Category: Classic Movies

Classic Movie Update, 7/18

By Jason Apuzzo. • A Star is Born is coming to Blu-ray. This gorgeous film – still, alas in incomplete form – is really the perfect sort of film for high definition viewing.  A Star is Born takes its place among the very best films made about the culture of filmmaking itself – surpassed only, in my opinion, by 8 1/2 and Sunset Boulevard.  (Another now-forgotten classic of this genre is Josef von Sternberg’s The Last Command.)

• The Criterion Collection is finally putting out more of Yasujiro Ozu’s work onto DVD. Avail yourself of Ozu’s films if your tastes run toward the quieter, more contemplative moments of domestic life – particularly in terms of how parents relate (or are sometimes incapable of relating) to their children.

• Did you know that this is the 75th anniversary of the release of Merian C. Cooper’s classic fantasy-adventure film, She?  Neither did I.  I recommend the newly colorized version of the film, the colorization of which was supervised by Ray Harryhausen.

• I recently posted on the new exhibit of Norman Rockwell’s work taking place in Washington D.C., which features the Rockwell paintings owned by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.  MUBI, one of my favorite movie blogs, recently did a post on Rockwell’s movie poster art. I hadn’t been aware that Rockwell did the posters for so many famous films – including Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons (weirdly fitting).  Click on over for more.  MUBI also reports this week on the forthcoming San Francisco Silent Film Festival, one of the world’s finest such festivals.

• And speaking of silent film, a long-lost Charlie Chaplin silent short film called “A Thief Catcher” has just been discovered.  In this 1914 film Chaplin makes a brief cameo appearance as a Keystone cop.  Turner Classic Movies also reports this week on restoration efforts involving Alfred Hitchcock’s early work, efforts you the public can assist in with your donations. [ We’ve spoken here previously at LFM about the importance of preserving our film legacy.] We encourage LFM readers now to donate toward the restoration of Alfred Hitchcock’s silent films.

• Ilene Woods, the voice of Cinderella from Walt Disney’s classic film, has died at the age of 81. We mourn her passing; her delightful voice, however, will certainly live on for generations to come.

• Turner Classic Movies has an interesting blog post up this week on the Clint Eastwood Cold War classic Firefox; on a somewhat related note, there was an interesting article over at The Wrap this week on the recent evolution of the action film.  Click on over for more.

• And finally, Greenbriar Picture Shows, another one of my favorite classic movie sites, has some wonderful posts up this week (see here and here) on Orson Welles’ classic, Touch of Evil.

Posted on July 18th, 2010 at 12:39pm.

The Reputation of Classic Women’s Pictures: Gone with the wind?

By Jennifer Baldwin. I ran across an interesting list from Filmcritic.com the other day: The Top 50 Movie Endings of All Time. The list was compiled in 2006. Many of my favorite endings were listed, including the endings to Casablanca, The Godfather, and Bonnie and Clyde. But as the list got closer and closer to number one, I waited giddily for my favorite ending of all-time to appear. I knew it would be near the top spot, at least top five, maybe it would even be the number one ending. It is, after all, one of the most famous endings in all of Hollywood’s history, and includes two of the most famous lines in all of cinema. It’s one of the greatest classics of all time, how could it not be near the top of the list?

I’m writing, of course, of the ending to Gone With the Wind. There is no more iconic and well-known ending in all of cinema, with the exceptions of perhaps The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, or The Empire Strikes Back. But Gone With the Wind stands as one of the greats, arguably the greatest, if only for the thrill of hearing the word “damn” uttered for the first time in mainstream cinema and to see Scarlett rejected so deliciously – only to see her rise again with indomitable resilience. I knew it was coming. I kept reading. I was almost to the end of the list …

And Gone With the Wind was nowhere to be found. They had left it off.

I couldn’t quite believe it. A few people in the comments section couldn’t believe it either. Where was Gone With the Wind? Where was “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”? Where was “After all, tomorrow is another day”? Where was that last gorgeous Technicolor shot of Scarlett returned to Tara, the sweeping main theme of Max Steiner’s unforgettable score rising to a crescendo on the soundtrack? I was in a bit of shock, sitting there looking at a list of the Top 50 Movie Endings that did not include Gone With the Wind.

