ElCid
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Posts posted by ElCid
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On 7/18/2018 at 12:34 PM, Bogie56 said:
Thursday, July 19
8 p.m. Bullitt (1968). Still a very cool movie 50 years on. And the Ford re-issue of the Fastback is pretty good too.
Ironically the Dodge Charger was the better car in the movie. Especially in endurance during the filming.
On 7/19/2018 at 1:52 PM, Bogie56 said:Friday, July 20
Tab Hunter tribute
10:45 a.m. Operation Bikini (1963). Tab and Frankie Avalan take on the Japanese in WWII.
Never cared for Tab Hunter or Frankie Avalon or the Beach Party movies.
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13 hours ago, speedracer5 said:
There are a lot of precode and 1930s films where it's obvious that the leading lady is not wearing a bra. Silk is not a forgiving fabric. It probably wasn't a big deal in the era of non-HD. I have a UHD TV, I see everything. Lol.
Could be wrong, but I think that in 1942's The Man Who Came to Dinner Ann Sheridan is not wearing a bra in scene where she is on phone with her secretary. Fairly obvious even on my 25 year old CRTV. How obvious would it have been on the BIG screen at a movie theater?
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14 hours ago, TomJH said:
I agree that some films need more than a two hour running time. While I think that GWTW, for example, might have used a little judicious editing in its second half, I can't envision that film being effective at two hours.
Having said that, there are relatively few films over two hours that I will watch a second or third time and that includes GWTW, even though I have the DVD. It just sits there in its tremendous length making me think, "Naw, I'll watch something shorter tonight. Where's that Popeye cartoon?"
Frequently I will ask my wife what she wants to watch and suggest some movies and her response is often too long. We often pick a 90 minute or so movie. That is one of the benefits of having recorded a lot of 40's and 50's movies from TCM or purchased DVD's of that period.
14 hours ago, misswonderly3 said:Hmm, not so sure about books. Reading a book is, obviously, an entirely different experience from watching a film. For one thing, films are intended to be viewed in one session, whether that session is 90 minutes or 240 minutes (yikes ! a 4 hour-long movie ! But they do exist...).
Books, on the other hand - and I'm talking mainly about fiction here, specifically novels - are not necessarily intended to be read all in one sitting. I don't mind reading a very long book if it's good. It's a whole different storytelling form from movies.
My comment is in reference to too much to read, not in how it is read. I never read a book in one sitting, but after several nights and still being only half-way through I begin to wonder why the author could not have made it shorter. After several nights I may also forget who this character is since not mentioned since first chapter. The authors also tend to crowd in more extraneous people, more locations, more plot devices, etc. if they have 400-500 pages to work with.
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14 hours ago, EricJ said:
Why not ask your DVD?--I'll bet they have a whole menu function for that!
That I know about. However, these are artificial "chapters" created when the DVD is manufactured. They may or may not correspond to what the producer, director and/or screenwriter intended.
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32 minutes ago, EricJ said:
Taking the movie in "chapters" doesn't help? What are chapters in a movie?
If you're sitting at home with DVD, you've got control over your schedule, snacks and bladder. A movie too long is still a movie too long - too many scenes that are just so much filler.
It's being forced to think differently about a new technology, to turn epics into miniseries, but how can we say on one hand "I'd hate to watch Lawrence of Arabia, it's three hours long", and on the other hand, gush about our "addictions" to the linked season-arcs of Game of Thrones and Westworld?--Why not watch a linked serial story that actually IS one story? TV series and movies are not the same thing. The TV series is written to be a complete story in one episode. Although there were continuing parts to the series. That is why it is a "series."
See highlighted above.
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5 hours ago, jimmymac71 said:
In the original days of LaserDisc, they were 30 minutes per side. The disc rotated at a constant speed, making still frames awesome. Later, the discs were up to an hour per side. The laser, just like a CD, starts in the middle of the disc. As it moves outward, the disc size expands, the rotation speed slows.
Not really relevant but I remember back in the early 60's I visited the DJ's "booth" in a radio station. They had some old records that actually played from the center out. They were red if I recall correctly. I don't think they actually used them anymore.
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6 hours ago, jamesjazzguitar said:
What? Isn't Key Largo the last Bogie and Bacall movie? It was released in 48 and DP in 47.
Or does adding Eddie make DB a non Bogie \ Bacall movie?
You are probably correct. I just always thought Dark Passage was the last one.
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Dark Passage is on Saturday and Sunday. The last Bogie and Bacall movie.
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16 hours ago, laffite said:
In the first case, it's not the movie per se, it's the formula. I can't say how good it is because I couldn't get through it. It's probably pretty good. Like most folks (I think) I instinctively want her to get away and I find no pleasure of being manipulate with those close calls. At times I detach and be a pure movie buff and just see and critique but other times I cannot.
