MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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TikiSoo
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by TikiSoo »

Thompson wrote: May 7th, 2023, 2:01 am go sit on the porch, and smoke a factory made cigarette. You can’t beat them factory mades.
You know, I was just ruminating over this:

US Government will remove harmful products from every other market but still allow selling of cigarettes with added, harmful chemicals.
WHY is this allowed?

WHY do the tobacco companies have to add all kinds of carcinogen chemicals to a perfectly fine, organic plant? I know they've tried "Natural American Spirit" cigarettes but it never gained traction with the super addictive versions available.

America grows a lot of tobacco, it's an important industry. I'd like to see tobacco farming kept strong, we've lost too much crop industry in the US. You would think for long term sustainability, the industry would shift to better serve consumers.

It's kind of like the auto industry shifting from gasoline to electric vehicles. It's not easy or cheap, but better for all in the long term. And lord help us once third world countries start growing tobacco (as they have with cotton) and put us out of business completely.
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CinemaInternational
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by CinemaInternational »

Sorry to hear that you aren't feeling well, Bronxie. I hope you are on the mend soon.

I remember being absolutely charmed by Local Hero, and by its weird but beguiling small Scottish town. It's just a sweet little movie, and to have Burt Lancaster in a smaller role was just the icing on the cake. I do admit to have had a bit of a teenage crush on Jenny Seagrove, who has that small enigmatic role of a woman who might be a mermaid.

It was directed by Bill Forsyth, who also did another charmer, 1980's Gregory's Girl and another praised offbeat comedy, 1984's Comfort and Joy (unseen by me, although I am intrigued by the idea of it), before he briefly (and for him unhappily) came to the US to make three films in a gloomier vein: Housekeeping with Christine Lahti, Breaking In with Burt Reynolds, and Being Human with Robin Williams (who copied his director's thick accent for use in Mrs. Doubtfire), which was nearly completely buried by Warner Bros. after it laid on the shelf for a couple years. He then went back to Scotland, and aside from making one film since, has left film behind. Local Hero, Gregory's Girl, and Housekeeping (which has several very haunting moments) show how much we have missed, and it makes me want to seek out his other three.


Last Embrace, is that the Demme Hitchcock pastiche with Roy Scheider and Janet Margolin? If it is, the first half is a knockout, a full-bodied old-fashioned suspense film that has a truly unpredictable mystery at its center. Unfortunately, the second half isn't as strong as it throws in some copious and unnecessary female nudity to fit in amidst that late 70s style, and the revelations concerning a turn of the century white slavery group is odd. But Demme is a marvelous director, the leads are ideal, and you can't beat that Miklos Rozsa score. I feel as though the positives outweigh the negatives.

Demme had an unusual career: he started with Roger Corman quickies (Crazy Mama with Cloris Leachman and Ann Sothern is a very good exploitation type, mostly comic, but with bursts of sudden horrifying violence), then had a run of interesting offbeat studio films (Citizens Band, Last Embrace, Melvin and Howard, Swing Shift, Something Wild, Married to the Mob), before hitting the big- time with Silence of the Lambs....but of his post-Silence films, only Philadelphia was a hit, while Beloved (actually a pretty good adaptation) and ill-advised remakes of Charade and The Manchurian Candidate lost enormous sums of money. He finished his career with documentaries and two ragged tales of troubled women (Rachel Getting Married, Ricki and the Flash) .

Its definitely an odd career, but time and time again, he brought out the best in his actors, which is why so many of them worked with him multiple times. And that late 70s/80s run is remarkable. There are few films of rustic life as ebuillently offbeat as Citizens Band, Melvin and Howard is simply a wonderful film, Something Wild is truly hairraising. Swing Shift was taken out of his hands and a quarter of it was redone; a grainy VHS copy of his original cut is floating around the internet; I have heard this rare cut is better than the theatrical cut, which was still a good film. I saw a link to it once, I might have to find it again.

