DVDs watched while convalescing
Dec. 19th, 2005 09:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yendiWhile recovering on Saturday, I used the Power of Film to help speed the healing process:
1. Call Northside 777. I think Fox has erred slightly in marketing this as a part of their Noir collection -- it's a damned fine crime movie from the heyday of noir, but most of the trademarks of noir -- the betrayals, the sexual tension, the cynicism, the anti-romanticism -- are missing. That's not to say this film should be avoided, by any means. For one thing, it stars Jimmy Stewart, a man who really could do almost no wrong. For another, it's a fine crime film, focusing on a journalist's attempts to free a wrongly accused man (based on a true story). It is, at its core, a film about investigative journalism, about fighting a system that's less corrupt than it is bogged down in its own self-assuredness, and a film about the potential for hope. Definitely a worthwhile movie, just one that folks expecting a noir experience from should be careful of.
2. The Third Man. Really, do I have to justify this film -- one of the greatest in the film noir genre -- to anyone? The IMDB claims it to be the #44 best film of all time, and a quick glance a the full list shows that it would rise to #30 if you eliminate the bias towards films made in the last ten years. Even then, it should be a good ten or twenty-five spots higher (in my not-giving-a-rats-ass-about-being-humble opinion). Start with a superb lead performance by Joseph Cottens as a writer of western pulps drawn to corrupt postwar Vienna only to find out that the friend who offered him a job has been killed. Add wonderful dialogue, classic characters, and plot twists galore. It's a perfect example of a film that simply never needs to be remade. Graham Greene never delivered a better script, and Carol Reed was at his finest as a director. And the presence of Orson Welles cannot be overlooked (and this was before that was a physical fact). Throw in an early (and nicely comic) supporting turn by Bernard "M" Lee and the world's most famous zither score, and there's no reason you shouldn't already have added this film to your Netflix queue or Amazon wishlist by the time you finish reading this paragraph, if you don't already own it.
3. The Last of Sheila. Okay, I expect everyone to have heard of The Third Man. Not as sure about this 1973 release. But let's start with the people involved: Stars include Richard Benjamin (acting, not directing, thank god), Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon (and in the early '70s, I'm not sure there were two sexier women in Hollywood than Welch and Cannon), James Coburn, James Mason, Joan Hackett, and Ian "Cocksucker" McShane (in one of his earliest parts). Throw in a script co-written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, and direction by the late, great Herb Ross. If that list alone doesn't make you want to see it, you're probably the sort of moviegoer who rapes baby geese or Fandangos tickets to Rob Schnieder movies.
That said, it's not a film for everyone. It's a film for puzzle-lovers, mystery fans and boardgamers. The opening scene, panning across the game room on Coburn's yacht, reveals almost every classic board came of yesteryear (upon entering, one guest asks, "who furnished this room? Parker Brothers?"), as well as crosswords galore. And the movie itself is, indeed, a whodunit mystery, buried and intermingled with a game played by Coburn and his six guests. It's a witty, clever movie full of twists and turns, and, unlike many mysteries, it practices fair play, revealing all the clues to us, and being consistent with them (remember, Sondheim was, aside from being a great songwriter, also very responsible for popularizing cryptic crosswords in the USA). There are elements of the movie that age poorly ('70s hair!), but overall, there's little to dislike here -- great performances (especially by Coburn, Mason, and Benjamin), zinging dialogue, dark humor galore, and great Mediterranean scenery. Coburn's "Island Speech" is just a blast. If you like mysteries or puzzles (or, you know, good movies) at all, see this one. And don't look for any plot summaries or whatnot - the less you know going in, the more wonderful it is.
