GregoryPeckfan
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Posts posted by GregoryPeckfan
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If you don't like David Hemmings you could always watch some of those myriad more-modern movies with Denzel Washington or Al Pacino where they do a lot of •righteous• screaming and yelling and agonizing and the critics will say they delivered "a powerful performance".
In that pile of garbage THE SIEGE (from '98?) I wanted Bruce Willis' dopey military minions to blow a big hole through Righteous Denzel at the end. But, no, they 'stood down' like the chicken pluckers they were and didn't blast him to the other side of Hell. So much for a happy ending . . .
Personally, I'll stick with David Hemmings and Co. in movies like THE SQUEEZE (1977) and JUGGERNAUT (1974) instead of Al P. in CITY HALL or ANY GIVEN SUNDAY.
I just can't figure why you'd need to "get" David H. He's not so mysterious and eccentric that he needs special attention to be paid to his performances in films.
The title of the thread is satirical. It is a reference to a conversation that MissWonderly and I had in the Sister Rose and Revisionist thread where I talked about thinking this was a murder mystery the first time I saw it and her telling me and did not "get" this movie. Blow Up is on the schedule as part of The Legion of Decency.
I did not expect this thread to be so popular.
It seems I have underestimated my power to come up with thread titles people read.
As far as movies made in my lifetime, since you do not know:
I don't watch many mainstream Hollywood movies, period, that have been made since I was born in 1976.
I don't like gory movies.
I watch movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
In particular, I do not watch movies made about the Mafia since the code era ended. The code era had a need of Crime Does Not Pay which I prefer.
I have deleted the post that explains why I feel this way. I won't talk about it again.
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limey, as if I don`t know photography terms.
MissWonderly:
Yes, I need to accept that I don`t like David Hemmings movies.
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I`m not that familiar with Anita Page. In looking at her list of movies many of them I don`t think of her character right away, but her role in While the City Sleeps stands out in my mind.
Of course, While the City Sleeps is one of my favourite movies of all time.
If someone wants to know what John Drew Barrymore could do as an actor during his short life, check out While the City Sleeps.
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But it as directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, an Italian filmmaker who'd already made a number of incomprehensible Italian movies before doing the English language Blow Up. If you knew this - and you've said that you were familiar with foreign language films and their often cryptic quality - why would you expect a straightforward mystery movie. Did you somehow have it mixed up with the Miss Marple films?
So far, this is the only movie by that director I have seen. I am more familiar with Fellini as far as Italian films are concerned.
I know Sweedish movies more than any other European country.
As for Miss Marple movies, funny you should mention this.
There is an actor in Blow Up who appeared in a lot of Miss Marple mysteries opposite Joan Hickson as her nephew. I think his appearance in this movie plus the photographed murder are what led me astray.
I`ll have to watch it again when it airs as part of the festival to see what I can make of it.
The actor in question is John Castle.
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I have seen Mister Buddwing and I love this movie. It is a fascinating film noir about a man who ends up with amnesia following a violent traumatic event.
We don`t know what this event is until the end of the movie.
In this way it is similar to a Gregory Peck movie which is rarely seen:
Mirage
The relationship of the main character to the cause of the violence in these two films I won`t say.
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Thanks Film Lover.
You have captured exactly why I *wanted* Blow Up to be a murder mystery. He captured a murder on film. I thought it was an excellent idea for a mystery.
Thanks for your thoughts on the film.
It also explains why - if it had been a foreign language film with subtitles - I would not have been surprised with the ending even if I was disappointed. I expect foreign language movies to be open ended.
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My favorite Sinatra roles:
On the Town
From Here to Eternity
The Man With the Golden Arm
The Tender Trap
The Joker is Wild
Ocean's 11
Robin and the 7 Hoods
A Hole in the Head
I didn't care for The Pride and the Passion either, I thought it was boring.
I really enjoyed seeing some of his concert appearances that aired on TCM--I especially enjoyed the one with Gene Kelly.
I actually have the 4-disc "Ultimate Sinatra" Centennial collection in 4/6 CD slots in my car. They cover his recording career from roughly 1939 to 1979. I have the discs loaded in chronological order, it's interesting to hear how his voice progressed during this span.
Thanks for your list.
I have dozens of Sinatra cds and could fill my stereo with them. I try not to keep any Sinatra cd in my stereo more than a month so that I actually listen to all of them.
