Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

Secret of the Incas sounds like all kinds of fun. Gonna hafta be on the lookout for that one.

Sorry to hear about Darkest Hours. Got that on request from the library, should be about a month before it gets down the list to me and seeing you mention Brigsby Bear reminded me of the talk about that film and how I never checked it out, so I put that on reserve as well.

by the way, LOOVED the list of Howard Hawk films you reviewed!!

Director: David Lynch
Writer: David Lynch
Cast: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph
Genre: Surrealistic Horror

The unrequited consequences of an unwanted pregnancy...David Lynch imparts a claustrophobic feeling of utter hopelessness as the helpless couple are trapped by the horrors of parenthood...which is thrust upon them in a most unexpected manner.

The unprepared couple are ill equipped to live in the real world, instead they sequester themselves into their own personal solitary confinement and grow stranger by the minute.

Through the expert control of subdued and focused lighting, combined with underexposing black & white film stock, Lynch creates layers of atmosphere that transforms Eraserhead from a mere movie to a film that is on par with the expressionistic painter, Edvard Munch.

With visions of things that might be...the young father-to-be sees a young woman dancing on a stage, whenever he blankly stares at the sweltering radiator. Her future existences hangs in balance with his decision that ways heavily upon his mind. She's the daughter he can choose to have, or throw away.

This young woman, like most of us, only wants to be accepted for who she is. Her heart is light and she loves her father and needs only one thing, his love in return. But can he give it?

The score which was flat out brilliant created tension, seemingly out of thin air. The actors too, while not having many lines really imparted a sense of foreboding doom just by the looks on their taunt faces.

I'm impressed with this film. It's a major accomplishment for a young director's first feature length film. I could write a novel about this movie as there's a lot to take in.

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When I lived in Denver, there was a movie arthouse called The Colfax that would show double bills of classic films five nights a week. On Friday nights, they would show The Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight and on Saturday Nights at midnight they would show Eraserhead. I must have seen Rocky Horror 50 times, but I never bothered to see Eraserhead.

Love this movie, it has enormous re-watch appeal. I don't know if you remember, but it was # 1 on my favorite Al Pacino performances thread and I am still of the belief that he should have gotten the Oscar that year over Jack Nicholson. And you are aware that Chris Sarandon is Susan's little brother, right?

There was something else I wanted to tell you about this movie, Citizen. The picture you posted here...remember at the end of the scene when he slaps the wine glass onto the wall before walking out? That was not in the script and was planned by Benton and Hoffman, but they didn't tell Meryl Streep because they wanted to get a more natural reaction out of her.

There use to be an old big movie theater that showed Rocky Horror on Saturday Nights here too. I went once, that was enough for me. But I'd never heard of Eraserhead until I seen it in the first VHS movie rental store that opened up. I was curious what it was, but I never did rent it. So that was my first watch. I'd say it's a visionary masterpiece.

I didn't know that.

Actually, they were married from 1967 to 1979, and he's four years older.

__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

In 1955 Orson Welles did an interview about the infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast and said, "...it wasn't a hoax, it was satire done on purpose to wake people up and stop them from believing everything they were told."

Which if you think about it, is also the subject of F for Fake.

F for Fake is a hybrid of an essay/documentary/movie which recuts unused film footage from an older documentary, along with footage and vignettes conceived, narrated and executed by the master, Orson Welles.

If you don't like Welles, you might not like F for Fake. It's hard to describe it without spoiling it...The secondary story of the professional art forger is interesting in and off itself, but what Orson does with the telling of that story is pure genius, then again you wouldn't expect less from Welles.

F for Fake most important aspect might be that it give us a window into the real man who was Orson Welles.

Maybe one day people will stop believing everything their told...you can't say that he didn't warn you.

My bad, I always thought they were brother and sister, I guess I'm mixing them up with Julia and Eric Roberts.

I've always loved the films from Hollywood's Golden Age, especially the 1930s. That was an era when movie theaters were grand and stars were like royalty. And in the 1930s one of the biggest and brightest stars was James Cagney.


Lady Killer is one of my favorite Cagney films. This is a quintessential role for him. Cagney is cocky, he's roguish, he's tough...with an impish grin and likable charm. He's one of my favorite actors and one of my favorite actresses is his leading lady, Mae Clarke.


Mae Clarke is remembered as Dr. Frankenstein's bride and the girl who Cagney pushed a grapefruit into her face in Public Enemy. Here she gets a chance to shine in a much larger role. There's something special about her that comes through the screen, she's very personable. She's a wonderful actresses.

Film making in the early 1930s was a new adventure and the style of films is much different than today….Lady Killer is indicative of early 1930s films and much different than films made only 10 years latter. Simpler is the way I would describe most of the earliest talkies and with the focus on star power. The film delivers with personable characters, big story arcs and some great slapstick comedy.

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Lol , holy hell. My reaction to the gif. I love Cagney, CR.

I like your review of Eraserhead. Was he still a student when he made that?

Thanks, I love that gif, and Cagney is the man!

