Quint's Reviews and Ruminations on Film

[Captain Quint]

I died earlier this year (what a way to open a thread), I only bring this up because a thing like that changes a person, you become existential and start to wonder.... "What's it all about, Alfie?" You were something, then you were nothing, and then - Huzzah! - something again. Wild, but did any of it really matter, you live, you die, eventually you're forgotten, just a name on a stone.

And these cherished movies of mine, did they matter? My thoughts on those movies, just a lot of stuff and nonsense? Nothing I say here will be remembered, it won't change lives, it won't significantly enlighten anyone, so why even bother expressing myself in this small corner of the world? I don't know, but I am alive, so I might as well live, share my thoughts, even if they are ephemeral.

So, movies - what do they mean to us, what kind of film buffs are we, what brought us here? As a youth they were fun, the family jumping into the car to go see Godzilla fight Mothra at the Drive-In, or Batman running about because, "somedays you just can't get rid of a bomb". But then it all changed, one weekend at grandma's house, I leveled up, quite by accident.

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I didn't know the title then, but Casablanca was a film that so captivated my 8-year-old mind (I was somewhere in that age bracket when I happened upon it) that instead of going out to play with my siblings and the neighborhood children, I stayed with the picture. It was a tough choice, those kids looked like they were having a blast - but I couldn’t tear myself away from this story, and that cool Bogart and that captivating Ingrid Bergman.

I remember my parents and grandparents coming home and finding me watching TV (this was a day and age before computers and video games), “What in the world are you doing in doors?” my father asked, a bit amused that his son was watching some old black and white movie that was probably over his head -- But not so much. I got it and was enthralled by the melodrama, the wartime intrigue and the dialog that bubbled with wit, irony and heartache. When an old flame walks back into Ric's life, the rush of longing, hurt and anger, was palpable. It haunted me, and I point to that moment as the day I fell in love with motion pictures.

It's when I discovered that movies could also be great art, that they could reach into the depths of your soul and be more than just a fun way to waste a few hours.

So that's what this is all about, Alfie. A place to review, sure. But also, to reflect and remember a lifetime of loving movies.

With that in mind, a related question, do you have a movie that changed everything for you? You were this kind of movie watcher before, and on a whole other level, after?

Next post: More game changers.

[honeykid]

Welcome back to the living. :)

[Citizen Rules]

Wow, that was one helluva way to open a thread! It's an interesting thread topic too...You were only 8 years old and watching Casablanca. I can't image having the patience myself when I was eight, I would have probably been coloring on the tv set screen trying to make the movie into color!

I only watched Casablanca when I was into my 40s. I had heard it was one of the greatest movies of all time which of course put it on such a lofty pedestal that it gave me high expectations so that when I did watch it I wasn't that impressed. Since then I've watched Casablanca a few more times and I would call it one of the all time greats, at least in my book as it ticks all the right stuff for emotional world building. It's the kind of movie I love.

[Captain Quint]

I guess if you loved Casablanca at 8, it's probably a sign the movies were in your blood from birth.

Welcome back to the living. :)

Thank you... and of course, being a movie freak, when my cardiologist informed me of this (I was wearing a heart monitor when it happened, so he knew how long I was gone), versions of Monty Python bits started playing in my head. I'm not dead... in fact I'm feeling better

Continuing on with the topic of Movies That Made Me a Film Fan
From the Hollywood blockbuster to the raw, socially conscious small budget dramas. Movies can romance you, tickle your funny bone, thrill and inspire you to think. They can be deeply personal or widely communal, a source of bonding.

With that in mind, here are 4 others that transformed me into the dyed in the wool film fan I am today.

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True Grit (1969)

When I was a kid John Wayne was my favorite actor, the first ‘star’ I followed. If there was a Wayne movie on TV, I was there to watch it. My father didn’t like the Duke, didn’t like his politics etc. But he’d suffer through his films for his son. I remember him taking me to the theater to see True Grit, and even though he’d chuckle every time Glen Campbell attempted to act, I, we, had a great time.

I also remember watching the Oscars, or part of the Oscars that year. My family wasn’t much into award shows, but apparently everyone knew the Duke was going to win, so mom & pops had me sit and watch as John’s name was called… which thrilled me to no end. So True Grit is the movie that leaps to mind when I think of Wayne, not simply for the flick, but for the family bonding I associate with it.

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Jaws (1975)

I was really into sharks around this time, and I begged my family to take me to see Jaws. We were visiting relatives in another -larger- city. And we went to the biggest theater, with the biggest parking lot I’ve ever seen. The crowd of people was staggering to my young eyes. I’d never witnessed anything like this. (They say Jaws gave birth to the summer blockbuster and I saw it come into being firsthand)

The movie scared the holy crap out of me, but I loved it - I loved the shark and the colorful characters. It was also the first time I was sucked into merchandising. I collected Jaws and shark related books and T-shirts, etc… I still have the plastic Jaws cup from the theater. It was the first movie I saw multiple times in movie houses. Every time there would be a revival showing, I was there. I eventually bought copies when it was sold on VHS, DVD and later BD.

Jaws still rates highly with me. It was my first ‘favorite’ movie, my first EVENT picture.

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Wild Strawberries (1957)

My college phase - It’s not like I’d never seen a foreign made film. In my youth I watched plenty of Godzilla and Gamera movies, and I can’t imagine HBO didn’t show higher brow fare in the 70s. But when I think of the movie that got me interested in world cinema, I think of Bergman’s classic (and it might also have been the first I’d seen with subtitles, not dubbed).

Watching this for the first time, I was knocked out by what a wise and poignant look at life it was. It was honest, but it told its story with imagination (the dream sequences), and was cinematically eye popping. It might be the first picture where I really started paying attention to the importance of cinematography, of lighting and edits and structure.

After this I expanded my horizons and started exploring film from across the globe. I came to treasure Kurosawa, Bunuel, Fellini and others…. but it all began here, with Bergman.

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The General (1926)

This was the movie that exposed me to the wonders of silent cinema, and how physical comedy could be an art form. Before this I saw such antics as low brow and childish… but Keaton showed me the light, he showed how physical humor could have finesse and style. To put it in dancing terms: while some comedians were like strippers, Buster was a ballerina. He was more than just a talented entertainer. He was an artist and a genius. I was in awe of him, and after the General I sought out other silent films in earnest.

Plus, Buster represents film as pure joy and happiness... whenever I see that wonderful, expressive, stone face of his, I instantly smile. Even if it's one of his weaker films, just seeing him lifts my spirits.

[Wooley]

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True Grit (1969)[/CENTER]

When I was a kid John Wayne was my favorite actor, the first ‘star’ I followed. If there was a Wayne movie on TV, I was there to watch it.

Same.

[Citizen Rules]

I recently watched all of John Wayne's filmography from Stagecoach on. I liked True Grit for Wayne's interaction with Kim Darby.

[Captain Quint]

That's an undertaking, I salute you.

Some years past, I re-watched both True Grits and read the True Grit novel, loved all 3, but I too like that relationship, the interaction between the actors (though I acknowledge that Hailee was the better, more perfectly cast Mattie). Plus, I like that they used the cat in the Wayne version. A modern critic once pointed out that the General was important in showing Roosters prickly personality and who he decided to care about (and there wasn't many he'd cotton to), so that fatherly connection with Mattie was a nice sign that she was one of the rare ones he let in.

The cat was played by the famous Orangy, who earned a mention at the cinema cats' site we spoke about not long ago... https://cinemacats.com/true-grit-1969/

[Captain Quint]

Movie Mentors
I remember a movie site that was picking their best ofs for each year; and the main guy getting upset with some of the selections, and the people voting because that they hadn't seen this or that - and I was thinking, dude, some of these folks are half your age, you have a considerable head start... you can't expect an 18 or 20-year old to be where you're at - They'll get there, if they want to, give them time. And seriously, unless your mother had a functioning theater in her womb, none of us entered the world fully formed film fans. We had our guides or mentors - the first being your parents - I was blessed with 2 movie fans. After that, friends and other family members could turn you on to a good flick, and outside of them, you have the critics, historians, the books and magazines (anybody remember Premiere, with the movie cards inside... I was a subscriber). And eventually forums and websites.

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I even had a customer at the video store I managed, bring me in a bag full of hard to find (at the time) movies on tape he collected, he just wanted to share with a fellow film buff...among his treasures, and first-time viewings for me, The 400 Blows, The Seven Beauties, and I Am Curious Yellow.

Bring on the cinephiles!

The 70's gave us something new, critics, not in print, but on TV, and not just a segment on a morning show, but a full half-hour of movie talk. It was called Sneak Previews, which featured two competing reviewers -Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel- sharing their thoughts on recent releases. I first caught the show when it aired bi-weekly on PBS, and I loved the banter, loved their personalities and how they'd go at one another. Other folks took notice, there were watercolor discussions, and their popularity grew.

A few clips from their intros, I remember the first one, and the last best of all.
https://youtu.be/Sh3l8cfsUYs?si=kGB7wNuo67YR0YB4

Now, whether you like celebrity critics or not is up to the individual, and I have noted some backlash from former fans of the duo. While I can see where they're coming from, I'll never disown them... Gene recommended Rock and Roll High School, which lead me to the Ramones, the movie and their records became favorites of mine. Roger turned me on to Studio Ghibli with his positive notice on My Neighbor Totoro, and both gave me Kurosawa. They really loved Ran, would show these goregously shot clips of the movie, and gushed on and on about it. Man, I had to get to a theater immediately and see Ran... and after that, I needed to explore more from the master. I might have disagreed with them here and there, and I've moved on to others I like more, but I can't hate on folks who put so many fantastic flicks on my radar.

After graduating from S&E, I moved on, sought the scholars, the ones who could articulate the ins and outs of a movie better than a half-hour show could.

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A guy I really liked was David Bordwell, a film theorist and historian, who, along with his wife, Kristin Thompson, offered up the kind of insights into film that I was craving. I needed more than thumbs up or down, I needed to explore the craft of film, but also the philosophy of film, if you will - the bigger picture, and also the smaller details. I could see these for myself, but I desired teachers too (man, I would have loved to have taken a class with David) - not to give me an opinion, or to recommend a movie as you might get from a Rotten Tomatoes aggregate score, but to help me to see what I might not be seeing or to discuss what I did notice.

Take Bunuel's Tristana, there's a scene where his camera follows his characters into the bedroom -framing them within. The door closes, but instead of fading to black to the next scene, or cutting to the interior, he instead pans the camera around to another open bedroom door, effectively re-framing the scene and the actors without use of editing. I loved that, the audacity of that, it seems minor, and the movie would have been what it was with or without that, but that the director and his camera man chose to do it that way makes me smile, the persistence of the all seeing eye, it won't be denied, you can't even close a door on it, not if it doesn't want you to. But also, the technique... why stop and reset the scene, when the camera can just glide over and serve the same purpose.

Some of these things might be purely aesthetic or they might be saying something, symbolically or otherwise. But they are all a part of what I love about motion pictures.

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There are others - Imogen Sarah Smith, I think she's a terrific writer, it also helps that we have the same tastes, we both love noir, especially the movie In a Lonely Place, and we both love Buster Keaton (I bought her book on the comedian and adore it)

More on that noir classic later, now it's time for a break - but this was a good way to set the table, get a peak at what I have in mind for the thread.

Till tomorrow.

[Captain Quint]

"I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”

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In a Lonely Place (1950)
Directed by Nicholas Ray - screenplay was primarily Andrew Solt, with alterations by Ray - Based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes

In a Lonely Place is about self-destruction and inner darkness set against a Hollywood backdrop - where it lays bare the contradictions, emptiness and enabling found in the studio system.

It's a tragic love story between a cocksure, hot-tempered screenwriter suspected of murder (Dix) and his seemingly composed and cool neighbor Laurel, who provides him with an alibi.

I can't break down the picture any better than Imogen Sara Smith did in her incisive essay... An Epitaph for Love (https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4052-in-a-lonely-place-an-epitaph-for-love)

This bit in particular resonated. In contrasting it with other Hollywood tales, like Sunset Blvd, she wrote...

But what makes this a heartbreaking tragedy instead of a jaded satire is that, beneath its bruised pessimism, the film still clings to the hope that art and integrity and love can survive in the wasteland—a hope that dies slowly, agonizingly before our eyes.

That's key, and viewers who fail to grasp this could interpret the picture as either knocking Laurel or apologizing for Dix's behavior. While friends and colleagues in the film do this, the story, as story, is far more complex and psychologically nuanced to follow suit. This is simply the world we are observing, and these are the people in this world, for better, for worse.

If we are frustrated by or feel anything for Dix it's because we want to believe in the good, we 'cling' to it. We want him to get his act together. The film even gives us a taste of what can happen when he does - When we see him smiling, in love, and working on his script. We want 'the good' to continue, and it kills us when it doesn't. When Dix's anger rises up, it's terrible, unpredictable, and ugly. We recoil and are sickened by the violence, just as Laurel is - while we are not told why she ran from her previous relationship, we know why she wishes to do so here. When Dix smacks a dear and loyal friend, that's the final nail... he effectively murders his love, his chance at having something clean. And his desperation when he realizes this, only leads him to do something worse.

Going beyond emotional reactions, judge IALP on the nuts and bolts of cinema and you find genius. The quotable screenplay is one of the best ever written, both layered, smart and biting. It branches away from the novel's serial killer story, and adds the element of exposé on the nature of studios, celebrity, and such – and in doing so becomes much more profound. I also think it's Ray at his directorial peak. And the photography, architecture... the rich performances that are both volatile and sensitive... the film's very existence, its brilliance, counters the pictures thematic cynicism and shows us that our hopes are not in vain. Hollywood is able to produce elevated works of art... even if it can't spare these characters from their own personal hell's.

5

Additional thoughts
I believe it was a wise directorial/screenwriting choice to shift perspectives partway, from Dix to Laurel - Grahame gave an incredible performance, and it's all in the small details she throws in there. At first, cool and confident, but as it goes, we watch her initial defense of Dix eaten away by doubt. She's heard the stories, seen him lash out, and though he's not smacked her around, there's aggressiveness in the way he speaks to her, in the way he touches her, and she notices that - you can see it in her acting.

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It's interesting how the studio didn't want to make a film about a serial killer (who, in the outstanding Dorothy B. Hughes novel this is loosely based on, is also a rapist, so yeah, a hard sell for Hollywood), but what they got instead wasn't exactly cheery - funny that some old schoolers, like L.B. Mayer, disliked how Wilder took the gloss off the dream factory with Sunset Boulevard, but IALP was just as scathing - the studio system lay exposed in 1950, and you could say All About Eve did the same to Broadway.

How does it rank among 1950 releases?
Very well, it's one of my big 5 - 5 features with 5-star grades - joining it are Sunset Boulevard, Rashomon, Los Olvidados, and All About Eve.

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Love the lighting in this scene, it doesn't just highlight the eyes, but surrounds the face, so you can see the turned down lips, slack, hanging cigarette and a look of shock, even a little madness(?) on Bogart's expressive features.

[Wooley]

"I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”

102823
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Directed by Nicholas Ray - screenplay was primarily Andrew Solt, with alterations by Ray - Based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes

In a Lonely Place is about self-destruction and inner darkness set against a Hollywood backdrop - where it lays bare the contradictions, emptiness and enabling found in the studio system.

It's a tragic love story between a cocksure, hot-tempered screenwriter suspected of murder (Dix) and his seemingly composed and cool neighbor Laurel, who provides him with an alibi.

I can't break down the picture any better than Imogen Sara Smith did in her incisive essay... An Epitaph for Love (https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4052-in-a-lonely-place-an-epitaph-for-love)

This bit in particular resonated. In contrasting it with other Hollywood tales, like Sunset Blvd, she wrote...



That's key, and viewers who fail to grasp this could interpret the picture as either knocking Laurel or apologizing for Dix's behavior. While friends and colleagues in the film do this, the story, as story, is far more complex and psychologically nuanced to follow suit. This is simply the world we are observing, and these are the people in this world, for better, for worse.

If we are frustrated by or feel anything for Dix it's because we want to believe in the good, we 'cling' to it. We want him to get his act together. The film even gives us a taste of what can happen when he does - When we see him smiling, in love, and working on his script. We want 'the good' to continue, and it kills us when it doesn't. When Dix's anger rises up, it's terrible, unpredictable, and ugly. We recoil and are sickened by the violence, just as Laurel is - while we are not told why she ran from her previous relationship, we know why she wishes to do so here. When Dix smacks a dear and loyal friend, that's the final nail... he effectively murders his love, his chance at having something clean. And his desperation when he realizes this, only leads him to do something worse.

Going beyond emotional reactions, judge IALP on the nuts and bolts of cinema and you find genius. The quotable screenplay is one of the best ever written, both layered, smart and biting. It branches away from the novel's serial killer story, and adds the element of exposé on the nature of studios, celebrity, and such – and in doing so becomes much more profound. I also think it's Ray at his directorial peak. And the photography, architecture... the rich performances that are both volatile and sensitive... the film's very existence, its brilliance, counters the pictures thematic cynicism and shows us that our hopes are not in vain. Hollywood is able to produce elevated works of art... even if it can't spare these characters from their own personal hell's.

5

Additional thoughts
I believe it was a wise directorial/screenwriting choice to shift perspectives partway, from Dix to Laurel - Grahame give an incredible performance, and it's all in the small details she throws in there. At first, cool and confident, but as it goes we watch her initial defense of Dix eaten away by doubt. She's heard the stories, seen him lash out, and though he's not smacked her around, there's aggressiveness in the way he speaks to her, in the way he touches her, and she notices that - you can see it in her acting.

102824

It's interesting how the studio didn't want to make a film about a serial killer (who, in the outstanding Dorothy B. Hughes novel this is loosely based on, is also a rapist, so yeah, a hard sell for Hollywood), but what they got instead wasn't exactly cheery - funny that some old schoolers, like L.B. Mayer, disliked how Wilder took the gloss off the dream factory with Sunset Boulevard, but IALP was just as scathing - the studio system lay exposed in 1950, and you could say All About Eve did the same to Broadway.

How does it rank among 1950 releases?
Very well, it's one of my big 5 - 5 features with 5-star grades - joining it are Sunset Boulevard, Rashomon, Los Olvidados, and All About Eve.

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Love the lighting in this scene, it doesn't just highlight the eyes, but surrounds the face, so you can see the turned down lips, slack, hanging cigarette and a look of shock, even a little madness(?) on Bogart's expressive features.

I just saw this for the first time a few months ago and I really, really liked it. Really. I think I only knew Gloria Grahame from The Big Heat but I thought she was the secret weapon of that film. Here she's just the weapon. She's almost more important to this movie than Bogart. Again, loved the film.

[Citizen Rules]

"I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=102823
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Directed by Nicholas Ray - screenplay was primarily Andrew Solt, with alterations by Ray - Based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes

Additional thoughts
I believe it was a wise directorial/screenwriting choice to shift perspectives partway, from Dix to Laurel - Grahame give an incredible performance, and it's all in the small details she throws in there. At first, cool and confident, but as it goes we watch her initial defense of Dix eaten away by doubt. She's heard the stories, seen him lash out, and though he's not smacked her around, there's aggressiveness in the way he speaks to her, in the way he touches her, and she notices that - you can see it in her acting... Glad to hear of another fan of Gloria Grahame. I so agree she's very important to In A Lonely Place. It's a solid acting job and a character quite different than she ever played before. I'm such a Gloria Grahame fan that I watched all of her movies. Some of her lesser known films are well worth seeking out.

[Captain Quint]

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Yeah, I've always liked her - looking it up, it appears I've seen 25 (which includes the Rich Man, Poor Man, television miniseries)

[Captain Quint]

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Pyaasa (1957)
Directed by Guru Dutt - Written by Abrar Alvi
Music composed by S.D. Burman and written by poet and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi
Cinematography by V.K. Murthy

My pessimistic world view put on film.

The story follows the trials and tribulations of a down-and-out poet, told through music… and that music was phenomenal. While there was one comedic tune, most of the lyrics are devastating in their perceptions. Focusing on topics ranging from lost love to lost humanity.

I’ll never get that scene set in the dark side of town out of my mind -- It shows us the sick, homeless and sold (the prostitutes) as the singer laments about the state of the country and society. He asks, who is looking out for these lost souls (who shouldn’t have been allowed to become lost in the first place.)

And the final tune was a blistering, emotional knock-out that spoke about integrity, materialism, commercialism and what that does to the artist and his art… what amounts to him throwing his pearls before swine. Few appreciate or understand him (they all want sunny, happy, poetry) and most damning is that even those who are poets themselves, or those who consider themselves patrons of the arts, are truly, only in the business of art. Or the pretense of art.

It’s a depressing movie, a wise movie. It’s about India, but its message is universal. It was a personal tale for the director, though also relatable to me, having been involved with songwriting and music most of my life. That side of it hit me so hard that I’ve not taken time to express how remarkable the picture looks. The shadows, the compositions, the close ups. And the acting? It’s crushing.

Yes, this is my pessimistic world view put on film, but it closes on my deepest hope. That somewhere, out there, someone else understands.

5

Additional Thoughts
It bugs me when I look at 'top musicals' lists and there's not a Bollywood movie to be had (or you get a token Bollywood film tucked in the back end). And Pyaasa, which, IMHO is the greatest musical of all time, is usually never mentioned... usually! I have to commend Indie Wire for breaking that trend, for it not only made their list of 100, but was slotted in the 5th spot. Wow, I salute you!

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The others from India on that list include #19. Pakeezah (1972) / #34. The Cloud-Capped Star (1960) / #47. RRR (2022) / #54. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) / #61. Mughal-e-Azam (1960) wish to hell I could find the B&W with English subs / #71. Sholay (1975) / #85. Lagaan (2001) and, #93. Devdas (2002) though personally, I prefer Bimal Roy's 1955 version

That's a solid showing - I do wish they would have given representation to the golden age, like Debaki Bose's Vidyapati (1937) (with songs composed by Rai Chand Boral (that pioneer of Indian film music) and sung to perfection by the legendary K.C. Dey and Kenan Devi) or Nartaki (1940). I was also a fan of Bimal Roy's Madhumati (1958) and Alvi & Dutt's Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)

And yes, MoFos, I noticed your 100 and, Et tu, Brute? was there no love for India, not even a one pointer? ;)

[iluv2viddyfilms]

https://i0.wp.com/hometownstohollywood.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/in-a-lonely-place.jpg?ssl=1

In a Lonely Place is in my top 10 films of all time. I'll likely do a write-up at some point and go into specific reasons why it works so well, but to me it's a combination of two spectacular lead performances with great supporting characters tethered around them. I love how it captures a part of the filmmaking process that is often overlooked - the writing aspect. Bogart's character is so dynamic too and his behaviors really reflect something I hadn't really seen in noir that much... Sunset Blvd is another film that comes close and is in my top 100.

Nicholas Ray is at his best here and with screenwriter Andrew P. Solt you had two powerhouse personalities that both likely cared far more about their art than the dollar. Also editing the picture was a lady named Viola Lawrence who's filmography reads a mile long. She had worked with Orson Welles, Howard Hawks, and had been editor on several of Bogart's pictures... I believe with his recent production company Santana Productions, so I have little doubt that she upheld the vision of Ray, Solt, and Bogart. It's a true passion project if there ever was one, and I believe Bogart said it was his favorite of his pictures and the closest he ever revealed of his darker side, while the humor etc reflecting his own real personality.

They say a film is made three times, when it is written, when it is filmed, and when it is edited and it seems like In a Lonely Placed knocked it out of the park on all three points. That ending is truly spectacular too and by not having Bogart kill her, but rather coming within an inch of doing so, but backing away, it makes the tragic nature of it so much more powerful, I think anyway.

In a Lonely Place is a looker too with cameraman Burnett Guffey behind the lens who won Academy Awards for From Here to Eternity and Bonnie and Clyde. That music score by George Antheil is also instantly memorable and I even prefer it to the more well regarded theme of Laura.

