LonesomePolecat
-
Posts
26,263 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
21
Posts posted by LonesomePolecat
-
-
Wow, how will I decide between those great schedules? On a day when I have time to read them, that's when. Good luck, everyone!
-
> {quote:title=Swithin wrote:}{quote}
>
> But my first choice would be an *Erich Wolfgang* *Korngold* month. Korngold's score for *Anthony Adverse* is, I think, the most beautiful and sophisticated film score ever written. His scores for Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk, Elizabeth and Essex, Kings Row, Deception, Devotion, etc., ain't bad either.
I second the motion. Korngold is an underrated GENIUS!
-
> {quote:title=TomJH wrote:}{quote} *I think Cagney's Yankee Doodle was a great performance because of the range he was able to show. And the stuff he did in Yankee Doodle is much harder to do than all that evil stuff in White Heat*
>
> I've always strongly suspected that Cagney's Yankee Doodle Dandy Oscar was largely won at the time for patriotic reasons for that rather unsubtle flag waver. Cagney's personable in the film and it's fun to watch him having a great time doing what he loved best, with that individual dancing style of his. But a great acting performance in this film? I don't think so.
>
> And Cagney, as an actor, was one of the best. Aside from the brilliance of his lunacy outbursts in White Heat (a performance not even nominated!!!) he brought far greater depth, as well, to his nuanced gentle comedy turn in The Strawberry Blonde, as well, than anything to be found in his portrayal of Cohan. Still, I'm glad that he did get the Oscar for it would have been one of Oscar's most outragious crimes if this actor had never been so honoured. But the great Cagney most definitely did NOT receive it for his best performance.
I totally understand what you're saying, and I agree he basically never gave a bad performance. And I agree it was mostly a patriotic Oscar like you said. And I certainly agree that it wasn't Cagney's BEST performance (I think that would be Man With A Thousand Faces). All I'm saying is that as a professional director with lots of acting training, I happen to know it's incredibly easy to do that lunatic stuff in White Heat and really hard to do subtlety and comedy and such. I wish it was the other way around because subtlety and comedy are in greater demand. That's all I was pointing out.
-
Bette--
I LOVE ART DECO! When I saw you're 20s and 30s schedule I immediately thought of all the Art Deco I'd see in the movies, so I'm glad it was intentional. Great schedule!
-
> {quote:title=MontyC wrote:}{quote}JLo looked like an optical illusion.
As Mordcha (FIDDLER ON THE ROOF) would say, "Well put! Well put!"
But, yeah, that kind of goes for most of the women...
Edited by: LonesomePolecat on Feb 27, 2012 5:57 PM
-
I think (with good diet and exercise, of course) women can look great in their 40s, 50s, and 60s (and so on, depending on the person) IF they don't try to plastic surgery themselves into looking 20 again. I hate that. I think we all do. Or even if they try to dress and do their make-up like a high school student, thinking it will make them look younger. Ick. Not fooling anyone.
-
> {quote:title=casablancalover wrote:}{quote}The Pastoral Symphony segment is my favorite, with the Nutcracker close second, and I guess it will always be. I have seen the Fantasia 2000, but somehow it doesn't engage me as a viewer and I love those music choices.
I definitely prefer the original to FANTASIA 2000, though I adore the "Rhapsody in Blue" sequence-- I mean, come on, Gershwin AND Herschfeld! (hope I spelled his name right).
My favorite part of the original FANTASIA is probably "The Rite of Spring" because it's so dang cool. I will never forget seeing FANTASIA in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl last summer (with live symphony orchestra playing to the film) and hearing that bassoon solo (that opens the piece) played live. So beautiful!
-
> {quote:title=DuryeaForHollywood wrote:}{quote}Hi, ValX--
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> As for Cagney, its a tour-de-force performance, which has everything. Comedy, romance, pathos, and, of course the singing and dancing, both of which continue to astound with their playfulness, inventiveness and extraordinary technical prowess.
I agree-- I think Cagney's Yankee Doodle was a great performance because of the range he was able to show. And the stuff he did in Yankee Doodle is much harder to do than all that evil stuff in White Heat (which was great, don't get me wrong). Mostly it's great when actor breaks his persona successfully. The academy certainly thinks so, as history has shown.
