misswonderly3
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Posts posted by misswonderly3
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from the imdb trivia section for the film:
According to Jack Palance, Joan Crawford and Gloria Grahame did not get along and got into a physical altercation at one point during the filming. The fight started after Grahame sat on the edge of the set during one of Crawford's close-ups and very loudly sucked a lollipop in an attempt to anger Crawford. It worked, and Palance noted that the all male crew watched the fight for a few moments rather curiously before stepping in to break it up.
That's hilarious !
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Here's one of the great all-time Canadian ballads.
Make Me do Anything You Want
When this tune first came out (1972), my friends and I speculated, based upon the song title, that it was a love paean to a dominatrix.
How did adolescent girls even know what a "dominatrix" was? Now that's worrying.
(good tune; makes me nostalgic for my early teen years every time I hear it. which isn't often.)
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Arguably the greatest Canadian singer/songwriter of all time is Gordon Lightfoot. He appeared in the mid 60's and released scores of amazing high quality singles and albums for the next two decades.
Oh yes. And he's still performing...maybe at a slower pace than before, but he's still around, and still worth listening to. He was a talented and inventive song-writer. Many of his compositions have a slightly jazzy feel to them - the chord changes in the melodies - like the one you posted, "Softly".
In a recent interview, he said he "never expected" his songs to be hits....except this one. Although just about all his tunes are good-to-great, you can see why this one would be so popular.
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Too bad about Greg Lake - and of course, Keith Emerson (earlier this year.) Yup, a lot of these old rockers are falling thick and fast. Sorry if that sounds disrespectful, I don't mean to be. I've been saddened quite a few times this year by the passing of legendary musicians. 2016 was a bad year for them.
Moving on...more Xmas music. Like almost everyone, I love the soundtrack to "A Charlie Brown Christmas". So jazzy, so hummable, so perfect for that kids' show about the sad little Christmas tree (among other things.)
This is one of my favourite tracks from the Vince Guaraldi score. Some prefer the more well-known "Linus and Lucy" - the other tune where the kids are all dancing. But "Christmas is Coming" is what does it for me. I can never get enough of that cymbal, the low piano notes, and those snappy pauses. Go, Linus, Pig Pen, et al.
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Ok, it's December 3rd, so I feel it's now acceptable to post Christmas songs. Here be the first on this thread for Xmas 2016 (I think.) Actually, it's more about winter than it is about Christmas, but maybe that's a good thing.
I think this tune has a "friendly" sound to it - maybe it's the upbeat melody, maybe it's the clarinet.
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Giving Thanks.
Sam and Dave and Soul Survivors -- I Thank You
I give thanks for musicians like Sam and Dave, and Sly and the Family Stone. Dance to the music all night long.
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Here's a silly, fun, pop song that shirley brings a smile to everyone who hears it. I was inspired to post it after hearing about some post-Trump victor complaining about the students who were protesting his win. Some rumour about one college bringing in ponies to comfort them? (What is this, an early Seinfeld episode? Ponies? )
Anyway, apparently the Trump supporter, unsympathetic to the students' distress, told them to "Suck it up,Buttercup."
That's right, boys and girls, we're talkin' that irresistible Foundations hit, "Build Me Up, Buttercup". Somehow I suspect the guys in the Foundations would not be amused. What-evah. Get up and dance.
(Oh, yeah, and let's not forget the very effective use of this same song in "There's Something About Mary". )
not sure why it's out of sync. sorry about that.
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Oh....I thought this was a thread about "Leave It to Beaver".
Now, that could use some updates.
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Longtime reader of posts (but infrequent commenter) here...
My wife and I watched Brief Encounter the other night. Many people on here have commented on the story, so I won't cover that ground again.
I loved the cinematography. There were a number of scenes that were shot as reflections (in windows and mirrors); especially of Laura. There were also several shots where we see the shadows of characters, but not the characters themselves. I would like to watch it again to see if those signify anything (like if they are when she is tempted to "cross the line").
Also, there was a sequence where the camera was askew (a la The Third Man). I believe this when Laura was fleeing the apartment- I'm sure that the effect was done to symbolize her utter moral disorientation.
One thing I'm not sure of, is whether, at the end, Laura's husband had an idea that she was almost lost to him. Thoughts?
