Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Once Upon a Time in America – Both Cuts
- Who's watched: M & G (G many times)
- Mentions: *1* *2*
- Commentary: Another movie for which I have an unreasonable love which my mother tolerates. All I can say is, the scene where Noodles stirs his coffee? Devastates me every time.
I don't think my mother gets the garbage truck scene, although she gets the rape scene and doesn't like it.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Robert De Niro Noodles James Woods Max Elizabeth McGovern Deborah Joe Pesci Frankie Monaldi Burt Young Joe Tuesday Weld Carol Larry Rapp Fat Moe Danny Aiello Police Chief Aiello James Hayden Patsy William Forsythe Cockeye Darlanne Fluegel Eve Amy Ryder Peggy Jennifer Connelly Young Deborah Scott Tiler Young Noodles Rusty Jacobs Young Max/David Bailey Brian Bloom Young Patsy
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 229 minute cut-1983; 251 minute cut-2014
As far as I know, the original 269 minute version has yet to be released to the public, or, at least the the U.S. public. I'm not sure about any other public.
Directed by Sergio Leone.
Update 09/13/2019: I am now a proud owner of the extended director's cut of this movie. Owning director's cuts is not really my style, but this is one of my all-time favorite movies and the extension adds an additional 22 minutes. I've read that the inclusions are not particularly smooth, since the optics put them a bit out of joint with the rest of the picture. I have no problem with them. In fact, since I haven't recently watched the initial European theater version, which is the cut I first owned, I can't actually tell, yet, which are the added scenes. There are special features on this version, as well, which I haven't yet watched, but I'm looking forward to seeing them.
Update 8/27/2024: I've actually had this movie for quite awhile, at least 5 years, but the post became corrupted and I had to salvage what I could, repost and redate it and re-enter it into my Alpha List. It seems to be okay, now.
Labels: dramaC, dream2, gang-movie, james-woods, jennifer-connelly, joe-pesci, me-favorite4, period5, robert-de-niro, tuesday-weld, violence3
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Imitation of Life (1934)
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: This is my favorite version of this movie. For some reason, Lana Turner doesn't do it for me. That being said, being who I am, raised in the manner and era specific to me, I still find this movie and it's 1959 remake disturbing, to say the least. There are 25 years between the two movies and, yet, the basics of the story are the same. Surely such a movie could not be made now and considered legitimate ... could it? I hope not.
Of the two reviews in the link attached to the title, the first is about the movie. The second is a short article about the book and the story.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Update 5/24/22: Yet another post republished on 4/09/09 that "disappeared" and I had to recapture.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Claudette Colbert Beatrice Pullman Rochelle Hudson Jessie Pullman Louise Beavers Delilah Johnson Fredi Washington Peola Johnson Ned Sparks Elmer Smith Warren William Stephen Archer Wyndham Standing Jarvis the Butler Alan Hale Martin
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1934
Directed by John M. Stahl.
Labels: dramaC, louise-beavers, mother-daughter-dynamics1, pre-code, romance4
High Noon
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: This is one of those movies neither Mom nor I had seen but it was one of my father's/her husband's favorites. So, one day I found a classic video rental store in Prescott (What a find!) and we spent the weekend watching 'old' movies, including our first viewing of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and this movie, with which we were both taken. I didn't realize it was such a dark story. As well, I found myself enjoying Gary Cooper, who's performance in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was a little too over the top for me. Plus, one of the disturbing things about Capra movies is that the same actors keep showing up, playing essentially the same roles...Beulah Bondi, for instance; and the guy who plays drunken Diz, Thomas Mitchell, also plays addled Uncle Billy. It's eerie...like, you're not watching a movie, you're spying on another dimension. Not true for this movie. Thank the movie gods.
Although I already have a post title review tagged above for this movie, out of curiosity, I wondered why I hadn't used Roger Ebert's review for it. Turns out, he didn't do a full review of the movie, although he mini-reviewed it on his PBS show and mentioned it in other pieces a few times. In answer to a question on his site about the whys and why-nots of his list of "Great Movies", Roger had this to say about the movie: "I recently screened "High Noon" (No. 33) as a candidate for my Great Movies series, and rejected it as, frankly, just not a very good film. I chose Howard Hawks' great Red River instead."
