skimpole

I vote for Taran of Prydain

I saw five movies this week. Manhattan Melodrama is the kind of classic Hollywood movie classic Hollywood movie fans love and for good reason. While by no means a thoughtful or profound movie, it's enjoyable because the three stars, William Powell, Clark Gable and Myrna Loy give it their all while playing roles that trade on their movie star persona. Incidentally, it's striking how Powell's character resembles Thomas Dewey, at least up until the end of the movie. Dewey even vaguely looks like Powell, though apparently he was not as remotely as charismatic. American Sniper is another disappointing best picture nominee I think Eastwood was trying to have it both ways, as opposed to having a genuinely complex picture of the Second Gulf war. On the one hand the pro-war argument is presented as a heroic struggle against ruthlessly vicious enemies. On the other hand, the constant struggle clearly has an unpleasant effect on Bradley Cooper's character. But the overall result is schematic, somewhat obvious at times, and rather shallow. Smash-up: the story of a Woman is an adequate movie in a genre that has little attraction to me: the perils of alcoholism. The Four Musketeers is an improvement over The Five Musketeers which I had seen a few months ago. Apparently the Lester The Three Musketeers is the keeper. This movie was apparently made from left over footage, and while vaguely amusing in places, it lacks a certain energy and spirit. Also, it's kind of sad that Raquel Welch dies in the end. So, the movie of the week is The Oyster Princess. While not the most emotionally profound of his movies, this shows a striking misc-en-scene for a 1919 movie, has a rousing musical sequence, and has some good jokes about The Oyster King's absurd number of servants.

Chimes at Midnight and The Tree of Wooden Clogs: I'm glad I didn't choose the first to be a movie that TCM would never show for the programming challenge.

Shoah, The Sorrow and the Pity and Casablanca are the best world War II movies World War I-Grand Illusion Vietnam-Apocalypse Now, Born on the fourth of July, Winter Soldier Civil War-The Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind shouldn't be the best examples, but they are. Lincoln is also pretty good. Korea-The Steel Helmet, but quite frankly, there's lot of room for improvement. Iraq Wars-Iraq in Fragments, The Hurt Locker There are no great movies about the American Revolution or the War of 1812

A Clockwork Orange shows up fairly regularly on Canada's Encore Avenue. The Last Picture Show also shows up there and on TCM. In Canada, Bravo used to show art movies and that's where I saw Last Tango in Paris in 2006. But it's a much more middlebrow station, especially since it was sold in 2011. Lenny is surprisingly rare on television.

I saw six movies last week. Mr. Turner and Leviathan were clearly the best. The first presents the greatest British painter as an inarticulate almost gargoyle, living his life, developing his art, while the film develops with considerable subtlety. The one problem with it are cheap shots at the expense of John Ruskin. Much contemporary criticism shared his moralism, but not his insight. The second, not to be confused with the fishing documentary released a couple of years ago, is a compelling portrait of modern Russia filled with corruption and despair (the entire film is shot in shades of gray). Still the Enemy Within is a competent if not brilliant documentary sympathetic to the 1984 British Miners strike. Cockfighter is an interesting drama about a man involved in the world of cockfights. It's interesting and shows a side of America that most Hollywood movies don't bother with, although the sound on the youtube video where I saw it was the best. You would probably have to like Barbra Streisand more than I do to really love Yentl, which takes more than two hours to tell a fairly short Isaac Bashevis Singer story. But if you like her songs and are willing to tolerate her monopoly of screen time, you can enjoy the movie. By contrast, The Imitation Game does not bear close examination. It starts off with Benedict Cumberbatch giving his best Sherlock/Sheldon Cooper impression. Even if you find this amusing, and I admit that I did, the liberties taken with the truth, the simple mindedness and lack of subtlety become increasingly irritating.

Here something better: the 2015 They Shoot Pictures Don't They top 1000 movies of all time update: Last year I saw 99.8% of the list.

Fellini and Lang strike me as the most prominent foreign film directors I don't warm to. But that doesn't mean that Nights of Cabiria and M are not masterpieces.

I have seen this book, and I have been systematically watching the movies on it. When I first saw it in 2005 or 2006 I'd only seen a quarter of them. There was a website called listsofbests.com where you could systematically check off lists of things you wanted to go through. Before the website ended last year, I had managed to see more than 90% of the movies.

