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Just finished watching a film I am starting to consider an absolute favourite. I saw it for the first time about halfway through last year, and this is my fourth or fifth viewing. I think it's perfect.
THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN
Josef von Sternberg, 1935
There is so much I could say about this 76 minute masterpiece. The most striking thing about it is probably the incredibly dark way it portrays Marlene Dietrich. Sternberg discusses the corrupting influence of women in previous films, and Dietrich often serves as the corruptor in those films too. The Blue Angel is the most obvious example, perhaps. But if we compare the two films, we'll see that the earlier picture lingers much more on the effects of the woman on the man. Here Sternberg is more concerned with showing Dietrich's character, Concha, as a cruel deceiver of men. Elements of the caring mother from Blonde Venus appear briefly and fleetingly, but Sternberg's overriding attitude appears to be one of distaste, brought on by romantic distress. Elements of explicit misogyny are present, the most obvious being when Captain Pasqual beats Concha, but always with a strong admission of shame. Pasqual cannot look Concha in the eyes during the next scene. The identities and thoughts of the characters are not as black and white as the goregeous photography which captures them. Concha is a cruel mistress, but she shows signs of remorse to those she ruins. Pasqual is clearly ashamed at himself, but takes pleasure in exercising some form of authority over the woman who exercises supreme authority over him - she is in possession of his heart. It's a very complex film, from a somewhat confused man, but it's utterly enthralling.
It is this complexity and obscurity, combined with the incredible artificiality of the production, that I find so fascinating. Every single action appears choreographed, every ray of light and every ornately designed gate is used for a reason. Yet it still feels incredibly robust and real. The emotions are heightened to the same extent as a straight melodrama, but it doesn't feel melodramatic when I watch it.
And man, I wish people still made movies in black and white. You could never make a film this Earth-shatteringly beautiful in colour (although, admittedly, nobody could make one in black and white either now that Sternberg is long dead and buried). If I had to pinpoint one scene in any film I've ever watched which is just perfect, it would most certainly be the climactic duel in this picture. The dark figures entering and exiting the frame en-masse, the heavy rain obscuring the entire image and attacking the participants, the brief, fleeting moment of calm before a shot rings out - it feels like an eternity.
Such an overwhelming motion picture.
And harmsway, BETTER return. It'd be so wrong to go on without him.
Absolute pants, I've seen better episodes of Miami Vice, what happened to William Friedkin?
Bullitt
I had to watch it in two parts because I was too tired to finish it yesterday. Ended on the car chase yesterday and started with the car chase today. Oh, those poor, poor cars. That's something that is missing in today's chases. You can tell that those cars went through the grinder for those shots.
As far as the rest of the movie, the first half was too slow for my tastes, but the second really takes off. McQueen dominates the screen. One of my favorite looking "flat" films, in terms of composition. I have a feeling I'll like Bullitt better the more viewings I get in.
A strange directorial debut from The Coen Brothers, I didn't quite catch what was all going on but it was a good noir film with interesting twists. Dan Hedaya played an especially cold and ruthless character which is a far cry from his many comedic roles later on and M. Emmet Walsh was brilliant as a psychotic private eye. Kind of a precursor to the great No Country for Old Men which was also set in stark and dark Texas.
Coen-Meter:
1. No Country for Old Men (2007)
2. Miller's Crossing (1990)
- 3. Blood Simple (1984) -
4. Burn After Reading (2008)
5. Barton Fink (1991)
6. Fargo (1996)
7. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2001)
8. Raising Arizona (1987)
30 years on and it still hasn't been bettered
three of the best action scequences ever filmed, not to mention the out take sequence that accompanies the credits
the rest of the film is pants, but if you like pure action, then you need to see this before you shuffle off this mortal coil, or die unfulfilled
and also Bruce Lee - "Way Of The Dragon"
good wholesome Bruce Lee action
set in Rome but with a caste of seventies henchmen who seem to have been imported from Harlem and the Bronx, wearing clothing that no self respecting Italian would be caught dead in
their dress code stands as an indictment of 70s fashion for all time
sorry if I'm a bit slow, but can anyone enlighten me
is there any way to get bold or itallics in this brave new world?
and how do you upload an immage in a post?
The Adjustment Bureau
Good little romantic sci-fi thriller thing. Ending could use some work.
An all-time classic '80s blockbuster, replete with a highly entertaining Eddie Murphy, a wonderful guilty pleasure of a soundtrack and more fun than you can shake a truncheon at. Smarter, tighter and more sweary than I remember, this is the sort of quality mainstream, grown-up entertainment Hollywood strives to make with seemingly every other film it churns out nowadays, but gets nowhere near to. Shame about the sequels then, but hey. ;)
St_George's viewed flicks: 2011
CW = Cinema watch
FW = First watch
RW = Re-watch
5 out of 5 ~ *****
The King's Speech (2010) CW/ FW
Layer Cake (2004) FW
They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1969) FW
WALL.E (2008) RW
4 out of 5 ~ ****
Alpha Male (2006) RW
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) RW
Los Cronocrímenes (Timecrimes) (2007) FW
The Departed (2006) RW
The Killing Fields (1984) FW
Scener ur ett äktenskap (Scenes From A Marriage) (1973) FW
3 out of 5 ~ ***
Birthday Girl (2001) FW
Brideshead Revisited (2008) FW
Cote d'Azur (Cockles And Mussels) (2005) FW
Female Agents (2008) FW
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) FW
Genova (2008) FW
The Ghost Writer (2010) FW
Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003) RW
Hallam Foe (2007) FW
Monkey Business (1952) RW
Proof (2005) FW
Les Rivières Pourpres (The Crimson Rivers) (2000) FW
Sweet Charity (1969) FW
Trust The Man (2005) FW
2 out of 5 ~ **
Déficit (2007) FW
Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009) FW
1 out of 5 ~ *
A very, very loose remake of the classic Out of the Past. Jeff Bridges plays a football player who is kicked off the team and takes a job from a hood (played by the excellent James woods) which is to find the hood's girlfriend who stabbed him and left for Mexico. While it's far from terrible, the movie just felt uneven in pace and the ending was terrible to say the least (and NOTHING like the originals ending). Just a cheap romance tale masquerading as Noir, Rachel Ward who played the hood's girlfriend later went on to play in the superb film adaptation of Jim Thompson's After Dark My Sweet, that films a much better take on noir than this one.
