These Three (1936) 8.5/10
Blitz (2011) 4/10
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Jackassfan, I don't know your age, but I remember the outcry from the public when Cathy Come Home was first shown on television in 1966. I was 14 at the time, so my parents wouldn't have let me see it then. I did see it years later. For many people, this would have been the first time that television produced a piece of social realism rather than comfortable TV. And of course it was Ken Loach's first major success.
I am 31
I think if you had been 31 in 1966 and saw Cathy Come Home then on television, you would in all probability along with much of the population given it a 10/10 for the sheer powerful impact it made on the population then. I don't think anything more powerful came along until Michael Buerk's BBC report on the Ethiopean famine in 1984 (which lead to Band Aid and Live Aid).
I saw There Will be Blood (2007) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. One of the best modern films I have seen, rivetting from start to finish with an exceptionally powerful performance from Day-Lewis.
His portrayal as Daniel Plainview reminded me somewhat of Orson Welles' portrayal as Charles Foster Kane. I'm not alone in this - I found this comparison of the two.
Or (2004) 7/10
Armin (2007) 7/10
Edi (2002) 8/10
Rampart (2011) 6/10
I saw A Tale of Two Cities (1958), the version with Dirk Bogarde.
Although I understand that the film was reasonably faithful to the book, I can't say that I saw anything which lifted it from being very ordinary, not a bad film, just nothing outstanding. Well, apart from Dirk Bogarde's raised eyebrow which deserved an award of its own. I think Dirk Bogarde and Roger Moore must have gone to the same acting school 
(an appropriate smiley).
I resaw The Man Who Would be King (1975). Directed by John Huston from the Rudyard Kipling story, it starred Michael Caine and Sean Connery at their best, and is an exceptional film.
As a point of trivia, the man who played the part of the high priest made his one and only film appearance - he was 103. Probably the oldest film debut in the history of film.
Films i saw from each country in 2011
USA- 127
France- 50
Japan- 39
UK- 31
Sweden- 27
Denmark- 26
South Korea- 20
Iran- 20
Poland- 18
Germany- 17
Italy- 17
Norway- 15
Hungary- 14
Spain- 13
Holland- 11
Soviet Union- 11
Turkey- 11
China- 10
Czechoslovakia- 10
Russia- 9
Finland-8
Taiwan- 8
Belguim- 7
Greece- 6
Romania- 6
Canada- 5
Czech Republic- 5
Israel- 5
Mexico- 5
Hong Kong- 4
Yugoslavia 4
Argentina- 3
Austria- 3
Brazil- 3
Chile- 3
Macedonia- 3
Australia- 2
Bosnia- 2
Bulgaria- 2
Croatia- 2
Ireland- 2
Portugal- 2
Serbia- 2
Vietnam- 2
Algeria- 1
Chad- 1
Colombia- 1
Cuba- 1
Iceland- 1
India- 1
Iraq- 1
Kyrgyzstan- 1
Lebanon- 1
Morocco- 1
Philippines- 1
Singapore- 1
Slovakia- 1
Switzerland- 1
Thailand- 1
Total films seen 605
- I should think if I did an equivalent list, it would be 10% of the number you've seen.Although not strictly a film, I did see The Witches of Oz (2011). Although it was shown over 2 days at a bit under 3 hours, a revised shortened version was made for DVD.
It's set in present day New York and is extremely loosely based on the Wizrd of Oz, but crammed full of CGI effects. Although it does have its moments and is not boring, for the most part it is an atrocity with some truly dreadful acting. According to IMDB, the shortened version is better.
The idea is good, but frankly it needed someone like Tim Burton at the helm.
As it was shown over the Christmas period, I hereby present the film with my Turkey of the year award.
Le Grand Jeu (1934) 7.5/10
Warrior (2011) 7/10
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
The Green Man (1956) 8/10
A good film, a long time seen I've seen this.
Alastair Sim and George Cole worked on many films together. The first film was Cottage to Let (1941) which was George Cole's debut. George was 16 at the time and Alastair Sim gave him a lot of support in that film and acted as his mentor for many years. George Cole learned a lot from Alastair Sim in his comedy technique.
