Movies, Mom & Me

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    I have a very vague memory of watching this movie and enjoying it, but I remember nothing about it. However, it was incredibly cheap when I stumbled upon it so, I decided, I can afford to take an inexpensive chance. In addition, I happened to notice, while prepping for this write-up, that the cast is loaded with extraordinary, star-quality actors. I can't wait for my second viewing, which I'm thinking will probably really be my first viewing!
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  John Travolta	Jan Schlichtmann	Robert Duvall	Jerry Facher	William H. Macy	James Gordon	Tony Shalhoub	Kevin Conway
  Kathleen Quinlan	Anne Anderson	Željko Ivanek	Bill Crowley	Bruce Norris	William Cheeseman	Peter Jacobson	Neil Jacobs
  John Lithgow	Judge Walter Skinner	Dan Hedaya	John Riley	James Gandolfini	Al Love	Stephen Fry	George F. Pinder
  Sydney Pollack	Al Eustis	David Thornton	Richard Aufiero	Denise Dowse	Judge Constance Mullen	Mary Mara	Kathy Boyer

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1998
    Directed by Steven Zaillian.

Labels: dramaF, john-lithgow, john-travolta, legal, robert-duvall, željko-ivanek

# posted by gail @ 18:43    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    In case you're wondering why I included so many actors in the table below who were either uncredited in the movie or had such small roles you might not even notice their on screen presence, pay attention to those "minor" names. Many of them went on, after this film, to prolific careers in both movies and television. This was not only an important movie for the entertainment industry, it was an important movie for those who participated in its production, such as Nancy Kulp (The Beverly Hillbillies) and Strother Martin (important supporting character actor in many movies and TV series).
    More later.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Judy Garland	Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester	James Mason	Norman Maine	Jack Carson	Matt Libby	Charles Bickford	Oliver Niles
  Tommy Noonan	Danny McGuire	Amanda Blake	Susan Etting	Lucy Marlow	Lola Lavery	Irving Bacon	Graves
  Irving Bacon	Graves	Hazel Shermet	Libby's Secretary	Nancy Kulp	Esther's Neighbor	Strother Martin	Delivery Boy

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1954
    Directed by George Cukor.

Labels: dramaF, james-mason, musical2, tragedy3

# posted by gail @ 16:58    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    Well, this one's a surprise that jumped right out at me. I've been scouting this out for some years, now, and have been unsuccessful at finding it for a ridiculously cheap price. But, tonight, just as I was about to close down my movie journal labors, perusing some unrelated stuff by Mira Nair, pop, up this came for a more than reasonable price, widescreen to boot, with bonus content. I had to grab it before someone had the sense to take it off the shelf.
    Back when it was released, I saw this in the theater by mistake. I went to the theater with a friend who was in to hard core horror. I wasn't, really, but it was interesting to watch her watching these movies. As well, I learned enough about horror to develop an appreciation for some of it, the better stuff, not the spear-through-the-belly-on-the-bed stuff my friend loved. Anyway, one evening we both thought she was ushering us into yet another horror flick. This is the movie that was playing, instead. Luckily, my friend took an immediate interest in it because of its lavishness. I did because, well, it was a historical drama, it starred Reese Witherspoon, it was based on a book I had read years previous and I had just about come to the end of my dour-shitty-horror-films rope. Sad to say, this did not turn my friend's interest away from horror, but it allowed me to slink away from indulging her interest. Did our friendship survive? No, but it wasn't a sour break up, either. She simply found someone else to haul to horror flicks. Which pleased me, and, I'm sure, her, as well.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Reese Witherspoon	Rebecca Sharp Crawley	James Purefoy	Col Rawdon Crawley	Rhys Ifans	Major Dobbins	Geraldine McEwan	Countess of Southdown
  Gabriel Byrne	Marquess of Steyne	Bob Hoskins	Sir Pitt Crawley the Elder	Jim Broadbent	Mr. Osborne	Sian Thomas	Lady Darlington

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2004
    Directed by Mira Nair.

