I think the idea of all these films ( Paris, Searchers, Taxi Driver, Hardcore) is that you should have mixed feelings and perhaps your perspective changes somewhat each time you view the movies--I know mine does.kingrat wrote:This is another case of how I think I'm supposed to react (either being pleased the boy is reunited with his mother, or, as you suggest, an open ending) vs. the way I actually react (believing that what happens is a disaster for the boy).
LISTS
-
- Posts: 2645
- Joined: April 14th, 2007, 3:00 pm
Re: LISTS
Re: LISTS
Favorite fantasies.
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN. A much better movie than is usually acknowledged.
THE TIME MACHINE. Even better than WAR OF THE WORLDS, this H. G. Wells adventure is thrilling and insightful.
WAR OF THE WORLDS. See above!
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS. Creepiest, most disturbing of the Universal horror entries.
Do we count THEM? Is it Sci-Fi, horror or fantasy? I think it qualifies, and it's outstanding.
It's a stretch to include Ray Harryhausen's exciting "monster on the loose" films. THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS and IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA are pretty much the same story. Big animal wreaking havoc is not exactly classic literature. But the concept is other worldly. The scenario imaginative. It's as much fantasy as any other genre.
I'll think of some more later. Have to go now!
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN. A much better movie than is usually acknowledged.
THE TIME MACHINE. Even better than WAR OF THE WORLDS, this H. G. Wells adventure is thrilling and insightful.
WAR OF THE WORLDS. See above!
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS. Creepiest, most disturbing of the Universal horror entries.
Do we count THEM? Is it Sci-Fi, horror or fantasy? I think it qualifies, and it's outstanding.
It's a stretch to include Ray Harryhausen's exciting "monster on the loose" films. THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS and IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA are pretty much the same story. Big animal wreaking havoc is not exactly classic literature. But the concept is other worldly. The scenario imaginative. It's as much fantasy as any other genre.
I'll think of some more later. Have to go now!
Re: LISTS
King Rat...I liked the way you laid out the ingredients that make a good romantic fantasy:
( * ) Script
( * ) Chemistry
( * ) Music
( * ) Director maintaining the right tone
Kate and Mitchum...not a match made in heaven. I've thought that of Spence & Hedy in "I TAKE THIS WOMAN." Not a spark nor even an ember. But I saw "RIFF RAFF" recently, and Spence with Harlow made me slightly weak at the knees. It's all a delicate balancing act, isn't it. But without that good solid script, you've got bupkiss.
( * ) Script
( * ) Chemistry
( * ) Music
( * ) Director maintaining the right tone
Kate and Mitchum...not a match made in heaven. I've thought that of Spence & Hedy in "I TAKE THIS WOMAN." Not a spark nor even an ember. But I saw "RIFF RAFF" recently, and Spence with Harlow made me slightly weak at the knees. It's all a delicate balancing act, isn't it. But without that good solid script, you've got bupkiss.
Re: LISTS
In absolutely no order, here's a list of some acting performances that really impressed me. Peter O'Toole in GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS. I always cite this one first. The epitome of sensitive, unspoken characterization. The best acting I've ever seen. James Stewart in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. The great Stewart roles are pretty interchangeable. He's just as good in several others. But this is the one that hurls him through every emotion available, and he plays it deftly.
Katherine Hepburn, LION IN WINTER. I watched this movie expecting to admire O'Toole's work, but it was Hepburn's captive Queen I marveled at. Her interpretation of the shining dialogue is poetic. Her well oiled timing has never been matched. Deborah Kerr: SEPARATE TABLES. Timid and dominated, this role is far from the confident women she often plays. I watched the whole movie without even realizing it was her. An expert portrayal of a syndrome we've all witnessed, or lived.
Dustin Hoffman as LENNY. This tour de force allows one of our great modern actors to take a crack at stand-up comedy, drug addiction, arrest and trial, tragic death. What's not to like?
