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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Nov 14, 2018 0:52:56 GMT
kijiiThat's funny that you accidentally saw this movie, but glad you and your wife enjoyed it. It really gets you in all the feels, and the music is great. The casting for The whole band was perfect.
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Post by kijii on Nov 14, 2018 6:18:26 GMT
The Molly Maguires (1970) /Martin Ritt Rented for streaming from Amazon Prime
I think that this may be one of Ritt's most overlooked great movies. It is based on 19th Century American history and its overlap with and the Irish immigrants who came to America to escape the "Great Hunger of Ireland": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_%28Ireland%29.
The background of this movie could be described here: www.theirishstory.com/2013/07/09/the-molly-maguires/ However, this movie is no propaganda piece. It shows the conditions of the miners but never sacrifices "a cause" with a great and gritty drama.
Here, Detective James McParlan (Richard Harris) works long and hard to infiltrate the miners and convince them that he (an outsider) is one of them. McParlan's commission is to catch the leaders of the Molly Maquires in the act of committing a crime and to make sure that the crime is enough to send them to the gallows and totally destroy the group.
The leader of the local Molly Maguires is Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery) and he is always aware that an outsider may discover and uncover the destructive activities of the group. So, Kehoe, tests McParlan's loyalty over and over again, before making him part of the group.
Other great performances in the movie are given by: Frank Finlay as Captain Davies (the strong arm policeman that McParlan reports to); Samantha Eggar as Mary Raines (McParlan's love interest); and Philip Bourneuf as Father O'Connor (the strong moral leader of the community). Father O'Connor threatens his flock that belonging to secret organizations or engaging in violence could cause them to be excommunicated from the Church. This threat was not taken lightly by his Catholic parishioners.
GREAT MOVIE!!!
Davies (Frank Finlay): Yes, I need them caught in the act... no chance of an alibi. And not just two of them. I want the organisation. I want it smashed. Any bastard who even dreams of making trouble, I want him to wake up sweating blood at what happened to the Molly Maguires. [McParlan starts to leave] Davies : Not yet! I can't send you away unmarked. [he floors McParlan with his truncheon] Detective James McParlan (Richard Harris) : [bleeding] Well... it's a pleasure working with a man who likes his job.
Miss Mary Raines (Samantha Eggar) : You heard what the Father said. There's no future for what you joined except hell. Detective James McParlan : Well I'm a miner now. I'll be traveling in that direction anyway, just out of habit.
Full TCM synopsis with possible SPOILERS: In 1876 the Molly Maguires, a secret society of immigrant Irish coal miners terrorizing the eastern Pennsylvania anthracite belt, are infiltrated by company detective James McParlan, who poses as fugitive murderer James McKenna. McParlan rents a room in the home of disabled miner Raines, and courts Raines' ambitious daughter, Mary. Having secured a job as a miner, the detective ingratiates himself with coworkers by leading the Gaelic football team to victory over its Welsh rival and by beating a brutal policeman. Furthermore, McParlan allays the suspicions of Molly leader Jack Kehoe by casting the decisive vote to murder a mine superintendent, and by rescuing another Molly during the assassination. Following the death of Mary's father, Kehoe and McParlan, claiming Raines' right to a burial suit, break into, loot, and set afire the company store. When Mollies Kehoe and McAndrew attempt to sabotage a mine, however, McParlan alerts Police Chief Davies, and they are arrested. At the trial the detective's testimony results in the Mollies' conviction and death sentence. Shocked by McParlan's duplicity, Mary rejects the agent. While the gallows are being constructed in the jail yard, McParlan confronts the imprisoned Kehoe, then departs for reassignment as head of the Denver Pinkerton Agency.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Nov 14, 2018 16:54:04 GMT
Currently viewing The Three Musketeers (1921) on YouTube. Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. is the star, looking a little chubbier than I would have thought, but he appears ready to swash some buckles, regardless. My current movie quest is to watch all the versions I have missed over the years, unless I get fed up and quit along the line!
