http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419F165YEFL._SS500_.jpg
73 A. AparajitoSatyajit Ray, 1956POINTS: 45VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS?
COMMENTS?
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51J243GGY2L._SS500_.jpg
73 B. Duck Dodgers in the 24½th CenturyChuck Jones, 1953POINTS: 45VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS?
BONUS FEATURE
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:16 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519sXpKzO8L._SS500_.jpg
72. OrpheusJean Cocteau, 1950POINTS: 46VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS?
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:18 (fifteen years ago) link
Aparajito: Jeez, kinda low, no?
This is why, much as I love Looney Tunes, I didn't vote for any. Apples and oranges.
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:21 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41638TW9EVL._SS500_.jpg
70 A. HarveyHenry Koster, 1950POINTS: 48VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS:“if i had to pick what i was doing with my reality, i'd definitely choose drunk with bunny.” & “if harvey is corny then 99% of movies from that era are corny, bro (which is pretty well true but i don't think you should be using this in a derogatory way). harvey is an incredibly funny movie and his performance in it is terrific.”- the schef (adam schefter ha ha)“But... but... Harvey is brilliant. And Stewart in it is wonderful!”-James Morrison
COMMENTS:
“if i had to pick what i was doing with my reality, i'd definitely choose drunk with bunny.” & “if harvey is corny then 99% of movies from that era are corny, bro (which is pretty well true but i don't think you should be using this in a derogatory way). harvey is an incredibly funny movie and his performance in it is terrific.”
- the schef (adam schefter ha ha)
“But... but... Harvey is brilliant. And Stewart in it is wonderful!”
-James Morrison
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lGEVyw7ML._SS500_.jpg
70 B. High SocietyCharles Walters, 1956POINTS: 48VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS:“Now I'm trying to watch High Society, but am basically skipping around to the musical numbers…Which make it well worth it, especially when they play "Now You Has Jazz" and Der Bingle introduces all the cats in Satchmo's band by name.”-The Redd 47 Ronin (Ken L)
“Now I'm trying to watch High Society, but am basically skipping around to the musical numbers…Which make it well worth it, especially when they play "Now You Has Jazz" and Der Bingle introduces all the cats in Satchmo's band by name.”
-The Redd 47 Ronin (Ken L)
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:22 (fifteen years ago) link
saw Orpheus again a couple weeks ago; a tad goofy, with the Underworld motorcyclists and all, but better than Les Enfants Terrible (dir Melville).
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:24 (fifteen years ago) link
xpost Depends on if your a Chuck Jones man or a Frank Tashlin woman.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:24 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RYQQ5C4FL._SS500_.jpg
69. I’m All Right JackJohn Boulting, 1959POINTS: 50VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS:“What about 'I'm Alright Jack'? Excellent film and Sellers is superb in it.”-DavidM“Apart from his Kubrick films, Sellars is at his best as a comic actor in the Boulting bros. comedies 'Heavens Above!' and 'I'm All Right Jack'. They're screened annually on channel 4. Perhaps too provincial for some tastes, though, but i love them.”-pete s“'I'm All Right Jack' definitely one of his greatest performances, and a real late-'50s time capsule to boot. Marvellous.”-retort pouch
“What about 'I'm Alright Jack'? Excellent film and Sellers is superb in it.”
-DavidM
“Apart from his Kubrick films, Sellars is at his best as a comic actor in the Boulting bros. comedies 'Heavens Above!' and 'I'm All Right Jack'. They're screened annually on channel 4. Perhaps too provincial for some tastes, though, but i love them.”
-pete s
“'I'm All Right Jack' definitely one of his greatest performances, and a real late-'50s time capsule to boot. Marvellous.”
-retort pouch
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:25 (fifteen years ago) link
I've never seen all of Harvey or HiSoc, and ain't burnin' to.
yay Jack.
(O Tabulator, you can slow down a little if it's practical)
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:26 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm All Right Jack is great but only when Sellers is on-screen, really. Oh, and the title song.
― Have Your Sega (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:30 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41cMrYvKLkL._SS500_.jpg
67 A. The Asphalt JungleJohn Huston, 1950POINTS: 53VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS?
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZKJHRE1HL._SS500_.jpg
67 B. Lola MontèsMax Ophüls, 1955POINTS: 53VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS:“Easily one of the greatest films about the cult of celebrity and the (literal) media circus ever made. Before Paris and Britney and Lilo and whoever, there was Lola. Not only did Ophüls go out with a great movie, he ended it with one of the greatest closing shots of all time too.”- The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain)
“Easily one of the greatest films about the cult of celebrity and the (literal) media circus ever made. Before Paris and Britney and Lilo and whoever, there was Lola. Not only did Ophüls go out with a great movie, he ended it with one of the greatest closing shots of all time too.”
