cigarjoe
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Posts posted by cigarjoe
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8 hours ago, TomJH said:
I've always been surprised that they would spend the money to film the same scene twice, especially since it winds up being an inconsistency in the film since they're slightly different.
Probably figured that the majority of folks would see it just once and not again and wouldn't notice back in the day.
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I commented on Zodiac about a week ago here is a partial review...
Zodiac (2007) Serial Killer Neo Noir Masterpiece
It's a sort of an amalgam of Police Procedural Noirs like one of the earliest, M (1931), also He Walked by Night (1948), The Naked City (1948), The Blue Lamp (1950) The Big Heat (1953) and the Newspaper Noirs like Scandal Sheet (1952), Call Northside 777 (1948), While the City Sleeps (1956) etc., etc., with a lot of noir visuals and style.
Zodiac was directed by David Fincher, of his films I've liked Se7en (1995), and the fantasy The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), didn't care that much story-wise for Gone Girl, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or The Social Network. From those last three listed choices of films that he made, they don't particularly give me the confidence to attend one of his films on the basis of his name alone being connected with the project. With director names like the Coen Brothers, Tarantino, or Lynch, I'll pretty much do a blind buy in, its a good bet I'll know what I'm getting.
It sort of makes me long for the old Hollywood Studio system, at least the part where, say a good director of Crime Films or Westerns would be able to carve out a nice Genre niche and perfect his style and ideas over a series of films. Se7en and Zodiac were great Police Procedural Noirs, I wish he'd make more of them, he made great ones.
Zodiac was written by James Vanderbuilt and was based on Robert Graysmith's eponymous book. Robert was a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1969 when the Zodiac killer case broke, he attempted to decode the four cryptograms sent to the paper and in turn became obsessed with the case. He wrote two books about the Zodiac and five other pieces on other crimes. One of those was made into the film Auto Focus (2002).
The well researched film (a lot of scenes where shot where the actual events happened) follows the investigations by Graysmith, San Francisco Chronicle crime reporter Paul Avery, San Francisco Police Department inspectors Dave Toschi and Bill Armstrong, and Sgt. Jack Mulanax from the Vallejo, California Police Department where the first Zodiac killing took place.It's Fincher's style, the cinematography of Harris Savides, the dietetic soundtracks, and the music by David Shire, that combine to suck you into the story.
It's more like an ensemble film. All the actors do a great job though none of them really stands out performance wise, though of course most time is spent with Gyllenhaal, Downey Jr., Ruffalo, Edwards and Sevigny. They all could have been replaced by other actors with no real change in the overall quality of the film. 9/10 Full review with some screencaps in Film Noir/Gangster pages.
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Zodiac (2007) Serial Killer Neo Noir Masterpiece
Zodiac is a great Neo Noir.
It's a sort of an amalgam of Police Procedural Noirs like one of the earliest, M (1931), also He Walked by Night (1948), The Naked City (1948), The Blue Lamp (1950) The Big Heat (1953) and the Newspaper Noirs like Scandal Sheet (1952), Call Northside 777 (1948), While the City Sleeps (1956) etc., etc., with a lot of noir visuals and style.
Zodiac was directed by David Fincher, of his films I've liked Se7en (1995), and the fantasy The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), didn't care that much story-wise for Gone Girl, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or The Social Network. From those last three listed choices of films that he made, they don't particularly give me the confidence to attend one of his films on the basis of his name alone being connected with the project. With director names like the Coen Brothers, Tarantino, or Lynch, I'll pretty much do a blind buy in, its a good bet I'll know what I'm getting.
It sort of makes me long for the old Hollywood Studio system, at least the part where, say a good director of Crime Films or Westerns would be able to carve out a nice Genre niche and perfect his style and ideas over a series of films. Se7en and Zodiac were great Police Procedural Noirs, I wish he'd make more of them, he made great ones.
Zodiac was written by James Vanderbuilt and was based on Robert Graysmith's eponymous book. Robert was a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1969 when the Zodiac killer case broke, he attempted to decode the four cryptograms sent to the paper and in turn became obsessed with the case. He wrote two books about the Zodiac and five other pieces on other crimes. One of those was made into the film Auto Focus (2002).
