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Reviews
Le quai des brumes (1938)
foggy nights
Le quai des brumes Port of Shadows This is a dark and moody movie set in the late thirties. The foggy atmosphere adds to the ambiance of the movie and was appropriate for the time considering what was going on in the world at that time. This slightly sad and depressing movie contrasted with the continually upbeat Hollywood movie productions at that time. The main character Jean, has dissented from the French army, which is not explicitly stated, but is apparent. He has seen violence in the army and finds more when he arrives in this port town and meets a beautiful girl. The only trustworthy friend that he can find is a dog. . It is sad that some men reach a point when the only person that they can trust is a dog. He falls in love with this girl, Nelly, and figures out a way to get them on a ship to Venezuela, but the men who lust over Nelly do not want to see her go. This creates more violence for the two. The dark atmosphere of the movie displays troubled times and desperation of men and the violence in the world. This movie takes a very dark look at the issues of the world that are not normally discussed or portrayed in movies. In the end, this is just a gloomy movie. I did not enjoy it very much because I found it boring and dull. The fog and mood that it invoked did nothing to encourage me to care about the characters or the challenges that they faced. This movie had a constant sense of dismay and was appropriate for the thirties, but the appreciative aspects of it are lost on most people of the current generation. I would not recommend this movie to a depressed person.
Oktyabr (1927)
Oktyabr 1917
Oktyabr October This is one of the few times in film that the movie and history agree. It is a historically accurate account of the Bolshevik revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy in 1917. Oktyabr is full of symbolism that many will find amusing. For instance, the scene where the tsar walks through the doors and a shot of a peacock flashes on the screen, giving the illusion that the tsar walks into the peacock's butt. This is also a fairly graphic film, showing the deaths of many people. This is comparable to what someone would see if they viewed old World War II footage. The film mainly documents the revolution and makes intellectual connections between people and events in history. Many conclusions can be made about the connections that someone who recognizes the symbolism can make. For being a historical documentary type of movie, it does a good job of telling the story while still providing some interesting parts to keep the film viewer entertained. I felt that this movie gave me a greater insight to what happened in Russia during that time period. If you are interested in Russian history, this is definitely a movie that you want to see.
Nashville (1975)
degree of separation
Nashville Was a crazy movie about the small connections the everyone has in the town of Nashville all centered on the upcoming political campaign. It follows the story of Barbara Jean and her connections to everyone else in Nashville. Barbara Jean ends up having a break down and not being able to perform for several shows. This movie jumps around a lot but the connections are clear and the jumps make since when you get to the end of the movie. This movie is kind of set as a musical because you have a lot of songs and all the way throughout the movie and it ends with a song. I find it funny that you never see the political candidate you only hear his voice from a van that roams around town. The movie has so many connections that it is very easy to miss some of them the first time through. There are small parts like the solder that got back from Vietnam that he has maybe just a few lines but plays a big role in the end of the movie. There is also the bicker who never talks but shows up in a lot of shots tying the movie together. The whole of the movie is about people and the connections that they have to everyone else. It is said that there are seven degrees of separation from you and everyone else in the world this movie try to play in to that. I would say that in this movie there is just one degree of separation from all the characters in this film and that one character is Barbara Jean.
The Whole Shootin' Match (1978)
don't spend it all at once
The Whole Shootin' Match this is a regional movie shot in Texas about two country boys that have been friends for years. Loyd and Frank have a small plaster coating and roofing business. However, after the machinery breaks down on a job Loyd sets out to make a new vacuum and Frank is just riding the coat tails of his friend. Frank meanwhile is having trouble with his wife Paulette and is cousin Olan. Olan has a thing for Franks Wife and he keep showing up and at one point brings Frank's son a new bike. After Loyd finishes the vacuum, him and Frank take the prototype to the big city and get a contract to make the vacuum and make lots of money. They did get a thousand dollars each and when out on the town; Frank got a new suit and a new car. Later the hit up the town and Frank meets up with Olan and they have it out right in the bar. Frank and Loyd got a raw deal though and the person that they showed the vacuum to take their idea and ran off with it leaving them with nothing. After all the money is gone, the boys take a trip out to the hill country to find the hidden treasure that was hidden out there. After losing their way, Frank tries to commit suicide because he feels he has nothing left. Loye reminded Frank that no matter how bad thing seam that he still has a family and that no matter what happens Loyd would be there for him. This movie directed but Eagle Pennell was a very inserting movie to watch and the actors did a great job acting since most of the shots were ad-libbed. This just shows the ability of the actors to take a small scrip and turn it is to a classic story about friends and the adventure they have trying to live in the country.
