I Just Watched...

[Lorna]

Who could forget Gandhi??? Love those loincloths! Undeserved win, even nomination!

One of the very few times where you, me and REX REED all agree.

[Lorna]

They've started showing Miss Marple ones before Poirot now. I've seen many of those (with McEwen and Julia MacKenzie at least), but it's been awhile so I don't remember them well). I've never seen the original (her name escapes me) which is considered the best one. So unlike Margaret Rutherford's lowbrow version.

Joan Hickson was the first BBC Marple in the 1980s.
Lowbrow or not, I loved Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple.

ME TOO!!!!! She's exactly how I pictured the character when I read the books, also the MISS MARPLE THEME SONG from the RUTHERFORD FILMS absolutely BOPS.

I know a lot of people say she was the best, but JOAN HICKSON always seems to me like she's just SLAMMED an ENTIRE BOTTLE of COUGH SYRUP right before they yelled "ACTION!" She is suspiciously sedate. it's hard to stay awake listening to her and don't get me started on her CHRISTIE AUDIOBOOKS.

Like quualudes they are

EDIT: She at times brings to mind SLOWPOKE RODRIGUEZ in her vocal pacing

[CinemaInternational]

Who could forget Gandhi??? Love those loincloths! Undeserved win, even nomination!

One of the very few times where you, me and REX REED all agree.

You know, I actually was tempted in writing all this up to mention that Rex Reed famously complained about the Costume win by Gandhi, but I didn't.


I have to confess I laughed a lot at the spoof of Gandhi in the 1989 "Weird" Al Yankovic film UHF, imagining a sequel to Gandhi where Gandhi came back as a meat-eating bazooka-toting Stallone-like action hero. It's not in good taste. But I laughed a lot in spite of myself:

[media][

[Lorna]

I liked the GERALDINE McEWAN MARPLE series, even though there were a couple where they shoehorned her into stories where she didn't beliong (like ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE.) The version they did of THE MOVING FINGER was OUTSTANDING.

I didn't like JULIA MACKENZIE though.

[Hibi]

Who could forget Gandhi??? Love those loincloths! Undeserved win, even nomination!

One of the very few times where you, me and REX REED all agree.

LOL!!!! How often does THAT happen???

[Hibi]

I liked the GERALDINE McEWAN MARPLE series, even though there were a couple where they shoehorned her into stories where she didn't beliong (like ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE.) The version they did of THE MOVING FINGER was OUTSTANDING.

I didn't like JULIA MACKENZIE though.

Yeah, they showed one of them Sat. night. She was barely in the damn thing. I couldn't stand the actor who took over the episode. He was in nearly EVERY scene! The one where someone was sending poison pen letters. I couldn't wait for it to be over! Yes, I liked McEwan. Mackenzie seemed a little "rough" in the role but I did enjoy the episodes. I think the original was Joan Hixon? They never rerun those for some reason.

[CinemaInternational]

One other note about Evil Under the Sun. Sylvia Miles later said that filming it was the most fun she ever had in her life.

[CinemaInternational]

The Five Nominees for Costume Design in 1982 were:

Gandhi***
La Traviata
Sophie's Choice
Tron
Victor/Victoria

Now, I think we can easily say that Gandhi won because it was in a big Oscar sweep, because most of the costumes in that film aren't the most memorable.

Evil Under the Sun did come close to a nomination in a soon to be discontinued category called Song Score (it was shortlisted), but was locked out by the trio of Victor/Victoria (which won), Annie, and One from the Heart.

Peter Ustinov did actually play Poirot on the big screen one more time..... But it is best to forget that one. It was Appointment with Death in 1988, which might have started with a script written by Anthony Shaffer, who wrote both Nile and Evil, but it was mostly re-written by others, and the resultant script wasn't good, coupled with a very bad musical score, and an underutilized cast. For a big Christie fan like me, it was a major disappointment.

For the record, in that film, Poirot was trying to find out who killed off a much hated matriarch (Piper Laurie) with a hypodermic. The suspects included Jenny Seagrove, Carrie Fisher, David Soul, Lauren Bacall, Hayley Mills, and John Gielgud.

I dunno, does MERYL STREEP rock a WONDERBREAD-INSPIRED SWIMSUIT in SOPHIE'S CHOICE? Are there MARVELOUS ENORMOUS HATS??? I have not seen it, but I feel like the answer is "no." Honestly, I LOVE VICTOR/VICTORIA, but I think EVIL UNDER THE SUN has better costumes. We're simpatico on GANDHI though....ALTHOUGH IF BEN KINGSLEY WALKED DOWN A STAIRCASE IN AN ENSEMBLE LIKE JANE BIRKIN'S AT THE END OF "EVIL" THE BRITISH WOULD HAVE PULLED OUT IMMEDIATELY.

Thank you for letting me know that about the score almost getting nommed, it really deserved it, more I'd venture to say than ANNIE.

i WILL say that the costumes in ANNIE should have been nominated over GANDHI and SOPHIE'S CHOICE and I dunno maybe TRON too.

Yes, yes, APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH...I remember coming across is on HBO in the late 80s and being excited and...eesh.

I do remember thinking PIPER LAURIE was SUPERB THOUGH.

I'll also guess that Evil Under the Sun was likely close to a costume nomination due, because the guild categories are prone to nominating someone again if they nominated him or her in the past, and Evil Under the Sun's costumes were designed by the late Anthony powell, who only did costumes for 22 theatrical films, but was up for the Oscar 6 times, winning 3 times for Travels with My Aunt, Death on the Nile, and Tess.


His other three nods were all for films with bad reputations so his nods for them just go to show how much his fellow designers loved him: Pirates, Hook, and 102 Dalmatians.

And his cousin (either a first or second cousin) is a designer named Sandy Powell, who herself has won 3 Oscars for Costumes herself (Shakespeare in Love, The Aviator, and the Young Victoria) with a raft of other nominations (Orlando, The Wings of the Dove, Velvet Goldmine, Gangs of New York, Mrs. Henderson Presents, The Tempest, Hugo, Cinderella, Carol, Mary Poppins Returns, The Favourite, The Irishman)

[Hibi]

I dunno, does MERYL STREEP rock a WONDERBREAD-INSPIRED SWIMSUIT in SOPHIE'S CHOICE? Are there MARVELOUS ENORMOUS HATS??? I have not seen it, but I feel like the answer is "no." Honestly, I LOVE VICTOR/VICTORIA, but I think EVIL UNDER THE SUN has better costumes. We're simpatico on GANDHI though....ALTHOUGH IF BEN KINGSLEY WALKED DOWN A STAIRCASE IN AN ENSEMBLE LIKE JANE BIRKIN'S AT THE END OF "EVIL" THE BRITISH WOULD HAVE PULLED OUT IMMEDIATELY.

Thank you for letting me know that about the score almost getting nommed, it really deserved it, more I'd venture to say than ANNIE.

i WILL say that the costumes in ANNIE should have been nominated over GANDHI and SOPHIE'S CHOICE and I dunno maybe TRON too.

Yes, yes, APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH...I remember coming across is on HBO in the late 80s and being excited and...eesh.

I do remember thinking PIPER LAURIE was SUPERB THOUGH.

Who could forget Ghandi??? Love those loincloths! Undeserved win, even nomination!

Gandhi really didn't have the most memorable costumes, but likely was nominated and won because of the big Oscar sweep it was on.

As I said above, I think La Traviata, Victor/Victoria, and Sophie's Choise were valid nominations. And in addition to Evil Under the Sun, the following could have made a play for a nomination: Hammett, A Midsummer night's Sex Comedy, Five Days One Summer, Frances, Annie, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Cannery Row. Plaid was Edith Head's final film.

YEP! A good example of an Oscar sweep mentality and lazy Academy voting where it wins in categories it didn't deserve to win.

[Hibi]

The Five Nominees for Costume Design in 1982 were:

Gandhi***
La Traviata
Sophie's Choice
Tron
Victor/Victoria

Now, I think we can easily say that Gandhi won because it was in a big Oscar sweep, because most of the costumes in that film aren't the most memorable.

