Film 36: La Strada (1954)

Netflix Summary: Federico Fellini's powerful rumination on love and hate, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. The story follows the plight of gentle Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina), who's sold by her mother to a bullying circus performer (Anthony Quinn), only to have a clown win her heart and ignite a doomed love triangle.

From Wikipedia: Bob Dylan cites La Strada as an influence for the song "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Kris Kristofferson has said that La Strada was an inspiration for the song "Me and Bobby McGee", which is heard in the road movie Two-Lane Blacktop.

Film Viewing Due Date: 6/14

From Here to Eternity Review

Juror#3 says: It's funny, a common complaint from screenwriters today is that Hollywood is only interested in adapting books, not producing original screenplays. As if it's something new. Clearly, it's not. From Here to Eternity is yet another literary adaptation chosen for our film study, and it didn't disappoint. The film follows a handful of soldiers stationed at Pearl Harbor in the time leading up to the infamous attack. The soldiers are all dealing with essential internal issues like purpose, and of course love. In the end, the role of perception is seen as being a human security blanket, or survival tactic. Frank Sinatra won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and he was really good but in my opinion Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster put on the real acting clinic. The directing is fantastic, with strategic camera placements leading the audience along the way. The dialogue is exceptional and I have added the book to my summer reading list to see how close to the original writing the adaptation stayed. There were some great lines like when Prewitt says, "Nobody ever lies about being lonely." or the following exchange between Alma and Prewitt:

Alma: Sit down and get comfortable. I'll make you a martini and see what's to cook for dinner.
Prewitt: Hey, this is like being married, ain't it?
Alma: It's better.

I'm not going to talk about the famous beach scene because I think it's a shame that this movie is remembered for that particular scene - there is so much great stuff in this movie! I rate it 5/5 stars.

girl by locker says: With the movie billed as having one of the steamiest love scenes in cinematic history, I was looking forward to see this rolling around in the surf between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. I know I probably shouldn’t have expected more, in particular since we are in the 1950’s and movies were not yet as sexually graphic as they are now. However, I did expect a bit more than a 3-second romp and I certainly didn’t expect the leads to get into a fight about Kerr’s promiscuity with other soldiers. I read that Lancaster was “testing her sincerity and feelings” but it still kind of irritated me. It was a steamy love scene but can’t say that it is one of the steamiest – Blue Valentine can give it a run for its money.

Overall, I have to say I really liked the movie and would give it 4/5 on Netflix. It was an interesting look at life pre-Pearl Harbor and while watching I would compare it to our generation’s attack on US soil – 9/11. It must have been particularly exciting for an audience to watch while in the theater being that they were more versed with times in which the Japanese actually attacked and knowing it was about to happen. I knew the date but not the times so wasn’t sure if bombs were about to drop or if that would happen later. Burt Lancaster was solid in his role as First Sergeant and Frank Sinatra was most definitely worthy of his Oscar. Without a doubt, From Here to Eternity is a classic film and worthy of watching for anyone interested in history or film.

Forbidden Games Review

girl by locker says: It has been a while since I have seen a movie this good. From the first scene in which we see Parisians fleeing their city across a bridge being attacked by Nazis, to the final, gut-wrenching scene where we see Paulette yelling in the crowded train station for Michel, I was hooked. The plot is simple - a young girl is orphaned while her family flees from Paris and is taken in by a peasant family. The girl, Paulette, befriends the young boy in the family, Michel and as a way to cope with death and the horrors around them, they fall into a fantasyland and begin creating a cemetery for dead animals and bugs they find. I read a review that stated the movie is a masterpiece because it does not compromise on two things: "the horrors of war and the innocence of childhood" and I couldn't agree more. Rene Clement, the director, does not shy away from the despair and awfulness that is war nor does he he fall into a trap of overly sweet dialogue with Paulette and Michel. He also does an amazing job working with the two child actors. This movie, hands down, is a must see. I give it 5 out of 5 stars on Netflix, and I would give it more if I could. A brilliant look at how death and war could be perceived by children.

