Category: classic film

Filling in the Film Holes re. Two Past Mammoth Films

Time Magazine just released another of their polls, “the best movies from every decade”. I had some holes in my film files, so just like summer construction, it was time to fill in some potholes. I rented Brian De Palma’s Blowout with John Travolta and a very young and too believably creepy John Lithgow. Dennis… Continue reading Filling in the Film Holes re. Two Past Mammoth Films

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952): Nothin’ But (No) Net

The Greatest Show on Earth was yet another gaping hole in my classic film viewing. After seeing Singing in the Rain and aghast that it hadn’t won Best Picture, I decided now was the time to see what was victor. And TGSOE was the 1952 Oscar winning film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. At over… Continue reading The Greatest Show on Earth (1952): Nothin’ But (No) Net

Scorsese’s Godard Pick: Contempt

I certainly was familiar with Jean-Luc Godard was, but upon seeing his recent death, knew I was deficient in experience. So when I saw Martin Scorsese loved Contempt, that was my ticket. Based on the Italian novel by the same name, Godard chose the buttocks bombshell Bridgette Bardot as the female lead. Here she plays… Continue reading Scorsese’s Godard Pick: Contempt

Doy! Vs. Joy, Take a Guess Which Decade Did Film Better

I watched the movie Happily written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski Friday and then had the joy of watching City Lights written and directed by Charlie Chaplin for two nights straight. And now you already know which was the DOY! as in the DUMB of the two films. To be fair BenDavid (a tellingly ridiculous… Continue reading Doy! Vs. Joy, Take a Guess Which Decade Did Film Better

Sometimes ya gotta go back to a French classic…Purple Noon, not a typo for Rain, but there could have been a raspberry beret

I’ll take a movie recommendation from anyone who says one of his favorites is Before the Devil Knows Your Dead…SOLD. so I took in a couple of lazy stay out of the melanoma hours of sun to watch Purple Noon, directed by Rene Clement. Yes, it was in French with subtitles, but good for the… Continue reading Sometimes ya gotta go back to a French classic…Purple Noon, not a typo for Rain, but there could have been a raspberry beret

Rebecca, the Original 1940

In anticipation of watching the Armie Hammer remake, I had to first watch the original Rebecca from 1940, which is the only film Hitchcock ever won an Oscar (and this for film, not direction). The 1940’s version starts Laurence Olivier as the oxymoronic man both aloof and temperamental. The character, at least portrayed here is… Continue reading Rebecca, the Original 1940

The Parallax View’s 1974 Sage Advice for 2020

Coincidentally themed, Rashomon (1950) and The Parallax View (1974), a film I watched last night, both address how an object (in both films the object in question is a crime) can look different depending on the angle from which you view it. An not to sound too much like Mister Rogers, but, ‘Kids, isn’t that… Continue reading The Parallax View’s 1974 Sage Advice for 2020

Rashomon (1950): I Know Nothing, How Invigorating!

I grew up a poor white child…ok, that’s take off on The Jerk, but seriously folks, I’ve got holes in my cinematography education since all my learning has been self-taught. So Covid 19 is a mighty fine time to study some greats of whom I am ignorant. Kurasawa for Pete’s sake! I started with Rashomon… Continue reading Rashomon (1950): I Know Nothing, How Invigorating!

My First Foray into Luis Bunuel: “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie”

This offering was presented to me after an astute lady referenced Bunuel in comparison to Bong Joon Ho. I had heard Bunuel’s name certainly, but not his work. Thus I went for his winner of the 1973 Best Foreign Film, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie”. I like social and economic class satire (a recent… Continue reading My First Foray into Luis Bunuel: “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie”