misswonderly3
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Posts posted by misswonderly3
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LFN, I hesitate to comment on this because I know little about military service in the United States, especially in terms of what people expect about it and how those who enlist are regarded by others. It seems to be that it depends on the times. I'm thinking that the last time signing up for military service was looked upon as universally admirable was during the Second World War, when just about everyone was in agreement about the purpose and reasons for that war. Many stars of course enlisted and served then -James Stewart comes to mind off the top of my head, but there were a lot of others.
Today, military service does not appear to be considered the same thing it was then. There is a lot more division amongst people as to the value of it, the respect it deserves ( or not, in some opinions), and the reasons for serving in conflicts in other parts of the world. It is my guess that many actors/actresses today do not have the same feelings about participating in military service as their predecessors did. Certainly most don't seem to feel the same sense of honour and obligation connected to military service that stars in the past did. The reasons for this are probably as complex and diverse as the number of stars you could ask about it.
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SansFin, what a fascinating and carefully-considered post. It makes me want to watch all three of those films again.
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Here is an almost perfect song by the Kinks ( a very English band). "Days" :
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Although I scanned over this thread, I saw little discussion of Stanley Kramer's 1958 film, *The Defiant Ones*. This has got to be one of the best films Curtis was ever in. It never lets up for a moment. The way the movie follows the gradual, almost reluctant development of respect and eventually even affection between its two main characters contributes to its deserved reputation as an unforgettable film.
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Mff, I just wondered why you included *Alice in Wonderland* - the one from this year- in your list of latter-day "classics". Is it something you automatically listed because it is based on a book which is an undeniable classic, or is it the film in its own right that you feel deserves this label ? (classic).
The same with the Narnia film adaptation; do you regard the C. S. Lewis children's books as classics (which I feel they undoubtedly are), therefore a film version of the books automatically receives the designation of classic too? Or would you name the Narnia films that have come out in the last few years (there are now two of them, aren't there?) as classic films, independent of the status of the books upon which they are based?
To be honest, I don't think either of the above "children's" movies deserve to be considered "classic", or even "good" films. (I would not say this of the books, which I love.)
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 10, 2010 9:24 PM
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So, what other noirs was Cyd Charisse in besides *Tension* ? I have , sadly, never seen *Party Girl*, but I guess we can chalk that one up to a noir for Cyd (I wish tcm would air it soon.)
The dance in *Singin' in the Rain*, great dancing and a fun spin on "noir", doesn't truly count as Cyd being in an actual noir film, although she should get honourable mention for it.
Also- wasn't it Cyd Charisse in *The Bandwagon*, and wasn't that the musical in which Fred Astaire does a very noirish production number involving some femme fatale type? Again, if you know film noir, it's quite fun.
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> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote}
> Squeeze may have dropped "UK" from their name, but they never dropped it from their persona. Maybe the most British band ever? (The album title "Argybargy" also left me scratching my head.)
No. the most British band ever was the Kinks, with the Who as runner-up.
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So there were comedy/music teams even back then. Homer and Jethro sounds like the name of one of those cartoons back then, the kind with a cat forever pursuing a mouse he never catches.
Yesterday was John Lennon's birthday. I don't always pay attention to that stuff, but the media where I live was full of it. John Lennon songs playing all day on the radio, etc. Here is a delicate little melody from him, "Oh My Love". A lot of Yoko images in the video, but what the hell...she was his wife, I don't dislike her as many seem to. It's a sweet and somehow sad-sounding little song:
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JOEL McCREA ! JOEL McCREA !
Never in a film by
Nicholas Ray ! (sorry, was uninspired this morning.)
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 10, 2010 12:08 PM
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Wow, talkietime, you must have put a fair bit of effort into that. Back research, etc. Thank you.
I don't know why I've never caught that Sidney Poitier tribute (any of them), since I watch TCM quite a lot. Oh, well, maybe next time they screen one of his films they'll show it that week.