Basically I think a million things come together and the stars aligned perfectly to create what I consider the greatest of all the noirs and it does it without ever having gangsters, mobsters, heists, partners double crossing each other, planned murders, femme fatales, gun fights or a dozen of the other familiar troupes of the genre... yet it still remains undoubtedly a noir film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF2Lxh8HkLU

[Captain Quint]

In a Lonely Place is in my top 10 films of all time. I'll likely do a write-up at some point and go into specific reasons why it works so well, but to me it's a combination of two spectacular lead performances with great supporting characters tethered around them.

I'll look forward to that, but well said what you wrote here.

I made a list at another site, titled "My 25 Treasures" - that was for movies that meant a lot to me, in many ways, not just the traditional biggies, like Casablanca or Citizen Kane, but things like Jesus Christ Superstar, that I have a long history with (from the LP to the stage play, to the movie) - In a Lonely Place is among the 25.

If I'd have been here for the Noir list, I'd have ranked it #1, just edging Out of the Past.

[iluv2viddyfilms]

It's interesting how we have those films that we all love which are the biggies like Casablanca and then we have those personal treasures that don't really seem to take off or be canonized the way others. In terms of modern westerns City Slickers is a film like that for me. Also speaking of westerns, a film like The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, definitely does have a cult following, but seems widely forgotten outside of a few vocal supporters.

I think In a Lonely Place was like that for years, but it seems like in the last decade or two, it's finally starting to pick up traction on critics and directors lists and making top 10s and top 100s in getting the respect it deserves among the great noirs and Bogart films.

[Captain Quint]

I wasn't planning on a new post tonight, but....

Mikio Naruse
August 20, 1905 – July 2, 1969
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It's always and exciting time I when I complete a favorite director's filmography... but also a little bittersweet because, while you can always revisit your favorites, there will be no "new" to enjoy, and that sense of discovery is at an end.

But mostly it's exciting, and thanks to SpelingError I'm one step closer to the end with Naruse.

It's curious how the director was an unknown for most of my life. Of Japan's classic era filmmakers, I first discovered Ozu, then Kurosawa, then Mizoguchi... but Naruse might as well have lived on Mars.

As Dan Sallitt noted in his Mikio Naruse Companion, the shift began with a 2005 New York retrospective, in 2008 Catherine Russell's book was published, then in 2013 fans got involved by subtitling all that they could find - and suddenly the Naruse floodgates opened. For me it all began with When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960), watched on Friday, Apr 15, 2016, back when Hulu was hosting Criterion films.

And from there? Well, I've gone from 0 to 67 in an 8-year span*, making him my most watched Japanese director and one of my favorites. He was rock steady, I could always count on him - if I was on a poor streak of movies, I could turn to Naruse and know I'd find something wonderful. Oh sure, there were a few that were weaker, a couple of 2.5ers, but nothing tragically awful (and there were several I felt were sorely underrated).

Another interesting thing I discovered, is that in his old age, Naruse didn't become tired or stale, he also didn't do what Ozu did, who perfect a style late in life, and pretty much stayed in that lane (with great results I should add). Naruse instead got bold - he co-directed a film with one of the young gun Sun Tribers, he played with guilt riddled noir (The Thin Line), and with Moment of Terror he tried his hand at broad sensationalism (and got a scenery-chewing performance out of Hideko Takamine - an experiment that wasn't as successful - I prefer it when he handles subjects like this with more sensitivity and tenderness (and subtlety). After his death, his muse, Takamine, said he wanted to make a film with just her in a white room, she'd do all her acting within this empty, white space. I would have loved to have seen that.

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Screengrab from Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/images-of-the-day-womans-gaze) at MUBI

BTW, the one I watched tonight was a 32-minute short, titled Woman's Ways - from a portmanteau film about young lovers (The First Kiss - 1955) - it was a cute romantic comedy, a call back to the directors' earlier films. I enjoyed it, got several laughs, and it's always interesting to watch Takamine and observe her expressions - her face, her sad eyes, always tell the story.

3.5

My 5 favorites
1. Sound of the Mountain (1954)
2. Lightning (1952)
3. Scattered Clouds (aka "Two in the Shadow" 1967)
4. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
5. Yearning (1964)

Links
Here's BFIs 10 Essentials https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/mikio-naruse-10-essential-films, which also speaks to the style of movies he made.

Sadly, there's a whopping 21 films that are lost, including his first 7, which began with 1930's Mr. and Mrs. Swordplay. But it's not only the early releases - 1949's Furyô shôjo (aka Bad Girl, or Delinquent Girl) is among the missing. Here's a page from Toho Kingdon (https://www.tohokingdom.com/blog/the-lost-films-of-mikio-naruse/) that explores The Lost Films of Mikio Naruse.

Postscripts
* With digital streaming, it's a lot easier these days, it took me decades to find, and go through all of Fellini's

* 67 seen? Learn From Experience was released in 2 parts, most sites lump them together as 1, Letterboxd breaks them up into 2, so on my list there is currently at 67. BTW - I loved part 1, but felt part 2 was significantly lesser

[Captain Quint]

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The Thicket (2024)
Directed by Elliott Lester

A passion project for Peter Dinklage, who's been linked to the picture since 2014. The pandemic delayed production, leading to the loss of several cast members—but not Dinklage, and he's the driving force behind this western thriller.

There's a thread of sadness woven throughout the film - and a throughline that concerns family - those who cause damage, those we loved and lost, those not of blood, but bonded to. And it's that love of family that pushes a young man (Levon Hawke) to persuade Dinklage's Reginald Jones and his partner Eustace (Gbenga Akinnagbe) to help him rescue his kidnapped sister (Esmé Creed-Miles) from the clutches of Cut Throat Bill (Juliette Lewis) and her gang.

The story, written by Joe R. Lansdale and adapted by comedy writer(?!) Joe Kelly isn't anything we haven't seen before, a tough trek through harsh terrain to save someone was had in classics like John Ford's "The Searchers". It's also a lengthy film, and a bumpy ride in spots, with subplots that add little and go nowhere (the bits with the 2 brothers), yet it's predominately a compelling odyssey, populated with intriguing characters.

Your acting aces? Dinklage exudes cool, is composed in manner and more dangerous than others perceive. He's Initially stern, seemingly uncaring, which gradually gives way to compassion. The word that comes to mind for Reginald is soulful, it's in his eyes, it's in his demeanor. And this complexity of character lends added weight to the tale. His antagonistic opposite is Juliette Lewis's psychologically and physically scarred mad-woman, Cut Throat Bill. What you see in her drug addled eyes is damned creepy.

There are times when the movie becomes a nightmarish trip through hell - along with Bill and her odd twitches, raspy voice, and erratic behavior, we briefly meet a menacing pimp, and later, a broken, bleeding preacher who recounts Bill's horrific past in a manner that would make Poe shudder. There are towns without pity, unforgiving wintery landscapes, a place ominously named "the thicket" that instills fear in people -- and a score composed by Ray Suen that accentuates the oneiric quality of the flick (it accompanies an art filled credit sequence that sets the tone effectively).

I love a good western, and this was a good, if occasionally uneven, character driven western. At times strange and unsettling, at others mournful and heartbreaking - but also offering a shaft of light to hold the sorrows a bay.

4

[Captain Quint]

Movies as Magic

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From Méliès taking audiences on a trip to the moon, to Keaton's visual illusions in Sherlock Jr., from Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint climbing over the faces of presidents in Hitchcock's North by Northwest, to Kubrick's mind-blowing Space Odessey - filmmakers have stretched the bounds of our imaginations, enabling us to see and experience the impossible. The Lumière brothers gave us reality, and from that sprung raw, grounded dramas, while others saw the potential for magic -- and in regard to magic, one of the earliest to truly take my breath away was Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments.

I can't recall my exact age, but I vividly remember our family outing to the theater—not a drive-in, but an indoor movie house. It was a classic, single-screen establishment that still stands today, though it's been repurposed for music and plays. Upon arrival, I was dismayed to learn we were there to watch an old, stuffy biblical story—yuck! I must have whined a bit because I remember my mom encouraging me to give it a chance, assuring me, "You'll like it, trust me." And like it I did. I was captivated by the sheer spectacle of it all—the elaborate sets and costumes, the sweeping grandeur, the intimate human dramas (I hung on every word that was spoken). It was larger than life - the score was monumental, the special effects astonishing. We even heard the deep, imposing voice of God, who, to be honest, seemed rather cruel and impatient. Although I loved the film, it made me wonder why God needed a Moses at all. Couldn't he just snap His fingers and, "Huzzah," instantly free the slaves and transport them to a new home? The movie made me think, debate, and question. But more than that, it allowed me to witness what I could never see in real life: the parting of the Red Sea.

I don't recollect whether I believed they actually parted a sea, or if I was simply in awe of the illusion. It truly looked as though the hand of God had cleaved the waters in two. How did they accomplish that, I wondered, with mouth agape. Nowadays, of course, I can spot the seams, the reverse shots. And special effects have advanced to a point where the sequence could appear even more lifelike. But back then, it was magical and wondrous and perfectly rendered.

https://youtu.be/C2gQo-0VW5c?si=uSvuUslqzkxx5XY-

And that sense of wonder still strikes me, even as I've grown older and more cynical. An example of that was 2006's Superman Returns, which wasn't so hot as a movie, but there were these moments, like when Supes takes a bullet to the eye... because that's something you'd wonder about as a youth, sitting on the floor with your comics and thinking.... "What if you shot Superman in the eye, would it hurt him?" it's the kind of moment that brings a smile to your face, though it's not you who are smiling, it's that kid you used to be. Also, that bit when he tries to prevent an airplane from crashing... seeing this in a real-world setting - the hero circling the dying craft, trying to figure a solution, because while he's strong enough, the plane isn't, and pieces of it break off in his hands.

More recently, watching Godzilla Minus One in the IMAX with that impressive sound system, which captured the overwhelming power of the beast and the destruction it caused. The city attack, for one, had me in awe and muttering under my breath, "Holy hell!"

I love that movies can still do that to me. Still make me feel what I felt as a lad, when I saw Moses raise his hands and part the sea.

"Amazing!"

[TheManBehindTheCurtain]

Movies as Magic

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I can't recall my exact age, but I vividly remember our family outing to the theater—not a drive-in, but an indoor movie house. It was a classic, single-screen establishment...


Yes! I can trace my own movie addiction back to about age 8, when my parents took me to see "How the West Was Won" in the theater. The anticipation, the thrill. I didn't want it to end.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable thread. Looking forward to following it for a long, long time!

[Captain Quint]

Well thank you.

And hey, there's another for the "movies as magic" post... The Wizard of Oz, what a trip that was for a wide-eyed kid - every year we'd catch it on TV, and every year those Flying Monkeys gave me the willies.

[Captain Quint]

My 25 Favorite Hitchcock Movies - A Countdown

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Attempting to come up with a list of my 25 favorites from the master of suspense proved a daunting task - as even his lesser efforts reveal something to praise: Under Capricorn, for example, is pretty dry, but it has that phenomenal tracking shot. Mrs. And Mrs. Smith, while uneven, offers up several scenes with the funniest screwball comedy you’ll ever find. But after much deliberation I came up with a list I could live with.

So let the carnage begin...

Beware: There are some SPOILERS in the notes

Screenshots courtesy of 1000 Frames of Hitchcock (https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/1000_Frames_of_Hitchcock)

[Captain Quint]

25. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

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Hitch hits his stride with this effort. I don’t think it packs the emotional wallop of the remake, Stewart really sells the desperation in that version - plus the scene here, where fearsome baddies engage in a chair fight with the protagonist was just plain goofy – but this is overall well made, fast and funny and Peter Lorre is a great villain. Nova Pilbeam plays the kidnapped little girl. She will later show up as a young adult for Young and Innocent.

Memorable scenes: Leslie Banks and the Dentist.

Memorable Quote: Abbott: You know, to a man with a heart as soft as mine, there's nothing sweeter than a touching scene.
Bob Lawrence: Such as?
Abbott: Such as a father saying goodbye to his child. Yeah, goodbye for the last time. What could be more touching than that?

Hitchcock Cameo: 26 minutes into the film. He can be seen crossing the street in a black trench coat just before Lawrence and his pal enter the Chapel.

3.5

[Miss Vicky]

Your images in the last two posts aren't working for me.

[Captain Quint]

Odd, I can see them. I'll upload them again. Continuing on with the countdown


24. Stage Fright (1950)

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A funny, charming mystery. It's about a murder set within the acting community. What part of the tale is truth, and what is performance? That's all part of fun --- One problem with this flick is that Hitchcock did nothing but complain about it. He didn’t like his actors, he didn’t like parts of the story – and if the Master says it's so, who is to argue? Subsequently Stage Fright is automatically panned before it's given half a chance.

I think Hitch was too critical of his work. For one, I like the acting. I think Alistair Sim (who Hitch didn’t want for the part) steals every scene he’s in. The interaction between he and his wife are hilarious. I’m also a big fan of Jane Wyman (she and Hitch didn’t get along and often fought through the production). Wyman usually did drama, but she's a kick here, wide-eyed and plucky as she tries to unearth evidence that’ll prove her friend's innocence.

This is not one of Hitchcock's suspense filled juggernauts. It's a featherweight who-dun-it, which often had me laughing out loud. I liked the characters, and I liked the twist ending. Which Hitch felt broke some rule about flashbacks never telling a lie. Bosch! That lie is part of the films fun - that you can't be sure if any of these actors are telling you the truth. Besides, Kurosawa filmed a classic entirely based on ambiguous flashbacks (Rashomon).

Memorable scenes: The boy with the bloody baby doll.

Memorable Quote: “He was an abominable man. Why do women marry abominable men?” - Charlotte

Hitchcock Cameo: 39 minutes into the film, he’s the gentleman who looks back at Jane Wyman as he passes her on the street

Of note: This marked Hitch’s return to his homeland, as the film was produced in, and featured mostly British actors

3.5

[Captain Quint]

23. To Catch a Thief (1955)

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Hitchcock's most commercial film - Bright, colorful Vista Vision filmed on the beautiful French coast. Thief was a light, fun, breezy romantic caper which starred Hitch's quintessential leading man, Cary Grant and his favorite cool blond, Grace Kelly --- All the classic Hitchcockian elements are present: The humor, suspense, the "mother" and a man who might or might not be innocent.

Grace Kelly was never more beautiful or engaging in a film, IMO. Her smile is simply captivating. And Grant, well hell, he's always aces. But let's not forget John Williams, Jessie Royce Landis or Brigitte Auber, all of whom added much to the film. This might not be Hitches most serious work. But a tasty piece of candy is nice every once in a while.

Memorable Scenes: The grand finale on the roof – The seduction scene in the hotel, with fireworks exploding in the background

Memorable Quote: H. Hughson: "The pastries are light as air." - John Robie: "Germaine has very sensitive hands and an exceedingly light touch. She strangled a German general - without a sound."

Hitchcock Cameo: 10 minutes into the film, he’s sitting on the bus next to Cary - Cary turns to look at him.

Of note: This won a Best Cinematography Oscar for Robert Burks (It was also nominated but lost for costume design and art direction)

3.5

[Captain Quint]

And to restate - this countdown will be spoilery, written for folks familiar with the pictures.

22. Rope (1948)

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Hitchcock relished a challenge. While he revisited and tried to perfect certain story and character themes, he was always looking for a new way to tell the story, to break a rule and experiment. The challenges he faced in making "Rope" were significant. He limits the entire movie to a single set and aimed to shoot it as if it were a play. No cuts or edits, almost live action. The problem was that a reel of film only had about 10 minutes on it. In addition, color cameras at the time were gigantic and difficult to maneuver (Hitchcock had the walls mounted on rollers to move them when the camera needed to pass through), and this project marked his first foray into color filmmaking.

The story is based on the real-life Leopold and Loeb case, delves into subject matter plumbed by Dostoevsky in "Crime and Punishment", involves the idea of the superior "Superman" and though not overt, puts homosexual characters in its lead.

Jimmy Stewart is always great, but I'm not sure about the casting. Cary Grant might have been a better choice, but he said no. James Mason would have fit the role to a T.

The original story had it as a kind of triangle, between the boys and the teacher. Stewart doesn't pull that off but instead comes off as a prying detective type. In the end he’s outraged that these students would pervert his ideas - I think he should have played it as someone trying to cover up, make excuses but always realizing, deep down, that he helped create this monster.

John Dall shines as the smooth-spoken killer. The character and his motivations are fascinating.

Despite a few issues, Rope is overall a success, an amazing feat of directorial experimentation with social implications and insights that work the mind as well.

Memorable Scenes: The way Shaw puts away the rope as the kitchen door swings, and later uses it to tie up a stack of books for the murdered boy's father - The maid cleans off the trunk which holds the body

Memorable Quote: "The power to kill could be just as satisfying as the power to create." - John Dall as Brandon Shaw

Hitchcock Cameo: Two: In the opening credits, as a man crossing the street and at 52 minutes, Hitchcock's trademark silhouette caricatured profile (promoting Reduco) can be spotted briefly on a flashing neon sign seen through the apartment window.

Of Note: In the book, Hitchcock/Truffaut, Alfred stated that he ended up re-shooting the last four or five segments because he was dissatisfied with the color of the sunset.

4

[Captain Quint]

21. Young and Innocent (1937)

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Y&I is from Hitchcock's British era and was one of his personal favorites. It's a lot like the 39 Steps but without the spy angle. It's a little more innocent, lighter and featured top notched performances from its major players. Nova Pilbeam is especially good. She kind of reminds me of Kate Hepburn - physically she's thin and has a personality that's sassy. She carries herself with confidence.

Pilbeam might have been a major star if producer Selzncik had his way. He wanted her for Rebecca; he felt she was perfect for the role. But Hitch wanted to change the original story a bit and felt she wouldn't be right for the film. And she might very well have been too strong a personality.

I follow a couple of Letterboxers who gave this 2.5-stars, one even suggested it wasn't worth seeking out... I need to stop following these people, lol. EVERY Hitchcock picture is worth seeking out if you're a film buff, or a film nut - even a lesser film, even a lighter tale, as this is, offers some treat, a visual, an adventure - cute playful scenes linked to dark murderous ones... there's usually something to delight in*, and Y&I has several somethings.

Memorable scenes: The camera pans in close to the drummers twitching eyes. This kind of 'tracking shot' will become a part of Hitch's signature directorial style.

Memorable Quote: "I can't ask them all if they twitches" - Old Will

Hitchcock Cameo: 15 minutes into the film, he’s standing outside the courthouse, holding a camera.

4


* Oh, okay, maybe not Juno and the Paycock (1930), you got me on that one, that's one of the most stiff and artless films of his career.

[Captain Quint]

20. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

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Is there a new Jack the Ripper on the prowl, that's the premise in this game changing feature. While Novello's acting is a shade overdone, the film established the tone for the director’s future films. Hitch considered it, "the first picture influenced by my period in Germany. In truth, you might almost say The Lodger was my first picture." Writer Mark Duguid made note of the German influences - "…stylized, angular sets, high contrast light and shadow to convey disturbed psychological states", all of these were to become staples of Hitch's art.

Alfred also felt that because of his work with the silents, he learned to provide narrative information through visual terms, which he transferred into his talkies and became an identifiable strength in his storytelling.

Memorable scenes: The use of a glass ceiling to show the Lodger pacing on the floor above the family was inventive. The ending has the handcuffed man running from a mob and getting his cuffs caught on a fence. He hangs helpless as revenge minded folk crowd around him... this tension filled moment is pure Hitchcock.

Hitchcock Cameo: About 3 minutes in - Sitting at a newsroom desk with his back to the camera.

Of Note: The Lodger was nearly shelved, fortunately it was released and was a critical and financial success.

4

[Wooley]

Finally saw The Lodger a year or two ago and was really pleased with it. Really made me appreciate Hitchcock in a deeper way.

[Citizen Rules]

Sweet, a personal Top 25 countdown of Hitch's Movies. I'm intersted in seeing how this progresses.20. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

...Alfred also felt that because of his work with the silents, he learned to provide narrative information through visual terms, which he transferred into his talkies and became an identifiable strength in his storytelling...
rating_4I reviewed The Lodger here at MoFo and rated it as highly as you did. I believe Hitch was right and he learned how to story tell visually early one. I wrote this sometime ago:
I was fascinated by how Hitch got his title card to be animated. The answer of course is at the end of the film, which is another brilliant scene. There were many such technical achievements that I noticed...

There's a shot of the landlady in a room and there's a light from outside that sweeps across the ceiling illuminating it briefly, that light repeats several times. Brilliant. Then there's a scene where we see a woman who's about to become the next victim, we don't see the killer but his shadow sweeps up from the sidewalk and onto her back, chilling!

Characters turn up a light in the room and the exposure of the film gets brighter. Nice touch. And people's eyes, they sometimes have a distinctive sparkle in them that had to been done on purpose for effect. Very cool. Citizen Rules

[Captain Quint]

19. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

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Hitch had wanted to remake his 1934 hit as early as 1941 and while there are many who embrace the original as the best version, I have to side with the master. The original has many nice touches, but it is the work of a “talented amateur” (these were Hitchcock’s words, not mine). The remake is bigger, at times too big and too long. But it is a better film. The flow of the story is steadier; there are fewer gaps in the suspense. For example; the original had the baddies spell out their plan in the church at the point where the action should have been charging like a freight train - this exposition ground the film to a halt and Hitch doesn’t make that mistake in his remake.

I also felt the acting was better, more real and heartfelt. The British crew is fine, but they feel too rehearsed and lack that gritty humanity that Day and Stewart bring. The later really had me feeling their loss and suffering. Stewart was an every-man, and his quiet desperation drew me into the story. I could relate to him as a flesh and blood character, he wasn’t just a guy playing a part.

I like how Hitch took time to develop his characters. TMWKTM lets us know and understand the people in this story and continues to develop character even as he's diving into the heart of the plot.

Memorable Scene: Dying man falls into Ben (James Stewart), the makeup on his face comes off on Stewart's fingers

Memorable Quote: "You have muddled everything from the start, taking that child with you from Marrakech. Don't you realize that Americans dislike having their children stolen?" – Ambassador

Hitchcock Cameo: 25:42 into the film - watching acrobats in the Moroccan marketplace, with his back to the camera, just before the spy is killed.

Of Note: This won the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song - "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)" by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

4

[Captain Quint]

Another reminder that these write-ups are NOT spoiler free. Proceed with caution

18. Frenzy (1972)

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Hitch returns home: This is very British and exceptionally brutal. One of the director's darkest. That's not to say that he doesn't employ that famous black humor (much of it involving food), but that the film as a whole, moves away from expressionism. There are few process shots, and numerous outdoor locations. There is also a disturbing rape and strangulation scene (that, frankly, runs excessively long) - and as a whole, Alfred is delving more into realism with this picture.

He also shows that the old dog never stopped trying new tricks. Yes, he treads on familiar ground (The innocent man on the run) but this fact doesn't keep the movie from feeling fresh and inventive.

The second murder is ingenious. In that we don't see it happen. The camera pulls back, and life goes on. But our memory is stained by that earlier murder. The horror of it comes back to us and our imaginations fill in what we don't see.

Before that, there's the moment where the victim steps out from a bar and Hitch leaves us completely without sound. No music, no crowd noise - nothing until the voice of the killer pops in from out of the blue.

Frenzy is one of Hitchcock's best, but it is at times, one of his most difficult to watch.

Memorable Scenes: Killer pops up silently behind barmaid, he takes her to his room and the camera pulls away, leaving the murder to our imagination - Killer attempts to retrieve evidence from a body hidden in a potato sack.

Memorable Quote: "I don't know if you know it Babs, but you're my type of woman." - Barry Foster as Bob Rusk Also, this movie features one of the great final lines, when Chief Inspector Oxford says, "Mr. Rusk, you're not wearing your tie"

Hitchcock Cameo: 3 minutes into the film, among the crowd, wearing a bowler hat.

