Hello there, I’m from Toronto, and I simply love films, and really enjoy the fact you’ve put this site together. I’ll certainly participate more soon.
Favourite films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Lawrence of Arabia (aka, the Essential Desert Adventure Trilogy, as I call it), Three Colours Trilogy, the Third Man, Miller’s Crossing, Diary of a Lost Girl, The Scarlet Empress, The Big Heat, The Thing and many, many, many more.
I like all kinds of films, from the classy to the trashy (within reason), and quite often find myself searching out more obscure titles. I do consider myself a cinephile. Thank you for letting me take part in this site, in whatever capacity!
I liked SM, and thought it was very well directed, but do think the fantastical praise it’s been receiving is a little over the top. I wasn’t blown away by it, let’s put it that way.
I liked SM, and thought it was very well directed, but do think the fantastical praise it’s been receiving is a little over the top. I wasn’t blown away by it, let’s put it that way.
Robert Picardo as Eddie Quist in The Howling. Terribly underrated performance from a guy who only has a few but very effective scenes in the movie. Super creepy.
Brion James as Leon in Blade Runner. More villainous than Hauer’s Roy, especially with the line: “Wake up, it’s time to die!”
Also, in a little known film called “Ballad of a Hoodlum”(1963) that I saw recently, Daniel Emilfork (City of Lost Children) as a hired baddie. Intense, gaunt, and mostly disturbingly silent until he shouts out nonsense words, like Ben Kingsley in “Sexy Beast”, but with a more limited vocabulary. Visually like a death figure in a black suit.
Takusakke: absolutely right on the ending of Chaplin’s City Lights. Everytime I see it, it has the same effect.
Dardanelli: the scene that really hit me was right towards the end of Children of Men, when all the army guys, everyone, stops to watch Clive Owen bring the baby out of the building. I totally choked up on that one, and I’m not even sure why.
Otherwise, Irene Jacob in Red, where she’s sipping the apricot brandy with the judge, and she asks for a bit more, and a heartbreaking smile comes up on her face as he pours her some. It’s not a sad scene, but it still brings a tear to my eye, because it’s a connection between the two characters that’s so sublime.
Some may hate me for this, but the scene between James Stewart and Donna Reed in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, when they’re on the phone together, and George gets so intensely angry with her cause he knows she’s gonna make him stay in Bedford Falls because he loves her so much and he can’t escape (again), but then they realize they’ve found each other and love each other so much. Damn. Pass the tissue!
Night of the Eagle (1962) – great supernatural thriller. Brilliantly shot and directed. Totally underrated. Stars Peter Wyngarde (The Innocents).
It Happened In Broad Daylight (1958) – very good Euro thriller. Re-made as The Pledge by Sean Penn years later. Special appearance by a James Bond villain. ‘Nuff said.
Seven Golden Men (1965) – fun, stylish caper film.
Raw Deal (1948) – tough Anthony Mann-directed noir.
Beach Red (1967) – existential war film, for wont of a better term. Reminded me a bit of Malick’s The Thin Red Line.
Secrets of a Soul (1926) – G.W. Pabst film on psychoanalysis. Freudian all the way.
So many, but a few that come to mind: Jack Nicholson in The Pledge. After years of playing variations of himself, Nicholson totally disappears into a role. It’s an intense, dark, brutal film and not easily recommended – and the final shot of Nicholson is simply devastating.
Michelle Pfeiffer in The Age of Innocence. I gained new respect for her after her part in this film.
One of my all-time favourites: Walter Huston in Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Bogie is damn fine, too.
I’m starting a new topic, it’s called simply LISTS. Favourite films, vegetables, operas, fonts, crayons, power tools, alcoholic beverages and more. It’s gonna effin rule, I tell ya!
Not overrated. Granted, I like the Iron Man vibe of lightness and fun (and a great performance by Downey Jr.), but I also like what the Dark Knight did in making it more dark and serious. (The joy is in seeing it done well) It’s an accurate reflection of where comics have been, especially within the last 20yrs or so…having both styles out there are what’s needed, otherwise you’ll have idiots trying to make SHAZAM! into a movie. Oh wait….
Andrei Tarkovsky, with Andrei Rublev being the exception. Here’s a guy that should’ve been a cinematographer, NOT a director. The pacing to his films can be sooo tedious. I’ve always found them an exercise in patience.
