194. Black Narcissus (1946)

Running Time: 100 minutes
Directed By: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Written By: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger from novel by Rumer Godden
Main Cast: Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Flora Robson, Kathleen Byron, Sabu

POWEEL AND PRESSBURGER WEEK: PART 4

Yikes! I know I say this more often than I should, but I'm going to say it again - this film was not for me. For those of you who are still interested, "Black Narcissus" is currently streaming on Netflix, so don't take my word for it, feel free to judge for yourselves.

The plot of "Black Narcissus" begins and ends with a group of nuns. Headed up by Sister Superior Clodagh (Kerr), the group of nuns travel to a remote location in the Himalayas, to a palace called Mopu, where they intend to build a school/hospital. They feel that the people in this part of the world could use the guidance of the nuns. Once they arrive, they are told that the palace is a converted harem. They are also told that everyone who comes to their convent is being paid to do so and that they shouldn't take on any sever cases in the hospital, because failure to save someone who is severely injured would make the people turn on them. Along with the Sister Superior, the nuns that join her are Sister Briony (Judith Furse) for her strength, Sister Honey (Jenny Laird) for her popularity, Sister Philipa (Robson) for her gardening skills and Sister Ruth (Byron) for her instability. The head mother feels that it would do Sister Ruth some good to go and be a part of the project. After spending some time there, the nuns all succumb to some type of temptation, with Sister Ruth being the most notable. Meanwhile, Sister Superior Clodagh is trying to forget an old romance and trying to fight off her attraction to Mr. Dean (Farrar), the local British Agent stationed at Mopu.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

Another thing that I know I say a lot and don't stick to is - "I'm going to try to keep this review short". Trust me folks, I'm really going to TRY and keep this particular review as short and as sweet as I possibly can. Aside from the last twenty minutes or so of "Black Narcissus", where Sister Ruth snaps and we're treated to that magnificent reveal of a woman, who previously was entirely covered by the usual nun get-up, dawned in all red complete with bright red lipstick, this movie was a big wash out for me. It just seems that Powell and Pressburger seem to have their fingers on exactly what I'm not interested in and they're making movies just to spite me. I'm not interested in war, yet I struggled through "Colonel Blimp" ("struggled" is a strong work, that film IS growing on me). I wasn't interested in the slightest in "I Know Where I'm Going!" yet I struggled through that ("struggled" is the perfect word here...that film did NOTHING for me) and now I'm forced to struggle through a picture about nuns, a subject that held zero interest for me and once again reminded me of an "old persons film".

One major gripe I have is that all of the sisters looked the same and thus it was confusing in trying to tell them apart. Now, I hope I'm not uncovering my own unintelligence or ignorance by revealing that fact, but it's the truth. Like I said, all of the nuns were dressed in the usual nun get-up - you know the dress code in that profession - covered in head to toe in clothing with only your face showing, from your chin to the middle of your forehead. Aside from the slightly chunkier Sister Briony, all of the other women were approximately the same age and had facial features that resembled one another. Unless they referred to each other by name, I had a hard time telling who the hell was speaking. It also seemed that there were too many subplots that just never panned out or were possibly forgotten about. It was like "P & P" were foreshadowing to certain things and then forgot to follow up on them. What about the old man who was constantly sitting Indian style on the hill - whatever happened to him. It seemed as though they were prepping us for this character to become an integral part of the story, but he didn't. David Farrar was a good enough actor, but why was he even there, other than to tempt the sisters. He really didn't have a place and just seemed to pop in and out at random points and raise the sexual ire of the nuns. And what about the Sabu's character and his relationship with Kanchi (Simmons). Neither Sabu, nor Simmons' characters seemed to go anywhere and once the two began a romantic relationship they pretty much disappeared. And lastly, all of the flashbacks from Sister Clodagh just seemed unnecessary and seemed to elude to a possible breakdown or departure from "nunnery" for her character, that never came.

I've rambled on long enough. In the end, I am able to chalk "Black Narcissus" as the highest contender in the "not for me" column and write it off as "just another film watched" in a much bigger effort to watch all of the films in the "1001" book. I tried, it just didn't impress.

