Stephen444

This is unrelated to tcm but I think it is still of interest to everyone. I rented a DVD from Netflix that was originally a made for TV production by EMI. I'm sure that it was orignally shown over several nights. The title is "The Amazing Howard Hughes", starring Tommy Lee Jones. One fascinating detail is how much Tommy Lee Jones resembles Hughes in his middle years. I had seen it originally on TV and had always wanted to see it again. While watching it I felt that there had to be scenes taken out because it just didn't make much sense. The affair that Hughes had with Katherine Hepburn appeared to be just a casual occurence and didn't do justice to their relationship. The story generally didn't didn't hold together. I googled the title and read that the DVD had been shortened by 75 minutes from the original production. The DVD reviewer said that it was a boring production that would have only been more boring with the added scenes. I don't know what is more idiotic, the company that shortened the movie or the person reviewing the DVD who hadn't viewed the missing scenes feeling qualified to pass judgment on the film. Nothing upsets me more then censorship regardless of the reasons. I guess it was shortened to eliminate the added expense of including a second DVD to complete the product. I have always felt that if you purchase a DVD you can be assured that someone hasn't fooled with the original product. As you can see this is not the case.

I don't know what the technical term is but when I turn on the tcm channel the title of the movie comes up on the screen momentarily. Tonight the ID for Dr. Stranglove read Dr. Strangefellow. Hmm...do you think the person typing in the ID really knows the title??

>I wouldn't be surprised about that. It's probably more profitable to release those shows on DVD box sets. Yeah, I just received a DVD set of Norman Lear's 1976 soap opera Mary "Hartman, Mary Hartman" This is the first 25 episodes and the only DVD available of this series of which, I believe, there were a total of more then 300 made during the two seasons that it was on. I look forward to future releases. This was a ground breaking show. I don't think there has ever been anything quite like it before or since.

I no longer get tv land on my cable but I do remember when they featured series such as "St Elsewhere", which was an excellent show from the 80s. I think the programming changes are just another example of the dumbing down in cable programming. Notice how stations never move from having commercials to not having them? This may be the greatest country in the world but it's not really getting better in artistic terms. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a classic tv network. There is just not enough interest in history from the general public to make this a profitable venture.

> it would have been perfect for a climactic Hitchcock scene. This movie has always reminded me of Hitchcock. Maybe not as suspenseful but there is definitely a Hitchcock feel to it. I think that Marilyn is at her height of development in this film. Before she became a stereotype of herself. Her acting technique is less stylized in this movie and physically I think she is at her best. After seeing this movie this week I was curious about what other films Henry Hathaway directed. I was surprised to see that alot of his production seems to be John Wayne action type films. Certainly not like this film. I can't say that I am familiar with his other films so I'll reserve judgement until I've seen a few. Message was edited by: Stephen444

>If I upset any Jackson **** fans, GOOD! :-) Obviously a statement from a died in the wool Kitschman or woman as the case may be. Long live stereotypes. Message was edited by: Stephen444

I can't think of another film that captures the paranoia of the 50s as well as this film does. People subtly changing from who they were, suddenly lacking human emotions. It portrays America in a state of paranoia...Macarthyism (no pun intended) nuclear war. I don't find it particularly depressing. When the doctor orders in the FBI and the Governor. Come on, thats a pure 50s Sci-Fi ending. The only depressing element for me is that this ending diminishes some of the genuine horror to be found in this film. I would think that the director would be pleased to here that the audience found his film disturbing.

As always, glad to see a new title on tcm. I had never seen this film before. I don't think the writing was very effective. The characters seemed to go through scenes with little energy or purpose. Billy Burke always projects a strong presence in her roles but even she couldn't save this film. I would probably try to look at it in the future but I couldn't get through the entire movie this time.

> hlywdkjk wrote...Most of the clips of those that have passed are coordinated to specific lyrics in the song. Wow, thats alot to digest. I'll have to spend some more time with these references. I like what tcm does with the images that are inspired by Edward Hopper. Someone obviously likes his work, but that's visual.

>Ollie T wrote....They missed IVAN DIXON, who died in March, 2008. RAISIN IN THE SUN, A PATCH OF BLUE, PORGY AND BESS... a great episode as the boxer on TWILIGHT ZONE... Yeah, that episode of the Twilight Zone is a classic. Good writing, good acting. On another note, I could do without that irritating little musical accompaniment that they are using this year.

I don't consider myself a conservative person when it comes to personal conduct but there are some things that you just don't do in this life. One is to have sex with a 13 year old girl under any circumstances. It's just not forgivable. You also don't marry your step daughter as another one of our other great directors did.

Unfortunately I don't think you can ignore Woody's personal life when evaluating his films. I love his films from the 70's and 80's but I can't look at them the way I did before 1992. I don't buy into his vision of the world.