Labels: dramaF, historical5, reese-witherspoon

# posted by gail @ 22:47    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    It seems that, although often praising aspects of this movie, critics also had bones to pick about it. The review attached to the title of this post takes a much kinder view than this one written by "disinterested spectator", a member of the Daily Kos community, but they both have problems with certain plot manipulations that they each consider unbelievable, including a deux ex machina ending. It's funny because, in the Daily Kos review the critic mentions that kind of ending as spoiling the film The Wrong Man. I beg to differ. I didn't even remember the deus ex machina manipulation in The Wrong Man and had to go back and review the story to see if this accusation is true. It is, but, as it turns out, this rosary scene was, and is, completely insignificant to me, obviously. Perhaps I was able to dismiss it because religion wasn't sprinkled throughout the entire film and I'm an agnostic atheist, have been for my entire life, so, you know, those things, unless they're rampant in a movie, tend to escape my notice. My understanding, from the reviews I've read, is that religion occupies a major focus in this particular movie. This heightens my desire to watch it. Soon. Despite my non-religious bent, I make no secret of my fascination with movies with lots of religion in them. Why do you think I own The Left Behind Trilogy?
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Carole Lombard	Jane Mason	James Stewart	John Horace Mason	Charles Coburn	Judge Joseph M. Doolittle	Lucile Watson	Mrs. Harriet Mason
  Eddie Quillan	Conway	Alma Kruger	Sister Madeline	Louise Beavers	Lily, Cook #3	Ward Bond	Jim Hatton

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1939
    Directed by John Cromwell.

Labels: dramaF, goflexA, james-stewart, louise-beavers, religion2

# posted by gail @ 10:38    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Takashi Shimura	Kambei Shimada	Toshirô Mifune	Kikuchiyo	Daisuke Katō	Shichirōji	Isao Kimura	Katsushirō Okamoto
  Minoru Chiaki	Heihachi Hayashida	Seiji Miyaguchi	Kyūzō	Yoshio Inaba	Gorōbei Katayama	Yoshio Tsuchiya	Rikichi
  Bokuzen Hidari	Yohei	Yukiko Shimazaki	Rikichi's wife	Kamatari Fujiwara	Manzō	Keiko Tsushima	Shino
  Kokuten Kōdō	Gisaku	Yoshio Kosugi	Mosuke	Shinpei Takagi	bandit chief	Shin Otomo	bandit second-in-command

  
    One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1954
    Directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Labels: akira-kurosawa, Criterion5, dramaF, samurai, toshirô-mifune

# posted by gail @ 03:42    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    This is about the Soviet war drama released in four installments from 1966-67. The cast is huge. I should probably treat it as a series in four parts, thus being able to highlight more cast members and commentary specific to each part. Stay tuned for that.
    The director of each part of the series, by the way, is the same for the entire series. That information is reflected in the final Wikipedia link at the very bottom of this write-up.
  
    Part I - Andrei Bolkonsky
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Sergei Bondarchuk	Pierre Bezukhov	Vyacheslav Tikhonov	Andrei Bolkonsky	Nikolai Tolkachyov	Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov	Boris Zakhava	Mikhail Kutuzov
  Irina Skobtseva	Hélène Kuragina	Oleg Yefremov	Fyodor Dolokhov	Vasily Lanovoy	Anatole Kuragin	Anastasiya Vertinskaya	Lisa Bolkonskaya

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of Part I.
    Release Date:1966
  
    Part II - Natasha Rostova
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Ludmila Savelyeva	Natasha Rostova	Vyacheslav Tikhonov	Andrei Bolkonsky	Anatoly Ktorov	Nikolai Bolkonsky	Vasily Lanovoy	Anatole Kuragin

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of Part II.
    Release Date: 1966
  
    Part III - The Year 1812
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Boris Zakhava	Mikhail Kutuzov	Vladislav Strzhelchik	Napoleon	Vyacheslav Tikhonov	Andrei Bolkonsky	Sergei Bondarchuk	Pierre Bezukhov

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of Part III.
    Release Date: 1967
  
    Part IV - Pierre Bezukhov
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Viktor Stanitsyn	Ilya Rostov	Ludmila Savelyeva	Natasha Rostova	Vyacheslav Tikhonov	Andrei Bolkonsky	Sergei Bondarchuk	Pierre Bezukhov

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of Part IV.
    Release Date: 1967
  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the entire series.
    Release Date: 1966-67
    Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk.

