Last Movie You Watched

[drogulus]

On a little bit of a samurai flick kick and open to recommendations...

    The Samurai Trilogy is my rec. I have the Criterion set.

[vers la flamme]

The Samurai Trilogy is my rec. I have the Criterion set.

I watched Musashi Miyamoto the other night! Good movie! I'll watch the other two.

[SimonNZ]

Rashomon. On a little bit of a samurai flick kick and open to recommendations...

Two more Kurosawas: Yojimbo and Sanjuro.

[SimonNZ]

London (1994, dir. Patrick Keiller)

Tenth or twelfth watch of one of my favorite films.

[LKB]

I'm no expert but Ran is fantastic!  Also has a great score!

Ran is phenomenal, it convinced me to assign Kurosawa to the top shelf of modern directors alongside ( imho/ymmv ) Kubrick and Spielberg.

Kagemusha is also quite entertaining, though certainly not as lofty an achievement.

[Ganondorf]

Rashomon. On a little bit of a samurai flick kick and open to recommendations...

My favorite Kurosawa is The Hidden Fortress. It's almost scary how much Star Wars owes to this masterpiece. The plot points, The sound design etc.

[SimonNZ]

Strange now seeing Emma Thompson get eighth or ninth billing in the opening credits, despite clearly being one of the two leads. (and not even the good kind of last place where you get the "with" or "and")

Interesting rewatching this after all this time, especially as I must have missed the many, many Hitchcock references when I was younger, but I doubt I'll ever need to see it again.

[DavidW]

Is this the same character as the TV series Reacher? That show is awesome. 

Yes just a few inches shorter and not as muscular!

[SimonNZ]

Holy snikes! This movie has now moved up in my estimation because it led me directly to this (and Hal Hartley):



... and ... just ... wow. Stunning soundtrack. Stunning performances. Stunning ending.

I was thinking just the other day that it had been way too long since I'd seen Trust.

What is the connection with that other film?

[George]

Holy snikes! This movie has now moved up in my estimation because it led me directly to this (and Hal Hartley):



... and ... just ... wow. Stunning soundtrack. Stunning performances. Stunning ending.

That movie sent me watching every other Hartley film. Great stuff.

[Madiel]

This film that you're all raving about doesn't seem to be available to view here. Disappointing!

[DavidW]

I finally watched Wakanda Forever.  They turned the tragedy of Chadwick Boseman's passing into a good movie that surpasses the original, making the tragedy integral to the plot and character arc.  It is not saying much, but this is probably the best Marvel movie for this phase.

[SimonNZ]

And I know I said I wouldn't give it another chance, but I am - I find the lead to compelling, so I'm going to give it one more go:

Despite its utterly silly premise and its Grand Canyon sized plot holes, thats still remarkably enjoyable.


last night:



The BBC Henry VI, Pt 2

The entire supporting cast is brilliant. The two leads playing King Henry and Queen Margaret are left to flounder, the king two dimensional, the Queen being pulled in a number of contradictory directions - which is a fault of the playwright and not of the actors.

Its a sign of how quickly Shakespeare learned his art that he was able to make Margaret a much more focused and compelling character in Richard III.

Good to see Cade's Rebellion done in close to its entirety. It was completely cut from the Hollow Crown version. And Trevor Peacock having a ball as the populist Cade.

Knowing the BBC versions have gentle cuts despite seeming full text I read along with a stretch in the middle and found it to be a rate of about four or five lines every three pages, usually removing repetition of points already made.

[SonicMan46]

Last few days in the mood for some adventure films from yesteryear:

The Sea Hawk (1940) - another swashbuckler with Flynn outstanding and wooing the beautiful Brenda Marshall; Flora Robson wonderful as Queen Elizabeth, along with the magnificent score of Korngold - uses 'sepia' for the scenes in Panama, presumably to evoke the heat and humidity of the area.

Dodge City (1939) w/ the oft combined team of Flynn, de Havilland, and Curtiz. Flynn migrating to a starring role in a western vs. his earlier films with a sword in his hand - not to worry, the film was popular, Flynn well received, and grossing a bundle for the time.