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Post by vegalyra on Nov 14, 2018 17:11:26 GMT
Posted in Film General also, but it fits here: Ambush Bay (1966) Great "mission" type WW2 film. Mickey Rooney was cast well. With regards to James Mitchum though, let's just say that Robert Mitchum didn't pass along most of his acting chops. He wasn't horrible, but not an exceptional amount of charisma.
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Post by kijii on Nov 14, 2018 17:15:25 GMT
kijii That's funny that you accidentally saw this movie, but glad you and your wife enjoyed it. It really gets you in all the feels, and the music is great. The casting for The whole band was perfect. Two points: 1) While watching this movie, I was thinking that a CD of the soundtrack could be very good. 2) Do you think that Rami Malek's performance may be good enough for and Oscar nomination this year? Another possibility might be Bryan Singer for Best Director....
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Nov 14, 2018 18:13:04 GMT
kijii1) Not sure if there is a soundtrack, but there are plenty of Queen compilation albums out there. 2) Rami sure deserves a nomination, in my opinion. Bryan Singer did a great job, and so did the other guy who finished his work.
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Post by teleadm on Nov 14, 2018 19:20:01 GMT
Airport 1970, directed by George Seaton, based on a novel by Arthur Haley, staring Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Jean Seberg, Jaqueline Bisset, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, Maureen Stapleton, Barry Nelson, Dana Wynter, Lloyd Nolan, Barbara Hale and many others. Drama with thrills. Everything that can happen happens at Lincoln Airport on a very stormy snowy evening, including marriage problems, an elderly stowaway, shortage of personel, a possible suicide bomber, and snow snow snow. I can immediately say that I like this movie. It's interesting to notice how easy it was to board airplanes back then. A bit old-fashioned in style, but that is at least nothing I care about. The nearly 140 minutes went very smothly, maybe because of the different characters and their individual stories and how and if they intervene with each others. This was legendary composer Alfred Newman's last written score, this was also actor Van Heflin's last cinema movie (as the possible suicide bomber). Helen Hayes won a Best Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar for her role as an elderly stowaway. It was also nominated for another nine Oscars, including Best Film and Maureen Stapleton also for Actress in a Supporting Role.
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Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Nov 15, 2018 7:42:26 GMT
Madame Satan (1930). Produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. With Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Lillian Roth and Roland Young. DVR'd from recent TCM telecast. First-time viewing for me.
I found this one reasonably entertaining, but also very uneven. A critique of the film I found on another movie site sums up my feelings best, so allow me to shamelessly copy and paste the gist of it: "It's such a bizarre film - not least the fact it can't decide if it wants to be a musical, melodrama, comedy or disaster film, so decides to be all four." Exactly.
However, my biggest problem with the film was the horrid sound quality. First let me mention that the picture quality was great, as it was apparent that the film - at least the visual aspects of it - had been excellently preserved all these years. But the sound, yeesh! It often sounded like the actors were speaking into hollow tin cans. At other times, odd, unidentifiable sounds were heard. As such, dialogue was hard to pick up, and to make matters worse, the film's subtitles were often incorrect. Musical numbers couldn't be understood by listening to them, and most of them weren't presented with subtitles. A complete, written copy of the script AND the lyrics to all the songs would be VERY nice to have.
All things considered, I'm glad I sat through it and took it all in, because Madam Satan has been described as one of the oddest films DeMille made and one of the oddest MGM films produced during its "golden age." As such, I felt I *had* to see it. BTW, I thought the special effects with the dirigible were actually well done for that time period.
Kay Johnson as "Madam Satan":
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Post by vegalyra on Nov 15, 2018 14:36:13 GMT
ZolotoyRetriever:
This movie looks fascinating. I've never heard of it before.
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Post by kijii on Nov 15, 2018 15:18:22 GMT
Madame Satan (1930). Produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. With Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Lillian Roth and Roland Young. DVR'd from recent TCM telecast. First-time viewing for me.
