Classic Film Femme

Foreign Film Friday

femme — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:40:07 +0000

There is no sleet in Fanny and Alexander. None of this in-between weather that we’ve been experiencing lately. Ingmar Bergman’s film sets are always perfection in terms of how he depicts weather. In Fanny and Alexander winter is cozy candles, christmas feasts and gently falling snow. Summer is bright green ferns in sunrooms that overlook the water. In spring, thunder and lightning accompany deluges of rain crashing into the windows of abysmally dark rooms or tables are laden with fresh spring flowers and streams of sunlight. There is no compromise. On the sets of Bergman films- it is all or it is nothing.

I am a Liar

femme — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:38:23 +0000

It’s true. I lied. I have been adament about my hatred of musicals with almost anyone who will listen to my ravings. I have been known to tell a sweetly sashaying little blonde songstress who’s locker was near mine in college that she was ”not gonna go on 18″ if I heard her sing Sound of Music’s “I am 16 going on 17″ one more FREAKIN’ time!!

But folks – I am ashamed to admit that I absolultely protested too much against this particular genre. I tell you now that I adored Chevalier in Gigi, Kaye in White Christmas, Andrews in Mary Poppins, and (can you believe?) Brando in Guys and Dolls.

Ok. Maybe you already suspected I made an exception to my earlier hatred of musicals for Marlon Brando. I mean that man can do no wrong even when he’s housing a racoon in his hotel room – but I digress… So bring on the musicals! I can finally take it!

Trailer Tuesday

femme — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:00:54 +0000

Whatever else he may be, Humphrey Bogart is not gangster. Is he hard-boiled detective ? hells ya. Disillusioned soldier? i’m in. But mob leader? Ummmm… I don’t know.

I watched High Sierra recently and I’m still trying to get it. I think the director wanted to paint a sympathetic portrait of a gangster figure but Bogart plays it as a softy who’s got waaaay too much time for women. Remember, real gangsters don’t have time for women unless they’re shoving a grapefruit in their face (see my post on Public Enemy for a refresher).

Now. Edward G. Robinson absolutely owns the title of ultimate gangster who still wins my sympathy which is why I was so shocked to see detective novelist W.R. Burnett’s quotation in today’s trailer for the film that made Bogart a star. “This is a finer picture than Little Caesar and I wrote both.” Seriously?? I think ab-so-lut-ly not … and I watched both. But, listen, judge for yourself since this movie is a great way to spend an evening with a big bowl of popcorn while the freezing rain glints on the windowpane.

Mindless Movie Monday

femme — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:44:04 +0000

Under the Yum Yum Tree

The womanizing landlord has a key to every room…

Hitler and Humour

femme — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:56:47 +0000

Nothing could be less funny than Hitler’s fascist regime … until Jack Benny gets hold of it in the film To Be or Not to Be. A satirical treatment of Nazi corruption and insanity, the movie was released during the height of WWII making it an extremely risky comedy for its time. Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born, Jewish director who often used the relative freedom provided by the Hollywood Studios as a forum to air his political commentaries on the state of European society.

To Be or Not to Be is an absolute must see. Jack Benny is at his most hysterical and Lubitsch deflates the power of the fascists without resorting to propagandistic treatment of his subject matter. It ain’t Shakespeare my friends but the witty dialogue is a work of genius. Put it on your list!

Merchant Ivory Weekend

femme — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:46:47 +0000

It’s freezing cold out there. Yes, it feels like it could be a Merchant Ivory kinda weekend. You know the kind. Wrap yourself in a cozy blanket, brew tea and watch a period piece on Friday night (Maurice), Saturday afternoon (Remains of the Day) and Sunday morning (A Room with a View). Other option: take some time to sit down and finally read an E.M. Forster novel like Howard’s End.

Trailer Tuesday

femme — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:18:53 +0000

How I love a good thriller and I’ve always thought Gaslight is one of the best. Here’s the scene. A young girl, Paula, lives with her operatic aunt in a beautiful house on a square. One night her aunt is terrifyingly murdered and Paula finds her dead in front of the fire place in the parlour. Driven from the house by horror and necessity she moves to Europe to find a new life and finds instead a new love. To prove her strength to her new husband, Paula decides to return to live as a newlywed in the house she had fled in fear. Lights begin to flicker and she can hear noises in the attic. Is she going mad?

Mindless Movie Monday

femme — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:24:40 +0000

The Clock

Just lose a shoe and love could happen to you too.

Can’t Stand Stanwyck

femme — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:25:33 +0000

Sometimes you can’t put your finger on why a certain actor doesn’t resonate with a certain viewer. I just can’t seem to explain myself properly when I tell you that I just don’t get Barbara Stanwyck. Her aloof confidence which so many men swooned over in the 40s just doesn’t sit well with me. It comes off more as snobbery and an inability to delivery her lines with sincerity. It’s asthough you can’t see the actual character she’s playing because she’s too busy acting out the Hollywood character that is Barbara Stanwyck all the time…. then again maybe it’s just the bangs. Finally, I’ve got to ask this important question: why does her mouth have to be open every time she shoots a kissing scene? No seriously. She looks like she’s biting her leading men. Do any of these look like comfortable kisses to you?

But, listen if you’ve got to watch a Stanwyck film – I’m going to recommend either Double Indemnity or The Strange Love of Martha Ivers since you’d hate to miss such a quintessential film noir or Kirk Douglas’ first on-screen performance.

Foreign Film Friday

femme — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:09:35 +0000

If you are serious about watching classic films you cannot overlook Ivan the Terrible. You could overlook Ivan the Terrible II but you would be remiss if you did. The director, Sergei Eisenstein, applies colour to only one scene of the second installment of Ivan with the brilliant effect of highlighting the difference between reality and an imaginary world. This fast-paced, drunken scene is acted out by the Tsar’s court for the “benefit” of an aspiring usurper to Ivan’s throne. With colours flashing before his eyes, the traitor is allowed to imagine that he might yet become Tsar.

Of course, we’ve seen the use of colour to distinguish between two worlds (one real and the other fantastical) before. The obvious example is Wizard of Oz where when we see colour we know we’re not in Kansas anymore. This blog has also seen filmmakers who had full access to colour and who chose not to use it and this has had just as dramatic an effect (see my entry on The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner). In that vein, I’m wondering what I’ll think of The Artist when I finally go to see it.

In any case, the sets and lighting in Ivan are enough of a reason to take the time but you will also be treated to a good chuckle at the melodramatic acting technique employed by all characters. I can only imagine Eisenstein yelling, “Wider! Open your eyes wider you dolts!”