Lost Boundaries (1949)
White or Black
Lost Boundaries it can be hard growing up black in the 1950's but it can be really hard growing up black but appearing white in the 1950's. This is the story of a family, the Carters, doing just that. Scott Carter just finished medical school and was accepted to work at a clinic in Georgia, where he discovers that because of his skin color, he is not welcome in to practice in the black clinic. After moving back home with his mother and father he is still unable to find work as a black doctor. With his wife being pregnant, he decides to take a job as a white man in Portsmouth Hospital. While there, he saves the life of another doctor, who explains to him that even though he may be black on the inside, he should use the advantage of looking white to take the town doctor position in Keenham. Throughout the course of his tenure there, he gains the trust and the privilege of being the town's doctor. The town accepts him as one of their own even though he was an outsider, but he still holds the secret that he is black. The Carters' world begins to crumble with the outbreak of the Vietnam War. Both Dr. Carter and his son enlist in the military. After a background check reveals that Scott Carter is black, he has to explain to his kids, who have been raised white, that they are actually black. This creates a moral dilemma. If you have the option to be raised differently that what your skin color dictates in society, would you do it? In the 50's and 60's, if a black man could pass as white, he probably would do it because it afforded him all the rights and privileges of a white man.
Simón del desierto (1965)
one pillar or two
Simón del desierto aka Simon of the Desert was a story about a pillar priest who stands on a pillar worshiping God and performing miracles while doing battle with the devil. The movie starts with him being transferred to a new pillar that is far grander than his previous one. After the switch, he performs a miracle giving a thief back his hands so that the thief can feed his children. Over the course of the movie, Simon is tempted by the devil in his various forms to come down from his pillar and join in on the temptations that the earth has to offer. Throughout the movie, Simon resists the devil at every turn. The end of the movie is interesting and slightly confusing. The scenes jump from Simon standing on the pillar in the middle of the desert to him in a Chicago nightclub talking to a beautiful woman. It is presumed that this woman is the devil and that Simon's resistance to temptation is wearing thin. This movie is yet another on that its meaning is lost on me. I get that Simon is fighting the devil and winning but with the ending just takes a left turn. Was Simon in the night club the whole time thinking back or was that just the way the devil. All in all this movie is good until you get to the end and it just throws you for a loop. I enjoyed the play between Simon and the devil and the little midget over the course of the movie. I would say that if I were Simon I would rather be in the night club with the hot blond than having to back out in the sun watching the goat herder and fighting the devil. What can I say pick your fights and know where you stand weather it on a pillar or in the night club.
8½ (1963)
you tell me
81/2 is a movie about making a movie and not knowing what you are making is the way I would describe this movie. 81/2 is like watching a brilliant mathematician work you do not know what going on but you know you are watching something great happen. That is what it felt like to me watching this movie. I saw it in French and could not read and follow what was happening on the screen at the same time because of the way the film just kind of jumps from scene. 81/2 is one that you would need to watch a few time it get everything in it. This movie jumps around so much that I do not even know how to describe what I saw. The movie is about a director who has been given the money to make a movie because he is a big shot but the director has the equivalent of a break down, because he does not know what to make or how to make it. Through the movie, the presser for him to finish the movie builds. Ending with him getting under a table and shooting himself. The end of the movie I don't understand either that is just the entire cast walking playing like they were in a marching band at the circus. End the end the movie was something great but will I ever understand what it was or how and why Federico Fellini came up with the idea to make a movie this way.