But then again, why should I be surprised? GWTW has been losing its place in the pop culture pantheon for a while now. The writing was on the wall when the revised AFI Top 100 American Films list came out and GWTW had slipped from fourth place to sixth place, replaced at #4 by Raging Bull. Not a huge slip, of course, but a telling one I think. GWTW is too iconic, too huge (still the top box office of all time, adjusted for inflation), to really go away altogether. But slowly, in little drips and quietly telling ways, it’s losing stature in the film community – especially in the mainstream online film community. And it’s not surprising because the online film community – which drives so much of film culture and conversation these days – is simply not that interested in what gets called, for better or worse, a “chick flick.”

And despite its status as a Civil War epic, GWTW is a women’s film. Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara is in nearly every scene. It’s her story that we watch unfold, even as Rhett Butler pops in and out of the narrative. It’s her emotional journey that dominates the film. And in the second half especially, it is her domestic drama that takes up most of the action (and it’s not surprising to read commentary from guys online who think the second half of the film is “weak” compared to the first, more war-focused half – the domestic struggles of Scarlett hold little interest for the online fanboy types). Continue reading The Reputation of Classic Women’s Pictures: Gone with the wind?

Classic Movie Update + Happy Fourth of July!

Wonder Woman Lynda Carter, wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July.

By Jason Apuzzo. • Given the recent dust-up over the new-look Wonder Woman, we thought we’d let Lynda Carter lead things off by wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July.  Lynda certainly has a way of raising everone’s spirits.  I know that just looking at the picture above has put me in a kind of patriotic fervor.

The glorious Lynda Carter.

We’ve put the entire Wonder Woman TV series in the LFM Store below for your perusal and patriotic edification.  I remember liking the show back in the day, but my sense is that’s its appeal must only be greater now.  May I be frank?  I’d rather spend hours watching Lynda Carter than Jack Bauer.  But’s that’s just me.

In any case, the show lasted for 3 seasons – all of which are gathered together in this tidy little collection.

• Turner Classic Movies has a nice run today of patriotic films.  My personal recommendations: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the highly underrated The Devil’s Disciple (has Laurence Olivier ever been better?) and Yankee Doodle Dandy.  I can’t actually watch James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy because I get too emotional.  God bless Michael Curtiz – he’s probably the greatest director ever, and nobody even knows it.   All these movies are available in the LFM Store below.

• Humphrey Bogart is coming to Blu-ray in a big way this October.  Visit the HeatVision blog at The Hollywood Reporter to read about the new Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection that will be coming to Blu-ray.  As the picture below illustrates, this collection is basically going to have all the best stuff Bogey did for Warner Brothers.  Plus, I believe that Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Maltese Falcon will be released separately on Blu-ray.  You can pre-order Treasure and Maltese in the LFM Store below.

Bogart on Blu-ray.

• New York’s Film Forum is presenting a 32-film Anthony Mann retrospective from 25 June – July 15.  Mann was easily one of our greatest directors, and a personal favorite of mine.  You can read more about that film series here.  I’ve put a few Anthony Mann classics in the LFM Store below.

• Eminent film writer David Bordwell has an interesting piece up on his site now about John Ford’s work as a silent film director … and somewhat related to this, Turner Classic Movies will be doing a mini-festival on July 10th of films shot at Monument Valley, which will (obviously) include Ford’s Stagecoach, The Searchers, My Darling Clementine, Sergeant Rutledge, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.  I actually think Cheyenne Autumn is the best looking film Ford ever shot in Monument Valley, although the film is a bit tedious and left wing.  We’ve got a few Ford-Monument Valley films in the LFM Store below.

Raquel Welch as Hannie Caulder.

• Producer Elliot Kastner has died.  Kastner produced, among other films, one of my absolute all time favorites: Where Eagles Dare.  You can read the article about his life and career in Variety.  He will be missed.  Pick up Where Eagles Dare in the LFM Store below.

• Carol Reed’s Night Train to Munich is finally getting a decent DVD release (Criterion, of course), and Turner Classic Movies has a review of it.  In other news, the Arnold Schwarzenegger-John McTiernan classic Predator is coming to Blu-ray, as is a restored version of Visconti’s The Leopard – which recently had a screening at the LA Film Festival.  All these films are available in the LFM Store.

