years back, “The Flight of the Red Balloon” at The Dancing Image: http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2009/11/flight-of-red-balloon.html
Dee Dee’s ‘Ning’ is currently featuring a lead post on the 1947 noir classic “Nightmare Alley”: http://filmnoire.ning.com/video/nightmare-alley-1947-parte-1
Laurie Buchanan leads up with a fabulous post titled “The Cat That Ate the Canary” at Speaking From The Heart: http://tuesdayswithlaurie.com/2013/05/28/the-cat-that-ate-the-canary/
Judy Geater leads up at Movie Classics with a terrific review of Frank Capra’s “It Happened One Night”: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/it-happened-one-night-1934/
Jon Warner has posted another excellent essay at Films Worth Watching on Rossellini’s “Journey To Italy”: http://filmsworthwatching.blogspot.com/2013/06/journey-to-italy-1953-directed-by.html
Craig Kennedy has posted a terrific review of Josh Whedon’s Shakespeare adaptation “Much Ado About Nothing” at Living in Cinema: http://livingincinema.com/2013/06/09/much-ado-about-nothing-2013/
At the ever-ravishing Creativepotager’s blog Terrill Welch treats her readers to more ravishments in the name of roses: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/sunday-roses-in-june-at-la-casa-de-inspiracion/
Marilyn Ferdinand has penned a fabulous review on Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” at Ferdy on Films: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2013/the-great-gatsby-2013/18611/
Jeffrey Goodman glowingly features R.E.M.’s “Reckoning” at The Last Lullaby: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/the-burglar-1957-the-last-b-movie.html
Weeping Sam has a post-Memorial Day song list up at The Listening Ear that incldes two CCR gems: http://listeningear.blogspot.com/2013/05/friday-five-post-holiday-edition.html
Patricia Hamilton’s latest post at Patricia’s Wisdom is a fabulous review of the novel “The Lemon Tree”: http://patriciaswisdom.com/2013/06/the-lemon-tree-an-arab-a-jew-and-the-heart-of-the-middle-east-sandy-tolan/
Dean Treadway has a fantastic display of 70 double-feature movie posters up at Filmicability: http://filmicability.blogspot.com/2013/05/i-love-double-feature-movie-posters.html
David Schleicher examines J.J. Abrams’s latest “Star Trek” film at The Schleicher Spin, and the verdict in an excellently-penned review isn’t bad at all: http://theschleicherspin.com/2013/05/20/do-ya-do-ya-want-my-khan-the-shiny-happy-people-of-j-j-abrams-star-trek/#comment-27317
Sachin Gandhi features a stupendous post on the Cinema of Neveldine/Taylor at Scribbles and Ramblings: http://likhna.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-cinema-of-neveldinetaylor.html
J.D. LaFrance at Radiator Heaven has started up a fascinating new series on film critics who inspired him, with the celebrated Harlan Ellison as his first subhject: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2013/05/film-critic-hall-of-fame-harlan-ellison.html
The exceptional writer Andrew Katsis has a terrific essay on “Casablanca””’ up at Dee Dee’s place Darkness Into Light: http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/2013/04/heres-looking-at-you-kidas-my-writer.html
Jaimie Grijalba has penned an excellent review of the Argentinian “Mujer Lobo” at Overlook’s Corridor: http://overlookhotelfilm.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/argentinian-cinema-2013-4-mujer-lobo-2013/
Murderous Ink at Vermillion and One Nights has written another extraordinary essay, this time on Yosujiro Shimazu’s 1931 “Love, Be With Humanity””: http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2013/05/love-be-with-humanity-1931.html
One of the best writers out there, the incomparable Ed Howard is still working at an impressive pace at Only The Cinema, with his latest post on the silent classic “Golem”: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-golem-1920.html
Jason Bellamy tackles Malick’s To the Wonder in typically spectacular form at The Cooler: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2013/04/penrose-stairs-to-wonder.html
Paddy Mullholland has penned another excellent “Hidden Treasures” installment at Screen on Screen: http://screenonscreen.blogspot.com/2013/05/hidden-treasures-all-about-lily-chou.html
Trailer for THE MAGIC FLUTE:
Excellent trailer. I have to get a copy of this DVD. That young kid looks like Mark Lester from Oliver!
I should be able to help with that Frank! Ha! Have a great week my friend!
Sam, your brief assessment of the Liberace film is about the same as mine. I found it entertaining, well done and nicely acted — not a masterpiece but quite watchable. I’m still maneuvering my busy schedule to catch Gatsby sometime this week. More later….