I have yet to see Cottage To Let, its on youtube so i will watch it sometime soon
Elena (2011) 8.5/10
Straw Dogs (2011) 4/10
Jackassfan, Went the Day Well (1942) is on Channel 4 on Thursday at 1.20 pm. I know you prefer films without ad breaks, but if you have never seen this, it is well worth watching.
It is a British war film which is unlike any other. It shows a Nazi invasion of a small village in England and is remarkable when you consider that this was released right in the middle of the war. Some of the sudden acts of violence are quite startling. Although there are some humerous touches, this is far removed from Dads Army. IMDB rating 7.6.
I saw Went The Day Well? a few years ago and thought it was a very good film
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
Extremely simple trivia question - what is the similarity betwwen this film and Reservoir Dogs?
Kandahar (2001) 7/10
Lifeboat (1944) 10/10 3rd viewing
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
The Artist (2011) 9/10
Isabelle (2011) 4/10
The Artist is one film that I'm waiting to see. I don't know if it will come to Gloucester and I suspect I will wait until it's released on DVD. I'm glad you liked it, and Uggie (the Jack Russell) is great.
I resaw Went the Day Well (1942) which is an excellent film and certainly worth reseeing. Very early roles for people such as Thora Hird, Patricia Hayes, and Harry Fowler as George the young boy who manages to escape and raise the alarm.
As I have always lived in Gloucester this film is also interesting in that the British soldiers shown in the film defeating the Nazi soldiers were from the Gloucestershire Regiment.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by jackassfan:
The Artist (2011) 9/10
Isabelle (2011) 4/10
The Artist is one film that I'm waiting to see. I don't know if it will come to Gloucester and I suspect I will wait until it's released on DVD. I'm glad you liked it, and Uggie (the Jack Russell) is great.
The Artist is now available to watch online, so you can watch it now if you dont want to wait for the DVD release
I saw Dean Spanley (2008) starring Jeremy Northam, Peter O'Toole, Sam Neill and Bryan Brown. Although the film was set in England, it was directed by Toa Fraser from New Zealand and financed out of New Zealand. A slight story, this is a character study and quite charming in a quiet way.
For some reason, Judy Parfitt, the only woman with a significant role in the film, only appears on the IMDB list of actors at the very end. She is a powerful actress and I still remember seeing her for possibly the first time in 1973. She appeared in the BBC production of Alic through the Looking Glass. She was the Red Queen of course, and the most memorable character in that production.
A couple of films I taped over Christmas:
Nativity! (2009) with Martin Freeman. Comedy about a teacher staging a school Nativity play. Quite a charming film but predictable.
Ratatouille (2007) a Pixar animation about a rat with ambitions to be a great chef. Like the best animated films, as much for adults as for children.
Avalanche (Nadare) (1937) 7.5/10
The Rum Diary (2011) 6/10
Post Mortem (2010) 7/10
A Dangerous Method (2011) 5/10- Keira Knightley gives the worst performance of 2011
I saw The Devil's Backbone (2001) directed by Guillermo del Toro. Set at the end of the Spanish civil war, it is about a group of young boys in an orphanage in the middle of nowhere, the adults who look after them and the presence of a ghost of a boy.A very good film. The film was co-written by del Toro and is influenced by some of his own memories.
The Devil's Backbone is a reference to spina bifida.
The Devils Backbone is excellent and so is the directors other film Pans Labyrinth (very surprised at how much i liked that film)
I think you will really like Pans Labyrinth, so make it your next film to watch 
I have seen both Hellboy films and didnt like them at all
I saw From Here to Eternity (1953), one of the classics of the 1950s. Besides the main stars - Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr and Frank Sinatra, there were also Donna Reed, Mickey Shaughnessy, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, and uncredited Claude Akins in his debut. Makes Pearl Harbour (2001) seem even more pointless than it is.
