Filmworker Directed by Tony Zierra 2017/US True Studio Media
First viewing/Netflix Instant
[box] If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed. — Stanley Kubrick[/box]
Fascinating documentary about an actor who gave up fame and fortune to become Stanley Kubrick’s unsung right-hand man.
Leon Vitali was having a promising career on British TV when Stanley Kubrick hired him to act in Barry Lyndon (1975). Vitali became so fascinated with the technical process that he asked if he could sit in the cutting room, gratis, when Kubrick made his next film. So began a 40-year relationship with an irascible, amazingly gifted fellow filmworker. Vitali went on to do just about every job required on the set and more in service of his master’s vision. His relationship with the director extended after Kubrick’s death to a central role in the preservation of his films.
I love documentaries about niche jobs in the film industry and you can’t get more niche, yet more all-encompassing, than Leon Vitali’s. He’s a very sweet man, with a continued unsullied idolatry of Kubrick, and a good talker. There’s also a number of interviews with actors and others that worked with Vitali on Kubrick’s films. Recommended. If you are a Kubrick fan, possibly essential.
Scene from Barry Lyndon. Vitali is seated on the grass front and center.
Becoming Mike Nichols Directed by Douglas McGrath 2016/US HBO Documentary Films
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] [Part of 2005 Tony Award acceptance speech] “God, my head is totally empty. I had a thing I was going to say, and I have forgot it, because I had given up so long ago. But the first thing to say is thank you. … I guess you are thinking age before beauty, me too! My congratulations to the winners. My love to those who have not won tonight. I just want to remind you of my motto: Cheer up, life isn’t everything. It always stands me in good stead.” — Mike Nichols[/box]
In the last interview he gave before his death, the multi-talented Mike Nichols talked with theater director Jack O’Brien about his life and work. The conversation spans his family’s immigration to the U.S. from Nazi Germany, through his improv work and directing on Broadway, finishing his stunning early career as a film director in Who’s Afraid of Virginia and The Graduate. Nichols is a very engaging talker and the whole thing is packed with superb clips. My favorites were from various sketches with Elaine May. Recommended. Currently available on YouTube.
Home Alone Directed by Christopher Columbus Written by John Hughes 1990/USA Hughes Entertainment/20th Century Fox
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Marley: You can be too old for a lot of things, but you’re never too old to be afraid.[/box]
This movie made me feel like an old, grumpy, prude in between some of the good sight gags. And I don’t like that feeling at all. When did a child cursing, striking, and smart-mouthing their family members become humorous? This is part of why modern comedies have kept me out of the theaters for years. My husband laughed more than I did and I get why it made money. Don’t care to see it again.
The Shop Around the Corner Directed by Ernst Lubitsch Written by Samson Raphaelson from a play by Miklos Lazlo 1940/USA Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Klara Novak (Miss Novak): Well I really wouldn’t care to scratch your surface, Mr. Kralik, because I know exactly what I’d find. Instead of a heart, a hand-bag. Instead of a soul, a suitcase. And instead of an intellect, a cigarette lighter… which doesn’t work.[/box]
I try to watch this every Christmas. Every music cue, every line of dialogue, the arch of every eyebrow — all of it is part of me. I unreservedly love this movie. Find more gushing here.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Directed by Henry Selick Written by Caroline Thompson, Michael McDowell, and Tim Burton 1993/USA Touchstone Pictures/Skellington Productions Inc./Tim Burton Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Jack Skellington: [singing] There’s children throwing snowballs / instead of throwing heads / they’re busy building toys / and absolutely no one’s dead![/box]
Cute and funny animated musical that I somehow missed over the years. Not going on my annual list.
78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe US/2017
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Psycho (1960) gave me very wrinkled skin. I was in that shower for seven days – 70 setups. At least, he [Alfred Hitchcock] made sure the water was warm. — Janet Leigh[/box]
The shower scene in Psycho (1960) brought graphic violence in film to a whole new level. The scene took 78 camera setups and seven days to shoot. It occupies only a three minutes on screen but provides plenty of material for a 91 minute documentary. We meet participants such as Leigh’s body double and contemporary directors talking about the influence of the scene on later works. Really interesting.
