Last Movie You Watched

[Bogey]

Two Loretta Young films from :

Come to the Stable (1949)



In the same vein of Going My Way and The Bells of St. Mary's, but not on par with these two favorites of mine.

The Farmer's Daughter (1947)



Loretta won an Oscar for this one....not seeing that.  Good movie, but her performance Oscar worthy?  Probably not.  Guess they got their picks wrong even as far back in '47.

[mc ukrneal]

Bill - two of my favorites from the ole days! 

For me over the last few nights, some more BD replacements in my DVD collection: 1) Back to the Future Trilogy - like the first one by far; the 3rd one is fun; the middle one OK; 2) Wrath of Kahn - Ricardo is BACK! (gift from my son who bought the entire series - his favorite); apparently the only one completely remastered; and 3) Singin' in the Rain (if you're into musicals from the past, then one of the best) -

 

Some fun films there, but especially love Singing in the Rain. I sing for days after I watch this movie...

[val]

CLAUDE BERRI:        Manon des Sources

The second part of Jean de Florette, based on the novel of Marcel Pagnol. The movie is conceived in the spirit of the Greek Tragedy and the last scenes are emotionally devastating even if we know that Cesar brought all that upon himself.  The movie is an artistic masterpiece, one of the greatest I ever saw in cinema. The acting is superb, in special the extraordinary performance of Yves Montand (he speaks with the accent of the Provence, where the action takes place.)

[North Star]

A Beautiful Mind

[SonicMan46]

     I must disagree with you, I think it's one of the best of the '50s sci-fi films. Yes, it's better than the Spielberg remake, and I think the latter went wrong just at the point the original was most effective, in the scenes where the characters are trapped in the house. In the original the scene is claustrophobic and incredibly tense. Somehow the much longer episode in the Spielberg is slack by comparison. However, the tripods were great, even though they couldn't match the evil beauty of the manta rays (what could?). I remember my sister telling me before we saw the Spielberg film how glad she was that there would be real Wellsian tripods.* And they did not disappoint.

1+ for the above - I'm w/ you & Bill; own the DVD and want this film re-mastered on BD - the colors are so vibrant on my DVD and the sound could be greatly improved - on my Blu-ray wish list!  Dave

[SonicMan46]

The Farmer's Daughter (1947)



Loretta won an Oscar for this one....not seeing that.  Good movie, but her performance Oscar worthy?  Probably not.  Guess they got their picks wrong even as far back in '47.

One of my favorite Loretta Young films - below quoted were the 'Best Actress' candidates for 1947; have seen all of these films (except the one w/ Russell); McGuire in 'Gentleman's Agreement' was quite good, as I recall - I'd vote for Loretta!     Dave

LORETTA YOUNG in "The Farmer's Daughter", Joan Crawford in "Possessed", Susan Hayward in "Smash Up - The Story of a Woman", Dorothy McGuire in "Gentleman's Agreement", Rosalind Russell in "Mourning Becomes Electra"

[Karl Henning]

1+ for the above - I'm w/ you & Bill; own the DVD and want this film re-mastered on BD - the colors are so vibrant on my DVD and the sound could be greatly improved - on my Blu-ray wish list!  Dave

Dave, how do the movies of greater vintage fare on blue-ray, as opposed to yer garden-variety DVD? Thanks!

[Bogey]

Dave, how do the movies of greater vintage fare on blue-ray, as opposed to yer garden-variety DVD? Thanks!

Great question, Karl.  I have been worried that they do not blend the backgrounds that the director could see when filming and the images wouls look "too prop" like.  And, do they really need tis treatment, or just need to be cleaned up from the original transfers?  I will try to rent the BR Casablanca and compare it to my other dvd.

[Karl Henning]

Cheers, Bill!

[Bogey]

'Morning from CO, Karl.  Just back from a SO CAL trip.

[Bogey]

I have been taking in quite a few TCM movies recently due to Netflix not keeping their catalogue very full in the download section.  They have plenty of television series, but their movie vault is wanting when it comes to older stuff.  They have plenty on dvd, but having access to the old flicks with a press of a few buttons is just not there.  I wish TCM would move to this format and Turner would do a download site.  Netflix just can't afford the rights to the number of movies that I wish they had on demand.  I remember our ques for "watch now" suddenly shrinking without warning one day.  Too bad.  I may have to get some type of recording device for TCM in order to save it until I am ready to watch because many of the movies I want to see are on after I head to bed.  Or I can go Dave's route and buy Turner's vault.   I really need to move to Carolina and just borrow his collection.

[Karl Henning]

Great question, Karl.  I have been worried that they do not blend the backgrounds that the director could see when filming and the images wouls look "too prop" like.  And, do they really need tis treatment, or just need to be cleaned up from the original transfers?  I will try to rent the BR Casablanca and compare it to my other dvd.

Must say, even this regular ol' DVD of Casablanca looks unimprovably brilliant.

[SonicMan46]

Dave, how do the movies of greater vintage fare on blue-ray, as opposed to yer garden-variety DVD? Thanks!

