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Classic Film Buffs - Check in Here!

Discussion in 'Music, TV, Movies & other Media' started by Smartmouthwoman, Jul 29, 2012.

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  1. River Rat

    River Rat New Member

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    Welles and Toland cut a hole in the studio floor to get the camera as low as possible. Authority figures (Kane, Agnes Moorhead) are shot from underneath while subserviant figures are shot from overhead, making them look weak and small.
     
    River Rat, Jul 31, 2012
    #26
  2. Smartmouthwoman

    Smartmouthwoman Bless your heart Past Donor

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    Thx... my first impression was right. ;)
     
    Smartmouthwoman, Jul 31, 2012
    #27
  3. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    Herkdriver, Jul 31, 2012
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  4. River Rat

    River Rat New Member

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    My God does that movie go on long! Acadamy Award winner for best picture, but needed an editor, in my humble opinion.
     
    River Rat, Jul 31, 2012
    #29
  5. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    Well of course this is all subjective...determining the greatest movies is ultimately a matter of opinion.

    As a veteran, The Best Years of Our Lives was relatable to me...I think it's a timeless story of veterans readjusting to life
    after war as ordinary civilians...but maybe a little long.

    Trying to find work, post-traumatic stress...relationships that have been stressed due to their absence in war...the disabled veteran, the family man...

    it's very relatable to right here and right now...with our veterans from the war's in Iraq and Afghanistan facing the same issues today...readjusting to civilian life
    away from war.

    It may not be everyone's cup of tea, and may seem very dated for anyone under 35, used to CGI and lots of action.
     
    Herkdriver, Jul 31, 2012
    #30
  6. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    It's amazing the thought they put into their lighting and shots, isn't it? Welles and Toland made a fabulous team.

    I also like Welles' collaboration with Edmond Richard in The Trial. Just like Citizen Kane, there was some really exceptional camera work in that film. One that comes to mind is this long pan that runs for a couple minutes (you can see part of it in the trailer at 1:29), which is something you don't see in a lot of films these days.

    [video=youtube;R_7weUR0oMY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_7weUR0oMY[/video]

    The only scene where I've seen a shot like that was in The Summer of '42 where the viewer is walking up a path approaching the cottage from the beach. As you might know, the cinematographer in that film was Robert Surtees, who was Gregg Toland's assistant early in his career. The apple certainly didn't fall far from the tree...
     
    Talon, Jul 31, 2012
    #31
  7. River Rat

    River Rat New Member

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    I'm 55 years old, born 12 years after the end of the war. But my folks grew up during the war and I've always been fascinated by life on the home front. Plus, I'm a big Myrna Loy fan and have had a crush on teresa Wright since she played Lou Gehrig's wife!
     
    River Rat, Jul 31, 2012
    #32
  8. River Rat

    River Rat New Member

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    They recently released Welle's film adaptation of Booth Talkington's The Magnificent Ambersons on DVD. It was Welles' follow up to Citizen Kane. He had his company of players (Agnes Moorhead, Joseph Cotten, Ray Collins and Erskin Sanford) and used many of the techniques pioneered in Kane such as camera angle and movement, long lenses with deep focus, dark lighting for effect and it was shot in Black and White. Great movie, but not the cut Welles intended. Much like Touch of Evil.
     
    River Rat, Jul 31, 2012
    #33
  9. River Rat

    River Rat New Member

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    Talon,

    Does that scene remind you of Billy Wilder's The Apartment? File cabinets along the wall storing papaer and desks in the foreground storing people.
     
    River Rat, Jul 31, 2012
    #34
  10. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Cool - I've seen bits and pieces of The Magnificent Ambersons, so I'll have to look into that. To be honest with you, the only Welles films I have seen in their entirety are Citizen Kane and The Trial.

    LOL - I haven't seen The Apartment. From what I can tell, it's a little less dark and surrealistic than The Trial. :)
     
    Talon, Jul 31, 2012
    #35
  11. smalltime

    smalltime Active Member

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    I know the title of the thread is "classic Film Buffs", But what is a classic?

    I love musicals, all musicals, (well almost....I hate west side story). But I also love all of the Coen brothers films. I'm all in for dark comedy. "Ed Wood" is another great comedy that I love to watch.
     
    smalltime, Jul 31, 2012
    #36
  12. Smartmouthwoman

    Smartmouthwoman Bless your heart Past Donor

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    Classic Weird is prob how I'd have to describe my movie interests. Ed Wood's one of my fav weirds... John Waters is another.

    [video=youtube;T7fwh-pwI5c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7fwh-pwI5c[/video]
     
    Smartmouthwoman, Jul 31, 2012
    #37
  13. politicalcenter

    politicalcenter Well-Known Member

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    Favorite classic films.

    All Quiet On the Western front... Lou Ayres

    Sgt York...Garry Cooper

    Yankee Doodle Dandy...James Cagney.

    Knute Rockne All American...Pat Obrien...and some unknown called Ronald Reagan.