I agree and disagree with most of the comments made here. 40 years after first seeing 2001 I still don't understand it. This doesn't stop me from acknowledging how well it has stood up for that amount of time as a vision of the future. The technology still looks good and the enigma of it's meanings about existence, as we perceive it, is what brings me back to it. I agree that films should be seen in a theater as they were intended to be seen. The comment about the interaction of the audience adding to your personal experience of the film is interesting. I guess I never thought about this. Back in the late 60s and early 70s, when I went to see a lot of films, the theaters were often deserted and they didn't make you leave after the film had ended. I think certain films suffer more then others when not viewed on a big projected screen. I think this would apply to many of Kubrick's films. Certainly 2001, Clockwork and Barry Lyndon would fall into this category. I think Strangelove, Lolita and Full Metal Jacket are more successful on the TV scale. I like certain parts of Lolita. I think Shelly Winters gives the best performance in the film especially if you compare her portrayal to that of Melanie Griffith in the 1997 version. Winters has the hard possessive parts of the character where Griffith just comes off as a passive victim. As for his other films, I saw Barry Lyndon in the theater when it was released. Don't remember much about it other then the filming, which was suppose to be break through, in it's use of reduced light conditions and the convincing physical portrayals of Ryan O' Neil and Marisa Berenson. Eyes Wide Shut didn't impress me. I thought the Shining was disturbingly funny. I can't say that I have seen all or in some cases any of his other films. I think that it can be said that Kubrick's films are ambitious and grand in scale without the prime inspiration being to make mega profits. He was an artist.

I wholeheartedly agree about "Home For The Holidays". This is one of my favorite holiday movies. Ditto for Trains, Planes and Autos (uncensored). I would add Hannah & Her Sisters to this list prior to Woody's personal troubles. I have heard that Soon Ye is one of the children at the Thanksgiving party in the film. Giant is good too although I don't really associate Thanksgiving with it.

>Fedya wrote...Just as Toohey was able to fill the staffs of the Wynand newspapers with his acolytes, in the real world there's been a congregation of people with a broadly similar world-view I wonder whether Rubert Murdock ever read The Fountainhead? There are many similarities to the fictional character of Gail Wynand and Murdock's accomplishments.

>I'm not trying to get into politics here; I'm more just trying to point out that non-corporate media models aren't necessarily going to be any better for large-scale media. You have a point about big government potentially creating additional problems with regard to an autonomous media. My point is more directed to the influence of profit on the media which is not to be found in government sponsorship.

>Even if there are some contemporary journalists that would find inspiration or motivation in All The President's Men, those wouldn't be enough to uncover all the corrupt practices that take place in Washington (or Wall Street). As John Dean stated in the outro last night, nor are there many newspapers willing to "go there" with the kind of commitment necessary to expose such behavior. That's the danger of newspapers becoming part of "media conglomerates". News is never as important as revenue. >Are we talking about the same media? The "liberal media" that so many Republicans complain about? I think the comment Dean made about the media was the most interesting comment that he made last night. As was fortold in the movie "Network" in 1979 the media is composed of huge conglomerates controlled by fewer and fewer companies. News has become another venue for entertainment and the news that is presented is filtered so as not to step on any corporate toes...NBC isn't going to criticize General Electric. ABC is not going to portray the Disney company in an unfavorable light...etc. etc. What motivates these huge corporations is a need to produce profits above all other considerations. "Mr. Beal, there is no America or Russia there is Exxon and Shell Oil. These are the real centers of power in our world. The world is a business Mr. Beal. It has been since we crawed out of the slime." (Loose quote from Ned Beaty's speech in Network) In my opinion this is one of the most chilling pieces of film on this subject ever created. Message was edited by: Stephen444 Message was edited by: Stephen444

Let's not forget President Mimeo in Robert Downey Sr.'s "Putney Swope" (1969).

>The Misfits tops my list Me too. Not only because Huston directed it but for all the other dramas going on in it's making....last film of Gable and Monroe...Arthur Miller screenplay...great cast...Monty, Marilyn, Gable, Ritter, Wallach.

> What is a left-wing cook??? An Obama supporter who is flipping hamburgers at McDonald's.

I was always impressed with "Annie". I think a musical has to be the most difficult movie medium. Who would think a macho personality like Huston would attempt such a project? He did a good job.

>I am so sick of these left wing cooks trying to instill their political ideas and wishes on the public. My goodness. 14 pages of comments. I don't have the patience to read through all of these but I'll put my 2 cents worth in.... Better we should be limited to right wing nuts and their political ideas and wishes.

http://www.einsiders.com/features/columns/sept08obituaries.php

I just read that Peter Kastner died on September 18th. He was the lead character in Francis Ford Coppola's little known film "Your a Big Boy Now" from 1966. An interesting film. Not a block buster effort but well worth seeing. Kastner was 64. The other lead from this movie also died an early death. Elizabeth Hartman was only 44 when she jumped from the window of her apartment in 1987. Message was edited by: Stephen444

I read an article years ago in college about James Dean and his premature death. It also cited other examples ...Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix all who died at the height of their creative powers. The main point of the article was that these people had an authenticity that can only be achieved, unfortunately, by an early death. James Dean is ultimately more mysterious and sexy then Brando because he confirmed his rebel image with his actual real life death. Brando was a great actor but the fact that he grew old and fat, taking roles that were not of the same caliber as his early masterpieces, changed our perception of him. Jim Morrison of the Doors was just one of many rock stars of the late 60s that expressed feelings about danger, death and abandonment in his music. Compare Morrison with Mick Jagger who started out with a similar resume and set of values but has just become a hip incorporated identity with that fat lips logo. How is this any different from any other slick commodity today?