Absolutely. It would be nice if there were a way to have both normal life and art life be good... but watching movies as a healthy and functioning member of society just isn't the same as watching them alone at home in the middle of the night. Well - at least it's a win-win, either way, I guess...liquidnature wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 2:02 amthis took me back to about 8 years ago, when I was practically nocturnal - one memorable middle-of-the-night viewing experience was the first time I watched Lost in Translation, some time around 2:00-3:00 am, which only enhanced its power. I also had no job, and would play CSGO most of the night. Good times.
Now days I'm usually in bed by 10:30 pm, which, in my experience, has been a much better way to live. I'd love to go to sleep and wake up even earlier if and when my job changes.
Last Watched
Re: Last Watched
The Mask of Fu Manchu (Charles Brabin/Charles Vidor, 1932) - Racist beyond belief, obviously, but at the same time packed with high camp value. Myrna Loy's face of glee as a half-naked man gets whipped by other half-naked men, Boris Karloff with his elaborate sadistic torture devices and enslavement serums + a bland, hysterical leading lady that wouldn't look out of place in a John Waters film.
PTU (Johnnie To, 2003) - I enjoyed this one more than The Mission, it's the kind of understated depiction of Hong Kong that I've been looking for. The way the streets were lit really stuck out. But again, the soundtrack...To has been addded to the list of directors that I'd never pass the aux cord to along with Michael Mann. Being a masterful depicter of urban spaces and having a keen music taste doesn't seem to go hand in hand for some reason...
PTU (Johnnie To, 2003) - I enjoyed this one more than The Mission, it's the kind of understated depiction of Hong Kong that I've been looking for. The way the streets were lit really stuck out. But again, the soundtrack...To has been addded to the list of directors that I'd never pass the aux cord to along with Michael Mann. Being a masterful depicter of urban spaces and having a keen music taste doesn't seem to go hand in hand for some reason...
gimme a few hours and i'll have something for you. edit: check the place!!
PTU!
i do remember the terrible mission soundtrack but not PTU?? i'll have to pay attention next time i watch 
Last edited by rischka on Tue May 19, 2020 2:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It consists of slow nu metal-ish instrumentals that's very much a product of it's time, but it's admirably quiet for most of the running length.
My notes for PTU start with "some extremely questionable music choices" so I know what you mean.
ehh i remember the 80s so i've lived with a lot of questionable music choices lol
three crowns of the sailor in the place
three crowns of the sailor in the place
Three Crowns could use a rewatch from me, I remember watching it straight after City of Pirates and Manoel on the Island of Wonders and being a little underwhelmed that it didn't have the same intense feverish quality and soundtrack as them.
yeah it was my first ruiz so i felt a little overwhelmed even in terrible quality lol
speaking of underwhelmed on first view, gonna rewatch le cercle rouge on mubi
it may have been just WHY does alain delon have a mustache like WHY would you do that lol
speaking of underwhelmed on first view, gonna rewatch le cercle rouge on mubi
it may have been just WHY does alain delon have a mustache like WHY would you do that lol
Rewatching is truly good for the soul, about two months ago I decided that it's finally time to start rewatching some stuff.
Fruitful rewatches so far:
Rio Bravo
The Searchers
Rear Window
Notorious
Strangers on a Train
Out of the Past
His Girl Friday
Sunset Boulevard
Most of them I hadn't seen since I burned through the canon in my late teens.
Fruitful rewatches so far:
Rio Bravo
The Searchers
Rear Window
Notorious
Strangers on a Train
Out of the Past
His Girl Friday
Sunset Boulevard
Most of them I hadn't seen since I burned through the canon in my late teens.
and you still managed to pass me on icheckmovies! 
The second half of Lang's DR. MABUSE THE GAMBLER, subtitled INFERNO, and as I'd feared the magic didn't really take hold. Alas. Maybe it was the two day interval between viewings.
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.
