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Thread: Tcm

  1. #121
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    Carnival of souls (1962)

    Candace Hilligoss is beautiful as a woman haunted by ghosts at an abandoned amusement park/pavilion.

    She’s involved in a car accident and starts being haunted and drawn to the former carnival location.
    Very creepy and atmospheric film, one that’s been compared to a Twilight Zone episode.
    Very low budget by appearances, the acting I found to be pretty bad.
    The surreal vibe kept me interested.
    It could’ve been a lost early George A. Romero!
    This was a Criterion Collection DVD selection once upon a time.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  2. #122
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    Juliet of the Spirits (1965)

    Federico Fellini’s first film in colour, and he maximized it.

    He cast his wife Giuletta Masina in the title role, a housewife with profound insecurities about her husband.
    Through memories/flashback, dreams, etc. She has visions from various “spirits”- occult, Catholic, familial and from beyond the grave.
    The visuals are dazzling, and if you’re a lover of cinema, then this will be a treat.
    The music is great, the pacing/editing is great, and the cinematography is really great.
    A must-see.
    Also was a Criterion DVD release.
    Last edited by Johann; 02-25-2021 at 11:55 AM.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  3. #123
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    Johann,
    Your report led me to watch Juliet of the Spirits again, because I'm subscribed to HBO now and it's free there to subscribers. It is dazzling and gorgeous. But it also reminds me how indigestible Fellini became to me and always really was. There is the sentimentality of La Strada, the pretentiousness of La Dolce Vita. I can see why some, like Orson Welles, chose his earliest pictures as the best. But also this reminds me how Fellini dominated arthouse cinema in the late fifties and early sixties, till Antonioni took over with L'Avventura and the French wiped out the Italians when the Nouvelle Vague had more energy and originality and more directors and stars.

    Juliet of the Spirits really grabs you and astonishes you with scene after scene of astonishments. But the structures is weak. Unlike La Dolce Vita, he doesn't make each sequence really count. He doesn't pause to breathe between them, for one thing. And this shows what some critics like John Simon are talking about when they point to a steady decline after what some (like Rosenbaum) think was a peak with 8 1/2, which incidentally is a triumph of beautiful black and white. He kind of went overboard with the color, like a child in a toy shop, as if it was going to be his last chance and he'd have to go back to monochrome right after.

  4. #124
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    You’re right about Fellini.
    Juliet of the Spirits is dazzling, and he doesn’t pause to breathe.

    I just loved the colour, the faces, and the whimsy.
    When I think of cinema, this is the type of stuff I want to see.
    Fellini may be hard to love- a viewer has to make allowances.
    We’re just supposed to indulge him in his flights of fancy.
    I agree that he seems be using colour like it’s the last time he will.



    I watched Gone With The Wind last night- found it a little tedious.
    I see why people love it- it captures the “Old South” quite well and has decent acting.
    Ultimately it’s just like Roger Ebert said it was: the rise and fall of a sexual adventuress.

    Kubrick’s Killer’s Kiss is on TCM Saturday at midnight.
    Last edited by Johann; 03-05-2021 at 09:38 AM.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  5. #125
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    European film buffs were in awe of Fellini when La Dolce Vita came out. But while it won the Palme d'Or, it was probably L'Avventura that deserved it.
    So wrote A.A. Dowd of AVClub.

  6. #126
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    Killer’s Kiss (1955)

    This was an amateur film from Stanley Kubrick, his second feature.
    Introduced by Eddie Muller for “Noir Alley”, this movie may be incoherent to some.

    It’s historical importance is huge, as it shows the birth pangs of a great director.
    The story (by Kubrick) is about Davey and Gloria and a third party named Vinnie. (Frank Silvera).
    Davey is a boxer who recovers from a loss and inadvertently falls into Gloria’s dark world. The film is 67 minutes and culminates with a rooftop chase and a fight in a mannequin factory.
    It showcases a New York that doesn’t exist anymore, a Manhattan that no longer glitters.
    Stanley was a photographer (a Great one) and all of the shots bear his unique vision. He was trying to be a pro with this film, even tho he didn’t know what he was doing. The sound is completely dubbed, as he didn’t know how to record synchronized sound.
    The acting is no great shakes, and neither is the disjointed pacing.
    All in all it’s still an admirable effort, and got picked up by United Artists for distribution.
    Eddie Muller is right: this is genius, in development.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  7. #127
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    BERLIN: Symphony of a Great City (1927)

    Part of the Silent Sunday Nights series hosted by Jacqueline Stewart, this was a gem.

    Made by Walther Ruttman, this silent evoked Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov with it’s rhythm and documentary style.
    It shows us one day in Berlin in the twenties, after WWI and before Hitler’s Nazis.
    It’s in 5 reels, or “Akts”, and it is impressive.
    It shows us how Industrious Germany was, how advanced they were for their time, with trains,factories, newsprint, communications and even bakeries.
    It starts with early morning and finishes with the night.
    I’d never seen this one before, and being a fan of Vertov, I was riveted.
    Fast cuts, interesting camera angles, time-capsule effects, terrific film.
    A must-see.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  8. #128
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    Thanks for the tip.

  9. #129
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    Just thought I'd move this thread up in the queue.
    Re-reading it brings back memories.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

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