I’ve always liked the Scorsese segment in “New York Stories” called “Life Lessons”. He really caught the atmosphere of an artist living in a loft, doing his art on a grand scale.
The first Transporter movie. The only one I’ve seen of the series…and even that’s too much. Just plain awful music that was so out of place throughout. I will probably spend the rest of my life spitting literally or figuratively on that movie. I might even risk my personal well-being to give either Jason Statham or Luc Besson (who co-wrote and co-produced) a kick in the junk just to make a point on how much I hated it.
Even on imdb.com on the message boards for the film, someone has started a topic called: Worst Soundtrack Ever!
Damn, there’s a lot of scores I like, such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, but to name just one of the examples I didn’t think of previously would probably be the 1970’s remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. After I watched a newer DVD release, I began to realize how brilliant it was….very creepy, subtle and effective.
Winchester 73, for sure.
Raw Deal – great noir. I’ll have to watch it again.
Border Incident – good, dark film. That scene with the tilling machine is gruesomely memorable.
Marlene Dietrich in Seven Sinners – the lust-filled smile that she gives John Wayne about halfway through that movie is just – WHOA! It’s hard to tell she’s acting, which makes it even better. She’s always easy on the eyes, of course, but that particular role won me over more than some of the von Sternberg roles she played.
And French actress Ludivine Sagnier in just about anything. ANYTHING.
Seven, by David Fincher. I came out of that movie while still living in Vancouver, and it was as rainy and dark out as it had been throughout most of that whole movie. Intense.
I’ve mentioned it here before, but THE INNOCENTS with Deborah Kerr. The best Victorian-styled ghost story ever made, and very, very creepy. Just the way the films opens is oh-so-very creepy and sets the mood right away.
In Scorsese’s Goodfellas, where DeNiro, Pesci and Liotta are stabbing and shooting a guy in the trunk of a car – I thought that was pretty damn disturbing. Granted, the whole movie is…
Also, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover – the scene where Gambon and his men are torturing the Lover.
Most of David Fincher’s film, Seven…
Also, I always thought Magnum Force, with Clint Eastwood, was extremely violent. Go figure. All the Dirty Harry films are, but I remember this one being especially so when I first saw it. OK, there’s 30 kills in the movie, according to imdb.com – now it all makes sense.
Calling “Vertigo” or “Rear Window” noir is ridiculous. They’re both thrillers or mysteries, or whatever you wanna call them, but in comparison to the above examples, they cannot be deemed noir.
New to The Auteurs? You Belong Here over 3 years ago
Hello there, I’m from Toronto, and I simply love films, and really enjoy the fact you’ve put this site together. I’ll certainly participate more soon.
Favourite films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Lawrence of Arabia (aka, the Essential Desert Adventure Trilogy, as I call it), Three Colours Trilogy, the Third Man, Miller’s Crossing, Diary of a Lost Girl, The Scarlet Empress, The Big Heat, The Thing and many, many, many more.
Favourite directors: Huston, Lang, Kieslowski, Welles, Melville, Hitchcock, Lean and others.
I like all kinds of films, from the classy to the trashy (within reason), and quite often find myself searching out more obscure titles. I do consider myself a cinephile. Thank you for letting me take part in this site, in whatever capacity!
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Last movie you saw and rate it over 3 years ago
Waltz with Bashir – 9/10. Very powerful.
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Slumdog Millionaire Overrated Film of the Year over 3 years ago
I liked SM, and thought it was very well directed, but do think the fantastical praise it’s been receiving is a little over the top. I wasn’t blown away by it, let’s put it that way.
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Slumdog Millionaire Overrated Film of the Year over 3 years ago
I liked SM, and thought it was very well directed, but do think the fantastical praise it’s been receiving is a little over the top. I wasn’t blown away by it, let’s put it that way.
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Books over 3 years ago
Klondike, by Pierre Berton.
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Most Memorable Villain over 3 years ago
Robert Picardo as Eddie Quist in The Howling. Terribly underrated performance from a guy who only has a few but very effective scenes in the movie. Super creepy.
Brion James as Leon in Blade Runner. More villainous than Hauer’s Roy, especially with the line: “Wake up, it’s time to die!”
