AddisonDeWitless
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Posts posted by AddisonDeWitless
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Just a little FYI,
Look to the left of this post right here.
You see my name?
Below it is the number of posts I've posted since joining.
Below that is the date I joined the messageboads.
*BELOW THAT THERE IS A BUTTON THAT SAYS IGNORE MEMBER. *
Do us all a favor and click it.
ps- Guys and Dolls bites.
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that's right: I'm shamelessly bumping up my own thread.
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Jadore Nelson Riddle's work with Ella Fitzgerald- some of her very best arrangements. That man could conduct a damn orchestra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ziu-UAqY04
(Ella knocks I Can't Get Started out of the park, orchestra conducted by Herr Riddle.)
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now i feel bad...well, as bad as someone with no soul who spends their day guarding a bridge against billy goats can feel...but I digress.
One leetle throwaway sentence in an otherwise positive post has threatened to derail the meat of the thread, which is: most (all?) of us seem to like Miss Douglas and think she rates a place on the network. She's got *88 titles to her credit* (aka credentials, aka a reason to be there in the first place ) and I've learned a lot just from the two nights I've watched her thus far- and some of these titles she's picked are films *I've never heard of*, and I've been around the classic film block a time or two.
She has made some absolutely *fantastic* and thought-provoking choices that I think she'd want us to be discussing moreso than anything else , FYI- I started a thread on The Great Moment in general discussions- it got two replies before it vanished to page two....maybe I'll go shamelessly bump it up.
Anyhoo, I guess I ought to get back to work...those baby harp seals aren't going to club themselves, you know.
Best wishes to all...well, most of you.
ADW
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THANK YOU!
That WAS a great review. I found meself offering up more than one "amen!" to what the critic wrote.
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Yeah, I admit that I tossed in Harper Lee 'cause I felt like me list was too estrogen-light. Maybe I could remedy that by substituting Capote in her place ( and still keep the feminine touch.)
ps- A Christmas Memory is one of the finest short stories EVER written and it still manages to make me teary, in spite of the fact that I have garlic in my soul.
ps- Zora Neale Hurston or Toni Morrison too.
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Have you ever seen a movie just DIE right in front of you?
That happens for me with the '74 version of Gatsby, right at the moment Robert Redford says "Hi, I'm Jay Gatsby."
You can just hear the flatline on the EKG..........
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Y'know though, to take it all back to the source: I *don't get* the fuss over the novel The Great Gatsby . It is- at best- a three out of four star book- really more of a novella...an inflated short story...an idea scrawled on a cocktail napkin.
I think, if anything, it owes its enduring "popularity" to the fact that it is the go-to book for High School English teachers because the symbolism is so outre and heavy-handed, you'd have to be pretty thick not to grasp it....and it's thin.
It's a slender story, with some thin characterizations- in the end: there's not a lot to it- which really, you can also (except for the characterization aspect) say of Tender is the Night, another Fitzgerald novel that I TOTALLY DO NOT GET THE APPEAL OF. Man! Is that thing BOOOOORING. I read somewhere recently that Ray Bradbury re-read Tender is the Night every July. I can see why it would appeal to him (Ray Bradbury is also an author I find to be reaaaaaaally boring and overrated.)
I'm not a huge fan of Faulkner, but I get why he's a MAJOR American author. I get why All The King's Men and Catch-22 are masterpieces. I totally agree with many that Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett derserve to be mentioned among the great 20th century American writers. Ditto Edith Wharton and Tony Morrison and Ralph Ellison and Harper Lee.
But Fitzgerald?
Pffthpt!
ps- my apologies to all of you that I did not offend with this post. I'll try harder in the future.
Edited by: AddisonDeWitless on May 11, 2013 12:29 PM
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> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote}The only thing I remember about the film is Tina Louise's cleavage.
Merry Christmas:
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> {quote:title=Sepiatone wrote:}{quote}
> *I don't know if this new version of GATSBY uses modern music or not.* I know they use it in the TV TRAILER, but quite often you'll hear music in the trailers that's never heard in the movie.
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> And although I like DeCaprio as an actor, .... It's not easy for me to accept adult level dialouge from someone who STILL sounds like they're 14 years old.
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There was a story about the music on NPR yesterday. They use classic songs covered in a largely modern style by modern artists. They played a version of Bang Bang (aka Charleston ) by Will I. Am.
*It's the worst thing I have ever heard.* Here's a link:
ps- I'm with you on Leo, but I still applaud the fact that he gets some inn-teresting films made in this day and age.