Of Note: Michael Caine was Hitchcock's first choice for the role of Rusk, the main antagonist, but Caine thought the character was disgusting and said, "I don't want to be associated with the part".

4

[honeykid]

I've always had the feeling quite a few more of Hitch's films would've been as explicit as Frenzy were he allowed to do as he wished without censorship restrictions throughout his career. I'm not really a fan of his, but Frenzy is one of my favourites. Probably third after Psycho (which I feel this is a 'more adult' cousin of. I think Psycho would've been a lot more like this had he been able to) and Shadow Of A Doubt, which is just a great film.

[Captain Quint]

It's possible, though I think having restrictions forced him to be more creative. I get a sense that the first murder was him getting that out of his system, "finally, I can shoot this kind of scene without Breen and the Hays code telling me no", then after, it was, "all right, now let's get back to doing what I do best - and that's not using the camera only as a blunt instrument." Because with the other killing, the act isn't shown at all.

Also, I'd say the strangulation scene in Strangers on a Train is the more interesting of the two, where he was forced to pull back a bit and not show every agonizing detail.

-------------------

Hitchcock to me was like the Beatles, for motion pictures, an equal mix of populist entertainment and art - you can enjoy him as fun escapism, but you can also go a bit deeper and enjoy the qualities that are more sophisticated. Hitch was also like an artist who paints the same scene or subject over and over, just to see what he can make of it, how can he progress, and explore different angles, with different colors, brush strokes, etc. If Saboteur is too all over the place, he'll come back at it with North by Northwest, still sweeping and expansive, but disciplined.... he's honed his skills, improved it, and yes, with advancements in effects, or fewer restrictions from the censors, take it further.

On that secondary level, then, it's not really about like or dislike, it's about appreciating what an exceptional talent can do with these cinematic tools. Where even a lesser film has something to offer, something to marvel over.

[Captain Quint]

17. Dial M for Murder (1954)

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In addition to expansive chase sequences, Hitch was also fascinated with exploring stories confined to limited or single sets. A few years after Dial M came out, Hitch would film the perfect example of this style with Rear Window. But Dial M is pretty damn good as well.

It's amazing that it succeeds. The first half hour is basically exposition, with people sitting around a room explaining everything that went before and what's going to happen during the rest of the movie. Only a mad man or a genius would think this could possibly work.

And yet it does, brilliantly - and it never fails to maintain a high level of audience interest and suspense. The acting by Ray Milland is superb and Grace Kelly, Hitches favorite leading lady, is convincing as well.

Revival houses sometimes will show this in 3 D, the only movie Hitch filmed using this technique.

Memorable Scenes: The murder attempt, the scissors! (the screenshot sequence up top, we circle around to the killer's perspective, then the edit and reveal of what/whose been stalking our heroine)

Memorable Quote: "They talk about flat-footed policemen. May the saints protect us from the gifted amateur." - John Williams as Chief Inspector Hubbard

Hitchcock Cameo: 13 minutes in he can be seen in the reunion photo, sitting at a banquet table.

4

[Wyldesyde19]

Probably my favorite Hitchcock film here.
👍

[Captain Quint]

16. Foreign Correspondent (1940)

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Such style: Hitch's wartime mystery is full of adventure, humor, romance, and moments of darkness. I like the dense plot, memorable set pieces, and the colorful performances/characters. Well, aside from Day's whiny vocal delivery - other than that, Joel Mcrea's always had a diverting onscreen presence, and I’ve long been an admirer of George Sanders, he’s a kick as ffolliott (2 fs, no caps - the exchange about his name is one of the pictures funniest). This was his second Hitch flick of the year.

Though it’s a film that has fallen through the cracks, is often overshadowed by Rebecca, and has been criticized as being dated (okay, sure the American Anthem playing at the end was corny). The espionage and many twists make it one of Alfred’s most entertaining features. Plus, it just looks good... the windmills on a barren stretch of road, with that plane circling above, has such an otherworldly quality - I'm always drawn to that scene.

Memorable Scenes: The umbrellas, the windmill, and an inventive plane crash that had to be timed perfectly. That’s real water going through film projected on rice paper.

Memorable Quote: "I would gladly relieve the young lady of this embarrassment, but you know how women are with firearms, they have no sense of timing. Now look, I'll just sit here and you carry on with whatever you were doing. Don't mind me, I sometimes sit like this for hours." - Scott ffolliott

Hitchcock Cameo: When Haverstock spots Van Meer for the first time, Hitch is seen walking past him while reading a newspaper.

Of Note: This was one of two Alfred Hitchcock films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1941, the other being Rebecca, which went on to win the Oscar.

4

[Captain Quint]

15. The Lady Vanishes (1938)

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Nimble wit and quick pacing are the highlights of this adventure, which caps off a string of directorial triumphs in Hitch's British era. (The Man Who Knew Too Much, 39 Steps, Sabotage, Secret Agent, Young and Innocent). Hitch uses a different tactic here and keeps his audience in the dark.

Actress Margaret Lockwood is beautiful and has great rapport with her co-stars, Michael Redgrave as her eccentric ally and love interest, and Miss Froy, played by Dame May Whitty.

The story is one that will be revisited in a variety of ways over the years, even in his TV series (Into Thin Air) and Jody Foster’s “Flight Plan”

Memorable Scenes: Iris spots Miss Froys name written on the window - The Dr. attempts to get Gilbert and Iris to consume a spiked drink - the fight among the magician’s equipment.

Memorable Quote: "I'm about as popular as a dose of strychnine." - Michael Redgrave as Gilbert

Hitchcock Cameo: Near the end we see Alfred, wearing a black coat and smoking a cig at Victoria Station

Of Note: The New York Times named this their "Best Picture of 1938"

4

[Captain Quint]

The two-a-days forge ahead with a picture that kicks off a series of underappreciated gems in the countdown. While many of these films have their advocates—I'm certainly not the only one who adores them—I think, in general, I grade and rank them higher than the average.

14. Lifeboat (1944)

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Lifeboat held the potential to be static. It's story of people stranded on a tiny boat (which includes a German who torpedoed their ship) wouldn't seem to lend itself to any of Hitches usual flourishes. And yet, he pulls it off and holds our interest from beginning to end.

Contemporary audiences sometimes dismiss this tale as propaganda, while a few critics from the 40s believed Hitchcock's depiction of the Nazi as a superior figure undermined the war effort. John Steinbeck, the story's author, had his name removed from the film due to changes made to the characters. So much push-back! Hitchcock's aim was to use his characters as archetypes; Walter Slezak symbolizes Nazi Germany, while the others on the boat represent various nations that were deceived or allowed themselves to be deceived into believing that the Nazi party was something helpful and trustworthy. It took me a few viewings before I could get into synch with what Alfred was doing here, but once the penny dropped, it shifted from a good picture, into a great one.

However a viewer reads the characters, Lifeboat is arguably one of his more unique works, a piercing study of human nature, that maintains the edgy suspense he's known for. It also puts his keen sense of space and composition and movement to the test, a test he does not fail. The performances from his talented ensemble are outstanding, particularly Tallulah Bankhead, who delivers the bite and sparks you'd expect from her, but the entire cast run the gamut of human emotion quite effectively.

Memorable Scenes: Connie in furs, casually smoking a cig in the lifeboat, her apathy comes to full bloom when another survivor swims up to join her and all she does is pull out a camera to film his struggles.

Memorable Quote: “Dying together's even more personal than living together.” - Connie

Hitchcock Cameo: 24 minutes into the film you can spot Alfred in a weight loss add for “Reduco” on the newspaper Gus is reading (Alfred would revisit this gag in "Rope")

Of Note: Hitchcock pre-planned the camera angles for the film using a miniature lifeboat and figurines

4.5

[Captain Quint]

13. The Wrong Man (1956)

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Based on the true story of a man accused of a crime he didn't commit. Watch it to see a different side of Hitchcock. Starkly crafted and directed, it’s realistic, gut wrenching and the closest thing to an art-house film Hitch ever created.

The pacing is very methodical, almost documentary like in approach. In other films like Spellbound and Dial "M" For Murder, legal proceedings are shown in a surreal montage. Here, Manny -the Wrong Man- is put through the wheels of justice in painful detail. It is a dehumanizing experience, one that robs a person of his dignity.

Henry Fonda plays Manny, and he is flawless in the role. Fonda is one of my all-time favorite actors and he usually plays men of great integrity and quiet strength. His portrayal of Manny carries this integrity - and seeing a good man put through this hell; by a system that rushes to judgment in its zeal to end a case; hit me like a George Foreman right cross to the jaw.

Vera Miles, who plays Manny’s wife, gives a superb performance. Her decent into despair is achingly true and had me near tears. She is amazing here and I wonder how she would have done in Vertigo (she was the directors first choice, but she got pregnant and couldn't take the role)

The Wrong Man isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's not a rip-roaring yarn, but it is one of my favorite movies, Hitchcock or otherwise, in part because it reaches in with brutal honesty and touches upon a deep fear of mine. The fear of a sudden, spiraling chaos entering and destroying all that is sane and beautiful in one's life.

Memorable Scenes: Vera Miles' faraway look in lawyers' office - The bit with the cracked mirror - The merging of the innocent Manny, with his guilty double.

Memorable Quote: "An innocent man has nothing to fear, remember that." - Lt. Bowers

Hitchcock Cameo: Alfred is seen before the credits roll, giving an introduction to the film. (more on that, in the video bellow)

Of Note: Tuesday Weld and Bonnie Franklin had small cameos as the giggling girls who answer the door in the tenement.

Sadly, Warner's cropped their old DVD release to fit standard widescreens – Cropping Hitch, who had such an eye for composition, is unforgivable. I sincerely hope that was fixed on later BD releases.

4.5

Other thoughts...

https://youtu.be/OJMCeQPMXBM?si=C02nL5UO5TcK9SxR

[Captain Quint]

12. Sabotage (1936)

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Sabotage isn't often ranked among the greats; many feel it's second tier at best, but IMHO this is prime Hitchcock. I appreciate it on cinematic levels: Camera work, visual tableaux, and expressionistic characteristics (sound, sets, use of deep shadows)

I also respect its hauntingly sad, tense story, and the layered acting by Oskar Homolka and Sylvia Sidney. The director and his lead actress didn't care for one another in the least; but she gives a meaningful, heartrending performance

The movie concerns a man (Homolka) who is kind and quiet, he takes care of his young wife and her brother and runs a movie house. But he has a dark secret life that causes the death of his wife’s brother.

Critics at the time slammed Hitch for this death and Hitch himself said that it was a mistake. But I disagree. If the boy hadn't died, the event (a bombing) would have been effective only in an abstract manner. That it hurt someone we'd invested time with adds poignancy and depth. Before this, Homolka was a somewhat sympathetic character, but afterwards we have no choice but to see him as a monster.

Sidney's scenes here are heartbreaking. She keeps seeing her dead brother in the crowd, and that 1,000-yard stare she wears was moving and real.

Memorable Scenes: The boy with the bomb - Mrs. Verloc keeps seeing her dead brother in the crowd

Memorable Quote: "Hurry up - you might be late..." - Mr. Verloc to Steve (Who unknowingly holds a bomb)

Hitchcock Cameo: None

Of Note: Actor Charles Hawtrey can be seen as the studious youth at the aquarium – Beatles fans will recognize the name from John Lennon’s ad-lib during “Let It Be”, in which he says, "'I Dig a Pygmy', by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids! Phase One, in which Doris gets her oats!"

Other Thoughts: "Freely adapted from Conrad's 'The Secret Agent', this 1936 study of murderous intimacy is ripe for reevaluation as the masterpiece of Alfred Hitchcock's British period." - Dave Kehr: Chicago Reader

Personal Awards: I named Sylvia Sidney my Best Actress of 1936 for her work in both Fury & Sabotage

4.5

[Captain Quint]

11. Marnie (1964)

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In the late 60’s Hitch’s films were seen -by some- as old fashioned. With the advent of Method acting and an interest in the techniques of Cinéma vérité, Hitchcock’s continued use of rear projection and Mattes seemed out of date.

It is important to understand that Hitchcock was influenced heavily by German expressionism, the works of Fritz Lang and his ilk. This 'expressionism' will become an integral part of Hitch’s style from beginning to end. So in reality Marnie is not a film by a director stuck in the past, but rather by one who has mastered a “style” and continued to develop and experiment within that style.

In that light Marnie is a quintessential example of his art. The master makes certain that every piece of music, color, framing, delivery of dialog, etc. - works in brilliant synchronicity. Vertigo is Hitch at his most perfect within this craft; Marnie is its close cousin. The use of the fading/forward camera move (the dolly counter zoom), bright color to signify a person's mental unraveling, and the psychological study and off kilter love story make these kindred spirits.

In addition, Sean Connery is smartly cast. Like Cary Grant he brings a blend of the suave and dangerous to his performance - that dangerous side can be a negative at times... men have brought a lot of misery into Marnie's life. Mother's no piece of cake either, but men are the stuff of nightmares.

Marnie isn’t perfect, at times the script is overwrought. The movie was ripped to shreds on its release and I'm not saying there isn't something to the criticisms (then, or now in regard to dated attitudes), only that there's another side of the coin, so it's not surprising that Marnie eventually found its audience. It started with a few vocal defenders, (authors Donald Spoto and Robin Wood lead the charge and the positive upswing took fire with college students and later Leonard Maltin championed the film) which makes me happy because I always felt it was sadly under appreciated. There is worth here.

Memorable Scenes: Hitch's extensive and expressive use of color (Yellows are used to alert the audience to something, Reds are used to alert Marnie) – Marnie (with stolen cash) sneaks by a cleaning lady - The opening: closeup on a yellow bag (your first alert), then the camera stands still as a woman walks through a train station (pictured up top), somehow, Hitch makes that simple scene, a straight forward stroll... elegant.

Memorable Quote: Marnie says, "There, there", in a quiet childlike voice after she shoots injured horse. Chilling

Hitchcock Cameo: 5 minutes into the film, Hitch enters through the left of a hotel corridor after Marnie passes by

Other Thoughts: Author Robin Wood on Hitch's use of Mattes and rear projection... "[Hitchcock] worked in German studios at first, in the silent period. Very early on when he started making films, he saw Fritz Lang's German silent movies; he was enormously influenced by that, and Marnie is basically an expressionist film in many ways. Things like scarlet suffusions over the screen, back-projection and backdrops, artificial-looking thunderstorms—these are expressionist devices and one has to accept them. If one doesn't accept them then one doesn't understand and can't possibly like Hitchcock."

4.5


And that's it for this group - up next is the Top 10, where there are no (or few) surprises. Maybe a surprise or two on what I left off the 25 overall, but what's coming next are the usual suspects.

[Captain Quint]

10. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

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Psychological and character driven, watch it for Joseph Cotten, who was note perfect as the suave but diabolical Uncle Charlie. I love how the train he rides into town on, billows out thick black smoke from its stack, as if it's bringing something evil. But the opening sequence overall is a masterclass in choreographing scenes, in building a film, with all the compartments that need to come together as one - a masterclass in world building, in the importance of setting the table. For example - The credits roll as couples dance (a sound and visual motif that pops up here and there), which takes us not to a thriving city, but to the places where the homeless dwell -- That will later contrast to the perfect, idealized American town, with a smiling cop directing traffic. From a cheery, chattering wholesome family, to Uncle Charlie sitting alone in a dark room, his mind a little scattered... but sharp enough - and from the start we are shown that he's a parasite, he gets everyone to cater to him, nurse him on the train, carry his bags afterwards... and it's all accompanied by this Dimitri Tiomkin score that could fit right in with any old Andy Hardy flick.... which continues throughout, a bit overcooked and soap opera-ish in spots - so far removed from Bernard Herrmann's surreal, haunting compositions that suited Hitchcock best, but so right for what the director was serving up here. It's chiaroscuro in all phases, score to photography to tone. (Teresa Wrights the perfect contrast to Cotten, sweet to his sour - but when it all comes crashing down, and the ugly world intrudes on her ordinary life - then it becomes a face-off, and here she shows some steel)

While the character of the detective was a bit weak - there is so much to admire and enjoy. Critic Dave Kehr said summed it up nicely when he wrote… “Hitchcock's discovery of darkness within the heart of small-town America remains one of his most harrowing films, a peek behind the facade of security that reveals loneliness, despair, and death. Thornton Wilder collaborated on the script; it's Our Town turned inside out.”

But least we forget, Alfred throws in splashes of black humor throughout.

Memorable Scenes: The Charlies, one at the top of the stairs, with concern on his face, looking down at the other, framed by the door, looking cool as a cucumber and unaware of what's going on in that sick mind of his - The camera zeroes in on the ring - The train bringing Uncle Charlie to town billows out thick black smoke - Joseph Cotten speaks of his hatred for rich single women, his niece Charlie argues that they are people like everyone else. Cotten turns, looks directly into the camera and replies chillingly... "Are they?"

Memorable Quote: "Do you know the world is a foul sty? Do you know, if you rip off the fronts of houses, you'd find swine? The world's a hell. What does it matter what happens in it? Wake up, Charlie. Use your wits. Learn something." - Joseph Cotten as Uncle Charlie

Hitchcock Cameo: 14 minutes into the film he can be seen on the train playing bridge with a man and a woman.

Of Note: Playwright David Mamet calls it Hitchcock's finest. Alfred sometimes told interviewers that it was his personal favorite among his American films.

Personal Awards: I named Joseph Cotten my Best Actor for this role

4.5

[Captain Quint]

9. The Birds (1963)

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I remember seeing this as a lad, and how it scared the ever-loving crap out of me.

And I remember asking my mother, why - why were these birds doing this? She didn't know, and that was a huge part of the fear. The fear of chaos, of nature gone mad. These feathered friends... er fiends, won't give you a reason why they're causing such devastation - sure, you can speculate, throw out a theory, but it was scarier not having a neat, pat answer.

The Birds still scares the crap out of me, even today its impact hasn't lessened. And I like how Hitch shows patience and takes time to develop his story and characters. The first attack doesn't happen until 25 minutes into the film. And then builds on that, builds and builds, one terrifying step at a time.

While Rod Taylor is no Cary Grant (who was considered for the role) the acting is effective, they sell the fear and the sense of astonishment. And the musical score? There isn't one. The music is the electronically enhanced bird chirps, caws and flapping wings and this adds to the chills.

Memorable Scenes: Melanie waits by the school, as birds silently and eerily amass behind her - Jessica Tandy discovers a farmer with his eyes gouged out - The final attack and slow walk to the car

Memorable Quote: "Back in your gilded cage, Melanie Daniels." - Rod Taylor as Mitch Brenner

Hitchcock Cameo: Leaving the pet shop with 2 dogs as Tippi enters.

Other Thoughts: Director Federico Fellini called The Birds an "Apocalyptic poem" - I love that description.

Of Note: One of Hitch's original ideas for the ending was to have the car approach the safety of San Francisco... only to find millions of birds covering the Golden Gate Bridge. Wow, that would have been a stunner.

The Birds was Hitchcock's third Daphne du Maurier adaptation (more on that later) and very different from that short story, which was published in her 1952 collection, The Apple Tree - it's well worth checking out.

I've read that after the film’s London premiere, audiences left the theater to the sounds of screeching birds. (Loudspeakers were placed in the trees outside - William Castle, eat your heart out. lol)

4.5

[Captain Quint]

8. Rebecca (1940)

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Hitchcock’s first US production was a Gothic romance, tinged with madness, which earned 11 nominations and won the Best Picture Oscar (Hitch lost the best director award to John Ford for the “Grapes of Wrath”. Ford would win 4 directorial Oscars; Hitch never got a one).

The performances? Olivier as Mr. de Winter is both cooly suave and distant & troubled. Joan Fontaine does very well with the mousy stuff. She really does seem uncomfortable and uncertain, just as Hitch wants her to be. The supporting actors shine, the great George Sanders is suitably slimy, and Judith Anderson is perfectly batshit insane as the icy and cruel Mrs. Danvers (who really has it bad for the former lady of the house, which has some critics speculating that the two had a sexual liaison at some point).

Rebecca is Hitch at his most Hollywood slick and he does a great job of casting Rebecca's formidable shadow upon the whole film. While it loses some of its elegance when it slips into blackmail schemes and courtrooms, mostly it stays in its gothic lane with dreamy photography (it won an Oscar for best B&W Cinematography) and dreamy music from Franz Waxman who created a "ghost orchestra" by using a Hammond organ and two Hammond Novachords - a Novachord was a complex, expensive, polyphonic electronic keyboard, the first of its kind and in limited production, it provided the spooky vibratos you hear from time to time to represent Rebecca's haunting spirit.

Memorable Scenes: Joan Fontaine looks out a window as Mrs. Danvers speaks to her of suicide - Danvers engulfed by flame in the finale - The chilling opening sequence, with the camera moving through Manderley in ruins, is genius.

Memorable Quote: "You thought you could be Mrs. de Winter, live in her house, walk in her steps, take the things that were hers! But she's too strong for you. You can't fight her - no one ever got the better of her. Never, never. She was beaten in the end, but it wasn't a man, it wasn't a woman. It was the sea!" - Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers

Hitchcock Cameo: This one takes place near the end, he's seen outside the phone booth while Jack makes a call.

Of Note: Hitch’s first film for Selznick for the US of A, was reportedly going to be a movie about the Titanic

This was the second Daphne du Maurier adaptation for the director, and much more successful than the first (though I have an affection for Jamaica Inn, there's something weirdly intriguing about that one, surreal and nightmarish with an off-his nut performance from Charles Laughton). Alfred would later cover The Birds... and I wish he'd have done My Cousin Rachel, as IMHO, no one has quite nailed that story, I wonder if Hitch would have?

Personal Awards: Best Supporting Actress: Judith Anderson

5

[Robert the List]

Great work on the Hitchcock countdown.
(shame you didn't like The Lodger more)

[Captain Quint]

7. The 39 Steps (1935)

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The grandfather of North by Northwest, this tightly woven spy story establishes many of the themes we’ll see in future Hitchcock tales. There’s the paranoia, the man on the run, and the humor nestled side by side with nail-biting suspense - and of course, the camera work is distinct and eye-catching. While he made superb pictures before this (The Lodger), Steps is next level, the best of his early British period; and it is very British - More understated and urbane than his American films, it nevertheless shows the director in full stride.

Unflappable Robert Donat (Mr. Chips) was a delight in the leading role (living up to his reputation as the 'gentleman adventurer'). Had he not had health issues, which forced him to turn down roles (Rebecca, for one), the versatile actor could have been a Hitchcock regular. Madeline Carroll was Alfred’s first “cool blonde”, who became an in-demand star after this picture. And future Oscar winner Peggy Ashcroft (A Passage to India) can be seen in a small role, she was all of 18 when this filmed.

Memorable Scenes: The closing sequence with Mr. Memory on stage and his dying explanation while chorus girls dance in the background.

Memorable Quote: Robert Donat as Richard Hannay, shouts to Mr. Memory... "What are The 39 Steps?!"

Hitchcock Cameo: About 7 minutes in he’s the man tossing litter while the bus pulls up for Robert Donat and Lucie Mannheim to leave the theater.

Of Note: Hitchcock told Truffaut... "The whole idea is that man is doomed by his sense of duty. Mr. Memory knows what the thirty-nine steps are, and when he is asked the question, he is compelled to give the answers. The schoolteacher in The Birds does for the same reason."

My Personal Awards: Best Picture & Director, Best Actor (Donat)

5

[Captain Quint]

6. Strangers on a Train (1951)

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The story? Two strangers meet on a train, one of whom is a psychopath who suggests that they "exchange" murders so that neither will be caught.