Hitchcock/Truffaut Directed by Kent Jones US/2015
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] It’s only a movie, and, after all, we’re all grossly overpaid. — Alfred Hitchcock[/box]
A host of filmmakers and other talking heads discuss the impact of the 1966 book I have always known as “Hitchcock/Truffaut” but is apparently actually called “Cinema According to Hitchcock”. And what a wonderful book it is!Over the course of many hours, Hitchcock opens up in great detail about all the films to an adoring Truffaut who must be credited for asking some excellent questions.It’s a fine documentary but even better would be to pull the book out again for another read.
Monster a-Go Go Directed by Bill Rebane and Herschell Gordon Lewis Written by Jeff Smith, Dok Stanford and Bill Rebane 1965/US B.I. and L Releasing Company
First viewing/YouTube
[box] Narrator: What you are about to see may not even be possible, within the narrow limits of human understanding.[/box]
Well at least the poster colors match Christmas! Unfortunately, not recommended at Christmas or any other time.
A space capsule lands on earth but its astronaut is missing. There are no signs of his body but a highly radioactive field in the area. At the same time, a ten foot mutant monster roams the streets wreaking havoc. Is he the missing astronaut or is it all just a coincidence?
The monster barely shows up at all and when he does could not outrun a small child. The rest of the movie tries and fails to be hip. 90-minutes that just drag out interminably. Watched the MST3K version after the original and the badness is only intensified.
Being George Clooney
Directed by Paul Mariano
US/2016
First viewing/Netflix Instant
[box] You never really learn much from hearing yourself talk. — George Clooney[/box]
It’s a charming documentary about voice actors all over the world who have made a career out of dubbing George Clooney. Although few have met the actor, all feel close to him and woe betide the film company that tries to change dubbers fans have gotten used to! Really interesting look at an unsung niche of the movie industry.
The Eleanor Roosevelt Story Directed by Richard Kaplan US/1965
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. — Eleanor Roosevelt [/box]
An affectionate biography and tribute to a great lady. Recommended to those with any interest at all in the subject matter. This film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, Feature.
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Woody Allen: A Documentary Directed by Robert B. Weide US/2011
First viewing/Amazon Prime
[box] The two biggest myths about me are that I’m an intellectual, because I wear these glasses, and that I’m an artist because my films lose money. Those two myths have been prevalent for many years. — Woody Allen[/box]
The film covers Allen’s entire life and filmography in two parts adding up to about three hours. A man this prolific deserved the time spent on him. We get lots of talking heads but more importantly rare quiet moments in which the director reminisces and philosophizes. This is obviously an authorized biography and thus does not give undue emphasis to painful matters.Mia Farrow is treated kindly.Istill love the movies and this may be as close as we get to their maker. I can still watch them with fondness as by now they are part of me.
Color Me Blood Red Written and Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis
USA/1975
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Rolf: Listen, pal, you’d be rude, too, if you saw your girl tied up, and a man with an axe in one hand and a bloody mess in the other. And a corpse outside there on the beach.[/box]
Thus is the third in Lewis’s “Blood Trilogy”, following “Blood Feast” and “Two Thousand Maniacs”. In this one, a painter is criticized for his drab color schemes until he comes up with the idea of smearing his paintings with blood collected from his scantily clad models.The gore would be disgusting if it weren’t so fake.I really didn’t need to see all three of these movies and neither, probably, do you. The complete film is also available on YouTube currently.
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore Directed by Frank Hennenlotter and Jimmy Maslin US/2010
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] I see filmmaking as a business and pity anyone who regards it as an art form. — Herschell Gordon Lewis[/box]
This documentary and Lewis’s commentaries on his films are by far the most interesting facets of watching the films themselves,Lewis took nothing seriously except the bottom liine and is quite a story teller.Recommended for fans.
Saw three more great documentaries about film over the past couple days.
