Last Movie You Watched

[SonicMan46]

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) - well I've been anxious to see the 80 y/o Ford in presumably his final Indiana Jones role - even the 71 y/o Karen Allen appears at the end - great to see them together! Streamed the film from Amazon (2 1/2 hrs long).

Short synopsis below w/ cast - the 'iconic' hat and whip make appearances also  - I enjoyed the movie but was not bedazzled - ratings have been lukewarm: 69% Rotten Tomatoes by critics but 88% by viewers; 6.7/10, IMDB; 4.8/5 on Amazon (always an overinflated rating) - for myself, a 3 1/2*/5* compared to my two favs (first & third ones) - definitely recommended to fans of the series and Harrison Ford aficionados.  Dave

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a 2023 American action adventure film directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote with others. It is the sequel to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), as well as the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones film series. Featuring Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies, and Karen Allen reprising their roles as Indiana Jones, Sallah, and Marion Ravenwood, respectively, new cast members include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones et al. Set in 1969, the film follows Indy and his estranged goddaughter, Helena, who are trying to locate a powerful artifact before Jürgen Voller, a Nazi-turned-NASA scientist who plans to alter the outcome of World War II. (Source)

 

[Karl Henning]

This will tickle @Cato

[Cato]

This will tickle @Cato

Yes!  That looks like an all-around fave!  I will need to wait until tomorrow morning to crank it up, as we are bout to leave on various errands!

Thanks, Karl!

Zardoz (for those uninitiated) was a wild 1970's fantasy with Sean Connery, directed (and written by (I think)) John Boorman.

Boorman made some interesting movies back then, among the best were Deliverance and Excalibur.

He was also involved in The Exorcist II: The Heretic, featuring Richard Burton in a condition less than sober in practically every scene, who later claimed that he neither understood the script nor remembered much about anything of its making!

Time's up!   

[Karl Henning]

Yes!  That looks like an all-around fave!  I will need to wait until tomorrow morning to crank it up, as we are bout to leave on various errands!

Thanks, Karl!

Zardoz (for those uninitiated) was a wild 1970's fantasy with Sean Connery, directed (and written by (I think)) John Boorman.

Boorman made some interesting movies back then, among the best were Deliverance and Excalibur.

He was also involved in The Exorcist II: The Heretic, featuring Richard Burton in a condition less than sober in practically every scene, who later claimed that he neither understood the script nor remembered much about anything of its making!

Time's up! 

I've not yet watched Deliverance. Must have it at the Library!

[VonStupp]

Today, an epic which I first saw 60 years ago in a C I N E R A M A theater!  Those were the days, indeed!

For years, I had only seen the first portion of HtWwW, (1839 The River), with Karl Malden and Jimmy Stewart. I don't know if I was daunted by the further runtime or if I preferred the earlier frontier adventure over a dusty western epic. Eventually I saw the whole film...
VS

[Karl Henning]

Just watched He Walked by Night. Very nice!

[Karl Henning]

Haven't seen this in an age (possibly not since I was a boy): The King and I. Choreography by Jerome Robbins. There were four names credited with orchestrations, including Robt Russell Bennett. 

[relm1]

Today I watched Orson Wells' "The Magnificent Ambersons" from 1942.  I think this was his second film.  Interestingly, the original version of the film was 150 minutes long but the studio edited it down to 88 minutes and as far as I know, the original Orson Wells director's version was destroyed to make more storage space.



The art direction and direction are as good as could be expected.  What I mean by this is there are techniques and visual devices that seem very modern so must have influenced generations of film makers to come.  Robert Wise (who would go on to direct The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Star Trek the Motion Picture) was the editor.  At first, I thought the film was quite charming and funny, but it gets rather complex with social examination of capitalism and image, social status, and perception well before the age of social media. 

The score was composed by the always reliable Bernard Herrmann.

[Cato]

Today I watched Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons" from 1942.  I think this was his second film.

Interestingly, the original version of the film was 150 minutes long but the studio edited it down to 88 minutes and as far as I know, the original Orson Wells director's version was destroyed to make more storage space.



The score was composed by the always reliable Bernard Herrmann.

Yes, the studio did not value the movie much at all!

Twenty years ago, somebody found the original script and tried to reproduce Welles' vision with actors from today:

The Magnificent Ambersons is an A&E Network film for television, inspired by Booth Tarkington's novel The Magnificent Ambersons. It was filmed using Orson Welles's screenplay and editing notes of the original film.[1] Directed by Alfonso Arau, the film stars Madeleine Stowe, Bruce Greenwood, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Gretchen Mol, Jennifer Tilly, Dina Merrill and James Cromwell.[2]

This film does not strictly follow Welles's screenplay. It lacks several scenes included in the 1942 version, and contains essentially the same happy ending as Tarkington's novel.