In M. Night Shyamalan's “DVD appreciation”. He praises Alfred’s ability to blend character values and plot. Most directors separate the two, ‘here’s a scene that propels the plot’ – ‘here’s a scene that reveals character’. Night points out that in the sequence at the Fair, when Bruno stalks his prey, Alfred impressively merges both - he gives us suspense, story and offers up clues as to who Bruno is and why he’s an unstable, scary (and strong) foe.

The film is all about the details, where doubles and crisscrosses pepper the screen (and locating them can be half the fun in repeat viewings).

Robert Walker as Bruno was pitch perfect; one of filmdom’s most memorable villains - and he should have received an Oscar (or a nomination at the least) for the performance. Bruno is an odd, complex psychopath; he’ll help a blind man across the street then just as easily childishly pop a little boy's balloon. I thought Farley Granger was also well cast as the object of Bruno’s attention. Some feel a stronger actor should have played the part, but a stronger actor (Stewart or Grant) would have undercut Walker's power. We never would worry that Cary Grant couldn't match wits with Walker (they'd be equals) but Granger gives you this touch of weakness. He's handsome, can be forceful, but there's a little twitch in his eyes that says, he's not tough enough to tangle with the bad guy.

Memorable Scenes: Robert Walker stalking his prey at a fair is quintessential Hitchcock - Mother and Bruno have a nice, weird chat as Bruno inspects his finger nails - That damned lighter, especially when Bruno loses the thing, and struggles to retrieve it - At the tennis match, everybody's eyes are following the ball, except for Bruno, who is staring straight at Guy!

Memorable Quote: "Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you, Mr. Haines. It might disturb Mother." - Robert Walker as Bruno Anthony

Hitchcock Cameo: 10 minutes into the film, he is seen carrying a double bass on to the train.

Others Thoughts: Roger Ebert wrote… Hitchcock was a classical technician in controlling his visuals, and his use of screen space underlined the tension in ways the audience is not always aware of. He always used the convention that the left side of the screen is for evil and/or weaker characters, while the right is for characters who are either good, or temporarily dominant. Consider the scene where Guy is letting himself into his Georgetown house when Bruno whispers from across the street to summon him. Bruno is standing behind an iron gate, the bars casting symbolic shadows on his face, and Guy stands to his right, outside the gate. Then a police car pulls up in front of Guy's house, and he quickly moves behind the gate with Bruno; they're now both behind bars as he says, "You've got me acting like I'm a criminal."

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In his essay about the evolution of suspense/crime novels, film theorist David Bordwell (https://www.davidbordwell.net/essays/murder.php) pointed to Rebecca as a work that was most responsible for pushing the literary genre in another direction, with Hitchcock's adaptation altering the landscape for suspense films, and placing the director at the forefront as the anointed "master".

It soon became a crowded field, however, as other filmmakers entered the fray, each adopting similar conventions. Quoting Bordwell, "Having helped set the terms for thriller storytelling in the 1940s, he was obliged to recalibrate what he could offer in the face of competition."

He continued by noting that Strangers was "based on a male-oriented psychological thriller written by one of the women participating in the 1940s burst of suspense fiction. Despite making some compromises in adapting Patricia Highsmith’s original, the master of suspense had allied himself with a writer who typified the new phase of the suspense thriller—a phase that he had done much to foster."

In short, what Rebecca did for his entry into Hollywood - Strangers did for this next stage of his career, it reenforced his cinematic identity, and his reputation as the leader of a stye and type of film. And while he gifted us great movies leading up to the 50s, the best, IMHO, was yet to come.

Personal Awards: Robert Walker was my Best Actor choice in a close race. He was neck and neck with Brando in Streetcar and Michael Redgrave in the Browning Version - my tie-breaker in these situations is "share the wealth" and since Brando will go on to win 2 from me, and Redgrave had his in support (The Dead of Night in 1945), I gave it to Walker - who tragically died at the age of 32 on August 28, 1951, a little under a month after Strangers was released.

5

[Captain Quint]

Phew, well that was a mouthful, but I forgot a few things I wanted to mention.

* I met Pat Hitchcock, who was in this picture (image up top) at a book signing in Nashville, nice lady from that brief contact.

* The punch, from the perspective of the punched - I don't know if Alfred invented it, but Eastwood adopted it. Clint would also use a carousel setting at the end of his Sudden Impact. While he had mentors, I never thought of him as a homage type, and I've never read an interview where he mentioned Hitchcock, or this movie - but it does make me curious if Alfred was someone who inspired him in some way.

[Captain Quint]

5. Notorious (1946)

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Notorious is the story of a woman whose father has been convicted of treason (shades of Foreign Correspondent) - She later works as a spy for those he betrayed. But what it really is, is a love story. Hitch is no hopeless romantic, in matters of love and marriage he is a realist. Love hurts. Alicia and Devlin are in love, but they use words to wound each other. Instead of being honest at the outset, each wait for the other to say the right thing. Neither does.

With three greats in the leading roles: Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant and Claude Rains. And a stellar supporting cast, Notorious is flawlessly acted. But in every phase this movie succeeds. The screenplay was by Ben Hecht, it was scored by Roy Webb, and the cinematographer was Ted Tetzlaff. Each was at the top of their game. And the man at the head brought it all together to create an absolute classic.

This isn’t a fast, in your face tale; it's lean and pointed with nary a misstep to be found - every frame is a work of art, and every scene is a memorable one, Including the famous wide shot which funnels down slowly to one spot, a key in Bergman's hand.

Memorable Scenes: The suspenseful bits as Grant & Bergman break into the wine cellar, knowing the party above is getting low on libations - That kiss.

Memorable Quote: "We are protected by the enormity of your stupidity, for a time" - Madame Sebastian

Hitchcock Cameo: At about an hour (depending on the cut). He is seen drinking a glass of champagne as Grant and Bergman approach to get a glass. He sets his glass down and quickly departs.

Others Thoughts: Film maker Francois Truffaut – "In my opinion, Notorious is the very quintessence of Hitchcock… it's still a remarkably modern picture, with very few scenes and an exceptionally pure story line. In the sense that it gets a maximum effect from a minimum of elements, it's really a model of scenario construction. ... All of the suspense scenes hinge around two objects, always the same, namely the key and the fake wine bottle. The sentimental angle is the simplest in the world: two men in love with the same woman…. of all its qualities, the outstanding achievement is perhaps that in Notorious you have at once a maximum of stylization and a maximum of simplicity."

Personal Awards: Best Actress - Ingrid Bergman

5

[Captain Quint]

4. North by Northwest (1959)

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This exciting, and romantic epic is one of Hitch's most accomplished directorial efforts, but because it's a fun, escapist, adventure, it might not receive the same level of respect as movies that explore deeper themes of morality (Rear Window) or psychology (Vertigo). Nevertheless, North by Northwest is on par with both of those in terms of pure filmmaking excellence.

The brilliance of the crop-dusting scene for example (and I've mentioned this elsewhere for other pictures) isn't that it's nonstop action, it's that Hitch takes his time. He builds the suspense and tension just by having Thornhill wait and wait.... and wait. For a man who he hopes will have all the answers he seeks.

NbNW is the culmination of the director’s movie making experiences. He learns from every past mistake and draws from every success. The scene with the Porters red hats mirrors the umbrellas in Foreign Correspondent. The mysterious Eve Kendall is akin to Bergman's character in Notorious. From the cross country pacing and humor of the 39 Steps, to the big finish atop a national monument in Saboteur - Hitch takes these themes, motifs, etc and uses the technology of the time, and forms them into the perfect version of the vision he'd carried in his mind's eye from probably, the first moment he decided he wanted to be a director.

In addition to this, NbNW hosts one of my favorite Bernard Herrmann scores. The music echoes the mood of the film incredibly. It's chaotic, haunting and thrilling. Hitch's use of rear projection and sets gives the movie a kind of off kilter, almost surreal feel. Thornhill's life has been torn from its safe moorings and the look of the movie, mixed with the soundtrack, expresses an unraveling of reality - this loss of mooring.

Oh, and before I go – the acting? Superb. Another great cast collected here.

Memorable Scenes: Saul Basses simple but effective title sequence - The crop duster scene and of course, that nail biting chase on the face of Mount Rushmore.

Memorable Quote: "Ah, Maggie, in the world of advertising, there's no such thing as a lie. There's only the expedient exaggeration. You ought to know that." - Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill

Hitchcock Cameo: He’s the guy who misses the bus at the end of the opening credits

Other Thoughts: Guillermo del Toro called the crop duster scene a "Symphony of pure cinema." – he spoke of the opening set up with the bus, and how each shot that followed was "...planned with absolute, unparalleled, virtuoso technique"

5

[Captain Quint]

3. Psycho (1960)

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The progenitor of the modern slasher film is as effective today and IMHO reigns as the best of the genre because it tells its chilling story with class and style - every angle, every shadow, every sound embodies the Hitchcockian ideal, and he achieves this on a modest budget using his television crew. While North by Northwest saw Hitch going bigger and brighter, Psycho is a more intimate, smaller scale production, steeped in dread.

The shower scene remains as horrifying as ever—the transition from the swirling drain to the victim's eye is among the most striking images in Hitchcock's oeuvre, or any film for that matter. The later sequence in the dark, foreboding house, where Vera Miles seeks to question Mother, features a storytelling tool we are by now familiar with, that regardless, works wonderfully; as each step of her search uncovers aspects of Norman's character, from his "little boys" bedroom to the shocking revelation in the cellar.

While the segment with Simon Oakland towards the end is overly expository -these parts should have been pared down to the essentials or removed entirely (writer Joseph Stefano pushed to have this scene included, but it violates Hitch's rule of the MacGuffin and forces the audience to examine the mechanics of the story too closely). Thankfully it rebounds with that final eerie scene, with Norman enveloped in shadow, hearing mother's voice in his mind. (Hitch used 3 women to voice dear old mom. And while we consciously might not be aware of this, we do notice that something’s not quite right. It's another beautiful touch that again, highlights the directors command of image and sound).

It's true that we are too familiar with the story these days - it doesn’t surprise us the way it did theatergoers in the 60s (my mother spoke of the lingering effects of the picture, and how it continually set you back on your heels). Nevertheless, it remains essential Hitchcock viewing, distinguished by Anthony Perkin’s sympathetic/disturbing performance and Bernard Herrmann’s iconic score.

Memorable Scenes: The shower - Mother revealed - The final shots of Norman with Mothers face quickly superimposed over his.

Memorable Quote: "You know what I think? I think that we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch." - Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates

Hitchcock Cameo: 7 minutes in he can be seen through a window, wearing a Stetson hat, standing outside Marion Crane's office

Of Note: Hitch had to finance the film himself because Paramount didn’t want to make it and was expecting him to direct "No Bail for the Judge", with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn instead.

Personal Awards: Best Actor: Anthony Perkins, Best Supporting Actress: Janet Leigh (while I didn't do a deep dive on this season's prizes, if I ever do, it would be a strong contender for score, cinematography, art direction and adapted screenplay)

5

[Captain Quint]

2. Rear Window (1954)

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Thrill as a man in a wheelchair stares out the window all day and night! Yup, that's what's he does, but that's not all this is - I recently ranked the best of Alfred's "man on the run" movies, now we have the best of his "confined spaces" stories - which is a gripping murder mystery married to a clever study of human nature (I love that it's the all-American good guy Jimmy Stewart, peeping on his neighbors, this probably tickled Hitch to no end).

Based on Cornell Woolrich's It Had to Be Murder (published in Dime Detective, February 1942), which was itself based on H.G. Wells' short story Through a Window - The Oscar nominated script, the inventive idea of it all is brought to life by the superb cast and a stellar directorial hand - he with his wicked manipulations (I enjoy the twist of how Raymond Burr as the baddie, Thorwald, comes off kind of sympathetic. It's like, "poor bastard being harassed by this nosy neighbor" - then you realize that this poor bastard has chopped up his wife in little pieces!)

While the director was renowned for carefully mapping out his movies with storyboards and miniatures, and was hailed as a visionary for his development of an auteur language (via the camera), it's a shame that cinematographer Robert Burks is often the forgotten man in these pictures. For Hitch, the movie was already completed in his mind, but it was Burks who had to translate it onto film. Let's give him his due, because despite the limited spaces, this picture moves.

From the outset you're guided by his wandering camera, which leads you out of a room to explore the surrounding apartment complex. It pauses briefly to snoop in on the lives of the residents, before returning to our protagonist, where we are supplied with his backstory - who he is, what he does, and how he came to be in this state he's in. All of that is furnished without a word of exposition being spoken.

It's so damned clever that I always get a charge watching it unfold - see for yourself what I mean.

https://youtu.be/7L4DAsL5pSo?si=91FfD-Nmocjvb1pT

Whenever I watch this movie I think of a maestro conducting his orchestra, highlighting all the players, and manipulating them, manipulating us, without any of us protesting that he's doing so - in fact, were happy to go along with him - just take us wherever you want, lead us to Thorwald's apartment and sneak around a bit, going from one room to the next and back - it makes us tense, anxious, don't let him see us, don't let her be caught! Gah, I'm biting my nails at the memory of it.

Memorable Scenes: James Stewart looks through his camera lens and catches Raymond Burr staring right at him. Stewart realizes that the killer now knows who and where he is.

Memorable Quote: "We've become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change." - Stella

Hitchcock Cameo: He is seen in the songwriter's apartment, winding a clock

Other Thoughts: Critic Roger Ebert: "The film develops such a clean, uncluttered line from beginning to end that we're drawn through it (and into it) effortlessly. The experience is not so much like watching a movie, as like ... well, like spying on your neighbors. Hitchcock traps us right from the first....And because Hitchcock makes us accomplices in Stewart's voyeurism, we're along for the ride. When an enraged man comes bursting through the door to kill Stewart, we can't detach ourselves, because we looked too, and so we share the guilt and in a way we deserve what's coming to him."

Of Note: Was nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Director, but it didn’t win a thing (The great, “On the Waterfront” gobbled up most of the awards that year)

5

[Captain Quint]

Before moving on to the obvious #1, let's go back to the beginning, with a bonus entry, and some thoughts on a few other releases

26. Secret Agent (1936)

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Summary: After three British agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences. (IMDB)

From his British era comes this odd and challenging film. It starts off like a screwball comedy, with quick witty banter between Robert Young and Madeline Carroll (Elsa). Then there's Peter Lorre, who plays a whacked out Mexican (who's not Mexican) who likes to be addressed as the General (though he's not really a General). This silliness is married to a very serious and often darkly tragic morality tale. The thrust of it being that killing someone is still murder even when it's done as a duty to one's country. Elsa coming to the realization that this isn't some fun adventure, but a serious matter of life and (wrongful) death is haunting.

Aside from the usual directorial flair, Hitchcock also experiments with sound as a means to color his film. A dog's mournful howl as his master dies. The sound of rolling coins during Elsa’s breakdown... the audio is as important as the visuals.

Secret Agent was released after the 39 Steps which easily overshadows it - in addition it isn't an easy film to pin down, and its mix of bright comedy and dark tragedy makes for strange, uneasy viewing. One that not everyone enjoys. But I found it compelling, suspenseful and sad. Lorre is over the top but his eccentricities had flavor that I enjoyed, and even though John Gielgud is miscast as the dashing lead, the performances are honest and ring true.

It's not a perfect film, but it is a good one. Better than most give it credit for, and it was very nearly my 25th pick.

Memorable Scenes: The death on the mountain and the reactions back home.

Memorable Quote: The General: General Pompellio Montezuma De La Vilia De Conde De La Rue
Robert Marvin: Ah, do you mind if I call you Charlie?
The General: Yes, I mind!

Hitchcock Cameo: There wasn’t one.

3.5

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Just outside of that is [I]Blackmail, his first talkie / Saboteur, a smorgasbord of great scenes, but too unwieldy, it needed to be tightened up (but lessons learned for North by Northwest) / Spellbound - While there are elements that haven’t aged well for me (and Bergman herself said it wasn't a very good film), there are pockets of bliss - the Dali dream sequence, the tragic scene with Peck's brother, the gunshot at the end, and Hitch's use of doors and subjective camera angels to represent both barriers and moments of clarity. Nice use of the theremin too.

I mentioned Jamaica Inn (call that a guilty pleasure if you chose) and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (a screwball comedy that had me in stitches in its first half) - Suspicion? I know some folks really like it but I think it was made too soon, censorship issues undercut the narrative voice, and Oscar win or no, Fontaine just didn't sell the idea of this man opening some heavy passions in her, so much so that she aches to stay with him, even if it kills her - liken it to Stewarts "desire-as-madness" turn in Vertigo, and it simply doesn't compare. It's too bad too, because there's some good stuff in the picture - if he'd filmed it in the 60s it might have been a whole different matter, he could have gone with his intended dark ending.

And with that, the best of the best...

[Captain Quint]

1. Vertigo (1958)

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Vertigo has the trappings of a mystery, but the mystery is just the MacGuffin - a tool to get the stars aligned, get these characters together and dig into the heart of the matter - that heart is obsession. The entire film is about that psychological spiral: From the haunting music to the Saul Bass credit sequence... it's all about circles, turning around into themselves. James Stewart does his best, most shaded work as a man sinking further and further into a kind of madness. He as much objectifies this woman, as he does genuinely love her. He will reshape another (he assumes) into her image and lose himself completely.

The movie is archetypal Hitchcock - the expressionistic techniques, the mattes and rear projection, and every detail -from sound to color to editing- is vital to the theme, character, and narrative of the feature. It’s loaded with eerie subtle moments that become even more apparent in repeat viewings (note the look in Madeleine's face when Scottie speaks of the past. A past she is familiar with but can't acknowledge). All of this makes the movie timeless.

It's a film that crept up on me - on my first viewing I was not as impressed. Later I discovered that a lot of us do this on a first go through, we misread the picture, and only on further viewings do we get it. This probably explains its trajectory, from mixed reviews and lower than expected box office, to it becoming a sort of lost film, as it was kept out of distribution for over a decade. During that time the master print faded and shrunk - leading to a restoration, rerelease, and reevaluation, which saw its reputation rise (a 4K restoration was done in 2014). Of course, there's always going to be pushback, are we champions over-evaluating it, as a handful of critics accuse? Obviously, I say no. Vertigo is appreciated as it always should have been appreciated, as the director's crowning achievement.

Memorable Scenes: Scotties vivid nightmare - the bits at the psychiatric hospital with Midge - Judy becomes Madeleine, bathed in a glow of sickly green light – The contra-zoom when Scottie's vertigo kicks in as he climbs the stairs - The John Whitney and Saul Bass title sequence, the first in film history to use computer animation.

Memorable Quote: Stewart & Novak are in the forest, looking at the rings of a tree, Novak's Madeleine points to a spot on the tree... "Here I was born, and there I died. It was only a moment for you; you took no notice."

Hitchcock Cameo: 11 minutes in wearing a gray suit walking past Gavin Elster's shipyard

Other Thoughts: Martin Scorsese on Bernard Herrmann's eerie score: "Hitchcock's film is about obsession, which means that it's about circling back to the same moment, again and again ... And the music is also built around spirals and circles, fulfillment and despair. Herrmann really understood what Hitchcock was going for — he wanted to penetrate to the heart of obsession."

Of Note: This was the last pairing of Hitch and Stewart, though they nearly worked on a movie called The Blind Man (when this fell through, Hitch turned his attention to The Birds)

The picture was a great influence on Left Bank filmmakers Alain Resnais and Chris Maker, both who have woven visual quotes in their own pictures (see Marker's La Jetée, the scene with the tree). It also found its way into Chantal Akerman's "The Captive". (not a Left Banker, btw)

Personal Awards: Best Picture and Director, Best Actor (Stewart)

5

[Captain Quint]

In closing - thanks for reading and commenting. To sum up, this was a celebration of a director and the films that I've long treasured, and I hope the countdown was taken in that spirit, whether it was #1 or 21, I loved them all.

But what do the MoFos love the most?

Hitchcock's Most Favorited on the Forum (as of this posting)
1. Psycho - Favorited 76 times
2. Vertigo - Favorited 50 times (it's #3 on mine)
3. Rear Window - Favorited 46 times
4. North by Northwest - Favorited 22 times
5. The Birds - Favorited 12 times
6. Rebecca - Favorited 8 times
7. (tie) Strangers on a Train and Rope - Favorited 6 times
9. Notorious - Favorites 5 times
10. Dial M for Murder - Favorited 3 times
11. To Catch a Thief - Favorited twice
12. (tie) The Lady Vanishes and Shadow of a Doubt - Favorited once

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[Captain Quint]

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Cuckoo (2024) - Directed by Tilman Singer

A 17-year-old girl is forced to move to a resort with her father, stepmother and stepsister, where things are not what they seem. (Altered IMDB summary)

I'm not a real scary movie person, but it's been a darn good year for horror. Exhuma and Oddity, in particular, were standouts, and now this. While it can get a bit clinical and expository towards the end, the film does maintain its intensity, and revealed its heart in this section, so it's not like it fell to pieces. And the opening act was fantastic—so spooky and freaky, the sound design on its own is frightening, and that bike sequence... cripes.

Hunter Schafer's amazing in the lead, she starts off as your typical sullen teenager, before transitioning into a range of emotions - confusion, hurt, anger, fear, determination... love. Also noteworthy is Dan Stevens, who's effective playing this scum sucking a-hole.

Theme wise, the sisterhood angle was a positive, while the perversion of motherhood was upsetting and painful. So yes, lots to feel in this one, and much to ponder.

One criticism I've read is that its underdeveloped, and, sure, there's some 'wanting your cake and eating it too' here - a lot of talk, talk, talk, but also a desire for ambiguity - so maybe there's a clash there? But for me horror is like humor - the primary reason I watch a comedy is to laugh (though other factors can and do come into play), so the movie could be flawed, but if I'm in stitches, then mission accomplished. With a scary flick if I'm dry mouthed, wide eyed, pulse racing, chilled with fear, then you did the job, and I can forgive some hiccups.

With that in mind, I see folks talking about the humor in the flick, I guess, but I was too busy being freaked to pay much notice to that. I really bought into that side of the picture.

4

[Captain Quint]

My Personal Best Original Song Nominees

In addition to picking my Best Picture, Best Short and the 4 Acting awards, I also select a Best Original Song each year, which requires that I listen to about 100 numbers on average. I also have to find out if it's an original - thankfully that's become easier with movie websites and the Academy posting lengthy lists of eligible numbers.

Music is a lot more subjective for me than film, I like what I like and that's all there is to it, and frankly I don't like a lot of modern songs, so I reject more than I accept. While there were a few close but no cigar types (that Miley Cyrus number everyone seems to love) and a few I just can't track down - I eventually came up with 6 nominees - tunes that I plan to live with for a spell before choosing. Course, I'll keep an ear out for the international films out there, especially the smaller releases which don't receive as much attention - so this could be expanded over the next 6 months or so. (I usually post my winners in early summer).

https://youtu.be/1TsZH__etDA?si=8TPoGLtSDfm7c28Y
"Out of Oklahoma" by Luke Dick, Shane McAnally, Lainey Wilson (Twisters)
Pretty country ballad with a nice hook, though it becomes a shade repetitive (could have used a bridge, I'm big on bridges), Wilson's vocals bring a quiet emotion to the piece

https://youtu.be/5D0JeugTeNs?si=tYD_QuIq3KHQtsDu
“Leash” by Sky Ferreira & Jorge Elbrecht (Babygirl)
Ethereal dream pop but with bite - there are dark lyrics (with blood and bruises among the words), grinding guitars and a steady backbeat.

https://youtu.be/SFe847STe1Y?si=GwvKzZCjJ8_M_ajr
“Ezra” by Adrienne Ackerman (Ezra) - Performed by Rae Isla
A bit of whimsey with the whistling. I'm an old folky so I like that quality, but could this slight number lose steam after several listens?

https://youtu.be/VLqJLw8tXH0?si=-FpSLjNKjIOm7-BC
“Claw Machine” by Haley Dahl, performed by Sloppy Jane with Phoebe Bridgers (I Saw the TV Glow)
Haunting chamber pop with smooth harmonies and lyrics that paint a vivid picture of a place and a time and a life. The orchestral strings helped it to push a lot of emotional buttons. Good soundtrack overall, I also liked Riding Around in the Dark, How Can I Get Out, and Starburned and Unkissed

https://youtu.be/vM-voEepRyI?si=PbHK6-_XxLGDY9OE
"El Mal" by Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez) - performed by Zoe Saldaña, Camile and Karla Sofia Gascón
I wasn't sure at the start, the spoken parts/rap and video (the herky-jerky way it moved) kind of threw me out of it at first, but it eventually got under my skin - it rocks, has a heavy, driving beat that grabs you, and a unique structure.

https://youtu.be/12DbW-9YDwE?si=q2qmnKpA03MsLvtE
"The Creatures of Nature" by The Octopus Project & Riley Keough (Sasquatch Sunset)
I hated the movie, but it's a pretty folk tune


So those are mine, if you were an Oscar (or any awards entity) voter, what would you chose?

