LawrenceA

Baal (1970) - 3/10 German drama based on the play by Bertolt Brecht, adapted for the screen and directed by Volker Schlondorff. Baal (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) is regarded as a genius poet, but his rough manner makes him an outcast from high society. Instead, he spends his time with blue-collar workers and people of low character, drinking and carousing. With Margarethe von Trotta, Hanna Schygulla, Marian Seidowsky, Sigi Graue, Gunther Neutze, Christine Schuberth, Harry Baer, Rudolf Waldemar Brem, and Irm Hermann. Brecht's widow hated this adaptation of her husband's work so much that she had it pulled from circulation for 40 years. I have to agree with her. It's ugly, pretentious, and dull. Source: The Criterion Channel

I'm pretty sure it was scientifically established that the Greatest Movie of All Time is The Disorderly Orderly (1964). If you disagree, then you don't understand science.

I'm not sure how good the one on YouTube looks. I checked one on there and it looked rather fuzzy and washed out. The copy I watched on "the internet" was a very sharp, widescreen print ripped from the European Blu ray. I noticed the dubbing on Rennie, as well. He would die of emphysema the next year, so his real voice may have been too weak to use, or he may have been too ill to do the post-production dubbing. Or he may have just cashed his check and gotten out of there as quick as he could!

For people who don't want to click on Tweets, it won't be available on the Amazon FireTV devices. That's not too surprising, as Amazon and Disney have been antagonistic toward each other for several years.

Assignment Terror (1970) - 3/10 or 8/10 Spanish science fiction horror with Michael Rennie, in his final role, as Dr. Odo Warnoff, an alien bent on domination of the Earth. Towards that end, he decides to assemble and revive the "great monsters of the world", including a blue-skinned vampire (Manuel de Blas), a mummy (Gene Reyes), and even Frankenstein's monster (Ferdinando Murolo), here renamed Farancksalan for some reason. Dr. Warnoff makes a mistake, though, by choosing as his wolfman the seemingly-dead Count Waldemer Daninsky (Paul Naschy), who resist the alien's plot. With Karin Dor as Rennie's chief assistant, Craig Hill as a local cop on the case, Patty Shepard, Angel del Pozo, Diana Sorel, Paul Cross, and Peter Damon. This incredible movie should be better known. Its crazy plot is only matched by the B-movie production design, which mixes old castle sets with mad scientist's labs, and "happening" discotheques. While the movie is part of the Paul Naschy/Count Daninsky werewolf series, he's just one facet of this multi-layered cake of madness. There are several subplots, including Dor being menaced/seduced by the vampire, policeman Hill romancing witness Shepard, and more! The production ran out of money, and had to cut out a fifth monster, the Golem, although a scene hinting at its inclusion remains in the movie. The shoddy production resulted in multiple directors, including Tullo Demicheli, Hugo Fregonese, Eberhard Meichsner, and Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi. There was also later confusion due to the movie's multiple titles. The original Spanish title was Los monstruos del terror, while in the UK it was called Assignment Terror. For its brief American run, it was called Dracula vs Frankenstein, which caused confusion with Al Adamson's 1971 Dracula vs. Frankenstein with Lon Chaney Jr. and J. Carrol Naish. Whatever it's called, it's a bad movie gem that should be sought by fans of such. Sample dialogue: Paul Naschy, as Count Daninsky - "Why are you helping me?" Diana Sorel, as one of Rennie's lab assistants - "I don't know. I guess because...I'm a woman." Source: internet

"I collect spores, molds, and fungus."

Or the other threads on the first page.

Oh, was it?

My Night at Maud's (1969) - 6/10 French drama from writer-director Eric Rohmer. Stuffy Catholic Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant) follows a friend to the home of outgoing divorcee Maud (Francoise Fabian), where he ends up spending the night, with much discussion possibly leading to more intimacy. With Marie-Christine Barrault, Antoine Vitez, and Marie Becker. This is the most technically accomplished Rohmer film that I've seen, even if he went back to B&W cinematography after the color La Collectionneuse. It's also the best acted, with good, subtle work by Trintignant and Fabian. However, the movie is also the gabfest that I'd been warned about, but as I'd been prepared for such, I powered through my boredom to the end. As the poster promises, it is "so French". Source: The Criterion Channel

I had to read that sentence a few times. Using transcription? I figured out you meant "Bessie the maid" in Laura. That's Dorothy Adams. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0010928/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t7

Judging the Craig-era titles, Casino Royale of course goes back to the origins of the character, Skyfall has a cool, mysterious ring to it, and Spectre name checks the series' greatest villain group. However, Quantum of Solace is pretty darn clunky, even if it has its origin with Fleming. No Time to Die is a little too generic, like one of the Bond knock-off books.

No.

Moon Zero Two (1969) - 3/10 Science fiction action from Hammer Films. In the far-flung future of 2021, space salvage ship operator James Olson is contracted by lunar crime boss Warren Mitchell with illegally mining an asteroid composed mainly of sapphires. Olson is also asked by desperate Catherine Schell to help find her missing brother. Adrienne Corri, Ori Levy, Dudley Foster, Bernard Breeslaw, Sam Kydd, Michael Ripper, and Carol Cleveland. Hammer's only future-set SF film is also one of their worst, with terrible music, cheap sets, and a bad script. Source: internet

Several there that I want to see: Le Doulos, Le Cercle Rouge, Leon Morin, Priest, Upstream Color, War Requiem, and Honkytonk Freeway.

