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Jackassfan, I know you don't like watching films on Film4 because of the ad breaks, but early on Saturday morning at 00.55 they are repeating Dreams that Money can buy.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039340/

 

It's probably the most watchable of the surrealistic/experimental films made and because it consists of several stories, the ad breaks don't disrupt as much as in a normal film. The chances are that you will like some of it, if not necessarily all. My favourite section was The Girl with the Pre-fabricated Heart one.

 

Frodo, tha film may have limited appeal to you as it is not mainstream but there are parts which you might like.

 

El Loro

I resaw after many years El Cid (1961) (no relation to me ).

Good, but not as good as Spartacus, the other major epic film of the early 60s.

Some great scenes, but others not so good. The famous last scene of El Cid's body on his horse apparently leading the troops out to battle is myth. Although the film shows him as having two young twin daughters, they would have been older than showm. He also had an adult son who was killed in battle, and it is suggested that his death broke El Cid's heart. When Valencia was about to be taken by the Moors, El Cid had died, the King ordered Valencia to be burned to the ground to prevent the city from being taken. El Cid's wife and 2 daughters fled the city taking El Cid's body. When they reached Burgos, it is suggested that his wife had strapped his body on his horse in an upright position which is where the legend came from.

El Loro

I resaw two very different films.

 

Red Sonja (1985) which was a rather juvenile version of the Conan films also with Arnold Schwartenegger.

Frankly the only decent thing about it was Ennio Morricone's music - the Kalidor's theme:

 

And totally different - How Green was my Valley (1941), one of John Ford's best non-westerns. Set in a small Welsh mining community in the late 19th century, though none of the leads were Welsh. Best performances were from from the parents played by Donald Crisp and Sara Algood, and the youngest son played by Roddy McDowall.

The film would have been filmed in Wales but WW2 prevented that. Instead it was filmed in Southern California. Because the flowers there were of different colours to those found in Wales, they made the film in black and white.

The adult Huw heard at the beginning of the film was played by Irving Pichel.

 

El Loro

I saw The Great McGinty (1940) (also known as Down went McGinty). Sharp political corruption satire starring Brian Donlevy. This was the first film Preston Sturges directed. Between 1940 and 1944 he then directed:

Christmas in July

The Lady Eve

Sullivan's Travels

The Palm Beach Story

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

and Hail the Conquering Hero

An amazing series of films.

El Loro
Originally Posted by El Loro:

I saw The Great McGinty (1940) (also known as Down went McGinty). Sharp political corruption satire starring Brian Donlevy. This was the first film Preston Sturges directed. Between 1940 and 1944 he then directed:

Christmas in July

The Lady Eve

Sullivan's Travels

The Palm Beach Story

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

and Hail the Conquering Hero

An amazing series of films.

 

He done some really funny films, of his i saw my 2 favourites are Miracle Of Morgans Creek and Palm Beach Story

J

Jackassfan, I've seen many of the films listed in my Preston Sturges post. I have the box set which has all apart from Miracle of Morgan's Creek. For some reason Miracle is not available in the UK, presumably something to do with copyright. I'm getting a region 2 import for that as that is one which I've never seen and is one I want to see, (I know I could watch it online but prefer to watch it on TV from the comfort of my armchair). Palm Beach Story and Sullivan's Travels are the standouts of the rest.

 

El Loro

I saw Avatar (2009).

 

Technically, one of the best films ever made and effective use of CGI. For once CGI effects were justified as the film could not have been as effective without them. Some of the scenes were beautiful. And on the technical side a 10/10.

 

But, the story, although interesting in some of its concepts, became a fairly standard Hollywood action film blockbuster, and you knew how the story would develop and how it would come to a conclusion.

 

James Cameron could well have taken some of the ideas from Hayoa Miyazaki's animation films such as Princess Mononoke, and Castle in the Sky (floating islands concept which may have been behind the later Feel Good inc video from Gorillaz). Also borrowed from Orson Scott Card's and Anne McCaffrey's books for some of the ideas.

