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What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

Haversack

One Too Many
Messages
1,194
Location
Clipperton Island
Well. Last night I finally saw the restored version of Cecil B. DeMilles' Pre-Code, sin and salvation movie, _The Sign of the Cross_. Woof. Many people have written about how Charles Laughton and Claudette Colbert stole the show as Nero and his wife Poppea respectively. They did. However, the end of this movie has an impact that packs a whallop even today.

Laughton was gloriously languid, petulent, and corrupt. His jelly-boned sprawling mirrored the stiffness of his decision-making. You could see the incipient resentment in his timorous deferral to Poppea that would later lead the real-life Nero to stomp his wife to death. You got the idea that he really only cared about his reputation as an artist. The youths that handed him his fruit were just to stave off boredom.

Colbert was was not just sineously sexy and amoral, she was so relaxed and matter-of-fact about it that when she tells an upper-class female friend to take off her clothes and join her naked in the bath filled with asses' milk, it COULD be just to share gossip. Her calculated ordering that her rival for the affections of Marcus Superbus, the Christian girl Mercia, enter the arena alone after all the rest of her family had been killed by the lions showed that for Poppea, cruelty was a not an anodyne for boredom, but rather a tool to get her the sexual gratification which was.

Now these performances where not the scenes that were disturbing. They might not even get a PG-13 rating today. Even the Dance of the Naked Moon performed by Ancaria, ("the most 'talented' woman in Rome"), to seduce Mercia for Marcus at his 'Welcome Home' orgy might not qualify. What got a reaction from me was the afternoon program at the arena and the audience's reaction to it. It takes up the last 20 minutes of the movie and begins with the crowds entering the building and climbing to their seats. (We hear several times one family complaining to the father that they were too high and couldn't see anything.) DeMille also shows us the Playbill for the afternoon's entertainment, (in Latin dissolving to English), and delivers all of it. - Two Schools of Gladiators - Gauls vs. Thracians; a series of executions by an assortment of animals; some comic relief in the form of a battle between a group of amazon barbarians and African pygmies, and to conclude, the execution by Lions of 80 Christians. Wholesome family entertainment all. Educational as well. Anyway, the battles were battles. Nothing we haven't seen before. (Although in 1932 it was likely new). And the Christians to the Lions was heard from the holding cell and not seen. No. What was disturbing was the execution by animals. Men and women staked out or down to be killed an assortment of exotic animals. Tigers, Bulls, Crocodiles, Gorilla. While we are not shown the actual killing we are shown the approach and the sheer terror of the victim. (The crocodiles are the worst) Even to the point of the elephant placing its foot on the man's head. At the moment the elephant would shift its weight, we are shown individuals in the crowd. Some laugh. Some are bored. Some are disgusted. Some are visably arroused. It would both be interesting and, I think, disturbing to see the movie audience and their reaction to these scenes as well. Perhaps that is something Demille had in mind. (Although that would run counter to his reputed dictum of 'simple stories for simple people').

I am a little surprised at my reaction to these scenes. I am reasonably well-read in history. I know what was done and how common such things have been through time. And I've seen a few elephants in real life in my time, (no pun intended). But there seems to be a difference between knowing that execution by elephant was a common practice (at least in princely-state India), and 'seeing' it done. I think that only the addition of being there and being able to smell what happens would be worse. Except of course having it happen to you. And that is another of Demille's skills. The suggestion by sympathy of the audience imagining that they are the victim.

Even with the supposed conversion of Marcus and the triumph through martyrdom of the Christians, I can see why the Hays Office blew all safety seals when this movie hit the screens. It would now be interesing to see the heavily edited 1944 rerelease in which the Roman story is told within a framing device of a squadron of Allied bombers on its way to attack Fascist Italy.

Haversack.
 

zaika

One Too Many
Messages
1,480
Location
Portlandia
imoldfashioned said:
Oh, Zaika, that movie is extremely weird but you've gotta watch the end of Wicker Man--one of the best creepy scenes ever (in my opinion)!

Oh, really? I've been meaning to go back and finish it...I'll do it this weekend. :)
Did you see the remake? Everyone said it sucked...I'm sorta curious.
 

