I just spent 7 weeks in the States ( I live in the UK) and was astonished at the breadth of the TCM programming there. A Day long tribute to Margaret Rutherford? A Frankie Laine musical? It was terrific. In the UK, we have TCM but it runs the same films over and over again , mostly from the 60’s & 70 when MGM made a lot of films there. I love The Yellow Rolls Royce and The VIPS and Where Eagles Dare as much as the next guy but those films are seemingly on a continuous loop.
I’d like to see a box set of the films of Phillip De Broca. In the 60’s and early 70’s there were a lot of his films that were released in the US and yet with the exception of King of Hearts and That Man from Rio and Cartouche – his films many of which were quite enjoyable ( at least I remember them that way) have disappeared.
Actually, I’m surprised there isn’t more “Producer as auteur” discussion – Arthur Freed in those MGM years was very much responsible for every aspect of those films and it was a pretty consistent view of the world. Similarly though dealing with entirely different subject matters I think Saul Zaentz could qualify as an auteur.
I remeber the first time I was aware of what a cinematographer was capable of was seeing Richard Brooks’ In Cold Blood and learning the name Conrad Hall. He along with Gordon Willis and Sven Nykist are my top three. In a different category and working entirely within the studio system , I’d also single out Leon Shamroy for his epic sweep.
From the time i was very young I loved going to the movies but never thought of them as anything more than entertainment ( like the rest of my family ). But when I was about 12 I was watching TV late at night and I happened upon a black and white film in french. It had already started and I didn’t have a tv guide so I wasn’t sure what I was watching but there were two boys and one was stealing the pictures from outside of a movie theatre and I was mesmerized. I really had not seen anything like it. (Of course it was The 400 Blows but I didn’t find that out until a few years later when I went on purpose to see The 400 Blows & Jules and Jim on a double bill at the Harvard Square Theatre. When it got to the scene of the boys stealing the picture I felt as if I had found an old friend. ) But getting back to watching it on TV ; for the first time I felt as if I was watching a movie that was a personal statement, that it was trying to tell me ( and me alone) a story. I never looked at movies the same way. Everytime I went to the movies thereafter I tried to understand the chouces that were made by the filmmaker and why.
I think the list is a good mix of great movies and “culturally significant” ones. I remember years ago going almost daily to the all summer long MOMA American Film Comedy series and while I was thrilled to be introduced for the first time to thew onders of Preston Sturges, I also sat through for “culturally significant” reasons the likes of “Beach Party” and a Don Knotts comedy possibly “The Ghost and Mr Chicken”. When a movie grosses half a billion dollars , whether it’s good or not, it becomes “culturally significant”. Just as when a bad movie is a cultural touchstone , it too should be part of the registry: “Showgirls” anyone?
What I think is most intersting about Lumet’s films is that some are truly truly great and then there are some that are simply awful and unwatchable. Both The Appointment and The Last of the Mobile Hotshots are simply disastous on every level visually and even casting ( which was always his strong point). And Melanie Griffith in A Stranger Among Us? I wish that he had been more candid in Making Movies and spoken directly to the reasons he took those jobs or if he knew while he was making them that they weren’t going to work. You look at those films and some of the others and think – how could this director have also made magnificent films such as Network or Prince of the City or Dog Day Afternoon or something as totally classy as Murder on the Orient Express. All in all, a great director, but not without flaws. RIP
In a theatre it was Claude Berri’s The Two of Us and when it began my mother said: Oh no – if I had known it was subtitles I wouldn’t have come! A few weeks later though I happened upon The 400 Blows on television – it had already started andit was where Antoine stole the stills from in front of the movie theatre and I was hooked!
DON'T MISS THIS ON TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES almost 3 years ago
I just spent 7 weeks in the States ( I live in the UK) and was astonished at the breadth of the TCM programming there. A Day long tribute to Margaret Rutherford? A Frankie Laine musical? It was terrific. In the UK, we have TCM but it runs the same films over and over again , mostly from the 60’s & 70 when MGM made a lot of films there. I love The Yellow Rolls Royce and The VIPS and Where Eagles Dare as much as the next guy but those films are seemingly on a continuous loop.
