Tcm mark 2

[Johann]

I was shocked to learn that Truman Capote (writer of Breakfast at Tiffanys) originally wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly but she was talked out of it.
Capote felt swindled.
I couldn't help but think of how different the movie would be with Marilyn.

[Johann]

MRS. MINIVER (1942)



A classic, albeit propaganda, from William Wyler.
Greer Garson is Mrs. Clem Miniver, pretty British housewife. We follow her throughout the harrowing beginnings of WW2, when her whole world is upended. Her hubby Clem (Walter Pidgeon) ends up volunteering for the Dunkirk evacuation and her son enlists as a pilot for the RAF.
She endures the London bombings with her children and she only flinches when the bombs actually hit. She's a stoic Mama, and Garson earned her Oscar.
This film won best picture, deservedly so. Life itself was threatened, and this movie presented a brave perspective in the face of Nazi terror. In one scene a downed German pilot holds Mrs. Miniver at gunpoint, demanding to be taken to her house for food. She eventually takes his gun and slaps him hard, after calling the police.
The ending is powerful, set in a bombed-out church, where a Priest gives a rousing speech about fighting for freedom, as this was "the people's war".

[Johann]

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)


Another William Wyler classic, even tho I was non-plussed.
We follow three ex-servicemen as they cope after the war.
They have employment woes and relationship woes.
Long movie, clocking in at almost three hours.
This won best picture at the Oscars but I find it unworthy.
Too dull! Too uninteresting!

[Chris Knipp]

My mother spoke of it. It seemed to have impressed her. Maybe they were more patient back then.

[Johann]

It’s well made, I just found it to be a slog.
This was the highest grossing movie of the entire 1940’s.

[Johann]

TOM JONES (1963)



This was a revelation, however if I had never seen BARRY LYNDON I'm not sure I would like it as much as I did. This was nominated for ten Oscars and won four, including best director and best picture.
Handsome Albert Finney plays Tom, a bastard child who has many adventures.
This movie is a rollicking, rowdy ride that employs cool camera techniques, such as the rotating and locking of the camera on actors' faces, as seen in FULL METAL JACKET.
Stanley Kubrick clearly drew inspiration from Tom Jones for his 1700's film Barry Lyndon.
The costumes! The hairstyles and headwear! Even card games, a duel and cleavage- all stolen. lol
Reccomended, but it may be an acquired taste- the humour flew over my head a lot of the time.

[Chris Knipp]

I saw it when I was a graduate student of 18th-c English lit. It was wonderful. And then Tony Richardson went on to make THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER. That was a great time for English film.