CinemaInternational

When Funny Girl was airing at the beginning of February, I had to correct myself because it wasn't nominated for costumes, which seems very strange... The films in the category that year were Romeo and Juliet (obvious winner), Lion in Winter (again expected nominee), Star! (likely for Julie Andrews' huge wardrobe, the biggest ever for a star up to that point), Oliver! (a bit strange since most were rags in that film), and Planet of the Apes (where there was very little material at all just long capes for the apes and ever shrinking amounts of clothing for the humans) It's time to haul out that costume design dance show from the 41st oscars again.

With a villian, I think it is important sometimes to see other dimensions outside of evil. I personally feel that one way that some films fall short can be by just showing villains as cardboard cutouts. They need to be made of a bit more flesh and soul. Take Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. the point why people remember her is not just that she was capable of terrible things, but also that she isn't over the top and also because, in her way, she only thinks she is doing the right thing. of course it isn't, but that's in her eyes.

It's not. Means it gets finished on the 2nd instead of the 3rd of March. On Tuesday, we're free.

i was going to list this one! Great pick.

Finished!

In related news, the film itself has been revealed to be 163 minutes long, a record for the series. There are also some rumors that the plot might somehow be connected to the film that started it all 58 years ago, Dr. No.

Kino Lorber had a clearance sale. So I picked 10 titles out of ones about to go out of print (none of which I've seen) plus one heavily discounted film that I remember loving. You Never Know Women (1926) The Holly and the Ivy (1952) Paris holiday (1958) Smashing Time (1967) Diamonds for Breakfast (1968) The pied Piper (1972) The Optimists (1973) Eleni (1985) Gross Anatomy (1989) Love at Large (1990) Angie (1994)

Changing it now..... I wasn't certain what to go for there to be perfectly honest.

over the last month, I've mostly resorted to DVDs, Amazon Prime (which has a lovely new influx of 60s and 70s UA titles), VHS tapes, and a little bit of TCM on demand. I also utilized Netflix briefly, and watched a thing or two on The Criterion Channel, plus one on HBO. Can't wait until there is more variety in a few days.

Saw 1974's The Parallax View on HBO today, and I think Paula Prentiss qualifies here. The role is brief. She plays a TV reporter who witnesses a political assassination, and 3 years later urges Warren Beatty to look into these deadly events. She packs so much urgency and desperation into just a few minutes of screentime that it feels like a driving force of the film.

Eyewitness (1981) -- 5.5/10 On paper at least, this film sounds like it should be entertaining. A thriller with William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer, James Woods, Irene Worth, Morgan Freeman, Pamela Reed, and Steven Hill from the makers of the sublime Breaking Away sounds like something that can't miss. But things do indeed go wrong. This film plays like the cinematic equivalent of a Mad Lib. You remember the game. Somebody tells you to fill in blanks and it ends up becoming a silly story. Likewise, what could have been a strong thriller is crushed by heavy and complicated plotting, not to mention the unintentionally creepy nature of the Hurt/Weaver love angle (which is supposed to be a kind of modern fairy tale placed against a thriller background). Hurt lies and says he was an eyewitness to a murder; she's a reporter that falls for him after buying the lie. On top of all this, you have Woods doing his paranoid spiel, a whole bewildering subplot about smuggling refugees into the country, a very badly-behaved (and doomed) dog, broken engagements, and stalkers. it's all too busy. It plays like an explosion at the plot factory. There is just too much for one film. That said, the film works in sections and the acting is good, especially from Weaver, Plummer, Worth, and Reed. If only if they had had something more cohesive to work with.