    The Gold Rush...Charles Chaplin

    Any other movie with Charles Chaplin

    The original... A Christmas Carol...by some brittish outfit.

    Gone With The Wind

    A Face In the Crowd... Andy Griffith.

    Tora Tora Tora

    and many more.
     
    politicalcenter, Jul 31, 2012
    #38
  14. River Rat

    River Rat New Member

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    Watch Welles in Touch of Evil. He starred and directed it. Universal Pictures bargained on his star power to drive the picture. What they got was an amazing film noir. The opening shot runs over three minutes without a cut and involves a crane shot, some dolly work and even hand held! Touch of Evil features a stellar cast: Charlton Heston as a Mexican narcotics officer, Janet Leigh as his wife, Marlene Dietrich as a madame and restaurateur and the always reliable Ray Collins. When you seek out this movie beware! Universal released it after mangling the cut, but it was restored to Welles' vision a few years ago and released on DVD.

    To round out your adventure in Welles' direction, I also suggest Lady from Shanghai. It stars Rita Hayworth (too hot to be a human!) and fantasticic ending with a shoot ouin ana an amusement park house of mirrors.
     
    River Rat, Aug 1, 2012
    #39
  15. River Rat

    River Rat New Member

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    A classic stands the test of time. Decades, not merely years.
     
    River Rat, Aug 1, 2012
    #40
  16. River Rat

    River Rat New Member

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    I think everyone should see John Waters' Pink Flamingoes once, but no one should be asked to see it twice!:)
     
    River Rat, Aug 1, 2012
    #41
  17. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Awesome - I'm there. After the derecho that blew through here recently and knocked out the power for a week I vowed to add to my movie collection, so I've been stocking up on DVDs.

    Thanks for the tips, RR.

    Funny you mention Rita Hayworth. I while I was searching through lists of Classic actresses yesterday I ran across her name, of course. I imagine you remember this actress, too:

    [​IMG]

    Kate Hepburn's still my Classic favorite. I love her stuff with Cary Grant, and she really put her versatility on display in The Lion in Winter - what a great performance! It's also neat to see a young Anthony Hopkins in that film...:)
     
    Talon, Aug 1, 2012
    #42
  18. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    LOL - What a title. :lol:

    Speaking of Classic weird, that whole era had to be the golden age of B-Movies. Some of them are so awful you love watching them just to laugh at how bad they are. Russ Meyer gets my nod for King of B-Movie Crap. :laughing:

    My favorite B-Movies, however, aren't from the Classic era. I love the whole Evil Dead trilogy. This is my favorite B-Movie scene of all time, from Army of Darkness:

    [video=youtube;pFriRcIwqNU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFriRcIwqNU[/video]
     
    Talon, Aug 1, 2012
    #43
  19. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Here's a moldy goldie for all you Classic film buffs - Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 uber-classic Battleship Potemkin:

    [video=youtube;kS5kzTbNKjs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS5kzTbNKjs[/video]

    Some people consider Eisenstein the first great filmmaker/cinematographer. A lot of films up to that point were basically plays/theater shot on film, and Eisenstein is credited for being the first director to treat film as its own unique artistic medium. Every kid who goes through film school studies this guy...
     
    Talon, Aug 1, 2012
    #44
  20. Smartmouthwoman

    Smartmouthwoman Bless your heart Past Donor

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    LOL, needless to say, I often watch my fav movies ALONE. My friends always ask, "What are you watching, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes again?"

    Luv those mindless drive-in movies. Like candy for your brain. ;)
     
    Smartmouthwoman, Aug 1, 2012
    #45
  21. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    [​IMG]

    Ah, Drive-Ins...

    That brings back some great memories...:)
     
    Talon, Aug 1, 2012
    #46
  22. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Not I.I never studied the guy.The first man of Film was actually Thomas Edison.
    His Kinetoscope or peep-hole viewer was in many a penny arcade allowing
    one to watch short,simple film.
     
    Foolardi, Aug 1, 2012
    #47
  23. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yep - the history of the motion picture is quite interesting:

    http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmotionpictures.htm

    When I was rootin' around for that Eisenstein clip I ran across this old fossil I saw many moons ago:

    [video=youtube;7JDaOOw0MEE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDaOOw0MEE[/video]

    I'll never forget that rocket in the moon's eye shot at 4:30...ouch!! :lol:
     
    Talon, Aug 1, 2012
    #48
  24. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    Flight of the Phoenix with Jimmy Stewart, not the re-make with Dennis Quaid.

    Great...movie.

    I must've watched that film at least 20 times by now.
     
    Herkdriver, Aug 1, 2012
    #49
  25. Foolardi

    Foolardi Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yes,that's a classic.BTW ... Stewart was in real life an aviator.He flew over 20 missions
    during WWII.Jimmy also had to lie about his weight in order to meet the minimum
    weight for induction.Don't forget - The Spirit Of St. Louis - {1957}.
     
    Foolardi, Aug 1, 2012
    #50
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