IMDB Rating: 6.0/10 Runtime: 106 mins Language: English Country: USA Color: Technicolor IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040317/
Director: Billy Wilder Cast:
Bing Crosby ... Virgil Smith
Joan Fontaine ... Johanna Augusta Franziska
Roland Culver ... Baron Holenia
Lucile Watson ... Princess Bitotska
Richard Haydn ... Emperor Franz-Josef
Harold Vermilyea ... Chamberlain
Sig Ruman ... Dr. Zwieback
Julia Dean ... Archduchess Stephanie
Bert Prival ... Chauffeur
Alma Macrorie ... Inn Proprietress
Roberta Jonay ... Chambermaid
John Goldsworthy ... Obersthofmeister
A traveling salesman and a baron's daughter!! Can you imagine that!!
I cannot understand these "IMDB Ratings". If one is to believe the rating it has got, one would think this is just about an okay movie, but one would be very wrong. This is a rare gem...a classic that for some inexplicable reason has remained hidden in the vault of Billy Wilder awesomeness.
The movie begins with Bing Crosby coming to Austria to sell the emperor of Austria a gramaphone, the first one in Austria. While he sits in the waiting room, hoping to meet the emperor, the gentry there think that he has with him a time bomb to assassinate the emperor with! What follows is a hilarious scene in which the palace guard rush away with his gramaphone and dunk it in the palace pond.
See this exchange of lines between Virgil Smith (Bing) and the Chamberlain who wants to arrest him.
Chamberlain: Search him! Who're your confederates? We want every name! Virgil Smith: Is this the emperor's palace or a looney bin? Chamberlain:You came here as a potentate. Are you a potentate? Virgil Smith: I may have stretched things a little but I'm a shriner. Paid up! Chamberlain: You're a nihilist - that's what you are! Virgil Smith: I am not! I'm a Presbyterian! Chamberlain: A lie again (as he peers at Bing's papers), it says here that you're a salesman! Virgil Smith: Listen wobbleface! Isn't it possible for a guy to be a Presbyterian, shriner and a salesman? Chamberlain: Now you're trying to confuse me! Virgil Smith: I am also a registered democrat, a junior member of the Chamber of Commerce, a sandlot third baseman, I am known... Chamberlain:Not so fast! Virgil Smith: I have to talk fast, if I don't my sample's going to rust in your fishpond!
This is just one example of the numerous funny episodes in the movie. Bing Crosby has always been really good with humour. I love the way he delivers his lines. Absolutely brilliant!
The movie follows two love stories. Two rich ladies and two relatively poor gentlemen. I'm talking about the baron's daughter (Joan Fontaine) and her dog and the poor sales man (Bing Crosby) and his dog!
It's really wonderful how the story unfolds. You wouldn't think it possible that a man in Bing's position and a lady in Ms.Fontaine's position could hit it off...but well with the right kind of a song and a voice like his, anything's possible :)
There's a bit of thing about her position and the dogs are an integral part of the movie too. It all ties in very neatly. :)
I'll let you see it for yourself. You'll see what I mean.
The story is simple and beautiful. The setting absolutely magical. I love the sets and the scenery ...just the way everything looks in the movie.
I thought the movie was simply beautiful.
Totally recommend it to anyone who loves a romantic little story every now and then...and if you like Bing Crosby, you simply can't miss this can you! It's a Bing Crosby movie all the way!
The Moviemania Rating: 8.5/10
It's beautifully made, it's funny, it's romantic, it's made by Billy Wilder and it has BING CROSBY!
How could you go wrong with all that!
IMDB Rating: 7.2 Runtime: 105 Language: English Country: USA Color: Color (Deluxe) IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048605/
Director: Billy Wilder Cast:
Marilyn Monroe ... The Girl
Tom Ewell ... Richard Sherman (as Tommy Ewell)
Evelyn Keyes ... Helen Sherman
Sonny Tufts ... Tom MacKenzie
Robert Strauss ... Mr. Kruhulik (janitor)
Oskar Homolka ... Dr. Brubaker (as Oscar Homolka)
Marguerite Chapman ... Miss Morris (secretary)
Victor Moore ... Plumber
Dolores Rosedale ... Elaine (as Roxanne)
Donald MacBride ... Mr. Brady
Carolyn Jones ... Miss Finch (night nurse)
Now here's a movie I can really dig into! :)
The movie is about a man's struggle with temptation while his wife and kid are away on vacation. And holy Momma! What temptation it was! :)
It gets really hot in New York city in the summer and the husbands pack up their wives and kids and send them off to cooler places while they stay back to work. And as they say "when the cat's away, the mice play". And boy! Do these mice play! Most men are thrilled to get rid of their wives and kids. It means time out with the guys, drinking and smoking and having fun...and then there's always the other women. That's the most important thing I guess.
The movie basically tells you that men are scum (which is probably what most women think in any case.) and that the moment, their wives are away they become the animals they really are. Running behind anything with a pretty face.
The hero of our movie, Richard Sherman played by the hilarious Tom Ewell, thinks that he is NOT such a man. He is a man of integrity and class. He shall not play while his cat is away is what he thinks...that is, till a bombshell in the form on Marilyn Monroe drops in on him.
What follows is absolutely brilliant. You see the struggles a good man confronts when faced with a an almost impossible to resist temptation and you see him eventually triumph.
