skimpole

Now it's 1974. Here is Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Dehn, Murder on the Orient Express, based on the novel of the same name by Agatha Christie Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo, The Godfather, Part II, based on the novel The Godfather by Puzo Dacia Maraini, Pier Paolo Pasolinai. Arabian Nights based on the collection of magical tales of the same name Robert Bresson, Lancelot du Lac, based on Arthurian legend Joan Tewkesbury, Calder Willingham, Robert Altman, Thieves Like Us, based on the novel of the same name by Edward Anderson And here is Best Original Screenplay Robert Towne, Chinatown Francis Ford Coppola, The Conversation Jacques Rivette, Dominique Labourier, Juliet Berto, Eduardo De Gregorio, Bulle Ogier, Marie-France Pisier, Celine and Julie Go Boating John Cassavetes, A Woman Under the Influence Werner Herzog, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser I have not seen The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (adapted)

Aren't most of these about movies, and not the theater per se?

In a couple of months we'll be seeing the schedule for TCM's Oscar month. This usually means that a whole host of movies TCM already shows will be seen again, like a lot of Best Picture winners. So does anyone have any winners or nominees TCM should some to add to the whole host we've seen many times before? Foreign film nominees: Pharoah The Battle of Neretva Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Black and White in Color Seven Beauties Coup de Torchon Colonel Redl The Nasty Girl Open Doors The Scent of Green Papaya Costume Design Ludwig Fellini's Casanova Caravans Velvet Goldmine Cinematography King Rat Day of the Locust Matewan A Little Princess Kundun The Thin Red Line Among other categories, I'm actually interested in Ragtime and Coming Home, which I've never seen. I suppose at one point I'll also have to see The Turning Point which shares, along with The Color Purple, of being the biggest loser in Oscar history (11 nominations and no wins).

I think Leonard Maltin said this is or may be the worst movie ever to win an Oscar (for best song as it happens). Whatever one thinks of Maltin's other opinions, I'm not seeing other nominees for this dubious honor.

I think this choice for 1968 Best Supporting Actress needs some revision. (1) Having recently rewatched both Oliver! and The Battle of Algiers it's clear that Wallis and the actress from The Battle of Algiers should switch places. (2) Leaving aside which year The Battle of Algiers should be considered in, it's clear that I've muddled the actress I was thinking of. The most dramatic scene involving women in that movie involves three young militants who adapt French fashions so that they can place bombs in revenge for a settler atrocity. The first one is named, according to a script of the movie I found online, is named Djamila and she appears earlier in the movie as part of the recruitment of Ali La Pointe, the main Algerian character. The second is named Zohra and she appears later when Ali's superior, El-Hadi Jaffar (played by an actual high ranking FLN militant) is arrested by the French. The third is Hassiba, who bleaches her hair, and is later caught with Ali in his final standoff with the French. She is played by Fusia El-Kader. Who played the first two women is not clear at all, and Kerbash, who I chose because she was the first women's name I found when I looked up the cast, plays a comparatively minor character named Fathia. To complicate things even more, El-Kader's character is called Halima in other places. (3) It now appears that The Color of Pomegranates is actually a 1969 movie, so Chiaureli would end up being number eight for that year.

Day, Garson, Turner, Wood and Sinatra are the oddest choices. It's not that Sinatra's movies are bad, but him getting three before Chaplin, Bogart, Cagney, Astaire, Keaton, Olivier, Lancaster, Mason among others? The four women (instead of Garland, Bergman or Bette Davis) are also eccentric choices. Wood and Turner appeared in some admired movies, but they were not particularly well respected actresses for most of their career. Day seems a partisan choice, while Garson's particular forte doesn't seem to have dated well in the seven decades since her heyday.

I'll have to take a closer look at this. However, King of Jazz and the 1994 Little Women are extremely promising. Meanwhile the Sunday imports, while all repeats, are all encouraging: The Bad Sleep Well, Jeanne Dielman, Children of Paradise, Fanny and Alexander, and a double shot of Winter Light and The Silence.

theyshootpictures.com top 1000 movies 1968 Memories of Underdevelopment Tomas Gutierrez Alea, Cuba #274 Teorema Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy #363 Hour of the Wolf Ingmar Bergman, Sweden #418 The Hour of the Furnaces Octavio Getino, Fernando E. Solanas, Argentina #434 The Chronicle of Anna Magadalena Bach Jean-Marie Straub, West Germany #713 L'Enfance Nue Maurice Pialat, France #833 O Bandido da Luz Vermelha Rogerio Sganzerla, Brazil #979 L'Amour Fou Jacques Rivette, France #990 Jonathan Rosenbaum top 1000 Death by Hanging Nagisa Oshima, Japan Je t'aime, je t'aime Alain Resnais, France Sayat Nova [The Colour of Pomegranates] Sergei Paradjanov, Soviet Union The 17th Parallel Joris Ivens/Marceline Loridan, France Stolen Kisses Francois Truffaut, France Teorema Pier Paolo Pasolini Note that dates are not exact. Also note that this is the first year since 1958 where no film was in theyshootpictures.com top 100.

