Movies, Mom & Me

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • 
    Osaka Elegy
    Commentary:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Isuzu Yamada	Ayako Murai	Yoko Umemura	Sumiko Asai	Chiyoko Okura	Sachiko Murai	Shinpachiro Asaka	Hiroshi Murai
    Benkei Shiganoya	Sonosuke Asai	Eitarō Shindō	Yoshizo Fujino	Kunio Tamura	Dr. Yoko	Seiichii Takekawa	Junzo Murai

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1936
      Criterion, in their magazine Current, also includes an article about this movie that places this movie in the scope of Kenji Mizoguchi's body of work, citing it as the first movie in which he took a new direction.
    
    
  • 
    Sisters of the Gion
    Commentary:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Isuzu Yamada	Omocha	Yōko Umemura	Umekichi	Benkei Shiganoya	Shimbei Furusawa	Fumio Okura	Jurakudo

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1936
    
    
  • 
    Women of the Night
    Commentary:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Kinuyo Tanaka	Fusako Owada	Sanae Takasugi	Natsuko Kimishima	Kumeko Urabe	Brothel Madam	Tomie Tsunoda	Kumiko Owada
    Minpei Miyamoto	Kōji Owada	Mitsuo Nagata	Kenzō Kuriyama	Kenzō Tanaka	Shuichi Hirata	Fusako Maki	Reporter

    
      I have to mention, here, that one of the cast roles is designated as, simply, "Woman of Darkness", played by actor Kimie Hayashi. Intriguing Role Name! Can't wait to see what this characterization entails!
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1948
    
    
  • 
    Street of Shame
    Commentary:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Machiko Kyō	Mickey	Ayako Wakao	Yasumi	Aiko Mimasu	Yumeko	Michiyo Kogure	Hanae
    Kumeko Urabe	Otane	Yasuko Kawakami	Shizuko	Hiroko Machida	Yorie	Eitarō Shindō	Kurazō Taya
    Sadako Sawamura	Tatsuko Taya	Toranosuke Ogawa	Mickey's father	Bontarō Miyake	Night Watchman	Daisuke Katō	Pres. Brothel Owner's Assn.

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1956
    

Labels: Criterion8, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 10:25    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    Just a note, here, to remind me to talk about this later, when I "officially" write-up this movie: this movie is about the aimlessness and despair that plagues many women's lives here in the U.S. (and other places, and times, for that matter) but that we not only don't want to talk about, we don't even want to acknowledge. Why? I suspect our reticence (and obliviousness) is because still, still, today, in this still men-ruled world, women aren't really recognized as human, yet; we are relegated to the roles of unacknowledged robo-people, here to serve children and men. Even women who seem to have "accomplished", according to men (of course), are quick to point out if they are wives and mothers, as well, and how "successful" they are in pulling off this three or four pronged life stint, and quick to hide their lack of such roles. Can you believe we're still living under these overwhelming societal strictures???
    One last, hmmm, should I say "rant"? Of all the bylined reviews I was able to find about this movie (and there weren't that many), most were written by men. Take note of the rundown of critics and their reviews listed in Rotten Tomatoes: Wanda Reviews - All Critics.
    You might be thinking, "Well, good! Men need to see this film." I think, though, women need to see it, more. It is devastating to watch if you're a woman, especially a woman under the influence of U.S. culture, take it from me. Even if, as a woman, you can't relate to Wanda's specific journey in this movie, you'll find something about her womanhood (the real mise en scène of this movie) that will draw a gasp of recognition from you.
    And, of course, more women movie reviewers are needed. Good luck with that.
    In addition to the review of this film attached to the title of this post, check out Glenn Erickson's (DVD Savant) review of this film.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Barbara Loden	Wanda Goronski	Michael Higgins	Norman Dennis	Frank Jourdano	The Soldier	Valerie Manches	Girl in Roadhouse
  Dorothy Shupenes	Wanda's Sister	Peter Shupenes	Wanda's Brother-in-Law	Jerome Thier	Wanda's Husband	Marian Thier	Miss Godek
  Anthony Rotell	Tony	M. L. Kennedy	Judge	Gerald Grippo	Court Clerk	Milton Gittleman	Factory Owner

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1970
    Directed by Barbara Loden.

Labels: Criterion5, female-director3, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 21:34    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Loretta Young	Paula Rogers	Kent Smith	John Rogers	Alexander Knox	Dr. Clifford Frazer	Tommy Rettig	David Larson

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1952
    Directed by Rudolph Maté.