Many reviewers disagree with Roger, such as the one whose review I linked to the title of this post. For fans of High Noon, the immediately previous link is to a four star review of the film.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Update 5/24/22: Yet another post re-published on 4/09/09 that "disappeared" and I had to recapture.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Gary Cooper Will Kane Thomas Mitchell Mayor Jonas Henderson Lloyd Bridges Dep. Marshal Harvey Pell Katy Jurado Helen Ramirez Grace Kelly Amy Fowler Kane Otto Kruger Judge Percy Mettrick Lon Chaney Martin Howell Harry Morgan Sam Fuller Ian MacDonald Frank Miller Sheb Wooley Ben Miller Lee Van Cleef Jack Colby Robert J. Wilke Jim Pierce
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1952
Directed by Fred Zinnemann.
Labels: dad-favorite, dramaC, film-noir3, melodramaC, revisionist-western, thomas-mitchell
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Lawrence of Arabia
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: We even had, the second time we watched it, a Watching Lawrence of Arabia party. Very successful.
Both my mother and I are surprised at the things we learn about my father knowing that this movie was one of his two favorite movies, the other being Khartoum. He and I saw Khartoum together, a very memorable event, one I'll probably remember as though I'm going through it when I'm old and mentally creative. It happened in Honolulu, probably 1966, the year the movie came out, and involved a long evening stroll along the Ala Wai.
I have, however, had no desire to see that one again. Lawrence of Arabia, though, sometimes I put the disc in and zone out on it for a half hour or so. My mother doesn't do this, but she enjoys the movie.
Roger Ebert wrote about this movie twice: first in 1989 and then again in 2001 as a "Great Movie", the review for which I linked to the title of this post.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Peter O'Toole T. E. Lawrence Alec Guinness Prince Faisal Anthony Quinn Auda abu Tayi Jack Hawkins General Allenby Omar Sharif Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish José Ferrer The Turkish Bey Anthony Quayle Harry Brighton Claude Rains Mr. Dryden
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1962
Directed by David Lean.
Labels: adventure4, biography2, claude-rains, dad-favorite, dramaC, historical4, me-favorite4, political4, popcorn-and-soda6, war2
Hero
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: I rented this movie a couple of weeks ago just to undergird my decision to purchase it. Mom was thoroughly bored, so bored that she wandered around looking for things to do, at one point, while doing crosswords, asked, "Is that thing still on?!?", so my viewing was highly distracted.
No matter. Martial Arts movies of all stripes are another of my guilty movie pleasures. I am particularly fascinated with the use of color in this movie. I am approaching it rather more as though it were a Little Buddha movie, rather than a "guilty pleasure" movie. I like the idea of the telling of stories being the subject as well as the discipline of the movie. I find the depiction of the 'heroine', as well, thoughtfully complex, and the world view thought provoking and disturbing.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Jet Li Nameless Tony Leung Broken Sword Maggie Cheung Flying Snow Chen Daoming King of Qin
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2002; 2004 in the U.S.
Directed by Zhang Yimou.
Labels: §1, action3, dramaC, dream2, period6, political5, spectacle2, suspense3
Grand Canyon
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: This is one of those subtle, quiet movies that I love and Mom endures. I've only watched it with her once. At the end of the movie she said, "Why did they go to the Grand Canyon?"
I started to explain in my best 'student of film' answer. A few sentences into my answer I noticed she was fidgeting and realized that she may have been thinking something eye catching was going to happen at the Grand Canyon, like in Thelma & Louise, but thought she'd missed it. So I asked her if that was the problem. Yep. "No," I said, "you didn't miss any of the movie. The Grand Canyon is a metaphor."
"Oh," she said, with that ironic side glance that tells me she's thinking, "This is one of those movies you have to work at. No thanks."
As a bonus, Gerardo Valero has written a consideration of this movie at the Ebert site that you should consider reading.
