Category Archives: 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Reviews of movies included in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

Posted on April 5, 2020 | 2 comments

Gold Diggers of 1933
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Written by Erwin Gelsey, James Seymour et al from a play by Avery Hopwood
1933/US
Warner Bros.
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant

Trixie Lorraine: Isn’t there going to be any comedy in the show?

Barney Hopkins: Oh, plenty! The gay side, the hard-boiled side, the cynical and funny side of the depression! I’ll make ’em laugh at you starving to death, honey. It’ll be the funniest thing you ever did.

This movie captured my heart the first time I heard Ginger Rogers singing “We’re in the Money” in Pig Latin and I’m still loopy for it decades later. Memo to Hollywood: We need some feel-good escapist fare now as much as we did in the Great Depression. Pitch in!

When a Broadway show runs out of cash during the Great Depression, three chorus-girl roommates are left penniless.  Polly Parker (Ruby Keeler) has fallen in love with songwriter Brad Roberts (Dick Powell) who lives across the way.  Their luck turns when producer Barney Hopkins (Ned Sparks) comes to them with a show about the Depression. Unfortunately he does not have the funds to put it on.  But it turns out that Brad is the heir to a fortune and he becomes Barney’s “angel”, songwriter, and eventually leading man.

Brad’s brother J. Lawrence (Warren William) strongly objects to his involvement in show business and tries to prevent Brad’s marriage to Polly.  Friend Fanuel H. Peabody (Guy Kibbee) believes all show girls are parasites and gold diggers.  The other two roommates, Carol King (Joan Blondell) and Trixie Lorraine (Aline MacMahon), set about proving them wrong about Polly and snagging some wealthy men in the process.  Fay Fortune (Ginger Rogers) tries to attract the men as well.  With Billy Barty as a mischievous baby.

You don’t watch these things for the plot but for the extravagant Busby Berkley numbers and the snappy, naughty banter.  I find this movie to be pure pre-Code bliss.  This was my favorite film of 1933 back at the beginning of this blog.

Gold Diggers of 1933 was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound, Recording.

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1933, Lockdown Edition, Pre-Code Reviews

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Posted on April 4, 2020 | 8 comments

A Fish Called Wanda
Directed by Charles Chrichton and John Cleese
Written by Charles Chrichton and John Cleese
1988/UK
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

[box] Otto West: Apes don’t read philosophy.

Wanda: Yes they do, Otto. They just don’t understand it. Now let me correct you on a couple of things, OK? Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not “Every man for himself.” And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked them up.[/box]

I have a special fondness for this wickedly hilarious movie since I saw it on original release when I worked in London 1988-90.  It made excellent comfort viewing for Lockdown.

As the movie begins, a gang of criminals is planning a jewel heist.  These are mastermind George Thomason; his girlfriend the buxom, seductive, and distracting Wanda (Jamie Leigh Curtis); her assassin “brother” Otto (Kevin Kline) and the stuttering, animal-loving driver Ken (Michael Palen).  The actual robbery goes off pretty well until George is identified by a little-old-lady witness and arrested.  George is the only person who knows the location of the loot.  George’s defense attorney is Archie Leach (John Cleese).

Ken is assigned to kill the eye witness.  Unfortunately, she is only to be found while walking several very unlucky dogs.  Wanda sets about seducing the very married Archie believing that George must have given him the location.  Every attempt is thwarted by the insanely jealous Otto, Wanda’s outrageously stupid and impulsive lover.  Who, if anyone, will end up with the loot?

I had forgotten how much I love this movie.  The fantastic jokes and situations do not deserve to be spoiled.  I absolutely cannot imaging a more perfect cast.  Kline’s performance is one for the ages and certainly merited his Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Most highly recommended if you are in the mood for a good laugh.

The film was also nominated in the categories of Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.

The trailer made me laugh out loud all over again even though I just saw it yesterday

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Lockdown Edition

Fargo (1996)

Posted on April 3, 2020 | 4 comments

Fargo
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Written by Joel and Ethan Coen
1996/US
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

[box] Marge Gunderson: [to Gaear] So, that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money? There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Don’tcha know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well. I just don’t understand it.[/box]

This outrageous, warm, wintry, black comedy/thriller has held up well through the years and made perfect Lockdown viewing.

