Last Movie You Watched

[Karl Henning]

I think Jn Carpenter & Stephen King make a good fit: watched Christine again last night.

[DavidW]

1917, an excellent movie by Sam Mendes.

PD

Yes!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yes!

I was amazed to see the commentary about how they filmed it...inventing new techniques to get the cameras around and in place...building over a mile of trenches, the lighting issues and challenges, etc.

Currently, I'm part-way through this classic (which I don't recall ever having watched the whole movie before now):


I recently learned that it was the most expensive movie ever made.  From Wiki:

"Cleopatra is a 1963 American epic historical drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, with a screenplay adapted by Mankiewicz, Ranald MacDougall and Sidney Buchman from the 1957 book The Life and Times of Cleopatra by Carlo Maria Franzero, and from histories by Plutarch, Suetonius, and Appian. It stars Elizabeth Taylor in the eponymous role. Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, and Martin Landau are featured in supporting roles. It chronicles the struggles of Cleopatra, the young Queen of Egypt, to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome.

The film achieved notoriety during its production for its enormous cost overruns and production troubles, which included changes in director and cast, a change of filming locale, sets that had to be constructed twice, lack of a firm shooting script, and personal scandal around co-stars Taylor and Burton. It was the most expensive film ever made up to that point and almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox.

Cleopatra was the highest-grossing film of 1963, earning box-office of $57.7 million in the United States and Canada, and one of the highest-grossing films of the decade at a worldwide level. However, it initially lost money due to its production and marketing costs of $44 million. It received nine nominations at the 36th Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, and won four: Best Art Direction (Color), Best Cinematography (Color), Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design (Color)."

Incredible cast!  Others involved:  Hume Cronyn and Carroll O'Connor and https://www.fandango.com/cleopatra-1963-20667/cast-and-crew

PD

[milk]

continuing my unbroken experience of being heavily disappointed by a Hou Hsiao-Hsien film and failing to understand my he is so critically lauded

we watched "A Time to Live..." last week and didn't think it measured up to the greatness of Edward Yang films. What's your opinion of those?

[SimonNZ]

we watched "A Time to Live..." last week and didn't think it measured up to the greatness of Edward Yang films. What's your opinion of those?

So far I've only seen A Brighter Summer Day of his. And it was fascinating, but I'm glad I did Tony Rayns' commentary to explain facets of Taiwanese history and culture which weren't obvious on the first viewing. I'll probably be watching Yi Yi in the very near future. Which others would you recommend of his?

[Karl Henning]

I was amazed to see the commentary about how they filmed it...inventing new techniques to get the cameras around and in place...building over a mile of trenches, the lighting issues and challenges, etc.

Currently, I'm part-way through this classic (which I don't recall ever having watched the whole movie before now):


I recently learned that it was the most expensive movie ever made.  From Wiki:

"Cleopatra is a 1963 American epic historical drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, with a screenplay adapted by Mankiewicz, Ranald MacDougall and Sidney Buchman from the 1957 book The Life and Times of Cleopatra by Carlo Maria Franzero, and from histories by Plutarch, Suetonius, and Appian. It stars Elizabeth Taylor in the eponymous role. Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, and Martin Landau are featured in supporting roles. It chronicles the struggles of Cleopatra, the young Queen of Egypt, to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome.

The film achieved notoriety during its production for its enormous cost overruns and production troubles, which included changes in director and cast, a change of filming locale, sets that had to be constructed twice, lack of a firm shooting script, and personal scandal around co-stars Taylor and Burton. It was the most expensive film ever made up to that point and almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox.

Cleopatra was the highest-grossing film of 1963, earning box-office of $57.7 million in the United States and Canada, and one of the highest-grossing films of the decade at a worldwide level. However, it initially lost money due to its production and marketing costs of $44 million. It received nine nominations at the 36th Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, and won four: Best Art Direction (Color), Best Cinematography (Color), Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design (Color)."