Yes, that's cool that you noticed the use of reflections and shadows in the film. Thanks for pointing that out, I'm not sure I was as aware of that as you were.
As for the last sentence in your post,(which I've bolded), I don't know if you read my comments about Brief Encounter, a few posts back. I think it's unseemly to quote one's own post, but I'll do it because it so completely addresses your question about the husband. This is what I said about that:
"We also need to consider that Laura did feel something for her husband. I'm not sure I agree that he's nothing but an emblem of a stodgy boring constrained life that Laura finds herself trapped in. Although her husband has only a few minutes of screen time, I think it's communicated, very subtly, that he does care about his wife as a person, not just as a "proper wife" and mother of his children. I don't think his desire to do a crossword puzzle indicates he's indifferent to Laura; I see it as more a sign that the two of them are a settled married couple who've been together long enough to feel comfortable with a simple evening together, spending time pursuing different, albeit somewhat unexciting activities like crosswords and knitting, but together in the same room and quietly enjoying each other's company.
Of course, had Laura and Alec gotten together, we imagine them having a more interesting life than that ! (like the things Laura imagines them doing in her fantasy on the train.) But still, we should give credit to Fred ( even his name is stodgy !) for picking up on what's going on with his wife more than we realize. At the very end of the film, he tells her, "Yes, dear, you've been a long way away......Thank you for coming back to me." "
Again, sorry to quote myself like that, but I've always thought nobody gives poor Fred (Laura's husband) any credit. I think we're supposed to think he does have some inkling of what was going on with his wife. Also, at the very beginning, Laura starts talking to Fred (in her head of course, not out loud), and she says something like "In a way, Fred, I think you could understand, because you're so good at understanding me, and we're so close..."
I might have the exact words wrong, but I remember she says something like that, something that indicates she and her husband are not just going through the motions of marriage.
If she did not have affection and respect for her husband ( although, admittedly, not the passionate love she feels for Alec), she would not feel so conflicted when she meets Alec. It's not just the judgement of society, and the mores of the day regarding extra-marital affairs, that make her reluctant to sleep with her new love; it's also her genuine loyalty to and caring for her husband that stops her.
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MultiEye, about The Third Man: One of my favourite movies. The trailer for the restored version you posted reminded me of what a beautiful film it is, of how evocative and atmospheric black and white cinematography can be.
Annoyingly, and for reasons that I don't understand, when TCM airs The Third Man, it's blocked in Canada. I don't get to see it. I've also tried ordering it, but haven't gotten anywhere with that either. This "rights" business is arcane and infuriating.
I know some people say they find that "Third Man Theme" irritating, but I don't agree with them. I think it's a perfect fit for this unusual film.
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db, I'd never heard of Kate Nash. I like that song. I also like the album cover image. It reminded me of a picture my daughter was always drawing when she was a little girl, of a house like the one in the Kate Nash cover, with flowers and a winding path leading up to it. (But the topiary is a little spooky, a little reminiscent of "The Shining"...)
I also like the way you can so hear that English accent. I enjoy hearing accents in singing. It's funny how sometimes you can really discern these accents, and other times, not at all. Guess it depends on the singer. Or maybe the production, I don't know.
Anyway, nice little tune.
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Oh, MultiEye, MultiEye....another case of an embarrassment of riches. All these guys are great. Who doesn't like Johnny Cash, Jack White, or Son House? (kudos on that last, takes a real blues enthusiast to know about him...)
But the musical feast is too much, the plate's too full, and we don't get a digital doggie bag to take the excess away with us.
I'd rather concentrate on ONE of those inventive, authentic, talented musicians you posted here, one at a time. Maybe it's some kind of limitation on my brain or my ears or just how long I'm willing to spend on this thread, but I just can't help thinking that ten tunes in a row is too rich an offering for my single-minded aural attention.
I think maybe there are other websites where you can and do post a long selection like this, so you're used to it.
Now having blathered on about this for a few paragraphs, I should say that of course there are no rules on this site or this thread about how many music selections you can post. And it would be obnoxious and officious of me to say there are, or even that there should be.