RATING: 2/10 I know that seems really harsh, but that's about the highest it's gonna' get from me and anything higher would just be me trying to win the hearts of the "P & P" fans.

MOVIES WATCHED: 228
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 773

March 7, 2011 4:08pm

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191. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

Running Time: 104 minutes
Directed By: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Written By: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Main Cast: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring, Raymond Massey

POWELL AND PRESSBURGER WEEK: PART 3

The only Powell & Pressburger film in the "1001" book that is not currently streaming on Netflix is "A Matter of Life and Death", and it's also the first Powell and Pressburger film that I really, genuinely enjoyed. Let's jump right into it, shall we?

Squadron Leader Peter David Carter (Niven) is a member of the Royal Air Force and as "A Matter of Life and Death" opens, he is in a bad way. His bomber is severely damaged, flaming and his entire crew has bailed out. Carter himself is about to bail out, as he gets in touch with an American radio operator stationed in England, but he is missing a parachute and plans to bail out anyway. As they talk, in what he believes are his final minutes on Earth, he falls in love with her and before he bails out he tells her to send a telegram to his Mother, telling her that he has always loved her, despite not showing it. He jumps and lands on a beach, destined to be dead. However, due to a mistake by Conductor 71 (Goring) from the "Other World", Carter lands on the beach with a small scratch on his head and that is all. It seems that the heavy fog interrupted Conductor 71 from deeming Carter dead and thus he is given 20 hours of free time, when he should've been in the Other World. Carter awakes, thinking he is in the Other World, but soon finding out that he isn't and immediately finds June (Hunter), the radio operator. Conductor 71 eventually comes back and informs Carter of the mistake, but Carter demands an appeal, stating that during the 20 or so hours of borrowed time, that he has fallen in love and it's not his fault that the Other World made a mistake. June seeks the advice of her dear friend, Dr. Reeves (Livesey) to help Peter deal with his "hallucinations".

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

I was disappointed to see that this will be the last time that I get to enjoy the acting chops of Roger Livesey in a Powell and Pressburger film, but was able to confirm my suspicions - that Livesey was a fantastic actor, as was this entire cast basically. David Niven did a fine job, but it was Livesey, along with Raymond Massey that really impressed me and especially their scenes as they sparred on the court room floor in a war of words and argued the case of Peter Carter in a world resembling Heaven. There really wasn't much to dislike about "A Matter of Life and Death". To me, it was Powell & Pressburger's grandest achievement so far, at least as far as what I've seen. This was their masterpiece, with absolutely stunning set design and glorious technicolor shots mashed together with beautifully shot black and white scenes. The stairway scene was one of my favorites as the set was just a sight to behold.

There's not much left to say about "A Matter of Life and Death" (re-titled "Stairway to Heaven" for American release). If you're looking for brilliant acting - this film has it. If you're looking for a movie that really looks like an epic movie, without the epic time - this film has it. If you're looking for a mash-up of genres - this film has it, mixing a real life love story with the fantastical world of "the other side". I may dock it a few points for a little down time near the middle, where it may have slightly lost my interest. But in the end, there's no denying that this film was grand. Case closed.

RATING: 7/10 Knee jerk. Currently am feeling about a '7', but that could easily go up with time. On a side note, I'm already regretting my "Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" rating, as it should have been higher. Next up: "Black Narcissus".

MOVIES WATCHED: 227
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 774

March 5, 2011 9:11pm

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181. I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)

Running Time: 92 minutes
Directed By: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Written By: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Main Cast: Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie, George Carney

POWELL AND PRESSBURGER WEEK: PART 2

Next in our week dedicated to the writing and directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is "I Know Where I'm Going!". It's currently streaming via Netflix for those interested, but I'd say it's only for die hard fans of Powell and Pressburger who have yet to see this one. Personally, I was not enthused with it.

