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Post by diane on Aug 2, 2007 4:29:48 GMT -6
Today I watched "Love Me or Leave Me" with Doris Day and James Cagney. I have read some pretty negative comments about it but I just love it. I know Doris Day sounds nothing like Ruth Etting (whose singing I really like) but for a good dramatic movie - it is one of my favourites and being a musical biography is a big bonus. Tonight I'm watching "Smash-Up" with Susan Hayward. It is a really good film as well. It is supposed to be based on the story of Dixie Lee (Bing Crosby's wife).
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Post by dvdjunkie on Feb 1, 2008 12:18:13 GMT -6
Thought I might kickstart this thread again. I didn't know we had a 'what are you watching or what did you just watch' thread, and here is one I can post on. I love good musicals, be they autobiographical or just plain good musicals. Among my favorites are "Love Me or Leave Me", "The Eddy Duchin Story", "Showboat", "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers", "Singin' In The Rain", and oh so many more, which brings me to the night in the Home Theater we had last night. Feature number one was CALAMITY JANE starring Doris Day and Howard Keel, and this is truly a remarkably fun film to watch. The storyline is pretty light, but the music is phenomenal. Among my many favorites. The second movie we watched was THE JAZZ SINGER, the remake with Neil Diamond, Lucy Arnaz, Sir Laurence Olivier. Not even in the same league as the either of the previous productions, but I am a big Neil Diamond fan and since this is his only starring role in a film, I watch it on a regular basis, if only for his live performances in the film. When he is on the screen with anyone else but Olivier, he shines. But Sir Laurence can make an apple pie look bad by just walking onto a scene. Critics hated this film, but I really like it. Third film for the night was Walt Disney's SONG OF THE SOUTH. Why this is not legally released on DVD is beyond me. What a marvelous movie combining live action with animation, Uncle Remus telling the stories of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear is just mesmerizing. The most famous song of course is "Zip-A-Dee-Do- Dah" and you just want to get up off the couch and sing and move along with the song. A whole lot of fun for the whole family. My grandkids love this film. My DVD is a recording off of a Japanese LaserDisc version, and is just beautiful. I have seen a lot of different 'bootlegs' out there, but I think my copy is the best there is, for now. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by tclion on Feb 1, 2008 14:07:30 GMT -6
Yes Bill those are some really great movies I have yet to see all of "Song of The South" but the other two are great. When I watched "Calamity Jane I saw myself in the persona of Jane. I was a tom boy growing up also... The Jazz Singer well the title says it all.. the right to make one's heritage your own and not what someone else thinks it should be
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Feb 1, 2008 22:01:00 GMT -6
The second movie we watched was THE JAZZ SINGER, the remake with Neil Diamond, Lucy Arnaz, Sir Laurence Olivier. Not even in the same league as the either of the previous productions, but I am a big Neil Diamond fan and since this is his only starring role in a film, I watch it on a regular basis, if only for his live performances in the film. When he is on the screen with anyone else but Olivier, he shines. But Sir Laurence can make an apple pie look bad by just walking onto a scene. Critics hated this film, but I really like it. I agree with you that it's in a total different class than its predecessor; but I watched it for much of the same reasons as you. I think Diamond has one of the most distinguished singing voices — EVER! And of course his song "Love On The Rocks" from that movie was a tremendous sensation! ![:-X](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/lipssealed.png) Third film for the night was Walt Disney's SONG OF THE SOUTH. Why this is not legally released on DVD is beyond me. What a marvelous movie combining live action with animation, Uncle Remus telling the stories of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear is just mesmerizing. The most famous song of course is "Zip-A-Dee-Do- Dah" and you just want to get up off the couch and sing and move along with the song. A whole lot of fun for the whole family. My grandkids love this film. My DVD is a recording off of a Japanese LaserDisc version, and is just beautiful. I have seen a lot of different 'bootlegs' out there, but I think my copy is the best there is, for now. I wish I could say I know something about this film, but I really don't. :unsure: (If I'm not mistaken, though, I think the topic of this film came up a few months ago in another thread. ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) )
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Post by Midge on Feb 2, 2008 2:24:11 GMT -6
I saw Song of the South as a little girl, before it was banished to the Disney archives. As I recall, it's far from a great movie but is enjoyable and entertaining, especially for the kids. The animated sections were very funny if you can forgive that the characters talk and act like racial stereotypes. The movie features that year's Oscar-winning song, "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah."
