Movie Thread

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

The Man Who Knew Too Much - eh, it's a Hitchcock film. What else can be said?

1934 or 1956?

Doris Day was bluffing in that one. And great depiction of Colonial time Morocco, very multikulti compared to a then deserted London.

Also Daniel Gélin was a great actor. Better than Pierre Fresnay, methinks.

Not the best Hitchcock, ideologically speaking but good entertainment and the pastel colours were supreme in those colour films of the fifties. To Catch a Thief is the ultimate example of that.

I think I preferred the old version. To Catch A Thief was entertaining but not classic Hitchcock.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re:

Trainspotting 2, can't decide if I want to see it...

If you can't decide don't waste your money on it going to a theater (wait for the DVD to come out), or if you do go at least catch the matinee. (Here in the US matinee means cheaper prices during earlier daytime showings, not sure what matinee would mean in your part of the world.)

Lost in Translation - sorry, I just love that movie, so I had to mention it.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re: Re:

The Man Who Knew Too Much - eh, it's a Hitchcock film. What else can be said?

1934 or 1956?

Doris Day was bluffing in that one. And great depiction of Colonial time Morocco, very multikulti compared to a then deserted London.

Sorry, I should have mentioned it was the 1956 version.

The restaurant they had depicted in the movie back then is apparently still there, which I think is wonderful.

 

[sniper]

Antoine Fuqua's Magnificent Seven was surprisingly mediocre, can't believe I paid to watch it.
I think Training Day and Shooter were excellent action movies and even Equalizer was fun to watch although far from brilliant.
Magnificent Seven was just fluff.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

The Day of the Jackal - it's a re-watch for me, I had completely forgotten the ending. But damn, that's a good movie, it sort of reminds me of All the President's Men where the tension is constant.

I think this movie definitely benefits from a lack of a musical score, sometimes (actually a lot of times) I wish filmmakers would lay off the background music. I think it's annoying when they announce what is about to happen and how you should feel about it.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Anyone else bummed out IMDb are discontinuing their message boards? I'm bummed...

I like to read the board after I've watched a movie to see how other people felt about it, and I like getting info in case I've missed something. (Which I inevitably do.) This is a total bummer.

 

[sniper]

Re:

The Day of the Jackal - it's a re-watch for me, I had completely forgotten the ending. But damn, that's a good movie, it sort of reminds me of All the President's Men where the tension is constant.

I think this movie definitely benefits from a lack of a musical score, sometimes (actually a lot of times) I wish filmmakers would lay off the background music. I think it's annoying when they announce what is about to happen and how you should feel about it.

good point about the music.

Good music can really intensify a scene or a whole movie.
But too often the wrong choices are made.
Last time I was reminded of this was with a Jackie Chan movie where the crucial closing fighting scene had some kind of romantic music laid over it completely ruining the dynamics.
And plenty of blockbusters are ruined by ridiculously loud scores. The transformers being a case in point. Although there is more wrong with that franchise than just the music.

 

[kingjr]

Re:

The Day of the Jackal - it's a re-watch for me, I had completely forgotten the ending. But damn, that's a good movie, it sort of reminds me of All the President's Men where the tension is constant.

I think this movie definitely benefits from a lack of a musical score, sometimes (actually a lot of times) I wish filmmakers would lay off the background music. I think it's annoying when they announce what is about to happen and how you should feel about it.

Yeah that's a great one, watched it before I read the book, so I got the most out of it.

 

[BigMac]

I actually think Steve Jablonsky's soundtracks are one of the few things that make Transformers, along with a good mix of special and practical effects.

The things that ruin it are the extremely cheesy acting and script in my opinion. I honestly enjoyed Dark of the Moon.

 

[kingjr]

Transformers needed less human screentime and more robot fighting.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Agree with others on TSOTL and Se7en. Also agree on The Shining. Nicholson great at times, too over the top at others.

As to subtitles, I find that if you have a good surround system, or sound bar, you can hear the dialog better, or set your system up that way. Now if it's your second language, that's a different story.

The Day of the Jackal, wow. I remember seeing part of that on TV with my mom as a kid and I didn't get it. Some 15 years ago it made another run through the Theater Classic circuit where I was living and my ex and I saw it. About three quarters of the way in she whispered in my ear, "I'm kind of hoping he does it." I felt the same way at that point. Great slow boiler, with a real moral dilemma. Of course you don't want to see someone assassinated, but....