Labels: §6, goflexB, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 11:29    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1*
• 
  Commentary:  Although we haven't watched this in awhile, we've watched it more than once. It is one I know will keep Mom occupied from beginning to end when she doesn't want to do anything else but wants to remain awake; I'm able to share in movie moments with her, since the movie has a fair number of satisfying moments, and this is important. It is, for my mother, primarily a "woman's movie" in the old tradition: Women sharing the deep secrets of womanhood; comedy and triumph at the expense of the men, who are clueless; in the end, the men are proud of their women but remain clueless, the women are proud of themselves and remain a society closed to the men; and the children, if there are any, remain clueless but promising. A film of old and treasured (and sometimes questionable) sensibilities.
  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
  Helen Mirren	Chris Harper	Ciarán Hinds	Rod Harper	Julie Walters	Annie Clarke	Linda Bassett	Cora
  Annette Crosbie	Jessie	Celia Imrie	Celia	Penelope Wilton	Ruth Reynoldson	Geraldine James	Marie

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

Labels: comedy2, helen-mirren, mom-favorite2, popcorn-and-soda6, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 19:02    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  This movie created quite the buzz, initiating no less than four dedicated articles on Roger Ebert's site and a further flurry of mentions in compendium articles there. It also caught the eyes of many awards organizations and won more than a few of its nominations.
  Update 4/21/22:  I watched this movie last night, 4/20/22. Yeow! I was glued to the screen! Superbly watchable movie, very involving, no false performances or sloppy plot schematics that I could detect, subtly presented, expertly framed the protagonist's journey into revenge and, ultimately, horror! A wonderful job done by all, notably writer/director Emerald Fennell. Now, I'm curious about her other work, some of which, as an actress, I've seen. Really looking forward to more of her work in all categories of film making!
    Of note, this movie has also inspired me to add another label category, "revenge". Turns out, another movie I recently acquired with this one also fits this category, so I've started out running. I'm about to add a third, an old one that clearly fits into this category. I'm sure I'll find more in my collection to which "revenge" applies.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Carey Mulligan	Cassie Thomas	Bo Burnham	Ryan Cooper	Alison Brie	Madison McPhee	Clancy Brown	Stanley Thomas
  Jennifer Coolidge	Susan Thomas	Connie Britton	Dean Elizabeth Walker	Chris Lowell	Alexander Monroe	Alfred Molina	Jordan Green (uncredited)

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2020
    Directed by Emerald Fennell.

Labels: clancy-brown, dramaE, female-director3, feminist, revenge1, violence4, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 13:32    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I watched this movie today, 3/21/2022. The experience was somewhat unsettling for me, for a few reasons. I don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but when I watch a movie that has a soundtrack of popular music from an era through which I lived and in which I paid particular attention to that popular music, I find it disquieting. This doesn't happen often. Luckily, I don't end up obtaining many movies that have vivid sound tracks with which I personally identify. In the case of this movie, for me, because I was so familiar with the soundtrack and associated it with a very specific time in my life in which I was in my car a lot, listening to the radio, traveling from job to job, hearing the soundtrack took me out of the movie and whipped me back to that time.
    Other than that, I thought Julianne Moore's performance was astonishing, the character she played was even more astonishing, and, although I've never lived through such a character crisis, had circumstances been a bit different in my life, had I, for instance, gotten married, kept a home for a family, lived in an environment with very strict behavioral codes, I could imagine myself adopting some of that character's behaviors, just in order to remain standing. This surprised me, as it made me aware of the differences between expression of one's self and the expression of other's expectations of one's role that continues to plague women 35 years after the period of time this movie portrays and 27 years after this movie hit the screens. Todd Haynes, himself, has referred to this movie as a horror film. I would have to agree, and a damned subtle and intriguing horror film, at that, which continues, in my opinion, to seem applicable to the lives of women.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Julianne Moore	Carol White	Peter Friedman	Peter Dunning	James LeGros	Chris	Susan Norman	Linda

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1995
    Directed by Todd Haynes.

Labels: Criterion4, dramaE, horror1, julianne-moore, psychological1, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 22:55    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  9/17/21:  Just a note before continuing on to watch the last movie in this trilogy: Although I don't think I've watched the third movie before, I kind of get the feeling, from having just watched this one that this second movie is, essentially, a connector between the first and the third. Although events take place, decisions are made and actions are taken, one of which is very important to the second and third movies, this movie, I think (and I'll confirm or refute this after having watched the whole trilogy) appears to have no story and minimal character development. I think this movie was made as a background construction to hold the third movie in place. I'll let you know, later, if I figured this right. [Update 9/18/2021:  Yes, I figured this right.]
    Not, mind you, that I didn't enjoy it. Information is always a personal delight, with or without narrative, for me. But, you know, I can't imagine having watched this as a stand-alone movie and gotten any satisfaction from it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Noomi Rapace	Lisbeth Salander	Michael Nyqvist	Mikael Blomkvist	Lena Endre	Erika Berger	Peter Andersson	Nils Erik Bjurman
  Per Oscarsson	Holger Palmgren	Georgi Staykov	Alexander Zalachenko	Sofia Ledarp	Malin Eriksson	Annika Hallin	Annika Giannini

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2009
    Directed by Daniel Alfredson.