Pierre—Happy to hear we are on the same page with BEHIND THE CANDELABRA. I didn’t see a probing study, but those were two absolutely extraordinary performances, which goes a very long way in a biopic. I look forward to your response to GATSBY my friend. Have a peaceful week!
Great news on Branagh’s Mozart film Sam. Opera films are rare and ones approaching this level rarer still. I can’t believe it took five years for the film to open in theaters. I am thinking you’ll be very active at the Ozu Festival.
Yes the opera film is one of the rarest genres, and it’s great to get a film of such high quality but a long-time favorite. (Branagh). Of course THE MAGIC FLUTE is sublime no matter how many times you see and hear it. I have seen all the Ozu films multiple times, but there are several I will be attending. Stay tuned. Thanks as always my friend!
Sam –
With the high praise you gave THE MAGIC FLUTE, it’s clearly been added to our must-see list!
I want to see BEHIND THE CANDELABRA if only for the heavy-hitting cast: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Rob Lowe, and Debbie Reynolds — Holy Toledo!
A sure sign of summer, we’re starting to dip into the humidity end of the pool in our neck of the woods; it sounds like you guys have been there for awhile.
Have a wonderful week!
Laurie—-
I’m thinking you and Len will be enraptured by Mozart’s melodic masterpiece in revisionist mode! And I will soon be in contact with you about it! Yes, the performers are what make BEHIND THE CANDELABRA essential viewing even if it is not the earth-shattering masterpiece some are making claim on. But it’s strong drama, and it’s subjects are fascinating. Yes, that humidity has been felt here already. We had heavy rain today with more predicted for tomorrow, after four of five previous days were drenchers. Very strange to say the least. Have a great week my friend. Many thanks as always!
Sam, I can see a more enterprising distributor promoting Magic Flute as “from the director of THOR.” With that title you might draw a fantasy audience, though you might want to take cover once they’re in the theater.
So I’ve started watching more westerns. You’ll see a review of Silver Lode right under Ulzana, which I’d actually seen long ago but cut up for television. This weekend I took advantage of TCM to take another look at The Far Country, which holds up pretty well. I trust it counts as a western despite the Alaskan setting. Saw some other things, too. John Irwin’s The Outfit is a Richard Stark story dedicated to the premise that heist guys are tougher than full-time gangsters. Don’t know if I buy that but the picture was entertaining enough. J. Walter Ruben’s Success at any Price could be called Mad Men of 1934; Fairbanks jr. impresses as a perpetually disgruntled figure who rises from the bottom to power in advertising, but it looks like a happy ending was tacked onto a very bleak original finish. Meanwhile, I tried to watch Louis Malle’s Thief of Paris, but TCM’s print was fullscreen and dully dubbed, and it looked like the original was pretty dull anyway. Too bad about that.
Hope to have something to say about Superman soon. Look up on the blog when the time comes….
Samuel—
hahahahaha!!!! Love that comment about the ‘more enterprising distributor!!!” True, when Branagh isn’t doing the Bard and Mozart he has often crossed the line in a big way! I will indeed be taking a look at your SILVER LODE review and have noticed you’ve been going after the western genre with a vengeance as of late, even with the most prolific track record of any single blogger or person I know when it comes to this ever-entertaining genre. I agree that THE FAR COUNTRY holds up, even if it is on balance less than the other Mann-Stewart collaborations. I would like to watch it again myself, and I do own the DVD. Have not seen THE OUTFIT nor than Malle film that was badly presented. That is one of the only films by the distinguished French director I have not yet discovered. Yep the countdown for SUPERMAN in underway and as a big fan of the original series since childhood I am on board for it. Have a great week my prolific friend! Many thanks as always.
Sam, I saw ‘Behind the Candelabra’ yesterday at the cinema – as you will know, it is getting a full theatrical release in Europe despite being premiered on TV in the US. The showing I went to was packed and I thought it made a strong impact on the big screen, especially some of the showier scenes with Douglas on stage, like the wild camp of the final sequence. Paul and I both liked it a lot and thought that both Douglas and Damon (who was almost unrecognisable, and you would never have thought he was 40!) were excellent, while Rob Lowe had a great cameo as the plastic surgeon who seemed to have treated himself rather too much! Must agree with your comment that the story is rather ‘conventionally crafted’, but, all the same, I thought Douglas was compelling and it’s a shame he won’t get an Oscar nom because of the bizarre situation with the cinema release only in Europe.
