Recently Watched Films

[Root Doctor]

[Dan Warburton]

Nice.

Meanwhile..



Mel Brooks, History Of The World Pt 1, 1981

"It's good to be king.."

And, for light relief -



Steven Spielberg, Schindler's List, 1993

[Dan Warburton]

Vittorio De Sica, Sciuscia, 1946

About time somebody cleaned this up and gave it a deluxe reissue - my (new) DVD is an old German print, with atrocious sound quality and grainy / fuzzy image. But the film is every bit as good as De Sica's better known Ladri di Biciclette. It's the kind of bleak tale that would have suited Bresson (several similarities with L'Argent, Bresson's last film), but the raw, rough language and cinematography are more like Renoir and Vigo.

[leroysghost]

nice call on De Sica. along with the one's you mentioned, i also like his I Bambini ci Guardano and Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini a lot (and, of course, Umberto D.).
I also love his gonzo acting turn in Blood for Dracula, but that's a whole other kettle of fish....

today i saw,

Ulu Grosbard - Straight Time (1978)

solid, unromantic ex-con flick. some really nice details in this one, along with a fabulous supporting cast.
Gary Busey, Theresa Russell, M. Emmet Walsh and Kathy Bates all turn in great performances.
plus Harry Dean Stanton playing "hand me down my walking cane"!!!!

[Dan Warburton]

Thanks for the info - have never seen this but am a big Dustin fan (not to mention Harry Dean Stanton and Kathy Bates fan) so looks like I should go check it out. Browsing through Grosbard's entry on IMDb here.. seem to recall seeing True Confessions a long time ago. Recommend any others of his, ô fantôme du roi?

[leroysghost]

i was unaware of Grosbard prior to seeing Straight Time (although now that you mention it, i think i've seen and been bored to tears by True Confessions). it would seem that Hoffman originally wanted to direct the film himself, but was too unsure of his abilities so he brought in a buddy of his (Grosbard) to do the job for him.

[Dan Warburton]

Yes, I see Dustin also stars in this http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067980/ complete with Bob Dylan wispy moustache. Anyone seen this?

[Jesse]

Dan, I am a huge Ulu Grosbard fan, have been since those three films were released. I won't say much about them, until you've seen them, but True Confessions and the exceedingly strange Harry Kellerman... are well worth your trouble. Grosbard's wife has a small, but indelible role in True Confessions (as the madame in a flea bag whorehouse).
I have seen Straight Time many times. Really good turns by M. Emmet Walsh and Gary Busey and Harry Dean Stanton.
Grosbard told the stories of the powerless in unsentimental fashion, as well as the absolutely corrupting influence of fame (Kellerman) and institutional power (the Catholic Church, in Confessions).
I think the final scene in True Confessions is a contender for greatest endings in American films. I also think it might be Duvall's finest performance.

[Dan Warburton]

Praise indeed. My bank manager will curse you.

[eraritjaritjaka]

nice choices, never seen Judgment, where did you get a hold of that one?

i got it from a torrent tracker. in terms of legitimate commercial release, it was included on the recent Cinema16 'World Shorts' DVD.


recently watched:


The Baby - Ted Post (1973)

interesting little psych-horror flick from the 70s. brings to mind the controversy of the attempted adoption of the feral-child genie by her case worker, which happened a few years before the release of this movie. a decent flick with some nice creepy moments.



Deadly Prey - David A. Prior (1987)

'so bad it's good'-style 'first blood' ripoff. looks like it was shot in a city park. the 'grenades' are firecrackers. some very memorable scenes here. recommended!



Take Aim At The Police Van - Suzuki Seijun (1960)

i was quite taken with this at first; my eyes were glued to the screen for the first half. but the last half begins to sag. very well shot and composed, and consistently entertaining, but left little lasting effect on me.
it certainly piqued my interest in the director however.



Guns on the Clackamas: A Documentary - Bill Plympton (1995)

comedic faux-documentary about a movie production troubled by financial woes, cast/crew disagreements, and dying actors. not really familiar with bill plympton so i cant compare it to his animated work. a bit uneven, but has some great, funny moments.

[Dan Warburton]

I love this thread.



Julien Duvivier, Marie-Octobre, 1959

Interesting that it opens with a Lost Highway-like drive through the night, as the rest of the film takes place in one room, an Agatha Christie-like whodunnit huis clos with an all-star cast (Reggiani, Ventura, Darrieux, Meurisse, Blier etc etc). Plot turns out a bit contrived, but I won't spoil the ending if you're interested. Subtitles (French only) on the DVD pretty essential. Not bad, but if you like this genre of filmed theatre, I'd recommend Hitchcock's Rope or Lifeboat instead.

[Jesse]

My bank manager will curse you.

Curse him back. You have more than enough ammo these days.

[Gaendaal]

Doubt (dir. John Patrick Shanley, 2008)



A fairly predictable story, nicely acted with some quite beautiful moments that's pretty much ruined by the final scene.

(Note: also one of those films where the DVD extras actually detract from the main feature by showing the director to be insufferably smug).

[leroysghost]

the DVD extras actually detract from the main feature by showing the director to be insufferably smug.

i think this was pretty clear from the ham-fisted, over the top direction in the film itself. was there a single scene that didn't have a light bulb exploding or the actors being practically bowled over by gale force winds?

[Dan Warburton]

Akira Kurosawa, Shichinin no Samurai, 1954

[Jesse]

Seven Samurai-
The only DVD (in my several DVD collection ) I have upgraded to a deluxe edition. Released the year I was born, I was so in awe of this film for so many of my younger years, I irrelevantly measured all other movies against it.

[Dan Warburton]

Marcel Carné, Les Tricheurs, 1958

Laurent Terzieff and Pascale Petit (above) are good as the bored existentialists, but the acting elsewhere is a bit wooden and the direction, though superb (well it's Carné) seems to belong to an era long before the hip bop everyone's listening to in his Saint Germain cafés (great soundtrack!). Hard to believe we're only a couple of years away from Les 400 Coups and A bout de souffle.

[leroysghost]

Billy Wilder - Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

this movie is utterly insane........

[surfer]

Ikiru (Kuroswa, 1952) - A truly great film, and one worthy of the accolades heaped on it. My immediate thought is to compare it to the contemporaneous Italian realists, particularly Umberto D, which came out the same year. There's a lot of De Sica and early Fellini here, imo. I've only seen 1 other Kurosawa (iirc) Rashoman, which underwhelmed me, mostly because of Kurosawa's inabililty to control the exaggerated facial expressions of his leads. It's a style of theatrical acting which when transposed to the magnifying glass of the big screen and big lens, becomes overwrought and melodramatic. Shimura's (Watanabe-san) performance is neither. It is otoh subtle, layered, yes at times sentimental (but earned sentiment), tragic, and poignant. Its message may have been repeated millions of times over the years, but this does not dilute its power. Cinematography, music, composition, pacing, everything great. I might be able to nitpick here and there, but why bother.

[Jesse]

I think Ikiru is among he top 2-3 Kurosawa greats, and in my top 20 films.