Last Movie You Watched

[Omicron9]

"The Man Who Invented Christmas."  The story of the writing of "A Christmas Carol."  Very well-done; good performances all around.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6225520/?ref_=nv_sr_4

[MN Dave]

RAMPAGE with the Rock!
Loads of fun for guys like me. 

[milk]

Rewatched this today. It's a must-watch for Star Trek fans and a pretty funny, if goofy, offering. It drags a bit but the first hour has lots of laughs.

[Ken B]

Rewatched this today. It's a must-watch for Star Trek fans and a pretty funny, if goofy, offering. It drags a bit but the first hour has lots of laughs.

I love that. Seen it four or five times. Hilarious.

[cilgwyn]

Not sure this is the right thread?! Anyway,I'm a huge fan of the old Cinema serials (aka,Cliffhanger serials) which inspired Indian Jones. Some are repetitious;but the best ones are just such fun,imho! I just love them! :)This is one of the best. It's great to see a company like Kino Lorber turning their attention to an area of popular cinema which has,on the whole,been,largely, ignored (but thank you,VCI!). I only hope that sales will be good enough for them to bring out some more titles. (They've already released Captain Marvel). Spy Smasher and Perils of Nyoka,are a case in point. There are others! A nice print of G-Men vs the Black Dragon,for example. The Cheezy Flicks release is viewable,but the print looks 'washed out'!!
Anyway,such fun! All those gadgets and dastardly villains. I can hardly wait to watch the next episode! In the last few weeks I've sat through Jungle Girl,Drums of Fu Manchu,Jungle Jim,The Phantom and Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (that one,in the last few months). The Phantom Empire,the Flash Gordon serials and G-Men vs the Black Dragon,are all lined up!! This print of Daredevils of the Red Circle,from Kino,is very good,indeed!

[Karl Henning]

Not sure this is the right thread?! Anyway,I'm a huge fan of the old Cinema serials (aka,Cliffhanger serials) which inspired Indian Jones.

I do enjoy Indiana Jones, but . . . not sure I'd dig (you see what I did there) the prototypes.  I rejoice, though, that thou in them delightest!

[NikF]

Not sure this is the right thread?! Anyway,I'm a huge fan of the old Cinema serials (aka,Cliffhanger serials) which inspired Indian Jones. Some are repetitious;but the best ones are just such fun,imho! I just love them! :)This is one of the best. It's great to see a company like Kino Lorber turning their attention to an area of popular cinema which has,on the whole,been,largely, ignored (but thank you,VCI!). I only hope that sales will be good enough for them to bring out some more titles. (They've already released Captain Marvel). Spy Smasher and Perils of Nyoka,are a case in point. There are others! A nice print of G-Men vs the Black Dragon,for example. The Cheezy Flicks release is viewable,but the print looks 'washed out'!!
Anyway,such fun! All those gadgets and dastardly villains. I can hardly wait to watch the next episode! In the last few weeks I've sat through Jungle Girl,Drums of Fu Manchu,Jungle Jim,The Phantom and Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (that one,in the last few months). The Phantom Empire,the Flash Gordon serials and G-Men vs the Black Dragon,are all lined up!! This print of Daredevils of the Red Circle,from Kino,is very good,indeed!

Good stuff. Many of those you mention are relatively early. I'll need to make time to check a few out.

The last I watched all the way through was Republic's 'King of the Rocket Men' from the late 40s (early 50s?) when it was shown on the BBC. That was also where I watched much of the popular Universal output like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.
But my earliest memory is seeing them on a Saturday morning when as a street urchin my little friends and I would sneak in without paying via the fire exit door of a rundown cinema. Obviously that was decades after the original release and the poorly presented prints were full of clumsy edits, but we didn't care and viewed them as serious drama sandwiched between the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies. 

Anyway, hope you continue to enjoy them. 

[SonicMan46]

 
Rewatched this today. It's a must-watch for Star Trek fans and a pretty funny, if goofy, offering. It drags a bit but the first hour has lots of laughs.

Agree, a funny film - own the BD inserted above - love Tony Shalhoub and the 'octupus alien' woman -    Dave

[SonicMan46]

Big Country, The (1958) w/ Gregory Peck, Burl Ives, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston and others - this film was discussed here not too long ago, but just replaced my DVD w/ the newly released Kino Lorber offering shown below, a restored 60th anniversary edition - excellent review HERE (summary below), for those interested - watched last night and was impressed by both the visual and audio remastering - the scenic vistas are just beautiful - if you want to 'own' this film, then this version is highly recommended.  Dave

 

[Karl Henning]

Big Country, The (1958) w/ Gregory Peck, Burl Ives, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston and others - this film was discussed here not too long ago, but just replaced my DVD w/ the newly released Kino Lorber offering shown below, a restored 60th anniversary edition - excellent review HERE (summary below), for those interested - watched last night and was impressed by both the visual and audio remastering - the scenic vistas are just beautiful - if you want to 'own' this film, then this version is highly recommended.  Dave

 

It is indeed beautiful, Dave.

