Last Movie You Watched

[SonicMan46]

From 1956:



One of the Duke's most memorable roles and I believe what he considered his best role ever.  Absolute gorgeous cinematography and the direction of John Ford is first rate.

Also own and enjoy The Searchers on BD; a lot of Wayne films are now on blu-ray - purchased the Red River BD recently, one of my favorite Wayne films.  Dave

[SonicMan46]

Well, was looking for some more BD replacements for my DVD collection - decided to stick to under $10, so ordered 8 from Amazon ($8 each).  Last night, watched the two below - Dave

The Comancheros (1961) w/ John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, and many other great character actors - not one of John's best but his interaction w/ Whitman is enjoyable; excellent blu-ray transfer w/ great southwestern vistas in glorious colors; the Indians of course seemed to be either drunk or killed by the dozens, so don't be surprised.  Ratings - Amazon, 4.5/5*; IMDB, 6.9/10 - well, let me go to 4* - as below, a beautiful film if you love that scenery and want to see an excellent 'team performance' w/ the two main actors.

River of No Return (1954) w/ Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum, & Rory Calhoun; Otto Preminger, Director.  One of Marilyn's (and Mitchum's) 'forgotten' films but I've enjoyed the movie for years; a nice blu-ray restoration, both video & sound - some spectacular scenery and the scenes going down a wild river w/ plenty of rapids is quite well done.  Ratings - Amazon, 4.6/5*; IMDB, 6.7/10 - I'd probably do a 4* on Amazon and recommended both if you're fans of the two stars & for Preminger's direction & the cinematography.

 

[George]

[SonicMan46]

Last night, a couple of more 'cheap' BD replacements - Dave

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) w/ Audrey Hepburn & George Peppard - excellent AV ratings (4.7/5 video; 4.3/5 audio) for restoration HERE, which I agree - film is just beautiful on a HDTV and sound pretty much CD quality; ratings: Amazon, 4.4/5; IMDB, 7.8/10; Rotten Tomatoes, 87% - I'd do 4 1/2* on Amazon and agree w/ their reviewers.

Airplane (1980) w/ Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, & Robert Stack - another excellent blu-ray transfer w/ improved sound; ratings: Amazon, 4.6/5; IMDB, 7.8/10; Rotten Tomatoes, 98% - I'd certainly do a 4* on Amazon - if you've never seen this film, then highly recommended; there is a sequel which I've not seen (both are offered as a double BD package) - will stream soon.

 

[Brian]

Airplane (1980) w/ Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, & Robert Stack - another excellent blu-ray transfer w/ improved sound; ratings: Amazon, 4.6/5; IMDB, 7.8/10; Rotten Tomatoes, 98% - I'd certainly do a 4* on Amazon - if you've never seen this film, then highly recommended; there is a sequel which I've not seen (both are offered as a double BD package) - will stream soon.

FYI the sequel to Airplane! was not made by the same creative team - they went on instead to create the hilarious movie Top Secret! and the TV series Police Squad, which became The Naked Gun. But they were not involved in the Airplane! sequel.

[Brian]

News story related to Todd's post about Lars von Trier

[mn dave]

Yesterday I watched a horror movie: The Babadook. Not as good as I was led to believe but still pretty damn good.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/30/the-babadook-is-the-best-and-most-sincere-horror-movie-of-the-year.html

Oh, I also saw Valhalla Rising. Kind of a bleak, brooding sort of movie but I think worth a watch for those who like watching men being men and doing manly things among men. Also, it's one of those movies that leaves a bit to interpretation.

[SonicMan46]

FYI the sequel to Airplane! was not made by the same creative team - they went on instead to create the hilarious movie Top Secret! and the TV series Police Squad, which became The Naked Gun. But they were not involved in the Airplane! sequel.

Thanks Brian for the heads up on the sequel to Airplane! - decided not to stream the film.  Dave

[SonicMan46]

A couple of more BD arrivals:

Antwone Fischer (2002) w/ Derek Luke & Denzel Washington - 4.5/5*, Amazon; 7.3/10, IMDB; 79%, Rotten Tomatoes - gets a little sentimental at times; another well done blu-ray restoration - recommended - I'd do 4/5* if rating on Amazon.

