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@Creasy47, show him the picture of Charlotte nude sitting upright on that table, and I'm sure he'll have her committed to memory for life. ;)
What picture...
:-\"
-14,2 outside and snow.
That should be a punishable offense.
Show him that picture, and he'll have a slight stiffness come on, in the shoulder.
That's the problem with some film buffs - they know everything about films since their birth year. Before that they know Clint Eastwood, and have vaguely heard of John Wayne.
Sad but true. He still considers himself one, even though his field of view with cinema is very, very, very small, and limited to a select section of films. It's why I never take his opinions or thoughts seriously on any movie.
@Creasy47, what are your friend's thoughts on "Citizen Kane," "Casablanca" and other classic films of that time? Or as some people I know would call them, "those black and white things." #-o
Yikes. And he really thinks he's some kind of cinematic connoisseur?
@DaltonCraig007, fantastic! Doesn't get much better than Welles at his best or Bogart doing what Bogart did best, which was basically everything. Easily my favorite actor of that special era.
I know you're currently catching up on a lot of TV, but I could give you some great classic film recommendations if you like. I've seen a fair bit of Bogart and Welles' work of that period especially, if you fancied them.
@DaltonCraig007, that's my watch list: ever-growing, and never to be completed. It's a shame, really, because there are probably countless classics and really enjoyable films on there that I'll never get to see all of.
As far as Bogie goes, my specialty, the main films I'd recommend to start off experiencing his work are "The Maltese Falcon," "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "To Have and Have Not," "The Big Sleep," "and "In a Lonely Place." "Falcon" is a classic noir with Bogie as Sam Spade, the famous fictional private investigator, and is simply a stunning film to take in. The cast is a masterclass, with talents like Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet teaming up with Bogart a year before they all came together for "Casablanca."
"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "In a Lonely Place," though diverse in setting and theme both display Bogie's startling range as a performer. You watch him over time morph and adapt in who he is as a man, his characters crumbling under the pressures of the world around them as well as their own demons. "Sierra Madre" might be my favorite Bogie performance I've seen yet, in fact.
Finally, "To Have and Have Not" and "The Big Sleep" showcase Bogart with his on and offscreen love, the indelible Ms. Lauren Bacall. The two met when Bogie was 44 and she was just 19 on the set of "To Have and Have Not" and fell fast in love. In each movie they star in together, a total of four features, you can see the chemistry bubbling between them. "To Have and Have Not" is unremarkable in most respects, but it's a treat to experience because you literally watch a man and woman fall in love on celluloid. "The Big Sleep" is an infamous mess of a noir, where nobody from the director to the screenwriter (including noir writer Raymond Chandler himself) knew what the hell was going on in the film plot wise. It's known amongst the film loving community as a movie impossible to explain to people because of its all-over-the-place plot, but again, watch it for Bogart and Bacall's chemistry. They're an absolute knock-out and you'll see why they fell in love with each other. In their love scenes they never acted a second.
For Welles, two I can recommend to start are "The Third Man" and "The Lady From Shanghai." "The Third Man" is a top 10 noir film with a complex and fascinating set of characters set against a post war Vienna. It's an atmospheric, thrilling and mysterious slow burn with the amazing Joseph Cotten reuniting with Orson following "Kane." It's a wonderfully complex mystery where nothing is what it seems, all with the bizarre yet wonderful score accompanying the action, all created using a zither, an instrument you'll grow to love after watching it. The film is so off-set/eschew, from the direction and camerawork (lots of dutch angles) to the characters in the story itself. Don't look up anything about the movie before watching it. You'll want to experience this one blind, including two scenes in particular that are for my money some of the greatest acted and shot sequences to come out of that entire era.
"The Lady From Shanghai" while not to the level of "The Third Man" is still worth a watch. Orson is directing and writing another slow burner mystery, with Rita Hayworth as a drop dead femme fatale that'll make your heart stop. Women like her, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe made me lament the heavy loss of the special beauty that women of that time had. Knock-outs, every one of them. Again, "Shanghai" contains classic scenes in it that have been aped in popular film since, including an interesting climax. A great watch, indeed.
Lastly, if you're not familiar with Marilyn Monroe, I'd point you in the direction of "Some Like it Hot," "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "The Seven Year Itch" and "Niagara." "Some Like it Hot" is often rightfully picked as the best classic era comedy. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis come together to deliver a black comedy of epic proportions. It is on a separate level to other comedies out there, and still holds up.
"Gentleman Prefer Blondes" shows off Marilyn's screen presence and singing talents, with many musical numbers with here in the center. She's drop dead gorgeous in it alongside the equally lovely Jane Russell as the two deliver stunning comedy performances. It's often hard to focus on the plot as these two beauties command the screen.
"The Seven Year Itch" is a comedy on the level of "Some Like it Hot," both by the incomparable Billy Wilder, with Marilyn as an unbelievably entertaining symbol of sexy temptation to Tom Ewell's goofy protagonist. You will seldom have a funner time with a classic comedy than with this gem.
Finally, "Niagara" is a film where Marilyn was able to get away from the pretty dumb blonde roles she was oft cast in to play a far more complex character, which she does beautifully. After watching other films of hers you'll be shocked to find just how different she feels in her presence in this film. She shows you that she's far more than a pretty face, fully capable of playing flawed, twisted characters. I wish she'd gotten more chances to do this kind of work before her untimely death. Joseph Cotten of "The Third Man" and "Kane" also makes an appearance, cementing it as a "must watch."
Every Marilyn viewing should come with a warning, however, which I'll give to you now: You WILL fall in deep, entrancing love with this woman, and you will wish nothing more than to travel back in time to her arms. It's a danger to fall down the rabbit hole of her filmography for this reason, but rest assured, the pain is worth the pleasure. ;)
I've yet to see Touch of Evil, I think for the same reason I haven't seen Blade Runner. I don't know which cut/version is best to watch. Can you enlighten me, @chrisisall, so I can remedy it soon?
@DaltonCraig007, great! Let me know your thoughts when you give any of them a watch.
That's the REAL version. The theatrical was the studio f**king it up (and it was STILL good!).
And Blade Runner's best version is either the International '82 cut, or the Final Cut, depending on your take on it. Most who did not see the narrated version as their first viewing will probably prefer the narration-less Final Cut. Just get the package that contains them all like I did. :P
As for Blade Runner, am I to assume that the "Final Cut" is an edit of the movie by Ridley himself as he saw the film being in his original vision?
:-&
They're going to have a heart attack though! A month or two ago I messaged them 'What's your favorite color? It's... for the wedding.' LOL!
Everyone picked blue ~X( 8-|
Then later I asked 'black or chrome?'
At least now there's some variety, lol
Here's the one I got (available in black or chrome, with a blade of any color you could possibly want):
Once they come, I'm going to attach some little D-Rings to the bottom (surprisingly they weren't included) so they can hang on the belt like in the movie
My favorite cut is the Final Cut, I'd say, but they all start to blend together after a while and it's tough to differentiate between which is which without going online and comparing them. There are so many different cuts of the film, though, you're always going to get a radically different experience and an altered ending. Go with the Final Cut, see how you feel about it, and perhaps check out one of the others sometime soon after to see which you prefer more.
'Blade Runner' is one of those rare movies that totally and utterly floored and moved me when I first saw it. I had nothing on my mind but that movie the first week after I saw it, it's all I could think about.
Hopefully you enjoy the Final Cut and the film in general! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.