tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post3028839709522884157..comments2024-01-11T05:02:32.321-05:00Comments on Goodfella's Movie Blog: 1963: El Verdugo (Luis García Berlanga)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-22696182850740190982016-07-17T10:05:36.608-04:002016-07-17T10:05:36.608-04:00Reviews of this film are two a penny, but finding ...Reviews of this film are two a penny, but finding it online is the real difficulty and this is just yet another website that adds to that disappointment, that is all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-12124241536216854592009-10-14T20:47:09.463-04:002009-10-14T20:47:09.463-04:00I'll go with Charade: 8 1/2 is the greatest fi...I'll go with Charade: 8 1/2 is the greatest film, but the Hepburn-Grant lark is the one I enjoy the most (and Walter Matthau is hysterical in it).<br /><br />You've also guilt-tripped me here. A Good Samaritan (who shall remain nameless) sent me this a while back, along with several other discs. I watched many of them but never got to El Verdugo, and got sidetracked with Netflix (my DVR has also suffered as a consequence - it's now reserved only for films unavailable by mail, and it's STILL getting crowded).<br /><br />Tonight I have no Netflix on hand (thanks, Columbus Day) and El Verdugo is short so perhaps I will watch it. And Sam's choice further guilt-trips me; perhaps I will watch The House is Black tonight too...Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-7895252737233039542009-08-11T08:53:46.243-04:002009-08-11T08:53:46.243-04:00An after though but I should have included Fuller&...An after though but I should have included Fuller's "Shock Corridor" on my runner up list.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-25114151472903965382009-08-10T14:34:36.562-04:002009-08-10T14:34:36.562-04:00Samuel - I think that you would appreciate El Verd...Samuel - I think that you would appreciate El Verdugo very much. It is filmed beautifully and it is genuinely funny. As I said, it's almost like trying to read a screwball comedy with the subtitles, but it is hilarious. The characters are so serious, but the situation is so farcical!Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-73210648881194120862009-08-09T23:47:05.439-04:002009-08-09T23:47:05.439-04:00Wow. Dave, I thought 1963 was a top-heavy year, wi...Wow. Dave, I thought 1963 was a top-heavy year, with as many as four "in any other year" winners, and you hit me with something that I, too, until now, had not heard of. But a quick check of the Time Out Film Guide confirms that El Verdugo is frequently cited by Spaniards as their greatest film. If that means better than Spirit of the Beehive, then I have to see this.<br /><br />As for me, for now, here's a top ten.<br /><br />1. High and Low. I was fortunate enough to see this on a huge screen in Boston in the 1990s. That'll make a lasting impression.<br />2. The Leopard. Also saw this on a big screen, at the Brattle in Cambridge, and even though they got a couple of reels mixed up I was still blown away.<br />3. 8 1/2. Here I think Fellini solved the conceptual problems that left La Dolce Vita dragging and gave us a statement of principles for all his later work.<br />4. Le Mepris. The relationships are kinda contrived but the film is an incredible visual treat and it's a hoot to see Palance stomping around in a Godard film.<br />5. Hands Over the City by Francesco Rosi, a brilliant political drama with a "neorealism on steroids" building collapse scene and an incisive account on how partisan politics enables some people to get away with anything.<br />6. Cleopatra by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Yes! An apropos account of a dream of enlightened empire driven and doomed by excess, illustrated by never-to-be-equalled spectacle.<br />7. The Insect Woman, though I prefer the literal English translation of the title, "Entomological Chronicle of Japan," since that conveys Imamura's dispassionate presentation of a family's struggle at the fringes of history and doesn't sound like an AIP film.<br />8. Jason and the Argonauts by Don Chaffey on behalf of Ray Harryhausen. A pop cinema masterpiece.<br />9. The Whip and The Body. A classic of Sixties gothic from the genre's greatest exponent.