- The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain)
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:32 (fifteen years ago) link
Asphalt Jungle is fine, except for all the sentimental horseshit noted by Manny Farber.
Thought about Lola M but couldn't quite justify putting a second Ophuls on, when it's so much more chilly than my first. (And Martine Carol is kind of a blank slate.) Haven't seen the new restoration though.
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:41 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519ZkuJXOiL._SS500_.jpg
66. Kiss Me KateGeorge Sidney, 1953POINTS: 53VOTES: 2#1s: 1COMMENTS:“Cock lust in 3-D! And a proscenium so screechingly camp that not even the preposterous Howard Keel can shout it down.”- Kevin John Bozelka
“Cock lust in 3-D! And a proscenium so screechingly camp that not even the preposterous Howard Keel can shout it down.”
- Kevin John Bozelka
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:47 (fifteen years ago) link
except for Ann Miller's scenes, better w/out 3D.
There better be some actual great musicals above this one.
I think James Whitmore is the only non-animated actor with 2 films so far.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926235/
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:51 (fifteen years ago) link
It is a great musical, hooker. Waaaay better than High Snoozeiety.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:54 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41X15AW89PL._SS500_.jpg
65. Othello/ The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of VeniceOrson Welles, 1952POINTS: 54VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS:“Despite the crazily stretched production history, as visually grand as any of Welles' post-Hollywood films. MacLiammoir's hissy Iago is perfected deviousness.”-Dr. Morbius
“Despite the crazily stretched production history, as visually grand as any of Welles' post-Hollywood films. MacLiammoir's hissy Iago is perfected deviousness.”
-Dr. Morbius
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:54 (fifteen years ago) link
O Tabulator, you can slow down a little if it's practical
No, don't slow down! This is breathtaking. And I'm LOVING the Bonus Features!!!!! You rock HARD, Farner/Grisso/McCain!!!
Also, how did I’m All Right Jack garner two votes but three comments?
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:56 (fifteen years ago) link
Kim's had the Othello DVD (1999 and I think OOP?), so good luck.
I think the comments are from ILX in general.
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:58 (fifteen years ago) link
Ah ok.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:59 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, I know I didn't send any comments in, but I'm hoping a random snipe of mine from elsewhere on ILX makes its way in somehow ... that is if a film I voted on/saw ever shows up in this countdown.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:00 (fifteen years ago) link
Just for the record, I wasn't the one who voted Kiss Me Kate as the number one greatest film of the 1950s.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:05 (fifteen years ago) link
haha, i didn't even notice that wrinkle!
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:06 (fifteen years ago) link
I was.
― Mark G, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:08 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JG49GNH8L._SS500_.jpg
64. Johnny GuitarNicholas Ray, 1954POINTS: 56VOTES: 4#1s: 0COMMENTS:" Starring Joan Crawford in Red, Mercedes McCambridge in White (with a voice scarier than the one she provided for The Devil in The Exorcist), and, oh yeah, Sterling Hayden as the title character. "-Kevin John Bozelka“johnny guitar worked for me, weirdly enough”― s1utsky from:Movies to play to seduce a date.“Mercedes McCambridge also GRATE in 'Johnny Guitar' - hot cowgirl action!”― Andrew L
" Starring Joan Crawford in Red, Mercedes McCambridge in White (with a voice scarier than the one she provided for The Devil in The Exorcist), and, oh yeah, Sterling Hayden as the title character. "
-Kevin John Bozelka
“johnny guitar worked for me, weirdly enough”
― s1utsky from:Movies to play to seduce a date.
“Mercedes McCambridge also GRATE in 'Johnny Guitar' - hot cowgirl action!”
― Andrew L
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:09 (fifteen years ago) link
I might have voted for "High Society", I can't remember. I love it, anyway.
― lmfaoo (Pashmina), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:12 (fifteen years ago) link
I would've considered JG if any of the rest of it was in this ballpark:
Johnny: How many men have you forgotten? Vienna: As many women as you've remembered. Johnny: Don't go away. Vienna: I haven't moved. Johnny: Tell me something nice. Vienna: Sure, what do you want to hear? Johnny: Lie to me. Tell me all these years you've waited. Tell me. Vienna: [without feeling] All those years I've waited. Johnny: Tell me you'd a-died if I hadn't come back. Vienna: [without feeling] I woulda died if you hadn't come back. Johnny: Tell me you still love me like I love you. Vienna: [without feeling] I still love you like you love me. Johnny: [bitterly] Thanks. Thanks a lot.
