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Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Rebecca

One minor pleasure about running late on an HoF is getting to read everyone's review before posting my own and enjoying the conversations about this splendid Hitchcock film with all of his key elements. Suspense, moments of comedy interspersed within, a sojourn of camera angles, the twists and turns and the hints of a juicy, dirty little story that he deftly slid into the film - the Hays Code be d@mned for its prudish restrictions.

One of the things that hasn't been mentioned that much was the Manderlay Estate itself which was pretty exquisite and beautiful to take in. From the Banquet Hall to the grandness of Rebecca's personal bedroom with the lavish floor to ceiling drapes that let in such amazing light when opened to reveal a view of the sea. As well as the numerous tumult shots of said sea suggesting such violence and danger, each and every time.

Also, while yes, Fontaine is a delight and, like Thursday mentions, Olivier has the perfect blend of: "could be a romantic hero, could be a psychopath" leaving us to wonder, throughout, until the secrets are revealed, what was so unbearably tangent of the deceased DeWinter that it tore Maxim apart from within beyond simple remorse. (And what secrets they were!) and of course, Judith Anderson can easily be seen as the inspiration for countless cold, aloof, creepy matrons to come in so many movies since then -- speaking of, I caught a hint of Frau Blucher from Young Frankenstein and wondered if Cloris Leachman was giving a tip of the hat to Danvers, visually, I mean. Including the mole.

I wanted to mention some of the others in this movie that I enjoyed.
First off, Florence Bates as Fontaine's initial employer and socialite kept me chuckling every time I saw her. Same for Nigel Bruce whom I always think of his role in numerous Sherlock Holmes films as Dr Watson any time I see him.
Such secondary characters with depth and imagination are also great trademarks of Hitchcock and those little things he adds to his films, and this film is an excellent example of all of them.



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Glory



Unlike some US mofos, I didn’t watch this at school. I don’t really know all that much about the US civil war, really, beyond the basics, apart from what I’ve gleaned from films. Which is not necessarily a problem, I don’t think you have to know much about an aspect of history for it to make an interesting film (in fact, a lot of the time it’s preferable not to know, films have a habit of messing with the facts anyway).

Glory was well-shot, it looks and sounds good. It looks fairly modern and not really dated - you woudn’t necessarily think it was nearly 30 years old. It is moderately interesting in its exploration of the conditions, problems and dilemmas faced by this regiment in the war. The battle scenes are done well, it doesn’t gloss over the horrors of war even though it’s by no means an anti-war film.

Denzel Washington was good. Morgan Freeman was Morgan Freeman. Andre Braugher is not such a known name as those two but I thought he was good too. Matthew Broderick was alright.

The music is far too overwrought though, and there’s a limit to how many ‘inspiring’ moments and speeches one film needs. It’s not exactly subtle or natural. It’s a film about bravery, but it’s not really a brave film, it’s rather a conventional one.

The main problem with this film is that not only is there no need to have the story of the black regiment filtered through the story of Matthew Broderick’s white commander, it actually undermines the whole film that it is.



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Aguirre, the Wrath of God



I feel pretty similar to how Miss Vicky feels about this film. The score is fantastic and I like the on-location filming but really the story did nothing to keep me engaged to the film. I wasn't wowed by the character of Aguirre either. Kinski did a decent job but it really was nothing to standout for me. The directing was pretty average to me, I felt that I story of this texture could have been told better and been made more interesting. Maybe I had too high of hopes for it since it gets talked about a lot on these forums, but I'll just chalk it up to being a film that really isn't for me. Which was disappointing since I was a big fan of Herzog's Nosferatu. So while there's nothing truly remarkable about it for me, I still wouldn't consider it a bad film either as it's technically well made, just one that doesn't spark or hold interest.

-



Women will be your undoing, Pépé


The Station Agent

I was right, I HAD seen this years ago and found myself just as endeared to it, now, as I did then. Even a little more so, like an old friend that you hung out with, ages ago, pops up out of nowhere and, like then, you hung out. No deep conversation. No incredible reveals at an attempt at closure; you simply hung out. Nothing was going on but it felt like everything was happening at an exciting level. If that makes any sense.

