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Post by dvdjunkie on Oct 30, 2010 6:53:48 GMT -6
Really surprised that no one started a thread about the World Series, as it has a lot of meaning to us Californians. The San Francisco Giants surprised everyone this year, even themselves and now find the team is 2-0 in the best of seven series. Can't wait for tonight's game. If the Giants win, it is all over but the shouting. Go Giants!!!!!
Back to the subject at hand, I have reach a very pivotal point in watching horror films as of today. I have gone as far as watching the original King Kong, and then all of the remakes, and then even stooped to watching King Kong Lives, which is a true disaster of a movie.
As of this writing (Saturday morning) I have watch 86 movies in my quest to watch 100 Horror Films before midnight on October 31.
Latest additions to my list of films include: Strait Jacket (1964) starring Joan Crawford; When Worlds Collide (1951); War of the Worlds (1953 and 2005) and last but not least Psycho (1960).
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Post by Midge on Oct 30, 2010 15:40:40 GMT -6
Bill, I thought of starting a World Series thread, but I wasn't sure if anyone else here would care that much. There's a lot of excitement in San Francisco right now, and we're all very proud that the Giants are doing so well! Last night I saw an old Joan Crawford horror movie, Berserk (1967) , about a series murders that terrify a traveling circus troupe owned by Joan. The plot was drive-in movie silly and had an abrupt, unsatisfying ending. The real stars of the show, as far as I'm concerned, were the 58-year-old Joan's beautiful, colorful costumes, which showed off her still-spectacular figure. According to iMDb, all the costumes were from her own personal wardrobe except for her red and black ringmaster's leotard outfit, which was designed by Edith Head. La Crawford is always fun to watch, even in the most dreary movie.
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Post by dvdjunkie on Nov 1, 2010 6:33:47 GMT -6
Well, for the third year in a row I have mastered the Hundred Horror Movies for Halloween Challenge. This year I managed to watch 112 movies in 31 days. That is movies, no television films or television shows, and I was truly surprised at how few rentals I had to depend on to complete the challenge this year.
One day I watched every conceivable version of King Kong, starting with the 1933 classic and ending up with the horrid King Kong Lives from 1986 starring Linda Hamilton. I even capped that days movies with the original version of 1949's Mighty Joe Young.
I did themed days, like John Carpenter movies, and even concluded the month with my two favorite Hitchcock films The Birds and Psycho.
Now I am going to sit back and relax, and then on December 1st will make an effort to watch One Hundred Christmas-Themed Movies Challenge, which I have never completed in the four years I have tried.
Tonight, I plan on watching the San Francisco Giants bring home the World Series Championship to the Bay Area. They have proven to be a force in this year's baseball classic.
;D
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Post by Hedvig on Nov 1, 2010 17:16:07 GMT -6
The only horror movie I've watched is J'Accuse (1919) again. I'm not sure which is more horrific in this film - the war, or the domestic violence! It's a powerfully made movie, and a great indictment against the war, but it leaves me with mixed feelings, due to the inevitable values dissonance after 90 years. We've moved far from the honour-based society this movie depicts. At least Edith's plight is presented with sympathy. But the people she's surrounded with! When she's saying goodbye to her husband at the end of part two, immediately after he has tried to kill her in jealous rage, it only looks like a sad farce to me. It distracts me from the anti-war message, somewhat. But I still keep returning to J'Accuse, because for its time, it's a brilliantly made movie. In a lot of twisted ways, its story probably also makes psychological sense.
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Post by dvdjunkie on Nov 25, 2010 11:50:25 GMT -6
Last night I had to have my Humphrey Bogart fix so we watched three of my favorite movies that featured Bogie:
To Have and Have Not also featuring the beautiful Lauren Bacall.
The Caine Mutiny with an all-star cast that featured Jose Ferrer, Fred McMurray, and Jeffrey Hunter. Great WWII drama.
The African Queen featuring Katherine Hepburn in one of her best roles.