It's not about "rules" - rules like that would take away the fun of sharing our music favourites here. Nobody wants that. It's more about, maybe, a little restraint. I don't come to this thread to listen to 10 or 20 different tunes all in a row, I come here to hear one or two tunes that other people here like or have been thinking about or for whatever reason want to share. If I wanted to listen to over half an hour's worth of music all in one go, I'd just throw on a CD. When I come here, I just want a little bit of someone else's music love. A taste, not a feast.
Sorry if this does sound obnoxious and / or officious. I'm not telling you what to do, I'm just giving you my take on the posting of so many tunes all at once.
All that said, all the tunes you shared here were good ones.
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***If you haven't seen this film and don't want to know how it ends, do not read this thread***
I watched Brief Encounter last night. I had heard about how this film was one of the best romantic films ever made and also saw that it was released by Criterion. TCM aired the Criterion print last night.
This was a great movie. The ending was much different than typical romantic films. Unlike most romantic films where you can see the happy ending from a mile away, this film had an ending that I felt was much more realistic. I also found that the way the romance unfolded was also very natural and didn't seem inappropriate even though both characters were married. In many films of the era, adultery and cheating on the spouses would either not be depicted or the characters involved would meet a terrible fate. The characters in this film didn't meet a happy fate, but it wasn't any sort of karma for bad behavior. It was a bittersweet and realistic ending. I also thought that it made for a better story that neither the lead actor or actress was out-of-this-world attractive. It wasn't like it was Rita Hayworth falling in love with Errol Flynn. The fact that both the leading actors were average looking made the story more realistic and identifiable.
I also felt that this movie was very timely, especially when considering the discussion going on in the 1950s thread. Post-WWII, after having experienced life as a working employee, many women found the domestic housewife life to be very stifling and boring. They missed the stimulation of the workplace and tired of having to deal with children's issues and tending to their very capable husband's every need. Many housewives reported depression and/or use of tranquilizers just to get through their mundane lives.
In Brief Encounter, the lead character, Laura, was bored by her life. Her husband essentially ignored her to work on the evening's crossword puzzle and living to only tend to the children and go grocery shopping was very boring to her. When has the chance encounter with Alec on Thursday, which from the sounds of it, was the only day of the week when she went into town and had time to herself, her boring, routine life suddenly gets the adrenaline rush that it needed. Life with Alec was exciting. He makes her feel feelings that she hadn't experienced in a long time. Conversation was exciting. Spending time with him was exciting. However, like in real life (usually), she feels guilty for two-timing her husband. In this film, we don't see much of her husband and we do not see Alec's wife at all. I believe that this allows the audience to see the situation from only Laura and Alec's side--so we feel for them and want their romance to succeed.
I think the turning point in the relationship was when Alec invites Laura into his friend's home (where he's house-sitting). It is obvious that he wants to use the apartment as a private place to take their relationship to the next level and make it physical. I believe that Laura realizes this when she initially refuses, but after boarding her train, she realizes that this is something she wants and returns to Alec. When his friend returns unexpectedly, she is so embarrassed by what she was about to do that it hurts hers and Alec's relationship.
I think the ending where both parties return to their respective spouses is very bittersweet. On one hand, neither one is breaking up their family and is not committing any sort of moral crime (so to speak). On the other hand, both Alec and Laura may live their entire lives unhappy and wondering what things would have been like had they left their spouses and run off together. One would hope that maybe they would both check back into family life and try to make the best of their current situation, but I couldn't help but feel that both had settled and now had lost their chance at true love.
Any thoughts about the relationship? The film-making techniques? Anything?
I'm so glad you've started a thread about Brief Encounter, speedy, because I feel it's a movie that deserves a lot of discussion.
I love this movie. I've seen it several times, and am moved and engaged by it with each subsequent viewing.
Noel Coward's beautifully understated tale of two ordinary married people who fall in love and do not act upon it is one of the best stories about this timeless situation I've ever seen. Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson are so good at conveying the complicated and ambivalent feelings these two characters experience as their gentle ( and genteel !) love affair develops. (And by love "affair", obviously I'm using the word "affair" in the old fashioned sense...in the sense of a romance. Of course, now we associate that word with the sexual aspect of romance, but it had a different connotation back then.)
What makes Brief Encounter so poignant and so memorable is that these characters do not consummate their romance (ie, go to bed with each other.) They almost do, as you point out in your insightful write-up; but when Alec's friend walks unexpectedly into the flat, the shame, embarrassment, and regret he and Laura feel is almost palpable.