I found this one reasonably entertaining, but also very uneven. A critique of the film I found on another movie site sums up my feelings best, so allow me to shamelessly copy and paste the gist of it: "It's such a bizarre film - not least the fact it can't decide if it wants to be a musical, melodrama, comedy or disaster film, so decides to be all four." Exactly.
However, my biggest problem with the film was the horrid sound quality. First let me mention that the picture quality was great, as it was apparent that the film - at least the visual aspects of it - had been excellently preserved all these years. But the sound, yeesh! It often sounded like the actors were speaking into hollow tin cans. At other times, odd, unidentifiable sounds were heard. As such, dialogue was hard to pick up, and to make matters worse, the film's subtitles were often incorrect. Musical numbers couldn't be understood by listening to them, and most of them weren't presented with subtitles. A complete, written copy of the script AND the lyrics to all the songs would be VERY nice to have.
All things considered, I'm glad I sat through it and took it all in, because Madam Satan has been described as one of the oddest films DeMille made and one of the oddest MGM films produced during its "golden age." As such, I felt I *had* to see it. BTW, I thought the special effects with the dirigible were actually well done for that time period.
Kay Johnson as "Madam Satan":
Yes, it is a strange movie. I was not even sure what the plot was and the sound was bad. Oh well, it least it gave me a chance to see Lillian Roth.
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Post by teleadm on Nov 15, 2018 19:08:28 GMT
We Dive at Dawn 1943, directed by Anthony Asquith, staring Eric Portman, John Mills, Louis Bradfield, Ronald Millar, Jack Watling, Reginald Purdell, Niall MacGinnis, David Peel and others British war-action-drama. The crew of HMS submarine Sea Tiger have their leave (and assorted family problems) cut short when they are recalled for a special mission: sink the new German battleship Brandenburg. En route, they learn that their target has entered the heavily defended Baltic Sea, rather than fail, they follow it. Tension builds as they approach their target. After the attempt, the hunter becomes the hunted... Interesting British propaganda movie, that cleverly hides it's propaganda to present a tensionfilled war drama. Propaganda in the sense that they show off the crew as normal guys like you and me that risks their lives so you and me can live free. Director Anthony Asquith was already a seasoned director and drives this movie forward with assured knowledge. Another interesting detail is when they found their taget, it also shows how difficult it is to aim at their target on the forever rolling and waving sea. Eric Portman stands first in older credits and in the title sequence, and he might have been a bigger star than John Mills at that point, but it is actually Mills who plays the real leading role, though many of the crew have their own little stories. Well worth a watch. Since I've never worked on a boat I had some trouble understanding all comandos and technical words used, but that is just a minor matter that didn't disturbed as a whole.
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Post by teleadm on Nov 16, 2018 18:29:25 GMT
Sixty Six 2006, directed by Paul Weiland, staring Eddie Marsan, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Rea, Gregg Sulkin, Catherine Tate, Geraldine Somerville and others. British drama-comedy. The summer of 1966, 12 y/o Bernie (Sulkin) has big plans for his Bar Mitzvah, but the same date of his big day is also the date of the World Cup finals in football (soccer), so his big hope is that England won't reach the finals, but other matters also stands in it's way, his fathers grocery store goes bankrupt, and all other obstacles. For those who don't know, England played the Final and won the World Cup 1966. This movie has a great potential story, great actors, great backstory, great feeling of the summer of 1966, and yet somehow misses the mark. It never engages, I never felt involved, maybe because I was hoping for something like About a Boy or Billy Elliott, or in the style of it, I'm not sure, but somehow it never became as interesting as it should have been, and it had the potential to be. Storywise it's still good.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Nov 16, 2018 22:28:12 GMT
ALFRED THE GREAT 1969-- David Hemmings seemed to be on the upward cinematic spiral in the late 60s before he fell off the radar as Michael Caine surpassed him as an English export to Hollywood. I was surprised to learn he was in Gladiator and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, how different he looked and sounded. Almost as surprising to learn he was married to Gayle Hunnicutt. In fact, I don't think he really had the star quality to begin with. He is REALLY overshadowed by Michael York in this. Like night and day. Julian Glover and Ian McKellan also stand out more. The film is kind of bland and probably wouldn't have been helped much with a different star (I did like Cromwell, starring Richard Harris, better though). Feels like a waste of cast and resources.