After the movie-fest we then watched some Warner Bros. cartoons featuring my favorite character Foghorn Leghorn, Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam and Pepe LePew.
;D
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Dec 2, 2010 3:51:20 GMT -6
Within this past week, I have been watching a few of the movies on my Film Noir collection. As much as I enjoy noir, I don't seem to see it a lot (no valid reason), so it's been great watching it again! I have watched: D.O.A. (1949) with Edmond O'Brien Detour (1945) with Ann Savage Quicksand (1950) with Mickey Rooney and Peter Lorre The Stranger (1946) with Orson Welles and Edward G. Robinson And the whole stupid part is that, last week, I just ordered The Stranger from Barnes & Noble (and I'm still waiting for it to arrive), totally forgetting the fact that I already owned it on this multi-collection DVD! So I guess it might make a great Christmas gift for someone. :idea:
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Post by dvdjunkie on Dec 2, 2010 8:14:46 GMT -6
Don't know how many others here at the Diner have gone the whole HDTV route include a Blu-ray player, but most of my movie watching is done on my Blu-ray player and most of my latest purchases have been in the Blu-ray format. That being said:
Watched my latest addition to my Walt Disney collection on Blu-ray. I bought the 4-disc Combo Pack of Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 which contains both the Blu-ray and standard DVD of each movie. I had never seen "Fantasia 2000" and was quite please at how it was done. Also included in the extras on both of the Blu-ray discs (and not on the Standard DVD) is a 90-minute documentary called "Dali/Disney" and it is the story of how Walt and Salvador Dali were trying to make a short subject back in the 40's called "Destino". Well since neither could agree on certain forms that the short would take it kept getting put back on the shelf, only to be resurrected every couple of years at Dali's request because he thought he had found something new in his paintings. Almost 60 years passed before Roy E. Disney took over and put the final touches on the short and this collection brings us the 6 1/2 minute "Destino" in its planned form and is wonderful to watch. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject, and won several awards from the Cannes Film Festival and many other prestigious awards.
I am now happy to have seen "Fantasia 2000" and "Destino" and sometime today I will watch "Fantasia", which is among my favorite Disney Animated Classic films.
;D
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Post by dvdjunkie on Jan 4, 2011 6:54:20 GMT -6
New Year's Weekend was spent watching some of my most neglected movies in my collection, and there are quite a few.
First up, since it has been remade by The Coen Brothers and is currently out in the theaters I watched John Wayne in his Academy Award winning role of Rooster Cogburn in True Grit.The film also featured Kim Darby and Glen Campbell. Really a very good western.
Then followed up with the sequel starring Katherine Hepburn and John Wayne simply called Rooster Cogburn. Lots of bantering about between the two lead characters, but the film was not even close to the quality of "True Grit".
I treated my family to a couple of Alec Guinness films that are my favorites. First up it was Captain's Paradise, a film about a seaman who had a wife in every port and the outrageous things that happen during his visits. We followed this up with "The Lavender Hill Mob", and I don't think there was anyone who escaped this film without his sides hurting from laughing so hard. Truly one of Alec Guinness's best work.
Another favorite movie of mine was remade in 2003 and starred Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, and Donald Sutherland, it was called "The Italian Job" and featured a great heist featuring the use of Mini-Cooper's as the escape vehicles. Well, in my collection of DVD's I also happen to have the original from 1969 - The Italian Job - and it starred Michael Caine and Noel Coward, in his last film role. The story is a little different, but it is still a heist that uses Mini-Cooper's as the getaway vehicles. Everyone really enjoyed this film.
We watched several other films including the original version of Stagecoach, which starred Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell and introduced us to "The Duke" John Wayne. Classic western film and along with "The Searchers" remains one of my favorite John Wayne westerns.
