Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Minority Report
- Commentary: Roger Ebert was, in his words, so "blindsided" by the "brilliance" of this movie that, aside from his usual write-up (connected to the title of this post), he conducted an interview with Steven Spielberg, the film's director, and Tom Cruise, the film's lead actor, to delve into a variety of topics surrounding the making of the movie and its contribution to its genre. Speaking of which, you might notice that I included it in both neo-noir and melodrama (my film-noir category). I did this because I've seen it listed as both, so, you know, to be fair ...
I saw this movie twice when my mother was alive. She was a fan of science fiction (all types), found this movie thrilling and clamored to see it twice, in the theatre, which we did.
Twenty years later, I remember it as complicated and astonishingly high tech. I was reminded of the movie when I was reading an article about robots in the movies (which I did not, alas, bookmark, but there are so many articles out there about this movie that similar sentiments probably won't be hard to find, if you're looking for them). The article mentioned that this movie is an example of robots that do not engage with humans, do not become friendly with humans, do not react to individual humans, do not, in fact, veer from the purpose for which they were created, which is to identify and, thus, help corral generic humans in various ways, without concern about who the humans are individually, politically and spiritually. This, the article suggested, puts it in a peculiar and somewhat smaller category than those of most movies that feature robots. I was surprised at this article's mention of robots in this movie because my memories of it didn't contain any robots. I have a niggling interest in movies that feature robots, so I decided to obtain the movie. When I receive and rewatch the movie, I'm sure I'll have more to say about this aspect of it, and other features, as well.
Update 12/30/22: Well, I did it, all day today. I indulged myself in the third watching, in my life, of this movie. I also watched all the many special features included on a second disc (I highly recommend them all, but, especially, the interview with Steven Spielberg). Going in, I wondered how much of it would be familiar to me. Coming out, I was breathless. I remembered a lot of it, but what I didn't remember were the tech savvy action sequences and the out-of-nowhere subplots, which continue to thrill me, perhaps because my mother's gasps of surprise, so many years ago, had also been stored in my memory and brought back cozy memories of absorbing her reactions along with my own.
Good movie? Yes, I'm glad I added it to my collection. I hadn't remembered, as well, how much heart the movie has and how much it relies on the slow unfolding of the tragedy at the center of the protagonist's (played by Tom Cruise) life. Nor did I remember the surprising resolution of Anderton's despair, despite the fact that it is prefigured in the characterization of his former wife.
BTW, quite a bit of the characters' dialog in the movie is recorded here by, no doubt, discerning fans.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Tom Cruise Chief John Anderton Max von Sydow Lamar Burgess Colin Farrell Danny Witwer Samantha Morton Agatha Lively Michael Dickman Arthur Arkadian Matthew Dickman Dashiell Arkadian Lois Smith Dr. Iris Hineman Kathryn Morris Lara Anderton Tyler Patrick Jones Sean Anderton Mike Binder Leo Crowe Steve Harris Jad Watson Jessica Harper Anne Lively Tim Blake Nelson Gideon Daniel London Norbert Wallace Peter Stormare Dr. Solomon P. Eddie Neal McDonough Gordon Fletcher
Besides the stacked and noteworthy cast listed above, the movie is teeming with significant actors playing bit parts and walk-ons. There must have been a great deal of industry buzz about this movie as it was being made since it appears that everyone and their dogs were clamoring to be included.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2002
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Labels: lois-smith, melodramaC, neo-noirC, science-fiction2, steven-spielberg, thriller4, tom-cruise, violence5
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Pickup on South Street
- Commentary: Under construction
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Richard Widmark Skip McCoy Jean Peters Candy Thelma Ritter Moe Murvyn Vye Cpt Dan Tiger Richard Kiley Joey Willis Bouchey Zara Milburn Stone Minoki Parley Baer heavyset HQ Communist
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1953
Directed by Samuel Fuller.
Labels: film-noir1, goflexB, melodramaC, thelma-ritter, thriller4
Autumn Leaves
- Commentary: Under construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Joan Crawford Millicent Wetherby Cliff Robertson Burt Hanson Vera Miles Virginia Hanson Lorne Greene Mr. Hanson Ruth Donnelly Liz Eckhart Shepperd Strudwick Dr Malcolm Couzzens Selmer Jackson Mr. Weatherby Maxine Cooper Maxine Cooper Marjorie Bennett Waitress Frank Gerstle Mr. Ramsey Leonard Mudie Colonel Hillyer Maurice Manson Mr. Masterson
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1956
Directed by Robert Aldrich.
Labels: goflexA, joan-crawford, melodramaC, psychological2
Saturday, November 26, 2022
The Hitch-Hiker
- Commentary: Under construction.