BegintheBeguine

My Mail is Forwarded Here
zaika - Yes, you must see the ending of Wicker Man. I haven't seen the re-make but since I get DVDs to watch free it's on my list.
Haversack - moving to the city of Kodak allowed me to see a lot of movies on the big screen. The Sign of the Cross was one of them I saw as a youngster, and your description brought back memories. I am interested in seeing the restored version based on your report.
 

deadpandiva

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,174
Location
Minneapolis
I caught a lot of movies this week. I had a mini vacation.

The Talk Of The Town- I get this title confused with People Will Talk (also starring Cary Grant) and The Whole Town's Talking (also starring Jean Arthur). Any way it's a great film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek- I like Preston Sturges and the film was cute but a little too silly towards the end.

I was watching my nephew Sunday so I really didn't get to pay much attention to either film. My nephew is Five and the only old movie he likes is Bringing Up Baby which he calls "Nice George" from his favorite scene.

Evelyn Prentice-I missed some of this so I need to rent it, but I really, really enjoyed it. I wish Rosalind Russell's part would have been larger as I adore her but you cant go wrong with Myrna and William.

Manhattan Melodrama-I love this one. I have seen it a few times but missed most of it this week as my sister was over and I was doing alot of things at once.

The Unfinished Dance-This is so Melodramatic but I love it. It made me want to purchase several vintage coats and at least to dressing gowns. Cyd Charrise and Karin Booth were so glamourous it was inspiring.

Sadly I miised The Citadel which I have been trying to catch for years now. :(
 

skyvue

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,221
Location
New York City
Diva, you must endeavor to give THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK another go when you can give it your full attention or, better yet, when you can see it in a theatre with an appreciative audience.

It's a terrific movie, imo.
 

imoldfashioned

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,979
Location
USA
zaika said:
Oh, really? I've been meaning to go back and finish it...I'll do it this weekend. :)
Did you see the remake? Everyone said it sucked...I'm sorta curious.

I didn't see the remake--Nicolas Cage is just so, so wrong.

Let us know how you like the ending of the original -- I first saw it alone at 2am; I don't recommend that!
 

SamMarlowPI

One Too Many
Messages
1,761
Location
Minnesota
Doctor Strange said:
Nobody had invented color film - much less sophisticated hidden projection techniques - at that point, so pretty much, NO.

But, compared to the absurd psuedoscience explanations of how the trick was done in The Prestige, it's actually not too much of a leap of suspending disbelief on this point. Considering all the other suspensions required for the story (e.g., that Sophie and Eisenheim had known each other as children and then just happened to run into each other as adults, not realizing their current stations despite both being famous individuals), it wasn't that hard to swallow.

Of course, a 1900 audience - most of whom had never seen any kind of film projection - would have been adequately fooled by a b/w image, but today's film viewers wouldn't realize or accept that point. After all, 1903 audiences panicked when the desperado in The Great Train Robbery turned his gun on the audience and fired, despite it being a grainy, flickering, colorless image on a screen, which just seems hopelessly naive and silly to us now.

i mean like he actually used magic...that's what was kind of neat...
 

kiltie

Practically Family
Messages
732
Location
lone star state
CLOVERFIELD

Cloverfield - mmmmmmkay...:rage:
I just got back from a midnight showing of this...this...okay, I've read the rules, and I know I need to stay away from profanity...uh...
In a word - DUMB! This movie is dumb. Stay away from this dumb movie at all cost. Put you head in a sack of tacks for an hour and twenty minutes instead.
 

imoldfashioned

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,979
Location
USA
Double feature tonight.

Pride and Prejudice (2005). I had very little interest in this when it was released but after seeing Atonement I wanted to see what the director, Joe Wright, had done in his first feature. Like Atonement, the cinematography and the use of the camera was masterful. I particularly like it when period films use outdoor locations for many of the scenes; it adds an immediacy to the story for me. I had some problems with the casting—Keira Knightley is just way too pretty to be Elizabeth for me (I had a similar problem with Winona Ryder as Jo in Little Women) – but overall it was an enjoyable film.

Brief Encounter (1945). Somehow I‚Äôve never seen this one before. Portions of the film are dated but the performances by Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard are so beautiful they soar above the clich?©s. They‚Äôre both so immensely charming and likable. I was a little surprised that the story goes as far as it does, considering when it was made. The end made me tear up a bit, as it should do. The commentary on the Criterion Collection version was quite good. Highly recommended.
 

