The Silver Screen Oasis

charliechaplinfan wrote:

Ann Harding wrote:

charliechaplinfan wrote:the most memorable thing is the music. I'd love to watch Pagnol's version.

The music in the two Berri films is not even original. The 'composer' reused Verdi's theme from La Forza del Destino...

That explains why it is so good. I loved the clip of Manon Des Sources, is that Michel Simon? Does he play the Daniel Auteuil character?

No the actor who plays the part of Ugolin is called Rellys. He was part of the Pagnol stock company. I guess he looks vaguely like Michel Simon, but he is quite different.

Ah, it was the voice that I thought gave him away. He's a master of disguises, well not in the same way as Lon Chaney but I find that he uses his body, objects, face, anything he can to look very different with every role I've seen him in.

For me, most Resnais films demand multiple viewings and I'm always happy to revisit Marienbad, even more than Hiroshima Mon Amour. Mon oncle d'Amérique was my first Resnais film, and the depth, humanity, and above all the humor had me hooked. I would certainly recommend Je t'aime, je t'aime (1968) and I also really enjoyed the musicals: the lip-synching (and thematic kin to Mon oncle d'Amérique) Same Old Song (1997) and the kooky Not on the Lips (2003).

Yesterday I saw another Italian melodrama, Piccolo mondo antico (Little Old-Fashioned World, 1941), another calligraphic picture directed by Mario Soldati. Like Malombra (1942) I mentioned earlier, it's a film based on a novel by Antonio Fogazzaro. It takes place in the same area of Italy, in the lake district in the North (Lake Maggiore). During the 'Risorgimento' (when Italy started to become one nation), a young noble man, Franco Maironi (Massimo Serato) wants to marry Luisa (Alida Valli) born of humble origin. Franco's grandmother absolutely opposes the marriage. Nevertheless, Franco marries her and leaves his family. Franco has been disinherited by his nasty grandmother. She burnt his father's will so as to keep all the money herself. Franco and Luisa have a daughter Ombretta. But, one day, lacking money, Franco has to leave to get a job. During his absence, Luisa struggles to make both ends meet. Her daughter Ombretta falls accidentally into the lake and dies. Luisa cannot cope with the loss... Like Malombra, the story shows a confined world where death seems to be hovering over the characters trapped in a recluse life. The storyline cleverly includes the convulsive events just prior to the war against Austria (which owned Lombardia and Venetia). Alida Valli, just 20, shows already a considerable talent. The film is a superbly shot melodrama with loads of atmosphere. This period of Italian cinema really produced some fascinating films.

Ann, I find I have an odd relationship with Italian cinema. I like the films I'm not "supposed" to like. I like the genre films better than the films of the great masters of Italian cinema. In the genres, I don't especially like spaghetti westerns. In comedy, I don't really like Dino Risi but I prefer Mario Comencini (?). In horror, I can take or leave most of Dario Argento's work, but I really like Mario Bava's. Of Bava's films, I don't care for "Black Sunday/Mask of the Demon," but I prefer his color work, such as "Kill, Baby, Kill/Operation Fear" and "The Whip and the Body."

It is almost funny.

Yesterday I watched a Czech film from 2000, "Divided We Fall," (dir. Jan Hrebejk). It deals with the tangled relationship between a Czech, a Jew and a Sudeten German during the Nazi occupation.

It was okay. Only okay. The performances were good, but I thought the film moved too slowly and it failed to build as strong an atmosphere of entrapment as it could. One scene copied a scene in "Closely Watched Trains" too closely for my taste.

I think "I Served the King of England" (2006) directed by Jiri Menzel, is a much better look at this era.

MichiganJ wrote:
For me, most Resnais films demand multiple viewings and I'm always happy to revisit Marienbad, even more than Hiroshima Mon Amour.

I'm with you, brother. I love HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, but LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD is endlessly fascinating to me.

kingrat -- Give STAVISKY a try.

MikeBSG wrote:Ann, I find I have an odd relationship with Italian cinema. I like the films I'm not "supposed" to like. I like the genre films better than the films of the great masters of Italian cinema. In the genres, I don't especially like spaghetti westerns. In comedy, I don't really like Dino Risi but I prefer Mario Comencini (?). In horror, I can take or leave most of Dario Argento's work, but I really like Mario Bava's. Of Bava's films, I don't care for "Black Sunday/Mask of the Demon," but I prefer his color work, such as "Kill, Baby, Kill/Operation Fear" and "The Whip and the Body."

It is almost funny.

I like all the masters, but I also love all the genre films (SP Westerns, Eurocrime, Giallo, Horror, etc.). I have been toying with the idea of starting a Giallo thread, but I honestly don't know when I'd have the time to put it together. I love Bava's color films as well, my favorite being Kidnapped AKA Rabid Dogs (1974).

ChiO wrote:

MichiganJ wrote:
For me, most Resnais films demand multiple viewings and I'm always happy to revisit Marienbad, even more than Hiroshima Mon Amour.

I'm with you, brother. I love HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, but LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD is endlessly fascinating to me.

kingrat -- Give STAVISKY a try.

Marienbad is also a favorite of mine.

I loved Hiroshima Mon Amour so much but Marienbad had the complete opposite effect on me, I found it difficult to watch and unlike some films that I've failed to like on first acquaintance I'm not sure I could try it again.

charliechaplinfan wrote:I loved Hiroshima Mon Amour so much but Marienbad had the complete opposite effect on me, I found it difficult to watch and unlike some films that I've failed to like on first acquaintance I'm not sure I could try it again.

Is Hiroshima Mon Amour is something to do with United States dropping an atomic bomb on Japan to end World War II?

I was reading all these posts and this sounds like an interesting movie to watch. I have trouble understanding most of these (foreign films) movies because of my hearing impairment ... is this movie has English Subtitles or not?

Here's a brief overview:

http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGdSrZ ... _Mon_Amour

The DVD is subtitled in English.

Thanks Mr. Arkadin!