You'd never get a movie like this now; the kind of delicacy around the idea of extra-marital affairs, the sense of loyalty to one's spouse and family, and the idea that if one did cross that extra-marital line, one would be doing something terrible and irrevocable, is all a thing of the past now.
We also need to consider that Laura did feel something for her husband. I'm not sure I agree that he's nothing but an emblem of a stodgy boring constrained life that Laura finds herself trapped in. Although her husband has only a few minutes of screen time, I think it's communicated, very subtly, that he does care about his wife as a person, not just as a "proper wife" and mother of his children. I don't think his desire to do a crossword puzzle indicates he's indifferent to Laura; I see it as more a sign that the two of them are a settled married couple who've been together long enough to feel comfortable with a simple evening together, spending time pursuing different, albeit somewhat unexciting activities like crosswords and knitting, but together in the same room and quietly enjoying each other's company.
Of course, had Laura and Alec gotten together, we imagine them having a more interesting life than that ! (like the things Laura imagines them doing in her fantasy on the train.) But still, we should give credit to Fred ( even his name is stodgy !) for picking up on what's going on with his wife more than we realize. At the very end of the film, he tells her, "Yes, dear, you've been a long way away......Thank you for coming back to me."
Other delights of Brief Encounter:
All the train station tea room scenes, rendered vivid and funny by two master British character actors, Stanley Holloway and Joyce Carey. Carey's a hoot with her "refined" accent and the fussy prissy act she puts on.
The voice-over narrative; it's easy to forget that in a way, Johnson had a lot more to do in this movie than Howard did, as it's her voice that tells the sad story throughout. It's one of those films where voice-over narration really works and adds to the connection the audience feels for the character.
The "Britishness" of it all. I love the "stiff upper lip" attitude they all have, the London scenes, even the tea cakes ( that sometimes appear stale) in the station. The whole thing is so very English, and English from a particular time. Noel Coward and David Lean really capture this place and time.
The beautiful black and white cinematography ( as someone here has noted.) Brief Encounter is a great example of how sometimes black and white serves the story and mood of a film better than colour.
Again, thank you for posting a thread about this movie. I've always loved it.
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Interesting that when other music legends died earlier this year, the obit thread about them went on for some time. But it seems there's not much reaction to the news of Leonard Cohen's death.
Maybe everyone's too stunned from the events of last week to think about much else at this time.
And speaking of last week's events, we all know that Mr. Trump's primary residence is in New York City.
So maybe this is an appropriate selection to celebrate Cohen's masterly marriage of music and lyrics:
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So many legends in music have died this year, and now Leonard Cohen is added to the list.
This was a truly great poet and songwriter. I'm really saddened by this news. He'd just released a new album a few weeks ago - "You Want It Darker". I wonder if he had some sense that he had little time left.
Respect and honour to this wonderful artist. We won't forget him.
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I was very sad to hear that Leonard Cohen had died...especially in a week where I was already feeling sad (surely no reason to say why...)
Two of my favourites by this master of song and poetry:
(Anyone familiar with the Robert Altman film McCabe and Mrs.Miller will recognize this. What a beautiful song.)
Tower of Song. The lyrics to this are so witty and interesting. One of Mr. Cohen's coolest tunes:
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Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. And yesterday, Leonard Cohen died. * Thought it seemed appropriate to post this:
* Actually, I have since found out that Leonard Cohen died on Monday (November7th.) I'm thinking maybe his family did not want to announce his passing until after the American election ?
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Does anyone know of any classic movie posters (I'm looking for 2 more) that would compliment this one:
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Beauty-and-the-Beast-Posters_i12193897_.htm?aid=1200903043&DestType=7
from an aesthetics/art/color perspective?
Do you mean "complement" ?
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Yes, I've been to the Boston Public Gardens and seen the duck family bronze statues. If I were a little kid, I'd want to sit on one of those ducks. (Bet this has happened loads of times.)
Boston has a lot of interesting bronze figures, including a number of their historic political leaders, a turtle or two, and even, at some busy intersection (can't remember which one), bronze groceries, including a lettuce and other vegetables, embedded in the road ! A fun city, for sure.