Last week I saw three movies. Place, Straight and Show is the first Ritz brothers movie I've ever seen. To be honest, splitting the difference between the Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges does not strike me as a good idea. But it's not a bad movie over all. Claudine is an interesting attempt at trying to portray the life of a poor black woman, and trying to deal with welfare at a time, then as now, when many Americans were deeply unsympathetic. It's a nice try, though it suffers in comparison to Killer of Sheep a few years later. Dawson City: Frozen Time is a documentary that, of course, appeared on TCM earlier this month. But even though it's about a Canadian town, TCM Canada didn't show it all. This movie about how hundreds of lost silent film footage were found nearly buried after being forgotten for half a century, and about the images of Dawson City, intercut with silent film footage, would be a fascinating documentary. One minor problem is whether there was any real need to explain the 1919 World Series scandal. A more serious problem, and rather fatal for me alas, is that the print used to explain much of what's going on is so small that it's difficult and awkward to read.

1. The Chronicle of Anna Magadelena Bach Jean-Marie Straub, Daniele Huillet, West Germany 2. Valley of the Bees Frantisek Vlacil, Czechoslovakia 3. Death by Hanging Nagisa Oshima, Japan 4. The Adventures of Gooby and Bagha Satyajit Ray, India 5. Je t'aime, Je t'aime Alain Resnais, France 6. Shame Ingmar Bergman, Sweden 7. Stolen Kisses Francois Truffaut, France 8. L'Enfance Nue Maurice Pialat, France 9. The Hour of the Wolf Ingmar Bergman, Sweden

theyshootpictures.com top 1000 1967 Playtime Jacques Tati, France #47 Mouchette Robert Bresson, France #168 Belle de Jour Luis Bunuel, France #184 Le Samourai Jean-Pierre Melville, France #205 Week-end Jean-Luc Godard, France #271 Terra em Transe Glauber Rocha, Brazil #310 The Young Girls of Rochefort Jacques Demy, France #391 Marketa Lazarova Frantisek Vlacil, Czechoslovakia, #421 Branded to Kill Seijun Suzuki, Japan #821 The Firemen's Ball Milos Forman, Czechoslovakia #923 War and Peace Sergei Bondarchuk, Soviet Union #967 Jonathan Rosenbaum top 1000 movies Belle de jour Luis Bunuel, France China Is Near Marco Bellochio, Italy La chinoise Jean-Luc Godard, France Love Affair Dusan Makavejev, Yugoslavia Mouchette Robert Bresson, France *Playtime Jacques Tati, France La prise de pouvoir de Louis XIV Roberto Rossellini, France The Red and the White Miklos Jancso, Hungary Weekend Jean-Luc Godard, France *The Young Girls of Rochefort Jacques Demy, France An asterisk (*) means the film is one of Rosenbaum's top 100. Note that dates are not exact.

Would it really be that unthinkable imaging the role being played by Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro or John Cazale?

Last week I saw three movies. Burn After Reading is usually considered minor Coen brothers, which is to say that its flaws are harder to disguise and tolerate. Basically we see cartoon figures teased and tortured for ninety minutes to glib effect. Since Frances McDormand is married to one of the brothers, she comes out best. I would find it hard to believe that any Tilda Swinton character would want to marry any George Clooney character, let alone ruin her marriage for the cartoonist buffoon he plays here. An underlying theme is that the characters show their foolishness by actually taking the CIA seriously. Of course the Coen brothers are too cool to care about politics, or people. There are some good jokes, and J.K. Simmons does well in a brief role. Panic in the Streets is a competent thriller. Having Richard Widmark play the hero is an interesting touch, since people are less likely to follow him unequivocally. Paul Douglas does well as the policeman who helps him, and there's a rousing chase sequence (on foot) at the end. It's interesting that so much effort was made to film the movie in New Orleans when (a) the actors take so little effort to talk like they come from the Big Easy, even though most of the speaking parts were played by native Orleaners (b) much of the plot deals with Greek/Asia minor immigrants and (c) few, possibly none of the characters are black. Three Identical Strangers is a documentary about three triplets separated at birth who reunited in 1980 when they were nineteen. What appears to be a heartwarming human interest story turns into something much stranger and more unpleasant. It's certainly a watchable movie, though the nurture/nature debate could have been handled more clearly.