Incredible cast!  Others involved:  Hume Cronyn and Carroll O'Connor and https://www.fandango.com/cleopatra-1963-20667/cast-and-crew

PD

They'll never make its like again.

[Karl Henning]

Today: Creepshow (which I saw in the cinema when it opened) and Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man.

[aligreto]

The Ones Below





A psychological thriller about the tensions that arise between upper floor and basement dwellers in a small apartment house. It is an interesting study of the power of manipulation and the mental and emotional consequences for the one being manipulated. I enjoyed it.

[Roasted Swan]

The Ones Below





A psychological thriller about the tensions that arise between upper floor and basement dwellers in a small apartment house. It is an interesting study of the power of manipulation and the mental and emotional consequences for the one being manipulated. I enjoyed it.

were you manipulated into enjoying it or did you really enjoy it........?

[aligreto]

were you manipulated into enjoying it or did you really enjoy it........?

An astute question but the answer is definitely the latter. 

[DavidW]

I think Jn Carpenter & Stephen King make a good fit: watched Christine again last night.

I watched that last summer and I liked it, but could not imagine reading the door stop that it was adapted from.

[Karl Henning]

I watched that last summer and I liked it, but could not imagine reading the door stop that it was adapted from.

Nor me. From the comparatively little King I have slogged through, he is best served by the cinema (I'll much sooner re-read Dickens, of course.) The producer Richard Kobritz had produced the miniseries Salem's Lot, and Stephen King sent him his next two Mss. for consideration, and Kobritz bought up the rights to Christine, which was soon published and instantly became a best-seller.  At the time when the film was released, the hard cover and paperback were nos. 10 & 1, respectively on the NYT Best-Seller List.  It was a pop culture perfect storm.

[Brahmsian]

Nor me. From the comparatively little King I have slogged through, he is best served by the cinema (I'll much sooner re-read Dickens, of course.) The producer Richard Kobritz had produced the miniseries Salem's Lot, and Stephen King sent him his next two Mss. for consideration, and Kobritz bought up the rights to Christine, which was soon published and instantly became a best-seller.  At the time when the film was released, the hard cover and paperback were nos. 10 & 1, respectively on the NYT Best-Seller List.  It was a pop culture perfect storm.

From the written point of view, I find Stephen King much more interesting in his short stories.  "Night Shift", his first collection of short stories, is quite marvelous.  Some of his lengthy novels I have read.  Of the lengthiest variety, probably "The Stand" is my favourite.  "IT" was stupendously fantastic for the first 2/3 of the novel, and downright stupendously horrible for the final 1/3 of the novel.

[DavidW]

I think that Pet Semetary might be his best novel.  The trainwreck of losing a son, especially at a tender age, and all a grieving parent would do made for a story that was genuinely horrific and tragic in a way that really I don't think that any of his other stories were.  And it is concisely written too!

[Brahmsian]

I think that Pet Semetary might be his best novel.  The trainwreck of losing a son, especially at a tender age, and all a grieving parent would do made for a story that was genuinely horrific and tragic in a way that really I don't think that any of his other stories were.  And it is concisely written too!

That one is probably my favourite too of his "shorter" novels (ie., under 1,000 pages) 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

They'll never make its like again.

Very true.

I ran across this fascinating article about the making of the movie, all of the problems that were encountered, horrible decisions, romances and relationships that went afoul, careers that were created or destroyed by it, etc.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1998/03/elizabeth-taylor-199803

PD

[milk]

So far I've only seen A Brighter Summer Day of his. And it was fascinating, but I'm glad I did Tony Rayns' commentary to explain facets of Taiwanese history and culture which weren't obvious on the first viewing. I'll probably be watching Yi Yi in the very near future. Which others would you recommend of his?

I just know those two, but Yi Yi is mesmerizing cinema. It's so masterful.

[André]

I just know those two, but Yi Yi is mesmerizing cinema. It's so masterful.

+1. A masterpiece and a classic.

[milk]

Is it safe?

It's still good.

[Brahmsian]

Is it safe?

It's still good.

Marvelous film!