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Post by Matthew the Swordsman on Jul 30, 2017 21:55:17 GMT
What classics did you watch last week? Modern films are welcome too.
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Post by Matthew the Swordsman on Jul 30, 2017 22:05:03 GMT
My viewing for the week included one silent feature film, six silent shorts, one sound short, five TV episodes, and excerpts from seven other TV programs.
Film:
Snow White (1916, USA, 63 minutes, directed by J. Searle Dawley) - 7.5/10. Pleasant, charming version of this famous fairy tale. I've always felt that silent film and fantasy go together very well. This appears on one of the "Treasures from American film archives" DVD sets.
Poor Mrs. Jones (1926, USA, 46 minutes, directed by Raymond Evans) - 7.5/10. Entertaining propaganda film, intended to encourage rural folk to stay on the farm. In contrasts peaceful farm life with hectic city life. I found it interesting that two characters are shown listening to a radio set, perhaps an early example of a radio appearing in a film? I wonder if any of those low-income city apartment buildings of the period still exist (if they do, no doubt they'd have been renovated into ultra-expensive condos or something).
Making a Living (1914, USA, 13 minutes, directed by Henry Lehrman) - 7.5/10. Maybe I was just in a good mood, but I very much enjoyed this, Charlie Chaplin's first film.
They Stand Ready (1955, UK, 18 minutes, directed by A. Frank Bundy) - 7.5/10. Propaganda film for the British army, specifically the "national service". Strangely enjoyable. It probably helps that the film was made during peace time, which means that no nation gets dissed. In fact it's all rather cheerful.
Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914, USA, 7 minutes, directed by Henry Lehrman) - 7/10. A simple gag, but a funny one.
Mabel's Strange Predicament (1914, USA, 12 minutes, directed by Mabel Normand) - 7.5/10. Funny comedy. Charlie Chaplin is funny, and Mabel Normand is funny.
Rough Sea at Dover (1896, UK, under 30 seconds, directed by Birt Acres) - 7/10. Does exactly what the title suggests.
The Arrest of a Bookmaker (1895, UK, about 30 seconds, directed by Robert W. Paul) - 7.5/10. Perhaps one of the earliest crime drama films, concerning a man being attacked by some criminals, and a policeman trying to help.
TV:
"The Don Lane Show" - Episode telecast 24 April 1980 (Australia, 78 minutes) - 7.5/10. This program was a hybrid of three genres: talk show, variety show, and game show. There are interviews with Paul Hogan and Tamie Fraser. There are songs by Chet Reynolds, Penny Parsons and host Don Lane. There's also the game show segment "Don's Wheel" which features extremely easy questions (such as which comedians appeared in the film Duck Soup. In 1980, everyone in Australia knew the answer to that question, because old Hollywood films were shown a lot on Australian TV). A shame most episodes are lost of this series.
"Brian Henderson's Bandstand" - Episode telecast 21 November 1964 (Australia, 47 minutes) - 8/10. Entertaining music show. This episode has an emphasis on rock singer Col Joye. Other singers who appear include Judy Stone, Jimmy Little, and Cheryl Bracken. The songs range from Elvis Presley covers to Al Jolson covers! Unfortunately, the audio of the kinescope is a bit worn....but we are lucky it survives, as most episodes of this series are lost.
"Welcome Back, Kotter" - Episode titled "The Great Debate" (telecast 9 September 1975, USA, 25 minutes) - 7.5/10. Amusingly silly episode of this sitcom.
"Your Hit Parade" - Episode telecast 22 May 1954 (USA, 29 minutes) - 8/10. Enjoyable presentation of pop music, but the copy I viewed has poor picture and sound quality. I think it's a fifth generation VHS transfer or something like that. Surely someone out there must have the original kinescope? The episode is public domain so it should be fine to link to it (but be warned, the opening song is extremely tacky in presentation) :
"Mayday" - Episode titled "Unlocking Disaster" (telecast 10 September 2003, Canada-France-UK, 52 minutes) - 8/10. Documentary series about airplane disasters.
Clips:
Watched an excerpt from the 22 April 1983 episode of Swedish TV series "Nöjesmaskinen", featuring Agnetha Faltskog lip-syncing her song "The Heat is On". Enjoyable.
