rohanaka

The Apostle--(though for me choosing between these two was like choosing between tonsillitis and strep throat.) :-) A Man Called Peter or Chariots of Fire (just to get a little different perspective on faith) :-)

Gary Cooper I agree--it was a great start for him...I just wished he'd had a little more time on screen....later on in the film when the "bubble" scene was going on all I could think was ..."You only had Gary Cooper on here for what...2 minutes??...and these bubbles have lasted almost half an hour!!" :-)

Hi Miss G! I just had to jump in here and post some thoughts about the film I watched last night. (I already made a post in the "Classic FX" thread too, but wanted to talk a little more about the film WINGS. I stayed up way too late last night--..first I watched the last 35-40 minutes of the Westerner---wish I'd come in a little sooner, but got busy and couldn't get to it. I've seen it before a while back--but anyway-when it was over they announced that Wings was the next movie scheduled and I decided to check it out as I'd always wanted to see this film. You'd think I'd do a better job of checking the TCM schedule so stuff like this doesn't catch me by surprise--but oh well.) Boy oh boy--what a wonderful film. I don't have a huge amount of experience watching silent film. But I did not miss the sound at all. The story was so exciting and the characters were so good....it was not really necessary that I heard their actually "voices" speaking lines. In fact-I thought compared to a some of the other silent's I've seen, the dialogue flows very naturally in this film. And in between the dialogue is the "narration" that was so descriptive and well written that to me it made it seem like I was getting the best of both worlds...a film and a novel all at the same time. At first, I thought I had this story pegged and I knew how it was going to end--who would come home....who wouldn't...etc. I have to say-I was right about the "who" part but WAY off on the "how". The twists and turns in this story were a wonderful surprise. And the aerial fight scenes and the other effects were all extremely well done--especially considering when this movie was made. The three main characters...Jack, David, and Mary were very well written and well developed. At first, I thought Jack would be my favorite...because the first thing you find out about David is that he's the richest guy in town--and that usually means he's a jerk...But--NOT SO! And I have to say he soon stole my heart. And it is so touching the way Mary pines for Jack and decides to go "over there" to do her part as well--or is it just so she can be closer to him?? Either possibility fits perfectly with her character to the point that I think she went for both reasons. And the "incidental" characters in this story were terrific too. I thought El Brendel was hilarious --everytime he goes to take off his jacket to show his tattoo--people think he'd getting ready to duke it out instead...and young Mr. Cooper...what a pup! I wish his character had had a few more moments on screen. But the little you saw of him....you knew everything about who he was( at least you think so--until they found that picture of his mom later on) And I also thought David's parents were just heartbreaking. The scene where he is leaving to go off to war and his mother tells him to bring back the "little bear" to her....Oh--the kleenex box was too far for me to reach it in time--I had to use the corner of my shirt sleeve instead. :-) Well..I could go on and on all day... but will just say that this is one of the best "war stories" I've ever seen. But mainly because the "story" wasn't the war....It was these three characters and how their lives changed and their friendships grew and developed at a result of the war. I hope I get a chance to see this film again sometime....next time I will try to set the VCR. Thanks for letting me "ramble on!" :-) Message was edited by: rohanaka

I stayed up way too late last night and watched the TCM presentation of the silent film Wings. I'd never seen it before but it was on my list of "Movies I want to watch some day"so I was really glad to finally get a chance to see it. What a great story! I could go on and on all day about what I thought about the story itself and the individual characters (maybe I will post all that somewhere else). But I was bowled over by the way it was filmed as well. I did some searching this morning and could not find much in the way of specific information on how some of the effects were actually shot, but I did find out that not only was Wings the first movie ever to win the academy award for best picture, but it also won a special award for "effects engineering". And there were some really well done effects in this film--(especially if you consider the time--1927)There were guys crashing in planes, people getting shot (and blood gushing out of them)cars getting blown up, soldiers getting run over by tanks, buildings being bombed and caving in, spectacular aerial fight scenes--(Oh! the fight scenes!) and there were even silly little bubbles floating around during a "drunk" scene. Everything (except maybe the bubbles) was a very realistic looking portrayal of war and how it is carried out.I especially liked the scene with the huge German "Gotha" plane --not only was this plane much larger for real, but it was filmed in such a way that it really made it seem liked it was just this HUGE flying dragon...more or less the way it was described in the story as well. The only thing I thought could have been better done was "Jack's" makeup. When he comes home from the war..he's a "man" now and not a "boy" and they went a little insane with the gray hair.(he was only gone a few years...not a few decades) But anyway, that's about the ONLY negative thing I can think to say about the visual aspects of this film. Maybe some of you more "expert" post-ers have some interesting facts or trivia you have learned about the making of this spectacular movie that you would like to share. And if you are one of those who hasn't seen this film...think about adding it to YOUR list of "movies you want to see someday". I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the kind words, Miss G--don't know if I can get an A since I never registered for class....maybe I can get an "E for effort" instead. :-) PS--what a fun picture...I'd love to be a fly on the wall of that "classroom" too. I bet it was fun just to sit back and listen to all the various folks converse. :-)

Ron Howard (or should I say Ronny) The Music Man Jodie Foster (another child actor who grew up and kept on working)

Darrin McGavin--A Christmas Story New name: Alec Guiness

You got it! This is not necessarily my favorite movie, but it is probably my favortie Sean Connery movie. And I love how he talks to Costner in this scene because it sort of sets the framework for his character's personality in the rest of the story from that point on. Take it away...cmvgor!