;D
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Jan 9, 2011 17:19:52 GMT -6
Confound it! Drat! Darn it! Have to take time out for supper! Been an enjoyable day of watching some old classic movies! TC and I watched The Monster (1925) with Lon Chaney and The Libeled Lady (1936) with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy and [my personal favorite] Jean Harlow earlier. :jump: After eating supper, I think we're gonna sit back and watch Sister Act (1992). :thumbsup:
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Post by filmnoirfanatic on Jan 12, 2011 19:44:18 GMT -6
Hi! Larry, and 66 diner members... "The Libeled Lady" (1936) with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy and [my personal favorite] Jean Harlow..." Good call there Larry...I too like the original film "The Libeled Lady" (...even though I have watched and enjoyed watching the remake starring Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Lucille Ball, and Keenan Wynn. However, the original film is just that... original.By the way, a good line-up Of films that you and tclion watched... As for me...I watched a film noir for the first-time entitled "The Pitfall" starring Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, and Raymond Burr at his most villainous [See his turn in the "The Blue Gardenia," "Desperate," and "Raw Deal,"] and for me not to mention his turn in Hitchcock's "Rear Window" is just wrong!] This film was released when family were "nuclear"...home in the suburb, stay home mom, one car family, (the mom usually dropped the father off at work...she needed the car for chores, but of course!) usually one or two children. The film begins with a typical late 40s early 50s family, going about their daily routine...except that the father [Powell] is bored and the next thing you know he meets innocently, a shady lady [Scott] and then the dark noirish turn... begins.DeeDee
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Post by Midge on Jan 13, 2011 4:05:50 GMT -6
Dee Dee, I saw The Pitfall, too, at a film noir festival last year and I believe I wrote a review of it, too. Great movie! Last night American TCM featured a tribute to Luise Rainer. I tried to watch The Great Waltz (1938) co-starring Fernand Gravet (who?) and Miliza Korjus (who?). A scene from it was included in That's Entertainment Part II to illustrate the hilariously cliched manner in which Hollywood portrays the process of songwriting. Gravet and Korjus are riding through the woods in a carriage when the rhythmic squeaking of the wheels and the call of a bugle suddenly inspires the melody of "Tales of the Vienna Woods." Mmm hmmm, yeah, right. Well, I have to tell you that despite the music of Johan Strauss, this movie was so utterly dreary and pointless I didn't last 10 minutes, and I love musicals!
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Post by dvdjunkie on Jan 22, 2011 9:44:22 GMT -6
Finally found my copies that I made on DVD-R of "The Green Hornet" television series, which starred Van William as Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as his companion Kato. The television show was only 26 episodes long, and I have every one of them, all in order on three DVD's.
Tried to get my six-year-old grandson Zach to sit with me and watch a couple of episodes, but after about five minutes he was bored and wanted me to watch something else. I told him that I was going to watch at least three episodes, and he left, and went upstairs to watch his television.
Made in 1966-67, this television series was done by the same people who did "Batman", but they left out the "kabams" and "kabooms" when the fight sequences take place. Bruce Lee was so young and he was amazing at his agility and quickness. Each story has a great moral to it, and no one ever dies. The bad guys were always subdued by the "gas gun" that The Green Hornet used to stop them in their tracks.
Just a whole lot of fun!!! :jump: :jump:
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Post by tclion on Jan 22, 2011 14:09:11 GMT -6
Well with any luck we will be watching "the Godfather" movies. Larry borrowed them from his dad ane we have been trying to watch them for a day or two. We will see whast happens.
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Jan 23, 2011 21:56:25 GMT -6
Well, as it turned out, we did get to see the original Godfather (1972) last night. The last time I had seen this movie was when I was a child and, of course, it really wouldn't have meant that much to me then. I cannot believe I let such a huge amount of time go by before seeing it again. :huh: Although I have never been a huge Marlon Brando fan, no one else could ever play the role of Vito Corleone — Brando is Corleone. :thumbsup: As for tonight, TC and I watched Dinner at Eight (1933) again. I never get tired of that movie at all. ;D Although it has a star-studded cast, it could have never been the same without Lionel Barrymore, Jean Harlow, or of course Marie Dressler. :thumbsup: Dressler has always been one of my all-time favorites, as many of you know. However, it is so hard to pick who was the most stellar because they all did such a fantastic job, notwithstanding Billie Burke's comical portrayal of a want-to-be society matron. :uhuh: Then we concluded our evening with Sister Act 2 (1993). Whoopi Goldberg has always been a class act, funny, witty, and charming, especially as Delores Van Cartier/Sister Mary Clarence. Kathy Najimy's portrayal of Sister Mary Patrick always makes a person laugh because she's just so high on life itself!