Watched an excerpt from an Italian show called "Vela d'Oro”, taped September 1983, in which Agnetha Faltskog lip-syncs her song “Can’t Shake Loose”. Cool.
Watched excerpts from the Swedish TV special “The Heat Is On”, telecast 14 May 1983, featuring Agnetha Faltskog lip-syncing her songs “Mr Persuasion”, “I Wish Tonight Could Last Forever”, and “Wrap Your Arms Around Me”.
Watched an excerpt from the West German TV series “Musikladen”, telecast 11 November 1982, featuring Agnetha Faltskog and Tomas Ledin lip-syncing their song “Never Again”. Very well-produced segment, the director clearly thought out the camera angles and lighting to good effect. In general it seems German TV did some of the best music shows back then.
Watched a clip from the Australian TV series "Bandstand", featuring Steve Carey lip-syncing his cover of "Don't Fight It". Despite being from 13 June 1970...it was still a kinescope!
Watched clips from a 1985 Swedish TV special called "A For Agnetha", featuring Agnetha Faltskog lip-syncing her songs "One Way Love", "Click Track", and "We Move as One".
Watched a clip from the West German TV series "Känguru" (telecast 18 April 1985), in which Agnetha Faltskog lip-synced her song "I Won't Let You Go".
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Post by claudius on Jul 30, 2017 22:06:10 GMT
Late Jul 23 to this hour Jul 30
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT III (1994) Dir: Bud Friedgen & Michael J. Sheridan. The third part of the compilation films gathers additional scenes from MGM’s musical library as well as outtakes like Lena Horne in a Bubble Bath and Judy Garland as Annie Oakley. Joining Gene Kelly, Mickey Rooney, and Debbie Reynolds in guest-hosting are Horne herself (being honest but graceful about her treatment by the studio), Cyd Charisse, Esther Williams, Howard Keel, June Allyson, and Ann Miller (whose EASTER PARADE number “Shake the Blues Away” is included with Doris Day’s version from LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME). I remember wanting to use this film as the subject for my Middle School newsletter film review, but I was forced to turn it down either because it was not released on my hometown or I was advised it was not a good idea for pre-teens (I next choose NAKED GUN 3 & 1/3rd: THE FINAL INSULT, but when it turned out to be on its last day, I went to see Dana Carvey’s BLANK CHECK instead). Warner DVD.
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE KILLER SHREWS Dir:Ray Kellogg. Another B-movie by the same director of THE GIANT GILA MONSTER, this time mutated shrews (dogs harnessed with carpets) threatening scientists on a deserted island. Also includes the short JUNIOR RODEO DAREDEVILS. Saw this one on July 25, the 25th Anniversary of its premiere broadcast in 1992. Rhino DVD.
HOLLYWOOD “Single Beds and Double Standards” Dir: Kevin Brownlow & David Gill. Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle had a bright future ahead of him in Hollywood, but a scandal involving the death of a party girl destroyed his career and forced the Motion Picture Industry to clean up its act. The third entry of the 1979 Brownlow-Gill documentary celebrating the American Silent Film. I remember watching the second Act of this episode on my 12th Birthday on The Learning Channel (It begins with the Golden Idol sequence from THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923), my first view of the silent version; a few hours earlier I had my first complete viewing of the 1956 version). Although it gives much emphasis on the Arbuckle Scandal and Wallace Reid’s drug-addicted death, I always wondered why they give less mention to the William Desmond Taylor case (scant mention to Mary Miles Minter or Mabel Normand). This is from a bootleg of an unknown video source (it has the 1980s Thames Television Logo, which is not on the HBO Video VHS or the 1997 TCM Broadcasts; probably Laserdisc)
HOLLYWOOD “Hollywood Goes to War” Dir: Kevin Brownlow & David Gill. Fourth episode of the Brownlow-Gill docu. Act I covers America’s Jekyll-and-Hyde association with WWI via film; First isolation and pacifism films, then enthusiasm and anti-German propaganda, then a restraint on that focus. Act II deals with the resurgence of War films in the latter part of the 1920s with THE BIG PARADE, WINGS, and a spoiler to ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (which was also released as a silent film in some sound-technology-impaired theaters). Bootleg of an unknown source.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN “Planetary Devastation.” Shocked over the apparent death of Hinata, Naruto loses himself to the Beast inside. Only one person can save him. Viz Media DVD.