The film takes place in Minnesota and North Dakota.  Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) is an inept used car salesman and an even more inept crook.  He is in a deep financial hole and his father-in-law (Harve Presnell), who owns the used car lot, hates him.  As near as I can figure out Jerry has taken a big loan using non-existent cars as collateral and is about to face the music.  So Jerry has the brilliant idea of having his wife kidnapped and getting himself out of his mess with a ransom to be paid by his father-in-law.  He hires two unhinged and volatile kidnappers, the non-stop weirdo Carl Showalter (Steve Buschemi) and the silent but extremely violent Gaear Grimsrud).

The kidnapping takes place as per the plan but everything quickly goes to hell.  And pregnant detective Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) is on the case.

I love this movie despite its sometimes gruesome violence.  For me, it is the perfect blend of the amusing and bizarre wrapped up in an engaging police procedureal.  Love those Minnesotan accents!  And the relationship between Marge and her husband.  And the two horrible kidnappers.  And of course Macy and McDormand’s brilliant, hilarious performances.  Highly recommended.

Frances McDormand won a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar and the Coen brothers won for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.  The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Supporting Actor (Macy); Best Director; Best Cinematography; and Best Film Editing.

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Lockdown Edition

Z (1969)

Posted on March 29, 2020 | 2 comments

Z
Directed by Costa-Gavras
Written by Jorge Semprún from of Vasilis Vasilikos
1969/France/Algeria
IMDb link
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel

[box] Françoise Bonnot, Voiceover Narration: [final lines] The military regime banned: long hair, miniskirts, Sophocles, Tolstoy, Euripides, Russian-style toasts, strikes, Aristophanes, Ionesco, Sartre, Albee, Pinter, freedom of the press, sociology, Beckett, Dostoyevsky, modern music, pop music, new math, and the letter Z, which means HE LIVES in Ancient Greek.[/box]

Not a comfort watch for Lockdown but a a masterpiece of political cinema.

In an unnamed country (clearly Greece), political feeling is high with a repressive military junta in almost full control.  There is also a leftist opposition party with a peace platform, branded as communist by the junta.  As the film begins, the opposition is attempting to hold a political rally but is denied permission to gather anywhere.  Eventually, “Z” (Yves Montand), an opposition Deputy and respected ex-Olympic athlete, gives a speech over loudspeaker to a crowd made up of military police, rabble rousers, and supporters.  He is struck brutally in the head by hired thugs and eventually dies of his injuries.

Jean-Louis Trintignant plays the prosecutor who tries to find the truth for the remainder of the film.  The violence does not stop.  Several witnesses are murdered.  The prosecutor is subjected to enormous pressure to find the killing an accident.  With Irene Papas, in a nearly wordless but moving performance, as Montand’s wife and Renato Salvatori and Marcel Bozuffi as hired thugs Vago and Yago.

This film beautifully combines ideology with a story that also works superbly as a tense thriller.  Costa-Gavras did a beautiful job here. I think the only movie that equals this one for the realism of its crowd scenes is Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers (1966).  The acting, down to the smallest supporting part, is phenomenal.  The score intensifies the high drama of the thing.  Highly recommended.

Z won Academy Awards for Best Foreign-Language Film and Best Film Editing.  It was nominated for Best Picture (the first time a film was nominated in both the Foreign-Language and Best Picture categories); Best Director; and Best Writing, Best Screenplay Based on Material from another medium.

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1969, Lockdown Edition

My Night at Maud’s (1969)

Posted on March 26, 2020 | Leave a comment

My Night at Maud’s (Ma nuit chez Maud)
Directed by Eric Rohmer
Written by Eric Rohmer
1969/France
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

[box] Maud: You’re the most outrageous person I’ve met. Religion has always left me cold. I’m neither for nor against it. But people like you prevent me from taking it seriously. All that really concerns you is your respectability. Staying in a woman’s room after midnight is dreadful. It would never occur to you to stay because I’m lonely. To establish a slightly less conventional relationship even if we should never meet again. This I find stupid – very stupid and not very Christian.[/box]

Perfect fare if you feel like thinking deep thoughts or exploring the human condition during Lockdown.

Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is a thirty-something engineer with a penchant for philosophy and mathematics.  He has just moved to a new town. He’s a practicing Catholic and becomes smitten with a beautiful blonde, Christine, who he sees every Sunday at mass.  It takes him awhile to build up to introducing himself.

One night, he meets an old friend, Vidal, who invites him to come with him to see his ex-girlfriend Maud (Francoise Fabian).  Jean-Louis agrees.  Maud is a free-thinking, sensual, agnostic divorcee.  Vidal, a Marxist, and Jean-Louis, a Christian, get involved in a long talk about Pascal’s Wager.  Pascal’s wager is a decision whether to “bet” on the existence of God and believe and live as if God exists or to “bet” that God does not exist and live accordingly.  Pascal argues that all rational people should bet that God exists, even if the odds are slim, because the rewards and risks are infinite (eternity in Heaven vs. eternity in Hell).  The belief that God does not exist carries only finite benefits and inconveniences.  Maud seems to be highly amused by the conversation. Eventually, Vidal leaves and Maud invites Jean-Louis to spend the night.  It is a very awkward and chaste evening.

Immediately after this encounter, Jean-Louis tracks down Christine and introduces himself. He finds she is not the innocent virgin he thought but that does not stand in the way of their courtship.  Maud moves away.

Years pass.  Jean-Louis and Christine are now married with a small child.  They go to the beach and run into Vidal and Maud.  It is an awkward encounter but all the participants respond to it with grace.

Someday I will figure out how Pascal’s wager informs the plot of this film.  There’s a lot of decision making going on here and I just know Pascal gets involved somehow.  This is not the day for that.  I love this movie for its thought-provoking story, beautiful actors, beautiful France, and beautiful ideas.  Highly recommended.

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1969, Lockdown Edition

Groundhog Day (1993)

Posted on March 24, 2020 | 4 comments

Groundhog Day
Directed by Harold Ramis
Written by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis
1993/US
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant

 

[box] Phil: There is no way that this winter is *ever* going to end as long as this groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any other way out. He’s got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.[/box]

This movie’s clever premise and strong screenplay have aged beautifully.

Phil (Bill Murray) is a cynical, conceited TV weatherman who detests his job.  The worst part is going to Punxsutawney, PA every February 2 to report on the emergence of groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.  According to legend if Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. This year he is accompanied by cameraman Larry (Chris Elliot) and beautiful, wholesome producer Rita (Andie MacDowell).  Both of them are fed up with Phil. A blizzard forces the trio to stay the night.

Then the movie proper begins.  Every day becomes Groundhog Day.  Phil awakens to exactly the same song and announcer each morning and meets the same people over and over.  He tries everything he can think of, including attempted self-destruction, but nothing works.  No, Phil must live the same day until he gets it right.

I love this movie.  The acting, particularly Murray’s, is excellent and the dialogue is perfection.  It combines romance and silliness in a totally original way and leaves the viewer with hope for the human race.  Highly recommended in these times of trial.

Inexplicably, this film was nominated for zero Academy Awards.

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Lockdown Edition

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Posted on March 21, 2020 | 10 comments

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Directed by George Roy Hill
Written by William Goldman
1969/US
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Butch Cassidy: I couldn’t do that. Could you do that? Why can they do it? Who are those guys?[/box]

Launching “Flickers in Time: The Lockdown Edition” with this beloved classic.  It’s a blend of Old West and a thoroughly modern cinematic sensibility that really shouldn’t work as perfectly as it does.

Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) are the leaders of the Hole in the Wall gang of bank and train robbers.  Butch is the more laid-back one and Sundance has the hotter temper.  They love to banter with each other.  We witness several robberies.  These are generally amusing and successful.  In their last train robbery, they manag to earn the eternal wrath of the railroad owner, who forms a posse that relentlessly pursues the pair.

In the meantime, we are introduced to schoolmarm Etta Place (Katharine Ross).  She is having an affair with Sundance yet also seems to form a perfect couple with Butch. Eventually, the heat gets too close for comfort and all three decide to try their fortunes in Bolivia.

