25th Hall of Fame

Regarding Clouzot, I've also seen Les Diaboliques and The Wages of Fear, both of which are excellent. La Verite is my least favorite of his films by a decent margin.

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Was this one a sequel to The Cranes Of Fear by any chance?

Yeah, after the events of The Cranes Are Flying, she takes a job as a truck driver and has to transport explosives.

I've seen the first part of the quote, but never the full one, so that was VERY cool.

And no worries about the knife twisting; all part of the process


Regarding Clouzet, he is definitely worthy of delving deeper. I've seen Le Corbeau, Wages of Fear, and so SO very long ago, that it would pretty much be a new watch, Les Diabolique.

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- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

Themroc (1973)

Now I like satire as much as the next guy - maybe more...but this...

Wow. Talk about unwatchable! This was SUCH a slog - unbelievably slow for the first 15 minutes and then just actively unpleasant for the rest.

I understand that this is a savage (no pun intended) takedown of modern life. Urban caveman, no societal constraints, the message is not subtle. And perhaps this was the best way this particular story could be told. If so, that's a shame, as this movie seems to actively dare you to hate it. Dare accepted, movie!

On the plus side, Michael Piccoli is an excellent actor - I loved him in Contempt, and he does a fantastic job here, really committing to the material, which in fairness, is about the only way the role could be played. Additionally, there is little reason to believe that the film did not achieve exactly the vision it intended to put forth. That is an accomplishment. It's just unfortunate that accomplishment resulted in the longest 90 minutes of my life that I can never get back.

3/10 for ambition and Piccoli.

Vertigo



Seen this one a ton of times, perhaps up there for my most watched Hitchcock film. And it's good! Stewart is one of my favorite old school actors and he brings it here. Really like that opening sequence with his clinging onto the railing and looking down
And of course the scene with him standing on the chair. The film does have a few lulls in my opinion, but there's also a lot of iconic scenes. I think Kim Novak was pretty good too. The score is marvelous, probably the best one for Hitch save for maybe Psycho. While the film is good there's at least a half dozen better Hitch but that says more about his excellent filmography than it does this film. A good one.

So just the Elly rewatch, Long Goodbye (which is coming to criterion channel in July) and Themroc (which I will 100% wait until Ueno finishes this in case there's a minor chance I won't have to watch it)

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Patrice Dumas: Are you down for the liberation of black people?
Ron Stallworth: Power to the people.
Patrice Dumas: All power to all the people.
Ron Stallworth: That's right, Sista.

For just how far off most Hollywood "based on" films are from facts, Spike Lee does come pretty close to what occurred during Officer Ron Stallworth and his infiltration of the KKK. Adding the racist cop and Patrice Dumas for obvious dramatic effect. That does work for the film for that reason.

I'm going to skip rather quickly to the ending that we all remark upon.
I am NOT a political person. Extremes are not my thing, and I find them a bit zealous and too one-minded to ever truly, move forward.
Having said that, watching the film, for me, it's easy to see what occurs in the film as something archaic, a thing of the past. And while it is a hard watch, the video at the end was a very poignant reminder that we are not quite out of the racist woods just yet. Its empty hatred based on differences instead of respecting each other's differences will, hopefully, die out somewhere in the near future. Not to say we haven't come a very significant distance since then. We have. And, hopefully, we continue and not go backward, as the video warns us of what occurs when we do.

::: steps down off soapbox, wipes it off, and sets it aside:::

This is my second time watching this film. The first time I watched it, I didn't have the political agenda mindset going on and simply enjoyed the film and its History Lesson set in an Entertaining Venue. Everyone did exceedingly well in their parts, and Spike Lee kept the pace and story-telling on a very even keel with very few bumps, and even those were necessary and can be easily overlooked.
This time around, I was more aware of that mindset, and since I'm not a political individual, it caused much of the emotional impact (such as Belfonte's True story of a lynching) to get watered down a little. And as most of you know, I'd rather "feel" what a film offers as opposed to analyzing political implications. And for me, feeling what Spike Lee was saying is far more effective.

