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| Ghulam |
 Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 1:48 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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Loved The Station Agent.
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| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 3:28 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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I might be the last here to see Cabaret.
I'm not much into musicals and never got around to it before.
I didn't even know that it was based on Isherwood stories until I saw his name in the opening credits. And then a little ways in, Liza introduces herself as Sally Bowles, a name I recognized from the film I Am a Camera.
The cabaret numbers have some quite striking movements and staging.
I liked the way Weimar decadence brushes up against fascism in the cabaret numbers with transvestites mocking Nazis. As the film went on, I found myself looking forward to more of Joel Grey's emcee. The film does a pretty good job of moving back and forth between the private lives of Sally and Brian and the cabaret world. Smartly, the film focuses on the musical and comedy numbers at the club without getting into the people and relationships there.
Kind of a different film than I expected. I also didn't realize it was from 1972, as I had a vague idea it was late 70's. Surprisingly, the film was made (slightly) closer to its 1931 setting than to today. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 3:56 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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gromit wrote: ....Sally Bowles, a name I recognized from the film I Am a Camera..... |
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That was great for you. How was it for me? |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 7:29 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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billyweeds wrote: For some reason or other I was convinced I had seen the 2003 feature The Station Agent,
Will watch. Though as with all movies featuring dwar.. mid... little people, I will be trying to keep echoes of In Bruges at bay.
Speaking of which, I note that in time for Easter Netflix has added Jesus of Fucking Nazareth, starring Robert Fucking Powell. |
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I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 7:59 pm |
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"Will watch. Though as with all movies featuring dwar.. mid... little people, I will be trying to keep echoes of In Bruges at bay."
When I saw In Bruges, I was pretty sure the dwarf was Peter Dinklage, but it wasn't. Apparently dwarfs look a lot like each other. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 6:29 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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marantzo wrote:
When I saw In Bruges, I was pretty sure the dwarf was Peter Dinklage, but it wasn't. Apparently dwarfs look a lot like each other.
They do, but not all that much. Not to be racist about it, but for some white people, all black people look vaguely alike, and more frequently all Asian people.
Peter Dinklage stands out for his remarkably handsome looks. He has always IMO had a strong resemblance to Robert Ryan. Dinklage also manages to be extremely sexy sometimes, which a lot of dwarves don't manage. Dinklage is also a superb actor, size aside. In any case, The Station Agent is one of my favorite films--suddenly and unexpectedly and amazingly.
Oh, and, Joe--it's streaming on the dreaded Netflix. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 11:20 am |
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| Dinklage was in a TV series about alien invasion (sort of) and he played a Mathematician and Linguist for the government group whose job was to find the aliens etc. Dinklage's character did what he wanted, and he did things that were troublesome. I loved his character. The series was Threshold and very good, but cancelled after 13 episodes. Was I pissed off. This was in 2005/6. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 4:01 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Enough Said was hugely satisfying. Real people with flaws finding their way to kindness and love.
The Wrong Man was Hitchcock taking a real story of miscarriage of justice and giving it a belly punch to this viewer. Henry Fonda at his very best. It hurt. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 4:36 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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I quite like The Wrong Man.
The first half is quintessential Hitchcock. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 10:35 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| I confess I thought the dwarf in In Bruges was Dinklage for a while, though they don't look that much alike. Dinklage is a very good actor, and The Station Agent's a great film. He also played Rowlie in the 2005 version of Lassie, which had a really impressive cast, in which he was a standout. The best was Hester Odgers (it's her only feature, playing the role Elizabeth Taylor did in the original) as O'Toole's grandaughter, and Samantha Morton is also on hand. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 11:36 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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| And some people think all classical music sounds alike, others think all jazz or hiphop or whatever sounds the same. Or all wine tastes the same. Or whatever. It's just ignorance borne out of unfamiliarity or disinterest. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 11:55 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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Watched a terrific Polish film, The Third Part of the Night (1971).
Nazi occupation and resistance, and whatever relationships can be managed during such, all are pitched at a feverish tilt. Handheld camerawork and distortions, crazed music, acting veering between deadpan and hyper-emotional all come together with the peculiar storyline to create a uniquely haunting film. The medical experiments/jobs are such a bizarre touch, amazingly based on actual history, and work as such a powerful metaphor of being subjected to occupation, while adding a further surreal element to the film. The lead actor does an amazing job, especially in the physical scenes.
The rare film that when it ended I was already looking forward to a second viewing. Just such a powerful atmosphere of dread and confusion and brief hints of possible salvation. The kind of kafkaesque and paranoid and haunting work that many films aspire to but having trouble pulling off. Really quite an achievement.
It's available from 2nd Run, who put out a lot of interesting Eastern European films.
Other 2nd Runs I'd rec:
Mother Joan of the Angels - possession in a convent (Poland)
The Cremator - surreal horror, as a man enjoys his work too much under Nazi occupation (Czech New Wave)
Larks on a String - political comedy set during reeducation-through-labor (Czech New Wave)
Marketa Lazarova - The Middle Ages, warring clans, brutality and religion ... avante-garde style. (Czech New Wave) |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 3:00 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Gromit..........Hitchcock is evident in the Bernard Hermann score and the disturbing camera angles in the jail. It's also a 50's view of NYC. But there's nothing jazzy and clever about it. It brings the reality of injustice up close and connects for me to the present day films like The West Memphis Five and The Central Park..... Henry Fonda is so sweet and likable.......it was hard to think of him as the cold father Jane Fonda has indicated he was.
I never saw The Wrong Man before and it never entered my consciousness. Now I will move on to I Confess which I have seen. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 7:47 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Fonda was widely reputed to be pretty cold and distant. More than one of his wives and g.f.'s killed themselves. He was just a fine actor and able to hide it on screen. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 9:46 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Beloved Rogue: John Barrymore as François Villon, the famous 15th century French poet (Villon:France=Chaucer:England), in a swashbuckling adventure neat the beginning of Louis XI's reign. Actually, it's screwed up a bit. From internal chronology, it takes place in 1457 when it would have to have taken place between 1461 (when Louis ascended the throne) and 1463 (when Villon disappeared from public view).
Really a good film during the first hour, when Villon is at odds with the King (Villon hates the Duke of Burgundy, with whom Louis is not ready to break openly). During the last half hour, it gets pretty silly, but it also gives an alternate explanation as to why Villon disappeared. My own opinion is he probably drank himself to death, but that wouldn't make much of a movie.
Lots of snow, because Villon is famous for the line "Mais où sont les neiges d'antan?"("Where are the snows of yesteryear") which was stolen by Dante Rossetti.
Damn, Marceline Day was beautiful.
What I don't understand is why Conrad Veigt chose to play Louis XI like he was Richard III. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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