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Feb 2, 2008 5:30:41 GMT -6
The movie features that year's Oscar-winning song, "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah." So you mean that ever-popular song that I've heard as a kid growing up is actually from that movie? ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png)
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Post by Roger Thornhill on Feb 2, 2008 6:29:27 GMT -6
The movie features that year's Oscar-winning song, "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah." So you mean that ever-popular song that I've heard as a kid growing up is actually from that movie? ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png) It certainly is and, as far as I can remember, it's sung by Uncle Remus, played by James Baskett with plenty of cartoon animals appearing around him.
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Post by dvdjunkie on Feb 2, 2008 8:55:36 GMT -6
Just recently found a company here in Kansas that sells fabulous copies of this Disney classic. Just for the heck of it I ordered one, and it came yesterday. Watched it last night when I got home from work, and it is, by far, the best released version I have ever seen. It is a 2-Disc set, with disc 1 containing a digitally re-mastered version of the film, which they say is taken from 'an orignal source'. It is in full 5.1 digital sound, and the picture is razor sharp and not a flicker or a speck of dust on it anywhere. The surprise is the hours of extras on disc two. There is an interview of Walt Disney himself that is very interesting concerning the making of 'Song of the South', and then there are a couple hours worth of 'rare' cartoons from the 30's, 40's and 50s, including a collection of "The Ant and the Aardvark" cartoons, which were voiced by the talented John Byner. There is also a "rare" Warner Bros. short called "Coal Black & the Sebben Dwarfs", which is a satirical look at the popular Disney feature "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". I could on and on, but it was well worth the extra hours of sleep I missed, staying up and watching this collection. Gonna spend more time going through all of the extras today. Well worth the $19 that I spent, and I hope that some of you who want this, PM me and I will give you the e-mail link to pick this up and look at the other selections of 'rare and unreleased' movies this company has. I will say that I ordered three other movies at the time I order "Song of the South" and am going to check them during the day also and will let you know how they are. Among them is "Angel in my Pocket" with Andy Griffith, "A Doll's House" with Jane Fonda, and "The Flim Flam Man" with George C. Scott and Michael Sarrazin. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Feb 2, 2008 21:28:05 GMT -6
.... including a collection of "The Ant and the Aardvark" cartoons, which were voiced by the talented John Byner. Bill, are you surely referring to the same John Byner who had a late-night comedy sketch show during the 70's I believe? ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) I think I may be interested in finding out more about this. If you don't mind, would you go ahead and PM the link to me? ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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Post by anna on Feb 6, 2008 16:23:16 GMT -6
Last night, I watch Best Years Of Our Lives. Each time it seems better and better. Not only the history of movie,but the real lives of people. My parents have told us many stories growing up then. I enjoyed Pearl Harbor with Affleck and Hartnett. The older movie seems more realistic. Tonight,work.
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Post by Midge on Feb 6, 2008 17:06:06 GMT -6
Anna, The Best Years of Our Lives is one of my very favorite, favorite, favorite movies of all time. It does get better with each viewing as you find yourself noticing the details -- fine script, the excellent performances, the moving score and the all around excellence of the visual storytelling.
Here are two examples: In the Butch's Bar scene, when Al Stephenson tells Fred Derry to break off his romance with Al's daughter, notice how the shot is framed. You can clearly see Al in the foreground, Butch in the center noodling at the piano, Fred at the phone booth in the far background. All three are in sharp focus. The technique used to achieve this "deep focus" effect was originally used by Orson Welles in CitizenKane .