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (1971) Dir: Charles Jarrott. After the success of ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS, Hal B. Willis produced another 'Doomed Queen' spectacle, this time between the rivalry between the Queen of Scotland and the Queen of England. I remember seeing the ending of this one on Arts & Entertainment Channel in 1992 (coincidentally while writing a history report about Elizabeth I). A much better viewing came much later after viewing the 1971 BBC-TV Serial ELIZABETH R, which made me make some comparisons (both starred Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth, both share the Amy Dudley controversy and Mary Stuart as well as screenwriter John Hale, who wrote the teleplay for the serial’s intro episode “The Lion’s Cub”) Universal DVD.
MGM: WHEN THE LION ROARS (1992) “The Lion Roars” Dir: Frank Martin. Episode 1 deals with the beginning of the Studio in 1924 to the death of irving Thalberg in 1936. Hosted by Patrick Stewart walking around a series of sets (with extras resembling actors from HE WHO GETS SLAPPED, BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST, THE BIG PARADE, THE BROADWAY MELODY, and the not-mentioned-at-all THE SCARLET LETTER), there is focus on Gilbert, Garbo, Chaney, Dressler, Shearer, Gable, Harlow, Tarzan, W.S. Van Dyke, as well as brief ‘making-of’ of GREED, BEN-HUR, and THE BIG PARADE. This is probably one of the last documentaries when members of Old Hollywood were still alive for interviews (although several are archival, mostly from Kevin Brownlow). I remember revering the Coffee table book I got that Christmas 1991, published a few months before the series was broadcast in March 1992, among TNT’s marathon broadcast of studio films (“Nobody Does MGM [Leo the Lion sound effect] like TNT”). MGM/UA VHS & Warner DVD (from the GWTW Blu-Ray).
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Post by OldAussie on Jul 30, 2017 22:07:27 GMT
1st view -
Live by Night (2016) Decent prohibition era gangster flick. 6.5/10
Daredevil (2003) Actually quite funny in parts (intentionally too). 5/10
Iron Man 3 (2013) More of the same. 5/10
Revisits -
Network (1976) Wonderful performances add to the enjoyment. 8.5/10
Zoolander (2001) Silly but amusing. 6/10
The Contender (2000) A cop-out ending doesn't ruin a good political drama. 7.5/10
Patton (1970) Movie 8/10. George C. Scott 10/10. One of the truly great performances.
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Post by wmcclain on Jul 30, 2017 22:26:20 GMT
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Post by Matthew the Swordsman on Jul 30, 2017 22:28:34 GMT
wmcclain Amazingly wide range of decades. I once tried to watch one film (either feature or short) for each decade of the 20th century during the space of a week....I think I managed to do that.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 30, 2017 23:06:02 GMT
Hi all,after a long delay I've at last joined the site! This is what I watched last week:
My 2000th IMDb rating:
Garde à vue (1981) 10
Making her penultimate film,Romy Schneider gives a haunting performance as Chantal which reflects the deep troubles Schneider was having in her life,from the interview Chantal has with Gallien being given a washed out mood by Schneider, in expressing the breakdown of the Martinaud's marriage. Left to do the typing in the interrogation, Guy Marchand gives a cracking performance as Belmont, whose frustrations Marchand makes crackle on screen,as Belmont sees the "murderer" in front of him,but unable to lay a finger on him.
Stamping round the interrogation room, Lino Ventura gives a magnificent performance as Gallien,who is given a calculating tact by Ventura,which shatters from Gallien's passion to bring justice to the murdered girls. Caught in the hard line the cops take, Michel Serrault digs Martinaud's heels in with an upper-crust self belief,which crumbles as the interrogation unveil the Neo-Noir loss at wits end behind Martinaud businessman façade.
Joined by his wife Annie playing a major role in the flashback scenes, co-writer/(with Jean Herman and Michel Audiard) director Claude Miller & cinematographer Bruno Nuytten sit in on the interrogation with a stylish,pristine appearance wiping any brightness away for dour,white and grey Noir colours. Keeping all the guys in one room, Miller fires up the claustrophobic anxiety with tightly coiled whip-pans across the confined location,which sweep into hard-nosed close-ups lingering on each vicious exchange.