<br />10. Charade. A triumph of style and a vision of Europe that appeals to the time-tourist in me.<br /><br />I suppose The Nutty Professor deserves an honorable mention, but I also want to give a shout-out to a sentimental favorite of my youth and one of the most shamelessly entertaining films ever, Ishiro Honda's King Kong vs. Godzilla in the U.S. edition.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-19188827144050718492009-08-09T14:44:12.861-04:002009-08-09T14:44:12.861-04:00Sam - I am intrigued yet again. I obviously saw t...Sam - I am intrigued yet again. I obviously saw this film among Allan's choices, but it's another that I knew nothing about until I read Allan's review. I'll see if I can seek out some kind of source to see it, online or otherwise. In regards to Allan's countdowns, El Verdugo has been the greatest revelation to me, in terms of films that I lists that I otherwise would never have seen. It is stunning that this hasn't had a proper Criterion-like release.<br /><br />John - You'll definitely like El Verdugo. If I could recommend to you a way to get a copy I would, but as I said in my review, I resorted to the Internet after being stymied elsewhere!<br /><br />Your #1 choice for this year is one that I struggle with. This seems to be a common theme for me with Larry McMurty-penned films (be it his own screenplay or just based on one of his novels/stories), as I have always wrestled with one of Sam's all-time favorites "The Last Picture Show." I guess my reaction toward the film was that I liked it, but expected to like it much more, if that makes any sense.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-18231653611658879612009-08-09T14:34:52.313-04:002009-08-09T14:34:52.313-04:00Dave – I am completely in the dark about this film...Dave – I am completely in the dark about this film but you terrific review has made me want to see it. Your description makes it sound like a great film. The Leopard, and High and Low have eluded me, as has Kazan’s America, America, a film I most want to see.<br /><br />Overall, ’63 for me is a weak year and that may be because I have not seen some of the really good films you and Sam mention her. Within my scope, I have to go with “Hud” which I thought was revolutionary for an American film at that time to present such a bastard as a hero or more correctly an anti-hero. <br /><br /><br /><br />Runner ups<br /><br />The Servant<br />Charade<br />8 ½<br />The Birds<br />The Haunting<br />The Lord of the FliesJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-34247668007304080942009-08-09T11:37:08.862-04:002009-08-09T11:37:08.862-04:00My #1 Film of 1963:
The House is Black (Farrokhza...My #1 Film of 1963:<br /><br />The House is Black (Farrokhzad; Iran)<br /><br /><br />Runners-Up:<br /><br />Le Mephris (Godard; France)<br />8 1/2 (Fellini; Italy)<br />The Silence (Bergman; Sweden)<br />When the Cat Comes (Jasny; Czechoslovakia)<br />El Verdugo (Berlaga; Spain)<br />Vidas Secas (dos Santos; Brazil)<br />The Servant (Losey; UK)<br />The Leopard (Visconti; Italy)<br />Lord of the Flies (Brook; UK)<br />High and Low (Kurosawa; Japan)<br />The Insect Woman (Imamura; Japan)<br />I Fidanzati (Olmi; Italy)<br />The Haunting (Wise)<br />Billy Liar (Schlesinger; UK)<br />The Big City (S. Ray; India)<br />This Sporting Life (Anderson; UK)<br />The Whip and the Body (Bava; Italy)<br />An Actor's Revenge (Ichikawa; Japan)<br /><br />My #1 choice was only seen within the last four months, and it's 22 minutes in length. But it's one of the most devastating works of cinema I've ever seen, and I also took advantage of the communal sharing of WitD, as it was first discovered by Allan. It barely edges out the Godard for the top spot. Your choice of EL VERDUGO, informed by a wildly enthusiastic review and flattering acknowledgement to WitD is a thing of beauty. I couldn't agree with you more that EL VERDUGO is a masterpiece and that's why it's on my runners-up list.<br /><br />Like you I also consider THE LEOPARD to be a masterpiece, and I would of course say th esame for the Fellini.<br /><br />Needless to say you do a great job here reviewing EL VERDUGO,framing it comedically in its proper context. I salute you for celebrating the film and for your effusively kind words for Allan and WitD.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com