Labels: §5, Criterion4, dramaF, historical4, period7, romance5, violence5, war3

# posted by gail @ 20:58    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  In high school and college I was a journalist for a couple of local commericial papers on the island on which I lived. I covered it all: news, sports, the arts, opinion, often bylined. I even had my own column, for awhile. I was not the kind of injure-the-dragon-for-ratings journalist played, in this movie, by Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo, but I knew some and, truth be told, in one of my opinion columns I attempted to rouse the rabble a bit on a local issue involving separation of economic classes and construction. I was successful. The issue became the center of a heated debate and resolved itself by favoring inclusion over separation. It's interesting to note, here, that, in the last couple of decades, the issue has resolved itself, again, in favor of separation. A rabble rouser's work is never done. And, yes, of course I still keep up with news and issues about the place where I was raised. Don't you?
    Anyway, yes, I am considering this post "under construction". Before I write any more about this movie and its issues, I want to watch it again. I won't be able to do that until tomorrow. In the meantime, here's an interesting article from RogerEbert.com containing interviews with the two stars of this movie. It was, in fact, these interviews which reminded me of the film and revived my interest in it.
    Stay tuned.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jake Gyllenhaal	Louis Bloom	Rene Russo	Nina Romina	Riz Ahmed	Rick	Bill Paxton	Joe Loder
  Kevin Rahm	Frank Cruze	Michael Hyatt	Detective Frontieri	Ann Cusack	Linda	Carolyn Gilroy	Jenny

  
    There are, by the way, several IRL journalists who appear as themselves in this movie.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2014
    Directed by Dan Gilroy.

Labels: dramaF, jake-gyllenhaal, journalism, neo-noirA, satire3, thriller3

# posted by gail @ 12:02    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Yes, I have seen this movie. In fact, I've seen it more than once and at least one of those viewings was with my mother, who was as transfixed as was I. I've had a touchy relationship with this movie, though, because my youngest sister noticed, when she was visiting after our mother died, that I had a copy of this movie sitting next to the dvd player and disparaged me for this choice, "You're watching that movie? Why?!?" Normally, I'm not intimidated by anyone questioning my life, my choices, or my life choices, but, you know, when the disparager is a sibling, well, sometimes the surprise and disappointment stab deep and personal, beyond a sibling's opinion of one of your specific choices. Thus, I put off obtaining this movie for a long, long time.
    I don't know, though, I guess the intimidation just finally wore away. I can't tell you what recently reminded me of this film, but it's been on my mind for maybe about a week. Today, I finally searched it out, found a spectacularly cheap price on it, checked internally for still existing nubs of intimidation, found none, and decided, this is it. It's time.
    It will arrive in a couple of days. That's when I'll rewatch it and finish writing it up, so, until then, this post is still under construction.
    Oh. And BTW. Along with Roger Ebert's review of this movie, which is linked to the title of this post, his site contains a thoughtful, provocative meditation by another site reviewer, Omer M. Mozaffar. Without giving away any of the surprises in his reaction, I'm telling you, if you enjoy this movie, you should read his article.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Tom Hanks	Chuck Noland	Helen Hunt	Kelly Frears Lovett	Nick Searcy	Stan	Chris Noth	Jerry Lovett
  Lari White	Bettina Peterson	Vince Martin	Pilot Albert Miller	Frederick W. Smith	Self/Founder of FedEx	Nan Martin	Kelly's Mother

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2000
    Directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Labels: dramaF, philosophical, psychological2, survival, tom-hanks

# posted by gail @ 14:42    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I have watched this movie only once, so far, in the past, in the theater, but have never forgotten it.
    Roger Ebert was so pleased with this movie that he immediately preceded his review with a delightful interview of Shirley MacLaine in which he questions her about her thoughts about and preparation for this role, which is quite a bit different than her ouevre up to that point.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Shirley MacLaine	Madame Sousatzka	Navin Chowdhry	Manek	Shabana Azmi	Shushila	Peggy Ashcroft	Lady Emily
  Robert Rietty	Leo Milev	Twiggy	Jenny	Leigh Lawson	Ronnie	Lee Montague	Vincent Pick

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1988
    Directed by John Schlesinger.