Anyway, no Clint Eastwood or John Wayne movies have ever won Best Picture from the New York Film Critics. Point of comparison: New York Critics: 1935-2013 78 winners, 77 Seen 29 on my top 10 for that year Oscars: 1927/28-2013: 86 winners, 86 seen, 28 on my top 10 for that year National Board of Review 1932-2013 85 winners (because of 4 ties) 73 seen, 30 on my top 10 for that year

Here's mine 1. All the President's Men 2. A Man for All Seasons 3. Gandhi 4. Cries and Whispers 5. Around the World in 80 Days 6. Schindler's List 7. Annie Hall 8, Goodfellas 9, L.A. Confidential 10. Mulholland Drive

Clearly the first George Bush is not one of our forum members.

I saw four movies last week. The Late Mathieu Pascal was an interesting silent movie, although I remember the novel being slightly more pessimistic. Zazie in the Metro may be the best movie I saw last month, consistently amusing and inventive, with a sharp edge. The Candidate was a slightly better movie than I expected from one that had inspired one of Andrew Sarris' most famous putdowns. Night Flight was the movie I watched because Canadians couldn't get to see Topaze. It is the perfect movie for those who think Only Angels Have Wings is too interesting, but otherwise it is a serviceable movie.

Ok, the poll is now closed, here's the results. The tabulation is actually fairly straightforward. First place movies got 10 points, second place movies got 9 points, and so on down to 10th place movies and one point. It should be noted that many voters submitted their lists in such a way that it wasn't clear what their preference was (this was especially so for people who submitted their lists in chronological order). In those cases I gave each entry the same value, and since the value from one to ten is 55, that means a value of 5.5 1. Casablanca-128 2. The Best Years of Our Lives -79 3. All About Eve-78.5 4. It Happened One Night-74.5 5. The Godfather-72.5 6. The Godfather, Part 2-46.5 7. On the Waterfront-43.5 8. The Apartment-40.5 9. Gone with the Wind-36 Lawrence of Arabia-36 11. Rebecca-35.5 12. An American in Paris-28.5 13. Unforgiven-24.5 14. Annie Hall-23 15. The Sting-22 16. The Bridge over the River Kwai-21.5 17. From Here to Eternity-20 Patton-20 19. West Side Story-17.5 20. All Quiet on the Western Front-17 21. The Deer Hunter-15.5 22. Grand Hotel-15 Midnight Cowboy-15 The Last Emperor-15 25. The Sound of Music-14 26. The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King-13.5 No Country for old Men-13.5 28. Marty-13 Gigi-13 30. A Man for all Seasons-12.5 31. You Can't Take it with you=12 How Green was My Valley-12 33. Chicago-11.5 34. Mutiny on the Bounty-11 The King's Speech-11 36. Ben-Hur 10.5 37. My Fair Lady-10 38. Rocky-9.5 39. Gandhi-9 Schindler's List-9 41. The Artist-8 The Departed-8 Forrest Gump-8 The Great Ziegfeld-8 45. Sunrise 7.5 46. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-7 Dances with Wolves-7 Titanic-7 49. All the King's Men-6.5 In the Heat of the Night-6.5 51. Cimarron-5.5 The Lost Weekend-5.5 Rain Man 5.5 Driving Miss Daisy-5.5 Braveheart-5.5 56. Around the World in 80 Days-5 Amadeus-5 12 Years a Slave-5 59. The Life of Emile Zola-4 Going my Way-4 A Beautiful Mind-4 62. Million Dollar Baby-2 63. Oliver!-1 Terms of Endearment-1