The 70's had a lot of great films like that, some of which are forgotten it seems. Juggernaut, Sorcerer, The Outfit, The Seven-Up's, Friends of Eddy Coyle, etc.

 

[Echoes]

Re: Re:

I think I preferred the old version. To Catch A Thief was entertaining but not classic Hitchcock.

In my opinion, the American version was an improvement, though we have to bear in mind he had a better budget and better technology. But the reconstruction of the "Siege of Sidney Street" spoiled the film, in my opinion. It's a very long scene towards the end after the amazing Royal Albert Hall scene. The latter deserved to be the climatic scene. The film should've ended with that one. In the American version, Hitch made it short after the Royal Albert Hall scene, just the "Que sera, sera" scene. Both films are very good though.

I really liked "To Catch a Thief" for the light pastel colours on the French Riviera and for the actors but otherwise it's not my favourite Hitch film. Vertigo is still my absolute favourite.


The Day of the Jackal, is that not the one about the assassination attempt on General De Gaulle? I remember recording it from the BBC in my uni years. At that time I enjoyed it because I was a die-hard Gaullist.

 

[kingjr]

Re: Re:

I think I preferred the old version. To Catch A Thief was entertaining but not classic Hitchcock.

The Day of the Jackal, is that not the one about the assassination attempt on General De Gaulle? I remember recording it from the BBC in my uni years. At that time I enjoyed it because I was a die-hard Gaullist.

Yes, that's the one.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re:

As to subtitles, I find that if you have a good surround system, or sound bar, you can hear the dialog better, or set your system up that way. Now if it's your second language, that's a different story.

The 70's had a lot of great films like that, some of which are forgotten it seems. Juggernaut, Sorcerer, The Outfit, The Seven-Up's, Friends of Eddy Coyle, etc.

I see what you're saying, but sometimes the actors mumble their lines, so no matter how much surround system you have you still can't understand what they're saying. (Plus, I may actually have suffered some hearing loss back during my partying days, so that I can admit. :razz: )

I would definitely agree about the 70s, those are my fave movie years. The Godfather I& II, Marathon Man, The Odessa Files, Dogday Afternoon, Midnight Cowboy, All the President's Men, The Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver...

If you care to include 1980 into that decade we also have Ordinary People and Raging Bull.

Don't want to sound like an old fart, but I think they just don't make them like they used to. (Everything seems to be a re-make these days in Hollywood, so, if I want to see something original I'll just turn to foreign or Indie movies.)

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Re: Re:

I would definitely agree about the 70s, those are my fave movie years. The Godfather I& II, Marathon Man, The Odessa Files, Dog Day Afternoon, Midnight Cowboy, All the President's Men, The Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver...

If you care to include 1980 into that decade we also have Ordinary People and Raging Bull.

I would agree with this, often called the New Hollywood era. After the post war years when studios and producers had much control over how films were to be made, and a lot of old style movies, like musicals for example, started to fall out of favor at the box office, a lot of young filmmakers, many inspired by new technology, cultural advancement, and some European filmmakers (like Truffaut), out came some of the best directors ever, and the screenwriters at the time were up to the task. We were rewarded with some of the best cinema ever. The films you listed, and many more, of course. Apocalypse Now, Network, The Exorcist, Deliverance, The Sting, Days of Heaven, Bonnie & Clyde, Chinatown, etc.

You can blame profit perhaps, but after first Jaws (which was well written, and did have a great performance from Robert Shaw) then Star Wars, Hollywood jumped into pop pulp, and after first Friedkin's Sorcerer bombed at the box office, and then Heaven's Gate bombed even larger, New Hollywood was all but dead.

For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of Sorcerer, and Heaven's Gate. I think both have their flaws, but the 3+ hour version of HG is a cinematic masterpiece in my opinion.

Even worse than the 90's though, Cinema today is really hitting hard times, and peculiar enough, so much of what comes out of the big studios is controlled by executives more than writers and directors. Look at all the sequels, prequels, etc. and so many studio films have a plethora of producers attached to the credits.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

I think I preferred the old version. To Catch A Thief was entertaining but not classic Hitchcock.

