Dames du Bois de Bologne, Les (1945)
“You don’t seem to realize where a woman’s scorn can lead.”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Links: |
Purple Rain (1984)
“He’s never done anything in his whole life for anybody but himself.”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres: Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Categories
Links: |
Grand Illusion / Grande Illusion, La (1937)
“Frontiers are an invention of men; nature doesn’t give a hoot.”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Response to Peary’s Review:
A number of memorable, powerful sequences are sprinkled throughout the film — including, as noted by Peary, the scene in which a soldier “dresses up like a female for a variety show, [and] all the men silently stare at him, thinking about the women the war has taken from them”:
and the moment when “Russian prisoners receive textbooks and cookbooks instead of the expected food from their insensitive empress”.
The final “act” of the film — once Gabin and Dalio have escaped and found refuge in the home of a German farm woman (Dito Parlo) — takes on a decidedly different tone from what’s come before; Renoir seems determined to show an idealized alternative to war, in which a French soldier and a German woman can fall in love “despite not knowing each other’s languages”. I have mixed feelings about this sudden shift in narrative and mood, but it’s lovely to see Parlo (so memorable in Jean Vigo’s L’Atalante) in another significant role.
Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Categories
(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
List of Adrian Messenger, The (1963)
“The fact remains that six deaths by accident, out of any ten names, is too high of a proportion for chance.”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Review:
Audiences at the time were invited to guess who was who, and were rewarded when each actor unmasked himself during the closing credits. To that end, Bud Westmore’s make-up is truly impressive: while we can tell that the characters played by each of these actors are clearly in disguise, it’s remarkably difficult to discern their real faces underneath. Kirk Douglas — acknowledged almost immediately as the film’s psychopathic villain — plays the largest camouflaged role, hiding behind various effective personae as he commits a series of cold-blooded murders.
The fact that we know the killer’s identity from the beginning means that the story really belongs to George C. Scott:
playing a retired British intelligence officer determined to follow through on the suspicions raised by his recently deceased friend, the oddly named Adrian Messenger (John Merivale) — who does indeed attempt to leave a final message for the man by his side (Jacques Roux) as he’s dying. As fate would have it, Scott knows Roux, and the two collaborate together on the mystery. Meanwhile, in the weakest element of the plot, Roux falls for and romances Messenger’s widowed cousin, Dana Wynter (beautiful but poorly used here).
Huston’s firm directorial hand is evident throughout; unfortunately, however, the story he’s working with is merely serviceable entertainment — worthy viewing once, but not must-see for all film fanatics. Note: Interestingly enough, character actor Jan Merlin was actually the man behind the make-up during several of the presumed “cameo” roles by the famous actors; apparently only Douglas and Mitchum actually did any real acting in disguise, while the others merely showed up for their “unmasking” scene at $75,000 each. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Links: |
Fat City (1972)
“You gotta wanna win so bad you can taste it.”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Categories
(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
Dante’s Inferno (1935)
“Since the beginning of time there’s only been one sin and that’s failure. People don’t care how you win, so long as you win.”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Review:
Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Links: |
Without Warning / It Came Without Warning (1980)
“No Chance… No Help… No Escape!”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Review:
fending off flesh-sucking alien-frisbees while simultaneously sussing out whether they can trust either Landau (wackily insane):
or Palance (grimly determined):
to help them escape with their lives. Upon its release, the New York Times referred to the film as “wretched”, and it’s really not much better than that — but it does possess some effectively creepy atmosphere, and has earned a small cult following over the years. It’s sure to appeal to those who enjoy this type of fare — like Peary, for instance, who lists it as a Sleeper in the back of his book. The rest of us can stay away. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Links: |
Whoopee (1930)
“Why do you make overtures to me when I need intermissions so badly?”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Review: Barring this — and the use of cliched jokes about Native Americans — the remainder of the film is essentially an innocuous tale of mistaken identities and unrequited love, with Ethel Shutta particularly appealing as Cantor’s feisty love interest; she more than holds her own in concert with him. Also notable are Gus Kahn’s lyrics, which are quite fun (note in particular the clever stanzas in “A Girl Friend of a Boy Friend of Mine”). Strangely enough, Cantor’s rendition of the famed title song (“Making Whoopee”) is lackluster and too-slow; he’s much livelier when singing a spoof later on, “Making Waffles” (pronounced, curiously enough, like “Making Raffles”). Note: Famed cinematographers Lee Garmes and Gregg Toland both served as DPs on the project, but what’s most noticeable about the film’s “look” is the effective use of two-tone Technicolor. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Categories
Links: |
Emmanuelle (1974)
“You must take a lover if you want to become a real woman.”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Links: |
Nobody Waved Goodbye (1964)
“What kind of a life is he going to have? He’s got to go to college — he’s got to at least graduate from high school!”
|
Synopsis: |
|
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Review: Note: Twenty years later, Owen made a follow-up film called Unfinished Business (1984), which I haven’t seen, but a lone poster on IMDb gives it a disappointing thumbs down. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Links: |
