Movies, Mom & Me

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    Although in the movie review linked to the title of this post Roger Ebert gave this movie three and a half stars, eventually, in 1998, he christened it as one of his four star Great Movies and reviewed it, again, as such.
    In 2022, when director Peter Weir received a lifetime achievement Oscar, the site also published retrospective article about the director, which makes for interesting reading if you're a fan of his work. I am one of his fans, so I found it interesting. Turns out, I am so much of a fan that I own most of his movies.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Rachel Roberts	Mrs. Appleyard	Dominic Guard	Michael Fitzhubert	Helen Morse	Mlle. de Poitiers	Jacki Weaver	Minnie
  Anne-Louise Lambert	Miranda St. Clare	Margaret Nelson	Sara Waybourne	John Jarratt	Albert Crundall	Wyn Roberts	Sergeant Bumpher
  Karen Robson	Irma Leopold	Christine Schuler	Edith Horton	Jane Vallis	Marion Quade	Vivean Gray	Miss Greta McCraw

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1975
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: Criterion7, peter-weir

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

• 
  Commentary:  I own this, in large part, because it is a Peter Weir film and I strive to own most of his films. It is a crazily involving film, for me. Trek films are one of my weaknesses. This one suits me and, besides, contains many of the hallmarks that make Peter Weir films great in my eyes: startling landscapes, curious and difficult relationships, complicated conflicts, minutely specific characterizations, a sense of time standing still.
    I notice, in the Wikipedia write-up, some critics considered this film not up to his usual quality, not one of his best, as Roger Ebert points out in his review, linked to the title of this post. I quibble with him and others who have "Peter-Weir-expectation" problems with it. This is a Peter Weir film. That's why I own it. Peter Weir, through his films, owns me, this film, included. It is, as well, a "spectacle" film, if for no other reason than the landscape, which is so involving that, well, it demands to be in a Peter Weir film.
    In addition to the Actor/Role table, below, Mark Strong plays escapee Andrei Timofeyevich Khabarov.
  Update 6/2/2022:  This post was originally published on 2/5/2018 but disappeared from public view. I am now reinstating it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jim Sturgess	Janusz Wieszczek	Ed Harris	Mr. Smith	Saoirse Ronan	Irena Zielińska	Colin Farrell	Valka
  Dragoș Bucur	Zoran	Alexandru Potocean	Tomasz Horodinsky	Gustaf Skarsgård	Andrejs Voss	Sebastian Urzendowsky	Kazik

  
    Release Date: 2010
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: §, adventure1, drama4, haunting1, historical2, period2, peter-weir, political2, popcorn-and-soda2, saoirse-ronan, spectacle1

# posted by gail @ 10:55    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  none
• 
  Commentary:  Although Mom and I regularly watched all kinds of teaching movies, this is one of only a few we have in our collection. It's also a late comer, although both Mom and I saw it, both on TV and in the theaters, at least a few times before we bought it. It excites Mom to watch this movie, as it does all well done teaching movies. I like it because it's a Peter Weir production (so, we were destined to own it) and because it's done so well. Every time we watched this movie Mom would say, "This just makes me want to get back to the classroom," and work her arms as though she was revving herself up for a dash to the nearest school.
  Update 5/24/22:  Yet another post published on 4/09/09 that "disappeared" and I had to recapture.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Robin Williams	John Keating	Robert Sean Leonard	Neil Perry	Ethan Hawke	Todd Anderson	Josh Charles	Knox Overstreet
  Gale Hansen	Charlie Dalton	Norman Lloyd	Headmaster Gale Nolan	Kurtwood Smith	Thomas Perry	Carla Belver	Mrs. Perry

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1989
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: drama7, mom-favorite1, peter-weir, robin-williams, teaching

# posted by gail @ 11:00    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1*
• 
  Commentary:  Although I was doomed to own a copy of this movie because it is a Peter Weir movie, and although both my mother and I have watched it, once, and enjoyed it, my mother, especially, because she was in the Navy, married a Navy man and was a Navy woman/wife/mother, although we wondered throughout where it was going, then, at the end, where it had gone, I have to say, we enjoyed the booklet that came with the movie, as well, for its interesting exposition of life in the Navy "at that time". My mom was riveted both to the screen and by the book. I remember, when the man who was deemed responsible for the doldrums was made to walk the plank, she continued to watch with rapt attention, then said, "Yes, well, I guess they used to do that back then."
    I will probably watch it again, someday, when I'm feeling the need for a Peter Weir fest. My mother may watch, again, by default.
  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
  Russell Crowe	Jack Aubrey	Paul Bettany	Surgeon Stephen Maturin	James D'Arcy	1st Lt Thomas Pullings	Edward Woodall	2nd Lt William Mowett