In the second case I quit the movie when it seemed apparent that the adult is going after the kid. No thanks.
***
I just posted something on Touch of Evil over on I Just Watched ... and now I wish I had posted it over here instead. Damn! Anyone ever done something like that? I think I'll wait a couple of months and revive it here. Or maybe just forget it.
Some of us will post the same comment on two different threads as they pertain to both. Also, we assume some may not read it on one thread, but will on another. For instance, I seldom read the "I Just Watched Thread" so I missed your post there.
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9 hours ago, LawrenceA said:
Don't you really like The Best Years of Our Lives?
Personally, there are dozens of movies over two hours that I like. If a movie is really good, it doesn't matter how long it is.
Now I know why I never watch that movie and found it boring the first time I did. 2 hours and 52 minutes.
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10 hours ago, Zea said:
Do you really think more than 1-1/2 hours or 1 hour could have been lopped off of "Lawrence Of Arabia", "Dr. Zhivago", "Gone With The Wind", "All Quiet On The Western Front" or chunks taken out of the original "Star Wars"?
Even "To Kill A Mockingbird" went 10 or 15 minutes over that 2hr limit. I don't think I could stand a second of that movie being cut.
Sure there are plenty of stinkers or marginal movies out there that could stand a firm editing hand. And others that would actually benefit from a good cutting in the right places. But certain classics deserve the time needed not just to tell a story, but for the audience to savor the nuances of the technical aspects and visual creations imagined and brought to life by a brilliant director seeking to further enhance a story. Sometimes only time can accomplish that.
Absolutely. And you can add in Exodus, The Ten Commandments, Patton and others. I have these and other long movies on DVD and don't watch them because they are too long. Fast Forward and stopping and returning later don't help. Just the thought of how long the movie is turns me off.
Maybe you can endure it for the first time ever seen, but after that you begin to see long sections of verbosity, filler, overly long visual inputs, etc. As the educational dictum says, the mind cannot absorb what the butt cannot endure.
It is a question of the producer, director and screen writers being too enamored with their "product" to see how much better it would be if reduced to about two hours.
Incidentally, this also applies to many books. Much over 300 pages and it becomes all about the author's ability to sling words rather than tell a story.
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5 hours ago, LawrenceA said:
Try DVR'ing what you want to watch, and then you never have to see another promo again. I watch dozens of movies from TCM each month, and I don't even know what chef you are talking about.
I have a hard time thinking TCM is becoming the Noir Network when they just finished showing approximately 2500 musicals last month.
Rest easy knowing that August is Summer Under the Stars, and all of the regular programs (Noir Alley, TCM Underground, TCM Imports, Silent Sundays) are disappearing for a month.
My least favorite TCM event. One "star" all day long.
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8 minutes ago, Gershwin fan said:
If you mean there are too many commercials then I agree. It's not just the commercials for noir alley but more the wine club and such that really get tiresome. I preferred it better when TCM commercials were mainly just about upcoming programming.
Don't we all, but those days are gone forever. Unless you want to start paying an additional monthly fee to receive TCM. Or TCM could go the way of American Movie Classics (AMC).
However, I do not believe Brrrcold was addressing the commercials, but the number of Noir movies presented and the manner in which presented, such as Noir Alley.
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15 hours ago, laffite said:
I sense an affinity. Not my kind of movie either, nor Beware, My Lovely. Can't stand either one.
Did you mean Farewell My Lovely? Beware is a Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino movie. Personally I have never cared for Beware My Lovely even though I like Ida Lupino. As for Farewell, one of my favorites.
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16 hours ago, Brrrcold said:
"Overplayed" because it's 4-5 hours per week of programming but 25% of the on-air personalities and (my estimate) 10% of the promotional effort.
I don't mind the noir movies, but in fact most of them are not very good quality - just odd or shocking. If the programmers devoted as much of their effort to another genre or sub-genre (eg., 'pre-code' or 'screwball' or 'grindhouse') the point would be the same.
As best I can remember Noir has been a significant component of TCM presentations since its inception. As for quality, they are some of my favorite movies. There have been many, many DVD's and DVD sets made specifically of Noir movies - and still being made. So somebody must think they are a "quality" product.
What do you mean by odd or shocking?
Incidentally, please continue to comment, but don't be surprised with some disagree with you.
14 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:Dang.
ROADBLOCK has not shown up on TCM OnDemand, even though the schedule said it would.
I watched it Monday on TCM On Demand at tcm.com. However it is not available on TCM On Demand on my Spectrum cable system.
