WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Looks like I need to get in touch with my feminine side. OK. The man was hot!
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Last night at Facets, I saw a brilliant short, NEEDLE (Anahita Ghazvinizadeh 2013). A young girl is taken to get her ears pierced. That's it. But in the film's 21 minutes, an entire interior world is revealed.
In the opening shot, Lilly is in the foreground on her bed with a blank to sullen expression. In the deep background, slightly out-of-focus and with muffled sound (I at first thought that the projectionist and sound system were faulty, but came to see the intentionality), is her mother talking on the phone. Lilly uses some hand sanitizer.
In the car on the way to get Lilly's ears pierced, mother is yakking away at her -- What were you doing? Who were you talking to? Do I know him? -- and Lilly is responding in typically minimalist fashion. They meet a doctor in the hall at a hospital. The doctor seems too familiar with Lilly, almost discomforting to me, touching her arm and head. In his office, mother starts in -- Is the needle sterile? Aren't you going to wear gloves? The spots you've marked aren't symmetrical. Mother and doctor are in the midst of a divorce, and Lilly is both literally and figuratively in the middle.
Lilly excuses herself to go to a restroom. She walks into the men's room and looks around, then into the mirror. She washes off the marks from her ear lobes.
In the car, mother is taking Lilly elsewhere for the piercing. Lilly says it isn't that important. Mother says she promised her it would be done today, took off work to do it, and it's going to be done. They go to a piercing business. Two young piercers, one male and one female. They wear latex gloves and are going to use those piercing guns. Mother gets a call from the doctor and she goes outside to yak away. The piercers are frozen, not wanting to do anything outside the mother's presence. Lilly tells them the call will take a long time so they should just do it. As in the doctor's office, she is between a male and a female. Each takes an ear. Unlike the doctor's office, this is a cooperative venture. The female piercer finishes quickly. The male's gun jams. But, together, they fix the problem. And we see Lilly with her pierced ears.
Lilly is between two sets of two worlds -- male/female and youth/teenage. Throughout, she is struggling to reconcile her place in a space that seems out of her control. And the Freudian angle of the male's gun jamming is a marvelous touch -- one that was purely serendipitous. The gun wasn't suppose to jam, and the female piercer walked off-screen assuming that the director would cut. The director and cinematographer, however, decided on the spot to keep rolling and waved the female piercer back into the shot. They later re-shot the scene, but decided to keep the first take -- and a wise decision it was.
"Needle", not "The Needle" or "A Needle" -- both to signify the implement (noun) and the action (verb).
Anahita Ghazvinizadeh is in her early- to mid-twenties. She was raised in Iran and studied film there, including workshops with Abbas Kiarostami. She re-located to Chicago about two years ago to get her MFA at the School of the Art Institute. NEEDLE was shot in Chicago.
NEEDLE was awarded the 1st Prize Cinefondation at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Jane Campion presided over the jury for that prize.
In the opening shot, Lilly is in the foreground on her bed with a blank to sullen expression. In the deep background, slightly out-of-focus and with muffled sound (I at first thought that the projectionist and sound system were faulty, but came to see the intentionality), is her mother talking on the phone. Lilly uses some hand sanitizer.
In the car on the way to get Lilly's ears pierced, mother is yakking away at her -- What were you doing? Who were you talking to? Do I know him? -- and Lilly is responding in typically minimalist fashion. They meet a doctor in the hall at a hospital. The doctor seems too familiar with Lilly, almost discomforting to me, touching her arm and head. In his office, mother starts in -- Is the needle sterile? Aren't you going to wear gloves? The spots you've marked aren't symmetrical. Mother and doctor are in the midst of a divorce, and Lilly is both literally and figuratively in the middle.
Lilly excuses herself to go to a restroom. She walks into the men's room and looks around, then into the mirror. She washes off the marks from her ear lobes.