Final personal word, this movie continues to intrigue me. I probably watch it once a year.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Danny Glover Simon Kevin Kline Mack Steve Martin Davis Mary McDonnell Claire Mary-Louise Parker Dee Alfre Woodard Jane Jeremy Sisto Roberto Tina Lifford Deborah
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1991
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan.
Labels: danny-glover, dramaC, kevin-kline, me-favorite4
Gone with the Wind
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: I am probably more of a fan of this movie than my mother. She loves the eye spectacle, and every time we watch it, which is at least once a year, she mentions several times that she would have loved to have lived during the period of the regal, stately Southern U.S.
Roger Ebert reviewed Gone with the Wind (link to his review in the title of this post) in order to christen it as one of his Great Movies. Very interesting review. He does not sidestep the discomfort we have about it, now, nor does he dismiss the technical brilliance that brought this movie to the screen. Read it, if you get a chance.
Glenn Erickson DVD Savant weighs in on the movie, twice, cogently. Here's his first review. Here's his second. If you're at all interested in this movie and have gotten past your embarrassment on behalf of the United States and whiteness, in general, for producing either the novel or the movie, you should read these reviews, and, maybe, consider watching the movie.
For me, I love reminding myself that the best, most successful romance in the history of romance stories contains a heroine who is wily and unredepemptive and whose one sterling quality is her ability to survive, despite who she hurts in the process. The hero, a scoundrel himself, is more sympathetic than the heroine.
When we watch this movie, it is always a "planned" watching; in other words, we plan appropriate food, make sure the phone ringer is off, and settle in for several hours. It is, for us, an Event Movie.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Vivien Leigh Scarlett O'Hara Clark Gable Rhett Butler Olivia de Havilland Melanie Hamilton Leslie Howard Ashley Wilkes Hattie McDaniel Mammy Butterfly McQueen Prissy Carroll Nye Frank Kennedy Harry Davenport Dr. Meade
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1939
Directed by Victor Fleming.
Labels: dramaC, period6, romance4, shared-favorite, spectacle2
Gallipoli
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: As I recall, my mention of this one in my journal, which is fairly recent, says it all.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Mark Lee Archy Hamilton Mel Gibson Frank Dunne Bill Kerr Jack Harold Hopkins Les McCann Charles Yunupingu Zac Ron Graham Wallace Hamilton Gerda Nicolson Rose Hamilton Robert Grubb Billy (Lewis) Bill Hunter Major Barton Tim McKenzie Barney Wilson David Argue Snowy (G. S. Wilkes) Steve Dodd Billy Snakeskin
Here's the Wikipedia link for this movie.
Release Date: 1981
Directed by Peter Weir.
Labels: bill-hunter, dramaC, historical4, mel-gibson, peter-weir, war2
Chocolat
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1* *2*
- Commentary: This one transports both of us. I purchased it because we watched it so much on cable, then I recorded it and we watched it some more. The music and the European time period are major attractions for my mother. She really likes stories of women raising children alone with strength and courage, too. The fairy-tale quality of the story mesmerizes both of us.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Juliette Binoche Vianne Rocher Victoire Thivisol Anouk Rocher Judi Dench Armande Voizin Alfred Molina Comte de Reynaud Lena Olin Josephine Muscat Johnny Depp Roux Carrie-Anne Moss Caroline Clairmont Leslie Caron Madame Audel
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2000
Directed by Lasse Hallström.
Labels: carrie-anne-moss, dramaC, judi-dench, juliette-binoche, period6, romance4, shared-favorite
Cabaret
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: This is one of our family classics. We both watch it for Joel Grey's performance as the MC. Mom get's bored with the story and the subtleties, though; for her it's a case of "say-mo, say-mo". Not an infrequent feature, but not a permanent feature, in our house. Mom has to be in the right mood.