Labels: action3, detective1, father-daughter-dynamics, journalism, neo-noirB, revenge1, super-hero2, suspense3, thriller2, violence4, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 17:11    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  With this movie, the last of the Lisbeth Salander Millenium Trilogy, Lisbeth Salander clearly enters super-hero status, at least in my opinion.
    What are her super powers? Her intellect, her anger and her personal agency.
    Yes, it takes a village, as a prominent, actual super-villian of our own time was fond of saying, while showing that she not only did not believe in the village, she abhorred the village residents and was all too eager to spit on them and relegate them to classless status.
    Lisbeth Salander was not particularly fond of the residents of the village, either, but, while she is, essentially, fond of no one, she was willing, in this particular trilogic adventure, to work with them, those, at least, who she felt could be trusted, to secure her freedom and, often, theirs. She was also more than willing to condemn and seek the incarceration or death of those who hated the villagers and worked against them. Thus, she was trusted by all who sought to help her or simply noticed her on the street and only begrudgingly and fearfully villified by those who sought her destruction.
    Excellent trilogy of movies about a powerful, yet oblique, woman. Most women are oblique, unfortunately. Their societies tend to make them so. All women, however, are powerful, in part because of their obliquity.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Noomi Rapace	Lisbeth Salander	Michael Nyqvist	Mikael Blomkvist	Lena Endre	Erika Berger	Annika Hallin	Annika Giannini
  Sofia Ledarp	Malin Eriksson	Jacob Ericksson	Christer Malm	Georgi Staykov	Alexander Zalachenko	Aksel Morisse	Dr. Jonasson

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2009
    Directed by Daniel Alfredson.

Labels: action3, detective1, neo-noirB, revenge1, super-hero2, suspense3, thriller2, violence4, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 17:07    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  You'll notice that this Lisbeth Salander movie and the other two are listed out of sequence on this side of my journal. That's because I'll not be receiving the third until next week. I don't know why. According the the Post Office, they're all originating from the same facility, but, I guess, not shipping at the same time. Oh well. I'm waiting until I have all three, sometime next week, to watch them all, back to back, in order, in a Lisbeth Salander revelry. I've not seen any of the other Salander movies, only the ones in the Millenium series in which our heroine is played by Noomi Rapace. I've also read all those books, but no more. Perhaps I'll develop a hankering for the other Salander movies, and books, by the time I get through these. I've seen the first, and I have vague memories that make me think I've seen the second, at some time, perhaps at someone else's home, which is always a dicey exercise for me, since, it never fails, when you watch a movie at someone else's house you are also obligated to listen to their commentary and engage in polite visitation rituals, which, inevitably, take place while the movie is playing. Now, dear reader, do you understand why I have my own movie collection?!?
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Noomi Rapace	Lisbeth Salander	Michael Nyqvist	Mikael Blomkvist	Lena Endre	Erika Berger	Sven-Bertil Taube	Henrik Vanger
  Peter Haber	Martin Vanger	Peter Andersson	Nils Bjurman	Marika Lagercrantz	Cecilia Vanger	Ingvar Hirdwall	Dirch Frode
  Björn Granath	Gustav Morell	Ewa Fröling	Harriet Vanger	Michalis Koutsogiannakis	Dragan Armansky	Annika Hallin	Annika Giannini

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2009
    Directed by Niels Arden Oplev.

