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487K views 3K replies 121 participants last post by  ChromeJob 
#1 · (Edited)
I thought we might have a thread for capsule reviews of older titles. I've arbitrarily picked 30 years (from 2009). For more recent titles, see:
1979 does not seem that long ago to me; the summer of ALIEN and APOCALYPSE NOW and "1941" and LIFE OF BRIAN...ah, such, such were the days...

I'm not going to get into Best/Worst/Top 100, etc. I'm also not going to argue the merits of these films; just post some thoughts and move on.

-Bill
 
#27 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilgore /forum/post/17632337


Whenever someone says The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is Leone's best film (and it IS a great film), you can pretty much guarantee that they haven't seen Once Upon a Time in the West. Easily the greatest western ever made.

It's hard for me to argue with your opinion here.

The film DAZZLES the senses....the beautiful shots of the West, the sounds of spurs, boards creaking, etc., the overwhelming menace of Fonda, etc.


This may be my favorite old western, while The Unforgiven is my fav modern one.
 
#28 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by oink /forum/post/17632300


Saw it recently in HD and completely blew my mind....what a fantastic movie this is!

Wow was that your first time? I was lucky enough to see this first on the "silver screen" when I was a kid. Those "Leone close ups" were breathtaking.

BTW while this was an Italian production, it was shot mostly in Death Valley CA. Oh and no cheesy matte paintings like many of the Hollywood ones used.
 
#29 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by thehun /forum/post/17639628


Wow was that your first time? I was lucky enough to see this first on the "silver screen" when I was a kid. Those "Leone close ups" were breathtaking.

BTW while this was an Italian production, it was shot mostly in Death Valley CA. Oh and no cheesy matte paintings like many of the Hollywood ones used.

It wasn't my first viewing, but it has been so long I can't remember exactly when I saw it initially (as a kid for certain).


This film is so beautifully photographed, it should be required viewing in Film Schools (probably is).
 
#30 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by IAM4UK /forum/post/17632871


I agree that "Once Upon a Time in the West" is superb, but as "The Searchers" is also a Western, "Once..." cannot be the greatest Western ever.

I'm going to have to agree with you there. The Searchers is the greatest western on so many levels.


The enjoyment of "Once...", "The Good, The Bad..." and the other Leone westerns is predicated on our being in tune with a certain comical quirkiness of his directorial style. Which is not to say they aren't entertaining. I like them quite a bit. But they tend to work more as goofs or riffs on what we had grown to expect from a western than as great westerns in their own right. And when the time comes that we are no longer amused by the directorial quirkiness, there isn't much else there.


My vote for a great western of another kind and a pre-1979 movie worth revisiting or seeing for the first time is Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo (1959).
 
#31 ·
Not a thing wrong with the already mentioned outstanding westerns, but…


I saw William Wyler’s The Big Country when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, and for some reason it seared into my brain, which is why it’s my favorite western, ever. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance gives it a push, but not enough of a push. Jerome Moross supplied one of the best musical scores for a western, ever. The only score that I can immediately think of that gives it a run for its money would be The Magnificent Seven. If you’re a fan of westerns and haven’t watched TBC, you are really missing a great one.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Ride the High Country (1962), directed by Sam Peckinpah.

Fine early Peckinpah western, with Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott as geezer tough guys. When the west is ending the hard men have to go with it, also a theme in John Ford's westerns. Old actors and westerns sort of passed away together.

Nothing like the level of violence of his later pictures. Beautiful California mountain landscapes, although the foliage on the DVD is not very saturated. Could we get a new transfer?

The plot structure is unusual, with the normal western action segments coming well into the second half. The first part has a lot of comedy, although Mariette Hartley's prospects on her wedding night are uncomfortable to watch. This is her first film; she was 22.

Many familiar faces. LQ Jones, Warren Oates and RG Armstrong appear in other Peckinpah films.



-Bill
 
#33 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilgore /forum/post/17632337


Whenever someone says The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is Leone's best film (and it IS a great film), you can pretty much guarantee that they haven't seen Once Upon a Time in the West. Easily the greatest western ever made.


