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Joe Vitus |
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 1:41 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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I've heard it's wonderful. Never seen it myself. |
_________________ You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
-Topher |
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billyweeds |
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 2:53 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Syd wrote: Finally watching the 1940 The Thief of Bagdad. This is why Technicolor was invented.
It's possibly the most absolutely gorgeous Technicolor movie ever filmed. That plus Sabu equals cinematic heaven. |
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Syd |
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 3:15 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12894
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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I was captured from the very first frame, which is Jaffar's ship coming into port. The whole thing is a treat for the eyes and cracking good adventure, too. I loved the inside of the statue of the Goddess with the all-seeing eye.
EDIT: David Bordwell has a great essay on William Cameron Menzies, who was the set designer on both versions of The Thief of Bagdad, and many other films, including Gone with the Wind. You've seen his work in more classic films than you realize.
http://www.davidbordwell.net/essays/menzies.php |
_________________ 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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yambu |
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 6:18 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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I grew up with it. It was on TV continuously in the '50's. Black and white, of course. |
_________________ That was great for you. How was it for me? |
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Syd |
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:45 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12894
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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It's strange that I hadn't seen it. I saw The Jungle Book and Elephant Boy a number of times, as well as Black Narcissus and some of Sabu's lesser films. |
_________________ 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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yambu |
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 11:14 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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Me and You and Everyone We Knew. I can't search this place worth a shit, but Marj says it's been thoroughly gone over.
So let me be brief. Miranda July's eyes should be cryogenically preserved. Those two kids should be teaching somewhere. And I love, love our species, as we lurch toward love, sometimes busting through detours. We seek it so imperfectly, and the lucky achieve it so completely. This tale tells us it's not all luck, that our own foolish doggedness has its part. God bless movies. |
_________________ That was great for you. How was it for me? |
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Syd |
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 11:26 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12894
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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I'm watching the film version of Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord, which is mostly faithful to the novel, except that Ida and Victor already know each other before the film begins. Ida is positively flirtatious. The actress playing her is Caroline Goodall, who played Oskar Schindler's wife in Schindler's List, but is doing an exceptionally good job of channeling Emma Thompson here. Goodall was also the princess's mother in The Princess Diaries. I like her here, but then I love Emma Thompson.
I'd love to see a film version of Dragon Rider, which would probably have to be animated or CGI. Unfortunately, they'd probably give it to Chris Columbus, who is competent, but doesn't know how to make a film soar. |
_________________ 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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Syd |
Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 12:52 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12894
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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One issue The Thief Lord doesn't deal with (because the kids are still kids) is that Prosper and Hornet are both adopted by Ida and Victor. I give about six months before the safe sex lecture or locking the bedroom doors.. A minor difference that actually is important is that in the novel, Hornet discovers Prosper and Bo, and later introduced them to Scipio. In the movie, Scipio discovers them himself. It makes a real difference as to who Prosper feels loyalty to and who he feels dubious about.
The film version isn't successful, because it tries to stick closely to the novel while trying to reduce to 98 minutes, which means they had to skimp on plot development. I doubt whether it works unless you've read the novel, in which case you'll wind up frustrated. It isn't terrible, but I think Inkheart was more successful. |
_________________ 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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Syd |
Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 1:13 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12894
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Next up is Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1994.. Maya Lin designed the Vietnam Memorial. It was later modified to add a more heroic vision, but her vision has stood the test of time. She was all of 21 years old at the time. |
_________________ 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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billyweeds |
Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 5:10 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Syd wrote: Next up is Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1994.. Maya Lin designed the Vietnam Memorial. It was later modified to add a more heroic vision, but her vision has stood the test of time. She was all of 21 years old at the time.