Disney's SLEEPING BEAUTY. Some lovely widescreen backgrounds and set design, no doubt. But the characters never come to life in any meaningful way, there's none of the magical magic of SNOW WHITE or PINOCCHIO. Their hearts just don't really seem in it, except when Maleficent is onscreen. But too much of it is way too familiar, and there's none of the spark that made SNOW WHITE such a delight, and the story feels oddly padded, too much time is spent on irrelevancies, a torturously unfunny sequence involving the fairies making a dress and a birthday cake without recourse to magic brings everything to a halt and only makes one wonder how they've managed to get anything done over the previous sixteen years in the woods, and likewise an extended scene showing two kings getting drunk, these things don't do much for the movie except pad out a story that can't fill out a feature length movie, and they're not well done enough to make me not mind the diversion. And the holes in the plot, I mean, what's really the point of hiding Aurora in the woods for the first sixteen years of her life, wouldn't it make more sense to guard the fuck out of her on her sixteenth birthday when the Terrible Curse is supposed to come down?
Whatever. The dragon's pretty cool. 4/10
Whatever. The dragon's pretty cool. 4/10
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.
I just binge-watched the four Deanna Durbin films I'd never seen (thanks so much to Evelyn for sharing three of them! They're in Resources and the fourth is on youtube). In order of preference:
Mad About Music (Norman Taurog, 1938) - loved this. The Alpen setting brings Spring Parade to mind, but the angelic Borzage lighting of Durbin during the more emotional moments recalls His Butler's Sister. Those are my two favourite Durbin films, and Herbert Marshall, from my favourite screwball comedy The Good Fairy shows up twenty minutes in, so it already has a lot going for it. And then excepting Spring Parade it might have the catchiest and most inventive musical numbers of any Durbin movie, and there's great comedy and drama once things pick up -- it's one of the best Durbin films.
Up in Central Park (William Seiter, 1948) - Durbin quit acting altogether because she found her last four films so poor, and this was the second-to-last of them. It's not that bad though, compared to some of her other final films, though the musical numbers often seem completely unmotivated and Seiter didn't seem to know how to film the dance scenes with any energy. Definitely minor work in Durbin's filmography, but it doesn't deserve its lowly reputation.
Because of Him (Richard Wallace, 1946) - classic Durbin comedy premise, where Durbin is an unknown actor/singer desperate to find a way to audition or perform for someone important and get a break. There's some good plotting early on here, but Laughton is at his hammiest, and Franchot Tone is insufferable. Any romance between Durbin and either of them would be incomprehensible, so the film quickly becomes incomprehensible.
For the Love of Mary (Frederick de Cordova, 1948) - Durbin's last film, and the one that made her quit acting for good. It's easy to see why. The plot has her working a switchboard at the White House and landing in a love quadrangle, pursued by three witless, charmless, predatory jackasses who treat her like chattel, as do several Supreme Court justices and the President, who are all manipulating her dating calendar to ends beyond understanding. I'm usually pretty sure in a romantic comedy of this type which of the competing suitors I'm supposed to be siding with, but here I was just hoping Durbin would get on a plane to Melbourne and never see these people again. I might have forgiven all of those faults to some degree if the film were funny or entertaining in some way, but it rarely is, Durbin's presence the only good thing about it.
Very happy to see these, even the last one that I really disliked, I made a letterboxd list of all of Durbin's films, ranked by personal preference, here:
https://letterboxd.com/fliptrotsky/list ... te-ranked/
Mad About Music (Norman Taurog, 1938) - loved this. The Alpen setting brings Spring Parade to mind, but the angelic Borzage lighting of Durbin during the more emotional moments recalls His Butler's Sister. Those are my two favourite Durbin films, and Herbert Marshall, from my favourite screwball comedy The Good Fairy shows up twenty minutes in, so it already has a lot going for it. And then excepting Spring Parade it might have the catchiest and most inventive musical numbers of any Durbin movie, and there's great comedy and drama once things pick up -- it's one of the best Durbin films.
Up in Central Park (William Seiter, 1948) - Durbin quit acting altogether because she found her last four films so poor, and this was the second-to-last of them. It's not that bad though, compared to some of her other final films, though the musical numbers often seem completely unmotivated and Seiter didn't seem to know how to film the dance scenes with any energy. Definitely minor work in Durbin's filmography, but it doesn't deserve its lowly reputation.
Because of Him (Richard Wallace, 1946) - classic Durbin comedy premise, where Durbin is an unknown actor/singer desperate to find a way to audition or perform for someone important and get a break. There's some good plotting early on here, but Laughton is at his hammiest, and Franchot Tone is insufferable. Any romance between Durbin and either of them would be incomprehensible, so the film quickly becomes incomprehensible.