The plot is incredibly dry, in my opinion, and revolves around Joan Webster (Hiller), a woman who has always known exactly what she wanted and has made sure always to get it. From her days as a girl when she wrote to Father Christmas and asked him for a pair of silk stocking - "real silk, not imitation!", to her days as a young woman when she would find a man who would take her to the movies at least twice a week and to a nice restaurant once a month. As an adult, she has made up her mind on marriage and is determined to go to the Kiloran to marry a wealthy businessman, old enough to be her father. In fact, the film starts as she breaks the news to her own father and hops a train for her first stop in a number of stops before she finally arrives in Kiloran. Her last stop before catching a boat to Kiloran is the Isle of Mull, where she is forced to wait out the weather, first fog, which later turns to a full-scale gale. While stranded on the Isle of Mull, Joan meets several people, most notably Torquil MacNeil (Livesey), whom she becomes acquainted with. They basically mingle and get to know one another while they're stuck on the island, as MacNeil is also trying to get to Kiloran. Ultimately Joan can't bear to wait any longer and bribes a young sailor to take her to Kiloran, which leads to the films best scene as the young sailor, Joan and Torquil nearly die trying to get to Kiloran.

I've always tried to prevent myself from using the word "boring" when trying to describe the reasons why I don't like a film. I just think it's a very lazy way to sum up reasons for dismissing an entire production. However, I am going to use the word boring, but I will back that word up with some reasoning. This film was boring! There I've said it - now lets examine why, shall we? First of all, the entire plot revolves around a woman who know what she wants and in the end her plans are changed and she is forced to come to the realization that for the first time in her life she is living spontaneously. That's the core of this movie. In the meantime, she meets Torquil and they become friends, tip-toeing around a romantic relationship. I just found everything very dry and very uninteresting. Bearing in mind that I've only seen two of their pictures thus far, Powell and Pressburger seem to be making films that appeal to a much older audience. I can almost imagine my grandparents sitting around and watching the type of film like "I Know Where I'm Going!" on a Saturday afternoon, as it rained outside and they were huddled under afghans. It's not to say that I am not mature enough to realize the interest in a film like this, it's just that it all doesn't appeal to me and in the case of this particular film, I honestly don't understand how it can appeal to anyone. I found myself watching the clock, like a hawk and wanting this movie to just end and thank God it was only an hour and a half.

As for the positives, as few as there are, I think Roger Livesey was a great actor, although I did enjoy him in "Colonel Blimp" more than I did here. I also highly enjoyed the boat scene, where the trio were almost sucked into a vortex in the water. It was filmed really well and provided a little action and excitement in a film where excitement seemed to be banned. In fact, the camera work was all around really solid and there were a couple of really good shots, so kudos on that. That's about it, as far as pluses go. I'll keep this one short and sweet and suffice it to say that I did not enjoy "I Know Where I'm Going!".

RATING: 3/10 I'm not giving up on Powell and Pressburger just yet. Next up is "A Matter of Life and Death" and I have high hopes for this one. Should be back later today for that review.

MOVIES WATCHED: 226
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 775

March 5, 2011 2:58pm

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659. Ordinary People (1980)

Running Time: 124 minutes
Directed By: Robert Redford
Written By: Alvin Sargent, from novel by Judith Guest
Main Cast: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern

ORDINARY PEOPLE UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES

I know, I know...I should have watched this last week when I was watching all of the Best Picture winners, but I didn't really plan on watching it. My wife got this from Netflix and noticing that it was in the book, I decided to join her. Allow me to join the millions who say, "This should not have beaten Raging Bull at the Oscars!"