In my opinion, the American version was an improvement, though we have to bear in mind he had a better budget and better technology. But the reconstruction of the "Siege of Sidney Street" spoiled the film, in my opinion. It's a very long scene towards the end after the amazing Royal Albert Hall scene. The latter deserved to be the climatic scene. The film should've ended with that one. In the American version, Hitch made it short after the Royal Albert Hall scene, just the "Que sera, sera" scene. Both films are very good though.

I really liked "To Catch a Thief" for the light pastel colours on the French Riviera and for the actors but otherwise it's not my favourite Hitch film. Vertigo is still my absolute favourite.


The Day of the Jackal, is that not the one about the assassination attempt on General De Gaulle? I remember recording it from the BBC in my uni years. At that time I enjoyed it because I was a die-hard Gaullist.

No doubt Vertigo was great but I also liked Rope, Shadow of A Doubt, Notorious, Sabotage,The Birds, Psycho which has to have one of the greatest soundtracks of all time and a wonderfully twitchy performance by Anthony Perkins with some sly humour as well. They were my favourite Hitchcock movies. I think Rear Window was a bit overrated.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

I would definitely agree about the 70s, those are my fave movie years. The Godfather I& II, Marathon Man, The Odessa Files, Dog Day Afternoon, Midnight Cowboy, All the President's Men, The Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver...

If you care to include 1980 into that decade we also have Ordinary People and Raging Bull.

I would agree with this, often called the New Hollywood era. After the post war years when studios and producers had much control over how films were to be made, and a lot of old style movies, like musicals for example, started to fall out of favor at the box office, a lot of young filmmakers, many inspired by new technology, cultural advancement, and some European filmmakers (like Truffaut), out came some of the best directors ever, and the screenwriters at the time were up to the task. We were rewarded with some of the best cinema ever. The films you listed, and many more, of course. Apocalypse Now, Network, The Exorcist, Deliverance, The Sting, Days of Heaven, Bonnie & Clyde, Chinatown, etc.

You can blame profit perhaps, but after first Jaws (which was well written, and did have a great performance from Robert Shaw) then Star Wars, Hollywood jumped into pop pulp, and after first Friedkin's Sorcerer bombed at the box office, and then Heaven's Gate bombed even larger, New Hollywood was all but dead.

For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of Sorcerer, and Heaven's Gate. I think both have their flaws, but the 3+ hour version of HG is a cinematic masterpiece in my opinion.

Even worse than the 90's though, Cinema today is really hitting hard times, and peculiar enough, so much of what comes out of the big studios is controlled by executives more than writers and directors. Look at all the sequels, prequels, etc. and so many studio films have a plethora of producers attached to the credits.

Cimino made some great movies but I didn't care for Heaven's Gate. They released a cut version which bombed and even the director's cut put me to sleep. I can understand why the director's cut never made it to the cinema but each to their own. I am underwhelmed by most director's cuts and it just confirms that sometimes the producers do know what they are doing. Even the directors cut of Apocalypse Now was a dog and added nothing of value to the original. Two of the best director's cuts I thought, were Betty Blue and Blade Runner.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re: Re:

...and Blade Runner.

Did somebody just mention BLADE RUNNER?

Love that flick!

 

[Echoes]

Re: Re:

The Day of the Jackal, is that not the one about the assassination attempt on General De Gaulle? I remember recording it from the BBC in my uni years. At that time I enjoyed it because I was a die-hard Gaullist.

Yes, that's the one.[/quote]

Thank you, I asked because I seem to remember there were several versions of it.

]
No doubt Vertigo was great but I also liked Rope, Shadow of A Doubt, Notorious, Sabotage,The Birds, Psycho which has to have one of the greatest soundtracks of all time and a wonderfully twitchy performance by Anthony Perkins with some sly humour as well. They were my favourite Hitchcock movies. I think Rear Window was a bit overrated.

For sure, one could name numerous brilliant Hitchcock films. He was so prolific. The reason why Vertigo stands out for me is that the four or five times I saw it always made me cry at the same moment while I thought I never cried watching a film. So I had to humbly admit that Hitch trapped me. I could talk a lot about it but I don't want to play spoiler for those who haven't seen it. Just it's a great work about necrophobia and the need to care for the living before caring for the dead ones. Magnificent film.