Everyone seems to be on target for a finish Which is good as I don't plan on extending this.

This is what's left to watch. Let me know if this isn't correct.
@edarsenal 8/13
@Torgo 12/13
@ueno_station54 9/13
@rauldc14 9/13
@rbrayer 7/13

correct for me. THANKS CR!
I'll watch another this weekend. Unsure which, it might be Bicycle Thieves. . .

That is correct. I saved The Long Goodbye for last because it's the one I've wanted to see the longest (no pun intended). I'm pulling a Vanessa Williams, in other words (cheesy joke intended).

You missed my Vertigo review.

Thanks for the head up, I'll get it.

Les Misérables (1935)

This is more like it.

A preface: I have zero experience with this classic. I haven't read the book or seen any of the adaptations, either film or stage. About the longest part of it I've seen is the Sesame Street parody of the musical. So I can't speak to it's relationship to the original text or subsequent adaptations.

What I can say is: wow. This is fantastic.

The film is the story of the life of Jean Valjean (Fredric March), a poor man imprisoned for stealing bread to feed his sister’s family. After serving his time in the harsh 19th Century French prison system, Valjean is finally released on parole. However, he is forever branded a convict and starts to internalize this view of him, becoming an actual thief. That is until he meets a kindly priest, who takes him in from a rainy night and gives him a bed and a hot meal. Despite this kindness, Valjean betrays his trust and steals the priest’s silver, escaping into the night. Regardless, when Valjean is caught and the police bring him before the priest, the priest claims the property was a gift and even gives Valjean additional silver to make his way. This forgiveness and faith changes Valjean forever.

Years later, he re-emerges as Monsieur Madeline, a rich and successful businessman that is virtually unrecognizable as Valjean with his ample facial hair shaven off. This disguise allows him to escape his convict identity and the law, as he is now wanted for violating his parole. However, Valjean’s freedom is fleeting as his true identity is eventually discovered. A 20-year chase ensues as Valjean establishes new identities only to be found and pursued once again by the same possessed man Inspector Emile Javert (Charles Laughton), a determined stickler for the letter of the law.

I won’t spoil the rest. I suspect most of you know it anyway. This is a gripping, well-acted, well-directed story that asks important questions about morality, forgiveness, and uncompromising adherence to duty. It is at once epic and expertly paced. I know lots was cut from the book, though again I don’t know the details, but what remains is a tight, crafted story that never drags but at the same time never feels like it gives any scene short shrift.

But what really distinguishes this film is the lead performances. Fredric March is a revelation as Valjean – convincingly portraying a poor man, a thief, a rich man, a father, and many more roles Valjean takes on. The real star performance of the film though is the incomparable Charles Laughton, in one of his finest roles as Javert. His stunning portrayal gives the film its narrative energy. It is hard to imagine anyone else playing the role half as well.

This film is an achievement. I’m so glad it (and I) was part of this process. 10/10.

There's a Sesame Street parody of the musical version of Les Misérables? I have to see that. I hope it's on YouTube.

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OPEN FLOOR.

Yep, it's called Les Mousserables and I PMed you the YouTube link. Description from the Sesame Street YouTube page:

"Jean Bon-Bon is a very sad French guy in pursuit of cookies in the streets of Paris. He must figure out a way to survive and help his fellow Parisians find cookies."

Just one person loving your nomination makes it completely worth it.

ALWAYS a good feeling!

So glad to hear it. Win win. Thanks for the nom!

It's interesting that you cite the opening chase where Scottie ends up hanging off a roof several stories up-- staged to establish Scottie's "vertigo" (actually it's acrophobia). We never know how he got out of the sure death predicament!

Another unexplained event is when Scottie follows Madeleine to the McKittrick Hotel, where he sees her entering, then opening up a front room window. When Scottie goes into the lobby, the clerk who sits there has not seen Madeleine, and she is not in her rental room. When Scottie looks out, Madeleine's car is not there. How could that have happened? We don't know.