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What boxsets would you like to see the criterion release? almost 3 years ago
I’d like to see a box set of the films of Phillip De Broca. In the 60’s and early 70’s there were a lot of his films that were released in the US and yet with the exception of King of Hearts and That Man from Rio and Cartouche – his films many of which were quite enjoyable ( at least I remember them that way) have disappeared.
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What non-directors could be thought of as "auteurs" in their own right? over 2 years ago
Actually, I’m surprised there isn’t more “Producer as auteur” discussion – Arthur Freed in those MGM years was very much responsible for every aspect of those films and it was a pretty consistent view of the world. Similarly though dealing with entirely different subject matters I think Saul Zaentz could qualify as an auteur.
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Favorite Cinematographer over 2 years ago
I remeber the first time I was aware of what a cinematographer was capable of was seeing Richard Brooks’ In Cold Blood and learning the name Conrad Hall. He along with Gordon Willis and Sven Nykist are my top three. In a different category and working entirely within the studio system , I’d also single out Leon Shamroy for his epic sweep.
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Which film has changed your life forever? over 2 years ago
From the time i was very young I loved going to the movies but never thought of them as anything more than entertainment ( like the rest of my family ). But when I was about 12 I was watching TV late at night and I happened upon a black and white film in french. It had already started and I didn’t have a tv guide so I wasn’t sure what I was watching but there were two boys and one was stealing the pictures from outside of a movie theatre and I was mesmerized. I really had not seen anything like it. (Of course it was The 400 Blows but I didn’t find that out until a few years later when I went on purpose to see The 400 Blows & Jules and Jim on a double bill at the Harvard Square Theatre. When it got to the scene of the boys stealing the picture I felt as if I had found an old friend. ) But getting back to watching it on TV ; for the first time I felt as if I was watching a movie that was a personal statement, that it was trying to tell me ( and me alone) a story. I never looked at movies the same way. Everytime I went to the movies thereafter I tried to understand the chouces that were made by the filmmaker and why.
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Favorite Cinematographer over 2 years ago
Hey KJ,
Ed Lachman!!! How true and what an amazing resume. Thanks .
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National Film Registry Entries for 2009 over 2 years ago
I think the list is a good mix of great movies and “culturally significant” ones. I remember years ago going almost daily to the all summer long MOMA American Film Comedy series and while I was thrilled to be introduced for the first time to thew onders of Preston Sturges, I also sat through for “culturally significant” reasons the likes of “Beach Party” and a Don Knotts comedy possibly “The Ghost and Mr Chicken”. When a movie grosses half a billion dollars , whether it’s good or not, it becomes “culturally significant”. Just as when a bad movie is a cultural touchstone , it too should be part of the registry: “Showgirls” anyone?
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Sidney Lumet Dead: Director Passes at 86 about 1 year ago
What I think is most intersting about Lumet’s films is that some are truly truly great and then there are some that are simply awful and unwatchable. Both The Appointment and The Last of the Mobile Hotshots are simply disastous on every level visually and even casting ( which was always his strong point). And Melanie Griffith in A Stranger Among Us? I wish that he had been more candid in Making Movies and spoken directly to the reasons he took those jobs or if he knew while he was making them that they weren’t going to work. You look at those films and some of the others and think – how could this director have also made magnificent films such as Network or Prince of the City or Dog Day Afternoon or something as totally classy as Murder on the Orient Express. All in all, a great director, but not without flaws. RIP
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What is the first Foreign Language film you remember seeing? 2 months ago
In a theatre it was Claude Berri’s The Two of Us and when it began my mother said: Oh no – if I had known it was subtitles I wouldn’t have come! A few weeks later though I happened upon The 400 Blows on television – it had already started andit was where Antoine stole the stills from in front of the movie theatre and I was hooked!
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