Another actor (sorry if previously mentioned) who won for their best performance was Robert Donat for MR CHIPS-- never seen him better, but then I've only seen him in a few films.
-
> {quote:title=
> MontyC wrote:}{quote}
> > {quote:title=filmlover wrote:}{quote}I am now waiting for the actual program to start and not watching any more of the red carpet until then. The few times I have switched there, it has been the same thing. I can't stand one more, "Who are you wearing tonight?"
> My thouhts exactly!! As I stated on another thread: WHO CARES!!!
>
> (actually it appears a lot of people do but I'm not one of them).
I agree-- who cares? I think I'm the only 28 year old woman on earth who watches the Oscars but NOT the red carpet part.
And I disagree about Billy-- I thought he was hilarious, but he always had a sort of "dry" delivery, which I like, but can see why that wouldn't appeal to everyone. But I don't disagree about his face lifting--why do they think we won't notice? If only he was the only one....
-
I generally hate all the gowns anyway (I feel like they're trying too hard to make a fashion statement rather than just trying to show their bodies off to advantage, aka wearing what they look good in). But my least favorite this year was probably the one the red carpet chick liked the best, which was Angelina Jolie's. I thought it looked like The Little Mermaid when she first gets legs and Scuttle puts her in an old sail with a rope around it.
-
Sunny-
Not only does the entire world agree with your Oscar choices, but you scheduled tons of movies I absolutely love, including one I've always wanted to see, Whistle Down the Wind. If this was a real schedule I would plant myself in front of the TV for the entire week and not leave. Plus-- SOTM Thomas Mitchell is an absolute inspiration. He is one of the best character actors that ever graced the screen. Awesome schedule.
-
Max, I have the same feelings about what will win tonight, although I think both Jean Dujardin and Meryl Streep would also not be a shock. Add to that
Best Original Screenplay-- Midnight in Paris
because they love Woody these days.
-
Love Michel Legrand. Maurice Jarre is an excellent choice too.
I like honoring songwriters like they did with Frank Loesser and Johnny Mercer. I think it would be fun to do any writer of Standards like Sammy Cahn, or to go further back, Warren & Dubin. But I've always been partial to the songs I grew up with by the Sherman Brothers.
But if we're sticking with background music artists, you really must honor Max Steiner who set the standard, wouldn't you say?
-
Well anyone who has ever read any of my TCM Programming Challenge schedules know that my #1 pick would be the film I've been looking for a copy of for years:
WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT FEELING GOOD? (1968)
But if I couldn't have any premieres (it's a Fox movie, after all), which I think is one of the criteria for the guest programmers, then as a musical fan I'd have to pick one of my all time favorite musicals. There are so darn many of them, so I'd have to narrow it down by picking something that isn't shown on TCM that much. I guess what I'm trying to say is:
LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT (1966)
But other than that I don't think I could resist the fact that three of my all-time favorite movies have similar titles:
REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940)
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (1958)
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
This would exclude my favorite director of all time, Billy Wilder, so I might replace the most well known of those three, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, with the best of Wilder's obscure films:
FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO (forgot the year-- during WWII sometime)
But then I love Capra, too, so I don't know. I'd probably cut out the musical all together and show GRAVES instead.
Wow, good thing I don't actually have to make this decision.
-
The art and animation in Fantasia are so incredibly beautiful. It takes a lot of energy for me to watch this movie because I keep "geeking out" over the realistic way things move or the incredible backgrounds or the thought of having to draw all those little water droplets by hand.
-
SANSFIN-
Love this schedule. You started out with a great one; THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI. George Hamilton is a fascinating SOTM. Love the movie with cats ending with TO CATCH A THIEF - brilliant. TOTORO is a fantastic movie. Totally agree with your 1944 Oscar choices. But my favorite part was "Dying is easy, comedy is hard". As a director of high school shows, let me tell you, it's true! Hilarious twist to show movies with both.
Whoa, there's an ALICE IN WONDERLAND with WC Fields and Gary Cooper? This I gotta see. And there's a French LES MIZ with Jean Gabin? TCM, please schedule them!
-
When I saw the name of this thread I immediately thought of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. "Oh, you kind of think he's wanted somewhere?"
