JefCostello
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Posts posted by JefCostello
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Probably the best Powell/Pressburger film, although Peeping Tom does give it a run for its money.
Should certainly be on anyone's list of best musicals, and Moira Shearer is fantastic in this role. The big number in the middle is one of the most magnificent musical sequences ever staged. Also, it has as tragic an ending as any musical I can ever remember seeing.
Great, great film.
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Joan Bennett was at her best as femme fatale, like in Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street and Woman in the Window.
She's definitely underrated, and I need to watch more movies of hers.
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_Overrated_
Nashville
Cabaret (trash)
A Clockwork Orange? (I?m torn on this one)
Days of Heaven (well shot but no story)
A Woman Under the Influence
M*A*S*H (more crap from Altman)
The Travelling Players
Death in Venice
Last Tango in Paris
Network? (I need to see it again before I?m sure)
Eraserhead
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Bananas
Rocky
All the President's Men
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
_Underrated_
The Passenger
Stalker
The Phantom of Liberty
Dirty Harry
Mean Streets
The Last Detail
Claire?s Knee
Fat City
Days and Nights in the Forest
Straw Dogs
Alice in the Cities
Five Easy Pieces
Marathon Man
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I was just thinking about starting a thread about her for SOTM.
What an incredibly sexy and stunning woman. What a figure. She had a great screen presence as well, and I've tried to watch every film of hers that's been on in the last few months, because admittedly, I hadn't seen many of her films before that (not counting the really famous ones that she was in).
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I've seen about fifteen of his films, and he was a terrific filmmaker, and one of the most underrated ever, as Truffaut and Godard get most of the publicity when it came to French New Wave.
Unlike his New Wave contemporaries, he stayed pretty active all the way up to the end.
Him and Rohmer both died this year, and both should get more recognition than what they've gotten.
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Probably my favorite genre. Not many classic noirs that I don't like or can't sit through.
That's more than I can say about most genres.
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Pretty good list.
Great to see Jacques Becker and Jean Pierre Melville getting some love, but I expected as much from Marty, who's a film nut.
I've honestly never heard Scorsese saying anything bad about any film. I'd love to hear what he doesn't like, especially the classics.
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Dean, definitely. He was a troubled loner, despite people mistaking him generations later for being a rebel, which he wasn't in any of his roles.
I've never thought of Brando as fitting those qualities. My favorite performances of his are his bizzarre character of Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, and his role of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront. I guess he has those qualities in those films. Not so much in his other roles, but maybe I'm not being open minded enough.
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I've always been drawn to the troubled, alienated and desperate loners. Especially the cynical ones, like Bogart's best roles.
Seems like most actors gave their best ever performance in playing such roles. I don't think there's that many people in society who fit those qualities, but in movies it's a disproportionate amount.
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Those actresses you named weren't sex symbols, hence they weren't always being cast in dumb blonde roles against their wishes. Marilyn's films made money, hence Zanuck was unwilling to give her leeway to do different things.
Grace Kelly was also a sex symbol, but she like Liz Taylor always got good roles. I don't know if that's because they had a dominant personality or because they came from good backgrounds and good families, giving them more leeway and power in the industry. In any case, Marilyn wasn't in the same boat as them in terms of picking her roles. She was basically a slave to the studio until later in her career.
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You're certainly entitled to your opinion, and I don't blame you for being fond of Ava Gardner.
I like Carole Lombard, but she's not nearly as sexy as Monroe. That's why I mentioned those 3 criteria, especially her ability to be this huge sex symbol, yet come off so innocently on the screen. For instance, could women like Liz Taylor, Sophia Loren or Bardot come off as innocent while sexy at the same time? Not a chance. Other women may come off innocently, but aren't in Monroe's league when it comes to sex appeal. Add her humor to that, and she made for a truly rare star.
Her lack of dramatic roles is not her fault. At that time, women didn't have as much freedom as they do now in movies. She desperately wanted dramatic roles, but didn't get many thanks to the studio system and Zanuck. The ones she did get, however, I think she was pretty darn good in.