Programming Notes Schedule for September 13, 2015-September 19, 2015 Star of the Month: Edmond O'Brien Friday Night Spotlight/As Time Goes By Programming Challenge: Great (Directorial) Debuts TCM Silent Sunday: The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) Peter Pan (1924) TCM Imports Double Feature: Alice (1988) The Snow Queen (1957) The Essentials: 8 1/2 (1963) Underground Feature: Arabian Knights (1974) Guest Programmer: Johnny "Kelly" Hooker 1920s 6 1930s 22 1940s 20 1950s 16 1960s 9 1970s 8 1980s 4 1990s 2 2000s 1 2010s 1 Premieres: Pinocchio (1940) Casino (1995) La Chienne (1931) La Marseillaise (1938) The Little Theater of Jean Renoir (1969) People on Sunday (1930) The Saga of Gosta Berling (1924) Bugsy Malone (1976) Synecdoche, New York (2008) Exempt Premieres: Peter Pan (1924) (Silent) Alice (1988) (TCM Imports) The Snow Queen (TCM Imports) From this Day Forward (1946) (TCM will never show) The Patriot (1928) (TCM will never show) Chelsea Girls (1966) (TCM will never show) Superstar: the Karen Carpenter Story (1986) (TCM will never show) Arabian Nights (Underground) The schedule is fairly sell explanatory, starting off with three movies about double-crosses and bad faith. The 13th happens to be the anniversary of when Louis XVI pretended to accept the French constitution, so I think the theme is appropriate. We then have five movies celebrating Claudette Colbert's birthday, and tonight we have six films celebrating Roald Dahl's. Four of the six movies are animated in one form or another. I thought having various non-Latin Americans making films about Latin America would be a good idea for a set of movies, and since the 14th is the birthday of Jacobo Arbenez, the Guatemalan president overthrown in 1954 by an American conspiracy with dreadful consequences for that country, that day is a good a day as any. I hadn't really planned for a guest programmer, but Johnny Hooker is as good as anyone for the five movies on casinos, lotteries and racetracks. For Tuesday we have a whole day devoted to birthday boy Jean Renoir. This the 15th is also Agatha Christie's birthday, we start the 16th with three of the most respected movies based on her novels. The last of those movies, Murder on the Orient Express, conveniently ties in with our tribute to birthday girl Lauren Bacall, who has two of her lesser known movies shown. It's also birthday special for director Alexander Korda. I then devote to four movies too hot for TCM, for four separate reasons. The forums mentioned that From this Day Forward couldn't be played because of complex rights issues. The Patriot is, of course, the only best Picture nominee that is currently missing. Chelsea Girls is the kind of modernist alternative movie that conventional critics have no interest in bringing to your attention. And Superstar: the Karen Carpenter Story can't be seen because her brother successfully sued to prevent people from watching it. And to fill up the day we have a movie from yet another birthday boy, Peter Falk. September 17 marks the founding of Boston, so we have five movies about that city. We then have three movies by birthday boy Edgar G. Ulmer, including the TCM premiere of People on Sunday which he co-produced and co-directed. The 100th birthday of Edmond O'Brien is September 10, 2015, so he is the star of the month, and Thursday evenings are the time devoted to him. His oscar-winning role in The Barefoot Contessa conveniently transitions to our tribute for birthday boy cinematographer Jack Cardiff, followed by four films for birthday girl Greta Garbo. We then have our times go by as we see great directorial debuts for Eisenstein, Welles, Ray, Spielberg and Tarantino. Finally for the 19th, we have six sets of two films, doppelgangers of a sort. They are not originals and remakes, only one is actually a parody. They are more intriguing variations of a theme. And for the final hour we have a reshowing of The House is Black, because even though Iran is actually Arab, it would be a good idea to have an Iranian's opinion about the area.