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Post by kijii on Nov 17, 2018 16:45:42 GMT
ALFRED THE GREAT 1969-- David Hemmings seemed to be on the upward cinematic spiral in the late 60s before he fell off the radar as Michael Caine surpassed him as an English export to Hollywood. I was surprised to learn he was in Gladiator and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, how different he looked and sounded. Almost as surprising to learn he was married to Gayle Hunnicutt. In fact, I don't think he really had the star quality to begin with. He is REALLY overshadowed by Michael York in this. Like night and day. Julian Glover and Ian McKellan also stand out more. The film is kind of bland and probably wouldn't have been helped much with a different star (I did like Cromwell, starring Richard Harris, better though). Feels like a waste of cast and resources. Like most Americans, the first--maybe only--time I remember seeing (and noting) David Hemmings was in Blow-Up (1966). I saw it in college and seem to remember that it was the first time we Americans saw a woman's naked breasts in a regular movie, Vanessa Redgrave, playing around with another model behind a screen. I think it was sort of a tease for American movie goers since it didn't fit well into the movie and it was only a very brief moment.
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Post by teleadm on Nov 17, 2018 21:02:56 GMT
I've seen this one, and I was stunned by the incredible beautiful cinematography of James Wong Howe, even if it's a grim world that is displayed.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Nov 17, 2018 23:05:18 GMT
Oh yeah I saw BLOW UP recently. He didn't seem out of his league in that film but since he was the primary character and so much of it was about the mystery, he worked fine as the lead. I know he did a film with Gayle Hunnicutt I have been wanting to see.
DEEP VALLEY 1947 - Ida Lupino is a hillbilly with dysfunctional parents who helps an escaped convict. Interesting woman-centered if somewhat run of the mill drama with a "be understanding to criminals" message despite Hayes Office requirements. Wade Clark is no Mad Dog Roy Earle. However, there is a dog, used in frequent close ups for emotional manipulation.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Nov 18, 2018 9:57:47 GMT
GREEN HELL - 1940 Pretty bad movie with some terrible dialogue. Vincent Price considered it his worst. He had good judgement. The temple set is impressive though. CONTRABAND 1980 --Italian mafia film with some unusually sadistic violence like a woman's face being scalded by a bunsen burner flame. The only lesson more important than saying no to drugs is making sure you don't try to pass off cheap powder for heroin, especially when selling it to a crime boss. As one IMDB review says: "Melting corpses, burning skin, shot-open necks, repeatedly shot paper mache heads, shotgun blasted intestines (that seem to be made out of foam) ensue."
Another says: "I could sit through this because there's quite a lot of action and it's never really dull, but otherwise beware. This film has some of the most atrocious English dubbing I know , real bad, only made worse by the already howlingly awful dialog and some wooden acting."
That about covers it.
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Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Nov 19, 2018 4:33:06 GMT
Who'll Stop the Rain (1978). Directed by Karel Reisz. With Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld, Michael Moriarty, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Masur, Ray Sharkey. DVR'd from MGM HD channel.
This makes my 3rd viewing of this offbeat, interesting and thought-provoking film. It details the plight of several people involved in the shipment and potential sale of a 2-kilo package of pure heroin smuggled into to the U.S. from Vietnam near the end of the war. To say the least, complications ensue, nobody is who they seem to be, and surprises and unexpected turns abound. Good acting turn by Nick Nolte, too - back before he turned into the nut-job we've come to know him as today.
MGM HD channel is a great way to see this, too. It looks amazingly sharp and pristine: hard to believe it's now a 40-year old film.
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Post by jeffersoncody on Nov 19, 2018 6:54:11 GMT
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Post by OldAussie on Nov 19, 2018 8:23:42 GMT
Dances With Wolves - 4 hour version
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