Hasty Heart is such a wonderful little gem. Richard Todd was up for an Oscar for it, and I think he should have won. It's a tender, heartwarming film, and the acting is wonderful. I saw The night Digger last month. It was one of those films that was swept under the rug during the MGM downsizing but it deserved better. Such an oddball but effective film, one part Night Must Fall, one part Frenzy (those rape/murder scenes were something else) and anchored by exceptional acting. When Patricia Neal had her makeover late in the film, it suddenly reminded me of how she was still only 45 when she made it, younger than some of today's top stars. It's Oscar worthy work, especially at the end where she doesn't even say a word but conveys just so much by her eyes and facial expression. One of Neal's last theatrical films was in 1999's Cookie's Fortune where her character's suicide (no Spoiler since it happens before the movie is half over) causes a whole lot of scandal and intrigue in a small Southern town and an ending that reads like poetic justice. It was one of the later Robert Altman films and is worthy of rediscovery.

If we are comparinmg small town lineups, the ones here in my town are Sonic the Hedgehog, Birds of Prey, Call of the Wild, Doolittle, The Turning, and Downhill. Nothing to get jazzed about. Though it is tempting to go to Call of the Wild or Downhill, just to see what people's reactions are to no longer seeing the Fox name on the famed logo.

Two days down so far. I'll post what I have so far and keep editing at it...... Challenge #1; George C. Scott for They Might be Giants (1971) Challenge #2: Murder by Decree: Condemned to Death Challenge #3: The Victorian Era Challenge #4: Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple Challenge 5: Starring Madeline Kahn SOTM: Joan Bennett TCM Spotlight: Hal Wallis Productions Silent Sunday: Tabu; A Story of the South Seas (1931) TCM Imports; La Femme Infidele (1969) and Violette (1978) TCM Underground: Citizen's Band (1977) and Crazy Mama (1975) the Essentials: Romeo and Juliet (1968) premieres: 1. Valiant is the Word for Carrie (1936) 2. The Pied Piper (1942) 3. The Day of the Locust (1975) 4. I Wanted Wings (1941) 5. Captain Carey USA (1950) 6. East Lynne (1931) 7. Porgy and Bess (1959) 8. The White Parade (1934) 9. Private Worlds (1935) 10. The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932) 11. Barton Fink (1991) 12. Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978) Exempt Premieres: 1. Movie Movie (1978) 2. They Might be Giants (1971) 3. Islands in the Stream (1977) 4. La Femme Infidele (1969) 5. Violette (1978) 6. At Long Last Love (1975) 7. Clue (1985) 8. Daniel (1983) 9. The Imperfect Lady (1946) 10. The Blue Lagoon (1949) 11. The Portrait of a Lady (1996) 12. Citizens Band (1977) 13. Crazy Mama (1975) 14. Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948) Sunday, November 8, 2020 Starring George C. Scott (Challenge #1) 6 AM The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) George C Scott & Dana Wynter D:John Huston U-I 98 min (p/s) 7:45 AM Movie Movie (1978) Harry Hamlin & Trish Van Devere D; Stanley Donen WB/ITC 105 min Actor-Exempt Premiere #1 9:30 AM The Flim-Flam Man (1967) Michael Sarrazin & George C. Scott D Irvin Kershner Fox 104 min p/s 11:15 AM They Might be Giants (1971) George C Scott & Joanne Woodward D Anthony Harvey Universal 91 min Actor-Exempt Premiere #2 1 PM The Bible ... In the Beginning (1966) George C Scott & Ava Gardner D John Huston Fox 174 min p/s 4 PM Oklahoma Crude (1973) George