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:13 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VAMW92x3L._SS500_.jpg
63. Ivan The Terrible, Part IISergei M. Eisenstein & M. Filimonova, 1958POINTS: 63VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS:“well arguably the second "Ivan" film is a critique of Stalin. the whole film is about the paranoia that comes with power, and the death meted out as a result--it makes Ivan into a simultaneously grotesque and tragic figure. anyway the "Ivan" films are the strangest films you will ever see, I'm confident. no way can they be reduced to either Stalinist paen *or* or Stalinist critique.”― amateurist
“well arguably the second "Ivan" film is a critique of Stalin. the whole film is about the paranoia that comes with power, and the death meted out as a result--it makes Ivan into a simultaneously grotesque and tragic figure. anyway the "Ivan" films are the strangest films you will ever see, I'm confident. no way can they be reduced to either Stalinist paen *or* or Stalinist critique.”
― amateurist
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:14 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2006/images/Europa51_3-sheet.jpg
62. Europa ‘51Roberto Rossellini, 1952POINTS: 64VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS:“WIth Rossellini's Flowers of St. Francis, one of the most serious treatments of Christianity by a great filmmaker.”-Dr. Morbius
“WIth Rossellini's Flowers of St. Francis, one of the most serious treatments of Christianity by a great filmmaker.”
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:19 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JPKHYK7BL._SS500_.jpg
61. Elevator To The Gallows/ Ascenseur pour l'échafaudLouis Malle, 1958POINTS: 64VOTES: 3#1s: 0“elevator to the gallows is pretty fun. moreau's performance is great, and i love the guy who plays the german tourist.” ― a spectator bird “I would like to put in a mention for Louis Malles "Lift To The Scaffold" - less interesting stylistically than the efforts of many of his peers, but an incredibly vivid and evocative atmosphere. “― Nordicskillz "I saw this by myself in rep and then had dinner w/my dad & sister afterwards. Our conversation was dominated by me recounting the whole film to them blow by blow. I rarely do that, but the thing was so absorbing and well crafted. I also vividly recall many of the male viewers at the screening gasping at the first sight of the tourist's gullwing Mercedes."― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain)
“elevator to the gallows is pretty fun. moreau's performance is great, and i love the guy who plays the german tourist.”
― a spectator bird
“I would like to put in a mention for Louis Malles "Lift To The Scaffold" - less interesting stylistically than the efforts of many of his peers, but an incredibly vivid and evocative atmosphere. “
― Nordicskillz
"I saw this by myself in rep and then had dinner w/my dad & sister afterwards. Our conversation was dominated by me recounting the whole film to them blow by blow. I rarely do that, but the thing was so absorbing and well crafted. I also vividly recall many of the male viewers at the screening gasping at the first sight of the tourist's gullwing Mercedes."
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain)
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:28 (fifteen years ago) link
Whoa, slow down, are you going to reveal them all today? I've only seen one of these and would like to read comments.
― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:29 (fifteen years ago) link
Wow, Elevator to the Gallows sounds nowhere near as good as Lift to the Scaffold. The UK/US divide hadn't occurred to me before.
― Have Your Sega (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:31 (fifteen years ago) link
(x-post)
...and that'll be it for today. I'll be back w/60-46 tomorrow.
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:31 (fifteen years ago) link
not that it matters, but I think a film that got 64 (2) should be ahead of one that got 64 (3). I think the Village Voice called it the Passion Index.
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:36 (fifteen years ago) link
Grrr. I want them all today!
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:42 (fifteen years ago) link
Anyhoo, glad to see Joan Crawford make an appearance, prolly her only one here. That exchange you quote is indeed eternal, Morbs. But my fave is:
Emma: I'm going to kill you.Vienna: I know. If I don't kill you first.
It's all in the delivery.
JC didn't like this one, btw: "I should have had my head examined. No excuse for a picture being this bad or for me making it." Roy Newquist, Conversations with Joan Crawford (New York: Berkley Books, 1980), 106.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:52 (fifteen years ago) link
I was a bit harsh calling High Society a snooze. But "skipping around to the musical numbers" really captures the fate of this film as well as soooo many others. The curse of the genre picture.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 17:56 (fifteen years ago) link
I was, for the record, one of the two voting for Ivan, Pt. 2, though I'm sort of feeling guilty about it now considering it was filmed in the '40s, et al.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 11 November 2008 18:18 (fifteen years ago) link
A lot of the films from 1950 were filmed in the 40s too ;-)
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 18:21 (fifteen years ago) link
I rescind my ballot.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 11 November 2008 18:24 (fifteen years ago) link
(Figured it wouldn't be a film poll results thread without me saying that.)