 

El Loro
Originally Posted by El Loro:

Jackassfan, I've seen many of the films listed in my Preston Sturges post. I have the box set which has all apart from Miracle of Morgan's Creek. For some reason Miracle is not available in the UK, presumably something to do with copyright. I'm getting a region 2 import for that as that is one which I've never seen and is one I want to see, (I know I could watch it online but prefer to watch it on TV from the comfort of my armchair). Palm Beach Story and Sullivan's Travels are the standouts of the rest.

 

 

I managed to watch Miracle Of Morgan's Creek about 3 years ago when it was shown on TCM, at that time i didn't watch films online as i did not have a laptop then 

J

As I have a box set of Preston Sturges films I got round to seeing The Great Moment. Released in 1944 but made in 1942, and starring one of Preston Sturges's regulars Joel McCrea.

 

Very different to Preston Sturges's comedies, this was a biopic of a 19th century Boston dentist trying to develop anesthesia. A strange film being serious but with some slapstick scenes. Paramount didn't like the film as made by Sturges and put it on the shelf for a couple of years. In the meantime he left Paramount and Paramount then edited what had been intended to be a serious film into what was released. In those days, directors were not able to release films under a pseudonym, but The Great Moment can't be regarded as an authentic Preston Sturges film.

El Loro

I re-resaw The Small Back Room (1949), a Powell/Pressburger film. Outstanding film about a bomb disposal expert in WW2 fighting alcoholism. Starring David Farrar and Kathleen Byron who was outstanding in a very mature film years ahead of its time. Michael Gough was good and there were a host of British actors who appeared in lesser roles, Jack Hawkins, Sid James, Leslie Banks, Cyril Cusack, Renee Asherson, Sam Kydd. Robert Morley appeared as The Minister in an uncredited role, and I also spotted Patrick Macnee.

 

El Loro

I've got a large box set of Buster Keaton films. I think he was the best of all of the silent film comedians, and it is recognised that he is also the person that stuntmen look to as their model.

 

My favourite Buster Keaton film is Our Hospitality (1923). The opening scenes show him leaving New York as it was in the 1830s on a train going to Kentucky. The train is an exact replica of George Stephenson's The Rocket, and for anyone who likes old steam trains, that scene is wonderful.

 

El Loro

I saw Jean Renoir's La Regle de Jeu (1939) (AKA The Rules of the Game). It's regarded as one of the great films, but I can't say I particularly liked it. The film must have been one of the major influences on Robert Altman with his films. Gosford Park being the most obvious.

Although this is not a war film and no mention is made of war, it was made in the months leading up to the outbreak of war. The film was prescient of this in the way that it showed the class system at that time was on the point of breaking down. On the DVD there was also a documentary analysing the film by Pierre Oscar Levy which is essential viewing for a better understanding of the film.

 

El Loro
Originally Posted by frodo:

Hobson's Choice  Charles Laughton, John Mills,Brenda De Banzie(forgive spelling)

I'm sure this must have been mentioned one of my all time favs

watch it over and over 

I forgive you your spelling as it's 100% correct

 

Hobson's Choice is a great film. The moon in the gutter scene is a classic.

If you haven't seen it before, you might watch out for The History of Mr Polly (1949). It's based on a novel by H G Wells (it's not a science fiction film). It's about a man who uses his inheritance to buy a shop. His wife nags him endessly, and he....(I won't say any more).

They were going to make a film in America with Charles Laughton but it wasn't made. Instead this film was made starring John Mills. The film isn't as well known as Hobson's Choice, but it is a charming film. It's a gentle, leisurely film. Some will find it boring, but I liked it.

El Loro

I resaw Dead of Night (1945) which was excellent. The definitive British portmanteau film consisting of 5 separate stories encased in the 6th story.

The 5 separate stories were:

Hearse Driver directed by Basil Dearden which was quite good

Christmas Party directed by Alberto Cavalcanti which again was quite good.

The Haunted Mirror directed by Robert Hamer was very effective and had quite a suspenseful ending.