Schedule for September 13, 2015-Septembr 19, 2015 Sunday, September 13, 2015 Three films about double-crosses and bad faith 06:00 AM I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) Warner Bros BW-93 min Paul Muni, Brenda Farrell, D: Mervyn LeRoy P/S 07:45 AM Criss Cross (1949) Universal BW-87 min Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Dureya D: Robert Siodmak P/S 09:15 AM The Life of Emile Zola (1937) Warner Bros BW-116 min Paul Muni, Gloria Holden, Joseph Schildkraut D: William Dieterle P/S Happy Birthday, Claudette Colbert! 11:15 AM Boom Town (1940) MGM BW-119 min Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy D: Jack Conway P/S 01:15 PM It Happened One Night (1934) Colombia BW-105 min Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable D: Frank Capra P/S 03:00 PM The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) Paramount BW-93 min Claudette Colbert, Maurice Chevalier D: Ernst Lubitsch P/S 04:45 PM Midnight (1939) Paramount BW-94 min Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore P/S 06:30 PM The Palm Beach Story (1942) Paramount BW-88 min, Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Rudy Vallee, D: Preston Sturges P/S Happy Birthday, Roald Dahl! An evening of fairy tales with a focus on animation 08:00 PM The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) British Lion Films C-128 min Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann D: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger P/S 10:15 PM Pinocchio (1940) Walt Disney Productions C-88 min Cliff Edwards, Dickie Jones D: Ben Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske Premiere#1 12:00 AM The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) UFA BW-67 min Animated Silent Film D; Lotte Reiniger P/S 01:15 AM Peter Pan (1924) Paramount BW-105 min Betty Bronson, Ernest Torrence, Mary Brian D: Herbert Brenon EXEMPT 03:15 AM Alice (1988) Condor Films C-86 min Kristyna Kohoutova D: Jan Svankmajer EXEMPT 04:45 AM The Snow Queen (1957) Mosfilm C-64 min Anna Komolova, Galina Kozhakina, Yanina Zheymo, Mariya Babanova D:Lev Atamanov, Nikolay Petrovich Fyodorov EXEMPT Monday, September 14, 2015 A Frenchman, a Russian, A Greek, several Americans and a Spaniard look at Latin America, who looks back. 06:00 AM Black Orpheus(1959) Dispat films/GAGA Communications C-107 min Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn D: Marcel Camus P/S 08:00 AM I am Cuba (1964) Mosfilm, ICAIC BW-141 min Sergio Correri, Jean Bouisse, Celia Rodriguez, D: Mikhali Kalatazov P/S 10:30 AM Missing (1982) Universal Pictures C-122 min Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek D: Constantin Costa-Gavras P/S 12:45 PM The Three Caballeros (1944) Walt Disney Productions C-72 min Clarence Nash, Jose Oliveira, Joaquin Garay D: Norman Ferguson P/S 02:00 PM Los Olividados (1950) BW-80 min Ulramar Films Alfonso Mejia, Stella Inda, Roberto Cobo D; Luis Bunuel P/S 03:30 PM The Battle of Chile (1975, 1976, 1978) BW-263 min Instituto Cubano del Arte y Industria Cinematograficos BW-184 min D: Patrizo Guzman P/S Casinos, Lotteries and Racetracks: Don't Bet Against the House: Guest Programmer Johnny "Kelly" Hooker 08:00 PM Monte Carlo (1930) Jeanette MacDonald & Jack Buchanan D:Ernst Lubitsch Paramount 90 min. (p/s) 09:45 PM Le Million (1931) Films Sonores Tobis BW-83 min Rene Lefevre, Annabella, D: Rene Clair P/S 11:15 PM The Killing (1956) United Artists BW-83 min Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Elisha Cook, Jr, Marie Windsor D: Stanley Kubrick P/S 12:45 AM Atlantic City (1980), ICC/Paramount C-104 min Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon. Kate Reid, Michel Piccoli D: Louis Malle P/S 02:45 AM Casino (1995) Universal C-182 min Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone D: Martin Scorsese Premiere#2 Tuesday, September 15, 2015 Happy Birthday Jean Renoir! 06:00 AM La Chienne (1931) Gaumont BW-95 min Michel Simon, Janie Mareze, Georges Flament, D: Jean Renoir Premiere#3 07:45 AM La Marseillaise (1938) SEDIF BW-135 min Pierre Renoir, Lisa Delamare D: Jean Renoir Premiere#4 10:00 AM Woman on the Beach (1947) BW-71 min Joan Bennett, Robert Ryan, Charles Bickford, D: Jean Renoir P/S 11:15 AM The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir (1969) ORTF C-100 min Jeanne Moreau, Nino Formicola, Fernand Sardou, Dominique Labourier D: Jean Renoir Premiere #5 01:00 PM The Golden Coach (1952) Delphinus C-100 min Anna Magnani, Odoardo Spadaro, Duncan Lamont D: Jean Renoir P/S 02:45 PM La Bete Humaine (1938) Paris Film BW-100 min Jean Gabin, Simone Simon D: Jean Renoir P/S 04:30 PM The Southerner (1945) United Artists BW-92 min Zachary Scott, Betty Field D; Jean Renoir P/S 06:15 PM Elena and Her Men (1956) Warner Bros C-96 min Ingrid Bergman, Jean Marais D: Jean Renoir P/S 08:00 PM Grand Illusion (1937) RAC BW-117 min Jean Gabin, Marcel Diallo, Erich von Stroheim D: Jean Renoir P/S 10:15 PM The Rules of the Game (1939) Nouvelles Editions de Films BW-113 min Marcel Diallo, Jean Renoir D: Jean Renoir P/S 12:15 AM The River (1951) United Artists C-99 min Patricia Wallers, Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight D: Jean Renoir P/S 02:00 AM French Cancan (1954) Franco London Films C-93 min Jean Gabin, Francoise Arnouf D: Jean Renoir P/S 03:45 AM A Day in the Country (1936) Pantheon Productions BW-40 min Sylvia Bataille, Georges D'Arnoux, Jane Marken D: Jean Renoir P/S 04:30 AM Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932) CCF BW-87 min Michel Simon, Charles Granval D: Jean Renoir P/S Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Happy day after your Birthday Agatha Christie! 06:00 AM And Then There Were None (1945) 20th Century Fox BW-97 min Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Houston, Louis Hayward, D: Rene Clair P/S 07:45 AM Witness for the Prosecution (1957) United Artists BW-116 min Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton D: Billy Wilder P/S 09:45 AM Murder on the Orient Express (1974) Paramount C-128 min Albert Finney, Martin Balsam, Lauren Bacall D; Sidney Lumet P/S Happy Birthday Lauren Bacall! 12:00 PM Dark Passage (1947) Warner Bros BW-106 min Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart D: Delmer Davies P/S 02:00 PM The Cobweb (1955) MGM C-124 min Lauren Bacall, Richard Widmark, Charles Boyer D; Vincente Minneli P/S And happy Birthday Alexander Korda! 