Arkadin

I'm with you on FIVE GRAVES. I have been requesting that one for years!

Blaise Starrett realizes he?s at the end of the trail. In fact, there is no trail?only a snow covered expanse of Wyoming wilderness which holds death for Starrett and seven killers burdened with U.S. Army gold. A rancher who has come into town to settle a few scores, Starrett has a problem with farmers stringing wire across the range. He?s also in the market for a bride, but he?ll kill two birds with one stone when he guns down their leader, Hal Crane (Alan Marshall) and takes his beautiful wife Helen (Tina Louise) for his own. Personal grudges must be put aside when Captain Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) and his troops crash the party. The deserters have made off with 50,000 in gold from an Army payroll and blundered into the valley, looking for a place to refurbish supplies and enjoy the town?s hospitality. Bruhn is mortally wounded, and Starrett realizes he has to get the gang out of town before they have no commander to keep them in line. DAY OF THE OUTLAW, Andre De Toth?s intense B western, might have been made on a budget, but he never shortchanges his viewers. This film has wonderful performances, and in some cases?particularly Burl Ives?it?s quite possibly the best work of their careers. Lots of great character work is here as well, as Elisha Cook, Jack Lambert, and Dabbs Greer offer support. Toth?s camerawork elevates this film above other low budget pictures, and you can see how he uses nature to reinforce a physical and moral coldness in his characters. His camera is always moving, whether he?s following a dancing couple, or capturing beautiful snowscapes. In a fight scene, he does not move into close ups as most directors would do, but instead cuts to a long shot. The two figures look tiny in the white expanse while the mountains seem to look down on them like gods. There?s another Wellesian touch where his camera does a 360-degree pan of the valley that drops back through a window? a shot that would not seem out of place in Touch of Evil (1958) or Citizen Kane (1941). A deeply psychological work, Day of the Outlaw seems more indebted to noirs such as ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1952) and KEY LARGO (1947) than anything in the western genre. Ryan is a man who rediscovers his humanity in the light of Bruhn?s heartless soldiers who are little more than animals. Bruhn and Starrett recognize the same tendencies in each other, but Bruhn lost his way long ago. He still longs for redemption, though time is closing fast on his body. Blaise?s own survival depends on his understanding of nature and ability to live in harmony with the elements. In so doing, he learns harmony must also exist between men for life to have value. DAY OF THE OUTLAW shows early on 4/11

Tobiz, In the original widescreen Camille is not seen when she tosses her robe. I discussed the opening scene a bit in the Foreign section thread here: http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/message.jspa?messageID=8077560#8077560 I'm glad you enjoyed the film. I'm a bit disturbed to hear it was in Pan & Scan though. This film really NEEDS the widescreen process as it is used to manipulate space and even show the gulf between Camille and Paul. The DVD from Criterion is in the true aspect ratio and looks wonderful.

I'm sorry if that sounded rude, I meant it as a compliment (if you look at the films I like in this thread, you will not see SEVEN SAMOURAI listed). If you can hold my interest discussing a film that is not my taste, you are a talented individual. I enjoyed the rest of your site as well and also liked what you had to say about DRUNKEN ANGEL, which is one of my favorites.

Pierrot Le Fou does indeed star Anna Karina, but Masculin Feminin does not. If you want to see a good Anna film, you might start with MY LIFE TO LIVE (Vivre Sa Vie) (1962).

Glad you had a chance to view it. TCM Programmer says tonight's print is not so hot.

I was glad they showed THE CORN IS GREEN (1945), my favorite Bette Davis film.

Thanks for the info. I was researching an article about this film, but I didn't feel I had the time to finish. Glad I didn't now. There's nothing worse than building something up and not meeting expectations. So much of CONTEMPT's allure is in its striking visuals, color, and camera movement. A poor print of the film would hurt its effect. BTW, that print you guys showed of THE TRIAL (1963) yesterday was amazing! I have never seen the film look better.

Kyle, its been restored by Criterion and is ready for release (at a very good price!): http://store.criterion.com/product/show/31756

I'm not a fan of the film, but I enjoyed your article very much.

It's actually about much more than that. Contempt also deals with the art of filmaking and Cinema's place in the world. Fritz Lang plays himself as a director making a film version of the Odyssey, which again has all kinds of references and links to the characters. This is a very complex work, but it's pretty easy to watch and has amazing visuals. As was mentioned at SSO, the score to this film is wonderful and is an intregal part of the movie. I told you earlier, I've been working on an article for this. I hoped to have it finished by Sunday, but with a film this deep, I'm not sure it's possible on short notice! I hope you post your comments here and at SSO after you see the film.