Erin Brockovitch (2000) w/ Julia Roberts & Albert Finney - ratings on Amazon & IMDB similar to above; 84%, Rotten Tomatoes; legal drama based on a true story - Roberts seems perfect for this role & won an Oscar - highly recommended; would do 4+/5* on Amazon.  Dave

 

[TheGSMoeller]

I thought his would interest many of you considering the high praise that Boyhood has received here on GMG. I was glad to see Ida get recognition for Best Foreign Language Film, a wonderful film. I always like this time of year when the critics awards are presented, they are much more intriguing than the fancy televised award shows that pick for popularity rather than quality.

New York Film Critics Best of 2014

Best Film
Boyhood

Best Actor
Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant; Two Days, One Night

Best Director
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Best Foreign Language Film
Ida (Poland, dir. Pawel Pawlikowski)

Best Animated Film
The Lego Movie (dirs. Phil Lord, Christopher Miller)

Best Screenplay
The Grand Budapest Hotel (dir. Wes Anderson)

Special Award
Adrienne Mencia

Best Cinematography
Darius Khondji, The Immigrant

Best First Film
Jennifer Kent's The Babadook

citizenfourBest Non-fiction Film (Documentary)
Citizenfour (dir. Laura Poitras)

[Moonfish]

Started Burns' tribute to Jazz...

Very interesting!

[asin] B000BITUEI[/asin]

[Moonfish]

"Blacklist" is taking me by surprise. It definitely pulled me in so I hope this trend continues...  Intriguing storyline!

[asin] B00FZ2NASC[/asin]

[TheGSMoeller]

"Blacklist" is taking me by surprise. It definitely pulled me in so I hope this trend continues...  Intriguing storyline!

[asin] B00FZ2NASC[/asin]

I love James Spader. Always makes a good villain. 

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Ah, Airplane, the one movie that started Leslie Nielsen syndrome. I've seen the movie only once or twice and maybe I'm just stupid but the film for the most part wasn't that funny. There were one, maybe two parts where I was slightly amused but on the whole, not that much funny moments. Ironically, I like the film just fine, but it doesn't really amuse me. It's maybe a bit jarring that supposed comedy flick really doesn't get laughs out of you but I still thought it was very interesting movie.

Then again, I'm a guy who thinks Dostoyevsky can be and IS hilarious.

[Karl Henning]

Leslie Nielsen also appeared in two (very different) Night Gallery stories.

[Ken B]

Ah, Airplane, the one movie that started Leslie Nielsen syndrome. I've seen the movie only once or twice and maybe I'm just stupid but the film for the most part wasn't that funny. There were one, maybe two parts where I was slightly amused but on the whole, not that much funny moments. Ironically, I like the film just fine, but it doesn't really amuse me. It's maybe a bit jarring that supposed comedy flick really doesn't get laughs out of you but I still thought it was very interesting movie.

Then again, I'm a guy who thinks Dostoyevsky can be and IS hilarious.

Maybe you were just in the wrong place when you saw it. Watch it over Nacho Grande.

[André]

I'm confused... I purchased the Criterion issue of Red River (1948, Howard Hawks) which contains 2 editions of the movie. One with the "Director's cut", which happens to be...cut. 7 minutes shorter than the pre-theatre release, with voice over to bridge the missing bits. Usually a Director's cut is more, not less complete. 

Anyone got an opinion on the matter ?

[North Star]

I'm confused... I purchased the Criterion issue of Red River (1948, Howard Hawks) which contains 2 editions of the movie. One with the "Director's cut", which happens to be...cut. 7 minutes shorter than the pre-theatre release, with voice over to bridge the missing bits. Usually a Director's cut is more, not less complete. 

Anyone got an opinion on the matter ?

He might have been unhappy with the inclusion of some scene later on perhaps, or the cut was suggested by the producers, but made by him. See e.g. THE SHINING's shorter 'European' version.

[Drasko]

I'm confused... I purchased the Criterion issue of Red River (1948, Howard Hawks) which contains 2 editions of the movie. One with the "Director's cut", which happens to be...cut. 7 minutes shorter than the pre-theatre release, with voice over to bridge the missing bits. Usually a Director's cut is more, not less complete. 

