tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post404085716727916374..comments2024-01-11T05:02:32.321-05:00Comments on Goodfella's Movie Blog: 1948: Red River (Howard Hawks)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-24885476739680377732009-10-13T09:04:38.086-04:002009-10-13T09:04:38.086-04:00Bicycle Thieves is the obvious choice here, partic...Bicycle Thieves is the obvious choice here, particularly in terms of "greatness." But some personal preference obviously plays a role in my selections and I had to go with Hawks's second best western.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-86717600318744165922009-10-11T23:52:49.293-04:002009-10-11T23:52:49.293-04:00I'll go with Bicycle Thieves. I liked Red Rive...I'll go with Bicycle Thieves. I liked Red River a lot when I saw it years ago, but, like you and almost everyone else, was disappointed by the ending. This has marred it somewhat for me in retrospect, but I still tend to consider it a great movie. Letter to an Unknown Woman also places highly, with Treasure of the Seirra Madre close behind. And Force of Evil is an excellent, intriguing movie, particularly with its political ramifications.MovieMan0283http://thedancingimage.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-12196749859327344422009-07-17T18:31:11.051-04:002009-07-17T18:31:11.051-04:00Judy - This is among Hawks' best, so definitel...Judy - This is among Hawks' best, so definitely try and see it if you have a chance. I don't know if you like westerns much, but if you do then this one is absolutely essential -- it's among the best ever made, in my opinion.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-91622059807942118522009-07-17T02:40:20.100-04:002009-07-17T02:40:20.100-04:00Dave, I haven't seen this one yet, but I love ...Dave, I haven't seen this one yet, but I love Hawks, so look forward to doing so. Enjoyed your review very much. Again there are a lot of the films mentioned I haven't seen, but I'm another fan of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre' - fantastic performances by both Bogart and Walter Huston - and also love the Olivier 'Hamlet' (I can hear Olivier's voice at the start when he says the added line, "This is the story of a man who could not... make up... his mind.") I'm appreciating all your reviews and the comments. JudyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-19956813776659368862009-07-12T21:42:49.981-04:002009-07-12T21:42:49.981-04:00Thanks for the compliments, John... excellent choi...Thanks for the compliments, John... excellent choices for you as well. You're inclusion of "Sorry, Wrong Number" reminded me that one probably deserved mention in the "Other Contenders" section as well.<br /><br />Samuel - I had a feeling that "The Red Shoes" would be your choice, knowing your love of the Archers films. It's not my favorite, but I do like it.<br /><br />Films like "Bicycle Thieves" and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" are so good that I almost feel guilty that they are chosen for the countdown. That's how much I like them! But, I guess that's what makes this whole project interesting for me, is trying to make difficult decisions like this.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-27876335899142175822009-07-12T21:23:13.228-04:002009-07-12T21:23:13.228-04:00Meant to say how much I enjoyed your excellent rev...Meant to say how much I enjoyed your excellent review and glad to see you appreciation of Hawks, one of my favorite directors.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-70285211166757931882009-07-12T18:49:26.992-04:002009-07-12T18:49:26.992-04:001948 was an amazing year with so many great classi...1948 was an amazing year with so many great classics and it is a tough choice to pick a number one. I narrowed it down to three with Bicycle Thief, The Treasure of Sierra Madre and The Red Shoes. I ended up selecting Bicycle Thief, which as Sam mentioned is THE neo-realist film and one of the greats of all time. I saw it for the first time a few years ago and was lucky enough to see it on the big screen at the Tampa Theater. The Red Shoes is a masterpiece too and the greatest film on the topic of how much an artist needs to sacrifice for their art.<br /><br />Here is my list<br /><br />Bicycle Thief<br />The Red Shoes<br />The Treasure of Sierra Madre<br />Force of Evil<br />They Drive By Night<br />Red River<br />The Lady from Shanghai<br />The Naked City<br />Act of Violence <br />Sorry, Wrong Number<br /><br />and like Samuel - I have to admit my fondness for Abbott and Costello Meet FrankensteinJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-8557241850767483052009-07-12T18:03:34.697-04:002009-07-12T18:03:34.697-04:00For 1948 I'll venture a top ten list. This is ...For 1948 I'll venture a top ten list. This is a very competitive year for me as any in the top four might have been the best of some other year.<br /><br />1. The Red Shoes<br />2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre<br />3. Key Largo<br />4. Bicycle Thieves<br />5. 3 Godfathers<br />6. He Walked By Night<br />7. Red River<br />8. Force of Evil<br />9. Act of Violence<br />10. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein<br /><br />John Huston threw one of the mightiest one-two combinations ever this year, but the Archers stay on top for one more year thanks to one of my all-time favorite performances, by Anton Walbrook, and the incandescence of Moira Shearer. The Red Shoes portrays an artistic world that seems fantastic and authentic at the same time, and the ballet sequence represents the first great advance on Busby Berkeley's innovations in cinematic dance. Treasure is an awesome film with great acting all around, and if we judged things by quantity Key Largo should earn Huston extra honors. 3 Godfathers is a sentimental favorite of mine at Christmastime with another great male ensemble and a fine mad scene by Wayne toward the end.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-67956865924525444512009-07-12T10:59:17.037-04:002009-07-12T10:59:17.037-04:00I forgot to mentioned in the review (and your ment...I forgot to mentioned in the review (and your mention of it, Sam, has reminded me to include it here) is that unfortunately Ophuls's "Letter to an Unknown Woman" is another of those films that I haven't seen because I haven't yet tracked down a copy. I have read great things about it and it sits at the top of "movies I need to find" list!<br /><br />And that is an impressive list of films, Sam. As you say, this definitely was a "packed year."Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-72809779808805472442009-07-12T10:29:56.671-04:002009-07-12T10:29:56.671-04:00My Own #1 Film of 1948:
Bicycle Thieves (De Sica...My Own #1 Film of 1948:<br /><br />Bicycle Thieves (De Sica; Italy)<br /><br /><br />Runners-Up:<br /><br />Letter to an Unknown Woman (Ophuls)<br />Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Huston)<br />The Red Shoes (Powell and Pressburger; UK)<br />Hamlet (Olivier; UK)<br />Oliver Twist (Lean' UK)<br />Unfaithfully Yours (Sturges)<br />The Naked City (Dassin)<br />The Fallen Idol (Reed; UK)<br />Portrait of Jennie (Dieterle)<br />A Hen in the Wind (Ozu; Japan)<br />They Live by Night (Ray)<br />Louisiana Story (Flaherty)<br />Une Si Jolie Petit Plage (Allegret; France)<br />The Winslow Boy (Asquith; UK)<br />Red River (Hawks)<br />The Pearl (Fernandez; Mexico)<br />Force of Evil (Polonsky)<br />Key Largo (Huston)<br /><br />Welll, for me, BICYCLE THIEVES, the definitive neo-realist masterpiece is one of the greatest films in the history of the cinema, but so is Max Ophuls's only American film, LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN WOMAN and Huston's TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. But for that matter, THE RED SHOES, A HEN IN THE WIND, HAMLET, OLIVER TWIST, UNFAITHFULLY YOURS, LOUISIANA STORY, THE FALLEN IDOL, and some others here rank at or near the masterpiece level in what was a packed year. I respect your position with RED RIVER, and remember the clip of it in my favorite film of the 70's, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. I understand you were going back and forth, and the frustration of firming up a decision, and I agasin I appreciated reading this painstaking analysis. Yes, Clift deserves just as strong an appraisal as John Wayne. It's definitely among the most celebrated westerns.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com