Update 2/6/18: Just wanted to say, I watched this movie again recently, maybe about a month ago. It had been, probably, a decade, maybe longer, since my last viewing. I was astonished at how prescient it seemed. The budding nationalism, the furtiveness of acting as though one is living in a free society while feeling a subterranean shrinking of the borders of thought and action ... I spoke with my Florida sister soon after watching it, who is a fan of the movie, knowing she hadn't seen it for ages, either, and mentioned my realization of the budding authoritarianism in the movie. She hadn't remembered it, either, and was surprised. Funny how movies become clearer when they more closely match the times through which one is living.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Liza Minnelli Sally Bowles Michael York Brian Roberts Joel Grey Master of Ceremonies Helmut Griem Baron Maximilian von Heune Fritz Wepper Fritz Wendel Marisa Berenson Natalia Landauer Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel Fräulein Schneider Oliver Collignon/Mark Lambert Nazi Youth Singer
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1972
Directed by Bob Fosse.
Labels: dramaC, musical2, period6
Sunday, May 08, 2022
Little Buddha
- Who's watched: M & G, many times
- Mentions: *1* *2* *3* *4* *5* *6*
- Commentary: This is a sort of "grahsshoppah" movie, for me, but of a somewhat more serious vein, like listening to Alan Watts tapes.
Mom enjoys the movie, as well, as adult religio-spiritual fairy tale. We actually view this movie, or parts of it, a lot.
I know there are many detractors of this movie. I don't care.
I know people take swipes at the acting, especially that of Keanu Reeves. I don't care, and further, he was playing an icon, being introduced to children in the form of a myth. What the hell were you expecting? I know the story seems implausible, but the point of the movie isn't to relate a true story, it's to relate a story, like the book that is read to one of the children in the movie. Finally, if you want to be a film critic about this movie, fine, but, I can't explain why, I can't critique this movie. I love this movie. I watch it at least a couple times a year and have since I acquired it in 2005 (I'm having to rewrite this post on 5/7/2022 because, somehow, while working on this journal, I deleted it). I always watch it with pleasure and in rapt attention, and I suspect I will until the day I die.
Update 5/08/22: This is a reposting of a previous post dated 2/7/2005 that I managed to recover.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Keanu Reeves Prince Siddhartha Chris Isaak Dean Conrad Bridget Fonda Lisa Conrad Alex Wiesendanger Jesse Conrad Ying Ruocheng Lama Norbu Raju Lal Raju Greishma Makar Singh Gita Sogyal Rinpoche Kenpo Tenzin
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1993
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.
Labels: dramaC, dream2, keanu-reeves, pseudo-cgi-animation, religion1, shared-favorite, spiritual2
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Jacob's Ladder
- Who's watched: G
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: This is a recent purchase, and I haven't watched it, yet, since it arrived. Mom has not seen it and probably would find it boring, distracting, and distract me.
This movie is one of my Haunting Movies. I was bound to own it at some point. I continue to focus on the scene in which the character played by Danny Aeillo quotes, damn, someone, about the nature of angels.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Tim Robbins Jacob Singer Elizabeth Peña Jezebel Pipkin Danny Aiello Louis Denardo Matt Craven Michael Newman
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1990
Directed by Adrian Lyne.
Labels: dramaC, fantasy3, haunting2, horror2, me-favorite4, suspense3, tim-robbins
It's a Wonderful Life
- Who's watched: M & G, many times and off-season
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: This movie turned me into a Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra fan. It used to irritate Mom, though, because it is so believably dark (which is what I love about it...by the time Jimmy Stewart is hanging over the bridge, you're thinking, yep, that's the only way). Now, she focuses on Donna Reed and Beulah Bondi.
I remember reading somewhere that this is the only Capra movie in which the monster does not receive his comeupance. And, Lionel Barrymore is a superb monster in this movie.
Roger Ebert christened this movie as one of his "Great Movies". The review is the one linked to the title of this post.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role James Stewart George Bailey Donna Reed Mary Hatch Bailey Lionel Barrymore Mr. Potter Thomas Mitchell Uncle Billy Henry Travers Clarence Beulah Bondi Mrs. Bailey Frank Faylen Ernie Ward Bond Bert Gloria Grahame Violet H. B. Warner Mr. Gower Frank Albertson Sam Wainwright Bill Edmunds Mr. Martini
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1946
Directed by Frank Capra.