And being a great comedic star is not easy (especially when you look like Monroe), but she did that quite well, and should not be underrated just because that was her primary genre.
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Fedora is actually not a bad film. It got mixed reviews, if I'm not mistaken, but many of the critics bashed Wilder for having a nostalgia for classic Hollywood and were disappointed that he didn't make another elite film to add to his collection.
All in all, though, it was a decent film and it's always great to see Holden, even if he's 60.
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Don't get me wrong, because Marilyn is my favorite film star of all time.
What I hate is the very fact that people who know nothing about her and haven't seen any of her films capitalize on her popularity and make money off of her. These books come out all the time and are all basically alike.
I guess in one sense, she's one of the few classic film stars that every common idiot nowadays can name, but at the same time, there's way too many misconceptions about her.
I do think that she was a good star, who had the most remarkable screen presence I've ever seen, great comedic timing, and an impeccable ability to combine humor, innocence and sex appeal. I don't think there's ever been a female star that could combine those 3 things like Marilyn could. She was definitely a great star, but isn't remembered for that at all.
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Is it just me, or are there 5 to 6 new Marilyn Monroe books out every month at Barnes and Noble?
Amazing how much money people have made off her, especially her estate. Most of these books are all alike as well.
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The Leopard
The Enforcer (the Bogart one)
Lawrence of Arabia (on the big screen)
An Autumn Afternoon
120 Days of Sodom (heard so much about this one)
A Voyage to Italy
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I think it is, but I'm a bit of a romantic.
Seems like all the directors and critics favor Rules of the Game, and there's nothing wrong with that. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years I place it above Gone with the Wind as well, but so far I'm holding my position.
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The Conformist is the best movie of 1970, and maybe the most beautifully photographed film ever. Tremendous score as well.
I can't really think of any other film that year that could challenge it in my opinion. It wasn't a very strong year for films compared to some other years.
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Audrey Hepburn
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Too many great Japanese directors to name.
Obviously, Kurosawa, Ozu and Mizoguchi get most of the attention, but there are others that are badly underrated.
Teshigara and Kobayashi are both masters of cinema that need to get more attention. Same with Naruse, who's sadly been passed over for his contemporaries.
Suzuki and Imamura are always fun to watch as well, with their experimental style.
I like what I've seen from Oshima and Ichikawa, but I need to watch more to understand them better.
As for Kurosawa, he's easily one of the 5 most liked directors if film history, in terms of popularity with fellow directors. Up there with guys like Fellini, Ford and Welles.
Edited by: JefCostello on Aug 26, 2010 9:43 PM
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Last year they honored several people as well, and the whole thing was a freaking joke. They only get a few minutes of airtime.
The Oscars have become unwatchable.
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The kissing scene in the rain in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is by far the best.
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1. Billy Wilder
2. Michelangelo Antonioni
3. Jean Pierre Melville
4. Sergio Leone
5. Alfred Hitchcock
6. Howard Hawks
7. Akira Kurosawa
8. Ingmar Bergman
9. Francois Truffaut
10. Woody Allen
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When Audrey sings 'La Vien Rose' in Sabrina.
Also, when 'La Marseillaise' is sung in Casablanca.
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They played together in Love Streams, but weren't husband and wife in the film. Cassavetes only appears in a few of his films.
Overrated/Underrated--The Seventies
in General Discussions
Posted
I've never understood the fascination with Altman. I know his films are not the typical Hollywood films, but I've just never found anything special with his work up to this point. I haven't seen all of his stuff, but some of his most heralded films I have already seen, and didn't like.
As for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, I did see the most faithful version, but found it to be a self righteous flick, almost as if Peckinpah thought we'd find these characters and this odd story cool, just because he directed it. Both Kristofferson and Dylan seemed miscast, and I couldn't help thinking Coburn was playing the same man he played in Leone's Fistful of Dynamite. Characters kept showing up out of nowhere, and the music seemed inappropriate and poorly chosen. Like I said, Peckinpah directed it as if he could get away with anything.
Bananas is a good film for the first half, but then gets totally stupid and annoying at the end. I've seen it several times, and never seem to understand its popularity. One of Allen's worst films.