Richard Sherman as the husband is absolutely brilliant. Mr.Wilder, in his style of having someone doing a narration in almost all of his movies that I've seen so far, continues the trend, having Richard Sherman himself being the narrator. He takes you through the movie telling you everything that his wildly running imagination can come up with.
And Marilyn Monroe is so beautiful as the "temptation" it almost makes you want to cry. I mean, it's almost unfair to other women when you've got a woman like Ms.Monroe walking the streets.
She is perfect in her role. She manages to be extremely funny without intending to be so. She is the perfect blonde, but I tell you, behind that dumb seeming exterior is an extremely smart woman I'm sure. She is absolutely gorgeous and you can see why she could have easily ruled a country if she wanted to. Can't think of a man who could resist doing what she wanted...but that, that is exactly, why I love this movie so much. :)
Like I said, Sherman, manages just that! Well done old boy! :)
Thank you for keeping the flag hoisted for us good men. What with everyone wanting to sling mud at "man"kind. Here's a true hero for the good man :)
The movie shows that while temptation abounds and is often quite hard to resist, there are still men who can and will do so. I like that thought and believe in it and that is probably why I loved the movie as much as I did.
Also, to be honest, it doesn't hurt looking at Marily Monroe either does it? :) ;)
Hey, even good men have eyes right? It's not fair to if one doesn't appreciate beauty when one sees it. That doesn't mean that one needs to stray or anything like that. If my gal saw a chiseled guy or a good looking man and said "Oooh! That's hot." but ultimately came home to me and loved me, who am I to complain.
I think it only helps make the relationship better. I think it a good relationship is based on a lot more than just what you see on the outside and I think if you really love a woman, that love should weather any storm that comes your way. Even an extremely pretty one.
Well, this turned out to be a discussion on relationships more than the movie but hey, I always say, you'll hear my thoughts about the movie, not a review. For that you have IMDB and other places :)
I think this movie makes you think, while it also makes you laugh, smile and ogle at the same time.
Definitely worth seeing. If you're not too big on the philosophic aspect of things, see it for Marilyn Monroe :)
In any case, see it!! :)
The Moviemania Rating: 9/10 (for the movie) and 10/10 (for Marilyn Monroe) :)
Note to self: Watch more Marilyn Monroe movies soon! :)
Incidentally, this is the movie with the oh-so famous scene where the subway passes and makes Marilyn Monroe's skirt fly up. I love how, something so subtle and innocent can be so incredibly sexy.
That's the great thing about old movies. Women were so classy and sexy at the same time. They didn't have to try hard...it came naturally :)
Never seen the scene? Well, here it is. Don't say I don't give you enough reasons to watch old movies. :)
This clip is one of the million reasons you should watch em! :)
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10 Runtime: 120min Language: English Country: USA Color: B&W IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053604/
Director: Billy Wilder Cast:
Jack Lemmon .... C.C. 'Bud' Baxter
Shirley MacLaine .... Fran Kubelik
Fred MacMurray .... Jeff D. Sheldrake
Ray Walston .... Joe Dobisch
Jack Kruschen .... Dr. Dreyfuss
David Lewis .... Al Kirkeby
Hope Holiday .... Mrs. Margie MacDougall
Joan Shawlee .... Sylvia
Naomi Stevens .... Mrs. Mildred Dreyfuss
Johnny Seven .... Karl Matuschka
Joyce Jameson .... The blonde
Willard Waterman .... Mr. Vanderhoff
David White .... Mr. Eichelberger
Edie Adams .... Miss Olsen
Hmmmm. I didn't like this one. Well, not as much as I liked some of the other Billy Wilder movies I've seen so far.
Okay, I can't just jump in to something and say that, now, can I? Okay then...I'll tell you why I didn't like it much.
The movie was fabulous. It's not a paradox...the movie, as movies go was brilliant. Great direction, fab story, great acting by all actors involved. What I didn't like much is the character Jack Lemmon has to play. Well, with a name like Lemmon it's probably just a little funny if you get if you get a lemon every now and then.
Again, let me be fair. The movie really was good. Very funny concept, quite funny at times with the right amount of sentimentality.
What I didn't like, like I said before, was the poor sap that Mr.Lemmon had to play in the movie. I don't like it when a decent guy has to go through like with people treating him like crap and other people thinking bad things about him. I've seen it happen and I hate it when such things happen.
Jack, was the perfect sap. The movie derives it's name from his place of residence, which he gives away to senior men at his office so that they can entertain the women they don't want their wives to know about. In doing so he gives up his own comfort and a fair bit of his dignity.
The system is working well for him. The bosses get a room and he in return gets ahead at work...that is until Ms.MacLaine enters the picture. He fancies her and she turns out to be one of the "women" who finds her way to his appartment, but, not with him. The big boss stakes his claim on Ms.M.
Things get complicated around now. What with him liking her and she loving the boss and the boss obviously being a skunk and not really loving her. But as it is with movies, things do sorta work out.
I'll let you see how they work out for yourself.
All in all...a good movie but not completely to my taste.
I will admit this though. Shirley MacLaine looks ravishing. Someone recently spoke with me liking women with a "waif-like" quality and a whole bunch of "innocence". Ms.MacLaine personifies that characteristic.