Aside from the write-up of this film attached to the title of this post, I also found an interesting article about not only the film, but the criminal who inspired it.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Edmond O'Brien Roy Collins Frank Lovejoy Gilbert Bowen William Talman Emmett Myers José Torvay Captain Alvarado Wendell Niles Radio Announcer Self Jean Del Val Inspector General Clark Howat Government Agent Natividad Vacío José
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1953
Directed by Ida Lupino.
Labels: female-director3, film-noir3, goflexA, melodramaC, suspense3, thriller3
Friday, November 25, 2022
Please Murder Me
- Commentary: Under construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Angela Lansbury Myra Leeds Raymond Burr Atty Craig Carlson Dick Foran Joe Leeds John Dehner Dist Atty Ray Willis Lamont Johnson Carl Holt Robert Griffin Lou Kazarian Denver Pyle Det Lt Bradley Russ Thorson Judge Madge Blake Jenny Steve Carruthers Trial Spectator Michael Jeffers Trial Spectator Frank Mills Trial Spectator
You might notice, above in the table of Actors and Roles, that I've included an unusual amount of "trial spectators", all uncredited. This is because I discovered that the ones I've listed were actors with outstanding reputations, already honed through many roles, and yet playing what would be considered "bit parts" in this movie. My guess is that these actors probably wanted the exposure in this movie, which leads me to believe that its quality might be a pleasant surprise.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1956
Directed by by Peter Godfrey.
Labels: angela-lansbury, film-noir3, goflexB, melodramaC
Thursday, October 06, 2022
The Public Enemy - WB 20 Film Collection Thrillers
- Commentary: Surprisingly exciting, very melodramatic, although I suspect the melodrama in crime films was a trademark of the time it was made. James Cagney is, as always, astonishing.
Mom and I saw this movie together, once, when she was alive and before I bought this collection. It played on a multi-bill with Yankee Doodle Dandy, the first feature, and others, probably on a TCM James Cagney retrospective. This movie was the second feature. After this movie played, Mom said, "Isn't he something! All those characters!" Yeah, Mom, James Cagney was "something", to say the least!
The excellent review linked to the title of this movie is provided by Matt Zoller Seitz at RogerEbert.com, who even picked up on something I always think when watching this movie: "Is Cagney wearing eyeliner ...?" I laughed when I read that in the review!
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role James Cagney Tom Powers Jean Harlow Gwen Allen Edward Woods Matt Doyle Joan Blondell Mamie Donald Cook Mike Powers Leslie Fenton Nails Nathan Beryl Mercer Ma Powers Robert Emmett O'Connor Paddy Ryan
Originally published in this journal on 081416.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1931
Directed by William A. Wellman.
Labels: film-noir-p1, gang-movie, melodramaC, pre-code
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
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
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Sweet Smell of Success
- Commentary: This is a hard driving movie in which, in one way or another, all the characters are smarmy except for the one primary female character who gets belted by everyone's smarm and deals with it by leaving the vicinity of the smarminess, while the viewer, me, of course, hails her endurance and her strength. I suspect, when this movie was made, the point of it was to highlight all this smarminess, but, viewing it over half a century after its release, it is Susan's endurance which stays with me. Her brother J.J., her brother's "henchman" Falco, they are all so much spoiled meat against Susan's incorruptibility.
Roger Ebert, by the way, christened this as a Great Movie. I have mixed feelings about this designation. Certainly, the acting and directing qualify, but, I don't know, the story, hmmm, well, I'll have to think about it, maybe watch it again.
Still under Construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Burt Lancaster J. J. Hunsecker Tony Curtis Sidney Falco Susan Harrison Susan Hunsecker Martin Milner Steve Dallas
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1957
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick.
Labels: burt-lancaster, Criterion3, dramaE, film-noir1, journalism, melodramaC
Saturday, May 22, 2021
The Wrong Man
- Commentary: This movie was originally listed in the post Movies I've Seen, Do Not Own but Can't Forget. It was the first movie listed. As of today, I own it. Although I'll write more once I've watched the movie as my property (which I expect to do tonight), in the meantime I want to append what I wrote when I was jonesing for this movie:
I saw this movie, initially, with my mom, probably on TCM, since, during her life, we had a cable TV subscription. It's been over a decade since I've had access to TCM, but it hasn't been that long since I've seen this movie. It initially intrigued me because I have had dental problems all my life. As a non-dependent adult, some of those problems have been exacerbated because dental care is too expensive for me to afford. This is part of the initial reason why Henry Fonda's character in this movie ends up in a position to be mis-identified by the police. Although the rest of the movie is thoroughly engrossing, this minor fact is what drew me into watching this movie more than once. I was, frankly, gob-smacked that inability to afford dental care was a rampant problem in 1956! Everyone, in these days of rallying for Medicare for All, rants about the disgusting inequity of health care in the U.S. Why does no one, anywhere in the world, rant about the long-standing unaffordability of dental care?
There. That's done. More later.
Update 5/24/21: After having watched this movie last night, start to finish, I'm not sure I ever watched it in its entirety before. I discovered that I didn't remember quite a bit of it.
