Thanks for comparing me to Kael- no one can reach her level, can they?
Today's Jack Lemmon? Hmm.
Maybe Steve Carrell?
Thanks for comparing me to Kael- no one can reach her level, can they?
Today's Jack Lemmon? Hmm.
Maybe Steve Carrell?
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
I see, it's Tcm that's lowering its standards - you're just sticking with them.
Well, you can't drink first growth bordeaux every day. You definitely cannot.
Somehow at the time Jack Lemmon meant more than Steve Carell, but a good choice.
Last edited by Chris Knipp; 06-25-2020 at 05:36 PM.
The curated schedule for TCM is unpredictable-they have classics dotting a shit-ton of other movies with varying degrees of interest.
I admit I cherry-pick what I see but I'm open to almost anything.
Tomorrow I've earmarked The Maltese Falcon and Fritz Lang's M.
Saturday is the original King Kong and Jules Dassin's Brute Force.
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
Sounds like a classic weekend. Don't know BRUTE FORCE but it looks good. Eight years later Dassin was to make the French noir classic RIFIFI with the famous wordless 20-minute burglary sequence. Greatness.
The Blues is a pain in your Heart...
Fantastic and timely film, considering the issue of race in America.
Diana Ross gives an Oscar-caliber performance as jazz legend Billie Holiday.
She can act, boy. I'd only ever seen her in The Wiz, which was underwhelming to me.
But here she proves she has the acting goods. We knew she was a mesmerizing singer for the Supremes, but here she really grabs you.
Billy Dee Williams shines as her love interest Louis MacKay, and he's also the best dressed! Wow are his suits amazing in this!
Richard Pryor also provides great support, proving he can act too, not just do comedy.
This film shows us Billie in totem:
early beginnings, getting noticed, experiencing racism first-hand (singing "Strange Fruit" after seeing a black man lynched was powerful), her brutal heroin addiction, her rocky relationships, and ultimately getting to play Carnegie Hall in New York.
This film should turn you into a Billie Holiday fan, if you weren't one already.
Part of the "SPOTLIGHT ON JAZZ" series with TCM host Eddie Muller, this is a must-see.
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
I remember how much this one shook me up. It would be worth revisiting that experience and see how it feels now.
Last edited by Chris Knipp; 06-26-2020 at 10:33 AM.
Forgot Richard Pryer was in it. Rather incredible cast. Black masters.
But the NYTimes review said it was a dreadful movie, with a marvelous lead performance. I think I may have hated myself by being so moved by it. But I was.
Last edited by Chris Knipp; 06-26-2020 at 10:41 AM.
Dreadful movie? Only to those who are uncomfortable with the truth...
This is a bio-pic, and fairly accurate from what I can gather.
It has disturbing scenes (intense KKK rally, Billie's drug abuse, ends with Pryor's murder, etc.) but none of that dims her singing light, which shines really bright.
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
Let's talk about the Black Bird...
Based on the Dashiell Hammett novel, this was John Huston's directorial debut.
Starring Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, P.I., it's a great mystery movie.
The plot involves a woman suspected of murder, possibly three, including Sam's detective partner.
All in the name of a special totem: The Maltese Falcon, a high-value carved hawk encrusted with precious jewels.
But the falcon isn't what it seems, and neither is any "Lead" in this movie...byzantine twists and turns until Spade uncovers Ultimate truth.
Co-starring Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, this one is a thing of beauty.
Last edited by Johann; 06-27-2020 at 09:32 AM.
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
It was great to see what Fritz Lang was up to after Metropolis.
Peter Lorre made a name for himself playing child killer Beckert.
Common criminals are recruited to track down the elusive killer, as the police pulled out all stops and came up empty.
Nice to see early 30's Germany, and this film was interestingly shot.
It doesn't reach boiling point until the very end, where Justice gets served.
I couldn't help but compare it to the Joe Losey re-make which was well done.
Stark & Creepy flick.
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
"It wasn't the airplanes. It was BEAUTY killed the Beast..."
This isn't just a great Horror film, it's also a rousing action-adventure.
Carl Denham is an enthusiastic yet reckless filmmaker from New York who makes exploitation films of nature.
He got wind from a Norwegian ship that there's a Skull Island, uncharted, and there may be REALLY exotic subject matter for a film there.
He hires a girl named Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) off the street to be his damsel-in-distress and he charters a boat.
He makes it to the island, through thick fog and a weary ship's crew.
Once on land they encounter tribal natives who are preparing a "bride" or sacrifice to what they name "KONG".
From then on, mayhem and horror and action ensues.
My fave sequence is Kong Vs. the T. Rex, where the giant gorilla rips the dino's jaws apart.
If you know movies, you MUST know KING KONG.
It's my favorite film of the 1930's- Visionary, Ambitious and Classic in every way.
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
"Tribal natives"? Native tribesmen.
Fave of the 1930's? How about THE 39 STEPS, THE LADY VANISHES, LA GRANDE ILLUSION, RULES OF THE GAME, BOUDOU SAVED FROM DROWING, BLOOD OF A POET?
"Tribal natives"? Native tribesmen, perhaps.
Fave of the 1930's? How about THE 39 STEPS, THE LADY VANISHES, LA GRANDE ILLUSION, RULES OF THE GAME, BOUDOU SAVED FROM DROWING, BLOOD OF A POET?
I'm still thinking about LADY SINGS THE BLUES and I think it is a bad movie, corny and inaccurate about the life of Billy Holiday. Many reviews confirm this, and it's one reason why I felt so depressed after I watched it, because I knew it was false and corny, and yet it so much moved me. I was manipulated and I couldn't help myself. But the lead performance is impressive and moving despite the singing being wrong, not representative of the jazz subtlety of Lady Day.
Last edited by Chris Knipp; 06-27-2020 at 02:30 PM.
Yes, my favorite of the 1930's.
Those others have much more polish and prestige, but can't compare to the "MOVIE-NESS" of King Kong.
AS Ray Harryhausen said: "Movies are made for Fantasy", and Kong surpasses them in fantasy.
As for Lady Sings The Blues, I recognize that there's no substitute for the real thing.
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
Outstanding film, and my first introduction to Jules Dassin. I was very impressed.
As far as prison films go, this is just as great as The Great Escape, Papillon, Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.
Burt Lancaster stars as Joe Collins, a convict at the brutal Westgate Pen.
The prison has serious management problems. The warden is weak, and there's a sadistic Captain of the guards (a deliciously evil Hume Cronyn) angling for his job.
Collins is an unhappy inmate, and he wants OUT.
An escape plan is hatched, and the inmates face Brute Force if it doesn't work out. They already endure it, but if the plan fails they face machine gun deaths.
Snags occur (of course...) yet the plan somehow goes forward, with explosive (and unexpected) results.
The finale makes the whole movie worth it...
Glad I got to see this classic. Great stuff from Jules Dassin.
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks