ChiO
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Posts posted by ChiO
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Interesting list. It certainly shows the difficulty in developing an operational definition of "under the radar." Is it an exercise in "obscurity"? A list of "under-appreciated" movies? A list of movies the casual movie fan may not have seen (or heard of), but should? With the possible exceptions of Kansas City Confidential and The Narrow Margin, his list struck me as solid blips _on_ the radar. Really...isn't every moviewatcher with a nodding acquaintance with film noir aware of Out of the Past? And if not, then why isn't *Detour* listed? Such fun! But any list that may encourage more people to watch *Gun Crazy* is A-OK in my book.
Juggling each of the above issues in a completely unsatisfactory way, here's a shot at a list (each of which is available on DVD, which was a criterion for preventing wandering into total obscurity):
10. *Big Combo* (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955): May be too well known to be "under the radar". Watching bad guys Richard Conte, Lee Van Cleef, & Earl Holliman is always a joy. Written by Philip Yordan and shot by John Alton.
9. *Killer's Kiss* (Stanley Kubrick, 1955): Made a year before *The Killing* and beautifully shot by Kubrick.
8. *The Black Book* (aka Reign of Terror) (Anthony Mann, 1949): Yes, Virginia, film noir can be made as a costume drama set during the French Revolution. Shot by John Alton, written by Philip Yordan & Aeneas MacKenzie.
7. *Raw Deal* (Anthony Mann, 1948): Raymond Burr tries to top Richard Widmark's performance in *Kiss of Death* from the previous year in sadism per second. Who shot it? John Alton, of course.
6. *He Walked by Night* (Alfred Werker, uncredited Anthony Mann, 1948): The Anthony Mann/John Alton trifecta. Did Carol Reed see this before making The Third Man?
5. *Pursued* (Raoul Walsh, 1947): Beat Anthony Mann to making a film noir Western. Wonderful cast, headed by Robert Mitchum. Shot by James Wong Howe.
4. *Phantom Lady* (Robert Siodmak, 1944): A great murder mystery adapted from a novel by the master pulp noir writer, Cornell Woolrich.
3. *Black Angel* (Roy William Neill, 1946): A great murder mystery adapted from a novel by the master pulp noir writer, Cornell Woolrich (sound familiar?). This one has Dan Duryea, Broderick Crawford _and_ Peter Lorre.
2. *Crime Wave* (Andre De Toth, 1954): As if a taut story about redemption with Sterling Hayden isn't enough, Charles Bronson and the marvelous Timothy Carey appear.
1. *Blast of Silence* (Allen Baron, 1961): Nihilist cinema. Near perfection shot on a shoestring, with the best-known names being Larry Tucker and the narrator, Lionel Stander. Recently released by Criterion after having been almost unobtainable since it was made. A must-see if you like them beyond gritty.
Left *Shock Corridor* and *The Naked Kiss* off. My excuse: Aren't they on the radar yet?
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According to some Wise(and I don't mean Robert)acre, the dates we deserve, to quote a Manhattan composer and lyricist whose work was filmed by Herr Preminger, fall into the category of I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'.
I should have realized that you are a fan of the noted proto-feminist Ernest Hemingway. A couple blocks from Calle de Orson Welles, at the other end of the bullring, is Calle de Ernest Hemingway. The others in my party (aka MrsChiO & younger daughter) indulged my seeking out of Kenosha's favorite son's honorary street; those next two blocks were apparently too distant for Oak Park's. A literal To Have and Have Not, as it were.
How do you distinguish between an anarchist and a nihilist?
Message was edited by: ChiO
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*Mann seemed to carry some of his noir sensibilities over into his westerns. His films are more violent, and violence is presented more overtly than in Ford's films. His protagonists are darker and the lines between what is good and what is evil are blurred. I'm thinking of Lin McAdam here but it carries over to his other films. Mann's westerns are psychological studies set in the west.*
Very well stated. The ambiguity that Mann accentuates is what intrigues me. Those Ford Westerns where ambiguity is in the forefront, e.g., The Searchers, are those that do resonate with me. Maybe, upon reflection, I don't really like Westerns -- those Westerns that I like are actually something else and they just happen to take place in the West.
Curious that you call Hawks "whimsical" (well, maybe not; just "more whimsical" than Ford) and MissG refers to him as "cynical". And he can be both and, ergo, that is why I find him more interesting as a director.
*Ford's use of Monument Valley, and of space in general, give us a dramatic visual portrait of the West. Of the three, I think his films are the most visually stunning.*
Absolutely -- maybe. The locale is stunning and dramatic. Ford's use of the camera (and isn't that the primary distinguishing element of cinema), however, may be less stunning and dramatic than, say, the Stewart vs. Ryan showdown in The Naked Spur.