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Post by diane on Jan 26, 2011 1:49:41 GMT -6
re Midge's post on "The Great Waltz" (1938). I knew who Miliza Korjus was when I was just a kid. My mother loved her voice and often spoke about her and "The Great Waltz" . I can remember seeing it when I was young - when I was still in the "mum said it was great, therefore it must be" part of my childhood. I am not really keen on operatic movies - even Jeanette MacDonald, I'd rather have her in "Love Me Tonight" than with Nelson Eddy. Midge, I think the whole world would be in agreement with you as regards "The Great Waltz" - I have only read scathing reviews on it and Miliza Korjus - I am not really sure but after getting a huge build up, I think she only made one or two movies. The last movie I saw was "Massacre" (1933). It had Richard Barthelmess and Ann Dvorak playing native Americans - it was done very well and I thought it was a good attempt to address problems that college educated Indians faced when they returned to the reservation.
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Post by diane on Jan 26, 2011 1:54:16 GMT -6
re Larry's selection. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a day than watching "DOA", "Detour", "Quicksand" etc. As far as "The Stranger" goes, that is such a great movie, you could give it to anyone as a gift and they would be very pleased. We saw it about a month ago (on one of those 50 movie packs).
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Jan 26, 2011 7:59:12 GMT -6
As far as "The Stranger" goes, that is such a great movie, you could give it to anyone as a gift and they would be very pleased. Of course, that is my opinion on anything involving Orson Welles! :thumbsup:
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Post by Midge on Jan 26, 2011 14:49:39 GMT -6
Diane, I enjoyed reading about your memories of Miliza Korjus. I only know her from seeing that clip in That's Entertainment.
Totally agree about The Stranger. It's a very entertaining and well-made thriller with a great cast.
Tonight I am going to the Film Noir Festival to see two noirs that are not on DVD, Woman on the Beach and Beware, My Lovely. I will review them both on this site.
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Jan 26, 2011 15:18:23 GMT -6
Tonight I am going to the Film Noir Festival to see two noirs that are not on DVD, Woman on the Beach and Beware, My Lovely. I will review them both on this site. Really?! I'm not familiar with them but, of course, I guess I wouldn't be if they're not available to public. :drunk: I noticed this is being held at the ever-historic Castro Theatre. I would love to be able to come there, even just to see the theatre itself! Looking forward to your reviews, Midge! :thumbsup:
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Post by Midge on Jan 26, 2011 15:24:28 GMT -6
Thanks, Larry. I know you would love the Castro Theatre. It's a grand old-style movie palace that is now a historic landmark. Here's a link to their current schedule: www.castrotheatre.com/p-list.html
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Post by dvdjunkie on Jan 31, 2011 11:32:58 GMT -6
I'll second that about the Castro Theater. When I was in the Projectionist Union in Sacramento, they local from San Francisco called to get someone to come to the city to do some relief work for six days, and I was nominated to go, and the theater I did the relief work at was The Castro Theater, and the movie that was playing for that week was "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".
But I found that the Castro is a true representation of what the movie theaters of days gone by were like. And the popcorn is always fresh!!!
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Post by dvdjunkie on Feb 8, 2011 9:10:34 GMT -6
Found myself bedridden, house-ridden, and everything else with a very horrendous winter Cold, and it left me with a lot of time to watch some classic and not-to-classic films.