Evil Under the Sun did come close to a nomination in a soon to be discontinued category called Song Score (it was shortlisted), but was locked out by the trio of Victor/Victoria (which won), Annie, and One from the Heart.

Peter Ustinov did actually play Poirot on the big screen one more time..... But it is best to forget that one. It was Appointment with Death in 1988, which might have started with a script written by Anthony Shaffer, who wrote both Nile and Evil, but it was mostly re-written by others, and the resultant script wasn't good, coupled with a very bad musical score, and an underutilized cast. For a big Christie fan like me, it was a major disappointment.

For the record, in that film, Poirot was trying to find out who killed off a much hated matriarch (Piper Laurie) with a hypodermic. The suspects included Jenny Seagrove, Carrie Fisher, David Soul, Lauren Bacall, Hayley Mills, and John Gielgud.

I dunno, does MERYL STREEP rock a WONDERBREAD-INSPIRED SWIMSUIT in SOPHIE'S CHOICE? Are there MARVELOUS ENORMOUS HATS??? I have not seen it, but I feel like the answer is "no." Honestly, I LOVE VICTOR/VICTORIA, but I think EVIL UNDER THE SUN has better costumes. We're simpatico on GANDHI though....ALTHOUGH IF BEN KINGSLEY WALKED DOWN A STAIRCASE IN AN ENSEMBLE LIKE JANE BIRKIN'S AT THE END OF "EVIL" THE BRITISH WOULD HAVE PULLED OUT IMMEDIATELY.

Thank you for letting me know that about the score almost getting nommed, it really deserved it, more I'd venture to say than ANNIE.

i WILL say that the costumes in ANNIE should have been nominated over GANDHI and SOPHIE'S CHOICE and I dunno maybe TRON too.

Yes, yes, APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH...I remember coming across is on HBO in the late 80s and being excited and...eesh.

I do remember thinking PIPER LAURIE was SUPERB THOUGH.

I'll also guess that Evil Under the Sun was likely close to a costume nomination due, because the guild categories are prone to nominating someone again if they nominated him or her in the past, and Evil Under the Sun's costumes were designed by the late Anthony powell, who only did costumes for 22 theatrical films, but was up for the Oscar 6 times, winning 3 times for Travels with My Aunt, Death on the Nile, and Tess.


His other three nods were all for films with bad reputations so his nods for them just go to show how much his fellow designers loved him: Pirates, Hook, and 102 Dalmatians.

And his cousin (either a first or second cousin) is a designer named Sandy Powell, who herself has won 3 Oscars for Costumes herself (Shakespeare in Love, The Aviator, and the Young Victoria) with a raft of other nominations (Orlando, The Wings of the Dove, Velvet Goldmine, Gangs of New York, Mrs. Henderson Presents, The Tempest, Hugo, Cinderella, Carol, Mary Poppins Returns, The Favourite, The Irishman)

Sun only did middling box office so it's possible not enough people in that category saw it.

[NoShear]

Romeo And Juliet (1936) TCM On Demand-6/10

The Hollywood version of Shakespeare's star crossed lovers.

First time viewing for me, I avoided it because the 1968 version is my favorite Shakespeare on film. It was disappointing but not too bad. Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer have been criticized for being too old. Howard looks very long in the tooth for this but Shearer is very lovely and gives a fine performance. The film looks lavish and the supporting cast is good. It is nearly stolen by John Barrymore as a very flamboyant Mercutio and Basil Rathbone a menacing Tybalt. Rathbone got an Oscar nomination for this, I wish he had more screen time. The tragic moments still work, but the 1968 version is still by far the best.

It was interesting reading your partial break from the ageist take on Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer, Detective Jim McLeod.

[Andree]

LOL. Della went far and beyond what a legal secretary would do. Seems she was available 24 hrs a day. She even put up some of Perry's client at her apt.!!!. She had no life beyond her job it seems (at least in tvland). Paul I could see. He was a private eye.

I believe part of that was her hidden love for Perry. She drops a few hints,
but he doesn't, for the most part, take the bait. It was a pretty exciting
life for a legal secretary, however unrealistic, and it seems she got a good
paycheck. And reference is frequently made to Paul being quite the man
about town. I always get a laugh out of scenes where Paul is watching some
hot babe being photographed and Perry has to snap him back to reality.

