The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Posted on April 10, 2013 | 4 comments

The Man Who Knew Too Much Man Who Knew Too Much Poster
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
1934/UK
Gaumont British Picture Corporation
Second Viewing

 

 

Abbott: Tell her they may soon be leaving us. Leaving us for a long, long journey. How is it that Shakespeare says? “From which no traveler returns.” Great poet.

Bob and Jill Lawrence are vacationing with their daughter Betty in Switzerland when their friend Louis is murdered.  Before dieing Louis passes them secret information.  Betty is promptly kidnapped to prevent the Lawrences from going to the authorities with the information.  Can the Lawrences rescue Betty?  Can another assassination be prevented?  With Leslie Banks and Edna Best as the Lawrences, Nova Philbeam as Betty, Pierre Fresnay as Louis, and Peter Lorre as the head of the kidnapping/spy ring.

manwhoknewtoomuch-bfi-00n-1

This is OK early Hitchcock but I can understand why he wanted to remake it on a bigger budget in 1956.  The suspense leaves something to be desired, though the Albert Hall scene is still classic.  The picture is well worth seeing if only to catch Peter Lorre’s performance.  He makes a wonderfully jovial yet really creepy bad guy.

The Albert Hall sequence

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A Mother Should Be Loved (1934)

Posted on April 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

A Mother Should Be Loved (“Haha wo kowazuya”)A_Mother_Should_Be_Loved-569057564-large
Directed by Yasujirô Ozu
1934/Japan
Shôchiku Eiga
First viewing

 

 

Sadao (to his younger brother): I don’t see how you can get worked up by a mother like her.

Sadao and Kuosaku lose their father when they are children.  Unbeknownst to Sadao, the father’s wife is not his real mother but his stepmother.  The mother makes a vow to treat the boys the same and conceals the truth from Sadao.  When Sadao enters university, he finds out and takes it very badly.  His main complaint seems to be that the mother treats him better than his brother, her real son!

A_Mother_Should_be_Loved

The first and last reels of this silent film have been lost and are substituted by a textual explanation.  The other problem with the version I watched was that it was totally silent.  Nevertheless, I became interested in the story.  I guess in every time and culture children will be jerks and say thoughtless things to make their mothers cry.  And their mothers will forgive them.

 

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Rashomon (1950)

Posted on April 8, 2013 | 7 comments

RashomonRashomon dvd
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
1950/Japan
Daiei Motion Picture Company
#225 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Several viewings

 

 

Commoner: In the end you cannot understand the things men do.

A priest, a woodcutter, and a commoner take shelter from a downpour under the Roshomon gate.  The priest and woodcutter are stunned by the horrible stories they have heard about a murder of a samurai and rape of his wife in the forest.  The woodcutter first tells about his discovery of the body and then proceeds to relate the accounts of the events given by the bandit, the woman, and the samurai (through a medium).  He follows with another eye-witness account.  The stories do not coincide and indeed there is conflicting evidence as to whether there was a murder at all.

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The commoner and the woodcutter

I love Kurosawa’s dazzling meditation on the nature of reality. The people are not so much lying as telling the story from their perspective and in a way that puts each in the best possible light. I think it is interesting that each of the principals claims responsibility for the death, as if what is most important is that s/he be seen as in control of the situation.  Sometimes Toshiro Mifune seems to be overacting as the bandit but when we compare his performances in each version of the story we can see subtle changes.  I love the vast differences between the classic sword fight as described by the bandit and the same sword fight reported by the woodcutter, when we see the two men struggling on the ground and gasping for breath.

Roshomon 1

The cinematography is fantastic. The Criterion DVD includes excerpts from The World of Kazuo Miyagawa, a documentary on Rashomon’s cinematographer.  It was fascinating to learn how he achieved the long tracking shot of the woodsman entering the forest and the light and shadows on the characters faces.  Kurosawa truly captured a sun-dappled forest to perfection. Needless to say, each shot is exquisitely composed.

Clip – “A Ghastly Discovery”

 

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The Muppet Movie (1979)

Posted on April 8, 2013 | 5 comments

The Muppet MovieMuppetMovieCover
Directed by James Frawley
1979/USA
Henson Associates and ITC Films
First viewing
#656 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

Kermit: [singing; repeated lines] Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection. The lovers, the dreamers, and me.

