What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)

[redsquirrel]

The Servant - Saw this 10(?) or so years ago and while I could admire it I can't say that I particularly liked or enjoyed it at the time. This time I enjoyed it much more, getting drawn into the black humour. Bogarde is obviously excellent but I noticed Wendy Craig's performance much more this time, the scenes between the two of them are some of the high spots of the film.

 

[platinumsage]

Low Tide - one of the best movies I've seen for such a low budget (I heard it was $300k). A coming of age drama set in the height of summer on the Jersey shore. There's boardwalks and fish. There may be flaws but the acting, cinematography and pacing are all top notch and the tension builds throughout.

 

[krtek a houby]

The Shadow of Chikara

Odd Western from 1977. Joe Don Baker, Sondra Locke and others go in search of Slim Pickens treasure and someone... or something is trying to stop them.

 

[redsquirrel]

The Shadow of Chikara

Odd Western from 1977. Joe Don Baker, Sondra Locke and others go in search of Slim Pickens treasure and someone... or something is trying to stop them.

Oh always had soft spot for Baker might have to check that one out.


That Most Important Thing Love - Only previous Andrzej Żuławski film I've seen is the utterly insane Possession, in comparison to that this is positively commonplace despite the presence of Klaus Kinski. The plot has a young photojournalist fall in love with a failing actress, played by Romy Schneider, forced to take up part in soft-core films, borrow money to get her a part in a stage version of Richard III. Compounding problems are the presence of Schneider's husband, a father and a friend. The best bits of the film are the parts looking at the play and lives of those involved in acting, Schneider struggling her confidence to return to stage and Kinski talking her through. The husband, played by Jacques Dutroc, is also an interesting character. The events in the final third all go a bit off the rails but overall I enjoyed it.

 

[Reno]

Assault on Precinct 13 - The John Carpenter the original not the re-make, excellent stuff, love a bit of 70s Hollywood action - The Outfit, Charley Varrick, Prime Cut - this is probably not quite up there with those but still good. Anyone got any suggestions for anything else in the same line?

Your post made me rewatch Charley Varrick, which I had not seen since my 20s. I love these type of cold blooded crime films from the 70s. The lead character is a heartless sociopath, the only thing which makes you stay with him, is that he's played by Walter Matthau.

Spoiler

The matter of fact way he moves on from his wife's gun death, only caring for the money from the heist !

 

[redsquirrel]

Your post made me rewatch Charley Varrick, which I had not seen since my 20s. I love these type of cold blooded crime films from the 70s. The lead character is a heartless sociopath, the only thing which makes you stay with him, is that he's played by Walter Matthau.

Spoiler

The matter of fact way he moves on from his wife's gun death, only caring for the money from the heist !

Yeah there's a real coldness to those 70s action pieces, which I love. As you move into the 80s it seems to me that you lose that and either get a sort of ironic schlockiness and/or sentimentality.

The Outfit is also stone cold

Spoiler

Duvall "mourns' his girlfriend for a couple of minutes, he displays more emotion when she touches his gun than over her death, or the death of his brother

 

[redsquirrel]

Saraband - Ingmar Bergman's final film, a sort of sequel to Scenes from a Marriage (which I've not seen), with five characters an ex-husband and wife, the husbands son from another marriage, the son's wife (unseen) and the son's daughter. Basically the film details the relationships between these people, in particular the suffocating relationship between son and grand-daughter. It is very theatrical, I'm not sure if it was originally developed as a play or intended to be adapted to stage but the whole film very much comes across as a filmed play. I guess you could say the same about other Bergman films but it seems especially strong here, I notice that this film was not shot by Sven Nykvist, so maybe that is part of the reason. Regardless I think the theatrical set-up distances you from the story and characters, I was drawn into Autumn Sonata, here I felt very much an outsider looking in.

 

[Nine Bob Note]

Spent all day watching the new series of Brassic which was quite excellent

 

[The39thStep]

Spent all day watching the new series of Brassic which was quite excellent

Watched the first episode last night . It was brilliant, I cant bring myself to binge watch the whole series as its too long to wait for the next series. It really is well written.Although he breezes in and out Dominic Wests character is really good and Steve Evetts is a gem.

 

[redsquirrel]

The Grand Bizarre - supposedly a documentary, actually more of a video art piece of fabrics/textiles with accompanying soundtrack. Eh, ok I guess but at 1 hr far too long (like a lot of video art pieces).

The Anderson Tapes - one of Lumet and Connery's pairings, a crime caper utilising the concept of surveillance. Some nice bit parts from Christopher Walken and Ralph Meeker. Connery's performances for Lumet must be the best of his career.

 

[Sue]

Haven't seen The Anderson Tapes but off the top of my head, The Offence is the best I've seen Connery so yeah.

 

[redsquirrel]

Haven't seen The Anderson Tapes but off the top of my head, The Offence is the best I've seen Connery so yeah.

Oh it's definitely worth watching, despite some very bad 70s homophobia, Connery as the leader the a gang of (pretty crap) burglars. The catch being that almost the whole plan of the robbery has been caught by the (illegal) surveillance of different government bodies - but as it is illegal none are talking to the others.