I'm afraid I'm not a great fan of Psycho but as always with Hitch, even with films I didn't like best, there are interesting parts, here the dramatic irony about the motive to the crime, it was a foul crime and not a crime about money. Besides I remember a great scene with Janet Leigh and a cop, the police being one of Hitch's phobias.

I'm also among those who rate Rear Window, very high. Perhaps because of Grace Kelly but it was a good reflection on the topic of voyeurism. Technically it was interesting to see Jeffries' flat as focal point (Hitch discussed it with Truffaut, I think) and I also read William Irish's short story and thought the film - for once - was an improvement to the book (but it was just a short story of course).

Lately I gladly explored some of Hitch's first films, of his silent film period and perhaps those were the most interesting ones he's ever directed. Of course, they weren't much of entertainment films, they were more profound than that. The first film he's ever completed "The Pleasure Garden" is about easy money and working overseas in colonial plantations. That latter theme is also present in "The Manxman". Also Hitch's very first thriller "The Lodger" is a real success. Probably the film that made me love silent films.

Then among his sound films I also like The Skin Game and Young & Innocent from his English period and The Saboteur and I Confess from his American period other than those you mentioned. I Confess is great because set in Quebec City and it deals with the Catholic secret of Confession and the duty to keep one's word even if one's life is depending on it. Unfortunately the distributor and the local Quebec Church revised much of the original script.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

The Day of the Jackal, is that not the one about the assassination attempt on General De Gaulle? I remember recording it from the BBC in my uni years. At that time I enjoyed it because I was a die-hard Gaullist.

Yes, that's the one.

Thank you, I asked because I seem to remember there were several versions of it.

]
No doubt Vertigo was great but I also liked Rope, Shadow of A Doubt, Notorious, Sabotage,The Birds, Psycho which has to have one of the greatest soundtracks of all time and a wonderfully twitchy performance by Anthony Perkins with some sly humour as well. They were my favourite Hitchcock movies. I think Rear Window was a bit overrated.

For sure, one could name numerous brilliant Hitchcock films. He was so prolific. The reason why Vertigo stands out for me is that the four or five times I saw it always made me cry at the same moment while I thought I never cried watching a film. So I had to humbly admit that Hitch trapped me. I could talk a lot about it but I don't want to play spoiler for those who haven't seen it. Just it's a great work about necrophobia and the need to care for the living before caring for the dead ones. Magnificent film.

I'm afraid I'm not a great fan of Psycho but as always with Hitch, even with films I didn't like best, there are interesting parts, here the dramatic irony about the motive to the crime, it was a foul crime and not a crime about money. Besides I remember a great scene with Janet Leigh and a cop, the police being one of Hitch's phobias.

I'm also among those who rate Rear Window, very high. Perhaps because of Grace Kelly but it was a good reflection on the topic of voyeurism. Technically it was interesting to see Jeffries' flat as focal point (Hitch discussed it with Truffaut, I think) and I also read William Irish's short story and thought the film - for once - was an improvement to the book (but it was just a short story of course).

Lately I gladly explored some of Hitch's first films, of his silent film period and perhaps those were the most interesting ones he's ever directed. Of course, they weren't much of entertainment films, they were more profound than that. The first film he's ever completed "The Pleasure Garden" is about easy money and working overseas in colonial plantations. That latter theme is also present in "The Manxman". Also Hitch's very first thriller "The Lodger" is a real success. Probably the film that made me love silent films.

Then among his sound films I also like The Skin Game and Young & Innocent from his English period and The Saboteur and I Confess from his American period other than those you mentioned. I Confess is great because set in Quebec City and it deals with the Catholic secret of Confession and the duty to keep one's word even if one's life is depending on it. Unfortunately the distributor and the local Quebec Church revised much of the original script.[/quote]

You are right about I Confess, I forgot about that one with a good performance by Montgomery Clift. Also I thought Frenzy was a bit underrated and it also had some of the dark humor of Psycho. For such a prolific director he made a lot of good films. North By Northwest had a some great visuals.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I couldn't resist commenting on Hitchcock. It was a goal once to see all of his movies, but the earliest works, not just the silents, but some of the early talkies as well, didn't connect with me, even Rebecca, which I found disappointing (Oscar for Best Picture), but I likely saw the bulk of his work.