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Who does is? (ie, who is the actor or filmmaker or fan or relative who narrates it?) And why don't they show it very often? (Don't expect an answer to the second query.)
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I would love to see a "Word of Mouth" featurette about Sidney Poitier - or does one already exist? There must be many stars, especially younger African-American stars, who would be happy to do a TCM tribute to Sir Sidney. Also, I imagine, he has many family members who could do it. Either way, it would be a welcome addition to TCM's "Word of Mouth" shorts.
Actually, for some reason I have a feeling one does already exist, but if so, they don't show it very often.
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 9, 2010 1:43 PM
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JOEL McCREA ! JOEL McCREA !
Star of the Month -What do you say? !
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You mean it's all in the footwork? No wonder they have to tread lightly. (please stop me any time ...)
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*Tension* is a wonderful little-known noir. It stars the vastly under-rated and under-recognized Richard Basehart, along with one of noir's doyens, Audrey Totter. Nobody could do b**tchy like Audrey. And it has to be the only noir to feature Cyd Charisse.
It's a fun noir. Whoever heard of a noir protagonist who runs a drugstore? (It's interesting that altlhough he's a pharmacist, he doesn't consider using poison to off his rival. Nope, good old fashioned gun will do.) And I find it quite funny when he decides to disguise himself and live another life. Now that's a noir concept: the protagonist living a double life.
If you haven't already seen *Tension* -and even if you have- set your dvd's or make time to catch this enjoyable obscure film noir. Yay, Richard Basehart!
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Well, it's October, and what better month to play the Smashing Pumpkins? (actually, maybe November, since it's right at the beginning of that month that all the Hallowe'en pumpkins get smashed. But I am splitting gourds here.)
"Zero" is one of their most powerful songs. Short, but not sweet. When you're talking Smashing Pumpkins, you might as well post one of the band's actual videos, since they were very film-conscious and their videos are among the most cinematic, interesting, and unusual music videos of any band.
This one looks like we wandered into a Hallowe'en costume party- ****- opium den. Everyone 's in some kind of torpor, or wearing masks, or both. Anyway, kind of disturbing but good song.
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AC/DC - no vowels, so no unlauts. Can they be a legitimate metal band? Good old AC/DC.
What's up with heavy rockers and bare chests? You never catch a woman playing guitar bare-chested. I'm guessing it's not modesty - it's a practical thing. Guitar straps double-serving as bras -not good. Remember that Seinfeld episode where Jerry dates a woman who walks around in his apartment naked, all the time? He likes it until she tries to open a jar -then the truth is revealed . Even the comeliest woman will have times when it's better to be clothed.
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How about *I Wake Up Screaming* ? Good thing it's not referring to the honeymoon night.
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infinite1 wrote:
"...Perhaps if TCM would wake up and promote their "extras" as much as their main features there would be more fans. As it is, TCM treats them as "extras" that are somewhat less important then the movies ..."
Well, much as I enjoy the TCM extras - I've just said so several times on this thread - I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say they're as important as the movies themselves. It's the mix of the two that I like; I find the "Word of Mouth" shorts or the retrospectives or the vintage trailers get me in a TurnerClassicMovies mood; it's like the hors d'ouevre before the main course. (Did I already say that?)
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When I was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recently, I checked out the display on Motown. It reminded me of how much I used to like -and still do- Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Here they are live on some show, complete with odd-looking props and synchronized dance moves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYjpuJnnF2Q&feature=related
And, to cheer themselves up after all that solitary crying, they're going out. It's Friday , the beginning of the weekend (a long weekend in Canada), and I like to think people are going out dancing. Maybe to a Go-Go (probably only if they've done some questionable drugs or have been caught in a time warp):
(actually, "I Second That Emotion" is a pretty upbeat song. I must have had it mixed it up with "Tracks of My Tears". I shouldn't do this before 10 am - I haven't had enough coffee yet.)