She is incredibly beautiful, heartbreakingly innocent and totally endearing. Your heart reaches out to her instantly. She has that knack of looking positive gorgeous without even making an effort. I really liked her in this movie. A picture of loveliness, she was.
Right then. That's about it for the movie :)
The Moviemania Rating: 7/10
A relatively low rating because of all the reasons I've given above.
Don't get me wrong though, the movie is definitely worth watch. Mr.Wilder never disappoints :)
IMDB Rating: 8.1 Runtime: 107 Language: English Country: USA Color: Black and White IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032904/
Director: George Cukor Cast:
Cary Grant ... C. K. Dexter Haven
Katharine Hepburn ... Tracy Lord
James Stewart ... Macaulay Connor
Ruth Hussey ... Elizabeth Imbrie
John Howard ... George Kittredge
Roland Young ... Uncle Willie
John Halliday ... Seth Lord
Mary Nash ... Margaret Lord
Virginia Weidler ... Dinah Lord
Henry Daniell ... Sidney Kidd
Lionel Pape ... Edward
Rex Evans ... Thomas
I'll say it right off the bat...I'm a massive Katherine Hepburn fan! (Incidentally, did you know "Right off the bat" is a cricketing or baseball metaphor which means immediately. Didn't know that though I knew the expression. When I instinctively used it, I got curious...wondered "What ho! What does that mean?!" And So I looked...and then I found. So, like I said, 'tis but a cricketing/baseball metaphor which means immediately or fast...like how a ball rushes off, when hit by a bat! It goes..."right off the bat". Geddit? Shucks! But I digress.)
Right then, where was I? I was saying something off the bat, though that wouldn't quite be the case now that we've dilly-dallyed so. (Wonder where that one came from? Hmm. Well, I'll leave that for another time.)
Ahem! Let's see if I can get this car running. I, AM, a massive Katherine Hepburn fan!
And Ms.Hepburn was glorious in this movie. A veritable goddess...a queen :) Well if you saw the movie, you'd know why the smile was put after those two accolades. Why you ask is Mihir being so cryptic? Well, 'twas because in the movie, she wanted to be anything but a goddess and a queen. She just wanted to be human with all the frailties that go along with it.
And despite her goddesslike visage and demeanour, a very very beautiful human being she was indeed.
She's was, to repeat an adjective I used, GLORIOUS!
And I can not believe I've taken so damned long to see a Cary Grant movie! Duh! What was I thinking! I shall rectify that situation pronto! I have had quite a few of his movies...but it's just one of those things of "too much good stuff and not enough time." I can see now why some interviewer once said "Everybody would like to be Cary Grant," . Incidentally he quipped "So would I" to that. I can imagine that happening. He seems just the kind to say something like that.
He is effortlessly funny, divinely charming and almost ridiculously handsome. And I'm totally straight! (No homo-phobia...just putting it out there that he's totally a man's man. See if I was writing this around the time when this movie came out, I'd never have to explain this would I? What has the world come to when a guy can admire another guy without having to worry about shit. Bah!)
Well back to Mr.G. He was brilliant in the movie. As was Mr.S.
Mr.S, or James Stewart as he also likes to be known I'm sure was so...James Stewart!
The thing about these old movies and the actors back then is...the individuality. James Stewart, Edward G.Robinson, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck...even Cary Grant. Each of these guys was so...unique!
You could close your eyes, walk into a movie screening without knowing what's going on, you hear one line and you know right away who it was!
James Stewart was fabulous. The whole cast was fabulous. As was the movie.
So, I've been going on and on about the fabulousness of them all but what, you ask me, was the movie all about?
It was the story of a rich girl, a rich guy, a poor guy who becomes a rich guy and wants to marry said rich girl, a poor guy who writes and a poor dame who likes the said poor writer guy and the intricacies of their relationships. Makes for excellent viewing I tell you! Positively brilliant!
I shall not elaborate...because I truly believe you have to see this brilliant piece of movie making.
It could have been a P.G.Wodehouse novel for it's humour and complications and also for the way that things always seem to end quite nicely in one of his books.
One word for it. Brilliant!
The Moviemania Rating: 9/10
Like I said before, what the hell is the point of writing about a bad movie. Why even watch it!
I'll be very surprised if you find any movie on this blog that's not atleast a 7.
I won't bother writing about the bad ones. I'll let you discover them for yourselves :)
Right ho! Good night folks! :)
Had published the post and thought I'd go through it again. Just wanted to rectify one comment. If I do see a stinker...and it really really stinks...I'll tell you about it...and ask you to watch it too! :) Why the hell should be alone in my misery eh? :)
Heh.
Right then. Good night folks! (This one's the final one) :)
IMDB Rating: 7.3 Runtime: 130 Language: English Country: US Color: B/W IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050658/
Director: Billy Wilder Cast:
Gary Cooper ... Frank Flannagan
Audrey Hepburn ... Ariane Chavasse/Thin Girl
Maurice Chevalier ... Claude Chavasse
Van Doude ... Michel
John McGiver ... Monsieur X
Lise Bourdin ... Madame X
Bonifas ... Commissioner of Polilce (phoned by Ariane)
I'd almost forgotten why Gary Cooper is one of my all time favourite actors. Seeing him in this movie, reminded me just why that is!