Labels: aging, coming-of-age2, dramaF, shirley-maclaine, teaching

# posted by gail @ 21:51    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Immediately upon its release, this movie polarized critics. Roger Ebert not only hated it and gleefully gave it one star but found it worthy of several paragraphs expressing his disgust. In the meantime, other critics felt they "got" it and praised it while others scribbled confused and fascinated essays about it. The film was anything but ignored. Peter Sobczynski delineates the volatile history of reaction to this movie in his very interesting essay on its reactionary history which I recommend you read if you've watched, or been curious about, this movie.
    I haven't yet watched the movie but have known about it, seemingly, forever. More later when I've seen it, thus, this post continues under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Oliver Reed	Dr. Hal Raglan	Samantha Eggar	Nola Carveth	Art Hindle	Frank Carveth	Henry Beckman	Baron Kelly
  Nuala Fitzgerald	Juliana Kelly	Susan Hogan	Ruth Mayer	Cindy Hinds	Candice Carveth	Gary McKeehan	Mike Trellan
  Michael Magee	Inspector	Robert A. Silverman	Jan Hartog	Larry Solway	Lawyer	Nicholas Campbell	Chris

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1979
    Directed by David Cronenberg.

Labels: §4, dramaF, horror2, oliver-reed, psychological2, science-fiction2, suspense3, thriller3, violence4

# posted by gail @ 20:56    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Arnold Schwarzenegger	T-800 Terminator	Linda Hamilton	Sarah Conner	Edward Furlong	John Conner	Robert Patrick	T-1000 Terminator
  Earl Boen	Dr. Silberman	Joe Morton	Miles Bennett Dyson	S. Epatha Merkerson	Tarissa Dyson	Dean Norris	SWAT team leader
  Michael Edwards	2029 John Conner	Michael Biehn	Kyle Reese	Jenette Goldstein	Janelle Voight	Xander Berkeley	Todd Voight

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1991
    Directed by James Cameron.

Labels: apocalyptic, dramaF, horror2, popcorn-and-soda7, science-fiction2, spectacle2, super-hero2, suspense3, thriller3, tragedy2, violence4

# posted by gail @ 13:04    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Well, people, I looked, and looked, and looked and couldn't find a review of this movie by Roger Ebert anywhere (although the reviews from Three Movie Buffs, to which I linked to the title of this post, more than suffice). I was sure I was, somehow, just missing it. Then, I chanced upon this admission, courtesy of IMDb and a dead link to "ReelzChannel", although Reelz certainly does exist, but searches there for "Roger Ebert" and "Terminator", came up with no results. In case you don't want to wander over to the link, it says that Roger Ebert admitted in 2009 that he'd never seen this movie.
    That just didn't seem plausible, and I'm nothing if not dogged, so, of course, I continued to look and discovered this clip from Siskel & Ebert's television show At the Movies in which Ebert not only admitted to liking the movie, but particularly liked the peculiar angle of the love story. Although the clip is not dated, it is clear from the conversation that Siskel & Ebert were reviewing it during the movie's first theater run, which was in 1984.
    Why is all this important? Well, through the many years since its release, this movie has gone up and up in audience and critical appraisal. The following two links to articles about the movie at Roger Ebert.com [30 Minutes on the Terminator] and the first two movies of the Terminator series [James Cameron's great double feature] underline this growing enthusiasm. In addition, the movie is certainly memorable. Not only did I remember it well, as I described to MFS a few days ago, "There's nothing like watching Arnold Terminator unfold into earthly existence."
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Arnold Schwarzenegger	The Terminator	Michael Biehn	Kyle Reese	Linda Hamilton	Sarah Conner	Paul Winfield	Ed Traxler
  Lance Henriksen	Vukovich	Bess Motta	Ginger	Rick Rossovich	Matt	Earl Boen	Dr. Silberman

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1984
    Directed by James Cameron.

