Classic Films

[Thaleia]

Great thread, just discovered it. I too am a TCM fan, it's the only reason I have a cable package.

Watched Blast of Silence last night and loved every second of it. I'm a sucker for narrated noirs.

Check the opening scene, totally sets the mood, so dark right up to and including the ending.

[dookeyXXX]

La Belle et La Bete (Beauty and the Beast) - Jean Cocteau (1946)

streaming on Kanopy, HBOMax, Criterion Channel

The OG, first cinematic version of the classic fairy tale is a cool and surreal take on the material, which is best known for its Disneyized versions.
Cocteau’s vision is teeming with strange imagery that wavers between the realms of dreams and nightmares; no songs, just lots of great use of light and shadow and trippy visual elements.

[dookeyXXX]

CAIRO STATION - Youssef Chahine (1958)
streaming on NF

This movie popped up in my recommendation section on NF months ago and I added it to my queue because the synopsis sounded cool.
Unbeknownst to me, it’s an important film, not only within the history of the Egyptian film industry, but also in the context of world cinema.
Shot it a style that’s part neo-documentary and part heightened melodrama, it follows the exploits of a loose bottle girl (women who illegally sold soda pop to train passengers) and the crippled newspaper seller who has an unhealthy infatuation with her. It also touches upon the social strata of labor and the divide between rich, the middle-class, and the poor.
The director also employs extreme close-ups that pre-date Sergio Leone by at least a decade.
Shortly after this film was released the Egyptian film industry was nationalized and stricter guidelines were put in place to limit the type of content that could be shown in movies; this film caused controversy at the time of release in regards to its depiction of sexual desire and the labor politics.

RIYL
THE BICYCLE THIEF, THE 400 BLOWS

[dookeyXXX]

16 posts and no one has mentioned On the Waterfront?

ON THE WATERFRONT
Streaming on HBOMax

Finally got around to watching this last night.
I found that some parts didn’t hold up that well: the thug-with-a-conscience trope has been played out since this film first debuted, so it felt a little tired. I felt that the chemistry between Brando and Eva Saint Marie was hot-and-cold; sometimes they clicked and other times she came off stiff and like she was doing a dry line reading. And the music was often overbearing, blaring over the dialogue when quiet would have created a much better sense of intensity.
Additionally, the allusion to Brando’s character being Christ-like is a bit heavy handed, especially at the end.
But these are just quibbles.
The film comes out the gate with a deep sense of grit and intensity. At the core of this is Brando, who is an acting beast. He owns this film seven ways to Sunday and then some. I grew up on overweight, over-the-hill era Brando, so to see him at his prime, I finally understand all the hype.
But Brando ain’t the only one bringing the chops: Rod Steiger, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, James Westerfield, and Pat Henning, plus bit parts from Martin Balsam and even Herman Munster, who has just enough lines to keep his SAG card current.
And the dialogue? Snappy and sharp with lots of great lines, most of ‘em spoken by Brando.

Interestingly enough, it was the second film I’ve seen in two days that focused on blue collar workers and labor disputes, the other being Cairo Station.

At any rate, highly recommended for Brando crushing the screen at arguably the height of his thespian powers.

[dookeyXXX]

ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)
Streaming on Kanopy and Paramount+

I am by no means an expert on the romantic comedy and its history within cinema, but I’mma go out on a limb and boldly state that this film is the blueprint for the modern romcom. You can see it’s DNA percolating through such films as Pretty Woman and Garden State, amongst others.
Filmed entirely in Rome, the film follows the familiar trope of the spoiled and isolated rich girl who yearns to escape her entitled “prison” and frolic amongst the common folk. And while this plot is pretty cliche, here it is delivered with panache and aplomb.
The chemistry between the staid and straight man Gregory Peck and the aloof and childish Audrey Hepburn is fantastic. Eddie “Green Acres” Albert has a great supporting role, too.
The film eschews the rapid fire dialogue that was so popular in ‘30s and ‘40s romantic comedies, but is no less sharp and witty.
Additionally, the slapstick is kept in check and the physical comedy is subdued and clever without ever resorting to over-the-top gags.
And the ending? Wow.
Highly recommended.

[PB]

Wow; two weeks ago something triggered me to ask my wife about Roman Holiday, as I'd never ween it, and her response was to give me the side-eye while saying, "Duuuuuuuuude". We watched it that night and I agree 100% with Dooks - classic rom-com progenitor!

[dookeyXXX]

MODERN TIMES
- streaming on Kanopy and HBOMax

Finally watched this Charlie Chaplin classic.
It’s filled with some great physical comedy and innovative gags, but also has a sad and poignant underlying thematic about the trials and tribulations of The Great Depression. It’s both joyous and melancholy, with a wonderfully bittersweet ending.

[billyk]

TCM has started its annual “Thirty one days of Oscars”. Lots of good classic movies in its lineup right now. Just watched “African Queen”, “Casablanca”, and “Grapes of Wrath”.

[Alpinord]

We all have our own frames of reference.

Agreed. I put the 1975 ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ on my ‘classic favorites’ list. It seems to fit with older films.


Sent from my iPad using TGR Forums

[dookeyXXX]

THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS - Orson Welles (1942)

Welles brings his signature visual flair to this familial melodrama that has dark undertones and examines privilege, embracing life-changing technology, and unrequited love.

[dookeyXXX]

FATHER GOOSE -1964
streaming on KANOPY

Carey Grant’s penultimate film is a lighthearted situational comedy that plays out like a vintage Disney drama, albeit with lottsa drinking and sexual innuendo.
It’s a simple and familiar story about two opposites attracted to each other, but it has nice pacing and Grant’s charm is infectious. It took me awhile to realize that his co-star, Leslie Caron, was the same actress from An American In Paris.