The Flower Drum Song wonderful Rodgers & Hammerstein musical with a very colorful story and some stand out stars.
Singing In The Rain one of my top ten musicals of all time. Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds rollick through some very great tunes and a very funny story about the conversion from "silents" to "talkies". Good fun.
Doomed Caravan featuring my favorite cowboy, William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy. I own all 66 of the Hopalong Cassidy movies and the family and I really enjoy these western oldies.
Under California Stars Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Andy Devine in one of the 18 Tru-color westerns made by America's number one singing cowboy.
Trail BanditsTim Holt and Richard Martin star is this western action film.
The Kid From Texas stars Audie Murphy as William Bonney, Billy the Kid. Very glorified account of this young man's life and featured a very young Gale Storm.
Will go over some more films in a couple of days.
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Post by dvdjunkie on Mar 22, 2011 16:27:56 GMT -6
Found myself without a car for a couple of days, (getting tires and brakes) so I decided to have a John Wayne movie festival in the Junkie Home Theater. We watched:
Angel and the Badman - The Duke and Gail Russell in this wonderful story about an outlaw and a Quaker girl and the path they take to love.
Island in the Sky - Wayne, along with an all-star cast including Lloyd Nolan, James Arness and Andy Devine, about a pilot and crew who crash land in Labrador and the pilot's effort to keep his men alive while awaiting rescue.
McClintock! - One of the better westerns in Wayne's career also featuring his favorite co-star Maureen O'Hara, Chill Wills, and introducing us to Stefanie Powers as his daughter. Based on William Shakespeare's "Taming of The Shrew", this is just a rollicking two hours of fun and laughter.
The High and the Mighty - John Wayne, Robert Stack, Claire Trevor, Phil Harris and another all-star cast in William Wellman's classic story about a doomed flight from Hawaii to the mainland. Held like forever in limbo over the film's score and estate problems, this film was finally released a couple of years ago and looks magnificent and sounds great with a restored 5.1 soundtrack.
Rio Bravo - My favorite John Wayne western featuring Ward Bond, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and introducing a very young Angie Dickinson. Just one heck of a western with The Duke at his best.
;D
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Post by Midge on Mar 22, 2011 18:43:51 GMT -6
Thanks for the review, Bill. I hope you will have your car back soon. I haven't seen any of those John Wayne movies except The High and the Mighty, and then only once. I love the theme music. Angel and the Badman co-starred the beautiful and tragic Gail Russell, who died in her 40's of alcoholism. I have always wanted to see that one as it has an excellent reputation, but somehow I never get around to it. Westerns aren't really my thing, but I know there are some really good ones out there that are enjoyable even for tenderfoots like me. ("Tenderfoots?" "Tenderfeet?" )
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Post by dvdjunkie on Mar 24, 2011 13:24:28 GMT -6
Continuing my John Wayne movie marathon I had three of my favorites lined up to watch:
Big Jake featuring his favorite co-star Maureen O'Hara and Richard Boone in his most evil role. About the kidnapping of a little boy, Jake McCandless' (Wayne) grandson and you don't want to get on the bad side of The Duke.
The Searchers featuring another of Wayne's favorite co-stars, Ward Bond. This is the story of a white girl captured by Indians and the man who tries to save her. A very young Natalie Wood portrays the girl. Very intense and very good. The Duke at his best.
The Shootiststarring The Duke in his last movie role and featuring Lauren Bacall, Harry Morgan, Ronnie Howard, Hugh O'Brian, and James Stewart. The story of an aging gunfighter who looks up his friend (Stewart) who is the only doctor he trusts. He finds that he has a cancer and less than six weeks to live. Very good movie with some interesting play between Bacall and Wayne.