Labels: apocalyptic, dramaF, horror2, popcorn-and-soda7, science-fiction2, spectacle2, super-hero2, suspense3, thriller3, tragedy2, violence4

# posted by gail @ 13:42    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  None
3. 
   Commentary:  I think this movie may have been one of the last I saw in the theatre alone. It is a dream of a movie for me. As well, I like, and have watched a fair amount, of Indian cinema. I'm surprised that this is the only one I own. I look forward to watching it, with or without Mom. From what I remember, I think she'll be transfixed. Sort of an Indian Sex and the City.
   UPDATE 2/24/06:  For lack of anything better to do that interested Mom, I decided to pull out this movie and view it with her, her first viewing of it. She, too, was entranced by the color and composition of the movie, the dancing and the stylized movements (which actually cause the movie to be more like theater than a movie) and the music. Although there is some full female nudity in it and obvious suggestions of sex (both of which actually make this movie less than a true East Indian cinema), she enjoyed it immensely and was transported back to Guam, primarily because that is where she became familiar with East Indian customs and clothing. We talked about Guam, and a store called Radhi's, which shared a space with Eileen Kershaw's. She remembered the sari material she'd bought which I'd transformed into a table cloth and the rich, stunning Asian fabric selections at Radhi's [which, apparently, still exists, although I found an article (internet access to which no longer exists), dated February 12, 2006, that lamented the closing of Eileen Kershaw's, among other stores with which I was very familiar when Guam was our family's home].
     At one point in the movie, when Maya was explaining to Tara how to seduce her husband, essentially telling her that it was simple, I laughed and said, "See, Mom? Men are easy in every culture."
     She laughed and added, "Men have always been easy and always will be."
     Such a woman!
   Update 2/8/18:  All updates on stores on Guam, above, were added today.
   Update 5/8/22:  This post was originally published on 2/7/2005, but I accidentally deleted it a few days ago. Now, it's back, in its original glory.
     

   Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
   Indira Varma	Maya	Sarita Choudhury	Tara	Naveen Andrews	Raj Singh	Ramon Tikaram	Jai Kumar
   Khalid Tyabji	Biki	Rekha	Rasa Devi	Avijit Dutt	Vazir	Zoya Akhtar	Rasa Devi's courtesan

   
     Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
     Release Date: 1996
     Directed by Mira Nair.

Labels: character-study, dramaF, erotic, haunting3, indira-varma, period6, romance5, tragedy2

# posted by gail @ 16:21    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    Second review of this film.
    Third review of this film.
    Fourth review of this film.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Tony Leung Chiu-Wai	Wang	Wu Ching-yi	Golden Flower	Michiko Hada	Crimson (沈小紅)	Vicky Wei	Jasmin (張蕙貞)

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1998
    Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien.

Labels: §3, dramaF

# posted by gail @ 17:45    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    This movie came in at #4 on Roger Ebert's list of The Greatest Movies Ever Made.
  
  
  
  
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Deborah Kerr	Sister Clodagh	Kathleen Byron	Sister Ruth	Sabu	The Young General (Dilip Rai)	David Farrar	Mr. Dean
  Flora Robson	Sister Philippa	Jean Simmons	Kanchi	Jenny Laird	Sister Honey	Judith Furse	Sister Briony

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1947
    Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger.

Labels: §3, dramaF, jean-simmons, psychological2, religion2

# posted by gail @ 17:14    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    I've seen this movie on some TV channel many years ago, probably TCM, back in the days when I could afford a cable channel line-up.
  
  
  
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Chhabi Biswas	Kalikinkar Roy	Soumitra Chatterjee	Umaprasad Roy	Sharmila Tagore	Doyamoyee	Purnendu Mukherjee	Taraprasad Roy
  Karuna Banerjee	Harasundari	Arpan Chowdhury	Khoka	Anil Chatterjee	Bhudeh	Kali Sarkar	Professor Sarkar

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1960
    Directed by Satyajit Ray.

Labels: §3, dramaF, psychological2, religion2, satyajit-ray

# posted by gail @ 16:46    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
  
  
  
  
  
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Juliette Binoche	Maria Enders	Kristen Stewart	Valentine	Chloë Grace Moretz	Jo-Ann Ellis	Lars Eidinger	Klaus Diesterweg

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2014
    Directed by Olivier Assayas.

Labels: §3, dramaF, juliette-binoche, kristen-stewart, psychological2

# posted by gail @ 15:57    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jessica Chastain	Molly Bloom	Idris Elba	Charlie Jaffey	Kevin Costner	Larry Bloom	Michael Cera	Player X

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2015
    Directed by Aaron Sorkin.