Which, at the most endearing of moments in this film, is the very heart of it. Simply being there, nearby, even though everyone is elsewhere. So that, when everyone drifts back, there is that grounding reassurance of those nearby.
Which is a wonderful thing and something this film truly excels at. All three leads are excellent and all three bring a mixture of subtleties that says far more than any dialogue could regarding what is beneath the surface of our every day face.
Dinklage, of course, in an early role, is astounding. Every little gesture, every look has layer upon layer of things going on beneath.
The same can be said about Patricia Clarkson and even Bobby Canavale who is the pushy cohesive that brings them all together, you still catch glimpses beneath the loud exterior into the worry and loneliness beneath.

And, I suppose this is why this is so short. It's already all laid out. Beneath. In the subtleties of it all.


Bravo

Bravo



Let the night air cool you off
The Elephant Man

I'd love to see Lynch make another black and white film, because both of his first two B&W films look soooooooooo good. The mood and tone of the film would not be the same had it been filmed in color. I doubt the look of Merrick would be as good in color and perhaps cause it to look too much like a Power Ranger villain. Instead we get some sick BW industrial smokestack blowing coal into the sky, some tremendous dream sequences that had to be there to let you know you were watching David Lynch, and that scene where the other freak show performers saved Merrick and you see that wide shot of them passing behind the trees that appeared deformed by leafy growths. Much like Eraserhead, the look and sound of this film was uncomfortable and beautiful. Totally tremendous film on that front alone. Add to it that it's a film with great humanity without ever crossing the line into unnecessary schmaltz like, say, Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance". Weird reference, but it's the first thing that popped into my head of something with good intention but being too schmaltzy to work for me. Even in this viewing, where I didn't pay as much attention to the film as I did the first time around (I was tending to some puppies that are less than a week old, so every time they make a noise the movie loses my attention just long enough for me to make sure they aren't dying), there are several moments where I feel like I got punched in the tear ducts. That standing ovation scene makes me want to cry every time. The final scene does it to me. The scene where he gets put in the monkey cage. The scene where he meets Hannibal Lecter's wife. It's just littered with moments like that. It's a beautiful film.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



In the Mood for Love

A hauntingly sensual movie filled with beauty, to the point poetic nuance, with so many tight shots, which, in other films would create a claustrophobic atmosphere; here only brings forth a dreamy intimacy. And the fact that many of those shots are from behind shades or framed in mirrors and such, simply adds another aspect, blending it into the mix: which is, secrets.

A few years back I had seen 2049 and was enticed to see this, knowing the poetic symmetry and the visual beauty inferring emotions through well crafted cinematography that was the former movie and would, undoubtedly would be in this one.
This is a touching movie whose premise is rarely addressed in such a way when it comes to affairs. Focusing on the ones being cheated on and their wish for understanding while still retaining their own honor when it comes to respecting both their vows and the other person while dealing with their heartbreak and loneliness.
I found so much of this far more seductive than if we were involved those doing the cheating. The two leads were ideal and together they brought us a poetic and beautifully tragic love story. I completely felt for both of them and what they went through and all those intimate moments brought out the romantic in me far more than if they had actually committed anything sexual.
Such scenes as when they finally did hold hands and she rested her head on his shoulder in the back of the cab became all the more effective for me simply because of the restraint previously. Or, more precisely, through the poetry of the film making and the actors themselves that, when they did allow those small gestures, they came across with such grand emotion.

And to answer a question in Thursday's review, I don't believe that her son was conceived while they were together. For one, I didn't see any indication that the love extended to anything sexual and, secondly, much like her husband and his wife, we do not see the son's face when she calls him and he takes her hand and walks out the door. That seemed to hint that he was outside their intimate world that they once had.

For me, the secret he whispers into the hole, it seems was that he loved a married woman and would have done more if he had the courage to do so. Which included the life he would have had with her.



Let the night air cool you off
Glory

The first thing that stands out to me: this soundtrack is distracting and awful. @Thursday Next has a lot of good points in her write-up. I agree wholeheartedly about the over-usage of 'inspiring' speeches. In fact, the only speech I enjoyed at all was Denzel's anti-speech. I am not a big Denzel fan, I think he's possibly the most overrated actor of this generation, but that scene is one of my favorite Denzel moments I've seen. Other than that, I was not feeling this film a whole lot. It is a good looking film for the most part, or at worst, I can't complain about how it looks. Broderick wasn't good, and I don't understand why he is the main character in a movie about these black soldiers. And this movie is not inspiring in the slightest. It's a movie about the supposed good side throwing away these black lives in a moment of futility. Then at the end it's supposed to be this big moment so they go with slow motion, but at that point it's just agonizing to sit through because the music is awful and I am just ready for it to be over.