Fantastic cinematography. Charles Bronson's finest hour (with thhe possible exception of The Great Escape). Claudia Cardinale, one of the most beautiful women in the history of cinema. Great performance by Jason Robards. Henry Fonda as you've never seen before (playing a heartless, cruel villain like nobody's business). Another magnificent Ennio Morricone score.


This film also opens with the greatest performance by a fly in the history of the movies in a fabulous scene with the great Jack Elam.


I mean....what's not to like? Few films are as operatic as this one. The day this film is released on Blu-ray can't come soon enough.

Sorry, Eastwood destroys Bronson. Not to mention Eli Wallach, Upon upon a Time..... is too artsy.
 
#34 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by wmcclain /forum/post/17597947

The Wild Bunch (1969) , directed by Sam Peckinpah.


A sad brutal epic, it could not be improved.


You seldom see such a concentration of acting talent. Many fine performances. In particular, I will see anything with Robert Ryan , one of the great film noir actors.


When I first saw this, famous for its new level of violence, I thought of it as an anti-western, or as someone put it, the gravestone of westerns. Now I see the old mythic power is still there: honor among thieves (although it is a bit of a struggle). Separating the Men from the "gutter trash". Mexico as a land of suffering and savagery, always waiting for its deliverer. The great heroic gesture, ending in death.


On Blu-ray.


-Bill

This movie really kicks ass!!
 
#35 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by hitchfan /forum/post/17642528


I'm going to have to agree with you there. The Searchers is the greatest western on so many levels.


My vote for a great western of another kind and a pre-1979 movie worth revisiting or seeing for the first time is Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo (1959).

Don't forget "Red River" from 1949, another Howard Hawks Western.
 
#36 ·
"Gilda" (1946)


Rita Hayworth in a memorable role as a very naughty (maybe?) gal who hates her ex "so much I'd destroy myself just to bring you down." This classic noir tale has intrigue, tension, and great innuendo-filled banter. Among the latter is one of the all-time greatest lines in movie history, as Gilda is tempting a would-be suitor: "Haven't you heard about me? If I had been a ranch, they'd have named me the 'Bar Nothing.'"


If you've seen "The Shawshank Redemption" (from King's "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption"), then you've seen Rita's introduction in this movie. The inmates are watching this one as Andy asks Red for a specialty item: "I want you to get me ... her."
 
#37 ·
A Robert Wise directed war movie set in North Africa. Australian battalion must hold Tobruk against the advance of Rommel. Richard Burton plays British commander in charge of Aussie troops. James Mason plays Rommel. Good "old fashion" WWII movie. Available with Netflix watch instantly (or DVD).


larry
 
#38 ·
 Silent Running (1972)


I'm not sure anyone who did not see this when it first appeared can appreciate it's mythical power. We'd had a good ten years of the space program, back when the TV networks covered all of the launches, all day long. And I watched them.


Then the first Earth Day and the intense concern for nature, anger at people for spoiling it and fear that it might all be lost. (And nuclear bombs; we thought a lot about those).


There was a moment when these came together; nature in space. Does anyone remember The Whole Earth Catalog with it's strange combination of space colonies, geodesic domes and dirt soup? (Recipe: lots of lentils and cumin).


And this moment had a beautiful, heartfelt movie, so strange and poignant.


After ten years of playing psycho killers and degenerates (no one did it better), Bruce Dern gives a tremendous performance as the semi-crazed space-ecologist trying to save one last fragment of nature from the fire. He has so many good scenes: watching the Earth with his telescope (an original Celestron C8 orange tube), reading the Conservation Pledge in his bunk, and the oddly moving sequence when the drones operate on his leg.


He thinks that his mission, his forest and his robots are enough, that he doesn't need anything from other people. But he is wrong, and the growing loneliness and guilt overcome him and he has to make an End of it. Giving the forest one last chance, a bit less each time, the message in the bottle...


Seeing it again reminds me how exciting early programming and robotics was, how ambitious were all our projects.


The Ring Passage sequence is very exciting, echoed later in the air-braking scene in "2010". My one regret about the finale to the recent Battlestar Galactica is that they did not do something similar when they sent the fleet into the Sun. I wanted to see the Galactica's interior as it approaches its end, with a final pan of the Picture Wall. Would that have been too cliche?


Joan Baez sings two lovely songs composed by Peter Shickele. They'll be in my head for days now.


The thumbnails are from a region B Blu-ray.




