tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post2076324426887435665..comments2024-01-11T05:02:32.321-05:00Comments on Goodfella's Movie Blog: 1945: Scarlet Street (Fritz Lang)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-33162677971870600462009-10-13T09:01:08.129-04:002009-10-13T09:01:08.129-04:00Check this one out, MovieMan... it's a dark, d...Check this one out, MovieMan... it's a dark, dark noir that has that grainy, "poverty row" look and feel to it that is so fitting for a noir. Edward G. Robinson was such a talented actor and he shines here.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-11873928895966613822009-10-11T19:50:53.244-04:002009-10-11T19:50:53.244-04:00A tough choice here. Brief Encounter, which I have...A tough choice here. Brief Encounter, which I haven't seen for about 7 years but loved at the time - seeing it as a sort of Rosetta Stone for David Lean's later work (and he's one of my favorite directors). Children of Paradise I saw 3 years ago, but it remains very fresh in my memory, much fresher than Brief Encounter. I'd need to see both again before making a real decision, but for now I'll go with Children of Paradise.<br /><br />I have not seen Scarlet Street, and unlike your earlier haven't-seen pick (Gen. Yen) I wasn't at all familiar with the plot, so this was an intriguing review.MovieMan0283http://thedancingimage.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-14852673497148967022009-07-03T10:36:40.367-04:002009-07-03T10:36:40.367-04:00I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!!!I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!!!Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-85075761115347507382009-07-03T10:35:53.797-04:002009-07-03T10:35:53.797-04:00I KNOW I AM GOING is a fine Powell/Pressburger fil...I KNOW I AM GOING is a fine Powell/Pressburger film, and I debated whether it should make my runners-up list, but figured I have some others by this pair to include in upcoming lists. But I salute Cagney Fan for bringing it up.<br /><br />John and Dave, DEAD OF NIGHT is a must. I predict you will adore it. It's an omnibus film with mesmerizing bookends.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-69682109595420361172009-07-02T20:12:49.091-04:002009-07-02T20:12:49.091-04:00CagneyFan - I have seen "I Know Where I'm...CagneyFan - I have seen "I Know Where I'm Going!" but for whatever reason just found it simply OK. Powell and Pressburger films are very hit or miss with me, for whatever reason.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-63259280662245914832009-07-02T17:38:25.072-04:002009-07-02T17:38:25.072-04:00Dave,
This is an excellent review of, as you said...Dave,<br /><br />This is an excellent review of, as you said, a very, very dark movie. So dark, in fact, that I postponed watching it for a whole month. When I did, I was glad because it is a superbly crafted and well acted film. <br /><br />On a lighter, brighter note, have you seen Powell-Pressburger's "I Know Where I'm Going!"? It's a delightful gem and one worth watching. It was released in the States in '47 but in the UK in '45.<br /><br />Glad to see a couple mentions of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." Been years since I saw it, but I remember having thought it quite good.CagneyFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12528836819712630455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-70046953132499570642009-07-02T17:37:53.930-04:002009-07-02T17:37:53.930-04:00Sam - You are correct, I am a noir junkie... so yo...Sam - You are correct, I am a noir junkie... so you can expect a lot more noir to pop, especially in the coming years of the countdown. Your list reminds me of other key films that I simply have not seen -- aside from Open City, there is also Dead of Night on my "to watch list."<br /><br />John - You're spot on about the stabbing scene, it's quite shocking. I'm going to head over to your site and find your review of Scarlet Street!<br /><br />Samuel - There are other Langs that I might prefer (definitely M, sometimes I like The Big Heat a bit more), but this is a great film. Definitely try and track down a copy.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-20408468369035976122009-07-02T15:36:55.633-04:002009-07-02T15:36:55.633-04:00Sam – jump in anytime. You are a most welcome enth...Sam – jump in anytime. You are a most welcome enthusiast. I do admit “The Lost Weekend” is somewhat dated but I still think it is pretty powerful. I completely forgot about “Spellbound” until I saw it on your list and would have had it on mine. I am also going to have to watch “Dead of Night” now which I recorded a while and have not seen yet.