I try to keep 5 different styles of music in my stereo at all times regardless of the artist so that I can listen to whatever fits my mood.
The Sinatra cd I have in my stereo now is The Rat Pack: At the Sands.
I loved seeing those television specials in December. Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra showing what they could still do was fun. I had seen that special before, but not recently.
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You know, I am happy that I created this thread because I can see just how easily I could derail threads by this topic. It was created this afternoon and it has been seen by a lot of people.
I still have not heard from anyone about what Blow Up means. There are plenty of movies I did not understand when I was young but understood after becoming an adult. This is not one of them.
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Many thanks to film lover who pointed out to me that I was on autopilot when I wrote about what Sinatra film I could not finish. I meant The Pride and The Passion. I must have been thinking of Lawrence Olivier movies because I have been watching a lot of his movies lately.
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It's not that kind of movie. Blow Up is so not a "mystery story" per sec. Who the murderer was, or if there in fact even was a murder, is irrelevant. I think maybe you didn't "get" the film.
By the way, I hope you noticed the steamy semi-porn scene near the film's beginning, the one with David Hemmings' character having a bit of naughty fun with the two young fans who visit his apartment. So lusty.
I have now started a thread to talk about my inability to understand David Hemmings movies and in particular Blow Up and Eye of the Devil.
So far, no one has explained the film to me. I believe there is meant to be an existential aspect to the film, and I usually understand European films that look at this type of thing. Maybe I did not get the movie because it was not a sub-titled movie in another language?
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No. I had eaten ravioli the night before. I didn't think of that though, that'd be a good pairing for the next time around.
I ended up pairing my cream of chicken and wild rice soup with Meet Me in St. Louis. I have a ton more, so I may be pairing it with another film tonight.
I just love that scene in Designing Woman. It could only be filmed once.
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Tina Louise played Ginger.
Anita Louise was a film actress mainly in the 1930s and 1940s. She appears in The Sisters and Green Light with Errol Flynn.
Ah, I had the names mixed up. I quite enjoy Anita Louise.
Thank-you.
As for Tina Louise, I saw her in The Trap - I own it as I am a fan of Richard Widmark - quite a dark film for her.
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I did a thread once about that. Among my list of actors whose careers I am at a loss to account for include George Raft, Horst Buchholz, and Anita Louise.
I agree about George Raft and Horst Buchholtz. Anita Louise is forever Ginger.
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One thing reading all of your lists today has shown me is that I need to rewatch Alice Adams. I watched it once, probably 20+ years ago. It was okay, but it didn't make a huge impression on me. And I'm a K. Hepburn fan. But I didn't even list her in my nominees for this year.
I saw Alice Adams recently as part of the Star of the Month look at Fred McMurray. It was an early film of his and Hepburn gave him a lot of help and advice.
If I had not seen it so recently, I would likely not be able to include it this week. I have seen a lot more movies once and that is it than recently seen.
I see that Peter Lorre is getting a lot of love and that makes me happy.
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I have not heard of Only When I Larf, Top Billed.
I'm a fan of Richard Attenborough, so I am surprised I have not heard of it. There are films of his I have not seen, but having not seen a movie and not being aware of it are two different things.
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You should mention it, if no one else has. Maybe it's the film that will change others' minds about him.
I agree.
Don't be afraid to say what your favourite Hemmings film is.
If it is Blow Up or Eye of the Devil, that is okay.
I was willing to admit when Misswonderly told me that I don't "get" Blow Up.
I have admitted to fans of the Marx Brothers that I am not a Marx Brothers fan.
I have admitted that I am not a Meryl Streep fan.
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We all have to thank producer "Woody" Van Dyke for creating the team of William Powell and Myrna Loy. Van Dyke was producing MANHATTAN MELODRAMA when he noticed how well Powell and Loy were getting along off camera. They were just casually conversing and joking around, Van Dyke was inspired to cast them for his next assigned project, THE THIN MAN. At first MGM execs didn't think much of the idea, Powell was too old (42) and Loy was not thought of as light hearted comedic material. But Van Dyke persisted and got his way with the casting. Besides, THE THIN MAN was a low budget project, the two actors were under contract anyway, so what was there to lose? Van Dyke was well respected by the studio for being efficient, getting the job in on time and within budget. And his willingness to let the actors improvise during filming allowed the natural rapport between Powell and Loy to come through. The film was a surprise big hit and the further teaming of the two actors was insured . Powell and Loy became life long good friends as well. P.S William Powell is my favorite actor.