For the Love of Mary (Frederick de Cordova, 1948) - Durbin's last film, and the one that made her quit acting for good. It's easy to see why. The plot has her working a switchboard at the White House and landing in a love quadrangle, pursued by three witless, charmless, predatory jackasses who treat her like chattel, as do several Supreme Court justices and the President, who are all manipulating her dating calendar to ends beyond understanding. I'm usually pretty sure in a romantic comedy of this type which of the competing suitors I'm supposed to be siding with, but here I was just hoping Durbin would get on a plane to Melbourne and never see these people again. I might have forgiven all of those faults to some degree if the film were funny or entertaining in some way, but it rarely is, Durbin's presence the only good thing about it.
Very happy to see these, even the last one that I really disliked, I made a letterboxd list of all of Durbin's films, ranked by personal preference, here:
https://letterboxd.com/fliptrotsky/list ... te-ranked/
Nice! After I finish West Point Widow I'm going to end my Siodmak binge with Durbin's Christmas Holiday, then maybe dig into a couple of those. Funny, I wouldn't have expected SCFZ to have such a nifty little Durbin fanclub, but I'll take it.
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Evelyn Library P.I.
- Posts: 1370
- Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:36 pm
Oh, my pleasure flip, always happy to help out a fellow Durbin fan! Especially glad you enjoyed Mad About Music, both for its music and its fiction/reality thematics. It might be my favourite Durbin, though we'll see where it lands as I go through them all this summer.
DER SCHÖNE TAG (Thomas Arslan, 2000 Germany)
wonderful cinematography by Michael Wiesweg. I also really loved the audio, the work of the sound recording artists. All the walking was excellent, the light also.
Arslan, as usual, might be the worst director in the history of film when it comes to directing people speaking, but if you want to (and I wanted!) you can get a weird mix of Bressonian line delivery and bad amateur theater acting out of it.
My fifth Arslan in the last 15 years and it was a great experience! Love this guy.
Also, I think the female protagonist was at one point explaining her viewing experience of Maurice Pialat's A NOS AMOURS (1983) for 3 or 4 minutes, which is always a plus. More movies should have such a scene (and less of Rohmer).
wonderful cinematography by Michael Wiesweg. I also really loved the audio, the work of the sound recording artists. All the walking was excellent, the light also.
Arslan, as usual, might be the worst director in the history of film when it comes to directing people speaking, but if you want to (and I wanted!) you can get a weird mix of Bressonian line delivery and bad amateur theater acting out of it.
My fifth Arslan in the last 15 years and it was a great experience! Love this guy.
Also, I think the female protagonist was at one point explaining her viewing experience of Maurice Pialat's A NOS AMOURS (1983) for 3 or 4 minutes, which is always a plus. More movies should have such a scene (and less of Rohmer).
Last edited by wba on Sat May 23, 2020 2:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"I too am a child burned by future experiences, fallen back on myself and already suspecting the certainty that in the end only those will prove benevolent who believe in nothing." – Marran Gosov
That reminds me that I absolutely need to see more Taurog movies!flip wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2020 3:37 am
Mad About Music (Norman Taurog, 1938) - loved this. The Alpen setting brings Spring Parade to mind, but the angelic Borzage lighting of Durbin during the more emotional moments recalls His Butler's Sister. Those are my two favourite Durbin films, and Herbert Marshall, from my favourite screwball comedy The Good Fairy shows up twenty minutes in, so it already has a lot going for it. And then excepting Spring Parade it might have the catchiest and most inventive musical numbers of any Durbin movie, and there's great comedy and drama once things pick up -- it's one of the best Durbin films.
"I too am a child burned by future experiences, fallen back on myself and already suspecting the certainty that in the end only those will prove benevolent who believe in nothing." – Marran Gosov
BERLIN UM DIE ECKE "Berlin around the Corner" (Gerhard Klein, 1965 East Germany)
One of the many banned films from 1965 in the GDR, this one was sadly left unfinished. Nevertheless, this is an impressive achievement, a masterpiece of acting and directing.
Need to see more films by Klein, this was only my second. Also impressed by Dieter Mann, Monika Gabriel and Hans Hardt-Hardtloff (who acted in quite a number of masterpieces and seemingly in most of the banned films from 1964/65).
If all of GDR cinema would have developed in the vein of the 1964/65 productions, it might have become one of the strongest national cinemas throughout the late 60s and early 70s.
One of the many banned films from 1965 in the GDR, this one was sadly left unfinished. Nevertheless, this is an impressive achievement, a masterpiece of acting and directing.
