I Just Watched...

[Swithin]

Ha!

But she certainly didn't splurge with her birthday dinner. (although I can personally attest that Papaya King frankfurters were terrific. 50 cents back in the day (1980's) Two of those dogs slathered with mustard and topped with loads of sauerkraut, washed down with their signature papaya drink, was New Yawk food of the gods.

But then of course that job at New Day Bookshop certainly didn't pay much.

A favorite movie moment with lie:

The women in the center of the photo is Paula Laurance, playing Diva and singing "Some Enchanted Evening." She was a dear friend. I miss her very much. (But I've never seen the movie!)

[Bronxgirl48]

Swithin, you know a lot of fascinating people!

[Lorna]

”ees verry fancee on ol’ Delancey Strēt u knooooooooooooow”

[Lorna]

”UndtE tell me VHAT STRĒT KOMPARES TO MOTTE STRĒT eine JULYYYYYYyyyyy?”

[Lorna]

so, we were talking about DISNEY and ANIMATION and SEEING MOVIES IN THE THEATER IN THE 1980's and I took a wild hair with some Christmas loot and bought FANTASIA (1941) on amazon prime (note- I would have rented it, but you can't rent it, you can only buy it. I may have been high when this decision was made.)

I first saw FANTASIA on a BIG SCREEN re-release sometime around 1983, and my Mother stressed that it was a "very big deal." The strongest memories I have are of the NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN sequence because DUH, I also remember liking the SORCERER'S APPRENTICE SEQUENCE and I really distinctly recall that the audience just WENT NUTS with LAUGHTER for the ALLIGATOR and HIPPO ballet sequence, which I personally didn't get it AT ALL.

in fact, as far as the film itself went [SETTING THE NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN SEQUENCE (makes the "HAIL SATAN" hand symbol,) BY THE SIDE], 6 year old me was distinctly tepid towards the rest of it.



Now that I am older, I can see why the audience enjoyed THE CROCODILE/HIPPO Ballet scene so much, not only is it funny, but it's something of a breath of fresh air from a lot of crushing, if well-crafted pretension that comes across a little bit like a well-intentioned (but probably accurate) history lesson designed specifically to piss of the religious right (which I also can't get mad at.)

40 years later and I'm still kinda tepid towards a lot of it- although as an extremely amateur illustrator myself, I get the artistry and the effort, and I will always salute hand-drawn animation- but without a cohesive plot or something HUMAN to really tie it together, I can see how this movie event went over like a lead brick back in 1941 and remained the "AMY CARTER" of all of WALT'S CINEMATIC CHILDREN.]

also, the scene with THE CENTAURS and THE CHERUBS even with the RACIST BITS REMOVED is still REALLY REALLY REAAAAAAAALLY EFFIN WEIRD.

and also, the opening sequence set to TOCCATA AND FUGUE IN D MINOR is the weakest of the sequences by far

and also, while they were I am sure necessitated by the times, the scenes of THE ORCHESTRA WARMING UP and (oh MY GOD) THE INTERMISSION just stop the film cold- I can't say if they stopped it cold back in 1941 and on all the re-releases or not, but I got really tired of listening to the "narrator" in between the segments as well.

[Lorna]

I really do reiterate that if the whole film had THE ENERGY and THE ARTISTRY and TOOK THE RISKS and made the INNOVATIONS that the NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN SEQUENCE does, then it would be really, really REALLY something.

I know it is an odd choice to end the movie on, but it's so superlative among the 8 entries, it's not hard to see why the choice was made to include it last.

[Detective Jim McLeod]

SPOORLOOS (1988) I stayed up late to revisit this one. There's nothing like it. The Hollywood version is junk.

Great film. I have seen it several times now. I was asleep but woke up at about the 30 min, mark. Then I was totally riveted again. The villain was despicable but fascinating in how he could have such a double life. It looks like they borrowed a bit from Ted Bundy when he puts a fake cast on his arm.

The ending still provides a jolt.

[TikiSoo]

I agree with everyone's posts about CROSSING DELANCY. I only saw it for the first time recently, like the past year or two and found it charming.
And yes, this fabulous scene was dropped into the movie like a cannonball in a kiddie pool but for some reason clearly resonates-

Amy Irving is perfectly cast as Izzy in CROSSING DELANCEY. She doesn't look like a Hollywood starlet; she looks like that girl in your college English class who is both pretty and smart, and who quite plausibly would take a job on the fringes of the literary world where she deals with books and authors. At the same time, she can look radiantly beautiful. I wish TCM would show THE COMPETITION, another film that shows her to best advantage.

I first fell in love with Amy Irving in some After School Special and think she's just adorable. I love her wide set almond eyes, heart shaped face and the Kinky hair is so 70s-90s JewIngenue.

[Swithin]

I agree with everyone's posts about CROSSING DELANCY. I only saw it for the first time recently, like the past year or two and found it charming.
And yes, this fabulous scene was dropped into the movie like a cannonball in a kiddie pool but for some reason clearly resonates-

Amy Irving is perfectly cast as Izzy in CROSSING DELANCEY. She doesn't look like a Hollywood starlet; she looks like that girl in your college English class who is both pretty and smart, and who quite plausibly would take a job on the fringes of the literary world where she deals with books and authors. At the same time, she can look radiantly beautiful. I wish TCM would show THE COMPETITION, another film that shows her to best advantage.

I first fell in love with Amy Irving in some After School Special and think she's just adorable. I love her wide set almond eyes, heart shaped face and the Kinky hair is so 70s-90s JewIngenue.

I have to answer Kingrat's question about Paula Laurence, which I will do later, but, in looking at the cast for Crossing Delancey, I notice that there are other cast members whom I've met or worked with. I've worked with Amy Irving, David Hyde Pierce, and Rosemary Harris. I've met Sylvia Miles and Amy Wright. It's such a New York movie, so it's not surprising that I've had contact with a few of the actors.

[Allhallowsday]

In a way, CROSSING DELANCEY makes a nice follow-on to AN UNMARRIED WOMAN, which in its last half hour is the 1970s fantasy version. The wife gets out of her marriage, meets an artist (so much more fun than a stuffy old lawyer) and she Finds Herself and is Free and Fulfilled and presumably lives happily unmarried ever after. Or, as we progress to CROSSING DELANCEY and the greater realism of 1988, she has a small apartment, sleeps with a married man when his wife is out of town, has a poorly-paying job at a bookstore, pines for a celebrated novelist who is a jerk, and spends a lot of time alone.

Amy Irving is perfectly cast as Izzy in CROSSING DELANCEY. She doesn't look like a Hollywood starlet; she looks like that girl in your college English class who is both pretty and smart, and who quite plausibly would take a job on the fringes of the literary world where she deals with books and authors. At the same time, she can look radiantly beautiful. I wish TCM would show THE COMPETITION, another film that shows her to best advantage.

I love AN UNMARRIED WOMAN!
AMY IRVING is perfect as Isabelle.

[Allhallowsday]

...The women in the center of the photo is Paula Laurance, playing Diva and singing "Some Enchanted Evening." She was a dear friend. I miss her very much. (But I've never seen the movie!)
...

TCM shows it frequently. I can't imagine not seeing the film especially since you know participants!
My favorite is Bubbe... someone mentioned REIZL BOZYK for the Oscar? Damned straight.