And then there is Married to the Mob. I honestly don't know what it is about that film, as it does contain four mob "hit" scenes and some of the most alarming haircuts and interior designs ever put to celluloid, but it is so incredibly, wildly entertaining to me. Michelle Pheiffer is radiant in it as a Mafia widow yearning for a normal life, Dean Stockwell is a memorably swaggering mob don, and Mercedes Ruehl is brawlingly hilarious as his jealous wife whose volcanic, full-volumed rage erupts frequently. The pounding soundtrack of 80s alt-rock songs is exceptional. And the combination of the funny script and Demme's direction is a match made in comedy heaven; I swear its honestly one of my favorite films of the 80s s. Its like an R-rated mob movie filtered through the dual lens of Looney Toons and Preston Sturges.


-----
Recently, filmwise, I have caught some of these recent early morning titles on TCM ( Stamboul Quest and The Flame Within last Tuesday were both fascinating MGM titles), but I've been spending even more time with silent films. There are so many that are flooding YouTube now that all films from the 1890s through the 1920s are in the public domain, and I needed to see more of them since I have somewhat neglected the era and I seen so many 20th century American talkies that the remaining field of unseen titles of them is somewhat bare. I have fallen head over heels for the silents; they have a poetic quality all their own, and they bewitch and beguile so easily. And they are now just out there where anyone can see them, just ripe for the viewings.
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Hibi
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Hibi »

Was Swing Shift changed to add more scenes for Hawn (the producer) and Russell? I wonder what was cut? More of Christine Lahti? (who stole the film anyway). Maybe it was more of an ensemble piece. That one character (I forget who played her) whose husband died had little to do...). The film seemed long enough as it was, so wondering if was just a change in viewpoint.
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CinemaInternational
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by CinemaInternational »

Hibi wrote: May 9th, 2023, 2:45 pm Was Swing Shift changed to add more scenes for Hawn (the producer) and Russell? I wonder what was cut? More of Christine Lahti? (who stole the film anyway). Maybe it was more of an ensemble piece. That one character (I forget who played her) whose husband died had little to do...). The film seemed long enough as it was, so wondering if was just a change in viewpoint.
Swing Shift was changed, it seems because Goldie Hawn became jittery about the script. She knew that Lahti was stealing the film, and she became very nervous with the idea, heavily pronounced in the script that her character was fully in love with both the Ed Harris (the husband) and the Kurt Russell character (the husband) at the same time. So, Robert Towne, the writer of Chinatown, did some uncredited rewrites and about 25 minutes was deleted and the same amount put back in, mostly emphasizing Hawn and "cute' qualities. Lahti's role was a bit scaled back (although it still got her an Oscar nomination). Pre-stardom Holly hunter, who played the riveter who lost her husband, had a much more sizable part in the original cut, and I know that the original cut had a bit of nudity in it, courtesy of Kurt Russell.

Pauline Kael, who was mostly dismissive of the Hawn/studio cut called the Deeme version a "delicate masterpiece", and Sight and Sound called the unreleased cut one of the best American films of the 80s. High praise indeed.

Here is the original cut, in its VHS era graininess, just in case anyone is interested. The video is a bit stubborn, if it doesn't play right away give it another try or two or a refresh, of try to hit play again about 2 minutes :

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Hibi
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Hibi »

Thanks for the info. I'd forgotten Holly Hunter. She was barely in the film, why I wondered why they'd even have some tragedy befall her....
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Swithin
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Swithin »

CinemaInternational wrote: May 9th, 2023, 11:10 am
I remember being absolutely charmed by Local Hero, and by its weird but beguiling small Scottish town. It's just a sweet little movie, and to have Burt Lancaster in a smaller role was just the icing on the cake. I do admit to have had a bit of a teenage crush on Jenny Seagrove, who has that small enigmatic role of a woman who might be a mermaid.
A musical adaptation of Local Hero played at the Chichester Festival last year. It got mixed reviews, but some were very good. It premiered, appropriately, in Edinburgh in 2019.

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Sepiatone
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Sepiatone »

After all the hype it received when released I was totally underwhelmed by the movie. It did have a few humorous scenes and lines in it. But that was about it. A few.

