WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[CineMaven]

IN A BLAZE OF GLORY

WoW! In the space of two days...




I saw two actresses who were positively absolutely unequivocally glorious in their madness.

[feaito]

Both grand performances and great films Tess. I've wondered why Kathleen Byron did not became a bigger name on film...

[feaito]

Did anyone like Scent of A Woman? Pacino is such a good actor he did deserve an Oscar but he has made far better films.

When the Pacino film -with then youngster Chris O'Donnell- came out I rejected it on sight. I never wanted to see it. I tend not to like films in which one of the main focuses is the leading player's handicap: being blind, deaf, disabled et al. Maybe is the way in which the American cinema treats those subjects (manipulation of the viewers?). I have never wanted to see Rain Man, Forrest Gump, A beautiful Mind and many more, because I'm utterly biased against them, but on the other hand for some odd reason the original Italian film with Gassman appeals to me in a way.

[JackFavell]

Ha! I just watched They Drive By Night for the first time all the way through, and I love your comparison, T! It's spot on. Ida gives Kathleen a run for her money, madness wise.

The academy always seems to reward in these types of films. Forgive me if I am wrong, but I think these films also were nominated, like the others you mentioned (and these aren't even including the ones from the classic era) - Elephant Man, My Left Foot, Children of a Lesser God, I Am Sam, Born on the Fourth of July, Awakenings, Mask, Away From her, Coming Home, The Notebook, Being There, Babel The King's Speech... Many of these really deserved Oscar noms, but it's gotten to be kind of a knee jerk reaction to nominate an actor if he plays handicapped. And I would even include the mother of them all, even though there's an illness at it's core, not a disability - Terms of Endearment. ugh. What would actors do without disabilities?

So by the time it came around to Al Pacino's turn, they were like, "Oh hey, have we given Al Pacino an Oscar yet? No? Well, geez, let's take pity on the poor guy and give him one, he played a blind guy after all." Even though his roles in The Godfather, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon (my personal preference), Sea of Love, Cruising, Glengarry Glen Ross, Donnie Brasco, The Merchant of Venice and ...And Justice for All were all better movies and performances in my opinion. In fact, I'm sorry to say I thought he was terrible in Scent of a Woman, and I didn't like the movie much either.

Maybe by watching the original Italian version, it will take the scent of overacting out of my mind.

[RedRiver]

Pacino did better work when he was younger. "Dog Day" is some of the best ranting and raving I've seen by anybody. He's simply all over it!

I like ELEPHANT MAN a lot. There's irony in that, as I am SO not a fan of David Lynch!

[feaito]

Brilliant post Wendy, I agree with you.

[JackFavell]

Thanks so much fer! I'm glad to know it wasn't just me who didn't care for it.

[CineMaven]

Both grand performances and great films Tess. I've wondered why Kathleen Byron did not became a bigger name on film...

Boy, you've got me there. I'll have to look for her other films. She really was a good nemesis for Deborah Kerr.

[Fossy]

The Female Animal (1958)
Aging film star Vanessa (Hedy Lamarr who was actually 45 at the time, but definitely did not look it) is saved from injury when equipment failed at the studio by Chris (George Nader). Vanessa sets Chris up in her beach house and “visits him” from time to time.

Chris is having a drink at the local. Also present was drunken teenager Penny (Jane Powell, actually she was age 29 and looked it) and a man who was intent on getting her drunker so he could have his wicked way. She is rescued by Chris.

Vanessa loves Chris, who loves Penny, who turns out to be Vanessa`s Daughter. Penny loves Chris. Also in the mix is Lily (Jan Frayne), another aging star who indulges herself with a string of gigolos. She wants to give her present lover the flick and take on Chris.

All is sorted out in the end and Lily has to make do with her current gigolo. Vanessa decides to act her age and yields to Penny and Chris.

This sounds quite a silly picture, but I have a collection of biographies and auto biographies. Having read them I realise that this movie is quite believable.

[charliechaplinfan]

I agree with you 100% Wendy on Al Pacino and his Oscar. In essence there both Gassman and Pacino play angry and obnoxious men both men you want to punch at times but I there's something about Gassman's performance that keeps you with him, you know for all his bad behaviour there is a complex and wounded man. I also have the same aversion to how Hollywood treats disabilities although I have seen some of the films listed, they aren't my kind of movies and I never liked them as much as others but the Italian film does not treat the disability in the same way. It's a truly sensitive film and worth seeing should TCM ever dust if off and air it one day.

[RedRiver]

Vanessa loves Chris, who loves Penny, who turns out to be Vanessa`s Daughter. Penny loves Chris.

Wow! That does sound complicated. But entertaining. I bet Woody Allen would like it. I'm not being facetious. Not referring to Woody's real life shenanigans. But some of his movies feature similar situations.

[RedRiver]

Last night I watched THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS, Billy Wilder's fun telling of Lindbergh's flight across The Atlantic. All American Jimmy Stewart plays the hero. The excitement and support of people on both sides of the ocean provide the thrills. The director's flair for the comedic keeps things light enough that we never cease to have fun, even when the story begins to run out of fuel.

This is not one of the great Billy Wilder films. It lacks the hard edge of SUNSET BLVD; the intimacy of THE APARTMENT. A story about a man alone for 40 hours is hard to keep in the air. This one loses altitude from time to time. But cute, homey flashbacks keep it lively: Lindbergh the young stunt flier, the perils of the air mail business, a brief meeting with a pretty lady that, refreshingly, doesn't develop into an obligatory romance. Our boy has no time for women!

The movie looks good. It has period atmosphere, effective cinematography, it's colorful. That actually surprised me. The last time I watched it was on a black and white TV! Not a great film. But fun!

[JackFavell]

I actually think this is a great film. The problem is that Wilder did so many other great films that this one looks less great against the others.

[Rita Hayworth]

Last night I watched THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS, Billy Wilder's fun telling of Lindbergh's flight across The Atlantic. All American Jimmy Stewart plays the hero. The excitement and support of people on both sides of the ocean provide the thrills. The director's flair for the comedic keeps things light enough that we never cease to have fun, even when the story begins to run out of fuel.

This is not one of the great Billy Wilder films. It lacks the hard edge of SUNSET BLVD; the intimacy of THE APARTMENT. A story about a man alone for 40 hours is hard to keep in the air. This one loses altitude from time to time. But cute, homey flashbacks keep it lively: Lindbergh the young stunt flier, the perils of the air mail business, a brief meeting with a pretty lady that, refreshingly, doesn't develop into an obligatory romance. Our boy has no time for women!

The movie looks good. It has period atmosphere, effective cinematography, it's colorful. That actually surprised me. The last time I watched it was on a black and white TV! Not a great film. But fun!

It's one of my favorite films ... Red River because it was a fun film to watch and most importantly Jimmy Stewart did a nice job playing Lindbergh in this film. I dig the cinematography and filmography as well too.

[CineMaven]

I watched TCM's "THE ESSENTIALS" this past Saturday night.



I hadn't seen this film in a while. Good god. This movie has got to be one of the most psychologically disturbing films ever made. Certainly, it tops the list for most demanding roles for both these fine actresses. Unbelievable. Unsettling. Genius.