Taking John Wainwright's book into the station,the writers superbly intercut flashbacks to the murder scenes and Martinaud's private life to emphasise the importance of what Gallien and Belmont attempt to uncover. Taking place against a "stage" setting, the writers keep the Neo- Noir atmosphere fresh with incredibly subtle changes in the dialogue,from everyone trying to get under the skin of each other,to Gallien, Martinaud and Belmont spitting out their frustrations,of all being under suspicion.
Canadian movies:
Ivy League Killers (1959) 5
Rolling in on a swift 69 minutes,director William Davidson & cinematographer William H. Gimmi give the flick a very scrappy Drive-In appearance,via the Noir hangouts and bike chases taking place in dingy locations with rough camera moves. Backed by a stirring Noir score from John Bath,Davidson shifts the jd awkwardness into gear,with shots following each gang member carrying a feeling of no one really knowing their place. Done to give exhibitor Nat Taylor a quick box office hit,the screenplay by Norman Klenman follows the mood Davidson sets,via the sweet lovers on the lam romance between Don and Susan being hit by the Noir biker chains of Andy's thugs. Done decades before he set hearts bleeding in the folk Slasher movie My Bloody Valentine, Don Francks gives a brooding,slime ball performance as Andy,who runs down the Ivy League.
Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006) 7
Freely skipping between French and English exchanges,the screenplay by Leila Basen/ Alex Epstein/ Patrick Huard and playfully uses the lost in translation dialogue to build Ward's and Bouchard's odd couple relationship, with their initial, spike-driven exchanges being hammered down by the realisation that they can both score the winning goal on the case. As Bouchard and Ward break the ice,the writers keep the case spinning with a wonderfully odd murder/mystery Thriller,with the "buddy cop" set-up allowing the writers to give the murderous thrills a black comedy streak,as Bouchard and Ward burn their hands when witnesses go up in flames,and the motive for the killing taking a sly, satirical shot at foreign ownership in sports.
Standing in the middle of the culture clash line between Bouchard and Ward,director Erik Canuel & cinematographer Bruce Chun give the mismatched pair a stylish,glossy Thriller appearance,with slick camera moves for the tense action scenes and neon red for the murders, being well balanced by a lingering which allows for the punchlines to hit. Bouncing off each other, Colm Feore and Patrick Huard both give excellent performances as Ward and Bouchard,thanks to Feore making Ward a calculating, thoughtful force of calm, against the explosive pack of bon bons that Huard wonderfully delivers for Bouchard,which the bad cop and the bon cop soon get a taste for.
Other films:
Kon-Tiki (2012) 7
Hitting thunderous waves against the raft,directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg offer spectacular views of the high seas,with vast sweeping wide shots scanning the wilderness Heyerdahl and the crew are surrounded by. Taking 16 years to swim onto the screen, the directors make it worth the wait,as the decision to shoot on sea leads to a spectacular blending of CGI and the clutching at hope on the raft,which loosens as the crew get attacked by various deadly sea life in gripping battles.
Partly based on Heyerdahl's bio, (with some crew changed to bring more "tension" into the film) the screenplay by Petter Skavlan superbly makes it a human adventure,by giving each crew member their own "moment",from the wide-eyed innocence of Heyerdahl to crusty seadog Bengt Danielsson (played by a very good Gustaf Skarsgård.) Going against the tide of his gritty performances in the fantastic Nordic Noir movies of auteur Hans Petter Moland, Pål Sverre Hagen gives a terrific performance as Heyerdahl,thanks to Sverre capturing the earthy,adventure atmosphere of the film,on the raft to Polynesia.
Blue Chips (1994) 7
Fuming by the sideline, Nick Nolte gives a powerhouse performance as Bell,who bites the arm of anyone who gets on his wrong side. Joined by the very good,more mellow J.T. Walsh, Mary McDonnell and Al Bundy, (playing a character with the very original name "Ed"!)Nolte gives Bell's marching orders to the team a warm howl,as Bell's sets his sights on the team leaping to victory.