Sepiatone
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Intrepid37 »

Sepiatone wrote: May 10th, 2023, 11:23 am After all the hype it received when released I was totally underwhelmed by the movie. It did have a few humorous scenes and lines in it. But that was about it. A few.

Sepiatone
I wasn't aware of any hype - but I agree with your assessment. I didn't find it all that entertaining or remarkable. I just really like Burt Lancaster in whatever role he plays, so that's what I remember most.
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Sepiatone
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Sepiatone »

There really wasn't that much footage of Burt in it to make him a factor.


Sepiatone
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Detective Jim McLeod
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Detective Jim McLeod »

I thought Local Hero was just OK, I saw it when first released but haven't seen it since. The parts that stood out for me was Lancaster's crazy employee cursing him out and that punk rock girl with the painted face just hanging around.

The director BIll Forsyth made one of my favorite 1980s films called Gregory's Girl , a hilarious coming of age film. A gawky teen boy on the school football (soccer to Americans) team falls for a new girl who joins the team, I wish TCM would show this, does anyone like this one?
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CinemaInternational
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by CinemaInternational »

Detective Jim McLeod wrote: May 13th, 2023, 8:53 am I thought Local Hero was just OK, I saw it when first released but haven't seen it since. The parts that stood out for me was Lancaster's crazy employee cursing him out and that punk rock girl with the painted face just hanging around.

The director BIll Forsyth made one of my favorite 1980s films called Gregory's Girl , a hilarious coming of age film. A gawky teen boy on the school football (soccer to Americans) team falls for a new girl who joins the team, I wish TCM would show this, does anyone like this one?
Yes, I do like Gregory's Girl as I mentioned above. Its such a charming little film. I recall seeing it on that short lived streaming service, FilmStruck (the TCM/Criterion one) I wish it would pop up on the channel too
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Bronxgirl48 »

CinemaInternational wrote: May 9th, 2023, 11:10 am Sorry to hear that you aren't feeling well, Bronxie. I hope you are on the mend soon.

I remember being absolutely charmed by Local Hero, and by its weird but beguiling small Scottish town. It's just a sweet little movie, and to have Burt Lancaster in a smaller role was just the icing on the cake. I do admit to have had a bit of a teenage crush on Jenny Seagrove, who has that small enigmatic role of a woman who might be a mermaid.

It was directed by Bill Forsyth, who also did another charmer, 1980's Gregory's Girl and another praised offbeat comedy, 1984's Comfort and Joy (unseen by me, although I am intrigued by the idea of it), before he briefly (and for him unhappily) came to the US to make three films in a gloomier vein: Housekeeping with Christine Lahti, Breaking In with Burt Reynolds, and Being Human with Robin Williams (who copied his director's thick accent for use in Mrs. Doubtfire), which was nearly completely buried by Warner Bros. after it laid on the shelf for a couple years. He then went back to Scotland, and aside from making one film since, has left film behind. Local Hero, Gregory's Girl, and Housekeeping (which has several very haunting moments) show how much we have missed, and it makes me want to seek out his other three.


Last Embrace, is that the Demme Hitchcock pastiche with Roy Scheider and Janet Margolin? If it is, the first half is a knockout, a full-bodied old-fashioned suspense film that has a truly unpredictable mystery at its center. Unfortunately, the second half isn't as strong as it throws in some copious and unnecessary female nudity to fit in amidst that late 70s style, and the revelations concerning a turn of the century white slavery group is odd. But Demme is a marvelous director, the leads are ideal, and you can't beat that Miklos Rozsa score. I feel as though the positives outweigh the negatives.

Demme had an unusual career: he started with Roger Corman quickies (Crazy Mama with Cloris Leachman and Ann Sothern is a very good exploitation type, mostly comic, but with bursts of sudden horrifying violence), then had a run of interesting offbeat studio films (Citizens Band, Last Embrace, Melvin and Howard, Swing Shift, Something Wild, Married to the Mob), before hitting the big- time with Silence of the Lambs....but of his post-Silence films, only Philadelphia was a hit, while Beloved (actually a pretty good adaptation) and ill-advised remakes of Charade and The Manchurian Candidate lost enormous sums of money. He finished his career with documentaries and two ragged tales of troubled women (Rachel Getting Married, Ricki and the Flash) .