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It's low-budget. The acting is amateurish. The writing clumsy and stilted. The music score strangely detached from the action. The special effects clunky. The plot surprise discoverable. . . .
. . .but Carnival of Souls creeps me out like almost no other movie. With simple elements, it creates a mood of danger and uneasiness. Unlike other horror movies where violence and death are the source of fear, here the attack is on the identity. Mayhem and death are one thing, but they are nothing compared to annihilation of the self.
Thank you, slayton, for drawing attention to this undeservedly obscure "horror" film. I put "horror" in quotation marks, because I'm not sure I'd describe it as such, yet can't think of another genre or word to categorize just what kind of movie it is.
Doesn't matter. I agree with everything you said about it. Carnival of Souls is one of the creepiest movies I've ever seen.
SPOILER
What I find especially interesting and compelling about the film is the realization that this girl is neither dead nor alive, but caught in some macbre twilight area in between the two states of being. I've always figured, she should have died with her friends, when they went over the bridge, but for some reason, something went wrong, she died but then life somehow reached out to her and hauled her back. So both Life wants her, and Death wants her. To which world does she belong?
This strange in-between place her soul's struggling in is manifested eerily and oddly effectively in such scenes as the dress shop, where she suddenly ceases to hear any sounds at all. It's clear it's nothing as mundance as a hearing problem...it's more as if the for a few moments Death is pulling her away from the world, and all the ordinary things of the earth are removed from her perception. But then she's back, Life tugs her soul back to the world, and she can hear again.
Yet she's not a zombie, she's not one of the "undead"; it's more obscure than that, more ambiguous. That's one of the fascinating things about Carnival of Souls.
My favourite scene, for sheer chilling other-worldliness, is the scene where the girl goes to the pier, where there seems to be some kind of party going on. ...a party of the dead. I love the truly eerie atmosphere this scene so successfully conveys. And that MC, or host, or Leader of the Dead, or whoever and whatever he is, has to be amongst the creepiest strangest ghost figures I've ever seen.
I'd recommend Carnival of Souls for anyone with a taste for strange and eerie tales, the kind that leave a lot up to the viewer to figure out, rather than the more obvious kind of horror movie that puts it all out there. No mystery to them, and I like mystery.
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Agree with your first paragraph, but can't say it creeps me out. Got it as part of a 50 movie CD set.
May need to watch it again.
It doesn't ? (creep you out.) Don't tell me you're one of those people who only enjoy the obvious kind of scary movie. Give it another shot.
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......Big box stores in my area are forced to create "retention ponds" (with fences!) for run off for the vast asphalt parking lots, becoming oasis for Canada Geese. Goose/duck crossing signs are posted EVERYWHERE and cars patiently stop & wait for strings of families crossing the road. My store hosts several goose families on the property & I enjoy watching the goslings grow up in our yard.
I didn't seen ONE bird killed by a car this entire year.
This reminds me of a lovely children's story about a bird crossing in a city. It isn't a movie, it's a picture book: Make Way for Ducklings, by that wonderful author and illustrator of children's books from the 1950s, Robert McCloskey. He wrote and illustrated some of the most charming and engaging children's picture books ever. When I was in Boston a few years ago, I made a point of purchasing a copy of this sweet little storybook (sweet, but never cloyingly so.)
Anyway, anyone who's a fan of ducks, Boston, or picture books will love it.
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Here's a very brief but very funny parrot scene from the end of a James Bond film.
(For Your Eyes Only) I love the way Margaret Thatcher slaps away her husband's hand from some food she's been preparing (but I can't tell what it is !), and especially, the way the parrot says "Give us a kiss, give us a kiss". I hope it was really the parrot talking, and not some dub-over.
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This is a note to the moderator :
How is it that someone who is so obviously a "troll" is allowed to navigate this site so freely? I rarely complain about fellow posters on these forums, but I do not regard "RipMurdock" as a "fellow poster"; fellowship has nothing to do with his M.O. Nor, for that matter, does posting, since I would hardly call his inane, unhelpful, and often insulting comments to others here "posts".
Oh wow! SUDDEN FEAR! (1952) on 12/14 at 8:00 PM
in General Discussions
Posted
Miss Huston also appeared in a number of other noirs, most notably as the "nice" girl from the small mountain town - think her name was "Anne".