And Then There Were None (1945) 8.5/10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v9rQ7uJTSg
I resaw The Edge of the World (1937). It's quite a good film made notable as being the first film directed by Michael Powell where he was given the scope to make something he wanted rather than just being a routine director. It's a drama set in the Scottish Shetlands and it must have been close to Powell as 40 years later he returned to make Return to the Edge of the World.
As a point of trivia, the Englishman who visits the island in the prologue to the film is played by Michael Powell. The woman with him is played by Frankie Reidy. She was Powell's girlfriend and later married him. You won't find any mention of that on IMDB but it is in Powell's brilliant autobiography.
Many years later they played the parts of the father and mother to the psychopathic murderer in Powell's Peeping Tom. These were in the flashback scenes to the murderer's childhood and one of their sons Columba played the young boy.
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Possibly the best of any of the films made from Agatha Christie's books. Of course the title is the modern title as with the book as the original title is now unacceptably racist.
I saw a double bill of Henry Fonda films. The first was Advise & Consent (1962), a political drama surrounding the Senate hearings interviewing a proposed Secretary of State. A good serious film with a fine group of actors besides Fonda, Walter Pidgeon, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres and Charles Laughton in his last role. Also Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith and Gene Tierney.
This was followed by The Cheyenne Social Club (1970) which also starred James Stewart and it was directed by Gene Kelly. Possibly watching this after Advise & Consent was a mistake but I got nothing out of this film.
Gene Kelly was an odd choice for what was supposedly a comedy western. I would have thought that Burt Kennedy would have been more appropriate.
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Torn Curtain (1966) 5/10
That and Hitchcock's next Topaz are two disappointing films from him. His last two Frenzy and Family Plot are considered better, Family Plot being one of his more light hearted films. I remember reading somewhere, possibly in Truffaut's book on him, that in the latter part of his career he had considered making a film which was so extreme in nature that it would get banned almost everywhere - of course it never got made.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Torn Curtain (1966) 5/10
That and Hitchcock's next Topaz are two disappointing films from him. His last two Frenzy and Family Plot are considered better, Family Plot being one of his more light hearted films. I remember reading somewhere, possibly in Truffaut's book on him, that in the latter part of his career he had considered making a film which was so extreme in nature that it would get banned almost everywhere - of course it never got made.
I have seen Frenzy and thought it was a very good film, have yet to see Topaz and Family Plot
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
I have seen Frenzy and thought it was a very good film, have yet to see Topaz and Family Plot
I've seen both Topaz and Family Plot. I didn't think Topaz was worth watching. Family Plot is a PG rated black comedy which, although not one of Hitchcock's better films is still worth watching.
I saw The Magnificent Seven (1960) which was one of most popular westerns ever made with one of the best known main music themes in films. I assume that this is the first well known film to be a remake of a Japanese film though don't hold me to that. Having seen The Seven Samurai as well, the original is the better film.
I saw Detective Story (1951), a fine film directed by William Wyler and starring Kirk Douglas. An ensemble piece set virtually entirely in a police station, and almost real time. Set the standard for many American police television series in later years such as Hill Street Blues.
Virtually the film debut of Joseph Wiseman (Dr No) as a psychotic thief and Lee Grant as a shoplifter. For many years after Detective Story Lee Grant was blacklisted and didn't to return to films for a long time. Her main suceess was in Shampoo (1975) when she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. She also directed many television films and documentaries and has been recognised for her work against domestic violence.
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Abbas Kiarostami, the writer and director of the above, also wrote The White Balloon (1995) which was directed by Jafar Panahi who is still in prison in Iran. AK has spoken out against this. His last film was made in France and has been making a film in Japan. Needless to say his films are banned in Iran.
I saw The Conqueror (1956). Not a great film but not as dreadful as the IMDB rating of 3.1 suggests. Of course John Wayne as Genghis Khan was a strange choice, and not this isn't the type of film one associates with Dick Powell who directed it. The story is simplistic, the dialogue isn't great, but it wasn't boring and I've certainly seen films which are a lot poorer. The film is also notorious for having been filmed in part of Utah which had previously been used for A bomb testing and that in years to follow many of those involved died from cancer.
Highlights(?) of the film including a dance by a woman from Samarkand.
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Classic Ealing comedy. My own list of favourites from top downwards would be:
The Man in The White Suit (1951) which manages to combine satire with poignancy. Alec Guiness at his best.
The Ladykillers (the 1955 version) again with Alec Guiness. Katie Johnson - the role of a lifetime.
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) yet again with Alec Guiness, but this time in 8 roles
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and yes, Alec Guiness again. I love the chase down the Eiffel Tower sequence.
And then Passport to Pimlico without Alec Guiness.
Whisky Galore, The Maggie and The Titfield Thunderbolt good, but not outstanding.
To me The Man in The White Suit is in a different league from the others. I don't have a list of my top 10 best films but if I did that would definitely be in my list.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Classic Ealing comedy. My own list of favourites from top downwards would be:
The Man in The White Suit (1951) which manages to combine satire with poignancy. Alec Guiness at his best.