That’s the only film I’ve seen in the past week, but I am working my way through the box set of 1980s TV mini-series ‘Fortunes of War’ starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, who are both excellent, though Ronald Pickup rather steals the show as an eccentric aristocrat on the scrounge. I’m mainly used to seeing Pickup in more recent elderly roles, so was startled to see just how handsome he is in this. That’s the shame of it with actors who mainly work on TV – their earlier work so often seems to disappear, whereas cinema films of the same vintage are preserved. Anyway, Sam, thanks for the kind mention of my blog, which I haven’t updated for ages due to the demands of my new job, and here’s wishing a good week to all.
PS, I’ve just checked and Branagh’s ‘Magic Flute’ was released in the UK in 2007, but I don’t remember it appearing in my area. I am intrigued by your comments on this one, Sam, and will aim to see it on DVD, though my knowledge of opera is extremely lacking!
Judy, I’m glad you liked the Liberace movie and agree with you about the performances of the 2 leads. How did you like Debbie Reynolds in her small but important role? I myself thought she did quite well at underplaying in a noticeable sort of way. 🙂
Pierre, I’ll jump in on your question to Judy as we await her response by saying I agree with you for sure on the memorable turn here from Reynolds!
Judy—I never knew the film was showing theatrically in the U.K. That is the ultimate way to see it, and for all intents and purposes an enhancement. As I have stated to others on this thread the two leads were electrifying, with Douglas’ work a complete surprise. Rob Lowe was great too, yes! Too bad the film won’t be getting awards consideration, and surprised US distributors didn’t follow the lead of their European counterparts. FORTUNES OF WAR is great indeed! I did figured you were busy with your new position and that’s quite understandable. I can’t thank you enough for your remarkable friendship and loyalty to WitD! Have a great week my friend!
Pierre, I like your description of Reynolds “underplaying in a noticeable sort of way” – sums it up perfectly. I agree she was good in the role – I’d actually forgotten it was her at first!
Sam, it actually looks as if ‘Behind the Candelabra’ is getting a theatrical release not only in Europe, but just about everywhere except the US, judging by this report from the Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hbo-sells-theatrical-rights-behind-560647
I suppose as HBO put up the money that must be why it can’t get a theatrical release there, but it seems a pity.
Wow Judy, a most ironic development, and no doubt a result of HBO’s control of the situation stateside. A theatrical run would have been great if it preceded the television debut. Ah well. Thanks for sending this telling info my friend.
From what I read, getting financing as a U.S. feature release was too difficult. HBO was willing. . . . It’s all about the money.
Pierre, I must say your report does not surprise me at all, and makes perfect sense.
Hello Sam and everyone!
Well, looks like a great week that you had there! I’ve seen “Behind the Candelabra” and I liked it quite a bit, rating it **** for me, and I’ve also seen Floating Weeds, and I find it gorgeous in its color cinematography as well as how it plays with the plot of the original film, I rate it ****1/2.
My week? Fine! Great! Superb! Tomorrow I have to be up at 6AM! Hahahaha.
My week movie wise:
– 3 Women (1977, Robert Altman) ****1/2 A strange film that attracts you through its performances and then marvels you with its visuals and then just kicks you in the balls when everything is changed, when all is mixed up and the personalities of the main characters change. I love all the actresses here for different reasons, but in this particular film they surely show their range and how they can manage to act out their changes and shifts inside the weak narrative in which this all takes place. The cinematography is milky but never dreamy (except in the dream sequences, of course), but it also gives it a nice ambience to the opening shots and to the dessert and other parts of the film. It just makes me really want to get into Robert Altman films, he is truly one of the most interesting out there to still seek out.
– Bailout: The Age of Greed (2013, Uwe Boll) *1/2 A dumb movie. Even if it has good intentions it’s just dumb in the way that it tries to justify the ways of its protagonist, specially when he ends up killing an entire floor of workers in a building of Wall Street and he walks away clean and without any charge put onto his shoulders, as if the violence were the answer (there’s a funny part when in the news a guy asks ‘Isn’t violence the way US reacts to something like Irak’ yeah Uwe, it’s the complete same thing, yeah Uwe, go ahead). Then there’s the whole thing about how he is reading the newspapers and magazines and it makes no sense in terms of when he actually makes the decission to sniper rifle everyone in Wall Street. I don’t care about spoilers, don’t watch this movie it has absolutely no redeeming value except that it’s mostly on focus and edited in a manner that keeps you watching.
