A Year in the Life

Hello my lovelies!

It has been over a year since I have posted anything!!!! I guess when you get busy with things, time just sort of slips away. Needless to say, I've watched a fair share of movies since then and have been burning up the Netflix subscription with all the things my husband and I have in our queue. Currently, I am waiting to get to the part of our queue that has True Blood Season 2 in it. We don't have HBO so we have to wait for it to come out on DVD. I suppose I could go buy it but the last thing I need to buy is ANOTHER set of DVDs!! Okay-I probably will buy them at some point anyway but just not now!!! Isn't True Blood just fantastically delicious? Admittedly, I have not seen a single episode of Season 2 but I just know that it is killer!!! (I may have to rearrange the Netflix queue after all!) We just bought the complete set of LOST and there is a bonus disc that you actually have to search for because it is hidden in the packaging. One of my dearest friends is a LOST fanatic and he's been looking forward to this set coming out for ages. I haven't talked to him yet so I don't know if he's found the bonus disc. Ohhhh to be a fly on the wall when he opens up the DVDs and realizes he has to work for that disc!!! Kinda like working for a Fish Biscuit!! :-) ANYWAY!!! I am trying to get back into the swing of things with my movie blog. New movie post coming soon and I will try to post more often!!! :-)

Actor/Director Spotlight: Orson Welles

George Orson Welles (1915-1985) was an Academy Award winning director, actor, writer and producer. He was also an accomplished magician. He worked extensively in film, theatre and radio. Welles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin to affluent parents. However, he suffered many hardships as a child. His parents moved to Chicago and separated. His father became an alcoholic and his mother died of jaundice when he was just nine years old. His father died when he was fifteen. He attended the Todd School for Boys where a teacher, Roger Hill, encouraged and indulged his creative tendencies. Welles performed his first theatrical productions at Todd. When his father died, he travled Europe on a small inheritance. Whilst in Ireland, he auditioned for the Gate Theatre in Dublin where he made is debut in 1931 to great acclaim. With a letter of introduction from Thornton Wilder, he made his way to the New York stage. This eventually led to a working relationship with John Houseman and work with the Federal Theatre Project which was a part of Franklin Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration. After several productions, the two actors would eventually resign from the Federal Theatre Project to start their own company, the Mercury Theatre. The Mercury Theatre would employ such actors as Agnes Moorehead, Joseph Cotten, Ray Collins and many other actors who would continue to work with Welles throughout his life. One of their most famous productions was H.G. Welles War of the Worlds. It's news bulletin style of performance caused widespread panic among listeners some of whom believed that the planet was indeed being attacked by martians. Orson Welles eventually found himself at RKO Pictures where he was given complete artistic control over his projects by president George Schaefer. This was unheard of at the time. Welles searched for the right project and, along with screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, conceived the idea for a film project tenatively titled American. With a change of title, this would not only become his first feature film as director, but it would also become his most famous and honored role-Citizen Kane. Loosely based on the life of William Randolf Hearst, Citizen Kane tells the story of Charles Foster Kane a news mogul whose life has many turns and loops. Hearst was so outraged at the movie that he had his media outlets boycott the film. There was so much pressure on Hollywood to supress the film that at one point, the major studio heads of the day offered to pay RKO Pictures the cost of the film in exchange for all negatives and existing prints with the express desire to destroy them all. RKO declined and Citizen Kane was given a limited release. Hearst, in his fury, bullied many movie theatres and threatened to ban movie advertisements in his publications if they showed Citizen Kane. After its release, the film received critical acclaim and went on to be nominated for nine Academy Awards and won for Best Screenplay. After Citizen Kane, things became more difficult for Welles. Even though Citizen Kane was a darling with critics, the controversy it caused, along with being a financial flop for RKO, made for strained relations between Welles and the studio who insisted on taking control of his next project The Magnificent Ambersons. Over the years, studios became unwilling to take on Welles as a director but they would hire him as an actor and he worked for many years up until his death. Eventually, Welles would return to directing and would finance many of his films himself. Many of these would go unfinished. Orson Welles received many accolades for his work throughout his life. He was either nominated or awarded not only an Oscar but also such awards at the Palm d'Orr, a BAFTA, the Golden Lion, a Grammy, and many lifetime achievement awards. On October 10, 1985, Orson Welles finished an interview on The Merv Griffin Show and died two hours later in his home in Hollywood, CA. His ashes were buried in Spain at the home of retired bullfighter and long time friend Antonio Ordonez.