In the car, mother is taking Lilly elsewhere for the piercing. Lilly says it isn't that important. Mother says she promised her it would be done today, took off work to do it, and it's going to be done. They go to a piercing business. Two young piercers, one male and one female. They wear latex gloves and are going to use those piercing guns. Mother gets a call from the doctor and she goes outside to yak away. The piercers are frozen, not wanting to do anything outside the mother's presence. Lilly tells them the call will take a long time so they should just do it. As in the doctor's office, she is between a male and a female. Each takes an ear. Unlike the doctor's office, this is a cooperative venture. The female piercer finishes quickly. The male's gun jams. But, together, they fix the problem. And we see Lilly with her pierced ears.
Lilly is between two sets of two worlds -- male/female and youth/teenage. Throughout, she is struggling to reconcile her place in a space that seems out of her control. And the Freudian angle of the male's gun jamming is a marvelous touch -- one that was purely serendipitous. The gun wasn't suppose to jam, and the female piercer walked off-screen assuming that the director would cut. The director and cinematographer, however, decided on the spot to keep rolling and waved the female piercer back into the shot. They later re-shot the scene, but decided to keep the first take -- and a wise decision it was.
"Needle", not "The Needle" or "A Needle" -- both to signify the implement (noun) and the action (verb).
Anahita Ghazvinizadeh is in her early- to mid-twenties. She was raised in Iran and studied film there, including workshops with Abbas Kiarostami. She re-located to Chicago about two years ago to get her MFA at the School of the Art Institute. NEEDLE was shot in Chicago.
NEEDLE was awarded the 1st Prize Cinefondation at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Jane Campion presided over the jury for that prize.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
I still don't know the answer to that question, I guess now I never will, I don't know distinction, is it just grades of being a star? Dana Andrews was a movie star but I see him more of an actor whereas Gable was an actor that I see more as a movie star. Do I make sense? Probably not, what's new. What comes out of Carl's book is that he was a man of tremendous integrity, I like that.CineMaven wrote:Hi Alison. One of the great mysteries of life...is Hollywood, and what specifically makes an actor/actress, a Movie Star.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Call me crazy, call me silly...but you make perfect sense to me Alison.[u]CHARLIECHAPLINFAN[/u] wrote:...Dana Andrews was a movie star but I see him more of an actor whereas Gable was an actor that I see more as a movie star. Do I make sense? Probably not, what's new...
Movie Star ---->Actor
Actor--------->Movie Star
One garners more popularity. The other garners more respect. Not that one isn't popular and the other isn't respected mind you. Listen, we won't overthink it. We'll just enjoy Andrews and Gable and Flynn and Cooper and Valentino and Raft and Taylor and Power and Sanders and Boyer and March and Cagney and Bogart and.........
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Yesterday I saw "Madonna of the Seven Moons" (1945) directed by Arthur Crabtree.
This was my first real "Gainsborough ghastly." (I've seen and enjoyed "So Long at the Fair," but that one doesn't have a lot of romantic passion.)
I ended up enjoying "Madonna of the Seven Moons." The first scene was a real shock, and then the movie seemed to turn into a near drawing room comedy about mothers and daughters. Just as I was starting to wonder what made this film "wicked," the main character ran away to Florence and the movie came to life.
The movie didn't have the greatest cast, but the love scenes between Stewart Granger and Phyllis Calvert had real fire. The carnival sequence packed a real punch, especially when Patricia Roc was trapped in the seedy restaurant.
Overall, I'm glad I saw this one, and I look forward to seeing more Gainsborough films as they become available.
This was my first real "Gainsborough ghastly." (I've seen and enjoyed "So Long at the Fair," but that one doesn't have a lot of romantic passion.)
I ended up enjoying "Madonna of the Seven Moons." The first scene was a real shock, and then the movie seemed to turn into a near drawing room comedy about mothers and daughters. Just as I was starting to wonder what made this film "wicked," the main character ran away to Florence and the movie came to life.
The movie didn't have the greatest cast, but the love scenes between Stewart Granger and Phyllis Calvert had real fire. The carnival sequence packed a real punch, especially when Patricia Roc was trapped in the seedy restaurant.
Overall, I'm glad I saw this one, and I look forward to seeing more Gainsborough films as they become available.
