johnnyweekes70

I don't like cutting into flesh either but I do kind of enjoy The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. Pretty gross, to be sure, but far worse thamore interesting than many slasher films, though many that's the snob in me.

Richard Burton contributed one last memorable feature film performance in 1984, though I wouldn't classify the film as a superior moviemaking, his performance, I think, was spellbinding. In Edward Scissorhands, Vincent Price gave us one last example of his extraordinary talent, as did Paul Muni in The Last Angry Man, and Bogart showed Rod Steiger how to really act in The Harder They Fall. But my favourite memorable final performance was provided by George Sanders in Psychomania. In a ridiculous film, Sanders looks like he'd left in the bottom of the freezer for a year, thawed overnight and microwaved for an hour-and-a-half before appearing in his first scene. No wonder he decided to split soon after. .

The Wicker Man is an absolutely brilliant film. I hope they air original full-length cut and not the edited American version. Viewers should be treated to the whole thing. And Britt Ekland is always a pleasure to behold.

Did anyone else hear about Depardieu headbutting a photographer in Florence last week after the photographer snapped pictures of him and a young lady shopping? Hilarious! Seems the victim had to spend four days in recovery and it will affect his work for some time. Not that I'm for supporting mindless violence, but I can't stand paparazzi photographers nor am I interested in what stars do in their privates lives or what they eat for breakfast. Other photographers should pay attention and stop harassing stars (otherwise known as mere mortals) while they're picking up their essentials. Pictures of Depardieu rushing the guy were splashed across Italian papers but I don't think getting angry at an invasion of privacy is such a bad thing. He should certainly apologize for overreacting but I can kind of understand why he did it. He did, after all, ask the guy to stop before he headbutted him, if that in anyway excuses his behaviour.

vallo, I missed that bizarre dialogue between therealfuster and the other poster. It is truly a shame that she left over an arrogant one-off, as whoever wrote those ridiculous slams only contributed to that one thread. I realize the necessary, perhaps, for critically arguing against a thought, or a train-of-thought that one doesn't feel comfortable with, as I have done, but seriously attacking one's style or the amount of posts they accumuate is seriously silly stuff and I really don't think that's what these boards are about. I've notice more and more off-putting comments popping up lately and maybe she's better off avoiding the arena altogether. Movies sure do bring out the best, or the worst, in people, don't they?

Today, it would be The Enemy Below and Crossfire. Tomorrow, who knows?

Hi Larry, How's the weather out there? I've come down to one or two 'look-ins' a week here, purely by default since my summer life is over and normal living has resumed for me. However, I've been stocking up on lots of newer, largely foreign and obscure titles lately and seem to have pushed thoughts of classic cinema out of my head. My conscience tells me I'm a traitor but I'm having fun (when I do get the chance to actually sit down and watch a film) living in the present rather than with Wallace Beery or Conrad Nagel for the upteenth time. I do look forward to seeing your recent documentary! Johnny

keith, like everyone else here who's not so happy with the changes, I sincerely hope you do give these boards a shot now and again. I'd love to discuss Wings of Desire, one of my favourite, favourite films with you, or anything else that furthers good dialogue. Your opinions and observations that I've read are part of what makes this such a unique forum, present technical problems aside. However you feel, and I don't begrudge your disappointment at having your identity erased, that wouldn't impress me much, it is your call. Johnny

Did you imply you're restricting yourself to older films? If not, then Andrzej Wajda's Danton, with Gerard Depardieu, but good luck finding it. I just saw Eric Rohmer's L'anglaise et le duc and though the film is lacking a bit dramatically, the digital work in blending paintings and live-action brought the period to life in perhaps the most unique fashion I've ever seen.

I agree that this classic should see a release. You never know. Universal has leased films to Criterion and Kino before so, like you, I'll be keeping my fingers metaphorically crossed. Incidentally, it was to comment on this film that I initially became involved with these boards. It was near the beginning of the summer, I think, but it sure seems longer than that now.

I saw the RS documentary way back when during my original heyday with Cagney. Loved it. I used to have it on tape but I go through buying and selling like nobody does, and usually not to my benefit. But Shake Hands with the Devil (or any other film the man appeared in) will never leave my collection!

I knew you'd find this one. And you're definitely blessed for having spoken with the man. The great ones are certainly few and far between. Johnny

I like Taxi!, too, and thought about mentioning it, but I think Picture Snatcher's a notch above Taxi!. Really, every film I've seen of his I liked, even He Was Her Man. I haven't seen Winner Take All, Frisco Kid or Hard to Handle; TCM rarely seems to show those.