C Scott & Faye Dunaway D Stanley Kramer Columbia 112 min (p/s) 6 PM Islands in the Stream (1977) George C Scott & David Hemmings D Franklin J. Schaffner Paramount 105 min. Actor-Exempt Premiere #3 -------------------------------------- Starring Coleen Moore 8 PM Lilac Time (1928) Coleen Moore & Gary Cooper D George Fitzmaurice & Frank Lloyd First National 80 min 9:30 PM Why Be Good? (1929) Coleen Moore & Neil Hamilton D William Seiter First National 81 min 11 PM Ella Cinders (1926) Coleen Moore & LLoyd Hughes D Alfred E Green First National 75 min (p/d) ------------------------------ Silent Sunday 12:30 AM Tabu; A Story of the South Seas (1931) Matahi & Anne Chevalier D FW Murnau Paramount 84 min p/s --------------------------------------------- TCM Imports 2 AM La Femme Infidele (1969) Stephane Audran & Michel Bouquet D Claude Chabrol Allied Artists 98 min Import Exempt Premiere #1 3:45 AM Violette (1978) Isabelle Huppert & Stephane Audran D Claude Chabrol Gaumont 124 min Import Exempt Premiere #2 Monday November 9, 2020 Starring Madeline Kahn (Challenge #5) 6 AM What's Up Doc (1972) Barbra Streisand & Ryan O'Neal D Peter Bogdonovich WB 94 min p/s 7:45 AM At Long Last Love: The Directors Cut (1975) Burt Reynolds & Cybill Shepherd D Peter Bogdonovich Fox 123 min. 1942-Exempt premiere #1 10 AM Paper Moon (1973) Tatum O'Neal & Ryan O'Neal D Peter Bogdonovich Paramount 102 min p/s 11:45 AM The Cheap Detective (1978) Peter Falk & Louise Fletcher D Robert Moore Columbia/EMI 92 min p/s 1:30 PM Clue (1985) Tim Curry & Lesley Ann Warren D Jonathan Lynn Paramount 96 min 1942 Exempt premiere #2 3:15 PM Young Frankenstein (1974) Gene Wilder & Marty Feldman D Mel Brooks Fox 105 min p/s ------------------------------- Bette Davis Double Feature 5 PM Beyond the Forest (1949) Bette Davis & Joseph Cotten D King Vidor WB 89 min p/s 6:30 PM Dangerous (1935) Bette Davis & Franchot Tone D Alfred E Green WB 79 min ----------------------------------- Murder by Decree: Condemned to Death (Challenge #2) 8 PM Dead Man Walking (1995) Susan Sarandon & Sean Penn D Tim Robbins PolyGram/Working Title 122 min p/s 10:15 PM A Man for All Seasons (1966) Paul Scofield & Wendy Hiller D Fred Zinneman Columbia 120 min p/s 12:30 AM Dishonored (1931) Marlene Dietrich & Victor McLaghlan D Josef Von Sternberg Paramount 91 min p/s 2:15 AM Mata Hari (1931) Greta Garbo & Ramon Navarro D George Fitzmaurice MGM 89 min 3:45 AM Daniel (1983) Timothy Hutton & Mandy Patinkin D Sidney Lumet Paramount 130 min Title-Exempt premiere Tuesday November 10, 2020 Oscar Nominated Films Never Shown During 31 Days of Oscar 6 AM Valiant is the Word for Carrie (1936) Gladys Geoge and Arline Judge D; Wesley Ruggles Paramount 110 min Premiere #1 8 AM The Pied Piper (1942) Monty Wooley & Roddy McDowell D Irving Pichel Fox 87 min Premiere #2 9:30 AM The Day of the Locust (1975) William Atherson & Karen Black D John Schlesinger Paramount 144 min premiere #3 12 PM I Wanted Wings (1941) Ray Milland & William Holden D Mitchell Leisen Paramount 135 min Premiere #4 2:15 PM Captain Carey USA (1950) Alan Ladd & Wanda Hendrix D Mitchell Leisen paramount 82 min Premiere #5 3:45 PM East Lynne (1931) Ann Harding & Clive Brook D Frank Lloyd Fox 102 min Premiere #6 5:30 PM Porgy and Bess (1959) Sidney Poitier & Dorothy Dandridge D Otto Preminger Columbia/Goldwyn 138 min Premiere #7 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Victorian Era (Challenge #3) 8 PM The Imperfect Lady (1946) Ray Milland & Teresa Wright D Lewis Allen Paramount 97 min. Theme-Exempt