Its definitely an odd career, but time and time again, he brought out the best in his actors, which is why so many of them worked with him multiple times. And that late 70s/80s run is remarkable. There are few films of rustic life as ebuillently offbeat as Citizens Band, Melvin and Howard is simply a wonderful film, Something Wild is truly hairraising. Swing Shift was taken out of his hands and a quarter of it was redone; a grainy VHS copy of his original cut is floating around the internet; I have heard this rare cut is better than the theatrical cut, which was still a good film. I saw a link to it once, I might have to find it again.

And then there is Married to the Mob. I honestly don't know what it is about that film, as it does contain four mob "hit" scenes and some of the most alarming haircuts and interior designs ever put to celluloid, but it is so incredibly, wildly entertaining to me. Michelle Pheiffer is radiant in it as a Mafia widow yearning for a normal life, Dean Stockwell is a memorably swaggering mob don, and Mercedes Ruehl is brawlingly hilarious as his jealous wife whose volcanic, full-volumed rage erupts frequently. The pounding soundtrack of 80s alt-rock songs is exceptional. And the combination of the funny script and Demme's direction is a match made in comedy heaven; I swear its honestly one of my favorite films of the 80s s. Its like an R-rated mob movie filtered through the dual lens of Looney Toons and Preston Sturges.


-----
Recently, filmwise, I have caught some of these recent early morning titles on TCM ( Stamboul Quest and The Flame Within last Tuesday were both fascinating MGM titles), but I've been spending even more time with silent films. There are so many that are flooding YouTube now that all films from the 1890s through the 1920s are in the public domain, and I needed to see more of them since I have somewhat neglected the era and I seen so many 20th century American talkies that the remaining field of unseen titles of them is somewhat bare. I have fallen head over heels for the silents; they have a poetic quality all their own, and they bewitch and beguile so easily. And they are now just out there where anyone can see them, just ripe for the viewings.





Thank you so much, CI, for your well wishes and the excellent, in-depth post. I am still rather wobbly so to speak but hopefully will come around sooner rather than later. Happy Mother's Day to you and everyone here.

LOCAL HERO has that quirky Scots humor which tends to sneak up on one but some people just do not "take" to it, and that's okay. I love all the characters, especially Victor and Ben. I have seen GREGORY'S GIRL, also COMFORT AND JOY but for some reason do not remember them all that well.

Love your info on Demme -- I always enjoy MARRIED TO THE MOB. Cannot watch SILENCE OF THE LAMBS -- it literally makes me sick to my stomach. (compared to it, THE EXORCIST is a walk in the park) LAST EMBRACE is on rotation at ScreenPix so I keep watching. It was during a second viewing that I noted the rather clever visual hints that give us clues to who the murderer might actually be.

Was dozing off and woke up to A BULLET FOR JOEY, starring those MANPOWER star nemises Edward G. Robinson and George Raft. George travels to Canada where he says "I'm not here to milk cows" which I'm sure does not endear him to the locals. I unfortunately fell back to sleep -- it looked like a wonderfully bad movie.
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Detective Jim McLeod
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Detective Jim McLeod »

I have been pondering about this. On TCM this month they are doing a tribute to cinematographer James Wong Howe.

Will they be showing Go Man Go (1954), the Harlem Globetrotters movie he directed? I saw it years ago and wondered if TCM will.
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by HoldenIsHere »

TikiSoo wrote: May 9th, 2023, 7:25 am
Thompson wrote: May 7th, 2023, 2:01 am go sit on the porch, and smoke a factory made cigarette. You can’t beat them factory mades.
You know, I was just ruminating over this:

US Government will remove harmful products from every other market but still allow selling of cigarettes with added, harmful chemicals.
WHY is this allowed?

You probably know this, TikiSoo, but tobacco companies in the US spend millions of dollars lobbying members of Congress and millions making donations to candidates.
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