 

[Indeliblelink]

I wanted to watch a WWII film today, a better way to mark the VE anniversary than drinking beer in my front garden, so went for Theirs Is The Glory (1946) which I hadn't seen before. It's a docu-drama re-enactment of British attempt to capture the bridge at Arnhem as part of Operation Market Garden, it was filmed in 1945 the year after the battle and was shot in the ruins of Arnhem using British veteran soldiers and Dutch civilians who had lived through it as the actors, it's mixed with documentary footage taken in the battle. It's a fine watch, a worthwhile accompaniment to the later "A Bridge Too Far".

 

[belboid]

Crossfire (1947)

After watching Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool we thought we would check back in with Gloria Grahame's first Oscar nominated role (and the first B Movie to receive a best film nom),

Quite why GG got the nod, I dont know. She's only in it for two scenes., less than ten minutes in total. She's perfectly good in each of those minutes, but still....

The film centres the murder of a man, probably by some GI's on leave. And it soon comes clear that this is down to straightforward anti-semitism and how one person in a tightly knit unit can exert such a strong influence over his 'comrades.' The speech the police chief gives when convincing one solider (who is sympathetic to the main baddie, but not a complete bastard) is really quite something, absolutely how even the smallest jokes and discriminations lead onto and allows the vicious violence of the hardened bigot.

So good it earned director Dmytryk a visit to HUAC.

 

[The39thStep]

This second season of Brassic is mint . Funniest British comedy I’ve seen for ages.

 

[Nine Bob Note]

This second season of Brassic is mint . Funniest British comedy I’ve seen for ages.

I think I like S2 even more than S1. I HATED the last episode of S1. I'd still prefer it without the added gangster shit that writers/show runners love, but that has at least been toned back, and I was very surprised to see Bill Paterson as I thought he'd died a couple of years ago

It's a toss up as to what is my favourite scene. I thought it was Farmer Jim railing against middle-class festival-goers, but that was likely overtaken by John Thomson's unexpected return in episode six as the shambolic Maurice Bojangles Seriously, I'm pissing myself laughing at the recollection.

I watched it in a day, which means I'll have to wait a year for more episodes, but I'll watch it all through again at least twice in that time. If you haven't watched it yet, you should. Now.

 

[Reno]

The Painted Bird, which is least year's film to make headlines for the most walkouts at film festivals. Beatifully shot in b&w and in widescreen, this adaptation of Jerzy Kosińsky novel is a three hour catalogue of horrors about the evils of mankind, as a young boy makes his way across a non-specified Eastern European country during WWII. Almost everytime he encounters other people, they exploit and abuse him and the film becomes numbing after a while. Closest to Come & See, though its look and timeless rural setting almost gives it the feel of a dark fairy tale. Probably as good a film as could be made from its source. Considering it's a long art house film in b&w, I also wonder who this film is aimed at and what it wants to convey apart from total nihilism for a limited audience. Every so often a famous international actor pops up in a small role (Udo Kier, typecast again as an ogre), possibly to help with financing, as the film must have been expensive.

 

[The39thStep]

I think I like S2 even more than S1. I HATED the last episode of S1. I'd still prefer it without the added gangster shit that writers/show runners love, but that has at least been toned back, and I was very surprised to see Bill Paterson as I thought he'd died a couple of years ago

It's a toss up as to what is my favourite scene. I thought it was Farmer Jim railing against middle-class festival-goers, but that was likely overtaken by John Thomson's unexpected return in episode six as the shambolic Maurice Bojangles Seriously, I'm pissing myself laughing at the recollection.

I watched it in a day, which means I'll have to wait a year for more episodes, but I'll watch it all through again at least twice in that time. If you haven't watched it yet, you should. Now.

There are just loads of jokes, comments , characters . unexpected events in it that are hilarious .I Don't want to put a spoiler in it but the scene where Vinni reassures the team that no one is going to die when they are ' escorting ' Patterson nearly caused me a convulsion. It's refreshingly working class and northern rural working class at that., its like a permanent bad Friday night out in Emmerdale .

 

[redsquirrel]

Twilight's Last Gleaming and Seven Days in May - Double bill of Bert Lancaster playing generals intent on forcing a change in the world, both rather good. TLG is basically the plot of The Rock only in a genuinely good intelligent movie, Aldrich is not in the top rank of directions but he's an interesting director, able to good strong action films that still have some thought. Likewise SDM is type of movie that you would not really get know, mainstream Hollywood film but with character action rather than anything else.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire - Absolutely bloody magnificent. When something has got such good reviews I'm always a little nervous if it match expectations but this really does. Just about everything in the film is right, the cast all give great performances; it is beautifully shot; the characters, both main and minor, are brilliantly drawn; the pacing is terrific. Always dangerous calling something a masterpiece so soon but I certainly think this has the potential to be one.

 

[Reno]

A Good Woman is Hard to Find, which starts out like a Ken Loach film and ends up as a very violent crime thriller. A recently widowed young woman lives with her two small children on a Belfast council estate and can barely make ends meet. One night a dealer forces his way into her flat, escaping gangsters who he just stole a stash of drugs from. To her horror he keeps returning to use her flat as his base for business.