A Hollywood agent gets lost in Kermit’s swamp and tells him about an audition for frogs in Hollywood. Kermit heads for the promised land and picks up an assortment of friends along the way, including Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggie, and Gonzo. The group is pursued by Doc Hopper, who is determined to force Kermit to do the advertisement for his chain of frog leg restaurants.

The Muppet Movie

This is a cute film with plenty of cameos by famous people for the adults and all kinds of puns and other jokes for the kids. Unfortunately, I had never seen it before so I didn’t have the nostalgia factor going in. My favorite parts were the beginning and end with “The Rainbow Connection” song.

“The Rainbow Connection”

 

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Bright Eyes (1934)

Posted on April 7, 2013 | 2 comments

Bright Eyesbrighteyes1934 DVD
Directed by David Butler
1934/USA
Fox Film Corporation
First viewing

 

James ‘Loop’ Merritt: Now I’ve got a present for you. This isn’t from Santa Claus. This is from me to you. This is a magic ring, see? Just like in the fairy tales. If ever you’re in trouble, or if you ever want me to do anything for you, you send me this ring, and I’ll come.
Shirley Blake: Oh, it’s so pretty. Thank you, Loop.

Little Shirley (Shirley Temple) loves to spend time at the airport with her buddy Loop (James Dunn), a pilot who was the friend of her late father.  Shirley’s mother works as a maid in the house of some stuck-up rich people the Smythes, their horrible little girl (Jane Withers), and crotchety Uncle Ned.  When Shirley’s mother goes to Heaven also, there is a custody battle between Uncle Ned, Loop, and Mrs. Smythe’s sister who just so happens to be Loop’s ex-fiance.  If you don’t know where this is going, you haven’t seen enough Shirley Temple movies!  With Jane Darwell as the family cook, sporting a great Irish brogue.  This is the one with “The Good Ship Lollypop.”

Bright Eyes 1

Shirley Temple and Jane Withers

Well, I haven’t seen a Shirley Temple movie in a long, long time and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Shirley Temple and James Dunn make an outstanding pair. He really seems like he could be her Daddy. Jane Withers is awesomely bratty. I can imagine that this might be upsetting for small children with little Shirley being orphaned, the parachute jump (!)  and all. Nothing great but good fun despite a some schmaltz.

Clip

 

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Posted in 1934

The Lost Patrol (1934)

Posted on April 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

The Lost Patrolthe_lost_patrol_1934
Directed by John Ford
1934/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing

 

The Sergeant: What’s the use of chewin’ the rag about something we might of done?
Morelli: Right you are, Sarge!
The Sergeant: Yeah, I know what you’re thinkin’. Perhaps I’ve done everything wrong! Perhaps this and perhaps that! But what I’ve done I’ve done, and what I haven’t, I haven’t!

A British Army patrol is on duty in the Mesopotamian Desert during WWI when its officer is killed by Arab sniper fire.  Since the officer was the only one who knew where the patrol was headed, the men are lost.  The Sargeant (Victor McLaglen) leads the men to a desert oasis where their horses are promptly stolen.  The men hunker down to await rescue while under constant threat from Arabs.  With Boris Karloff as an unpopular bible-thumping soldier and Wallace Ford as another of the men.

The Lost Patrol 2

The rather depressing story did nothing to capture my attention. It was nice to see Karloff in a fairly meaty non-horror role. Unfortunately, his character goes mad and Karloff heads straight over the top. Victor McLaglen is always pretty good. Some nice photography of sand dunes. Meh.

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Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1992)

Posted on April 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial KillerAileen Wuornos DVD
Directed by Nick Broomfield
1993/UK
Channel 4 Television Corporation and Lafayette Films
#852 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
First Viewing

 

Aileen Wuornos: [In court] I’m trying to save taxpayers money; you people don’t care. You wanna press on with a jury and everything else to try to impress the public. And all I wanna do is go back to prison, wait for the chair, and get the hell off of this planet that’s full of evil and your corruption in these courtrooms.