Yeah I would've voted for Ivan the Terrible but felt schizy about including it as a 1950s film.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 18:26 (fifteen years ago) link
"Asphalt Jungle" and "Lola Montes" both way too low, I'd say. I don't mind the sentimental stuff in "Asphalt Jungle" - you'll find it in every other Cagney or Robinson flick, I took it as gangster movie convention (though not noir convention, I admit.) Though to be honest I'm not even 100% certain on which parts we're talking about - not the ending, I hope? Or the speech by the police inspector? Cuz that's my all-time fave example of a director using code restrictions to his advantage.
"Lola Montes" could be seen as a bit...overripe, in a way, but I think it's a masterpiece of sorts.
I don't necessairly skip to the songs in "High Society" but I'll admit I watch it more like an old-skool TV special than a movie per se.
Very curious about that Eisenstein!
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 18:34 (fifteen years ago) link
"Lift To The Scaffold" probably the most archetypal noir not made in the USA? I don't like all of it cos I can't stand Jeanne Moureau, but it is pretty impressively dark and feverish. Love the scene with the german tourists.
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 18:36 (fifteen years ago) link
xp: Yes, the horsey face-licking included! Cagney-Robinson sentiment was pulpy; a lot of Huston's in AJ is artsy-fartsy.
I accuse my parents.
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 18:39 (fifteen years ago) link
O no! Now the big break.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 11 November 2008 20:16 (fifteen years ago) link
Don't remember anything about Othello; do remember "Yes, you're next/You're so next" from "Rabbit of Seville."
― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 02:21 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gtbtwWl6L._SS500_.jpg
60. Smiles of A Summer NightIngmar Bergman, 1955POINTS: 65VOTES: 3#1s: 0COMMENTS:“Smiles of a Summer Night is one of the best sex comedies.”― Dr Morbius“I don't get the "humorlessness" complaint either. While not a laff riot, Smiles of A Summer Night is a great Lubitsch-style comedy.”― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn
“Smiles of a Summer Night is one of the best sex comedies.”
― Dr Morbius
“I don't get the "humorlessness" complaint either. While not a laff riot, Smiles of A Summer Night is a great Lubitsch-style comedy.”
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:33 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JV0EF5N8L._SS500_.jpg
59. Le Amiche/The GirlfriendsMichelangelo Antonioni, 1955POINTS: 67VOTES: 2#1s: 0COMMENTS:“A female spin on "I Vitelloni" (or better still, Sex and the City relocated to 50s Turin), Le Amiche is one of those movies that probably would be better regarded if it had been made by someone else. Not quite addressing the darker impulses that would fuel his most famous work (although he was getting there—remember, Il Grido has just 3 years away, and closer thematically to this film than you would think), the film is a terrifically bittersweet melodrama, easily the equal (or the better) to anything else the genre had to offer at the time.”― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain)
“A female spin on "I Vitelloni" (or better still, Sex and the City relocated to 50s Turin), Le Amiche is one of those movies that probably would be better regarded if it had been made by someone else. Not quite addressing the darker impulses that would fuel his most famous work (although he was getting there—remember, Il Grido has just 3 years away, and closer thematically to this film than you would think), the film is a terrifically bittersweet melodrama, easily the equal (or the better) to anything else the genre had to offer at the time.”
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:35 (fifteen years ago) link
blaming Alfred for low Smiles position
― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:37 (fifteen years ago) link
word. thx for this.
― Sugar hiccup, Makes a pig soar and swoon (Pillbox), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:38 (fifteen years ago) link
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510EtyUFECL._SS500_.jpg
58. Imitation of LifeDouglas Sirk, 1959POINTS: 67VOTES: 2#1s: 1COMMENTS:“My point is that there is no way audiences could mistake "Imitation of Life" for anything but a film about race (among other things). The current film studies cant about Sirk being subversive has never convinced me. His best films are sincere, beautifully-crafted liberal melodramas. If I knew how to italicize "liberal" I would. And I'm not using it as an epithet.”― Amateurist “As perfect a capitalist product as has ever been created in the USA, delivering contradictory pleasures sometimes within a single shot. Classical Hollywood never topped it.”― Kevin John Bozelka“wow, that moment when Susan Kohner sassily talks all Butterfly McQueen to Lana Turner in Imitation really rules. But God, any scenes w/ John Gavin or Sandra Dee...”― Dr Morbius“last time i watched imitation of life i had like three glasses of whiskey and could barely see the screen at the end through the TEARZ :(“― impudent harlot
“My point is that there is no way audiences could mistake "Imitation of Life" for anything but a film about race (among other things). The current film studies cant about Sirk being subversive has never convinced me. His best films are sincere, beautifully-crafted liberal melodramas. If I knew how to italicize "liberal" I would. And I'm not using it as an epithet.”
― Amateurist
“As perfect a capitalist product as has ever been created in the USA, delivering contradictory pleasures sometimes within a single shot. Classical Hollywood never topped it.”