Bardot's black wig is used for only a small segment of the film when she and Paul are in the apartment. The wig gives her a similar look to Godard's then wife Anna Karina and the film is somewhat of a commentary on their disintegrating marriage. It?s also important to note the American film references here. While French New Wave directors often loved to show their influences, in this film those influences tend to have actual connections with the story. One such incident is when Paul gets in the bathtub with his hat on. Camille asks what he is doing and he replies: ?I?m Dean Martin in Some Came Running (1958).? This link gives us insight into Paul?s character, as Dean Martin?s ?Bama? is clearly a misogynist who treats women as little more than toys. Some Came Running and Contempt also have ties in that both films deal with relationships and hypocrisy. As for Palance?s character, he is a stand-in for the actual American producer who demanded Godard show Bardot in various states of undress to titillate viewers and sell the film. Godard acquiesced by showing Bardot?s naked body at the beginning of the film, slapping us in the face with her curves. By doing this, he removes expectations of sex and lets us see Camille as a real person instead of Bardot playing a character. The breakdown of a marriage is not a light subject. John Cassavetes Faces (1968) is downright harrowing, while Bergman?s Scenes From a Marriage (1973) is realistic and hopeful, but neither could ever be called beautiful. Contempt alone can make such a claim.

Interesting article. Is this your work?

Great! I have been waiting forever!

Yep. Best Supporting Actress the first year the Oscars were broadcast on TV.

Another new film to explore. Thanks guys!

Hi Limelights, As far as I know, THREE STRANGERS has never been available in any format. However, I'm sure that some posters made recordings. My other fave Greenstreet/Lorre, THE VERDICT (1946) is also unavailable. Now, if we could just get TCM Programmer to show that one...

Glad you liked the film Molo. You're right about Fitzgerald. Her character shifts mantles and personas so effortlessly that she seems to be playing three different women in this film! There are many great scenes where she turns and surprises us even though we might know what's coming (the cigarette scene for example). A great actress that deserved better roles.

Can't see that image for some reason. I did not mean to imply there are no storyboards at all. My point was that Hitch usually had a film completed in his head in its entirety and storyboarded before any shooting took place. This is one thing that frustrated people like Selzneck when they worked with him. Selzneck would shoot tons of footage, then edit it to create the look he wanted. Hitches work infuriated him because the film could only go together one way--Hitchcocks way. Topaze was the only film Hitchcock began without complete knowlege of where the film would go or how all the shots would take place. He did a lot of improvising on the fly here, which is why he shot two different endings.

I like Topaz. It's a flawed film to be sure, but has many interesting facets and much more subtle than what we are used to from Hitchcock. Part of the difference as that Hitch wrote this film while he shot it (He had always storyboarded films before), but really it's what's left unsaid here and his use of color in determining people and their alliances. Red is used for Communism, yellow for French, purple or lavender signals some emotional turn is about to take place. There are others as well, but these are the main ones. Hitchcock deliberately said less (in words and camera movement) in this film thinking his audience could follow him. Unfortunately, they saw it as just another spy film. Personally, I think in this film he was trying to grow and not be so obvious with his intentions and characters, but that's not what his audience wanted from him.

THE VERDICT (1982) is my favorite Paul Newman film. Can't believe I forgot that one. WINGS OF DESIRE (1987) is another great one. I forgot THE KILLING FIELDS (1984) as well--truly one of the most underappreciated films ever.

Probably my least favorite period of film. Still, many great ones to choose from: DAS BOOT (1981) TIME BANDITS (1982) FITZCARRALDO (1982) BURDEN OF DREAMS (1982) NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (1984) BLADE RUNNER (1982) THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (1988) SPINAL TAP (1984) VERONIKA VOSS (1982) BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ (1980) VIDEODROME (1983) THE DEAD ZONE (1983) AIRPLANE (1980) RAGING BULL (1980) BRAZIL (1985) THE WALL (1982) THE LAST METRO (1980) FOR ALL MANKIND (1989) EATING RAOUL (1982) SHOAH (1985) ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984) THE RIGHT STUFF (1983) THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980) RAN (1985) MY DINNER WITH ANDRE (1981) TIME REGAINED (1988) FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1982) DOWN BY LAW (1983) REDS (1981) SIBERIADE (1984) HOUSE OF GAMES (1986) UNDER THE VOLCANO (1984) THE DECALOGUE (1988) THE STUNT MAN (1980) COUP DE TORCHON (1981) MY FAVORITE YEAR (1982) WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (1988) MY LEFT FOOT (1989) PARIS, TEXAS (1984) LOVE STREAMS (1984) A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988) ROBOCOP (1985) AMADEUS (1984) DOMINICK AND EUGENE (1988) RED SORGHUM (1988) A SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY (1984) ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) GRAVE OF THE FIREFILES (1988) THE MISSION (1986) DEATH OF A SALESMAN (1985)

Indeed. Once you read Suicide Blonde, you will be looking at every GG film trying to see what she had done beforehand. Her upper lip did become somewhat paralyized as a result of one of these surgeries. She used to stuff her upper lip with kleenex, which resulted in more than one actor spitting out wet soggy tissue paper with disgust after kissing her.

Personally, I enjoy Shakespeare in film, but I would not reccomend it as a first view of his work. It really needs to be read, then seen upon the stage before jumping to film. BTW, As another poster mentioned Kurosawa's Ran (1985) takes many elements from King Lear, but is not a direct transfer as was Throne of Blood (1957) of "The Scottish Play". For all those who insist upon saying Macbeth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukqzcC_jf_0

In the film, the statues eyes are closed. She is supposed to open her eyes when she grants the wish. When the New Year begins, the candle lit near Kwan Yin (the only light) blows out leaving the three wishmakers arguing as to whether they saw her eyes open or not.