Way Back Home (Jibeuro Ganeun Gil) (2013) 8/10
The Dark Valley (Das finstere Tal) (2014) 6/10
I resaw Galaxy Quest (1999). Good entertaining film about the stars of a popular science fiction series at a fans convention coming to the assistance of some aliens who believe that their characters are real. The Galaxy Quest series is obviously a clone of the original Star Trek series.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
I resaw Galaxy Quest (1999). Good entertaining film about the stars of a popular science fiction series at a fans convention coming to the assistance of some aliens who believe that their characters are real. The Galaxy Quest series is obviously a clone of the original Star Trek series.
I saw it as a take on The Magnificent Seven, same as 'The Three Amigos' was.
Didn't seem to relate to Star Trek to me.
PS. I loved it!
I resaw Psycho (1960).
The lead male character Sam Loomis (played by John Gavin) ran a hardware store. At the end of the film he is present during the scene where s psychiatrist explains what had happened with Norman Bates' mind.
After the end of Psycho Sam Loomis decided to give up the hardware store and trained to become a psychiatirst himself at the Smith's Grove sanitarium. 18 years after Psycho he returned to films (now played by Donlald Pleasance) in Halloween and later films in that series.
I resaw Journey into Fear (1942/3). A rather muddled thriller based on a book by Eric Ambler starring Joseph Cotten, and featuring Orson Welles. The third feature film from Mercury Productions (first Citizen Kane, second The Magnificent Ambersons) and did feature other actors who had been in those films.
The film was started by Orson Welles, it was taken out of his hands by the studio bosses, and Norman Foster was credited as director.
Welles and Cotten are credited as having written the script. To what extent Welles was involved with the directing is not known, but the start of the film did seem to have a bit of Welles' touch with the camera moving in a bit like this from Citizen Kane:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th8cuq9tzZk
I watched The Tree of Life (2011), the Terrence Malick film.
Unusual film about the creation, life and death. Malick seems to be trying to be another Andrei Tarkovsky, but doesn't succeed.
Special effects by Douglas Trumbell, who was heavily involved with 2001, a Space Odyssey. The film is not a science fiction film, but is as obscure as the last part of 2001.
Brilliant photography and good use of music are the main reasons to see the film.
I watched "Eccentricities of a Blonde-haired girl" (2009) directed by Manoel de Oliveira.
It was based on a 19th century short story and although set in modern times, it felt like a 19th century story. For instance the young man who works for his uncle wants to marry, aske him for his permission, the uncle refuses, and sacks him on the spot throwing him out.
The most notable thing about the film is that the director (who recently died) was 101 at the time and the world's oldest working director of feature films.
I watched The Dark Crystal (1982), fantasy from Jim Henson and Frank Oz.
Aughra, the wise one, was voiced by Billie Whitelaw. Kira voiced by Lisa Maxwell (Samantha Nixon in The Bill), and her pet Fizzigig by Percy Edwards (who was famous for his bird voice imitations and also of animals).
I watched The Passenger (1975) directed by Michelangelo Antonion and starring Jack Nicholson and also Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre and Ian Hendry.
Maria Schneider meets a lost soul, has a relationship with him until he is shot dead. Not the first Maria Schneider film to which that summary matches.
I saw Labyrinth (1986), another fantasy from Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Starred Jennifer Connelly in an early role and David Bowie as the goblin king. Scripted by Terry Jones.
There was a scene in it where the girl has been entranced into the goblin king's castle in a ballroom with many people dancing. It reminded me of last Sunday's episode of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell where there's a similar scene and Marc Warren's appearance as outlandish as Bowie's.
Originally Posted by Baz:
The last two films I saw were Quatermass 2 , and Hitchcock's Suspicious 
Did you know that most films made since those films are in colour
The oldest film I remember seeing in the cinema was The Wizard of Oz. I also saw Gone with the Wind in the cinema which was made around the same time. And Pinocchio which was made shortly afterwards.
(I should say that I saw them on re-releases rather than when originally released )
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by Baz:
The last two films I saw were Quatermass 2 , and Hitchcock's Suspicious
Did you know that most films made since those films are in colour
The oldest film I remember seeing in the cinema was The Wizard of Oz. I also saw Gone with the Wind in the cinema which was made around the same time. And Pinocchio which was made shortly afterwards.
