Last Movie You Watched

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I just bought this Criterion edition but have never seen the movie. Excited to try it. What were your impressions?

You may want to briefly check the history of the Unification of Italy before watching the movie.
All Visconti movies are great with aesthetic cinematography, sumptuous costume, and relevant social/philosophical themes. Just like other Visconti movies, there are juxtapositions of youth vs. old age, nobility vs. bourgeoisie, prestige vs. wealth, fundamental vs. compromise, etc. in the movie. Nobody make cinema like Visconti. However I tend to see that Visconti movies are not very popular in the USA where people appreciate, and are proud of, Hollywood movies.

Hope you enjoy it. I have been lucky to see it on the big screen twice, and found it a sumptuous, ultimately moving experience. The final hour—the ballroom scene—is one of the greatest sequences in film history, and the Nino Rota score is fabulous.

-Bruce

I saw and watched the movie more than 10 times. I'm a big fan of Romolo Valli (the priest in the movie, hotel manager in Death in Venice, lawyer in Conversation Piece).

[SonicMan46]

 

Huh. In my memory this was superior trash, but on this viewing it just seemed clunky and silly.

And, my, what a lot of air vents that bioweapons lab has.

Hi Simon.. - remember seeing this film as a rental years ago - believe not impressed except for watching Milla Jovovitch -     Not sure if I've seen any of the sequels, probably not?  Dave

[DavidW]

It might be instructive to watch Resident Evil back to back with The Last of Us just to see how far we've come.

[SimonNZ]

The 1935 Hollywood Dream with James Cagney as Bottom.

Another example of my memory proving inaccurate (I should be getting worried). I thought when I first saw this some years back that it was a trainwreck where nobody understood what they were saying and were just babbling gibberish. But actually its not like that at all, was actually quite good (except for the very young Mickey Rooney's Puck which is cringe-inducing). And the more difficult passages in the text are cut away so its only the more straightforward dialogue that remains (though with all the frolicking and visual-effects scenes etc its still over two hours).

Perhaps my original problem was that at the time I was largely unfamiliar with the play and it didn't, especially with all the cuts, convey or make ease of its bonkers story - which I no longer need it to do, and can overlook if its missing.

Kept wondering how I knew the guy playing Flute, and eventually realized he's the guy who 24 years later would be trying to seduce Jack Lemon in Some Like It Hot, the one who says "nobody's perfect".

[Cato]

The 1935 Hollywood Dream with James Cagney as Bottom.

Another example of my memory proving inaccurate (I should be getting worried). I thought when I first saw this some years back that it was a trainwreck where nobody understood what they were saying and were just babbling gibberish. But actually its not like that at all, was actually quite good (except for the very young Mickey Rooney's Puck which is cringe-inducing). And the more difficult passages in the text are cut away so its only the more straightforward dialogue that remains (though with all the frolicking and visual-effects scenes etc its still over two hours).

Perhaps my original problem was that at the time I was largely unfamiliar with the play and it didn't, especially with all the cuts, convey or make ease of its bonkers story - which I no longer need it to do, and can overlook if its missing.


Kept wondering how I knew the guy playing Flute, and eventually realized he's the guy who 24 years later would be trying to seduce Jack Lemon in Some Like It Hot, the one who says "nobody's perfect".

Famous (at the time) comedian Joe. E. Brown, born not far away from where I live now in northwest Ohio: he was big in the early 1930's in a series of comedies.

Check out:

[Mookalafalas]

Cocaine Bear
 
  Powerful, deep, provocative. Life changing.

[ritter]

Caught this curiosity on TV the other night: Goyescas, directed by Benito Perojo (1942).



This lavish (for its time —1942, after the devastation of the civil war, and with WW2 in full swing— and place —Franco's Spain— ) is a sort of musical comedy, using arrangements of Granados' Goyescas (plus other works by the composer, e.g. the Spanish Dance Nr. 5), but the plot or characters bear no relation with the opera. It's very kitsch, but has a quaint charm. The recreation of some of Goya's tapestry cartoons is probably the most attractive feature.

The two female leads (a countess and a singer, who have a striking resemblance, this being basis of the plot) are played by Imperio Argentina, the most prominent tonadillera —popular singer— in Spain in the 40s and 50s, who was favoured by the Franco regime (as well as by the Nazis in Germany, apparently Hitler himself found her ravishing).

The film apparently won a prize in the 1942 Venice Festival (which doesn't really mean much, since even if Spain remained neutral during WW2, the affinity of a good section of the Spanish government of those years with Mussolini's and Hitler's regimes was well known).

[SimonNZ]

Famous (at the time) comedian Joe. E. Brown, born not far away from where I live now in northwest Ohio: he was big in the early 1930's in a series of comedies.

Thanks for that. I watched/heard the excellent commentary track last night by film historian Scott MacQueen. At one point he mentions that Brown was one of the ten highest paid actors of the 30s. Lots of other stuff about the making of the film, but also a good case study illustrating the studio system of the time, and, in this case, the desire of a studio known for gangster films to get some class with a capital c to rub in the faces of the others.

There was also a surprising amount about Korngold's reworking of Mendelssohn, including the detail that in a couple of places he was onset conducting actors as they delivered lines so it would complement the score.

[Cato]

We are watching the "prequel" to Lonesome Dove. 