The well researched film (a lot of scenes where shot where the actual events happened) follows the investigations by Graysmith, San Francisco Chronicle crime reporter Paul Avery, San Francisco Police Department inspectors Dave Toschi and Bill Armstrong, and Sgt. Jack Mulanax from the Vallejo, California Police Department where the first Zodiac killing took place.
It's Fincher's style, the cinematography of Harris Savides, the dietetic soundtracks, and the music by David Shire, that combine to suck you into the story.
Noirsville
Mark Ruffalo as Insp. Dave Toschi 
Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith rt. 
Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery 
Elias Koteas as Sgt. Jack Mulanax 
Brian Cox as Melvin Belli 
Chloë Sevigny as Melanie Graysmith 
The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Nocturnal Animals (2016)) as Robert Graysmith, Mark Ruffalo (Collateral (2004)) as Insp. Dave Toschi, Robert Downey Jr (Natural Born Killers (1994)) as Paul Avery, Anthony Edwards as Insp. Bill Armstrong, Chloë Sevigny (Palmetto (1998), The Brown Bunny (2003), Lovelace (2013)) as Melanie Graysmith , Brian Cox (Poodle Springs (1998)) as Melvin Belli, John Carroll Lynch (Fargo (1996)), as Arthur Leigh Allen, Dermot Mulroney as Captain Marty Lee, Elias Koteas (Hit Me (1996), The Killer Inside Me (2010)) as Sgt. Jack Mulanax, Donal Logue as Captain Ken Narlow and Philip Baker Hall (Zabriskie Point (1970), Hard Eight (1996), Hit Me (1996), Boogie Nights (1997)) as Sherwood Morrill.
It's more like an ensemble film. All the actors do a great job though none of them really stands out performance wise, though of course most time is spent with Gyllenhaal, Downey Jr., Ruffalo, Edwards and Sevigny. They all could have been replaced by other actors with no real change in the overall quality of the film. 9/10 Full review with more screencaps at Noirsville-
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15 hours ago, EricJ said:
Actually, I don't recall any serious exorcism ceremonies in most Protestant religions either,
Bible believing Evangelicals believe its all real also. They got some crazy rituals like casting out demons, speak in tongues, laying on of hands.
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WOW I don't think we've ever saw any of those films before....... 🙄
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3 minutes ago, Dargo said:
Still though, where did YOUR parents tell you to "go play" when they wanted YOU out of their hair, huh?!
At LaGuardia Airport, could ride my bike there or at the dumps.
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2 minutes ago, Dargo said:
Wow, CJ! Gotta say you've done a great job in researching this L.A. R/R bridge thing here! Especially liked that pic of you and your sister on it as little kids.
No, that ain't me it was a "" quote from a RR fan
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9 minutes ago, TikiSoo said:
C'mon, it's just a movie, lighten up. If we teach our kids well, they'll realize it's just vapid entertainment and be OK. Comic books didn't make us all costumed killers, did it?
I've seen some of the most ridiculous looking guys (with pot bellies no less) wearing super hero outfits skiing, tights capes, and all. They must pretend they are flying as they come down the mountains. I'll take some pics this season, and post them for all to see.
Some of these characters are married too with little kids....
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Concerning the pedestrian overpass did some googling came up with a possibility for the location. See below
Image is looking north west from spring towards Broadway
"When we visited Chinatown we would often visit the Southern Pacific Yard just southeast of Broadway. The yard was known as both the Bull Ring (east end) and Corn Field (west end). At the time we visited there was a wooden pedestrian bridge across the yard from North Broadway to North Spring Street. Here is a shot of my sister and I on the bridge"
"According to various sources, the yard on the north side of the ladder track was Cornfield yard. The yard lying south of the ladder track was Bull Ring yard. The footbridge crossed a portion of Cornfield yard and a portion of Bull Ring yard.Bridge is the thin black line in center of aerial photo
Screen cap below from un-restored print of film, looks pristine in restored print
Today the rail yard is gone it's now a park below the bridge site was approximately at red line
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Well went and retrieved my old first review of This Gun For Hire and here was my initial impression:
This Gun For Hire (1942) Directed by Frank Tuttle, with Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, and Alan Ladd. This one was hit & miss, the two opening sequences with hit man Alan Ladd (in his debut) are excellent the boarding house intro & his first hit (you won't recognize him at first), and over the top heavy Laird Cregar as sleazy chemical plant owner by day Neptune Night Club owner by night is very entertaining. Robert Preston seems to be phoning it in and the patriotic anti **** War theme comes off very dated & heavy handed nowadays. 6.5/10
TCM and Eddie Muller's Film Noir Foundation provided a beautiful restored print for Noir Alley of This Gun For Hire last evening a lot of picture details that the old avi file I had of the film lacked were interesting to see. I will up my rating to 7/10.