After my involuntary HD upgrade I now get METV. It's all by itself in the
shopping shows location. Now I may have too many classic TV choices.

[CinemaInternational]

I dunno, does MERYL STREEP rock a WONDERBREAD-INSPIRED SWIMSUIT in SOPHIE'S CHOICE? Are there MARVELOUS ENORMOUS HATS??? I have not seen it, but I feel like the answer is "no." Honestly, I LOVE VICTOR/VICTORIA, but I think EVIL UNDER THE SUN has better costumes. We're simpatico on GANDHI though....ALTHOUGH IF BEN KINGSLEY WALKED DOWN A STAIRCASE IN AN ENSEMBLE LIKE JANE BIRKIN'S AT THE END OF "EVIL" THE BRITISH WOULD HAVE PULLED OUT IMMEDIATELY.

Thank you for letting me know that about the score almost getting nommed, it really deserved it, more I'd venture to say than ANNIE.

i WILL say that the costumes in ANNIE should have been nominated over GANDHI and SOPHIE'S CHOICE and I dunno maybe TRON too.

Yes, yes, APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH...I remember coming across is on HBO in the late 80s and being excited and...eesh.

I do remember thinking PIPER LAURIE was SUPERB THOUGH.

I'll also guess that Evil Under the Sun was likely close to a costume nomination due, because the guild categories are prone to nominating someone again if they nominated him or her in the past, and Evil Under the Sun's costumes were designed by the late Anthony powell, who only did costumes for 22 theatrical films, but was up for the Oscar 6 times, winning 3 times for Travels with My Aunt, Death on the Nile, and Tess.


His other three nods were all for films with bad reputations so his nods for them just go to show how much his fellow designers loved him: Pirates, Hook, and 102 Dalmatians.

And his cousin (either a first or second cousin) is a designer named Sandy Powell, who herself has won 3 Oscars for Costumes herself (Shakespeare in Love, The Aviator, and the Young Victoria) with a raft of other nominations (Orlando, The Wings of the Dove, Velvet Goldmine, Gangs of New York, Mrs. Henderson Presents, The Tempest, Hugo, Cinderella, Carol, Mary Poppins Returns, The Favourite, The Irishman)

Sun only did middling box office so it's possible not enough people in that category saw it.

Normally, I'd agree, but they nominated the costume designer for 1986's Pirates, and that was a bona fide financial fiasco. $6.5 million worldwide (less than $2 million in the US) on a $40 million budget. If they could nominate him for a flop that size, surely he would have still been in the hunt for Evil Under the Sun.

[CinemaInternational]

Romeo And Juliet (1936) TCM On Demand-6/10

The Hollywood version of Shakespeare's star crossed lovers.

First time viewing for me, I avoided it because the 1968 version is my favorite Shakespeare on film. It was disappointing but not too bad. Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer have been criticized for being too old. Howard looks very long in the tooth for this but Shearer is very lovely and gives a fine performance. The film looks lavish and the supporting cast is good. It is nearly stolen by John Barrymore as a very flamboyant Mercutio and Basil Rathbone a menacing Tybalt. Rathbone got an Oscar nomination for this, I wish he had more screen time. The tragic moments still work, but the 1968 version is still by far the best.

It was interesting reading your partial break from the ageist take on Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer, Detective Jim McLeod.

Truthfully, Shearer and Howard both give marvelous performances in the 1936 version.

[BagelOnAPlate]

They've started showing Miss Marple ones before Poirot now. I've seen many of those (with McEwen and Julia MacKenzie at least), but it's been awhile so I don't remember them well). I've never seen the original (her name escapes me) which is considered the best one. So unlike Margaret Rutherford's lowbrow version.

Joan Hickson was the first BBC Marple in the 1980s.
Lowbrow or not, I loved Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple.

ME TOO!!!!! She's exactly how I pictured the character when I read the books, also the MISS MARPLE THEME SONG from the RUTHERFORD FILMS absolutely BOPS.


:

I like the Margaet Rutherford movies, but in the books, Agatha Christie describes Miss Marple as "thin," which Margaet Rutherford is not.