― Kevin John Bozelka
“wow, that moment when Susan Kohner sassily talks all Butterfly McQueen to Lana Turner in Imitation really rules. But God, any scenes w/ John Gavin or Sandra Dee...”
“last time i watched imitation of life i had like three glasses of whiskey and could barely see the screen at the end through the TEARZ :(“
― impudent harlot
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:39 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm just saying it wasn't an American thing first.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 18 November 2008 20:30 (fifteen years ago) link
Well, aside from being made and appreciated by people in general in America.
(Jerry Lewis onstage interview w/ Bogdanovich here this weekend)
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 18 November 2008 20:32 (fifteen years ago) link
1. Rear Window2. Vertigo3. Seven Samurai4. North by Northwest5. The Night of the Hunter6. What's Opera, Doc?7. Singin' in the Rain8. The African Queen9. All That Heaven Allows10. On the Waterfront11. Anatomy of a Murder12. Born Yesterday13. The Red Balloon14. The 400 Blows15. Sweet Smell of Success16. The Men17. A Night to Remember18. A Face in the Crowd19. War of the Worlds20. Tokyo Story
Leftover blurbs:
A Face in the CrowdWhy are there so few good movies about TV? A Face in the Crowd mightbe the best that isn't about the news (though My Favorite Year has aplace in my heart). As a warning, it can be hard to take: The movie'sfear of homespun Southern charisma turning Trojan horse for businessfascism is easily dispelled recalling the awkward handshake betweenElvis and Nixon. But this rise-and-fall story is more compelling andsensual than any biopic that followed its blueprint, because directorElia Kazan isn't afraid to get inside the carnality and fun of beingdark, hysterical Andy Griffith--the baton-twirling scene remains thekind of classic that shows just how tame the imitators are.
The Red BalloonIt seems like a dream to me now, or something that actually happened.Also a great children's book using photos from the film.
War of the WorldsI actually love the Spielberg remake, which adds evocations of 9/11and plausible pessimism about crowd panic and strangers. But the '50ssci-fi classic has its own distinctly creepy look, sound, and logic,especially the arcs of sparks shot out by the alien ships, whorepresent everything you don't know--the bomb, the Russians, thefuture--coming to destroy everything you do.
Anatomy of a MurderOne difference between the early '40s and late '50s is the span ofAmerican history between Dooley Wilson and Humphrey Bogart inCasablanca and Duke Ellington and James Stewart in Anatomy of aMurder. Where Bogart grumpily tolerates the black help until he needsthe music like a drink, Jimmy Stewart sits in with genius, and no hintof white authority (though notice none of the black musicians object).Hepness has become an entryway into the real world where AfricanAmericans live--and the fact that they live there makes it more realonscreen. It also brings us to a fresh sexual suggestiveness andfrankness, a nonjudgmental view of alcoholism, and the recognitionthat courts of law are a lot like courts of tennis or basketball, andthat this is their beauty. The Upper Peninsula locations,lake-vacation atmosphere, wall-to-wall Ellington, crackling dialogue,easy structure, and ironic looks of George C. Scott make this myall-time favorite courtroom drama.
Born YesterdayIt took a long time for me to like William Holden in this or any othermovie, but I appreciate him more now, maybe because I see howpersonalities like his are needed in the real world: The teacher, withhis condescending smile and false humility, can sometimes straightenus out. And while I wish it were clearer that Judy Holliday hadsomething to teach him in return, I love how lispy and casually dreamyshe gets when acknowledging her ignorance, as if noticing the worldand giving a shit held appeal for her as some new card game to master.
The MenI remember nothing except Brando being powerfully sensual even in awheelchair, and his rebellion among men in an institution being asexciting as the one in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
A Night to RememberThe Titanic is earth now, and we're all going down. But none of themore recent environmental disaster movies are a better metaphor thanthis founding horror film about community, which is far more surrealand convincing than the James Cameron epic weeper if only becauseTitanic's FX gloss, length, and suspenseful romantic subplot get inthe way of its basic situation, with all its dread and injustice.
― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 02:05 (fifteen years ago) link
Having just re-watched The Red Balloon for the first time since childhood, I'd yank that outta there for Body Snatchers. Obv there are tons of movies in the Top 75 I haven't seen...
― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 02:06 (fifteen years ago) link
I also have a big soft spot for Creature from the Black Lagoon, which I saw in 3-D. The music is awesome. The sequels are hilariously bad though.
― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 02:07 (fifteen years ago) link
forgot to vote on this one! my top two would've been vertigo and duck amuck, so i'm reasonably happy.
