Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
The original Walter Mitty film was one of my Dad's favourite films.
I have never seen the orginal before, but i will look out for it and watch it sometime
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
You probably know that Charlie Chaplin was born within a few days of Adolf Hitler. Alexander Korda, a friend of Chaplin, said that Chaplin's tramp persona and Hitler looked somewhat similar. Both Chaplin and Hitler had extremely impoverished childhoods. That gave Chaplin the idea of lampooning Hitler, hence he made The Great Dictator.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
You probably know that Charlie Chaplin was born within a few days of Adolf Hitler. Alexander Korda, a friend of Chaplin, said that Chaplin's tramp persona and Hitler looked somewhat similar. Both Chaplin and Hitler had extremely impoverished childhoods. That gave Chaplin the idea of lampooning Hitler, hence he made The Great Dictator.
Ta El Loro. I love that film, especially the bit where Hitler is dancing around with the globe.
Philomena (2013) 7.5/10
I resaw Panic in the Streets (1950) about a doctor (Richard Widmark) and a policeman (Paul Douglas) trying to identify a killer (Jack Palance) and his accomplice (Zero Mostel) who they believe have become infected with pneumonic plague from the victim and only have 48 hours before the plague spreads out of control.
A good film. Palance's film debut.
Recent films I've seen:
A television movie "With Savage Intent" (AKA "With Murder in Mind") (1992) about an estate agent (Elizabeth Montgomery) who is shot, survives, and then by chance identifies the gunman. It's a routine television movie. Montgomery's aunt in the film was played by Maureen O'Sullivan (Jane in the 1930s Tarxan films).
True Grit (2010), the Coen Brothers version, Jeff Bridges as "Rooster" Cogburn, Matt Damon as LaBoeuf, and Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross. Grimmer than the John Wayne version but a better film. Hailee Steinfeld was excellent,
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Recent films I've seen:
True Grit (2010), the Coen Brothers version, Jeff Bridges as "Rooster" Cogburn, Matt Damon as LaBoeuf, and Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross. Grimmer than the John Wayne version but a better film. Hailee Steinfeld was excellent,
One of the rare times where the remake is actually the better film
John Wayne should never have won the oscar over Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy
Organ (1965) 8/10
Bridesmaids 7.5/10
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Throne of Blood is on Film 4 this morning at 11.00. I rate this as Kurosawa's best film (of the ones I've seen).
I saw Dark Storm (2006) which is a Canadian television movie. Truly dreadful science fiction as signified by the IMBD rating of 3.4. The lead actor (Stephen Baldwin) just sleepwalks through the film, the storyline is preposterous and is so derivative that it may have been written by a computer.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Throne of Blood is on Film 4 this morning at 11.00. I rate this as Kurosawa's best film (of the ones I've seen).
Throne Of Blood is excellent, must give it a 2nd viewing sometime as i last saw it nearly 8 years ago
Also brilliant films are Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai (all 3 10/10), also really like The Bad Sleep Well, High And Low, The Lower Depths, Yojimbo, Stray Dog, I Live In Fear.... have yet to see Ran
Japanese films were at their best in the 50s and 60s
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Also brilliant films are Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai (all 3 10/10), also really like The Bad Sleep Well, High And Low, The Lower Depths, Yojimbo, Stray Dog, I Live In Fear.... have yet to see Ran
Japanese films were at their best in the 50s and 60s
I have seen Ran and think it was the best of the later Kurosawa films. Like Throne of Blood it was based on one of Shakespeare's plays, in this case on King Lear. I wouldn't say it was as good as Throne of Blood but it is definitely worth watching.
Amazon have renamed Lovefilm Amazon Instant Video. If you are one of their Prime customers some of their films and television series can be watched for free as part of their Prime subscription fee. At present there are 2,152 movies and 818 television series, Of the movies there are 303 of them.
By coincidence, one of them is Ran.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Also brilliant films are Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai (all 3 10/10), also really like The Bad Sleep Well, High And Low, The Lower Depths, Yojimbo, Stray Dog, I Live In Fear.... have yet to see Ran
Japanese films were at their best in the 50s and 60s
I have seen Ran and think it was the best of the later Kurosawa films. Like Throne of Blood it was based on one of Shakespeare's plays, in this case on King Lear. I wouldn't say it was as good as Throne of Blood but it is definitely worth watching.
I have Ran on my lovefilm (now Amazon instant) queue and will most likely put it on my high priority list soon
Omar (2013) 8.5/10
I resaw Pinocchio (1940) on DVD, some 50 years since I saw it at the cinema as a child. Still as enchanting as ever.
The most effective scenes are where Lampwick turns into a donkey and the whale scenes at the end of the film. It's also has some little songs which are as memorable as the film.
Ilo Ilo (2013) 8/10
Blue Valentine (2010) 6/10
All The King's Men (1949) 8.5/10
I watched Bachelor Knight (1947) which starred Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple in one of the handful of films she made as a young adult at the end of her film career. The film is also known as The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, but Bachelor Knight is a much better title.
Pleasant simple comedy. If Shirley Temple hadn't retired from films she might have been a rival to Debbie Reynolds.
I saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010). It's not meant to be a film of the book as the Alice character returns to the land as a 19 year old on the verge of being married off. The film uses characters from both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and there are references to events in the books.
The land is called Underland. Lewis Carroll wrote a draft of Alice in Wonderland which he called Alice's Adventures Under Ground so Underland may be a combination of the two names.
