tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post1230629253429196734..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Jules Dassin’s Brute Force (and a sidenote on homosexual Nazis in 1940s films)Jabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-88076201508690270912009-11-29T09:48:04.648+05:302009-11-29T09:48:04.648+05:30Anon: that's one of the best comments I've...Anon: that's one of the best comments I've received this year! Most of your conjectures are true, but sadly I've only succeeded in doing those things in my head so far. Perhaps that will change sometime in the future. After all I'm still relatively young, and the real-life Ed Gein was in his 50s!Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-65954178930916974612009-11-28T14:10:20.974+05:302009-11-28T14:10:20.974+05:30You know it is funny- whenever I think of the movi...You know it is funny- whenever I think of the movie Rope I think about you. Most people know you as a lover of movies, few know that you are a very dark, macabre and sick man. I am 100% sure that you have secretly browbeaten a fellow Dehlite at a dinner party with a cricket bat, as a way of tribute to your hero Brian De Palma. One also suspects that you have a villa in some place like Dehradun or Nainital, where you have murdered many a young North Indian babes, whom you had seduced with your writing skills, when they were in the shower. That was your tribute to your other hero Hitchcock. <br /><br />There is reason enough to believe that you have acted weird with a Delhi cab driver in a manner that Scorcese did in his movie Taxi Driver, just for the kicks. Off-late, your perversions flare up when Rafa does not win tennis tournaments. There is reason to believe that you have commited a murder like "The Rope". Then you probably invited the Delhi intelligentsia to a dinner party.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-25092555289901644502009-11-19T14:58:32.825+05:302009-11-19T14:58:32.825+05:30Thanks for this recommendation.Thanks for this recommendation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-73408061978106954032009-11-12T14:28:36.456+05:302009-11-12T14:28:36.456+05:30Nice review, JW. I saw BF & Naked City one aft...Nice review, JW. I saw BF & Naked City one after the other quite recently. I wasn't that impressed with BF. Parts of it were very Hindi movie-ish in its flashbacks & kind but drunken doctor & some other stock characters. It is still a very well-done movie, & I am a big fan of Dassin. His late 40s output is awesome. And you must watch Naked City, it is a cracker & holds up very well. In fact Howard Duff who plays the soldier in BF has a great role in Naked City. I have listened to his Sam Spade radio series, which is very different from the original (more jokey, bit of a horndog). <br /><br />And on the subject of connctions, Lancaster appeared in another prison movie which I haven't seen in a long time & can barely remember now - Birdman of Alcatraz (though I live in its vicinity). And Cronyn, who was married to Jessica Tandy, had a great debut in Shadow Of A Doubt as the nerdy neighbour.Tipunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-41715448091367172102009-11-11T19:56:03.281+05:302009-11-11T19:56:03.281+05:30Thanks for the link Shrikanth.I guess I have to re...Thanks for the link Shrikanth.I guess I have to revisit Hitchcock. I saw most of him when I was in my early teens and I vividly remember being impresed by "Spellbound" from that time.Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-38206880393778943592009-11-11T15:54:38.442+05:302009-11-11T15:54:38.442+05:30Thomson also missed out on Woody Allen. Even when ...Thomson also missed out on Woody Allen. Even when you're watching a Woody Allen movie which doesn't star Allen himself, you're aware of it.<br /><br />Also, Tarantino? Call his style a pastiche if you will, but whatever it is, its instantly recognisable as QT.a fan aparthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04243109684980740841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-32148099854752690912009-11-11T00:38:00.270+05:302009-11-11T00:38:00.270+05:30shrikanth: thanks for that link, really good artic...shrikanth: thanks for that link, really good article. I'm surprised Thomson didn't mention DePalma in his list of living directors whose work is immediately recognisable as their own. <br /><br />Incidentally V F Perkins, in his excellent book <i>Film as Film</i>, provides a superb analysis of the artistry of the shower scene in <i>Psycho</i>. He also discusses how shot composition and editing are rigorously used throughout the film to make it an organic whole, with one scene echoing, commmenting on or even foreshadowing another. Fascinating analysis.<br /><br />Perkins also has a very high opinion of Preminger, which I found interesting when I first read the book, because I had never really got a sense of Preminger as a major director (much less an auteur) before then.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-12787622947296555992009-11-11T00:13:14.722+05:302009-11-11T00:13:14.722+05:30even relatively workmanlike directors like Curtiz ...<i>even relatively workmanlike directors like Curtiz and Zinnemann have made movies of a very high quality</i><br /><br />Very much agree. It's just that given a choice to watch either Hawks' <i>Ball of Fire</i> or Curtiz's <i>Casablanca</i>, I'd pick the former.<br /><br />It's also possible that we might underappreciate a very good movie made by a director who has the reputation of being workmanlike.