― J.D., Wednesday, 19 November 2008 03:40 (fifteen years ago) link
I want to thank the law offices of Farner, Grisso, & McCain for a fantastic poll! Seriously, great work!
My ballot:
1. Imitation of Life – As perfect a capitalist product as has ever been created in the USA, delivering contradictory pleasures sometimes within a single shot. Classical Hollywood never topped it.
2. Angel Face – Preminger’s unblinking eyes make sure we’ll want to scratch out our own.
3. Night of The Hunter – The terrible, horrible capacity for evil in us all.
4. Duck Amuck – The most terrifying film ever made.
5. The Long Gray Line - The greatest of Ford’s living, breathing organisms. More movingly than anything in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, the Christmas scene demonstrates community formation through history making. If you can make it through these five minutes without bawling, then you need to take a break from ILX.
6. The End – I felt so incredibly alone at the end (get it?) of this.
7. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – Rosenbaum called this a “capitalist Potemkin” and he’s right! Where Eisenstein’s editing offered a filmic correlation to dialectical materialism, the remarkable final track in to the Dorothy-Lorelei coalition exemplifies capitalism’s repetition compulsion. And give it up for George Winslow who should have won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as lecherous piggy in the making Henry Spofford III.
8. Singin’ In The Rain – Postmodernism avant la lettre (or après if you believe Lawrence Grossberg).
9. Female on the Beach – The cost of nothing. Joan Crawford’s greatest film.
10. All About Eve – Patricia White in Uninvited: “It is one thing to love and emulate Bette Davis; it is another thing entirely to succumb to the charms of Barbara Bates” (213).
11. Track of the Cat – William H. Clothier’s colorless color photography makes this the one classical Hollywood film you could say you’ve seen without actually seeing. But that’s to ignore one of the most miserable family melodramas pinned to celluloid and Robert Mitchum’s quintessential inhabitation of the surly breadwinning male.
12. Harriet Craig – A prequel of sorts to Female on the Beach which means the ending is a happy one.
13. Wagon Master – Another Ford organism, his favorite among his westerns and mine too. In just 86 minutes, the film feels as if it always has been and always will be.
14. Rio Bravo – Thank you, Fred Zinnemann!
15. Torch Song - A fine documentary about Joan Crawford which just so happens to feature the greatest line in motion picture history: “Lobster Newburg and coffee.”
16. Bonjour Tristesse – Jean Seberg’s perfect summer starts to slip away from her as Preminger’s ever-gliding camera picks up every shard culminating in the devastating final shot.
17. Bend of the River – During the winter of 2000, all three of our immediate surrounding neighbors bitched at us for shoveling snow near their property. And then suddenly I couldn’t get this western out of my head. There is still Manifest Destiny in America even if the space to conquer is just a six-foot stretch of alleyway.
18. All That Heaven Allows – Gawd let Sirk have one unironic masterpiece!
19. Queen Bee – Joan Crawford’s Eva is not the villain here (well, not the only villain).
20. Shadows – And thus began a life of sin – Hollywood’s not Cassavetes’.
21. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman – A world where God himself is chaos. Eurotrash dance amongst the ruins of their civilization as pianos sink into the sand and headless statues pay witness to cars dropping in the ocean. Love, the mad, underappreciated Albert Lewin.
22. The Other Woman – Hugo Haas gets reflexive which is sort of like saying a mirror gets reflexive.
23. Hiroshima Mon Amour – To paraphrase Barthes “what’s terrible about narrative is that it makes the monstrous viable.”
24. Awaara – Charlie Chaplin – the Raj Kapoor of Hollywood.
25. Beat The Devil – As with Minnelli’s The Pirate (1948), I’m not sure we’ve caught up with this film yet.
26. Eaux d'artifice – The fire in water.
27. Edge of Hell – Just when you thought Hugo Haas couldn’t get any more bathetic, in walks Flip The Dog.
28. Kiss Me Kate – Cock lust in 3-D! And a proscenium so screechingly camp that not even the preposterous Howard Keel can shout it down.
29. A Movie – If the USA had a movie trailer.
30. Susan Slept Here – Frank Tashlin’s most sustained bit of lunacy. And narrated by an Oscar!
31. Johnny Guitar – Starring Joan Crawford in Red, Mercedes McCambridge in White (with a voice scarier than the one she provided for The Devil in The Exorcist), and, oh yeah, Sterling Hayden as the title character.
32. Strange Fascination – Hugo Haas at his most self-lacerating, quite literally at one point.
33. Father of The Bride – Along with Minnelli’s even more frightening The Long, Long Trailer (which I forgot to nominate), this film is the reason why we cannot determine genre by audience reaction alone.
