Film Classics

tatianesk
November 1st, 2010, 09:57 pm

Удобный поиск вакансий.

rh_supertrekkie
February 25th, 2010, 09:55 am

99 Ginger Rogers Icons

Here @

rh_supertrekkie

chidder
May 14th, 2008, 07:54 pm

Last August, Deb and I had the opportunity to attend a special screening of director Tom DiCillo's Delirious. I wrote about the film the next day (which, if you check out the comments, generated a response from DiCillo himself). In subsequent weeks, due to lousy distribution (think Katrina-relief-effort lousy) and despite a rave review from Roger Ebert, Delirious came and went, lasting only a month in New York, a week in Los Angeles, and appearing on less than two-dozen screens in the entire U.S.

Last week Delirious was released on DVD. I encourage you to run out and buy, rent, or steal a copy immediately. You won't be disappointed (especially if you're a fan of the great character-study films of the Seventies). Rewatching the film today, I was once again blown away. Not only does it boast fantastic performances (by Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, and Gina Gershon, to name the obvious few), it's also a stunning piece of cinema.

Fortunately, the DVD transfer captures the movie's rich colors; scenes like the one where the Pitt character, walking through the streets of New York and realizing he's in love, are nothing short of visual poetry. Plus, there's a great commentary track by DiCillo, who has crafted a film, despite all third-party efforts to the contrary, worth remembering.

Current Location

Brooklyn, New York

chidder
February 13th, 2008, 03:10 pm

Cancel the Bigger Boat

Roy Scheider died yesterday. Damn. He was one of those actors who was often much better than the material he was given (a curse that followed him from his first screen credit: TV's The Edge of Night).

But all that's moot, because he appeared in one of the most entertaining films ever made (Jaws, where he ad-libbed the line "You're gonna need a bigger boat"), one of the most exciting (his reaction shots behind Gene Hackman lent humanity to the often cold and heartless French Connection), one of the most overlooked (William Friedkin's difficult and uncompromising Sorcerer), and two of the most daring (David Cronenberg's version of Naked Lunch and his narration for Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters). Most importantly, he starred in (and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for) Bob Fosse's brilliant All that Jazz, which is just flat-out one of the best movies ever made.

Roy Scheider was a classic example of one of those actors, like Bogart, who always, regardless of circumstance, rose to the occasion; so that, in those those few-and-far-between instances when the occasions rose to him, he was ready.

He is already missed.

Current Location

Brooklyn, NY

classic_stars
September 14th, 2007, 09:11 pm

Luciano Albertini

I am having problems on finding information about Luciano Albertini. He sometimes used the screen name Lucien Albertini. Any help would be much appreciated and credited!

Thank you.

I'm sorry for cross posting this, but I don't know how else to go about help. Thank you for being understanding.

chidder
April 26th, 2007, 10:18 am

Gun Crazy

I'm not sure how this one escaped me for so many years. Directed in 1949 by Joseph H. Lewis from a screenplay by MacKinlay Kantor (based on his 1940 Saturday Evening Post short story) and blacklisted Dalton Trumbo masquerading as Millard Kaufman, Gun Crazy reset the standard for film noir and paved the way for the attractive, sympathetic -- albeit sometimes psychotic -- antiheroes that showed up two decades later in movies like Bonnie and Clyde (whose real-life characters inspired Gun Crazy's lovin' couple on the run) and The Getaway.

Cinematically, the film's often expressionistic; its startling and (then) innovative use of extended "backseat driver" takes, shot from within the getaway car, and get the viewer caught up not only in the characters' predicament but the sexual excitement their larceny generates. And Russell Harlan's black-and-white cinematography is right up there with his work on Red River, The Thing from Another World, and Blackboard Jungle.

Not again until Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway would the screen see crooks as charismatic as Peggy Cummins and John Dall. Director Lewis told critic Danny Peary in 1981: "I told John, 'Your cock's never been so hard,' and I told Peggy, 'You're a female dog in heat, and you want him. But don't let him have it in a hurry. Keep him waiting.' That's exactly how I talked to them and I turned them loose. I didn't have to give them more directions."

Current Location

Brooklyn, New York

chidder
April 23rd, 2007, 11:28 am

Everything Is an Afterthought

I recently sold my first book. In conjunction, I've established another LiveJournal to report on the project's progress, occasionally provide links about, and writings by, its subject, the journalist and critic Paul Nelson, and share snippets of information or parts of interviews that may or may not be covered further in the final product.

In addition to being a critic and screenwriter, Nelson co-wrote the fine book: 701 Toughest Movie Trivia Questions of All Time (about which Martin Scorsese said, "Some of the sections were so tough I could only guess at the answers, but the book taught me a lot I was happy to learn").

The new journal shares the book's working title, Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson. Just follow the link.

Anybody interested in learning more about this brilliant writer, whose own life proved just as mysterious and fascinating as the artists' about whom he wrote, is welcome to join. As well, tracking the process of how a book goes from sale to publication should prove interesting. I'm rather curious about that part myself...

speaksoslightly
March 22nd, 2007, 09:26 pm

(no subject)

hey, chekc out dyke_riot!

duhbigman
March 1st, 2007, 01:18 pm

As the girl said to the soldier.

Hey, does anybody know if/where I can find the actual video of this online?

Blackmail Sound Test with Hitchcock and Anny Ondra

maruca
November 12th, 2006, 03:30 pm

Am I insane?

Isn't there an urban legend about two girls holding hands and throwing themselves into a volcano after finding out that Rudolph Valentino died?

I feel like that's not the kind of thing I would just make up, but I can't seem to find any documentation anywhere...

x-posted in various film communities

Comments

chidder
14 Feb 2008, 13:38
Cancel the Bigger Boat
I've found several comments online about the narration on the 2001 DVD release (I couldn't find another release) not being Schneider but rather another actor giving a very flat reading (which is how…
kahoki
14 Feb 2008, 08:14
Cancel the Bigger Boat
I liked him in 52 Pickup with Anne Margarete too. Also heard that there was some contract problems, so his narration isn't on the latest release of Mishima.
zelle_vs
2 Mar 2007, 14:09
As the girl said to the soldier.
That was a great clip, thanks for sharing the link.
duhbigman
1 Mar 2007, 19:43
As the girl said to the soldier.
He was 29 or 30 at the time.
spadoink
1 Mar 2007, 19:36
As the girl said to the soldier.
nope, i don't know.
in poking around a bit i did find this little video though.

this guy put together all of hitchcock's cameo's in one video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0tZnquxW_U