Premiere #1 9:45 PM The Blue Lagoon (1949) Jean Simmons & Donald Huston D Frank Launder Rank 90 min Theme-Exempt Premiere #2 11:30 PM The Wrong Box (1966) John Mills & Ralph Richardson D Bryan Forbes Columbia 107 min p/s 1:30 AM The Go-Between (1971) Julie Christie & Alan Bates D Joseph Losey Columbia 116 min p/s 3:30 AM The Portrait of a Lady (1996) Nicole Kidman & Barbara Hershey D Jane Campion PolyGram 144 min Theme-Exempt Premiere #3 Wednesday November 11, 2020 Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple (Challenge #4) 6 AM Murder She Said (1961) Margaret Rutherford & Stringer Davis D George Poll0ck MGM 87 min 7:30 AM Murder at the Gallop (1963) Margaret Rutherford & Stringer Davis D George Poll0ck MGM 81 min 9 AM Murder Ahoy! (1964) Margaret Rutherford & Stringer Davis D George Poll0ck MGM 93 min 10:45 AM Murder Most Foul (1964) Margaret Rutherford & Stringer Davis D George Poll0ck MGM 90 min ------------------------------------------------------ Nurses 12:15 PM The White Parade (1934) Loretta Young & John Boles D Irving Cummings Fox 80 min Premiere #8 1:45 PM So Proudly We Hail (1943) Claudette Colbert & Paulette Goddard D Mark Sandrich Paramount 128 min p/s 4 PM Green for Danger (1946) Alastair Sim & Sally Gray D Sidney Gilliat Rank 91 min p/s 5:45 PM One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Jack Nicholson & Louise Fletcher D; Milos Forman UA 133 min p/s ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Star of the Month: Joan Bennett 8 PM Me and My Gal (1932) Spencer Tracy & Joan Bennett D Raoul Walsh Fox 79 min. p/s 9:30 PM The Reckless Moment (1949) Joan Bennett & James Mason D Max Ophuls Columbia 82 min p/s 11 PM Private Worlds (1935) Claudette Colbert & Charles Boyer D Gregory La Cava Paramount 84 min Premiere #9 12:30 AM The Woman on the Beach (1947) Joan Bennett & Robert Ryan D Jean Renoir RKO 71 min 1:45 AM The Woman in the Window (1944) Edward G Robinson & Joan Bennett D Fritz Lang RKO 99 min (p/s) 3:30 AM The Macomber Affair (1947) Gregory Peck & Joan Bennett D Zoltan Korda UA 90 min (p/s) 5 AM The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932) Joan Bennett & Donald Cook D William K Howard Fox 56 min Premiere #10 Thursday November 12, 2020 Grand Prize Winners from the Cannes Film Festival 6 AM The Conversation (1974) Gene Hackman & John Cazale D Francis Ford Coppola Paramount 113 min p/s 8 AM The Hireling (1973) Sarah Miles & Robert Shaw D Alan Bridges Columbia 95 min p/s 9:45 AM The Cranes Are Flying (1958) Tatiana Samoilova & Aleksey Batalov D Mikhail Kalatozov WB 97 min p/s 11:30 AM The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) Catherine Deneuve & Nino Castelnuovo D Jacques Demy Janus 91 min p/s 1:15 PM Barton Fink (1991) John Turturro & John Goodman D Joel (& Ethan) Coen Fox/Working Title 117 min Premiere #11 3:15 PM Missing (1982) Jack Lemmon & Sissy Spacek D; Costa-Gravas Universal/Polygram 122 min p/s 5:30 PM Friendly Persuasion (1956) Gary Cooper & Dorothy McGuire D William Wyler Allied Artists 137 min p/s ------------------------------------------------- Ask Me No Questions and I'll Tell You No Lies...... 8 PM Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978) Jacqueline Bisset & Robert Morley D Ted Kotcheff WB/Lorimar 116 min Premiere #12 10 PM What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969) Geraldine Page & Ruth Gordon D lee H Katzin ABC/Cinerama Releasing 101 min p/s 11:45 PM What Price Hollywood? (1932) Constance Bennett & Lowell Sherman D George Cukor RKO Pathe 88 min 1:15 AM Who's Minding the