Shooting hoops as a writer,the screenplay by Ron Shelton scoops out most of the feel-good Sports movie clichés for a more earthy approach,with the issues the team face in backhanders and burnouts lingering as doubt in Bell for the whole season. Appearing to set up a cheerful final shot, Shelton instead slams the ball down for a poetic ending which gets to Bell's love of the game. Ducking and weaving in the game,director William Friedkin & cinematographer Tom Priestley Jr. gives the games a documentary closeness,via tightly held shots listening in on each team member helping to plan victory by chipping in.
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Post by mikef6 on Jul 31, 2017 0:46:04 GMT
Charade / Roy Kellino (1954). In 1939, director Roy Kellino hired actor James Mason to star with Kellino’s actress wife, Pamela Kellino in the movie “I Met a Murderer.” During filming, Mason and Pamela began an affair which led to a divorce from Kellino in 1940. She and Mason married in 1941. A little over a decade later, James Mason, Pamela Mason, and Pamela’s ex – Kellino – formed an independent production company together. Highly civilized of them, I know. The result, Portland Pictures, only managed two or three films, this one under review being one of the last. The film consists of three unrelated stories. Two are original screenplays. The middle story is an adaptation of “Zodmirsky's Duel,” a short story by Alexandre Dumas. Before and after each play, we see Mr. and Mrs. Mason discussing what their next movie will be about and perusing a screenplay. We then see the story acted out. The Dumas story is the best (it was later shown as a stand alone program on the CBS television anthology series General Electric Theater). The first story, Portrait of a Murderer, is a creepy suspenser about a woman who falls for a man because she knows he is a murderer. The final story is The Midas Touch, a gentle comedy about a rich business tycoon who tries to put wealth and money behind him but finds that he can’t change his nature. The film has a certain charm about it. It goes down smoothly. James and Pamela easily manage their three roles.
Don’t Think Twice / Mike Birbiglia (2016). In New York City, an improv group, The Commune, performs in a small theater but fill all the seats. Each show is opened by Sam (Gillian Jacobs) who asks the audience if anyone had a particularly hard day. She was brought into the group by Miles (Mike Birbiglia), her lover and the founder of The Commune. There are four other members. Just before going on stage, they pat each other on the shoulders and say, “I’ve got your back,” but when the popular performer Jack (Keegan-Michael Key) gets a permanent slot on the legendary TV comedy show Weekend Live, things start to change for the group. There are plenty of laughs to be had - the group members can hardly stop improvising comedy even off-stage, even at funerals - they are faced with some difficult decisions both as a team and individually. So we have a dramedy (or comedama?), but the script and performances perfectly balance the two so there is never a clash of tones. I suppose if the film has a “meaning” as in a moral or life lesson, it would be “everything ends and we have to be mature enough to change with the times and move on,” but it is not as simple as that. This is an excellent “small” movie where you really get to know and pull for the people in it. The title refers to a teaching point in improvisation and a cover of the Bob Dylan song of that name is heard over the end credits.
Rogue One / Gareth Edwards (2016). I have never cared all that much for the Star Wars or Star Trek “universes” (although I rewatch the original Trek series) or any other sci-fi or superhero series, for that matter - with one exception. My only concession to sci-fi geekiness is the long-running BBC series Doctor Who. Having said THAT…for some reason (I don’t know what it is) I always come around to the latest Star Wars film. No matter how firm my resolve to leave it behind forever, within a year, I’ve seen the damn thing. “Rogue One” is no exception. If you remember the very first Star Wars film (since re-named "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope"), the first thing we saw was Princess Leia loading the Death Star plans into R2-D2. Finally, almost 40 years later, we learn how the Princess came into possession of those plans. There are several pluses that make this a worthy chapter in the saga, viz., casual dropping of names that remind us of what is going to happen to them, e.g. the planet Alderaan, Ambassador Organa and an actor made-up and CGIed-up to become the late Peter Cushing as Governor Tarkin. Felicity Jones and Diego Luna make an attractive and sympathetic hero couple. It is great to see the Hong Kong martial arts superstar Donnie Yen speaking English (he grew up in Hong Kong under the British and moved to Boston, where his parents still live, at age 11) in an English language film. Also in support we find good actors like Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn (when is this poor man going to get to play a Good Guy), Forest Whitaker, and Riz Ahmed. On the not-so-good side we have Gareth Edwards who also directed the two “Raid” movies so he knows how to make the action scenes hit their marks with precision timing, but, as in the case of the final battle, he doesn’t know when to stop. The film throws at us a non-stop barrage of explosions, weapons fire, and bodies flying through the air. Meanwhile, the lead characters are always dangling from high up places. The fast-forward scan button on the remote was making my thumb itch. Eventually, the battle was over and the film ends with a great final image. All-in-all, a fairly decent flick by Star Wars standards with a tighter plot than most and some good acting.