Note Eddie in his intro tells us that Ladd was one of the very first anti-heroes to come out of Hollywood.
PS. Anybody perchance recognize that sequence with the long pedestrian walkway over the rail yards where Ladd is running from the cops, was used again in a similar sequence in Neo Noir To Live And Die in L.A. (1985). Anybody from Los Angeles know whether or not it's still there?
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11 minutes ago, spence said:
Nightfall
I've seen this one on TCM.
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Just now, LawrenceA said:
He did say: " Pazuzu, king of the evil spirits of the air, help me to find Kokumo!"
Lol. Had to be a gigantic comedown from Shakespearean lines
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55 minutes ago, LawrenceA said:
Director John Boorman had great acclaim for helming Deliverance, but I guess they forgot that he also made the Zardoz. Adding Richard Burton,
Wasn't Burton spouting some jibberish line in that one?
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8 minutes ago, jamesjazzguitar said:
My favorite film with Ray is Nightfall with a very lovey Anne Bancroft.
Yea Nightfall and Fantasy Noir Psychic Killer (1975) are good.
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I don't like most of the Ladd/Lake Noirs if I had to pick one it would also be Blue Dahlia. My favorite Ladd Noir is Appointment with Danger with no Lake.
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I don't like most of the Ladd/Lake Noirs if I had to pick one it would also be Blue Dahlia. My favorite Ladd Noir is Appointment with Danger with no Lake.
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11 hours ago, GGGGerald said:
I believe its only the east coast feed.
That shouldn't matter for On Demand you play them when you want to watch them.
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59 minutes ago, spence said:
One that's playing on cable demand that nobody hardly knows about is Cannery Row a nice little movie with Nick Nolte & Debra Winer It was just prior to him in 48Hrs & fell through the radar
Everything about it is nice John Huston narrates it anyone see it yet?
(***-out of 4 stars)
Nice film got me on quite the Steinbeck binge for awhile there.
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The Dublin Nightmare (1958)
"Holy St. Patrick it's the guard!"
The director was John Pomeroy, it was his only film.
It was written by John Tully and based on Robin Estridge's novel. Cinematography by Eric Cross. Music by Edwin Astley. The film stars William Sylvester (2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)), Marla Landi (The Invisible Man (1959)), Richard Leech (A Night to Remember (1958)).
The Dublin Nightmare moves along at a quick pace and shows a bit of style to keep it interesting. The cast is made up of all unknowns (at least to me). Called a "quota quickie," a cheapo movie that fit the government mandate requiring a certain percentage of British made film show in theaters. Filmed at Twickenham Studio. Full Review with screencaps in Film Noir/Gangster. 6-7/10
The DVD is part of Great British Film Noir set Vol 2. 6/10 (Region Free DVD player required)
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The Dublin Nightmare (1958)
"Holy St. Patrick it's the guard!"
The director was John Pomeroy, it was his only film.
It was written by John Tully and based on Robin Estridge's novel. Cinematography by Eric Cross. Music by Edwin Astley. The film stars William Sylvester (2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)), Marla Landi (The Invisible Man(1959)), Richard Leech (A Night to Remember (1958)).
The Story
Early Morning. Dublin. Northumberland Arms hotel - Steve Lawlor wearing a shoulder holster watches a car approach. It looks like a 1958 Morris Minor, but I'm no British car expert. Two men get out. A tinny sounding church-bell peels. IRA meeting. A Webley Top-Break revlover is loaded and handed off.