Selected Filmography as Director:

Citizen Kane

The Magnificent Ambersons

The Lady from Shanghai

Macbeth

Mr. Arkadin

Touch of Evil

F is for Fake

Selected Filmography as Actor:

Citizen Kane

The Magnificent Ambersons

Jane Eyre

Macbeth

Touch of Evil

The Third Man

Mr. Arkadin

Moby Dick

The Long Hot Summer

Catch-22

The Third Man

Post World War II Vienna has been divided into sectors by the allies. Buildings are crumbled and in ruins from the war. Supply shortages have created a thriving black market. Everyone is struggling to survive. Enter Holly Martins. He is an out of work American pulp fiction writer who, at the request of his best friend Harry Lime, decides to go to Vienna. Once there, he finds that his friend Harry has died in a traffic accident. Being an inquisitive author, he decides to do some investigating on his own about the death of his friend. Once he begins interviewing Harry's friends and other associates, he quickly realizes that the facts don't add up and everyone has a different story about how Harry died. Holly then decides that he must get to the bottom of the mystery into Harry's untimely demise. Directed by Carole Reed, The Third Man is one of those movies where you find different things each time you watch it. The backdrop of post-war Vienna adds to the immediacy and desperation of the people who live there. Harry Lime, played by the incredible Orson Welles, is the man of the hour. What exactly happened to Lime? Did he die instantly or did he suffer? His best friend Holly (Joseph Cotten) must get to the bottom of Harry's death and won't rest until he does so. Anna (Valli) is Harry's grief-stricken lover who is trying to survive as an actress who escaped Soviet-occupied Vienna with a forged passport. What does she really know? Is she telling Holly the truth? With its lighting and camera angles, seedy locations, and unique zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man is one of the finest examples of film noir. The atmosphere of desperation and exhaustion and cynicism right at the cusp of the Cold War coupled with scenes filmed on location in devastated Vienna lends an air to the movie that is unmatched. Some of the most famous scenes in cinema history come from this movie not to mention one of the most memorable monologues. If you have never watched this movie, I really urge you to have a look at it. It is remarkable.

Little Big Man

According to the movie tagline, Little Big Man is "Either the Most Neglected Hero in History or a Liar of Insane Proportion!" To me, this movie is funny and sweet and tragic. At the beginning of the film, we see 121 years old Jack Crabb being interviewed by a journalist collecting oral histories. Armed with a voice recorder and questions, he proceeds to ask Jack about his past. It turns out that Jack has had a more than interesting life. He weaves an incredible tale of being kidnapped and raised by the Cheyenne, his stint as a gunslinger, and his role in the Battle of Little Bighorn. Jack's life in the west is no less than amazing. One couldn't even begin to jot down every detail that happens. Trust me when I say that you just have to see it! Playing the role of Jack Crabb is Dustin Hoffman. He portrays Crabb with complete aplomb. I couldn't imagine any other actor in this role. He goes from teenage boy to old man before your very eyes and does so convincingly. Joining him on his journey is a veritable who's who in the acting world such as Faye Dunaway, Martin Balsam, Richard Mulligan and William Hickey. Hoffman wears some of the most incredible old age make-up on celluloid. Make-up artist Dick Smith created such articulated make-up using foam latex that Hoffman could blink his eyes and the make-up would move with him. That doesn't sound like a big deal by today's standards but this movie was made in 1970 when CGI effects didn't exist let alone CGI make-up (see Bill Nighy in Pirates of the Caribbean for an example). Make-up artists were expected to get things as perfect as possible and Smith definitely got it perfect. This movie is based on the book by the same name written by Thomas Berger. The screenplay is by Calder Willingham who wrote the screenplays for such movies as The Bridge on the River Kwai (uncredited), The Graduate (with Buck Henry) and Paths of Glory (with Stanley Kubrick and Jim Thompson). Directing the movie is Arthur Penn who directed the critically acclaimed movies The Miracle Worker, Bonnie and Clyde, and Alice's Restaurant. This movie is one of those rare gems in the movie world where everything comes together at the right time to create a great work of art.