• The magnificent Greenbriar Picture Shows classic movie blog has a wonderful 2-part look at the career of Orson Welles, see here and here.  I really love what they do at that site.  For the heck of it, I’ve put one of my favorite Welles books in the LFM Store: Peter Conrad’s Orson Welles: The Stories of His Life.

• Praise be to the heavens … Raquel Welch’s Hannie Caulder is finally coming to DVD!  You can read a new DVD review of the film at Turner Classic Movies.  This film is a major cult classic and it’s a crime that it hasn’t been available except on cheap VHS copies for years.  The film stars Raquel, along with Christopher Lee and Ernest Borgnine.  You can pre-order it in the LFM Store below.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!

Posted on July 4th, 2010 at 12:15am.

LFM Review: The Complete Metropolis

By Jennifer Baldwin. With almost 30 minutes of lost footage restored, The Complete METROPOLIS is a true cinematic event.

For anybody who read the news two years ago that a nearly complete 16mm negative of METROPOLIS was discovered in Buenos Aires (including 30 minutes of additional footage previously thought lost forever), the anticipation and excitement has been building for when the film would finally be restored and we could all see Fritz Lang’s original cut of his masterpiece for the first time since its Berlin premiere in 1927.

The time has now come. After a premiere in Berlin earlier this year and a North American premiere in Los Angeles this past April, the film is finally being screened in theaters across the U.S. and Canada – all leading up to the DVD release of the Complete METROPOLIS in November 2010.

The tale of METROPOLIS – originally panned by critics and disliked by audiences on its initial release in Germany, and later mutilated by international distributors, who turned the film into a diluted Frankenstein story (a quarter of Lang’s original film was thought lost for decades, one of the ultimate “lost masterpieces” of the silent era) – is a tale well known to classic movie fans and silent cinema enthusiasts. This latest chapter in the film’s life only enhances its mystique and mystery. Almost 40 minutes of this landmark film was lost for nearly a century only to be found hidden away in a Buenos Aires museum in 2008. What was found in Argentina is now the most complete version to date. The print was deemed nearly complete because of the way it matched up to the original Gottfried Huppertz score (the only complete document still in existence from the 1927 premiere). With almost 30 minutes of film time restored, this newest version of METROPOLIS is the closest we might ever come to seeing the film the way Fritz Lang intended.


I was fortunate enough to attend a screening of the Complete METROPOLIS at the Detroit Film Theater earlier this month. It was one of the best movie experiences I’ve had in a long while, thrilling and impressive, making me fall in love with METROPOLIS all over again. Continue reading LFM Review: The Complete Metropolis

Loving the Cold War Lifestyle: A Guide For The Married Man

The ultimate 60s sex farce.

[Editor’s Note: those of us here at LFM love the ‘Cold War lifestyle’ – the spies, the bikinis, the shiny orbiting satellites and dry martinis.  We return today to an occasional series from LFM contributor Steve Greaves, “Loving the Cold War Lifestyle,” that takes us back to that altogether tastier, less politically-correct era.]

By Steve Greaves.

“What about Ruth?”

“Ruth who?”

“Ruth, your wife.”

“Oh.”

This recurring joke and banter like it would probably win a regular Joe today a new level of intimacy with the old rolling pin – that is, if wives still packed rolling pins. Welcome to the world of 1967’s A Guide for the Married Man (see the trailer here), a sharp-looking, box-office-winning and cleverly-written comedy that hasn’t been on DVD for long and might be easy to overlook. And overlooking it would be a shame.

This vintage sex farce finds Walter Matthau playing Paul, a suburban Every Husband of the nuclear era. An investment counselor by day, the man who has it all is nonetheless lacking a certain something come night: namely, variety. Gorgeous Inger Stevens is a dream wife, which makes Matthau’s eventual wanderlust that much more poignant (and inane). Mid 60’s superstar Robert Morse is perfect as Matthau’s lascivious pal Ed, who steps up to coach his new protege on the finer points of straying “the right way,” i.e., so as not to get caught and to otherwise protect the feelings of one’s betrothed. This simple “educational” device sets up a romp that allows for plenty of hilarious sequences between the two, but also for a parade of cameos wherein great comedy stars of the era enact episodes of other chaps’ successes or failures, recounted by Morse for illustrative purposes.  I can’t think of another film like this one in terms of the format, though one could make a case that it relates to period English comedies like Bedazzled, or even confessionals like Alfie that share the device of ongoing “how to” tutorials. Continue reading Loving the Cold War Lifestyle: A Guide For The Married Man

Happy Birthday Jane Russell! + Classic Movie News, 6/21

Jane Russell.

