HoldenIsHere

You are correct. The image is not actually stretched. The aspect ratio of 4:3 is stretched to 16:9, but this is accomplished through cropping the vertical not actually stretching the image. Sorry for the confusion.

Correct, window boxing does not crop the image. The entire 4:3 image is preserved. The faux widescreening on The History Channel that Fred was referencing does crop the 4:3 image that has been stretched to 16:9.

What you're referring to on the History Channel is the "stretching" of a film shot in 4:3 to create faux widescreen. And, yes, this does result in the cropping of the top and bottom. Window boxing on a HD channel preserves the original 4:3 aspect ratio of a film. The 4:3 image is surrounded by black (which covers the remainder of the 16:9 screen).

Right, the standard definition feed is now a downgrade of the HD feed. I think this took effect a few months ago.

The non-widescreen movies that are being window-boxed are likely in high definition.

The song "Revolutionary Costume For Today" that opens the second act of GREY GARDENS THE MUSICAL wonderfully describes Little Edie's incorporation of the objects at her disposal to create her unique wardrobe, including her headgear: You fight city hall With a Persian shawl That used to hang on the bedroom wall Pinned under the chin Adorned with a pin And pulled into a twist. Reinvent the objet trouvé Make a poncho from a duvet Then you can be with cousin Lee On Mr. Blackwell's list. The full-length velvet glove hides the fist.

It's interesting that Malle has Julien's mother jokingly comment to him before he boards the train to school that she'd like to disguise herself as a boy and be with him at school. Then later at school he begins to form a friendship with a boy who is "in disguise."

Has Marlon Brando's performance as Jor-El ever aired on TCM? Intersting bit of trivia: Terence Stamp (who appeared as General Zod opposite Brando's Jor-El) was the voice of Jor-El in SMALLVILLE.

Good discussion. As you and your guests allude to, it's interesting that in both DeMille and Scorsese's films, Jesus is depicted with northern European features. I guess we can blame European artists (from da Vinci and earlier) for turning Jesus into a Gentile. And let's not forget Jeffrey Hunter in Nicholas Ray's 1961 movie:

Yes, AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS is inspired by events that occurred in January 1944 when the 12-year-old Louis Malle was attending a Jesuit boarding school near Fontainebleau. Malle has admitted to changing and adding certain details (having Julien look back at Jean in the classroom when the Gestapo agents are present may have been one such detail) but the essence of Malle's experience is portrayed in the film. I guess it's what would be referred to as semi-autobiographical. Here's what Malle has said about his friend (whose real name was Hans Michel not Jean Kippelstein): I was a very good student, but he was always a little in front of me. . . . We were both very shy, and he stayed away from having any sort of a deep relationship because he didn't want to give away who he was, but I know that I felt he was going to become my best friend. In this case, it didn't happen, and it was so brutal, so unacceptable, because he was taken away from me.

Sure but you actually said you didn't like it on these boards and I quote you here: " As I walked upstairs and turned off the light, a wave of cinemotion overcame me. In a brief moment, I realised: 'I don't like KLUTE.' A pause, and then another realisation: 'I think it's okay not to like KLUTE. I can't like every motion picture I see.' And I tried to shrug it off and went to bed. It is morning now. And I still don't like KLUTE." Bold added for emphasis

Have you re-watched the movie since posting this?

I'm surprised you're recommending KLUTE, TopBilled. Pauline Kael's comments aside, I recall you posted that you were not impressed with it after seeing it for the first time on TCM.

Has anyone tried to make Marie Osmond’s Easy Lemon Cheesecake w/Blueberry Topping yet? Before I attempt to make it for my next soiree, I need some reviews. speedracer, as much as I want to trust Marie Osmond, I also question her use of bottled lemon juice for a Lemon Cheesecake.

Yes, his visit to Libby was very calculated. It doesn't mean he was a bad person but his motive was to secure a a new place to live.

I think the idea was that Libby and Sarah never had New England accents since they were not from New England. Bette Davis in this movie was clearly speaking with a rhotic accent (that is, an accent where the consonant "r" sound is always pronounced). In a great many of her movies, she speaks with a non-rhotic accent hence the classic Bette Davis impression "Petuh, give me the lettuh."