Director Spotlight: Michael Curtiz

Michael Curtiz (1886-1962) was born Mano Kertesz Kaminer in Budapest, Hungary. He was active in the movie industry in Europe before arriving to America in 1926. Once he was here, he had a varied and prolific career directing over 100 films in many different genres. In the 1930s, he directed a string of successful films starring Errol Flynn. Some of these movies were Captain Blood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dodge City, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Sea Hawk and The Santa Fe Trail. By the 1940s, Curtiz had become a very wealthy director making upwards of $3600/week. His success continued in the 1940s directing such hits as Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Life With Father, and Mildred Pierce. He even directed the pro-Soviet propaganda film Mission to Moscow at the request of president Franklin D. Roosevelt in order to help the wartime effort. Although Curtiz left Hungary well before the rise of the Nazi regime, his family was not as fortunate. His sister and her family were imprisoned at Auschwitz where her husband and children perished. Curtiz paid part of his own salary into the European Film Fund which was an association set up to help European refugees in the film business to establish themselves in the United States. In the late 1940s, he struck an agreement with Warner Brothers under which the studio and his own production company would share both the costs and profits of his films. Unfortunately, these films did not have the success as his earlier pictures and his relationship with Warners deteriorated into a bitter court battle. Curtiz did continue to direct on a freelance basis and also directed some films for Paramount such as White Christmas, We're No Angels and King Creole. His final film, The Comancheros, was released less than a year before his death. Although Curtiz was extremely active and busy in the film industry, he did not always get along well with colleagues. He was exceptionally dedicated to the art of film making but did not have respect for actors and was often very steely towards them. Many of his cohorts found him arrogant and he had the reputation of being mean to subordinates. On the flip side, during the filming of Casablanca, Claude Rains found him to be most helpful by showing him the difference between theatre acting and film acting, or as he put it-"what not to do in front of a camera." Curtiz was nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Director. Before winning for Casablanca, he was nominated for Yankee Doodle Dandy, Angels with Dirty Faces, and Four Daughters. Captain Blood came second as a write-in nomination in 1936. Michael Curtiz was one of those directors whose name you might not necessarily know but whose movies you've seen. His eye for detail created not only lavish and lush productions such as Robin Hood but also created tense and dramatic productions such as Casablanca. Luckily for us, we can all still enjoy his films.
Selected filmography:
The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) starring Richard Barthelmess and Bette Davis
Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, and Glenda Farrell
Captain Blood (1935) starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) starring Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone
Casablanca (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) starring James Cagney and Walter Huston
Mildred Pierce (1945) starring Joan Crawford
White Christmas (1954) starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Ellen
King Creole (1958) starring Elvis Presley, Walter Matthau, and Carolyn Jones

Drag Me to Hell

I've been a fan of Sam Raimi's for many years now. We go way back. He is, without a doubt, one of the most deliciously sickest people out there. He is one of the reasons why I have issues about going into basements. His Evil Dead movies are scary, funny, bloody and gross. They are excellent! If you haven't seen any of them, you should go rent them and watch them immediately. Long before his Spiderman franchise, he made Bruce Campbell drive an old car out in the woods and embark on not one, not two, but three journeys into the underworld on a low budget. His latest feature, Drag Me to Hell, pays homage to those humble beginnings. The story centers around a loan officer up for a promotion. When she decides not to extend a line of credit to an old lady, she lives to regret that decision. The old lady puts a hex on her and from that moment on, the ride doesn't stop. Raimi got his start in this genre and he does it very well. Luckily for us, he has not strayed too far from his roots and seemed more than happy to show us that he's still up for a good fright when not directing blockbusters. This movie is pure Raimi not only because he wrote and directed the movie but because he sends the observer on a rollercoaster ride of thrills and laughs. This movie is simultaneously scary and funny. It is also hilariously gross at times. You find yourself one moment with your hands covering your face and then the next moment having a good belly laugh. This was a fun movie and I definitely recommend! Also, don't forget to watch Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness!

The Apartment (1960)

The Apartment is one of those movies that makes you remember why so many of our older movies are so much better than their modern counterparts. The writing is sharp, the directing by Billy Wilder is superb and the acting is absolutely brilliant. C.C. Baxter, played by the incomparable Jack Lemmon, works for an insurance company. He is an efficient and dedicated employee who has a slight dilemma. You see, he has an apartment that is in such a great location in New York City that his bosses decide that it is the perfect place for their afternoon and evening dalliances with their mistresses. As you can imagine, poor C.C. is severely inconvenienced. Throughout the movie, C.C. gets put through the paces by his bosses (two of whom are the late greats Fred MacMurray and Ray Walston) who demand certain days for their escapades all the while promising to see to it that he gets compensated in the form of promotions. Poor C.C. even gets locked out of his own apartment and catches cold! Playing the love interest is the out of this world Shirley MacLaine. She was actually nominated for an Academy Award for her role as the complicated Fran. She works the elevators at the insurance company and all the men (especially C.C. Baxter) are smitten with her but she pays no attention to their advances. Fran is mysterious and you slowly find out why. This movie is fantastic. It is both funny and dark. It is playful without being over the top. The subject matter dealt with in this film gets the Billy Wilder treatment so the comedic moments get to shine as do the very serious moments without bringing the movie down. Lemmon and MacLaine are divine. This movie should be on your "to watch" list! Now-go rent it!!!!