North by Northwest (1959)
Airplane vs man
North by Northwest is one of the great Alfred Hitchcock's movies. Once again, Hitchcock uses his influence to make a great story and uses great shots to tell a story. This movie has the fill of a James Bond film but Hitchcock does it in a more subtle way blending the comedy action and suspense. Hitchcock just knows how to movie his actors and the camera to tell his story and keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Spoiler Alert The movie starts off when Thornhill is mistaken for a spy named Kapland. A group of foreign spies takes Thornhill thinking he is the spy that has been tracking their group for some time. Unknown to the spies and Thornhill, Kapland is a made up spy that has never existed and is a creation of the CIA to cover the real double agent Kendall. Thornhill is then accused of killing a state senator and then starts crisscrossing the country trying to find Kapland. After dodging many attempts on his life, he meets Kendall and starts to get some help unraveling who Kapland is and why people want him dead. Thornhill meets with the CIA and come up with a plan to trick the spies and removing any suspicion from Kendall and killing Kapland. The trick works and the spies are leaving the country that night, but Kendall is leaving with them. Thornhill thinks that Kendall is still in danger and goes to the safe house on Mount Rushmore to save Kendall. This is the Hitchcock movie to end all Hitchcock movies. Hitchcock does an amazing job with all the shots including the famous airplane seen where Cary Grant faces off against the airplane and wins. From start to finish this movie keep you guessing and laughing the whole time.
Baby Face (1933)
floor by floor
Baby Face This is a great movie on how woman use their power over men and what happens when they take the love men give them and forsake it all. This is also a movie that was hit by the production codes pretty hard. There are two versions of the movie out there and each with its own meaning. The edited movie tries to put a moral spin on the life of a whore and you have to be observant to understand what is really being said to lily aka baby face. I have only seen parts of the edited movie and I have seen all of the unedited movie and must say that watching the edited one it kind of funny because the production codes just cut whole shots and the movie does not feel the same. Spoiler alert The movie starts with baby face working at a speakeasy sleeping with her clients. Her father that has whored her out since the age of fourteen runs this speakeasy. After leaving the speakeasy she starts working in an office building and starts sleeping her way up floor by floor till she meets the new banks president Courtland Trenholm. After the scandal of the death of one of her lovers at the bank the bank tells her to take money and movie to one of the Paris branches. She lives the good life in Paris until Courtland shows up for some bank businesses but falls for baby face. This movie just shows even though women have the power to influence men that sometimes it is not worth it. Baby Face destroys the lives of several men and the bank itself but even after getting everything she wanted she still wanted more. Sometimes you cannot get everything you want. It is a good thing this movie made it in before the production codes went in to affect because it would have never been as good and the meaning of the movie would have been lost.
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
you see the nosferatu across the street?
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror: This was the first horror movie before horror movies were called horror movies. This was also the first vampire movie and the start of this genre. I believe that people in 1929 found this movie somewhat frightening, but compared to the violence and horror of today's movie this movie was dual and boring to me. This movie related to the aftermath of World War I Nosferatu was the plague on Europe and was the filling around Europe after World War I. Spoiler Alert The story begins when Knock (Hutter's boss) convince Hutter to travel Transylvania to meet with Count Orlok and convince the count to buy the house across from Hutter. After arriving in Transylvania Hutter meets with Orlok and shows him the paper work on the house. During his stay, Orlok unfortunately bites Hutter. Hutter later discovers that nothing is what it seems. He finds that Orlok sleeping in a coffin. Before he can confront the Count about it, the Count packs his coffins and leaves for Hutter's town. Once the count arrives in Hutter's town people start to die the town believes that the deaths are the work of the plague. After Ellen (Hutter's wife) finds the book on Nosferatu, she knows how to stop the vampire. That night she invites the vampire in and gives herself willing to him. Because of this Orlok forgets to leave before the morning light and is destroyed by the sunlight ending the plague on the city. All in all this was a well crafted story using real locations something not seen this early in film making. Like I said the movie did not frightening to me but when you show, something like this to people that has never seen anything like it before you could spook a lot of people. You just never know if that creepy house across town has another Nosferatu hiding in it.
Shichinin no samurai (1954)
what samurai are you ?
Seven Samurai This movie is one of the best by Akira Kurosawa I have seen because it has the feel that it was taken from a good adventure book. Meeting all the samurai, you can relate to each of them because each samurai follows an archetype you have the master, young student, the quite expert looking to improve himself, and the fake one. This is a movie that will grab a hold of you and make it feel like you were there watching it happen in real life. Even though it is three hours long and not in English Akira Kurosawa just presents the story so well that you want to see what happens in the end. The movie feels like a book that you cannot put down until you finish it. Akira Kurosawa did a lot of work developing each samurai giving them back-stories down to such detail like what their favorite food was. You can tell this additional work on Akira Kurosawa was one of the contributing factors that gave the samurai their prescience on screen. Spoiler Alert
A group of bandits that have come for the village's harvest is threatening a small village and the bandits are not going to leave the village enough rice to make it through the winter. Two villagers head to the city to find samurai that will work for just a roof over their head and three hot meals a day. The villagers find six samurai (the seventh tags along even though he was not invited) that will help train and help save the village. The samurai train the village and help save the village but at a cost of the lives of four of the seven samurai.
