What classics did you see last week ? (17 Mar - 23 Mar 2019)

Inglourious Basterds

Definitely my favorite of Tarentino's work, the World War II setting and the buildup to the climax of the film are just brilliantly done. The dialogue is well written and never gets dull, thanks to the appearances and superior acting chops of Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbender. Brad Pitt is great as well, I'm looking forward to his role in Tarentino's new film. Cameo appearances by Mike Myers and Rod Taylor (his last role) were excellent and well conceived. Daniel Bruhl as Friedrich Zoller, the German war hero, was well done, as was the film within a film, Stolz der Nation. Eli Roth was the only character that really bugged me, although I've never really liked him much.



Battle of Britain

Very well done film, tons of great actors (although many of them barely make an appearance). The aerial dogfighting is superbly done in the pre-CGI era and it was indeed fortunate that the Spanish Air Force still had quite a few of the old German types (albeit with the wrong engines) flying and willing to loan or sell for the film. The constant shots of Heinkels burning up and exploding did get a little repetitious, outside of High Command worrying about losing the battle, I never got a true sense of any desperation on the part of the British flyers. It seemed like they were never too worried about the overwhelming odds. The love story between Christopher Plummer and Suzannah York seemed a little pointless outside of just breaking away from the conflict in the sky. I still enjoyed the film quite a bit despite the criticism.



An Affair to Remember

Not one of my favorite Cary Grant films, it's still a fun watch, and the portion on the SS Constitution as well as the French town while visiting Grant's character's grandmother are well done. The film seems to lose it once Grant and Kerr make it to New York. It seems sort of implausible that two adults, even being in serious relationships, would set up a silly game like meeting at the Empire State Building 6 months from the date of their arrival to New York. Oh well, it's late 1950's Hollywood and it makes a good story. The bluray I watched was glorious, with beautiful color and typical amazing Cinemascope cinematography. The shots of the Constitution were beautiful, especially with the evening or morning skies in the background.