Labels: action3, character-study, detective1, journalism, neo-noirB, revenge1, super-hero2, suspense3, thriller2, violence4, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 17:03    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I just watched this movie this evening (8/20/21). I'd forgotten how absurd it is and, yet, despite it's absurdity, how compelling it is emotionally. Its ability to compel rests solely on the shoulders of two of the actors: Barbara Stanwyck as Stella Dallas and Barabara O'Neil as Helen Morrison Dallas. Yes, I know, there are actors in this movie who have more screen time than Barbara O'Neil, particularly the actors who play Laurel Dallas, Steven Dallas and Ed Munn. But none holds a candle to the ardent performances of these two actors.
    I'd love to be able to give you a good reason for my love of this film, for the fact that I can't seem to get enough of it. I'll tell you, though, each time I watch this film it's personally embarrassing for me to be overcome, yet again, by the gush of pure feeling I experience when watching it. Even as I'm sitting right in front of the screen absorbing it, I'm embarrassed by how I'm reacting. I'm not sure whether this means its good or bad, I just know that, every once in a while, when I feel the need to take a bath in sentiment, crazy and disjointed as Stella Dallas is, this movie does the trick.
    I did, some years ago, watch the Bette Midler remake, called simply, Stella. Even though I was looking forward to seeing it when I heard about it, I remember nothing about the story, the film or my reaction to it, which was probably insignificant. I haven't had the urge to re-view it since, even though, in the meantime, I've watched this Stella Dallas multiple times. I don't know why Bette's wasn't effective for me. And, "frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
    Glenn Erickson of DVD Savant, whose reviews I often use, he's especially good with old and obscure movies, has written about the film twice. His earlier review is linked to the title of this post, above, and is dated 3/26/2005. Here is his later review, dated 1/1/2014. He has slightly different things to say about the movie in each review, although much of both reviews are the same.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Barbara Stanwyck	Stella Martin Dallas	John Boles	Stephen Dallas	Ann Shirley	Laurel Dallas	Barbara O'Neil	Helen Morrison Dallas
  Alan Hale	Ed Munn	Marjorie Main	Mrs. Martin	Tim Holt	Richard Grosvenor III	George Walcott	Charlie Martin

  
    Here is the Wikipedia write-up for the film.
    Release Date: 1937
    Directed by King Vidor.

Labels: barbara-stanwyck, marjorie-main, melodramaA, mother-daughter-dynamics1, popcorn-and-soda7, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 16:15    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Laura Dern	Laura Wells	Kristen Stewart	Elizabeth Travis	Michelle Williams	Gina Lewis	Lily Gladstone	Jamie
  James LeGros	Ryan Lewis	Jared Harris	William Fuller	René Auberjonois	Albert	John Getz	Sheriff Rowles

  
    Here is the link to the Wikipedia write-up of this movie.
    Release Date: 2016
    Directed by Kelly Reichardt.

Labels: §2, Criterion3, female-director1, kristen-stewart, rené-auberjonois, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 21:05    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Hideko Takamine	Keiko Yashiro	Masayuki Mori	Nobuhiko Fujisaki	Reiko Dan	Junko Inchihashi	Tatsuya Nakadai	Kenichi Komatsu
  Daisuke Katō	Matsukichi Sekine	Nakamura Ganjirō II	Goda	Eitaro Ozawa	Minobe	Keiko Awaji	Yuri

  
    Here's the link to the Wikipedia write-up of this film.
    Release Date: 1960
    Directed by Mikio Naruse.

Labels: §1, Criterion3, tatsuya-nakadai, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 21:03    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I finally watched this film last night, 6/30/21. I know. I've had it since April. My only excuse is that, although since that time I've added several movies (seen and unseen previous to purchase) I've wanted to own, at the same time I entered into a period, not the first I've experienced, when I just didn't want to spend much time staring at the screen, no matter how much any particular movie excited me.
    Anyway, interesting, interesting film! First of all, there's not a false performance in it. Second, the setting is exquisitely managed. Third, the story, itself, slips, expertly between "witches, yes" and "witches, no". Third, character development and relational portrayal between characters are never neglected. I ended the movie with no questions or holes in my understanding. In addition, my attention was riveted from beginning to end.
    Truthfully, having been born on Halloween, I have a special relationship with horror movies that focus on witchery. I have, by no means, seen all of them and tend to avoid the hundreds (if not thousands) of horror films, witched or not, that cluster-release around Halloween. This movie, though, is designed, I think, to be thought provoking and decidedly eerie any time of the year, especially since it unfolds slowly. Impressive job for a directoral first. It would, in fact, be an excellent job for a film made in the middle or end of a long film-making career.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Anya Taylor-Joy	Thomasin	Ralph Ineson	William	Kate Dickie	Katherine	Harvey Scrimshaw	Caleb
  Ellie Grainger	Mercy	Lucas Dawson	Jonas	Julian Richings	The Governor	Bathsheba Garnett	The Old Witch
  Sarah Stephens	The Young Witch	Charlie	Goat Black Phillip	Wahab Chaudhry	Human Black Phillip	Axtun & Athan Dube	Samuel

  
    Here's the Wikipeda write-up on this film.
    Release Date: 2015
    Directed by Robert Eggers.

Labels: A24, drama1, feminist, folk-horror, period1, popcorn-and-soda1, psychological1, spiritual1, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 12:24    0 comments    email......this post