Golfing Story directed by Charles Crichton. This was the semi-humerous story which featured Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne who were well known in the late 30s and 40s in their films, the most famous being The Lady Vanishes.

The Ventriloquist's Dummy directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. This starred Michael Redgrave and is justifiably the most famous story in this film.

 

The linking 6th story was directed by Basil Dearden and was very good, particularly the climax of the film which was very clever.

 

An Ealing classic (they didn't only make comedies).

El Loro
Originally Posted by frodo:

Jackassfan read about You I Love(lya lyublyu tebaya)

you only gave it 4 out of ten ,but finding readups on foreign films is a bit difficult ,do you have to watch them online?

 

The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo was on film 4 (the swedish version that is )

 

but the one you mentioned above sounds the type of film I would enjoy

 

I do watch a lot of films online but You I Love(lya lyublyu tebaya) was a rental from lovefilm.com


Swedish version of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is very good and far better than the american remake 

J
Originally Posted by frodo:

http://www.britishhorrorfilms....ightofthedemon.shtml

 

Just read about your film    Dead of Night  sounds good going to try and find it online this one is good too.

 

          Night of The Demon   Dana Andrews Peggy Cummins  1957    

    

I've seen that a few times and is one of the classics. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur who also directed some of the classic Val Lewton horror films of the early 40s such as the original Cat People (1942).

El Loro

Frodo, rather than copy the link straight into your reply, type out what you want to say including the name of the film. Then use your pointer to highlight the name of the film. If you look at the row of icons at the top of the Post Reply box, the 14th icon which looks like 2 links in a chain (Insert/Edit Link) is available (before you lighlight some text, it's not). Click on that icon. Paste the address of the link into the first line (Link URL). Leave the target line as open in a new window. The title line is optional and most of us leave it blank. The class line is a bit of a mystery as to what it does and I just ignore it. Then click insert and you come back to the Post Reply box. You should now see that the highlighted text is hyperlinked. (to get rid of a link, position your pointer on to the text with the link, then click on the Unlink icon which is the one after the Insert icon.

 

Tim Burton is an interesting director. The frustrating thing I find about him is that he has the potential to make a genuine masterpiece, a film which will be remembered in hundreds of years time, but he is so wrapped up in the world of Hollywood and commercialism that I doubt if he will. I'm not saying his films aren't good, it's just that they could be great.

El Loro
Originally Posted by frodo:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1077368/

 

jackassfan  Dark Shadows       That is a must     Johnny Depp Tim Burton you gave it a

low scoring ,still a winner for me Iv'e seen most of the films that Tim Burton has directed....thanks ,can I ask how you did that (  not putting the www.dot etc )

yet still getting thro'?

 

The best Tim Burton films are Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow and Big Fish

 

Did not like Batman, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks and Sweeney Todd

 

J
Originally Posted by frodo:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0980970/

 

the third film in the books of C.S.Lewis the fourth is the Silver Chair.

 

I loved the books still have them intact, I loved this film 

I wonder how they will deal with the final book in the series "The Last Battle" if it is ever made. C S Lewis was a very strong Christian and the conclusion of the book is the strongest evidence of that. If they are faithful to the spirit of the book it won't go down well with non-Christians and if they are not then the whole point of the book is lost.

El Loro

Hello El Loro so you get it too .does it matter if the Last Battle is lost on some people.I stick to my beliefs right or wrong ,other people may dis- agree and I respect their views also,as you obviously do.

 

The films havn't gone down that well but they are magical to me ..as are the books 

thanks for pointing that out about the last book 

Frodo x

FM

jackassfan are you a member of a film club to see all these films ?

 does it cost a fortune .because some of them ..not all I would love to watch.

Just speaking as a forum member ..or are you a film critic ,really no dis -respect but as an avid film lover and would love to see loads of the films you rate ,but would find the cost out of my league ...is there a cheap way round this or does it cost a fortune ...thanks for your time Frodo

FM
Originally Posted by frodo:

jackassfan are you a member of a film club to see all these films ?

 does it cost a fortune .because some of them ..not all I would love to watch.

