Cinemascope

Yeah, since he gained about 65 lbs, stopped getting facials, and using dippity-do on his graying hair, the guy's come into his own as an actor with some gravitas and a sense of humor. You know, I never really stopped to think what was different about him physically since he stopped playing leading-man roles, and I think you've a better eye for it than I do. I *do* love the new gravitas and maybe that's something we're missing among actors in his age range. He was also very very good in The Departed. Nothing really flashy, but very solid support in a role that desperately needed someone who wouldn't seem overwhelmed by all the other stars.

Correct. Every single promo reads, "Feb. 1st - March 3rd".

deborah, I really enjoyed reading your opinion. I'm still not sure why people go to such extremes sometimes, tho. "Their word is not law" (Goodness Heaven whoever said it was?). "Do they deserve an exalted position"? (When did anyone offer it to them?). Someone in this thread apparently wants all of them put to sleep (whatever happened to Freedom of the Press in America?). A critic who writes about film isn't that different in a sense from those who write about theater or television. Yet somehow they seem to get the worst rap. Why? I have no idea. To me it seems very simple -- find critics whose opinions are usually fairly reliable, and I can have a good "go-to" person whenever I want to get an opinion in a jiffy. Doesn't mean I have to read 'em, just means they're another option.

I'm far from an expert on copyright law, but I think montages with short clips should probably be protected. The problem is, YouTube probably doesn't want to get involved in this, which it would ultimately have to do if it came down to where to draw the line between fair use under the law and actual copyright infringement. And yes some media companies are probably being short-sighted about this, but that's kind of the corporate mentality in America today. What I'd probably do if I were one of the people making montages would be to write or call WHV and keep a record, and make a short video of that. If their response is fairly heavy-handed, disclosing it publicly (on YouTube) could result in negative publicity for them, which in turn could help them realize that what they've been doing amounts to shooting themselves on the foot!

Yes, I do know why you like Garden of Evil better! Thanks for your input, it's a very good analysis.

Meryl Streep, in a nod to the film that brought her to the Oscars, wore a Prada black silk radzmire coat over a black satin skirt and an emerald green belt. She further accessorized with colorful bead necklaces. http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/211698/

Donald O'Connor and Vera-Ellen were good dancers, but far from the best.

Glad you mentioned the promo -- I enjoyed that too, and it really made me look forward more to the actual showing of the movie!

As for my personal opinion on critics, I say get rid of them. As everyone has said, they are not always going to like your kind of movie, so when they give a good review and you think you're going to like it, 8 out of 10 times, you're sorry you listened. That's very open-minded of you, Anne.

Ah, how diplomatic, it's probably best that way, lol

That was a good show....

Broadband TV could be the wave of the future, it may just need a few more years... but eventually there should be more providers, since phone companies only need upgrade their lines in some areas to be able to deliver broadband TV. Here's an interesting first hand account of someone dropping cable to get broadband TV: Goodbye Cable TV, Hello Fiber-Optic Broadband Television Wednesday, December 13, 2006 By Lance Ulanoff "You've been with us since 1994," the Cablevision operator said, querulously. "Uh-huh," I replied. "We hate to lose such a longtime customer," she continued. She sounded nice, so I assured her that it wasn't her fault that I was dropping Cablevision for my TV service in favor of Verizon's brand new FiOS TV fiber-optic TV service. We chatted a bit longer and then, as I requested, she terminated my cable service. No going back now. Not that I would want to go back. Making the move to fiber TV is one of the smartest I've made in my technical life. [...] "Cablevision has ? for too long ? treated us like the monopolistic service provider it is. I always knew I would jump at the first sign of competition. People need choices. Competition is good," I told her. "Yes, it is," she agreed. "It can only make you better." "That's true," she added, sounding less than convinced. For the whole article, go to: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,236366,00.html

Weather can be a problem in some situations, but competition between the two leading satellite companies (which has been pretty fierce in the last few years) generally keeps them from getting away with some of the things cable companies can get away with in some areas. Satellite fees also haven't gone up as much as those of cable in most markets, IIRC.

Yup, I felt the same way after watching the Irene Dunne version, too. The 20's scenes really didn't seem to fit with the rest of the movie, I thought.

You've a very good point regarding areas where reception just isn't any good for satellite dishes. Still, we can only hope broadband keeps making inroads, I hear in some big cities it's already a formidable competitor to cable & satellite.

Reviews in a sense aren't really that different from opinions you might get from your friends and relatives, I reckon. And I do think most people will at least occasionally want to compare opinions with other people they know about movies they've both seen. It's really not that different with critics, if you find a good one, every once in a while you may find yourself wanting to hear her/his opinion. If you find someone (be it a critic or a RL friend/relative) whose taste is usually similar to yours, there's a good chance you'll want to hear their opinion on movies you haven't seen yet.

I remember you wrote this thread was about personal opinions. And so it has been, as far back as I can remember. There's been people engaging in personal attacks in this thread, but it hasn't been me. I've disagreed with some posts but that happens every day on almost every thread in almost any bulletin board on the whole web.

7 nominations, 2 wins, and some of the best reviews of any 1996 film!

Cable companies don't have a complete monopoly on pay TV. They have competition from satellite TV, and there's more companies investing in broadband delivery.

A very good point, two of the most charming stars of old Hollywood, would have loved to see them together!

Yes, she didn't get to keep the wardrobe!

This is true, a lot of them did manage to make a smooth transition to talkies.

I used to rely on trailers a lot, too, but lately they've become a double-edged sword, too many of them totally misrepresent the movie, or give away all the best parts or just simply spoil some of the surprises in the movie.

Well, this is a blast from the past!

Last Friday I was all set to see James Cromwell introduce one of his father's old pre-codes at the Film Forum, but then I got sick. I also got sick when I was supposed to see John Wayne in The Searchers so I'm starting to wonder.... Lol! So sorry to hear that... well at least those pre-codes will be showing on TCM soon.