;D
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Post by Midge on Mar 24, 2011 13:49:53 GMT -6
Bill, I forgot to comment on your having been a projectionist at the Castro Theater. How cool is that? I'm very impressed. Whenever I am there, I cast longing glances at the bright silver beam of light coming from the projection booth and wish that I were not too shy to go up there and ask to see it. I have seen one of the John Wayne films you mentioned, The Shootist. It's a very good movie in its own right and also a moving tribute to its star, who at the time knew that he really did have cancer and might not survive. The only thing that rang false to me was a scene with Lauren Bacall in the kitchen making bread dough or rolling out a pie crust, I forget which it was. I just couldn't picture the glamorous Mrs. Bogart wearing an apron and engaging in such a humble chore!
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Post by dvdjunkie on Mar 28, 2011 6:14:24 GMT -6
As a family yesterday we sat down in the Junkie Home Theater and watched a couple of 'vintage' comedies:
The Egg and I starring Fred McMurray and Claudette Colbert as newlyweds who take over a rundown farm and try to make a go of it. Very funny movie and it introduced us to The Kettles, Ma and Pa, portrayed by Percy Kilbride and Marjorie Main.
The Further Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle is continuing adventures of these wonderful characters from "The Egg and I". The Kettles have 15 kids and still have a pretty sane household. Richard Long portrays the oldest. This was the second of 10 "Ma and Pa Kettle" movies that Universal produced in the 40s and 50s.
Eight of the ten movies are available on DVD in two volumes featuring the movies in their released order.
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Post by Midge on Mar 28, 2011 10:18:33 GMT -6
Bill, I'm glad you enjoyed those comedies. As a teenager I remember enjoying the book The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald, though when I saw the film it was hard for me to picture Claudette Colbert and Fred Mac Murray as chicken farmers! That Ma and Pa Kettle movie series used to be rerun on TV a lot in the 1950's, if I remember right. I have seen some of them, but my memories are pretty vague. I love Marjorie Main and would be interested in seeing her as Ma Kettle again now that I am old enough to have learned to respect her as both a comedian and as and dramatic actress. She was one of a kind and livened up any movie she appeared in. Last night Al and I watched Noah's Ark (1928), a part-talkie religious and war epic directed by Michael Curtiz and starring the lovely Dolores Costello (later Mrs. John Barrymore), handsome leading man George O'Brien and villain Noah Beery, Sr. (brother of Wallace and uncle of Noah Beery, Jr.) My remarks about this movie went on so long that instead I decided to copy and post them as a full review in the Silent Movies section.
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Post by dvdjunkie on Apr 6, 2011 17:09:53 GMT -6
This afternoon after school, we got the grandkids together and all sat down and watched Disney's Tangled, the most recent telling of the story of Rapunzel and her flowing hair.The film was released last week on DVD and Blu-ray and it is joy to watch our three-year-old granddaughter sit so still and just watch a movie. This is truly the Disney magic of old, it is a great story with great characters, and some very memorable songs. If you haven't seen this, I can really recommend it very highly, not only because it is the 50th Disney Animated Classic, but because it is truly for the whole family.
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Post by Midge on Apr 7, 2011 0:45:28 GMT -6
Tonight a friend and I went to see an opera. It was the HD rebroadcast of the Met's production of Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti. These Saturday matinee broadcasts are transmitted to movie theaters live in HD stereo, then rebroadcast on later dates in the evening hours. The music was wonderful, and we especially enjoyed the three leads, Natalie Dessay as Lucia, Ludovic Tezier as her evil brother Enrico and Joseph Calleja as her lover, Edgardo. Dessay is a superstar diva as reknowned for her acting ability as her voice, and she didn't disappoint. My friend Margaret said that the famous Mad Scene made her cry. Lucia, clad in a blood-stained wedding dress, has just stabbed the man that she has been forced to marry. Clearly insane, she sings a very long, difficult aria in which she fantasizes that she is at the altar with her beloved Edgardo. At various points Miss Dessay clutches her wedding veil as though she were cradling a child, rolls on the floor, waltzes with a bewildered wedding guest, tears the veil to shreds and then faints on a staircase. I personally thought the dramatics were a bit over the top. My friend loved it, though. And you thought opera was boring!
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