Past Movies: The First Reel

[Shadowlander]

Gone With The Wind was certainly one of the most ambitious films of its day, that's for sure. But it definitely hasn't aged well. I hadn't seen it in a very long time but it came on TNT a few months back and I was surprised at how melodramatic it was. A whole lot of fluttering eyelashes and heart-clutching gasps and fainting spells...it was something else.

My favorite character in the film would have to be Rhett Butler, as portrayed by Clark Gable. A close second would be Melanie, as played by Olivia DeHavilland (I always like her in any film she's in). Did you know that Errol Flynn was high up in the running to play Rhett Butler? Imagine how it would have turned out if he had. I've read he was sorely disappointed by losing the role because he was always kind of typecast into the "swashbuckler" roles which made him famous and was always trying to sort of break out of that mold. I think he'd have done a good job, but Gable definitely brings the role to life. Tough call there...

I very much enjoyed A Knight's Tale, even with the weird musical cues throughout the film, but to echo what others have said Sossamon's character kind of annoyed me. What's with the spikey hair? And she kind of annoyed me. But I'll let that slide because Paul Bettany really stole the show as Chaucer. The whole movie oozes an almost viscous "believe in yourself" vibe that can get a little gaggy at times but overall it was a pretty enjoyable movie, methinks.

My favorite role with Alan Rickman in it would have to be Die Hard. What a great and original movie! Rickman stars as the leader of a group of terrorists who take over a skyscraper in Los Angeles and keep 40-50 people hostage while he tries to break into the building's vault to nab some bearer's bonds. And he plays his role of the bad guy to the hilt! Lots of foul language in the movie but if you can get past that you'll find one heckuva film.

[Bookwyrm]

X2 is even better than the first X-Men movie, Kate. For some reason Marvel Comics movie franchises seem to do that. Well, except for FF2, which was dreadful and which I prefer to pretend does not exist. There's a lot more action scattered throughout rather than just the big climactic battle at the end like in the first and the plot's a bit more complicated. Sadly, X3 is the worst of the lot, but still enjoyable enough.

[MissAdventure]

Hm, I just saw Gone With The Wind on Friday. I'd only seen bits and pieces before, but mostly when Scarlett was being obnoxious. It actually wasn't as bad as I was bracing myself for. (I don't suppose being with friends and putting it in at, oh, nearly 10 PM would have have helped any?) I completely agree that Olivia de Havilland and Clark Gable were the best. Ooh, Errol Flynn as Rhett? Clark Gable was still great, but I can definitely see Errol Flynn saying the famous line: "Frankly, my dear..." I loved Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood. And Olivia de Havilland. Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains were great as villains, but since I saw that such a long time ago I don't remember much else about it. I do remember loving it. Although, I loved Claude Rains as Capt. Renault in Casablanca. I agree, that movie isn't the Greatest Romance Ever, but I like the other elements of it. "Round up the usual suspects."

[wisewoman]

We watched His Girl Friday last week, with Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant. It was absolutely hilarious Lots of quotable lines, like, "I'm more or less particular about who my wife marries," and "He's at the hospital, where they are terribly afraid he'll make a full recovery." And there were plenty more, but often the actors interrupted each other or they all talked at the same time, which made it hard to catch everything on one viewing. lys, have you seen this one? I think it would be right up your alley!

We also watched Lawrence of Arabia. The music was splendid! The locations were fantastic too. I did enjoy the movie, but it was a bit too long. I'm not sure I'd rush to watch it again, but I'm glad I saw it.

[Destined-To-Reign]

That version of David Copperfield that you reviewed, lysander-I'm afraid I didn't like it very much. Parts of it were good, but overall, I thought it made it seem like such a depressing story. And it seemed like David was looking back and regretting everything that happened. I also thought that the actresses who played Agnes and Dora should have been switched around, but maybe that's just because I'm used to the 1999 version.
I didn't like the flashback portrayal at all (what an abomination! *wink wink*), and my dad, who has never read the book, was really confused with the story, and ended up thinking he didn't like it (which made me unhappy ). So . . .
I'm sure there were parts I did like about it, but it's been about a year, so I don't remember it clearly. I may have to make myself watch it again just to remind myself what Jip sounded like.
Glad you enjoyed His Girl Friday, ww.
And the scene in Lawrence of Arabia where one of the servants gets pulled into the quicksand didn't scar you for life?
narnian1, it's good to hear your thoughts on the different versions of Little Women. I haven't watched the Katherine Hepburn version, but I should sometime. Your dislikes for the 1949 version make sense, and I'd agree that it isn't perfect, but I still like it a good deal.