Juror #3 says: I'm glad we chose to watch Forbidden Games, it's our first international film as a part of our film study. I enjoyed seeing the roots of what has made French Cinema my style of choice. For instance - patience with the story, reoccurring musical themes, and thoughtful cinematography. One of the glaring differences between the American films we have watched up to this point and Forbidden Games is the framing of a scene. Where as the American films like to center the focus of a scene, Forbidden Games off-sets the focus of the scene thereby creating the feeling of a story within a larger world.
Overall I thought the movie was really well directed, with a fantastic plot line. But it seemed to lack a compelling secondary throughline which would have helped make the film a bit more engaging and impactful in the end. Overall I rate the movie 3/5 stars and applaud the classic French production style.

Film 32: Sunset Boulevard

Netflix Summary: Running from debt collectors, screenwriter Joe (William Holden) stumbles upon the crumbling mansion of former silent-film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). As he begins working for Norma, writing a comeback screenplay, their professional relationship evolves into something more. A provocative look inside Hollywood show business, Billy Wilder's classic noir won Academy Awards for Art Direction, Music and Screenplay. 

  

From Wikipedia: In 1989, the film was among the first group of 25 deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.  Polls conducted by the American Film Institute have demonstrated the lasting appeal of Sunset Boulevard and the esteem in which it is held by the modern filmmakers who respond to these polls. In 1998, it was ranked number twelve on a list of "100 Greatest Films".

Film Viewing Due Date: 3/29

All the King's Men Review

girl by locker says: Several years ago I read Robert Penn Warren’s novel All the Kings Men, and I loved it. In fact, I would put it in my top 10 list of favorite books of all time. While I know movies never live up to the books, I still sat down to watch the movie version with great anticipation. For the most part, my expectations were met, and I believe that it is the universal theme of the story that resonates with the viewer. In short, power corrupts. It is with an almost morbid curiosity that we watch the downfall of a man drunk on his own authority, spiraling out of control all the while holding onto it. We sit thinking, “That would never be me. I would never lose my principles.” But would we? Are there really any honest politicians? These ideas tie back nicely to the Treasure of the Sierra Madre as we watch Bogart greedily hoard his gold. We like to think we wouldn’t be corrupted by money, but we don’t know just as we don’t know how we would act if we were to reach a political office in which we could affect change if we could hold onto the office.

These questions are what fascinate me about the movie as well as the book (though I can also say that the book is so incredibly written that I was sucked into the story and couldn’t stop turning the pages). Broderick Crawford did an amazing job in the role of Willie Stark. He convinced me that he was a “dumb hick” in the beginning and a political wheeler dealer in the end. I bought his charisma and believed that people were drawn to him. My main issue with the movie, aside from the fact that it felt slow at times, was Joanne Dru’s acting in the role of Anne Stanton. She overacted and her dramatic face turns every time someone got angry with her annoyed me to no end. For these reasons, I give the movie a 4/5 on Netflix.

Juror #3 says: I hadn't read the novel All the King's Men thus I went into the film viewing blind. The story follows Jack Burden, an idealistic newspaper man turned political lackey to one Willie Stark. Willie begins a humble, country man-of-the-people rising to the heights of political power by becoming everything he once fought against. The story is complex, with lots of moving parts but the adapted screenplay does a really good job of boiling things down to a digestible plot. The acting was fantastic, and properly acknowledged by the Academy Awards with wins for Broderick Crawford (Best Actor) for his role as Jack Burden, and Mercedes McCambridge (Best Supporting Actress) for her role as Sadie - a political gun-for-hire. All the King's Men is engaging on several levels which includes political strategy, corruption, greed and power to name a few. Snappy dialogue, powerful one-liners and passionate speeches - one of which gave me chills (Willie and his hangover) - keep the film moving at a quick pace. If I had to critique the film it would be based on some of the Director's visual choices and a few odd edits. But overall All the King's Men was deserving of its Best Picture win, and has me wondering why anyone would have tried to remake it. I rate it 4/5 stars on Netflix.