Similarly, in the wedding scene notice that the minister is in the foreground on the left, the bridal couple in the foreground on right. In the center of the shot, in the background Fred Derry and Peggy Stephenson are framed right in the center of the shot. Even though the bride and groom are supposed to be the center of attention, our eyes are drawn to the faces of the unhappy, star-crossed lovers.
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Post by diane on Feb 7, 2008 1:48:03 GMT -6
Last night I saw "Little Friend" . Nova Pilbeam gives the most amazing performance. She plays Felicity who is trying to come to terms with her parents marriage breakdown. It is a British film made in 1934 and I would highly recommend it.
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Post by Midge on Feb 7, 2008 2:14:52 GMT -6
I have heard so much about Little Friend, but it never seems to be shown here in the United States. ![:'(](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/cry.png)
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Post by dvdjunkie on Feb 7, 2008 9:18:25 GMT -6
Watched the 1965 version of THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX last night. Directed by Robert Aldrich, and starring a cast of who's who that includes James Stewart, Sir Richard Attenborough, Hardy Kruger, Ernest Borgnine, Dan Duryea, Peter Finch and George Kennedy, this film is a telling of story in survival of a group of men who's plane has crashed in the middle of nowhere in the Sahara Desert (actually filmed in the deserts of Buttercup Valley, California, but who's gonna tell?). They lean on each other for support as they try to figure a way to get home. One of the survivors, Hardy Kruger, tells the captain that he designs airplanes and thinks that with a little teamwork and ingenuity they can build one small plane from all the pieces from the wreckage. Unbeknownst to them Kruger designs 'model' airplanes, and when that is discovered they all give up. It is Stewart's best performance by far, and the movie keeps a good pace and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. It rates 5/5 stars and is a must own for any DVD collector.
P.S.: Avoid the lousy 2004 remake with Dennis Quaid. It just doesn't quite make it worth the time to watch.
P.P.S.: Might as well say it here - anyone who doesn't watch their movies in original aspect ratios - i.e., Widescreen or better, needs to learn about movies to better enjoy them. I think if I ever found out someone watched the above 1965 film in a pan & scan version rather than widescreen, I would come over and blow up their television set.
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Post by Midge on Feb 8, 2008 3:50:51 GMT -6
P.P.S.: Might as well say it here - anyone who doesn't watch their movies in original aspect ratios - i.e., Widescreen or better, needs to learn about movies to better enjoy them. I think if I ever found out someone watched the above 1965 film in a pan & scan version rather than widescreen, I would come over and blow up their television set. Yes, sir! :nervous: Yes, sir! :nervous: Anything you say, sir! :nervous: ![8-)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/cool.png)
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Post by dvdjunkie on Feb 9, 2008 10:22:05 GMT -6
Oh my gosh!!!! I think that all my prayers have answered. Was cruising the premium channels late the other night, and what do I find but one of my most favorite movies of all time. A MAN CALLED PETER starring Richard Todd and Jean Peters. The true story of a Scottish clergyman named Peter Marshall. AND, the capper of it all, it was shown in Letterbox, so I can throw out my 'foolscreen' pan & scan version. If I posted everytime I watched this marvelous movie, Larry would have to build a new site just for my reviews of this movie. So I will just say that it will be watched a minimum of once a month, but for now I can guarantee it won't leave the shadow of my DVD Recorder/Player. I am so hoping that this will get a legitimate DVD release in the near future. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by Roger Thornhill on Feb 9, 2008 12:03:20 GMT -6
I am so hoping that this will get a legitimate DVD release in the near future. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) It is available as a RI disc but not R2. There are 14 available at Amazon UK.
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Post by dvdjunkie on Feb 9, 2008 14:54:56 GMT -6
Thanks Roger, but I don't shop online, I shop in the b&m stores. I have never seen it in a store. If I miss out because of not shopping on line, so be it. I have heard that Amazon sometimes sells there own DVD's, which would make them not legal. But that is what I have heard. If I can't hold the item in my hot little hand, then I don't buy it. I may miss out on some things, but at least when I see it in person I will buy it that is for sure.