My thoughts on Gone With the Wind are mixed. When I watched it for the first time when I was 14 or 15, I was really impressed, and thought it was a well made movie, and very "deep." On watching bits and pieces of it more recently, I'm not quite so enthusiastic about it. And I don't really like to watch it, because the ending is so unhappy. I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way, but it's so depressing!

I finally got around to watching The Tale of Despereaux the other night, and I liked it a lot. It seemed a little short and like parts were missing at times (Despereaux grew up awfully fast!), but it was really cute.

The other day when I was looking for some movies at the library for the family to watch, I picked up a 1998 version of Madeline. I watched it with my younger siblings, and we all thought it was really cute! I liked it a lot. The little girl who played the title character was just adorable. The movie started out as a pretty accurate portrayal of the story book (the one I read, anyway), and then went on and got into a whole new story, which makes sense, since the picture books aren't long enough to make a movie from.

I should very much like to watch Casablanca sometime, but that was a movie that my parents thought was too grown up for us children, so we've never seen it . . . I wonder if they'd mind my watching it now? I know that they like it.

[wisewoman]

Random, very cool thing I just noticed about the new forum: when it sends email subscriptions, it puts (N/A) in the spot between the spoiler tags, so you can't be spoilered by accident by reading a subscription email. Love that

And LOL — no, I don't think I will be scarred for life from that scene, Destined! However, I can see how you would be, if you watched it at a young age. A good imagination can be a curse sometimes!

[lysander]

Last week I watched Pride and Prejudice (2005) for the first time! ... I loved the scenery, the actors, the character, the faithful adaption of the book.

I don't find the adaptation ALL that faithful. They hit most of the high points and didn't really depart from the plot-line, but all then there were all the little things they added that had nothing to do with Pride & Prejudice and were so thoroughly out of place! The bonnet-less girls, the entrance of Bingley into Jane's sickroom, all of the innuendo (WHY did they have to show Elizabeth checking out Wickham's backside? ). I used to like this, but last time I caught it on TV I found it really rubbed me wrong.

I agree with your thoughts on Taken, jo. It was the kind of movie that would have simply died without a strong central figure. Neeson's performance and the excitement factor were the real pulls; the rest was middling. Oh, and sorry for the length of my "review" ... I got a little carried away.

I guess I shouldn't really be able to have an opinion on it since I never finished the book, DTR, but I really like the '94 Little Women. I've seen the Katharine Hepburn version, and parts of the June Allyson, and I found both lead actresses quite grating in the role of Jo. (But then, I find Katharine Hepburn grating in almost everything, except for Bringing Up Baby and State of the Union.) Ryder plays it quite differently from the two of them - she's tomboyish, but lovable and still with her own brand of femininity about her. How could you not like Claire Danes' Beth?? She makes me cry every time I watch that. And I never thought that there might be some kind of inappropriate involvement between Jo and the professor. Seriously, where'd you get that? I'm sort of surprised that all the innuendo in P&P doesn't bother you, but that does.

I like Gone with the Wind for its music, cinematography, and excellent supporting performances by Hattie McDaniel and Olivia de Havilland. But I hated the main characters so much that even Viven Leigh and Clark Gable weren't able to impress me. Not a favorite.

lys, have you seen this one? I think it would be right up your alley!

Yes indeed. I bought it for $.25 at a library sale a few weeks back and absolutely loved it, but the tape quality was so bad that I had to throw it out after one viewing. I'll be on the lookout for another copy.

I thought it made it seem like such a depressing story. And it seemed like David was looking back and regretting everything that happened.

I know. If they were going to do a flashback, they should have done it more like they did in the TNT version from 2000, where they had him run into Mr. and Mrs. Murdstone at a resort in Europe, and because he saw the former preying on yet another young heiress (which it is inferred he does in the book, no matter what some purists say and denounces him publicly. Writing his autobiography, in that setting, becomes not only a way of dispelling his demons but also a tool of justice. It's by sorting his life out that he's able to return to England, to reconcile himself with Agnes and write the last chapter. This '69 version made it worse by spending so much dang time in the frame story; after the opening scene I described, '00 just showed some reaction shots of him while writing the story. That way it didn't change the tone of the "actual" events the way the version you and I saw did.

I also thought that the actresses who played Agnes and Dora should have been switched around, but maybe that's just because I'm used to the 1999 version.

I don't think so, because I thought the same thing! On reconsideration, I do think Susan Hampshire would have been too tall and refined for Dora, but I just like Pamela Franklin so much more as an actress, so of course I would have preferred it if she was Agnes.

Really quickly, what I've been watching lately:

- The Reluctant Dragon - this is an old animated short from Disney that my friend has had memorized since his childhood, and all in all I think it's really charming. "Egad!"