Labels: beulah-bondi, Christmas, dramaC, frank-capra, james-stewart, shared-favorite, thomas-mitchell
Imitation of Life (1959)
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: None, to my surprise
- Commentary: This is Mom's favorite version. I'm not sure whether it's because it's a color version, or more 50's, which is a decade she loved, or what. I like this version, but my favorite is Claudette Colbert's.
See my comments in the write-up for the 1934 original of this film.
Unlike the 1934 original, multitudes of reviewers flocked to writing about this version. Two of the four interesting reviews I found (first of the two linked in the title of this post; second, here), while both discussed the movie, more inclined toward the subject of the movie and how it was treated. The third review I found does not shy away from the problems Sirk intended to highlight, but reviews the story, in combination with where we are now in race relations (at least, where we were in 2012 when this review was written) meticulously. Finally, the fourth review I found is kind of a combination of the other three.
I don't have a favorite among the reviews, which is why I included them all. I have to say, though, I am surprised at how much this version has been reviewed compared with how little the 1934 version was reviewed. It's almost as though they are different stories, different movies. Which, in many ways, they are.
Update 11/17/2021: This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Lana Turner Laura Meredith Juanita Moore Annie Johnson Sandra Dee Susie Susan Kohner Sarah Jane John Gavin Steve Archer Robert Alda Allen Loomis Dan O'Herlihy Dave Edwards Mahalia Jackson Choir Soloist
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1959
Directed by Douglas Sirk.
Labels: douglas-sirk, dramaC, mother-daughter-dynamics1, romance4
Monday, February 07, 2005
Scarface
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: This is one of my very favorite movies. It is one of my mother's least favorite movies. She watched it once when some friends were visiting, one of them noticed I had the movie and wanted to watch it. The visit became a Scarface Fest. When the movie was over my mother turned to me and said, "I don't know why you like watching all that blood-letting, girl!" Neither do I.
Update 2/9/18: By the way, Roger Ebert wrote about this movie twice, which is why I am using his reviews (here's the other one) instead of Wikipedia's write-up (Okay, I'll link to that, too). One other thing: If you read the comments, you'll notice a link to a site called The Scarface World. The link is now dead, so I performed a cursory search and couldn't find it. [No, I have not linked to the site, only to a site that indicates that, yes, this site did exist, but has since been deprecated (who knows how long; I only now, on 6/18/21, found this site]. I noticed, however, a plethora of commentary on the movie all over the web. Just punch in its name, if you're curious, and you'll be overwhelmed with content. There's even a Scarface video game.
RE-WATCHED: 7/30-31/2020 Including bonus materials on disc 2. The bonus materials for this movie are especially interesting and there are loads of them, relatively speaking. They include one bonus on the changes made for a TV version and another on why it became so popular among gang members of the time. Al Pacino being interviewed for one of the bonuses dealing with acting the role was a treat. This movie remains an absolute favorite of mine. I can't imagine a time when I won't look forward to watching it ... again.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Al Pacino Tony Montana Steven Bauer Manny Ray Michelle Pfeiffer Elvira Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Gina Robert Loggia Frank Lopez Míriam Colón Mama Montana F. Murray Abraham Omar Paul Shenar Alejandro Sosa
One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
Release Date: 1983
Directed by Brian De Palma.
Labels: action3, al-pacino, brian-de-palma, dramaC, f-murray-abraham, gang-movie, me-favorite4, neo-noirA, oliver-stone, popcorn-and-soda6, violence3
Rear Window
- Who's watched: M
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: I know, I said there isn't a movie in our collection I haven't watched, and this is it! I got this movie because Mom's mentioned it off and on throughout the years and it appeared one day on sale at Costco. The day I bought it, some weeks ago, she was excited when I told her, settled in with it zestily, then, about ⅔ of the way through decided, without warning, to take a nap. She has watched it again, since then.
Roger Ebert wrote two reviews of this film, his initial review, linked to the title of this post, and another when he christened it one of his Great Movies.