Just speaking as a forum member ..or are you a film critic ,really no dis -respect but as an avid film lover and would love to see loads of the films you rate ,but would find the cost out of my league ...is there a cheap way round this or does it cost a fortune ...thanks for your time Frodo

 

I am not a member of a film club or a critic 

a lot of the films i see are from online sites such as Youtube, veehd.com (divx player needed) and 1channel.ch. and some are rentals from Lovefilm.com

 

I buy DVDs from amazon and ebay but i never buy any that are over Β£10

J
Originally Posted by frodo:

Hello El Loro so you get it too .does it matter if the Last Battle is lost on some people.I stick to my beliefs right or wrong ,other people may dis- agree and I respect their views also,as you obviously do.

 

The films havn't gone down that well but they are magical to me ..as are the books 

thanks for pointing that out about the last book 

Frodo x

Re C S Lewis. Besides the Narnia series he wrote 3 science fiction/fantasy books. "Out of the Silent Planet" (which is set principally on Mars), "Perelandra" (set mainly on Venus, and "That Hideous Strength" set on Earth. They are more adult in nature than the Narnia stories. There is also an incomplete sequel to "That Hideous Strength" called "The Dark Tower".

 

As I'm sure you know, Lewis and Tolkien were close friends. Another of their close friends was Charles Williams. He was also a novellist and wrote some extraordinary dark supernatural fantasy books. In chronological order they are "War in Heaven", "Many Dimensions", "The Place of the Lion", "Shadows of Ecstasy", "The Greater Trumps", "Decent into Hell", and "All Hallows' Eve". They are not a series as such. Williams is nowhere near as well known as Lewis and Tolkien.

 

Lewis's "That Hideous Strength" is the closest to Williams' novels.

El Loro
Originally Posted by frodo:

jackassfan are you a member of a film club to see all these films ?

 does it cost a fortune .because some of them ..not all I would love to watch.

Just speaking as a forum member ..or are you a film critic ,really no dis -respect but as an avid film lover and would love to see loads of the films you rate ,but would find the cost out of my league ...is there a cheap way round this or does it cost a fortune ...thanks for your time Frodo

 

Let me know which films i have rated that you want to see and i will give you the links to watch them if they are online 

J
Originally Posted by frodo:

Jackassfan 

thankyou for replying could you put a O for online for me and then I'll

have a good look.I'm not that techno minded but I've found my way around a little .

Cant tell you how kind it was I really appreciate it  thanks x 

 

I will edit a lot of my previous posts and add the online links to them

Films on youtube may disappear because of copyright complaints, loads i have seen on the site in the past are now gone

J

Frodo, C S Lewis, Tolkien and also Charles Wiliams lived in Oxford during WW2 and afterwards. They would meet on a regular basis to have a drink and to read and discuss their writing. They called themselves The Inklings. There were others in the group but Lewis and Tolkien were the leaders. Humphrey Carpenter wrote a book about The Inklings which is worth reading:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inklin...347952189&sr=1-1

El Loro
Originally Posted by frodo:

hello Jackassfan 

I've not been able to look at your,, films connection problems ..really hoping this will be sorted ,Sky says yes arn't holding my breathe,so thanks 

 

Is it just the putlocker and sockshare links you are having problems with? or cant you view anything on youtube as well?

 

How long have you had connection problems?

 

I am with virgin media and last year i had a week long problem and could hardly get on the internet at all

J

I havn't a clue what you mean(putlocker and sockshare)I have Sky multi-room 

its supposed to be the connection in the phone socket ,I will try and get on broadband and it says local only ? this may go on for a while ,and when you are watching something it says ...404 or whatever,this is so frustrating  I cant tell you ,the language is blue *shrugs* what can you do LOL

worse things in life at the mo '

                       take care frodo

FM

The problems started about a month before I renewed my contract with sky it ended on Sept 2nd...and they promised changes,to be fair to them ,they have been rather lovely to me ,so I am loathe to call them ,lets see how it works out 

hope you are ok friend filmgoer .

 

Have you seen the American version of girl with the dragon tatoo ?

      ps night

FM

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