WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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feaito

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by feaito »

JackFavell wrote:I wanted to write earlier that watching Berkeley Square with SOTM Leslie Howard was a real treat! Thanks to RO and TCM for making this one available to see. I enjoyed it very much, thought that the story was really different, showing how awful the reality of time travel might be. Howard was so melancholy as the man who thought he was born in the wrong time (modern day), only to find he can't deal with living in the past he has chosen. Heather Angel was excellent as Howard's beloved Helen, so far, she has never disappointed me in the few movies I've seen with her. Does anyone know why her career petered out? I found the story engrossing and did shed tears at the end from the power of the two leads performances.

I do wish it had been directed with more style and pace. The mise en scene could have been incredible but I thought that Frank Lloyd's direction was just adequate here. It's a shame, he did a couple other movies that were very good, even magical, but this one just bothered me a tad. You have all of Hollywood's magic at your disposal, and yet there was no real magic for me at the moment when Howard goes back in time. Just a shot of the door opening into the house from the outside during modern times, then a cut to a shot of the door opening slowly on the inside seemingly by itself into 1784, and that's it. Now you are in the past, and there is nothing interesting about it. A few blurred dissolves were all Lloyd had up his sleeve as a director?
Wendy, I agree with you. I watched the film on youtube in May 2009 and this what I wrote back then. Try to get hold of "I'll Never Forget You" (1951) to compare:
Secondly I watched "Berkeley Square" (1933), a film that had eluded me for years. As a kid I was flabbergasted by the 1951 Remake "I'll Never Forget You" (1951) with Tyrone Power and Ann Blyth, which I got to revisit for the second time as an adult, only recently thanks to its release on DVD. I had read that the 1933 film was superior than its remake and to a certain point I agree. I guess that it's more faithful to its source -a stage play- and thus, its stage origins are more apparent in the 1933 film. I think that the screenplay of the first version is better, but the changes that were made in adapting the story in 1951 and the chemistry between Ty Power and Ann Blyth, improved on the original version from a Romantic point of view. The 1933 film is well acted and touching in some parts, but certain scenes have a too-stagey feeling, whilst the 1951 version, although not as impressive to watch as a grown-up, is more endearing and has a special magic quality that trascends the story. I'd like to watch a good copy of the 1933 movie, because the print I saw at youtube is quite poor. But I'm glad that I had the opportunity to watch it. Someone like Borzage would have been better suited to this material than Frank Lloyd.
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

My gosh, Fer! You took the words right out of my mouth, literally! I had a sentence in my above review that read, "The movie could have been magical had a Borzage directed it..." :shock: I thought it was too harsh and i didn't want to compare directors. I guess I just never forgot I was watching a movie, and I wanted to be swept away by it. I was, somewhat, but little things kept pulling me back from it.

It was funny though. In the moment before the movie started, right at 9:45, after Robert Osbourne did his introduction, and the TCM logo flashed on the screen, just in the pause before the actual movie came on, the wind here in Connecticut picked up suddenly. It whipped around the windows blowing the curtains up and I could hear it rushing in the trees on either side of the house. I swear, I thought Leslie Howard was coming through time to find me! :D
feaito

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by feaito »

I
t was funny though. In the moment before the movie started, right at 9:45, after Robert Osbourne did his introduction, and the TCM logo flashed on the screen, just in the pause before the actual movie came on, the wind here in Connecticut picked up suddenly. It whipped around the windows blowing the curtains up and I could hear it rushing in the trees on either side of the house. I swear, I thought Leslie Howard was coming through time to find me!
That's an uncanny out-of-this-world experience! :shock:
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

I wish I could have gone back in time to 1930's Hollywood!
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by Rita Hayworth »

JackFavell wrote:I wish I could have gone back in time to 1930's Hollywood!
I do too. And, remain there for the duration of my life ... hopefully!!!
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by charliechaplinfan »

[quote="JackFavell"]Chris: I liked it! (Lina Lamont voice) :D

For me, Alison, Madame De... would be hands down above the other Ophuls. Probably because of Boyer mainly, but all the actors in it have supreme control over the frail nuances of romantic despair. The story is more mature, and seems to me to be just a bit more intricate. But I love all the Ophuls movies I've seen so far.

quote]

I have to agree about it's maturity, LFAUW doesn't deal with mature emotions rather adults with adolescent feelings towards love. At a push I'd chose Earrings because it is perfect.

It's been so long since I watched From Here To Eternity, I appreciate your write up, I must watch it again soon.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

I've never really "gotten" From Here to Eternity kingrat. Thanks for noting some things that might make it a better watch for me.

Speaking of Ernie, I watched The Catered Affair from beginning to end yesterday, and cried my eyes out. It's not an easy watch, and I have moments where I'd like to leave, it's so painful, but it's so worthwhile. It's a really great movie, and I don't know why it's not better known. The acting is faultless, with Davis and Borgnine perfectly matched, at least acting wise. :D
feaito

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by feaito »

I have just seen and interesting, odd little film titled "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid" (1948) in which Bill Powell plays a man nearing 50 suffering a middle-age crisis. He's married to Irene Hervey and one day, while on vacation on an island he literally fishes a mermaid (lovely Ann Blyth, who does not utter a single a word during the whole film). This movie has pretty bold aspects for the Code (a middle-aged man after a "naked" young mermaid who could well be his granddaughter; he romances her, she falls for him and they kiss each other; a flirting wife; a flirtatious young woman after Powell, etc.) Quite unique and amusing.
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

Thanks kingrat. You're right, I think the casting really throws me in FHTE. I can't get around it, though I never realized before how much it bothers me.

I love Mr Peabody and the Mermaid! I have to thank MissG for recommending it. I'm so glad someone else has seen it now. I agree about the adult implications of the film. It's an odd picture, but I found it very moving.
feaito

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by feaito »

Indeed Wendy! I did not know that it was also fave of April. :D
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knitwit45
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by knitwit45 »

Add me to that short list, 'Nando! I remember seeing it when I was about 10 or 11, didn't get all the implications, just loved the whole idea of a mermaid in love with the marvelous Mr. Powell.
feaito

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by feaito »

:D
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MissGoddess
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by MissGoddess »

I saw Mr Peabody long ago and it made such an impression. Then I watched it again on TCM in just the past year, and still found it touching....I had been expecting just a silly little fluffy comedy and was in tears at the end. I never saw William Powell so poignant before. It's one of his finest hours as an actor. It is rather a novel way to tell an adult tale about a man coming to terms with aging by couching it in a romantic fantasy. Love it and I'm delighted that Olive Films will be releasing it on DVD!
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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