The film focuses in on your typical, run of the mill, American family, except the untypical thing about this family is that they've just lost their son, Buck, in a boating accident. The remaining members of the tribe are father Calvin (Sutherland), mother Beth (Moore) and remaining son Conrad (Hutton) and the trio make up the Jarrett family. We soon learn, upon the films opening, that Conrad has recently tried to take his own life, but fortunately failed. The film rolls along smoothly introducing the characters and their attitudes. Calvin is eager to help his son overcome his depression, while Beth doesn't seem to care too much about her troubled son, just so the house is in order and everyone can put on a happy facade when faced by friends. Conrad suffers from a recurring dream, taking him back every night to the night that his brother drowned in the boating accident and the night he survived it. Eventually and to the delight of Calvin, Conrad begins seeing a psychiatrist named Dr. Berger (Hirsch). The two meet for quite some time, before Berger eventually breaks through to Conrad and reveals to him that his is need of forgiveness...for himself. In the meantime, Conrad has quit the swim team at school, tried desperately to get his mother's attention and started dating a girl.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

No, "Ordinary People" shouldn't have beaten "Raging Bull" at the Oscars, in neither the Best Picture or Best Director categories, but that's not to say that "Ordinary People" is a bad film. It's just to say that "Raging Bull" is a better film. I did have a few gripes though, which we'll ultimately get to.

First, the positives. I'm really starting to like Donald Sutherland and while I haven't watched any other films from him so far, for the "1001" book, there's plenty in there and hopefully we'll get to them sooner, rather than later. In fact, I thought the whole cast did a fine job and he knew Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch had it in them to garner Academy Award nominations and be deserving of them. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Judd Hirsch...I'm just more used to him playing Alex Rieger than a shrink. Enough about the cast. The think I really found interesting about "Ordinary People" was the character study. I thought it was interesting how Beth Jarrett seemed to completely close her eyes and ears to the problems around her and want only to be surrounded with pleasantries. Calvin Jarrett somewhat wanted the things that Beth wanted, but wanted to confront their problems as well. I know people like this, and while I can't put my finger on who, I just felt like I was watching real people. I also found it interesting that Conrad seemed to push his father away, yet tried his best to talk to his mother and get her attention and make her be interested in him. It was interesting because Calvin was the one who WAS interested in Conrad and Beth was the one who really didn't want anything to do with him, yet he reacted to them in the opposite way.

I loved the film's use of Pachelbel's Canon, yet didn't like some of the scenes that they played it over. Having it playing at the beginning was great. But there were some scenes, where Canon would start playing, seemingly for no reason. Also I thought the story was a little dry. Yes, it was good and it was like watching real people play out their most horrific time period as a family, but there really doesn't seem to be any climax to this movie. The entire movie, everyone does their bit. Conrad is the disturbed one, Calvin is the loving one and Beth is the hard ass and in the end, Beth doesn't change her ways, she just moves out. In the end, Conrad gets better, but we barely see him well, because it happens so late in the film. And Calvin doesn't change either, other than separating from Beth. It just seemed to lack some big scene, for example, Beth finally breaking down and crying her eyes out over Buck and realizing the fact that she's been pushing her living son away or, and I don't mean to be grim, Conrad trying to commit suicide again. I don't know, the film was a good one and it provided a sincere, yet not always beautiful into the home of an upper class family, but it just seemed to lack somewhere, mainly in that it seemed to be missing some vital scenes that could've catapulted this one into TOP 20 caliber status.

RATING: 7/10 Like I said, not bad AT ALL, but I definitely had a few issues with it.

MOVIES WATCHED: 225
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 776

March 4, 2011 3:54pm

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February 2011 Recap

"RECAP" has returned. In case you're not familiar, allow me to fill you in on the meaning of this post. Basically after every calender month has come to a close, I like to look back at my month in movies. I re-rate (if necessary) all of the films that I watched for the "1001" book and also talk briefly about the movies I watched that are not part of the "1001" book. That's about the just of it.