-Bill
 
#39 · (Edited)
The World of Suzie Wong (1960)

William Holden's adventures with a Chinese prostitute, played by the lovely Nancy Kwan.

The first half is fairly light. Holden is a perfect gentleman withstanding great temptation; in fact he seems to be made of asbestos. The second half turns romantic and weepy, with a dramatic mudslide disaster in the city hills at the end.

Pretty girl and impressive Hong Kong locations, but that's about it. Two hours is a bit long for this.

Kudos for letting Asian actors play Asian roles; it took a while to happen. By contrast look at LORD JIM made five years later, where they still can't quite bring themselves to allow it.



-Bill
 
#40 · (Edited)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)

When I was young my favorite parts were the flying monkeys and haunted wood and witch's castle. That's still the case. The scary bits. The fortress and goblin soldiers now have a sort of Tolkien aspect, a mini-Mordor.

You can keep the Munchkins.

This time I noticed Judy Garland breaking character and starting to smile when she first meets the Lion and he is crying and wiping his eyes. Also how often the ruby slippers reflect off of the polished floors.

When Dorothy is locked in the castle and sees Auntie Em in the crystal ball I had the strangest sensation of having drifted into a David Lynch film. Like "Mulholland Dr", where the dreamer is under such stress that she must break out of the dream and awake into the outer reality.

Toto holds it all together. It takes a lot of skill to keep wagging that tail and keep up with the dancers without being trampled. He's really very good, without seeming like a show dog.

On Blu-ray.



-Bill
 
#43 · (Edited)
A Clockwork Orange (1971), directed by Stanley Kubrick.

I first saw this in the 1970s a few years after it was first released and I hated it. Just hated it. I must have changed because slowly over the years it has become one of my favorite films and is now on my desert island list.

Setting aside the assaults, rape, sadism and murder, it is a really funny film. People want to talk about what it means but miss what a rich dark comedy it is.

Times have changed, too, and people are perhaps inured to ultra-violence in films. Pornography is much more mainstream than in 1971. It was tectonically controversial at the time, but I don't know if new viewers will see it that way now.

On Blu-ray. Malcom McDowell and a film historian contribute a chatty commentary track, full of interesting details and background.

The film and the book have about 90% overlap. Actor Tom Hollander has a very nice audiobook reading. He makes the Nadsat slang intelligible.



-Bill
 
#44 ·
 Honey West (1965)


One-season TV series, 30 episodes. A comedy/action show, probably meant to copy "The Avengers" from the UK. Twenty-five minutes is not enough time to develop and solve good plots, so it is all a bit rushed. The stories tended to become more silly as the season progressed, which was not a good idea.


The humor is often pretty feeble and stunt doubles in the action scenes more obvious than usual. Still, Honey and Sam sometimes have a bit of chemistry (did they or didn't they? I still don't know) and occasional repartee. Anne Francis is easy on the eyes.


-Bill
 
#45 ·
 Peyton Place (1957)


When I was young the title was a synonym for moral hypocrisy, adultery and other steamy lewdness. That must have come from the book; the movie (they say) has been toned down quite a bit. Still, it was a big hit at the time and earned a bunch of awards.


Big screen soap opera. Good cast (Arthur Kennedy was always a favorite), location filming in New England, lush Franz Waxman score. On the other hand the dialog can be a bit stiff. The hair styles and clothing don't look much like 1941.


That normal, respectable life is a thin layer over corruption has been a popular theme for about a century. You might call it a movie cliche.


-Bill
 
#46 ·
 My Sister Eileen (1942)


Rosalind Russell screwball comedy about two sisters trying to make it in New York. Not exactly top-drawer but it has good bits and keeps moving.


Their basement apartment looks like the same set used for "A Night to Remember" made the same year. Both films had Brian Aherne, who sometimes looks like a less buff Errol Flynn, and Donald MacBride, who made a career playing flustered cops.


Apparently the Code allowed prostitution if referenced comically.