Need to see more films by Klein, this was only my second. Also impressed by Dieter Mann, Monika Gabriel and Hans Hardt-Hardtloff (who acted in quite a number of masterpieces and seemingly in most of the banned films from 1964/65).
If all of GDR cinema would have developed in the vein of the 1964/65 productions, it might have become one of the strongest national cinemas throughout the late 60s and early 70s.
"I too am a child burned by future experiences, fallen back on myself and already suspecting the certainty that in the end only those will prove benevolent who believe in nothing." – Marran Gosov
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liquidnature
- Posts: 556
- Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:44 am
watching fan and it really goes to a dark place! srk is scary 
no wonder the film didn't do well in india. also there's no songs
he's actually really good in the dual role
no wonder the film didn't do well in india. also there's no songshe's actually really good in the dual role
BEDAZZLED -- Stanley Donen's film of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's take on Faust, where Moore's Stanley trades his soul to Cook's Satan for seven wishes. Even the stodgy Donen can't quite entirely smother the cast and script, but it's not for want of trying. A few fine moments manage to struggle to the surface, but Donen is an odd fit as director. Richard Lester might have more energetically handled the film's irreverence. The duelling pop songs halfway through are the film's real highlight. Still, a film that I like a good deal, despite Donen.
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.
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liquidnature
- Posts: 556
- Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:44 am
Carné's Port of Shadows (1938)
Unequivocally one of the greatest things I've ever seen. Near-perfect cinema, full of more depth and vision than thought possible for 1938. Might do a letterboxd review to expand on those feelings. But for now, I leave you with these two images:
michèle morgan's eyes ♥ - the only lights that pierce through the fog
Unequivocally one of the greatest things I've ever seen. Near-perfect cinema, full of more depth and vision than thought possible for 1938. Might do a letterboxd review to expand on those feelings. But for now, I leave you with these two images:
michèle morgan's eyes ♥ - the only lights that pierce through the fog
zanussi's debut Struktura krysztalu
very snowy! loved it
very snowy! loved it
SCARFACE -- the Hawks/Hughes/Hecht gangster extravaganza of 1932, with Paul Muni and everybody. The cops spout cliches, the newspapers fan the flames of gangster popularity, and the gangsters have all the fun, living and dying and fighting and fucking and shooting each other up and it's a gas. Some surprising moments of lowkeyness surface here and there, as when George Raft and Ann Dvorak silently but frankly check each other out, but it's Muni's great mad Tony Camonte who rules the movie, flaming out spectacularly at film's end.
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.
spione! seen years ago, vague feeling of dislike and i think it was the way two hardboiled spies fell in love overnight lol
i forgive it that now and it earned my heart this time with the clown ending
i forgive it that now and it earned my heart this time with the clown ending
is fincher the most erratic filmmaker ever? rewatched FIGHT CLUB and THE GAME, they're both utter garbage, although THE GAME is just extremely garbagely written/made, and FIGHT CLUB is garbage in its self-important didactic bullshit
SE7EN holds up
and i watched ZODIAC recently, it was genius
seriously, how did the guy who made ZODIAC make FIGHT CLUB????
SE7EN holds up
and i watched ZODIAC recently, it was genius
seriously, how did the guy who made ZODIAC make FIGHT CLUB????
FIncher has made two fine films, and only two fine films -- ZODIAC and THE SOCIAL NETWORK. The rest is self-important tripe. There's no excuse for filth like BENJAMIN BUTTON.
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.
At the other end of the spectrum, there's LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN, Lubitsch's silent of Oscar Wilde's play which apparently entirely dispenses with Wilde's dialogue in the intertitle, but you don't need Wilde's epigrams if you're Lubitsch with a movie camera. Tasty Lubitschian mastery from start to finish.
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.
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Joks Trois
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2018 9:51 am
^^I'm somewhat troubled by the fact that a director as obviously vacuous as Fincher is regarded as important. Just goes to show how bad things are.
Scared Stiff: I much prefer Lewis on his own. Dean Martin is okay, but I don't buy into the idea that they were a great comic duo. The split was for the best. Lewis went off to do more inventive things and Martin was better on his own too. 5
Scared Stiff: I much prefer Lewis on his own. Dean Martin is okay, but I don't buy into the idea that they were a great comic duo. The split was for the best. Lewis went off to do more inventive things and Martin was better on his own too. 5