Mint? (1967) Jim Hutton & Dorothy Provine D Howard Morris Columbia 97 min p/s 3 AM Why Would I Lie? (1980) Treat Williams & Lisa Eichhorn D Larry Peerce MGM 105 min 4:45 AM Why Worry? (1923) Harold Lloyd & Jobena Ralston D Fred Newmeyer & Sam Taylor Hal Roach 63 min. p/s Friday November 13, 2020 Paramount Throwbacks -- Titles that have not been seen in Years 6 AM The Pleasure of His Company (1961) Fred Astaire & Debbie Reynolds D George Seaton Paramount 115 min p/s 8 AM Lucy Gallant (1955) Jane Wyman & Charlton Heston D Robert Parrish Paramount 104 min p/s 9:45 AM Fast and Loose (1930) Carole Lombard & Miriam Hopkins D Fred Newmeyer Paramount 70 min p/s 11 AM The Wild Party (1929) Clara Bow & Fredric March D Dorothy Arzner Paramount 77 min p/s 12:30 PM Tillie and Gus (1933) WC Fields & Alison Skipworth D Francis Martin Paramount 58 min p/s 1:30 PM International House (1933) WC Fields & Rudy Vallee D Edward Sutherland Paramount 68 min p/s 2:45 PM Falling in Love (1984) Meryl Streep & Robert De Niro D; Ulu Grosbard paramount 106 min p/s 4:45 PM Golden Earrings (1947) Marlene Dietrich & Ray Milland D Mitchell Leisen Paramount 95 min p/s 6:30 PM The Great Gatsby (1926) Warner Baxter & Lois Wilson D Herbert Brenon Paramount 80 min p/s -------------------------------------------------------------- TCM Spotlight: Hal Wallis Productions 8 PM I Walk Alone (1947) Kirk Douglas & Lizabeth Scott D Byron Haskin Paramount 97 min p/s 9:45 PM The File on Thelma Jordon (1950) Barbara Stanwyck & Wendell Corey D Robert Siodmak Paramount 100 min p/s 11:30 PM The Accused (1949) Loretta Young & Robert Cummings D William Dieterle Paramount 101 min p/s 1:15 AM So Evil My Love (1948) Ray Milland & Ann Todd D Lewis Allen Paramount 112 min p/s ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TCM Underground 3:15 AM Citizens Band (1977) Paul Le Mat & Candy Clark D; Jonathan Demme Paramount 98 min Underground-Exempt Premiere #1 5 AM Crazy Mama (1975) Cloris Leachman & Ann Sothern D Jonathan Demme New World 83 min Underground-Exempt Premiere #2 Saturday, November 14, 2020 Trouble in the Midwest and the Plains 6:30 AM The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960) Robert Preston & Dorothy McGuire D Delbert Mann WB 124 min p/s 8:45 AM The Gypsy Moths (1969) Burt Lancaster & Scott Wilson D John Frankenheimer MGM 107 min 10:45 AM All Fall Down (1962) Brandon De Wilde & Angela Lansbury D John Frankenheimer MGM 111 min 12:45 PM Walk Softly Stranger (1950) Joseph Cotton & Alida Valli D Robert Stevenson RKO 81 min 2:15 PM Some Came Running (1958) Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin D Vincente Minnelli MGM 137 min 4:45 PM That Hagen Girl (1947) Shirley Templ,e & Ronald Reagan D Peter Godfrey WB 83 min 6:15 PM Fury (1936) Spencer Tracy & Sylvia Sidney D; Fritz Lang MGM 92 min ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Essentials: Brush Up Your Shakespeare 8 PM Romeo and Juliet (1968) Olivia Hussey & Leonard Whiting D Franco Zefferelli Paramount 138 min p/s 10:30 PM The Taming of the Shrew (1967) Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton D Franco Zefferelli Columbia 122 min p/s ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Noir Alley 12:45 AM Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948) Edward G Robinson & Gail Russell D Compton Bennett Paramount 81 min Noir-Exempt Premiere 2:15 AM Odd Man Out (1947) James Mason & Robert Newton D; Carol Reed Rank 116 min p/s 4:15 AM Detective Story (1951) Kirk Douglas & William bendix D William Wyler Paramount 103 min. p/s

