|
Post by geode on Jul 29, 2019 10:31:37 GMT
Of all the major stars in cinema history I thought Norma probably had the least talent. You need to learn to read What the flip is that supposed to mean?
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 29, 2019 6:29:35 GMT
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 29, 2019 6:22:27 GMT
It has been my choice for the best movie ever made for the past 48 years. It was upon the third viewing that I realized it was beyond being just good.
The zither score has never bothered me in the slightest. I think it is very effective.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 19:17:12 GMT
Female coming of age stories are so whimsical. I suppose they might be.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 14:17:27 GMT
My diagnosis of Captain Queeq in "The Caine Mutiny" is that he is suffering from PSTD when he boards the USS Caine, from his time in the Atlantic.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 14:10:36 GMT
Of all the major stars in cinema history I thought Norma probably had the least talent.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 13:56:54 GMT
I haven't watched this since its first release in theaters. It was by far my least favorite entry in the series, and although I disliked some later Bond films this remains at the bottom of my list.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 13:49:21 GMT
When I was a kid I really liked it. Then fir several years it was unavailable for viewing. In reissue I saw it as an adult and found I had a problem with the protagonist. Raymond Burr's character finally confronts him and asks why he is being a busybody and to be honest I saw his point.... now decades later I can't find the interest to watch it again.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 12:49:17 GMT
I just saw an article yesterday that stated that Lucy Lawless claims that Xena and her blonde sidekick Gabrielle were a lesbian couple. I never got that vibe at all when watching the show. If anything there was a hint or two at her being attracted to dudes. "In 1995, Lucy Lawless donned the armored chestplate of the Grecian warrior princess Xena for an episode of the syndicated series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. That guest spot led to an ongoing series that ran for six seasons, and introduced the world to one of fandom’s most endearing — and enduring — same-sex couples: Xena and her companion, Gabrielle (Renée O’Connor)." "While some fans saw the groundbreaking nature of Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship right away, Lawless says that she and O’Connor were slower to pick up on the cues. The actress specifically credits former Village Voice writer Michael Musto with cluing a wider audience into the show’s positive messaging about female love. (Musto interviewed Lawless for a 2003 issue of Out magazine where she openly declared that Xena and Gabrielle were in love.) '’m really grateful to have been part of something that did that, to let people feel like they were seen for the first time onscreen. The show was great for ethnic diversity and empowerment generally.' To this day, Lawless regularly appears at gay pride events. ''I've always tried to pay back, because they’ve been so great to me personally and professionally, and I thank them and love them for it.” Bunk
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 12:32:46 GMT
This show Deffo needs to do a crossover with OUAT! With this? OUAT
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 8:45:04 GMT
Not sure what the rights holder would think of that, but it's there, and we should all be thinking of Brian Cant right about now. "Not anymore."
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 8:26:47 GMT
Interesting article. I was disappointed last year when Paul Schrader ignored my friend request on Facebook. So, I have had to continue to just read his posts there without making comments. I had sent him a PM before making the friend request telling him how much I admired his work.
Anyway, we have something in common having both applied to the film school at UCLA. He was accepted and I was rejected (1970 for me). But I did not have Pauline Kael pulling for me.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 7:21:32 GMT
Great movie, as I remember it, but haven't seen it since the mid 1980s. the new criterion version is quite splendid, about to watch it again myself. How does the Criterion version look? I didn't buy it when it came out four years ago as I had purchased the British network blu-ray version back in 2012.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 2:24:14 GMT
Here is the incredible tracking shot I mentioned in my post. It would still be state of the art today done with Steadicam, but this was unavailable at the time.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 2:06:31 GMT
David Bowie sings and dances:
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 27, 2019 15:14:57 GMT
I finally got out of not being able to watch any movies for the last 3 months because of circumstances that required my attention elsewhere. And I really missed this classic cinema board for that long. But I am glad I finally saw a movie and a truly great one! Hopefully, I can watch 4 movies a week for the next few months. The Cranes Are Flying (1957) is a realistic story centered on depicting a woman's experience during the second world war. Much like another great war movie from the Soviet Union - The Ballad of a Soldier (1959) - this film is not based on actions depicting actual war. Instead, it deals with people who are not directly involved in the war. The best thing about this film is that it is not a romanticized story but an extremely realistic portrayal of war made in post-Stalin Russia that was waking up to the cultural decline caused by Socialism of earlier decades. The black & white photography of cinematographer Sergey Urusevskiy is mesmerizing and should be a reason by itself to make you watch this film. Next up acting - I think Tatiana Samoilova the lead actress gave an incredibly solid performance as also evidenced by the special mention that she received at the Cannes Film festival. Vasili Merkuryev's performance as a principled and kind man was also one of the highlights of the movie. The music adds to the grimness that you feel through the film although the director smartly manages to give us a bittersweet ending and not a typical bleak ending. All in all, I very strongly recommend this one. Yes, this is a great "classic" that has ranked near the top of my esteem (at least in my top 25 movies) since I first saw it in a college film history over 47 years ago. It is the finest Russian film I have ever seen. I was officially a film major but about to graduate with a degree in geology. This was the only film class I ever took, but I remember the content better than almost any class ever took.
The instructor was limited by budget and availability since all films had to be shown in 16mm. This was 1972, before video copies were out. But he assembled a great list all the same of post WW II cinema. This was the second semester of a full year course, the first covering pre-war films. The list was true "world cinema" and did not let American films dominate. I still remember some points he made in his introduction to "The Cranes Are Flying" after all these years. He told the class that we needed to realize how immediate the war had been to the Soviet Union, with many people dying. He said to remember this as we watched the ending. He talked about how there was a window in Soviet film making following the death of Stalin that allowed for making a movie like this one, not steeped in communist ideology and even having cinematography that would have not been allowed earlier.
The cinematography is incredible. There are continuous tracking shots that seem almost impossible in their perfection. This was filmed long before Steadicam was available. One long take starts with Veronica on a bus and ends in a crane shot as she wanders among moving tanks. It had to have started hand held and ended up with the cameraman on a crane. But in all these tracking shots there are extreme closeups and long shots yet I never see a miss in pulling focus.
The ending, with more incredible tracking shots, packs a lot of emotional impact, with few films matching it...and I am not a Russian that survived the war.
Mikhail Kalatozov was already on my "watch" list ever since I had seen "The Red Tent" the year before. It had bombed and been savaged by critics but it also is a masterpiece, even though only a few of us realize it. It also has stunning cinematography.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 27, 2019 12:26:15 GMT
I think we would all be better people if we attempted to exceed being the best....no 10 / 10 for me.... I want to be an 11!
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 26, 2019 10:18:58 GMT
Pope Francis is correct in speaking out against the death penalty. Like him I think it is incompatible with Christianity. However I have reasons other than this to be opposed to it. The courts do not provide equal justice in many countries, including the United States. This on its own is a reason against it because something that cannot be reversed should not be imposed.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 26, 2019 5:38:31 GMT
Loved it since i was 8 seeing it in one of my city's theaters and been a favorite of mine. Better than Friedberg and Seltzer's crap.
|
|
|
Post by geode on Jul 25, 2019 15:47:06 GMT
|
|