Reaction was mixed to negative.

[Karl Henning]

I was hoping to watch Zardoz yesterday, but the DVD wouldn't play; indeed, my machine didn't even recognize it as a DVD.

[Cato]

I was hoping to watch Zardoz yesterday, but the DVD wouldn't play; indeed, my machine didn't even recognize it as a DVD.

Faulty DVD or is the machine having a problem?

[Karl Henning]

Faulty DVD or is the machine having a problem?

I'm sure it's the DVD. Normally Amazon warns you if a DVD won't play in Region 1. This one was actually labeled Amazon's Choice, so I expected it to be okay. They're sending a replacement, but I do wonder if it's just going to be another bad apple from the same barrel. Will report.

[San Antone]

I'm sure it's the DVD. Normally Amazon warns you if a DVD won't play in Region 1. This one was actually labeled Amazon's Choice, so I expected it to be okay. They're sending a replacement, but I do wonder if it's just going to be another bad apple from the same barrel. Will report.

DVD players are so cheap you can easily buy one that plays all regions.  I have two (bought a second one when I couldn't find the first one), both of which can play any DVD. Each one was well under $100.

[SonicMan46]

DVD players are so cheap you can easily buy one that plays all regions.  I have two (bought a second one when I couldn't find the first one), both of which can play any DVD. Each one was well under $100.

Yes a 'brown paper bag' DVD player is cheap, but keep in mind that as one migrates from this now rather poor resolution format into the BD (blu-ray) and 4K UHD worlds, resolution increases dramatically (more HERE) and newer (more expensive) hardware is needed (also means better HDTVs are necessary) - my newest optical disc player purchased in January 2021 (along w/ a Sony 4K HDTV) is shown below and cost me $200 (back compatible w/ virtually all laser technologies) - probably cheaper now. 

So, if you're planning to upgrade an older DVD collection and want to play BDs and even 4Ks then the appropriate hardware will be needed; also true if you plan to stream these higher resolution offerings, e.g. my Apple TV and Roku device are both 4K so I can view that format on my HDTV.  Dave

[drogulus]

I'm sure it's the DVD. Normally Amazon warns you if a DVD won't play in Region 1. This one was actually labeled Amazon's Choice, so I expected it to be okay. They're sending a replacement, but I do wonder if it's just going to be another bad apple from the same barrel. Will report.

    Rip it and burn it.

    Almost none of my discs have been played. In some cases I don't even know if I could play them. My fake Oppo doesn't even have a disc player. It has 2 portable HDDs attached by USB. They have all my 2160p content. If I want to play regular BD/DVD stuff I plug in other drives sitting right there. Everything is backed up on humongous external drives on the PC.

    I should probably donate the discs to a library. If I have to move I'll do that, along with my music collection.

   

[Karl Henning]

DVD players are so cheap you can easily buy one that plays all regions.  I have two (bought a second one when I couldn't find the first one), both of which can play any DVD. Each one was well under $100.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Rip it and burn it.

Suggestions as to software for these operations? That may be the thing, if the replacement proves to be mismo viejo.

[LKB]

What a coincidence!  Thanks to Karl, we just watched the original last night!



Today, an epic which I first saw 60 years ago in a C I N E R A M A theater!  Those were the days, indeed!



Classic directors John Ford, Henry Hathaway, and George Marshall combined to create the movie, which was based on series of magazine stories in the magazine Life, which was a major magazine in 1959.

It was the prelude to the centennial of the Civil War between 1960-1965, an era which saw the publication of many, many books and articles about the war.  At the same time, of course, the Civil Rights movement was at its height, a movement which resulted from the unsuccessful resolution of the war.

Abraham Lincoln's assassination was the beginning of events causing that failure.

Anyway, the Civil War does indeed figure in the plot of How the West Was Won.

Our version uses the SMILEBOX technique, which attempts - fairly successfully - to imitate the Cinerama experience.

I've only experienced a Cinerama theatre once, in 1968 for my initial exposure to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I remember feeling like l was in the largest building on Earth, seeing the largest movie ever made...

[drogulus]

Suggestions as to software for these operations? That may be the thing, if the replacement proves to be mismo viejo.

    I'm thinking you'd want a disc you can play, so my solution may not be ideal. I use MakeMKV to make an exact copy of the film on the disc. I usually remove extras and subs except when the English one is needed.

    I don't have a recommendation for a burner program.

[VonStupp]

I was hoping to watch Zardoz yesterday, but the DVD wouldn't play; indeed, my machine didn't even recognize it as a DVD.

Sounds like the DVD player knew better than to play Zardoz!
VS

[Karl Henning]

Sounds like the DVD player knew better than to play Zardoz!
VS

Hah!