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Damn fine point. Saw Casablanca recently for the 1st time in like 5 yrs and it's immaculate - one of the very few old movies without anachronism. I wouldnt change a word. Just watched Mildred Pierce and Curtiz captured something in Crawford no one had in the Lucille LaFleur floozie years nor others in the later horrorshow eyebrow years. Color me a Curtizan.Ilov80s said:
And you would be hard pressed to find a director that could make a movie as dark as Pierce and as light and fun as Yankee. Two polar opposite movies and both work so well. You would never guess in a million years it was the same director.
Good recommendation, thank you. I enjoyed this quite a bit.
Gloria Grahame was a treasure. Almost always a floozy (a la It's a Wonderful Life), her open, earnest sluttiness and worldweary calm were a refreshing break from the scene-chewing tragic femmes of the era.
Gloria Grahame really only played one role, but she had it down perfect. Have you seen Crossfire? She is amazing in that movie.
Both movies deserve their plaudits. Even my wife liked IHON and she doesn't like old movies at all.
It has a very realistic message, all the way until the point that it doesn't. Then I hated it.
Funny, I might be a bit younger so my only real knowledge of Fred is from DI and The Apartment so I have a hard time seeing him as anything but a sleazeball.
aw, crap - McMurray was the dad in virtually every Disney family movie even before MTS, so i had the same culture shock as lefty seeing his b&w work.
I still have to catch up with It Happened One Night. Some Like it Hot is So good though.Ilov80s said:
It's one of those few movies that I try to record and watch every times it comes on. Casablanca, Maltese Falcon, The Apartment, Modern Times, Fargo, The Philadelphia Story, Bridge on the River Kwai also come to mind.
Nice list. The Apartment is probably my least favorite of the Wilder movies that I have seen. Not sure what it is was that didn't click with me as much as the others of his I have seen.
I thought Boardwalk Empire did a good job with that idea in the Jimmy Dormandy character. Michael Pitt just absolutely nailed that it. As for The Roaring 20s, I am watching it now and the Bogart-Cagney dichotomy is fascinating. Their temperaments as people are so polar, but each has a magnetism. I will say, Cagney is something else though. Even next to the mega star of Humphrey Bogart, Cagney steals every scene. I don't think any actor, even Stewart, has been as charismatic as Cagney.
Yeah, forgot about Dormandy. Well-played but overdrawn. And i didnt care for the way they dealt with the history in that one (quit mid S2).
I am assuming you have seen most of these movies before, right? If not, you are in for another treat with Sweet Smell of Success. JJ Hunsecker is such a great caracter and the movie has some of the better cinematography of the era.
No, I haven't. I'm glad I've waited so long to see them as I don't think a younger me would have enjoyed them as much. They seem to say more when you view them through eyes that are a bit more world weary.
Oh, very cool. I have enjoyed your reviews, but had assumed you were revisiting movies you had seen in the past. You've made some good choices so far.
If you like heist movies, Rififi (heads up, it's French) and The Asphalt Jungle are both classics.
I haven't seen the bolded, but I would give a definite thumbs up to the rest of the list. I'm pretty sure Laura is available to stream on Netflix. I think that might be the best movie on that list.
I'm surprised how often this has happened to me recently - films like It Happened One Night which i dismissed as hokey & out-dated when i 1st saw them in the 60s/70s have come full circle with the older me. 'Course there are some - many Capra flicks, surprisingly, for example - that have fallen away, too.
Lifeboat was more interesting than good, IMO. A lesser Hitchcock, but still worth the watch, especially if you have seen a lot of his other ones.
I saw White Heat and The Public Enemy. I liked the latter more but both are good. The thing I like about Cagney movies is knowing how much people admired the man's kindness in real life.
That's why i respect it so much - seems to have been made more to be endured than enjoyed.
I thought about adding recommendations. White Heat and TSM were the two that immediately came to my mind. Considering all those movies seem to be crime/noir/thrillers, keeping with the theme
this is practically the blueprint for heist movies as we know it. it's just superb. i love it for all the little touches.
All those movies are good. I see 2 types of Hitchcock movies, the fun ones and the macabre ones. NxNW, The 39 Steps, Foreign Correspondent, etc. vs Psycho, Rear WIndow, Shadow of a Doubt, etc. I might be in the minority, but I think I prefer the lighter Hitchcock movies.
Agree on BSG. My son and I are in Season 2, he is watching it for the 1st time. Loves it