1. Weekend Jean-Luc Godard, France 2. Playtime Jacques Tati, France 3. The Young Girls of Rochefort Jacques Demy, France 4. Le Samourai Jean-Pierre Melville, France 5. Marketa Lazarova Frantisek Vlacil, Czecholsovakia 6. The Red and the White Miklos Jancso, Hungary 7. La Collectionneuse Eric Rohmer, France 8. Mouchette Robert Bresson, France 9. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her Jean-Luc Godard, France 10. Belle de Jour Luis Bunuel, France 11. Branded to Kill Seijun Suzuki, Japan 12. War and Peace Sergei Bondarchuk. Soviet Union 13. Oedipus Rex Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy This may be France's greatest year in film.

Now it is 1973. Here is Best Original Screenplay: Ingmar Bergman, Cries and Whispers Jean Eustache, The Mother and the **** Terrence Malick, Badlands David S. Ward, The Sting Victor Erice, Angel Fernandez Santos, Francisco J. Querejeta, The Spirit of the Beehive And here is Best Adapted Screenplay: David Sherwin, O Lucky Man!, sequel to the movie If... Allan Scott, Chris Bryant, Don't Look Now, based on the short story of the same name by Daphne Du Maurier Leigh Brackett, The Long Goodbye, based on the novel of the same name by Raymond Chandler Paul Monash, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, based on the novel of the same name by George V. Higgins Kenneth Ross, The Day of the Jackal, based on the novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth I have not seen Save the Tiger, A Touch of Class (original), The Paper Chase or Paper Moon (adapted)

Now it's 1972. Here is Best Adapted Screenplay: Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo, The Godfather, based on the novel of the same name by Puzo Fridrikh Gorenshtein, Andrei Tarkovsky, Solaris, based on the novel of the same name by Stanislaw Lem Jay Presson Allen, Cabaret, based on the musical of the same name by Fred Ebb and John Kander, and the book by Joe Masteroff Anthony Shaffer, Frenzy, based on the novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern Billy Wilder, I. A. Diamond, Avanti!, based on the play of the same name by Samuel A. Taylor. And here is Best Original Screenplay: Luis Bunuel, Jean-Claude Carriere, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Werner Herzog, Aguirre, the Wrath of God Gyula Hernadi, Red Psalm Tito de Stefano, Tonino Guerra, The Mattei Affair John Waters, Pink Flamingos I have not seen Lady Sings the Blues, Young Winston (original) or Pete 'n' Tillie (adapted.)

Now it's 1971 Here is Best Adapted Screenplay: Luchino Visconti, Nicola Badalucco, Death in Venice, based on the novella of the same name by Thomas Mann Robert Altman, Brian McKay, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, based on the novel McCabe by Edmund Naughton Francois Truffaut, Jean Grault, Two English Girls, based on the novel Two English Girls on the Continent by Henri-Pierre Roche Larry McMurtry, Peter Bogdanovich, The Last Picture Show, based on the novel of the same name by McMurtry Stanley Kubrick, A Clockwork Orange, based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess And here is Best Original Screenplay: Louis Malle, Murmur of the Heart Marcel Ophuls, Andre Harris, The Sorrow and the Pity Werner Herzog, Land of Silence and Darkness Nagisa Oshima, Kenzo Kawarasaki, Tsutomu Tamura, The Ceremony Werner Herzog, Fata Morgana I have not seen Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, Summer of '42 (original). The Conformist was nominated the previous year.

theyshootpictures.com top 1000 1966 Persona Ingmar Bergman, Sweden #19 Andrei Rublev Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet Union #27 Au hasard Balthazar Robert Bresson, France #35 The Battle of Algiers Gillo Pontecorvo, Italy #66 Two or Three Things I Know About Her Jean-Luc Godard, France #218 Daisies Vera Chytilova, Czechoslovakia #400 Masculin Feminin Jean-Luc Godard, France #438 Closely Watched Trains Jiri Menzel, Czechoslovakia #439 The Rise to Power of Louis XIV Roberto Rossellini, France #521 The Round-up Miklos Jancso, Hungary #638 Black Girl Ousmane Sembene, Senegal #768 The Hawks and the Sparrows Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy #900 La Collectionneuse Eric Rohmer, France #953 Jonathan Rosenbaum's top 1000 movies, 1966 Andrei Rublev Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet Union *Au Hasard Balthazar Robert Bresson, France *Black Girl (La noire de) Ousmane Sembene, Senegal Daisies Vera Chytilova, Czechoslovakia Hawks and Sparrows Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy Made in USA Jean-Luc Godard, France Oedipus Rex Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy Persona Ingmar Bergman, Sweden Red Angel Yasuzo Masumura, Japan Two or Three Things I Know about Her Jean-Luc Godard, France An asterisk (*) indicates that the movie is one of Rosenbaum's top 100 movies. Note that dates are not exact.