He is incredible in this movie. Smooth as always. I've always loved how he talked and carried himself in his movies. How less is more when it comes to Mr.Cooper. He doesn't say much...but his silence and his face speaks volumes.
Audrey Hepburn is positively charming in this beautifully made movie! Isn't she always though?
The setting for his lovely film is beautiful Paris. You don't see much of Paris though. What you do see though, is exquisite!
It is a love story...it is funny...it is everything that a good movie should be. Absolutely lovely!
Gary Cooper is Frank Flannagan, a relatively old, rich, successful tycoon with more money than you can fathom and more women in his life than you hair on your head! (That is unless you're bald...in which case you can make your own analogy of with something that you have lots of.)
Audrey Hepburn is Ariane Chavasse or "Thin Girl" as Gary calls her most of the movie, because she refuses to tell him her name.
Audrey's father, Claude Chavasse (played by Maurice Chevalier), is a private detective who specializes in helping his clients find out stuff about their cheating spouses. The story begins when Claude returns home after successfully discovering that Frank is making out with the wife of one of his clients. Once he divulges this info to the perturbed husband, the man, obviously a man of great pride, decides that he shall shoot the man who is sullying his honour or his wife's to be precise.
Ariane hears about this and having gone through all of her father's files and knowing who Frank is decides to take it upon herself to save his life.
What unfolds is a delightfully funny part of the story which has some really brilliant scenes.
Well one thing leads to another and we see Ariane falling for the charming Mr.Flannagan.
Its not that easy though. She won't tell him who she is and he, the casanova, that he is, doesn't stick around for long...until, he begins to fall in love with her!!
I won't tell you the rest. Just take my word for it. This is a movie you HAVE to watch.
Without a doubt one of the nicest movies I have ever seen! :)
The dialogues are brilliant...humour without any effort. Here's an example.
Audrey Hepburn is making up stories about men she's been dating to Gary Cooper, whom she is obviously in love with. She doesn't want to tell him that or give him any idea about how she feels which is why she's weaving tales about imaginary people she's seeing. Here's what she says about one chap. :) Frank Flannagan (Gary Cooper): What does he export and what does he import? Ariane Chavasse (Audrey Hepburn): Oh, he uh - he exports perfume and imports bananas. There's a fortune in it. Do you realize that for one bottle of perfume you get twelve bananas? Frank Flannagan: Twelve bananas for one bottle of - doesn't sound like such a hot deal to me. Ariane Chavasse: It's a tiny bottle of perfume and very large bananas.
Here's another. You see Audrey Hepburn talking to a young man in this scene who loves her madly. She's telling him about Gary Cooper... Ariane Chavasse: They're very odd people, you know. When they're young, they have their teeth straightened, their tonsils taken out and gallons of vitamins pumped into them. Something happens to their insides! They become immunized, mechanized, air-conditioned and hydromatic. I'm not even sure whether he has a heart. Michel: What is he? A creature from outer space? Ariane Chavasse: No. He's an American.
Here's something Gary Cooper says to Audrey Hepburn just before they kiss :) Frank Flannagan: Everything about you is perfect. Ariane Chavasse: I'm too thin! And my ears stick out, and my teeth are crooked and my neck's much too long. Frank Flannagan: Maybe so, but I love the way it all hangs together.
Oh thereare hundred other lines that make you smile and laugh and just feel good about watching an absolutely delightful movie!
The Moviemania Rating: 9.8/10
Mr.Wilder, you've outdone yourself. For the brilliant visuals, effortless humour, the charm and the acting, I'll have to say that this is the best of your films I've seen so far. And I've got 21 more to see!
You make it tough to be a critic :)
Well when you've got films like his, who wants to criticize. I've got nothing but praise! :)
Director: James Cameron Cast:
Sam Worthington ... Jake Sully
Zoe Saldana ... Neytiri
Sigourney Weaver ... Dr. Grace Augustine
Stephen Lang ... Colonel Miles Quaritch
Michelle Rodriguez ... Trudy Chacon
Giovanni Ribisi ... Parker Selfridge
Joel Moore ... Norm Spellman (as Joel David Moore)
CCH Pounder ... Moat
Wes Studi ... Eytukan
Laz Alonso ... Tsu'tey
Dileep Rao ... Dr. Max Patel
Matt Gerald ... Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
Sean Anthony Moran ... Private Fike
Okay here's how it is.
Whenever I hear that a movie is extremely ancipated...every time a movie is super-hyped...I get worried. I ask myself "Will this live up to the expectations? Can it really be that good?"
Most often it turns out, the movie is crap...or if not crap, definitely not as great as it was made up to be.
When it comes to "Avatar"...that certainly is NOT the case.
It's everything everyone thought it could be and so much more. It's a modern day classic and that is why it finds a very comfortable place on my blog where I will mostly be writing about classics.
50 years down the line when they look back at all the great movies that were made, someone will probably say "Some of the best movies in the last 100 years were movies like Gone With The Wind, Casablanca, Inglourious Basterds :) and Avatar" (Couldn't resist putting IB in there too).
Why you ask me do I think that? I'll tell you why.
In my opinion, today, I saw the future of movies. I'm not saying computer technology was bad till this movie came along, but with the manner in which animation and 3D technology was used in this movie...I now feel that NOTHING is inconceivable any more. If you can think it, it can be made.
