Tcm

[Johann]

Of course Heston doesn’t play Jesus literally, just metaphorically.
He has the only vaccine, so he is like God to those who need it.
The movie is haunting and unpredictable, and his character says “They don’t make ‘em like that anymore...”, referring to Woodstock, a doc about “Peace and �� Love”...


As for The Unknown, wow.
I hear you about Freaks Oscar...it is superior and also directed by Tod Browning.
I was enthralled watching it. I saw where Jack Nicholson got his huge grin in Batman: from Lon Chaney.
The Unknown is a perfect silent film, and I recommend it to anybody.
I saw the version with the Alloy Orchestra score, which was stellar.

[Johann]

I have seen many movies on TCM.

Some of them are: A Star Is Born- excellent performance from Judy Garland!
Casablanca- saw it twice on TCM- a perfect movie if there ever was one.
Lawrence of Arabia- stunning epic.
Three masterpieces from Powell & Pressburger: (I Know Where I’m Going, The Red Shoes, and
Black Narcissus). All three are amazing must-see films.

The Great Escape. Just see it.
Glory- awesome war flick.
The Brain that Would Not Die- B-grade horror that revealed to me where Kubrick got inspiration for The Shining. The movie has the line All work and no play makes the Doctor a dull boy!.
It also has the line Does my Horror match Yours?.

I got to see 2 Kubrick masterpieces as well: LOLITA and 2001.
TCM is the film buff’s friend...

[Johann]

I love the Fitzpatrick travel films and the OUR GANG (Little Rascals) shorts they show from time to time on TCM.

I also love the hosts and their various programs. They all know their stuff.

[Johann]

Saw this great "Essential" film last night on TCM.

Directed by George Stevens, starring Cary Grant and based on a Rudyard Kipling poem, this was a revelation.

Outstanding cinematography, superb editing and action, action, Action! make this one a must-see.
This movie slipped by me- never saw in my 45 years on earth, and praise goes to TCM for showcasing it.
It's a "Regimental" movie, and it deals with the idea of what makes a soldier, during Britain's colonial rule.


Other movies I've seen on TCM this year:

Anatomy of a Murder- Brilliant Otto Preminger film, with incredible ensemble acting.
Gidget- cute Sandra Dee movie. If you were wondering where Tarantino got "Big Kahuna" from, it was Gidget. lol
M.- the Joseph Losey remake, not the Fritz Lang. Creepy creepy flick, Mang...
Edge of the City- awesome Sidney Poitier/John Cassavetes drama.
THE GREEN BERETS-a shitty John Wayne vietnam flick- too premature!!
Easter Parade- dazzling confection of a movie, with stunning dance numbers, starring Judy Garland & Fred Astaire.
and
The Wizard of Oz- one of my favorite movies from MGM.

[Johann]

I've written about this masterpiece before on this website, and I saw it again this past Sunday night, as part of the "Sunday Night Silents" series hosted by the refined Jacqueline Stewart.

Directed by the amazing Dziga Vertov (name translated means "Spinning Top"), this is a dizzying tour de force of a silent.
With help editing from his wife, this 6-reel marvel showcases everyday life in the 1920's soviet union, and has no peers.
Vertov insisted that cinema be drawn from real life, NO SCRIPT!, and man did he ever make his case!
The 2014 score by the Alloy Orchestra lifts the film up too, with thrilling results. If you love movies, you simply can't miss this one.


Yet more treasure I've seen on TCM this year:

4 with Marlon Brando in his Prime: (Julius Caesar, A Streetcar Named Desire, On The Waterfront, & Sayonara).
Godzilla- the original Japanese. (AND BEST!)
Peter Bogdanovich's Nickelodeon- entertaining flop with Ryan O'Neal and Burt Reynolds.
Frankie & Johnny and Blue Hawaii 2 awesome Elvis Presley flicks.

and today I saw an MGM treat: NEW MOON (1940), a great Hammerstein musical starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
This movie had everything I love about MGM in it: gorgeous stars, fantasy premise, stunning singing and regal opulence.

Tomorrow night we get to see REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE!!!

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks for these, Johann. I like what you say about Man with a Movie Camera, couldn't find your previous FilmLeaf comments on it.



Your current mention of it prompted me to watch it. I had not seen it for a long time. The wife's editing certainly is key. It's fascinating how the cameraman appears in somewhat dangerous positions, like a stunt camera, all very influential. A Google search brings: "pushed the boundaries of cinematic visual language and opened up the world of filmmaking." That's drawn from a 2018 online article by Zita Whalley. I had an inkling of the "constructivist" origins of Vertov's style she mentions (I thought of Italian Futurism)-

The film emerged out of the Constructivist art movement of the early 20th century. This school of thought believed art should reflect the modern, industrialized world and should serve the greater, collective good. As a movement that embraced the future, Constructivism welcomed technology and pushed design and artistic boundaries.

I'm more of a Surprematist myself, being a huge fan of Malevich! The constructivists (like the futurists) celebrated industry and the mechanical, the suprematists celebrated the pure aesthetic, hence Malevich's white-on-white paintings and his sublime rectangles.

Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy is my idea of hell.
Saw Brando's Julius Caesar with my father, who taught Shakespeare and I think he loved it. Brando made Shakespeare wonderfully contemporary. How did it hold up?
Don't think I knew about the Joseph Losey 'M.'
You are providing a lot of interesting references.
In some ways the early part of Man with a Movie Camera fixed images anticipates much later American street photography.

I appreciate Losey's collaborations with Harold Pinter. I became a huge fan of THE SERVANT, which I first saw when it was new in Cairo, a sparsely populated cinema, with subtitles in French and Arabic, and I am sure I was the only person who appreciated the dry humor. It's a haunting, definitive film. To a lesser extent I like ACCIDENT. I recently saw MR. KLEIN for the first time and it's an interesting film, another surprising Alain Delon role. We initially saw him only as the world's most beautiful male actor, as he is in PURPLE NOON. And he was, and that's a very, very cool movie. https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1446362...&ref_=nm_ov_vi
Later I saw LE SAMOURAI, by the great Jean-Pierre Melville. But I digress...

[Johann]

I had an inkling of the "constructivist" origins of Vertov's style

Thanks Chris for more context- its always welcome.
I laughed when you said MacDonald & Eddy are hell...I know what you mean, but NEW MOON was a treat.

The Joe Losey was about a child killer, and the actor playing him really pulled off his inner psychopath...
The Brando Julius Caesar holds up, he's stern and Stoic. John Gielgud & James Mason provide solid support.

I saw two "SPOTLIGHT ON JAZZ" classics last night- Roman Polanski's debut feature Knife in the Water and Louis Malle's ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS.
Both were fantastic, with great jazz scores. The Malle had Miles Davis for a score!!!