(I should say that I saw them on re-releases rather than when originally released )
I love old B&W films El !oro....the first of thone new fangled coloured films I can remember seeing are Snow White ( about 1951 ) & Davy Crockett ( about 1953/4 ) I think But Gone With the Wind is my all time favourite film
Watched Evolution (2001) which starred David Duchovny and Julianne Moore and was directed by Ivan Reitman. The film was originally going to be a serious science fiction film but was changed to a comedy. Only problem is that it's not very funny, unless you like stupidity. Poor film compared to Reitman's Ghostbusters.
I resaw The Stranger (1946) directed by and starring Osron Welles. Also starring Edward G Robinson and Loretta Young.
Investigator from the War Crimes Commission on the trail of a Nazi war criminal.
Good film and includes one of the more unusual film demises of the villain.
Just as well that Welles was a strong man as the scene where he is holding on to Loretta Young with one hand whilst she is dangling from the top of a ladder in a clock tower is not a special effect according to IMDB/
Watched Pygmalion (1938), an outstanding British classic film. Play and script by (George) Bernard Shaw (George is not shown on the credits). Leslie Howard as Professor Henry Higgins and also co-directed with Anthony Asquith. Edited by David Lean. Wendy Hiller was Eliza Doolittle (the credits say introducing Wendy Hiller but this was her second film).
I didn't spot him but Patrick Macnee was an extra in the film making his film debut. I did spot Anthony Quayle in a one liner scene - his second film.
I saw Summertime (1955) which starred Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi. Middle aged woman visits Venice and finds romance with a married man. Good of its type. The main reason for me watching it was that it was directed by David Lean and is the film he made between his English classics career ending with Hobson's Choice and his international epics career starting with The Bridge on the River Kwai.
In a way it could be regarded as some similarities with his Brief Encounter with the core story of a doomed romance. Also there is some use of a train with Hepburn's arrival and departure,
Good location cinematography by Jack Hildyard who later worked on The Bridge on the River Kwai.
Watched The Winslow Boy, the 1999 version which had Nigel Hawthorne (compared to Cedric Hardwicke in the classic 1948 version) and Jeremy Northam (Robert Donat). A good adaptation with a well chosen cast.
Neil North who played the part of the First Lord of the Admiralty was the Winslow boy in the 1948 version.
Rebecca Pidegon, the daughter in the film, is married to David Mamet who directed the film, and is Matthew Pidgeon's sister - he played the part of the older brother.
I resaw after many years The Masque of the Red Death (1964), one of Roger Corman's adaptations from Edgar Allan Poe. One of the best horror films of the 1960s and a chillimg memorable ending. Vincent Price is excellent, gearing up for his later Witchfinder General.
Very stylish film and clearly influenced by Bergman's The Seventh Seal.
Red obviously is key in the film as per the title. One aspect of this is that at the end of the film Price unmasks the Red Death character robed in red and then dies. A parallel could be drawn to Donald Sutherland in Don't Look Now when he dies at the hands of the mysterious character in the red cape. Nicholas Roeg was the cinematographer of The Masque of the Red Death, so this is a real possibility.
Watched the 1945 film Scarlet Street which was on the Talking Pictures TV channel. A Fritz Lang film starring Edward G Robinson, Jean Bennett and Dan Duryea. Dark film-noir. A remake of the French Jean Renoir film La Chienne (1931) and I could sense a Gallic touch to this. That title is an appropriate description of the Jean Bennett character but it would be have been impossible for a film to be given the English transalation at that time.
The leads are excellent in this darkly ironic film. Just watch this very short clip - Robinson is an amateur artist in his spare time.
Watched The Wandering Jew (1933) on the Talking Pictures TV channel
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024750/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1
The version shown is the shortened version rather than the original which presumably is lost - some 30 minutes shorter.
An extremely dated British curio of a film. The first 3 segments are very stagey and hard going. The last segment (Seville and the Spanish inquisition) is more watchable and has quite an effective end.
Based on legend and not a Biblical story.