It’s hard for me to say I like one type of Sirk over another. I think Thieves Highway is a great satire and it’s a great film. But I absolutely love There’s Always Tomorrow and A Time to Live and a Time to Die. The majority of the work he did was in the 50’s and I think that’s where he perfected his craft.
I enjoyed A Time to Live and a Time to Die; I think that and All That Heaven Allows are his best, truly subversive melodramas. I have yet to see There’s Always Tomorrow. However, I think his most famous melodramas, like Written on the Wind, Imitation of Life, and Magnificent Obsession are rather overrated and not really so satirical and subversive as many have labeled them. I think they are extremely well constructed but really not too unique among the other soapy melodramas of the era.
locust furnace
First off, hi, I really enjoy all of Douglas Sirk’s films :)
But, I was wondering…his reputation rests so wholly on the melodramas he made late in career, how many fans of Sirk have seen what he’s done outside of those? While his 50s melodramas are famous I think his film noirs, comedies, and what I’ve seen of his non-US films (La Habanera) are better. Thoughts?