1SO vs. The Directors of Shame

[Antares]

I've seen all except Mr. & Mrs. Smith

You aren't missing much. Hitchcock's attempt at screwball comedy falls flat.

[1SO]

Decided to put in Lifeboat, which I'd always meant to get to. Now seems like a good time.

[Najemikon]

Lifeboat is the much better choice. Slightly experimental, but it has a challenging narrative considering the time. Could also be one of the first disaster movies, I think, building on his The Lady Vanishes to have a varied collection of characters trapped in one place. Bill recently reviewed Mr & Mrs Smith and came to the same conclusion as most. There really is little point!

[Verite]

For Asquith, I would recommend both Pygmalion and Browning Version over Earnest, but they're all great.

A Cottage on Dartmoor is pretty tremendous.

[1SO]

Marathon Update

O Lucky Man!
Always remember gentlemen, that you are a failure in catering if you don't know what to do with your leftovers.

Quite a start. A bracingly original vision of Great Britain during a time of great change. A sprawling 3 hour journey that swings for the fences and works as a collection of individual sequences. Though in the end, I wasn't sure what it all meant. Sure had fun though.

The major draw here is Malcom McDowell as an eager Everyman, a financially ambitious traveling salesman who embarks on a series of adventures. Some are funny, some are intense and often the two meet at some lunatic intersections. (At one point, he gets lost near a military instillation. He's captured, tortured and ultimately freed by the cleaning lady who complains "they never clean up after themselves.") Along the way McDowell meets mad doctors, evil global businessmen and numerous members involved in the law. He goes from greedy capitalist to peace-loving social worker. It's all performed with an over-enthustiac glee that reminded me a lot of Alex in A Clockwork Orange. It's amazing to see McDowell tear into that character type a 2nd time, and come up with a performance that's equal.

Taken a section at a time, O Lucky Man! works really well. Anderson's go-for-broke approach reminded me a lot of a film by another famous Anderson... P.T.s Magnolia. However (just like my big problem with Magnolia), the running time ultimately works against it. The journey is even more rambling than it needs to be, and it gets pretty tedious in the final half-hour. But I really liked it's ambition, including some greek chorus song breaks by Alan Price. (I thought the songs would slow down the movie, but they're really good. I want to get the soundtrack now.)
RATING: ***

Having seen If... I'm very interested in completing McDowell/Anderson's Mick Travis trilogy and watching Britannia Hospital.

[tinyholidays]

1SO, you're a marathon machine. I'd never heard of O Lucky Man! before now, but your comparison to Magnolia makes me want to seek it out. I'm adding a lot of 1SO picks to my queue this morning!

[1SO]

Marathon Update

Britannia Hospital

The problem with Britannia Hospital is that it definitely feels like its coming from the same director and writer who made If... and O Lucky Man!, but they amped everything up too broadly to be effective satire. They also push Mick Travis (again played by Malcom McDowell) deep into the ensemble until he disappears from the movie completely. There's no central character here, and the best moments are the discoveries Mick makes because we get his reaction to them. With O Lucky Man! I could see the connection to the first film, but this could just as well been a different person.

I said in my O Lucky Man! review that I didn't really know all of what the film was satirizing. Here it's clearly aiming at the medical system and Thatcherite Britain. The hospital is a Gilliam-esque microcosm of everything wrong with doing things the proper British way. I remember If...s humor being quite subtle. O Lucky Man! was sophisticated with some extreme moments. This one starts at silly and goes out from there, including moments of horrific bloody violence. It's a cynical portrait of people, striking out in all directions with a shotgun. Everyone goes down, but all you've got is a giant mess.
RATING: **

Lindsay Anderson
1. If...
2. O Lucky Man!
3. This Sporting Life
4. Britannia Hospital

[Antares]

I don't know how I missed it the first time I looked at your list, but you should also check out Touchez Pas au Grisbi, by Jacques Becker

[1SO]

Never heard of him or his films.

Doing some research, Le Trou is more widely known and has a higher rating on IMDB. It's also Martin's #1 pick. If I like it enough Touchez Pas au Grisbi would come next (much like O Lucky Man! led to Britannia Hospital.) I'm still going in with no knowledge so I don't want to commit to both films yet.

[Sam the Cinema Snob]

Leni Riefenstahl – per Sam’s dictation

Olympia Part 1 and 2 are a must.

[1SO]

I feel like Triumph of the Will will appear on my List of Shame soon enough. Didn't know if you'd want me to start with The Holy Mountain.

[Sam the Cinema Snob]

No, she didn't actually direct The Holy Mountain. Her first feature is The Blue Light, which I don't think is worth seeking out. I think Tiefland is much more interesting, although it comes after Olympia. I'd say if you want to actually do several of her films do Triumph, then Olympia and then Tiefland. Keep in mind that Olympia is essentially two separate movies.

[1SO]

Marathon Update

Landscape in the Mist

Most of you would bet against me liking Theo Angelopoulos' Landscape in the Mist. Since watching the film I've done a little reading and learned that most of his films are deliberately paced (artsy code for really slow), and they tend to have Fellini-esque moments of magical realism. While I certainly noticed the pace, I was pretty absorbed by this film about 30 minutes in.

