What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[megagene]

Saw III - It wasn't great...

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I think Rope was one of the most disturbing movies I've seen in a long, long time. Stewart was great, of course, but the whole idea was just chilling. Fantastic cinematography, with the entire thing being filmed in one shot per reel. More like a play than a movie, and the scene where the maid is clearing off the trunk while the conversation plays out just off screen was brilliant. No one would even attempt to do anything like that today.

I have always felt that Rope is highly underrated. I think it's one of the great Hitchcocks (of which, admnittedly, there are many). Filming the entire action in a continuous shot was more than just a stunt; it contributes hugely to the mesmerizing quality of the film.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I watch five to ten DVDs a week; I haven't been getting to the theater much lately. The whole multiplex experience is kind of depressing, I find, although I do make the occasional visit (I went to see the brilliant Zodiac twice earlier this year).

The last three DVDs I've watched are The Big Clock with Ray Milland, directed by John Farrow (excellent noir); Red River with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, directed by the great Howard Hawks (celebrated Western); The Seventh Victim with Tom Conway and Kim Hunter, directed by Mark Robson, produced by Val Lewton (classic psychological horror).

The Big Clock, based on a classic thriller by poet Kenneth Fearing (reprinted in The Library of America's Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s and 40s), is one of those movies I could watch for the male attire alone: Ray Milland's suits and hats are outstanding. But it is an eminently satisfying noir nightmare, too, set in a fascinating corporate milieu of popular magazine publishing.

Red River is a magnificent Western in many ways, but the script is rather oddly balanced for a "classic," with foreshadowing that doesn't lead anywhere, the very late introduction of a major character, and a sudden emotional shift in the final scene that is highly peculiar. I'm not saying that there aren't possible aesthetic justifications for every one of these oddities -- I prefer to trust that artists of proven talent know what they are about better than I do -- but the overall effect is certainly curious. Watch the film and you may see what I mean.

The Seventh Victim is curious, too, but in completely different ways. It is very densely packed for a 71 minute film, and undoubtedly takes several viewings to "unpack." Even on a first pass, though, the sheer ballsiness of the movie is striking, and one can't help but wonder how many elements of it got past the Hays Office censors. Devil worshippers? Blatant lesbians? A dark, deathly ending that has to be seen to be believed?

There's also a great shower sequence that points forward to Psycho, as every commentator notes.

 

[pgoat]

I have always felt that Rope is highly underrated. I think it's one of the great Hitchcocks (of which, admnittedly, there are many). Filming the entire action in a continuous shot was more than just a stunt; it contributes hugely to the mesmerizing quality of the film.

yeah, a lot of interesting debate concerning that film, regarding subject matter, themes, and the filmimng techniques used. I enjoyed it too, but I have sometimes heard it getting bashed as being overrated!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope_(film)#Filming

 

[pgoat]

Patrick, I like Red River. I have some mixed (read: mostly negative) feelings about John Wayne's 'manifest destiny' approach, but I thnk it makes the film unapologetically honest, especially for its time.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Patrick, I like Red River. I have some mixed (read: mostly negative) feelings about John Wayne's 'manifest destiny' approach, but I thnk it makes the film unapologetically honest, especially for its time.

Oh, I like it, too; I just think it's weirder than one expects a classic Western to be. John Ford Westerns aren't weird. But this Hawks one is, I think. Partly it has to do with the way the "love interest" is superimposed on the plot and on the denouement (I am being deliberately vague so not to go all spoiler); but it's more than that, too. There's the whole homoerotic vibe, well explicated here:

http://www.chokingonpopcorn.com/popcorn/?p=834

The scene with the "young guns" played by Monty Clift and John Ireland showing off to each other is priceless, and thinking about it I can perhaps better understand why the foreshadowing of a violent confrontation between them never comes to a realization; there's something else going on there. John Ireland's character is named "Cherry," after all. Hmm....

Bottom line, no classic movie or Western fan should miss Red River.

 

[Mr. Rover]

I just watched the Atonement-----30s and 40s clothes galore!

 

[Dinerman]

I saw "The Golden Compass" yesterday, and "I Am Legend" and "Men With Brooms" today.

 

[Lensmaster]

Just watched Three Godfathers. It's interesting seeing John Wayne play the badguy being chased by a sheriff, rather than the other way.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

Just watched Three Godfathers. It's interesting seeing John Wayne play the badguy being chased by a sheriff, rather than the other way.

for a split second i thought, "John Wayne wasn't in any of The Godfather's!"...then the light came on...:eusa_doh:

Taxi Driver...again...intense film...

