old movies

[hrothgar]

Having seen the original films as a kid, I held out a naive hope that Lucas would make adult-oriented films set in the same world; catering to his fans that have grown up. But instead, and predictably, he just chased in on the kid/toy/game/etc market.

 

I would have been content with kid oriented films set in the same world, so long as they were GOOD kid's oriented films.

What I got was offensive claptrap.

 

As a practical example:

 

Cartoon Network has a series called The Clone Wars which I find quite enjoyable.

 

I actively flinched with the hideous racial stereotyping that was introduced in the Fourth Film.

My appreciation for the series never recovered.

[Mbodell]

I was surprised at the 4 billion figure. Perhaps I shouldn't have been, but it seems an awful lot for a film company.

ISTR that Lucas said, way back when the first movie came out, that he planned nine "episodes". Later, of course, he decided not to make the last three, but apparently he's happy to let someone else do so.

 

There were originally 12 films that Lucas did the treatments for. 4 trilogies. We've now seen the first 6.

 

The prequel trilogy, mostly more than a decade ago with out the 3D/IMAX price hike to bring in more revenue, did world wide box office gross of more than $2.5 Billion alone. That doesn't count merchandising, tie ins, theme parks, video games, etc. Many folks think that the price tag was a bargain and that the true value is double that.

 

As much as many disliked the prequels and the "disney-ification" of Star Wars from Lucas, I think Disney has done ok by Marvel and the Muppets. And it is too early to tell for Pixar, but I don't really blame them for Brave. But I don't think Disney is stupid and will likely try to bring the sensibility of a JJ Abrams, Joss Whedon, or Christopher Nolan to the franchise (probably not any of these three, but someone who is more from that cloth).

 

So I have cautious optimism, but I'm sure I'll see Episode VII in 2015.

[mike777]

What is your favorite movie or two from 1973 or before?

 

Mine is the Graduate.

[y66]

For Shakespeare fans: The 10 best modern takes on Shakespeare – in pictures

[mike777]

Just finished rewatching a wonderful old movie from 2000

 

Almost Famous with Philip Seymour Hoffman in a supporting role.

 

"Almost Famous is a 2000 comedy-drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe, telling the coming-of-age story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while on the road with a fictitious 1970s rock band named Stillwater. The film is semi-autobiographical, Crowe himself having been a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.

 

The film received positive reviews, but failed to break even at the box office. It received four Oscar nominations, with Crowe winning one for best original screenplay. It also earned the 2001 Grammy Award Best Compilation Soundtrack Album. Roger Ebert hailed it the best film of the year."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almost_Famous

[blackshoe]

Just finished rewatching a wonderful old movie from 2000

 

Almost Famous with Philip Seymour Hoffman in a supporting role.

 

"Almost Famous is a 2000 comedy-drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe, telling the coming-of-age story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while on the road with a fictitious 1970s rock band named Stillwater. The film is semi-autobiographical, Crowe himself having been a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.

 

The film received positive reviews, but failed to break even at the box office. It received four Oscar nominations, with Crowe winning one for best original screenplay. It also earned the 2001 Grammy Award Best Compilation Soundtrack Album. Roger Ebert hailed it the best film of the year."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almost_Famous

The music for this includes "original" songs of "Stillwater" which were written by Nancy Wilson, of "Heart", who was then Crowe's wife. That plus good choices of songs from the 70s - no wonder the soundtrack won a Grammy.

[mike777]

The music for this includes "original" songs of "Stillwater" which were written by Nancy Wilson, of "Heart", who was then Crowe's wife. That plus good choices of songs from the 70s - no wonder the soundtrack won a Grammy.

 

I did not know...

 

 

thank you for info...great...

 

if anything blackshoe you make the movie is even better....:)

[kenberg]

I just finished watching Stalag 17. Still a pretty decent movie, but I can see why I was more enthusiastic about it when I was 14.The part I remembered was William Holden coming out of the shadows after he has seen the informer (Peter Graves) talking with the guard. Acht so.

[Elianna]

I just finished watching Stalag 17. Still a pretty decent movie, but I can see why I was more enthusiastic about it when I was 14.The part I remembered was William Holden coming out of the shadows after he has seen the informer (Peter Graves) talking with the guard. Acht so.

 

It kills me that my husband won't watch this movie on the basis that it was in black-and-white and filmed before he was born.

 

I think that I was about 14 when I first saw it, and thought that it was great. There were parts that didn't make sense to me that on a rewatch as an adult made more sense (and others that I felt were unnecessary as an adult), but I still enjoy that movie.

[kenberg]

It kills me that my husband won't watch this movie on the basis that it was in black-and-white and filmed before he was born.

 

I think that I was about 14 when I first saw it, and thought that it was great. There were parts that didn't make sense to me that on a rewatch as an adult made more sense (and others that I felt were unnecessary as an adult), but I still enjoy that movie.

 

One of the things that struck me as the movie started was "Directed by Billy Wilder". It's remarkable how often the sequence goes "Hey, there is an old movie I remember liking", then followed by seeing Wilder listed as the director. As for William Holden, he just seems to always be there, turning in a solid performance. Usually not flashy, just solid. From roughly the same period, a bit later, I liked Picnic (William Holden, Kim Novak) a lot. I liked it when it came out, I like it now. And hey, it's in color. I never saw the original play, but if it ever comes around, I think I will go. The Third Man was also filmed in black and white and made before your husband was born. I still recommend it. And The Maltese Falcon. Etc. He is allowed to skip Now Voyager, a pre-war chick movie, but I liked that too.

[Aberlour10]

Just watched another time "The Day of the Jackal (1973) directed by maestro Fred Zinneman, based on the novel of Frederic Forsyth. If I should choose a movie which perfectly transforms the novel into, I would take this for sure. Simply, a really intelligent thriller.

