Edarsenal, I kinda see where you're coming from about the Hobbit films. I know Peter Jackson defends his adaptation of the short novel by Tolkien into three films by saying he included material from the appendices and books like Unfinished Tales, but I'm not buying all that. I, too, know which parts he plopped into the films that where totally invented by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and himself. Still, I enjoy them for what they are. That said, I will
not buy the extended editions. They are extended enough.
Well, dark, I have to disagree about the "bad" acting in
The Shining for the most part. The only person who annoyed me at all was Shelley Duvall. And I've liked Shelley Duvall in other things, just not this movie.
Gunga Din (1939)
1939 has been called by many "the Golden Age of Hollywood," and there are many classics to back up that claim.
Gunga Din is certainly near the top of the list. I'd seen it as a youngster but had forgotten almost everything but the ending. So watching it again was like seeing it brand new. What a great movie.
If you haven't seen it, it involves three British soldiers on duty in British-occupied India in the 1800's. They are Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. They're aided by their Indian waterboy, Gunga Din. Dispite the title, the movie is not mostly about Din. The three soldier friends and Din share about equal screentime. They are sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a regiment in a small town and needless to say, they get caught up in fighting and adventure. It's almost like an Indiana Jones picture and I didn't realize
how much until I saw it again. I see where Lucas and Spielberg were inspired by this film to include certain things into
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
There is the Thuggee Cult of India, who excel at strangling people (Indy fights one in his room, then the Thugs are the main baddies of the film); there's the rope bridge, which is cut, sending many cult members to their death; and one shot that seemed lifted wholesale from this movie is when the cult chief/guru is sitting atop the roof of the temple outside and slowly turns his head towards the camera very slowly, smiling. In TOD, the character of Mola Ram does the exact slow turn, looking at the camera, smiling, and looks almost exactly like the actor in
Gunga Din. I know Lucas and Spielberg were inspired by the old cliffhangers and serial movies of the 30's and 40's but I know this one had to inspire them.
It didn't take me out of the movie at all, in fact it made it more fun for me, recognizing things from TOD that were in the previous movie. All the actors are great, but Grant, with his love of gold, is terrific. And Sam Jaffe is super as the waterboy Din, who wants to be a soldier in the British Army more than anything. This is a classic and I highly recommend it. If you see it, tell me if you see the Indiana Jones parts I did.