Films in foreign markets rarely seem to echo the domestic distributors. Bertolucci's 1900 is available on DVD in Europe through MGM/UA yet Paramount had the distributions rights to the film here and issued it on video. Not sure why My Favorite Wife, an RKO film that Turner holds the North American rights to, was issued by Universal for Region 2. Lots of similar examples. Again, who knows?

Good Heavens, in the heat of the moment I forgot about Moby Dick!! What on earth was I thinking? Maybe the new format caused me to momentarily lose my mind. gregpeckfan1, Yeah, that's the documentary I was referring to. Excellent viewing for any film fan.

Hi Sinatra, I think there's already a thread on this matter but, who cares, I love Cagney too. As always, it's hard to single out a favourite film, I usually go with favourites films of any performer. There's a lot of dialogue about Cagney in different threads; the most recent that I've contributed to is in the Pre-Code forum under the heading 'Smack-off.' But to answer your question, my favourite Cagney film, if I did have to single out one, would probably be Picture Snatcher, a wonderful, snappy, racy film full of wickedly hilarious dialogue and situations. A close runner-up might be The Strawberry Blonde. Johnny

Tracey, Since Warners will put it out, if and when they do, It Happened One Night, a Columbia film, is ruled out, but the others you mentioned are a pretty sure-fire bet with maybe the exception being A Free Soul. Maybe Dancing Lady? Definitely Mutiny because Warners likes to reissue films they've already issued, and especially if new packaging is required. I bought Across the Wide Missouri at WalMart yesterday for $2.50 and whenever I see VHS copies of classic films being offered at discount prices they're usually issued on DVD sooner rather than later. Who knows...

You bet there's Gregory Peck fans here. Eschewing a long-winded statement about why I like Peck, I'd happily state I strongly urge anyone who hasn't viewed On the Beach, Twelve O'Clock High, The Bravados, The Big Country, Pork Chop Hill or The Purple Plain to do so. I particularly think The Big Country is one of Peck's finest performances and perfectly illustrates the problems with the usual 'he-men' characterizations in most Hollywood films. Peck's stalwart image was nowhere better glimpsed than in that film as a rational, decent man thrust into a world of brutes and violent types. The new DVD of To Kill a Mockingbird has a wonderful documentary about Peck and it's a fine testament to one of the most intelligent, original actors to grace the screen.

I caught this film a few years ago and was happy I taped it. I agree that it is an exceptionally fascinating film from a historical standpoint. Seeing Max Baer onstage performing in musical numbers is a sight to see and every time I view The Harder They Fall, which isn't that often, I can't help but think of The Prizefighter and the Lady. According to Leonard Maltin, the film was issued on Laserdisc. I wonder if Warner would ever consider putting it out on DVD, or would the market be too slim?

Mongo, As vallo13 suggested, maybe you should begin a new thread to continue the Birthday notifications. Or maybe we can all tune out until the power that be reverse some of the ridiculous flaws of the upgrade. There are certainly some good points but as we've all noticed, there's a problem here that's more than a little annoying. Johnny

I'm here, finally. I somehow managed to keep my screenname but it took me and a day and a half, three emails and a lot a frustration. I don't mind change in some respects but, geez, this is supposed to be an upgrade?!?!? Aren't upgrades intended to make things better? I think I'll be needing to get new glasses.

And endlessly quotable in The Legend of Hell House.

I love the series too much to single out any particular kid but if I was pressed to I'd have to name Porky, aka Eugene Lee. That kid made some of the funniest faces I've ever seen in my life and I still howl with laughter whenever I see him set Alfalfa's firecrackers off in his back-pocket during class. R.I.P. Tommy Bond. I just watched Battleground and I think I'll have to watch it again to spot him because it would give me another opportunity to watch a great film. Regarding his Our Gang work, nobody made a better bully and everyone of us, except the bullies, that is, knew a Butch and were always glad to see him get what he deserved. I do, however, prefer Bond's earlier work before the Butch character. He was a pretty cute kid, though toughness was obviously his forte.

Variations of The Ghost Breakers. I love the Hope film; great stuff.

I think that every airplane/airport clich? there is in the book comes from this film. They weren't clich?s when the film came out but it's hard to wipe the slate clean when you see a film like this. As with The Iron Horse, you really need to when trying to appreciate and place in a film in context when so many later films are imitations (for better of worse) of an original.