You folks are going to make me dig deeper into Ford. Thank you.
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_The Frankster_ said: *And please do not tell me you like Citizen Kane. Didn't you read the "script"? Your line reads: "it's overrated." Now say it with disgust!*
My apologies. I was improvising. Unfortunately, I am, so I've been told by the Headmistress of the Nihilist Dating Agency, just too trendy (spanked me pretty good over there didn't she -- and keep your lurid comments to yourself). And who wrote that script? Some say Herman, you know, Joseph's brother. Pish-posh.
For your eyes only: We took a day trip from Sevilla to Ronda, the birthplace of bullfighting as we know it. It was a haven for Papa (not the so-called Pappy) and Orson (for the record, their birthplaces are Oak Park and Kenosha, Chicago suburbs). Behind the bullring is a lovely little park. The walkway through the park is...Calle de Orson Welles. Yes -- we have a photo of me paying my respects.
By the way, check out, if you haven't already, More Than the Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts (James Naremore, 2008 ed.).
Go Cubs! This is OUR century!
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_FrankG_ said:
*I'm probably going to get another Johann Altmann film on DVD next month. If I remember correctly, it is a film that you do appreciate: Slightly Scarlet.*
I hope you enjoy it. It is Exhibit 1 in demonstrating that film noir during the Classic Period can be in color. It's probably my second favorite James M. Cain adaptation, Numero Uno being Ossessione. If nothing else, it has Arlene Dahl _and_ Rhonda Fleming -- that ain't slightly scarlet (and I don't mean O'Hara).
*I already know that your favorite western is Stars in My Crown, and I will be taping it in September. What else?*
Note that some would contend that *Stars In My Crown* is _not_ a Western. Period: Reconstruction. Locale: west of the Appalachian Mountains. Other elements: there are horses. Yup -- it's a Western, alrighty. It is my favorite movie after *Citizen Kane* and *The Passion of Joan of Arc* (heard of that? seen it yet? I _will_ torture you until you do).
Unfortunately, I believe that *Canyon Passage* is the only Tourneur Western available to rent or buy. It's definitely a keeper. I like *Great Day In the Morning* far more than anyone else I know who has seen it. *Wichita* is another one to hope that TCM will show.
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Having missed this class due to vacation, and just not having the wherewithal to read the posts as thoroughly as I should, I have been thinking about this topic for discussion elsewhere. What I have thought about most is: Why do I not enjoy those few Ford Westerns that I've seen (The Searchers and *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* being notable exceptions) and instead turn to Mann and Tourneur and Fuller and Leone and Peckinpaugh; what do they do that I don't find in Ford?
Thank you, _MissG_, for you have hit it. His worldview -- at least as expressed in his Westerns -- just doesn't mesh with the view I most enjoy and find provocative on and in film. Arguably, *The Searchers* and *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* are the two films that come closest to an engaging ambiguity and, I daresay, cynicism.
I would contend, however that two of your statements -- *That Ford accompilshed this consistency of viewpoint throughout most of his career is because he made his movies to suit himself and his own ideas and without reference to anyone else* and *Ultimately, Ford westerns are not a history of western expansion, they are a part of the history of the human soul* -- are equally applicable to the directors who I prefer. The difference is in what that history and soul look like.
Thank you, again, for an excellent summation.
Cynically yours,
ChiO
P.S. You are a closet auteurist, aren't you?
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I love how the great cinematographer who gave us The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vampyr, Dodsworth, Stella Dallas and Gilda as Rudolph Mate becomes a director and is billed as Rudy Mate.
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Dear Frank-That's-F-As-In-Ford-Grimes:
That's quite a fine list of Westerns, pardner -- aside from the plethora of movies by you-know-who, which is an indication that you've gone to the dark (and I don't mean John Alton) side. And you're durn tootin' that *Forty Guns* should be rising. Need some Jacques Tourneur Westerns to fill it out and replace some of the surplusage.
*The Shooting* has now been placed on my rental list, thanks to you. I need more Monte Hellman. Would I be correct in assuming that Warren Oates is the lovable, sympathetic sidekick? A Gabby Hayes-type? I do enjoy Jack Nicholson before he became JACK NICHOLSON.
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I got a copy of *WHITE DOG* from 5 Minutes to Live a year or so ago. DVD Beaver's March 17 newsletter reported that it is on the "unofficial slate" of Criterion...but I wait.