Also:
Carole Lombard: VIGIL IN THE NIGHT
Al Pacino: DOG DAY AFTERNOON
Spencer Tracy: INHERIT THE WIND
Jean Arthur: MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN
John Wayne: SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON. Duke was not a subtle performer; not always at his best. But in several films, he overacts so purely, with such conviction, the result is as impressive as those of the most classically trained thespians. This is his finest work.
Katherine Hepburn, LION IN WINTER. I watched this movie expecting to admire O'Toole's work, but it was Hepburn's captive Queen I marveled at. Her interpretation of the shining dialogue is poetic. Her well oiled timing has never been matched. Deborah Kerr: SEPARATE TABLES. Timid and dominated, this role is far from the confident women she often plays. I watched the whole movie without even realizing it was her. An expert portrayal of a syndrome we've all witnessed, or lived.
Dustin Hoffman as LENNY. This tour de force allows one of our great modern actors to take a crack at stand-up comedy, drug addiction, arrest and trial, tragic death. What's not to like?
Also:
Carole Lombard: VIGIL IN THE NIGHT
Al Pacino: DOG DAY AFTERNOON
Spencer Tracy: INHERIT THE WIND
Jean Arthur: MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN
John Wayne: SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON. Duke was not a subtle performer; not always at his best. But in several films, he overacts so purely, with such conviction, the result is as impressive as those of the most classically trained thespians. This is his finest work.
- JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: LISTS
Thanks! I never even saw this thread before.
Does anyone have a list of the directors or critics who voted in the Sight and Sound polls? I'd be curious.
Does anyone have a list of the directors or critics who voted in the Sight and Sound polls? I'd be curious.
Re: LISTS
Okay, I have to say that the love for "Vertigo" has always surprised me. Maybe that film was "forbidden fruit" for so long that it built up a mystique among film critics of a certain age, but I think it is inferior Hitchcock. The plot is too slow and too complex/hangs too much on coincidences for me.
Surprised "The Seven Samurai" didn't make the top 10, and surprised that "The Searchers" did. (To me it seems like there has been an anti-"Searchers" backlash brewing for several years, attacking the movie as racist.)
Very surprised that three silent films were in the top ten. I like "Sunrise" and was very impressed by "Passion of Joan of Arc" but I would put "City Lights" and "Metropolis" in my top 10.
Surprised "The Seven Samurai" didn't make the top 10, and surprised that "The Searchers" did. (To me it seems like there has been an anti-"Searchers" backlash brewing for several years, attacking the movie as racist.)
Very surprised that three silent films were in the top ten. I like "Sunrise" and was very impressed by "Passion of Joan of Arc" but I would put "City Lights" and "Metropolis" in my top 10.
- JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: LISTS
I was surprised by the lack of Kurosawa as well. But I am happy that The Searchers made the cut.
- movieman1957
- Administrator
- Posts: 5522
- Joined: April 15th, 2007, 3:50 pm
- Location: MD
Re: LISTS
A gallon of milk.
Cookies.
Eggs.
Pepsi.
Shampoo.
Winning lottery ticket.
Cookies.
Eggs.
Pepsi.
Shampoo.
Winning lottery ticket.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
- Sue Sue Applegate
- Administrator
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- Joined: April 14th, 2007, 8:47 pm
- Location: Texas
Re: LISTS
Milk.
OJ.
Apple turnovers.
Cheese.
Crackers.
Diet coke.
Another winning lottery ticket.
OJ.
Apple turnovers.
Cheese.
Crackers.
Diet coke.
Another winning lottery ticket.
Blog: http://suesueapplegate.wordpress.com/
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Thelma Ritter: Hollywood's Favorite New Yorker, University Press of Mississippi-2023
Avatar: Ginger Rogers, The Major and The Minor
Twitter:@suesueapplegate
TCM Message Boards: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/ ... ue-sue-ii/
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Thelma Ritter: Hollywood's Favorite New Yorker, University Press of Mississippi-2023
Avatar: Ginger Rogers, The Major and The Minor