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2003
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: action3, adventure4, historical4, peter-weir, russell-crowe, war2

# posted by gail @ 19:47    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  This is one of my favorite romantic comedies. There isn't anything about it I don't like. When I purchased the movie, though, for some reason I thought my mother wouldn't like it, so I planned my first "owned" viewing while she napped. She awoke and joined me during the scene in which "the big French Oaf" assents to play an original composition on the piano for dinner guests he's just met. After the scene she asked if we could start the movie again.
      I remember once, after watching the movie, Mom said, "Isn't it interesting how such a bad ending can make you feel so good?!?"
    I remember responding that, yeah, I'd never thought about it but, at the end of this story, you have absolute confidence that their love triumphed, and will continue to triumph.
    At one other watching, Mom sat back satisfied at the end and said, "I remember seeing that movie when I was teaching. It came out about the time those Hepburn/Tracy movies came out."
    In case you're wondering, I did not disavow her of this notion. It is a great compliment to this movie that my mother considers it in the same category as the Hepburn/Tracy romantic comedies.
    Finally, I couldn't resist, here's Roger Ebert's review of this movie. He gave it three stars.
    And a bonus post: a reverie of sorts about Ebert's fascination with Peter Weir's work. I share that fascination. I'm happy.
  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
  Gérard Depardieu	Georges Fauré	Andie MacDowell	Brontë Parrish	Bebe Neuwirth	Lauren Adler	Gregg Edelman	Phil
  Robert Prosky	Brontë's lawyer	Mary Louise Wilson	Mrs. Sheehan	Lois Smith	Brontë's mother	Ann Dowd	Peggy
  Conrad McLaren	Brontë's father	Ronald Guttman	Anton	Jessie Keosian	Mrs. Bird	Danny Dennis	Oscar

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1990
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: comedy2, gérard-depardieu, lois-smith, peter-weir, romance4, ronald-guttman, shared-favorite

# posted by gail @ 19:39    0 comments    email......this post

• 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

# posted by gail @ 19:19    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1*
• 
  Commentary:  This movie has haunted me since I saw it when it was first released. My mother has watched it a couple of times with me. She likes the background digideroo music, the otherworldliness of the movie...but she's not interested in trying to make sense of it. Neither am I, so we just watch it in awe on a fairly frequent basis.
  Update 5/15/21:  This post was originally published on February 9th, 2005. I had to replace it because some glitches had developed in its labels and it wasn't coming up when I corralled most of the labels applied to it. Everything is working fine, now.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Richard Chamberlain	David Burton	Olivia Hamnett	Annie Burton	David Gulpilil	Chris Lee	Fred Parslow	Reverend Burton
  Vivean Gray	Dr. Whitburn	Nandjiwarra Amagula	Charlie	Walter Amagula	Jerry Lee	Roy Bara	Larry

  
    Here's the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
    Release Date: 1977
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: apocalyptic, Criterion1, drama1, dream1, fantasy1, haunting1, me-favorite1, mystery1, peter-weir

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

• Who's watched:  G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  This is one of what I consider to be Peter Weir's more mysterious movies. Every time he does a movie about obvious political conflict, I come away with a sense that the big picture is disastrously easy to miss in the detail of living politically.
    I never think of this movie when Mom and I are deciding what to watch together. I expect she will never see it, simply because I don't think of it, even when we have a Peter Weir fest, which we do about once a year. I think she would find Linda Hunt's performance entertaining and noteworthy, but in a Samuel Johnson kind of way. Otherwise, I don't think she would find the story at all involving. Although I may be wrong. If I ever discover that I am, I will certainly update this report.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Mel Gibson	Guy Hamilton	Sigourney Weaver	Jill Bryant	Bill Kerr	Colonel Henderson	Michael Murphy	Pete Curtis
  Linda Hunt	Billy Kwan	Noel Ferrier	Wally O'Sullivan	Bembol Roco	Kumar	Mike Emperio	Sukarno

  
    As often happens, the title for this post, above, is linked to an alternate source, other than Wikipedia. Here is the Wikipedia article on this movie, if you're interested.
    Release Date: 1982
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: adventure3, drama8, historical3, journalism, me-favorite2, mel-gibson, peter-weir, political3, sigourney-weaver, war2