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*I've seen three of your ten, and The Godfather is not one of them.*
I take it, then, that the three are: *Citizen Kane*, *Sunrise* and *Gun Crazy*. Which would mean that you have not yet seen...aaa...begins with *The Passion* and ends with *of Arc*. I expect an essay on that specific film upon my return. TCM is re-running *Stars In My Crown* sometime relatively soon, as I recall. It may not turn out to be your favorite Tourneur, but another must-see. Never seen The Godfather? Are you an alien from an unknown parallel universe? Any movie with Sterling Hayden _and_ John Cazale is a treat and, purely as narrative filmmaking, it may be my favorite. Look up "sublime" in the dictionary and there is a screencap from *Tokyo Story*. You would _love_ Killer of Sheep. Wanda? Think "Cassavetes as a woman making a movie, starring that woman, about a woman who just doesn't get it, but continues on." Great double-feature with Husbands. Easy to hate, difficult to love -- but worth it either way.
I need to see *Viridiana* and I have no excuse for not having seen *Blade Runner* or *Pather Panchali*. In my twenties, I loved everything Bergman; 30+ years later...well, I tried to watch *Fanny and Alexander* a few months ago and couldn't push myself through it. Not familiar with *The Mirror*. Love *Andrei Rublev* and, as for *Solaris*, I found it almost as interesting to look at and just as indecipherable as *2001: A Space Odyssey*. Need to give another Tarkovsky movie a shot.
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_MissG_ & _movieman1957_,
Mann was going to direct *Night Passage*, starring Stewart and Audie Murphy, in 1957. At the last minute, he withdrew because he thought the script was weak (he did some pre-production work and may have shot the opening sequence).
Mann: "The story was so incoherent that I said the audience wouldn't understand any of it, but Jimmy was very set on that film. He had to play the accordion and do a bunch of stunts that actors adore. He didn't care about the script whatever, and I abandoned the production. The picture was a total failure, and Jimmy has always held it against me."
After Mann quit the production, Stewart never mentioned Mann in another interview. Some "insiders" think that when Mann cast Gary Cooper (heard of him?) in *Man of the West* (1958), any hope of patching up the differences disappeared.
(summary of *Anthony Mann* (Jeanine Basinger), pp. 11-12)
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Uhhhh...the giant tapas ate my homework?
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I'm leaving on the 14th for 2 weeks in Portugal & Spain, so -- Rats! -- I'll miss out on my favorite director. Can I meet with the teacher and selected _good_ students after class upon my return?
P.S. What's a 5-letter word that starts and ends with "s" with "****" in-between? That describes the class on Murnau. Whoever dreamed that discussion of *Der Letze Mann* and *Sunrise* could be boring?
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Of the Top 100, there are five that I have _not_ seen. What's a little scary is that I own 60 of the 100. W-a-y too much time on my hands. The five I haven't seen are:
*Viridiana*
*Fanny & Alexander*
*The Mirror*
*Pather Panchali*
*Blade Runner*
My Top 10 of the day:
1. *Citizen Kane* (Welles, 1941)
2. *The Passion of Joan of Arc* (Dreyer, 1928)
3. *Stars In My Crown* (Tourneur, 1950)
4. *The Godfather* (Coppola, 1972)
5. *Tokyo Story* (Ozu, 1953)
6. *Sunrise* (Murnau, 1927)
7. *Killer of Sheep* (Burnett, 1977)
8. *Gun Crazy* (Lewis, 1949)
9. *Wanda* (Loden, 1971)
10. *A Matter of Life and Death* (Powell & Pressburger, 1946)
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If you enjoy Mitchum as his most laconic, worldweary, and passive, accepting whatever Fate may inevitably have in store for him, then do whatever you can to see *The Friends of Eddie Coyle*. Peter Boyle is wonderful as well.
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It is an incredible and brilliant film that should be in everyone's library. Thematically ahead of THE CANDIDATE, NETWORK and WILD IN THE STREETS.
If you check youtube, there is a very young Frank Zappa on The Steve Allen Show. In the interview before his performance (he plays bicycle, as I recall), he mentions that he wrote the music for THE WORLD'S GREATEST SINNER, "the worst movie ever made."
I like to think that Mr. Zappa was being sarcastic.
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I made a count and, assuming that I was reasonably accurate, more of Woolrich's writings were made into movies than Hammett's, Chandler's & Cain's -- combined! I assume the reasons he is not as well known are (1), as Dewey wrote, until REAR WINDOW, his stories "made it to the big screen, emanating either from the B units of the major studios or dispatched directly from the depths of Poverty Row" and (2) he did not personally engage in screenwriting or other more "public" endeavors.
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Steve Buscemi would be my choice to play _any_ bizarre life, but especially good for Mr. Woolrich.
Instead of a biopic, I see a movie based on one of his works, but with Cornell added, appearing as the Greek chorus. Directed by...David Lynch, David Cronenberg or Werner Herzog? Or, maybe, Guy Madden?