34. Glen or Glenda? – The ultimate in ineptness as avant-garde serendipity.
35. Murder by Contract – Alternate title: Death by Life (at least if you live in a capitalist economy). Also, I love films you can snap along to.
36. Nightcats – Out of focus shots of kitties fuck with our concepts of figure and ground.
37. It Should Happen To You – I watched this immediately after Stalker. Where Tarkovsky’s film seemed like a command from on high, Cukor punches his film full of holes so we can worm our own way in and out of it, a perfect model of democracy in the belly of the Hollywood beast.
38. Pickup – Hugo Haas at his sleaziest which took some doing. Keep a Wet Nap nearby.
39. Mother India – India, where they manage to make a film in which characters spontaneously burst into songs about despair and poverty. And then it becomes one of the most popular things in the universe.
40. Ruby Gentry – Marvel as Jennifer Jones takes out her revenge on the earth…like actual dirt. From King Vidor in his high delirious period.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 04:15 (fifteen years ago) link
Singin' in the Rain is a little mean toward its villainess (though it helps that Jean Hagen actually dubbed Debbie Reynolds in most scenes rather than the other way around)
This isn't true. Hagen only dubbed the lines (actually, I think it's only one line) that Kathy was rerecording for Lina. Betty Noyes dubbed Reynolds' singing.
Fun fact: Kim Fowley's dad, Douglas, plays the harried director.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 04:29 (fifteen years ago) link
Right you are about Jean Hagen, though I think you'll forgive my confusion:
'If the subject of movie dubbing is confusing to some trying to connect who is who, then what about the strange set-up connected with the classic MGM musical Singin’ in the Rain (1952)? This merry mix-up of real life dubbing was addressed in Ray Hagen’s article on Jean Hagen in Film Fan Monthly (December 1968): "In the film, Debbie Reynolds has been hired to re-dub Hagen’s dialogue and songs in the latter’s first talking picture. We see the process being done in a shot of Reynolds ... matching her dialogue to Hagen’s and synchronizing it while watching a scene from the film. But the voice that is used to replace Hagen’s shrill, piercing one is not Reynolds’ but Hagen’s own quite lovely natural voice—meaning that Jean Hagen dubs Debbie Reynolds’ dubbing Jean Hagen! To further confuse matters, the voice we hear as Hagen mimes "Would You?", supposedly supplied by Reynolds, is that of yet a third girl ... [Betty Royce]". Confusing? Well, there’s more. Although Debbie sang in the movie, notably the title tune (dubbing Hagen!), Debbie herself is dubbed again by Betty Royce in her duet with Gene Kelly "You Are My Lucky Star."
'Like Debbie Reynolds, other actresses or singers who were quite able to sing their own songs were still dubbed. One reason was money; if a studio had a music track but the vocalist who recorded it was unable to film, they just got someone else to lip sync the song on the screen.'
http://www.classicimages.com/past_issues/view/?x=/1998/november98/idibthee.html
So that is Reynolds singing "Singin' in the Rain"...
― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 06:32 (fifteen years ago) link
.. or Gene!
― Mark G, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 08:01 (fifteen years ago) link
Yes, that's Reynolds on the title tune. And I've heard both Betty Noyes and Betty Royce but I believe the former is the correct name.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 09:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Yes, Betty Noyes!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0637529/
I'm sorry to perpetrate two errors in one thread!
― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 19:09 (fifteen years ago) link
I mean perpetuate. I'll go soak my head.
― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 19 November 2008 19:10 (fifteen years ago) link
I mean, I'm an auteurist too and all, but even I recognize Carrie and Dressed to Kill as among De Palma's best films.
I don't think I'm an auteurist, and Femme Fatale is head and shoulders above those two. (The second half of DtK is kind of appalling.)
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 20 November 2008 17:34 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm an incorrigible auteurist and I think Femme Fatale is his best film.
xpost Oh pshaw, Pete. And again, I really loved your blurbs.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Thursday, 20 November 2008 17:40 (fifteen years ago) link
You'd really have to be an auteurist to like Femme Fatale. No two ways about that in my opinion.
― Eric H., Thursday, 20 November 2008 18:30 (fifteen years ago) link
or a Rebecca Romijn-Stamos fan.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 20 November 2008 18:33 (fifteen years ago) link
Actually I have no clue what the argument is about. Just filling in the blanks.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Thursday, 20 November 2008 18:38 (fifteen years ago) link
Watched Vertigo for the first time last night, thanks to this poll. And I loved it, well done ILX.
― a hoy hoy, Thursday, 20 November 2008 20:20 (fifteen years ago) link
Mission Accomplished
― Dr Morbius, Friday, 21 November 2008 16:05 (fifteen years ago) link
The latest Cahiers all-time list puts our #2 ahead of our #1. (also, no Brit films in their top 100)
http://www.cahiersducinema.com/article1337.html
― Dr Morbius, Friday, 21 November 2008 17:08 (fifteen years ago) link
This was maybe the best reveal thread. Or just the gayest.