– Cuentos sobre el futuro (2012, Pachi Bustos) *** I’m reviewing this chilean documentary for twitch, so I’ll talk about it there!
– The Hangover Part III (2013, Todd Phillips) ** Humorless, which is a true effort once you see that I kinda liked the first one and was meh on the second one, but at least both films made me laugh at least once, this one didn’t even manage that. I’ve been reading some analysis on how making you laugh wasn’t the actual role of this film but to keep you amused with its structure, more akin to a thriller, but the fact that there are silences where the jokes are, as if it’s supposed that people should laugh at mention of certain pop culture items, it means that the writing skills here have decreased incredibly. The only good things that are here are that the group of actors is still strong and makes a good amount of acting in their classic roles, but they managed to make Mr. Chow even more annoying, which isn’t good, specially when you give it such an important role in the movie.
– The Living Skeleton (1968, Hiroshi Matsuno) ***1/2 A truly strange kinda ghost story from Japan, an early horror film for those who like to discover new things in the canon of the J-Horror, this particular film creates an atmosphere of uncertainty towards the reality of the spectres featured in screen, as well as to the identity of the main characters, always changing names, attitudes, the way they look and playing with the identities, specially regarding the main lady, whose twin sister was one of the affected at the ship who was massacred and that is the axis of the hauntings in the film, but then starts to move into other areas of horror, the vengeance fantasy and then the scientific horror, where an insane doctor appears out of nowhere to try to use a compound that he has created to try to corrode the skin, flesh and bones of the bad guys. I don’t regret seeing this obscure piece of japanese horror.
– Laura (1944, Otto Preminger) **** A nice little mystery played to the noir seeking audience with a femme fatale that works half of the movie and a detective that his only fault is falling in love with a dead woman. There are more interesting noirs out there, which is not to say that this one isn’t, but I must say that I was kept well informed on the twists (I could suspect some) and the way that it throws clues around for them to be useless later is interesting in terms of how non-narrative the whole thing would be. The acting is certainly great, from all the performers, but I must say that at the end of the day this film didn’t impress me beyond its good facture and overall good scriptwriting, maybe it was the music, but hey, my TV sucks at sound, so what can you do?
– Paseo de Oficina (The Office Trip) (2012, Roberto Artiagoitia) *1/2 Luis Gnecco is a great actor and he has maybe the only likeable character in this piece of shit drivel excuse for a movie, made solely to bank on the name of the director and his series of films he made before (among the biggest grosers of the years they came out), this film kinda flopped and for a reason: it’s never funny, never, it has great actors playing caricatures of caricatures and it never achieves anything resembling drama, things happen and most of them are generic, the rest are just so strange that they make no sense. The amount of talent involved here is astounding for the piece of shit that this resulted to be, and I really wanted to like it, specially since a friend worked here, but what can I say, sometimes we all fail, specially if we are involved with Artiagoitia as a director.
– The Servant (1963, Joseph Losey) ****1/2 The ending of this film is maybe one of the most powerful and shocking in the history of cinema, maybe not because of what actually happens, but for what it means: the total degradation of the human beign, the complete representation of power and burguoise way of life where the moral boundaries exist no more. There’s a place for movies like that, it shares a place with other scarring pictures that show the real way human beings live life to the edge of their own mind, and that’s Losey and Buñuel for you, naturalists, people who try to get into people’s minds and find that there’s a reality that we don’t dare to look at most of the time. This movie doesn’t get top ranks for me because it lacks something that I look for: emotional binding, I think that there’s something like that in other Buñuel pictures, that Losey still hasn’t made available for me. Still, one of the greats.
– Stoker (2013, Chan-wook Park) ****1/2 Maybe not many people understood why this movie did what it did and the way that it did it. Maybe the genius of Chan-wook Park is just destined to be forbidden to those who don’t want to see it. Maybe this isn’t among his best films, but the fact that this is maybe the second best movie of the year speaks a lot about itself and about the strength of this film as a whole. It took my breath with every heart-wrenching moment, with every soul-breaking scene, with every crunching piece of information, it made me cry (almost) and made my heart skip a beat. What a great film, I’ll write more about this soon.