No longer will movie makers worry about getting the top draw actors for great movies. They can literally manufacture them now. (I know you still need the voices but what I'm saying is, say Tom Cruise wants to chill and eat a lot and gain a few pounds, he can still be a highly paid actor, if his voice is what a movie needs. :)
Visually, this was indubitably the MOST stunning thing I have ever seen. And I've seen a LOT of movie in my time on this rock.
It was artistic and absolutely breathtaking. And it wasn't just senseless art or beauty for the heck of it.
It fit in. It fit in so fabulously with the art.
I read a lot as well and honestly, in my opinion, only when you read a lot can you truly appreciate the beauty of a movie like Avatar. I remember reading Lord Of The Rings and visualizing the whole book in my mind's eye. When the movies came out, I fell in love with them, because they took everything I could imagine and they did more! I was able to see things that I had just imagined. That to me is the brilliance of a great film based on a fantasy world.
Authors like Asimov and Tolkein were absolutely brilliant because they built a whole world for you to live in and become a part of.
Movies like Star Wars and Star Trek are cult because they also gave you worlds and characters and universes to be a part of.
Comic book based movies, superhero movies work so well because of the characters they let you be in your head.
All of these become iconic...cult...because they let you escape reality as you can generally imagine it and they let you live in a brilliant new reality.
Avatar...can now be added to the list of movies that have given us a new world to live on. You can NOT watch this movie and not want to be on Pandora (the planet where the story takes place), I can bet you really can't not want to be a Na'vi (the race of the indigenous humanoids on Na'vi) or fly a Banshee (a.k.a ikran - the animals that the Na'vi fly on) or ride a Direhorse (a.k.a pa'li - the horselike creatures with six legs that the Na'vi ride). The list goes on about the cool things this movie has that you'd want to be able to do.
Like I said, Avatar gives you an escape. In a world like our's where everyday can be a chore for most people, isn't an escape exactly the thing everyone is looking for.
What is Bollywood for most mundane Indians.
This movie...is what Bollywood dreams of being some day.
This isn't a world where you live like a normal guy and escape is a sudden jump into London or Switzerland with 40 random people dancing behind you.
This is a WORLD in itself. It's very believable and you know you can find a place in it a lot easier than seeing yourself suddenly bursting into a song and finding yourself surrounded by 40 people who know your every move. Well, I digress. :)
What makes the movies spectacular however is how brilliant the story was.
It was the story of human civilization taken to the next level. How? Well, think about what was the basic concept of the movie.
Advanced civilization meets primitive civilation. Wants something that they have. They don't get it because the natives won't budge...so what does the advanced civilization do like any "advanced" civilization would do...they blow the natives to Kingdom come and go after what they want.
Think about the Christians and the Pagans around the world...the multiple examples and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. The Spanish did this when they reached South America, the British did it every bloody place they went, the Egyptians did it to the Africans...history is littered with examples where the relatively more advanced people always blew over the relatively less advanced people. There were however times when the underdogs won out. It took them a while and it was never easy...but they won at last.
The greatest stories in human history are about the victory of the underdogs...and Avatar is that respect possibly the greatest story that can be told. I won't give much away. I DO want you to see the movie to know what I'm talking about.
It's also a story of love...a love that transcends two people (though there's a bit of that too). Its a story of universal love, of harmony with nature and the thoughts of an ideal world.
Its got it all. Violence, sorrow, joy, fear, bravery, courage, love...all the good things you need to concoct a good, nay, a great story.
It had moments when you get goosebumps, when you feel dreadfully sad and when you can't help but whoop out with joy! It makes you want to be a kid again. It makes you want to be...there!
That to me boys and girls, is what makes a GREAT film...and Avatar...for all these reasons and not for the hype, is a GREAT film!
DO NOT MISS THIS!!!
Wait. I have to make an honest heartfelt appeal. Today is just day 1 and I have an almost personal connection now to this movie. I WANT it to do well. Its one of those movies that as a movie lover...as someone who loves great stories, I WANT to share with people. I WANT people to see this and talk about it.
I WANT it to do ludicrously well. I WANT it to break all records and be a path breaker. I'm quite certain that across the world, that is what it WILL do. It's just that good.
But my brothers and sisters in this glorious nation...(and I'm not sarcastic when I say this, I mean, we are a glorious nation)...do not for the love of everything that is good in this world, miss out on this.
Don't think that its just hype. Tell it your friends...and tell them to tell their's. Go see the movie and insist that everyone you know should see it too.
Don't miss it! You'll regret it many years later when it won't be in theaters and you'll have to desperately wait for some film festival or something to see it again on the big screen.
I saw it in 2D today. I'm going tomorrow morning to see it in 3D!
(Another first for me. I have seen movies more than once before, but the second viewing has always been at home on my tv. First time, I'm going back to a theater, and that too in a span of 24 hours to see a movie for the second time.)
Why? IT'S JUST THAT GOOD!
The Moviemania Rating: 9.9/10
I'll never rate any movie a 10. I always want to believe that something better can come along.
But this is as close as it can get to being perfect!
Mr.Cameron...brilliant job! What a brilliant job indeed!
Avatar 3D
I just got home from watching it in 3D. I know why I didn't give it a 10/10 rating last night. It was because I had yet to see it in 3D.