Also, in a little known film called “Ballad of a Hoodlum”(1963) that I saw recently, Daniel Emilfork (City of Lost Children) as a hired baddie. Intense, gaunt, and mostly disturbingly silent until he shouts out nonsense words, like Ben Kingsley in “Sexy Beast”, but with a more limited vocabulary. Visually like a death figure in a black suit.
Go to Comment
What film scenes really make you cry? over 3 years ago
Takusakke: absolutely right on the ending of Chaplin’s City Lights. Everytime I see it, it has the same effect.
Dardanelli: the scene that really hit me was right towards the end of Children of Men, when all the army guys, everyone, stops to watch Clive Owen bring the baby out of the building. I totally choked up on that one, and I’m not even sure why.
Otherwise, Irene Jacob in Red, where she’s sipping the apricot brandy with the judge, and she asks for a bit more, and a heartbreaking smile comes up on her face as he pours her some. It’s not a sad scene, but it still brings a tear to my eye, because it’s a connection between the two characters that’s so sublime.
Some may hate me for this, but the scene between James Stewart and Donna Reed in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, when they’re on the phone together, and George gets so intensely angry with her cause he knows she’s gonna make him stay in Bedford Falls because he loves her so much and he can’t escape (again), but then they realize they’ve found each other and love each other so much. Damn. Pass the tissue!
Go to Comment
Obscure recommendations over 3 years ago
Night of the Eagle (1962) – great supernatural thriller. Brilliantly shot and directed. Totally underrated. Stars Peter Wyngarde (The Innocents).
It Happened In Broad Daylight (1958) – very good Euro thriller. Re-made as The Pledge by Sean Penn years later. Special appearance by a James Bond villain. ‘Nuff said.
Seven Golden Men (1965) – fun, stylish caper film.
Raw Deal (1948) – tough Anthony Mann-directed noir.
Beach Red (1967) – existential war film, for wont of a better term. Reminded me a bit of Malick’s The Thin Red Line.
Secrets of a Soul (1926) – G.W. Pabst film on psychoanalysis. Freudian all the way.
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List the most exemplary acting performance(s) over 3 years ago
So many, but a few that come to mind: Jack Nicholson in The Pledge. After years of playing variations of himself, Nicholson totally disappears into a role. It’s an intense, dark, brutal film and not easily recommended – and the final shot of Nicholson is simply devastating.
Michelle Pfeiffer in The Age of Innocence. I gained new respect for her after her part in this film.
One of my all-time favourites: Walter Huston in Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Bogie is damn fine, too.
One could go on and on….
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Obscure recommendations over 3 years ago
I’m starting a new topic, it’s called simply LISTS. Favourite films, vegetables, operas, fonts, crayons, power tools, alcoholic beverages and more. It’s gonna effin rule, I tell ya!
Go to Comment
Does anyone else feel THE DARK KNIGHT is way overrated? over 3 years ago
Not overrated. Granted, I like the Iron Man vibe of lightness and fun (and a great performance by Downey Jr.), but I also like what the Dark Knight did in making it more dark and serious. (The joy is in seeing it done well) It’s an accurate reflection of where comics have been, especially within the last 20yrs or so…having both styles out there are what’s needed, otherwise you’ll have idiots trying to make SHAZAM! into a movie. Oh wait….
Also, one word: Unbreakable
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F for Fake over 3 years ago
I quite liked this film when I saw the Criterion edition. Brilliant Welles.
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Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection over 3 years ago
The Innocents, with Deborah Kerr.
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Who do you think the most overrated director is? over 3 years ago
Andrei Tarkovsky, with Andrei Rublev being the exception. Here’s a guy that should’ve been a cinematographer, NOT a director. The pacing to his films can be sooo tedious. I’ve always found them an exercise in patience.
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Great films about artists.. over 3 years ago
I’ve always liked the Scorsese segment in “New York Stories” called “Life Lessons”. He really caught the atmosphere of an artist living in a loft, doing his art on a grand scale.