What a movie! The story is subtly told. Henry Fonda's performance is appropriately understated. For most of the movie he looks like Everyman in a Stupor, and that's not a dis, that's a high compliment, as, how else could one look as someone who is, indeed, "The Wrong Man"?!? Balestrero, as played by Fonda, when being confronted by this absurd accusation, never, ever looks like he finally "gets it". When he is pulled back into his normal life, as he is often throughout the film, he looks and acts and appears to think like a normal working guy with a wife and family. When he becomes The Wrongly Accused, he is perpetually dumbfounded. It is hard not to think that, if he had not had a normal, job-home-family life to consistently fall back into, he would have gone as crazy as his wife. The three main lighting contrasts, sharp-dark for the accusation scenes, brightly lit for the home and personal investigative scenes and a kind of anticipatory light gray for the courtroom and lawyer's office scenes, are revelatory in themselves. The scenes with his lawyer and in the courtroom are especially delicious because he is in a legal situation in which he has no way of helping himself, and this is dramatised beautifully.
I have to say, after watching it last night I think, if I had watched the movie before, it was likely snippets, during my companionship with my mother, never beginning to end, as I experienced it last night. It's impossible not to feel the jaws of a trap not set for Balestrero closing around Balestrero's soul.
I have to admit to some disbelief of Rose Balestrero's reaction, although, since it's the telling of a true story, I suppose her reaction and her subsequent predicament happened. Perhaps I was raised in the wrong era. I can not only not imagine myself reacting that way to my husband being wrongly accused and tried, I know no one for whom Rose Balestrero's behavior would emerge in any situation, let alone one like this. I wonder if that's one of the differences of women being raised in an environment that emphasizes domesticity versus my having been raised in an environment that emphasized women's full participation in society (despite the fact that this was only partially achieved).
Wonderful production, astonishing story (which the epilogue makes clear is, in fact, a true story), well acted, well staged, well directed, well produced, well done! This may not be the scariest movie Hitchcock ever made (although I'm willing to bet that, for people who have been through similar circumstances, it might be, and, as well, it packs the extra punch of being true), but it's way up there. Bravo, Alfred!
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Henry Fonda Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero Vera Miles Rose Balestrero Anthony Quayle Frank O'Connor Harold J. Stone Det. Lt. Bowers Charles Cooper Det. Matthews John Hildebrand Tomasini Esther Minciotti Mama Balestrero Doreen Lang Ann James Laurinda Barrett Constance Willis Norma Connolly Betty Todd Nehemiah Persoff Gene Conforti Lola D'Annunzio Olga Conforti Werner Klemperer Dr. Bannay Bonnie Franklin Young Girl Tuesday Weld Giggly Girl Harry Dean Stanton Dept. of Corrections Employee
Here's the Wikipedia write-up on the movie.
Release Date: 1956
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Labels: alfred-hitchcock, drama1, film-noir1, harry-dean-stanton, henry-fonda, melodramaC, mystery1, nehemiah-persoff, psychological1, suspense1, thriller1, tuesday-weld
Tuesday, March 06, 2018
Vertigo
- Commentary: Believe it. The first time I saw this movie, in my life, was late last year. What can I say, part of my Alfred Hitchcock ambivalence, I guess. I was driven to check out the movie and watch it when I was watching a review of old films on YouTube and saw a cut of Jimmy Stewart's face from this movie looking very much like that cut of horror on his face in It's a Wonderful Life when he is on the brink of suicide. Hmmm... I thought. I'd like to see more of that. I always enjoy a Jimmy Stewart performance that pits his nice-guy image against his horrified image, even if it was a Hitchcock film and, thus, previously a point of avoidance for me.
Well, I was riveted from the beginning. Firstly, it's a treat for me to watch a movie for the first time that is decades old and made with completely different techniques across the board. This movie was not a disappointment. Secondly, it's a fucking good movie! In fact, I understand why it's considered a great movie. Thirdly, the swing of the movie is so active and masterful that it completely involved me right up to the end. There wasn't a second, from the benign beginning to the surprisingly melodramatic ending, that allowed me to look away. It was a no-brainer that I would add this movie to my collection. I've already watched it twice since it entered my house. I just can't get enough of it.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role James Stewart John Ferguson Kim Novak Judy Barton/Madeleine Elster Barbara Bel Geddes Marjorie Wood Tom Helmore Gavin Elster Henry Jones The Coroner Raymond Bailey Ferguson's Doctor Ellen Corby McKittrick Hotel Mgr. Lee Patrick Car Owner mistaken for Madeleine
One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
Just in case, here's the Wikipedia write-up on this film.
Release Date: 1958
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Labels: alfred-hitchcock, drama4, film-noir3, henry-jones, james-stewart, melodramaC, popcorn-and-soda2, suspense1, thriller1, tragedy1
Monday, February 07, 2005
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