Labels: §4, biography3, dramaF, economic, historical4

# posted by gail @ 14:17    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Iconic movie. Iconic acting performances. Iconic sets. Iconic lines. Iconic set pieces. Iconic photography. Despite PC quibbles throughout the years from feminists and LGBTQ activists regarding Foster's and Levine's characters, this movie has been assured, as well, an iconic role in filmography for the ages. It set standards for a variety of production values in film entertainment that, in many cases, haven't been superceded.
    Myself? I found it even more involving and enjoyable than any previous viewings; that's right, I'm not sure whether I've only see it once before, or more. There have always been bits of it I haven't been able to release from my mind, though, which is why I finally obtained the movie and am glad I did. To me, this is one of those one-of-a-kind productions that I refer back to when watching other movies of the same genre. Although, come to think of it, as far as the horror genre goes, there is one other that stands alone, for me, and to which I compare others in this genre: Midsommar. In my mind, these two movies stand, side-by-side, atop sub-categories in horror all their own.
    What a delight it was to watch this movie again! What a delight it will be to know I can watch it, yet again, any time I want!
    I thought I remembered a final scene in which Lecter is on a plane seated next to a young boy and shares some liver pâté with him, presumably from his latest victim. Missing this scene in this movie bothered me so much that I looked it up. Turns out, it's in the sequel to this movie, Hannibal, a 2001 production, and it wasn't pâté Lecter shared, it was brains, presumably Krendler's. I watched this movie and, as well, enjoyed it, but not enough to be driven to obtain it. At least, though, I solved the mystery of my memory of a "missing" scene.
    In 2001, Roger Ebert reconsidered his 1991 3.5 star review of this movie, rewrote the review, recalibrated it to 4 stars and assigned Silence of the Lambs Great Movies status.
    This edition features a second disc loaded, I mean, loaded, with special features, including a three part documentary with Jonathan Demme and Jodie Foster about several aspects of making the movie. Way to steal my heart! I can't wait to go through them!
  Update: 4/27/2022:  BTW, I haven't yet cracked the special features on the second disc of this particular dvd presentation of this movie. If there's anything noteworthy that I'm provoked to write about, I'll add my comments, later.
  Update: 4/28/2022:  I watched all the special features for this edition last night, well over two hours of material. Many of the special features were recorded a decade or more after the initial release of the film. All the special features were worth a watch. Many of them focused on the relationships between the actors as they worked, including their surprise at and appreciation of their colleagues' bit tricks, so to speak, and their ability to encourage each others' performances with these acting tics. There was also quite a bit of eye-opening, appreciative comment on Jonathan Demme's process and procedure, as well as detailed commentary on his adaptation of the book into a movie. I love special features like this, that delve into the techniques used by actors and crew during the filming of movies. If you've got the "Collector's Edition" of this movie and you're fascinated by movies, don't ignore the special features about this movie!
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jodie Foster	Clarice Starling	Anthony Hopkins	Hannibal Lecter	Ted Levine	Jame Gumb	Scott Glenn	Jack Crawford
  Anthony Heald	Frederick Chilton	Brooke Smith	Catherine Martin	Diane Baker	Ruth Martin	Chris Isaak	SWAT Commander

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date:1991
    Directed by Jonathan Demme.

Labels: anthony-hopkins, detective1, dramaF, gender-bender, horror2, jodie-foster, mystery2, neo-noirB, psychological2, suspense3, thriller2, violence4