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - As seen in February 2011
1) Groundhog Day (1993 - Harold Ramis) 8.5/10
2) Ghost Busters (1984 - Ivan Reitman) 5.5/10 - It's not a bad movie, it's just that I really don't think it deserves a place among such prestigious titles.
3) Sleeper (1973 - Woody Allen) 9/10 - Upped it two notches because it really is a fantastic comedy and inching closer and closer to being my favorite of the early Allen films.
4) Annie Hall (1977 - Woody Allen) 7.5/10 - Still not FULLY realizing the hubbub over this one, but coming closer to recognizing it as one of his greats.
5) Funny Games (1997 - Michael Haneke) 8/10
6) Manhattan (1979 - Woody Allen) 10/10
7) Night of the Living Dead (1968 - George A. Romero) 6.5/10 - I think I initially went just a little bit easy on this one when considering the cheap budget and the final product. Still a really good horror film though.
8) The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985 - Woody Allen) 4.5/10 - Fantasy stories are just not what I'm looking for when I think of Woody Allen.
9) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969 - George Roy Hill) 9/10
10) Hannah and Her Sisters (1986 - Woody Allen) 9/10 - Something...and even I don't know what, is holding this from being a '10'. It just doesn't give me that '10' vibe.
11) Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989 - Woody Allen) 8/10
12) The Sting (1973 - George Roy Hill) 8.5/10 - This one went up. Would have been a '9', but I liked "Butch Cassidy..." just a little better and it's basically the same team making both.
13) A Place in the Sun (1951 - George Stevens) 6.5/10
14) On the Waterfront (1954 - Elia Kazan) 4/10 - I realized that I was easy on this one at first because I may have been trying to fit in with the popular opinion...something I promised myself I wouldn't do when I started this project. Shame on me!
15) No Country for Old Men (2007 - Joel & Ethan Coen) 10/10
16) From Here to Eternity (1953 - Fred Zinnemann) 7/10 - Really good, just not as good as my first rating would lead you to believe.
17) Gandhi (1982 - Richard Attenborough) 5/10
18) Midnight Cowboy (1969 - John Schlesinger) 10/10
19) American Beauty (1999 - Sam Mendes) 6/10 - Still a little torn on this one. There are certain aspects of it that I love, but overall there are things about it that I do not love.
20) The Heartbreak Kid (1972 - Elaine May) 7/10

NON-1001 Movies - As seen in February 2011
1) The Town (2010 - Ben Affleck) 4.5/10 - I can't, for sure, put my finger on exactly why I didn't like "The Town" - it may have been a couple of factors. First off, I was really looking forward to this one. Affleck made his directorial debut with "Gone Baby Gone", a film that I thoroughly enjoyed and I had high hopes that he'd make it two for two with me. I tuned in expecting, not a blatant action film, but a film about bank robbers and robberies and what I got was basically a love story, with bank robbery in as the background theme. It felt as if "The Town" was really trying it's best to be "Heat", but failed in Epic fashion, as it lacked grittiness and good acting. Also, who was I supposed to be rooting for? Cool cop Jon Hamm or Punky Renner and Hunky Affleck?

2) Buried (2010 - Rodrigo Cortes) 9.5/10 - Loved pretty much everything about "Buried" and the only reason it didn't get the full '10', is simply because i wasn't feeling it. The film made me feel claustrophobic and I thought Ryan Reynolds did a fantastic job, portraying all of the right emotions at the right times. Everything that the character was going through seemed plausible and nothing felt forced or contrived. I, at no point, was saying anything to the effect of "Oh, well he wouldn't do that" or "Well this couldn't happen, it would be more like this, I'm sure". Great film and the best thing I saw "non-1001" wise all month.

3) Case 39 (2009 - Christian Alvart) 1/10 - This was atrocious! My wife picked this one during our Sunday trip to Redbox and hesitantly I went along like the good husband, even though I kind of had a hunch that it would suck. This was just really cheap as far as providing us with suspenseful moments. It had those kind of suspense moments, like a dog jumping up and barking when everything was quiet...you know the type. I'm gonna' stop there. It was bad...trust me.

4) Cyrus (2010 - Jay and Mark Duplass) 6.5/10 - Another "wife pick" where she was able to redeem herself a bit. I enjoyed this one enough and thought that John C. Reilly was great in it. I've always admired actors who were able to play awkward and Reilly certainly mastered awkward here, as his character is subject to many an awkward moment. For a woman pushing fifty years old, Marisa Tomei is still looking super foxy and she did a good job, acting wise.