It is necessary to watch Lonesome Dove first: a great Western from the mid-1980's with Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones as the main characters (Texas Rangers after the Civil War).

Then watch the absolutely astonishing portrayal of Steve Zahn as the 30-years-younger version of Robert Duvall's character!  Karl Urban is good as a younger version of the character played by Tommy Lee Jones, but Steve Zahn is incredible.

The story by Larry McMurtry is nearly on the same level as the story in Lonesome Dove.  People have found the Val Kilmer part to be problematic: I do not agree, with the exception that scenes where he is later in Boston seem unnecessary to the the main part of the story in Texas.

[DavidW]

It has been a very long time since I've seen that miniseries.  But I read the novel a few years ago.  I think the entire quartet is worth reading.  My ranking is Lonesome Dove > Streets of Laredo > Comanche Moon > Dead's Man Walk.  My Mother absolutely hates how dark Streets of Laredo is though and has a completely different ranking!  She ranks them Comanche Moon > Lonesome Dove > Dead Man's Walk > Streets of Laredo.  Anyone have any preferences?

I plan on rereading Lonesome Dove this summer.

[Karl Henning]

Literate, witty, and at the last, thoroughly charming.

[Cato]

It has been a very long time since I've seen that miniseries.  But I read the novel a few years ago.  I think the entire quartet is worth reading.  My ranking is Lonesome Dove > Streets of Laredo > Comanche Moon > Dead's Man Walk.  My Mother absolutely hates how dark Streets of Laredo is though and has a completely different ranking!  She ranks them Comanche Moon > Lonesome Dove > Dead Man's Walk > Streets of Laredo.  Anyone have any preferences?

I plan on rereading Lonesome Dove this summer.

Thank you!

I do not know the Streets of Laredo and Dead Man's Walk.  So I should rectify that soon! 

[Karl Henning]

Star Trek: Nemesis. Ooh! A wedding! And Worf recognizes an Irving Berlin tune (thanks to his buddy, Riker?) Why am I doubtful when Picard says There is no foreseeable danger? Picard at the wheel of a dune buggy!

[SonicMan46]

Dinosaur Updates - fan since boyhood! 

Prehistoric Planet (2022) - watched a year ago on Apple TV - doing a re-watch because next month Apple is streaming Season 2 of this remarkable show - below a description of the first season - narrated by the indefatigable David Attenborough (1926-Present!) - anticipating the next season - also reading the book shown below Dinosaurs Rediscovered... (2019) by Michael J. Benton for an update on the topic - Dave

Prehistoric Planet is a British-American nature documentary streaming television series about dinosaurs that premiered on Apple TV+ beginning May 23, 2022. It is produced by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit with Jon Favreau as showrunner, visual effects by MPC, and narration by natural historian Sir David Attenborough. The documentary follows dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals recreated with computer-generated imagery living around the globe in the Late Cretaceous period, 66 million years ago, just before the dinosaurs' extinction. It set out to depict prehistoric life using current palaeontological research by including accurately feathered dinosaurs, and probable speculative animal behaviour. It is the first major dinosaur-focused documentary series produced by the BBC since Planet Dinosaur in 2011, and the third overall (Walking with Dinosaurs in 1999). Prehistoric Planet received critical acclaim for its visual effects, depiction of dinosaurs, and Attenborough's narration. (Source)

 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Dinosaur Updates - fan since boyhood! 

Prehistoric Planet (2022) - watched a year ago on Apple TV - doing a re-watch because next month Apple is streaming Season 2 of this remarkable show - below a description of the first season - narrated by the indefatigable David Attenborough (1926-Present!) - anticipating the next season - also reading the book shown below Dinosaurs Rediscovered... (2019) by Michael J. Benton for an update on the topic - Dave
 

Dinos rule[ed]! 

PD

[SimonNZ]

[Karl Henning]

A love story gone very wrong.

[Madiel]

Dinosaur Updates - fan since boyhood! 

Prehistoric Planet (2022) - watched a year ago on Apple TV - doing a re-watch because next month Apple is streaming Season 2 of this remarkable show - below a description of the first season - narrated by the indefatigable David Attenborough (1926-Present!) - anticipating the next season - also reading the book shown below Dinosaurs Rediscovered... (2019) by Michael J. Benton for an update on the topic - Dave
 

I can't help wondering what happens to the wildlife documentary industry when David Attenborough is finally not around to narrate it. Will people just keep using his voice through AI because audiences won't accept anything else?

Given how people react to changes in the voice of Siri, GPS systems etc. it seems quite possible there will be demand for Attenborough in the future. Few people in the world are such an institution in their own right.

[SonicMan46]

I can't help wondering what happens to the wildlife documentary industry when David Attenborough is finally not around to narrate it. Will people just keep using his voice through AI because audiences won't accept anything else?

Given how people react to changes in the voice of Siri, GPS systems etc. it seems quite possible there will be demand for Attenborough in the future. Few people in the world are such an institution in their own right.

Interesting comments - maybe there be a flood of 'Attenborough Impersonators' to even match the number for Elvis?     Dave

[Papy Oli]

One of those movies that you can pick up 10 or 20 minutes in and end up seeing to the end for the umpteenth time because it is always heart-warming and entertaining: Kinky Boots