This is a movie that will stand the test of time even though it is set in Japan in the 1574 it has a deeper meaning. That no matter how bad things seem and when all you can offer some one is a roof and a meal there are good people that will help you out you just have to know where to look and be willing to ask.
Chung Hing sam lam (1994)
may 1 and California
Chungking Express What another crazy movie from Japan. Kar Wai Wong did something odd with the film, it has the feel of Nashville (1975) but the only connecting part is the fish and chips shop. You feel like you just got a two for one from the video store. I had to watch this movie twice to get it all because it could play like two short fifty minutes films. Chungking Express is a movie that will make you think just trying to understand how the actors and the plot all fit together. Someone said it like the French new wave meets New Asian cinema and after watching Chungking Express, I would have to agree.
Spoiler Alert
The first part of the movie is about a cop 223 who has given his girlfriend one month to come back to him. May first is the day that he decided that if she does not come back to him then it is over but each night you goes to a store to buy pineapple that expires on May 1. The second half of the movie is about cop 663 who somewhat just goes through life and takes it how it is. He is also having girl trouble. This time he take some advice about giving his girlfriend a choice on what he brings her to eat. After she leaves him, a new girl at the shop takes a fancy to him and starts breaking in to his house and changing things. When he finally makes a move on the new girl, she tells him to meet her in California. He agrees to meet her he heads to the bar called California and she leaves for California in the United States. She leaves him a note and by the time he reads it, it is too late for him to stop her.
This was a good movie and you will want to sit down and watch it at least twice just to understand it. Also try to find the shot where the two cops 223 and 663 cross path it make for and exiting time trying to find where the movie crosses its self.
True Heart Susie (1919)
True Heart Susie
True Heart Susie: This is another silent area movie directed by D.W. Griffith. This is a slow passed not much action movie in black in white, but it does have a strong true love passion in it. This movie is a depiction of what real life 1910s community was doing and the length a girl would do for her crush. True Heart Susie played by Lillian Gish did an amazing job portraying what people were capable of doing for someone they love, even when that loved one does not know what has been done for them.
Spoiler Alert In this movie, the young Susie sells her cow to pay for William's college and William just thinks that the money came from an unnamed donor. When William comes back to his hometown, he meets a new single girl and ends up marrying her. This new girl is borderline unfaithful to William and sneaks out one night to go to a party where she caches a cold and she ends up dying from her illness. This whole time Susie watches William and sees how he has become this great man but never told him about how she helped him get to his passion, until her aunt tells her that she must tell William what she has done.
I found this movie slow. It had a good story, but because of the nature of this type of filming silent and in black in white with no real action True Heart Susie is just dragged out for an hour and nearly put me to sleep. This is a movie about true love. It shows what people are willing to give up so see someone else succeed in life. People will do strange things for other people like selling their cow to seen some one college. You just never know what someone has done for you until it is too late.
Hypocrites (1915)
Hypocrites (1915)
Hypocrites: Here is one of the great silent filmmakers of her time at work Lois Weber. This is the first one of her first movies that created an uproar over the content of the movie. With the depiction of the naked truth as a real naked woman, walking around on screen caused many people in 1915 to be shocked and have the movie altered so that the naked truth was no longer naked or just band from showing all together. This movie done in a very art full way, the naked truth was nothing more than a shadow of a woman instead of a naked full body woman on screen witch by today's standards would be considered tame. Spoiler alert This movie follows the story of two men Gabriel, the Acetic and Mr. Courtenay Foote both being play by Mr. Foote as they both try to show people the truth of the world. Gabriel creates a statue of the necked truth and by the end; the people are repelled by the truth and try to destroy it. Mr. Foote try to lead people to the truth but most are to concerned with their own lives to even want to follow him to the truth some try but all fail to ascend to truth. In the end Foote, ask truth to come with him to meet the people since the people will not come to her. I like this movie. It is had a story line that was easy to follow and presented a problem that rings true even today. That people do not want to see or hear the truth and would jus rather spend their lives walking around blind. And the people that can see the truth try to get everyone else to see it but most people are not willing to take the time to look