Also the boss's administrative assistant hiding her face in laughter when the guy (after he's been given "early retirement") tells the boss "I certainly hope you'll die soon." Another great line of Holly Hunter's which she delivers with sincerity (making it all the more funny): "I have passed some line some place. I'm beginning to repel people I'm trying to seduce." And when Hunter is producing the Libya story. She gets a call from a staff member about problems getting one of the guests to the studio in time. The boss witnesses her screaming into the phone: "Don't try. Do it! Or I'll fry your fat a-s-s, Estelle!" After Holly Hunter hangs up the phone the boss stares at her for a moment and then remarks to a colleague, "I had no idea she was this good." And when Albert Brooks visits Hunter when she's getting ready for the dinner with Tom (William Hurt): When Brooks refers to it as a "date," she says it's not a date, only co-workers attending a professional conclave. THEN we see her take a box of of condoms out of a bag and plop it into her purse. [When I first saw this movie on pan-and-scan VHS years ago I couldn't see exactly what she was putting into the purse although I could guess ... but seeing it on widescreen HD this week and on my Blu-ray I could see the Trojan's package very clearly.]

I got the impression that the Maine house was the longtime summer home for the family of Libby and Sarah (Davis and Gish) and that they were actually "from" somewhere other than New England. I know that Libby mentioned her home in Pittsburgh. It was interesting that Bette Davis did not sound New England-y. In many of her movies she did.

Yes, that is Louis Malle's own voice at the end. While Malle admits to have changed certain details, the essence of Malle's actual experience (especially that day in January 1944 when the three Jewish boys were taken) is captured in the movie. One of the most intriguing characters for me is Joseph, the young kitchen helper at the school who's fired from his job for providing the students with black market items in exchange for their food from home and, in vengeance, alerts the Gestapo to Jewish boys at the school. François Négret is wonderfully memorable in that role. Another wonderful scene is the one in the restaurant where the older Jewish man is harassed by the French collaborationist militia, who are ultimately rebuked by the restaurant staff and other guests including Julien's older brother. Also in that scene, Julien's mother remarks that she has no problem with Jews but becomes upset when Julien suggests that one of their own relatives is Jewish. One thing I found interesting is that the English subtitles substituted "Easter bonnet" for the literal translation of ''bonnet de nuit" (nightcap), the expression that Jean Bonnet's classmates used to tease him about his name.

It's perplexing that Julia Roberts was compelled to use a "fake" Southern accent for STEEL MAGNOLIAS rather than the real one she had at the time she was making the movie. Note her accent when she's accepting her Golden Globes for STEEL MAGNOLIAS and for PRETTY WOMAN.

Interestingly enough, James L. Brooks wrote the role of Carol in AS GOOD AS IT GETS for Holly Hunter. The part was ultimately played by Helen Hunt.

Holly Hunter is a conservatory trained actor (she trained at Carnegie Mellon). She has played many roles on stage and on film in which she speaks convincingly in accents other than Southern (film examples include ONCE AROUND, WOMAN WANTED, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, COPYCAT, LIVING OUT LOUD, THE INCREDIBLES ----yes she's the voice of Elastigirl!---- and the TV movie WHEN BILLE BEAT BOBBY). What's impressive is that when she does play a character from the American South, she uses authentic Southern accents. Contrast that with Julia Roberts (who's also from Georgia) and her awful, fake-sounding Southern accents in STEEL MAGNOLIAS and CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR). Holly Hunter's work in BROADCAST NEWS is at a level so rarely seen in a mainstream American movie in a "non-showy" role: a truly amazing and seamless blend of technical and emotional acting---creative and unexpected line interpretations and behavioral choices rooted in reality matched with a visceral inner life.

TCM is giving us a whole evening of Louis Malle films. Yes!

My sister also loved THE LOST BOYS I must admit that I've never seen it.

BROADCAST NEWS is scheduled to air on TCM on Monday March 30. I'm not sure if it is a TCM premiere. As much as I love Cher and am glad she received an Oscar, Holly Hunter's work in BROADCAST NEWS is at a level so rarely seen in a mainstream American movie in a "non-showy" role: a truly amazing and seamless blend of technical and emotional acting---creative and unexpected line interpretations and behavioral choices rooted in reality matched with a visceral inner life. Holly Hunter would ultimately win an Oscar for a performance that was compared to the work of Lillian Gish: her role as the self-imposed mute in THE PIANO (a movie which I know is very polarizing but one that I like very much).