This reminded me of the TV movie To Heal a Nation, still not available on DVD, in which Eric Roberts gives a searing performance as Jan Scruggs, the Vietnam veteran who came up with the idea and raised the money for the memorial in the first place. Tamlyn Tomita plays Maya Lin. It's a pretty amazing little movie, and Roberts hits his career peak in a rare role for him as a totally sincere and admirable person. I hope this gets a DVD release. |
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Marj |
Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 10:54 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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Tonight on CUNY TV - a show called "City Cinemateque" screened Liliom. There was a discussion afterward which really consisted of the host and one man from the Smithsonian in NY who talked about Fritz Lang and everyone involved with the making of the film; their backgrounds and the fact that everyone ended up in Hollywood, including the film's star, Charles Boyer.
Unfortunately, after the had gone through the credits, the earlier versions of the film and its incarnations on the stage - R&H were moved to do Carousel, not as a result of seeing this film but after seeing it on stage with Burgess Meredith and Ingrid Bergman, there were only a few minutes to discuss the film itself.
The main difference they found between this film and Carousel was the idea of suicide. Although they did discuss the erotic nature of Liliom, which they found highly so, especially in the opening carousel scene. But it was the arc, or lack thereof of Liliom himself, I found most interesting. He never really changes, grows or feels any remorse. It's our understanding of his character that does. Too bad they never got around to how Julie feels about him.
I wish they had more time, but it was still worth watching. Perhaps there was a tad too much pontificating but still it made for a worthwhile evening. |
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Ghulam |
Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 12:26 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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The 1947 movie Quai des Orfevres (France's "Scotland Yard") is about jealousy, murder and detective work. I do not recall what made me order it from Netflix, but it turned out to be a very well made and delightful movie. The director, Henri-Georges Clouzot, is best known to us as the French Hitchcock for such movies as The Wages of Fear and Diabolique, but here he gives us a potpourri of mystery, farce, satire and a grim depiction of post-war Paris.
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Syd |
Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 12:26 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12894
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1994, the year Hoop Dreams didn't get nominated. I haven't seen Hoop Dreams, so I don't know if this was an injustice, but Maya Lin is a very good documentary about artistic vision and artistic courage. She is most famous for her original design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which was controversial at the time because it was so stark and the artist was an Asian-American. Finally they added a sculpture near the entrance which few people remember, but everyone remembers the wall. (Another sculpture was added in 1993 to commemorate the women who served in Vietnam.)
She did that in 1981, and the story occupies the first 30 minutes of an 80-minute documentary. The rest focuses on what she has done since then. In particular, the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama and the Women's Table at Yale University are remarkable in their own right. Maya Lin is at her best with these deceptively simple works. I like "Eclipsed Time," a pure art work which supplies the last image in the film. Maya Lin also is an architect, both of houses and landscape. Really a remarkable woman.
A lot of her work (but by no means all of it) is at http://www.mayalin.com/ , which has both remarkable works and "Maya, what the hell were you thinking" works. |
Last edited by Syd on Mon Apr 05, 2010 9:01 am; edited 1 time in total _________________ 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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marantzo |
Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:51 am |
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Thanks Syd. Take the period off the end of the link though or it doesn't work. |
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knox |
Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 11:33 am |
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Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1245
Location: St. Louis
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Befade wrote: Lars and the Real Girl is one of the sweetest movies I've seen in a long time. And it just makes the case for Ryan Gosling being able to carry any film, any story. Tennessee Williams said he wrote about sensitive people who have torment in the world and that making a human connection is the most valuable experience one can have. Lars could have been one of his characters.........but surrounded by understanding friends.
Love that film -- the way the whole town sort of gets behind the concept -- makes a case for what the word community should really mean. Carries on the imaginary friend/love theme established in "Harvey." Gosling also held his own in that sci-fi thing with Naomi Watts (a Lulu on the Bridge knockoff) (title? unghhhh....) -- he keeps surprising me.
Also glad to hear praise for Me, You, Everyone we Know (from Bill Weeden, I think -- yeah, I found him on imdb, and saw his head explode! what grand company here at 3 Eye!) which made me instantly a John Hawkes fan. And Miranda July....sigh. Must rent it again. |
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