I vote for Cinema International

My mother's favorite movies were The Swan and The River (the Jean Renoir movie.)

Nominated by their own countries, but not chosen for the top five were Young Torless (West Germany), Come Drink with Me (Hong Kong), The Round-up (Hungary) and Persona (Sweden).

Last week I watched five movies. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II completes a movie series saga that started for me seventeen years ago. And ultimately I'm not impressed. Ultimately I didn't care about all the complicated magic rules and the exceptions and complications. Personally the rules should have been clearer. Moreover, what should have been the emotional high points of the movie, the revelation of Snape's true character, and Potter's true love with a girl other than the one he's been hanging out for the last decade, don't really come off very well. Submarine is the sort of movie that looks as if someone saw Rushmore and asked "How can we make this less interesting and more irritating?" The characters tend to act like they're on Prozac for much of the movie and the protagonist is both irritating and not very interesting. "If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a tawdry quirk shop." The other three movies are much more interesting. Slack Bay takes place in Belle Epoque France with an eccentric well to do family visiting the seashore, a family of fishermen collecting mussels and two policemen of questionable intelligence investigating disappearances. To be honest, the cannibalism subplot doesn't entirely work (do they ever?). On the other hand you get to see Julie Binoche in a state of hysteria, androgynous love affairs, wind yachting, an odd miracle, and an even odder miracle near the end of the movie. Bruno Dumont discovers he has a sense of humor! Chunhyang is a 2000 South Korean movie, that the Korean film industry, in both Koreas has filmed multiple times. Based on a Korean ballad that was finalized sometime in the 18th century or so, it deals with a young would be aristocrat who meets and marries the daughter of a former courtesan (the Chunhyang of the title). He goes off to write the vital civil service exams while keeping the marriage secret. Later a new governor comes to town and proceeds to make Chunhyang's life miserable. Although the framing story consists of an audience watching the play on stage, the movie is beautifully filmed in the Korea of several centuries ago, with fluid shots and elaborate costume design. Skate Kitchen offers a portrait of an adolescent/young woman who finds female friends with a shared love of skateboarding. As a portrait of young women it's not as tough minded as Girlhood. But it's better than Lady Bird and offers an entrancing portrait of a diverse multi-racial group of friends. Rachelle Vinberg gives a good performance as the protagonist.

1. Andrei Rublev Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet Union 2. Persona Ingmar Bergman, Sweden 3. Au hasard Balthazar Robert Bresson, France 4. The Battle of Algiers Gillo Pontecorvo, Italy/Algeria 5. Masculin Feminin Jean-Luc Godard, France 6. Daisies Vera Chytilova, Czechoslovakia 7. The Hawks and the Sparrows Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy 8. The Rise to Power of Louis XIV Roberto Rossellini, France 9. Le Deuxieme Souffle Jean-Pierre Melvile, France 10. Made in U.S.A. Jean-Luc Godard, France 11. The Round-up Miklos Jancso, Hungary 12. Yesterday Girl Alexander Kluge, West Germany

Now it's 1970. Here is Beat Adapted Screenplay Jorge Semprum, Artur London, The Confession based on the memoir of the same name by London Bernardo Bertolucci, The Conformist, based on the novel of the same name by Alberto Moravia Larry Forrester, Hideo Oguni, Ryuzu Kikushima, Tora! Tora! Tora!, based on the book of the same name by Gordon W. Prange and The Broken Seal by Ladislas Farago Francois Truffaut, Jean Gruault, The Wild Child, based on The Memorandum and Report on Victor de l'Aveyron by Dr, Jean Marc Gaspard Itard Calder Willingham, Little Big Man, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Berger And here is Best Original Screenplay: Jean Renoir, The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir Adrien Joyce, Bob Rafelson, Five Easy Pieces Jean-Pierre Melville, The Red Circle Jerzy Gruza, Jerzy Skolimowski, Boleslaw Sulik, Deep End John Crawford, Edmund Penney, The Ballad of Cable Hogue I have not seen Joe (original) or Lovers and Other Strangers (adapted)

Well we won't see it until Monday at the earliest, since it never appears on weekends.