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Post by Lucy on Jul 31, 2017 0:50:00 GMT
`Lucille Ball films I had recorded from TCM last year:
Best Foot Forward (1943)
Yours, Mines, and Ours (1968)
Mame (1974)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 1:34:04 GMT
Been lost in some television series and listening to several new OTR shows, will review them after sampling enough shows to get a good enough idea as to their merits. The Front Page (1931) Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien, Mary Brian, Edward Everett Horton Based on the stage play, the main problem with this version is that the early thirties slang really dates this film, as the script is not funny or very witty and mainly depends on old character types to get a laugh that don't ring any bells to a modern audience. The only 'Pre-Code' scenes worth noting- are all the topless and nude pinups in the background on the press room wall, which is kinda 30's mind-blowing while they are having this serious debate over oppression of the masses and the abuse of authority in front of them, some risqué images soon to be gone for a very longtime. Mediocre 5 Veteran newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson (Pat O'Brien) is about to get married and start a new job. But when his boss, tough-talking editor Walter Burns (Adolphe Menjou), gets wind of a political angle in an upcoming execution, he calls back a reluctant Hildy for one last story. George E. Stone, Mary Brian, James Gordon and Mae Clarke co-star in the first film adaptation of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's humorous play How the West Was Won (1977) - Seasons 1 & 2 James Arness, Eva Marie Saint, Bruce Boxleitner Excellent first rate miniseries that turned into a short lived television series that was allowed to just peter out on it's third season, though to be fair the Macahan clan did start to wander way off their 'Oregon' or bust mission statement but the first 2 seasons are some of the best Westerns ever to be produced, acted and written for television- highly recommend if you love Westerns- loved every minute of it- 10 This family saga follows the lives and struggles of the Macahan clan -- led by rugged frontiersman Zeb Macahan -- after the outbreak of the Civil War disrupts their planned trek to the untamed American West. The Untouchables (1987) Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith, Sean Connery, Kevin Costner- Director: Brian De Palma This highly stylized gangster movie that was patterned after a John Ford Western is top-flight entertainment, trying to find flaws here? Robert De Niro's 'Al Capone' seems a bit one-dimensional and guttural, but this is probably by choice. One of those films that can be watched on many levels (the use of negative space) and the set designs are just as impressive-Solid 9 In this period crime drama, Eliot Ness will stop at nothing to take down legendary Al Capone -- even if it means bending some rules Red (1994) Irene Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frederique Feder Irene Jacob is a revelation in this film and it is her introspective portrayal that really carries you along in this mysterious twisting meditation upon crossing the boundaries that separate us from understanding one another and where they should be drawn. A very interesting and enjoyable ride that has the added benefit of it's beautifully framed shots with the theme of 'Red' running through each back-drop. Another solid 9. In this meditation on the need for passion and human connection -- the final film in Krzysztof Kieslowski's "three colors" trilogy -- an accident brings together two very different people: Valentine (Irene Jacob), a model, and Joseph (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a retired judge. Since love chooses to pair people's hearts at random, theirs becomes a fated and deeply improbable, but altogether true, romance. The Last Kingdom (2017) -Season 2 /Alexander Dreymon, Emily Cox, David Dawson Having read the entire series of books and throughly enjoying them as first-rate historical drama, finally got the chance to finish the second season which follows the second book in the series surprisingly close, just seeing this really good book come to fantastic life with a first-rate upscale production- is one of my top-television treats of this year. 8/9 As Alfred the Great defends his kingdom from Norse invaders, Uhtred -- born a Saxon but raised by Vikings -- seeks to claim his ancestral birthright. Listening to the ' Best of the Andrew Sisters' album while posting these reviews- these gals really swing!  give'm a spin. |
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Post by howardschumann on Jul 31, 2017 2:07:10 GMT
A GHOST STORY
Directed by David Lowery, U.S., (2017), 87 minutes
“And we’re lost out here in the stars. Little stars, big stars, blowing through the night” – Kurt Weill
Though the consensus of mainstream science is that ghosts do not exist, people’s shared experiences throughout history tell us that disembodied spirits do wander the earth, unfortunate souls who are unable to let go of their attachments to the earthly world they just left. David Lowery’s (“Pete’s Dragon”) touching meditation on life, love, and impermanence, A Ghost Story, sees life not from the usual perspective of the one left behind after a loved one dies, but from the vantage point of the dead, the ghost who remains attached to the physical world, looking for completion and release. A Ghost Story has little dialogue or plot, and the experience of passion and regret only comes through in a very limited way, yet a gentle mood of sadness, longing, and loss permeates the film and gives it its character.