1 hour ago, Brrrcold said:Well, this is my point. I have no objection to noir. There are some I like quite a lot. And it's fine that these movies have a place in the schedule. ... but why noir movies and not westerns? or precode gangster films? I'm not asking for anything - just observing that noir has been given a different priority on TCM.
The programmers do devote a lot of effort to pre-code, screwball comedies, musicals, westerns and most other genres. Never have really been sure of what grindhouse is, but seems to me it is very cheaply made, poorly produced, poorly written and primarily features (or promises to) scantily clad women, sexual situation, extreme violence or mutilation.
I think the difference is that they have not had the format of Noir Alley for those in the past. However, there have been times when they had blocks of pre-code, gangster, westerns, musicals, foreign, screwball comedies, etc.
Go to this site (or tcm.com) and sign up for Now Playing Guide. It may help you to find the genres you are seeking and the blocks of featured genres. It is emailed once per month and this email needs to be in your contacts list. https://us-mg205.mail.yahoo.com/app/minty/compose?to-field=nowplaying@siteservices.tcm.com
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14 hours ago, cigarjoe said:
OK, a lot of pictures of women who Hughes may have dated. To me harem means women with whom he had sex on a regular basis. From what I have read, Jane Greer (included above) rebuffed Hughes and her career suffered for it.
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14 minutes ago, Sepiatone said:
I'll admit, not the "best" movie of the genre I've ever seen. But not that bad. Now, I've never posted in this thread before, nor went out of my way to watch "Noir Alley" when originally aired, and not often the repeat the following Sunday morning. Depends whether or not the movie seems to be one I'd be interested in. I mainly watched ROADBLOCK because there was nothing interesting on TV anywhere else, so why not?
I must say though, that I could do well WITHOUT Muller's seemingly endless blather of "factoids" that probably most people couldn't care less about and only serves to attempt to make him appear "authoritative". And possibly too, gives many a chance for a final "bathroom break" and kitchen trip before the movie begins.
Sepiatone
I watch Noir Alley specifically for Eddie Muller's commentaries, even movies I have on DVD.
I believe I saw Decoy once and found it weird, not my kind of Noir. Have seen Kiss Me Deadly, but just never really got into it. Same with Nightmare Alley. While Mitchum is one of my favorite actors, Night of the Hunter is not my kind of movie and definitely not Noir.
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Forgot to record it both times, so ended up signing up for TCM On Demand (which I assume is free).
As for the movie, had seen it before but forgot it. The scene at the airport reminded me. I think Joan Dixon did well in her role. She played it the way it was written and directed. I don't think every mystery or noir movie was supposed to have a femme fatale in the Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity) style. Just as many did not have a totally evil primary male character. This movie was of that type.
Overall I think it was a pretty good little mystery/noir movie. Kept my attention even though I had seen it before and had to watch on my PC's monitor sitting it a not so comfortable chair.
As for Where Danger Lives, I actually recorded that one many years ago and have not watched it since. Faith Domergue just does not impress me. Definitely a femme fatale role, but seems stiff. Maybe I need to watch it again.
Eddie mentioned Howard Hughes' Harem again. I did some surfing and came with a few old articles, but does anybody have more details on who was a part of it? Eddie seems to imply that a lot of brunette actresses were part of it.
Not a great movie, but worth watching.
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1 hour ago, cigarjoe said:
Now, let's see those giant ants get out. Of a crook get away from Adam 12.
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15 hours ago, cigarjoe said:
It's got a great car chase in the L.A. River.
Always find it interesting when movies have scenes from the LA River. I assume that at some times, there is actually more than a trickle of water in it? Does it ever get fairly full? Asking about the concrete portions used in movies.
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19 hours ago, misswonderly3 said:
Cid baby, shirley you know I was just teasing you. Friendly teasing.
Yep, knew that.
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4 minutes ago, misswonderly3 said:
Oh, you're just mad because there weren't any cool cars in it.?
It's not always about cars.
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Finally got around to watching Party Girl. BORING! Thank goodness I could fast forward through it. Course never have found Robert Taylor or Cyd Charise interesting anyway. My wife said that Taylor played his role the same as he did in Quo Vadis. He plays everything the same - wooden. Agreed with her.
As for it being Noir, I just can't see it. If this is Noir, every crime movie and every movie with bad people is Noir.
As for next week's Roadblock, I read the wikipedia description and it sounds familiar. Will watch it.
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NONE! I hate Star of the Month.
Noir Alley
in General Discussions
Posted
I enjoyed Muller's commentaries and as usual found them informative. One thing that has always stuck with me is every time I see Clifton Young as Baker, I immediately think of all the Joe McDoakes shorts he made. The scene with the Owl Drug Store reminds me that years ago they had a model railroad department and advertised in model railroading magazines. Evidently continued it long after most other businesses had phased out model railroad departments.