I thought I had seen the future of movie making yesterday. That seems almost like a metaphor. I know now that I truly have seen the future!
3D movies made like this. That's the way to go. Its the closest you can get to being "in" the movie.
This is the first time in my life, that I've watched a movie twice in the span of 24 hours and that too in a theater. If I had to do that sometime, I'm glad that I've done it for Avatar!
Can't wait for the DVD to come out. I hope it's loaded with more stuff than the movie had.
You just can't get enough of this.
I know a lot of you didn't like the movie though I can't figure out why that is.
I however, did like it and I'm totally cool with vociferously recommending it to anyone who's not seen it yet! :)
Like I said last night. Go see it. See it in 3D. After you've seen it, see it again!
Why? Because IT'S JUST THAT GOOD! :)
The Moviemania Rating: 10/10
Well I know nothing's perfect and all that jazz but come on. Who am I kidding. If this movie doesn't deserve a 10/10 I don't know what does!
The only other movies for me in this class are Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, the new Star Trek movie, Rocky and maybe a handful more.
A true modern day classic!
IMDB Rating: 8.5 / 10 Runtime: 105 mins Language: English Country: USA Color: Black & White IMDb Link: HIDDEN - PRESS THE SHOW LINKS BUTTON BELOW TO VIEW
Director: Billy Wilder Cast:
Fred MacMurray ... Walter Neff
Barbara Stanwyck ... Phyllis Dietrichson
Edward G. Robinson ... Barton Keyes
Porter Hall ... Mr. Jackson
Jean Heather ... Lola Dietrichson
Tom Powers ... Mr. Dietrichson
Byron Barr ... Nino Zachetti
Richard Gaines ... Edward S. Norton, Jr.
Fortunio Bonanova ... Sam Garlopis
John Philliber ... Joe Peters
Okay...here's how I catalog my movies. When I get a movie, I generally put it under the name of the big actor I know in the movie.
For example, if I get a movie which features say...Errol Flynn and 3 other people smaller in stature than him, the movie goes into the Errol Flynn folder and the other 3 people, if they're important/big enough, get mentioned beside him in the file.
When I got this movie and saw Edward G.Robinson in it, I initially slotted it into his folder and in brackets I wrote (With Barbara Stanwyck). To me Fred MacMurray was a small time actor. I mean I've seen him in a couple of movies before this, but he was not a BIG name so he didn't even get a mention in the file name.
Here are my errors.
a)Fred MacMurray is one of the MAIN actors in the movie.
b)Edward G.Robinson plays an important character in the movie, but he by no means has the lead role.
and
c)Barbara Stanwyck IS the star!!!
I cannot tell you anything important about the movie because it'll spoil it for you and this is one that you need to see to realize the brilliance of Billy Wilder films, but I'll give you this much.
Fred's an insurance salesman...a really good one. Edward's the guy who rejects or approves the claims filed at the insurance company. He's really shrewd and has a knack for spotting the fraudulent claims.
And Barbara...well she's the abused and depressed wife, then a seductress, then a schemer and finally ...a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it.
Damn! I think I gave away a bit too much.
But you know what, even if you're super-intelligent-Einstein-rocket scientist who's figured out the whole shabang...watch the movie.
Why? To see Barbara Stanwyck!!!
That's why!
She is astounding. I'd seen her in a couple of movies and had read that she's very highly regarded. I remember seeing her as a supporting actress of sorts in an Elvis movie. Which movie was that...ummm...I think it was Roustabout (where Elvis plays ...a roustabout :)
Yeah, so the point it...there she's older and not that important. So I didn't really get why she was "All that".
But you see her in this and you know right away!
Man! That woman could get you to do stuff you wouldn't ordinarily do if there was a millyun bucks on the line!
She's not the classic beauty that Marilyn Monroe or say Jane Russel or Ingrid Bergman was...but she was a beauty for sure. She has her own kind of smouldering thing going on for her and from the very first scene in the movie where you see her draped in just a towel, she has you! She has you as sure as Tom had Renee in Jerry M.
Enough praises of Ms.S. now what? Let's move on to Fred shall we?
I love his dialogue delivery baby...almost as much as I love Edward G.Robinson's. Its inimitable and so unique. You know it when you hear their voices. Like Cagney's or Bogart's. Absolutely brilliant.
And then there's Mr.Wilder. How can we forget him. This was the third movie of his I've seen in as many days where I've seen a certain facet of his story telling style. He likes to narrate stuff. He's got one of the characters in the movie taking us through what's going on and he does it oh so well.
It doesn't seem corny or weird. It seems perfectly natural that there should be a voice that stands above what is going on guiding us through the web that he weaves.
Wonder if he sees himself in the narrator's place in the movies. Maybe that's his way of "staying in" the films that he made...somewhat like Hitchcock and Stan Lee do :)
Brilliant job sir! Full marks to you. On all aspects. Loved the scenes, the story telling, the acting and you and your presence...taking us through the story.
Great job indeed!
The Moviemania Rating: I'll have to rate this one 8/10. It's a little lesser than the first two movies for just one reason. The story, though gripping could have been a little better. I don't know how, I just know that there could be more to this one story-wise. But other than that, it's top notch all the way.