Out of the Blue is a meandering hedonistic melodrama which I say in the best of ways. It's sort of the story of a young girl dealing with two terrible parents, one an ex-con the other a junkie. Though the ex-con Don almost takes the lead role from Cebe around two acts in. Really the movie is just an exercise from Dennis Hopper to see how much messed up sexuality and violence he can slip into the film without being exploitative. Or the movie is exploitative without being pornographic...I'm not really sure

My biggest issue with the film is that the dialogue feels to improvised. If you are going to make a film that doesn't follow a cohesive narrative then the character work needs to be top notch. By the end of the film their were several characters who I didn't feel like I had any grasp on. Then you have Raymond Burr play a character who seems to be in an entirely different movie.

Hopper's charm in the film-making tends to be in the music choices...in a lot of ways this is less of a film and more a collection of music videos. Once again not a bad thing, something works very well with the combination of Elvis, Young, and Punk.




I've been bogged down with work so haven't had much time to comment. I have read the reviews (yes I have!) as they've been posted, some good stuff! A few comments...

Rebecca
One of the things that hasn't been mentioned that much was the Manderlay Estate itself which was pretty exquisite and beautiful to take in...As well as the numerous tumult shots of said sea suggesting such violence and danger, each and every time.

I caught a hint of Frau Blucher from Young Frankenstein and wondered if Cloris Leachman was giving a tip of the hat to Danvers, visually, I mean. Including the mole.

...the Hays Code be d@mned for its prudish restrictions.
Good call on the exquisite beauty of Manderlay Estate, yes it was stunning and literally another character in the movie.

You might be onto something with Cloris Leachman's character in Frankenstein being pattered off of Danvers.

Believe or not, I like the Hays Code era Without the Hays Code movies wouldn't have been forced to develop subtleties in dealing with adult themes. The Hays Code forced movies back then to try harder to have more substances and style.

If it wasn't for the Hays Code a lot of the great films wouldn't have been made, instead Hollywood would have went where the money was and made more: low brow T & A and violence/gore movies (sort of like today)...So count me as a fan of the Hays Code (and of Pre Code films too!)

Glory

Unlike some US mofos, I didn’t watch this at school.

The music is far too overwrought though, and there’s a limit to how many ‘inspiring’ moments and speeches one film needs. It’s not exactly subtle or natural. It’s a film about bravery, but it’s not really a brave film, it’s rather a conventional one.
I never seen it at school either, we watched The Taming of the Shrew and Auntie Mame instead

I have to agree with what you said about it.

The Station Agent
..No deep conversation. No incredible reveals at an attempt at closure; you simply hung out. Nothing was going on but it felt like everything was happening at an exciting level. If that makes any sense.
That does make sense! And that's why I said in my review it's a Citizen Rules type movie

The Elephant Man

I'd love to see Lynch make another black and white film, because both of his first two B&W films look soooooooooo good. The mood and tone of the film would not be the same had it been filmed in color. I doubt the look of Merrick would be as good in color and perhaps cause it to look too much like a Power Ranger villain.

Much like Eraserhead, the look and sound of this film was uncomfortable and beautiful. Totally tremendous film on that front alone.

Add to it that it's a film with great humanity without ever crossing the line into unnecessary schmaltz. It's a beautiful film.
I agree with your entire review

I'd also though about what the film would've been like if it was shot in color, and I don't think it would be so visually memorable. I love B & W anyway and Lynch really makes awesome use of it. Loved the heavy industrial equipment and the cobblestone streets.

Definitely a film with lots of heart! I should watch more Lynch I was really impressed with Eraserhead. But I've more or less avoided Lynch as his subject matter can be outside of my comfort zone...but I have to say he's one helluva director.