There isn't a lot that happens, but Angelopoulos makes the most out of each encounter, occasionally even dipping into some moments of fantastical reality. (I wish a former Filmspotter hadn't used the term "tastes strange new fruits". That really is the heart of what I'm doing with this marathon.) There's a pretty heartbreaking emotional climax all the events had quietly been building towards. It's the 20 minutes after that when I started to feel the tedium.

Of all the great long takes, there's one that clearly stands above the rest. In the most horrifying moment, a terrible event happens to the girl. We see nothing. Actually we hear nothing. But the camera stays with it, and we wait, watching for anything. This could not have worked had the pacing not already been established.  The understated detachment lends epic importance to every small amount if detail.
RATING: ***

While I enjoyed Landscape in the Mist, it doesn't get me to excited to jump at some more of Angelopoulos work right away. I'm going to move on to Anthony Asquith.

[1SO]

I forgot Naked was in this Marathon, since I already watched it and it's made me hungry for more Mike Leigh, I'm adding All or Nothing to this marathon.

[smirnoff]

Cool! I look forward to you reaction. There's no mistaking it for Leigh but maybe you'll see it differently than you might've years ago.

[MartinTeller]

I don't really have any comments to add to your Landscape review, but I'll repost my own from a few months ago:

The "travelling players" return in this film, but thankfully this is far less tedious than that earlier work by Angelopoulos.  In fact, this is easily my favorite by him so far.  A poetic exploration of lost souls searching for answers, richly poetic and deeply symbolic, with gorgeous moments of magic realism and heartbreaking episodes of cruelty.  I admit the meaning of some scenes eluded me, but each one is rewarding in some way.  Angelopoulos uses performance, music, environment and framing to craft tableaus that seem to stir a deep yearning, or crushing sadness.  I got a strong Antonioni vibe from it, perhaps closest to Red Desert and its haunting industrial vistas.  I look forward to examining this film again one day, I found it fascinating and evocative.  Rating: 9

Looking forward to your thoughts on Asquith.

[1SO]

Marathon Update

Pygmalion

I wondered how often this might happen. This marathon is meant to focus on the directors, but sometimes great directing is not something you can point to with a clear understanding. This is my first Asquith, and he's actually co-director with star Leslie Howard. Maybe it will be easier after The Browning Version, but all I saw was a well-filmed play. It's not very cinematic, except for a couple of shots. Does anyone know if this is the first film with the push in on the once common woman who's been transformed into a beautiful lady? Wendy Hiller in a gown gets the same reveal John Wayne received in Stagecoach.

Before people try to teach me that good directing is more than just camera technique, let me say that I'm quite aware. The performances are all fine, but I've seen these actors be more exceptional elsewhere. The tone just doesn't make much of an impression. A film like Brief Encounter has a mood too it. The direction here just manages to not bungle the material, and I know the other two films from Asquith in my marathon are also based on acclaimed works, so I'm worried his direction is little more than the director's equivalent of "say your lines and don't bump into the furniture."

The movie is just okay. Free of the My Fair Lady songs, the dialogue is allowed to shine through. I actually preferred My Fair Lady, though it's nearly double the length and feels it in places. Those songs are fun and its hard to out charm Audrey Hepburn.
RATING: ***

I'm looking forward to The Browning Version, but in the interest of time may move on to Jacques Becker afterwards.

[Antares]

I actually preferred My Fair Lady, though it's nearly double the length and feels it in places. Those songs are fun and its hard to out charm Audrey Hepburn.

Wendy Hiller owns Audrey Hepburn in this role.

[1SO]

Marathon Update

The Browning Version

Once again, Asquith takes highly acclaimed work and directs the film with such a stiff upper lip, you might think it was guided along by the crusty, repressed main character. This looks no different than the Texaco Star Theatre programs that played on the early days of television. It's not just that the film isn't visually cinematic, it's lead-footed and too reverential to the text. (This was adapted from a one-act play and feels stretched out.)

The best thing about The Browning Version are the performances. Michael Redgrave is pretty amazing as the embittered Andrew Crocker-Harris. It's a great part, and like with Hamlet, I can see many British greats taking a run at it every few years. It reminded me of Anthony Hopkins' butler in The Remains of the Day, but this is even more repressed, more put upon and... well what you you'd expect from the most proper of British types. The rest of the cast is very good too. I particularly liked Jean Kent as Crocker-Harris' wife Millie. She has a real Lady Macbeth quality. (That's right, Hamlet and Lady Macbeth together at last.) But Redgrave is the core and he's amazing.
RATING: **1/2

I'm moving on from Asquith. Much as I want to see The Importance of Being Earnest, I'm more excited about Le Trou and Smiles of a Summer Night.

[tinyholidays]

I actually preferred My Fair Lady, though it's nearly double the length and feels it in places. Those songs are fun and its hard to out charm Audrey Hepburn.

Wendy Hiller owns Audrey Hepburn in this role.

It's really not even the same sort of movie.