– V/H/S (2012, Various Directors) ***1/2 This has one truly great segment while the rest meander around something notable and having just an horrendous wraparound segment. The Ti West short is maybe the most dissapointing of them all.10/31/98 – Like many other shorts this one begins slowly and has a shocker ending, I love how the house haunts itself slowly but surely.Amateur Night – Many people loved this one, I thought it was mostly ok, but the concept of a cat-bat lady was a bit of a bummer for me. Tuesday the 17th – Many people criticize the acting here, but it’s supposed to homage old slashers, and the killer concept is great. The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger – There’s a mystery here that is interesting to explore, but maybe the way it was shown was a bit not too VHS-y. Second Honeymoon – Slow and sometimes just uninteresting, the ending is brutal but at the same time a bit not necesary.
– V/H/S/2 (2013, Various Directors) **** A step above the other one, one in the right direction, having one true masterpiece and maybe the best film of the year in it, sadly that is acompanied by some other truly good shorts but a truly mediocre wraparound narrative. Alien Abduction Slumber Party: Maybe one of the scariest and at the same time most nostalgic send up of a 90’s fear of aliens that has now dissapeared. Safe Haven: A masterpiece if there ever has to be one in these segmented shorts, it’s paced incredibly and the mystery is present, and it’s also fun to watch at all times, you can see the money. A Ride in the Park: A zombie POV, what else can you ask for? It’s also really funny and emotional. Clinical Trials: Maybe in the end this is the least of the narrative shorts, but it still manages a lot through the special effects and simple scares.
That’s all Sam, have a great week!
Jaimie—
Happy to hear you are having a great week my friend! And I much appreciate the feedback on BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, which seems to be getting unanimous praise from all quarters. As always your extensive capsule analysis on an accomplished week of film watching is perfectly attuned to the temperament of this thread, and remains in goo measure the heart and soul of the discussion. Yes the ending of THE SERVANT is unforgettable, and by every barometer of measurement it’s a Losey masterpiece. I recently acquired the terrific Region 2 blu-ray in fact. Ah, David Raskin’s music is actually one of the elements that has made the masterful LAURA so beloved over the years and a seminal noir, though you appear to like it well enough. I will definitely be staying clear of THE HANGOVER Part III and BAILOUT, and am not at all surprised at your poor regard for both. Ha, loved your analysis of 3 WOMEN, who does render it full justice. There a few others in your roundup I would love to see at some point, and again much appreciate the superlative discussion! Have a great week my friend!
Sam,
Your comment on Kenneth Branagh’s MAGIC FLUTE fascinates me quite a bit. Mozart’s fantastic opera in the WWI setting? Sounds interesting! Ozu’s 1959 remake of FLOATING WEEDS is, of course, the classic Japanese cinema at its best and I am glad you caught it on screen, with the 35mm print. Personally, I prefer the 1932 version, because the actors, especially Ganjiro Nakamura, in the remake were too classy and too professional to be convincing as downtrodden traveling actors.
Last weekend, I saw RIO BRAVO, the restored digital version. As I was watching it, I wondered if this kind of western movies is possible today. If it were remade today, the side plots and singing would be replaced with drawn-out, bloodshed action scenes, and dialogues would be infected with “Hollywood Screen Writing 101”. Of course, today, we don’t have John Wayne. John Wayne is John Wayne. As I watched how he walked into the Texas town movie set soaked in bright daylight with a rifle in his hand, I realized that it’s just that he is so cinematographically correct in this genre.
The latest entry in my blog is about the transition to talkies in Japan (http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2013/06/conversion-to-talkies.html). In coming weeks, I will discuss about the critical technological transition in the glorious decade of Japanese cinema.
MI
MI—-
While it has become trendy over the past decades to uproot traditional stagings, the war settings seem to be a particular favorite with directors. We also had a notable film of RICHARD III with Ian McKellan that was similar. I also prefer THE STORY OF FLOATING WEEDS and like you found it much less melodramatic than the 1959 version, which was still visually ravishing. That’s a great capsule of RIO BRAVO and I completely agree on what you say about the difficulty of doing it today. And yes John Wayne is John Wayne. That looks like a fabulous new post and I will be heading over there today my friend. Have a great week and many thanks as always!
Sam,
A rainy few days, including TS Andrea, kept most activity indoors this week where I worked on a lot of back photos as well as a review of “Everlasting Moments” which I am posting either today or tomorrow.
