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Post by nutsberryfarm đ on May 7, 2018 22:49:06 GMT
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Post by politicidal on May 8, 2018 0:15:23 GMT
John Carpenter considered him overrated apparently.
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Post by wmcclain on May 8, 2018 0:31:03 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on May 8, 2018 11:06:12 GMT
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Post by outrider127 on May 9, 2018 1:23:15 GMT
The Cat People scene with the attack on the other side of the door, then seeing blood run scared the crap out of me as a kid---Isle Of The Dead was nicely atmospheric
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Post by Nalkarj on May 9, 2018 3:23:23 GMT
The Cat People scene with the attack on the other side of the door, then seeing blood run scared the crap out of me as a kid---Isle Of The Dead was nicely atmospheric is my second-favorite Lewton, after The Body Snatcher. It used to be rated rather poorly by fans, who criticized the pacing and plotting in particular, but I think that works in its favor: itâs rather dreamlike or, perhaps, nightmarish, the flip side of Curse of the Cat People in its focus on atmospheric imagery. I think itâs superb, and the âresurrectionâ of Mrs. St. Aubyn⊠I agree completely with Scorsese and Everson, both of whom have called it one of the most terrifying film sequences of them all. Of all of Lewtonâs features, it reminds me the most of a Robert Aickman âstrange storyâ; fans of that authorâs work will know what I mean, but suffice it to say that it plays on us with the mad logic of a dream, without what Iâd consider the pretentious self-consciousness of The Seventh Victim. As for the attack on the side of the door⊠Isnât that The Leopard Man? Or is there a sequence in Cat People Iâm not remembering? |
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Post by wmcclain on May 9, 2018 11:54:59 GMT
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Post by Doghouse6 on May 9, 2018 16:11:26 GMT
The Cat People scene with the attack on the other side of the door, then seeing blood run scared the crap out of me as a kid---Isle Of The Dead was nicely atmospheric As for the attack on the side of the door⊠Isnât that The Leopard Man? Or is there a sequence in Cat People Iâm not remembering? You're remembering correctly. The entire sequence culminating in that moment, which began with the girl's apprehensive trips through the arroyo, is one of The Leopard Man's high points, and is as representative a distillation as any of Lewton's less-is-more artistry. |
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Post by Nalkarj on May 9, 2018 16:15:34 GMT
As for the attack on the side of the door⊠Isnât that The Leopard Man? Or is there a sequence in Cat People Iâm not remembering? You're remembering correctly. The entire sequence culminating in that moment, which began with the girl's apprehensive trips through the arroyo, is one of The Leopard Man's high points, and is as representative a distillation as any of Lewton's less-is-more artistry. Thanks, Doghouse.  Itâs a wonderful sequenceâas you say, one of the filmâs high points. That one stuck with me for a long while⊠Though itâs not perfect (the cop-out ending being particularly disappointing), it may be my favorite of the Lewton-Tourneur collaborations. |
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Post by wmcclain on May 10, 2018 10:51:31 GMT
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Post by Doghouse6 on May 10, 2018 14:30:01 GMT
You're remembering correctly. The entire sequence culminating in that moment, which began with the girl's apprehensive trips through the arroyo, is one of The Leopard Man's high points, and is as representative a distillation as any of Lewton's less-is-more artistry. Thanks, Doghouse. Itâs a wonderful sequenceâas you say, one of the filmâs high points. That one stuck with me for a long while⊠Though itâs not perfect (the cop-out ending being particularly disappointing), it may be my favorite of the Lewton-Tourneur collaborations. As much as I enjoy them, I've never been a very good judge of whodunts insofar as how writers resolve them; I tend to buy into what's offered, doing little second-guessing. On those terms, I can't honestly claim any disappointment, and the fabulous atmosphere of the procession through the desert would compensate for any I might have felt in any case. Anyhow, somebody thought it was good enough to be repurposed the following year in The Scarlet Claw (or am I mis-remembering now?). I'm awfully easy to please sometimes. |