The film has none of the magic of the books but it is quite fascinating and is very stylish.
The film Tim Burton is currently making is very different from most of his other films. It's called Big Eyes and is a biopic of the artist Margaret Keane starring Amy Adams. And for once neither Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter is in it.
The picture shown on IMDB site is of a typical painting of hers:
There's a gothic look about that painting and I think that could be what drew Burton to this project.
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
If you watched the 118 minute version, I'm sure you will be eager to watch the longer 143 minute version.
(Or may be not 
)
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
If you watched the 118 minute version, I'm sure you will be eager to watch the longer 143 minute version.
(Or may be not )
I didn't even know there was a 143 minute version.... god knows why they have added another 25 minutes when 118 minutes of it was not funny at all
I re-saw The Go-Between (1970), the first time I had seen it since I saw it on release. Stars Alan Bates, Julie Christie and Dominic Guard as their go-between. Michael Regdrave features as the older Leo. The screenplay was by Harold Pinter and it was directed by Joseph Losey.
I can't say that I liked this film any more than I did the first time but the acting is good. The music by Michel Legrand is the most noticeable thing about the film but doesn't seem to fit in with the film. Very early film role by the late Roger Lloyd-Pack.
Revolutionary Road [2008] 5/10
Would have like it more if the leads were played by different actors; Leonoard de Caprio and Kate Winslet seemed very one dimensional and unconvincing. Couldn't help comparing it to Mad Men - similar time period and themes and how the actors light up the screen in their roles.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
I re-saw The Go-Between (1970), the first time I had seen it since I saw it on release. Stars Alan Bates, Julie Christie and Dominic Guard as their go-between. Michael Regdrave features as the older Leo. The screenplay was by Harold Pinter and it was directed by Joseph Losey.
I can't say that I liked this film any more than I did the first time but the acting is good. The music by Michel Legrand is the most noticeable thing about the film but doesn't seem to fit in with the film. Very early film role by the late Roger Lloyd-Pack.
Very atmospheric film that... liked the Summer Norfolk setting.
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
The tiny bit of 300 I've seen didn't make me want to see the film, and I think I will give this sequel a miss.
Twentieth Century (1934) 8.5/10
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
The tiny bit of 300 I've seen didn't make me want to see the film, and I think I will give this sequel a miss.
Good Choice
I watched it online, but was mostly just listening to it while looking at other websites
We need to Talk About Kevin [2011] 6/10
Sergeant York (1941) 9/10
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
This was the film that looks as if it was the start of Preston Sturges's decline as film director from being one of the top Hollywood directors. I've seen the film and thought it was a strange concept - part biopic, part comic.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
This was the film that looks as if it was the start of Preston Sturges's decline as film director from being one of the top Hollywood directors. I've seen the film and thought it was a strange concept - part biopic, part comic.
He did 2 other films in 1944 which were Hail The Conquering hero and Miracle Of Morgans Creek both were great films, not sure why he declined after that year toough
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
This was the film that looks as if it was the start of Preston Sturges's decline as film director from being one of the top Hollywood directors. I've seen the film and thought it was a strange concept - part biopic, part comic.
He did 2 other films in 1944 which were Hail The Conquering hero and Miracle Of Morgans Creek both were great films, not sure why he declined after that year toough
The Great Moment was the last of Sturges's 1944 films. Looking at IMDB trivia he had left Paramount by the time it was being released. He had intended the film to be more serious, Paramount were panicked by initial reviews so insisted that the film was recut. Sturges had no say in this.
His contract with Paramount had come to an end. He set up a film partnership with Howard Hughes called California Pictures. It took some time to get this studio from start up tp production. The first film didn't get released until 1947. This was The Sin of Harold Diddlebock which starred the great silent film comedian Harold Lloyd. The film went way over budget and was poorly received when released. Howard Hughes who had not interfered with the making of the film stepped in, removed the film from release and had it re-edited. That took time and was re-released in 1950 as Mad Wednesday.
I resaw Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). Directed by the other Sturges - John Sturges. Starred Spencer Tracy and a strong cast including Robert Ryan, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger and Walter Brennan.
The best non-Western Western ever made. (set just after the end of WW2 and automobiles instead of horses)
The Attack (2012) 8/10
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Great Fritz Lang film. One of the other Fritz Land WW2 films was the 1944 film Ministry of Fear which is the very first film I remember seeing on television when I was very young. I may have seen others before then but that is the first I remember.
I watched The Woman in Black (2012). A film version of the book by Susan Hill, previously made into a television film. This version starred Daniel Radcliffe and Ciaran Hinds.
The film was doom-laden from start to finish and would have been better if there had been subtle changes in mood during the film. There were some effective scenes in the film but overall disappointing. (by the way I'm not a devoyee of the Harry Potter films)
There were brief appearances from Roger Allam (DI Fred Thursday in Endeavour), Jessica Raine (Call the Nidwife) and Liz White (Annie Cartwright in Life on Mars) was the Woman in Black.
There is to be another film called The Woman in Black: Angel of Death due to be released next year. This is set some 20 years later in WW2 where a group of children from London are evacuated and sent to the same locality as the first film. Different cast, though on a point of trivia Adrian Rawlins plays a doctor and was the lead in the 1989 television film.
Despicable Me 7/10
Karlek 65 (1965) 7/10