On the movie front I caught four films this past week…
Shaft’s Big Score (**1/2) Run of the mill P.I. film with a rather pedestrian storyline. Surprising since director Gordon Parks and screenwriter Ernest Tidyman were the creators behind the first and better film. The film is sloppily made. For example, late in the film Shaft is being chased and trips. When he gets up he is still running but he now has a limp. Next scene, he is still running but here he is no longer limping. At the end of the chase he is limping again.
War Photographer (****1/2 Memorable documentary about photographer James Nachtwey. The film is both stunning and shocking. His photographs present the violence and the heartbreak of war without any political bent. Nachtwey and his camera are purely observers yet his photographs pack an emotional punch in the gut.
Blazing Saddles (****1/2) Hysterical Mel Brooks take off on the western genre from the Frankie Laine title song to the infamous, and grandmother of all bad taste in modern comedy, fart scene. While I generally dislike flatulence, crass humor, it does have a time and place and it works here. 1974 was Brooks best year with this film and a later in the year release of his comic masterpiece, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Cleavon Little is wonderful with just the right touch (As many probably know Brooks wanted co-writer Richard Pryor for this role but studio heads refused).
Behind the Candelabra (***1/2) Excellent performances highlight this enjoyable if undistinguished Steven Soderbergh film.
Have a great week!!!
John—-
Believe it or not we got the leftovers of Andrea this past week, after it left your region, and the result was several inches of rain! Ugh. Your review of EVERLASTING MOMENTS is as wonderful as it’s subject. I have ben a Troell fan for decades, and as I mentioned in my comment, I discovered him at a most impressionable time in my life. Great idea to stay indoors and concentrate on the photography. I am no fan of SHAFT’S BIG SCORE, and oddly enough I am exactly where you are on BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, great acting and generally a solid bio-pic, but somewhat overrated by the majority of people. I also am no fan of crass humor and flatulence (not to mention some unabashed racial humor) but BLAZING SADDLES is a major exception, and for me the runner up to THE PRODUCERS among Brooks’s works. Look like I must see WAR PHOTOGRAPHER! Have a great week my friend, many thanks as always!
“Qu’est-ce que c’est puke?”
Oh, I don’t know, Patricia. Probably one of Jean-Luc’s omnipresent references to literature, say, Sartre and ‘La Nausee.’
“Breathless,” on TCM Saturday night. Ageless. Count Drew Barrymore a fan (though I believe she mispronounced Coutard, a minor gaffe. Barrymore’s enthusiasm is irresistible). A+.
Like Samuel, I tried to watch ‘The Thief of Paris’ after ‘Breathless’ but the dubbing put me off.
hahahaha Mark!!!
Barrymore mispronounced Coutard? But yes the enthusiasm is there in force with her! I would feel exactly the same with the dubbing in THIEF as well. Can’t say I blame you. BREATHLESS is of course one of the great French New Wave works, but I am hardly saying anything there. Have a great week my friend!
Thanks Sam for the mention.
I too would want to watch the Soderberg film as & when it reaches this side of the globe. Michael Douglas is difficult to recognize in the photo that you’ve uploaded. Though deemed to be an entertainer, I’m looking forward to Man of Steel – hope it managed to bring in some fresh flavour & thematic concerns in the otherwise boring & straight-forward Superman franchise. I’d also hope its more of a character study & less of an over-the-top SFX-fuelled action flick, though, given Zack Snyder has directed it, its the latter is bound to happen at the very least.
In the meantime I managed to watch the following 6 films (yes, all Westerns):
– Andre De Toth’s absolutely brilliant Western noir, Day of the Outlaw
– The entertaining but otherwise okayish Vera Cruz
– John Ford’s much loved Cavalry Trilogy, viz. Fort Apache, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon & Rio Grande – Fort Apache was, in my opinion, the best of the lot, but the latter two, despite being quite sentimental (particularly Yellow Ribbon), are more than worth a watch on account of Wayne’s wonderful turns (again, particularly in Yellow Ribbon)
– Jarmusch’s marvelous play with the genre, Dead Man
Shubhajit—-
I also have my fingers crossed that MAN OF STEEL will be more character driven as well. I grew up with the television series from the 50’s/60’s, and my kids are really looking forward to it. I hope you get a chance at BEHIND THE CANDELABRA soon! Yes DAY OF THE OUTLAW is masterful; I like DEAD MAN well enough, but I know most people consider it a masterpiece. I am totally agreed with you on the Calvalry Trilogy and John Wayne, and VERA CRUZ is OK but nothing special. You have really been pounding the western genre, and I salute you my friend! Your follow-up reviews at CINEMASCOPE have been fantastic as well. Have a great week my friend!
