What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[megagene]

Saw III - It wasn't great...

[Patrick Murtha]

I think Rope was one of the most disturbing movies I've seen in a long, long time. Stewart was great, of course, but the whole idea was just chilling. Fantastic cinematography, with the entire thing being filmed in one shot per reel. More like a play than a movie, and the scene where the maid is clearing off the trunk while the conversation plays out just off screen was brilliant. No one would even attempt to do anything like that today.

I have always felt that Rope is highly underrated. I think it's one of the great Hitchcocks (of which, admnittedly, there are many). Filming the entire action in a continuous shot was more than just a stunt; it contributes hugely to the mesmerizing quality of the film.

[Patrick Murtha]

I watch five to ten DVDs a week; I haven't been getting to the theater much lately. The whole multiplex experience is kind of depressing, I find, although I do make the occasional visit (I went to see the brilliant Zodiac twice earlier this year).

The last three DVDs I've watched are The Big Clock with Ray Milland, directed by John Farrow (excellent noir); Red River with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, directed by the great Howard Hawks (celebrated Western); The Seventh Victim with Tom Conway and Kim Hunter, directed by Mark Robson, produced by Val Lewton (classic psychological horror).

The Big Clock, based on a classic thriller by poet Kenneth Fearing (reprinted in The Library of America's Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s and 40s), is one of those movies I could watch for the male attire alone: Ray Milland's suits and hats are outstanding. But it is an eminently satisfying noir nightmare, too, set in a fascinating corporate milieu of popular magazine publishing.

Red River is a magnificent Western in many ways, but the script is rather oddly balanced for a "classic," with foreshadowing that doesn't lead anywhere, the very late introduction of a major character, and a sudden emotional shift in the final scene that is highly peculiar. I'm not saying that there aren't possible aesthetic justifications for every one of these oddities -- I prefer to trust that artists of proven talent know what they are about better than I do -- but the overall effect is certainly curious. Watch the film and you may see what I mean.

The Seventh Victim is curious, too, but in completely different ways. It is very densely packed for a 71 minute film, and undoubtedly takes several viewings to "unpack." Even on a first pass, though, the sheer ballsiness of the movie is striking, and one can't help but wonder how many elements of it got past the Hays Office censors. Devil worshippers? Blatant lesbians? A dark, deathly ending that has to be seen to be believed?

There's also a great shower sequence that points forward to Psycho, as every commentator notes.

[pgoat]

I have always felt that Rope is highly underrated. I think it's one of the great Hitchcocks (of which, admnittedly, there are many). Filming the entire action in a continuous shot was more than just a stunt; it contributes hugely to the mesmerizing quality of the film.

yeah, a lot of interesting debate concerning that film, regarding subject matter, themes, and the filmimng techniques used. I enjoyed it too, but I have sometimes heard it getting bashed as being overrated!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope_%28film%29#Filming

[pgoat]

Patrick, I like Red River. I have some mixed (read: mostly negative) feelings about John Wayne's 'manifest destiny' approach, but I thnk it makes the film unapologetically honest, especially for its time.

[Patrick Murtha]

Patrick, I like Red River. I have some mixed (read: mostly negative) feelings about John Wayne's 'manifest destiny' approach, but I thnk it makes the film unapologetically honest, especially for its time.

Oh, I like it, too; I just think it's weirder than one expects a classic Western to be. John Ford Westerns aren't weird. But this Hawks one is, I think. Partly it has to do with the way the "love interest" is superimposed on the plot and on the denouement (I am being deliberately vague so not to go all spoiler); but it's more than that, too. There's the whole homoerotic vibe, well explicated here:

http://www.chokingonpopcorn.com/popcorn/?p=834

The scene with the "young guns" played by Monty Clift and John Ireland showing off to each other is priceless, and thinking about it I can perhaps better understand why the foreshadowing of a violent confrontation between them never comes to a realization; there's something else going on there. John Ireland's character is named "Cherry," after all. Hmm....

Bottom line, no classic movie or Western fan should miss Red River.

[Mr. Rover]

I just watched the Atonement-----30s and 40s clothes galore!

[Dinerman]

I saw "The Golden Compass" yesterday, and "I Am Legend" and "Men With Brooms" today.

[Lensmaster]

Just watched Three Godfathers. It's interesting seeing John Wayne play the badguy being chased by a sheriff, rather than the other way.

[SamMarlowPI]

Just watched Three Godfathers. It's interesting seeing John Wayne play the badguy being chased by a sheriff, rather than the other way.

for a split second i thought, "John Wayne wasn't in any of The Godfather's!"...then the light came on...

Taxi Driver...again...intense film...