This film is firmly tied to a moment in which the bad guys became the good guys so long as they were against the Establishment, love was free and Burt Bacharach topped the pop charts. Yet it holds up extremely well.  Qualifies as a recommended lockdown view for its wry optimism, fantastic cinematography, charismatic and beautiful actors, witty dialogue, and, yes, its bouncy score.  A true classic.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid won Academy Awards in the categories of Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced; Best Cinematography; Best Music, Original Song (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”); and Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical).  It was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Director; and Best Sound.

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1969, Lockdown Edition

Hour of the Wolf (1968)

Posted on March 13, 2020 | 2 comments

Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Written by Ingmar Bergman
1968/Sweden
IMDb link
First viewing/Criterion Channel
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
One of 1000 movies on They Shoot Zombies Don’t They

[box] Johan Borg: The old ones called it “the hour of the wolf”. It is the hour when most people die, when most children are born. Now is when nightmares come to us. And if we are awake -…

Alma Borg: We’re afraid.[/box]

Bergman goes surreal in this venture into the horror genre.  Everything about it is excellent but it misses out on a compelling story line.

The story is told in flashback by Alma Borg (Liv Ullmann).  She and her artist husband (Johan) plan to spend the summer on an island where Johan will be able to work on his paintings.  Alma is expecting a baby.  Johan is restless and uninspired.  Alma meets an old lady who tells her she should read Johan’s diary.

Johan’s mental state deteriorates as the days progress.  At last, Johan reveals his nightmarish fantasies to his wife.  With Ingrid Thulin as Johan’s ex-lover.

The acting, cinematography, direction etc. are all excellent.  I felt there was something lacking in the writing.  Perhaps Bergman got too caught up in this new genre to create relatable characters as well.

American trailer

*************************************

And with this review, I complete 1968!

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1968

Memories of Underdevelopment (1968)

Posted on March 7, 2020 | 2 comments

Memories of Underdevelopment (Memorias del subdesarrollo)
Directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea
Written by Tomas Guiterrez Alea and Edmundo Desnoes from a novel by Desnoes
1968/Cuba
IMDb link
First viewing/Netflix rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

 “A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past.” ― Fidel Castro

I went in expecting a propaganda piece and was pleasantly surprised to get an art movie that mostly leaves the viewer to draw his own conclusions.

The film takes place in Havana, Cuba in the months leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Sergio (Sergio Corrieri- be still my beating heart) is a member of the landed gentry who makes his living from rents.  He also is a deep thinker and travels in artistic, intellectual circles.  As the film begins, Sergio’s wife has packed her bags for Miami.  His parents follow her and the diaspora includes many of his friends.  For some reason, clearly not exactly idealogical, Sergio elects to stay behind.

Sergio picks up a teenager from the street, takes her back to his place and seduces her.  They part on good terms but she cries rape and Sergio learns that class no longer protects him.   By the end of the film, it is clear that the Cuban Government will take all Sergio’s property eventually but Castro’s minions are quite polite about it.

The plot plays a small part in the overall effect of this film.  It is really a character study and a think piece.  We are privy to Sergio’s thoughts through the ample use of first-person voice-over narration in which he reflects on the past and comes to terms with the present. The direction is stylish.  Other treats are the cinematography and score.  Recommended.

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1968

If … (1968)

Posted on February 18, 2020 | 4 comments

If …
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Written by David Sherwin and John Howlett
1968/UK
IMDb link
First viewing/Criterion Channel
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

 

Mick Travis: One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place.

This disturbing, savage, beautiful film was a perfect match for its year of release.

The setting is a private British boys’ boarding school.  The school is run on rigid discipline, patriotism  and religious principles.  Unfortunately, the senior boys are authorized to impose this discipline on their juniors.  The seniors are incredibly sadistic.

Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) is a born rebel and the de facto leader of a small group of boys called The Crusaders.  These boys fight the system with everything they have.  I’ll stop there.

I was really impressed with this movie.  To start with, the cinematography (both in color and B&W) is stunning, the script is biting, and the acting is fantastic.  I’ve never seen anything quite like it.  This clearly paved the way to A Clockwork Orange.  Malcolm McDowell was born to play these kinds of roles.  Recommended with the warning that there is a lot of graphic violence to contend with.

If … won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.

4 Comments

Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1968