-
I was just having this conversation with a friend of mine and we decided the best film villain ever is Maleficent in SLEEPING BEAUTY. She's so powerful she can turn into a freaky dragon. She always seems to have everything under control. She traps the prince and plans to let him wake up his princess when he's a frail old man (just horrible enough for a little kid to understand). And then there's that terrifying sequence when she appears in the fireplace and hypnotizes Aurora. She even said the word "hell" in a Disney movie-- gasp!!
-
Since Ben will be coming to both of you for screenings, can't you both have a date with him, therefore nullifying the competition? Or is the real goal, then, to date Ben for keeps? :x
-
I gotta say I use the word "mensch" all the time. To me it means a really good man, responsible, gentlemanly, etc-- and it seems like we don't have a word in English that encompasses quite the same meanings.
So is Ben a mensch? Is he good enough for our two Bachelorettes?
-
Thanks, SansFin! You are ever so kind. Sorry for not including ALL THAT JAZZ, but (bows head in shame) I've actually never seen that movie, so it's not on my radar. But I certainly will see it now.
-
Of course it's similar to A Star Is Born-- I really doubt it was trying to hide that. Which is why the suicide scene is so moving -- you know that if this really is A Star is Born he's not going to make it. The film is crowded with references to lots of classics like Metropolis and Citizen Kane. It's leading man intentionally looks like Douglas Fairbanks with a Gene Kelly smile. If tributes bother you, I can see the objection, but they don't bother me.
As someone who saw this in a literal vacuum (never saw trailers or even pictures, just heard it was a silent film) before no one else had even really heard of it, I walked in with no expectations at all (except, like any movie, that I hoped I might like it) and away feeling like this was the best film of 2011. And I still think that-- better than Hugo, The Help, Midnight in Paris, and all the other Best Picture contenders that I have seen. (Mind you I haven't seen The Descendants or Moneyball).
After the lucky few of us in big cities saw it first, we naturally were so delighted to see something well made and well written, we wanted to tell everyone about it. Then it started winning awards and getting lots of Best Picture buzz. And THEN, after it was picking up awards, it finally got released other places. So of COURSE if you came to the film during all that, after people started talking about it, or especially after it started getting Oscar buzz, you would naturally walk in with what would most likely be overly high expectations. Some people are able to hear other people's opinions and still be objective about a film, but most people allow it to raise their expectations. In this case, then, if your expectations were raised to the level that "this is the best film of 2011", you will probably be disappointed, since no film can live up to any intelligent person's ideal of a Best Picture Winner. Someday in the future when the hype is gone and it's just another movie, maybe you can watch it again and enjoy it much more because this time you have low expectations. But then some people are like Mr Darcy: "My good opinion once lost is lost forever."
It's sad because this happens with movies all the time. It comes out, and if it's good word of mouth and Oscar buzz blow it out of proportion, etc etc etc. There are lots of people around me that I know would have loved a certain movie if they hadn't had such high expectations for it. And in fact often they will revisit the movie later on and find they actually do like it. Which is why I often will revisit movies I didn't like the first time.
I for one am so glad I got to see THE ARTIST (and, actually MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, too) in a vacuum knowing little more about a movie than the title, perhaps some actors, perhaps a wee hint of the premise or a tip from a friend saying "I think you'd like this one," having never seen a trailer or anything, with absolutely no expectations beyond "I hope this will be worth the ten bucks." That's my favorite way to see any movie. I wish we could all see movies this way. Alas.
Anyway, that's my theory, which comes from lots of testing in the field, and is presented with absolutely no hard feelings intended. I love you all (and I'm not just saying that because it's almost Valentine's Day) and wouldn't let a movie come between us (especially a recent movie for Pete's sake). Now, forum buddies, go let loose and pick it apart-- I know you all want to!
-
skimpole-
Best Picture to 12 Angry Men Lionel Barrymore Jack Klugman Nights of Cabiria TWO studio Ghibli films = LOVE!!!
-
So you noticed that every schedule I do (and I'm on #8 or 9) I schedule What a Way to Go, What's So Bad About Feeling Good, and A New Leaf? Yeah, it's true, I'm pretty predictable. And I'll keep doing that til TCM schedules them. This is, after all, the best way to "request a movie" in my experience.
The Voting Thread: 21st Unofficial TCM Programming Challenge
in TCM Program Challenges Archive
Posted
SansFin,
You just made my day. It means a lot when a Programmer Pro appreciates my programming. Grazie mille!