Douglas Sirk

[mrsl]

dfordoom:

Probably the audience didn't, but that's what got me in trouble last time on the TCM board. I made the comment; 'If he hated America and Americans so much, why didn't he go back to Europe and make his movies after the war had ended?' I was told then, that we wouldn't have all those wonderful Sirk movies to enjoy, and that's when I quit and left the thread, which I'm going to do now to avoid any repeats.

We'll talk on other subjects, okay?

Anne

[dfordoom]

I made the comment; 'If he hated America and Americans so much, why didn't he go back to Europe and make his movies after the war had ended?'

I don't think he hated America or Americans. Criticising certain aspects of a culture doesn't imply any dislike of the people of that country at all.

[jdb1]

I made the comment; 'If he hated America and Americans so much, why didn't he go back to Europe and make his movies after the war had ended?'

I don't think he hated America or Americans. Criticising certain aspects of a culture doesn't imply any dislike of the people of that country at all.

I haven't at all gotten the sense from his films that Sirk hated America. I think the stories of his "women's pictures period" dealt more with the idea of how we have to behave in society, and since these were American stories, he gave us American society. I always thought of his films of this period as having a souped-up, middle class, Henry James kind of atmosphere: people constricted, and at times destroyed, by the societal pressures of their time. If he had made these films in Europe, I doubt they would have been very different in style or content.

[MikeBSG]

I enjoyed "Written on the Wind," but I don't consider it one of my favorite movies.

A Sirk film I enjoyed much more was "The Tarnished Angels," which was in black-and-white and set in the Thirties (although made in the Fifties with many of the people from "Written on the Wind.") I didn't feel there was "distance" between the director and the material on "Tarnished Angels." I believed that he meant the viewers to be caught up in the story, instead of keeping our distance.

I keep my eye opened for "Lured" and "Scandal in Paris" and will probably get them from Netflix sometime (or watch on TCM), but there are other directors I like far more.

[MissGoddess]

I love Sirk's films! And I'm so glad I sought out his early work, too, which is as good or even better than his Universal peak-period. Anyone who is a fan must see A SCANDAL IN PARIS, which is excruciatingly funny, deeply sophisticated, witty and beautifully acted by George Sanders (his best role until DeWitt). I can't say enough about this film.

Of his more famous movies, I like All That Heaven Allows the best. I just bought the Criterion dvd and watched his BBC interview. Which, by the way, makes it clear he didn't "hate" America at all. In fact, he criticized European cinema for lacking the vitality of American cinema. However, he was direct about his opinions and if he saw something he thought cheap or hypocritical about society he put it out there. He and his wife went through heck during the Nazi regime so he understandably came through a saddenend, somehwat dour man like many who underwent the same. That's why A Scandal in Paris is so "fresh" compared to the others, he seemed happily energized by his growing career in the New World.

When I watched ATHA yesterday I was particularly enjoying the music by Frank Skinner. How lovely it was, accompanying that opening shot of the little town in all it's fall splendour; breathtaking.

[traceyk]

I've only seen "magnificent Obsession" and "Lured." "Lured" I loved, even with the melodramatic ending. "Obsession" struck me as totally ridiculous, soap-opera worthy silliness, but I got sucked in. I couldn't help myself--I sat there and watched the whole thing, hating every minute of it. Oy.

Tracey

[MissGoddess]

I've always been a fan of A Time to Love and a Time to Die.

I really want to see this film. Do you know if it's available anywhere on vhs or dvd?

[jdb1]

I've only seen "magnificent Obsession" and "Lured." "Lured" I loved, even with the melodramatic ending. "Obsession" struck me as totally ridiculous, soap-opera worthy silliness, but I got sucked in. I couldn't help myself--I sat there and watched the whole thing, hating every minute of it. Oy.

Tracey

Too true about soaps, and I think that's what makes them so popular. I always say I hate the daytime soaps, but long time ago, when I was recuperating from an illness, I got involved with General Hospital. I thought it was so dumb (it was in the Luke & Laura heyday), but I just couldn't tear myself away. It's the compelling nature of the human condition that keeps us interested, and I think Sirk was very good at showing us that. (I feel the same about Obsession - I also think it's ridiculous, but something about it makes me watch anyway.)

[MissGoddess]

Thanks, John. It aired at MoMA retrospective of Sirk's films last year but unfortunately I missed it.

[traceyk]

jdb-
I know what you mean about soaps. My sister, Kris and I were hooked on "Days of Our Lives" for years. Kris blames our mom--I'm 4 years older, and when I was in school, Mom would put on the TV and iron or fold clothes or whatever, while Kris played on the floor int he same room, so she says she was warped as a child. I don't know what my excuse was. LOL

The drama of the human condition--do you suppose that's what makes those so-called reality shows so darn popular?

Tracey

[jdb1]

jdb-
IThe drama of the human condition--do you suppose that's what makes those so-called reality shows so darn popular?
Tracey

Yes, that, and schadenfreude.

Do you know, there was an attorney here at my firm who was a participant in one of the Real World series, and I never even knew it until after he left the firm. I've only looked in occasionally at that show - those self-absorbed young people give me the willies - and I never saw the episodes he was in.

[Moraldo Rubini]

Anyone familiar with Douglas Sirk's earlier works? I have a terrible copy (Kino) of La Habanera starring the legendary Zarah Leander, that he made in Nazi Germany when he was still billed as Detlef Sierck. It's a chillingly fascinating film that rhapsodizes about the superiority of Aryan living. Creepy, especially when we consider that Sirk later had to flee the Nazis.

I'm a fan of his 1950's soapsters, and love them for some of the very reasons that causes Anne to roll her eyes. The overwrought absurdities (becoming a surgeon so easily, for example) simply add to my fun. But I'm more curious about his other works, his development, how his style formed to the culmination that his fans so enjoy.

I'd love to see what Sirk did to the West in Taza, Son of Cochise; it sounds the campiest of all. I understand it was shot in 3-D. What a riot it would be to see it in this format.

And yes, kudos to Todd Haynes' beautiful homage Far From Heaven (featuring Elmer Bernstein's final score).