A woman comes into Steve's room. It's his girlfriend Anna Monti. They argue. She's afraid. He tells her he came back for the cause. He tells her that life has to be worth living its worth anything at all. She tells him that if he loves her he'd listen. He tells her that if he doesn't come back to do exactly what he told her to do. He hands her a small automatic.
Richard Leech
Marla Landi 
It's a armored car job, only in Ireland they call it a bank messenger. The heist is in Armagh, Northern Ireland. They the stash the Morris and pick up a Vanguard.
the bank messenger truck 
The heist goes off as planed. They force the truck to stop. Knock out the guards, and split. A police car gives chase. The robbers are faster.
They are out of sight of the coppers only in Ireland they call them "the guard." They get near the ditch point and two of the four, Steve and another man O'Callahan hop out of the getaway car with the money to pick up the Morris they parked. The police car speeds by a few seconds after the departing Vanguard.
4:00 PM. Back at the Arms, Anna is anxious. Steve told her he would be back at 3. She goes and asks the hotelier what's going on. The two men who drove the Vanguard arrive. They tell Anna and the hotel man that it all went well. They wonder what could have happened. They suggest that they may have got stuck at the border. While they are deliberating the guard drives up.
The guard officer is looking for a Mr. Kevin. John Kevin an American arrives at just that moment. He's a photographer. The guardsman O'Connor explains that a man was killed in a motor accident and John Kevin's name was on a letter in the dead man's pocket.
"Holy St. Patrick it's the guard!"
Anne sitting in the lobby herd the bad news. John goes to identify the body. The belongings, a tie a signet ring point to Steve. It's badly burned. It could be Steve.
William Sylvester
John gets drunk in a pub. He takes some pictures between rounds, afterwards he stumbles around trying to get back to the hotel. We see a man in a trench coat shadowing him. The next morning John gets pumped by the hotel porter for any info he may have gotten from the guard when he went to identify Steve. The IRA group figured that O'Callahan killed Steve and faked the crash so he could take off with the loot.
Anna visits John she tells him that she doesn't have anyone to talk to. John was Steve's friend. She tells him it was murder, but she doesn't tell him how she knows. Of course this gets John to thinking. Meanwhile the IRA is alerting all it's branches to look for O'Callahan.
John sets up a makeshift darkroom in his hotel room and heads out into the city to finish off last nights roll. While he's poking about the cities sights a man follows him wearing a white trench coat. The man pushes John off the top of a small mill dam.
He gets back to the hotel and reports the incident to O'Connor. He also confides in Anna that someone has tried to kill him also. Anna spills about the IRA and the robbery, and how Steve and O'Callahan had the money. They decide to team up and make their own inquiries. They go inspect the wreck site and then they go and retrace Johns pub crawl from the nigh before. John figures that he may have met someone then that caused that someone to push him off the dam. John and Anna start to hit if off a bit (so much for mourning for Steve).
The next day Anna reports all she discovered with John to the hotelier. She wants O'Callahan's address so she can talk to his wife. John and Anna go to O'Callahan's wife. The wife thinks he's dead. Anna begins to think so also. Of course things go Noirsville.
Noirsville
The Dublin Nightmare moves along at a quick pace and shows a bit of style to keep it interesting. The cast is made up of all unknowns (at least to me). Called a "quota quickie," a cheapo movie that fit the government mandate requiring a certain percentage of British made film show in theaters. Filmed at Twickenham Studio Full Review with more screencaps at Noirsville - The Dublin Nightmare.
The DVD is part of Great British Film Noir set Vol 2. 6/10 -
Alan Baron's followup film to Blast Of Silence, Terror in the City (aka Pie In The Sky)
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Howard W. Campbell, Jr., an American expatriate playwright, Nazi radio propagandist, and Allied spy, writes his memoirs during his pre-trial confinement in 1961 Haifa and learns that people are what they pretend to be.
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The Whorehouse Showdown....
Noir Alley
in General Discussions
Posted
He looks particularly sleazy in a fez, no?