[cilgwyn]

Good stuff. Many of those you mention are relatively early. I'll need to make time to check a few out.

The last I watched all the way through was Republic's 'King of the Rocket Men' from the late 40s (early 50s?) when it was shown on the BBC. That was also where I watched much of the popular Universal output like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.
But my earliest memory is seeing them on a Saturday morning when as a street urchin my little friends and I would sneak in without paying via the fire exit door of a rundown cinema. Obviously that was decades after the original release and the poorly presented prints were full of clumsy edits, but we didn't care and viewed them as serious drama sandwiched between the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies. 

Anyway, hope you continue to enjoy them. 

And all the more embarassing to post here,in the same thread as les enfants du paradis! I like those old movie series,too! I do watch some more highbrow movies,though. Thanks to my 86 year old father,to some degree. In the last five to six years,or so,I have bought dvd's of Max Ophüls,La Ronde and Le Plaisir,Clouzot's The Wages of Fear,and most recently,Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast and  Orphée,for him to watch;because he saw them in the cinema,with a friend,when he was young (except Le plaisir). I have enjoyed them all! He hadn't heard of Cliffhanger serials. I don't think his friend would have wanted to take him to those?! Maybe,in disguise?!!   I have also bought a few French films that interested me. And I like Fellini! I don't think my father would want to watch my collection of 50's (and some.60's) sci-fi,though?!!
If you are interested,at all;Drums of Fu Manchu is pure boys own paper,with gadgets galore and Henry Brandon relishing his role as,probably,the best Fu Manchu ever. It's,by far,the least repetitious and most varied serial I have seen,to date. The VCI print is pretty good. I had no issue with it. I also found Jungle girl very entertaining. Like the Drums of Fu Manchu,it is a Republic serial. They were regarded as the finest producers of serials;and like the Fu Manchu (and Daredevils of the Red Circle) it is directed by William Whitney and John English,who are regarded as the finest directors of serials,ever. Some of the cliffhanger set pieces are very excitingly paced,and,the influence on Indiana Jones is obvious. One of them involving the hero and heroine being shoved into a chamber,with the floor sliding away to reveal a seemingly bottomless drop into darkness,below. The print from VCI is excellent. You have to make sure it's dvd's,though. VCI sold some sets as dvd-r's. The one I bought recently from a US seller was a dvd set,thank goodness!

[Madiel]

Finally got my DVD of the linear version of Manifesto, and watched it.

Dear God, Cate Blanchett is a living national treasure. It's genius.

But it's also painful seeing how truncated a couple of the segments are compared to the multi-screen original. The stockbroker character seems hardly there.

Surely they could have included the original segments as extras on the DVD. As it is, the Australian release has "extras" consisting of ads for other films!

Anyway I shouldn't focus on what's missing, I should focus on the joy of witnessing Blanchett as widow / news anchor / reporter / punk rocker / schoolteacher / scientist / stockbroker / puppeteer/ religious mother / scrap worker / socialite / choreographer / homeless man.

[Madiel]

Squeal. The separate segments appear to now be on the director's website (Julian Rosefeldt).

This is happy making.

Edit: okay, I'd forgotten there's a sizeable chunk of the stockbroker segment where nothing actually happens. Very cuttable.

[SonicMan46]

Last night, several 'new' BDs - replacements for a DVD & DVD-R, respectively:

My Man Godfrey (1936) w/ William Powell, Carole Lombard, and others in this wacky comedy - Criterion blu-ray restoration is superb, as expected (4.5/5, video; 5/5, audio HERE).

Farmer's Daughter, The (1947) w/ Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, and Charles Bickford - excellent audiovideo transfer - review HERE, if interested. Oscar winner in 1948 for Loretta Young; Bickford outstanding character actor (vs. his role in The Big Country, described a few posts back).  Dave

 

 

[Karl Henning]

Last night, several 'new' BDs - replacements for a DVD & DVD-R, respectively:

My Man Godfrey (1936) w/ William Powell, Carole Lombard, and others in this wacky comedy - Criterion blu-ray restoration is superb, as expected (4.5/5, video; 5/5, audio HERE).

High on my Wish List, indeed, Dave.

[SonicMan46]

High on my Wish List, indeed, Dave.

[Karl Henning]

I have a scratchy old DVD, and the movie is very touching even under those conditions.

My other high-priority Criterion blu-ray is Blood Simple.

[Ken B]

High on my Wish List, indeed, Dave.

Godfrey is one of my top 10 movies. There are cheap old copies around, so nice to see a restoration.

[Karl Henning]

Godfrey is one of my top 10 movies.

I think it sure oughta be.

[SimonNZ]

Which I thought was very well done.