In the Mood for Love

Focusing on the ones being cheated on and their wish for understanding while still retaining their own honor when it comes to respecting both their vows and the other person while dealing with their heartbreak and loneliness.

I found so much of this far more seductive than if we were involved those doing the cheating. The two leads were ideal and together they brought us a poetic and beautifully tragic love story. I completely felt for both of them and what they went through and all those intimate moments brought out the romantic in me far more than if they had actually committed anything sexual.



And to answer a question in Thursday's review, I don't believe that her son was conceived while they were together. For one, I didn't see any indication that the love extended to anything sexual and, secondly, much like her husband and his wife, we do not see the son's face when she calls him and he takes her hand and walks out the door. That seemed to hint that he was outside their intimate world that they once had.
Damn impressive review, I'm hiring you to write my future reviews...I agree here with you too....the ideal that their love is unfulfilled and that they won't consummate because of the ethics of their marriage vows...is a much more powerful take than had they just romped and humped away.

I was very impressed with the film. Though maybe it could have used a different title as many seem to have expected something 180 degrees different. I would have called it, A Vow Unbroken.

Glory

I agree wholeheartedly about the over-usage of 'inspiring' speeches.
If you think about it, Glory is the exact opposite of The Station Agent.

Out of the Blue
My biggest issue with the film is that the dialogue feels to improvised. If you are going to make a film that doesn't follow a cohesive narrative then the character work needs to be top notch. By the end of the film their were several characters who I didn't feel like I had any grasp on. Then you have Raymond Burr play a character who seems to be in an entirely different movie.
I liked the free flow narrative that felt unscripted and so felt real to me. I have to agree with what you said about Raymond Burr's character and scenes...yes, they felt like something out of another movie. Other than Burr's part, the movie felt pretty true to itself.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé

Good call on the exquisite beauty of Manderlay Estate, yes it was stunning and literally another character in the movie.

Believe or not, I like the Hays Code era Without the Hays Code movies wouldn't have been forced to develop subtleties in dealing with adult themes. The Hays Code forced movies back then to try harder to have more substances and style.

If it wasn't for the Hays Code a lot of the great films wouldn't have been made, instead Hollywood would have went where the money was and made more: low brow T & A and violence/gore movies (sort of like today)...So count me as a fan of the Hays Code (and of Pre Code films too!)
That is a pretty valid argument about the kind of movies we've been blessed with during that time and it actually reminds me of some of the best comedy shows/Variety Shows like Laugh-In, Smother Brothers, and countless ones before that with likes of Sid Ceaser and Johnathan Winters and the cleverness that they used to dance around the censors.

Damn impressive review, I'm hiring you to write my future reviews...I agree here with you too....the ideal that their love is unfulfilled and that they won't consummate because of the ethics of their marriage vows...is a much more powerful take than had they just romped and humped away.

I was very impressed with the film. Though maybe it could have used a different title as many seem to have expected something 180 degrees different. I would have called it, A Vow Unbroken.
Love that title! Hell, I'm hiring YOU for any stories or movie scripts I ever write for titles lol



Let the night air cool you off
Rebecca

I usually go with Kubrick when I try to decide who my favorite director is, but right now I am starting to wonder if it might not be Hitchcock. He was very prolific, so of course he had might have had a couple duds or some less-than films. However, he has multiple legitimate masterpieces. This is one of them, and I am very pleased to have seen it. It's a beautiful film. It's shot in a way that just looks tremendous. There is this gothic look to it, the shadows and eeriness you get from certain shots inside the estate and the looming and dangerous rough waters of the sea beating on the rocks.The scene with the estate on fire is also stunning to look at. I watched a blu-ray, so that probably helped a ton too It's beautiful the way a shadow will sit on a close-up of a face, especially the gorgeous face of Joan Fontaine who is probably now in my top ten crushes on actresses based on a combination of appearance and performance in a film. She shares space with Lillian Gish, Setsuko Hara, and Catherine Deneuve in that regard.