[Captain Quint]

My Personal Best Short
We go now from songs to shorts - I give one award, and combine live action, animation and documentary as candidates. This category can be a pain-in-the-neck because they are often difficult to track down. When Oscar releases its short lists, you do get a flurry of activity, but much of those are limited release postings on YouTube, Vimeo, etc. So, you better watch them and watch them quick because they might be gone sooner than later...

...If ever - I revisited my shorts watchlist from a few years ago, the ones I couldn't find back then, just to see if any of them have popped up on the net, and not a single one has. Makes it tough to select a "Best Of", when you're missing a large chunk of them.

In addition to websites who spotlight pieces apart from the Oscar noms; Letterboxd members have been a great help - there will always be a handful of folks who post shortlist lists with links each season. Yesterday, I spent time going through those and was able to watch 17 of the 45 total revealed by the Academy a few days back. Of the 17, a few are actually 2023 releases (I'm unfamiliar with Oscar's eligibility rules with this category, but this happens every year).

My top 2 among the 17? In "Best Live Action Short Film" there was I’m Not a Robot (2023), about a woman who flunks a captcha, and from there, her life spins out of control. You can watch that one at Shortverse, here ... https://www.shortverse.com/films/i-am-not-a-robot - The New Yorkers page at YouTube also has it.

https://youtu.be/4VrLQXR7mKU?si=3Y1UmN6xHULLThzJ

The other, in "Best Animated Short Film", came from the mind and hand of one of my favorite directors/animators Don Hertzfeldt... lets dig into that one a little deeper because at this point it's the highest rated short from 2024, and my leading candidate to take my personal award.

It's a rental, as most of Don's are, but that's fine with me, it's my way to support the arts, and the artist - make sure he's paid and able to gift us with more of these pieces. I love his minimalistic linework and design sense, which has become increasingly more elaborate and sophisticated. He works miracles with his stick figures and, with this, potato shaped people.

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ME (2024) - Directed by Don Hertzfeldt

No dialogue, all music, accompanying animation that's dark, disturbing, and difficult - while not completely indecipherable (Hertzfeld said it's about "human beings and the selfish things that always hold us back. It’s about the pain we cause.") it's not completely clear either, and that's part of the appeal - I find it ingeniously, and delightfully bewildering.

I have a feeling Salvador Dali would have loved the film, especially the part with the eye; and the bleeding person stripped of flesh, just exposed brain and raw nervous system, singing, "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls", while plugged into a series of tubes. (The source is a recording of Dame Joan Sutherland).

In this tale, the outside world is a nightmare of death and violence, the interior one is full of anxiety and narcissism. But might it also be read as a story of enlightenment, as the filmmaker suggests? Sure, why not, with abstractions like this you go wherever the vibe takes you. But also, what you feel here, is equally - if not more important, than what you think.

"Me" looks and sounds incredible; I wore headphones as recommended and that added to the immersive, sonic, experience - the visuals are both parts troubling and breathtaking, and while not the easiest Hertzfeld to digest, it's one of his most mind-blowing. I loved it, loved this trip he sent me on.

4.5



This was a 3-day rental, and I've watched it twice so far, the second left an even strong impression, a third might see it jump to a full 5.

Other shortlisted movies that stood out. Instruments of a Beating Heart (Best Documentary Short Film), and Goodbye My World & Crab in the Pool (animated) - now we wait and see if the Academy honors any of these as their final nominees.

[Captain Quint]

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Westerns, for as long as I can remember I loved them. As previously mentioned, John Wayne was my first favorite movie star, and I spent so many hours sitting in front of the TV in my youth, catching an old movie or a new episode from a TV series. I don't know what it was about them, the lawlessness, that was scary but could also be cool (the anti-hero types, the oulaw hero) - or maybe it was the steadfast gunslinger who stood up for the little guy. Or was it the wide open possibilities of frontier life, carving out a new world?

Sadly, I watched it slowly fade, Eastwood and a few others were holding the line in the 70s, and Clint gifted us with its last 5-star masterpiece in 1992 with Unforgiven - but it was a dying genre, and after decades of watching them, I'd seen all the classics, and what was left were at best, in the 3 to 3.5 grade range. But still I kept searching, and it's always a thrill when I track down a winner. The last 'old' movie to go beyond the 3-stars was The Naked Dawn from 1955. I saw it in March of 2023 and what a happy discovery that was for this old fan.

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Before that, in Nov 2020 I caught A Pistol for Ringo & The Return of Ringo (1965) - Two spaghetti westerns, filmed at the same time, same director, same actors, same character name, but not the same character(s), and they are both very different tonally. Pistol is lighter, more comedic, and comic booky, Return is grim and serious. Both are very underrated in my opinion - Giuliano Gemma is superb as Ringo in both pictures, as is Ennio Morricone's scores. I don't know why these aren't talked about more among western aficionados, but I enjoyed them, and the double feature Arrow BD looks great and is packed with extras, including commentary tracks.

As to new ones? For kicks, I've selected my "Best Western" features for each year, going back to the silent era. And it was interesting watching them ebb and flow, and to see how their character changed - from the serialized oater to the psychological examinations in Mann's work from the 50s, to the dark revisionism that came out of Italy - but today it's slim pickings, sometimes the well is so dry I have to award contemporary westerns, such as Hell or High Water in 2016, or Chloé Zhao's exemplary, true-to-life tale, The Rider in 2018.

2021 was a thrill for me because I had The Power of the Dog AND Old Henry - only getting 2 gems in a year is a far cry from their peak period in the 50s and 60s, but by God, I'll happily take it. Miniseries have also offered some winners, and in 2 of my favorites, each was centered around women - Godless in 2017 and The English in 2022, which addressed racism and the cycle of hate that churns on and on, where revenge only gives birth to more of it. It's episodic, and was criticized for that (side characters are brought in and then quickly dispatched) but as it played, I began to think, maybe we’re not supposed to watch this as a traditional, 4 act narrative, maybe it should be viewed like Greek myth, an Odessey? Here we dispatch the cyclops, there we do the Roman horse, etc. Regardless, the final 2 episodes were incredibly powerful (I was a blubbering fool by the end) - It featured superb acting from Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, and I loved the modernish folk songs that popped up.

https://youtu.be/6ocyF_Iuj7U?si=R3OLoB0tHFDJ4R5h

So yeah, the Western might not be what it was, but it's not quite dead yet.

[Wyldesyde19]

Have you seen any of the Sartana films? I was mixed on the ones I did see

[Captain Quint]

Sounds familiar (looks it up) no, that was Sabata, lol - so I haven't seen any of those. I'll have to try one or two.

Looks like my Letterboxd pals scored it a 3.5, one did a 3, so it sounds like they had a mixed reaction too. But that's been about where a lot of the 'left to see' land these days. I'll give it a go, thanks.

[Captain Quint]

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My Nostalghia BD arrived yesterday (Merry Christmas to me) - I have the original Kino release, but that was awful - no restoration & bare bones, thankfully this one has extras, including a commentary track, and the picture itself was cleaned up... it looks gorgeous.

Many rate this as lower end Tarkovsky, but I consider it one of his best - a somber contemplation on grief, faith and homesickness.

Moving at a deliberate pace, it’s the kind of movie that breathes, it allows you time to soak in the ambiance, to reflect on the ideas and emotions presented. I was swept away by the dialogue, the poetic stillness, the haunted, faraway expressions of the actors. Beauty and sadness permeate every frame of this picture.

In my opinion, Tarkovsky mastered the language of film as no one ever has. Even those who tap into the same cinematic vein bow before him. He’s simply overwhelming and Nostalghia is another jewel in the crown.

5

[Captain Quint]

Hereafter
Directed by Clint Eastwood - Drama - 129 minutes - PG13 - 2010
4

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Clint Eastwood talks over a scene with actress Cécile de France


IMDB Synopsis: An American factory worker, a French journalist and a London school boy set out on a spiritual journey after death touches their lives in different ways.

After my adventure earlier in the year, upon returning home for rest and recovery I found myself pestered by a desire to revisit Hereafter. I don't know why, but it was pretty persistent, buzzing around my head, saying, "go watch that movie again". It was a film I treasured in 2010, gave it a 4.5, but with a second viewing it collapsed, which was depressing - it felt like losing something of value, something meaningful. Though many others didn't see it that way.

Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a 47%, the audience score was a paltry 38%, and most of my Letterboxd pals graded it 2.5 and under; and that's fine, I'm not here to slam anyone, but isn't it interesting how a person can find something of worth in a movie frequently ranked among the director's weakest. Not that I'm completely alone, I remember Erin Free at Film Ink enjoying it, Roger Ebert too, and there are 2,090 Letterboxrs who share my rating. Which doesn't normally matter, except that in this case, with this particular film and what it's saying, it somehow does.

I found it compassionate and moving. It doesn't try and force an idea about spirituality or the hereafter, it simply tells the tale of these people trying to find meaning in loss or understanding in tragedy (or surviving tragedy)—And It's filled with these moments that you might take for granted, or think are small and insignificant; which is reminiscent of silent era filmmaking, or any other classic unhurried film that knows how to make it all matter—not just the grand scenes, the heighten emotional ones, but also the smaller bits that add texture, and help lend greater weight to scenes to come.

As with most Clint Eastwood films, it takes its time telling the story - but that's okay, because it's an absorbing, well-told story (scripted by Peter Morgan, best known for biopics), filled with characters I grew to care about in scenes that were deeply felt (the reading between Damon and Bryce Dallas Howard broke my heart). A feeling of loneliness runs throughout, and that touched me, facilitated empathy, but it's also about connections, basic human connection.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to come back to this, and happy it hit me the way it did, like it did the first time. Movies can be a gift, and I'm overjoyed to have that gift returned to me.

[TriggerFalcon]

Greaat thread with great reviews thx

[Captain Quint]

Unforgiven
Directed by Clint Eastwood - Western - 131 minutes - R - 1992
5

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IMDB Synopsis: Retired Old West gunslinger Will Munny reluctantly takes on one last job to avenge an injustice with the help of his old partner Ned, and a newer outlaw known simply as The Schofield Kid.

Jesus what a movie. It takes my breath away every time I watch it. Truly great films, like this, age like fine wine; they're evergreen, dynamic, and always offer something more.

With this viewing I noticed the foreshadowing or connective tissue, and how the story comes full circle. Will has been adamant that he's no longer the killer he once was, claiming to be a changed man, a good man. Yet, as he says it, one wonders who he's trying to convince. In the end, when he succumbs, when even the kid draws away from him ("I ain't like you"), Eastwood's resignation is palpable—no more denial; this is who he is, what he does best.

The actors' reactions are fascinating to observe, like the inappropriate small smiles that betray their characters—Little Bill, a sadistic man deep down, also in denial of his true nature ("I was building a house"), the writer, a myth-making parasite, and Alice, vengeful and unyielding, and seemingly pleased with the bloodshed.

Then there's Ned, sitting there wearing that haunted, thousand-yard stare when he can't bring himself to kill (he's the one who's truly changed).

David Webb Peoples' script is phenomenal, arguably one of the best ever written. Without going overboard, it conveys what an atrocity frontier justice is, how horrible it is to take a life, how it marks a person. Death is spoken of so casually, and is so prevalent in westerns overall, that you forget the cost. Unforgiven made me feel the cost.

The cinematography, the orange glow of the lighting, the framing—note the "free one" scene with Delilah in close-up and Munny behind her—it's beautifully executed. Delilah's expression as she listens to Will is a masterclass in subtlety—script, performance, photography, and direction in perfect harmony, a standard maintained throughout.

Unforgiven is, simply put, a masterpiece.

Additional observations:
* There’s a fair amount of humor, more than I remembered. Morgan Freeman’s reaction to the kid’s wild shooting is priceless. Freeman's great in this, hell all of the actors are... from those who always deliver (Gene Hackman, who won an Oscar) to those you might as not be readily familiar with, like Anna Thomson, who brings a gentle naturalism to the role of Deliah. It also ranks among Clint's finest bits of acting.

* 'Deserves got nuthin’ to do with it', isn’t just a cool line. It’s a theme that runs throughout the picture. The gunfighters take the job figuring their targets deserve what they get. As the story progresses that perspective changes. 'We all got it coming.'

* For a guy who shoots a minimum of takes, Clint must at least film plenty of coverage shots, because there’s a fair amount of editing done here.

[Captain Quint]

Mystic River
Directed by Clint Eastwood - Crime, Mystery, Drama - 137 minutes - R - 2003
4.5

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Eastwood could have titled this "The Weak, The Strong and the Damned", as that encapsulates its essence perfectly. Its story and themes address grief and tragedy, guilt and masculinity, and mistaken ideas that lead to further sorrow. It's a murder mystery that reunites 3 boyhood friends: one of whom was kidnapped and abused (Tim Robbins). and the other two who grew up on opposite sides of the law (Kevin Bacon, a cop - Sean Penn, a former criminal and father of the murdered girl). So, a complex set-up and a telling that once again allows the director to dive into morally ambiguous waters.

I wanted to rewatch and reassess this one through older eyes, as I've changed, and my understanding of cinema has expanded and matured. When I settle down with a movie these days, it's not just, "Here I am now, entertain me", Instead, I understand that a piece might challenge me, the subject matter might be uncomfortable, it might test my patience, but that's okay, watch like an adult, reflect, think, but also soak in the qualities that go into making a great art, great. I don't think I watched "Mystic River" like an adult in 2003, even though I was in my early 40s and nurtured a long-standing passion for film, I was still fumbling in the dark in some ways, still learning. With "Mystic", I read the book years before and didn't care for it—the characters, the pervasive hopeless—and Clint sticks closely to Lehane's novel. It was unpleasant and I resisted that. With tonight's viewing, I was more receptive to what it was saying and doing, harsh and despairing though it may be.

And yes, the ending is cruel - what happened to Dave as a boy was devastating, and life kept piling on - at the beginning he gets into a car, and at the end, he does the same, neither action will end well for him. It's terrible, and Laura Linney's speech at the end to her husband (Penn), about being a king, makes it worse—but that's not the moral of the story, it's only what she believes (the role of the man, the duty of a wife). There's also a Lady Macbeth vibe here, her husband can own this town (her words). But we all remember the fate of the lady and her king, and Kevin Bacon's final gesture suggests (maybe*) that history is about to repeat itself. The king will fall, the king will pay, if he has anything to say about it.

In 2003 Clint was in the midst of his peak period as a director, he also composed the effectively somber score. Acting is overall solid, though Sean Penn's scenery chewing makes me wince. I know he's playing a grieving father, but he goes way over the top and then goes a little further still. It also made me smile to see Eli Wallach in a small role - all these decades later, "the Good" directs "The Ugly".

In closing - for the first time I found myself able to truly admire and appreciate the picture, and its insights and explorations into our existential wretchedness - those who are destroyed, those who lose hope, those who fool themselves that they are above it all and those who will battle against the ugly storm, and dare to cling to the hope of something better.

Further reading - interesting Looper article that examines the themes, the ambiguity and the ending... www.looper.com/401026/the-end-of-mystic-river-explained/

* I say 'maybe' because Clint left it up to the viewer to interpret.

[Captain Quint]

Juror #2
Directed by Clint Eastwood - Crime, Drama - 114 minutes - PG13 - 2024
4

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This conversation near the end of the film was one of the more dispiriting moments for me - see spoiler for the whys

Summary: While serving as a juror in a murder trial, Justin Kemp finds himself facing a moral dilemma, if he does the right thing, he could lose everything he holds dear.

Having followed Clint since the '60s, I was eager to see his next production, rumored to be his last, on the big screen. Thus, Warner's decision to limit its release to fewer than 50 theaters across the US, was disheartening to say the least. Moreover, Guillermo del Toro's enthusiastic tweet, praising the courtroom drama while urging viewers to see it at their local cineplex, made it sting all the more.

Then the email came... Juror #2 was coming to one theater in town for Thanksgiving week - what, really! If I wasn't a man in my 60s, I might have done backflips. Hell, I might risk one regardless after having seen it, because Juror certainly met expectations.

del Toro described the direction as "unfussy", which aptly characterizes Eastwood's style - you get a few eye-catching shots, but nothing overly show-offy, the production values, set design, edits and such are smartly, professionally done. This is simply a solid, well-made picture by a master craftsman and his crew.

The moral complexities that have been a signature throughout his career are present, he's always been willing to explore those murky gray areas. It also takes the stance that, while flawed, this system is the best option we have to see justice done. But when you meet the people who hold this person's fate in their hands, it makes you question that. From a guy who refuses to budge an inch, to a woman who just wants to go home, to two younger folk who seem totally disinterested - and while they're countered by one who is intensely interested, it's based on her love of TV crime shows. Then we come to the man who knows the truth, and yet... I think about this in my own life; remembering co-workers who were all trained professionals, but not equally as competent or diligent. Just who are we trusting when we get our car repaired, or need surgery, or in this particular situation, when relying on a jury of your peers? It's not like they received a diploma for the task.

While there are a few hiccups in Jonathan Abrams script (lapses in logic, contrivances), they're minor and not worth emphasizing in a film of this caliber - a film that's thought provoking and yes, refreshingly made for grownups!

It does take its time, pacing wise, but doesn't feel draggy or overlong. I never got fidgety or felt the need to check the time, for me, it's exactly how, and what it should be.

Performances are first rate, Toni Collette and J.K. Simmons are standouts, but it's Nicholas Hoult who carries the film, playing a man who's struggling to hold it together and trying desperately to find a way to do the right thing, without destroying his own life. It's the best work he's ever done to my mind, layered, and worthy of consideration come awards season.

In closing - seeing the words, "Malpaso Productions" at the beginning made my heart skip a beat - made me smile from all the memories associated with it; and if this is indeed the actor/director's final bow, he went out with a winner. It's his finest effort since Gran Torino.

Because for a while I was in Justin's corner, I wanted him to save this person and save himself in the process, I thought, despite the lies and such, he was basically a decent guy, but what he says to the DA rips away that facade... While I get his reasons (this is self-preservation), the way he acts, his words and manner - yeah, he's just another mess of a human being, and far from the flawed hero.

[Gideon58]

5. Notorious (1946)

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Notorious is the story of a woman whose father has been convicted of treason (shades of Foreign Correspondent) - She later works as a spy for those he betrayed. But what it really is, is a love story. Hitch is no hopeless romantic, in matters of love and marriage he is a realist. Love hurts. Alicia and Devlin are in love, but they use words to wound each other. Instead of being honest at the outset, each wait for the other to say the right thing. Neither does.

With three greats in the leading roles: Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant and Claude Rains. And a stellar supporting cast, Notorious is flawlessly acted. But in every phase this movie succeeds. The screenplay was by Ben Hecht, it was scored by Roy Webb, and the cinematographer was Ted Tetzlaff. Each was at the top of their game. And the man at the head brought it all together to create an absolute classic.

This isn’t a fast, in your face tale; it's lean and pointed with nary a misstep to be found - every frame is a work of art, and every scene is a memorable one, Including the famous wide shot which funnels down slowly to one spot, a key in Bergman's hand.

Memorable Scenes: The suspenseful bits as Grant & Bergman break into the wine cellar, knowing the party above is getting low on libations - That kiss.

Memorable Quote: "We are protected by the enormity of your stupidity, for a time" - Madame Sebastian

Hitchcock Cameo: At about an hour (depending on the cut). He is seen drinking a glass of champagne as Grant and Bergman approach to get a glass. He sets his glass down and quickly departs.

Others Thoughts: Film maker Francois Truffaut – "In my opinion, Notorious is the very quintessence of Hitchcock… it's still a remarkably modern picture, with very few scenes and an exceptionally pure story line. In the sense that it gets a maximum effect from a minimum of elements, it's really a model of scenario construction. ... All of the suspense scenes hinge around two objects, always the same, namely the key and the fake wine bottle. The sentimental angle is the simplest in the world: two men in love with the same woman…. of all its qualities, the outstanding achievement is perhaps that in Notorious you have at once a maximum of stylization and a maximum of simplicity."

Personal Awards: Best Actress - Ingrid Bergman

5

My favorite Ingrid Bergman performance

[John-Connor]

Because for a while I was in Justin's corner, I wanted him to save this person and save himself in the process, I thought, despite the lies and such, he was basically a decent guy, but what he says to the DA rips away that facade... While I get his reasons (this is self-preservation), the way he acts, his words and manner - yeah, he's just another mess of a human being, and far from the flawed hero.
^ Agreed.. good review!

[Gideon58]

19. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

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Hitch had wanted to remake his 1934 hit as early as 1941 and while there are many who embrace the original as the best version, I have to side with the master. The original has many nice touches, but it is the work of a “talented amateur” (these were Hitchcock’s words, not mine). The remake is bigger, at times too big and too long. But it is a better film. The flow of the story is steadier; there are fewer gaps in the suspense. For example; the original had the baddies spell out their plan in the church at the point where the action should have been charging like a freight train - this exposition ground the film to a halt and Hitch doesn’t make that mistake in his remake.

I also felt the acting was better, more real and heartfelt. The British crew is fine, but they feel too rehearsed and lack that gritty humanity that Day and Stewart bring. The later really had me feeling their loss and suffering. Stewart was an every-man, and his quiet desperation drew me into the story. I could relate to him as a flesh and blood character, he wasn’t just a guy playing a part.

I like how Hitch took time to develop his characters. TMWKTM lets us know and understand the people in this story and continues to develop character even as he's diving into the heart of the plot.

Memorable Scene: Dying man falls into Ben (James Stewart), the makeup on his face comes off on Stewart's fingers

Memorable Quote: "You have muddled everything from the start, taking that child with you from Marrakech. Don't you realize that Americans dislike having their children stolen?" – Ambassador

Hitchcock Cameo: 25:42 into the film - watching acrobats in the Moroccan marketplace, with his back to the camera, just before the spy is killed.

Of Note: This won the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song - "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)" by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

4

LOVE this movie

[Captain Quint]

My favorite Ingrid Bergman performance

Mine as well. One of the best and most steady actors, at their peak.

^ Agreed.. good review!

Thank you. I actually had it written back in November, but I always tweak and change and am never completely satisfied with these things, never know if it's just right, so I appreciate that.

It's why I rarely submit anything here for the reviews page, though I might do at least Unforgiven and Juror #2. I'm amazed by people who have submitted reviews in the thousands... is no one else plagued by doubt ("is this alright, is this fine? I don't know, maybe I need to stare at it, then work on it for another week, or month?") ;)

[Captain Quint]

2024 - My Year of Eastwood and Austen
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What a colorful, unusual combination - I watched a lot of both, and read a lot of the later.

So Clint was my most watched director with 16 films - Breezy was the most watched on the year (once online, once when I bought the BD during a sale, and once with the commentary track)

Clint was also tied with silent screen star Asta Nielsen as my most watched actor, with 9

And sweet Jane was my most viewed original writer, I caught 10 adaptations, maybe I'll share my thoughts on those at some point.

I watched 508 different films (512 with repeats) - and that amounts to 872.7 hours spent in front of the screen on the year.