Anyone got an opinion on the matter ?

The Two Versions

As is the case with a number of Howard Hawks Films, including Scarface and The Big Sleep, there are two versions of Hawks's Red River. They are known as the "Book Version" and the "Voice Version", which refers to the main difference between the two. In the Book Version, the film includes a number of intertitles of handwritten passages from a book entitled Early Tales of Texas. In the Voice Version, Walter Brennan's Groot provides a voiceover of the same material. The Book Version runs six and a half minutes longer; part of this comes from the longer amount of time the camera lingers on the pages of the book so viewers can read it, but there are other differences as well. The Voice Version trims a number of scenes down, notably Cherry's description of the beautiful woman who told him about the railroad in Abilene (who is strongly alluded to as Tess in Borden Chase's original short story). The Voice Version also has a slightly different score, which is much more instrumental and grandiose compared to the often more vocal but muted score of the Book Version. The other most notable difference between the two variations is the elongated final battle between Dunson and Matthew in the Book Version; the Voice Version eliminates some of Dunson's dialogue ("Then I'll make you draw.") and a number of shots of Matthew's steadfast eyes.

Hawks claims in his interview that the Book Version was the first cut of the film and the Voice Version was what was originally released in theatres in 1948. Some scholars note that the Voice Version may have been created after Howard Hughes demanded cuts to the finale because of its similarity to the ending Hawks wrote for The Outlaw. The Book Version, wrongly touted in 1984 as the "Restored Director's Cut", debuted on home video and became the now standard copy of the film that is readily available. Hawks claims he only saw this later version when it screened on television, and tells Peter Bogdanovich in his interview with him, "It was meant to be with narration." In his biography of Hawks, Todd McCarthy proposes that the Book Version may have been prepared for not just television but also foreign markets.

Critical opinion is divided on which version is better. Filmmaker and critic Dan Sallitt prefers the voiceover to the text, but notes other ambivlance: "I feel as if aspects of the climax are a little choppy and overedited in the short version...I also think that the scenes of Clift's anxiety at Wayne's approach, which are reduced in the short version, really help the film feel more like Hawks and less like Borden Chase." Bogdanovich and scholar John Belton refer the Voice Version, the latter noting that "its tone changes slightly" without the voiceover. On the other hand, film historian and scholar Gerald Mast argued the voice and text is simply a matter of taste, but the Book Version has the weaker ending because "the shorter duel eliminates essential narrative details.

by Peter Labuza

also

For years now the most commonly shown version--with handwritten bridging sections, as though from an ancient historical journal--is a preview cut which Hawks discarded in favor of a faster, more personal device:  narration by one of the main characters, an especially lovable Walter Brennan as Groot, the cook.

Somehow, the slower, more portentous “book version” has been mistaken (because somewhat longer) as “the director’s cut” and presented erroneously that way. I specifically asked Hawks in the mid-70s why there were two versions. He answered (as published in my Who the Devil Made It): “The one with the book was the first cutting and it wasn’t any good. It’s slow—you had to stop and read it—and why any prints were made from that I don’t know...It was meant to be with narration, which shortened it and brought it closer to you because we had a very distinctive voice doing it.” I said, “So the version that was released in theatres with Brennan narrating was the final one.” To which Hawks replied, “Yes. God knows where the other one came from..."

For years, I’ve been petitioning MGM/UA (the current rights owner) to bring out the actual director’s cut, and a slew of letters to them from our readers would be helpful in demanding a release of the Hawks-approved version of this acknowledged American masterpiece. Rumor has it that Criterion might be bringing the picture out in the near future. In whichever version, however, both the Ford and the Hawks films are absolutely essential works in motion picture history

Peter Bogdanovich

[André]

Milos, my friend ! Once again your encyclopaedic knowledge and artist's understanding sets the seal on the matter !  . 

I'm organizing a screening with a couple of friends and was unsure of the version to choose. The choice is now clear (at least for a first viewing). Thanks !!

Our second film will probably be The Earrings of Madame de... by Ophüls. Unless the vote swings in favour of Charulata (S. Ray).