[kenberg]

Just watched another time "The Day of the Jackal (1973) directed by maestro Fred Zinneman, based on the novel of Frederic Forsyth. If I should choose a movie which perfectly transforms the novel into, I would take this for sure. Simply, a really intelligent thriller.

 

I agree. The book was excellent, the movie was excellent.

 

PS This movie should not, very definitely not, be confused with the Bruce Willis move, The Jackal. the Wikipedia says that The Jackal was inspired by The Day of the Jackal. "Inspired" should never be used in any sentence that refers to the Willis movie.

[dustinst22]

Amadeus. Still just as enjoyable after having viewed it at least 10 times. I feel the same away about the Godfather.

[barmar]

Noticed "Eraserhead" in my cable TV guide -- it's going to be on a few times the first week of March. It's probably the weirdest movie I've ever seen; it was David Lynch's first feature film, made while he was still studying at the AFI. Anyway, what caught my attention was the synopsis in the guide:

Henry Spencer's hair sticks straught up, and his girlfriend's offspring looks like larva.

Yeah, I guess that kind of sums it up. :)

 

You can read more about it in Wikipedia.

[kenberg]

We saw The Sand Pebbles the other night. I had not seen it since it came out in 1966 and Becky had never seen it. I think that it holds up well.

 

An amusing part was that Candice Bergen was in it, playing a young (she was 20 at the time), sweet, rather idealistic missionary/teacher. I kept waiting to see the cynical caustic Murphy Brown struggling to come out.

[y66]

Footnote to The Lady Eve which was mentioned earlier: I saw Jane Fonda on Charlie Rose recently. Somehow, the topic of Barbara Stanwyck and the possibility that she and Henry Fonda had an affair came up. "I don't know", said Jane. "I hope so. I really hope so." That is the most generous comment I've ever heard anyone make about one of their parents in this context.

[kenberg]

Footnote to The Lady Eve which was mentioned earlier: I saw Jane Fonda on Charlie Rose recently. Somehow, the topic of Barbara Stanwyck and the possibility that she and Henry Fonda had an affair came up. "I don't know", said Jane. "I hope so. I really hope so." That is the most generous comment I've ever heard anyone make about one of their parents in this context.

 

I don't follow the celebs all that much but it was my understanding that both the distance and the (perhaps limited) coming together portrayed in On Golden Pond had some real life correspondence to it. I like to think so anyway.

 

I think of Barbara Stanwyck as a force of nature. Again, I am no expert on lives of movie stars, but everything I have ever heard leads me to believe she had a great deal of personal strength.

 

Added: Upon reflection, it occurs to me that I could never make my living as an interviewer. I am not asking a woman about her father's alleged relationships with other women. Not privately, not on tv. Here's the mike, you ask. I am not asking the son, either. Probably the questions were vetted. Still.

[y66]

You're right about the real life parallels in On Golden Pond. There's a scene in there in which the Jane character says to the Henry character "I want to be your friend" that was pretty wrenching. When they talked about it later over dinner she came away thinking that nothing had changed between them in real life. Not so apparently. He is on record as saying (not to Jane) "I am not a religious man but I thank God every morning that I have lived long enough to play this role." I don't think he said that just because he won his only Oscar for that role.

[kenberg]

I hadn't heard that before. I like it.

[kenberg]

I saw Babette's Feast for the first time last night. I thought it sounded stupid when I first heard about it many years ago. Boy was I wrong!! My feeling when it was over was that I wanted to call the writer and the director to express my thanks for such a stunning movie. Becky agrees completely. It is a movie that does not remotely remind me of any other movie that I have seen, and I have seen a great many. I highly recommend it.

[y66]

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/02/12/arts/AXEL-2-obit-web/AXEL-2-obit-web-blog427.jpg

 

Stéphane Audran as Babette Hersant in a scene from "Babette's Feast". Photo: Orion Classics, via Photofest.

 

Gen. Lorens Löwenhielm: "Because of this evening, I have learned, my dear, that in this beautiful world of ours, all things are possible."

[kenberg]

An echo from his earlier "I have learned that in this world some things are not possible." (quote approximate)

[Aberlour10]

Last weekend I did something like a private retrospective of movies directed by Jean-Pierre Melville [from end of the 60's] Classic police thrillers like "The Samurai", The Red Circle", "Dirty Money"......, good old french style movies, with A. Delon, Y. Montand. Bourvil or L. Ventura......always worth to watch...

[kenberg]

I just finished watching The Gunfighter with gregory Peck in the title. role. I highly recommend it.

 

I looked it up on Wikipedia and found

 

The film was nominated for a WGA Award for Best Written American Western. Writing for The New York Times, Bosley Crowther noted in his June 24, 1950 review: "The addicts of Western fiction may find themselves rubbing their eyes and sitting up fast to take notice before five minutes have gone by in Twentieth Century Fox's The Gunfighter, which came to the Roxy yesterday. For suddenly they will discover that they are not keeping company with the usual sort of hero of the commonplace Western at all. Suddenly, indeed, they will discover that they are in the exciting presence of one of the most fascinating Western heroes as ever looked down a six-shooter's barrel."[

 

I agree with that assessment.

 

I have some vague feeling that I saw this when I was young. Could be. At any rate, I recommend it.

[gwnn]

Saw Picnic today, courtesy of kenberg's recommendation. I must say I enjoyed it a lot! It seems the film managed to convey a lot of feelings that were just below the surface without being too obvious, for the most part.

 

I tried watching A Tree Grows in Brooklyn a few weeks ago, too. I will try again when I'm a bit older and more patient, I guess.

 

Next up will be Rebel Without a Cause and Long, Hot Summer.