I agree with most of everyone else. I think Vertigo remains my favorite. I recall when I first saw it, in a theater as a teenager (not original release, I'm not that old!) and liking only about half of it, I thought Stewart's obsession got too over the top, and it seemed melodramatic. I saw it again about 20 years later, having forgotten most of it, and came away extremely impressed. I thought the film was hypnotic, captivating, and whatever impression I had seeing it at 18 or so, was non-existent, which says more about me, than the film.

North by Northwest remains another favorite. I love the way it moves, and yes, the visuals.

I however am a fan of Rear Window. Not just because of Grace Kelly, but the way it's virtually one set, one location, and the camera really tells the story so well, as you and Stewart piece together the puzzle.

I saw Psycho in a large theater about three years ago, and felt the same as before, the first half is as good as any filmmaking Hitch ever did (and thus any filmmaking ever, really). The second half is hit and miss.

I agree on Notorious, and Shadow of a Doubt. they both are often overlooked. Sabateur is another favorite. As is Lifeboat (this one again, basically one location).

The first half of Lady Vanishes is great, the ending a little too dated, and happy.

Too many more good ones to list, obviously. Spellbound, Dial M for Murder, The Wrong Man, Rope, etc.

The Man Who Knew Too Much, both have real strengths, and a few weaknesses. Strangely, the remake seems more dated today to me.

The films after Hitch's split with the great Bernard Herrmann are hit and miss to me. Torn Curtain and Topaz were almost not Hitchcock films.

What did I miss?!

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Denial.
But that's quite a list.

 

[kingjr]

My personal favourite is Frenzy, mostly due to Barry Fosters great performance.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

My personal favourite is Frenzy, mostly due to Barry Fosters great performance.

I liked it but many hated it. Some critics thought it was a tacky film at the time although it's a bit hard to make a film about a serial killer without it being unpleasant. When the Michael Powell film Peeping Tom was released just before Psycho it was killed by the critics even though it was a great film. The critics, the morals police and media were not ready for such a film, the point of view shots by the killer who was actually filming the murders were very controversial. The film was banned and Hitchcock believed that criticism carried over onto Psycho which was probably true. Neither film received many good reviews at the time but at least Psycho was allowed to run in cinemas while Peeping Tom got shelved quickly but was celebrated on it's re-release but not for many years.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

I couldn't resist commenting on Hitchcock. It was a goal once to see all of his movies, but the earliest works, not just the silents, but some of the early talkies as well, didn't connect with me, even Rebecca, which I found disappointing (Oscar for Best Picture), but I likely saw the bulk of his work.

I agree with most of everyone else. I think Vertigo remains my favorite. I recall when I first saw it, in a theater as a teenager (not original release, I'm not that old!) and liking only about half of it, I thought Stewart's obsession got too over the top, and it seemed melodramatic. I saw it again about 20 years later, having forgotten most of it, and came away extremely impressed. I thought the film was hypnotic, captivating, and whatever impression I had seeing it at 18 or so, was non-existent, which says more about me, than the film.

North by Northwest remains another favorite. I love the way it moves, and yes, the visuals.

I however am a fan of Rear Window. Not just because of Grace Kelly, but the way it's virtually one set, one location, and the camera really tells the story so well, as you and Stewart piece together the puzzle.

I saw Psycho in a large theater about three years ago, and felt the same as before, the first half is as good as any filmmaking Hitch ever did (and thus any filmmaking ever, really). The second half is hit and miss.

I agree on Notorious, and Shadow of a Doubt. they both are often overlooked. Sabateur is another favorite. As is Lifeboat (this one again, basically one location).

The first half of Lady Vanishes is great, the ending a little too dated, and happy.

Too many more good ones to list, obviously. Spellbound, Dial M for Murder, The Wrong Man, Rope, etc.

The Man Who Knew Too Much, both have real strengths, and a few weaknesses. Strangely, the remake seems more dated today to me.

The films after Hitch's split with the great Bernard Herrmann are hit and miss to me. Torn Curtain and Topaz were almost not Hitchcock films.

What did I miss?!

Hitchcock's last film Family Plot did not seem very Hitchock like either but I think he was ill while making it. More like a made for TV movie. The cast was quite good but the only good sequence was probably the car scene on the mountain, entertaining enough but not classic Hitchcock by a long shot. I forgot about Lifeboat, another good one.