1. Call Northside 777. I think Fox has erred slightly in marketing this as a part of their Noir collection -- it's a damned fine crime movie from the heyday of noir, but most of the trademarks of noir -- the betrayals, the sexual tension, the cynicism, the anti-romanticism -- are missing. That's not to say this film should be avoided, by any means. For one thing, it stars Jimmy Stewart, a man who really could do almost no wrong. For another, it's a fine crime film, focusing on a journalist's attempts to free a wrongly accused man (based on a true story). It is, at its core, a film about investigative journalism, about fighting a system that's less corrupt than it is bogged down in its own self-assuredness, and a film about the potential for hope. Definitely a worthwhile movie, just one that folks expecting a noir experience from should be careful of.
2. The Third Man. Really, do I have to justify this film -- one of the greatest in the film noir genre -- to anyone? The IMDB claims it to be the #44 best film of all time, and a quick glance a the full list shows that it would rise to #30 if you eliminate the bias towards films made in the last ten years. Even then, it should be a good ten or twenty-five spots higher (in my not-giving-a-rats-ass-about-being-humble opinion). Start with a superb lead performance by Joseph Cottens as a writer of western pulps drawn to corrupt postwar Vienna only to find out that the friend who offered him a job has been killed. Add wonderful dialogue, classic characters, and plot twists galore. It's a perfect example of a film that simply never needs to be remade. Graham Greene never delivered a better script, and Carol Reed was at his finest as a director. And the presence of Orson Welles cannot be overlooked (and this was before that was a physical fact). Throw in an early (and nicely comic) supporting turn by Bernard "M" Lee and the world's most famous zither score, and there's no reason you shouldn't already have added this film to your Netflix queue or Amazon wishlist by the time you finish reading this paragraph, if you don't already own it.
3. The Last of Sheila. Okay, I expect everyone to have heard of The Third Man. Not as sure about this 1973 release. But let's start with the people involved: Stars include Richard Benjamin (acting, not directing, thank god), Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon (and in the early '70s, I'm not sure there were two sexier women in Hollywood than Welch and Cannon), James Coburn, James Mason, Joan Hackett, and Ian "Cocksucker" McShane (in one of his earliest parts). Throw in a script co-written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, and direction by the late, great Herb Ross. If that list alone doesn't make you want to see it, you're probably the sort of moviegoer who rapes baby geese or Fandangos tickets to Rob Schnieder movies.
That said, it's not a film for everyone. It's a film for puzzle-lovers, mystery fans and boardgamers. The opening scene, panning across the game room on Coburn's yacht, reveals almost every classic board came of yesteryear (upon entering, one guest asks, "who furnished this room? Parker Brothers?"), as well as crosswords galore. And the movie itself is, indeed, a whodunit mystery, buried and intermingled with a game played by Coburn and his six guests. It's a witty, clever movie full of twists and turns, and, unlike many mysteries, it practices fair play, revealing all the clues to us, and being consistent with them (remember, Sondheim was, aside from being a great songwriter, also very responsible for popularizing cryptic crosswords in the USA). There are elements of the movie that age poorly ('70s hair!), but overall, there's little to dislike here -- great performances (especially by Coburn, Mason, and Benjamin), zinging dialogue, dark humor galore, and great Mediterranean scenery. Coburn's "Island Speech" is just a blast. If you like mysteries or puzzles (or, you know, good movies) at all, see this one. And don't look for any plot summaries or whatnot - the less you know going in, the more wonderful it is.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-19 03:04 pm (UTC)Hell, yeah.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-19 03:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-19 06:08 pm (UTC)It actually only came out on DVD this past year, I think, so the window of opportunity hasn't been open for that long.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-19 04:27 pm (UTC)As far as The Third Man goes, I agree that it should have been higher on the AFI list; however, I've always questioned it being on the list at all. This was supposed to be great American films. Everything about the film was British (made by British Lion Film and London Film Productions). Selznick only distributed it. In my opinion, it shouldn't have been eligible based on the American criteria.
The film does have one of the great moments of subtle acting. Let's see if I can do this without spoilers. At one point in the film, Orson Welles wants Joseph Cotton to do something. He stares at him for a moment and then gives an almost imperceptible nod. That gives me chills every time.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-19 06:15 pm (UTC)