Edited by: AddisonDeWitless on May 11, 2013 12:14 PM
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> {quote:title=Mythoughts wrote:}{quote}I couldn't stand this film.
I totally understand.
When Chris Isaak selected it, I made it a point to check it out (as I thought he did a GREAT job as guest host and he selected some good titles as GP.)
I quit watching after 20-30 minutes.
I started watching it again when it was on recently, and again stopped, but this time it was more because I realized halfway through that I'd really like to read the novel first. I got a copy from me local library and have been sailing through: it's a really well-written and compelling book, quite different from the film and (while I haven't seen the whole movie) better and easier to follow thus far.
Really, it's close to roman noir territory.
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little (or a lot) of Aldo for you:
ps- he was a fine slab o' man...although I have read (here and there) he could be handful to work with.
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The Great Moment, 1944. dir- Preston Sturges. st: Joel Mcrae (sp?), Betty Field, Porter Hall, Harry Carey, Grady Sutton and (of course) William Demarest. aka Triumph Over Pain. - which kinda woulda made more sense as a title, but whatevs.
Anyone catch this?
Wow, there is a looooooooooooong and torturous entry for it on wikipedia- it looks like it had a similarly laborious story in the making of...Feel free to check it out. As far as the final, released product goes: I *actually liked it* and think maybekindasorta Illeana was a leetle hard on its faults (aside: Illeana is fantastique, there is a thread praising her in hot topics, feel free to add your opinion if you want her to be a regular presence on the network, which *I know I do*.)
Anyhow: aside from the twisted flashback structure (which, I dunno, didn't really detract that much from the story to me, but I got that it was a little muddled and confusing) it has the standard (seemingly) effortless performance by Joel Mcrae (and I mean that as praise), the standard dour performance from Harry Carey (which was really good too) and the standard "don't **** me off more than I already am" performance by William Demarest (who kind of saved the movie.)
The one weak link in the cast was, I felt, Betty Field- who did not have the greatest role, and maybe some of her better scenes hit the floor. I felt like she fumbled her dramatic speech in the beginning and I also kind of felt like she came off as a bit of a pain in the rest.
Nonetheless- it was moving and *compelling* (and as long as a film is compelling, even compellingly bad- which this wasn't- it's worth something ), great production values and a nice eschewing of the standard forties biopic touches which could be a touch on the trite side.
Kind of an odd- but nonetheless effective- ending.
I'd rate it a solid *three stars out of four,* how's about you?
ps- also, it was kind of cool to watch a film about people gettin' high made right in the middle of the forties.
pss- The Great Moment is cited by some as the pivotal moment when Sturges' career began its downturn.
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I was getting ready to start me own Brava Illeana! thread in the General Discussions Forum (where I usually lurk) but wanted to check elsewhere to make sure no one else had.
I am glad to see so much positive feedback because:
*She. Is. Fabulous.*
(for the record, I tried to supersize that sentence. didn't work.)
While I don't think she's 100% at ease with the presentation side of the gig, she's at least a good 75% there *and her choices are BEYOND WONDERFUL.* There has been a real need for someone to cull some *INN-TERESTING, BETWEEN THE LINES, OUT OF THE BOX, HAVE-YOU-SEEN-THIS? DISCUSSION-PROVOKING FILMS for us FILM FRRRRRRRREAKS TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND ENJOY.* In other words: ACTUAL ESSENTIALS.
It was about time for us lovers of classic ESOTERICA to get some love from a GP.
She's MORE THAN made up for the gaggle of listless celeb GP's who've picked Wuthering Heights and Duck Soup and The Third Man and Duck Soup and Wuthering Heights and The Third Man, and occasionally, someone gets crazy and picks Duck Soup or Wuthering Heights or The Third Man.
In honor of this, I will refrain from mocking Drew for the rest of the month.
Ileanna, love, (forgive me if I'm misspelling the name) you are vunderbar. Love your attitude, love the wardrobe, love that you've regained the use of your arms since your last appearance on the network. *DO NOT GO ANYWHERE.* Unpack the bag, put your feet up and just move the hell in. Would you like a drink? Spleef? An actual set on which to film? Bowl of all green M&M's?
Have your people hammer out the rider and send it to my people.
(We'll work on liquidating the weekend guy to make room for you. Trust me, after a day no one will even notice he's gone.)