5) Dinner for Schmucks (2010 - Jay Roach) 3.5/10 - I read somewhere, where someone said that the actors here (Paul Rudd and Steve Carell) "deserved better material" and I think whoever said that pretty much nailed it. If I'm in the market for current day comedy, then those are two of the actors that I seek out, so I had high hopes for this one. The opening montage of a man dressing up dead mice and making art out of them was certainly interesting, but it goes downhill from there. This was just really cheap and unattractive comedy, with no finesse whatsoever. Not only did the actors involved deserve better material, but it really felt like they were just phoning it in and maybe didn't have their heart (or funny bone) into it.

6) Inception (2010 - Christopher Nolan) 5/10 - God, I hope I don't get crucified for this one. I didn't like it folks - there I've said it. To me, this was just a really good idea, instead of a really good script. I'm not afraid to admit that maybe I didn't fully follow the plot 100% - that could be my ignorance or it could be due to some plot holes. Now I'm not one to make excuses for my own insolence, but this thing, although I couldn't pin them down, reeked of plot holes. Nolan, in his effort to analyze and make a film about dreams, forgot some important elements that exist in dreams. My dreams are often choppy and incomplete. If you ask me what a dream I had was about, I may not know every single detail, while "Inception" tells us that details are key. I'll stop defending my reason for disliking this picture and end in stating that Chris Nolan USED to be a favorite director of mine, but is no longer. With my disapproval of "Inception" that makes four Nolan films in a row that I've failed to see the greatness in and thus his name was scratched from my mental list of great filmmakers. I do, however, still LOVE "Following", "Memento" and "Insomnia". By the way, the '5' is for a good looking picture and I'll be the first to admit that this film was absolutely eye dazzling. Part of the '5' also goes to a good idea, despite poor execution.

7) The Last Exorcism (2010 - Daniel Stamm) 6/10 - I have a bit of a soft spot for fictional films that are told in a documentary style. Honestly, in writing about all of these movies I'm beginning to notice that I draw a definite line between rating new movies and rating old ones. I don't expect as much out of these new movies that I watched and thus, that's why they get higher ratings. This was fun, but really nothing extravagant or special. If you're in the market for a small...very small scare then check it out, but otherwise I wouldn't break my neck - or any body part for that matter - to see this one.

8) The Social Network (2010 - David Fincher) 7.5/10 - By the way, that's a '7.5' on the "Fincher scale". Loved how Fincher was able to turn a story about the creator of Facebook into something very dark and basically place it in his own Finchian World. I'm sure Trent Reznor's Oscar winning score didn't hurt matters in giving "The Social Network" a dark feel either. Jesse Eisenberg was fantastic and in my opinion deserved his Oscar nomination. However, this film really doesn't hold much of a candle to Fincher's previous works, even his newer stuff like "Zodiac" or "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" I definitely liked more than this.

9) Despicable Me (2010 - Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud) 8.5/10 - Probably the best non-Pixar animated film I've EVER seen, although I haven't seen that many non-Pixar animated movies, so that's not really saying a whole lot. I had a hell of a time with this movie though. I genuinely laughed during some parts and had to fight back some honest to goodness tears during other parts. This is right behind "Buried" as far as best things I saw "non-1001" wise this month. Check it out - no matter your age.

10) The Other Guys (2010 - Adam McKay) 2/10 - Pretty much the same feeling as "Dinner for Schmucks" except Will Ferrell is the lone wolf in the "deserves better material" heading. Mark Wahlberg is not a funny man and has no business along side Will Ferrell in a comedy. In fact, if I had my way, Wahlberg would have no business in films period, but I don't have my way and thus were treated to Marky Mark failures every now and then. I shouldn't say that because I am actually looking forward to "The Fighter", but not for the presence of Wahlberg. We're getting off topic here. "The Other Guys" is barely funny, save for a few lines from Ferrell and actually I thought Michael Keaton was pretty hilarious too with his TLC references and his job at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Other than that, this is basically trash.