 

[pgoat]

There's the whole homoerotic vibe, well explicated here:

http://www.chokingonpopcorn.com/popcorn/?p=834

The scene with the "young guns" played by Monty Clift and John Ireland showing off to each other is priceless, and thinking about it I can perhaps better understand why the foreshadowing of a violent confrontation between them never comes to a realization; there's something else going on there. John Ireland's character is named "Cherry," after all. Hmm....
[/I].

yeah, that is a cool kitschy scene!

I agree it has a weird vibe. When I think 'Western', I think 'John Ford' (among others, but he's definitely right in there), but I am more inclined to think of My Darling Clementine - one of my all-time faves btw, warts and all.

 

[pgoat]

Just watched Three Godfathers. It's interesting seeing John Wayne play the badguy being chased by a sheriff, rather than the other way.

I love when actors play against type and do it well.

I also have developed a much better appreciation for the 'bad guy' in my older years. Just caught The Adventures of Robin Hood on TCM. Naturally Erroll Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland are beautiful and dashing etc, but Basil Rathbone and Claude Reins, as the villians, are pure genius - as usual!

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I love when actors play against type and do it well.

I also have developed a much better appreciation for the 'bad guy' in my older years. Just caught The Adventures of Robin Hood on TCM. Naturally Erroll Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland are beautiful and dashing etc, but Basil Rathbone and Claude Reins, as the villians, are pure genius - as usual!

Speaking of actors playing against type, how about the normally morally rock-solid Glenn Ford as a bad guy? I watched 3:10 to Yuma (1957) last night, and was struck anew by what an underrated actor Ford is. In interviews he disclaimed any particular acting talent or ambition, probably to put people off the scent. But the fact is that every Ford performance is different and completely thought out, as one can easily confirm by watching three Western performances he did for (the underrated) director Delmer Daves in the 1950s: 3:10 to Yuma, Jubal, and Cowboy (all terrific films, by the way). These characterizations couldn't be more diverse!

I was mentioning the odd ending of Red River yesterday, and the intensely suspenseful 3:10 to Yuma also has an ending that throws some people. What I love about this ending (which hinges on what looks to be an impulsive action -- but is it? -- in the final scene) is that it forces the viewer to re-interpret the entire narrative. As good as the movie had been up until that moment, the ending pushes it into a new arena of psychological richness.

One should note the superb craftsmanship of 3:10 to Yuma. Image by image, this is one of the sharpest looking and flowing Westerns ever. Kudos to cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr., editor Al Clark, art director Frank Hotaling, and composer George Duning for their roles in realizing Delmer Daves's vision.

 

[Lensmaster]

"How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Secretaries aren't a toy? I'm shocked.

 

[Antje]

I watched fellowship of the ring yesterday on dutch tv
today I went to the movies and watched the golden compass.
I really loved it, it's really my kind of movie and I adored the hair of nicole kidman ofcourse.

and in a couple of minutes i'm gonna watch this great christmas movie elf on tv.

 

[pgoat]

Just watched my new Thelonius Monk DVD (bought it a year ago - finally opened the darn thing!)

Some great hats, both in the video and the booklet, which makes special mention of a fur trooper hat Monk had just bought in Finland and wore onstage in Oslo!

I've worn my rabbit trooper onstage - comes in handy when the club has no heat (see avatar - this was taken at the aptly-named "siberia") and also acts as a built-in anti-tinnitus barrier.....

 

[carter]

The Santa Fe Trail with Errol Flynn (Jeb Stuart),
Olivia de Havilland (Kit Carson Halliday), Raymond Massey (John Brown), Ronald Reagan (George [Armstrong] Custer), Alan Hale (Tex Bell), William Lundigan (Bob Halliday), Van Heflin ([Carl] Rader), Gene Reynolds (Jason Brown), Guinn "Big Boy" Williams (Windy Brody), Ward Bond (Townley), and many others.

Directed by Michael Curtiz and released on 28 December 1940.

An interesting film because of the cast members, this film is historically accurate in that John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry actuallly did occur.
Many of the relationships could not have happened in reality. In the film Jeb Stuart and George Armstrong Custer are good friends and contemporaries. In reality, Stuart was considerably older than Custer. They may never have actually met in real life.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

Hunt For Red October and Open Range...

 

[eightbore]

for a split second i thought, "John Wayne wasn't in any of The Godfather's!"...then the light came on...:eusa_doh:

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer....Pilgrim"

 

[Quigley Brown]

John Huston's 'Moulin Rouge' was on early this morning. Magnifique! Jose Ferrer's portrayal of Toulouse-Lautrec was incredible.