# posted by gail @ 17:56    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  The first time my mother watched this she said, enthusiastically, that she enjoyed it. The second time I watched it in her presence, she paid no attention to it. The third time, not too long ago, she stared at the screen in a daze but insisted on sticking with it, then announced at the end that "...it doesn't seem to have much of a point." In some ways, I consider this movie a barometer of my mother's mental acuity on the day she happens to see it.
    This is, by the way, one of my favorite Weir movies.
    Once again, the title for this post is linked to an alternate source.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jim Carrey	Truman Burbank	Laura Linney	Hannah Gill/Meryl	Ed Harris	Christof	Noah Emmerich	Louis Coltrane/Marion
  Natascha McElhone	Sylvia/Lauren Garland	Holland Taylor	Truman's Mother	Brian Delate	Truman's Father	Paul Giamatti	Simeon

  
    Here is a link to the Wikipedia article on this film.
    Release Date: 1998
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: coming-of-age1, drama8, fantasy3, laura-linney, me-favorite2, paul-giamatti, peter-weir, popcorn-and-soda4, satire2

# posted by gail @ 13:00    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M (partially) & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  This is one of my favorite movies, handled by one of my favorite filmmakers, Peter Weir. I thought Mom would eat this one up but, so far, during three watchings since I acquired this film, her attention has wandered, even though she always finds the initial build up interesting. Since it's a film I'll be watching over and over, my hope is that one of these days she'll hone into it through to the end and discover it's delights.
  Update 2/7/18:  For some years I've loved The Peter Weir Cave as a source for off-the-beaten-path information on Peter Weir. I've just discovered, as I linked this movie to The Cave, that the website apparently hasn't be kept up in a long time. I'm not reluctant to link the title, above, to The Cave website but, be forewarned, a lot of links are broken.
  Update 2/10/18:  I added the label "super-hero" to this movie. It's not a classic super-hero movie, but it strikes me as a psychological meditation on the super-hero experience. It also occurred to me that you might like to see Roger Ebert's review of this movie just in case the Peter Weir Cave caves in.
  Update 2/18/22:  Today I added the 1.78:1 aspect ratio blu-ray of this movie to my collection. The copy I first owned was 1.33:1 aspect ratio. It was fine on the old TV that Mom owned. It was, in fact, probably preferable. I love this movie, though, watch it at least once a year ... and, knowing, for some years, that there exists a widescreen version which would be dynamite on my widescreen television causes me some irritation, when I watch it, until I really get into the movie. Now, I won't have to suffer.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jeff Bridges	Max Klein	Isabella Rossellini	Laura Klein	Rosie Perez	Carla Rodrigo	Tom Hulce	Steven Brillstein
  John Turturro	Dr. Bill Perlman	Benicio del Toro	Manny Rodrigo	Deirdre O'Connell	Nan Gordon	John de Lancie	Jeff Gordon

  
    So, just in case you're looking for further information about this movie, here's the Wikipedia link for Fearless.
    Release Date: 1993
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: drama9, haunting2, jeff-bridges, john-de-lancie, john-turturro, peter-weir, super-hero2

# posted by gail @ 09:00    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  The attraction for my mother with this movie is the wide swathes of glimpses into Amish life. I love the music [Maurice Jarre; the Jarres are my favorite father-son environmental composers] and the movie's seamless construction. We share our favorite scene: Hands down, the barn raising. My mother has been heard to say while this scene was unfolding, "Wouldn't it be nice to live that way again?" Telling comment: I believe it shows that she considers the way (and area within which) she was raised as a child culturally and spiritually similar to Amish society.
    One other scene that always gets a rise out of her: When the heroine tells her father-in-law that he shames himself. "Good for her," my mother has been known to cheer.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Harrison Ford	John Book	Kelly McGillis	Rachel Lapp	Lukas Haas	Samuel Lapp	Jan Rubeš	Eli Lapp
  Josef Sommer	Paul Schaeffer	Alexander Godunov	Daniel Hochleitner	Danny Glover	James McFee	Patti LuPone	Elaine Book
  Viggo Mortensen	Moses Hochleitner	Brent Jennings	Elton Carter	Frederick Rolf	Stoltzfus	Angus MacInnes	Leon Ferguson

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1985
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: danny-glover, dramaB, harrison-ford, mystery2, neo-noirA, peter-weir, popcorn-and-soda6, shared-favorite

# posted by gail @ 01:54    0 comments    email......this post

• 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

# posted by gail @ 19:10    0 comments    email......this post