I love William Powell in everything he does too and want to see everything he did. I did not like one film he made though. I never did like Life With Father. It irritates me.
It is amazing how some films that are meant to be throw away or quick movies end up being great hits and start a whole new career or screen partnership.
It is sad what happened to Van Dyke. I understand his war experiences had a lot to do with that.
I know that Powell was also firmly known as Philo Vance at the time and that had something to do with the fact he was not wanted at first as Nick Charles.
I kind of figured that your favourite actor was among the cast of Mister Roberts. It was a wonderful last movie for any actor to make. Actors should be all so lucky as to have such a wonderful film to be their swan song.
I am glad he was able to live such a long life after he retired.
And I am thrilled that he was convinced to go back to work after Harlow died by a fan of his. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story:
He was in Europe when he overheard someone talking in the native language - I think it was Italy, but I can't remember - who was a child talking excitedly who mentioned "William Powell."
He asked someone to translate to him what the child had said.
The child was talking about how exited he was to be going to see THE LATEST WILLIAM POWELL MOVIE.
This convinced Powell to start making movies again.
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Maybe you just haven't seen the "right" Hemmings films. I love him. I think he's fantastic. I am going to do a tribute to him on his birthday in the thread about TCM and other sources.
What I love about his acting is that he finds the emotional center of his characters while playing them detached. His approach is disposable and yet accessible.
That is exactly the point of this thread. I have not seen the right David Hemmings movies. I want people to explain to me how to properly appreciate David Hemmings.
Also, I wanted to create this thread as a way to talk about my inability to enjoy Blow Up and Eye of the Devil in one thread, so that I am not constantly repeating myself in other threads whenever these films are mentioned, because these threads are about a variety of topics.
Camelot was already a long musical as all Broadway musicals are that are brought to the big screen. In general, I love all musicals. But this film put me to sleep with its length.
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Nope.
Wow! I would not have recognized him.
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Lorna:
No I have not seen Juggernaut.
Regarding Eye of the Devil:
I have problems with this movie which have only to do with Sharon Tate. I am 40, so she was already murdered when I saw the movie for the first time. I am not a fan of horror movies made outside the early days of Universal anyway, so I might have hated this movie anyway. I did see The Omen because of Gregory Peck, and similar later horror movies because of the cast.
Sometimes, if I have seen a movie starring someone who dies by violence after I have seen the movie for the first time I am able to watch it after they die because I already have a relationship with the movie.
I have no idea what my view of this movie would have been if I saw it before she died.
I have been unable to enjoy anything Sharon Tate did because of her death.
Maybe after C.M. dies I will be able to enjoy her other movies. Maybe not.
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I did not know about the television directing either.
I tend to accept Oliver Reed in roles with no empathy more probably because I know something about his real life such as the interview he made on the Dick Cavett Show with Shelly Winters on it where they argued about women's rights and women's place in a relationship with men that ended in Winters pouring alcohol on his head.
I don't know anything at all about Hemmings and his personal life. He does not look as foreboding as Reed. Reed looks scary to me. He was perfectly cast as Bill Sykes in Oliver!
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In a follow-up to an earlier post I made today, the films I have mentioned seeing that are suggestive I watched because they were famous titles and I wanted to see why they are so famous.
But I really prefer movies that do not show so much and leave things up to our imagination.
There are perfect scenes in a movie called Sunday in New York that explains how I feel about movies and the fact that I was asked out on a first "date" with someone who obviously thought I was easy and chosen a soft porn movie for us to watch. I thought it was going to be a romantic comedy because of the cast.
Jane Fonda and Rad Taylor are in her brother's apartment where she is trying to seduce Taylor when she makes the comment that goes something like this "This is usually WHERE MOVIES FADE TO BLACK."
I prefer movies which fade into black. Really.
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Ah, the seven deadly sins.
That I another subject altogether.
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I have not seen Deep Red. I will check it out as I like thrillers
I really wish I enjoyed Blow-Up. It is such a famous film. But as I have stated before, there are plenty of famous films that I do not like.
I Just Watched...
in General Discussions
Posted
I remember that scene. I'm a big fan of Martin Sheen, and the films that normally I would not watch in the first place for their violence would make up a 24 hour marathon of Martin Sheen.