Is is saddening to see a film about Jean Seburg get so many bad reviews...... It's polling below 40% on Rotten Tomatoes....

What happened involved this. Paradine Case had been started the night before. Laundromat and Caretakers were only on the computer at the library since I don't have internet access at home anymore, so I had started them both the other day and finished them up today. I'll Take Sweden was a download on the Kindle that I had started yesterday as well; the download was by accomplished by using wi-fi at the library. The others were all watched today. I try to make the most out of time, and sometimes I get interrupted in watching things, so I make the best out of everything.

I need to get started, but I'll get one in.....

That's the most repetition I have heard of since Nanette Newman's big scene in The Stepford Wives. I'll just die if I don't get this recipe.....

No Bob Hope film is completely hopeless, and putting the always wonderful Tuesday Weld in it is icing on the cake.

By the end of the day, I will have seen 10 films for the first time (thanks to finishing up some I started in the last few days). It feels GREAT! The films were The Manxman (1929) Sun Valley Serenade (1941) The Paradine Case (1947) The Golden Blade (1953) The Indian Fighter (1955) The Last Sunset (1961) The Caretakers (1963) I'll Take Sweden (1965) After the Fox (1966) The Laundromat (2019)

BTW, if we were just going from the pool of nominees for each of these years from 1980 onward [like the article], what would we have all picked? Speaking personally (ones in bold match up for my actual pick for best film of its year): 1980s: Ordinary People, Chariots of Fire, ET, Tender Mercies, Amadeus, Out of Africa, Children of a Lesser God, Hope and Glory, The Accidental Tourist, My Left Foot 1990s: The Godfather Part III, Beauty and the Beast, Unforgiven, The Piano, Quiz Show, Sense and Sensibility, Secrets and Lies, Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, The Sixth Sense 2000s: Erin Brockovich, Gosford Park, Chicago, Mystic River, Ray, Capote, The Queen, Atonement, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Precious 2010s: True Grit, Hugo, Les Miserables, Nebraska, the Grand Budapest Hotel, Brooklyn, La La Land, Phantom Thread, Roma, Little Women And then the actual picks for the years not in bold: 1980s: The Last Metro, Pennies from Heaven, Testament, Paris Texas, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Blue Velvet, The Dead, Running on Empty, Shirley Valentine 1990s: Cyrano De Bergerac, Chaplin, The Joy Luck Club, Dead Man Walking, Mother, Rushmore, The Straight story 2000s: In the Mood for love, Last Orders, House of Sand and Fog, Rory O'Shea was Here, Junebug, United 93, Broken Embraces? (nothing really stands out as a top pick this year) 2010s: Never Let Me Go, Young Adult, About Time, 20th Century Women, Stan and Ollie

But fortunately for Gigi, Gaston loved her enough that she did not have to end up spending a day as such.

March Blu-Rays

I've seen things since then, but I rewatched part of Gigi last night out of curiosity. It gets a bit talky and slow at times, but its still elegant and crisp, with charming music. That is why I find it all the more ponderous that on many places on the internet, it feels like the most hated film ever made.

Silence of the Lambs was just on the other night, and Diane Baker really does a good job as the mother of Buffalo Bill's latest kidnapping victim despite only having about 3 to 4 minutes of screentime.