Jovan

Suspended
Messages
4,095
Location
Gainesville, Florida
kiltie said:
Cloverfield - mmmmmmkay...:rage:
I just got back from a midnight showing of this...this...okay, I've read the rules, and I know I need to stay away from profanity...uh...
In a word - DUMB! This movie is dumb. Stay away from this dumb movie at all cost. Put you head in a sack of tacks for an hour and twenty minutes instead.
I'm not quite sure what I thought of it. I just saw it tonight.
 

Jerekson

One Too Many
Messages
1,620
Location
1935
I'll tell you what I think.

The monster looks like a guy with broken arms and a brain tumor wearing a black skin suit.

Lame.
 

Lady Day

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
9,087
Location
Crummy town, USA
Dreamgirls

I like to wait till the hype is over.

Eh. Strong performances but the person who 'wrote it for the screen' should have done that. It was a stage play trying to be a move and failing at both.

LD
 

Quigley Brown

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,745
Location
Des Moines, Iowa
I caught one of Brian DePalma's early works 'Hi, Mom' (1970). It's a very way-ahead-of-its-time dark comedy concerning racial relations in Greenwich Village. It's a must-see for any serious film lover and DePalma fan.
 

imoldfashioned

Call Me a Cab
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2,979
Location
USA
Lady Day said:
Dreamgirls

I like to wait till the hype is over.

Eh. Strong performances but the person who 'wrote it for the screen' should have done that. It was a stage play trying to be a move and failing at both.

LD

I completely agree about the writing. Both the "stage trying to be a movie" thing and the song lyrics, which I really didn't think were that good. My favorite was "Love You I Do" which wasn't even in the show, it was written for the film.

I thought Jennifer Hudson saved that movie--I was really impressed with her acting performance as well as her singing. I also wanted more about the relationship between Eddie Murphy's character and his girlfriend (Anika Noni Rose). I liked the look of the movie.

I saw it opening night (Christmas Day evening) last year. Over half the audience was 50-70 year old women--maybe they'd seen the original show?--who had ditched the dinner dishes and really got into it, shouting at the screen, applauding, etc. It was a lot of fun.
 

Lady Day

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
9,087
Location
Crummy town, USA
Totally. The Characters were superficial and shallow. I mean they had a medium to flush out these characters and didnt.

Foxx's character sold all his cars and made himself a mogul in the music business. I thought that was noble, then he just got evil, why?

Did him dumping Effie make him focus all his love on the other woman, or did he really love her?

I would have loved to have seen more with Knowles and her mother, and Effie and her brother. These characters seemed to have no family connection.

Murphy was the only real character actor in the film. He is so underrated in so much that he does. YOu felt how flawed he was. With the others, their personalities were only 'told' via dialogue; "youre so innocent' 'youre mean' blah blah blah.

I thought Murphy was dumped, why did they take him back and add him to the artist roster?

Also the songs didnt fit. It it was gonna be a musical, fine, great, make it so. But most of the songs were done on a stage, and not as they were made (if you listened to lyrics) to advance the story. And then when they did sing while they were on stage, it was just silly.

And you dont end a film like that! What!? A stage play may work like that, but not a film. All the stuff Im mentioning is what the film version of this should have developed. But no. I often thought Foxx and Murphy should/could have switched roles. I wonder what that would have been like.

I knew I shouldnt have watched this. *sigh* Hudson was a diva tho, even with what she had to work with.

LD
 

jake_fink

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,279
Location
Taranna
imoldfashioned said:
I didn't see the remake--Nicolas Cage is just so, so wrong.
Let us know how you like the ending of the original -- I first saw it alone at 2am; I don't recommend that!


But put Nic Cage in a bear suit and - presto - cinematic geniusnuss.
 

A.R. McVintage

Registered User
Messages
223
Location
SoCal
There Will Be Blood, following a viewing of 3:10 to Yuma on DVD, and No Country For Old Men a few days before that.

2007 was a wondrous year for the western, and the Coens are my favorite filmmakers of the modern era.

And Daniel Day Lewis deserves the Oscar. Right now.
 

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