<br />Just finished watching Curtiz's <i>Mildred Pierce</i>. Just as good, but not as widely acclaimed as some of Sirk's melodramas. Probably because Curtiz is not as popular as Sirk in auteurist circles.<br /><br />Rahul: You might want to read <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jun/12/film-makers-lost-signature/" rel="nofollow">this</a>shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-29696038755749189862009-11-10T22:26:22.546+05:302009-11-10T22:26:22.546+05:30A second rung Hitchcock/Hawks is generally more in...<i>A second rung Hitchcock/Hawks is generally more interesting than the best work of a Zinnemann or a Curtiz.</i><br /><br />shrikanth: oh, personally speaking, I'd consider a second-rung Hitchcock more interesting than the best work of many other directors! But in general I'm not so sure about this statement. Sure, if you're looking at a film for what it reveals about a director's particular sensibility and how it ties in thematically with the rest of his oeuvre, I'd agree. But even relatively workmanlike directors like Curtiz and Zinnemann <i>have</i> made movies of a very high quality. And it's possible, of course, to see <i>Casablanca</i> as a film that just happened to be directed by Curtiz (as opposed to "a Michael Curtiz Film").<br /><br />I loved <i>From Here to Eternity</i> when I was 14, but I agree that it's dated quite embarrassingly. And because it still has such a high reputation in middlebrow circles (multi-Oscar winner, etc etc), it's given many casual viewers a misleading impression of what actors like Lancaster and Clift stood for or were capable of.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-81267104219844526532009-11-10T22:08:04.296+05:302009-11-10T22:08:04.296+05:30Shrikanth, what do you think of "North by Nor...Shrikanth, what do you think of "North by North west" ?Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-13836361249404848202009-11-10T14:59:40.053+05:302009-11-10T14:59:40.053+05:30I share your feelings about FHTE, but...
"A ...I share your feelings about FHTE, but...<br /><br />"A second rung Hitchcock/Hawks is generally more interesting than the best work of a Zinnemann or a Curtiz"<br /><br />...is a bit extreme?? Second-rung Hitchcock/Hawks to my mind is decidedly less interesting than Casablanca or High Noon.a fan aparthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04243109684980740841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-69255949501725505712009-11-10T08:48:12.225+05:302009-11-10T08:48:12.225+05:30Rahul: I found even Clift's performance in the...Rahul: I found even Clift's performance in the film strictly routine. He was more interesting in movies like <i>The Heiress</i> and <i>I Confess</i>. <br /><br />FHTE made me believe a little more strongly in the auteur theory. A second rung Hitchcock/Hawks is generally more interesting than the best work of a Zinnemann or a Curtiz.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-32941924554581179242009-11-10T06:33:46.093+05:302009-11-10T06:33:46.093+05:30Shrikanth, I agree with that. I remember that movi...Shrikanth, I agree with that. I remember that movie mostly for Monty Clift's performance. I have never been impressed by Sinatra for some reason. By the way, this is the movie which is supposed to be mentioned in the Godfather, for which Johny Fontaine got an Oscar(in the book).Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-89830893831393839272009-11-10T01:05:42.310+05:302009-11-10T01:05:42.310+05:30Rahul - White Heat may not be a movie about prison...Rahul - White Heat may not be a movie about prison life. But nearly a third of the film is set in prison, I think. Also, the prison sequences are so much more memorable than the rest of the film.<br /><br />Btw, Watched one of Lancaster's most famous films - <i>From Here to Eternity</i> recently. Found it badly dated. A rather weak film with an inflated reputation thanks to the Oscars.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-73768951682227464302009-11-10T00:42:32.002+05:302009-11-10T00:42:32.002+05:30Thanks for this recommendation.
I think you know t...Thanks for this recommendation.<br />I think you know that I have this habit of making connections between flim stars. On that note Lancaster reminds me of Vinod Khanna.<br />@Srikanth,White Heat is not really a prison drama,so to speak.Great movie nonetheless.<br />I wanted to recommend two - "The Hill" and "Pressure Point",which had a great performance by Bobby Darin.<br />"The hill" has at least 5 oscar worthy performances and is one of my all time favorites.Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-52236073879423363762009-11-10T00:01:28.531+05:302009-11-10T00:01:28.531+05:30Despite 40s being my favourite film decade, I neve...Despite 40s being my favourite film decade, I never cease to be surprised by the number of high-quality movies I'm yet to discover from that period. The era is almost like an <i>akshaya patra</i> of wholesome movies that are difficult to dislike. And I'm yet to look too far beyond mainstream Hollywood.<br /><br />I've mixed feelings about Hume Cronym. Wasn't he the guy who wrote that witless script for <i>Under Capricorn</i>? That film could've been a winner for Hitch had he roped in a Thornton Wilder or a Ben Hecht to do the script.<br /><br />Interesting that a couple of years after this, we had a prison drama of a very different kind - Walsh's <i>White Heat</i>, a much more flamboyant film with a most extraordinary screen performance from the great Jimmy Cagney.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.com