11 - 16) Every Woody Allen film from "Match Point" to "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" (2005 - 2010 - Woody Allen) various ratings - "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" came out on DVD this month and once again I was able to tout the fact that I've seen EVERY Woody Allen film. With that fact in place, I also realized that I have absolutely no ranking of his films and seeing as how he is my favorite director, I would like to have a ranking of his films. So...after checking out the new movie, I decided to keep going backwards in watching Allen's films. As I watched them, I kept a Microsoft Office Word document of notes and ratings, so that when I'm done I could have a really accurate list of his movies from best to worst. So why am I holding those ratings from your eyes? Well, if you care, I plan to post the full, ranked and rated list up when it is complete, right here on the "1001 Movies I (Apparently) Must See Before I Die" blog. So, hopefully you care enough to look forward to that.

WHEW!! That was a HUGE post. That about caps off February in my world of film. Let's keep truckin' on March and I'll see you back here in 31.

March 1, 2011 11:32pm

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160. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

Running Time: 163 minutes
Directed By: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Written By: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Main Cast: Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook, Ursula Jeans, John Laurie

POWELL AND PRESSBURGER WEEK: PART 1

Well I figured it'd be a good time to kick off another series dedicated to a certain director (or director's, in this case). I realize that I've been abandoning the earlier films in the book, so decided to focus in on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, as the majority of their films were made in the 1940s, which is the earliest decade that we have left. First up, "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp", which I didn't despise, despite early thoughts that I would.

Major General Clive Wynne-Candy (Livesey) is relaxing in a Turkish bath, when he is bombarded on by a group of soldiers. Candy had called a training exercise - "War starts at Midnight" - but the soldiers decided to jump the gun and capture Candy hours earlier. As Candy argues with the officers and they tussle, we begin our journey backwards for a look into the Major General's life. We head all the way back to 1902, when Clive Candy decides, against orders, to go to Berlin to confront a man named Kaunitz for spreading propaganda and saying that the British killed women and children during the Boer War. Upon his arrival he meets with Edith Hunter (Kerr), a friend's acquaintance who alerted him to the propaganda and they go to a cafe where Candy is provoked by Kaunitz and he ends up punching him in the mouth. A duel is scheduled, in which Candy gets his lip nearly severed (which leads to the growing of his epic moustache) and his opponent gets his forehead cut. While recuperating in a nursing home, Candy befriends Schuldorff (Walbrook), his opponent in duel and allows Edith to slip away and marry Schuldorff. He doesn't realize until later that he loved Edith Hunter. From there, Candy's time during World War I and his later years, as he gets married and re-acquaints with Schuldorff, are covered.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

This film was made during the height of World War II and was surely made to speak against the tactics that were being used by the Nazis. It was probably made for reasons that pertained to the current situations, but I didn't view it as such. Instead, I viewed it as a story about the life of a noble man. I guess you could say that if you give me a movie about a man, real or fictional, then I'm interested in how that man evolved. How he may have gone from hotheaded youngster, eager to defend his country from slanderous propaganda to an old man who just yearned to be needed. For me, the best part of "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" was the friendship that Major General Candy had with Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff. The story of their friendship, in my eyes was fantastic. They meet as opposition holding swords and declaring duel, not knowing one another personally, just knowing one anothers politics. They maim one another and as they recuperate they become friends. Years later, Candy finds Schuldorff and is befuddled when he is ignored by his old friend - such a sad scene. The ignorance is eventually explained, they reunite and part ways again and twenty years later, it is German native Schuldorff trying to gain access into England, as he doesn't agree with the Nazi ways of his current Germany. An incredibly touching scene, as Schuldorff chronicles his previous years, the death of his wife and the loss of his sons to the Nazi party.

This wasn't the best thing I've seen thus far and far from it, but I did enjoy parts of it. Like I said, I didn't view this as your typical war movie, but rather a movie about friendship, love and the evolution of a good man. It flowed along quite nicely too at a running time of nearly three hours and I didn't find myself staring at the clock at all. It would come with a mild recommendation from me, but in the end, it wasn't entirely my cup of tea.

