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slimjiimjohn
Reviews
The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983)
Beautiful Scenery
Interesting story.
For those of you who miss it, The Film Detective has shown it 3 times now, and it may be available on their One Demand selection now.
While it's a typical TV movie with a twist, there are sure some beautiful scenes. Having traveled extensively in Vermont for the last 15 years as a Manufacturer's Rep, I recognized more than a few scenes. My favorite is the sleigh ride across the town square in Newfane, VT, a nice, quaint, small town in lower middle VT.
And Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury don't hurt the film, either.
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Others have said what I was going to say.
What a great movie.
I watch it at every opportunity..
About the only thing I can add is, that during WWII in Europe, it wasn't feasible to film in England, so John Ford had a Welsh Mining Village built in the mountains near Malibu, CA, all 80 acres of it.
It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, and won five, including Best Picture. It beat out The Maltese Falcon, among others.
As well it should.
Great acting by all the cast, especially a young Roddy McDowell.
The book follows Huw through his life; Zanuck decided to keep it to his childhood.
Good choice.
The Kremlin Letter (1970)
Excellent Cold War Thriller
This espouses the Cold War as much as anything.
A group of WWII espionage agents gain a new recruit, and take him to Moscow.
There he is introduced to espionage to the highest degree.
A great thriller, with lots of Soviet underhanded dealings and Cold War references.
It also exposes the Soviet Union for what it was: a cold, calculating administration that would stop at nothing to achieve it's goals, exemplified by Max Von Sydow, a cold, ruthless killer.
You need to watch it a few times to gain the full impact.
Filmed in Finland, with a ton of Russian vehicles. Yeah, I'm a car nut. Volgas, Ladas, and a couple of ZiLs.
The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
Another Thriller
First time I saw this, I thought "Another B movie".
Watch it again. Follow the plot.
Quite the mystery piece.
Der Teppich des Grauens (1962)
Psudeo Cold War Suspense Thriller
I'm a fan of Cold War movies.
While this is basically a "B" movie, it is a look into the Cold War and fairly well made.
Plot is a bit weak, but if you like these movies, you'll like this one.