Depot Of The Dead (Baza ludzi umarlych) (1959) 9/10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bizjPBo1j8w
Stone Wedding (Nunta de piatra) (1973) 7/10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfq9R4ayyoE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-MZFOM9QAI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXT7fCA4CRg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQCRJzE421c
The Iron Lady (2011) 5/10
Happy End (2011) 8/10
War Horse 8/10
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead 9/10 [2007] [ Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, directed by Sydney Lumet ]
I saw The Ghost Writer (AKA The Ghost) (2010) directed by Roman Polanski. A fairly good film, but with a rather pointless ending. Starred Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan.
This was the film Polanski was working on when he was arrested in September 2009 in Switzerland. The filming had been completed and he finished off the supervising of the editing from prison.
American film books show an American classification of PG-13 compared to the UK 15. This is due to the film being cut to a PG-13 rating for cinema release in the States.
The film included a cameo appearance from Eli Wallach - he would have been 94 at the time he was being filmed. He must be the oldest well known actor who has appeared regularly in films far past the normal returement age. His most recent film was in the Wall Street sequel made when he was 95, which puts him just ahead of the late Gloria Stuart (Titanic) and Lillian Gish who made their last films at the age of 94.
I resaw Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), the 1951 version with Alastair Sim. One of the best Dickens' adaptations. It was shown in a colourised version which was unecessary and in places was very poor. As often with Sim's film, George Cole was also in it, this time playing the young Ebenezer Scrooge.
Very near the end of the film is the scene where Scrooge visits his nephew's house. A maid opens the door to let him in and takes his coat. She looks extraordinarily like Audrey Hepburn and others have speculated on this in the past. She was in the UK in 1951 and had started her film career in very small roles so it is possible that it is her, but she is not credited and there is no documentary evidence to support this. The chances are that it isn't her as her first UK film role was in Laughter in Paradise which was released near the beginning of 1951 whereas Scrooge wasn't certified by the BBFC until late September.
I saw Tension at Table Rock, a western from 1956. Not one of the major westerns, but a good film with a decent script. Starred Richard Egan, Dorothy Malone and Cameron Mitchell. A small role for Angie Dickinson near the start of her film career. Also appearing as the gunman hired to kill off the sheriff was none other than DeForest Kelley - a pleasant surprise for any Star Trek fan.
I saw Gertrud (1964), Carl Dreyer's last film. It was based on a play by Hjalmar Soderberg and comes across as a filmed play. Very well put together but, as one would expect from Dreyer, as serious a film as one can get.
For an in depth analysis of the background to the film - this link to an article by Jonathan Rosenbaum.
Bridesmaids. It was very funny and I belly laughed!
Pastorali (1975) 8/10
My Week With Marilyn (2011) 7/10- I have now seen all 5 oscar nominated performances for best actress and i hope the winner will be Michelle Williams
I resaw Rope (1948), the Hitchcock film shown as one long scene though is composed of several sections due to the fact that the maximum length of a reel of celluloid film was 10 minutes and that the film was shot over several days.
This is a clip of the trailer for the film. It starts with a scene in Central Park between the victim and his girlfriend. This scene was deleted from the released film.
I resaw the original Point Blank (1957) directed by John Boorman and starring Lee Marvin. This was John Boorman's breakthrough film, previously he had made just one film, the British Catch us if you Can. Point Blank was the first mainstream film to be filmed in part on Alcatraz.
I saw Pandora's Box (1929). Directed by G W Pabst and starring Louise Brooks, this black and white silent film tells the story of Lulu, a high class prostitute and her eventual fate. Although Louise Brooks was American, she was too independently minded to fit in with the Hollywood system and so moved to Europe. Pabst chose her in preference to Marlene Dietrich for Pandora's Box and was right to do so. The film's success would depend entirely on which actress played Lulu, and Louise Brooks is mesmerising.
This is a film where a performance has become regarded as legendary and it is justified.
Although the film's subject is of an adult nature, the film is definitely of a PG nature. As a point of trivia, the film also features Alice Roberts who played the Countess Anna Geschwitz whose character is clearly lesbian, and this is regarded as the first film to do this.