# posted by gail @ 12:29    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  [4/25/2022] I just finished watching this movie. I'm sure I've watched this movie before, but much later than its release date, as I was only eight years old when the movie was released and was aware neither of religion nor of the Catholic Church nor of nuns.
    My introduction to the Catholic Church and nuns took place when our family moved to Guam (and remained there for thirteen years) when I was nine; that's right, a year after this movie was released. Guam was (and, likely, still is) a thoroughly Catholic island. I had many Catholic friends. I had several teachers in public schools, from elementary through college, who were nuns. The last nun I had as a teacher was Dr. Margaret Stumpf at the University of Guam. She was a habitless nun (as many nuns became, once the Church necessity for habits was abolished). She was also one of my favorite college teachers.
    I was surrounded by the practice and pageantry of the Catholic Church, even though I neither believed in nor practiced Catholicism. By the time I was in junior high I knew the rosary, both the standard version and the special stations-of-the-cross version, because every night of our lives, from 5:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. on holy days) we were exposed, at home, on television, to "The Rosary Hour", featuring Father (then Bishop, then Archbishop) Flores droning through the rosary prayers before KUAM's entertainment programming began. When I was in college and my younger sisters were in high school the word "nun" became a humorous pejorative indicating that the person (either male or female) to whom it was applied was, well, a bit of a dit (which, itself, meant, a kind of low-brow, unthinking, unintending asshole). At any rate, Guam was so saturated with Catholicism that I was, too, despite not ever becoming Catholic or wanting to.
    Curiously, though, I do remember wondering whether I might like to become a nun. This was probably the time that I saw The Nun's Story, likely on television. I think I found the cheery dedication of the nuns I knew inspiring, although I gave little thought to what would be involved in becoming a nun, especially considering that I was not only not Catholic, I was raised in a kind of Protestant hot-home full of religious discussion but lacking religious practice. It often occurred to me, during this time, that I was not alone in this day-dream, that, in fact, quite a few of my female friends considered exactly the same possibility for exactly the same reasons as me. Thus, I had a keen interest in this movie when I obtained it a few days ago. I think I may have wanted to refresh my memories of my jumbled, ahem, "religious upbringing".
    The first thing I noticed is that once Sister Luke (played by Audrey Hepburn) arrives in the Congo, a lot of the movie is filled with what I can only describe as National Geographic video footage of African tribal life (minus the bare breasts; I guess the producers of this movie felt that what teenagers, in their bedrooms in the late 50's and early 60's, slavered over in the glossy pages of National Geographic, a "family" magazine, was not fitting fare for a 1959 movie screen). The second thing I noticed is the depth of the interpersonal soul-scouring conversations between Dr. Fortunati (played by Peter Finch) and Sister Luke. The third thing I noticed is that the characters of the nuns and their relationships amongst one another were portrayed with a seriousness and delicacy that I hadn't remembered.
    I thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie again. Frankly, I had not retained much of it, so it was rather like watching it anew. I'm glad I had the opportunity to add it to my collection. I agree with someone I read on this movie, I can't remember who, that, although dated, in part, it is likely Audrey Hepburn's best performance, and she was supported by actors who were also at the top of their game. Oddly, my favorite performance in the movie, a bit part, is that of Mother Marcella (played by Ruth White) the nun who urges Sister Luke, in order to address a difficult relationship involving wrestling with humility with one of her fellow nuns, to fail her upcoming final exam at the School of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. Ruth White absolutely nails the portrayal of this cruel nun who is, obviously, lacking in humility, herself. The performance was so good, so chilling, that I looked up Ruth White and bookmarked her to remind me to seek out more of her video work.
    A miscellaneous note: On February 3, 2020, the America - The Jesuit Review published a review of this film by Nadra Nittle, who praised this film. The Wikipedia article (to which I've linked, below), in mentioning Nadra Nittle's article, tacked on the following sentence: "There is no mention of the magazine's late literary editor Father Gardiner and his support for the source material and involvement in the adaptation." I'm not sure why this sentence was included, unless to attempt to create a tempest in a teapot. At any rate, Nadra Nittle isn't a Jesuit, there is no mention of whether she's Catholic, and I think this one sentence observation underlines a problem the author of the Wikipedia article has with the Catholic church, rather than a problem with the movie or Nittle's review. At any, rate, Nittle's article is far from the only review of praise for this movie. Although Roger Ebert did not review this film, I've linked the title of this write-up to an interesting and far from negative review of the movie by Glenn Erickson, DVD Savant.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Audrey Hepburn	Sister Luke	Peter Finch	Dr. Fortunati	Mother Marcella	Ruth White	Niall MacGinnis	Father Vermeuhlen

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1959
    Directed by Fred Zinnemann.

Labels: biography3, character-study, coming-of-age2, dean-jagger, dramaF, religion2, spiritual2

# posted by gail @ 12:44    0 comments    email......this post