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The first I saw was Joyland (2022 - 4.5 stars) on Jan 1st, the last was Incendiary Blonde (1945 - 3-stars) on Dec 31.

And while it's far, far too soon to lock in a top 10, my top 10 to date.

1. Exhuma
2. Juror #2
3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
4. Rumours
5. Cuckoo
6. The Thicket
7. Oddity
8. Ghostlight
9. The Apprentice
10. Lisa Frankenstein

Rounding out the top 15.... Marmalade, Thelma, Wicked Little Letters, The Bikeriders, Riddle of Fire

Happy New Year - and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2025 brings us in the world of film.

[Captain Quint]

Nosferatu! Nosferatu! Nosferatu!
A look at three great directors and their takes on the same subject

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I went out and caught the Eggers flick yesterday, and after then felt the urge to revisit Herzog's. I also weighed in on Murnau's original. What worked, what didn't, and how would I rank them? Let's get Eggers out of the way first and work back from that.

Nosferatu (2024)
Overcooked, overacted and sadly risible. The broad theatricality that worked well in The Lighthouse, is a huge detriment here. I felt no fear, nor was I enveloped in atmospheric Gothic dread, as I hoped - the fever dream of Thomas' first meeting with Orlok was the only effective moment in the entire piece. After that, nothing. It has style, but little substance in characterization - an idea, but one that's superficially relayed.

I'm astonished because I expected this to suit/fit Eggers like a glove, a 4th winning feature seemed in the bag, until it wasn't. I had a bad feeling after the first half hour, and it sunk further and further until it reached a point of no return... and there you have it, a favorite director has just disappointed you.

Skarsgård was an awful Orlok, grating rather than scary, with a big 'stach that was only a few steps away from Jim Carrey's look in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Cripes I could weep.

104008 2

Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979)
Dracula - He's exotic, he's charismatic, handsome and sexy - but Nosferatu is his mirror opposite, and the draw in Herzog's film is Kinski's portrayal of Dracula (Orlok in the others) as this rather pathetic figure, who's pained and weighed down by ages of emptiness. Yes, he's repellent and frightening, but he also shows a vulnerable side, especially when interacting with Lucy (maybe it's those Ringo Starr-like puppy dog eyes of his). That said, this is a creature of the night, who doesn't just bring sickness but seems to embody it - if Schreck's Orlok is the shadows, Kinski's Count reeks of decay and illness.

The film opens not in darkness but in light, with oceans and a city that seems more modern - At times it's stiff and oddly staged and shot, with characters placed awkwardly in corners - the dinner setting at the castle is cramped, the back of Harker's chair is almost pressed against the wall, or take the scene at the tavern where the camera settles on the patrons, but then, slightly nudges itself to the left... it's a rather a low budget, B-movie type move, and that's just weird, but I imagine a pro like Werner had his reasons. While it has atmosphere and many memorable scenes, Eggers and Murnau earn a little more style points - where Herzog bests the 2024 version is in story and characterization, it doesn't feel like a textbook, where you're told this and that, but gets under the skin of the situation and the characters.

This was a first time viewing the German version, and there are only slight differences in framing and movement, though I recall reading that the director felt this was the more authentic of the two, and I agree - it may be just a vibe that the language brings, but it serves the movie well and drew me in better than the English did. He also dispenses with the Orlok's and such, and just calls them Dracula and Renfield, etc.

Werner seems to be trying to ground it a little more in realism, there is no haunted carriage, and the count doesn't great you in a fearsome, loud way, he's just this frail, pale, slight little man, socially awkward, but nevertheless, creepy... look at the way Klaus stares and stares at Bruno Ganz's Harker, there's hunger there, desire, some revulsion even, it's like Harker is a bug under his microscope, the gaze is penetrating, exploring and yeah, creepy.

Adjani's Lucy has more of a voice here than in the Murnau, as it's she who attempts to share her knowledge with the city leaders and Van Helsing (which they ignore, idiot men), though acting wise, she's a thread that links the film to the silent era, the way she poses, positions her arms and hands, widens her eyes. Ganz is another solid piece of the puzzle and gives a well-rounded portrayal of Harker. The only casting I didn't care for was Roland Topor; Bruno S might have made a more fascinating and unforgettable Renfield.

Watching this after Eggers, and it feels smaller scale, not as grand or as slick or loud, it's also a daylight nightmare, which makes me feel safe in a way - even the first rats to leave the plague ship are plump and fluffy... rather cute (though that sense of safety is an illusion) - and yet it's more satisfying, succeeds on a deeper level. Despite some issues I had with Herzog's piece, it held me in its grip, I never felt like walking out (or turning it off) as I did with the new one.

104009 4

Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (1922)
I enjoyed F.W. Murnau’s film back in my college days, but I remember thinking it dry. That might be due to the locked down camera. While the pacing and edits are effective, and there’s some memorable stop motion photography and impressively lit locales, the camera itself stays pretty static. Regardless, watching it again, I found nothing dry about it. In fact, I was so thoroughly engrossed with the picture that I forgot about eating the snacks I set out - for an hour and a half, my attention was glued to the film.

Even though the camera is not as active a participant as in later Murnau, I think it’s one of his strongest, most focused stories. While technical marvels, Murnau’s movies can get overly melodramatic even by silent film standards (The Last Laugh). Or he’ll take these broad comedic detours that derail a tale for me (Faust). But Nosferatu stays on point; it is tight as a drum, and the acting, while dramatic, isn’t as over the top.

The film is atmospheric - effective in creating a slow building dread, where even the shadows become sinister characters in the play. Needle thin Max Schreck is creepy as hell as Orlok. Whether he’s quietly slipping through the rooms of his gloomy castle or haunting a ship and leaving a plague of death in his wake, he puts a chill down my spine.

Nosferatu '22 holds up remarkably well, if anything I liked and admired it more today than I did the first time I saw it, and to my mind and eyes, Murnau gave us the quintessential Nosferatu, it's still unsurpassed after all these decades.

104011 5

[Wyldesyde19]

If you haven’t seen it yet, you should check out Kinski playing essentially the same character in Nosferatu in Venice. Actually a pretty good film.

[StuSmallz]

https://i.ibb.co/xMLBLgb/IMG-20250103-123803-626.jpg (https://ibb.co/hK949dN)

[Captain Quint]

I'm making an attempt to clear out at least one of my watchlist files this year, but it's a hopeless cause, I've already added to my Hoopla holds for example, which is great, I like watching good movies, the more the merrier, but I'll never make even a dent in the overall ques and lists and files.

But if I can take out this one small corner of it...

104051

Loop Track (2023)
No idea where I heard of it, why it was saved, but it wound up a nice little indie horror film - good paranoia piece, some humor - guy just wants to be alone in the woods, but people keep showing up and joining him - and then the scary happens.

3.5

104052

Django the Bastard (1969)
Now I know who suggested this one, it was on the High Plains Drifter commentary - Django (in name only) is a Gothic spaghetti western about a guy who apparently returns from the dead with revenge on his mind. It's no HPD, and there's not much to it, but it is rather spooky how he keeps popping-up right in the middle of the people who are hunting him (though it loses that eventually). I found a nice-looking copy at the "Absolute Westerns" YouTube page, but it's dubbed instead of subbed.

3

104050

The Rose Seller (1998)
The Little Match Girl set in Columbia. It came recommended, but boy does it pour on the misery. It runs along the same lines as movies like Pixote - kids in a hopeless situation getting involved with drugs, prostitution, and crimes from theft to murder.

Non actors were used, and many of them have since died or wound up in prison. So, this feels more like truth than fiction. A bit overlong, which leads to redundancies, but strong enough for a

4

[Captain Quint]

More file clearing

104152

Japanese War Bride (1952)
The year previous "Go for Broke!", about Japanese-American soldiers, was released, this time the subject is war brides, and it attempts to pack in a lot, even bringing up the wrong of internment camps. It being 1952 the filmmakers only go so far, and there are painful stereotypes that are present. Still, it's a good first step, the racism stings, the resentments cut deep, it airs out a lot of dirty laundry... but it's difficult to grade because it is uneven (including a melodramatic ending), Is it a 3 or a 3.5? I dunno. Directed by King Vidor who was nearing the end of his career.

3 or 3.5

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The Badlanders (1958)
A westernized "Asphalt Jungle" and boy did I enjoy it, as both an engaging human story, and a gripping caper. Director Delmer Daves was well versed in the genre, having helmed 3:10 to Yuma, The Hanging Tree, and Jubal among others. It's well cast, Ernest Borgnine and his real-life wife Katy Jurado provide the warmth and romance. Borgnine comes off rough and mean, but has a heart of gold, and while you can see the ravages that alcohol had on Alan Ladd (only 45 at the time), he's still cool and charismatic, still has that mischievous smile. A man small in stature but always bigger than life. This one I can grade with ease...

4

[John-Connor]

The Badlanders (1958)
A westernized "Asphalt Jungle" and boy did I enjoy it, as both an engaging human story, and a gripping caper.4
Sounds good, watchlisted, I'll let you know if it makes my heist / caper top 100.

[Captain Quint]

Hiroshima Mon Amour
Directed by Alain Resnais - Drama, Romance, History - 90 minutes - 1959
5

104350

When I was a teenager, Jaws was my favorite movie, my first favorite movie as a matter of fact (before then I'd never really thought about ranking such things), as I moved into adulthood, it became On the Waterfront, and in my old age? Well, I've come to see that I have more than one; but if you ask, I'd answer that Hiroshima Mon Amour is my favorite of the here and now.

An innovative and vital piece of the French New Wave (Left Bank contingent), it centers on an intense affair between a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) and a French actress (Emmanuelle Riva). The two spend the day getting to know one another and working through (mostly her) personal demons. The brilliant opening sequence establishes the visual, audial, and thematic motifs - focusing primarily on the nature of memory, as the woman recalls things she couldn't have seen firsthand in regard to Hiroshima, the difference between being there and having it told to you is relayed through the jarring juxtaposition of movie versions of bombing victims to disturbing footage of the real thing. (Seeing the lovers covered in ash at the beginning, was another startling image).

Language-wise... there’s a lyrical quality to writer Marguerite Duras' dialogue, a thread of musicality woven throughout. But it’s not like the nature-born poetry of Ray’s Pather Panchali. It's more exacting, structured - but beautiful none the less. I also find it interesting the way characters can shift from 1st to 3rd person narratives or even take on the personality of another character from a different place and time (as when the Japanese channels the persona of the woman's German lover). The screenplay earned Duras a well-deserved Oscar nomination.

On the technical side of things, I admired the work of its dual cinematographers - Michio Takahashi in Japan and Sacha Vierny for the French locations. Each used different lenses and lighting techniques and such, which lends a distinct look to each time frame. The score, provided by Georges Delerue and Giovanni Fusco, is a mix of the somber and the off kilter - it too reenforces the concept (the scene where Elle splashes her face in the sink; it’s the music that tells us that she’s suddenly back in Nevers). The editing - the matching of hands, bodies, and landscapes, from past and present is expertly done, and again, is another element that sells the idea of time merging.

Acting? While Eiji is rock solid as Lui, the persistent male lead, the feature rests on Riva's capable shoulders. She gives a haunting performance in her film debut. When we first see her playful smile at the start, you can see how a man could instantly be drawn to her. But later a shadow falls over her face, and when she stares off into space it's as if she were stuck simultaneously in both the 'then', and the 'now' - which is just what the director and writer wanted. It's astonishing work, and her scenes hit me hard, shook me up (the moments set in Nevers are devastating).

While I’ve heard that some folks consider the film detached/cold on a first viewing, that was not the case for me, as it instantly got under my skin. I had such a powerful emotional and intellectual reaction to this movie... you could say its exploration of memories that linger, and those that slip away -of the traumas of war; of love destroyed, and the scars left on a soul- stole the breath from my lungs.

Notes: Like Tarkovsky’s horses or Fassbinder’s mirrors, one of Resnais’ visual trademarks is the zeroing in on hands. Even where they are not in close-up, they might be doing something interesting… as when the woman tells the man the story of the German and her hand curls and shakes subtly. Or when she draws her hands away from the man and her fingers briefly move as if she were pressing the keys of a piano.

Personal Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actress, Score, and Original Screenplay

6th viewing.

[SpelingError]

Hiroshima Mon Amour is so great. The opening 20 minutes are quite possibly the greatest sequence which occurs in a confined area and the remainder of the film is such a seamless combination of political and personal history.

Btw, are you on Letterboxd?

[Gideon58]

"I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”

102823
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Directed by Nicholas Ray - screenplay was primarily Andrew Solt, with alterations by Ray - Based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes

In a Lonely Place is about self-destruction and inner darkness set against a Hollywood backdrop - where it lays bare the contradictions, emptiness and enabling found in the studio system.

It's a tragic love story between a cocksure, hot-tempered screenwriter suspected of murder (Dix) and his seemingly composed and cool neighbor Laurel, who provides him with an alibi.

I can't break down the picture any better than Imogen Sara Smith did in her incisive essay... An Epitaph for Love (https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4052-in-a-lonely-place-an-epitaph-for-love)

This bit in particular resonated. In contrasting it with other Hollywood tales, like Sunset Blvd, she wrote...



That's key, and viewers who fail to grasp this could interpret the picture as either knocking Laurel or apologizing for Dix's behavior. While friends and colleagues in the film do this, the story, as story, is far more complex and psychologically nuanced to follow suit. This is simply the world we are observing, and these are the people in this world, for better, for worse.

If we are frustrated by or feel anything for Dix it's because we want to believe in the good, we 'cling' to it. We want him to get his act together. The film even gives us a taste of what can happen when he does - When we see him smiling, in love, and working on his script. We want 'the good' to continue, and it kills us when it doesn't. When Dix's anger rises up, it's terrible, unpredictable, and ugly. We recoil and are sickened by the violence, just as Laurel is - while we are not told why she ran from her previous relationship, we know why she wishes to do so here. When Dix smacks a dear and loyal friend, that's the final nail... he effectively murders his love, his chance at having something clean. And his desperation when he realizes this, only leads him to do something worse.

Going beyond emotional reactions, judge IALP on the nuts and bolts of cinema and you find genius. The quotable screenplay is one of the best ever written, both layered, smart and biting. It branches away from the novel's serial killer story, and adds the element of exposé on the nature of studios, celebrity, and such – and in doing so becomes much more profound. I also think it's Ray at his directorial peak. And the photography, architecture... the rich performances that are both volatile and sensitive... the film's very existence, its brilliance, counters the pictures thematic cynicism and shows us that our hopes are not in vain. Hollywood is able to produce elevated works of art... even if it can't spare these characters from their own personal hell's.

5

Additional thoughts
I believe it was a wise directorial/screenwriting choice to shift perspectives partway, from Dix to Laurel - Grahame give an incredible performance, and it's all in the small details she throws in there. At first, cool and confident, but as it goes we watch her initial defense of Dix eaten away by doubt. She's heard the stories, seen him lash out, and though he's not smacked her around, there's aggressiveness in the way he speaks to her, in the way he touches her, and she notices that - you can see it in her acting.

102824

It's interesting how the studio didn't want to make a film about a serial killer (who, in the outstanding Dorothy B. Hughes novel this is loosely based on, is also a rapist, so yeah, a hard sell for Hollywood), but what they got instead wasn't exactly cheery - funny that some old schoolers, like L.B. Mayer, disliked how Wilder took the gloss off the dream factory with Sunset Boulevard, but IALP was just as scathing - the studio system lay exposed in 1950, and you could say All About Eve did the same to Broadway.

How does it rank among 1950 releases?
Very well, it's one of my big 5 - 5 features with 5-star grades - joining it are Sunset Boulevard, Rashomon, Los Olvidados, and All About Eve.

102825
Love the lighting in this scene, it doesn't just highlight the eyes, but surrounds the face, so you can see the turned down lips, slack, hanging cigarette and a look of shock, even a little madness(?) on Bogart's expressive features.

Loved In a Lonely Place…Gloria Grahame owned that movie 🎦

[Captain Quint]

Murder, My Sweet
Directed by Edward Dmytryk - Crime, Mystery, Drama, Noir - 95 minutes - 1944
4.5

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1944 offered up plenty of treasures for fans of Noir. There was Laura, Woman in the Window, Phantom Lady - and of course, everyone's favorite, Double Indemnity… though I’m more partial to Murder. “Murder, My Sweet” that is. Adapted from the Raymond Chandler novel, Farewell, My Lovely, it sees private eye Philip Marlowe embroiled in two cases; one, a missing person, the other, involving a murdered client, and both just might be the death of him.

This was part of Dick Powell’s successful image change. Known previously for light comedic musicals - and looking very much like a character out of a Dr. Seuss book, what with that button nose, thin upper lip and cartoonish smile. You wouldn’t think he could pull off the tough guy act. But he did, wonderfully. And he delivers Chandler’s colorful dialogue like it was written specifically for him. Sure, Bogart outclassed him as a hard ass, but Powell was the better smart ass.

Along with our charismatic star, the well-cast picture includes Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley, who provide the glamour, while Otto Kruger and Mike Mazurki bring the menace.

Director Edward Dmytryk helms a good-looking picture, shot by Harry J. Wild, with Toland-inspired depth of field and low angle shots, nice use of shadows too. Its most notable moment is the expressionistic ‘coked up’ nightmare sequence - though the film as a whole has an off-kilter, druggy, dreamy vibe to it, beginning with Moose Malloy’s startling first appearance. He’s seen as an oversized reflection on Marlowe’s window - where his looming figure appears and disappears like a ghost. In addition, there’s the black-out effect whenever Philip slips into unconsciousness.

Character-wise we’re offered these interesting off-handed details: Marlowe sniffs - he sniffs a drink before partaking of it, he sniffs a couple of cigs, which he tosses away, before reaching into his coat to pull out his own brand (did those other smokes have an odd smell, were they marijuana?) Marlowe striking a match on Cupid's backside, to which he gives a few quick glances. Not the whole statue, just the butt interests him, I don’t know why. Or the bit when he steals the old woman’s whisky bottle; again, why (to give her a night off the booze, or to give him something to drink later). None of this adds to the overall plot but are simply curious personality grace notes.

It should go without saying that Marlowe’s twin cases, which quickly intermingle, are a kick to follow -- so there you are, it checks off all the Noir boxes. The style, the story, and hard-boiled language, the first-person perspective, the femme fatale. You can’t go wrong with this one if you’re in the mood for a night of murder and mystery.

[Captain Quint]

The Lady from Constantinople
Directed by Judit Elek - Drama - 73 minutes - 1969
4

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This largely plotless slice of direct cinema is a portrait of loneliness -which is found even in crowded spaces- and a mournful look at an older woman who is slipping further into irrelevancy. A dire Hungarian housing situation acts as the backdrop, with overcrowding so severe they are forced to conduct funerals on the rooftops.

Manyi Kiss is memorable as the old woman with the warm smile, still feisty, and caring and desperate to connect - surrounded by her memories in an apartment she's talked out of leaving - which at least allows her to be momentarily caught up in this whirlwind of eccentric characters. But she's also fading and melancholic, there's a deep sadness in her eyes, and when the flurry of activity ends, she's alone, downsized and unwanted again.

Packs a poignant punch in its short runtime - Premiered out of competition at Cannes.

[Captain Quint]

Memories of 1975
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In 1975 Rod Serling passed away and Kate Winslet was born

In '75 I was reading Stephen King's Salems' Lot and James Clavell's Shōgun

On TV I watched Tom Snyder interview John Lennon - All in the Family, Maude, M*A*S*H and Sanford and Son were weekly watches - Saturday Night Live made its debut, I was a night owl and was channel surfing when I happened upon George Carlin. "I like George Carlin", I thought, "I'll watch this" and it became my regular Saturday night thing. Also debuting, The New Original Wonder Woman, which aired as a pilot for an upcoming series.

In sports there was the Thrilla in Manila, Ali vs Frazier

In music, I was digging Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and Nazareth's Hair of the Dog - The Tubes released their first album - and I really like Janis Ian's single, At Seventeen.

But the biggest thing in rock and roll was Alice Cooper's first solo outing, Welcome to My Nightmare. I was mad for the album and the TV special that went with it. Only Women Bleed was a hit, and my father refused to believe it was him when it played on the radio, "No, seriously?" My Alice year started on January 13th, 1975, when Coop performed Unfinished Sweet on the first episode of the Smothers Brothers Show.

And in film the summer blockbuster was born, in the form of my first favorite movie, Jaws. I adored this thing, loved the characters, and interestingly I came to adore sharks, I was fascinated with them, studied up on them, I think I wanted to become Hooper when I grew up, lol. It's probably my most watched movie and was the first I saw in theaters more than once; I saw it again when it made a return decades later, and I'll be there if/when it receives a 50th anniversary showing.

Along with that, here are my 10 favorite features from 1975 (Note - Satyajit Ray's The Middleman didn't have theatrical release until 1976)

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1) The Traveling Players - Theo Angelopoulos
Greek history, politics and theater merge as one, interesting to watch time blend, for example the revelers who become protesters as they seamlessly walk from one era to another.

2) Mirror - Andrei Tarkovsky
This non-linear, autobiographical drama is cinema in its purist most perfect form. It has similarities to my #1, as there is a juxtaposition of Soviet history with daily life, and like most from the director, is philosophic and a wonder to look at.

3) Jaws - Steven Spielberg
The summer blockbuster is born - a brilliantly crafted adventure, with a host of colorful characters, and a terrifying force of nature

4) Love and Death - Woody Allen
Back when Woody was second to none in building a gag - this is wildly hilarious, silly as heck, with a helping of intellectualism thrown in, in this satire of classic Russian literature.

5) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Miloš Forman
Jack finally wins his Oscar, in this clash between the anti-establishment and the establishment. (and apparently there was a clash between star and director, with Nicholson refusing to speak to Forman - out of this discord, a masterpiece)

6) Picnic at Hanging Rock - Peter Weir
The director's finest work IMHO - atmospheric, mysterious, appropriately ambiguous.

7) Barry Lyndon - Stanley Kubrick
Bored me as a teenager, but as a grown-up it held me under its spell. Incredibly detailed, from the costuming to the set design, incredibly shot, from the candlelit interiors to the picture postcard outdoor scenes. The story and characters are compelling - The hours (all 3 of them) melted away with ease.

8) Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles - Chantal Akerman
Yes, it finally clicked, after years of fighting with it, and with a little help from my movie friends, I finally found an in with this challenging but brilliantly realized movie. The reason I put the spotlight on 1975 was to celebrate this joining my 10.

9) Fear of Fear - Rainer Werner Fassbinder
A somewhat underappreciated jewel in Fassbinder's crown. The director treads on Bergman territory in this unsettling look at mental illness. The watery distortions, and the looming figure of Mr. Bauer... who pops up, seemingly from out of nowhere, leave an impression. Camera work and performances are aces. Great story, but frustrating when people either exploit or exacerbate the situation. (Margot's a-hole sister seems to feed off her misery)

10) Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees - Masahiro Shinoda
This underrated gem is about a henpecked mountain man and the woman he kidnaps... who's crazier, smarter, eviler and holds all the power. Trees is a twisted look at relationship dynamics. Only instead of flowers, clothes or jewels, what this lady wants from her hubby is a collection of heads she can play with

After that...

Dersu Uzala (Akira Kurosawa)
Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones)
Fox and His Friends & Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven (2 more from Fassbinder)
Other People’s Letters (Ilya Averbakh)

The Passenger, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, Nashville, Welfare, The Magic Flute, The Man Who Would be King, Seven Beauties, The Battle of Chile, Woodpeckers Don’t Get Headaches, Manila in the Claws of Light, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, Everybody Rides the Carousel, The Story of Adele H, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, End of the Holiday, Night Moves, The Valiant Ones from King Hu, and a couple of Charles Bronson goodies, Hard Times and Breakheart Pass

Oh, and I can't forget Super Inframan

https://youtu.be/6WaR3AIJBnM?si=wePLRIWKx3y3jOwk

[Captain Quint]

Let's talk about Ireland (and hmm, according to these pictures I selected, the Irish are always on the run)

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Just finished with Kneecap and loved it! What's funny is that I wasn't that interested in it going in, and didn't really want to watch it - I'm not into rap or hip-hop music, and the drug angle was a turn off for me; and yet, while all of that is present, what it really is about, and what moved me (especially having Irish blood coursing in my veins), was the fight to save the Irish language.

