Last Movie You Watched

[Karl Henning]

The Bridges of Madison County (1995) w/ Clint Eastwood & Meryl Streep; Eastwood, director.

Just a bit of personal trivia, Dave . . . this was the in-flight entertainment on a transatlantic flight with a non-US carrier (I was too preoccupied to enjoy the movie).  I chuckled to hear the flight attendant mis-announce the title as The Brides of Madison County.

[rockerreds]

To Rome With Love-just terrible,I had a hard time finishing it.

[Bogey]

Recently wrapped up watching the TV series The Wire. Highly recommended to anyone out there reading this, it is the bomb. You will not be disappointed. Trust me.

I've always been a sucker for all things True-Crime oriented for as long as I can remember (also see above), this includes Mob Pictures ..

last nite I dug into this box, containing some of it's oldest (finest?) examples ..

[asin]B00BCGUJ5M[/asin]

I absolutely love this set, James.  I just hope they produce a second "classic" set with Angels With Dirty Faces included.

[James]

I absolutely love this set, James.  I just hope they produce a second "classic" set with Angels With Dirty Faces included.

I watched "Little Caesar" from it the other nite .. and while it definitely contains seeds/roots for the genre, i wasn't too blown away by it. It was definitely cheesy, of it's time, and lacking severely, still it fulfilled my historic interest/education .. I am looking forward to Public Enemies, Scorsese (whom I really admire) praises it, and Cagney is supposed to be quite ruthless, a fellow cohort of mine saying ... Bogart is like a little school girl in comparison to the Cagney stuff. But he also said The Petrified Forest is a REALLY great movie. So really looking forward to the rest, despite the rocky start to the set.

[Bogey]

I watched "Little Caesar" from it the other nite .. and while it definitely contains seeds/roots for the genre, i wasn't too blown away by it. It was definitely cheesy, of it's time, and lacking severely, still it fulfilled my historic interest/education .. I am looking forward to Public Enemies, Scorsese (whom I really admire) praises it, and Cagney is supposed to be quite ruthless, a fellow cohort of mine saying ... Bogart is like a little school girl in comparison to the Cagney stuff. But he also said The Petrified Forest is a REALLY great movie. So really looking forward to the rest, despite the rocky start to the set.

I love every film from the set.  Out of the four, White Heat is probably the one with the sharpest edge.  Cagney is absolutely fantastic in it.  As far as Little Caesar goes, I never tire of it.  And speaking of historic, I need to add this to the collection as well as soon as it gets the Blu treatment.

[James]

I love every film from the set.  Out of the four, White Heat is probably the one with the sharpest edge.  Cagney is absolutely fantastic in it.  As far as Little Caesar goes, I never tire of it.  And speaking of historic, I need to add this to the collection as well as soon as it gets the Blu treatment.

Looks interesting, I'm sure they will release another Volume of Gangster Classics on blu.
I love De Palma's Scarface, one of my all-time over the top operatic favorites .. Pacino is so ruthless.
I've always loved the bad guys more than the good guys.

[Bogey]

Looks interesting, I'm sure they will release another Volume of Gangster Classics on blu.
I love De Palma's Scarface, one of my all-time over the top operatic favorites .. Pacino is so ruthless.
I've always loved the bad guys more than the good guys.

Well, if you think that LC fulfilled your historic interest/education in film,then this would add to it. 

[James]

Well, if you think that LC fulfilled your historic interest/education in film,then this would add to it.

No doubt .. I've read & heard a lot of favorable things about that picture.

[Bogey]

On this one, it's almost worth reading up on the film first and watching any extras prior to your viewing.  I rarely go this route, but for me the pic to flight once I had more of a historic background of it's genesis.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

I've always loved the bad guys more than the good guys.[/font]

+1!

[James]

On this one, it's almost worth reading up on the film first and watching any extras prior to your viewing.  I rarely go this route, but for me the pic to flight once I had more of a historic background of it's genesis.

I do this .. it provides context/insight, but still the film itself should entertain and provoke something in the viewer on it's own too. Often, a lot of the words/talk/hype surrounding cinema doesn't really hold up. Film .. more often than all other art/entertainment forms suffers from the ravages of time the most.

[SonicMan46]

Just a bit of personal trivia, Dave . . . this was the in-flight entertainment on a transatlantic flight with a non-US carrier (I was too preoccupied to enjoy the movie).  I chuckled to hear the flight attendant mis-announce the title as The Brides of Madison County.

Hi Karl - LOL!  The Brides of Madison County sounds like a Burt Reynolds movie a la 'Smokey & the Bandit' -  

Don't do transatlantic flights anymore but did a lot in my early years - never liked watching films on planes and this one would have been hard to keep one's attention - much nicer in the quiet of your own living room w/ a big screen HDTV and decent sound.  Dave

[Bogey]

I do this .. it provides context/insight, but still the film itself should entertain and provoke something in the viewer on it's own too. Often, a lot of the words/talk/hype surrounding cinema doesn't really hold up. Film .. more often than all other art/entertainment forms suffers from the ravages of time the most.

Agreed.  But sometimes that added insight can take it further.

[TheGSMoeller]

James Bond meets Kick-Ass meets Kill Bill. I had a lot of fun watching this film, especially watching Firth become an action star. I did chuckle out loud during the fireworks scene near the end, those who have seen it will know.

[Mirror Image]

Watched this earlier:



I watched the hour-long documentary on Nielsen's life titled The Light and the Darkness. Very nice and contained some great live footage of Nielsen shaking hands and walking around. This footage alone is quite indispensable.

[Drasko]

.. and while it definitely contains seeds/roots for the genre ...

When speaking of earliest examples of gangster film Sternberg's 1927 silent Underworld shouldn't be missed.

[Bogey]

When speaking of earliest examples of gangster film Sternberg's 1927 silent Underworld shouldn't be missed.

Yikes!  $159 for this set. OOP I am guessing.

These sets look interesting to me.  Would love to preview it before buying a I am not familiar with these films.

http://www.criterion.com/films/2955-i-am-waiting
http://www.criterion.com/films/788-stray-dog
http://www.criterion.com/films/845-drunken-angel

Along with others from Japan.  Anyone here familiar with any of these or others' work:

http://www.criterion.com/explore/17-noir-and-neonoir

[Bogey]

Speaking of historical gangster films, this is a MUST:

The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), the first gangster film.  You can catch the 16 minutes film here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2jjTmRclFM

[James]

Speaking of historical gangster films, this is a MUST:

The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), the first gangster film.  You can catch the 16 minutes film here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2jjTmRclFM

Yes .. in the special features to Little Caesar, Scorsese speaks of that one & others that came before .. the true dawn of the gangster pictures of the 30s that made an impact.  The genre really began to take hold & define itself when (among other things) sound entered the equation .. and for instance, the gunshots could be heard .. the earlier films are credible but nothing really rising above historical curiosity as far as this genre is concerned. Even the earlier classics (as far as I have seen so far), considering the nature of their content seem light, incredibly cartoonish & tame in comparison to the contemporary gangster pictures (& TV series) of which I have been spoiled rotten.

[Ken B]

Most early 30s gangster movies look dreadfully dated. But for one kinda related, with Paul Muni, seek out I am a fugitive from a chain gang.