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Post by Nalkarj on May 10, 2018 18:02:33 GMT
Oh, I should note that Iâm not criticizing The Leopard Man because of any whodunit aspects, Doghouse6 (I certainly donât see it that way) but merely for the fact that thereâs a human killer at all. While the film doesnât have the âcat peopleâ/âwere-catâ theme the poster promises, there does seem something vaguely supernatural about this leopard able to strike anywhere, any time. I suppose that, going into as a Lewton âhorror,â the fact that thereâs an out-of-left-field human culprit seemed slightly disappointing to meâwhereas with The Scarlet Claw I go in expecting a mystery and, I suppose, would be slightly disappointed if the culprit were suddenly revealed to be Dracula, say. Fabulous atmosphere indeed, and I donât really mean to criticize it, as itâs one of my favorite Lewtons too. I hadnât heard that The Leopard Man influenced The Scarlet Claw! The posters certainly look similar, and of course the general plot line⊠|
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Post by Doghouse6 on May 10, 2018 20:18:15 GMT
Oh, I should note that Iâm not criticizing The Leopard Man because of any whodunit aspects, Doghouse6 (I certainly donât see it that way) but merely for the fact that thereâs a human killer at all. While the film doesnât have the âcat peopleâ/âwere-catâ theme the poster promises, there does seem something vaguely supernatural about this leopard able to strike anywhere, any time. I suppose that, going into as a Lewton âhorror,â the fact that thereâs an out-of-left-field human culprit seemed slightly disappointing to meâwhereas with The Scarlet Claw I go in expecting a mystery and, I suppose, would be slightly disappointed if the culprit were suddenly revealed to be Dracula, say. Fabulous atmosphere indeed, and I donât really mean to criticize it, as itâs one of my favorite Lewtons too. I hadnât heard that The Leopard Man influenced The Scarlet Claw! The posters certainly look similar, and of course the general plot line⊠I don't really know for a fact that the Lewton film had any influence on the Holmes opus; I was just being a bit snarky because their resolutions were so similar. But I see what you mean about the differing expectations. Who knows? Maybe after the supernatural elements of Cat People and I Walked With A Zombie, The Leopard Man's final act was a surprise twist! Not as outrageous as Mark Of the Vampire's but, y'know. |
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Post by Nalkarj on May 10, 2018 20:33:24 GMT
But is it a parody, Doghouse6?  Oh, no worries, my mistake! I was very amused when I watched one of the early Philo Vances ( Casino, maybe?) and saw a conclusion that The Woman in Green borrowed. That did end up being on-purpose; the two movies share a same writer. |
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Post by Doghouse6 on May 10, 2018 21:44:24 GMT
But is it a parody, Doghouse6 ? Oh, no worries, my mistake! I was very amused when I watched one of the early Philo Vances ( Casino, maybe?) and saw a conclusion that The Woman in Green borrowed. That did end up being on-purpose; the two movies share a same writer. No, not even a pair o' D's, since The Scarlet Claw didn't disappoint. I've noticed writers often borrow from themselves. On the "Memorable quotes" thread, The Court Jester's "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle..." came up, and mikef6 mentioned "The paper's in the pocket of the boot with the buckle; the map's in a packet in the pocket of the jacket" from 1948's A Southern Yankee. Panama and Frank were writers on both scripts. In Sabrina, Bogart says, "I wish I were dead with a broken back." Wilder either liked the line so much or was so frustrated that he couldn't give it the proper edge in 1954 that it turned up again in 1961's One, Two, Three as, "I wish I were in hell with my back broken" for Cagney. In 1990's The Two Jakes, David Keith tells a distasteful story about a hooker that culminates with, "That's where she drew the line" (if you didn't see it or don't remember it, it's not worth going into). The whole bit of dialogue had originally been written for Lt. Escobar in Robert Towne's 1973 Chinatown script, but was jettisoned (shoulda stayed that way). And Bob Hope's personal staff of writers frequently recycled one-liners from one film for another. |
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Itâs a wonderful sequenceâas you say, one of the filmâs high points. That one stuck with me for a long while⊠Though itâs not perfect (the cop-out ending being particularly disappointing), it may be my favorite of the Lewton-Tourneur collaborations.