American Movie Directed by Chris Smith US/1999
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Mark Borchardt: “Coven,” man, we gotta get this sucker done, though. Seriously. Last night, man, I was so drunk, I was calling Morocco, man. Calling, trying to get to the Hotel Hilton at Tangiers in Casablanca, man. That’s, I mean, that’s, that’s pathetic, man! Is that what you wanna do with your life? Suck down peppermint schnapps and try to call Morocco at two in the morning? That’s senseless! But that’s what happens, man. [/box]
Chris Smith’s American Movie (1999) is a documentary about Mark Borchardt, a thirty-something stoner that still lives with his parents and has woman trouble.He has also been working on a short horror film called “Coven” for several years.The documentary covers the final days of shooting of that film.It is absolutely hilarious without disrespecting the subjects or their dreams.I laughed out loud so many times! If you have any affection all for inept low-budget filmmakers with vision I would say it is not to be missed. Highly recommended.
Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures Directed by Jan Harlan US/2001
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Jack Nicholson [about Kubrick]: Everyone pretty much acknowledges that he’s the man, and I still feel that underrates him.[/box]
I thought this was a superlative look at the director.I learned a lot – including that he married the German singer at the end of “Paths of Glory”. But the best part comes right after the opening credits.Clips from all his movies are edited in such a way that the viewer can only leave the experience with an awestruck “wow”. The shots are all that spectacular – it’s like sensory overload. Then the documentary goes on a more traditional track but still with excellent coverage of all the films and many behind the scenes shots. The complete film is also available on YouTube.
Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story Directed by Daniel Raim US/2015
First viewing/Netflix Streaming
[box] [last lines] Lillian Michelson: The challenges that one has to overcome, I think is, making the other person feel that you are really vital to the partner’s life, in every sense, and that – there’s no enemy there. Even if you fight, there’s no enemy there. We were a team. [closes book][/box]
Fascinating documentary covers the 60 years of Harold and Lillian Michelson’s life and work at the center of the Hollywood movie industry.. Considering that she ran a research library and he started out as an anonymous story board artist that was quite a feat!Lillian provided all the myriad detail that allowed production teams to create whole worlds on sound stages for many great movies. Her library also became a kind of salon where people met and talked.Harold was a storyboard artist – a profession I had not realized existed. I thought the directors came up with the shot ideas but not so I guess! Even Hitchcock hired him!Later Harold became an art director and production designer.And to boot, the two clearly had one of the great romances and were loved by all who knew them.Recommended.
The Collector Directed by William Wyler Written by John Kohn and Stanley Mann from a novel by John Fowles 1965/UK/USA Collector Company/Columbia Pictures Corporation
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Freddie Clegg: There’d be a blooming lot more of this sort of thing, if more people had the time and the money.[/box]
Mild-mannered bank teller and butterfly collector Freddie Clegg (Terence Stamp) wins the National Lottery and is now financially able to start the next phase of his avocation –collecting pretty young women. He begins stalking art student Miranda Grey (Samantha Eggar) and captures her with – natch – chloroform.
The deranged Freddie tells Miranda he loves her and knows that she will learn to love him. But Miranda repeated desperate escape attempts take their relationship to a very dark place.
For all practical purposes, this is a two-person cast and both actors do excellent work under the capable hands of Wyler. The man could knock it out of the park in any genre. Truly a creepy thriller. Recommended.
The Collector was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.
I’ve been a classic movie fan for many years. My original mission was to see as many movies as I could get my hands on for every year from 1929 to 1970. I have completed that mission.
I then carried on with my chronological journey and and stopped midway through 1978. You can find my reviews of 1934-1978 films and “Top 10” lists for the 1929-1936 and 1944-77 films I saw here. For the past several months I have circled back to view the pre-Code films that were never reviewed here.
I’m a retired Foreign Service Officer living in Indio, California. When I’m not watching movies, I’m probably traveling, watching birds, knitting, or reading.
Photographs and videos found in this blog, unless indicated, are not owned by me and are here only for the purpose of education and discussion. Media found here are not intended for any commercial purpose. Copyright infringement is not intended.
Written material belongs to me and is copyrighted by flickersintime.com
Directed by Chris Smith
For all practical purposes, this is a two-person cast and both actors do excellent work under the capable hands of Wyler. The man could knock it out of the park in any genre. Truly a creepy thriller. Recommended.