Hi Karl - really depends on a lot of factors, e.g. quality of the original material, re-mastering used, how well the sound is re-done, and certainly other conditions - I have about 100 BDs now (nearly all DVD replacements) - I first rely on reviews and one of the best sites that I've found is HERE - the url should open up to Singin' in the Rain which prompted my purchase - as shown the reviewer gave 4*/5* for the video & 5*/5* for the audio, which were both spectacular on my viewing last night.

Just looking over my BD discs, other 'older' films that were much improved (just to mention a few IMO) are African Queen, The - Adventures of Robin Hood - The Day the Earth Stood Still - Forbidden Planet - Gigi - Gone w/ the Wind - Good, Bad, & the Ugly - North by Northwest - Once Upon a Time in the West - Patton - Planet Earth - Paths of Glory - Sound of Music - only a short list of those that really impressed me (of course, viewed on a 42" HDTV w/ a Boston Acoustics soundbar) - if you have the setup, then rent some of your favorite films out on BD & look @ that website linked above for suggestions.  Hope this helps - Dave

P.S. the facial details (defects, whiskers, sweat, etc.) are unbelievable in the Sergio Leone films!

[Bogey]

What about the black and white oldies, Dave? 

[Karl Henning]

Singin' in the Rain is certainly great fun.

[Bogey]

Singin' in the Rain is certainly great fun.

One of the few movies where I enjoy the moments so much that I do worry about the story, or lack of.   Kind of like Disney's animated Alice in Wonderland.  Such a great looking film that I am engaged from the get go.  They have been advertising this on TCM lately:

http://shop.tcm.com/detail.php?p=373710&SESSID=ce2791a9c45023350a7c20f4e8eea53e

Even comes with Mr. Steed's weapon of choice.   Well, might as well play.....

[SonicMan46]

What about the black and white oldies, Dave?

Hi Bill - have not purchased a lot of B&W films on Blu-ray (currently own The Day the Earth Stood Still - Hustler - Invasion of the Body Snatchers - The Maltese Falcon - Manhattan - Paths of Glory - To Kill a Mockingbird) - don't know if you by a BD player & a HDTV, but if so, I would suggest watching Paths of Glory - will convince you about 'what can be done' w/ B&W on BD; all of the others I own are also well done - again I really rely on that website; BTW, check out the review of the recommended BD film HERE.

Also notice that the 'extras' are rated - these can be nearly non-existent or fantastic, e.g. there is plenty of extra material on the Flynn Robin Hood movie - the long documentary is almost worth the price of the package; as an example, I did not know that one of the best archers in the world was hired as a consultant; wood plates were put over the chests of many of the players and this guy shot REAL arrows into them to simulate the sound of the arrow entering a body - COOL!  I hope those stunt actors were paid extra!    Dave

[Bogey]

Hi Bill - have not purchased a lot of B&W films on Blu-ray (currently own The Day the Earth Stood Still - Hustler - Invasion of the Body Snatchers - The Maltese Falcon - Manhattan - Paths of Glory - To Kill a Mockingbird) - don't know if you by a BD player & a HDTV, but if so, I would suggest watching Paths of Glory - will convince you about 'what can be done' w/ B&W on BD; all of the others I own are also well done - again I really rely on that website; BTW, check out the review of the recommended BD film HERE.

Also notice that the 'extras' are rated - these can be nearly non-existent or fantastic, e.g. there is plenty of extra material on the Flynn Robin Hood movie - the long documentary is almost worth the price of the package; as an example, I did not know that one of the best archers in the world was hired as a consultant; wood plates were put over the chests of many of the players and this guy shot REAL arrows into them to simulate the sound of the arrow entering a body - COOL!  I hope those stunt actors were paid extra!    Dave

Thanks, Dave.  I like the idea of the extras being reviewed.  The Robin Hood set sounds fantastic.  (On a side note, did you know that Flynn was slated to play the role of Horatio Hornblower, but his age combined with the self abuse he gave to his body through his partying lifestyle made him not get the part.  I believe Peck was a better choice anyways.  The director of HH was Raoul Walsh who directed a number of films with Flynn.  Must have been a semi-tense situation.  I would like to read a bio on Flynn someday.)

[SonicMan46]

Thanks, Dave.  I like the idea of the extras being reviewed.  The Robin Hood set sounds fantastic.  (On a side note, did you know that Flynn was slated to play the role of Horatio Hornblower, but his age combined with the self abuse he gave to his body through his partying lifestyle made him not get the part.  I believe Peck was a better choice anyways.  The director of HH was Raoul Walsh who directed a number of films with Flynn.  Must have been a semi-tense situation.  I would like to read a bio on Flynn someday.)

Yes, believe that I recall that fact - but agree that Peck was a great choice for the role!  Yep, Errol at his peak was likely considered for every adventure role and his accent perfectly fit this pictures (as you likely know he was from Tasmania, so an Aussie); but he physically age so fast dying in 1959, only at the age of 50 y/o - Dave

[Bogey]

Was not aware he was only 50.