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Feb 9, 2008 15:07:36 GMT -6
Bill, I know many other people that feel the same as you, but I'm not one of them. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) Especially at Christmas, I buy most everything online! It's all too handy for me! ;D
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Post by dvdjunkie on Feb 10, 2008 10:03:05 GMT -6
From 1976 comes a movie that brought back to the screen one of our missing gems, Audrey Hepburn, the film - ROBIN AND MARIAN - directed by Richard Lester, and costarring Sean Connery, Richard Harris, Robert Shaw and Nicole Williamson. Hepburn had been gone for almost nine years to raise her family and she picked this movie to return to the screen. It's after the Crusades, and Robin of Locksley has returned home to Sherwood, and discovers that the fair Maid Marian is still waiting for him. A few years older, but we hope wiser, Connery as Robin Hood plays it for the romance and little one-liners that only he can deliver like they were written especially for him. Marian has joined the Convent, and the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, Robert Shaw is on the lookout for the once-outlaw, Robin. Not as much action as you would want, but Lester has opted for a very romantic, adventure with a very climactic battle at the end. John Barry's lush orchestral arrangements make this a genuinely great soundtrack and the music adds much to the story, especially the Love Theme for Robin and Marian. I really like this film, and it is a fitting wrap-up to the legend that was Robin Hood. 4 out of 5 stars, and I do own this one on DVD.
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Post by Hedvig on Feb 11, 2008 4:22:41 GMT -6
That sounds interesting. I saw Douglas Fairbanks's silent Robin Hood last week, and I thought that even though this is pretty good, there must be an original take on this story somewhere. I had never heard of this film before. It sounds worth looking up.
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Post by dvdjunkie on Feb 13, 2008 23:43:35 GMT -6
Picked up the 80's box set of the television series THE EQUALIZER starring Edward Woodward today, so before turning in I watched the first two episodes. Co-starring Robert Lansing as Control, this was an amazing show with Woodward portraying Robert McCall a former CIA operative who quits the company to become a savior for the downtrodden. It was only on for four season starting in 1985, but it was by far a well-done show, with music by Stewart Copeland that really set the tone for the show. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by Midge on Feb 14, 2008 0:41:47 GMT -6
Well, I was watching Roman Holiday on TCM, but Al decided he would much rather see a documentary on Russia's nuclear weapons industry. Happy Valentine's Day! :sleep:
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Post by Roger Thornhill on Feb 14, 2008 4:55:56 GMT -6
OOOhhh a documentary on Russia's nuclear weapons. ![:-X](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/lipssealed.png) Was that the one that I saw where the Russkies painted lots of little pink hearts on the casings of their hydrogen bombs? :unsure:
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Post by Midge on Feb 14, 2008 5:01:28 GMT -6
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Feb 14, 2008 7:38:07 GMT -6
TC wanted to watch The Muppets Take Manhattan last night, so that's what we watched! ;D
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Post by tclion on Feb 14, 2008 20:32:58 GMT -6
No sweetie I wanted one of the other six or seven I named off but you weren't interested in those. I finally got you to agree to "The Muppet's Take Manhattan"
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Post by dvdjunkie on Feb 14, 2008 23:43:47 GMT -6
Something to satisfy the child in us all..............great Larry, where's the romance, after all it was night before Valentine's Day....................lol ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Feb 14, 2008 23:47:02 GMT -6
great Larry, where's the romance, after all it was night before Valentine's Day....................lol ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) What's that? ![8-)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/cool.png)
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Post by tclion on Feb 15, 2008 12:00:23 GMT -6
great Larry, where's the romance, after all it was night before Valentine's Day....................lol ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) What's that? ![8-)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/cool.png) Yes you go ahead and laugh now SWEETIE.......You can only imagine what awaits you making your wonderful caring loving wife clean all night on Valentine's day... On top of it ll I cooked you supper and brought it to you .....as well your fav RiceKrispy treats.... NOw the WHOLE diner knows what a heel you are..... ![8-)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/cool.png)
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