I know we can't go deep into politics here, but stories about one country trying to erase another countries culture and language, sets my blood to a boil. And one thing I love about the recent resurgence of Irish cinema, is the increased use of the language.

In 2024, "Kneecap" was selected as the Irish entry for the Academy Award for "Best International Feature Film" - it was not accepted (Oscar should have dropped that overrated turd, "Emilia Pérez" and gone with it instead) - Thankfully, in 2022, an Irish language film was accepted in that category, the first in Oscar's history, it was called The Quiet Girl.

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As the title indicated, this is a quiet, gentle film, heartfelt, without slipping into sappiness. It treads on familiar paths, but doesn't feel clichéd or tired, maybe because it's so sincere with its telling? I was fully invested with the characters, and this moment and place, where kindness and love flourish, to counter the cold, hard bitterness life can rain on a person or persons.

Beautiful movie, with an emotional closing scene that left me in tears, and I was overjoyed to see its well-deserved nomination.

Other recent Irish language movies on my watchlist include Fréwaka (2024), which is steeped in scary folklore, and Arracht (2019) about 'the blight', and Song of Granite (2017), which tells the life story of traditional Irish folk singer Joe Heaney.

Keep 'em coming, Ireland.

Oh, and speaking of music, I didn't even know Kneecap was a real group, but I actually enjoyed their stuff. I found it very catchy; it gets your blood pumping.

[Captain Quint]

Director Emilio Fernández
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"El Indio", as he was called, was a revolutionary, a prisoner, a boxer, a baker, an aviator and a diver, but most know him as an actor, screenwriter and director, one of the giants of Mexico's Golden Age in the 1940s and 1950s.

He is also rumored to be the model for the Oscar statuette.

Fernández is one of my favorites, and while his films can be difficult to find, here's a ranked list of 12 I've managed to track down.

1. Maria Candelaria (1944)
In my opinion this is Fernández's masterpiece. It won the Palme d'Or award at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival and features the work from a dream team - actors Dolores del Río, Pedro Armendáriz, and cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.

2. Enamorada (1946)
This time the actress is Maria Felix, who plays the beautiful and wild Beatriz Peñafiel, who steals the heart of a revolutionary General

3. Bugambilia (1945)
The spirited Del Rio (and her squeaky shoes) is the leading lady in this tragic romance. It seems I like this a little more than the average viewer.

4. Maclovia (1948)
There's nothing quite like melodrama from Mexico, it often works better than some of the overly polished romances you'd get out of Hollywood, IMHO Mexico was more earnest... I felt that with these forbidden lovers, Indians, who have to deal with a racist military sergeant, as well as an unyielding father, who won't even allow them to look at one another (I love the scene where Pedro Armendáriz catches a glimpse of Maria Felix's shadow, not even her father can defy the sun)

5. Pueblerina (1949)
A man wrongly sent to prison returns home to his lady love, who was raped and gave birth to a son. The town is under the thumb of 2 brothers, both rotten to the core, who make life miserable for the couple. A lengthy piece, with a lot of music - the charismatic cast is led by Columba Domínguez and Roberto Cañedo.

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6. Victims of Sin (1951)
My first from the 50s is a recent Criterion release. As previously stated, nobody did melodrama like Mexico during its golden age. And arguably, nobody directed them as well as Emilio Fernández, who also co-stars as one mean, vain, asshat, who sets this tale in motion.

Cuban born Ninón Sevilla is the driving force behind the picture, playing a dancer who rescues an abandoned infant - she's a star through and through.

The talent gathered here is impressive - I was quite taken with the editing during Ninón's opening dance; it was very modern, with quick cutting, and multiple angles. I looked to see who did the work, it was Gloria Schoemann, who edited over 200 movies in her lifetime, many of them the finest in Mexican cinema. The great Gabriel Figueroa shot the film, the superb 4K restoration really shows off his work, all the smoke and shadows, and his compositions.

The story is slight, its run time filled out with a lot of musical numbers (as you'd expect for a cabaretera film), but heartfelt and dramatic, with sensuality and the stench of crime woven throughout.

7. Flor Silvestre (aka Wild Flower, 1943)
His third directorial effort, the first with Del Rio, who he wasn't very nice too (he could really push his actors, but at least he owned up to this and promised to be kinder if she would agree to return for Maria Candelaria). It's been a while since I saw the movie, but I did like the title song from brothers José and Miguel Angel Díaz Castilla.

8. Salon Mexico (1949)
Class divisions, victimization and sacrifices are had in this heartbreaker.

9. Rebellion of the Hanged (1954)
Fernández at his most overtly political - its setting is pre-revolutionary and addresses the exploitation of indigenous people. Watching this mistreatment is angering, as you wait for the cathartic release of some kind of justice.

10. The Pearl (1947)
While it's not my favorite from Emilio, it was a considered an important work, one of his most respected. And it's a gorgeously shot film, featuring some of Figueroa's finest work.

And rounding out the 12... Río escondido (1948), which I gave 3-stars too, and The Torch (1950), A dreadful remake of Enamorada with Paulette Goddard a poor fit in the lead.

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Born: March 26, 1904 - Died: August 6, 1986 (aged 82)

[Wyldesyde19]

I’ve seen Rebellion of the Hanged and enjoyed that one. Need to see the rest yet.

[Captain Quint]

His work is so difficult to find, especially with English subs. I hope "Victims of Sin" being added to the Criterion Collection opens the door for more. Either there, or with another boutique distributor.

Aside from his feature debut (Passion Island), these are the movies high on my watchlist
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The Abandoned (1945 - Las abandonadas)
La malquerida (1949)
One Day of Life (1950 - Un día de vida)
The Net (1953 - La Red)
Reportaje (1953)
Una cita de amor (1958) - with Silvia Pinal

[Captain Quint]

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Oscar is coming and I'm really behind on the viewing front, I've only seen all the animation nominees (features and shorts), but I'll get to them eventually. Over the years I made it point to watch all the nominees for Picture, Director and the Acting categories - I also started digging into the international film nominees, but still have some ways to go, so let's just focus on the former.

Now, I'll never complete this, there are lost films, and films that are stored somewhere but not made available to the public at large. But here are the final 20 left to see...

1st Academy Awards
The Way of All Flesh (1927)
Emil Jannings (lead actor) - A lost film - I've only seen the surviving snippets

Sorrell and Son (1927)
Herbert Brenon (director in drama category) - A partially restored print is held at the Academy Film Archive.

2nd Academy Awards
The Patriot (1928)
Best picture - no complete or near complete version exists - I've only seen the trailer

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Drag (1929)
Frank Lloyd (direction) - recently rediscovered, it's in a film archive somewhere

The Barker (1928)
Betty Compston (lead actress) - only way to see it is to journey to the UCLA Film and TV Archive

3rd - The Green Goddess (1930)
George Arliss (lead actor) - most of these movies aren't considered all that wonderful, you're just here for the performances, but I've read that Arliss, playing a randy Raja, hams it up.

This is a remake of a longer, silent picture that also stars Arliss.

28th - Trial (1955)
Arthur Kennedy (support)

29th - The Bold and the Brave (1956)
Mickey Rooney (support)

41st - Star! (1968)
Daniel Massey (support)

54th - Only When I Laugh (1981)
Marsha Mason (lead), James Coco & Joan Hackett (supp) - that's a lot of acting noms, I guess I should get cracking and track this down.

56th - Reuben, Reuben (1983)
Tom Conti (lead actor)

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60th Academy Awards
Gaby: A True Story (1987)
Norma Aleandro (supp actress)

Anna (1987)
Anna Kirkland (lead actress) - never thought much of Kirkland's acting, and I remember the trailer did nothing for me... so I keep putting this off.

63rd - Longtime Companion (1989)
Bruce Davison (support)

69th - Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
James Woods (support)

71st Academy Awards
One True Thing (1998)
Streep (actress) - I didn't even know this existed, watched the trailer, nope, nothing, no memory of ever hearing about this one, and I even watched the Oscars that year, remember Paltrow picking up the award.

Primary Colors (1998)
Kathy Bates (support) - Kathy's always worth a watch

78th - Hustle & Flow (2005)
Terrance Howard (actor)

82nd - Nine (2009)
Penelope Cruze (support) - It's at Tubi and Prime, so I can check this off the list anytime

88th - The Danish Girl (2015)
Redmayne (actor), Vikander (supp) - I dislike Redmayne, so I've been in no hurry to watch it, but I guess I should do so if only for Vikander, who won in support.

[Wyldesyde19]

I’ve also been going through every Oscar nominated film ever in all categories, but no where near as thorough as you. I have made significant headway into them, especially cinematography, director, and best picture categories, but still so much to go

[Captain Quint]

That's cool, it certainly gives a film buff something to seek out and focus on (like cinematography).

I really went after it when I started alt-Oscar blogging back in 2011 (research stage). That's what expanded and increased my viewing habits.

I finished up with their best pictures back in 2020, a lot of the actors came along with that. I also started going through awards from other countries, Canada, Japan, France, etc, just looking for new candidates on years where I was thin on nominees (Canada was a great resource for actors, but so few have been restored or released on disc... you can find the movies on YouTube and elsewhere, but they are sourced from VHS or televised showings and don't look real hot -- and this is just going back to the 80s, so not super old movies either).

I find it kind of funny when people say they are running out of things to watch, while I'm drowning in watchlists and overloaded ques, and bookmarks filled with movies, all while hunting down nominees from Oscars, etc.

[Wyldesyde19]

Yeah, I started the best pictures viewing back in 2005, but it sorted of tapered off around 2014 and I veered more into foreign films. Like you, I started looking up the awards from other countries, especially Asian countries (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China) and of course Europe (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Russia, The Nordic Countries). I even dabbled a bit in Australia, Canada, and Mexico.

Still so much to see, so I can’t conceive of anyone ever running out of films to watch.

[Wyldesyde19]

I should also mention I’ve recently started digging into the short categories (this includes documentaries, animated and live action) and have made some decent progress.

Having Hulu gives me access to a lot of the Disney films that had ever been nominated. Especially animated and documentaries. Short or feature length.
Thai will take me down time to go through of course, haha.

[Captain Quint]

A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
Directed by Martin Scorsese & Michael Henry Wilson - Documentary - 225 minutes - 1995
4

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There have been lengthier and more extensive looks at film history and the evolution of cinema as an art form, so if you're an experienced filmmaker or a student of film as a theorist, historian or as one who loves examining the language of cinema, this won't tell you anything new, but by personalizing it - seeing and hearing Martin's enthusiasm for the medium - that's what makes this 3-part BBC miniseries well worth a watch. In addition, if you'd like to take an introductory film studies class, but don't have the means, this is an excellent alternative - you couldn't ask for a better, more erudite teacher than Scorsese.

Centered on American productions, Martin shares personal stories and shows clips that clarify the points he's making about sound, visuals and other techniques - as well as styles, ideologies and philosophies. You get archival footage with the directors themselves who offer their perspectives. Plus, it's well organized, so you won't get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of info.

As an old timer, I didn't discover anything I wasn't already familiar with, but I was enthralled by it nonetheless, the presentation and the passion, just hearing the director talk about the movies he loves as much as I do, is a joy. And I would recommend it to any neophyte or casual viewer looking to deepen their film knowledge - though it does spoil some plot points and finishes.

It also ends too abruptly, with so much left to say.

[Captain Quint]

The Girl and the Echo
Directed by Arūnas Žebriūnas - Family Drama - 67 minutes - 1964
4

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Gorgeously shot rock formations and seascapes, coupled to sound design that contributes to the texture of the film, enhance a story of a girl at the end of summer vacation, and the boy who betrays her due to peer pressure. Restrained, and with sensitive insight, the movie captures the innocence of this age... and the immaturity (boys, even this young, come off aggressive and intimidating).

The moments that give the movie its title are beautiful, joyous, and magical (at one point the echoes provide an answer to a question the girl asks). It's also poignant that the boy loses the echos after hurting his friend.

Arūnas Žebriūnas is an underseen director for most westerners, but his classic "The Beautiful Girl" is considered a Lithuanian treasure, and this production -another about kids being kids- is equally as good.

Young Lina Braknyte as Vika, the girl, didn't last long in the business, I read that she later went to school to learn the craft of cinematography but was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, she's memorable here, bright, natural, and real. All told, the direction, camera, sound and performances, work in concert quite nicely. It's a lovely little film.

[Captain Quint]

La Red
Directed by Emilio Fernández - Drama, Romance, Crime - 80 minutes - 1953
4.5

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A woman named Rossana, and two men, first Antonio and later, José Luis (both on the run from the law) take shelter at a remote beach. There's sexual tension of course - shirtless or barely concealed bodies, and steamy, penetrating closeups - the atmosphere is dreamlike, with very little dialog, and what story there is, could fit on a post it note.

There's also so much visual splendor -moody skies, sand and rocks and crashing waves- that it seems as much cinematographer Alex Phillips' film as it does Fernández's.

While there's a current of threat or danger, and the faces of the townsfolk who lust after Rossana when she comes for supplies, is disturbing - at times, the quiet lulls you into a false sense of security, it could almost feel like paradise here, until jealousy boils over into violence, first against the woman, which made me loathe Antonio more than I already did. And suddenly, what was sedate, reaches a state of heightened, pulse racing emotion.

It's a unique piece, like nothing I'd ever seen from the director, and while there are off key moments -one of them is shot in the chest, yet he's quick to recover, and left without a scratch- I found "La Red" every bit the equal to Emilio's brilliant "Maria Candelaria".


Postscript - though I wonder if the off-key moments are intentional, it does feel dream-like, a trance, with repetitions in routine and glances. A sense of unreality bleeding in through reality could be just what the filmmakers wanted.

The film also goes by the titles, "The Net", and "Rossana".

[Captain Quint]

No Name on the Bullet
Directed by Jack Arnold - Western - 77 minutes - 1959
4

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I love psychological westerns (Anthony Mann being the king of that in the 50s). And while Bullet probably spends too much time talking about it (the psychology), explaining the mind-set of its main character, it's still damn good. Very intense.

Audie Murphy stars as John Gant, a well-known hired killer, who rides into a small town. And without a declaration of intent or a draw of his gun, causes the people to lose their heads. Guilt and paranoia eat away at them. They start suspecting one another, turning on one another... turning on themselves (who is he after, him, me?) It's quite the thing, magnificently orchestrated, to see these folks come undone, without much urging from Gant.

Murphy's diminutive with boyish features. So, he has to work harder than a Lee Van Cleef or Jack Palance to be intimidating. But he gets the job done here, not with a mean scowl, but a cold smile, and a cynical world view.

I also enjoyed the rapport he had with the town doctor; how they contrast one another (Gant is truly like a disease that's entered the body). They are kind of becoming friends, though the gunfighter can't quite bring himself to refer to him by his given name - just calls him 'physician', and that's all kinds of cool too.

Directed by Jack Arnold, one of the leading figures of 50s sci-fi, with hits like Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the classic, The Incredible Shrinking Man. Of the handful of westerns he filmed, this was by far my favorite.
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Bonus Material: Lists! Compiled here in various categories

The Best of the "Old" West (https://www.movieforums.com/lists/custom/492)

Favorite "Contemporary" Westerns (https://www.movieforums.com/lists/custom/495)

Western Dibs & Dabs (https://www.movieforums.com/lists/custom/522)

[gbgoodies]

No Name on the Bullet
Directed by Jack Arnold - Western - 77 minutes - 1959
4

105580

I love psychological westerns (Anthony Mann being the king of that in the 50s). And while Bullet probably spends too much time talking about it (the psychology), explaining the mind-set of its main character, it's still damn good. Very intense.

Audie Murphy stars as John Gant, a well-known hired killer, who rides into a small town. And without a declaration of intent or a draw of his gun, causes the people to lose their heads. Guilt and paranoia eat away at them. They start suspecting one another, turning on one another... turning on themselves (who is he after, him, me?) It's quite the thing, magnificently orchestrated, to see these folks come undone, without much urging from Gant.

Murphy's diminutive with boyish features. So, he has to work harder than a Lee Van Cleef or Jack Palance to be intimidating. But he gets the job done here, not with a mean scowl, but a cold smile, and a cynical world view.

I also enjoyed the rapport he had with the town doctor; how they contrast one another (Gant is truly like a disease that's entered the body). They are kind of becoming friends, though the gunfighter can't quite bring himself to refer to him by his given name - just calls him 'physician', and that's all kinds of cool too.

Directed by Jack Arnold, one of the leading figures of 50s sci-fi, with hits like Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the classic, The Incredible Shrinking Man. Of the handful of westerns he filmed, this was by far my favorite.
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I watched several of Audie Murphy's movies for the Westerns Countdown, and No Name on the Bullet was easily my favorite of his movies. It was #3 on my list.

[Captain Quint]

Bong Joon-ho - A Retrospective

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As I ready myself to see his most recent feature in a few hours (Mickey 17) I thought it would be a good time to look over his career in pictures.

One of my favorites of the new guard, the South Korean filmmaker's work -as wiki states- is "characterized by emphasis on social and class themes, genre-mixing, dark comedy, and sudden tone shifts", or what I call, the Joon-ho swerve, and I'll speak to that as I dig into each picture.

My first, like many in the States, was The Host, and I was immediately smitten, if a little knocked off my heels (it's the swerve). After that I sought out his other productions, each a winner in their own right. His peak moment was in 2019 with Parasite, and all those awards and accolades. That year's Oscars is still one of the best I've ever watched. It was upbeat, fun, the audience was enthused and fell love with the director, who charmed everyone who watched. And he seemed to be having a grand time (playfully having his Oscar's kiss as he posed for photographers). It was also historical - Parasite was the first South Korean film to be nominated for an Oscar, the first to win, and the first international picture winner to win overall Best Picture as well.

So, in no particular order, on to Bong!

[Captain Quint]

Mother
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Crime, Mystery - 129 minutes - R - 2009
4.5

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Summary: When her mentally challenged son is accused of murder, a mother sets out to find the real culprit.

Mother was a movie that I originally had ranked near the bottom of the director's filmography, mostly because it made me uncomfortable when I first saw it. It’s not a graphically sick flick, so maybe it was the implied incest that popped up from time to time. Or maybe it was just something tonally that set me off-balance. Like being on a ship in a storm and feeling seasick. That was Mother.

Mysteries are rarely as strong on a second viewing—familiarity defeats surprise and allows you to untwist any twists and turns in the plot. However, like most of Joon-ho’s features, this was even better on a second go-through, based on cinematic and storytelling merits. There are layers here, things that took on a deeper meaning for me (mother's visit to the prison, for example).

As is characteristic of the director’s work, he adroitly blends comedy with tragedy and takes shots at bureaucratic bumbling and insensitivity. (You’d think he was being unfair in that area, but much like Bunuel (The Milky Way) or Gilliam (Brazil), Bong draws from real life. Ripped from the headlines -or the history books- if you will.)

The clever script (co-written with Park Eun-kyo) is filled with tension and unexpected wrinkles in the plot, and there's a fascinating role reversal in the mother/son relationship at the end.

And of course it’s unconventional. Mother dancing in the field as an acoustic guitar plays, or a lawyer speaking through a karaoke mic during a meeting with his client, are Lynchian in their weirdness, and adds an off-kilter texture to a film that plays with genre tropes but never feels stale.

Interestingly this offbeat vibe isn't reflected in the look of the picture. Cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo doesn't get too tricky with the camera, with a heavy dose of Dutch angles and the like, though there are some interesting shots—Mother feeding a soup to her son as he urinates (we see fluid go in one end, as liquid leaks out into the street at the other)—for the most part, it's pretty straightforward in this area,

Wrapping up - when I reach for something from the filmmaker, I’m more inclined to go for Memories of Murder, Parasite, or the Host. But this unsettling ode to a mother’s unconditional love is nonetheless a top-notch showcase for Joon-Ho and his talented crew.

Personal Awards: Best Actress: Kim Hye-ja - it was also among the nominees for Best Picture.

[Captain Quint]

Memories of Murder
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Crime, Mystery, Thriller - 131 minutes - 2003
5

105895

Based on a true case of the first recorded serial killer in Korea’s history. The film opens with some black humor, as we follow two cops who brutalize suspects and bumble around looking for a scapegoat. A detective from Seoul joins the team, he’s whip-smart and starts to piece together important clues. What’s interesting with these characters is watching how the murders transform our primary protagonists: The bad cop starts to wise up and do his job, while the good cop becomes hardened and bitter.

Bong builds drama and psychological suspense with each frame and weaves in political turmoil present at the time. The film looks great – the director and cinematographer’s eye for composition is without peer. And the dynamic Song Kang-ho is wonderful as ever - his final scene is haunting / chilling.

In analyzing Joon-ho's themes and motifs, critic Adam Nayman called his work ruthless but not mean spirited and noted (with SPOILERS on the Host and Parasite)

Failure is a major theme in Bong’s work, dating back to the futile police investigation at the center of his 2003 breakthrough, Memories of Murder, a period piece about an unseen serial killer who doesn’t just evade his pursuers but the viewer, as well. Bong doesn’t mock failure; he sees it as essential to the human condition. His characters are lovable losers whose victories, when they occur, tend to be Pyrrhic or provisional. Think of the climax of The Host, where a father loses his daughter only to adopt a son, or the coda of Parasite, which transforms a man’s desire for upward mobility into a tableau of imprisonment. His movies are satisfyingly unsatisfying.

The interesting thing here, is that eventually, in real life, they solved the case. They caught the guy (I'm curious but never heard if there was a correlating character in the movie). I wonder if Bong would have made the movie had it been solved? Was the unknown, the failure, part of what drew him to the project?

Personal Awards? There's no way in hades anything or anyone is bumping my treasured Lost in Translation, or Bill Murray (Best Actor) off their pedestals, but Memories was nominated (along with another South Korean picture, Oldboy) as was actor Song Kang-ho.

Note: The film was given no rating in US showings, in its country of origin, it received a 15 (for audiences 15-years or older)

[Captain Quint]

The Host
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi - 120 minutes - R - 2006
5

105921

My first from the director, and I have to admit I wasn't fully prepared. The film generated a lot of buzz, but I think I was expecting a straightforward monster movie, and not the work from a unique and unpredictable cinematic mastermind. Once I got familiar with Joon-ho and came to appreciate his skill at putting a fresh, unexpected spin on familiar genres. I gave the picture another try... and was enthralled.

It's an intelligent creature feature, that offered great scares, laughter and some genuinely tearful moments. It also bitch slaps the political landscape (and doesn't cast the US government in a good light). It packs a lot into its story but doesn't come off unwieldy or unfocused.

There's always a great sense of space and place in a Joon-ho picture, of precise movement not only on the primary action, but in the peripherals - he's a master of misdirection, world building, and creating fully fleshed out losers, who toil and fight on and maybe, just maybe manage to get it right at the end (but at a cost). In addition, within this whirlwind of bureaucratic idiocies and creature attacks and kidnappings, there's a portrait of family, illustrated so memorably in a sequence where a ghost, a memory is fed and cared for during a meal.

This was a film I liked on a first viewing, but with each watch, it grew and grew in my estimation, I now consider it one of the best of the genre, and some of the director's finest work overall. (a personal Best Picture nominee to boot).

