tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post102465763185966416..comments2024-01-21T11:18:54.087-05:00Comments on Lost in the Movies: Remembering the Movies, Oct. 1 - 7Joel Bockohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-27548688983909022892010-10-07T08:45:22.028-04:002010-10-07T08:45:22.028-04:00Sounds like you've seen a good selection of th...Sounds like you've seen a good selection of these, Joe! Is there a more recent restoration of Spartacus than the famous one (i.e. the one where Anthony Hopkins dubbed in Olivier's voice for the famous snails-oysters dialogue)? If so, I don't think I've seen it either...<br /><br />On Slippery Jim, before watching it I read something that said it may have been inspired by Houdini. Needless to say, it took its inspiration quite liberally, for the better!Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-13679949634562561262010-10-07T00:56:11.149-04:002010-10-07T00:56:11.149-04:00I've seen "The Elephant Man." I was...I've seen "The Elephant Man." I was surprised when I learned that Mel Brooks was the executive producer. John Hurt was good. I've seen "Spartacus," but not the most recently restored version. It's probably the best Roman-era epic I've seen. The ending of Union Station is very suspenseful, and Barry Fitzgerald is good as a leperchaun-sized tough cop. I haven't seen "The Green Archer," but I'd like to. I enjoy movie serials. Victor Jory has a remarkable voice. I grew up reading nasty comments about "The Big Trail," but when I finally got to see if on AMC years ago, it was good. Beautiful compositions in early wide screen. "Slippery Jim" was fun. I saw it on a DVD set, perhaps the Houdini...Joe Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14165780971886135575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-83213903962704552492010-10-06T12:43:39.903-04:002010-10-06T12:43:39.903-04:001, I wasn't sure whether to lead with a pictur...1, I wasn't sure whether to lead with a picture from Spartacus or The Elephant Man (there's a great one from DVD Beaver with a poster for the freak show). Eventually I went with the former simply because of the Curtis connection (I had to take a screen-cap from You Tube to get that pic). Just seemed a nice way of paying tribute as well as putting the most famous film on top.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-54487017854466013622010-10-06T03:58:17.916-04:002010-10-06T03:58:17.916-04:00I'm not a fan of The Elephant Man or Lynch in ...I'm not a fan of The Elephant Man or Lynch in general, but I do like Spartacus. Need to see some of those others.1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-37887540893403340072010-10-04T00:19:30.593-04:002010-10-04T00:19:30.593-04:00Geez, I know I need to come back here ASAP, Joel. ...Geez, I know I need to come back here ASAP, Joel. I am a big fan of THE ELEPHANT MAN and a few others here. It's a fabulous time travel venture here.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-37767860865288039432010-10-03T09:46:25.036-04:002010-10-03T09:46:25.036-04:00Epic comment, Gerald! No worries about Lynch &...Epic comment, Gerald! No worries about Lynch & Kubrick, ha - though I would say I love most of what they've done (Wild at Heart & Inland Empire I'm not entirely warm too for different reasons and I don't think I like Blue Velvet as much as I'm "supposed" to but there's no other director that has as direct a visceral/emotional effect on me; w/ Kubrick I guess I'm kind of an Eyes Wide Shut skeptic, beautiful but flawed, not as keen on 2nd half of Full Metal Jacket like most others, but everything else...)<br /><br />You've sold me on Avalon; I was already intrigued after doing this entry. I'm an absolute 100% sucker on stuff like this, generations, history passing, people growing older - probably nothing I find as endlessly fascinating.<br /><br />That Ustinov anecdote is great, as for Holden - I don't read many show-biz bios these days but I read one on whom in the late 90s called "Golden Boy". Not sure how accurate it was but it laid out the pathos pretty acutely. Maybe it's that vaguely suppressed "trouble" that makes him so watchable.<br /><br />R.I.P. Curtis - and Penn Station...Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-60805434563152471502010-10-02T15:33:42.639-04:002010-10-02T15:33:42.639-04:00Movie Man: You had me at “Avalon” and then knocked...Movie Man: You had me at “Avalon” and then knocked me over with Jan Sterling. I really like this cross section, having seen at least four. I love “Avalon.” I have said elsewhere that I am a Gentile who was raised in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and being enveloped in such a world during my youth has carried through my life. So “Avalon” rang true and recalled fond memories. (And it taught us to be cautious about when we cut the turkey.) It also taught us how fast a decade might go while sitting in a favorite chair. Another filmmaker might just as well have made the families Irish or Italian, for example, and it would have worked. Most of these European immigrant groups followed similar paths. Levinson seems to have lost his way in recent years but I am thankful that he has given us “Avalon,” “Diner” and “The Natural.”<br /><br />My remembrance of “Elephant Man,” seen long ago, is somewhat akin to your own. I recall it as being very good but steeped in a sadness. It sets me to a tug of war with caution about Lynch and total admiration of John Hurt, who is very good in everything. As for Lynch, I am a “Twin Peaks” fan (the early episodes) but “Blue Velvet” makes me nervous. I was usually more in agreement with Siskel than Ebert but, in the matter of Lynch, I think my feelings correspond more closely with Roger.<br /><br />Being iffy about Lynch, I hope I have not worn out my Comment privileges by also having mixed feelings about Kubrick. I like “Spartacus,” very much like “The Killing,” and thought “Barry Lyndon” was glorious. But I am in no hurry to watch again “Clockwork Orange” or “Eyes Wide Shut.” As to “Spartacus,” I have come to appreciate the recently passed Tony Curtis. And you are right about Laughton and Ustinov stealing the show, but that was their stock in trade, particularly as they grew older.<br /><br />I remember Ustinov on a talk show (Susskind’s “Open End”?) ages ago speaking about when he was a boy. His parents had among their friends -- many of the European cultural elite, including well known theatre people and writers. He then expounded on the conversations he had overheard at table -- most of which were along the lines of: “I have to take my suit to the tailor” or “it looks like rain” or “are we having green beans for dinner?” Peter Ustinov. <br /><br />Jan Sterling: we learned elsewhere that kneeling bagged her nylons. But in “Union Station,” stockings are not an issue. I love this actress. I agree, this is a very good tight movie. And we also get Nancy Olson as the featured actress. My brother worked in the Old Penn Station in New York in the 1940s when rail was still king and I was often there meeting him. “Union Station” captures those days for me. The ebb and flow of humanity all going somewhere. The city in its ignorance destroyed the building and kept the tunnels, the rails and the ticket counters. <br /><br />Your comments on William Holden have him right. In memory, he always seems to me to have come later than I thought – but actually it was not all that much. He was making films in the very late thirties. Wilder, of course, brought out the best in him. I believe he was one of our very best. Best. Gerald.Gordon Pashahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18177101489742741815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-91079287363081207972010-10-01T16:15:21.315-04:002010-10-01T16:15:21.315-04:00Thanks, Jaime - I really need to see Elephant Man ...Thanks, Jaime - I really need to see Elephant Man again, it's been a long time. As for serials, I actually haven't seen much, but this week's post got me intrigued. I'll definitely check out the blog.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-73018893144795273352010-10-01T14:43:46.226-04:002010-10-01T14:43:46.226-04:00The Elephant Man is really superb in acting, light...The Elephant Man is really superb in acting, lighting, cinema, and my choice for the best David Lynch movie. I don't dismiss all his work, in fact, I love all of his work, but I think here he managed to touch my heart with the story of a society outcast, misunderstood and lonely, that finds happiness in the lives of the others. This one of the first movies I saw in english without spanish subtitles, so I regard it highly in my movie watching experience life.<br />About Spartacus, I'm pretty sure I saw it... but I don't remember much of it, I remember I liked it and I def need to see it again.<br />Hey! If you like serials, pass by my blog in some hours! I'll have a review of one.Jaime Grijalbahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00175192502767519362noreply@blogger.com