And speaking of Fontaine, her performance was great. She manages to convey here naivete, confusion, and awkwardness better than maybe any other performance I've seen in a serious dramatic film. It's at times played for laughs, but there is no doubt that even in the serious moments where this needs to leave us feeling her vulnerability, it's felt. It makes sense that she is left unnamed and confused at most times, it is like we, the audience, are in her shoes. Especially near the end when Maxim tells her his story. Should we believe him or not? I guess he is actually the killer in the book, but I think I like this ambiguity a little more. It's clear that Fontaine's character believes him, but I still think it's a bit up in there. His character is really interesting to me, even if Olivier's performance is not as good as Fontaine's. Fontaine manages to convince me over and over again at how overwhelmed she is at being in Rebecca's shadow, which is another good reason the character remains nameless.

All this stuff sucks me in and gets me thinking about how this whole thing is being weaved in such a fun, interesting, and neat way. I know it's melodrama, but it's what every soap opera wishes it could be. The plot covers a lot of ground in its two hour run time and I kept expecting it to end because I was continually satisfied with every winding turn, but then another thing would come along. This happened all the way up to the fire, and I almost expected the second wife to be trapped somewhere inside, but instead it was Mrs. Danvers meeting up with Rebecca in the next life. This movie was from 1940, so I think it's really something that I felt some sexual vibes from Mrs. Danvers and the memories of Rebecca. I don't know if anybody else picked that up or got that from the movie, but I did. It's almost like Rebecca was Rachel Amber from Life is Strange. I wonder if that video game was influenced in anyway by Rebecca. And along side of all this activity between all these characters weaving in and out, this film is almost a ghost story too. There are so many layers to this film that I feel like I need to watch it again now that I know where it's going to pick out the pieces and find clues to see if I can figure out what really happened.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
excellent review! Looks like you got the FULL feel of the film on all its levels and "layers"




sorry, couldn't help myself, but, seriously, a really excellent review



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Glory



I've seen this quite a few times, and Everytime I come away with a like but didn't love feeling. It's technically very well made. The directing by Edward Zwick is on point and I'm one who doesn't mind the score in the film. I also like the acting, particularly a big fan of Matthew Broderick in this film. I love his narrations in the film. And of course Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman are two of my favorite actors. Something holds it back from being a complete favorite though it's hard to pinpoint exactly what. A solid nomination.




Women will be your undoing, Pépé



L'Avventura

As been stated multiple times; on a technical level L'Avventura is a visually beautiful film with some incredible compositions that I was continually wishing to pause and admire. The depth of which seemed to play an excellent contrast to the shallowness of the characters and their self absorbed intentions and selfish desires that seemed childish in their execution, and, again, the contradiction of being in such age old places added another intriguing contrast that didn't actually click with me until this moment as I type this.

The compositions and the scenery definitely take center stage and propels you far more than the characters themselves who seem to be in a kind of dream world than any kind of reality. There was an uneasiness throughout that seemed just beyond the peripheral, as if we were drifting into that dream and how everyone acted and spoke seemed more like a visit to the subconscious and the more primordial emotions.
A good example of this is the men in town that seem to swarm around Claudia like wolves hellbent on devouring.
I began to wonder where the hell were the other women or were they simply hiding away from this town packed with predators.
Their shambling intent had this strange appearance of addiction that goes beyond reason to it. As if they fed on her guilt and found it sexually appetizing.

Cheating and affairs seemed to be the main theme of this and before Sandro and Claudia fed into it, we witnessed everyone else dabbling or dealing with past affairs and so, we get to watch the full circle with the two of them. Ending the emotional struggle of Claudia unable to leave and Sandro suffering momentary regret.

And, in the end, perhaps that is the proposed adventure; the continual merry go round of lust and infidelity.



Let the night air cool you off
The Station Agent

On the surface, there is not too much that is extraordinary about this film. That said, it still manages to be a very good movie. Three characters that are basically unlikable are the main characters, so I didn't expect to care so much about them. The writing and the performances make you give a sh*t about these people. Olivia is a mess for obvious reasons, Finn is angry at the world for also obvious reasons, and Joe is loud and talks too much. Hanging out with these people would not be fun. It's such an accomplishment that they made me care about these people. There is a sadness in Joe that strikes me the most, because he is a very outgoing person, yet he has no friends until Fin finally accepts him. They are all lonely and sad. And there is no story, so we are just observing these people in a short period of time and see the way they are coping with their loneliness and depression and anger and the weight of the world. It's a beautiful thing to take in. It won't be a favorite for me, but I am glad to have seen it.