Thanks a lot Sam for the kind words.
Shubhajit….what I really like about Vera Cruz is the attitude and the flamboyance. It’s clearly, for my money, the precursor to the spaghetti western. Even that draw scene at the end could have been pulled straight out of a Leone film. I think it’s pretty great…..not to mention that Peckinpah kind of rips it off later in The Wild Bunch.
I’m late to the party this week due to a 3 day travel stint down in Georgia. I got back home this evening. Whew. Lots to catch up on at home and at work now. I will be home until Sunday when I have to leave again for about 3 days next week.
Thanks for the kind mention on Journey to Italy. I am considering Rossellini to be working his way into my top 10 directors list. Actually I’ve never specifically thought of my top 10, but it’s looking like he’d make the cut right now. I’m not the biggest fan of opera films, and actually prefer straight up opera myself, but I’m sure with Branagh involved it would be pretty excellent if one were inclined to that. I’m not a fan of Soderbergh, but Behind the Candelabra looks interesting and I’m sure I’ll see it as I like the actors in it. Floating Weeds is one of my favorite Ozu films. Just beautiful and a bit more confrontational than most of his other films.
I probably watched at least 12 westerns this past week and my list is rounding into shape…there’s certainly way too many films that are truly great that are not going to make the list. This past week I watched Lonely are the Brave, Vera Cruz, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Westward the Women, Devil’s Doorway, Broken Arrow, Buck and the Preacher, The Deadly Companions, The Shootist, Big Jake, The Big Trail, 7 Men From Now, and Night Passage. Sheesh that’s a ton. My new find was Westward the Women which just might be my favorite Wellman western. I think it’s vastly underrated and a terrific film giving women a great deal of respect and a wide range of roles. Needless to say, my essays are piling up! I’ve written about 14 essays over the last couple weeks. I usually only post once a week, but that might have to change if I have the inkling.
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Well have a great week!
Jon—-
I completely understand your position has you pounding the turf, and it’s simply incredible that you are able and motivated to complete that much writing. I have indeed seen your latest Rossellini essay, having linked to it, and I will over at FILMS WORTH WATCHING today to add my two cents. In any case you’ve not yet had to trip to the NYC area, which I hope will change at some point. We’d love to say hello to you! Yes, I think you’d appreciative the creative thrust of Branagh’s THE MAGIC FLUTE, and I can promise that you’ll be most impressed with the performances in BEHIND THE CANDELABRA. I’ve also been indifferent to Soderbergh’s work over the last eight years or so, but this television film, while no masterpiece is generally a solid biopic, as so many on the thread have attested to. FLOATING WEEDS is beautifullly filmed, though the 1934 film is superior. Still, Miyagawa’s color cinematography is ravishing. Your work with the western polling is frankly incomparable, though Shubhajit Lahiri is right there as well. I am thrilled at the regard you have for WESTWARD THE WOMEN, which I first watched at the Film Forum’s Mann Festival. I subsequently acquired the Region 2 DVD, though it’s also available now on the Warner Archives label. Everything you say there is dead on as far as I’m concerned, and the film is indeed underrated! If you have that many reviews in the can I can well understand and agree with you speeding things up. I’ll be over with bells on! Have a great week my friend! Many thanks as always.
Hi ! Sam Juliano, Allan Fish and Tony D’Ambra…
I hope that all is well…with all three Of you… too !
By the way, if your readers want copies Of the entire TCM programs Eddie Muller on writers Dashiell Hammett, David Goodis, Cornell Woolrich, Jonathan Latimer, James M.Cain and Raymond Chandler.
[featuring author Eddie Muller, just contact me at the end Of the month.]
Thanks,
deedee 🙂
All is well my great friend! I trust the same for you! I also urge all interested readers to make mention at the site before the month is out. Sounds like it’s essential! Have a terrific weekend, and thanks as always! And thanks too for posting the Father’s Day banner. You are incomparable my friend!
Sam, thanks so much for the great mention.
I do of course share your love for the Ozu. Now if I could just catch more of his work on the big screen!
A relatively quiet week for me. I only took in Coppola’s MARIE ANTOINETTE as I recently returned from a trip to Versailles and was aching to keep the trip going so to speak.
I’m hoping to increase the pace of my movie watching a little these next few months. Thanks for all that you do, Sam!