In the film which is shot in a 1:33:1 ratio, a format that creates the experience of living inside a box (the way many of us do), Rooney Mara (“Song to Song”) and Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”), known as M and C, live together in a single-story house in suburban Texas, an ordinary house without many distinguishing characteristics. It takes its meaning in the film from the memories it holds of families and friends, of children decorating a Christmas tree, of the tinkling sound of a piano and the whispering of birds in the early morning, a panoply of life and love. As M and C proclaim their love and talk about their future plans, the idyllic scene is brutally interrupted when C is killed in a car accident and his body, covered by a sheet, is identified by M at the morgue.
C’s body, clothed only in a sheet that completely covers his body with two holes carved out for his eyes, rises from the slab and calmly walks out of the room, heading back across fields to the house with which he is familiar. Mara, devastated and alone, has no one to turn to communicate with and, in one memorable scene, expresses her grief by eating an entire pie in one take that lasts more than five minutes, an event that can try the patience of even the biggest devotee of art cinema. As the expressionless ghost wanders around the house, the film becomes silent except for the exquisite score by Daniel Hart (“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”). At one point, the ghost sees a fellow traveler wearing a sheet with a floral pattern in a window across the street.
Since we don’t know how ghosts communicate and apparently texting is not available, Lowery provides subtitles of what is being said, which is not much. They don’t talk about the weather or how terrible humans are. One ghost simply says that she is waiting but doesn’t remember who she is waiting for. We know that there is a note hidden by M in a crack in the wall which the ghost works at retrieving, but finding the note is only one reason the ghost hangs around. He wants to be there for her even though he knows she is going to move on. When M does move out, the ghost remains attached to the house, traveling into the future to haunt a future resident, a Hispanic single mother (Sonia Acevedo) and her two children (Carlos Bermudez and Yasmina Gutierrez) who are enjoying life until big G, upset with their intrusion, does his poltergeist thing, throwing dishes around and causing both general and specific chaos.
Remorseful, the ghost returns to the distant past when a family who populated the site when it was nothing but grassland ends up with arrows stuck in their ribs, courtesy of the local Indians. A modern office building, also in the future, is his final destination, but, not feeling too happy there, he jumps out of a window from high above the street, but has as much success killing himself as did Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day.” At some point, the ghost attends a party dominated by an inebriated philosopher (Will Oldham, “Pioneer”) who thinks he has something very profound to say and morosely delivers a lecture on the idea that nothing lasts and that even the Earth will die as well as perhaps the entire universe.
Lowery has said that “while he (Oldham) is basically saying, “Live each day like it’s your last,” he wants people to come away from the movie feeling like there’s a little more to life than just that. I would suggest that there’s a great deal more. In fact, the speech misses the point of impermanence and non-attachment. To live in non-attachment means that we recognize there was never anything to attach or cling to in the first place, that our separation from others is an Earth-bound illusion and that we are always connected to all things at all times, an experience that leads to joy rather than despair.
Yes, the swift passage of time can be scary and things do fall apart but, as the poet Rilke says, “This hand falls, nor yet this other. Falling all enfoldeth. Yet is there one who all this falling holdeth with unending gentleness?” Even ghosts must eventually let go.
GRADE: B+
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give'm a spin.