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
D'0hhhhhhhh!!! Well THAT was like a tray of ice cubes, Red![u]RedRiver[/u] wrote:Donald Meek.
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JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
ha ha ha ha ha! That's so funny, Masha! Posture got me laughing hard.
Stymie indeed! I heart Stymie.
I love the way you put that, Maven -
Needle sounds fantastic, ChiO! This is what I miss most about living in college towns - there is probably no way I will be able to find this movie.
Stymie indeed! I heart Stymie.
I love the way you put that, Maven -
"There's an intensity about him and a bad guy with good qualities/good guy with bad qualities in him that'd keep a girl guessing.
I think that the way WE (the audiences, especially women) think, and the way studio producers think is such a completely different thing. I am guessing that Dana was NOT considered handsome by the same kind of producers who didn't think Laurence Olivier was handsome enough, or Gable wasn't handsome enough before him. These same producers were quick to jump on the bandwagon AFTER the fact of a certain actor's breakout, but they tend to think inside the box, rather than outside. Dana's handsomeness to me comes directly from inside, as is shown in those MARVELOUS photos Maven posted. They all have a tremendous amount of vulnerability, along with a struggle against it. I'm not saying that Andrews wasn't handsome in a physical way, he was, but not like Flynn or Power. Put his handsomeness together with his internal landscape, a certain rugged quality, and that voice, and you have a really incredible package that has the power to create a volcano of protective feelings in any woman ( or man).One garners more popularity. The other garners more respect. Not that one isn't popular and the other isn't respected mind you.
Needle sounds fantastic, ChiO! This is what I miss most about living in college towns - there is probably no way I will be able to find this movie.
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Masha, I find your syntax, your way of expressing yourself and the cases you present a hoot to read; love reading your thoughts. And I'm glad to see read, that this carries over here in the Oasis. I think being an actor and being a movie star are two different traits that may ( or also), may not be in one individual. ( A person could probably have neither of these traits. )
ACTOR or MOVIE STAR - BOTH or NEITHER
Norma Shearer
Claude Rains
Mary Astor
Helen Hayes
Gary Cooper
Garbo
Deborah Kerr
Melvyn Douglas
Warren William
Trevor Howard
George Sanders
Douglas Fairbanks
Myrna Loy
John Wayne
Anne Bancroft
.... or whoever....whatever...
( I love your Steve McQueen ranking!! )
I do think that this is a false equivalent:
I like my movie stars...I like my actors. Sometimes they're one in the same person. Sometimes they're two different person. But it's all good. I won't split the baby in half.
* * *
Hello JaxxXxxon! Loved what you wrote. The moguls are sometimes the last to know who's popular, and the public decrees who's important and popular. I agree that there's divergent interests between the public and the studio suits. In reading Esther Williams' book, she says that Louis B. sometimes did not let the talent know HOW much fan mail they were receiving for fear of the celebrity wanting a raise when they see how popular they are with the public. ( She also said some things about Victor Mature and Fernando Lamas that curled my hair!!! But that's another story. )
Wendy, I don't think your comment here about Dana Andrews...
And again I say, I love my actors and I love my movie stars whether they're two different people, or one and the same.
ACTOR or MOVIE STAR - BOTH or NEITHER
Norma Shearer
Claude Rains
Mary Astor
Helen Hayes
Gary Cooper
Garbo
Deborah Kerr
Melvyn Douglas
Warren William
Trevor Howard
George Sanders
Douglas Fairbanks
Myrna Loy
John Wayne
Anne Bancroft
.... or whoever....whatever...
( I love your Steve McQueen ranking!! )
I do think that this is a false equivalent:
I'd probably say: "trying to associate being an actor with being a movie star is equivalent to associating being a parent and being a teacher."I believe that trying to associate being an actor with being a movie star is equivalent to associating being an actor to being a parent.
I like my movie stars...I like my actors. Sometimes they're one in the same person. Sometimes they're two different person. But it's all good. I won't split the baby in half.