You may think that we've had 3 movies so far and all of them have had a rating of 8+
My thinking is, why watch a movie or spend time writing about it if it's not really good! :)
I'm not saying that I may not watch an occasional stinker...but looking at what's lined up, expect a few more 8+ movies in the weeks to come :)
Right ho! Off to bed now :) Good night! (or morning! Its 4 frikkin am!)
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10 Runtime: 110 minutes Language: English Country: United States Color: B&W IMDb Link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0043014/
Director: Billy Wilder Cast:
William Holden ... Joe Gillis
Gloria Swanson ... Norma Desmond
Erich von Stroheim ... Max von Mayerling
Nancy Olson ... Betty Schaefer
Fred Clark ... Sheldrake
Lloyd Gough ... Morino
Jack Webb ... Artie Green
Franklyn Farnum ... Undertaker
Larry J. Blake ... Finance man #1 (as Larry Blake)
Charles Dayton ... Finance man #2
Cecil B. DeMille ... Himself
Hedda Hopper ... Herself
Buster Keaton ... Himself, Bridge Player
Anna Q. Nilsson ... Herself, Bridge Player
H.B. Warner ... Himself, Bridge Player
This is the second Billy Wilder movie I am watching in succession.
Why this one? Two reasons.
a) It is a Billy Wilder movie :) and b)It has William Holden.
After watching him in Stalag 17, I wanted to see more of his work. And this movie helped me keep with my current theme of watching movies made by Billy Wilder and it gave me a chance to see another William Holden film.
Now the last line I wrote was before the movie began. This line, is just after I finished it.
All I can say is...wow!
The movie is an exploration of the mind of a woman, Norma Desmond, a one time silent-movie superstar, who is living in her own little dreamworld, where her star has not yet waned. Obviously, the reality of it is far from what she believes. Its been twenty years since the public forgot her...but she is quite oblivious to that. That is partly thanks to her butler/manservant Max and partly because of her own deluded mind.
This aspect of the film however is narrated and seen from the eyes of Joe Gillis, a young struggling script-writer who is so hard up that he has almost given up hopes of making it in Hollywood and is about to slink back to the small town he came from to take up a writing job in the local paper.
Through some extemely odd yet believable circumstances Joe finds himself in Norma's place. When she finds that he's a writer she reveals to him a script that she has been working on. It is for a movie that she wants to star in once again and return to her greatness and to her millions of adoring fans. It is something that she has written and she asks Joe to have a look at it and tell her his views on it.
Joe needs money real bad and he sees in Norma a sucker from whom he can get the money to tide him through his tough times. Things begin changing here when Norma suggests that Joe move in to help rework and finalize her script.
After a bit of persuasion he moves in and what he thought would have taken a week or two turns into months. She wants him around because she's desperately lonely and he's the perfect cure for her solitude. She take care of him and his needs, buys him tons of things and basically makes him her pet in a manner of speaking, or to use a crude word I saw written in a couple of places, her gigolo. I chose not to use that term not because I'm prudish but because I think you have to see him and his situation to understand why he did what he did. In any case, he gets the script done and Norma decides it shall be the great Cecil B. DeMille who shall direct the movie just as he had done in her glory days. Mr.DeMille hates the script but just doesn't have the heart to tell Norma that.
Anyhow in all this, there's another love story that begins to develop. At the very start of the tale, just when Joe is ready to give it all up and go back to his small town, he goes and meets up with a movie producer in a last ditch effort to sell a script. Here he meets Betty Schaefer who pretty much rips his script idea to shreds. They meet later in the film, at a moment when Joe is fed up of being Norma's boy toy and is looking for a way out. Betty tells him about another script that he had written and how she sees a lot of promise in it. She's an aspiring writer herself and wants the opportunity of working on the script with him.
After a bit of persuasion, they get together on the project and while working on it, they fall in love. This is all happening on the sly because Joe doesn't want to tell Norma and upset her.
Well things come to a boil now. Norma finds out about Betty. Joe finds Norma trying to poison Betty's mind. Joe lays it out for Betty. And then there's the big conclusion.
Its pretty shocking. I couldn't resist telling you as much as I did...but I'll leave the ending untold. You've got to see it to understand how strange and oddly beautiful it all is.
Did I forget to mention, the butler, as often is the case, in movies where they've got Butlers who more than...buttle :) has a pretty massive role in a manner of speaking. There was a massive "Holy Shit" moment in the movie...and it was the butler who provided it.
You have GOT TO see this one.
Its a gripping drama. Gloria Swanson is "gloria"ous (forgive the pun), William Holden is astounding and the other characters in the movie play their parts to perfection.
I can see why this movie is as big a hit as it was. Totally deserves the high ratings and the adulation it gets.
The Moviemania Rating for this move : 8.5/10! (Its a brilliant movie. There's no doubt but I'm going to make these ratings a comparitive study of sorts for myself. In comparison to the first movie I wrote about, Stalag 17, I personally like this, a little lesser. But that's just me. I'm talking about how involved I got, the story and the characters. I'm making no comment on the art of direction or the beauty of the film visually. That aspect of it was absolutely astounding but one can't any less from Mr.Wilder can one?)