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 8, 2010 9:31 AM
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Well, C.B., "you're nothing if not conciliatory". Can't remember where I heard that -Monty Python? -but if fits.
It's not the first time you've posted something by this group "Belly", so I decided to look them up (never having heard of them before going on this website.) No wonder I hadn't heard of them -I was totally out of the loop, musically, when they formed in 1991. I see they gave themselves that name because it was "both pretty and ugly". Good point -the name somehow makes you feel uncomfortable but it piques your interest.
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One film that I absolutely loved as a kid and still do: *A Christmas Carol*, the 1951 Alistair Sim version.
(It is not called *Scrooge* ; I think other versions are.)
Every Christmas eve, for years, starting when I was a little kid and on into adulthood, my family would watch this wonderful classic Christmas film with delight and chocolates, usually on Christmas Eve. It was one of my father's absolute favourite films. We all knew almost all the lines of dialogue in it by heart, and we used to have fun quoting them as soon as they came up in the movie. (One of my favourites: Scrooge to the Undertaker: "Hmph! You don't believe in letting the grass grow under your feet, do you?" Undertaker, placatingly: "Ours' is a highly competitive profession, sir."
Anyway, it's a great film, the acting, the black and white cinematography, the "message", and don't forget the truly scary ghost scene. Only problem is, of course you can only watch it once a year.
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On my recent trip to the (Southern) States, I noticed country music playing in almost all the restaurants I went to. (Not in Savannah, though.). I liked it, even though most of it was "bad" or at least newer country music. I liked it not so much for the music itself, as for it's confirming an idea I had about the South that did not disappoint me. (Stereotypes confirmed -although agreed, one cannot base one's notions of an entire culture on a few visits to a few truck stops.)
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...And +I+ posted it here on this very thread a few months ago.
All right, gentlemen, I have to sort a few things out here: first, I must reiterate that Van Morrison's Astral Weeks is indeed an exquisitely beautiful, musical, and magical recording. It's not rock, it's not pop, it's not jazz, it's just...unbelievably great music. Most of the songs on it tend to be quite long, and it's not immediately "accessable" - takes several attentive listens (listenings?) to "get" it. But I find that to be the case with a lot of the most rewarding music. Classical can be like that, too.
Deux: C.B.,. what's up with the dig at Joni Mitchell? She was no dumb hippy dippy girl guitarist from the world of hippydom, she was (is, since she's still alive) a very inventive and thoughtful songwriter. Many "heavier"musicians couldn't keep up with her because of her open tuned guitar style. Why shouldn't the boys in Led Zeppelin have admired her?
Troi: I really don't like heavy metal, and I don't consider Led Zeppelin to be a metal band. Agreed, they were the forerunners of metal, with those powerful guitar riffs, but they were more interesting than metal bands. Although they all took jaw-droppingly long ( and masterly) solos sometimes, they were more about the music than showing off , and they rarely got lost in the musical **** that many metal bands get into (all right, I stole that term from the film *The Committments*. But it's apt.)
John Entwistle used to claim that he invented heavy metal. And on it could go -I don't want this to sound like those ill-tempered and ill-considered comments one often sees under the youtube videos.
Quatre: I forget to say how much I liked the Hendrix clip. He had a "sensitive" side, just like that Nigel character in Spinal Tap. (well, perhaps Jimmy H. was just a tad smarter and more "sensitive" than Nigel was.)
Sorry to sound grouchy -didn't mean to. Carry on.
Film noir runneth over on the schedule lately
in Film Noir--Gangster
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It might have been "Seinfeld". See Mr. Bogle's comments a few posts down.
Also from "Seinfeld" - didn't Jerry refuse to take his new girlfriend, a dermatologist, seriously as a doctor, until he realized she'd saved someone's life (by her diagnosis of them) but then it was too late and she dumped him. As usual.
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 11, 2010 1:20 PM