Trivia: Another example of Bong drawing from real life: From IMDB - In February 2000 at a U.S. Military facility located in the center of Seoul, a U.S. Military civilian employee named Mr. McFarland was ordered to dispose of formaldehyde by dumping it into the sewer system that led to the Han River, despite the objection of a South Korean subordinate. The government attempted to prosecute Mr. McFarland in court, but the U.S. Military refused to hand over the custody of Mr. McFarland to the South Korean legal system. Later, a South Korean judge convicted Mr. McFarland in absentia. The public was enraged at the government's inability to enforce its law on its own soil. In 2005, nearly five years after the original incident, Mr. McFarland was finally found guilty in a court in his presence. However, he never served the prison sentence, and there have been no sightings of a mutant creature in the Han River - yet.

[Wyldesyde19]

I was always luke warm in regards to The Host. For me, it’s always goinnf to be Parasite as his crowning achievement so far.

[Captain Quint]

Barking Dogs Never Bite
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Crime, Comedy - 110 minutes - Not rated - 2000
4

105952

The main plot point concerns a guy who is at the end of his rope over an incessantly yapping pooch that lives somewhere in his apartment complex. He gets rid of the offender, only to discover he got the wrong dog.

I remember Blockbuster’s review page being crammed with people outraged over this movie (and yet they remain silent when humans are graphically slaughtered by the boatloads in other flicks?) Yeah, dogs die, but that’s not all there is to the story (and the death count is small and not overly bloody). BDNB is a wicked black comedy -Lord did I laugh my arse off- but it’s also deeply humanistic. We witness the consequence of the man’s actions; the anguish on the pet owner's faces was genuinely heartbreaking. There’s also a dash of social/political satire thrown in as well.

This is the first big-screen feature from Joon-ho and the piece bears his strengths from the get-go. including the well-rounded characters and winning performances (actress Doo-na Bae, in particular, is endearing). It's not as polished, and more small scale... think of it as lo-fi Bong. And sure, the movie should probably come with a trigger warning - I'm not completely insensitive to this, as a cat lover I hate the idea of seeing them hurt - I get it, but judging the movie as a movie, I thought it worked and set the table nicely for greater things to come.

[Captain Quint]

Snowpiercer
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Sci-Fi, Action - 127 minutes - R - 2013
4.5

105956

I saw this in our little art-house theater, and it was freaking amazing. Bong Joon-ho makes his English language début and it's another feather in his cap. The story is set at a time when mankind screwed up trying to reverse global warming and instead turned the world into a frozen wasteland. The only survivors are stuck aboard a train going nowhere.

A Bong trademark is to expose the absurdity of bureaucracies, those in authority. Metaphors are prevalent throughout the picture: The train is the world, the engine is God, the passenger’s society. Everyone has a role, a place on the train that goes in circles for perpetuity. In the back are the poor, who are staging a revolt and are trying to make their way to the engine... the seat of power.

It’s a weird, wild journey: Surreal, funny, scary, heartbreaking… maybe hopeful (though that will come with further hardship). It takes some surprising turns, which given the nature of this train world/society, aren’t really surprising at all.

[Captain Quint]

Parasite
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Comedy, Thriller, Drama - 133 minutes - R - 2019
5

105959

Parasite is a devastating social parable... one that features the Joon-ho swerve in full force (often his movies zig, when I'm expecting a zag).

The South Korean maestro opens his film as a bright comedic satire about a lower-class family, who worm their way into jobs for a rich couple - then, at the halfway point, he executes a sharp pivot that plunges the viewer into darkness. The morality tale about the costs of climbing the ladder turns savage, themes of class division, capitalism, inequality, and empathy (or lack thereof) for the suffering of others, become soaked in blood and violence. And just who are the parasites? That is called into question by the end, as everybody's using someone, in some way.

Few directors could manage a tonal swerve of that magnitude, and only a madman or a genius would even attempt it. Saying that, it's important to restate that while unconventional, Bong Joon-ho is extremely focused, precise, and in command. There's not a hair out of place in this film, it all works to perfection, from the technique to characterization and story, which acts as a damning commentary on social and economic issues (and perhaps shines a light on the plight of the fallen middle-class in South Korea, as this FP.com (https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/21/korea-bong-oscars-parasite-hidden-backstory-middle-class-chicken-bong-joon-ho/) article suggests).

Oscar and I agree, Parasite, and its maker, deserved every accolade and award it, and he received this year.

[Captain Quint]

And wrapping this up...

105960

Okja (2017) and Mickey 17 (2025)
You hear the term 'jump the shark' for TV shows that have lost their mojo, and that can apply to writers, musicians and directors, sometimes the creative spirit dries up, or the bloom comes off the rose, maybe something else comes into play - for example, I prefer Pan's Labyrinth and Devil's Backbone del Toro to the goofy, big kid del Toro of Hellboy 2 & Pacific Rim. Bong was invincible to me until Okja - I got this sinking feeling during the opening act, where it was just daffy. Thankfully it turns dark and serious half-way through, found focus and righted itself. While uneven, and not my favorite movie from Joon-ho, I eventually bought into it. It wound up a good flick overall.

Then came Parasite -phew- okay, he's still a force, some years later and I'm back to, "Uh oh"

105961

Mickey 17 - he's done this before and he's done it better, there's a dash of Okja, a slice of Snowpiercer, and while Bong has never been subtle there's a difference between natural momentum and a hard push in the back. You can't really complain that there are broad brush strokes or cartoonish characters because he's done that before (Tilda in Snowpiercer), but he's a bit heavier handed here, a little clumsier with the telling. Pattinson is very good throughout, the big budget is all there on the screen, and it opens well, but after that it ebbs and flows, and the Joon-ho swerve is nowhere to be found, so while it's off its nut, it's somehow more conventional because he sticks to the straight line.

There's hope a second viewing could help, but for the here and now, Mickey's sitting in the cellar. I do hope that this isn't signaling a downward slide, that he's going to repeat himself with diminishing returns from here on out.

Okja - 4
Mickey 17 - 3 or 3.5

Feature Film Rankings
1. Memories of Murder
2. Parasite
3. The Host
4. Mother
5. Snowpiercer
6. Barking Dogs Never Bite
7. Okja
8. Mickey 17

There's also a collection of shorts, I've seen a handful. His piece in the anthology, Tokyo! (2008) was the standout of the group, and White Man (1998) which anticipates Parasite, were the best of the 4. Incoherence (1994) is a short satire in 4-parts., Joon-ho's graduation film from the Korean Academy of Film Arts is a basic, low hanging fruit, type of thing. And Influenza (2004) is what happens when Bong does get mean spirited - the 30 min piece was too dark, too cruel, and not for me.

[SpelingError]

Nice reviews!

I'm debating on whether I should see Mickey 17 or not. From what I've read, it's generally considered to be among his weaker films.

[Captain Quint]

Thanks.

Funny to think that my most anticipated movies early last year were Nosferatu and Mickey 17, and neither lived up to expectations. I saw someone use the word 'histrionic' here or at LB to describe Nosferatu, and that fits. Near the final act I just wanted to get up and leave. Mickey never reaches that low, I was fine watching it to the finish, but there were bits and pieces that just didn't work for me. Redundancy is baked into the story, but even then, that quality became wearisome.

I will give it another go with a library check-out. Maybe that'll smooth out the rough patches for me, or maybe it's a 3-ish-star movie, and that's that.

[Captain Quint]

So, while I was waiting for Black Bag to start, they showed a trailer for this...

https://youtu.be/tbW-pmLT5UU?si=nesfxVUri9ewf62N
Hooray!

And it's been 20 years? I saw it in the theaters back then, fell in love with it, own the disc, watched it -and the BBC miniseries version- several times. And I will be there for its return.

While I've read and enjoyed all of Austen's works, there are caveats - It would be fair to say that I'm a conflicted reader, not really a Janeite, probably more a Lizzie-ite? My love was founded on her character and her novel. I like that she's the one Austen heroine who isn't tamed or caged, etc - while she grows as a person, she's allowed to be her lively, independent (even in marriage), sharp tongued self to the very end.

All hail Elizabeth Bennet!

106096

Ranking the Pride and Prejudice Adaptations I've Seen
1. Pride and Prejudice (1995 miniseries) - Colin Firth, arguably the best Darcy

2. Pride & Prejudice (2005) - the top two are the supremes - to say that I adore them would be an understatement - this one features my favorite Lizzie, and my favorite performance from Keira Knightley

3. Pride and Prejudice (1967) - This version oddly eliminates the middle daughter, Mary - maybe they felt she was inconsequential and wouldn't be missed... but she was indeed missed. Not my favorite P&P, but not bad.

4. Pride and Prejudice (1980) - Elizabeth Garvie is a good Elizabeth, but David Rintoul plays Darcy as if he were a Vulcan. There's zero chemistry between the two, and while I've seen this version complimented for its faithfulness, that matters little when the telling is so dry.

5. Pride and Prejudice (1940) - Hollywoodized version lacks wit and nuance, and Mr. Darcy is too damned happy. I guess that's better than Vulcan Darcy, but come on, I need my brooding Darcy.

Modern Spins & Inspirations
Lost in Austen (2008) - A highly enjoyable fantasy adaptation
Bride & Prejudice (2004) - A Bollywood updating, 'eh
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) - A reinterpretation, not my thing, though it has its fans


BTW, what the heck has happened to Fathom Events Big Screen Classics? They showed the Goonies in Jan and then.... nothing. Google searches yielded zero info - is it over and done? Sad, if so.

[Captain Quint]

Happy St. Patrick's Day
Officially it's tomorrow, March 17th, but I've been movie celebrating through the weekend because I recently discovered the Irish Film Institutes website and have been watching the Oscar nominated Irish shorts they're hosting -- which includes The Shore, a piece that stars Ciarán Hinds and Kerry Condon. It won in the Best Live Action category, and while I only rated it 3-stars (a passing grade, mind you), it's got humor and heart, and heck - you can't go wrong watching the great Ciarán do his thing (a simple conversation between he and Condon, playing his daughter, was mesmerizing, and it's just them talking about the past)

You can check these out for yourself, here...

https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/oscars/#1643976297688-eda6569d-c0ed

I also caught the first Irish language sound film from 1935 - an 11 min piece with music and storytelling. It was considered lost and then found in 2013. It's called, A Night of Storytelling

https://youtu.be/Wu0EteAgnYc?si=NPtEVXe4gKhlI9jv

[Captain Quint]

A Date for Mad Mary
Directed by Darren Thornton - Romance, Comedy, Drama - 82 minutes - PG13 - 2016
4

106435

So, apparently 2025 is going to be my year of Irish cinema - First I discovered the IFI archive, and all the shorts there, and now MUBI is hosting a selection of films from the Emerald Isle. This was the first I watched, and it's about a young woman who returns home after a stint in prison, just in time to be the maid of honor at her best friend's wedding. The only problem for Mary, is finding a plus one to accompany her.

Though it doesn't break any new ground, it is a winning story, with characters worth spending time with, despite the protagonist's prickly personality. And yes, it's hard to watch someone whose first instinct is to lash out - to watch her self-destructive tendencies. Along with that, we see how everyone in her circle has moved on, while Mary's stuck in the past. But I came to root for her nonetheless because deep down, there's an insecurity in her, she's not as tough as she'd like everyone to think, and she's ashamed of the act that sent her to prison. So, you feel she's not irredeemable, just an immature mess.

There are several laughs, paired with the soul-searching drama - and the romance that develops between Mary and Jess, the wedding videographer, is sweet one - they're the type of couple you come to care about, and you're on pins and needles just knowing Mary's going to find a way screw this up too. Seána Kerslake and Tara Lee in those roles are terrific here, and I'm surprised neither actress has become big name stars.

The only iffy bits for me are with Mary and her best friend Charlene - I know Char's getting married and is wanting to start this new, adult phase in her life -and maybe 6-months is enough time to completely shift gears- but the two have so little chemistry, I had a hard time buying the tight bond they supposedly had.

But other than that, I enjoyed this look at this young person's struggles to get her life in order, her head straight, and move forward. I hope she gets there.

[Captain Quint]

Rashomon
Directed by Akira Kurosawa - Crime, Drama, Mystery - 88 minutes - 1950
5

106505

It’s a mystery. Who are these men seeking shelter from the storm in the ruins of a temple? Why are their brows furrowed in knots of despair? 2 of the men (a Priest and a wood cutter) were witnesses in a trial and tell the third their account hoping he can add some illumination. The story concerns a triangle of husband, wife and interloper. Within this triangle there’s a rape and a murder. During the course of the film the truth of what happened will be told from different perspectives. None of them match up. Was there a rape? Was it even murder?

Every synopsis you read will tell you that this is a film that examines the nature of truth. But for Kurosawa, he felt Rashomon was an exploration on the nature of reality. And in that light Rashomon takes on new meaning, though it never provides complete clarity. Truth? Few are intentionally lying; they all believe their side as it’s told. They’ve bent reality to fit the truth they (need to?) believe.

What I find fascinating is that these tales are being told by a character, filtered through their perceptions… but are being relayed through another character, who is filtering it through their perceptions… which is ultimately being interpreted by the director Kurosawa himself. The picture is a knot. The tangled woods themselves, the setting for this tragedy, add to this ambiguity. Our own eyes are often not allowed a clear view.

As we see their stories unfold, the actors shift from natural performance to theatrical poses and extreme over acting. It’s as if during the telling of their side of it, they (or the person relaying it) are embellishing the tale with melodramatic flourishes – the people seen in flashbacks are like puppets in a play and we become aware that we are not seeing the thing as it is, but rather are being offered a choreographed performance, pulled from the storytellers mind.

Still, kernels of... (is "truth" the word I'm searching for here?) manage to pepper the screen.

One of the witnesses (the woodcutter) seems honest - but pay attention to his expression in the background as the medium tells the dead man’s side of the story. Later, he changes his account, but there’s something fishy, something he’s not telling. How trustworthy is he? Is he a thief… or worse?

Watch Rashomon with a casual eye and you’re wasting your time. It will not have any weight or meaning. Watch only on one level and you miss just how truly magnificent it is. Over think it and perhaps you start adding things that were never intended - the very film then involves you in your own personal contemplation on reality.

In Rashomon I delighted in Kurosawa, the great editor. I marveled at cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa’s groundbreaking camera work and lighting techniques. The scene in which a casual breeze alters the course of everyone’s lives, is a small but memorable display of these gifts joined in genius. Kazuo’s shot tracking Takashi Shimura through the woods thrilled even his talented director.

The film made Kurosawa an international star, won prizes, including an Oscar. And it changed the way Japan viewed its own product. Though a hit at home, they perceived it as a purely Japanese film, the western world wouldn’t understand it. They were surprised when Italy requested it for entry into one of their film festivals – soon the world became enthralled. And filmmakers influenced by its powerful story.

[Takoma11]

I absolutely love Memories of Murder, and I got to attend a Q&A with him after a screening of it, which was super fun.

The 2005 Pride and Prejudice is so good. I really love the book, and it's up there with the 1995 miniseries in capturing the characters. I saw it in the theater, and this teenage girl was there with her mom, and when you find out about a certain character's behavior/betrayal, the teenage girl went "He WHAT?!?!". It was very cute.

[crumbsroom]

A Date for Mad Mary is really really good. The fact that neither that actor or director seemed to have done anything else of note, is sad.

[Wyldesyde19]

I’ve seen Rashomon twice and there is still so much to learn yet.

[SpelingError]

I'm pretty sure Rashomon was my first Kurosawa film. Unlike some of his other films, I've mostly fogotten about it for some reason, but I'm confident I'd still love it if I were to rewatch it.

[crumbsroom]

I'm pretty sure Rashomon was my first Kurosawa film. Unlike some of his other films, I've mostly fogotten about it for some reason, but I'm confident I'd still love it if I were to rewatch it.


This is pretty much exactly my experience with it too.

[exiler96]

I'm pretty sure Rashomon was my first Kurosawa film. Unlike some of his other films, I've mostly fogotten about it for some reason, but I'm confident I'd still love it if I were to rewatch it.

I can listen to the sound of rain in it for ever.

[Captain Quint]

Thanks for all the comments - I caught a bug of some type (cold, flu?) yesterday and wound up sleeping most of the day and night, which is why I didn't reply quickly, but I've enjoyed reading them over (and the reaction of the teenager to P&P cracked me up).

First Kurosawa - I think it was the Seven Samurai?

[Wooley]

Rashomon
Directed by Akira Kurosawa - Crime, Drama, Mystery - 88 minutes - 1950
5

106505

It’s a mystery. Who are these men seeking shelter from the storm in the ruins of a temple? Why are their brows furrowed in knots of despair? 2 of the men (a Priest and a wood cutter) were witnesses in a trial and tell the third their account hoping he can add some illumination. The story concerns a triangle of husband, wife and interloper. Within this triangle there’s a rape and a murder. During the course of the film the truth of what happened will be told from different perspectives. None of them match up. Was there a rape? Was it even murder?

Every synopsis you read will tell you that this is a film that examines the nature of truth. But for Kurosawa, he felt Rashomon was an exploration on the nature of reality. And in that light Rashomon takes on new meaning, though it never provides complete clarity. Truth? Few are intentionally lying; they all believe their side as it’s told. They’ve bent reality to fit the truth they (need to?) believe.

What I find fascinating is that these tales are being told by a character, filtered through their perceptions… but are being relayed through another character, who is filtering it through their perceptions… which is ultimately being interpreted by the director Kurosawa himself. The picture is a knot. The tangled woods themselves, the setting for this tragedy, add to this ambiguity. Our own eyes are often not allowed a clear view.

As we see their stories unfold, the actors shift from natural performance to theatrical poses and extreme over acting. It’s as if during the telling of their side of it, they (or the person relaying it) are embellishing the tale with melodramatic flourishes – the people seen in flashbacks are like puppets in a play and we become aware that we are not seeing the thing as it is, but rather are being offered a choreographed performance, pulled from the storytellers mind.

Still, kernels of... (is "truth" the word I'm searching for here?) manage to pepper the screen.

One of the witnesses (the woodcutter) seems honest - but pay attention to his expression in the background as the medium tells the dead man’s side of the story. Later, he changes his account, but there’s something fishy, something he’s not telling. How trustworthy is he? Is he a thief… or worse?

Watch Rashomon with a casual eye and you’re wasting your time. It will not have any weight or meaning. Watch only on one level and you miss just how truly magnificent it is. Over think it and perhaps you start adding things that were never intended - the very film then involves you in your own personal contemplation on reality.

In Rashomon I delighted in Kurosawa, the great editor. I marveled at cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa’s groundbreaking camera work and lighting techniques. The scene in which a casual breeze alters the course of everyone’s lives, is a small but memorable display of these gifts joined in genius. Kazuo’s shot tracking Takashi Shimura through the woods thrilled even his talented director.

The film made Kurosawa an international star, won prizes, including an Oscar. And it changed the way Japan viewed its own product. Though a hit at home, they perceived it as a purely Japanese film, the western world wouldn’t understand it. They were surprised when Italy requested it for entry into one of their film festivals – soon the world became enthralled. And filmmakers influenced by its powerful story.

Ok, I clearly need to re-watch Rashomon.
I took it as a mediation on three versions of the same story and that one could not tell if anyone was lying or not. Certainly the characters all had a personal slant but whether or not they were telling the truth as they saw it never seemed totally clear to me. The idea that the actors in the re-tellings are like puppets is very compelling and I need to see that again. Also I need to see the editing again because I'm really focused on editing a lot of the time and I remember that I did not notice it that much in this film so I'll want to look at that.

And this was my second Kurosawa. The Hidden Fortress was my first. I think maybe I've only seen three.

[Captain Quint]

Rashomon is one of those movies, like Marienbad, that's open to interpretation. It has layers, and you can come at it from many angles (there's a guy on YouTube who offered a theory that I'm not sure I buy, but it was interesting to hear his ideas (he found something on the screen -I can't remember what- that he felt signaled whenever someone was being untruthful).

So, I'm opening to hearing what others have to say, how they interpret it.

[Captain Quint]

The History of the Seattle Mariners
Directed by Jon Boise - Documentary - 220 minutes - 2020
5

106568

No, you haven't accidentally stumbled into Yoda's excellent Baseball Movie Reviews thread - yesterday was opening day for the Mariners, and they got the win off some sweet pitching from Logan Gilbert, a 3 for 3 with a HR performance from Polanco, and a nice double play from J.P. to end the game. And next week, I have tickets to see the opening day game for our local minor league club. So, to celebrate, a review, for my "Best Miniseries" winner of 2020, expanded from the write-up at my film awards blog.

⚾

Perhaps more than any other sport, baseball loves its stats.

Bearing that in mind, this 6-part, SBNation miniseries doesn't go the traditional 'talking heads' interviewed route found in other docs. No, appropriately enough, numbers drive the story. This is Mariner's history as relayed through stats and graphs. And while that sounds like it would lend itself to a telling that's cold and remote, it actually generated a lot of warmth and intimacy. The data and charts were fascinating, the quirky oddball stories they chose to highlight, a hoot, the presentation of the legends who graced this team, from The Kid to The Big Unit to Ichiro and King Felix, were inspirational (seeing the King's Court put a wee tear in my eye). In addition, the production explores the nature of fandom and asks, are championships all that matter?

And that's a question I've pondered - how strange the idea that if you lose a championship match, the season was a waste. If you fail to even get into that final game, it was incomplete - that was certainly my feeling after the Mariners dominated 2001 but came away empty - there was no World Series celebration to cap off the season, and fans were left with this pennant shaped hole in their hearts. Writers and director Alex Rubenstein and Jon Bois would say 'so what', wasn't the journey enough? And they make a good case for that, but I can only meet them half-way on that point, because, as an NFL Seattle Seahawks nut, I can promise you, a championship does a world of good, it takes the edge off, you can now bask in the past and remember all the good, the bad or the flat out crazy - without that annoying bee flying inside your head, making a buzzing that sounds like the words, "almost, almost."

While there are a few spots where they skirt full disclosure for dramatic effect (yes Ken Griffey Jr. was beloved by HOF voters, but so too was Tom Seaver, it's not like Ken was the only one that garnered that level of respect, as they imply). Never-the-less, the film is magic, and I can't stop thinking about it, it really got to me, which is a little surprising. While the Seahawks have had my full devotion and attention over the decades, the Mariners were something I'd catch out of the corner of my eye. I didn't realize how much affection I had for the team, its players, announcers, the stats, and histories until I watched this piece.

And I want to watch it again, right now, all (near) 4 hours of it.

[Captain Quint]

Porco Rosso
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki - Family, Adventure, Comedy, Animation - 93 minutes - PG -1992
4.5

107030

Summary: Set in Italy, the picture hearkens back to classic 30s-40s era cinema, only with a flying pilot pig for a hero! Battling against dastardly sky pirates and aided by spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina, can Porco save the day and regain his humanity?

Rosso might not get the attention of a Spirited Away or Totoro, but it’s just as good, just as joyous a viewing experience. Plus, it features one of cinemas great opening sequences: one that is packed with thrilling aerial acrobatics and planeloads of hilarity (those kids were so damn adorable and funny). It sets the stage nicely for the sparkling action/romance to come.

As with all of Miyazaki’s features the characters are well rendered. Porco (aka Marco) is laconic kin to certain John Ford protagonists, in that he’s a robust man’s man (or pig’s pig?) at a stage where everything’s changing in the world and this adventure will likely be his last hurrah.

In addition, I got a kick out of Porco’s youthful sidekick. I loved her enthusiasm and way she keeps these roughnecks in line. She’s also part of that changing world Porco has to adjust too.

The art is a dream. I admired the wonderfully appointed sets, the craft and costume designs. Gina’s clothing in particular was fashionably attractive, with neat line work and soft colors.

The action is skillfully choreographed, and I was entranced by the details in the animation - the way objects and people moved: ala the splash of water when planes slice across ocean surfaces, or in the clouds and rising aircraft pictured during Porco’s bedtime story. My eye always had something to savor, and I enjoy the story as well.

For some reason I missed it on its opening run, it came and left theaters without my notice, but now that I've found it, I consider it one of Miyazaki’s finest.