El Dorado (1966) with Wayne and Mitchum (and a wonderful performance by James Caan as 'Mississippi') - see quotes below on all films.  Dave

The Sea Hawk is a 1940 American adventure film that stars Errol Flynn as an English privateer who defends his nation's interests on the eve of the launch of the Spanish Armada. The film was the tenth collaboration between Flynn and director Michael Curtiz. The rousing musical score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold is recognized as a high point in his career. The film was both an adventure film and a period piece about Elizabethan England's struggles with Spain, but was also meant as a pro-British propaganda film to build morale during World War II and to influence the American public into having a more pro-British outlook. (Source)

Dodge City is a 1939 American Western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Ann Sheridan. Based on a story by Robert Buckner, the film is about a Texas cattle agent who witnesses the brutal lawlessness of Dodge City, Kansas and takes the job of sheriff to clean the town up. Filmed in Technicolor, Dodge City was one of the highest-grossing films of the year. This was the 5th of 8 movies that de Havilland and Flynn appeared in together. Various scenes were shot in Thousand Oaks, including at present day Wildwood Regional Park. (Source)

El Dorado is a 1966 American Western film directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Written by Leigh Brackett and loosely based on the novel The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown, the film is about a gunfighter who comes to the aid of an old friend who is a drunken sheriff struggling to defend a rancher and his family against another rancher trying to steal their water. The supporting cast features James Caan, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix, Arthur Hunnicutt, Michele Carey, R. G. Armstrong, Ed Asner, Christopher George, Adam Roarke and Jim Davis. (Source)

   

[SimonNZ]

Henri 4 (aka Henry of Navarre)

[ando]

The BBC Henry VI, Pt 2

The entire supporting cast is brilliant. The two leads playing King Henry and Queen Margaret are left to flounder, the king two dimensional, the Queen being pulled in a number of contradictory directions - which is a fault of the playwright and not of the actors.

Its a sign of how quickly Shakespeare learned his art that he was able to make Margaret a much more focused and compelling character in Richard III.

Good to see Cade's Rebellion done in close to its entirety. It was completely cut from the Hollow Crown version. And Trevor Peacock having a ball as the populist Cade.

Knowing the BBC versions have gentle cuts despite seeming full text I read along with a stretch in the middle and found it to be a rate of about four or five lines every three pages, usually removing repetition of points already made.

My favorite filmed version of all 3 parts of Henry VI. Although he may come across initially as two dimensional, I can't agree that Henry remains that way, especially considering the entire arc of his development through the plays. It's one to revisit soon, though. Thanks.

[Karl Henning]

h/t to @Cato ... The Great Mouse Detective. What great fun! It came out just after I was graduated from Wooster, i.e. in my Oklahoma period, so it was completely off my radar. Add to that it was a time in my life when I had no interest in Disney releases. 

[Karl Henning]

h/t to @Cato ... The Great Mouse Detective. What great fun! It came out just after I was graduated from Wooster, i.e. in my Oklahoma period, so it was completely off my radar. Add to that it was a time in my life when I had no interest in Disney releases.

Vincent Price voicing the villain, music by Henry Mancini. I took it on faith that it would be one to own, so I brought in the Blu-ray. It came in one of those puzzling "two-packs" with a superfluous DVD. Happily, I was able to give the DVD to my physical therapist, who is planning to watch this weekend. I was so glad, as I must have cast eight such superfluous DVD's in the recycling bin over time.

[SimonNZ]

My favorite filmed version of all 3 parts of Henry VI. Although he may come across initially as two dimensional, I can't agree that Henry remains that way, especially considering the entire arc of his development through the plays. It's one to revisit soon, though. Thanks.

Just recently I learned that there's a RSC version released last year, put together during covid without an audience, I believe. Seven hours total running time, which is not bad.  Have you seen that one? I'll be ordering it soon.




TD: last night, second viewing:

[SimonNZ]