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I'm behind on my reading, so in case others are too, from the Bright Lights Film Journal:
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Now that Phase I of the torture is over:
(1) The Cubs are now 7-0 against the Bucs this season (10-0 if one reaches back to last year), and
(2) The Gene Siskel Film Center is showing 35mm archival prints from 20th Century Fox from June 6 through July 2 of:
*THE DARK CORNER* (June 13 & 16)
*FALLEN ANGEL* (June 28 & July 2)
*KISS OF DEATH* (June 21 & 23)
*LAURA* (June 27 & 28 )
*NIGHTMARE ALLEY* (June 6 & 9)
*NIGHT AND THE CITY* (June 14 & 18 )
*PANIC IN THE STREETS* (June 7 & 12)
*PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET* (June 7 & 11)
*ROAD HOUSE* (June 20 & 21)
*THIEVES' HIGHWAY* (June 14 & 19)
Fox archivist *Schawn Belston* will attend on June 14 to discuss his work with *Jules Dassin* in restoring NIGHT AND THE CITY.
Need more? From June 21 to July 26, the Siskel will be presenting (in addition to the above, Romanian Film Rising and various other movies) a series devoted to Luchino Visconti:
*DEATH IN VENICE* (June 21 & 26)
*ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS* (June 22 & 24)
*THE DAMNED* (June 28 & July 1)
*SANDRA* (June 29 & July 2)
In July (dates not yet announced): BELLISSIMA, SENSO, THE LEOPARD, LUDWIG, CONVERSATION PIECE and THE INNOCENT.
It's going to be a nice summer here. Join us. Maybe you can catch a game at Heaven, aka Wrigley Field, too.
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I have enjoyed every *Welles* feature film that I've seen (Disclosure: He is my favorite director.), but *F FOR FAKE* is the one I find to be the most F for Fun. Aside from being visually stunning, it may be his most subversive.
I find it terrible, and have long had the impression that the reason it gets the undeserved reputation it has is because it was made by Orson Welles.
That may be the very point/question *Welles* was making/asking. What is Art? Who is an Artist? Is it all a sham? Is it determined by who declares something or someone to be Art or an Artist? With this movie, he is going back to his roots as a magician and The War of the Worlds broadcast and showing how tenuous social beliefs can be and challenging our perceptions, even of *Welles* himself.
He does this with a movie that is part essay, part documentary, and totally Fake. Aren't all movies Fake? And, the more Fake they are, are they more capable of getting to deeper Truths?
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Hammett, Cain & Chandler get the press, but Woolrich is da man.
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I haven't seen alot of his films, but (with all due respect to Ark & Miss G) I generally have not found him compelling, with the following exceptions:
*Force of Evil* (far and away my favorite Garfield performance as a lead)
*Gentleman's Agreement* (I do not like the movie, but Garfield nails his small role - it looks, and probably is, personal)
*Humoresque* (since I like this, maybe I'm missing something in the others)
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Watch the Powell/Pressburger films of the period that were British movies intended to get the U.S. involved in Europe: *Contraband* & *49th Parallel*.
The Annual FrankGrimes Torture Thread
in Your Favorites
Posted
Enough of this already. It is time to return to the serious nature and purpose of this thread as set forth in its title. So...
Dear Frank,
As you may recall, Jonathan Rosenbaum teaches a film class at the Art Institute, but the films he highlights are shown at public screenings at the Gene Siskel Film Center each Friday and Wednesday evening (Rosenbaum lectures and moderates a discussion at the Wednesday screening). The upcoming term (September 3/December 10) is The First Transition: World Cinema in the 1930s and the films (in order of screening) are:
*Scarface* (Hawks, 1932)
*I Was Born, But...* (Ozu, 1932)
*City Lights* (Chaplin 1931)
*M* (Lang, 1931)
*Vampyr* (Dreyer, 1932)
*Trouble in Paradise* (Lubitsch, 1932)
*Sylvia Scarlett* (Cukor, 1935)
*Make Way for Tomorrow* (McCarey, 1937)
*Zero for Conduct* (Vigo, 1933) and *Man's Castle* (Borzage, 1933)
*Hallelujah, I'm a Bum* (Milestone, 1933)
*The Man I Killed* (Lubitsch, 1932)
*The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums* (Mizoguchi, 1939)
*Only Angels Have Wings* (Hawks, 1939)
*The Rules of the Game* (Renoir, 1939)
Can you imagine? All of those films from the 1930s and not a one of them called Gone With the Wind? Rosenbaum is just so...what's the word?...trendy. In fairness, however, there is a movie with "Scarlett" in its title and two...count'em...two movies by Lubitsch.
Seeya at the movies.
*Citizen Kane* was a hack job and Fuller is just too subtle,
ChiO