How about another hint...This same actor won an oscar for the role he played in this film

I came across this thread tonight in a search for where to plant this post...There were several other older threads on character actors, but a lot of the posts on this one seem to center on my favorite -Walter Brennan.I haven't seen any more recent threads on this topic--forgive me if I overlooked one--So I thought this was as likely a place to post this on as any. So--again--forgive me if I am duplicating anything... Earlier I looked on the TCM site to find out for sure how to spell Brennan's last name for another post I was making and I came across his bio....(hope this link works) http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant/participant.jspparticipantId=21833|153238&afiPersonalNameId=null If not...just go to the tcm movie database and type in his name...he led a pretty interesting life and there were some very unexpected statistics in there about him (like his service in the military and an explanation about his voice and his teeth--or the lack thereof. :-) I have always enjoyed Walter Brennan in films. He can play almost anything...pathetic simpleton guy, codgerly old gripey guy, goodnatured ruffian guy, really rotten bad guy, decent sort of hard working guy, folksey friendly neighborly guy, hilarious wisecracking geezer guy....Ok enough is enough. But you get my point. I think my favorite films of his are with John Wayne and also with Gary Cooper. With Duke he just seemed born to play the funny western sidekick--guy( I think I left that one out of my "guy list") and he got to do a little wider range of characters in his films with Cooper--a pastor, a hardnosed western "legend", a wiser-than-he-seems friend and traveling companion. I've always enjoyed his films ( he made a ton of them) and I look forward to discovering new ones I've yet to watch so I can see what sort of "guy" I need to add to my list of characters for him. I am sure this thread can handle anyone else's favorites if someone wants to post them. I have several other character actors whom I also enjoy watching. But for my money Walter Brennan has to be at the top of the list. Thanks for letting me post! (Well my link did not work..they hardly ever do...but hope anyone interested will check out his bio on the movie database....very interesting--for fans anyway). :-) Message was edited by: rohanaka

Talk about traveling in style Those were the days...I think it would have been fun to take a long journey on one of those trains like they were way back in the day. The furthest I ever went by train was from Kansas City to St, Louis and that was well over 25 years ago...I saw some nice scenery out the window off and on, but all in all, not a very glamourous trip. However it sure beat the bus ride I took going the same way a couple of years later. :-) I used to have a coworker who used to work on a passenger train several years ago (I don't remember his exact job though--but he may have worked in the dining car) He brought in a photo album one day of pictures he took when he worked there. But as nice as they were, they still don't match up to the images you see in the older films of passenger trains and the way people used to travel.

Hey thanks--will try to keep an open mind if I see those coming on sometime...I re-read what I posted...did not mean to sound so vehement! :-) But I think it's like I said--generally speaking of course...he's one of those people you either like....or...not (will leave out the part about causing bodily injury this time.) :-)

Between Two Worlds

Dreams are so strange and I just don't think we'll ever really understand them Coopsgirl...don't try to wonder why...I once had a dream that I was talking about ice cream with Walter Brennan on a school bus...go figure.

Hey there--grey guy--haven't run into you in a while--don't want to disturb the other students by buzzing too loudly, so will just say hi for now. I'm not officially enrolled here, I'm only monitoring the class----(but I am NOT the class monitor so you two passing notes have nothing to fear from me! :-)

No problem...I think I know yours, but will let someone else go ahead and guess--because I can't think of anything to replace it!! :-) This thread is a toughie sometimes. :-)

send endow = Sandow Actually I was thinking of Cary Grant :-) Transport "carry" and bestow a gift "grant" but oh well....

Well call me a Gideon-ite! Of course he 's a favorite...what a charmer...And light on his feet! Plus he's not afraid to stand up to the bigger brothers if need be (as a bossy oldest sibling, I can respect that). :-) After that, I will say Frank--poor guy got stuck with such a rotten name compared to all the others--but still a mighty fine dancer!

Oh--maybe will add a clue too: The actor speaking is well known for playing characters who are far more dashing and sauve than his character in this film.

The Green Berets (I always think of that awful scene with the spikes--yikes!) new word: effortless

Willow

Susan Sarandon (not sure on my spelling) TRANSPORT SOMETHING + BESTOW A GIFT

Well...I'm out of luck. I went to see what it says on the cover of the DVD box...it's not the one with the extra film...and my husband has already opened this one so I can't take it back---I think he watched it when I took our daughter to a party a few days ago...so tough break for me. :-(

Ok--here goes..this is probably way too easy... This is not from a big defining moment in the story, but it is probably one of my favorite lines from this film. "Who would claim to be that who was not?"

Well I hope you are right! I bought a Ben Hur DVD about a month ago but have not found the time to watch it yet....I haven't looked that closely at but don't recall anything about the silent version being in there--I'm going to go pull that out and take a look---I will keep my finger's crossed that I bought the right one! :-)