By Jason Apuzzo. • LFM wants to wish Hollywood legend Jane Russell a Happy Birthday today!  Jane was a guest at a Liberty Film Festival event back in 2007, and this talented and lovely lady charmed everyone there with her warmth, good cheer and delightful stories from her career.  We had the chance to spend a lot of time with Jane that weekend, and I can’t tell you how gracious and fun she is.  All our best wishes to her on this day – and LFM readers should note that Turner Classic Movies is playing a lot of her films today, as well.  I was thrilled to see TCM show Underwater! recently – the huge, color 3D adventure Jane did for director John Sturges and producer Howard Hughes.  You read that right: Jane Russell in 3D … [Jane also did 3D for Hughes’ The French Line.]  Feel free to pick up some of Jane’s best films in the LFM Store below.

• The Wall Street Journal did a review recently of the new book on the Liz Taylor-Richard Burton romance, Furious Love. I’m looking forward to reading this book.  Click on over for the review, and order the book below in the LFM Store.

• British director Ronald Neame passed away this past week at age 99. Neame actually began his career as an assistant cameraman way back on Hitchcock’s Blackmail from 1929, which was the UK’s first sound film.  Neame had an extraordinary visual sense as a director, as evidenced by films such as Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and The Poseidon Adventure.  He will be missed.

• Turner Classic Movies has a review out of the new Criterion DVD of Antonioni’s Red Desert.  In other Antonioni news, The New York Times reports that Le Amiche (The Girlfriends) is getting a theatrical re-release.  Check out both films in the LFM Store above.

A new cut of the film coming soon.

• Alfred Hitchcock’s landmark film Psycho turns 50 this week, and there are a host of retrospective articles out about the film.  Read the behind-the-scenes story about Bernard Herrman’s extraordinary score for the film (which Hitchcock initially resisted), and also read Andrew Sarris’ original review of the film.  Two side notes: I’m actually in the middle of reading Robert Graysmith’s The Girl in Hitchcock’s Shower, which is about the actual, behind-the-scenes murder story involving the woman who was Janet Leigh’s double for the Psycho shower scene.  It’s a very interesting book, and I’ll try to do a review of it down the line.  It’s available in the LFM Store above, along with Psycho.  Also, if you’re interested in some of the general influences behind Bernard Herrman’s music, the LA Times recently did a piece on Richard Wagner’s influence on movie music.

• Movie Morlocks, the TCM blog, has two interesting posts out this week: one an interview with cult movie star Trina Parks, and another on early attempts from the 1950’s at advertising techniques involving subliminal suggestion.  Click on over for more, and we’ve got some Trina Parks movies available in the LFM Store above.

• The New York Times has a review up of the new Charlie Chan Collection from TCM (available in the LFM Store), plus the New York Times reports that a new, ‘director’s cut’ version of Rebel Without a Cause is being prepared by Nicholas Ray’s widow, Susan, for a premiere at the Venice Film Festival next year to celebrate the centenary of her husband’s birth.  That should be interesting.  She apparently worked on this for years with her husband while he was alive.  I’m reminded here of Walter Murch’s recutting of Touch of Evil, based on Orson Welles’ original notes.  It’s not often you see such a major film re-edited.  Pick up a copy of the original Rebel cut in the LFM Store above.

• The Wall Street Journal engages in some fun speculation this week: who were The Real Holly Golightlys of New York City, on which the Truman Capote/Audrey Hepburn character was based for Breakfast at Tiffanys?  You can pick up the original film in the LFM Store above.

• AND FINALLY … is there a better classic movie blog than Greenbriar Picture Shows?  I doubt it, and to prove it check out this great post they did recently on John Ford’s Stagecoach, in conjunction with the new Stagecoach DVD from Criterion.  Click on over, and buy the new DVD in the LFM Store above.

And that’s what’s happening this week in the world of classic movies …

Posted on June 21st, 2010 at 5:21pm.