04:15 PM That Hamilton woman (1941) Alexander Korda Films Inc/United Artists BW-128 min Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier D: Alexander Korda P/S 06:30 PM Rembrandt (1936) London film Productions BW-85 min Charles Laughton, Gerturde Lawrence, Elsa Lanchester D: Alexander Korda P/S Too Hot for TCM 08:00 PM From this Day Forward (1946) RKO BW-95 min Joan Fontaine, Mark Stevens, Harry Morgan D: John Berry EXEMPT 09-45 PM The Patriot (1928) Paramount BW-113 min Emil Jannings, Florence Vidor, Lewis Stone D: Ernst Lubitsch EXEMPT 11:45 PM Chelsea Girls (1966) The Factory BW-210 min Nico, Brigid Berlin, Ondine D: Andy Warhol, Paul Morrissey EXEMPT 03:30 AM Superstar: the Karen Carpenter Story (1988) Iced Tea Productions C-43 min Merrill Gruver, Michael Edwards D: Todd Haynes EXEMPT And happy Birthday Peter Falk 04:15 AM The In-Laws (1979) Warner Bros C-103 min Peter Falk, Alan Arkin D: Arthur Hiller P/S Thursday, September 17, 2015 Edmund O'Brien, Edgar Ulmer, Boston Happy Birthday Boston! 06:00 AM Now Voyager (1942) Warner Bros BW-117 min Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains D: Irving Rapper P/S 08:00 AM H.M. Pulham Esq (1941) MGM BW-120 min Hedy Lamarr, Robert Young D: King Vidor P/S 10:00 AM The Magnificent Yankee (1950) MGM BW-80 min Louis Calhern, Ann Harding, Eduard Franz, D: John Sturges P/S 11:30 AM The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) Paramount C-103 min Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle D: Peter Yates P/S 01:15 PM The Cardinal (1963) Columbia C-175 min Tom Tryon, Romy Schneider, D: Otto Preminger P/S Happy Birthday Edgar G. Ulmer! 04:15 PM People on Sunday (1930) Filmstudio BW-73 min Erwin Splettstosser, Brigitte Bochert, D: Robert and Curt Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer Premiere#6 05:30 PM The Black Cat (1934) Universal BW-65 min Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff D: Edgar G. Ulmer P/S 06:45 PM Detour (1945) Producers Releasing Corporation BW-68 min Tom Neal, Ann Savage, D: Edgar G. Ulmer P/S Star of the Month Edmond O'Brien 08:00 PM White Heat (1949) Warner Bros BW-114 min Edmond O'Brien, James Cagney, Virginia Mayo D: Raoul Walsh P/S 10:00 PM D.O.A (1950) United Artists BW-83 min Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton D; Rudolph Mate P/S 11:30 PM The Killers (1946) Universal BW-103 min Edmond O'Brien, Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner D: Robert Siodmak P/S 01:30 AM Seven Days in May (1964) Paramount BW-118 min Edmond O'Brien Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March D: John Frakenheimer P/S 03:45 AM The Barefoot Contessa (1954) United Artists C-130 min Edmon O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner D: Joseph L. Mankewicz P/S Friday, September 18, 2015 Happy Birthday Jack Cardiff! 06:00 AM Black Narcissus (1947) The Archers C-99 min Deborah Kerr, Sabu, Jean Simmons, D: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger P/S 07:45 AM Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) Romulus Films C-122 min Ava Gardner, James Mason D: Albert Lewin P/S 10:00 AM Cameraman: The Life and work of Jack Cardiff (2010) Modus Operandi Films C-86 min D: Craig McCall P/S Happy Birthday Greta Garbo! 11:30 AM The Saga of Gosta Berling (1924) AB Svensk FilmIndustri BW-183 minGreta Garbo, Lars Hanson D: Mauritz Stiller Premiere#7 02:45 PM Anna Christie (1930) MGM BW-85 min Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, Marie Dressler D: Clarence Brown P/S 04:15 PM Queen Christina (1933) BW-97 min Greta Garbo, John Gilbert D: Rouben Mamoulian P/S 06:00 PM Ninotchka (1939) MGM BW-111 min Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, D: Ernst Lubitsch P/S Friday Night Spotlight/As Time Goes by Programming Challenge: Great Debuts (Tonight Great Directorial Debuts) 08:00 PM Strike (1925) Goskino BW-82 min Maksim Shtraukh, Grigori Aleksandrov, Aleksandr Antonov, D: Sergei Eisenstein P/S 09:30 PM Citizen Kane (1941) RKO BW-119 min Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore D: Orson Welles P/S 11:45 PM Pather Panchali (1955) Government of West Bengal BW-119 min Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Uma Das Gupta, Subir Bannerjee D: Satjayit Ray P/S 02:00 AM Duel (1971) Universal s C-90 min Dennis Weaver D: Steven Spielberg P/S 03:45 AM Reservoir Dogs (1992) Live Entertainment C-99 min Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen. D: Quentin Tarantino P/S Saturday, September 19, 2015 Doppelgangers 05:30 AM Dinner at Eight (1933) MGM BW-113 min John Barrymore, Marie Dressler, Jean Harlow D: George Cukor P/S 07:30 AM The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) Dean Film C-100 min Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Paul Frankeur D: Luis Bunuel P/S 09:15 AM The Yearling (1946) MGM C-128 min Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, Claude Jarman Jr., D: Clarence Brown P/S 11:30 AM Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) Argos Films BW-95 min Anna Wizemsky, Pierre Klosowski D: Robert Bresson P/S 01:15 PM Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) 20th Century Fox C-91 min Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell D: Howard Hawks 03:00 PM Daisies (1966) Filmove Studio Barrandov C-76 min Ivana Karbanova, Jitka Cerhova D; Vera Chytilova 04:30 PM Scarface (1932) United Artists BW-93 min Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, George Raft, Boris Karloff D: Howard Hawks P/S 06:15 PM Bugsy Malone (1976) Paramount C-93 min Scott Baio, Florrie Dugger, Jodie Foster D: Alan Parker Premiere#8 08:00 PM (Essentials) 8 1/2 (1963) Cinecitta BW-135 min Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimee, Claudia Cardinale, D; Federico Fellini P/S 10:30 PM Synecdoche, New York (2008) Sony Pictures Classics, C-123 min Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton D: Charlie Kaufman Premiere #9 12:45 AM The Thief of Baghdad (1924) United Artists BW-140 min Douglas Fairbanks, Snitz Edwards, Julianne Johnston D: Raoul Walsh P/S 03:15 AM (Undergound) Arabian Nights (1974) PEA/United Artists C-125 min Franco Merli, Ines Pellegrini, Ninetto Davoli, D: Pier Paolo Pasolini EXEMPT 05:30 AM The House is Black (1963) Studio Golestan BW-22 min D: Forugh Farrokhzad P/S