― Gus Van Sant's Gerry Blank (Eric H.), Monday, 5 September 2011 02:19 (twelve years ago) link
Everyone's in character and it just works.
― Gus Van Sant's Gerry Blank (Eric H.), Monday, 5 September 2011 02:21 (twelve years ago) link
Really enjoyed reading this thread...
― *tera, Monday, 5 September 2011 05:48 (twelve years ago) link
Still love that Morbs, one of ILX's two foremost anti-gay marriage advocates, is so in love with Father of the Bride.
― Gus Van Sant's Gerry Blank (Eric H.), Monday, 5 September 2011 11:28 (twelve years ago) link
nothing disconnective there -- I love Paris Is Burning and am still pretty dragphobic.
(also, FoB is pretty ambivalent at best about marriage)
― incredibly middlebrow (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:05 (twelve years ago) link
(ie, Vincente Minnelli would've only favored gay marriage to Judy Garland)
― incredibly middlebrow (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:07 (twelve years ago) link
Yep, '50s still a dark period in American history.
― Gus Van Sant's Gerry Blank (Eric H.), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:08 (twelve years ago) link
We were all in tip-top form here.
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:09 (twelve years ago) link
Tracy has a nightmare in FoB! you should watch it. xp
― incredibly middlebrow (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:10 (twelve years ago) link
Kevin thread's late-innings MVP
― Gus Van Sant's Gerry Blank (Eric H.), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:15 (twelve years ago) link
Kevin was hilarious.
I look for any opportunity to revive my Wilder beef with Morbs.
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:16 (twelve years ago) link
Oh look, even he likes that movie that got turned into a Steve Martin Short movie.
― Gus Van Sant's Gerry Blank (Eric H.), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:16 (twelve years ago) link
I still can't sit through Shane, On the Beach, Rebel Without a Cause.
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:20 (twelve years ago) link
Peck is a case study for the effects of exposure to nuclear radiation.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, November 13, 2008 12:49 PM
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:23 (twelve years ago) link
3 Kurosawas in the top 20 seems to me the poll's biggest overreaction. On the whole, these film poll results were ILX's best.
― Gus Van Sant's Gerry Blank (Eric H.), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:25 (twelve years ago) link
I still can't sit through Rebel Without a Cause.
^not gay
― incredibly middlebrow (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:26 (twelve years ago) link
Well, no, I commit homosexual acts.
― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:33 (twelve years ago) link
Wish I'd been posting regularly then. My top 5 would be Sweet Smell of Success, On the Waterfront, The 400 Blows, The Apu Trilogy, and Paths of Glory; after that, Rear Window, Night of the Hunter, The Killing, maybe The Ten Commandments (absurd, I know), and something else--A Face in the Crowd and The Harder They Fall come to mind. Mostly predictable stuff.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 7 September 2011 14:48 (twelve years ago) link
I missed the first 20 minutes or so, but watched most of The Browning Version (Asquith, 1951) last night...surprisingly intense! Redgrave was great, and I really wanted to push Crocker-Harris' wife into traffic. Sort of an English Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
― improvised explosive advice (WmC), Monday, 14 May 2012 01:17 (eleven years ago) link
Wish I'd been posting regularly then. My top 5 would be Sweet Smell of Success, On the Waterfront, The 400 Blows, The Apu Trilogy, and Paths of Glory; after that, Rear Window, Night of the Hunter, The Killing, maybe The Ten Commandments (absurd, I know), and something else--A Face in the Crowd and The Harder They Fall come to mind. Mostly predictable stuff.― clemenza, Wednesday, September 7, 2011 9:48 AM (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post
― clemenza, Wednesday, September 7, 2011 9:48 AM (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post
You didn't vote? I thought you had, but the email records are long gone so I have no proof. I do know you came out for the 60s one (and IIRC posted on the thread too).
― Leslie Mann: Boner Machine (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 14 May 2012 03:40 (eleven years ago) link
I didn't start posting regularly till April 2009, so I missed this by a few months. Depending upon how it was scored, I might have moved Night of the Hunter into first.
― clemenza, Monday, 14 May 2012 11:53 (eleven years ago) link
A call to re-evaluate Stanley Kramer and On the Beach
http://filmint.nu/?p=5264
― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 19 July 2012 14:53 (eleven years ago) link
(i've never seen more than a few minutes of it btw)
― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 19 July 2012 14:54 (eleven years ago) link
anyone ever seen this novelization?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Planet#Novelization
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 25 February 2015 22:15 (nine years ago) link