*ILEANNA FOR REGULAR HOST!!!!!!*
ps- am I effing up your name? I don't mean to.
pss- I can see a lot of your grandfather in you, *please know that I mean that as a compliment.*
*psss- seriously: STAY!!!!!!!!!!*
pssss- what the hell does "lagniappe" mean? (see post below)
Edited by: AddisonDeWitless on May 10, 2013 10:23 PM
Edited by: AddisonDeWitless on May 10, 2013 10:24 PM
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> {quote:title=Hibi wrote:}{quote}Yeah, I remember For the Boys, but I didnt find the make up convincing. More like grotesque.
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> Yes, Angela was pitched the tv series but nixed it. It was filmed (and shown once) with Joan Plowright in the role.
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> It was called Peace, Love and Misunderstanding and WAS directed by Beresford! (just looked it up) It was listed as "Coming Soon" at one of our theaters, but it never did come! I guess they pulled it from release after a few engagements.........
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Yeah: Midler in the old-age make-up reminded me of one of the velociraptors (sp?) from Jurassic Park...Still, as an aside, I'm glad she got nominated for the role and I was sorry For the Boys (for all its faults) was such a bomb.
I am hard-pressed to think of a movie with less potential for a TV Series than Driving Miss Daisy. I mean, what would the plotline be? THRILL this week as Miss Daisy and Hoke have to wait at a detour on the way to the Piggly-Wiggly!
Damn, that Fonda film was waaaaaaaaaaaaaay below radar, in imdbing Beresford, I saw the title- but it totally didn't ring a bell...then again I was kind of surprised by how many films he'd directed since the mid-nineties that were *here today, gone today.*
ps- yeah, Tandy was a terrific actress. I miss her, but I'm grateful she got an unexpected career lift so late in life.
pss- wasn't Jessica Tandy British? Or at least born in England?
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> {quote:title=Hibi wrote:}{quote} Communication is a two way street.
Amen.
And that would've made a more apt- but less fanciful- title for the film than There's Always Tomorrow.
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> Sirk's original ending was to have the film end when we saw Fred in the toy factory with the robot walking off the table, breaking, but still moving its arms and flashing its lights.
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> Oddly enough, I did think at that point in the film that it was over, *I expected to see "The End" superimposed over the Universal-International globe.*
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YES! Me too.
Would've been effective but a total bummer.
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> andym108 wrote: Nixon had just unseated Melvyn Douglas's wife two years earlier in a highly publicized California Senate race,.
Ah yes, *The Pink Lady. *
Funny, I thought the Checkers thing happened when he ran for prez. against JFK in 1960 (I trust you though.)
Nixon's daughter married Ike's (grand?)son, and I think they are still married.
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> {quote:title=slaytonf wrote:}{quote}
> > ADW:
> > it's like the filmakers on (a Midsummer Night's Dream- 1935) learned from Paramount's mistakes (making Alice in Wonderland).
> That, and the fact that it had a better director.
well, according to imdb: two better directors: William Dieterle and Max Reinhardt both get credit.
But yeah- agreed.
Edited by: AddisonDeWitless on May 9, 2013 10:03 PM
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> {quote:title=twinkeee wrote:}{quote}...You mean Twin Beds pushed together....how Unromantic is that ? No wonder the marriage was in trouble...
Hey, at least they were pushed together. But yeah: I bet someone was always rolling over and falling into the space between. *Had* to be a real romance-killer.
FYI- The very first movie (filmed during the production code) to show the bedroom of a husband and wife with a single bed was 1946's My Reputation with, yes, Barbara Stanwyck. (Or course, in that one her husband is dead, but still, it was a milestone of a sort...) (at least according to imdb.)
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*very nice (and perceptive) write-up!*
ps- you are so right about Bennett needing the lecture too.
pss- only other issue I had besides what you pointed out is that Jane Darwell was tragically wasted as the housekeeper. Poor thing, she just about ties with Hattie McDaniell when it came to not getting the follow-ups to her Oscar win that she deserved.
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I missed that- but I did notice *windows* were a motif throughout the film- MacMurray looking at his kids (and life) through the window, Stanwyck and MacMurray gazing out of the big bay window in his office, Stanwyck peering out the window of the plane, the young lovers framed by the window-like hole in the trellis, the final scene of the kids watching their parents through the window-like design that seperated the living room from the hall.
windows windows windows.
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a nice, well-done and compelling movie- very smart, and a five-star perf from Stanwyck at the end.
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love how it always rains frequently (and heavily) in Los Angeles in the movies...
"The (maybe not) Great (but still pretty good) Moment" (1944)
in General Discussions
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Nice user name!