The Ladykillers (the 1955 version) again with Alec Guiness. Katie Johnson - the role of a lifetime.
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) yet again with Alec Guiness, but this time in 8 roles
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and yes, Alec Guiness again. I love the chase down the Eiffel Tower sequence.
And then Passport to Pimlico without Alec Guiness.
Whisky Galore, The Maggie and The Titfield Thunderbolt good, but not outstanding.
To me The Man in The White Suit is in a different league from the others. I don't have a list of my top 10 best films but if I did that would definitely be in my list.
I have seen The Lady Killers, Lavender Hill Mob, Kind Hearts And Coronets, and Whiskey Galore and all are great
Have yet to see Man In The White Suit
I saw The Naked Spur (1953) a western directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Janet Leigh, Robert Ryan, Ralph Meeker and Millard Mitchell. That's the complete credited cast though there were Indians for a few minutes. Stewart is a bounty hunter on the trail of Ryan who has been looking after Leigh. He meets Meeker and Mitchell on the way who decide to assist him in capturing Ryan in order to share in the bounty.
The film was shot in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains are very much part of the scenery.
It's one of those films where greed takes over and Ryan's character uses that to try to turn the other men against each other. It's as close a film as Stewart got to playing an anti-hero. If the film was to be made now it's the sort of film that the Coen Brothers might make.
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
I have seen The Lady Killers, Lavender Hill Mob, Kind Hearts And Coronets, and Whiskey Galore and all are great
Have yet to see Man In The White Suit
The Man in the White Suit is directed by Alexander Mackendrick who also directed Whisky Galore and The Ladykillers. It's a seriously good serious comedy. And the material that the Guinness character invented in the film - the idea is still being worked on now by scientists so the film has lost none of its relevancy.
Toki o kakeru shôjo [2010] *****
Brilliant 
Got to find a 1983 copy now
Watched the 2006 anime and can highly recommend what I have seen so far.
A true joy
I saw The Man Who Knew Too Much (the 1956 remake rather than the 1934 original). Starred James Stewart and Doris Day. Although a good film, I don't rate this as a top Hitchcock film, possibly because Doris Day wasn't a typical Hitchcock heroine.
At the start of the film is a shortened version of Arthur Benjamin's "Storm Cloud Cantata" culminating in the crash of cymbals" and the words "A single crash of cymbals and how it rocked the lives of an American family". Near the end of the film is the assassination sequence in the Royal Albert Hall where Bernard Hermann (Hitchcock's main composer) conducts the cantata which goes on for several minutes culminating in the climatic crash of cymbals and the gun shot. But the events which rocked the American family occurred well before that scene.
The cantata was written for the original film and has s similar sequence in the Royal Abert Hall. But in the original film, there is no equivalent opening scene.
I resaw Sullivan's Travels (1941) starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake. Directed by Preston Sturges. He made many good films but this was his best film and is one of the few comedies which can be regarded as a great film,
The scene where the prisoners shuffle along in chains going into the church where the black clergyman leads his congregation in singing "Let My People Go", he welcomes the prisoners telling his congregation that these prisoners shouldn't be regarded as less equal than themselves, they sit down to watch films. The one we see is from the Disney cartoon "Playful Pluto" and everyone starts to laugh. This scene goes far beyond comedy and is one of the great scenes in films. It is also worth remembering that at that time, racism was rife in the States which makes this scene even more remarkable.
The film which the McCrea character had intended to make was called "O Brother where art thou" which of course is the source for the Coen Brothers film.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
I saw The Man Who Knew Too Much (the 1956 remake rather than the 1934 original). Starred James Stewart and Doris Day. Although a good film, I don't rate this as a top Hitchcock film, possibly because Doris Day wasn't a typical Hitchcock heroine.
I prefer his orginal 1930s film
Doris Day annoyed me in the remake keep singing that awful Que Sera Sera song
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Originally Posted by El Loro:
I saw The Man Who Knew Too Much (the 1956 remake rather than the 1934 original). Starred James Stewart and Doris Day. Although a good film, I don't rate this as a top Hitchcock film, possibly because Doris Day wasn't a typical Hitchcock heroine.
I prefer his orginal 1930s film
Doris Day annoyed me in the remake keep singing that awful Que Sera Sera song
I know what you mean. It's one of those songs which is so famous that everyone knows it even if they've never seen the film. At first Doris Day refused to record the song for release as she said that it was just a children's song. I think that the second time she sings it in the film she duplicates some of the verses in order to make it longer.
Two films:
I saw The Last Mimzy (2007) which is a family fantasy film, closer to Escape From Witch Mountain rather than ET. Not a bad film.
I also saw Bye Bye Birdie (1963) which was a comedy musical with Dick van Dyke, Janet Leigh and Ann-Margaret sort of based on when Elvis Presley was drafted not that the film had anything to do with Elvis Presley. I thought it was dreadful and as bad a film as I have ever seen. There were bits of the film which were OK but not enough to compensate for the rest of the film.