-Bill
 
#47 ·
With so many remarkable films in the eras contained in the thread parameters, I have no idea where the criteria starts and ends in making choices as to which films to include here, and apparently those posts above give no clue. Is this for the younger members who haven't the experience to know about older films and clue them in or perhaps another opportunity for vanity posts of our favs? With that said, I'll play and cover both categories-

Great Films Category -

My Fair Lady (1964) - Occasionally on critics' lists as their #1 film and occupying that spot on my list. The film "is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins so that she can pass as a lady. Higgins takes credit for Eliza's success, but she realizes that she can now be independent and does not need him." The charm of the movie is equal parts the score, the libretto, the production values and the choice of actors/performers. All come together to make a classic which will be enjoyed as long as English is a spoken word, "even in America where they haven't spoken it in years." Fortunately, the film has been laboriously restored to pristine quality in recent times.


If you love or even appreciate musicals this is a must see and own. If you do not, then rent a Dracula movie or something, and the Lord have pity on your soul.

Obscure But Worth It Category -

Bright Leaf (1950) - The film is a period piece taking place in the late 1800s in the deep South. Gary Cooper plays a man wronged (?) by a rich tobacco magnate who comes back to reek revenge on the man through his daughter played by Patricia Neal. The third in the love triangle is the gorgeous Lauren Bacall. The interest in the story to me is the transformation of Coop's character from a greatly sympathetic one to a revenge obsessed villain...perhaps Coop's only such role.
 
#48 ·
This superb russian movie follows a soldier on leave from WW2, as he treks home to see his mom. The acting is very good, with subtle humor and touching scenes.

Of the many things that happens to this soldier, meeting a young lady in a train car is a highlight. The actress plays the role perfectly, and is both beautiful and spunky




These 2 have some very funny scenes earlier in this film. This movie also features some nice footage of WW2 era equipment including the majestic Russian T34 tank.


Highly recommended!
 
#49 ·
 She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945)


Another Rosalind Russell vehicle. She's fun to watch as a brainy psychiatrist, but add the physical comedy and it is a strange combination. Lee Bowman is too bland as the leading man. Uneven tone and pacing; some funny segments but other stretches are pretty clunky.


Check out her fabulous Chicago apartment. The war years have obviously been good for her.


The last half hour is largely devoted to a skit on the double meeting of "to marry": (1) something a couple do, and (2) something the judge does to them. The joke dates back to Shakespeare, but he thought it was worth about three lines.


-Bill
 
#50 · (Edited)
My Man Godfrey (1936), directed by Gregory La Cava.

One of the very best screwball comedies. William Powell and Carole Lombard, although divorced at this time, are still great friends and have superb chemistry and comic timing. Wonderful cast.

It has a Depression-era social consciousness background, but the changes are head-spinning. Godfrey is a Forgotten Man living at the city dump, picked up by some idle rich kids to display at one of their society games. This gives us a chance, along with Godfrey, to sneer at them. On the other hand, they seem to be having a lot of fun. When he moves to the vast marble mansion we see the rich family are funny but also crazy, making them less contemptible and actually pitiable. Then Godfrey recovers his self-respect by being a good butler and the daughters of the house turn out to be simultaneously appealing and scary, which is always a problem. We discover he was once one of the suspect rich, now one of the noble poor. He then turns the tables by making a fortune of his own, which would make him suspect again, but he is generous in his success. He moves back to the dump, turning it into a nightclub (that 1930s paradise) and employing the other bums, which again would make him suspect, but they all like him and the project is not making any money anyway. In the final scene he loses the war of the sexes and it ends as all good screwball comedies and Jane Austen novels should.

All in 90 minutes.

Six Academy Award nominations, although not for Best Picture, and no wins. It was a tough decade.

Carole Lombard died at age 33 in a plane crash during WW2, selling war bonds.

Criterion DVD.
 


-Bill
 
#51 · (Edited)
The Bribe (1949)

Fine film noir with an unusual amount of boats, marlin fishing and sharks. You also don't often find a cop as conflicted as our hero. Striking chase and shootout amidst the fireworks at the end.

Robert Taylor is adequate as the leading man; actually his stiffness helps with this role. Charles Laughton and Vincent Price are at their slimy best.

Ava Gardner is in her exceedingly gorgeous phase, which lasted all of her life. She's like an angel who fell to earth and developed the most amazing bedroom eyes. I remember that one-strap top she wears being a famous celebrity photo.

I had been wanting to see this for years. It was featured in Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" as the long final segment.

Warner Archive DVD.




-Bill
 
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