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-58630540193898361432009-07-02T13:59:52.700-04:002009-07-02T13:59:52.700-04:00Dave, Scarlet Street is an inexcusable absence in ...Dave, Scarlet Street is an inexcusable absence in my own Lang filmography, so I'm going to need to see it very soon on your recommendation. Until then, I'm going to claim 1945 for John Ford's They Were Expendable, an unusual war film about defeat and retreat released at the moment of American victory that boasts terrific battle sequences that reflect Ford's experience of the real thing and a strong performance by a still-malleable John Wayne. I'd rank The Body Snatcher second, but other people's lists remind me that there are plenty of films from this year that I ought to have seen by now, but haven't.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-48340647320528041372009-07-02T08:40:11.219-04:002009-07-02T08:40:11.219-04:00I think it is worth noting Dave, that Joasn Crawfo...I think it is worth noting Dave, that Joasn Crawford gave the year's Best performance by an actress in MILDRED PIERCE, while Boris Karloff gave the year's best by an actor (in fact the best of his entire career) as Cabman Gray in the Lewton/Robson THE BODY SNATCHER.<br /><br />John: You are also a big film noir fan, but more power to you, as admittedly those years showed that genre as superior to any other. I could never get by the datedness of THE LOST WEEKEND, but you are not alone by elevating this film. Please excuse me for jumping in like this--I do this solely out of enthusiasm and a lifelong infatuation with "lists"--often my undoing! Ha!Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-71740361899570110012009-07-02T08:21:37.303-04:002009-07-02T08:21:37.303-04:00Terrific Dave! I am in complete agreement with Sc...Terrific Dave! I am in complete agreement with Scarlet Street being # 1. Like yourself, I have not seen “Open City” and from what I have read, I would suspect it would give SS a run for its money as numero uno, at least be in the runner up group. All three actors are superb in their roles. Upon my most recent viewing of the film, a few months ago when I did my own review, I noticed how “shocking” the stabbing scene was for its time. The film ran into censorship problems and they had to decrease the number of knife stabbings. Bennett and Duryea are pure evil and pretty much deserve each other. It is a film I can watch over and over for many reasons, and also just to see Rico Bandello (Mother of mercy! Is this the end of Rico?) wearing an apron! That scene alone is classic, right up there with Cagney sitting on his mother’s lap in “White Heat.” <br /><br /><br />#1 Scarlet Street<br /><br />and the rest of the best……<br /><br /> Leave Her to Heaven <br /> The Lost Weekend <br /> Mildred Pierce<br /> A Tree Grows in Brooklyn<br /> Detour<br /> And Then There Were None<br /> Anchors AweighJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-29990322613908728042009-07-02T08:07:28.789-04:002009-07-02T08:07:28.789-04:00My Own #1 Film of 1945:
Brief Encounter (Le...My Own #1 Film of 1945:<br /><br /> Brief Encounter (Lean)<br /><br />Runners-Up:<br /><br /> Les Enfants du Paradis (Carne)<br /> Dead of Night (Hamer)<br /> The Body Snatcher (Robson)<br /> A Diary For Timothy (Jennings)<br /> And Then There Were None (Clair)<br /> A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Kazan)<br /> Spellbound (Hitchcock)<br /> Detour (Ulmer)<br /> Scarlet Street (Lang)<br /> Open City (Rossellini)<br /> Mildred Pierce (Curtiz)<br /><br /> Dave: It is clear that you are quite the Film Noir fan, not that I fault you in any way with your choice of this Lang classic, which did make my runner-up list among the best film sof 1945. But that year for me had two staggering masterpieces, and it was difficult to choose one over the other (BRIEF ENCOUNTER and LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS). Lean's film may well be the greatest romance of all time, and I could watch it once a week for th erest of my life. Only Ophuls's LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN (1948) is comparable. Rachmaninoff is uses divinely, and both Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard are extraordinary as is Krasker's cinematography. The French film of course is a justly celebrated masterpiece as well.<br /><br /> Great review again! I love that noir lead-in and the admission that this film is gloom incarnate.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com