RATING: 5.5/10 I know that seems a harsh rating after my praise, but this really wasn't my thing and I hope for better, more intriguing things from the duo of Powell and Pressburger. Next up: "I Know Where I'm Going".

MOVIES WATCHED: 224
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 777

March 1, 2011 7:19pm

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521. L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo/The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)

Running Time: 98 minutes
Directed By: Dario Argento
Written By: Dario Argento, from the novel The Screaming Mimi by Fredric Brown
Main Cast: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi

HEY IT'S THE OLD GUY FROM "OZ"!

The above line is what I said to myself when I was finally able to pin down where I'd seen Tony Musante before. I received "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" from Netflix (via mail...Yes I'm back to getting movies in the mail) because I feel that since my return I've been lacking the viewing of some foreign films. I skimmed through the book and this one caught my eye and it wasn't a terrible choice.

Sam Dalmas (Musante) is an American writer living in Italy. Walking home one evening, past an art gallery, he notices a man dressed in almost all black attacking a woman with a knife. He runs to her rescue, but is somehow trapped between two glass walls. The assailant runs away and the lady lies bleeding on the floor, until Sam catches the attention of another passerby and has him alert the police. The police arrive, the woman is diagnosed with only flesh wounds and the grilling on Sam begins. His plans to leave Italy in just a few days are stubbed out, as Inspector Morosini (Salerno) alerts him that he needs to stay around, because not only is he a key witness, but they also can't rule him out as a suspect. With some free time on his hands, as he's unable to leave the country, Sam begins to conduct his own investigation into, what has been brought to his attention as a string of unsolved murders. With only a few obscure clues to go by, Sam begins to follow up the stories of the previous two victims, as well as the third, un-murdered victim that Sam helped save. With the help of his girlfriend (Kendall), the two take us (the viewer) on a wild goose chase to uncover the identity of the murderer.

SPOILER ALERT!

The reason I refer to it as a "wild goose chase" is because I wasn't too thrilled with the big "super shocking" ending. But, like other wild goose chases, the chase is a lot of fun, that is until we realize that a wild goose lies at the end. I had a lot of fun with this film and it was actually the type of gritty, Hitchcockian style movie that I'm usually very interested in. I thought Argento did a great job constructing a really frightening atmosphere and trying his best to give us little hints to throw us off the scent of the real killer. In fact, I thought that was a stroke of brilliance on Argento's part. I loved how he would throw little allusions, and make us think things that didn't end up being true. For example: There's one scene where Inspector Morosini asks Julia - "Haven't we met before?", to which Julia responds with a very awkward "No, you're mistaken." It's those little oddities in the dialogue that make us think things that end up being nothing, but make our mind constantly work to try and figure this film out before it ends and I loved going on the chase right along the main character.

In the end, the killer is finally revealed and although I didn't predict it whatsoever, I wasn't too thrilled and instead of giving an excited "NO WAY!", I gave an unenthusiastic "Oh...". It seems to me that Argento was going for the most surprising ending possible, even if it didn't make the most sense. He didn't care about maintaining the sensibility of his picture, but just wanted to get that big shock out of us, which he totally missed out on from me. In the end, it is explained that Monica (Renzi) had been attacked in a park and when she saw a painting that depicted almost verbatim what happened to her, she snapped inside and began to go a bit nutty. It is then explained that her husband, in order to cover up her murders, began to commit murders himself, so in essence, there were really two murderers. In my opinion...lame! This movie even comes complete with a couple of plot holes, like who was the ex-prizefighter who tried to kill Sam by chasing him through the streets of Italy? We can assume that he was hired by the killers, but it's never fully laid out for us and provides us with more killers than we need to have on hand for a murder mystery. So in conclusion, I had fun throughout, but was let down by the ending.

RATING: 6.5/10 I could see that rating rising, but for now we'll stick with it. There's no denying that this IS a good movie, it's only the ending that I have issue with.

MOVIES WATCHED: 223
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 778

March 1, 2011 2:31pm

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