Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES
Posted: January 25th, 2023, 10:30 pm
Swithin, thanks so much for that Sarris link. Wow! I wonder what he thought of Scorcese.
https://www.silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/
https://www.silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?t=7278
There is no accounting for taste. I guess to the Brits Capone is some kind of unique figure, but I've always seen him as aBronxgirl48 wrote: ↑January 25th, 2023, 7:16 pm
I'm remembering a scene in I think FRENZY where a police inspector tells his colleague how much tourists look forward to British fog and serial killers. Conversely it seems our across-the-pond cousins always wax enthusiastic about Al Capone.
Yes, George Stevens sets that scene up very well. I haven't read the novel but did see the original 1931 film. Sylvia Sidney is much more appealing than poor Shelley, though.
Too bad about CRY WOLF. I have no intention either of buying or renting.
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Capone was good at branding and it stuck, while other of his contemporaries like Pretty Boy Floyd and Machine Gun Kelly had to settleBronxgirl48 wrote: ↑January 26th, 2023, 12:42 pm For some reason many Europeans (except the Brits, who refer to them as "the continent") whenever they meet an American (on-screen), their response is "Do you live in Chicago? Al Capone, rat-a-tat-tat!" complete with machine gun body language. I too never exactly understood Scarface's "appeal".
I always wondered what George saw in Alice. I mean, he tells Liz "I don't waste my time" but I suppose, being a guy, George needed, well, an "outlet" to quell those lonely nights while waiting for Uncle to move him up the family ladder of success.
Every time somebody mentions Scorcese, I think of this scene:Bronxgirl48 wrote: ↑January 25th, 2023, 10:30 pm Swithin, thanks so much for that Sarris link. Wow! I wonder what he thought of Scorcese.
Andree wrote: ↑January 26th, 2023, 4:31 pmCapone was good at branding and it stuck, while other of his contemporaries like Pretty Boy Floyd and Machine Gun Kelly had to settleBronxgirl48 wrote: ↑January 26th, 2023, 12:42 pm For some reason many Europeans (except the Brits, who refer to them as "the continent") whenever they meet an American (on-screen), their response is "Do you live in Chicago? Al Capone, rat-a-tat-tat!" complete with machine gun body language. I too never exactly understood Scarface's "appeal".
I always wondered what George saw in Alice. I mean, he tells Liz "I don't waste my time" but I suppose, being a guy, George needed, well, an "outlet" to quell those lonely nights while waiting for Uncle to move him up the family ladder of success.
for second billing, even though they were more eccentric and interesting than Big Al, the 800 pound gorilla of American gangsters.
Yeah, Georgie probably knew a relationship with Liz would take a little time, so he'd have his fun with one of his co-workers, which made
things very convenient. He should have gone to the pharmacist before and not after.
This reminds me of the time my wife and I had purchased BritRail passes and did a big loop through the U.K. back in 1996.Bronxgirl48 wrote: ↑January 26th, 2023, 12:42 pm For some reason many Europeans (except the Brits, who refer to them as "the continent") whenever they meet an American (on-screen), their response is "Do you live in Chicago? Al Capone, rat-a-tat-tat!" complete with machine gun body language.
Or Franklin Pangborn. Don't make me use my feather duster. Robards certainly doesn't look like Al Capone or have hisBronxgirl48 wrote: ↑January 26th, 2023, 6:58 pm
Capone is so iconic you can have virtually anybody portray him. I'm thinking of Jason Robards, Jr. in THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE. There's probably not a less appropriate looking actor to do so unless maybe it's Wally Cox.
No, and the most pregnant smile that ever was. She gives the smile that smothers. Mawkish and saccharine to he hilt and usually with fluttery blinky eyes. They should make horror movies with that smile.
When I was studying Theology in college, I read Margaret Murray's The Witch-Cult in Western Europe. Murray was a scholar and the first woman to be appointed a lecturer in archeology in the UK. Despite the fact that Murray's theories about the "Dianic Cult" were largely debunked, her work is important because it was the first serious scholarly examination of the witchcraft phenomenon. Similarly, we may not agree with many (or in your case, all) of Sarris's conclusions and categories, but The American Cinema and some of Sarris's other writings were of monumental importance in the furthering of the study of American film as a serious subject for exploration in the United States. So, attention must be paid!kingrat wrote: ↑January 26th, 2023, 7:36 pm
Swithin, I am not a fan of Andrew Sarris, thumb my nose at his categories, and deeply regret that his mistranslation of the politique des auteurs as the "auteur theory" has received such currency. Otherwise, I'm sure he was a swell guy. From time to time he can say something interesting about a film.