- The Inspector General - a Danny Kaye movie I own and have seen once, but had pretty much forgotten about. It's not one of his best, and in parts is really dated, but there's some very good sketches and musical numbers in there. My favorite bit is the Gypsy Drinking Song; it doesn't really fit the plotline but it's absolutely hilarious.

- The Matrix - yes, it's taken me ten years to see this; can you believe it? I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had watched it when I was younger, a few years after its release, but then again it's not really my "type" of film. For those that luke futuristic dystopia kick-bad-guy's-behind action flicks, I can see why it would be so appealing. The art direction was particularly astounding. And though I can't stand Keanu Reeves in general, he didn't really do anything to ruin this film, although then again, there wasn't that much dialogue or character development for him to deal with.

[stargazer]

lysander, I found The Inspector General in the $1.00 DVD rack a while ago and agree with your comments. I'm almost inclined to dig it out right now for a rewatch of The Gypsy Drinking Song.

Although Inspector came first, I prefer Kaye's The Court Jester, which has some similar plot elements but (to me) carries them off better. (Not to mention I saw it first ). It's hard to beat the "pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle" routine. And it was fun watching it with friends - I still recall their son (perhaps 10 at the time) laughing hysterically at the "Maladjusted Jester" song/routine.

[Destined-To-Reign]

Good, wisewoman. I'm trying to persuade myself to watch that move again sometime, but I just can't make myself.

lys-I did like Danes' Beth, but I'll admit I'm more used to the one in the '49 version. Like I said, I was undecided about her. But the more I think about it, the more I like her performance. She seemed a little different from how she was in the book-and then again, her portrayal was very accurate and touching. And yes, I cried too . . . I wish the '99 version had had more of Mr. Lawrence.
I doubt I would have dreamed of imagining any "unpleasant" things between Jo and the Professor, if it wasn't for a comment Laurie rather bitterly made. And I can't remember it exactly now, either.
Goodness, I don't go around imagining that stuff on my own. As for all the innuendo in Pride and Prejudice, I'm really afraid I never noticed any of it. You'd mentioned something about something in a sermon once? I certainly never noticed that. Again, I guess it's not really the sort of thing I'd notice unless it was pointed out to me (for instance, again, Laurie's comment).
I have noticed the impropriety of Mr. Bingley's coming into Jane's sickroom like that-and that made me rather upset.

Good thoughts on David Copperfield. I shall have to watch the 2000 version sometime, though I may have to do so myself, as I'm not sure my family wants to sit through *another* version. And oh, good! I'm so glad you agree about Agnes and Dora (mostly), and it wasn't just me.

The Inspector General is pretty funny. The Gypsy song is really good, and my family also likes the one at the beginning, where he makes all the weird contortions of face, and one of the musicians keeps making queer grunts (I don't remember what at the moment . . .). My mom thinks Danny Kaye was one of the most brilliant actors ever.

*scurries off to bed*

[Shadowlander]

The Matrix - yes, it's taken me ten years to see this; can you believe it? I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had watched it when I was younger, a few years after its release, but then again it's not really my "type" of film. For those that luke futuristic dystopia kick-bad-guy's-behind action flicks, I can see why it would be so appealing. The art direction was particularly astounding. And though I can't stand Keanu Reeves in general, he didn't really do anything to ruin this film, although then again, there wasn't that much dialogue or character development for him to deal with.

The Matrix is a pretty good film, in my opinion. The plot was tangible and made sense. There were no loose ends. Everything fit together well and the mythology of the story was really quite good.

I cannot say that about its two sequels (GB will be here to provide a counterargument at some point in the near future I'm sure. ) They struck me as disjointed, confusing messes in which the producers were more interested in squeezing in just *one* more slow motion special effect rather than saying, "Hey, you think the audience still knows what's going on? Let's put in more leather outfits and Gargoyles".

"I know Kung-Fu".

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I agree that the sequels are disappointing. Not sure what you mean about Gargoyles though, there aren't any. The Twins are very cool though.

[Shadowlander]

Ahh...Gargoyles are a brand of sunglasses.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Oh, and here I was thinking of the creepy monsters on old churches (or the very cool 90's cartoon).

[stargazer]

Did someone mention Gargoyles? I really liked that show.

Back on topic...I recently found the Matrix movie DVDs on sale and was ready to watch them immediately after seeing Shadowlander's reference to gargoyles.

[Shadowlander]

Back on topic...I recently found the Matrix movie DVDs on sale and was ready to watch them immediately after seeing Shadowlander's reference to gargoyles.

You're killing me, man. You're killing me.

[starkat]

Not sure if this should go in present movies or here, but since it is a DVD release...

I purchased Mandie and the Secret Tunnel today. It is clearly a lower budget movie, but the cinematography is great and crisp. The colors are rich. Snowball was white! I love it! It has a similar feel to Anne of Green Gables. I am looking forward to rewatching it.