Interesting schedule Lydecker, although I don't think Ms. O'Shaugnessy would be comfortable being introduced as a notorious liar. I think Johnny Prince or Tommy DeVito would be more likely to have the chutzpah to call themselves that, though I've heard the latter has a short temper.

I haven't had time to comment on the schedules presented so far, but now I do. Taran of Prydain has a lot of interesting ideas, such as specials on the Archers, the French New Wave and the Ealings (but is there a reason why TCM doesn't run Whiskey Galore?) Having a Friday night spotlight on Fellini is an interesting idea, and so is a series on their first talkie. The Disney animated features are also interesting. I never got to see Sleeping Beauty, while The Rescuers is the one animated film between The Jungle Book and The Little Mermaid that I have good feelings for. Admittedly, I haven't seen it since it actually came out, though I do have good memories of seeing The Rescuers Down Under which contrast to my view of The Great Mouse Detective and rewatching Robin Hood in the nineties. Barton Hayes has interesting ideas such as serial killers, Peter O'Toole as star for the month, great title sequences and a special on the afterlife. Speedracer has Murder on the Orient Express, as does my forthcoming schedule, all the Dana Anderws one can stand and David Lynch's The Grandmother. Lonesome Polecat also has a premiere of Pinocchio, just like me! The oscar onlys is an interesting idea, and actually has some interesting movies to go with it. Among ideas such as husband and wife teams, the Alps, and Australian movies, I especially like the idea of showing Ikiru again.