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What's the most annoying film music you've had to endure? over 3 years ago
The first Transporter movie. The only one I’ve seen of the series…and even that’s too much. Just plain awful music that was so out of place throughout. I will probably spend the rest of my life spitting literally or figuratively on that movie. I might even risk my personal well-being to give either Jason Statham or Luc Besson (who co-wrote and co-produced) a kick in the junk just to make a point on how much I hated it.
Even on imdb.com on the message boards for the film, someone has started a topic called: Worst Soundtrack Ever!
’Nuff said.
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Best title over 3 years ago
Requiem for a Secret Agent – a low budget Bond ripoff, and not a great film, by any means, but that title is still fantastic.
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Best Westerns over 3 years ago
I just saw “My Darling Clementine” again for the first time in some time just recently…what a classic, western or otherwise.
Also:
The Searchers
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
Winchester 73
The Great Silence
Destry Rides Again
…and I’m sure a few others I can’t recall.
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paranoia themed films over 3 years ago
Woulds “Seconds” by John Frankenheimer qualify? Something about that movie does…
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blaxploitation over 3 years ago
The Mack, for sure. The DVD has a great documentary on the making of the film too.
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Outstanding Original Score in any Film over 3 years ago
Damn, there’s a lot of scores I like, such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, but to name just one of the examples I didn’t think of previously would probably be the 1970’s remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. After I watched a newer DVD release, I began to realize how brilliant it was….very creepy, subtle and effective.
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Best Anthony Mann movies over 3 years ago
Winchester 73, for sure.
Raw Deal – great noir. I’ll have to watch it again.
Border Incident – good, dark film. That scene with the tilling machine is gruesomely memorable.
I have yet to see T-Men and Man of the West.
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SEX & LOVE IN CELLULOID: WHO FIRST, AND WHO LATELY, TURNED YOU ON? over 3 years ago
If I stick to the category of lust, I’d say:
Marlene Dietrich in Seven Sinners – the lust-filled smile that she gives John Wayne about halfway through that movie is just – WHOA! It’s hard to tell she’s acting, which makes it even better. She’s always easy on the eyes, of course, but that particular role won me over more than some of the von Sternberg roles she played.
And French actress Ludivine Sagnier in just about anything. ANYTHING.
Also, Elena Anaya in Sex and Lucia.
Susan Sarandon.
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The scariest or most disturbing film you have EVER seen. over 3 years ago
Seven, by David Fincher. I came out of that movie while still living in Vancouver, and it was as rainy and dark out as it had been throughout most of that whole movie. Intense.
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Howzabout Some Horror on Criterion? over 3 years ago
I’ve mentioned it here before, but THE INNOCENTS with Deborah Kerr. The best Victorian-styled ghost story ever made, and very, very creepy. Just the way the films opens is oh-so-very creepy and sets the mood right away.
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Best shot movie(s) and its cinematographer over 3 years ago
I was recently very impressed (again) with Joseph MacDonald’s work on John Ford’s “My Darling Clementine”. Gorgeous black and white.
And at the other end of the spectrum (no pun intended), Vilmos Zsigmond for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.
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Most violent films you've seen over 3 years ago
If we’re talking about specific scenes:
In Scorsese’s Goodfellas, where DeNiro, Pesci and Liotta are stabbing and shooting a guy in the trunk of a car – I thought that was pretty damn disturbing. Granted, the whole movie is…
Also, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover – the scene where Gambon and his men are torturing the Lover.
Most of David Fincher’s film, Seven…
Also, I always thought Magnum Force, with Clint Eastwood, was extremely violent. Go figure. All the Dirty Harry films are, but I remember this one being especially so when I first saw it. OK, there’s 30 kills in the movie, according to imdb.com – now it all makes sense.
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Last movie you saw and rate it over 3 years ago
Vicky Christina Barcelona – 8/10
One of Woody’s better ones, for sure.
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CLASSIC FILM NOIR over 3 years ago
Out of the Past
Double Indemnity
Raw Deal
Calling “Vertigo” or “Rear Window” noir is ridiculous. They’re both thrillers or mysteries, or whatever you wanna call them, but in comparison to the above examples, they cannot be deemed noir.
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SEX & LOVE IN CELLULOID: WHO FIRST, AND WHO LATELY, TURNED YOU ON? over 3 years ago
Someone more contemporary: for her part in “The Lookout” and “Wedding Crashers”, Isla Fisher. Rowr!
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