Update 2/9/18: I have, as well, watched this movie since my mother's death. I find it mildly engaging but it isn't close to my favorite Hitchcock movie. That badge of honor belongs to Vertigo, a movie I've watched more than a few times since my mother's death. Just for the record, my second favorite Hitchcock movie is The Birds, mainly because I saw it when I was a kid. Its astonishingly dark ending really made an impression on me. I should note, I read the book before seeing the movie. Ah, the good old days of multi-literacy! I should also note, I have not seen nearly all of Hitchcock's movies, although all members of my family were devotees of his television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role James Stewart L. B. Jefferies Grace Kelly Lisa Carol Fremont Wendell Corey Thomas J. Doyle Raymond Burr Lars Thorwald Thelma Ritter Stella Judith Evelyn Miss Lonely Hearts Ross Bagdasarian As the Songwriter Georgine Darcy Miss Torso
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1954
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Labels: alfred-hitchcock, dramaC, james-stewart, melodramaC, mystery2, popcorn-and-soda6, suspense2, thelma-ritter
The Mosquito Coast
- Who's watched: G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: For my reaction to this movie, see the write-up for Ray.
Roger Ebert did drop a review on this movie, although he was not thrilled with it. He split with Gene Siskel on it.
Critics, in general, were vehemently split-to-negative on this film after its initial release. For this reason, the Reception section of the Wikipedia write-up is an interesting read. It has gained a much better reputation in the years since its release. When I first saw the film, in the theatre, although it was gritty, I liked it so much that I continued to recall scenes and bits of dialogue from it in the years hence, which is why I finally obtained a copy.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Harrison Ford Ali Fox Helen Mirren Margot Fox River Phoenix Charlie Fox Conrad Roberts Mr. Haddy Andre Gregory Reverend Spellgood Martha Plimpton Emily Spellgood Melanie Boland Mrs. Spellgood Dick O'Neill Mr. Polski
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1986
Directed by Peter Weir.
Labels: adventure4, dramaC, harrison-ford, helen-mirren, peter-weir, suspense2
Ray
- Who's watched: Neither of us has seen this one
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: This is one of only two dvds I've intentionally bought without viewing the presentation.
The other was The Mosquito Coast and, being a Peter Weir movie, I was destined to own it whether I liked it or not. It is my least favorite, so far, of all the Peter Weir films I've seen. I consider Master and Commander more worth another watch than The Mosquito Coast.
Anyway, I bought this one strictly from seeing Jamie Foxx on Inside the Actors Studio a couple of Sunday's ago. Mom and I both watched that episode and when I told her last week I'd bought the movie, she was pleased. But, we haven't yet seen it. I can't wait.
We finally watched the movie. Jamie Foxx's performence is dazzling, the music is good, the story is fairly interesting. We've only seen it once. I've kept it because of the "Hit the Road Jack" sequence and some of the other music, but, well, I don't know when we'll watch it again.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Jamie Foxx Ray Charles C. J. Sanders Young Ray Kerry Washington Della Bea Robinson Clifton Powell Jeff Brown
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2004
Directed by Taylor Hackford.
Labels: biography2, dramaC, musical2, popcorn-and-soda6, taylor-hackford
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Who's watched: M & G (both in theater and on video)
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: The first time my mother and I saw this movie it was new, just in the theaters. She, MFS and I went with my mother's sister, niece and nephew. We saw it at the Los Arcos Cinema (housed inside the Los Arcos Mall, neither of which have existed for decades) in Scottsdale, Arizona. The audience, during the credits, gave the movie a standing ovation. This was the first time any of us in our related group had ever been to a film that elicited so much from the audience.
I don't know if Mom remembers. I do know that the day I purchased this movie, some months ago, brought it home, wrestled it out of its wrapping and dropped it into the dvd player, Mom and I relaxed, knowing that being overwhelmed by a movie is possible more than once.
Yes, yes. Roger Ebert christened it one of his Great Movies 28 years after his initial review.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Jack Nicholson Randle Patrick McMurphy Louise Fletcher Nurse Mildred Ratched Will Sampson "Chief" Bromden William Redfield Dale Harding Brad Dourif Billy Bibbit Sydney Lassick Charlie Cheswick Christopher Lloyd Max Taber Danny DeVito Martini
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1975
Directed by Miloš Forman.
Labels: brad-dourif, dramaC, jack-nicholson, satire2, shared-favorite