Must say (and I may lose any 'street cred' I ever had around these parts in saying this), but Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now), that movie's end title theme from the often dubiously popular Phil Collins is another '80s guilty pleasure of mine... :p
Mmmm, Rachel Ward. Mmmm.
Must say (and I may lose any 'street cred' I
ever had around these parts in saying this), but Against All Odds (Take A Look
At Me Now), the often dubiously popular Phil Collins' end title theme from that
movie is another '80s guilty pleasure of mine... :P
I forgot to mention that song, the song is probably one of the best things about the movie. Sadly it's only played once during the film and that's during the credits.
Rachel Ward was still good in the film though.
QoS 3/6
Frankly Im disappointed.....indifferent plot (I asssumed thered be a SPECTRE like org) , annoying editing and meh song.
John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Caesar Romero, Jack Warden - sounds promising
directed by John Ford - could be good then
a comedy… well, comedy was never Ford's strong suit, but could be ok, in a good natured, ham fisted way
instead "inept" is the word to describe this
it fails in such basic and fundamental ways that it's hard to believe it could have been directed by someone of the stature of the great John Ford
he must have been going senile
after the build-up to the opening comic brawl between Wayne and Marvin it's all downhill
every premise is half baked, every thread unravels, there is a basic outline for a script here, but the details were never filled in
it's a series of broad brush, seemingly random and virtually incoherent scenes slapped together with flour and water
Michael Caine is often accused (sometimes by himself) of having done movies purely in order to enjoy the location
"Blame It On Rio" being the most famous example, but that is almost a masterpiece compared with this stinker
which is an embarrassment for all concerned
I can picture the Duke and Lee and Caesar sitting back in their deck chairs, beers in hand, watching another tropical sunset
The Duke - "Do you have any idea what in tar-nation is going on with this movie?"
Lee - "Nah, but who cares…"
Caesar - "Hola, hula girl, can you get me another cerveza? Oh and two more for my friends? Gracias"
and why not…
Kiss the Girls and Make them Die,
a eurospy movie trying to benefit from the connery craze in the 60s. It has some great ideas and some good actions scenes, however it drags a bit (being almost 2h long) and has a lame soundtrack.
Interesting: The last part of the plot resembles STRONGLY Moonraker! Did they lack ideas for Moonraker and got inspiration here???
I had very low expectations, Matthew McConaughey not being very high on my list of favourite actors, and having seen a trailer which looked a bit dull. The movie was actually quite decent. Nothing spectacular, but better than I expected. McConaughey gives the best performance I've seen him deliver, adequate to the character. The supporting cast is strong, lead by Marisa Tomei as the ex-wife, William H. Macy as the friend and Investigator, and Ryan Phillippe as the young client in need of help.
The trailer had unfortunately given up quite a bit of the punch, which is a really stupid thing if you ask me, but the story is still well developed to keep you interested. I'd recommend it to drama enthusiasts, and to the folks who enjoy movies with lawyers. This definitely isn't your typical lawyer movie.
8/10
What an amazing film! I watched it last night for the first time and it left me speechless! I absolutely loved it! Definitely one of the best movies I've ever seen.
Shutter Island
- Kinda knew what was coming at the end, but still a great and fun film.
Last film at cinemas:
The Adjustment Bureau
- Really good, fast-paced film, instantly became one of my top five :P :')
As for myself, to honor the King of Cool's 81st Birthday, I watched "Bullitt". I just meant to watch a little bit of it and I ended up watching the whole film. I hadn't seen it in a long time. Since the last time I watched it, I've read the original novel upon which it is based, "Mute Witness"(1963) by Robert Pike, where McQueen's character is named Clancy as well as become a fan of the classic Hawaii Five-0 TV series. Anyway, I think I enjoyed the film more than I ever had before. Perhaps my appreciation has grown for it since reading the novel. It's definitely my favorite McQueen star vehicle film(as opposed to his star ensemble films "The Great Escape," "The Towering Inferno," and "The Magnificent Seven").
Given the reviews this film got, I was expecting a rather below-average film. I was pleasantly surprised with this one, though. Is it the best espionage thriller out there? No, not by a long shot, but I appreciate the direction they went with it and found it to be quite entertaining throughout. I liked that it was an espionage film that didn't rely on endless strings of explosions or wall-to-wall action every few minutes.
3/5
Is it just my imagination or does Denzel Washington and Tony Scott make the same kind of movies over and over together?