cineastewest
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Post by cineastewest on Feb 24, 2017 5:16:19 GMT
I am always amazed to see this film ranking in the top 20 (currently #16) on the AFI Top 100 film list. Yes, it's got Betty Davis but it also stars Gary Merrill Who makes every thing sound like a "Twilight Zone" dialog by Rod Serling -- the William Shatner of writers. Ann Baxter as the waif-like mechanoid Eve manages to fool a room of actors with the worst performance of being humble only later matched by Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar acceptance. Did I mention Gary Merrill? The film is staged like a Chuck E. Cheese floorshow. There's ONE good shot in the whole film (it involved mirrors) otherwise it's flat as a pancake. Did I mention Ann Baxter? Yes, it's snarky fun, but #16? No way.
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Post by naterdawg on Feb 24, 2017 5:46:26 GMT
I am always amazed to see this film ranking in the top 20 (currently #16) on the AFI Top 100 film list. Yes, it's got Betty Davis but it also stars Gary Merrill Who makes every thing sound like a "Twilight Zone" dialog by Rod Serling -- the William Shatner of writers. Ann Baxter as the waif-like mechanoid Eve manages to fool a room of actors with the worst performance of being humble only later matched by Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar acceptance. Did I mention Gary Merrill? The film is staged like a Chuck E. Cheese floorshow. There's ONE good shot in the whole film (it involved mirrors) otherwise it's flat as a pancake. Did I mention Ann Baxter? Yes, it's snarky fun, but #16? No way. Wow. Did you see the same movie I did? It's Bette Davis, by the way. Not "Betty." And it's Anne Baxter, not Ann. Gary Merrill might not be your cup of tea, but I thought he was just great in this. And the year before, he'd done 12 O'clock High and also delivered a solid performance. Not sure what you mean by the Rod Serling reference. Rod Serling is only one of the world's greatest TV and science fiction writers...so why the snark? "Staged like a Chuck E. Cheese floorshow?" Sorry, but I think you were probably tripping when you stumbled across this on TCM. It's a drama about the theater, with some very sly comedic elements thrown in. I noticed you never mentioned George Sander's sardonic Addison DeWitt. You mentioned the trick shot with mirrors at the end...and that's the kind of stuff you expected? All About Eve wasn't directed by Hitchcock or Welles, ya know. Guess there's no accounting for taste.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2017 7:04:04 GMT
I am always amazed to see this film ranking in the top 20 (currently #16) on the AFI Top 100 film list. Yes, it's got Betty Davis but it also stars Gary Merrill Who makes every thing sound like a "Twilight Zone" dialog by Rod Serling -- the William Shatner of writers. Ann Baxter as the waif-like mechanoid Eve manages to fool a room of actors with the worst performance of being humble only later matched by Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar acceptance. Did I mention Gary Merrill? The film is staged like a Chuck E. Cheese floorshow. There's ONE good shot in the whole film (it involved mirrors) otherwise it's flat as a pancake. Did I mention Ann Baxter? Yes, it's snarky fun, but #16? No way. I'm ashamed to say I have yet to see it.
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Post by london777 on Feb 24, 2017 17:39:53 GMT
Beautifully scripted, directed, and acted by the principals. Maybe some of the supporting actors are not top rank (Merrill, Marlowe) or are survivors from an earlier style of acting (Holm), but they were perfectly cast here to reflect Davis' and Baxter's glamor and prestige and for Sanders to bounce his acidic comments off. It would not have been appropriate for them to have sparkled in their own right. And the smaller roles of Monroe and Ritter are a delight.
I suppose one criticism that could be made (though not by me) is that a truly great film should deal with weightier topics than backstage machinations in showbiz, as did The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). But such movies are always popular with the showbiz establishment as they support and inflate their self-esteem*. And some great ones were made around that epoch: The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) The Big Knife (1955) The Red Shoes (1948) Sunset Boulevard (1950) Children of Paradise (1945) And the tradition continues today with Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) and Black Swan (2010), a dumbed-down "Red Shoes" for the Facebook generation.
I sure posters could suggest others?
It would not make my top 20 of American movies, but top 50 certainly.
** I do not share American temper tantrums at Shakespeare in Love (1998) winning the Oscar because I think it is a fine film, but I am also aware that the main reason it did so was because it flattered the Hollywood elite by suggesting they are the spiritual heirs of Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.
One oddity in All About Eve is the way Birdie (Ritter) abruptly disappears halfway through the movie. Any comments on that?
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Post by naterdawg on Feb 24, 2017 18:40:54 GMT
Yes, that's true about Birdie. I was just watching All About Eve the other day and remarked to my sister, "what happened to Birdie? She disappeared!"
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cineastewest
Sophomore
Support the internet's most active film discussion forum - Preserve the IMDb forums here at IMDB v2
@cineastewest
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Post by cineastewest on Feb 25, 2017 3:47:20 GMT
Yes, that's true about Birdie. I was just watching All About Eve the other day and remarked to my sister, "what happened to Birdie? She disappeared!" And she was one of the best things in the movie!
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Mar 11, 2017 22:26:31 GMT
Great Movie. The two disc DVD has some great extras.
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Post by Wesley Crusher on Mar 11, 2017 22:36:29 GMT
My Top 10 Films (4700 feature films seen)
01 It Happened One Night (1934) 02 The Wizard of Oz (1939) 03 The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 04 The Dark Knight Rises (2012) 05 Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 06 A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 07 Million Dollar Baby (2004) 08 Limelight (1952) 09 All About Eve (1950) 10 My Fair Lady (1964)
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