Eventually it gets quite silly but it's entertaining enough and is held together by an excellent performance by lead actress Sarah Bolger.

 

[krtek a houby]

The Death of Stalin

Black comedy in which the inner circle battles it out for control. Veep meets The Thick of It with a touch of Monty Python.

Great cast, in particular, Simon Russell Beale.

 

[rubbershoes]

Cannibal Holocaust.

One of the original video nasties. It's grim and very nasty in a whole variety of ways.

Apparently the director was trying to make a point about how exploitative the media is. Maybe he was, but that's a very small fig leaf.

 

[redsquirrel]

Charade - romantic comedy with thriller elements starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Excellently put together and very good fun, despite often be cited as a very Hitchcockian film made without Hitchcock, it doesn't that dark edge that the best Hitchcock pictures have, it closer to The Trouble with Harry than Vertigo or Rear Window. Nevertheless still excellent.

Tale of Tales - I have the feeling I should have liked this more than I did. I'm a huge Angela Carter, re-worked fairy tales fan so this telling of three macabre fairy tales should have been up my street, but it fell a little flat. For one thing it is too long, over two hours, cutting a good half hour would have improved the pacing significantly. Perhaps the style also didn't work with my sensibilities, in The Company of Wolves the film tries to capture Carter's atmosphere of dreams, strangeness and bizarre that create their own reality, this film tries to be naturalist rather than supra-naturalist and while I can appreciate the idea ultimately I don't think it works as well. An interesting film but one that does not quite pull off what it intends.

Accident - Losey and Pinter's second pairing with two oxford tutors and an aristocrat student competing over the attentions of a female student, lots of similarities in theme to The Servant, though rather than the stark shadows of the black and white of that film you have the muted greens, yellows and reds of a hot late summer evening. The best section of the film is the part around the weekend visit of all the main characters to Dirk Bogarde's house, it is gorgeously shot and the aggressive undertones complement the brilliant portrayal of lazy, sticky summer day.

 

[T & P]

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote- Terry Gilliam's take on the Spanish novel is finally completed at the third time of asking, after a couple of now infamous attempts over the last two decades. Indeed, the previous failed attempts to make the film are an obvious and heavy influence over the plot of this one.

It is highly imperfect and felt slightly disjointed in places, but overall I rather enjoyed it. Jonathan Pryce was superb as Don Quixote. I suspect Adam Driver's perfomance will be a bit Marmite for viewers, but I liked him also.

 

[Reno]

Charade - romantic comedy with thriller elements starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Excellently put together and very good fun, despite often be cited as a very Hitchcockian film made without Hitchcock, it doesn't that dark edge that the best Hitchcock pictures have, it closer to The Trouble with Harry than Vertigo or Rear Window. Nevertheless still excellent.

Charade is closer to Hitchcock's Cary Grant starring romantic thrillers North by Northwest (despite a lighter in tone, one of his best) and To Catch a Thief than to The Trouble with Harry, which I find to be one of his rare duds.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Just watched New Town Utopia - a documentary about Basildon. Quite interesting to hear from the original residents and how it has changed over the years. Place I've never been (never set foot in Essex I think).

 

[belboid]

Naissance des Pieuvres (Water Lillies)

The first film by Céline 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' Sciamma, both of which star Adèle Haenel. A tale of teen love, anxiety and synchronised swiming, between the shy girl, the weird girl and the 'slag.' It's all very good, beautifully performed and shot, nothing wasted at all. It's a bit annoying that although they are all (I think) meant to be the same age, the main character is obviously two or three years younger. And it never really goes anywhere completely unexpected, you can probably guess the ending already.


Night of the Party (1935)

Possibly the first MIchael Powell still extant. A posh bloke is going to hold a party for a princess and invites several of people all of whom hate him because he's a complete shit. The princess suggests they blame a game of 'Murder' - and guess what happens! It's all rather rubbish, the party is lively and fun, the princess gets one great line, and some other bloke obviously has a ball being generally a bit odd. The BFI describe it as 'unquestionably the least distinguished of the quartet of films he made at Gaumont-British' but it did at least bring Powell into contact with Alfred Junge who would be an intrinsic part of The Archers for years.

 

[Reno]

Naissance des Pieuvres (Water Lillies)

The first film by Céline 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' Sciamma, both of which star Adèle Haenel. A tale of teen love, anxiety and synchronised swiming, between the shy girl, the weird girl and the 'slag.' It's all very good, beautifully performed and shot, nothing wasted at all. It's a bit annoying that although they are all (I think) meant to be the same age, the main character is obviously two or three years younger. And it never really goes anywhere completely unexpected, you can probably guess the ending already.

Have you seen Tomboy by Céline Sciamma ? I still think it's her best film.

 

[belboid]

Have you seen Tomboy by Céline Sciamma ? I still think it's her best film.

no, but it's on the list!

 

[redsquirrel]

I've still got to re-watch Water Lilies but the main problem it had for me is that the plot/theme is too close to Fucking Amal to avoid comparison, and the latter is just better.