Me, Natalie (1969) - 6/10 Comedy-drama with Patty Duke as a young, Brooklyn-bred woman who has struggled with being unattractive her whole life. All of her efforts to find romance fail miserably, until she strikes out on her own, getting her own apartment, a job, and meeting a nice young man (James Farentino). What could go wrong? With Nancy Marchand, Elsa Lanchester, Martin Balsam, Salome Gens, Philip Sterling, Catherine Burns, Bob Balaban, Susan Lucci, and Al Pacino in his film debut. This is a showcase for Duke, who earned a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. She wears goofy fake teeth to try and make her more of an ugly duckling. It's not a bad film, just a bit mild for my tastes. The location cinematography will appeal to those with memories of circa-1969 Brooklyn. I watched it for Al Pacino's very brief debut as a blunt-talking guy at a school dance. Source: YouTube After this date went poorly, one of the two went lookin' for Joe Buck...

I would be willing to bet a substantial amount of money that a great majority of people could not identify Barbara Stanwyck when shown a picture of her. A larger number might say they recognize the name, but wouldn't be able to name a movie she was in. It's highly likely that a majority of people under 25 could not identify John Wayne by picture, either.

Katzelmacher (1969) - 5/10 German drama from writer-director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. A group of 20-something-year-old friends lead aimless, empty lives. A Greek immigrant (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) moves into the area, and causes a stir. With Hanna Schygulla, Rudolf Waldemar Brem, Elga Sorbas, Doris Mattes, Irm Hermann, Peter Moland, Hans Hirschmuller, Harry Baer, Hannes Gromball, and Katrin Schaake. Now this was the kind of thing I was expecting from Fassbinder - slow, talky without really saying anything, and with a single thematic point stretched out for 90 minutes. The very low-grade B&W cinematography consists of static shots, the characters filmed straight on, usually sitting in a row, offering little bits of chit-chat, drinking beer, and smoking a lot. Sometimes two of them will split off and have sex and/or argue, with neither outcome presented in any sensational or even interesting manner. ZZZZzzzzzz. Source: The Criterion Channel

My choices for Top Ten Fantasy films: Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Conan the Barbarian (1981) Big Trouble in Little China (1986) Time Bandits (1981) Excalibur (1981) The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) Legend (1985) Jason and the Argonauts (1963) Beauty and the Beast (1946) The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Love Is Colder Than Death (1969) - 7/10 My first Rainer Werner Fassbinder movie is also Rainer Werner Fassbinder's first Rainer Werner Fassbinder movie. In this German tale, small-time pimp Franz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) hangs out with his main prostitute Johanna (Hanna Schygulla) and low-level gangster Bruno (Ulli Lommel). The trio lounge about in a tiny apartment, go shoplifting in a department store, visit a black market gun dealer, and even head to a supermarket. They occasionally kill people, too. With Katrin Schaake, Liz Sollner, Gisela Otto, Hans Hirschmuller, Peter Berling, and Kurt Raab. This is very low-budget, at times looking like a home movie, with simple sets, amateurish lighting, and cheap effects (the gunshots sound like paper caps). It's humorous, but I'm not sure how much of it was intentional. The acting consists mainly of posturing. And yet I was still entertained by it all. The supermarket scene is a stand-out, with Schygulla and Lommel pushing a shopping cart around a very large store while strange, loud music plays on the soundtrack. This definitely isn't for everybody, but I liked it. Source: The Criterion Channel

Double Suicide (1969) - 7/10 Japanese arthouse drama based on the 18th century play by Chikamatsu. Married paper merchant Jihei (Kichiemon Nakamura) falls in love with indentured prostitute Koharu (Sima Iwashita), and promises to raise the money necessary to secure her freedom. However, when their plans look unlikely to succeed, they swear to commit suicide together to be united in eternity. Sima Iwashita also plays Jihei's long-suffering wife Osan. Director Masahiro Shinoda opts for a highly stylized production. The film open with a bunraku, or puppet show, troupe preparing for a performance of the play while Shinoda is heard discussing the film's script with screenwriter Toru Takemitsu. When the story finally gets underway, the performances range from realism to kabuki expressionism, while the sets are also a blend of the real-world with the deliberately artificial. The most striking aspect is the presence of stagehands, dressed in black from head to toe as is the traditional way in stage performances, lurking about the sets. Their otherworldly appearance and silent presence turn them into a sort of grim reaper hovering over the characters, signaling their inevitable fate. Source: The Criterion Channel

I didn't like Funny Face, either. When I voiced as much in the "I Just Watched" thread, I received multiple death threats. Not really. But it kind of felt that way. I think of that whenever people say that they enjoy seeing dissenting opinions on here. My dissenting opinion was certainly not enjoyed that day.

The Commuter (2018) - 6/10 Action/mystery with Liam Neeson as a fired insurance salesman and former cop in dire financial straits who is approached by a mystery woman (Vera Farmiga) on his commuter train with an offer he can't refuse: identify a person on the train who doesn't "belong", and receive $100,000. Of course there are complications. With Patrick Wilson, Sam Neill, Florence Pugh, Jonathan Banks, and Elizabeth McGovern. Standard thriller tropes, with Neeson as the world's toughest 65-year-old. The bad guys' scheme seems a bit sloppy, and doesn't stand up under scrutiny, but what else is new? I wanted a dumb action flick after a day of pretentious arthouse foreign flicks, and that's what I got. And no animal cruelty. Source: Amazon Prime video

I bet they didn't even talk about Song of the South, either. What's the world coming to?