Good question, I don't know. I do know it was his first full length film. I might have to watch some more of his movies, I haven't seen too many really.

I'm not actually a fan apart from the original tv show which I came into late because I was travelling and some expats told me about it. I was totally hooked on a binge but went off it some stage during season 2, but I still finished it.

Interesting wiki page on the movie which I just started reading.

Director: George Cukor
Writers: John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, John L. Balderston (screenplay)
Cast: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, May Whitty, Angela Lansbury
Genre: Mystery Suspense Drama

Gaslight was nominated for seven Academy Awards including:
Best Picture, Best Actor (Charles Boyer), Best Supporting Actress (Angela Lansbury), Best Screenplay, Best B&W Cinematography.

And Won two: Best Actress (Ingrid Bergman) & Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, B&W.

It launched the career of Angela Lansbury and further made Ingrid Bergman a household name. Indeed both actresses act up a storm here and that's the strong point of the film.


Gaslight is consider one of the great films, but was it really all it's cracked up to be? While it's a good film with strong performances by the actors, the script which was padded out to 2 doesn't have enough meat in it to sustain the suspense. To make matters worse, the audience knows who 'done it' almost immediately. We know poor Ingrid isn't really crazy, and we know it's her manipulating husband played by Charles Boyer that is the culprit...and that takes the suspense out of it.

Now the film could be still amazing if it was a deep character study, but it's not...Or the film could have had a couple subplots going, that could have added extra dimensions, but it doesn't.

The film does hint that the young maid played Angela Lansbury, might be having an affair with the husband, or at least it seemed that way, but that issue is never explored. So instead we have two hours of Ingrid being slowly driven mad by her husband and I got bored. The film would have been better at 90 minutes.


The sets and costumes are top notch and indeed it won an Oscar for interior set design. I should mention that this is based on the play from 1938 and that's perhaps why it felt stagey.

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Director: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Dave Anderson
Genre: Comedy Short Film


Silent films are a much different viewing experiencing than the typical blockbuster movie. Silent films are more akin to reading a book as they require active participation. I like them!

Chaplin is a genius! I laughed out loud, and that's more than I can say for most modern comedies. I loved the opening scene where the little tramp is sleeping in a vacant city lot, laying on the dirt in the cold and trying to keep warm. There's an old rickety fence and he stuffs his handkerchief in a little knot hole to keep the cold air of his backside, then...he uses a piece of pipe for a hand muff...ha! That was clever.

The homeless dog that he rescues was way cute, and together they made a charming pair of lovable rogues. And that's the genius of Chaplin, his little tramp character is someone the working class person could relate to, even admire...and even though he's down an out, he has a mischievous side and is not above stealing food or drinks for comedy sake.

I loved the food stand bit where every time the cook had his back to Chaplin, he stole another sandwich. And even the dog gets into the act when he wolves down a yard long link of sausages. My favorite part was the beer hall. When he stuffs the dog down his pants and the wagging tail bangs on a drum, ha! Best scene was when Chaplin goes to get back the stolen money, bops the bad guy in the head, knocking him unconscious and doing his famous arm tricks. It has to be seen to be believed.

After 100 years this is still funny!

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Director: Hugh Harman
Voice Actor: Mel Blanc
Genre: Animation, Short, Drama
Length: 9 minutes


I had seen this once before, long ago, and it's one of the few animated shorts that has stayed with me.

Wow! This must have blown audiences away back in 1939...with the world about to go mad as world war broke out and millions would die. It's a very gutsy film and I'm surprised it got made.

Some people have wondered if this was overly religious or not.....IMO this is not a Christian themed animation. Think about it: the heart of Christianity is that man is created special in the image of God and above the animals. This film takes a 180 degree turn from that idea and says that there is only Peace on Earth after man is gone. That's the last thing we here from Grampa squirrel as he turns towards us, laughs and says: "Peace on Earth, he-he...yes suree..Peace on Earth"

The message is, it's only going to be Peach on Earth when the evil war mongering humans are all gone. That's not a Christian theme, but a humanist theme.



Peace On Earth (1939) 9 minutes
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xuiut

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I agree with you comments. I'm always surprised that this film appears on lists of the great films. The type of story was new at the time, followed by similar plots in Sorry, Wrong Number (Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster), and later, Midnight Lace (Doris Day, Rex Harrison). In addition the photography and strong acting made it an "A" picture. Angela Lansbury and Joseph Cotten gave especially good performances.

This type of drama always raises the question of "Why don't you just leave?". But the audience agrees to accept the premise, and be willing accomplices. In general knowing whodunit early on is not necessarily a deal breaker, because the suspense can then be allowed to build as the audience wonders if the villain will get away with it. But in this case, as you pointed out, the writing did not take too many chances, and stayed very linear. To me, the film is a difficult re-watch.

I think it's interesting that Hitchcock stated that Bergman always expected every film she appeared in to be a masterpiece. And it's true that her melodramatic but natural style was on full display in this film.

~Doc