Just want to remind people that you have less than 48 hours (more like 46 actually) to vote in this poll, which ends on midnight on the 31st MST.

I have actually been working on a schedule, but I've been busy over the last two weeks. But I can now say I've got the first three days down.

As it happens I just read Inherent Vice shortly after I saw the movie. I suspect this would help me enjoyment of the movie considerably. I liked the movie, but I didn't have enough sleep the night before which meant I nodded off at an important plot point. Generally, most novels, certainly most great novels, have not been adapted into truly great movies. The differences between the two medium is one cause. Another is that film has a greater need to be optimistic than fiction--that certainly wrecks Madame Bovary adaptations.

Over the last two weeks I saw five movies. Regardless, Inherent Vice is well worth watching, even if I nodded off at a crucial point, and thus not realizing why Owen Wilson was in the movie. Selma is also worth watching, even if it less than fair to LBJ who despite his many vices was arguably on his best behavior in the period being covered. Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian is an interesting movie, if not as good as Arnuad Desplechin's previous two features. Locke in my view is more a theatrical conceit turned into a cinematic one (a man is driving and taking calls from half a dozen people as his life falls apart), and such works are rarely fully successful. Despite a certain competence, the situation is ultimately a bit contrived. Wow, Brainstorm is a forgettable movie: I completely forgot it when I first made this post. Probably the most unimiginative of virtual reality movies, it was made worse that I thought Natalie Wood was playing Louise Fletcher's role.

Barton Keyes has posted this in another thread: For those who have been wondering about which films we Canadians don't get to watch on TCM in the coming weeks, here is a list of all the substitutions for 31 Days of Oscar. The substitutions for the month of March will follow shortly. 31 Days of Oscar 2015 on TCM Canada: On Monday, February 2 at 9:15AM, MRS. PARKINGTON (1944) replaces RANDOM HARVEST (1942) On Tuesday, February 3 at 3:15PM, WATCH ON THE RHINE (1943) replaces FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940) On Wednesday, February 4 at 12:00MIDNIGHT, THAT GIRL FROM PARIS (1936) replaces GRANDE ILLUSION (1937) On Wednesday, February 4 at 2:00AM, ROMEO AND JULIET (1936) replaces THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA (1937) On Sunday, February 8 at 3:00PM, DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935) replaces NATIONAL VELVET (1944) On Tuesday, February 10 at 12:15AM, I REMEMBER MAMA (1948) replaces DUEL IN THE SUN (1946) On Thursday, February 12 at 9:30PM, THIS LAND IS MINE (1943) replaces THE THIRD MAN (1949) On Thursday, February 12 at 5:30AM, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955) replaces THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (1951) On Sunday, February 15 at 9:00AM, JOHNNY BELINDA (1948) replaces T-MEN (1948) On Monday, February 16 at 1:00AM, KITTY FOYLE (1940) replaces GIGI (1958) On Wednesday, February 18 at 5:15AM, THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967) replaces LOLITA (1962) On Tuesday, February 24 at 6:30PM, TOM, DICK AND HARRY (1941) replaces IT HAPPENED TOMORROW (1944) On Friday, February 27 at 12:15PM, JUAREZ (1939) replaces THE LION IN WINTER (1968) On Monday, March 2 beginning at 8:00PM, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935), GRAND PRIX (1966) and RYAN’S DAUGHTER (1970) replace THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY (2001/2002/2003) On Tuesday, March 3 at 10:00PM, VICTOR/VICTORIA (1982) replaces THE KING’S SPEECH (2010)

And on the last day of the month Canadians don't get to seeTopaze either. It's like every highlight of the month is being systematically removed for Canadians.

Perhaps, but the TCM premieres of French Cancan and The Golden Coach are encouraging.