tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post3806452170166841840..comments2024-01-11T05:02:32.321-05:00Comments on Goodfella's Movie Blog: 1937: A Star Is Born (William A. Wellman)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-20859348261068604162009-10-10T18:17:23.502-04:002009-10-10T18:17:23.502-04:00Great pick here. I think Grand Illusion is probabl...Great pick here. I think Grand Illusion is probably the best film of 1937, but since we're picking favorites I'll go with A Star is Born too. I like this version better than than the somewhat bloated '54 incarnation, and I think Wellman is a really underrated director. There was a great documentary where Richard Shickel interviewed him back in the 70s...it introduced me to a lot of the director's films and I've appreciated him ever since.<br /><br />Sam's mention of Snow White reminds me not only of that compelling choice for best of '37, but of a film I should have mentioned as top of the line back in '33, the completely mad Betty Boop version of Snow White with Cab Calloway rotoscoped in as a ghost and singing "St. James Infirmirary Blues". Short or no short, it belongs up there and is as visceral and hypnotic (and musically sophisticated) in its way as those Berkeley films I mentioned.MovieMan0283http://thedancingimage.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-18261144098509319762009-06-15T17:27:55.089-04:002009-06-15T17:27:55.089-04:00John - Your comments are great as ever. The inter...John - Your comments are great as ever. The interesting thing I'm noticing from the comments from everyone is that for the most part, there are a core group of films from 1937 that most can agree are among the best made that year. This year seems to have a greater consensus than most other years I've done so far. There's probably even a majority that would choose Grand Illusion, outside of rebels like me!Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-52933540968965573222009-06-15T07:38:37.224-04:002009-06-15T07:38:37.224-04:00Dave - I guess I am in line with Sam and Samuel wi...Dave - I guess I am in line with Sam and Samuel with my favorite being "Grand Illusion" which along with that film twenty years in the future are my two favorite anti-war films. I would go as far as to say "Grand Illusion" is one of the best films of the entire decade. Other favorites include "Nothing Sacred", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", and "A Star is Born." Two weeks earlier and I would have listed "Dead End" on the list above however, i recently watched the film again and while I still like it I was really bothered by the unrelistic sets which I think were detrimental to the film making it somewhat flawed. Don't get me wrong, it is still a good film, it just dropped a notch or so. This most recent viewing though has made me come to admire Joel McCrea more and more as I watch him. <br /> I also have soft spots for "Way Out West" (my favorite L&H feature), "Marked Woman" and "The Awful Truth."Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-25793233901418132012009-06-14T22:14:49.119-04:002009-06-14T22:14:49.119-04:00Sam - Excellent choices as usual. As I said, I do...Sam - Excellent choices as usual. As I said, I don't dislike Grand Illusion, but it's never really been a favorite.<br /><br />I think my favorite anti-war film is exactly twenty years in the future (which I'm guessing is a big enough clue to give it away!), but I'm not sure if it's going to make the countdown because there are some great films in that year.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-75064047720115071912009-06-14T21:31:55.705-04:002009-06-14T21:31:55.705-04:00My Own Favorite Film of 1937: GRAND ILLUSION(Reno...My Own Favorite Film of 1937: GRAND ILLUSION(Renoir; France)<br /><br />Runners-Up:<br /><br /> Humanity and Paper Balloons (Yamanaka; Japan)<br /> Oh Mr. Porter! (Varnal; Will Hay; UK)<br /> Lost Horizon (Capra; USA)<br /> A Star is Born (Wellman; USA)<br /> Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney; USA)<br /><br /> Well Dave, I do feel that GRAND ILLUSION is the masterpiece of 1937, if your own choice and four others push close. Renoir's film makes strong claim as the greatest ant-war film ever made, and there is little I can say to add to the legendary discourse on it.<br /><br /> Still, you make a wonderful case for the irresistible A STAR IS BORN, which of course has one of the most memorable closing scenes in film history. Both leads are terrific, and the film has timeless appeal. Actually I did love the use of Technicolor here.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-61583941988494127832009-06-14T19:17:15.952-04:002009-06-14T19:17:15.952-04:00Samuel - I'm certain that I'm in the minor...Samuel - I'm certain that I'm in the minority in regards to Grand Illusion, so I can't argue with your selection. I too like Black Legion, but didn't really consider it for the best of the year... your praise of it though has me thinking I should revisit it.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-25405113569309928992009-06-14T18:55:16.597-04:002009-06-14T18:55:16.597-04:00Dave, I have to go with Grand Illusion on the stre...Dave, I have to go with Grand Illusion on the strength of Pierre Fresnay and Erich von Stroheim rather than Gabin. It's a unique cosmopolitan (trilingual)film with an antiwar attitude that makes the title in retrospect a commentary on itself. The Wellman Star is Born is very good, as is the incomplete Capra Lost Horizon, but my wild card for 1937 is Archie Mayo's Black Legion, another early Bogart showcase that gets more out of him, I think, than Dead End did.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.com