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10 (11,708 votes) Runtime: 120 min Language: English / German Country: USA Color: Black and White IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359/
Director: Billy Wilder Cast:
William Holden ... Sefton
Don Taylor ... Lt. Dunbar
Otto Preminger ... Col. von Scherbach
Robert Strauss ... Stanislas Kasava
Harvey Lembeck ... Harry Shapiro
Richard Erdman ... Hoffy
Peter Graves ... Price
Neville Brand ... Duke
Sig Ruman ... Sgt. Schulz
Michael Moore ... Manfredi
Peter Baldwin ... Johnson
Robinson Stone ... Joey
Robert Shawley ... Blondie Peterson
William Pierson ... Marko the Mailman
Gil Stratton ... Clarence Harvey Cook (as Gil Stratton Jr.)
I recently got me the entire set of movie directed by Billy Wilder. Now I'll admit, I've never really bothered going after directors. I always went after the actors and then got as many of their movies as I could.
While chatting with my twitter pal @Suderbuzz (Sudhish Kamat), what he had to say, made me move into a slightly different direction a couple of weeks ago. I decided to go after all movies made by Billy Wilder. With the zeal of a TV evangelist, I went after them movies and soon, I had them all! 25 movies directed by Billy Wilder.
The first of those movies that I chose to watch was the 1953 classic, Stalag 17!
After finishing the movie I realized just why Mr.Wilder has as many fans as he does. Now I'll admit, I have no idea what it is exactly that a director does but from what I have gathered in my years as a movie lover, I'll assume that he's the main story teller so to say. He imagines what it is that we'll see on screen and he tells the cast exactly what they should do so that we see what we'll see on the screen.
Fairly accurate estimation of a director's role? I would hope so.
That being said, let me reiterate my comment. I totally get why Mr.Wilder has as many fans as he does.
The movie is astounding!
The movie is set in a German prisoner of war camp called Stalag 17. The story revolves primarily around the character "Sefton" played brilliantly by William Holden. (Incidentally he got an Oscar for his role in the film as well.)
Sefton is one of those guys who manages to get along...almost prosper no matter where he's put. You always meet people like him and almost always you'll also notice that others don't generally like them. Its pure and simple envy but such is the nature of human beings. So yes, Sefton is doing well for himself, dealing with the German guards, organizing rat races, a bar, a telescope to spy on the Russian ladies camp (Isn't that just great by the way! :) They make a telescope and use it to check out the chicks :) ) and a whole bunch of other things. He lives well, eats well and has the maximum cigarettes around (which is basically the camp currency.)
This does not go down well with the others in his barrack and they're constantly trying to find a way to find out if there's more to Sefton than meets the eye.
The situation becomes more than just "neighbour's envy" when secrets within the camp start reaching the Germans. An escape is foiled, a radio confiscated...its almost like the Krauts know everything that's going on in the barracks.
Obviously, the suspicion is directed towards Sefton and life becomes hell for him soon thereafter.
He has to figure out a way to prove his innocence and at the same time find out who the real traitor in the midst is.
While this story is kinda serious...the concept that is, the way it is dealt is fabulous. Its laugh out loud funny at times and not once do you think that the humour is over done or that the acting is over the top. All the characters big and small do their parts perfectly and everything fits beautifully to make it an absolutely memorable film.
I won't tell you the bad guy really is or how they get him. But as it is with movies, they do get him and its almost poetic, how they deal with him. Watch the movie and see it for yourself.
I loved this! Absolutely loved it. As if that wasn't evident so far eh? :)
So now...for the first time on this new blog. The Moviemania Rating for this move : 9.5/10! (Why not 10/10. Nobody's perfect right :) but this is as close as it can get) :)
Definitely a collector's item! Go get it! :)
(Like I said in the very first post, DO comment and let me know what you think. I'm no expert. I want to share my love for movies with you. I'd like to know what you think as well :) Right then. Start commenting!)
You can't watch one old movie without hearing a kid on the corner screaming that out.
"Extra! Extra! Extra!" :)
I used to always wonder why they said that. If you're completely oblivious to what this reference is, its generally what the news boys (kids who sold newspapers) would scream when they had this big news story they wanted people to buy the papers for. Always wondered why it was "Extra". I mean, isn't it just a part of the paper. Or was an additional page added to hold that mindbending bit of news :) Heh.
In any case, I digress.
The point of this first post, is to announce that I have decided to share my love for movies, especially old movies (though I'm not saying that I'll limit myself only to that) with you!
I watch an average of 4-5 old movies a week...and I have a collection of close to a 1000 movies that range between the 30s and 60s.
I'm no expert and I shall offer you no expert critique of the movie.
I shall simply tell you why I liked or didn't like a movie and I'll encourage you to watch the movie and then agree or disagree with me.
I'm hoping I can get a few of you who're not into old movies, to get into it...and for those of you who are connoisseurs like me (I like that fancy word. Very French eh?:) ) I'd love to have your take on the movies too.
I'm sure I'll encounter a lot of people who know a LOT more about movies, old and new, than I do and I would love to hear what you have to say.
So...don't be shy. When you read a post....DO comment! :)
I want to know what you think!
Right then, to quote one of my favourite lines from a movie...
"Louie (if that happens to miraculously be your name) or _______ (Insert your name here when you read this), I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." :)
I LOVE old movies. I love movies in general. This here, is a place where I share my love for movies with you. It'll mostly be old movies, but every now and then I may throw in a new one as well :)
