Last Movie You Watched

[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.

[Daverz]

Upgrade

[asin] B07D52YSMH[/asin]

Considering the $5M budget, this is a great looking SF action film.  Some of the acting in the minor roles suffers the most from the budget (no showstoppers, though), and the screenplay is not particularly original.

The Bookshop

[asin] B07CXZ9CP9[/asin]

A woman opens a bookshop in a small town.  The townies are shits.  Very low key.  I enjoyed the performances, particularly Emily Mortimer as the bookshop owner.

Maigret in Montmarte

[asin] B078GGNDFW[/asin]

Rowan Atkinson in a serious role as the canny French detective.  Really enjoy this series.

[milk]

OK not a great movie. But I really really respect the effort by all involved. They had great intentions.

[aligreto]

Nights in Rodanthe





A wonderful human story [with an excellent performance from Diane Lane] of how two mature adults come together and form a relationship. Well worth a watch. 

[SonicMan46]

 
OK not a great movie. But I really really respect the effort by all involved. They had great intentions.

Starman (1984) - a film that I now own on blu-ray and just watched a month or so ago - the movie has gotten a lot of 'mixed' reviews over the years, but still an enjoyable one for me - love intelligent aliens visiting the earth and also the chemistry between Allen & Bridges.  However, the ratings are generally favorable, e.g. 7.1/10, IMDB; 81%, Rotten Tomatoes; 4.7/5, Amazon; and 3/4* by Roger Ebert - his review HERE, which matches mine closer that the others read in the past.  Dave

[SonicMan46]

Benny Goodman Story, The (1956) w/ Steve Allen, Donna Reed, and many guest appearances (see quote below) - currently reading Ted Gioia's 2nd edition of The History of Jazz (highly recommended for those into this music) and was on the Swing/Big Band chapter w/ much about Goodman - this film has also received a LOT of mixed reviews over the years, e.g. Allen's poor acting skills (note - he was an excellent pianist, wrote thousands of songs, and made a number of musical recordings) and 'sweetening' of the love affair between him and Alice Hammond who he eventually married in 1942 (she & Benny were having a 'real' affair while she was still married to the British diplomat, Arthur Duckworth, and had had 3 daughters by him).

But, the main reasons that I enjoy this bioptic are : 1) Good portrayal of Goodman's rise to fame and successes in the 1930s culminating in the Carnegie Hall Concert of 1938; and 2) Appearance of so many previous members and associates, just great to see the likes of Hampton, Wilson, and Krupa.  Plus, the music is fabulous throughout - my only wish would be a proper audio restoration on a BD - maybe?  Dave

P.S. over the decades I've read many jazz bios, including a number on Goodman - the one that I've kept from 1993 is shown below.

Lionel Hampton, Martha Tilton, Kid Ory, George Givot, Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson, Harry James and many other musicians made appearances in this film. However, while Ziggy Elman appeared on screen recreating his trumpet solo on "And the Angels Sing", he was unable to record his portion for the soundtrack. Fletcher Henderson is portrayed by Sammy Davis, Sr., father of Sammy Davis, Jr. (SOURCE)

   

[Todd]

Romper Stomper.  A bad young dude and his fellow droogs engage in a little ultraviolence in and about town, including in a hapless rich dude's fancy digs.  The skinhead element adds something special, I guess.  Low-budget and it looks it.  Russell Crowe does only decent fightin' round the world work. Meh-.

[Ken B]

Romper Stomper.  A bad young dude and his fellow droogs engage in a little ultraviolence in and about town, including in a hapless rich dude's fancy digs.  The skinhead element adds something special, I guess.  Low-budget and it looks it.  Russell Crowe does only decent fightin' round the world work. Meh-.

Yeah,not a winner.

[Madiel]

Rather controversial in Australia at the time.

[milk]

Good fun is hard to come by: This is a noir spoof, so no surprises as to plot. But...surprising laughs and surprisingly exceeded expectations.