Aileen Wuornos was the inspiration for the character played by Charlize Theron in Monster, thought to be the first female serial killer in the U.S. Aileen herself disputed that, claiming that each of the seven murders she committed was in self-defense. This documentary is not so concerned with Aileen’s life, however. It largely focuses on how she got mixed up with her attorney and a woman who ended up adopting her. These people convinced her to plead no contest to six of the charges against her and proceeded to try to cash in on Aileen’s story. At the same time, certain police officers were also selling her story.

Aileen Wuornos 1

While this documentary was OK, I would not call it “must see” viewing. The film maker got precious few interviews with key players so there is an awful lot of filler. It seemed to me, also, that the documentarian himself was also cashing in on the story, while criticizing others that were doing the same thing.

Trailer

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Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008)

Posted on April 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

Anvil: The Story of AnvilAnvilTheStoryofAnvil Poster
Directed by Sacha Gervasi
2008/Canada
Little Dean’s Yard and AHIMSA Films
#1079 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (Combined List)
First Viewing

 

Out of 1934 rentals again, I turned to Netflix Instant for another documentary from the  1001 Movies list.  While this was interesting enough, I can’t see why I should have made a point to see it before I died.

Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow: Everything on the tour went drastically wrong. But at least there was a tour for it to go wrong on.

This documentary is the story of the comeback efforts of a Canadian heavy metal band called Anvil,which had some success as an opening act in the early 80s. The core members of the band, the lead singer/guitarist and drummer, have been together since they were 14 and are now in their early 50s, holding down blue-collar day jobs but continuing to play. The film follows the band’s comedy-of-errors tour of Europe and attempts to record and get a distributor for their 13th album.

anvil-the-story-of-anvil 1

While Anvil has been referred to as a real-life This Is Spinal Tap, I didn’t find it particularly funny. You had to hand it to these guys for their persistence and love of the music, but mostly it was kind of sad. I also had the nagging feeling that the film itself was something of a self-promotional comeback effort.

 

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In the Year of the Pig (1968)

Posted on April 6, 2013 | 2 comments

In the Year of the PigIn the Year of the Pig DVD
Directed by Emile de Antonio
1968/USA
Emile de Antonio Productions
#502 of 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die
First viewing

 

Made while the war in Vietnam was still raging, The Year of the Pig ïs an “advocacy film” intended to raise opposition to the war by appealing to both the emotions and the intellect.  Although I generally hate to feel manipulated, I have to admit that the film is brilliantly effective in what it sets out to do.

In the Year of the Pig 3

The film traces the history of conflict in Vietnam through disturbing images, ironic use of music and sound effects, U.S. television news footage, sound bites from U.S. government and military officials, and interviews with scholars and war opponents. The basic message is that the U.S. cannot win the war because it is a liberation struggle supported by the majority of the Vietnamese people, North and South.

[box] “Vietnam was the first war ever fought without any censorship. Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.” – General William C. Westmoreland[/box]

In the Year of the Pig 4

De Antonio was a committed Marxist and made no pretense of objectivity in this film. Since I agree with him about the folly of that war, the propaganda does not bother me as much as it otherwise would. And we certainly had a lot of propaganda on the other side for it to counter!

I had never heard of this film before.  Thanks to whomever nominated it for the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Blog Club.

Clip – rickshaw drivers – life under the French

 

 

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

Treasure Island (1934)

Posted on April 5, 2013 | 2 comments

Treasure IslandTreasure Island Poster
Directed by Victor Fleming
1934/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Second or third viewing

 

Capt. Alexander Smollett: When there’s treasure in the hold, there’s fire in the fo’c’sle.

Old Billy Bones (Lionel Barrymore) turns up at the inn run by Jim Hawkins’s (Jackie Cooper) mother with a mysterious chest. Soon other unsavory characters turn up in search of Billy. Upon Billy’s untimely death, Jim discovers a treasure map in the chest. Gentlemen of the town hire a ship to search for the treasure. Before they know it, unscrupulous but loveable Long John Silver (Wallace Beery) has signed on as cook and brought aboard his pirate cronies as crew. Long John and Jim become fast friends and the adventure begins.

Treasure Island 1

This movie was a ton of fun and I’m sure immensely popular with boys when it came out. I thought the style foreshadowed The Wizard of Oz, also directed by Fleming, in its storybook exaggeration and charm. The pirates are deliciously vile!  I think those who enjoyed The Adventures of Robin Hood would like this.

Clip

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