* * *
Hello JaxxXxxon! Loved what you wrote. The moguls are sometimes the last to know who's popular, and the public decrees who's important and popular. I agree that there's divergent interests between the public and the studio suits. In reading Esther Williams' book, she says that Louis B. sometimes did not let the talent know HOW much fan mail they were receiving for fear of the celebrity wanting a raise when they see how popular they are with the public. ( She also said some things about Victor Mature and Fernando Lamas that curled my hair!!! But that's another story. )
Wendy, I don't think your comment here about Dana Andrews...
...could be said any better than Andrews' biographer, Carl Rollyson. Whew! What a powerful description.I'm not saying that Andrews wasn't handsome in a physical way, he was, but not like Flynn or Power. Put his handsomeness together with his internal landscape, a certain rugged quality, and that voice, and you have a really incredible package that has the power to create a volcano of protective feelings in any woman ( or man).
And again I say, I love my actors and I love my movie stars whether they're two different people, or one and the same.
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
There's a story about a screen test by Clark Gable. Studio execs were all set to dismiss the young actor when a secretary caught a glimpse of it. The flower behind his ear, the towel around his waist..."Um, gentlemen? Let's take another look at this, shall we?"
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JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
That's too nice, Maven. 
Now I HAVE to get Esther's book.
Your list is really interesting, I tried ranking the different stars on it and surprised myself with a couple - some I really saw in one way, and others in another, and I'm not sure anyone else would agree with me. It's funny, because I think I actually feel very differently about one star than most anyone else. Just because I rank some one a movie star doesn't mean I don't like them, quite the contrary generally speaking. I keep thinking of the way Gene Kelly says to Debbie Reynolds in Singing in the Rain: "l'd like to see you [on stage]. What are you in? l could brush up on my English or bring an interpreter. That is if they'd let in a mooovie actor." and she says to him: "Why have you got to be so conceited about? You're nothing but a shadow on film. You're not flesh and blood."
Here's how I see them (realizing that everyone is going to view these people completely differently):
Norma Shearer - movie star (and a damn good one)
Claude Rains - actor
Mary Astor - actor and movie star
Helen Hayes - actor
Gary Cooper - movie star and actor
Garbo - movie star and actor
Deborah Kerr - movie star (I know this is the one I'm going to get flack about. She took acting seriously, but in my mind she's a movie star all the way, and no pretense of being an 'actor'. She's great, but somehow I can't get her in the actor category. I'm weird)
Melvyn Douglas - actor
Warren William - movie star
Trevor Howard - actor
George Sanders - movie star and actor
Douglas Fairbanks - movie star to end all movie stars
Myrna Loy - actor and movie star
John Wayne - actor and movie star
Anne Bancroft - actor
Now I HAVE to get Esther's book.
Your list is really interesting, I tried ranking the different stars on it and surprised myself with a couple - some I really saw in one way, and others in another, and I'm not sure anyone else would agree with me. It's funny, because I think I actually feel very differently about one star than most anyone else. Just because I rank some one a movie star doesn't mean I don't like them, quite the contrary generally speaking. I keep thinking of the way Gene Kelly says to Debbie Reynolds in Singing in the Rain: "l'd like to see you [on stage]. What are you in? l could brush up on my English or bring an interpreter. That is if they'd let in a mooovie actor." and she says to him: "Why have you got to be so conceited about? You're nothing but a shadow on film. You're not flesh and blood."
Here's how I see them (realizing that everyone is going to view these people completely differently):
Norma Shearer - movie star (and a damn good one)
Claude Rains - actor
Mary Astor - actor and movie star
Helen Hayes - actor
Gary Cooper - movie star and actor
Garbo - movie star and actor
Deborah Kerr - movie star (I know this is the one I'm going to get flack about. She took acting seriously, but in my mind she's a movie star all the way, and no pretense of being an 'actor'. She's great, but somehow I can't get her in the actor category. I'm weird)
Melvyn Douglas - actor
Warren William - movie star
Trevor Howard - actor
George Sanders - movie star and actor
Douglas Fairbanks - movie star to end all movie stars
Myrna Loy - actor and movie star
John Wayne - actor and movie star
Anne Bancroft - actor
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JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am